Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or anything in it.
A/N: I'm thinking of re-titling this thing 'A Lemon in Every Chapter'.
At dinner in the mess hall most of the 'organics' sat together, having arrived somewhat late. The exception was Thom, another of Anthony and Cloud's friends, who came over to join them. The whole table was silent, in fact the whole dining room was silent, including the tables full of the injection candidates. Cloud looked around curiously. Most of the other cadets were not touching their food.
"You nauseous?" Cloud asked Thom. Thom nodded his head.
"I feel like I'm going to toss my cookies right onto my plate, and after I do that, my dinner will look no worse to me than it does right now. But they told us we had to eat, choke it down somehow."
"Really?" Cloud asked, shoving a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. He wondered why they couldn't wait until morning to eat; it seemed just sadistic.
"But that's not the worst of it, really." Thom made a face, even though he was no longer looking at his food. "They strap you down to the table in the lab with all these bright lights in your face. Really bright, like bright right through your eyelids bright. And they needto strap you down because the shit hurts so bad you thrash around pulling at the straps even though you don't want to. And," Thom's eyes wandered the surface of the table as if there were no safe place for them to light. "I screamed. Everyone did- the pain. Four or five at a time in the room, the whole place screaming and gritting our teeth, trying not to. I mean, we're supposed to be Soldiers, right? And that bastard Hojo walking around from table to table, asking questions you can't answer, and smiling. I felt like an animal."
Thom's face tensed in bitter, defeated anger, his eyes distant. The rest guys at Cloud's table looked at each other, then around the mess. Similar faces everywhere. Thom was at least better balanced than most; he had a naturally sunny disposition. Tall, lean, good-looking, and unlike Cloud he was popular and always seemed lucky. Until now.
"Well," he said, raking fingers through his short brown hair, "What I really wanted to ask was how it went for you guys, not start a bitch session of my own." He smiled weakly.
Cloud and the others shrugged. It was hard to know what to say after that. But Thom persisted.
"Did it... hurt?" Thom prodded.
Anthony considered. "Yeah, some, but it wasn't too bad. Jeremy, you got Niven, how was that?"
Jeremy winced a little. "Well, it hurt like a bitch, but I tell you what, it was over quick. The nap was good, that bed was way better than my cot."
"You guys got naps? In real beds?" Thom's mouth hung open.
They all nodded.
"Yeah, you have to, uh, lay on your stomach for an hour afterwards, so I just slept," Anthony said. "But Cloud here, he pulled the General. Frankly I'm surprised you're still alive. I'd have died of fright."
"The General donated?" Thom seemed to have completely forgotten about his nausea. "How... how was that?"
Cloud shrugged. "It was fine. He was..." Cloud stopped. Nice really wasn't the word you should apply to the General, even if he had been. "Kind."
Now every eye was on him, rapt in attention. Usually when Cloud talked he didn't command such an audience. It seemed he was supposed to say more.
"He gave me a backrub."
And there was a sudden outbreak of envious disbelief and laughter. Apparently the others had not gotten backrubs. Cloud smiled. His whole table was in decent spirits now, even Thom, who had even managed to take a couple bites of his food. Thom shook his head.
"Man, and to think everyone was feeling sorry for you guys. I wish I didn't respond to the injections."
"Right," Anthony said mockingly.
"Serious. Hell I'd have found some way to sneak in there if I'd known the General was donating." he winked at Cloud. "Excuse me, I really have to go find somewhere to throw up. See you organics around." He got up and bussed his mostly uneaten dinner through the tray return window.
"Did he just say what I thought he said?" Anthony asked.
"I think he did," Cloud said, smiling. Well that would make Thom the first of their class to actually declare themselves in that camp.
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The next day was incredible for Cloud. He woke up early, feeling like he could do anything in the world. His limbs felt loose, ready, and strong. Anthony, who had the bunk next to him, was likewise awake, grinning ear to ear. The rest of the barracks were strangely sedentary, even after the general alarm went off. Only about a dozen cadets showed any semblance of liveliness. Eleven, Cloud realized. The eleven organics all got up easily, the rest remained nothing but moaning lumps.
"Hey, Thom, get up," Cloud jostled the inert form in the bunk on the other side of him. "Basher's going to be here any second!"
The lump stirred and groaned.
"Can't... move... worse than last night..." Thom's voice croaked.
Cloud and Anthony grabbed on to Thom and moved him themselves. He groused at the treatment, but after a few seconds of manual manipulation at least his arms and legs were functional.
"CADETS!" Basher's voice boomed from the doorway, "Get your pansy asses out of those racks and out to morning drill! What do you think this is, Resort de ShinRa? MOVE!"
