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[imjustaman]

Hello, this is Sephiroth. I am sorry I missed you. Please leave a message and I will get back to you promptly.

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[cloudsenior]

Cloud stood stock still in the doorway a moment, the reality of the situation hitting him like a brick. This was Sephiroth's apartment. Sephiroth was inviting him into the place he lived. The part of him that would forever be 16 and idolizing his beloved hero was screaming internally, while his nerves kept him rooted to the spot.

He took a deep breath. Then another. Then one more for good measure, before he finally set foot into the apartment.

[imjustaman]

Whatever naivete Sephiroth had about the situation from Cloud's POV, he at least recognized they should stay in the living room, and indeed, hadn't considered anything else. He shut the door after Cloud. "Would you like anything to drink?"

Safe things like water or hot chocolate, he meant.

[cloudsenior]

Cloud eased a little bit as he was invited to the living room, sitting down. This was fine, he could handle a conversation in a living room. He was an adult. This was fine.

"Uh, no, I'm fine," he replied.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth nodded and sat down across from Cloud.

"Well ..." Hm. "How should we begin?"

Awkward now. Not a type of conversation he had ever had with anyone.

[cloudsenior]

Cloud took a deep breath, leaning forward in his seat.

"Look, the both of us have a lot of baggage," he began. "There's no denying that; we have a lot to work through if we want this to work."

[imjustaman]

“Yes, I know,” Sephiroth said. “And there is also the question of whether we come from different dimensions. You mentioned being told of them in your world. That did not happen in mine. So …” He sighed. “You most likely have a Sephiroth back home who hopes to be with you.”

It had to be pointed out. At least, he didn’t feel right not to.

[cloudsenior]

Cloud snorted at that possibility, almost dismissing it immediately... before he realized his Sephiroth had been... well, rather touchy feely. And there was that whole moment at the edge of the universe, where he almost seemed to be encouraging him to survive no matter what. He shook his head after a moment, letting out a breath.

"We're still 'Cloud' and 'Sephiroth'," he replied. "Plus, we're here now, whether we want to be here or not. What matters more is what we do with our time in the present, not what we might do in our future."

[imjustaman]

Definitely different from how this Sephiroth behaved. This one would probably be appalled at the other’s actions. Although he would also want Cloud to survive no matter what.

“Yes, I was thinking of that myself,” he said. “Selfishly, I would like to continue being with you, even if that rather disrupts time as it supposed to be.”

[cloudsenior]

"...yeah," Cloud agreed quietly. "And... if we ever did find our way back home, we could... probably make use of what we know of each other."

Hesitantly, he reached out for Sephiroth's hands.

[imjustaman]

He smiled a bit. “You would try to reach out to your Sephiroth?”

He accepted Cloud’s hands.

[cloudsenior]

"I... I think so, yes," he said softly, looking down at their hands. Sephiroth's were so much bigger than his own; he could probably easily take both of his in just one hand. Hell, he was so much shorter by comparison, Sephiroth could just move him wherever he wanted, and he wouldn't be able to do much about it.

After all, he had easily held him in his arms that last night.

...he suddenly really wished neither of them had gloves on.

"Just as I think you'd want your Cloud to do for you."

[imjustaman]

Indeed, and yet this Sephiroth had always tried to respect Cloud’s space, only getting close when Cloud was hurt and needing help. A true fulfillment of the cliche of a “gentle giant” when sane.

“Yes, I would,” Sephiroth said.

He pondered. “… I wonder if we make it home … if we’d always be comparing our Cloud and Sephiroth to each other … perhaps missing the ones we actually forged close bonds with…. It wouldn’t really be the same with others.”

Another reason why at this point he doesn’t want to go home.

[cloudsenior]

"Maybe," Cloud replied, before finally dragging his eyes back to Sephiroth's face. "I... don't want to stop what we've started, though."

There it was, out in the open; the confession made him shudder slightly, a bit of pink coming to his face as he looked away.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth smiled fondly. "Nor do I. But what, exactly, have we started?"

Were they looking for the same things? Different things? Would their desires mesh well or repel each other?

[cloudsenior]

Cloud's mouth worked for a moment, struggling to find the right words for what was going on in his head. Was it possible he was overthinking this? Was it possible he was the one taking things too far?

