Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cloud felt warm. Warmer than he had in a long time, the kind of warmth you feel when you first wake up in the morning and have to go to work, but you're so tired and bed feels like heaven...where was he going with this again?

The blond stirred, fighting against the dreggs of sleep that addled his mind. In a moment everything snapped into focus. Green, there was green everywhere. The lifestreem? Did he die? No, he didn't remember dying. He searched through his memories in an attempt to remember what happened. He had dinner with Denzel and Tifa while Marlene was out with Barret. He had made that chicken risotto he was so proud of, and Denzel had eaten every bite. He shook his head slightly, he was getting off topic. Damn it, everything was fuzzy again.

Before long, everything started burning. It was a cold, icy burn, the same one that haunted his dreams, alongside a madmans laughter and visions of fire. He was submerged in mako. He was in a tube in some creepy lab, again! He opened his glowing blue eyes and desperately peered out, searching for an exit his mind knew wouldn't be there. He slammed his fists into the walls of his tank, praying the reinforced glass would break before his resolve did.

He was so panicked that he barely registered the tube draining until it was down past his shoulders. He gripped his face mask with a shaky hand and tore it off before anyone had the chance to gas him. He felt the last of the mako pool at his bare feet as it drained away into the base of his tiny prison.

The door drew open with a hiss, and a wave of fear crashed over him. What if it was Hojo? Was he coming to strap him to the operating table again? He immediately waved the thought away, Hojo was dead, he couldn't hurt him or anyone else ever again.

He stumbled out onto the floor and looked around. He didn't see anyone, which was good. It'd be hard to fight in the situation he was in. Covered in mako, with nothing on his person but a pair of white scrubs.

He started digging around to find some clothes, a weapon, anything. The blond found his clothes in a series of sealed bags covered in what looked to be a layer of dust. How long had he been in here? Cloud managed to find an emergency shower and gratefully went to work scrubbing the mako off before putting on his own clothes.

Cloud let out a sigh, feeling better the moment he was out of the shower. He left the area and went to look for a weapon but froze when he heard a shuffle. The swordsman whirled around, finding a small silver haired child. A clone?

He kneeled down so that he was eye level with the boy, who looked remarkably like Kadaj, but with blue cat eyes and softer features. The boy had blood around his mouth, it splattered up the side of his face and down past the neckline of his hospital gown. "Are you the one that freed me?" The blond asked gently.

The tiny silverette nodded mutely and reached out and grabbed his hand. "This way." Cloud blinked, but followed the child anyway, hunching over to accommodate the child's lack of height. The child flittered through narrow stone passageways, dodging tall weeds and rubble. Cloud noted that they were likely underground somewhere.

The child stopped dead in front of an open doorway, "Please don't be mad."

Then went in, letting go of Clouds hand in the prossess. The blond swordsman went in and flinched back, the smell of blood was so strong. He looked to the source, a scientist in a lab coat, who by the looks of it, got his throat ripped out by the kids teeth. But that wasn't what concerned him.

What concerned him was the dozen pods, eleven of which had little kids floating in mako. He cursed under his breath and ran over to begin draining the tanks. "Hey, kid. What's your name?" He asked, fidgeting with the controls. "0. 8. 4. 8." The kid said quietly, his voice raspy, weather it be from crying or disuse, Cloud wasn't sure.

Cloud felt hot rage burn through him. How dare they do this to a child! And to label him as a mere number... he quickly beat it down, no need to scare the kid. "That won't do. When we get out, I'll make sure you all have proper names." He breathed out a sigh or relief as the tanks started draining. "Are there anymore scientists?"

"No, it's just him. He's scared of the director." The tiny voice replied. "He doesn't want anyone to know about us until he presents us to the president."

"The president?" He asked wearily, the last thing the world needed was another Shinra wannabe screwing around.

"Yeah! President Shinra! He was gonna present us today!" The kid spoke excitedly. ....What? Rufus was involved? In this?! So much for Neo-Shinra being different from it's predecessor. When he got his hands on that slimy..."...Deep breath Strife..." he reminded himself.

"Hmm?"

"It's nothing." He replied as the doors hissed open.

"Hey, mother?" Cloud froze, could this kid already hear Jenova? That shouldn't be possible-but if it was...

"I've always wanted to tell you this, but you were too busy sleeping in the mako, but you're reeaally pretty mother!" The kid latched onto his leg and it clicked. He was 'mother'. Oh no.

"Urm-thanks, uh," he decided to come up for a name for him on the fly, "Saiph." The name basically fell out of his mouth. He looked so much like Sephiroth. "Yeah, Saiph Strife. Has a ring to it, doesn't it?" Now, to loot the corpse.

He set aside the child and searched the scientist. Bingo! He scored a few thousand gil and a set of keys. He walked over to the kids and started plucking them out and taking them to the showers two at a time.

After drying them off with some spare lab coats, he packed them in a makeshift bag made out of some old netting and climbing ivy. He packed whatever medical supplies he found and downloaded everything on the computers to some flash drives he found to examine later.

With a sigh he put thier hospital gowns on horizontally, tying them off into little skirts. Cloud wasn't sure if he should be concerned or grateful that none of the children woke up, even after being strapped into the dead guys truck. There wasn't enough room for them in the cab, so he'd have to improvise. The blond sighed, brushing equally blond locks out of a kids face, this one looked just like him, a clone maybe? But, his eye shape looked different. He strapped the kids in with vines from the nearby flora, good thing they were in a jungle or he didn't know what they'd do.

He hopped into the drivers seat with little Saiph mirroring him in the passenger seat. Oh gods, he was already bonding with him.

He started up the truck and eased onto the gas, wanting to be gentle with his passengers on the unfamiliar dirt road.

Luckily there didn't seem to be any monsters around, which was rare since Shinras fall from power. Not as many SOLDIERS to take care of monster problems, and the few that were left were either in the W.R.O. or high priced mercenaries. He flexed his gloved fingers, missing the feel of Fenrir's handles in his hands and the solid comforting weight of First Tsurugi on his back.

"Mother are you alright?" The child asked, sounding entirely too old for his age.

"Yeah I'm fine. You don't have to be so formal Saiph." He joked, "Why do you keep calling me that anyway?"

"It's what we always called you. Doctor Xander said you're our mom." The child hummed toughtfully. Cloud nearly hit the breaks, they were all his? By the Planet! "But I'm a guy, shouldn't I be your Father?"

Saiph paused, "We already have a father."

Clouds heart sank, he really hoped he wasn't going to say it. "Who?"

"Sephiroth."

The blond took a deep stuttering breath and let it out slowly. "I can never catch a break."

"Can we meet Father?" Saiph stared at him with those big doe eyes, pulling the most overused parent response out of him, "We'll see."

Saiph hummed, but Cloud could tell he was excited. Cloud was too busy freaking out about more casual things, unlike having your thrice-over dead nemesiss' children and running away with them. Mundane things like clothes, shoes, toothpaste, hair brushes, he doesn't have enough gil.

If he bought a sword he'd leave the kids basically nude and neglect thier needs.

If he bought the nessities he wouldn't be able to defend the kids when they were enviably attacked.

Cloud sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. Wishing for an answer to his problem.

"Why are you upset?" Siaph inquired politely.

"I need a sword, but you guys need clothes. I only have enough money for one."

Siaphs face scrunched in confusion, "You have a sword. I packed it with the other stuff in the back. "Oh thank gods!"

He didn't even care if it wasn't First Tsurugi, he'd settle for a regular broadsword at this point. "That solves that problem. Now to find a town before we run out of gas."

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Cloud stopped in the first town he saw, which happened to be Gongaga, of all places. He left the truck parked a few miles out of town and gave Saiph specific instructions on what to tell the others when they woke. He spent a small fortune on children's clothes and shoes and got all the basic hygiene supplies. By the end of it he had 38 gil to his name. Oh the joys of parenthood.

He was nearing the thick foliage where he hid the truck when he heard a very adult voice holding a conversation with Saiph. Cloud panicked and sprinted the rest of the way there, jumping between his (now very awake and startled) kids and this strange man.

"Who are you? What do you want with my kids?" He hissed, his heart was pounding in his chest. He was unarmed against a man tree times his size. Not to mention the giant, and very familiar, sword on his back.

"Mother!" Saiph exclaimed gleefully, which prompted the others to follow suit with thier own cheers.

The man rose an eyebrow, "Mother?"

"It's complicated," he shot back, "and none of your business."

The man gave the weakest glare Cloud had ever seen, "You have a bunch of nearly naked children in a truck hidden in the jungle. I'll make it my business."

Okay, he had a point, "Saiph. Do you know how to dress yourself?"

"Um, I can figure it out?" Came the silverettes hesitant reply.

"I'll help. Then we'll talk with Mr. Tough Guy." He moved to help, smirking at the mans indignant noise. Once he was done essentially dressing his kids he turned back to the man and before he could get a word in asked, "Where did you get that sword?"

The brunette blinked owlishly, "It was forged by my father, and represents my families honor. Why?"

"It...It looked familiar." Cloud replied cautiously, he's had fanboys play SOLDIER before and try to win his approval by doing stupid things, like making buster sword and First Tsurugi look-alikes and attacking powerful monsters head on.

"Are you going to explain?" The man gestured to the children.

"I was kidnapped by Shinra again and they made clone babies of me and Sephiroth." He shrugged, it was no big deal. Everyone knew Shinra was corrupt as hell. They knew about everything, AVALANCHE made sure of it.

"A-Again?!" The mans voice broke.

"Yep." Cloud put a hand on his hip, "They really need to stop trying to clone Sephiroth. It never ends well." He replied flippantly, as though they were talking about the weather.

The man was silent for a moment, his arms crossed, "We need to tell him."

"Who?"

"Sephiroth, of course! He deserves to know, besides he's always wanted children."

Clouds eyebrows shot into his hairline, so he was one of those. Batshit insane. "Yeah, you do that." Cloud hopped it into the truck as fast as his enhancements allowed and shouted "Hold on!" Causing the kids to grab anything they could as he floored it, leaving the nutcase on the side of the road.

Angeal stared after them, gobsmacked, before pulling out his phone and dialing a number, "Seph, we have a situation."

Chapter Text

Cloud couldn't believe this! He had always wanted a family, but not like this. He didn't even know how old these kids were, they were all under ten though. Saiph was the oldest and looked to be eight years old, while the youngest looked to be about two or three. How long had he been in that tube?

The blond smiled when he heard the crackle of a fireball hitting one of the wooden dummies, "Good job, Saiph! You too Mist! Keep up the good work!" He decided it was best not to think about it.

Mist let out a happy sound at being praised and happily showed her siblings the odd cat sculpture she had made with the ice materia. At least, Cloud thought it was a cat.

He had slowly been coming up with names for them, he loosely decided that the silverettes would be named after stars and the blonds like him would be named after the weather. He desperately wanted to get back to Edge soon so that he could care for them better.

All too soon he felt that familiar tingling in the back of his head, the almost obscene joy the Jenova cells produced when calling for Reunion.

Sephiroth was near.

He didn't even know how that was possible! Sephiroth was dead and there were no remaining pieces of Jenova left to revive him. Was it his imagination?

"Time to pack it up, kids! We need to find shelter before the rain starts!" He felt kinda like a tired soccer mom as the kids filed into the truck. He really was worried about the rain, his enhancements ensured he didn't fall ill easily, but these were just children, and they couldn't afford any of them getting sick while they were on the run.

He felt the call grow louder in his head as he turned the ignition, he even saw some of the kids turn thier heads to look off torwards the west. Okay, not his imagination. He shot a look over to where the kids were staring and prayed it wasn't what he thought it was.

It was. He was already speeding down the dirt road as a Shinra helicopter appeared from beyond the treeline. They had been spotted. "Shit." He muttered.

"You're not supposed to say that word." Saiph helpfully informed.

"Thank you for telling me," he said sweetly, "I'll try not to do it again."

He glances at the copter in the review mirror, noting that it was following at a distance, but making no moves against them. The Turks were likely given orders not to harm them then. But that didn't explain why they had the Shinra logo on instead of Rufus's Neo-Shinra. Was it a ploy to divert attention away from Neo-Shinra by saying it was some kind of Shinra loyalist? There were people who wanted to go back to the days of the more efficient mako power, but they were few and far between.

Cloud sighed, they were coming out of the thick foliage and into flat open plains, thier truck would run out of gas before they made it to another town. They would have to stop and refill with the canister he stole back in Gongaga. He prayed Zacks spirit wouldn't be too angry at him for stealing from his fellow townsfolk. He was still kinda shocked that they bounced back from the reactor explosion.

He began to slow down, before pulling off the the side. The kids were looking at him curiously as he unblocked his seat belt and hopped out of the cab.

Cloud glared at the helicopter as it came down for a landing. Might as well fight them now before they didn't have a choice. He reached for the large bundle that Saiph had referred to earlier and had to fight down a smile. He was so glad to have First Tsurugi back.

He didn't have his harness anymore so he would have to settle with holding his sword for now. The blond watched as the side door of the helicopter opened and his heart dropped. There stood the general, his long silver hair elegantly whipping in the wind sturred up by helicopters blades.

Sephiroths gaze flicked torwards him, then the children, who were peering out the windows of his truck. Cloud decided he didn't like the way his eyes lit up when he saw them. What wicked scheme did that cat bastard have planned for his babies?!

The Shinra general made it half way to the truck before he had to draw Masamune. First Tsurugi grinded against the oversized katana, shedding sparks as thier wielders faced one another.

Cloud felt a spark of anger in his chest. This may not be Sephiroth, but he was definitely holding back. His strikes and blocks were as flawless as the real deal, but they barely had any power behind them. That was fine, Cloud didn't either. He didn't want to hurt the poor fool.

