Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or anything in it.
Cloud reported for duty as usual the next morning, but he had trouble concentrating. He desperately wanted to talk to Zack. Zack was so strong, in the last year Cloud had learned better than ever just how strong his friend was. Underneath his happy-go-lucky persona Zack was at his core an indomitable spirit who could do what was needed, whatever was needed. But he couldn't go to Zack. Zack would never agree to let him do this, Zack would want to protect him, just as Sephiroth did. Cloud would have be that guy who could do what was required. He continued on his way to cafeteria, feeling dark but still determined, and very much alone.
"Hey, Cloud, look who's here!"
Cloud turned to see Anthony heading down the hall, arm and arm with Thom.
"You have time to eat lunch with a buddy from out of town?" Thom asked, grinning broadly.
Cloud smiled. What had he been thinking? He didn't have to go it alone, he was Soldier after all, and Soldiers worked together. These were exactly the guys he needed. After a warm greeting the three young men collected trays of bland but nutritious food in the Soldier cafeteria and Cloud found them an out of the way table.
"So you're just off duty, with nuthin' to do? At all?" Anthony asked Thom.
"Yup. Gavin grabbed me off of morning rounds, plus a few other guys, got us on an airship and here we are. Told me to stay out of trouble and keep my PHS on in case he needed me."
"Did he say why?" Cloud asked, stirring his mixed vegetables absently.
"No," Thom said, his face becoming serious. "He wouldn't tell me. He just said the General called him in. Cloud, what's going on?"
Cloud looked from one to the other. He'd worked with a lot of guys in Soldier, become friendly with many of them, but none understood him like these two. They had been together since those first awful days as cadets, and they knew all his pains and all his secrets. Well, almost.
"I need some help," Cloud said.
Thom and Anthony leaned in. "We're all ears," Anthony said.
Cloud outlined his situation, skipping as much of the sordid details regarding Sephiroth's interactions with Reno as he could and still be clear.
"Shit Cloud," Thom said. "I think you have to take care of this, you're the one under attack, as it were. You're the one in position to shut him down."
"I think so too," Cloud said, "and I may not have much time. I think Seph is getting ready to do something, Gavin's not the only one called home, I saw Colonel Kuhn, with some of his men this morning. He hardly ever comes in from Corel. Malik and Greigos too. And I haven't seen Zack or Niven or Cho all day."
Thom gave a low whistle. "A regular First Class pow wow."
Cloud nodded. "Anthony, can you get off duty tonight?"
"Sure, I can trade with someone. Bingo owes me a favor."
"OK," Cloud said, "I'm pretty sure I know where Reno will be at 5:00. I'll tell you what I want you to do. But first, I need one of you to hit me."
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At five minutes to 5:00 Anthony and Thom were loitering near the door to conference room 6A, waiting for the finish of the review meeting from the last Turk-Soldier co-mission, the one where the ecoterrorists were captured in the hotel. Cloud had said Reno would be in there, along with some guys from his squad. Shortly the door opened and most guys headed towards the Soldier areas, and one redhead in a suit headed the other way. Anthony and Thom made sure they were already in motion in the same direction and in the middle of a conversation.
"I dunno," Thom said, "Cloud got himself into this, he can get himself out. He can't stay with me, we don't have the space."
"Well he can't stay with me, I got Alicia coming over tonight!"
Thom gripped his forehead as if to keep it from swelling in pain. "Where is he anyway?"
"I think he went to the bar."
"Paul's Place?"
"Yeah." Anthony said, trying not to look at the Turk, who he thought might have changed his pace to better match theirs. Or maybe he wasn't listening at all.
"Well," Thom said, "I'll go check on him in a few hours after I finish my stuff. If he's still there maybe we can figure something out."
Thom and Anthony turned into the administration area to pick up some forms they didn't really need, and gratefully the Turk continued on past. They continued with their activities trying to act as natural as possible in case Reno was still observing them in some way, but they hoped he wasn't, knowing that the less acting they had to do the better. Turks were trained for this sort of covert stuff; they weren't.
Once the hallway was completely clear they took off at a run for the Soldier training hall, a three story wart attached to the side of the main tower. The hall was empty at the moment, and they ran up the stairwell on the far side. At the top of the three stories the door to the roof access had been damaged by some restless Soldiers long before them, resulting in a door that appeared locked and functional but if you put your shoulder into the frame hard enough, and if you had the strength of Third Class Soldier at least, you could tweak the whole thing out of alignment enough to pop it open. Often Soldiers, sometimes with dates, could be found up there drinking, relaxing, laughing - but it was Monday night, a slow night for that kind of thing and the roof was empty. Anthony and Thom went to the South side, the side that flanked the street and was kitty corner across form the Soldier hangout Paul's Place. They peeked over the edge. Within a few minutes they saw the top of a shiny red head catch in the streetlight, exiting the ShinRa building and heading towards the bar.
Thom elbowed Anthony in excitement, and then the Turk below them started turning, sweeping the buildings around him with suspicious gaze. Both Soldiers immediately lowered their heads and shut their eyes, dropping their minds into a mental mantra of imagining they were a stone in a field, a dead object, not seeing, not knowing. It was how they were trained to elude detection by mako beasts that had ability to sense life, intelligence, or observation. They weren't sure if Turks fell into that category but figured better safe than sorry.
Reno looked around the street one more time, checking both ground and building level. He could have sworn he was being watched, but he neither saw nor felt anything now. Possible it was just an animal. Pigeon or something. That was the problem with having your radar tuned up so high, half the time he picked something up it wasn't anything. And he was in a rather anxious state, or more accurately excited state, as his prey was almost in his grasp.
