AN: long chapter ahead, warnings: nothing really… I guess occasional ooc moments but who doesn't have those? Well I suppose a lot of swearing
Disclaimer: I do NOT own! Actually, the plot is mine… but other than that nope no owning here.
Of Moonlight and Teases: Part one
Instant regret washed over me when I walked confidently into the pitch-black blackness.
"Fuck... " I whispered to myself as I tripped over a rock.
"fuck...shit!" I swore louder as I felt my way through the cave. I concentrated to try to see what was in front of my face but I could barely make out my own hand. After a couple heart stopping moments of tripping over unseen objects and touching a spider web that I hoped was unoccupied, I finally saw the artificial light coming from ahead. The street light illuminated the cave enough for me to quicken my pace and not have me trip and die.
'Finally, Freedom!' I thought and made my way down the street. I surveyed the area around me, I wasn't too far from my house, only a few miles. I walked swiftly letting my long legs carry me to the nearest small store.
A sigh of relief came when I entered the convenience store, it was warm and helped me escape the chill from outside. Thankfully I realized that my wallet was still in these pants from yesterday, I silently praised my lazy habits. I quickly grabbed a bunch of snacks along with minor needs like instant noodles and bread. Despite the state my apartment was in and the meager meals I eat, I am not struggling for cash at all. I saunter over to the liquor section of the store, looking through the cheap alcohol with a critical eye until I found it, my favorite shitty brand of whisky along with a few more select choices.
I was definitely planning on not being sober while Cloud explains all the shit that happened today. The ratio of alcohol to food was 1:1 and I was perfectly okay with that. I stood in line to pay for my items, it was nice to not have to worry about what I was getting because I knew I could afford it. Years of living in poverty however, made me a thrifty shopper. I shifted some objects in my arms while I waited for the man in front of me to finish. I needed to go to another store to get the other things that I needed but this was good enough for another week. I quickly put all my items on the counter. At the last second I remembered that I had no sort of first aid at my house, Cloud probably needed something for his leg? Arm? Hell, I didn't know how wounds transferred from wolf to human form if they even did. I checked behind me to see if there was anyone behind me, seeing no one I asked the cashier where I would find one.
"First aid is in the isle with the smart phone chargers and basically anything that isn't food." came the bored reply. I raised an eyebrow at the response but quickly made my way over, grabbing the first one I saw. I was about to walk back when a tall hooded figure nearly knocked me over.
"Watch yourself." the voice was deep and it sent a shiver up my spine.
"Oi-!" I was about to retort but stopped short, he was gone, I spun around but I didn't see him, it was almost like he vanished into thin air. I shook my head; did I imagine that? I quickly made my way to the front counter paid for all my items and left. The cold wind bit into me again as soon as I stepped out.
It had started to snow while I was in the store, a light dusting covered the sidewalks. I hate the snow.
"Fuck this winter shit, fucking white bullshit falling from the sky. Global warming my ass…" I muttered to myself as I walked. As if this day wasn't crappy enough to begin with. I pulled my jacket closer, now that I had to hold the bags I couldn't put my hands in my pockets. I'm going to fucking freeze to death. I let my thoughts consume and distract me as I walked in the frigid white bullshit.
'I bet Cloud is all warm and comfy in his fur coat, he didn't seem bothered by the cold at all when I was with him.' I thought spitefully. I stopped walking for a second, actually… when have I ever seen Cloud wear anything other than a light sweatshirt in the cold. I started walking faster, thinking harder. Cloud had displayed other behaviors that were...abnormal. Like the time he mentioned that there was a buzzing noise coming from the gutter, I had initially just laughed it off but then after a month I started to notice the noise too and a colony of hornets decided to move into my old apartment. That brat even had the audacity to laugh when the colony came out and started chasing me. I mean, I did throw a rock at it… but…
I walked for what seemed like forever, my legs were tired by the time I got home. I assumed either Cloud was already back or my apartment had been broken into. I opened the door and peered in skeptically half expecting something to jump out and rip me apart. But the sight that I saw was not one that I was expecting, but it was one that I thought about from time to time. I quietly shut the door behind me as to not disturb the scene in front of me.
There was Cloud, laying on my couch. One arm was thrown over his face to block the moonlight that illuminated his skin from the window behind him. His chest moved smoothly up and down with his rhythmic breathing. One of his legs was over the back of the couch while the other was haphazardly half on half off the cushions. I swallowed the saliva that had collected in my mouth, only just realizing that it was open. He was stretched out in the most flattering way that allowed me a glimpse of the darker blond hairs that stopped at pajama pants he apparently had borrowed.
'Look who is naturally blond.' I raked my eyes over him taking all he had to offer, his hair was illuminated by the moonlight making it look like a spiky halo. I creeped closer, unintentionally putting my Turk training to work. I could see his body clearer, the arm that was hanging off the couch had a large gash with puncture wounds that oozed blood down his arm and onto the floor. I saw a few drops had already fallen letting me know that he had been there for a small amount of time. I could see that his body had many small cuts from his battle on the beach, none of them were as concerning as the one on his arm. I was close enough that I could touch him but I stopped myself before I did.
'Ugh what am I gonna do? Molest him in his sleep?' my inner thoughts were interrupted when the subject of my straying thoughts stirred. I backed up so that it did not look like I was creepily looming over whilst he was asleep, instead I busied myself with removing my boots.
Cloud sat up with a yawn, rubbing at his sleepy blue eyes with his uninjured arm. He looked around for a second, not recognizing where he was before it clicked and he relaxed again. I watched this whole process silently, mesmerized by how fucking adorable it was. Like a sleepy puppy waking up from a nap.
