Sober

TWO MONTHS LATER


I loved the swimming pool in my apartment building. So few people used it, and since it was swim-at-your-own-risk, I could come down here anytime I pleased. I never used the swimming pool at work, fearing I’d inadvertently drink SOLDIER urine.

There’s nothing like wearing yourself out in water. As a child I’d loved to swim while my father fished, which didn’t work out very well. He’d move the boat farther and farther away so my antics didn’t frighten the fish close to him. Once, I nearly drowned because he barely reached me in time.

On lap fifty I heard the metal doors to the pool room open with a bang. Metallic strikes on the cement floor alerted me to someone’s approach. Who would be wearing spurs? I stopped and peered over the edge of the pool, looking directly at a pair of distinctive, bronze-plated boots. Slowly, I scanned the muscular, black-leather wrapped legs attached, and the large, attractive bulge between.

“I’ve been calling you for hours,” Valentine said in a cross tone. “Reeve needs you.”

I looked up into his red eyes. “It must be urgent.”

Valentine sighed loudly, crossing his arms. “Would I attempt to contact you if matters weren’t urgent? Get out of there and go with me to Reeve’s place.”

Bossy Turk.

I reached out, grabbed his ankle, and yanked. He fell into the pool and came up spluttering. “Goddamn you, Hojo!” he shouted, reaching for me. But, I was quicker. Laughing, I swam out of his reach.

“You’ll be a shrink-wrapped goth now,” I chuckled.

“You motherfu-“ He dove under the water.

Alarmed, I made for the ladder, but he got to me just before my hand caught the metal step. He tugged me underwater and shook me viciously, perhaps hoping I’d drown. But, I’d gotten a good breath. I just let him tug me this way and that, smug.

We surfaced. He grabbed the ladder and swung out with admirable grace. “That was childish and completely in character for you,” he muttered, taking his bandana off and wringing water. Almost as afterthought, he wrung his hair, too. His tattered red cloak would probably shrink just like this leather clothing.

I treaded water, content to watch his display of displeasure. He made anger very beautiful.

“Get out,” he snapped impatiently. “This is important.”

I climbed from the water and stood in front of him. “What is it?”

Valentine scanned my body almost like one would look at a painting. I realized with a jolt that he was really looking at me.

Oh, sweet Jesus.

His eyes moved over my scars slowly, then over my long, dripping hair. His breathing hitched and his pale complexion turned an alarming shade of white. Blindly, he grabbed for a deck chair and heavily leaned upon it, his claws punching through the plastic. “It was you,” he whispered.

I didn’t see the need to deny it. He’d probably throw me back into the pool and hold my head underwater, though. “Yes,” I agreed.

Valentine staggered to the wall and leaned on it, breathing rapidly through his nose and keeping his eyes shut. “I asked Reeve for weeks, and he never told me.”

“I asked him not to,” I explained, grabbing a towel. It looked as if he wouldn’t drown me after all. “You wouldn’t have liked that information. Your reaction right now is evidence enough.”

“Oh my god,” he groaned. “Oh, my god!”

“If you’re going to be sick, there’s a bathroom over there,” I said, pointing. “But, I think you’re making a big deal over nothing.”

“Nothing?” Valentine shouted, red eyes blazing. “Nothing? I put my dick in you!”

The small child and her mother who sometimes swam here, turned right back around in the open doorway and vanished as Valentine’s words bounced off the cement.

“Yes, you did, and you were absolutely the best fuck I’ve ever had,” I replied, drying my hair. “Too bad it was under those circumstances. You’ve got a tool that would make a straight man gay.”

Valentine groaned again, shuddering. “Oh, sweet fucking Shiva!” His shudder turned into a bought of shivering. “I put my dick in you.”

“You’ve already said that.” I put my glasses on and my dressing gown. “You also said I was tighter and hotter than any woman you’ve even been inside of.” I threw my towel at him, and he automatically caught it. “That was two years ago, Turk. Your dick didn’t fall off, I imagine.”

Valentine threw the towel at me. It struck my head and fell into the pool. Idly, I watched it sink. “I can’t believe I fucked you,” he said, and his voice seemed about gone.

“Would you rather I had fucked you?” I asked, interested. “Because I am very good at fucking.”

Valentine strode out, his wet cape snapping water all over the tiles. I finished getting dressed in the changing room, then went outside to find him.

He stood next to a supremely decked-out motorcycle, arms crossed and body vibrating. I came up to him, noticing how his eyes slammed open in alarm. “Get on the bike,” he ordered harshly.

“Is this Strife’s?” I asked, slinging a leg over. “Fenrir, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, it belongs to Cloud.” Valentine got on in front of me and kicked the motor to life. “Hang on,” he said, and I knew he hated to utter those words.

