Disclaimer : Kingdom hearts and its characters do not belong to me.
xx—xx—xx
Cursed are everywhere. That specie is probably the most common one. Cursed are not different from humans, but still not humans. People are generally born as Cursed and sometimes, the curse disappears after a while. Others stay that way until death. My aunt Tifa, for example, is one of them. Her hair turns white whenever she gets angry, and then turns back to black once she calms down. As for Roxas, I have yet to see it for myself, but I was told he grows a beard when he sneezes. And that it definitely doesn't look good on him.
Chapter 05 : A kindness that hurts
Sora didn't expect to wake up in a place he didn't know. Startled, he suddenly sat up, immediately regretting it when he started to feel dizzy. He brought a hand to his temple and massaged it delicately – which didn't make the dizziness go, by the way – and looked around.
Oh right, he had been in the infirmary, and he had started to feel really sleepy after healing those guys. Alright, that was one thing to not worry about any more. Now, if only he could understand why Squall's hand was down Cloud's pants, it would make things a lot better. Or not.
Both men were staring at him, obviously not having expected him to wake up so suddenly. Cloud was squirming and trying to let the brunet know that it might be a good idea to stop, while said brunet was back to throwing daggers at Sora.
Some things never change.
"You better not tell anyone about this," Squall said, his glare darkening with each word he spoke.
Cloud started and pushed him away. "Don't you threaten him, you idiot!" He said, his voice nearly hysterical. "Please, Sora, this is not what you think it is!"
At that, the teen frowned. "Was he abusing you?"
"Wha-No, of course not!" The blond immediately replied, shaking his head vigorously. Squall chose to place his hands on the nurse's shoulders, glare still in place. "Actually, it's quite complicated."
"How? Are you guys not going out? Or did you lie to me about that?" Sora asked, looking hurt. He thought he was close enough to Cloud to not be lied to.
"We are not," the blond stated firmly.
"But he was… Touching you," the teen insisted, making a face.
"We're friends with benefits, okay?" The Werewolf eventually intervened, letting go of Cloud's shoulders to take a step towards Sora. "And as I said, you better not go and tell about it, or I'll see to it that my pack makes your life a living Hell."
Sora wasn't going to doubt that.
"What he's actually trying to say," Cloud said, annoyed by Squall's sudden bitterness – and maybe because they had been interrupted, "is that we don't want this to be known by everyone. I guess you do understand that, right?"
The teen could only nod in agreement, his gaze not leaving the Werewolf's.
"Good. I suggest you go now. Thank you for your help," the Chocobo told Sora, a bright smile on his face.
Sora shot to his feet, grabbed his stuff – his friends probably brought his bag when he was still out cold – and left. He heaved a long sigh, relieved, only to jump slightly at the sound of something, or rather someone falling heavily on what he assumed was the desk.
Alright, it would be better to leave right now. He ran out of the school and back home – he had no idea why he kept running all the way to Tifa's but he did anyway – and heaved a long sigh once he closed the front door.
"Oh, right on time, kid," Tifa said, walking towards Sora, putting her coat on. "I'll be at a friend's for some time. Roxas went for a walk with Axel, so you'll be alone for awhile. Or maybe you want to come with me?" She asked hurriedly, checking the time on her wristwatch.
"I'll be fine by myself. I won't burn down the house, promise," Sora told her with what he hoped was a bright smile.
Tifa seemed to buy it and patted him on the head before leaving.
So that left Sora alone in a big house with enough time to ponder anything his mind could bother him with, and that was just what he didn't want.
"Maybe I should have gone with Tifa after all," the brunet thought, wondering if it was already too late to grab his coat and find his aunt.
Sora took a good look around him and noticed traces on the furniture. Dust. The floor wasn't too clean either. Nothing too bad, though. He figured Tifa didn't have enough time to clean her house because of her work, and Roxas was either too busy with school or too lazy to help with the cleaning.
Alright, he knew what to do now.
x-x-x
One of the strangest event greeted Roxas and Axel when they got back to the blond's house. Firstly, they couldn't remember the last time the floor had shone so much. Secondly, salsa music could be heard coming from the living room, as well as shuffling. The teens exchanged wary looks, thinking that maybe Tifa had lost it. Slowly, they walked towards the living room and peered inside, only to gawk at what they saw.
