Hey! :) This was supposed to be up a few days ago, but I went to SMTown NYC on Sunday, so. Did anyone else go? It was so ridiculously amazing. My life has been changed. Anywaysss, the lovely LunaRainGlimmer gave me this idea. it's 4am, so I'm posting this and running. I'll proofread this some more tomorrow. Enjoy! Invisible Molestation is next on my to-do list. :D

Cloud Strife was that one kid.

Yes, that kid. The kid who always got suckered into doing things—often shitty, unappealing, painful and frustrating things—because he was too damn nice to say no, not to anybody.

For most of Cloud's short life he was doing other kids' homework, raking lazy people's yards and sampling very, very bad baking disasters from the old lady up the street. He hated chemistry, moldy leaves and poisonous tarts just as much as the next person, but some part of Cloud…hated to tell people no. He liked to see people smile, see them be happy, even if he knew they were taking advantage of him. That was just the kind of guy he was. Selfless until the very end.

This was a little much, though.

Cloud lifted up his foot, cringing and peeking at the goopy substance under the sole of his sneaker. It was dark here. It was cobwebby. It stunk like old man and rat poo.

"Um," Cloud mumbled, turning around. Hojo was gone, though, back to his creepy basement of torture or whatever.

That morning Cloud had been out for a jog. It was fall and getting chillier each day; today it was one of the warmer days, though, with a bright sun that made the changing leaves look extra pretty. Because he was looking upwards and admiring the foliage he tripped over his shoelace, which came undone somewhere between Kalm and Edge streets and fell against a tall, wooden fence that belonged to a man who lived a few blocks away.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem. Cloud had quite a few similar little accidents every day. He righted himself, re-tied his shoe and was about to keep going, but a loud, gravelly voice shrieked from beyond the fence, "Who goes there?"

Dammit. Hojo.

Cloud considered bolting for it (Hojo's temper was legendary and everyone in the whole town was scared stiff by the old coot), but his conscience wouldn't let him. "Uh!" Cloud shouted, peering through a crack in the fence, "It was me, Mr. Hojo, Cloud Strife. I'm sorry, I just tripped."

"Strife, you say?" Cloud heard a grunt followed by the loud, metallic sound of Hojo's cane hitting the sidewalk as he walked off his porch and to the iron gate a few meters to Cloud's right. Cloud sighed, hanging his head and trotted to the gate, raising a hand at the old man.

"Yes, Cloud Strife. I'm sorry about the fence, rea—"

"Enough about that," Hojo interrupted rudely, literally waving away Cloud's apologies with a bony hand. He flipped up the lock on the gate and pushed it open with a horrible grating whine that cut through the still-sleepy suburban Nibelheim air. He hobbled forward, still bashing that metal cane, and peered at the sheepish blond boy.

"Strife," Hojo began, rubbing his chin, "Would you like to do me a favor?"

No, 'Strife' absolutely did not. On Halloween nobody trick-or-treated at Hojo's house. Cloud's neighborhood was full of semi-nice houses, houses with perfect green lawns and gardens and young children learning Wutaian and all that jazz. Hojo's house was the one that looked like a decrepit mansion and had that ridiculous fence that was eight feet tall. Haunted, clearly.

The townsfolk always wondered what Hojo was hiding from the rest of the town. Some people said it was his old wife, Lucretia, who had lost her mind and was out for blood. Some said it was a vampire he kept in a coffin in the basement. Cloud thought that Hojo just wasn't a fan of people all up in his business, but whatever. At any rate, Cloud didn't want to do Hojo a favor. He wanted to continue on his jog, take a shower, have a snack and watch some television.

"…Sure," Cloud said weakly, betraying himself as usual. "I'd love to, Mr. Hojo."

"Great," Hojo said, seeming to have expected that answer. Everyone knew Cloud was a pushover it seemed, even this old man. He beckoned Cloud forward, and the teen walked beside Hojo as they headed towards the house.

Bang, bang, bang. "What do you need help with, Mr. Hojo?" He was polite—always very polite, especially because Hojo was suspected to have a laboratory in his basement where he pumped people full of mystery fluids he got out of the ground.

"You'll see," Hojo said cryptically. Cloud bit his lip, miserable, and as the front door shut behind him and he was left in freezing darkness his stomach dropped somewhere near his feet.

The inside of Hojo's house was very bare. Furniture was minimal—no television, he noticed as Hojo led him through the living room and (slowly) up a set of rickety old stairs. Books were all over, neatly arranged in a multitude of bookcases. There was one recliner that looked well-used; it had a checkered blanket on it and an open book upside-down on the armrest. Cloud must have interrupted the man's reading with his clumsy incident with the fence outside.

Bang, bang, bang. On the second floor there were a few picture frames hung on the wall of the hallway. In them was a much younger-looking Hojo, he presumed, beside a—shockingly—pretty woman. Lucretia? Cloud wondered what had happened to her. Hojo led him up another set of stairs to the third floor. It pained Cloud to see Hojo limp through his house like this, loud earsplitting cane or no. His heart burned for those with physical ailments; he just didn't know how to help.

There weren't any rooms up here, just a large space, an attic, full of—

"Wow," Cloud breathed, suddenly scared.

"I need you to clean this out for me," Hojo said. He said it like he was talking about the weather—not a room packed nearly to the ceiling with junk.

The old man shoved a Gil into Cloud's hand and left. Cloud stared, numb, at the dusty space before glancing down at his hand. One Gil. That would buy him a piece of gum at the corner store. He took a step forward and eeped softly at the feeling of something squishing under his shoe.

And this was where Cloud was now—alone in Hojo's attic, told to clean, freezing, and trying to scrape some glowing green gunk off of his shoe.

How did he get himself into these sorts of situations?

There were two windows in the attic; cracked, filthy things that let just a little bit of sunlight into the room. There were tables, chairs, bins, cracked mirrors, stacks of old newspapers, dartboards, old yarn dolls, typewriters, records, empty glass bottles, filing cabinets with papers bursting out the sides, a ton of sheets covered in rodent crap, a rusted baby crib and a bicycle missing its front wheel, among a ton of other stuff.

Cloud didn't know where to even start. Did Hojo want him to throw this stuff out, organize it, dust it all, bring it downstairs, or what?

