ShinRa Tower was so large a building that walking around the outside of it in its entirety took quite some time. With a few smaller satellite buildings dotted around the main Tower there were all sorts of tucked-away places to hide in.

Most were under video surveillance for that reason; ShinRa took security seriously. Some Infantryperson somewhere was probably watching a couple-dozen computer screens showing footage of these areas, mostly walls, and occasionally the small nook with a bench for reading a book or resting after a jog around the Tower.

Cloud was pretty sure he'd found a small spot not under the watch of a video camera. And if there was one—it didn't matter anyway, it wasn't like he got up to no good out here, he just liked his space. While Nibelheim was mostly empty fields and tundra, with snow-capped mountains in the distance, Midgar had another metal wall every couple dozen feet and cramped hallways packed with Infantry.

He hadn't even realized he was a little claustrophobic before moving here.

And it wasn't even like his special spot was all that great—he was right by an exhaust vent for the building's HVAC. It was super loud and bellowed hot air, but he sat away from it and with enough time the constant drone of it faded into the background like restaurant chatter. As something of an introvert, Cloud needed some time alone every couple days; he retreated here and played games on his PHS or wrote letters to his mother. It was chill and Cloud stayed undisturbed.

Until, one day, the wall whispered, "Laddie."

Cloud looked up from his PHS, pausing his action game with a tap of his finger, and looked around. The acoustics in these little alcoves could get weird. He went back to it.

"Laddie!"

Cloud squinted, peering up and down the side of the wall. "In the vent," came the voice, muffled under the roar of the AC. "I need ya to do me a favor."

"Are you okay?" Cloud scrambled up, moving closer, feeling the sweaty gush of the AC's exhaust.

"Aie aie aie," came the voice, "Act natural! Pretend you're not talking to anybody, eh?"

"Um." Cloud moved to the side, away from the vent, and stared straight ahead. He tucked his chin into his scarf to obscure his mouth. He swallowed. "You're speaking to a member of the ShinRa Infantry," he said, his grip tightening around his baton lying along his right thigh. "Reveal yourself—if you're an eco-terrorist trying to infiltrate the Tower I will report you."

Whoever was in the vent let out a long whistle. "Impressive. The company's been hiring a good batch, it looks like. It's good to see."

Cloud cut off the distracting small talk with an aggressive, "Who are you? I will call my CO in the next thirty seconds."

"Oy!" They sounded outraged. "I work for ShinRa too, I promise."

"Prove it."

"What's your last name? I'll look you up in the database; I have the authorization to do that."

"…Strife," Cloud said, hesitantly.

"Hmm… only one of those currently employed. Seventeen years old. From Nibelheim—interesting place, there's a Mako reactor there, made it special—joined up seven months ago. Looks like you're struggling in your rifle class, nya ha ha."

"What!" Cloud had been thinking about how the person in the vent was either really employed by ShinRa or was a talented hacker, but the rifle comment distracted him. "That's in my file?"

"Yessiree, along with the fact that you're better than average with swords. Did fairly well in the SOLDIER exam with the practice swords."

"Oh." Cloud's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the SOLDIER exam. He fought the urge to stomp off, now hurting at the memories of failure. "Answer my question. What's the best elevator to use?"

"…The one behind the showroom on the lobby floor," they answered. "It doesn't have that couple-second lag when the doors close."

"And who never uses that elevator?"

"The execs. Stuck-up, the lot of them, if you ask me." They sounded a little nervous.

An exec, then, perhaps? Regardless, nobody would know the thing about the elevators if they weren't regularly in the building, actually walking around and not crawling through vents.

"What do you want?"

They sounded relieved. "I need you to block the security camera for me. Move a bit to the left, would you?"

"A camera?" Cloud had been so sure there was no such thing here.

"Obviously, laddie, they're everywhere. Except in here, nyahaha. There you go—a little more left. I can see you on the camera feed. Yes, yes, I know the air is hot—I'm practically melting apart in here. Angle yerself towards the wall. Now lean against it, all casual-like. Yep, you're facing the camera now. Stay just like that."

Cloud held the position he'd been maneuvered into. He squinted at the opposite wall. Eventually he found it; a little out-of-place dot in the concrete wall. Damn. His back was to the vent now, and he stiffened as the metal grate was pushed out from the inside.

