Title: Chaos Theory
Author: x-YaoiWolf-x
Rating: M
Warning: Let it be noted that the official pairing for this is ASGZC, that's right it's a Manpile! If you don't like it, don't read it. Ok? OK!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Not the Characters, not the Fandom, most definitely not the computer I typed this up on~
AN: Just… Have fun? This story is not meant to be taken very seriously at all. Just so you know :) The events of this story are entirely unlikely and improbable...

!Chaos Theory!

o-x-x-x-x-x-o

INTRODUCTION

-x-x-x-

Chapter One: Making a Splash

~x~x~x~

The splash cut through the silence around the plaza in the center of Sector 8. It's echo reaching four separate pairs of ears in the late hours of the night.

"Hey, Angeal?" one Zackary Fair cocked his head to the side in question. He turned to walk backwards in order to face his mentor more fully. "Did you hear that? Sounded like a splash! I think it came from the fountain. This way, come on!"

Angeal Hewley followed at a more sedate pace while his protégé and youngest lover went racing ahead of him. He and Zack had been out late on a patrol of the plate and had decided that it would be more prudent to cut through Sector 8 on their return home. It would, in theory, get them back faster. Of course, with the Pup being so easily distracted as he was, the older man should probably have figured that they would take longer than expected to return. He hoped the other two hadn't gotten too impatient and decided to come looking for them.

It wasn't until a familiar yelp of surprise tore through his train of thought that the SOLDIER realized he had managed to lose sight of his student.

~x~x~x~

Zack paused when he realized he'd gotten a bit turned around and had to orient himself. He wasn't exactly directionally challenged, just easily distracted. Completely different things, really, just closely related was all. A moment later, the raven-haired teen caught the direction he thought the fountain should be in and dashed off. He was a curious ball of energy even at this late hour after going the rounds on the long patrol across Midgar. He absolutely had to know what had made such a big splash at a quarter to midnight. Especially when the only body of water large enough to make that splash that was even remotely close by was the Sector 8 fountain.

Zack reached the end of the side street he'd been travelling and froze at the sight that greeted him the second he entered the open area of the plaza.

~x~x~x~

Sephiroth tensed as a sound like a sudden splash pierced through the tranquil silence that had enveloped him as he'd sat in a shallow state of meditation on the edge of the plate in Sector 8. Genesis had dragged him to an amateur showing of Loveless at a quaint theatre off Loveless Avenue earlier in the evening. Apparently it was, 'because Angeal and the Puppy were out on patrol and staying home all night would be boring', or so his auburn-haired lover claimed.

For the majority of the last hour, however, the Silver General had been taking advantage of the quiet in this particular place while Genesis had wandered off to search for their wayward lovers in hopes that they could all go back to their apartment together. He could have fallen asleep in the silent atmosphere, until that splash had broken the bubble.

Sephiroth stood and stretched before dropping down from the fire escape on one side of a random building that he'd chosen as his perch and waiting spot. Landing without sound, the silver-haired SOLDIER allowed his curiosity to get the better of him and he headed toward the direction of the splash in no particular hurry.

It was probably only Genesis or Zackary up to their usual antics or otherwise getting into another of their little spats.

~x~x~x~

Genesis Rhapsodos was a happy happy man at this moment in time. Why, you ask? Because the lead actor of the amateur enactment of Loveless that he had gone to see only an hour ago had just given him the official script for their version of the play. Now he could add this to his growing collection.

He had to thank the Goddess for this moment. Thank Angeal, as well, for being out on patrol and taking longer than usual to return. Otherwise, Genesis would not have gone to look for him and never would have run into the man who had played the lead role. Had he never met that man, Genesis would never have been given this treasure.

Yes. Thank the Goddess. And Angeal.

It was at that moment, as Genesis stood in the middle of a silent street sending a silent prayer of thanks to Minerva, that a sudden sound reached his ears. Genesis narrowed his eyes in the direction it seemed to originate from.

He recognized that sound. A familiar cry of surprise or distress (depending on the circumstances) from a certain spiky-haired SOLDIER Second Class puppy.

