Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or anything in it.
A/N: I forgot to earlier thank reviewer ZR388 who dubbed this a "smutfic". Yes, that's so what it is. I love it. Smutfic."Again? Cloud, you've seen him three times this week already." Thom and Cloud were at their bunks, packing their rucksacks. Today was Ambush Day- once a month cadets were assigned in groups of two or three to an undisclosed Soldier for an undisclosed activity. As such they couldn't prepare and nobody was sure exactly what to pack. Pack too much and risk being worn out by the weight under some heart attack inducing death run. Pack too little and risk not having a piece of gear on a survival trip. Except for Cloud, as Thom was learning, Cloud already knew where he was headed, or at least who he would be with. Cloud was slated for the General. By himself.
"He helps me with my navigation," Cloud said.
"Yeah, right, because he's a philanthropist."
Cloud considered his friend. Thom had an uncomfortable interest in his relationship with Sephiroth and he wasn't sure quite how to handle it.
"You're just jealous," Cloud said.
"Shit yeah." Thom sat on the edge of his bunk. "What's it like, Cloud? Being with him? I mean having a guy like him?"
Cloud fidgeted under Thom's intense look. But his friend's voice was so sincere, pleading almost, that he found he couldn't avoid answering altogether.
"It's bliss," Cloud said simply. "I think about him during the day and I feel happy, I remember the way his skin feels, or the way he smells. I hear him dressing down a Soldier in the hallway and wonder who he really is..." Cloud shook his head. "It's wonderful and confusing and exciting. And it's nice to be held, to be taken care of a little bit."
Thom let his back hit his mattress and stared at the ceiling.
"I'm lonely," he said.
Cloud stared. Thom, lonely? He had more friends than he had time to spend on them, and a large, interested family who constantly called and sent him care packages. Instructors loved him. Girls always approached him on their weekly night off, if they went into town. But if he understood Thom correctly he wasn't looking for a girl.
Cloud nudged Thom with his boot.
"Why don't you find somebody? Not like there's a shortage of guys around here."
Thom smiled. "Men. I like the older guys, but I don't get to interact with them much, not socially."
Cloud felt for him. He knew what it was like to feel lonely. Or at least he used to.
Then Thom popped up and smiled. "Except on Ambush day! A brand new Soldier every time, and I only have to share him with one or two other guys. Gotta go!" He made a swipe for Cloud's hair which the blonde avoided, grabbed his bag, and left.
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Cloud stood outside of the entrance to the motor pool, the location his ambush card had specified. That's all the little cards passed out at breakfast ever said, just a location and a time. You showed up there, one or two or your fellow cadets arrived at the same point and time, and a Soldier scooped you up and took you to do whatever god awful thing he had planned. The point was to acclimatize the cadet to the unexpected, to teach him to think on his feet. But Cloud often wondered if it wasn't more of a game to keep Soldiers entertained. For the cadet, it was nerve wracking, tiring, and often painful.
Cloud knew he was with Sephiroth today, and that he would be alone, but he had no idea what they would be doing. Well, he hoped he had some idea, but certainly there would also be some sort of exercise as well. But he wasn't anxious about it. There was nothing he loved more than to put himself, literally and figuratively, in the General's competent hands.
"Good morning, cadet." Sephiroth came out of the motor pool office. "Give me your pack, please."
Cloud handed it over and Sephiroth disappeared into the building with it. When he returned it was bulging and quite a bit heavier. The General's pack by comparison was looking pretty slim.
"You're carrying some extra weight today, cadet." Sephiroth smiled a little at him and Cloud saw his hand twitch in his restrained desire to touch. Maybe his face, or hair, or the back of Cloud's neck, a spot the to which the older man seemed perpetually attracted. Cloud smiled as he shouldered the pack. The General was up to something.
They walked over to a large truck, the walls and ceiling of the cargo area made from a frame with canvas stretched over it. Metal benches lined the interior on both sides. A mixed group of Soldiers and regular army were tossing their duffel bags into the open back and jumping in. Sephiroth leapt lightly up and Cloud, a little less gracefully, followed. The interior immediately transformed as men jumped to their feet, dropping their bags, staring straight ahead and probably trying to recall exactly what foolish/offensive/obscene thing they had just said before noticing the General was in their midst. One duffel tumbled slowly and rather comically out of the back and hit the pavement with a soft plop.
