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The General was waiting for him at the door to his quarters. Zack had expected him to be angry, or at least annoyed, about his practising with Cloud, but the General's face was completely neutral. Zack really hated it when he looked that way, because that look meant that the General had gone beyond an emotional response to an icy, purposeful, calm. He groaned inwardly, hoping he could convince the General not to bounce Cloud out of the ranks entirely.

"Sir?" he inquired as he stepped up to the door.

Icy turquoise eyes pinned him to the spot. "I would like to speak with you. Privately." There was no emotion whatsoever in the General's voice.

Shiiitt, Zack thought again. He opened the door, then stood aside so the General could enter first.

But once in the room, with the door closed, the ice shell cracked, and Sephiroth started pacing. A slight frown wrinkled his forehead, visible between the high peaks of his bangs. His long strides made the room seem small as he paced from the door to the couch and back again. Zack walked carefully around him into the room. He waited patiently, standing with one hip propped on the back of the couch.

"You're right," the General said suddenly. He stopped directly in front of Zack, glaring fiercely at him. "You're right about Cloud. He does have the potential. He could do it. But," he paused, folding his arms across his chest, "he obviously needs encouragement. And you and I both know the company is short on that sort of thing."

Zack nodded, thinking of his own struggles up through the ranks. There'd been no kind words to be found from superiors then, that was for sure.

"I can't say it's a waste of your time, because he does have the potential." Sephiroth shook his head. "I just can't see why you would bother --"

Zack grinned, and was about to say "because he's kinda cute," when Sephiroth's eyes suddenly flashed angrily.

"Why him, Zack?" Sephiroth threw his arms wide in what looked like a gesture of frustration. "Why, out of all the recruits, why that blond from Nibelheim?" His eyes were stormy and dark as he stared down at Zack.

"Seph...?" Startled by the sudden outburst, Zack hunted for words. "Is there... do you have a problem with Cloud, Seph?" He couldn't believe it was jealousy. Not after the war years they'd spent together.

A snarling grimace flickered across Sephiroth's face at the mention of Cloud's name. It disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving him looking blank and vaguely disoriented. He reached up to massage his temples, bowing his head so that his long hair curtained his face.

"Are you alright?" Zack asked in concern and confusion. He slid off the couch and moved over to Sephiroth. His lover was prone to sudden, and violent, mood swings; he'd learned to ride them out years ago. And he kept aspects of himself so separate that it was sometimes like he was two people: The General, and Sephiroth, but even so, he'd never seen Sephiroth have such an... irrational reaction to someone before.

Well, that was barring his violent reaction to Professor Hojo, but that was entirely rational as far as Zack was concerned.

After a long moment of silence, Sephiroth nodded. "I have... a headache." He sighed. "What were we talking about?"

Zack hesitated, not wanting to trigger another outburst. "Nothing important," he said softly, resting his hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. Sephiroth's rare short-term memory loss was something he was also familiar with, but it had seemed to have ended with the war. Zack had thought it was a stress reaction at the time, what with the General having to balance so many details in that mess that the war had become, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Good, because my head is killing me. I can't think." He peered up at Zack through his bangs, almost managing to look plaintive and playful at the same time.

Smiling, Zack took the hint and reached out to unbuckle Sephiroth's long black coat. He knew his lover well enough to know when that playful look meant "ignore my headache." He was still uneasy about the sudden outburst against Cloud, but he didn't want to push the issue. If Sephiroth had problems with Cloud, they'd come out. Eventually.

With the last of the buckles opened, he slid his hands across Sephiroth's bare chest and up under his coat. His lover sighed softly as he pushed the coat back off his shoulders. Moving his arms back, Sephiroth let the coat slide off onto the floor.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, reaching forward again to grasp Zack's suspenders. "They really ought to change these uniforms." He slipped the straps down off Zack's broad shoulders and then reached around his waist to undo his SOLDIER belt buckle.

Zack laughed. "Getting rid of this ridiculous sleeveless turtleneck might be nice, but I wouldn't want to go around topless like you do."

Sephiroth dropped the belt on the floor and tugged Zack's shirt free of his pants. "Are you sure?" he asked playfully, running his hands across the broad, smooth muscles under the shirt.

"Only for you," Zack replied huskily. Reaching down, he batted Sephiroth's hands out of the way and pulled his shirt off.

His lover's answering smile sent pleasant chills up his spine.

Hours later, with Sephiroth safely asleep in his arms, Zack lay awake, wondering about their strange conversation. It was so totally unlike Seph that he had to wonder if he'd imagined it. The General got angry, alright, there was no denying that, but the look that had crossed his face had been blind, unthinking hatred. There was no reason for that -- none that Zack could find anyway. What was it about Cloud... no, the mention of Cloud's name that had triggered that reaction?

Sephiroth sighed and shifted in his sleep. Resisting the urge to hold him tightly, Zack fiddled with the end of Seph's long braid. He only braided his gorgeous silver-blond hair to sleep. It tangled and pulled too much otherwise.

Talk about tangles, Zack thought. Here he was finding Cloud attractive and wanting to spend more time with him -- wanting Seph to get to know him, too -- and instead.... It had been like... like a glimpse of some darkness lurking in Sephiroth's soul. A darkness that hated Cloud, it seemed.

Shivering, he nuzzled Seph's hair and tried to still his thoughts. This whole day had been entirely too strange. Best to leave it behind and hope that tomorrow, at least, would be normal. He settled himself more comfortably against Sephiroth's back and composed his mind for sleep.

But he dreamt of flowers and swords, green eyes and blue, and a darkness that lurked even in brightest daylight.

When he woke in the morning, Sephiroth was already gone, but Zack had expected that. It was a rare day indeed -- even more so since they'd returned to life in the Midgar barracks -- when he actually got to wake up beside his lover. Still, he couldn't help the wistful sigh that escaped his lips. Someday... he mused to himself as he reluctantly rolled out of bed. Someday, I am going to have him to myself for an entire day and night, and the next day! Unfortunately, he didn't foresee this happening any time soon.

He showered and dressed quickly, then headed into his small kitchen to find breakfast. One of the privileges of being First Class was not having to go to the mess hall for every meal. And that was no small mercy.

He brewed himself a cup of something that most people would have called lethal. He called it coffee. Sitting at the small round table which took up most of the floor space in his "dining room," he sipped his coffee and contemplated a bowl of cereal. Leaning back and to his left, into the kitchen, he yanked open the fridge door. Craning his head around, he peered at the forlornly empty shelves. Nope, still no milk. Oh well. Better dry cereal than mess hall "scrambled eggs." He made a face at the thought and got up to find a bowl.

It wasn't until he'd finished two cups of coffee and a bowl of dry cereal that he realized something was missing. Something besides the milk, that was. Sweeping his gaze over the room, he let his mind absorb what he saw without thinking about it. Nothing was out of place. His sword was racked neatly on the wall -- that was Sephiroth's doing, since Zack had left it lying on the coffee table. The suite was remarkably neat and tidy, but then he didn't spend much time in it. He glanced at the window.

The flower was gone.

The bottle was still there, still full of water, but the bright yellow blossom was gone. In a daze, he got up and walked across the room. He checked the floor, the counter, the windowsill. No sign of the flower.

What the hell...? he wondered, staring blankly at the bottle. Why the hell did he take my flower?

Zack shook his head as he walked away from the window. Life had ceased to make sense about twenty-four hours ago. Maybe he should just avoid the slums from now on.

Somehow, he didn't think he could.

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© 7/31/99 Tavam Shaytar
http://www.leafwind.com/Lifestream/
All characters are the properties of their respective owners.

Chapter 4
Chapter 2
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