Sephiroth lept back before analyzing the blond warrior before him, "Are you...the mother?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes,  "I am, and I won't let you hurt them, you bastard!" He lunged at the silverette once again, he was blocked twice before he split First Tsurugi and swung the large secondary blade, managing to strike Sephiroth in the ribs, knocking him onto his back. This was too easy, but Cloud wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Before he could land a finishing blow, he was startled by a mad cackle and jumped away just in time to dodge a single Fira. These people were seriously underestimating him.

A man in a long red coat stepped off the helicopter as Sephiroth dusted himself off, his previous wound already gone, leaving only a tear in his bloody trench coat to tell it was ever there.

"You should have seen the look on your face! To think, the great Sephiroth, layed out like a greenhorn cadet by a tiny blond!" The mystery man continued to cackle while the silverettes lips thined in agitation.

Cloud flicked his gaze back and forth between them. Who was this guy? And why isn't Sephiroth impaling him? "Who are you?" He asked. If it wasn't for the pull of Reunion he would say this guy was a fake, he was way to weak to be the demigod AVALANCHE fought in the northern crater. Though he didn't even know who the redhead was supposed to be.

The guy in the red coat went from mocking to offended so quickly it made Clouds head spin, "Do you truly not know who I am? I am Commander Rhapsodos, the Red Mage of Shinra."

Cloud cooked and eyebrow, "And you?" He gestured to the silverette. He saw Sephiroths eyes widen a fraction before they returned to normal. " I am Sephiroth, General of Shinras SOLDIER program. We wish to speak with you in regards to a report a SOLDIER made a few days ago." His eyes slid over to the truck as he spoke.

"You guys are SOLDIERS?" Cloud scoffed, one hand on his hip while the other kept his sword in a ready position.

"Of course, darling" the redhead purred, blatantly eyeing him.

He rolled his eyes "And I'm a chocobo. Go away." He spun on his heel and headed for his truck as the two gaped like fish, as if they weren't used to being called out. "Sephiroth would have been able to block that."

"It surprised me." The silverette defended.

"Uh huh." He snarked, opening the door. "Don't ever talk to me or my children again or ill strangle you with your own hair you overgrown cat bas-" he was interrupted by Saiph grappling onto Sephiroths leg in a full body hug. "Father!"

"Oh," Sephiroths features softened as he looked down at the child.

Cloud blinked, and promptly deflated, he knew he couldn't win against one pair of puppy-dog eyes, and here he was, facing eleven. "...what?"

"Can we please see father?" One asked, hands clasped out in front of him as though in prayer.

"Pwetty pwease?" Mist asked, too young to properly form the words.

"Uhh..." he stared into those glittering cat eyes and he knew he had lost, "...fine." he bowed his head in defeat as the kids cheered and raced out towards thier dad.

At least he got to enjoy the look of absolute panic on the bastards face as he was swarmed. Judging by the redheads laughter he wasn't the only one enjoying Sephiroths torment. Cloud winced as he saw a blond toddler yank on the generals hair.

He took a deep, calming breath and dived in, settling himself down amongst the children. "So. How do you wanna do this?"

Sephiroth blinked owlishly at him, "You'll...cooperate?"

"It's what's best for the kids. Trust me, I'd want nothing to do with you otherwise."

The not so fake Sephiroth nodded, "An admirable view."

He had seen the real Sephiroths face up close and personal too many times not to be able to tell, this was definitely him, or at least a clone that thought he was him. It probably helped that the S and J cells were singing away in his vains, that was kind of hard to ignore, and if he was a little closer to the general then absolutely nessisery, well, it was totally the Reunion call. He could even feel a strange, slightly off version of the pull coming from the redhead. Rhapsodos if he remembered right.

He was freed from his thoughts by the sound of Sephiroths voice, "I would like to take them back to Midgar, where they can be safe. If Wutai found out about them, or even you for that matter, you'd all be in danger."

Cloud crossed his arms, thinking about it. Wutai would never hurt him, he was friends with thier princess after all. But this Sephiroth didn't know that. Hopefully once he saw the state Midgar was in he'd wise up and he and the others could rehabilitate this clone. If they couldn't...well, he'd have one of the others take the kids out for ice cream while he takes out the general.

"And why would you care about me?" Cloud asked skeptically.

"You...you're the only other of my kind I'd met." He replied solemnly...well, as solemnly as one can get with a three year old trying to suck on your chin. Cloud absently noted that it was lunchtime. Not that it mattered to the youngest girl of his little clan, she had a habit of putting everything in her mouth.

"You're kind? I thought the red magician over there was a SOLDIER too?" He successfully fought down the smile from the commanders indignant squawk.

Sephiroth paused, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Youre eyes. They're like mine. A normal humans pupils are round."

Cloud felt like there was ice in his blood. When had his eyes changed? Where they green? How had he not noticed? He took in another deep breath. "We'll go with you. But you have to protect us and provide for the children."

"Deal!" The silverette said a little too quickly.

The redhead grinned, "Oh Turk," he sang, "we have a few new passengers."

He heard some grumbling from the copter but deemed the luggage from the truck more worthy of his attention. By the time he made it back to the helicopter with all thier items, the two men had gotten all the kids safely seated, Sephiroth was even holding the youngest ones in his lap. Rhapsodos, although unwilling to hold a child, was perfectly fine closing up the door and entertaining them with his poetry.

Reno turned around in the cockpit to face them, "Everyone good?"

Cloud stared for a few minutes, taking in the fact that Reno looked so young. They were already in the air when it finally clicked. SOLDIER, Shinra, Sephiroth...he was in the past.

And headed straight into the dragons den.

Chapter Text

Cloud sat with Saiph leaning against his side. The whole helicopter ride had taken a toll on all of them, but the children more than anyone needed a long nap. He and Sephiroth, whom he was now convinced was the real deal, had been talking quietly while they slept. The general and his commander had been appalled that they were given numbers in the place of names and wished to remedy that problem immediately.

The blond felt his chest grow a little warmer. He was glad that his children would have more caring parental figures. But first comes the hard stuff.

"Sephiroth. I need to tell you something, but you'll have to promise me you won't freak out, okay?"

The man in question quirked a silver eyebrow, "I woke up three days ago to one of my best friends telling me I might have children and I have yet to stop freaking out."

Cloud let out a short laugh, ignoring the shock of Sephiroth having friends, "Yeah, okay, but seriously. Have you ever heard the name Jenova?"

Sephiroth straitened up in his seat, "Yes, that's my mother's name."

"Sephiroth, she's not your mother."

The silverette looked so lost, and Cloud felt bad for him, "But- Hojo said-"

"Hojo lied. You're mothers name is Lucrecia Crescent. Your father is possibly a Turk named Vincent Valentine," he knew that caught the attention of the two turks who were clearly eavesdropping through the headsets and the suspiciously quiet Commander. "who was murdered by Hojo in Nabilhaim. He was going to put a stop to the Jenova project because it was going too far, so Hojo shot him in the chest. Hojo revived him and experimented on him, now he's locked up in a cell."

Cloud grabbed Sephiroths hand, attempting to ground him, "I have more information, but I want to wait until you're ready."

"Thank you." The general tilted his head forward, letting his silver hair curtain his face, hiding it from view. Cloud didn't think he'd ever seen the Silver General so vulnerable before.

Cloud began to rub his thumb across Sephiroths knuckle in a slow soothing motion, "Take your time. Go to your friends, I'm sure they will be there for you." He cooed softly. They stayed like that until the copter began it's decent onto the roof of the Shinra building.

Cloud woke Saiph first, smiling at his sleepy expression. It seemed Sephiroth was having similar feelings as he woke thier other children. The blond hoped he didn't have to fight for custody, it would likely come down to a sword fight and them running from Shinra for the rest of thier lives.

He gathered up his toddlers, placing one on both hips and walked out after Sephiroth and Rhapsodos, making sure his small army of Chicobos was following along as they made thier way into the tower.

The two Turks had already managed to disappear, and Cloud  was grateful, even for that small blessing.

"We need to be quick if we don't want to run into any of the directors. They've been anxious to meet you ever since the report came in." Rhapsodos droned, sounding annoyed, "Especially Hojo."

Cloud gulped, that was one nightmare he didn't want to repeat. But Hojo would die if he so much as looked at his babies.

"Probably because that scientist wasn't given clearance to use Sephiroths DNA or the Jenova cells." Cloud mused.

He caught Sephiroths confused look, "Jenova is a corpse of an unknown entity found and excavated from a classified location. It is through Jenova that you were enhanced. That's why you're coloring is so odd."

"So I'm...a mutant." He sounded small, and Cloud felt guilty for piling all this on him. "Yes, but so am I. All of our children are too. It doesn't make you any less human." He cooed, adjusting one of his sleeping blond toddlers so he didn't drop them.

Cloud did not enjoy the elevator ride down, even less so when he was told they were going to Sephiroths personal floor. Apparently the general has three guest rooms that he never uses, which Cloud mused would be great for the children, boys in one room, girls in another, and he could sleep with the toddlers.

As much as he dispised the idea of rooming with Sephiroth of all people, he didn't really have a lot of choices. So he'd suck it up for the kids.

The general swiped his I.D. through the cardreader and ushered the children and their mother inside. He said something to Rhapsodos, who gave a theatrical bow and a few parting words that Cloud didn't quite catch. Something about an angel?

The silverette let the door click shut and silence reigned for a few short moments.

"So how do you wanna do this? Hours? Days?" Cloud started, "I don't think I can handle more that a week."

Sephiroth stared at him, "What do you mean?"

"The custody arrangement. Did you think I would just abandon them?" He sneered.

Sephiroth stared at him a little longer this time, and it took all of Clouds self control not to fidget, "No. I suppose I thought you would stay here with us."

"What self respecting job could I possibly get in Midgar?" He absolutely refused to be a secretary, and if he had it his way, the kids would never have to see the slums. Mabey the church, but everything else was out of the question.

"You could stay here. You wouldn't need to work."

Clouds brain skidded to a halt, did Sephiroth just ask him to be his housewife?

He laughed. He laughed harder than he had in years, "Do- Do you want me to wear a frilly pink apron too?"

"Excuse me?"

It was at that moment that Cloud noticed that 10 of his kids were missing, Cloud bolted through the apartment with a concerned silverette hot on his heels as he tore open door after door.

They finally got to the master bedroom, where Sephiroth slept, and quickly opened the door.

All the kids where snuggled up together in the center of the bed. "Oh," the blond let out a relieved sigh.

"They must have been more tired then we realized." Sephiroth whispered, "Though I admit, I'm a bit put off by being kicked out of my own bed."

Cloud smiled. "If I were you, I'd be more put  off by the fact you had a dozen kids with someone you just met."

The blond caught him staring, "What?"

"Nothing." The general spoke quickly as he turned away. He all but fled the room and entered the guest bedroom across the hall. "Goodnight."

Cloud blinked, suddenly alone with his sleeping kids. "That was weird." He settled the toddlers down next to thier siblings and hummed softly as they snuggled in. He then went to one of the other guest bedrooms and removed his armor until he was wearing nothing but his pants, then curled up in the soft bed. He had to muffle a moan, how long had it been since he'd been in a bed this comfortable? He didn't even remember, and it wasn't long before sleep had claimed him.

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In the other room, Sephiroth layed awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Replaying the image of the cute blondes smile. The moment he thought back to the frilly apron comment though, his face turned beat red. He finally caught the reference.

It was also in that moment that Sephiroth knew he was screwed.

Chapter Text

Sephiroth woke up to the smell of bacon, which was strange. He didn't own any bacon. In fact his fridge was empty, save for a few water bottles, since he usually ate out.

He took a moment to wonder why he was in his guest bed before he remembered his kids had made a sleepy snuggle pile in his quarters. He smiled at the memory as he left his room, it was so cute. Speaking of cute, he spotted the pretty blond that had haunted his dreams all night at his stove. Thier gaggle of children were happily munching away at bowls of eggs and bacon.

The blond turned to face him, "Oh, good. You're up." Cloud promptly handed Sephiroth a filled bowl, "After we eat we need to sit down and name the children. I can't keep saying 'Hey you!' To get thier attention." He half-heartedly joked. "Also, you might need a bigger table."

Seph looked over and sure enough, at least half the kids where sitting on the table due to a lack of chairs. "Is there anything you have in mind?"

"Yeah actually, I'd planned on naming the blonds after the weather and the silverettes after stars." He shrugged nonchalantly as one of the two blond toddlers zoomed past.

Sephiroth watched with interest as the little one did laps around the table and squealed in delight. "Well, someone's excited." He said after a few bites.

"Oh, he's always like that. I wish I was that happy just running."

Sephiroth gave a small amused smile as the child breezed past again, barely dodging a chair. He felt the displaced air from the childs speed and an idea came to him. "How about Gale? He has the speed for it."

Cloud seemed to think about it for a moment, "Alright, seems to suit him well enough."

The blond disappeared into his office and came back with a pen and some paper. He noticed Sephiroths questioning look, "There's twelve kids. We should write this stuff down so we don't forget in the first few months."

The general looked over to the list to see what was aready written down, and grimaced. He hadn't even noticed. Where toddlers supposed to speak? He placed his empty bowl in the sink and filled it with water, deciding to deal with it later.

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Saiph - Boy- mature, responsible, a true mommas boy. Gentle natured, likes swords and shiny things. Talks the most, which doesn't say much since most of his siblings are nearly silent. 8(?) years old

Mist- Girl - bites e v e r y t h i n g, "stop putting that in your mouth" has become a regular saying because of her, has stunning amounts of magic control, likes to make art, uses fire and ice materia to cover everything in a dusting of dew. - 4(?) years old.

