Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII or any of its characters/items/locations. Nor am I making any money off of it. Please don't sue. All you'd get is both Vampire Hunter D movies and a puppy.
Author's Notes: WHOO! T'is the season people! For those who are curious, I haven't forgotten Christmas in July, Spices and Silk, Would You? Or Resurrection! (Funny thing Resurrection, I've actually written a bit of another chapter! Yes, I can hear you gasping.) I have been bogged down with things in my life that have been distracting me from my writing, along with a case of writer's block doesn't help much either. Anyway, enjoy and for the other writers out there, let's see some more fics for the season, eh? C'mon! Torment your inner elf!
Warnings: R, Sap, m/m, Sap, continues usage of 'blinking', and did I mention Sap with a touch of uber-fluff?
Reviews: Are greatly welcomed!
Flamers: It's Christmas. Don't make me roast your ass on an open fire, eh?
All I Want for Christmas…
"What am I gonna get him?"
Zack rolled his eyes and grinned at the panicking blonde. "I'm sure whatever you get him, he'll love it."
"HE'S THE GENERAL OF SHINRA!"
Zack chuckled and walked over to the hyperventilating youth. "Cloud, as I said before: whatever you get for Seph, he'll love it." That being said, Zack leaned down and kissed the blonde's forehead, watching as Cloud frowned at him. "Don't worry so much! It's only Christmas!"
Huffing, Cloud pushed away from the ginning soldier and glared for all he was worth. "Oh yeah? And what did you get him, hmm?"
Grinning the grin that Cloud knew was associated with all things sexual. He swallowed as Zack leered down at him. "It's a secret."
Pouting, Cloud left the living room and headed for the front door, pulling on his boots even as Zack fallowed, pulling on his own. When warm arms wrapped around his waist, Cloud glanced at the brunette behind him and closed his eyes as lips pressed against his own.
"Don't worry, alright?" Zack murmured, flicking his tongue against the blondes lips and smiled slightly at the moan he got in response. "Just relax and it'll come to you."
Pulling his head away, Cloud licked his lips, tasting the other soldier and turned around, burrowing into Zack's warm arms. "Will you help me?"
Zack gave a squeeze and pulled back, bending down for another gentle kiss. "I'd love too, but I can't sweetie. I promised I'd stay with a friend for the holidays." Blue eyes looked up at Zack and he felt his breath catch at the sweet naivety he saw there. Giving a weak hug, Cloud leaned forward and pressed his lips against Zack's throat, placing a light kiss on the pulse he felt beneath his lips before pulling away and walking out the door, leaving Zack where he stood.
MC
Finding things for the ones you love is hard unless you know exactly what they want, how they want it, and in which store they want it from. Unfortunately, Cloud not only didn't know what to get for Sephiroth, but the fact that Sephiroth was also rich caused a hindrance to his plan. "What do you get for someone who has everything?" Cloud muttered as he walked down the street, burrowing deeper into his winter jacket that Reno had bought him one cold winter night. Apparently, it was in everybody's interest to keep him warm, clothed, and fed. Attempting to ignore that particular train of thought was especially hard when the image of himself with fuzzy ears, a tail and a collar around his neck came to mind. Thankfully that train was derailed as something shiny caught his eye and Cloud quickly backed up, staring at the watch in the store window. It looked expensive, even Cloud knew what expensive looked like, but this watch was beautiful and Sephiroth had shattered about eight watches in the past three months due to them getting in the way while fighting, so hopefully this one would perhaps last. Without second thought, Cloud slipped into the store and approached the shop clerk.
Just as he reached the counter, the man whirled around and Cloud instantly froze at the intensity of that stare. "Can I help you Sir?" The man asked and Cloud felt embarrassed. Almost as if he should be addressing the man as Sir and not the other way around. "Sir?" Crisp and business-like and Cloud nodded weakly, clearing his throat as he raised one shaking hand and pointed towards the shop window.
"Y-y-you h-h-have a w-w-w-w-watch…"
"I'm quite aware of that Sir." The man hissed, steely grey eyes narrowing on the stuttering youth.
