#ence11

It had been only a few weeks since he had awoke after the incident that the WRO and locals called 'The Deepground Incident'. Since then the once-Commander of SOLDIER was trying to caught up upon what had happened since he had been defeated by Angeal's puppy, by Zack. Genesis had heard of the man's death, by the hands of Shin-Ra and more importantly, Hojo. Hojo had been the one to pull the strings that had caused those troops to be out there, to find his 'missing specimens'. Specimens, not people, not an Ex-First Class SOLDIER and not an ex-Trooper, not his lover...

The redhead hadn't heard, nor found, any news upon what had happened to Cloud – sky blue, sweet smile, freckles, laughter – when Zack had been killed. One report he had dug out of Shin-Ra's archives was that the young man had seemed comatose, Mako-poisoning, the report said.

Genesis only prayed to the Goddess that that hadn't been the case. Few ever lived through Mako-poisoning. What he had found, however, was a clue to the spot where his best friend's student had died. Which led him to now, walking through the streets of Edge, away from his hiding spot to the wastes in an attempt to find exactly where the brave young man had died, so that he could pay his respects.

It took him the better part of the afternoon to find it, first to walk out and then to make a large circle around the wastes surrounding Edge. The report hadn't given anything about the spot away other than it was a cliff outside of Midgar, with a view of the topmost layer of the city. What gave it away to Genesis, however, was the flowers that grew in the spot. The same flowers that Zack used to cover his apartment in, gifts from the flower girl in the slums that Zack had been dating at the time. The redhead idly wondered what had happened to the girl, if she knew what had happened to her own lover, or if she was in the dark as much as Genesis was about Cloud.

“Hello, Zack,” the man greeted the flowers that marked the man's death-spot, his 'grave'. “It's... Been a few years, hasn't it?” It was awkward, Genesis would later admit, talking to flowers that wouldn't ever respond, that wasn't the man himself. “First off, I want to thank you for stopping me those years ago when I attacked you. Secondly, I wish you hadn't abandoned me there, Deepground wasn't the best place to be, even if I have been sleeping these past years.” A low chuckle escaped past his lips. He hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside the grave. “Tell me, old friend, what happened to Cloud? I know you took him with you, but did you keep him alive?” He sat in silence for a while, and then the flowers didn't answer him, he smiled grimly. “I though you wouldn't answer, dear friend.”

Genesis closed his eyes, ignoring the soft whistle of the wind as it blew by, tugging at his hood and cape. The sweet smell of the flowers drifted towards him on the wind, and sand seemed to blow around – but didn't touch – him. It was the rumbling sound of an engine that took Genesis away from his moment of peace and the man stood, turning to face the noise. Mako-blue eyes widened at seeing a figure on a motorcycle stop just feet away. The man wore what seemed to be a modified version of a First Class SOLDIER's outfit, and the man lowered a pair of dark-shaded goggles that revealed blue eyes that almost matched his. Just a lighter, more sky-colored shape.

But it was who the man was, not what he looked like, that stunned Genesis into silence. Spike blonde hair swayed in the breeze as the man dismounted the bike, a large sword strapped to his back, and Cloud Strife frowned at the man in the cape, pulling his sword from its sheath as he moved towards him.

'Oh, Puppy, you did bring me my answer. Thank you, old friend.' Genesis thought, glancing at Zack's grave before facing Cloud again.

“Who are you?” the young man asked, grip on the sword tightening. Despite the fact that the stranger was unarmed, he could tell that the man was still dangerous, especially if the color of his eyes that glowed underneath the hood was anything to go by.

“Oh, Cloud.” The man sighed. “Don't you remember me?” he asked, raising a hand to lower his hood. Despite the fact that his hair had grown longer, less tame than before (especially since he had yet to properly comb it) and that his skin was a bit gaunt from years of living off of Mako instead of food, Genesis looked almost the same as before.

By the way that Cloud's grip on the large, interesting sword he had loosened and the way that those blue eyes – still sky blue, just illuminated more so than before – widened at seeing him. “I thought you were–” Cloud hesitated.

Genesis' lips curved upwards slightly, painfully. “And I you,” he admitted. “I read that you were in a Mako-caused coma.”

“Read?” Those lovely eyes narrowed slightly.

The redhead nodded. “Shin-Ra archives. I was trying to see if you, and Zack, had lived. I found that he had passed, but found nothing on you.”

“He died protecting me from Shin-Ra, they left me for dead,” Cloud explained.

Genesis nodded again. “I see,” he murmured. He chuckled softly, “Just the like puppy, to die the hero he wanted to be. But the title Hero comes at a price; the price of pain and the price of freedom.” He sighed heavily, his gaze moving to the flowers of Zack's grave then back to Cloud. “I wonder, do you remember, Cloud?” He took one step forward, and then another. “Of us?”

The blonde nodded, his eyes trained on the ex-Commander, who smiled. “I do.” He didn't move as Genesis moved even closer until he was standing just inches away from him. One gloved hand moved towards the other and Genesis pulled off one of his own gloves before moving the bared hand to cup Cloud's cheek. The AVALANCHE member's breath hitched for a second as the warm hand made contact with his cooler skin, and he exhaled softly when Genesis' thumb gently began to stroke his cheek. “I've changed, Gen. I'm not the same person anymore,” Cloud admitted quietly, his gaze meeting Genesis'.

“As have I, Cloud.” Genesis dipped his head down slightly to press his forehead against the blonde's, lips just centimeters away. He could feel Cloud's warm breath as the young man's lips parted to breath. Oh Gaia, he wanted to kiss the man he had missed so, but unless Cloud made the move first, he refused to. Years had passed, it was completely possible that Cloud had taken another lover. Plus Genesis wasn't known to be the nicest person on the Planet. “And we can talk about that later, about what has happened to both you and I. But for the moment, I just want to cherish...” He was cut off as Cloud's lips – soft but chapped, yet still as sweet tasting as before – kissed him softly.

Genesis stopped stroking the blonde's cheek in order to pull him closer, his free arm moving to wrap around Cloud's waist. He faintly acknowledged the sound of the sword Cloud carried hitting the ground as the blonde's arms moved to grip him back, hands digging into Genesis' cape as the kiss deepened. Yes, talking could come later, at the moment Genesis just wanted to cherish the man in his arms, to cherish the knowledge that Cloud was in fact alive, did still feel for him and most of all;