Once upon a time, there was a Godly valley with mountains that could touch the sky and trees that cast long shadows. The people who live in the small mountain town are hardworking and happy, so long as they never stray into the forest where the wolves lurk in the darkness. Adults brave the trees in groups to hunt the vicious pack as they have for decades, the conflict is deep with no sign of victory for either side. But wolves are not the only threat, nor the village's only secret - and the link connecting them is a simple cloak of Red ...

Every night, from the highest peak of the uninhabited mountains, a single Wolf howls to the good folk of the valley – as a warning, as a message, and as a reminder of what they did:
"Beware, beware, the Path where the Witch once stood. Beware, beware, of the Wolf in the Wood."

Cover art: thequalityrunaway DOT tumblr DOT COMpany/ post/138570607597/for-confessions-of-the-red-cloak-au-once-upon-a

Cloud laughed through his nose, nipping at Leon's upper lip before whispering "You can keep the kill."

With annoyance, Leon huffed against his mouth, "I'd better, I don't know how I'm going to explain your fang imprint in my flesh," he frowned at the blond looking innocent as he was held in place by Leon's framing arms.

Tracing a hand from Leon's brow to his chin, Cloud smirked: "Just say a wolf bit you and play it off as a joke, you're a terrible liar when asked directly." Before the hunter could object Cloud had stolen several short kisses and slipped out under his imprisoning arms, tugging at his sleeve insistently. "Let's go. We can't be late for your Mother, right?"

"She's not my Mother," Leon sighed half-heartedly, his fingers linking through Cloud's with no protest as they made their way towards the village.

Leon watched the canopy as the trees began to get thin, a familiar reluctance tugged insistently at his mind, "We're getting close to the village, you should turn back now."

The blond hesitated and shook his head, "I'll stay a bit longer, alright?" his fingers restlessly rubbed against the back of Leon's closed hand, "I want to know how she reacts when you tell her, and it's not like I'm going to meet her anytime soon so … I'd like to at least see her. Not breaking pack rules that way."

"You're very insistent on meeting Edea."

Cloud ducked his head bashfully, "She's special to you." He grinned when Leon lightly bumped his shoulder, "She raised a good son, one that wasn't her blood, and many siblings too. I'd like to meet her one day. It's just not possible now."

Silently, the brunet recognised the area. They were very close to the village now, his pace slowed drastically. "What about your family, your Mother, and Father?"

Cloud gave a half smile, "Dead. One many years before the contract, the other just a week before it was made. I'm like you, an orphan with a family of friends around to replace them, but you always wonder …"

Yes, yes you do. "What were they like, your parents?" Leon asked, having only known Edea he was curious as to what parents were like, real parents of blood. Did they act different, love you any different? He couldn't imagine anyone being more motherly than Edea.

The blond lit up slightly "I don't remember my Father very well, I mostly took after my Mother, but she always said I was as clumsy and brash as he was. Mother was a seamstress, I remember her hands … they were always rough at the tips, but nowhere else, she pricked her fingers so many times …" With a wider grin, he added, "Mother had a favourite wolf who sat around our den all day, he was timeworn, but he had been close to my Father so she welcomed him as part of our family. He was the wolf who gave his Heart to me, he howled and howled when my Mother died, and the same when I got sick. He insisted that I accept his contract so that the last of his favourite family would live, I was so sick I wouldn't have agreed unless it was him, he was the only one I could bring myself to listen to in the final days …"

Awed, Leon pressed a hand over Cloud's, the blond had rested it against the strange not-scar-not-tattoo-mark that represented his contract and wolf spirit. His heart beat healthy and alive because of a great love. Hesitantly, Leon sent silent thanks to the wolf who had passed for saving Cloud's life.

"Did he have a name?"

"Fenrir."

Smirking, Leon said, "I wish I could thank him."

Cloud squeezed the hand measuring his heartbeat, "No need, Red, he already knows. Come, we've got to go west a little before we reach your Mother's house."

"Matron."

"Whatever."

"That's my word."

Leon hung the pheasant on the fence to drain it of blood. The soil drank up the iron to feed the plants, and the plants might one day nourish good blood, he was used to noticing cycles like that because of his Matron. She had taught him a lot, just as Cloud's family had. He didn't even raise his hand to knock on her door before it opened, somehow she just knew.

