Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still own absolutely nothing and make zero profit from any of my writing endeavors.

Warnings: Extreme randomness and Reno.


Tainted

Sephiroth can feel it, every time they kiss, every time they make love, every time he holds Cloud to himself. The way the younger man fits in with the contours of his own body is mind-numbingly amazing. But that does little to dispel the cold truth of the matter. Because every time he holds Cloud, with each breath his beloved draws, he is reminded time and again of Cloud's innocence, of his purity. That in turn reminds him that he is only slightly better than a monster. His blood is tainted, murky and unclean. It's only a matter of time before Cloud realizes that as well. But until that time, Sephiroth will love Cloud as such purity is meant to be.

Don't Let Go

It's cold and the harsh wind is definitely not doing his delicate pale skin any favors. But Cloud doesn't feel the sharp bite of the breeze, nor does he feel the hardness of the wooden floor beneath his feet. His focus is on one thing and one thing alone. Bright blue eyes fix on a figure standing alone on the balcony, almost ethereal in the moonlight. Sephiroth doesn't notice Cloud's arrival, which is itself a bad sign. Usually the man is the perfect example of a doting husband and would never let Cloud out in such weather. His own cat-like eyes seem to stare at nothing, but Cloud feels a chill run down his back that he knows has nothing to do with the weather. No one stares at nothing with such devotion.

"Seph?" he calls out unsurely, over the howling wind. His pale hand clutches at Sephiroth's and the man seems to take note of him. "Can you hear her Cloud? She's calling for me."

Tears spring forth in Cloud's eyes, "Seph, stop it. You're scaring me." That's all it takes to clear Sephiroth's eyes. He blinks as though surprised and immediately tugs Cloud back inside. Cloud doesn't say anything, there's nothing he can say now. Instead, he contents himself with snuggling into the elder man and throughout the night, he doesn't let go of the near death grip he has on Sephiroth's hand.

Temper

Zack looked surprised at Sephiroth. The man shrugged, placing a pot of tea and two tea cups on the table. Seating himself across from his darker haired friend, he ignored the curious glances, opting instead to pour himself a cup of soothing jasmine tea. He mentally noted that he'd need to thank Tseng for his excellent purchase later.

"Erm…. Is it healthy to let him sulk for that long?"

From somewhere upstairs, Cloud's voiced called out, "I am NOT sulking, Zackary Fair!" That was followed by a loud crash that made Zack gulp fearfully. He had seen bad days at work, angry Wutaian spies and drunken Reno trying to hit on not nearly drunk enough Rude, but nothing was quite as terrifying as a pissed of Cloud Strife. Sephiroth drained the last of his cup of tea, mentally debating whether he'd pour himself another cup or not. He remarked lightly, "I did tell you not to ask."

Fly

There were plenty of side effects that he theorized were possible as a result of the mako injections. He had postulated things like: increased intelligence, better strength, improved concentration and he had always subtly hoped for improved sexual capacity. But not even in his worst case scenario had he ever imagined such a situation. Hojo had well and truly screwed things up now. He sat on the plush sofa in his living room, burying his face in his hands.

It seemed like only a few seconds later, when he heard the tell-tale ping of someone sliding a keycard into the access scanner. The door opened and Cloud's cheerful voice filled the apartment. Sephiroth froze; he had forgotten that his boyfriend had planned to visit today. "Seph, I got some groceries so I could make dinner. Why are all the lights off? Do you have a headache? I can make some tea…for…that. Oh."

His eyes widened almost comically as he took in the new appendage that fluttered pathetically on Sephiroth's back. But rather than being repulsed, he seemed fascinated. "Is that a wing?" When Sephiroth nodded, his eyes gleamed.

"Can I…can I touch it?" he asked shyly.

Sephiroth nodded and there was something almost delightful about the way Cloud's fingers felt, carding their way through the soft feathers. He most certainly did not purr at the feeling and Cloud did not laugh at his lover's enjoyment. They settled themselves on the sofa, Cloud now on Sephiroth's lap, his face alight with wonder. There was something unexpectedly intimate about his touch, but it was a good feeling, Sephiroth thought, closing his eyes and letting himself relax.

House Mice

Cloud nervously smoothened his fur down, before licking his tiny paws and tidying up his whiskers. He wanted to look well-groomed for the mouse that had saved his small furry hide after all. Giving his whiskers one last final tweak, he picked up his gift for Sephiroth; it was a cracker sandwich with some yummy cherry preserve he had found the other day. He gathered up what little courage he had and headed off towards Sephiroth's mouse hole. On the way, he saw his reflection in the toaster and his fur bristled. He looked no better than the common street rats! It was enough to make any mouse's tail stand on end.

But he couldn't back down now, he had to thank Sephiroth! The mouse with the pretty, shiny fur had saved him from a mousetrap laid by that annoying girl with the long black hair and strangely large mammary glands. Cloud didn't like her, she was very loud! And shrill too, her voice hurt his little furry ears.

