Shulk was polishing one of his larger mechanical constructions in the lot outside the main building when the sound of a noisy engine approaching behind him made him pause. Was Captain Falcon taking the Blue Falcon for joyrides again? He was supposed to stick to his own tracks, as the other areas weren't built to accommodate it. Shulk stood up, stretching as he turned around and readying to scold the other.

The vehicle behind him, just across the lot, was not the Blue Falcon. Shulk stared at the stranger astride the sleek black motorcycle that had just pulled in, pushing his riding goggles up into his wild blond hair. Shulk was already stepping toward the marvelous sight as if in a trance. The stranger noticed him as he got closer, and motioned to begin saying something.

Shulk dropped to his knees beside the bike, marveling, "It's beautiful..." The stranger was staring at him, but he didn't even notice, eyes scanning the bronzy finish of the machinery visible under the seat, mentally following its skeleton, puzzling out how all the pieces connected. "What parts of it are hot?" he asked, holding his hand out as if to test its warmth. Shulk knew better than to touch a machine that had just been running without being familiar with it.

The stranger gave his head a little shake, as if clearing his confusion. He kicked in with his heavy leather boots to make a clunking sound near the exposed gold inner workings under his seat. "You don't wanna touch down here, but anything with this metal plating is fine." He indicated the sleek black armor plating that covered much of the bike by smoothing his gloved fingers over the plate between his knees.

Shulk's eyes sparkled in wonderment, running his fingers over the polished black surface. "What kind of engine is under here?" he asked, and the stranger looked pleased as he folded his arms over the handlebars, resting his face in one hand as he delivered answers for each of Shulk's queries. "How many cylinders is that? Why does it need so many? The exhaust pipes are so big! There are two front wheels? Why?" And finally, "How fast can it go?" The stranger's answer to that one made Shulk stare at him in stunned silence.

Shulk realized that he was looking at the stranger for the first time, having completely ignored him in favor of paying attention to the bike. He was taken aback but the incredible aqua color of his eyes, which were fixated on Shulk in amusement at the moment, adding to his surprise. There was no shortage of blue-eyed fighters in the roster – Shulk himself was among them – but this hue was so brilliant that Shulk swore they must reflect their own faint luminance.

And the man's face was so unearthly beautiful. Many of the people here were beautiful, as Roy had even expressed to him recently, but something about this stranger's impossibly perfect features was downright ethereal. It wasn't enough that his eyes were that stunning aqua color, they had to be almond-shaped like a doll's as well; and his lips were glossy and full, perfect for pouting.

The stranger was standing up now, swinging one leg over the seat to stand beside Shulk. He was taller than Shulk by just a bit, and the spiked points that his hair came to brought him even higher. "'Scuse me," he murmured, reaching past Shulk to the curved plate at the front of the bike. Shulk's hand still rested there, too, but he flinched off as something clicked below his touch. A compartment opened, and the stranger grabbed the hilt of the sword revealed inside, hefting it out of its storage.

Shulk had seen big swords before. Ike's Ragnell was among the more massive weapons present in the roster, although he'd seen that Ganondorf possessed a larger one that he simply chose not to use. Shulk was pretty sure, even at a glance, that this sword was bigger than both of those put together. It had to rival the size of the weapons Reyn used.

The stranger, after briefly making sure that he had enough berth on either side, swung the massive blade into a twirl that provided enough momentum to heft it over his shoulder, where he held it there at rest. The sharply angled tip of it almost touched the ground behind his feet. Those full lips that Shulk had been admiring tugged into a smirk.

Without thinking about it, Shulk's hand went over his own shoulder, fingers curling around the hilt of the Monado that he carried at his back. Ike, Ganondorf, and Reyn might have huge weapons, but the Monado was bigger. Its end wasn't as close to the ground as the other swordsman's was at the moment – but this was its compact form.

As Shulk's fingers slid into a stronger grip on its hilt, the weapon hummed with whirring energy. The round glass plates layered in its base glowed around their edges as they warmed, and the blue veins down its length flickered into luminosity. Energy crackled around the blade in the form of white-blue sparks, like miniature arcs of lightning that sparked across its surface.

Then, Shulk stopped himself. The mechanical hum dissipated. If Shulk activated the Monado now, its beam would pierce the asphalt at their feet, and he didn't want to cause that kind of damage. He only looked squarely at the other man, their stances mirror images of one another. The stranger smirked again, and Shulk knew that the other swordsman believed his blade the more impressive of the two for now, and his own smile widened as he anticipated correcting him on the battlefield.


