(Disclaimer – As usual)

A/N – So there you have it. This one has something priceless in it… believe me!:D

My sincere thanks to all of you that reviewed… Tasha – I'm so sorry I didn't answer to your review, but since you weren't a member, I couldn't answer you back. But, believe me, you words did touch me. My deepest thanks for everything you said.

And to my usual supportive team – I won't name them, 'cause you're so many but all of you are priceless. Yamilian, I would like to congratulate you for your amazing fanart about the story:D. I felt mesmerized.

Oh and, for those who haven't checked my profile yet, I must tell you that I have a new website and a Dart account so, feel free to explore them whenever you like. My website contains lots of my original stuff, I will be uploading things constantly and… hope you like it. Join in, be a member, start a discussion at the forum, comment on the blog, sign the guestbook. It's a whole new world to explore :D

But… returning to FF7 world… there it is. The so-awaited chapter, at last.

Last chapter…

"Close your eyes."

I didn't think twice. I closed my eyes, hard, trembling as I felt the rush of his hold on me, on my waist.

And then, I felt like I was being sucked into a mass of icy, uncontrolled vortex of wind.

Chapter 22.

I didn't know how on Earth I got back home.

I could only feel cold, wind, a strange kind of wind, not constant, not like the average breeze I was used to. It was a feral wind, a raged and furious mass of air that most likely seemed to flow out of him than… anything else entirely.

Everything passed in a blur, a confused moment, minutes passing by, as if I was in and out of some portal in time. It was one of the craziest things I had ever experienced.

Eventually the haze stopped and I felt my feet in solid ground. Wary, I opened my eyes. I was next to the house. I was right there next to one of the porches that lead to the main entrance. As fast as I felt my feet in the ground, I felt him release me, letting go if my waist, his hand uncovering my mouth at the speed of light.

I searched for him immediately. But the night was dark and I couldn't see properly. We stood there, next to the porch, half-hidden in the night that surrounded us and all I could discern was some tall, black form, that flowing gray curtain now stepping in my direction, adorned with the green glow of his eyes. I was freaking scared of looking into his eyes. Those eyes wouldn't be kind. Those eyes wouldn't be friendly.

"So, is there anything you want to tell me?"

His words were so ironic that almost sounded funny. I couldn't help but to let out a small sigh, sign of pure discontentment. I was so close to explode he didn't even imagine.

"I wanted to take a walk." I declared, my voice firm, my eyes in his boots. By now we were merely ten inches apart and I felt his killing gaze on me. All of me.

"A walk?" He quoted, clearly not believing me. I was willing to bet this would be a difficult conversation.

"Yes, explore the surroundings, see the sights. Is there any problem with that?"

When I ended the sentence my eyes were on his already. I was telling the truth, and I wanted him to see that in my eyes. I hoped he could leave me alone soon.

"Yes, there is a problem with that, when I warned you not to venture outside the house."

Oh, so there we go.

"You don't own me. You don't get to imprison me here forever." My words held a very angry and loud tone. Maybe louder than the acceptable, considering I was talking to a man that had slaughtered hundreds.

"Are you threatening me?" He asked, his speech excessively slow. It was a bad sign. It was a sign that he had taken my tone as intolerably intrepid. Nonetheless, I didn't cower. Too much had been made, too much had been said. It was enough already.

"No, I'm just telling you the truth." I declared, eyeing him all the time. "I have the right to walk outside." I added, marking my position.

So there you go, mister.

"Your rights are the ones I told you before. And you do not get to disobey me like this ever again."

His words were low, neutral and filled with certainty. Oh he was so wrong about me right now!

"Or?" I said, opening my eyes a little bit in his direction, genuinely provoking him. He was categorically asking for it.

"Do you have a death wish?"

My human heart did start to accelerate at that one. But I wasn't going to stop right now. I almost could feel the adrenaline pumping inside me with the rush his bad manners gave me.

"I'm not afraid of you. You do whatever you want, I don't freaking care."

Well, it was not exactly true. I was in fact very afraid of him, because I knew what he was capable of doing. I mean, literally. His next words almost disarmed me.

"You're playing tough with me. Yet, you are dead scared."

Bastard. Can you hear my heart beat rising or what?

"What is your problem, anyway?"

That was a very categorical question I was posing… and, definitely, it fitted his daily actions better than anything.

"My problem is that you were trying to escape, to run from me."

Honestly, this guy isn't real. My eyes bugged, resentful at such misplaced theory.

"Don't be ridiculous. If I wanted to run away, I would not leave in late afternoon, only with the clothes I had on."

Obviously!

"So you considered it."

