Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vincent was tired.

Not physically, but he was exhausted. And bored.

He watched. He watched Denzel and Marlene fall in love and have kids of their own. He watched as Seventh Heaven and the WRO grew. He watched as Yuffie brought back Wutai. The Turks-

But, when the time came, he also watched as the older counterparts of his makeshift, fucked up family pass away. He watched as Gaia was slowly but surely healing herself.

Cloud watched with him.

When everyone first realized that Cloud wasn't growing older either, there was mixed reactions. Before Tifa got with Barret, she wanted Cloud, and a family with him. So she and the most elders of their group were understandably upset. But Yuffie and the kids were ecstatic. The kids because even after everyone else was gone, they'd have their once hero and their Uncle Vince; Yuffie because they'd "make damn sure that Wutai never fell again and watch over my descendants as they take over the world!"

Eventually, when no solution presented themselves, Tifa and everyone else had no choice but to accept the fact that Cloud and he wouldn't be able to move on.

Unless they were killed. However, before everyone passed on, they all pretty much asked for the same thing:

Look after the people of tomorrow.

Vincent, originally, had no qualms about doing that. He was planning on making sure no Hojo or Shinra appeared ever again. Cloud himself didn't seem to mind either.

However, Vincent watched as the light in Cloud's eye slowly but surely faded, having to watch his every growing family pass away again and again.

In all total honesty, the world didn't need them anymore.

Technology advanced more than Vincent or Cloud thought it would, at least in a century and a half time span, especially without Mako. Fashion changed after more and more people started to recover. They changed their styles as everyone else did and kept up with the newest inventions, because even though the were isolated from people, they still wanted to stay to date.

Before Denzel passed, Cloud adopted him, and Strife Delivery Services was passed onto him. Because while it was known to everyone in their family that Cloud and him wouldn't leave Gaia anytime soon; but that wasn't known to the rest of the world.

And so, as time went on, they showed up less and less in public, starting in their cabin and leaving only when materials were low or when a monster needed to be killed.

But, Cloud and Vincent were both battle hardened warriors; their place was on the battlefield.

So what did they do when people needed them less and less? They grew bored; there was only so many times a weapon could be cleaned, or a bike fixed.

___________________________________

Cloud was bored.

But this wasn't exactly the excitement that he needed nor wanted.

The day started out like any other.

Cloud decided to go out and explore the mountains caves and Vincent went around making sure that the town closest to them wasn't in any danger.

But they've been on the mountain long enough to know what is structure was like. So when a new cave popped up, Cloud was curious.

In hindsight, he probably should have grabbed Vincent before entering. But, with his enhanced sight, he could almost see the end of the cave, which didn't worry him as much as it should've.

And it definitely should've.

Cloud walked through the entrance of the cave, hand on the one sword he brought; he didn't have a use for the full fusion sword but he also couldn't stop himself from being armed at all times.

Unless he was with Vincent. The man was a weapon with just his hands.

As Cloud reached the end of the cave, his now longer hair on the back of his neck stood up. Something was wrong.

Well, he already knew that from the moment he didn't recognize a cave so close to their house but still.

So when he drew his sword, and turned in a small circle, looking at all his surroundings, still seeing nothing, he panicked. He knew something was wrong. But he couldn't see anything.

He kept backing up, still circling, when his back hit the cave and he felt something hit by the bottom of his spine.

He turned to face the wall, his sword in his hand, and croutched down to see what it was.

Materia?

That's what it looked like. But it was white, the same shade Aerith's once was.

Cloud tried to get it out, but couldn't. He got frustrated, wanting to inspect it closer, when something touched his shoulder.

He quickly got up and turned around, his head going in every direction trying to see what touched him. But he couldn't. There was nothing, no one, in the cave with him.

Panicking now, because it was just about as difficult to sneak up on him as it was Vincent(which was impossible even after all this time), he looked back at the materia.

Only to see it missing.

That only worried him more. Firstly, this wasn't a materia cave; there wasn't any in this area. Second, he knew he saw materia because there was the small indent in the wall.

He walked towards the entrance again, making doubly sure that no other presence was with him. When he reached the entrance and tired around, it was gone.

The cave was gone.

He rushed towards the area the opening should have been and started sliding his hands over the wall. There was nothing this time to show that a cave was once there. Cloud almost thought he imagined it. But when he felt something hit his head, he knew he didn't.

Looking up, Cloud realized it looked like it was almost noon, about five hours since he'd left his home.
He knew he went that far; he could see the top of the cabin from where he was.

He looked down, trying to see what hit his head, only to see the tiny white materia shine at him.