Gale- Boy- fast, learns quickly but doesn't use his words, instead making grunts and pointing to communicate. Not able to say simple words. See pediatrician ASAP.  2(?) years old

___________________________________________

"Is that bad?" He pointed at Gales portion of the list.

"It can be. It could be a serious issue, like a hearing empairment, or it might just be an ear infection, or a behavioral issue. I'd like to take them to a pediatrician that isn't owned by Shinra, but i just want them all to be checked out as quickly as possible." He looked back at the list, "but we should finish naming them first."

Sephiroth looked over to the children, who had migrated over into the living room, leaving a mess behind at the table.

Cloud sighed when he noticed, "Remind me to add a chore list later."

"Noted."

Sephiroth got another one of those heart stopping smiles and thanked the gods when Cloud turned away before he could see his face undoubtedly turn red.

"Hey, do you-" Whatever he were about to say was interrupted by a high pitcher wail, causing both men to cover thier sensitive ears. Cloud looked over to see all but the two toddlers were doing the same.

Gale sat on the floor, playing with a throw pillow, seemingly unaware of his family's agony. Not a good sign. The other one was screaming his little lungs out, clutching what looked to be a somewhat smooshed potato.

Sephiroth wondered where on gaia the potato came from, before remembering that Cloud must have gotten groceries that morning. "What happened?" The general asked, as Cloud went to calm down the stomping toddler.

"He swiped a potato and was trying to bounce it against the floor," an older blond replied frostily, glaring up at him as though he was challenging him, "when we tried to take it away before he could make a mess, he gripped it tighter and started screaming."

"Ah," the general noted that this kid looked exactly like his mother, with the exception that he had Sephiroths eye shape and color. A pair of materia green eyes boring into his soul. Yeah, definitely his kid. He could hardly wait until Angeal came over with his 3rd class pup so he could show off his new family.

He took in the childs stormy expression, "Nimbus."

The kid blinked, softening slightly, "...what?"

"You look so much like your mother. It's only fitting you be named after him."

Numbus made an odd face, as if he was trying to hide the fact that he was clearly flattered.

The other children seemed equilly amused and grateful. The screams had quieted down to sniffles, and Sephiroth made a mental not to buy them some actual toys. Hooray for his giant bank account.

Cloud was snapping next to the toddlers ears and frowning at thier lack of reaction.

One of the silverettes stuck thier tounge out at the boy, which earned her a potato to the face.

"Well, aren't you a little tempest?" Cloud smiled, pulling the fussy child into his lap. "That will be your name then. Tempest."

The same smile as before graced Clouds lips and he somehow managed not to turn into a blushing mess, "I've named another child myself," he patted Nimbus' head. The boy grumbled, but didn't stop him.

"Oh, alright. We should update the list.

_________________________________________

Saiph - Boy- mature, responsible, a true mommas boy. Gentle natured, likes swords and shiny things. Talks the most, which doesn't say much since most of his siblings are nearly silent. 8(?) years old

Mist- Girl - bites e v e r y t h i n g, "stop putting that in your mouth" has become a regular saying because of her, has stunning amounts of magic control, likes to make art, uses fire and ice materia to cover everything in a dusting of dew. - 4(?) years old.

Gale- Boy- fast, learns quickly but doesn't use his words, instead making grunts and pointing to communicate. Not able to say simple words. See pediatrician ASAP.  2(?) years old

Tempest- Boy-  temper tantrums, throws things often, same issues as Gale, but slightly more responsive to auditory stimulation. 2(?) years old

Nimbus- kinda frosty, glares at everyone who isn't his siblings, overprotective, spiteful. 8(?) years old

Rain- Cries a lot, doesnt like to be left alone, ever. Tries to give hugs to everyone she meets because "hugs make me happy, so they'll make others happy too". Trying to break that habit on the grounds of Stranger Danger. 4 (?) years old

__________________________________________

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the last one.

"What? It's cute. It also wraps up all the blonds, plus Saiph. Now we start on the silverettes.

The oldest silverette looked over at them at the memntion of his name.

The general nodded, he had several ideas and plucked the notebook and pen out of Clouds hands. They worked together to finish the rest of the list.

_________________________________________

Regulus- boy - haughty, kind of a brat, acts like he's better than you, pretends not to care, cares a lot. -7 (?)

Vega- Girl - quiet, curious, a little nosy, tends to cry when scolded, good at sneaking around and scaring the wits out of people -6 (?)

Bellatrix- Girl- bold, adventurous, will go up to strangers and challenge them to duels- 7 (?)

Altair- Boy - shy, quiet, spiteful, daddy's boy. Jealous of Saiph, tends to hide behind people, likes space -6 (?)

Citalá - Girl - likes to play dress up and braid peoples hair. Big green bow in her ponytail that matches her eyes. -5 (?)

Deneb - Girl - unnatural levels of grace, daddies girl. Ballerina obsession, enjoys feeding ducks and sneaking ribbons and flowers into peoples hair- 5 (?)

__________________________________________

"Ive noticed most of the blonds are younger. I wonder if there is a reason for that."

Cloud shrugged, "It's probably just coincidence. But I managed to download some information on the labs computer onto some flash drives. We should look at them later.

Sephiroth nodded, and smiled when he heard a knock at the door. His smile dropped however when he saw his cute blond stiffen. "I asked Angeal to come over, he's a friend of mine and is good with children."

He walked over to the door, revealing the hulking figure of the (not so) crazy man from the jungle. They locked eyes and the man- Angeal, smiled warmly as he walked in with a very familiar face.

"Zack?"

Zack looked startled at Clouds sudden outburst.

"You know eachother?" Angeal asked, surprised, while Sephiroth flicked his gaze back and forth between them.

"Um," Cloud looked panicked, "We met once a few years ago. In Gongaga." He hastily tacked on.

Zack lit up and started chattering on about how muggy the weather was in his hometown while Angeal and Sephiroth looked at him with suspension.

The general glowered at Zack, who was none the wiser. Cloud was giving uncharacteristically bright smiles, but they weren't for him. They were for Angeal's puppy. He didn't understand why he was so angry, however. It was just a smile.

His children seemed to sense his mood and flocked over to him, clinging to his legs and holding his hands. Vaga even tried making funny faces at him to cheer him up, which was admittedly amusing.

But the moment he heard Cloud laugh, the anger in his chest turned into a seething rage. "Out." He barked, making everyone freeze.

"Sephiroth," Angeal began, but was cut off by the general grabbing the pup by the back of his shirt collar and physically forcing them out the door.

"What the hell Sephiroth?!" Cloud demaned through grit teeth, "I thought you invented them to meet our kids!"

"I did, it's just..." he lost his rage. All the anger that was fueling him was suddenly gone, leaving him feeling tired and hollow. Where was he going with this?

"Just what?"

"You kept smiling at him."

"...what?" Cloud looked adorable like that. His head was tilted ever so slightly, while his eyes were big with confusion.

"You kept smiling at him. I got angry, but I don't know why." He admitted.

Cloud was silent for a moment. "You...where jealous?"

He thought for a moment, and yes. He was jealous. He didn't want to share Cloud with anyone.

"Go out with me."

"Huh?" The blond looked completely thrown. "Like- a date?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Usually people start with the date and end with kids. It seems we did the opposite. " Sephiroth gave a small smile, which grew when he saw the way Cloud looked at him.

"Alright." He held up a finger, "One date."

The children cheered.

Chapter Text

Cloud fretted over the children for the fifth time, and Sephiroth was growing exasperated. At this rate they'd never make it to the restaurant.

"Cloud. They'll be fine. I've got this taken care of. If I can handle Zack at his worst then I can handle anything." Angeal said with the patience of a saint.

"Yes, but it's twelve children!" Cloud argued, "Not a platoon of SOLDIERS!"

Sephiroth placed a hand on the blonds shoulder, "Angeal has experience with unruly children, ours are remarkably well behaved, we already have a pediatrician booked for Tuesday, there is nothing to worry about."

Cloud chewed on his lip, thinking it over. "Alright. Let's get ready for the date."

The general all but dragged him into the bedroom while Angeal got acquainted with thier kids.

When they came out, however, the blond was dressed in slacks and a nice blue dress shirt, while Sephiroth was in a solid black three piece suit.

"Where are we going?" The blond asked again.

"You'll know when we get there."

Cloud grumbled, but followed him out the door, waving goodbye to his kids and thier gigantic babysitter. The real reason he didn't want to leave his kids with Angeal was because he didn't know him. He had to rely heavily upon Sephiroths judgement, which he felt was ridiculous given his unique situation. Even if the general wasn't a madman anymore, he felt like a fool trusting him with things, as if he expected him to turn around one day, with those bright burning eyes and tell Cloud this had all just been a dream.

Cloud shook the thought from his head before it could go any further. This wasn't a dream, he had checked.

Sephiroth hopped into the back seat of a limousine. Oh gods no. He stood glaring at the passenger side of the oversized black car. The door popped open and the general peered out. "Are you getting in?"

"No." He ground out muleishly.

The silverette sighed, "What is it now?"

He looked a little sheepish and Sephiroth perked up, "Cloud. You can tell me."

Cloud answered so quietly that the general barely heard it even with his enhanced hearing. "Motion sickness?" The general was honestly amused. For all of the blond beauty's skill and power this was his weakness?

"Either I drive or I walk. Pick one."

Sephiroth sighed, "I can't do that. If people see me going out with my chauffeur they will get the wrong impression about you."

Cloud looked at him wide eyed, "You plan on showing me off?"

"Only a little. I plan to be discreet about it. People will find out about you and our children one way or another. I'd rather it be in a favorable light."

He chewed his lip in thought, the overgrown cat had a good point.

"Besides, I know of some medication that can help you."

The blond rolled his eyes, "Don't you think I've tried? None of the pills I've tried have had any affect after my enhancements."

"Have you considered SOLDIER grade medications?"

Cloud stared at him in shock, "That-That's a thing?!"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, "Yes. Get in." He slid back on the seat, giving his Cloud room. Once the door was closed, he draped an arm over the shorter man's shoulders. He stiffened, but relaxed into his hold soon after, which the silverette considered a win.

The general pressed a button on the roof of the car and the blonds eyes widdened a but when he heard the chauffeurs voice crackle over the speaker, "Sir?"

"Change of plans. Take us to the pharmacy first."

"Yes sir." The limousine began backing out of the parking spot, and Cloud already felt his stomach rolling. He leaned further into Sephiroths embrace, much to the generals joy.

___________________________________________

Cloud hadn't really expected the medicine to work, but it did. He felt great, even when they went faster or made various twists and turns. Sephiroth had even gotten them takeout from some Cinnamon roll restaurant, which was amazing!

After they finished eating and placed the trash in a wastebasket outside the mall, they headed inside. They went to all sorts of stores, mostly clothing, Sephiroth had been buying all sorts of clothes for the kids, but it wasn't like Cloud was any better off.

The blond refused to admit it, but was having a lot of fun. Who knew putting on a mini fashion show for your former nemesis  could be so entertaining? Though he did feel a bit guilty, considering Sephiroth was buying anything he thought looked good on him. He had even tried to buy Cloud and expensive looking diamond necklace, which he shot down really fast.

They wound up placing the multitude of colorful bags near the front of the limousine, in the floorboard right behind the driver, before heading back into the mall.

Cloud was no fool however. He overheard people talking everywhere he went, asking eachother who he was and why he was with the general. Why his eyes were like his and if they were related. Why were they buying so much clothes?

Cloud smiled, the rumor mill was going to be set on fire when they saw them buying children's clothes.

Sephiroth must have been on a similar wavelength, because he gave him a playful grin. He heard someone fall over behind him and nearly snorted. Fangirls.

He heard the flash of a camera phone and was about to turn around and confront the person before he was stopped by Sephiroth placing a hand on his shoulder and spinning him around to face him.

Before he could properly react he was being kissed. His brain stalled again, leaving him to melt into the kiss, and by the time the general pulled away, there were a lot more tell-tale clicks and flashes happening around them, and he was being led away with his hand intertwined with Sephiroths.

"My apologies." He said calmly once they were inside a children's toy store. He picked up one of those tiny hand baskets and began leading his blond further into the store, picking out whatever looked interesting or entertaining for the kids without even looking at the price tag. And while Cloud had nearly had aneurysm the first few times this had happened, he had grown slightly accustomed to Sephiroth insisting to be his kids walking bank account. He wasn't so comfortable with him trying to be his own personal sugar daddy though.

Sephiroth had an impressive stack of lego sets, train playsets and even several extravagant Victorian style dollhouse sets. Remote controlled cars, dolls, stuffed animals, you name it. The poor cashiers looked like they would die of fright with Sephiroth being so close, especially when the bill came out so high. Thier relief seemed palpable when the general simply paid, before gathering his purchases with the shorter man.

They made thier trip to the limo and by the time they came back, an actual news crew was setting up. Sephiroth snorted, this is why he rarely went out. He waltzed past them, arm in arm with Cloud, who looked increasingly nervous. "Remain calm. There is little difference between a reporter and a gorger."

"I get to stab gorgers." The blond replied dryly as they escaped into yet another store. This one was a childrens clothing store.

Cloud saw so many cute designs he had a hard time picking things out. Sephiroth however, just grabbed whatever he thought would look cute on his kids, as well as things that Cloud had given 'the look' but had put back. The general had learned so much about the swordsman today.

Sephiroth didn't stop until each of his children had a months worth of clothes a piece, plus formal attire for when they enviably had to attend company functions.

They left the store with so many bags, that Cloud was grateful Sephiroth had brought a limousine. They was plenty of space to put thier purchases, at least until they got back into the apartment. "Where are we going to put this stuff when we get home?" He asked after placing the last bag in.

