Chapter 7 – Retreat, Regroup, Reflect

I do not own, nor do I in any way profit from, Final Fantasy VII or any of its offshoots.

A/N – Back from a long hiatus.

Another lesson learned: this evening, Sephiroth discovered precisely why it is ill-advised to use Dash to escape a crushingly embarrassing situation … on a beach. He had forgotten his pants were unzipped, they slipped down around his knees and he hit the sand castle at roughly Mach .8. He immediately came to a screeching, stumbling halt, landing on his hands and knees as the powdery white sand billowed in a grainy cloud around him. Sand was everywhere – in his hair, in his eyes, in his clothes, in his mouth. He fell to the ground, coughing and spitting, cursing himself and the situation, cursing Sensei. (He cursed everyone and everything but Cloud.) Finally he crawled to the water's edge and into the waves, opening his eyes wide and snorting sea water up his nose – anything to get the sand out of him. His skin felt raw, like it had been, gee – sand-blasted. He had grit in every crease and crevice – and I do mean 'every'. He removed his clothing a piece at a time, still cussing a blue streak, his face a rictus of anger.

Finally, naked, eyes burning, self-esteem having suffered a scathing blow, he sat down hard in the water and dropped his head into his hands. What. The. Fuck. What was wrong with him? Was he losing his mind? He let himself lean backwards until his burning skin was fully submerged in the cool waters of the ocean. It felt so good. Soothing. But his mind still burned.

He floated there, heels touching the sandy bottom, trying to figure out what in the FUCK he was going to do now. Already he was regretting his ignominious retreat from the situation … but the utter humiliation of having Cloud find him in such a lewd condition made him … well … panic. Which just served to add another layer to the mountain of humiliation he'd already suffered. The General of the ShinRa Armies did not panic, for fuck's sake.

Deep in thought, Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked up at the starry sky. The moon was still up and was brilliant almost directly overhead. Well, there was nothing else for it – he had to go back and try to undo his own stupidity. He stood, and then belatedly remembered that he was naked. He looked around for his clothes … and learned another very valuable lesson. When you take your clothes off in the waves, make sure you anchor them down or keep ahold of them. Because his clothes were nowhere to be seen. "Fuck!" he growled. Now what?

Thank the gods it was dark. Cussing a blue streak, he went back onto the sandy shore and found his beanie where it'd been knocked off when he'd ploughed into the sand castle at whatever-miles-per-hour. He found his glasses but they were broken. Not too shocking. And he had two spares in his bags at the Kopa Kabana.

Getting there was going to be the problem, he thought as he rinsed out his beanie at the water's edge. Calling Zack was out of the question because his cell phone was safely stowed in the bag which he'd left back at the convention. Great. Just great.

XXX

Cloud left the liquor store at a slow walk, clutching the brown paper sack with the nice big bottle of whiskey inside. Once out on the sidewalk, he stopped at looked up at the moon. "Why didn't you warn me I was doing something stupid, you asshole moon?" he said. A couple walking down the sidewalk stared and gave him a wide berth. "Don't worry, I'm not crazy," he said as they exchanged a look. "Really, I mean it. I'm not." They walked faster.

He turned toward his apartment, took a few steps, and then stopped. Going back there wasn't going to make him feel any better. In fact, it might make him feel worse. He turned back the way he'd come and, although he wasn't of any inclination to return to the Seaside Grand, he just knew he didn't want to go home. With dragging footsteps, Cloud Strife turned his face to the heavens again as he considered the mess he'd made of the evening.

And yes, it certainly fucking well was his fault! If he hadn't overreacted, if he'd thought instead of opening his stupid jealous mouth … hell, if he'd been honest with Seph when the issue of being gay had come up in their conversations … but he'd been scared. Some guys were still threatened by gay men, and he hadn't wanted to ruin their friendship before it had a chance to get off the ground. Still, he argued with himself, when he'd asked earlier if I had problems with girls, I should have said 'no, but I don't really like women'. Or SOMETHING. His feet had taken him back to the road he'd used to get back to the city proper from the beach where IT had happened.

He pulled the neck of the whiskey out of the bag and cracked the seal, unscrewed the cap, and took a nice healthy mouthful. He swallowed, gasping as it burned a trail down to his gullet. "Whoa!" he whispered sibilantly, barely able to breathe, much less speak. To fix things he took another drink. And when that didn't do the trick he took another.