Shulk didn't learn until later that the newcomer's name was Cloud, or that he was a newcomer at all. It seemed that many people he did not recognize came and went through the grounds, and seeing someone unfamiliar was not that uncommon. An official welcoming party was held for him later in the day, much as there had been for Roy and the other fighters that arrived after the initial roster. Apparently, Shulk had intercepted him just as he'd arrived. He didn't mind being Cloud's first impression, but he was a bit humbled by it and wished that he had behaved more welcomingly and friendly toward him at the time.

It was the next day that Shulk ran into him again, as they both happened to gear up together in the same common room before the day's matches commenced. "Hey," Cloud greeted, a little more friendly himself, now that he'd met more of the other fighters and had a day to settle in. "Shulk, right? I didn't know you were so popular. Seems like everyone I talked to yesterday had something to say about you."

"Is that true?" Shulk asked, puzzled, as he strapped on his arm guard and straightened his buckled leggings.

Cloud was similarly gearing up, but talked to Shulk over his shoulder. "That Marth guy – well, I guess I should be more respectful than that for a prince, huh? Or is he a king?"

"One of those," Shulk shrugged, having heard different answers depending on who he asked. Regardless, he already had a guess as to where this conversation was going.

"Anyway, Marth was really enthusiastic about making sure that I got introduced to his group of friends," Cloud went on, buckling up his boots.

Damn, Marth, you're fast, Shulk had to give him credit. But he understood where Marth was coming from. Marth was probably just as smitten with the guy's pretty face as Shulk had been.

"I have to say that I didn't expect to get roped into activities like that when I got my invitation to show up here," Cloud concluded.

Shulk carefully asked, "What did you think?"

"Honestly?" Cloud faced Shulk now, grinning with surprising friendliness. "We have arrangements like that in the other crossover work I've done. You wouldn't believe how kinky those Kingdom Hearts kids are." At that, he looked at Shulk more levelly, and his voice went lower. "I'm no stranger."

Shulk remembered to close his mouth. Cloud was stepping toward him, boots heavy against the floor. Shulk's heart sped up... at least until he realized that he was simply standing between Cloud and the door. He sidestepped to offer him room.

Cloud spoke to him in profile as he passed by. "I have a whole block of matches today, it being my first day and all. But... how about afterward?" He had slowed his steps, talking to Shulk over his shoulder. Shulk swallowed and nodded. Cloud smiled, "Good. Let's mosey out back, where my bike is. I'll show you how it works. We'll go for a ride."

Shulk must have stood in stunned silence for a full minute in the empty room before he recovered from that.


Finishing up his own block of matches, Shulk jogged out to the vehicle lot, where Cloud was already straddled over that beautiful bike. He waved Shulk over. "Hey," he said, lowering his goggles from where they were sitting on his head to cover his eyes. "By the way, this is Fenrir." The engine revved, and Shulk felt as if the machine had just introduced itself to him.

Shulk was patting his pockets, first mistakenly finding his reading glasses in the pocket of his vest, then producing his lab goggles from a pocket in his shorts when he finally found them. Cloud looked impressed as Shulk slipped them into place, then asked, "Hey, you got any suggestions for nice, big spaces we can ride through? I know there are a couple of race courses around here, but I was thinking of something more... open."

Shulk was in the middle of swinging one leg over the seat behind Cloud as he'd been indicated. When he lowered, the curvature of the seat pushed him right up against Cloud, their hips in line. He tried to ignore his surprise, wiggling into a comfortable position as if he were used to this. Wrapping his hands around Cloud's waist (again, pretending this was normal), he finally answered, "I know just the place."


Fenrir swung around sideways as Cloud hit the brakes when they reached their destination. "Whoa," he breathed, taking in the incredible expanse of Gaur Plains. Grass and wildflowers had grown with minimal human interference here for years, reaching as high as their waists, but dirt paths meandered through the grassy fields as well. "What," he asked, pointing far ahead, "is that?"

"That is Mechonis," Shulk answered, referring to the impossibly massive construction that managed to loom over them despite being some uncountable distance of miles away. "We're currently on a similar one, by the way. Bionis. They face each other, surrounded by eternal ocean. This is my home." Shulk pushed himself off of the bike, beginning to take a few steps into the field. This place was alive, thoroughly; not only with insects and small animals that could be heard scurrying away, unseen in the underbrush, but in the very air itself. Shulk breathed in the Ether with comfort and relief. "These plains are on its leg," he said very conversationally as further explanation, lowering to lie on his back, folding his arms to put his hands under his head.

