Chapter 2 – Only a Fortnight Away

Same warnings as Chapter 1. Only amplified. Hehe

Same Disclaimer, too! So, ditto!

I drew a quick panel from the fictitious "Tsundere Veterinarian" manga and posted it to deviant art. It's like when a manga artist purposely slips into a more "cartoony" style to (usually) make a comedic point. You can check it out if you want (and give me a break, okay, I did it with Paint in, like, 4 minutes!) on the deviant art site at gallery/. XD (As in manga, read right to left! The first block of the panel is posted above for this story.)

Okay, enough b.s.! On to Chapter 2:

"All right, asshole … up against the wall. Up against the wall, I said!" The police officer shoved the perp against the wall of the room, holding him in place by the back of the neck. "Spread 'em!" he growled, kicking the man's legs apart. "Hands on the wall where I can see 'em, shitheel … higher! … now don't move!" The officer began a pat-down of the captured criminal, starting at his neck, checking his hair and his shirt collarfor hidden blades. He ran his hands across the man's shoulders, down his arms, and then turned his attention to his back and chest. "Stay still," he muttered, running both hands down the man's hips and onto his legs. The perp was panting, obviously frightened.

"I … I didn't do nothin'!" He turned his head, craning his neck to look over his shoulder.

"Shut up!" the policeman grunted, shoving his captive's head back forward again. He ran his hands over the man's buttocks, making him startle – but the guy wasn't brave enough to take his hands off the wall or turn around again. Now the officer ran his hands around the front of the man's hips … and paused. "Oh-ho … what do we have here? You got a club inside your pants or somethin'?" He grabbed the 'club' and squeezed, making the perp shiver and whimper. "Huh?! Speak up!"

"N-no! That – that's not a club! I swear!" His voice was high-pitched and breathy, he was shaking with fright.

"What is it then?! Huh?! A bag of drugs? Fuckin' speak up!" The officer shoved the offender against the wall again, pushing up against him from behind with his body. He dipped his searching hand inside the man's pants and found what he was looking for. "Oh-ho … I see. Gettin' off on this, are ya? You one o' them homos?! Well, are ya?! Answer me!"

"I … y-yes! Yes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't help it!" The perp sounded like he was about to cry.

"Then … this is your lucky day. Or unlucky, dependin' on how you look at it," the policeman snickered. "Hands behind your back …. Hands!"

Whimpering, the man took his hands off the wall and put them behind his back. The handcuffs clinked and clicked into place. The policeman pulled him away from the wall by the cuffs, turned him around and sneered at him. "On your knees, homo," he said, grinning with easy disdain. He unzipped his pants, pulling out a very nicely shaped cock. "My deputy here needs a little attention. Do a good job and maybe I'll go easy on ya." He suddenly had a nightstick in his hand … pressing a little button made it telescope out until it was roughly two feet long, slender and pliant at the tip.

Cloud Strife made one fine-looking cop. He was wearing a black uniform – yeah, it was cheap, but it still looked pretty good, he thought – including a black cop's hat pulled down low on his forehead and a pair of dark sunglasses. The city planner of Junon crept forward on his knees, sweat beading his upper lip, and looked up at the cop looming over him. He leaned forward, still looking up at Cloud, and touched the tip of his tongue to Cloud's dick.

"You can do better than that, fag-boy," Cloud goaded him, and struck him a good one across the back with his 'nightstick'. The city planner, a small, rather chubby man named Paul, squealed and shuddered. He scuttled forward on his knees and began licking Cloud's cock in earnest, whimpering as he did so. Cloud prodded him on – with lashes of the whip – whenever he paused or used his teeth. Soon he was holding on to Paul's head by the ears, fucking his mouth. Paul loved this kind of shit. He was a man of some power and influence in Junon, but he secretly wanted to give power over to someone else, someone who would use him and punish him for being a bad, bad boy.

Cloud Strife was that someone. Whipping Paul through his shirt wouldn't leave any marks, and hurt just enough so that Paul was 'whipped' into a frenzy. Soon enough he had the man bent over the coffee table, pants down around his knees, begging for mercy. Mercy that would never come – because Paul didn't really want it to come. They had a safe word in play, just in case. If Paul said, "architect", Cloud would immediately stop and step away.

So far, out of all the times they'd met, the safe word had never been used. Cloud knew what was enough and what was too much. He could read Paul like a book. So now he slid the vibrator into Paul's asshole and turned it up, the buzzing sound muffled inside the other man's body. "Gotta make sure you don't have any hidden weapons, drugs, or other contraband up in here, law-breaker," Cloud sneered as he leaned over Paul's back. "Hmm, seems pretty open … but maybe I should check with something better. Something … longer …."

