Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

Blonde Ambition	By : sephcounttheways Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2097 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 20
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The first class SOLDIER shower rig was the most worthless contraption Sephiroth had ever encountered. Its initial point of failure was that it was too damn small, forcing him to bend his knees to prevent bumping his head on the ceiling. The second failure was its idiotic lack of hot water, making it much like standing in a tiny, icy box of torture. The third was that there was no goddamn lock on the door.

Sephiroth clamped his eyes shut and cursed raggedly under his breath as he dunked his head under the spray to wash his hair. Thick, dark blood rinsed out and down his legs to become pink and diluted, then drained away.

None of the blood was his own. At least he didn’t think so. His cuts healed so fast it was hard to tell if he’d been injured or not. He often didn’t mind letting himself be cut here and there, the tiny jolts of pain kept him more alert, but he had been splashed with the blood of a few different people. Those people could have been carrying any kind of disease, and he didn’t want to foolishly risk getting tainted blood in his body. Even though he knew his medical staff would fix him instantly, he didn’t even want even a chance of exposing Cloud to something like that.

He wanted to get the blood off as soon as possible, and not only because it was fucking disgusting, but because walking around covered in blood sent the wrong sort of message to his men. He knew what some people expected from him – they assumed he was a bastard. He was fine in fulfilling that wish, usually.

But while Sephiroth was aware that he had an image to uphold whether he wanted to or not, that image was slightly different in actual deployment. If the leaders looked bad, it was a blow to morale. Sephiroth didn’t believe in such things until he’d experienced it first hand during his first tour of Wutai. His commander had left a particularly difficult battle looking like an anxious wreck, scared and shaken, injured and dirty. He’d never been so nervous as a SOLDIER as when his leaders weren’t on top of their personal appearance, and that was a fact.

For General Sephiroth, the battle had been more of a massacre, and wearing the blood of a weak enemy was hardly a source of pride. He quickly retreated into his tent to clean up. And on the way there, he remained confident and strong, although he was feeling exhausted and resentful of the entire mission.

Nobody could know that, and nobody would. If there was one thing Sephiroth had learned over the years, it was how to keep a stoic demeanor despite his true emotions. Maybe he overdid it, thus the bastardized reputation, but it was easier than putting himself out there and on display. It was Vincent Valentine who taught him why it was so important to do what he always had referred to as man up.

When Sephiroth was six, Vincent had come to visit one afternoon and as usual, found the child in an odd position. This time, he wasn’t stuck contorted like a pretzel nor on the receiving end of electroshock therapy – he’d simply been trapped in a bed by the means of wires. He was hooked up by every conceivable body part to a room full of buzzing, blipping machinery that appeared to be monitoring every single function of his body. Sephiroth didn’t seem to be in pain or that much discomfort, but he was helplessly bedridden for the time being. He then became greatly upset when he couldn’t be unhooked to play with Vincent, and began to cry.

Then, the room of machines all went haywire and noisy with the stress of Sephiroth’s system, which only escalated the child’s tantrum. The nurses quickly shooed Vincent from the lab. The Turk tried to shake it off, but leaving that little boy crying and calling his name broke his heart. He couldn’t sleep at all that night, and the next morning he went back to the labs.

Sephiroth’s caretakers immediately gave him guff and for the first time, Vincent had to throw his weight around to be allowed in. Drawing a gun on the staff didn’t exactly faze them, they were Shin-Ra employees, after all – but they did put their hands up and stepped to the fucking side when he decided to fire a few warning shots.

Vincent found Sephiroth in the same place, sleeping like a cherub. He almost turned around and left the child in peace, but Sephiroth’s fingers twitched slightly in his sleep. The small, vulnerable act drew Vincent further into the room.

He cupped his hand over Sephiroth’s little fingers, and spoke softly, “Hey buddy.”

Sephiroth drew in breath and opened his eyes, blinking blurrily up at him. He said nothing.

Vincent thought it was because the child was angry with him for leaving. Not the case. In Sephiroth’s six-year-old mentality, he associated his crying with Vincent’s departure. He kept silent so he wouldn’t leave again.

Vincent pulled a chair up beside Sephiroth’s bed. “…How are you feelin’?”

“ ‘M alright,” Sephiroth said quietly. “I can’t get up to play.”

Vincent’s heart hurt again. No little kid should ever have to say those words. “I know you’re stuck there for a little bit. But hey, I brought you somethin’ pretty cool.”

Sephiroth’s face lit up immediately, “What?!”

Vincent considered buying him a board game, something like Candyland or Hungry Hungry Hippos. Something silly and stupid and bright, something that could be a pin drop of color in the dark lab Sephiroth was stuck in.

But Candyland? Hungry Hungry Hippos…? Vincent knew such a thing would make very little sense to a child like Sephiroth. Not that he lacked imagination, but Vincent could tell Sephiroth sometimes smiled although he didn’t get the joke, as it were. He watched family sitcoms, but didn’t understand that all the people on the screen were related to each other by blood. He enjoyed cartoons, but didn’t understand that they were funny because they were supposed to be impossible – Sephiroth had seen mutant turtles, animals that could talk, and every sort of imaginable ACME-type product in real life. Commercial advertisements were like broadcasts from an alien world; he didn’t understand why breakfast was such a big deal, why people would ever have to buy their own medicine, or where to find the groups of kids his own age that always seemed so readily available.

He was a very smart child, but he was being raised under special circumstances. The more Vincent educated him about “normal” life, the more he felt like he was doing a disservice because Sephiroth could not be a part of it. But Vincent couldn’t let Lucretia’s child grow up without at least a taste of normalcy, of pleasure or sugar or fun. He couldn’t let Sephiroth suffer the shock of finally getting outside the lab as a grown man only to find an entire world had been turning without him.

Vincent wanted Sephiroth to grow up, have a life, make a family. He wanted him to be… okay.

As for board games, the closest one that Sephiroth could really, truly relate to would be Operation. The black humor of it almost spurred Vincent to buy a set at the toy store. But then he got an idea that he liked a hell of a lot more: child-size playing cards.

He pulled a chair up to Sephiroth’s bedside and dealt them each five cards, then scattered the rest on the bed.

“This game is called ‘Go Fish’. Look at your cards, look at the numbers, and ask me if I have any of them. You’re tryin’ to make pairs, and whoever runs out of cards first wins. Awright?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Okay! Do you have a five? Or a two? Or the letter Q? A ten, or a f –”

“No Seph!” Vincent laughed, and pulled all the cards back and began to shuffle and deal new ones. “You don’t tell me what all of your cards are. You only pick one and ask me if I have it.”

“Why don’t I just tell you all of them? Wouldn’t the game go faster?” Sephiroth asked innocently, his young mind already settling into linear, logical lines.

“Because then I’ll know exactly what you have, and that’ll give me a big advantage. It’ll make the game more interestin’ to keep secrets, dontcha think? It’ll make it last longer.”

“So my cards are a secret,” Sephiroth reasoned. Secrets meant a longer game, and that meant the longer Vincent would stay and play. After making that association, Sephiroth began to guard his cards like a hawk, his shrewd little pokerface and obsessive following of the rules an endless source of amusement for Vincent.

As Sephiroth grew older, his hands got bigger and he was able to hold regular playing cards instead of the small, colorful ones. The games changed from Go Fish and War, to Gin, then when Sephiroth’s hands were big enough to hold a lot of cards – Gin Rummy, then to Spit which was Sephiroth’s long time favorite because he was much quicker than Vincent, who may or may not have been letting him snatch the good cards. Then, as he settled into something a lot like maturity, they played Bullshit and Blackjack, which then graduated to Poker.

When Sephiroth was eleven, he broke his legs while doing what eleven-year-old boys do best – really dumb shit. The Red Cross had erected a shiny white tent in the lab to set up shop for the annual company blood drive. It was located in the lab instead of a van so Hojo could monitor who was eligible to give blood and generally breathe down everyone’s necks.

It was always a tense day when the Red Cross was around, because that meant keeping the more questionable experiments hidden away – and Sephiroth was the most questionable one of all.

Sephiroth didn’t give a fuck about the ethical politics associated with himself, all he knew was that he was strictly forbidden to be seen in the stairs, the lab lift, or the catwalk, thus banishing him to the third floor. On any typical day, Sephiroth felt no real reason to leave his floor of residence, but being told that he couldn’t had him aching for the freedom of the lower floors. Especially as he peeked between the railings and saw an ever changing crowd of people scurrying to and fro, crowned by a shiny white vinyl tent of wonders.

Just when he became bored of watching the personnel scurry around, he spotted Vincent’s laid-back swagger, apparent from even fifty feet up.

Sephiroth was about to call out, when Vincent’s eyes glanced upwards and spotted him. The Turk winked up at him, and Sephiroth managed to slip his skinny arm between the railing and wave.

Then he got an idea.

Indiana Jones was able to jump down from the top of a building onto an awning and simply broke through down to the next, until he safely landed on the ground. The tent downstairs wasn’t an awning, but if he broke through he wouldn’t hurt himself too badly…besides, he wouldn’t exactly be on the lift, catwalk or stairwell now would he?

Before giving it much more thought than that, Sephiroth hopped up onto the chest-high railing of the third floor. His nurse shouted wordlessly, but only after he was already airborne.

He would have been fine if he’d actually landed on the tent.

He didn’t. He landed on the floor right next to the tent. Like a cat, he landed right on his feet – but with his legs locked. He remembered at the last minute to let himself crumple naturally to absorb the impact, but it was too late. He fractured his right leg in two places, and very nearly shattered the shin of the left.

For Sephiroth’s recovery system, this would have equaled a couple days of bedridden discomfort at worst, but the labs took the opportunity to see how long they could prevent healing. Instead of putting the broken bones in a wrap and letting it mend itself, they had Sephiroth jog several treadmill miles on it daily, preventing the marrow from knitting.

“Why do I gotta do this?” Sephiroth bemoaned to Hojo, who was sipping something chocolaty and glancing over x-rays.

“There are things wrong with you that I can’t begin to fix. You’re somehow mentally damaged. I can’t understand why you do the things you do, and I blame it entirely on the influence of Vincent Valentine,” Hojo had explained coolly. “Your mind isn’t worth a damn to me anymore, but your body is still comprised of the most advanced engineering on the planet. I gave you everything you have, and you continue to treat it poorly. So show me how far you can walk on those broken legs. My broken legs. Maybe next time you’ll remember to take better care of what is mine.”

Even the janitor who mopped the floors in the lab knew what Hojo wanted from Sephiroth. He wanted to see some sort of remorse for what he’d done – he’d embarrassed the labs, he had caused a scene, and Hojo had been forced to swallow a certain amount of crow as he batted off the Red Cross volunteers who were oh-so-concerned about the oh-so-beautiful little boy who had hurt himself oh-so-tragically.

It was all the lab could do to avoid a full blown investigation. The fucking do-gooders were getting their pickets ready to protest in front of the goddamn HQ building. Luckily for Hojo, money had a way of silencing even the kindest of souls. But that money had to come from somewhere – namely, the medical lab’s budget.

Sephiroth wasn’t sorry, though. The fun three story freefall was worth the pain of hitting the floor, definitely! He wasn’t too happy about being forced to stay injured, but if it meant being a cripple versus apologizing… he’d jog forever on broken legs. He’d choke to death on the words if he tried to say he was sorry. He’d vomit for days.

On the second day of walking, the nurses took pity and drugged him with untraceable painkillers. Then, running became a colorful wonderland of numb entertainment and profound thoughts about the universe, but lying in bed afterwards was agony. Bull-headed, stubborn, pouty agony. Hojo gave him another opportunity to express any regret he might have had, but Sephiroth would never say he was sorry.

Vincent came to him the weekend following his dramatic jump, assuming wrongly that the kid would be fine by then and ready to catch a new horror movie that had come out, complete with plenty of knifing and probably a titty or two. But Sephiroth was stuck in bed, grumpy and for the first time not exactly in the mood for company.

Vincent closed the door of Sephiroth’s room and sat on his bed – there wasn’t really anywhere else to be in the tiny little room, after all. After Sephiroth was finished explaining the situation, Vincent had given him a paternal sigh. The sigh only covered up his rage at the labs for keeping Sephiroth in pain, and he only became angrier when he lifted the blanket to look at Sephiroth’s legs and found oddly patterned bruises from the broken bone shards pressing from the inside. “…Ya know, maybe you should just say you’re sorry. Have him throw you in that tube thing for an hour or so and you’ll be fixed up?”

Sephiroth shook his head. “I’m not sorry. And I don’t wanna go in the tube.”

“Why not, they’re supposed to be awesome! Most people say they feel all sortsa refreshed after gettin’ out.”

“It’s cold. And I kinda don’t like bein’ in it all… yaknow,” Sephiroth’s voice                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           dropped a notch in volume, “…naked.”

Vincent laughed, only because it was the first time he’d ever seen any sort of shyness from Sephiroth about anything. He supposed it might be the age, the awkwardness was started to set in while Sephiroth’s arms and legs began to grow at an absurd rate. And Vincent probably wouldn’t want a bunch of questionable scientists seeing him naked, either.

“Well, how about some Bullshit?” Vincent suggested, reaching under Sephiroth’s bed to retrieve the cards stashed there.

“Nah, Poker’s better.”

“I didn’t bring any candy.” It was their usual betting currency.

“That’s alright,” Sephiroth said, old enough not to complain about Vincent’s lack of preparation. But then, Vincent had planned on going to a movie. Sephiroth’s heart struck a chord of longing, and he considered just swallowing his pride and saying he was fucking sorry, and suffer being naked in the cold tank for a late evening showing.

He imagined Hojo’s self indulgent face upon receiving his apology and even a request for tank time. A request for it. Any request Sephiroth had ever made to the man ended up with it being fulfilled instantly, but followed by severe, often painful repercussions. Sephiroth steeled against the idea and focused on his cards.

“It’s easy to tell what you’re thinkin’,” Vincent mused. “I bet Hojo knows damn well that you want him to take a long walk on a short pier.”

“It’s not just him,” Sephiroth said, putting two cards down and holding out his hand for more. “I just wish I could be like…”

You, was the word Sephiroth wanted to say. But instead he said, “Bruce Campbell.”

Vincent smirked, “What’s he got that you don’t got?”

“He’s so cool. He’s got a chainsaw arm. And he just does whatever he wants. I’d like that.”

“Kids your age don’t have that,” Vincent said, referring to the wish for freedom, not the chainsaw arm. “They have to mind their teachers, mind their parents. Just like you have to mind the doctors, and mind Hojo. You’re still a little guy… ya know?” Then Vincent said in a promise so empty he couldn’t even muster up the conviction to act like he believed it, “You’re not missin’ out on too much.”

Sephiroth sighed, and his lower lip twitched in the way that would have signaled a hail of crying if he were still a toddler. Instead he just let out a loud gust of air. “Do you think I’ll ever be able to leave here?”

“Sure!” Vincent affirmed whole heartedly. “But right now, you still need someone to take care of you. Then you’ll be an adult, and you’ll be able to take care of yourself. That’s how it is.”

Sephiroth looked up from his cards at Vincent, but didn’t say what he was thinking. He wondered why Vincent couldn’t be the one to take care of him. Maybe because it was a burden, or because it might be expensive. Or because he was a Turk and couldn’t spare the time. Or because he probably had girlfriends and buddies and a life, and didn’t want Sephiroth to get in the way, which he assuredly would.

He didn’t want to cry in front of Vincent at that age, so he called upon his pokerface, which up until that point had been used only to foil Vincent into his card game traps. He smirked his sadness away, and focused on the game. Man up, he thought to himself.

He manned up again the next day when he told Hojo that he regretted any inconvenience to the lab due to his attempt at landing on the blood drive tent, and that he would exercise better judgment in the future. Not exactly an apology, just some simple bullshit words to get the man off of his goddamn back.

It was easier than he thought it would be. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

He manned up again when Vincent and Hojo took him to see President Shin-Ra for the first time. Hojo had asked Vincent to come along, as a sort of scapegoat for Sephiroth’s mannerisms and behavior. As far as he was concerned, Sephiroth was an extra terrestrial imitating humans, and Vincent had tragically been the one that influenced him most, probably because he was the one who rewarded him the most. Although Vincent had tainted his perfect creation, Hojo still found a way to learn from it.

Next time, he’d better guard his creations.