Sephiroth smiled when the blond said the word 'home.' And Cloud tried his best not to acknowledge his own blush. He supposed Sephiroths apartment had become home after living there for over two weeks. It was hard to believe it had been so long, and at the same time, it felt like he had been there forever. Like he belonged there.

He blamed the Jenova cells.

"I have something planned, don't worry."

"The fact you won't tell me makes me worry more."

Sephiroth smiled as he shook his head, and Cloud tried his hardest to calm his hummingbird heartbeat. "Lets escape before they finish, okay?"

Cloud nodded, following the general into the seat and leaning into his embrace as he contacted the driver.

They drove around town for a while, taking in the sights the different sectors had to offer. Cloud would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the chaos thier combined presence created as they walked through parks hand in hand, or how happy Sephiroth looked when the blond was the one to initiate a kiss.

When they finally got home he was relieved  to finally sit down and eat the fresh Wutainese takeout they got for thier large family. After they placed the shopping bags somewhere. They had snatched up some random 2nds to help them with all the bags. The two guys didn't even complain, they were so happy to be of use to thier precious general. They looked around in awe at the silverettes spacious accommodations, that is, until thier eyes landed on the Crimson Commander sprawled out on the couch and a gaggle of cat eyed children.

Cloud didn't know what he was seeing, and judging by the way Sephiroth had stilled next to him, he suspected he was just as lost as he was.

"I thought you got Angeal to watch the kids" he whispered harshly to his side, where the silverette was standing.

"I did." He grumbled.

There in front of them, was Genesis sitting on the couch, wearing a hot pink feather boa, red star-shaped sunglasses, with multiple braids in his hair. He paid them no mind while instructing the children on thier makeshift stage. They weren't preforming loveless, thank the gods. Instead, it seemed to be a musical about the littlest tea pot. What?

"Oh, it seems the lovely couple has returned from thier date!" Genesis crooned dramatically from his place on the leather sofa, before taking a sip from a wine glass with a suspiciously red liquid inside.

One of the 2nds, the one with a helmet on, made a choking sound at the word 'date' but was ignored. The other stood stock still, looking for all the life of him like a deer in the headlights.

"Are you drinking alcohol while watching our children?" Cloud seethed.

Again, there was a choking sound. The poor guys.

"Of course not! Only the finest of child approved beverages have been gifted to your kitchen, I assure you." Genesis smirked.

Cloud swiftly made his way over to him and took the glass from his outstreached hand. He sniffed it and made a surprised face before smirking. "You're drinking kool-aid from a wine glass?"

"Just because I have to be child friendly doesn't mean I can't be fabulous." He said, while checking his nails, which had been painted a bright red. Likely by Clouds own daughters.

Vaga raced up to Sephiroth, trying to give him something she had in her fist. He held out his open hand, letting her drop the tiny tooth into his open palm. She smiled wide, showing the gap where the tooth used to be.

The two 2nds got a front row seat to see thier mighty general melt at the hands of a little girl.

A little girl who looked exactly like the general.

Genesis laughed at the two before he dragged them out of the apartment with him, leaving the couple with the chaos of twelve excited children.

Sephiroth couldn't even bring himself to care that they didn't make it to thier dinner reservation. 

Chapter Text

Sephiroth watched as his pretty blond fussed over Angeal. Apparently several of Hojos experiments had conveniently escaped, and he had requested all of the 1sts to clean up his mess. 

The general had no doubt that this was an attempt to get to his children, but thankfully Angeal had been clued in to Hojos depravity and had Genesis hang back with the little ones to protect them  while he and a platoon of 2nds handled it. 

Both he and Cloud were becoming increasingly protective of thier offspring, and while this brought them together, it also set them apart. They were so busy worrying about thier children that they didn't have any time for themselves. Not that he minded too terribly. He had always wanted a family and he wasn't going to complain when one was practically dropped into his lap, and with the lavish bonus of such a beautiful potential bride no less!

Now he just had to put his plan into action.

"Cloud?"

The blond turned torward him at the sound of his voice, "Yeah?"

"I want to introduce our children to the public."

"...have you lost your mind? Shinra would turn them into propaganda machines! They'd be targeted by both Shinras enimies and your own!" The blond all but raged, and Sephiroth admitted he had several good points.

"But if we don't then Hojo will be able to quietly spirit them away. The children will have some sort of protection if they become well known, even if it's just by the army and office workers."

The blond crossed his arms, thinking it over with that cute little pout of his. Sephiroth once again sent his gratitude to whatever diety that had sent Cloud his way.

"Hojos labs are a fate worse then death. We'll go with your plan." Cloud submitted. 

Sephiroth would have been overjoyed to show off his new family, but the fact that Cloud knew the horrors of Hojos lab personally, made a knot of dread form in his stomache. "Did you...escape?"

Cloud stared at him for a moment, before giving a jerky nod. "Another experiment broke me out. I was catatonic at the time. He dragged me with him across two entire continents, never giving up on me. We were so close to Midgar. To safety. But the clean-up crews found us. He hid me behind  some borders. I remember because I had started to become lucid." The blond didn't seen to notice the tears streaming down his face, or how Angeals arm wrapped around his shoulder in an attempt to comfort. "I remember the gunfire and yelling. I was so confused, I couldn't even think. All I could do is lay there and hear. Then, before I knew it, everything was quiet again." He took a deep shuttering breath. "I regained the ability to think, somewhat. I dragged myself out from the boulders. The ground was soaked with blood, and I saw him. He was just laying there."

Cloud looked like he was about to start sobbing when the front door burst open, "Honey, I'm home!" Sang Genesis as the kids rushed in around him. He had Tempest and Gale tucked into either arm.

He caught sight of the tearful blond and tried at his friends, "I'm gone for an hour and you make our pretty friend cry? The audacity!"

Cloud gave a little laugh and tried to reassure his children, "I'm fine, i just thought of something really sad that happened a long time ago. How about you cheer me up by telling me how your day was!" He said to distract them.

Nimbus threw his best glare at Sephiroth and Angeal, pointedly telling them without words that he didn't trust them.

Saiph started the conversation, "Uncle Gen took us out for ice cream! I got chocolate with rainbow sprinkles!" He beamed. 

"I got strawberry with Gen-Gen!" Daneb preened. Angeal covered his laugh with a cough, because seriously, Gen-Gen?

Nimbus mumbled something about vanilla, while keeping a curt angry pout on his face, and Bellatrix tried starting a fight with him by saying mint was way better, knowing that Nimbus hated mint. It worked.

Regulus wispered into his mothers ear, "Bell doesn't even like mint, she had the cookie dough one." To which Cloud snorted.

While the other kids distracted thier mother, Genesis subtly dragged papa Seph and the toddlers away from the swarm of small excited people. "We need to talk." He said, looking Sephiroth in the eye.

"Did the appointment not go as planned?" The silverette asked worried. 

"No. It went fine. You should have seen the look on the pediatricians face when she saw them." He fought back a smile, "But that's not what this is about." Genesis wiggled Gale around, much to the giggling toddlers delight, and managed to pull out a box from his coat pocket and hand it to the general.

Sephiroth stared at the small box in his hand for a few seconds,  before slowly opening it. He stared at the contents for what felt like an hour, before looking back up at his friend. 

"Are you sure?" He refused to cry. "Is there really nothing else we can do?"

"I'm sorry." The commander really did look upset, even with two squirming happy children in his arms. "The scaring was so severe. She said we're lucky Tempest can hear at all. There's no hope for Gale though. I'm sorry."

Sephiroth took a moment to steady himself before plucking the hearing aids out of the box and gently placing them in his sons ears. He smiled at the look of open wonder Tempest gave when he heard the other children.

"Hello there." Sephiroth cooed, and his heart melted yet again as both toddlers lit up with joy.

"Just be sure to take them out before the hour is up. The reason we took so long was due to an emergency surgery to clear out Tempests inner ear. It was only thanks to his enhancements that he got to come home today." Genesis told him, "She wants him to get plenty of rest and to let his little ears to slowly adjust."

The general nodded. He didn't mind that Gale was deaf, and Tempest was almost the same. He didn't love them any less. He did however, wonder how Cloud would take the news.

Tears most likely.

__________________________________________

He was right. 

When he told his blond later that night, in the privacy of Sephiroths own bedroom, Cloud had cried into his chest, for little over an hour, before sniffing and pulling away, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This is a very upsetting situation. You have every right to grieve." He said soothingly.

The blond grit his teeth, "I was there. Sleeping in that damn pod while my babies were suffering." 

Sephiroth pulled him back into his embrace, "You were likely placed into a forced coma. You can not be held accountable for your inaction."

Cloud burrowed into Sephiroths bare chest,  deliberately ignoring the chest straps as they pressed into his cheek. He used to hate how much taller Sephiroth was compared to himself. Now he found it comforting, like the silver warrior could just pick him up and surround him. Make him feel like he was being ingulfed in him. Make him feel safe...

Sephiroth watched as his blond began to relax, his breaths becoming soft and even. He layed down on the bed with him, stroking Clouds blond hair as he drifted further into unconsciousness.

Once he made sure the mysterious blond was fast asleep, he made his usual rounds, checking on the children, then snuck out of the apartment. 

__________________________________________

He knocked twice on a door, only opening it once he heard a soft, "Enter."

He waltzed into the Turk room, pausing when he saw a tall man in a red cloak.

The man stared at him silently, his face remaining impassive the entire time until, "You look so much like her."

Sephiroth was surprised, while the mans face gave nothing away, his voice was filling to the brim with guilt and an odd sort of...relief? He wasn't sure what to make of it. "Who?"

"Lucrecia. Your mother."

The general stared at him. Cloud had told him about his parents, but not much else. He always seemed so hesitant to talk about his past, and Sephiroth loathed to force him. Mabey he could get information from this man, since he seemed to know his mother. "Who are you?"

"I am Vincent Valentine. A former Turk." He said flatly.

"And my old partner." Veld seethed from across the room. Shotgun and Sheriken was looking at them oddly, glancing back and forth between himself and Valentine.

It suddenly clicked, Cloud had said that Vincent was possibly his father, mabey they were searching for similar facial features. He, however, would try a different approach. 

"Are you my father?" He heard a few nearby Turks spit out thier drinks, but paid them no mind. This was important and he didn't care who knew.

Vincent just stared at him for several long moments before answering, "I am unsure. You niether look nor act anything like Hojo, so I suspect it might be true."

Sephiroth couldn't hold back a shudder. He would dispise being related to that thing that Shinra called a scientist. 

"Still, I would like to have a DNA test done, one without the Science departments intervention."

Veld nodded, "It will be done. The results should be interesting, just like the conversation we were having before you entered."

The general rose a single eyebrow at the lead Turk. 

Vincent cut in. "I do not recall ever meeting anyone by the name 'Cloud'."

The silverette blinked, "Amnesia?"

Vincent shook his head. "My memories are whole. I remember everything from after I was shot by Hojo." He ignored the angry grumbles of the Turks. Hojo would receive his due.

"And before then?" Sephiroth inquired. 

"Sephiroth, I have been in that coffin for twenty-two years. Longer than your boyfriend has been alive. Everything he says seems to be true, but I have no idea how he knows these things."

By the time Sephiroth returned to his room, he was rather shaken, wondering who exactly Cloud was. Come to think of it Cloud had never told him anything about his origins. He knew nothing of his birthplace, his parents or siblings, he didn't even know the blonds last name!

He knew nothing about the man sleeping in his bed.

Chapter Text

Kunsel at in the lounge area, grinning like mad. The rumor mill was on fire.

Everyone was going insane about the hot new topic: Sephiroth has kids? His Turk informants had told him all about Vincent Valentine and the ever mysterious Cloud.

So much tea was being spilt and Kunsel was all about spilled tea. Even the press was getting in on the action, coming up with wild theories. When they saw Sephiroth in a suit buying things for a pretty blond man, they went nuts about him being his secret lover who was tired of being a secret.

When they saw his eyes, it started a shitstom about Sephiroths origins and created a conspiracy theory that he and the blond were the last of thier kind and agreed to have thier genes spliced to continue on thier race, which Kunsel thought was ridiculous.

Others claimed the pretty blue eyed man just had a similar mutation and Sephiroth took him under his wing.

But the wildest theory this far was that Genesis Rhapsodos was the mother and he was secretly a woman in drag the whole time. The only comment Genesis had made on this was "You have five seconds to run." before setting the interviewer on fire.

Kunsel had seen Cloud and Sephiroth together with thier kids when he and another 2nd had helped thier general bring his baggage up to one of the restricted floors. He knew without a doubt that they were both the parents, but didn't know why or how. He was also still a little shocked by the whole dating thing. It shouldn't be so surprising, Sephiroth was human too.

All Kunsel realy knew is that things were going to get good.

___________________________________________

Sephiroth straitened Saiphs bowtie for the third time, how he managed to keep getting it skewed was beyond him.

"Father. Why is Mother afraid?" He asked, his big blue eyes accented by his baby blue  dress shirt.

"He's not afraid, he's just nervous because of the camera."

"The camera?" Rain asked, looking pretty in her glittery cyan dress and clutching Sephiroths own leather pants.

Regulus kept getting into things and playing pranks on the poor workers while Nimbus tried to keep tabs on him and Sephiroth feared for the state of thier white shirts. Bellatrix kept trying to pick fights with her siblings and bunching up her sleek  black dress. Cloud made a good call making her wear a pair of black shorts underneath. Too bad they couldn't keep her hair in its ties.

Mist was sitting in her mothers lap, playing with a doll while the toddlers were entertained by Cloud making faces and hand gestures at them. Sign language? They had been trying to learn lately, mabey they should get a tutor for the whole family.

He made a mental note for later.

Vaga was forced to wear a white dress with a leaf green ribbon tied around her waist and a matching one in her hair, just so they could keep track of her. The green stood out almost anywhere in Midgar, helping them keep track of her in case she ran off again.

