Good Things Happen in Threes

by sephcounttheways

Sephiroth has the worst New Year's Eve ever, but everything happens for a reason.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Sephiroth asked.

"It's not like that, I just... I didn't mean for this to happen," Cloud sobbed into a wad of toilet paper. "I just didn't know how to tell you I was leaving. I thought it would be easier to just... go while you were at work."

Sephiroth slowly dragged his eyes around his apartment, and it looked completely barren without Cloud's pictures, posters, and clothes strewn about. He'd always been the messier of the two, and evidence of his presence could be found everywhere.

Now it was all gone, and the final box was dropped by the door when Sephiroth had returned him early from work to surprise Cloud with New Year's Eve party plans. He'd been the one surprised instead, and had caught his boyfriend of seven long years in the middle of vacating their apartment.

"I'm sorry," Cloud kept saying, his voice husky from crying. He attempted to sit up straight and look into Sephiroth's furious eyes. "I love you, Seph. You have done so much for me... and that's part of the problem. If I don't push myself to go now, I'll never go. And I need to do this."

"You mentioned once -" Sephiroth's voice cracked, and he tried to swallow the sound and cover it up with roaring anger. "- that you were thinking about applying to some school in Junon. How did thinking about it turn into you fucking dumping me while I'm at work?"

Cloud wasn't good at confrontation, and desperately tried to stand up to his larger boyfriends imposing form and louder voice. "I've tried talking to you about it! I've tried - "

"You didn't try hard enough!"

"You don't let me talk about anything!"

Sephiroth dragged his hands over his face, utterly unprepared for this and not having a clue as to what to do or what to say. He knew yelling wasn't helping; it was making Cloud tremble and cry as fighting always did. But that show of vulnerability only made his anger multiply when it made him pity a person who was ripping his heart apart. "Look… If you need change in your life, why can't you do that here in Midgar?"

Cloud sat beside Sephiroth, reached out to grip his hands. "You don't need change like I do. You love your job. You make great money, and you're good at it. You love your friends. You love this city."

"I love you," Sephiroth growled, lacing his fingers between Cloud's.

"I love you, too," Cloud looked into his eyes. "But I have to go, and you have to stay."

Sephiroth was a personal trainer who was paid an obscene amount of money by overweight soccer moms to whip them into shape, and paid even more money by athletes on their off season who wanted to maintain their form. He hadn't needed a degree to land his position, he was just the sort of person who was naturally able to inspire others. He had a few essential licenses in nutrition, health and safety and could get a job anywhere on the planet with his appearance and his experience.

The fact that Cloud was somehow holding this success against him was insane. "Why are you leaving for Junon tonight? On New Year's Eve?"

"My dorm room just became available today, so I called the restaurant and told them I quit. I spent today just... tying loose ends and finishing my packing. I didn't originally plan to leave while you were gone, I just thought it'd be easier -"

"I know a lot of people in Junon, one guy works for their minor league teams," Sephiroth stood up and began to assess the living room, deciding that to leave behind. "I can stay with him until I find a place of my own near your campus, I'm sure he can get me into a gym for work -"

"Seph, stop..." Cloud sobbed a little as his tears began to drop steadily. "I need to go alone."

"Am I supposed to just do nothing and let this happen?"

"It's already happened!" Cloud shouted, finding a voice in his sore throat to match his partner's volume. "And it's been coming for a long time! I'm sorry you're too fucking busy to realize it, but I've been dropping hints like you wouldn't believe! I've spoken on the phone to the school right in front of you. I've left mail from the school out for you to notice or ask me about -"

"You're punishing me like this for being too busy to notice hints? Are you fucking serious right now?"

"You're not that busy, Seph. You just aren't interested in what I want. You just want me to sit quietly in the background of your life and play house with you, and that's not good enough for me."

Sephiroth's shoulders dropped in utter astonishment. "That's not fucking true. Don't you think it's worth a shot to try and make this work? You've been my whole world since high school. You're more than my boyfriend, you're... my family. Is it really so easy for you to just walk away from me?"

Cloud tried to choose his words carefully. "High school ended five years ago. You've been doing great, but I haven't. I can't get accepted into Midgar University, and I can't spend another year waiting tables to try applying again. University of Junon has a way better archeology program, and they've... accepted me."

"That's great. Really, that is fucking awesome for you," Sephiroth hissed angrily, trying to be supportive, absorb this shock, and maintain composure at the same time. "But... why didn't you sit me down and just tell me? I could have shared this with you, ya know. I could have been happy about this news and been a part of this."

Cloud said nothing. He made several false starts, but ended up just shrugging his shoulders.

Sephiroth scoffed in disbelief. "If you don't love me anymore, just say it."

Cloud hiccupped, and tried to dry his eyes enough to be taken seriously. "Of course I love you, Seph. I'm always going to be fucking crazy about you. But... we've been living together since senior year of high school, and I still feel sixteen. I'm never going to find out who I am if I don't spend some time on my own. The same goes for you -"

"I know who I am. I don't need a fucking university to tell me who I am. I just know."

"That's what I love about you," Cloud smiled sadly. "I want to be strong like you, more than I want to just... follow you. I don't even make enough money to help with bills here, this entire place is yours. I know you can take care of me, but I want to take care of myself."

"I can help you with this," Sephiroth insisted.

"I know you could," Cloud agreed. "But I need to do this on my own. I need to be my own person, and learn how to take care of myself."

Sephiroth stood up with wordless growl of pure frustration, and finally said what he'd been thinking since the day they met, when this little blonde teenager proclaimed that he wanted to study fossils when he grew up. "How the fuck are you going to take care of yourself with a degree in archeology? You're really gonna leave me to waste years of your life and thousands of gil getting a pointless degree in one of the most closed-off fields in the world? You actually think you're going to make any sort of living studying dirt?"

"Isn't it important that I try?"

Sephiroth's mouth was wide open to retort, but he couldn't form words.

Cloud took the rare opportunity of Sephiroth's silence to repeat himself, "Even if I fail... isn't it important to try?"

It suddenly all seemed very clear, and it made his heart ache to realize that nothing he was saying was going to make Cloud change his mind. Sephiroth sat back down beside him, and rubbed his aching forehead. "Okay, I get it. I've been making you hold off on your dreams. I discouraged you, and this is your big final 'fuck you'."

"No! Not even! That's the last thing I wanted to do to you, Seph!" Cloud's voice broke as tears continued to pour down his cheeks, "It's not your fault I've waited so long to start my life. I know you're content with me just waiting tables and never going to school, you'd be fine if I just gave up. But I'm not content with that."

"Why?" Sephiroth asked.

"I wanna be the kind of guy you deserve to be with," Cloud admitted this like it was a bad taste in his mouth. He felt like the biggest moron on the face of the planet, and looked helplessly up at his tall, handsome, successful boyfriend with a perfect body. And in that moment especially, he didn't feel like he deserved to be anywhere near him. "I wanna be someone strong, who at least tried to make something of himself. As it is... I'm not your partner, I'm just your dependent. Does that make any sense at all?"

In that moment Sephiroth saw Cloud as a grown, twenty-three-year-old man, and not the young boy he'd fallen for so long ago. Sephiroth was only a year older, but wanted to take care of this person from the moment they'd met. Cloud was always a bright young man, and had major ambitions of his own that had sort of dwindled down into a ho-hum existence in recent years. Sephiroth wasn't even entirely sure how Cloud spent his time when he wasn't at work. Usually Sephiroth just came home at night and talked about his own life, which was far more active, and filled with client drama.

Sephiroth recalled many times Cloud talking about visiting museums with his friends, and a few times a year he went to hear various speakers talk about earth science shit. But it was a very quiet little hobby in the face of Sephiroth's work life, where he heard all about the insider gossip about the lives of professional athletes.

It was probably just as interesting to Cloud as ancient dirt was to Sephiroth. They had vastly different interests and personalities, but... something always just worked right between the two of them. Sex with Cloud was always amazing. And it was nice coming home from a very shallow world to someone warm, down to earth, intelligent and good at listening. Sephiroth supposed he did get rather used to having Cloud there as a supportive housewife.

Sephiroth swallowed a knot in his throat, because things were making more sense. But it still fucking hurt. "... Are we still together?"

"I honestly don't know how you've stayed with me this long - "

"Please don't start that shit," Sephiroth groaned, achingly sick of this particular paranoia of Cloud's. Just because he was surrounded by perfect bodies at work, didn't mean he wanted to fuck any of them. "Just answer the question."

"It might be good to see other people for a while."

"And why would that be good?" Sephiroth asked.

"We've been together so long. I haven't even kissed anyone but you, Seph... I just think it'd be good to take a break and figure out some stuff."

"And if one of us starts something serious?" Sephiroth questioned. "What am I supposed to do? Keep you on the back burner for the rest of my life in case you change your mind and decide to come back to me? That is so fucking unfair."

"Then if it makes things simpler..." Cloud swallowed uneasily. "Let's just be friends."

"Friends," Sephiroth repeated doubtfully.