The President listened while Vincent stated Sephiroth’s case, explaining that he needed normal interaction with other boys his own age, he needed to build social skills, and he needed a place to constructively spend his energy. Hojo was all for the idea, simply because he could further test Sephiroth’s physical limits, especially with that of materia, something that Hojo wouldn’t risk in his precious lab until the boy had formal training. With the right combination of materia and the frightening amount of free will Sephiroth possessed, the boy could quite easily destroy everything they had all worked so hard to create.

“And you also don’t wanna give him the materia yet because he could kill himself, right?” Vincent challenged to Hojo through the corner of his mouth.

“Nothing can kill Sephiroth. Least of all himself,” Hojo countered as though he were merely sighing the words.

“Not like you haven’t tried plenty.”

“I wouldn’t have to push him as hard as I do if I didn’t need to compensate for all the weakness you’ve instilled in him.”

“I’d love to travel back and look at your childhood, doctor. Did you have many weaknesses when you were a kid?”

“That’s a foolish question Valentine, and an irrelevant one. Sephiroth is not a… kid,” Hojo chuckled the word as though it were something Sephiroth never was.

While the President listened to Vincent and Hojo squabble at each other, he stared at Sephiroth. He was the famed experiment who was supposed to make them all filthy rich, powerful, and omnipotent.

Well – more filthy rich, powerful and omnipotent.

He didn’t look like a skull crusher at all. He was just a skinny, albino-looking kid in jeans and a t-shirt, sitting there like a wide eyed goat while Vincent and Hojo did all the talking for him.

“I understand why he needs the academy training,” the President interrupted the two men at last, just as Vincent had begun to throw down some seriously colorful language, much to Sephiroth’s delight. “I want to hear from his own mouth why he feels he’s ready to live and behave like a human.”

All eyes turned to Sephiroth. He had never been given such rapt attention in his life, especially not by Hojo. Instead of feeling nervous, he felt himself grow… cocky. His humanity had been under question since he was born, and frankly, he was tired of the discussion. If this man was to be his future employer, then there were some things that Sephiroth wanted to make perfectly clear. “I’m not actin’, I am a human. And I promise if you let me go to school, I’ll do my best at everything. I’ll be just as good as any other cadet – ”

“I’m not concerned with you being just as good,” the President interrupted. “You’re meant to be the best.”

“You didn’t let me finish. I already am the best,” Sephiroth dismissed, and Hojo stuffed his hands in his pockets, his dark eyes flicking between the boy and the president nervously. Vincent just stood watching, his stomach in knots. “But since I have to go through the first year anyways, I’m gonna handicap myself. Hojo’s gonna give me performance disabling drugs that’ll make me slower during the day, so I can learn with the other cadets. I am the best, and I will be a leader. I’m ready to learn now. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Vincent looked blank faced, but felt immensely proud. Hojo did also, but in the way of a robotic engineer watching on in pride at what his creation was capable of doing on its own.

The President mentally churned. Finally, he said, “That’s fine, fine indeed. All members of Shin-Ra should be anxious to serve their purpose. You’ve been given that last name, but don’t you dare get it into your head that you’re at all valuable to me personally. Not yet, anyways. You mean nothing to me, you do not belong to my family, and you’re not getting a red cent when I die. Your Shin-Ra name is a branding. If you try to run, anyone who finds you will return you here. Is that all understood?”

Sephiroth nodded with the soulful, secretive smirk that would one day grace the cover of Timeweek magazine. It was, and would become his trademark political mask, both defensive in its unreadability, and offensive in its cheeky quality. It would someday enflame the loins of a blonde, small town mountain boy – who was at that very moment an innocent seven-year-old, fast asleep on another continent and cuddled up under bed sheets that had a dinosaur print on them.

In Midgar, a thirteen-year-old Sephiroth waited a heartbeat before agreeing. “Yessir.”

The President seemed pleased, and very suddenly turned from a red faced miser into a jolly, almost Santa Claus-ish figure. “Personally son, it’s a fine arrangement, you starting your training early – and with a handicap! You should get to know the bones of being a cadet just as well as every other boy! I want you just as tired as any other cadet at the end of the day!”

Vincent smiled. Hojo nodded while clasping his hands behind his back. Sephiroth sat up straight in his chair and gave the President a plucky nod. “Yessir!”

“I just have one request from you, Sephiroth.”

“Yeah?” he asked, lit up and excited.

“Get Valentine’s sidewalk sucking accent out of your mouth.”

Sephiroth completely lost his composure. His mouth dropped open in shock as his face burned angrily, but he tried to gather himself. “…Yessir. Yes, sir.”

They were all dismissed. Sephiroth begged Hojo to allow him to spend the afternoon with Vincent to celebrate. The day outside was beautiful, and a teasing glimpse of it through the elevator windows was enough to make Sephiroth want to just leap off the top of HQ and fly away.

Hojo straightened up a bit. “Fine, you may take him for the afternoon.”

Both the men rejoiced.

“Sephiroth cannot consume any sodium, however.”

They slumped slightly, as sodium comprised over a third of their plans.

“And he must be returned before eight o’ clock. His initial disabling evaluation will begin first thing tomorrow morning, and he’ll need his rest…” Hojo concluded and turned to limp away, his slightly struggled gait only making him that much more detestable.

It would be so easy to kick him over. The innate bully in both men wanted to do nothing more than stomp on his glasses, cut off his ponytail, and take a piss on him. But neither Vincent nor Sephiroth could bring themselves to do so, because he was limping. It was quite the conundrum.

And even if the only food item at the movies that didn’t contain sodium were gummy bears, the lowest of the low candy choices on the totem pole, Sephiroth still regarded that night as one of the best of his entire life. It was regrettable that that night was also one of the last times Vincent had ever truly spent real time with him, but on that night they both had never laughed so easily and the future had never seemed so bright.

But it was bright, and he was living a good life. He had an occupation that was incredible beyond his wildest dreams. At the age of 22, he hardly ever had to report or deal directly with President Shin-Ra nor any overbearing medical individuals. He would never have to worry about financial stability as long as he lived. He had good friends, and he was in a temporarily long distance, but incredibly satisfying relationship with a very sexy blonde… who he happened to be madly in love with.

He wouldn’t dare ask for more. His recent happiness had done wonders to fill any voids in his heart, but he still wondered about Vincent. He thought about him at the oddest times.

Like now. Sephiroth was so completely consumed by memories that he had completely lost track of how long he had been standing in the ice freezing cold little shower rig. He liked to think that battle, war, and long term deployments had little effect on his mind, but sometimes even he became vacant and melancholy. Coming to awareness, he picked his forehead up off of the wall and began to quickly complete his shower.

When he was almost finished, Genesis yanked the door open. “Are you done yet?”

Sephiroth blinked at him from underneath his soaked hair. “Obviously not.”

“Crap!” Genesis shouted, and slammed the door shut.

Sephiroth finished and turned off the water valve, then rubbed his towel over his goosebumped skin quickly and wrapped it around his hips. He opened the door and Genesis was still standing there impatiently, holding his arms out as if he didn’t want to touch himself. “I was counseling a junior and he threw up on me!”

Sephiroth laughed as he passed Genesis by on the way to his clothes. “You still coulda knocked.”

“I was too damaged. Besides, I’m actually glad you were still in there. And not only because I saw your pristine ass, but because you can help me get undressed.”

“No!” Sephiroth laughed.

“Please?!”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to touch it!” Genesis whined, referring to the stinky, thick yellow mess all over his clothes.

“You think I wanna touch it?” Sephiroth rolled his eyes and with the tips of his fingers, he gingerly began unsnapping Genesis’ soiled red uniform.

They’d become good friends as cadets, grew apart a bit as school went by, and then reunited as if no time had passed during Sephiroth’s second tour of Wutai.

Genesis had always been strange, dramatic and extremely spoiled, which made him a good match for Rufus, the filthy-rich spawn of the President. Vincent was constantly assigned to tail after him, which ate up his free time. And then when one of his closest friends began to date him regularly, Sephiroth felt a sickening burn that he couldn’t explain.

He supposed it might have been jealousy.

Not that he and Genesis even made sense together! Sephiroth inwardly winced at how forced and strange sex with him would be. How fucking weird it would be to see his composed, pretty face contort with pleasure. Or pain. Or both. How absurd it would be to watch his cock spit all over it.

His fingers tripped over themselves when Genesis suddenly sighed, “How come we’ve never gotten together?”

Sephiroth snorted. “You’re askin’ me this while you’re covered in puke?”

“No, seriously!” Genesis pouted as he shrugged out of his coat. “Why didn’t you ever consider me?”

“You have Rufus. And the rest of the fuckin’ city,” Sephiroth joked. Genesis wasn’t exactly the town whore, but Rufus wasn’t just paranoid – the redhead got around. “It never occurred to me. And even if it did… it’d be weird.”

Genesis sighed longingly, raising his arms as Sephiroth carefully peeled his shirt off so no puke would touch his hair. “Have our ships already sailed for each other, Seph?”

“I’ll pretend I know what that means, and say ‘yes’,” Sephiroth chuckled, and unzipped Genesis’ pants and peeled them down.

Genesis stepped out of them, but seemed truly disappointed. “I suppose I’ll have to do as Zack says, and wait until another lifetime to finally get the chance to hide my fist in your beautiful rectum.”

Sephiroth frowned as he left Genesis in his underwear and picked up his dirty uniform for cleaning. “…It might be a couple of lifetimes.”

“You mean to tell me Cloud has yet to fist you? Have you tried watersports, yet?”

“…No.”

“You haven’t even pissed on him? Ugh! Your sex life must be so vanilla.” Genesis wrinkled his nose. “And I always thought you’d be a kinky little fuck.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Sephiroth smiled secretively.

“You do like what you do, though?” Genesis asked as he shamelessly stripped himself down to the core and put his hands on his hips.

“More than like…” Love, Sephiroth thought with a pang of longing in his chest.

“That’s all that matters,” Genesis nodded. “But frankly, the second I get back to Midgar, Rufus is getting his ankles tied above his ears and his asshole full of candlewax.”

Sephiroth held the vomit stained clothes aloft as though he might throw them right in Genesis’ face. “Catch.”

“You wouldn’t!” Genesis howled, already yanking the door of the shower rig open and hiding away inside. Once the door was closed, Sephiroth pitched the heavy load with a satisfying slap of belts and red leather against the metal door.

There was a high pitched scream from inside, followed by Sephiroth’s booming laughter. He loved to torture his friends.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cloud dreamt about walking for hours, and he felt the time pass as keenly as if he had been awake. He walked through the stupid fucking snow of the Northern Crater, every so often stepping clumsily into a softer patch and falling in up to his shins. He’d step out of it, brush himself off and keep going.

It was endless and he was going nowhere, but couldn’t stop.

Finally, out of mental exhaustion and boredom, he woke up. There was daylight peeking through the rips and tears in the tent. He was alone, and apparently had slept in.

His eyes hurt with the need to weep out of pure self pity. He was so fucking cold, so fucking miserable. And the first time he’d actually slept late in ages, he spent the entire night trapped in an exhausting, never ending quest of a dream.

He sighed, and saw breath puff out of his mouth in the frigid air.

What was he going to say to Sephiroth?

It wasn’t like he’d cheated on his beloved. But guilt ate away at him from all edges, a sickening feeling that he’d betrayed Sephiroth by just wanting to betray Sephiroth – even if it had only been for a moment. Cloud was so angry and upset with his body that he considered cutting his treacherous cock off and sending it to Sephiroth gift wrapped, like Van Gogh sent his fucking ear.

It wasn’t even about the jerking off part. Cloud lived on a campus with approximately 1000 teenage boys; every door one opened held a fifty percent chance someone was masturbating behind it. Maybe even two or three people! The gym showers after the last physical class of the day was like synchronized jerk off swim team.

Beating off was no great, sensual mystery to anyone in the army. But Cloud knew there was still plenty of potential for Sephiroth to feel angry, livid, wrathful… hurt.

It sickened Cloud deeply to know something he had done might potentially hurt Sephiroth. The idea of causing that wonderful man pain was unbearable.

“Shit,” he hissed and rolled over to find his phone. He checked the time and was momentarily amused to see how late he had slept in. He rolled the freezing phone in his hand, the white surface still pristine and new. He rolled it until he got the nerve to open it, and he looked at Sephiroth’s picture – changed from the naked bathroom snapshot to one Cloud had taken of him during their winter break week together.

Sephiroth had been showing him some hand to hand maneuvers in one of the vast pockets of emptiness in the loft. Or rather, he was trying to.

Every single bout ended with Cloud gently pinned to the floor, again and again. Every single time Cloud would wind his legs around Sephiroth with a soft smile that had absolutely no place in a fighting lesson. And despite Sephiroth giving Cloud every possible opening and displaying every weakness, he still wouldn’t get the better of him.

It wasn’t that Cloud wasn’t taking the advice seriously, he was genuinely drinking in every pointer and taking it to heart… the real problem was that Sephiroth wasn’t wearing any pants.

He was only wearing a white cotton t-shirt and plain white briefs. Cloud loved the simple t-shirt, it was soft beneath his fingers, and stretched to cling to the hard lines of his lover’s body. He also loved every inch of Sephiroth’s long, smooth, bare legs that tripped and wrapped around his own. If Jenova really was going to pilot his body for evil, and it was somehow up to Cloud to stop him or else the world should end, all She had to do was dress Sephiroth in this combination of clothes and Cloud would easily be trumped.

Cloud was pinned again, and this time Sephiroth felt that his little blonde opponent had developed an erection. It was glaringly apparent that Cloud wasn’t focused in the slightest, and Sephiroth became bemusedly fed up and stomped to the fridge for a drink.

“Heeey, don’t go…” Cloud had whined, popping up onto one elbow and watching him strut to the kitchen. “It was just getting interesting.”

“You’re oversexed,” Sephiroth accused.

“You’re overly sexy!” Cloud countered as he rolled onto his back and watched Sephiroth from upside down as he drank from a carton of orange juice. Maybe it was just the strange angle of it, or the manly, domestic way Sephiroth leaned on the fridge door as he tilted the carton back. Cloud was so stricken by the image he had pulled his phone from his back pocket (which had stolen prized possession status from his Mp3 player, and was too precious to let out of his sight, even for a sparring lesson) and had taken the picture.

He stared at the photo he’d taken, remembering every detail of that moment.

It had to be more than just irrational teenage hormones. Cloud knew he wanted to be with Sephiroth for the rest of his life. He needed to talk to him and make everything right. He pressed Sephiroth’s speed dial and bit his thumb.

After a few rings, a stern, handsome voice picked up. “Well it’s about time. You’re the one I’ve been wantin’ to talk to all goddamn day.”

Cloud straightened a little bit, terrified that Sephiroth might have already found out what happened. “…Really?”

“Of course, baby. You’re my mate,” Sephiroth easily flirted, and Cloud could just see the charming, slightly dimpled smile on his face. “I’ve been wantin’ to make sure you’re okay.”

A fresh wave of grief hit him, and he fell over onto the hard, cold ground, softened only slightly by his sleeping bag. “I’m fine. Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt or anything, did you?”

“Of course not,” Sephiroth snorted. “I heard you got some booboos, though. I also heard that your friend had a big scare and you took care of him. I find acts of heroism awful fuckin’ sexy, ya know...”

“You’re being too sweet today,” Cloud couldn’t help but smile bashfully, even though in his mind he argued that Reno wasn’t his fucking friend, he was a home wrecking ginger incubus.

“It’s my job to be sweet to you,” Sephiroth said softly to him.

If it wasn’t so cold, Cloud would have wept.

Sephiroth heard a tiny, dry sob though. “…Everything okay?”

“Yesterday just… fucked me up,” Cloud muttered, zipping himself entirely up inside his sleeping bag. “…I just wish…”

“What?”

“I wish I could have been with you,” Cloud muttered, sounding a lot more bitter than he realized he felt.

“…So you are mad at me about the other day.”

Cloud huffed and decided that yes, yes he fucking was! “I understand that you had things you had to do, and that we had a battle the next day, and that you probably haven’t slept in months and that you don’t have any time to worry about me. But if I was the General, and I saw you after three fucking months, I’d take at least a second for you!” Cloud was seething with misplaced rage. “Maybe I’d even stretch that out into a whole sixty seconds!”

“Cloud – ”

“I know everything you’re going to say! You have a very important job, and it has to come first. I get it! So don’t treat me like some stupid little kid, because I’m not! And don’t baby me either, because that’s almost worse!” He couldn’t stop himself.

“’Kay,” Sephiroth said after a moment of silence. Cloud frowned, knowing full well that he was acting like a monumental ass, and was certain Sephiroth was thinking of what a complete and utter prick he was dating.