The big sergeant moved through the aisles, dumping cadets out of bed, rolling them with his big booted feet, smacking the ones who couldn't dodge out of the way upside the head. And smiling all the while. Nobody enjoyed watching suffering with as much gusto as Basher. Cloud nimbly ducked one of his blows while he and Anthony hauled Thom towards the door, trying to get him dressed at the same time.
"Don't you organics look so pleased!" Basher yelled over the pathetic field of cadets dotted by a few lively members. "At least these guys don't have to get injected again until next week. You eleven have to get stabbed again tomorrow!" Basher grinned ever wider.
Several cadets snickered at this, but it was a half hearted effort through the pain. Somebody wretched.
"Next week?" Thom said helplessly. "I don't think I'll be recovered by then."
Morning drill held more of the same, cadets barely able to stand let alone run the drills. But after an hour or two the stiffness or whatever it was seemed to work its way out, and by breakfast most cadets were feeling somewhat better.
"Hey, Anthony," Cloud took his normal spot at their table for breakfast. Thom had joined them and Cloud was happy to see he was at least eating something. "How do the rest of the days go, do we always get the same Soldier?"
Anthony shook his head. "Not necessarily, not unless you're sponsored."
"Sponsored?" Cloud had no idea how Anthony managed to be so well informed.
"Yeah, if one particular Soldier agrees to stick with you through the whole process. Often they help with other things too, classes or training. Sometimes they, uh, donate in excess of the schedule. It can be a big advantage, bring your mako level up quicker. Trent really liked his guy, Wallace? I guess they joked and laughed through the whole thing. He's going to go over to First Class offices today and ask him to sponsor."
"That's pretty gutsy," Cloud said. Cadets had a hell of a time getting in to see a First Class.
"Yeah, well, if he doesn't do it today he may wind up with someone else tomorrow. Often not even the same donors show up."
Cloud stared at his food. He knew what he wanted, but cadets were not even admitted to see the General let alone ask him impertinent questions. But he had an idea. He had an ace in the hole that most cadets didn't.
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"You OK, Seph?" Zack Fair eyed his commander suspiciously. The man had already chewed out four Second Classes in front of the whole unit, called up the Turk commander and told him without pulling any punches exactly what he thought of their last co-operation, and glared two secretaries into tears. All in all a pretty normal morning, but somehow the General lacked some of his usual venom.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You seem a little... distracted."
Sephiroth considered. They were sequestered in his office, away from the perpetually obtrusive eyes and ears of the company. Here he could talk. Everywhere else he snarled, barked, and glared. It was sometimes tiring but it kept the annoying idiots at bay.
"Maybe," he admitted. "Nelson got injured in practice yesterday and left me one short in the donor pool. So I went down there. I can't seem to get this cadet off my mind."
"Oh, oh, you picked one you liked, didn't you? You should pick one you don't care for, keep it simple."
Sephiroth laughed a little. "Zackary, you never volunteer, what would you know?"
"Yeah, well I don't care for any of them. That would make the task a little difficult, don't you think?" Then he frowned. "Oh, I get your point. Anyway, so you like this kid?"
Sephiroth sighed. It would have been impossible for him not to pick Cloud - the bright blond hair and perfectly round, baby-blue eyes drifted into his mind's eye. Something about the details of Cloud's face had aligned to match some primal rhythm inside him, along with the electric zing of attraction and chemistry. But that initial attraction, powerful though it was, wasn't what was keeping him distracted. Cloud's voice, his small laugh, joking about needing to cough- those shared moments of potential and possibility were what kept his mind buzzing.
"He is the most beautiful cadet I've ever seen in my life. And he talked to me, even though I made him nervous. Loves sword work."
Zack was silent for awhile, a rarity for him.
"What?" Sephiroth finally asked.
"This cadet wouldn't happen to have big blue eyes and blond hair that sticks out at every weird angle, would he?"
Sephiroth took a gander at Zack's own unruly head but decided to keep that comment to himself. "Yes, Cloud Strife, do you know him?"
"Yeah, small town kid." Zack sighed. "I've kind of taken to looking out for him. But he didn't tell me he was in the organic group." He looked up at Sephiroth, his violet eyes concerned. "You were easy on him, right?"
"Of course. I've donated before, and I've read the training material three times."
Zack looked at his commander but kept silent. As far as Zack knew the organic donation training manual was basic stuff- keep the encounter professional, speak softly, kindly. Sephiroth could follow those instructions easily enough. But there was also something about watching the recipient carefully, to see if they were getting freaked out and if so try to calm them down. Sephiroth was piss-poor at that kind of thing. He read social nuances poorly and his natural tendency was to attack weakness when he saw it. He was probably the only Soldier who would have had to read the thing three times, and who knew how much good it did.
