WOO! Chapter 15!
I just needed to say that the Wutai in this fanfiction is not based off of any culture in particular, but made from the mixes of what my mind has come up with.
Pairings: SephirothxZackxCloud, TsengxReno (Eventual TsengxRufusxReno)
DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII
-o-o-
"This is supposed to be a chick-flick damn it!" Zack whined at Sephiroth, who was busy piloting the 'borrowed' helicopter. In the back, Zack and Cloud were sitting in front of a television Zack had also 'borrowed.' When asked, he muttered something about Reno and Cloud assumed he borrowed it from his big brother Turk. Sephiroth guestimated that he stole it and was trying to sound legit.
Sephiroth glanced back in agitation. His sharp gaze softened at the sight of Cloud curled up firmly glued to Zack's side. Zack stroked the soft spikes and met Sephiroth's eyes.
"He's asleep. He's been like this for about... half an hour at most. What did you two do to get so tired, I wonder...?"
Sephiroth turned back to the window and scanned the horizon, almost sure where they were. "Cloud was trying to get me to tell him where we're going."
"Where are we going? After out first stop, I mean. And for how long? Why do I need to be in the dark, I hate asking questions? They make me sound stupid," he whined again.
"Get back to your job, pillow. Leave me alone so I can steer."
"I thought you knew how to get there? GAH! Again with the questions!"
"'ack," Cloud whispered, barely waking. "Wuzrong?" Sleep slurred his speech and, in Sephiroth's and Zack's opinion, made him way too adorible for his own good.
Sephiroth punched in some coordinants and hit auto pilot. He crept back and took the sleepy puppybo into his arms. "We apologize for waking you," he said sincerely. He leaned in to give Cloud a kiss, but was thwarted when Cloud yawned hugely in his face. He made up for it by wrapping his arms around Sephiroth's neck and kissing him on the cheek shyly.
Zack grinned and completely forgot about his not-a-chick-flick movie. He snatched Cloud away from Sephiroth's tender embrace and kissed him full of the mouth. Cloud blushed a light red at this, but didn't protest it. Drawing back, Zack crawled closer to Sephiroth so he could give him a kiss as well.
Sephiroth laid out a blanket and placed the still sleepy cadet in the middle and on his back. On his left was placed an amused First Class SOLDIER. On his right, the General of Shinra's army stretched out on his side. He had to curl his legs a little when the helicopter's interior proved to not be wide enough for Sephiroth to fully stretch.
Zack flopped over and held one of Cloud's hands and was surprised when Sephiroth did the same for himself and the blond. "Know what Seph? You must have a thing for spikey haired men from no where towns."
Sephiroth chuckled and Cloud enjoyed the pleasant vibrations he felt from it. "And you must have a thing for men with light hair and emotional shortcomings."
"And Spike must have a thing for First Class SOLDIERs and men that are entirely too undeserving."
Cloud muttered something that sounded like it was supposed to be a contradiction to what Zack said, but he was too far unconcious at that point to have it make any type of sense. Zack and Sephiroth shared a fond smile over the sleeping boy.
"So are we gonna crash?"
"Tseng said the auto-pilot systems were second to none. Should we discuss tonight?" Sephiroth asked nervously.
Zack squirmed a bit himself. "Well, Cloud can't stay a virgin forever, Seph. But which one of us should...?"
Sephiroth looked thoughful. "I think you should, if Cloud is willing. He is the only one you are inclined to be dominant with, and though you are not a virgin, your lack of expirience in such a role might comfort him a little."
"Not to mention it's like a chain. You took me, I take him..." It had been a night of drunk sex, but Sephiroth and Zack stayed on good terms after it was over. Although he had to hide for a while until Zack's fatherly mentor had calmed down enough. Only Zack could find just the right mix of alchohol to get Sephiroth drunk. "But are you sure? You have more expirience restraining yourself in bed, and I don't have to. You also have expirence popping cherries."