"At ease," Sephiroth said. Cloud caught a hint of amusement in his voice that the others probably did not. Cadets weren't the only ones who got ambushed.
A First class grabbed the errant duffel and leapt into the truck.
"General!" he greeted Sephiroth with a polite smile. Dimples deeply marked both cheeks under his over-bright blue green eyes.
Cloud studied this new arrival. All of the First Classes treated Sephiroth with this same relaxed amiability, whereas the rest of the forces were nervous or even terrified. Cloud wondered if being First Class made them that way or if it was a requirement for promotion. There were only about a dozen First Classes, the cream of the armed forces. Cloud knew the four who were stationed regularly at Midgar by sight, and some of the ones from outlying areas. But this one was unfamiliar.
"Gavin," Sephiroth said with a nod.
Good grief, Cloud thought, Colonel Gavin McIntyre, commander in the Junon area, one of the more important posts in the ShinRa army.
"Are we taking you somewhere today, sir?" The colonel's eyes flicked to their packs.
"I believe this is on your way," Sephiroth handed the other man a slip of paper.
Gavin read it and nodded. He looked at Cloud.
"I see you have a pack mule with you. Must be Ambush day, today," he said, and smiled again.
Cloud couldn't help but smile back. A lock of reddish blond hair caught the breeze and flopped onto the colonel's forehead. Maybe good looking was another requirement for First Class.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Cloud Strife, sir."
"Where's your partner? Shouldn't there be two or three of you?"
Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, and was unhappy to find he was being frowned at slightly.
"Seems I have only the one," Sephiroth said.
"Yikes, sorry kid!" Gavin laughed. "Well it happens. I think the nerves alone from Ambush Day send some of them to the infirmary." He winked at Cloud and Cloud flushed, pretending he couldn't feel the waves of irritation coming off Sephiroth.
"We have everyone?" Gavin barked to the crowd in general. As he only heard 'yes, sirs' he banged on the window on the back of the truck's cab and motioned to the driver to start. The truck lurched forward and they all managed to get seated on a bench with their gear stowed under them. Gavin took a spot next to the General that was conspicuously empty and a bulky regular army guy sat on the other side of Cloud. Every man on the truck was bigger and older than him, and Cloud felt both small and conspicuous at the same time. He leaned subconsciously into Sephiroth, and felt the light reassuring touch of fingers against his side, hidden by Sephiroth's bicep as he folded his arms. The General was engaged in a conversation with his colonel, and the rest of the group was eerily silent. Cloud looked around at the men. Most of them were watching Sephiroth, some overtly, others whenever they felt they could get away with a good stare.
Cloud watched Midgar go by through the open end of the canvas. It took them a good hour to clear the city and get on to a less crowded highway. They were heading southeast and the terrain was becoming hillier. Climbing, Cloud realized as he popped his ears with a yawn. Heading towards the small mountain range that flanked Midgar to the south. The rest of the crowd had finally relaxed, some sleeping, some talking quietly amongst themselves. Cloud's butt was already sore from the hard metal seat and he wondered if these guys would ride all the way to Junon this way. He hoped he wouldn't be going all the way to Junon this way.
Cloud shifted in his seat to change the pressure pattern on his butt cheeks, and Sephiroth gave him a quick glance before going back to his conversation. Cloud wiggled again, and noticed he had attracted the attention of two Third Classes across from him. The one with amber eyes that borderlined on orange was staring at him. Cloud held the man's gaze, attempting to put a cold stoniness into his face the way Sephiroth did, resisting the urge to curl up into Sephiroth's side. Then orange eyes leaned close to his buddy and whispered something in the other Soldier's ear.
The scene that followed happened so fast that Cloud could only sort it out later. He never felt Sephiroth move, rather his warm bodily presence was just suddenly absent from his side. There was a blur of motion in front of him, and then orange eyes was gone. Sephiroth had apparently thrown the man out the back of the moving truck. And then sat back down.
