Cloud stopped. He wasn't alone.
He listened intently to every sound, trying to catalog each one. On that late summer afternoon, the variety of new noise was exciting and overwhelming to foreign ears. The birds in the distance were a species that had no English name yet, there was a breeze, some small woodland animals dashing around, and a lovely stream nearby.
But just beneath all that, there was softly strained breathing. It was a desperate sound, and it was trying unsuccessfully to be quiet. When Cloud pulled the musket off of his back and the sound stopped.
Whoever it was couldn't hold their breath forever, and Cloud waited a few moments until there was a little gasp of air intake. And to the left, there was a bright splash of silver in the gathered brush that didn't quite belong.
Cloud kicked away the brush with his musket pointed, ready to defend himself against whoever might have leapt out.
The native didn't leap at him, although he was completely defiant with his fists clenched and his eyes slammed shut. His long, bright silver hair was striking, very unlike the dark hair of most of his people, and it had been the thing to give away his hiding spot. All he had to wear were dark brown leather leggings and slip-shoes, besides a few bright green and blue peacock feathers woven into his hair.
Even though he carried a sword on his hip and wore the faded face paint of a warrior, he wasn't trying to fight. Cloud carefully crouched down and touched the man's arm. The native tensed, but still did not open his eyes.
"A thousand apologies, but you must leave now..." Cloud said gently, hoping that speaking kindly enough would somehow put the native at ease.
The man then looked up at Cloud with the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen. He whispered something and blinked slowly up at him, sickness making sleep gather in his eyes so heavily his thick black eyelashes stuck together.
The weak whisper of the native was still deep enough to resonate inside Cloud's chest. He swallowed, completely taken aback by the man's exotic beauty, "... Your people are gone, and you need to leave as well. I'm sorry... I won't hurt you, but another might if they find you. You have to go."
He couldn't have known what Cloud was saying, and gave him a pleading gaze that stole his breath and made his pulse quicken. This native was simply the most beautiful man Cloud had ever seen in his life, the kind of angelic vision sailors talked about but could never really describe in any way that made sense outside the terms of myth and monster. Maybe this man was something supernatural...
"CHOO!" The native let out a wet, whooping, and very mortal sneeze that startled Cloud halfway to death. The man gracelessly wiped his nose with the back of his hand, snorted up a snot bubble and his head fell down weakly onto the grass.
When the shock passed, Cloud bit his lip and considered his options. He was assigned to patrol the area and shoo away any remaining stragglers, using any force necessary. It was a holy medicine land to the natives, but the English needed the sturdy wood of the surrounding trees to build more solid structures in the colony for the coming winter. The natives had not been pleased, and had tried to make a stand against further invasion despite the fact that most of them were deathly ill with a summer flu.
This beautiful native man must have been in the area hoping to find a remedy for himself and lost his strength. It was a miracle he hadn't been discovered sooner and made to leave, or worse.
Cloud settled on his knees carefully, "I know you're not well... you can't stay here, though. If someone else finds you, they will kill you. Do you understand?"
The native was shivering without his brush cover, despite the warm afternoon. Cloud wondered how long he'd been hiding there, and felt his eyes water in empathy for this lonely, sick and dying man.
Cloud had been raised in an orphanage, and joined the British navy when he was eleven years old. He'd spent most of his life hungry, cold, and fighting off unwelcome romantic advances from lonely sailors who found Cloud's pretty face, spiky blonde hair, and blue eyes to be very enticing when nothing female was around. It was a hard life, but he'd also been shown kindness by countless strangers as he made his way through childhood and the navy, all the way to the New World.
Cloud was eighteen now but he still had a soft heart for people when they were clearly in need. He couldn't just send this man off to die alone in the wilderness. Cloud wished he'd found him a few days earlier when there were more natives still around that could help, or at least would have been able to comfort him in his final hours.
"What's your name?" Cloud asked. "Name? I'm Cloud."
The man wasn't interested in making friends, and threw his arm over his head as he muttered what didn't even need to be translated into, 'Go the hell away.'
Cloud considered putting the warrior out of his misery with a merciful bullet, but that option was an ugly one. Something didn't feel right about pushing the Shin-Ra natives off their own land... Cloud hadn't been put into the position to need to kill any of them himself, but also hadn't voiced any suggestions to share the land somehow rather than simply take it. The leaders made it clear that the New World was not a democracy, they needed to follow orders because they were in survival mode as they set up a permanent colony before winter. But guilt had been hanging over Cloud since his first days in this beautiful new place full of things and people he'd never seen before. Even if it didn't make anything right about what he'd been a part of until this moment, he was now presented with a rare chance to do something noble.
