The mighty have fallen

“The mighty have fallen”
Part 22
~********************************~

*Ukeroth warning in this chapter
~*******************************~


Sephiroth noticed a change in Cloud’s demeanor the next day. The blonde still gave him his boyish smiles throughout the day as usual, but they seemed more reserved and he couldn’t be certain, but Sephiroth thought he detected a hint of fear behind them. He puzzled over it silently and avoided acting on his desire for Cloud, thinking the change might have something to do with how many times he jumped the blonde the day before. Maybe he was sore, or maybe he was trying to adjust to the turn their relationship had taken. He controlled his libido with difficulty and prohibited himself from taking his affections further than kissing and touching, until he could work out what was bothering his lover.

Cloud knew that Sephiroth detected his inner struggle and that only complicated things more, because the silver-haired man wasn’t one to talk about such things and Cloud didn’t know how to reassure him. His kisses were no less drugging and his touches sent fire through Cloud’s veins, but he was holding back and the blonde knew it. That afternoon, Cloud decided to pay a visit to Tifa at the bar and tell her what he planned to do. Sephiroth thankfully declined his offer to come with and have a beer, which Cloud had counted on because he didn’t feel right about going without inviting him. While his lover busied himself with exercise in the attic, Cloud left the house and walked to Seventh Heaven.

It was closed. Cloud frowned and mentally reviewed the date.

~Oh, public holiday. I forgot.~

That was fine by him; he’d rather talk to Tifa without anyone having the chance to eavesdrop. He rang the doorbell a couple of times and waited. Though he had a key to Tifa’s home business he never just let himself in unless he had to. After a few moments, the brunette answered the door and smiled at him.

“It’s about time you dragged yourself away to come and see me,” she said as she stood aside for him to step in. “I’ve hardly had the chance to see you at all since we returned and I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to stop by. How are you, Cloud?”

He walked into the darkened bar, where the chairs and stools were upturned over the tables and bar. “Sorry about that,” he said, “I’ve been meaning to come visit or invite you over, but to tell you the truth I wasn’t sure how you would feel about that. I don’t want to push you to hang around Sephiroth and I think he feels the same.”

She pulled the chairs off one of the round tables and motioned for him to sit down, taking a seat across from him and propping her elbows on the surface. “I’m all right with it, I guess. I just know you’re exploring this new relationship and I didn’t want to get in the way. How is the new relationship, by the way?” Her dark eyes scanned him and she grinned when he blushed.

“It’s great…more than I ever thought I’d get. He’s…um…we’ve…you know.”

Tifa chuckled. “I figured as much. Don’t look so embarrassed, okay? It isn’t like you’re doing anything any other couple wouldn’t be doing at this point. What’s the matter, though?”

He grimaced. She could read him like a book sometimes. “Nothing. Or maybe I should say nothing yet. Tifa, what do you think about Sephiroth’s progress?”

She cocked her head in thought and scratched her left forearm. “It’s a little hard to say. I mean, I guess if I look at how he worked with us in Midgar and how he treats you, I’d have to say he’s human after all. He still scares me a little but I think he’s just naturally intimidating.”

Cloud nodded. “Do you get the impression that he’s sane?”

She sighed and lowered her gaze. “Yes,” she said reluctantly. She looked back up at him with a suspicious expression. “Why are you asking me all of this, Cloud?”

He swallowed. “I want to set him free. It’s…wrong…to keep him on a leash. You can understand that, can’t you?”

A flash of alarm sparked behind her eyes but she quelled it quickly. “Cloud…I…know it’s wrong to resort to mind control but at the same time, look at what he did! How many convicted criminals get to live in a comfortable home and basically come and go as they like? How many are freed in under a year after being sentenced? Don’t you think he owes something to society?”

Cloud winced. “I know he does, but I can’t even give him simple requests without forcing him, if I’m not careful. Can you imagine being forced to sit down just because someone didn’t offer in the form of a question? That’s what happens to him if I’m not careful. The other night I trapped him in the bed by accident!”

Tifa put her hand over her mouth and tried to muffle a giggle.

