Ceaseless Oblivion

Now, on with it! I own nothing, blah blah, if I did, Sephiroth and Cloud would dress up in suits and walk around college with me as body guards. They'd make good Armani models. *swoons*

Warning: graphic material here, in a dream Cloud has. The dream lasts a little longer than I anticipated…but for those that like a good CloudxSephiroth heated moment, then you may eat your heart out. ^^ Plus, this is meant to be humorous, for every supernatural romance story should make you chuckle. This one sure made me laugh!


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Dreams are excursions into the limbo of things, a semi-deliverance from the human prison. ~Henri Amiel

Everywhere Cloud turned, there was nothing but sapphire light. It seemed to be the oxygen itself, rolling in waves all around him, the way an aurora would, a cerulean version of the northern lights. He ascertained that he was in some sort of a grass land, and that everything was rather beautiful. However, everything was blue.

The steam from a nearby waterfall hit his ears, and Cloud turned, wondering where on earth he was. Briefly, his consciousness fought with him, telling him that he had to be doing something, looking for something…no. Not something, but rather, someone. Someone important, a man who made his heart swell with desire, a man who made his blood boil beneath his skin. Sephiroth. That was who he was looking for.

Cloud cleared his throat, and wondered where the man was. There was no harm in calling out his name, now was there?

"Sephiroth? Where are you?"

"Right here Cloud. There is no need for yelling." Cloud whirled around, and nearly collided with the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life. There was Sephiroth alright, but he looked very different, different than he ever had.

Sephiroth was dressed in nothing more than a pair of black pants, and upon further inspection, they were only leather. Cloud was then reminded of his time on the Planet where Sephiroth had worn nothing but black leather. It was something that had distinguished him from the other SOLDIER'S.

So Sephiroth was dressed up in a pair of leather pants and nothing else. It didn't mean that he had to ogle him. That being said…even here, he knew that he was attracted to this man.

Sephiroth shook his head and began walking over to Cloud, and Cloud saw that his hair was up and back from his face, bound back by a tie. It lined his features and brought out how pallid his face was. But in this light…he looked as if petals of a white rose had been dipped in liquid sapphire, his features brushed gently with the petals until his skin gleamed from within. It reminded Cloud of his own skin, skin that stayed glowing no matter how hard he had once tried scrubbing himself of it. That being said, it was only a trick of the light, for Sephiroth didn't have glowing skin like him.

Since Cloud failed to respond to Sephiroth's former reply, Sephiroth spoke once more. "You were looking for me?" Cloud nodded, and tried to remember why it was that it was so important to find this man, to find his friend.

"Yes…I wanted to find you." Sephiroth chuckled, and the sound seemed to be highlighted, booming all around him like a soothing clap of thunder. Cloud felt as if there was a fog around his mind then. Since when could thunder be soothing?

The silver haired male walked over to him with a grace that would have made the gods jealous, seething in envy on their thrones. Cloud felt that all of his logic was falling away from him then, all sense of reason and judgment skewered. Looking at something that jaw dropping handsome did that to a person.

"And why did you wish to find me?" There was a taunt in Sephiroth's voice then, a smirk on his lips and a playfulness in his tone that made Cloud blush. It was as if Sephiroth were simply playing with him then, as well as telling him that the only reason he wanted to find him was because he wanted something…sensual to do with him.

Wait. Why was he thinking such things? Cold shower. Some sort of buzz kill. Stop thinking like that, Strife.

Cloud cleared his throat. "Well, it's oblivion Sephiroth. We need to stick together." Sephiroth nodded his head, as if he agreed to every single word Cloud had said. Cloud had a feeling he would have nodded his head if he had said that he was a St. Bernard who wanted to be fed in pork chops. Meaning, Sephiroth wasn't listening and was just nodding to pretend that he was.

Sephiroth blinked twice, and in that short expanse of time, his eyes roved up and down Cloud's body. He felt as if some sort of spotlight had been placed on him, and that there were hundred's of pairs of eyes on him, scrutinizing, calculating, and dissecting all at once. He was nothing to be examined, or looked at like he was a fascinating specimen under a Petri dish! However…Sephiroth didn't mean to look at him that way. It was the way someone looked who was admiring something beautiful, something worthy of being looked at in such a manner.

Dear gods, Sephiroth was…admiring his attributes. Checking him out so to speak.

Cloud looked down and noticed that he was wearing the same thing as Sephiroth: leather pants that fit him perfectly, and no shoes. And that was it. No shirt or boots to keep him warm, something practical.

Finally, Sephiroth spoke. "Cloud…if you wish to stick together…" Sephiroth was behind him then "…then we need to be much, much closer." Cloud felt a heated breath slip in between his lips and nostrils, and a burning feeling pooled in his stomach and loins. He had forgotten how incredibly sexy Sephiroth's voice was.

"U-uh…yes, yes we do…" Cloud gasped when he felt Sephiroth wrap his arms around him, squeezing his hips and pectorals. Sephiroth was…embracing him? The man was much taller than him by almost a foot, and he towered over him. He placed his chin on his head and held it there, keeping him in place. Cloud was free to move if he wished he realized. But the odd thing was…that at this moment, when he should have been reeling away from his "friends" touch, that he wasn't doing a thing to prevent it. He was simply…letting it happen.

