This was posted as part 9/9 of my Cloud's Birthday Week 2k14 challenge on tumblr. Happy birthday, Cloud!

While Cloud was half-dreaming and still very much asleep, he managed to become dimly aware of two things. 1) He was hard as hell, and 2) he was spooning somebody. That was as good a combination as any, and his arms tightened around a wide chest a bit as he gently rocked his hips forward.

Oh, he was naked. Even better. His arm was dead asleep under the substantial weight of his partner's body but he hardly noticed it, too distracted by the way it felt to press his aching cock against the cleft of his boyfriend's ass. He did it again, and then again, his eyes cracking open sleepily. There was something in the way though, everywhere, clouding his vision—it was silver. Ticklish, too, now that he noticed it—he scrunched his face up, the stuff all near his nose, and finally rolled away so he wouldn't sneeze.

As he moved away his boyfriend rolled over too, apparently awake. Cloud brushed his bangs out of his face and smiled widely; they both knew what waking up cuddling did to Cloud's mood.

That smile froze as Cloud realized rather abruptly that the man he woke up beside was not his boyfriend. The silver ticklish stuff had been hair, and lots of it, which cascaded down the body of…a complete stranger.

"Good morning, Cloud," the stranger murmured. "Did you want to go again?"

Cloud swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "Morning," he rasped again. He paused. "Sephiroth."

The man stared at him, and he wasn't blinking much at all. "Do you remember last night? Please do not be alarmed."

"Most of it, I think. I'm good."

Cloud slightly shifted closer with each sentence from the both of them, and when he returned, close enough to press himself against the long line of Sephiroth's body, the man nodded. He rolled over in the other direction and leant over the edge of the bed to grab the lube from wherever it had fallen the night before. Cloud stared unashamedly as he did so, and when Sephiroth returned, their eyes met as the man pressed the small bottle and a condom into his hands. Cloud did not blush and avert his gaze; he met it head-on, looking for something just as Sephiroth, it seemed, was looking for something in his.

When they both found it Sephiroth smiled at him and leant back on his bed, kicking off the sheets so Cloud had unobstructed access to his body. Legs spread and lounging back, Sephiroth was so very clearly different from Cloud's boyfriend. His bed was the same size as theirs back home but he took up so much more space in it; Sephiroth was tall and lean, and Cloud remembered standing on his tiptoes to kiss him at some point last night at the club.

In fact Cloud felt a little silly at not realizing immediately who Sephiroth was, and where he was located. As their lips met Cloud remembered why he had been so wildly attracted to the silver-haired man the evening before. As Sephiroth's legs locked around his lower back and his heels pressed inwards, urging Cloud to move more deeply inside him Cloud remembered the way he had kissed his boyfriend goodbye and left the venue with Sephiroth instead, sitting sandwiched between the window and his body, giggling drunkenly, on the cab ride home.

There was a small, insistent feeling of worry in his gut but Cloud did his best to drown it out with the sounds of Sephiroth's reserved little groans of pleasure; Genesis was a big boy and could take care of himself, wherever he was.

They stumbled to the shower together afterward, fingers entwined. Cloud almost fell twice on the way there; his balance was evidently still off. Much to his surprise Sephiroth grabbed underneath his upper thighs and picked him up, urging Cloud to wrap his legs around his waist. Genesis was strong but he couldn't do that; Sephiroth fucked him hard right there against the wall of the shower and the whole thing was so goddamn hot that Cloud sobbed out his pleasure against Sephiroth's neck as the sounds echoed around them in the full, cramped space.

Cloud hadn't had this much sex in twenty-four hours in a long time.

He ached all over, but in good ways. Sephiroth bundled him up back in his bed when they were done and the water had begun to run cold, kissed his forehead, and murmured that he was going to make breakfast. Cloud just grunted.

When Sephiroth was gone Cloud let himself finally, truly relax. He sighed and burrowed his face under the covers, feeling his cheeks burn as he ran through everything that had happened the night before and this morning in his mind. Sephiroth was… sexy and magnetic and attentive; he had not had a one-night stand in years but he doubted he'd ever had one that he enjoyed this much, or where he'd been treated this well the morning after. Usually it was a 'get out of dodge' thing as soon as you woke up, while trying to not be too awkward. He couldn't see Sephiroth but he was starting to smell what he was doing, and it was hard to stop himself from wandering in there to be with him.

"I got damn lucky," Cloud muttered to himself. He went boneless for a minute or two, breathing deeply through his nose, and then forced himself to pull on his clothes from last night. He turned on his phone and laid back down on Sephiroth's bed, smiling at the flood of delayed texts from his boyfriend that had been sent while his phone was off.

Have fun, was the first one. Then: I love you.

Cloud bit his lip and tucked his knees to his chest as he read through the rest. They weren't all as coherent, like Ang rescu adog spppoo cute cloudddd. He had been fairly sure Genesis was drunker than he was last night and he supposed this was proof—he, at least, hadn't drunk-texted anybody.

He called him. Genesis's phone rang and rang, and Cloud ended the call as the voicemail picked up. There wasn't any reason to worry—Gen tended to sleep in whenever he could manage it and was probably fine—but he made a mental note to try again in a little while. Rolling over onto his back, he spread out his arms and surveyed the room. There wasn't a lot of decoration and none of the signed musical posters Genesis had put on half of their room, nor his own of motorcycles and horror movies on the other. In fact Sephiroth didn't have a lot of decoration at all. The room was pretty plain, and the bed was just black. Although that made sense for cleanliness-related reasons Sephiroth's hair stood out like nothing else against the fabric. There was a strand of it nearby and Cloud could not stop his small smile.

Gaia, he had hooked up with a stranger. What even.

He finally got out of bed, stretching straight up to the ceiling when he did so and satisfactorily popping a few joints. His ass kind of hurt, but it was a familiar, good ache. He brushed his teeth in the bathroom with toothpaste on his fingertip and then wandered out into the rest of the apartment.

Like the bedroom it was rather bare. It had the essentials, however, and it had a tall silver-haired statue of a man bent over the stove and making omelets.

Maybe it was because he had not been promiscuous and hooking up with people since he had gotten into his relationship with Genesis two years prior, but he'd forgotten 'one-night stand' etiquette. He was sated and cuddly and regardless of whether it was taboo or not he wanted to wrap his arms around Sephiroth's bare chest from behind and press a kiss to the attractive muscles of his back like he would have with Genesis, so he did. Sephiroth did not seem to mind.

"Smells good," Cloud said against his spine. "Can I help?"

"Thank you. You can get plates if you want; I would appreciate it. They're in that cabinet there."

When they had their meals and sat at the dinner table, at adjacent seats rather than opposite ones, Cloud glanced at Sephiroth over his fork and asked, "So do you remember everything?"

"Most. Some of the events at the club are a little hazy." His eyes widened briefly, like he was alarmed. "I remember everything with you, of course. Of course."

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. Sephiroth smiled at him. "I thought I was supposed to be the shy one."

"The only reason I was so brave is because Genesis was around, and because I was drunk." Laughing, Cloud vividly remembered the way he had declared that he wanted to have sex with Sephiroth in front of everybody. "His presence eggs me on sometimes."

"You two are cute," Sephiroth said, and there was no jealousy or bitterness or concealed feelings in his tone or expression. He was very…upfront, and honest, and kind too, and it was what had drawn Cloud to him the previous evening.

"Thanks." Because Cloud could not stay all day and Sephiroth had errands to run they both tucked into their breakfast. Cloud had not heard much about what Sephiroth did for a living over the sounds of the club's music the night before so the man told him again about the power company he worked for, where he oversaw a department of white-collar workers. It explained the sizeable apartment with the nice furniture, little of it as there was. The man acted like Cloud's mechanic gig was just fascinating, his eyes never straying from Cloud's face. He was attentive and spent some time just holding Cloud's hand, so clearly happy to be sharing this morning with him.

It melted Cloud's heart, honestly. When he had to go Sephiroth fucking kissed his hand, making his stomach turn to goo. The memory of all such kisses he had gotten on his throat, collarbone and other places threatened to make him tremble in place but he acted cool until the inevitable goodbye.

"Bye, Sephiroth," Cloud said.

"Goodbye, Cloud."

The blond did not move for the door. "…Hey. Look, I— would you be interested in—shit." He tried again. "I like you a lot, and I know Genesis did too. This was just a one-time thing but would you want to stay in touch? You'd make an awesome friend."

The older man seemed pleased. They exchanged numbers and Sephiroth said, looking as honest as he always did, "I'll call you, Cloud. Thank you for yesterday and this morning. You are a delight."

Genesis's sweet talk and praise always made him blush, and with Sephiroth that was apparently also the case. Cloud pulled him down for a long, lingering kiss by the door. Fuck the hooking up code; he wanted to kiss Sephiroth, and he had permission, so he damn well did. He pressed in hard, hoping the lips under his would bruise with it, so that Sephiroth would remember him for a few days.

They both focused hard on remembering the smell and taste and sensation of the other, and with one last kiss Cloud finally made himself draw back. "See you," he said, and slipped out the door.

On the bus home he finally got ahold of Genesis.

"…Hello?" came that familiar voice, sounding groggy and rough.

"Gen," Cloud sighed, his shoulders drooping with a release of tension. "God, I love you. Good morning."

"Cloouud," Genesis groaned. "Sweetheart. Hi. Where are you?"

"On the bus. I'll be home in a bit. Are you okay?"