Heaving a great sigh, Cloud carefully tiptoed to the back of the room, peeking into boxes and around tall stacks of random stuff accumulated over Hojo's long life. The guy wasn't a hoarder or anything; it wasn't that extreme, but it was a lot.

Cloud got to work. The first thing he did was bat away the scary spider webs all over with a broom, then find the light switch and turn on the light so he wouldn't be as frightened. When that was done, he rubbed his bare legs and arms to warm up a little and overturned a huge cardboard box full of trinkets on a section of the floor he cleared out with his foot. Much of the objects inside the box were metal and made a horrifying noise as they hit the hard wooden floor—when all went silent again Cloud sat still for a minute, hand over his heart, eyes darting back and forth.

Once he worked up the nerve to move again, Cloud gently eased onto his knees and began sorting through what he had found. There was a small wind-up monkey that banged two small cymbals together; he didn't see if it would work, though, knowing the noise would probably give him a heart attack.

Cloud lost track of time, going through boxes and looking at all the things inside. Some of the stuff he found was old and outdated, maybe even worth some money if Hojo had chosen to sell it. Some of it he couldn't imagine Hojo having, like a small teething ring that seemed to have been nibbled on by rats (which were, thankfully, staying hidden for now). There were a lot of memories in a place like this.

Stretching some time later, Cloud headed across the room, beside the doorway where he had entered and pulled a gross sheet off of what was revealed to be a tall wardrobe of some sort. He warily opened it, prepared to jump back if something unsightly fell out towards him. There were just a few fur coats, though, and Cloud giggled a little, wondering if he'd go to a far-off land like Midgarnia if he pushed through to the back. There could be spiders in the coats, though—he'd read a book about those scary brown ones that hid in clothes that had been sitting for years—so he didn't try it. Standing on tiptoes, Cloud peered at the top shelf of the wardrobe. He grabbed a lone drumstick that had been in a box with the random toilet seat he had opened about a half-hour later and haphazardly swiped it back and forth on the shelf, knocking anything up there down.

Two jacks, a quill pen and tarnished brass lamp fell out. Cloud carefully caught the lamp, letting everything else clatter to the floor; it would survive.

The thing seemed old. It wasn't like a modern lamp—it had a long, protruding spout, but for what Cloud wasn't sure. Dripping wax or steam most likely. It looked a bit like a teakettle. Cloud lifted up the lid and cautiously peered inside—empty except for some dust. He brought it close to his mouth and blew on it, getting rid of most of the dust and carefully stepped around stuff on the floor so he could put it with the other small metal things he had found and was keeping in a box against the far wall.

He took the edge of his shirt and rubbed the side of the lamp with it, tilting his head. It didn't look so much like brass, which was his first guess; it looked a lot more like gold.

"Wow," Cloud breathed, fascinated. He shrugged, ran his thumb over its smooth surface with his thumb and carefully set it down, heading back over to the wardrobe. He scooped up the jacks and quill and gently pushed some of the furs inside around, seeing if there was anything else in there.

From behind him came a piercing whistling noise—Cloud screamed, startled, and dropped to his knees, throwing up his arms to protect him from possible attackers. Hojo's attic burst into colorful light—but from where, Cloud wasn't sure—and Cloud clenched his eyes shut, fully prepared to die.

"Whooooo!"

"Finally!"

Cloud opened his eyes, which were hidden behind his hands and moved them, sitting up slowly. He heard voices—but where—who—what—

The owners of the voices were located. On the other side of the room were four…floating…people. Cloud's brain skidded to a halt and he stared, uncomprehending, at the joyful men giving each other hugs and stretching their arms out.

"Your elbow was digging into my ribs for years, Sephiroth."

"My apologies. I spent the whole time keeping Genesis' foot away from my mouth."

"Where the hell are we?"

"Achoo! Why was it so damn dusty in that stupid thing?"

"Wait! …Who let us out?"

The four—f-floating people—looked this way and that before spotting the blond teenager sitting on the floor a short distance away, mouth hanging open.

These whatevers—they, they looked like men. From the waist up, anyway. Handsome men: a redhead, a man with long silver hair, and two guys with black hair. Below their waists, though, was just a swirl of colorful smoke, a swoosh, a lack of legs.

Genies!

"Hello, you," one of them said, zooming through the air and stopping in front of Cloud. Cloud shut his mouth with a click of his teeth and scooted back a few feet, jumping unsteadily to his feet.

"H-H-Hello," he said, looking back and forth between them.

"You let us out of the magical lamp," said the spiky-haired one who was right beside him in a booming voice that echoed in the small room, "Sooo!" He struck a pose, as did the redhead—it seemed pre-rehearsed. It also seemed like the other two couldn't be bothered. They watched on, doing absolutely nothing.

"You get—wait!"

He turned around. "How many wishes does he get? We all got stuck in the lamp this time…"

"Are twelve wishes allowed?"

"I…believe so, since there were four of us. I'm not positive."

"I don't feel like asking Lazard. Let's just go with twelve."

"I thought the limit was eight?"

"Fine!" The one closest to Cloud struck his pose again. "We are four magical genies, and we will grant you eight wishes for letting us out of our lamp!" He grinned, and they all waited for a reaction.

Cloud rubbed his eyes with his dusty hands—yes, they were still there. "Genies?" he croaked.

The spiky-haired one laughed. "Exactly. I'm Zack!"

"Genesis," waved the redhead.

"I'm Angeal."

"Sephiroth."

"I get eight wishes?" Cloud repeated, in a daze. This sounded like something out of a movie he had seen as a little kid.

"Yep. What do you want? Fame? Riches? A puppy? A six-pack? Enough candy to fill a warehouse? Anything!"

"Wow. Okay. Cool." Cloud nodded to himself, processing this whole incident, then proceeded to pick up the things he had dropped before. He closed the wardrobe with his hip, mumbled a polite "excuse me," sidestepped Zack-the-Genie and dropped it all in a bin by one of the windows.

Finally picking up on the awkward atmosphere, Cloud said as he began to lug a rocking chair across the room, "Oh. I'm Cloud…sorry. It's nice to meet you all."

Silence, except for the dull screeching of the chair on the ground.

Zack asked, floating towards him, "Um. Aren't you gonna ask for something?"

Cloud let go of the chair, staring at the genies with wide eyes. "Oh! I have to wish for something right now?" He frowned, looking around for some sort of inspiration. "I… I don't know what I want."