"Date people, Seph. I want you to. I want you to see what it's like, and if it's better than being with me I want you to stay with that person. I want you to make yourself happy. But I still wanna be in your life," Cloud was crying and hiccupping like a fucking idiot, this all sounded so much better in his head. But it was out in the open now, and he ventured further. "Would you... even want to be my friend?"

"Of course you're my friend," Sephiroth huffed, yanking Cloud into a tight hug. "You're my best friend. You have been since we were kids."

Cloud didn't hesitate to throw his arms around Sephiroth's waist. They held each other for several minutes, and eventually Cloud's breathing evened out and he managed to mostly stop sobbing.

"You really leaving tonight?" Sephiroth finally asked, his nose against Cloud's neck, breathing in his cologne and his skin.

"Yes," Cloud whispered, not budging from his warm, comfortable place in Sephiroth's arms. That intoxicating comfort was what had his twenties almost halfway over with none of his goals even worked towards, so he pulled away hesitantly. "I'll text you when I get there."

"Okay," Sephiroth conceded, a little intrigued by the wild look in Cloud's wet, reddened eyes. "Are you scared?"

"Yes."

Sephiroth's innate urge to push people to succeed kicked in, and pushed Cloud's hair off his forehead. "Well, don't be. You're smart and you're gonna do great in school. Plus Junon's only three hours away. I'll be there if you ever need me."

"I will!" Cloud shed more tears, his fingers tightening into fists. "I'm glad you came home early today. I would have really regretted leaving without saying any of this. I'm... fucking chicken shit. I'm going to be better than that from now on. You deserved way more than me just leaving."

Sephiroth understood Cloud's personality, his meekness, his desire to always make everyone else happy. This was the one truly selfish thing this boy had ever done in his life, and even though his heart was shattered, he tried to accept this inevitability with dignity. "It's okay Cloud, it's not about me. I'm gonna be fine."

Cloud offered a teary smile. "Can I tell you something?"

"Hm?"

"I'm so excited for everything that's about to happen for the both of us," Cloud told him truthfully. "This is going to be really great for us, to have some time apart for once, and meet new people. We're going to grow, and change, and be better. I know we will."

The tears Sephiroth had been desperately trying to keep pulled back finally fell. He bit down on his lower lip and couldn't speak if he wanted to.

Cloud had only seen his lover cry a handful of times during their relationship, and hated being the reason for them this last time. He wiped the salty trails off of Sephiroth's face, and somehow the small action of taking care of his former lover made his own crying cease for the moment.

"This night sucks," Sephiroth attempted to laugh, but it came out as a weak noise.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah it does. I'm... gonna go now."

Sephiroth looked at the last little box of Cloud's things by the door. "You need help to your car?"

Cloud didn't, but accepted. "Yeah."

They walked down to Cloud's car together, and Sephiroth fit the box in his mostly full back seat. They hugged each other tight, and Cloud treated Sephiroth to one last kiss, but neither were sure what it was for. They'd spent a huge fraction of their young lives kissing each other, fucking each other, and experimenting with both torment and pleasure. They'd memorized every line and curve of each other's bodies, so the last kiss was really unnecessary.

But the last one was one of the best ones, and it was savored. Sephiroth finally pulled away with a shudder, and stepped back to allow Cloud space to get into his car. He touched the window, and Cloud smiled at him from inside as he pulled away and drove off into the night.

Sephiroth got a text just a few moments later. It said, 'talk to you next year'.

He didn't know what to say to that. He just slipped his phone in his back pocket, and went back inside. It was only eight o'clock, but instead of heading to their friends' New Year's Eve party, he cried like he'd never cried in his life.

And then he started to drink. Alcohol took him through a variety of emotions.

Optimism: Maybe Cloud would want to maintain a long distance relationship, it was only a couple of hours to Junon, after all. And a little time apart really would do them good.

Suspicion: Maybe Cloud already had someone new in Junon... if he'd plotted this entire thing, it wasn't too farfetched to think he'd already been testing out the dating pool over there behind Sephiroth's back.

Anger: How dare Cloud keep him trapped in a monogamous relationship for his entire early twenties just to bow out for some noble path to self-discovery? If he was going to do it, he should have done it years ago! Sephiroth could do so much better than a broke ass, short, bookish little nerd with zero muscle mass! He got propositioned every single day, but he had always remained faithful to Cloud, and why?

Self-loathing: Sephiroth loved Cloud so fucking much. There was nobody in the world who understood him like Cloud, or would ever love him like Cloud. He must be a horrible person to be dumped in such an anticlimactic fashion! And he was now twenty-four, his prime was over and love would never touch him again! Nobody wanted him except rich, out of shape society ladies and their closeted husbands!

And finally, alcohol convinced Sephiroth that the battle hadn't even begun. Who the fuck did Cloud think he was? Sephiroth had money, a professional athlete's body, gave head almost every single time they fucked, and was a fantastic provider and loving boyfriend! All that benevolent 'I will always love you', 'My heart will go on' bullshit was a complete cop out, and designed just to soften the blow of this treachery.

Sephiroth decided to drive to Junon and give that ungrateful little bitch a real piece of his mind! He had no idea where Junon University was or even where Cloud was staying on the campus. But damn it, he was going to get there as fast as he could.

He didn't put clothes on, didn't grab his wallet, and didn't even put on shoes. In nothing but a messy silver bun, a pair of joggers, and his bare feet Sephiroth stomped through the snow to his truck. He rolled down the windows, threw on the new Taylor Swift album, jut out his elbow, and roared down the highway towards Junon.

He didn't get very far outside of Midgar. To be fair, even if he wasn't drunk he still wouldn't have been prepared for a herd of chocobos lazily walking across the dark highway. And in the instant before impact, Sephiroth was completely sober.

He ended up spinning into the edge of the forest, his hood smashed like an accordion and venting smoke, and his bumper bent around a thick tree. The chocobo he hit wasn't even scratched, it simply tilted its head at him as though he had done something impolite, and he strutted off into the forest with his flock.

Sephiroth passed out for only a few moments, before slowly coming back to awareness. His shock of sobriety bled away to leave a sick, dizzy sort of intoxication that made his stomach turn. He'd been wearing a seatbelt, and only suffered a bloodless scratch against his throat from the belt digging into his skin. He reached up to flip on the overhead light, and searched for his phone.

It had slid onto the floor by his feet, and he dazedly picked it up with his fingertips. But after hitting the screen a few times, he discovered that the phone's battery had run out. He then remembered that his auto charger was actually in Cloud's car.

Sephiroth threw the useless hunk of technology behind him into the backseat, and dropped his forehead against the steering wheel. Bile was rising, and he barely managed to get the door open before blasting the ground with a couple hours' worth of whiskey, diet soda, and self-pity.

The visceral experience of vomiting further sobered him, and he felt the frosty bite of the snowy icy weather. He slammed the door shut to huddle against the cold, a little too far gone to realize that all his windows were still down. There was nowhere to go, nobody to help him.

This had been the worst night of his entire life. Sephiroth felt fully free to just lean back against his seat and die.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Sephiroth jumped like a startled cat, and blinked out at what he hoped wasn't a cop. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

The stranger looked at the smoking, bent hood of Sephiroth's truck doubtfully. "You're not going anywhere without a tow. Do you have help coming, yet?"

"My phone's dead," Sephiroth explained, sounding much drunker than he felt.

"I'm Angeal Hewley," the man greeted, sticking his hand through the open window to offer a firm shake. "I own Hewley Motors in Midgar. Maybe you know the place?"

Sephiroth's eyes blurred, and he blinked it away. "No..."

"I'm actually in the shop's tow truck right now, I can give you a lift."

"Okay," Sephiroth agreed, closing his eyes. He exhaled, and appeared to have fallen asleep.

"... Hey buddy, I know this is the last thing you wanna deal with, but stay with me for a few more minutes."

"Right," Sephiroth opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "I um... I don't have my wallet on me, but I swear I have insurance and shit. I'm not a complete mess."

"What's your name?"

"Sephiroth Valentine."

That was a mouthful of a name, and Angeal already forgot it. "Okay, do you need to go to a hospital? Were you wearing a seatbelt?"

"No... I mean yes, I was. I'm not hurt, I'm just..."

"Wasted?"

"I'm so sorry, this isn't me. I'm not like this. This is really embarrassing," Sephiroth dropped his head against his steering wheel, trying not to release the heart broken sobs in his throat that were threatening to consume what was left of his dignity.

"I've seen worse, and from less apologetic people," Angeal took the liberty of opening Sephiroth's car door. "You don't even have shoes on? Man, you're lucky I found you instead of a cop. Watch out for the vomit."

Sephiroth made an awkward little leap over the puddle of his own puke. "Thank you."

"You're... ripped," Angeal couldn't help but comment as he got a good look at the man's body once he was standing.

Sephiroth didn't feel ripped in that moment, and crossed his arms with a deep shiver.