“I know you think it’s funny but after a while, it’s really not.” Cloud huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “All I did was tell him not to go anywhere and I didn’t even mean it literally. I can’t even say common things around him without worrying whether the chip is going to compel him to do something. I think that’s WORSE than being behind bars.”

She sobered and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “How does he feel, though? Have you asked him?”

Cloud shook his head.

“Well, does he get mad when you accidentally do these things?”

Cloud shrugged. “Not really. He gets a little irritated but I think he knows it’s not on purpose.”

Tifa chewed her lip in thought. “I think you should talk to him about it, and you should definitely talk to him about what you plan to do. If it were me, I’d talk to Reeve first about freeing him though. The government isn’t likely to let Sephiroth go free and you probably don’t want to get his hopes up.”

“That’s good advice,” Cloud sighed. His sapphire eyes were troubled and distant as he turned his thoughts over in his head.

“Why don’t I get you a beer to calm you down first?” Tifa offered. “We can talk about other things until you’re ready to go home and make the call.

Cloud nodded and thanked her.

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

Sephiroth heard Cloud come in but he continued to work out. He had another thirty minutes to go until his scheduled routine was over. He counted silently as he did crunches, listening absently to the sound of his lover moving around downstairs. He faintly heard the electronic beeps as the blonde dialed a phone number but he hardly paid attention.

After he finished his repetition of stomach crunches, he rolled over to start on the pushups and he heard Cloud swear. The silver warrior paused with a frown, catching snatches of Cloud’s hushed conversation on the phone. It sounded like he was arguing with whomever he was talking to and he was none too happy.

“Too much! Why can’t you understand…didn’t want this…can still watch over him but why can’t I…”

As he heard bits and pieces, Sephiroth began to suspect that Cloud was talking about him. Logically if that were the case, he had every right to deliberately eavesdrop. However, he couldn’t be certain and the thought of spying on his lover put a foul taste in his mouth. Cloud had always been honest with him so far. If the phone conversation was about him, Sephiroth was sure that the blonde would talk to him about it later.

Deliberately shutting out the sounds of the conversation reaching his ears, the general continued with his exercises and tried not to contemplate further over the matter.

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

“I was afraid this might happen eventually,” Reeve said on the other end of the line. “Cloud, I understand how you feel. I know it’s distasteful and believe me, I know what Sephiroth’s life has been like. If I could do this for you I would and I’m sure you know that. We just can’t let a man that’s been convicted of being criminally insane run loose without supervision and you know that conventional methods wouldn’t be enough to stop someone like him if things went south.”

Cloud closed his eyes and sighed. “What about altering the chip, then? Isn’t there some way you could reprogram the trigger so that it doesn’t go off when I make simple comments? You can leave the sleep trigger and the prevention trigger but can’t we do something about the simple commands?”

Reeve went silent for a moment, considering. “I suppose we could do something like that,” he said slowly, “but Cloud, I’m really not comfortable opening up your skull again for non-emergencies. We’d also have to consider what perimeters you want to set because it’s important that you retain some ability to instruct him for the good of society.”

“I understand that,” Cloud answered. “I know it’s not minor surgery and I’m okay with that. Please, if there’s anything you can do that would help me do this and still give him some sort of normal life, do it. Other people put away for insanity get the opportunity for freedom when they’ve proved they aren’t insane anymore. I know he’s a special case but he shouldn’t have to live like this for the rest of his life.”

“I’d like to agree with you, I really would,” responded Reeve sincerely. “The thing is, Cloud, that the people you’re talking about are usually one-time offenders, driven over the edge by circumstance.”

“So was Sephiroth!” Cloud snapped.

“True, but his ‘one time’ took the lives of several people and destroyed a whole town. People that are released after suffering temporary madness usually killed one person in a fit of rage or self-defense, and they’re rarely released without supervision. I’m sorry Cloud. I’ll see what I can do to make it easier on you both, but the President and cabinet members aren’t going to go for complete release…at least, not for a few years.”

Cloud bowed his head and felt his throat burn with frustration. “Okay. Do whatever you can, Reeve. Call me when you can tell me something, okay?”

“It’s a promise. In the meantime, try not to get worked up over it and enjoy being with him. Most people don’t get second chances like this, after all.”

