Cloud sat on his hotel bed in shock. Aerith had given him a second chance! But why here? Sephiroth had raped him the night before, why didn't she send him back further so it would never happen? Was she serious about him confronting Sephiroth? Doing it to save the world in a life or death battle was one thing, but this…Cloud shivered. How would he know if he 'won' after confronting Sephiroth with his crime?
"Well, have you talked to Tifa yet?" Zack repeated his question.
"Oh…uh…no." Cloud replied. "How…how do you talk to someone who's hurt you without letting them hurt you again?"
Zack stared at Cloud before sitting down on his own bed. "It's seriously complicated between you two, isn't it?"
"Oh, I wasn't talking about Tifa, I just…oh, never mind. I'm gonna go for a walk." Cloud said and hurried outside. Once he was on the main street of Nibelheim, he took a deep breath and looked up towards the reactor. Jenova was there, and she needed to be destroyed, but Sephiroth was going mad, and that was the more immediate threat. Jenova wasn't going anywhere yet. Cloud didn't look forward to facing Sephiroth, but he couldn't stand what he had become, and Aerith had said he would be healed and finally free once he did. He wondered why she had been so adamant about him being honest with himself and Sephiroth during the confrontation. What was there to lie about anymore? Sephiroth raped him, that's all that was bothering him, wasn't it? He took a step towards the mansion, then looked up at the reactor again. If he destroyed Jenova first, she could never be used for more experiments, and Sephiroth couldn't use her either, if Cloud failed when he faced him down.
Sephiroth had left the mansion basement, feeling so sick that he had to get some fresh air before he burst. The records of the experiments stored in the basement made him feel so…he didn't even know if there was a word for it. Everything he had believed in was nothing but a lie apparently. He was surprised to see that blond infantryman he had found so enjoyable head out on the trail leading up to the reactor, and Sephiroth started following at a safe distance, needing a distraction, and curious as to what he was doing.
Cloud felt a bit naked going anywhere without the Buster sword, but it wasn't his anymore, and he just had to be careful, using the night vision feature of his helmet. He had a couple close calls, but he made it safely to the reactor. Pausing in front of the sealed door leading to the Jenova chamber, trying to figure out how to open it when he heard a noise behind him, and spun around to find himself face to face with Sephiroth.
"You're not supposed to be here!" Cloud blurted out as he backed up til he hit the door.
"I could say the same thing about you." Sephiroth coolly replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving the world from monsters." Cloud answered after a moment's hesitation.
Sephiroth started laughing almost maniacally. "We're all monsters now, thanks to Shin-Ra. Haven't you been paying attention?"
"I became a monster when you raped me!" Cloud snapped back, clenching his hands into fists.
"Raped? You didn't have any problem begging for it, did you?" Sephiroth was surprised to find himself on the defensive over their night together.
"I was sixteen years old, you bastard!" Cloud blindly struck out at Sephiroth, who easily avoided it, and pinned him to the door, holding him up by his throat.
"Was sixteen?" Sephiroth was alert to Cloud's choice of words and demanded answers. "Who are you?"
"I'm the person that's going to stop you! I won't let you do to anyone else what you did to me!" Cloud raged on, unable to stop now that he had started. "For years I looked up to you, wanting to be just like you. And when I finally met you, I find out the great Sephiroth is a lie…he's just a manipulative rapist!" More buried feelings floated up to the surface inside Cloud, like bubbles at the Cetra's scrying pool. "How could you do that to me? You didn't need to force me, I would have done anything for you! I lo…" Cloud froze in shock as Sephiroth let him go, and he fell to the floor, sobbing and shuddering. How could he have loved Sephiroth? Was that why Aerith felt he wasn't being honest with himself about why being raped by Sephiroth had scarred him so badly?
Sephiroth stared at Cloud's huddled body on the floor as the young man let go of the last five years in a cathartic released that Sephiroth found extremely disturbing, especially when he heard Cloud keep mumbling about love in conjunction with his name. Looking up at the Jenova nameplate over the door, he decided to stay as far away from the young infantryman as possible, something about him was too dangerous for Sephiroth to be near him. "Do what you will!" he spat before disappearing into the night.
As Cloud recovered from his release, he was so grateful to Aerith. He did feel lighter, even if he was a bit uncomfortable after realizing the truth about his feelings for Sephiroth. He tried to stand up, using the sealed door to brace himself against, but it was somehow open, and he fell into the chamber. Picking himself up, he approached the containment capsule containing Jenova, feeling a total repulsion of everything she represented. He was trying to figure out how to destroy her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Can't leave a job unfinished, can you?" Zack asked. "Keep it up, and you'll be First Class in no time."
"Jenova must be destroyed. She's what started it all." Cloud fervently stated.
"Are you serious?" Zack stared at him. "She makes my skin crawl, but we really should report to…"
"I'm going to do it with or without your help. I don't want you to get in trouble, so you can feel free to leave." Cloud replied.
"Whoa, buddy, I'm helping, I just wanted to make sure you would. Let's do this!" Zack told him.
