Summary: Cloud visits an old friend and learns some interesting things.
AN: Cloud makes a booty call on Andrea Rhodea. It's not graphic. In fact, it's mostly a vehicle to explore some of Cloud's backstory – let us know what he got up to after he left Shinra. However, if that's a squick for you, my feelings won't be hurt if you want to skip this chapter.
Chapter 5: Like Bees to Honey
All Cloud was going to do was to make sure the boy, Oates, made it back to his orphanage, but instead there was a detour to take care of some monsters that had infested a part of the kids' play area (followed by a whimsical exchange with a boy dressed as a moogle).
When he returned to the main street, he couldn't see Zack, so he walked around the shopping area, checking out the goods. He picked up a nice little earring with a decent protection enchantment for less than he could've gotten elsewhere. He grabbed a muffin from a diner that tasted worse than it should've.
He found the place Oates called home. It was clean. Seemed well cared for. Better than he'd expected from Sector 5, the poorest of the western sectors.
When he'd explored everything he could, Cloud went back to the road and debating going to find Zack and his girl. It seemed pretty intrusive though. It'd been a long time since they'd seen each other, and if Cloud's reading of the situation was right, they'd both been missing each other something fierce. If they were wrapped around each other, they probably wouldn't appreciate him coming up there to gawk.
Besides, there wasn't a place for him to stay here – not one with a decent shower anyway.
Cloud could make it back to Sector 7 – his apartment had a full-size bathroom, and all he'd have to do was go up onto the collapsed highway and circle around the wall. Easy enough, but he didn't want to sleep alone tonight.
Cloud didn't often wish for more than what he had. Not anymore. It was usually enough that he was alive and free of Shinra. He had a circle of friends – a small circle, it was true, but they were his and true. He had an even smaller group of friends who were occasionally more than just friends.
Decision made he turned back to the main thoroughfare. Chadley's white hair stood out in the dim light from the nearby stores.
"Heya Chadley," he said as he got close.
"Hello again, Cloud. Do you have new data for me?"
"Sorry, no. Do me a favour?"
The boy nodded slightly. "Of course. Whatever is in my power."
So Cloud asked Chadley to give a message to Zack when they came by. They'd have to pass this point, even if they didn't take the most direct path to the girl's house. (Something else he'd scoped out while he was wandering.
"Make sure to tell him I'll be back tomorrow around nine."
"At this spot, exactly?" Chadley asked. Cloud nodded. "I will tell him so. Thank you for your trust in me."
The boy was odd, and Cloud had some suspicions about his origins, but he was harmless. And occasionally helpful.
The trip to Sector 6 took no time at all since he let Deza run the full way. It wasn't polite, but it was fun. The few people on the road backed up to the edges as he passed. Hopefully, they'd assume he belonged to Sam's crew and direct their complaints there.
While Deza ran, he let his mind wander. He'd dropped his dreams of being more than what he was when he'd realized that SOLDIER was nothing but lab rats who'd survived and not the heroes they were marketed as. And yet…
Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class, declared dead in '03, had revived a lot of thoughts of what could've been. A lot of what ifs…
What if, Cloud mused. What if he'd made it into SOLDIER? Would he've been able to stop Sephiroth in Nibelheim? Would he've been able to save his ma, and Tifa's father. And maybe save Zack from years of torture? Would he've become a hero with his picture in the magazines?
It was what he'd dreamed of long ago, when he'd said good-bye to Tifa in Nibelheim. That he'd return a SOLDIER, a hero, and sweep Tifa up in his arms, and all the other villagers would just stand there, doing nothing, because he'd shown them.
It had been a childish dream. One they'd since given up on. They were friends, sure, but he'd learned too much about himself in his years away from small-town Nibelheim.
Cloud walked Deza through edge of Wall Market to Sam's place on the S6-7 Road, paying to stable him overnight. Then he walked into the noise and the crowds of the central area. There were businesses crammed into every available space, and they all shouted their offerings to the shifting horde, which was twice as thick now that the seediness was fully hidden
Cloud got a bit of extra space because of his sword, but there were just too many people, and the paths were too narrow. He got bumped and jostled, and occasionally, felt up.