"Oh, hello!" Her brown eyes were watery and relieved, she hugged him tightly and pressed a kiss to his forehead, "Oh my boy, I thought you were never coming to see me!"

Ducking his head guiltily, it had been too long since he last saw her, he whispered: "Sorry, Matron, I had a lot on my mind."

Appearing concerned she cupped his face and then seemed to rethink her actions, she turned to offer him a drink, "I received bread from Quistis yesterday, and a wineskin can you believe? If she thinks that I'll drink the devilish stuff she's barking mad, what herbs has she been eating?" she chuckled, pouring the wine instead to disinfect a scrape on Leon's arm.

Leon watched her work on the light abrasion … probably Cloud's fault. Her hands were rough at the palms, the gardening she did for a living had toughened the edges of her skin, and her wrists looked withered although he knew they were strong.

Cloud was lingering, Leon could tell, his hunter's instincts were nudging him, insisting that eyes were on him. They had said their verbal goodbye several feet away from the clearing, and kissed moments before Leon crossed into a world Cloud couldn't. Occasionally, the gaze lessened which Leon assumed meant he was examining Edea. He hoped Cloud was thinking kindly of her, he was curious enough to risk these glances and though he wanted Cloud to see Edea for what she was he couldn't stand the thought of someone thinking poorly of her.

With a tut, she asked "What have you been doing, roughhousing? Oh …" Leon blushed scarlet when her fingertips flattened his collar to better expose the welling purple bruise on his neck. Damn Cloud, it was right at his jugular and simply unmissable as it bled a dark colour against his lightly tanned skin. Matron's cheeks lightly tinted as well before she glanced at him, silently prompting an explanation.

Leon, instead, took a seat and his drink without a word about it, "Have you been well since I last saw you?"

Confused, Edea nodded, sitting almost timidly in her usual spot as if any moment now would call for her to leap into action. "I've been running low on firewood, but the blankets warm these old limbs halfway through the night."

He looked up, interested "If I could borrow and axe I'd get some for you."

She smiled, "That would be lovely." There was another pause, obviously one in which Leon was supposed to mention the rumours, the passionate love bite on his neck, and or why he'd been avoiding her for several weeks. But he couldn't utter a word, and so the silence stuck.

Eventually, he pointed outside "There's a pheasant outside, draining, it's a gift … and an apology."

She looked even more confused "An apology, dear?"

"Maybe."

"I don't understand," she confessed. Another silence began to creep in as Leon pondered on how to phrase his thoughts, how to tell her what he wanted in a way that wouldn't cause a rift between them.

Sensing something intangible, she put her cup down and put a hand on his shoulder "You do know that you can talk to me about anything?"

He sighed "I know." But how do I tell you this?

She sat back and waited another few, painful minutes before she picked up one of her small storage boxes and began to sift through its contents. Curious, Leon leaned over to see what she was looking for.

She pulled out a small iron cross no bigger than her index finger, attached to it was what looked like an old bandage. She put it in her lap as she placed the storage box out of her hands, then began to turn in over wondrously.

"Many years ago," she began with a soft voice and an expression flickering between sorrow and pride, "my husband Cid went to war to fight for our ruling Prince. He had served in two wars before that, each one was long, each one separated us for at least several months, and the things he'd tell me made me glad I'd never see war in our peaceful valley."

Leon nodded out of politeness, watching as her hands turned over the cross again and again. He remembered asking Matron when he was young after he'd gotten amnesia and while relearning his loved ones, about her husband. Internally he felt guilty for making her tell that story to him twice, though it was a weightless blame since the amnesia wasn't his fault.

"My Cid died, and they sent me this cross as a mark of honour for our family … though we had no children of our own, I've always held onto it." She tucked a loose strand of her raven hair behind her shoulders and smiled slightly, "He came home with a strange and moving story once, on his second term of service. It was about two soldiers, each one had served for over ten years to the Prince, and they were close."

With a glance in his direction, she smiled "But it wasn't until Cid's turn for guarding his sleeping comrades that he realised how close they were," she turned back to the cross, "They left on a stroll and Cid spotted them walking, talking, and they held hands. He even saw them kiss."