"I'd appreciate it if you would be so kind as to not sound like that is something to be proud of," Sephiroth said, looking away. He still felt guilty about taking Zack's innocence. He was glad that it turned out he loved him back though, it seemed to make the violation ease up on his conscious.
Zack frowned and reached for the General's hand with his free one. Sephiroth took the hint and held his hand. They spent the remainder of the trip in this position.
And the helicopter didn't crash, so bonus.
-o-o-
Wutai was beautiful Zack and Cloud were surprised to see. After the hard war waged there, it still held an unearthly beauty that drew Cloud in at once. Zack fought to remain some distance, remembering the stories his late mentor had told him, as well as the stories he had pried out of Tseng.
Being led to an audience with the Wutaiian emperor, Cloud watched everything with wide eyes from under Sephiroth's hair and coat. Upon their arrival, when the guides met them, Sephiroth drew him under his arm and tucked his coat around him and took Zack's hand. The look he gave the guides told them not to question it. Cloud was thankful, because so many people were staring with wide eyes at him.
An advisor intercepted them to offer his welcome, and was surprised to see Cloud peek out from the leather and silver strands. Sephiroth coaxed him out to greet the man, but with all the eyes on him from the servants and the guide and the advisor and the people on the streets going home at the end of their day, he quickly returned to his hiding spot.
The advisor was a kind old man that didn't hesitate any further when addressing the hidden cadet.
"I trust your stay will be peaceful?"
A short, terse nod from Sephiroth.
"And what of the little one?"
"I brought my loves here on vacation as a sign I don't want to be enemies any more. I would like to get to know the culture," Sephiroth said softly. "I brought Cloud, the 'little one,' as a sign that I expect to not have to fight you."
The elderly man understood him at once. He didn't see why Sephiroth would bring a fragile looking, child-like cadet to a fight. "Lord Godo is hosting a banquet in your honor, and he would enjoy it if you made an appearance, with your loves as well, of course."
Sephiroth agreed for them, though Cloud privately wanted to hide. Zack grinned hugely at the thought of food and his loves.
"Very well. You two may continue on and you will be showed to a place to change into more traditional attire. I will take the little one to the serving women and have them help him, with your permission, of course."
Both of the older men frowned. "Why?" Zack asked.
"He is the youngest and obviously not of age. I believe I am right in saying you have not made love to him." Cloud turned bright red and hid his face. "Here we keep the gender roles separate for the most part if the female in the relationship has not been touched."
Zack and Sephiroth shared a glance. They didn't want to shun the customs the prideful people held so dear, but they didn't want to let go of Cloud either. Sephiroth looked down at his side. "What do you wish, Cloud?"
"Uh, I... I'll go," he shyly said and slipped out from his hiding spot and took a spot next to the elderly man, who nodded. They turned to leave, but Sephiroth caught the advisor's sleeve.
"Should any harm come to Cloud," Sephiroth said in a low voice with a slight snarl. "I will not hesitate to burn this nation to the ground."
With wide eyes, the advisor nodded. They departed, but Sephiroth and Zack refused to be led away until Cloud was out of sight. As the pair was about to turn down a beaten path, Cloud looked back and stopped. Automatically, Zack shifted and Sephiroth took a step forward. Cloud gave them a shy, hesitant smile and waved.
They waved back and watched as Cloud trotted around the bend and was shielded by the trees. Finally, they turned to their guide. "Lead the way," Zack said. He did not sound happy about it.
-o-o-
As soon as Cloud stepped foot in the door of this traditional Wutaiian palace, he was mobbed by serving women with bright eyes. Alarmed, he stepped behind the advisor and delicately clung to his silky robe. The man laughed lightly. "Hello misses. I'm here to drop off this little one so you can dress him and make him look good for the banquet tonight," he explained. "We're in the palace, so are your loves, but they came in a different way. I will be back to bring you to the feast we are having in Sephiroth's honor."
One of the women asked something in Wutaiian. Cloud remembered his rough lessons in the language and could make out what was asked. "Who is the beauty?"