The truth was, Sephiroth was holding his hand over the phone to block out the sound of his laughter. Cloud was adorable when he was angry.

“…But…” Cloud said slowly, trying to gather his thoughts. “It was still kinda nice just to see you.”

“So you’re done being pissed off at me, now?”

“Seph, I’m not pissed at you,” Cloud said, quite ashamed of himself. “I love you.”

“Good. Because we’re all going home tomorrow.”

Cloud shot straight up in bed. “Are you serious?”

“Yup, Wutai conceded first thing this mornin’. It’s all over.”

“Are you serious!?” Cloud wailed louder.

“I’m serious,” Sephiroth laughed.

Cloud gave a loud shout of victory, “We did it! We won! The Northern Crater is ours now!”

Sephiroth chuckled with him. “Yup, it’s all ours. But we sure as fuck don’t wanna stay here with it, do we?”

“Hell no!” Cloud cried, and rolled over onto his stomach. “So we really get to go home, now? Just like that?”

“Absolutely. Airships are gonna leave Midgar in about five hours, so they’ll be here early tomorrow. You’ll be outta here first thing.”

“What about you?” Cloud gushed. “When will I see you? Will I get to see you tomorrow?”

Sephiroth’s voice straightened out from joyous into a mode of serious planning. “I need to go to a press conference when I get back to Midgar, then there’s this dinner thing afterwards that I’m gonna get out of. I wanna eat with you. Then eat you.”

Cloud roared in glee, feeling like he could leap out of his skin. “So what should I do tomorrow!? We need a plan!”

“Just go home and rest, chill out. I’ll call you when it’s all over, and come get you.”

“I have your keys!” Cloud cried.

“Fuck, that’s right. In that case I’ll grab a ride to the apartment, and we can meet there.”

“Okay!” Cloud agreed, already planning on having dinner cooked and himself sprawled out naked on the floor.

“Make sure to pack.”

“Pack for what?”

“You’ve got a week off, right? I hope you don’t have any plans, ’cause I’m cancellin’ ‘em for you. Anywhere you wanna go?”

Cloud had managed to forget about his week off upon his return home. There were a few moments in the previous day that he thought he might not be returning home at all. He scratched his head, “I wouldn’t mind going out to the club again!”

Sephiroth paused. “I meant like, in the world.”

Cloud’s eyes shot open. “For real?”

“Yeah, where would you like to spend a few days at? Just you and me.”

Cloud’s mind traveled to all the romantic and tropical locations on the globe, places he’d wanted to visit and places his mother vowed to spend her honeymoon if she ever married. His mind kept going back to one place, though. “Seph, it might be lame, but… I really just wanna go home with you.”

Sephiroth was quiet for a moment, then said with a smile, “That’s where we’ll go, then. We’ll barricade that shit up.”

Cloud grinned and let contentment take some of his anxiety away. He was going home, he was going to see his lover, and everything was going to be okay. Cloud didn’t relax entirely, because he had not forgotten that the point of the entire conversation was to fess up to his near-brush with infidelity.

He bit his lip and considered the options. He could be honest, potentially upset Sephiroth and spoil what would surely be a heavenly reunion, or he could just… keep his fucking mouth shut. The latter option was extremely tempting. Cloud had lied plenty in his lifetime, but never about anything of real importance.

Cloud’s innate goodness wanted to tell the truth, but wondered what purpose it would serve. He hadn’t done anything.

Had he? What if he had?

And what if Sephiroth somehow found out about his X – rated conversation with Reno through another source? It’s not like SOLDIERs were deaf. If it got back to Sephiroth what had happened and Cloud hadn’t come clean, it would look much, much worse than it actually was. And what if the eavesdropper mistook a masturbatory lame-a-thon for actual sex?

Did Sephiroth know him well enough to believe his word over the word of a SOLDIER? Had he earned that much of Sephiroth’s trust yet?

And if he had earned Sephiroth’s trust, was he abusing it by not being upfront?

Cloud finally decided to just take the leap for honesty. He respected Sephiroth enough to do that. “Seph… I need to tell you something.”

“What?” Sephiroth asked, somewhat absently.

Cloud swallowed, not wanting his lover to misunderstand a single word that was about to be said. “Could you stop whatever you’re doing for a sec. Please? Something weird happened…”

“I’m listenin’ babe,” Sephiroth offered after a moment of rustling around.

Cloud closed his eyes. “Okay. Last night, Reno and I were in my tent – ”

“Whoah,” Sephiroth immediately interrupted. “Who’s Reno? And why the fuck was he in your tent?”

Cloud squeezed his eyes shut. Sephiroth’s immediate, sharp tone had caught him completely off guard. He had said too much to back out, though. “R-Reno is my friend…sort of. He’s the one who was hurt yesterday. And he was in m-my tent because we were both so tired, we just didn’t want to have to build our own tents. We were just sharing...”

Cloud hadn’t realized just how bad that actually sounded in and of itself until he had said it out loud. He heard Sephiroth shift on the other end of the line, and let out a small breath before continuing, “Anyways. Well, what happened was…”

“You fucked him.”

“God, no!” Cloud cried, shocked numb. “Not even close! He made a pass at me last night, but nothing happened! I just wanted to… I thought I should tell you.”

Sephiroth said nothing at first, then carefully asked. “And that’s all that happened? He made a pass, you said no and that’s all?”

Cloud spoke nervously. “Believe me, Seph. I don’t want anyone else... I don’t want to make you feel like you can’t trust me and I don’t want you to think this is a bigger deal than it is.”

Sephiroth was silent.

“C’mon, please say something,” Cloud implored.

“I’m just…” Sephiroth began slowly after a moment, then paused. He was torn down the center of himself; half of him seeing red with anger and territorial jealousy, and the other half was almost understanding that things sometimes happened when men were crammed together for periods of time. But this was his man in particular, and one that he had been aching for. He felt almost foolish for how strongly he felt about Cloud, if he was the sort of guy who’d sleep in a tiny tent next to just anybody.

But the thing that was killing Sephiroth, was that fact that Cloud was hiding something. He could hear it in every word he spoke. There was something he didn’t want to tell, and was trying clumsily to steer Sephiroth away from it.

The General feared the worst.

When he spoke again, his tone was confident and business-like. “I knew when I first started this, I knew that there was a really good chance of one of us fuckin’ up. I just didn’t think it’d be so soon.”

Cloud gasped. “Sephiroth, I told you nothing happened –”

“I’m supposed to believe that?” Sephiroth asked, a hollow, angry chuckle spiking across the line.

“Yes!”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Why not!?”

“Because I know you’re lyin’.”

“I’m not!” Cloud roared.

“Cloud Strife, you lie to me all the goddamn time. You’re fuckin’ terrible at it, too. You think I don’t know when you stretch the truth? You think I can’t tell? You think I’m fuckin’ stupid?”

“No!” Cloud sobbed dryly, his mind unable to come up with anything at all to say. This conversation had taken a turn straight to hell.

“I lied to you a lot at first, but I fuckin’ admitted all of it. You know how hard that was? You don’t even understand how I… Christ! Don’t you know?” Sephiroth’s voice was beginning to steadily rise, and Cloud began to pant in terror.

He searched his mind, trying to think of any reason at all Sephiroth would assume he was lying. He wasn’t… but he was omitting something. “I didn’t kiss him, I didn’t touch him, it was too dark to even see him! We just – ”

“You just what? What did you just do, Cloud?”

“We… we jerked off,” Cloud finally confessed. “Not touching each other, not watching, just… in the same tent. That’s the truth, Sephiroth. I swear to fucking sweet holy baby crucified Jesus.”

“I told you at the start that you were mine,” Sephiroth murmured quietly, which was far worse than the shouting. “If you don’t think you can handle being mine, and being away from me from time to time, let’s end this right now.”

“You know I don’t want that,” Cloud said, trying to remain calm and mature despite the uncontrollable cracks of his voice. “I know I messed up… but I think you’re overreacting!”

“Do you?” Sephiroth said thoughtfully. “Let’s pretend I just told you that I circle jerked with Genesis. How would you feel about that?”

Cloud closed his eyes and let himself fall against the ground inside his bag. “…I’d feel like shit. But I would try my hardest to understand. And I would,” Cloud choked,” keep on loving you just the same.”

“So you called me all pissed off because I couldn’t talk to you the other day,” Sephiroth thought aloud. “You made me feel like I needed to make somethin’ up to you, so I fuckin’ trip over myself to try an’ make you happy… then you tell me you fucked yourself in front of some stupid kid last night? I’m done. We’re done.”

“Don’t say that!” Cloud begged. “Please –”

“I said we’re done. I’m glad you’ve been fuckin’ around in your tent with some other brat, gettin’ your rocks off, Cloud,” Sephiroth said, disgust seething in his voice. “I’m glad you’re doin’ that while I’ve thought about you every… I’m done bein’ your bitch. I’m not even gonna give you the fuckin’ satisfaction of knowing how much I lo – …”

Cloud paused, speechless. Stricken absolutely speechless.

So was Sephiroth, apparently. After a few moments of just breathing in each other’s ears, Sephiroth finally said, “You gave me… so much. The best things I’ve ever gotten.”

Then Sephiroth hung up.

Cloud clamored out of his tent, and the first thing he did was vomit the small amount of food he’d eaten the prior day. He heaved until he was only sobbing up bile.

The next thing he did was search for Reno. Cloud found him laughing beside the midday campfire, jovially placed between a junior SOLDIER and Kevin, who Cloud hadn’t seen since he boarded the plane to the Crater.

When he got on that plane, he thought he was going to see Sephiroth when he landed. Now, he’d never see Sephiroth again.

Scratch that, he’d see him plenty. But he wasn’t ever going to see Sephiroth again with his arms open, waiting to hold him and accept him and keep him warm. He was never going to touch him, or kiss him, or sleep beneath him, pressed into the mattress to the point of near-discomfort that was so well worth it.

He was going to live like Sephiroth and Vincent Valentine, near but not together, hurt and never mended. He’d hurt Sephiroth! He’d undone everything.

And it was all Reno’s fucking fault.

Cloud was going to kill him.

Reno’s eyes found him approaching, and widened a bit. That angular, demonic ginger home wrecking face turned towards him, and those shapely, come guzzling lips parted and he said, “…Yo Clo – ”

That was all he said.

Cloud was actually shocked at the distance Reno flew backwards. His air time was almost a full second, and he landed in a pile of limbs. He began to collect himself for either defense or retaliation when Cloud fell on top of him. He grabbed Reno’s face between his fingers and punched him again, this time seeing it, feeling it, experiencing his knuckles sinking into Reno’s handsome face to the bone.

He hit Reno again, punching the side of his head, earnestly attempting to break his skull in. Reno was hard headed, literally. Cloud’s knuckles split open before his eyes and his blood mixed in with Reno’s hair.

He snorted like a bull, the red and the pain just making him that much angrier, but also that much more relaxed in his decision that he was about to commit a murder.

He registered pain near his ribs, but it was only a sting, a minor irritation. Later he’d realize little Kevin, who was trying to get him off of Reno to no avail, was kicking him repeatedly.

Cloud took Reno’s face and began to attempt to gouge Reno’s eyes out. Reno was able to capture his fingers and prevent them from sinking all the way into his sockets, but they still dipped into the sensitive orifices with wriggling, malicious intent.

It wasn’t until inhumanly strong arms wrapped around his waist that Cloud realized that what was happening wasn’t merely a thought, but reality. He’d tried to kill Reno. And now the redhead was barely conscious.

Cloud heard Chuckles screaming in his ear as if a television had just come off of mute. “– hell are you doing!? Cloud!”

Cloud slumped against Chuckles, all of his will to stand draining as Reno coughed and blood splashed up from his throat. Someone rushed to Reno and Cured him immediately. Cloud watched his eyes refocus and fixate on him.

“You attacked an unprepared comrade,” Chuckles informed him like a cop reading him his rights. “You’ve got two choices. We can settle this right now; I hold you and let him have three clear swings at you. Or, if you’d rather make it official, we’ll report you and you’ll be held in camp prison until we get back to Midgar, where formal proceedings will begin.”

“Let him hit me,” Cloud immediately chose, as if he even had a choice.

Reno frowned. He stepped up to Cloud somewhat half heartedly, and clocked him across the face once, twice, and three times. There were three thick, satisfying whaps of hard fist upon flesh, and Cloud’s ears rang and buzzed in response to each one. He tasted blood inside his mouth, and swallowed enough to make his stomach turn, but didn’t dare complain, not even in his own mind.

Chuckles let him go, and caught him again when Cloud began to slump weakly, and set him on his feet.

“Apologize,” a SOLDIER Cloud didn’t know urged like a kindergarten teacher.

Cloud looked up at Reno miserably. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too,” Reno nodded, and it was clear in his tone that he was apologizing for more than just the fight.

“It never happened,” Chuckles stated, then turned away from the scene and urged everyone else to do the same. Reno stared at him for a moment before he turned back to the campfire, followed along by a few busybody SOLDIERs who were trying to get the full scoop. The rest of the spectators dispersed, happy to be going home and not caring about a little bit of teenage drama.

Zack was the only one that stayed, and Cloud almost wished he hadn’t. He raised his eyes and found Zack’s with their usual friendly, familiar blue light. He then threw an arm around Cloud’s shoulders, half supporting him. “Walk with me.”

Cloud did, only because he didn’t have anything else to do. His heart felt too broken to continue beating. He let himself be guided, and after a few minutes of walking away from camp and into the nothing whiteness of the Crater, he actually found himself feeling a bit better, almost as if he could erase himself in the snow.

“I heard what happened last night,” Zack said finally, shattering that illusion.

Cloud wasn’t shocked. Public shame was the story of his life thus far, and the trend didn’t seem to be receding at all. “I…”

“Look. You’re a big guy, you’ve made it pretty obvious that you can take care of yourself and make your own decisions… I shouldn’t butt in, I just…” Zack hesitated. “I wasn’t trying to listen in on you. But I’ve just been sticking so close to you, I’m used to looking out for you. I heard you start to say ‘no’ a lot, so I kind of paid attention. You’re okay, right?”

Cloud looked up at him in surprise at that. “Huh…?Yeah, of course I’m okay.”

“I thought maybe it ended well… but since you just beat the living shit out of Reno, I guess maybe it didn’t…?”

Cloud blushed deeply at Zack having heard how it “ended”. “Everything’s… alright. I’m just…”

Cloud needed to be held so badly that he gave Zack a rape of an embrace. He’d been needing to feel someone for so long, and the dark haired hunk was the only one in sight.

Zack didn’t know what to do with Cloud sobbing dryly and clutching to him. He wrapped his arms around him and jostled him a bit, trying to shake some joy into him. “You shook up from yesterday? You want something? We’ve got plenty of happy pills in the medical kit.”

“That sounds awesome,” Cloud hiccupped as Zack shook him a little bit and pulled him, continuing their walk. He finally managed to get his emotions under control, when very suddenly, the pain and tightly swollen feeling throughout his face and torso vanished. He looked up at Zack and sniffed curiously. He wasn’t expected to receive a cure since he had acted like a big fathead bully.

But Zack only smiled down at him. “Gotta keep you pretty for Seph, he’d kill me if he knew I let you walk around with a huge black eye.”

Cloud stopped walking. “Zack… I think I might have ruined things with…”

“With Reno? No way, you’ll still be friends. Me and Seph beat the shit out of each other regularly, it’s almost like our…Cloud?”

Cloud’s face had begun trying to cry for the umpteenth time. Zack said his name softly, curiously. He couldn’t respond to Zack, only hung his head in complete and utter defeat and misery.

“Cloud? What is it, man?”

“I ruined everything with Seph…” Cloud finally managed to squeeze out.

“No way! I mean, I don’t think you cheated, nothing to be guilty about. As long as you just get past it and definitely, definitely do not tell him… oh fuck… you told him, didn’t you?”

Cloud nodded helplessly. “We’re done! He said we’re done!”

Zack pursed his lips as his eyebrows scrunched together in thought. Without another thing to do, he scratched the back of Cloud’s head slowly. “Why the hell did you tell him..?”

“I had to!” Cloud wailed. “I felt awful… I just wanted him to tell me it was alright, that we were alright. He obviously didn’t feel that way. “

“Cloud. That was a mistake –”

“I can see that, now!”