"Ah! N-no! No, please, I don't have anything up there! I wouldn't—"

"Shut up!" In Paul's case, no really did mean yes. It always did. Only 'architect' meant no. He spread Paul's asscheeks apart and pressed the head of his now-condom-covered dick up against his opening. "Yeah, might be somethin' up there. Gotta make sure you're clean, perp. Officer McCloud is gonna do … just … that!" On the word 'that', Cloud popped the head of his dick past Paul's sphincter and slid it home. Paul squealed again, his head coming back, sweat pouring off his face.

"Off—Officer! No! Ah ahh!" He continued to moan and beg for forgiveness as Cloud fucked the hell out of him. Paul loved it … the way he eventually came like Old Faithful gave witness to that. When Cloud allowed him to come, that is. When Paul had begged for permission and promised to make a sizable donation to the Policeman's Benevolence Fund. (Cloud had thought that was a nice touch. It made him laugh inside.)

The size of the tip he gave Cloud also showed how much he'd liked the play, too. Now that it was all over, Paul once again looked like a regular businessman, suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, sunglasses to hide his identity. Good luck with that, Cloud thought … but if it was ever discovered that Paul the Junon City Planner was visiting a host for BDSM sex? – it wouldn't be because Cloud Strife had let the secret out. No fuckin' way. He certainly knew what side his bread was buttered on.

"See you next time, Cloud-kun," Paul said, smiling. "That was … memorable." He was blushing. Cloud pressed his lips together to hide a smile.

"That's what I'm here for, sir," Cloud said, touching his fingertips to the brim of his hat, nodding, still playing the cop. Buttered bread, buttered bread.

When he was gone, Cloud counted out his gil with delight. Damnation! He'd made 700 gil on top of Ray's cut! In two hours' time! Excellent! He imagined the fantastic Tsundere Veterinarian memorabilia he was going to be able to buy. Two weeks away … only two weeks away! He grinned and put the money in his wallet, then put it back in the lockbox. Glancing at the clock, he realized he had about 45 minutes until the "boys" would be back for more gay-sex instruction. (Interesting times in the host business with those two young sexy guys. But more on that later.) 45 minutes was plenty of time to get cleaned up, change into some jeans and a t-shirt, and surf online for a little while. Maybe Whitey would be around.

He whistled as he stripped out of the cop uniform and headed for the bathroom.

XXX

Midgar

Across the ocean in Midgar, Sephiroth was having his own troubles. Here was a man who definitely needed a safe word … if he'd've had one, he'd've been yelling it at the top of his lungs by now. He wanted to pinch himself, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. Gods. Never again. Never again!

This blind date was a complete and utter disaster. The only reason he'd agreed to it was because he'd lost a stupid bet with Zack. Zack. The more Sephiroth thought about it, the more it became obvious that Zack was not his friend. If he was, wouldn't he like Sephiroth for who he was, and let him do the things that he enjoyed? Why was he eternally trying to get Sephiroth hooked up? And just what in the world was wrong with a mostly-celibate life? Masturbation was good enough for Seph, he did it a few times a week and that was plenty. In the shower, hot water, slippery soap – POW! 'Nough said. He wasn't a virgin, hadn't been since he was 14, but still. If he could buy it back, he might.

But this … godDAMNit. The woman was a civilian – she didn't work for ShinRa, she wasn't a Turk or anything like that. She was older than Nini and her flock of fluttery, giggly friends … in her twenties like Sephiroth was. She had long black hair, pale skin, and red fingernails that looked like they'd been dipped in blood. Nice.

But that was really the only attractive thing about her. Oh, Sephiroth had to give it to her – she'd been trying all night to find something they had in common, but was failing miserably. Reading? Nope, all she read was fashion and fan magazines. Movies? Nope, she liked romantic comedies and Sephiroth would rather be boiled in oil before watching one. (Sephiroth liked action films and nature documentaries.) Careers? Nope, she was an elementary school teacher, and Sephiroth hated children. Foods? She wanted to eat sushi … and Sephiroth considered it a mark of civilization that people had begun cooking their food. He rarely even ate raw fruit! Even their drinks, now that they were here at the bar – she was having tequila, and Sephiroth was of the opinion that if something had a worm in it, you threw it away. He was drinking sake, warm sake thank you very much. It was the only good thing about the whole fucked-up evening.