Before he knew it, he was at Sephiroth's place. "Um…Is anyone home?" he squeaked nervously. His beady eyes bulged even larger when none other than his hero appeared at the entrance. Shyly, he offered up his gift. The larger white mouse sniffed at it interestedly, before fixing him with a cool stare.

"Come on in Cloud. I've got a thistle of tea that would go excellently with this." Cloud twitched, his fur felt abnormally warm, he hoped he wasn't coming down with something. "Are you sure?" he squeaked. The white mouse's nose twitched and something akin to a grin slipped its way onto his face.

"Oh yes, you're far too cute not to share a meal with."

Fairy Tale

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Cloudina. She had hair like spun silk and eyes that gleamed like blue candy wrappers. So, she lived in the top of this hill that was really, really cold. It was so cold, that without thermal underwear, your balls, er toes, would freeze off, which as you can imagine would be pretty nasty. But she was locked up in a tower because her evil stepmother named Gretel ("Gretel? Uncle Zack! Gretel's a good little girl!" "Not in this story she isn't!")

Anyway, a lot of people came to try and rescue her from her prison. There was Sir Reno the Messy. He was a loud knight with even louder hair. Only he wasn't a smash hit with Cloudina and she kicked him in the nuts…er shin. Then he went away. Then came this really cool dragon, called Zack! ("Uncle Zack!") Fine…you kids are no fun nowadays.

Zack was too hot for Cloudina to handle so he flew off to a sunny beach and drank pina coladas with a hot waiter called Angeal. Next came a travelling minstrel, named Genesis. ("What's a minstrel?" "Oh it's your Uncle Genesis in tights.")

The point is, one by one, the suitors were rejected till Aerith, Cloudina's fairy godmother ("What do you mean what fairy godmother? Every princess has one!") began to despair, till along came a prince who had hair shinier than his armor.

He called out, "Cloudina, Cloudina let down your fair hair." Unfortunately, Cloudina was in favor of women's lib so she had short hair. Instead, she did what any sensible young woman would have done. She opened the front door and told the prince, "I'm not buying anything." Then she threatened to beat him senseless with her trusty rolling pin.

At the moment, a huge black spider came walking by ("No, I don't know how it was living in such a cold climate. It was mutant ok? Geez, you ask too many questions.") Cloudina was terrified because that thing was ENORMOUS. The prince slayed (read as squashed) the spider and Cloudina leaped into his arms. "Oh my Prince," she breathed, "I shall marry you for your tremendous bravery. But first, let me know your name."

The prince shifted uncomfortably, spitting a lock of blond hair out of his mouth. "My name is Sephiroth."

And then, dear children, Cloudina laughed and laughed till she almost choked on her spit and Sephiroth saved her and they rode back to the palace on a beautiful black Chocobo and they lived happily ever after. The end."

Denzel just blinked. He figured it was a safer option to just smile and nod.

Downloading videos

Cloud was NEVER letting Reno use his computer again. He liked the man well enough, but letting him use their family computer was out of the question. He went so red that Denzel thought he might explode any second. "Mom…do you want a glass of water?" Cloud nodded, not trusting himself to speak. As soon as Denzel was out of the room, he ran to the computer, looked at the screen and squeaked.

Trembling, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Hi Chocobo! What can I do for you?"

He explained to Reno just exactly what he could do to himself with his Electro Mag rod, before hanging up. Now all he had to do was explain to Denzel what the 'colorful balloons' on the screen were.

Umbrella

Of all the days that he had forgotten to bring his umbrella, of course he picked today. The angry looking clouds didn't look like they would let up any time soon, and he swore under his breath. It was raining so heavily that the water had started to pool on the roads at some points, lapping at his ankles. His shoes squelched in a way that made him squirm uncomfortably.

Holding his schoolbag over his head, he was remotely thankful for the fact it was waterproof. He brushed a waterlogged blond spike out of his eye, before trudging further up the road. A loud clap of thunder echoed in the sky and he yelped, tripping in his fright. He got up unhappily, and wiped at his face, willing away the angry tears, when he noticed something odd.

There was a distinct lack of rain over his head. Blinking, he looked up and saw a plain black umbrella. His gaze then continued to the pale hand that held it aloft, and then to the arm it was attached to. His face flushed as he realized who the umbrella belonged to.

"Sephiroth!" he stammered, bowing gratefully to his senior. The elder boy's thin lips quirked into a bemused smile. "Not a good day to forget your umbrella is it Cloud? Come on, I know a good coffee place near here. Let's go there until it stops raining." He pulled Cloud closer toward him, so they would both fit under the shelter of his umbrella and headed off to the warmth of the café.

Muse

Frustrated hands tugged at a wayward strand of silver hair, as irritated green eyes scanned the streets, looking for the coffee shop Genesis had told him about. Sephiroth hadn't written anything in months and with his lack of creativity came a sort of irritability that drove the people around him crazy. Genesis had finally snapped, telling him to get out of the apartment and do something before they all booked themselves into a mental institution.

