Warnings: Sephiroth thinks naughty thoughts, Zack can't control his mouth, descriptions of Hojo's "work". Nothing too explicit yet.


Chapter 2 : Broken Drum

Sephiroth knew his eyes were wide in amazement. He wasn't alone in that. Most of the medical team had the same look. The General consoled himself with the knowledge that at least he had kept his mouth closed.

Cloud had drawn the wings back in, settling them gracefully over his back. The long feathers gave a semblance of modesty as they formed a stylized heart that covered nearly all of his buttocks. It was the 'nearly' part that was most enticing, the General decided, as the length of his spine was left bare, from the knob just under his neck to the dimples at the base and beyond. "Touch them," Zack instructed and Sephiroth blinked at being instructed to fondle Cloud's buttocks. "He likes having his wings touched." Oh. "Although it might be best if the… medics keep away for a bit. They'll probably scare him."

He absently agreed and the medical team returned to searching through computers and discs for information on what had been done to the two of them and what Hojo had been planning. Sephiroth ignored their activities, intent on the two people in front of him.

"He hasn't been able to show them, let alone stretch them, since before we went into the tank the last time." Zack looked at his former CO as he said it, his face carefully blank. Sephiroth reached and touched those pretty, little dimples then he ran his hand up the blond's spine. In reaction, the wings lifted slightly, tension entering them.

"Nghhh." The General stopped at the sound. It didn't sound like Cloud's voice but he knew that it was.

"It's okay. It's a happy sound. That's about the best he can do for verbal stuff right now. He wants to say words but I don't think he remembers how."

Dr. Imeera, standing close despite Zack's instructions, disagreed. "Ridiculous. He's obviously suffering from mako addiction, so it's hardly likely that he can even form the intention to communicate. It was most likely an involuntary response to outside stimuli."

"You think so… Doc?" the word was said with a lot of contempt. Zack had encountered a lot of people who happily worked under Hojo and called themselves 'doctor'. He didn't have a lot of respect for a white lab coat anymore. Besides, there was something about her…

"I am ShinRa's expert on the effects of prolonged mako exposure on humans," she defended herself.

"Oh yeah? You touch him," the First challenged, "See if he makes a peep for you." Dr. Imeera moved closer, utterly confident, and spread her hand on a strong calf muscle. The youth on the table didn't make a sound but the wing on that side quirked up. It waited a moment then poked at her and pushed her away. Zack chuckled, just a little mean, "Can't say he doesn't know how to communicate, can you, Doc." Dr. Imeera just looked shocked.

Sephiroth ignored them both in favour of exploring well-remembered contours. He continued his upward motion, finally reaching the light coating of incredibly soft down between the shoulder blades. He stroked them, stroked through them, contrasting their texture with Cloud's naturally soft skin above and below the area. Cloud has wings, he could barely absorb the information, and not just on one side or small token ones, but a large, full, set of wings.

He moved to the wing proper, running his open hand over the surface feathers, not digging in like his dark-haired friend. Cloud sighed–the General thought it sounded happy, and stretched his wings out a bit, his body shifting to accommodate the change in balance.

"If it's not mako addiction then what's wrong with him?" Dr. Imeera asked, puzzled. She'd been so sure…

Zack paused then continued his grooming movements. "He tried to make us into new versions of Sephiroth," they looked at each other, "Since you'd disappointed him by not falling under Psycho Bitch's spell."

"That isn't logical. I was altered in embryo." He said absently, keeping most of his attention on the young man in front of him, on the vision of his pale hand on even paler feathers. Cloud was humming or purring. It was, at the least, a continuous soft and happy noise. Cloud has wings–beautiful wings.

"He had a theory that he'd be able to alter one of us easily. Me, because I was SOLDIER First Class and already had Jenova cells, or Cloud, because he was so sensitive to mako. At first they thought the wings were a good sign." He looked up at his former friend, "They said you have a wing." His voice was very careful not to ask questions or to accuse.

Sephiroth's lips quirked, "I have one wing on my right side. It's black–like Genesis'. I didn't know until I emerged from the Lifestream in Mideel." He was going to continue, explain some of the things they'd discovered about SOLDIER First Class but Cloud lifted the wing on his side slightly, as if inviting the General to scratch an itchy spot and Sephiroth was entranced once again.

"I see." Zack shifted to running his fingers through Cloud's hair, still as long and as untameable as before. "When nothing else happened they got mad at him. Since he liked stretching his wings so much, they stopped him doing it. It wasn't so bad when he was, y'know, aware and could control them, but when he retreated, mentally, he lost most of that. They still restrained him though. With extreme prejudice, they called it. Torture is what it was."

