WAAAAAH! WARM N FUZZIES! I feel like I'm my own slave driver, writing this now. All day: gotta get another chappie written for da readers! gotta write!
but its pouring out of me now, so all's good. Next chapter, we should be getting a little more character diversity. Hopefully, lol :)
Chapter 4Dreams
Cloud woke up to the sound of deep breathing and a steady heartbeat, and sunlight on his face. He came around slowly, senses dulled by how relaxed he felt. This is perfect… The thought, then instantly countered, what is? He peeled his eyes open, and saw nothing for a moment, until they focused awkwardly on Sephiroth's adam's apple, rising and sinking with each breath the sleeping man took. Cloud's heat hammered as memory took hold of his mind. The evening before, talking with Sephiroth in the dark, then coming when beckoned to crawl up under the sheets to sleep by his side. Tears stung his eyes, but he pushed them back. How did he get so lucky as to deserve this? His life was slowly starting to roll back into motion from its six-year standstill, with Sephiroth gently shoving from behind. He took a deep breath, breathing in Sephiroth's scent, now mixed with his own slightly, and that of the hotel room. It was still wonderful. Sephiroth shifted in his sleep, and a cascade of silver hair fell over his shoulder , landing right in front of Cloud's face. He raised a hand carefully, and ever so lightly ran his fingers through a few of the pale strands, savoring the feel. He loved Sephiroth's hair: it had always struck him as something sacred, and hadn't wanted to break that by touching it, but Sephiroth was asleep, and it was there before him, begging to be touched. It looked soft, but when it glided across Cloud's fingertips, he found it beyond so, clean and smooth and soft as moonlight. Entranced, he let his hands glide deeper, soaking in the feel.
Green eyes opened slowly to watch as Cloud silently explored, oblivious. It was more out of curiosity than anything else that kept Sephiroth from revealing that he was awake. He wanted to see how Cloud acted, looked at him when he thought he wasn't watching. The blonde was carefully weaving his fingers through a small lock of his hair, watching strand by strand of silver slide away, eyes filled with wonder. Abruptly, Cloud looked up into his face and gasped, instantly pulling his hand away, looking guilty. Sephiroth smiled, chuckling lightly. "So shy…" he mused. Cloud blushed.
"How long have you been awake…?" He ventured after a moment, still keeping his eyes averted.
"Long enough." Cloud winced.
"Um…I'm sorry I uh…I-"
"Its alright, Cloud. Do I look like I mind?" Sephiroth said. Cloud remained silent, eyes still averted towards one of his shoulders. "Look. Do I?" He repeated himself, reaching out to lift Cloud's chin. Cloud let him lift his face, and did look then, and found Sephiroth smiling a little down at him. Cloud shook his head in response to Sephiroth's question. "Then its fine, isn't it? You'll know if its not, Cloud, so don't worry." Cloud winced, but nodded in acceptance. He looked up again as he felt Sephiroth run a hand through his hair, ruffling the untamed spikes even further. Cloud closed his eyes, leaning into the touch as slender fingers brushed his scalp, sending pleasant, soothing shivers down his spine. It made him feel like going back to sleep. In fact, he didn't understand why he was fighting sleep now, everything seemed so perfect, its not like they had to leave was it…? Leave! Cloud jumped up with a cry and noticed for the first time that the sun shone through the window because it was so high in the sky.
"Aah!" Sephiroth jumped, afraid he'd upset Cloud. "We have to get going!" Cloud went on, oblivious to Sephiroth's' concern. With that, he leapt out of bed and began gathering his few belongings, packing them back where they came from. He paused, turning back to Sephiroth. "Are you okay to travel?" He asked, voice concerned. Sephiroth nodded, rising himself, then paused, catching the sheets almost before they fell around his ankles, skin pinkening a little in embarrassment.
"Uh…" Cloud turned around at the uncertain sound and blushed hotly, his ears and cheeks turning a cherry-red. "I need clothes…" Sephiroth went on after a moment, deciding it wasn't a good time to tease Cloud about his blushing when he himself wasn't in much of a position to do so. Cloud glanced around the room as if expecting something to materialize right out of thin air for him. Nothing did and after a moment, he looked back at Sephiroth, blushed again, but shook it off.
"If you can wait a few minutes I'll go find you something." He said quickly. Sephiroth nodded and, wrapping the blankets around his waist a little more firmly, sat back down to wait. There was not much else he could do.