Zack frowned at all the drama. “Look, I’ve spent a lot more time with Sephiroth than I have with you. And I know for a fact that he’s never been in a position like yours. Mainly because of who he is, nobody would try to pull that shit on him. You’re in a different position because you’ve got no rank and… well, you’re cute.”

Cloud leveled a glare. Zack ignored it and kept on with his point. “So that just means that you need to be more careful. You have to keep a better eye out for yourself and for uh… your fucking virtue, I guess. Do you really think it was such a hot idea to go sharing a tent with some guy?”

Cloud pursed his lips. Zack had a point. “I guess it was kind of naïve.”

“Like I said, it was just a mistake. I heard everything. I can talk to him.”

A ray of hope shined through Cloud’s soul, but it was brief. “…No. I don’t want to fix things through you. I want to fix them myself.”

Zack grimaced. “Uh, Cloud. That might be harder than you think.”

Cloud closed his eyes and threw back his head in misery. “Trust me, I’ve never felt worse or more embarrassed in my entire life. Whatever else he has to say to me, I can take it now.”

Zack snapped his fingers. “Don’t leave him alone, then. Beg, cry, plead and just don’t get off of his back until he listens to you. That’s what I do.”

Cloud actually smiled a little at that. “So you think it’s a good idea to call back? Even if he hung up on me?”

“Money says he’s waiting by the phone, just dying for you to call back,” Zack grinned.

Cloud was already pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Zack pulled his head into a hug and kissed his spikes. “I like you two together. Even if it’s only been for a little while in this lifetime… it’s just the way it’s supposed to be.”

Cloud gazed up at Zack. “…We were together in another life?”

Zack shrugged a shoulder. “Together is an understatement. Last time you two were like a walking baby factory. Seph loves kids to death and so do you, but towards the end you got really fat and bitter. I’m guessing you’re a guy in this lifetime because you were tired of churning them out.”

Cloud let himself giggle at that, simply because it just felt so goddamned true. Numerous times he’d turned his nose up at the thought of baby production, glad as hell he wasn’t equipped to do such a thing. Having babies sounded wonderful. But having babies sounded like a slice of hell.

And with a smile finally in place on Cloud’s face, Zack departed with a feeling that his job was done.

Cloud took his phone out, half expecting it to be damaged by his scuffle through the snow. He shook his wrists, trying to get rid of his nerves, and then speed dialed Sephiroth.

The General picked up immediately… a little too immediately. “If you’re gonna bother me all day, I’m turnin’ my phone off.”

Cloud crossed his arms and swallowed any amount of hard headed pride he might have been harboring. “…Please forgive me.”

This was not what Sephiroth had been expecting to hear. At all. He was expecting a minimalization of the situation, or maybe groveling or perhaps whining teary eyed pity party.

But forgiveness was not something he had been anticipating. Something arrogant in his mind told him that he shouldn’t, only to preserve the confidence and self worth that he’d fought for since he was a child. But a greater, larger, and far deeper part of himself wanted very badly to forgive, destroy the kid who tried to touch Cloud, then forget.

Cloud let the silence spin out as long as Sephiroth needed it to. He closed his eyes when it stretched beyond mere consideration. But he was stuck on repeat, he had no other words, nothing else to say. “Forgive me.”

“Why should I?” Sephiroth asked, almost childishly.

Love was the most logical reason, but its currency wasn’t useful in this conversation. Cloud tried for something else. Something he hoped carried a bit more realistic weight. “Because I am yours. You mean more to me than anything ever has. You make me want to be a better person, and you’ve inspired me to do everything that I’ve ever done that matters. I didn’t mean for anything like that to happen, and I didn’t forget about how much I love you for a moment. Please forgive me.”

“…Cloud,” was all Sephiroth could say.

“Sephiroth?” Cloud said quietly.

He huffed on the other end of the line impatiently, then the sound melted into a considering sigh. “Run the whole thing by me again.”

Cloud screamed into his phone in anguish, although it was also edged in black humor. “I already told you what happened! I don’t wanna say it again because then you’re going to get mad and not love me anymore!”

Sephiroth just laughed.

Not because anything was funny, but only because he felt so tired and homesick, and then elated at the news of finally going home, and then so hurt at the concept of Cloud with another person, and then just so angry, and then so upset when Cloud didn’t immediately call back, and now so confused at what he should be feeling now… that the only thing he could do to prevent himself from weeping was to laugh. “Just… tell me again what happened. No fibbing, and no sugar coating.”

Cloud snorted. “The idiot tried to get me to sleep with him. I didn’t, obviously.”

“Did you kiss him?” Sephiroth asked carefully.

“No,” Cloud said firmly.

,” Sephiroth decided. “But you fucked yourself in front of him.”

“I wouldn’t take it that far,” Cloud clarified. “It was more like… Did you ever rub one out in a public bathroom when there are a lot of people around? Maybe some douche bags talking and a guy in the next stall taking a smelly dump? But you’re just so wound up that you need to just do it even though it doesn’t even feel that great?”

Sephiroth actually laughed a little bit at that, genuine instead of helpless. “Maybe when I was a desperate little kid.”

“Thanks,” Cloud said dryly. “But it was like that. He was there, but we weren’t doing it together. I was thinking about you, wishing I could be with you. I hope this sounds like the truth to you dear, because it is.”

It did sound like the truth, because it was. “Why didn’t you just tell me this to begin with?”

“I dunno, Seph… maybe because I was trying to make it sound not so bad, and only made it sound worse. I’m sorry it happened... it didn’t have anything to do with him. He’s an asshole! I don’t even like him!”

“Ah,” Sephiroth scolded gently. “That’s a little fib right there.”

Cloud blushed. “Well… God, Seph. Don’t tell me you don’t look at people. Like Genesis, for example.”

“This isn’t about me,” Sephiroth laughed again, suddenly enjoying this conversation a lot more. It was beyond cute that Cloud was jealous over Genesis’ strange, asexual presence in his life. He took satanic delight in saying, “Well, I might have a confession to make also. I did undress Gen out of a vomit-covered uniform last night.”

Cloud’s ears turned red. “You what!? I didn’t even see Reno and you kicked me to the curb! I have every right to just…!”

“Just what?” Sephiroth smiled.

“Just…ask what he looks like naked?” Cloud admitted.

Sephiroth laughed at that. “He’s standard and boring and nothing at all like you.”

Cloud rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but dig his toe into the snow flirtatiously. “I’m sorry for making you think I was lying to you.”

Sephiroth sighed patronizingly. “I’m sorry for bein’ a big asshole and overreacting.”

“I’m sorry for dropping a load without you,” Cloud ventured to joke.

“I’m sorry for not being there to catch it,” Sephiroth said back.

Cloud smiled and moved to brush his hair out of his eyes, and was surprised to find blood on his fingers. Zack’s cure didn’t remove the evidence of his fight. “Oh, Seph, you’re going to be so disappointed in me. I got a black eye and my lip busted open and my ribs cracked –”

“Who the fuck gave you a black eye?” Sephiroth immediately snapped.

“Reno did. I beat his ass just now,” Cloud said quietly, not at all proud of this fact. “I guess I hulked out or something after you hung up on me.”

“He hit you?” was all Sephiroth was fixated on.

“You should see what I did to him, don’t worry about it. It’s making me feel kind of manly,” Cloud smiled, although hollowly.

Sephiroth swallowed back his new anger at someone having the nerve to hit Cloud’s angelic face. He knew all about wanting to feel manly, and he also realized that that particular feeling didn’t come to Cloud Strife as often as he might have liked. Sephiroth decided to let him have this fight, but Reno would not go unpunished for his transgressions. He was already cooking up a plan for revenge. “As long as you’re alright.”

“I’m fine, Zack fixed me. So c’mon. I want to go home tomorrow and you’ve got tons to do before then, right? You should really stop slacking and get your hot ass back to work.”

There was a clear smile in Sephiroth’s voice. “…Build your own fuckin’ tent tonight.”

Cloud blushed at the sheer stupidity his actions displayed. “Yes, sir… Do you forgive me?”

“Why do you always ask me such obvious questions?”

“Because I love the sound of your voice!”

“Don’t get too cheeky,” Sephiroth warned. “I’m still not entirely happy with you.”

“I’ll make you happy,” Cloud murmured earnestly. “That’s all I want to do.”

“You usually do a pretty good job.”

“Forgive me already.”

“I could do that…” Sephiroth slowly decided, and then snorted. “Fuck. I’m not even trying to pretend that you’re not… the only one for me.”

Cloud moaned and closed his eyes. “I promise.” He wasn’t sure what he was promising, but it was the only thing he could say.

“…Maybe someday this’ll be funny.”

Cloud hiccupped with relief. It wasn’t only Sephiroth who had an eject button, anymore. With a little more practice at earnestly smooth talking himself out of bad situations, maybe he could find the wisdom not to get into them in the first place.

He prayed so.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The happy pills that Zack had mentioned contained a SOLDIER dose of Valium.

He broke one in half when Cloud returned to camp after his conversation with Sephiroth, still shaky, still a wreck, but at least not attacking anybody.

Cloud took the half pill, then managed to swallow a few bites of food before passing out like a corpse. Zack carried him back to his tent and tucked him in.

The SOLDIERs all wanted to know what had gotten little Cloud so furious, but for once in his life Reno kept his big mouth shut. He didn’t want word to spread that he’d borderline molested Cloud Strife, the camp pet, and Sephiroth’s one true fucking love, apparently. He inwardly hoped Cloud would be smart enough not to tell the General about it, because he was getting mighty nervous about facing some of his legendary wrath. Plus he didn’t want Rude to ever find out that he was a horny lech when faced with the right circumstances. The two of them had already had their fair share of issues.

After swallowing the tablet, the next thing that Cloud was consciously aware of was that he was buckled into an airship seat. He looked dazedly to one side and found Zack there. He looked to his other side and found Max.

Max noticed himself being looked at, and did something peculiar. Slowly… so slowly… he spread his fingers out and waved them in front of Cloud’s eyes.

It was the most amazing thing Cloud had ever seen. He lost his focus and let his head fall back against the seat.

He was incredibly thirsty, and there was a can of soda opened and sitting in the end of Max’s armrest. Without a care, Cloud lifted it up and proceeded to almost spill it all over himself. Max caught it just in time, and there was some sort of booming, slow noise that Cloud would later realize was laughter. Then, the can was helpfully placed at his lips, and he took a much needed drink.

Cloud eventually returned to reality from the land of prescription drugs, and just in time to be terrified as the airship landed. He clutched his seatbelt, having had no time at all to become used to the feeling of once again being in the air, because he had simply woken up there. It was like waking up from sleep because you were hot to find that you were actually on fire.

Cloud decided that he absolutely hated to fly, and that he’d take more drugs before getting on a ship, next time.

They landed safely of course. He peeked out of the window and saw that there was a small crowd of people waiting.

He took his stuff and moved into the line off of the ship. When he crossed from the air conditioned cabin out to the warm sunshine, he took a moment to close his eyes and breathe in air that didn’t freeze his lungs and nose. Spring was in full swing in Midgar, and the humidity caused his long johns to almost immediately cling damply to his thighs.

He’d never felt so exhilarated to get swamp ass before.

He strutted off of the ramp, hoping vaguely for a tall, beautiful, sorely missed somebody, but spotted Cam in the little cluster of people instead. There were some gussied up ladies there to greet their SOLDIER lovers, families and classmates to welcome home the school aged boys, and a few press photographers snapping pictures.

Cloud grinned and trotted up to Cam and threw his arms around his shoulders. “Did you miss me!?”

Cam indulged him in a manly bro grab. “No. You ain’t been gone dat fuckin’ long, ya know.”

“It feels like forever to me…” Cloud sniffed, and rejoiced in the fact that his tear ducts were defrosted, and let an avalanche of salty water run down his cheeks. Swamp ass and a face full of ugly tears – it felt so good to be back home.

“Cloud, ya alright...?” Cam asked softly.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Cloud whispered before collecting himself. It was too late, though, a reporter had snapped a picture of him crying like a fat baby.

“Hey! You’re General Sephiroth’s cadet lover, aren’t you!? Why isn’t the General here to greet you? Did you see him in action at the Crater?”

Cloud opened his mouth to reply, but was having trouble decided which of the rapid-fire questions he should answer first, when noticed something. The reporter had no accent. Cloud’s ears were so used to hearing Midgar slang or Junon propriety or any combination thereof, that the absence of staccato-accented words caused him to take pause.

“You’re from Nibelheim?” Cloud smiled curiously, wiping his face dry.

The reporter looked a bit off guard, seeming to tilt his head at Cloud’s voice as well. For two Nibelheim natives to run into each other was a rare thing. “Aye, brother! I didn’t realize you were from the motherland!”

Cloud grinned and nodded. “This is my first year away from home.”

“Your first year and you’re already coming back from a successful mission in the treacherous Northern Crater.” The reporter cooed narritively and snapped another picture of Cloud for the hell of it. “What’s your last name?”

“Strife,” Cloud moaned, ready to catch some grief.

The reporter let out a bawling laugh. “Must be April Strife’s son! I can see the resemblance. Your mother’s a lovely little piece when she’s not speaking. In fact, the one time I saw you, you were just a little lad walking along on the bar at the corner pub!”

Neither of them saw anything wrong with this statement.

They chatted for a moment while Cam’s jaw hung loose, and he tried to keep up with what was actually being said. The two men spoke loosely with one another, completely lost in their own private cultural phenomenon.

“Tell your mother that Simon gives his best,” said the reporter, who was apparently Simon. “One more photo? Maybe actually be ready for it this time, champ?”

Cloud gave a smile and a cheeky salute, and the reporter was satisfied, and left to snap photos of teary eyed children clinging to their returning fathers. Just when Cloud wondered where Zack was, he spotted him kissing Aerith. Well, not so much kissing as sucking her soul out through her face. Cloud just smiled and found the rest of his small group of SOLDIERs reunited with their loved ones.

Chuckles had a family, but no lover or children. Max was the father of a little girl, and his wife stood apart from him watching father and child kiss and hug happily, but with no spark of personal relief to see him in her own eyes. Cloud thought that perhaps he was a divorcee, or maybe just a baby daddy. Other SOLDIERs Cloud had gotten to know were wrapped up in their own personal reunions.

Reno was currently scooped up by a tall, brawny, dark skinned young man in sunglasses and a severe black mohawk and two arms full of tattoos. They caught each other’s eye, and Cloud gave him a genuine smile. Reno only pushed his face into Rude’s neck and enjoyed his boyfriend’s presence. Lucky bastard.

Cloud turned and hooked his arm around Cam’s neck, happy to have his best friend there to greet him, even if his family and lover were not. He’d see all of the above soon enough!

Then he felt his stomach go into knots. He was going to see Sephiroth this very night! He was going to touch him, feel him, and more than likely get on his knees and beg for forgiveness. That was fine with him. After three months, doing anything on his knees in front of Sephiroth sounded just fantastic.

The two walked through the airship corridor and out onto the Midgar base. The HQ building was tiny in the distance, and the field where SOLDIERs and army normally trained was empty. They crossed it leisurely, taking their time as they made their way towards the academy while Cloud told Cam every moment of notable events. He told him about the flight with Zack, about the boredom of downtime, about the endless marching and meeting up with Reno. He told Cam every moment of the battle, of drumming, of almost being killed time and time again, about the look in Reno’s when death was at it’s closest, all of it. The one thing he skipped however, was the most difficult fight of all – the fight against his own stupid hormones. But they had arrived back at the dorm by that time.

All over the campus, Junior SOLDIERs were returning to their friends and regaling everyone with their own individual tales of heroism. Nobody approached Cloud, because a drummer boy’s role was far less thrilling than that of a sword wielding Junior SOLDIER, or even a helicopter co-piloting, bomb dropping, message relaying Junior Turk. Cloud would have been damned tempted to stop and listen to some of them, but he was just sick to death of it all.

Their dorm room was tiny, messy, and covered in Cam’s clothes, but the little space looked like a palace to Cloud. He fell onto his bed, far from tired or even relaxed, but he groaned at the luxurious feel of his springy, squeaky mattress and the pillowy comforter.

“Daddy!” Psycho rejoiced, and pounced onto his back. Cloud’s eyes shot open, because the weight of the kitten felt far more substantial than when he’d left. He looked over his shoulder and his mouth fell open.

“Psycho! You got huge!” He rolled over and Psycho flitted off of his back and then pounced onto his chest, his four paws sinking into his flesh.

“He did?” Cam asked obliviously.

Cloud rubbed Psycho’s ears. “Don’t you have eyes? He’s practically doubled in size!”

