A/N: Thanks again for all of the reviews, favorites, and alerts! My apologies for not updating this story for a loonnnngggg time! I hate being so busy… Also, I suggest that my readers take a look at my profile if you have not already to see what I've come up with to hopefully get out updates faster!
Disclaimer: Normal spot.
Warning(s): Eh, nothing much…^^
Two Months Later…
Cloud didn't think that getting $500 a week would change his and Taka's life much, but that quickly changed when he saw that he now could afford to buy all of the finer things he wanted. Instead of shopping in average shopping stores, now was spending money in the boutiques that he dreamed of shopping in when he was a kid…and it felt fantastic! He was able to have all of the necessities for Taka and the apartment with extra money to make them look and feel glamorous. And it was all thanks to Sephiroth…
Cloud held his humming baby in his arms when he entered the clothing boutique to find Taka a new pair of pants. As he searched through the selection, he didn't see the redhead that walked through the door a few minutes after he did and cursed when his eyes made contact with his.
"Well, who would've thought that I'd find you here in my normal shopping spot… I thought Zack didn't get paid that much for you to be shopping here…"
"It's good to see you too Genesis… How've you been?" Cloud said with a fake smile as he inwardly gritted his teeth. He wasn't about to tell Genesis that he was right about Zack and he damn sure wasn't about to tell him where he was getting his money from.
"Not good… Sephiroth and I have not been on good terms lately..."
"Oh? I didn't know you two were having issues."
"Yeah, it's over the money that goes missing from his account every week on the same day."
Cloud inwardly gasped as he re-shifted Taka in his arms.
"He allows you to check his accounts?"
Genesis rolled his eyes.
"He's my husband! I should be allowed to check them whenever I feel like it! I just decided to check one of them a few weeks ago because I was bored and I find out that he's been transferring $1,000 to an account that's foreign to me and he spent over $500,000 on a car that I've never seen pull up to our driveway! I approach him about it and what do I get in response, him yelling at me about going through his shit without his permission! I tried to check the account yesterday and low and behold, the fucker changed his password on that account and every other one except for the one that has my name attached to it! I mean, seriously, can you believe that shit! What the hell does he have to hide from me?"
Cloud inwardly sighed in relief. Apparently Genesis was going to do more research on his account, but luckily Sephiroth blocked him from doing so. When he sees Sephiroth later, he had to give him a big kiss and more for stopping Genesis.
"I really don't know. I really don't know where you're coming from since I haven't tried looking at Zack's account. To me it would be an invasion of privacy. If it doesn't have my name on it, I'm leaving it alone. Besides, I might find out something that I really didn't want to…"
Genesis scoffed before rolling his eyes.
"That's right, I almost forgot. You're not as rich as I am so you wouldn't have to worry about the things that I have to. It's amazing how Prada sunshades, Burberry baby bag, and Marc Jacobs attire can change your social status, isn't it?"
Cloud waited for Genesis to walk away from him before smirking at the wooden floor beneath him. Genesis can have all of the money in the world, but he'll never have the 2nd richest man on the planet's heart. That belonged solely to him; hence the reason why Sephiroth bought him a new Audi to drive in when he told him that he got his license and why he got an increase in the weekly allowance from $500 to $1,000. In other words, Genesis could go and fuck himself with his 'social status'. He didn't need it…
"Come on Taka. Your uncle is waiting for us at your favorite diner…" Cloud said happily and placed his Prada shades over his eyes as Taka giggled.
"Reno!"
Cloud wasn't surprised when the redhead stared at him and Taka as if he'd never seen them before…and because it was Taka that yelled his name.
"…Do I know you two?"
Cloud laughed as he sat in the chair across from Reno after he placed Taka in Reno's lap. He giggled as he watched Taka tried to tug on Reno's bangs like he would Sephiroth's, but Reno was faster than Sephiroth and was able to block his tiny hand, which made his baby boy pout.
"So, how have you been?" Cloud asked.
"Me? Psh! Don't worry about me! I want to know what's up with you! You look…different…"
"Well I did cut my hair some…"
"I'm not talking about your hair, which looks great by the way, I'm talking about the shades, baby bag, wardrobe, and Taka's wardrobe as well! Did Zack get a raise or what!"