The advisor laughed and replied in the same language. "The female in his relationship with the Demon and his second in command," he said, then noticed the confused look on Cloud's face. Still speaking in Wutaiian, he had to ask. "Do you speak Wutaiian?"
Cloud looked at his feet shyly when everyone looked at him. "Yes, but I haven't practiced in years." When Cloud lived in Nibelheim, his only friend had been a blind Wutaiian man that lived in the forest. His mother didn't know he went to see the man almost daily for years. All he had said when asked why he wasn't in Wutai was that he was exiled for a crime he didn't commit.
The man's eyes widened and he fell to his knees and bowed until him face met the floor. "Please, I beg of you, forgive me. I spoke without thinking," he pleaded.
Cloud's eyes widened as his panic levels shot up, and he knelt and tugged at the man, trying to get him to sit up. When the man refused to budge, tears collected in the pretty blue eyes. "Please, don't bow to me, I don't deserve it. Please, just sit up! I can't standing seeing someone having to-" he cut himself off with sobbing. His home town bullies had enjoyed puttting him in such a position and then making lewd comments and gestures that left him feeling violated.
"I'm sorry for my disrespect. I beg for your forgiveness." The entire room was still now, and Cloud was getting more flustered.
"Don't beg, don't say sorry! There isn't anything you've done to be forgiven from!" he cried, wiping his eyes with the bottoms of his hands.
"I disrespected the rule of Shinra."
"The president is an idiot and Sephiroth has done things he's not proud of," Cloud said, rubbing his eyes. Many of the room gasped and the Advisor sat up in shock. "I can't blame you for sharing an opinion. I don't care what the fat ass Shinra says, you should hate him. But please don't hate Sephiroth. He was given the orders and he had to complete them."
"I'm sure your right," the man said stiffly.
"What's wrong?"
"You say that the Demon of Wutai only killed because he had orders, but he had a choice whether or not to complete those orders. He could have walked away," the man looked away and almost apologized again.
Cloud had finished wiping his eyes. He looked at the elderly man with a level gaze. "Sephiroth can't desert Shinra Co. He was conceived there and was raised as a weapon for the company's use. He didn't know that there was ever an option to just leave and be free."
The man looked unconvinced, but he still quietly agreed and left. Cloud was taken to a room and three women came with him. They immediately began plucking off his shirt. "What are you doing?" he asked in Wutaiian and was answered in the same.
"We need to get you into the right clothes, yes?"
"Well, yes, but... I'm a boy..."
One of the women began unbuttoning his pants. "It's not as if we haven't seen what a man looks like undressed."
"W-what?"
The women that succeeded in pulling off his shirt answered. "Many men don't stay loyal to their wives, nor are they expected to. Among we girls, our status depends on who's bed we warm at night."
Cloud shifted uncomfortably as his pants were taken off. "Do, do all men take part in that custom here?"
"Of course," the last woman said impatiently, winding cords around him and recording measurements. "Your man are already being offered our best girls as gifts. That way they can have their night fun and you can retain your 'innocence.'" She tossed her hair impatiently. "You can't expect to have two men loving you and only making love to you. With one man, their passion is too much for one person. You will get used to sharing. And being shared, if the situation calls for it."
Cloud shrank in on himself and shut his mouth. His eyes must have conveyed his hurt because the first girl tsked at the cynic. "These are Midgar men, Rydi. They will leave soon, they can't afford to take a secondary lover. They'd break too many hearts."
Rydi, as she was called, turned on her heel and left without a word. The second girl patted Cloud's spikes. "She doesn't dislike you. She just has a special hate for any man working for Shinra."
"Mi..." the other girl said in warning. She was ignored.
"Shh, Kie, he needs to hear this. He looks like someone killed his puppy. As I was saying, Rydi was a nurse in the war. She was fourteen when Shinra SOLDIERs raided their encampment and killed her family. They raped her and beat her horribly, so none of the men want her now."
