Demon Kiss

By: Jades

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters therein and I make no profit from this fic.

The wind was acrid, a hot, musty caress, and it scraped across Reno's skin with the urgency of a fervent lover. And maybe it was. Reno had not played footsy with the sun in what felt like many a year. A small smile adorned his lips. Far too long, he thought. The waning light warmed his cheeks with a seductive glow, and though his skin was unnaturally fair, he knew it wouldn't burn. Not now. Not ever again. Not since that day…

Reno settled himself against a large outcropping of rock to wait. It wouldn't be long. Humans were nothing if not consistent. Bring into the equation petty greed and pointless grudges and they were downright predictable. Like me. Random flashes of memory, images he couldn't quite place, feelings he couldn't quite identify sounded in his mind, but over the years, Reno had gone numb to any power they might have had, their intoxicating sway long lost in the waves of time. He'd been human once, and while he could recall instances, certain circumstances of that section of his past, he no longer remembered how it felt.

Only one single human sensation stayed with him, and that was the moment that his humanity had been stripped from him. The fear, the anger, the muddled lust, the irrepressible urge to sink, coupled with an untamable hunger…it was coiled and blurred into one unnamed emotion, bottled deep inside Reno's subconscious, only surfacing when He came. Which he almost never did. He was the Angel. The Demon. The Reason they existed. The One. Sephiroth.

Sephiroth was never there. He showed his face to no one, appearing to his hand-picked children once every decade or so. It was true that they were technically all his children; He was the first, and all of them started with him, but it was only the few he chose, the ones he himself turned, that got to see him, to know. Reno was one of the few, the blessed, and because of his selection, regardless of being infinitely younger, Reno was stronger than most of the other descendants. A pureblood always suffused more power than someone receiving it down through the generations. It was kind of ironic when you though about the fact that you could have existed for centuries and someone reborn a day ago could be stronger than you. It all came down to parentage, and Reno had that in spades.

Reno ran a hand through his rakish hair, lifting the ornery strands out of his eyes as he scanned the horizon. They should be here…just over that rise… Soon, he promised himself. He let his gaze focus on the sky, the milky violet tones comfortingly familiar. Tell me, Zack, will you appreciate what I will give you? Will you forgive me? Or perhaps…perhaps you would prefer death? I cannot stop what fate will deal you, my friend, but I can let you out the other side…

Footsteps echoed over the empty plane, quick, desperate, sluggish steps. Reno pulled himself to his feet, waiting. Soon enough, two men stumbled into view. Zack, looking a little worse for wear, forced himself forward, a thin, doll-like blond tucked under his arm. Zack had always been over protective. Looking him over, Reno decided that Zack looked more worn than anything. There was a numbing weariness that hung over him like a storm that wouldn't break, a cloying aura of despair. His face was haggard and lined, and his vibrant, determined eyes were faded but still alive. He seemed jaded, embittered somehow, and his usual exuberance was dampened by whatever mission immediately consumed him, but it was still Zack. And he was drawing closer and closer by the second. Reno smiled. At last, it was finally time.

There were raucous shouts in the distance, the threat of imminent pursuit. Reno watched as Zack gently laid his companion on the ground, whispered a promise to return, then drew his sword and headed back to meet their trackers head on, a brave, selfless act, but foolish, and in the end, hopeless.

The gunshots were loud and abrasive, and they echoed doom and possibility simultaneously in Reno's ears. Zack stumbled back into view, clutching his chest, and the red that seeped between his fingers was far too tantalizing, alluring with ridiculous effectiveness. The scent of it nearly drove Reno forward, but he forced himself to hold back, to wait. Just a little longer now. A few more moments to see what fate would decide.

Two more shots rang out, and Zack fell to his knees. Blood spewed from his mouth as he gasped for painful breaths he couldn't quite get. It was a cruel, unnecessary end, and Reno ached in places he couldn't remember having nerves. He hurt for Zack, hated that he'd been so close to freedom, despised the fact that he'd had his life ripped from him so brutally, but even as Reno felt this, he was licking his lips in anticipation.

Zack crawled, inching forward, his eyes on his final goal—his prone companion. Whether he was still trying to save him somehow, or whether he wanted a hand to hold, an anchor as he died, Reno wasn't sure, but it was a pitiful, heart-wrenching sight. A few feet short of the blond's body, a masked figure approached, kicking Zack over onto his back with a heart clunking sound.

