#also oh. oh no. now I feel the urge to expand the Duckling AU into a full fic

[aimeelouart]

So because you were so lovely to not only respond to my ask re Mother Hen Ange or Cissnei finding a lost Cloud with not just a drabble but a doodle AS WELL, I was inspired and this just fell out of my brain :) (sorry if it's a bit crap, I haven't written anything in a looooong while)

Cloud's mad. Actually he surpassed mad a while ago, he's now furious at the burning in his eyes and the telltale wetness on his cheeks.

The sound of tiny feet slapping linoleum echoes down the hallway, trailed by distressed sniffles as Cloud rushes along, still frantically searching for his nemesis. His instincts are stuck on a loop of 'bad notgood bad' and he really wishes they'd fuck off because he KNOWS and he's TRYING. It's not his fault.

One minute he was in Sephiroth's arms, the man imposing as always as he stalked through the hallways, the next he was half falling out of those same arms in boredom because the General was stuck talking to Lazard and Cloud couldn't force interest in their conversation. Luckily, Sephiroth caught him before he had to test any reflexes that would've prevented him from smashing his face into the ground. He was then delicately set on his feet and told to "stay close" with a hand ruffling his hair.

It took everything in him not to bite that hand.

So Cloud did, he swears he did. He stayed close, fingers wrapped around the material of Sephiroth's obnoxiously long coat, and he watched the other people bustling through the hallways. Then he saw Reno.

So it's actually Reno's fault, Cloud thinks bitterly as he rubs at his eyes again. That stupid idiot with his stupid grin and stupid antics and stupid distraction capabilities. His breath stutters as he turns another corner only to remain Sephiroth-less.

After Reno had thoroughly caught his attention with his stupidity, Cloud turned back only to find that he wasn't being swept up into long arms or dragged along by his grip on a dramatic coat. No, he was standing alone in a half deserted hallway. Sephiroth had left him. Oh god Sephiroth had left him. Before panic set in too deeply, he remembered way back to what his mother used to say.

"Stay where you are Stormcloud, means I have a better chance at finding you if you're where I left you."

Yeah.... that advice went out the window roughly twenty seconds after her voice popped into his head.

Which is how Cloud finds himself in his current predicament. He skids around the next corner, hands clutching his chest though he desperately wants to be hugging one of his knives. Sephiroth calls them his comfort knives. Some kids have stuffed Moogles, some have Chocobo blankets, Cloud has his knives. But he knows how that looks to outsiders, which looking around the sheer volume of business suits suggests he's nowhere near where he wants to be. So he makes do and doesn't whip out any weaponry that admittedly a small child should NOT be wielding.

Yet another hallway with no nemesis and honestly, Cloud's about ready to just sit down and cry. Not because he actually misses the silver haired fucker, absolutely no way no how, but because the ache of his instincts is infuriating. Yeah. That's it. He takes another left, then a left, then a right and suddenly there's a familiar figure at the end of the hallway.

Cissnei turns around when she feels a gentle tug of her jacket. Instinctively she clamps a hand around the wrist of the person next to her, it wouldn't be the first time Reno had tried to pickpocket her the little shit. She looks down when she realises that the wrist is far too small to be her colleague and instead sees the teary blue eyes of Cloud.

She softens immediately, she can't help it, he's just too cute. She lets go of his hand, murmuring a soft apology as she does when the boy snatches his arm back. She crouches down slightly, concern thrumming through her at the sight of the usually surly creature in clear distress.

"Oh Cloud, what's wrong? Where's Sephiroth?"

She's not expecting his reaction. The little boy's face scrunches up, red staining his cheeks and shoulders raising in a clear indication she should probably cover her ears.

"I don't know!" He screeches, knife appearing out of nowhere and clenched tightly in his fist, "And I'm so mad!"

As Cloud goes back to silently seething, Cissnei shoots a quick text off in the Turks group chat, ordering a search for the Silver General and to bring him to the Turk floor once found.

When Sephiroth bursts into the room ten minutes later, Cloud is pleased to find that the unflappable man looks as close to disheveled as he probably ever will. Tight lines of worry crease the corners of his eyes and mouth, and a suspicious pink tinge is sitting behind glowing green. Cloud is scooped up, legs dangling and torso crushed between two vice-like arms and a strong chest, and he only grumbles slightly as his cookie falls to the floor. His instincts have calmed significantly and he's loathe to admit but the subtle nuzzling of Sephiroth's jaw against his temple is nice.

(If you ever breathe a word of that to anybody, Cloud WILL kill you.)

Oh that's WONDERFUL (Referencing this post)