"I'm going to pick you up - up we go!" Cloud announced, sliding his hand beneath the native's neck and knees to pull him up into his arms. He was easily a foot taller than Cloud and far more muscular, but he wasn't as heavy as his frame suggested. It was easy to carry him, until he began to struggle and grunt a million curses at him.
"Settle down, there's no shame in being carried a bit. I'm taking you someplace safe," and with that, Cloud trotted back to camp with the unhappy native barely contained in his arms.
His tent was on the edge of the small, loose collection of thrown-together structures that made up their camp. Being a single man with some military training he was on the outskirts, while families with women and children were closer to the center to be more protected. And as he'd hoped, everyone was too busy with his or her own tasks to notice Cloud as he snuck the native man inside.
Cloud set him down on his cot, pulled off his hip holster that carried his sword, and threw two heavy blankets on top of him. He then quickly fetched him a tin of water, then a second and third when the native drank thirstily. Cloud took out a small sandwich that was rationed to him for lunch and tore it in half. When he offered it to the native, the man had the nerve to turn his nose up.
"Rabbit and bread," Cloud told him. "Eat."
"Feh," the native huffed at him.
"Please try to eat," Cloud insisted, taking a bite of his own half to encourage him. "Tasty! Mmm!"
The native took a small bite of the dry, cold sandwich to appease his captor. He chewed with a miserable, crusty-eyed glare.
Cloud sighed through the sour rabbit meat in his mouth, "I lied to you, it's not tasty at all. But it's all I can give you right now."
The native managed to eat a few bites before he grew too tired to go on. His bright green eyes blurred and became heavy, and he was fast asleep in moments. Cloud took the uneaten food and wrapped it in a parchment in case the native woke up and wanted it later. He decided to hunt something and bring it to the man for dinner. If he was going to recover, food would help... and if he was going to die, Cloud would be content to know that he did all that could be done.
He thought about the native man for the rest of the day, and hoped sincerely that he wouldn't return to a very lovely, but very dead body lying in his cot. He shot down a good sized bird for the native's dinner, hoping that the man would still be alive to eat it. Cloud prepared the bird before retrieving some rations from the colony's base and avoiding any invitations from his comrades to dine with them.
As Cloud approached his tent, he took a breath before stepping in. The man was lying still beneath the blankets in the exact same spot that Cloud had left him in, and dread chilled his spine... until he heard the snoring. He was deeply asleep right where he'd been left bundled in Cloud's cot.
The native looked like the sort of man who would never allow himself to be snuck up on, so Cloud tried to wake him with extra gentle care. With a soft touch to his shoulder and a whisper, Cloud called, "Hello? Sir?"
The man came awake slowly, and with the most sorrowful expression Cloud had ever seen on another human face. This native was completely vulnerable, miserable and exhausted, and didn't have anybody in the world to care for him but a stranger from an enemy tribe that he couldn't understand. Either from frustration, illness, or mourning for his personal losses, tears edged the bright green eyes of the warrior and slid down his cheeks.
"... I'm so sorry," Cloud whispered as tears sprang up in his own eyes, carefully sitting on the edge of the cot. "... Can you eat some more? Then you can go back to sleep."
The man accepted the freshly cooked meat, bread, and water, seeming to understand that his body needed the nourishment even if he didn't have an appetite. They ate in silence together, and when the native couldn't continue he gave his plate back to Cloud. That small action seemed to sap any strength the man had left, and he literally passed out while still sitting up.
Cloud put the plates down and wiped his hands on his trousers, then helped the man lay in a more comfortable position. He was unable to resist combing his fingers through the length of the man's waist length silver hair, and took the liberty of picking out all the leaves, twigs and flowers that had gotten caught up in his tresses while hiding under the brush. He then gently worked out all of the feathers that were woven into his hair and set them aside.
Since he was already taking daring liberties with this stranger's personal appearance, Cloud wet a cloth and used it to gently wipe the remaining warrior makeup off of the man's face. It was getting all over his cot, and most had been cried off or sweat off from the fever, anyway.
Washing the man's face and gently clearing out his crusted over eyelashes exposed flawless golden skin, sharp cheekbones, thick black eyelashes and full, soft lips. He guessed the man to be a little older than himself, perhaps twenty. He had a very ornate tattoos along his upper arms and chest, and Cloud took the opportunity to look at it them close. It wasn't the crude scrapings he'd seen on other sailors, but something elegantly done and rich in saturated color.
