Author's Note: Apparently I have muse and thus I have these updates flying out in rapid succession, but I'm warning you, during the week I'm gonna be stuck at work and most likely beyond tired, so don't get used to this, alright? And oh yeah, this chapter has the first bits and pieces of Sephy and Cloud action and and and yeah. Just read on.
Disclaimer: I do not any of the canon characters, the places, or anything to do with the FFVII universe, the only thing that is mine is the writing.
There had never ever been any positive side effects to mako treatments, especially not in the few hours following them. After injection, the newbies were kept under surveillance for a few hours to make sure that the mako didn't literally burn them from inside out if the results of the mako suitability tests had somehow failed. With the subsequent thrashing and pain succeeding enough for the patient to be out of it and still whilst being so, they were usually taken to their dorms to rest the effects off. However that usually ended up with many of the trainees sweating through the night, seeing nightmares, being aggressive and generally simply being in blinding pain. In the morning, they were as good as new and found that they could lift the sword a little bit easier, move just a little bit faster, hear and see everything a bit clearer.
Cloud was truly waiting for the part where the pain would clear away, because waking up to the feeling of being run over by a herd of stampeding chocobos was never a pleasant one. His mouth was dry, he couldn't flex his fingers without his right ear feeling like it was going up in flames and he could feel the fever still burning through him, coupled with the horrible memories of experiments done to him ages ago. A small, pleading whine left his lips without permission and he would have jumped out of his skin at the feel of the cool glass on his lips and the hand holding his head up had he had the energy to do so.
Relinquishing in the ease that fell over him as he could relax and instead of panicking simply let the person making him drink do as they wished, he let out a soft sigh as he was placed back on the pillow. Blinking those tired blow eyes open, he immediately noticed the astonished look in the green eyes above him and he couldn't help but wonder why he was yet again at such ease when he had the mighty General hovering above him. Had he known that his blue eyes were glowing much stronger than they should have been for one that had been gotten his first mako injection, he would not have found himself all that curious about the puzzled look in those eyes before the feeling was masked quite carefully and the man over him moved away from his vision. Somehow that made him feel even more anxious and he felt the urge to sit up and try to figure out just why he was here. He'd realized that the mattress was too firm to have been the one he had woken up this morning and the sheets underneath him were of too high quality to be Shinra issued.
Forcing himself up to sit, the blonde grit his jaw, ending up almost doubled on the bed as he braced his head on his hands. There was something telling him yet again that he couldn't stay, needed to stay alert, be able to work through the pain and focus yet again, be fit to find cover. Of course, those were absurd thoughts considering he was in no immediate threat, only for him to realise just who had just given him water and helped him drink. Blue eyes widened and for a while, he rubbed his eyes and finally got them to focus enough for him to be able to actually look around the room, his brow furrowing slightly as he tried to figure out just where he was, only to freeze as he saw the wall mount for a rather large sword. His mind was quickly telling him to stop panicking as it was in no way appropriate for the Masamune and thus, it could only be Zack's room that he had been put in.
But why?
If he had stood out in anyway.. well, that was horrible to begin with! But to have the powerful trio and their loyal puppy already paying attention to him was almost too much for the man, fingers threading into blonde hair as he tugged on them, forcing himself to breathe, to calm down and not flip out. He hadn't exactly remembered that he had been prone to some degrees of anxiety attacks when he had been younger but as he sat there, he found himself fighting one of those devils down. It was an odd feeling to fight down one of the demons of old, but slowly, the attack subsided and he was left in relative ease to simply breathe, his thoughts finally piecing back together, the pain subsiding enough for him to stand up. His boots were somewhere and the thicker, sleeves turtleneck had been removed and thus left him in the white wifebeater and light blue trousers of SOLDIER. A soft sigh left him as he looked down at himself, noticing just how scrawny and without muscle he was. He would truly have to do something about that but then again, he also knew that the mako would start working quickly, helping him in buffing up. He hoped that that happened sooner rather than later.
Pushing himself to his feet, he hissed as the absence of socks also became obvious and for a moment, the cool feeling sent his precarious situation into an even more confused state, all kind of messages coming from his body and he simply couldn't do anything about it. For a moment he swayed on his feet, drawing in quick breaths before he forced himself to relax yet again, slowing down his respiration and aiming to relax before he blinked his eyes open yet again and gave yet another look around the room. Walking to the door, he decided he might as well face the music and pushing the door open, he felt quite disoriented with even the low lights momentarily only for his brain to smack into the next wall of slight shock that rose a deep blush onto his cheeks.
Zack and Angeal were involved in one heated liplock on the couch, with the smaller straddling his mentor's hips and Cloud found himself unable to say anything. In fact he stared, then let out the most unmanliest little squeak of embarrassment and retreated into the room as quickly as he could, managing to close the door almost softly before he fell flat on his ass as vertigo struck. His poor, poor head was in for a loop and for a few moments, he felt beyond disoriented. Zack had Aerith. Had had her? Now.. now he was with his mentor and that seemed quite suitable, however at the same time, it also made him wonder whether the flower girl had anyone to send her letters to, tell that special someone her wishes. In a way, it was an oddly melancholy though and he absently reached to his arm to brush over the spot that had had the red tie before. The absence made him feel like something was missing.
