Thank you to all those who have reviewed! And I hope you'll continue reviewing after this chapter. Lol. Little bit of lemon (my very first time writing scenes like this lol)
/Edit - WHY DOESNT LET ME UNDERLINE MY STORY TITLE! DAMMIT! IT LOOKS UGLY JUST BOLDED!!
Disclaimer: lightofeilia does not own. Square does. Alice Hoffman, part of it, I suppose. Practical Magic is LOVE. Go read it!
Of Normalcy and Magic: Chapter 4
"I knew it!" crowed Demyx triumphantly on the phone. Cloud groaned, massaging his forehead.
"Dem - "
"You were so in love with him, don't deny it!"
"He was a friend at first - "
"But you love him and I was right!"
"Alright, just shut up before I hang up on you!" said Cloud hotly.
"I'm so happy for you!"
"Yeah ... thanks. I'm happy for myself too. I'm just a little bit worried, though."
"Worried? About what?"
"He's my first relationship. First friend. I don't really know what to do, you know."
"He'll lead you, I suppose. You look like the uke to me," said Demyx thoughtfully.
"...I'm hanging up on you."
"No, don't! Okay, okay. You'll both learn, and then can dominate anytime you want, yeah?"
"I am not discussing my sex life with you!"
"But dear brother, I have loads of experiences! I can give you tips! But I prefer being uke, maybe it runs in the family, you know? Pretty blonde hair and pretty blue eyes - hello? Hello?! Cloud! Aw fuck, he hung up -"
Their relationship was hardly what you could call normal to the townsfolk. They were, after all, the only gay couple around town. Cloud didn't want the public to know about his relationship with Zack and making him look bad in the people's eyes but Zack would have none of that. He disliked the pretentious townspeople anyway, and preferred to spend time with Cloud.
Zack would go to work in the morning, where he stoically bore the whispers and gossips with his sunny smile until the evening came when he was finally off work and could go over to Cloud's to cook up some dinner and chit chat a little. The old man whom Cloud lived with, Merlin, was okay with their relationship and Zack actually liked the old man's witty humour. Cloud never explained why he was there, and Zack never thought to ask. After dinner, they'd retreat to Cloud's room where they would lie together on the same bed, basking in the warmth of each other, talking about the future and other random things. And when it was late, sometimes Zack slept over and other times he went back home for a bit of his own privacy.
Cloud's past was rarely brought up ever since that fateful first day they met. Zack once asked if he had any happy memories when he was a child.
"Not a single one."
"Seriously? Not one?"
"No. Unless you count quitting high school as one."
"Yeah, I suppose that'll have to do," said Zack thoughtfully, hugging the blond closer to him as they snuggled on the warm comforter.
"I don't even have clear memories of my parents," said Cloud, realization dawning on him as he leaned into Zack's embrace.
"You don't? Why not? Come to think of it, you've never spoken about them before."
"... I just know they were killed. Kinda dangerous life, isn't it, us magic users."
"I still can't quite believe you can actually do that," said Zack, grabbing Cloud's hand and tracing patterns on his palm.
"Yeah, well," said Cloud idly, casting his mind around for another topic to talk about. Fortunately, Zack beat him to it.
"You know, I never thought I would be gay. I mean, my parents and all would have been happier with grandchildren and stuff, but well ..." he winked at Cloud, who smiled giddily at him. "Since I'm stuck with you, maybe we can adopt since we can't have children."
"We're not even married yet - "
"Would you?"
Heart beating like a hummingbird's wings, Cloud gulped. Marry? Zack? Marry Zack?
Knowing Zack was waiting for a response, he couldn't help but worry about the future. Biting his lip, he tried to think of a proper way to let Zack down gently. Even though the idea was appealing, it was still too fast...
Then something in his mind clicked.
"Um, Zack?"
"Spike, I was serious you know - "
"What do you mean ... we can't have children...?"
Zack sat up abruptly, staring at him incredulously. Ruffling his own messy hair of spikes, he answered.
"Cloud ... two men can't have children. It's not possible. It's a ... universal fact."
"I ... "
Gently, Zack pulled him into a soft embrace. Sensing something was the matter, Zack decided not to push it.
"Zack?" said Cloud timidly.
"Hmm?"
"I remember quite clearly that both my parents were men."
"What?!"
Sitting upright in shock, he turned to stare at Cloud, who was nervously biting his lip.