The reason for his aimless wandering was recalled to Genesis mind and he began to wander with more purpose, walking toward that yelp in no particular hurry. Still, where Zack was Angeal usually was, as well, and if he could find them then they could all go home and cuddle in bed and enjoy their day off tomorrow.

Yes. That was a good plan.

With that decided, the auburn-haired commander set off to find his wayward lovers.

~x~x~x~

Zack gaped.

It was all he could bring himself to do as he watched the figure that emerged from the waters of the fountain before him. Moonlight reflected off the water that caught in the golden spikes atop the angel's head. The overlarge white T-shirt that clung to the boy's torso was just short of being translucent and hung so heavily with water that it was difficult to tell that the boy was wearing shorts underneath it.

The kid blinked water from his eyes and Zack could swear he almost stopped breathing when two pools of ethereal blue caught with his own violet.

"Wow," the whisper slipped from his lips without conscious thought, but that was enough.

~x~x~x~

Cloud Strife hauled himself from the freezing fountain water and mentally cursed his luck and stupidity. What had he been thinking to fall asleep in a place like that? Of course, he would roll over the edge in his sleep. He wasn't sure if he should be grateful or upset that he'd fallen in the water instead of on the pavement. The young blonde shook his head to clear some of the dripping blond spikes that hung in his face and blinked water from his eyes. He didn't notice anyone around until one word was carried across the courtyard.

Cloud jerked his head in the direction of the voice, forgetting for a moment that he had been about to attempt to get out, and leaned too far forward with wet hands against smooth stone.

He braced for the imminent collision of face on cobblestone, but nothing happened. Instead, he heard a startled yelp and rushed footfalls. The next moment he was pressed chest to soaking chest with a tall raven-haired violet-eyed male.

It took the blond a few seconds before his brain caught up and he pushed himself away from the stranger. He remained silent as he stood straighter, still knee deep in water, not sure at all what he should say.

Thank you, maybe? Or sorry?

Cloud ducked his face behind dripping spikes and took in the man in front of him more thoroughly. He was a Second Class SOLDIER, according to his uniform. Tall, well-built, and easy on the eyes. He looked young. Plus, he had caught him before he'd fallen to his doom. This man could be that bad, right? Either way, he should probably thank the guy anyway.

"Um… Tha-"

~x~x~x~

Zack looked up when the boy began to speak, but whatever was said was never heard as three separate people strolled into plaza from opposite directions.

"Zackary Fair!" Genesis barked from said young man's left, a slightly frowning Angeal at his side. "What are you doing disturbing the peace at this hour of the night?"

As they approached from their end, Sephiroth had also come into the main square and was striding directly towards the fountain from the direction immediately across the courtyard from Zack. The puppy, for his part, was a tad confused.

"I'm not disturbing the peace! I didn't even do anything."

"Don't lie, Zack," Angeal sighed. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, 'Geal, honest," the puppy protested.

"I heard you yelp, mutt," Genesis narrowed his eyes at their youngest lover. Zack only stared for a good long moment before saying anything.

"It was just a yelp! That hardly counts as 'disturbing the peace'. Geez, guys, don't scare me like that!" he nearly whined.

"Regardless, Zackary," Sephiroth's baritone joined them as he rounded the fountain. "An explanation would be appreciated."

"Well, you see," Zack dove into his story with dramatic arm gestures and added embellishments while the other three SOLDIERs attempted to separate drama and exaggeration from fact. Thankfully, they were well used to their pup's antics and behaviors by now.

~x~x~x~

Cloud about jumped at the sudden booming echo that surrounded the enclosure so suddenly and absolutely froze as he heard footsteps coming closer from his right. He could even make out the faintest whisper of movement from somewhere further behind where he still stood in cold water of the Sector 8 fountain. His fight or flight instincts were clashing around inside him at this point and when he finally caught sight of the two figures coming their way, fight completely lost the battle. There was positively no way he could fight against the Crimson Commander.

He could only half follow the odd conversation taking place in front of him, but he didn't have to understand it. He only needed to look for his chance to make a break for it. If he could just get to the barracks without being caught that was all he asked.

Just as the blond cadet prepared to hurdle the side of the fountain and escape, a familiar deep voice travelled up his spine and froze him in place. He didn't even have to look to know who that voice belonged to.

