***Hey. This story is so long overdue that it is burning my soul. I can't believe it is already this many years in between. I got sucked into the adult life like many of us do and my dear hobby motocross takes so much time. But hey. I will try now :P If someone is still reading. Well that doesn't matter, I will finish for my sake.***

"Hey, you, where do the cadets train?" Sephiroth pulled a man in a blue uniform over so sudden, the poor man almost dropped his teeth. Such a bad soldier, thought Sephiroth, as the man's face turned red and then white from recognition. The man collected himself though, shared his head and stood in good posture.

" Sir, I believe they are on the fields outside the 5th barracks," answered the man, a little bewildered. Sephiroth nodded to him for him to leave and started marching towards the fields with unknown determination. What was he doing? In the morning the Spikes had left so abruptly that Sephiroth had had no time to even think about offering him some breakfast. After his mandatory, and rather boring, paperworks Sephiroth had sat in his office module and looked at his also ever so bored Masamune and left outside.

As he reached the Barracks, he stopped on the corner. He hadn't been here for a while. As a glorified General, he trained with the best of the best inside the campus, where mako fuelled their endless battles. Not that Sephiroth missed being a cadet, but he got a sudden rush of nostalgia. What a good feeling it seemed to be, being young and absolutely thick-headed. And now his eyes were searching for one particular thick head with stubborn spikes. He was still on the edge of the concrete field, his focus still hidden behind some rail fence. He inched his way closer, starting to see young men and some rare women training with their swords. They seemed to be sparring, coupled up together. Sephiroth stopped far enough not to be too easily detected.

He easily spotted the blond spikes from the mass of cadets. The kid was throwing his practice sword around like a toothpick, in such a fearless manner that Sephiroth was taken aback. That small kid, who giggled in his sleep and munched his superior's hair, was attacking like his life depended on it. Sephiroth turned on his heels and quickly walked away. Zack had never mentioned Cloud or any bright cadets. Sephiroth shook his head, he was acting weird. He didn't bother himself with cadets, Zack did. Maybe the boy had kicked him in the head during the night and now he had a concussion. Maybe it was time to clear the head with some running.

After the bliss of sports and shower, Sephiroth felt lighter and less moodier. He sat down on his couch, head falling back on the backrest. The air-conditioning was humming lowly, bringing a lulling tune into his quarters. He went through the day in his mind, closed his eyes and felt his body relax. Such a nice feeling, straining the body to its limits and embracing the sweet rest afterwards. Maybe he should make some dinner…

Sephiroth startled awake. He had seen a dream of falling off a cliff and he felt his limbs tuck in his sleep. He opened his eyes to see his living room which was now almost pitch black. His mouth was dry as a desert, he must have slept his mouth open and he stretched his stiff neck - falling asleep on the couch rarely happened to him and seemed like it was a bad idea now too. He started to get up, but something heavy stopped him from rising. Has he gotten paralysed on this damn couch?

Sephiroth lowered his gaze to see a blanket pulled over him and that something was laying on him. Or rather, someone. Under the blanket, some legs and spikes were sticking out, like a cat laying lazily on the floor. But this time it was Cloud, laying over his general's lap and squeezing a pillow under his head. When had he come inside? Why hadn't he heard the boy? Sephiroth yanked the blanket away and shook the boy by his shoulder. The boy mumbled something and turned its head against the pillow.

"Hey don't suffocate yourself," Sephiroth snarled quietly and turned the boy over facing him. He slid his arms under the kid and stood up, carrying the young cadet on his arms. Feeling totally ridiculous he took a step towards the bedroom, but the sneaky blanket had wrapped itself around Sephiroth's ankles and he stumbled in the dark few steps before freeing himself from the blanket. He kicked frantically with his other leg to get away and to stay balanced, only to kick his toe into the corner of his sofa. As the unimaginable pain proceeded upwards, Sephiroth was trying to hold his curse in. He looked down on his arms and surprisingly the boy was still asleep.

" Should have known…" he sighed out the pain as he carefully stepped over the blanket and now with better success, to his bedroom. The ever so ungrateful lamp was ignoring him and his bedside clock showed 01:20am. A huge relief went over Sephiroth's mind as he realized he still had some time to sleep. Now he just needed to put the boy down, who looked more than happy resting against his chest. Cloud's other cheek had smushed a little against Sephiroth and his lips were pouty. I can't believe this is the same cadet from the field tonight, thought Sephiroth and put the boy down, a little hesitant. The boy rolled over to left side and mumbled again something.

Sephiroth went and got his blanket from the living room floor and threw it over the boy as he got into the bed as well. What should he do now? He was now in charge of the sleeping, which was new to him. In the darkness of his own bedroom, he was a little lost. For a moment the space was filled with an impatient silence, before Sephiroth throwing himself sideways on the bed.

" Oh what the heck…" He hissed through his teeth, pulled the boy against him on his arms and advanced into being the bigger spoon. Cloud fidgeted on his arms and he could feel the spikes tickling his chin ever so lightly. Squeezing the boy a little tighter, Sephiroth surrendered to the sleep yet again.

"Sir… Sir… Sir… SIR!" A nagging voice penetrated Sephiroth's sleeping conscious as he slowly came back from a deep sleep. When had he last slept like this?

" SIR, I am serious!" Something fidgeted against him impatiently and Sephiroth opened his eyes. It was Cloud, frantically trying to get away from his super grip, kicking the blanket away with his feet. Sephiroth unlocked his arms from around the Spikes, a little bewildered. Cloud jumped like a spring from the bed, those blue eyes glaring towards Sephiroth.

" I have tried to wake you for minutes now! It's past seven and the breakfast is already being served! You know the pancakes run out the fastest…!" Cloud was talking really fast, trying to undress his blue pyjamas while talking.

" I couldn't free myself, who sleeps like that…" a muffled voice complained as the Spikes threw on his uniform. Sephiroth snickered evily and got up on his elbows.

" At least this time my hair stayed dry, and remember who you are talking to," Sephiroth chuckled and added some commanding sound to his voice. The terror who had been intruding into his quarters all these nights, kicking him in his sleep, drooling on him, giggling in his sleep was complaining about his strong grip. Cloud stiffened immediately, wincing a little and then turned around, uniform still a complete mess and gave Sephiroth a quick salute.

" Now go get those pancakes," Sephiroth smiled just a little and the cadet bounced out of his room faster than ever, leaving his pyjamas behind. As the door closed behind Cloud, Sephiroth laid back on the bed, staring the ceiling. He was waiting for the evening already.

Hi I hope this stuff is readable and you enjoyed it. For mistakes and other stuff I apologize, it has been a long time since I have written anything more complicated than my name, so I am a little rusty.