A/N - There you have it. It took me a while, but I guess it was worth it! Enjoy your readings!

Disclaimer: As always.


Chapter 40. Love, insatiable hunger.


Sora's POV


I didn't know how I had gotten the courage to walk outside and... bring him back to the bedroom without making a fuss, without him shoving my hand off his and freezing what was left of me with his stare.

No, nothing like that happened.

Strangely, he acquiesced to my innocent desire of bringing him inside. The ice decorating the porch floor seemed like broken glass, threatening to injure our feet if we dared to walk on it.

When we were finally inside, with that soft, warm environment surrounding us, it was then – I took my time to see him.

I had never seen him so fragile. All in him perspired despair. His fair face, focusing the ground, revealed the impotency a man must feel when something unstoppable faced him. Something like Jenova.

I knew it, before I had seen him. It had to be her. Only her would be capable of destroying him, of placating his sanity this way.

And that revolted me even more. I wanted to help him, I wanted to be there for him, yet She… toyed with us, with him, as if enjoying the dizzying effect She induced in him. Weakening him to a rather deplorable point.

"She appeared to you." I said, my voice soft.

I didn't need any confirmation. I just simply knew it. And his silence, his quietness answered me with all the certainty I needed.

"What did She say to you?"

I wanted to know what on Earth had happened outside. What had she told him? What was her point in… disturbing our life here? I enjoyed it here, with him, it was so calm, so amazingly… fairy-tale-like. I liked this seclusion, I liked the fact that no one was around us to judge us… damn, I even had learned to like his schedules, his alternating mood and… loving him madly nonetheless. Yeah, mainly that one. Loving him.

I didn't want anyone taking that from me… from us. No one, no human, no freaking alien. I didn't want him all crazy and fretting over because an alien decided to play hide and seek with him.

Realizing I had to be the one calling the shots about this particular issue, I decided to put my proud apart, to forget all our misunderstandings and silly fights and… just support him. Show him that I cared for him to the point of…

God, I love you…, I concluded.

And in that very same moment, my body gained life of its own.

"It's okay… it doesn't matter." I said, as my arms surrounded his body and all my form rested against his. "It doesn't matter what She said… I'm here with you, and I'm not leaving."

My face rested on his chest. His heart beat was so… strangely affected. I was used to see him calm, confident and maybe even arrogant in all his superiority, always showing me how unaffected he remained about everything that seemed to affect me terribly.

But I held him, with all my heart and the adoration I felt for him, not minding the harsh words and unfair comments exchanged in previous arguments.

And then, when I least expected him to say or do something, I sensed how his muscled arms circled me and his face rested against my head. He breathed, unevenly, a clear sign of distress accumulating in him. It was an obvious sign this episode had affected him to levels I hadn't … grasped yet.

For minutes, we remained like that. Cosy, in a perpetual hug that comforted both of us. I could only listen to his heartbeat, while his breathing warmed my scalp.

His hands started moving - softly, calmly, exploring random details of my back… and neck. And as I sensed his head and face moving as well, then I realized that maybe all that hand travelling hadn't been that random after all.

Before I could say, do or think about something, his mouth found mine.

As my eyes closed and my mouth relaxed against his, I had finally the notion I had missed his touch terribly and, in a corner of my mind, I asked myself how I had been able to resist him for so many days in a row.

Well. Not that it mattered now.

His hand remained on my neck, partially on my face, and I kissed him back without restraint. His lips were furious, his tongue demanding and yet, softly tender. How tasty he felt. And how I absolutely wanted him naked right in this very moment.

"I want you…" He whispered, while an in between-kiss pause took place, necessary to regain breath, our lips touching occasionally.

I didn't have to think twice to answer that.

"Me too, " I breathed, against his mouth. "Me too. For a while now." I added, knowing it wasn't absolutely required information, but… well, I wasn't exactly thinking coherently right now.

And suddenly we were on the bed, kissing energetically while hands and arms travelled along each other's bodies… depriving ourselves quickly of clothing. I didn't know who got naked first. All I remembered was feeling him – his skin, his firm muscle lines, while my pajamas, bra and panties disappeared from my body, leaving me completely bare against him.

Our bodies touched, while he held me with a need and a tenderness hard to express with words.

While we remained glued to each other, holding each other with such affection, he took his time to look at me in the eye. His forehead rested against mine, and our gaze locked. And from there… millions and millions of sensations, mixed and combined chaotically, flowed from him to me.

And before I had time to say a word, he silenced me with his lips. Again, his mouth devoured mine and I felt his hands searching for my body, exploring it thoroughly and painfully slowly.

Gasps of uncontrolled enjoyment left my mouth several times, as he pushed me towards him, filling me in completely.