Feeling mischievous, I slowly wound my arms around his chest and waist. He stiffened and stopped breathing for a moment. Then, he threw the bike into gear and we were off.

**************************************************************************************************************************


ONE MONTH LATER


I’d never seen so many drugged people in all my life.

I stepped around heaps of semi-coherent people, people fucking, sucking and blowing to their heart’s content. There was my son and his man, and I didn’t look at them for long. Ah, there, in the corner, the dark-haired pugilist, Lockhart, and a barmaid. Lovely, just lovely. Oh, and the airship captain and… Kisaragi. That was interesting. Quite a contrast and also very beautiful. And there, by the staircase, Reeve and a…fourteen year old child? No, that was that former Deepground woman.

Ah, there he was, the only one with enough sense to incapacitate himself. I sat down at the very limit of his chain. He looked rough. His fangs were showing, his hair was wilder than usual, and he clawed fitfully at his manacle. “Hello, Valentine,” I said. “The containment team is pumping fresh air into the ducts as we speak.”

“Good,” the Turk snarled. “I’ve been watching this orgy for hours.”

“Watching and unable to join,” I remarked. “I understood why you did it, but really, was it that bad of a fate? These people are your friends.”

“Exactly.” Valentine grabbed his chain and began tugging on it. “Get me out of here.”

I leaned over and helped him tear the chain like putty. In that second, he grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder. I watched the carpeting a second until he got to the stairs, and we were up them so fast I barely blinked. He carried me into a room and slammed the door. I hit the bed so hard I bounced.

Suddenly, he was on top of me, ripping at my clothing like a maenad. He found the medical lube in my pocket and set it aside.

Oh, dear god. A dream come true. Lightning does indeed strike the same place twice.

“I’m going to explode,” he swore, throwing my shoes and socks. “This is worse than that shit those slavers gave me. I’m nearly blind from lust.”

As pleasurable as a hard pounding from him would be, I felt it was my turn. I grabbed the end of his chain, wrapped it twice around his neck, and forced him down to the mattress. “Allow me to educate you, then, Vincent,” I said, stripping him as quickly as possible.

He was so far gone he arched up into any of my accidental touches. I got him naked and stroked down his body, feeling all that lovely, smooth skin writhing under me. Holy fuck but he felt good. I barely noticed his gauntlet claws raking down my own chest.

Oh, so beautiful.

“You’ve got a lot to learn about fucking a man, Vincent,” I told him, straddling him and leaning close to his face. “Why can’t you come to me when you’re sober? I could show you so much.” I bent and kissed him.

He tasted like dark molasses and blood, and I cut myself on one of his fangs. Dizzy with pleasure, I sucked on his tongue a moment and listened to him whimper. He couldn’t lie still under me, and he grabbed my dick. My thoughts short-circuited.

“Put the lube on me,” I ordered, taking his chain and jerking it one good time. “I’m going to fuck your virgin ass until you faint.”

He slathered the stuff on my dick, jerking me expertly. “Don’t…hurt me,” he panted.

“You won’t mind if it hurts, Turk,” I swore, stroking down his neck and watching him bow up. “Relax for me.”

He quieted with concentration, and I felt his pelvis uncoil. Still breathing hard, he gifted me by turning those red eyes up to mine. “I can’t…”

“You can,” I argued, pressing forward. “You’ll like it. Maybe you’ll even see why I think about fucking you a hundred times a day.” I pushed harder, but went slowly through his tight ring, my blood boiling with lust at the sight of him hissing and bucking. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about how I felt, pretty Turk. Don’t tell me you haven’t wondered why my ass felt better than any pussy.”

“Hojo…” Valentine gasped, attempted to move his legs back down.

I jerked his chain. “I love it when you fight me, Vincent,” I said, reaching down and grabbing that exquisite cock. Slowly, I fisted and stroked, making him cry out. Just the sound of that rough, hoarse voice lifted in pleasure made me want to shove in as hard as I could, but I didn’t. I just kept pressing ever inward, feeling him finally understand how to relax his sphincter.

“That’s easier, isn’t it?” I asked him softly, and he shuddered. “Wait until I hit the magic spot, my lovely Turk. You’re going to think Shiva Herself shoved a blessing up your tight ass.” I bent down and latched onto his neck, sucking and biting where the double-wrapped chain didn’t cover him. I was halfway inside him now.

“Oh, god!” he shouted, grabbing the sheets and ripping. “Hojo!”

He felt so good. I couldn’t believe it. I shook with the effort not to just plunge into him. “I love hearing you say my name,” I told him, “pain or pleasure, Vincent, your voice makes me want to come.”