General Sephiroth.

It was the General. What was the General of ShinRa's armies doing here at Gaia knew what time it was?!

The first SOLDIER had gotten well into his extremely exaggerated story of explanation when Cloud's voice echoed through the square in interruption.

~x~x~x~

"I'm Sorry!"

The words cut through Zack's explanation like Masamune through air and lingered in the silence that followed. All eyes turned to the previously unnoticed entity that stood knee deep in the water of the centerpiece of the Sector 8 courtyard. Each newcomer quickly took in the damp yellow spikes that hid the boy's face from view and the clingy water-clogged white t-shirt that showed off a slim body and barely revealed the pair of shorts worn underneath. Creamy bare legs and feet disappeared beneath the water and deep blue eyes peeked from beneath dripping locks. He was a pretty little thing; all pale white skin, small features, and big eyes. He gave the impression of a cute animal.

It was Sephiroth, surpringingly, who spoke first.

"Cadet Strife."

The young blond straightened and slowly raised his eyes to look in the General's general direction.

"General, sir."

"Relax, Strife," Sephiroth ordered in a softer tone of voice.

"Y-yes, sir," Cloud replied and attempted to calm himself a bit more. He managed, with some effort.

"First, cadet, you may come out of the fountain now. If you would," Sephiroth gestured for the young soldier to proceed. He had to hold in a chuckle at the blush that graced the cadet's cheeks as he scrambled to finally leave his position within the fountain's basin. Genesis, however, did no such thing, allowing himself a not-quite discreet laugh at the cute picture the boy made.

"You know this person, Sephiroth?" Angeal had to ask. It was odd for the man to know anyone he didn't strictly need to, and for it to be a young cadet of all people. Just how had the General and this boy met?

"Hey, yeah…" Zack suddenly chimed in. "How come you know this cadet and I don't? I know more people than you do and more cadets besides. How come I don't know this one?"

By this point Cloud was more than a bit miffed.

"This cadet had a name!" He growled, arms crossed petulantly across his wet t-shirt clad chest.

"Shush, cadet," Sephiroth waved him quiet. Cloud pouted but remained silent.

"Alright, so explain," Genesis demanded, now intriqued as well by that last overly familiar interaction. Cloud opened his mouth to say something -he wasn't sure what exactly- but was cut off by Sephiroth before he could.

"It was on a mission some months ago." There was a moment of expectant silence afterward before the others realized that the General was not going to elaborate.

"That's it?" Zack gaped at his superior officer. "That can't be it."

Genesis scoffed.

"Yes, Sephiroth," Angeal reinforced the objection. "Please explain more thoroughly."

Sephiroth refrained from rolling his eyes and sighed.

"It was during the Nibelheim mission," the silver-haired man began. "We were meant to go up the mountain to the reactor for inspection purposes. Unfortunately, we never reached the reactor site. The bridge was collapsed and Cadet Strife explained that the only way to get there without that bridge would have been to go the longer way or to acquire some chocobo and ride the rest of the way. As I understood it, the longer way would have taken close to three or four days with short breaks and we had no means of procuring any birds. It was a needless amount of time to waste on some nonsense reactor check for Hojo, of all people, and so I simply aborted the mission. ShinRa sent another group later on in the week to see to the completion of that mission."

Another pause ensued once Sephiroth had finished his more detailed explanation. Once again, Zackary chimed in with his thoughts.

"That's it?"

One fine silver eyebrow was raised as the General stared at his youngest lover.

"You were expecting more?"

"Well, yeah!" Zack sputtered. "You can't just speak to somebody for all of three seconds on one little mission and all of a sudden just be all buddy buddy with each other!" Sephiroth gave him a look. "Well, okay, I can. But that's me. I'm special," Zack huffed. "There's gotta be something else, so spill!"

"Sephiroth caught a cold in Nibelheim and I had to take care of him!" Cloud suddenly blurted from where he now sat on the rim of the stone fountain. All four SOLDIERs stared. Sephiroth with a frown while the other three wore varying expressions of shock.

"Sephiroth caught a cold!?"

"The Silver General? Demon of Wutai!?"