Leon blinked "Two soldiers?"

Edea nodded "He asked them much later when he had the time to work up the courage to ask, how their unique partnership came to be, why they were taking the risk of being discovered and cast out. Their answers were … complicated to him, and he wasn't content with them until he repeated their words to me as we walked and held hands ourselves around our home." She sighed "I knew at once what it was."

"What was it?"

"Love. They loved each other."

Feeling uneasy, seeing the similarities and sensing that she was onto something, he tried to divert "You just accepted this? You husband too? But wasn't it …" there were many words he could have used, but each one felt too strong and cruel.

Edea chuckled "My husband had thought on it long and hard before he asked me for my clarity. I saw his face when I gave him my answer, he tried to object, but there was nothing he could think of, no corrections or extreme circumstances. Had we not been holding hands and kissing ourselves?"

"They told him of how it came to be, how common it secretly was when their regiments stood their ground many days and nights through war and siege it was common for soldiers to find comfort in each other to different degrees. What this couple found, however, was long lasting and severed just as strong as their loyalty to their Prince."

She pressed the cross between her palms, "They only kept it a secret out of fear that all they loved, their religion and their comrades, would reject them because of their unique love." With a sigh, she whispered "I believe that they knew, these companions of theirs, but they wisely turned a blind eye. A shame. Love should be celebrated no matter where it blooms …"

"Cid came to terms with it and promised me that he would pass on my good wishes if he saw them." She put the cross down "Months later after the third war, a messenger arrived in our village with many of these crosses tied in his backpack, most of the wives became widows. I never saw Cid again."

Leon had heard the ending before, it was common knowledge in her household what happened to her husband, though he still felt anger at the world for taking her love from her when she was clearly most deserving. "You are … very accepting. I can't imagine Hojo even turning a blind eye to this."

Edea snorted "As respectable as he is his view of God is very different to mine."

You got that right, Leon thought with a hint of annoyance. He preferred Edea's loving God over Hojo's vengeful one any day.

She smiled "When I was young the old priest before Father Hojo would read Bible passages to me, he made them simple for a child to understand, but the simple truths are the ones which felt most right to me. My favourite that love was never evil or wrong that it should be accepted wherever it comes from, for if we reject a form of love, we reject our God who gave us the gift of Love." She brushed her hair back into her bun again, "Father Hojo was never patient enough to read to a curious youth like me, but those lessons from his predecessor were important to me. I've always believed them."

"Then, why does Father Hojo tell us that God hates us for our wrongs?"

Edea shrugged delicately "God gives us what we need, not always what we want. I think, perhaps, God punished him in some way for a trivial thing, for personal correction maybe, and he assumed God was sternly warning him against falling from grace. So he tells us of the God he saw as he expects us all to know a stern God as he did. While I know a God who gave me many great loves, a lovely house, a devoted husband, wonderful children. I think that's why he's so bitter about beautiful things."

There was a pause, Leon felt it and knew that it was the perfect time to say something. He could have told her of his newfound love, he could have been brave enough to whisper why he was gone, to apologise for the secrets, to apologise again for not being able to say more. But no words were formed.

The woman who raised him smiled and put a hand on his cheek, "Are you happy?"

Again, his voice got stuck just below his tongue.

She leaned forwards and whispered "Did you find him? That boy you were looking for, Cloud."

He nodded dumbly and glanced at her hand as it reached out to touch his neck. "My my, he has teeth, I hope he's treating my boy right, if he weren't making you this happy I'd have chased him away from you."

Leon almost fell out of his chair, eyes growing wide. "How did you know?"

She smiled, "I guessed, but you just told me."

Matron laughed as he blushed, feeling like a fool for so easily stepping into her trap.

Her eyes were glittering like she was about to cry, but she was smiling like she was about to laugh too, "Oh Squall, I've never seen you so happy and alive, how could I turn you both away? He brought back the boy I lost to the fever, now more than ever I'm happy he's not just an imaginary friend."

Leon finally managed to say something, his voice so thick it was like it had rusted from years of disuse, "He saved me, Matron, in more ways than one."

Edea's eyes watered, she looked out at the trees as if she expected him to appear at her door "Is he …?"

