The mighty have fallen

“The mighty have fallen”
Part 21


The next morning, Cloud woke up to find himself alone in the bed. He’d been tucked thoroughly in and he sighed and snuggled into the covers, inhaling the scent of sex and his lover that permeated his skin and the sheets. He thought he heard the coffee jug boiling in the kitchen, which meant that Sephiroth probably hadn’t been up and about for very long. Cloud yawned and stretched languidly, grinning like an idiot again as he replayed the night’s events in his head. His stomach growled and he smirked down at it ruefully. He was sure that Sephiroth would come and get him out of bed for breakfast after he had his morning coffee. They usually took turns cooking lunch and dinner for each other but as Sephiroth tended to wake up earlier than Cloud on the days that the blonde didn’t have deliveries to make, so he usually had breakfast ready for him.

Cloud sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, noticing immediately that the articles of clothing they shed last night had been picked up. He rolled over and opened the drawer of the nightstand, chuckling when he found the lube and new box of condoms neatly placed inside. He’d never dare tease Sephiroth about it but honestly, the general was the cleanest male he’d ever met.

Cloud stood up and went to his closet, pulling his robe out to wear until he’d had breakfast and a shower. He selected a burgundy turtleneck sweater and a pair of dark gray jeans for the day and then picked out a pair of socks and underwear. This time he had the foresight to put his feet into his slippers to spare himself the cold floors. As he left the bedroom and started down the hall to the bathroom, he saw Sephiroth sitting on the couch in the living room. The silver-haired man was in his dark robe, evidently having already taken his morning shower. He was reading the morning paper and sipping a steaming cup of coffee.

~How can anyone look that sexy doing something so simple?~

Cloud had always thought that a cultured, highly intelligent lover would clash too much with his personality, but watching Sephiroth sitting there with his silver hair drying from his shower, all the blonde wanted to do was drape himself over the couch beside him and kiss him.

Sephiroth either heard his soft footsteps or sensed his eyes on him, because he glanced up from the newspaper and gave Cloud a soft, subtle smile. “You’re awake early today.”

~I couldn’t wait to see you again.~ Cloud kept the thought to himself, not wanting to come off as desperately clingy. Aloud, he said; “I slept pretty good last night. I’ll make breakfast this morning while you finish reading your paper. I just need to put my clothes in the bathroom for later.”

Sephiroth nodded, studying Cloud and noticing the flush on his cheeks. “Have I done something to embarrass you already, Cloud?” He set his coffee mug on the coffee table and held his gaze.

“What?” Cloud asked, but he felt the warmth in his cheeks and he silently railed at his low blush factor. “Oh, no…I just…you look so sophisticated and sexy, sitting there like that. I guess I’m just embarrassed at my own train of thought.” As soon as he said it he wished he hadn’t. He bit his lip and felt his face heat up even more, wondering why he could never play it cool around the man.

Sephiroth snorted softly with amusement, but his green eyes were intrigued as he made to fold his newspaper up and get off the couch.

“No, no…if you do that we’ll never get breakfast cooked and I’ll never get my shower,” Cloud said as he held out one hand in a warding gesture.

“Afraid I might ravish you?” Sephiroth’s amusement grew even as his groin stirred. He looked the blonde up and down, admiring the portion of smooth chest exposed in the open V of his white robe. “Now that you mention it, that does sound like an excellent start to the day.”

“Hey, don’t do that!” Cloud said with alarm as the general finished folding his newspaper and stood up. Sephiroth smiled wickedly at him and advanced, the trigger failing to make him comply with the order.

“The interesting thing about the compulsion trigger,” Sephiroth said as he stalked across the floor, “is that it only works when you MEAN it, Cloud.”

“I…I do mean it,” Cloud stammered, backing away while clutching his clothes to his chest. “You don’t understand how addictive…shit…Sephiroth!”