The man shivered, and Cloud realized all the soft touching was giving the poor guy goosebumps. So he quickly covered the native up to his chin before snuffing out the lamp to prevent temptation to keep looking at him.
Cloud stood stupidly in his tent, coming to the realization that he didn't have anywhere to sleep. He folded up a spare shirt to shove underneath his head as he slept on the ground beside his otherwise occupied cot.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Cloud couldn't pause in his duties to the colony, but his thoughts revolved around caring for the native. He gave the man half of his rationed meals every day, and did a little light hunting and gathering to supplement their diet with meat, nuts, and fruit.
When an entire week passed, he became more confident that the native was going to survive his brush with the deadly summer flu. The only downside was that this man could eat a lot as his appetite reappeared. But it was wonderful to see him snap down food hungrily, because that meant he was recovering and would soon return to full health.
They couldn't speak to one another, but managed to communicate other ways. If the man was thirsty or hungry, he pantomimed his needs to Cloud. If he needed to go to the bathroom, he put his hands on his hips and waited impatiently at the tent entrance. It was obvious that he didn't want Cloud to babysit him while bathing or relieving himself, but Cloud could see how difficult it still was for the native to breathe, how taxing things were for him while he was still in recovery.
"You're not well enough to be wandering around around on your own, what if you sneeze or something while you're doing your business? Do you really want to be caught with your pants down, Sir? I don't think so!"
This warrior was obviously an extremely proud man, and he was truly hating his new life as Cloud's ward. But he was intelligent enough behind his sharp green eyes to know that he had no choice but to accept the help from this short, bossy little white boy.
One evening Cloud was returning with dinner and some fresh rations that had just arrived by ship - he was kind of excited to introduce the native to cheese, he wasn't sure if the natives produced any, and if they did it would surely be much different. As Cloud neared his tent, there was a very odd sound resonating through camp.
"What is that?" One of his neighbors wondered aloud as Cloud passed by quickly, hoping that his guest had not left the tent. The thought of the ill native being discovered and possibly killed as an intruder quickened Cloud's walk into a dash.
He opened his tent to find the young warrior sitting up in bed, reweaving the bright feathers into his hair and cooing a very pretty, but very loud tribal song.
"Shh! Be silent!" Cloud hissed.
The native's vibrant green eyes narrowed into venomous slits.
"Don't look at me like that!" Cloud whispered heatedly. "If they find out you're here, you're dead! And I'll probably get shipped back home as a traitor if I'm lucky!"
The native remained angrily silent as he ate half of Cloud's food, turned his nose up at the rare gift of cheese, and rolled over to drift back to sleep in Cloud's cot. There wasn't even the slightest hint of gratitude.
"... You better be thankful you're so pretty," Cloud rumbled as he tried to make himself comfortable on the ground.
After another week, Cloud knew he needed to loosen his supervision and let the native be free. He seemed to be aware of the secretive protocol of existing within the enemy colony, and Cloud would make sure the coast was clear before helping Sephiroth sneak away from the camp. Each time Cloud was frightened that he wouldn't return… and he wasn't sure why. He supposed he felt a sense of responsibility for the man, and if he simply disappeared one night he'd always be left wondering whatever became of him.
But each night, the native did return. He was good about sneaking back into camp, back into their tent, and carefully stepping over where Cloud was sleeping on the ground to take his place on the cot. Sometimes cleaner than he had left and with wet hair, or with some newly hunted nocturnal creature for them to share. He also brought back small gifts for Cloud; fresh berries, interesting stones, or colorful flowers to display on his crate beside his cot. The little natural trinkets seemed to brighten up the tent, and it was… nice, but also a little alarming. Cloud hadn't really thought ahead this far and wasn't sure what to do with him - he didn't want to send him back out into the wilderness alone, freshly recovered from a near fatal illness with winter fast approaching. But keeping this strong, energetic young man cooped up in his tent for months seemed impossible.
Cloud didn't want him to take up singing yet again to alleviate his boredom, so one evening he tried to demonstrate exercises that he could do within the tent.
"Try hopping up and down!" Cloud suggested, and began to bounce in place. "Hop, hop!"
That was the first time he saw the native smile, and it was gorgeous... and then Cloud heard him laugh, and it was like music... but at great volume and length. The man laughed so hard that Cloud eventually had to hold his hands over his mouth to stifle him.
Instead of bouncing up and down like an idiot, Cloud would come back from working long days to find the native twirling his sword around in the tent, doing what training he could in the limited space.
It made Cloud nervous to see the obvious strength coiled up in the sinewy body, but the native was always respectful and kept his sword sheathed when Cloud was home.
