The mighty have fallen

“The mighty have fallen”
Part 8


Cloud hardly slept that night. He made a pallet at the foot of the bed and rested there when he could, but he spent most of the night supporting Sephiroth as he vomited up toxins. He tried to get him to take the pills but the silver-haired man couldn’t hold them down long enough for them to take effect, so Cloud concentrated on making him as comfortable as possible. The few times Sephiroth opened his eyes, he didn’t seem to recognize Cloud or know where he was. He occasionally muttered things that the blonde assumed were brought about by fever dreams and memories.

The next morning, Dr. Melvin stopped by as promised with a full bottle of the pills he’d recommended. He examined Sephiroth to determine his progress and to Cloud’s relief, he seemed optimistic. He wasn’t surprised to hear that Sephiroth hadn’t been able to hold the pills down long enough for them to work, but it had been worth a try.

“The first stage of detoxification is the foulest,” explained the doctor, “Once he’s rid himself of the worst of it through vomiting, most of the rest will come out in his sweat and urine. He should be able to take the pills by then to help him get the rest he needs. He needs to drink as much clear fluid as possible and as soon as he can eat solid food, you should try to get him to eat fresh vegetables and fruit as well as high protein foods. His color looks good for a man in his condition and he’s detoxifying more quickly than average.”

The doctor paused and searched Cloud’s face for a moment, looking like he wanted to ask something. He seemed to change his mind a moment later. “I imagine your friend should start feeling more like himself within a week.”

The doctor’s prognosis didn’t surprise Cloud at all, considering Sephiroth’s enhanced biological makeup. He thanked the man and promised to call him if there were any negative changes to Sephiroth’s condition. Before he left, Dr. Melvin peered at Cloud and suggested he try to get some rest as well. Once he was gone Cloud went to the bathroom and saw himself in the mirror.

~I don’t know who looks worse right now, Sephiroth or Me.~

He didn’t care, though. He’d been sleep deprived before and Sephiroth was almost through the worst of it. With a sigh, Cloud went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. The grounds were stale since he rarely touched the stuff but it still perked him up enough to go through his messages and return any important calls. He wasn’t surprised to find that the bulk of them were from his old comrades that hadn’t yet been filled in on the Sephiroth situation.

He spaced his return calls, taking care of things around the house, checking on Sephiroth and getting groceries in between the calls. It was hard and painful because he had to take the time to explain the same thing to each one of them—and of course, argue his case until they accepted his choice. By the end of the day he was beat. He had to force himself to eat something and shower. The hard pallet at the foot of his bed may as well have been the world’s most comfortable mattress, because as soon as Cloud lay down and closed his eyes he was dead to the world.

The next day was much the same, except that he was able to get Sephiroth to drink some water and take some of the medicine. Cloud exhausted himself again trying to keep the other man warm when he shivered and cool when he heated up. When he went to bed that night he just grabbed the first warm pair of pajamas he saw and slipped them on. He again fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.

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

Sephiroth regained full awareness on the fourth day, when the nausea finally passed. He awoke from restless sleep suffering body aches and chills, but he had regained enough strength to sit up in the bed. He peered blearily around the room with confusion and took in all of the details of his environment. There wasn’t much to the room. The red brick walls were bare of decoration; there was a small closet in the wall to his left, a wooden end table with a plain lamp resting on it to his right and a half-used candle sconce hanging on the right wall.

Trying to gather his scrambled thoughts, the swordsman rubbed his head and decided to risk an attempt at getting up. He needed to take a leak and he wasn’t about to call out for Cloud’s help. He carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed and started to put his feet down, but they landed on something warm and firm that didn’t remotely feel like a floor. Frowning, Sephiroth leaned over to see what was in his footpath.

There lay his captor, curled up on the hardwood floor with a thick blanket serving as his mattress and a single pillow supporting his head. Another thick blanket covered his body. Cloud was fast asleep, despite having been partially stepped on. He lay on his side with his hands folded beneath his cheek, sleeping with ridiculously picturesque innocence. His golden lashes lay against his cheek and his nearly delicate looking lips were parted. His blonde hair looked no more disheveled than usual and Sephiroth pondered how it managed to hold that style and still move.