He quickly picked it up, only to drop hit, like it burned him. It felt like it did, but he had no mark on his hand to indicate it burning him.

He looked around trying to see if someone was watching him, trying to see how he would react, and picked it up again. It didn't hurt him this time so he went about inspecting it.

Cloud started walking down the mountain, still wondering how the hell white materia appeared in that cave when he was suddenly back home.

'I didn't realize I was going that fast', he thought.

He opened the door, watching as Vincent got up to greet him. He held up the the materia, watching as Vincent eyes every so slightly widen.

Cloud went to pass it to him, only for a light to blind them the moment it touched Vincent's hand.

He watched as a hand reached out to grab him and the last thought he had before he passed out was:

'That's not Vincent's hand.'

Chapter Text

When Cloud woke up, he was pissed.

How the hell had someone just appeared in their cabin, without him or Vincent realizing.

Then, Cloud was confused. Because he recognized where he was. In his childhood home.

But it wasn’t the made, fake one Shinra created. It was his. There were his posters of Sephiroth, claiming him a true warrior because he was fighting in Wutai. He hadn’t seen one (without darts and in such good condition) in years. That war had been over for years. It seemed too real. Hell, the house even smelled like his mother’s cooking, something that would've sent him flying into the kitchen to eat a lifetime ago.

A dream? He thought as he got up, looking around the room. Maybe a memory?

All Cloud’s dreams had looked so realistic, but this one even more so. And it only appeared to be real so much more when Cloud’s mother, Claudia, came into his room.

Cloud didn’t usually dream of his mother, because his dreams were usually nightmares. But when his mother saw him standing, she dropped to plate of food in her hands, and practically sprinted to him. Cloud only had a few seconds to brace himself before she latched herself onto Cloud. He could feel her shoulders shaking, feel her tears on the top of his head.

Cloud didn’t know what he should be feeling, seeing his mother even if it was only a dream, but he didn’t really feel anything. He’d lost so many family members that seeing her again didn’t affect him as much as he thought it would.

But, this dream? Memory? Felt different than all the others. He could feel her warmth, something that didn’t happen even in his nightmares.

He was pulled out of his thoughts, by his mother pushing Cloud away from her, stroking his face and rubbing circles on his back, still shaking.

“Stormcloud? Gaia, how are you standing? How do you feel? Sick? Are you hungry? Or-”

“I’m fine, Ma,” He said, stopping her from continuing. “I’m just, uh, confused.” Stormcloud? He hadn’t heard that since Tifa told Reno about his nickname and tormented him with it.

She took a deep breath before giving him a watery smile, starting to stroke his hair. “I know, I know, I heard about the effects falling into a Mako pool has-”

What? A Mako pool?

“But I'm so glad you’re okay now Stormcloud. Oh Gaia! I need to get Mr. Malot!”

Mr. Malot? Who’s that?

“You need to lay back down, and I’ll bring him here, and then I’ll clean up this glass and-”

Cloud stopped listening to her, sitting back down. How? How was this possible? How was his mother alive? How was he in a home that was destroyed almost two centuries ago? How was any of this possible?

He laid back down, dumbfounded. Time-Travel? Is that what that Materia did? Whose hand reached out to him? Where was-

“Vincent!” Cloud exclaimed as he bolted upwards, almost ending up on the floor when his feet touched the ground. If it was time-travel, was Vincent still in his coffin? Was he awake, waiting for Cloud to get him out? But he didn’t have much time to think about it because just then his mother and Mr. Malot, he guessed, charged into his room, along with Mr. Lockhart and-

Tifa?

Now Cloud was feeling emotional. She was so young, still donning her cowgirl outfit. He wanted to run to her, but as soon as Mr. Lockhart realized he was looking at Tifa, he cleared his throat and Mr. Malot shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what was in front of him.

“This is amazing!” Mr. Malot exclaimed after getting over his disbelief, and started getting closer to Cloud. “Most people don’t recover from falling into a Mako pool and yet you’ve awoken in under two days and are standing!”

Two weeks? I fell into a Mako pool? Cloud asked, “And, uh, how old I am?”

Claudia and Mr. (Or Dr. Cloud guessed) Malot looked like they wanted to faint, but both for different reasons.

“And you’re able to talk! This is a miracle! An omega of all things, being strong enough to survive a dunk in pure Mako! And, you, Mr. Strife, are only ten! Imagine that! A ten-year-old omega, going for a dive in a Mako pool and can live to tell the tale!”

Omega? It doesn’t sound like their talking about a weapon. But before Cloud could ask what their meaning of omega meant, Mr. Lockhart huffed, the attention on him now.

“And what good is he now? Omegas are useless once they are immersed in Mako. He might as well be a beta now.”