"Reach a hand back," came the voice, a little clearer now without the grate, though still quiet under the roar of the AC. Cloud did, and the weight of the metal grate settled into his hand. He held on, hiding it behind his back. He pulled out his PHS and pretended to be playing a game with his other hand. The back of his neck prickled; it was so uncomfortable knowing there was someone behind him that he couldn't see.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to help," came the voice. Cloud snorted, and they continued after a huff, "Getting some readings on the quality of the air we're cycling through the building. I installed a couple new air filters, to get rid of the smog and such, and if they're successful they will be used in some homes under the Plate. Unfortunately, no one is letting me close enough to measure the air quality."

"…Why not?"

"Well, laddie, I suspect it's because they're not working. Why else? It means I have to design some new filters and install them, and that costs money, and my department's budget is woefully low, and…"

They muttered to themselves, and Cloud heard a couple small movements. Metallic scufflings, the sounds of light feet. Casually, Cloud turned his head as much as he could to get an eye of the person who had been inside the vent.

Cloud expected them to be small, because those vents were too tiny for Cloud to fit in, but he hadn't expected a three foot-tall humanoid cat wearing a crown.

Cloud breathed, "What."

The cat turned around. It had a small cape, red, and it was blowing around in the hot air. "Don't be gapin', laddie," it said, "We're on a mission!"

Cloud's head snapped around again and he stared at the wall.

The cat had been hanging something around the wide, curved metal pipe beside the vent that carried presumably air up to the many stories above. It wore white gloves and had a white-tipped tail, most of it a darker black with white patches on its belly and face. It even had boots.

"Are you a monster?"

The cat laughed. "Nay, not a monster—I'm just a Cait Sith!"

"A Cait Sith."

"Yep. And just so you don't go worryin', this little device here ain't a bomb or anything like that—it measures pollution. I poked a small hole in the pipe so it'll measure it."

"Why all the secrecy?"

"Like I said, for whatever reason they don't want me pokin' around the filtration system, which makes me think it's not workin'. They'd rather let something not work than spend the money to fix it to ensure a good quality of life—now isn't that repulsive?"

"Ah…yeah."

After another moment Cloud heard the grate go back onto the wall. "Move back a couple steps," the voice said. Cloud moved more fully into the gush of air. "Lean back onto it as hard as you can."

Cloud pushed against the grate, and he felt small, gloved hands (…paws?) scrabble against the back of his uniform as it pulled. The blond felt the grate snap back into place.

"Thanks," Cait Sith said, "You were a big help!" Then Cloud heard it crawl away, the small thumping noises growing quieter.

Cloud casually inspected the small device hanging around the air pipe. He'd had a few classes on how to identify bombs and this certainly didn't look like one. If it was… well, he was now an accomplice to it.

Weird.

It was a few days before Cloud managed to get enough free time to go out to his usual spot. He wasn't sure what to expect. He was hardly in The Know around ShinRa but he did have a few Infantry friends who were fairly involved with building security and none of them had mentioned the discovery of a mysterious bomb or an intruder in the vents.

The little pollution reader was gone, a tiny bit of sealant covered the tiny hole that had been poked through it, and taped to the back side of the pipe, the side away from the security camera, was a note.

C.S., it said, Thank you again for your help last time. You are a trustworthy young man. If you're willing, I need your help again. According to your schedule you have the afternoon and evening of this coming Friday off. Please come to the stall all the way on the left in the men's bathroom on the lobby floor at five p.m. You're doing ShinRa a great service, even if they don't know it yet. —another C.S.

That was rather…demanding, Cloud thought. And rather rude. He helped someone once, and then there they were checking his training schedule like a creep and asking his help for…whatever they were asking his help for. The handwriting looked elegant and the diction fairly different from how Cait Sith spoke. Was it even the same person—cat? No one else would have known about this… It was ridiculous.

No matter how ridiculous it was, for some Gaia-forsaken reason Cloud found himself hesitantly opening the door to the bathroom that Friday. Some of his friends were going into Sector 8 to party and Cloud had even turned down their invitation, he was that curious about what was going to happen.

He peeked under the stalls; it was empty in here, and he couldn't see any furry legs in the stall all the way to the side. Still, he crept over to it and pushed the door inwards.

Cait Sith stood on the closed toilet seat, body bopping along to some rhythm Cloud couldn't hear. Crown, gloves, furry little face, red cape.

"Cloud!" Cait Sith greeted. "Ya made it. Good."

Cloud looked up—an air vent went into this stall. "You really did leave me that note," he said, a bit amazed.