And why shouldn't he? It felt too damn good, being touched by this man. He could die right now, in this intense heat, in these arms, and he wouldn't go kicking and screaming. Hell, he would die with a smile on his face.

Cloud looked around at the landscape for a moment, simply to forget about the way something was heating up under his leather pants, his own erection. To his right was a large waterfall that was steaming from under ground. A type of hot spring. It emanated in a turquoise glow from below the recesses of the earth somewhere, and it looked warm, inviting.

"Want to go in?" Cloud was shaken from his train of thought by Sephiroth's lips, which were very close to his right ear right then. It made the magnitude of his hypnotic timbre stand out right then, booming through his ear drums and making every sound and tone a mesmerizing brass octave.

"I-in?" Sephiroth chuckled and released his backwards hold on him.

"Into the hot springs of course." Sephiroth walked in front of him and with the way his hair swished, it showed a perfect view of his accentuated backside. Cloud felt as if he were someone else then, like a spirit was controlling his body, making him follow this enchanting creature Sephiroth had become.

Sephiroth stopped at the bank and placed his hands on the button that held his pants on. Cloud felt as if his jaw were going to unhinge and fall into the water. Sephiroth saw this and simply smirked.

"It's the best way to get the maximum pleasure. Naked." All of this he said without taking his eyes off of Cloud's. Cloud felt as if he were captive in the man's gaze, trapped like a bird in an iron cage. However, this bird didn't want release any time soon. In this light, the sapphire made his eyes look almost blue, an aqua that reminded Cloud of mythical creatures, of siren's that called sailors to their arms, beckoning them with scaled arms and beautiful fingernails. However, he knew that if he were to surrender to all that Sephiroth was at this moment, that he would not be destroyed, but reborn.

And to this, Sephiroth took off his pants, and was entirely nude. He reached up and took the band from his hair, shaking it a little until he looked disheveled. However, he looked like the most provocative thing that Cloud had ever seen.

Something should have been telling him to stop. His voice of reason was killed off however, as he in return stripped, and walked into the hot spring. Sephiroth followed him, and Cloud found his eyes wandering over every square inch of Sephiroth's chest, arms, and legs. He was ideal, a body that would have put Da Vinci's masterpieces to shame. His pectorals couldn't have had more muscle on them if he tried, for they were carved into a perfect six pack, one gained through strenuous training. His arms were built, and the muscle coiled and rippled underneath his skin, veins and flesh becoming a thing of beauty and masculinity all at once.

Cloud hissed in pleasure when the water was up to his shoulders. It felt wonderful naked, Sephiroth was right. The only thing that could have made this better was if...

Sephiroth was behind him then, and took his shoulders in his hands. He gripped them as if he was a master masseuse, and gently, he began rubbing Cloud's back. Cloud stiffened, and wondered why he wasn't running away screaming from this. Logically, the Sephiroth he knew shouldn't have been doing this to him. The Sephiroth he knew would have been lying against the rocks, enjoying the heat of the springs. This Sephiroth…wanted to give him a back rub.

"Just relax Cloud." His lips were centimeters from his skin, and it caused a hot flush to come over Cloud's skin. He nodded his head, and wondered if he had been rendered a puppet once more. Oh yes, he had been.

Then, Sephiroth's lips were on his neck. They trailed a pattern of star fire over his skin, lighting it from the bone up. Cloud gasped aloud, and when his mouth opened, someone else's covered it. Cloud's eyes opened wide, and he saw that Sephiroth had somehow managed to come around him, and place his mouth over his.

Instead of screaming and flailing, doing anything humanly possible to get out of this spring before Sephiroth tried anything else, Cloud simply slipped his eyes closed. This felt…right. Kissing Sephiroth. As mad as it was to say, as insane as it was to proclaim, he enjoyed kissing this man.

Sephiroth opened his mouth wider, and began flicking his tongue back and forth in Cloud's mouth, eliciting a moan from his throat. Good gods, there was no escaping this. In a manner of seconds, he had become a thing who craved pleasure from this silver haired sex incarnate.

After a moment more of kissing, Sephiroth separated himself from Cloud. Cloud groped for him, reaching for him with shaking, trembling hands. He had done it. He had kissed Sephiroth, and Sephiroth had kissed back.

"Sephiroth…you kissed me?" Sephiroth nodded, and began eyeing Cloud's body, as if he were seconds away from throwing him down in the spring and ravishing him. Hell, he more than likely was. If he was ravished with those hands, he would never again be satisfied with touching anyone else intimately again. It had always been Sephiroth.