“Uhm”, Cloud interrupted, “what do you mean when you talk about omegas and beta?”

Now everyone in the room looked like he just punched them.

“You don’t remember what your secondary gender is?” Tifa asked, speaking for the first time.

“No, I wouldn’t have asked if I knew. What do they mean?”

“Oh, Stormcloud,” Claudia said as if she was in pain.

“Well, we’ll leave it to you Dr. Malot”, Mr. Lockhart said. “Ms. Strife, can we talk outside?”

Claudia nodded slowly, obviously not wanting to be separated from her newly awaked son. She kept looking back, as if he was going to disappear, before he was out of their sight.

“Well, since you don’t seem to remember what secondary genders are, I’ll just explain from the beginning, alright? I’m guessing you don’t remember Soul Marks or Words either?” Dr. Malot asked excitedly.

----------------------------------------------------------------

So, half an hour later, while he was cleaning up the glass and spilled food, Cloud already hated this world. Or more like, he found out Gaia already hated him.

Cloud’s not only already tied to someone he might never meet, he was (or had the) ability to give birth? Suddenly, he didn’t mind the fact he apparently fell into a Mako pool.

Cloud waited for Dr. Malot to leave before he stood up and quietly walked to his mirror about his dresser. And Gaia Cloud looked so young. He knew he was going to after hearing how old he was but he still couldn’t believe it.

He reached up and started touching his face, hesitant, as if he was going to wake up any second. His eyes shone brightly, but to make sure, he then pinched himself, and winced. Yep, he still had his enhancements, silently thankful for that.

He knew why he was told to stay in bed, but he felt fine so he got up and walked around his childhood home, then walked into the kitchen. He hadn’t eaten and his stomach was complaining and demanding food. He looked through the cupboards and drawers, not remembering where everything was and when he found what he was looking for, walked to the now partly cooled down soup.

Claudia must’ve been waiting for him to wake up for her to make this much food, and suddenly Cloud felt guilty. He hadn’t had his mother in forever so to have her alive and here seemed surreal to him.

He grabbed some soup, sat down and started to eat. It was amazing. He knew most of his mother’s (because that’s what she was) recipe’s but he could never get them exact because Nible wolves were necessary for most and he didn’t exactly have them at hand.

He felt tears gather in his eyes. This was real. Everyone was still alive.

And as he watched his mother walk into the kitchen, he knew he was going to keep it that way.

Chapter Text

Cloud missed Vincent.

They’ve been separated for about a month now, because Cloud hadn’t been able to sneak out from his cabin without someone bothering him. Yeah, they’d been away from each other for longer than that before, but they always had the option of contacting each other and he couldn’t exactly do that now.

So, when the opportunity presented himself when his mom needed to leave (he didn’t ask what for), he jumped on it.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” She asked again, hesitating at the door. “I’ll stay here if you don’t want me to leave.”

“Yeah ma, I’ll be alright,” he said, eager to get her to leave but tried not to show it, “I’ve felt fine for about a month now.”

“I know you think you’re fine Stormcloud, but the doctor said to keep you inside for the time-being. And I know you aren’t one to do that-

Oh no.

“So, I invited Tifa over to keep you company.” To watch over you and make sure you don’t leave was left unsaid.

“Really ma? I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Then don’t think of it as babysitting. Think of it as your friend, concerned friend, hanging out to make sure there’s no side effects, alright?”

He wanted to sigh, knowing there was no way out of it. “Alright. How long do you think you’re going to be gone for?”

“Hmm, about a day or two, but no more than that,” she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on his head, “I’ll miss you Stormcloud. I love you and don’t get into trouble.”

“Alright ma. I love you.” It felt weird to say that to someone other than Vincent.

She walked out the door, giving him a small wave before shutting it. This time he did sigh, before walking to his room. The Tifa he remembered was adventurous so maybe she’d want to go with him? Obviously, he couldn’t (wouldn’t) bring her all the way but enough to stop her from telling his mother.

He got changed, still baffled when he saw how young he looked and how long his hair was. He stroked it, thinking maybe he’d keep it that way this time around. But he didn’t get to think about it for too long before he heard a knock on the door. He quickly tied his boots and went to the door, opening it to see a smiling Tifa with a basket in her hands.

“Hi, Cloud. Your mom asked me to come over to, uh-”

“Watch me and make sure I don’t leave?”

“-To keep you company... But that too!”

“Anyway, I baked some sweets,” she held up the basket, “And I have some cards in case you don’t have some anymore.”

“Thanks, Tifa, but...”

