Fic: Sunflowers - Day 3
Title: Sunflowers
Chapter: 2/11
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: G
Word Count: ~900
Characters: Sephiroth, Cloud
Genre: slice of life
Warnings: none
Summary: Is it exile? Is it a vacation? It's up to Sephiroth to find out.
A/N: By the first chapter is longest, I apparently meant longest by a great margin. I blame OneNote and its lack of word count.
***
"Good morning!"
Sephiroth sat bolt upright in bed when something wet plopped onto his face. "How do you always get in here without me noticing?" he yelled before he even opened his eyes. "I told you to leave me alone today!"
"You said you had to practice with your sword today, but you can't, 'cause it's raining. Let's go catch frogs by the creek!" Cloud was dressed in a bright yellow rain slicker and held a struggling frog in his chubby hands.
Sephiroth groaned and flopped back down on the pillow. "Go away, you're dripping everywhere."
Cloud leaned out the window-the screen had been taken out again yesterday when Cloud forced him to help make a telephone out of two empty tins and a length of string. His end of the 'phone' still dangled in the window. He stood back up straight with empty, if slimy, hands and ran over to the wardrobe.
"Where's your raincoat?" he asked as he rummaged through the hangars.
"I don't have one. I guess I can't play with you."
"I'll go borrow one for you then!"
Sephiroth knew better by now than to even try to stop Cloud. How could one tiny boy manage to push him around so easily? He certainly hadn't enjoyed spending his entire day chasing butterflies and digging through the garden for bugs. Lockheart had said that it looked like they were having fun when they were rooting through the junk bin at the general store looking for string and nails, but the only reason Sephiroth had been smiling was because Cloud had perched an old colander on his head and was making robot noises; he couldn't help but laugh at him. But it wasn’t fun.
He dragged himself out of bed and dressed before wolfing down the porridge that Cloud must have brought with him. He knew it had been Cloud because half of it was missing and there was dirt in the pot. Ricky at least managed to keep the lid on and his hands out. It was still delicious, despite the dirt. Alde Strife was a very good cook.
A high-pitched wailing caught Sephiroth's ears, and he stiffened as it grew louder. Crying. It was the most awful noise. Gathering his strength, he set the porridge down and went to the door.
"What?"
"I-I-I fell!" Cloud sobbed, his red, snotty face complimented the yellow of his raincoat well. He held a second mud-covered coat in his arms as he trudged up the path to the house, wailing the entire way.
"If you stop crying, I'll catch frogs with you," Sephiroth said without much hope that his bribe would work.
"It hurts!"
"Fine." Sephiroth thought for a moment. He didn't have any materia, but he had brought a first aid kit. Cloud had been fascinated by everything that came from 'the big city'. "I've got some special bandaids from the big city. Come here and I'll see what I can do."
He got Cloud's slicker and rain boots off, then carried him into the kitchen and sat him on the counter. "Did you fall on your knees?"
Cloud nodded, unable to speak between his sobs. Honestly, the way he was carrying on, Sephiroth might have thought he had a limb torn off. He rolled up his pants and got the mud washed off at the sink, then scoffed at the grievous injuries.
"You're barely even bleeding! What's there to cry about?"
Cloud stopped mid-sob. "I fell! It really hurts!"
"Once I got clawed in the stomach by a bajang and had to run all the way back to the base camp holding my guts in with my bare hands. Do you think I cried?"
Cloud's eyes went wide, and he nodded vigorously.
"Well I didn't. Even though I wasn't any bigger than you and all my guts would have fallen out if I let go, I didn't cry once." Sephiroth handed Cloud a tissue. "So blow your nose and grit your teeth."
His story had apparently given Cloud the determination to not cry, and he didn't make a peep when Sephiroth poured disinfectant over the scrapes and patted them dry, though he looked like he wanted to. He dug out a couple of large self-adhesive bandages and plastered them to Cloud's knees.
"There. You'll have some nice scabs to show off in a few days."
"Will I have cool scars?"
"Maybe. Now, do you want to go catch some frogs?"
They spent the remainder of the morning catching frogs and racing them. Cloud was better at catching them, but Sephiroth soon developed an eye for the faster ones, so he won more races. He managed to send Cloud away for lunch and finally got some peace and quiet for the afternoon. He spent it attempting to draw the Wutaian characters the way they were depicted in his calligraphy book, but found it frustrating. He could read the language just fine, but had never bothered to learn how to write it. After a couple hours of practice, he set it aside and glanced over at the box that held the comic books. It wouldn't hurt to read a few more. Hojo would never know.
