Birds of Prey

Title: Birds of Prey
Author: Reichi
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Cloud/Kadaj
Comments: ;_; This chapter is really sad. Cloud here is just... very desperate of love, apparently. Living alone for two years can do that. >> Kadaj is frightened of him, and basically ignores every pass, up until the last chapter. o_o This one is really bloody, with Cid making himself an ass again. Btw, yes, to the reveiwer who asked if Cid really acted like this. He's short tempered and ill-tongued, even by game description, swears alot and is rudely vulgar. Btw, I forgot the name of that scientist that ' forever owes her life to him ' name, so i just... call her the Scientist. >>;;; To me, the way I write her, it seems like she's gone through some depression counseling. xDD Anyway, enjoy.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Final Fantasy VII are owned by Square Enix, so none of these characters or places belong to me. Okay? None of these are mine. Hear me yet? NOTHING HERE IS MINE!! -Points to SquareEnix- ITS ALL THEIRS NOT MINE




Chapter Five: The Cold Uncaring




Mornings peace was broken by sharp hammering on the door, the quick rasp of knuckles, occurring so suddenly that Cloud nearly slid right off the edge of the bed with a startled jolt, half-tangled in the blankets that were half-pinned beneath Kadaj, still fast asleep as though he hadn’t noticed a thing; not even the fact that part of the sheets had been torn away, nude down to the upper knee.


“ Cid! “ Cloud yelped, clawing his way back onto the futon and sitting with his legs folded beneath him, holding a flat hand over his fluttering heart, “ I’m awake, damn you! I’ll be out shortly. Unless you –want- me to walk out there naked.


The pounding stopped, silence, and then boots scuffing across the wooden floor, “ Gross, Strife. Hurry up! I need my back garage cleaned. “


Cloud face-faulted. Back garage?! The heap of broken metal and glass-shards, spare car parts and broken airplane wings that –swamped- the back garage? He didn’t even want to fathom what kind of Fiends had crawled underneath something and mutated over the coarse of two years since he last saw it. When he, ahem… stole the Tiny Bronco, and proceeded in breaking the wing off.


“ Kadaj. “ Cloud flopped back onto the mattress, a tint of red coloring his cheeks. The youth dozed on, making very little attempt in even covering himself. The Blond twisted his head in a way that made his neck crack, and looked back at Kadaj, “ Wake up, lazy. If I have to be awake so do you. “


“ Mmph? “ The Teen pillowed his cheek further into the mattress, eyes flickering open lazily and looking in Clouds general direction. Cloud gestured toward his netherregions, and for a moment Kadaj was staring at him as though –he- were the insane one around here. But with a short glance, the youth yipped and covered himself quickly, bunching the blankets into an enormous, tangled wad around his middle to thigh.


“ What’re you trying to hide? “ Cloud stretched into the space Kadaj had abandoned, watching him scamper off into the corner of the room, pausing, and coming back to snag his undershorts.

“ Fuck off, shit face. “ Kadaj snapped, struggling to stretch the tight shorts on underneath the layers of blankets. Cloud snorted and turned his face into his arm, watching him.


“ Your so pleasant in the mornings. “ Cloud said, sitting up and placing his feet on the floor heavily, thunking dully, “ Don’t tell me another bug crawled up your ass. “


Kadaj flicked him off savagely, allowing the blankets to pool about his feet and kick them into some non-obstructive place, “ Keep talking, and I’ll personally sodimise you with a butcher knife. “


“ So romantic. “ The Blond’s cool tone had turned as sharply as Kadaj’s had, bitterly stomping into his boots and pulling the laces through with sharp hisses of friction, “ Geez, what happened to the Kadaj from last night. “


“ Fuck you. I was half asleep, asshole. So it was anything but consentual. “ Kadaj had his back turned to him, pulling on the leather suit. It snapped against his skin in the process, making him grunt, “ Pervert? How much older are you than me anyway? Six years? “


“ Eat shit. “ Cloud grumbled, rising and hardly caring about re-tucking his dark sweater, which had rumpled up from the night before. Simply tossed on the leather piece over it and fidgeting with the buckles, “ You were willing last night. Don’t lie about that. “


“ I’m afraid to sleep with you nearby; who knows what’ll be in store for me tonight. Maybe I’ll wake up to a nice rape. “


“ Shut the hell up, Kadaj! “ Cloud roared, grabbing something pointless Cid had misplaced on the countertop nearest to him and threw it at Kadaj. Whatever it was flipped through the air with a sharp glint of the sun outside and hit the Teen solidly. A shard of glass stabbed into his left shoulder, three inches wide, narrowly missing anything important.


The youth emitted a sharp yelp and stumbled back, his first intention to rip it back out. But the glass had weakened upon contact and crumbled in his grip, a good portion remaining hidden behind sheets of blood.