"Come on, sit in the truck," Angeal didn't give him the option as he pulled the pale, half naked man over to the cabin of his truck. He wouldn't normally have people sit in there while he was working, but he felt really sorry for this guy. Something bad had to have happened for a guy to be drunk, shirtless, shoeless, and crying on New Year's Eve on the highway in the middle of nowhere. "What was your name again? Sorry it just kind of blew past me."

"Sephiroth Valentine."

"Sephiroth," Angeal repeated. Once he climbed up into the passenger seat, he looked like he might pass out at any moment, so Angeal tried to get as much information from him as he could. "Where do you live?"

"Mm."

Angeal took off his jacket since he was wearing two anyway, and handed it to the shivering drunk. "Sephiroth, stay with me. You're headed Southbound on the highway, so you live near Junon?"

"No no no no no," Sephiroth shook his head as he clumsily pulled the jacket on. "Midgar. I was going to Junon... but I live in Midgar."

"Just tell me your address and I'll get you home."

"Midgar," Sephiroth then recited his apartment's address.

Angeal tapped the information into his phone's GPS, glad to have all of this out of the way so this drunk dude could just go to sleep. "Okay... got it. Now I'm gonna take you home, and you can give me your license and insurance card when we get there. Then I'll take your truck to our shop. We'll get you fixed up in no time, everything's gonna be okay."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Angeal made sure he wasn't closing the door on any fingers or toes, and shut Sephiroth in. It only took about fifteen minutes to get the smashed truck all hooked up and ready to go. His shop had been dismally slow this holiday season, and it was a pretty nice stroke of luck to find a helpless drunk on the highway who needed major car repair.

Angeal felt like he was using the poor guy a little bit, but still... it was better than getting found by a patrolling officer and spending the night in custody, plus all the fines and possible jail time depending on if the guy had a record. Although, Angeal really doubted that the vulnerable man was any kind of hardcore criminal.

He climbed back up into the warmth of the cabin, fully expecting a passed out man to be in the passenger side. Instead Sephiroth was awake, and frowning in the silence.

"You could turn on the radio if you want," Angeal told him. "It's almost midnight, what station do you like?"

Sephiroth didn't reply immediately, he swallowed first. "... I'm fine. Listen to whatever you want."

"I bet you have a pretty interesting story about how you wound up like this," Angeal chuckled, carefully pulling away from the scene of the accident.

"There were chocobos," Sephiroth answered, feeling stupid. "Like... ten of them. They came out of nowhere."

"I'm sure they did more damage to you then you did to them," Angeal laughed.

"Tell me about it," Sephiroth rubbed his forehead and joined in on a strained chuckle.

"But I mean like... how'd you end up here?"

"I'm not a bad person," Sephiroth slurred. "I don't drink and drive and hit chocobos. This isn't me at all."

"You don't seem like a bad person," Angeal agreed, taking a sip from his coffee canister. He held it out to Sephiroth. "Here, it's warm. It'll help."

Sephiroth accepted it, and gulped down way more than was polite. "That's really good, thank you."

"Finish it, I'm pretty wired on caffeine right now." Angeal offered. "I was actually coming back from Junon tonight, delivering a car. I've been drinking coffee all night."

"No better plans for New Years?" Sephiroth asked.

"They say what you do on New Year's, you'll end up doing the rest of the year," Angeal smiled. "My shop really kind of needs the work, so I took the job. Hopefully more will come in soon."

"You've got my truck," Sephiroth drank the rest of Angeal's coffee. "When shit hits the fan for me, great things happen for other people."

"You had a break up," Angeal assumed. "I know you broke up or something tonight. We've got an hour to drive, and I wanna hear about it."

Sephiroth's eyes widened as a sign for a Taco Bell illuminated the next exit. "... I'll tell you everything if you stop there for some food."

"Now?" Angeal balked.

"I haven't eaten anything processed in... three years, I think. At least three years."

"What are you, anyway?" Angeal asked. "A model or something?"

"No, I'm just a trainer. But I have to be fit, especially around the holidays. For the past three months I've only eaten salads and protein shakes. Tonight I want something horrible for me."

Angeal obliged at the next exit, leaving Sephiroth and the tow truck in the parking lot while running inside to place his rather large order of tacos, nachos, burritos, and soda. It was worth it to return to the truck and see the drunk, heartbroken man's pretty face light up at his payload of empty calories.

Sephiroth barely got the wrapper off of a soft taco before biting into it like a carnivore. "Mmfff... Jesus Christ this is good."

"You're gonna feel like shit tomorrow," Angeal laughed.

"Yeah," Sephiroth agreed, but not because of fast food or a hangover. "My whole life turned to shit in the span of three hours. My boyfriend of seven years dumped me and now my truck is trashed. I just wanna enjoy processed carbs."

"Boyfriend?" Angeal probed.

Sephiroth was already halfway through his second taco, "Sorry if that's awkward."

"No, it's not," Angeal took a sip of his soda. "What happened?"

"I think we've been together too long," Sephiroth sighed into his burrito. "Seven years is too long. People change and... shit just wasn't the same. People always acted so jealous that we were high school sweethearts and still together, but Cloud - that's his name - he... he's different than me. He likes reading, science, history, learning... and I'm a meathead. I like talking to people, working out, going to parties, that sort of shit. Something about us just fits, though."

"So why break up?" Angeal asked. "Did he cheat?"

"No. I don't think so," Sephiroth shook his head. "He just wanted a change."

"So it wasn't him or you. It was just... the both of you. It sounds almost mutual."

Sephiroth considered that as he dug into his next taco. "Maybe. It still hurts, though."

"Break ups suck," Angeal agreed. "Sounds like this is your first one."

Sephiroth's eyes widened as he chewed on his burrito. It made sense why this hurt so badly, if he was a twenty-four year old man who'd never actually experienced the pain of a breakup. That pain was multiplied by having spent his life so safe in the knowledge that he and Cloud were going to last forever. "... We got too comfortable, and it was sort of boring at times. I'm just kind of glad Cloud was the one to do it. I took care of him. If I kicked him out he wouldn't have had anywhere to go. But he found himself a place to go. He's gonna study at Junon."

"That's good?" Angeal offered. "I mean, once a relationship goes bad, it just needs to end. You gotta move on."

"The sex was still good," Sephiroth blurted out. "It was probably the only thing that was still good."

Angeal sputtered, "I don't need to know all that!"

"Well I'm telling you that it was!" Sephiroth crunched into his little bag of nachos. "Everything was good, except for the... exciting part. Like when you kiss your wife or whatever, do you feel that exciting thing?"

"I don't have a wife," Angeal laughed. "I'm actually between boyfriends myself."

Sephiroth's neck snapped in Angeal's direction. "Oh."

"Yeah, I know. I don't put out the vibe very well," Angeal smiled. "But that's what some guys like most about me."

"So... you've had breakups then?" Sephiroth asked.

"Sure. Nothing as dramatic and long term as yours. My longest relationship was only a year, but... short term, long term, two weeks or two months... break ups suck. You put a lot of hope into somebody when you date them."

"How do you get over it?"

"Well, one way is to get drunk and eat a lot of Taco Bell," Angeal joked to attempt to lighten the mood. "And then you just find someone else. Figure out what your ex lacked, and find that in someone new."

"He didn't lack anything."

"What about that exciting part you were talking about?"

"I guess... it's hard to imagine even being attracted to somebody else," Sephiroth confessed glumly into his nachos, chewing slowly as the hunger abated. He felt bloated and drunk and gross, and just wanted to get home and go to sleep. "I'm really not this touchy feeling, and I would never fucking talk about this to anyone else."

"I'm a good listener," Angeal smiled, taking a burrito for himself.

Sephiroth told him about how he met Cloud in high school and dated him for two years before Cloud's family found out and tried to put a stop to it, and how they moved into a much shittier apartment together the moment Cloud turned eighteen. Sephiroth's father died of lung cancer shortly thereafter, and the only respite Sephiroth had for his anxiety and grieving was to work out. That led to him getting a job at his gym, and then ultimately building the career he now had. He and Cloud really were all each other had in the world during that horrible time in their early adult lives, but now they had a sprawling network of friends, coworkers, and community LGBT support.

Angeal told Sephiroth about how he switched to vocational school during his own high school years, and that working on cars was his passion. He was nearly thirty-years-old and had his own shop, which he'd managed to keep open for three years despite always struggling for clientele willing to spend more than twenty gil for an oil change. He had his own share of heartache too, with an endless stream of short term boyfriends who were attracted by his masculinity but put off by his work schedule and very humble lifestyle. Owning his own business meant that it always came first.

They talked until they approached Sephiroth's apartment building. He sleepily stumbled inside to retrieve his wallet and gave Angeal his license, insurance card, and some cash for the fast food.

"I need to scan your cards at the shop, but I'll bring them back tomorrow," Angeal said, not arguing about the cash although he would have been glad to pay for the drunk man's meal.

"Okay," Sephiroth nodded, too tired to worry about the details.

"Happy New Year," Angeal told him. It was already one in the morning, he hadn't had the heart to interrupt their conversation when midnight had arrived. "Sorry it sucked so badly."