Cloud didn't tell Zack of his next planned move as they returned to Midgar, only telling his friend that he was quitting SOLDIER, since he wanted nothing more to do with Shin-Ra. He was going to be a mercenary, and told Zack to keep in touch with him if he ever needed help. Cloud's next move was destroying the research lab to stop Hojo. He snuck in after hours one night, planting several devices that would cause a blackout in the lab so the research specimens could escape while Cloud would wipe out all the computer hard drives, so they would have no records of any of their research. He had just started on the computers when Hojo surprised him. He pointed his gun at Cloud, who closed his eyes, expecting to hear the gun go off and kill him any moment, but instead he heard a sickening groan. Opening his eyes, he saw a stunned Hojo fall to the ground as a long blade so quickly that Cloud never saw the wielder, even though he knew who it was, and he smiled.
Cloud hadn't seen Sephiroth for over six months, since their confrontation at the Mt. Nibel reactor, but he had frequently thought about him, and he had come to terms with his feelings for the silver-haired warrior. It wasn't just that he still loved him despite everything that allowed him to forgive the man, but he realized that Aerith was right, he and Sephiroth were so linked that forgiving him was the same as Cloud forgiving himself. Cloud also accepted that he relied on him as his guiding star to know what he had to do. If he was a hero, Cloud would emulate him. If Sephiroth was a villain, Cloud would fight him…wherever Sephiroth led, Cloud would always end up following him.
After Nibelheim, he had constantly felt himself being watched, and during some of his mercenary jobs, he had been aware that he had a guardian angel taking care of any unexpected problems that arose. So Cloud was unsurprised to wake up in the middle of the night two weeks after his assault on the research lab, sensing another presence in his bedroom.
"You owe me." Sephiroth said as he got into bed with Cloud, and he was surprised that Cloud didn't object or resist at all. He had been furious with himself that he hadn't been able to stay away from the younger man, justifying it by the fact that he had promised Cloud he would never leave him, and Sephiroth could not go back on his word. He had looked after him, unsure why he wanted to give Cloud a reason to trust him again.
Cloud fell into a relaxed sleep after Sephiroth had left him, and he had a dream of being back in the Cetra village with Aerith and Ifalna, but he didn't understand any of it.
"Thank you for saving my daughter." Ifalna's spirit said, putting her hand on Cloud's head as he slept peacefully, removing his memories of the future timeline he had left behind.
Three years after Nibelheim
Cloud finished adjusting Zack's bowtie. "There you go. Are you nervous yet? Today's the big day after all."
"I would be if you hadn't taken that picture at the bachelor party!" Zack chided his best man. "If Aerith ever sees that, we'll have to adopt our family."
"I could always tell her the truth." Cloud teased. "That her noble husband is always there for a damsel in distress. Now, let's get you two married!"
The ceremony was very well attended, since when the 'commoners' invited found out that the illustrious Turks and some of the upper echelon of Shin-Ra would be attending, they didn't want to miss out at hobnobbing with them. It turned into quite a social affair, which Zack and Aerith weren't too happy with, but as long as they had a nice wedding, they were willing to deal with it. Aerith didn't have any real girlfriends though, so Cloud introduced her to Tifa, and the two hit it off, so Tifa was the Maid of Honor, and at Zack's suggestion, Cissnei along with Elena and her sister were bridesmaids. Tseng, Reno, and Rude were the groomsmen. Aerith wore a traditional dark green Cetra wedding dress, but those who didn't know her heritage thought she was just following some new fashion trend.
Reno wasn't paying attention to the ceremony as much as he was just staring at Tifa. He had a vague recollection of her from somewhere, and he was eager for the reception so he could not only figure out who she was, but find out how available she was.
Cloud was walking to the park where the reception was being held when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. "I thought you didn't like weddings." he said.
"I don't." Sephiroth said as he led Cloud to a secluded area of the park. "It's something else that interests me."
Cloud started unfastening his pants as Sephiroth backed him up against a tree, smiling like a Chesire cat at his lover finally taking him in public, so to speak. Sephiroth had been so resistant to any suggestion that they have any kind of official relationship. Cloud just left his bedroom window unlocked for Sephiroth to come and go as he pleased. He wanted Sephiroth to admit he loved Cloud as well, but he understood that it would take time. After all, Sephiroth was still dealing with his issues over his origins. Cloud had realized that it was when he had a hard time with it that he sought Cloud out the most, and he was touched that Sephiroth did rely on him as a calming influence. Love was patient, Cloud knew, and he was willing to wait for however long it took for Sephiroth to come around.
"You're still the best I've ever had." Sephiroth said as he entered Cloud, pleased that his lover was eagerly begging him for more in between moans. He would never admit it, but Cloud was so intrinsically important to him that it frightened him sometimes. So he tried to keep his visits few and far between, even though it was getting harder. Being with Cloud always felt so right…
"You really don't remember me, do you?" Tifa was extremely amused by Reno's not-so-subtle attempts to find out who she was at the reception. This might turn out to be an enjoyable party after all. "Oh, look, Aerith is about to toss the bouquet, excuse me."
Reno followed Tifa, wanting to get her to admit who she was. When Aerith threw her bouquet, his training kicked in and he automatically reached out and grabbed the thrown object. When he realized what he had just done, Tifa started laughing.
"Well, how does it feel to have your face be the same color as the flowers?" Tifa couldn't resist needling him.
"Take them!" Reno thrust the bouquet at her, not wanting any part of it.
"If I take them from you now, we have to get married." Tifa teased him.
When Cloud came home from Reno and Tifa's wedding six months later, he found a small box on his bed. Opening it, he found a plain wedding ring with a note that simply said Now everyone will know you're mine. A soft smile spread over Cloud's face, knowing that this was Sephiroth's way of saying "I love you."