“You callin’ me fat?” Psycho demanded in a distracted sort of way as Cloud’s fingers rubbed his favorite spot under his chin. “Goddamn… bastard…”

Cam shrugged. “He looks tha same ta me.”

“You’ve seen him everyday,” Cloud pointed out, and rubbed the cat roughly on top of his head, messing up his mane before smoothing it out. “As a matter of fact, he could fit into my hands when we first came here. Look at him now!”

“He ain’t changed,” Cam insisted. Cloud wondered how he could possibly have been so blind, then he realized that once Psycho grew big enough, he was going to begin his own training. Maybe Cam was scared of letting the kitten grow up.

“Hm. I guess he isn’t that much bigger…” Cloud smiled as Psycho circled around on his chest and laid down, almost covering the span of him.

“I gots outta first period to meetcha, but I need ta run to second,” Cam announced begrudgingly, and rose off of Cloud’s bed to begin stripping off his clothes and putting on his uniform.

Cloud averted his eyes and focused on Psycho, smiling as the expressive brown eyes rolled with pleasure as his favorite kitty spots were scratched. He gloated, “I get a whole week off!”

“Aw, yeah!” Cam remembered, making a sloppy tie. “You gonna do anythin’?”

“I dunno. Hopefully stay at Seph’s for a few days.”

Hopefully.

Cam was lacing his boots. “Didja call yer mom, yet?”

Cloud’s face went blank. He hadn’t called, let alone truly thought about his mother in days, possibly weeks. “I… did not. But hey, maybe I won’t have to, right?”

Cam tucked his books under one arm. “She’s gonna find out eventually, dude. Will ya feed Psychopath?” He slammed the door behind him, then opened it. “There’s a big dorm party at da President buildin’ tomorrow night fer everyone. You goin’?”

Cloud winced. He’d had his fill of dorm parties in Sephiroth’s absence. They were a shallow, fun distraction, but there was only so much beer pong he could get excited about. “Probably not.”

“It’s your party, technically!” Cam wailed, shaking his hair then combing it with his fingers – a straight man’s version of grooming. “You gotta go!”

“Okay Cam, you can either go to another stinky dorm party, or you can make sweet love to your girlfriend who you haven’t seen in eighteen thousand hours. Which would you choose?”

“Well… fuck. But think about it!” Cam dismissed and slammed the door behind him.

Then he opened it again, rushed to the bedside to bestow a kiss on Cloud’s forehead that only lasted half a heartbeat, but still burned both of their cheeks up with happy embarrassment. “’M glad yer back, Cloud.”

“Me too, Cam…” he said carefully, trying not to let the tears gathering in his eyes slip free.

Cam shifted on his feet in Cloud’s swimming vision, and joked, “I need bromance in my life!”

Cloud stuck out his tongue and Cam then left with a wide smile, this time for good.

Cloud was not tired, not at all. But somehow lying in his own bed, he managed to quickly fall asleep, his hands idly petting Psycho until they slowed, then stopped.

He woke up a few hours later. He snorted in surprise at his narcoleptic behavior and brushed Psycho off of his stomach so he could reach into his pocket, and dialed Sephiroth. It went straight to voicemail, and he closed his phone with an unsurprised grunt.

Psycho trotted around between his feet as he made his way to the bathroom. He grimaced at his own reflection as he stood before the toilet to relieve himself – he was in poor condition. His hair was oily, dirty and limp, his skin was bone dry, and he could literally smell his own funk.

He peeled his clothes off, gleeful when his poor, abused balls didn’t retract halfway up his spine like they had been for the past couple of weeks when he dared to remove his pants.

Once naked, he took an assessing look at himself. It was becoming easier to picture the sort of man he was going to become. Since he was a kid he’d always dreamt of being a superhero beefcake, but was giving up that dream in place of a better one. A long, narrow, streamlined sort of man wasn’t a bad thing to be.

He turned around and looked at his better side. Not much had changed there. It was as tight as it had always been, but thankfully his ass was still squeezable and round despite three weeks of a nearly nonfat diet.

Thank God for small favors.

Bored of looking at himself, Cloud stepped into the shower, holding the door open for Psycho to trot in. Perched in his dry little corner, he curled up and watched as Cloud scrubbed every conceivable inch of himself. No area was too unimportant to wash, as one never knew where Sephiroth’s tongue might travel. Between his fingers and toes, behind his ears, and every centimeter of his groin and ass were covered in bubbles and rinsed to perfection. He washed his hair, getting rid of the frigid weather’s effects and conditioning to regain its former shiny softness.

He stood in front of his closet for a long while, trying to decide what attire would be best for the evening. He thought about his new red pants, but decided against them. He thought about some tight jeans and a simple t-shirt, but decided against that as well.

He stood there, tapping his fingers in the closet door when something occurred to him.

Sephiroth was going to be expecting him at his apartment. He, Genesis, Angeal and several other military dignitaries were all going to make public addresses, hold a press conference, and then possibly be forced to stay for dinner.

It might be close to fucking midnight before they were finally together.

He continued drumming his fingers on the closet while his brain formed an idea. It was probably stupid and potentially impossible, and there was a possibility of it backfiring somehow…

Cloud reasoned that if Genesis was going to make an address, there was a high probability that Rufus would also be in attendance. The President’s son owed him one for delivering Genesis’ letter. Even if Cloud had done it out of the goodness of his heart, there was no blame in bringing it up if Rufus refused to take him along.

He wanted to surprise Sephiroth. Well, ambush was a more appropriate term.

As good as he knew he looked in tight red Gucci jeans, they just wouldn’t cut the mustard for the occasion. Cloud pulled out a newish, clean cadet uniform. He dug though his shoes and found a pair of combat boots that he hadn’t worn yet, having broken in the other pair to comfortable perfection. But comfortable equaled scuffed and dirty, and the rubber was now brick stiff from the frozen Northern weather.

He put on his uniform with as much care as he’d used to bathe, he knotted his tie perfectly and even donned the stupid little drum beret. He figured if he was in full uniform, he wouldn’t look so out of place. And it also showed a bit of respect for the events that had happened at the Crater. He was a regular veteran, after all!

A veteran. That notion was made of erections.

After making his final, painstaking preparations on his hair, he left his room and walked to Shin-Ra HQ to pick up Sephiroth’s tank.

Cloud took time to figure out how to drive the damn thing. It had been a while since he’d driven, but after a few moments of orientating himself with the gears, it wasn’t so difficult. Although the tank was a lot bulkier than his mother’s mountain-swerving little Nibel-mobile, he treated it tenderly, not wanting to make even the tiniest scratch on the paint.

The cars in the city of Midgar all seemed to steer clear of the black tank, even though Cloud was piloting it safely and respectfully. The large, wary radius around him in traffic, and the emptiness of the large interior cabin made him ache to have Sephiroth in the driver’s seat, playing in traffic and racing through his gears while muttering curses under his breath.

At a red light, Cloud became curious and peeped into Sephiroth’s glove compartment. It was empty. Then, he looked in the arm rest. Empty as well.

He gave up hope on finding anything fun when he decided to feel beneath the driver’s seat. His hand bumped into something, and he pulled it up.

It was a McDonalds bag full of hastily crumpled trash. Cloud smiled and looked at the receipt stapled to the front of it. At some point, Sephiroth had devoured seven double cheeseburgers.

Cloud then noticed the date. It was the day of his departure for the Northern Crater.

“Fatass…” He smiled warmly, and replaced the evidence under the driver’s seat.

He let himself into Sephiroth’s loft, dropped his stuff in Sephiroth’s room, and worked quickly. He opened the windows, turned on the air, and began to clean. As expected, the bed was covered in a small layer of dust, so Cloud threw the sheets into Sephiroth’s washing machine.

Sephiroth’s laundry room was a frightening place for Cloud, as the walls were papered with brutal and bloody horror movie posters. It wasn’t bad at all when Sephiroth was around, but Cloud threw the stuff into the machine as quickly as he could to get the hell out of there.

Then, he ran down to the corner store. He picked up things Sephiroth liked; orange juice, sodas, junk food items, ice cream, and some odds and ends that looked great to a someone who hadn’t eaten anything processed in weeks. He also picked up some beer for himself, hidden casually among the other items.

He ran back up to the loft and threw the sheets in the dryer, then stocked the fridge, which had been emptied out prior to Sephiroth’s departure. He dusted off the TV, and beat the couch cushions and pillows. He swept the floor, and sprayed his cologne around.

The loft was sparkling by the time he was done, and with the bed freshly made and ready to be torn apart, he left and hightailed back to the HQ building. He was tempted to go straight up to Sephiroth’s office in case he might be there, but he checked in with the front desk girl, instead.

“Could you tell Mr. Rufus Shin-Ra that Cloud Strife is here to see him?” He asked sweetly.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Yes,” Cloud lied. She typed something, murmured into a phone, and then told Cloud to take a seat. He perched on one of the posh white couches and bit his nails, hoping Rufus was actually there. He’d look like a total asshole if he claimed to have an appointment and the guy wasn’t even around.

Rufus apparently found it in his heart to send a Turk down to greet him. “Mr. Shin-Ra would like to know what this is regarding.”

Cloud fidgeted. “I’d like to speak with him for a minute, uh, concerning the press conference tonight. I was wondering if he was going, and if he could take me with him? I wanna go so I can surprise my boyfriend.”

The Turk looked completely confused by what was just said, but motioned for Cloud to follow along, anyways. His eyes tracked the halls for any sign of Sephiroth; every single hallway and doorway were peeked quickly into.

They passed by Sephiroth’s office, and Cloud’s heart stopped when he saw that the door way was actually standing open! But the lights were off and nobody was inside. Cloud felt a strong urge to go smell around for scent imprints of his beloved, but the Turk probably wouldn’t understand why a cadet would be sniffing the General’s seat cushion like pervert.

No other clues of Sephiroth’s presence were found as he was led up to Rufus’ office, which was now completely different than the first time he’d visited. Apparently Rufus had redecorated from 17th Century decadence to an ultra modern, sleek white decor. The man had so much time on his hands.

This was apparent as Rufus was in gym clothes, and two fully suited Turks with towels around their shoulders were watching on as he went through a series of pilates poses.

“What do you need?” Rufus asked, holding his position.

Cloud smiled. “I heard there was a press conference thing tonight. Are you going?”

“Of course I am,” Rufus said dismissively, his voice slightly out of breath.

“Will you take me with you?”

“Why don’t you go with Sephiroth?” he asked, tightening up his form when one of the Turks tapped a flagging elbow.

“He didn’t invite me.”

“Oh, my! Did you two break up?” Rufus winced as a Turk slapped at him again when his form began to slump as he became interested in gossip.

“No. But we did get into a little fight,” Cloud admitted. “I want to surprise him. And I’ve always wanted to see him speak. And… I haven’t seen him in months. Please take me with you Rufus?”

“Are you sure just showing up would be a wise thing to do?”

“I don’t care. I can’t just wait around all day.”

Rufus dropped his yoga pose suddenly, much to the Turk’s displeasure. “I’ll take you on one condition. You must grant me one, true moment of pure honesty. Can you manage that?”

Cloud blinked with wide eyes. “…Sure.”

“In the event of Genesis’s absence and my personal battle with dropping a few… bad habits… I have foolishly turned to food for comfort. Cloud… have I put on any visible weight since you’ve last seen me?”

Cloud absolutely hated questions like this. His mother was constantly worried about her figure, which was frankly as streamlined as his own. But he couldn’t tell her that she had the body of a teenage boy, so he had to come up with a lot of imaginary adjectives such as “femmesexy” and “rubustinny”.

He assessed Rufus while he panicked inside his mind. Rufus didn’t exactly look different. But he couldn’t be sure. “Um. Maybe take off your shirt?”

The Turks all balked, but Rufus whipped the shirt off over his head. “Tell me the truth, Cloud. I know I’ve gained ten pounds. But do I look like I’ve gained ten pounds?”

Cloud tilted his head. “You… don’t look that much different. And you’re definitely not fat. You’re… masculithin.”

Rufus assumed Cloud had just spoken in a different language. “Is this a bad thing?”

“Not at all!” Cloud promised. “Personally, I think it’s hot. You were a bit too skinny before.”

“Yeah, right,” Rufus challenged, crossing his arms over his chest in an act of pure self consciousness.

“No, I think you look a lot healthier, now. You don’t look like a cracked out me –” He cut himself off when he realized that Rufus actually had been a cracked out mess. “…I mean, you have abs instead of just...ribs. You look good!”

Rufus slowly uncrossed his arms. “I suppose it isn’t explicitly necessary for one to be a size two in women’s jeans, is it?”

Cloud laughed a little. “I’m a four, and it’s skin tight.”

Rufus put his hands on his hips. “Well, if you’re a four, I can live with being a four,” And with that, he shooed the Turks away and sat behind his desk. He pulled out a black schedule book. “The press event is at five today. I’m leaving in an hour, and that time I must spend getting ready. So stay here and try not to make a mess.”

Cloud nodded happily. “Thank you!”

Rufus stood up, then paused. “Did Genesis look…good?”

“He looked tired. But yeah, he looked good.”

“Do I look too big to be with him? Are we a ridiculous couple now?”

Cloud made an impatient noise. “Bitch, you’re still skinny, you just don’t look like you’re about to snap apart like a rickety little Olsen twin. Now go get ready!”

Rufus huffed and left, and Cloud immediately began to snoop around his office. He steered clear of his desk, but opened drawers in the coffee table, and looked in couch cushions. The only notable thing he found was a ten gil bill, which he pocketed. Other than that, the place was pristine.

Then, he opened a tiny door in the wall and found the minibar. With one eye on the door, he stuck a little bottle of Ginger Rum into his pocket, knowing it’d come in handy later. He eventually picked up a magazine geared towards people who were far wealthier than himself and settled down.

Rufus appeared exactly sixty minutes later, and had made a daring choice for the fat fearful, donning his usual attire of all white, although a bit less dressy than it usually was and a bit more alluring and sexy. It was very Audrey Hepburn of him.

Cloud actually did think he looked rather handsome with the extra mass. He’d crossed a line from “fun faggot” to “flaming heartthrob”. Cloud approved, maybe a little too much as he leaned on Rufus’ desk and smiled flirtatiously without even meaning to.

Rufus ignored him and took some items from his desk; keys, his planner, and an energy drink. He turned and regarded Cloud wearily, as though he suddenly regretted agreeing to chaperone a tag along.

Cloud spoke up quickly before he could decide to change his mind. “Would you mind if I followed you in Sephiroth’s tank? I have his keys and I know he’ll probably want to drive home.”

Rufus nodded. “Good idea. I needed time alone in my limo to take the edge off, anyways.”

Cloud was both amused and puzzled, and unsure as to whether the President’s son had just admitted to being an alcoholic or a chronic masturbator.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

With Rufus, getting into anywhere was just a matter of walking up to a door. He didn’t have to do or say anything, it just opened, every single time.

The press event was crowded, full of prim, beautiful reporters and their fat, balding cameramen. There weren’t as many SOLDIERs as Cloud was expecting, but rather the commanders and higher ups, looking somber, serious and slightly bored. Cloud wondered if maybe they all had people they were anxious to get home to after so long away.

From the outside, the building looked like some sort of massive, sprawling ancient temple. This was bullshit, because everything above the plate was practically brand new. So they built an ancient-looking domed building, then beat the hell out of it to make it look older than it was.

Cloud focused on the architecture as a way to not focus on the crowd he was squeezing through. They were either distinguished military elite, or had more money than he would ever see in his life. Of course, nobody was richer than Rufus, and it showed as he routinely turned his nose up at conversation with nameless, bedazzled high class persons.

Not that Cloud blamed him, they all seemed to want to ask about Rufus’ money. Gil must have become a dull subject after a while. Cloud certainly wasn’t interested in money, but more of what money could magically turn into at a cash register…which was probably the reason why he didn’t have any. He had most of what his father had given to him left, but a little bit of money from a distant relative didn’t make him feel wealthy in the slightest.

He finally decided it’d be a good idea to keep it for a car. Not because he needed one, especially in a city like Midgar, but he was more attracted to the things that could occur inside the vehicle. Like driving with his knees while he fished out a pack of cigarettes, like his mother. Or ordering fast food. Or going on a spontaneous daytrip to the beach. Or mooning someone on the freeway. Or getting a blowjob while stuck in traffic. Or going bumper sticker shopping!

Cloud realized he was getting thrilled about the prospect of bumper stickers, and felt more out of place than ever. He wanted to see what all the snobs were wearing, but Rufus was still on the move, passing through the crowd and not caring about anything or anyone.