Cloud returned after a half hour with a bag under one arm, and a small package in his free hand. He tossed the bag to Sephiroth. "Not exactly what I'd call your style, but they'll have to do." He said, turning away politely as Sephiroth opened up the bag and started removing the few articles of clothing there. He checked the tag of one and raised an eyebrow. "I brought a little something for breakfast, too. Its not much but we'll be able to eat while we travel…" Cloud went on oblivious, pulling a few last items into his pack.
"You know my sizes?" Sephiroth said, dressing quickly and noting that everything fit perfectly. "That couldn't have been a lucky guess on EVERYTHING. He looked at the provided shoes before pulling them on - heavy hiking boots, and frowned a little. Then frowned a little more as he slid them on and realized they fit him better than anything he'd ever worn. Cloud, in the meantime, had frozen at Sephiroth's light accusation, and let out the strangest little laugh, strained, making his voice crack. He remained silent after that, however, and Sephiroth never got a straight answer. He finished dressing and stood, grunting a little as he caught sight of himself in a mirror on the other side of the room. He was wearing a green turtleneck and black slacks, and while he admitted that they were actually very flattering on him, it was still strange to see himself in civilian clothing when he'd spent nearly his entire life in battle armor.
"Is it alright?" Cloud asked worriedly, spotting his expression. Sephiroth grunted, shrugging.
"It'll do fine. …I just miss the armor. And Masamume." He added honestly. Cloud winced again.
"I guess they're gone, I would have spotted them if the planet had decided to spit them back out as well…" Cloud said softly. Sephiroth grunted, trying to force himself to feel indifferent. Cloud sensed the heavy air around Sephiroth and tried to keep talking. "You won't need them anymore anyway…" he added weakly. Sephiroth stopped himself from shooting a venomous glare at Cloud a half second too late, and felt a little guilty as he saw Cloud cringe, averting his eyes. Sephiroth cleared his throat, shaking the foul mood off.
"So…" he began, damning himself for always having been a recluse and never bothered learning anything about starting a conversation. "Uh, what did you get for breakfast?" Cloud finally turned around at that and smiled weakly.
"Uh, just healthy snacks, really…" He said apologetically, "but they're better than rations, right?" He added quickly. Sephiroth walked over to peer at the package over Cloud's shoulder. Sephiroth's chest brushed Cloud's shoulder and electricity seemed to rush all up and down Cloud's arm with the touch. He managed to hold back the gasp. Sephiroth, examining the array of breakfast bars and trail mixes shrugged casually, and snatched a bar before stepping back. Munching thoughtfully, he ate several bites before replying.
"Better than rations and much better than nothing." Cloud swore he'd die if he heard the Great General Sephiroth say something else so cheerfully optimistic so early in the morning.
Stepping out into the cold Icicle morning air, Cloud glanced around, then whistled sharply, just once. The note was so high and loud that it made Sephiroth wince, covering his ears, and Cloud turned around to shoot him an apologetic glace. "What was that for?" Sephiroth asked when he'd recovered. Cloud smiled.
"You'll see." They stood in the snow together in silence, waiting for about five minutes when there was a cheerful squawk in the distance and shortly after a gold chocobo came charging over the hill, scooting to a halt right in front of them. It warked excitedly, nuzzling Cloud affectionately before turning to look at Sephiroth keenly, big blue eyes focusing in on him with a curious interest. It warked softly again, and tilted its head questioningly. Cloud smiled warmly at the giant bird, scratching the back of its head. "This is Sephiroth. Do you think you can carry us both alright?" The bird cooed softly and Cloud hugged it around the neck. "Don't worry, I won't work you like I did coming up here. We'll take it easy." It warked again, much more cheerfully and Cloud pulled some greens out of his pocket. "At'ta boy. Here, munch up." It took the snack greedily then seemed to smile, crouching down so that it could be mounted. Cloud leapt onto the giant bird and turned back to Sephiroth. "Come on. He won't mind." As if to agree, the chocobo warked at him, and Sephiroth hesitantly climbed onto the bird, seating himself behind Cloud. He was barely settled when the bird stood again, and took off, racing back up the slopes and toward warmer land.
Cloud was thankful for the steady wind caused by the chocobo's speed, because he knew his face was burning up. It felt strange, and yet very thrilling, to have Sephiroth behind him, chest pressed firmly against his back, arms wrapped securely around his waist. It was the only way two people could stay on a chocobo comfortably, the back person hanging on for the whole ride. Cloud didn't mind in the least, and couldn't help but smile to himself as Sephiroth dipped his head to rest his chin on his shoulder. It felt very good.