Sephiroth leaned back in his chair, a small smile on his face and eyes not really focused somewhere on the ceiling. Zack Fair gazed at the ceiling as well, unsure what worried him more, what Sephiroth's idea of "easy on him" might be, or his obvious fixation on the unwitting Cloud Strife.
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"Hey, Zack?" Cloud caught the First Class in the hallway between drills and meetings. He knew Zack's schedule well enough to circumvent the normal frustrating channels.
"What's up, Spike?" Zack asked easily. But damn if that wasn't a coincidence, he and Seph had just discussed the kid this morning. Suddenly Zack frowned, concerned about what this might be about. "Is everything OK, Cloud?"
"Yeah, fine, but um, do you have a minute?"
"For you, yeah." Zack guided Cloud quickly into his office and shut the door. He looked at Cloud questioningly.
"You know I'm in the organic group, right?"
Zack nodded. He hadn't known until this morning, but no sense in letting the kid feel he was getting overlooked just because Zack had gotten a bit busy.
"I... I got General Sephiroth for the first round." A flush crept up Cloud's neck and into his cheeks.
"I know that too." Zack was starting to tense. Damn, Seph had said he had been careful with the boy. Was Cloud traumatized, needing a shoulder?
"I wanted to ask him to sponsor me."
Zack's eyebrows shot up. Well, this was good. Or maybe not. He knew Sephiroth was interested in Cloud, but that might have no bearing on his decisions. The General was kind of hard to predict.
"I don't know if he sponsors at all Cloud. I don't remember him ever doing it. I know he was just filling in, and I don't think he was planning on donating for the whole course..."
"Oh. It's OK, Zack, I understand."
"But hey, I'll tell him, if you want, that is."
Cloud's face brightened. "Would you?" Cloud asked, a spark of hope lighting his eyes.
The second round of donations started much the same as the first. The cadets were seated on the same bench, although the tension in the room was considerably less. At least they all knew what to expect. Cloud was annoyed by a recurrent butterfly feeling in his stomach. Anticipation. Every time he let his mind relax it speculated on whether Sephiroth would come, if he had accepted Cloud's request, before he could remind himself that probably he would do neither. Zack had said after all that he didn't think it likely.
The Soldiers arrived, and this time the cadets stood at attention without prompting. Cloud recognized some faces, and some were new. But his heart dropped to his boots when he noticed the absence of the General. He reprimanded himself for building up so much hope despite his efforts. A particularly good natured looking Soldier walked right over to Trent and the two of them left, already laughing together. That must be Wallace, Cloud thought. He reminded him of Zack. Then a tall, solemn Soldier was motioning to Cloud. He knew this one, Niven. Rough. He let out a slow breath and followed. But before he got to the door the whole room froze. Every Soldier had stopped in their tracks and stood at attention, their eyes locked on the door where the General had just come through. He looked about twice his normal size with the armor on his leather coat, eyes were blazing in anger, a gash across his cheek, and that six foot long sword was trailing behind him. He surveyed the room and walked over to where Niven was standing with Cloud slightly behind. The two Soldiers leaned their heads close, Sephiroth talking and Niven nodding. Then Niven left them and selected another cadet, and Sephiroth motioned to Cloud.
"Come," he said curtly, and strode out of the room.
Cloud had to practically trot to keep up. Sephiroth did not speak during the entire trip and was clearly not open to being spoken to. Cloud had been hoping and wishing to see him again, but not like this. This version of Sephiroth terrified him, and at the moment there was nothing he wanted less than to go in that room with him.
But they eventually reached their destination and Sephiroth again opened the door and motioned for Cloud to precede him. Cloud slunk in, trying to appear inoffensive as possible.
"Look at me, cadet," Sephiroth said, as soon as they were both inside.
Cloud did so, and held the General's blazing eyes as best he could. But a few more moments and he was going to start to shake. Or maybe throw up. Or worse. But then Sephiroth closed his eyes and Cloud was quite suddenly off the hook. He observed Sephiroth's face without fear or self consciousness, and saw something relax and melt under the skin. When the General opened his green eyes again they were as Cloud remembered them two days ago. Kind.
"I'm sorry Cloud. I have a rotten temperament, but it is controllable. It's just that I've had a particularly challenging day killing some escaped specimens from the lab. I had no idea Hojo was keeping anything that... big down there. Not that I mind killing things," Sephiroth loosed Masamune and leaned it in a corner. "Normally I like it. It's just that..." he shook his head.