“Yeah, I know. Goodbye.” Cloud hung up the phone and rested his forehead against the wall, glad that he’d taken Tifa’s advice and called first before letting Sephiroth know of his plans.

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

Cloud was so distracted that evening that he forgot to use potholders to remove the roast from the oven. Sephiroth heard his hiss of pain and the sound of the tin pan hitting the floor. He stopped setting the table and followed the sound, finding Cloud holding his rapidly reddening hands over the sink and struggling with the faucet. The roast somehow managed to fall without spilling out of the pan, but the hot juices had splattered all over the brick floor. Sephiroth paid no attention to it—his immediate concern was Cloud’s hands.

Cloud thanked him in a small voice when he turned the taps on and guided his injured hands under the stream of water. His blue eyes were lowered and his mouth was pressed into a hard line of pain.

“Do you have any burn ointment in the house?” Sephiroth asked.

“There’s a first aid kit I keep on the shelf in the garage,” Cloud answered tightly, “I get little burns now and then when I work on Fenrir so I keep a jar in there.”

“Just keep your hands under the faucet while I go and get it,” Sephiroth ordered. He saw the blonde nod and he hurried to the garage, wondering what could have possessed Cloud to do something so stupid.

~As often as the two of us manage to get hurt lately, we should have enough medical supplies to start our own damned pharmacy.~

Sephiroth shook his head and sighed as he entered the garage and searched the shelf on the back wall. He found the first aid kit and opened it, rummaging for the burn ointment. He found it and he took the roll of gauze he found as well.

~I think you and I are going to have to talk, Strife.~

He would have preferred to let Cloud come to him with whatever was happening on his own time, but if it was distracting him enough to make him injure himself it needed to be addressed. Sephiroth strode back inside and to the kitchen with the gauze bandaging and ointment, finding Cloud where he left him. He set the bandages on the counter and then opened the lid of the jar and set it beside them before grasping the blonde’s nearest wrist and guiding his hand away from the water.

Cloud mutely watched with a slight flush of embarrassment on his cheeks as the general pulled out the dishtowel drawer and produced a fresh one to pat his hand dry. The green eyes glanced at him briefly before fixating on the task of smearing the ointment over his blistering palms.

“Are you going to tell me what provoked you to make such a brilliant move, Cloud?” Sephiroth kept his eyes on his task and his tone was mildly curious, but the blonde was familiar enough with him by now to hear the subtle concern in his deep voice.

He tensed as his palm stung with Sephiroth’s careful ministrations. “I..I didn’t want to tell you,” he whispered. “Not until I knew I could give you good news.”

“Tell me what?” Sephiroth asked without pausing.

“That I wanted to free you.”

Sephiroth went still, his pupils dilating subtly as he lifted his eyes from his work to stare at him. “Why?” he asked in a carefully neutral tone.

Confused, Cloud answered: “because I didn’t want to give you false hope. I didn’t want to tell you what I was planning to do until I could confirm they’d let me.”

Sephiroth shook his head slowly, still holding the blonde’s gaze with his own. “I mean, why do you want to free me? Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Cloud frowned at him, wondering why he seemed so ambiguous over the idea. “Well, yeah. I don’t think its necessary anymore. I thought that would make you happy.”

Sephiroth looked away and began to slowly wrap Cloud’s hand in gauze. “One would think,” he murmured.

Realization came to Cloud. “You’re afraid,” he whispered. When Sephiroth didn’t answer, he pressed, “What are you afraid of? Is it freedom? Do you think you just wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you didn’t have something restricting you? Talk to me.”

Sephiroth finished with the first hand and he took the other one and started on it. “I am,” he said reluctantly, “afraid of myself.” The words dragged from his mouth as if painful to him and his lips twisted with distaste at the admittance.

It was a simple statement that was made vastly complex by the complicated nature of the man uttering it. Cloud knew that this proud man had never admitted to being afraid of anything in his life, if he’d ever even felt fear since childhood. The blonde felt pity again, only half-understanding. Jenova wasn’t entirely gone and she may never be. As someone who was injected with her cells himself, Cloud could feel it. Sephiroth could probably feel her more than any being on the planet.