"Shit! Halt!" Gavin whacked the window to the cab, and then he followed out the back with a tremendous jump, rolling as he hit the pavement and then trotting over to his downed man. When the truck stopped Sephiroth casually stood up, hopped out of the back, and strode towards the other two. Or more like glided, Cloud thought; he was an ethereal sight of silver and black leather moving on the side of the road, twenty pairs of eyes riveted to his back. Slowly some of the attention worked its way back to Cloud. Orange eyes's buddy glared at him darkly.
"Man overboard." The drawling, almost amused voice came from the front of their group, from the lone Second Class who looked like he was just waking up. He reached up behind his head and slid the glass open to the cab where the drivers were looking back as confused as everyone else.
"Back it up. And don't hit the General or you'll be one sorry son of a bitch for what little is left of your life." The Second Class, a dark, lanky fellow, walked to the back of the truck and hopped out when it stopped near the scene. He didn't approach though, he just stood there.
Cloud watched while the General and colonel McIntyre seemed to have a discussion while standing right over the motionless Soldier, who lay on his back. Cloud wondered if he was dead. Gavin had his head bowed and was shaking it from side to side in what was clearly an apologetic posture to whatever the General was saying to him. Then Sephiroth looked down and appeared to address orange eyes. His left foot was forward and... up. It looked like he had it resting on the man's shoulder. Or his neck. Something shined in Sephiroth's hand and he knelt down, and after a few moments the injured man sat up. He and Gavin abandoned him there, the colonel motioning to the lanky Second Class who helped orange eyes up and then back onto the truck.
Once moving again the two senior offices sat down and resumed their conversation as if nothing had happened. Orange eyes didn't look up once, and nobody else talked.
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Cloud and Sephiroth got out at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. They were foot of the mountain range, and Cloud felt a pang of homesickness like he'd rarely felt since leaving Nibelheim. When he lived in his small mountain town he never noticed the air, or the greenness, or the quiet. All he wanted from that place was to get out. Away from the boredom and small minded cruelty of the townspeople. Away from the stigma of an abandoned son of a faithless father. It took the pollution and noise and large scale violence of Midgar to make him develop any appreciation of the place.
"Seph?"
"Hmm?" The General was also looking off into the dense woods, also appreciating the change in scenery.
"What happened on the truck?"
Sephiroth looked at Cloud for a moment, and reached out to stroke one porcelain cheek.
"Cadets spend most of their time learning skills. And to some degree the command structure. But it isn't until Third Class that a Soldier really learns what's expected of him. What I expect. The first year is tough. Every Soldier belongs to me, and the respect and obedience of a Third Class must be absolute. Seconds are allowed more latitude, and I'm sure you've noticed First Classes treat me quite differently."
Cloud nodded.
"I trust my First Classes to not simply follow my orders but to question me where it might be needed. And also to bring the lower classes in line. A Soldier who behaves badly embarrasses his commander. That one is probably lucky I threw him out of the truck, maybe Gavin will take it a little easier on him for it. But I wouldn't care to be in his shoes tonight."
"What did he do?" Cloud asked.
"He made the mistake of thinking my ears are no better than his. That I wouldn't hear the disrespectful comment he whispered of me."
"I was kind of thinking the comment was of me."
Sephiroth smiled and kissed Cloud lightly. "You may have provided the impetus, but I assure you, I was the target."
Cloud felt a wave of fresh hostility for the man. Whatever sympathy he had for him evaporated in a protective, heated, flash. The idea that he maligned the General was infuriating; that he used Cloud to do it was intolerable. Cloud never wanted to be the source of discomfort for Sephiroth, and for this reason he kept his meetings with him as discreet as he could. Only Cloud's few friends knew, and they didn't talk, and as far as he knew only a few Soldiers knew as well. Zack said Soldiers also didn't talk loosely about the General, because a guy was like as not to get the crap beat out of him just for saying anything that might be construed as negative.
"You're not going to throw me out of a truck some day, are you?" Cloud asked, half teasing, half worried.