"You hate the lab," Cloud volunteered.
Sephiroth smiled at the boy. Yes, that was the problem. Anything having to do with the lab set him off. Cloud smiled back at him. It was small, but it was a smile. The boy had the most beautiful smile.
Sephiroth touched the wound on his cheek and made a face.
"I'm going to take a quick shower." He peeled off his coat and disappeared into the bathroom, only half closing the door.
Cloud was left to contemplate the last five minutes. He'd gone from wanting to see Sephiroth, to accepting it wasn't happening, to seeing the man but being terrified of him, to this cautious optimism. And now the object of his fascination was in the shower. He imagined the water cascading over his skin, running over all that hair, and was left with the hardening flesh between his legs. But it wasn't the faint twinge this time, but a full blown stiffy. There was no way the General was not going to notice that.
"Shit," Cloud said softly to himself. Think of something not sexy, not sexy, not sexy he forced his mind to contemplate Basher's armpit hair. Right, that was the ticket. More armpit hair, and... Athlete's foot.
"You alright, Cloud?"
Cloud's head jerked up, the image through the bathroom door of Sephiroth in a towel bursting his mental imagery which had expanded to toenail fungus and last Sunday's meat special at the mess hall. He nodded, leaving Sephiroth looking confused.
Sephiroth pushed the door back to half closed. He wanted to keep an eye on the boy, but he was clearly making him nervous. That last look on his face, what had that been? Disgust? He was sure he hadn't misunderstood Zack; Cloud wanted him to sponsor. And he had been considering it because Zack was damn sure the kid was not a climber, that Cloud didn't want him for the influence he might garner but rather because he just liked him in some way. But that didn't mean the kid liked this. That was his own desires imposing themselves, and he reprimanded himself for not keeping those things separate.
Sephiroth toweled out the last bit of his hair. At least he had gotten the monster slime out of it.
The General emerged, clothed again, a state that Cloud found strange. Because he would need to get partially undone in a minute. Of course they had both been clothed last time. Cloud shook the thoughts away. The whole arrangement was just so... strange.
"Ready?" Sephiroth asked, his tone as gentle as it had been two days ago, but his face looked a little tired, even sad.
Cloud grabbed his pillow and lay on the table as before. But as soon as Sephiroth touched his back his erection blazed to life and his whole body stiffened a bit.
"You're more tense than the last time, Cadet, is anything wrong?"
"No sir, nothing particular."
"How did you feel yesterday?" Sephiroth began rubbing up and down Clouds rigid back muscles, forcing them to relax despite their owner.
"Good. Great, actually. The injection candidates, they didn't do so well."
"It will get better as they go. I bet Basher had a field day with it," Sephiroth chuckled, and Cloud shot him a look.
"Sorry," Sephiroth said, "Their pain is only temporary, and I find the mental image of Basher harassing an entire squad of mako hungover cadets rather amusing."
"Well you're both just sadistic bastards," Cloud said, letting his face sink back into the pillow.
Sephiroth actually laughed at this, and Cloud laughed too. The scene had been funny, Basher yelling, cadets not responding, cadets falling completely over at odd times. He hadn't allowed himself to appreciate it out of guilt for not being among them.
Sephiroth smiled. He did like this boy, regardless of how Cloud's feelings ran for him. Really only Zack dared, or bothered, to talk to him like that. He placed his hands on Cloud's hips, and Cloud realized with alarm that he'd forgotten to unbutton. As the General nudged him upward and moved to undo Cloud's fly Cloud jerked, knowing that his now full blown erection would be noticed.
Sephiroth sighed and pulled away. Both the boy's fists were knotted into the pillow.
"Maybe this isn't such a good day for you Cloud." Sephiroth said, moving to retrieve his coat.
With alarm Cloud realized the General was going to leave. He wasn't going to get sponsored, he wasn't going to his donation for the day, and General Sephiroth was going to walk out of here thinking he was just a weak kid who couldn't control his nerves.
"Sir, please!" Cloud said.
Sephiroth stopped, his back to Cloud.
"I have to have this. They'll check levels at the end of the week, and if I don't keep my donation schedule..."
Silence. Sephiroth stood motionless. Cloud, also motionless, stared at his back.
"Very well." The General spun with frightening speed and this time did press him down by the neck to the table. "We'll make this quick."
Cloud barely registered the word "quick" and what that might mean before he felt his hips being lifted and his pants undone. Then the Sephiroth froze. He had discovered Cloud's waning but still potent erection. Cloud shoved his face into the pillow, sure that the General found him improper, offensive, maybe even ridiculous.