“Sephiroth, if you don’t let go of that fear someday, you’ll never be free,” Cloud whispered earnestly.

“You’ve seen what could happen,” he answered tonelessly.

“I know, but things are different. Hojo made it easy for Jenova to manipulate you, by keeping the truth hidden. She’s practically just a ghost now and you know the truth. Have some faith in yourself.”

~I do.~

Sephiroth looked up again and saw the unspoken statement in the blonde’s clear blue eyes. He studied his lover silently for a moment before allowing himself to lower his head and place a gentle, lingering kiss on his mouth. “Perhaps some day, you can teach me how,” he suggested against the soft lips. “I suppose it doesn’t matter anyhow. They declined your proposal, didn’t they?”

“Yeah,” Cloud said with downcast eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m working on a compromise with Reeve so that we can at least fix it so that I don’t trap you in the bed or force you to do everyday things by accident. He at least agrees that the triggers are too extreme.”

“I certainly wouldn’t object to that,” Sephiroth smirked, making Cloud flush again. “I don’t relish the thought of you being hospitalized yet again, though.”

Cloud smiled sweetly at him and Sephiroth cleared his throat and tore his attention away from the blonde’s happy expression and back to treating his hand. He felt his cheeks warm as Cloud chuckled softly. “Is it so strange that I don’t like the thought of my lover having more surgery?” he asked defensively.

“Not a bit,” Cloud said, hissing a little as Sephiroth rubbed the ointment in. “It just makes me feel good when you show you care like that. What can I say, I’m mushy.”

“Abysmally so,” Sephiroth agreed, his lips quirking. “Tomorrow I want the doctor to look at your hands. Now go and sit down so that I can clean up and salvage our dinner.”

Cloud smirked. “He’s going to start getting funny ideas about us, as often as we end up hurt.”

“We do seem to be prone to injury,” Sephiroth agreed softly.

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

After they finished dinner, an idea occurred to Sephiroth. He despised feeling pitied by Cloud even as he loved his tender attentions. The blonde would never stop feeling guilty for his role as the silver-haired man’s keeper and he would never believe he trusted him unless he made a meaningful gesture. If he could do it for Zackary, he could do it for Cloud.

“I’ll be back soon. I forgot to buy more lubricant today and we’ll need it before long.” Sephiroth said as he pulled his jacket on and started out the door.

“All right.” Cloud said, thinking nothing of it.

While he was out, Sephiroth bought a box of regular sized condoms along with the extra tube of lubricant. He was smiling softly as he returned home.

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

As they settled in for bed and began making out, Sephiroth made his final decision.

“Why don’t we try something a little different this time, Cloud?”

The blonde paused in nibbling his lover’s ear and drew back to look at him. “Just when I thought you’ve shown me everything you possibly could show me,” he said with a grin. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want you inside of me.”

Cloud’s face took on one of those doll-like expressions of blank amazement that always made Sephiroth imagine him sitting on the shelf of an antique store. “Y-you mean it?” the blonde asked, blinking.

“Yes. Have you ever been inside of anyone before?” Sephiroth struggled not to laugh at the dumbfounded and revealing look on Cloud’s face. He knew the answer just by looking at his expression, but it always amused him to see the blonde so flustered.

Cloud shook his head, his eyes still wide. “Nuh-uh. I mean, I’ve thought about it before but I’ve always bottomed and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t even sure how you’d react if I fingered you during sex.”

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows. “I’m surprised you couldn’t find the nerve, considering that you’ve bitten me on the ass before.”

Cloud lowered his eyes and shrugged. He held up his bandaged hands and frowned. “How can I be any good if I can’t use these? Sure, my mouth works but—“

“I’ll prepare myself,” Sephiroth said, kissing his parted lips. “I’m sure I won’t be disappointed with anything you do with your mouth. Oh, for future reference, Cloud; I might have been initially surprised to get fingered but I never would have stopped you.”

Cloud swallowed, certain that he couldn’t be any more surprised than he was now. He knew that Sephiroth had bottomed for Zack, since it was the only way they could have had intercourse at the time. He just assumed that with his personality he would never want to bottom again if he could help it. Nervousness assailed Cloud as Sephiroth began to help him out of his clothes.

