Blonde Ambition

Razor Phase was NOT techno.

Razor Phase fell into the specific category of hellectro. Roger Say was the entire band. His electronic beats were purely sex driven, and he was a man of few words. When he did sing, his deep, raspy voice was like a musical seduction, muttering of a deep longing for some unreachable object of his desire.

Cloud pushed back silver hair and spoke those desperate words against an ear, brushing his eyelashes along a cheekbone, working his fingers under a heavy leather collar, hands digging into strong shoulders … And then …

And then he woke up with a snort as his ear bud was plucked out like a daisy.

"If you think you get to sleep while I stay up and drive, you've got another thing coming you little bastard."

Cloud sat up more in the seat and turned his newly beloved Mp3 player off. It was bright yellow, and contained his very soul. There, in the tiny device, just waiting to rock his face off, were exactly five thousand songs. The techy boy down the street had a cool turntable that made Mp3's out of his records. That had been a two day long endeavor, and in the end sacrifices had to be made, as techy boy was becoming extremely agitated at having to listen to Cloud's music for hours on end. He wondered how many swear words were floating through the wiring, waiting to scream into his eardrums like a heart attack.

Yawning, he felt under his seat for the car CD case. These were mostly his mother's, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Fucking silence."

Cloud drummed his fingers softly and looked at her. She was being quite the megabitch. Getting up early, bitchy. Having to drive, bitchy bitchy. Seeing her son off to military school, bitchy bitchy bitchy. He could remedy one of those at least, "Want me to drive?"

"No."

Cloud sighed, and took a sip of his long forgotten about orange juice. He rejected it, swooshing it back down the straw from whence it came. Fast food orange juice somehow had the uncanny ability to become watered down. A wicked notion slithered into his mind.

It was simply terrible, and he would certainly be going to hell if he followed through. But more than not burning in hell, he wanted to make this ride both tolerable and memorable.

He sucked up the disgusting juice, held it in the straw with his finger, and spit it onto the side of his mother's face.

The car swerved to a stop beside the highway and Cloud shrieked with laughter as his mother screamed profanities and furiously slapped the top of his head. He exited the vehicle and jogged with a smile to her window, and tapped. She got out and switched with him.

"Do we have at least some fucking napkins?" She muttered, searching through the fast food bag.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a long time. Cloud thought she had fallen asleep when suddenly, she spoke.
"What's the game plan?"

He smiled at the invitation to conversation," Well, it's a three year school. But I think I'm going to try and do the SOLDIER exam end of my second year. I'd still have to finish the third but I'd get to get some experience and shit. Umm … Bulk up as much as I can in the meantime. I wanna be ripped. Protein and-"

"No, the other game plan," She reinstated.

"Ohh. I'm gonna write you at least every two weeks. I'll call you every holiday and every time something interesting happens, take plenty of pictures, and come home for two weeks in the summertime."

"I know that game plan, I'm the one that made it up. I mean the other, other game plan."

Cloud shot her a questioning look. She smiled, "What happens today?"

"Ohhhh. I go for my room and locker assignments, then I go for my schedule. Then I dump my stuff off in my room and then there's a big orientation seminar thing. Then tomorrow the shit hits the fan," He smiled.

"'Big orientation seminar thing'? Who's going to be there?"

"Ohhhhhh … Sorry mom, no parents allowed, you have to drop me off at the gate. You know."

She sighed heavily and asked in plain English, "Who is going to be speaking at the seminar?"

He kept his eyes on the road, "I'm not sure. The headmaster Teachers?"

"The General."

The car swerved a bit and Cloud coughed, "Oh I'm not so sure. He's the General of the Army but um, he's probably not going to be at the school …"

"Yes he is."

Cloud's kept his head facing forward but his eyes flicked to look at her briefly, "He is?"

"Don't you fucking read? In the orientation letter it said that the seminar speakers were your headmaster, your head drill sergeant, some other assholes … And your general." She smiled.

Cloud's face became a red lava lamp of glee and embarrassment. But he kept the cool in his voice, "Oh. That's nice."

"And since you're apparently fucking illiterate, I'll tell you this: There is a question and answer forum with him."

Cloud's head snapped in her direction. She continued, "There are only one hundred new boys enrolled this fall. Since it's such a small class, every boy has the chance to ask the General a question."

Cloud kept on looking in her direction, oblivious now to the task of driving. She put a hand on the wheel and kept her eyes on the road for him, "So now I ask you. What is the game plan?"

Cloud had been rendered speechless. Shooing her hand off the wheel he gripped it tight and looked back to the road.

