Chapter Text
Cloud slowly lowered himself onto a bench, deliberately averting his eyes from what he could only imagine was the disapproving gaze of his friends. He caught a glimpse of his flushed face reflecting in a puddle below his feet. Whether it was out of embarrassment, or from attacking Sephiroth’s lips just moments ago, he wasn’t sure.
A part of him knew this was going to happen. When Sephiroth had pitched the idea to him, he figured he’d at least have until morning before his friends would hear about it, but news spread quickly in Edge, and Corneo no doubt wanted as big an audience as possible.
On some level, though, he wanted his friends to intervene. Explaining that Sephiroth wasn’t the monster they had known him as was going to be an uphill battle. He could tell them that he was kind and caring, but without any tangible evidence to back up his claims, he doubted they would have believed him. If they were spectating the matches, they would be able to see their interactions. How well they fought together, and how they could fight one another for fun instead of to the death. They could see firsthand how he showed concern for the safety of the audience, going as far as to risk injury.
Although, it was entirely possible his friends had missed most of the evening, as he had a hard time believing they would have idly sat by with the freaky Bahamut running rampant.
Rippling waves distorted his reflection as Sephiroth walked past and joined him on the bench. Cloud lifted his head to greet his companion, and sighed contentedly as he felt Sephiroth's fingers lightly twirl the hair at the nape of his neck. Despite all the commotion from the colosseum, and the general ruckus of New Wall Market, the world around him felt quiet. He had nearly lost himself to watching his murky reflection waver in the water below, when a pleasant hum from Sephiroth reminded him that his friends were still waiting for an explanation.
Not a word had been uttered between any of them, yet, and they seemed to be keeping their distance from him. Or, more likely, keeping their distance from Sephiroth. Bracing for the worst, Cloud gathered his resolve and looked his friends in the eyes, fully expecting them to be filled with scorn and disappointment. Much to his surprise, however, this didn’t seem to be the case. Cid was grinning ear to ear and gesturing towards him, Barret just looked annoyed at whatever Cid was doing, and Nanaki was lying down, quietly watching with the impassive expression he always seemed to have.
Tifa, on the other hand, was the only one out of the group who actually appeared to be upset. Her posture was stiff, and she seemed to be looking anywhere except towards him.
The biggest thing that surprised him, and made him hopeful for how things would play out tonight, was that none of them were carrying any weapons. He supposed that might explain why they hadn’t jumped in against the Bahamut, if they were indeed present during that fight.
Another soft hum from Sephiroth reminded him again that he needed to actually say something, and not just wait around while he twiddled his thumbs in hopes someone else would take point. “I’m…sorry.” Cloud finally managed to get out, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as the heft of those words left his mouth. “I-”
“Cloud, we’ve known.” Tifa said as she huffed a sigh of frustration.
Confusion etched across Cloud’s face as he replayed what Tifa said a few times in his head. “Wait, what?”
“Discretion was never your strong suit, Merc.” Barret responded dryly.
He had so many questions. Did Tifa mean they figured it out today? Or have they known for a while? If they've known for a while, why didn’t they say anything? What tipped them off?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an all too familiar stifled laugh. Of course Sephiroth would find humor in the utter irony that all of his panicking and dread was for nothing. “Why didn’t you say anything…” Cloud asked in a hushed tone.
“I mean, we can ask you the same thing.” Cid retorted bluntly, taking the cigarette from his mouth and tapping out a few flakes of ash. “You’ll have to forgive us for being a little cautious. Kind of easy to assume the worst when we found out you were canoodling with-” There was a pause as Cid suspiciously observed Sephiroth for an uncomfortable moment, taking a quick drag from his cigarette before answering. “Sephiroth.”
“I-” Cloud went quiet as his eyes fell back to his muddied reflection in the puddle. Guilt welled up in his chest as he realized that he had effectively informed an audience of strangers of his forbidden affair before his trusted friends. His hopeful outlook was quickly replaced with one of defeat, the feeling becoming worse as the adrenaline high from his time in the colosseum was starting to dissipate.
Before he had time to make any sort of response, Cloud suddenly found his face pressed up against a mess of silver hair. While he’d been wallowing in his thoughts, Sephiroth had gotten up and wordlessly tossed him over his shoulder.
