Chapter Text
The Pet
by Sephiroth
-Chapter 1-
It had rained the night before and the grass around Cloud Strife's tent was damp and cool when he stepped out, barefoot, to greet the new morning.
Tifa and Barret were already awake and sitting at the table with a pot of coffee heated up over a freshly stoked fire.
"Good morning, lazy-bones!" Tifa grinned, "I was wondering if you'd ever get up."
"Morning, Tifa. Barret." Cloud yawned and stretched, "Is it just us up?"
Tifa nodded, "Since you're standing, how about checking the coffee?"
Strolling over to the fire, Cloud's mind turned back to the flames that had taken so much from him. "Even now..." he said, his tone low and filled with hatred, "even after his death, I'm not cleansed of it. I thought killing him would wash it all away. But it just made it worse. Why? Why won't it go away?" he dropped to his knees, holding his head as he tried to erase the painful memories.
Seeing him in this state, Tifa ran to Cloud's side, kneeling by him and putting her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I should've known that would trigger your memory of Nibelheim. Oh, Cloud. I didn't mean to make you remember such a horrible thing. Look, I'll get the coffee, you go sit with Barret."
Cloud nodded and joined Avalanche's founder at the picnic table.
"Pull yourself together," Barret growled. "Ya gotta be tough. Come on! Ya beat Sephiroth. Remember? Yer strong, and don't you go forgettin' it!"
Cloud sat up more rigidly, and nodded. "You're right. I am strong. I'm no weakling. From now on, I won't let my past make me afraid."
"That's the spirit!" Tifa poured coffee for herself and Barret and brought it over to the table. "Cloud? Want some?"
Cloud nodded. "I'll get it." he said.
"No, I can..." Tifa began, but Barret cut her off.
"Let him do it." he told her, "it's something he needs to do."
Tifa nodded in understanding.
Cloud approached the fire and stood there, frozen for a moment. The memories came back, again, unbidden. "That was five years ago." he told himself. "The monster who did this is dead. I don't have to remember this anymore. This fire won't hurt me." he reached over the flames and retrieved the pot of coffee, dropping it as he was tackled by the last person in the world he wanted to see.
"Sephiroth!" Tifa shrieked in horror. "We thought you were dead. Well, this time we'll..." the rest of the sentence died in her throat. "He's not attacking!"
"Get him off of me!" Cloud protested in disgust as Sephiroth knelt atop him, on all fours, rubbing the side of his head and face under Cloud's chin like a nuzzling cat.
"What the fuck's he doin'?" Barret growled. "Now I dun seen ever'thing!" He aimed his gun-arm, but lowered it. "Can't do nothin'. He's too close to Cloud."
"Morn...." Cid's cheerful countenance fell as he spotted their unwanted guest. "Great! There goes the whole friggin' day. What the fuck's his problem, anyhow?" he gestured to the silver-haired man still nuzzling Cloud.
"Ya got me." Barret shrugged. "He's been that way ever since he arrived."
"Get him OFF!" Cloud was still demanding.
Sephiroth chose that point to start licking Cloud's face, apologetically.
"Eww! Grossness!" Yuffie protested as she grabbed herself a cup of coffee. "I didn't need to see that first thing in the morning. You two should go someplace private if you want to play those perverted games. I'm too young to see that kind of stuff."
"Hey!" Cloud protested. "I am *not* playing perverted games with Sephiroth! For the nth time, would someone get him off of me!"
Sephiroth purred.
"Sephiroth! Down!"
Everyone turned to see Vincent approaching them.
Ignorning the coffee, Vincent walked over to Sephiroth and began to scritch him behind the ears with his still-human hand.
Sephiroth, smiling contentedly, pressed his head against Vincent's hand.
"Come on, Sephiroth." Vincent coaxed the silver-haired man off of Cloud.
Standing up, once Sephiroth was off of him, Cloud retrieved his coffee and stomped back to the table. "Thank you very much, Sephiroth!" he snapped. "Thank you for ruining our day and being alive."
Hanging his head in shame, Sephiroth crawled over to Cloud and simply knelt there, looking like a scolded puppy.
"What's his problem?" Tifa asked. "This isn't at all like the Sephiroth who destroyed Nibelheim and who later tried to injure the Planet so he could become a god."
"Yes, it is."
Everyone looked at Vincent as if he were wearing a flowerpot on his head.
"Explain dat!" Barret demanded.
"Sephiroth's always been controlled by someone. Hojo, Shinra, Jenova. Now that all those controls are gone and he realizes what he's done, his mind can't cope with it and in his trauma he's acting on his underlying personality program."
"If this is..." Tifa began.
"He never would've become what he did if Jenova hadn't seized control of him." Vincent explained. "Hojo knew that someone possessing as much power as Sephiroth could become dangerous and maybe even turn on him one day. That's why he progammed him with a subservient underlying
personality. He wanted to make sure he could control Sephiroth."
"Makes sense." Tifa decided, sipping her coffee. "So, now what do we ... What was...?" she turned to the sound of leaves rustling she'd just heard, just in time to see Sephiroth returning with a ball in his mouth and place it at Yuffie's feet. "Yuffie!" she didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. Consorting with the enemy was something she completely disapproved of, but she wasn't sure of how she felt about teaching the enemy to play fetch.
"Throw it really far," Cloud suggested, "then we'll all take off while he's looking for it."
"I want to keep him!" Yuffie cheered, gleefully. "I think its really neat! Please? I want a pet Sephy!" She threw the ball again, and again Sephiroth darted off to retrieve it.
Cloud banged his head on the table. "I did *not* just see that. I did *not* just see that..."
end part 1