"M' fine. Got dropped off an hour ago. Hungover. Hurry home, I want you."

Cloud smiled, his eyes closing, and he felt the ache of wanting to get off the cramped bus and into the other's arms like a physical thing. "I'll see you soon."

"'Kay. Love you."

"Love you too."

Cloud ended the call and leant his head against the window. If he shifted just right he could feel the dull ache inside from a night of satisfying sex—and it was hard to believe that it had even happened. He and Genesis just didn't do crazy, spontaneous things like they just had, or at least, not like this; nervous laughter, almost in disbelief, bubbled up inside of him. He held it until he got back to his own apartment and went into the bedroom with a cup of water for his beloved in hand.

Genesis, who had been dozing, opened his eyes and rolled over. Their eyes met. Cloud started to giggle.

"Oh, Goddess," Genesis moaned, a hand over his face. He gestured for the blond to join him in the bed. Cloud put the water on the bedside table and crawled to his lover, flattening him and squeezing his upper body tight. They continued to laugh together, arms grabbing, hands reaching out for bodily contact. Genesis was sturdy and beautiful and here and his and Cloud kissed his temple, overcome.

"I can't believe we did that," Genesis gasped through his laughter.

"Me neither."

Genesis's amusement finally seemed to die down a bit and he stroked Cloud's hair. "You smell like strange man."

"So do you."

The giggling started all over again. Once they had calmed, Genesis had gulped down his glass of water and Cloud had kicked off his shoes to snuggle under the blanket with him, they got down to business.

"So. Tell me everything."

"Everything? Well, uh… after we said goodbye to you guys we took a cab to his apartment. It's nice. We…did stuff and went to bed. Did more stuff in the morning. Then I came back."

Genesis's expression was utterly disappointed. "You are the worst storyteller I have ever had the misfortune to meet," he sighed. "You left out all the good details. Like—did you fuck him?"

"Yeah."

"Protection?"

"What do you take me for? Of course. Every time."

"Did he fuck you?"

"…Yeah."

Genesis groaned at the ceiling. "Damn, I am proud of you. A man like that needs to be experienced in as many ways as possible."

Cloud laughed, but Genesis was right—Sephiroth was truly something else. "The first time was on my back, y'know—then we did it with me in his lap." Cloud sort of demonstrated sitting up and riding a dick, to Genesis's raucous laughter, though he did it with considerably less enthusiasm than he had the night before. "Then I fucked him in the morning on his back, and then…" He drew out the anticipation and dropped the bombshell. "He picked me up in the shower. Right against the wall."

"No way."

"Seriously. He's strong."

"Ugh, that's hot. Time to start lifting weights, Cloud; I want you do to that to me." Genesis smiled fondly and kissed the tip of the blond's nose.

"Well, what about you?"

"Sex wise? Twice. The first time the little one—"

"They're both bigger than us."

"Shut up. The first time the little one fucked me while I fucked the big one." Cloud let out a loud gust of breath, astonished and amused, and hid his grin behind his hand. Genesis raised a finger. "And the second time, the big one got me on my hands and knees while the little one watched."

"…I'm jealous. I've never had a threesome."

"Maybe Sephiroth wouldn't mind fixing that, mm. But we didn't have sex in the morning because, er. Well. I was throwing up."

Cloud cooed at him, rubbing his belly. "Poor baby." Genesis grunted, and Cloud slid his hand up to cup his face. Those blue eyes flicked over to his, and Cloud peered into his face. "Gen," he murmured. "I'm… so glad I have you. I missed you on the ride home." He kissed him, the soft texture of his lips, his smell, and his warmth just as Cloud remembered, thankfully. This man was all his.

Thankfully Genesis knew what was troubling Cloud. He returned the kisses with just as much gentleness as Cloud had given, and beneath the blanket his hand found Cloud's free one. "I am glad to be back with you as well—where I belong." He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Now, I want you to try to tell me again, but start at the beginning. Don't be stingy."

Genesis was drunk. The music in the club had stopped being irritating and now sounded kind of…good, which was his usual sign. His hips couldn't stop moving to it, and he unsuccessfully tried to get his boyfriend to dance with him. "Cloud," he pouted, standing in front of him and reaching around to grab his ass, because he knew the blond would get embarrassed, "Dance with me. Please?"

"No," Cloud said, but his shoulders were moving a bit to the heavy beat of whatever the hell this techno shit was. Though, to be fair, he doubted classical opera would make for a sexy time. More cultured, yes, but…

"My beautiful Cloud," he murmured, kissing his cheek, "Want to get another drink?"

Cloud seemed relieved to get off the dance floor and led him over to the bar. It was long and wide and they found a clear space to huddle around each other. Clubs really weren't a regular thing for them, but they had been in for a boring Friday night, with no good movies out and no good plays nearby. Despite Cloud being uncomfortable dancing the night had been entertaining so far, with good drinks and interesting people.

In fact Genesis could see one of those people from where he was sitting, though Cloud was facing the counter, downing three small, colorful shots in succession. He nudged him. "Hey. That guy with the hair is looking this way."

"Heh?" Cloud whirled around, not smooth or discreet about it at all, and Genesis brought a palm to his face. "Gaia, he is."

Over Cloud's head Genesis made eye contact with the man with silver hair on the other end of the bench who Cloud had been keeping an eye on all evening. The redhead looked away, suppressed a smile, and nudged his boyfriend. "You and your crushes."

"The only crush I have is on you," Cloud flirted, puckering his lips in a kiss and blowing it to him. Genesis fanned his face, acting overwhelmed.

One of the bartenders came over with two cocktails and placed them down in front of them. Genesis's eyebrows rose. Neither he nor Cloud had ordered them, which meant…

"Did someone buy us these?" He asked, delighted.

The bartender jabbed her thumb to the left, in the opposite direction of Cloud's not-a-crush, and they looked over to find two dark-haired men trying, and failing, to inconspicuously check them out.

"Cloud," Genesis whispered as he raised a hand at them in thanks, "Do you know what this means? We're still hot. We have game."

"Shut up, drunky," Cloud muttered, sagging more weight against Genesis's side than he should have.

"You shut up, drunk-o."

They both shut up as the two men came over. Genesis and Cloud hurriedly picked up their drinks and took a sip, making a big show out of loving them (which wasn't hard for Genesis, really; he loved most drinks, and it ended up being delicious. Cranberry). Genesis greeted them as they approached, his gaze sliding from shoes to scalp on both.

"You bought us these?" he asked coyly, like he didn't already know.

"Guilty as charged," said the one with the spiky hair, shrugging. He had a dimple in his cheek when he smiled. "Are they good, at least?"

"You try," Genesis answered, and held it out. The man met his eyes for a moment before sucking a sip out through his straw. If he had not been trying to look cool and confident in front of his boyfriend Genesis may have giggled—oh, dear, the old excitement of playing the game with a stranger.

Something about having Cloud's sturdy presence at his side was fortifying, though, and then he held his drink out to the other man. Beardy was a few inches taller than Spiky, and both towered over his little Cloud. This man took a sip, hummed, and nodded appreciatively.

"It seems we have good taste."

"I bet you do," Genesis shot back, and Cloud pinched his side, discreetly, from behind. Too much? So sue him, but he was having fun.

The spiky one laughed, a great big guffaw. "Seems like money well spent to me. How's your nights going, guys?"

"Good," Genesis and Cloud both chorused, sounding like a bunch of school children. The redhead glared at the blond out of the corner of his eye.

"Do we get the pleasure of knowing who exactly bought us these drinks?"

"Zack," said Spiky, clapping Genesis on the shoulder and squeezing it instead of a typical handshake. "Angeal," yelled the other, over the music.

"Genesis. Nice to meet you two."

Instead of Cloud introducing himself Zack asked, "And who's your friend?"

Cloud was no longer there. He hadn't really registered Cloud's be right back from a moment ago, too busy staring the two newcomers in the eyes. Genesis looked around, concerned, but saw his blond head finally near that silver-haired man a dozen stools away. Cloud turned around and met his gaze; Genesis gestured for him to come back. Cloud nodded.

"That's my boyfriend. Cloud."

Angeal's eyebrows rose and Zack winced. "Oh, sorry, man, we didn't know. Didn't mean to—"

"No," Genesis interrupted, smiling sweetly, the strobe lights of the club dancing before his eyes, "It's okay. Stay with us a moment."

Cloud came back over, this time with the silver-haired man in tow. Up close it was clear the man was stunning. Even Angeal and Zack seemed a little dazzled.

"This is Sephiroth," Cloud said, and to Genesis's knowing eye he could see that Cloud was nervous. "And I'm Cloud. Sorry, I missed the introductions…?"

The five of them found a circular table to sit around and got to know each other. Genesis was sure to make it very plain that he and Cloud were in a relationship; he didn't want to lead anyone on any more than they probably wanted to be. To his surprise the dark-haired pair were as well—for about a year, they said. They were cute together. Sephiroth did not seem too put-out at being the only single one there; he bought a round of drinks for the whole table.

Genesis couldn't sit still, grooving to the beat slightly in his chair. He tried to listen as everyone got acquainted, but alcohol made him want to move, dammit.

"You wanna dance?" Zack asked him from across the table.

"Yes," Genesis answered immediately. "Cloud is mean and won't dance with me."

