As much as I would like to, I do not own Final Fantasy or anything associated with it.
Warning! The following contains shonen-ai, and might be offensive to some readers. If you do not like shonen-ai, or plan to send nasty messages to me about how wrong this story is, please do not read it. If you do send me nasty messages... you can just to fall in a hole.
To everyone else: Enjoy!
Slip Away
Silver hair fell through Cloud's slender, gloved fingers as Kadaj's delicate frame lay in his arms. Rain mixed with the tears that rolled down his cheeks. He wasn't crying for the man dying in his arms, but rather for the man who, just moments before, had disappeared in a flurry of black feathers. I'll never be a memory... Those five little words rang clear in the blond man's mind. That's all Sephiroth could be for him, though. All Cloud had were the bright, happy memories of a tangible and loving general. The tears rolled down his cheeks in larger quantities at the recollection of the man who once was his life and his only love. Guilt washed over him as he remembered how he had tried to replace Sephiroth. He never loved Aerith or Tifa the way he had loved his silver-haired angel. That wasn't enough to bring him back, though. The Sephiroth being puppetted by Jenova would surely have shaken off the bonds that held him to an evil purpose by now if that was all he needed to hear. A slight movement broke his train of thought. Kadaj raised a weak arm to the sky as his body slowly moved upward to join the lifestream. Cloud's fingers clenched at the spot where Kadaj's hair once was. His body shuddered and a sob slipped past his lips. He couldn't take it anymore. What was once a few small beads of salt water was now a flood of tears flowing freely as if a dam had burst open behind his clear blue eyes. His hands covered his face as his neck arched downward. In his breakdown he could not hear the pair of footsteps approaching his shaking form.
In an instant it was all gone- the tears and pain of a lost love melted away as a bullet made its way into his skull. A hurting heart shattered with bone and sorrowful memories broke free from his mind as blood poured from the open wound. All went dark and his body felt as if it was being enveloped in a blanket of feathers. His eyes opened at the soft touch of a familiar hand against the cool skin of his cheek. Silver hair tickled his forehead as gentle lips touched his. Surrounded by light and in the arms of his lover, he was home.