"You really didn't know?"

"I had no goddamn idea," He admitted gravely.

She snickered, "Well, you only have a couple more hours to think about it."

Cloud had put on a cute outfit. His black school vest with nothing underneath, a red belt, and tight jeans with a gaping hole in the back of one knee. That was cute. That was NOT first impression to the General cute, however. But what was? A birthday suit and a smile?

The very thought that he could run into Sephiroth in the hallway unleashed a monsoon of butterflies throughout his anatomy. He could see that man drinking from a water fountain? Helping someone find their locker? He could spot that gorgeous hair from behind in a crowd?

Then another thought. He didn't know what Sephiroth sounded like. He had never heard his voice. Always pictures in newspapers, or perhaps a glimpse on the news. He would be thoroughly convinced Sephiroth was only a beautiful statue, if not for spotting him at a press conference they were watching at school. Cloud remembered becoming painfully swollen beneath his desk when he finally noticed who was on the screen. Sephiroth was merely standing in the background in a line of military bigwigs, arms crossed, looking at the speaker with a neutral face.

Cloud had been transfixed by the small movements of Sephiroth's eyes, the barely noticeable up and down of his leather strapped chest as he breathed, involuntary twitches of his fingers. Without warning, he had gracefully leaned down to say something to the shorter man standing beside him. Cloud still remembered the way his hair spilled over one shoulder as he did it, and the way his jaw and throat moved as he murmured. Then he stood up straight and kept stone still for the rest of the time, only bringing his hands together a few times to clap demurely when the speaker was finished. The men in line began talking to each other, and Sephiroth turned his attention and smiled handsomely to someone when the television had been flipped off.

Staring at the black screen, wanting more … It was the moment that cemented Cloud's desire.

He knew that Sephiroth was twenty five years old, but not his mannerisms. He knew Sephiroth was beautiful. But nothing about the man.

And that made him feel very … Stupid.

To think of himself … Touching that man. A boy of merely sixteen, putting his clean, baby skinned hands on that experienced, hard working, strong … Hero. It was a thought that humiliated him to the core. To think he had actually believed he could win a man like that. To seduce him? He glanced down at his thin, hairless arms, leading to bony wrists, and two spidery, long fingered hands holding the steering wheel.

He was a lonely, little, virgin, faggot from buttfuck nowhere! Less than nothing to a powerful man like Sephiroth. A man like that could have anything he desired. He was probably … Straight. Covered in women day and night. He probably wanted a woman like Lorna Rust … Something Cloud could never be without advanced medical help.
"Whatever you're thinking right now, knock it the fuck off," Came his mother's voice piercing through into his self induced misery.

"I'm not thinking about anything," He weakly defended, not daring to touch a palm to his badly watering eyes.
Only one tear fell, and it was on the side of his face facing away from his mother. He scratched his cheek casually, wiping it away in the process.

His eyes flicked to her several times, "What do I do?" He finally asked.

"Think of something really cute to say," She advised seriously.

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

"Watch the road!" His mother cawed, Cloud's eyes ignoring traffic once again to take in the sights of Midgar.

The exit from the highway put them smack in the center of slumsville downtown. His mother grimaced, but Cloud was already remembering names of places he would go. The Vomitorium, a famous club constantly hosting bands he liked. Pimp Hand Burger Stand. Cherry's Tattoos and Scarification. Dirty Rubbers – a clothing store that looked like they didn't sell anything with the crotch sewn closed. A boy was walking out of the store … He was wearing … Not much …

"Pull over if you can't drive right!"

And the boys in Midgar were already driving Cloud crazy. He had never seen such an array of attractive body parts. He was used to red headed, burly mountain men. He practically fogged up the window while at a stoplight two tall, beautiful boys looking like they were about to go to Sex Town were waiting to cross. The hotter one winked when he noticed Cloud's glazed over stare. Green light. Too bad.

"No fucking way!" Cloud cried with a swerve of the wheel, "It's the Honeybee Inn!"

"Oh Christ …"

He immediately rolled down the window and bellowed, "LORNAAA!"

Somebody somewhere screamed something back. Somewhere else glass shattered. A cat meowed. There was the distinct sound of a garbage truck. At four in the afternoon? Cloud loved the slums.

Through a series of twists and turns, crossing bridges between sectors and driving up an incredibly steep overpass, passing by smelly reactors, they arrived on the top plate. Suddenly there were less exposed hipbones and more business suits. Not so much tattooed arms as briefcases. Homeless sidewalk trumpet players opted for tree lined streets.

A few more turns. And there it was. Shin-Ra Military Academy.