"Do you…" have wings, is what he wanted to ask but couldn't. Zack had wanted wings since he'd flown with Angeal that one time during the attack on Midgar by Genesis, and surely, if he'd had some, he would have displayed them by now if only to make Cloud more comfortable. "What did they do to you?" he asked instead and wondered when he'd become a coward.

"They injected more Jenova cells but they didn't work so well on me–maybe the mako already inside me prevented most of them from taking over my DNA. At least that's what I think they said," he raised his lips in a sad smile, "You know how he was always muttering. Cloud here was more vulnerable. Or they thought he would be. Of course, the first thing they did was dissect him, trying to figure out how he could block her. They played with his…" Zack snorted angrily, "everything: blood, bones, DNA, brain cells. Then they put him back together. I'm surprised the little guy survived." Cloud snapped his wing slightly, as if miffed at being called 'little'.

That made Zack smile more easily. It still wasn't his broad, blinding flash but it was a smile. "You're still a head shorter than I am, Spike. I can call you little if I want."

"Revenge would have been a factor as well," Sephiroth theorized out loud, "If I remember correctly, he was already angry that I had brought you to Nibelheim, and that both of you were at the reactor," he paused to collect his thoughts. How he said this could permanently affect his future relationship with Commander Fair. It was important that he say it correctly. "When you pushed me over the edge of the platform you saved my life." He looked up at his friend, "Thank you for that. I knew even as I was falling that he would take his anger out on you and Cloud. I should have… I should have grabbed the two of you, taken you with me somehow."

Zack looked down, colour staining his cheeks, "There was no way… It was more important that you be safe. I thought that then, I still think it." He turned his attention back to the blond soldier, "I know Cloud would agree with me," his voice was tight and Sephiroth knew Zack's mind may still think it, but his abused body was having trouble believing it. Perhaps a return to their previous topic would help, he decided. Cloud was a good topic would give the dark SOLDIER time to recover his composure.

"It's been nearly three years since the mission to Nibelheim," Sephiroth said and answered Zack's unspoken question "He's grown somewhat," It was true. He could remember, in perfect detail, exactly how long it had taken him to run his hands all over Cloud's body. There was a difference so that meant there must be more of him.

"Yeah. Some. A bit taller; a bit broader. He's still a pretty boy, though." Another, stronger, flick of his wing was Cloud's incoherent complaint at the description. Zack laughed, "What? Seph's not allowed to think you're 'pretty'? I thought you'd like that." It didn't take much for his face to resume solemn lines. "There was also talk about how destroying the village had been a bad idea."

He didn't look at the silver-haired general, which was just as well. Sephiroth was feeling… unbalanced. Zack spoke to Cloud as if the blond were actually speaking with his wing movements. Worse, his interpretations seemed to be accurate. He could read the young soldier better than Sephiroth could and that made him… jealous. He didn't want to be jealous of Zack.

"Aside from Cloud, there's only one survivor. Do you remember our young guide?"

Zack frowned, "The mayor's daughter? Tifa something." He remembered her mostly because of the skimpy cowboy outfit she'd worn to show them through the mountains. He also remembered that she'd had the biggest rack he'd seen that hadn't been the result of surgery.

"Tifa Lockhart. Her sensei rescued her. Carried her over a mountain where Hojo's blockade didn't reach. Everyone else was either killed in the fire or shot when they ran out of their homes."

"Everyone?" Zack asked, remembering a hesitant invitation to tea.

A single nod of the head, "Everyone."

"Fuck," he said softly, almost a prayer. "Poor Spike." He bent forward and gave blond locks a tender kiss. Cloud's wings drooped, as if in distress, "nnngh."

Sephiroth gave his odd half smile as the coincidence of the situation occurred to him, "She's here right now. In the caves acting as the guide to the Shinra forces. She's a formidable fighter and would make a good captain if she'd consent to join the regular army."

"Sirs," Dr. Imeeda finally interrupted, "We really should be getting both of, of the survivors prepped for travel. They need to be cleaned up and we should set up a saline drip…" Before she could say another word, Cloud had tensed; he spread his wings wide, nearly knocking the General over. The wing tips snapped aggressively and everyone in the room understood it was a threat.

"Shh, easy there, Spike," Zack soothed, "They're not going to hurt you. Remember me and the General are here. They just want to clean the goop off you and check your blood. Little things, good things."

"Gghnn," the sound was doubtful and it was obvious that the blond didn't want the medics anywhere near him.