Again thinking of his new friend, Cloud brought back a block of wood and a pocketknife, and the native quickly picked up on the art of whittling. The warrior scraped the first block down into nothing, but then worked carefully on the second one. The other colonists claimed that the natives were savage, but this man was sharp, intelligent, and entirely captivating without having a single word to say to Cloud. And with both sword and knife on hand, he'd never threatened Cloud for an instant to take what he could and make a break for freedom... even though Cloud really wouldn't have blamed him.
The native remained focused on his whittling project, and seemed to have something very specific in mind. For two nights by candlelight he focused hard, and Cloud found it difficult not to watch the muscles in the native's forearms and hands flex under his skin as he worked the knife, or study the intense expression of concentration on his handsome, exotic face.
Only once he caught Cloud staring – and the sly half-smile the native gave him made Cloud blush down to his chest before quickly rolling over onto his side and pretending to immediately fall sleep.
The next night when the native was done carving, he presented Cloud with a very sweet looking little wooden rabbit.
Cloud accepted it with a huge smile of gratitude, "Aww! A bunny!"
"Bunny."
"Yes, bunny!" Cloud exclaimed with the same brand of excitement a parent felt when their child said their first word. "Say it again! Bunny!"
"Bunny," the native chuckled, pointing at Cloud. "Hop, hop."
Cloud gasped when he realized he was being mocked about the jumping in place exercise, "My name is not Bunny! My name is Cloud Strife!"
The native did not pay attention to that information, and referred to Cloud as Bunny from then on.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Cloud had never had what he could call home in his entire life. He'd been abandoned as a newborn and spent his childhood with nuns trying to learn to be grateful for existing in loveless squalor, then had traveled all over the seas in the navy, searching for some meaning to his life. Helping to run a ship had been the closest feeling he'd ever had of belonging somewhere. But his shipmates never had the will or the ability to take a teenage orphan into their family for the holidays or during peacetime, they all had wives and children that took priority. So when he wasn't at sea, Cloud lived alone in a room he rented by the port, and even at eighteen he hadn't found a connection with anyone to call his own.
Cloud wondered if he expected too much of new friends or people he fancied and turned them all off. He'd never had so much as a kiss, because need and loneliness and emptiness wafted off of him like a stench. The smallest bit of positive attention from any guy or girl turned Cloud into a puppy, but then they would always disappear from his life for someone who was taller, more handsome, with more money, more education, or with a well connected family.
Cloud had nothing to offer anyone whatsoever, except his heart. He knew he was a needy little nobody, but surely the world should contain just one more single nobody who also needed him.
Cloud took the chance to come to the New World because he had no reason to stay in England. The moment he stepped foot on this foreign soil, he had a sense that this was the place he was supposed to be, this was the place he'd been searching for. Some invisible tug had lured him here from all the way across the sea… and he wondered if this native man might have been on the other end of that pull. If it was all only to be in the right place and right time to save this gorgeous native man's life, it was a worthy purpose for living.
Cloud told the native man all of this, even though he knew the man couldn't understand a word he was saying. The man listened as though he could, watching him and letting Cloud talk at length about the orphanage, about the navy, and the friends and would-be lovers he'd known during his life.
In turn, the man then spoke for hours about things in his own language, maybe telling his own version of the same events. Cloud listened because he simply liked the sound of the man's voice, and watched emotion and expressions pass over his beautiful face while he talked. It was a lovely voice full of bass, and it was pleasant to drift off while the man told him stories by candlelight.
The companionship was like nothing he had ever known. Cloud felt himself eager to return to his tent to be with his best friend, to see what he had done during the day or to cater to any needs he might have had. It wasn't a chore or a moral obligation anymore, he wanted to do it. It was a little... or a lot codependent, but Cloud knew that he would take care of this man forever if he would stay.
Cloud tried very hard to keep his feet on the ground by reminding himself that his native man wasn't staying with him because he felt any emotion or affection towards Cloud, he was in hiding because he had no other option. Cloud knew how it felt to be trapped in close quarters at sea with someone who attempted to take advantage of him. He refused to take advantage of the native by letting himself think for a moment that this was anything but an arrangement of necessity, made a little more pleasant by friendliness.
"Goodnight, Sir..." Cloud said to him one night, nearly asleep on the ground beside the occupied cot. "One of these days I'm going to figure out your name..."
Cloud then jumped a little as he felt a hand touch his head from above.
"Bunny..." the native said to him on a yawning sigh, his fingers rubbed through Cloud's soft yellow hair, sending chills repeatedly down his spine as they both fell asleep.