Well, apparently not that obvious for him and his roguish mind.

"Don't distort my words. I wasn't trying to escape. I was only trying to breathe a little." I said, slowly and apparently calm. I couldn't get why on Earth he was being so suspicious about my intentions towards my little… walk.

"Do you think you can fool me?" He suddenly said, his face approaching mine even more than before. I caught a glimpse of his sudden grasp in his sword, tightening his hold on it, while he stared at me, judging me like I had committed some capital crime, worthy of the death penalty, minimum. Okay, this was achieving levels I could not stand – not anymore, anyway. So I started talking, calmly, my tone very controlled, my eyes on his.

"Sephiroth. General. Whatever. Do you have any idea of what it is to live here, daily, with you?" Necessary break. Breathe in and out. Okay. Now, continue. "Do you happen to think just a little bit about how I feel here, alone, abandoned, when you treat me like I don't exist?"

Okay, I had to say it and I had said it all. I couldn't be more direct than this. I had talked my heart, my guts, my… everything. And, truth is, I never thought I would be capable of doing it, ever. Not with him, anyway.

"You have everything you need. Your ungratefulness annoys me."

What do you know about what I need?

"And your psychotic attitudes are driving me insane." I said, maybe a little too loud for my benefit. "You're incoherent, unkind, uncaring and... sadistic."

My inspiring mass of adjectives could not have a nice feedback, obviously.

"I don't tolerate this."

He was starting to get angry. But, however… so was I.

"Too bad. I'm not shutting up, standing silently your whims."

My voice was almost breaking by the end of the sentence. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it, feel it in my throat, a terrible oppression building there. But no, this time there wouldn't be any tears. I was too furious to cry.

I stormed inside the house, using the kitchen door next to the porch. I didn't care if he was following me, I didn't care if he was going to slice me up with that sword of him. All I wanted was to say what I was thinking, what went through my mind, the terrible moments I had been through alone in this house, all because of him. He was going to hear it all. Oh he would. And if he wanted to kill me afterwards, I simply didn't care. Right now, I felt little better than dead.

When I was reaching the other kitchen door, the one that lead to the hall, I felt his grip on my right arm, causing me to turn unexpectedly. My eyes met his, and all I could feel was his wrath, his temper about to get wild.

"Who do you think you are to talk to me like this?"

"I am a human being, with rights and an opinion, in case you haven't realized."

He was so close to me and his hold on me was so tight that I almost felt incapable of speaking. But, nonetheless, I had been capable of speak. And very capable of throw at him rather powerful words. His reaction didn't surprise me.

"Don't incite me, Sora."

"I am not afraid of you." I said, mimicking his tone. "And let go of my arm, you're hurting me."

"You accepted my terms, but you seem to forget your duties constantly. I told you how things would be, I told you what to expect from this."

Oh no, you don't want to go that way, mister.

"You told me, and I quote "trust, respect and no questions". Tell me when I disrespected you. Tell me when I showed any sign of not trusting you. Has ever been a day that you didn't have your meal prepared, or your clothes nicely hanging up, your bed nicely made?"

My speech seemed to catch him off-guard for a moment. But his neutral mask went back to his face in a no-time.

"No." He said, almost whispering.

"Right. But yet, when you get home, you pretend that I don't exist or that I am some piece of shitty being that doesn't even deserve to be greeted. Do you have any idea how it feels? Day after day, week after week, seeing you in and out this place without even a word, a freaking "hi", for Heaven's sake."

My words seemed to affect him in some strange, wicked way, but I didn't know why. His face hid something, some weird and wonderful, almost dangerous emotion that I wasn't able to grasp, specifically, what it was.

"I told you there wouldn't be any bonding." He suddenly said, his complexion hard. There was something going on here that I didn't understand. His eyes… were melting in mine, and I didn't know why. It almost felt like he was saying those horrible things to me but he was feeling completely the opposite. Creepy. Very creepy in deed.

"This isn't about bonding. I only want some gratitude in return for what I do. Some respect, not those… misplaced attitudes you seem to throw at me constantly."

God, is there anything I haven't already said?

"So is this all about my actions towards you? All this childish call for attention, this ridiculous attempt of running away?"

My face surely must have mirrored my disenchantment. He didn't get it, I had been talking here, speaking my guts out, for nothing at all. In the end, he did see me like an infantile brat purposely running from home to try and get some attention. This guy was simply impossible. How could he not see my point of view, after all I had said to him?

This is a lost cause, I thought.

"You sure are a cold bastard." I whispered, verbalizing the contents of my mind. There was nothing else inside me to say. Nothing else at all, but mild insults against purposely hurtful attitudes.

