Chapter Text
Cloud had found himself sleeping at the church again. It wasn’t something he did often anymore, and certainly not when his family was around. But they weren’t around now - Tifa was meeting up with Barret somewhere halfway across the world to drop the kids off with him and wasn’t set to return for about a week. Cloud had chosen to stay behind to get caught up on deliveries that he had put off in favor of spending time with his kids. After Advent Day, Cloud found he couldn’t stay at the bar alone. Too much time alone with his thoughts would send him spiraling. The church felt less empty than the bar, with the presence of Zack and Aerith providing a comfort that could be found nowhere else.
While Tifa was gone, Cloud planned to spend his days doing deliveries, and his nights sleeping in the church. In the early morning of his second day sleeping on his bedroll by the Lifestream pool, Cloud awoke to light splashing sounds. Though it was rather strange for anyone to be in the water so long after Advent Day, Cloud thought little of it. He took his time forcing himself to open his eyes, and took even longer to roll over to face the pool.
He was not expecting to see Sephiroth standing in the water, soaking wet, with his green eyes trained on him.
Sephiroth grinned like he had run into an old friend.
“Hello, Cloud.”
Cloud didn’t have time to ponder whether this was reality or just another nightmare as he shot up out of bed, swiftly grabbing the Fusion Sword. Sephiroth slowly walked toward him, giving Cloud time to take up arms. His leather coat dripped with each step, and his long, wet hair clung to his face. Cloud was unable to steady himself as Sephiroth approached.
“Already drawing your sword, Cloud? Yet you have no idea what my plans are.”
Cloud had no response. The words simply wouldn’t form. His brain was telling him to scream at Sephiroth about all the horrific things he’d done, about how he killed Aerith and Cloud’s own mom, about how of course he was up to no good, but all Cloud could do was try to mask his trembling. Cloud may have sent Sephiroth to the Lifestream thrice before, but the fear of facing him truly alone was all-consuming.
There was nothing he could do but fight, however. He’d been burdened with the task of protecting the planet, and he would see that task through.
Cloud lunged at Sephiroth with the Fusion Sword, but Sephiroth chuckled, summoning Masamune just in time to block the blow.
Their swords clashed a few more times, but there was little strength behind Sephiroth’s hits. His movements were slow – he narrowly blocked each of Cloud’s hits in time, though he smirked each time he did. Cloud thought he might be showing off, and so he left a small opening. Sephiroth didn’t take it. He clearly wasn’t going for the kill right away - a move that cost him the last time he fought Cloud, during the Geostigma crisis.
Surely Sephiroth wasn’t going to hand him a win again like that. Cloud was certain that even Sephiroth’s ego had to have some limit.
“Fine,” Cloud gritted through his teeth as Masamune and the Fusion Sword connected with a sharp clang. “What exactly are you after?” Sephiroth had so clearly wanted him to ask, and Cloud couldn’t help but be the slightest bit curious. Why would Sephiroth bother crawling out of the Lifestream again, if not to enact his past plans? What other reason would Sephiroth have to return to the surface of the planet? There was nothing left here for him.
“I don’t know.” Sephiroth replied casually, blocking Cloud’s next swing with ease, and swinging his sword once more.
“What? ” Cloud faltered, and Sephiroth pulled back slightly. Masamune grazed Cloud’s shirt, splitting the fabric horizontally over his stomach on the left side. It wasn’t just that Sephiroth wasn’t trying. He had deliberately avoided hurting Cloud. Somewhat confident that he wasn’t going to be skewered, Cloud lowered his sword.
“What do you mean, ‘I don’t know.'” It had been nine years since Cloud had had a proper conversation with Sephiroth. One where the Sephiroth wasn’t actually Jenova taking his form, or one that didn’t take place between sword clashes. It felt truly bizarre, standing in front of the man that had caused him so much pain and trying to converse with him rather than kill him.
“I have no plans. I have no means of defeating you at this time, not that I could anyway.” Cloud narrowed his eyes. That didn’t seem right. Sephiroth could have won during the Geostigma crisis, had he not fooled around at first. How could he possibly be so confident that he’d lose this time? Cloud was too curious about Sephiroth’s motives to argue the point, however.