Where was he going again? Oh, yeah. The beach. He crossed the street (and almost got hit by a car and a mail truck), jaywalking, and kept going until he hit sand. Cloud looked both ways from the corners of his eyes – not easy to do when you're slugging down some more whiskey straight from the bottle. "Eeny meany miney … mo," he muttered, and turned to his left. With the faintest of staggers, he began walking down the beach. The stupid bags were messing with his balance, must have been, because he kept tripping and stumbling. To fix the situation he took another drink.

Half the bottle later, he came upon a dock stuck out from the beach, stretching out toward the traitor moon. Cloud squinted one eye and decided it looked good. So he carefully walked all the way to the end, then stood there, teetering, his gaze captured by the wavering reflection of the moon on the water. "What're you doin' down there?" he slurred.

Fifteen minutes later, he was sitting on the end of the dock, drunker than hell, singing "Blue Moon".

XXX

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck! Sephiroth needed to get back to the Kopa Kabana. He stood on the edge of the water and looked down the beach, naked as a jaybird, beanie and broken glasses in his hand. Shit. What now? Then a brilliant idea came to him, all at once. He could swim down to the little cabins! Perfect! He re-entered the water, walked out 'til it was even with his nipples, and got his bearings. He'd 'Dashed' pretty far … but he was a good swimmer. He'd make it just fine. He put his beanie on his head and started out, clutching his broken glasses in one fist. The beanie got away after about 5 yards and he stopped to put it back on. He started swimming again. The beanie slipped off his head again and he cursed, grabbed it, and kept swimming without it. Should be okay.

XXX

The moon wasn't answering and Cloud was bereft. Only the sea remained to keep him company. He started singing "Blue Moon" again because it was the only song he could think of that had 'moon' in it. Slurring his words, swaying back and forth … taking frequent hits off the bottle … our little Cloud was good and toasted.

Humming as he put the bottle to his lips again, he heard a soft sound from off to his left and squinted in the moonlight. He frowned, blinked in an attempt to straighten out his double vision, and tried like hell to focus. It was no use though, the alcohol in his veins was winning the battle against normalcy. Cloud slumped back against the pole that jutted up from the left-hand end of the dock. His head drooped. The bottle slowly slipped from his fingers and plopped into the night-blacked ocean. The current quickly carried it out of sight under the dock. But Cloud knew none of this. Perched precariously on the edge of the dock, he passed out.

Sephiroth watched from a distance, treading water, with only the top of his head – from nose to crown – out of the water. Dammit, Cloud couldn't have picked a worse place to get drunk and fall asleep. He couldn't leave the little guy there to fall in and drown, that was for sure. Shit! He swam closer, silently, until he could hear soft snores. Good. Sephiroth swam over to the dock, eyes locked on Cloud. He had a bad moment when Cloud's eyes popped open and stared straight at him. "H-holy shhit … a mermaid! No, merman? No," he slurred with a little giggle, before passing out once again. After a few watchful moments Sephiroth easily pulled himself out of the water and onto the dock. He stood there and looked down at Cloud. Immediately his gaze fell on the bags … one was his … and he had clothing in there! Tsundere Veterinarian t-shirts, pajama pants, board shorts … thank Shiva. Quickly he pulled on some clothes. Then he slung the bags over his shoulder, picked up Cloud in a fireman's carry, and walked purposefully down the dock and onto the sandy beach.

XXX

Sephiroth toed open the door to the cabana after juggling with the keys, the bags, and Cloud's surprisingly heavy, unwieldy body. His relief at finding the cabana empty was intense. Dropping the bags on the sofa as he passed it, he proceeded on down the hallway to his bedroom. Cloud's limbs flopped loosely as Sephiroth deposited him onto the neatly-made bed. He stood there for a moment, very still, staring down at the little blond, the events of the day rushing through his head like a fast-forwarded movie. What. The. FUCK. How had his orderly life ended up like this? He'd thought it would be good to escape from his Midgar routine … drop the General persona and just be himself and have a good time. At this moment, he'd've given just about anything to be back in his office, pouring over stale reports and looking forward to … … nothing. He'd not had anything to look forward to in a long, long time.

