Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Innocence ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimers : : I own none of the characters. Just the plot.

*word* -- happening (i.e. *crack*)

~*~ -- flashback

~#~ -- scene change

//word// -- thoughts

"word" -- speech

~word~ -- memory

Garnet Eyes

Innocence

Both men looked up, startled at the new voice intruding on them. In a flash, Hojo was sent backward into a steal table, a huge, bleeding gash across his chest, and a diminutive blonde warrior was standing between the scientist and the General. Anger seeped out of the blonde as he stared at the professor, stared at the man that was hurting his lover. But Hojo collapsed to the ground, holding his chest as the blood began to pool around him. Cloud merely sheathed his sword and picked up his shaking lover from the floor, turning his back to the man that hurt his partner so much. Sephiroth hadn't the ability to walk correctly because of the sedative combined with the near rape he had just been on the receiving end of, his legs were watery when he tried to move. Kissing the silver warrior chastely on the lips, Cloud hefted him up into his arms, Sephiroth's face turned into the nape of the blonde's neck, and started out of the lab. Just outside the door, as the blonde turned the opposite way, the General caught the sight of a very bloody, very dead Madison Booth. So he had been the informant. Sephiroth would have laughed at the irony of the situation if it hadn't impacted him so sorely.

Cloud was running at a fair pace considering how much dead weight the General knew he was, and Sephiroth could only pray that the blonde would get out alright after dropping him off someplace. But the blonde took a sharp turn in a direction opposite the barracks and suddenly Sephiroth realized what was happening. His blonde wasn't intent on just escaping with his own life. After all, his little blonde lover had just most likely killed the leading Shin-Ra scientist and left a very bloodied wake in the laboratories. Somewhere, Sephiroth had thought that his blonde would drop him off at his room and flee-leave him alone again. But-surprise, surprise-his sunshine was taking him with him on his escape from Shin-Ra. That almost made a smile grace Sephiroth's face. He was a partner in this crime now; he would run away with his lover and they would keep moving for the rest of their lives most likely. Somehow, that thought didn't bother the silver warrior. As long as he was with his beloved blonde, the rest of the world didn't matter and neither did the situation they were in.

The blonde stopped, dropping him to carefully rest against the edge of something-a motorcycle with a passenger seat-and pulled out his duffle bag from the passenger side. Without pause, he hoisted the General into the seat and dropped the bag onto him, climbing onto the bike and revving it up. They were burning rubber out of parking area before Sephiroth had a chance to get himself properly seated and made a skidding halt at the main gates. After punching out the two posted guards, Cloud opened the gates, got the bike through, and closed them tightly shut. Better not give the Shin-Ra troops any added help.

They were on the upper roads of Midgar before the General could fully grasp the situation, and by then he finally gathered some of his wits. His body was still sluggish from the sedative, and it would no doubt last for at least another hour or so, but that didn't prevent his brain from functioning.

"Cloud… do you realize what you just did?"

"I got my lover out of a situation that would've ended up killing him, and in the process hopefully killed the only person that I have had the graciousness to despise with every fiber of my being. If you are insinuating that I don't understand the consequences of my actions… well I've just kidnapped Shin-Ra's most famous general. They won't be making this a public matter, now will they? I'm sure the Turks will be assigned to the duty of tracking us down, but we just have to make sure we don't get caught, now don't we? I've no intention of letting you go, koi. You are my lover and the one person I care enough about to do anything even remotely like this."

Smiling lazily from the passenger seat, Sephiroth relaxed back into a comfortable position and idly watched the passing city buildings. Suddenly, the entire situation came to him and the silver warrior burst out laughing, feeling like he was finally going to be free for once in his life. Totally, completely, free. He was running away from everything that signified what was wrong with the world and he couldn't have been happier. It was such an adrenaline rush to realize that he was now his own master… that he had no one to be held accountable to and no one to degrade him. He was starting his life all over again. No longer the Great General, but a fighter, lover, and wanderer; what he truly wanted.

The wind drew its fingers quickly through the silver warrior's hair as they rushed through the upper plates, heading down to the lower sectors, and Sephiroth smiled as they went through Midgar, feeling a new life come toward him full force, arms wide open. He welcomed it openly. With only a couple questions, of course.

"Cloud… how did you manage to get your duffle bag down here with you?"