Sephiroth took advantage of the young man’s slumber and curiously brushed the toes of his right foot over Cloud’s hair. He was surprised at how soft and clean it felt. How did Strife accomplish that spiked style without overuse of gel or spray? Was his hair just naturally gravity defying? He remembered Zackary’s hair accomplishing the same odd feat.

Sephiroth grimaced as chills wracked his body again and his bladder ached. He had to find a way to step over Cloud without falling on him. He at least owed him the consideration of not disturbing his rest.

~Pissing all over myself would be the final insult in this madness.~ the general thought with disgust, ~I’m done with being treated like a drooling baby.~

He wrinkled his nose as he caught the odor coming from his body. It was the sour smell of toxins, coating his skin and tainting his breath. If—no, WHEN he made it to the bathroom he was going to bathe and rinse his mouth out. Then he’d see about washing his pants, since they were the only article of clothing he had that he could reasonably expect to slip in and out of on his own. If Cloud couldn’t handle the sight of him in a bath towel until the job was finished, he would simply have to avert his eyes.

It only took a few seconds for Sephiroth to take stock of the situation and devise a strategy. By crawling to the foot of the bed and slipping his legs over the side, he was able to get up without disturbing Cloud. When he stood up he was forced to take a step toward the wall and lean against it for a moment to catch his breath and wait out another wave of trembling. When it passed he used the wall for support and made his way to the door.

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

Cloud thought he heard his washing machine going. It sounded like it was on the spin cycle, judging by the clanking noise accompanying the whirr of the motor. He grumbled and pulled his blanket over his head, convinced he was just imagining it. The noise persisted and it eventually dragged him out of the comfort of sleep.

He pulled his left hand out from under his cheek and raised his arm to peer at his wristwatch. It was late morning. Deciding he’d had plenty of sleep, he sat up and stretched, grimacing at the stiffness in his joints caused by sleeping on the hard floor. He yawned and scratched his head, but immediately went still when he noticed that his bedroom door was shut and he could still hear his washing machine.

~What the hell?? Someone’s in my house, washing clothes?~

The only explanation he could think of at first was that it was Tifa, who had a spare key to his house. Maybe her own washing machine was broken and she slipped in to do her laundry? She must have closed the door to try and keep the noise from waking him and Sephiroth up.

~Sephiroth…~

Cloud got to his feet and looked on his bed to find…nothing. He blinked. The covers were pulled back up and smoothed neatly. He could see a single strand of long, pale hair on the dark blue pillowcase, but the owner of that piece of hair was gone.

Cloud’s mind raced with horrible possibilities and he rushed to the door, terrified that his charge had somehow regained all of his superhuman strength overnight and he’d find Tifa’s head rolling around in his washing machine.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud yelled as he barreled down the hall. The laundry room was at the other end of the house, down a short hall opposite the living room. Cloud was running so fast and focused on a single thought, he ran through the living room and straight past the silver-haired man.

Sephiroth sat on the couch, watching with interest as the blonde streaked by as though Ifrit had set his ass on fire. He almost answered Cloud’s call, but instead waited to see how long it would take him to realize he was there. All he’d seen of Cloud before he disappeared into the opposite hallway was a blur of red pajamas and fluffy hair.

He heard the stomping footsteps skid to a halt and return. Sephiroth sipped the glass of water he’d poured for himself and watched the entrance of the hallway expectantly. A pale face with wide sapphire eyes, surrounded by downy golden hair, poked out of the hallway to regard him.

“That was quite the dash, Cloud. I think you came close to breaking the sound barrier.” Sephiroth smirked with amusement.

Cloud looked the general up and down, his brain taking in little details—such as the fact that he was sitting there in nothing but a towel and his flowing silver hair hung damp around his body. Though his complexion and lips still held the pallor of illness, his too handsome features had regained all of the usual confidence and arrogance. His hand shook a little as he set the glass of water he was holding on the coffee table, but otherwise he seemed to have regained most of his muscle control.

Cloud’s panic faded, to be replaced by a confused jumble of desire, concern, embarrassment and irritation. He started toward the tall, proud man and opened his mouth to…to…

~What…ask him where the body is?~

Cloud realized now that the scenario he’d imagined upon first waking up and finding Sephiroth missing was stupid. His sleepy mind hadn’t had time to rationalize yet and it had jumped to the worst conclusion, probably because of the conversation he and Tifa had the night he brought Sephiroth home. The man was in a towel. His hair was wet. The washing machine was going.