"God dammit," he muttered. He leaned over and arranged Cloud's arms and legs into a more natural sleeping posture. The poor guy's head was at a weird angle, too, so he carefully moved it, too, to save his friend (if he still was a friend) from a morning neck-ache. The soft blond hair suddenly grabbed his attention. It was so, so soft. Like feathers. He petted it, stricken by the sensation of it on his fingertips.

Abruptly he stood up straight and turned away. Striding from the room, he shut the door behind him and went back out into the kitchenette, flipped on the lights, and grabbed a bottle of tea from the fridge. He moved stiffly back into the living room and fell onto the couch. He was stone-cold sober.

Okay. Okay. Now … time to get things figured out. A – the day started out just fine. I was having a great time at the bar with Zack, until Sensei showed up and then things REALLY went truly downhill when Sensei pulled his shit at his hotel room. B – Cloud and I were having a terrific time at the con … until the shadow of Sensei threatened things and I went out to the beach … and then C - SENSEI SHOWED UP AND THINGS WENT TOTALLY APESHIT. Conclusion – Sensei has fucking fucked up my vacation and oh yeah, by the way – my LIFE.

But that didn't quite cover everything, did it. His reactions to Sensei's ministrations, so different from the way it felt with women. The blazing arc of pleasure that shot through him when he looked up and saw Cloud in the moonlight. His embarrassment at being discovered with his pants down (almost literally! He groaned out loud) … the way Sensei seemed to be laying his claim … Cloud's words of anger and challenge.

Not to mention the way he, Sephiroth, had reacted. "Are you gay?" he mimicked himself, out loud, and then groaned again. Way to be an asshole, Seph. He wasn't a homophobe! He just didn't know these things! YOU grow up in a sterile environment like a lab and see how much sex YOU get to find out about. Much less have any.

He'd apparently gotten back up and wandered into the bedroom, because he became aware that he was standing over Cloud, who was snoring softly as he slept. Sephiroth stood looking at him for a moment, then bent down to take off the smaller man's shoes. He dropped them on the floor and straightened. Slowly he stripped out of the tee and board shorts he'd put on at the dock, then slipped on a pair of pajama pants. He got one of his spare pair of glasses out of his luggage.

Suddenly his sensitive hearing picked up sounds from the front of the cabana. He hurried out of his room, shutting the door firmly behind him. He was down the hall and back on the couch before you could say "these glasses are ugly too".

The door opened. Zack staggered in, mercifully alone. Especially since Sephiroth was out of disguise. "Heyyy," Zack said, with the geniality of the only mildly-inebriated. "Hey man, how you doin'?"

"Peachy," Sephiroth snapped.

"Sure you are. Of course you are. That tone of voice is very convincing," Zack said, with – to his credit – only a hint of sarcasm. He made his way carefully over to one of the chairs that faced the couch and dropped into it. He let out a long breath, closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them and stared at Sephiroth. "Okay so you look like you found a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking. What gives, fearless leader?"

"I was considering packing and leaving right now instead of waiting 'til tomorrow afternoon," Sephiroth said tonelessly, once again under control. "But before I start packing … you're alone. Where's Kitty-chan?" He honestly didn't care if Zack came home with a litter of kitty-chans. This was a glaring attempt to turn the conversation away from himself.

"She has a pet bat." Zack shuddered.

"Well, we can't all be … wait. What?" Attention caught.

"Man, she has a bat for a pet! An actual bat! Some kind of big fruit bat or something, it was gross. She got a jar of crickets out of her fridge! And then she held one up and made this weird high-pitched chirping sound, and when that fucking bat came flapping down out of the shadows I almost peed myself!" Zack wiped a palm across his forehead, memory making him pale. "It was fluttering around her head and I thought the damn thing was attacking her, so I grabbed one of her lawn chairs and was trying to knock it down, and she freaked out!"

Sephiroth was staring at his friend, his own troubles completely forgotten in the face of this story. "What happened?"

"She threw the crickets on me! They were stuck in my hair and inside my shirt! I lost it! I tripped over the lawn chair and fell on the ground, trying to get those little fuckers off of me, and then the bat swooped down and landed on me! I must have looked like a banquet table to that nasty thing … those leathery wings were flapping on me … I knocked it off of me and jumped up and then Kitty was yelling at me like a crazy girl. I opened my mouth to say I-don't-know-what and somehow a cricket got in my mouth and I just automatically spit it out and it hit her in the face."