"Only a little while after you left, two ugly looking retards came to the door and handed me… I guess you could say my eviction notice. They told me I was to pack up and get out, I was being thrown out of SOLDIER training and had a restraining order against coming back to the grounds. Well, I packed… took a few of your things too, since I was sure you weren't notified and I wanted something of yours around, and left with my sword and all my belongings. They didn't follow me for long, expecting me to just get in a vehicle and leave, so I went out to the garages and put my stuff in this bike. But, the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't understand it. So I went back to investigate; I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad you did too, love; we're going to have to ditch the bike soon, though."

"We'll ditch it in the lower sectors. Someone `ll take it and then we can set out on foot."

"Leaving Midgar?"

"Eh, I never really liked it here anyway."

Sephiroth chuckled and closed his eyes, feeling the breeze across his face.

"We'll need new identities."

"I plan on making a fractional stop before we leave Midgar. I've got a favor to cash in."

One jade eye opened curiously, but Cloud was focused on the road again. With a shrug, Sephiroth settled in for the ride.

~#~

The area Cloud parked the bike was shady to say the least. There were at least seven men staking claims for the bike before they even parked it, and several more eyeing the duo to see if it was worth the chance of fighting them for whatever they may carry. Garbage was cluttering the streets and most of the streetlamps were broken, glass shattered and poles bent. Cloud ignored the people on the side of the road-gambling, begging, or holding knives out and ready; the blonde walked over to Sephiroth, got his duffle bag, and pulled Sephiroth upright and out of the sidecar, leaving the keys in the ignition. Jade eyes stayed fixed on all the disintegrating buildings and street-side people as they walked by, Cloud holding the silver warrior around the waist so he didn't collapse, as the sedative was still mildly affecting him, until they got to what should have been a condemned building.

Using most of his bodyweight, the blonde shoved the door open and then casually stepped in, motioning Sephiroth to follow. Jade looked carefully around the building as the silver warrior entered, seeing not much but broken wood furniture and cobwebs. Curious but wary, Sephiroth trailed his little blonde lover at a distance, keeping tabs of him at all times. Cloud walked back to the counter in the back and kicked the base of it, hearing a small grunt when he did. A man in rags came up, grimy hands holding the top of the counter as legs that obviously didn't want to move dragged into position to hold his weight. Scraggly brown hair almost masked his nearly cobalt blue eyes, which squinted to see who was in front of him. Suddenly, the cobalt eyes went wide and the man grinned.

"Cloudy! Didn't think I'd be seein' you again."

"Well I just came by for a visit."

"Eh… ready to cash in that favor?"

"You bet."

"Hehe… I somehow didn't picture you ever really needing my services. Well, what would you like to be?"

"Gone; listen we don't have much time. I just need some IDs to get us in and out of towns."

"Us?"

"Two."

"Well, I need a second, but sure. Have a seat; it shouldn't take more than five minutes."

"Alright; do we need pictures taken?"

"Nah… you should be all right. I'll be right back, Cloudy. You can take your seat over there."

The man gestured vaguely into the surrounding area and went back into a door in the wall behind him. As soon as he was gone, the blonde let his bag on the floor and started shuffling through it. Sephiroth stayed in the background, completely dumbfounded. He had no idea how his blonde could possibly know anyone down here and the silver warrior couldn't possibly form an understanding of what Cloud might have been doing in the first place. What was that exchange? Suddenly, Cloud pulled back up from the bag, something in his right hand, and the man came out of the back.

"Shouldn't be but a couple minutes."

The blonde turned to the cobalt-eyed man and placed his closed fist on the counter.

"We need some different clothes. Can you spare a few?"

"Well I… gee, Cloudy; I'd love to help you with that but-"

The excuse died in his throat as Cloud unclosed his fist and removed his hand from the counter.

"Of course. You just go in the back in pick out a few things for yourself and your friend. You know where they are."

The blonde nodded and walked into the back room while the man behind the counter shoved what Sephiroth assumed was money into his pocket. After a while of idly watching the man at the counter, jade eyes widened when he was finally recognized.

"So, what did you two do, hmm? I would suspect that little Cloudy either did something so amazingly tremendous that he'll need to cover up and hide away for years or that he's just covering up for you. So, eh, which is it?"

Jade stared at almost unseeing cobalt before he made himself speak; the man obviously couldn't see him well enough to know whom he was.

