Title: Prisoners of War
Author: XpaperplaneX
Beta: urplesquirrel on LJ, aka Doom Squirrel on FF dot net
Rating: R
Pairing: SephirothxCloud
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Yaoi
Warnings: talk about sex
Summary: Sephiroth and Cloud are coming to terms with the aftermath of their capture and torture by of AVALANCHE, including a slowly budding friendship (and perhaps more?).
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.

Ugh, I hate Mondays. But the nice thing about posting on Mondays is I get to wake up to a lovely inbox full of reviews on Tuesday. That makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. You know, I never thought I could die of embarrasment until I got surprise!kauntatouban last night. I don't mind public speaking and it's just roll call and saying who has kauntatouban and tenkotouban next, but my god! I wanted to curl into a ball and die! The applause when I finished didn't help. Don't make me speak Japanese in public! Can't wait til I have to do my speech at the elementary school next week. So if there's no post on the 14th, it's probably because I did die. Just warning you in advance.

Yay for Superbetas and their ability to spot really dumb continuity errors!

XXX

Tseng shut the door behind Reno and Rude and locked it while Rude closed the blinds. "Reno, why don't you start?" he said, "Have you found anything out about Nibelheim?"

"Once I figured out how to spell it. What kind of name is that, anyways?"

Tseng just glared and waited for Reno to start talking. Reno was good, but sometimes he wondered if it was worth putting up with his attitude.

"Right," Reno shuffled uncomfortably. "Nibelheim is home to the very first mako reactor ever built. The first president chose that location because there was lots of mako available and there weren't many people around to protest some new, untried technology. So I'm thinking that they didn't have the same safety standards back then as they do at the newer reactors. So maybe mako's leaked into the town's water supply or something and that's why the Strife kid has such a high tolerance."

Tseng nodded. "That's a reasonable guess. I don't know how we can verify it unless someone has already done a study, but I'll make a note of it. What else have you learned?"

"Well, the place was also used as a research station. Some is more public; they were studying the effects of mako on the local flora and fauna. Total bullshit results, by the way. But that's what they published. The actual findings were a bit less positive. I was only able to find a few files that hadn't had the data altered.

"There were also projects done there that weren't ever publicized. I'm still digging deeper into those, but from what I've found out so far, Project J was the big one. It seemed to centre around Specimens J and S. It started about thirty years ago and was headed by Professor Gast. Professor Hojo took it over completely twenty years ago, when Gast disappeared, but he had pretty much taken over a few years before then. At least that's what I could figure out from the research notes. During the last few years, Gast wrote a lot about how Hojo was cutting him out of the project and twisting it to his own ends.

"The project's supposed to be abandoned now. Actually, there's no more research being done there at all anymore. Hasn't been for several years. And that's about it."

"All right, good job." Apparently Reno had heard any vampire rumours; he's look into it later if they found themselves at a dead end. Tseng turned to Rude. "What have you been able to find?"

"Yes, sir. I've been tracking large quantities of gil from an unknown source outside the science department. It's all being funneled into something known as Project C. Hojo appears to be at the helm of the project. I've had no luck tracing the source of it, but I do know that it's mainly being used for the purchase of new lab equipment as well as some upgrades for existing equipment. It's all being shipped out of Midgar, but tracking it has proven difficult. All I know is that it's going to the Western Continent."

"That's about as much luck as I've had, which means it's probably coming from very high up in the food chain. I'm going to ask Rufus if he can help us find the source of the funding. He's got far more experience watching where the gil is coming to and from in this company. Rufus will jump at the chance to get some more dirt on his father… assuming that's the source.

"Has anyone found anything specifically pertaining to Cloud?" Tseng asked.

Reno just shook his head, no.

"No," Rude said, "Nothing specific. Although this 'Project C' was started shortly after the mako testing. Isn't Hojo fond of using the first initials of his test subjects?"

"Yes, he is. I suspect that the 'Specimen S' Reno mentioned was Sephiroth. But I don't want to go to him without something more concrete than an initial. Let's make sure he's got a real reason to be worried, first. Keep digging."

"Yes, sir." Rude snapped a salute and he and Reno left the office. Tseng sighed and sat back in his chair. He hoped he was doing the right thing. If the funding was coming from the president, was it right to keep Reno and Rude involved with it? They were essentially committing treason against Shinra, although Tseng's own loyalty lay with Rufus rather than the company. He resolved to speak to Rufus as soon as he got a chance, to see how his plans were coming. If they could just get the old man out the door, things would be so much simpler.

XXX

"Strife, take these forms to room 4915 and don't come back without them fully filled out." Sephiroth handed Cloud a stack of papers and gave him a quick smile to go with the orders.