“ Fuck! “ Cloud stormed across the room and removed the leather glove he’d put on just moments before this, reaching out to inspect the wound with a flailing Kadaj clawing him to pieces. Cids fist pounding on the door across the room and making its hinges shake.


“ You two, what the hell is going on? “ Cid asked, trying the doorknob.


“ A murder! “ Kadaj howled and kicked at Cloud, hitting him in the stomach and shoving him backwards effectively.


“ Idiots. “ Cid pushed the door open, having picked the lock with surprising speed. He was puffing on a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, and eyed the scene, “ Damnit, another fucking mess.”


Cloud pulled himself back up and coughed raggedly, Kadaj backing into a corner like a injured and wild animal. , “ Do something, Cid! “


The elder blond rose an eyebrow, one nostril flailing to expelling the smoke, “ Hey bitch! Get in here and fix this little fucker up.“


“ Huh? “ The scientist peered around the corner, pushing her glasses up by the bridge, “ Ah. I wasn’t intensely trained in this field, but I know a couple of things. What happened? “


“ That… that –ASSHOLE- threw a shard of glass at me! “ Kadaj pointed to the long gash, bleeding down his arm, as though it wasn’t immediately obvious.


“ I see. Well, come along to my room. “ The woman said, a little bit –too-cheerily and begun dragging the Teen off in that general direction. Kadaj mouth a savage ‘ I hate you ‘ to Cloud before he disappeared around the corner and down the hall, door closing softly somewhere no far away.


Cid, who now looming above him and chewing on the filter of his cigarette, peered down at him. Cloud was still spread out on the ground, holding his stomach in bruising pain and wincing at the Pilots expression.


“ Nice job of wooing him. “ Cid said, plucking the cigarette out from between his thin lips and smashing it into the wall, “ I must comment on how interesting it usually gets when you visit, Cloudy-boy. Stuff always breakin’ things and people always being hurt… “


“ Whatever. “ Cloud stood, wobbly, placing a hand to his forehead with the sudden headache, blood pounding in his ears and blackening his vision for a couple of ear-splitting moments, “ I… I didn’t mean to do that. I just got so angry at him, and … it just happened.


“ Shit happens, kid. Nothing can be done about it. “ Cid removed his cigarette pack, eyeing the slippery bloodstain and nearly searing his eyebrows off with his lighter, “ Nothin’ can be done about it… shoulda let him bleed out though. Good ridence. “


“ I couldn’t do that. “


“ Yeah yeah, I know. Stupid sappy kid. “ Cid turned around, puffing out smoke and wandering into the kitchen. Cloud followed him, halfly, “ Now then, back to the matter of work, “ He waved off the subject of Kadaj injured like someone would pass off a fly, “ Guess you’re gonna have to clean that garage back there all by yourself today. Better eat something to get some energy. “


“ I’m not hungry. “


“ Eat something, spikey. Or I’ll shove it down your throat. “ Cid said pleasantly, offering him some little pastery item that was lopsided and burnt on the bottom. Cloud snorted and took it, rolling it between his hands.


“ Do you think he’ll be alright? “


“ Of coarse not! She was only trained to fix shuttles. “ Cid laughed when Cloud paled, nibbling absently on the bit of food he’d been given, “ Naa, she’s pretty good. I give her a hard time, ya know, about how she ruined my dream… but not bad though. “


“ Your really making me feel better. “ The Blond said white Cid set the smoldering cigarette into the old, half-cracked ashtray on the counter, pulling out the orange juice and taking a long drink directly from it. Grimacing, Cloud pulled out a chair and sat.


Cid must not have heard him, replacing the juice and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, “ So, have ya heard from Tifa lately? “


Cloud shrugged, “ Not yet. I imagine that I will, eventually. “


“ I only left her a week ago. “ Cid scratched at his head, plucking up his cigarette again and puffing contently, “ Said you’d disappeared, as well as all three of the Silver Haired Men. Said she had no idea where you had gone… I told her I’ve give her a ring when I heard something. If I did. “


“ So? “ Cloud said, eyeing Cid suspiciously now, abandoning the iced loaf on the table, “ Why? What did you do? “


“ Nothin much. Just kept my promise. “ he crossed his arms and puffed, smoke billow around his gruff faces, “ Called Tifa last night, told her you were here with me. Man, she was really worried about ya. “


“ You did. “ Cloud said, a blank stare calling across his brilliant eyes. It wasn’t a question; it was a simple statement. A confirmmentation. The Blond had half-wanted to become a phantom, move place to place undetected, like he had years ago before the Crisis. He was given up, and the only thing that could possibly stop Tifa from personally dragging him back by the ear would be the children.