"So, does the bird have a name." Sephiroth's voice suddenly in his ear startled Cloud but by now he was adjusting to Sephiroth's abrupt mannerisms. Cloud smiled as the chocobo warked at them cheerfully, even as it continued to run.
"His name is Orion." Orion chirped proudly.
"Orion?"
"Yep!"
"And he's yours, I assume?" Cloud grinned.
"Yep! Raised him from a chick." Cloud boasted lightly. Sephiroth chuckled.
"He's very strong to be running like this all day."
"Yeah, fastest bird around too." Cloud added. Orion seemed very smug that he was being bragged about. "And the smartest."
"Yeah, he looked right through me."
"I think he can sense that you have a deep tie to the planet. He's like that with Vincent, too." Sephiroth frowned.
"Vincent?"
"Yeah. Vincent Valentine." Cloud said, not quite so cheerfully. "Another of Hojo's experiments. You might actually remember him, but I dunno." Sephiroth remained quiet. The name rang a bell, but he couldn't place how. The afternoon passed in silence until about an hour short of sunset, Sephiroth began to cough violently again, leaning heavily against Cloud as they rode. He insisted he was fine, and they went on a little longer until he began to shiver. Cloud stopped them immediately.
"We stopped?" Sephiroth said, trying to keep his voice strong. He felt like he could die, but wouldn't let it on to Cloud.
"You're shaking, you're coughing like you're gunna choke on your lung any minute now, and I said your name three times without you noticing. We're stopping and getting some rest for the night.
By now they were out of the snow and onto a grassy plane, and while there was no shelter around, it was neither cold nor windy, and as the sun was setting, stars could already be seen peeking out behind the sparse clouds in the sky. Sephiroth frowned as he collapsed, trying to dismount. Cloud caught him easily enough but his old ego was resurfacing and demanding that he not show any weakness. By the time the sun had set, however, he could barely move, and Cloud wrapped him in a blanket where he lay half-propped against Orion, and quickly cooked dinner then made him sleep. Sephiroth grumbled a little, but reasoned that he needed to fix his own attitude anyway. Exhausted, he fell asleep almost immediately, and didn't even notice Cloud hovering over him worriedly.
Cloud rose early with the dawn, and spent another three hours merely sitting, watching Sephiroth sleep. He was beautiful when still, sleeping like some sort of fallen angel, but Cloud could see that he was haunted by inner demons, wracked by nightmares on several occasions. It broke his heart, but Cloud understood that Sephiroth did have evils on his hands that he had to amend. Finally, with one final cry, Sephiroth woke up on his own, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide and terrified, breathing heavy and ragged. Cloud froze, wide-eyed and staring. After a moment, Sephiroth regained consciousness fully, and let out a shuddering sigh, raising his shaking hands to his face. Cloud unfroze and ran to the ex-General's side, hugging him in an attempt to comfort the shaken man. Sephiroth was lost in his own horror and didn't respond, just stared into space, some horribly dark secret behind his presently pale eyes. Cloud continued to hold Sephiroth, cradling his head and muttering in his ear. "Its over. Its gone, it was just a dream…everything's fine…" Cloud hoped he was right… Sephiroth had a very dark past, and an even darker connection to the planet.
Finally, Sephiroth relaxed, melting into Cloud's embrace weakly. He rubbed his eyes wearily and just stayed where he was for a while. Cloud didn't say a word. He wouldn't press, wouldn't ask, he would just stay here like this as long as Sephiroth needed him, even if it was forever. He was worried though. He wished Sephiroth would say something, anything. But he kept quiet and didn't ask for a response. Just cradled the other man's head on his shoulder, rocking ever so slightly. Eventually, Sephiroth let out a low groan.
"What a shitty way to wake up…" he grumbled. Cloud smiled. He was okay now, and even though something obviously horrible had happened inside of Sephiroth's mind, he was okay and already recovering. Cloud hugged him once more and then let the man sit up.
"Are you alright?" Cloud asked tentatively. He had to say something. Sephiroth nodded, rubbing his head.
"Yeah… Just… reliving…" Cloud nodded. He'd gone through his share of reliving, too.
"Its always the worst in dreams, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Abruptly, Sephiroth glanced down at his hands, raised an eyebrow, then shrugged it off. Cloud noticed what he had a moment later.
"Its gone." Sephiroth looked up sharply. "The number. Its gone. You have a new body and everything.." Cloud pointed out. Sephiroth smiled a little.
