A/N: We had an unexpected day without classes (the circumstances were horrible, but writing tends to be a good way to distract myself), so I finally finished typing this up. It's only the first chapter, and it hasn't been edited yet, but let me know what you guys think. I'll admit that my past two stories kind of sucked, but hopefully this one will end up better.

It has a LEMON, after all.

I don't like to use explicit words for body parts, just because I don't, but if there are any youngsters out there, just know what you're getting into, 'kay?

Oh, and it's YAOI. Or, because none of the Japanese transfer students at my school seem to know what yaoi is, I'll call it explicit BL, as well.

It's rated M for a reason, folks.

It was later than usual when Cloud, Leon, and Cid returned to their lodgings at Merlin's house. They had been working on the restoration all day, and had stayed late to rebuild a wall that Yuffie had somehow managed to nail together in the shape of a trapezoid. The window had to be re-installed, as well.

So after the silent walk across town, the three were terribly relieved to be home. Cid plopped down on the couch next to Aerith, who was rolling bandages for Heartless victims, and Leon went straight upstairs to change out of his dust-covered clothing. Cloud, as a matter of routine, stood in the doorway and did a quick glance-over of the main room. Its only other inhabitants were Sora and Yuffie at the table, the latter filling Sora in on an admittedly funny anecdote from the afternoon involving Leon, a can of paint, and Donald's dear nephews. Cloud, having seen said incident, was less than enthralled and so directed the conversation toward a more pressing matter.

"Where's Riku?" he asked Sora. The two boys had been scouting the districts for Heartless while the others were building or, in Aerith's case, healing those who had gotten attacked or fallen off a roof. *coughSoracough* As for Merlin, he was always out doing unidentified wizardly things of dire importance.

Sora shrugged, replying "I dunno. He said he wanted to take another round through the town, just to make sure we got all the Heartless." He cocked his head. "Why do you keep asking? I mean he's been doing it for like two weeks now."

Oh yes, Cloud knew. It had almost become a routine. Cloud would wake up early to start work, and Riku would still be asleep, along with every other sane person in Hollow Bastion. Cloud would then mentally curse Leon for making him start work this early, and then grab a cup of caffeine on his way out.

Cloud usually got home around five, and sometimes helped Aerith make dinner. Stoically and with great resistance, of course. He just couldn't say no to that girl, partially because she had too much blackmail material. Sora would magically appear when the food was ready, and Riku would normally be back a half hour later, making sure the townspeople were all safely in their homes before he ended his patrol. The food was still warm when he got back. Except that, lately, Riku hadn't been coming back. Not on time, anyway. Every day he returned later and later, each evening more worn out and beaten up than the one before.

When Riku limped in one night past midnight with a deep gouge in his left thigh, wrapped up with his potion-soaked shirt, Cloud confronted him, only to be dismissed with "It's just Heartless stuff. Don't worry about it."

The distress must have shown on Cloud's face, though, because Riku had put his arms around his neck and murmured, "Look, it's just that I've started seeing more and more come out at night, so I take on as many as I can handle before I come back, okay?"

Riku had then given Cloud a short kiss, laid down on the bed, and promptly fallen asleep. While Cloud was still worried, he knew that Riku was aware of his own abilities and wouldn't take on more than he could handle.

These thoughts did little to soothe him in the three hours it took for him to fall asleep.

That had been a week ago. Cloud had been trying to wait up for him every night, but the lack of sleep was really getting to him. Added in with the silence and the darkness, it was very difficult to stay awake. On the one or two days when he had been able to stay awake, Riku would come back, wash up, and then fall immediately asleep, with hardly a sentence said between them.

This past night, Riku had gotten back at 4:30 in the morning, meaning that he would probably be back even later tonight. If this kept up, Cloud would soon be waking up before Riku returned, meaning that neither of them would even set eyes on the other unless one of them got a day off. Which, knowing Leon, would be never.

So basically, Cloud was pissed, particularly so because no one else seemed to notice Riku's odd behavior. Moreover, he felt equal parts rejected and concerned, as the long hours were very obviously taking a toll on Riku's health. Staying in the house only as long as it took to get his sword, Cloud headed out to sweep the districts. It didn't take too terribly long for him to find Riku, who was standing on the cliff at the edge of town, looking toward what used to be Maleficent's castle.

Cloud sighed and dropped his arms, letting his sword drag on the ground. The sound startled Riku, who spun around with his blade poised to attack. Strangely enough, however, it wasn't until he registered who was in front of him that he started to look panicked.

"Cloud?" Riku said, stunned. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be back at Merlin's house? What do you think you're doing here?! … Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

Cloud's only response was "I might ask you the same question."