There stood, or rather danced Sora as he washed the floor, his hips swaying from right to left to the beat of the music. Axel looked at Roxas with a big grin on his face. The blond was having a hard time suppressing his laughter. Sora kept dancing, sometimes attempting to sing but failing miserably as he didn't get whatever it was that was said. It took him about two minutes to realize he wasn't alone any more, and when he did, he dropped his broom and stared at the two with wide eyes.
"Since when have you gotten here?" The brunet asked quickly, his cheeks turning a bright red.
"Long enough to see you shake your –" Axel began, only to be interrupted when Roxas' elbow collided with his side.
The redhead rubbed his abused side and pouted at the younger. "What the hell happened to you? Why did you clean the house?"
"Is it so bad?" Sora asked, raising a single eyebrow.
"No, I mean : why do that out of all the things you could do?"
Sora shrugged. "I was bored."
"I watch TV when I'm bored," the Chocobo made known.
Roxas rolled his eyes but did not comment this. "What can we do to help?"
"What do you mean "we"?!" Axel exclaimed.
"I don't want him to do all the chores by himself. Besides, aunty will be really happy when she sees that the house is all clean," the Werewolf made known.
"Let's see," Sora began, putting a hand under his chin as he thought. "The corridor's done, the bathroom is squeaky clean too. The counters in the kitchen need to be cleaned. Take your shoes off though, the floor has just been washed. After that, I was planning to remove the dust and vacuum the bedrooms," the brunet explained.
"Got it. Axel, go fetch a duster and the vacuum. I'll be in the kitchen," Roxas ordered as he left the living room to let Sora finish what he was doing.
The brunet resumed his washing of the floor but not with as much enthusiasm as before the two boys entered. A few hours later, Tifa came back and whistled approvingly when she found no dirty spot in her house. She found the teens in the living room, watching TV. Roxas and Axel looked exhausted while Sora was watching a cooking program with great attention.
"I see you two had a hard time," Tifa stated as she approached the small group.
Axel waved at her as a greeting. "Sora did most of it," Roxas made known, not wanting to get all the praise when he didn't do that much. His conscience wouldn't allow that.
"Really?" The raven-haired woman asked, surprised. "Well, thanks for that. I was thinking about doing the cleaning myself when I had time," she said with an apologetic smile.
"It's okay. I used to do the chores often at home. Think of it as my way of repaying you for everything you're doing to help me," Sora told his aunt with a sincere smile that could almost bring tears to the woman's eyes. But she wasn't the emotional woman type so she just patted him on the head.
"How about we all go eat outside?" She offered with a bright smile. "Everything's so clean I don't want to risk making any stains."
"You'll have to, eventually," Sora told her with a sceptical expression. His mother usually found it amusing to stain the kitchen counters right after he had cleaned them.
"Come on, are you that unhappy to go to a restaurant?" Tifa teased him, punching his shoulder with so much strength that he fell off the couch. "Oh my god, are you alright?!" She exclaimed, kneeling next to him to help him up.
"Seriously aunty, you're a Chocobo in disguise, aren't you?" Roxas asked with a chuckle, also helping Sora up.
"That'll surely leave a nasty bruise," the brunet complained lightly, rubbing his abused shoulder. "Alright, let's go. I don't want to risk having something else broken."
x-x-x
The next day at school felt… Strange. There was no other word to describe it. The second Sora woke up, he knew the day wasn't going to be like any other one. Nothing different happened, yet he couldn't help but think something had changed somewhere. Axel and Demyx were as cheerful as usual, Zexion was gloomy and Marluxia flirty but something wasn't like it should be. A quick glance at Roxas didn't give him a reply, nor did Riku's bored expression.
But maybe Squall's pointed stare from the other side of the corridor was the explanation.
"Geez, is he really expecting me to reveal their secret?" Sora thought, taking a few notebooks from his locker.
He then realized all of his friends where with him, unlike the other days. It was usually just one of them watching after him. Maybe that was why he was getting that uneasy feeling…
"Sora, you ready yet? Classes are going to start soon," Zexion asked in his cool voice.
As if to prove his point, the first bell rang throughout the school, signalling to the students that it was indeed time to head to class. The small group parted into two and went their separate ways. Zexion glanced at the brunet, somehow feeling his anxiousness.