Cloud haplessly watched his friends as he was carried past them. It was by no means unusual at this point for Sephiroth to physically handle him, and while he’d always make a fuss, he had indeed grown accustomed to it and quietly enjoyed the attention. There was a distinct difference, however, from being tossed around in private or in front of people he had little regard for, to having it done in front of his friends.
“You are all owed an explanation.” Sephiroth stated, pausing his stride for a moment. “But I think we should resume this in a more comfortable setting.”
There had been some indistinct chatter coming from his friends, but a silence fell upon the group as Sephiroth spoke, apparently shocked at the idea that he could say something that wasn’t contrived bullshit regarding birthrights and godhood.
“Seph, put me down.” Cloud barked while trying to dislodge himself from Sephiroth’s grip. Despite his best efforts, though, no amount of kicking, squirming, and wing flapping weakened the hold. If being toted around like some sort of toddler wasn’t embarrassing enough, one of the hands holding his legs slid up his thigh and rested precariously on his ass. “Seph!”
Sephiroth only gave an amused hum in response. Even though Cloud only had line of sight on the back of Sephiroth’s head, he could vividly see the wicked smirk on his face. Feeling defeated, he gave up on his struggles and slouched against Sephiroth’s back. His friends were following behind at a cautious distance, and he did his best to avoid eye contact with them, not wanting to have to offer any sort of explanation as to why he wasn’t making a bigger fuss over being casually manhandled. He had almost resigned himself to spending the rest of the journey flopped over a shoulder, when Sephiroth suddenly turned around.
“Where are my manners?” Sephiroth announced to the group. His voice was outwardly kind, but Cloud detected a hint of mischief in his tone. “I do not believe we have all been properly introduced.”
It was one thing to be carried, it was another to be carried with his cupped ass facing his friends. Sephiroth was still walking, albeit backwards now, as he spoke to the group. The path before them had not been kept in the greatest of shape, with all sorts of industrial debris littering the area. Seeing an opportunity to free himself, Cloud lunged out with the hook of his wing, snagging a metal pipe caked in cement chunks, and threw it into the path.
The plan was a success as Sephiroth tripped over the obstruction, his own wing extending in an attempt to regain his balance. Cloud took advantage of the momentary distraction to push himself off of Sephiroth and aid in his fall. Not wanting to give Sephiroth any time to get to his feet, he quickly straddled him to the ground.
There was a brief look of bewilderment on Sephiroth’s face before he slid back into his composed self, albeit with a smug smile that made Cloud realize this was perhaps not the outcome he wanted.
“This again?” Sephiroth coquettishly remarked, resting his arms behind his head and adjusting his hips, making it clear to Cloud that he’d only swapped one questionable position for another. “So cheeky today.”
Cloud gave Sephiroth a frustrated glance, fully aware of the double entendre. “Will you stop?” He muttered under his breath while crossing his legs in a meager attempt to make his situation less awkward.
Sephiroth curiously examined the encroaching group, maintaining his content smile. His normally dignified wing was in a tangled mess on the ground, and further exacerbated by the section of missing feathers that had been unceremoniously shorn off earlier.
Cloud wondered what his friends were thinking. Sephiroth, who had been this enigmatic figure of misery and destruction, a man who’d only shown contempt for those around him, was now splayed out across the ground, appearing absolutely pleased with the world around him. Sephiroth having a sense of humor, and exhibiting it in such an outward manner, still caught him off guard as well. While he’d been trying to reshape his perception of Sephiroth’s personality, his childhood self still held onto that stoic, unrelenting monument of strength and power. And, at times, despite his best efforts to shake such thoughts, he couldn’t help but still see the coldhearted specter that had been the topic of many of his nightmares.
He supposed Sephiroth’s seemingly odd behavior shouldn’t have come to him as a surprise, though. His interactions with the three fanboys, (although he probably shouldn’t refer to them as that anymore), had left him wondering about their odd behavior. Sephiroth had confirmed with him that they were incomplete aspects of himself, and he could see that the man that lay before him was some sort of combination of Loz’s child-like demeanor and Yazoo’s gleeful cruelty. He was acting cocky and mischievous, but not with any sort of malicious intent.