The silver warrior had finished closing the short distance between them and backed Cloud against the hallway wall. The humor in his eyes hadn’t faded and the lust was brighter. He put his hands flat on the wall on either side of Cloud’s head and leaned in for a kiss. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to rely on the chip to stop him, Cloud ducked beneath his arms and tried to dodge past him to the nearby bathroom door. Sephiroth laughed with dark, lusty mirth and caught the blonde around the waist, pulling him tight against his body and pinning him up against the wall. Cloud’s arms were trapped between their bodies, still clutching his clothes.

“Hey, didn’t you hear me? I said—mph!” Cloud’s protest was interrupted by Sephiroth’s hot, demanding kiss. He felt the taller man’s strong hands slide down his body and cup his bottom, squeezing firmly. Cloud’s throaty whine was muffled by his lover’s mouth as Sephiroth’s tongue pushed between his lips. His desire flared and he hardened against the taller man’s thigh, sighing with instinctive surrender and reciprocating his tongue’s caress.

Sephiroth ravished his mouth for a little while and felt him up, lifting the hem of his bathrobe and pushing his hands underneath to touch his naked skin. He’d originally intended to tease the blonde a little and then let him carry on with his morning business. Unfortunately, Sephiroth’s libido demanded more as soon as their lips touched and he couldn’t bring himself to wait until after Cloud had eaten and had a shower. His breath quickened as he groped Cloud’s hardening erection and he released his mouth to kiss his neck and shoulder.

“Sephiroth—“

~Quit whining, Strife.~

Sephiroth interrupted the next protest by pushing the first two fingers of his free hand into his open mouth. Cloud instinctively sucked on them and moaned as Sephiroth rubbed his swelling arousal. The tall swordsman smiled against his lover’s soft skin and murmured; “You’ve woken the beast and now you have to pacify it, Cloud.”

~Damn, no kidding!~ Cloud thought dazedly as his lover ground his hips against him and let him feel how excited he was. He’d always assumed that Sephiroth would be aggressive and demanding once he got used to his sexuality but he wasn’t prepared for it so soon. He figured he had at least a week before the general felt comfortable enough to cut loose like this on him.

He quieted and Sephiroth removed his fingers from his mouth, bringing his hand down again to cup his ass. The blonde put up one last token of resistance as his lover stopped fondling his crotch and used both hands to lift him up. Sephiroth’s mouth crushed against his again and Cloud’s struggles ceased. He felt himself being carried back into the bedroom and he knew he wasn’t going to get out of this without a sore butt.

Sephiroth dumped him on the bed with a grin, wrestling the pile of clothes still clutched in Cloud’s arms away from him. The robe had ridden up to bare the blonde’s leg up to the thigh and the material had parted in the front during the struggles. Cloud’s flushed erection was poking out of the slit in the robe, standing at attention and begging for affection. The blonde stared up at him with dazed blue eyes, breathing heavily as Sephiroth put his pile of clothes on the side of the bed and stretched out on top of him. The general deftly untied the belt holding the garment closed and yanked it open. One of the seams tore a little but Sephiroth didn’t pause.

“H-hey!” Cloud gasped. His lover yanked the abused robe out from under him and claimed his mouth again to muffle any further protests. His lips smiled against Cloud’s as he slipped a hand between their bodies and down to fondle his throbbing shaft again and the blonde moaned. His thumb circled the tip, making him shiver. Forgetting his annoyance at the damage to his robe, Cloud bucked into Sephiroth’s touch and put his arms around him.

“I’m afraid I’m going to be a selfish bastard and demand satisfaction now,” Sephiroth panted against his lips.

By now, the blonde was too aroused to argue any more. He raised his arms over his head submissively and opened his eyes to gaze up at the taller man. “I’m ready.”

Sephiroth paused, taken by surprise as usual by Cloud’s ability to combine reluctance and willingness. Was he ever like that when he bottomed for Zack? He couldn’t remember being that way, but then he wasn’t naturally attuned to the role of being the receiver the way Cloud seemed to be.