"Is something the matter?" He asked, looking in front of him to look as if he wasn't caring all that much.
"Just a bad feeling is all," the brunet replied with a quick shrug of his shoulders. "It can't be anything too serious. I'm usually wrong about this kind of things."
"Alright." Was all the slate-haired boy replied.
Sora pouted. Really, Zexion wasn't making it easy. The brunet was trying hard to be kind and friendly, but Zexion didn't seem to welcome his efforts. Maybe the fact that he didn't get along with Riku played a huge part in this. But all the others were also Riku's friends and that didn't stop them from getting along with the brunet just fine.
As usual, Zexion sat behind Sora, while Roxas sat to his right. Kairi was on his left and joking with him until their homeroom teacher entered. The students exchanged curious looks, seeing as they weren't supposed to have Homeroom, but when they spotted another man, they somehow understood what was going on.
"Be quiet," their teacher told them when a few students were still whispering among themselves. "Mr. Miura is suffering from a serious illness and won't be able to teach for a while. This is Mr. Wise. He'll be teaching you World History until he comes back from the hospital."
"He'll really come back, right?" Olette asked, sincerely worried for their teacher. Mr. Miura was really kind and explained well. No one in their class disliked him, and all were worried about his condition.
"Do not worry. His life is not in danger. Mr. Wise," the man greeted before he left the classroom.
The man who introduced himself as Ansem Wise had long, silver hair and a tanned skin. His amber, cold eyes studied every face while he told the teens a bit about himself, and what he expected of the class.
Sora and Roxas watched him with a deep frown before looking at each other. When they realized they were having the same reaction, they knew they were sharing the same opinion about the man.
"What aura do you see when you look at him?" Roxas asked Kairi.
The Mermaid raised an eyebrow. "Well, the aura of a Cursed. Don't you?"
Roxas merely nodded before looking at the silver-haired man. Something was definitely wrong with him, and he told as much when the bell rang and they had to go to another classroom.
"Roxas, did you feel the same thing as I did?" Sora asked cautiously when they were finally out of Ansem's hearing range.
"I'd say I felt nothing but that wouldn't be entirely true. I have no idea about what specie he belongs to," the blond twin explained, frowning. "I get you felt the same thing."
"Yeah, I did. But Kairi said he's a Cursed. How come?" He wondered aloud. "Maybe she got it wrong?"
"Species can't get another's aura wrong. You should know it," the blond told Sora.
But why were they the only ones who realized Ansem's strange aura? That did not make any sense. Or maybe the man was a Mermaid and sending strange vibes that made people see his aura differently? But what for?
"Only women can be Mermaids," Cloud said after Sora explained the situation to the nurse. "I met him earlier and I also felt he's a Cursed. You guys are thinking too much about this."
"But I can still tell others' auras well. It's only him," the brunet insisted.
"Just forget it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy," the blond man stated as he headed for his office, Squall waiting by the door.
Sora raised a single eyebrow at that. "Yeah, right. Just say he's waiting for you to do whatever you guys do when you're alone."
"Is that jealousy that I hear?" Cloud asked, turning his head towards the teen. To said teen's utter shock, the blond seemed dead serious.
"Why would I be?" Sora asked slowly, unconsciously following Cloud. "Besides, I was just trying to be sarcastic."
"It doesn't suit you all that well, then," the nurse told him, stopping beside Squall, who glanced at the two. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
Sora made a face at that. "Yeah, pretty sure."
"Then, how about you go to class now?" Cloud asked kindly, smiling from ear to ear.
He was so going to get it and enjoy it. Sora felt his stomach constrict, and for a moment, he thought he was going to puke right there.
"Maybe I'll stop by the bathroom first," the teen muttered as he walked away, hearing the door shut behind him.
If there was something other than people liking Vampires that he didn't understand, it was why some guys enjoyed going out in a romantic way with other guys. He had nothing against it – one thing he didn't have in common with his parents, for once – but it was so difficult to picture. And he certainly didn't want to know how things went past the kissing stage. That simple thought made Sora shiver, and he hurried up to his next class, as Cloud so kindly suggested.