“So, how about those introductions?” Cid asked as he walked past them, callously brushing aside Sephiroth’s wing with his boot to unblock his path.
“Don’t be an ass.” Cloud growled, shooting Sephiroth a pleading glance to endure his friend's antics.
“My bad.” Cid responded with a careless shrug. “So, who’s your new boyfriend?”
Cloud rolled his eyes. “Can you-”
“Look, kid, this here looks like Sephiroth, but I don’t recall him being this…” Cid paused, giving them both cynical looks. “Tolerant.”
“Will you lay off and let the kid talk?” Barret's tone was firm as he stepped up to Cid, looming menacingly over him.
“How about you get your ass out of my personal space?”
“Enough!” Cloud yelled, throwing up his arms in frustration. “This is Sephiroth!” He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. “I’m sorry, guys. I know this all seems really fucking bad, but-”
“That’s an understatement.” Cid interjected.
Cloud bit his tongue, and shot Sephiroth another apologetic look before continuing. “I wanted to tell you sooner, things just got…complicated.”
“By ‘complicated’ you mean you two started fucking?” Cid flatly remarked.
“I got scared, okay!” Cloud blurted out in a fit of anger. “I know I should have gotten you all involved from the get go, but I didn’t want to drag you into my personal problems again.” He shot a stern look at his friends, but when he saw Tifa take a step back, he quickly looked away and softened his posture. She hadn’t seen his eyes yet, and that little display had probably just freaked her out. “I’m sorry.” He continued, making sure his voice wasn't harsh. “You had all moved on with your lives, and I just never figured out how to do the same. I was bored, and when I saw Sephiroth I got excited to have something to do again, so I went at it alone.”
Cid bit down on his cigarette while exchanging a few awkward looks between Barret, Tifa and Nanaki. “Then what? You beat him up and got cold feet finishing the job or somethin’?”
“I…” Cloud stammered, recalling the embarrassing outcome of his initial altercation with Sephiroth. “No, I got my ass kicked.”
“I merely incapacitated you.” Sephiroth kindly recounted. “And then I sought out shelter for us, and proceeded to provide you excellent hospitality.”
It dawned on him that he never really asked about what happened while he was unconscious during that time, he'd have to pry about that later. “I’m not sure if I would consider being knocked out, dragged into some cave, given a rodent to eat and then thrown out into the pouring rain ‘excellent’ hospitality.”
Sephiroth tilted his head to one side and regarded Cloud quizzicaly. “There was a little more to that story.”
Cloud traced the faint outline of the burn scar he had inflicted upon Sephiroth’s face that night. “Yeah, I was being a dick, and you just wanted to talk.” He brushed away a few unruly bangs as he hesitantly turned to face his friends again, this time making sure he was presenting himself as calmly as possible. “So I listened.”
Cid chewed on his cigarette for a moment before responding. “That’s it, huh? Some chatter is all it took for you to welcome Sephiroth with open arms? Well, I guess in your case, it was open legs.”
“It's not-” Cloud started, completely taken aback by the comment. “It’s not like that. It’s…” He tried to explain, but found himself at a loss for words.
“Perhaps it would be best if you stopped talking.” Nanaki advised Cid in a wise voice as he walked past him and approached the fallen duo.
It had been a while since Cloud had seen Nanaki, and the return of his ‘serious’ voice almost made him crack a smile. It occurred to him, though, that if Nanaki had stopped by for a visit, he likely picked up on Sephiroth’s scent and alerted the group.
“I just wanted to give him a chance, okay? That's it.” Cloud explained.
Before Cid could interject, Barret cut in with his own question. “And what made you suddenly have a change of heart?”
“It wasn’t really sudden.” Cloud responded after a deep breath, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. He’d apparently zoned out for a bit too long, though, as Barret loudly cleared his throat at him.
“You ‘gonna elaborate on that?” Barret pressed on.
“I guess I just started feeling guilty.” Cloud wanted to say something else, anything that didn’t make it sound like Sephiroth had guilt-tripped him into a relationship. As much as Cloud wanted to refute that idea, he doubted things would have gotten to where they were now if he hadn’t been feeling remorseful over his past actions. “I know that doesn’t sound great, but stuff just wasn’t sitting right with me. Loz, Yazoo, Kadaj. We just kind of wrote them off, but they were pieces of Sephiroth, and they weren’t really what you’d expect from him, y’know?”