Leon shook his head "He's … he wants to meet you, he really does. But Cloud's people are very private, if he were to meet you without their permission he'd be in trouble." He might be sent away, he thought with a hint of panic and a bite of his lip.

Somehow, Edea seemed to understand. She gave him a satisfied grin and said "Well … so long as he's making my boy happy, then I think I can live with this. Tell him, from me, thank you and good wishes," she pulled Leon into a hug and hissed, "If he hurts you, warn him that I have a potion that'll have him on his backside for a month."

Leon laughed, imagining Cloud suffering from one of Edea's idle threats, "He'll run with his tail between his legs," he agreed, Matron just laughed harder.

She shooed him out of her house with a smile, "Get to him, you've no business here while you're in love."

Leon kissed her cheek, "You're the best Mother ever," and ran back into the trees, Edea grinning brightly behind him and chuckling to herself at the speed of his feet.

Ah to be young …

Cloud accepted Leon's tackle with grace and barely grimaced when his back hit the earth "Red?"

Leon kissed him, not answering with words but with his lips. Cloud resisted for a moment, confused with his enthusiasm, but when Leon's tongue took advantage of his distraction he pressed back. When they paused to breathe Leon smiled down at the man under him, quietly admiring the wide eyes and growing pupils, "Edea knew, she knew before I told her."

Cloud grinned, the tone of Leon's voice told him everything else he needed to know "She even knew my name," he preened, nudging his nose against Leon's affectionately. "You mentioned me?"

Leon laughed "Before I remembered you, the first time we met after your contract I couldn't recall why you were familiar to me, I thought Matron might have known something I didn't." he smirked, "Apparently, I made you sound like an imaginary friend when I was young."

Cloud smirked, rolling a shoulder in a helpless shrug, "I can see why, I am too good to be true."

"You are ridiculous," Leon corrected, pulling Cloud up and tugging him deeper into the woods

Humming at his enthusiasm, Cloud's voice whispered into Leon's ear, "Go back to our den, I need to pick something up from the mountain." Leon's face must have betrayed a hint of disappointment because Cloud held his head still for a deep kiss, "I'll be back soon."

Surprised by the request but not objective Leon agreed, Cloud ran off, clothes in his jaws as he ran, the last kiss he shared still tingling on Leon's lips. The hunter watched the wolf go fondly and picked his way through the trees towards the den. He remembered roughly where it was, and if he got lost he had faith that Cloud would be able to track him down and bring him to their location.

Besides, he thought as he walked, it is a beautiful day for a trek.

Father Hojo walked briskly into his private room, an elegant piece of parchment in his hands. His hands had shaken almost as hard at the freezing hands of the delivery boy. But the messenger had been swift, and he had been lucky, clearly God's approval and will, the Hunter was only a few miles from their nearest town. It had been four days since he had sent word, this war would soon be brought to the valley, and it would ring out in God's name!

With thoughts like that Hojo's hands almost ripped the letter along with the wax seal!

Upon opening the letter, he found only two words above four elegant signatures in pristine black ink.

Expect us.

The Parish Father sank into his chair and gripped his rosary. "Pater noster qui es in coelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum …."

His prayers had been answered.

Leon stretched out under the stars, eyes partly closed and he watched the lights glimmer and link in shapes like liquid forming and reforming across a smooth stone. He rested a hand against his bare chest, relaxing through the chill of the night as it kept him alert.

It was late, but time seemed irrelevant as the earth warmed beneath him and the stars gently rolled across the sky.

He felt the eyes before he heard a thing, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It was impossible to hear Cloud approaching, but he listened anyway, though, as expected, he only discovered he was there when a gentle hand slipped into the one resting by his head. Leon looked up with a soft sigh of relief, together at last.

By their little, rocky den at the edge of the trees and facing the rocks of the mountains it held the distinct feeling of home for the pair.

Cloud's eyes were almost glowing in the night, his shadowed face highlighted elegant cheekbones and his sharp chin though Leon's attention was stolen by his eyes before they wandered too far. Cloud settled on the ground and pressed his nose against Leon's briefly before sharing an upside down kiss. Leon's hand rested on the back of Cloud's neck, pleased that he was just as shirtless, that he was thinking the same thing. The tips of his fingers traced patterns on his shoulder blades, they moved like trapped wings under his touch.