“You’re really sure about this?” Cloud asked huskily, laying back and lifting his hips as Sephiroth tugged on his pajama bottoms. “I don’t think one of your condoms would fit me, to tell you the truth.”

The general looked at him with amused emerald eyes. “Yes, I’m really sure about this, and I purchased a box of regular condoms while I was out. Don’t make me repeat myself, Strife.”

“You did?” Asked the blonde with surprise. He fell silent when Sephiroth raised a warning eyebrow at him.

Cloud looked so pretty, lying there with his innocent blue eyes, licking those tempting lips nervously. Unable to resist, Sephiroth finished pulling the garment off and stretched out beside the blonde to kiss him lingeringly. “You’re acting like a virgin, Cloud. It’s somewhat endearing.” He slid his hand over the other man’s thigh and traced the muscle with his fingertips, drawing a shiver of longing from the blonde.

“You took me by surprise, is all.” Cloud’s breath caught as Sephiroth’s hand moved and began to fondle his swelling cock. “I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“I’m sure you won’t, given the skills you’ve shown me so far.” Sephiroth squeezed the shaft he fondled and began to stroke the length steadily, making Cloud’s breath quicken. Looking down at the shiny drop of moisture on the flushed cap, the general was compelled to lower his head and swirl his tongue around it.

“Sephiroth,” Cloud gasped, arching against him with pleasure.

Knowing that they couldn’t conduct his plans if he teased for much longer, the silver warrior stopped licking and pulled away, briefly admiring the flush of passion on his lover’s face. He got out of the bed and untied the drawstring of his pajama bottoms before pulling them down and tossing them on the floor beside Cloud’s. Naked now, he climbed back onto the bed next to his lover and reached into the drawer of the nightstand. Cloud’s fingertips skimmed over his ass in a light, sensual caress and he smiled.

“You aren’t completely unable to use your hands, it seems,” Sephiroth commented as he selected a condom packet and took out the older tube of lubricant, figuring they wouldn’t need to open the new one right away. He glanced sidelong at Cloud as the blonde’s caressing fingers traced their way around to the front of his pelvis. He was being careful to only touch with his fingers, since both of his palms and his thumbs were bandaged.

Cloud smirked up at the silver-haired man. “Guess I just can’t keep my hands off of you.” He ran the fingertips teasingly over the general’s long, thick cock and it bucked lightly under the attention, pleading for more. Fascinated, Cloud caressed the underside, making the organ lift again and harden further. Sephiroth’s breath caught and the blonde smiled. “Tickle?” he asked as he circled the glans, massaging the ridge where it met the shaft as well as he could.

“In a good way,” Sephiroth agreed, setting the condom and lube on the bed and stretching out beside him again. He pushed one long-muscled leg between Cloud’s thighs and caressed his throat and chest. He lowered his mouth and kissed him deeply as he tweaked his nipples until they were hard, pink nubs. Cloud groaned softly and Sephiroth echoed him as the blonde rubbed the pad of his finger over the tender urethra entrance. He felt himself getting slick under the blonde’s touch and his breath quickened.

Cloud maneuvered his way down Sephiroth’s body and looked up at him questioningly, silently asking to suck him. Sephiroth’s long fingers combed into his hair with consent and he rolled onto his back. Cloud wriggled his body in between Sephiroth’s parted thighs and took the cap of his arousal into his mouth, flicking his tongue gently over the salty slit. He heard the other man’s sharp intake of breath and he closed his lips tightly over the head and sucked on it, teasing with his tongue. He felt the powerful body of his lover shudder with pleasure and he took a little more in. For a while he just tasted and teased him, delighting in the responses he was invoking.

“Cloud,” Sephiroth said in a low, demanding groan. Most other men would have carried a pleading note on their voices by this point, but Sephiroth didn’t plead so much as order. Obeying the desire he heard in that tone, Cloud swallowed as much of his lover’s girth as he could and then let the throbbing shaft slide out again, repeating the action over and over again until he felt Sephiroth’s muscles turn to steel beneath his fingers. The general growled a warning, which Cloud ignored. His cum spurted hot and hard down the blonde’s throat as he climaxed and Cloud swallowed all but a small bit of it eagerly.

