Title: Self-Control

Author: Kayne

Rating: M

Characters: SquallxCloud, Aeris, Cid

Warnings: Yaoi, minor language 'cause Cid's a potty mouth.

Disclaimer: Squeenix owns all.

Summary: Cloud wants sex. Squall wants to sleep. Minor carnage ensues.

Cloud Strife let out a frustrated whine as rolled over for what seemed like the millionth time that night. He knew it was useless: sleep would continue to elude him until the dark-haired man dozing peacefully beside him decided to wake up and give Cloud a helping hand, so to speak. The ex-SOLDIER scooted closer to Squall and ran his fingers lightly down the other man's bare back. He didn't want to wake his lover; to do so would be to admit he needed help, and that was something Cloud hated. A little sexual frustration was something he could deal with.

Squall on the other hand was oblivious to his lover's plight. He had remained awake long enough to give Cloud a sleepy kiss, change into a pair of linen pants, and collapse onto the bed. The day-to-day routine of keeping Hollow Bastion safe and functional was taking its toll on the scarred man, leaving him completely exhausted by the end of the day. This was the first night he had refused sex, however: something Cloud didn't think would ever happen.

Sighing, Cloud rolled onto his back and shut his eyes, willing his mind to shut down and let him sleep. Maybe he could get Aeris to do a sleep spell... He glanced at the clock and snorted. It was three in the morning; there was no way Aeris would appreciate him waking her up at this hour. He continued his gentle exploration of Squall's back, caressing the bare flesh softly with his fingertips and tracing every scar that marred the otherwise flawless skin. Muscles fluttered under his touch as his hands wandered over to Squall's sensitive abdomen.

"Cloud?" Squall's sleep-roughened voice rumbled as he turned to look at the blond. "You okay?"

Heat rose to Cloud's cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I woke you up; just couldn't sleep."

"S'okay," Squall murmured, his eyelids drooping as he fought to stay awake. He ran a hand through Cloud's unruly blond hair. "Anything I can help with?"

Cloud's inner teenager cheered and he allowed a small smile to tug at his lips. Leaning in close, he pressed a kiss to Squall's throat, letting his tongue flick across the other man's pulse point. "Maybe," he purred. Seduction had never been his strong point, but he was desperate enough to give it a try. His hands drifted to his lover's flat stomach, fingernails lightly scratching the sensitive flesh. Squall sucked in a sharp breath, causing Cloud to redouble his efforts.

"Cloud," Squall rasped, the word coming out as more of a moan than anything else. He pushed weakly at Cloud's shoulder, trying to force him back. "Cloud, stop," he repeated, this time with more of a commanding tone.

Cloud reluctantly lifted his head from his assault on the bigger man's neck, eyes searching the scarred face in confusion. "Not tonight," Squall said tiredly. "I need to get some rest." He touched Cloud's cheek gently and rolled back over to his previous position. Within seconds, his breathing evened out and he was asleep.

Miffed and slightly wounded by his apparent rejection, Cloud stared at his lover for a few long moments before lying back down. He turned away from Squall and shut his eyes, steeling himself for the rest of what he knew would be a long night.

Morning couldn't come too soon in Cloud's opinion. His back was stiff from his constant tossing and turning and he was sure he looked like he had been attacked by rabid chocobos in the middle of the night. He rubbed his reddened eyes as he stumbled into the mess hall, where Aeris waited for him with his customary bowl of cereal. Everyone else, including Squall, seemed to have already gone to their respective assignments.

"Rough night?" Aeris asked sympathetically as Cloud flopped down into his chair across from her. Her soft aqua eyes studied him carefully, taking in his disheveled state.

Cloud grunted and ate his breakfast mechanically; wishing Aeris would let him wallow in his misery alone.

No such luck. Aeris took a seat next to him and rubbed his back. She was obviously aware of Cloud's desire to be left alone, but choosing to ignore it. "Anything I can help with?" A brief pause, then: "Anything to do with Leon?"

Cloud sighed. Damn; the girl was good. Discussing his sex life, or lack thereof, with Aeris was not something he wanted to do, but he knew full well Aeris wouldn't go away until she'd heard what was bothering him. Swallowing a bite of cereal, he leaned back in his chair. "It's probably nothing," he said carefully. "Squall just wasn't… himself… last night."

"Was he upset?"

Cloud winced. She was just going to make him come right out and say the reason he couldn't sleep was because he didn't get laid. Right. That would go over well. "He wasn't upset," he began reluctantly. "He just didn't want to… you know…" he trailed off as he felt a wave of heat rush to his cheeks, steadily avoiding Aeris' gaze.

Aeris laughed, causing Cloud to blush even deeper. She waved her hand in apology as her giggles died down. "I'm sorry, Cloud; I'm not laughing at you," she chortled. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, well, it's not like Squall refusing sex is a normal occurrence," Cloud retorted defensively, still embarrassed by the whole conversation. "He may act like the Ice King around you guys, but he still has the typical male needs."

"I know, I'm not implying that," Aeris replied, rubbing Cloud's back. "You probably just caught him on one of the seven days out of the year in which a guy is legitimately too tired or too busy to want sex." She gave him a friendly one-armed hug. "I'm sure he'll be back to normal tonight, Cloud. He's been really stressed lately."