The afternoon lessons went by rather quickly, and he was soon free to go home. He warned Roxas that he wouldn't be back for a while for he wanted to go to the mall. The only time he went there, he hadn't enjoyed it what with his parents being there and all. And quite frankly, he just wanted to be left alone for some time. It was suffocating to always have someone behind you watching your every move, so the brunet figured some alone time would do him good. And it actually did. There was no one to talk to, he didn't buy anything –which wasn't to some of the stores owners' liking – but he still enjoyed himself. The sun was beginning to set when he eventually exited the mall and he checked his phone to make sure he hadn't missed any calls. He noticed that his twin had sent him a text to ask if he was doing fine, and also when he was planning to go back home. Sora quickly texted him back to let him know he was on his way, and then pocketed the small device in his pants pocket.
Really, even though the day had begun so strangely, all in all, it had been a good day, Sora thought.
The brunet hummed a random tune as he walked, his hands in his coat's pockets. The streets became less and less crowded until he was in the one he and his two friends usually took to get to Tifa's house. The brunet blinked a few times when he spotted someone on the floor, and he quickly ran to the stranger's side.
"Are you alright?" The brunet asked, quickly searching for any injuries the person might have. He noticed a small cut on the stranger's arm and quickly put a hand on it to heal it, only to realize it was a Human he was trying to heal. It was useless.
"Just leave me alone, you-" A masculine voice ordered as the young man turned his head to glare at Sora, who realized he was trying to help none other than Seifer. The scarred blond frowned at him. "I thought I told you to not mess with me."
"You're hurt, idiot. Let me help you to at least get up," Sora insisted, making to grab Seifer's arm. He was roughly pushed away by the beanie boy, who shot up to his feet by himself.
"Me? An Idiot?" The blond asked, cracking his knuckles as he walked towards Sora. "I've had a bad day, and you waltz right here, tempting me to just smash that face of yours. Now, who's the idiot?"
The brunet got up and glared at the blond. Why did he have to be so nice to everyone? Heck, Seifer spent most of his time picking on him, and he still tried to help him! At least, that would be a good lesson. Do not help your enemies, or they'll take advantage of the situation and kick your ass, like Seifer was probably going to do. Sora squeezed his eyes shut when he saw the blond lift his fist, before it connected with his jaw, making it crack quite loudly. Sora fell on his butt, but was quickly lifted up when Seifer grabbed him by the collar of his coat, ready to throw his next punch. The brunet brought his arms to his face to protect it from the next blow.
But it never came.
Instead, he felt Seifer's grip on his coat loosen all of a sudden, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Riku try to burn the blond before him with just one look. It would have worked if it were possible. The brunet felt someone's hand on his arm, and when he looked to the side, he noticed it was Zexion's.
"What do you want? You jealous because you didn't get any?" Seifer sneered, ready to attack the silver-haired boy.
Riku's glare only hardened more. "I'm seriously not in the mood for this. I suggest you stop now, and save your sorry ass before it gets kicked so hard you won't sit for a whole month."
Seifer watched Riku, and then Zexion who was more than ready to help if needed. The scarred boy snorted before he turned and walked away, kicking a stone that happened to be on the pavement.
"Are you alright?" Zexion asked Sora, helping him to stand up.
"Yeah. Thanks," Sora whispered, lifting a hand to touch his sore jaw. He winced a bit when the soft gesture hurt him. He was glad that it wouldn't last long. "Thanks to you too," he mumbled, not quite meeting Riku's glare now directed at him.
"You dumbass! Don't go and help assholes like him! Or were you just waiting for him to hit you? What are you, a masochist?" The Vampire exclaimed, clearly angry.
Sora frowned at him. "What's your problem now? I just thanked you, you should be glad I did!"
"Don't listen to him. It's just not the right time," Zexion told the brunet with a light shake of his head. Sora threw him a confused look. "As the others would say, it's that time of the month."
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Sora asked, touching his jaw once more. He heaved a sigh when it didn't hurt any more.
"Unlike what you probably think, Vampires do not spend all of their time drinking blood. There is only a week when they absolutely need it. Riku here tends to be a bit grumpy during that week."
"You mean more than usual?" Sora commented, which earned him another dark look from the silver-haired boy. "At least, that made Seifer go. I'm glad."
"But he's right about one thing, though. Why did you help that guy, Sora? That was really… Really," Zexion began, searching for the right word.