Sephiroth smiled. Now he understood. He ran his thumb over the rounded lump and felt it strain against the fabric. It hadn't been anxiety. It was arousal.
"Cloud, is this why you've been nervous?"
The blonde head nodded, face never leaving the pillow.
Sephiroth held back a laugh he knew would only frustrate the boy. But he couldn't help smiling, Cloud was just so damn... cute. And Sephiroth didn't even like cute. At least he didn't think he did. Such a strange array of emotions this one was bringing out in him.
"Cloud, this just makes things easier is all."
Cloud's head lifted slightly out of the pillow.
"I'm going to slide you back a bit," Sephiroth pulled Cloud's hips to make space, then lowered his fatigues. Cloud jerked several times as he did this, but Sephiroth ignored this round of jerking. It was just the boy's hyper sensitive condition; he'd stop that twitching soon enough.
"I want you to put your attention here," Sephiroth said as he grasped Cloud in one already lubricated palm and gave him a hard squeeze.
Cloud gasped, finally bringing his face out of the pillow. Sephiroth gave him a few slow strokes while caressing his opening from behind. His gaze wandered over the Cloud's backside. He didn't have a scrap of hair on or between his cheeks and he never would, given his extreme state of blondeness and mako's tendency to stunt body hair. And he was opening up oh so nicely to the pressure of his long, lubricated fingers.
Cloud gasped again as Sephiroth entered him, that point of pleasure immediately acute this time. His breathing picked up and Sephiroth could feel the heat rising off Cloud's body. Then he began to buck a little, giving Sephiroth a good indication of what the boy's rhythm was. The bucking was joined by desperate vocalizations, and Sephiroth reached under Cloud and pushed the front of his T-shirt up to his chest, letting his hand rove over the budding torso muscles just under Clouds skin, imagining how in another year how nicely he would be filling out.
Sephiroth would have liked to linger, draw out this coupling, but he reminded himself this was only Cloud's second time, best not to overdo. He continued the motion that seemed to elicit the most noise out of Cloud and then with a loud groan Cloud was spilling himself over Sephiroth's fingers and onto the edge of the padded table. Sephiroth finished with a few thrusts of his own, restraining himself still, remembering to be gentle, but unable to hold back a small groan himself as he climaxed.
Sephiroth laid his chest atop Cloud's back, longer this time and with his lips brushing Cloud's ear, still breathing heavily. Cloud found himself resenting the fabric of their shirts that kept him from feeling skin against skin. Presently Sephiroth recovered and pulled himself up and withdrew. Cloud stood and used one of the towels to clean some spillage on his abdomen, understanding now why the General had pushed his shirt up. At least his shirt was still clean. It was more than he could say for the table and part of the floor.
"Housekeeping will get it," Sephiroth said, guiding Cloud to the bed. "On your stomach."
"Oh, right," Cloud said lazily and lay down while Sephiroth cleaned up. His head was spinning, with the most amazing sexual release he had ever felt. The intensity of his own practiced self pleasure didn't even come close, and didn't bring this giddy spinning feeling afterwards. He knew he was supposed to be thinking about something, but his mind had gone kind of mushy and numb.
The bed shifted as Sephiroth sat his weight onto the edge. The boy nuzzled one peach blushed cheek into the pillow, a movement that momentarily captivated the General. His pulse quickened, and despite his recent release his sex responded as well. He shook his head slightly, surprised at himself.
"Zack Fair tells me you're looking for a sponsor," he finally said.
"No sir."
Sephiroth knit his eyebrows.
"Just you. I just wanted you to sponsor." Cloud heard the words come out of his mouth but couldn't quite believe it. Gaia, was he really being this forward? He blamed his mushy brain for malfunctioning.
Cloud watched Sephiroth's face closely, his lips parted briefly before returning together in a thin smile.
"I'd be happy to, Cloud."
Cloud knew he was grinning stupidly but he didn't care. And as Sephiroth made to leave his brain malfunctioned on him again.
"Sir? Will you stay?"
Sephiroth thought for a moment before responding. "I could use a nap," he finally answered. "Slide over, cadet."
Sephiroth doused the main light but left the bathroom light on.
"I can't have it pitch black if I sleep in the middle of the day," he explained as he lay down on his back next to Cloud. "I get disoriented when I wake up and kill things that don't necessarily need killing."
Cloud laid still in the semi-dark for the next hour, next to his hero. Possibly his lover, he wasn't quite clear on that point. He was excited, confused, grateful, and being the only other living thing within kill range of the sleeping General, found it impossible to sleep.
A/N: I liked the comparison between the cadets who underwent injection to those who used organic method, in terms of who was really violated here. Violation has more to do with the intent of the violator than the details of the act.