"I-I-I-I w-w-would like to s-s-s-see it."
Silence in the shop and Cloud felt his cheeks burn with humiliation as the man stepped out from behind the desk and briskly walked to the window, retrieved the watch and returned to his position behind the desk before placing it reverently on the glass counter.
"This watch is the finest in Midgar. It keeps note of the week, month, year and even leap year included. It is very beautiful…" The watch man paused, sizing Cloud up. "and very expensive. Sir." The last part meant to be insulting but Cloud didn't notice; he was busy staring at the watch with his jaw hanging open. It could only be described as elegant with the finery of high-class work from someone who had probably been making watches in prior lives. Reaching out with hesitant fingers, Cloud touched the glass of the watches front and blinked as it was ripped away from his grasp immediately upon contact. He looked up in surprise and cowered as he saw the man's furious gaze locked on him.
"Perhaps the young Sir would be more interested in buying it, rather then touching it with, no doubt, cold fingers." The last part came out as a sneer and Cloud was more then ready to flee the store but he couldn't.
Shaking his head, Cloud gathered as much courage as he could and reminded himself that this was for Sephiroth, and that he could stand his own ground at least once in a while.
"H-how m-much?"
"Sixty-thousand."
Everything in the universe promptly stopped moving. The earth screeched to a halt. The rest of the planets froze in their spots. Seagulls everywhere fell to the ground in a giant heap of 'cawing madness' (and the wives of fishermen everywhere rejoiced). All traffic stopped in its tracks. In short, the universe stopped and waited with bated breaths to see how a young perky blonde reacted to this.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-sixty-thousand?" Cloud stuttered. His eyes wide as he looked at the watch, then the man, back to the watch, then finally settled his gaze upon the man.
"Indeed. Would you prefer cash or card sir?"
"'Cash or card'?" Cloud asked, still attempting to gather the figure of sixty-thousand in his mind for a watch.
"Well," The man said, leaning over the counter to glare down at the stunned youth. "I assume you would like to buy it. Wouldn't you, Sir?" The 'Sir' coming out as a pure mockery aimed at the blonde.
Swallowing, Cloud took a step away from the man and the watch. "I-I-I'll have to think a-a-a-about i-it."
"You do that 'Sir'." And with that, Cloud fled the store, the man, and the watch included.
MC
Sniffling, Cloud hurried down the street with his head bowed and cheeks burning. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!" he chanted, turning the corner and yelped as he walked right into the arms of a surprised Turk. Lifting his head up, Cloud made to apologise and pushed against the red head.
"Cloud?" Reno asked, frowning as he held onto the cadet's shoulders. "What're you doing out so…" he stopped mid-sentence, watching as tears rolled down the youths cheeks before promptly dragging Cloud in to an alleyway and away from the bustle of people walking by.
"I'm a dummy," Cloud whimpered and made to push against Reno again but the Turk held tight and refused to let go.
"Says who?" Reno asked, holding onto the blonde's shoulder with one hand and lifting Cloud's chin with the other. "Who says you're a dummy?"
"I DO!" Cloud screamed, catching Reno off guard and slammed him into the side of the building, clinging to the jacket the Turk wore. "I'm a failure! I can never do anything right, I'll probably never even make it into SOLDIER!"
"Then why not join Turks?" Reno hissed, narrowing his eyes at the shaking blonde.
"W-what?" Cloud hiccupped, blue eyes filled with sorrow and confusion.
Reno paused and sighed, dragging the youth into his arms. "Ignore that. Now you gonna tell me what happened to make you so upset?"
Clutching the red head for all he was worth, Cloud burrowed his head into Reno's shoulder and re-told the events of what occurred at the watch shop, including the price of the watch.
"SIXTY-THOUSAND GIL? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!"
Flinching at the yelling, Cloud pulled away and rubbed his ears. "You don't have to scream it."
"Yes I do." Reno said, attempting to drag the blonde back into his arms.
"But what am I gonna get Sephiroth?" Cloud asked, keeping the Turk at arms length.