***
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Chapter: 2/11
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: G
Word Count: ~900
Characters: Sephiroth, Cloud
Genre: slice of life
Warnings: none
Summary: Is it exile? Is it a vacation? It's up to Sephiroth to find out.
A/N: By the first chapter is longest, I apparently meant longest by a great margin. I blame OneNote and its lack of word count.
***
"Good morning!"
Sephiroth sat bolt upright in bed when something wet plopped onto his face. "How do you always get in here without me noticing?" he yelled before he even opened his eyes. "I told you to leave me alone today!"
"You said you had to practice with your sword today, but you can't, 'cause it's raining. Let's go catch frogs by the creek!" Cloud was dressed in a bright yellow rain slicker and held a struggling frog in his chubby hands.
Sephiroth groaned and flopped back down on the pillow. "Go away, you're dripping everywhere."
Cloud leaned out the window-the screen had been taken out again yesterday when Cloud forced him to help make a telephone out of two empty tins and a length of string. His end of the 'phone' still dangled in the window. He stood back up straight with empty, if slimy, hands and ran over to the wardrobe.
"Where's your raincoat?" he asked as he rummaged through the hangars.
"I don't have one. I guess I can't play with you."
"I'll go borrow one for you then!"
Sephiroth knew better by now than to even try to stop Cloud. How could one tiny boy manage to push him around so easily? He certainly hadn't enjoyed spending his entire day chasing butterflies and digging through the garden for bugs. Lockheart had said that it looked like they were having fun when they were rooting through the junk bin at the general store looking for string and nails, but the only reason Sephiroth had been smiling was because Cloud had perched an old colander on his head and was making robot noises; he couldn't help but laugh at him. But it wasn’t fun.
He dragged himself out of bed and dressed before wolfing down the porridge that Cloud must have brought with him. He knew it had been Cloud because half of it was missing and there was dirt in the pot. Ricky at least managed to keep the lid on and his hands out. It was still delicious, despite the dirt. Alde Strife was a very good cook.
A high-pitched wailing caught Sephiroth's ears, and he stiffened as it grew louder. Crying. It was the most awful noise. Gathering his strength, he set the porridge down and went to the door.
"What?"
"I-I-I fell!" Cloud sobbed, his red, snotty face complimented the yellow of his raincoat well. He held a second mud-covered coat in his arms as he trudged up the path to the house, wailing the entire way.
"If you stop crying, I'll catch frogs with you," Sephiroth said without much hope that his bribe would work.
"It hurts!"
"Fine." Sephiroth thought for a moment. He didn't have any materia, but he had brought a first aid kit. Cloud had been fascinated by everything that came from 'the big city'. "I've got some special bandaids from the big city. Come here and I'll see what I can do."
He got Cloud's slicker and rain boots off, then carried him into the kitchen and sat him on the counter. "Did you fall on your knees?"
Cloud nodded, unable to speak between his sobs. Honestly, the way he was carrying on, Sephiroth might have thought he had a limb torn off. He rolled up his pants and got the mud washed off at the sink, then scoffed at the grievous injuries.
"You're barely even bleeding! What's there to cry about?"
Cloud stopped mid-sob. "I fell! It really hurts!"
"Once I got clawed in the stomach by a bajang and had to run all the way back to the base camp holding my guts in with my bare hands. Do you think I cried?"
Cloud's eyes went wide, and he nodded vigorously.
"Well I didn't. Even though I wasn't any bigger than you and all my guts would have fallen out if I let go, I didn't cry once." Sephiroth handed Cloud a tissue. "So blow your nose and grit your teeth."
His story had apparently given Cloud the determination to not cry, and he didn't make a peep when Sephiroth poured disinfectant over the scrapes and patted them dry, though he looked like he wanted to. He dug out a couple of large self-adhesive bandages and plastered them to Cloud's knees.
"There. You'll have some nice scabs to show off in a few days."
"Will I have cool scars?"
"Maybe. Now, do you want to go catch some frogs?"
They spent the remainder of the morning catching frogs and racing them. Cloud was better at catching them, but Sephiroth soon developed an eye for the faster ones, so he won more races. He managed to send Cloud away for lunch and finally got some peace and quiet for the afternoon. He spent it attempting to draw the Wutaian characters the way they were depicted in his calligraphy book, but found it frustrating. He could read the language just fine, but had never bothered to learn how to write it. After a couple hours of practice, he set it aside and glanced over at the box that held the comic books. It wouldn't hurt to read a few more. Hojo would never know.
***
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