“I thought you were going to be a selfish bastard,” Cloud teased, his sapphire eyes twinkling. His golden lashes fluttered and he sighed with pleasure as Sephiroth’s hand continued to steadily stroke his erection.

Sephiroth brought his mouth down to the young man’s throat and bit it lightly, making him gasp and tense beneath him. “Oh, I am. You just have a way of keeping me in a state of confusion, Cloud.” He nibbled the tender skin, licking and sucking at it for a moment before ceasing his massage to stretch out and pull the end table drawer open. He retrieved the lubricant and condoms and impatiently pulled the lid of the box open, tearing it in the process. Cloud silently watched him, smiling softly as he fumbled with the packets and tore one open.

“Don’t look so smug, Strife,” Sephiroth muttered as he fished the rubber out of the packet, “You started this.”

Cloud couldn’t have faked his astonished expression if he tried. “Me? Hey, YOU’RE the one that jumped ME, remember? I was just trying to get breakfast and have a shower.”

Sephiroth glanced down at him as he untied his robe and discarded it. Cloud’s eyes softened at the sight of his nudity and he smirked. “It’s expressions like that one you’re wearing now that drive me to distraction. I may have acted on it but you asked for it.”

“Sure, blame the victim,” Cloud snorted.

“Shall I stop, then?” Sephiroth paused in the act of rolling the condom on, looking down at Cloud with raised eyebrows.

The blonde wasn’t fast enough to control the look of horror on his face in response to that and Sephiroth laughed outright, bending down to kiss his pouting lips. “You see Cloud, to be a victim you have to be unwilling.”

The blonde sighed, returning his kisses and reaching one hand down eagerly to pet the silver-haired man’s gloved erection. “Fine, I want it. Happy?”

“A little too happy,” Sephiroth warned breathlessly, pulling Cloud’s hand away. “I’m far too horny for that right now, Cloud.”

Feeling like they’d reached a tie in the battle of who started what, Cloud allowed his lover to push his hand away and he put his hands above his head again and waited. Sephiroth stared at him for a moment and his throat muscles worked as he swallowed, hinting that the pose Cloud was in excited him. He put his attention back on preparing himself, lubing his cock thoroughly before squeezing out more onto his index finger for Cloud. Sephiroth frowned at the tube, noting that it was less than half-full. Given how readily his desire for Cloud reared its head, he thought it would be a good idea to purchase more of the lubricant tomorrow.

With that thought came the unbidden question of how many previous lovers Cloud had been with. Sephiroth knew that it was common sense for a sexually mature adult to keep protection and basic necessities around but he couldn’t help but wonder how often Cloud had those little “encounters” before he came along. The thought of another man sliding into his lover’s body and rutting over him made an ugly feeling rise in Sephiroth’s breast. He choked it down ruthlessly. Who Strife had taken to his bed in the past didn’t matter anymore. He was his now and he’d given Sephiroth absolutely no reason to think otherwise.

“That’s a pretty serious look on your face,” Cloud observed with a frown. “Something wrong?”

Sephiroth looked at him and smirked with self-depreciation. “I’m literally a green-eyed monster,” He answered truthfully, “but I’ll get over it in time.”

Cloud’s eyes went to the half-empty tube of lubricant and he bit his lip. “Uh, I think I get it. Look, I’m going to go ahead and get the humiliation over with. That tube hasn’t been used on anyone besides me until you and I started having sex. It…it makes jacking off feel better.” One of those sweet blushes that Sephiroth loved so much rose in the blonde’s cheeks. “I haven’t been with anyone for more than a year, before you. None of them were serious, either.”

“How many might those be, Cloud?” Sephiroth regretted the question as soon as he asked it, but it was too late. He parted the blonde’s thighs and busied himself with smearing the slick gel over his entrance. He smiled a little when the blond gasped as he allowed the first digit of his forefinger to slip in teasingly.

