Chapter 6: Only You Can Make Me Happy
Cloud stopped his mad dash at the living-room sofa. He leaned against it, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps that were not just from running. Suddenly disgusted by the faintly glowing materia in his hand, he threw it into the corner of the room and collapsed onto the soft cushions.
Then he remembered how Kadaj had lain in the exact same place last night, how limp he was when Cloud had picked him up, how his eyelashes had felt against Cloud's neck...
The blonde rolled over and screamed into a pillow. Why? WHY? WHY!? It wasn't the fact that he was attracted to the teen that bothered him. It was that every time Kadaj moved to take their relationship a step farther Cloud ended up pushing him away and running for the other room. Why couldn't he acknowledge his feelings? Why?
Let me go, Cloud. Let me go. Aeris's voice drifted through his troubled thoughts, immediately making him go rigid. He listened to her speak, her words washing over him like a cooling rain.
I know it's hard, but you don't need to hang onto me anymore. Let me go. Much as you don't want to admit it, you need him, and he needs you. Her voice paused, and Zack's broke in, warm and cheerful, Everybody needs someone to love Cloud. Even you. And then they was gone, leaving him with eyes stinging with unshed tears. Well, so be it then. If that was what Aeris and Zack wanted, then he was more than willing to follow orders.
(Following orders. Humph. Story of my life.) He sat up and wiped his eyes with the back of his arm.
The rest of the day went uneventfully. Cloud stuck a couple of bagels in the toaster and the smell of melting butter drew Kadaj out of his bedroom to eat. He was silent throughout breakfast, stealing surreptitious glances at the blonde when he thought he wasn't looking.
The teen escaped back to his room then, leaving Cloud bored and alone. He puttered around the house watering plants for awhile and then settled in one of the kitchen chairs with his feet up and read an old paperback, the radio tuned to a station he liked. Kadaj reappeared briefly to ask what time dinner would be.
"I ordered pizza. Pepperoni okay?" Cloud smiled.
"Oh...sure." The silver-haired teen looked confused that Cloud was in such a good mood. It made the blonde smile even wider. Kadaj sat down and folded his hands primly on the table. "So...where are we anyway?"
"My safe house." Cloud seemed unwilling to release anymore information, so Kadaj neglected to ask any further questions.
The pizza arrived, and Cloud got the door. He slid the box onto the table, and nodded when the younger man glanced at him with a quirked eyebrow, then began to eat, again like a starving cat. Cloud decided to wait a few minutes before eating and went back to his book, ankles crossed under his chair.
"Hey, are you going to eat some of this? You ordered it after all." Kadaj grinned at him with a slice of pizza clenched between his teeth. Cloud smirked lazily and leaned forward to take a bite from the teen's slice, their lips lightly brushing each other. He then noticed a piece of pepperoni and cheese stuck to Kadaj's fingers. Cloud grabbed his wrist and licked the thin fingers clean, then sat back with his book again, chewing languidly.
Kadaj sat stunned for a minute. The blonde was obviously dangling himself in front of the teen, and it surprised him. Then, with a wicked grin he whipped the paperback from Cloud's hands and tossed it behind his back.
Cloud's head snapped up and he was about to protest when Kadaj slid onto his lap in one single fluid movement. The snakelike jade orbs glittered lustily at him for a few seconds, and then when no move was made to push him away the soft peach lips were pressed to his, silver strands of hair tickling his cheeks.
All of Cloud's senses were screaming and panicking, begging him to throw Kadaj off and escape somewhere safe, somewhere quiet where he didn't have to think about this. Then Kadaj reached up and wove his fingers through Cloud's hair, tilting the blonde's head to the side by force. He felt a slick tongue skim over the seam of his lips, demanding to be let inside.
All coherent thoughts ceased at that moment as the blonde swordsman growled and curled his fingers around the teen's slim waist. Kadaj's tongue met his halfway, curling and twining with his amid the movements of their lips and teeth. Kadaj pressed his lips harder against Cloud's, making them mesh together, and sucked the older man's tongue into his mouth. Cloud couldn't help but moan into Kadaj's mouth as the teenager proceeded to worship the ex-Soldier's tongue in ways he could have never imagined, fingers scraping lightly against his scalp.
The battle between them was long and drawn-out, with Kadaj submitting willingly enough in the end, pulling away from the blonde breathlessly. He glared into the blue obsidian eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in a half-smile. He leaned in again and nipped at Cloud's neck, his hands tracing a burning trail across the blonde's collarbone. A small breathy sigh escaped Cloud's lips as he gripped the silver-haired teen's hips possessively and pulled him a little closer and spread his feet a little wider on the floor so that the teen's warm weight was spread evenly over his thighs.
A few seconds later Kadaj emitted a startled yip and looked down at Cloud's chest.