Cloud looked up to see if his friends were following his sentiment, but their wary expressions suggested otherwise. “It just made me think there was more to that whole situation than some dumb plan for revenge and world destruction. Maybe Sephiroth wasn’t really the one driving, and-” He took a moment to release a pent-up breath before continuing. “-Maybe I’ve been killing someone who just needed help. The way I needed help from you guys.”
However things shook out that night, Cloud was relieved to finally get the weight of telling his friends about Sephiroth off of his shoulders. He knew there was still a lot more to do to regain his friend’s trust, and if the prolonged silence from them was any indication, convincing them that Sephiroth was now an ally was still going to be an uphill battle.
Tifa was the first to speak out. “You never said anything…” Her voice was timid and filled with concern. It was a tone Cloud had heard many times during their journeys, and was one she only seemed to use around him.
“Can you really blame me?”
“Cloud, you know you can always talk to us.”
There was a moment where the calm composure he’d been trying to maintain shifted to one of annoyance as he recalled Tifa’s less than enthusiastic reaction when he had brought up the topic of Sephiroth to her the prior week. “I kept it to myself because I didn’t think that was something any of you wanted to hear.” He narrowed his brow slightly at Tifa, still trying to not come off as angry or threatening, but to make it clear he was serious. “I don’t think I was wrong in believing that.”
Tifa opened her mouth to respond, but slunk back and reluctantly nodded. “No, I didn’t want to hear about him again.”
Scratching his stubble, Cid nodded with Tifa in agreement. “I probably would have told you to shut ‘yer trap and forget about him.”
“How long has this troubled you?” Nanaki inquired.
“A couple of years, about? It wasn’t long after the whole Geostigma thing happened.”
“Shit, Cloud, you should have said something.” Barret exclaimed, pressing his hand against his forehead. “Even if you thought we'd give you the cold shoulder. At least we'd have known you were going through a hard time. Keeping yourself all pent-up ain't good for you, and you know that.”
Cloud flinched at Barrett's words. He did know that. Closing himself off from everyone is what got him, and those he cared for, into trouble years back. When he woke up in that church after brushing with death, (or actually dying, he wasn’t entirely sure anymore), and saw that all of his friends were by his side, he knew that he had to make an effort to be more open with everyone. And for the most part, he was, but there was a difference between admitting feeling responsible for the deaths of cherished friends, and thinking that a hated foe, who caused them all immense pain, didn’t deserve the retribution he’d received.
“I just found my own way to cope without dragging any of you into it.” Cloud ruefully remarked. “When Sephiroth came back again, I thought about contacting you all, and I almost did. But-” He grimaced as he considered his words. “I think I’m glad I didn’t, because I don’t think things would have turned out the same.”
Extending his lanky wing, Cloud gently used the bony fingers to straighten a few ruffled feathers on Sephiroth's wing that had gotten bent out of shape when Cid scuffed it with his boot. He peered back down at Sephiroth, who was still maintaining a serene smile. “Considering my track record against you, I figured I’d be fine. I don’t even know what I would have done if you hadn’t kicked my ass. Pretty sure I said I’d kill you.”
“I do not think you were committed to that idea.” Sephiroth commented.
“It’s not like you really gave me the opportunity.”
“No, but I could sense your lack of conviction.”
“I was just, bored, and I saw a way to not be bored anymore, so I just went in without really thinking. And…I didn’t win, and, you didn’t kill me. You just wanted to talk, and I decided to listen.” Cloud brought his wing back to his chest, but instead of tucking it over his shoulder, he wrapped it around his body like a blanket. “If I told you guys first, I probably wouldn’t have given Sephiroth a chance.”
His friends exchanged concerned looks with one another, as if some sort of hidden conversation was being held between them. Within a few moments, it appeared that an unspoken consensus had been reached as Barret veered his head back, audibly groaned, and took a step forward. “Care to enlighten us on why you think he deserves one?” He gruffly asked.
Cloud thought about responding, but instead nudged his head towards Sephiroth. “You want to tell them?”