"Yes. And you kissed back. Meaning Cloud," he came closer to Cloud "that you feel the same about me." Cloud was too busy watching Sephiroth's facial gestures to anticipate what was to come next. He moaned loudly enough to put a wanton to shame, all because Sephiroth had grabbed Cloud's throbbing erection underneath the water. Oh good gods it felt wonderful…

"Y-yes! Yes I do! I fucking love you!" Cloud had no idea where that had come from. Sephiroth merely chuckled and began trailing heated kisses over his skin, his cheekbones, the space between his neck and collarbone. He sucked, licked, and began biting his shoulder blades, all the while stroking him beneath the water. Cloud groaned a loud and bucked into his soon to be lovers touch, all the while wondering if tonight, on this sapphire evening, he would lose himself in ecstasy to Sephiroth.

"I can think of many more things to do…that involve fucking…" Cloud shivered despite the warmth of the water, and he gripped Sephiroth's shoulder. He felt Sephiroth's hard member against the inner workings of his thigh, and he felt as if, in this moment, there was something beyond the physical that was going on here. It was the bare opening of two halves of kindred souls, spirits that had long since been bleeding and battered coalescing, becoming one and merging, creating a healing portion in the shattered pieces. It was completion.

"And Cloud?" Cloud opened his eyes, not surprised that they had fallen shut of their own accord. "I fucking love you too." After this, he planted his mouth over Cloud's, and began rubbing against him, his chest roving and stroking his own. There was no penetration, and Cloud felt as if something in him was stirring, the knowledge that Sephiroth was not going to rut with him tonight, the way panthers in heat would do deep in the heart of a forest somewhere. Something told him that whenever they did this…it would be some place special.

However, this was…beyond words. Sephiroth was stroking the length of him, biting his neck, and telling him all the while…poetry?

"My Heaven, the deep cerulean of your eyes. My sunlight, the polished gold of your hair. My stability, the curve of your back and arms." Cloud hissed and threw his head back when his release was almost upon him. "My Muse, the way your lips curl up in happiness." It was then that Cloud came. Cloud cried out and felt his semen swirl in the water around them. Sephiroth captured his lips once more, and the feeling was magical, static electricity coming between their two bodies. Cloud deliriously wondered that since they were two magnetic poles, lightning rods, that the water was not causing them to be struck blind by the intensity of the shock. However, this one time, water and electricity could mix. The way that they worked together was the same, Cloud's lightning coalescing with Sephiroth's water, miraculously becoming one for the sake of a higher cause.

This cause was love.

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Cloud shot bolt upright on his leaf bed, and he knew that shock was clearly on his face. He had just had the most vivid dream of his entire life. And it involved…

"Bad dream, Strife?" Cloud slowly turned around and was met with inquisitive jade oculars. Sephiroth was leaning against the cave wall at a comfortable angle, one arm draped over his injured torso, as if protecting it from anything that could have come at him. Briefly, an image of a swirl of sterling hair held back by a tie, and aqua eyes flashing in sapphire lightning came over Cloud's vision.

He shook his head quickly, and stood up, pacing back and forth, as if he couldn't get his bearings straight. What the Hell had just happened? It was a dream, and nothing more.

A chuckle from beautiful, kissable lips. "I understand nightmares. I also understand that a bath will cure bad visions." Sephiroth pointed with a sharpened stick he had made to the stream thirty or so feet from their shelter. "Go on Strife. You don't have to tell me about it." A sound like a blade on wood.

Cloud turned around and saw that Sephiroth had been making a few pointed sticks for their weapons. He hadn't made too many, for there was no way that Cloud could have carried all of them at one time, all the while trying to carry Sephiroth into whatever shelter they would find. Shelter. Caves. Escape. Yes…that was the objective! Not this foolish dreaming!

Finally, he found his voice, buried in the insanity that had been dreams. "Uh…yes. I'll go bathe…and afterwards, I'll get you something to eat." Sephiroth shook his head.

"I already got lunch. Or is it dinner?" Another chuckle from a striking, pursed mouth. "While you were sleeping, a few rabbits came to the edge of this cave. I speared them, and crawled to the opening. I ate one awhile ago. Yours is ready whenever you want." Cloud looked at Sephiroth as if he had suddenly grown another eye in the middle of his forehead, and it began singing a song in a different language. To say the least, he was shocked.

"Um…thank you. I'll just be…bathing." Cloud practically sprinted out of that cave as if it were on fire. He didn't stop until he reached the stream. Intentionally, he picked an angle Sephiroth could not have possibly seen and dunked his head in the river, all the while scrubbing furiously at his head.

Where was his head today? And further more, what nonsense was in the depths of his mind? Surely he should not have dreamt so…blatantly of nearly fucking the man who had once been his enemy? What had become of him?

Yes, he had already gathered that he was not a straight man. Men made his heart beat, his blood churning like magma beneath his skin. Men made his skin prickle with heat, his hair standing erect.

However…Sephiroth could not be that man. Sephiroth was supposed to be his friend, a comrade who had saved his life from a beast that surely would have killed him had he not sacrificed his own well being. Sephiroth was now a hero in his eyes, a savior. They were here together, and there was a truce between them, a truce that stated that they wanted to not fight, in order to get out of this god forsaken wasteland of an oblivion.

Meaning, that there was no way he could admit such a dream to Sephiroth. The man had bedded a woman for Goddess's sake! He was obviously into women, and would be until…well…he always would be!