Reno pushed the door open and a wave of the familiar bar ambience hit him. Dozens of simultaneous conversations, each oblivious to every other, the sound of ice cubes hitting glasses, two different sports games on TVs hanging above the bartenders head. And at the bar, silent and alone, sat the object of his mission.
"Hey kid," Reno slid cautiously into the seat next to Cloud. He picked one of the four bottles in front of Cloud. Empty. The blonde was apparently drinking faster than the barkeep was taking away. "Hittin' it pretty hard tonight?"
Cloud didn't look at him. "I guess," he said sullenly.
"Want to tell me why?" Reno asked.
"No."
"Nuthin' to do with me, is it?" Reno asked slowly, apologetically
"No, Gaia, no," Cloud looked up at Reno, then quickly away.
But not quickly enough. Reno had seen the mark on his face and reached up gently to touch Cloud's chin. "Let me see that," he said, then encouraged him with small soothing words until Cloud faced him. The kid had a hell of a shiner over his eye.
"Training accident," Cloud lied, and turned away again.
Reno detected the lie, but nodded anyway. "And Medical was all out of materia?"
"I didn't want to go to Medical," Cloud said.
"Well, I happen to have some with me. Here, let me heal that up for you." Reno did it without asking permission. As he expected Cloud sat still for him, and even smiled a little afterwards, putting his fingers to his eyes. Something inside Reno's brain coiled and uncoiled like a satisfied snake. Cloud was as good as in the sack.
"Thanks," Cloud said actually feeling a little of the gratitude he evinced. The thing was starting to throb like a son of a bitch. Thom and Anthony had rock-paper-scissored over who had to do it, and Thom, the loser, had really nailed him good.
Reno smiled at him, and Cloud let himself get lost in that smile. The Turk really was beautiful, and he would need to feel every ounce of appreciation he could for him if he was to play his part well. He needed to not to think about him and Sephiroth...
Cloud looked back down at his beer lest his thought be betrayed in his face.
Reno had caught the change and slid his stool a little closer, scraping the feet along the wooden floor.
"Sephiroth did that to you, didn't he?" Reno asked.
Cloud nodded, still not daring to look up.
Reno sighed. "I'm sorry Cloud. He can be pretty rough. I know." Reno ran his fingers through his hair, the shorter pieces on top of his head sticking up through his long fingers and catching Cloud's attention.
"Say, you got someplace to stay tonight?" Reno asked.
"No," Cloud shook his head and looked back down.
"Well I got plenty of room- guest bed, spare bath, the whole deal. You could crash at my place tonight."
"Really? Do you live in the tower?"
"Nah, too much ShinRa all day long, I don't need to be around it all night. I've got a place off-site."
Cloud nodded. He thought Reno lived off-site, since Sephiroth had said he had talked to him in the parking ramp and he thought the ramp was only for commuters. He motioned for another beer and waited for Raman, a bartender Cloud was friendly with, to appear.
"Is it far?" Cloud asked, catching Raman's eye and nodding a thank-you.
"Nah, about five miles, in the Hannon building. C'mon, I have a car. And you don't need any more of that." Reno took the beer out of Cloud's hand and set it back onto the bar. "What's you're tab?"
Cloud furrowed his brows in concentration, wondering how much he could stick Reno for. "I think that was number nine."
Reno dropped fifty gil on the bar, and with his hand on the small of Cloud's back guided him towards the door.
Raman the bartender scooped up the fifty gil smiling, only partly because Cloud hadn't drunk anything like nine beers, the kid had just asked him to scrounge up some empties to put in front of him. He smiled because he liked Cloud, and if the little rascal wanted to pick up a wild date and still want his friends to know where he was going, just to be safe, well he was happy to help with that. He dialed the number Cloud had given him, waited for another young Soldier to pick up, and said, "Hannon building."
On the roof of the training hall Anthony and Thom watched the door to the bar, more cautiously this time and not together. Anthony got the call giving him their destination at about the same time Cloud came out with Reno. Reno gave only a curious glance to the empty cab that sat waiting outside the complex before he continued inside with Cloud. The parking garage was way on the other side of the complex, a good five minute walk. Thom and Anthony had the head start they needed. As soon Cloud and Reno disappeared they both dropped from the roof, three stories straight down to the pavement, bending knees as they landed and rolling to absorb the shock. They stood up and grinned. They might never be able to jump three stories straight up like the General, but jumping down was another matter.
"I never thought this was what I would be using my Soldier skills for," Anthony said.
"Shut up," Thom said, pushing him into the waiting cab, the driver of which still stared at them open mouthed after seeing them fall unscathed from the top of a building. This was one of the reasons he hated pickups from ShinRa.
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Cloud took small glances up and down the street as Reno pulled into the parking area of his building. He didn't see the cab or Thom or Anthony anywhere. He hoped that was a good sign, but either way the die was cast now. It was up to him, and all his backup could do now is maybe clean up the mess if he made one. And hopefully he wouldn't make a mess of it; he seemed to be doing well even though he had to talk some in the car ride. Reno's desire to put Cloud at ease actually made it easy to talk, relax, even behave a little giddy or silly.
"And here we are," Reno said, letting Cloud in ahead of him to look around. Reno watched him intently as the young Soldier wandered a bit, like a pet exploring a new house.
"Guest bed is down the hall," Reno dropped his keys on the kitchen counter with a clatter and led Cloud to the guest room. "And, oops, looks like we have to get some sheets on the bed."