Once again he was stuffed into some clothes that Zack had picked out. How he longed to be back in his sweats, reading more of the Tsundere Veterinarian, sipping his warm sake in his living room, a fire in the fireplace … he sighed, glancing at the woman to his left. Carola. What kind of name was that? Gods, how much longer would he have to stay here. Wait, she was pausing for breath in her story about something one of the rugrats in her class had done. He feigned interest. Sephiroth was very good at feigning interest, it was one of his more useful talents.

For her part, Carola was almost frantic with the desire to catch this man's interest and hold it. She could tell that the evening was not going well, and she was scrambling around in her head, trying to think what she could do to rescue things and start up a relationship with this amazingly handsome man. General Sephiroth. General Sephiroth! Imagine what her life would be like if she could capture him … date him … move in … get married … have his children! She finished her story and he chuckled right on time. "Well, at least Yuki didn't try to pretend that he'd done the science project all by himself. That uncle of his … he lives with them but he's really a lay-about, doesn't work …." She shook her head, clucking her tongue.

Someone stab me! Someone set the bar on fire! Please! Sephiroth thought, even as he was commiserating with her.

Carola looked at him over the rim of her glass. His beautiful long hair was hanging over one shoulder, puddled in his lap. The black dress shirt set off his pale skin in a majorly sexy way, and the black jeans were sinful. "Goodness," she breathed. "I think I've had enough to drink. I'm feeling a little tipsy!" She giggled, but in a mature way, she thought.

Was she choking? Sephiroth thought, fairly alarmed. No … no, she was laughing. Whew. "Are you ready to go then?" he asked, trying to keep the hope out of his voice. It came out calm and conscientious.

"Are you?"

Gawd. "Sure. Let's get out of here," Sephiroth said, and then felt like kicking himself. That sounded like he wanted her to come with him. Sure enough, that's the way she took it, too. Dammit! He paid the tab, left a nice tip, and escorted her out of the bar and onto the street. The valet took his ticket and trotted off to get his car. Shit. Why had he driven? Why hadn't he taken a cab? He was stuck. He couldn't very well just leave her here on the street. Zack … I'm going to fucking kill you the next time I see you. None of this registered on the General's face. Outwardly, he was smiling faintly as he looked down at Carola.

In the car, Carola sat as close as the console would let her, leaning over even though the seatbelt had to be practically cutting her in half. She was remarkably well-versed in current events, and of course Sephiroth knew what was going on everywhere in the world at any given time, so they actually had a decent conversation on the way to her apartment. She directed him down into the parking garage – and Sephiroth's early-warning system failed him. Maybe if he hadn't had so much sake, he wouldn't have gone down in there where they'd be all alone in the dark. But even the best intuition has lapses, and Seph's had a BIG one.

So now here he was, leaning back in the seat while Carola leaned across the console, unzipping his jeans. The return of blood flow (fucking tight jeans) to that area meant a return of sensation … and the next thing he knew, he was hard. Congratulating herself, Carola went to work. She actually gave a pretty decent blowjob, only once did her teeth scrape him painfully, but Sephiroth found himself losing concentration. It felt good, but.

Women's intuition was a powerful thing. The second Seph's cock started showing signs of losing rigidity, Carola got up and slid over the console, straddling him, facing him. She produced a condom – from where?! Sephiroth thought, in a panic – pulled her panties off to the side and lined him up. Sephiroth was wide-eyed, hanging onto the edges of his seat, wondering how things had gotten this far.

Now, Sephiroth was big. I mean big big. Big as in LARGE. But she sucked him up inside herself like she had a system of caves down there. Soon he was practically having to hang on for dear life as she rode him like a wild woman inside his car, straining the limits of his shock absorbers. And … she was so wet! What the hell, had she peed on him? Sloshing squooshing sounds, her little squeaks of pleasure ….

Sephiroth was totally turned-off. It was only lucky that he hadn't masturbated that day, because otherwise he'd've never popped one off. Her kisses were sloppy, her breasts were fake, and the tequila smell on her breath made him want to gag. He just held on for dear life while she bucked his bronco.

When it was over she thanked him for a lovely evening, gave him her number, and slid out of his car, waving cheekily as she walked to the elevators. Sephiroth waited until the doors closed on her, then started his car, gunned the engine, and tore out of there. He had to get home and get cleaned up. He was barely able to restrain himself from putting the top down and going through a car wash with his zipper down. His crotch felt gross.