She sat at a kids table with Citalá and Altair drawing stars and planets together with crayons. Both where wearing basic black and white.

Then there was Deneb, who was holding perfectly still in an elegant ballet pose, so much so that some people had actually stared at her in her blue dress and white tights, commenting on how beautiful and lifelike the statue was before they noticed she was breathing and jumped back, frightened.

Then she would give a sinister smirk, before quickly shifting back into her tranquil expression.

Yes. She is definitely my daughter. Sephiroth thought, amused.

With all of his children located, he turned back to the cameraman who looked like he was terrified of him. Like most people nowadays.

With the Wutai war drawing to a close, many stories came to light about Sephiroths battle prowess and ruthlessness. Unfortunately many of them portrayed him as a merciless relentless killer with a bloodlust that could never fully be quenched. And while none of this is untrue it manages to give people a bad first impression.

He sighed, he was getting tired of waiting for the green light so that they could get this over with.

Deneb relaxed from her stance, frightening a small gathering of interns before making her way to her father. "I'm bored."

"Did terrorizing unpaid interns loose it's appeal?"

"Yes." She responded without an ounce of shame.

Sephiroth smirked, "Ah, it should be starting soon."

Sure enough the lighting changed and the crew began rounding up Cloud and thier children, placing the children in seats while Cloud and Sephiroth were left to tower behind them...well, Sephiroth did anyway.

The crew swiftly placed little name tags on each of the children, surprisingly getting each of them right the first try. Impressive. Cloud fidgeting a bit, clearly uncomfortable with all the strangers touching thier children. He reached out and intertwined thier hands, and the blond shot him a grateful look.

Before they knew it there was a microphone being shoved in Sephiroths face, and Cloud wondered where the silverette got the self control not to mangle  the stupid woman. "Is there anything you'd like to tell us before we begin general?" The woman purred. The swordsman was no fool, he had been flirted with by a large number of desperate men and women trying to sink thier claws into a pretty blond. This was no different, but the audacity of pressing her body up against the general, of not so subtlety undoing the buttons on her shirt, hell she was speaking in a bedroom voice for crying out loud! It took every bit of Clouds self control not to stab a bitch.

Sephiroth just pushed her back with his free hand, shooing her away. He didn't notice the jealous blond or his seething rage. How dare she do that, and in front of thier children no less!

Cloud forced himself to come down as the countdown began. A male reporter was standing with them this time, which was good, cause Cloud didn't want to murder someone on air.

The reporter gave his best smile as he began, "There have been rumors going around that you adopted these children, is that correct?"

Sephiroth gave a light glare, "No. These children are mine by blood."

"Ah yes, I've noticed the family resemblance." He laughed, though Cloud couldn't help but to feel it was fake, "Could you tell us who the mother is?"

"Cloud."

"Cloud...?" The reporter slightly leaned forward in anticipation.

"I don't know his last name."

Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure if Sephiroth was truely this socially inept or if he was just trying to start some mayhem.

The reporter faltered, clearly not expecting that answer, weather it be the implication or the mother being a man or the fact they didn't really know eachother that well was anyones guess,  "...come again?"

Sephiroth turned to Cloud, "What is your last name?"

And it clicked. Sephiroth was trying to manipulate answers out of him by putting him on the spot. Cloud felt used, and betrayed. How could he do this?!

The reporter openly gaped at the couple, shocked that they would have so many kids, and wouldn't even know eachothers last names.

Instead on answering he yanked his hand out of Sephiroths and settled into parade rest. All of his children stopped wiggling and sat still as stone, as though sensing his shift in mood. "I don't believe my last name matters Crescent. " the blond all but spat the last generals last name. "The children were created by splicing my and Mr. Crescents D.N.A. without our consent. I was captured and contained in a mako tube while this occurred, the rouge Shinra scientist that did this was killed in our escape."

The silverette flinched at the use of his last name, but was practically stabbed in the heart when he heard the detached way Cloud had said 'Mr, Crescent'. Mabey he shouldn't have tried to put him on the spot like that, Cloud looked so mad.

The reporter looked absolutely mortified, realizing that they were Live and couldn't edit that out. "Oh, would you look at that! We're almost out of time! How about we wrap this up by having each of you tell us something about yourselves?"

The kids smiled nervously and looked to thier parents, relaxing slightly when they nodded in approval.

"Let's start from the smallest, alright?" He said, sticking the microphone into Gales face before either parent could reply.

Gale simply giggled and blew raspberries into the microphone for half a minute, earning coos from the interviewer.

"Dont give it to Tempest," Cloud warned, softening from his parade rest, "He'll scream into it."

The man winced, "Thanks for the warning. Is there any reason they won't speak?"

Sephiroth pulled aside Tempests hair, revealing the hearing aids.

The reporters mouth turned into a perfect circle for a moment. "I see, my condolences."

"It's alright. It will be good for the children to learn sign language. Learning to see the world from different prospectives will help them later in life." Cloud stated calmly.

"What a lovely take on it!" The man beamed.

Sephiroth fought back the urge to roll his eyes. One by one his kids spoke thier names and told the man about thier interests and hobbies, up until Nimbus threatened to gut him with a rusty kitchen knife if he ever so much as thought about hurting his family, which the general thought was adorable.

Saiph simply stated that he liked helping Mother and wanted to learn swordplay.

"Does that mean you want to become a SOLDIER?" The man asked, causing both parents to stiffen.

"Hmm." He thought about it. "Nope! That sounds boring. I'd rather hunt monsters with Mother."

The reporter was once again left gaping.

Sephiroth gave a small smirk, "I believe it's Clouds turn." The blond shot him a glare, but he ignored it.

Cloud looked at the microphone as though it might bite him, "Um, my name is Cloud, I like swordplay and motorcycles." He said simply before tossing the device over to Sephiroth who caught it with ease.

"You already know who I am, but I'll tell you anyway out of courtesy. I am Shinras Silver General, Sephiroth Crescent. I love my new little family and my beautiful boyfriend." He noticed his blond turn bright red, and counted that as another victory in his book.

As the reporter finished prattling on and ended the segment, Sephiroth snuck in a kiss with his pretty blond, knowing the cameras would catch it.

Sephiroth could hardly wait till they got home.

__________________________________________

When they got home Cloud sent the children to thier rooms to get changed. The moment they were gone however, Cloud whirled on Sephiroth and seethed, "By the Planet Sephiroth! What made you think that was a good idea?!"

"You won't tell me anything! How else am I supposed to find out?!" Sephiroth hissed back.

The blond stared at him for a few long moments. "Back on the helicopter. Do you remember what I said to you?"

Judging by the look on the generals face, that would be a 'No'.

"I said I wanted to wait until you were ready. I've been waiting this whole time for you to come and ask."

Oh.

Sephiroth had screwed up again. "So...all I have to do is ask and you'll tell me."

Clouds expression turned grave, "Once we're in a secure location, yes. Alot of this information could put me and our kids in a lot of danger."

The silverette nodded. "Tommorow than? Will you go out on another date mith me?"

The blond bit his lip, but nodded.

Tomorrow he would tell the truth.

Chapter Text

The general woke up to the smell of bacon and swiftly finished his morning routine to greet his love in the kitchen. It never ceased to amaze him that Cloud was almost always awake before him, he was such a dutiful mother. He had just finished sipping the last of the hot chocolate Cloud and Altair made together when he heard Cloud call for him, but when he turned his head to answer, his blond caught him in a chaste kiss before hurrying off to take care of something else.

The man felt something in his chest warm as butterflies fluttered in his stomache. He was in love with this gorgeous blond.

He swept out of his apartment, feeling like he was walking on air, and smiled at some secretaries as he past, paying them no mind when they dropped thier things in shock.

Sephiroth was having such a good day.

Until he wasn't. He glared at the redheaded Turk before him, the one who dared block his path to the Shinra executive elevator, "What." He snapped, causing the young man to shift uneasily.

"I have orders." Reno said simply, putting on a cocky facade.

Sephiroths eyes norrowed dangerously, "What kind of orders?" He asked, placing his hand on Masamunes hilt.

"Yo, no need to get hasty! It's nothing like that, I swear!" He held his hands up in surrender, "No one's stupid enough to go after your kids!"

The general relaxed his stance but kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, just in case.

"Turk." He said harshly, "What kind of orders?"

Reno swiftly pulled out a handful of small electronic devices. "I was told to give these to you along with the specific orders for you to place them on your person before you leave for your date tonight."

Sephiroth didn't physically react, but inside he was stunned. Cloud had always insisted that his apartment was likely bugged and refused to speak about important things while inside, but he had always brushed his concerns aside. He had never taken them seriously before today, only playing along to sooth his boyfriends perceived paranoia.

After all, they wouldn't do that to thier own general. Turns out they would, because they only spoke of thier date twice in the privacy of Sephiroths own apartment, when they knew for certain that the kids weren't listening. Add that to the fact that thier dates where sporadic and had so set schedule.

"I refuse." He said coldly, before spinning on his heel and walking away, back to his apartment. He ignored the Turk as he sputtered, and gripped Masamune in warning when he began running after him.

His threat must have worked, because the redhead had frozen in his tracks, unwilling to face off against the mighty general.

Sephiroth continued on, back to his apartment and slammed the door behind him once he entered.

The sound seemed to summon Cloud, and the silverettes boiling rage dimmed to a simmer when he layed eyes on his sweetheart of boyfriend.

"Are you alright?" The blond placed a hand on his leather coated arm, "I'm fine. But you were right. The apartment is bugged."

Cloud grimaced, and Sephiroth added that to his ever growing mental list of qualities he adored in Cloud. He never gloated whenever he was proven right, he only moved forward to find a solution, and left you to learn from your mistakes.

"What do we do?" The blond asked, somewhat shaken, he always knew, but having it confirmed made him paranoid. What else had he said in private that could be used against him?

"What can we do?" The general asked bitterly.

"We can probably make a jamming device. I know how to make one that jams all frequencies but that would mean we can't use our phones in the apartment."

The silverette nodded approvingly, once again impressed by his beloved boyfriends ever erratic and diverse skillset. "A lack of communication is a small price to pay for privacy. "

Cloud nodded, "I'll get the supplies together after our date." He kissed his cheek again, and reached around him to pull a notebook out of the desk drawer to make thier weekly grocery list. Despite his initial reluctance, Cloud made a truely wonderful housewife. "Do you plan on going to the office today or has your mysterious revelation freed you from your paperwork?"

Sephiroth shot him a glare and opened his mouth to speak, but the words died on his tounge when he saw Clouds look. He was standing stock still, eyes wide. Upon closer inspection the silverette noticed that look in his eyes. That thousand yard stare he'd seen his SOLDIERS get when they had seen too much. Sephiroth didn't know what he had said or done to trigger a PTSD episode but by the gods he was going to help his boyfriend any way he could.

"Cloud?"

The blond jerked back at the sound of his name, "No!" He yelled before he spun around and ran down the hallway.

"Cloud!" He shouted, tempted to follow after him, but he had learned the hard way not to do that. Chasing someone with PTSD while they were having an episode was a /very/ bad idea.

He looked torwards the kids, who where peeking out of thier rooms in the hallway. "It's alright. Your mother is hallucinating due to a traumatic event that had happened in his past." He hoped they understood at least half of that. Thankfully it seemed that Saiph and Nimbus understood pretty well and corralled thier siblings back into thier rooms. Sephiroth decided that would be a problem for later and made a mental note to get them into therapy.

The silverette slipped quietly into the master bedroom where Cloud was sitting curled up otop the sheets with the comforter bundled around him. His breathing was deep, but slow, as though he was trying to calm himself down.

Sephiroth just stood there staring at him. He didn't think he had ever felt as useless as he did in that moment.

"It's fine..." Cloud rasped, "Hold me. Don't talk." He said in a clipped voice

The general didn't question it, he just complied, moving to sit next to him on the bed and wrapping his love in his embrace as he gently rubbed his back. The blond snuggled his face into Sephiroths chest, something Cloud had made a habit of recently.

They stayed like that for a grueling ten minutes before Cloud pulled away. "I'm sorry."

"Shh, don't be." He cooed, pulling him back torwards himself, "It's okay, I will protect you." He whispered softly into the smaller man's ear, "I won't let anything harm you."

Cloud gave him a small smile, "I know. Thank you." He took a deep breath, and relaxed against Sephiroth. "I'll tell you everything on the date. When is Genesis supposed to get here?"

"Eighteen-hundred hours."  The silverette answered, which was met with a soft hum.

The redhead had become thier go-to babysitter since he was so good with the children. Genesis adored the children, both as the lovable mini actors and actresses he directed on prop stages and as his own personal captive audience. He insisted that they didn't need to pay him, he had more money than he knew what to do with and genuinely enjoyed being with the kids.

Cloud had insisted that they find some way to repay him. That was also how they descovered that Cloud knew how to bake. He smiled at the memory.

"I've waited this long, why not a few more hours. Besides, I love cuddling with you." He kissed the smaller mans forehead.

Cloud just smiled.

___________________________________________

He had to hand it to Sephiroth, he had a knack for finding the most beautiful places.

They were sat at an table with a checkered cloth draped across it in a forrest clearing. Cloud watched the flame of the single candle flicker as thier spaghetti noodles boiled atop the portable camp stove. It was awfully romantic and his little heart fluttered everytime he thought about it. Gods damn it, how did he end up so deep in love?

He was brought out of his thoughts by Sephiroth taking a seat across from him. "Should I start now or wait till after dinner?" The blond asked, not wanting to ruin the mood but refused to leave his love waiting.

"Now, if you're ready." The silverette replied, looking outright divine in the gentle glow of the full moon.