Cait Sith tilted its head, peering at him with small, feline eyes. "Well, of course. Good help is hard to find 'round here."

"You mean people dumb enough to go along with what you want and not ask too many questions."

Cait Sith rubbed the back of its neck. "Maybe, but you seem like a genuine good sort. I promise, I'm not up to anythin' bad."

"A promise won't do me much good if I get jailed or court marshalled for this."

"You'll just have ta believe me, laddie—ya won't. I'll make it worth yer while for the help, though."

That sounded even sleazier than before, Cloud thought privately. "What was the verdict on the vent?"

"Aye, they're broken, all right. Barely stopping any of the mako smog from entering the buildings at all. Sure, the air inside the Tower looks prettier, and there ain't no green tint to it, but it's not healthy. Ya think people would care more since we're breathing the same air up there in the boardroom!"

We, Cloud thought. Cait Sith is in on board meetings?

Cait Sith sighed. They gestured to a sports bag hanging on the hook on the back of the toilet stall. "Put that on, wouldja? I'm gonna climb in."

As they left the bathroom, Cait Sith a sturdy weight against his back, Cloud asked, "Where are we going?"

"I need a ride down below the plate," came Cait Sith's voice from inside the bag. "I'm a little too conspicuous getting down on the trains myself. I need to visit a couple businesses in Sector 8."

"Why?"

"We installed a version of those air filters on ShinRa partner businesses—prototypes for the commercial ones we plan to install in people's homes. They won't be much help to the public if they'll still be chokin' on smog, will they, laddie?"

"Guess not," Cloud muttered, moving his lips as little as possible as they moved out through the lobby. It bustled at all hours; the rotating group of receptionists never left the front desk unstaffed. When he cleared the building and was outside he said to his backpack, "To the train station?"

"Aye, laddie."

Cloud wore civvies, having learned shortly after joining that if you were off-duty you did not want to wear your uniform beneath the plate. He had his badge, though, and with a swipe of it at the turnstile at the station he got in without his bag being inspected. He shuffled on the train behind what looked like some off-duty SOLDIERs, probably Third Class, and a couple civilians who just lived above the plate. Expensive stuff.

He sat in the back of the train car and carefully propped the bag up in the empty cushion next to him.

"Okay, we're on the train," Cloud whispered. He didn't get a response.

During the ID check halfway down, with the blaring red alarm and the scan of everyone's IDs aboard the train just in case someone snuck on that wasn't supposed to, Cloud asked Cait Sith, "Hey. What's your gender? How should I refer to you?"

"Cait Sith is a boy," was the answer, sounding amused.

"And what's your accent?" It was quite thick; sometimes Cloud had trouble understanding him.

"It's just how a Cait Sith talks."

"A Cait Sith. So… there are more of you?"

"Cait Sith the Third, at your service, laddie."

Cloud muttered, "Seems like I'm the one at your service, honestly."

Muffled laughter was the response.

Sector 8 was one of Cloud's favorite places. Nibelheim's version of nightlife was the single pub full of upset adults avoiding their families. This part of town had clubs and bars, theaters and LOVELESS Avenue. He shouldered his heavy backpack (was Cait Sith made of fucking metal?) and walked in the direction Cait Sith told him to go, towards an offshoot street.

He didn't get far before an arm was slung over his shoulder.

Cloud turned, hands coming up, preparing to knock the stranger away, but they came still to rest for a moment too long on the chest of the person when he realized it was Zack Fair.

"Hey, Spike! Long time no see!"

Zack Fair, the dude he'd gotten along surprisingly well with on a mission last month and who he'd been nursing a wicked crush on ever since. "Zack," Cloud said, "Oh—hey."

The arm around his shoulders squeezed and then disappeared. Zack was so tall, and so grin-y, and so handsome, and Cloud hated that he was 'on a mission' with a crown-wearing cat monster.

"How've you been, man?"

"Good. I've been good." Cloud's tongue felt clumsy in his mouth. "Not busy—ah, I mean, doing the usual thing."

Zack winked at him. "That's good to hear. You busy at all right now?"

"…Well, kind of."

"Aw, c'mon! I wanna buy you a drink. My treat. I've been meaning to come see you ever since the Mideel mission but I've been busy."