It was a massive, black five story building lined with towering windows. There were three huge, connected staircases that led up to the monstrous building. Hung for today was a two story wide red banner saying "Welcome Back Boys". Behind the main building was a large area of land, Cloud could make out what appeared to be a baseball diamond, dwarfed on a far corner. Dotting the surrounding area were smaller black buildings of similar architecture. One was the gym. Some were residential. He knew a few belonged to the Shin-Ra family. And he knew one belonged to Sephiroth.

Welcome back boys, indeed. Boys were everywhere. There had been an explosion of boys. Sitting up and down the black staircases, leaning up against the gate, falling off their skateboards on the cement. They were sitting out of windows, they were break dancing, they were wrestling in the grass, they were chatting, walking, chewing gum, smoking, screaming, laughing.

Some were in uniform, some not. There were preppy boys on their cell phones. There were jock boys, hip hop boys, goth boys pouting with their dyed black hair. To Cloud, it was a visual buffet. There were three boys near his age in Nibelheim. One of them was Ronny. But this … This was a fucking SELECTION. He could sleep with a different guy every night for the next three years.

‘But I won't be a slut,’ He promised himself. ‘I'm saving it.’

They parked outside the gates. When Cloud turned the car off he sat there, the roar of the mob outside muted.

Cloud and his mother smiled at each other. And hugged. Then they took his bags out of the trunk. And hugged. And then stood there hugging some more. Mrs. Strife took his face and kissed him hard on his forehead, nose, and chin.

"Be good. Listen to what they say. Call me tonight."

"Mm-hm."

"I'm not gonna be dramatic," She declared, kissing both of his cheeks then taking a step back. Cloud smiled, and picking up all of his bags, passed through the gates. She watched him go. "Cloud?"

He turned.

"So what the fuck are you gonna ask?"

His smiled got wider, "I'm gonna wing it!"

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

His arms were about to simply break off. After dealing with carrying his possessions while standing in the long line for room assignments, having to wait for several boys to argue with the distributors, there was another equally long line for schedules. And more bitching. Cloud himself had simply accepted the paperwork and keys and got the fuck out of line.

The paper from the room line simply said: Gym locker 412. Hall locker 11. Room – Rufus Building, 207.

Okay.

His schedule was a bit more complicated. Breakfast was apparently at five-thirty AM, classes began at six. And his first block of classes appeared to be physical. The first was an hour long block, it's only description was ominous: RUN. The second block of time was an hour and a half long, and it wickedly declared: BOOT CAMP 1. Gulp.
Then there was a five hour stretch of academic and military specific classes. He had Literature 1, Basic Tactics, Algebra 1, and Combat History. Lunch was in the mix there somewhere. And finally, another two hour long physical block described as Hand To Hand Basics/Swim.

Swim? People from Nibelheim didn't swim unless they fell in the fucking river, Cloud laughed to himself. It would be fun. Classes were done with at four PM, Dinner dinner at six, and lights out at ten.

Folding up the papers, he put them in his pocket. His room. It was on the second floor of the Rufus Building. It dawned on him why it was called that when he was greeted with a ten by five foot painted picture of Rufus Shin-Ra, looming in the foyer. Rufus was too rich and bratty to be considered realistically attractive, but the sexy, demanding smirk on his face made Cloud file him away into Spank Bank anyways. The entire building appeared to be dedicated to him, the walls were pristinely white and on the left side of every door, two perfect vertical rows of black dots. The numbers on the doors were black iron, but appeared to be written in Rufus's handwriting.

He unlocked door 207 and let himself in. He had arrived before his roommate. The room was a decent size, hardwood floors, two beds with white sheets and black pillows sat against the opposite walls. Beside each bed was a small nightstand and in between a large window with black curtains and the school crest. There were three doors. Cloud opened one and saw an average sized closet. He opened another and was surprised to find another closet. Alright! He opened the third door and it was the bathroom. No tub, just a stand up shower through a glass door. A potty. Small sink with a cabinet underneath. And … A urinal? Cloud flushed it to see if it was real. A fucking urinal.

He had simply dropped his things in the middle of the floor, but now threw them on the bed to the right. Everything was exactly the same so it really didn't matter which bed he chose. He opened up the curtains to inspect the view. It was mostly trees, and the unnaturally citrus shade of sky that seemed to be the norm in Midgar. The window faced nothing, just another residential building in the distance. But it was a nice nothing.
Peaceful, like.

"I KNEW YOU'S WAS GONNA FUCKIN' BEAT ME HERE YOU RAT SONUVABITCH!"

