Chapter Text
Cloud is going to drown in the rain. He's sure of it. At his new height – courtesy of the Gaia-damned universe – a puddle could probably do the job. Cloud mewls pathetically, soaked to the very bone in the breakable form of a kitten. He's certainly the most chocobo-fluff looking kitten he's ever seen.
He's been trying to get to the church in the hopes Aerith could help him.
Why does the plate have to be falling apart where he wants to walk? He's cold enough as it is and does not need the rain's help. If his sense of direction is correct, he's still miles from his goal, and his tiny body is going to fail him before he ever reaches the church. Well, it might not fail, per se, but even he gets tired.
Catching a glimpse of his eyes in a puddle and seeing them slitted had been a trip. Of course, being a kitten at all was something of a nightmare.
The apathy of the slums has not helped his journey.
Onlookers saw him as doomed from the start. Why save something when it'll inevitably die to other causes or grow up as another mouth to feed? Wedge would rescue him. Damn if that isn't a painful memory. He couldn't save them either.
"What do we have here?"
That voice sends a chill down Cloud's spine and he whips around with as much energy as he can muster. Sephiroth stands – dear Gaia, how is he so tall – still and quiet. Cloud's fur puffs up, but due to the rain, it only serves to make him appear more bedraggled. He hisses, hackles raised and teeth bared.
"Easy now, little one."
Ears flattened against his skull, Cloud hisses again.
The Silver General lowers himself to one knee, rain pattering down on his hair. He doesn't seem to mind. Is that... kindness in his eyes? The Sephiroth he knew would see death as a kindness for a creature in his predicament. He reaches out a hand, waiting.
"It's all right."
Cloud would run if that didn't mean turning his back on his (once?) enemy. He looks... healthier. As Cloud knew him, his pallor was deathly pale and his cheeks were slightly sunken. Jenova had done a number on him, but it comes when the territory when one goes apeshit. Zack wouldn't appreciate the thought. He and Sephiroth had been friends... a little. Sort of. The Sephiroth Zack knew cared about those under his charge.
Did he care now?
Cloud finds it hard to reconcile the patient and worried expression on his face with the Sephiroth who tried to murder him.
He wonders if anyone else would recognize the worry. After learning to read Vincent's stubborn silence, Sephiroth is a cinch in comparison. He doesn't bear a single sign of aggression as of yet.
"You'll freeze to death out here."
As if Cloud didn't know. As it is, he's just looking for an excuse not to go willingly into the jaws of a walking disaster waiting to happen. But... if he's stuck here, wouldn't it be better to keep an eye on him?
Damn it.
"I heard you crying from up on the plate, little one. Surely, you wouldn't have done so if you didn't want help," Sephiroth murmurs, making a good point even if Cloud hates to admit it. "We can come back here later if you'd like, but only after the storm."
That's fair.
Wait a minute. Did he jump down here from the plate? The only other ways down are janky elevators and the train. That's some determination over one critter.
Cloud peers up at the broken plate, tail lashing impatiently.
"I don't save lives very often," Sephiroth sighs, slitted eyes staring down at his boots. "I bring death everywhere else I go. At least in war, they chose it, but not you. You're innocent of all this."
Sighing internally and cursing his soft heart, Cloud steps within reach. Or, at least, he tries. What actually happens is an exhausted slump towards the ground. Sephiroth moves in a flash of silver, hands gently probing for injuries. Belatedly, Cloud thinks the touch is nice. He's so tired.
"Goddess, you're trembling, little one."
Hands he once would've feared pick him up with minimal effort. Cloud's last few sluggish thoughts center around a wonder if his own Sephiroth ever did this, and if so, was his chest also the warmest place to sleep?
He wakes an unknowable number of hours later, breaths labored. Something beneath Cloud's paws moves, the comforting weight on his back remaining steady.
"His lungs don't sound good," a voice rumbles over his head.
Cloud rouses a little further, a small miserable noise leaving him. A gentle thumb strokes his head. The rattling purr that leaves him is completely involuntary, but he doesn't mind. It feels nice, so he may as well let whoever's holding him know. The soft strokes continue. Cloud flicks one ear, tuning in to the other presences in the room.
Three heartbeats, strong and powerful, echo in his ears. The one is directly underneath his head, and he has the sneaking suspicion it belongs to the General.
"That's no surprise, Sephiroth. Based on your description, it was half-drowned already when you found it." Genesis's voice is blasé with feigned indifference. Cloud had forgotten he was such a prick. "It'd have been a mercy for you to end its suffering rather than draw things out like this."
Oh, hell no. Cloud was going to live.
He bristles, hissing as much as his damaged body will allow.
The thumb of Sephiroth's sword hand continues to brush over Cloud's ears, calming him. "You're upsetting him when he needs to rest."
"You'll need to take him to a vet if he doesn't get better soon."
Cloud doesn't recognize the voice, but he already hates the idea of doctors by default. He flexes his claws out, sure to let his caretaker know just what he thinks of the idea. Sephiroth merely continues to pet him, smoothing down his fur. Cloud manages a sick-sounding mewl in protest, but he retracts his claws.
"I don't think he likes the idea."
"That, or he doesn't like being pinned to your chest," Genesis scoffs.
While it's a little weird, Cloud very much likes the warmth of his old enemy's body heat. In this form, he'll gladly take it. He manages a soft purr, faltering though it may be.
"I'd stick with the former."
Sephiroth is a smart man, Cloud decides. He and Cloud could've gotten along had he not gone off the deep end. Genesis grumbles a little, slumping into his chair.
He can suck it up. Cloud is going to live without any doctors or scientists poking at him.
A rattling cough seizes Cloud, wracking his tiny body until he's plastered limply against Sephiroth's chest again. Sephiroth holds him close. Cloud almost wants to hate how nice it feels to see evidence of gentleness in a man capable of so much destruction. The hand still stroking his ears is good, too.
"Tell Lazard I won't be available today."
Cloud tilts one ear, surprise coiling through him. Genesis and the mysterious third member seem to share his sentiments. They fall silent as Cloud's light purr gets louder. It still rattles uncomfortably.
"I'll let him know."
"Thank you, Angeal."
Cloud mews in surprise at the name, Zack's memories stirring to the forefront of his mind. This was his best friend's mentor. This was the man who'd forced Zack to-
"Hush now, little one."
Mixed feelings swirl in Cloud's chest. He's comforted somewhat by Sephiroth's circling movement, resigning himself to remain calm until he feels a bit better.