This has shonen-ai in it and at least the implication of yaoi. If you don't like or can't tolerate that then don't read.
:: :: Conversation happening in someone's head.
The Other World
By Jade Tatsu
Chapter 14 - Meetings
Cloud burrowed into the warmth that surrounded him, curling up contentedly as he pulled the blankets more securely around him. He was warm, he was comfortable, he was safe and he was slightly tired and he would have gone back to sleep but for the soft voice that cursed occasionally. With an inaudible sigh Cloud rolled over sleepily and opened his eyes. He didn't fight the dazzling smile that appeared at the sight that greeted him.
Sephiroth. How could he not smile at the man who was his life, even if at the moment, he was not his usual elegant self? //Baka,// he berated himself gently. //You love the man, not the elegance and he is doing his best to get it back.// Cloud's smile turned into a grin at the thought. And he could remember the admonishment, serious at the time but now in the present it was a reminder of what they had endured and a testament to what he loved. 'You can worry about his hair later.' He could and he was but it appeared Sephiroth was also worried about his hair because the man had gathered its tangled mass over one shoulder and held a brush and comb, which he was alternatively attempting to run through the strands. And that's what was causing his cursing.
He had some of the tangle undone but the bulk of his hair looked snarled beyond all hope. Cloud couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped his throat as Sephiroth cursed again when the comb caught once again in a stubborn knot. The blond gulped as the noise brought Sephiroth's full attention to him. //How could I...// The thought swirled in his head as he drowned in emerald. //How could I ever think that he isn't elegant?//
When Sephiroth moved, tangled hair or no, he flowed, more graceful than a hunting cat. But his eyes weren't hard, they were soft and open, full of love and a faint concern. He was the most beautiful thing Cloud had seen in his entire life. Gently Sephiroth sat beside him, brushing his hand over Cloud's forehead. "How are you feeling?"
Cloud blushed slightly when he realized how open his gaze had been but he managed to answer the question. "... 'm fine, just..." A yawn interrupted him. "Sleepy," he finished with a weak grin.
"So sleep," Sephiroth nodded understandingly.
"Nah," Cloud shook his head, pulling himself up so that he was sitting facing the white haired man. "If I do now, I won't be able to later," he cast an eye to the window where the afternoon sun was streaming in.
Sephiroth smiled faintly, "You never miss a thing."
Cloud blinked. "I miss plenty," he replied, looking around the room again, anything to avoid those beautiful eyes. He felt his body stiffen slightly and his breath became tight as he unconsciously readied himself for anything. He knew this room. It did not hold good memories. Wide windows that let in all the light, perfect antique furniture arranged in a traditional manner, a hand woven rug on the floor and a few pot plants meticulously maintained. Nibelheim Mansion. ShinRa. Hojo.
"Shhh... It's all right," Sephiroth murmured, moving closer and placing a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "You're safe now, it's safe now. It started here for both of us. It will end here."
"I don't..." Cloud gasped, trembling. ShinRa. ShinRa had been here. Hojo. Hojo had been here. Pain. Pain was here. How could it be safe? His body did not believe the words. "I don't understand."
"Shhh..." The noise was soft, comforting and did not contain mockery. "I know but it /will/ end here. We'll both begin anew." Sephiroth gathered Cloud into his arms as he spoke, stroking his fingers through blond spiky hair. Spiky hair that was, as always, annoyingly free of tangles.
"I don't understand." The voice was stronger this time and Sephiroth felt a pair of arms reach out to return his embrace, sliding under his coat to settle around his waist.
"It wasn't the same for you?" Sephiroth questioned but didn't pause for a reply. "I meet Cloud here. I lost him here and now with you, it will start again. And this time, I'm not going to let it end."
"It wasn't the same," Cloud responded, nodding as understanding
came to him. "I told you, we were never lovers, not in my world but it did
start here and he died here, the first time. My dream died here, both of
them.* It will be good to start here again." He took a deep breath, calming
himself.
Cloud sighed. This place for him only
held bad memories but for Sephiroth they were obviously mixed. Nibelheim
was an important place to him. Life, death, love and hate. They were
all here. It was the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega and
now he wanted to make it a new alpha. //My dream ended here but my
life started here... Perhaps I too can start anew.// Cloud's thoughts were
abstract, his memories of his home town clashing with each other. He sighed.
It was important to Sephiroth, so he could start again. //I will start anew
as well,// the decision was barely a conscious one. "Tell me?" The question
left his lips before he was aware of it.