Cloud whirled around as absolute chaos was spilling into the room. The boy was a little taller, almost muscular, shoulder length black hair spilling everywhere, hiding his face. He was wearing a tight camouflage t-shirt and the field fatigues. He had at least eight different brightly colored duffle bags strapped to his body, clothes trying to escape all of them, and he had a large pet carrier.

"THE FUCKIN' LIIINES!" He complained. Cloud noticed that when the boy said 'fuck' it sounded like 'fawk'.
There was a haphazard removal of all the duffle bags, and they were thrown without care onto the empty bed. Something was squealing loudly in the pet carrier.

"Whas' ya name?" The boy asked, not shouting anymore. He suddenly seized one side of the mess of dark hair in his face and move it all smoothly to one side, revealing enormous brown eyes and an adorable nose.

"Cloud Strife," He introduced with a smile. He extended a hand and the boy took it, and exactly as Zack had done weeks ago, shook it all over town.

"Pleased. Cameron Wedge," He laughed. "Cam, though. Where ya from?"

"Nibelheim," Cloud said. He didn't mean it to sound like an embarrassing confession, but it came out that way.
Cam chewed gum loudly for a heartbeat with a smile, "Fuckin' blonde ass, Nordic sonuvabitch. I'm local. Midgar," When Cam said Midgar, it sounded like 'Midgah'.

Whatever was in the pet carrier was getting desperate. Cloud had to ask, "Is there something like, alive in there?"

Cam looked alarmed, "You's said ya weren't fuckin' allergic to nothin' right? On the paper work?" When Cam said 'paper work', it sounded like 'paypah woik'.

"Oh. No I'm not."

Cam sighed relief with a smile and began, in an extremely high pitched baby voice, cooing sweetly to the creature inside, "Dis is my widdle fuckin' baby!" He opened up the door and out of the huge carrier stepped a tiny red cat with a microscopic ember burning on the end of its tail. It's crying immediately ceased and it trotted in circles, examining the room.

"We're allowed to have pets?"

Still talking in baby voice, "Donnot let his looks fool you, Cloud! Dis little bastard could fuckin' roast our balls at any given moment. Can't you!? CAN'T YOU YOU LITTLE, CUTE SONUVABITCH!?" The kitten delightedly jumped into Cam's lap. He cursed gently as the flaming little tail singed his arm. There were a lot of little burn marks all over Cam. "They's awesome fighters and live for fuckin' ever. I've had dis little fucker since da day I was born. He's supposed to have his first growth spurt real soon, and uh, if Mommy," He pointed to himself, "isn't around when dat happens, things could get ugly. And I registered him with Shin-Ra so … He's joined the fuckin' army too!"

Cloud was shocked when the tiny kitten said, "Fuckin' A!"

"That's cool as shit!" Cloud exclaimed, sitting on the floor across from Cam and his baby, "What's his name?"
"Psycho Wedge," The kitten answered for himself.

"What does he eat?" Cloud said, gently stroking Psycho with his fingertips.

"Eh, dis and dat. He kinda likes hotdogs … Grapes … Pringles … Taco salad … Ricotta cheese. Ya know. Oh, and he'll tell you when he needs to take a shit. If I'm not around and he starts buggin' you, just tell him to shut his yap until Mommy comes back home. Or you's could take him out if you don't mind, no pressure. He's good though! Look. Psychopath, you need to take a shit?"

"Naw."

"How about a pisser?" When Cam said 'pisser' it sounded like 'pissah'.

"I said fuckin' naw," The kitten yawned.

Cloud laughed loudly at all of this information.

"Hey it's cool too, cause I get like, fuckin' extra credit for takin' care of him! FOR TAKIN' CARE OF MY OWN FUCKIN' KID! Does that not beat all?"

Cam abruptly dropped the kitten into Cloud's lap and started to rummage through his bags. He peeled off his shirt.

Please believe, Cloud Strife had no intentions of raping Cameron Wedge with his eyes, but it could not be helped. It was like a younger brother seeing his older stepsister through marriage in a bikini for the first time. It was a disgusting feeling. Wrong, wrong … Wrong …

But Cam was very tan, his body was lean, and something about his shoulder blades was incredibly sexy. His chest was smooth and he was just beginning to form abs, a trickle of dark, fuzzy hair running down the center. He shrugged into his short sleeve uniform shirt and buttoned it up slowly, then realizing he made an error, "… Fuckin' buttons …", he unbuttoned it quickly, then rebuttoned it all up correctly.