Cloud hesitated. He felt a small jab between his shoulder blades, probably Cait Sith's elbow. "Sorry," he began, but then Zack clapped his hands together and tilted his head with his dark bangs falling into his bright SOLDIER eyes just right—

A moment later he was being whisked along beside Zack to a really chill bar, you'll like it while Cait Sith stubbornly jabbed him again, trying to keep Cloud on track.

Tough shit, cat—Cloud was doing the weird little thing a huge favor anyway; they could afford a brief detour.

Zack and Cloud chatted about their week as they made their way there. The bar was just off LOVELESS Ave, and despite it only being about six-thirty the music inside was loud and vibrating. The neon lights took a moment to get used to after being outside in the artificial sun lamps.

There weren't any seats at the bar open, so while they waited for two people to leave they grabbed two drinks and stood off to the side, leaning against a wall. Cloud could feel the thud of the bass through it, moving through his shoulder and even stirring the tequila in his glass.

(Tequila, known to make certain drinkers rather horny, was perhaps not the best choice, Cloud realized as Zack stood so tall next to him. It kind of felt like he was being caged back against the wall… and, Cloud realized a moment later, he kind of fucking loved it.)

"So how's your training going?" Cloud asked. "I think before you mentioned Angeal Hewley pushes you pretty hard."

Cloud remembered almost every word, actually, but he was playing it cool. Zack groaned, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. Hot. "Ugh. Angeal's as tough on me as ever. It's cool though—it's only a matter of time before I hit First Class at this rate."

"Oh yeah? You think you'll be evaluated for it soon?"

"Yeah. Genesis let it slide the other day that Angeal and Lazard have been talking about arranging some sort of mission for me."

"You were really impressive in Mideel…I'm sure you'll do well."

Cloud wasn't sure how to flirt for shit, but he'd realized Zack liked compliments. Zack puffed out his chest and tried to give a casual shrug (he failed). "Ya think so?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah," Cloud confirmed. "Sure do."

With the occasional jab from Cait Sith, Cloud and Zack kept talking. They eventually got bar stools and sat there, Zack buying Cloud three more drinks that were really strong, too—Cloud was tipsy at the end of it and even smacked his elbow back into the bag when Cait Sith hit his shoulder blade, trying to get him to abandon Zack.

"What's in there?" Zack asked, his elbow up on the counter and his hand propping up his chin.

"…Library books," Cloud said, feeling very transparent. "I had more free time than usual this month so, ah, I read a lot."

"Oh yeah, the one a couple blocks East? I like that place."

"Erm, yeah."

"There's a library in the Tower though, just so ya know. Near the SOLDIER floor."

"Oh. I'll be sure to check it out."

"Yeah." Zack smiled at him, his mako eyes lasered in on Cloud's face. "You should."

One last drink—and then Zack invited Cloud to dance. Cloud heard Cait Sith groan under his breath in the backpack.

Shyly, Cloud shrank back, wishing he had his green scarf with him. "I'm not very good," he said—but Zack waved him off with a grin. Then they were on the edge of the dance floor, Cloud still wearing his backpack. Zack gestured at the far wall but Cloud shook his head, yelling over the music, "I'll get tons of fees if I lose the books."

Zack was rolling his hips and working his shoulders now, dancing very casually to the beat—he managed to work in a shrug that looked so effortless. Cloud's robotic joints moved awkwardly at first but he managed to find something resembling what a few other people on the dance floor were doing. It made his backpack bounce against his back and Cloud knew he'd have a couple bruises from where Cait Sith's joints poked into his back but fuck it—it wasn't every day he got to hang out with Zack Fair.

"You look nice in civilian clothes," Zack said. Cloud understood this in a mixture of actually hearing the words and lip-reading. "Aren't you hot though?"

Zack reached out and his fingers played with the zipper at Cloud's collar. His sleeveless shirt had a zipper that went down to his sternum. "...A little," Cloud said, and with the most seductive grin anyone had ever flashed Cloud Strife Zack inched down his zipper bit by bit, revealing a few inches of sweaty collarbones and the upper part of Cloud's chest.

Cloud's hands came up and Zack captured them, pressing them over his beating heart. He spread Cloud's palms and fingers flat and moved them, his own hands covering Cloud's, to his shoulders and then encouraged Cloud to coast them down his arms: over the biceps, stopping briefly to squeeze, past the jut of the elbow, down the forearms and over the wrist…to his hands. Zack entwined their hands and moved Cloud's arms around, making the awkward teen dance more.