"I suppose you're right."
but its pouring out of me now, so all's good. Next chapter, we should be getting a little more character diversity. Hopefully, lol :)
Chapter 4Dreams
Cloud woke up to the sound of deep breathing and a steady heartbeat, and sunlight on his face. He came around slowly, senses dulled by how relaxed he felt. This is perfect… The thought, then instantly countered, what is? He peeled his eyes open, and saw nothing for a moment, until they focused awkwardly on Sephiroth's adam's apple, rising and sinking with each breath the sleeping man took. Cloud's heat hammered as memory took hold of his mind. The evening before, talking with Sephiroth in the dark, then coming when beckoned to crawl up under the sheets to sleep by his side. Tears stung his eyes, but he pushed them back. How did he get so lucky as to deserve this? His life was slowly starting to roll back into motion from its six-year standstill, with Sephiroth gently shoving from behind. He took a deep breath, breathing in Sephiroth's scent, now mixed with his own slightly, and that of the hotel room. It was still wonderful. Sephiroth shifted in his sleep, and a cascade of silver hair fell over his shoulder , landing right in front of Cloud's face. He raised a hand carefully, and ever so lightly ran his fingers through a few of the pale strands, savoring the feel. He loved Sephiroth's hair: it had always struck him as something sacred, and hadn't wanted to break that by touching it, but Sephiroth was asleep, and it was there before him, begging to be touched. It looked soft, but when it glided across Cloud's fingertips, he found it beyond so, clean and smooth and soft as moonlight. Entranced, he let his hands glide deeper, soaking in the feel.
Green eyes opened slowly to watch as Cloud silently explored, oblivious. It was more out of curiosity than anything else that kept Sephiroth from revealing that he was awake. He wanted to see how Cloud acted, looked at him when he thought he wasn't watching. The blonde was carefully weaving his fingers through a small lock of his hair, watching strand by strand of silver slide away, eyes filled with wonder. Abruptly, Cloud looked up into his face and gasped, instantly pulling his hand away, looking guilty. Sephiroth smiled, chuckling lightly. "So shy…" he mused. Cloud blushed.
"How long have you been awake…?" He ventured after a moment, still keeping his eyes averted.
"Long enough." Cloud winced.
"Um…I'm sorry I uh…I-"
"Its alright, Cloud. Do I look like I mind?" Sephiroth said. Cloud remained silent, eyes still averted towards one of his shoulders. "Look. Do I?" He repeated himself, reaching out to lift Cloud's chin. Cloud let him lift his face, and did look then, and found Sephiroth smiling a little down at him. Cloud shook his head in response to Sephiroth's question. "Then its fine, isn't it? You'll know if its not, Cloud, so don't worry." Cloud winced, but nodded in acceptance. He looked up again as he felt Sephiroth run a hand through his hair, ruffling the untamed spikes even further. Cloud closed his eyes, leaning into the touch as slender fingers brushed his scalp, sending pleasant, soothing shivers down his spine. It made him feel like going back to sleep. In fact, he didn't understand why he was fighting sleep now, everything seemed so perfect, its not like they had to leave was it…? Leave! Cloud jumped up with a cry and noticed for the first time that the sun shone through the window because it was so high in the sky.
"Aah!" Sephiroth jumped, afraid he'd upset Cloud. "We have to get going!" Cloud went on, oblivious to Sephiroth's' concern. With that, he leapt out of bed and began gathering his few belongings, packing them back where they came from. He paused, turning back to Sephiroth. "Are you okay to travel?" He asked, voice concerned. Sephiroth nodded, rising himself, then paused, catching the sheets almost before they fell around his ankles, skin pinkening a little in embarrassment.
"Uh…" Cloud turned around at the uncertain sound and blushed hotly, his ears and cheeks turning a cherry-red. "I need clothes…" Sephiroth went on after a moment, deciding it wasn't a good time to tease Cloud about his blushing when he himself wasn't in much of a position to do so. Cloud glanced around the room as if expecting something to materialize right out of thin air for him. Nothing did and after a moment, he looked back at Sephiroth, blushed again, but shook it off.
"If you can wait a few minutes I'll go find you something." He said quickly. Sephiroth nodded and, wrapping the blankets around his waist a little more firmly, sat back down to wait. There was not much else he could do.