Cloud stood up, stripped his clothes off, and began scrubbing at his skin. He could not help but remember the dream, in its intensity and clarity. Sephiroth had been rubbing his back the way one would do a lover, or someone who he was obviously interested in. That was what he had to do: establish reality from the dream realm.

In the dream, Sephiroth was a man driven by sexual desire, a man who was unafraid of showing and displaying his twist in sexuality. In reality, Sephiroth was a man who was beginning to get an understanding of where he stood in his life, a man who was trying to grapple with the consequences of all the wrongs he had done in the past. That was self improvement, and Cloud was willing to help him with this.

However, that was only if he could ever shake this infatuation he had with him.

Cloud then asked himself a serious question then: why on earth would he choose to be infatuated with Sephiroth? Surely there were other men in the Promised Land who he could find and court, and live in eternity with. He tried picturing this man, and he saw himself smiling to a man with deep hazel eyes and bronze skin. The slide changed then, and he saw himself running in a field of sunflowers with Sephiroth, chasing him through the high stalks of the flowers. They were laughing and throwing flower petals at each other, in a place where there was no pain, or anything bad.

The blonde haired man gave up then. He sighed and placed his head in between his legs then, breathing deeply. Cloud was afraid if he got up too suddenly, that he would pass out in the water. Then, if he passed out, it would mean that there would be the chance and opportunity to dream of Sephiroth in such a way again. That could not be. That being said, no one had any control of their dreams.

"I've seen livelier company in graveyards."

"Genesis, the man is in obvious distress. Show some respect!"

"Alright my Angel, don't worry!"

"Guys, leave the talking to me!"

Cloud lifted his head suddenly and found himself face to face with three amused men, three familiar men. Standing there, in seraphic glory, were Angeal, Genesis and Zack, all watching him carefully. Genesis spoke first and waved his hand in greeting.

"Hello. We have met a few times I know. I also know that in those times we have met, I was not very kind to you." Genesis splashed into the river and held out his hand, a genuine smile on his lips. Charismatic was the word Cloud thought of upon seeing this copper haired man. Cloud shook his hand.

"Um…apology accepted, Genesis Rhapsados." He chuckled and brought Cloud to his feet. It was then that Cloud realized he was naked in front of these men, and though none of it really mattered, he blushed despite himself. Angeal threw him his clothes, and Zack rushed to his side, pushing his arms and shoulders into a shirt, being mindful of his injured right arm.

After a moment, he was clean and dressed. Cloud shook his head, and he wondered if what he had just witnessed would disappear, the way a dream would when one needed to clear their head. Three men still stood in front of him, as real as he was. Well, the good news, was that he knew that this was not him going crazy. These men, Zack included of course, had something to say to him.

Zack spoke first. "So, I see you're still alive." Cloud nodded.

"Yes…and so is Sephiroth. He's resting in the cave if you want to go talk with him." All three of them, as if they were all in perfect synch with each other, shook their heads.

"We're here to talk to you, Strife." This was Angeal, a man who he had known of, but had not known the way Sephiroth had. Angeal gestured to a spot on the bank where they could all sit comfortably. Zack patted the ground next to him just as Angeal and Genesis, without shame, sat very close to the other.

"I bet you're wondering why we're here?" Cloud opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

"Actually, from what I've been through these last few days…give or take a few months, I'm through wondering about anything." Zack chuckled.

"Cloud…we didn't abandon you to those beasts you know." Cloud looked up from where he had been twiddling a blade of grass between his fingertips, all the while trying to piece together the fragments of the last day or two. It all derived from getting injured and attacked by those monsters of course. He looked to Zack's eyes, the cloudy blue of a foggy night and saw that a long line of eyes were looking at him. Angeal with his wise brown eyes, and Genesis with his flashing aquamarine oculars. All eyes were on him.

"I…figured you had your reasons for not warning me. Besides…it's not your job to do that. I have to be strong enough to fight whatever comes my way here, without helpful hints along the way." Zack caught his eye, and he smiled so brightly, Cloud wondered if he had trapped sunlight within his bones.

Zack clapped Cloud lightly on the back, affectionately. "Cloud, I'm proud of you actually. It was ordered for us to not interfere with that. We can meddle in other affairs of course," he grinned while saying the word affair "but we cannot help you in your battles of the beasts that lie here. That's something you gotta do on your own." Cloud nodded, understanding. He knew there was a reason behind his friend's absence.

Genesis cleared his throat, and stuck his head out behind Angeal's massive frame. "However…with these so called affairs, we can do anything else we want." An impish grin lit his features, and Cloud felt a growing dread creep into his stomach.

Still, he tried his hardest to remain impassive. "Oh? Such as?" Two could play this game. Genesis smirked and tossed a gloved hand dramatically to the air.

"It involves a certain ex-General friend of ours." Cloud blinked once, and felt panic rise in his throat. If he had not suffered and endured years of hiding his emotions, he would have already shown that he was in the depths of anxiety right then. Angeal sighed.