"Am I?" He said, ironic as always.

I felt fury building inside me.

"Let go of me." I said, my eyes leaving his and focusing elsewhere. He seemed to be having a bit of fun with my last few words.

"Or?" He asked, also mimicking my tone.

Okay, that was enough.

"Let the fuck go of me!" I said, almost screaming, my tone elevated like I've never dared before. Definitely, for the first time, I had listened to my voice. I had listened to my heated, irate speech. Inside and outside, I was fuming.

With a sudden movement, I freed myself of his hold and I left the kitchen. With large steps, I reached my room and I closed the door. Irritated, pissed at myself and at him, at the situation I was in, I took my thick coat off and launched it over the bed. For an eternal moment, I didn't know what to do, what to say. I needed to calm myself, or I would have a heart attack or something. Breathing in and out a couple of times, I looked towards the window. Maybe that was what I needed. Just to stare outside a bit.

However I didn't reach the window. Well, at least not completely. The door of my bedroom opened suddenly and I looked in that direction. His direction.

Before I could know it, he was inside my room, closing calmly but swiftly the door behind him, his stare never leaving mine. I felt appalled; this wasn't a normal attitude of him. Even though, the words I had to offer him weren't exactly a mirror of the surprise I felt.

"Get out of my room!"

"You don't get to order me."

He said, while he moved in my direction. Okay, again that feeling of being hunted by some wild, carnivorous predator. The lights were out – I didn't even realized how dark it was. The absence of moonlight and that typical shadow of the darkness invaded the room, but his presence, his fury, him – only the fact of being him – scared the hell out of me. He stepped, ridiculously calm, trapping me against him and the window. Well, not literally trapped. I felt the closeness of that physical barrier behind me – the wall, the window – and the heaviness of his stare and words that he was about to say, not a meter from me. I was pretty sure that, if I was a child, I would be wetting my pants by now.

"Good. Now let's get this straight, once and for all." He said, while he focused his eyes on mine, a way of reassuring his point. Okay, I got it. No need to get that creepy. "I am in charge here. And what happened today won't happen again. I won't allow it. And if you dare to talk like you did to me, again, we'll have problems."

Problems. That's an understatement.

"Oh really, what will you do? Hit me?" My voice came out sarcastic as ever. I was still angry at him, anyway.

"I don't hit women." He answered me, serious as ever. Or he missed the sarcasm, or he ignored it completely. And that left me with few to charge on him. Oh, but there is always something that can be arranged.

"Oh, right. That makes me feel so much better. So I assume you prefer to drive people insane instead."

For instance, more sarcasm.

"You know, irony doesn't fit you."

Finally! He is able of detecting irony after all!

"Humanity doesn't fit you as well." I said, not knowing to well where this conversation would lead to. We couldn't play this throwing-angry-ironic-words-at-each-other forever.

"If humanity does not fit me… then, why are you complaining?"

Okay, he had gotten me. All of the sudden I felt empty, a void invading me, no contents available to indict him relentlessly. Gradually, I realized I had nothing inside me to tell him, not anymore. I had said it all already. I had accused him of everything. And the worst thing of all… he hadn't got it. We were condemned to speak the same language, but incapable of getting some sort of arrangement. Our supposed coexistence was, definitely, doomed.

Hopeless.

"Just… leave me alone." I whispered, while I turned my face and body to the window, leaving his presence right there behind my back. I know, it was rude, but let's admit it, he hadn't been kind to me lately.

"No, I won't leave you alone, Sora. You have said and done too much by now."

Oh, for heaven's sake. Why, why me?

"I shouldn't have come. You are completely better off alone." I knew my words seemed completely dislocated. I was out of subject, entirely. My mind roamed about the why's and the purposes of the situation I was in, a situation I had put myself into knowingly. How could I get out of this? Was there any possibility at all?

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." He suddenly said, grabbing my left arm and making me turn to face him.

He was too close. And I shouldn't be thinking this.

"What?" I said, searching his eyes and wishing that reality could be so different from what it was.

"Restrain yourself Sora, you and your foolish impulses or next time I won't be this merciful." Angry, resentful words didn't help calming my state of mind. On the contrary.

"I don't need your mercy. I don't need anything from you." I said, half-whispering, my eyes blank with despair. I wanted out of this. I wanted out of all this situation so much that I almost felt nauseous. But he wasn't going to let me go easily. I had offended him – and he had deserved every bit of it – but he wouldn't be leaving until he hadn't destroyed me completely. I knew that. I knew him enough already to know that… for sure.

"Is that so?" He said, half-smirking. He knew I was losing ground and he used it shamelessly against me. Bastard.