Reno stepped back out of the room, but stopped in the doorway, nearly becoming wedged there with Cloud. He looked into the mako bright blues and saw the interest there.
"Unless..." Reno said slowly, "You want to sleep with me?"
Cloud swallowed, then nodded, his nerves on fire.
Reno smiled, Cloud really was adorable. He had originally thought he might rough Cloud up some when he finally got to this part and send him back to Sephiroth bruised and humiliated, but since the General himself had a mind to beat Cloud maybe he would try gentleness, see if he could keep Cloud for himself. But if that failed, if Cloud went back to his abuser as his kind often did, Sephiroth won. That was no good. Best plan maybe was just to enjoy Cloud and then let Sephy-boy know he'd had him.
Reno put a hand to Cloud's face, then kissed him. This time there was no jerking back in surprise, no shoving Reno off the bar stool. This time Cloud returned the kiss, without reservation, even pressing forward a little like he needed this kiss, was desperate for it.
When the kiss broke Cloud looked at Reno, pushing fear and thoughts of Sephiroth far from his mind, concentrating on enjoying the man in front of him. His eyes cast up to that amazing red hair.
"You like it?"
Cloud nodded, still feeling gestures would serve him better than his voice.
Reno undid the ponytail tie and brought the length of his hair around the front of his shoulder for Cloud.
"You can touch," he said, noticing Cloud's hesitation. "Bastard doesn't let you touch his hair, does he?" Reno said softly, tinged with what sounded like true bitterness.
Cloud at first looked at Reno surprise, then shook his head no. He reached up and stroked Reno's hair, so smooth that what he was assuming was a dye job couldn't possibly be. He also had no two-toning where his roots were. It seemed to be coming out of his head this color. Cloud brought both hands up to run them through the red silk, then stopping them on Reno's chest over the thin white shirt.
"Can I..."
Cloud was so anxious he could hardly breathe. He needed to get Reno's jacket off at least, maybe more.
"You can touch anything you want, sweetheart. But you have to share."
Cloud pushed Reno's jacket off his shoulders and felt the Turk undo his utility belt and unfasten the leather armor that protected the lower half of Cloud's torso. The fasteners for the thing were tricky, but Reno had no trouble at all. Before Cloud knew it his shirt had been peeled off as weel and he had to work fast at the buttons on Reno's shirt to keep up. Now Reno's hands were on his bare skin, and his lips on Cloud's neck. Cloud let himself pant with his nervousness, and he found he was getting a rise as well. That was good, he needed that, but it worried him.
They had taken a few steps during this, towards the back room that Cloud figured must be the master bedroom. Once inside Reno did something with his feet and tripped Cloud so that he fell back, sitting on the bed. Cloud almost lost his head and attacked, but the Turk hadn't given him enough advantage yet. Reno was free of his suitcoat, but his trousers were clearly holding... items. Some of that tricky stuff Sephiroth had warned him about, and surely his materia was still on him somewhere. And he hadn't forgotten that Reno might be quicker than he.
"Feet up," Reno said.
Cloud, realizing Reno wanted his boots off, complied. Cloud hoped that once he was stripped of all his tools and armor the Turk would relax and give him an opening. His boots were dropped to the ground, his boot knife removed and put into one, then Reno kicked the whole ensemble under his bed to get them out of the way. Cloud noticed the kick sent them far deeper under the big bed than was necessary for simple neatness.
What Cloud needed now was to stand up; he hadn't practiced his move sitting or lying. He took the excuse of standing up to remove his pants, unbuttoned the top button, and stopped.
Reno smiled, looking at the kid who was beyond nervous. Being with Sephiroth didn't look like it was doing anything for the guy's self confidence. He clearly wanted his pants off, the bulge in his groin said he wanted his pants off, but here he stood, stuck. Reno went back into encouragement mode.
"You want those off? You want me to do it?"
Reno undid the rest of Cloud's button fly until Cloud's fatigues crumpled to the floor.
"Step out of those," Reno said, and when he did Reno caught them on his foot, tossed them up to his hand, and casually threw them out into the hallway with most of Cloud's other clothing. Cloud pretended not to notice that everything he owned was being put out of his reach. What he could reach was Reno. He tentatively touched the waistband on Reno's trousers, then stopped.
"It's OK," Reno said, "you can."
Cloud fumbled with Reno's fly, a zipper which normally wouldn't be so much a problem were he not so distracted by his own nerves and Reno's hands running all over his skin, including under his boxers. Reno had already kicked his shoes off somewhere and his pants fell softly to his feet. Cloud came close and kissed him, so close that their skin touched along thighs and stomach and chest, their now full erections vying to meet through two layers of thin fabric. Cloud's hands timidly stroked Reno's skin and Reno carefully stepped away from his pants. This was normally a point of nervousness for him, to be that far away from any of his gear. But the kid had let himself be stripped down to almost nothing, and he had nothing hidden under his shorts, Reno had checked. All Cloud had on him now was his little boxers and a pair of earrings. Nice diamonds, though, whatever you might say you couldn't call the General cheap. Reno kicked his pants away from him a bit to get them out from under foot and let himself kiss Cloud with abandon.
Cloud felt the change in Reno, the complete attention he was giving the kiss, the soaking in his own pleasure. One of Cloud's hands went to the back of Reno's head and entwined itself in the long red hair. The other slid along Reno's face and jawline. Then, with one violent and sudden motion, a motion Cloud practiced to have no preamble, no warning, no half way, he yanked and pushed simultaneously and Reno's head snapped backwards with a sickening crackle.