“But what?” She asked, putting her free hand on her hip. “I was told to keep you here, where you’re safe, and I’m gonna do that. No exploring.”

“Not even to Shinra mansion?”

She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, he gave a small smile.

Wait for me Vincent.

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“Alright, let’s go separate ways now,” Cloud said as they walked into the mansion.

“Wait, what?! I was told to watch you and keep you safe, and I’ve already failed by letting you come here!”

Cloud knew she was angry, but her glare had nothing on her future one, so it honestly just looked adorable.

“You didn’t fail as long as I don’t get hurt.”

“But you will if we get separated! You haven’t been awake for that long after being Mako poisoned. Ugh, Cloud! Listen to me!” Tifa called after him as he walked further into the mansion.

“Who was the one winded just from walking here?” He asked not looking back, looking side to side, trying to remember where the basement and the key is.

“Cloud!” She yelled as she grabbed his arm to stop him, “Please, we shouldn’t have come here. Let’s go back, this place isn’t safe for anyone, especially an omega.”

For some reason, that reason pissed Cloud off. For an omega? He didn’t even fully know what that meant. “Fine then. We’ll go back to the village, then when you leave, I’ll come back and explore.”

“Really, Cloud? Stop being selfish and let’s go back. It’s my job as the alpha in this situation to take care of you, whether you want me to or not.”

“Fine then, let’s go.”

She sighed, thinking she won, and she started walking out. “You know I don’t usually believe in pulling rank, but you, as an omega, are one of the last people that should be here. Well, what do you want to do when we get back? The sweets will probably be cold when we get back, but they’re good like that too. Huh, Cloud? Cloud!” She circled the area, just now realizing Cloud wasn’t walking behind her.

And by the time she realized, Cloud was already walking towards Vincent’s coffin, thanking Gaia he was allowed to keep his enhancements.

When Vincent stepped out, if he was any weaker, he would have cooed at the sight of a younger Cloud. He would never say it aloud as to avoid a pissed off Cloud, but he was adorable. Vincent couldn’t help but give a barely there smile, which only broadened when he saw Cloud pout.

“Well, I was missing you but now I’m not so sure,” But Cloud had a small smile on his to show he was only joking. He wanted to hug Vincent but that would mean acknowledging his small size and he didn’t want to do that more than necessary (Vincent wanted to hug him too but Chaos laughing and making remakes about how much smaller Cloud was stopped him).

“I missed you,” Vincent replied, and he meant it. Chaos wasn’t the best of company on a good day, and he definitely didn’t like being cooped up again.

“Well, Tifa is probably waiting for me, and after I calm her down and she leaves we can go to get Jenova,” Cloud stated as they started walking out.

Vincent asked, “Should she see me?”

Cloud thought about and turned to look Vincent up and down. He shook his head and pointed towards his claw, “No, you look like the beasts they warn us about in folktales. Maybe when we get you new clothes and you don’t have the claw.”

Vincent nodded, “That is probably wise. Night?” He said referring to when they should meet up.

Cloud hummed, “Yeah.” Then he tilted his head, “Do you know about Soul Marks and secondary genders?”

Vincent slowly shook his head, watching as they slowly got closer to the doors, listening in for Tifa, “No. Are they important?” Did they have anything to do with Cloud smelling as sweet as he did?

“Well, everyone seems to think so. Oh, now that I think about it, I didn’t actually look for mine.” Cloud shook his head, “I’ll tell you about it tonight. I guess it doesn’t matter where you go, just stay out of sight.”

They both shared a smile at Cloud’s comment, knowing no-one would see Vincent if he didn’t want them to. They both paused when they heard shouting; they both instantly knew that it just Tifa.

“Will you be okay now?” When Cloud nodded, Vincent gave him a kiss on the forehead and disappeared. Cloud was disappointed, but then, he didn’t blame Vincent for not wanting to be seen kissing a child.

“Cloud! There you are! Oh, Gaia do you know how worried I was? I almost went down to call the hunters and your-”

“‘M fine Tifa.”

“Well, you better be! I’d be killed if you weren’t!” She closed her eyes and took a calming breath then opened her eyes again. “I know you don’t remember too much about being an omega, but there’s a reason they’re not supposed to be alone.”

“...Okay. We can go back now.”

She nodded, finally calmed down, and for some reason he could feel? Smell? Her anxiety and fear. Maybe that had something to do with the secondary genders. The doctor didn’t tell him all too much because he was still amazed about the fact Cloud woke up so soon.

Chapter Text

By the time they got back, Cloud knew he was in trouble. It was extremely dark and it was cold; he didn’t feel it per say but he saw Tifa shivering despite the fact that winter was over.