Sephiroth was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his lips pressed together to try to hide his growing amusement. He cleared his throat. "It … hit her in the face?"

"She started shrieking at me! Then I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I looked down and the bat was crawling toward me through the grass. Jesus, what a creepy fucking thing! I was so freaked out I jumped up and landed on her porch railing, but it broke under my weight." He reached out and grabbed Sephiroth's bottle of tea and took a long pull off it. "Then she really got irate."

"You, uh … broke her house."

"Uh-huh. After that I couldn't get out of there fast enough. The feel of those nasty wings! Jesus! I bet I have bat mites on me! Or rabies! I spent five minutes outside our door just now, shaking my hair and clothes to make sure no residual crickets made it home with me." He blew out a breath, shaking his head. "MAN, what a night."

Sephiroth couldn't help it. He started chuckling helplessly, imagining the events of Zack's latest escapade. Zack looked at him sternly, then gave up and laughed too. "I'm gonna take a shower. A long, hot one. Feels like my skin is crawling with bat cooties. You gonna be up when I'm done? Gettin' late."

"I'll be up," Sephiroth said, the humor dropping off his face. He picked up the bottle of tea and took a drink. Zack stood up and headed for the shower. After a minute Sephiroth heard a wordless shout from the bathroom. The door opened.

"Cricket! No need to panic," Zack yelled. The door shut again.

Sephiroth snorted.

What does the General do when faced with a personal crisis that he can't/doesn't want to figure out? He resorts to work. Sephiroth had his laptop open and was busily tapping away at some correspondence when Zack re-entered the living room, energetically rubbing at his long black hair with a towel. A second towel was wrapped around his hips.

"Ahh," he said with satisfaction. "That's better. Hey, you want something to eat?"

No answer. Just the tap-tap-tap of the laptop keys.

"Gaia to the General! Come in, General Sephiroth, come in!" Zack said through a rolled-up magazine.

"What."

"I said, do you wanna eat? I'm going to make some meat buns."

"Home-made or frozen?"

"Oh, home-made of course. I went out to the paddy and picked the rice today and killed a cow … it'll only take me three hours to finish them." When he got no reaction to this sarcasm he leaned on the counter and shouted, "frozen!"

"No, thanks."

Zack sighed. He opened the freezer and then froze. He'd heard something from elsewhere in the cabana. Down the hall. For one panicked second all he could think was 'bats!' … but he turned toward the hallway and perked up his ears, listening. There! It sounded like a cough. "Sephiroth!" he whisper-yelled. No reply. He shut the freezer and zipped into the living room, eyes on the hallway. "Hey, man! There's someone in the house!"

"Going to find a lawn chair to batter them with?" Sephiroth asked calmly.

"Why are you JOKING?" Zack was indignant, frowning down at his friend.

"It's ok. It's Cloud. He's in my bed, sleeping."

Total silence met this reply, lasting for several long moments when Sephiroth could almost hear the wheels turning in Zack's head. He finished the itinerary he was typing and sent it off to Kunsel. Then he opened his work email and frowned down at the emails crowding his inbox. Tseng … Rufus (he sneered at the name) … Rude … Elena. He took a deep breath and opened the first one, then looked up at Zack.

Zack, for his part, had just made up his mind to give Sephiroth the benefit of a doubt. Anything else was outside his frame of reference and he just couldn't wrap his head around it right now. He took refuge in a joking tone of voice. "So … Cloud, huh? He, um, wearing clothes?"

"Of course he's wearing clothes!" Sephiroth snapped. "He got drunk and I found him passed out on the beach so I brought him here to sleep it off. Since I don't know where his apartment is." Well … he kind-of did. But here was closer.

"Okay," Zack replied. "Something happen? He didn't seem to be drinking all that much when I saw him today. Er, yesterday now, I guess."

Frozen silence met this question. The sound of the laptop keys seemed louder, as if they were being struck with more force than usual. Sephiroth didn't look up.

"Come on, what happened. Before tonight you were ecstatic to be here and really having a good time. That picture of you and Cloud spoke volumes. What happened? That Sensei-guy being a dickwad?" Zack wasn't actually serious with this last question, but the reaction it got changed his outlook in a hurry.

Sephiroth stopped typing, his hands hovering over the keys. His head dropped as he took a deep breath. Was there anything he could really say right now? Maybe. Did he want to say anything right now? No, actually. "Let it go, Zack. Some shit went down today but I'll deal with it."