Cloud was looking left and right, struggling to comprehend the scale of the "creature" they were apparently perched on, if these numerous miles of plains in all directions could somehow be on its leg. They must be as microscopic as mites in comparison. Shulk smiled to himself, pleased that he'd managed to strip from Cloud just a little bit of his cool.

Of course, Shulk had been similarly stricken with awe upon witnessing the incredible destructive power of the Godlike summons in Midgar.

After a few minutes of Shulk relaxing while Cloud adjusted various dials and controls on Fenrir's dashboard, the revving engine captured Shulk's attention, and he looked up to see Cloud gesturing for him to come back over. When Shulk stood up, brushing dirt from his clothes, Cloud scooted back in his seat, inviting Shulk to sit in front of him.

Shulk was taken aback to be offered the front seat, and took a moment to replace his goggles over his face after having pushed them into his hair when he'd gotten off the bike the first time. He tried not to show any hesitance as he slid in with Cloud, their hips flush together once more. He did not at all know what to do with his hands, until Cloud slid his own gloved ones down Shulk's arms, guiding them to the handlebars. It brought both of their bodies into a forward-leaning position together.

"This is the brake for the front wheels," Cloud stretched his first two fingers to touch, but not apply pressure to, the small lever above their right hands. "Brake the back wheel with your foot, if we're moving slow enough. We probably won't be." Shult felt Cloud's heavy boots nudge against his right foot. "This side is the clutch, with the gear shift down here. I'll handle those," Cloud explained, indicating mirrored controls for the left side. "And don't do it yet, but twist forward here to go," he squeezed Shulk's right hand.

"Wait," Shulk mentally backed up, asking with incredulousness, "I'm driving this thing?"

Cloud didn't answer that verbally, but Shulk was pretty sure he was grinning. "Here's something to get you started – I think you'll like this." Cloud indicated and talked Shulk through pulling the clutch with his left fingers and twisting the throttle at the same time. "Do it fast – within one second."

Shulk did it.

Fenrir revved. Shulk swore that it was alive; that it was some creature roaring underneath them. Even the sound dying out again was like a mechanical purr.

His breath had caught. Shulk's engineering brain was buzzing, making him feel lightheaded. Every component of the machine below him was breathing, working harmoniously with its connection with every other part, bringing life to this beast.

He was grateful that Cloud was sitting behind him right now, because he would have been very embarrassed to have him in front.

"You ready to go?" Cloud asked, his face near Shulk's ear.

"Oh, yes."

"Let's ride."


Fenrir roared across Gaur Plains, an abomination of noise that screamed over the usually tranquil, pastoral fields. Its passengers were far from silent themselves, Shulk cheering and shouting as they wove through the tall grass, dust kicked up behind them that traced their location from miles away, while Cloud laughed behind him. Over time, Cloud eased his hands off of Shulk's, allowing him full control over the machine. He rested them against his hips instead.

Shulk's voice was hoarse after what had to have been nearly an hour of joyriding, making figure eights or just blasting as fast as they could in a straight line. Cloud's leather-gloved hands returned to their places on the handlebars as he took control again to slow them down. He picked a flowery spot near a mossy rock outcropping to turn the bike sideways as they stopped, letting the engine hum for a while before finally powering it off at last.

"That was incredible," Shulk marveled, still laughing and breathless as he began to shift his weight to swing off of the bike.

"Don't move," Cloud urged, however, his grip strengthening on Shulk's hips to hold him in place. Shulk heated up at once, his adrenaline already at its peak from the excitement of the ride. He felt Cloud's legs maneuvering, and that a stand was kicked out somewhere below them. The weight of the bike settled, supported in the center and no longer requiring the balance of its passengers to hold it upright.

Cloud's hands slipped under the hem of Shulk's sweater and down his shorts, gripping his butt. Shulk groaned, wondering if he'd have to change his balance as they went on, or what he would hold onto in place of the handlebars if he had to move.

Cloud was strong. He worked his way underneath Shulk and somehow got enough leverage to lift him, just enough to push his shorts down. Nothing about their position was going to allow the lower half of his clothing to be removed more than that, but Shulk found himself more comfortable than anticipated, still leaning forward in a natural position.