"…"

"Seriously!?" Zack cried, flabbergasted. He had never even known such a thing was possible. Cloud shrank back but nodded. Sephiroth glowered at the young blond.

"That was unnecessary information, cadet."

Cloud looked up at his general and shrugged. It was too late to do anything about it now.

"Wait wait wait," Genesis muttered, holding up a hand in the universal sign for stop. "So, Sephiroth got sick on the mission and you took care of him." Cloud nodded. "And he let you?"

The boy turned and gave a short cough. "I can be very stubborn when I have to be, sir."

"Oh, really?" Genesis sounded skeptical and Cloud scowled.

"He was sending us all back ahead of him claiming he was going to investigate something at the mansion, but I noticed something was off so I disobeyed orders. When all the others left, I stayed behind and confronted the General. We argued, but he already had a headache and there would've been no point trying to hide it by then. It was completely obvious if you knew what to look for," Cloud huffed. "So I forced him to stay at my house and took care of him!"

A stunned silence followed Cloud's rant until Sephiroth let escape a deep chuckle. He patted the blond teen's head and smiled just the smallest bit.

"After that, I met Strife again by complete coincidence at a coffee shop not far from Headquarters only weeks later. We also bumped into each other a few times in similar situations. The last time was a particularly memorable incident," the Silver General smirked at the memory of that time he'd met Cloud coming out of the ventilation system in the restrooms of Hojo's labs not more than a couple weeks earlier. Cloud rolled his eyes, also recalling that day perfectly. "And now this. I'd say we are by now officially considered spontaneous acquaintances, Cloud Strife."

"As if we haven't been for weeks now," Cloud scoffed. Sephiroth laughed.

"And there you have your explanations," the silver-haired leveled a calm gaze at his fellow SOLDIERs. "Satisfied?"

For once, both Zack and Genesis were speechless while Angeal only shook his head at the entire situation.

"Well, now that that seems to be taken care of, I have one question for you, Cloud," Sephiroth turned back to regard the still dripping cadet. Cloud looked up to meet amused cat-slit green eyes in silent question. "Why were you in the fountain?"

Cloud blushed. He'd nearly forgotten that this was the entire reason these four had even appeared before him at this time in the night. A very long minute passed while Cloud fidgeted before he was called back to some semblance of non-panic by the clearing of the General's throat. Cloud took a deep breath…

"I fell asleep!"

…and blurted out his answer.

Sephiroth had the oddest expression on his face when Cloud mustered up the resolve to look him in the eyes. It looked like a mix of surprise, amusement, and the need to laugh while attempting to avoid choking at the abrupt urge to do so. As Cloud's expression began to morph from one of embarrassment to one of irritation, the man that commanded armies succumbed to his needs and a deep laughter bounced about the Sector 8 plaza. The General, for his part, had put two and two together fairly quickly and could not get the mental image of Cloud rolling off the edge of the centerpiece to leave his mind. Finally, after a good minute, Sephiroth regained control and sent the now pouting blond an amused smirk.

"Wow," Zack was the first to make a comeback after the unexpected revelation of everything coupled with the surprise of hearing his most stoic lover's very rare laughter out in the open like that. "Well, anyone who can get past Seph's triple reinforced steel armor can only be someone amazing." Zack grinned at the blond now looking at him like he wasn't sure he wanted to hang around him too often. "Cloud Strife," the overgrown puppy extended a hand, wide grin plastered across his face. "Lieutenant Zack Fair! Any friend of Sephiroth's has to be a friend of mine! We're gonna get along great!" Cloud couldn't help the smile that crept onto his lips as he took Zack's hand and shook it. The man's grin was infectious. The boy didn't think he would mind all that much, being friends with him.

"Move aside, Puppy," Genesis drawled, sliding forward and replacing Zack's hand with his own. "Commander Genesis Rhapsodos, SOLDIER. Though, I'm sure you already knew that. It's a pleasure to meet you, Cloud Strife."

