Chapter 6: Satiation
Cloud's leg was bouncing in nervousness as they pulled into the small village bordering Wutai. His stomach was in knots as his face pressed to the glass, fighting car sickness as he thought about just what he was going to say to Zack. Would he even want to see him? He had been avoiding him, and after what had happened, he couldn't blame him.
"You're not going to puke in here, right?" Genesis grumbled warily, looking over. "You're pale."
"I'm always pale," Cloud managed back, holding his stomach as he considered the possibility that Zack might know what he had done with Sephiroth.
"Yeah," Genesis agreed. "But you're a bit extra right now. Kind of green around the gills."
"Carsick," Cloud answered shortly, cracking the window to get some air.
"Uh huh," Genesis murmured suspiciously, parking the car. "Don't worry so much. Didn't I tell you he was excited?"
"You were lying," Cloud replied, gripping the handle to the truck.
"I mean, yeah," The SOLDIER agreed. "But probably only a little." Genesis got out of the car, grabbing the bag of weapons he had managed to scrounge up from all the victims they had left behind. The thought of all those bodies made him want to hurl again as he followed the other, grabbing for his share.
They made their way through the small village, heading towards the inn as Genesis motioned towards a noodle stand. "Hungry?"
He was starving, even in his nausea. It felt like he couldn't get enough calories lately. Maybe he had a tapeworm? "Thanks," he reached out, grabbing Genesis' arm. "I mean it. Thanks, for saving me back there."
Genesis sneered, rolling his eyes. "Don't get sentimental on me. I told you, I was doing my job." He pulled his arm away as he motioned towards the entrance to the Inn. "He must already have smelled you."
Cloud glared at Genesis. "I don't smell!"
"The fuck you don't..." Genesis argued, grinning as he waved. Cloud's heart clenched as he saw Zack standing in the doorway. The other was dressed in his SOLDIER gear, staring at them in worry. He had his normal color back from the last time he had seen him. He looked better. What would happen if Cloud made him sick again? What did it matter when he finally couldn't hide from him anymore? His feet carried him over without thinking, eyes dilated as he smiled at Zack, the other grinning at him as he got close.
"Spike," Zack greeted, looking like a nervous ball of energy as he shifted from foot to foot. "What are you doing going on missions with Genesis?" he asked him playfully.
Cloud shrugged. "He's not so bad...Kind of getting used to his poetry." He wanted to say so much. He wanted to tell him how sorry he was. He wanted to confess about what he had done with Sephiroth. He wanted to kiss those grinning lips. "What are you doing here?"
Zack glanced around at the small fishing village. "They don't want any part of the Wutai War. They help us if we keep them out of it. It's close to Wutai, and they're generous with their food."
"But you hate fish," Cloud teased, grinning stupidly like he couldn't help himself as his fingers itched to reach out and touch the SOLDIER. What was he doing? They hadn't talked about any of this. They hadn't discussed boundaries…or how they felt.
The dark haired SOLDIER shrugged, reaching out to take the bag of weapons from Cloud, hefting it over his shoulder. "Better than MREs. Are you okay?"
He didn't know if he were referring towards his condition, or what had happened back with Genesis, but he supposed they had the same answer. "Not really," he admitted his weakness. "I need to talk to you."
"Aren't we talking?" Zack questioned, raising his eyebrow, that same nervous shifting still happening.
"In private," Cloud managed, seeing Zack's smile falter.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Spike," the SOLDIER managed, and Cloud narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you avoiding me!?" he bit out before he could help himself.
"Why?" Zack asked sarcastically, as if Cloud were a bit dim. "Are you kidding?"
Rejection flooded through him as he felt his eyes water slightly, hating the emotion as he turned it to anger instead. "You're better."
"For now," Zack supplied.
"So what?" Cloud questioned. "We're not friends anymore? I lost my best friend just because of my...condition." he supplied, not knowing what else to refer to it as.
Zack gave a wry laugh. "That what we're calling what we are now? A condition?"