Then, more and more of the crowd began to move in the general direction Rufus was headed. Everyone was beginning to siphon into a large banquet hall with balcony seating and a small, yet official looking stage. Cloud thrilled at the idea of watching Sephiroth speak in person, and wondered if they were going to score good seats higher up.

But Rufus didn’t stop, even when the elegant, white table clothed tables ended and the stage began. Cloud was shocked that nobody tried to stop them. In fact, Rufus walked right onto the stage and breezed back into the corridor behind it like he owned the place.

Well, he did.

People bustled to and fro, clipboards waving and lighting crew making their final preparations. Cloud almost tripped over some thick wires on the floor, but Rufus caught his arm. Cloud thanked him with a slightly embarrassed smile, but Rufus said nothing and only continued to walk, his gait becoming more quick and impatient.

People started talking about Sephiroth; whispering, murmuring, and even shouting sentences with his name hissed in between the rest of the words until it sounded like some sort of snaky chant. Cloud looked in all directions, but didn’t see his beloved anywhere at all.

“Rufus, where are we going?” Cloud shouted above the rest of the people’s volume.

“Here,” Rufus said simply, and stopped in front of a door with the word “WAITING” taped onto it. He turned to Cloud and bared his teeth. “Do I have anything in them?”

Cloud looked, shook his head, then bared his own.

“You’re good,” Rufus decided after a moment, then smoothed down the side of Cloud’s hair. When it popped right back up, he scratched it into submission with his nails like his mother always used to. Cloud finally pushed his hand away, then fixed a single stray hair of Rufus’ that had managed to get away from the rest of his perfect, moussed comb-back.

When they were done primping each other like monkeys, Rufus opened the door.

Cloud took a breath and let his eyes search the room. There was Genesis, pouring himself what appeared to be a Screwdriver with a lot of Screw, and there was Angeal, seated on the sofa with a tiny plate full of crackers and cheese.

There was nobody else.

“Mmmm!” Rufus part-growled, part-squealed in this throat, and launched himself across the room and into Genesis’ arms, who spilled his Screwdriver everywhere. He obviously didn’t care about the drink anymore, and threw the cup to the side to wrap both arms around Rufus.

Genesis cooed something softly, and Cloud suddenly felt like he was being invasive simply by breathing their air. He turned to the only other person in the room. Angeal had his entire mouth full of crackers and seemed very uncaring towards the romantic reunion. Cloud peeked back enviously at the happy couple, rocking each other in their arms and planting kisses across each other’s faces.

He decided to check out the goodies; there was a long table with liquor and manly, grown up snacks, but he couldn’t have been any less hungry. There were two sofas facing a large, wall mounted screen. It showed the stage outside while hinting very little to the elegant, wealthy atmosphere, only looked very business-like, official, and streamlined.

Cloud shuffled limply across the room and plopped down on the couch across from Angeal. “Don’t tell me. I just missed Seph, didn’t I?”

Angeal shook his head and spoke through cheese and caviar. “It’s better if he’s alone before he talks like this. He gets so nervous.”

“Does he?” Cloud smiled and crossed his legs, his foot wagging impatiently.

Angeal took a long drink of what smelled like pure rubbing alcohol. “In his own way. He gets pissy and mean. He goes on first, and we tell him not to come around us until he’s finished.”

Cloud giggled and crossed his arms over his sore stomach. He felt like he could just about turn inside out from nerves. Suddenly, a small, fat bald man took the stage and Cloud could both see the flashes from cameras on the broadcast, but he could also hear them from outside.

The little man gave detailed rundown of everything that had occurred over the past three months, focusing on what it cost Shin-Ra to move the troops and weapons, and what they stood to gain from owning the Northern Crater.

Cloud’s brows lowered. It couldn’t be. The well-to-do people at this event… they weren’t Shin-Ra stockholders, were they?

Of course they were.

Cloud frowned and looked at Angeal, who was completely unfazed by this grotesque information. Genesis and Rufus had finally drifted to the couch, where they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. Genesis had both arms wrapped around Rufus’ shoulders, who was blushing like a virginal bride.

Cloud didn’t blame him. He only partially continued to listen to more of the financial edge of war that he had been previously unaware of, and straightened in his seat when the man began to introduce General Sephiroth for his address.

When Sephiroth finally came stalking out, Cloud could see what Angeal was talking about – his beloved did not look happy. Sephiroth didn’t just take the stage, he practically stormed the thing, burning it up with an rigid, serious demeanor that made Cloud almost a little afraid. The little bald man’s presence was blotted out entirely, as one’s eye couldn’t even move its sight from Sephiroth for a moment.

Sephiroth spoke, and like the flashing cameras, Cloud could both hear it from the screen and amplified by the speakers nearby. His voice was trained and articulate, clinical and melodically monotonous. In that moment, Cloud could hardly recall what that voice sounded like pressed against his ear and whining softly to extract a smile, or even purring while he slept.

This man didn’t possibly cuddle or tickle or enjoy kissing the backs of his lover’s knees. He was the epitome of strength, of power and of manliness. He was flawless, serious, and beautiful. General Sephiroth would fuck a bitch up.

Cloud had never felt more moved by, or more proud of his beloved. He swallowed down a rock in his throat, wanting to cry just by the presence of him on a television screen, knowing he was only a few feet away. Cloud wanted to invade that stage, take him in his arms and declare his love on a live feed before a studio audience.

Once he became used to watching Sephiroth, Cloud began to actually listen to and understand what he was actually talking about. He wasn’t talking about money; that had been the fat baldy’s job. He was talking about the tides of the military movements, how many people had been sent, and how many had come home. He talked about the casualties, but not in a heavy handed, emotional way. He was presenting information, but not just rattling off numbers and figures… it was entertaining because he had presence, because he was raw and lovely while he spoke, and because he was just General Sephiroth.

After several minutes, Sephiroth was very abruptly finished with his speech. He stared at the camera. Very briefly, he licked the side of his mouth, and after sweeping the room with his eyes, he said in a rather bored way, “I’m open for questions.”

Cloud was absolutely floored by the man’s charisma. And soon, he was going to kiss that mouth and taste that tongue. He couldn’t help himself, he screamed from sheer, lovegasming bliss.

Rufus and Genesis both chuckled, their happy little couple vibe flowing steady. Angeal however, was lost. “What? What’d I miss? I was looking at the cookie tray, what’d I miss?”

Sephiroth answered their questions. He moved through them quickly, not skipping a beat. If the reporter wasn’t ready, or stumbled over his or her words, he skipped them by merely making eye contact with the next one. It was totally cold, elitist and catty, and absolutely sensational to watch.

Then someone asked, “General Sephiroth, it’s been rumored that the care and guarding of the Crater might be handed over to the Turks. If so, what kind of permanent presence can we expect to see from them?”

Sephiroth didn’t blink. “Save that question for Commander of the Turks. He can offer you a more complete answer.”

Cloud’s skin bristled slightly. That was Vincent! Was Vincent here?! It was impossible to find photographs of Turks on the internet, and Cloud knew that because he had tried desperately to find out what the Turk commander – Sephiroth’s possible father, looked like. Cloud pictured him looking like Sephiroth, maybe a little more spicy and aged, but with the same silver hair and piercing green eyes. He even went to the Turk building on campus to see if there were any clues. The building’s walls were dark blue and the décor was sleek and white. No pictures anywhere, just disassembled machine guns in glass curio cases mounted on the walls, and occasionally a bright red accent, like a chair pillow or light switch cover.

If Vincent was going to speak, a mosaic would probably cover his face for broadcast, but Cloud couldn’t imagine him walking around the event with a bag over his head. Surely the Shin-Ra insiders knew what he looked like...

After that question, Sephiroth listened to the press fight over who would ask the next one, and then suddenly departed. Just like that, he just pushed off of the podium where he had been leaning impatiently, turned and left the stage. And if the man could make an entrance, he sure as hell could make an exit. Cloud knew he didn’t try to make his hair flip like that. It was almost as though the long, silky tresses were flirtatiously waving goodbye.

When the edges of Sephiroth’s coat finally slipped behind the stage, the bald man retook his place, but couldn’t begin to fill the gaping hole that Sephiroth’s presence had created.

Cloud knew all about that!

He leapt off of the couch and stood by the door like a puppy, waiting for it to burst open and a powerful, angry man to come inside. He pressed his ear to it and listened to the bustling as people passed by, and then heard boots stomping. No, strutting.

Cloud braced himself against the door panel as the sound of the boots waxed, and then to his bewilderment, waned. Sephiroth wasn’t returning to the room with Angeal and Genesis and the free booze? Where the hell was he going?

Cloud gripped the frame with his fingers, trying to decide what to do when his pocket began to sing loudly. The ring tone belonged to Sephiroth, and Cloud answered it slowly. “…Hello..?”

Sephiroth sighed wearily. “All finished, where are you?”

Surely there was a myriad of smooth, romantic ways Cloud could have let his lover know that he was nearby. Looking back, he would later kick himself for not having found a way to create some sort of treasure hunt, or even fall into Sephiroth’s line of sight, then maybe play dumb and let Sephiroth chase him around the building. There were so many ways a smaller predator could capture a larger one, and they were all lovely ideas that would occur to Cloud much, much later.

“I’m here!” Cloud yelped as he tore the door open, not a tactful thought in his mind. He spilled from the doorway and slapped right into the adjacent wall of the thin hallway.

Sephiroth paused and looked over his shoulder in complete surprise, his mouth parting and hanging open slightly. Cloud pushed himself off of the wall and approached.

The bustling of the backstage workers paused, and looked to the source of the boisterous shout and subsequent commotion. One burly guard even began to approach Cloud to escort him out, thinking that perhaps a groupie had found his way backstage.

Cloud didn’t want to make more of a scene, but in his haste to reach Sephiroth, he just didn’t care. He ran as fast as he could.

The General barely had time to open his arms before they collided with each other. He enfolded Cloud, too shocked to do much else but catch him. Cloud whipped his arms around Sephiroth’s waist and fastened his fingers like a seatbelt, already becoming a mess of trembles and tears.

Sephiroth’s shoulder fell against a door and he searched for the handle with one hand, while the other pulled Cloud’s head into his chest, cradling and protecting him from the view of strangers during this vulnerable moment. The door was thankfully unlocked, and he swept Cloud inside.

The room was dark, but Sephiroth could see the light switch. He flipped it, and they appeared to be in a storage space for symphony equipment. Sephiroth slammed the door shut and leaned against it heavily, his hands gripping onto Cloud’s clothes.

“You..!” Cloud sobbed nonsensically as he yanked Sephiroth’s neck down into a hug, while wrapping one leg around his hips and pulling himself up as though he were climbing a tree.

Sephiroth hadn’t nearly forgotten how perfectly Cloud’s compact little body fit against his. How his hair felt against his face, insistent upon tickling him and sneaking up his nose. How sturdy his narrow frame was. How fantastic he smelled. How soft. How warm. How beautiful.

Sephiroth felt his knees go so weak, one of them actually shaking a little. When Cloud’s damp, warm cheek pressed into his, he couldn’t stop his emotions from escaping him.

If Cloud’s cheeks hadn’t been so wet already, he might have noticed a tiny pinpoint of salty wetness that didn’t belong to him. It mixed in with his own tears and dripped down a wet path to his lips.

He didn’t notice. He was too absorbed in Sephiroth’s burning body heat radiating from underneath his clothes. He was solid, hard, big. Maybe even bigger than his memories served, as in his recollections he always made them more the same size. Either way, Sephiroth was the perfect man, his man. Cloud moaned a little in gratitude to the Universe.

In the span of a lifetime, three months were merely a couple of drops in the bucket. But coming back to the one they both loved, those months felt both eternal during the waiting part, but also not so very long at all in the face of the reunion part. After three months of pain, they were finally comfortable again with their arms around each other, their bodies pressed together just right.

Three months of just missing something. It was more than the other’s presence, or the bodily pleasures they both possessed. It was as though something in their souls hungered for each other. Cloud squeezed himself closer, but it wasn’t close enough. It seemed like the burden of having a body kept him from quenching his thirst for Sephiroth, his own skin was getting in the way.

Every single snippy, annoyed, exhausted remark Sephiroth had given Cloud over the phone during those months were erased. Every time Cloud had to fight to swallow down complaint after complaint were forgotten about. And Cloud’s laughably lame brush with infidelity meant less than nothing.

“Did I surprise you?” Cloud whispered when he could manage it.

“You… actually surprised the fuck outta me,” Sephiroth admitted and discreetly wiped the wetness on his face off on Cloud’s collar.

Cloud opened his eyes and found Sephiroth’s ear tucked away behind his silver fringe. He ran his lips up the curve of it, and purred petulantly. “You were taking too long to come to me, dear. I didn’t feel like waiting for you anymore.”

Sephiroth chuckled, not because it was funny, but just out of sheer happiness. “Ah, fuck. I’m glad you’re an impatient little shit.”

Cloud leaned back to look at Sephiroth and was indulged with a wide, happy, sultry smile. He was stricken by the sight of those lips so close, real and available. But Cloud didn’t lunge forward to steal away the first kiss. There would be plenty of kisses to snatch and take in the time to come, and he would most likely initiate three fourths of them, simply because he was greedy.

But this kiss was one of those ones. One to remember. Instead of snatching it, he wanted it to be given to him. He waited, blinking his eyes up at Sephiroth who took the action to close the last tiny bit of distance between them.

Their lips met somewhat clumsily at first out of eagerness, then fitted together smoothly. Sephiroth took Cloud’s upper lip, and the little cherubic bud fit perfectly between his lips as Cloud sucked in his plump lower one. They stayed still, each savoring the feeling of the other man’s softness and breathing in each other’s scent.

Sephiroth applied a bit more pressure and released, giving Cloud a tickling pop that made him giggle through his nose. He brought his lips back immediately, enflamed by the little tinkling octave that he had missed so damn much.

He cradled Cloud’s face with a gloved hand while the other supported his weight, and he kissed Cloud over and over, quick little kitten presses across his lips. Some were longer than others, but all were sensual and soft, and made up for the sheer number of kisses they’d missed out on during their time apart.

Around the six hundredth consecutive smooch, Sephiroth opened his mouth and tongued Cloud’s lips until they opened up. Cloud sighed when one of the most intimate parts of Sephiroth’s body flicked into his mouth, tasting him and connecting them.

Cloud was lost in a daze, unsure even if his tongue was moving, or if Sephiroth was moving it for him. He knew nothing of time or space, he wasn’t even sure if they were still in the backstage hallway or not. He was flooded with indescribable desire, so deep and so thick that he almost hated Sephiroth for being away for so long. New tears formed and fell down his cheeks, salting the taste of their kiss.

Sephiroth sagged against the wall. His feet slipped slowly out until Cloud stood between his spread legs. They locked beneath him and at the more comfortable angle, their hands were better able to slide and feel across the other’s body.

Sephiroth’s hands moved down and rubbed warm circles into Cloud’s tailbone before gently tugging on and untucking Cloud’s uniform shirt. Once it was loose, his leather covered fingers slipped up his back, the hot contact enough to make him arch against Sephiroth in both slight ticklishness and desperation for more. The hands made themselves flat and slipped down the back of Cloud’s pants and cupped tightly, making Cloud moan loudly into Sephiroth’s mouth.

Fuck the academy, fuck SOLDIER, fuck everything. He was completely done with trying to be tough and macho, he wanted to beg, to completely submit and live his life for the sole purpose of giving this man pleasure. He wanted nothing more than to live like a barnacle attached to Sephiroth, and just kiss him, kiss him, kiss him. All day. Every day.

That would be paradise, and that was what Cloud hoped being a part of the Lifestream was like. Just Sephiroth and himself near each other and happy. They’d never run out of things to talk about, or interesting people to spy on as spirits. The idea was so wonderful to Cloud that he felt silly for being fearful of death only two days prior. What was to fear when it held such wonderful possibilities?

But living had its perks too, and Cloud experienced a number of them all at once. His cock rubbed perfectly between the soft zipper of his fatigues and Sephiroth’s heated body. His skin reacted with goosebumps and his taste buds tingled happily with the hot flavor of Sephiroth’s mouth. He felt his lover’s breath and his long eyelashes kiss against his cheeks delicately. Yes, having a living body was definitely a good thing.