Later, after a super-hot shower during which he'd thought of all kinds of imaginative ways to kill Zack, he got into his old robe and flopped backward onto his bed. What. The. Fuck. That was it. No more! He was not letting Zack talk him into any more bullshit dates like this. At least now that he'd scrubbed himself clean he didn't feel like he needed to douse his privates in gasoline and light a match. Scratching his chest idly, he turned his head until his gaze fell on the airline tickets stuck into a corner of his dresser mirror. Two weeks left. Two weeks to get through until he could board a civilian airship and go to Costa Del Sol. A genuine smile curved his lips. Two weeks.

XXX

Cloud arrived at the convenience store early … it was only about 1:15 a.m. but he didn't have any more customers at Ray's so he left early and made his way to the store. Quinn was on duty again, he gave Cloud a little wave when he stuck his head inside the employee entrance to let the older man know that he was here. "Q, I'll be hanging in the back until my shift starts, okay?" Cloud said, unslinging his laptop from off his shoulder.

"No problem. See ya in a bit," Quinn said, returning to his book.

The swinging door whispered shut when Cloud let go of it. He ambled over to the little nook where the employees had their breaks and lunches. There was a small table and four chairs, a chef's cart next to the fridge with a microwave, a toaster, and a coffee maker on it, and a small cabinet that contained paper plates, plastic utensils, Styrofoam cups, and coffee filters, stuff like that. Cloud got a soda out of the employee fridge and set up his laptop on the table. The convenience store had Wi-Fi, mostly for the customers who sat at the counter or the booths to eat a microwave burrito or some cup noodles. It wasn't the greatest Wi-Fi around, but it worked okay for Cloud's uses.

The first thing he did was check M. Kitano-sensei's website, to make sure the artist's schedule hadn't changed. Nope. Still on for two weeks away, here in Costa Del Sol. Yes! Then he checked his bank account, making sure nothing weird was happening there. All safe and sound. After that he checked his email … something in there from Mom. He opened it and skimmed the first paragraph, making sure she wasn't in a state, freaking out over a fire or some shit like that, but it seemed to be just news from home. Leaving it open, he navigated to the Tsundere Veterinarian chatroom. He checked the list … Whitey was there. But he was talking with someone about the manga, so Cloud didn't interrupt. Instead he read his Mom's email. (Whitey hadn't been there when Cloud checked the chatroom earlier, which made sense actually, with the time change.)

They'd had a huge snowstorm in Nibelheim – Cloud had already heard about it on the news. 18 inches and she was really missing her little blond snow-shoveler. One of his cousins was getting married this summer, she was wondering if he'd be able to come home for it. Probably. She thanked him for the money he'd sent her last week. His cat, Boo, seemed to miss him very much, she thought … the kitty slept on his bed every night. Cloud frowned. That was one thing he was still kinda upset about: leaving his cat behind. But he'd had her since she was just a kitten, and she'd never known anything other than that house in Nibelheim. He was afraid she was too old (she was 10) to handle such a drastic change in her life, at this time in her life. So he'd left her behind. Maybe when he was able to get a bigger place …. He sighed and glanced at the chatroom again.

Whitey: Hi, Nimble

Pause.

Whitey: Gaia to Nimble, come in.

Shorter pause.

Whitey: Yo, Nimble, you there? ?

Whitey: HEH NIMBLE! ARE YOU BLIND?

Whitey: The rules say if you're going to be afk you have to put it behind your nick. :P

Whitey: If you fall asleep on your keyboard, you'll drool on it and short it out. XD Then your hair will catch fire and—

Cloud laughed and typed, Man, you just have waayy too much time on your hands, don't ya. Lol

Whitey: Hey lurker!

Nimble: Naw … just readin' an email from my Mom.

Whitey: k

They chit-chatted about lots of things, but mostly about Tsundere Veterinarian. They agreed that the vet's new receptionist was probably going to be a new love interest in his life … because she was just as much a tsundere as he was, and in the last issue he'd had a huge fight with his fiancé (now ex-fiancé) and they'd broken up. She'd wanted him to take sensitivity classes and he'd told her the classes were a load of crap. Now he was drinking his sorrows away and letting his apartment go … the run-in with the cockroaches had been absolutely hilarious, they both agreed … and his mood was even more grouchy. (Except with the animals, of course!) But the new receptionist was giving it right back to him – so funny! – and it looked to both men like she was perfect for the veterinarian.

Whitey: I see that the date for your town is still on.

Nimble: Yep! Just checked it myself.

Whitey: Got my tickets yesterday, so I'm definitely gonna be there. :D

Nimble: Excellent!

Whitey: Yeah. Man, I can't wait. I think my friend might come, too … but he's not interested in the book signing, he's just going for the night life and to cruise chicks.