“I would prefer if this particular conversation was held someplace less…” Sephiroth’s eyes trailed across the dilapidated surroundings, and settled on his lengthy hair, now sprawled across the dirt. “Unpleasant.”
Barret frowned. “How about you give us the short version for now.”
“I had limited control over my actions for a very long time.”
“He wasn’t the one driving.” Cloud added.
Cid cocked an eyebrow. “That’s going to be a hard sell.”
“Is it really that hard to believe?” Cloud countered, eyeing Cid.
“I mean, yeah.”
“You guys believed me.”
“It was pretty obvious you weren’t acting right.” Barret retorted.
“And it should have been obvious to me that Sephiroth wasn’t himself.” Cloud snapped back. “You guys didn’t know him before, I did.”
“Cloud…” Tifa said gently. “You’re not being fair to yourself.”
“No one tried to help him! Not Zack, not me, not anyone he knew!” Cloud exclaimed as his voice grew louder. “It was obvious something was wrong, but everyone just turned a blind eye until shit hit the fan. I-” His words got caught up in his throat as Sephiroth‘s long flight feathers rested across his shoulders. “...I needed to give you a chance.”
“Ever think that you've got too big a heart, kid?” Cid said as he rummaged through his pocket for a fresh pack of cigarettes.
Turning his attention back to his friends, Cloud took a moment to draw in a lengthy, unsure breath before going on. “I don’t expect any of you to do the same, just please understand where I’m coming from.”
Cid rolled his eyes, clearly unmoved by Cloud’s explanation. “It's not like we really have any choice.” He remarked with a dull sigh.
Cloud hesitated, cautiously observing his friends. “...What do you mean?” He asked tentatively.
“Look at it from our perspective. You and Sephiroth are fuckin' around. That's not exactly something we can, in any sort of good conscience, choose to ignore.” Cid took out a cigarette and tapped it on the box. “If we're not on board with thinking silver-hair here is reformed, what the fuck are we gonna do? Try to separate you two?” He scoffed. “Yeah, like that's gonna happen. Ya noticed we aren’t exactly packin’ any weapons, right?”
“I…yeah.”
“We didn’t bring any weapons because we had no intention of starting up anything.” Barret angrily seethed through his teeth as he glared, with an equally angry expression, at Cid.
“We didn’t bring any weapons because there’d be no fuckin’ point.” Cid spat back. “Ain’t no fuckin’ way we stand a rat’s ass of a chance against the both of them.”
“Cid!” Tifa yelled. “We talked about this!”
“Yeah, I know, don’t make Cloud uncomfortable and all that. Fuck that, I’m not going to pussyfoot around this.” Cid pulled out a lighter and clicked away at the spark wheel. “What the heck were you planning if we don’t go along with your sob story?” He directed towards Cloud.
“I don’t know.” Cloud murmured as his posture shrank. What he had assumed was a peaceful gesture was in fact an admission of helplessness. As much as it pained him to admit it, his friends were effectively at his mercy, and the very thought that they may feel threatened by him made his stomach twist. “I would never hurt any of you...never. I don’t know what I would do, I don’t want to have to choose between any of you…” He managed to stutter, tears welling up in his eyes.
“It is pertinent to mention that Cloud very much wanted to inform all of you of my return to the living.” Sephiroth spoke up as he placed a finger under Cloud’s chin and lightly ran his thumb across it. “His choice to withhold information regarding our, collaboration, was not born out of secrecy, but out of care and concern for your wellbeing.” He looked towards the group. “The time I have spent with Cloud has let me see just how fond he is of all of you, and from your presence here, I can tell that the feeling is reciprocated.”
Barret watched Cloud with tired eyes. “Save the waterworks.” He chided. “We ain’t afraid of you, Cid’s just being an ass.”
“I was asking important questions.”
“You are being an ass.” Barret’s voice boomed as he glared down at Cid, his fierce eyes a stern warning to cut with the crap. “As I was saying.” He turned his attention back to Cloud. “We just came here to find out what the heck you were thinkin’, and now you’re sobbing and Sephiroth here jabbering about feelings. We know you ain’t hurtin’ anyone, and we know you’ve never been any good at thinking things through. Take it you just went on a crazy ride and are still figuring out where the breaks are.”