Cloud stood stunned for a second by what he had done. Reno's eyes were still open, but they already looked glassy. Another second passed, seconds Cloud didn't have. He dumped Reno unceremoniously on the bed and darted back out to the hallway and grabbed his toolbelt, then on second thought the Turk's jacket as well. He had felt something in there, big hoops of some kind. He dug furiously through confusing pockets and came out with two pair of handcuffs. He snapped one over each of Reno's wrists, then jerked the bed back from the wall and linked them together behind a wide cutout on the headboard. Twenty seconds down. Cloud unclipped his rope and tied one of Reno's feet to the footboard, then the other. Another twenty seconds. He only had sixty seconds, after sixty the spell wouldn't work, even if he could pull it off. He straightened Reno's lopsided head, the spell carried a cure with it and he figured the bones probably had to be lined up first. He took a deep breath, touched the materia in his right earring, and said it.
"Life three!"
Reno gasped and tried to sit up, terror plain in his eyes. He looked wildly around his bedroom as if he couldn't recognize it, yanked at the bonds to his hands and feet as if he couldn't understand what was wrong with his limbs, why they weren't under his control. Then his eyes fixed on Cloud, the young Soldier who, since diving into action, had traded his nervous anxiety for a green eyed burn of anger. The fog swirling in Reno's mind began to clear. He had been dead. He knew he had been dead. He remembered dying, his conscious mind had logged the sound and sensation of his own neck snapping, and there was something worse than that. Not the dying part; that had felt sweet and alluring. It was the being jerked back into life part. Returned with the knowledge that something inside him might lure him towards that seductive sleep at any time. That his own body and mind that he relied on to perform for him, to keep him alive, might suddenly mutiny without warning, and yet at the same time every dream and desire to live burned twice as brightly as it had ever had. It was a maddening dichotomy. He didn't want to die, he really didn't want to die, yet he was more afraid of death than he had ever been.
Reno forced himself to breath slowly. He remembered the young man, the very pretty but very angry blonde looking at him. Cloud. Reno had brought him here. It was he who had broken his neck.
"Shit, kid, did you Life spell me? Do you even know how to use that spell?" It was all Reno could think to say. No way a little Third Class like this could be very proficient at it. That one took years to master, even for the very talented. And where did he get the materia? Reno's stash was well concealed, Cloud couldn't have found it in sixty seconds, and he was damn sure there wasn't anything to hold materia in Cloud's gear.
Cloud didn't answer and Reno yanked at his bonds again. His own cuffs, and some very nice knots around his feet tied by the Soldier boy.
"Why?" Reno asked, suddenly indignant.
"What did you think I was?" Cloud asked, jaw set, the cords on his neck standing out. "I am his SOLDIER!" Cloud bellowed, the volume of his own voice surprising himself as his anger continued to rise. This was the guy who meant to hurt Sephiroth, Cloud had been stifling that thought all night so he could play his part, and now it raged through him.
"I would kill for him! I would die for him, and be happy doing it!"
Reno actually curled away from transformed green-eyed monster before him that somehow managing to look menacing in pair of baby blue boxer shorts. He watched Cloud retrieve his boots, and lug them out into the hallway where he dressed. Then Cloud came back in and started digging through the Turks coat. Reno's eyes widened in fear despite his training. The kid was clearly as crazy as the General, and there was nothing in Reno's coat that boded well for his current state of bondage. And undress. Half the things in there were designed for the sole purpose of delivering pain.
What Cloud came out with was Reno's PHS. He flipped it open to check that it was on, and then set it carefully in the center of Reno's chest. Then he grinned maniacally, a look that Reno found more disturbing than the anger.
"Good luck with that," Cloud said, turned to leave, but then turned back. "By the way Reno, he wraps me in that hair."
Then Cloud left, leaving the front door wide open.
Once outside Cloud began to shake violently. He'd brought up more mako and adrenaline than on an average mission but not used his muscles enough to burn it off. He'd instead depleted himself with a spell that was at the edge of his ability. He ran down the stairs three at a time and right into Thom and Anthony, who were coming up after the scheduled wait time. They caught Cloud and held him fast as he gasped and shook.
"I'm OK," Cloud finally said.
"Did you do it?" Thom asked, "Is he alive?"
"Yeah," Cloud said. "I killed him and now he's alive again."
Anthony and Thom looked at each other in relief. In training Cloud had been unusually good at Life spells, bringing his practice mouse back from the dead so many times that it had gotten neurotic, but it was still a tough spell. The rest of them had sucked at it. Every spell was tougher to launch under duress, and Cloud certainly had been under duress during this. He was no actor; he wasn't even a good liar. Thom and Anthony, already hidden in the building before Cloud and Reno arrived, had half expected to be coming up to execute the backup plan. The one where Reno lay dead and they disposed of the body, or the one where Reno had Cloud down and they attacked.
"I want Seph," Cloud said, suddenly almost in tears. They loaded Cloud into the cab and took him home.
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Cloud slid his keycard through the slot, a little afraid to go in. He slowly opened the door to see Sephiroth staring right at him, his PHS to his head, a look on his face that was a jumble of worry and anger and maybe even fear.
"Never mind, Zack, he's here. Thanks. Yeah." Sephiroth snapped the device closed. "Cloud, where have you been?"
