Midgar High School

What the hell am I doing here?

Sephiroth stared up at the ceiling on Mariah's bed. He was in the bed of a person he'd never met, next door to a person that hated him on the behest of someone who, if she only knew the whole story would hate him too.

What the hell is wrong with me?

He sat up after counting little pencil dots for the fifth time. Sephiroth never had been good at sitting still when he was agitated. Turning on the desk lamp he started digging around his Junon information. It kept him going. He'd totally blown it in Midgar. Junon would be a new chance.

And why did I even offer to get Reno there?

The prices on his booklist made Sephiroth's stomach lurch a bit. He'd never worried about money in the past, his parents had taken care of that sort of thing. Looking at the cell phone again confirmed that it was unlikely they'd be contacting him anytime soon.

Like I need a cell phone anyway, no one's ever called me.

Shaking his head he looked over the other scholarship and loan programs. There were so many things to remember and this was something Sephiroth NEEDED to do right. This was for himself.

And I let him just boss me up here like that, pushy little shit.

What WAS it about Reno? Short, kind of on the skinny side with big hands and feet that he may never grow into, and yet, so would passionate be the right word? Alive was definitely a good way to describe him. That was it, what had attracted Sephiroth. Reno full well knew that if Sephiroth felt like it, he could snap Reno in half. And yet, he said exactly what he wanted to. It was sort of like a sparrow staring down a hawk.

And the hawk was letting the sparrow squawk at him. Because?

I wonder how far he'd go? No, don't wonder about that. Do your work and get out of his hair. It's way too late to make friends with him.

He closed the book with a sigh. The internship essay wasn't due for months, he could wait. Not like Sephiroth could think straight anyway. He should be scared, or upset, or bothered. He was in the house of someone that did not like him. Someone that knew pretty much exactly how Sephiroth felt for years.

That was why he'd stayed. He'd never talked to anyone before. Not like that, unless you counted Ms Scarlet. And no one really liked him much anyway, why would they? Sephiroth wasn't the type to wallow in self misery. He'd done this to himself, and he was going to fix it. His parents were out of the way, he was going to quit that stupid football team.

I shouldn't be here.

Sighing, Sephiroth picked up the extra curricular book. Social ineptitude just meant he'd have to join a club or something. Football, out. Dance? Yeah, right. Acting…no. The passing thought that he was a piss poor excuse for a homosexual crossed his mind. There was a fencing club, a swordsmanship club too, now that was better.

And I should be thinking about now. Now, as in getting out of here and getting somewhere that I can tolerate the rest of the school year at.

He threw on a long jacket over his teeshirt and grabbed his keys. Dio left a bruise on the side of Sephiroth's face. And yet, for some reason, it didn't bother him. He should be scared.

He felt like he was learning to fly.

With a nod to himself, Sephiroth turned on heel and made his way silently out the bedroom door. He noticed the light still on under Reno's door and made himself be quieter. He didn't understand Reno at all, he didn't WANT Sephiroth to stay, that much was obvious.

Hell, the kid was probably straight and had a thing for Elena for all Sephiroth knew.

He'll still not budge till I go back into the house and stay…

So to save Reno the discomfort, Sephiroth would make himself scarce. The front door protested with a little squeak, making him cringe. Waiting for a half beat, Sephiroth listened to see if he woke anyone. When nothing happened, he ducked out the front door, shutting it behind him.

I've said my piece to him. He can do what he wants with it. Not like he'll ever do anything else anyway.

There were homeless shelters downtown, though he didn't know anything about them. Sephiroth kept the top on the car up as he drove around the inner parts of the city. Not like he had to worry much about being mugged, he knew he was intimidating, and he knew how to use that much to his advantage. A shelter wouldn't be that bad…

Of course didn't you have to prove you are homeless for that? Yeah a clean kid with an expensive car and a cell phone and nice clothes really needs someplace to stay.

Sephiroth pulled into the parking garage and sighed. The wind really picked up downtown, it always seemed colder than it was out where he lived. He tucked his hands into his black coat and frowned. The trench wouldn't make him look too needy. He walked around to the trunk, hoping that maybe showing up in just a teeshirt and jeans would help his case.

Maybe I should have left a note…

Reno's mom was a really kind woman. She had a tired look to her though, of course chasing after six kids would do that, he supposed. She'd been so worried. Sephiroth raked a hand through his hair and walked.

Why the hell did Reno say that I was kicked out? Reno should know his own mother. Why did he do that?

And then he'd have to hear it at school… it wasn't like he could avoid Reno. More like he didn't want to. Seph muttered and trudged down the road. It wasn't as busy as he'd imagined a slum to be. The women on the street corner didn't holler, they weren't even pretty, and he'd only seen three. He'd been walking for almost an hour.

So much for the stories.

He'd also imagined that homeless shelters would have vacancies… but so far all had handwritten signs proclaiming FULL. Someone bumped into him then, the first person he'd seen. The person cursed and glared at his chest then stopped talking. His head tilted up then, giving Sephiroth a view of far too few teeth for such a large mouth.

"Watch where you're standing!" The bum snarled.

