Cloud hid most of his face behind his scarf, hiding his upset expression away, he didn't want his fellow SOLDIER's to see him as weak. He stayed silent all throughout the funeral, when it was over he didn't go to the hall to drink coffee, instead he silently stood in front of the casket, fingers caressing the wood. His eyes were watering, tears threatening to spill, he took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. When he heard multiple military boots heavily stepping towards the front of the room he quickly wiped a hand through his eyes to rub the few tears away, then turned around to walk away, keeping his head lowered.

"Cloud," it was a deep and gentle voice that made Cloud look up at the mention of his name. When Angeal saw Cloud's reddened eyes he gently ran his hand through the boy's hair, "It's all right to cry, he was your best friend. On this day we mourn, to remember him in his complete glory tomorrow."

Cloud smiled thinly, trying to put up a brave front as he saw Genesis and the General himself standing near the casket now. "I'm..." Cloud's voice cracked and he quickly cleared his throat: "I'm fine, I do need to go though." Cloud motioned at the door and was about to make his way there when another voice spoke up.

"No need to fool us, Zack put you down on his mourner's list long ago. You get the day off by Shinra's protocol. His death meant little enough to you to take this as a day to party instead of remember him?" The tone was ice cold, emerald eyes focused on the man that lay in the casket as the silver-haired man was unable to look at the fool that Zack had obviously seen as a friend.

It was when sobs filled the room that Sephiroth did look up, to find the blonde recruit hiding his face behind his scarf, the sobs originating from behind the scarf. Angeal and Genesis send Sephiroth a scolding look. Angeal then gently pulled the boy against his chest, the normally quiet and reserved young man suddenly reminding Angeal that he was quite young after all. He sobbed uncontrollably, voice cracking as he tried to speak: "I-I... I miss him so bad."

"I know Cloud, we do too."

Cloud nodded lightly, awkwardly pulling away and attempting to dry his tears by rubbing his palms over his eyes. Sephiroth approached and swallowed thickly as he offered his handkerchief: "I apologize, I didn't mean to cause this."

Cloud looked up at him, shaking his head and getting a slight red tinge on his cheeks. The Sephiroth was offering him a handkerchief? He froze as he stared at the great general who seemed much nicer than he was described by his fellow SOLDIER cadets. Sephiroth turned to Angeal as Cloud didn't move: "Did I say something wrong?"

Angeal laughed slightly and shook his head: "Cloud is a fan, Zack told me Cloud had one of those posters of you in his hometown." Angeal winked at Cloud as the young blonde turned a bright red and then bolted out of the room.

Sephiroth tilted his head slightly: "When did that boy become third class?" Sephiroth asked, he thought he knew all the SOLDIERs in the company, at least by name and face.

"He's still a cadet," Angeal stated.

"Why did he receive mako injections then? It radiates off him," Sephiroth stated, an unusual interest spiking in the blonde.

"He never did, he's from Nibelheim, he fell into the mako fountain as a boy."

"He survived that? How strong is that kid?"

"Decent, has the instincts and natural skill for SOLDIER but lacks experience. Still has a way to go but eventually he'll be a great asset to Shinra," Angeal answered, looking at Sephiroth questioningly, "Why the interest?"

"I don't know," Sephiroth stated shortly, "he's different."

Genesis suddenly snorted: "Everyone is different. It just depends on how you look at a person."

Sephiroth sighed and shook his head, opting to retreat towards the door: "I'll see you guys at home. Angeal, you should check on that boy."

After Sephiroth left, Angeal walked over to the casket, gently ran a hand over the cheek of the body that once belonged to Zack, now it was nothing more but an empty shell: "May you rest with the goddess peacefully. I'll keep an eye on Cloud for you."

Cloud was silently sitting on his bunk, staring at his hands, lost deep in thought. When he heard the door open he looked up to find Angeal standing in the doorway. Angeal smiled slightly and sat down on the bunk next to Cloud's, looking at the boy: "Sephiroth invited me and Genesis over, do you want to join?"

Cloud looked at Angeal and shook his head slightly: "I wouldn't want to intrude. Zack told me about the... arrangements you guys have."

Angeal looked surprised at the words that escaped the boy's lips. Then he laughed and shook his head in amusement: "Is there anything that he didn't tell you?"

Cloud's cheeks instantly flared red and he stared at Angeal with wide eyes. Zack had told him that he was in a relationship with Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis but he always kept anything remotely sexual hidden from Cloud. Cloud swallowed thickly as he suddenly imagined the four attractive men together. Then shook his head and all but yelled: "He never told me anything sex-related!"

Angeal looked at the flustered blonde and ran a hand through the blonde's hair, soft laughter escaping his lips once more: "I didn't mean something specific, I didn't expect him to tell you something like that, we just don't want the public to find out that the... well three of us now, are together. Very few people know."

Cloud nodded slightly: "I never told anyone."

"Good so, you're coming over now, have lunch with us. Zack wanted to invite you over for a while already, but we all know how little free time cadets have," Angeal stated as he stood up.

Cloud followed Angeal through Shinra headquarters, taking the elevator up to the highest floor Cloud had ever been. When they stepped out of the elevator they stepped into a huge entrance hall. The floor was a polished white marble, a fountain stood in the middle of the room. The room was ablaze with the light that shone brightly from a huge chandelier. Black vases with the most beautiful flowers lined the several doors that lead to private rooms. Cloud's eyes went wide and he got rather pale as he did some steps back into the elevator.