Sephiroth shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket, and shrugged with a lopsided smile. "It could have been worse."

"It definitely could have," Angeal smiled back before he drove away.

Sephiroth went back inside, and only then did he remember that the jacket didn't belong to him. He took it off and laid it on the back of a chair near the door, before finally being confronted by the emptiness of the apartment.

Cloud was gone.

By talking it out with the tow truck guy, Sephiroth no longer felt so betrayed by Cloud's desire for independence. But it was difficult to face the reality of being alone for the first time in his life.

Sephiroth allowed himself more tears, shed purely for himself. He went to their bedroom, and slipped beneath the blankets. Even alone, he slept on his side of the bed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It took hours from the time Sephiroth woke up to actually get out of bed. He wanted to die.

It was a new year and he had been dumped, he wrecked his truck, and he had a hangover from hell. He'd always heard that bad things happened in threes, but it seemed like one of those events would have been more than enough.

His head was killing him, his stomach ached, and his eyes were sore and swollen from crying.

Looking in the mirror, he found a nightmare. He had less than half an hour to make himself appear well rested, fit and confident for the New Year's resolution crowd at work.

He'd just stepped out of the shower when he heard a knock on his door. He quickly threw on a pair of sweatpants before forcing a smile through his hangover. "Hello again. Angeal, right?"

"You remember more from last night than I expected you to. I was fully prepared to have to explain who I am and where your truck is," Angeal admitted with a grin. "How you feeling?"

"Like shit, but that's beside the point," Sephiroth felt his smile grow a little more genuine. "You are a lifesaver, thanks again for everything last night."

"Just doing my job," Angeal brushed off the profuse gratitude as he handed back Sephiroth's cards, and his dead cell phone that he'd found in the backseat of the truck. "Do you ever wear a shirt?"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes as he accepted his stuff, "Please, I'm too bloated to fit into anything if I wanted to. Wanna come in for a minute?"

If that was what Sephiroth considered bloated, Angeal was curious to see him in peak condition. He looked around the apartment as he handed Sephiroth a clipboard with all the legal stuff to sign off on. "This is a pretty nice place."

"Not really," Sephiroth tilted his head as he tried to make sense of the paperwork. "... I don't know what I'm looking at. Just tell me where to sign."

Angeal pointed to several places on the paperwork for Sephiroth to initial, sign or fill in information, while giving a general explanation of the costs of fixing his truck. "It's actually not as bad as I thought. You won't even have to pay anything out of pocket, your insurance should cover all of it."

"Finally some good news," Sephiroth handed back the clipboard. "Oh, your jacket's on the back of that chair. I stole it from you last night."

Angeal smiled as he picked it up and flung it over his shoulder. "I'll give you a call when the truck's ready for pick up. Should be either tomorrow or the next day. Do you need a rental or anything in the meantime?"

"No, I can borrow..." Sephiroth was about to say 'Cloud's car', but edited himself, "... take the train to work. Or hell, ride my bike. I kind of need the cardio after last night."

Angeal raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it's only a day or two. I'm fine."

"I'll try to make it fast, then," Angeal nodded, letting himself out. "See ya."

"Thanks again," Sephiroth waved as he closed the door behind him. His shoulders slumped and his posture dropped once he was alone again.

He went to charge his phone, expecting a slew of concerned and angry messages from his friends when he failed to show up at their party. But there was one text in particular that he wanted to read. He waited until his phone charged enough to turn on, and eagerly went to his messages.

There were none from Cloud.

Sephiroth got a chill up his spine, his head full of visions that perhaps Cloud had met a similar fate on the highway. What if he had gotten into an accident? What if a not-so-friendly tow truck driver had found him, possibly even taken advantage of him? Did Cloud know what to do in the event of an accident? Did he even know how to change a tire?

Sephiroth texted Cloud, 'Hey, you didn't text me last night. I just want to make sure you're alright.'

He was leaving for work when Cloud finally texted him back. 'I'm fine.'

Sephiroth felt his eyes well with tears, and he cursed under his breath. He texted back, 'Its just hard not knowing that you're okay. You'll let me know if you need anything, right?'

Cloud didn't text back the entire day, and it was one of the hardest work shifts to get through in his entire life. Sephiroth was tired, aching, hung over, and impatient for some contact from Cloud, who by all logic did not owe it to him.

After he was done with all his schedules personal training sessions, Sephiroth stayed at the gym and ran on a treadmill until the place closed. Much like when his father had died, exercise was his only way to clear his mind of anxiety, and to remember what was most important.

Sephiroth had perfect health, caring friends, a good job, a place to live, and everything he needed to make himself happy.

The only thing he no longer had was Cloud.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Over the following week, Sephiroth had a couple of long conversations with Cloud on the phone, probably more in depth and better communication than they'd shared in the last couple years of their relationship combined. Sephiroth had reasonable concerns that Cloud was safe and secure, only because he didn't know anything about his living situation, or the University of Junon for that matter.

But it sounded like Cloud was already having a great time in the dorm and his new classes. He was always good at meeting people and making new friends, but these were more important people than a bunch of waiters at an overpriced, phony Gongogan restaurant in Midgar. They were fellow students who would be working alongside him someday in the field, so it was more like networking.

"You'll have to come out and visit me some weekend when you have time!" Cloud invited.

"I'll try," Sephiroth promised, but couldn't see himself following through. At least not for a while.

Their friends had all been blindsided by the news of their breakup and Cloud's sudden departure to Junon. As good as it felt for him to hear that he would find someone else soon, or that Cloud hadn't been right for him anyway, he didn't let them talk shit about his ex-boyfriend. Because even if he was an ex, and even if the separation had been sudden and fucking hurt like hell... Cloud was still an important person to Sephiroth.

One week of being single and living alone, and Sephiroth realized how much Cloud actually did for him. Everything from setting the alarm to wake up, to making the coffee in the morning, to preparing healthy meals, to doing the dishes... not to mention the growing pile of clothes that was currently stinking up the laundry room. And soon there would soon come things like organizing the bills, and going grocery shopping. That was all shit that Cloud did to make up for the fact that his wages just didn't contribute very much to the household.

Sephiroth never cared about that, he really liked taking care of Cloud financially. But he didn't realize just how much Cloud took care of him in return.

One day between training appointments at the gym, Sephiroth got the call from Angeal that his truck was ready. He was apologizing profusely, "I'm really sorry that it's taken this long. There was one part that we had to order, and there was a snow delay - "

"You've done be plenty of favors, the wait's been no big deal. Can I come by the shop after six tonight?"

"Sure, I'll stay open and wait for you."

"Awesome, thank you so much. I'll see you tonight," Sephiroth was somewhat appreciative of being forced to bike to work to get some extra cardio in, but he was kind of over it. He'd busted his ass on the icy roads more than once, and was ready to get reacquainted with a nice, heated drive to work instead of an hour and a half snowy, freezing death trek.

He managed not to break anything vital on the ride to Angeal's shop. To his surprise, he'd passed by the tiny Hewley Motors auto shop many times, but it just faded in the background noise of Midgar's industrial landscape. Truth be told, he'd never have chosen this shop to fix his truck if he'd had his pick, but Angeal had done so much for him... he just hoped his truck was in capable hands.

The garage door of the shop was open and illuminated, so Sephiroth rode up bike up to it and hopped off. He peered around inside, and he sighed in relief to see his truck looking brand new.

He heard a voice coming from inside the shop's office, and stepped over to the door. He didn't mean to overhear anything private, but stilled his breath when he heard Angeal's voice speaking softly.

" ... I just didn't have the time to make it this year, but I will next year... Don't talk like that, you're not dying, and you're being dramatic. Maybe we'll pick up business this spring and I'll be able to come out this summer. Winters are just slow here for me."

Angeal paced in front of the doorway then, and caught Sephiroth eavesdropping, " - Mom I've got a customer here, I'll call you right back. I love you, too."

"Sorry!" Sephiroth winced.

Angeal shrugged, "It's okay, you know how moms are."

Sephiroth didn't at all, because he was raised by a single father. But he nodded empathetically, which was just socially polite. "Sure. Hey, the truck looks great!"

"Yeah, she's like new," Angeal agreed, grabbing a clipboard with Sephiroth's keys attached to it. "You wanna try her out?"

"Sure," Sephiroth agreed, unable to help from noticing Angeal's hulky form bulging from underneath his dirty wife beater. Angeal had been wearing a lot of layers during their previous meetings, and he took the man for a big guy of course, but he never dreamed that all that mass was pure muscle. "... Hey, what do you lift?"

Angeal was taken off guard by that question. "What?"

"You know," Sephiroth flexed his bicep a little, which was admittedly smaller and far more streamlined than Angeal's. "Lift?"

"I lift... tires?" Angeal told him, blushing deeply under this type of scrutiny. "Fenders? Doors? I don't really lift weights..."

"Oh - sorry," Sephiroth laughed, trying to dispel the awkwardness of his question. "It's a typical question where I work. But like... working here clearly pays off for you."