Sephiroth spoke, speaking directly to his lover for the first time, his hand secure on the young man's back, "We are here, Cloud. We can clean off the mako and we'll make sure they do not hurt you. Is that acceptable?" He resumed stroking that strong spine. Long feathers quivered then snapped a couple times, before Cloud drew them back to rest along his back, mantling them a couple times as if to assert that he wasn't really happy about this but if they were sure it was a good idea….

'Interesting,' the General thought. The blond's wings were most expressive. With a little practice, Sephiroth decided he'd be as good at understanding them as his SiC, former SiC was. He turned to the medical team, "You have cloths we can use?"

In the end, Zack wiped himself down while Sephiroth took care of Cloud. He'd meant to keep his touch brisk and professional–efficient, but the lure of creamy skin and trim limbs was too great. His motions slowed, became little more than caresses. How could he be expected to ignore the joy of playing with that remarkable hair, even if it were just rubbing it dry, or of exploring musculature that had only been hinted at three years ago, shoulders that had become broad and arms that were strong? So beautiful.

He ran the cloth down between and under those remarkable wings, running it over Cloud's sides. He frowned at how easy it was to pick out his ribs, despite the cover of muscle. He would have to make sure the young man ate more. He grabbed a new cloth before starting on his lower half. He nearly purred as he rubbed the mako off of buttocks that were still as round and tight as he remembered. He didn't even try to resist the impulse to massage them a little with his bare hands. Then it was down the long thighs, and tight calves. He made sure to raise each foot in turn, and clean very carefully between graceful toes.

"Still got it bad, I see." It was a statement, not unkind but full of amused approval.

Sephiroth jumped, almost embarrassed to be so obvious. Zack did smile then, "You're blushing! Fucking awesome." Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably. He'd lost the habit of being teased because nobody but these two had ever done so in friendship. "It's a good thing, Seph, trust me on that. He told me that his time with you was one of his best thoughts and he pulled it off the shelf to look at it whenever he got the chance.

He kept his long hair swinging forward, although it was more to hide his expression from the avidly listening medics than to hide from Zack. He was one of this young man's 'best thoughts'? "I feel the same," he assured their mutual friend who could, conceivably worry about them both. "We need to turn him over," he added before Zack could comment again.

Zack took a long drink from the gross electrolyte replacement drink one of the medics had handed him. "Okay," he agreed.

"Can he lie on his wings or should they be retracted?"

"You don't know?" Zack raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I don't... I only have the one. I can sleep on my side," Sephiroth realized he was prevaricating just a little. Those were good reasons but not the correct one, "and I don't… I don't usually display my wing."

Zack finished his drink, horrified that it had actually tasted pretty good. "He can lie on his wings but it's uncomfortable. It can hurt too. I'll ask him to pull them in." He crouched close to Cloud's head, placing his hands on the blond's cheek before speaking. Sephiroth also moved to the top of the table, wanting to memorize this in case there was something special he would need to do to communicate with the corporal. The blond spikes were stuck together with half-dried mako so he absently finger-combed the tacky stuff out as he watched. The medics had also crowded around, wanting to see it. Nobody really knew where wings went when they weren't on display but there was plenty of speculation.

"Spike. Hey, Spike. You gotta bring your wings in," the SOLDIER said.

Cloud lifted them up, fluttering in protest, "Nnghh."

"I know it feels good, Spike, but we gotta clean the front of you off too. Once we get you set up, and out of here, you'll be able to stretch them back out." Again, his wings moved as if responding, even though nothing changed in his face, in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure. These aren't Hojo's people. The General's in charge and I think he likes them." Zack looked up at his old CO. It was a silent order, just as the SOLDIER used to give him. Sephiroth smiled and did as he was told.

"I do like them Cloud, very much indeed." They spread out a little more, as if showing off. "They suit you but you must put them away. I need to turn you over and I don't want to hurt them, or you. I promise I'll tell you when you can stretch them out again." A flutter, a pause then after a final muscle-popping stretch, Cloud's wings retracted. He gave a small grunt of effort and they 'popped' out of existence.

There were murmurs of awed amazement from the medical people when there was no blood or other fluids expelled. Others, closer to the young solder stared at his back looking for some physical sign of the wings' presence; scars or lumps, anything. There were scars, bad ones, along his legs, on his pelvis, and all along the spine but there's nothing but the sprinkling of fine down to indicate where the wings had been.

Zack and Sephiroth didn't let them look very long, neither one was going to let their friend become a medical test subject, or let him continue as one which was perhaps a more valid description. Just the thought of one of the white-coated buffoons poking at Cloud's back going 'hmm, fascinating' had Zack itching for his sword, so they flipped him over quickly. The medics lost interest but the General was fascinated by the corporal's very healthy erection that was only now subsiding.