He heard Cloud swear softly as he admired the bared Shulk, sliding his fingers down the crevice, tickling him. But his hands retreated, and Shulk saw the gloves come off, Cloud slapping the discarded garments over his knee just to put them somewhere. From the wriggling that Shulk could feel behind him, he inferred that Cloud was opening his pants to get himself out. In such close quarters, immediately upon Cloud settling back, Shulk felt his hot, hard self resting into that crevice, lining up with it.

There was more fumbling, and then Cloud had produced from his pocket a tube of lubrication, cursing its coldness as he covered his cock with it. Shulk flinched at the cold as well, feeling it directly on his backside. Cloud's fingers went into his hole to coat it as well, but Shulk noticed that he wasn't exactly being stretched. He decided that he didn't mind. Since they were getting into it now, he slipped off his goggles.

"You ready?" Cloud asked, and Shulk loved his lusty timbre, shaking with anticipation.

"Yeah," Shulk tilted the angle of his hips, perking them up for Cloud's entry, knowing that he rubbed directly against the underside of his cock as he did so. It also pressed his stomach flatter against Fenrir's sleek armor.

Cloud pushed in with some difficulty, Shulk not having been exercised very thoroughly beforehand. But, God, it was so worth it, with how tight Shulk was around him. Even Shulk appreciated the friction, his mouth already open and gasping even in these initial, experimental thrusts.

Cloud found a rhythm quickly, and his hands clapped over Shulk's on the handlebars as he braced himself. Shulk's voice was doing that thing, that thing that he couldn't control no matter how self-conscious he was of it, where every time his partner thrust in, it choked out little sounds from his throat. Their pitch escalated with consecutive thrusts – he couldn't get his voice to go that high when he tried on his own, in the safety of privacy. He'd tried.

Shulk realized that this quality was likely something that was discussed among his partners, after learning earlier today from Cloud that they apparently talked about him... Cloud's pleased grunt at the sounds all but confirmed his suspicion that it was something his partners found pleasing.

Finding a distraction to focus on was easy. Shulk's cock rubbed against the beast of a machine below him, providing wonderful, friction-filled stimulation for him with each of Cloud's thrusts. A strange thought came to him. Fenrir was nearly as much of a participant in their lovemaking as they themselves were. Shulk alarmed himself at the ease with which he entertained the thought of sex with a machine. Fenrir was powerful and fast and loud and kind of phallic now that he thought about it and had certainly spent the last hour succeeding in getting his adrenaline pumping.

Fuck, Shulk thought, I am crushing super hard on this goddamn motorcycle. Dontthinkaboutitdontthinkaboutitdontthinkaboutit, he struggled to order himself not to get turned on by the concept as his dick continuously rubbed against the seat. He failed. He had to bite his lower lip, choking back a high, strained cry as he (barely) succeeded to hold back an orgasm.

Shulk thought that his self-control was rather impressive in that moment, but Cloud's slowing motions made his eyes snap open. Oh, please don't ask me if I just came.

"Did you just come?"

Dammit! "Uh... almost. Not quite." Shulk wanted to bury his face, but his hands were locked under Cloud's at the moment.

"Can you turn around?" Cloud asked, his voice breathlessly strained and lusty.

"Mm... maybe?" He struggled a bit. Honestly, he doubted it. He couldn't fold his leg underneath him enough to get to the other side. Cloud's strength pulled through again, picking him up around the waist and helping to flip him over. Shulk was greatly humbled by the show of strength as he settled into place again. Now, his butt rested in the seat, while his shoulders were supported against the handlebars. A chance was presented, and Cloud took the opportunity to tear Shulk's pants and shorts off the rest of the way, discarding them. One of Shulk's bared legs fell to one side of him, but Cloud held on to the other, draping it over his shoulder.

Despite being sideways, Shulk could now look up at the other, and appreciated the heated breathlessness in Cloud's pretty, perfect face. Somehow, despite all of their wild riding, Cloud's deliberately spiked hair was still perfectly in place, besides the sweat beading at the roots and dampening his bangs. Shulk was sure that his own curls had whipped out of control and that he must look mussy and disheveled, but Cloud did not seem to mind this at all, smiling down at him now that they could see each other. Maybe he even liked it.

Cloud penetrated Shulk again now that their positions had settled, but before he began thrusting, he worked his hands under Shulk's sweater. He pressed against sweat-slicked skin, pushing the garment up until it was far enough to expose Shulk's nipples.