“ Yeah. “ Cid continued with a daftness that only men could possess. But he caught on quick enough, sucking the tobacco up to the filter and killing it in the tray, “ Why? Was I not supposed to? “


“ Of coarse not. “ Cloud said with a careful restraint, “ What else did you tell her? “

Cid blinked, “ Well, nothing much… just that you were here, and that White Haired Guy was here too. Ya know. Thought she might be interested. She ahh… she said she was going to get in touch with Vincent. “


“ What?! “ Cloudstared at Cid in disbelief, “ Man, Cid! Cant you keep your mouth shut? “


“ Hey, I was just doing what a friend asked of me. I did nothing wrong! “ Cid countered instantly. A wail of pain from down the shadowy hallway commenced a shallow silence, in which Cloud had stood and was pacing around the sofa a couple of times, running a hand across his side and lingering scathing wound still there.


“ I didn’t want them to know. “


“ Well, you should have told me that before I fucking called her. “


“ I didn’t –know- you were going to call her. “


“ … Hmph. “ Cid had magically pulled out another cigarette and was puffing away, the dense smell of smoke in the room giving Cloud a headache. It was like being back at Midgar, “ Whatever Spikey-boy. I doubt Vincent’ll even care, ya know. Probably sleeping away his life somewhere. “





The long work day came to a close when Cloud stormed back inside the rickety house, tossing his dusty gloves onto the nightstand and looking around the room for Kadaj. He was no where to be seen.


“ Kadaj? “ Cloud asked the shadowy twilight, narrowing his eyes. The professor had told him that the Teen hadn’t bled badly, and would recover quickly because of the Mako and Jenova cells. She said he was –in- here, but he WASN’T –in- here. The window was wide open and flapping with gentle breezes.


“ Kadaj. “ He repeated, going to that window and looking out it, the cool smell of fresh oil and mud filling his senses, rain in the distance picking up dust about the town. From here, the Blond had a clear view of the now-clean garage, small heap of metal that he’d cleared, and the very distant, rolling hills dimmed red with the setting sun. Red XIII mountain village. The landscape was clear, though.


“ Hey! “ Cloud stormed into the living room. Only the professor was there; Cid had gone into town to try and sell most of what they’d found to buy food with, something they had recently become dangerously low of, “ I thought you said he was in there! “


“ He was! “ The woman blinked at him, her usual place in the kitchen, “ I saw him there, just ten minutes before you came in. “


“ Well he’s not there anymore! “ Cloud snapped, flustered. Man, what a bad way to end an even worse day.


“ But he was. “ She peeked down the hallway and adjusted her glasses, suds from the sink sticking to the edge of them, “ I don’t know where he could have gone… perhaps into town? “


“ Or escape. “ Cloud said, hrrying over to the door and throwing it open harder than he expected, “ I made him angry today, and he’s a loose cannon from those experiments. He fluctuates too quickly… probably ran without even thinking.


“ Well gosh, I don’t know why he would do that. I was going to make him his favorite food! “


The Blond froze and rose a eyebrow, “ He has a favorite food? “


“ Of coarse! Everyone must! His is fried rice. I even made a special list for Cid when he was going into town this even to pick the ingredients up“


The corner of Clouds mouth twitched and he shut the door, plopping down on the couch with his strong arms crossed firmly, “ Well then, lets see if he’s as feline as his eyes and come scratching when he smells food. “


“ That’s not very nice. “ Said the Scientist, tinkering away again with a little humming tune that repeated itself three times in half a minute. The otherwise silence was annoying, “ I wish we had Mako energy again. I get so worried with all these candles lit. “


“ I’d rather live with these candles than ShinRa ruling everything. “ Cloud muttered. The woman sighed and shrugged her shoulders lightly. Gracefully drying the dishes and putting them away in cupboards that rattled with more weight.


The two only had to wait another fifteen minutes before Cid came crashing inside mightily, carrying two paper bags in hand. The woman instantly crowded about him, taking the bags with gracious bow. Cid only ashed his cigarette and wandered over to where Cloud sat.


Despite the three of them, everything was quiet; the Scientist had gone to preparing the food, its sweet smell wafting over to Cloud who couldn’t help but let his stomach rumble. Cid polished off three more cigarettes while reading some old magizine from three years ago, until the woman finally called them over.


“ I didn’t know you knew how to cook this, “ Cid said, sitting down and putting out his last cigarette out on the table, in a noticeable black smudge where previous ones had been extinguished, “ Where did you learn? “


“ A cook book under the sink. “ She said cheerily, eating her own with the same annoying genki-expression, “ Cloud, aren’t you going to have some? “


“ I’m waiting up for Kadaj. “ He purred to the floor, forehead rested in his palms.


“ That little brat? “ Cid said between mouthfuls, “ I saw him wondering around the town. Asked him where the fuck he was going. He said he wanted to get another sword, or whatever the fuck he said. Wasn’t paying too much attention. “


“ You never do. “ Cloud said and stood, his muscles aching sorely in his legs, “ I’m going to bed. Tell Kadaj that, if he ever shows up again. “


“ Yeah, right. “ Cid grumbled.