"We killed a Shin-Ra scientist."

"Oh… hehehe… I should've known little Cloudy wouldn't do anything half-assed. If he's gonna go and get in trouble, he's gonna get in deep shit."

A small grin tugged at Sephiroth's lips; the man didn't realize how true that statement was.

"Well… if anyone can do a good enough disappearing act to hide from those Shin-Ra men, it's little Cloudy. You just stick with him and you won't see any trouble."

Curiosity finally kicked in fully and Sephiroth leaned back on the wall he was standing next to, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's done this before?"

"Oh, not from the Shin-Ra, no. But he's hidden from those foolhardy soldier trainees that come through here just looking for a fight. They had him pegged for a while. He stands out down here; they want someone to brag about. Little Cloudy has hidden almost a whole neighborhood from those shmucks. He came here under a false name, too. Hell, I don't even really know if Cloud's his real name either. All I know about that boy I could count on my fingers. But he's real loyal, I hafta say that. He stuck with us through a lot and then went and got himself into the Shin-Ra ranks. Said he wanted to make Tifa and his momma proud. Don't rightly know who them two are, but they must be special to him."

Silver head cocked to the side, Sephiroth studied this new information. Maybe he didn't know as much about his lover as he thought. His past was definitely something curious now. Something very curious, indeed.

"Well, if you don't mind my asking, what was the reason you owed Cloud a favor?"

"Ah, the boy helped me out in a big way. They was evictin' me from my home and all, sayin' `bout how I couldn't take care of it good enough and I shouldda been lettin' them others go at it-the hobos and such. Like they wouldda take care of it better. Well, I done and wanted to get them off my back, cuz I like my home. But when you got alotta hobos after what's yours and you ain't much better `n a bat at seein' things, well you're pretty screwed."

Sephiroth watched the man gesture intently and pause, almost like he had to redraw his memories.

"Then Cloudy came and stopped `em. Made `em leave me alone and even cleaned up my place a bit. I gave him a job for a while, figurin' that was the least I could do. Then some `a them Shin-Ra guys came down here, lookin' to start something. Hehe… I guess you could say that I'm kinda the reason they were after him. Them guys wanted to go `n shut me down. Not this business, mind you; they didn't rightly know about what I really do-they wanted to shut down me bar. Little Cloudy did shifts both here and at me bar, so when they came in lookin' ta start somethin', he gave `em a run for their money and then some. After that, he had to go inta hidin' fer a while-they was hot to get him-and just did some odd jobs fer me. He was like that with `lotta folks down here. We were sorry ta see him go, but kinda happy he went up top to live better. He deserves a good life."

"Yes, he does…"

"Hehe… and then he goes up and shows us all that we ain't never gonna be welcome. After all, if they make Cloudy go, none a' us `ll make it."

Before Sephiroth had the chance to inquire further, Cloud stepped out from the back with a bundle of clothes in his hands.

"It's about ready now; make sure for me."

"Sure thing, Cloudy."

With that, the man walked into the back room and Cloud unceremoniously dumped the clothes on the floor. He started sorting them out, tossing them into two piles, before the blonde managed to get them all sorted. Then Cloud tossed one pile up at Sephiroth, who merely caught it out of reflex, before the blonde began stripping. He started pulling on what was in the pile as the silver warrior looked down at what has been thrown at him in disgust.

"You expect me to put on someone else's clothes? That's unsanitary."

The dead seriousness of his voice didn't seem to bother his blonde in the least.

"You can wash them in a stream after we get out of here if it bothers you that much. Right now, I'd be more worried about getting caught than getting dirty. And your uniform definitely stands out in a crowd, Seph. We get safe and then you can complain all you like."

With an irritated `humph,' the silver warrior went about changing into the. . . unique clothing. If it weren't for the fact that it was necessary to change his appearance, Sephiroth would have thought that Cloud was trying to make him look like an idiot. A torn white belly shirt with the sleeves ripped off and a rip along the left breast, a worn tan-brown pleather jacket, a pair of tight-fitting faded blue jeans with the knees worn out, a worn red baseball cap, and some old and very worn red and white sneakers completed the ensemble. All in all, Sephiroth thought he looked like a total street slut, possibly a male prostitute, and absolutely nothing like himself. Which both was and wasn't a good thing. The clothes were disgusting as far as he was concerned.