Cloud woke up the next morning with the native's heavy, warm hand still resting on his head. He'd answered every single grabbing touch from men at sea with fists and teeth, but found something so amazingly comforting in the fact that the native man wanted to touch him this way. It was innocent and familiar, and it made Cloud cheeks glow warm as he listened to the man sleeping quietly.
Cloud pushed his head up a little against his hand. The little bit of movement didn't wake the native, and in his sleep curled his fingers through Cloud's hair, caressing him like a pet.
Small moments like that caused Cloud to teeter on the edge of full blown delusion, and those moments came ever more frequently. Cloud found himself seeking any excuse to touch the native; he liked to comb his fingers through the warrior's hair to help him keep it neat, or to help him apply face paint for night hunting, to take his big, warm hands while he whittled new projects to show him different ways to hold the knife.
If the friendly contact bothered the man, he didn't show it. One morning when Cloud was dressing for the day, the man sat up suddenly and reached out for him. Before Cloud knew what was happening, he was standing between the native's spread legs, and the man was unbuttoning his shirt.
"Wh- what are you –" Cloud stammered, until he realized that he'd misbuttoned his own shirt and the row was off kilter. The native straightened it out for him, then rebuttoned it with fingers that were clumsy with inexperience in working this particular type of garment.
When the job was done, the native had looked up at him with a smile. Every instinct in Cloud's entire being screamed to kiss him, but instead Cloud nearly tripped over himself in his haste to leave the tent before making a fool of himself and ruining the closest friendship he'd ever experienced in his life.
Five short but wonderful weeks later, Cloud came back to the tent to find the native standing there, waiting. He was fully dressed, but it was a bit too early yet to steal out into the night to groom himself or hunt. They hadn't even eaten dinner, yet.
Cloud smiled curiously, "Hello Sir. Have a good day?"
The man then began to speak at length, and he sounded serious... something he was saying was final. Although Cloud was used to the sound of his voice, it frustrated him endlessly that he couldn't understand what he was saying. Cloud turned up his eyebrows and shrugged, unsure of what else to do.
The native spoke again, slowly and with a frown. He pointed to himself, patted his chest and then he nodded his head toward the tent flap meaningfully.
It was then that Cloud noticed a brand new, freshly finished wooden bunny was sitting on the crate beside his cot, much more detailed than the first. All of the little stones that the native had brought to Cloud over the weeks were arranged in a row. The blankets on the cot were folded.
This man was leaving, and he was trying to say goodbye.
"Oh..." Cloud said dumbly. "Oh. So you're finally ready to leave? That's fantastic, I'm so happy you feel better... the coast is all clear. I didn't see anyone outside as I was coming in."
The man began to speak again, smooth and confident. His handsome voice and sincere cadence only served to infuriate Cloud, "You needn't explain, I can't understand you anyway. Just go ahead. Leave."
The native gazed down at Cloud.
He felt trapped by those green eyes, and felt his face go red and his eyes swim with tears. He looked down at the ground, and he noticed that beside his cot was a small imprint in the earth where he'd been sleeping for almost two months with nothing but a spare blanket and a makeshift pillow beneath his head. Those items had been picked up, and were also folded on the cot.
He was perfectly content to sleep on the ground beside him for the rest of his life, but now the thought of sleeping in his cot again, alone, caused burning hot tears to streak down Cloud's face, "... I know you want to leave. So just go."
The man took a step towards Cloud, and he bent down a little to regain eye contact.
"I brought you here to take care of you and if you're well... I've done my job," Cloud tried to smile but he could barely breathe through harsh, suppressed sobs. "You'll remember me every time you see a bunny, right?"
"Hop, hop," the man murmured humorlessly as he approached Cloud slowly, closer than he had ever been before. Cloud shrank slightly as the very tall man entered his personal space, their bodies bumping together.
Cloud looked up just as warm lips touched his.
The feeling of the soft brown lips that he'd been staring at for weeks shocked his sobbing silent. Cloud frantically told himself it was not a kiss, it must be a custom he was unfamiliar with. He'd been privy to a lot of the Shin-Ra natives' rituals and customs before they had departed, but he hadn't seen any kissing going on between them, even as they supported each other in battle, plague, and being driven away from their land.
But it became clear that this wasn't a friendly custom when he felt a hot tongue push against his, and strong arms wrap tightly around him. When he felt the native's heart hammering through his strong chest and a soft sigh against his mouth, Cloud began to realize that this was a kiss... the kind that was the same in every language.
In that moment, Cloud felt his feelings for the man expand into something far greater than he ever meant to allow. There was no helping it, Cloud had admired him from the moment he first saw him. And as he came to know him, Cloud loved him. Cloud loved this native man's strong, stoic presence, his voice, his scent, his hair, his body… this nameless man was the home Cloud had been searching for.