A soft whine left him as he shifted enough to sit with his back against a free wall and pulling his knees up enough for him to hug them, he settled his forehead onto them and let out a deep sigh. There was really no proper way for him to get his thoughts in order, not when he wasn't quite sure how to start sorting them out. He hadn't been able to do anything proper for the entire time he had been awake in this universe and it was finally taking its toll on him, the inactivity making his mind want to make flips as he didn't know what to do with himself. Even with the pain coursing through his body, he was determined to work through it and with a soft whimper, he pushed himself up, yet again needing to regulate his breathing so that he wasn't panting, standing there, refusing to reach for the wall behind him to get any support. He could feel the anxiety yet again and he wanted to punch something.
".. are you alright?" Came the sudden, amused tone of one silver-haired General, taking in the sight of the mess of a human that Cloud was at the very moment.
"No. I can feel that damned mako coursing through me, I just saw Zack and Angeal kissing and that's not what happened and I also need something to do. Give me something to do, please?" His voice was rushed, more laboured than he wanted it to be but given the General's reaction, it had the wanted effect.
"You are in no shape to be doing anything, trainee. You will stay here and rest, the most you will do is take a shower."
"But you don't get it, Sephiroth, I'm going out of my mind not doing anything!" There was a sense of urgency to the blond's voice and as he looked up at him, his eyes showed his age, showed the turmoil and the hauntedness that came to someone who had been living for far too long, whose mind had been wrung in different directions too many times. There was also the glow of mako in those blue eyes and Sephiroth found himself almost fascinated, walking closer to the man and making Cloud's breath catch in his throat as he backed up against the wall, the cat-like grace of Sephiroth following his receding steps and causing terror to show in his eyes right beside the anxiety.
"I believe I know just what you mean," he said, his voice finding an edge that was almost sultry and it seemed that the tall man hadn't realised that he had just backed up the trainee against the wall, holding him in place with just the light touch of his body.
Looking up at Sephiroth with disbelief, he didn't know in the slightest what to think and he tried to speak, tried to utter any kind of words but instead all he did was gape like a fish. The terror was getting wiped away by the man's strange – and surprisingly sane – presence as was every single stray emotion causing him distraught. He was left with nothing but blank and the feeling of vague safety as he looked up at the the tall figure, not quite knowing what to make of the situation that he had effectively thrown himself in. He was struck dumb, eyes locked with those entrancing green one's, both of them sizing each other up and without either of them noticing Sephiroth had leaned down and Cloud had tilted his head up just slightly, enough for their breaths to mingle and a shiver of arousal to go through the younger of them. Though technically he was older, wasn't he?
"As to you comment about the pup and his mentor, I assure you, it is supposed to happen," purred that seductive voice that was wrecking havoc to any and all images Cloud had ever had of the General and he couldn't help the soft, pleading whimper that left his lips, his teenage body going absolutely crazy at the prospect of being so close to another man. He had never considered looking at men that way but standing here, with Sephiroth so close, it was the only thing he could think about.
"I-it's n-not that.. I.. I."
Thankfully, he was saved the embarrassment of his own mumblings by a pair of soft lips that pressed against his, the touch gentle but at the same time, it was backed by the General and that in itself made it possessive. A tongue flicked against his lower lip and he couldn't help but grant him access, fingers finding the fabric of Sephiroth's shirt – apparently he didn't wear his uniform out of hours – and holding, his entire mind completely blank because of the kiss. The anxiety was gone, his mind was gone and he was quite sure that he had in someway lost it quite spectacularly. When did kissing his mortal enemy even become an option and when was did it become acceptable for it to feel this damn good?
It wasn't him who ended the kiss, it was Sephiroth, pulling back with that slight smug smirk on his lips, those cat-like eyes watching his blushed, panting face quite closely. Cloud blinked his eyes open just to look up at him, the confusion and the numerous questions alight in his eyes. He finally let his eyes move from those eyes, noticing that Sephiroth had pulled his hair back into a pony tail, leaving only a few strands of his bangs to fram his face and in a way, it suited him so very well. He could imagine him in a pair of glasses, but he doubted the perfect weapon would ever require any assistance in anyway.
"A bit calmer now, I presume?" Almost jumping at the sound of his voice, blue eyes concentrated on Sephiroth and he couldn't make a sound, making the man laugh and move away from him. But as the General moved back, Cloud could see the numerous questions in his own eyes, seeing that the man was hesitating, questioning himself why on earth he had kissed a mere trainee, especially since they had had virtually no previous contact apart from a regretful trip to the mad scientist's laboratory. He stood there, watching Cloud until he was quite happy in presuming that he wouldn't fall over before he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Lay down on the bed, I'm casting sleep on you. We have things to discuss about in the morning." The thought of disobeying a direct order from him did not cross Cloud's mind in the slightest in the state that he was in and he moved as quickly as he could back to the bed, looking shy for the smallest moment before he simply had to admit that there was no way he was sleeping the entire night in these trousers. As quickly as he could, he wiggled himself out of the standard issued pants and dove under the covers as well as his messed up body allowed, he hoped to hell that the man hadn't noticed the rather embarrassing red and white chocobo underwear that he had on. Why he would have anything but black boxer briefs, he did not know, but it seemed that the universe simply wasn't on his side.
"Good night, Strife."
"... Good night, sir."
And with that, Cloud was out. In the few moments of falling to sleep, he muttered a curse at the man for having cast Sleep on him, but he couldn't fight it, not when he was this tired and for the first time, his sleep was actually peaceful, with the lingering feeling of a smooth pair of lips teasing his senses still.