A cursory glance over at Cloud told the silver warrior that he at least wasn't alone in looking like street trash. The blonde was wearing a dark green shirt with the sleeves ripped up to being short and several tears on the front and the back, some ripped blue jean shorts that were severely close to being hotpants, some almost fishnet spandex-like pants underneath, a pair of worn and dirty black and white sneakers, and a dirty white pleather jacket that came down to knee level. //Actually, he looks more like a slut than me.// Sephiroth frowned at that realization and made to comment-tell Cloud to put on better pants at least-when the man stepped back out from the back.

"Well… here're your papers, you two. Maybe come back some time, Cloudy. I'd like to know that you okay."

With a nod, the blonde took the papers and IDs, shoved them in his bag along with his clothes and Sephiroth's, and started walking out. Reluctantly, the silver warrior followed him out and they started down the streets. It didn't take very long for someone to give Sephiroth his first offer, and, having never in his life been mistaken for a whore before, he did what came naturally to the silver warrior-he punched the offering man straight in the face. Chuckling, the blonde grabbed the silver warrior and pulled him away from the man-now flat on the street-and continued away.

After another few minutes of walking, three Shin-Ra regulars came out of a nearby bar. Sephiroth went on defense, but Cloud put a hand to the silver warrior's arm and shook his head. Jade eyes looked over at the three troops for a moment longer before he nodded and relaxed. Almost as soon as he did, the troops looked up and spotted them. Smiling to one another, the three started walking towards the two.

"Just keep walking."

The blonde spoke under his breath, and Sephiroth obeyed without question. He didn't much want to be caught this quickly and Cloud obviously knew more about street life than he did. But the three troops were persistent, and moved to block the two from continuing on.

"Hey babies. How much you go for?"

Cloud entirely ignored them, sidestepping to his left and starting to move forward again. Seeing that he had a weapon, and that his `friend' was a little hesitant, they let the blonde go to see if they could get his jade-eyed buddy.

"Well, how about it, sweet thing?"

"Yeah, we can give ya something good."

"Give us a little, huh? That body of yours is just dying for a good fuck."

Cheeks reddening at the comments, Sephiroth tried to move around them, but they blocked him.

"C'mon doll; don't tell me your friend's response makes you so shy."

"Yeah, we'll give ya a real good fuck. Best you'll ever get around here."

"Better than the blonde `ll ever know."

The last comment, along with one of the men touching his naked stomach and another cupping his crotch, sent the silver warrior's cheeks cherry red. He moved back, only to have the third cup his butt. This was too much like what he had been trying to escape for Sephiroth, and he bolted before the men even had a chance to react. Once safely near his blonde, he glanced back to see three angry stares directed at him.

"Well at least you didn't punch them."

The silver warrior turned his head away from the men and back to his blonde at that comment.

"Huh?"

"Punch them; it would've screwed us. I almost wanted you to hit them, or let me hit them, but if you had then they would be after us and then they'd get their friends."

Sephiroth turned his head down and thought about that for a minute. What had Cloud been through down here?

His thoughts broke as two men walking by whistled at him and started making catcalls. Soon after that a well-dressed man in a business suit walked by, obvious in his intent by looking very pointedly at Sephiroth. Snubbing him, the silver warrior continued after his lover only to receive several lewd comments along with some "hey long-legs, spread `em for us!" when they walked by a construction site.

It didn't take long for Sephiroth to realize why he was the one getting propositioned so often and Cloud wasn't, even though his blonde was in the racier outfit. Cloud had the duffle bag slung over his back and his katana blade at his side. If anything, he looked like the more dangerous one of the duo. Which reminded Sephiroth of something.

"Cloud, I need a weapon."

"I know. Midgar doesn't have good swords. We need to go somewhere to get some. Until then, you can use my blade. I'm good with martial arts, and you're probably a little rusty since you spend all your time with swords."

"I'm not sure whether that was an insult or not."

"It wasn't. I just figured that you'll be more comfortable using a blade to your fists. I'm a little more up to practice with martial arts than you are, that's all I wanted to say. Sorry if it sounded like an insult to you-it wasn't meant to be."