"Hmm?" Sephiroth responded in a noncommittal tone, he was too lost in his own memories of the past.
"Tell me what happened here. What happened to you and your Cloud? Nothing good happened here for me." Cloud fell silent as Sephiroth turned his full attention back to him. His emerald eyes held no accusation just remembered pain. Cloud reached out, twining his fingers through Sephiroth's. "I'm here now. Remember I love you, just as he loved you, /I/ love you." Cloud felt the sudden surety of his words. Nibelheim was important. He had to know and knowing would help him put his own memories to rest.
"Cloud..."
"You won't lose me. Jenova is dead. Nibelheim was an ending for both of us, it will now become /our/ beginning. "Tell me? I've told you what happened to me but I have only bits and pieces of what happened to your Cloud. Tell me." This time the words weren't a request.
"It could take a while."
Cloud smiled at the sudden impulse that gripped him. "Fine," he answered, gently disentangling his fingers from Sephiroth's, relieving him of the comb at the same time. "I'll comb your hair out while you tell me."
"You just want to play with my hair."
"Always." Cloud sat up, taking the brush as well and after he had placed them beside him he placed his hands on the white haired mans shoulders, shifting them both so that Sephiroth's back was to him. "Now tell me," he said softly gathering Sephiroth's tangled hair in his hands and letting it fall over the Sephiroth's black coat, combing it roughly with his fingers before he once again took up the brush and comb.
Sephiroth closed his eyes, tilting his head back as he felt Cloud's fingers gently brush against his scalp. "It was on a mission to Nibelheim when I first met Cloud," he began, feeling his memories claim him. "It sounds absurd, he was just a child then but I'm sure, when I first saw those eyes, I'm sure I felt something then. I loved him from then. We didn't even talk. We couldn't. I was ShinRa's up and coming General and he was just a brat from the town of Nibelheim. It was a standard mission, to check on the reactor and on some reports of rebels in the area. Avalanche wasn't the only group looking to bring ShinRa's downfall."
Sephiroth snorted. "I can still remember President ShinRa." He paused before continuing in a mocking tone, a raspy impersonation of the dead President. "We must be ever vigilant. 'The price of peace is eternal vigilance.' I think he said something like that. Humph! He meant 'The price of /power./' That's all peace was to ShinRa but I have to admit that when I first saw Cloud, on some level I was happy for that peace.
"He was playing. I remember at the time he was just a few years younger than myself. I think he was playing some sort of chase game but the first thing that came to me when I saw him, running across the path of the soldiers chasing a young girl, was to wonder if the mountaineer's put jewels into the eyes of their children. /Sapphires.../ I remember thinking that, and the girl had garnets for eyes. Beautiful. And that one fleeting glimpse, two children playing, running through the streets of their town, enjoying the peace was all I saw of him. I still remember it though."
Cloud slowly raised the brush, listening intently and began to run it down through Sephiroth's hair. It 'brrr'ed' catching on the snarls but he continued, making several passes over all of the hair before selecting a skein about a third of the mass of tangles and combing it from the bottom, working upwards, leaving liquid silk in the wake of the knots. He smiled softly as tendrils wrapped themselves around his fingers. He focused on the hair between his fingers, keeping his breathing regular as images and feelings accompanied Sephiroth's words. Wonder at a child playing. Awe at the beauty they had. //That is me,// Cloud thought with his own sense of awe. //That is how he sees me.//
"Go on..." Cloud whispered quietly as Sephiroth paused.
"After that," Sephiroth sighed, leaning back into Clouds hands as they worked at his hair. "After that, the next time I saw Cloud was in Midgar. He was being paraded past 'The General' with the rest of the SOLDIER pre-lim's. I still noticed him though. Those eyes. It amuses me sometimes, people say the most intriguing thing about SOLDIER's is their mako glowing eyes. He didn't need that. His eyes glowed anyway."
Sephiroth sighed. "I don't even remember who my partner was at that time, not anymore. They weren't... None of them were special to me. They slept with me for my title, for the prestige it gave them being known as my lover and I slept with them for the physical release. We both got something but it wasn't a very good way to live. I do remember though that they weren't happy that I decided to drop the relationship that evening. There wasn't much they could do about it, no revenge they could extract. While I was leaving them for another, that other wasn't even aware of it at the time," Sephiroth smiled.