If "Nimble" had known "Whitey" in real life, he'd've been snorting at the contradiction of the phrase "cruise chicks" coming from Sephiroth. He never said things like this. Never. It was a testament to the level of anonymity … and the comfort he felt … in this particular chatroom, and with Nimble.

Nimble: LMAO

Whitey: yeah

Nimble: Well, he'll find plenty of them here.

Whitey: He'll be glad to hear that.

Sephiroth always wondered just how much he could say to his online friend. He felt close to Nimble, and yet he didn't know his name, what he did for a living, what he looked like, nothing. They had a sort-of unwritten pact to keep it all about the manga, although they'd strayed a bit in to each other's real lives before. But now that the weekend was approaching, and Seph was gonna be in Nimble's town … he was starting to feel strange for not bringing it. Swallowing his misgivings, Sephiroth typed.

Whitey: So hey … you still wanna meet up?

Nimble: yeah! :D

Whitey: Ok, then. Cool. Is it okay if we figure it all out next time, though? I just got in not too long ago, been drinkin', and I'm about ready to pass out here.

Nimble: Pretty late there. And I've gotta get goin', too, work starts at 2.

Whitey: I'll look for ya tomorrow.

Nimble: Excellent! See ya then.

Cloud logged out, then closed out his email and shut the laptop, leaving it on the little table. There were lots of boxes to unpack tonight, a lot of stocking to do, since the manager liked to get ready for the weekend early. So he leapt to his feet, tied his apron around his waist and slipped on his gloves. He grabbed up the clipboard and scanned it … yeah, lots of stuff tonight. Tossing his soda can into the recycle bin, he clocked in and got busy.

XXX

Lunch time, roughly 5:30 a.m. Cloud was already wiped out, having worked his ass off to get all the product unloaded and put away on their proper shelves. He'd even done the freezer goods, which he hated and so normally left until last. Today his lunch consisted of a quickie microwave convenience store bento he'd bought (with his employee discount) about a half-hour ago. He pulled it out of the microwave and hustled it over to the table, grabbed a bottle of OJ from the employee fridge, and sat down.

His laptop was already powering up on the tabletop. He went to his email directly this time, and typed out a nice long letter of lies to his mother. No reason for her to worry her son was working as a host … if she knew that it'd fill her head with all kinds of strange ideas and she'd never give him a moment's peace. Yes, yes … Cloud's mother loved him, of course she did. And she wanted what was best for him. But that didn't mean he'd come out to her … yet. Yes, he'd said "yet"! He was going to come out to her, he really was, but he just hadn't done it. Yet. He sighed. Too many lies. Jesus. At least he was careful to deny the existence of a girlfriend. He knew better than that, at least!

What Cloud's mother thinks: Cloud is a salaryman working in marketing and advertising for Ray Zhou, the owner of several hotels and nightclubs in different cities on the Western Continent. (Ray's holdings were real … always intersperse lies with as much truth as possible.) He didn't have a steady girlfriend, but he was dating. (Was he ever. Well, sort-of.) He has a nice apartment on the beach, and is looking for a house. (Who isn't? Houses are somewhat rare and extraordinarily expensive in Costa Del Sol.)

There was plenty of truth in what he told his mom, too, though. He was eating right, he was healthy, he was working out, and he was – all in all – happy. He told her some humorous stories about working at the convenience store. He confessed that he missed her. He missed Boo. He missed his grandmother, his aunts, his cousins. He missed snow, sometimes … since our Cloud was quite the snow-boarder and skier. He was making plenty of money and would send her some more, soon, because he knew how hard it was to be all on your own. But he was glad to be in Costa Del Sol and out on his own. The things that had happened back in Nibelheim – he didn't really think about it at all anymore, so she could quit worrying about that. Her only son was doing just fine.

He did not tell her that he had seen Tatamine-sensei. That would be breaking the code of silence. If the teacher wanted anyone to know that he'd made a trip to Costa Del Sol, he could tell them himself. It certainly wouldn't come from Cloud.

Once the email was done, he logged onto the Tsundere Veterinarian chatroom and scanned the list of participants quickly. He hadn't thought he'd see Whitey there at this time, and he was right. But he could still contact him, using the site's email provider. Hmm. They hadn't actually done anything like this before, but it should be okay, right? Well, he'd soon find out: if Whitey didn't want to receive emails from other chatters, it wouldn't allow Cloud to type his nick in the "send to" field. It did allow it. So he continued.