Cloud's eyes yet again filled with tears. He tried to imagine Zack or Sephiroth raiding a camp and raping a fourteen year old. He couldn't. Kie saw his tears and gave Mi a look. Mi looked alarmed, but held it back.
"I... I want Sephiroth..." Cloud sobbed, broken-heartedly. "I want Zack..."
The serving girls shared a look that screamed "how naïve."
"Let's get you all dolled up for your SOLDIERs first."
-o-o-
When Cloud stepped into the banquet hall with the Advisor, flanked by two of the serving girls, Vi and Vy, all eyes were on him and he nearly died with embarrassment. Not for anything in particular, just because. He looked at the floor and slowly gathered the courage to look at the emperor and bow to him, like he had been told to do by the girls.
He was wearing a silken robe he forgot the name for in a shade of blue almost the same as his eyes. There were various beautiful things stitched into it with dark gold and dark blue threads. The sash was a pretty silver, and there were bells hung from his hair, dangling to his collar.
The girls had insisted on putting some light eye shadow on him, and something on his lips. He had resisted the make up, but it began to get tiring. He eventually relented, but limited the amount. Then they wanted to pierce his ears. Cloud agreed to one of the ears, and so now he had an amber colored stud in his ear.
He looked up to see Sephiroth and Zack stand and walk over. They each offered a hand with a bow. They didn't stand up until Cloud put one of his hands in each of their own. They led him back to their seats and placed him firmly between them, on the floor. Cloud was slightly confused why they would sit on the floor, but half-remembered something the exiled Wutaiian man told him about all meals being eaten from low tables and the diners sat on the floor.
The emperor stood and began a speech about the times of peace that they were happy to have. Cloud didn't miss the slight bitterness in everyone's eyes. His eyes strayed to Zack and loved how he looked in his white silk robe thing. He glanced back at Sephiroth, who tore his eyes from the speaking man to give Cloud a vague smile. He wore a pure black silk with gold stitching in it.
Sephiroth leaned forward and put his lips next to Cloud's ears. "You're the most beautiful one here." Cloud blushed darker than the General had ever seen and turned back to the emperor, who was just finishing up. He gestured to Sephiroth, who stood in turn.
"It is my hope that I may stay in your country with my loves for exactly one week," he announced, looking at Zack and Cloud in turn. "There was some... disagreements in Midgar and I was ordered leave to... cool my head. And the only place I could think of that would be sufficient is here. I brought Zackary and Cloud with me here so they might get a chance to experience your culture. If at any moment our presence unsettles you, you only have to give the word and we will leave."
Sephiroth bowed to the guests, then turned and bowed more deeply to the emperor, who looked startled. "What things could have happened to irk you in Midgar, I wonder...?" the emperor looked curious.
"I... lost my temper at some of the higher ups..." at the still politely confused look, he continued. "We were disagreeing over my relationship with Cloud," Sephiroth glanced down at Cloud, who looked cutely up at him with a smile. The entire room could see the cold eyes of Shinra's general, warm and take on a concerned cast. He looked back at the emperor with slightly happier eyes. "One of them got physical, and I did as well."
The emperor glanced at the blond by Sephiroth's side and noted the stitches on his bottom lip. He nodded to Sephiroth, who sat. It was common in Wutai for a man to protect what was his, and it seemed the same went for Midgar. Godo turned to face the entire banquet table, but noted in his peripheral vision that Sephiroth hooked an arm around the boy and pull him closer, and in turn the dark haired one scooted closer as well.
Zack was having a great time. When the food was brought out, his glee only increased. He had a full plate and Cloud seated close next to him. He glanced over to Sephiroth, who was talking with the emperor. He was leaning on the table, resting his head in one hand. His eyes were half closed and there was a content almost-smile on his face. It seemed Sephiroth loved Wutai more than he had told them.
It must have been absolute hell destroying more than half of their soldiers.
