I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII. Omg, my dyslexia was bothering me so bad while writing this one. I hope I caught my mistakes.

Twisted Fate

Chapter X: Violated

Tiffan hadn't come out of the bedroom for hours. When he finally emerged he appeared groggy and somewhat disconnected. He stumbled first into the bathroom and then into the kitchen returning a while later with two cups of instant coffee.

"Are you alright?" Cloud asked, taking his mug.

"I'm ok." Tiffan slowly sipped his coffee, doing his best to keep his eyes off of Cloud.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being who you want me to be."

"Don't apologize. I am confused and a little scared, but…" Tiffan shrugged, "…a part of me is kind of relieved that he's gone."

"What do you mean?"

"Since you showed up, I've realized how poorly he treated me. I really thought we were in love, but it wasn't real was it?"

"I can't speak for him because I'm not him. However, based on what I've learned, I would say probably not."

"Where do you think he is?"

"I don't know. And a part of me doesn't want to know." Cloud scooted closer to him, wanting to hug him but afraid of sending the wrong message.

"Same here." Tiffan drew in a deep breath and took a heavy gulp of his coffee. "Do you think he really did sleep with Sephiroth?"

Cloud didn't want to answer that question, but he was sure that Sephiroth was telling the truth. "Yes, I think he did."

Tiffan closed his eyes tight, holding his breath to keep from sobbing. Cloud finally wrapped his arms around him, hoping to ease his pain if only a little. "How am I…supposed to feel?" He squeaked.

"Angry, sad, betrayed, used, disgusted…I know that's how I'd feel if I found out Tifa had done that to me."

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm pretty sure I believe you now. But I'm still confused."

"Trust me, I am too."

Tiffan found half a smile however tragic it was, "I wish you were gay."

Cloud stifled a chuckle, "Why?"

"Because I love you more than the other Cloud. And I want you to be my husband."

"But we just met."

"Even so, I know that you're a wonderful person. If nothing else, will you at least be my friend?"

"I thought we already were friends."

"Thank you."

"Why didn't they give me any options?" Sephiroth breathed as she reclined back to put her feet in Genesis' lap.

"Maybe they thought that was the only option." Genesis spaced her toes with cotton balls.

"I would've thought that they'd at least ask me what I wanted."

"You know as well as I do that ShinRa doesn't give a damn. They made us to live our lives as Soldiers, what we actually want out of life doesn't matter."

"If you weren't a Soldier, what would you be?"

Genesis thought for a moment, and grinned as he picked up a bottle of nail polish, "I'd be your manservant."

Sephiroth was finally able to find a smile, "Manservant? Why?"

"I guess because we've been friends for so long I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"What about Angeal?"

"When was the last time we actually spent time together? Lately it's like he's forgotten we exist. So anyway, what about you?"

"If wasn't a Soldier, I would…" She trailed off imagining what she once was so close to having, "…I would have a family." She scoffed at herself, "I can't believe I said that. I only started thinking about it today. Absurd, I know, being so torn up over something I wasn't really interested in before."

"That's because before no one told you that you couldn't have it."

"But why does it hurt so badly?"

"Because you're a mother who lost her child."

"It was just a fetus." She tried to dismiss it, though unconvincingly.

"It doesn't matter; it was a part of you."

"Thanks for trying to help." She glanced down at the impeccable job he was doing, "You would pick red, wouldn't you?"

"Of course. What do you take me for?" Genesis grew silent for a moment, the smile slipping from his lips. "You know, you could try again. Only this time keep it a secret until it's too late."

"But what am I supposed to do in the meantime? You said it yourself, we're Soldiers. I can't go into battle pregnant. And what about when I begin to show? What happens when the child is born? They'll never allow me to keep it."

"It was just a suggestion." He threw his hands up defensively. "I just want you to be happy."

Sephiroth breathed a shuttering sigh and closed her eyes. "I used to be happy. But someone ruined it."

"Who?"

"The person that told my husband what I really am."

"And what are you, exactly?"

"Something less than human. An abomination grown in a lab –"

"Stop it!" Genesis slammed the polish bottle onto the table. "I hate you feeling sorry for yourself. I get it, you're sad and angry and things have been difficult, but you're becoming less and less the Sephiroth I know. My Sephiroth is stronger than that. My Sephiroth would take matters into her own hands and change them to suit her own desires."

She cracked one eye open. "Did you just say 'my' Sephiroth?"

Cloud had taken to the balcony to watch the sun set; Tiffan remained inside, quietly sorting out his thoughts and emotions. Cloud was relieved, or at least a part of him was. He still need Sephiroth to believe his story.

"Hi Soldier." Sephiroth's voice carried on the breeze causing Cloud's ears to perk up.

He turned to her slowly, trying to figure out what to say to her. He was sure she'd seen the pictures by then and was coming to confront him about it.

"Hey…"

"I had a long talk with Genesis and I think I'm ready to tell you what I should've said earlier."