"Genesis, stop toying with the boy!" Genesis laughed and shook his head, strands of his hair falling in front of his face.

"Oh come now, Ange Ange, you are no fun at all!" Angeal pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, as if he felt a growing headache occur because of the nickname his lover so eloquently bestowed on him. Then Cloud saw that his shoulders were shaking in laughter. Zack laughed too, and despite the situation, Cloud managed a chuckle.

"Ange Ange? That sounds like it's French for some ridiculous pastry." Genesis shrugged.

"If you say so, beloved. However, the task at hand is Cloud and Sephiroth's present relationship." Three pairs of eyes were on him then. Cloud was certain his face would never return to its original shade of light beige. Oh yes, the Goddess was surely enjoying this display of insanity, and his embarrassment.

"L-look…whatever you guys think…it's all me. I'm the one who is so god damn infatuated with the man!" Zack cocked his head to one side, Angeal furrowed his brow, and Genesis chuckled.

"So you admit it?" Cloud looked Zack in the eye. His friend had a look of pure understanding on his face then, a look that said that even if he donned a tail and horns and wanted to be called Diablo, the Red Tailed Demon of the North, he would still accept him no matter who he was. Sexuality wise, he would show no judgment. Hell, he was best friends with two men who were…well, sexually involved as it was. It was obvious too, with the way they were leaning on each other, their hands brushing ever so gently.

Cloud took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded. "Yes. Yes. I like guys…and Sephiroth happens to be number one on my list." Truth had an interesting taste to it, coating the tongue and mouth. Cloud felt as if he were finally being honest to himself, with three friendly phantoms. Yes, he had been honest with himself before in his mind. But the truth was made the truth by speaking it aloud, and coating the mouth with those meaningful words.

Zack spoke first. He clapped his hand on Cloud's back, and smiled. "Thank you for telling us. I won't judge you. Hell, it's nothing to be ashamed of, caring for Sephiroth. He deserves to be loved by somebody like you." His lips upturned in a smile, and Cloud wondered how he could have deserved such a friend. Zack had a habit of showing up anytime he really needed it.

Then Genesis spoke. "I remember a time when all Sephiroth cared about was power, and to pave a legacy in iron so that it would never falter with time." He shook his head. "That's not the man who I've been watching over. He took the fall for you in battle…and he never, ever would have done that for someone. You, Cloud, are changing him." Then, his mood became playful. "Also, I don't judge you, for I am that way as well. Into guys as you put it. If you ever feel that Sephiroth is not worth your affections…" Angeal gave him a death glare then, and Genesis chuckled "then there are plenty of other men in the Promised Land as well."

Cloud digested Genesis's words. There were plenty of other men in the Promised Land, yes. However, none of them would stir his blood the way that Sephiroth could have. Sephiroth…was in a category all his own.

Angeal spoke last. "Cloud, I do not know you that well at all. But I have watched over you from the Promised Land, and I am saddened that we never got to officially fight side by side in battle. You are a wonderful, loyal man who deserves to have utmost happiness. Also…you have been changing my old friend into someone who he wants to be. I was always at a loss as to how to help Sephiroth. But it appears all he needed was a blonde haired man from Nibelheim to set him straight." Cloud was touched by the man's words, and he felt like, in the expanse of a few minutes, these friendly ghosts and haunts had set him straight.

"T-thank you. I'm no saint, or angel. But…I do know that Sephiroth and I are here for a reason. Purpose can be found from oblivion." That statement was paradoxical and contradicting, for what could possibly be gained from nothingness, from a world clad in darkness? Evidently, a lot could. "Also…I had a dream about him a little while ago. It was…eerily vivid." Zack cleared his throat and Genesis tilted his head.

"Did it involve professing your love to him in the middle of a field full of dumbapples?" Genesis said this with a wistful tone in his voice. Cloud cocked an eyebrow, and for a moment, he felt as if despite all of the tension and seriousness of the world and circumstance, he was wanted, complete, and completely at ease with these people. Friendship did that.

"Um…no. Me and Sephiroth were…by a hot spring. There was…blue light all around, and we, well…" Cloud let the three men's imaginations fill in the gap. Genesis whistled, Zack blinked a few times, as if he couldn't get the image of Cloud and Sephiroth together out of his head, and Angeal was deep in thought.

"Hmm. Well, I had nothing to do with it. We can't bring dreams, or interfere with them. It was entirely created by your own mind." Cloud sighed at Zack's words, afraid of that.

It meant that he was into Sephiroth, despite how reason, and the laws governed by the justice of the Planet stated otherwise. It was some sort of…undisclosed infatuation, something that would not go away on its own. It was not some sort of cut that would seal over with time and the stretching of his skin. It was something deep in his bones, and he was going to deal with it to the best of his ability. However, love was never something one simply dealt with.

"Then…it means that…I care for Sephiroth." Zack nodded.

"Good. Don't be ashamed Cloud! This is wonderful!" Cloud sighed, doubting that this could be wonderful. Hell, they were all forgetting something very important.