But his anger evaporated as Cloud began to sob on the landing. Sephiroth reached for him, reached even though he remembered the last two times this week he had seen Cloud in some sort of emotional state Cloud had moved away from him. But this time Cloud fell into his arms. Sephiroth squeezed him, glad to find him safe, but his worries seemed valid. He never misidentified a human's scent and he could smell Reno all over Cloud. For all his efforts the Turk had gotten to him again.
"Cloud, what happened?"
"I killed Reno," Cloud said.
Sephiroth's first reaction was a burst of joy. Then anger to hear what he already knew, Cloud had been with Reno, then proper, organized concern. A dead Turk was a problem, and a danger. One of his men was in danger, a plan was needed.
"Where's the body?" Sephiroth asked.
"Oh. I Life spelled him. He's OK. Or, he's alive. I don't know how OK he is. I left him tied up in his underwear."
Sephiroth raised his eyebrows in surprise, and had to peel Cloud's face off his chest so he could look at him. Cloud's eyes were bloodshot, he was white and shaking a little. A Life spell alone was exhausting, plus whatever Cloud had done tonight. The General took a moment to compose himself. He was relieved that Cloud was OK and he did not have a dead Turk ahead of schedule. And he was oddly proud of Cloud pulling this off, but he was angry that the young Third Class had gone off and done something on his own when he had distinctly told him to stay with his unit.
"You planned this in advance? Without saying a word to me?" Sephiroth asked.
"Yes," Cloud looked down unable to hold Sephiroth's eyes. "I know; it's the same thing I complain of you doing."
"There is a difference. I am you commander."
Cloud hung his head. "I didn't tell any of my commanders, if that makes you feel any better."
Sephiroth almost laughed, but kept his face stern. This was probably one of those times where he shouldn't let on to some of the things he found funny.
"It does not," Sephiroth said, "But I think I understand a little better your frustration when I don't tell you things."
"And I think I understand better your wanting to keep things from me. I only wanted to protect you."
Something that felt like a small ribbon flipped and curled in Sephiroth's stomach. Or maybe that's where his heart was. He found himself smiling at Cloud despite the situation. It occurred to Sephiroth that Cloud had done the right thing, he hit the nail right on the head.
"And you did," Sephiroth said. "I'm sorry to say I didn't see this myself; this was the perfect solution, to show Reno you are not the vulnerable target he assumed you to be. And had it occurred to me I don't think I could have asked you, would not have let you, do something like this. But you did. You protected us both." Sephiroth pulled Cloud into an embrace so his lips were near Cloud's ear. "My hero," he whispered.
Cloud actually straightened up in Sephiroth's arms, a physical manifestation of what he always assumed was only a poetic description to 'puff one's chest up in pride'. Cloud, Sephiroth's hero? His hero's hero? The poisonous bile that had been making Cloud ill and threatening him with tears since he left Reno's building drained miraculously from him with those whispered words. He realized his feelings were mostly from worry over how Sephiroth would react. But he hadn't told him everything. Cloud cringed back a little from his proud posture.
"I had to touch him," Cloud said, "And let him touch me. And I kissed him quite a lot."
Sephiroth nodded, trying hard NOT to visualize. "This was part of your plan? This was how you got to him?"
Cloud nodded.
"Did he... penetra-."
"No!" Cloud said quickly. "Gaia, no, I'd have killed him sooner, or at least tried to, if it had come to that."
Sephiroth relaxed. "Thank-you. I'm not sure how I would have reacted otherwise. Yes I do. I'd be over there killing him again."
He looked at Cloud, studying his face. What strength Cloud had. The strength, grit, and determination of a Soldier.
"Cloud, the next time I bump into something I'm tempted to protect you from, I promise to work with you on it instead. Partners, OK?"
Cloud smiled and regained that proud bearing. "Partners," he said.
Sephiroth smiled back at Cloud, thinking this mess was maybe going to work out OK after all. But he needed that smell off of him.
"Want to shower today away?" Sephiroth asked, leaning in affectionately.
Cloud's eyes lit. The shower had been really fun last time. "Yeah, I do."
Sephiroth took Cloud's hand, kissed his fingers, and led him down the hallway.
"Hey Seph, I left Reno's door wide open with him all tied up. You think he'll be OK?"
Sephiroth laughed a little. Only Cloud could worry about his enemy so. "He'll be fine." He hugged Cloud, and then went to turn on the water.
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Reno glared at his PHS. Sooo close. He lifted his head up and stuck out his tongue. Almost. Of course if he reached it with his tongue he might short it out with his saliva. Maybe he could hold his tongue out and let it dry, yeah, that would probably work. But first he had to get it closer. He arched his back to lift his stomach and saw the device tilt towards him but get no closer. He inhaled until his ribcage hurt but no luck. The stupid rubbery bottom on the thing that was supposed to keep if from sliding off his dashboard was preventing it from sliding closer to his face. Eventually he worked up an arching-jerking-inhale pattern that bumped the thing forward. Closer, closer it came until it sat right between his collarbones. But now he couldn't reach it with his tongue, because his tongue didn't reach down that far at that angle. It would have to be his chin. All he needed was to push "2" to speed dial his partner Rude. And the send button. He brought his head up again, straining to get the force into the tiny button, finally succeeding and heard the little device dial. He let his head back to stretch out the cramp that had formed in his neck, then raised it again halfway to see the screen. He didn't like what he saw
spdl 3: Tseng
"Shit!" The force of the explicative caused the PHS to jump off to the side of his shoulder. Reno lifted his shoulder, trying to nudge it back into place so he could hit cancel. It slid down to the mattress by his armpit instead.
"What do you want, Reno?" Tseng's voice came from Reno's armpit.