The way he breathed against my face, eyes closed, sounded priceless.

He moved exquisitely, as I remembered him to be, every time we shared our bodies. How was he able to be this good, how could he possibly know that the way he teased me would throw me - sooner that I would want to - over the edge?

God, I didn't know how, but I felt it all right.

As he moved - as we moved, in consonance, consummating an act we both desired with all our soul, time seemed to alter around us, flowing differently, as we belonged to a special cosmos.

My body burnt, as the moment of ecstasy threatened to rise up. And he seemed to guess it. I didn't know if he read it in my eyes, or if he knew my body better than I did, or if I simply behaved lasciviously enough to give him the hint. His pace changed, becoming more enticing; his lips and tongue took turns on my mouth, on my ears… and everywhere on my neck and throat. And his hands… oh, his hands felt like velvet cushions holding me and grasping me with longing.

Breathless against him, I waited, patiently – and anxiously – for that glorious moment to come, hoping it would take just a little more before… before.

Whimpers of pleasure bathed the room, still his groans of realization accompanied those several moments of bliss I was experiencing. My fingers, my hands grabbed his lower back and his neck, as I gasped for air with my mouth half-opened.

And then, while I was still affected with aftershocks, his warning moan anticipated the moment of his release, and I felt how tense his muscles became, his whole body on edge, as he grabbed my body with an almost painful grip.

As his thrusts became more demanding, my body reacted as well, and I was surprised with a renewed wave of contractions… this time, simultaneously with him.

That unique sensation, felt never-ending. It was like a process feeding on itself, perpetuating and fueling the feeling to a rather astounding level.

I had never felt something like that in life.

I felt him… and I felt my body contracting all around him – again – launching us to a place of synchronized bliss and… joy, for some long, extraordinary seconds.

Breathless against each other, entangled we remained for moments… moments in which we could only hear our breathing rate calming down, our heartbeats stabilizing and our hands… holding, touching hair and face, the line of our noses and the tempting swelling of our mouths, a discreet mark of such eager lip-to-lip contact.

I felt in paradise.

I felt happy.

And, as he slowly disengaged himself from me, he didn't give me time to miss his touch. Faster than I could expect, he rested his arms around me, cuddling us, like I never had seen him do before.

Surprised, I searched for his face, but I found only his lips on mine again, hushing me.

"Rest, love."

His words shocked me in the same magnitude they comforted me. Never… he had said … such things to me. He had never called me "Love", or used that word towards me, in any circumstance.

And all I could do was to smile back at him.

And all the words I was able to think about was "I love you", replaying over and over again in my mind.

Holding my hands on his, resting my face on his neck and feeling the heavenly details of his body touching mine, I closed my eyes… and concluded that, against all odds, finally - I had reached happiness in life.

-/-

I woke up to the feeling of something resembling human mouth and lips… chewing… on my ear lobe. It felt more like soft nibbling, to be precise. And as I processed who was doing it and how his arms surrounded me… as well as other parts of his body… It made me feel hot all over in less than one second.

"So, you're awake." He said, his voice low, strangely seductive. "I thought you never would."

Oh my, weren't we happy in such early hours?

"Y-Yeah…" I said, still half-dazed from sudden waking. God, this man was really something. And as I felt him practically glued to my back, his face touching my neck as his mouth seemed very entertained with my naked shoulder, I couldn't think about anything coherent. Not one basic thought. This was impressive. "Are you hungry?" I asked, aware of how tricky my words sounded. Double meanings at this time of the day could only end in-

"Very funny." He suddenly said, interrupting my line of thinking.

Before I knew it, he was all over me, his hands grabbing me and his lips, so close to my ear, simply smiled. I was able to discern the form his lips designed without even looking at him. It was something as strange as marvelous, how I was able to feel him without a glance or a stare.

"Oh, God…" I whispered, closing my eyes.

But no, there was no God there to save me. And that happened because I was already with one, practicing a very sinful human-God act, for sure. My ridiculous thought made me laugh softly, and that grabbed his attention at once.

"Happy?" He said, with his mouth very close to mine, teasing my senses terribly.

"Very much…" I declared at once, closing the space between us at once.

And, after that, only the immense desire overwhelming our minds and bodies mattered.

-/-

At lunch time I busied myself in the kitchen. Still, I felt a little sore but yet extremely satisfied. The insatiable side of the General had been awaken in some sort of wicked way, after last night.

Not that I complain…, I thought, remembering how divine he was, at basically every level. I hadn't slept much, after the episode outside, in the middle of the night. His despair made him look so fragile… and it affected me terribly as well. But then, after all the hugging and amazing kissing, he was so fired up I couldn't even… think straight.