"Or what…" Cloud said slyly before ordering Taka chicken fingers with fries and apple juice and him a large order of fries and a shake. After Reno placed his order, he wasn't surprised when he raised a brow at him.
"Cloud…just what in the heck have you gotten yourself into? If it's not Zack who's giving you money to look like a MILF, who is?"
Cloud laughed before he leaned in closer to Reno.
"Promise you won't tell?"
"For as long as you've been keeping Tseng unaware about me cheating on him, I'm not saying anything, yo!"
"Alright. You remember my ex, don't you?"
"How could I forget tall, pale, and handsome? He's the one who hooked me up with Tseng remem- No way… Sephy? He's been…?"
Cloud nodded with a smirk on his face. Reno scoffed.
"Since when!"
"Eh… I'd say about…2 years and counting."
"Holy shit… I've rubbed off on you."
Cloud laughed and motioned for Reno to give him Taka when he saw their waiter getting closer to their table. After they were given their food and the waiter left their table, Reno quickly jumped back into their previous conversation.
"Okay, so how does it work? You…you know…and he pays you for it?"
Cloud cut his eyes at Reno.
"I'm not his…w, h, o, r, e! We don't…you know…every time I see him. It's just like a regular relationship, only it's kept secret for obvious reasons." Cloud, making sure not to use profanity in front of his baby because Taka was at the stage where he repeated everything he heard.
"And he gives you money just because?"
"Yeah. I told him no at first, but he insisted since he felt like Zack wasn't taking care of me and Taka properly."
"What gave him the idea that he wasn't?"
Cloud sighed.
"Do you remember two months back when I had that bruise on my face?"
"Yeah…"
"It didn't come from me bumping into the wall… Zack and I had a fight over buying Taka some diapers and he hit me. Seph-"
"HE HIT YOU! THAT SON OF A-"
"Calm down Reno! You're making a scene!"
"I don't give a shi- poop! I'm punching Zack in the face the next time I see him!"
"Funny, that's exactly what I did when I recovered from the hit…"
"Oh? Did you hit him in the nose?"
"No, I hit him in the eye. Anyway, I was at the store when Seph saw the bruise on my face and offered to give me money in order to take care of Taka and me, that way it would prevent another fight like that from happening."
Reno furrowed his brows.
"And he doesn't want you to pay him back?"
"Nope. I offered to do that last week, but he said no. He's doing it because he wants us to be happy."
"Is that in writing somewhere?"
Cloud laughed before handing Taka another French fry.
"No. Sephiroth do not need it in writing. Even if he does get mad at me, he wouldn't do that to me."
"I hope so…for your sake. By the way, what is Zack saying about all of this?"
Cloud rolled his eyes. Zack had a whole lot to say about it… Zack asked him where he was getting the money for all of the things he bought and he lied, saying that he had a trust fund that he kept for emergency purposes. As expected, it caused another argument about the things he bought would not be considered as an emergency, but he begged to differ. If the television, stove, refrigerator, washing machine and dryer, and microwave all malfunctioning at the same time and needed to be replaced as quickly as possible wasn't an emergency, then he didn't know what was…not to mention that the couch had holes, the carpet and the vinyl floor in the kitchen, hallway and bathroom was tearing... He fixed up the entire house and all Zack saw was him wasting away his trust fund, which pissed him off. Cloud came out of his thoughts when Taka was tapping his hand while saying, "Look!" He did as his son commanded him and smiled when Taka showed him the plastic straw he grabbed off of the table.
"I see it Taka… It's called a straw."
"Saw!"
"No… Straw…"
"Straw?"
"Yes! That's it Taka!"
"Straw!" Taka said happily as he turned around in Cloud's lap and began to bang it against the table and frowned when it didn't make a noise, much to Cloud and Reno's amusement. Cloud kissed his forehead and ruffled his spiky silver bangs when he let a noise of frustration.
"Aww…poor Taka…" Reno said while chuckling. Cloud scoffed.