A ghost of a smile graced Cloud’s lips as his chin rested on top of Sephiroth’s finger. “I was scared that you wouldn’t believe me, and scared that I’d lose you guys as friends. Every time I thought I knew what to say, something happened that put me back at square one. That’s why we went to the colosseum tonight. Sephiroth thought it would be fun, and it would put me on the spot to tell you guys. We were on our way back home…” He paused for a moment, wondering if the bar was really the place he called home, now. “On our way to the bar-” He corrected. “-to see you guys, but I guess I should have figured you’d hear about it before we got there.”
“You sure about that? It looked like you two were about to-” Before Cid could finish speaking, Barret cut him off with a swift elbow to his stomach.
Cloud meekly grinned while he watched Cid catch his breath. “Yeah, we had a good time, but we were headed over to tell you guys.”
“I can assure you it was going to be the first destination.” Sephiroth insisted with a knavish grin.
“First?” Barret leered down at the two of them. “You had other plans?”
“I’m…” Cid started as a labored cough disrupted his sentence. “...pretty sure we can make a wild guess on what those were.”
“Kid’s pouring out his heart and all you can talk about is his private life. I could have sworn we agreed to keep that sort of conversation to a minimum before coming here.”
“Look, Cloud ain’t exactly the player type, I’m just trying to figure out how things went as far as they did.”
“It’s…” Cloud rubbed away a few tears that had slid down his cheeks. “It’s okay guys.” He said as his face brightened into a mousy smile. “We talked, had some drinks, spent time together, and things just kinda progressed from there.”
“Just how long have you two been seeing each other?” Cid asked while keeping a watchful eye on Barret. “We’ve only been tailing you two for about a week.”
“Think it’s been about two weeks?”
Cid nearly lost his cigarette as his jaw dropped. “Sounds like they progressed pretty fuckin’ fast, then.”
Cloud could feel his cheeks reddening. “It uh…”
“Our relationship progressed at an appropriate rate for us.” Sephiroth responded coolly.
“Guessing silverlocks here scratched a few, uh, itches you had. You two really seemed to enjoy going at it earlier.” Cid took a thoughtful drag from his cigarette. “I mean, I wanted to enjoy watching you two tonight, you showed off some impressive moves. Did a number on that lizard. Couldn't really get past the fact that you both were giving each other bedroom eyes the entire time, though.” He paused. “Still are.”
“Speaking of eyes-” Barret squinted at Cloud. “T’hecks wrong with yours?”
Cloud frowned. He knew his newly acquired features were going to be a point of conversation, but it didn’t make it any less uncomfortable to have his friends thinking something wasn’t quite right with him. “Nothing.”
Barret gave him a skeptical look. “They weren't like that before.”
“That's just how they are now.”
“Did uh-”
“No, Sephiroth didn't do this to me.” Cloud interrupted. “A lot’s happened in the past couple weeks, and I don’t really have any answers for it, but I know he's not responsible for any of it.”
“What makes you so sure?” Cid asked while eying Cloud suspiciously.
“I just know, okay? He’s not here to start anything.” Cloud recoiled as Nanaki’s nose was abruptly shoved into his face. “Guessing you’re the one who tipped everyone off about Seph, huh?” He said as he pushed the snuffling snout away from him.
“Your scent is different from what I recall.” Nanaki stated plainly.
“...I changed shampoos?” Cloud responded, not sure what to make of the odd statement.
“And you are?” Sephiroth inquired while tilting his head away from Nanaki’s prying nose.
Nanaki appeared puzzled for a moment, before taking a step back and sitting down. “How curious. Your scent is not quite as I remember, either.” He informed Sephiroth before turning to face Cloud. “No, I came here to verify if Sephiroth had been recently present in these premises. Tifa was the first to alert us.”
“Tifa…?” Cloud took a moment and ran through all the possible instances where Tifa could have found him out. Did asking her about Sephiroth during their outing at the church make her suspicious? “When did you find out?”
Tifa’s expression flattened. “Did you really think a 9-year-old could keep a secret?”
Cloud chuckled quietly as he leaned back onto Sephiroth's legs. “So he turned me in, huh?”