Angeal put a hand on Cloud's back to encourage him to step out. Cloud shook his head: "Everything here looks expensive, I don't belong here."

Angeal decided he wasn't going to convince Cloud to step in and instead just grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder. Just like that, Angeal walked over to Sephiroth's door, pressing his keycard against the lock and unlocking the door as Cloud struggled: "Angeal, let me go... please. If I break something I'll spend the rest of my life in jail, I don't have the gil to pay anything this expensive."

Angeal put Cloud down in front of a couch upon which Sephiroth and Genesis sat. Cloud immediately went stiff, his face pale as a ghost as he slipped into formation and saluted the two men: "General Sephiroth and General Rhapsodos, Sir's."

"At ease," Sephiroth dismissed immediately, green eyes focused on the blonde with an amused smile, "no need to address me formally in my own home."

Genesis stood up and took a good look at young blonde, then tilted up his chin, staring at him rather intensively before he spoke: "The mako in your eyes is so unusual."

Cloud's expression hardened a little and the cadet looked away to the ground: "I apologize, Sir. I can't help the color of my eyes, I fell in the mako-fountain in mount Nibel when I was younger."

Genesis ran his thumbs underneath the blonde's eyes: "No need to apologize, it's quite beautiful, especially with the blonde hair and the pale skin, it's not something we see often in midgar. You possess an exotic beauty."

With those words, Cloud's cheeks colored a soft red. Making Genesis smirk slightly. Angeal placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder, guiding him over to the couch and making him sit right next to Sephiroth: "Here have a talk with Seph while Genesis helps me prepare lunch."

Angeal half-dragged Genesis out of the room to what Cloud presumed was the kitchen.

Sephiroth smiled as the boy next to him awkwardly rubbed his hands together and stared at them as if they were the most interesting thing in the world: "You're nervous. There's no need to be."

Cloud smiled sheepishly at his hands, talking softly: "It's hard not to be, I joined SOLDIER because of you. When I was younger I pretended to be you, waving a stick around and slaying bushes, it seems a bit unreal to be sitting next to you. Especially cause I'm just a nobody from Nibelheim."

Sephiroth let his eyes linger over the blonde, noting how those hands had stopped fiddling with one another and were now rubbing over his legs: "I was born in Nibelheim, you know. I only briefly stayed there before I was transferred to HQ to start my training. I've only been there once or twice before it burned down."

Cloud nodded somberly at the mention of it being burned down.

"I apologize, did you lost loved ones in the fire?"

Cloud nodded again: "My mother and a dear friend. It's the reason I joined the SOLDIER training program. I want to grow stronger so I can protect what's dear to me."

"A very noble reason, but sometimes you still can't protect what's dear to you even if you are the strongest man on earth. You're willing to let Shinra use you as a tool to achieve that?" Sephiroth's eyes regarded the boy with seriousness.

"I'll be the tool that makes a difference then," Cloud looked up at Sephiroth for the first time since he arrived at the general's home and in his eyes burned a fire of determination. Sephiroth's brows furrowed slightly, Cloud Strife was such an unusual being, he had to admit he found it rather attractive.

Sephiroth shifted in his seat, turning more towards Cloud: "When you fell into the mako-fountain, how old where you?"

Cloud looked at the floor in thought for a moment before looking at Sephiroth again: "I think I was about 9?"

Sephiroth nodded: "Do you remember anything?"

"Everything," Cloud answered as Genesis and Angeal stepped into the room with the food. Sephiroth motioned for Cloud to stand up and follow him to the dining table. Once seated Cloud smiled brightly at Angeal: "I always love your food. Thank you for inviting me."

Angeal winked at Cloud and playfully replied: "Well Genesis helped so if it's not tasty, we blame him."

Genesis huffed and folded his arms: "I remember when you forgot to wash out the pan and everything tasted like soap."

Cloud laughed slightly as Angeal put a plate in front of him with a huge sandwich on it. Sephiroth sat across from Cloud, emerald eyes focused on the young man: "What was it like?"

Cloud looked confused for a moment before recalling what the man had asked earlier: "Ah... well, it's a bit weird to explain. I got called delusional before, doctors say the memories I have might be fabricated from the mako-poisoning. I was in a coma for three months after it happened."

All eyes were on Cloud and Angeal decided to ask further: "I'm curious, I won't be judgmental."

Cloud swallowed a bite of his food and stared at his plate as he explained, recalling the memory clearly, speaking with sincerity: "It was really unusual, like I didn't have a body anymore, purely my soul floating in a sea of blue green. It was a very satisfying feeling, like I was whole. Like the goddess took my whole being to herself for a moment to appreciate me and then pushed me back into my body, as if she knew it wasn't my time to be with her yet. It's probably a delusion like the doctors told me, but it felt so real and perhaps I want it to be real. As a reassurance that my mom and Tifa and Zack are safe with the goddess now."

When it remained silent Cloud looked up hesitantly, finding three sets of eyes looking at him. He awkwardly took a bite of the sandwich and looked away to the ground, waiting for someone to start laughing and calling him an idiot. Instead of that he felt a hand ruffle his hair and when he looked up he was met with Angeal's sincere smile: "Thank you for sharing that, Cloud. I'd like to belief that what you remember is truth. It makes me feel calmer knowing that Zack's in a good place now."