Cloud's tensed shoulders relaxed and he turned back to the view of the skyline as she came up beside him. She drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly through her nose. Sephiroth was never one to require herself to gather her courage; it was always right where she needed it. But just then, she was the most frightened she'd ever been in her life.

"I was pregnant, Cloud." She said suddenly.

He whipped around. "Pregnant!"

"Yes."

"Oh, my god…Tiffan was right."

Sephiroth gnashed her teeth together, "Tiffan? I tell you I was pregnant with your child and the first thing you bring up is Tiffan?"

"Wha – my child?"

"Yes."

Cloud leaned over the railing, his stomach doing somersaults. "My fiercest enemy is a gorgeous woman pregnant with my evil twin's baby." He gagged, "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"If you're going to throw up, do it somewhere else." Sephiroth snarled, grabbing him by the collar. "Besides, I'm not pregnant anymore. I had an abortion."

Now Cloud really did feel ill. "Wait, why would you do that!"

"It wasn't my decision."

EARLIER THAT DAY

Sephiroth sat in the exam room, waiting for the nurse to walk in with the results. When she finally arrived, she was accompanied by a doctor and four other assistants. They encircled her, looking her up and down as if sizing her up, deciding if they could handle her by themselves.

Her stomach clenched and she sensed something akin to doom. Her arms tingled as her heartrate accelerated. She should have run for the door, but for the first time her fear riveted her to the spot.

"Do it." The doctor ordered, the nurse responding by grabbing Sephiroth's arm and stabbing her with a needle.

Suddenly, she went lightheaded, her eyelids becoming so heavy she could barely keep them open. The floor suddenly seemed close and her skin felt prickly, the walls shifted and the disfigured bodies of the medical staff twisted before fading to black.

It only seemed like a moment before Sephiroth woke. Her head was pulsing and her eyelids still felt weighted. She tried to sit up, but her body might as well been buried under a million bricks. Clenching her hands into fists, she forced herself up.

"Welcome back." The doctor said as he entered the room.

"What…happened…" Sephiroth's voice was murder to her own ears.

"It turns out that you were indeed pregnant. Nine weeks and three days. But not to worry, we took care of it for you."

"What do you mean?"

"We have aborted your pregnancy." He seemed proud of himself, like he'd done her a glorious favor. Without further explanation, he handed her a prescription for pain medication and left.

The nurse came in immediately after, instructing her on self care following an abortion. Sephiroth zoned out; the nurse's voice becoming nothing but a dull, monotonous buzz. She had never felt violated before, but after that moment, she almost thought she'd rather have been raped. Throughout her life she'd been a logical person, never relying too much on her feelings but rather her intellect. But after Aeron left the old Sephiroth went by the wayside, she tried to keep it hidden and did well to fool the others, but now she felt the rest of that strong exterior crumble away.

The tears didn't come immediately. First she almost felt nothing at all; the initial sense of violation gave way to numbness which she wore as a stone mask as she exited the clinic. Once she was alone in the hall, it slipped away to shock as she realized she was no longer a mother, the fluttery sensation in her stomach that she'd quickly grown accustomed to vanished entirely. Then the tears made their escape. The thought of being alone and never knowing motherhood, never knowing what it was like to have that feeling of utter completion settled into her heart and squeezed it to the point that she lost her breath. Her legs were wobbly and her skin was cold. Falling to her knees, she curled up into a ball and cried hard and loud.

ON THE BALCONY

Cloud stared at her in disbelief. His entire body was tense and his heart throbbed so hard he feared she'd hear it. "I'm sorry."

"As the father, I thought you deserved to know."

Swallowing down the rigid lump in his throat, he shook his head. "I'm not the father, Sephiroth. A part of me wishes I was, but I'm not."

"Of course you are, I haven't been with anyone else. And the last time Aeron and I made love was six weeks before he left me." A chill ran up her spine.

"You didn't look at the pictures did you?"

"Genesis showed them to me. But it does not prove that you're from another world. I know who you are, Cloud Strife, and I know what happened between us."

He wanted to say more, but he bit his tongue. There was no convincing this one, she was absolutely certain he was the same Cloud she'd been with before.

"What do you want from me?" He said, at a loss for anything else.

"I want you to leave Tiffan and be with me."

"There you go again." He didn't want to argue; the poor woman had been through enough, but she knew how to push him.

"What is it about him you love so much?"

"Nothing, I'm not in love with Tiffan. I'm in love with a woman named Tifa. She's the love of my life and please don't ask me to compare the two of you. There's nothing to compare."

"If you love her so much, then why are you looking at me like that?"

Cloud hadn't realized what sort of expression he had on his face. Sephiroth noticed it though. His eyes had been half lidded, the tranquil cobalt color intensified to the point that they raged like blue fire. His cheeks were flushed as well, his lips parted with heavy breaths.

He blinked a few times, trying to erase the impassioned look. "I'm in love with Tifa and I mean it. However, I do want you, as much of you as I can get. But I won't, not while she breathes; I won't betray her."

Sephiroth smirked, turning away from him. "I understand."