The kiss ended, but Cloud greedily wrapped his arms around his neck when the man began to draw away, wanting and needing more. There was another experimental, flicking brush of their tongues as their lips crashed into each other's again, and Cloud held onto the native desperately as a moan escaped his throat.
The native ripped his lips away at the sound and breathed hard, his forehead pressing heavily into Cloud's.
"Don't leave… please don't leave me," Cloud implored him in a breathless whisper. It felt like he was begging for his very life, "Stay. You can stay. I want you to stay."
He whispered something unknowable against Cloud's forehead, and pressed warm lips there.
"We can make it work, somehow... just stay," Cloud went up on his toes and pushed another kiss onto his soft, warm lips. He was instantly addicted to his taste, and opened his mouth to feel that tongue slide against his own again.
The native only allowed a few more moments of this before he pulled away. He gently took Cloud's hands off of him and squeezing them, kissing them, still speaking and looking into Cloud's eyes and trying to impart some meaning.
Cloud simply couldn't understand, he was trapped in a cycle of simply repeating, "Stay... please stay with me..."
Finally the native kissed Cloud's hands one more time, released them and left with no sound but the softest brush of fabric as the tent flap closed behind him.
Cloud stood there in that spot for a long time. Resuming life would be resuming it alone once more, so Cloud just wanted to remain suspended in time for as long as he could. People came and people went at the orphanage, in the navy, and now in the New World, too. But this time in particular, someone took a big, bleeding piece of Cloud with him.
Cloud was in the habit of splitting his meals. That first breakfast without the native was divided into two before Cloud realized that he had nobody to share it with. He was upset enough to throw out the uneaten remainder, but only once. Food was far too valuable to waste, even if his heart was shattered.
He spent his nights alone, staring at the pair of wooden bunnies on his nightstand. Sometimes he picked one up to run his fingers along the crevices in the wood, remembering how intensely the native had concentrated on these little art projects. After a couple of days Cloud put them away into his crate along with the stones, unable to look at reminders of his first love any longer.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Autumn was much faster and harsher in the New World than anyone could have expected. Snow blanketed the ground and continued flooding from the sky by the end of October. Even the animals seemed unprepared as they fled into hibernation, but not before raiding the storehouse of the colony's supplies. The tentative crops they had planted were frozen and ruined, there was nothing to hunt, and their backup food supply was a fraction of what it should have been. Everyone began to panic.
More so than for himself, Cloud was filled with dread for the fate of the beautiful native man. He prayed relentlessly that his companion had found someplace warm and safe to spend what was bound to be a long and terrible winter.
Cloud was no stranger to hunger and knew how to deal with lack. He was able to eat very little, and made even the small scraps of rations he was allotted last twice as long as some of the other colonists. By mid-November there was no food left, and the men were at a complete loss for what to do.
After only a few days without food, a rash of suicides spread through the camp. Cannibalism was a topic that had been publicly debated, but was not acted upon... yet. They had to bury the bodies in the snow until spring when the ground thawed enough for a proper burial. But the bodies would be there in the meantime as an option... and everyone knew it. Maybe they weren't hungry enough yet, but the colony retained their humanity and it gave Cloud a greater determination to survive this ordeal.
There wasn't anything to eat in the surrounding areas, and they were wasting their energy trying to find something that wasn't there. So they laid out animal traps in hopes that it would do the hunting for them, and remained in their tents to keep warm and conserve their energy.
At least there was plenty of snow to eat, so dehydration wasn't an issue. It was already better than being shipwrecked or stuck at sea, water was better than food any day.
Cloud spent his time laying in his cot, making all sorts of plans. If he survived the winter, the first order of business would be to search for the native. And when he found him, Cloud was going to confess love to him in ways that would far surpass the language barrier. He was going to kiss that man from his head to his feet, and ensure that he wouldn't ever want to leave again.
Then Cloud was going to claim a stake of land and build a house where they could have a life together. He was going to get a dog, and he was going to build a little barn and paint it blue, and he was going to have chickens! Chickens everywhere, and tons of little sweet baby ones that were yellow balls of fluff. The roosters would need to learn how to keep quiet though, because if Cloud survived this winter, he planned to never wake up at dawn again. He was going to sleep in every day, until mid-day if he felt like it.