Blue eyes narrowed at his friend. "I can call you what you are if you want." He remembered back in the hotel room. He remembered how he had reacted. He remembered how Sephiroth had reacted too.
Cloud watched Zack swallow hard at that, his eyes becoming slightly feral as he stepped closer, over a head taller than him as he looked down. "Don't you dare. It's not a joke."
"I'm not laughing," the blond agreed. "I just want to talk with you. I'm confused, and I want to talk."
"Is that what you want to do?" Zack questioned, reaching out with his free hand to tilt up Cloud's chin. "Talk?"
He shook his head in denial, locked in those violet eyes. "But you want to...I know you do."
Zack's gloved fingers trailed down his jawline, eyelids heavy as he turned his face gently to the side to reveal his beating pulse. "I want to," he admitted. "Of course I do. I have since I met you. That's not the problem."
Heat came to his face at the confession, eyebrows knitting with need. "You know I did too, right? I mean...I don't think I could have been more obvious about it." He turned his head back towards Zack, seeing how brightly his eyes were glowing.
Cloud reached out, cupping Zack's face and tracing over the scar on his cheek. "Stop being so stubborn," he leaned up, feeling Zack's breath on his lips. He was going off pure instinct as need coursed through him. "One of you has to do it...I need…" To be bred, fucked, claimed, knotted...he needed so bad. He knew his mistake as that violet spread across Zack's schlereras and a deep growl filled his chest.
"One of us?" the SOLDIER managed, and Cloud paled at his mistake as he pulled back away from Zack as if burned. Betrayal and hurt etched its way across Zack's features, and Cloud shook his head to try to stop the spread of pain.
"I didn't mean anything by it!" he tried, stepping further back. "I just want this feeling to go away. I'm not myself, and I just want so badly…"
"One of us?" Zack repeated, dropping the bag of weapons as he lunged forward and grabbed Cloud's hips, yanking him close. "Genesis?"
"What?" Cloud questioned, actually confused at the question, hands reaching down to cover Zack's hands on his waist.
"I have the noodles Blondie," Genesis managed, walking up with several containers, and freezing as he saw the situation. "How did you manage to piss him off this fast?"
Genesis shot back as Zack lunged at him, pulling out his sword as swung at the SOLDIER's face. The soup went clattering to the floor as Genesis pulled out his own blade to block, using his second hand to brace the weapon as he held it against the other's assault.
"What the hell?" Genesis questioned, gritting his teeth as he shoved him backwards. "Warn a guy before you go psycho on them."
"You touched him!" Zack hissed at him, that deep growl echoing through the air, and Cloud felt wetness soak the back of his pants as a keening whine left him. That growl was full of possession and anger. It was commanding.
Genesis shot him a look, covering up his nose as amber began to spread across his eyes, his teeth growing. "Fucking hell," he managed, blocking a barrage of attacks from Zack as they skidded across the village.
"Stop," Cloud managed, taking a deep breath to try to control himself. "Stop!" he managed as Zack swung towards the other's head. Genesis was Zack's friend. This was his fault. This was always his fault.
"I didn't touch your boy toy!" Genesis managed, panting as he defended himself. "I can't think with that smell. It's foggy...just...make it stop."
"Zack!" Cloud managed, screaming in worry as a sword came down, slashing across Genesis' shoulder. He didn't want to call him in need. Zack didn't want him to.
Violet eyes slowly turned to him then, seeming to get control of himself as he looked over to Genesis who had turned away. "I'm sorry," he managed, seeming in pain as he took a deep breath. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"There's nothing wrong with you," Cloud promised him, walking over to him, oblivious to the villagers wary around them at the fighting. "There's nothing wrong." He was doing this to him again. He didn't hesitate as he finally got to him, pulling Zack's mouth down to his as he had wanted to do since the first moment he had seen him.
Zack reacted instantly, reaching down and grabbing Cloud's legs, hoisting him up on his hips as he kissed him roughly. Cloud moaned at the taste as a tongue pushed into his mouth, the other stumbling across the road with him on hips as he struggled to get back to the Inn.