Mayor Lockhart was pacing in front of his house, along with some of Nibelheim’s hunters. Cloud could hear as the mayor’s voice got louder and louder, arguing with the hunters.

Cloud knew the moment they realized he and Tifa were there because they all got quiet. Mayor Lockhart’s mouth was opening and closing, his fists clenching.

He walked quickly towards them (he was too big to run) and Cloud could feel Tifa shrink behind him. Cloud opened his mouth, but was interrupted by her father screaming at them.

“How dare you! There are dragons and wolves, and, and how dare you! Do you even realize how much danger you put my daughter in!?” He was breathing heavily, his face turning shades of purple and red. “What an utterly useless omega! Putting an alpha in danger on purpose! Disgraceful!”

“Dad-”

“No! Tifa, let’s go,” he demanded as he started pulling her away, “Since he likes attracting trouble so much, he can do it by himself!”

Cloud watched as he dragged her away, as the hunters shook their heads in disappointment and walked away too. It didn’t bother Cloud as it used to when he was younger, when he wanted to fit in; there was no need for their approval. He too shook his head as he walked into his house, just realizing he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten since early in the morning and it was now probably almost midnight by now.

He headed towards the kitchen, not surprised when he saw Vincent already cooking. He smiled. Vincent always looked good while he cooked and even better now that he lost the cape and wore clothes that fit in with Nibelheim’s fashion.

“Welcome back,” Vincent said, not turning around and continued to cook... whatever he was cooking. Cloud couldn’t tell but it smelled amazing and seemed to agree.

“I’m back. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about anyone missing me while we head to the reactor. Not that anyone would’ve bothered us except my ma.”

Vincent hummed his agreement and turned towards Cloud when he got closer and held out a spoon. Cloud didn’t smile, but Vincent knew he enjoyed it with the way his face lit up.

“It’s good. What’d you make it with?”

Vincent just hummed again, and turned back towards the stove when Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Go wash your hands, then we’ll eat and head out. Then tell me about what ‘omega’ means here.”

Cloud nodded his head and went to wash his hands; when he came back out, Vincent had the table set and was serving them.

“Thank you,” Cloud said as he sat down and started eating, “It’s really good.”

“You’re welcome.”

Silence took control of the room, but they both knew it was a comfortable one. They finished eating quickly, knowing they needed to leave as soon as possible. They washed the dishes, put them away (apparently Vincent was digging for a while before Cloud got back because he knew where everything was) and then they headed out.

Vincent picked Cloud up, and started towards the reactor. They both knew that even with his enhancements, Cloud wouldn’t be as fast as Chaos. And though he was trying hard not to acknowledge, Cloud looked absolutely adorable in his arms; he was so small. He must’ve been showing it though, because Cloud huffed.

“Let’s just go.”

Vincent nodded, but the small smile wouldn’t leave his face until they got to the reactor.

He set Cloud down, but held out his arms in case something happened to Cloud. He frowned. Even after a couple of minutes passed, Cloud wasn’t reacting to Jenova; that could only mean-

“Fucking hell,” Cloud swore quietly as the sprinted through the reactor towards where Jenova was.

Or should’ve been, they both thought as they looked at the empty tank.

“That’s not good.”

By the time they got back, the sun was barely peeking out from behind the mountains and Cloud was tired.

“You never told me what omega meant here,” Vincent broke the silence between them.

“Huh? Oh, well we were busy getting rid of the reactor,” Cloud replied back with. “But, apparently-”

They both quickly hid themselves in the cover of the trees as they heard people start to scream.

“A fire!”

“There’s something’s on fire!”

“I can see the smoke from here!”

They both quietly let out a sigh of relief and quickly headed towards Cloud’s house.

“I think I need to leave,” Vincent said as he watched Cloud change.

Cloud nodded in agreement. “We need to head towards Midgar and get Jenova. And Hojo, Hollender...”.

“Hmmm, we have a lot to do. Is Sephiroth on the list?”

Cloud hesitated. If Jenova and Hojo were taken care of, was it necessary to kill Sephiroth? As of now, he was still in Wutai and was still sane. But would that last if he and Vincent pushed things along a lot sooner than everything was supposed to?

He shook his head after a moment of debate, “No, as long as we help Genesis and Angeal,” sigh, “Which means we need to contact Aerith, whose being watched by the Turks...”

Vincent knew Cloud didn’t want to get anyone involved unless it was necessary; which in this case, Aerith was. They needed her help to create the water to cure Angeal and Genesis, as well as anyone else affected.

“But first things first: how will we convince my ma to let me go to Midgar?”

Vincent shook his head, disagreeing with Cloud. “No, first things first, tell me about omegas and Soul Marks.”