"Yes, sir." Cloud saluted and left the office. Sephiroth had kept him busy all afternoon. Mostly stuff like making copies and fetching coffee. He had the impression that Sephiroth was just finding things for him to do since he hadn't actually planned on having an assistant today. It was nice though, being able to spend time with him, watching him work. The life of a general really was a lot less glamourous than the media made it out to be. He had seen Director Lazard staring at him a few times when he had been out in the halls, but Cloud kept his head down and went about his work. He would make a good impression. He didn't was Director Lazard thinking less of him for being with Sephiroth.

He found the right office and knocked sharply on the door.

"Come in," Zack's voice called.

Cloud eagerly opened the door. "When did you get back?"

"Spiky! What the fuck are you doing here?" Zack jumped up from behind his desk and ran over to give him a hug.

"Being an assistant for the day. When'd you get back?"

"Like, half an hour ago and the mission was pure hell. Hordes of monsters infesting the Corel fucking mines. So I demand that you tell me those papers aren't for me."

"Sorry. I'm not allowed to go back to Sephiroth's office until they're done." Cloud smiled apologetically and held the stack out to Zack.

"Oh, come on! There's got to be like a hundred pages there! Is Sephiroth holding a grudge against me for some reason? I don't think I've done anything too terrible lately."

"Except trying to take custody of me and working out Sephiroth's visitation rights."

"Exactly, nothing too terrible. He didn't get in trouble for it. Ugh, you may as well sit down. This is gonna take a while. Actually, could you grab me some coffee first?"

"Sure, I'll be right back."

Cloud strode quickly down to the kitchen area but came to a screeching halt when Director Lazard's white-suited form appeared in front of him.

"Corporal Strife, I need to talk to you. In here, please."

"Yes, sir," he said weakly. This wasn't good at all. He followed the director into a large room and sat down in one of the many chairs when he was instructed to sit.

"Please don't look so scared, Strife. I just need to ask you some questions. My office is on a different floor, so it's easiest to use the briefing room." The director took a seat opposite to him and adjusted the white gloves he wore before folding his hands in front of his face.

"Yes, sir," was all Cloud could think of to say. Any questions would probably only be about one thing.

"Just so we're on the same page, you are involved in a sexual relationship with General Sephiroth, are you not?"

Cloud felt himself quailing under the director's merciless stare. He did not want to talk about this. Not with someone he didn't even know. But he couldn't run out, either. That would ruin all his chances to get into SOLDIER. "Y-yes," he managed to stammer.

"Is it consensual?"

"Wh-what?"

"Strife, please calm down. You're not in trouble, I assure you. I just need to clear some things up. I need to know if your relationship is consensual. Sephiroth has a much higher rank than you; he could easily order or threaten you-"

"No! No, it's not like that, sir."

"Or bribe you with promises of-"

"No," Cloud said firmly. "I don't want or expect anything from him except to be together. He's not doing favours for me and he didn't threaten me or order me. I'm with him because I want to be!"

"Okay, okay. There's no need to get defensive. It would be irresponsible of me if I didn't at least ask."

If Cloud had had hackles, they definitely would have been standing on end. However, he managed to take few breaths and calm himself down enough to speak, "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Good. This is highly irregular, but as long as everything is fully consensual, I'll allow you to remain together. However, I do appreciate you keeping things quiet while you're at work. You've done a good job of that today, so thank you. And I suppose I should let you get back to that work. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Cloud made a beeline for the door and rushed back to Zack's office before anyone else could stop him. He slammed the door behind him and stood with his back against it, trembling with rage and trying not to cry.

"Cloud, what happened?" Cloud felt Zack's hand on his shoulder and threw himself at his friend.

"Director Lazard. He- he- he fucking asked me if Sephiroth was taking advantage of me! He thought he had ordered me or threatened me or fucking bribed me into being with him! Like he would do something like that! Not that he'd need to, but even if he did, he wouldn't! He should know him better than that!"

"Hey, calm down, Spike. I'm sure Lazard was just making sure. He doesn't really think Sephiroth would do something like that."

"Yeah, that guy's got a huge stick up his ass and a slightly overinflated ego, but he's a good leader. He was just looking out for you." Cloud jumped and looked around the room. A SOLDIER in purple was sitting with his feet up on Zack's desk. "Hi," Kunsel said, "Long time, no see, Chocobohead."

"Cho- Chocobohead?"

"Oh, come on," Zack tightened his hold on Cloud, "Don't call him that when he's already enraged. Spike's scary when he's mad. Didn't I tell you what he did to the dummies?"