~Hello, stupid…he’s washing his fucking pants! Do you have to constantly be a blonde stereotype around him?~

To make matters even worse, Sephiroth was eyeing his pajamas now and by the look on his face he was just barely holding back a smile. Cloud frowned and glanced down at himself. In his exhaustion the night before, he’d just grabbed the first thing out of his pj and underwear drawer that felt warm and soft. For the first time he realized, with dawning horror, that it happened to be the pajamas that Yuffie had given him as a gag gift for his birthday last year. The style and color of the two-piece outfit wasn’t anything special, but the words: “Hot Stuff” were scattered all over them as well as illustrated, deep red cartoon lips.

Cloud looked up again at Sephiroth and twisted his mouth. “What? They were a gag gift and I wasn’t paying attention when I put them on last night.”

“Clearly,” Sephiroth said with a mocking smile.

Now he was getting angry. Cloud started forward again, intending to tell Sephiroth that his poor selection in nightwear was a result of taking care of him and losing sleep. He didn’t realize that Vincent’s briefcase was sitting on the floor by the couch and he tripped on it. Gasping a curse, he tried to catch himself but gravity inevitably pulled him directly toward Sephiroth.

Sephiroth was expecting Cloud’s advance but he wasn’t expecting his clumsiness. He saw the gem-bright eyes go round with alarm and the next thing he knew, the blonde was falling on him. He caught Cloud’s lighter body in his arms as he literally fell into his lap. During the impact Sephiroth felt Cloud’s mouth press against his shoulder. He inadvertently grabbed the blonde’s ass in the process of trying to keep his face from going into the couch. Sephiroth allowed himself the luxury of admitting that he liked how firm and round Cloud’s ass was, before he helped the struggling blonde into a sitting position.

Somehow in the process of recovering from the fall, Cloud ended up straddling Sephiroth’s lap, with his knees pressed into the couch cushions. Sephiroth’s hands were resting on Cloud’s hips. Cloud’s hands were splayed on Sephiroth’s chest. Lazy, emerald-green eyes stared into stunned, sapphire-blue ones as both men became aware of the compromising position they were in.

“Throwing yourself at me, Cloud?” Sephiroth purred.

Cloud’s lips parted and his cheeks colored a little as he tried to come up with something to say. Sephiroth’s mesmerizing gaze held him fast.

~So close…his mouth is so close and I want him so bad…~

Cloud’s groin hardened, pressing against Sephiroth’s between the barrier of nightclothes and towel. He licked his lips and nearly gave in. He started to close the distance between their mouths when the realization that there was no answering swell of hardness from the other man’s crotch rudely awakened him.

~It’s not right,~ Cloud thought in despair, ~even if he doesn’t reject me he can’t take me, and he can’t get off on me taking him! Besides, I promised Tifa I’d wait.~

Sephiroth watched the blonde on his lap, waiting to see what he would do. He knew how much Cloud wanted him—the evidence was pressing hard against his crotch—but his spontaneous flirtation with him this time was inspired by sudden curiosity. He wanted to know if a kiss from Cloud would feel as pleasant as he thought it would. He was therefore disappointed when the young man struggled out of his lap and off of the couch, but he wasn’t very surprised. What did surprise him was the urge he felt to tighten his grip on the other man and deny him his escape. If he weren’t so weakened he might have tried it.

Cloud turned away from Sephiroth in an attempt to hide the effect that the brief encounter had on his body. “You should have woken me up,” he heard himself say, “You’re going to end up overdoing it and hurting yourself.” He didn’t look at Sephiroth, afraid that if he saw that chest, those eyes, that hair and those lips, he’d lose his resolve and climb right back onto his lap.

“I managed on my own,” Sephiroth replied flatly. “If you think I’m going to ask for your help to rid myself of bodily wastes and bathe, you’re deluded.” He regretted letting himself go earlier. They were stupid thoughts to entertain, especially when he hadn’t determined yet whether Strife’s alleged proof of his origins was genuine or not.