The blond pulled away to sit by his side, his eyes really did glow as they glanced down Leon's prone body and he smirked when Leon shivered. His expression told Leon all he needed when Cloud stalked around to lay by Leon's side.

Hands, lips, teeth and nailed akin to muted claws quickly absorbed their other, Leon giving as good as he got, determined to get his fill before his mind failed under the returned barrage of sensations wrought by touch.

Predictably, Cloud rolled and tried to pin him, but Leon was ready and flipped back, caging Cloud under him like a prize. The breath left his love briefly before a soft laugh, he coyly whispered something about playing fair, but the bait was ignored in favour of colouring Cloud's neck. You're mine, the Hunter said silently, over and over, Cloud trembling and flexing his trapped wrists as he was bitten and kissed again and again possessively. He moaned when Leon's teeth trapped his windpipe, just briefly, before the brunet captured the strangled cry with his lips.

The shorter man blinked, slightly undone and wide-eyed when Leon finally allowed him to breathe, he smirked when Cloud gasped; "So assertive, wow."

Leon snorted as he booped his head against Cloud's "You're ridiculous."

Cloud grinned, linking his freed hands together at the small of Leon's back. They were warm. "Are you sure about this?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Leon asked, raising an eyebrow and pressing himself closer to Cloud, not liking this note of seriousness creeping into their bubble.

Cloud blushed a little "I experimented in that week apart, it wasn't so bad." Leon blushed at the thought of Cloud preparing himself, his mind imagining images that made him feel dirty though he shuddered in delight. He was brought back when sharp teeth nipped at his earlobe, "You haven't had nearly as long as I have to think about this, it you-"

A grow cut him off, "Stop it, I want you and I'm done waiting," he kissed Cloud hard enough to shut him up, though their teeth clanked horribly at first.

The blond eased him off with gentle brushes along his spine, peppering his cheeks to tease him "Easy, Red, no need to eat me alive."

The Hunter raised an eyebrow "You do on a daily basis," he reminded him with a jab to his pale collarbone.

Cloud snickered and accepted the poke, "Are you still sore about your neck? Seems like you're too distracted, I should fix that," he pulled on Leon's bet until his hands had slipped under to seize a handful of his rear each, levering himself up into the burnet's hips with every squeeze.

Breath coming shallower, Leon reached between them to pry his belt off and shift Cloud's trousers lower on his hips before he allowed himself to let go of his focus and let Cloud dictate his attention. They kissed at a slower pace that mismatched their growing need, but neither had enough awareness to keep their hands and hips at a similar speed. He felt Cloud's harness against his own, and it made his entire body hot, the friction only made him narrow-minded and greedy.

Cloud sat them both up briefly to slip off the rest of their clothes, his hands and eyes lingering on every inch of Leon's skin that was exposed to him. Leon doing the same shamelessly. Cloud reached behind him for something Leon hadn't noticed before, a clay bowl full of something slick and see-through.

"What's …?"

"Purified grease, Aqua gave it to me," he snickered, "She said next time I could stand to be away from you for more than a day she'd show me how to make it."

Leon recalled what it was used for and made a small face "Are you sure it's not going to hurt you?"

Cloud patted his cheek "I'm sure, Lee." He pressed Leon down and held him there with a hand at his naval, eyes promising, "I want to try something, just relax."

About to protest that he couldn't relax in the face of mystery, Leon's voice was lost when Cloud took his hard length in hand and licked the tip.

He missed the smirk Cloud pulled at his reaction, and he never gave Leon a chance to catch a glance as he proceeded to draw a lot of other noises from him. Lips and tongue worked slowly, experimentally over Leon's flesh and Leon was scrabbling at the earth under him for a hand hold, whispering Cloud's name through shaky exhales. His magnificent lover opened his mouth, and the searing wet heat all around him made his mouth drop open and his mind to trip into a standstill.

He only regained awareness when he jerked his hips up, and the wonderful contact was lost, Cloud coughed a few times, and Leon sat up, concerned. Cloud rubbed at his mouth and throat with a strip of red across his nose and cheeks.