Sephiroth appeared to consider. "I'll have to have Zack do it."
Cloud smiled. He was pretty damn sure Zack Fair would not throw him out of a truck.
"Enough of this," Sephiroth said. "Here's a map of the area we are in, conveniently missing this road, and also a list of coordinate directions, much like you are given for Nav class field test. I want you to get us to the destination, I don't care how you do it or if you follow the specified route or not.
Cloud looked over the papers and grinned. Not just because he was confident he could do this, but because the distance was considerable. He was going to spend the entire day out in the woods with Sephiroth, just the two of them.
Cloud led and Sephiroth followed, their work together for the last week and a half paying off as Cloud cut his way through passes, avoided ravines, and even sniffed out a flat lunch spot off a ridge with a view.
"What did you select to pack for food?" Sephiroth asked.
"Shit bricks," Cloud said with a grimace, referring to the dense, protein packed energy bars that ShinRa supplied.
Sephiroth nodded. "Good choice, best bang for the weight and size. But I think you'll be sharing my lunch today." Sephiroth smiled and motioned for Cloud to hand over his pack.
"I've been carrying your lunch?" Cloud asked.
"Of course. Flatbread sandwiches, trail mix, and..." Sephiroth tossed Cloud an apple.
"Fresh fruit? I've been humping around fresh fruit?" Cloud wondered what else Sephiroth had loaded up his pack with but the older man wouldn't let him look. Cloud bit into the apple happily. Better in his stomach than on his back.
And it was absolutely gorgeous out here. A valley dipped below them in varied shades of green, a creek barely audible at its bottom. A hawk circled slowly overhead in a sky striped with wispy clouds. Cloud hadn't been in the mountains since he left home, all their field work had so far been in the plains to the north of Midgar. He chattered through lunch to Sephiroth about the mountains around Nibelheim, his childhood experienced there, his dreams, and the disappointments of his youth. When they finished eating Cloud realized that Sephiroth hadn't spoken much at all. He knew quite a lot by now about how the man operated and how he felt about things, but he knew precious little about the General's past.
"Where did you grow up, Seph?"
"Nowhere," Sephiroth answered, not looking at Cloud. "I was some kind of orphan adopted by ShinRa. I was raised in Hojo's laboratory. If you can call it being raised." Sephiroth gave a small laugh, but there was no humor in it. "I was poked and prodded, experimented on. Tortured, really. Made into the thing that I am."
Cloud shuddered. No wonder Sephiroth hated the labs.
"The first time I ever saw the outside," Sephiroth said, looking up at the sky, "I was about six. Hojo decided the artificial sunlight test lamps he had in the labs weren't adequate for his uses and wanted to start exposing my skin to the real sunlight. I forget the reason. What I do remember is being so terrified of the open sky that I screamed and screamed, and I grabbed onto Hojo's leg like an octopus. He peeled me off and knocked me to the ground, a look of disgust on his face. I laid there crying, the small rocks from the roof asphalt digging into my bared skin. That was the last time he ever touched me without me fighting back, and at six my mutated body was already pretty strong. So things got considerably more painful after that."
Sephiroth smiled, an odd mixture of resentment and wild eagerness on his face. He noticed Cloud's wide eyed stare and softened.
"I was fourteen before ShinRa decided they needed to make use of me. War was the first joy I ever knew. You wouldn't have liked me then, I wasn't very interesting." He smiled again, this time because he did find some humor in the memory. "If it didn't involve killing I didn't want to be bothered. But I had a number of good people who helped me. Some of my First Classes were with me in Wutai. Zack has been amazingly good for me. And I discovered something else as well." Sephiroth slid behind Cloud and wrapped his arms around him, pulling the cadet's weight onto his chest. "I wasn't abused sexually in the lab, not once. That whole area of expression was allowed to develop on its own, untouched and untainted by my other pains. And I had some good teachers."
"Who?" Cloud asked before he could stop himself.
Sephiroth didn't answer, and instead took to kissing Cloud's neck and earlobe.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?"
"Nope. It's not important anyway; death has separated us all."