Some days, he didn't like the press, but tonight it grounded him. Forced him to be aware of his physicality and forced him away from his thoughts.
Tonight, it was just what he needed.
A quick stop to drop off his laundry, and then to the Honeybee Inn. As always, there was a lineup, but the bouncer just nodded and let Cloud through. They'd worked together back when Cloud had nothing but his mako-enhanced muscles to get him a job under the plate. Back when he really had been nobody.
His first step through to reception and he smelled it: beeswax and honeysuckle from candles placed around the room – available for sale at the desk at a ridiculous price. (Cloud had a couple at his place for when he needed the warmth of nostalgia.)
"Hey, Luka," he greeted the receptionist.
"Mr Cloud. How nice to see you again." It embarrassed Cloud to be addressed as a high-status visitor, but Luka insisted.
"Is Andy available?" he asked.
"Mr Rhodea is expected on stage shortly, but he will be free after that."
That was reassuring. They didn't have an exclusive relationship, but it would still be awkward if Andy'd arranged to spend time with someone else.
"You will watch the show?" It was more than a suggestion. Cloud could skip it, but Andy was a good choreographer, and he was proud of his dancers. Many of his people managed to move to upper Midgar, getting work in the shows on Loveless Avenue. He'd be offended if Cloud decided to skip the show.
On the other hand, if Andy saw him in the crowd…
Cloud sighed. He'd have to risk it. "Please let him know I'm here, but that I'm dirty from travel, and I have my sword."
"I will tell him." Luka leaned forward. "It may not dissuade him."
Maybe Cloud could find a table in the back, out of the lights. "Thanks, Luka."
"My pleasure, Mr Cloud."
Cloud nodded to the honeygirls and boys he knew.
Outside of the Honeybee Inn they'd be called hookers. Here, they were personal entertainers. Unlike the brothels directly controlled by Don Corneo, at the Honeybee Inn each entertainer could set limits to what services they provided. Those limits were strictly enforced by the Inn's staff. It was a form of safety in a job where there was normally very little.
The inner antechamber featured the same silk and velvet decorations, the same candles, and a fountain topped by two honeybees kissing. It was tacky as hell, but Cloud kind of loved it.
"Cloud!" The first voice was followed by several other Honeys. Cloud said hi to them all. "Are you dancing tonight?"
"I hope not. I'm dirty and I got shit-kickers on." He lifted a foot so they could see how heavy his boots were. The Honeys made appropriate horrified sounds. It didn't stop them from dragging him into the showroom, right to the front where the stage lights were sure to catch him.
When a tray of finger food – what Andy called appetisers – showed up at his table unordered, he ate them. (They weren't as good as the steam buns he'd shared with Zack, but they filled a hole.)
The pre-show was on: contortionists, jugglers, acrobats, and other performers who didn't fit into a dance routine but were too good not to perform. The Honeys chatted through them all. How was his trip? Did he find anything interesting, buy anything interesting? Had he remembered to drop off the medicine to Layle's Grandma in Healin and how was she?
Cloud answered them softly, knowing how much the performers on stage heard even over the music.
Then the lights dimmed, the crowed stilled, and everyone held their breath.
Cloud watched the dancers move through their complicated sets. Every motion was designed to celebrate sensuality. Each couple pressed together as if they were inches away from getting naked right there on stage. And then they switched around. Twosomes became threesomes, then back to twosomes again, but this time men danced with men, and women with women. It didn't matter. None of the groups looked like being on stage stopped them from enjoying each other's bodies.
Then they paused, parted, and Andrea Rhodea was there, centre stage.
Tight-fitting clothes, sleek and shiny, wrapped around him. It glistened like silk, but it was perfect because he moved like silk too. He flowed in and between the circling dancers, joining them for a brief touch before moving on. It was perfectly Andrea, and Cloud appreciated every movement.