"I'm flattered," Angeal laughed back, scratched the back of his head an unwittingly putting his physique on further display.

After looking at over pumped gym rats and the out of shape resolution crowd all week, Angeal's natural muscle mass was a feast for Sephiroth's eyes. He managed to peel them away to fit his keys into his truck's door, and he dropped down onto the seat.

He turned keys, and it revved to life like new. "Sounds great."

Angeal dropped to his elbows on the passenger side door. "Yeah, there was no real damage to the engine, just a few little odds and ends. The entire front end is replaced, and you had comprehensive coverage on your insurance, so they covered all the expenses since you hit an animal."

"Didn't I hit a tree while driving drunk, though?"

"You hit an animal, and you were sober," Angeal corrected him with a wink. "Tow truck drivers are mean, our word is even better than a police report."

Sephiroth took a breath and melted against his seat. "... I really can't thank you enough. You have officially saved my ass."

"Just make me a promise, okay? Don't drive in that condition again. I'm not gonna lecture you, but really... it could have been fatal. That would have sucked."

Sephiroth was a little touched at this man's concern. Even his closest friends had just laughed the story off as another classic example of Sephiroth's messiness, and he hadn't even told Cloud for fear of coming off as an emotional wreck. Truthfully, he was a messy, emotional wreck... and for that very reason, a little bit of pure concern made his throat tighten.

"It definitely won't happen again," Sephiroth cleared his throat, and pulled the truck's keys from the ignition before stepping back out of the vehicle. "Anything else?"

"Not really, you're all set," Angeal told him, tucking the clipboard under his arm before dipping his hand into his pocket. "Here's my card. Just keep it in your glove compartment in case you ever get into another accident. Or if there are any issues with the truck, we do have a ninety day warranty on our work."

"Sure," Sephiroth accepted it, knowing full well that there wasn't really a 'we' at Hewley Motors. But he studied Angeal's capable, long fingered hands as he took the card from him. "... Thanks again. You're kind of my hero."

"Just a tow truck driver," Angeal shook his head with a good natured huff, and turned to slip back into the office.

Sephiroth passed the card from hand to hand, feeling a little unsatisfied for some reason. He tossed his bicycle into the bed of his truck, and pulled away as a bit of sadness settled on him. He ran his hands over the steering wheel of his truck, which ran better than it had before his accident.

Sephiroth was utterly shallow, and knew fully well he hadn't considered Angeal as anything more than a kindly mechanic until seeing him with less clothes on. But it seemed so strange to him that a man like that was working so hard at such a dump of a shop. And knowing what a kind person he was before seeing his amazing body sort of made Sephiroth's heart pound.

Even if it was a little crush, it was pleasant to know he could be attracted to someone else. But it was just a little crush, afterall. He would probably never see Angeal again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

One of their mutual friends finally spilled to beans to Cloud about Sephiroth's drunk, heartbroken accident.

"You could have killed yourself!" Cloud roared, wasting no time in calling his ex-boyfriend up to yell at him for endangering his life. After Cloud got his anger out and cooled off, Sephiroth was able to segue into a different topic: Angeal Hewley.

"I kind of can't stop thinking about him," Sephiroth confessed, after lengthily describing Angeal's eyes, his scruffy smile, his gentle nature, and his unbelievable body.

"Why don't you like... ask him out?" Cloud wondered.

"I can't do that," Sephiroth was laying on his back on the couch and staring at the ceiling, balancing a pillow on extended feet. "I don't even know how to ask someone out. And I don't mean to sound like a mope, but isn't it too soon?"

Cloud was silent.

Sephiroth swallowed. "Have you... been out with anyone, yet?"

"Of course not," Cloud laughed. "But... I've kind of met a guy I like. I might work up my nerve to call him soon."

"What's he like?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

"Hot," Cloud giggled. "His name's Rufus. I don't care much for his personality, he's really arrogant and sort of a spoiled twat. But he's got a cute face, nice ass, he's tall, dresses well and smells good. He's always wanting to partner up with me in classes, and I know he's into me. And even though I don't like him as a person, I kind of just want to... hook up with him."

Strangely enough, Sephiroth didn't feel the slightest amount of jealousy. "So go for it."

"Let's make a deal," Cloud had a grin clear in his voice. "Let's both hang up the phone, and call the guys we're thinking about. Let's make it happen! And then let's tell each other all about it tomorrow!"

Sephiroth got the distinct feeling that Cloud was asking for permission to make a move on his guy. It made him smile, "I'm hanging up, then. Call Rufus, and tell me what happens tomorrow."

"Alright, bye!" Cloud giggled.

Sephiroth laid his phone on his chest. He was going out with a few friends in a while, but had a little time to kill. Angeal's business card was in his wallet, which was sitting nearby on the coffee table.

He had absolutely no intention of going through with Cloud's stupid scheme, but found himself flipping his wallet open to remove Angeal's card. With a roll of his eyes, he dialed the man's number. It was late in the evening, and Sephiroth was certain the man wouldn't be there.

Except that he was: "Hewley Motors, Angeal Hewley speaking."

Sephiroth panicked. "Oh! Hey, it's me!"

"Who?"

Sephiroth's entire upper body flooded with heat, "Sorry, it's Sephiroth Valentine. You worked on my truck last week?"

"Oh yeah, drunk naked guy!"

Sephiroth completely deflated. "… Yeah."

Angeal's voice changed a bit, and he sounded more professional. "How's the truck running?"

"The truck's fine," Sephiroth had no frame of reference for asking a person out, like, at all. But he tried to sound casual and relaxed, but ended up sounding a little bit business-like. "I was just wondering if you had any time this weekend to have a drink with me?"

"… Wh – "

Sephiroth panicked, "I just feel like I owe you for everything you did for me, and... yeah. Would you want to go out with me? For a drink."

Angeal was silent for a few beats. "Sure, that sounds cool. When?"

Sephiroth was dumbfounded, but tried to keep up his confidence. "Would tomorrow work for you?"

"How about eight?"

"Okay."

"Okay."

Sephiroth felt blood rushing throughout his body, and threw up the pillow he'd been balancing and kicked it across the room in victory. "Okay. Bye!"

Angeal laughed, "Where are we meeting?"

"Oh," Sephiroth wiped some sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "Um... where do you live?"

"You know my shop?"

"Yeah."

"That's where I live," Angeal chuckled.

"Okay..." Sephiroth swallowed. "How about I'll pick you up at eight, and we'll figure out where we'll go then?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

"Bye," Sephiroth blurted before smashing his finger against the 'call end' button. He let out a loud gust of air, completely in awe that that had actually worked.

Sephiroth had a date. It was just that easy.

And when Cloud called the next day and learned of his ex-boyfriend's success in asking out a new man, he had this to say: "Fuck him hard."

"Cloud!"

"Without mercy," he added darkly.

And Sephiroth was surprised that he too had been looking for permission from his ex to make a real move on the mechanic. "... I don't know what I'm doing."

"Yes you do," Cloud told him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sephiroth arrived at the shop a few minutes early, and looked around for where Angeal's living quarters might have been. Behind the garage was a small house, and there were lights on inside. Taking a guess, Sephiroth approached the door and knocked.

"Hey, you're a little early," Angeal welcomed him in, his hair dripping wet down his neck. He was wearing a pair of jeans, and a thin t-shirt full of moist spots from his wet skin. "Come on in."

"Sorry," Sephiroth let out a nervous breath as he entered the house. One look around the place made Sephiroth understand that this man worked extremely hard for extremely little. The place was clean, mostly empty, and incredibly humble.

In that way, Angeal reminded him of Cloud. Some people didn't make much money doing what they loved, but found the thrill in the attempt. It was noble, and it made Sephiroth admire Angeal even more. His eyes drifted back to the man he came to see, who was dripping wet underneath his clothes. A meaty bulge pressed from inside his jeans, and Sephiroth felt the world slow.

"Just let me get finished getting dressed real quick -" Angeal's voice caught in his throat as Sephiroth caught him by the waist.

"Don't bother," He didn't know what the fuck he was doing, but didn't let a moment pass before pressing their bodies close.

"... You serious?" Angeal asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked up Sephiroth up close. It was hard to tell from friendly distances, but Sephiroth was just a little taller than he was.

Sephiroth hadn't even gotten so much as an erection since Cloud's departure, and when he experienced the smell of Angeal's freshly showered skin, a week's worth of pent up frustration made his cock buck up furiously. "Yeah, I'm serious."

Angeal reached down to cup the straining erection in Sephiroth's jeans, making his green his flutter shut in relief. He smiled as the other man's forehead dropped down onto his shoulder as he began to work the zipper of his jeans down.

"If you wanted to fuck, you should have just said," Angeal told him, getting his zipper down and then teasing him by running his hand up into Sephiroth's shirt instead.