"Poor Taka? Psh! You better be glad that he doesn't have a rock in his hands… Sephiroth and I went out to lunch yesterday and since Taka was getting restless sitting the high chair, I took him out of it and let him walk around since we were sitting outside and there was a fence around us. When the food arrived, I placed him back in the chair and as soon as I went to give him his Sippy cup, he throws a rock at the table and breaks the glass! What shocked Sephiroth and I was that the rock was about the size of a bar of soap! I have no idea how he was able to lift that up and hide it from me when I picked him up."
Reno grinned.
"And what was the little tyke doing when the table shattered?"
"He was laughing and said "All gone!" like it wasn't a big deal… It became a big deal when the restaurant owner wanted 10 grand for him to be able to buy a new glass table. Luckily, Seph was able to talk the guy into letting him only pay $200 for it."
Reno shook his head before chuckling. As Cloud fed Taka one of his chicken fingers, he was instantly reminded of why he wanted Reno to come to lunch with him.
"Did you remember that Taka's birthday is this weekend?"
Reno scoffed.
"How could I not? His birthday is the same day as Halloween. Every time I see Halloween themed stuff, I think of the little guy."
Cloud chuckled.
"Sephiroth is throwing a Halloween Party and Taka's Birthday Party at his house on Saturday. Did you want to come with me and Zack? If you do, you have to wear a costume since Zack doesn't want to wear one with me."
Reno frowned at that.
"Eh, I don't know… I don't have a costume in mind that would be appropriate for me to wear at a baby's birthday party…"
Cloud giggled.
"Don't worry! I'm going costume shopping after this so you can just tag along with me and I'll pick something out for you that!"
"Oh… Well, yeah, I'll go with you two."
Cloud squealed in excitement and Taka smiled before mimicking Cloud's squeal. Reno stared at them both before shaking his head.
"They're definitely related…"
After the finished eating, Reno followed Cloud to his car and gasped in shock when Cloud unlocked it.
"Dude! Can I have Sephiroth after you're done with him? Please!"
Cloud rolled his eyes before placing his baby in his car seat.
"Sorry, but he only likes blondes…"
"Bullshit… He married a redhead."
"Did he?" Cloud said with a sly grin on his face as Reno smirked.
"Touché, Cloud… Touché…"
"Well…how do I look?"
"…"
Cloud smirked at his speechless friend through the mirror as he tried on the Halloween costume he saw. He knew he looked good, but he didn't think he looked that good. If it made Reno speechless, then he knew that Sephiroth would surely enjoy it…
"What about you Taka? Do you like mommy's costume?" Cloud asked his giggling baby who was clapping his hands in his costume as he sat in Reno's lap. Cloud smiled before he walked over and kissed his baby on the cheek, bringing out more giggles from his little man.
"Why thank you Taka. Guess that means we're buying this one…"
"Now hold up, Cloud. I would expect a single mother who was out looking for a man to wear that, not a mother who is married." Reno said sternly as Cloud rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on… It's not that bad…"
"It's a provocative costume that not even I would wear to a party where there's going to be children and that says a lot, Cloud! If you bend over your ass would be hanging out of the dress!"
"Speaking of what you would wear, if you dress up as my other half, then all three of us would look perfect..."
"Don't change the subject! As your best friend of umpteen years, I forbid you from walking out of here with that costume, yo! What would Zack say if he saw you wearing that?"
"He wouldn't care..."
Reno's eyes widened at that and Cloud shrugged his shoulders.
"What? He'd probably think that I'm wearing this for him so why would he really care! Now, are you going to dress up in this or not?"
Reno scoffed and glared as Cloud grinned while shaking the hideous costume in his face as Taka giggled.
"Do I really have to wear tights?"
"Yep!"
Reno sighed in defeat and Cloud cheered at Reno's agreement to wear the costume.
"Oh, can you remind me to pick up some hair dye on the way home?"
"What do you need it for?"
"Taka's hair… If Genesis sees his bangs, he'll know that Taka is Seph's and not Zack's."
Reno raised a brow.
"No way… Hell, I didn't know until you told me! He's not going to-"
"Oh yes he will... Trust me, he 'thinks' that Sephiroth is cheating on him and he's trying to find evidence of it and Taka won't even be the icing on the cake, he'll be the entire bakery!"
Reno laughed.
"Yeah, I guess I can understand that… I bet you're glad that you made Taka wear a hat when you saw him earlier aren't ya?"