"Shut up, drunky," Cloud said again, like he was proud of that insult or something. Genesis pouted and leant closer to him, and closer, and closer, until he was almost tipping out of his chair but was right in the blond's space. The younger man turned his head and accepted Genesis's kiss, something soft and reassuring. You can do this Cloud, I'm here with you, I love you.

Genesis broke away, held out his hand, and when Zack took it he led him away into the crowd.

Zack, as it turned out, was loads of fun. He grabbed at his hips and grinded against him in a way Cloud was too embarrassed to in public, but also danced during a fun song with his arms above his head hollering like a college girl. Genesis laughed along with him, and did so harder when a man passing by put a dollar halfway into the waistband of Zack's jeans.

"I can't believe this," Zack said, holding it out triumphantly, "I got a dollar. I should become a dancer at a club for real, you think?"

"You've got the body for it," Genesis purred, or tried to; he was slurring a bit from that last round Sephiroth had ordered. Zack got the message nevertheless.

They danced until Zack couldn't stay out any longer because he had to piss. They took a trip to the bathroom, Genesis utterly ignoring the two sets of feet in one of the stalls and the young men popping X by the sinks, and returned to the table.

His Cloud was radiant. The blond was often quiet and unsure of himself but Genesis could see plainly that he was captivating the other two men, telling a story about something while talking with his hands. His bright hair shone like a beacon under all the colorful lights and his face was flushed and shining with happiness. He was having a good time, and Genesis was glad. That was the whole point, wasn't it?

Zack, too, seemed taken with him. When Genesis sat down though the man got his attention as well as Angeal's, who was sitting on his other side, and the two on the outside shifted their chairs closer to Zack's in the center.

"You two have fun?" Angeal asked, one hand coming around Zack's shoulders.

"Hell yeah we did. He's a good dancer, Ang. And look! Someone gave me a dollar." He held it out, and Angeal looked impressed.

"If I give you a dollar will you dance for me?"

"Aww. For you I'll do it for free." The two leaned in for a kiss and Genesis rolled his eyes. Gods, were he and Cloud that cheesy? The answer was probably yes.

Speaking of Cloud, he and Sephiroth were deep in conversation on the other end of the table. The music was still incredibly loud, making their table vibrate. Cloud moved in to hear something he had missed and Sephiroth spoke directly into his ear. Strangely Genesis felt no jealousy. He was just pleased that his lover was getting a chance to interact with a hot man. He could imagine the butterflies that Cloud was probably feeling right now.

Genesis had a surprising amount in common with Angeal and Zack. Neither were theater aficionados but they both enjoyed movies, which he and Cloud did as well. He and Angeal were from the same hometown, crazily enough, although they had gone to different high schools. They spent a time talking about the local hangouts and certain people everyone seemed to know. Genesis was older than both of them, but just a few months with Angeal as compared to two years with Zack.

Cloud interrupted their conversation at one point, another drink or two in—he came around Genesis's chair and draped himself over it from behind. "Gen," he sighed.

"Sweetheart," Genesis cooed back, leaning his head against his. "What's up?"

"I want to have sex with all of you," he said loudly. Genesis burst out laughing before he could help it, shocked—and then Cloud went further, pointing at Sephiroth. "But especially Seph."

Sephiroth looked innocent, like he was in no way responsible for Cloud saying such a thing, but Genesis knew better. The man clearly wanted the kitten—and Genesis would have been offended, truly, if he hadn't. Cloud was marvelous.

"You do, huh," Genesis said, kissing the blond's neck.

Angeal and Zack seemed just as amused, and after a moment Cloud shrank back. "Uhh…god, I'm embarrassing myself. Sorry."

"Shut up, drunk-o," Genesis told him, smiling at the repeat of his own crappy insult. "Come here for a moment. Excuse us, boys."

He grabbed Cloud's hand and they walked together through the crowded dance floor, far enough away that the other three couldn't see them. Genesis absently wondered what the three were talking about, whether Angeal and Zack got along with Sephiroth well. They huddled together and both started to nervously babble.

"Oh my god, Cloud—"

"Is this it, do you think?"

"I think so! He's so into you!"

"He asked me, Gen. If you and I had an arrangement. To spend the night with other people. And Angeal and Zack definitely want you—"

"Are you okay with this?"

"Are you?"

Genesis sighed, took a deep breath, and tried to sober up for at least two minutes so they could have a rational conversation about this. A few months ago they had talked about it, the possibility of sleeping with other people while part of their relationship. They had settled on conditions—they both had to approve, and they both had to be into whoever it was. They had to be open about it and tell the other person all the details later on. They had to be safe and sane.

So far nothing had come of it. The two of them adored each other—it wasn't that something was lacking, but just that it could be a lot of fun to occasionally hook up with another person or do so together, bring a little spice into their lives. While getting dressed to come out a few hours earlier Cloud had joked, "Maybe we'll find hot guys to go home with tonight," and Genesis had snorted.

But this was real life. This was their chance.

Cloud looked excited. "Are we really going to go through with this?"

"Only if you want to. I like Sephiroth a lot. He would be good to you."

"Angeal and Zack seem like nice people."

The two men stared at each other, both clearly nervous. "We'll never know if we don't try," Cloud eventually said, his voice almost drowned out by the loud music. "And if we don't try right now I think we'll regret it."

"I think so too. …Let's go for it."

Cloud pulled Genesis down for a kiss. They did not let go of each other for a full minute.

When they returned Cloud went right back to Sephiroth and Genesis sat down in his chair airily, apologizing for their disappearance. He leant forward on the table, propping his chin up with his elbow down, and wiggled his eyebrows at the other two. "My boyfriend over there is probably going home with Sephiroth, it seems. So. I have a free evening."

He waited expectantly. Zack and Angeal looked at each other, but not for very long—they must have discussed this themselves as well. Zack did not seem the type to beat around the bush, so he asked straight out: "Would you want to come home with us, then?"

"Yes," Genesis answered firmly, before he could chicken out, nodding his head. "Cloud is cool with it. I'm cool with him. Just so everyone is clear."

"Crystal," Angeal answered.

With the formalities out of the way, and with everyone on the same page, Genesis and Cloud let loose. Genesis coaxed Angeal out on the dance floor and Zack managed to get a wide-eyed Cloud out as well. The man was just so fun though that soon Cloud and Sephiroth (who seemed equally as uptight) were having a good time. The five danced together and then went back to sit for a time, all talking about jobs and work and rent and hobbies. At one point Angeal, at Zack's encouraging, gently grabbed Sephiroth by the hair and used his grip to tug him in for kisses. It was a fascinating development, and one that Genesis studied like a true scientist, making observations and cataloguing things in his brain for purely research purposes, and then Cloud felt obligated to kiss the man that kissed his man (Sephiroth, that is) and Zack and Genesis both catcalled approvingly as the blond climbed into Angeal's lap.

Eventually they had to go their separate ways, however. Cloud and Sephiroth left first. As the older man hailed a cab Genesis squeezed his lover, murmuring drunken things into his hair. "Be safe," he told him, "Call me in the morning."

"Will do. Good luck, Gen."

"You too, sweetheart."

When the other two were gone Genesis put his hands on his hips and smiled at the other two. "So…shall we?"

For two days after their respective wild nights out, Genesis and Cloud were inseparable. It wasn't just sex, though there was certainly a lot of that. Neither was comfortable until the scent of 'strange man' was gone off the other and replaced with something more familiar. There was more to it than that, however. From the way Genesis would hold Cloud's gaze as much as he could and the way Cloud would mutter the redhead's name over and over until it grew unintelligible as he trembled and fell apart there was some reassurance they needed too—knowledge that their stray into the vast pool of other people hadn't changed them.

In fact the two felt closer afterward. The trust it took to unworringly send a partner off with someone else was massive.

Afterwards, when Cloud was content and positive that Genesis was not going to leave him for Zack and Angeal, he let himself relax. Gen wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he. Work continued as usual, and life resumed. Genesis worked at his small bookshop and Cloud went to the garage. It was hard to believe that the two of them, so plain, had done what they had.

Cloud was upfront though. "I got Sephiroth's number," he admitted on the third day. "Not so I could hook up with him again but so that we could be friends. You too, if you wanted. I haven't messaged him yet." He held out his phone as proof, and it was void of messages or calls to that number.

Genesis 'hmed' in consideration. "That's fine. I liked him a lot; I wouldn't mind seeing him again. Besides, I got Zack and Angeal's." The two men sat down together, the older man's head on Cloud's shoulder, and they both sent out identical messages at the same time: Hey! Thanks for the other night. You were fantastic, and so kind.

"We sound so polite," Cloud muttered. They identified who they were and sent them out.

"You only think so because you're a rude mountain child. 'Not interested, not interested.'"

"Stop tickling me, asshole. St—haha—stop! Fuck!"

"See what I mean?"

Sephiroth's response to the text made Cloud's blush. He called him a goddamn treasure and thanked him again for that night. He could imagine the man saying those words in that voice of his. Sephiroth really was something else. He ended up texting the man fairly often after that, about inane things. The man was good for conversation, and, truthfully, he seemed kind of lonely. Cloud could picture him alone on the couch in that big, empty apartment, squinting at his phone screen. It made his heart constrict painfully.

It was amusing to watch Genesis message the others as well. His boyfriend was usually the height of cool (or he was when he wasn't being a huge fucking dork), but he made the weirdest faces as he messaged Zack and Angeal. Occasionally he looked almost…shy.