"Here," said Angeal, coming closer. He seemed kind and gave Cloud a reassuring smile. "Surely you can think of something you want? We can do a lot—but within certain bounds. Try us."

"Um." Cloud paused. They stared at him, and Cloud grew flustered, hating that he had to come up with something on the spot. What did he want? Right now, what did he really, truly want?

"I…uh, I wish that Hojo's attic was all cleaned up and organized just the way he wants it."

Angeal gave him a strange look but snapped his fingers. Immediately all the furniture and strange objects he had been dealing with for the past few hours floated into the air. For a few tense seconds it all hovered in place. Cloud held his breath. Then, everything zoomed around in a flurry of sound. Cloud ducked as the bicycle flew over his head, but Angeal seemed perfectly cool about everything, watching boredly as the room cleaned itself right before their eyes.

When the dust settled, the room looked completely different. Light poured in through the windows, and everything was neatly stacked. There must have been a rug hidden somewhere, because now a soft—though hideously patterned—rug sat on the ground, various chairs on top. Things hung from hooks on the walls. The rat poop and the glowing green concoction were gone.

"Wow," Cloud gasped, "Thank you so much!"

Genesis winked at him. "No problem. And there's a lot more where that came from."

Cloud gazed with huge, shining eyes at the four genies, then sunk into a deep bow before darting for the door. "I have to tell Hojo I'm all done," he said excitedly, not hearing someone call out for him. Cloud scampered through the house until he reached the first floor. Hojo was sitting in his recliner, reading a book.

"Mr. Hojo," Cloud said pleasantly. Hojo jerked and looked up.

"Strife? What are you doing here?"

"…You asked me to clean your attic." At Hojo's confused nod, Cloud continued. "I'm all done, Sir."

Hojo climbed to his feet. He gave Cloud a long look, then began heading for the stairs. "Not possible."

Cloud trudged up the stairs behind Hojo, stopping every few seconds as Hojo caught his breath or let his leg rest. The poor man. It was when they were finally a few feet from the door that Cloud began to panic—what would Hojo say when he saw the four genies upstairs?

He made it inside though and said nothing. Hojo's wrinkly neck swiveled as he looked around at the now-clean room. Cloud gazed wide-eyed at the four floating men in the corner. They seemed to have been talking among themselves when Cloud walked in and were now silent.

I guess Hojo can't see them, Cloud thought as he awkwardly waited for Hojo's review. That's good.

"…By Jenova," Hojo whispered softly. "You did it, m'boy."

"It was no trouble, Sir," Cloud said, looking down at his feet. He felt bad about lying to Hojo, sort of; he didn't really clean the room. Still, it was a lot cleaner like this than Cloud ever could have made it on his own.

The two males headed downstairs, Cloud shooting glances over his shoulder at the genies following them. Eventually they reached the first floor, and Hojo opened the front door for Cloud.

"Thank you," Hojo said, surprising even himself.

Cloud stood out on the porch and smiled at the old man. "Here," he said, reaching into his pocket. "I can't take your money, Mr. Hojo. It was my pleasure. You keep it."

Hojo gave him a long stare, then snatched the Gil back. "Have… a good day, Strife."

"You too, Mr. Hojo," Cloud replied, smiling sweetly. "Take it easy." He turned and jogged down the stairs, pleased to see that the four genies were already out on the sidewalk waiting for him. They were giving him odd looks. Cloud shut the gate behind him, made sure it was locked and walked a good thirty feet away from Hojo's house before daring to speak.

In the sunlight he got a much better look at his new companions. If Cloud hadn't been looking at their legs—or what should have been their legs—he would have thought they were completely human. They looked so normal. Devastatingly handsome, yes, but normal. Cloud blushed gently, looking back and forth. He spun on his heel and continued walking.

Cloud got about another ten steps before he stopped short. Someone bumped into his back, a sturdy thump, and Cloud, spooked, jumped forward. He turned and gaped at them.

Before he had sort of accepted his situation; somewhere deep down, everything had just sunk in.

"You're genies!" Cloud loudly declared, pointing at them. "How is that possible? I've got to be dreaming."

Seeming to have expected this, they laughed. "Yes, definitely genies," Genesis said, winking. His earrings moved with every movement he made, and Cloud watched, half-transfixed and half-terrified as Sephiroth floated closer.

"I assure you," the long-haired genie said, reaching for Cloud's hand, "We are very real." Cloud looked down, blinking rapidly, as Sephiroth's hand gently squeezed his. It was warm and smooth; the genie had long fingers and perfectly trimmed fingernails. It certainly felt real.

Angeal took the overwhelmed boy's other hand and pressed it to his chest. Cloud felt a thumping heartbeat under the man's tunic.

"Wow," he said dazedly. "What are the odds I found you guys…"

Zack shrugged. "Who knows. Doesn't matter—you've got us now, right?"

"…Right." When Sephiroth and Angeal let go Cloud cautiously approached Genesis. Looking into the genie's eyes for any 'cut it out' signals, Cloud plunged his hand into the colorful red smoke that tapered into a wispy point underneath Genesis' torso.

It felt completely like air. Cloud haphazardly moved his hand away and back in, ignoring the lady across the street who was giving him a weird look.

Genesis finally had enough and he said, good-naturedly, "Knock that off. It tickles."

Cloud stood up straight. "You are real," he marveled.

"Yeah."

Cloud grinned widely. He waited for the others to get even with him and kept walking.

"Can I…make another wish now?"

"Of course you can," Genesis answered.

Sephiroth handed him the lamp that had been in the attic. He must have snuck it out. "Here. Hold on to this. If anyone other than you or one of us touches it we will be forced to go back into the lamp." Cloud took it and gingerly tucked it under his arm, nodding gravely.

Zack smiled, looking around at the town. A car drove by; he seemed fascinated. "Now how about that second wish?"

Cloud scuffed his foot on the sidewalk, glancing back the way they came. "I wish that… Mr. Hojo's leg stopped bothering him. It seemed really painful. He could barely even get around his house."

"…You sure?"

Cloud stopped walking and turned around. The genies were looking at him like he had sprouted a second head. "Of course," Cloud said, nodding. Zack gave the others a long look, but shrugged. He snapped his fingers.

"All better."

Cloud smiled, turned, and kept walking.