"I meant to take you out," Sephiroth muttered, shivering at a near stranger's hands on him. Nobody had ever touched him like this except for Cloud, and it felt fucking illegal. But it was also exciting, new, and strange to have such big, strong hands on him. He spoke against his neck, "I'm sorry if this is weird. We can still go get a drink at - "

"I don't even drink to be totally honest with you," Angeal admitted, brushing his lips against Sephiroth's cheek. "I just wanted to see you again."

"You really want this?" Sephiroth asked, unsure of how to read another person, and not wanting to take it too far. He was rushing as it was, but he just couldn't help it when Angeal smelled so damn good, and felt so comforting to press up against.

Sensing the other man's nervousness, Angeal decided not to tease him any or leave it to hints. He forgave the poor rebounding man any awkwardness, and reached into his open jeans to grab his twitching cock. "Fuck yeah, I want this."

Sephiroth ran his hands over the hard mass of Angeal's thick arms, and then up into his short, wet hair. He turned his face and slid a wet kiss across Angeal's parted lips. He didn't think about being tender or caring, he just wanted to feel the scratch of stubble against his face, and the hot tongue of a man he barely knew.

"C'mon," Angeal smiled, easily lifting Sephiroth up by the back of his thighs. The other man was built to be pretty, but not to weigh very much at all. He laughed as his long legs wrapped around his waist eagerly, and Sephiroth tilted his head to get his tongue deeper into Angeal's mouth.

They landed on Angeal's unmade bed in a pile, and Sephiroth rolled Angeal onto his back with a growl. He slid a thigh between Angeal's legs, tentatively slipping his hand down the front of his jeans, and into the band of his boxer-briefs. He was obviously excited, but so big and thick that it took a few jerks of Sephiroth's wrist to really feel it begin to take a harder form.

Sephiroth pulled away from Angeal's mouth with a soft exhale, rubbing his reddened lips together as he looked at the ridiculously pumped body underneath him. Angeal's lean hips tilted up into Sephiroth's touch, and he cooperated when Sephiroth pulled his jeans and underwear down his strong legs.

Angeal's balls were full and heavy, and Sephiroth opened his mouth to pull one into his mouth. The unique scent of someone very much not-Cloud was thrilling, as was every other aspect of this man. There couldn't be a more polar opposite to Cloud in the universe, and it was strong, solid and felt so good to lean on his thighs while making a wet, slurping mess of his balls.

Sephiroth eagerly pulled his thick, meaty cock into his mouth, a sigh escaping his throat at how far his jaw had to stretch to suck on the shaft that wasn't even fully hardened yet. It was difficult to maintain a steady rhythm as it continued to grow in his wet mouth, but he put everything he had into trying.

He eventually found the nerve to glance up, finding Angeal's dark blue eyes fixed on him, his hands crossed behind his head while he watched the other work. Sephiroth dared to push up on Angeal's thighs as he let his blushed head pop from his mouth, and stuck his tongue out far to pass through the light hair dusting Angeal's ass crack, down to his tight little opening.

Sephiroth couldn't be certain, but it looked and felt like an ass that had rarely been used this way. The thought made saliva pool in his mouth, and he used it to push his tongue into Angeal's hole. Sephiroth loved eating ass, and Angeal seemed completely shocked that this was happening.

He didn't stop it, but reached down to bury a fist in Sephiroth's silver hair, almost pushing him away but not quite. Sephiroth reached a hand up to curl around Angeal's cock, twitching and rock hard against his tight stomach. Sephiroth pulled his tongue away from Angeal's ass with a groan, dragging it over his big balls, up to curl around the hard little ridge circling the head of Angeal's cock.

Angeal turned onto his side, and reached down to grab one of Sephiroth's legs. "Get these jeans off."

Sephiroth mumbled a wordless reply, and rolled onto his back to pull his pants down his thighs with unsteady hands. He was wearing a jockstrap underneath, which was more comfortable and familiar to him than any other type of underwear.

Angeal was clearly unused to seeing this particular type of garment, and wolfishly slid closer to better appreciate them. He ran a hand up Sephiroth's toned torso as he pulled his shirt over his head, popping his lips around one hard, pale little nipple.

Sephiroth swallowed a tight knot in his throat, trying not to moan at the sensation of stubble against his sensitive skin. He shuddered at the thought of it rubbing against his groin, and he pointedly positioned himself to suggest a certain position with the beefier man.

Taking the hint, Angeal swung his leg over Sephiroth's face and let him continue having his way with his hole. In the meantime, he helped himself to the leaking contents of Sephiroth's jockstrap, fitting the band down neatly underneath a pair of tight, full balls. Sephiroth had a big, nice cock, and Angeal smiled at the sheer dumb luck he'd happened across on New Year's Eve. Who would have imagined that the unstable drunkard he'd found wrapped around a tree was such a hot, horny guy with the face and body of an angel? In that moment, Angeal couldn't have given a fuck about Sephiroth's heart break or his ex. If this was just a rebound, he would take a vast amount of pleasure in welcoming this perfect specimen back into the dating world.

Angeal fit his mouth around Sephiroth's cock and sucked deep, pulling a long, desperate moan out of the man beneath him. Feeling cheeky, Angeal flicked his tongue against the dripping head, "You like getting your cock sucked?"

"Mm-hm," Sephiroth groaned, his tongue still dancing against Angeal's tight hole, pressing up inside when he felt daring enough, between bending his neck to wrap his soft lips around his hanging balls.

"You wanna fuck me, Seph?" Angeal asked, pulling his lips back when he began to pump precome steadily into his mouth. He knew the other man was wound up tight, and didn't want the fun to be over too quickly.

Sephiroth gasped from between Angeal's ass cheeks. "... Yeah."

"C'mon," Angeal invited, moving off of Sephiroth's face and rolling onto his stomach.

Sephiroth crawled into place behind him, almost hesitant to pull his mouth away from his perfectly round, presented ass. Angeal looked like a fucking statue in this position, something perfect and carved from stone come to life. Sephiroth ran his hands up Angeal's thick, spread thighs all the way up to the round muscle of his ass. Even his back was something to behold, totally sculpted and curved down towards his tight, exposed hole.

Sephiroth bent to lick moisture against it, letting bubbling drool spill out and down the back of his balls. Angeal watched over his shoulder, equally impressed with the physique of his partner as he stood up on his knees to line himself up.

It didn't need to be said that he needed to go slow, Angeal's sheer tightness spoke that for him. Sephiroth slid his head in before pulling back, taking his time and pausing now and then to pull away and replace his cock with slimmer fingers in an attempt to make room and ease the way.

Angeal didn't say anything, and allowed Sephiroth to handle him with a surprising amount of care. Before long Sephiroth was able to create a rhythm behind him, tickling his hole with the head of his cock, fucking him just deep enough to make his spine curl and the breath catch in his throat.

Angeal began to move underneath him, pushing back against him to take it deeper. Sephiroth rested his weight on one hand, using the other to slide over Angeal's hip and beneath him. That huge cock hadn't lost much mass during the tough part, and Sephiroth wrapped his fist around it while pushing in deeper, pulling back only when Angeal clenched hard on him.

"Fuck," Sephiroth gasped, unable to stop his hips from bucking against Angeal's ass to achieve that particular reaction over and over.

"Yeah," Angeal encouraged, going up on his elbows to push back against the painful intrusion. He couldn't help but get a little addicted to the rush, it was a familiar feeling but one he hadn't felt for some time, and he welcomed the sensation of a hard cock driving into his ass. It was a weird little itch that had sometimes just needed scratched, and Sephiroth was a master at it.

Sephiroth grabbed two handfuls of Angeal's ass, pulling it back against his groin to pound it deeper. "God damn, you're hot."

"Fuck me," Angeal gasped, pushing back against his hips as he began to drive his leaking cock right against his sensitive, often ignored prostate. "That feels fucking good, man."

Hearing Angeal's grumbling, masculine voice and seeing his hard body roll towards his cock, Sephiroth was completely ready to blow his load into his big, round ass. This man was so sexy, and Sephiroth felt insanely lucky to have not only met him and be rescued by him, but to shove his cock balls deep inside him.

Sephiroth's entire pretty face was bent with pleasured pain as he attempted to hold off on the inevitable. "Damn it. An... geal. Fuck, I'm gonna come…"

"Do it," Angeal urged, clamping his inner muscles down to accept whatever Sephiroth was going to give him. "Tell me when."

"Ah, right now! I'm fucking coming right now..." Sephiroth gritted between his teeth, his cock twitching helplessly inside the tight pucker of Angeal's ass.

It felt so fucking good to feel a big, hot load get pumped deep inside him, and Angeal rolled his hips back to work Sephiroth through it. Eventually he pulled his sensitive cock away, gasping for air as he dropped to the bed next to him. He immediately reached out to Angeal to reconnect their mouths, lifting his thighs in invitation.

"You like getting it, too?" Angeal asked, slapped the back of Sephiroth's thigh before dragging his fingers to his opening.

"Yeah," Sephiroth nodded, folding his arms behind his head. Bottoming for his ex had mostly been an exercise in patience, so Sephiroth was extremely eager to see what this bigger, stronger man could do.