“So you left the Lifestream because…?”
“I felt compelled to see you. That is all.” The word compelled set off alarms in Cloud’s head. Was he compelled as in he himself wanted to see Cloud, or was he physically compelled, like Cloud had been when he handed the Black Materia to Sephiroth four years prior?
Sephiroth looked earnest, an expression Cloud had never seen him wear before. If Sephiroth wasn’t the world’s worst person, Cloud would believe him. It was then that Cloud realized that Sephiroth had placed Masamune on the ground behind him. Sephiroth caught his glance towards the sword.
“I had no intention of fighting you. I only summoned her because you attacked first.”
If Cloud was in his right mind, he would’ve found it amusing that Sephiroth of all people had personified his sword with human pronouns. Perhaps even made a teasing comment about it, if Sephiroth wasn’t… Sephiroth.
“And why wouldn’t I? How could I possibly trust that you’re not going to do something terrible again? You’ve killed so many people, ruined so many lives-“ Cloud cut himself off before his voice approached screaming or sobbing territory. Before he let his trauma take hold.
Sephiroth’s expression remained neutral. He shrugged almost imperceptibly.
“I suppose you cannot. Go on, kill me then, if you are so certain of what I will do.”
Sephiroth walked towards Cloud, leaving Masamune behind. He opened his arms wide, welcoming Cloud to do as he pleased. Cloud raised his sword once more, the shaking of his hands growing stronger. He made a move to lunge towards Sephiroth again, but this time his feet wouldn’t leave the ground. Cloud had all but sworn off violence as a means of solving problems following the crisis. Attacking an unarmed man, who was not putting up a fight and did not appear to have any intention of hurting anyone, was a tall order.
“Would it be easier if I fought back?” Oh, how Cloud hated how well Sephiroth knew him, how he could see right through him. “I was enjoying sparring with you, Cloud. I’d be happy to continue our fun.”
Masamune was already back in Sephiroth’s hands by the time Cloud worked up the ability to swing his sword.
-
After a few more clashes it had once again become clear to Cloud that neither of them were fighting with the aim to kill. With that knowledge, it became much easier to lose himself to the thrill of the spar. He hadn’t realized just how fun it could be to practice with someone on his level – it wasn’t something he’d experienced since he was a Shinra army cadet. And oh, how easy it was for Cloud to slip back into his days of admiring Sephiroth when seeing the man fight up close like this. He’s so talented with a sword, his movements so graceful, and not to mention how gorgeous he is…
Shit.
Cloud tried to remind himself of the atrocities Sephiroth committed, and tried to remind himself that he was not a teenager with a Sephiroth fan club membership anymore. That Sephiroth was not the man that he thought he was back when he was a horny cadet that joined Shinra with the very narrow-minded goal of getting in Sephiroth’s pants. Sephiroth was a terrible person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
But regardless, Cloud felt compelled to get closer to Sephiroth somehow. He’d imagined what he was experiencing was similar to what Sephiroth mentioned earlier, about feeling compelled to see Cloud.
He also felt hard.
Fuck.
Sephiroth had managed to pin him against a wall during one of Cloud’s few… distracted moments. Sephiroth’s chest was right in Cloud’s face, and it was impossible not to stare. Quite literally impossible, unless Cloud closed his eyes, with how close it was.
“Are you alright, Cloud? You seem distracted, and you’re not trying as hard as I know you can. Don’t want to kill me?”
“Of course I want to kill you, you son of a-“
“Ah, I see.”
Cloud looked up at Sephiroth’s face and found him looking downward. Cloud’s gaze followed, and he was horrified to realize that Sephiroth was staring directly at the very noticeable bulge in Cloud’s pants.
Sephiroth was smirking.
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Cloud stated, raising his sword once more. Cloud was finding it much easier to justify murder now that it would get him out of this situation.
“Come on Cloud, you’re in no condition to fight now. You’ll be far too distracted.”
“Never went to the battlefield with a boner? As a teenage SOLDIER? I doubt that. I bet everyone saw it through your stupidly tight leather pants!” Distantly Cloud realized he was being childish, but he couldn’t help giving Sephiroth shit now that he had the chance.
“Thinking about my penis now, Cloud?”