"This is my house," Cloud said a few minutes later, pointing at a light blue house. It looked well-kept but was considerably smaller than every other house on the block. Cloud was all smiles though, and welcomed them inside. He explained that his mom was at work and scurried upstairs to his bedroom. The four genies crowded in after him, floating awkwardly in the air, watching as Cloud darted around, shoving articles of clothing under his bed and tidying up. Satisfied, Cloud sat on his bed.

He stared at the genies. They stared back.

"So, um," Cloud began. "What's it like being a genie? Um. You can sit down if you li—never mind…"

Someone chuckled nervously, and everyone tried to make themselves comfortable. "It's pretty fun," said Zack, shrugging. "We get stuck in lamps for long periods at a time, though, which isn't fun at all. What year is it?"

Cloud told him, and after some quick math Sephiroth informed him that they had last been out of the lamp 84 years ago. The teen gaped; they laughed at him.

"Are you guys related at all, or…?"

"No," Genesis answered, smiling like something was funny. "We're just friends." Angeal coughed.

They made a good group of friends, Cloud decided as he scooted backwards to rest his back against the wall beside his bed. All four of them were really unique-looking, with interesting hair colors and even more interesting fashion. Sephiroth wore a dark leather coat that left most of his chest exposed and some fancy silver bracelets. His… Cloud didn't even know what to call it—genie legs? The colorful smoke down there was gray. There was an important air about him. This was not a genie to fuck with.

This was so weird.

Angeal and Zack both wore sleeveless black vests, but Zack's was a bit more elaborate. Zack's mist was purple, while Angeal's was dark blue. Genesis was the most fashionable out of all of them, with a black tunic embroidered with gold that had sleeves that went down to his elbows. Glittery earrings hung from his ears, and he zoomed around above a splash of bright red.

Cloud had six wishes left. He had rubbed a lamp in Hojo's attic and now had four genies following him around. Cloud grinned to himself; what a day!

He told them a bit about what life was like, and about what had happened during all those years they had been crammed into that lamp. They had had many 'clients' before Cloud, countless people who had stumbled upon the lamp and gotten some wishes. Cloud wondered how Hojo had gotten his hands on it.

They seemed surprised when Cloud told them his age, what his mom was like and what he did on a normal day. Did they not think that Cloud was going to get to know them? Did everyone else greedily get their wishes and then banish the genies away? These were the guys granting his every wish—he wanted to talk to them, know them well enough. It seemed awkward to get what he wanted just like that without any sort of personal connection.

And, surprisingly, they got along fine. Zack picked Cloud up around his middle and lifted Cloud off the floor, zooming around his bedroom. Sephiroth snapped his fingers and his laundry folded itself. It seemed they could do little bits of magic on their own, which was really cool.

When his mom came home Cloud shyly beckoned them downstairs. Mrs. Strife was kicking off her shoes, and Cloud gave her a hug.

"What're you up to?" she asked, kissing his temple.

Cloud swiped at the spot, shooting an embarrassed glance the genies' way. "Nothing. I'll do my homework soon. …I helped out Mr. Hojo today."

"Hojo?" his mom squawked. "What for?"

"He wanted me to clean out his attic."

"And you did it?"

"Well, yeah. He couldn't do it himself," Cloud defended.

His mom sighed almost sadly, "You're too nice Cloud, you know that?" She ruffled his hair and hung her jacket on a hook.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna make a sandwich—you want one?"

His mom thanked him, and Cloud bounced into the kitchen. Angeal was already inside, examining the blender.

"What is this thing?" he whispered, pointing at it. Grinning, Cloud reached out and pressed a button. Angeal jumped at the loud sound and scowled when Genesis and Sephiroth came in, snickering.

"Your mom seems like a nice lady," Zack commented, drifting in a minute later.

Cloud narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Don't do anything weird. My mom can't see you but if I catch you…watching her or something…"

Zack's eyes bugged out for a moment and he laughed loudly, not stopping when Genesis clapped a hand over his mouth so Mrs. Strife wouldn't hear. "No worries, man," Zack said when he recovered, "I wouldn't. Nooo. Never."

After dinner later that evening Cloud crawled into bed, turning onto his back and staring at the four genies—genies, Gaia!—checking out his school textbooks.

"Aren't you going to wish for anything else?" Genesis asked, playing with Cloud's cell phone.

Shrugging, Cloud replied, "I need time to think about it."

"…Fair enough."

"Do you guys need—…sleeping bags or anything?" Cloud asked, yawning halfway through.

Zack laughed, and Sephiroth shook his head. "We'll be in the lamp," he said, tilting his head towards the object in question, which was sitting on top of Cloud's bookcase. "Rub it in the morning to get us out."

Cloud nodded, looking away to fix his sheets. When he looked up they were gone; his room was as empty as it always seemed.

Wow.

"Goodnight," Cloud said into the air, wondering if they were able to hear him or not. "Sleep well."

The next morning Cloud carefully stood on his tiptoes and pulled down the lamp. He tried to keep it level—he had no idea if he was somehow making them roll around painfully inside. That would really suck, and if he was being perfectly honest, was a pretty funny image. Sephiroth didn't seem like the type of guy to roll. Cloud looked around his silent, empty room, then gently rubbed the side of the lamp with his fingers. It felt cold and completely unremarkable. For a few moments nothing happened, and then, much like a teakettle, brightly-colored steam shot out of the spout. Cloud nearly dropped the thing but held on as the four genies slid out of the lamp and materialized in front of him.

"Morning," Zack said pleasantly. "Cute bedhead."

Flushing, Cloud attempted to pat it down. "Did you guys sleep alright?" he asked, picking out his clothes for the day.

"Well enough," Genesis answered, "Thanks for asking."

"Would you guys… like to come to school with me today? I mean, there's not much to do here, and it's probably more fun than being in that lamp…"

They agreed, and half an hour later Cloud was sitting on the bus, watching the genies fly behind and beside his bus. They all seemed fascinated by cars, Zack especially.

Cloud smiled to himself, tucking his feet under his seat. The lamp was carefully placed into his backpack, surrounded by a soft sweater of his. His mom had a tendency to snoop around his room (that one time she had found that magazine he could have died, oh Gaia), and he figured it would be safer with him. He couldn't risk anyone else touching it and sending his new friends away for Gaia knew how much longer. That seemed like a truly sucky lifestyle to Cloud—having magical powers seemed awesome, but being stuck in a lamp for so long in between short spurts of freedom? No thanks. At least they had each other.