“F-five,” Cloud answered.

Sephiroth stopped briefly and looked at him with unreadable eyes. “Five?”

Cloud nodded, not knowing what to say about it. He knew plenty of people that had been with far more lovers than he had, but the love of his life was asking this question and the number that had once seemed so small compared to other people now loomed large.

Sephiroth resumed, pushing his finger in more deeply and lowering his head to kiss Cloud’s abdomen. “Tell me, why didn’t you ever pursue something lasting with any of these men?” He murmured after licking the young man’s navel.

Cloud stilled beneath him and Sephiroth looked up the length of his body to find him staring at him earnestly. “You should know that by now,” the blonde whispered. “There was never anyone else.”

There wasn’t a thing in the world that Cloud could have said to make him feel any better than that did. He’d just essentially stated that he’d always belonged to Sephiroth, even when he thought he was dead. The general eased his body up, still carefully working Cloud’s entrance to receive him. He kissed the blonde’s silky lips possessively and added another finger to the penetration. Cloud brought his hands down to cup the general’s face and made one of those sounds in his throat that always sent a thrill through Sephiroth’s spine.

The silver-haired man had to pause and catch his breath, fearful that his spiking desire would make him come before he could even get inside of Cloud’s body. He curled, scissored and thrust his fingers within his lover, trying to dilate him as quickly as possible. Cloud undulated beneath him, panting softly and groaning. Sephiroth looked at him and hissed a curse at the look of arousal and pleasure on his youthful face.

Cloud opened his eyes and looked up at his companion, sensing that he was losing patience. He parted his thighs wider and held his arms open invitingly. “I won’t break,” he said, “I’m sure I can take you now.”

Sephiroth bowed his head over the blonde’s torso and groaned. “Don’t tempt me.”

Cloud laughed huskily and combed his fingers into Sephiroth’s hair. “I’m not. Seriously, I’ll be okay. I want you.”

~Strife, you’re just asking to be damaged.~ Aloud, Sephiroth questioned; “Are you sure?” He felt like he was getting ready to burst with need and it would be difficult enough to avoid hurting Cloud initially even if more time was taken to relax him.

Cloud nodded, still holding his position. Sephiroth wasted no further time. He gripped the blonde’s knees and lifted them further up and apart while scooting himself closer. Cloud put his hands on the general’s narrow waist and parted his lips as he felt him pressing against his sphincter. Sephiroth released the blonde’s right knee and reached down to make sure he was positioned correctly, then thrust carefully.

Cloud’s sharp, moaning gasp made Sephiroth pause, but the blonde squeezed his waist encouragingly and slid his hands lower to his hips. Sephiroth continued to rock forward, purring with pleasure as he nudged in and his lover’s heat squeezed him. He withdrew a little and thrust again, sinking in as deeply as he could go. Cloud groaned his name and his fingers dug into his hips. Confident that the penetration wasn’t painful even if it was uncomfortable at the moment, Sephiroth started to slowly pump, using every ounce of self-control he possessed to take it slow until his lover adjusted to him. After a few moments he felt the blonde’s tension ease and heard his sigh of pleasure, signaling his adjustment.

“Cloud,” Sephiroth whispered haltingly, falling over the blonde to kiss his neck and jaw as he picked up his speed and increased the strength of his thrusts. Cloud arched against him and moved his pelvis in synch with Sephiroth’s motions. His soft cries increased on volume and frequency as his lover gradually took him harder and angled his thrusts just right.

Cloud was momentarily blinded when a substantial mass of Sephiroth’s hair fell over his face. He spit a few strands out of his mouth and brushed it aside, gasping a breathy laugh. Sephiroth drew back and looked at him questioningly, still pumping firmly into him.

“Hair,” Cloud panted, licking his lips. “Smells like…cherry blossoms.”

Sephiroth paused to make sure all of his hair was falling to one side, slowing his motions a bit and giving Cloud a deep, sensual kiss. “Better?” he gasped against the blonde’s mouth.