Cloud had the decency to look sheepish, if only a little bit.

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“Well, that complicates things,” was what Vincent said after Cloud finished.

“Yeah, omegas are looked down on so trying to get into SOLDIER in the future is out. It would be too late anyways.”

Vincent thought about it for a while before asking, “Where are Soul Marks supposed to appear?”

Cloud shook his head slowly, “I don’t know. The doctor didn’t explain where they’re supposed to be. I haven’t really had a chance to look. But I guess they’re supposed to be easily seen?”

Vincent didn’t say anything but Cloud knew he was thinking about what he just heard.

“Did he say when they were supposed to appear?”

“You’re born with them, I guess. Like a ‘death do us part’ kinda thing.”

After another moment of silence Vincent asked, “Could I check your neck?”

Cloud looked confused but did so anyways, sweeping his hair to the side as Vincent walked behind him. Cloud shivered as he could feel Vincent’s breath but became still as he heard Vincent give, not a gasp (but close), and asked, “What? Is it there?”

“...Yes.”

“Why’d you hesitate?”

“...There appears to be two.”

“...Huh?”

“Your mother won’t be back for another day, correct?

“Yes, but you didn’t-”

“We’ll talk later. I can’t be seen.”

“Hey!” Cloud shouted as he watched Vincent leave. Two marks?

“Strife!” He heard someone shout as they banged on his door. “The reactor’s on fire! Was this your doing?” They (because he could tell there was more than one person) joked, “You can do some voodoo stuff after falling into a Mako pool?”

He heard them roar with laughter as they walked away and he shook his head.

If only they knew.

Chapter Text

Cloud stares at the mirror, getting more and more frustrated as he stares at his neck.

Why the hell can he not see the marks Vincent was talking about?

They had to be there; Vincent was known to be many things but a liar isn’t one of them, at least when he speaks to Cloud. They had roamed Gaia long enough, together enough, that they felt there was no need for lying between them. It causes more problems than it solves and seeing as they were destined to live an indeterminate amount of time, they need to be able to trust each other. They are more likely to host a tea party with Hojo and Shinra senior than to lie to each other.

Which is to say, not fucking likely.

So maybe Cloud’s frustration is understandable.

And so, he stares, as if in doing so he’d force himself to see the markings that evaded him.

Eventually, he gives up with a sigh, deciding to not waste anymore of his time on the seemingly invisible markings on his neck.

He looks around his room, scowling. He knows, of course he knows, that the events in his timeline weren’t entirely Sephiroth’s fault. He and Vincent, along with the others when they were still alive, had spent many years uncovering what happened on the inside of Shinra.

Their explorations are the only reason he remembers anything about Genesis and Angeal and even Zack.

It had shocked Cloud to his core when he found out he truly was never a Soldier, and that Reno wasn’t just bullshitting him. He spent much of his time just trying to figure out the differences between himself and Zack. Years upon years of traveling, weeks without seeing his friends under the excuse of doing deliveries, and missing out on special occasions and he still has days where he sees black spiky hair when he looks at the mirror.

Cloud sighs as he shakes his head side to side, telling himself to focus. It’d do no good to anyone if Cloud kept his, let’s say, head in the clouds.

He wryly smiles to himself at the terrible pun; Barrett's humor has definitely rubbed off on him.

He turns back to the posters plastered on his walls and decides to still tear them down. Whether Sephiroth was a perpetrator or victim, he can’t see the man as the hero he did when he was actually ten.

So, he tears the posters off the wall, taking them to the garbage can in the kitchen and throwing them in.

So that’s done, Cloud thinks as pauses by the trash, but where do I actually start?

It was tempting to just find Vincent and to head to Midgar, but Cloud could see multiple issues with that. Including but not limited to:

-Someone possibly recognizing Vincent (though it’s unlikely he’d even be caught, it was still a possibility)
-His mother panicking, resulting in her being angry (and angry Nibelheim women were never fun to be around)
-An omega with Mako enhancements, still alive, who could probably beat everyone’s asses (and would, without question) would raise questions that Cloud doesn’t want to bother to answer
-An adult alpha being around a ten-year-old omega (who looks even younger than that) would raise even more questions

Cloud frowns at his mental list, pissed that being an omega causes him to have two more problems that he has to solve. The doctor had explained to him the basics of heats, scents, markings, and soulmates. But Cloud was still pretty confused, still trying to wrap his head around what he had learned.

And being honest the doctor was as much of a quack as he remembers Tifa saying he was so he’s not too surprised.

“Oh, he was so weird, Cloud,” Tifa had sighed forever ago. “I know he was the only ‘good’ doctor we had but he was so terrible. He was so interested in what caused the injury that he forgot he was supposed to be treating it.”