"Uh, sorry boss, dialed you by mistake," Reno raised his voice to what he hoped would be enough for the speaker to pick up while trying to sound normal. It didn't work.
"Reno, what's wrong?" Tseng had switched from annoyed to alert-worried.
"Nothing!" Reno yelled, "I just need you to call Rude for me and have him come over to my apartment!"
There was a moment of silence before Tseng answered. "I'll be there in five minutes."
"NO! Tseng, babe, it's OK, I'm fine!" Reno yelled. But he was yelling in the room by himself. In his underwear. Tied to his bed.
"Fuck," he said softly to the ceiling.
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Reno heard Tseng step softly onto his carpet, then stop. Reno knew Cloud had left the door open, he had heard him open it but not close it. Tseng would find that strange and have taken his piece out, looking around.
"Reno?" Came a soft call from the living room.
"In here."
Tseng stepped cautiously into the bedroom and managed not to react at all to the sight of his man tied up on the bed in his underwear.
"Are you alone?" Tseng asked, as if this were normal Turk business.
"Yes," Reno said, continuing to stare at the ceiling.
Tseng holstered his weapon and went back to shut the front door. Reno heard the dead bolt click home, and then Tseng came back with a kitchen chair that he casually sat on while he studied Reno's condition. Reno found the feeling remarkably like his annual review.
"How did this happen?" Tseng asked patiently.
"Amorous encounter. Got a little out of control."
"I see." Tseng's eyes lingered on Reno's own cuffs that held him to the bed. That was a nice touch.
"Was it the General or his young pup that did this to you?"
Now Reno looked at him. Damn Tseng.
"How'd you know?" Reno asked.
"The walls up in the tower are pretty good, but they don't keep out two Soldiers yelling at each other at the top of their lungs."
Reno sighed. Right, Tseng had the apartment next to Sephiroth. But at least he had caused some trouble in the 'he wraps me in his hair' paradise. Reno smirked a little at the thought.
"So which was it?" Tseng repeated.
"The pup," Reno said, grimacing. "He snapped my neck, tied me up, then Life spelled me."
Tseng stood up quickly and put both hands to the side of Reno's neck. If it had healed crooked they were going to have to surgically separate and straighten the vertebrae. His fingers felt each of the neck bones; each seemed in line with the next. He couldn't even tell where the break had been.
"Do you have any pain?" Tseng asked.
"No," Reno said, feeling deflated. What a crappy night this had been.
"It's my understanding that you were harassing Cloud to get at the General?"
"Yes."
"Why do want to play with him, Reno?" Tseng let a finger trace the edge of Reno's jaw. "What does he do for you?"
Reno looked sharply at his boss; this was definitely not the usual manner of questioning. But whatever Tseng's angle Reno couldn't answer because he had no answer for it. He didn't even think he liked Sephiroth. Sure he was attractive, but that didn't explain Reno's obsession with him.
"There's no shame, you know." Now Tseng's fingers were moving down Reno's chest. "In wanting this. In needing to bottom."
Reno jerked, trying to move away from the touch. He was NOT a bottom, no way. Just because Sephiroth always wound up on top, that wasn't by plan. He just had never gotten the upper hand yet with that bastard. Right?
Tseng continued his touch, his exploration, ignoring Reno's attempts to move away. It wasn't like Reno was going anywhere.
"Tseng?" Reno asked, unsure what to do, then remembering he couldn't do anything, then- "Ohhhh!"
Tseng had run his hands over Reno's groin, letting his fingers lie along the length of Reno's shaft, feeling it move responsively under the fabric. He took advantage of Reno's parted lips to kiss him and let his tongue explore Reno's mouth. The redhead didn't bite, he didn't even flinch. Instead he parted his lips farther and pressured upwards. Tseng pulled away before the kiss felt finished, leaving Reno reaching up for him. He didn't do this to be cruel, but rather to observe Reno's reaction, to see if he was right about Reno's needs, to gauge their strength. The look in Reno's eyes was as he suspected, desperately revealing yearning and pain and reckless desire.
Tseng returned to his work, laying kisses down the midline of Reno's chest, onto his navel. Reno shook his head in confusion. This couldn't be happening, maybe it was a dream. Or a nightmare, he couldn't decide. Tseng stopped at the band to Reno's shorts and produced the small blade from his forearm holster. Nightmare, Reno decided. With two quick strokes Tseng had cut the fabric then yanked the garment free and sent it fluttering in a high arc to the middle of the floor. Then he applied his lips to Reno's now full erection. Dream, Reno decided, as expert oral manipulation lit his body on fire. But that too was taken away early.
"Fuck Tseng! What the hell?" Reno yelled and jerked frantically at the bonds on his hands and feet. The thrashing and swearing wasn't getting him anywhere but he indulged a little longer anyhow.
"Done?" Tseng asked. Reno glared at Tseng in all his insufferable coolness, but he laid still. Then his face relaxed into bliss as that warm, wet stimulation returned. He may have been stubborn, but Reno wasn't slow. He got that he was being rewarded for being calm. The next time Tseng stopped he didn't struggle. He looked into Tseng's dark eyes. Eyes that Reno always wondered how much of his soul they could read studied him, and for once Reno allowed the scrutiny. No smart comments, no deflection, no smirk. Just the intense plea that if Tseng actually was some sort of mind reader then let him read his mind now.
And it seemed he could. With one graceful finger Tseng opened the drawer to the nightstand and located a small bottle. He moved to the foot of the bed, lube in one hand and the small sharp blade in the other.
"I'm going to cut your feet free. No kicking."