"Hey, Whitey," he typed. "I know it might be kinda weird for me to email ya, but oh well. I guess I must be weird. lol Anyway, you said you're coming to town, so I wanted to go over Sensei's schedule with you. The first night, Friday, things don't start up until 5 pm. They're opening up the convention center at the Seaside Grand … there'll be food and vendors, all that stuff … and Sensei will speak at 8 pm in the Grand Ballroom, with a question-and-answer period after. After that it'll stay open until midnight for ppl to just talk and buy stuff, and there'll be drinks. On Saturday things start up early! Sensei will be on hand from 9 am til noon signing his books (yes!), and then the convention center will be open all day, but he has another book signing /and/ another question-and-answer period from 4-9 pm. Things wrap up at midnight on Saturday … BUT I heard that, if the first two days go well and there's enough interest, Sensei will hold a brunch in the hotel on Sunday morning before he leaves to head home. I'm so psyched. So if you hadn't planned on staying from Friday to Sunday afternoon or Monday, I hope you can change your plans! Also, there's a great bookstore not too far from the convenience store where I work … there's a coffee bar inside where people gather to drink coffee and talk books, they have Wi-Fi, and all that. So think about it: if ya wanna meet up, that would be a good place. I'll leave the 'if' and the 'when' and all that, up to you. Once I get off work at 8 am Friday morning, I'm off until Tuesday! Unless I decide to do my other boss a favor, but I won't let that interfere with Tsundere Veterinarian! LOL Anyway, think about it, okay buddy? Later! Nimble"

Did that sound too pushy? Too strange? Cloud read it over again, and he didn't think so. Shrugging, he went ahead and hit 'send'. He wanted to meet Whitey. They got along real good online, and they never ran out of things to talk about, especially when it came to their favorite manga! Cloud didn't have anyone in Costa Del Sol that he could really talk about Tsundere Veterinarian with, and he was feeling the lack.

Sighing, he looked at the clock. He still had 15 minutes. Well … what did he have scheduled for the upcoming week? He checked the most-recent email from Ray. Usually he let Cloud know if any of the people scheduling "karaoke" rooms had requested CS … what time they wanted … and then Cloud took it from there. As of now, there were three appointments in the upcoming week. Cloud frowned. Not enough! He looked at the first one. No names, of course, only initials. MR wanted to meet up with CS, first-timer, on Monday at 8 pm if possible. Special requests – Cloud's eyebrows went up. This guy wanted Cloud to meet him at the door, naked-apron style, and pretend to be his "bride". Cloud snickered. "Welcome back, husband-san! Would you like supper … or a bath … or me?" And that's exactly what he'd say, too. Ah, well. Hopefully he wasn't some fat old guy with bad teeth, but even if he was, Cloud's acting skills were up to the challenge. As long as he paid.

The second one was a repeat customer. BBB wanted to meet up with CS on Wednesday evening, whatever time, for four hours. Cloud knew who this was immediately, and grimaced a little. This guy always wanted things to be 'romantic' … he liked kissing and petting and crooning soft words while they snuggled on a futon, staring into each other's eyes. So far, these had been some of the longest hours of Cloud's LIFE. It had taken the man three visits to work himself up to touching Cloud's dick … and even then it was just to give him a hand-job. At this rate, it'd be Christmas before they fucked.

But again … oh, well. If that's what the guy wants, that what the guy gets, as long as he PAID.

Customer number three was the two kids again, for Thursday night. Cloud grinned. Last night's little episode had really turned them on, eh? Must have, since they'd already made another appointment. The older teen was rolling in cash, paid the fee and had – so far – tipped Cloud well at the end of things. Even though they hadn't really done much!

At the first meeting, Cloud had spent most of it observing the two guys and asking them questions. They'd talked and had some sodas and munchies, getting to know them and trying to figure out what they wanted. So far all they'd done on their own was some heavy kissing and fumbling around, but things had quickly stalled, for reasons they didn't know how to put into words. That they really liked each other was apparent, but things weren't progressing and both were getting anxious and worried – on top of having a terminal case of blue-balls! But Cloud had put them at ease, and told them as they were leaving that they'd get to the bottom of things – no pun intended, of course. He'd only charged them half-price for that visit.

Last night, Cloud had decided that it was time to figure out what was going on with them. He had a pretty good idea, but wanted to be sure. So when they'd come to the door of his karaoke room, when he opened the door he was wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. "Hey, guys," he'd casually said, "come on in." Issei, the older, taller one, had blushed and averted his eyes. Todo, the younger, had grinned brightly and come on in, looking at Cloud with interest. "Tonight we're gonna find out what's going on with you two," Cloud had continued, settling himself on the fold-down futon couch while they each took a chair facing him.