Reno snarled, his lips pulling back over his angry teeth. This was unneeded. Zack would die, of that much he was sure, they didn't need to abuse him on his way out! As the masked man aimed his gun at Zack's bleeding chest, Reno rushed forward, a blur of motion. He wrenched the assailant's head from his shoulders as the man fired a final, damning shot. The bullet collided with Zack's flesh with a sickening thump, and the fresh scent of blood spilled over Reno's senses.

The rest of the party crested the ridge as the body of Zack's attacker fell to the ground in an unceremonious, bloody heap. They stopped, dead still, their invasive noise falling silent as the grave as they stared. Reno pulled himself up to his full height and faced them. His voice was deep and cold. "You have done enough damage here. Leave while I am still willing to grant you your lives." Reno was relatively glad when they fled. He could hunt them down and kill them all later. Right now there were more important things to attend to.

He knelt down next to Zack, whose breathing was shallow and gurgling. Blood trickled from his mouth in a near steady stream now, and the only brightness left in those violet eyes was from the pain. Reno traced a gentle hand down Zack's face. Zack's expression changed as he tried to focus his eyes, as he struggled to recognize him, and a pang of something akin to sadness took root in Reno's body. He shushed the boy tenderly. "Don't worry, Zack," he promised, "I'll take care of it."

Leaning down, Reno settled his lips against Zack's, licking over the stained, supple flesh, indulging his whims, greedily tasting the blood that filled Zack's mouth. Reno could feel his skin heating, feel the pulsing need that pounded inside him, and he pulled back from Zack's lips, breathless and flushed. Fear tinged Zack's gaze as Reno carefully, lovingly slid an arm under Zack's shoulders. Reno lifted the dying man towards him, his head bowing to nuzzle against Zack's blood-spattered neck. Reno licked teasingly against the life-throbbing vein at the juncture, biding his time, waiting… When he felt Zack go rigid in his arms, felt the tell-tale shudder of death, he bit.

Reno's aching fangs slid deep into Zack's body, penetrating the very core of Zack's existence. Zack's body, heart, and soul rushed up into his mouth, dizzying Reno with its intensity, but he didn't stop. He sucked long and deep, taking all that Zack had to give, claiming it for his own, so that he could give it back to him. When Zack's heart finally ceased its beating, when pained breaths no longer came, Reno pulled back, laying Zack back against the tainted ground. Taking a moment, Reno studied Zack's lifeless form. It was so still, so serene it its ravaged perfection. His eyes still stared with unfinished purposes that flickered their last. Strange to see Zack in death, when he'd been the vibrant example of life for so long…

Shaking his head, Reno went back to the task at hand. He only had a few precious seconds to call Zack back from the void, before his spirit would be absorbed by the Lifestream. Biting into his own tongue until he drew blood, Reno leaned once more over Zack's body and pressed their mouths together. So different this time. So still… He pushed his bleeding tongue between Zack's slack lips. He slicked it around Zack's mouth, coating his inner sanctity with life-ridden red, brushing it over Zack's motionless tongue, letting his blood drip and ease down Zack's throat.

Once he was satisfied, Reno sat back…and waited…

After a few endless moments, Zack moved, slow, languid movements that started at his toes and gradually made its way up his body, rippling like liquid reactions. His fingers flexed and curled. His chest trembled to life, expanding with the weight of air being reinstated into the punctured lungs that were healing themselves. Zack's eyes opened, and behind the deep, faded violet was a curtain of black velvet, a harsh, midnight softness that shone like the stars. Rising to a sitting position, Zack scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally falling on Reno, who was watching him like a possessive predator. He stared into Reno's green visage, letting all his questions fall silent. He knew all there was to know. Seizing one of Reno's hands in his own, Zack lifted the cold fingers to his mouth and kissed them reverently.

"I know what it is you want from me." Zack said quietly, his voice a bit strange from the myriad of changes he'd undergone. "And I'll give it to you. But I have one request."

Reno raised an intrigued eyebrow. Leave it to Zack to be less that a minute reborn and already asking for favors. He gave Zack an appraising look. "And what would that be, pray tell?"

Zack sighed, then let his eyes travel to where the blond still lay, still and silent, his eyes growing even darker. "It's the only thing I want." Zack whispered. He turned his eyes back to Reno, his new master. "Let me save him."

tbc...