In school, Cloud giggled as the genies were forced to fly right near the ceiling to avoid crashing into anybody. "Over there, by the water fountain," he whispered discreetly when at his locker, "that's my friend Yuffie and my friend Cid. They can't stand each other but hang out anyway."

Cloud introduced them to his friends from afar, snuck them some food from the cafeteria (they didn't have to eat, Sephiroth said, but they could if they felt like it) and taught them some things that he was learning in class. He had a free period and spent it walking around the track with his new friends, getting to know them a little better.

"Did you come up with another wish yet?"

"No," Cloud answered Angeal pleasantly. "Still thinking about it."

Genesis was really snarky, there was no other word for it. He was clever and always quoting some ancient piece of poetry that he learned when he was a "young lad." Angeal was calm, kind and made Cloud feel at ease; they had a conversation about puppies, of all things. Cloud had a cute dog once upon a time named Boko. The puppy had golden fur and her bark sounded a lot like a chocobo's wark, thus the name. She had died when Cloud was ten. Zack was fun, always pushing Cloud's shoulders and ruffling his hair, and Sephiroth was cool and collected, incredibly smart and reserved. He was kind too, quietly asking Cloud to explain a newfangled device or to talk about a recent development in the world.

They were nice guys.

At the end of the day Cloud carefully took his backpack out of his locker, packing in his textbooks around the lamp. He shrugged it on and left the building, waiting for the others to catch up; they were checking out the electronic ID-readers by the front doors.

"Strife."

Shit.

Cloud said nothing but immediately started walking. That voice belonged to the one kid who made Cloud's life hell—a bully named Kadaj. He didn't want to deal with the teen's crap—not today, not when he had friends with him.

"Where are you going?" Kadaj was such a brat—when Cloud ignored his taunts that made him angrier, but if Cloud actually did respond he'd fly off the handle.

"Leave me alone, Kadaj," Cloud said tightly, speedwalking around the building. "I really don't want any trouble today."

He stopped short when Kadaj's cronies, his brothers Loz and Yazoo, rounded the corner. Everyone was already gone; he had stayed behind for a little while walking around and talking with Zack, Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal. Now he was around the back of the building; in trying to get away from Kadaj he had gotten into a bad, hidden spot.

"Shit," Cloud swore. He didn't do it often, but when he did, things were bad. "Not today, guys, please—"

Loz tugged on Cloud's backpack, and Cloud immediately snapped, "Cut it out, Loz!" He tugged on the straps and hugged it to his chest, glaring.

Bad move.

"Woah," Loz said, eyebrows raised. "What's up with you, blondie?" He gave Cloud a mighty shove, and Cloud staggered backward into Yazoo, who stuck out his leg. Cloud hit the ground hard; his backpack rolled a few feet away.

Cloud spat a clod of dirt out of his mouth and reached out a hand, grabbing for one of the straps—another hand reached it first. Kadaj dangled Cloud's backpack above his face, shaking bits of dirt and stray blades of grass into the blond's hair.

Then, pain—Loz kicked Cloud in the gut. Cloud curled in half, arm over his abdomen, letting out a sharp wheeze. Kadaj reached for one of the zippers on his backpack, probably intending to dump all his stuff out onto the ground.

If they saw the lamp, they'd take it.

Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis and Zack would be taken away. He had just met them. Sure, he didn't know them well, but he liked them, and they liked him. They were out of their lamp for the first time in 84 years; for their sake much more so than his, Cloud couldn't let these bullies have that lamp.

Somehow Cloud struggled to his feet. He was no fighter, as evidenced by his constant trips into Hojo's fence, but he managed to get a fist right where he wanted it—Kadaj's nose. The teen went down, and Cloud grabbed his backpack and made a run for it. Within seconds the other two caught up, shoving the blond into the dirt.

Cloud protected that damn lamp with everything he had. He wrapped his whole body around his bag, clinging with all his strength. Someone kicked him in the back of the head—a low blow, as usual—and left him seeing stars, but he didn't let them take it away from him. Kadaj gleefully sat on top of the spiky-haired teen and gripped his hair, forcing his head back.

The genies must have realized that Cloud was missing, because he heard their voices, far-off. Someone's boot hit his kneecap and Cloud cried out in pain, tightening his grip on his bag and curling up even more.

"Shit! Cloud!"

Cloud cracked open an eye; his genies were quickly zooming his way. "Use one of your wishes!" Genesis demanded. They hesitated, looking like they wanted to help Cloud out but couldn't.

Cloud ignored them, though, and let Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz do what they wanted. They were almost done, anyway—they kicked Cloud around a bit every few weeks. They weren't even good bullies. They'd get a few good hits, laugh a little and leave to do their hair or something somewhere.

It was bad, of course. Cloud didn't like the three boys, but he didn't hate them. He was supposed to, he knew—but he just wasn't that kind of person. He had been dealing with their crap for years, this wasn't that big a deal. Right?

They eventually left, Yazoo stepping on Cloud's hand as the waltzed away. Cloud sat up, hissing, cradling his hand to his stomach. He exhaled, giving the genies an exhausted look. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

They looked furious.

"What the hell are you apologizing for?" Zack cried, waving his arms around. "Look at you! Why didn't you use a wish? We could have helped you out!"

Cloud shook his head, but doing so made him feel dizzy and he pitched sideways onto the grass. "Nah," he mumbled, trying to get to his feet. "There's way more important things to wish for. I'm fine."

Sephiroth and Angeal helped Cloud to his feet. Cloud thanked them, and Genesis too when he brushed all the stuff off his backpack.

"You're… something, Cloudy," Zack said as they headed home. The way he said it, Cloud couldn't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

They used their magic to get rid of most of the mud and grass sticking to Cloud's skin. That was all they could do, they said, unless he used one of his wishes. They tried to persuade Cloud to use one, to fix his bloody nose and that stabbing pain in his side, but the blond stubbornly refused. That seemed like a waste of a wish to him. He'd heal in time.

A few hours later Cloud was showered and bandaged up, trying to explain the internet to four helplessly confused genies.

"This," Cloud said, pointing, "is a search bar. And see that thing? That's my pointer. I move my mouse like this… and I can click on stuff."