The look was nothing compared to the faces Genesis made when Cloud came in the door after a long day or as Cloud fucked him raw with his knees pushed back to his chest, so he didn't worry about it. He teased Genesis, and the man could give as good as he got.

When Cloud finally confessed what they'd done to his best friends, they said they were impressed (when they stopped screeching, that is). "You are both texting your drunken hookups, though?" Tifa asked, mystified.

Aerith seemed to share her sentiment. "You aren't worried?"

"Nah." Cloud shrugged. "Gen loves me, not them. I think that if we're both open with each other the whole time we should be good. We agreed to cut things off with them if we developed feelings for anybody." The two of them looked skeptical still. "They're just friends. We need more, honestly."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I could handle my lady texting random guys like that." Aerith kissed Tifa's cheek and the other woman looked pleased. Cloud laughed. Different strokes.

At work he was texting Sephiroth about the finer points of picking the perfect motorcycle when a familiar face entered the garage. Cloud spotted him first and he dithered for a moment, awkward, before deciding to make his presence known. He emerged from the back and into the area for customers. He raised a hand. "Angeal?"

The man had been tapping at his phone, standing in the line at the counter like a casual model for a rugged men's fashion magazine or something. His jeans clung in all the right places and his t-shirt had a v-neck, revealing some of his chest. Dammit, Cloud was jealous of his boyfriend. The man looked up, in the wrong direction at first, but he eventually located him. His eyebrows flew up. "Cloud?"

"Hey," he greeted, walking over to him. Angeal looked slightly different in the light of respectable day, but not in a bad way. Cloud had a weird, overpowering urge to press his thumb to the hair on the end of his chin. "How have you been?"

"Good," Angeal answered, looking at his grease-stained overalls and 'Cloud' nametag. "That's right, you said you worked at a garage." His lips pressed together, like he was fighting a smile, but it won out in the end. "Cute uniform."

"Oh yeah." Cloud ran a hand down his side in mock-seduction. "Is everything okay? No accidents, I hope?"

"Oh, no. Just in for inspection."

"Ah, that's good."

Angeal nodded, a bit awkwardly, and they stared at their feet.

"Well, I—"

"How long—"

"You go first."

"Uh, okay. How long are you here? You waiting for your inspection to be over?"

"Mm. They said three hours. I'm planning to kill time at the stores down the block."

"Well, I'm on my lunch break in twenty minutes, if you wanted to wait for me? We could get food across the street, or something. If you wanted," he repeated.

"…Yeah, sure," Angeal agreed, tilting his head.

Cloud retreated to the back, and when he next emerged, sans overalls, Angeal was seated outside on the curb, tapping one of his boots on the ground along to some beat in his head. Asking him out had been automatic, but now he had a moment to think about it, staring at his back.

He almost chickened out. Cloud set his shoulders and ultimately walked over, though, because Genesis would be disappointed in him if he was a wimp. He awkwardly brought Angeal across the road and they settled into a little café. At first they made small talk, Cloud saying something about the motorcycle he'd been working on that morning, and then the blond sighed, fiddling with his napkin.

"Thanks for being so good to Gen. He really had a nice time."

"Of course. He's…lovely."

"Heh. Yeah, he is. I know he got sick in the morning, so thanks for taking care of him and driving him home too."

"It was nothing. Did he tell you everything?"

Cloud went pink. "…Yeah. The first thing we did when I got home the next morning was spill." He tried to look apologetic. "Sorry."

Angeal laughed and waved him away. "Don't be, I was just curious. It's good you two are so open. But hey—what about you? Did you have fun?"

"Hell yeah I did. I'm sorry if I was ignoring you or Zack at some points."

"That's fine. You were on a mission."

"Ha. Well, the mission was successful."

"Good to hear. Zack and I were rooting for you two."

Cloud laughed, delighted and slightly embarrassed. It was weird looking at this man and knowing he had been all over Genesis. Something they had in common, then. He gave a brief watered-down version of his evening with Sephiroth, blushing pink. Angeal said that he had gotten to kiss the man at least, which was better than nothing. It was so funny to Cloud to see how enraptured everyone was with his new silver-haired friend.

"So is that something you two do often? Split up like that?"

"Oh, no, no, no. That was the first time, actually."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. A few months ago we decided that if we ever were in a situation where we both met and liked people we could go home with them… for fun, provided we both approved and it was safe. We just never met anyone we liked, I guess." Then, because Genesis's flirty nature had bled into him over the past two years, he couldn't resist adding, "You guys were just that awesome."

Angeal chuckled. "Thank you. Actually, that was the first time Zack and I took someone to our bed as well."

"Seriously? You guys seemed so confident about it."

"That's Zack for you. I think it was much the same as you two. We talked about it a long time ago but never had the right opportunity. Originally we were planning to ask both of you, but you weren't interested."

"Wh—it's not that I wasn't interested," Cloud protested, eyes wide at this new information. "I just had already set my eyes on Seph by the time I met you two. …I'm sorry. That would have been fun. Uh." He rubbed the back of his neck. It was such a weird conversation, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to fuck you and your boyfriend.

Angeal smiled at him, his gaze all delicious heat. His Genesis must have been goo when facing a look like that. "It would have," he said simply. I'm sorry my boyfriend and I didn't get a chance to fuck you too.

They exchanged numbers at the end of their impromptu lunch date and Cloud went back to work feeling decidedly strange.

Genesis was amused at Cloud running into Angeal at the garage about a week ago. Angeal was a devastating sonuvabitch. The memory of that soft beard tickling his thighs or the tight squeeze of his muscles as Genesis had pushed into him was still fresh on his mind. He could imagine the cute, overwhelmed look on Cloud's face as the two of them talked.

He figured it was one-time thing, though. What were the odds of running into one of the others in this whole city, after all? In a way he was glad he and Cloud didn't sleep around more often, and that his string of ex-girlfriends before Cloud all lived in Junon, his last town. It would be stressful to bump into hookups all the time.

It seemed he spoke too soon, however, because his blond lover's tall, pale vision of a crush came into his bookshop slightly before closing. He almost couldn't believe it. There were three other patrons browsing the shelves but Sephiroth did not spare them a glance, coming right up to the counter, holding eye contact.

"Hello," he said, simply standing there, his hands folded on the counter.

"Seph," Genesis said, not realizing he had only done so because Cloud called him that. "Hi. What brings you here?"

"Cloud told me you own this establishment," he murmured, his eyes sliding around lazily as he took it all in. "I wished to see it for myself. I also wished to see you, I suppose."

Less of a random encounter and more purposeful, then. "Why?"

Sephiroth finally shifted, looking less like a perfect robot and more like a human. "I, ah… I wanted to verify any information, if you wanted, and… express my gratitude."

Genesis raised his eyebrows, waiting, and Sephiroth continued. "I understand that Cloud is his own person and that you have no authority to actually stop him from doing anything—and the same is for him about you. Still, I—am pleased that he had your approval in leaving with me that night. He was lovely."

The redhead frowned. "Be honest with me. Was it the best sex you've ever had?"

Sephiroth's eyebrows drew together. "…Yes," he answered.

Whether it was true or not it was the correct response. Genesis relaxed and smiled at the other man. "You are welcome. From what I understand you treated him like a prince. Thank you. He deserves that much."

Sephiroth nodded, agreeing. "Why don't you get some tea?" Genesis asked. "I'll leave the shop open later than usual. We'll chat."

Sephiroth served himself from the setup against the far wall, Genesis rang up a customer, and they sat at a tiny table, their knees bumping together intimately in the small space. Sephiroth had selected for himself a cinnamon tea, one of Genesis's favorites. Another point for him.

"So do you approve?"

"Yes," Sephiroth answered, referring to the shop. "I saw some interesting titles in the window. It is a shame I have never visited before."

"Oh?" Genesis asked, delighted, "You're a reader?"

Sephiroth nodded once. "I have been trying to get my hands on Reeve Tuesti's Sith for a while, and you have it." He inclined his head toward a nearby display.

"You're a fan of the classics," Genesis sighed, almost a moan, "Where have you been? Tuesti is much more known for Cait, but just between us, Sith is the much better book."

As it turned out Sephiroth was a very well-read man. There were only a few titles Genesis could name that Sephiroth was not familiar with, provided they were in a few genres. The man had not read anything resembling contemporary fiction since he was a child, and it could partly explain why the man was a bit awkward. Cloud was a bit awkward sometimes in a way Genesis found charming. Sephiroth too, though the nature was different.

"Have you read Loveless?"

To his great dismay the man had not read his favorite poem. He grabbed a copy—he kept several in the store and recommended them all the time—and together they went through the first Act. Sephiroth read it aloud, the familiar words sounding new in that rich, low voice.

"Ripples form on the water's surface," Sephiroth murmured, his brows wrinkled in concentration, "The wandering soul knows no rest…"

They did not move on to Act II, but Genesis assigned it as homework. "I'll give you this copy for free—think of it as a thank-you for being so good to Cloud. He wouldn't shut up about you or how well you apparently fucked him for days. You'll have to pay for Sith, though."

Sephiroth, bless him, looked embarrassed. "Thank you. Cloud really thought…?"

"You blew his mind, handsome," Genesis answered. "I heard you've got impressive arm strength. He really enjoyed that."

The man was definitely blushing. Genesis laughed.

"Well, what about yourself? Did you have a good time with Zack and Angeal?"