It didn't have the effect he'd hoped for. Sephiroth gripped the smaller man by the collar and slammed him against the brick wall. It was instinct; it was the way he lashed out.

Reno would be pissed off at me right now.

He let go of the bum and stepped backwards. The man gaped at him, mumbled a "sorry" and then took off running in the other direction. Sephiroth groaned and turned to go back to his car. He was tired, it was pushing five in the morning, and he had a perfectly good bed available to sleep in. He had all day tomorrow to find another place to stay.

Just tell Reno that you're leaving tomorrow. Just tell them both you've got no reason to stay with them.

He pulled back into Reno's driveway and made his way back into the house. The light in the kitchen was on, and he was certain that it hadn't been. What did kids do when they snuck out… he'd never done this before either. Was it really sneaking if he wasn't her kid?

If he'd hoped to get back to his room silently, he was denied. The unfamiliar floor creaked under his feet and he froze just in time to hear, "Well, at least you came back."

Reno's mother stood in the doorway to the kitchen, and she indicated the room with a nod of her head. "Come on in here, Seph. I want to talk to you." She didn't sound angry, but she wasn't exactly happy, either.

His mouth opened, and then it closed. This woman wasn't like his parents. Jenova never did get angry with Sephiroth. She'd doted on him, when she did get upset, however, one KNEW it. Dio was prone to hitting, not that he'd abused Sephiroth, it never really came to that, it was usually just physical discipline. This woman, however, with her tired eyes and hair up under a handkerchief was somehow more intimidating than the parents he knew. He walked into the kitchen as if it would bite him, standing just in the doorway.

She sighed as he walked past and waited until he sat at the kitchen table, head down. "Do you want some cocoa?" Her voice was quiet, pitched to be heard without disturbing sleeping children. "You were gone a while."

It seemed she wanted him to speak about it first; there was no accusation in her tone, nor anger on her face.

And damn if he wouldn't have preferred either. Those he could handle.

"I'm fine." He responded at length. It wasn't as if he had any idea what to say anyway.

If you knew me, you'd want me away from your house.

A lot of things came to mind, actually…

Really, you don't want to deal with me, those times Reno came home with a black eye were my fault. And here I am in your house.

But he couldn't bring himself to say any of them.

"Don't try to lie to a mother," she said, pouring hot water into a waiting mug. She'd expected him to come back, then. "Especially a mother who used to sneak out of the house when she was in school." She handed the cocoa to him, a wry smile turning her lips.

"I've never snuck out of a house before…" He sighed. Why couldn't he just tell her off? Why couldn't he just tell her the truth? His head hurt, he was thinking too hard. He didn't want to go back to Dio and that life. He wanted to be here… even if it wasn't RENO this was for him. Of course, now he wasn't just beating Reno up, wasn't this using him?

"Look, Reno and I aren't exactly good buddies." He started.

"No kidding." She folded her arms and looked down at him. "Seph, I know more than you think. I know you used to bully him." She sighed wistfully, glancing in the direction of Reno's room. "Not that he'd ever tell me himself, but his friends did. And yet you were specifically invited to this house by my very son. I don't know what happened to change how he sees you, but whatever it is, it's done. You're here now."

Sephiroth stood; even Reno's mother was short, small in comparison to Jenova, all imposing. "I think then you understand that I can't just stay here. It makes him uncomfortable and I've done way too much to just hop in now."

"You sit right back down there," she said sternly, pointing. "You don't understand ME. I will not let you go--not unless you find an alternative that I approve. And that, you're not allowed to even look for until you've had time to think."

Seph's mouth worked and then it closed. He was doing that a lot to little, rather physically un-intimidating red heads. He snorted, Reno took after his mother, obviously. "I can stay at a shelter, you know. Not like anything can happen to me. I've got a full ride to Junon next year, it's just a year."

"Absolutely not." As simply as that, the very idea was dismissed. "A year is a long time, Sephiroth, especially when you're young. Think of how much can happen in a weekend, let alone a year. No, you're staying here. Mariah won't be home much, and we'll make arrangements for when she is." She patted his arm. "Just stay, Sephiroth. It will be a lot easier to deal with everything else if you're not worrying about where your next meal will come from."

Food… oh yeah, damn those silly things like life necessities… Sephiroth sighed. He wanted the year to be over. He wanted to be in college because it was too comfortable here. And he wasn't going to be visiting Midgar ever again. "I'll sleep on it."

At last she smiled. "C'mere," she chuckled, and gave him a big, open-armed hug, ending with a last pat on his back. Sephiroth stiffened, then let her hug him. "I knew you'd see reason," she said softly before releasing him. She held him at arms' length, admiring. "You've got hope yet, honey. Get your bearings, and then work out whatever you need to with Reno. But first," she pushed him away playfully, "Go get some sleep."

He blinked at her for a few minutes as if she had an extra arm. What all did Reno tell his mother? It seemed like they were very open… to save face, he only nodded. "Yeah, thank you…"

She waved him away and turned back to the counter where, he realized, she had already laid out ingredients for breakfast. "We'll call you when breakfast is ready. Hope you're hungry."

So they were all pushy little shits… but they were likable pushy little shits. Sephiroth went up to bed, but first, he made sure that the light was finally off under Reno's door.