Riku looked guilty and even slightly frightened, but Cloud plowed on.

"Riku, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages; we haven't spoken to each other in over a week. The only time I ever get to see you is when you're asleep. What the hell is going on? Do you just stand here waiting for the Heartless to come and then attack them one by one? That doesn't seem very efficient to me."

Riku ducked his head, standing in silence as he tried to hide himself from Cloud's gaze.

"So if you aren't out here fighting Heartless, then what are you doing?" Cloud asked. This time Riku actually turned his back on Cloud to stare at the castle once again. Cloud's anger deflated, the feelings of rejection coming back tenfold.

"Riku…" Cloud sighed, "Are you avoiding me on purpose?"

Another 180-degree spin. "No! No, I just… I can't explain. I just have to do this, okay?"

"Do what?"

"Just," Riku stuttered. "I just have to stay up here. I can see the entire gorge from here. It's the perfect spot. They just come right to me."

"Then I'll stay up here with you and –"

"No! ... I mean, I … but… but…" Riku's exhaustion was obviously affecting his eloquence. "You can't stay up that late. You get up earlier than I do. You have to go home. Please!"

Cloud stalked toward Riku, who couldn't move away, lest he fall off the cliff's edge.

"If I'm going, you're coming with me."

Before Riku could protest, Cloud grabbed his arm and pulled him to his chest, giving him one of those burning, sensual kisses that made the boy melt. True to form, Riku's muscles immediately relaxed, and he clung to Cloud as if his legs could no longer support his body. He gave in so quickly and willingly that Cloud had to wonder if Riku had missed him as much as he had missed Riku. The thought brought his wounded self-esteem back to its normal level. Which wasn't very high, but still.

When Cloud was satisfied that Riku was fully entranced, he broke the kiss and led the boy back through town, making sure that he never regained his senses enough to resist. He didn't have to do much, as Riku's hands were trailing patterns across his arm the entire time they walked. They only walked in about 20 yard intervals, as one of the two would eventually give in and push the other against the nearest wall, the kisses a preview of what the rest of the night would hold.

It took them about five times longer than usual to get back to Merlin's house, but once they were there they wasted no time at all going up the steps and into the bedroom. Cloud had never been so grateful that Merlin had put sound shields on all of the rooms. It had mainly been because of Yuffie and Sora, but Cloud was going to take full advantage of it tonight. He wanted to make Riku scream.

Riku was slowly, teasingly lifting Cloud's shirt, but the man was getting impatient and jerked the garment over his head. It was quickly joined on the floor by Riku's adornments. Cloud pushed Riku down onto the bed, using his mouth to distract him as he pulled down his own pants.

When both were completely exposed, Cloud's restraint had mostly evaporated, and he straddled Riku, offering him his fingers to suck. After a moment of fierce grinding, Cloud reclaimed his fingers, shifting his position so that he could kiss Riku once again. Amidst the distraction, Cloud inserted two fingers into the boy.

Riku gasped, but judging by the way he was moving, he didn't seem to mind that much; he'd been stretched much farther before. There was a pause and a slight whimper as the third finger went in, but Riku soon made it clear that he wanted more.

Cloud smirked. Riku had always been a bit of a masochist.

He jerked out his fingers and rammed into the boy in front of him, ripping a scream from the boy's throat that morphed into a loud moan as Cloud started moving. Cloud kept up a merciless pace as he nipped and licked Riku's exposed neck, every once in a while capturing his lips for another kiss. He hadn't felt this in two weeks, so when Riku moaned for him to go harder, he released all of his repressed energy, growling as the boy writhed beneath him.

Cloud could tell that Riku was getting close, and he wanted to pull him over the edge. Leaning forward, his sweat mingling with Riku's, he whispered into the boy's ear, "Come with me. Let me hear you scream my name." With this, he bit less than gently into Riku's shoulder.

"Cl–Cloud!" Riku screamed, moaning and shuddering as he was incapacitated by a white heat.

Before he let himself go, Cloud savored the feeling of Riku's muscles contracting around him. Only when they began to slow down did Cloud finally allow himself to release, moaning louder than he had in quite a while.

After exerting himself completely, Cloud collapsed onto his lover, the two of them panting as one.

When they could once again hear their heartbeats, Cloud rolled himself off of Riku. Lying down, Cloud pulled Riku to him, stroking his hair and wrapping a strong arm around him.

Just before succumbing to sleep, Cloud rested his head atop Riku's, murmuring a soft "Goodnight, love."

Riku just "Hmm"d and fell asleep smiling.

Neither noticed the slight silver gleam as a figure flew away from the moonlit window.

Feel free to review; it makes the characters happy. And we like it when they're happy, right?

- `WindWisp