He looked back over torwards the motorcycle he and Sephiroth had rode in on. The general claimed to have bought it so that he could figure out why he loved them so much, but Cloud had a sneaking suspension that the real reason he bought it was to have Cloud cling to him as they rode.

When Cloud finally turned back to him he started talking, and didn't stop talking. He told him everything. About waking up in the past, about the events of the Nabilhaim incident and how it effecting him, the library, the books filled with lies, of killing the maddened general and being locked in a mako tube only being taken out to be expiremented on and essentially tortured for four years.

He spoke of Zack who was with him throughout all of it, always acting strong for the both of them. How he broke them out and escaped with a comatose Cloud that he cared for and dragged across two whole continents while being hunted like an animal.

He told him about loosing his memory after Zacks death due to all the combined traumas, about becoming a mercenary working with the AVALANCHE gang and what AVALANCHE was, and about learning all the darkest secrets of Shinras underbelly. He told him the truth about mako and the promised land, how he knew a way to to call it forth and how they would need it to cure Genesis and the other SOLDIERS of thier future degradation.

He explained in detail about what Jenova really was and how she could alter your thought process and control you. About the WEAPONS and thier purpose, about the Cetra Aerith who both he and Zack had fell in love with, and how she sacrificed her life and fell to Masamune. About how he was often mind controlled and emotionally manipulated and abused by Sephiroths insane alternate self.

About the reactor bombings and becoming a leader of his AVALANCHE cell, meeting all the members and learning of thier pasts, the sector seven plate, MeteorFall, Neo-Shinra, Geostigma, the Remnants, Sephiroths second revival and finally the events with the Omega WEAPON and DeepGround.

When he was done they just sat there quietly. Cloud was nervous, wondering if Sephiroth thought he was crazy, and Sephiroth was busy trying to process everything he had just been told.

The candle had nearly melted to the base by the time Sephiroth spoke. "I hurt you." Clouds eyes shined with unshed tears, the general sounded so small. "Yeah..." the blond admitted.

Sephiroth let out a dry humorless laugh, "All this time I've been telling myself that I'd  kill the person who hurt you, but it was me all along."

"No, Sephiroth it's-"

"It's fine Cloud, you don't have to lie. I know I'm a monster." Not a moment passed before a loud smack filled the quiet of the clearing.

Sephiroth looked up at the smaller man from the ground he was laying on, a small red handprint decorated his face, "/Never/ say that again. You are not a monster, and you are not the man who did all those horrible things to me. I killed him, and thanks to you, he'll never come back again." He held out a hand to the general, who only hesitated for a moment before taking it.

Cloud looked at thier overcooked noodles, "Ya'know, this is why I never let you cook."

Sephiroth let out a soft snort, too emotionally drained to mourn thier dinner.

The blond grabbed the silverettes hand, "I spent a lot of time foraging for food with AVALANCHE when we were running around the world. How about I show you how it's done?" He asked playfully.

Sephiroth just nodded.

___________________________________________

Cloud sighed and looked over to where Sephiroth was sulking over a patch of unfortunate mushrooms, "Don't pick the fat ones, they'll make you high."

Sephiroth shot him and odd look, and Cloud felt the need to clarify,  "We picked them once. It was a wild night."

The silverettes eyebrows rocketed into his hairline, "And here i thought you were an angel." He teased.

"Nope, only my face is angelic, the rest of me is one hundred percent chaotic dumbass."

Sephiroth laughed at that, "You are rather chaotic, but it's a bit of a stretch to call yourself a dumbass."

"Just a bit?" He pouted, "So cruel."

Sephiroth shook his head, "but you are definitely an angel. You've saved me from many cruel fates in the few short months since Angeal found you."

Cloud picked up his small bag of wild berries and waltzed over to his silver haired love. "Soon we'll save them too." He placed a kiss on Sephiroths cheek and deftly snatched an apple from the tree above them.

"How?"

"Aerith has a special materia called 'Holy', but she doesn't know how to use it. That's where Genesis comes in. He'll teach her and she'll use it to save his life." Cloud took a bite out of the apple before picking some more. "Now come on, I'm going to teach you how to roast berries. Don't burn the food this time."

Sephiroth grumbled as he followed after.

___________________________________________

Way off in the bushes sat a very stunned Reno and Rude. "Holy shit."

Chapter Text

Turn left up the path." The blond yelled over the roar of the motor.

Sephiroth complied easily, making the turn while maintaining thier high speed, "You still haven't told me where we're going."

"I told you, it's a surprise!"

The generals grumbles were lost to the howling wind as they rode on throughout the night. His little love had specifically requested having thier date somewhere near the Nabil mountain base. He didn't explain why and refused to do so when asked.

Genesis had managed to overhear part of thier conversation, and burst into the master bedroom with a flourish, "The star has arrived." He began hearding them to the front door, with all the success of a well trained blue heeler, "I expect you two to have fun tonight. No tears, no fuss. Just a nice dinner date under the stars." The redhead pulled them into a tight hug, before pushing them back by thier respective pauldrons, "Now off with you! You have a date tonight! Shoo! Shoo!" He began waving them away.

"Slow down we're almost there." Clouds voice drew him out of his reverie, "That's it. That cave just over there!"

The generals gaze followed to where the blond was pointing, and indeed, there was a cave opening, looking dark and foreboding in the dead of night.

Cloud dismounted quickly, followed by Sephiroth,  who was taking on a much more relaxed pace. "C'mon! It's not far."

The taller man shook his head, letting his hair be swayed by the slight mountain wind, before following in after him.

He wasnt sure what he expected, the beginning of the cave looked normal, as far as caves go, but as he went deeper the walls became coated with glowing crystals. The deeper he went the larger they became, until eventually everything was coated in them. It felt surreal, like something out of a fairy tale.

Eventually he came to a room at the end of the tunnel, and found Cloud facing a large crystal with something inside it.

"Cloud?"

"Sephiroth, come here!" He shouted happily, waving the silverette over.

As Sephiroth made his way over, he noticed the object inside was actually a woman. Strange. "Oh." He realized what he was seeing.

Sephiroth stared at the woman in the crystal. All his life he'd been searching for the truth of his origins, and here was this small blond, handing them to him on a silver platter.

Tears began to roll down his face, Cloud kept giving him everything he ever wanted, and yet all he ever did was hurt him. He had seen the way his blond would occasionally flinch back when they bickered, he had noticed how Cloud seemed to subtly turn away from him whenever they spoke of fire or the reactors. Now he knew why. Fuck, that was probably triggered his PTSD yesterday too. If glaring at him was all it took to give his precious boyfriend a panic attack then how was he supposed to make this relationship work? He loved Cloud, he really did, but wasn't there a saying about letting your loved ones go?

"Sephiroth?" The blond put a hand on his arm, attempting to comfort him. It was in that moment he made a decision.

The silverette spun the smaller man around to face him before pinning him to a flat portion of a crystal, "You know love you right?"

Clouds face turned pink, "Y-Yeah."

With that out of the way he leaned down and captured the blonds lips, who returned the kiss with great enthusiasm.

Cloud felt himself slide down the wall of the crystal cave, but any thought or concerns were held at bay by the generals kisses. They sat there for gods know how long, just making out like a pair of teenagers. It was only when Sephiroth began sliding his leather clad hands up under his sleeveless turtleneck that he realized where this was going, and it sent a thrill up his spine, good gods he wanted this.

"Ehem." A woman's voice interrupted them, causing them to spring apart in shock.

"M-Mother?!" The general stared in wonder.

There, in fact, stood a translucent figure of the woman from the crystal. "...Sephiroth?" She wispered, wide eyed. "Is it really you?" She rushed torwards him, fingers spread across his face, "You look so much like him! Oh, gods! I'm so sorry!" She pulled him into her embrace.

Sephiroth didn't even mind that her touch felt like ice on his skin. His mother could speak to him! And his boyfriend, his lovely boyfriend who he would soon set free was smiling at them, as if he didn't just coldly shove him aside for another. As if he didn't just hurt him again. Yes, Cloud deserved so much better than him.

Cloud may have been completely blindsided by this, but he was used to it by now. He seated himself on a fallen crystal and shook his head. This was probably going to take a while, might as well get comfortable.

___________________________________________

Reno yanked Rudes hand off of his mouth. They were utop a cliff far enough away from the happy couple for them not to hear, but with SOLDIER 1st, it was best not to risk it. He tore his earpiece out once they were good and gone and turned to his partner. "Holy shit!" He repeated. "I expected them to find the bug! Holy shit! We actually managed to record all of that!"

Rude nodded in agreement. That was a lot to take in. "We need to contact the boss."

Reno snorted, "Yeah, and let the big wigs deal with it? Nah."

The professional looking Turk managed to raise an eyebrow above his shades, as if to ask where he was going with this.

"You heard blondie! This Jenova crap is basically gonna blow up in our faces! Big wigs won't give a shit, and i really don't feel like dying!"

"What do you suggest we do?"

The redhead gave a crooked grin, "We blow up in her face first!" He said with a note of triumph. "Now C'mon! We got a date with a monster bitch!" He shouted as he stode over to the passenger side on thier unsuspecting black van and hopped in.

Rude sighed, they were going to get in trouble again, but Reno had a strangely valid point, per usual. He began to mentally prepare himself for the influx of paperwork he would receive was this mission was though. At least Nabilhaim was a relatively short drive away.

"Really got to thank blondie, ya know? If he hadn't sang like a canary we wouldn't know jack! Same goes for Rhapsodos!" He laughed.

"Reno." He said in warning, handing his redheaded companion a bottle out of the center console. "Stop talking."

"Aw, such a buzz kill." He said as he grabbed the bottle, "But you more than make up for it!" He said before he downed his vodka.

___________________________________________

Cloud was grateful that his boyfriend was getting along so well with his mother, though being excluded did kinda hurt. He had been expecting it though, so it was alright.

What he hadn't expected was to see an odd bit of metal glinting on the underside of Sephiroths pauldron. He tried to brush it off as nothing, but now that he knew it was there, he couldn't stop seeing it. The blond had a terrible feeling and he knew it wouldn't disappear until he at least checked. "Sephiroth?"

"Yes dear?" Clouds chest warmed upon hearing the endearment. "I saw something under your pauldron, and I know I'm just being paranoid, but I need to know for sure."

Sephiroth smiled at his pretty blond and looked over to his worried mother. "We're fine, and soon you will be too. I promise." He quickly removed one of his signature silver pauldrons, see there's- oh no." Right there, on the edge, was a tiny microphone.

"Oh no." Cloud echoed Sephiroths words, "Oh, gods no. I can't go back now!"

"Hold on. Why can't you go back?" Sephiroth asked, startled.

"They know about the lifestream! Shinra has been searching for the lifestream longer than either of us has been alive! If I go back..." he trailed off, "Sephiroth. Spend time with your mother, and tell the kids I love them and that mommy will be home before they know it." He kissed the silverettes cheek before darting off into the narrow passage they entered from.

"Sephiroth, baby. Tell me what's going on."

The general sighed, gearing up to tell her the longest story of his life.

___________________________________________

Cloud raced through the underbrush, quickly slicing through any mosters that got in his way. He needed to get to Nabilhaim as quickly as possible. He had finally made a mess so big that he needed Vincent's help to get out of it.

Honestly he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner. He felt somthing nick his leg, but paid it no attention to it. It would heal soon enough. It kept happening and he kept ignoring it, that was until he noticed he was out of the brush and there was nothing left to keep scratching him. His body felt so heavy, it was with dawning horror that he realized he wasn't being cut by thorns. He was being shot with tranquilizers. "Shit." He slurred, leaning against a large rock to regain his bearings.

"Goddamn it! 42! I shot you with 42 damn tranqs!" A infantryman popped out of the bushes with an antire squad hot on his heels. "How are you still standing? These are the things they use on the larger expirements!"

"Stop complaining Joel. Let's just get this over with." Another commented.

Cloud couldn't focus, he tried to rush forward only to collapse onto the plush green grass. When did the ground get so comfortable? Black started to creep around his vision, engulfing him into the viod. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care.

The last thing he heard was a voice saying, "Hojo is going to have so much fun with you."

Chapter Text

Cloud woke up to the achingly familiar feel of wrist and ankle restraints holding him to a metal slab. Fuck. He took control of his breathing when he felt a panic attack coming on, it didn't stop it, but it helped. That is, until the door a few meters across from him opened with a swish.

In stepped a figure from his nightmares.

Hojo in all his twisted glory. "I trust you found your accommodations," he paused for a moment, a wicked grin upon his face, "exceptional?"

Cloud only glared up at him. "The bed sucks." He almost swore as Hojos grin grew, "I'm certain we can find something better."

He called in some lab techs who were carrying cases that smelled strongly of disinfectant, "No." Cloud breathed before he began to frantically writhe against his bonds, "No!" He yelled, ignoring the madmans cackles. He was intimately familiar with what was in those cases.

Hojo snapped some latex gloves on before he opened a case on a nearby metal table. He slid a scalpel out of the brown box, causing the metal to release a sharp sound. "You've caused me quite a bit of trouble, my dear. I'll make sure you pay for that."

"What did you hear?" The blond hissed as he desperately struggled to free himself from his restraints.

"I doubt there is anything you could say that would be of greater interest to me than the data your body will provide." The scientist sneered.

Cloud was reeling, did Hojo not know? Then who planted the bug? Sephiroth was hard to catch off guard. The only person who could touch Sephiroth without being impaled was Hojo, and that was only because he was trained to be obedient throughout his childhood.

He knew Sephiroth was just as wary of the Turks as Cloud was and would never let his guard down around them, so how could they do it? It had to be them, right?

Genisis. It struck him like a thunder spell, it had to have been Genesis. No one else had touched them that night.

