Disclaimer: Pleeeeease, Square? I give you cookie… ;.;
Rating: PG-13, maybe. Nyeh. Some language and shounen-ai.
Pairing: SephirothxZackxCloud (more like ZackxCloud but whatever)
Notes: Written a while ago for Thorne. But now it's edited and such, so. It was supposed to be a drabble, but I missed that mark. Oh well. And she gets all the credit for the punchline, for she is far wittier than I am.
Yes, this is kinda short for me to post here, but uhm… it's pointlessly cute? Eh. The FFVII category needs more fics with yay-full pairings anyway -.-
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"I'm bored."
"Congratulations."
"…being serious…"
"That's nice."
Ignoring him, the SOLDIER First got to his feet and lazily stretched his arms over his wildly-maned head. "I dunno what to do, Seph…"
…except his job, of course… but, luckily for him, Zack found out a long time ago that work could be conveniently forgotten when one employed just the right dissuasion with his superior.
"Well then, if that's the case, I have an idea for you," Sephiroth muttered, one hand tossing a paper-clipped stack of unimportance in Zack's general direction without any true care, "Do your work."
…he didn't want to do that kind of work anymore… that's all he'd been doing. Their mission-free days were spent indoors and behind a desk -- which Zack hated with a passion -- surrounded by nothing but vacuous, beat-your-head-into-the-wall tasks, and Zack was sick of it.
Or, more specifically, sick of the paperwork.
Paperwork was very boring.
Zack looked down at the bundle he'd been tossed and frowned, knowing full well that it wouldn't be the last wave of tedious written labor he'd be subjected to that day. There always seemed to be endless amounts of it, no matter how many he'd done; you finish one, you get another, you finish that, and then you get even more.
They all needed the same mechanical functions, too: hit a stamp here, give permission there, forge Sephiroth's signature on the dotted line and hope he won't find out about it 'cause if he didn't then things would go that much quicker… all of it, same shit over and over again. He was a First Class SOLDIER, for fuck's sake, not an automaton. He needed action!
And, upon taking a quick glance at his superior hunched over his desk -- slouching was abnormal for the General… he wondered if Sephiroth needed a shoulder rub or Cloud or something… -- and actually doing paperwork, Zack decided that yeah, Sephiroth was boring, too.
Like… really boring.
…he was doing paperwork boring.
Once the thought of wadding up one of the pages and chucking it at Sephiroth's head had been pushed aside, Zack clicked his tongue, allowing himself an entire second to go over his very few options.
As always, there was work he could finish. A noble idea in theory, and he figured that doing something productive had the potential to earn some interesting, positive reinforcement that evening -- as completion of his chores normally did -- but… it just wasn't for him.
Naturally, the option he was mostly leaning towards was… screwing around. Zack couldn't bring himself to sit back behind his own small desk, even with a little incentive. Work just sucked way too much for that.
"…I'm callin' Cloud."
"He's taking a class at the moment," the silver-haired man reminded, shoving another completed form into the 'OUT' box at the corner of his desk.
"…which one?"
With unintentional disregard of any potential consequences divulging such information may have, Sephiroth absently mumbled, "Practical Applications of Materia 202."
Of course, Sephiroth should've known that the little bleeps he heard following his statement were from Zack's PHS, but he was just a wee bit too engrossed in mind-numbing busywork to register the fact.
"Yeah, can you tell cadet Cloud Strife that General Sephiroth needs to see him?"
Aqua eyes shot up to see the First Class indeed talking on the PHS, acting as Sephiroth's personal assistant -- whom he didn't have to begin with, for whatever reason that was -- and very much pulling Cloud out of a required course.
"…yes, I said Strife. Send him up right no—" Zack cut the word short in order to opt for something 'smarter' -- more convincing, in other words, "—immediately."