He pulled his hands away after a moment, stripping off his gloves and setting them aside before he got up. He went over to Sephiroth's side, settling down beside him and leaning toward him, closing his eyes as he tucked in close to his side.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth watched him, still fondly. He removed his own gloves, setting them on a small table. He drew an arm around Cloud, holding him close. He would be happy just to be like this often. He was a warm person who loved hugs and snuggling close, something most people would likely never think of him.

[cloudsenior]

Cloud reached for his free hand, his breath hitching slightly at just a small touch bringing back that strange feeling. He supposed he should get used to it, if it was going to happen every time they were touching skin to skin. Did Sephiroth feel it too? Was it something unique to him, or would the man he knew also feel the same way? It would explain why he was always crowding into his personal space...

...

This felt nicer than it had any right to be. Cloud found his eyes drifting closed in contentment, the thought of how his friends would feel a distant point of his mind. Would they understand? Aerith would, probably; she'd say in that teasing voice of hers something about childhood crushes being the most impactful. Tifa... she'd understand too, he was sure. He had told her how much like Sephiroth he had wanted to be, that night at the well. The others... would probably need some convincing, but he could get them to understand. Maybe.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth did feel it: that sense of belonging, of coming home. Was it the cells inside them both just reacting to being near each other? He didn't want to believe that. He wanted to believe it meant more than that, that it was indeed their own feelings. He had always felt some form of it when he thought he had loved ones. Being with loved ones was home.

A bit of fear rose in his heart. Loved ones almost always left him, except Zack, and then Sephiroth had betrayed him. And he and Cloud most likely could not stay together either, being from different dimensions.

He didn't want that happening again. He didn't want to lose anyone else.

Could he stop it? Could he keep them together?

He would be stunned if Tifa would understand, after everything he had done. It was shocking to think of anyone understanding, really. How could they ever trust him?

How could he trust himself?

He didn't like to voice any of these fears and break the moment. But he held Cloud a bit closer, as if desperate for nothing to take him away.

[cloudsenior]

Cloud let out a soft noise as he held him closer, like he was feeling the turmoil going through Sephiroth's head. He reached for his hand again, this time threading their fingers together as he let out a soft, content sigh at the feeling of belonging. He didn't have the same understanding of it that Sephiroth did, had no idea about what was done to him those missing five years of his memory, and he didn't much care to learn about it.

Right now was what mattered, and right now he was content in the arms of a man he had once considered his enemy, and he was okay with that.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth came back more to the present, smiling softly at Cloud’s actions.

Maybe it would be alright. Maybe he was worrying too much over nothing. But …

“… When you arrived, did you fill out paperwork to leave?”

What if it went through? What if Cloud would suddenly be gone?

[cloudsenior]

"Mm... yeah," he murmured. "But they pretty much admitted they were going to lose it."

He didn't have any faith that they would actually get the paperwork filed through. And even if they did, he could always say he changed his mind, right? Like they would actually communicate with him that they could send him back if he still wanted to, right?

He wanted to believe they would.

Either way, he snuggled himself closer to Sephiroth.

"M'having second thoughts."

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth held him closer. “I think you should tell them that as soon as possible. It would be better not to simply trust they won’t suddenly send you away. If you don’t answer your Glimmer and I find you are gone …”

He trailed off. He wasn’t sure how he would handle it.

[cloudsenior]

Cloud squeezed his fingers, an attempt at being reassuring.

"I will," he promised softly.

[imjustaman]

He smiled a bit. “Perhaps we can go together tomorrow.”

[cloudsenior]

"Mm," he agreed wordlessly, part of him wanting to drift off, he was so content. It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold day, with a warm cup of coco and seated before a roaring fire.

He peered up at Sephiroth; this close it was easy to see the differences between him and the one he knew. This one was... softer, his face seemed more rounded. Oh, he still looked like a master craftsman chiseled him out of marble, but there wasn't any of the harsh lines from a face constantly twisted in a sneer or smug look. Of course, being so much softer, it made his lips look very kissable from this angle.

...

No, he wasn't ready for that level of commitment yet. He ducked his head back down, resting it against his pauldron, only to make a face.

"...we should probably invest in different clothes," he admitted faintly.