So here Sephiroth was, on his way to a coffee shop of all places. He didn't even drink coffee, he always preferred tea. It was so much more refined.

The small shop wasn't very crowded, and he quickly made his way to the counter, intent on getting home as quickly as possible. That's when he saw the guy at the counter. His jaw dropped.

"Er…sir? Would you like to place your order? Sir… Are you ok?"

Sephiroth gathered himself enough to ask the (Unnaturally beautiful) employee for whatever bizarre beverage Genesis wanted and rushed home, stopping only long enough to kiss Genesis on the cheek (prompting an indignant squawk from his friend).

Because he had found his muse. That golden haired, blue eyed Adonis would haunt him in all the right ways for the next few months, longer if he was lucky.

Dancer

Denzel had met him by accident. He had gone to the college dance tryouts with his friend Sora to cheer him on. Sora was good, as he had expected and he hung around after his audition, watching a guy who was Sora's friend perform. Then came the next participant, who was quiet and unassuming, wearing a dark brown t-shirt with a pink dragonfly on it. "Guy must be good," Sora muttered, "Look, Riku is standing up to film him. He wouldn't do that without reason."

As it turned out, the guy was brilliant. The crowd went crazy, cheering him on and Denzel could only watch in awe, with his mouth slightly open.

That was what started Denzel's (slightly unhealthy) obsession with Kadaj, who was now on the college street dance team. He'd hang around a little after classes, purposely walking by the place where he knew Kadaj practiced just to catch a glimpse of him. Or he'd time his lunch exactly so, making sure Kadaj would pass by at that time.

Denzel really had no life sometimes.

But Denzel had no hopes of anything changing. He was a geeky science student, quiet and shy with a few close friends. Kadaj was an arts student, who was incredible, vibrant and popular. They lived in different worlds.

Things might have never changed either if Sora hadn't picked up on the non-existent love affair. It happened one fall evening when he was sitting on the stairs, taking a breather from practice chatting with his close friend. All of a sudden, Denzel went pink in the face and his mouthed parted in an "O". Sora followed Denzel's gaze, curious eyes landing on Kadaj, who had done a headstand right in front of them, shirt sliding down to reveal sweat soaked abs.

Sora came to an understanding. Denzel thanked God for gravity.

The next time he stopped by practice (this time, to give Sora some notes) Sora stopped him. "Hey Kadaj! Come here a minute!"

Denzel's eyes widened. What in Gaia's name did Sora think he was doing?

The boy stepped closer, brushing damp bangs away from his eyes. Sora clapped Kadaj on the shoulder and waved his hand at Denzel. "This is my pal Denzel. He's doing this project for his bio class; they're collecting bugs and stuff. You think you can help out man?"

Kadaj shrugged before offering a smile to Denzel. "Sure. Anything in particular you're looking for?"

Denzel blushed, "Er, well not really, but they need to have wings." Oh Gaia, his voice sounded so reedy and thin! And this was so terribly lame!

But, Sora had tried to help him out and he had to try for results. "Uhm…Could I have your number? You know to tell you more about our project and stuff?" He mentally patted himself on the back for sounding like the world's biggest creep. But Kadaj gave him his number and he practically skipped to the bus stop, ignoring Sora's kissy faces in the background.

The next day at lunch, he was trying to explain some notes to Marlene when Kadaj walked by. Denzel's heart nearly gave out when the boy smiled and waved at him. Marlene nudged him in the side furiously urging him to unfreeze and wave back.

It was only twenty minutes later when Kadaj reappeared, this time sitting next to him. He grinned at Denzel offering him a bite of his candy bar. "Sorry man, I couldn't find a single insect. But no worries, I'll keep at it."

"T…thanks." Denzel flushed. Surprisingly, Kadaj didn't move, instead he chatted with Denzel like they were old friends, and Denzel was amazed to note how much they had in common. He was extremely pleased with himself when Kadaj doubled over laughing at a joke he cracked.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch but as he was about to leave, Kadaj grabbed his wrist. "Say…you want to go check out the bookstore down the street with me after classes today? I heard they have a new shipment."

When he entered class two minutes late with a huge smile on his face, he ignored the way Marlene and Sora high-fived each other and Riku's stage whispered, "Finally!"

He was too excited to care. He had a date AND he could get some new books. Life was good.


Author's Note:

So here's chapter 9! These are essentially ideas that I had, that never made it to being full-fledged chapters but I just couldn't throw them out entirely. Some quick notes about these prompts:

A large number of them were taken from various DBSK and Shinee prompt generators. Fairy Tale however is a result of my own warped mind and sugar. Muse is actually based on a conversation I had with a friend of mine. Umbrella is based on the fact it's been raining for the last five hours or so without any signs of letting up. The last prompt technically belongs in a separate category all together but I figured what the heck. That prompt is based on reality (aka my life). Well the first part is at least, sadly things didn't follow up the same way, but at least I got a plot out of it.

Reviews will make Kadaj do another headstand for Denzel!