"Wonderful…is a stretch. I mean, how the Hell do I know if Sephiroth…" he stopped himself right then, feeling as if he were in the middle of some sort of teenage love affair, the cliché kind that was on television every other Friday night. By the Goddess, he was in the middle of a soap opera it seemed!

Genesis shook his head back and forth. "Want me to ask him for you?" He cleared his throat and cupped his hands over his mouth "Oh Sephiroth! Cloud wants to know if you want to be his fu…" Angeal smirked to Cloud, and then sent his lover soaring into the river. Genesis simply released his black wings from his shoulder blades, pivoted in the air, and landed on the balls of his feet. He smirked, and flashed a kilowatt smile to all those that looked.

Angeal got to his feet then, and Cloud heard Angeal mutter how something so irritating and arrogant could be so damn cute at times. It reminded him of a few instances with him and Sephiroth, how the man could be so frustrating and unyielding, and yet look so handsome all the while.

Zack chuckled. "Gotta love em." His eyes grew serious then. "Cloud…I'm here for you, you know that, right?" Cloud nodded. Zack had already proven that he was there for him. Hell, they spent years together locked in those mako chambers while the world fell to ruin. Zack was the one who had saved him after all.

"Yes, you are here for me. Thank you." Zack smiled. "Don't be a stranger." Zack nodded.

"I'll be back before you know it. And before you know it Cloud, you'll get to see me, Aeris, and our children every single day." Cloud smiled, thinking of how wonderful it would be to see Aeris again, and to see the adorable children that his best friend and brother had created. If they were anything like him…then they would be wonderful additions to the world.

Zack walked over to where Genesis and Angeal were standing, holding each others hands. Angeal had taken his wings out of his back, and they were white as freshly fallen snow, shifting and moving with his breathing patterns. Genesis's were the color of black ash, but they shone like ebony in the light from his skin.

"Cloud, if it's what you want, we'll assist you in helping Sephiroth. And, in earning his love and heart. Before you know it, your dream will be reality." Cloud coughed a few times, wondering if he had heard the auburn haired male correctly.

"So…let me get this straight. You guys came here to see if I was alright, and then you want to play matchmaker?" Genesis nodded.

"That was the battle plan. However, I kind of wanted to pester Sephiroth for information. There is no way that he could not care for you the way you do him, you know?" Genesis smiled, and Cloud saw that the man who had once been so arrogant and hell bent on making a difference in the world was gone, and in his place was a playful, genuine soul.

Cloud shook his head. This was crazy! Besides, Sephiroth was probably wide eyed in horror back in the cave. They had been talking really loud, and Sephiroth more than likely over heard everything that had taken place in this conversation…

Zack smiled and waved his head back and forth, denying Cloud of his worry. "Cloud, Sephiroth didn't hear a thing." He gestured with his hand towards a figure on the edge of the water. Cloud squinted, and his eyes opened wide in surprise. There he was…still bathing. Another out of body experience it appeared.

"I shouldn't be surprised, and yet I am." Just when Cloud thought he had everything figured out, a curveball came out of the skies, rocketing at ten thousand miles an hour. That being said, there was no fun to be had if he understood everything.

Angeal looked to the skies and Genesis did as well, as if they were listening to something that Cloud was deaf too. Both smiled after they did this, and waved Cloud a farewell. In a flurry of snow white and black feathers, both men were gone, as if swallowed by the sky itself. Zack remained however, for just a moment.

"Cloud, don't worry about anything. Take care of that arm, and Sephiroth, and soon, you'll get to meet Elmyra and Darien." Zack turned on his heel. "And as for if I am concerned with whether or not you are in rapture with a man who was once the Planet's sworn enemy…I'm not." Zack turned around, and the ghostly image of white wings was seen on his back. They were simple, yet so elegant, becoming him, shrouding him in their gossamer light. "He's changed, and you had a lot to do with it. Keep it up, brother."

Zack took off into the heavens, and once his image faded into the sky, Cloud looked up. He was back in his own body, and it had only been a few minutes that had passed, thought it seemed like a full half hour had gone by. He had been so confused…and now, he knew what he had to do.

Cloud walked back to the cave, feeling dread wash over him. Yes, he was really going to go through with this. He would help Sephiroth, despite everything that they had between them. For, the past didn't matter when the present was much more trying and difficult. Besides, they relied heavily on one another, and there was no saying that things were bound to get easier. Sephiroth needed Cloud, just as Cloud needed Sephiroth.

Also, he was going to figure out these feelings inside of him, and whether or not it was infatuation, lust or love or a mere fancy of the spirit and mind. Meaning, he had to find a way to let his intentions be known in a kind of…courtship. Good gods, he was going to try and flirt with Sephiroth at some point!

The thought should have repulsed him, and sent him screaming and running far, far away from where Sephiroth was. However, he was not the same man who had left the cave, denying his dream. The time for denial was long past. It had been at least six months since he and Sephiroth had been stranded in this place, in the qualms of oblivion itself. Meaning, it was long past due that he and Sephiroth got even closer. Hell, who knew? Maybe Sephiroth felt the same way? It was a simple thing, yet such a complicated situation. As usual.