Cloud nodded his head in agreement before sighing. That wasn't the only reason why he wanted the hair dye. Unfortunately, Taka was starting to look more like his father and it was becoming harder to conceal it. All he could do was dye and cut his hair when Zack wasn't home, there was nothing he could do about his eyes that were starting to look more green than blue.
"Well, hurry up and change back into your clothes. I have to be home in a few hours…"
Cloud raised a brow before smirking at the frowning redhead.
"Does Tseng has you on a curfew?" Cloud said slyly.
"…Shut up and dressed!"
"Come on Zack! We have to leave now if we want to arrive at the party at a decent time…"
"Yeah, yeah… I was just making sure that my little birthday boy looked his best!"
Cloud turned around and smiled when he saw Zack grinning as he held Taka in his arms, who had a nice chunk of his hair in his hand with a smile on his face.
"Don't you think he looks so cute in his costume?"
"Yep! You look good in yours as well…"
Cloud blushed when he saw Zack look him over with a smirk. It had been a long time since Zack gave him a compliment such as that and he couldn't help but blush.
"T-Thanks…" Cloud said as he quickly grabbed Taka's jacket since it was getting cold outside. He looked at the clock hanging in the kitchen and cursed because they were running half an hour late and Cloud had a good idea that Reno was going to be temperamental if they kept him waiting any longer…especially when he's in the costume that he didn't want to wear.
It wasn't a long drive to Sephiroth's mansion like he thought it would've been. He couldn't help but awe at the sight and size of it and feel a tad bit jealous that the glory of living in such a beautiful home had been given to Genesis instead of him.
"Damn Seph's loaded! How much do you think that baby is worth!" Reno exclaimed from the backseat, making Cloud and Zack laugh.
"Damn!"
Cloud gasped in shock at what Taka said before turning around to glare at Reno, who grinned sheepishly in response.
"Uhh…sorry?"
Cloud rolled his eyes.
Cloud smirked when Sephiroth answered the door after Reno rang the doorbell five times. He could tell that he liked his costume by the way he kept adverting his eyes to look at Zack and Taka instead of him.
"Funny, I didn't know Disney on Ice was here tonight. I would've taken my kids to see Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys, but now they'll be happy that they're going to be here at the party…"
"Oh fuck off…" Reno said before pushing Sephiroth out of the way as he went to locate the beer. Cloud, Zack and Sephiroth laughed as Sephiroth motioned for them to come in.
"And how's the birthday fox doing?" Sephiroth said with a smile on his face as Taka reached for him. Zack passed him to Sephiroth and grinned when he immediately latched onto Sephiroth's hair and tugged.
"He's doing just fine. He's saying more and more words everyday."
"And he learned his first bad word in the drive over here…" Cloud added with a frown on his face.
"With Reno's help I'm sure… Come, everyone's already here and waiting for the birthday boy." Sephiroth said as he walked down the hallway. Cloud and Zack followed and Cloud stared in awe at how beautiful it looked on the inside and by how many people were here in their costumes. Sephiroth chuckled.
"I forgot that this is your first time being here… Would you like a tour?"
"Um, yeah… If that's okay with you…?" Cloud said as he looked at Zack.
"Sure! I've already been here so Taka and I say hi to everyone while you get the grand tour. If you think the mansion is gorgeous now, wait until you see the pool house!" Zack said with a smile on his face. Sephiroth passed Takahito to Zack after he was able to convince him to let go of his hair, much to Zack and Cloud's amusement. They waited for Zack to leave so that the other guests would focus on Zack and Taka and wouldn't notice them slip past the crowd and head towards the back of the house.
Cloud giggled when Sephiroth pushed him into the bathroom in the pool house and moaned when he felt his tongue lick at the sensitive part of neck. He knew this was what Sephiroth wanted as soon as he saw him, but he felt that it would be wrong of them to have sex at their baby's birthday party. Cloud grabbed Sephiroth's hand when it moved to pull down the thong he was wearing underneath his dress.
"Seph, we can't do this tonight! Especially since this is our son's birthday party…"
He smiled when he saw Sephiroth's frown.
"So you wore this costume to tease me?"
Cloud bit his lip.
"Did it work?"