He knew the exact moment he was spotted. Andy smiled and his hands formed a heart over his chest. One beat.
Cloud wasn't good displaying his emotions in public, but he placed a hand over his heart and fluttered it a couple times. Andy smiled and turned back to his routine.
The Honeys with Cloud cooed and fussed. A quick glance at nearby tables showed him that people were looking at him. Cloud sank down in his seat and ignored them all. He watched the show. Lifts and turns, slides and jumps, all designed to make the watchers want…
Cloud wasn't pulled on stage. He was grateful, considering, but also… Also disappointed.
Cloud had started at the Inn as a bouncer, but the pay was better if you could dance. He'd learned some moves – mostly lifting the dancers, walking around the stage with them, and then putting them down in a reasonably graceful manner. He'd been pretty self-conscious, and honestly, pretty horrible, but he'd been cute and muscled and could lift any of the dancers.
One day, during rehearsal, he'd realized that dancing made him be aware of his body and each body moving around him in a way he hadn't been since leaving the army. He had to track each person as they moved so that he was there doing that at a precise moment and time… and then he had to keep moving, keep going no matter what.
He'd realized that dancing was like fighting and he'd fallen in love with it.
Andy had seen him shimmying up the street on a quiet morning, practicing his footwork in front of an uncaring, hung-over crowd. It was that, rather than Jules's friendship, that had brought them together.
Four years later they were still casual lovers because Andrea Rhodea didn't do exclusive, but Cloud still loved to watch him move.
After the bows and curtain calls, Andy sauntered over. A raised eyebrow had the Honeys scattering in a giggling cloud.
"Cloud," Andy purred. He brushed his cheek along Cloud's. "It's been far too long."
Andy always sounded like sex and Cloud always blushed. "You were great up there."
Andy waved it away. "I had… inspiration." He glanced down at Cloud's crotch, and Cloud knew he'd noticed the bulge. Andy smiled. "So how long do I have you for?"
"Gotta pickup tomorrow," Cloud answered.
"All night! How wonderful." Andrea stood up, holding out his hand in obvious expectation that he'd be obeyed.
Cloud looked at it. He knew what everyone would think when he took it. But in the end, what a roomful of strangers thought was less important than a pebble in the dirt. He took Andy's hand, and let himself be pulled upright.
"Don't you have to do a circuit first?" he asked softly.
"It's neither opening nor closing night," Andy said. But he turned to the crowd with a wave and wished them all a pleasant visit at the Inn. Then he gave Cloud an exaggerated leer and led him out of the room.
The antechamber was just as crowded as before. Cloud played his part, letting Andy guide him and pet him, while he tipped his head shyly. He let himself sneer at the few people who looked scandalized, and he smiled in triumph at the few who looked jealous.
Once the door to Andy's private rooms shut, the act was dropped. "You are a love, Cloud. Playing along in my little scene." Andrea Rhodea had a strong personality, but he wasn't dominant. It was why Don Corneo now owned the Inn and not its founder
Cloud shrugged. "Doesn't hurt me any to be underestimated."
"Only a fool would underestimate you." Andy twirled away to sit in front of his large vanity. He didn't wear much makeup on stage, but under the stage lights, everybody needed some. "I heard you'd been seen around town, but you didn't stop to visit with anyone." ("Anyone" meaning Andy's brother Jules.)
"Had a delivery in Sector 5," Cloud said from the doorway. He'd removed his boots, not wanting to get their dirt on Andy's white rug. "Wanted to get it done before your show."
Andy leaned back to give him a sharp-eyed look. "Partly a lie, but you did end up here, so who am I to complain?"
Cloud walked barefoot to the doorway of the dressing room. "I got a little sidetracked, but I always intended to come." Which was true, but when he'd first thought of ending this trip in Andy's bed, there'd been no urgency to the idea, just a casual 'wouldn't it be nice'.
"You have the best shower under the plate," Cloud teased. "Of course, I'd come to see you."