"Ah, sorry, Cloud. Don't worry, you don't look too much like a chocobo. It's just, I think your adult fringe has started coming in."

Cloud glowered at him, but couldn't resist the friendly smile Kunsel presented him with and smiled back as he spoke, "I could have gone a while longer without seeing you again. And don't call me that again."

"I'll try to remember, but you know my memory's about as good as Zack's."

Cloud sighed, resigning himself to a new nickname. "You can let go of me now, Zack."

"Have you calmed down about Sephiroth?"

"No! That's such a bullshit answer! He knows that Sephiroth wouldn't do that, but has to ask just in case? That doesn't sound like he knows at all!"

"Then I'm not letting go. Look, you know probably better than anyone that Seph's rather socially retarded. If I didn't know you, I might have worried that, even if he didn't intend it, someone of your rank could very easily feel coerced into a relationship with him. He's not good at making those things clear, or at least a lot of people think so. I think he's proven them wrong, seeing how careful he's been with you, but other people don't know what goes on in your private lives. So responsible people like Lazard have to ask. Understand?"

"I- yeah," Cloud sighed in resignation, "I get it."

"All right, then. Where's my coffee?"

"Why are you visiting with Kunsel? You don't get coffee until you work."

"You know, I like him even more now that he talks more," Kunsel piped up. "I think you should keep him."

"Oh, we fully intend to; this is one chocobo that isn't going to the farm." Ignoring Cloud's half-hearted protest at the chocobo joke, he continued, "All right, Spike, you get the coffee, three cups. Toss whatever you want into Kunsel's; I think there's some hot sauce in the fridge. Kunsel, grab half that stack and get signature forging. We'll get this done and all go for dinner together, how's that sound?"

"Are you paying?" Kunsel asked.

"Cloud can bat his eyelashes at Seph and get him to pay. Now go! Get to work, men!"

Cloud rushed off to get the coffee and came back to find Zack and Kunsel collapsed on the floor, laughing.

"This doesn't look overly productive," he said accusingly.

"Cloud," Kunsel gasped, "Your boyfriend's fucking hilarious. Check this out." He waved his hand towards the stack on Zack's desk. It was distinctly less stack-like now, though.

Cloud cautiously went over and saw exactly one form that required a signature. The rest were blank sheets. "What the-?"

"Read this." Zack held up a sheet of paper with Sephiroth's writing on it.

Zack,

Have some forms! I figured you wouldn't want to do any real work after your mission, so you have my permission to hang out with Cloud for the rest of the afternoon under the guise of paperwork. Cloud had a rough morning and he's been working hard all afternoon; he could use a break but I know he won't let me just give him one. Plus, his uniform's fucking cute and it's driving me insane. We can all go out for dinner tonight if you want.

Gen. Sephiroth

"I like how he still signs it 'General' Sephiroth," Kunsel said.

"I like the part where your uniform's driving him insane. He probably wants to tear it off of you. Whadd'ya think, Spike?"

Cloud shook his head in disbelief. "I think you guys are right; my boyfriend's hilarious. I can't believe he wrote that."

"But he's stuck in his office, all alone. We can't have that… Cloud, I'm having massive problems with this paperwork. I don't even know where to start. It's going to take a general to get it all sorted out."

Cloud grinned. "On it!"

XXX

Cloud managed to haul Sephiroth down to Zack's office to slack off for the remainder of the day. They went out for dinner at a neighbourhood pub and spent the evening catching up on events of the past few days. Zack glared at him disapprovingly when he learned of his adventure in the slums. Cloud sighed, since it didn't seem like he'd be getting a lecture from Sephiroth, it seemed fitting that he'd get one from Zack instead. They made it an early night and Sephiroth walked with them back to their apartment building. Sephiroth dragged Cloud off to a dim corner to say goodnight and he could hear Kunsel and Zack laughing about chocobo-nappers. He blushed and squirmed in embarrassment until Sephiroth effectively blocked their view with his body and proceeded to kiss him senseless.

"Just ignore them, they can't see anything," Sephiroth whispered as he pressed Cloud up against the wall. His thigh was pressing gently between Cloud's legs and he couldn't help but start rubbing against it as Sephiroth ravished him with his tongue. He didn't know how long they had been there, but suddenly Zack's voice got a lot louder.

"C'mon, Seph, the bushes are no place for a cute, young chocobo to be molested. Let 'im go already."

Sephiroth growled in frustration and very reluctantly lowered Cloud to the ground. He hadn't even realised that Sephiroth had picked him up and the sudden return to standing on his own caused him to stumble. He felt like growling as well; why couldn't Zack just go in without him?