Cloud single-handedly removed the sheathed katana blade from his belt and handed it to Sephiroth, who took it and placed it on his own belt immediately. They went through the sectors quickly, getting in very few fights with the local bandits, and soon enough they were at a sector gate. Two guards were posted as usual, but Cloud stayed back from the gates, holding a hand out to keep Sephiroth back as well. The silver warrior crouched down as his blonde did and watched the guards as carefully as his lover was, both behind some piles of rusty steel. Soon enough, the two guards left the door and that's when Cloud hooked Sephiroth's wrist in his hand and bolted. Keeping the fast pace of his lover, they ran to the doors and out of the slums, into the fresh air surrounding Midgar. It didn't take long for them to reach the areas around the giant city that began to have life again. Sephiroth glanced back once at the magnificent floating city-where all of his life had been and all his tortures were received-and laughed. He was free.

~#~

The stop in Kalm had been a short one. Just enough time to buy some decent clothes and a pair of gloves. The swords were still cheap and not very reliable here, so Cloud just decided to get something to protect his fists and enhance his punches; no need to worry just yet. They would be traveling a lot. Perhaps even make a stop in Wutai; ninjas always had decent swords. The Shin-Ra hadn't done anything about sending out troops by the time the duo had left Kalm, but that didn't make them want to stop; no point in giving the enemy any chance to catch up.

The first night out in the valley between Kalm and the chocobo ranch was a quiet one. The stars shown bright in the sky and the moon lit the scenery in a silver aura. Cloud laid in the sole sleeping bag they bought, curled tightly into his lover under the stars as the animals of the night watched them. They would be on the move again long before the sun came up, and were trying to rest for the long journey. Sephiroth stared up into the sky, just watching the twinkling lights as he listened to the even breathing of his lover.

"Cloud?"

The silver warrior bit his lip after a while; his sunshine must already be asleep.

"Hm?"

Jade eyes turned slightly along with the silver head to look down into half open azure.

"How much do you know about wilderness survival?"

"You mean, like, how long can we stay out of any public contact?"

"No. I've been in a war; I've learned how to survive for months out in the wild. I don't know how much of an understanding you have."

"I spent most of my life away from the luxuries of towns and cities, Sephiroth. I am quite capable of making a life away from the rest of the world and I would most likely enjoy it."

It was quiet after that-neither the silver warrior nor the blonde wanting to speak next, before Sephiroth finally broke.

"Cloud… I know that we had a sort of non-spoken agreement not to ask about any of the past… but I can't for the life of myself understand how you can be so world-wise. You're not even a legal adult yet; you're sixteen. What could you possibly have been through to make yourself like this, love? No one should-"

"Be like me; I know, Sephiroth. I know."

When it didn't seem like the blonde would say anymore, Sephiroth sighed softly and laid placidly on his back again. He was about ready to just close his eyes and get some sleep when he felt the blonde's weight shift and move onto his chest and stomach. Opening jade eyes into soft blue made the silver warrior smile tenderly. The moon made a halo around the golden head that made Cloud look as if he were an absolute angel.

"I love you, Seph. I will always love you. I just don't like to talk about my past. But… if it means that much to you, I guess I could say something. What do you want to know?"

Without hesitation, the silver warrior began his list of questions.

"How long were you in the slums?"

"About a year or so. I left home for here when I was fourteen."

"Where is home?"

The blonde smirked, but it was almost a cold expression.

"If you mean where I was born, then Nibelheim. If you mean where I lived, then the surrounding mountains."

A silver eyebrow rose in question and Cloud sighed.

"I was, I guess you could say, an outcast. I was more of a scapegoat to the town; if something went wrong blame me. Well, my mom didn't really know much about it-she thought that I did something wrong when I was punished. I can't really blame her; she didn't know. But it got to the point that I would just leave town for days on end. I can't get yelled at if I'm not there."

The blonde shrugged then and crossed his arms over the silver warrior's chest, resting his chin on his arms.

"I guess over the years I just found that living away from the town made it so the people stopped pestering me."

"Your mother didn't care?"

Cloud glanced directly into jade at the softly spoken words, a sharp distaste in the blonde's next sentence.

"She didn't notice. Mom wasn't necessarily home much; she liked the company of other people, shall we say. I actually would have been a nuisance to her had I stayed around."

"Well, if you never went near people, how did you learn how to use a sword so well?"