"Am I adopted?" he whispered to himself. "Oh God, what about Demyx?"
He was starting to hyperventilate. Alarmed, Zack tried to calm him down by rubbing his back soothingly.
"I - I need to know - Where's Merlin?" said Cloud, getting up from the bed. Before Zack could protest he was already being dragged out of the room by Cloud's death grip on his wrist.
"Merlin!" Cloud hollered. An echo of "I'm in the basement" was heard, and so they headed down there.
Zack's senses were immediately overwhelmed by the smoke clouding his sight and a waft of what smelled like fire. The old man stood in front of a cauldron, resplendent in a blue robe, making him look ridiculously like one of those wizards of old who mixed potions and owned black cats and did magic with a wand. He looked around in interest, but Cloud was not down here to see the sights.
"What can I do for you boys?" asked Merlin, keeping his eyes solely on his stirring potion.
"Tell me, Merlin. Am I adopted?" demanded Cloud. His grip on Zack's wrist tightened.
"No, my dear child. You are a pure family member of the Strife family. If you were adopted, you would not be able to use magic."
"But I clearly remember both of my parents were men!"
Merlin paused in his stirring, and turned to look at Cloud with wide eyes.
"I never told you?"
Cloud stamped his foot in anger and frustration, startling Zack for a second.
"What have you forgotten to tell us this time?!" said Cloud angrily, his voice rising.
"Cloud, there are no female members in the Strife family. All Strifes are males."
"But - " said Zack, sputtering. " - you need females to make babies!"
"Not in this family, no," said Merlin. Sighing, he looked at Cloud who was starting to hyperventilate again. Zack seemed torn between holding up the blond or fainting himself.
"You mean - you mean - " Cloud choked out, barely managing a coherent sentence.
"You can have children. Rejoice!"
Cloud and Zack promptly collapsed to the floor.
"Boys these days ... so weak," grumbled Merlin to himself as he dragged the two to the living hall couch and dumped them there unceremoniously before returning to his work.
Zack was the first one to wake up.
"Cloud?" he murmured gently, shaking the blond's shoulder. Cloud's head lolled backwards, exposing his pale neck to Zack. Swallowing thickly, he forced himself to look away from that inviting expanse of skin and concentrated on waking Cloud up.
"Cloud. C'mon, wake up..."
"Wha...?" muttered Cloud blearily. He blinked at Zack, who was watching him with an unreadable expression on his face.
"What happened - oh."
The events of only a mere ten minutes ago came back to him. Groaning, he clutched his forehead, massaging it desperately.
"Oh Gaia. I'm - I'm - "
"Impregnable?" offered Zack. Cloud threw him a shrewd look.
"Impregnable means 'safe against attacks'. You know, like ... impenetrable. Not ... whatever you meant. But oh Gaia, where's the baby going to come out from?"
They both sat in silence, trying to imagine. They shuddered.
"Mmm, but Cloud..." said Zack, suddenly feeling naughty. He leaned closer and licked Cloud's neck. Cloud inhaled sharply, eyes widening. Zack licked all the way to the blond's mouth, lapping lightly at his lips, seeking entrance. Cloud allowed it, closing his eyes and easing onto his back on the couch. Zack pulled back from the kiss, staring down at Cloud's body beneath him.
"Imagine how our children would look like," said Zack happily as he leaned in to nuzzle the blond's neck.
Cloud wanted to protest, wanted to say that he wasn't going to have children until they were completely sure of each other ... but Zack's right hand deftly slipped under his shirt, rubbing against his stomach. Cloud arched into his touch, sky-blue eyes taking on a slightly glazed look. His cock was stirring in his pants, and he could feel Zack's hardness pressing into his thigh, and the feeling jolted his nerves and went straight to his groin. Zack's hand relocated; gripping Cloud's rapidly hardening cock through the fabric of his pants. Moaning, he thrust upwards into Zack's hand, wanting to feel more of that insanely pleasurable touch.
"Can I - " said Zack, licking his lips. "Can I have a look?"
Cloud turned his gaze away from the ceiling to Zack's eyes, recoiling at his intense stare. No one had ever looked at him this way before, eyes so deeply filled with lust and love, and longing.
When was the last time he felt wanted?
Shyly, he nodded, and Zack eagerly pushed his shirt up, smirking as he caught sight of Cloud's nipples, and he leaned in to kiss them ...
"Are you boys awake yet - oh dear Gaia!"