The emperor's wife was leaning across the table to talk with Cloud, who had paper in his hands and was folding how the woman told him to. Soon he had a misshapen bird in his hand, and he looked discouraged. He offered it to the woman, who shook her head. He stared at it for a moment and turned to Zack. He looked up hopefully, offering the bird that look like it had three wings.
"It's beautiful Spike." And it was, just because Cloud made it. Zack accepted it, and set it right next to him on the table. He smiled his thanks and received a grin in return. Cloud turned back to the woman and spoke with her animatedly. Zack couldn't hear what was said over the drone of all the other conversations, but catching a few words, Zack was having suspicions that Cloud withheld a skill from them.
The rest of the banquet went well and afterward Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth were led to a guest house by the serving girls that accompanied Cloud into the banquet hall, who were chattering with each other and with Cloud sometimes, in Wutaiian.
Sephiroth and Zack were surprised to hear the foreign language on their youngest love's tongue. Sephiroth seemed pleased at that piece of information. He told Cloud as much when they arrived at the home their bags had been taken to. "It's a pleasant surprise, finding out that you can speak Wutaiian."
"How did you learn?" Zack asked, sliding closer and peering at the effect of make up on the blond cadet.
Cloud rubbed at his lips and eyes furiously. "There was a Wutaiian guy living in my village. He was blind and lived in the outer edges of Nibelhiem. He said he was exiled from here and found the village by accident. He let me hang around sometimes and he taught me about Wutai. He wasn't happy when I told him Midgar was at war with them."
"What was he exiled for?" Sephiroth demanded, concern sharpening his gaze.
"Dunno," Cloud's voice was casual as he wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and nuzzled into the spot where his neck met his chest. Zack wrapped his arms around the cadet's waist and held him up, so he didn't have to strain himself too much to reach.
"Did he have a name? Maybe Seph can ask around."
"I don't really care what his crimes were. He was almost the only one that could stand me... But if it makes you happy..."
"It would."
"His name is Midai. His last name was..."
"Yes?" Zack asked, attempting to draw the answers from the small blond clinging to his chest.
"I forgot..."
Zack made a face and was glad Cloud couldn't see, or else he would put himself down, or something equally evil. He looked to see Sephiroth's reaction, but he only saw silver strands whipping around one wall. He was back in a moment with a blanket in his hands. Cloud looked up at him from his hanging position around Zack's neck that he didn't seem to be willing to give up.
"What's that?" Cloud asked.
"A blanket. I thought you and Zachary-"
"ZACK!" Zack cried out in torment.
"Would like to relax in the back yard. It's beautiful."
"Aren't you coming with us?"
Sephiroth smiled and kissed Cloud on the cheek and Zack on the mouth. "I think Zack would like some quality time with you... alone," he stressed the last word, causing Cloud to blush and look a bit nervous.
Zack let his feet touch the ground again. "We don't have to. We can wait."
Cloud took a breath to steady himself and was dimly aware of Sephiroth disappearing through the outside door. He moved closer to Zack and pressed himself against the man. "Wait for what? I'm ready, I am. Just... go slow... please..."
Zack nodded and swept the cadet into his arms, bridal-style, and carried him out to the backyard. They observed the beautiful cherry blossom tree, and the sheet lying out underneath it, almost by the pond. The moonlight gave a pearl-like cast to everything, and it was perfect.
Cloud lay down and pulled Zack with him. His eyes shone with absolute, unquestionable love for him, as well as a deep trust. Zack slowly climbed on top and began to work on undoing the Wutaiian clothes.
They soon had everything off and no shields between them. They shared a look and Cloud smiled up at him. He tried to put every little thing, every oath and promise of love, into that one gaze and smile.
Everything was perfect. In Zack's eyes, the slight, nude body beneath him was too perfect for this world.
He reached for the supplies Sephiroth had so thoughtfully given them. When Cloud looked at him again, he knew.
He belonged to Cloud. Cloud belonged to him. They both belonged to Sephiroth. Their love was not like many others claimed it was. It was not a sin... It was not immoral... It was not temporary.
Their love would last until their dying breaths.