"Captured by a pair of blue eyes that knew nothing of their power over others. I loved him then. It was agony. I loved him but I couldn't do anything about it. He was still a SOLDIER pre-lim and as the General I couldn't show any interest above the norm in any of the cadet's. I kept watch, as much as I could but I always felt that my protection, such as it was, wasn't enough. He was so beautiful and he was in a city were others would be only to happy to exploit that beauty and innocence." He white haired man shivered in a sudden memory. "I couldn't protect him... Not in the way I wanted to. Not in the way he needed to be."
"I was so careful. I was sure that /no one/ knew how much I was interested in the one cadet named Cloud Strife. But someone must have figured out something. I must have said something, done something, looked at a time when someone was watching because it was... I almost lost him before anything had any time to develop." Sephiroth almost sobbed the last sentence.
"Shhh..." Cloud cooed, wrapping his arms around Sephiroth's body and resting is head against the white haired man's neck. "I'm here. Nothing's wrong. I won't leave you. Nothing happened." He had felt the sudden stab of fear from Sephiroth and had been moving to comfort the man before the words were spoken. There was nothing for Sephiroth to fear. //I won't let anyone hurt you.// The thought was absolute and tied in with Sephiroth's own desire to protect.
"It's not that," Sephiroth said after a moment's silence, moving one hand to stroke Clouds arm that was resting on his chest. "It's just that at times, I can't help but thinking that perhaps it would be best if /something/ had happened then, something that forced him never to know me, that that would have been better than him knowing me and knowing Jenova."
"Shhh..." Cloud repeated the soft comforting noise. "You can't change the past, you can just accept it. What is past, is past and wondering what could have been can only bring pain. I'm here now. You did nothing wrong," he murmured the last, aiming it straight for the faint self loathing he could feel deep inside his lover. Cloud fought a small smile of triumph as he felt that dark hate vanish in the light of his words.
"It might have been just a coincidence but I don't think so. On a training mission, just before the end of the ShinRa-Wutai war, a rogue group of Wutai captured a bunch of ShinRa cadets."
"And Cloud was one of them?"
Sephiroth nodded, as his new Cloud drew back and resumed brushing his hair. He could still feel Sephiroth's thoughts through their link but for the moment the man was forcing himself to be calm so that he could tell Cloud of his past with his previous lover.
"I know Wutai didn't support them. Lord Godo issued a statement to that effect as soon as he found out and I believe it. He really did not support them but others in Wutai did. Anyway to win the war was acceptable even using the lives of hostages. That's why I don't know if this was planned or if they just grabbed a bunch of cadets and hoped they had someone important. It seems haphazard though basing their plan on that hope, especially with how thoroughly the rest of their operation was planned." Sephiroth kept his voice flat as that time in his life threatened again to overtake him but he could feel Cloud's support. Feel the solid comfort of the body behind him, their hands running through his hair and feel the support of their love hovering just below the surface of his mind. 'We were linked in my world,' Cloud's thought came back to him. 'So I guess it's not impossible...' //Not impossible...// Sephiroth whispered in his mind. //And I am thankful for that.//
"After I found out... I don't really know what happened for a little while but I guess I ordered an expedition to Wutai and didn't take no for an answer. All I remember was landing on Wutai and then Zack was there asking me what we should do now. He knew. He knew that secret I had been trying to keep and he was blaming himself as well. He told me, later in that campaign, it was his fault that Cloud's group had been taken. He'd been watching out for Cloud when I couldn't and that they probably thought that Cloud was important to him and not to me. I loved Zack as a friend before then, I loved him even more at that moment and at that time, I think that's what enabled me to keep going.
"The campaign was bloody, short and wasn't recorded by either side. It was an engagement that didn't exist. The rebels were supported by some rogue Wutai but for the most part they were just outcast troops." Sephiroth smiled grimly. "Against a platoon of SOLDIER's, they didn't have a chance. I didn't want them to have a chance and again, I can't remember the actual battle but I know I showed them no mercy. Those animals didn't deserve mercy," he snarled. "Lord Godo, after Wutai's surrender once said something to me, and I know he was referring to that time. I think it was a description of me and what I had done then. 'Wutai do not fear death, they do not fear destruction but a god desiring blood, desiring vengeance, a god protecting that it holds dear, Wutai fears that. Wutai fears that blood shed.'
"Zack would never speak to me of the battle. He always would make me think of what happened after. He said though, 'I was the same as you Seph. They didn't deserve mercy, respect and so we showed them none. Do not think of them. They do not deserve our memory. All they deserve is a passing thought for what they have caused to be.'" Sephiroth smiled slightly, his memories becoming lighter, happier.