"Stupid, I know. I should really stop being too kind," the brunet said with a quick shrug. "I have to go now. Roxas will worry if I'm home too late. Thanks again for your help."
"Do you need us to go with you? Just in case he didn't go too far and is waiting for you," Zexion offered.
"That's some way to reassure him," Riku snorted beside his friend.
"Like you're one to talk. I'm sure you don't want him going home by himself either," Zexion retorted, folding his arms across his chest.
Riku looked to the side but didn't reply, silently admitting that the slate-haired boy was right. Now, that surprised the brunet. Soon after, they began to walk Sora to his aunt's house, talking about what they did after school. It turned out that the two were also in the mall and exited it shortly after the brunet. He really was lucky they happened to be around there, or he'd probably have suffered from more than one bruise after his encounter with Seifer.
"I really don't want you to experience the same thing as I did," Zexion told the brunet when they eventually began to talk about the small incident once more.
"What happened to you?" Sora asked, lifting his curious gaze up to look at Zexion. The latter frowned and refused to talk. Beside him, Riku sighed heavily.
"There was some jerk messing with him from time to time. One day, the prick got serious and attacked Zexion with a bunch of his friends. I got there a bit too late, though. I managed to take care of them by myself, but Zexion's eye was already damaged to the point it never saw again," the Vampire explained for his friend, who didn't look too glad that his past was revealed.
"That's horrible," Sora muttered, looking at the ground.
"They were all from my previous school. All people you would have loved," Zexion told the brunet, sarcasm dripping from his voice, though there was a hint of seriousness in it. "Riku told me later they were all Humans."
Now, Sora was feeling really bad. When he first got into his new high school, he hadn't hidden the fact that he didn't hold the species close to his heart. He even assumed that since Zexion was a Human, they'd get along really well. He understood now why the quiet teen was always so distant towards him. And also why he was always glaring at everyone passing him. Zexion was probably really distrustful of people after what happened to him.
With a quick nod to himself, Sora took a few steps forward, stood before Zexion and turned around to look at him, determined.
"Know that whenever you need something, you can ask me. If you need to talk, pass time or if you're short of money, I'll do my best to help you. You can count on me," the brunet told Zexion, his eyes reflecting how sincere he was.
For that, Zexion was grateful, and he gave one of his rare smiles. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
Hearing that, Sora grinned and took back his place next to the teen, glad he could make him smile. What he didn't see was that Riku had just the same expression on his face.
x-x-x
From that day on, things took an unexpected turn. In fact, there were two changes. Zexion was friendlier with Sora, which was a bit weird but it would feel normal in a mater of a few days. The other matter, though, would take longer to adapt to.
"Would you stop staring at me like that? It's disturbing," Sora muttered, his eyes going from his plate to Riku's face.
Even his friends didn't understand how it was possible for the Vampire to go from insulting the brunet constantly to looking at him like he was a precious jewel. It made Sora feel embarrassed, but the others found it extremely funny. Maybe a bit too much actually. It had happened soon after the Seifer incident and since then, the quarrelling came only from Sora's side. Riku usually ignored whatever it was the brunet said and just kept staring at him dumbly – from Sora's point of view.
"Seriously, Riku, what bug bit you lately? It's unbelievable how much you've changed," Roxas muttered, now feeling as awkward as his twin. Maybe he was beginning to feel what Sora was feeling, like other twins? Or was it the atmosphere that Riku created without really meaning to?
"Only idiots never change," the silver-haired teen replied, eventually grabbing his fork and eating his meal, a raw steak with a few French fries. It was still the week and he couldn't go a day without tasting a bit of blood. He couldn't wait for the day he'd finally be able to eat normally again, like everyone else. It was really annoying having everyone look at his meal with disgusted expressions.
"Well, then, I liked you better when you were still an idiot," Sora replied, stabbing a French fry with more strength than necessary.
"Oh, so you liked me?" Riku teased, grinning when the brunet almost choked on his French fry. "Why, I feel so special."
"Asshole," Sora croaked, his eyes watering as he tried not to cough.
"Now, you shouldn't say such foul words during lunch," Demyx reprimanded Sora, but Demyx being Demyx, it wasn't really threatening.