Angeal and Genesis both tsked and went to look at Cloud's books. Technology was apparently not their thing. Zack requested to see it, and Cloud happily (but gingerly) got out of his seat and let the genie move in, hovering just above the seat.

Genesis asked him, pushing a few still-damp locks of hair out of the teen's eyes, "Have you ever heard of LOVELESS?"

"I read it in school once."

"Did you like it?"

"…I loved it!"

"…Hmph."

"Wow!" Zack exclaimed. He grinned and began wildly pointing at the computer screen.

Zack had found porn in his first thirty seconds online. Gay porn.

Cloud shrieked, limping across the room as fast as he could. He threw his body in front of the screen but was pushed aside.

"I need a computer!" Genesis cried, delighted.

"Nooo!" Cloud cried, half-panicked and half-laughing. "You're gonna give me a virus—and my mom's home! Close it!"

Across the room, Sephiroth had his face in his hands. He sighed loudly.

"Wow!" Zack said again, impressed; some guy was doing something that actually looked a bit painful to Cloud, but hey.

Cloud wrestled good-naturedly with Zack for a minute. Then, from outside came the shrill screech of tires. Someone outside yelled. He recognized that voice.

"Marlene?" Cloud made it to his window and pulled up the blinds, peering outside. Marlene, his eight year-old neighbor from across the street, was running out of her house and towards a car idling in the street. Cloud frowned—by the front tire was an unmoving black shape. Vincent, Marlene's beloved puppy.

A man got out of the car, saw the struck puppy by his bumper and immediately started apologizing to the distraught little girl and her brother, Denzel, who had come outside to see the commotion.

"Oh no," Cloud said sadly, covering his mouth with his hand, Zack and his explicit videos forgotten.

The little pink blob that was Marlene seemed hysterical. Cloud remembered Boko, his own beloved puppy. Boko, who he had baby pictures taken with. Boko, who he had cried for days over when she passed away from old age when he was in fifth grade. Marlene and Denzel were such sweet kids.

He turned to the genies, who were trying to peer around him to see what was going on. "I wish that Vincent was healthy and unhurt," Cloud said firmly. Sephiroth gave him a long look but nodded. He snapped his fingers, and below them in the street Vincent got to his feet, shook himself and let out a loud bark. Cloud watched them for a minute, smiling softly.

Then, his door opened—Cloud had been too distracted to notice that his mom was coming upstairs.

The first thing she noticed, predictably, was the two men going at it on Cloud's computer screen. Cloud wailed in agony, but it was too late. "I knew it!" his mom cried. "I knew it, Cloud Strife!"

"You don't know anything!" Cloud replied, covering the screen with his body and jabbing at the power button. "It wasn't what it looked like!"

The genies died. Zack bent in half, trying to keep his hysterical laughter down. Cloud's mom eventually left; her poor son was so embarrassed he was turning purple. When the door shut Cloud grabbed his pillow and began smacking Zack with it.

"I can't believe that just happened!"

"Me neither, man—ow!"

They all went for a walk that evening. The genies told Cloud about their other clients; people that had freed them from their lamp before. People from all sorts of countries and a bunch of time periods. It was still so hard for the blond to wrap his head around.

"A boy once asked me for ten pet tarantulas," Genesis said, shuddering a little.

Zack scoffed. "One woman asked me for a lifetime's supply of feminine products. That was weird."

"Mr. Hojo?" Cloud gasped suddenly, stopping. On the other side of the street was definitely that ornery old man. He was jogging, with bright white sneakers on his feet that looked brand new. Hojo raised a hand in greeting and continued in the other direction.

"Wow. He looks like he's feeling a lot better."

"That was nice of you, you know," Angeal said, giving Cloud's shoulder a nudge. "Using your wish on him."

"Oh, it was nothing," Cloud said, brushing Angeal's words off.

They continued talking once they all got over the shock of seeing Hojo in shorts. Other people had asked for weapons, money, works of art, pets, mansions, cars, and good harvests. It was fun to learn about it, but it got Cloud thinking.

What was he going to wish for?

The genies kept asking him every few hours if he had thought of something. There were a lot of things Cloud wanted, yeah. He wanted to travel. He wanted a new cell phone, some video games, some cool designer clothes, a better computer, and to go to a few concerts. But… to waste a wish on something like that seemed silly.

The question plagued him for the next few days. He grew even closer to his genies, swapping stories and just relaxing with them. They were nice, handsome and fun to be around; Cloud was immensely grateful for Hojo, letting him clean his attic and all.

Cloud was happy, but he was growing distraught. He could have cured world hunger with a wish. Stopped murder. Saved someone's life. All those other people, the thousands of 'clients' who his new friends had helped before—how many of those people wished for something that wasn't material, that wasn't some sort of tangible good? He wasn't going to judge them, but Cloud thought that there were much better ways to spend an immensely valuable wish.

Was it his job to stop everything that was plaguing the world? He had five wishes remaining. He could do a hell of a lot with five wishes. The genies had said there were limits to their powers, right? Even so, Cloud felt like he had to try.

But what to wish for? What was more important than something else? Cloud had the fates of thousands, possibly millions, possibly everyone on the whole planet, whoever he wanted—in his hands, he had realized.

It was too much.

Cloud snuck out that weekend. The genies were playing a game in his room. He didn't go far, only to his backyard, but it was dark, just barely nighttime and he was alone and he could think.

The bark of his favorite—and only—tree on his property was rough against his back, making it uncomfortable to sit against but Cloud didn't move. He drew his knees to his chest and buried his face into his arms, breathing shallowly.

In his one class that week they had learned about the massacres currently going on in Wutai. Did he… help these people? Was it possible to?

Was one person more deserving of being saved or helped with one of his wishes than another person?

Cloud felt like a god, and he hated it.

It was too much for one teenager to handle.

Cloud stayed like that, thinking hard, not moving inside even when he began to tremble from the cold. It was windy.

"Cloud?"

The teen lifted his head, squinting blearily at the genies floating across his yard. "Hey," he said listlessly, rubbing his face with his palm.

"…You alright?"

If Zack had legs, he would have been crouching. He floated downwards and leant forward, looking concerned. "I'm okay," Cloud mumbled, looking off to the side. He shivered, skin covered in goosebumps.