Cloud was torn from his thoughts by the flash of light hitting the scalpel. As it decended into his flash he bit his lip and tried not to scream.

___________________________________________

Sephiroth layed on the floor of his mothers cave with his head in her lap. He had spent the last three hours telling her all about his childhood in the labs and his adulthood in the military. He told her about Genesis and his sharp tounge and love for poetry and about Angeal, who was gentle but stern and loved his plants. He even spoke of Angeals hyperactive human puppy.

But he absolutely gushed about his boyfriend. Cloud was perfect in so many ways. The blond understood him better than anyone and they shared many traumatic experiences, including Hojo. The silverette hoped with time Cloud would open up to him more, but refused to force him.

"He's been gone a while." Sephiroth mused.

"Your boyfriend," she said hesitantly, still trying to adjust to the fact her son was openly gay, she didn't have a problem with it, things were just different in her day, "probably ran off to find his old allies right? Do you think he'll be alright on his own?"

The general paused, "I don't want to leave, but I don't want him to be all alone."

Lucrecia gave a sad smile, "Sephiroth...I once fell in love too. I loved him more than anything in the world, but I had done terrible things in the past. I thought if he found out about these things he would hate me, so I married another man and I was left to regret that decision to this day." She took a deep breath, "Follow him. Don't make the same mistakes as me."

___________________________________________

Zack giggled, thinking of all the games he was gonna play with the kids. Genesis had called him up, telling him he had gotten a call to a secret emergency meeting and that Zack couldn't tell anyone that he was ever gone, even Angeal. Weird, but ok. He had enough time to buy some packs of candy, three pizzas, six different packs of sodas, and three dozen doughnuts. He even brought a box of DVDs and some of his old game consoles.

Oh yeah, Sephs kids were gonna act like kids tonight! The moment he knocked on the door, the Lord of Loveless himself appeared. He spoke so fast that the poor 3rd was still trying to prossess what he had said when the commander practically sprinted away. Huh. Commander Rhapsodos usually didn't care if he was late for meeting, hell, sometimes he would just skip them all together. Zack had overheard Angeal ranting about it before.

The spiky haired man shrugged and entered the open doorway, glad he didn't have to even try to explain the snacks, Gen must be having an off day. He counted his lucky stars as he started setting out the food on the counter. "Hey kids, dinners ready!"

The kids slowly began to trickle in, thier little faces scrunched up in confusion. "Zack? Where's Gen Gen?" Rain asked, already starting to sniffle.

"Oh don't you worry Raindrop! The oversized strawberry had a sudden meeting he had to attend. I think something might have happened."

"Do you think it's something bad?" Altair asked nervously.

"Nah," the blackette shook his head, his spikes shaking with it, "Even if it was, Gen is like, super strong. He'll just save the day."

"Like a superhero?!" Bellatrix lit up, starry eyed.

"Yep!" He said, finishing the word with a pop, "Now let's dig in! I brought you guys lots of treats, but ya gotta eat your pizza first, got it?" He opened the box upon seeing the twelve nodding and eager children. He didn't, however, expect to be swarmed by little children demanding 'Genesis' superhero stories'.

"Hoo boy. Grab your slices and sit down, imma 'bout to tell ya about Shinras famous Phoenix!" He boasted, if he was gonna keep them up all night with fun and games, this was certainly one way to do it.

___________________________________________

"Well?" Genesis demanded not two seconds after bursting into the room, "Is Sephiroth safe?"

Tseng sighed, "Yes, from what we can tell-"

" 'What you can tell?!' What do you mean, 'What we can tell!?'"

"Genesis I know you're upset," Veld began with a forced smile.

"No, I betrayed the trust of one of my closest friends by planting spy gear on both him and his boyfriend so you can listen in, and now you don't even know if he's alive?!" The Crimson Commander looked like he was about to pop a vain. Or murder everyone, at this point it could go either way.

Veld rested a hand on Genesis' bicep, "I know you're worried about him. We all are. A strange man suddenly appears with twelve children, all with similar traits to the general. It sounds suspicious enough even before factoring in he has no known history and refuses to give his last name, all while seducing the general with everything he's ever wanted in the height of a war."

The Crimson Commander kept his face carefully blank. "What was his last known location?"

Veld grimaced, but gave him the coordinates anyway. "Be careful, the generals tracker is dead, but the suspects tracker was fleeing from the scene incredibly fast. I don't know what you'll see when you get there."

The redhead nodded grimly before sweeping back out the door.

A whole minute of silence passed before, a voice from the speaker on the center of the table broke it,  "Yo, why aren't we just telling it like it is. We don't trust this guy but Hi-ho Silver has got it bad. We just bug 'em till we do."

"Reno, Genesis is more loyal to Sephiroth than to Shinra. If we make him feel like he has to choose, then we will be cooked alive. That's why we convinced him it was for the generals own good." Shotgun explained.

"Yeah, ok. But consider this: if he finds out, we die." Reno shot back, his tinny voice filled with sarcasm.

"What do we do now? We heard everything Cloud said about the future, and assuming he's sane we should probably do something about it." Katana added.

"I think we should try a direct approach." Cissnei chimed in, "He knows about the bug, so why not confront him about what he knows and assure him we mean no harm. Offer him and his children protection from Hojo."

"That's a good idea," Tseng said, "Cloud seemed terrified of Hojo, so it could be assumed he was a former expirement "

They all glowered at the thought.

Veld looked over to Katana and Cissnei, "I want you two to meet up with Reno and Rude once they finish with Nibelheim and aid Cloud and help him get back home. Convince him to talk with us and we will do whatever he needs of us."

"You dont mean..." knife trailed off.

"If the world ends then so does Shinra. We swore to serve and protect this company at any and all costs." He said simply.

The radio crackled to life again, "So I find the cutie and help him out. Got it."

"Try not to let the general hear you say that." Gun sighed.

Reno hung up his phone before turning to Rude, "So. After we finish up here we gotta go blondie hunting. You game?"

Rude made no outward reaction other than a single nod, but that was enough for his wild redheaded companion. "Alright! Let's blitz this bitch!" He cheered, breaking out the explosives. 

Chapter Text

Sephiroth was looking everywhere for his little blond love. He called his name as he walked, getting progressively more concerned as time went on. He moved further and further away from both Lucrecias cave and the motorcycle he and Cloud had taken to get there, not wanting to leave his boyfriend stranded in case he returned.

It was about an hour into his wandering that he spotted a familiar shock of red. "Genesis?" Sephiroth gawked, seemingly shocked by his friend turning up in what was essentially the middle of nowhere.

"Hello, dear." The redhead grinned, his normal smug attitude firmly in place.

"What are you doing here? Who's watching the kids?"

"It's fine," the Crimson Commander began, "Zack is-"

"Zack?! Zack is watching my children?!" Sephiroth raised his voice in panic, "Oh gods! We need to get home!"

Genesis rolled his eyes, the mako glow making them stand out more in the dark of the plains, "I'm sure it's fine."

Sephiroth didn't even bother to reply, simply choosing to grab his friends wrist and sprint away to the bike, half dragging the redhead in the process.

__________________________________________

Zack awoke to a large explosion, "Wha..?" He sat up and wiped the drool from his chin with the back of his hand. When had he fallen asleep? He sat up on the plush leather sofa and stretched.

The blackette looked around for the kids but didn't see them. The action movie was still playing, so he assumed an explosion from the film must have woke him up.

He lifted himself up from the warm comfort of the impromptu bed and padded down the hall to check on the kids, telling himself they must have put themselves to bed. Gen had said they did that sometimes. But when he ducked his head into the boys room it was empty.

A shrill of alarm raced down his spine, and on instinct he ran to the girls room, flinging the door open in his urgency. It was just how he feared. Empty.

Just as he realized all the things this could mean, he heard another large explosion and this time he knew it wasnt the TV.

He sprinted back down the hall, through the living room and out the apartment door with only one thought on his mind. Gotta find the kids!

It didn't take long to find the first one, Rain sat on the floor, surrounded by concerned 3rd class SOLDIERS and wailing her little heart out.

Zack skidded to a stop next to the circle of men, "Rain!"

The men immediately recognized him and saluted him, but he paid them no mind. Now was not the time, "Raindrop! What's wrong? Why are you out here?" He asked, only slightly hysterical.

The tiny blond tried to reply, but she was sobbing so hard that everything she said came out in indecipherable babbles. Her face remained red and her nose was dripping snot as he picked her up and rocked her in his arms, whispering to her in a convincing facade of calmness, "There, there. Cry as much as you need, I'm here now."

She continued to cry and kept her face shoved into his chest, unthinkingly using his black t-shirt as a tissue. Zack was grossed out, but let it happen. "Mommy's hurt!" She bellowed.

"What?!"

"Mommy's hurt!" She repeated as she continued to sob. "Everyone's mad and ran away!"

The young 1st class SOLDIER took a deep breath, realising the explosion was likely had something to do with the children he decided to make a few calls. He shifted her weight around to one arm and pulled out his PHS with his newly freed hand and began dailing once he flipped it open.

"Before you start, yes I know what time it is, and yes I know sleep is important. But this is an emergency."

Silence.

"General Sephiroths children have gone missing and they're running around the tower trying to find thier mother."

Zack pulled the phone away from his ear and held it way from him. It was a good thing, since the cry of 'WHAT???' was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the lounge area.

He pulled it back to his ear and hummed affirmatives at whatever the person was saying. "No, this isn't a prank. I need people to be sent out to help me look for them. They could be in danger!"

Rain sniffled, having calmed down somewhat. "They aren't in danger." She argued, "They ARE the danger."

Zacks eyebrows shot up into his hairline, "Huh?"

"They're gonna find mommy," she said in that tone children used when they were impersonating someone else, "one way or another!"

The blackette didn't like the sound of that.

"Lazard, did you hear that?"

Another silence.

"Thanks." He hung up and pocketed his PHS before turning back to a sleepy Rain, "C'mon Raindrop, imma take you to meet some friends."

The little girl sniffled again but otherwise didn't reply. The other men seemed to shuffle from foot to foot, as if they didn't know what to do with themselves. Zack decided to have mercy on them, "Ya know you guys can go now right? If you need something to do I'm sure Lazard could work something out."

That seemed to do the trick, cause the moment he released them they took off like a shot, scattering in different directions. He laughed a little when one tripped over a potted plant in his haste to escape.

"Weird." He mumbled to himself as he hiked over to the elevators. "I hope those rumors about Veld being good with kids are true."

__________________________________________

Rufus slid his keycard through the slot and opened the door to his office. Today had been particularly exhausting and he was looking forward to sitting in his comfy office chair and playing with his precious Darkstar. That dog had been the light of his life the past few years and he had no idea what he would do without her.

"I'm back-" he floze. He had expected to see a pair of red eyes staring back at him, that was normal. The pair of cat green eyes however, were new. He recovered quickly, greeting the young blond with the  grace and professionalism expected from a person in his position of power,  "Well, hello there."

The boy, Nimbus if he remembered right,, remained glaring at him as he layed on the floor, hugging Darkstar around her neck.

Rufus quickly took note of the bloodied nailbat on the floor beside the child, half obscured by his grand antique desk. "Can I help you?"

The kid didn't miss a beat, "Yeah, you can leave."

The vice president smirked, this boy had a mouth on him. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't know. Mother is hurt. There's pain and labs and a man with long black hair and a white coat."

"Does he happen to have circular glasses?" He asked, suspecting he knew who this child is looking for.

Nimbus looked at him suspiciously,  "...yeah. You know him?"

"That would be professor Hojo. Talk to the Turks about your mother. They know more than you think."

The smaller blond stared at him for a prolonged period of time, his glowing green eyes seeming to bore into his soul. "Alright, thanks." He gave Darkstar one last squeeze before grabbing his bat and walking past Rufas and back into the halls of the Shinra tower.

"Did you have fun with your new friend?"

Darkstar only wagged her tail in response.

It wasn't until later that he learned the president had been bludgeoned to death in his office. Rufus decided to keep the truth about his fathers killer a secret, after all, both he and Darkstar liked him.

__________________________________________

Heidegger was enraged, "I don't care whose children they are! They are a nuisance and I want them gone now!"

"But sir!" A small cadet replied, "They won't listen to us, and we can't remove them without a fight."

"Do you think i care?!" He roared, "Kill them if you must! If the general doesn't like it than he shouldn't have unleashed his hell spawn upon us in the first place!"

"Ahem." A girls voice cut in, "we just want to look for our mother in peace."

The trooper froze. He knew this girl, she was one of the kids. She had grown quite the reputation for her cruelty and ruthlessness. The graceful demon child, known in some circles as 'Deneb: the black swan'.

The moment Heidegger started yelling, the trooper knew his fate was sealed. They could call him a coward all they liked, but when he saw the look in her eye he just knew he had to run.

The green coated loser didn't know what hit him. All the men witnessing the scene cringed as the enhanced little girl sucker-punched the man in the crotch. Heideggers face was priceless as he colapsed onto the ground, the girl twirling effortlessly out of the way before calmly walking off to join her siblings and unlike Heidegger the rest of the men weren't stupid enough to get in her way.

"Was that really necessary?" Saiph grumbled. He really didn't want to get another lecture from Uncle Angeal, but it seemed a little late for that.

"Yep." Deneb replied cheerily.

Vaga kept giggling, green eyes glittering with unchecked mischief. 