"Now … I've kinda got a good idea what's going on, but I don't think you guys do. So here." He spread his legs and lifted his knees, then whipped the towel out of the way. His dick and balls – along with his asshole – were clearly in view. He watched them, then covered up again. "Okay … what was the first thing that caught your eye when I displayed myself?" he asked, smiling.

"Your d-dick," Issei said.

"Your entrance," Todo said at the same time.

Entrance. 'Nough said. "Okay, so, I'm right. Wanna know what the problem is?"

"Yes," they both said, again at the same time.

"Issei … you might think because you're older and bigger, that you should have the seme role. But that ain't how you're wired. You're the uke here, and Todo – you're the seme." He paused to let that sink in. "Up to now, you've been fighting that, trying to make things work the opposite way. But, I don't think that's gonna work for you guys."

"Oh," Todo said, sliding a glance toward his boyfriend.

"Oh!" Issei said, in full blush. "Th-that … I mean … you …." He sputtered to a stop, hands clenched in his lap.

"Look, it's nothing to be ashamed of or worried about," Cloud said. "I mean, look at me. You might think I act like a seme, but I'm what you call a switch. You guys know what that means, right? Top or bottom, I can do either, and I like'em both." They appeared skeptical. "You don't believe me? Okay, Issei … watch this. And it's for teaching purposes only, remember, so don't start feeling weird about stuff."

Cloud got up and took the two steps that would bring him in front of Todo. He sat down on the boy's lap, sideways, bridal-style. Gone was the self-assured young host, now a sweet-looking young blond man stared up into Todo's face. Todo grinned down at him, slipping his arms around Cloud and pulling him in closer. "You can touch me if you want to," Cloud said, tucking his face into the hollow of Todo's neck. He peeked at Issei … he was watching avidly, mouth partly open, his cheeks aflame.

Todo didn't wait for more urging. His fingers immediately went to Cloud's nipples. "Look, Issei … what a nice color Cloud-senpai has here," he said, rubbing his fingers across a taut nubbin, taking it in between his thumb and index finger and squeezing it gently.

"You're getting hard, Todo-san," Cloud murmured, wriggling slightly in the boy's lap.

"T-Todo," Issei said on a gasp.

Todo laughed lightly, then dropped his hand to Cloud's lap and petted his cock through the towel. "You're getting hard, too, Cloud-senpai," he said, his voice deepening as his arousal amped up.

"Mm," Cloud hummed. He risked another peek at Issei. His eyes were glued on Todo's hand, where it caressed Cloud's dick. A glance at the boy's crotch revealed a nicely-sized bulge. Okay, good. "Issei-san, come here," Cloud said softly, beckoning with his left hand. Issei stood up stiffly, then moved to stand in front of Cloud and Todo. Cloud took his hand and tugged, wordlessly asking the teen to kneel down in front of them. He did so, cheeks aflame.

"Issei," Todo murmured, looking at his boyfriend, his hand still rubbing Cloud's now fully-erect member.

Cloud slid his arm around Issei's neck and pulled him in closer, then nuzzled his neck, working his way to the younger guy's mouth. He kissed him softly, licking his lips, until Issei responded, opening his mouth to receive Cloud's tongue.

"Oh, yeah," Todo rasped, watching avidly.

Cloud began to very slowly lean back, pulling Issei with him, then, with his right arm wrapped around Todo's neck, pulled him forward to meet them. The three-way kiss was electric, even Cloud was not immune to this kind of thing. Issei was trembling as Todo freed his left hand to lightly run his fingers along Issei's zipper – even as his right slid under Cloud's towel to encircle his twitching cock.

But Cloud wasn't here to 'interfere' with the budding relationship between these two. He was only here to help. And 'taking over' Issei's spot wasn't going to help anything! So he slid off Todo's lap, keeping a grip on Issei. "Todo-san, spread your legs," he said softly. It was quick work to unzip Todo's jeans and get his dick out. "Issei-san … come. Let's make Todo-san feel good."

Todo couldn't believe his eyes. Or his luck. He felt like shouting out his thanks to the gods. Here he sat, leaning back on a soft chair like a king, legs spread, two cute guys licking his cock. He was trying to keep his head, he didn't wanna come too soon, he wanted to enjoy this for a while, goddammit! But it was so damn good! Cloud's talented tongue, Issei's blushing face and soft lips, he'd never been this hard before, never! He could hear Cloud murmuring little suggestions to Issei, little instructions, which Issei seriously listened to and obeyed. Soon Cloud was licking his scrotum while Issei sucked enthusiastically on the head of his cock, eyes closed, blushing cheeks looking so cute! His pink tongue emerged to lap at Todo's swollen head – he heard Cloud-senpai whisper something and then Issei stuck the tip of his tongue into Todo's slit and wiggled it … oh no. Dammit, no! Not yet! "A—already!" he growled through gritted teeth.