They realized that whatever was bugging Cloud was bad and crowded around, all of them more or less sitting on the grass. Sephiroth looked awkward, like he didn't know what to do. Angeal frowned at the others before gently touching Cloud's shoulder. They had only known each other for about two weeks at this point, but the genies were special friends to Cloud, and the genies were already extremely fond of the blond teen. "Are you sure?" he asked softly.

"Uh…" Cloud began, almost embarrassed, "It's just…"

His jaw started to ache and his eyes burned—Cloud harshly pressed his hands to them, pushing back tears. Whenever anyone showed real, honest compassion and was honestly worried about him, it moved Cloud greatly. The genies really were so nice, but that niceness was making him miserable.

Someone's hands wrapped around his and moved them. Cloud looked down at the ground, and continued to do so even when Genesis slid an arm under his knees and pulled him upwards. The genie was more or less sitting, hovering a few inches off the ground. He tucked Cloud's head against his shoulder and balanced him on his lap. Cloud hadn't realized exactly how cold he was until he was surrounded by so much warmth; he tightly squeezed his eyes shut and turned into the genie's chest.

"What's up?" the redhead asked, drumming his fingers against Cloud's shoulder blade.

Cloud let out a soft sound, peeking at Sephiroth, who was sitting to Genesis's right. "I was… I was just thinking about my next wish."

"What about it?" Zack prompted.

"I don't know what to wish for," Cloud said, frustrated. "I was thinking, a-and—" he swallowed, voice shaking, "I just… I don't know what to do. I could use my wishes to help a lot of people. I could," he sighed, looking up at the sky, "I could save someone's life. R-Right? I just don't know who…or how… or what to wish for..." he swallowed, wiping his eyes. "I hate having this much power, I don't want to have to make these decisions. I'm only s-sixteen."

He closed his eyes and waited. Nobody spoke for a minute. Then someone hugged him, wrapping their arms around both him and Genesis, warming up Cloud's exposed and chilly side. "You're too damn selfless, you know that?" Zack said, dropping his chin on Cloud's bony shoulder. "You shouldn't be worrying about any of that."

"No one—that I've served, anyway—ever thought it about it that way," Sephiroth said. He caught Cloud's eye and held his gaze. "You're a good person."

"No I'm not," Cloud protested weakly. "I'm just doing what's right. If I have the power to help people…I should use it, right?" He sniffed. "I just don't know who, or why…"

"Come on." Genesis floated a few feet upwards, set Cloud on his feet, and took his hand. They accompanied Cloud inside and to his bedroom, then draped a blanket over his shoulders and sat him on his bed.

"You remember how we said that there's a limit to our power?"

"Yeah," Cloud said, nodding tiredly. He slumped to the side, leaning his head against Sephiroth's shoulder. The genie didn't seem to mind.

"About that… we can't do anything on a really large scale. We exist to give a single person anything they want," Angeal said, gesturing around at the others. "Mostly material stuff. Gold, a horse, books, a better job. We understand what you mean about helping people—it doesn't seem right to get things for yourself while others suffer, right?"

"Right," Cloud sniffled.

"It's just something that we have to accept; our magic doesn't work like that. And it's not really our place to mess with reality too much, right?" Angeal smiled, a bit sadly, at him. "That's just as wrong as doing nothing."

"So we can't do anything?"

"I wouldn't say that," Genesis said, frowning. "You helped that old man with his leg and his attic, right? And your neighbors' puppy." He smiled. "You have more of an impact than you realize. Take it slow."

Cloud smiled, but he wasn't really happy. There really wasn't anything he could do? Was he supposed to ask for music players and cash and junk food—and then what? Say goodbye to the four genies and be on his own again? He'd have all this stuff but… that didn't sound fun at all, not to him.

"Sorry," they apologized. Cloud nodded, thinking hard. He dozed off against Sephiroth's shoulder, and when he woke in the morning he was in his bed and the genie lamp glittered in the sun on his bedside table.

For a few days Cloud tried to come to terms with the fact that his genies weren't miracle workers. He avoided the news, knowing that he'd depress himself. His hands were tied. He didn't like it.

They stopped asking him if he had thought of anything else to wish for, exactly. They seemed to understand that he needed time to think about it.

They were having fun outside of the lamp anyway. There was 84 years' worth of fun to catch up on. They could never be sure how long they would be stuck in the lamp next time, Zack had explained, so they had to live it up while they could. Cloud took them to the zoo in the closest city, to an ice-skating rink and to a fast food restaurant. Sephiroth said it was revolting, but Genesis, despite insisting that he had enjoyed the finest Wutaiain cuisine with the emperor once upon a time, gobbled it up.

He would miss them a lot, Cloud realized as he watched Angeal destroy in a video game. Genesis had no clue what he was doing and was mashing buttons with his thumbs, hoping his character would somehow come out on top. He liked them and had fun. Sometimes Cloud would think of them as his friends that he'd have around forever, but then he'd stare at the colored smoke or see someone snap their fingers and have something virtually impossible happen and he'd remember.

Cloud didn't want them to go, and it seemed they didn't exactly want to go either.

That's why, one morning, Cloud got an idea. It was a horribly selfish idea, something completely unlike him… but it was something he wanted more than anything.

He asked curiously, sitting underneath a secluded tree on his school's grounds with the genies during his lunch period, "What's it like in the lamp?"

"Miserable," Genesis immediately said. "It's cramped. It's decent when it's just one genie inside, but with four it's next to unbearable."

"Why were there four of you in there?"

Zack raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. "'Cause we signed a contract a few hundred years ago. We all wanted to stay together for the rest of our days. It means we have to stay in the lamp together, but hey." He shrugged. "At least we have each other."

"You can just sleep in my room, you know. I don't mind. And you guys are such good friends," Cloud added absently, poking a hole into his juice pocket with his straw. "That's really cool."

"Uh, we're a little bit more than friends, y'know."

Cloud looked up, tilting his head—the four genies looked at him with amusement and a small bit of wariness. The teen frowned, then blinked, going pink. "Ohh," he said. "Oh, I get it. Oh. Wow." He fell silent and took a demure sip of his juice, then burst, "That's really cute—I mean, yeeeah…"

Angeal laughed and ruffled his hair. "Um, thanks."

"You're pretty cute yourself," Zack said slyly, elbowing the blond.