"I did," Genesis answered simply, but then, because he was a horrible gossip, and because he'd already heard all about everything from the shape of Sephiroth's cock to the kinds of noises he made as he was getting his ass pounded there wasn't a whole lot that was taboo. He dished everything.

Sephiroth, who was so silent and serious about everything, was a much less exciting audience than his Cloud. Making the silver-haired man chuckle or press his lips together in amusement, averting his eyes, though—getting those small reactions was a new game on its own.

"I'm slightly jealous," Sephiroth sighed as his eyes closed. They flew back open. "No. Not that I wish I had been with them instead of Cloud, that's not what I—"

"I know what you mean," soothed Genesis, although it was fun to see him flustered. "I said the same to Cloud about you."

Not much about Sephiroth changed with his statement, but Genesis was quickly becoming skilled at interpreting his language, telling when the man was embarrassed. Genesis had always been a talented linguist. He grinned.

"That's right. Angeal and Zack actually invited us over to their place this weekend for dinner. Would you be interested in joining us?"

"That's quite alright," Sephiroth said hastily. "Please, enjoy yourselves."

"Aw, come on. Don't refuse out of politeness. It isn't really a double date. We would love to have you."

Sephiroth looked hesitant. "Cloud is excited to see you again. I know Zack and Angeal are as well."

That did it.

"I suppose I could drop by."

Sephiroth stayed to help him close up, and when Genesis rang up his book before closing the register he threw another book on the small stack. "This is a loan," he informed him. "The Kisaragi Guide to Love, and being the Best Thief Ever.' Young Adult fiction. Goofy. Tell me what you think on Saturday. More homework."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Genesis," Cloud asked as he unceremoniously dropped his towel to the ground when he emerged from the bathroom, "What the hell are we doing?"

Genesis, buttoning up his shirt by the dresser, was very tempted to go over and touch the blond but knowing him he would probably shake his damp head like a dog so he could pelt him with water. They raised children differently near the Nibel Mountains. He settled on watching as Cloud pulled on underwear (the cute blue boxer-briefs that matched his eyes). "I really don't know," he answered, shrugging. "Wear those jeans I always say look nice on you."

"The gray ones?"

"Mm."

They got distracted for a time, getting ready, but then Cloud brought it up again as they left their apartment. "I know they said dinner, but… with Seph there now and all…"

"What do we do if they want to have their filthy ways with us?"

"Yeah."

The two faced each other, clasping hands in the middle of the hallway, because this was a decision they had to reach together. Genesis searched the other's eyes. "What do you want to do, sweetheart?"

"Well. We said it was just a one-time thing, but… if they want to, I'm obviously not going to say no."

"I think that would be foolish. I'll admit I'm determined to get my hands on Seph." Genesis didn't mention that Angeal, through their constant texting, had informed him that Zack had his sights set on Cloud. "We both know the rules. Be safe, and stop if we develop feelings."

"I love you," Cloud declared.

"I love you."

Despite the both of them assuring Sephiroth again the day before that the dinner was casual and that he should not feel like a fifth wheel the man looked highly uncomfortable for the first half hour. In fact it was a little awkward for everybody at first. It was difficult, even for Genesis, to look Zack and Angeal in the eye. The last time he saw them he had been hungover, just barely stopping himself from continuing to puke, and squinting against the sun as they had pulled away from his apartment building in their car. Hardly impressive.

They seemed pleased to see him, however. Cloud and Sephiroth looked adorably shy, shaking hands and smiling at each other before embracing.

Dinner was cooked by Angeal. "I set the table and did all the stirring and stuff," Zack made sure to mention. "He was just the brains."

"Just the brains," Genesis teased.

Part of the awkwardness was due to discovering that your drunken hookups at the club were, well—normal, respectable people too. Angeal and Zack had a lovely apartment, large and full of greenery. They had a dog too, which made Cloud gasp.

"You didn't tell me they had a dog, Gen!" he accused, immediately proceeding to ignore all of them and sit on the floor with the black lab, who licked all over his face.

"Yes I did," he responded, crabby. "I said Angeal rescued a dog, and that it was cute."

"So that's what that text said. You were so drunk I couldn't tell."

Genesis sighed, and the other three laughed at him.

Zack blew a kiss to the pup. "Isn't he adorable, Cloudy? His name's Buster."

"Buster," Cloud murmured, scratching his neck.

With the meal—which was delicious, by the way, with extra options for Sephiroth, who did not eat meat—came wine, and lots of it. Before long the five had their fun dynamic back, but with the added perk of being on comfy seats in a relaxing environment and not a dirty deafening club.

Cloud ended up sitting against Angeal's side on the couch and looked rather small in comparison though he was not a petite man. Harder alcohols made Cloud wild and fun, but wine made him soft, pliant and cuddly.

Sephiroth had read the book, much to Genesis's delight. "My ex-girlfriend's little sister read that book," Zack said, baffled.

"I enjoyed the list of reasons why you have to guard everything you own with your life. Though, looking at through a capitalist lens, I grew worried."

They talked about how the love interest, Vincent, was irresistible to 14 year old girls and 32 year old men alike. Angeal and Cloud were caught up in their own conversation, scooped up together five feet away from the others. The blond soon wandered away from the group to pet Buster again, who was lying down over near the entertainment system.

"You guys play video games?"

"Oh, those are mine!" Zack got up and went to Cloud, who was sitting cross-legged, peering at the titles. Zack went down on his knees behind him and propped his chin up on the man's shoulder. Genesis did not miss the way one arm slipped around Cloud's waist. They started talking about them and Genesis, failing to hide his smile, glanced at Angeal.

Their eyes met, acknowledging yes, one of our boyfriends is putting the moves on the other. With the acceptance of and allowance of the actions unfolding, no one went to intervene. Even Sephiroth seemed amused, lounging back and watching them.

The two youngest of the five were fun to watch, but Genesis tried to stay involved with the other two. Angeal was telling them about his thing for plants, looking adorable as he drunkenly dropped a pack of seeds under the chair he had moved into to be closer to the two of them and got down to crawl around and look for.

On the carpet on the other side of the room Cloud was now sitting with his knees up and spread, with Zack kneeling between them. The spiky-haired man leaned forward until their foreheads pressed together and he murmured, "Yeah, maybe you'd wanna come over and play it with me as soon as it's downloadable from the online store?"

Genesis and Sephiroth let out identical snorts of laughter. Angeal griped, his ass still up in the air as he reached for the seeds, "Can you two just fucking kiss already? You're not going to get in trouble. I'm getting blue balls watching you dance around it."

"Fine," Zack said, shrugging, and went for it.

Genesis watched interestedly as Zack gently tipped Cloud backwards to the carpet. Because he was participating he had never been able to see what Cloud looked like as he was kissing, with maybe the exception of when a mirror was nearby and he could side-eye it. Zack slid a hand up the blond's shirt and Genesis concluded that his Cloud looked sexy with a man pawing at him.

The other three tried to avert their eyes, with little success. One could hardly request privacy when making out in the middle of the living room, however, so Genesis didn't feel bad about observing. Just having two boys in the immediate vicinity feeling each other up seemed to be doing things to Angeal. His arm stealthily crept around Sephiroth's shoulder and he tugged the other man closer. Genesis met his eyes when Sephiroth looked away and Angeal smirked at him.

"You don't need to be so stiff, Seph," Angeal murmured.

After a few minutes Zack and Cloud, flushed and breathing heavily, came over to them. "Spike and I are gonna get out of your hair, if that's okay, guys."

Zack's gaze met Genesis's and Cloud did the same with Angeal. Genesis smiled, and then looked stern. Go for it, but treat him right, or there'll be hell to pay.

"Bye, sweetheart," Genesis told his boyfriend, and the two of them went into Zack and Angeal's bedroom, shutting the door behind them. It wasn't long at all before he heard the occasional faint noise, or the creak of a spring. There was a ninety percent chance his handsome Cloud was about to get fucked in the next room.

Sephiroth, aware of this, and that he was now with the other two, who had already hooked up, stood. He took a long-legged step towards the door. "I should go," he blurted. "I don't wish to impose any longer than I have."

"Seph," protested Angeal.

Genesis hooked his fingers in the belt loops of the man's pants and pulled him in closer like that, until he stood before him. "Wait," Angeal said.

Genesis reached for his zipper. "Stay awhile."

It was very obvious the following morning what had happened. Cloud woke up when Zack started tickling his sides. He grunted, eyes cracking open and began to flail sleepily, rolling away.

"Wake up, Spike!"

"Stoooop," Cloud grunted. He stopped rolling when he hit the edge of the bed and peered, irritated, at his new friend. Spooned up behind Zack though was Angeal, and he looked equally as tired.

"Angeal…" Cloud asked, rubbing at his face with his palm. "Did we, uh…?"

"No," the man answered, his laugh a deep, throaty chuckle. "There wasn't room for three people on the couch."

Cloud was confused for a brief moment, but then it all made sense. "Ohhh."

"'Ohhh,'" Zack imitated, and reached for him. It was the morning now, and Cloud could not pretend wine and the ability to hide in the darkness were guiding his actions. Nevertheless he rolled back hesitantly, and Zack gathered him against his chest again.

"Don't tickle me," Cloud warned, "I hate it. Genesis does it to me all the damn time."

"How can I not, when your reaction was so darn cute? Isn't he cute, Angeal?"

"Really cute," Angeal answered.