“I didn’t…mind. Oooh!” Cloud barely got the sentence out before Sephiroth’s cock pressed hard against his pleasure spot, sending a jolt through his pelvis and making his erection throb. Sephiroth gave him a wicked look and thrust again at the same angle, making his eyes roll.

“Ahh…I’m coming,” Cloud groaned. His lover’s mouth claimed his again and muffled his cry of release as his orgasm struck. He rubbed Sephiroth’s back as he tried to catch his breath, his bright eyes rolling with pleasure as the other man’s thrusting cock kept his peak going for longer than normal. Sephiroth’s tongue did that trick that made him feel like he was getting mouth-fucked and Cloud trembled and wondered if he was going to end up coming until he was totally spent.

Sephiroth would have loved to hold out for longer and make Cloud come again, but his own lust and pleasure was too strong for him to contain. He growled the blonde’s name and pumped hard until he filled his condom with his release. Sweating and gasping, he rested his forehead on his lover’s shoulder and stayed inside of him until the heavenly spasms stopped. When it was finished, he kissed Cloud’s throat and chest, then his mouth.

For a while they just stayed like that, exchanging kisses and touches while still interlocked. Cloud’s stomach eventually reminded them with a growl of protest that recovering blondes needed their protein.

“I’ll have to remedy that,” Sephiroth whispered, sliding out of his lover and pressing kisses down his chest to his complaining belly. “Go and have your shower, while I cook breakfast.”

Cloud glanced at his watch. “More like lunch, now.”

Sephiroth shrugged. “We’ll call it brunch, then.”

“Hey, wait,” Cloud said as the general started to get up. Sephiroth paused and looked at him inquiringly. “There’s something I want to ask you, since we went over my past love life earlier.”

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. “Wanting to hear what sort of dirty things my previous lover and I got up to, Strife?”

Cloud grinned and shook his head. “I can already guess that. I just wondered, did you really only have one lover before me?”

“Yes. My condition didn’t inspire me to actively seek relationships. He sought me out and eased his way in before I really knew what was happening.” Sephiroth smiled slightly with the memories of Zack’s stubborn pursuit of him.

“What was he, like a porn star or something?” Cloud persisted, “Because I’ve got to be honest with you, some of the things you’ve done were totally new to me and I’ve been with more people.”

~A…a porn star? Zackary?~ Sephiroth’s lips twitched and he pressed them together. “More like a horny, black-haired devil,” he answered out loud.

“Heh, sounds a little like Zack,” Cloud grinned.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Cloud’s lips parted and his expressive blue eyes opened wide. “Wait…you mean…you and Zack? Really?”

Sephiroth chuckled softly. “That’s right. I thought you already knew that.”

Cloud shook his head rapidly. “I had no idea! I always thought he was girl crazy and he never said anything…oh, wait…” He thought back on how close Zack and Sephiroth had always seemed before the Nibelheim incident and he remembered all of the things Zack knew about the general that nobody else knew. He may have never said anything outright but Cloud realized for the first time that if he’d just paid more attention, he could have probably figured it out.

“I made him be discreet,” Sephiroth said, seeing the embarrassment surfacing on Cloud’s face. “And you’re right…he was girl crazy. He was also boy crazy to tell you the truth—he was simply less vocal about it. He was fond of you in more ways than he wanted you to know, too.”

That made Cloud’s eyebrows rise. “He was?” He’d always thought Zack was attractive but given that he had no idea he was even a little interested in guys, he’d never entertained thoughts of anything more than friendship with the good-humored fighter. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” He questioned, feeling a little hurt.

Sephiroth frowned at him. “You were a minor, Cloud. Zackary did have some morals, after all.”

Cloud mentally counted back through the years. His memories of his military days were still a bit jumbled and he kept forgetting how young he was back then. “Right,” he said slowly as he concentrated, “I think my eighteenth birthday was just around the corner when everything went to shit.”