Cloud returned after a half hour with a bag under one arm, and a small package in his free hand. He tossed the bag to Sephiroth. "Not exactly what I'd call your style, but they'll have to do." He said, turning away politely as Sephiroth opened up the bag and started removing the few articles of clothing there. He checked the tag of one and raised an eyebrow. "I brought a little something for breakfast, too. Its not much but we'll be able to eat while we travel…" Cloud went on oblivious, pulling a few last items into his pack.
"You know my sizes?" Sephiroth said, dressing quickly and noting that everything fit perfectly. "That couldn't have been a lucky guess on EVERYTHING. He looked at the provided shoes before pulling them on - heavy hiking boots, and frowned a little. Then frowned a little more as he slid them on and realized they fit him better than anything he'd ever worn. Cloud, in the meantime, had frozen at Sephiroth's light accusation, and let out the strangest little laugh, strained, making his voice crack. He remained silent after that, however, and Sephiroth never got a straight answer. He finished dressing and stood, grunting a little as he caught sight of himself in a mirror on the other side of the room. He was wearing a green turtleneck and black slacks, and while he admitted that they were actually very flattering on him, it was still strange to see himself in civilian clothing when he'd spent nearly his entire life in battle armor.
"Is it alright?" Cloud asked worriedly, spotting his expression. Sephiroth grunted, shrugging.
"It'll do fine. …I just miss the armor. And Masamume." He added honestly. Cloud winced again.
"I guess they're gone, I would have spotted them if the planet had decided to spit them back out as well…" Cloud said softly. Sephiroth grunted, trying to force himself to feel indifferent. Cloud sensed the heavy air around Sephiroth and tried to keep talking. "You won't need them anymore anyway…" he added weakly. Sephiroth stopped himself from shooting a venomous glare at Cloud a half second too late, and felt a little guilty as he saw Cloud cringe, averting his eyes. Sephiroth cleared his throat, shaking the foul mood off.
"So…" he began, damning himself for always having been a recluse and never bothered learning anything about starting a conversation. "Uh, what did you get for breakfast?" Cloud finally turned around at that and smiled weakly.
"Uh, just healthy snacks, really…" He said apologetically, "but they're better than rations, right?" He added quickly. Sephiroth walked over to peer at the package over Cloud's shoulder. Sephiroth's chest brushed Cloud's shoulder and electricity seemed to rush all up and down Cloud's arm with the touch. He managed to hold back the gasp. Sephiroth, examining the array of breakfast bars and trail mixes shrugged casually, and snatched a bar before stepping back. Munching thoughtfully, he ate several bites before replying.
"Better than rations and much better than nothing." Cloud swore he'd die if he heard the Great General Sephiroth say something else so cheerfully optimistic so early in the morning.
Stepping out into the cold Icicle morning air, Cloud glanced around, then whistled sharply, just once. The note was so high and loud that it made Sephiroth wince, covering his ears, and Cloud turned around to shoot him an apologetic glace. "What was that for?" Sephiroth asked when he'd recovered. Cloud smiled.
"You'll see." They stood in the snow together in silence, waiting for about five minutes when there was a cheerful squawk in the distance and shortly after a gold chocobo came charging over the hill, scooting to a halt right in front of them. It warked excitedly, nuzzling Cloud affectionately before turning to look at Sephiroth keenly, big blue eyes focusing in on him with a curious interest. It warked softly again, and tilted its head questioningly. Cloud smiled warmly at the giant bird, scratching the back of its head. "This is Sephiroth. Do you think you can carry us both alright?" The bird cooed softly and Cloud hugged it around the neck. "Don't worry, I won't work you like I did coming up here. We'll take it easy." It warked again, much more cheerfully and Cloud pulled some greens out of his pocket. "At'ta boy. Here, munch up." It took the snack greedily then seemed to smile, crouching down so that it could be mounted. Cloud leapt onto the giant bird and turned back to Sephiroth. "Come on. He won't mind." As if to agree, the chocobo warked at him, and Sephiroth hesitantly climbed onto the bird, seating himself behind Cloud. He was barely settled when the bird stood again, and took off, racing back up the slopes and toward warmer land.
Cloud was thankful for the steady wind caused by the chocobo's speed, because he knew his face was burning up. It felt strange, and yet very thrilling, to have Sephiroth behind him, chest pressed firmly against his back, arms wrapped securely around his waist. It was the only way two people could stay on a chocobo comfortably, the back person hanging on for the whole ride. Cloud didn't mind in the least, and couldn't help but smile to himself as Sephiroth dipped his head to rest his chin on his shoulder. It felt very good.