"Fuck," Sephiroth muttered. "Can I take you off duty tomorrow, too? It would be for a good reason."

"I don't think 'we were horny' really counts as a good reason. Sorry. But I'll come over tomorrow after training's finished, okay?"

"Wear your uniform, will you?"

Cloud giggled at that. "I hear you think it's cute. I don't know if I want to ruin its cuteness with what you probably have in mind."

"Please?"

"Oh, all right, I suppose. As long as you promise not to tear it."

"I promise, I'll treat it with the utmost respect."

"CLOUD! Let's go!" Zack shouted.

"I'm coming!" he shouted back.

"You'd better not be!" came the reply.

Cloud sighed and thumped his head against Sephiroth's chest. "I should go. Sleep well, okay?"

"You too, goodnight." Sephiroth gave him one final kiss and he ran back to where Zack was waiting.

"You could've just gone in, you know," he muttered angrily at Zack.

"No, I couldn't have, because if I did, you might never have come in and I'm fucking pissed off at you. I want to yell now, while I'm still mad. It was bad enough waiting all evening."

"Oh."

"Oh, indeed. You are one dumb little shit. I can't fucking believe you! Let's go."

Cloud glumly followed Zack back to their apartment. Cloud hoped he wouldn't yell for too long; he was absolutely exhausted.

XXX

"So, just in case you're secretly mad and you're saving it up or something, Zack chewed me out last night, so you don't have to," Cloud said as he lay sprawled over Sephiroth's hair.

"Huh?" Sephiroth paused in massaging Cloud's back. "Why would I be mad?"

"Because of how irresponsible I was for going into the slums and getting drunk and having to get rescued."

"Oh. Okay, I wasn't going to, yell at you later, that is. You felt bad enough; I didn't see a reason to rub it in. You won't do anything like that again, will you?"

"No, I learned my lesson, don't worry."

"Then there's no reason for me to be mad. You made a mistake, that's all."

"Thanks."

"Why was Zack mad? He wasn't even involved."

"I guess he was just mad that I'd do something that stupid. He yelled forever."

"I'm sorry, I hate getting yelled at. Although I'm really good at tuning it out. But I've noticed it's different when it's someone you care about who's mad."

"Yeah, makes you feel a whole lot shittier."

"Aww, do you want some hot chocolate to make it better?"

Cloud giggled. "You're so nice to me. Yes, please!"

"All right, get cleaned up and put some clothes on. I'll make your comfort cocoa."

XXX

"Sephiroth, can we talk?" Cloud asked as he curled up next to him on the couch with his mug of hot chocolate. His uniform was neatly folded in a stack beside the couch and he had changed into a more comfortable pair of track pants and a t-shirt.

"Sure. What did you want to talk about?" Sephiroth took the mug from him as he settled himself then handed it back and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

Cloud slurped his cocoa several times before answering, "Sex."

Sephiroth was momentarily taken aback by that, but hoped he had managed to cover his shock. "Okay… anything in particular you'd like to talk about regarding sex?"

"Umm, well, it's just, you know, umm…" Cloud's voice trailed off.

Sephiroth gave him a squeeze and kissed the top of his head. "It's okay, just say what you're thinking. You know you can tell me anything, right? There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Right, um, well, the thing is, you know that before… everything that happened, I hadn't, umm…"

"You were a virgin." Sephiroth rubbed his arm encouragingly.

"Yes. And so I don't really know- I mean, I know, but- And I want to have sex, but I'm scared. It hurt so much. And I've heard so many things and everybody says something different and I don't know what to expect in a more normal situation. So I was wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind, I mean, you didn't seem to have any problem talking about blowjobs and swallowing and that sort of thing…"

"So you're asking me to walk you through what it would be like?"

"You don't have to! Never mind!" Cloud squirmed in embarrassment and nearly spilled his cocoa.

"Cloud, calm down," Sephiroth took the mug away again and set it on the table. "Of course I don't mind; I think it's a good idea. If you know what to expect, I imagine the whole thing will be a lot less scary. Not knowing is one of the worst things."

"Really?" Cloud looked nervously up at him. "You don't- Thank you."

"No problem." Sephiroth kissed the top of his head again. "I'll do whatever you need to make you feel comfortable. I've just got to figure out where to start." Sephiroth held Cloud close as he wracked his brain, trying to think of what Cloud would want to know. He suddenly realised that they were both making a huge assumption and that it didn't have to be that way. "Cloud, you know that you don't have to be the one who bottoms, right?"

"What?"

"I mean, you can penetrate me, if you'd prefer it that way. I'm fine either way."