This was said so matter of factly that Cloud allowed it to slip out of his mind. He wriggled happily under the persistent attention of Sephiroth's lips and pressed his back more firmly into the warm body behind him.
"You're leading this venture, Cloud. How much time do we get for lunch?"
Cloud would have desperately loved to give them an hour or so, but he knew better.
"None," he said. "We shouldn't risk not hitting the pickup point before nightfall."
"That is the correct answer," Sephiroth said, smiling and handing Cloud his pack.
The returned to their trek, Cloud again in the lead. They lost a little time as they opted to go around a small valley filled with fireweed. Neither of them could "feel" fireweed when picking out the course, and Sephiroth maintained it was of little importance, because if need be they would trudge through it. But neither wanted to be itching and burning for the next two days.
At less than an hour before sunset Cloud stopped. Right in the middle of a forest he stopped. This should have been the final destination, but here they were, smack dab in the middle of a bunch of trees. And they were out of time to boot. It was a painfully familiar feeling to Cloud.
"I'm sorry," he looked up at Sephiroth, crestfallen. "I really thought I had it."
Sephiroth smiled. "Take another twenty steps forward, cadet."
Cloud did so and found the forest opened up suddenly into a sizable glade. It was pretty, the creek he'd been hearing ran at its far end, but it was still the middle of nowhere. Sephiroth dropped his pack and stretched. Cloud followed suit.
"This is it," Sephiroth said.
Cloud looked around. Where was their pickup? They were still deep in the mountains; he'd been expecting a forest road and a vehicle. Maybe a helicopter was coming; the glade was plenty big for one.
"I come here often," Sephiroth said. "To get away from the noise and foul air of Midgar. To reduce my stress a little. Although I haven't come out here in a few weeks. Haven't needed to." He stroked Cloud's cheek. "Open up your pack; see what else I've put in there."
Cloud did as he was told and pulled the bulkiest of the unfamiliar items. It was a tent.
"We're staying?" he asked, a little alarmed but mostly excited.
"Yup. There's not a monster within twenty miles. I'm afraid I've cleaned them all out."
"You're not worried about me not being in my rack all night?"
"Nobody's in their rack tonight. It's overnight Ambush. Pitch that tent, please. I'm going to get some firewood."
When Sephiroth returned with an armload of wood Cloud had still not managed the tent. Cloud wasn't sure if he was just stupid or... well actually stupid felt like the only explanation. Sephiroth looked at him, confused.
"This is one of the standard two-man models, cadet."
"I cannot figure out where this pole goes." Cloud waved the offensive pole about. "I've never seen this model before."
Sephiroth chuckled and helped him pitch the tent. As they worked he had to admit to himself now that he paid attention that there was nothing intuitive about this tent's design. No wonder Cloud was baffled. Next he brought Cloud over to the firewood pile and already well used fire scar.
"Alright," he said, "Next we need fire."
"What method?"
"Your choice. I assume it won't be firespell since cadets typically have no materia."
"But I bet you have some." Cloud eyed Sephiroth's person, then his pack.
"Yes, but you'd have to fight me for it."
"We could wrestle."
Sephiroth smiled at the boy and Cloud could see lust flare up in his eyes. "We can wrestle later. But please don't tell me you didn't pack anything to make a fire."
"Flint and steel," Cloud said, and dug in his pack again. What he came out with was a bottle of red wine. And a cold wrapped bundle. It was cold because it had a frozen icepack in it. And steaks. Expensive ones. Cloud looked at Sephiroth, mouth hanging open.
"I guess we really do need that fire," he said.
Sephiroth smiled again.
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Hours later, stuffed with steak and sipping wine out of small plastic cups, the two men sat gazing at the sky, talking of the host trivialities that make each life unique, about the larger dreams and ambitions that give world its sparkle, and the events that give a man depth by punching deep wells of sorrow into his soul. Cloud relaxed into Sephiroth's embrace, his heart happy, knowing that when they finally abandoned this small paradise of mountain air and wood smoke and conversation the night would not be over for them. Not this night. This night stretched before them like none before had. They had the entire night.