"Dem's right. Besides, Sora, you were complaining about how Riku was mean to you, and now that he's finally acting almost like a human being around you, you're still complaining. I don't get you, man," Axel told the brunet.
Sora put a hand on his neck after he realised how that particular spot seemed to catch Riku's eyes. "He's acting as if I'm just some piece of meat. Just look at his eyes!" He exclaimed, suddenly fearing for his health.
His friends turned their heads towards Riku and, indeed, the Vampire was staring quite hungrily at the brunet's neck. Marluxia covered the silver-haired teen's eyes while Roxas told Sora to hurry up, and finish his meal.
"It'll be over after the week ends, you'll see," Axel tried to reassure Sora, his smile not really convincing.
Monday came and Sora let a long sigh pass his lips when he realized that what Axel had told him was right. But the Vampire was still staring at him quite often.
"I really don't like this. At least, when he's being a jerk, I know how to react. But this…"
"Sora!" A girl called him in the corridor as he was making his way to the infirmary. The brunet turned back and saw a girl from his class run towards him.
"Err, Olette, right?" He asked.
The brunette nodded. "Yep. Could you please take a look at my elbow? It's hurting a lot," she asked, smiling sheepishly.
"Sure. Let's go to the nurse's office first," Sora told her.
He led the way and made small talk all the while. It seemed like Olette was as busy as ever. Even though Halloween had long since passed, people from their school were still tricking and treating – but they were more tricking than anything else, really. A few girls ended up without a single hair on their heads, others had their faces covered with spots and a few of the bulkier guys' voices suddenly sounded very girly.
"It's more than one girl can take," Olette had said, and Sora wasn't going to discuss that. He had thought he was the only one busy with the other teenagers' problems, but it looked like Olette also had her fair share of issues to take care of.
Cloud took a quick look at the girl's elbow and claimed it was just sprained. Olette thanked the both of them, and she left the room with a small bounce in her steps. Sora waved at her and closed the door. Turning around, he saw Cloud walking very slowly toward his desk. Sitting on his chair took him even more time.
"What's wrong?" Sora asked, sitting in the chair that was placed next to the desk and that was solely his. The blond man raised a single eyebrow as he watched his assistant, who waited for an answer.
"Can't you tell?" Cloud asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement, a fact that disturbed Sora greatly since he thought the man was in pain. Why would it be funny?
"Well, not really. Is it you leg?" The brunet asked slowly, watching the nurse's expression carefully, searching for something that could give the answer away.
Cloud snickered. "Not really. I had some rough activity yesterday, and I'm paying for it now. Too much," the Chocobo muttered, rubbing the small of his back to ease the pain. Of course, that did nothing.
"Do you want me to take a look?"
To the blond's dismay, Sora was still clueless. How naïve could the kid be?
"I'm not sure you'd fancy taking a look at my ass," Cloud told him frankly, amused when he saw the teen's expression go from shocked to embarrassed. And then more embarrassed. The nurse cocked his head to the side lightly when it appeared that the teenager was thinking very hard.
"Maybe I could do something without you having to take off your pants?" Sora offered slowly, his gaze still not meeting the man's, for he was not comfortable with the idea. But knowing Cloud hurt disturbed him even more.
"I don't think this is a good idea. The pain will go away soon anyway, so don't bother. I'll be fine by tomorrow, or the day after at most."
"Well I don't want you to wait for so long. Get up, I'll heal you," Sora commanded quite firmly, rendering Cloud speechless, too surprised to say anything.
The nurse got up, and winced when he was too quick to stand. The teen hurried by his side and helped him to the bed.
"You really don't have to," Cloud insisted as he turned on his side to lie on his stomach. "Besides, if someone sees us, we're gonna be in a lot of trouble, I hope you know that," the blond muttered, sending a worried glance to the younger.
Sora patted him on the shoulder before he lifted the base of the man's white coat, and he let it lie at the small of his back. The brunet stared for a long while at the man's behind covered by tight, black pants, debating whether he should touch it or let his hands hover over it to heal it. The younger tried the latter option, only to mutter under his breath when it obviously did nothing.
"Excuse me, it'll only take a moment," Sora mumbled as he tentatively put his hands on Cloud's bottom.