"I don't know." Reno frowned, mock-struggling to grab hold of the blonde. "How about a couple of pictures of you getting yourself off? I have a camera you could borrow-"
"RENO!" Cloud screeched, face turning beet red with embarrassment and opened his mouth to scold the red head when he stopped, eyes lighting up with an idea. "Reno! You're a genius!"
Reno paused, blinking at the light he saw in the blonde's eyes. "I am?"
Nodding excitedly, Cloud leaned forward and kissed Reno full on the mouth, nipping on his bottom lip before pulling away and fleeing from the now astonished red head.
When he was finally able to get himself under some semblance of control, Reno smirked and licked his lips, looking at the shopping crowd that seemed to have taken over the streets of Midgar. "Heh, so I am."
MC
Panting for breath, Cloud clung to the rail in the elevator with one hand and kept a firm hold on the present with his other hand. He had very nearly ran the entire city in the span of two hours or so it seemed and sure he was exhausted, but he was near giddy with what he had. The door pinged open and, after taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, Cloud stepped out into the hallway and headed for the door that held his destiny. 'Or doom' his mind chided and he froze. What if the gift he got wasn't good enough? What if Sephiroth hated it? What if-
"Cloud?"
"Wark?"
Sephiroth blinked and frowned, leaving the apartment door open and walked over to the dazed cadet. Gently, so as to not spook him, Seph led the young blonde into his home and closed the door behind him, setting about to pulling off Cloud's winter coat. "I was about to go looking for you, but now that you're here…" Sephiroth purred, leaning down to kiss the still dazed youth when a sound so primal, so ancient roared in the air.
"You haven't eaten all day have you?"
Cloud slowly nodded and held onto the present with one hand while Sephiroth took his other hand and led him into the kitchen where Cloud very nearly drooled as he smelled the cooking food.
"Hungry?" Sephiroth asked and smirked as Cloud's stomach answered for him, turning the blonde bright pink with embarrassments. "Take a seat," Sephiroth said, chuckling and shaking his head as the blonde collapsed on the chair, still holding on to the neatly wrapped present.
Dinner was served and eaten in record time on Cloud's part. As soon as the plate was placed before him he couldn't contain himself any longer and dug in, moaning as the flavours of spiced meat and mushroom sauce touched his taste buds. He savoured every bite, closing his eyes as he bit into a particularly tender cut of roast and almost fell to the floor in ecstasy as he ate the cinnamon veggies. Not to mention the wine that Sephiroth had given him was more sweet then sour. It was paradise. The Promised Land.
"The Promise Land?"
Cloud snapped himself out of his orgy of sensations and licked his lips, nodding his head even as Sephiroth poured him another glass of wine. "It's good. I mean, really good. Really, REALLY good!" Cloud gushed, eyes turning dreamy as he watched the other man drink his own wine.
Chuckling, Sephiroth placed the glass down and took note of Cloud's expression. "Thank you."
Cloud was warm. He was fed, fuzzy thanks to the wine, and sitting with the man he loved. What more could an outcast from Nibelheim ask for?
"I got you something."
That snapped Cloud out of his moment of complete perfection and caught him completely off guard. "What?"
Standing, Sephiroth walked over and gently drew Cloud up against his chest, noting how liquid-like the blonde was at the moment and made another note to get the blonde good and drunk the next time he could. He led the content youth into the living room and had him sit on the couch before disappearing off into the bedroom, only to reappear moments later carrying an ebony box and sat beside the youth, handing it over to Cloud. "As soon as we figured out what it was, I knew it was perfect for you."
"We?" Cloud asked, taking the box with shaking hands.
"Zack and I,' Sephiroth said, leaning back to watch the blondes face.
"Oh." Was all Cloud said and traced the intricate craving on the top of the box before he cautiously opened it and for the second time that day, the universe held it's breath.
"I know they haven't taught you how to use them yet, but this will be good practice for you in controlling future ones."
"A summon." Cloud whispered, blue eyes going wide in disbelief.
"It is."