"It's going to rain," Sephiroth said. "I think technically I'm supposed to leave you out in the rain, seeing as how you didn't pack your own tent."
Cloud elbowed him lightly. "I carried your tent."
"Hmm. Well I guess you can share, then."
A raindrop hit Cloud on the nose, and both men gathered themselves up and crawled through the small opening. As Cloud took his boots off he discovered he couldn't sit up at the foot of the tent. Only the end near the door allowed that, and he was constantly rubbing his elbows along the sides of the tent walls.
"Are you sure this is a two-man?" he asked.
"I'm sure. Tent, lightweight pack, nylon, two-man."
"Two affectionate men," Cloud said.
"Well we happen to be two affectionate men," Sephiroth grabbed Cloud and laid him alongside of him and with movements that reminded Cloud of a snake shedding it's skin inside a narrow tunnel Sephiroth helped him out of his clothing. He helped Sephiroth do the same until they were both lying with the length of their bodies pressed skin to skin. There was something exciting about not having anywhere to go that would allow him not to touch Sephiroth in some way. Outside the rain started in earnest, a loud steady thwopping noise onto the rainfly.
"Not much room in here to work," Cloud said.
"Let's do something new."
Cloud smiled, so far he had done at least one thing new every time he'd been with Sephiroth.
"We haven't spooned yet," Sephiroth said. "It's perfect for this tiny tent."
Cloud smiled. At least he had heard about this one. He rolled to put his back to Sephiroth, enjoying the feel of the man's broad, hard chest against him. Sephiroth kissed him on the back of the neck, causing goose bumps to run on his arms, and he felt the tip of Sephiroth's erection slide a little between his legs and rub along the ridge just in front of his anus. He smiled and rotated his head to get a kiss on the lips. Cloud's own erection was straining hard in the darkness as Sephiroth's hand caressed up and down the front of Cloud's body. Long fingers dipped into the coarse hair that encircled Clouds sex, gently cupped his tight and rounded testicles before finally gripping Cloud's stiff, throbbing member.
Cloud moaned and all the muscles in Sephiroth's torso tightened. How he loved hearing that boy moan, the sound of it caused sparks to fly around in his brain. He wanted to claim him right now, make him yell with desperate pleasure. He nipped Cloud's ear lightly just to hear the surprised gasp, reached over to his bag and retrieved a small bottle. The lubricant was as chilled from the cool mountain air and Cloud yelped a bit and laughed as Sephiroth's fingers pushed between his cheeks and rubbed the slick liquid across his opening. He gave a small testing push and inserted two of his fingers part way to make sure Cloud was relaxed. The he gently slipped his entire length inside. Cloud's tight body squeezed his sensitive organ, pulling the skin as he dived and retreated, all the while stroking Cloud intently on the other side. Before long the boy's breathing became panting, he gasped, clenched his teeth and hands, and yelled.
"Aghngh, SEPH! Seph! Seph..."
He was whimpering by the time Sephiroth climaxed, pushing himself hard against Cloud's body, burying his face into Cloud's neck.
"Oh, Cloud," Sephiroth sighed. His upper hand was full of lubricant and Cloud's fluid, and he gave Cloud another squeeze just to see him jump in his post orgasmic sensitivity.
"Quit!" Cloud jerked and laughed. Sephiroth did it again, and got a squeeze in return that caused him to jump a little and slide out of his lover.
Sephiroth cleaned up his hand and scanned for other deposits of Cloud's semen. The kid shot off with such distance that he was always hunting globs of the stuff down. Tent wall. Sephiroth swiped it clean and wrapped his arm around Cloud, pulling them tight together. A spot of wetness crept onto his thigh.
"I'm not on my stomach," Cloud said dreamily.
"I think you can afford to waste a little. Especially tonight." Sephiroth grabbed another wipe for the spillage between them.
"We going to do that again?" Cloud smiled.
"I hope so. I've been looking forward to tonight all week."
"Bastard," Cloud said "And I had no idea."