” Don’t worry, I will Cloud! “ The Scientist shot him a over the top wave, “ Good night and sweet dreams. “


“ Yeah right. “ Cloud shut the door behind him, milky moonlight casting a would-be romantic glow around the room. Instead, to Cloud, he found it annoying and snapped the curtains shut with a quick flick of his wrist.






The ill squeak of the door swinging open roused Cloud slightly, causing his body to go into a series of casual stretches and soft sounds, the covers rising to his lightly scarred chest. Boots thunked across the room to the bedside, the steady with draw of metal chilling his blood.


“ Go ahead. “ Cloud mumbled, tossing his head against the pillow tiredly, “ I know I deserve it. Don’t hold back this time. “


All that greeted him was silence. It prompted Cloud to open his eyes, stare up at the luminescent eyes, the silky katana blade aimed with the point almost touching his throat, oddly still.


“ Kadaj “ Cloud said, softer than before. It was futile to try anymore, to fight for something that couldn’t exist anymore. Feelings that were masked behind the exact same green eyes, ones that had died away years ago. Cloud was stupid to have tried and prompt the same feelings from only a clone, “ Just do it, please. “


“ Give me a reason. “ The teen said, blade jolting lightly and scathing his neck.


“ Because I don’t deserve to live.” Cloud stretched his neck out slightly when the blade traveled down it, scratching across his skin and catching on the covers edge, “ I’ve been living on borrowed time. “


“ Have you. “ A statement, blank and unacussing. The sheets were carefully exposing his lean torso, muscles that had tensed, “ And whose exactly would that be? “


“ Zack. “ The name sounded foreign, after many years of mal-use, “ He died when I should have. He was the one protecting me when he was shot. “


“ And that’s why you think you should die? “ The deadly blade stopped when the sheets had fallen just below his belly button, scratching its way back up again.


“ Yes. “ Cloud answered honestly, a silent tear trailing down the side of his face and disappearing into his hair, “ I should not have lived, and yet I did. I thought fighting in his name would be enough, but it isn’t. “


“ Then you’re a larger idiot that what I had thought. “ Kadaj hissed, stabbing the tip of the katana into the wound at Clouds side, having shrunken significantly from its original side a week ago. Though it was shallow enough to cause minimal bleeding, the Blond still cringe in pain, grabbing the katana and whimpering very lightly. The steady hold was incredible, “ I should kill you. First, you save me when I tell you not too, then you seduce me into lewd sexual acts just because ‘ you love me. ‘. Fuck off, Strife. I never asked for you to feel that way. “


He stabbed it in deeper, causing Cloud to clench his jaw, “ I am –not- Sephiroth. Get that through your thick, spikey head before I split it in half. “


Out of anger, Kadaj shoved the blade in the rest of the way, until it stabbed through to the other side. Cloud gasped in pain, the numb feel of tears streaming back into the golden hair going unnoticed by Cloud.


“ Kill me then! “ Cloud begged suddenly, kicking his legs slightly yet pinned to the mattress by the blade. Like an insect, “ “ I would rather suffer than be alone for the rest of my life, and I would rather –die- than have you say you hated me. “


The teen twisted the blade around in a full circle, the Hero screaming in sharp pain and arcing his chest upwards in submitance, “ I hate you. I hate every single breathe you breath, and I regret ever saving you. “


Kadaj let go of the blade then, which sank to one side in the gaping hole, blood seeping into the fresh sheets. Cloud stared at him, mouth open in regged gasps, the slim piece of skin still keeping the wound shut, by some way, was threatening to split at any moment. The pain was almost blinding, the Teens face hollow as he stared down at hm.


“ I love you. “ Cloud gasped, his struggles settling away to bare twitches, far from bleeding out completely yet woozy and tired, “ Even in death, Kadaj. I’ll love you. Even if the planet destroys my soul, I’ll still find a way to love you. Forever. “


Kadaj stepped away from the bed then, jaw clenched, hardening its lovely curve into his downy white hair, lip pulling down like a small childs would and emitting a short sound. All he had to do was reach across to the bag brought along from Junon, removing the powerful potion, the slosh echoing inside the bottle.


“ Don’t ever touch me again. “ Kadaj whispered, pulling out the sword and tossing it aimlessly across the room. Cloud choked when he did, struggling to swallow the bottles thick contents. The bleeding stopped with its help, the careful process of healing taking place then afterwards.


Kadaj though simply crawled over him and onto the opposing side, far away from him, easing under the sheets with his leather suit on, leaving Cloud to sob into the pillow quietly, now and then releasing the barest of soft, heartbroken whines.



To be Continued...