"Mainly self-taught. Watch from a distance and mimic. A few times I did actually have some tutelage-there was a man in the town that knew how to battle and fought off the monsters that otherwise would have plagued the town. He never really did seem too fond of me, but no one was very fond of me anyway. The only thing that made me think he liked me a little was the fact that I was the only person he ever decided to tutor. I guess he didn't want to bother with the kids that didn't know anything about swords or didn't want to take the time to really practice. Since all my time was spent making a living in the mountains and practicing with the sword that my father had left behind in our house, I guess he decided that I would take training seriously. For about a year he trained and honed my skills before he left Nibelheim, and then I just practiced out in the mountains and against attacking creatures. Simply because of my distance from people, I learned to hone my own skills in silence and thought. People weren't exactly my favorite things, anyway. They still aren't, really."

"Why did your father leave?"

A small, hollow laugh vibrated out of Cloud's throat and he looked quite sad when azure looked into jade again.

"My father left as soon as I was born. Mom said he had stayed about a year before he left." The blonde took on a very cynical tone then. "For `duty.'"

"Do you even know who he is?"

With a distant sigh, the blonde then turned his head to the side, resting his cheek on his folded arms.

"Mother doesn't even remember his name; how should I? And I look nothing like him, so I'm told. I look a lot like mom, though. I know that."

The silver warrior brought a hand up, running it through golden silk as he looked up at the stars.

"I'm sorry, Cloud."

"Don't be." The blonde's tone lightened and he cocked his head to look at Sephiroth's face. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Seph. Even if most people continually hurt me, you haven't. You are probably the only person that likes me for me. You have never looked at me like I'm a disease. And, for once in my life, I can honestly relate to someone and they can relate to me; I'm happy with you. I can't really say that I've ever had something I really didn't want to lose before-everything can be replaced or it's not really necessary-but I really don't want to lose you. I love you, koi; I'd never leave you."

Long arms wrapped tightly around the blonde and Sephiroth smiled.

"I love you, too, my beautiful Cloud."

~#~

The next day had the duo a good distance from civilization of any kind by seven a.m. They walked in silence, though the silver warrior still had several questions swimming around in his head. What his blonde lover answered the night before made way for so many more questions. But… Cloud was distant today; Sephiroth wasn't going to push his lover into anything now that the man had begun to express what he refused to do anything more than hint at before. It was enough for the silver warrior to know that his lover was opening, even if it was just barely. And, having heard Cloud's expression of complete love and loyalty the night before, made Sephiroth even less inclined to press for anything else. Cloud needed some distance now that he had told the silver warrior something that he'd never told anyone before. And Sephiroth needed time to sort himself out. This new information didn't make him love his sunshine any less, but rather amplified his existing feelings. There was so much more to learn, though; the silver warrior could sense it like he could any battle-it was probably not going to be a very pretty past either. Not that his own past was all bright and happy. There was just too much to think about. . .

It took three days walking to get to the chocobo ranch, and by then they had enough money to buy two chocobos to make their walk easier. Cloud of course hitched his bag to his yellow bird and got up on it as Sephiroth paid Choco Bill for his services; they left within seven minutes of arriving.

The chocobos took them only through the marsh before they sent them back, unable to continue through the Mythril Mines with the jumpy birds. They rested in the caves for one night before continuing on toward Junon. Sephiroth, however, became quite restless the closer they got to civilization. He knew he would be recognized easily, even if Cloud wouldn't. And it had taken almost a day of his constant complaint for the blonde to go into the town ahead of him and buy a few particular items, leaving Sephiroth out in the forests for a minute or so. The town did have a few more guards than usual, actually nearly triple the norm, but seeing the dirty little kid come in didn't much bother them so they paid no extra heed to him and they ignored the blonde when he left as well.

Sephiroth waited impatiently for his blonde, having seen the extra soldiers, and hugged his lover tightly when he came out of the town and into the forest.

"Cloud, we can't go through town like this. I'll be caught."

"No you won't."

"I'm the only person in the world at 6'1" with silver hair and green eyes. How will I not be caught?"

"We change you."

The expression of complete bafflement in Sephiroth's entire stance made Cloud smile.

"I'm bringing my female friend with me up to our house in upper Junon."

"No."

"You want to get off the main island?"

"…Yes…"

"I got some temporary hair dye and enough items to make you look like a very realistic woman, Seph. Now take off your clothes; there's a river over that way and we need to get you washed up and looking pretty."

"If we get through this, I will hurt you one day."