Cloud couldn’t really blame him for that, so he shrugged. “Fine. You should try to eat, though. I’ll make some toast and if that goes down well we can move on from there.” He looked down at the briefcase he’d tripped over and he looked at Sephiroth again. “Are you planning on reading through that now? Maybe you should wait until you’re recovered.”

“I think it’s best to do it sooner,” Sephiroth answered, glancing at it before returning Cloud’s gaze. “My body is weakened but my mind is working just fine. Remember Cloud, I still haven’t decided where I intend to stand, yet.”

Cloud’s stare was level and his silent regrets were just as strong. “I remember.”

~And that’s why I’m glad I snapped out of it before I kissed you.~

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

To ward off the chill in the air and the chills in Sephiroth’s body from the withdrawals, Cloud lit the fireplace in the living room. The other man had made no complaints but then again he wouldn’t have, even if he were going hypothermic.

“Did you keep your barracks in this state when you were in training, Cloud?” Sephiroth didn’t look up from the document he was reading as he said it. He nibbled on the half-burnt piece of toast that Cloud had served him and scanned the paper in his hand with a frown.

Cloud had just sat down in the armchair a few feet away and he swallowed a groan. ~I knew it! I knew he’d have some snide comment about the clutter!~ Aloud, he said; “No, and the place isn’t usually this messy. I run supply deliveries to people sometimes because a lot of roads are too trashed for cars, so I’m not always around to worry about the mess.”

Sephiroth nodded. “I see.”

Cloud took some swallows from his apple juice and watched the other man warily. Sephiroth seemed so cultured and authoritative, despite being dressed in only a towel. He could imagine him reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee in any other setting. It made Cloud feel immature for some reason. It also made him want to crawl across the floor to him, pull his towel off and tease his long, thick member to hardness with his mouth.

Sephiroth felt the blonde’s stare and he glanced at him sidelong. Cloud blushed when their eyes met, quickly looking away. Sephiroth suppressed an amused smile and resumed reading. Depending on what he found out in these documents, Sephiroth decided he might consider exploring Cloud’s reactions to him further. He could see that the papers were genuine but he hadn’t read far enough to find anything more than what he already knew concerning Hojo’s theories. He could have chosen to scan them until he found something more personally useful but Sephiroth was a firm believer in being thorough. He didn’t want to miss anything he might not have known before.

“I’m going to go up to the attic and work out a little,” Cloud announced. “Don’t be stubborn if you need help with anything, just call out.”

Sephiroth nodded mutely, his narrowed green eyes steadily moving over the document he held.

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

Cloud changed into a pair of sweatpants and went up the stairs to his spacious attic, where he kept his weights and punching bags. The attic was chillier than the ground floor but he ignored the cold against his naked upper body, knowing that he’d warm up soon enough. A good workout usually left him feeling calm and satisfied, which was what he thought he needed right now. He started with stretches first, loosening his muscles and tendons. Once he’d completed that, he moved on to the hand weights. His sapphire eyes were narrowed and determined as he pumped the weights and thought about what might come in the future. It would be much harder to control Sephiroth if the new information upset him as badly as the old. Cloud couldn’t imagine it doing so but Sephiroth was hard to predict.

He hoped that Sephiroth would change his ambitions once he discovered that he was born of a human woman and not a monster. He hoped the man would reject Jenova’s lies and whispers and while he never expected him to become “good” (even in his days as a renowned hero, Sephiroth wasn’t inherently “good”), he hoped that he would at least work on the side of good. If he could do that, Cloud would have the chip removed and set him free. He’d have to be absolutely positive before releasing him but in his heart, the blonde hated seeing the proud, beautiful general in chains and he hated being the keeper of those chains even more.

As Vincent had said, there was no way to predict the outcome. Waiting and hoping was all that Cloud could do.

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

Nearly two hours later, Cloud stopped working out and went downstairs to have a shower. He reached the bottom of the spiral staircase and moved down the hall, passing the laundry room on his way into the living room. The main bathroom was next to his bedroom down the opposite hallway. He stopped for a moment when he found Sephiroth sitting exactly where he’d left him, only now he was wearing his newly washed and dried black pants. He hadn’t put on his harness or leather jacket yet, so his chest remained delightfully bare. Not that the other clothing articles hid much of the best parts of Sephiroth’s chest but they would have been at least some cover.