Cloud was positive that his brain was currently staging a civil war in his head at that moment. Half of him wanted to run from this man, having heard the many stories of what the redhead did to wayward cadets. The other half wanted to sing and dance, he had just met the Crimson Commander, one of the men on par with Sephiroth and an amazing SOLDIER in his own right. Thankfully, the small neutral party of his mind kept better control and the young cadet only smiled and uttered a polite 'Nice to meet you'. Fortunately, Angeal came forward to save the blond and introduced himself next.

"Cadet Strife," Angeal nodded to the boy and held his hand forward to shake the blond's hand. "Commander Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER 1st. I am glad to meet someone who seems to be quite a good friend of Sephiroth's. Thank you for taking care of him when he was ill."

Cloud actually blushed at the large man's formal greeting and unnecessary thanks. He sent the commander a small smile and shook his head. "It was nothing, sir. I only wanted to be of help at the time. I wouldn't say I'm 'good friends' with the General, though. We're only spontaneous acquaintances." Cloud laughed.

Angeal chuckled. "Then I hope we can all become something along the lines of spontaneous acquaintances with you as well, cadet."

"Cloud, is fine, sir," Cloud smiled.

"Cloud, then," Angeal corrected with a nod.

"But none of that 'Sir' stuff!" Zack butted in, shooting a stern look at the startled blond. "Call us by our names when we're not at ShinRa, alright?" Cloud nodded vigorously when seconds passed without any contradiction from the other three around them. Sephiroth smiled.

"Now that introductions have been made, I believe it is late and we should all be getting on our way."

Zack yawned. "Sounds like a plan, Seph."

"Yes, it's been a long day and I, for one, would like to curl up on a nice soft bed and enjoy not having to wake up earlier than absolutely necessary tomorrow morning."

"Technically, Gen, it already is tomorrow… uh, today?" Zack furrowed his brows. Angeal sighed and shook his head at the man's puppy-ness.

"Let's just go home, Pup."

Behind the group, Cloud watched the others walk ahead and laughed to himself as they went back and forth with their pointless banter. Sephiroth walked slightly behind the blond, also watching their antics. He hadn't brought the idea up with his three lovers yet, but this incident seemed to be a good enough reason to try and edge into the conversation. While introducing Cloud to the others had not gone as expected as far as timing and preparation were concerned, He could see that all three of them had taken a liking to the young blond. Perhaps tonight, he would present them with the notion of maybe getting to know the cadet a little better.

"Hey, Cloud," Zack's voice brought Sephiroth's attention back to the happenings up ahead. "I know you just met us and all, but we're not gonna be doin' anything tonight except maybe watchin' some tv or a movie or somethin'? Do you wanna come over for a while and hang out?"

Sephiroth smiled as he watched Cloud hesitate for a long ten seconds before finally nodding. Yes, the introduction, unexpected and unorthodox though it may have turned out, had been the right choice. After Cloud returned home tonight, he would mention his idea to his lovers.

-x-x-x-

End Chapter One

o-x-x-x-x-x-o

AN: Uh… I hope you liked it~ this is just a… thing… I'm doing. For the heck of it. Don't kill me! I'm not abandoning fics. I just can't upload some things that I already had written because they're still on my battery-less laptop. That and my Muses have decided to just uproot their ideas and turn their interests in other directions, unfortunately. Blame them! I do. Them, and the plot puppies. They're even worse than Zack when it comes to the focus issue. Basically, it's like 'OMG Squirrel!' and the concentration just gets shot.

On another note, or I guess it's the same note, the next chapter of SOLDIER has been decided as far as the concept and I'm slowly but surely getting it done. So, though it may take a while longer, it WILL get uploaded hopefully within the next uh… three months. Estimating high so you all don't get your hopes up. Please, be patient with me.

Anyway, this thing is not a oneshot. It's just a very long running… something. I don't know where it's going to go. If it seems similar to Some Crazy Dream, that's because it was written with the same basic concept in mind: INTRODUCTION. In fact, if you want, you can look at this as something like an utterly impossible alternate version of the SCDreams story. Only, like I mentioned before if you read the AN at the top, this story is not meant to be taken seriously; unlike Some Crazy Dream, which, though funny, should be taken at least a bit seriously. But anyway…

This was just something to give my writer's block a bit of a kick in the ass.

Feel Free to Review! Lots of Love to all you amazing Readers!