"Yes…yes it did…" Sephiroth huffed as he removed his hand from underneath Cloud's dress and sat on the couch that was next to the sink.
"I can't believe that your mansion is that big! I mean, your pool house is large enough for someone to live back here, especially since it has two floors with three bedrooms and a bathroom on the 2nd floor, a kitchen, and a living room! Why do you even call it a pool house when the pool is outside of the house?" Cloud said, hoping that it would lighten Sephiroth's mood.
"This was originally a house that was attached to the acres that I requested from my contractor. They said that it would be best just to keep it the way it is instead of tearing it down so that it could be used as a guest house. I thought that would be a good idea, but Genesis didn't since he said that any guests that we have over wouldn't be sleeping over and wanted a pool installed on the 1st floor. We went back and forth over it for a good three hours before money out won complaining and I made the contractor build the pool outside. I call it a pool house instead of a guest house because I know it pisses Genesis off…" Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face as Cloud giggled.
"Well, it's beautiful either way… I'd love to live in a house like this. It's not too small and not too big. It's just the right size to raise Taka in…"
"I suppose it would be… He'd have plenty of space to run around and get into all sorts of mischief, wouldn't he?"
Cloud chuckled.
"We should head back before someone comes to look for us... We've been gone for a long time…"
"I agree… We wouldn't want people to get 'ideas' now would we?"
"Oh no…most certainly not Mr. Sephiroth…" Cloud said teasingly as he swayed his hips before walking out of the bathroom, with a grinning Sephiroth in tow. When they returned to where everyone was gathered, they sang Happy Birthday to Taka as Cid and Vincent brought out his large Halloween themed Birthday Cake. Cloud felt a shiver run down his spine when he felt someone glaring at him and his eyes widened when he saw that it was Genesis and he furrowed his brows in confusion. He didn't know why Genesis was acting the way that he was and he didn't want to know…not right now at least. He was going to enjoy the rest of Taka's birthday before thinking more about the redhead. And with that in mind, he smiled as he helped his two year old Taka blow out his two candles and kissed his giggling boy's cheek as everyone cheered.
"Did you enjoy the party?"
"Of course I did, especially when we took all of those pictures of Reno passed out on the sofa!"
Cloud lightly laughed as he placed the sleeping Taka in his bed before tucking him in as Zack displayed all of his toys in his room and put his clothes in his drawers. After giving him a kiss goodnight, they quietly left his room and went into theirs.
"You know that I didn't give him my present yet, right?"
Cloud raised a brow.
"The huge teddy bear you gave him earlier wasn't your gift?"
"Nope… My gift is…bigger than that…"
Cloud chuckled.
"How big?"
"Life changing big."
Cloud stopped chuckling and stared at his smiling husband with a frown on his face.
"Zack, what are you talking about?"
"…Did you like Sephiroth's pool house?"
"Of course I did, but what does that have to do with this gift you're talking about?"
"The pool house is the gift Cloud… I bought us a new home to live in for us to really raise Takahito in."
Cloud gasped in shock.
"…WHAT!"
"Yeah isn't this great! Sephiroth said that we could start moving our stuff in tomorrow!"
"I…I…I'm not understanding why you bought his pool house… Why not buy a regular house somewhere else?"
"Well you see… I felt that Taka doesn't get to spend as much time with Seph and I really want him to get to know his godfather more since he's his relative, so when I saw the guest house when I stopped by his mansion to drop off some important paperwork, I asked him if anyone was using it and he said no so I asked could I buy it from him for us to live in and he said yes! I waited to tell you on Taka's birthday as I surprise!" Zack said with excitement before he ran over to Cloud and hugged him. Cloud didn't know what to say, nor did he know what to think… Yes he was happy that they were getting a bigger home and yes he was happy that the house they were moving into was just like the dream house he wanted to live in when he was a kid, but how could he really be as happy as Zack was when he knew that they were basically moving in with the man that he's cheating on Zack with and has a baby by?
"Thank you…" Cloud managed to say as he hugged Zack in return. As his mind ran over what Zack told him, his eyes widened before he narrowed them. He was going to kick Sephiroth's ass tomorrow…
To Be Continued…
A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Cloud's moving in with Sephy… What could go wrong? ^^
-Ktk