~I really need to look into getting him some clothes, as soon as he’s up to it,~ Cloud thought as his blue eyes caressed Sephiroth’s pectorals and abdominal muscles of their own accord. ~Too much more of seeing his chest and I’m going to lose my cool and stop caring whether he can get a hard-on or not.~ He just couldn’t help it—the man’s chest was so fucking beautiful and sexy…like the rest of him.

Sephiroth hadn’t looked up when he entered the room. He was absorbed in the documents and by the way he paused now and then to frown and rub his temples, he was having trouble dealing with the information he was finding. It was then that Cloud saw the neat stack of papers that Sephiroth had already gone through resting on the coffee table. He was already more than halfway through them!

~God the man can read! To go through all that confusing mess that quick…he must have read every book in the Shinra mansion when he locked himself in there!~

Not wanting to disturb him, Cloud said nothing and began to cross the room as quietly as he could. As soon as he started to pass in front of him, Sephiroth glanced up, looked back down and immediately looked up at him again. Cloud stopped and swallowed, wondering what the expression of contemplation on the other man’s face meant.

Sephiroth noticed that Cloud was shirtless and sweaty and he was briefly distracted from his deep thoughts at the sight of the blonde’s lithe form. He observed that although Cloud was slight of build, his muscles were finely toned. It didn’t really surprise him, considering the strength the young man had demonstrated in the reactor years ago, but for some reason he’d expected him to be on the skinny side. His body was nicely built and well-proportioned to his size, his nipples were small and pink and his chest and stomach were smooth and free of body hair…except for the soft-looking, sparse trail of fine golden hair that started as a thin line below his navel and widened subtly further down. The rest of it disappeared beneath the elastic of Cloud’s sweatpants, where Sephiroth imagined it framed the blonde’s genitals perfectly.

Sephiroth thought that Cloud was most certainly aesthetically pleasing to the eye and though it didn’t awaken his groin, he entertained himself with a brief fantasy of running his hands over that slight, sweet frame. It would undoubtedly be a pleasing experience, to stroke the soft skin and make the blonde harden with arousal. Sephiroth put the fantasy away with a bit of regret and let his eyes travel to Cloud’s face. By the expression he found there, the young man didn’t know what to think of his lingering gaze.

~Good. I don’t mind enjoying thoughts of more pleasant encounters with Strife, so long as he doesn’t know about them.~

Cloud shifted uncomfortably, unnerved by that mute, pondering stare. “I’m going to have a shower and change,” he finally said when Sephiroth’s silence got to be too much for him. “Did you want to have a break after that to go to the shops for some clothes?”

Sephiroth considered the question for a moment. “Not today, Cloud. I’d like to finish this first.”

Cloud nodded and started to turn away but he noticed the trembling in the other man’s hand as he reached for another document. Sephiroth was hiding it well but his condition wasn’t as drastically improved as Cloud first thought. He realized that Sephiroth was probably still feeling too weak to go out anywhere and it wouldn’t surprise him if he were still a bit nauseous. Cloud swallowed again as he walked away, knowing that at this rate Sephiroth would be finished with all of the research documents by the end of the day, and when that happened things were either going to get very ugly or improve.

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

Cloud spent the rest of the day fine-tuning, polishing and oiling Fenrir. It soothed his mind to work on the motorcycle and he talked to it as if it were a chocobo while he worked.

“What do you think, boy? Do you think he’ll got nuts again or will he come to his senses and give the world back a hero it still needs?”

Cloud smirked and shook his head, annoyed with himself for being so dramatic…and so pathetic. “Look at me, Fenrir—still thinking of him as a shining hero and still drawn to him like a moth to the flame. I’m a real bonehead.”

Though the cycle couldn’t respond in any real way, it was still a comfort to confide in it. Cloud had put so much care in building Fenrir he really felt like it had a spirit and that on some level, it could understand his words and empathize with him.

Cloud completed his loving work and peered through the high-mounted window on the garage door, noticing that it was getting dark outside. Sephiroth would probably be finished with the documents soon and it was close to time for dinner. He wasn’t a great cook but he was pretty good at throwing stuff in a pot and making a decent stew. Provided he didn’t end up having to knock Sephiroth out to stop a repeat of Nibelheim, he’d try to make a decent supper tonight.