"You have such a nice ass," Angeal told him, smiling at the way Sephiroth's jock strap framed it perfectly. "You need a minute first?"

"No way," He insisted, pulling Angeal closer. "C'mon, fuck me back."

Sephiroth was far more used to being penetrated, and easily relaxed to let Angeal's long fingers dip inside him. He arched his back, watching the muscles twitch in his forearms as he moved his fingers fast, rubbing harsh circles against his prostate.

He reached out for Angeal's big, hanging cock, jerking it in time with the other man's moving fingers. He licked his lips, wanting that thing down his throat but unwilling to move away from the all-consuming feeling of being finger fucked so roughly.

"You like that?" Angeal asked, smiling as Sephiroth's wet cock began to fill out again.

"Yeah," He nodded, loving the confident touch and innately dominant quality of the other man. Sephiroth closed his eyes, feeling utterly uninhibited as he raised his legs higher. "Fuck me."

Angeal spat out against Sephiroth's hole, and lined himself up to push inside. It didn't take long before he was pounding hard, fucking Sephiroth with every intention of clearing his mind and giving him some time to feel nothing but pure sensation.

It was so good, and Sephiroth's cock slapped against his stomach with every thrust of Angeal's lean hips. Bending over Sephiroth, Angeal closed his mouth over his, swallowing his soft moans and replacing them with flicks of his hot tongue.

Sephiroth could not get enough of this man's body, and shamelessly offered his ass up to his big cock. He had never been fucked this way, and wondered incredulously how he'd managed to go so long without this mindless, frenzied feeling. Before he could get too comfortable on his back, Angeal pulled him up into his arms and sat back, giving Sephiroth a little more freedom on top.

He'd never ridden cock before, and Sephiroth shivered at how different it was, and how much control he had over the angle. It felt fucking good, especially as Angeal's hands moved over his chest and stomach, down to his cock and beneath his balls, completing his pleasure and encouraging him to drop his hips to take him in even deeper.

"You're so good," Angeal told him, smiling at how precome was already dribbling from the slit of Sephiroth's cock. "Fucking hot."

Sephiroth dug his fingers into Angeal's muscular chest, "You're fucking hot."

"Bounce on my dick like you want it," Angeal told him, guiding his hips with one hand while the other stroked him to a similar beat

Sephiroth obeyed, using movement, tightness and friction to make Angeal's toes curl beneath him. "I'm... gonna come again."

"Fucking jackrabbit," Angeal grinned, smiling as Sephiroth became lost in the task of riding him. "You wanna cover me in it, this time?"

"Fuck yeah," Sephiroth nodded, his lidded eyes looking down the line of his body and cock, to Angeal's smiling mouth. "... Open your mouth."

Angeal rolled out his tongue, ready to accept Sephiroth's load as it desperately shot out of his cock. There was only one shot strong enough to splatter against Angeal's lips, the rest dribbled around his fist as Sephiroth continued to work his legs and bounce on his hard cock. He doubled over in pleasure at the way his semen stuck in Angeal's facial stubble, and he hungrily locked those lips in a kiss. It was a turn on to taste himself on Angeal's tongue, and he hardly noticed that his cock was spent as he continued to grind on Angeal's lap.

"You feel fucking good when you're coming," Angeal commented between kisses, feeling Sephiroth's body release from both spectrums in only a few minutes. The other man was shuddering weakly, his thighs shaking as he attempted to continue riding him. Taking pity, Angeal then flipped him onto his side before slipping out of his now gaping hole. "… You want more?"

"Don't stop," Sephiroth sighed through his nose into their kiss, restlessly grinding himself back against Angeal. "... Fuck me."

"I'm gonna," He promised, angling his painfully hard cock up into Sephiroth's sweat slick, needy ass.

He kept the pace slow, dragging it out to give Sephiroth time to achieve another erection. He was able to hang on only by the desperate little sounds the other man gave, driven by the desire to make his cock spit just one more time.

"You got another one in there for me?" Angeal asked him, licking his soft, bitten lips.

"Oh fuck yes," Sephiroth nodded, reaching down to stroke himself roughly. He liked being talked to like that, and felt himself snap up hard when Angeal's hips began to swing up faster.

"You're a good fuck, Seph," Angeal told him, kissing his mouth hungrily.

"Mm... you too." Sephiroth's green eyes cracked open. "... I wanna get you back on your stomach... and fuck your ass again after this."

Angeal laughed at the other man's bravado and stamina, and slapped a palm against his lean ass. "If you can actually get it up again, you can do whatever you want baby."

Nobody had ever called him something like that, and somehow it sounded right coming from Angeal's lips. Sephiroth shouted wordlessly as the man slapped his ass much harder, and reached down to seize Angeal's huge, tight ball sack in retaliation.

"Fuck yeah pull it," He groaned, his hips popped up to stuff his cock inside Sephiroth.

He hissed, one hand jerking his sensitized cock and the other rolling Angeal's balls. "Damn it your cock is so big."

"I like filling up your ass," Angeal hissed, each thrust of his hips hard and pronounced as he drove himself towards climax. "You gonna come with me?"

"Fffuck," Sephiroth worked his cock desperately, wanting nothing more than to force this big stud to fill him up with his load. "Yeah I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna come."

"Lemme feel it," Angeal growled, watching Sephiroth's fast moving fist. He waited until Sephiroth's ass clamped, and that first little glob of thick semen fly up before he pounded against him hard. It forced a gasp out of Sephiroth, and another rope of hot white liquid spat from his cock before Angeal's eyes clenched shut and he let out a wordless shout against Sephiroth's shoulder.

"Yeah," Sephiroth whispered, feeling Angeal's big cock pulse over and over inside him, until creamy moisture dripped down the base.

"God… damn…" Angeal grunted, gasping hard against Sephiroth's neck as his entire body shuddered behind him. "Ung… fuck."

Sephiroth was held tight in place by Angeal's arms, and swallowed helplessly as he felt himself be flooded. As insane as it was, even to himself, he desperately wanted more. He'd just climaxed more times in one sexual encounter than he ever had in his life, and it still wasn't enough. Even though his cock was flaccid and totally spent, it tingled with desire as Angeal continued to gently pump his hips, milking himself dry.

Finally he pulled away, sounding completely wrecked as he gasped against Sephiroth's neck, but did not loosen his arms. "Seph…"

He turned his neck, puckering his lips to kiss whatever he could reach. His lips touched Angeal's eyebrow, his forehead and the top of his head. "… That was good?"

"God yes… you just made me come so hard," Angeal opened his eyes, catching a humorous glint in Sephiroth's narrow green ones. They both laughed a little in shyness of their very sudden, very passionate little fuck session.

Angeal's chest was rising and falling as he rolled onto his back and sprawled on his mattress. Sephiroth turned to his side to face him, a little unsure of what to do now. Just to occupy himself, he sat and searched for anything to wipe himself up. He spotted the bathroom, and was about to get up.

Angeal was spent for the moment, but looked up at Sephiroth with a soft grin. "Mm. Don't worry about cleanup, yet."

"No?" he questioned, his green eyes uncertain.

"I wanna lay in a mess with you for a while."

"Okay," Sephiroth told him, wanting more than just more sex but trying not to appear too affectionate if this was just a meaningless rebound hookup.

"... Come here," Angeal suggested, opening his arms like it was the simplest thing in the world to put them around Sephiroth.

Sephiroth found that most things with Angeal were remarkably simple. Most things he needed, he didn't even have to ask for.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angeal moved into Sephiroth's apartment the following summer, and sold the old location of his auto shop to relocate to a much better one. It was a bigger place, and with a heavier volume of traffic, and new customers. Of course, being a mechanic was always going to be a struggle to convince most people to spend more than twenty gil for an oil change, that was just the nature of fixing shit. But at least with more people coming in, he could relax and enjoy a bit more free time.

That came in handy with a boyfriend like Sephiroth, who was a little demanding of his time. It was welcome though, because there surely were no lonely moments when dating him. It seemed that all Sephiroth wanted to do was be together, and it was a very new feeling for Angeal. At first he didn't quite know what to make of this tall, leggy, gorgeous, clingy man… but it didn't take long to fall in love with him.

Cloud was all for the relationship, loving to hear about their new life together as he bounced around from boy to boy (and even a girl just to say he'd tried it once – try being the keyword). Truth be told, Sephiroth enjoyed hearing the details about Cloud's varied love life, but something inside him felt relieved that he hadn't settled down with anyone serious. Cloud was free and having fun, enjoying his experimental and sexually adventurous phase a bit later than most people.

On the flip side, Sephiroth supposed he was simply the sort of guy who wanted to be in a relationship. Nobody in his line of vision could compete with Angeal's patience, kindness, handsome face or hard body. And for whatever reason, the man put up with Sephiroth's temper, chronic immaturity, and the bloated tummy he developed whenever he drank too much.

Sephiroth and Cloud had their own priorities, and their own lives, but they still spoke on the phone and texted almost daily. But as often as communicated, there was never a good opportunity to see each other. Distance made the heart grow fonder for both of them, but both were too busy to spare the time for a proper visit.