Cloud took a deep breath, and entered the cave. Sephiroth was still leaned against the wall, sharpening many sticks into fine points. He stopped his work when Cloud entered.

"Welcome back. Do you feel better?" Cloud nodded, touched by the man's concern. Before, Sephiroth wouldn't have looked up at him, much less acknowledged his presence. But now, after they had been through Hell and crawled back, tooth and nail, there was no such thing as pettiness.

"Yeah, I do. My head's clear. I feel…lighter." He remembered that he said those words a few years ago in Midgar, right before he was about to go and battle the Bahamut in the middle of the central town. He said those words to Tifa. Perhaps tonight, he would see what was going on with her.

Sephiroth nodded. "Good. You already weigh too much anyways." Cloud chuckled and sat down to make a fire. He was starving. He supposed worrying too much and having vivid dreams about a silver haired god of a man did that to someone's body.

"Cadet, you're the one who needs to lose some weight." He gripped some tinder and wood and struck a spark, hitting some dry grasses and hair in the middle of a small area composed of rocks and pebbles. The grass sprang to life. Cloud breathed on the wood and a small conflagration began, sparking ever so gently. Everything needed to be nursed back into life, and all things needed care.

"Sephiroth…how are you feeling?" Sephiroth perked an eyebrow, and then nodded, as if he was just remembering then that he had been impaled through and through by a monster.

"Better. I still can't walk very far, but if I can kill a rabbit from ten feet away, I think I'll recover." Mako eyes narrowed in concern then. "How about yourself? You were the one who passed out after you were accidentally poisoned, fell asleep for half a day, and then ran out of here like hell hounds were after you." Cloud flushed, remembering his erratic actions. Yes, he must have looked like a lunatic. However, that's what happened when denial held you in its grips, not letting go until there was nothing left but a fearful being. Fear had no place in his life, nor did denial.

"I'm fine. Sorry about earlier…I was just freaked out." A plan formed in Cloud's mind, and he wondered if he had gone mad to consider it. Then again, he was the one who had just admitted to himself that he would no longer think himself insane, or feel the depths of denial ever again. Denial was a poison, and one that would kill him if he continued with what he had been doing in the past. The truth, was that Sephiroth had been the only one he had been attracted to, beginning with their time in oblivion, and before he separated himself from civilization on Gaia. He was now a vulnerable man who was remarkably caring, witty, and willing to try to understand him. He was becoming something good, something wholesome and worthy of a new life, a second chance.

Sephiroth nodded. "Cloud…you can tell me of this nightmare. I highly doubt that there is anything your mind could come up with that would surprise me." Cloud had to look away at that comment.

'If only you knew.' "I will. In time. When the time is right Sephiroth…you'll know exactly what my dream was. But until then, pass me that rabbit. I'm really hungry." Sephiroth handed him the rabbit, and in a single moment, their hands brushed. Cloud resisted the urge to throw his head back and moan from the electricity that surged through their hands. The instant passed, and Cloud quickly cooked his rabbit, and through mouthfuls of meat, he told Sephiroth of his plan.

"Sephiroth, you said you haven't slept in half a day. Do that while I search for new shelter. We'll be that much closer very soon…I know it. If you can manage to hunt for yourself through animals that come around, then you shouldn't go hungry." He swallowed, feeling the wheels in his mind turning, churning like they hadn't before. It was as if a breeze had blown into the recesses of his brain and had cleared away the cobwebs and the dust from his mind, making thinking much easier. Truth tended to do that to someone.

Sephiroth nodded. "I can hunt if the animal comes close enough to me. Also, I can bathe myself…I just need help in getting out of the stream." Cloud acknowledged that Sephiroth was actually asking for help, instead of hinting at it. This was true progress.

"Of course I'll help you up. And just in case, to prevent you from starving, I will find kill before I leave to find a new route just in case you don't get lucky with the spear again." Sephiroth murmured something about never being lucky and about having warrior's talent. Cloud, beside himself, chuckled. Once again, despite everything that had happened, Sephiroth managed to have a sense of humor. It was one of the many things he liked about Sephiroth.

Cloud buried the bones of his rabbit, took a long drink from the stream, and hurried back to dress both his and Sephiroth's wounds. There was no sense in letting either of them bleed or have on filthy bandages while he was away.

Sephiroth came first, and Cloud expected a protest on how his bandage was fine, and how it didn't need to be looked after. But Sephiroth was simply silent as Cloud looked at the wound. He saw that the flesh looked pink and raw, a miracle considering it had only been done maybe two days ago at most. It was Jenova at work here, repairing the tissue that her "son" had managed to get injured. No human could heal that fast.

"It's remarkable. Your skin will be healed within a week, maybe two." Sephiroth looked up at the cave ceiling.

"I suppose it is remarkable, if you are a scientist or a doctor. However…if I told you I just wanted to heal naturally, the way you would…would that make me odd?" Cloud stopped dressing Sephiroth's wound, and looked at the man. Sephiroth had his eyes fixated on a spot on the cave wall, and was looking to it as if it were the most fascinating thing he had seen. His arms were underneath his head, and for all the world, he looked like a little boy who was laying in a field of grass in the summer month's, watching the starlight and the moon glow, never wanting to go inside.