Zack's hand sunk into his hair to gently scritch his scalp, and Cloud arched into the contact. His other hand came to rest on the curve of his bottom. A finger or two drifted to his entrance, and despite being kind of worn out Cloud pressed into that too. (He and Zack had been rougher than his usual encounters with Genesis or he had been with Sephiroth.)

"I thought you were trying to wake him up so you could get out of bed," Angeal rumbled.

Cloud cracked his eyes open again and was surprised to find it was Angeal being so tender to his scalp, not Zack. "Fiiiine," Zack whined. He leaned in to kiss Cloud's cheek. "Thanks, Cloud," he murmured, just for him.

"Mm," Cloud grunted. The three of them got up, and while Zack and Cloud had fallen asleep naked Angeal was wearing a pair of sleep pants that were slung low on his hips. The man lingered for a moment and watched as they climbed into their clothes. When he finally left Zack winked at him.

"Don't be shy," he advised, pulling a t-shirt out of a dresser over his head. "Ang likes you. He didn't mind us getting together, either." Cloud must have still looked insecure, because he came over. He placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders, and after a beat they shifted, coasting up his neck to cup his cheeks.

Zack smiled at him. He was so kind, so magnetic—Cloud had felt it the first night, at the club, and was slightly awed to find that Zack, it seemed, was always like that. Those soft hands on his face drew him in for a kiss. Long ago Cloud had learned to ignore morning breath and lingering sleepiness and focus on the feeling. With Zack he felt similarly to how he had with Seph—happiness, a surprising amount of affection, and the inability to leave him alone. When Zack pulled away Cloud looped his arms around his waist. Zack did the same on top of Cloud's shoulders.

"I guess I'm just still getting used to the idea," Cloud murmured, a thumb stroking gentle paths on Zack's skin. "That Gen and I can… sleep with other people. And that it's okay."

"It's scary huh?"

Cloud nodded.

"Same for me. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Just what feels right, I guess. You guys are all fucking awesome, so much more than I expected, and… I don't really want to give that up."

"Yeah. I think… that's what I'm doing, too. I don't either."

"All I know is, that ass felt right last night, if you know what I mean!" Zack gave his bottom a tremendous smack. Cloud let out a cry and pulled Zack into a brutal headlock.

The two wrestled for a minute, laughing and cursing at each other. The smell of breakfast drew them out of the bedroom, however. Sephiroth and Genesis were piled together on the couch, Sephiroth curled on his side half on top of the redhead with his bare feet hanging off the edge. It was alarming, for a split second, for Cloud to see Genesis so intimate with another man.

They were both still asleep, and it looked like Sephiroth, the perfect, reserved man, may have drooled on Genesis's shoulder a little. Both wore loose pants, like Angeal's—probably borrowed, because Genesis at least certainly hadn't packed them. The way Genesis was supporting Sephiroth though, and the way they were twisted together in unconsciousness… it gave Cloud pause.

Zack and Cloud wandered into the kitchen, where Zack greeted his boyfriend with cuddles. Angeal asked if Cloud wouldn't mind waking the other two. After trying to decide the best way to wake them up for a minute Cloud decided to sit on the both of them, straddling the tangled mess that was their bodies, squished together in the small space.

Sephiroth's hair was in the way so he gathered it all and held it away so he wouldn't sit on it. It was just as soft as he remembered it, and he wiggled his fingers through its silkiness.

"Good morning, you two," he said loudly, smiling as both their faces twisted in identical expressions of misery. Up close he could see that Genesis had a few spectacular bruises on his neck. He remembered with fondness the ones Sephiroth had given him, and he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to one of the marks.

"Wake up, guys," he whispered.

Sephiroth cracked open an eye first. Cloud couldn't help but smile at him, and he cupped his cheek, tapping a finger against it. "Hey, you."

"Cloud," was Sephiroth's response. He turned his head into Cloud's touch like a puppy. Genesis was finally waking too with some annoying jostling on Cloud's part. When alert the man tugged Cloud into a hug, the blond's head now resting on Genesis's other shoulder.

"Please tell me that's breakfast I'm smelling," the man sighed. Sephiroth and Cloud glanced at each other, just inches away, and smiled.

Considering all five of them had sex the previous night—and no one with anyone they were actually in a relationship with—Cloud expected things to be a lot more awkward than they were. Other than the first fifteen minutes there was no talk of what had happened, but not because they were pretending it hadn't. Rather, once the major details were out it became accepted as fact and they moved on. At home Cloud would grill Genesis about it all but here the five simply enjoyed breakfast and chatted about other things. There were more important, interesting things out there than sex, after all.

The couple ended up leaving before Sephiroth. Cloud said goodbye to everyone, happy and surprisingly unwilling to part. He played with Buster as Gen gave some goodbyes of his own, and they left.

As soon as they were out of earshot Cloud grabbed his boyfriend's arm and shook it. "This is getting unfair. You had another threesome before I've even had one?"

"You snooze you lose, dearest."

xxxxxxxxxx

After that morning things got weird.

Cloud asked Genesis about it, after a long day spent shopping with Angeal. The man was, they found, cheap as hell, and the two of them had enjoyed themselves harassing him until he caved and bought things he didn't need. "Gen, don't you think all the stuff with the others is…well, a little strange?"

"Yes," Genesis answered as he shrugged, "But I don't care."

It was a good response. As much as Cloud had never been a major participator in hookup culture he knew that it was not normal to start spending so much time with said hookups. Especially so when two were in a relationship, though his boyfriend was spending just as much time with Zack, Sephiroth, and Angeal, so that probably changed the rules a little bit. Maybe.

On Cloud's end so far he had been over Zack and Angeal's place three times to play video games. Two of those times had not ended chastely. He and Sephiroth had gone freaking kayaking, because it was something they both wanted to do but never had been able to. He saw a horror movie with Sephiroth as well. One night Genesis had needed to stay late at his shop so, with his permission, Angeal came over to make Cloud dinner, and then, finally, teased him almost to the point of tears before fucking him stupid in the bed he shared with his boyfriend.

Genesis and Sephiroth had taken to starting their own two-person book club twice a week at the bookshop. They talked about books, Genesis continued to work in Loveless analysis lessons, and they did the kinds of things tea-drinking academics liked to do. Zack and Genesis went dancing again and on the day the other two went kayaking the redhead brought the other couple to a play. Zack told Cloud in secret later that it had been kind of boring, and Cloud was touched that they acted interested for Genesis's sake.

His friends helped him make sense of the whole thing. Even Tifa and Aerith didn't know what to say when Cloud started getting updates about what the others were doing without them. Sephiroth sent him a picture of himself and Zack, out for a night on the town, just the two of them. Angeal sent a picture of him and Sephiroth's legs stretched out on Angeal's bed, Buster snoozing on their shins.

"You guys are so bizarre," Tifa said, shrugging, "But you're all pretty cute together."

Cloud had many friends and so did Genesis, but together they did not have too many people they hung out with as a couple. Sure, Cloud adored Genesis' author friend Yuffie and Genesis was fond of both Aerith and Tifa, but the friendship with Zack, Sephiroth and Angeal—although started unconventionally, and now strange—was something they shared together. They were their friends.

And even though 'friends' was a weird choice of a word to describe those three, Cloud used it anyway. He was happy, and he knew Genesis was too.

One evening, lying together on their lounge chair on their small balcony that overlooked nighttime Midgar, Cloud commented on it. It was slightly chilly and he pulled Genesis closer to him, letting the man snuggle into his side. "You've seemed…cheery lately. I'm glad."

"Mm. I didn't know that having a little extra man-candy around could be so wonderful."

Cloud chuckled and Genesis shifted so that his head rested over the younger man's heartbeat, steady and slow. "Seriously though…" Gen twisted their fingers together. They were soothing—Genesis was always so, so warm. "It's fun but I don't know what the hell is going on. But I don't feel nearly as confused with you with me."

For Genesis that was a surprisingly vulnerable statement. "It's the same for me," Cloud responded, peering up at the few stars visible behind the city's smog. "Thanks for being here, Gen."

"Of course."

"Gen?"

"Mm?"

"…Nothing."

xxxxxxxxxx

Genesis and Cloud's previously average lives were injected with color and fun. Instead of quiet nights in they started going out with their new friends, or having that quiet night in anyway, just with company. The other three came over their apartment one night for a movie and the five spread out on the couches and floor, talking and snacking. When the movie started Cloud curled around Angeal and played absently with his fingers. Halfway through the film Zack fell asleep, his head on Genesis's stomach. There was no sex, nothing more than a few sleepy goodbye hugs. That was fine, though—there was so much more to their newfound relationships than just physical attraction.

The agreement with Genesis said no 'feelings.' Cloud wasn't quite sure what that meant. He had a lot of feelings where his new friends were concerned. Pleasure, happiness, concern, warmth, amusement. He wasn't sure what to focus on or what was a red flag.

…So maybe he did, he wasn't that stupid. But Genesis looked like he was having so much fun with his book talks and theater trips that Cloud couldn't bring himself to end it for him (and maybe he didn't want it to end himself, either. He had always been easily addicted to good things). Uncertainly, he stayed quiet.

For two more weeks they continued to hang out with their friends. Sometimes they were lucky enough to get all five together, and sometimes not. The small knot of worry in Cloud's gut grew and grew; there was no denying the jolt of something that shot through him when he saw the others, when he kissed them or even when he and Genesis stayed up late lying next to each other, texting them, their faces glowing from the screens.