Cloud's fingers were fisted in dark spikes as the other carried him up the stairs, banging open the door to one of the rooms as they couldn't get enough. He grunted as he was thrown on the bed, wincing at how hard the mattress was as he attempted to scoot back on his elbows, laughing as Zack all but pounced on top of him before capturing his lips again.
They broke apart as Zack sat up, struggling to get the holster off his back before shedding himself of his tank top. "Take off your pants," he managed, working on his own belt as his fingers were shaky as he worked on the buckle.
Cloud could only stare at the perfect toned body revealed to him, feeling that need deep in his belly as he was transfixed with Zack ripping down his pants. "Zack…" he managed, voice breathy as dark hair led down to a hard cock, the other throwing his pants across the room.
"Your clothes are still on," Zack managed in frustration, chest panting as his hand came up to his hair to clench at it in frustration. "What am I doing? I shouldn't be…" Cloud sat up before he could continue, leaning down and taking that hard cock into his mouth without hesitation.
He swallowed around the hard organ, trying not to choke as he didn't really know what he was doing. He just didn't want Zack to leave again. He just wanted him so bad. He sucked around the head of Zack's cock, looking up into blown out violet eyes as the other watched him in want, hand coming encouragingly to his spikes as he began to control the speed, thrusting in and out of his mouth as if he couldn't help himself.
Cloud gagged a little, trying to accommodate as he kept his eyes locked with Zack's, drawing him back into himself as he whined around him. He was allowed to pull back as he began to work on the buttons of his uniform. "I didn't touch Genesis. I just want to touch you."
Zack grinned at him, reaching out to help with the uniform jacket, fingers opening the buttons as he growled in frustration. "Why are there so many?" he questioned, before he tackled him back and kissed him again.
He wrapped his arms around that neck, drinking him in as Zack ripped open his uniform, working on his pants next and sliding them down his hips. Cloud moaned as the other paused then, studying him as he lay back and tore open his uniform jacket. The blond let his legs fall open slowly, trying not to blush as his own cock was hard against his stomach, the area between his legs soaked with whatever it was that made alpha's lose their minds.
"Do you want to claim me?" he asked, because it wouldn't just be sex. They both knew that. They both knew that what was happening to Zack wasn't just because he was an alpha. It wasn't just because Cloud was going through a cycle. It was because they wanted each other. They belonged to each other.
Zack nodded, pupils blown as his eyes raked down his body. "Can I?" he questioned, and Cloud thought he was referring to claiming him...and that's all his body wanted. A fever was starting to break across his skin as want consumed him.
He didn't fill him though. Instead, he leaned down and licked at the wetness between his legs. Cloud keened as a tongue slipped into his wet heat. "Zack!" he managed, bucking up as a tongue pressed inside of him. He heard a wet slurping sound as Zack ate him out, a hand coming to his dick as he pumped him, and he saw white as pleasure coursed through him as his body became lost in a haze.
He came when Zack slipped two fingers in along with that tongue, opening to the girth as his entrance tightened around them. Cum covered his stomach as his body flushed. He wanted more. It wasn't enough. He grabbed for the other in a whine, ripping at the other to pull him up as Zack came without complaint, kissing him as their tastes mixed within their mouths.
Zack pulled back to look down at him, more in control now than he had been while fighting Genesis. "If we do this…"
"We're doing this," Cloud argued, causing Zack to smile down at him, kissing him softly as he pet across those spikes.
"If we do...and I...I'm not sure what will happen," he managed. "I could hurt you."
"You won't hurt me," Cloud managed, edge in his voice as he grabbed for the other. "Please...I'll beg...I'll beg if you want me to." He sat up enough to hoist up his hips, aligning himself so he was on Zack's lap, hand pressing behind him to hold himself up. "Just make it stop."
"Make what stop?" Zack managed, eyes glued between their legs as Cloud rubbed up against his cock.
"The wanting," Cloud whimpered. "I am an Omega...and I could be yours. Only yours."
"Omega?" Zack questioned, lifting Cloud up slightly as he rearranged them. "They're just legends...They're not real."