The water in the shower ran, I could hear him in the bathroom… the same place where I had been too, with him, almost for an hour underneath that warm water curtain, having the most interesting and breathtaking intercourse experience.

God, I loved his audacity, his tenderness, his… special way of showing me he cared.

Sighing, all my mind could picture was his body… and mine, together. Held together by the strangest force on Earth, brought together against all odds. His divinity and my… ordinariness.

With my hands inside the dish washer, washing the vegetables to prepare the most marvelous salad ever, I sensed his presence next to me.

There were no words, he just stood, silently, next to me, resting against the counter. I felt strangely observed, hit by a powerful gaze I didn't dare to return.

"What is it?" I said, my eyes on my hands.

"I'm just looking at you." He said, serious… and sexy as ever. "No need to blush." He added, as my reddish face gave up my uneasiness.

"Oh. Come on." I said, lost of words.

"So, what do you have for me to eat today?"

His tone was sincere and yet amusing, a clear sign that his mood was way up in the clouds. I barely had seen him pleased with anything.

"Lasagna." I informed. "With veggies."

"Always worried with my diet." He smiled, with his arms crossed. "That's very thoughtful of you."

"I don't want you to lose your… vitality." I admitted, smiling back at him. His gaze felt potent, oppressing mine in a rather enjoyable way.

"Is that so?"

And then, his face lightened up in a way I had never seen before. He looked so free, so… genuinely content. His strange eyes were now more transparent, and his complexion way much… should I say human?

And, with no need of words, we sat at the kitchen table, having lunch like a very ordinary couple.

"I'll have to be absent for the next days. At least, more than usual."

The general's words hit me suddenly, while we were finishing our meal. The idea of having him not close to me didn't appeal to me one bit.

"Oh."

"I haven't been much focused lately." He said, as if he was justifying himself. Well, maybe it was my fault, I could be very sticky sometimes. But I liked him, I wanted to be with him, was that a bad thing? I didn't think it was…

"Sorry." I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Don't be, it's not your fault." He said, smiling softly. That seemed to alleviate the tension of the moment. "It's odd though… that Shinra is being so silent."

"Silent?" I quoted, not realizing what he meant exactly.

"There have been no references to missions or anything similar for the last month." He clarified. "That's very unlikely of them."

Oh my God. I totally trusted him – and if he thought something was wrong… then definitely there was something I should worry about. Both of us.

"Do you think we should worry about-"

"Not yet." He interrupted, with a careful tone. "At least, not for now, until I don't check out the transmitters and scan the cable connections. Maybe I'm missing some hidden channel, I don't know."

My God. All this, what he was saying… scared me. In some way, I never had considered someone would disturb our peace. Not even once. I felt completely secure and at ease with him. I wanted this – life, like this, the both of us, forever, in this place.

And just the mere thought that… something might just happen and would take this reality from me… scared me.

"Don't worry." He said, his hand searching for mine. "Nothing is going to happen." His touch soothed me immensely, as I tried to process his words and believe – just believe that nothing bad was going to happen. "I'm here for you." He added, squeezing my hand. God, I loved him so much. "No one will harm you while you're here… with me."

"I know." I said, my voice failing. His confessions were terribly meaningful to me. His tender and caring words… made me feel genuinely wanted and loved. Looking at him, searching for his eyes, I smiled faintly, hoping I would reassure him that way.

"I like it when you smile."

Oh my God, why does he say those things?

"You're making me feel all embarrass-"

"No need for that." He interrupted, smiling softly as well. And that exact smile left me completely speechless. I could only stare at him, taking in his beautiful features… and feel childishly happy.

"The sun is about to set." He said, rising from his chair, looking outside and back at me again. "Would you like to join me?"

And with that I almost died, right there and then.

"Come." He said, taking my hand, as I stood in front of him. "Let's sit outside while there's still daylight."

I smiled in response, nodding with the silliest feeling of contentment inside me. It was something so simple, so… incredibly romantic, something I wouldn't imagine him doing or asking me to do with him… ever.

So, silently we walked outside, hand in hand, and we sat, on that wooden bench by the porch… enjoying the most beautiful sunset I'd ever seen in life.

However, deep down inside me I knew… it was his presence, his sincere request and desire to share with me the moment with his arms around me while we sat, comfortably, that made it the most beautiful sunset on Earth.


A/N. Oh, I know, it's terribly romantic T_T but so beautiful.

Okay, hope you enjoyed the chapter, I didn't make it that long because the next one it's gonna be huge!

Well, as you all know, your reviews are most welcome and opinions appreciated, my ego feeds on them lol.

Thanks you so much for your support. And see you next chapter* :D