"You're a cold-blooded creature. There isn't a bit of human feelings in you." I declared, for the first time saying something I considered extremely grave. I had thought about it, multiple times, but I never dared to say it. Well, now, I felt at ease to say what I wanted. It looked like my words didn't reach him, like he had some sort of invisible shield around his brain that incapacitated him of processing my words. It was frustrating.

"Feelings?" He quoted, apparently lost in his own thinking. His hold on me loosened, until it vanished completely. His eyes were vacant, away from me and my own room, the situation we were in, the hours, the time and place in the Planet. There was silence, for almost a minute.

Only my feeble speech crushed it.

"You could let me go."

My low tone sounded like thunder. He blinked twice and he focused on me once more, processing my words, silent and mildly surprised.

"I have no idea where we are. This place… I don't recognize it. You could let me go and allow yourself the indulgence of not having me around you."

Well, I couldn't be more direct than that! I had to give it a try. If I didn't try, I would never know what he really thought of it.

However, his answer wasn't the one I would like it to be.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Oh, for the love of God! More stubbornness!

"Please, let me go." I said, again, now pleading. "What threat do I put to you? Why don't you just consid-"

"No." He interrupted me, not allowing me to say anything else. A renewed wave of fury invaded me, for the second time this night.

"Why? Why not?" I was almost screaming by now. "You enjoy this, isn't it? You enjoy hurting me, seeing me trapped under your will and treating me like I'm a freaking … thing."

"You're delusional." He stated, neutral as ever.

I was able to slap him. Literally. I breathed heavily in and out, a clear attempt to get a grip on myself. I didn't think he would be that understanding if he got slapped. Even considering he didn't hit women back.

"Why are you being so against me leaving? Why, if I am such a handicap, if I only bring you trouble and annoyance? Why do you insist in keeping me here, torturing me, why don't you simply free me of-"

"Because I don't want to!" He declared, more like hissing, angry, at me. I couldn't help but stare back at him, surprised with such ruthless, immature words. Slowly, his face approached mine, as if with that concrete action, he could be capable of reinforcing the idea, or making it more realistic than it was. "I don't want to..." He reinforced, whispering, his eyes burning into mine, while I felt the wall of my own room against my back and my head.

I couldn't say anything in response, although I wanted to. For example, I would like to tell him I didn't give a damn about what he wanted or not, but my brain wasn't capable of forming sentences, my mouth wasn't capable of saying a word. Nothing, nothing at all came out. I just stood there, my mouth half opened, shocked, surprised, smelling the essence that surrounded me, sensing his breathing hitting my face, my gaze lost in his own, for an eternal… second.

And then, suddenly, everything changed. He moved, fast, his actions blurring altogether. His body made contact with mine – his legs, his abdomen, his arms - and his right hand traveled to the back of my neck and, partially, my face, and then I felt his skin on mine.

His face, on mine.

The soft, tender flesh of his cheek meeting my own, so damn fast I couldn't process what on Earth was happening. My heart bumped and I shivered at his contact. And then, finally, when I thought I was dreaming or something, I felt his hand – the one that had grabbed my jaw and neck, pull me, my face, to realign with his own…

First, I felt his breathing… hot, urgent, demanding. Tempting.

Then, I felt tenderness against my mouth.

His lips, on my own… and my eyes shut down reflexively.

For a second, he was still, and so was I. I didn't know what to do, I felt completely taken aback with his… actions?

My God, he was kissing me. For real.

However, the indecision didn't last for long. His lips started moving, languidly, compelling mine to go along, to follow him. And I had to respond, I felt like it with too much eagerness... and need. His mouth moved softly against mine, exploring me, taunting me, tasting me. But never being excessively… pushy.

As my breathing accelerated, his did to. I felt it reach my face, exiting his nostrils, while his mouth left temporarily mine to readjust himself to my face. Changing now of angle, his hand pressed softly against my jaw, brought my mouth to open a little more. I knew what he wanted – and it scared the hell out of me. He wanted more intimacy, tongue included.

Nonetheless, I complied – as if I had a chance against him. His mouth found mine again, but he wasn't intrusive, as I thought he would be. We simply stood there, for fractions of seconds, our mouths half-open, my upper lip touching his lower one, until he made the move.

His tongue unhurriedly touched my upper lip and his movement inclined me to meet fully his mouth. With a ragged sound, he closed finally the contact with me and our tongues met, an electrifying and remarkable contact. As he ravaged tenderly the inside of my mouth, I had the sensation of levitating. He was extremely absorbing.