"Issei-kohai," Cloud said softly, "wrap your lips around the head … that's right, seal it … now suck. Use your hand to stroke his shaft … yes, just like that. When he comes in your mouth, take it all in, suck it out, and swallow it."

It was the word "swallow" that send Todo over the edge, no matter how much he wanted this to last. His body went rigid, he growled, "Ah, man, yes!" and came helplessly as Issei opened his eyes to look up into his face. His cum spurted out for what felt like forever, felt so fucking good! He saw Issei's throat move as he swallowed and another jolt of pleasure shot up his spine, sending another gout of semen into his beloved's mouth. "Nnh!" Todo grunted, burying his fingers in Issei's hair.

He didn't notice that Cloud was no longer snuggled in between his legs anymore. He was standing off to the side, his towel back in place, still sporting a cheerful boner. He was watching Issei's technique, hand on the back of the boy's neck. "Good," he murmured. Fuuuck. He was gonna have to wank one off after this! Too cute.

Now it was Issei's turn. Cloud directed him to remove his jeans – which he did, still blushing but so terminally turned-on he didn't hesitate – and to climb onto Todo's lap, straddling him, facing him. Todo didn't need to be told what to do, he kissed Issei lovingly as he used his hand, stroking off his boyfriend. "Just do it like you do yourself, Todo-san," Cloud said, approving. When Issei came, gasping and moaning (again – so cute!) Todo smiled up at him, pulling him in close and telling him how much he loved him.

Cloud was across the room by then, and went into the bathroom to get changed. He resolutely thought of unsexy things like Ray's ashtrays and naked women until his erection calmed down, then got dressed and came back out. Issei was still on Todo's lap, panting. But both looked happy and satisfied.

"Okay, so you guys can pretty much take it from here, right? I mean, you can go online and find out what to … do … uh," Cloud slowed to a stop. "What?"

Todo was shaking his head over Issei's shoulder. "But Cloud-senpai … you're so much better than any book."

Issei took his lead from Todo, looking at his boyfriend before turning his head to give Cloud a quick glance. "Isn't it okay, Cloud-senpai? To come back and … learn from you?"

Cloud shrugged. "It's your money, Issei-kun," he said, grinning. "Sure. Just make the appointment online and request me. But next time? We're goin' all the way, guys. So Issei … make sure you're clean. Know what I'm sayin'?"

Issei nodded, trying not to blush, but failing. Cloud smiled. "Cool. Today, that'll be … 400 gil." Issei had paid, and they'd left, holding hands until they got outside. And now here was their reservation, already back for more. Cloud was kinda surprised, knowing teenagers he'd've thought that they would have already found their own way, so to speak. But they seemed to really want some "instruction", so … whatever. More gil for Cloud! Excellent.

Moments later, Cloud came back to himself, jumping up from his chair and inches away from slapping himself across the face. He'd been sitting there, remembering how tenderly Todo had treated Issei, how their love-making had a special aura to it, how it was so different from the tawdry sex he had with his customers. He had been yearning. No fucking way. Cloud Strife had no use for romantic love. Friendship, great. Familial love, all for it. But romantic love? No fucking way. It was nothing but trouble. It caused nothing but heartache. You couldn't trust people. You couldn't trust that things were real, and even if you lucked out and it was real, you definitely couldn't trust that it would last. He should feel sorry for Issei and Todo, instead of the longing that had been seeping through his veins a minute ago. Their relationship would end up in heartache, it almost always did. Not 100% of the time, Cloud wasn't that much a cynical prick, but most of the time. Most of the time, people ended up unhappy, broken, hurt, empty, crying, scarred.

But he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he got another soda and grabbed the broom. Lunch was over, time to sweep! He smiled at Quinn when he walked out into the store proper, then headed outside to sweep. The sky was brightening in the east. It was nice. He leaned on the broom handle for a few minutes, admiring the sky, listening to the birds wake up, hearing the sound of the surf from two streets over. Nice. This was his life. He slurped soda, then sat the can down on the windowsill and began to sweep. He whistled softly as the broom's bristles pushed the ever-present sand off the sidewalk and into the street.

This was Cloud Strife's life. And it was just fine.

End Chapter 2

Thanks for reading! XD

Ahvienda