When the last of the seed was emptied, Cloud released his lover from his mouth and stretched out on top of him. Knowing what was to come made him feel unusually aggressive—he kissed Sephiroth hard and let him taste the little bit of semen he’d saved in his mouth. The general tensed at first with the realization of what he tasted on his lover’s tongue, but he returned the kiss and didn’t object. He allowed the blonde to dominate the kiss for a change, slightly amused and completely aroused by unexpected assertiveness.

When Cloud ended the kiss, Sephiroth smirked up at him and purred; “Feeling more confident, are we?”

In answer, Cloud grabbed the condom package and stared at him with burning blue eyes as he pressed it into Sephiroth’s hand. Taking the hint, Sephiroth tore it open and rolled it slowly onto Cloud’s stiff arousal. He stroked it for a moment afterwards, making the blonde hum with delight and thrust into his hand.

“Well Cloud, how would you prefer to take me?”

The blonde grimaced for a moment and sucked in a sharp breath, prompting Sephiroth to frown at him. Cloud lowered his gaze and panted for a moment, holding up one bandaged hand to stay any forthcoming questions. Sephiroth wisely stopped rubbing his erection, feeling it buck warningly in his hand.

“Sorry, hearing you ask that almost made me lose it,” he said breathlessly.

Sephiroth smirked. He could relate, having suffered a similar moment of heavy arousal the first time Cloud had asked the same of him. “Take your time,” he advised softly.

Cloud stared down at that powerful, sculpted body and he had to go with his instincts. He couldn’t imagine anything being more fulfilling at the moment than watching Sephiroth’s face as he came into him. “I think I want you just the way you are—on your back,” he said breathlessly.

Sephiroth didn’t find it surprising, given Cloud’s tender nature. He appreciated it, actually. He wanted to see the expressions on Cloud’s face just as much as the blonde wanted to see the expressions on his. He reached out for the lube that was lying nearby and began the process of readying himself. Cloud stared at him while he rolled onto his side and worked his entrance with his lubed fingers. Having done this before under Zack’s surveillance, Sephiroth wasn’t shy about it.

Cloud gulped and wanted to kick his own ass up and down the hallway for damaging his hands and being unable to do this himself. At the very least, he wanted to massage Sephiroth’s balls. Biting his lip with determination, he reached out with his right hand and caressed them anyway, provoking a sigh of pleasure from his partner. His palms stung with the motions but Cloud ignored it and kept fondling while he watched Sephiroth’s long fingers slide in and out of his rectum.

~Hell, I don’t know if I’ll be able to last long. He’s so hot and I wasn’t expecting this at all!~

That was one of the things about Sephiroth that made him so intoxicating though: his unpredictability. Cloud bent down and kissed his lover’s outer thigh, trying to contain the desperate lust welling inside of him. It was like some new form of torture.

“I believe I’m ready for you, Cloud.” The husky drone of Sephiroth’s voice practically dripped with sensuality.

Cloud stopped fondling his balls and waited for him to roll onto his back again. He barely remembered to lube himself up before acting on the invitation. Taking a deep breath, Cloud stretched out on top of him and let his hips settle between his spread thighs. He looked into the mesmerizing emerald eyes and positioned himself carefully while Sephiroth’s arms went around him. Whispering his name, Cloud rocked forward and felt the head of his dick squeeze past the tight ring of muscle. His lips parted and a groan exploded from them as Sephiroth cupped his ass and pushed him forward more. He was fascinated with the feel of the general’s snug passage slowly taking him in.

Sephiroth’s eyes slipped closed as his lover’s cock slowly filled him. He grunted in surprise as the hard length brushed against the most sensitive spot and he squeezed Cloud’s ass in response. Opening his eyes again, he looked up to see his lover’s expression. Cloud’s fair, youthful face was beaded with perspiration and he stared down at Sephiroth with a decidedly smitten expression. He shivered as he sank the rest of the way in, gasping the silver-haired man’s name. Licking his lips, he drew back and thrust carefully again, his golden brows furrowing with pleasure and concentration. Sephiroth’s eyes glazed as the blonde thrust again. He was surprised that Cloud had found the right angle so quickly—or maybe it was simply luck.