It was decided that the New Year weekend would be the perfect time to see each other again, it was after the Christmas hustle and they would be ready for a fun reunion. Angeal was looking forward to meeting such an important person in Sephiroth's life.

There was someone important in Angeal's life that was far overdue on a proper visit. The holidays found Sephiroth and Angeal taking a trip to visit his ill mother in Banora. They spent two weeks with her, which was understandably a bit strenuous on Sephiroth. He made the best of it though, getting to know more about Angeal's family, his childhood, and how he came to be the man he was today. Mrs. Hewley was a lovely woman, and made Sephiroth feel very welcome as Angeal's live-in partner. She was the only experience he'd ever had with a loving maternal figure, and it was nice to get to know her.

Of course, no sex for two entire weeks had them both a bit antsy to return home for some time together. But the moment Sephiroth and Angeal's airship landed in Midgar, Cloud was already blowing up their phones to inform them that he was on his way to the city. They barely had time to drop their bags down before there was a steady pounding on the apartment door.

Sephiroth jogged to the door, unable to open it fast enough for the excited blonde on the other side.

"Seph!" Cloud shouted with joy as he fled into the apartment to throw his arms around his neck.

"Hey you!" He laughed, catching him in gathering him up into a tight hug. "You're fucking heavy, have you gained weight?"

Cloud nodded proudly, "Ten pounds of muscle! There's this whole fitness thing at Junon I've been into!"

"I'm a fucking trainer, and I couldn't pay you to work out," Sephiroth criticized, pinching his far more toned side and eliciting a sharp giggle.

"That's because you're a bossy asshole and I didn't want to be bothered!" Cloud smiled, running his hands up Sephiroth's back. He kept the contact brief so he could turn to greet Sephiroth's boyfriend. "Angeal! It's so nice to finally meet you!"

"You too," He grinned. He'd seen pictures of Cloud, but was a little shocked by how tiny and adorable he was in person. He looked ten times happier standing there than he had in any photograph Angeal had ever seen of him. "Welcome home."

"It's so good to be back!" Cloud bounced, almost uncertain before he decided 'to hell with it' and pulled Angeal into a hug. "Seph tells me everything. Thank you so much for everything you've done for him... I mean it. I don't know you yet, but I love you!"

Angeal blushed, and relaxed into the hug. Although they'd spoken briefly on the phone a few times, he had been extremely nervous to meet this young man in person, and was incredibly surprised at this warm reception. "You're welcome here, and I'm glad you got a chance to finally come."

"I know it's not the most convenient for you two. Sorry to bust in on you guys the minute you got home," Cloud shrugged, a little too happy to come off as fully sincere in the apology. "How was Banora?"

"We'll tell you all about it later," Sephiroth yawned, peeking out into the hallway before shutting the front door. "I thought you were bringing a guy with you."

"Guy?" Cloud shook his head with distaste as he threw his bag onto the couch. "You know I don't keep boyfriends, Seph."

"You said you were thinking about bringing someone to the party tonight - "

"Ehhhh," Cloud waved the topic off as he went back under Angeal's arm. "Anyone else would just get in the way. I wanna be with you and Angeal this weekend!"

Angeal felt comfortable with his arm around the slim, short blonde. "I agree, it's nice to get some time alone to get to know each other."

"Exactly!" Cloud grinned, sneaking both arms around Angeal's waist. "... You smell nice. What's that scent you're wearing?"

"It's called a thirteen hour flight from Banora and no shower."

"I like it," Cloud said softly, not shy about brushing his nose against Angeal's chest.

"What are you up to?" Sephiroth joked, pushing Cloud's forehead like an older brother. "You trying to steal my man?"

"Maybe a little," Cloud smiled, pushing Sephiroth's hand away while snuggling closer to Angeal. "He's like a teddy bear…"

"I'm sorry, what's going on right now?" Angeal nearly shouted, completely guilt ridden by being a little turned on by this incredibly blatant advance.

"Don't mind him, Cloud's a late bloomer. He's just discovering his inner hoe this year," Sephiroth told Angeal in a mock whisper.

"I've just been enjoying being single!" Cloud defended.

"Is that so? And how many guys have you been with this year, slut?" Sephiroth chuckled, letting Cloud pull him closer by the pants.

Cloud snuck his fingers into Sephiroth's pocket to pull him closer. "Well... if you were to fuck me hard right now, just the way you know I like it… while I suck your boyfriend's cock… would you both count as one, or two?"

"Two," Sephiroth answered without hesitation.

"You'd be number twelve, then..." Cloud gave a bold smile, staring at Sephiroth for a moment until his blue eyes narrowed in Angeal's direction. "... and then you'll be lucky thirteen."

Angeal's jaw was hanging open.

Cloud held his shocked stare for a moment before giggling. "Just kidding! I'm not that much of a slut!"

Angeal let out a gust of air. "Oh."

"You'd only be numbers five and six."

"You are too fucking much," Sephiroth crossed his arms at his ex-boyfriend, so shocked to see an extremely confident, spunky young man where a very meek, bashful boy used to be. He would be lying if he didn't admit to himself that he'd never been more attracted to Cloud than he was in that moment. "Is this how you planned to spend your New Year's Eve? Getting into my boyfriend's pants?"

"Alright, I'm sorry! I'll be good!" Cloud released his hold on Angeal's waist and smiled up at the both of them. "... Truthfully though, thank you for having me this weekend. I shouldn't have waited so long."

"You're here now," Sephiroth answered, pulling him into a tight hug. "And I understand. This year went by fast, and you've been busy."

"I've still missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Sephiroth told him.

Cloud's eyes drew closed as he rested his cheek against Sephiroth's chest. "This still feels like home."

"You know you always have a place here."

"... I know I've said I'm sorry for how things happened last year," Cloud said softly, opening his eyes and looking up at Angeal. "But I'm glad it happened. You two were supposed to find each other, and I was just in your way."

"And here you are again. Back in my way..." Sephiroth pressed a short kiss to Cloud's forehead, before the two looked at each other for a moment and briefly touched lips. Cloud opened his mouth to deepen it, but Sephiroth had already pulled back, and wearing a satisfied smile at the look of blatant need on his ex-boyfriend's face.

To their surprise, two muscular arms suddenly wrapped around the both of them. "Sorry to cut the emotional shit short, but we're supposed to be at the party in two hours. Think that's enough time to get a good fuck in before we leave?"

Cloud gasped, "Really?"

Sephiroth seemed equally surprised, "Angeal?"

He looked at the two of them; pink faced, breathing hard, and clearly needing to reunite physically. Sephiroth had always said that sex was the thing that made their relationship last as long as it had, the one thing that was always just right. Angeal was eager to see their connection in action, "You both knew damn well this was gonna happen. Might as well make the most of your time together this weekend."

"You too," Cloud insisted, leaning back against him. "Seph's told me so much about you."

"Did he?" Angeal snipped his teeth against the side of Cloud's slim neck.

"Mm!" Cloud reacted with a sharp arch of his spine, and craned his neck to look up at Angeal, so short that his little doll face was perfectly upside down. Angeal smirked and pressed a soft kiss to Cloud's lips, and slipped his tongue easily into his warm, open mouth.

Sephiroth yanked Cloud's face into his chest and held him there while he gave Angeal a private smile. "Don't let this fucking demon con you into doing something you don't wanna do."

"He wants to do it!" Cloud shouted against Sephiroth's sweater. "I feel it on my back!"

"We've never talked about a threesome," Sephiroth added.

"Let's be honest... I've been in a threesome with you and him since I met you," Angeal joked, but it was kind of true. "So if you'll still love me when it's over… why not?"

"Of course I love you. You're my hero…" Sephiroth leaned over the top of Cloud's head and kissed him tenderly. They let Cloud flail and suffocate between their broad chests for longer than was polite, but made it up to him for the rest of the weekend.

On the final morning of Cloud's far too-short weekend visit, Sephiroth woke up early and laid beside his sleeping, cuddling, naked... boyfriends. Or his boyfriend Angeal, plus whatever Cloud had become in the past three days. There was no denying he still loved Cloud, but it was surprising how comfortably the two people he loved fit together. They couldn't be more different, and Sephiroth grinned at the way they cuddled each other in their sleep, completely at home in each other's arms.

The past New Year's Eve, bad things had definitely come in threes. But this year, very good things came in threes.

Sephiroth didn't know what was going to happen in their love life; if this was just something Cloud wanted to get out of his system or if he was going to come back into his life as a part time lover... he just wanted to watch these two men sleep, listen to them breathe, and revel in such a rare moment of having everything he could possibly want all at once.

It had been a hell of a good year. And the next one was shaping up to be pretty interesting too.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

This was a commission for my awesome friend partyundertherock on tumblr, and she's got an unquenchable craving for SephGeal

Here's a pic too! owmyhearteries dot deviantart dot com / art / Good-Things-Happen-in-Threes-506739740