Cloud reacted then, tightening his legs as he pressed his heels hard into Zack's back, pressing him forward as Zack's cock pushed deep inside of him, holding him like a vice to keep him inside as he moaned wantonly and fell backwards, taking Zack with him as he pressed even deeper into his warm wet heat.
"Do I not feel real to you?" he managed, arms wrapping around him as Zack panted into his neck. "Fuck me…" He spoke dirtily, commanding his alpha as his heels pressed hard into his back. Zack was trembling as he was buried in his neck, obviously trying to gain control of himself as he buried in his wet heat. "Zack…" he whined, rocking up against him, groaning as a vice grip on his hips stopped his movement.
Zack's chest began to vibrate, causing the blond to tighten around him as the SOLDIER pulled back enough to stare into his eyes. "I adore you...I don't want this to be out of instinct. I didn't want this to be because you're hurting."
Cloud didn't know how his alpha was possessing such strength to coherantly talk to him while buried in his sex, but he did his best to focus and stop shifting his hips to get him to move. His chest began to rise and fall convulsively, fingers reaching up to slide along that muscled back. "It won't be…" he assured him. "I want you so bad. You make being here bearable." His hands carded through his hair, stopping to cup Zack's face as he stared reverently up at him. "How do you have this kind of control?"
Zack shook his head in denial. "I don't have any...not when it comes to you." He leaned down, capturing his lips softly, and Cloud sighed as the feeling of love...want...need...safety...comfort washed between them.
He whined into that mouth as he was lifted up, Zack kneeling back as he brought him up onto his lap. He sunk deep onto that cock as hands on his hips slowly began to rise him up and down. Adoration and need exploded through him as he wrapped his legs around strong hips, gasping and throwing his head back as Zack broke away from the kiss as they moved together on the bed.
The violet coloring spread across Zack's eyes as they watched each other, and Cloud had never felt so connected as those teeth began to grow. The SOLDIER's hand came to his neck, turning it to the side as he exposed his beating pulse, and Cloud knew what he wanted. Knew out of instinct what it would mean, and he wanted it, but at the same time…
Cloud pressed against Zack's chest before the other could lean down. "Don't...Zack…" He didn't know why he stopped him, but the look of rejection in Zack's eyes sent pain down his spine. "Not yet," he breathed, pulling him to his mouth. "Not yet…" They didn't know what this would all mean. They were going off of pure instinct right now, and they didn't know what would happen if they took this step. If there was another reason...well he just couldn't think about him right now.
Zack nodded slowly, body taut as if he were in pain as he shut his eyes. The next thing he knew he was being tackled backwards as the SOLDIER kissed him hard as he began to speed up his thrusts.
The bed rocked as a wet slapping sound filled the room as that cock pumped in and out of him, lighting his entire body up with pleasure. His nails dug into Zack's back, trying to pull him closer as he keened into his alpha's ear. "More…" he managed, begging as it wasn't enough. This wasn't going to stop the wanting. It wasn't going to make it so that he wasn't needing this all the time.
"Fuck…" Zack managed, voice heavy with pain and need as he sped up his thrusts. "Spike...Spike…look at me…" Blue eyes managed to meet violet as Zack looked terrified. He look ashamed. "I'm sorry," he managed. "I'm sorry but I can't…" He begged forgiveness just as something swelled up inside of him, spreading his insides and causing him to scream in both pain and pleasure as it pressed into him, locking them together as warmth began to flood his insides as he came hard enough around it to white out as his entrance began to convulse. He milked that knot inside of him as his legs fell open and he cried out again as sharp teeth sunk into his shoulder.
He didn't know how long they stayed there like that. Zack's hips were rocking slowly, and Cloud felt his stomach slightly swell as cum pumped into him, and he would consider what that meant later when this wasn't so perfect. Lips kissed along the wound on his shoulder apologetically as the gland in his neck throbbed with want, still unmarked. The need ebbed for the first time in weeks since he had gotten that stomach ache. He felt claimed...wanted...connected to Zack like he had never been connected to anyone in his life.