A wave of passion seized Cloud so fast, Cloud barely had the chance to hold on before it formed words.

"Sephiroth…no. It doesn't make you odd to want to be normal. To heal normal, and to feel like you belong…I think everyone wants that." Sephiroth blinked twice, and then turned to his right where Cloud was making his spiel. It wasn't a spiel exactly, but more like a speech made out of indignation and concern. "I mean…all of us want to belong somewhere, and fit in." Sephiroth raised a perfectly arched brow.

"I would still much rather heal the normal way, even if it meant more torment on my part. Does that make me a masochist?" For a moment, Cloud saw nothing but pure vulnerability on Sephiroth's features, and it made his heart ache for the man. It was strange how he was allowing his heart to ache for this man, seeing as how they had gone through such a rough time together. But, past aside, they had to more forward, and help the other along the way. They had to conquer their own oblivion's before they could escape this one he supposed.

Cloud saw Sephiroth eased his hands off of his head, and lay down on the makeshift bed. He sighed and closed his eyes. "It's alright Cloud. I'm really alright, though I still want to heal normally."

The blonde haired man answered Sephiroth not in words, but in actions. He gripped the silver haired man's hand in his own, and squeezed it affectionately. It was to say that he was not alone, and that they both were the same, even if one healed a bit quicker than the other. Sephiroth looked to the hand, and Cloud knew he was wondering what had come over him. Cloud had long since stopped wondering. Ever since he had that dream, and had met up with Zack, things were falling into place. Meaning, he no longer thought he was insane for thinking of Sephiroth as a potential romantic partner.

"Sephiroth…don't beat yourself up over what you can't change. So you heal faster. That doesn't make you a freak. It makes you a miracle, and a remarkable man. Since you are healing faster, we'll leave oblivion quicker because you can walk on your own. It is all working out." Sephiroth stared at him, almost as if he couldn't believe those words had slipped past his mouth. They had though, and Cloud wouldn't take them back, or back them up with gibberish. He would let them stand on their own.

After a moment, Sephiroth spoke. "T-thank you." The waver in his voice made Cloud see that a light mist covered Sephiroth's eyes. Oh good gods…Sephiroth was almost about to cry! The Sephiroth, the one who had struck fear into the hearts of men and women everywhere. The Demon of Wutai, a man who had won the war and had become an international hero everywhere he turned. He was about to cry, to show the ultimate weakness as dictated by the laws of society. But in reality…Cloud was now seeing him for who he really was.

Sephiroth had always been a man looking desperately for a place to belong. He was more than likely one of the tallest in his class, and with his stark white, almost silver hair, he stuck out on more than talent alone. So, in being raised in labs and trained to be a monster, he had never known love. He had never known what it was like for a mother to hold him and tell him she loved him. He had never known words of approval from a father, or the laughter and companionship of a sibling. Everything he had ever earned, his title of hero and the General for ShinRa and SOLDIER had been earned by hard work and little to no encouragement.

He was the loneliest thing that Cloud had ever met. Also, he was one of the most misunderstood creatures Cloud had ever come by in his entire lifetime. Sephiroth had been lied to, tricked, and manipulated on some wicked chess board, tossed about like a wooden pawn just for the sake of some foolish company and a Planet that was too harsh on him.

Cloud was finally, finally feeling sympathy for Sephiroth.

Cloud looked him in the eye, and nodded. "You're very welcome." He saw that Sephiroth's eyes were slipping closed from fatigue, and he resisted the urge to smooth the bangs from his brow, the way mothers would do their son. Or, the way a lover would do to a sleeping partner. "I'm staying with you until you fall asleep." Sephiroth nodded tiredly.

"You care now…about me." Cloud was about to open his mouth to agree to that statement, but Sephiroth fell asleep too quick. Cloud wondered if it was a crime to be that handsome as you slept. Sephiroth didn't snore, but simply breathed through his nose, making his chest rise and fall with the motions.

Cloud noted that even in sleep, Sephiroth kept a firm grip on his hand. After a moment, Cloud let the man's hand go, wishing all the while that he didn't have to leave. However, after a time, it would be worth it in the long run to leave right then, just so that they could escape this nothingness.

The blonde haired male lingered in the entrance of the cave mouth, and wondered if he should rethink the plan. Yes, if he took off now, he could more than likely find a place to be in by the time Sephiroth woke up. But if he left him without protection, without him…then something could drag him off as he slept. It was a puzzling predicament of should he stay or should he go.

A faint tinkling noise, like the sound of Christmas bells lined the air. Cloud watched as a small stream of emerald dust floated on the wind and landed around Sephiroth. Cloud smiled. Sephiroth would be in good hands.

"Thanks Aeris." He looked to a sleeping Sephiroth, and felt emotion take over his chest, a truth coming from his lips. "Goodbye for now, Sephiroth. I love you."

And with that, the liberated blonde male took to the skies, searching for another checkpoint on the escape route from abyss.