"So, does the bird have a name." Sephiroth's voice suddenly in his ear startled Cloud but by now he was adjusting to Sephiroth's abrupt mannerisms. Cloud smiled as the chocobo warked at them cheerfully, even as it continued to run.
"His name is Orion." Orion chirped proudly.
"Orion?"
"Yep!"
"And he's yours, I assume?" Cloud grinned.
"Yep! Raised him from a chick." Cloud boasted lightly. Sephiroth chuckled.
"He's very strong to be running like this all day."
"Yeah, fastest bird around too." Cloud added. Orion seemed very smug that he was being bragged about. "And the smartest."
"Yeah, he looked right through me."
"I think he can sense that you have a deep tie to the planet. He's like that with Vincent, too." Sephiroth frowned.
"Vincent?"
"Yeah. Vincent Valentine." Cloud said, not quite so cheerfully. "Another of Hojo's experiments. You might actually remember him, but I dunno." Sephiroth remained quiet. The name rang a bell, but he couldn't place how. The afternoon passed in silence until about an hour short of sunset, Sephiroth began to cough violently again, leaning heavily against Cloud as they rode. He insisted he was fine, and they went on a little longer until he began to shiver. Cloud stopped them immediately.
"We stopped?" Sephiroth said, trying to keep his voice strong. He felt like he could die, but wouldn't let it on to Cloud.
"You're shaking, you're coughing like you're gunna choke on your lung any minute now, and I said your name three times without you noticing. We're stopping and getting some rest for the night.
By now they were out of the snow and onto a grassy plane, and while there was no shelter around, it was neither cold nor windy, and as the sun was setting, stars could already be seen peeking out behind the sparse clouds in the sky. Sephiroth frowned as he collapsed, trying to dismount. Cloud caught him easily enough but his old ego was resurfacing and demanding that he not show any weakness. By the time the sun had set, however, he could barely move, and Cloud wrapped him in a blanket where he lay half-propped against Orion, and quickly cooked dinner then made him sleep. Sephiroth grumbled a little, but reasoned that he needed to fix his own attitude anyway. Exhausted, he fell asleep almost immediately, and didn't even notice Cloud hovering over him worriedly.
Cloud rose early with the dawn, and spent another three hours merely sitting, watching Sephiroth sleep. He was beautiful when still, sleeping like some sort of fallen angel, but Cloud could see that he was haunted by inner demons, wracked by nightmares on several occasions. It broke his heart, but Cloud understood that Sephiroth did have evils on his hands that he had to amend. Finally, with one final cry, Sephiroth woke up on his own, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide and terrified, breathing heavy and ragged. Cloud froze, wide-eyed and staring. After a moment, Sephiroth regained consciousness fully, and let out a shuddering sigh, raising his shaking hands to his face. Cloud unfroze and ran to the ex-General's side, hugging him in an attempt to comfort the shaken man. Sephiroth was lost in his own horror and didn't respond, just stared into space, some horribly dark secret behind his presently pale eyes. Cloud continued to hold Sephiroth, cradling his head and muttering in his ear. "Its over. Its gone, it was just a dream…everything's fine…" Cloud hoped he was right… Sephiroth had a very dark past, and an even darker connection to the planet.
Finally, Sephiroth relaxed, melting into Cloud's embrace weakly. He rubbed his eyes wearily and just stayed where he was for a while. Cloud didn't say a word. He wouldn't press, wouldn't ask, he would just stay here like this as long as Sephiroth needed him, even if it was forever. He was worried though. He wished Sephiroth would say something, anything. But he kept quiet and didn't ask for a response. Just cradled the other man's head on his shoulder, rocking ever so slightly. Eventually, Sephiroth let out a low groan.
"What a shitty way to wake up…" he grumbled. Cloud smiled. He was okay now, and even though something obviously horrible had happened inside of Sephiroth's mind, he was okay and already recovering. Cloud hugged him once more and then let the man sit up.
"Are you alright?" Cloud asked tentatively. He had to say something. Sephiroth nodded, rubbing his head.
"Yeah… Just… reliving…" Cloud nodded. He'd gone through his share of reliving, too.
"Its always the worst in dreams, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Abruptly, Sephiroth glanced down at his hands, raised an eyebrow, then shrugged it off. Cloud noticed what he had a moment later.
"Its gone." Sephiroth looked up sharply. "The number. Its gone. You have a new body and everything.." Cloud pointed out. Sephiroth smiled a little.
"I suppose you're right."