"Damn," Cloud said, looking over him. "This is what you're hiding under those baggy clothes? And here I thought you were just a gearhead. How many crunches d'you do a day?"

Shulk was in no position to answer, just gritting his teeth and writhing as Cloud's strong fingers followed those muscles he appreciated so much before teasing his nipples. Shulk's musculature might be invisible under his comfortable clothing, but Cloud's form-fitting attire left less to the imagination. Nothing of Cloud was exposed at the moment, besides the blond hair around the cock that was currently embedded in Shulk's backside, but Shulk could still tell that he was definitely larger in mass than himself.

Not long after that, Cloud resumed thrusting, and Shulk adored the sensation of being taken sideways. Below them, the bike was rocking. Shulk had no doubts about Fenrir's stability, it was quite like the bouncing of a bed. But even so... the thought continued lingering, that the motions of the bike were a manifestation of its will to be active as a participant.

Shulk willed those thoughts from his head, covering his face with his forearm in desperation. Cloud was pounding him harder now, and faster. Their new position allowed greater maneuverability from him, giving him more power behind his thrusts. And Cloud was already a powerful individual.

Shulk had already been so worked up, release was just a matter of losing himself in Cloud's motions. His back arched, pushing his stomach up closer to Cloud, who slid his hands over his exposed skin, tracing his nipples and then down his sinews, through Shulk's fresh cum. Then his own grip strengthened, his thrusts quickening to a frenzy until orgasm reached him as well.

His extraction from Shulk's hole was sudden, and Shulk looked down in surprise to see Cloud milking himself with his hand, just in time to see him burst. Cloud's cum mixed with Shulk's, spraying over his exposed body. Shulk thought that Cloud's face in the moment was endearing, lower lip between his teeth and straining to watch how Shulk's body was marked by him despite how much his eyes wanted to shut tight.


After many quiet moments of recovery, the two dismounted from the bike at last to rest against the mossy rock nearby. Shulk curled against it, using the extraneous clothes he hadn't yet put back on as a pillow. Beside him, Cloud leaned his back against the mossy surface, tilting his head back to look up at the sky.

He remarked to Shulk quietly without looking at him, "Everyone speaks about you very glowingly, you know." Shulk was surprised to hear that, and started to get up, habitually running his fingers through his hopelessly windblown hair in effort to correct it. Cloud continued, "I think... that everyone in Marth's group loves you, even if it's only a little bit."

Now Shulk stared at him. Cloud finally looked down from the sky and smiled kindly. "I think that I could become one of them, too."


When they both stood up, as if Shulk weren't stunned into silence enough, Cloud spoke to him again while they readied to hop on the bike once more. "By the way... this is probably going to sound completely crazy."

"What is it?" Shulk asked, immensely curious.

"I have the strangest feeling that I... know you, somehow. Or, knew of you. And maybe not you directly, but the world that you come from. Or one connected to it. Like I've seen into that place... just a broken glimpse... like a billion... mirror... fragments..."

Cloud looked very wistful and distant from what Shulk could see of his profile, his luminous gaze transfixed on something far in the distance. Worried for him, Shulk touched his arm gently. Cloud looked around, noticing that the sun had begun to set, as if surprised to observe the passage of time.

"It's getting late," he smiled at Shulk over his shoulder as they made for the bike once more. "We should head back, huh?"


Bonus:

Shulk eased into a cocky stance as he stood across from Cloud at the beginning of their match. Finally, the two had been paired together to test their skills in battle. "I've been meaning to tell you," Shulk mused, "That my sword is bigger than yours."

"What?" Cloud nearly laughed, confidently hefting the Buster Sword at his side.

"I said," – Shulk pulled the Monado over his shoulder – "My sword," – it breathed to life, its pieces separating to make way for the beamed blade that shot out from its center, doubling its length – "is bigger."

Cloud looked deeply wounded, as if Shulk had personally offended him.


It was really strangely important to me to get Cloud included in this series within 24 hours of his announcement...

This was only a quickly-constructed extra chapter in the excitement following Cloud's surprise announcement! Two other "plotline" chapters are planned at the moment: Robin's "punishment" for Shulk, involving denial and toys (light BDSM play); and happy friendship-sex with Roy.

Also, there are sooo many small references in this... Cloud's weirdness at the end is referring to a small reference to Xenogears that's actually hiding in FFVII, with "A billion mirror fragments" being the first line of dialog in question. I just really, really like the thought that these two have been connected before, no matter how small and trivial (and so very, very distant) it might be.