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

Cloud entered the living room slowly, reluctantly. He could see Sephiroth, standing up between the couch and the coffee table with a glass of water clutched in his right hand and a worn document clutched in his left. The hand holding the document squeezed into a fist as Cloud approached, balling the paper up. Cloud instinctively knew that it was the last document in the collection and his heart alternately ached with impending loss and pounded with impending doom.

Licking dry lips, the blonde approached. “Sephiroth,” he said softly. Every muscle in his body was tense as he watched the general’s head turn to regard him. The slit pupils of the blazing green eyes were narrowed thinly—a bad sign.

“Are you certain Hojo’s dead?” Sephiroth questioned in a low, dangerous voice.

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. We’re ninety-nine percent sure.”

The pupils expanded slightly. “Ninety-nine percent?”

“Well, we thought you were dead more than once and you came back,” Cloud answered truthfully, “so at this point I’m thinking there’s always a chance…but yeah, he’s dead.”

Sephiroth didn’t move. His jaw was tense as he asked; “And Lucrecia? My…mother?”

He’d hesitated when he called Lucrecia his mother but Cloud didn’t detect a note of sarcasm. The hesitation was due to Sephiroth being unused to thinking of his mother as Lucrecia, not denial. The fact that he accepted the truth wasn’t enough to relieve Cloud just yet.

“She’s gone too. I’m sorry, Sephiroth. I think she died sometime after Hojo stopped her from—“

“—Interfering,” finished the silver-haired man darkly, his eyes unfocusing and his mouth hardening.

Cloud nodded. “From what I know, she loved you. She never wanted…this…for you.”

Sephiroth’s eyes focused on him again and Cloud saw the struggle between rage, grief and bewilderment in them. He started forward, not knowing what he could possibly say or do to help but determined to do something. The glass in Sephiroth’s right hand cracked and shattered from the force of his grip and Cloud’s newest and most pressing concern became the damage that the other man was doing to his hand. Blood dripped from between Sephiroth’s knuckles as he crushed the glass and closed his hand into a fist.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud cried as he launched himself across the distance and grabbed the other man’s right wrist. If he felt any pain, Sephiroth didn’t react to it. He was breathing heavily and staring blankly at the spot Cloud had just vacated, oblivious to his injury or the fact that he was making it worse by squeezing the broken shards into his skin.

Cloud’s mind raced as he tried to pry the general’s fingers open. It was like trying to move a statue made of steel. “Shit,” he swore, “Open your fucking hand!”

Compelled by the blonde’s order, Sephiroth obeyed. Cloud worked fast to pull out the shards that he could with his bare fingers, ignoring the bright blood that got onto his clothes. He stood up and tugged the taller man’s wrist. “Come with me to the kitchen so I can rinse it and see what the hell I’m doing,” he demanded.

Sephiroth followed mechanically, his rage having momentarily stunned him as his mind worked out the details and struggled to cope. He felt the sting of his wounds distantly, saw his companion working frantically over his bleeding hand. Slowly, he brought himself under control and came back to the world. The first thing that stuck in his mind was how diligently Cloud was cleaning his injuries. The blonde yanked a kitchen drawer open and grabbed a dishtowel, quickly binding the damaged hand to staunch the bleeding as well as he could. Then he looked up at Sephiroth with determined, aching blue eyes.

“You don’t have to be alone in this,” Cloud said. His voice was masculine and sweet at once and his hands applied pressure to the makeshift bandage. “Sephiroth, don’t go away. Not this time.”

Sephiroth slowly tilted his head, comprehending the young man’s emotional words slowly. “Cloud,” he said softly, “I’m beginning to believe what Zack said about you.”

Confusion played over the blonde’s sculpted, youthful features. “I don’t know what that means,” Cloud murmured, “but you look like you’re at least trying to stay with me. I’m going to call the doctor, okay? Promise me you won’t move.”

Sephiroth nodded. He didn’t know what he wanted to do anymore but as of this moment, arguing with Cloud wasn’t it.

~*****************************~
-To be continued.