Some shit went down. Hmm. Zack digested this, lips pursed, arms crossed over his chest. But Zack Faire was a man of ACTION, so the calm before the storm was short. "That little mother-fucker! I could see he was a shit-stirrer from the get-go! I knew I shouldn't have left you alone with him at Ray's today, I just knew it, but I fell for his cutesy persona at first! You did too, right? Is he a stalker? Is he a molester? Did he do something to Cloud? That's despicable! Cloud is little and you can tell he's innocent … he'd be no match for a wolf in sheep's clothing like that little skank!"

Sephiroth was staring at Zack with amazement, frozen during this diatribe. What in the hell? "Zack."

"You want me to go teach that prick a lesson? Wait, let's both go. I don't know where his hotel is, but I bet it wouldn't be hard to find out, especially since it's, you know, you." Zack was pacing now, gesturing angrily.

"Zack."

"I wish Reno was here, he'd like to be in on something like this, he hates little assholes like this bastard. Rude, too, he wants to be in on anything that Reno's doing, so he'd be right there with us. Bet that fucker would back down pretty damn quick if the four of us came down hard on his ass. Wait – wrong analogy. Strike that. But man! No wonder you're down in the dumps, the guy was your idol and now he's revealed himself to be nothing but a little SHIT." He was getting kinda psyched for some action.

"ZACK." Sephiroth stood up. "Calm down. You're getting all worked up over something you know nothing about."

Zack stared at him. He got himself under control with an effort, then said, "Okay. Explain it to me."

"No." When Zack opened his mouth to make a scathing reply, Sephiroth held up a hand. "Don't. I'm serious. Just let it go. That's what I'm gonna do. We'll go back to Midgar tomorrow and things will go back to normal. Sensei might have some kind of weird crush going on but he'll get over it. Don't worry and don't think you have to DO anything."

A weird crush. Zack's brow crinkled as he stared at Sephiroth. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Oh. Oh! So then … wow. He was burning with curiosity, but he knew better than to try to pry anything out of his friend. Sephiroth, when he wanted to, could clam up like nobody Zack had ever met. The trouble was, holding all that shit inside wasn't good for a person, dammit, even a person as strong-willed as Sephiroth. He had layers most people didn't even remotely suspect, and Zack knew that underneath that stoic exterior he had feelings like anyone else. Stronger even. He shook his head. "Man," he said softly, "okay. But if you wanna talk about it … or anything else … you know where to find me."

XXX

Sephiroth had spent a shitty night on the couch. It was too short for him and was so over-stuffed and poofy that he kept overheating. Miserable. He was up early, disguise in place, coffee cup in hand, sitting out on one of the chairs on their deck. He'd just come back from a run on the beach – he could always think better with action – and was still wearing bike shorts and a long, baggy sleeveless tee. He was cooling down with a cup of coffee before going in to shower. Their airship didn't depart until later on this afternoon – 4:30 pm local time, in fact. So he had plenty of time to do whatever.

It was so quiet. Well, relatively. The birds and the sound of the ocean were soothing, though. The sunrise had been amazing, seeming to rise out of the sea, turning it red then orange then a stunning pink. Such an amazing difference from being in Midgar. He liked it here, all things considered. Sipping from his coffee, Sephiroth considered the predicament he found himself in and the way he'd decided to settle it. Logically, his reasoning was sound. The trouble was, most people didn't behave logically. He shook his head. So many problems would be averted if more people would!

Smoothly rising to his feet, he went back inside to refill his coffee cup. He froze when he got into the kitchen and looked across the counter to the living room. Cloud was sitting on the couch, holding his head in his hands, looking miserable. Sephiroth got a glass of water, plucked a little healing potion vial from his backpack, and handed both to Cloud. "Just drink it all at once," he said, "then chase it with the water. It tastes like hell but it'll work pretty much instantly."

The only problem was, the stuff tasted so bad that it was a 50/50 bet whether the 'sick' person would puke it up before it could do any good. Cloud almost lost the bet. But Sephiroth secretly hit him with a 'cure' – just a little one – and that helped until he chugged the water. Crisis averted and hangover cured.

"Thanks, Seph," Cloud said, although he couldn't look the older man in the eyes.

"Sure," Sephiroth said mildly. "Ready for some coffee? I brought the good stuff with me."