One particular night as he laid in the dark with his hopes and ambitions, Cloud had taken out both wooden bunnies that his beloved native had left behind. It gave his hands something to do, a texture to touch, something tangible to feel and hold onto... there was symbolism in the number two. Union, partnership, company... love... if not in this life, then certainly in the next. It took Cloud to a warm place in his memory where he felt free to yearn and feel everything he wanted to feel for the native man without shame.
Maybe it was a gift to be so hopelessly heartbroken and in love, what was hunger in the stomach compared to hunger in the heart? As the days passed, he didn't think about food, all he wanted was one more kiss before he died.
Cloud only realized he'd drifted out of consciousness again when he was being shaken violently awake.
"Let go!" Cloud wheezed, unable to draw breath as the person squeezed him tight. He pushed against whomever was grabbing onto him, instantly becoming dizzy and lightheaded from the sudden movement, "Get off of me!"
Instead of an answer he could understand, the person spoke against his ear in a lovely foreign language and hugged him tightly.
Cloud's eyes dropped shut as his chest vibrated with the deep bass of the native's voice, and he inhaled the familiar scent of his skin and hair. A great sense of peace washed over Cloud, and he didn't try to think too much about what was happening. He didn't expect he'd be dying so soon but if he was, being taken to heaven by this angel was a great way to go.
The man was frantic as he looked Cloud over. He held Cloud's face and chattered to him loudly, and Cloud's eyes fluttered closed when he was kissed warmly on both cheeks, his forehead, and finally his mouth.
"I love you, you know…" Cloud told him between kisses, and blushed although he knew the man didn't understand it. It was one thing off of his list of things to do if he survived, at least.
The native touched something to Cloud's lips, and by his new instinct he attempted to kiss it. But it pushed past his lips and he chewed and swallowed whatever it was. This continued until Cloud realized he was eating something warm and delicious. It was some sort of clear soup, and the native was soaking it into little bits of flat, warm bread and feeding it to him.
"… Where did you get this?" Cloud asked.
The native spoke to him, his tone very clear, 'Shut up and eat.'
Cloud sat up and accepted the bread and the bowl. After allowing Cloud to take a few hungry bites, the man took the bowl back from him. Cloud was about to protest, but had a slightly sickened feeling in his stomach from eating too quickly after a few days of nothing but snow.
"Thank you," Cloud whispered, looking at him up close for any changes during their time apart. It had only been a couple of weeks, he was still the same man with the same wise, stoic patience as he rubbed his warm hand over Cloud's back to soothe him.
The native seemed to have something very important to talk about, and was speaking on and on. He was repeating himself a lot, and on the other side of receiving instructions in another language, Cloud was frustrated.
Finally, the native just grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his cot. Outside, there was a mountain of meat preserved between large leaves, bread, vegetables, fruit, and other food items all neatly packed and stored in makeshift containers. There was fire wood, skins, and jugs that looked like they might contain something fermented, maybe some type of alcohol. There was even a goddamn horse pulling it all, the kind of which Cloud had never seen before. The horse had on more clothes than the native did, and looked very well cared for.
"… You did all this?" Cloud furrowed his eyebrows at the work of ten men in ideal conditions.
The man shrugged one shoulder. Due to the stars, he'd anticipated this harsh autumn long ago, but couldn't leave for a hunting trip until he was certain he was at full health. And as often as he tried to suggest to Bunny that they needed to be stockpiling supplies, his fair little English boy just didn't understand what it took to survive.
He was a little disappointed in this haul due to his late start, but knew where some stores of goods were and was able to hunt enough to at least take care of Bunny's people until worst of winter had passed. He didn't feel like trying to explain this for a third time and simply said, "Ai."
Cloud was stunned, "… I'm sorry that I ever thought that I was smarter than you. I am definitely not."
"Bunny hop," was the gentle response, and the man went about in search of the colony's pit to get a fire going.
The following hours were the happiest that the colony had ever experienced in the New World. They didn't care that the generous stranger was a native, they welcomed him into their colony with open arms as a hero. The abundance of food was a blessing that none of them could thank the native enough for, but would spend the rest of their lives trying.
Cloud didn't think for a moment that the man was settling an obligation because he'd helped him when he was sick. This native warrior didn't owe anything to Cloud, or to the rest of these English people. He was simply a good man.
They made a large breakfast and took a moment to remember the ones that were no longer there to share it with them. Cloud hardly cared about the food, he was just grateful to be sitting next to the man he loved. If his life lasted another day or another hundred more years, he could die happily knowing that he had finally found the home he'd been longing for.
After the fabulous meal, everyone celebrated the promise of life continuing into the spring. All were very interested in the newcomer, and the native seemed pleased to be the center of attention and no longer needing to hide or be silent, even letting the men look at his tattoos and teaching the young girls how to weave pretty feathers in their hair like he did.