He'd worked hard for his emotions to stop at 'wouldn't it be nice'.
Andrea looked at him in the mirror, eyes wide and mouth open in astonishment. The he laughed. Not his social titter but a full laugh. One that caused wrinkles. Cloud's smiled widened.
"Asshole," Andy said fondly.
"Wanna join me?" Cloud asked. From his pocket, he pulled the small strip of condoms he purchased at the same time he'd picked up Zack's.
A final wipe to remove the last of the paint, and Andy stood up, stood close to Cloud. "Of course."
Cloud hadn't been teasing about Andy's shower. It was huge, with lots of jets and lots of hot water filtered to almost above-the-plate quality. It also had convenient ledges and hand holds that they made good use of. Round one was a slow exploration of each other's bodies. It was nibbles, soft licks, and touching with fingertips. It was each making sure they still responded to each other the same way.
Round two was much more energetic. They moved to Andy's ridiculously big bed and Cloud took charge in a way no one who'd seen them downstairs would've believed. Cloud's personality may have been muted, but he wasn't submissive, and he soon had Andy begging and pleading.
Cloud kept to the steady, deliberate rhythm he preferred, kept to it, stuck to it…. Until he couldn't anymore.
Then it was laying next to each other. Too warm where they touched but cool where the sweat evaporated from skin. It was a lovely lazy feeling, and almost as good as the sex.
"That was wonderful," Andy said. He stretched where he lay under Cloud, and Cloud couldn't help but grab his ass just to feel the muscles move. It made Andy laugh. He rolled onto his back, away from Cloud's grabby hands. Cloud adjusted grumpily.
"Don't fall asleep on me, there's a love."
"You feel good," Cloud muttered.
"You feel like you've been living in a desert," Andy complained. "Don't you use moisturizer?"
No. "Ran out."
Andy grabbed fistful of hair and gave Cloud's head a shake. "Liar."
Cloud was unbothered by the accusation. "Maybe a little."
He huffed as Andy rolled out of bed, but since he now had the full thing to himself, Cloud took advantage and spread out as much as he could. There were satin sheets in the entertainment rooms downstairs, but up here Andy used only the highest thread count cotton sheets – and the cotton was from the Cosmo Plains, too. Andy had probably paid as much for this one set of sheets as Cloud had spent on Deza.
Andy came back with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Cloud groaned a protest but lifted himself until he was sitting against the headboard. He took the glass of red that Andy gave him and sipped. Andy watched him one eyebrow raised. This was a test then.
Cloud let the liquid sit on his tongue, moving it only slightly. Acidic like most of Andy's preferred wines, it was still rich and smooth. There were hints of apple and … nutmeg? He tried to think of an area he'd equate with grapes, apples and nutmeg but couldn't. He shook his head. "Tastes good," he said with a shrug, and took a larger drink.
Andy smiled in triumph. "Hardly surprising you couldn't place it. It's a new winery out in Banora. This was their first run."
Cloud took the bottle Andy held out to him. It had a pretty label, and a bland name probably chosen to sound old and established. Bottled in year 02. Five years ago. Same year he'd spent in a coma, wandering a white featureless plain, unable to find his body. Same year Sephiroth had burned down Nibelheim and Zack had been taken to be experimented on.
"Banora used to be famous for its apples," Andy said, pouring more wine into their glasses. "There was a blight in year zero, or something. Destroyed most of the trees, so they switched to grapes. I, for one, am happy they did."
It was decent wine. One that Cloud would never buy for himself.
Andy curled to face him. "So, do you have any gossip from the rural heartland?"
Cloud shook his head. "Same old. Quiet trip until I hit the Midgar wastelands. Makes me wonder if that environmental group might be right."
"Right about what?" Andy asked with a slight sniff. "And which group? Midgar seems to be overrun with them lately."
"Right about the damage being done to the planet," Cloud answered carefully. "Go out a couple days, and most animals run away when I get near. Here, they attack. And they're bigger."
"Maybe, like humans, they have to be more aggressive because resources are scarcer," Andy suggested.