Zack finally stilled on top of him as his own body stopped contracting around his cock. Cloud whined as he pulled out of him, hating no longer being filled with his alpha, but relaxing as Zack began to kiss along his cheek, ending up at his ear. "I'm so sorry."
Cloud felt drugged as he shifted his legs, not wanting any of the essence to escape him as he managed to come back to himself enough to look over into shame filled eyes. He knitted his eyebrows in worry as Zack looked sick with himself. "Why?" How could he apologize when he had given him everything he had asked for? How could he apologize when he had finally gotten the pain to stop?
Lips pressed to his sweaty blond spikes, and arms tightened around him as their exhausted limbs entwined. Cloud felt drugged, smiling at the affection as they held each other close. "What I did...I'm not human. It's not normal."
His head turned to face Zack, smiling stupidly at him. "So let's not be normal?" he suggested. "Don't apologize when you just gave me the best sex of my life…" he corrected himself then. "Only sex really...if you don't include handjobs in the showers." And what had happened between him and Sephiroth of course.
Zack chuckled into his ear, kissing along his jawline almost reverently as Cloud shifted closer. "I can't stay away from you anymore. I tried so hard to protect you, but I want you."
Cloud pulled him into a slow sloppy kiss. "I want you too...if you hadn't noticed." he smiled sleepily at him, kissing him again. "Don't do it again. I didn't want to go through this alone, and you left."
"I was trying to…" Cloud interrupted before he could finish.
"You weren't protecting me by abandoning me," he admonished. "I have no idea what's happening to me. What's happening to my body...my senses. You could have made the pain stop weeks ago."
Guilt filled those violet eyes, and Zack leaned down to kiss his shoulder apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Spike."
"I think somebody did this to me, Zack," Cloud whispered, telling secrets between them in the uncomfortable bed. "Genesis and I found all these experiments. He told me Professor Hojo had sent him to watch over me."
A low growl filled the air as anger came over Zack's normally jovial features. "Hojo?" he asked with such distaste that Cloud knew the scientist had done something to him before.
Cloud nodded slowly. "I think he's the reason I was in the hospital. I think I'm an experiment, but I can't remember." He shook his head in fear. "Sephiroth took a bunch of samples. He's helping me figure out what I am."
"Sephiroth?" Zack questioned, brows knitting in question, before relaxing. "Good...he's a genius. He can help us figure this out."
Guilt swam in his stomach at the level of trust Zack had for the General, and he knew then that he could never tell him what had happened between them. It hadn't meant anything, how could it? Sephiroth was just weakened by his condition. Just like Zack had been, but there wasn't the same haze. There was just comfort...love...he felt safe. Sephiroth wouldn't want him when he saw him again. It would be okay to keep this hidden.
"Just don't leave again," Cloud commanded, rolling over to lay on Zack's shoulder as strong arms wrapped around his lithe frame. "I want to be with you. Of course I want to be with you, but you were my friend too. I got used to you showing up after classes and making me laugh. I got used to your hugs when I would feel like giving up. I never had anyone before, and I was never good at talking. But you got to me to talk. You got me to believe in myself, and then you didn't believe that I wouldn't judge you."
Zack kissed his shoulder again, and Cloud could feel the pain that was exuding through him. He didn't want to make him hurt. He just didn't want for him to leave again. He tilted his chin up to meet that mouth, giving him his forgiveness, before laying back on that inviting chest.
"We'll figure it out, Spike," Zack murmured finally. "Together. I won't let anyone hurt you again...especially not me. Sephiroth will have the answers. We'll figure out, and then we'll be a normal couple who doesn't have to worry about ruts or heats, or ancient creatures that the Shinra somehow made us into." Zack yanked the blanket up over them. "Cloud, you believe me, right?"
Cloud hummed in agreement, exhaustion surrounding his senses as he kissed just above his heart to give his approval. "I believe you," Cloud managed, and as he slipped to sleep feeling more content than he had ever before in his life he tried not to think about how Sephiroth could tell Zack. He could take this all away.
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