“Not quite. Denzel just isn’t exactly quiet when he’s excited about something, and I happened to hear him telling Marlene about seeing you and Sephiroth out in that demolished part of the city he’s not supposed to go into.”
“Does he know?”
“That I overheard him? No.” Tifa crossed her arms and sighed before looking off into the distance. “I should be apologizing. I should have asked you about it, instead of going behind your back.” She confessed, her eyes drifting to the ground. “I…was scared too.”
“We all made some stupid choices.” Barret chimed in, casting a sidelong glance at Cid, before placing a reassuring hand on Tifa's shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. You too, Cloud.”
“I’m…” Cloud looked directly at Tifa. “I’m sorry I gave you all a scare.”
Tifa hesitated, opening her mouth to speak, but then turned away from Cloud. "We'll figure this out, okay?"
Cloud's shoulders drooped. "Yeah, sure."
“We gonna spend all night circle jerking each other for apologies?” Cid crudely interjected, flicking his burnt-up cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his boot.
“What is your damn problem tonight?” Barret grumbled.
Cid thought for a moment, his eyes filled with cynicism as he studied Barret. Cloud tensed, worried that another argument might break out. However, Cid's stance relaxed, and he waved his hand at Barret in a dismissive manner. "No problem. Carry on."
Nanaki loudly cleared his throat. “We have been standing long enough in the cold.” He stated, walking in between Barret and Cid, his fiery tail flicking about. “Why don’t we head back?”
“Cold? You’ve got a built-in torch on your ass.” Barret joked, already seeming to have moved past his dispute with Cid.
Tifa looked hesitant for a moment, but nodded. “Yeah, let’s head back.”
Cloud was relieved to see that at least some of his friends appeared to be in good spirits. There was still a lot he needed to tell them, but the hardest part was now out of the way.
“You can let your boyfriend get up, by the way.” Cid remarked with a wry grin as he started to walk off. “It’s cute and all that you want to show us that you tamed him.”
Cloud silently mouthed another apology to Sephiroth before standing up and extending a hand to help him. Sephiroth accepted the gesture graciously, rising to his feet and taking a moment to brush off any dirt and straighten his wing.
It was still strange seeing Sephiroth's ethereal beauty marred by things like dirt and fatigue, considering he seemed impervious to such things during their prior altercations, Cloud thought to himself while picking out some leaves tangled in Sephiroth’s hair. Even his friends appeared perplexed at the sight of Sephiroth preening himself.
“Princess doesn’t like dirt?” Cloud quietly teased, unable to help himself from poking some fun at Sephiroth’s excessive grooming. He apparently hadn’t been quiet enough, however, as Cid stopped and snickered at them.
“Princess?”
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. “Is there a problem?”
“What’s that make you, Cloud? His knight in shining armor?” Cid cackled.
“Cid…” Cloud groaned, not wanting to hear another one of Cid’s antics.
“You name all the mangy strays you pick up Princess?” Cid persisted.
Cloud winced at the question, mortified at the thought of trying to explain ‘Cataroth’ to his friends.
Sephiroth’s head glided towards Cloud, his face creasing into a knowing smile. “And what stray is he referring to?”
There was a moment of hesitation in his response, but as Sephiroth's devilish eyes gleamed upon him, he couldn't help but return the look with a cocky grin of his own. “A dumb cat I found out in the middle of nowhere.”
“And would you describe that cat as mangy?”
“I recall describing it as a giant pain in the ass.”
“Is that so?” Sephiroth leaned in, his face was now alight with the same mischievous malice Cloud had seen right before being generously gifted with chocobo feathers.
“Think I called it spoiled, too.” He continued to goad, while trying his best to keep a straight face. From the corner of his eye, he could see his friends looking on in confusion.
“Uh, there something we’re missing?” Barret asked, bunching his thick brows.
“It’s nothing.” Sephiroth nonchalantly replied, turning his attention back to the group and putting his arms out in a welcoming gesture. “It is a pleasure to meet you all under less, stressful, circumstances. Thank you, for hearing Cloud out.”