"I told you liked getting his wings rubbed." It was said with sly teasing but there was a wariness in Zack's face that belied the light tone. In fact, he looked nervous, almost afraid. He turned his back on Sephiroth and picked up a cloth to continue cleaning the mako off himself, but Sephiroth knew that he was hiding. There was more to this that Zack was saying, Sephiroth decided so, as he wiped the remaining green toxin off his lover's body, he re-examined recent events.

Why would Zack be afraid?

He was afraid of the General's reaction to Cloud's erection. Why would Zack be afraid of that? It's not like Sephiroth hadn't seen Cloud's erect penis before, although it, like the rest of him, had grown. Zack knew this, so it wasn't the erection in itself that caused the worry.

Stroking Cloud's wings had caused his arousal; an interesting phenomenon that deserved more study once the corporal had fully recovered, Sephiroth decided. From his comment, Zack had obviously known what effect petting them would have. Could he be nervous because he hadn't warned the General? Unlikely. Zack still liked to tease and this was a familiar subject.

Zack could be afraid that Sephiroth would reject Cloud because of his wings and their effect. It wasn't normal, it wasn't even human. He might be afraid that it would bring back memories of Genesis and Angeal, the only other two people the First had known with wings. They had both declared themselves 'monsters'. Still, did Zack fear that Sephiroth would consider Cloud monstrous? How could he, when he himself had a wing, so that didn't seem like a logical explanation either.

A thought occurred to Sephiroth and he looked at the handsome and still-young SOLDIER, scrubbing himself down with brisk strokes. Three years in a cage was a long time for anyone, how much worse was it when at the height of your virility?

The SOLDIER had known Cloud would become sexually stimulated by having his wings stroked because they had experimented, perhaps to the point of orgasm. Did Zack think he would be jealous? Maybe he feared being called perverted for having indulged the blond to that extent. Sephiroth had to smile, and he knew it was his 'naughty thoughts' smile–as Genesis had labelled it lifetimes ago, because he wanted to see it, to experiment with Cloud's new erogenous zone.

He wanted Zack to be there too, he realized. It was unlikely to happen but he couldn't help feeling that Zack was his: his to protect, his to care for… his to love. Of course, his SiC–former SiC, might not feel the same way, or if he did it would probably just be the Jenova cells pushing their host bodies to reunite and recombine rather than an actual desire on Commander Fair's part.

This was not the time nor place to explore the issue, however, so he kept his voice light and mildly chiding, with no hint of condemnation or seduction, "I have never noticed such a reaction in myself, but perhaps that's because I've never allowed anyone to try it. It will be… enjoyable to explore our responses when there is time to do so." Well, perhaps there was a hint of seduction but it was completely involuntary. Zack tensed and the General could smell the deeper tone in the dark-haired swordsmen musk as he responded to Sephiroth's arousal.

They had to work to bring their bodies under control. Sephiroth focussed on the large, ugly scar in the middle of Cloud's abdomen. Zack took stock of their little prison and the horror it represented. He noticed the medic preparing a shunt for a drip and put a stop to it. "No more needles." They'd already taken blood samples.

"But we must," Dr. Imeera protested, "We need to get fluids in him, to flush the toxins out of his system."

Zack nodded, "I get that, but you don't need that thing; trust me. He would fight having it in too, so that wouldn't be good for him. He can drink from a bottle."

Sephiroth had looked up by this time, "Are you sure, Zack?" The dark-haired warrior nodded and that was good enough. Ignoring the doctor's protests, the General ordered them to put the kit away and bring the uniforms that had been packed.

The medics worked around them, doing what they could to identify anything that might cause the corporal distress on the trip out of the caves. Cloud didn't mind since under Sephiroth's constant soothing caress, he was back to making that lovely humming sound. The General couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. Cloud was as sensuous as he remembered. Hojo hadn't managed to ruin that in him. Once he was well, they would take some time off and pick up where they had been stopped three years ago.

Zack, who'd finished wiping himself down as much as he needed to, which wasn't actually much when it came down to it. If he hadn't been addicted or poisoned, or whatever bad things mako could do to a person, in the months that he'd been immersed in the stuff, he didn't figure that a little bit on his skin was going to tip him over the edge. He grabbed another bottle of that disgustingly satisfying drink and started chugging.