Cloud nodded. Zack had been like that. Open and honest with his friends, ready to defend them and fight honourably against any foe. But against an enemy who had showed dishonour then his open combat disappeared and the dirtiest of tactic's he would not hesitate to use. But the enemy had to be the first to act dishonourably. Absently Cloud picked up another skein of tangled hair and began brushing it out. He pushed the brushed portions of hair over Sephiroth's shoulder so that they couldn't tangle again.
"Zack found them first. They were in a village we were attacking. Zack had been looking through the houses and that's how he found them. I was more interested at that time in destroying as many of the rebels as I could but that quickly changed. There was smoke and fire but I still saw Zack clearly. His sword was stained red and he had it slung across his back. He was carrying Cloud, protecting him with his own body. As soon as I saw them, saw Cloud, the battle was over," Sephiroth smirked. "Three Ultima's, one Flare and an Ice 3. I only cast so many spells because by that time, they were scattering and I wasn't about to let any of them escape.
"After that, I took Cloud from Zack, I trusted Zack with Cloud but I guess at that time I wasn't about to let anyone else touch him, shouted some orders for the rest of my platoon to escort the other cadets and then we left the village, heading back to the relative safety of ShinRa."
Cloud frowned slightly at Sephiroth's words although the white haired man was smiling at the memory from the past. A soft smile of joy. But to Cloud something didn't make sense. If Sephiroth had carried him, allowing no other to touch him then how could ShinRa /not/ have known about their relationship, and Sephiroth had said it had been a secret, hadn't he? "How?" he questioned. "I thought you said it was a secret."
"Hmm?" An emerald eye turned towards him, still glittering with joy and love no longer hidden.
"If you carried me, with a platoon of SOLDIER's around and a whole lot of talkative cadet's, then how did we keep our relationship a secret."
Sephiroth laughed. "That's the best bit of this! After I returned from Wutai having 'Rescued the Cadets From Wutai's Evil Clutches', ShinRa paraded Cloud around as an example. You are, after all, very photogenic and so the two of us were often seen together after that and people just assumed it was for photo opportunities. That time was when our relationship developed. Remember, up until Wutai, it had only been my attraction to Cloud, nothing in return."
The white haired man paused, blinking reflectively. "Although you are right. ShinRa would have suspected something as the time dragged on but for your friendship with Zack. As time when on, I made sure the public shots of us together became less frequent until they stopped all together but at the same time, your friendship with Zack was developing so it wasn't unusual for you two to be together and from ShinRa's point of view Zack was safe. He was your friend, your mentor, nothing more and he was quite firmly attached to his girl friend. I don't really think ShinRa was watching for me to have a relationship then, or at least not with a lowly cadet so when they had no evidence there was nothing for them to suspect.
"At first it was hell but at the same time it was heaven," Sephiroth back tracked along his time line a little. "I had a legitimate reason to have Cloud around me and I could get to know him, not just my obsession. It was heaven being near him, being able to see him, protect him and not have to hide but it was hell because he was /always/ the proper cadet - respectful, obedient, /emotionless/ - exactly what a SOLDIER cadet was meant to be. He /never/ showed any interest in me beyond the norm for a soldier for their superior officer. It was /hell,/" Sephiroth repeated quietly, leaning in to Cloud's fingers as he stroked at a newly brushed portion of hair before he pushed it over a black coated shoulder and began to work on the last and most tangled portion of hair.
"After a week or two, I'm sure I was ropeable with frustration despite Zack's reassurances. The fact that he seemed to be getting closer and closer to you didn't help. You are a superlative actor and it was only when I caught you, with the actors mask off that everything finally came together."
Cloud blinked as images began swirling through his mind. He could see everything, feel everything. Himself as a child, chasing a young Tifa, marching precisely in Midgar surrounded by other young blue uniformed troops, glimpses of him training, and then a cold horror gripped his heart when word of a kidnapping came to him. Next he saw Zack, emerging from smoke, escorted by several soldiers as he carried a blond haired bundle. The image was accompanied by an almost painful wave of relief, something so powerful it was painful. Another image flashed passed, his sleeping face, cradled in armed that were wrapped in black leather. One final image of Zack and himself but this one was was warm covered by a wash of emotion so deep it blurred the image. Cloud gasped once, before the memory flooded through him.
"Zack, it's impossible!" Cloud's frustrated younger voice echoed through his mind, accompanying the image.