He felt the blond's butt cheeks contract momentarily under his touch, and for a second, Sora couldn't help but marvel at their firmness. Cloud didn't look like it, but he was actually well-built. When Cloud cleared his throat quite loudly, Sora jumped slightly, and the teen realized then that he had been unconsciously kneading the man's butt.
Okay, that wasn't supposed to go like this.
"D-Do you feel better?" The brunet stuttered. He could feel his whole face burn from shame, from his neck to the tip of his ears.
"Not really," Cloud said truthfully, shrugging as much as his position allowed him to. "Even though that massage was enjoyable, I'm still hurting."
"I didn't do it on purpose," Sora defended himself, letting his hands fall by his sides. He scratched the back of his head, his eyes still glued to Cloud's body.
He really had no other choice, did he?
"Just imagine it's yourself. Yeah, I'm just touching my own butt," Sora thought, nodding to himself, only to widen his eyes when he realised how wrong that sounded.
What sane guy massaged their butt cheeks?!
Sora frowned and decided to take action before his determination wavered.
"Unzip it," he told the nurse.
"What?!" Cloud exclaimed, shocked. "I'd rather suffer like this a whole week than let you touch me there!"
"Well, I'd rather do it than watch you limp around!" Sora protested, his hand disappearing under Cloud's abdomen to undo the button and zipper of the man's pants himself.
"I wasn't limping!" Cloud protested, his outraged gaze staring at Sora. "Stop that! What if someone sees us!"
"Stop yelling, and then no one will come and see what we're doing," the brunet retorted.
He nodded when he was finally done with the blond's pants, closed his eyes tightly, and he slipped his hands inside the articles of clothing.
He was so never going to do that again.
"Seriously, next time, don't do it on a school night. This is the first and last time I'm doing this," Sora muttered, willing himself to heal Cloud faster and be done with the whole thing.
"God, that feels so great," Cloud sighed, feeling the pain go away slowly.
"Lucky you," Sora thought bitterly.
There was a long period of silence in the office while Sora kept using his ability, but since the brunet wasn't one to stay quiet for too long, he eventually broke it.
"Did Squall do that to you?" The brunet asked slowly, turning his head to look at Cloud. The blond man nodded in agreement. "Why don't you guys just go out since you're obviously past being friends?"
The nurse sighed and turned his head so that his cheek rested on the pillow. "It's no that simple. Squall is with Rinoa right now. I'm nothing but a mistress to him."
Now, that caught Sora's attention. "Are they married?"
"No. Doesn't plan to marry her."
"Why does he stay with her, then?" Sora asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
"I guess he still likes her," the nurse offered with a shrug. "I'm not sure."
"He likes her, but he has… He does it with you?" The brunet asked timidly, not feeling audacious enough to say the word. It wasn't such a big deal for the other teenagers, but he was still what one would call a prude. Not having had a relationship before probably didn't help.
Cloud said nothing, but his eyes betrayed his thoughts. Sora could tell the situation upset the man, and even though they had kind of a teacher and student relationship, the brunet felt close enough to Cloud that the matter also saddened him.
"What about you? You like him, right? Don't you think it's unfair that he's using you the way he does?" The teen insisted.
"You can't understand, Sora," Cloud mumbled, closing his eyes. As embarrassing as it was, having Sora heal him felt really nice.
"You're right. I can't understand why you'd gladly suffer like that. I can't understand why you'd stay with someone who obviously doesn't like you. You deserve better than that," the teen retorted, puffing his cheeks out. There, now he was angry. "By the way, how come he hurt you like that? Chocobos are strong but don't take pain well?"
At that, Cloud chuckled lightly. "We may have a lot of strength, but the blows hurt us as much as they hurt people in general."
Sora simply nodded before he slipped his hand out of Cloud's boxers, and then pants. "'tis done," he let the man know, walking towards the sink in the corner of the room. The brunet washed his hands while Cloud sat up and zipped his pants up.
Sora grabbed a towel hanging next to the sink and dried his hands, still thinking about what the man had said. He really didn't get why Cloud would still allow Squall to touch him like that. Wasn't that treating Cloud like a mere object? Someone as kind as him deserved so much better.
The brunet jumped lightly when he felt arms wrap around his middle and bring him close to a firm chest.