Sephiroth grouchily got undressed and washed himself off in the stream, a long flow of curses running under his breath the entire time. Cloud took his time getting the dye in both all of Sephiroth's hair and his eyebrows and let it set while he washed himself, taking out both his and Sephiroth's temporary clothes.

"Cloud, no offense, but why aren't you the woman?"

"I never said I wasn't."

"I'm confused."

"They saw me already; I have to look completely different so they don't notice me either. You should start to wash the dye out now. I said my female friend, Seph; never a word about my own gender. Besides, guards are idiots; if you bait them they will bend."

"You sound like you have experience in this."

"How do you think I got to Midgar with no money?"

Left without a single verbal response, Sephiroth just removed the stick holding his hair up off his back and washed his hair in silence as he thought about this new information. It didn't take long for Cloud to be ready for him and the silver warrior crabbily got out of the water and dried off, sitting on a smooth rock to wait watchfully for his lover to make him look like a woman-he still couldn't believe he had actually agreed to this.

Cloud first took out a bra and Sephiroth was about to argue, but his blonde put it on him and stuffed it before the silver warrior could really voice his distaste for the situation. Next Cloud started drying out the silver warrior's now black hair, combing it and putting it up with several hairsticks and a haircomb in traditional Japanese style. After applying the lipgloss and light eyeshadow, Cloud brought out the crimson red and rose pink kimono that he picked out for Sephiroth. Wrapping the silver warrior correctly proved to be a problem, as Sephiroth continued to fidget around the kimono and pulled at it uncomfortably, moving around the bra awkwardly, but, eventually, the silver warrior managed to find a semi-comfortable position and stuck to it as he watched his lover dress himself in a forest and emerald green kimono and apply his own eyeshadow and lipgloss.

The blonde batted his eyes at his lover and began to walk away, duffle bag in hand, and Sephiroth followed uncomfortably. Because of his longer strides, the silver warrior passed his diminutive blonde lover, but soon felt a light slap on his rear and turned back questioningly.

"Don't walk like that."

"Like what?"

"Like a brute."

"I always walk like this."

"Like a man; you're a woman now, walk with the same grace you use in swordplay."

Grumbling something about "idiocy" and "better get some later," Sephiroth attempted to `correct' his walk. Another slap to his rear and he tried a little harder. After about a minute of moving through the forest and holding up the bottom of the kimono from getting caught on fallen branches or soiled by mud, Sephiroth felt another slap and snapped angrily at his lover.

"It's difficult to walk like a fucking bitch when I have to make sure I don't trip."

"Well learn."

After they got through the forest and out onto the plains, the silver warrior again tried his luck at walking more femininely. Several of the surrounding monsters watched the duo with apt curiosity, and to Sephiroth it seemed that the reason they weren't attacking was because they were laughing at him too hard to make a reasonable attack.

"Cloud I can't do this. It's bad enough I look like a woman."

"If you stand perfectly still and don't talk than you do, but you keep moving like that and anyone can tell."

With a weary sigh, Sephiroth again tried to correct his walk and met with a light slap on the rear yet again.

"What's wrong now?"

"Nothing, I just like your butt."

Grinning, the silver warrior shook his head and continued on in the same fashion he had been as they got within seeing distance of Junon and Junon Harbor.

"Now the simple question… can you sound like a woman?"

"I am not going to-"

"Fine; you're mute. Don't even open your mouth just look pretty. I'll take care of the formalities."

"Fine."

Bringing his voice up an octave, Cloud winked at his lover and began toward the town.

"C'mon then, let's get outta here."

A black brow rose and the silver warrior followed his blonde with his mouth firmly shut. This would be interesting.

As soon as they stepped into town, a guard took Cloud's duffle bag from his arms. The intent, however, was favorable.

"Lovely, why are you carrying something so heavy by yourself?"

Cloud smiled kindly, bowing his head slightly.

"Thank you, Sir. My sister and I have been away for a long time visiting our relatives in Kalm. It has taken so much out of us; we both thank you for your kindness in helping us back to our home in Junon."

The soldier smiled and hoisted the bag higher, walking with them to the elevator at the other side of town.

"So, where are you two lovelies from?"

"We were born in the Icicle Area, but grew up in Wutai."

The soldier laughed and looked down at Cloud intently.

"That's a big difference."