"I'll kill you if you don't give me some," Cloud said.

"No reason to resort to violence," Sephiroth said, mock-primly. He went back into the kitchen, poured the coffee and then doctored it up 'til it was more like a hot liquid dessert. He went back into the living room and handed it to Cloud, who immediately took a sip.

"Oh, man, just how I like it. How'd you know?"

"Those concoctions you get from Oh Lay," Sephiroth said. "I don't have whipped cream or sprinkles, but I think that might be close otherwise."

They drank coffee silently for a while. Then Cloud said, "So … you're a mage."

Sephiroth startled, but only internally. Oh yeah … he'd used magic last night to make his 'escape'. "Sort-of."

"Hmm."

"And you're gay."

"Totally not 'sort-of'. That one's a definite," Cloud said. "Look, I'm sorry I wasn't up-front about it sooner. It just didn't seem to matter before … and then when it did matter, it was too late. So it made me look less than honest, but I really didn't mean to—"

"No need to explain further. I was there too, remember? I understand." Sephiroth, although sitting rigidly on the chair opposite Cloud, had a very mild and soft voice when he needed it. What he wanted, what he thought he wanted, was to emerge from all this fucked-up mess with their friendship intact. He honestly thought that was the best-case scenario. Poor Sephiroth. It's hard for a fixer to discover that their best efforts were just not going to cut it.

Besides, he still had a secret of his own. One that he still didn't want to reveal. The General had no part in his relationship with Cloud, he'd decided. Oh what a tangled web we weave.

The silence stretched out. Cloud leaned back on the couch, holding his cup of hot caffeine goodness carefully. Finally he allowed his eyes to light on Seph. Gods, he was breathtaking. Forget the (yes, hideous) glasses. His chiseled muscles were showed off to perfection by the sleeveless tee and the spandex bike shorts. Even his feet looked good, and Cloud had never thought that about anyone's feet. Seph was staring into his cup, seemingly entranced by whatever he saw there. Cloud tore his eyes away and looked around the cabana. "So, er … how did I get here last night? I don't remember much after I left the convenience store."

You don't remember seeing a merman? Sephiroth thought with hidden amusement. He explained about finding a passed-out Cloud on the beach, the walk home, all that.

"Ah. Well. Thanks," Cloud said a bit sheepishly.

Sephiroth nodded amicably. "Refill?"

"Refill."

Coffee cessation averted, Sephiroth decided to put his plans into action. It would have to begin with a talk, just the two of them. Hopefully Zack wouldn't get up any time soon. "So … you have to work today?"

"Not until tomorrow. Well, I have to go in to work at midnight at the convenience store," Cloud replied. "When does your flight leave?"

"4:30 this afternoon," Sephiroth replied, although he could actually have the airship leave whenever he wanted it to. One of the perks. "I'd like to ask a favor of you."

"Name it," Cloud said. He sipped some coffee, wondering. He didn't have to wonder for long.

"This business with Sensei has cast a pall over our weekend. I don't like it. I'm going to have a talk with him today, and during the last part of it, I'd like you to join in." Didn't that sound reasonable?

Cloud was quiet for a moment, eyeing his friend with narrowed eyes. "I'm pretty sure Sensei won't want me anywhere near the two of you."

"Sensei doesn't get to decide that kind of thing arbitrarily," Sephiroth said. "There's a problem, it needs to be solved, and I think facing it head-on and hashing it out is the way to proceed."

"That sounds great on paper, but don't you remember what he said? He's made up his mind, he's made his claim … and in his mind, he and I are rivals. I don't think this is going to go well." Cloud was nervous. Number one, he didn't like the idea of Seph being alone with Sensei. Number two, he really really didn't think this 3-way talk was going to go well at all.

"We're all adults. Adults should be able to talk about an ongoing problem and solve it." Actually, Sephiroth's way to handle problems was to issue orders and sit back as they were followed. He knew he couldn't do that today, but with his goals clear in his mind, he had no doubt that he could smooth over these bumps in the road and get things back on an even keel.

"Tell you what. You have your part of the talk with Sensei, and if it goes as you think it will, you can call me and I'll come join the fun. Although I'm pessimistic about the whole thing, if you wanna give it a go I'll try to make it happen too." Cloud felt sick to his stomach, and it had nothing to do with a hangover. Or the potion.