"What's impossible?" the elder man looked up, slight worry in his glowing brown eyes. His hands stilled in their task of sharpening his buster sword.
"This whole situation is impossible," Cloud continued, sitting down in a chair across from Zack. The room was simply furnished. A single bunk, a chair and a desk. A door opened on the far wall, leading to a bathroom. Zack was a SOLDIER but he was a ranking soldier so that meant there were some leanings towards luxury.
"Spike, I don't understand."
"This whole situation is impossible!" Cloud repeated tiredly. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
Zack closed his eyes briefly and an unreadable look flickered across his face so quickly Cloud didn't notice it. "Why don't you just tell him?"
"Tell him?" Cloud snorted disdainfully. "In case you hadn't noticed Zack, I'm just a /cadet./ I'd be kicked back to Nibelheim so fast I wouldn't have time to blink if he finds out. And that's just if I'm lucky. I couldn't... At least this way I can see him..." Cloud's voice was small.
Zack sighed. It sounded like this conversation was one they had had before. "But what about what you want..?"
"It doesn't matter," the younger Cloud was shaking his head. "I don't matter but I can't let him find out. That's what's impossible." Cloud paused, a single tear running slowly down his cheek. "It hurts," he whispered.
"Oh Cloud," Zack said, standing up and moving to Cloud's side. "What about you?" He placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders, rubbing gently. "You /have/ to tell him."
"Heh!" Cloud coughed, sarcasm dripping even from that one word. "So, I'm supposed to go up to /The General/ and tell him that I, a /mere/ cadet love him. And exactly what will that do? Nothing."
"No..." Cloud corrected himself. "It would be best if it did nothing. He'd hate me. What need does he have for my love? None. To him, I'm nothing, I'm less than nothing." His voice was thick with self loathing and it was only after the words were spoken that he noticed how stiff Zack had become.
"You..." The voice wasn't Zack's.
Cloud stood and whirled, spinning to look at the door he had closed behind him.
"...no..."
He stepped back involuntarily, bumping into Zack.
"General." Zack saluted, snapping to attention.
"You..." Sephiroth repeated his voice soft and uncertain and his attention firmly fixed on the now trembling Cloud. His emerald eyes shimmered with unreadable emotion.
Cloud was studying the ground, tears streaming down his face and neck, dampening his uniform.
"What did you say?" Sephiroth whispered, reaching out and turning Cloud to face him and gently tipping his face up. Zack stood in the back ground watching but silent. This was something that had to happen and deep inside him he was celebrating the fact that it was. They would be good for each other, once they got past this initial awkwardness.
"Nothing. I said nothing... Sir," Cloud said quietly, managing to avoid Sephiroth's eyes.
"Cadet," Sephiroth snapped his voice suddenly cold, professional. Zack jumped at the tone, this wasn't the right way to approach Cloud. "I am a SOLDIER, my hearing is better than that." Sephiroth's eyes had hardened slightly, narrowing as he looked at the young man before him. "What did you say?" He removed his hands as he finally caught Cloud's blue eyes.
"I said nothing," Cloud repeated.
Zack almost cheered. He could read them both but there were still things he couldn't see until after the fact. This was the right way for Sephiroth, perhaps it was the only way to get Cloud to tell him. He knew Sephiroth would get the truth from Cloud now, but Cloud couldn't be weak, he had to show strength, set the boundaries of any relationship now, show Sephiroth what the white haired man already knew, that he had an inner strength that wasn't going to be crushed by anything, or anyone.
"We do not tolerate liars in ShinRa, Cadet." Sephiroth wouldn't let Cloud look away as he slipped further into the persona of The General. "What did you say?" Sephiroth's voice held no warmth. It was the voice that brooked no insubordination, that ordered soldiers to their deaths seemingly without thought - cold, strong, invincible, emotionless, the perfect SOLDIER.
Cloud blinked but was held by those eyes. "I said..."
One white eyebrow was raised expectantly.
"I said 'What need does he have for my love?'"
"He? Who is he?" Sephiroth questioned, his voice still cool, holding none of the love Zack knew was there.