And he was so amazingly good at kissing – I never imagined a man like him kissing like… this.

I responded to him with all I had in me – even if I didn't want to, even if I was hurt with his words, all I could think about was him, enveloping me like I was his possession, taking my breath away like I anticipated the imaginary man of my dreams doing so.

His taste was exquisite. His smell drove me mad. His tongue moved like he couldn't get enough of me. Oh well, I knew I couldn't.

Reflexively, my hands, my trembling fingers reached his face and I touched gently his jaw, his ear. His hair, so amazingly soft and long. His tantalizing skin, driving my rationality astray.

God, I want you. My mind was completely out of control, and the hidden content going on in my head was slowly revealed through my actions.

I squeezed myself against him. My body, eager for more contact; my arms and hands, preparing to reach his neck and hold him tight against me, deepening the kiss, deepening the touch between all details in our tangled faces: his nose rubbing my face, his lips compressing mine like the world was about to end.

However I didn't have time to conclude what I was doing, to fulfill my desires. Suddenly, as fast as he had approached me, I felt cold enveloping my lips, my mouth... my body. It didn't take me much to realize he had backed away from me – from us, from the heated kiss we had shared. I felt my lungs in my throat and my heartbeat drumming, as if I had run a marathon or something. It had been a hell of a kiss. A very hot one.

As I opened my eyes, I could only see his back. His hair, his amazingly long, beautiful gray hair, his body still as a statue. I couldn't think straight. I was too appalled with … well, with all this that had happened.

"I am…" He started, and I sensed, for the first time, uneasy in his tone. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to excuse himself out of this. "… sorry, I…"

And I wasn't capable of saying anything. Nothing at all, not even a miserable grunt. Or moan, if I was supposed to express myself correctly. How could I be coherent, if I still felt the reminiscences of his lips on mine, and the movements his tongue made against my own, like a small electrifying current all over me?

Nope, not a chance of verbal coherence at this moment…

And then he exited the room – my room, without even looking back. I saw him disappear, and the sound the door of his own bedroom closing.

I stood there, like an idiot, next to the window, for what it seemed an eternity. What had just happened? Why did he kiss me… like that? This hadn't been a simple, naive kiss, it had been a… very intended attempt of analyzing my oral anatomy.

As seconds passed by, my sight became less foggy. Definitely, his… actions had this terrible effect on me. I seemed like a little girl kissed for the first time or something… like that. Yes, it had been that powerful.

One of my trembling hands reached my lips. They were hot, slightly eroded. His touch still remained on me, pulsing in accord with my heart beat.

It was exasperating.

I reached my bedroom door and I closed it silently. I reached the edge of my own bed, I sat and breathed in and out, deeply, barely believing what had just happened.

However, worst than the event itself, was something more. Something that troubled me much more: what was the meaning of this?

Why had he kissed me? And not just simply a kiss, an unrestrained impulse of lips making contact. No, this hadn't been just that. He had all the opportunities to stop, he could have discontinued it at any time … and he didn't. On the contrary, he… encouraged it.

And so did I.

So, where did this put us? Me and him, what were we? What was happening between us?

Did he care for me?

Does he like me?

I guess it was an inevitable question. Had this kiss been a simple manifestation of his… feelings for me or had this been… an occasional, wild episode, in the fever of the argument?

The desire I had to ask him right away was almost overwhelming.

But I needed to know. How could I deal with him, daily, after this? How could I face him without remembering his taste, his hold on me, and not knowing what he – really – felt for me?

I needed answers. Something.

Even if it was a simple "Forget it."

I stood suddenly and made my way to my bedroom door. Opening it, I went straight to his bedroom. I knocked at the door. One, two, three times. But no answer came. Nothing. Not a word, a movement, nothing at all. Just devastating silence.

Just answer me, God damn it.

Without thinking, I opened the door. But all I could find was the wind blowing and the cold, winter breeze filling the room, the window door that lead to the outside porch completely open.

And there was no trace of him inside that bedroom.

A/N – Okay, finally some real touch going on between them. Hot, don't you think? Well… I think it's pretty much powerful. But, that's my opinion – I would like to know yours… very very much. I would like to know what you think about the kiss scene – after reading it, do you feel your heartbeat thumping as well? Well, if you do… I'm happy enough:D

Anyway! I have a challenge for those of you who like to draw. Who would like to make a drawing of the kissing scene? I would love to see how you guys "see it". It doesn't have to be the kissing itself, it may be the pre-kissing as well, which sometimes is more powerful than the moment. Anyway, I'll leave that to you guys. I'll try my luck on that as well… meet you all at our deviantart account!

Can't wait to hear from you!*