"Hey sleepin' beauty." I greeted, hoping that he wouldn't notice that I had been standing there the whole time.
"Hey…" was the sleepy reply. He stood and stretched again and I could see the extent of his wounds. He had another large gash on his neck that extended down to his collarbone. It looked painful and deep.
"Uh, you ok there Spiky?" I said with a grimace. He shrugged in a noncommittal gesture.
"I'm no nurse, but it looks like ya need stitches, yo" I argued.
"Look yer bleedin' all over my floor!" I pointed to the little drips of blood. His face turned a lovely shade of pink when he noticed the mess he had made.
"Sorry, I'll-I'll clean it up." he sounded embarrassed, oh I just had to fuck with him now considering the day I've had.
"No point now, it's already stained the floor! 'N you probably got it on the couch!" I said dramatically, he looked increasingly more and more worried as I continued. I couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune. This made him confused, but he soon realized that I was just fucking with him. He frowned in his typical I'm-not-amused way, I smiled at him with my signature shit eating grin and he rolled his eyes. He walked passed me into the kitchen presumably for a paper towel to clean up the blood.
"Yo, get a wet one n' a dry one so I can take care of yer wounds, don't need my entire house covered in blood." I said as he walked away, he flipped me off without looking back. I chuckled, gotta love them feisty blondes. I turned on the light and placed the bags on the table in front of the couch, taking out the first aid kit. Cloud came back with two wet paper towels and handed me one. He wiped up the floor and sat on the couch, he gave me a questioning look when he saw the several bottles of alcohol that I had purchased earlier.
I answered his silent question, "Oh that? Yeah you're going to explain everything that happened today and I'm sure I'm gonna need it." he sighed and nodded. I opened the first aid kit, it had bandages and some things to sterilize the wounds as well as some bandages for bigger injuries. I sighed and opened the bottle of Jack Daniels taking a long gulp and offered it to Cloud, this was going to hurt him more than it would hurt me.
"Alright I'm gonna clean these, they look like they're gettin' infected." I warned, while taking a closer look at what I had to work with, the pale skin was red around the wounds signaling the first sign of infection. I sighed and used the paper towel Cloud handed me earlier to wipe away the dirt and blood that had collected there. I made quick work of cleaning and bandaging all his wounds even putting band aids on the smaller cuts that looked like they needed it. Cloud hadn't protested or flinched while I worked, although I could tell he was in pain by the way his breathing became irregular when I touched a particularly tender spot.
"Alright you're good," I said when I tied off the last bandage on his arm. The kit came with Tylenol so I handed him 2 and the bottle of alcohol "here these should help with the pain, they might make you sleepy though." I warned, he snorted a little and gulped down the pills. I stood and stretched, cracking my back, the kneeling had made me stiff.
"Imma shower, I feel like I'm still frozen from being outside' I announced, Cloud nodded, busying himself with cleaning up the wrappers from the bandages. I made my way to the bathroom longing for a nice scalding hot shower to wash away the cold that felt as though it settled into my bones. Fuck winter.
I quickly undressed out of my cold damp cloths and hopped into the warm water. I sighed happily as the warmth chased away the unforgiving cold. I started to rid myself of the grime of the day, taking my time as I went. My thought began to wonder as I washed myself and that meant all the questions that I had plagued me and ran through my head rapidly.
'Why had Cloud decided to suddenly tell me that he was a weird mutant werewolf thing just today. Why hadn't he told me earlier?' I thought to myself, I could have used a giant scary wolf thing at times. My bathroom had gotten quite steamy from how hot the water was, and I didn't turn on the ventilation because I was so excited to be warm.
'Why were those freaky dogs on that beach, they were all sick or somethin' the suds from the shampoo swirled in the drain and I watched it flow down. Different thoughts, that were probably less important to the current issues, started to accumulate. I bit my lip as the picture of Cloud stretched out on my couch, half naked, most likely not wearing anything under those loose pajama pants. I felt the product of my straying thoughts stir and I sighed. He's here I can't jack off he'd probably hear me with that super hearing of his.
"Cold shower it is…" I cringed and turned the knobs and the cold water effectively solved my problem, I quickly finished showering and grabbed a towel rubbing my hair then securing it around my hips. On my way out of the foggy bathroom I ran into Cloud, and oh boy was like hitting a brick wall. I slipped backward in my own puddle of water but was caught by the same causation of the fall.
He held onto me a little longer than I expected him to, and he seemed to realize this when he suddenly helped me up and took a step back. His face had turned pink again and he rubbed at his spikes, a nervous gesture.
"Ah, sorry. I was just… I…" he stopped short and cleared his throat. I raised a brow at him, it was funny to watch him flounder. "Ah I'll let you get dressed." he finished quickly and all but ran into the Livingroom. I chuckled, that was weird even for him. I walked into my room to throw on a pair of pants, I didn't normally wear clothes to bed but I also can't walk around naked, can I?
'Well I guess I could, it is my house after all.' I smirked, 'but poor Cloudy would probly have a conniption.' I shook my head at my own thoughts. I brushed the tangles out of my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail before heading for the Livingroom.
Unsurprisingly Cloud was waiting, what was surprising was the fact that the previously full bottle of jack was now half empty.
"Thirsty?" I commented, "there can only be one alcoholic in this apartment and that's me." I joked. He smiled, or rather, his equivalent of a smile; just the slightest upturn of his lips, almost unnoticeable to most people.
But I'm not most people.
AN: I'm thinking of writing a small spinoff of this story in Cloud's pov, just as a funny inside look into what our stoic blond is thinking during the events of this story. If you guys approve of the idea let me know! I share Reno's opinion of winter. Fuck the cold. Also, stay tuned for part 2!