___________________________________________

Nimbus didn't get it. He had bashed in the skulls of no less that twenty men and not one of them would tell him where Mother was. Bavk in the labs they would give him targets to fight and the scientist would answer whatever questions he had when he eliminated them. This new way of tracking down false targets until he found a solid lead was frustrating. He sensed his mothers pain, his fear, his hope that he would be saved, and it made him all the more urgant. Their mother was calling out to them and Father. Their connection told them that both their parents were far away, but that couldn't be right. They had just gone out for a date, and were captured. From what he and his siblings gathered from thier connection, whoever took Mother was involved in Shinra and was high up in the chain of command. It hadn't been much, but it was a start. Now he was directed torwards the 'Turks' by the nice dog man. He hoped they would know where Mother was. If they didn't? Well...he'd keep bashing heads until someone talked.

__________________________________________

Cloud stirred at the sound of the door to his prison whooshing open. He pretended to be asleep, childishly hoping that they wouldn't hurt him if they thought he was unconscious.

Instead he got poked in the face.

"Hey, blondie!" A familiar voice whispered in a hasty greeting as he started fiddling with the blonds restraints, "wake up! We need to get you outta here!"

He opened his eyes to see a shock of red hair. "Reno?"

"Hey! Keep your voice down!" He whispered harshly, "Do you want to get caught?"

"You're a sight for sore eyes." He muttered, mostly to himself.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't swing that way."

"I didn't either." Cloud drunkenly admitted.

"So the general is just special?" Reno asked, wiggling his eyebrows as he got off the second cuff.

Cloud blushed, but answered honestly, "Yeah..."

There was a beat of silence,  "So. What's it like, being in the past an' all?"

Cloud sighed, he knew the gig was up. "Chaotic. Just like the rest of my life."

"You'll have a lot of explaining to do once we get you home." Reno broke the third cuff.

"I know. I'll answer what I can. I don't think I'll be moving much."

"And why's that, yo?"

"Look under my shirt." The blond added.

"I already told you I don't swing that way."

"I don't want to say it, okay." He snapped.

"Alright, alright, but if you even think about- holy shit!"

There were stitches, and a lot of them. That alone wouldn't have bothered Reno, Turks see a lot of crap from the darker sides of the world. No, what bothered him was the fact this was an autopsy cut. They preformed a vivisection. They cut him open.

"Holy shit!" It was all he could think.

The cocky spy finally broke the last cuff and wasted no time hoisting the blond into his arms bridal style. He ignored the blonds blush, but he put his foot down when the guy started apologizing. "Look, short-stack-"

"You're not much taller that me."

Reno ignored that, rushing down the hall. They were almost home free. "This wasn't your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. Creepy egg heads will be creepy egg heads."

"I suppose you are correct on that front." A nasally voice cut in, making both the blood in both men's vains freeze.

Reno frantically tugged at the solid steel door, the only thing keeping them from freedom, but it wouldn't budge. They were cornered.

Cloud peered over the redheads shoulder while Reno simply turned his head to look back at the professor without turning around. "Ey, what's up doc?"

"What's up, is you stealing one of my prized expirements." Reno felt Cloud shutter in his grip when Doctor Nutcase said the forbidden 'E' word.

"As a Turk you should know better. You know the price of being a hero." He lifted a shotgun from under the lapels of his lab coat, "goodbye Turk."

Reno closed his eyes, wondering if this was really the end.

He heard the shot, but didn't feel any pain, he opened one eye to see what was going on.

"Rude!"

Rude stood behind the crumpled body of the late professor Hojo, gun still drawn and at the ready. "Oh my gods, I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see you!"

"Reno, calm down." Rude shot him a smirk, "I don't swing that way."

"Wait, what? When did- that's not what I-" Reno finally gave up trying to speak and followed his partner to another exit being careful not to jar Cloud during the trip.

"Thanks." Said the blond, looking small and pale in the redheads arms.

"Just rest. We'll call your boyfriend and tell him what happened, but for now let's focus on getting you home."

"...Alright."

Chapter Text

Cloud didn't know what was going on in the floors below, but if he could smell the blood from the bed in Sephiroths guest room, then maybe that was for the best.

Sephiroth was probably gutting people if look on the generals face when he last saw him was any indication. Now he was stuck in this nice cushy bed, being catered to by all his children while Zack was being watched by Angeal to make sure he didn't escape time-out. As it turns out, feeding espresso to the children you were babysitting is a bad idea.

"Zack!" Angeals muffled yell reverberated in the hall. Speak of the devil. Zack bounded into the room with a plate of full of fruit in his hands, "Yo, Spikey!"

Cloud smiled weakly, "Hey, Zack." He was only slightly surprised by how horse his voice still was.

"Are you feeling any better?" The blackette asked as he set down the fruit on the nightstand nearest to Cloud.

"A little," he lied, shifting uncomfortably in the oversized blue silk shirt Sephiroth had lent him. It fit him like a tent, but it was the only thing that wasn't agitating his stitches. "I'd feel better if I was able to move around, but I'm just greatful that everything turned out okay."

Saiph made a worried face and fluffed the pillow Cloud was leaning against for what was probably the tenth time in the past twenty minutes. The blond was greatful that they cared, he really was, but this was stifling. "Saiph," he began," I can't tell you how greatful I am to you and your siblings,"

The silverette and his siblings either beamed or puffed up with pride, with the sole exception being Nimbus, who was the ever capable guard. Blank faced and silent like a stone sentinel, watching over his mother and siblings. In Clouds opinion, he acted way to much like his father when he was in 'work mode'. Where was he going with this? Oh, right. "Why don't you guys go out and play with Uncle Zack?"

"What?" Saiph asked, wide eyed, "Are we being a burden?"

The blond winced, "No of course not!" Leave it to Saiph to be overly perceptive. "I just don't want you guys to be stuck in a tiny room when you could be having fun!"

"We would rather be with you." Deneb replied haughtily.

Cloud sighed, deciding to take the politicians route. "You're father should be home in a few hours and he will be exhausted. How about you guys go draw some pictures for him?"

They seemed to hesitate for a moment, so Cloud pulled his trump card. "Your Father feels really sad because he wasn't able to save me. He could use some cheering up." His children, ever eager to aid thier parents lit up like lighthouses.

Citalá, who was by far the quietest of his children, finally spoke. Her meek little voice filled his heart with joy, "I wanna draw pictures of daddy. Can I not be grounded for that?"

Thier mother stared at her, inwardly cursing at himself. The five year old was the spitting image of her father, not a trace of himself to be seen, and she was also incredibly adorable with her child-speak and oversized green ribbon in her ponytail.

But Citalá had committed the grave crime of cutting up the curtains with a pair of scissors so that she could braid them. Cloud swears she has some kind of braiding addiction.

"Alright, but once you're done coloring you will come back into my room spend twenty minutes on the corner of the bed. No whining! Then you'll go back to being grounded." He said, remaining soft but stern. "This is a one time thing, and I'm letting it happen because your father has had a rough day and this will be a nice surprise for him."

The kids cheered and quickly wandered out of the out of the room before Cloud could change his mind. He tried not to smile when he heard Angeal let out a startled yell from down the hall, from being pounced on by a group of small children no doubt.

Zack shook his head, a giant smile plastered on his face. "Man, you sure know how to handle 'em."

"Yeah, they're good kids. I'm glad to have them. I never thought I'd have a family, let alone one this large."

"Ya know, Sephiroth said the same thing once."

"He did?"

"Yep! When Angeal first told him about finding you guys Sephiroth was excited. He never met anyone like him before, so he really wanted to get to know you." He purposefully left out the whole, 'might be his kids thing' cause Zack knew how ready Sephiroth was to take the kids by force if he deemed it necessary and he didn't want to talk about that.

Zack bent over by the bed suddenly and before the blond could ask, he came back up with Gale in his arms, "Looks like the little guy was hiding under the bed."

Gale giggled and thumped Zack on the chest. The blackette took this as a challenge and thumped his own chest with his free hand. "Rock solid little buddy!"

Cloud smiled at thier antics, "Can you check up on them, I'm worried about Angeal getting overwhelmed."

Zack nodded and was about to take off before he stopped. He looked down at Gale and started making unsure gestures to him. It took a moment for the bedridden blond to register that his friend was trying to use sign language to tell him where they were going.

Cloud felt like he was going to cry, he was so happy. All his friends are so supportive and kind. Looking back he didn't think he was ever quite this happy before. Even if his friend had just called him a deer faced woman in sign language.

He waited until Zack had rocketed off to the living room to sink further into bed, smiling and thinking about his boyfriend and thier happy family.

__________________________________________

Sephiroth was still fuming, even as he washed the blood off himself in one of the infantrymens communal shower rooms. He was merciless and meticulous about slaughtering everyone involved with Hojo and his boyfriends capture, which as it turns out, was a lot of people.

Now he simply wanted to go home and snuggle with his beautiful Cloud on thier couch while thier children played around them. Better yet, it could be one of those rare times where his blue eyed love would let the silver general kiss him senseless.

The general snapped himself out of those thoughts before they went strait into the gutter, he had his family waiting for him after all. The moment he exited the elevator he smiled, he could just barely hear the muffled sounds of his children laughing along with his friend Angeal, no doubt because of something the puppy said or did.

He took a deep calming breath before opening the door. He was immediately swarmed by his adorable children, cheering and begging them to look at some drawings they made.

His heart melted at the sight. Most where pictures of him with his black outfit and long silver hair, others were angry looking stick figures with gray hair. There were even some pretty good 'Chibi' style drawings of him and Cloud holding hands or Cloud kissing his cheek with a little heart above them. Cute.

Vaga was going on about who made what while the others seemed to compete for his attention. As it turns out, the Chibi ones were made by Cloud himself. Gods he loved that man.

Sephiroth noticed his friends watching him cater to his children with enough fondness in thier eyes to make him feel as though he were the child and they the proud parents. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it so he decided to ignored it.

He lightly scolded Citalá for what she did to the curtains as Rain and Regulus latched onto his leg before his daughter began to enthusiasticly tell him about her day, the others following suit, ending with Nimbus.

After the others went off with Angeal and Zack to get ready fo bed, Nimbus confessed what he had done yesterday, not showing an ounce of remorse.

Sephiroth nodded along, knowing most of this already, but the bit with Rufus and Darkstar was surprising.

"Are you angry with me?" He asked and the silverette answered honestly. "Yes. Not because you killed people, but because you ran off on your own without telling anyone where you were. What if you had gotten captured?"

Nimbus seemed to wilt at that, "I stayed within the view of the cameras."

The general sat down on the leather sofa and lightly patted the space next to him. Nimbus hurried onto it and looked up at his dad. "Nimbus?" He asked,

"Yes Father?"

"Cameras are just a tool. They can be manipulated and avoided. Someone could have deleted the footage or put it on infinite loop. Someone might have just walked into camera frame without a care and captured you, and by the time we found the footage you would be long gone to an unknown location."

"I love you and worry about you and your well-being. Please be more careful next time."

The blond looked down, not sure what to say, "I didn't think of that. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He leaned over to press a kiss into his son's forehead. "Goodnight. Get ready for bed."

The small blond hopped up before proforming a perfect salute then headed off to bed.

Sephiroth got up as Zack and Angeal entered the room. "I don't know about you guys but I'm beat!" The shorter blackette stretched for emphases.

"Goodnight Zack, Angeal."

"Goodnight Sephiroth." Angeal said warmly before leading his pup out the door.

Once they were gone he turned off the lights and padded off torwards his room to change into his night clothes. He quickly peeled off his long coat and gloves before tending to everything else. The cool silk felt blissfully cool on his warm skin.

Sephiroth stared at himself in his closets floor length mirror, and once he deemed himself appropriate, he left the seclusion of his chambers to know on Clouds door.

"Come in." Came the soft reply, and the general turned the doorknob, entering the room before closing the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?"

Cloud shrugged, "Just a little sore. The stitches aren't red anymore."

"May i see them?" Sephiroth asked. He hadn't meant anything by it, but the blonds cheeks gained a rosey hue as he began to undue the buttons. One by one they came undone and granted the silverette the view of the man's smooth chest and impressive abs.

Beautiful.

The only thing that marred the skin of his lovely angel was the thin black stitching in a Y shape along his abdomen. Cloud was right, it was no longer inflamed, and if they kept this up it would be unlikely to even scar thanks to the copious amounts of mako in his system.

Sephiroth didn't think. He just leaned opener and began planting gentle kisses along the rows of thread embedded in his lovers body, causing the blond beneath him to squirm and giggle, "Se-Sephiroth!" He laughed, "Stop it! That tickles!"

The silverette pulled away from the now breathless blond and layed down next to him, slipping under the covers and cuddling up to him. "Alright then. Goodnight."

Cloud gaped at him, "You can't just get me worked up and then fall asleep!

"Oh, but I can." He responded playfully.

"You jerk!" He retaliated, but his words had no bite to them, "At least let me up so I can get to the bathroom."

"Mm? And what's in it for me?"

Cloud seemed to think for a moment, "Kisses and cuddles?"

Sephiroth wasted no time hoisting his love into his arms, ignoring his sound of surprise, he took him though the master bedroom and into the ensuite.

The blond managed to wiggle out of his grip and land on his feet, if just barely. He leaned against the wall and listed an eyebrow, "Do you plan on watching me?" The blond sassed.

"Not unless you dicide to bathe." The silverette joked. Unfortunately Clouds face turned bright red, "Out!" When the general just stood there smiling the blond took initiative and started whipping at him with the hand towel from the vanity.

Sephiroth laughed, "Alright, alright. I'm going." He fled the bathroom, closing the door behind him, before crawling into his bed. He had changed his sheets and pillowcases to silk in hopes he could convince the blond to sleep next to him that night.

As it turns out he didn't need to, cause when Cloud came out he went strait to Sephiroths bed, climbed in, and cuddled up.

The silverette turned to ask him what was wrong, but was immediately silanced by a kiss. Cloud looked like the cat that caught the canary, "I promised kisses, didn't I?"

Sephiroth once again thanked the gods before he was overtaken by his angel kisses