Cloud’s jaw clenched. He was NOT thinking about how Sephiroth’s dick would look, hard and bulging against his pants, the leather doing little to hide the shape of it.
“And even if I had gone to battle in that state, I wouldn’t have been nearly as distracted, seeing as I had never found myself aroused by the enemy.”
Cloud blushed furiously at the implication.
“I am not aroused by you!”
Sephiroth pointedly glanced down at Cloud’s crotch again.
“Really.”
“You’ve never popped a random boner? No, of course you haven’t, because you’re the furthest thing from a normal fucking human-“
Sephiroth was grinning like he’d just won a prize.
“What are you so happy about?!” Cloud growled, standing on his toes to get right up in Sephiroth’s face. Well, as close as he could get, being about a foot shorter.
Sephiroth said nothing in response, instead choosing to drop Masamune and run his hand up Cloud’s thigh. Cloud’s knees felt weak and arousal shot through him as Sephiroth’s hand approached more dangerous territory. He was disgusted by how much he wanted Sephiroth to keep going. Cloud looked up at Sephiroth’s face, annoyed to find he was still grinning like an idiot. Distantly, Cloud wondered if Sephiroth did have an evil plan of some sort and seducing him was somehow part of it. Just before Sephiroth’s hand reached his erection, Cloud realized what was going on.
“What the fuck are you doing to me?!” Cloud had shoved Sephiroth away with all his might, but it created little distance between the two.
“Giving you what you want.”
“Not what I meant.. You’re controlling my mind again, you bastard. That’s why I-” Cloud couldn’t admit that he wanted Sephiroth out loud, even though that much was clear to the both of them.
“No, Cloud. Jenova is gone. All traces of her have been wiped away. I cannot control you now. Though I will say, it is much more fulfilling that you are interested in me of your own free will.”
“I am not-”
“Come on Cloud,” Sephiroth’s hand was stroking Cloud’s inner thigh, millimeters away from his erection. “Don’t hold back from what you crave so much.”
Even without the pull of Jenova, Cloud found that he couldn’t say no.
Cloud grabbed Sephiroth by his hair and pulled it hard, smashing their lips together in a brutal kiss. He could feel Sephiroth smirk against his lips, clearly pleased with himself. All that smirking was starting to piss Cloud off, so he flipped their position, shoving Sephiroth against the wall. And if that wasn’t enough to wipe the smirk off Sephiroth’s face, Cloud unceremoniously shoving his tongue in Sephiroth’s mouth definitely was.
The longer the kiss went on, the more Cloud was impressed that Sephiroth was letting him take the lead. He’d expected to be spun back around within seconds. Testing the limits of what Sephiroth would let him get away with, Cloud moved one hand under Sephiroth’s leather jacket to grab his chest, keeping the other tangled in his hair, and tugged on Sephiroth’s lip with his teeth. Sephiroth gasped out a moan and pulled Cloud flush against him, who let out a rather embarrassing noise as their cocks brushed together. Before Cloud had the chance to get too embarrassed, however, Sephiroth’s hands were unzipping his pants. Cloud found himself grateful that he’d just been sleeping so he was only wearing his tank top and pants. There’d be far too many straps to contend with if he had his full outfit on.
Cloud was jolted out of his thoughts by Sephiroth’s hand on his cock. Well, his gloved hand, but Sephiroth was touching his cock nonetheless. Teenage Cloud would’ve blown a load at the very thought of Sephiroth’s hands on him.
“A-at least take your damn gloves off.”
“Go ahead, remove them if you want.”
Cloud shot Sephiroth a glare, annoyed that his control of the situation was slipping. He gently, with some regret, pulled Sephiroth’s hand out of his underwear. He slipped the glove off Sephiroth’s hand slowly. Some part deep inside of him didn’t want to disrespect Sephiroth’s legendary uniform, so he lowered his arm and gingerly let the glove fall to the ground rather than tossing it. Sephiroth’s hand was back on his cock within seconds. Refusing to fall behind, Cloud hands flew to Sephiroth’s belts and worked on unfastening them. The pace of Sephiroth’s strokes increased, making Cloud’s hands tremble as his cock leaked all over Sephiroth’s fist.
