(Edit, 20 Feb 2009) BEFORE ANYTHING, I would like to issue a formal apology to aphelion orion, from whom I got the idea for the slave world, and from whom I did not wait for appropriate permission before posting – all because of my own impatience. I truly am sorry for not thinking before acting, and for any offence I may have caused.

WARNINGS: Slash, plus mentions of slavery and sex. Cheese. A little confusing too, I think.

INSPIRED BY: The slavery premise of Aphelion Orion's Sale.

Cloud, as much as he tried avoiding getting bought, has had his fair share of masters. Not all of them were cruel, and he vaguely recalls a lady who could even be called nice... but his experiences have taught him to be careful. Which was why, the first month he was taken into Sephiroth's household, he kept to himself as best as he could.

Not that he succeeded in any decent level. At first it was his Master's aide, who, unfortunately for him, was of a strange friendly sort. It wouldn't be a stretch to say he's never met anyone like Zack. Across continents and different social classes, Cloud has never encountered anyone willing to interact with a slave – much less be eager. Whenever he was there, Zack would make sure to visit him and talk to him, and wouldn't leave until Cloud himself spoke.

Then there was Sephiroth.

The tall, imposing general seemed content to leave the young blond to his own devices. Whenever they crossed paths, the man would usually do nothing more than nod at him. And while Sephiroth often called Cloud into his audience, all the soldier did was share meals and ask after the slave's condition.

Needless to say, Cloud was thrown horribly off-balance. Of all the luck on Gaia, he had to have been bought by the strangest master with the strangest friend in the world. He wasn't under any illusions. He'd been a slave as soon as he could be parted from his mother – being treated as a human being was something he was no longer used to. Also, Cloud was bought as a pleasure slave, and while he had never had that role before; he'd heard enough from the others of his kind to know what it entailed. He'd thought he'd known what he was in for – one of the pleasure slaves from his last trader talked of how she had been a cooking wench before, and how her last master had taken delight in teaching her the tricks of the trade himself.

Life as a slave taught Cloud many things – the greatest of which is to always know your place. Uncertainties are as dangerous as the carnivorous monsters of lore. Unknowns can hurt you, break you, kill you.

But how can Cloud account for something he has never experienced? He has never known comfort, so he did not know that it could be disturbingly easy to get used to. He did not realize that one moment of lowered defences will let the warmth seep into his bones. And that as the warmth filled his body, every act of kindness takes on an innocence he's never let them take on before. Inevitably, his guards, his caution – they disappear. And he is left vulnerable. And he breaks.

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Cloud lives the second month virtually unguarded. The silent strength of his Master becomes a constant. The meals and companionship begins to induce a sense of peace. It does not take very long until he begins to look forward to seeing his Master, like those slaves he once pitied in the trade dens.

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On the third month, Sephiroth is called to the borders. Cloud knows there is no real danger. While it is true that the general has been called due to increased activity – there is no war, and Sephiroth has lived through much, much worse. There is so little to worry about, in fact, that Zack is largely unperturbed by his superior's extended leave.

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One week passes, and then two. Soon a month has gone by. As each day passes, Cloud feels a strange cloying feeling in his chest. One that travels to his throat when horses' hooves thunder and no general comes with it. In the dreams he cannot remember, he sees silver and blood and he wakes up sweating, palms sweating and bile rising to his mouth.

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So when Sephiroth returns after nearly two months away, Cloud feels a strange lightness in his thoughts and feelings. He barely notices that himself rushing out to the door as soon as he catches a glimpse of the silver head of hair.

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That night, Cloud is finally called to Sephiroth's bedchambers.

Months ago, Cloud would have been wary. Perhaps he would have been a little afraid. But now, as he walks slowly to his Master, all he can feel is the return of the peace he has lost in the general's absence.

When Sephiroth beckons him closer, Cloud obeys without thought. "React to me as you wish," his Master tells him, and the young man nods. He has never felt trust, but he thinks this is what it is.

Unquestioningly, Cloud lowers himself to the bed when large hands urge him to do so. He moves his lips and tongue as best as he can as Sephiroth does to him. He licks and bites and kisses as his General does to him, willing only to return the pleasant warmth that the other man induces.

When Cloud feels hands push up inside his garments, he lifts his hand but not to stop it. He opens eyes he has not noticed he has closed and looks at his General, whose face is flushed and whose lips have turned up very slightly at the corners to form a nearly imperceptible smile. Barely a second later he closes his eyes again and lets the hands wander as they will, and divests his Master of his robes when urged.

He is not afraid when Sephiroth's hands, lips, tongue, touch all of him; is even eager to return the favour. He moans and cries out his Master's many titles when long fingers reach inside him; and later screams his Master's name when Sephiroth whispers permission in his ear as the General pushes himself inside the young man's body.

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In his fifth month in the house of the Great Sephiroth, Cloud wakes to a warmth he thinks he can no longer live without. In the days following, when he is transferred to quarters that adjoin the general's, he begins to notice how his world has been reformed around his Master. Distantly, he thinks that this may be a Bad Thing, but he cannot bring himself to worry.

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All that matters now is His World.

(Edit 2, 20 Feb 2009 = Thank you to Platerair_Queen, who pointed out a few formatting issues)

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