The dread lock haired man frowned at the question before he blinked. Sephiroth, the General, invincible on the battle field was about to open himself, he /had/ to be sure before he was consciously let down his defences even though Cloud had already breached them. //Take the step, Cloud,// Zack thought, willing Cloud to hear the hope, the almost pleading desperate tone in Sephiroth's voice. //Take it Cloud. This is all the offer you are going to get from him.// Zack blinked again. Cloud /had/ to know that. They'd been watching each other, each unaware of the others desire, their silent observation. They /knew/ each other, knew their moods, the subtle shifts of weight that meant so much. And even though they weren't saying it, their bodies were moving, screaming for the embrace of the other and that was something they both could read in the other.
//Take it Cloud,// Zack thought again, watching as his young friend blinked, blue eyes wide with confusion. //What you're seeing is truth. He /really/ does want you.//
"I... he..." Cloud gulped, his voice trembling, before saying the words he truly believed would darn him. "He is The General sir," Cloud snapped, his voice now emotionless, and his body silent as he looked directly into the emerald orbs that had pinned him.
Sephiroth closed his eyes slowly, freeing Cloud from his gaze but the blond stood, eyes fixed ahead of him, locked in attention. "How little you know," he said, opening now hooded eyes. "How little you know," he repeated, voice silk smooth as he reached out to trace one long elegant finger over Cloud's jaw line.
Cloud stood, never moving at the General's touch and when he made no reaction Sephiroth pulled back slightly. Zack almost grinned. //He cracked you Sephiroth, now it's time for you to break him.// The tall man examined Cloud closely, looking for any reaction. "Did you mean it?" He asked the question quietly as Cloud continued to stand at attention.
The blue eyed boy remained silent.
"Did you mean it?" Sephiroth allowed the full menace of The General to fill his tone.
Cloud looked at the floor, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears that threatened to escape again, against the blinding pain that would follow when he destroyed his hope, his terror drowning the implications that were inherent in Sephiroth's previous words. "Yes."
Only a SOLDIER's mako enhanced hearing could hear that utterance.
Sephiroth smiled, the expression flashing across his face so fast that even Zack wasn't sure it was there and Cloud, who could have read the expression in Sephiroth's body, had his attention firmly fixed on the ground. "Then perhaps you should know how the General feels." Sephiroth moved with lightning quickness, raising Cloud's face to his own and only stopping when their lips were barely touching.
Cloud eeped, eyes wide with surprise.
"You should know," Sephiroth whispered before he took Cloud's lips in a gentle kiss.
Zack grinned, slinking towards the door. These might be his quarters but he had the distinct impression that he wouldn't be welcome soon. Just before he reached the door, he looked back and was surprised at the expression he could see in two pairs of eyes. It was almost the same. Sephiroth and Cloud had pulled back from their kiss and were now looking at each other with the same intense gaze, their bodies whispering endearments to each other but their faces showing almost exact same expressions of hope, of acceptance. But it was the expression in their eyes that struck Zack the most, an expression he could only see clearly now that it was gone. The ever present pain, the faint expression of loneliness was absent, drowned in an almost indecent ecstasy.
"Zack."
The man froze, half way out the door.
"See that we're not disturbed."
"Yes sir!" He snapped, grinning as he closed the door quietly behind him. It was about time the two of them got serious. Now everything was going to be well.
Cloud gasped, pulling himself back to the present as he felt Sephiroth's hair between his fingers again. "That's how it was?" He asked, taking the memory into himself, making them his own. The memory just passed that was him now, that was his past, this world was his but what of Nibelheim?
He felt Sephiroth nod, silken strands of hair pulled loose from his grip. Sephiroth turned to look at Cloud. "That's how it was and this is how it is." He leant forward, pressing his lips against Cloud's, feeling a smile there.
Cloud pulled back slightly, teasingly, although his eyes glowed happily. He could feel a faint regret at what he was about to say. "You haven't finished yet." He leant forward, to kiss Sephiroth. "Although I think a pause is in order," he whispered before allowing their lips to join once again, as he slipped warm thoughts of love into Sephiroth's mind feeling them reciprocated.
::I love you Sephiroth. Always...:: Cloud paused at the sadness he could sense in Sephiroth's memories. The guilt, the pain and anguish that was to come in his story. Nibelheim. ::No matter what happened. I love you.::
To Be Continued...
Well, hope people have enjoyed this chapter. Next up is the story of Sephiroth's Nibelheim and Jenova and Cloud and what happened between them all.
Please leave me a review! I love reviews and it's really the least you can do if you enjoyed this chapter. You can tell me what you thought of it. I like reading sap but I don't think I'm very good at writing it and parts of this were definitely sappy. Wait until next time, sappiness and sadness but I do get to destroy things. ^_^
Jade Tatsu.