"Mother was Wutainese. She missed her home so Father took her back. Sister and I live together in Junon now."

The soldier nodded and looked up at the posted guard at the elevator. The guard nodded and opened the doors, allowing the three passage. On the elevator, the guard set the duffle bag down and looked over at the two sincerely.

"You need any help getting back to your home?"

"Thank you very much, Sir, but I believe we can get home now. You've been very kind."

"No problem lovely. A lady of your beauty should be taken care of well, though. You and your sister be careful now, okay?"

"Of course, Sir. Thank you."

"No problem."

With that, the guard bent in and kissed Cloud's cheek before he bowed, placing something in the blonde's hand before stepping out and closing the doors. Sephiroth waited with closed eyes until the elevator started up, when his powerful Mako glare went directly to Cloud's hand. The blonde held up and opened his palm to a scrap of paper-a phone number. Crumpling it up, he turned to look at Sephiroth and smiled.

"You handled that well."

Growling lowly, Sephiroth stared directly into the fisted hand that was still holding the paper. The elevator stopped and opened and Cloud picked up his duffle bag in one hand, tossing the crumpled paper into the trashcan outside the elevator.

"Can't litter, now can we?"

A small smirk adorning his face, the silver warrior followed his lover through the military base and out into the streets of Junon. There were plenty of soldiers walking the streets, but they were training and mostly ignored everyone that walked by. The duo had to get almost to the docks before they quietly slipped into a back alley and the blonde began removing his clothes.

"What are you doing, Cloud?"

"Changing. If we're going to be stowaways then we need to be able to move more easily. Get out of that, Seph; I've got more comfortable clothes for you and we need to hurry. The next boat should be leaving soon and it will be the last of the day most likely."

Gladly removing the kimono and hairsticks, combs, etc., Sephiroth waited patiently for his blonde to sort out some clothes again.

"Here. This'll have to do for the four-day trip to Costa del Sol, and then we can move a little more freely. It shouldn't take much to get to the jungles outside the Cosmo Canyon area. We can stay there for a while before we move again. Not many people go through there, and everyone stays on the trails anyway."

Nodding to himself, Sephiroth yanked on the blue jeans and dirty white shirt, tossing the red and pink kimono in the nearest dumpster, much to the blonde's amusement. They snuck out of the alley and followed a very scant path around until they managed to get to the docks. The final ship was being loaded with crates and the last of its cargo, so the duo waited until they had the perfect opportunity to weave between the cargo and get into the ship, then settled amongst the crates to wait for departure. It didn't take long for the ship to set off into the ocean, and then the blonde and now brunette silver warrior relaxed minutely. They would only talk in whispers, knowing that it was only half over. The other half would come when they had to leave undetected.

"Are we staying in Costa del Sol for long?"

"No, koi. We have everything we need-minus the kimono you threw away."

"I will not dress up like a woman ever again."

"Oh? I thought you made a very pretty woman."

"Only you, Cloud; only you."

The blonde smirked and kissed Sephiroth passionately, smearing the lipgloss the silver warrior had obviously forgotten he had on. Pulling back, the blonde grinned as a light flush came to Sephiroth's cheeks and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, making an embarrassed little statement.

"Oops."

Chuckling, Cloud pulled the silver warrior back into a kiss and they started groping, finding that the thought of making out in the cargo area of a ship that they were stowaways on in an attempt to escape the grasp of the Shin-Ra much too enticing of an idea to pass up. Occasionally they would have to stop, make themselves perfectly still, and control their harsh breathing, as a sailor would walk by. It made the concept of making out far more appealing to them.

In the four days' trip, they managed to get by undetected and Sephiroth drudged up the little techniques he would use to get food when he was a child. Not even being suspected of being aboard, the blonde and brunette made it to Costa del Sol easily. And it took no effort on their parts to get out of the ship undetected and into the surrounding town. There were no guards stationed in Costa-obviously the Shin-Ra hadn't thought that they would get by their added forces to leave. Sephiroth wanted to laugh at the thought; their most famous general unable to get by mere underlings? And, with the diminutive and far more intelligent than given credit for blonde by his side, the Shin-Ra would have a run for their money in getting him back. But first… a shower; the makeup was now bothering him.

A/N : : I don't know what compelled me to make them do that. The thought of both Cloud and Sephiroth in drag amuses me to no end, it seems.