Learning more about himself was reliant on those around him and seeing as he could tell he was somehow liked even less than in his original timeline, he couldn’t turn to anyone to actually help him. Shaking his head to get out of it yet again, Cloud checks the time. Almost midnight, and he still hasn’t had any sleep. He heads back to his room only to stop in his tracks as he can now smell something coming from it that he couldn’t before. Something very metallic, with a hint of earthly undertones and leather; something that he recognizes even though the scent isn’t usually this strong.

“What happened to staying out of sight?” Cloud asks as steps into his room, planting himself on his bed.

“I do believe that despite the high amount of disdain the people here seem to carry for you, they would not stand outside of your house to stare at you and whatever guests you may or may not have,” Vincent replies, leaning against Cloud’s bookcase.

“Long sentence for an old man. You need to sit down before you continue to catch your breath?” Cloud questions, gesturing to the end of his bed.

Vincent doesn’t roll his eyes or sigh, but Cloud can tell it's a near thing.

That doesn’t stop Vincent from setting his red coat down on Cloud’s dresser and sitting down, however.

“Have you found out any more about the ‘specifics’ of this place?”

“No,” Vincent says, “and we probably won’t until we get into a more… ‘modern’ place.”

“Like Midgar?” Cloud questions, though he knows what the answer is.

“Like Midgar,” Vincent agrees.

Cloud sighs; it wasn’t as simple as finding out where to go; in fact, that was possibly the easiest thing to figure out. The plan to get to their destination, on the other hand, seems so difficult that Cloud wants to laugh.

He doesn’t though and instead asks Vincent, “So what do we do?”

Vincent thinks about it for a little before replying with, “”It is better to ask for forgiveness than it is permission.””

Cloud inwardly winced. While that was most likely true, angering and losing the trust of his (‘new’ in a sense) mother, was not high on his to-do list. But protecting everyone was their top priority.

“You’re right,” Cloud agrees. “So, we leave without anyone noticing and head to Midgar. When do we leave, how do we get there and what do we do after getting there?”

“Soon, a helicopter or boat, and we figure that out after assessing Midgar’s situation.”

“Thanks. Very helpful.”

“You are welcome.”

“Vincent.”

“Do your plans not usually consist of heading in first and going from there?”

“...”

“We get there and plan from there. It seems to have worked out before.”

“By saying that, you jinxed us.”

“Likely.”

“Do we leave before my ma gets back?” Cloud questions.

Vincent seems to think about it for a moment, before nodding his head yes. “My earlier statement is still relevant.”

“You’re right. We just- wait, hold on. A helicopter? Do I want to know the specifics?”

“I have my ways.”

“You mean ‘Chaos’ has his ways?”

Vincent decides to answer by not answering.

“If we are trying to leave before my ma gets back, should we not leave as soon as humanly, or not, I guess, possible?”

“I plan to acquire our ride so we can leave soon. All you need to do is clean up any evidence of me, and pack whatever you may need.”

Cloud nods his head slowly, “I can do that. Make it seem as though I merely decided to leave.”

“Mhmm. Pack lightly,” Vincent replies with a slight smile.

“What.”

“...It is... funny to see a child Cloud with an adult mind.”

“For some reason, I don’t think ‘funny’ was the word you wanted to use.”

“Maybe not,” Vincent says, standing up with a small smile he puts his coat back on, “But it comes with a better reaction than if I were to be honest and say ‘cute’.”

Cloud doesn’t get the chance to respond before Vincent is gone, the only true evidence of his presence being Cloud’s irritation.

Not even being together for almost two centuries would give Vincent the right to call Cloud ‘cute’.

Chapter Text

Cloud’s idea of “packing lightly” included setting his swords on his bed (which happened to be conveniently under his bed, also of which he is not going to question) and nothing else. His shirt against his Mako tainted skin itches terribly since they aren’t made from the materials as those used for Soldiers’ clothes. He generally lived in one outfit anyways, so what was the point? He spent enough time on the road to be comfortable wearing the same clothes and washing them when he makes a stop.

Vincent didn’t specify what time they were to meet nor where so Cloud is stuck sitting on his childhood bed, walls bare, having a staring contest with the peeling walls.

He keeps losing.

He also keeps fidgeting, eyes darting around the room like one of the walls was going to disappear. Which was not a totally unusual thing to worry about since Sephiroth had a habit of chucking them at him.

Cloud ponders for a bit; chucking peeling walls wasn't something the Sephiroth at this time did, at least to his knowledge. Though he’s heard the war in Wutai was insane, so who knew?