"W-who is it?" Cloud asked even as he lifted the small orb out of the box and stared at it in awe.
"Zack said it's a Choco/Mog summon."
"Choco/Mog summon?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Sephiroth continued. "That's what Zack called it." Of course Sephiroth didn't tell Cloud that Zack had been laughing his ass off the entire time the Moogle riding chocobo had attacked monsters merely by bashing into them or of the dance Zack had to perform in order to attain it.
"Wow…"
Cloud was so fixated on the warmth the summon gave off, not quite warm enough to be uncomfortable, but enough to cling too during an autumn rain storm, that he didn't notice when Sephiroth leaned over and bit his earlobe causing him to squeeze the small orb as he shivered at the touch.
"I-I got you something," Cloud stuttered, placing the materia back inside the box and placing it on the floor even as Sephiroth nuzzled the back of his ear, flicking his tongue against the sensitive flesh.
"Mmm," Was all Sephiroth said as he used his other hand to turn Cloud's head to face his, claiming the blonde's lips for his own. Cloud moaned, his head swimming from the wine he drank and weakly lifted his hand that still held the present gripped tightly and pressed it against the tall man's chest, panting as they separated.
"H-here," Cloud gasped, turning his head away as Sephiroth leaned forward and tried to kiss him once more. Finally the General pulled back and Cloud felt the small package taken from his hand. Swallowing, Cloud turned back to watch as Sephiroth turned it over, head cocked to the side with a curious expression on his face. 'The moment of truth,' Cloud's mind chattered and the blonde watched as Sephiroth slowly and methodically peeled away the wrapping paper to reveal a small box. Cloud would later swear on his soul that his heart stopped as Sephiroth opened the box and pulled out a supple sleek thin black wallet. Of course, Cloud would also swear later on that the universe was growing tired of constantly stopping and starting all over again but the universe enjoyed seeing a certain blonde suffer so it was a wonder the poor youth didn't fall into near hysterics as Sephiroth opened the wallet and stared at what was inside.
Even the universe was feeling ever so slightly festive and decided to give the poor, already traumatized youth a break and booted the cogs of time back into their proper places.
"I-I-I d-d-d-d-d-d-didn't k-know what to get you a-a-and I t-thought t-that s-since y-y-y-you go on so-so-so many m-missions t-t-that'd you'd l-like a-a r-r-reminder o-of wha-what y-you h-h-have b-back h-h-home."
When Sephiroth didn't move, Cloud feared for the worst and bit his bottom lip, trying to reign in his sudden nervous break down when Sephiroth smiled at the wallet, rubbing his thumb against the image. But then the world and time itself was shattered as Sephiroth looked up at him with such warmth that Cloud didn't want the moment to end, didn't want to lose that warmth, that tenderness he saw in those normally cruel jade green eyes.
"I'm sorry I-" Cloud started, unable to help himself even as his heart caught in his throat at those glowing eyes.
"Shhh," Sephiroth smiled at the flushing blonde and leaned over, nuzzling Cloud's cheek, taking note of the shiver caused by his actions. "I'll put it my coat afterwards."
"'Afterwards'…?" Cloud asked; biting back the whimper as Sephiroth brushed his lips against his.
Placing the wallet back inside the box and putting it on the floor next to Cloud's box, Sephiroth slowly turned the blonde's head to the side and gently kissed the flustered youth. "All I want for Christmas…" He murmured; pulling away and making sure those soul stealing blue eyes were staring into his own before he pressed his forehead against Cloud's.
"…Is you."
End.
A/N: Yes I know Cloud stutters, actually he stutters a lot. But he's just so cute when he stutters! Wouldn't you want to warm yourself with a stuttering, near hysterical youth that just needs some decent loving? Also, can you tell I was hungry when I wrote the dinner scene? I'm undecided as to wither or not to have a shag scene but I mean this story is so freakin' sappy and fluffy! I congratulate those who actually read it until the very end!
Lastly but not least: T'is the season folks, regardless of whatever religion you fallow or however you wish to celebrate this time of year, have a safe fun time doing so!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!