Leon apologised, realising it was his fault, but Cloud ignored the apology and started his annoying teasing again. How good he must have been to make Leon lose his restraint, Leon shoved him backwards at the loving taunt and pinned him by his shoulders.

Cloud linked his fingers at the back of Leon's neck, his thumbs massaging the base of Leon's skull pleasantly, "I think that's enough testing. You ready?"

The hunter blinked "But don't I have to prepare you?"

Cloud whispered, "Already got that."

A little disbelieving, Leon moved his hand down to Cloud's entrance and placed a fingertip against the slight slickness. Not wanting to take chances he pressed a finger inside slowly, marvelling at how hot and tight Cloud was, and the sharp inhale and groan that followed.

"H-hey, I said I was fine," he protested as Leon reached for the grease, still shuddering under him at the probing fingertip.

"I don't want to take a chance, okay?" Leon replied, drawing two fingers through the grease with a frown of concentration. He smirked down at Cloud, "Besides, why should you have all the fun?"

"Ah, Guardians!" Cloud gasped. Leon inserted his fingers carefully, silently glad that Cloud had prepared before, he would have hated to have hurt him due to inexperience. He grew mesmerised by Cloud's reactions, every time his fingers curled, pressed or rocked back and forth Cloud arched or gasped, or clawed at the ground with a quiet moan. His eyes were closed as if to focus more on sensation, and despite the lack of glowing eyes, Leon was just as absorbed in watch how the lids frantically moved when he pressed into the smooth muscles.

Cloud weakly pushed at his abdomen, creating a space between them which made Leon pause. "Please …"

At his plea Leon withdrew, accepting one of the discarded shirts from Cloud to clean his hands with, and blinked in confusion when Cloud made move to get up, "Aren't you supposed to-"

Cloud leaned back against him "Like this, please," he gnawed at Leon's jaw, pressing his rear back into Leon's hips "I just need it like this, hurry!"

Realising he'd pushed Cloud further along than he thought he could, he suppressed a relieved smile, he had worried that Cloud had been lying and that he was just enduring this all for Leon's pleasure. Since he was so undone reassured him this was not the case.

Leon held Cloud's hips and stalled him long enough to arrange them properly, trying not to fumble or worry about losing his nerve. Cloud was still in his daze of feverish want, spots of perspiration making his skin shimmer as he moved, desiring a faster union. Leon pressed inside as smoothly as he could and as fast as he dared, Cloud's groans of relief giving him confidence.

When fully inside Cloud the blond relaxed, and his feverish haze seemed to lessen minutely, he leant his head back on Leon's shoulder and breathed, "Wow."

"Are you okay?" Leon hissed, his mind kept focusing on how tight his lover was, how slick and ready and how sweet it would be to just move. He felt himself twitch in anticipation, and Cloud seemed to clench around him and suddenly just enduring this standstill was torture!

Cloud's fingers twisted into Leon's hair at the nape of his neck "Yes," he tilted Leon's head to kiss him and at the same time they began to move. It was similar to their explorations before, but definitely more intense.

Every time Leon pressed his hard length inside Cloud gasped and his body tensed in a different way, like the many strings on a harp. Leon grunted and couldn't help but moan softly as his body ground through one surge of pleasure to the next, he was struggling to keep upright and they hadn't been thrusting long, but he kept getting distracted by everything Cloud did, and it warred with the overwhelming pleasure in a way that made him short of breath. Cloud's tightness running up and down his length and his body shuddering, voice vocalising his pleasure, each sensation designed to drive Leon insane.

Unexpectedly, Cloud leant back against him too heavily arching his neck and pressing his head into Leon's shoulder. Leon almost topped backwards, he groaned and pushed forwards, Cloud landing on his hands and elbows, pushing back against him wantonly until Leon resumed his rhythm, the angle allowed greater movement, and he groaned in appreciation.

Sweat tickled Leon's face as a drop rolled from his temple, he licked his lips and pressed a hand against Cloud's back, loving how the fair-haired man arched against his touch. So responsive, he thought as he struggled to keep his thoughts aware through the tide of pleasure. It was an uphill battle.

His hands pressed harder on Cloud's hips and is control evaporated like the morning mist, and he pressed himself in harder, desperate to hear Cloud's reactions as his own heated body tensed and shuddered at how good Cloud felt like this.

