Chapter 12
It felt like hours had passed, and Cloud's knees and toes were aching from his prolonged kneeling stance, his spine and shoulders drooping. Many times he had been tempted to rise up on his feet and pace around, to get the blood moving in his body, but he had resisted because he'd found his eyes drawn to the door each time the temptation to do so had arisen, and he'd somehow found the strength and courage to remain in his stoic pose. He argued with himself inside his mind, asking where was the courage in remaining bowed and reasoning that surely being stood upright when his tormentor came in through the door would be more courageous and brave; to which he'd argued back that, by pretending to be compliant, it would give him an edge over the man, and possibly an advantage for a successful surprise attack.
All thoughts of any kind were forgotten though, the moment the entrance door swished open just a few moments later, announcing the arrival of the general, and Cloud felt his stomach knot as he fought hard to keep his gaze lowered. He waited tensely for whatever reaction his presence was about to cause, expecting at the very least some form of verbal abuse. But Sephiroth hardly paused to look down at the boy kneeling so passively in his hallway. With a barely acknowledged nod, he simply continued walking, moving past the blond and entering into one of the rooms behind him.
Cloud frowned, twisting his upper body to stare at the closing door. He debated over what to do next. Did the arrogant bastard really expect him to remain like this for the rest of the night, on his knees, waiting to be allowed up? Cloud arched his back and rotated his shoulders, easing the tensed muscles and stretching them out. He stood up, bending his legs, rubbing at his knees, and flexing his toes. And then, because he was annoyed at having been ignored, Cloud disregarded the warning bells that were going off inside his head and he entered the same room as the general had done, walking in after him brazenly.
Sephiroth was in the act of pouring himself a drink, but now he paused and replaced the decanter, quirking an eyebrow at the boy's entrance. "What do you think you are doing?" he asked, taking a slow sip from his glass, his gaze locked on the youth standing there.
"The order was to remain out there kneeling until you arrived… You arrived," Cloud answered glibly, staring back defiantly.
"I think, during your absence, you have forgotten your place," Sephiroth said, his voice dangerously low, his green eyes narrowing slightly.
For all his bravado, Cloud felt his heart start to hammer in his chest. He could sense that his coming into the room had annoyed the general but, for whatever reason, he couldn't stop himself from pushing the man some more. He sat down in a chair.
"Don't go making yourself too much at home," Sephiroth warned, turning his back to the boy while he refilled his half empty glass. "You won't be staying long."
"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, thinking wildly for a moment that he was to be set free.
"I mean that, in a few minutes, someone will be coming here to collect you."
"Collect me? I don't understand. Where will they be taking me?"
Sephiroth faced the boy, a smug smile on his thin lips. He raised the glass to his mouth, taking his time to drink before replying. "Someone within Shin-Ra has earned a little respect from me. Lieutenant Giltz. As a reward, I have given you to him for the night. He will be taking you to his own rooms. What he does with you there is anyone's guess, but he has my permission to take full advantage of your body."
"You can't do that!" Cloud yelled, pushing at the arms of the seat he was in, standing up and glaring in anger at the general. "You can't give me away like some piece of unwanted baggage."
"Yes I can," Sephiroth answered sharply. "I can do whatever I like with you, because you chose to come back to me."
Cloud froze up for a second, his mind frantically denying what the general had just said. Then his mouth went into action. "You liar," he hissed. "You kidnapped me. I didn't come back without a fight. I was taken against my will," he argued, his voice rising, his anger becoming more apparent as he strove to make his captor understand how much he didn't want to be there.
"Like you fought hard against being taken," Sephiroth scoffed. "That was just a show for the girl. You knew exactly what you were doing, deliberately standing there day after day out on that rocky ledge overlooking the building site, knowing you would be seen, your presence reported. You also knew that I would hunt you down. And that was what gave you a thrill at night, wasn't it, wondering when I would come and fetch you home."
"This isn't my home!" Cloud protested.
"Whatever you choose to call it… home, prison, or even Hell… it's where you wanted to be, and where you belong." Sephiroth smiled, and it was a cold unpleasant smile. "I guessed you would come slinking back, sooner or later. Do you really think I hadn't told my men to be on the lookout for the presence of a lone blond male? Once you were seen, it didn't take a lot of brain power to reason that you'd be staying in the nearest town. You are so predictable, and naïve."
At that moment an alarm buzzed softly, alerting the general's attention to someone awaiting admittance to his quarters, and as he said, "Open", so Cloud took his chance at the man being distracted, and swung his fist.
"I see you were right about him being a playful one," the guest said jovially upon entering the room, watching as Sephiroth wrestled with the blond youth for a moment before pinning the boy's arms behind his back and raising them at an awkward level, which caused Cloud to cry out in pain. "He's not too happy at coming with me, eh?" Giltz remarked candidly. "Just as well that I brought an escort then. But I'm sure I'll manage to make him co-operate when we're alone. Are you sure you don't mind him being a bit bruised when he returns?"
"No, I don't mind," Sephiroth answered, holding tightly to Cloud, stopping him from any further attack. The punch that he'd thrown had almost connected. Almost. But Sephiroth had been waiting for such an assault since the boy had marched into the room. "Besides, I actually think bruises make him look prettier," he added.
"Okay then," Giltz said happily, indicating to his guards to remove Cloud from the general's hold. "I'll deliver him back to you in the morning."
"Enjoy," Sephiroth said, relinquishing his grip.
"Oh, I will," the other promised.