Sephiroth regarded him thoughtfully. “I think if it weren’t for your youth, Zackary might have tried to drag you into our relationship.”

“You think?” Cloud said with a hot blush. It was a weird but not unpleasant thought. He planned to have words with his friend the next time they met in a vision. “How would you have reacted to that?”

Sephiroth gave him a sensual smile and got up.

“Sephiroth?” Cloud asked with a bashful grin.

“The two of us would have worn you out,” Sephiroth said over his shoulder as he put his robe on and left the room.

Cloud stared after him thoughtfully, still blushing at the mental image of being in a threesome with his best friend and the man he’d been obsessed with since he’d first heard of him.

~*************************************~

As it turned out, Sephiroth didn’t quite get his aggression out of his system with the morning pouncing. Sometime during Cloud’s leg-lift exercises, the silver warrior went downstairs and returned with a condom and the lubricant in his pocket. He took him again on the floor of the attic the minute they were finished with his daily physical therapy.

After they ate supper that evening, Cloud went into the garage to give Fenrir a tune-up and halfway through his task he felt warm breath stir the hair at the nape of his neck just before Sephiroth’s strong arms went around his waist. He jumped, having failed to hear his lover come up behind him.

“You’ve got to quit sneaking up on me,” Cloud muttered, closing his eyes as the other man nuzzled his neck. “I’ve got grease on me too. If you’re after what I think you’re after it’s gonna have to wait this time.”

“Mmm, grease monkey is a delicacy in some countries, or so I’ve heard,” Sephiroth purred, nibbling his ear and dragging a hand down to cup Cloud between the legs. The blonde dropped his wrench and tried to pry the other man’s hand off of his privates, even as he grinned at the comment about eating grease monkey. The hand didn’t budge—instead it squeezed and rubbed until Cloud hardened. The blonde pulled his goggles up so that they were resting on the crown of his head and he twisted to look at his captor.

“Are you ever going to let me get any work done?” His complaint was spoiled by the crooked grin on his lips. “Besides, I thought you hated dirt.”

“Oh, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, Cloud.” Sephiroth’s other hand slid up under the blonde’s sweater and explored his abdomen and chest. “Especially this way. Being able to clean up afterwards is always a bonus, though.”

Cloud’s knees turned to jelly as his lover teased his nipples one at a time, while still fondling his groin. “Okay, then. Just let me get—“

“—I’ve already got the protection and lube,” Sephiroth interrupted hotly, “I want you right here.”

He ended up bent over Fenrir’s seat with his pants down around his ankles and Sephiroth taking him from behind. This was the second time the general had performed a sexual act on him on or over his bike and Cloud was starting to think it was a secret fetish of his. By the time they finished, the blonde’s ass was good and sore and Sephiroth drew a bath for him and apologized insincerely for the abuse. Cloud didn’t mind—he knew the tenderness would fade in a day or so and he loved the sex too much to complain…much. Sephiroth made it up to him with oral sex before bed, giving him an explosive orgasm that had Cloud yelling so loud he feared the neighbors would think Sephiroth was killing him.

~***************************************~

That night, Cloud couldn’t sleep. He was exhausted, but his thoughts were nagging him and keeping him from slumber. He sat up in bed and watched his lover sleep, admiring the way the soft moonlight spilling in from the single window bathed Sephiroth’s ethereal face. His silver hair seemed to be a part of the moonlight and his sensitive mouth was parted and relaxed in sleep.

~I have to free him. I can’t keep him caged like this, anymore.~

The decision came swiftly and Cloud examined it for a moment to be sure he wasn’t making it impulsively. After a few moments, he nodded decisively. Sephiroth had proved himself as far as Cloud was concerned. Even if they weren’t lovers, he knew he would feel the same. It was sick and wrong to keep him enslaved like this. For once in his life, Sephiroth deserved to be free.