Sephiroth grumbled with annoyance at the delay and shoved Cloud’s hands away (Cloud definitely did not whine when Sephiroth let go of him), making quick work of his own belts. He finally them both around, turning Cloud's back to the wall again. Cloud was too far gone to do anything but let him. He let himself fall against the wall, awaiting Sephiroth’s next move.
“Cloud?”
“Mm?”
“Forgetting something?” Sephiroth glanced down at his open belts. Cloud’s lust-fogged brain had completely forgotten that he was attempting to get into Sephiroth’s pants.
“Oh. Uh, right.”
“Cute." Sephiroth looked down at him with a sort of wicked fondness in his eyes. Cloud chose to ignore the comment – pulling out Sephiroth’s cock was much more interesting than arguing about whether he was cute.
Big was the first word that came to Cloud’s mind as held Sephiroth’s cock in his hand, followed by heavy, and “I want that thing in my mouth”. He thumbed over the head, catching a bead of precum as he did. His awe must’ve shown on his face because Sephiroth chuckled fondly and brushed Cloud’s bangs out of his eyes.
“Here. Let’s make this even better, shall we?” Sephiroth pulled down Cloud’s pants enough for Cloud’s cock to finally spring out. A sigh of relief slipped from Cloud’s lips.
“Mm… you’re even pretty down here,” Sephiroth teased, running a finger up the length.
“Sh-shut up!” Cloud felt his blush travel to the tips of his ears and down his chest.
“Make me.”
Cloud yanked Sephiroth’s hair, capturing his lips in a kiss once more. Sephiroth eagerly returned the kiss and thrust his hips towards Cloud’s, grinding their cocks together. Cloud moaned against Sephiroth’s lips, frantically pressing his hips up against him. Sephiroth reached a hand between them, wrapping it around their cocks.
“Better?” Sephiroth asked, breaking the kiss.
Cloud nodded, unable to speak as Sephiroth stroked their cocks together. Once again belatedly remembering that he should be an active participant, Cloud reached a hand down between them as well. Sephiroth had begun trailing kisses down Cloud’s jaw and neck. Sephiroth was so much bigger than Cloud, and he loved the hint of fear that he felt being surrounded by him. He also loved the way he could feel every hitch of breath and moan as Sephiroth kissed and sucked on his neck.
“Sephiroth I-I’m-”
“Let go, my Cloud. I want to see you come undone for me.”
Sephiroth’s words were enough to send Cloud over the edge, spilling on Sephiroth’s cock. Cloud’s knees threatened to give out at the sight, but he managed to keep upright for long enough to stroke Sephiroth until he too was coming with a low moan.
They stood in silence for a few moments, Sephiroth still leaning over Cloud. Cloud’s eyes were trained to the ground, unsure how to face Sephiroth after what had transpired. They both tucked themselves away, Sephiroth taking a step back and retrieving his glove from the ground. Cloud raised his head, but still couldn’t quite look Sephiroth in the eye.
“I-” Cloud began. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, waiting for Cloud to continue. But Cloud couldn’t find the words. What could you possibly say to your worst nightmare after having sex with them?
“Thank you for that, Cloud. You are even more lovely than I imagined.” Sephiroth pressed a chaste kiss to Cloud’s lips. “I’m sure I will see you again soon. Goodbye, Cloud.”
Imagined? Surely Sephiroth hadn’t thought of this sort of thing before. Nor could he find Cloud to be lovely. The very thought of being lovely for Sephiroth made him sick.
Cloud suddenly realized Sephiroth was very quickly walking away from him.
“Sephiroth, wait!” But it was too late, Sephiroth was walking out of the church doors. He probably heard him with his SOLDIER hearing and ignored him, the bastard.
As soon as Sephiroth had left his sight, the weight of what Cloud had just done became painfully apparent. He’d let the largest threat to the planet live, had sex with him, and then let him walk out of his sight and out into the very world he’d previously attempted to destroy. Cloud wanted to chase after him, but he was frozen in fear. Maybe he’d been right before, that he was nothing but a failure. He couldn’t even do his one job – kill Sephiroth – properly anymore. He never was cut out for the whole hero thing to begin with.
Just what have I done this time?