"Excellent. I'll call him now. Where's my copy of Tsundere Veterinarian?" He went back into the bedroom and began searching for it.

Cloud wiped sweaty palms on his pants. "Hey, I'm going to head back to my apartment to shower and change, okay?" he called down the hallway.

"Okay, see you later on then!" Sephiroth shouted back. "Take the coffee with you!"

XXX

The phone rang several times. Then M. Kitano-sensei picked up with a soft "moshi-moshi … I mean, hello?"

"Kitano-sensei … this is Seph," Sephiroth said, his stomach clenching at the sound of the man's voice.

Sensei: "Seph-san! I was worried that I wouldn't hear from you." He was so happy!

Sephiroth: "Yes. Well, I didn't handle things last night in the way I perhaps should have. I want to clear things up and make things right. Do you concur?"

Sensei: "Yes, I certainly do! You are absolutely right!" Things had been going so well until that Cloud had interrupted. He shivered with delight as he recalled his brief encounter with Seph on the beach. Kissing Seph's hardness through the silk of his underwear. His cock gave a little flex in his pants.

Sephiroth: "Would you care to meet with me today? You could come on out to my cabana and we could have a talk." He was being perfectly straightforward, he thought.

Sensei: "Of course I would like to talk. We definitely need to. How wonderful of you to think of it and to invite me." Oh. My. Gods. This was perfect! Alone in Seph-san's cabana … he was getting hard just thinking about it. And hearing Seph-san's voice in his ear was helping. His hand dropped into his lap, lightly stroking.

Sephiroth: "What is your schedule like today? I know you said you were leaving for the East today." He didn't really care, just needed information in order to carry out his plans.

Sensei: "I have a private airship provided by Eddie-san and the publisher. I can leave whenever I wish. My time today is my own, I was merely planning to do some sightseeing … until I was ready to go." He was hard as a rock now, he ached to come. But he held himself back, saving it. He shivered with anticipation.

Sephiroth: "My flight leaves at 4:30 today, but like you, it's a company flight and can be delayed if absolutely necessary. However, I'd like to meet and get things cleared up as soon as possible. How about 11:00 or so?" Plenty of time to get things straightened out and then to spend some time with Cloud before he had to get back to Midgar.

Sensei: "That sounds perfect," he gushed, shivering with delight. Seph-san wanted to see him as soon as possible! If he could make this beautiful man HIS, he would be the happiest little manga artist in the world. "May I have the address, Seph-san?"

Sephiroth gave it to him, satisfaction coloring his voice. Step one was accomplished. He was happy about the way things were going and that knowledge warmed his voice. Sensei picked up on that and was almost swooning, he was so happy.

Sephiroth: "I'll provide the lunch," he said guilelessly. "I have no shortage of things to eat, so come hungry."

Sensei: "I'll look forward to it," he purred, taking everything Seph-san said as double entendres. When he hung up, it took all the strength he had to not jack off. It was 8:00 now, he had only about 3 hours to get ready! He stripped as he ran for the shower. Time to get clean, inside and out, shaved and trimmed and ready. What a wonderful day!

XXX

Sephiroth messaged Cloud and got him up to date on what was going on. He was working with a purpose now and that was good. By the time he had to return to Midgar he should have everything back to normal and his friendship with Cloud should be secure. After hitting send, he sat there for a little bit, going over the events of the weekend in his head. Cloud when he first looked down at him, that first time in Oh Lay. Cloud jumping to look over the crowd when they were in line. Cloud shouting and cheering and leading the crowd in the hotel banquet hall. Cloud laughing at some stupid joke Sephiroth had made. Cloud leaning in close over the table, asking him if he had problems with women. Cloud standing in the moonlight, telling Sensei 'you don't get to just have him like that.'

What did that mean, exactly? You could take it a couple different ways. Sephiroth pondered this, his brow furrowed, drinking coffee and remembering the way the light of the moon had shimmered in Cloud's hair.

Wait. What was he doing? He had food to order and he needed to get Zack up and out of the cabana in time. Then he needed to get dressed and ready to arbitrate the solution to these vexing problems. It was like a battle plan in his head.

The trouble was: he wasn't thinking about how even the best-laid plans could go astray.

Hello again! It's been a while, yes? I'm sorry for that. But here I am and I'm committed to finishing this story. Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more.

Ahvienda