“Let’s be clear.” Barret said sternly as he squared up to Sephiroth, nearly matching his height. “We’re doing this for Cloud. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that none of us here have a lick of trust in you.” He pivoted abruptly and started walking down the path back to Edge. “Maybe we’ll eventually see what Cloud sees in you, but right now, we ain’t your friend.”
“Ah, so it’s okay for you to be an ass to ‘em.” Cid remarked, clearly trying to start something again. However, his snarky expression faded as his taunt didn’t get any sort of reaction out of Barret, who continued his trudge forward.
Tifa watched Cloud for a moment before turning to follow Berret. She wore a smile, yet a sad aura lingered in her eyes. She stopped and said something to Cid, but the words were too quiet for Cloud to make out. If Cid’s scowl was any indication, though, it was probably nothing too nice.
“Shall we follow?” Sephiroth asked while placing a comforting hand on Cloud.
“I…” Cloud started, but didn’t know how to continue. Sephiroth’s question faded off into the distance as he once again found himself in a mixed state of emotions.
Cid’s accusations irked him, but as unsettling as they were, they at least came off as honest. The fact that his friends had discussed how they would talk to him prior to coming here made him wonder how genuine everyone was actually being. And although his friends hadn't mentioned Aerith, he could sense the topic resting heavily on their tongues. He quietly hoped that it wouldn’t ever have to come up, but he knew that was wishful thinking.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth spoke up.
“Sorry about all that.” Cloud answered, placing his hand on Sephiroth’s. “My friends, they’re really nice, just…”
“You need not apologize.” Sephiroth reassured Cloud with a gentle laugh. “They are understandably cautious, that was to be expected.”
“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I like that you need to go through this.”
Sephiroth nudged Cloud forward. “Your friends are waiting.”
Sure enough, the group had stopped up ahead, and if their crossed arms and foot tapping was any indication, seemed to be impatiently waiting on them.
“Need your boyfriend to carry you?” Cid called out.
“I can surely accommodate that request.” Sephiroth said with a snide grin as he swept Cloud off his feet for the second time that night.
While his first instinct was to protest, Cloud instead found himself sinking into Sephiroth’s arms. Perhaps he was tired from the emotional toll the evening had dolled onto him, or perhaps it was the adoration in Sephiroth's eyes that lulled him into this unusual compliance.
Cloud gently grasped a lock of Sephiroth's silver hair, absentmindedly caressing the strands while he took in Sephiroth’s scent, which was oddly still pleasant even after everything they’d been through that night. It was soothing, being coddled like this. Sephiroth always seemed to have a way to calm him down, be it stroking his hair, knowing just what to say, or, in this case, toting him around.
He hesitated getting too comfortable, though. Despite everything that just happened with his friends, the events of that night were still lingering on his mind, and the desire to get back to the fondling he was receiving earlier was an intrusive thought that he was having a hard time shaking.
As they caught up with the group, Cloud once again reflected on his unusual behavior. He had displayed more public affection this evening than in his entire lifetime. Really, up until this point, the most he’d ever shown when around others were some caring words, and at most a hug. Yet, tonight, he had brazenly flirted, allowed himself to be casually manhandled, and kissed in front of an audience. He should have been dying of humiliation, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care about that.
“I was joking.” Cid said, giving Cloud an odd look from over his shoulder.
Cloud responded by casually flipping him off before turning his attention to the distant city lights of Edge. Cid wasn’t the only one of his friends giving him sideways glances, and while it pained him to think that they didn’t fully trust him anymore, he couldn't blame them for being suspicious. He wasn’t exactly acting like his usual self, and with Sephiroth being involved, it only made sense for them to suspect he was somehow responsible for his odd behavior.
Well, he was responsible, Cloud thought, grinning to himself. Just not in a malevolent way.
Maybe Cid was right, maybe his heart was a bit too big if he could simply look past everything that happened and find comfort in Sephiroth’s embrace. He was tired, though. Tired of bearing a grudge, tired of holding onto his hatred, and tired of burying his fond memories of Sephiroth all in some hope that it would let him forget the guilt he’d been carrying for ages. He now had the opportunity to reclaim the life that was taken from him so many years ago, and he wasn’t going to allow any past grievances to squander that opportunity.
Cloud had found happiness. At least, he was pretty sure he had, and he wanted to keep it that way.