His lover's sounds, not loud or wanton, gained a new pitch, and as Leon's eyes lazily admired the muscles rolling under the skin of his back, he noticed one hand had abandoned its post of holding the blond upright and was now between his legs. Oh God, he thought, imagining Cloud touching himself in a moment like this. It was unbelievably sexy.

Cloud's voice gasped through the unsteady pants for breath "C-close, Squall."

Leon moaned and pulled Cloud's hips harder against himself in his thrusts, wanting to get deeper, to get hotter, to get more. He moved a hand under Cloud too, letting his forehead rest against Cloud's flexing shoulders.

"Me too." he covered Cloud's frantically moving hand with his own to help. Cloud grew tight around his cock, and his breath got stuck as he fought the soundless cry bubbling in his throat. The lack of air and Cloud's tightness around him made stars appear in his vision temporarily.

It was like Cloud's body was sucking him in, his legs shook, and his lungs worked double time, and still his brain and body trembled with pleasure and shot itself with lighting sensations of bliss. The swelling sensation just above his pelvis made Leon's lips loosen, and he gasped Cloud's name as his gratification washed over him and left him reeling, body still moving on instinct though his release had come.

While barely aware himself he felt almost everything of Cloud when he shuddered and choked a cry of his name he arched, and Leon felt Cloud ripple around him in almost painfully good spasms. His hands were sticky with Cloud's release, and he didn't realise he had closed his eyes until he pried them open, shaky and growing soft and lax all over.

He heard Cloud sigh, his senses still tuned highly on his partner, in an amazing way he hadn't been aware of before. He felt Cloud shuddering under him, he heard the slight catches of his breath as he enjoyed the aftershocks of release and the soft groan when he flexed his thighs and lower back. Leon knew he wasn't hurt, his acute focus on Cloud revealed no signs of distress, though he could tell that Cloud was beginning to grow uncomfortable on his hands and knees …

Lazily he brought his hands to smooth down Cloud's sides, looping around him in a comfortable hold, the blond hooked onto one to encourage him to lay down and relax with him, tugging in just the right way.

They set, Leon closed his eyes with a content smile for just a second, and Cloud shivered, turning in Leon's arms, pulling himself free of Leon's body to meet his eyes face to face. His eyes were wide, his eyes searching for the smile he's just missed. They stared for a few seconds, absorbing each other with new eyes and feeling amazed.

The man with glowing eyes pressed a gentle kiss to Leon's lips "Do you feel it, Squall? You're mine now," he murmured.

Leon smiled. "I feel it," he linked his arms around Cloud in return, trembling at how over sensitised he was to the slightest of brushes of Cloud's skin, his hair, his breath … it was like Cloud had been put under a sensory magnifying glass, he stood out more than any other item, so it was overwhelming but good.

Very good.

Every inch of him was aware of Cloud. The other man's very presence drew his attention tighter than a leash and held it firmer than iron shackles. The equal ownership felt pleasant He raised an issue softly, sleepily; "Cloud? Always call me Squall." after hearing Cloud scream his actual name in pleasure he never wanted to hear him say anything other than his given name.

Cloud had never needed 'Leon' and the mask he represented, he only ever saw Squall. It was nice.

Cloud grinned though Leon couldn't see. But he knew. The slight shift in Cloud's body told him that he was smiling. Amazing …

"My Squall."

"My wolf," Squall returned, a little uncertain but Cloud seemed to love it, kissing his collarbone sleepily. "My Mate," he tried the word aloud, and Cloud perked up, sleep shrugged off as their clothes had been at the start, he grinned and kissed him properly.

"Yes, my Mate. All mine." Squall found himself pinned under Cloud's body, and the blond eagerly licked and sucked across his upper body. This time, each touch was like the first touch after years of loneliness, it was intense, and Squall couldn't find the breath, or brainpower, or a conceivable reason to object as Cloud had his way with him.

Thanks for your comments, please leave another.

thequalityrunaway DOT tumblr DOT COMpany/ post/141026879897/i-remember-you-his-friend-stayed-with-him-that - FANART! For chapter 15 (go look at it! Cloud's naked XD)