I captured his lips again. At first he fought me, but I applied all my wiles and brought him to eager attention. And then, I sank into him fully. He tore his mouth away from me to sob something incoherent, and his claws raked down my back. His body curved upward, and sweat gleamed luminous against his defined ribs and abs. I hit his prostate and watched him slide into ecstasy. His eyes rolled back and he groaned long and low.

“I knew you’d like it,” I whispered in his ear, pausing to nip the delicate lobe. “Now, let me get a good grip, pretty Turk.” As I spoke I wrapped tentacles around his legs, opening him wider. “I can’t have you getting away, can I?” Tilting him for better access, I ground against that pleasure organ deep inside him. I twined a tentacle around and around his straining cock, squeezing and twirling.

I felt like I’d blow a hole through him when I came. My balls were so tight and heavy they threatened to burst. His constant groans and whimpers didn’t help. Each one hit me right in my groin.

How could Lucrecia give him up? It boggled the mind.

“Hojo,” he rasped. “Oh god, more!”

That almost ended me. I picked up my pace, feeling him clutching, milking me. “You want this harder?” I asked, wrenching his legs even farther apart. “Tell me what you want, Vincent!”

“Yes,” he sobbed, claws digging into my shoulder. “Fuck me harder!”

Shuddering, I applied myself to his wants. “Two fucking years I’ve been thinking about you and your pretty cock,” I growled. “Two fucking years I’ve wanted inside you. Do you want to take turns, pretty?” I slammed into him again and again, angling for a teasing slide off his prostate. “I’ll gladly bend over for you any time you want me.”

“I’m-.” He panted. “I’m…”

“Yes, you are,” I agreed, taking him into a rhythm that would end us both. “You’re going to come, and I’m going to watch. I’m going to watch you shoot all over your perfect body.”

Valentine jerked, stiffened and howled. I came with him, eyes greedily absorbing how he painted himself, how the cords in his neck stood out and his eyes glowed like a desert sunset.

Spent, I didn’t immediately pull out. I’d hated leaving him so soon after our interlude in Wutai, and I sought to make up for that time.

He had his eyes closed and he was breathing hard.

Just so fucking beautiful…

I withdrew my tentacles, then my cock. He whimpered a little. Careful not to shake the bed too much, I got up, found the bathroom, and wet a washcloth in warm water. I cleaned myself first, then got a new cloth and returned to him.

He lay very still as I cleaned him, and I made it more a worship of his body than a utilitarian task. When he started shivering, I pulled a sheet up around us and just propped up on an elbow to look at him.

Eventually, he came to awareness, his crimson eyes opening. For a long moment he stared at the ceiling. “The gas has worn off,” he said, his voice raw from all the shouting he’d done. Slowly, he turned his head and met my eyes. I smiled at him.

“I won’t tell anyone this time either,” I promised.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

ONE WEEK LATER


When one is habitually insomniatic, and has a pool, one swims at three o’clock in the morning. I’d turned off the lights to discourage people, just on the off chance, but the pool lights were automatic; I couldn’t do anything about them.

“Father,” my son’s voice drifted over the water. “I came by to tell you that Vincent Valentine is on his way here. I just left a meeting.”

“Hello, boy,” I said, swimming to the side and putting my elbows on the rim. “Why did you feel the need to give me warning?”

Sephiroth grinned. “He has very strong thoughts, and they were all about you tonight. What did you do to him?” He squatted at the pool’s edge and picked up my glasses, looking through them briefly. “These are just glass,” he said.

“No, they darken to sunglasses and also filter UV rays.” I sat on the ladder. “You shouldn’t listen in on other people’s minds,” I added.

“I couldn’t help it. Even Cloud could hear him. He apparently heard more than I did and he’s quite disturbed.” Sephiroth chuckled. “He wouldn’t tell me what he heard.”

“I won’t tell you anything either,” I said. “I gave my word not to speak of what Valentine and I have been doing.”

“All right,” Sephiroth said, standing back up. “When it isn’t a secret anymore…?”

“I’ll tell you,” I promised.

“Good enough.” Sephiroth made his usual, dramatic exit, his long coat rippling in a non-existent breeze. “By the way,” he called out without looking back. “Your love marks look like they might be getting infected.”

“They are not!” I shouted at his back.

“And you made one hell of a hickey on the ex-Turk!” he said, but his voice came faintly now.

About a half hour later, I saw the truth of that. Valentine came striding into the pool room without his cloak, and my mark shone as vivid as blood on his pale neck. He stopped and looked at me, his eyes churning with some inner turmoil. I didn’t say anything, just treaded water and watched him.

Slowly, he began to remove his clothing.

Oh, god, don’t be teasing me, I silently begged the Higher Power.

Naked, Valentine cut the water with a beautiful dive. He came up behind me. Before I could turn, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his body. His hands began to ease down my swim trunks.

“Let’s try this sober.”


THE END