Cloud’s hand moved, daring to explore the tight leather landscape of Sephiroth’s long frame. He meant to be a lot smoother, but his hand was quick and jerky as it slid down Sephiroth’s thigh, seeking any evidence of Sephiroth’s arousal that he could find.

Sephiroth’s hand snatched his up. “Bad.”

“I’m bad? Your fingers are up my ass,” Cloud pouted. It was true enough, there was a welcome, firm press of leather against the more delicate areas of his bum. Sephiroth realized this and his hand quickly came up out of Cloud’s pants. “Aw, I didn’t mean for you to stop.”

Sephiroth snorted in disbelief. “What? You wanna do it right here?”

“…Is that an option?”

“No,” Sephiroth smiled.

“Well… I do have a surprise for you,” Cloud whispered around the edges of a new kiss.

Sephiroth took a longer time to respond than he usually would have at the mention of a surprise, only because he couldn’t tear himself away from the sweet, soft lips so close to his. When he finally managed to break away, he took the bait. “…What?”

Cloud slipped a hand into his front pocket and shook the keys that had been loaned to him. “Your wheels.”

Sephiroth grunted wordlessly and kissed Cloud again, this time less in greeting and more in the way of a demanding promise.

Cloud pulled away with a small gasp. “We’re gonna have to stop right now, or get naked right now.”

Sephiroth snickered. “Did I turn you into a tripod?”

Cloud stared at Sephiroth’s face, the perfect, creamy smooth vision of feline beauty. “…Since I was a kid.”

“You still are a kid,” Sephiroth reminded him.

“So are you.”

“…Guess you’re right,” Sephiroth admitted. He squeezed Cloud into a short, fierce hug before releasing him, but didn’t let him get far. He hooked an arm around his narrow shoulders and guided him out of the room.

Once in the hallway, they were run over by Genesis.

“Oh, great!” He frowned. “You missed my entire lecture while having a quickie!”

Sephiroth didn’t bother correcting him. “Sorry. I found somethin’ better in the hallway,” And with that, he spun Cloud around and began to guide him to make a hasty exit.

Genesis bawled, “Where do you two think you’re going?”

Sephiroth didn’t stop walking. “We’re cuttin’ out.”

Genesis followed them, trotting along like a bewildered puppy. “But you can’t go! We have another Q and A round to do after everyone is done speaking! And then we all have to suffer through dinner! You can’t leave now!”

Sephiroth stopped walking and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation, seeming to try to separate himself from duty but just not able to completely disconnect from it.

Cloud wanted to back Sephiroth up in his decision to get the hell out of there, but then remembered that he hadn’t hit the free drinks in the waiting room, yet. Also, he had a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and possibly meet Sephiroth’s dad. Whether there was genetic evidence of it or not, it was still his dad. “…Maybe we should stay for a little while longer, Seph.”

“What the hell?” Sephiroth blurted down at Cloud, obviously not expecting that from the blonde.

Cloud bit back a smile. “I just mean… I don’t want to make you miss something important… I can wait just a little longer…”

Sephiroth gave a look that very plainly stated that he did not want to wait a little longer. But after he took a breath, his logic kicked in and he knew it wasn’t the most responsible idea to skip out on the last, but most important of his duties – public relations. Genesis was a charmer, and Angeal was known for his extremely moving speaking abilities, but he knew if he didn’t show up for the final round, his own absence would overshadow anything the other Generals would have to say.

Sephiroth grumbled slowly, “We’ll stay. But we’re skippin’ dinner and I don’t care what you think about it.”

Genesis was pleased, and Sephiroth trudged back to the waiting room to find Rufus heavily involved with a martini, and Angeal taking his turn speaking on the big screen.

Rufus and Genesis ate each other alive with their eyes across the room while Sephiroth found his way to the couch and Cloud bounced to the liquor table. He assessed the goods before he poured Sephiroth a large shot of whiskey, and then mixed himself a sloppy translation of a Slutty Virgin.

He practically skipped to the General and gave him his drink with a kiss to the top of his head. He wanted to plop right down into his lap, but the General was settling into serious mode, watching Angeal speak with focus. Cloud instead opted to sit beside him, pressing the length of his thigh alongside his and sipping his drink.

Genesis and Rufus were far less demure, and the sound of their baby talk and kissing was enough to make Cloud want another drink, and quick. Even though the noise of another couple was less than welcome at the moment, he couldn’t help but be terribly happy for them, and leaned into Sephiroth’s arm with a smile. When he was awarded a kiss to the side of his face, he felt that he could have died rather happily.

Angeal left the stage and the balding man then introduced a man who dealt with plans for a new base in the Crater, then another person who spoke about the different types of troops who won the battle, even briefly mentioning the drum squad, to which Cloud couldn’t help but hop a little in excitement to be included.

He felt an arm wrap around him and pull him down, not to snuff his enthusiasm but merely capture and feed off of it. Sephiroth pulled him close with a smile, planting a quick kiss on Cloud’s lips.

That quick kiss was beginning to turn into a longer one, when the bald man began to speak about Turks. Cloud jerked his face away and fell silent, watching raptly while his fingers spun around the rim of his glass.

A man walked onto the stage, and Cloud thought that perhaps there had been a mistake. Vincent Valentine could not have been a lanky, youthful man with a shaggy dark bob. Vincent Valentine was supposed to be pushing 50, he was supposed to be old enough to have fathered the great General Sephiroth.

There was no way this could have been the same Vincent who took care of Sephiroth as a baby, and had possibly banged Sephiroth’s mother and created a man who possessed the most ethereal beauty of all time. Would that man have worn fingerless gloves beneath his Turk suit? Would he have leaned against the podium on one elbow without a care in the world? Would he have scratched the back of his head as he thought?

Cloud wasn’t convinced, and he felt a bit sorry for Sephiroth. He agreed that Vincent could not have been his father, he was too…

Cloud then listened to Vincent speak. He wasn’t sure if it was the accent or what, but he and Sephiroth’s voices were extremely similar. Sephiroth was always monotone, and Vincent was only a tad more animated, but the tone and quality were very much... the same.

Then, Cloud looked at Vincent’s face. It was hard to focus on his features underneath his wild dark hair and startling, bright red eyes, and Cloud supposed that may have been the point. He was a handsome man, and even though Cloud was dissecting everything about him, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pick him out of a lineup if asked to.

Cloud peeked up at Sephiroth, and focused on Sephiroth’s face. Not his beauty, but his face. His lips parted a bit in surprise when he realized that the General carried that same quality. His silver hair and leather outfit were a fierce distraction from his actual features. When one looked at his face, they registered an insane amount of beauty, but might not actually recall what he looked like.

Cloud slowly began to change his mind. Vincent…very well could have been his father.

He peeked again at Sephiroth and noticed the faraway look he held. He touched Sephiroth’s hand and wriggled his fingers through longer ones. They tightened around his in return.

The Turk didn’t have much to say before he began to answer questions. And then, he was gone. Cloud noted that Sephiroth’s dad, much like his possible son, had long legs and a killer ass.

There were more speakers, but eventually it was time for the three Generals to leave for their last bit of press, and Sephiroth and Cloud kissed as though they were going to be apart for another three months. Angeal had to pry Sephiroth’s gloved hands out of Cloud’s hair before he’d finally let go and followed them out the door.

Cloud got over his separation anxiety quickly, and mixed another drink before sitting down to watch, amazed at the teamwork and chemistry the three Generals shared onscreen.

Genesis was the Brat, Angeal was the Daddy, and Sephiroth was the Fonz. It worked incredibly well, and Genesis showed his charming, humorous side, a few times causing the entire room to laugh, Rufus and Cloud included. When Sephiroth tried for a joke, only the cool kids laughed, while everyone else thought it was too off-color to be seen indulging in a chuckle or two. When Angeal went for humor, he stole more hearts of the ages 35-60 demographic than Frasier.

A press junket would hardly be so much fun to watch if he didn’t know the three men personally, but it was his lover, and his lover’s best friends. They represented all that SOLDIER was, and all that every SOLDIER wanted to be. It was like Neapolitan ice cream, the three best flavors all mixed together just right.

Cloud wanted to be like them, and to be one of them.

The Generals arrived back to the waiting room with some other high ranking officers in tow, talking shop and settling down into the more social atmosphere than the banquet probably entailed.

Sephiroth’s eyes kept drifting to Cloud, who was having a conversation with Rufus concerning the surprising caloric contents of alcohol.

They both realized at the exact same time that where they were was not where they wanted to be. At all.

“I hope you don’t mind if I excuse myself,” Sephiroth said smoothly, breaking away and approaching Cloud. “You said you weren’t feeling well?”

Cloud turned his eyebrows up. “Just feeling a little hot and… feverish.”

“It’s coming back out of that god forsaken snow!” an older commander declared loudly underneath his bushy graying beard. “All of my men have got the goddamn sniffles. Get the boy under something warm and give him plenty of liquids!”

“I’ll do that,” Sephiroth agreed, not a drop of irony in his voice, although both he and Cloud’s inner perverts were performing cartwheels. One glance of eye contact saw to that.

Sephiroth grabbed his pack, which was stored in a locked room down the hall, and they were set free. Once they were clear of most personnel, they began to grope and feel each other as they walked, a wandering hand over the ass, a lingering brush of arms. Soon, the two of them were practically running and when they got outside, they bolted.

Cloud grabbed Sephiroth’s hand and led him towards the tank and they crashed into it, both panting and laughing. Cloud dug the keys out of his pocket and Sephiroth plucked them away. He hefted Cloud up with one arm, kissing him while trying to get the door unlocked.

Sephiroth’s hand clumsily scratched his keys across the paintjob of the backseat door in his haste to get into the vehicle. Cloud gasped loudly – the man had completely wrecked his paintjob.

Sephiroth couldn’t have cared less as he tore the door open, almost literally throwing Cloud inside up onto the seat. He threw his pack into the front seat without a care, then yanked the door closed as he crawled in after him.

Cloud was panting from adrenaline, and some sort of fear of his unhinged lover. If he’d scratched up one of his “babies”, he might be into the idea of scratching up the other one. That wasn’t only a nerve wracking notion; it made Cloud more desperate for contact than ever.

His senses heightened to become aware of everything – the feel of his clothes sticking to his body in the humid night air inside the tank, the glow of Sephiroth’s eyes in the dark, the rush of his blood through his veins, the wetness of his mouth as nerves caused him to hyper salivate, the sound of his own respiration as he panted in anticipation as Sephiroth overtook him and pressed him down onto the backseat.

He opened his mouth willingly against the torrent of Sephiroth’s lips and tongue. His long body draped over Cloud, and his lips came crashing down in angry waves until neither could breathe. The time and the distance, and now the rush and the raw, bodily desire were all combining to make Cloud brainless as it usually did, and it seemed he had taken Sephiroth with him on that mindless trip.

“Here?” Cloud whispered, his breath ragged as he turned his head to capture some air.

“Is that okay?” Sephiroth asked gently while his body demanded possessively, his hands already pulling at Cloud’s belt.

“Yeah!” Cloud moaned, but his verbal permission was just a formality. Gloved hands snuck into his jeans and pulled him out, and the contact to his most desperate organ ripped a shocked little roar from him.

Clothes quickly became baneful, loathsome things, and Cloud groaned with disgust at every button of his shirt that kept Sephiroth’s hands from his skin, and sneered at his tight fitting pants as Sephiroth peeled them down off of his legs. Sephiroth ripped his gloves off to feel that skin with his bare hands; the fatigues weren’t even completely off before they were sliding up the lean limbs and placing wet kisses across Cloud’s knees. Cloud toed the pants off and spread his legs, pulling the General down by the straps of his uniform to settle between them.

At the reality of his nude, trembling, sexually aroused lover, Sephiroth seized every part of Cloud’s body he could get to. He felt and enjoyed the softness and the form, the fit of his slim legs under his hands, the narrow waist that arched up to get closer to him. There was no place that didn’t open up and allure him to touch, squeeze or kiss.

Sephiroth’s clothes were more difficult to remove, and had so many little catches and button and straps that Cloud gave a little growl in his throat. Especially at the absurd SOLDIER belt catch; he usually removed the item with reverence, but in that moment it was just a thick piece of leather that was standing stubbornly between him and Sephiroth. When it was off, it was thrown into the front seat disdainfully.

Sephiroth took Cloud’s reckless hands from his zipper and kissed them, moving them away so he could perform the delicate task of unzipping his pants himself. If it was caught in his zipper, not even his SOLDIER healing abilities would have been enough to save the moment. They both chuckled a bit at this reality while Sephiroth quickly worked himself free.

Cloud barely saw it before his hands sought after it. Sephiroth gave a much louder groan than Cloud was expecting, and he felt himself twitch hard at the beautiful noise. He gave it several tugging caresses, each time watching Sephiroth’s eyes as they slitted and glowed brightly in the dark. Cloud forced his hand to release his lover’s cock in order to greet the rest of his set up, and rolled Sephiroth’s tightened balls in his hand gently. While Cloud played, Sephiroth worked his pants down off of his hips and let them bunch at the tops of his boots.

“Just a little bit now,” Sephiroth promised, kissing Cloud’s forehead as his naked hips touched Cloud’s. “Little bit now, the rest later. I know this is rushed and prolly not what you’ve been hopin’ fo– ”

“Give me a break!” Cloud barked on a lilting bit of laughter before drowning Sephiroth’s bullshit guilt in kisses. It had been too long and while he understood that sensual, stare-in-my-eyes lovemaking would take place later, he needed a band aid for his desire right then. He didn’t care if it was sweet or rough as long as he got it.

“Are you tryin’ to tell me to shut up and fuck you?” Sephiroth smiled.

“Shut up and fuck me…” Cloud purred in agreement, the words slinking out of his mouth more seriously than he meant them to.

Sephiroth didn’t laugh at him, but met his request whole heartedly. He bucked his cock into Cloud’s, the hard line pressing into his as the slick tip moved up between his legs and pressed with the perfect amount of force. They moaned for each other, and the two low tones sounded of awe and of relief. The tank was filled with the noise of their bodies moving against each other. Their limbs pressed and shifted on the backseat as hands slipped across hot, sweating skin.

Cloud broke away to gasp in a breath, and crushed his cheek against Sephiroth’s as he squeezed his shoulders close. “I love you.”

“I…” Sephiroth tried to begin, but was silenced by Cloud’s lips fitting over his and sucking his tongue into another heated kiss. Something inside Sephiroth’s mind was both relieved and saddened. He was somewhat relieved that his lack of reciprocal phrasing didn’t turn Cloud off or make him upset.

But it was unacceptable that Cloud didn’t even expect it anymore.

“Cloud…bab – …” Sephiroth tried to speak again, but Cloud wouldn’t let his lips alone long enough to form the words.

“Sephiroth,” Cloud groaned desperately and took his mouth when he tried to speak yet again. The General gave up on words and put his efforts into loving Cloud with his body instead.

He pushed one of Cloud’s legs up, and was pleased when Cloud easily rested his foot on the headrest of the passenger seat. This left him exposed – or as exposed as he could be in the spacious, but still too-cramped backseat. He wetted one of his fingers before letting it slide carefully across the little opening between Cloud’s cheeks.

Cloud gave a strangled little sound, and although it slid in relatively easily, it was not quite easy enough. Sephiroth could see Cloud’s cheeks color, even in the dark.

He paused, not retracting his finger from Cloud’s heated grip, but not yet pressing any farther either. Cloud opened his eyes, and tilted his head on the seat. “Mmnn… Do it, Seph. I need you. It’ll be okay.”

Sephiroth knew it would be okay, but just okay. His aching, almost frantic cock vehemently pointed out that just okay sex was still pretty awesome, and could easily be mistaken for extraordinary! …But a quick, okay fuck crammed and half clothed in the backseat of his tank wasn’t how he pictured having Cloud after waiting for so very long.

“Should we just wait ‘til we get home?” he said after a moment of torn thought.

“I can’t wait anymore… I feel like I could fucking die…please…” Cloud whispered, but every word was clear to Sephiroth’s understanding. Then, little Cloud put a postage stamp on Sephiroth’s resolve for romance and sent it far, far away. He spread his legs farther apart and his navy eyes batted up at him in the dark, “Pretty please…?”

“Idea,” Sephiroth declared and sat up on the seat, then laid down while pulling Cloud along with him. They shifted and squirmed and Cloud received a light smack on the ass to guide him to where Sephiroth wanted him to be. Then two long arms wrapped around his hips and held him in place.

Cloud was a little shy about where he ended up. He was straddling Sephiroth’s face.