Cloud heard Sephiroth’s soft, breathy groan on the second thrust and he couldn’t resist kissing him again as he repeated the action. He moaned in answer against the general’s lips and began to thrust instinctively, letting the pleasure and need drive him. His awkwardness slowly faded and with Sephiroth’s hands guiding him, he found a rhythm that felt best. Moaning softly, he let himself go and showered gasping kisses all over Sephiroth’s face and neck.

“Feels so good,” Cloud panted, thrusting harder.

Sephiroth undulated beneath him, answering his moans with his softer, deeper ones. He caught Cloud’s mouth and nibbled his lips as he bucked his hips to drive the blonde harder into him, making him cry out. Cloud answered with a hard push of his own that made Sephiroth’s breath catch. He was more gentle than Zackary but no less passionate. For the first time, Sephiroth experienced what it was like to have someone’s sex pressing against his prostate when he was able to feel the full range of sexual pleasure. He hardened against Cloud’s stomach and the blonde’s skin rubbed against his erection, adding more pleasure.

Cloud’s breath became uneven as he neared his peak. He thrust his tongue into Sephiroth’s mouth and bucked harder into him, provoked by the silver warrior’s ragged encouragement and grasping hands. Cloud broke the kiss and clenched his jaw, struggling not to come too soon. He sensed that Sephiroth was getting close to another orgasm and he wanted to give it to him before he was spent. The serpentine eyes looked into his and widened subtly, the sinfully beautiful lips parting as the general’s body began to tense beneath him.

Cloud felt Sephiroth’s hard sex pulse against his stomach, followed by the slick release of his seed. Before he could smile in triumph, the feel of his lover’s body clenching around his cock made his eyes go blank. With a great shudder, the blonde thrust hard into him one last time and came.

“Oh god,” Cloud groaned as he fell against Sephiroth and tasted the sweat on the skin of his neck. He grunted and twitched again, pressing his mouth against his lover’s skin to muffle another trembling cry. Sephiroth’s chest heaved beneath him as he caught his breath and his hands released his bottom to stroke his back.

Cloud didn’t want to move. He laid his cheek on Sephiroth’s shoulder and stared blankly with heavy-lidded eyes as the pleasure of fulfillment faded to afterglow. He felt his lover nuzzle his hair and he sighed with contentment.

Sephiroth didn’t ask him to withdraw or move. He just stroked his back and recovered his breath, enjoying the feel of the slighter man on top of him and inside of his most intimate place. The encounter had proved more satisfying than he thought it would. Cloud was a quick study and he hadn’t allowed his inexperience to get in the way of his instincts. Sephiroth smiled and whispered, “And you thought you’d be a disappointment.”

The blond head moved and a pair of sleepy sapphire eyes gazed into his, just inches away. “So I did okay?” he asked, still breathless from his release.

“More than that,” Sephiroth answered honestly. “And you didn’t even have the full use of your hands.” He reached up and traced the blonde’s lips with his fingertips, then cupped his chin and guided him to his mouth for another kiss. He felt Cloud smile against his lips and he stifled a chuckle.

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

A little more than a month later, Cloud slowly opened dazed eyes and looked around. He was in the medical facility of the WRO, again. His head hurt, again. He was confused, again. Then his eyes focused on the face looking down at him and his confusion ebbed away.

“Hey,” He said with a smile, reaching up to comb his fingers through the fall of thick, silver hair cascading around that angelic face.

“This is the last time, Strife,” answered the man gazing down at him. “We spend far too much time in medical facilities, for my liking.”

Cloud grinned. “Shut up, Sephiroth.”

The general considered the order. “How do you like that? Your order has no affect on me. Are you happy now?”

Cloud nodded and immediately groaned. Just as last time, his head hurt too much for motions of that sort. “I’ve still got my hair, right?”

Sephiroth smiled crookedly. “Of course.”

“Good. As soon as I feel better, we can go home.”

~Home,~ Sephiroth reflected. For the first time in his life, he felt like he actually had one.

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

The End