He was unsure whether Genesis felt it too. The redhead used the word 'friends' an awful lot, almost like he was trying to convince himself. It did not escape Cloud's notice. The man acted aloof about them whenever Cloud inquired but in the moment, when he was with them, he looked—smitten.

Sometimes Genesis pressed his lips together and looked at Cloud with this troubled expression. He never got out whatever it was he kept trying to say, no matter how gently Cloud tried to pry it out of him. The blond was able to conclude, even with Genesis being vague and conflicted, that their blissful days like this with their new friends were numbered.

It couldn't last.

For the moment though Cloud was pretending everything was fine. When his phone rang on a Saturday morning, Cloud sat up fully on the couch he had been lounging on and bellowed into the depths of his apartment, "Gen! Got a call from Angeal!"

As he answered it, smiling, his boyfriend moseyed into the room, toothbrush poking out of his mouth. "Hey," he said, flopping back down. Genesis leant over the back of the couch, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Cloud," Angeal responded. "Hi. Um, is Genesis with you?"

"Yeah, he's right here. You wanna talk to him?"

"Zack and I would like to talk to both of you, if that's okay."

Cloud frowned. "Sure. One second." He turned on the speaker function and placed his phone on the coffee table. He motioned for Genesis to lose the toothbrush and when the redhead came back he said, "Okay. Shoot."

"Hey guys," came Zack's voice, the phone apparently on speaker on their end too. "Thanks for listening. …This isn't easy for us, and we did a lot of talking, and we decided we have to talk to you guys about something."

"About what?" Genesis asked, sitting beside Cloud. The blond put an arm around his boyfriend; judging by the grave note in Zack's voice he had a feeling it wasn't anything good.

"You two—and Sephiroth—have been so good to us," Angeal said next, sounding tired. "We've only been together a year, and came to Midgar just a little bit before that; we don't have a lot of friends and really appreciate all the time we've spent with you and all the things you've done for us. Zack and I decided a few months ago that we could try hooking up with someone else, but…"

Zack intervened. "But we're committed to each other, y'know? So we made a promise to each other before it started. If either of us started feeling something beyond, like, good friendship with anybody—we have to cut it off."

"Oh," Genesis breathed, staring hollowly at the phone. Cloud squeezed him and bit his lip, feeling heavy, like the air pressure above him had just doubled.

"Both of us, we—we talked about it, and—we think we kind of—could maybe one day—love you guys a little bit," Zack continued, "But Angeal comes first, you know?"

"And Zack has to come first for me. So we think it's best if we go through with what we said we would do and…cut you off."

Genesis and Cloud were quiet, watching the phone.

"I know you're probably upset, but don't be," Zack said, and to Cloud, his friend sounded teary. "You guys are so freakin' great…I don't think either of us thought that night in the club would have us end up where we are now, yeah? It's just, this whole thing is new, and we're still pretty new, and all of this romantic shit is confusing us and I can't let it come between me and Ang. ...
Am I making sense?"

Genesis was not responding so Cloud took over. "You are," he answered. "Don't worry, Zack. We get it. Of course you two come first. I—I'm sad to see you guys go, of course I am, it's been great with both of you. But you have to do what's best for your relationship, so…don't worry about it."

"Genesis?" Angeal prompted, gently.

"…I understand," the man responded. "I do. I apologize for the two of us coming between you."

"You didn't," Angeal answered, "We didn't let it go that far. You have been nothing but fantastic. It's not your fault."

"Right," Genesis said, dully. "Will we see you two again?"

"Not for a little while, I don't think. But eventually, yeah, why not? As…friends."

"Friends. Right." Cloud nodded, feeling devastated, but made his voice come out steady and strong. "Okay. We understand. Thanks, guys. For everything." He paused, then. "What about Seph?"

"Called him right before calling you two. Told him the same." Zack sighed. "He was pretty upset. It's just our luck that we had to go and…y'know, fall for three people at once. I'm sorry, Cloud. Gen."

"No, thank you. And thanks for being so understanding."

"No problem."

Angeal's voice was quivering. "Well…bye Cloud, bye Genesis."

Zack said his goodbyes as well, now definitely sniffling. When the call ended the other two stared at each other. Genesis leant into Cloud's reassuring touch for a moment, but then he stood and threw his arms in the air. "What the hell was that!?"

Cloud stayed seated. "They broke up with us."

"They—was that a joke, Cloud?" the blond shook his head, but he was smiling, and Genesis let out a roar of frustration before sitting back down. He had to get things out of his system like that sometimes.

"Why are you so calm? Aren't you upset?"

"Of course I am. I just… I had a feeling, to be honest. That all this would end pretty soon. Though…" He fiddled with his fingers. "I thought it would be the other way around."

"What do you mean?"

Genesis—and he himself—had done too much of the pretending not to know what was going on thing. Cloud met his boyfriend's gaze evenly. "I didn't say anything because you seemed so happy, but I think…that I was going to soon. I thought I would have had to call it all off."

"So you too?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "And not you? You were hiding something from me too, weren't you?"

It was always strange to see Genesis look uncertain or ashamed. This time was no exception. He wouldn't meet Cloud's eyes and seemed to shrink an inch or so.

"I love you," he said after a moment. "What I've felt growing for them is different."

"But we only just met them. Come on, Gen—get to the point."

"Yes, alright? I knew I was supposed to tell you as soon as anything went past friendship, but," he leant back into Cloud's space, "I didn't want it to end."

"Me neither." The knowledge that it had anyway stung unpleasantly. "Sorry, Gen. For not speaking up."

"You're forgiven. My apologies to you too, darling."

It was upsetting. Even knowing that the arrangement was probably going to end—and at their own hands—did extremely little to lessen the pain of Angeal and Zack doing it instead.

Genesis in particular was especially angry at how the other couple had gone about it. After finally admitting their feelings for the other three to each other, trying to be as honest as possible, the duo went through with their own promise made months ago and ended it with Sephiroth.

They met him in person, Genesis still rankling from the other couples' decision to call them. Zack had said that Sephiroth was upset, and that much was immediately apparent when they met him at a café in town.

He summarized everyone's confusion and disappointment over what had transpired perfectly: "I never thought that four people falling in love with me at once would be so devastating."

Genesis tried to smile at him, but it was a weak, sad thing. Nothing was funny. "We should have known it wouldn't last," he sighed.

"I think we did," Cloud added.

Sephiroth gave them those big, sad, green eyes. "I had hoped it would anyway."

The couple shifted in their seats, feeling awful. Sephiroth was so apologetic, convinced that he had interfered in two stable relationships and harmed them.

"It's not your fault," Cloud said, but even as he did he wasn't so sure he spoke the truth. Was it Sephiroth's fault that he had been so freaking amazing that first night, enough that Cloud had been inspired to keep in touch and integrate him into the group? His fault that Zack and Angeal were just as smitten with him as Cloud was, and Genesis too? His fault that two couples had to cut off contact with him in order to safely preserve those relationships?

That didn't seem fair. 'Fault' also seemed like a shitty word to use. It had just happened, and regardless of why or how they all now had to deal with the aftermath.

They got Sephiroth to understand as best as they could that no one was angry at him. They needed a break, they said—one day they would meet up again, when things weren't as confusing. That was probably an empty promise.

It was one thing to 'break up' with someone over the phone but another to do it in person. Cloud hugged his friend goodbye, squeezing his chest extra tightly because he doubted he'd be able to again.

"Thanks for everything, Seph," Cloud said, his voice thick.

The silver-haired man pressed a kiss to his knuckles like he had that first morning. They both remembered it vividly. "Of course," he answered, his eyes downcast, "You know as much already but you were—and will continue to be—a delight, Cloud."

Genesis had his own private goodbye and they left. Cloud made it three blocks before he started sniffling. Genesis's hand found his.

"I'm sorry," Cloud apologized, squinting back a tear, "I just—I liked him so much, Gen."

"I know, sweetheart," Genesis murmured, staring at his feet. "I did too."

With no more Zack, no more Angeal, and no more Sephiroth, things returned to how they were a little over a month ago. It was how they had lived for their entire time together, but now, instead of familiar, it felt—"boring," Genesis declared one evening, watching television.

"What?" Cloud asked dully from the other end.

"Everything is fucking boring."

The blond glanced at him. "I know."

"No you don't. I feel like—like I want to smack them. This is bullshit."

"What," Cloud snapped, "Being with just me is boring, huh?"

That stopped Genesis's insensitive tirade before it could gain full momentum. "No," he sighed, and scooted over to him. Cloud resisted at first but ultimately let Genesis tug him close.

"Sorry. That was me being a dick."

"No, dear—I was a bigger one. I didn't mean you are boring at all."

"I know."

"What the hell would I do with myself without you?" the redhead murmured, pressing a kiss to Cloud's soft hair.

"But you miss them anyway."

"Of course I do."

Missing those three manifested itself in a few ways. For Cloud, he no longer had anyone to play games with, or teach him about horticulture, or sit in comfortable silence with, having no pressure to say anything unnecessary at all. Genesis had no book talks or victims to bring to the theater. Cloud's shifts at work felt longer with less people to text between bikes. Genesis had to take a break from Loveless, finding it, for once, stale with his fellow analyst missing.

Cloud was disappointed, and Genesis grew irritable.

"I'm sorry, Cloud, but we both figured this was going to happen," Aerith told him. Tifa nodded sadly.

"It just seemed too good to be true, you know?"