"That's why it's called ambush," Sephiroth said, tugging on the back of Cloud's ear with his lips. He wanted to roll Cloud over and continue, but he could feel Cloud's fatigue. He had worked him really hard today, making him carry all that gear, and now the kid should really sleep for awhile.
Cloud slept, but as the hours passed he was aware of the delicious feeling of lying so close with Sephiroth. When one moved, the other moved. Unconscious hands caressed arms and sides and hips, and when either of them initiated a rollover the other followed, so that they were they were in continuous front-to-back, spooned contact. Eventually Cloud came all the way awake to find his left arm draped over Sephiroth, his hand held and pressed into the sleeping man's chest, the top side of his lengthening erection pressing into the cleft of Sephiroth's muscular backside. He wondered what it felt like, to penetrate. He wanted to know, but didn't want to ask. Cloud lay still, trying not to wake his companion. But the sensation of the warm skin and the knowledge of where his erection was pressing caused his flesh to stiffen further and move. The hand covering his squeezed.
"Do you want to try that?" Sephiroth's smooth voice filled the darkness.
Of course Sephiroth knew immediately that he had been awake. The man could always tell if Cloud was awake, or tense, or asleep, merely from the sound of his breath and the feel of his body.
"Yes," Cloud answered shakily.
On long arm reached above their heads and fished around for the bottle of lubricant that had wedged itself in a corner of the tent. Sephiroth flipped the top and poured some into Cloud's hand. Cloud stroked himself with the fluid, no half-erection now but full and hard, stretching the skin tight. He slid his fingers between warm cheeks and caressed some of it onto the puckered opening. Sephiroth jerked a little.
"Shiva, that stuff's cold," he said.
Cloud smiled. "I know." He continued to probe with his fingers, testing, pressing, inserting a little ways. He had done this part before, seeking that small knot of pleasure for his lover, but never anything like this next part. He shifted himself up, then down, trying to figure out the right position, then finally pressed the tip of his erection against the opening until it slipped in. He stopped there, feeling the amazing heat. He moved the tip in and out, savoring that sensation, then pushed himself all the way in. He began a steady stroke, then remembered he should reach around and pay attention to his lover. But he had trouble thrusting without that hand to stabilize him. This was considerably trickier than Sephiroth made it look.
"Don't worry about me," Sephiroth said, and moved the boy's hand to his hip.
Cloud let himself fall into his own mind, concentrating only on the pleasure, that wave that rose and ebbed, repeating until it built to a crescendo that caused his body to jerk and made him give a single cry before falling completely limp and lifeless. And oddly unfulfilled. Something was missing. Sephiroth separated from him and took Cloud in his arms, rolling him over so the lighter man lay on top of him.
That was it; that's what he had been missing. Sephiroth. Not just his arms, but somehow he missed out on all of the man, so entirely had he been inside himself. Sephiroth didn't seem to have this problem when he did the same to Cloud. Even when he was behind him his intensity and focus on Cloud seemed to increase during and the act.
"That felt good, but I don't think I get the same thing out of it that you do."
"Mm hmm."
"And I don't like that you can't hold me."
"Mm hmm"
"What's with the mm hmms? You knew this?"
"You're a submissive, Cloud. Part of your pleasure comes from being held and cherished and filled. And in giving. I on the other hand need to feel I possess you; I enjoy that flush of protective feeling I get when I enter you, and the sensation that I am swallowed whole by you. That I'm completely lost in you. It's fine to do something different once and awhile for fun, but I don't think it will ever be a staple for you."
Cloud frowned. It sounded exactly correct, but something about it bothered him. "How am I going to be a good Soldier if I'm submissive?"
Sephiroth laughed. "It has nothing to do with your Soldiering. Maybe the label is a misnomer. We have several guys who are absolute terrors on the battlefield, but they are 'submissive' in bed."
Sephiroth kissed Cloud to keep him from thinking about it too much and rolled him over onto his back. "Now if you don't mind, you've left me hanging a bit here."
Cloud smiled. Yeah, he wanted this.
A/N: I've put up a lot of tents in my time and still I occasionally bump into one I can't figure out. The owner always laughs at you when that happens.