Sephiroth threw his hands into the air in defeat. Even after all the years of trying, he should've known that ultimately, training Zack how to be a big boy was a lost cause…
The older man sighed heavily, resting his forehead against an open, frustrated palm. It would have been nice to get at least some of the mile-high stack of useless forms -- and other things that he, the General of the ShinRa military and not a secretary, by sheer right of office, should not have been required to handle -- finished sometime before he turned an age where his hair color would actually be appropriate. But apparently, with Zack at his side, that was far too much to ever ask for.
Pen back in his hand, the silver-haired one resumed his work within seconds. Sourly, he grunted at the crooked grin Zack shot him.
That was fine… if he wanted to do nothing but play all day, Sephiroth would let him. However, he was most definitely not putting in for that raise the SOLDIER wanted. Zack would just have to take that up with ShinRa all by his lonesome.
"You'll thank me later," Zack said mysteriously when his superior turned away, looking damn satisfied with himself.
Of course, if -- and when -- a person knew Zack well as Sephiroth did, the statement didn't come off as mysterious in the least.
…then again, it was more along the lines of a dead giveaway to those who weren't acquainted with him as well. Zack never really was all that masterful in the ways of subtle innuendo. Most of the time, the older man was skeptical if he ever even tried.
Sephiroth simply rolled his eyes and returned to the task at hand, well aware of the fact that soon, he wouldn't be able to do any more work at all.
Minutes later, Zack's navy eyes brightened that much more as a timid knock sounded on the door. "We got company," he announced deviously, winking.
Immediately after the second -- still apprehensive for reasons unbeknownst to Zack; Cloud was pretty acquainted with the two of them, after all, and it wasn't like he was an unwanted guest or Heidegger or something -- the door was flung open.
As expected, Cloud stood on the other side, his golden mass of spikes obscuring his wide eyes and flattened by the blue cap he wore, looking just as little and cute as ever. Sephiroth allowed himself a small smile; clutched in the teenager's hands was a white, officially stamped SOLDIER pass, and the thrown look on his face -- brought about by Zack's incredible door-opening prowess -- was inconceivably adorable.
"Um… hi, Za-ACK!"
With Cloud securely inside and the lock pulled, the black-haired SOLDIER smiled broadly and placed both hands on his shoulders. "Hey." He pulled Cloud closer and, after giving the cadet a lingering kiss on the lips, Zack grinned. Impishly, he asked, "You didn't wanna stay in that class, right?"
Cloud blinked. "But… but I still need it…," he explained, trailing off. Zack began nuzzling his neck as one hand ventured to toy with the collar of his shirt, flustering the teen with the sudden onslaught of affection. "Zack, wh—!"
The SOLDIER had cut him off with a kiss. Honestly, when he'd been called to Sephiroth's office, that was definitely not what he expected to be greeted with. Cloud didn't think he was in any real trouble or anything, but he was pulled out of an important class, and…
"You may take two guesses as to why he's summoned you here, Cloud," Sephiroth mumbled dryly, telling himself to focus on his paperwork. For good measure, he scribbled his name with a little more force than usual.
Yes, he really wanted to get work done before play -- or at the very least, before Zack and Cloud distracted him with their play -- but the more he tried to keep his eyes away from the two younger ones, the harder it became. Zack had long since started to unbuckle the cadet's belt, and, with rather enthusiastic fingers, snapping open the blue shirt's buttons as Cloud himself stood passive. Granted, a surprised and somewhat embarrassed look was prominent on his face, but otherwise, the blonde seemed to be refraining from any real, convincing protest.
With a sigh, Sephiroth had to wonder how the hell he'd ever had the ability to get anything finished with Zack around… and, for that matter, how he was going to finish anything from then on, now that Cloud was enrolled into the program, too. That wasn't to say that Cloud by himself was particularly distracting -- while Sephiroth was locked away behind requisition forms and applications and other such nonsense, at any rate -- being the quiet little nymph he was, but—
"…Zackary," the silver-haired General began, sparing a look upwards. Voice unimpressed, he warned, "If those are your pants on my ceiling fan, I will kill you."
Zack just smiled in response.
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A/N: "If those are your pants on my ceiling fan, I will kill you." Thorne...
Teh squishy. :heart: So… you want more? No more? More may not come for a while, but still…