But before he could feel too embarrassed about it, there were lips working the base of his cock, then a tongue flicking across his balls before one was sucked gently into Sephiroth’s mouth in a swirl of tingling heat. Cloud could feel his body tighten with anticipation as the tongue trailed from his balls up between his ass cheeks, then sink slowly in.

Cloud could easily recall the first time this had happened, just a quick flick of Sephiroth’s tongue that had shocked his sensibilities to the core. Now he was more familiar with it, and judging from how often he indulged in fantasies involving Sephiroth’s long, invasive tongue, he knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before he began begging for this treatment by name.

He acclimated to the sensations then focused downward, where Sephiroth’s hard cock was waiting, strained against those perfectly cut, washboard abs. Cloud nuzzled his face against it for a moment in a silent, sweet greeting, before propping it up and wrapping his fingers around the thick base. He enjoyed how Sephiroth’s thighs spread a bit at the stimulation, both inviting him and asking for more. Cloud opened his mouth and let his tongue touch the slit, groaning a bit at the salty, hot taste gathered there.

He didn’t waste much time teasing. He wanted to take that rounded tip it into his mouth, he wanted to tighten his lips and put some pressure on that cock, he wanted to swallow it down until it brushed the back of his throat. He lost himself for several seconds while he absolutely savored the taste and feel of Sephiroth in his mouth once again, all the while whimpering as a hot mouth and hands worked him over in time.

The infamous sixty-nine position had always seemed a bit ridiculous to him, something stupid, horny straight men somehow found endlessly humorous. But the curve of Sephiroth’s cock fit so perfectly down his throat that he had to give credit where it was due. And feeling Sephiroth’s fingers, lips and tongue only drove him onwards. The only thing he wanted more than to swallow down Sephiroth’s heat was to let Sephiroth swallow his.

When long fingers began to circle and torment the maddening little spot inside of him, Cloud fought the urge to squirm away. Nothing was the same without Sephiroth, even that. While Cloud had become quite adept at fingering himself, he was always a bit too delicate and careful. Sephiroth however was vicious and unbending about it, almost punishing Cloud with the painful waves of pleasure he could create. One of Cloud’s hands was clamped around the base of Sephiroth’s cock, wet from the rolling drops of his own saliva. Without thinking too much about it, he moved that hand down between Sephiroth’s legs instead.

Cloud felt his middle finger sink in, and Sephiroth made a loud noise behind him and all attacks on his erogenous zones paused. Cloud paused also and waited, sucking Sephiroth’s cock slowly and quietly, almost frightened for a moment. Sephiroth then began to go back to work as if he decided that the unexpected invasion was allowed.

With a shiver, Cloud continued pushing his finger into Sephiroth.

It didn’t feel different from himself. It was tight, and Cloud knew it was easily the most adorable little feature of Sephiroth’s entire body. But one thing that was different was the heat. Sephiroth’s temperature was always raging, but inside of him actually was similar to dipping one’s finger into simmering water.

Cloud knew he was going to be inside Sephiroth one day, and he would have a turn watching his cock sink in and disappear. He moaned a bit at the mental imagining of submerging himself into that heat; slick with lube and good to go, Sephiroth watching him with a smile at the silly face he’d most likely make. He’d take it any way he could get it, but he wanted the General on his stomach with his ass arched up… Cloud wanted to see those beautiful back muscles tighten and flex.

Cloud snapped back into reality when Sephiroth gave his cock a loud, sucking pop, as though he knew what he was thinking about. With a guilty lick to Sephiroth’s head, he looked over his shoulder in the dark. “…You like it?”

“’S’all good baby,” were the only words Sephiroth could manage. Cloud added another finger and felt hands dig roughly into the soft flesh of his ass as Sephiroth’s tongue darted around between his thighs.

Sephiroth’s hips tightened and bumped up off of the seat when Cloud finally found his prostate. Cloud then moaned loudly when in retaliation, Sephiroth began to drive his tongue into Cloud mercilessly, jabbing and stroking his hypersensitive little spot. Giving his lover a taste of his own medicine, Cloud twisted his fingers ruthlessly, far rougher than he had ever been with any other part of Sephiroth’s body, and fell in love with the thick, deep sounds it drove from his lover’s chest.

Cloud discovered how fun it was to torture a loved one.

Sephiroth retracted his tongue from Cloud’s ass and smacked the rounded curve sharply. “Baby, I’m about to pass out.”

Cloud squealed in his throat, but didn’t move despite the smack, and continued his work on Sephiroth’s body. After a moment, he let his cock slip from between his lips. “Don’t care.”

That earned him another hard slap, this time on the other cheek. “I don’t mean that, ya little fuckin’ sadist. I’m burnin’ up.”

Cloud crawled off of Sephiroth because it was true; the tank’s windows are fully steamed from their hot breath and body heat and a lack of any outside air. Both of their bodies were drenched with sweat, and it had finally crossed the border from sexy into discomfort.

Sephiroth shifted up, and took the keys from where he’d dropped them on the floor, and bent between the seats to start the tank. Cloud took the opportunity to kiss his muscled, beautiful ass, sucking it dangerously as all thoughts pointed towards chomping down upon it.

But before he could, the truck came on and a blast of cool air caused him to sigh lengthily in relief. Sephiroth took a moment to fuck around with the radio, then opened a zipper on his pack in the front seat and pushed a CD into the player. It was the one that Cloud had sent him.

“Did I ever thank you for sendin’ me this?” Sephiroth asked softly, sitting next to Cloud and pulling him near. “And those pictures of us?”

“No,” Cloud whispered, wrapping his arms around Sephiroth’s neck and moving over his lap to straddle him.

“Thank you,” Sephiroth said softly and kissed Cloud; both of their lips were covered in the tastes of sweat and each other, and both reveled in it.

They didn’t move for a moment, they took that heartbeat to look at each other in the dark. It was funny to Cloud how he chose all the songs on the CD because they expressed his longing for Sephiroth, but now that he was finally in his arms again, the music sounded very different. Their meanings had changed from a far away longing, to an up close and personal passion.

Cloud loved Sephiroth for changing the way he heard things, just by being near. He loved him for his humor and meanness and his sweetness. He loved Sephiroth so much he could hardly contain it.

Cloud fell against him, kissing his lips and lifting his thighs up in invitation. Sephiroth rested one hand on the small of Cloud’s back while the other lined up their bodies. When it was done, both of Sephiroth’s arms wrapped around Cloud’s waist and his hips popped up off of the seat, burying himself inside.

Cloud cried out against his shoulder. His universe zeroed in on that strange pain, and how fucking wonderful it was to be able to feel it. He let a strained, but happy groan vibrate against Sephiroth’s neck, and the General let out a gust of breath he had apparently been holding, and a curse or two came out with it. The idling tank rumbled beneath them, seeming to purr. It probably missed the both of them in their absence as well.

Cloud sat up and pulled Sephiroth as close as he could get, squeezing his neck into a tight hug. Sephiroth closed his eyes and pressed his face against Cloud’s shoulder as the smaller male began to rock gently on his lap.

Cloud’s opening was slick from Sephiroth’s tongue, and it continued to ease the way as he pressed down harder to take more of him in. He leaned back, angling that big cock against his most sensitive spots and grinding down gently.

The heady feeling of having Sephiroth exactly where he wanted him threatened to drown Cloud. He gave himself pleasure but not too much; he didn’t want to lose himself and miss out on kissing, or watching, or listening to Sephiroth. His body burned for more, but what was left of his mind only wanted to draw this out for hours, days. But the biology of his own teenage body threatened to force his desire to overflow at any second.

Cloud wanted to be amazing for Sephiroth, not blow it by… blowing it.

Sephiroth could tell Cloud was trying to hold back, but the thought of seeing that boy lost in pleasure was enough to wring a thin stream of hot pre-come from the General. Cloud shuddered when he felt the heated liquid further slick him from the inside.

“Seph!” Cloud cried out as Sephiroth’s hips rocked up off of the seat and in between his spread legs.

Sephiroth agreed with a smooth vibration in his chest, wanting to give him more than he seemed willing to take for himself. He pressed his feet into the carpeted floor and pushed up, bouncing Cloud slightly and feeling his tight body shudder and squeeze in response.

“I’m close,” Sephiroth suddenly groaned, pushing hot, needy kisses onto Cloud’s lips. They both knew he had staying power under more normal circumstances. Whether he wanted to reach that first peak quickly for Cloud’s sake, or just a burning need to complete the act, Cloud loved him for it.

Gasping in utter relief, Cloud began to fist his erection quickly. “Oh yeah, please, yes, Seph…”

Sephiroth dug his fingers into his narrow hips, moving him into his thrusts which became harder and shorter, his body heavily addicted to the feeling of Cloud’s. Sephiroth gasped when Cloud began to groan and whisper his name, and he could see his slim thighs clench in the desire to both run away from the pleasure and trap Sephiroth there forever.

“Seph, Seph!” Cloud gasped, and the General looked down just in time to see Cloud’s erection desperately jerk and twitch, and then erupt. He watched several thick, milky streams flow out of Cloud and splatter against his stomach before his eyes clamped shut and he was taken along with him.

He felt himself fill Cloud, felt it drip back down onto his legs and between. Cloud didn’t stop bouncing on his lap until they were both milked dry, but neither completely deflated. Finally, when Sephiroth’s groaning became a bit more ragged, Cloud stopped and let his sensitive, hard cock slip from inside of him.

Suddenly it became a lot quieter in the tank, the buzzing in their ears was gone and all that was left was the music, and the gentle, airy sounds of their panting.

“God, I needed you,” Cloud fell against Sephiroth, feeling like he could sleep for days.

Sephiroth sighed deeply and briefly enjoyed the afterglow while listening to the CD play.

Finally, he patted Cloud’s ass until he shifted up and sat on the seat like a sleepy doll. Sephiroth pulled up his pants and buttoned them without bothering for cleanup. He wasn’t nearly done with Cloud, and figured he could stand to drive home jizzy, since they’d be taking their clothes off the moment they walked into the door anyways.

Not wanting to be seen in the condition he was currently in, Sephiroth crawled up into the front seat. Cloud pulled on his pants quickly so he wouldn’t leak all over Sephiroth’s seats – no more than he already had, anyways. Once he had them on he crawled up after Sephiroth, who was already violently veering them out of the parking garage and onto the street with his chest and stomach still splashed with various liquids.

Although Cloud was relaxed enough to fall asleep on the spot, he was quickly getting his second wind. He dared to lean forward and lick Sephiroth’s stomach spotless, letting his tongue play in his tight belly button, and the ridged crevices of that hard, smooth body.

Sephiroth took a few back alley roads, scaring the fuck out of some dawdling teenagers smoking weed in the process, but managed to get them back to the apartment in under ten minutes. Cloud had to hand it to his beloved, he had the art of driving in a hurry down to an art form.

And once inside, they fulfilled everything they’d both been pining for. It was slow and spread out across the bed, it was frantic and bent over against the kitchen counter, and it was also passionate under the hot shower water.

It was everything.

They finally came to rest in the dark beneath Sephiroth’s sheets, hiding away from the world in more ways than one. Cloud could only make out the outlines of Sephiroth’s features, aided by the soft, green light his eyes emitted. He touched Sephiroth’s face and said something that Sephiroth took a few moments to try and make sense of, before he realized he just been spoken to in a different language.

Sephiroth smiled. “What was that?”

“I told you that ‘I love you’, in Nibelwyn,” Cloud answered, and said the little phrase again. “They teach it in school in Nibelheim. I still remember a few things. There were only four hundred words, and fifty had to do with liquor. And five were only used to say, ‘I love you’!”

“You people have your priorities in order,” Sephiroth smiled, pushing back Cloud’s shower-damp hair. Cloud just grinned and kissed him, while his smaller hands roamed idly all over his arms and chest.

Sephiroth was quiet for a moment, then he began to speak. Cloud blinked in shock at first, then listened carefully. The sound made his skin prickle, it was unlike anything he’d ever heard before.

Then he realized that it was a sound nobody on Earth had ever heard before.

It was slippery and ominous, as though Sephiroth had more than one tongue. It was also dark and sexy, but Cloud wasn’t sure if it was due to the words themselves, or the speaker of them. Sephiroth let his lips brush against Cloud’s cheek as the cadence rose and fell, as if he were speaking backwards, and in the form of short, seductive little questions.

When it was over, Sephiroth seemed bemused with himself. “…I’ve never spoken it.”

Cloud didn’t need ask what language it was, because he knew. But he licked his lips, and asked, “What did you say?”

Sephiroth opened his mouth to reveal it, then closed it. “Uh, it sounds dorky.”

Cloud giggled at that. “Everything you say is dorky, just tell me.”

Sephiroth sighed and smiled. “I’ve been waitin’ so long for our reunion; the taste of your body makes me cry with the stars and ache for the seconds I was away,” He then edited himself, “But the term for ’taste’ means more like, ‘chewing’. And ‘cry’ means more like… blowin’ up the entire universe and killin’ everything in it.”

Cloud was speechless.

Sephiroth suddenly became very embarrassed. “It doesn’t make much sense. I probably don’t even know how to speak it right, anyways. Sorry.”

Even though it was an odd declaration of affection, Cloud shook as his body bloomed with all the happiness that he could hold. “It does make sense, Seph…” He could still sense some discomfort from the General, and decided maybe some ribbing would lift his spirits. “But I can’t help but notice that you won’t just tell me that you love me. Not even in another language, huh?”

Sephiroth chuckled. “I would have, but there are no words for that…” Then he thought for a moment and said something that came out short and very cuddly sounding. He said it again and laughed.

“What?” Cloud questioned, kissing his laughter.

“I just called you my ‘baby’. But it doesn’t mean the same, it means like… ‘larva’.”

“How romantic,” Cloud sighed, then rolled onto his back and pulled Sephiroth with him. He wanted to be the General’s pillow that night, and smiled when a silver head laid down on his shoulder and long arms wound around him heavily.

After a few moments, Sephiroth sighed. “M’sorry I didn’t just… say it, Cloud.”

Cloud grinned. “That I’m your larva?”

Sephiroth shook his head, lifting up onto an elbow. He let out a breath of air, and smoothed away the hair from Cloud’s face to see him. He focused on that face, the light and life in his eyes as his body tensed, ready to protect Cloud at all costs should … something go wrong.

“Cloud?” Sephiroth began carefully.

“…Yeah?” Cloud answered curiously as he slowly realized what was going on. He swallowed and hooked his hands around Sephiroth.

“I…” He gripped his fingers in Cloud’s hair, not knowing why he wanted to suddenly rip and pull. But it was ripping and pulling out of love, not a desire to cause harm. But ripping and pulling would cause harm.

Maybe the lab was right all along. Maybe he was just a fucking animal from some other planet, some violent creature that needed to be caged and studied.

Oh, fuck it! He was here now, and he would find the balance he needed to find to be a normal man… if only to be able to love Cloud Strife as he deserved to be loved.

He let go of Cloud’s hair and said, “I love you much.”

Cloud slowly smiled.

“S-so much?... Fuck!” Sephiroth spat angrily, as animated as Cloud had ever seen him. “I’ve been meanin’ to say, ‘I love you so much,’ for fuckin’ months! And I fuckin’ said, ‘I love you much?’… goddamn it!”

Cloud was absolutely giddy as joyous tears rolled down his cheeks. “It doesn’t matter! I love you, too!”

Sephiroth dropped his face down onto Cloud’s chest. “Ugh. Why?”

Cloud curled every limb up around him, not saying anything. Eventually Sephiroth relaxed on top of him, and soon he was letting his fingers dance over Cloud’s bare skin.

“I love you much,” Cloud whispered before sleep threatened to pull him away entirely.

“…I love you so much,” Sephiroth smiled, still embarrassed as he followed Cloud out to sleep.

CHAPTER IMAGES!

Vincent and Seph - http://owmyhearteries.deviantart.com/art/Blonde-Ambition-Ch21-Vincent-128746064

Snuggle Wuggles – http://owmyhearteries.deviantart.com/art/Blonde-Ambition-Ch21-Snuggle-128746651

A/N

1-     I’m sorry for the amount of time this chapter took. I needed a hiatus for my personal life – not school, even though it’s a popular scapegoat. I needed to realign with my mojo, and it took longer than I thought it would. I hope the content was worth the wait.

2-     I always get so emotional when I write about Vincent and Sephiroth.

3-     I’ll say that there are probably only two more chapters before the first part of BA is finished, then we’re moving on to the second. Don’t cry, it’ll be lots of fun.
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Blonde Ambition