Staring contests with the walls aside, Cloud is bored. There really isn’t anything for him to do (except write his mother a letter but he wasn't ready to do that) and sitting still was never his strong suit.

He suddenly jumps off the bed, the ground being further from him than he liked, and grabs his swords. He is essentially going to the heart of all his problems, of everyone's, and he hasn't tested his strength yet? He silently curses himself for being so stupid.

He scowls when he realizes his swords are harder to carry than he is comfortable with. It was to be expected as he was smaller, but he wasn't happy with the idea of not being at his full strength. On the brighter side, he could still carry First Tsurugi, which many people his age (his physical age, not his mental one) wouldn't be able to do.

He puts his fusion sword over his shoulder, wobbling a bit while doing so, and walks out the back door, sneaking off to where the town bleeds into the mountains so no one can see him practice. His swords swoosh back and forth as he tries to adjust his swings to his small(er) body. It’s more difficult than he likes, but nothing too bad. Time passes quickly as he practices, every swing feeling better than the last. He switches from one sword, to two, to three, and so on. He is trying to use all of them when he accidentally throws one too far away for his short arms to catch.

Vincent's face doesn’t change when he watches Cloud’s tiny body swing his swords back and forth, but Chaos is chuckling enough for the both of them. While most would be scared of seeing such a small being swing such a dangerous weapon around, Vincent is entertained by the image of Little Cloud chasing after trained Soldiers with swords too big for his body.

Cloud, after realizing Vincent is there, frowns to try and hide his blush. Even though Vincent's face doesn’t change, Cloud can feel his amusement from where he is standing.

“Do you have our ride?” Cloud asks, trying to brush aside his embarrassment.

Vincent nods his head as he stalks over to Cloud, grabbing his thrown sword in the process. He hands it over to Cloud when he gets close enough, and he grabs it gratefully.

“I, uh, I haven’t finished my letter about me leaving;” Cloud says as they make the trek back to his house, Vincent just a step behind him. Silence is the only response he gets, and when he stops walking and turns towards Vincent, he’s already looking back at him with his eyebrow raised.

“Finished?”

“...Started,” Cloud turns back to the way home and continues walking.

Vincent smiles as Cloud pouts the rest of the way back, something much more noticeable with his younger features, and decides to not mention the fact that Cloud has picked up his pace to walk further ahead of him.

By the time they make it back, it’s about three in the morning according to the clock on the living room wall. Cloud almost wants to question how Vincent was able to acquire a helicopter and fuel, in Nibelheim of all places, in only three hours but he decides against it. Just another adventure that Vincent has gone on, another story to tell Cloud when he has the time.

Cloud quickly walks to his room, leaving Vincent to stand at the front door. He finds a spare piece of paper and something to write with and tries to think of a way to explain to his ma about what he’s doing. She may be his mother, but she was also a stranger, and his childlike body doesn’t mean he automatically remembers everything from his childhood. He stalks the room, looking for something that would help in his endeavor to write a letter when a book on the shelf catches his eye. Something tugs at the back of his mind as he approaches it, a memory trying to resurface from centuries ago.

He pulls it out to read the cover, only to gape at the fact that it wasn’t written in the common tongue. It was a book about their gods; well, the gods his ma has followed since she was young and the ones she raised Cloud on.

It isn’t a secret to the town of Nibelheim that Claudia is considered an outsider, born in the small mountain town and leaving it for Midgar, only to come back years later with a son on the way. The people of Nibelheim have looked down on her since a woman (or in this time specifically, an omegan woman) came back with no man (Alpha) yet with a child and enough money to keep her child fed after he was born. She refuses to explain to the townspeople what happened, replying with “My business is not yours,” and ignoring every Alpha that has tried to get with her after her return.

The family of two was distant with the rest of the town because of this, but when he was young, Cloud didn’t mind. He didn’t need any of the townsfolk; after all, he had his ma and her stories.

And what stories they were.

Gods that could travel between the nine realms, powerful beings beyond what humans can comprehend, an inevitable doomsday. These were the stories that Cloud was raised on. Ones he was told to never forget; yet until this moment, he has.

He brings the book over to his bed, watching out of the corner of his eye as Vincent steps into his room.

“That is not a language I know how to speak. Nor do I think I have heard you speak it,” Vincent says. And though there is no inflection, Cloud can tell he’s curious about the damaged red book he has in his hand, The cover simply says Vår Allfader.

Our Allfather.

And now Cloud knows what to put into his letter.

Sorry ma, the little note starts, I wanna explore other places beyond this mountain. I promise to come back at a later time.

Allfather protects my journey, Allfather protects us all.