"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, surprised to find his voice low and husky.
"Your...pocket...is vibrating." The younger man cocked his head to one side, highly amused.
"Oh, my PHS!" He had to wriggle a little to get his hand out from underneath Kadaj's thigh, his other arm still wrapped snugly around the slim waist as if he expected the teen to escape.
"Hello?"
"Oh, Cloud! I didn't expect you to answer! Where are you?" It was Tifa, and she sounded more than a little concerned.
"I'm at the safe house." Kadaj scowled. Again with the secrecy. As petty revenge he hooked two fingers into the waistband of Cloud's pants and resumed lapping at his throat.
"Are you—"
"I'm fine." The blonde interrupted sharply, trying to shake the teen off.
"We could come get you if you want, we're—"
Kadaj bit hard into the soft skin of Cloud's neck. The blonde turned his moan into a loud "Owch!" and put his free hand over the silver-haired teen's mouth. "Don't do that while I'm on the phone."
"Do what?"
"Not you Tifa. I have somebody with me..." Kadaj kissed the palm of Cloud's hand gently, pleased that it had been 'Not while I'm on the phone,'instead of 'Not ever.'
"Oh. Who is it?"
"Uh..." Cloud glared at the teen, who had begun to turn his kisses into playful licks.
"C'mon, you can tell me. I mean, it's not like you have Sephiroth with you, right?" She laughed.
"Well, not exactly..." Cloud squirmed a bit underneath Kadaj.
"..." Silence on the other end of the line. "Who is it Cloud?"
"Um..." The blonde glanced down at Kadaj. The teen had frozen with just the tip of his tongue touched to Cloud's thumb. "I kind of...rescued...Kadaj..."
"..." More silence.
"Tifa?"
"You did what?!" She shouted.
"I saved Kadaj from dying and now he's here with me at the safe-house. Understand?" Cloud explained through gritted teeth. Kadaj, perhaps wisely, refrained from teasing the blonde further.
Click!
Cloud took the phone from his ear and stared at it. He stuck it back in his pocket and sat back, thunderstruck. "She hung up on me. She's never done that before."
The silver-haired teen rubbed his nose against the blonde's neck in an effort to distract him. "Kiss me again...?"
Cloud rose from the chair with a roar, pushing the younger man so that his back rested squarely on the table, and attacked his lips hungrily. Kadaj squeaked at the feel of another body pressed to his own, and raked his fingernails down the blonde's back.
The blonde pushed his tongue into Kadaj's mouth, fought against the younger man when he joined in the heated dance. Cloud slipped a hand under the teen's shirt and stroked the smooth, milky skin, feeling the muscles tremble and jump at his every touch.
Kadaj swept his tongue confidently along the underside of Cloud's lip, the blonde's distinctive scent surrounding him.
Then the silver head suddenly snapped back rather painfully against the table, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open in a sharp hiss as the older man's wonderful fingers brushed against a particularly sensitive spot of skin on his lower back.
Cloud couldn't help but smirk impishly as he dug his fingernails into the soft skin, causing the younger man to moan pitifully and arch against him. (I want to hear you scream, Kadaj.)
The next moment the silver-haired young man was silent and limp in his arms.
"Kadaj?" Cloud slid off of the slim body and drew him up into a standing position. "Are you okay?"
The younger man nodded, and yawned. "I guess I'm just tired. Almost dying takes a lot out of you, you know." He paused and then whispered seductively, "But I'm just as unwilling to end this little encounter as you are."
Cloud almost purred at the words, and hugged Kadaj close to his chest. "Think you can walk?"
"No." Kadaj wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck. "Not a chance."
The swordsman chuckled and scooped the teen up gently. He seemed to be nodding off already. He carried the teen down the hall and was about to shoulder the door to the teen's room open when Kadaj squirmed in his grasp. "I want to sleep in your bed."
Cloud sighed and feigned annoyance. When he got to his own room he tossed Kadaj onto the bed without turning on the light. The silver-haired young man squeaked as he bounced slightly on the mattress, and then again when Cloud pounced on him.
"You didn't eat again." Kadaj mumbled into his chest.
"Don't care." The blonde replied, pleased when the younger man pressed closer to him. He heard Kadaj's breathing slow, felt him relax, asleep. Cloud pulled the sheets up and brushed the sleek platinum strands from the teen's pretty face. (Aeris was right.) He thought, feeling sleep steal over him. (We do need each other.)
- - - - -
Notes: I bet I know what you're thinking.
In the immortal words of Klakie, "Why the hell did you stop it there!? IT WAS HOT!!!" XD
But don't worry my loverlies, there is still plenty of room for that before the end.
Betcha can't wait, am I right?
Much 3,
-Dove