Cloud shrugged and let it drop. "What've you heard?"
Andy shimmied a little, eager to share his news. "Well, speaking of environmental groups, the president might be getting a little impatient with Heidegger's lack of progress against Avalanche."
"Avalanche is crazy." Cloud snorted then frowned. "I thought they'd blown themselves up, or something."
"Some of them maybe, but if Wutai is backing them, they'll never really go away."
Which was true, but Cloud was hesitant to believe Avalanche was Wutaian. It suited Shinra's propaganda aims too well.
"They've managed to destroy a lot of things the president cares about," Andy said. "Including his relationship with his only legitimate child."
"He'll welcome Rufus back at some point. Legacy." Cloud said. "Who else's he got to take over."
"Well, barring the return of the prodigal son, the only other competent member of the board is Scarlet." He must've seen something in Cloud's expression. "What? Don't you think she's the only choice?"
"It's not that," Cloud said reluctantly. He drank the last of his wine.
Andy filled his glass back up. "Spill."
With a sigh, Cloud gave in. "Dunno if I'd call any of them competent," he said. "In Wutai, their planning was shit. Coordination between departments was double shit. Half the tech she sent broke down or went crazy killing Shinra troops. SOLDIERs are the only reason they won."
"But they did win."
"Having a bigger stick than the other guy doesn't make you competent. Just makes you a better bully."
Andy gave him a small smile. "Do you know many people who think Shinra's a bully?"
Cloud carefully sipped his wine. "Always be someone complaining," he said. "We could be balls deep in the Promised Land and some would still complain."
This time Andy's laugh was real. "That's true enough. Along the same vein, rumour has it that the head of Administrative Research is dead, and that it was another Turk who did the job."
Cloud grunted in surprise. News about the Turks was rare. In fact, nobody outside Shinra's higher levels was supposed to know the Administrative Research department wasn't a bunch of statisticians crunching numbers and writing reports nobody read. Cloud had been part of Shinra, and he hadn't known what department they belonged to. He'd only found out because of Andy's gossip.
Like he'd told Zack, a lot of information sifted through Wall Market and it was worth Andy's life to keep on top of it all passing it up as necessary – or down as requested.
It occurred to Cloud, not for the first time, that one of the reasons Andy didn't settle into anything long-term exclusive was so Corneo couldn't get that kind of leverage on him. It was, in an odd way, Andy's way of protecting his lovers.
Of course, Andy could've left Sector 6 when Corneo'd moved in. Sector 7 would've welcomed him. Cloud had suggested it once, to both Andy and Jules, but they'd invested too much of themselves here and neither had been willing to start over.
Jules had managed to avoid Corneo's notice for the most part, and his business continued without change. Andrea Rhodea, owner of the iconic Honeybee Inn, had not.
"Well," Cloud finally said. "Wasn't like they'd let the guy retire to Costa del Sol."
"Did you ever meet the former head?" Andy asked. "What was his name? Verd, Verdot…"
Cloud shook his head. "Did one job with a Turk. Was disastrous." He sipped his wine. Still not something he'd buy. "Do they ever show up here?" He tried to imagine the Turks he'd seen, dark suited and blank, sitting at one of the tables downstairs with a Honey of either sex draped over them. He failed.
"Not that I'm aware of," Andy said. "You know, for a super-secret spy organization, they don't try to blend in much."
"Maybe." Cloud smirked. "But would you recognize one outta the suit?"
Andy opened his mouth. Closed it again, and hummed understanding.
He gave Cloud a long look. They'd kicked the top sheet off earlier. Cloud hadn't bothered pulling it back up. Here, in Andy's bed, Cloud was as unselfconscious about his sexuality as he ever was. More than he'd ever thought possible when he'd been that scrawny Strife brat back in Nibelheim.
He watched Andy looking at him, and very carefully, very deliberately, poured some of the wine into his navel. He waited 'til Andy lifted his eyes to his.
"Oops," Cloud said, and started round three.