"I- I don't know… I hadn't even thought of that."

"Well, give it some thought. I usually top, but I can switch. For now, we'll just talk about you bottoming, but keep in mind that it's an option. Okay? And I can walk you through that too, if you decide it's something you'd like to try."

Cloud nodded. "Okay."

Sephiroth spent a moment thinking before he spoke again. "Have you thought at all about positions?"

"Umm, not… not really."

"All right, well, there are lots of positions that people can have sex in. The three basic ones would be you on your back, with me on top, you on your hands and knees, with me behind you, and me on my back, with you on top, sort of… riding. The last one would give you the most control."

"No," Cloud said with certainty. "I don't like that one. It sounds a lot like…"

"You're right, it would be much the same position as back then. How about the other two?"

"The first one sounds nice. You'd be facing me?"

"Yes."

"And would you be able to kiss me?"

"I would. And you'd be able to use your hands and legs to guide me."

"That would be good, I think."

"Okay, we'll go with that for now. So we'd start out with lots of foreplay. It might be good if you came first, just to help you relax a bit. Don't worry, we can take our time and have you ready to go again."

Cloud nodded. "Guess it's good that I'm young."

"That's very true. When we're ready, I'll prepare you using my fingers. I'll use lots of lube and make sure you're stretched really well so I won't hurt you. You'll lie on your back and spread your legs and I'll position myself between them. I'll bend your knees and probably have you rest your legs on my hips so the angle's a bit better.

"When I enter you, the first bit is the hardest. Once the head is in, the rest is much easier. It's usually best to get that over with quickly. It might hurt a little bit, but I'm hoping I'll have prepared you well enough that it won't. After that, I'll go very slowly. It will feel strange and probably a bit uncomfortable, but it shouldn't hurt. If it does, I want you to tell me right away. I'll move gradually and give your body time to adjust. You'll need to try and stay as relaxed as possible or it will hurt. If you need me to slow down or wait, just say so.

"When I'm all the way in, I'll stop until you've adjusted and completely relaxed. I'll wait for you to tell me it's okay, and then I'll begin moving. I'll try to be very gentle, but if you want or need me to change my pace, just tell me. I'll use my hand to stroke you, since most men can't get off on penetration alone. Once we get a rhythm going and you get used to it, it should stop feeling uncomfortable and start feeling good. Hopefully really good."

"Hopefully," Cloud agreed with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Hey, don't worry," he planted several reassuring kisses on Cloud's head. "I'll make sure you enjoy yourself. And if you don't like it, or get scared, we can stop. At any time. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Do you have any questions?"

"Umm, what about… when… when you come? Where will…?"

"That's up to you, Cloud. I can pull out or I can come inside you."

"It's usually inside, isn't it?"

"That doesn't matter. Whatever you're comfortable with is what we'll do. I just need to know beforehand, is all."

"Okay, I'll think about it."

"All right. Any more questions?"

Cloud shook his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. If there's anything else, just ask. I promise I don't mind at all." He ruffled Cloud's hair affectionately, invoking a protesting whine. "Now that we're done with all that sexy talk, do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure."

"All right, you pick one out and I'll go make some popcorn. Do you want your hot chocolate reheated?"

"Heh, I totally forgot about that. Yes, please."

Sephiroth grabbed the mug off the table and discreetly adjusted his pants as he walked to the kitchen. After their activities earlier, he wouldn't have thought that just talking about sex would get him so turned on. Although… it was more that he was talking about the prospect of sex with Cloud. Oh well, they could spend the movie necking. And Cloud could take his time and mull things over. He felt a small surge of pride as he realised that not too long ago, he probably would have thought that Cloud asking about sex meant that he was ready. But he knew that wasn't the case and that Cloud needed more time. And that was okay.

He was glad, however, that Cloud had brought it up. Things seemed to go much smoother when Cloud knew exactly what to expect. He had hesitated to bring up the topic himself, in case Cloud thought he was getting impatient and trying to pressure him. But now that they had discussed it, hopefully, when the time came, there wouldn't be any freak-outs. The microwave beeped and he took out the hot chocolate and grabbed the popcorn bowl. Cloud had a blanket wrapped around him and was leaning awkwardly, holding himself up against a vacant space on the couch. He looked like he was waiting for someone to fill that void and Sephiroth hurried over.

XXX

A/N: Is it just me, or are the Corel mines freaking infested with monsters? How did the miners get anything done? How did any miners survive long enough see their town be destroyed? Surely stopping production every couple days because of monsters and waiting for Zack to decide he has time to go on that mission would be a little costly. Okay, that was totally random. I seem to be talkative today, sorry. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!