Cam had just unzipped his fly when a tiny spot on Cloud's arm felt like it had been burned right off, "Christ!" He looked down and saw Psycho's big brown eyes looking at him apologetically. Cloud smiled and touched a fingertip to the kitten's nose, and it bucked it's head up in pleasure.

When Cloud looked back up Cam was zipping up his uniform pants. He was more than a little grateful. Something about looking at Cam that way was just icky. There was something innocent about him.

"If he burns ya too much dump some cold ass water on him. He'll get his act together in a goddamn heartbeat!" Cameron was fiddling with his tie.

"It's gonna be cool living with him," Cloud thought out loud. "I never had a pet before."

"Well you can be Daddy then!" Cam laughed wickedly.

Psycho suddenly was at attention, "DADDY?" The kitten shouted. He leapt from Cloud's lap and ran in fierce circles all around the room and jumped from bed to bed. His little tail was smoking furiously, "WHERE?"

Cloud shot a questioning look at Cam. He chuckled and said in baby voice, "My widdle fucker has a s-c-r-e-w- fuckin' l-o-o-s-e. If you ever say the word d-a-d-d-y, he goes b-a-n-a-n-a-s! I have no idea why!"

Psycho gave his Mommy a glare, knowing some smack had been talked about him.

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

The orientation was at six PM. Cloud was both afraid time would pass too quickly or too slowly. If time went by fast, he would be a trembling testosterone wreck. If it went by too slow, the anticipation would surely drive him to insanity. He didn't have to worry much about it anymore because he was sitting on the aisle in the assembly hall, waiting for the one hundred first year boys to sit their asses down.

He thought long and hard about what to wear, but in the end he just stayed in what he originally put on that morning. If it all ended up around his ankles tonight, he'd have absolutely no regrets. He did however, put a spritz of cologne … On the South Pole.

Whether or not the South Pole was going to receive an explorer depended on one thing. The question. What was the question? Good fucking question!

Every time Cloud thought in his mind what to ask, the question never came completely out of his mental mouth. Every goddamn time the General, seeing that the two of them were obviously made for each other, would sweep him up into a wet, demanding kiss, their souls reunited after a lifetime of lonely agony.

The lights dimmed.

Cloud had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he had barely noticed that he was facing an enormous monitor. Until it flickered on, it really was invisible. It was a close up of the podium, nearly the size of a movie theater screen. There was another one behind the boys but not of the podium, nothing was on the screen.

Cloud squinted, scanning the stage. Chairs, that was it. He looked at his watch, six PM. Sephiroth, a being of perfection and punctuality, was somewhere in the mother fucking building. Where? He bent over the empty seat in front of him, one leg practically in the aisle, trying to see if there was a white head sitting in the front row, waiting to take the stage.

Boys were still filing in. Someone brushed Cloud's leg.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" Cam yawned.

"General Sephiroth."

"Oh. There he is," Cam said, rubbing one eye.

"Where?" Cloud hissed.

Cloud was still scanning the front rows when out of the corner of his eye, walking down the aisle …

No.

What had brushed against the gaping jean hole in the back of Cloud's right knee so carelessly … Was the billowing edge of a long leather coat, the wind of the walker blowing it out slightly.

And swaying to and fro with it, thigh length silver hair.

Cloud was awestruck.

The apparition glided down the center aisle. Then stopped.

Sephiroth turned his head slightly to the right, face obscured by chin length edgy strands of beautiful hair. Someone stood up and clapped him on the back, and the two continued to walk, stepping up the stairs to the stage.
Cloud was hypnotized.

The General passed in front of the camera. For a split second, on the huge monitor, was his profile, passing too quickly for Cloud to make out any details. His attention turned back to Sephiroth's far away form, watching him sweep his coat to the side and have a seat.

And in an act of unthinkable evil, Sephiroth brushed his hand underneath his mane of hair and brought it all down over one shoulder in front of him. And was still.

Cloud was hard.


A/N

Chapter Image can be found here! --> http://owmyhearteries.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=120#/d1co9oy

1- Forgive me for being a cock tease.

2- If you hadn't noticed already, I don't give three shits about grammar. Sorry, nazis. Sometimes I'll purposely break rules because … Well … I just don't care. And I love starting sentences with 'and'. Har Har.

3- Yeah, Razor Phase, made up. Along with all the kooky places of business below the plate.

4- Cameron Wedge. A relation to the Wedge we all know and love.

5- I took inspiration for the academy from actual military academies I've seen. They basically look like prisons.

6- The Rufus Building! Who wouldn't want to live there?

7- Again, thank you for the reviews, my ego could be used as the sail for a ship.