Cloud flushed, and asked after a thoughtful pause, "Do you guys… ever wish that you were human? I'm not saying being a genie is bad or anything, I'm just…wondering."

Zack tapped his chin. "Maybe sometimes. It's cool having magic and all, but we've been alive for thousands of years now. Plus, we've dealt with a ton of really greedy people, which is tiring." He grinned and poked Cloud in the tummy. "Except for you, of course. You've been a pleasure to work with."

The next morning Cloud woke up with Sephiroth asleep at the foot of his bed, Zack's back pressed against his, Angeal passed out in his desk chair and Genesis stretched out on the floor with a stolen pillow.

He kept his idea to himself—because it was just that, an idea, not yet a plan. This probably wasn't Cloud's place either but… it was something he had to do. To make a difference one person at a time, like they had said. Start small. Make one person happy and you can eventually change the world.

Cloud made up his mind after listening to the genies' griping one evening. They complained about past customers, about Shin-Ra, the President of the genies, and about the strict rules and codes of conduct that they had to follow. Cloud was shocked to learn that after a person used up their wishes they were monitored periodically for the rest of their life. An alarm was placed on them—if they attempted to tell anyone about genies' existence someone would wipe their memory or otherwise prevent them from doing so. The whole thing sounded oppressive and shady, and no one seemed too keen about it.

"How'd you become genies in the first place?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Sorry," Genesis answered, rubbing the back of his neck, "We can't exactly tell you that. There would be consequences."

Zack sighed gustily. "You're lucky, Cloud. You don't have magic, sure, but you don't have to deal with any of this shit."

"Maybe you don't have to," Cloud said, swallowing thickly.

"Hm?" Sephiroth glanced at him, leaning backwards against Genesis.

Cloud's voice trembled, but he was firm. "I said, maybe you don't have to. Deal with that…shit, I mean." He looked them all in the eye, pulling the genies out of their half-sleepy, comfortable stupors.

"I wish," Cloud began, "that you guys, all of you, don't have to worry about going back into that lamp—or dealing with Shin-Ra—none of that—that you're never unhappy again." He kept going, in a rush, before they could stop him. "Genesis. I wish for your freedom—that you're human and you don't have to stick with your genie lifestyle. No more of this… this endless cycle."

He looked at the other three, who looked stunned. "Angeal. I wish the same for you. I wish that you're free too, Zack, and Sephiroth—I wish for your freedom as well."

No one spoke.

"I don't want you guys to be unhappy," Cloud mumble, feeling like he had just done something drastically wrong. "You said you sometimes wish you were human…"

Sephiroth snapped his fingers five times in succession, the sharp clicks seeming to echo in the empty park they had been strolling through.

Genesis, wide-eyed and shocked, was first. There was a muted poof sound, and from a puff of red smoke appeared two long legs clad in silky red pants. Then it happened to Angeal, and Zack, and then Sephiroth. The smoke cleared, and Cloud was left peering up at four tall men—actual men, human men. Something about them felt different.

They were just…free.

"…Cloud," Zack said first, somehow finding his voice.

The blond said nothing. He slowly smiled, though, and then he was being squeezed from all sides.

"No fucking way," Genesis gasped, hugging Cloud to his chest so hard all the teen's breath left him in a high-pitched squeak.

After a minute's frenzied celebration Zack took off running, testing out his new legs. He did a series of squats up on the fountain in the park, grinning from ear to ear. Cloud watched them all, especially Angeal, who for some reason couldn't figure out how to walk, exactly, and was being supported by Sephiroth and Genesis until he got the hang of it.

They were just…guys now.

Was it wrong of Cloud to wish that? Probably. Did he care? Not really.

The four men stopped celebrating, realizing something.

"Cloud…" Zack said. He walked closer, completely steady on his two sneakered feet. "You didn't use a single wish on yourself."

Cloud was beaming, flushed with happiness. His face fell and he frowned up at them. "Oh… actually… I did."

Genesis reached out and ran his slightly shaking thumb down Cloud's cheek. "What do you mean?"

"I'm…really selfish," Cloud confessed, unable to look at any of them. "I didn't want you guys to have to go back into the lamp and….leave me. I want you guys to stay…so…that's partly why I wished for that."

Someone laughed, and Cloud hooked his arms around Sephiroth's neck out of instinct when he was lifted into the air. "We didn't want to leave you either," he murmured, lips right next to Cloud's ear. "Thank you, Cloud. We didn't know this was possible."

Then he hoisted the teen up a few more inches and kissed him. Cloud hadn't been expecting it at all but didn't resist, desperately pressing closer to his once-upon-a-time-genie and kissing back for all he was worth. Someone warm pressed against his back, and Cloud turned his head to have Zack capture his lips, gently squeezing his middle. Genesis and Angeal both swooped in to press light, ticklish pecks to his cheeks, jawline and ears before he was set on his feet.

Cloud blinked up at them, smiling widely. "Let's go home!" he said. There was a lot to work out, like identities and creating lives for these guys, but they'd worry about that later. Angeal, by now a pro at walking, took his hand.

"Woah," Zack breathed suddenly, bouncing up and down on his toes, "I just realized."

"What?"

"I have a cock!"

Genesis blinked. "By the Goddess, you're right. This'll be fun."

Cloud covered his face in mortification. "You guys are gross!"

In front of him, Sephiroth snapped his fingers. His clothes changed from this flowing genie wear to a dapper suit, mostly unbuttoned.

"…It seems we can still use a bit of our magic," he said, sounding surprised.

"Whatever you did, Cloud," Angeal said, dropping a kiss to the top of Cloud's head, "Thank you."

"No," Cloud said, shaking his head. "Thank you. For everything." And thank you too, Mr. Hojo, he thought in his head with a snort. Without Hojo he'd never have found these four.

It was about time Cloud did something truly for himself, Genesis, Sephiroth, Angeal and Zack told Cloud as they snuck into his house without alerting his mom to their presence. They were just human now, but even so they'd do everything they could to make his every wish come true. Even the most selfless kid deserved to be selfish every once and a while.

I did some (purposely very, extremely, super terrible) fanart. XD I hope you get some lulz out of it, haha. ;_; tobi plus ms paint is a fail. I hope you enjoyed, and have a great day :) :) http: / /i737. photobucket. com/albums/xx11/TobiTobiTobiTobi/genies2. png

~tobi