"I won't kick," Reno said, remembering to keep his voice calm, using part of his professional training to even out his breath rather than slip into the impassioned impulses that often governed his personal affairs, or at least his sexual affairs.
Tseng did as he promised, and the little knife disappeared again. Then he slowly urged Reno's knees up, tilting them into position. Tseng crawled over the footboard and knelt at the bottom of the bed where he undid his belt, then his pants. Reno watched with anxious fascination as Tseng slipped his thumbs into his waistband and pushed down. At the sight of that slice of skin and the long firm organ partly visible under the hem of his white shirt Reno lost his composure and wrapped both legs around Tseng's waist. Then Reno flinched, tuning his face to the side. But he didn't get hit, or even reprimanded. Tseng waited. Reno unclamped his legs and slowly moved them back, receiving a thin smile and some rather nice stroking to his thighs. Then he felt the cool touch of the lube and the pad of one of Tseng's fingers circling his opening, touching lightly, caressing. Then a single finger, gentle and slow, entered him. Then another, opening and stretching slowly, massaging in small circles right on the party ball. Reno moaned, breathing heavily with eyes rolled back into his head, his chin lifted and lips parted.
The massaging fingers were removed and Reno's head jerked up, eyes flashing as he gave one yank to the cuffs on his wrist. Then he calmed himself and waited. It was easier this time, applying his Turk skills even though he was aroused and in a bedroom situation, if that's what one would call this. Tseng smiled at him again, encouraging. He applied more lube to his own erection and then pressed the tip to Reno's opening. Reno set his jaw and squeezed his eyes in anticipation of the pain, but none came. Only a slow, gentle pushing. He let his face relax and looked at Tseng, who was clearly concentrating and splitting his attention between what he was doing and reading Reno's facial expression. He pushed slowly, keeping the angle well lined up and sinking most of the way in before backing part way out to seek that firm, swollen spot so he could concentrate pressure from his tip there. He barely had to work at all for this; Reno's head flew back as soon as he was on it. He kept his motions small in order to massage from the front edge of the spot to the back. Reno's left hand, restrained by the cuff, twitched several times, and Tseng noted and filed away in his mind that Reno must be a left handed masturbator. The twitching probably indicated he wanted some penile stimulation, and Tseng wanted to give it to him, but he needed to check one more thing first. He continued the short massages as Reno's breathing increased, accompanied by small cries on each exhale. Then the white fluid was spurting from that slotted opening in Reno's organ, but cry that accompanied it was more frustrated agony than relief. Tseng recognized this, the gland had been milked but without orgasm, an incomplete climax. If he was quick he could rectify this for Reno, but he wasn't quick enough. Even as he was moving to grasp Reno the redhead's vocalizations changed, his fingers clasped into fists and his body jerked stiffened as a bright red flush moved quickly up his chest and covered his neck. Then Reno lay back with a relieved moan and shut his eyes, a lax smile on his face.
Tseng stared at him, astounded. That was it then, full climax off of anal stimulation alone. Tseng had read about it but never seen it before. No wonder Reno sought this out, even though he thought he shouldn't have it or shouldn't enjoy it. The whole idea almost sent Tseng over the edge, and he had to struggle to lock his mind back down into this normal controlled state. He wanted to think, to make his decision rationally since he had a choice here to finish himself or pull out and will himself back down. Which he should do depended on Reno. He had a pretty good idea what was wrong with his Turk. For all their sophisticated background investigation, they never learned everything about Turk candidates. Personal things, things that happed behind closed doors in homes, in families, those were not so easily ferreted out. He knew there were many things that Reno hadn't told them. You don't wind up a street punk from having a kind upbringing.
But the experts disagreed on the best track for sexual rehabilitation. Some said the new and concerned lover (that would be him) should wait and not take their pleasure, only let the one recovering from the abuse receive for awhile. Others said it was better to join in. Tseng opted to join in. He had started this on Reno's familiar ground with Tseng in complete control, but his goal was to move them to more equal footing, and keeping himself distant and controlled wasn't going to achieve that. So Tseng thrust. There was no danger of hurting Reno now, he was completely relaxed, and soon Tseng let himself go and drifted into complete nothingness, Reno's name escaping his lips. He had to shut his eyes and breathe for a minute, and when he opened them Reno was staring at him, wide eyed in wonder. Tseng stared back, thinking how young Reno looked. He was young, actually, but normally it didn't show. Smart alack, streetwise smirking always made him look older, jaded. Tseng withdrew and as Reno brought his legs back down he fished his own handcuff key out of his jacket. It would unlock Reno's cuffs as well. He reached up and undid one cuff, then the other, and when he sat back up Reno's hands flew at him. Tseng caught one, blocked the other before catching that wrist as well. This wasn't completely unexpected, and once caught Reno stopped fighting. Tseng pressed him down and kissed him, this time keeping the kiss until Reno felt good and finished.
"I don't know who taught you that this had to hurt," Tseng said, "Or that you had to be forced, but we are going to re-write every line of that if it takes me the rest of my life."
Reno gave him another one of those confused looks that might make a man think there was still some innocence left in him, and then his hands went back up. Tseng tensed before he realized it wasn't an attack. Reno had reached behind his head for some other reason. He was pulling at his ponytail. Tseng reached around hand helped Reno remove the tie. Then Reno was running his hands through Tseng's shoulder length jet black hair with an almost desperate fervor.
"You ever think about growing this?" Reno asked.
Tseng was confused by the question. He actually never gave his hair that much thought. "Would you like me to?"