"…Yeah."

His two best friends took him out for the night, and while it was fun Cloud got stuck on what Tifa had said. It all seemed too good to be true. Too good. Things had been so great with Sephiroth, Angeal and Zack. Why had, essentially, five guys all falling for each other ended so devastatingly, as Sephiroth had noted?

Love seemed like a good thing, but this, now, was shit.

It didn't make any sense.

Everywhere Cloud looked he was told it would be different as well; in movies the couples usually got together (though any movie about four men was probably a porno). Cloud and Genesis stuck together, needing each other more than usual in the others' sudden absence. Cloud spent some of his free time at Genesis's bookshop, enjoying the free coffee and leafing through the books. Even the goddamn poetry taunted him.

"Gen," Cloud said, leaning over the counter on his elbows. His boyfriend grunted, doing something with barcodes on a new stack of books.

"Listen to this," the blond murmured. "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds / Or bends with the remover to remove / O, no! It is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken. . . Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom."

Genesis raised an eyebrow and looked unamused. "What's your point?"

Cloud shut the book and turned it over in his hands, feeling the roughness of it beneath his fingers before placing it on the countertop. He scowled.

"You can't seriously be thinking that we should just leave things as they are with the others."

Genesis' expression twisted for a moment before it settled on his usual cool, disinterested one. "We made a decision. For the good of our own relationship, remember?"

"Is it really good for our relationship if we're pissed off and missing them so damn much?"

"So you'reupset that you're stuck with me, then?" Genesis lowered his voice, aware he almost yelled. Some people in the bookshop were staring.

"Shut the fuck up," Cloud replied flatly, and leant over the counter so he could speak to his boyfriend more intimately.

"Of course not. What I'm saying is—think about it objectively. Five people develop—whatever—for each other. Things are great as a group. And then the next day they're all broken up."

Cloud glanced at Genesis and raised his shoulders, expecting an answer, and he replied, "…They did it first. Angeal and Zack drew away because they had to take care of each other first. And that's how it should be, Cloud—what are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Cloud murmured as he stared at his hands, relaxed in contrast to Genesis who was clearly tense, "That the whole point of removing ourselves was because we were afraid for what we had with each other. The promise was 'stop if we develop feelings' for the others because that would mean we'd be in danger of leaving each other and getting with them instead, right?"

"Right," Genesis said slowly, squinting one eye. He was not understanding.

"But I, at least, never felt that we were in trouble. I felt shit for the other three, yeah, but I never loved you any less, Gen." He reached out with his hand and tugged Genesis closer by a buckle on his coat. He grabbed his fingers, warm, and held on firmly.

"Well…yes," Genesis agreed. He cupped Cloud's cheek and then slid that hand back into his hair where it began to gently scritch his scalp. "If anything I feel this fiasco brought us closer."

"But what about Angeal and Zack? They didn't seem like they were drawing away from each other because of Seph and us."

"They said they did."

"We said we did."

Genesis thought, and Cloud leant into the hand cradling his skull. "So you're suggesting that all of us are fools. Should we go back to what we were doing before?"

Cloud's gaze cut to the side. "I'm not sure if that will work."

"Mm…"

"But I think we can figure something out. We should ask."

"They said they needed their space. I don't want to pester them, but…"

"Yeah. We'll regret it if we don't try." Cloud smiled humorlessly. "And the worst that can happen is we end up in the same situation we're in right now."

Genesis swallowed thickly. "…Right."

xxxxxxxxxx

Things were slightly awkward, but understandably so. Cloud's hand brushed Angeal's accidentally as they climbed out of the car and the blond muttered a "sorry" as he moved back. Angeal responded that it was no big deal and touched his hand purposefully in return.

"Okay," Zack said, swinging his arms in a way that indicated nervousness. "We've all got the plan, yeah?"

"Yes," Genesis answered. "Calm down. If he sees you're anxious he will be too."

"Yeah," Zack murmured absently, his arms hardly stopping their movement. Cloud was volunteered to knock on the door.

Sephiroth knew they were coming but he still looked surprised as he answered the door. He let them in. Although everyone in the party had been to his place before the apartment seemed foreign.

With pleasantries completed and beers in the hands of those who were too polite to refuse the five men sat down and waited in thick silence. Sephiroth did not ask why they were there but waited quietly, looking confused as to why the four were together.

"Seph," Angeal finally said, and three pairs of grateful eyes snapped over to him. "You're probably wondering why we're here. And we'll get to that—but first we wanted to apologize to you."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"Yes we do," Cloud asserted. "We abandoned you right after admitting that we," he faltered, "were all into you."

"We were real dicks," Zack added solemnly. Sephiroth stayed quiet.

"Oh, to hell with this. What we're trying to say, dear, is that we realized our logic didn't make sense. For Zack and Angeal, and certainly Cloud and I, we cut our friendships off because I thought I was safeguarding my relationship with Cloud by doing so. But he and I were never in any danger."

"I see."

He didn't.

"So we're taking back what we said." Zack smiled encouragingly. "But we want to start this time with everyone knowing that we're all kind of in love with each other and… see what happens?"

Sephiroth's shoulders drooped like the weight of the world was upon them. "But if we 'break up' again you will all have somebody and I will be alone."

"Again," he added. "It has been a very difficult few weeks for me." Indeed, Sephiroth seemed a bit too stiff, a bit too distant.

"That's a decision you have to make," said Cloud, meeting his gaze evenly. "That's always a possibility. But we want to try, Seph."

Sephiroth sighed and glanced to the ceiling as if it held answers. He nodded after a long moment.

Zack got out of his seat. Sephiroth accepted Zack's hug, even returned it, and Cloud watched as Genesis offered some comfort as well. Genesis took the man's hand and rubbed his thumb across the knuckles. When their eyes met Cloud's boyfriend gave Sephiroth a private look, tender, something born of the unique interactions the two had shared alone.

Cloud was not jealous. Genesis looking at Sephiroth like that did not mean he would not treat Cloud to the same, or one quite similar, later on.

Angeal's arm slipped around Cloud's waist and he kissed his temple before whispering in his ear, "I have no idea what the hell we're doing, but it looks like it might work out."

Cloud leant against him and smiled approvingly at the other three. "I hope so."

While Genesis was half-dreaming and still very much asleep, he managed to become dimly aware of two things. 1) He was hard as hell, and 2) he was spooning somebody. That was as good a combination as any, and his arms tightened around a wide chest a bit as he gently rocked his hips forward.

He was predictably naked, if a bit sweaty from being in the middle of the usual fight for blankets. His arm was dead asleep under the substantial weight of his partner's body but he hardly noticed it, too distracted by the way it felt to press his aching cock against the cleft of his boyfriend's ass. He did it again, and then again, his eyes cracking open sleepily. There was something in the way though, everywhere, clouding his vision—it was silver. Ticklish, too, now that he noticed it—he scrunched his face up, the stuff all near his nose, and finally rolled away so he wouldn't sneeze.

In rolling over he squashed Angeal's arm, and the man instinctively tugged him to his chest, pulling him away from Sephiroth. 'Dead man's grip' usually applied to the, well, dead, but when Angeal was sleeping, in a subconsciously possessive mood, and got his hands on something the only way to get free was to wake him.

Genesis peered through his hair at Sephiroth, who stirred, evidently disappointed that the warm, gyrating figure at his back had disappeared.

"Morning," Genesis whispered to him, reaching out with his hand, which Sephiroth took. He was warm with sleep and squinted adorably against the rays of sun streaming in the window.

"Hey," came another hushed voice from the doorway. It was Cloud, though Genesis was only barely able to twist around enough in Angeal's arms to see him. "I'm starting breakfast. Does anyone want—uhhh, Gen? You're a little…"

"I know," Genesis whispered back, covering his morning erection with his hand. "Though now that I've been captured I hardly think anything will come of it."

Cloud chuckled, but then Zack groaned, rolling onto his stomach, "Shut uuuuup, all of you, shut uuup…" He was breathing steadily again in seconds.

Genesis went boneless, nestling his cheek against Angeal's, rubbing against the stubbled skin there like a cat. "It's hopeless. Leave me. I am at his mercy. Make him French toast, sweetheart," he instructed Cloud. "Go on," he told Sephiroth, nudging him.

Sephiroth acquiesced, striding naked and uncaring over to Cloud in the doorway. "Good morning, my Cloud," he greeted in a low, affectionate purr. The blond stood on his tiptoes to kiss him and they embraced, leaving quickly for the kitchen.

Genesis plotted his escape. Sephiroth made delightful scrambled eggs, and he wasn't going to miss it. The best way to rouse Angeal was either sex or distress, and his dick was evidently thinking about breakfast as well, because it had lost interest. He reached out and started poking Zack's sides.

As expected Zack started to flail and carry on, reaching out with a fist. He hit Angeal, not Genesis, and Angeal cracked an eye open, turning his head to make sure Zack was okay.

"You're an asshole," the younger man told Genesis, sporting ridiculous bedhead. He stretched, joints popping, and wiggled out of bed. "I smell food. Don't miss me too much." He left, but came back after a moment to kiss them both.

When he was gone Angeal sighed, nestling against the redhead a little more. He seemed only slightly surprised to see him there. "Good morning," the man rumbled, his hands stroking soft and familiar over his hips.

Genesis could not help but chuckle, and pressed their foreheads together as a radiant smile pulled at his lips. "Yes," he agreed, "It is."