A medic came in with two uniforms. He gave the larger one to Zack and placed the smaller one near the table where Sephiroth was still stroking the mako off Cloud's soft skin. The young soldier breathed in and out in an easy rhythm seemingly unaware of events happening around him. He blinked, covering up eyes as empty as a still sky. The General lifted an arm to clean between strong fingers and when he released it, Cloud held it up in the exact position he'd left it. It was sad and scary. Was there anything of Cloud left in there?

"He's still there," Zack said as he returned to the table. "Think of the wings, that's him. He's there."

"They are most expressive," Sephiroth agreed, reaching for the smaller uniform.

"He is aware but he's run away inside his mind and the wings are the only part of himself he lets come close to this world. Fucking Hojo," Zack's voice was full of bitter hatred. "I'm sure they'll say it's the mako addiction or poisoning or whatever, but it was that sadistic bastard. The things he did to Cloud just because he could. He's got wolf in him."

"I beg your pardon?" Sephiroth asked, sure he'd misheard the SOLDIER.

"Hojo tried to fuse some wolf genetics into him, to make him 'faster' he said, but I think he just wanted to see if he could give the kid a tail or paws. Fucker!"

"It didn't take, I assume."

Zack shook his head, staring angrily at his half-empty bottle before draining it. "No, he got pulled away by something else and none of the other psychos were allowed to continue the 'experiment'. He used his fingers to make air quotes. He was breathing hard and Sephiroth could almost see the fury building into a blind murderous rage.

"Can you pull his pants up?" he asked, more for a distraction than because he needed the help. It worked somewhat. The General let his SiC, former Second-in-Command – he really had to try and remember that, dress Cloud's feet, while he examined the shirt. It was standard Shinra issue, high-necked and short-sleeved; a little baggy. If he trimmed it, there would be room for the wings. "What about you?"

"What?" Zack looked up from tying on Cloud's boots.

"You seem to have survived physically unchanged," Sephiroth realized that it could sound like he was accusing the other man of sacrificing Cloud for better treatment for himself. "Is it because you were SOLDIER?" he added, "It would probably be harder to addict you since your system was already saturated."

Sephiroth's calm theorizing didn't sooth Zack's anger, temporarily buried while he dressed Cloud. To the SOLDIER, It sounded like the General, the Demon of Wutai, was distancing himself from what had happened, from the torture and abuse, by looking at it clinically–the same way Hojo had looked at them.

He took a steadying breath. Sephiroth wasn't Hojo. He didn't know how to show emotions but he didhave them. He was capable of caring and he did care, but he hadn't been here and he didn't know, and now he wanted him to dissect his experiences? To talk calmly and rationally about watching your best friend be cut up on a table in front of you and be able to do absolutely fucking NOTHING to stop it.

"You are alright, aren't you Zack?" Again, so calm and soothing. Was he being fucking handled? The thick-soled boots creaked under his hands. Zack looked up, ready to scream and throw things in his anger and bitterness, only to be stopped cold by what he saw.

Sephiroth was cutting wing holes into Cloud's shirt with Masamune, brows furrowed as he sliced thin strips out of the back. And was that the tip of his tongue sticking out in concentration? It was so ridiculous to see the large warrior wielding the 2-metre blade with such delicate care that the dark-haired SOLDIER burst out laughing. The General looked up at Zack, puzzled by his response–it was the tip of his tongue sticking out, just a little bit.

That set the First off again. He laughed until his ribs hurt and his eyes watered. It was the first time in three years that he'd experienced that from something other than pain.

Sephiroth wasn't sure what had caused Zack's outburst but it was nice to hear it. He held up the mutilated shirt to confirm that he had made the holes big enough. The one on the right could perhaps go lower, he decided, and pulled out Masamune once again and trimmed slivers off of it until it was just right.

Zack laughed harder, finally gasping and catching his breath when Sephiroth pulled the remnants of material over Cloud's head. "Oh, I wish I'd had a camera for that," he panted, wiping his eyes and tossing the General one of the disgusting sport drinks the medics had brought. "Here just hold it to his lips, he'll do the rest. I need to find my Buster before we leave." He raised his voice, "Has anybody seen a huge fucking sword that's taller than most people and wider than them too?"

The dark anger that had been around the SOLDIER was nearly gone and when one of the medical team indicated that he had seen something like that, Zack practically bounced over to him and dragged the poor man out the door in eagerness; his body moving in his old swaggering walk.

Cat-green eyes watched until he could no longer hear that friendly, cocky voice. It would be okay. Zack would be himself again and Cloud would come back. It would be fine. Good even. Sephiroth couldn't cry, but his eyes could hurt, and his chest could tighten and he could know what it feels like to want to.