Cloud laughed, feeling…delighted, really—he was free in a way he'd never been in Nibelheim.

This was really fucking fun.

Cloud's jam came on next and he danced like a moron, all swinging arms and moving hips as he sang along—Zack laughed out loud, but kindly, and egged him on.

As much as Cloud wanted to stay all evening with Zack (and stay with him into the next morning too, if that's how this sort of thing worked—city people moved so fast)—he could not. The sulking cat in his bag had somewhere to be.

Cloud, wobbling a bit, reached out and pressed his hands to either side of Zack's face. Zack looked surprised, his eyes flicking from Cloud's mouth to his eyes. Cloud fought a smile; no, he wasn't about to kiss him, but Zack clearly thought he was. He drew Zack down, and Zack closed his eyes, but Cloud turned his head and spoke directly into Zack's ear instead.

"I've really gotta go. Thanks for everything, man—I had a lot of fun."

Zack pouted a bit as he stood back up, but he didn't press anything. "Yeah—me too. Wanna trade numbers so we can hang out again?"

They moved to the edge of the bar and they did so, Cloud squashing a gleeful feeling in his stomach. "See ya," he said, holding up an arm. Zack bumped their forearms together and saw him off with another wink and a two-fingered salute.

"Later, Spike."

Cloud pushed his way out of the bar, gulping down fresh air once he was out. He hadn't realized how hot it was in there. Most of the sun lamps were off now, simulating 'night time' – but there were still enough to make your way around. It took Cloud a moment to realize which way the businesses were that Cait Sith wanted to visit, and then he headed that way.

"There's no one around," Cloud said, "You can speak up. I can tell you want to."

The bag wiggled. He heard Cait Sith sigh. "…I suppose I can't complain when I'm hitching a free ride on your back, can I?"

"No," Cloud answered, "You can't."

Cloud felt like a major creep going into the tiny alley behind the weapons store ShinRa apparently had investments in. He wondered if they sold ShinRa weapons to the public or just to select people—he didn't actually care that much. He opened the bag with clumsy, drunk fingers and Cait popped out, his fur matted from being cooped up in there for so long and his crown askew.

"Har!" he barked a laugh when he saw Cloud. "You're still blushing, Spike. Does that happen every time you drink or are you just that fond of Fair?"

Cloud scowled. "You know him?"

"Sure." Cait hopped up on top of the reeking dumpster. "I know all the Firsts and most of the Seconds."

Cloud lost his filter two drinks back, so he blurted, "Even Sephiroth?"

Cait looked over his shoulder, now hanging from the gutter on the roof of the building. "You fancy that bloke too?"

"Oh." Cloud stuck his hands in his pockets. "Pssh."

Cait laughed again, then pulled himself up and disappeared over the lip of the roof. Cloud could hear him though, light footsteps moving across the roof towards what he presumed was the AC unit.

After a minute or two where Cloud tried to look like he belonged in some dank alley Cait came back, a small device in his hand. He climbed into the bag and Cloud shouldered it again. This time Cait directed him to a materia shop. It was noticeably cleaner and better-lit than the other shops on the street, a few of which had sagging boards in place of windows or heaps of trash just beyond the doorstep.

The benefits of being connected to ShinRa, it seemed.

"Around to the side," Cait whispered from the bag. "No, the other side."

"How can you tell where we are so well? Aren't you all mixed up being in there?"

"I'm watchin' from one of the security cameras on the roof of the plate."

Cloud frowned. How was this little monster so well-connected? "…On a PHS or something?"

"In my head," was the answer.

Weird. Cloud went to the other side of the shop. It was at the end of the block and had no smelly, saggy shops on that side. Cloud opened up the bag and Cait scrambled up to the roof as he did before. When he was done they headed back towards the train, Cloud still pleasantly buzzed and enjoying the walk around.

It was so different beneath the plate from up above, and especially different from Nibelheim. It was so bizarre to look up and never see the sky.

"Cait Sith," Cloud said breezily, chattier than normal from the drinks, "It's kind of cool that you seem to care so much about the air quality. I get the feeling that most people at ShinRa couldn't care less about regular people, you know?"

"Aye," Cait replied. "Don't I know it. My department does what it can, but we get push-back every step o' the way."

"Your department?"

Cait didn't answer. Cloud was another small step closer to putting this strange puzzle together.

part of Cloud's Birthday Week 2k17. Please leave a review if you enjoyed - have a great day! -Tobi