A cold knot of fear twisted in Cloud’s gut at the thought of losing him. What if Sephiroth wouldn’t want him after he was freed? What if the only reason this relationship had started to begin with was because it was the only way the general could get any pleasure out of life?

~Oh, come ON!~ A voice that sounded suspiciously like Zack’s snapped in Cloud’s head. ~Quit being so blind, Cloud. If his feelings for you aren’t real, why did he save your ass…twice? Why did he stop that asshole from cutting off your leg? Who wrote “Shimmy down the drain”?~

Cloud furrowed his brows. “’Shimmy down the drain’?” He repeated in a whisper. Where the hell had that come from?

~Sorry, that’s been bugging me since I heard someone singing it yesterday. My point is, you two aren’t together because of the damned chip.~

“Are you really talking to me or am I imagining it?” mouthed the blonde silently.

~Hey, you’ve never called me a figment of your imagination before. I’m hurt.~

Cloud smirked. It was too…Zack…for it to be his imagination. “Okay, I guess you’re right. I just…” He looked at his sleeping lover with aching blue eyes and sighed.

~I know, man. Sometimes it feels like a dream you don’t want to wake up from. You’ve been through hell and you’re finally getting what you’ve always wanted, but you’re afraid to believe it because things always fall apart for you.~

Cloud nodded with agreement and pulled his knees up, resting his arms on them. “That about sums it up. I’m pretty pathetic, huh?”

~Nah, you’re Cloud. Super Emo Blonde. One of these days you’re gonna have to let yourself be happy and the first step to doing that is to stop devaluing yourself and realize people love you for a reason…and that includes Sephiroth.~

Cloud smiled a little. “Zack, why didn’t you ever tell me about you two? And, did you really…you know…like me…that way?”

There was a heavy pause, followed by: ~Shit, he told you? I mean, he told you I liked you that way?~

Zack didn’t seem to be upset over Sephiroth revealing the true nature of their relationship. Then again he wasn’t the one that wanted to keep it hushed from the public in the first place. “Yeah, he told me,” Cloud replied silently. “Don’t avoid the question.”

~The only reason I never told you about Seph and I was because I never got the chance. There were a few times I almost spilled the beans but things like missions and him going crazy and us getting stored in test tubes and then running for our lives got in the way. As far as my feelings for you, I never said anything because you were jailbait. I wanted to tell you when we escaped Hojo but you were kind of out of it, and when you snapped out of it I was dying and I didn’t want to lay that on your shoulders. Sorry, man.~

“It’s okay,” Cloud assured him, feeling a combination of amusement at the extended explanation and grief. “Maybe it’s better that you didn’t. You always look out for me, Zack.”

~Always will, if I have anything to say about it,~ the voice agreed. ~I just want to tell you one thing before I’ve got to go: Don’t be too disappointed if your plan to let him go doesn’t work out.~

Cloud stiffened. “What do you mean by that? You just spent all this time convincing me he wouldn’t leave!”

~That isn’t what I meant. I’m talking about whether you’ll be allowed to set him free, bud. Like I said before, I can’t tell the future but you’re probably going to have a lot of opposition to that idea. Get it?~

Cloud sighed, his heart rate going back down. “I know. I have to try, though.”

~He’ll appreciate it, trust me. Try to get some sleep, kid.~

“Why do so many people still call me that?” Cloud asked in annoyance. “I’m a twenty-five year old man, not a ‘kid’!”

Zack’s voice laughed. ~It’s just a pet name. You’ve still got that innocence and it makes you seem younger than you are. Goodnight, Cloud.~

“Goodnight,” Cloud sighed, lying back down. He wriggled closer to Sephiroth and put an arm around his waist, laying his cheek on the taller man’s chest. Sephiroth mumbled in his sleep and dropped a hand on Cloud’s shoulder to caress it. The blonde smiled, feeling relaxed enough to close his eyes and get some rest.

~************************************~

-To be continued