Startled, Zack sprang off the couch, landing painfully on the floor. Cloud shrieked and quickly pulled his shirt down, not wanting to scar the old man's eyes.
"You pass out, and when you wake up you start making out? Gaia!" said Merlin, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Now listen to me closely. If you want a baby, Cloud will have to drink a potion first. Without the potion, you can have sex and you don't need protection to do it. Understand?"
Hearing the word 'sex' from Merlin's mouth gave Cloud the chills. They nodded dumbly, and Merlin stalked off back to his basement, muttering something about earplugs. Blushing furiously, they retreated to Cloud's room, where the awkwardness remained along with the sexual tension.
Until Zack pounced on him, falling together onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Startled, Cloud gasped in surprise but the sound immediately turned to one of moaning as Zack attacked his lips with renewed vigour. Tugging at the shirt, he managed to pull it off the blond, his eyes raking over the glorious body beneath him. Humming slightly to himself, he leaned down to kiss his nipples, goaded by the delicious sounds Cloud was making. Hoping he wasn't rushing things, he tugged slowly at the waistband of Cloud's pants, pulling it down together with his underwear to reveal his prize.
"Zack," said Cloud urgently, gasping for air, "I don't - I don't think I'm ready yet."
"It's alright... I won't take you yet," said Zack soothingly, moving from one nipple to the other. Cloud's responsive body was shivering slightly beneath his frame. "I'm not ready yet too."
"Then why are you still - ah!"
Cloud was cut off rather rudely from a well-placed squeeze at the base of his cock. Heart beating insanely fast, he watched as Zack took off his shirt as well, tossing it to the side without a thought. Cloud swallowed hard at Zack's intense gaze, and he found he wanted more, wanted Zack to want him, wanted to pleasure Zack and be pleasured himself...
"This is not really considered sex," said Zack, smirking as he leaned down to kiss the base of Cloud's neck, grinding his body against Cloud's.
Cloud moaned louder, his head arching back into the pillows as Zack began to set a rhythm. They moved together, Zack keeping a firm hold on Cloud's hips. Cloud was inhaling sharply with every move, his eyes shut tightly in an expression of pleasure, and Zack never thought he'd see anything more beautiful than Cloud. The blonde's face was flushed pink, and he was panting heavily, occasionally choking out Zack's name. Cloud's hands were scrabbling at his back, struggling for something to hold on to as Zack continued his thrusts. When he tweaked a nipple Cloud jerked his body upwards, losing his hold on Zack. He clutched the bedsheets instead, pushing harder against Zack. The next thing he knew, he was screaming Zack's name as the pent up desire in him exploded, and pretty soon Zack's sharp exclamation came after.
Spent, Zack leaned heavily on the smaller body beneath him, but Cloud held on to him, hands still shivering in the aftermath.
"Stay the night?" whispered Cloud, reaching for their discarded shirts to wipe off the mess they made, taking off his pants as he did so.
"Mmm," replied Zack as he let Cloud clean him up, shaking off his pants. Sighing contentedly, he tugged the blond closer to himself and they drifted off to sleep.
The topic of children was never really discussed fully, mostly because they couldn't come to a proper decision without being interrupted by a hot, heavy make-out session. Zack had not pressed the issue of marriage either, sensing that Cloud still wasn't ready for it yet. Marriage between two men was something quite unheard of, and so they really had no idea how to go about it. It wasn't that Cloud wasn't ready; he was pretty sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Zack. He was only worried about how his status would affect Zack's in the town. It's pretty hard to bully a grown man, granted, but to feel ostracized in a town where you lived ... Cloud didn't want Zack to live through that. He toyed with the idea of leaving but then where would they go?
Meanwhile Zack was starting to show a little impatience during one of their impromptu make out sessions. Cloud still hesitated about going all the way, and Zack took this as a sign that Cloud was still unsure of their relationship in general, which hurt. A lot.
And there was only so much he could take before he'd snap and corner Cloud and jump him right there and then. The only thing stopping him from doing that was Cloud's awesome magic skills and he knew how to defend himself. Zack really didn't want bruised balls...
He figured he'd save money for the ring first.
The chapter had to end, sorry if the ending sucked... Well, so teh MPREG has been XPLAINeD! Lol. Yeap, two cute little kids are gonna pop out of Cloud. And no prizes for guessing who. Lol.
This is, of course, if Zack manages to pull off the romancing thing correctly. Hehehehehe.
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