The ShinRa infirmary was heaving with bodies. Not just Soldiers, wounded from the shadows attacks, but civilians as well; here and there were the occasional Turk, but there was no sign of the Big Three, or their fourth, or Cloud Strife. Tseng wound through the beds, checking on anyone decked in the uniformed suit of the Turks, and keeping a wary eye for the wild blonde hair he'd come to expect around every corner, except for when it was wanted.

The again, Tseng hadn't really imagined that if one them had been injured enough to warrant extensive medical attention, that they would ever wait for it in the mess that was the ShinRa infirmary.

Catching eyes with a head of much more tamed blonde hair – the man who was his President and always had been, even if it wouldn't be official for hours yet – he shook his head in his direction and was waved off in the direction of Reno's loud complaining. Rufus nodded in return and slid out of the room, PHS in hand.

0

Cloud lounged, cross-legged, on the rim of his favourite fountain in Loveless Avenue, cap pulled low over his mako-ringed eyes. His clothing, borrowed at great personal expense from Genesis, snagged around the bandages winding their way up his arms; even mako healing couldn't keep up with the mess the fight with the Twins had made of him. Breathing out a flurry of cold night air, Cloud's eyes flickered to the darkness ahead at the sound of footsteps.

"Aren't you tired of secret meetings?" A rich voice teased from the shadows, its wearer melting into the light and stepping up nimbly to the edge of the fountain, backed by streetlight.

Cloud leant back on his hands to look into the other's face and grinned. "Last one."

The blacksmith beamed in return, teeth glinting white. "I certainly hope so. Genesis isn't overly fond of these particular habits of yours."

Cloud's smile turned sharp at the edges, "Ah, but he is fond of me despite them."

He looked away. "And I suppose you think I owe it to you."

The blacksmith snorted and huffed a laugh, shuffling his feet to fight the chill, his amber eyes alight and knowing.

"No, no, this one was all you."

His gaze roved from the blonde's cap-shadowed face to the fountain behind him, its figures bathes in light and the spray of water. When he looked back to Cloud, his eyes glittered in the dim light with a strange sort of pride, with a misplaced affection and the ever-present amusement and that keen intelligence that never quite went out of them.

"I actually wanted to pass on my congratulations."

The man's rich voice thrummed with an age well hidden; an age that didn't show in his face or body, only in his deep, amber irises and the cadence of a timeless voice.

"We're honoured by your work, Cloud Strife."

At his back, Cloud felt the spray of cool water caress his neck and the lights flared so brightly he could feel their heat for a moment, before they were dim again.

A smile slipped across the blonde's face and he pushed himself up 'til he was face to face with the other man, and held out a slim-fingered hand.

The other man grinned wickedly and took it.

Casting a sly look behind him, Cloud nodded to one of the carved statues in the middle of the fountain, the one at the back of the Goddess herself.

"He looks a bit like you."

Loki's grin widened and threatened to split. "You would know."

Their hands slid apart and they each turned to face an opposite direction. Cloud stepped towards the dim lights of the ShinRa complex, its uncertain future reflected in the quiet of its occupants. Cloud saw a shadow move across a window in its tops floors and felt the call of a room there, with his friends and his mentor – his lover – waiting from him to get back.

He lifted a hand and the shadow moved out of sight.

"I hope to never see you again," the blacksmith called, without turning around.

"Likewise, Champion," Cloud answered with smile, and walked away.

0

He didn't even get to knock on the door before it was being wrenched open by an irate red-head shoving a PHS in his face, while simultaneously pulling him forcibly across the threshold and into the warmth of the suite they had commandeered for recuperation after the fight.

"Answer it."

Cloud snatched the PHS with a frown and stuck his tongue in Genesis' direction. The man, himself, hadn't even moved out of Cloud's vicinity since dragging him through the door, simply looked down with rapidly darkening eyes.

"Don't tempt me."

The Commander inclined his chin to the phone and pressed a quick kiss to the blonde's forehead, before collapsing atop Sephiroth's legs, kicked up onto the couch, "I'll be here when you're done."

Sephiroth arched a fine, silver brow at Genesis. "Not all of you, if you don't get off my couch."

Genesis smiled, showing teeth. "I think you'll find as this is my apartment, this is my couch."

Cloud slid the PHS open before Sephiroth had time to retort, though by the smirk curling its way across the General's lips, one wasn't very far away, and bypassed the kitchen where someone was banging around violently with pots and pans and herbs scattered everywhere, but still seemed to be cooking something delicious despite that, and slipped into the hall.

"Hello?"

"Cloud."

Rufus' voice was soft, blurry at the edges with relief. Warmth trickled into Cloud's chest at the hearing of it, though the sound of his brother's concern for him was an unfamiliar one. He sighed into the receiver and said, "It's done. We're done. Right?"

The laugh that floated through to him was quiet, but sparkling in its happiness, in its relief and victory. Cloud felt his body melt into the wall. It really was over.

"We're done, for now."

Then, there was deliberate pause. Cloud felt some of the previous tension ebb back into his aching muscles and he felt his breath catch a little in his throat.

"Rufus?"

When the President's voice sounded next, it was quieter, firmer and, to Rufus' credit, it sent a small trickle of ice tip-toeing down the knobs of Cloud's spine.

"And Cloud, the next time I call you, I expect you to pick up the phone."

The call shut off with a click and Cloud slid it back into his pocket with numb fingers. Still, a small smile tugged at his mouth. Neither of them had much practice in the healthy expression of concern.

Back in the living room, Genesis had been relegated to the arm chair and Sephiroth's face was rightly smug about it. The red-headed Commander commandeered Cloud as he passed, tugging down onto his lap.

"So what did the President want with out little Soldier First?" Genesis asked, his question somewhat muffled by the skin of Cloud neck, where he was drawing unsubtle patterns with his mouth.

One cue, five PHS buzzed at once.

Debrief. 9 am.

Five PHS hit the coffee table with resounding clatters and stayed there till morning, even if the Soldiers who owned them retired elsewhere. Cloud's PHS, identical to the rest and lost among the masses, buzzed with a second message. It too went ignored and soon deleted itself without a trace of ever being there at all.

Good Luck, Hero. Those who seek to change the world often do, but less often for the better.

0

FIN.