"Thanks for your concern," Cloud whispered in his ear, sincerity evident in his tone of voice. Sora wasn't sure but it sounded like there was also a bit of sadness in it. The Chocobo's seriousness faltered almost instantly, though, as the brunet was spun around, and a hand came to rest under his chin to make him look up in the blond's blue eyes.
"I'm deeply indebted to you. What can I do to thank you properly?"
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Sora felt his cheek burn under the intense gaze, even if it was obviously just a joke meant to embarrass him.
And damn was it working well.
"Well, you could stop having a wild time before coming to school," the brunet replied, his eyes looking everywhere but in Cloud's.
The nurse released him and gave him one of his brightest smiles. "Speaking about that, I do hope you're ready to take responsibility."
"What for?" The brunet asked, confused.
"It's nice of you to tell me to go to someone else, but do you even have someone in mind that I could turn to? Or maybe you were indirectly offering to take Squall's place? Well, that would take care of my limping problem since I wouldn't be bottom any more," Cloud thought quickly, nodding to himself.
Sora paled. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but whatever it means, I'm so not agreeing to it."
The door to the office opened then, and revealed none other than Squall. The Werewolf looked at Cloud and nodded in acknowledgment, and then at Sora, but to the scarred man's utter surprise, the teen didn't even dignify him with a glance as he gathered his belongings and exited the room. Sora was too pissed at Squall right now to even look at him. The brunet felt it wasn't fair to act like that, because Squall would most likely question Cloud about the teen's behaviour, but he couldn't help it.
The teen's steps slowed down until he stopped completely, and he just stood in the middle of the empty corridor. Even though Sora was mad at Squall, he still hoped the man would come to his senses and break it off with his girlfriend. Then, Cloud wouldn't have to be the "mistress" any more, as he put it.
"Lost your puppy, kiddo?"
Sora recognized the familiar voice as Axel's and watched as the redhead walked towards him, an eyebrow raised.
"You don't look good," Axel added once he stood before the brunet.
"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine," Sora replied. He smiled at the Chocobo, who seemed to believe him, and returned his smile.
Axel looked up and pulled the teen towards him. "Fatty's going to land on you if you stay there," the redhead said.
Sora looked behind him and lifted his gaze up, only to see a big spider landing on the floor, crawling away hurriedly, sensing it wouldn't be safe for long on the floor. As if confirming the animal's thoughts, the shrill bell rang and announced the end of another period. Students spilled out of the classrooms, chatting loudly as they hurried out of the school. Axel put an arm around Sora's shoulders and led him to his locker.
"I swear those things love you," the Chocobo teased, an amused expression plastered on his face. "You sure you'll be alright?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me," the brunet replied.
"Roxas should be there shortly. He wants us to wait for him in front of his locker."
And so they waited. By the time Roxas joined them, Sora was feeling better and didn't think about Cloud's problem any more. His twin, though, didn't look like he was in his higher spirits, a fact that bugged Axel. If Roxas was down, Axel was too, and vice versa. It was just like what Sora felt with Cloud, except they weren't as close as the two teens were.
"I'm just walking you guys home today. My folks need me tonight," the Chocobo told the twins, his hands in his jacket's pockets to protect them from the cold weather. "I hope you won't miss me too much."
"I think we'll be fine," Sora teased, his reply earning him a noogie. "Hey, you'll make my hair messy!"
"No one will see the difference," Axel continued as they neared a stop light.
"Like you're one to talk," the brunet countered, pushing the redhead away to get his personal space back. "Isn't that right, Rox-"
Sora turned his head and saw his twin stepping on the road, not even noticing that their stop light was red.
"Roxas, watch out!" Axel shouted.
There was the honk of a car as its wheels screeched in an attempt to stop, but the vehicle still hit the blond, sending him falling to the ground.
xx—xx—xx
You have a good example on how to make a serious scene ridiculous, or how to make a ridiculous scene serious; you pick. Well I know I had a lot of fun writing that part with Cloud. XD (must be awkward to be in this situation, though) Alright, I guess that's the last chapter I post before school starts so I'll say this now : expect this story to not be updated as regularly as it was until now. School will start soon, and my job will start even sooner. But rest assured, I'm not dropping this story, so be patient, please. =) The next chapter will be posted eventually. I'll try my hardest to not make you wait too long. 3 Thanks a bunch to everyone who left reviews and/or added this story to their favourites. I'm so grateful! \o/