Cloud was sure his cheeks were as red as Aeris' jacket. Why couldn't a portal to the world of darkness just open and swallow him whole? Or perhaps maybe Sephiroth could choose that moment to randomly wink into existence, as was his custom, and make a Cloud-kabob with Masamune. The only thing that could make the situation worse was…

"What the fuck's wrong with you, Blondie?"

Ah yes, Cid Highwind. Right on cue.

"Nothing," Cloud hissed, silently hoping Yuffie would break something in Cid's gummi garage so the older man would leave.

"Cloud just didn't sleep well last night," Aeris explained, continuing to rub the blond's back. Cloud felt his eyes drifting shut. Why didn't he date her again? Oh, yeah… that whole being gay thing…. Maybe Squall would give him a back rub.

Cid raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't sleep?" He grinned and slapped Cloud heartily on the back. "Way to go, boy! About time you got laid!"

Cloud opened one eye and glared at the pilot. "Trust me; that's not what happened," he muttered. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

Aeris finally seemed to take the hint. She gave Cloud's back one final pat and tugged on Cid's arm. "Come on, Cid. Cloud needs to finish his breakfast."

"Hn. All right, I guess I should get back to the garage; if that little fucker Yuffie's gotten into my stuff again, she's dead," the rugged pilot muttered as he sauntered out of the mess hall. Aeris laughed and waved to Cloud as she followed Cid.

Cloud let his head fall onto the table in frustration, no longer caring about finishing his sugary cereal. He was on patrol duty in the marketplace that day, which would be fairly uneventful, but he needed to report to Squall on time. Sighing, the ex-SOLDIER rose to his feet and tossed his unfinished bowl of cereal into the sink and grabbed the First Tsurugi from the weapons locker.

Two agonizingly frustrating nights and several arctic showers later, Cloud was ready to snap. His blue eyes flickered green with Mako as he stared at his lover, who seemed oblivious to the blond's state. Squall was completely engrossed in reading Sora's latest transmission from wherever the hell the teen was this week. Agrabah? No, wait; that was last week. Something to do with beasts…

"Another Organization member is down," Squall commented, his sudden vocalization startling Cloud. The scarred man put down the paper and rubbed his eyes wearily. "I wish the leader would show himself; once he's defeated, the rest of the Organization won't be a problem."

Cloud merely blinked in response, only hearing about half of what Squall was saying. He was quite proud of himself for having so far resisted the urge to jump the older man, but his control was rapidly slipping away. Especially with Squall stretching like that: a slow, luxurious movement that caused the muscles in his arms and chest to ripple and his white tee shirt to slide up a bit, revealing a teasing strip of tanned skin. Cloud swallowed heavily and bit his tongue to hold back a whimper.

Squall yawned and ran a hand through his long hair, unaware of the incredible feat of self-control going on across the table. "I'm going to bed, Cloud," he said, giving the younger man one of his rare gentle smiles. His grey eyes softened as he walked over and softly kissed Cloud.

Fuck self-control.

Cloud was on his feet in nanoseconds and pushed Squall backwards until the older man's back hit the wall. The ex-SOLDIER's eyes glowed eerily as he stared into Squall's surprised mercury ones. Wedging one leg firmly between his lover's, Cloud pressed his lips forcefully against the other man's.

Squall opened his mouth to protest and Cloud simply took that opportunity to deepen the kiss, feeling the other man's taut muscles relax as he returned the kiss tentatively. Shivering as he felt Squall's hands tangle in his hair, Cloud smiled inwardly. He could get used to this being-dominant thing; normally Squall was the forceful one in their relationship. Pulling back, the blond smirked at the disheveled ex-SeeD. "Bed. Now," he purred, grazing his teeth along Squall's throat.

"Agreed," Squall gasped, letting his head fall back against the wall with a resounding thunk. Cloud chuckled and licked a path up his lover's neck before capturing his lips with his own. Finally things were starting to go his way.

"Leon, it's Cid. We got a problem down here in the garage," came Cid's voice from the comm unit on the desk.

Squall broke the kiss and glanced hesitantly toward the comm. "I should really-"

"If you go down there, Squall Leonhart, you are sleeping on the couch for a month," Cloud growled, eyes flashing with Mako.

Raising an eyebrow, Squall snorted and pushed the smaller man away. "Then you wouldn't be getting any; you wouldn't last three days." He grabbed his jacket from the chair and pulled it on.

"I'm not getting any now!" Cloud exploded. "Every night this week you've been too tired or too busy or too something!" He ran a hand through his spiky blond hair. "I can't help it Squall; I need you." His voice no longer sounded angry, just tired and hurt.

Squall walked over to the younger man, cupping his head in both hands and kissed him gently. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked quietly, grey eyes searching Cloud's face.

"I figured it would eventually get through your thick skull," Cloud said with a slight smile. "And I didn't want to be too needy," he added hesitantly.

Squall let his jacket fall to the floor as he walked over to the comm unit. "Cid? Something came up; I can't come down right now. Get Tifa or someone to help you right now and I'll be down in the morning," he said, reverting back to his usual "leader" tone.

He padded back over to Cloud and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Now," he purred, nipping the blond's lower lip. "I believe I owe you something?"

"Damn straight," Cloud hissed as Squall's lips fastened themselves onto his collarbone. "You owe me three nights worth of somethings, Leonhart."

Squall chuckled and pulled Cloud into the bedroom. After all, no one could say Squall Leonhart was a man who never repaid his debts.

-Finit