Reno nodded.
"Then I will. For you."
Reno snorted a laugh, that cynical look returning. "Why would you do that, you don't love me."
"Reno," Tseng said surprised, "Who said I don't love you?"
"Oh, let's see, Elena, Rod, Cisnei, Rude..."
Tseng only smiled. "I love all my Turks, Reno."
"Even your biggest pain in the ass?"
"Especially my biggest pain in the ass."
Tseng kissed Reno, slowly, gently, ignoring the message alert that beeped on his PHS. Reno reached up and undid Tseng's necktie which was still bizarrely and insultingly around Tseng's neck, and both men worked to remove his coat, shirt, pants, everything. Now with both of them completely nude Tseng lifted the covers and encouraged Reno to crawl underneath with him. Reno shifted and stretched and put his whole body next to Tseng while he got caressed and had arms wrapped around him. He could never get this from...
A dark mood swept over him at the thought. Something was really wrong with him if he could think of Sephiroth right now.
"I don't know why he hates me so much," Reno said quietly.
Tseng sighed. He was disappointed to see Reno's fixation return to the General, but these things took time. Maybe some information would help; Turks lived and died by information. And maybe Reno needed the closure.
"Sephiroth hates you because you're a Turk," Tseng said.
"Yeah, I know a lot of people don't like us, but his seems so... personal."
Tseng took a deep breath. "During the war Soldier was different. They weren't so rigidly organized, and there were a lot more of them, men kicked just up to glimmer level and sent to the front. We used to, I used to, at the request of the lab and approval of the company, take a few every now and then to be used for experimentation.
It was easy enough, the front was chaotic, Soldiers were dying by the droves and men disappeared all the time. I don't know how Sephiroth found out. Maybe we were careless. Maybe he recognized what remained of one of them when he was down in the lab himself – he's down there quite a lot. Whatever the case he went ballistic. He had just made captain and there had been this enormous publicity piece on him, photos, interviews, newpaper articles, everything. His face, his magnetic image and persona, was everywhere. ShinRa had arranged the whole thing because popularity for the war was as an all time low and they thought the publicity would help. And it did. Sephiroth used his new found popularity and the broad based support he had garnered in Soldier as leverage against ShinRa. Held the whole war effort hostage. Threatened to bring the army down our throats. ShinRa cut a deal with him, and it's the truce we live under today."
"ShinRa cut a deal?" Reno asked, shocked. That old stingy bastard never gave into anything.
"Well Sephiroth was pacified easily enough. He only wanted the one thing, no more Soldiers put into the labs. And it wasn't like Turks couldn't provide subjects from other sources."
"Right, prisoners." Then Reno thought. "I've heard Sephiroth never takes prisoners, is this why?"
"Don't be getting any of romantic ideas about it. We don't know why he doesn't take prisoners. I suspect it's his bloodthirsty nature and not that he thinks he's doing them a favor, that death is better than going to the labs. Although I guess he'd know."
Reno shuddered.
"Anyway everything works OK now, Sephiroth mostly behaves, ShinRa is pleased with him and he seems to like his job. He's changed Soldier into a much more controlled and efficient organization. In fact it would be almost impossible to nab a Soldier now, they know immediately when one disappears and they turn all of their energy until that man, or his body, is found. ShinRa likes it, but..."
"They're more dangerous this way," Reno said.
"Yes. I have no desire for a war with Soldier, yet Soldier war veterans, guys who personally remember what the General did for them, have been pouring into Midgar all day from every quarter. I suspect Turk is their target."
Reno winced. "I guess I kind of threatened his uke. Implied he could turn up dead."
"Hmm mmm. That kid tells Sephiroth everything, I'm sure he told him about this. His successful attack on you, odd as it was, may have diffused the situation."
Tseng rolled over and with one long arm dug his PHS out of his coat on the floor. His thumb pushed buttons to access his messages. He had one from Rude and Elena, both saying Soldiers were leaving Midgar to return to their regular bases. He punched in a general message for his people to stand down. Reno heard his own PHS, somewhere on the floor, beep with the message.
"Sorry boss," Reno said. Slowly his mind clarified on what he had done. He had put every Turk in mortal danger, a far bigger screw up than even he had ever committed. And here Tseng was holding him in bed, looking at him kindly. "Why aren't you punishing me?"
"Reno, this transgression is so serious I think I have only two choices. I can either kill you or try to fix the problem. I don't want to lose you; you're too fine a Turk. I want to instead make sure this problem doesn't occur again. For the time being you don't talk to either the General or Cloud. You don't give them dirty looks, you walk on the other side of the street if that's what it takes. In fact I don't want either of them to lay eyes on you for awhile. This should be easy for a man of your talents. And Reno," Tseng tilted the redhead's chin to make him hold his eyes, "From now on you take what you need from me. And you can ask for it when you need it, because it's part of what's rightfully yours."
Tseng looked at Reno, sympathetic and affectionate. He now understood how much effort Reno had been expending to keep up his own self denial, selecting a partner who was almost certain to best him in a fight just so he could get what he craved without having to admit to himself that it was what he wanted. It would take a while for Reno to get to the point of simply asking for that.
"Well, Tseng babe, I could use some right now," Reno said.
Or not, Tseng amended.
A/N: Yes, I know Verdot should be the Turk commander during roughly this time frame, but I want to play with Tseng so I have him there a bit early.
I'm amused with the idea of Tseng taking some sexual psychology classes just to deal with his Turks, then always having two or three at a time under his "rehabilitation" program. He'd be very busy.