Originally written for the Strifehart Kink Meme.
Prompt: Sephiroth realizing that Leon is Cloud's weakness and using that to his advantage.
(I actually filled this prompt twice, but I personally prefer this one - if you've been to the meme, the other involved cookies.)
He was the darkness in Cloud's heart. No matter how often Cloud would stand in the presence of his Light, no matter how he basked in it, the shadow would always be behind him, following him every single step of the way. The shadow would see all that Cloud did, both in the open and in hiding. Nothing was kept secret from a shadow, from what was part of the blond.
He knew what made Cloud tick. He could see the vaguest softening of usually brittle aqua eyes as Cloud spotted a particular someone in the distance. He could see the slightest curl of lips in a rare smile as that someone approached. He could feel the irritating glow of light in the battered heart as hand joined in hand, and he could feel the hope swelling as words were whispered in Cloud's ear.
He knew Cloud's weakness, and he loathed it. It was an inconvenience to all that Cloud should rightfully become.
Cloud was meant for the Darkness. Cloud gained power and strength each time he fed off it. The presence of his black wing had been a testament to his first breakthrough in that power, something he should have looked to as a sign that he could get stronger, better, invincible…
Yet, because of his yearn for Light, he had discarded it like a bit of trash.
That would not do.
No matter how perfect a creation, no matter how much potential it had, a single flaw was all it took to render failure. A weak spot was what felled a mighty beast.
He knew Cloud's weakness, could see it growing like a tumor on the man's soul. It was his duty, he knew, to rid Cloud of it.
Isolating it was so easy, as it was so very small yet. The extraction of it was painful to its host – painful and bloody – but so very worth it.
Leon, he heard Cloud beg. Leon, don't leave me. No… NO!
The last flutter of a dying heart, and then the removal of the weakness was complete.
As the pool of chilled blood spread across a ground littered in black feathers, as Cloud clutched the still form against his chest and kept screaming over and over again in agony, he was the shadow again, watching all that transpired with great pleasure. The pain would be smothered, as it always did with the passage of time. While it was a pity and an overall messy affair, he was certain that this one sacrifice was necessary. It made Cloud stronger, closer to the perfect being of Darkness that he was destined to become.
Thank you, Leon, he decided, for allowing me to crush that Light in him once and for all.
And sure enough, as Cloud buried his head into the crushed chest, soaking his golden hair in a dull coppery red, the Light within him flickered like a dying flame, struggling futilely without a source to keep it alive. Smiling softly, Sephiroth raised a hand as though to cup it, and then gently blew it out.
Darkness was all that remained.
Shameless advertisement: If you'd like to prompt me to write something Cleon/Strifehart for you, drop by the Strifehart Kink Meme (http: //community. livejournal. com/ cleonrp/ 2723. html). The ones I like better will end up back here for your reading pleasure.