The early winter day was short, and everyone was quick to retire, content and happy for the first time in weeks. Under the rosy twilight, it was only Cloud and the native who remained by the dying campfire... maybe because they were both nervous and uncertain about what to do next. He sat close to Cloud as they watched the last few glowing embers wane, and the chill in the frozen air had them both shivering.
Then the man's body pressed up against Cloud's side and a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders, and Cloud felt panic rise up. He'd made a lot of lofty goals for his relationship with this man, but was shy upon facing the reality of it. He was also humbled by the fact that the man was a real life hero… and Cloud had only heard stories of those before.
"You know... you don't need to hide in my tent, anymore. You can have a tent to yourself. Not that I mind sharing with you... but the ground is way too cold to sleep on now," then Cloud laughed a little, and it was a nervous and shaky sound. He swallowed as the man's fingers sank into his spiky yellow hair and slowly looked up, almost afraid to see some kind of regret on the man's face like he might be leaving now that his job was done.
The man's bright green eyes searched Cloud's blue ones for several moments. Cloud wasn't sure what emotion the man might have been feeling, but he didn't seem nervous, nor afraid, nor uncertain about anything. The man's fingers slid out of Cloud's hair as he stood up and reached for Cloud's hand, and led him to the tent they shared. Soon they were inside, away from the world and the native's beautiful taste was on Cloud's tongue again.
This time it wasn't overshadowed by the bitterness of a goodbye, or the sweetness of a hello. They were kissing each other because it felt right, because they'd both been craving it. The way the native seemed to be consuming his lips was an entirely new experience for him, and for the first time in his life Cloud felt truly wanted. Cloud could sense the effects of desire all over the native's body: his pounding heartbeat, his desperate breathing, his iron firm hardness straining up against Cloud's thighs through his brown leggings. The reality that this feast of a man was all for him made Cloud's knees almost give out from under him.
The man kissed Cloud all the way to his cot. It was a bit small for the both of them, but the tangle of their limbs felt natural. The native immediately reached for Cloud's blankets, and covered them both up over their heads to further isolate them from the frozen world.
Cloud was in a daze as his tongue was being sucked into a series of delicious kisses, and fingers that were still new to buttons were again attempting to undo them. Cloud shuddered as he realized what was about to happen… he'd never done anything like this before, but was more than ready as he let the man push his shirt off his shoulders.
The man seemed pleased with what he found, running his hands over Cloud's throat and chest. He was talking again. Whatever he was saying sounded so sincere, and he was softly repeating something between kisses.
"You won't leave again, will you?" Cloud asked, taking the chance to run his hands over the broad, strong musculature of the man's back and arms. He ran his palm over the native's tattoos, feeling a thrill at how at right and natural it felt to finally be in the cot with him and not on the cold ground below. Cloud cupped his precious, handsome face, "Don't make me love you like this if you're going to leave..."
The man didn't reply with words and he really didn't have to, he wasn't going anywhere. He pinned Cloud down and kissed him until they were both panting and wild to get their clothes off. Cloud was trying to unbuckle and undo his pants with trembling hands as the native pushed Cloud's legs up to pull his boots and trousers off. He then slid Cloud's stockings off his legs, kissing every inch of bare, porcelain skin as it was revealed.
Cloud reached down to unlace the native's pants and it only took moments for him to yank them down and discard them. Cloud instinctively wrapped his legs around the native's bare waist as every inch of them both finally met underneath the blanket. Cloud shut his eyes and braced himself for a ravaging... but instead of being forceful, the native was careful and hesitant as he explored Cloud's body. Cloud relaxed a bit then and became proactive instead of afraid, and they both figured it out together through body language. It became more obvious that this was a first for the native too, just by the expression that passed over his face as he actually began to sink inside.
It was clumsy and a little painful at first, kind of like falling in love with each other had been. But they both quickly learned how to elevate that pain into pleasure so overwhelming it was impossible for either of them to keep their composure or quiet. As always, non-verbal communication was their strength, and Cloud's body told the native how badly he needed him to stay. The native's body promised that even though his duties to protect and support Cloud might require him to leave briefly, he'd always come back home to the one he loved.
They made love until exhaustion stole them from each other, and when they awoke they picked up right where they left off. Cloud refused to allow the warrior to leave their cot until he revealed his name. After Cloud finally learned what it was, he still refused to let him leave.
And even when Sephiroth, the legendary warrior from the Shin-Ra tribe became fluent in English, he still referred to Cloud Strife as Bunny.