Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My Girlfriend’s Father

Seph, April 29th, 9:28 p.m.
Cum n get it!

228-130-7225, April 29th, 9:46 p.m.
Who’s this?

Seph, April 29th, 9:54 p.m.
babe? Aerith?

228-130-7225, April 29th, 9:58 p.m.
We need to have a serious talk.

Oh, if only one could turn back time and erase errors.

Sephiroth had sworn up and down to all the gods he never even believed in that he’d sent that lewd text with quite the obscene attachment of his own naked cock to his girlfriend, Aerith Gainsborough. In the end, due to being slightly buzzed, mindlessly horny, and in dire need to see a photo of her in return, he accidentally deleted her as a contact. Adding her back in haste, the inebriated teenager mixed the last few digits of her number, the 2 swapping places with the 7 creating the most disastrous of events ever imaginable.

Far too lazy to even bother adding his girl’s father as a contact, he only knew after dating Aerith for two and a half solid years that her father was rather strict, uptight, and now, he was downright pissed with Sephiroth. Not that Sephiroth could blame him, truly. If he was a father himself, he’d probably go nuts if anyone sent a text with an image that provocatively to his own daughter, but this was pushing it to a degree.

Well, he supposed he’d have to meet the father at some point or another. He’d somehow managed to slink by for almost three years, being Aerith’s high school sweetheart, and now that they’d both turned eighteen recently, taking their relationship to the next level naturally meant parents would be involved. Aerith had thankfully met and got along swimmingly well with Sephiroth’s parents, both scientists far too busy with work to really spend much time between meals and the occasional outing to invest in their relationship. 

However, it was his own girlfriend who had a bit of a more tragic past, hence her father’s hands-on, hyper-involvement in parental style. 

Losing both her biological parents to a horrible illness, she’d been orphaned and thankfully taken in by a generous young man. He’d raised her all by himself, supposedly having gone through his own divorce, and needing to fill the void after having his heart broken, he’d adopted little Aerith and showered her with all the love and affection he could. Obviously, he’d done a decent job as a single parent, as she herself wasn’t without love, ever a most giving individual, a shining part of her soul that drew Sephiroth to her in the first place.

Still, it brought the teenager great comfort not having to do the whole ‘dad and boyfriend’ talk, but now, he’d really screwed up. Since he was an alpha and Aerith a beta, he supposed he’d be at least in somewhat better light before he met her father, but all his assumptions were shot down on Friday evening when Aerith was in the middle of getting ready at his place to drive them over to her house.

Dousing himself in his own cologne, Sephiroth nudged her away from the slender, diaphanous mirror in his bathroom, the steam fogging all the other windows and morphing the lighting in an odd way.

Squinting at him and then herself while she toyed with her new earrings, fingers massaging her earlobes, Aerith muttered under a hot breath filled with vexation, “Can’t believe this is why you’re being introduced to my dad. Unbelievable, Sephiroth.”

Not needing the lecturing, Sephiroth sneered at her, squeezing water out of the short ends of his hair. “I said it was an accident! I was a bit wasted and I thought it was you, babe!”

Huffing and shaking her head, Aerith set her makeup kit down by the small dresser and vanity, working her lip liner over her gorgeous lips before glossing them perfectly. Amazingly, she was able to multitask, glowering at him to remind Sephiroth of the fact that he wasn’t anywhere near being off the hook yet.

“Regardless, we have to go over some ground rules before we meet my dad!” Lifting her index finger, she counted off loudly, “First off, no making out, touching, or anything sexual near him, okay?”

“Noted.” Sephiroth understood this one to a degree, not that he was willing to even lately share much of their slowly dwindling sex life with his best friends at school. 

To put it lightly, sex was the least of his concerns at this point. Their work schedules were different enough that they weren’t spending every spare minute around one another, something that Sephiroth felt had extended the honeymoon phase of the relationship just a bit. Even though he realized early on that Aerith unfortunately wasn’t someone he’d end up falling madly in love with, they still had a lot of fun during the time they made for one another.

Both of them were addicted to fitness and exercise, so they would frequently work out together, and since they still shared a lot of the same friends that they’d made early in high school, their weekend nights out bar hopping and clubbing as a group became a ritual almost every weekend.

To top it off, Aerith was a bombshell of a catch. Tall and leggy, her peach toned skin and soft, voluptuous body complimented Sephiroth’s perfectly toned, muscular one. The hours Aerith spent in the gym had gifted her with a nice, shapely ass, which was the sexiest part of her body in Sephiroth’s biased opinion. As any horny teeanger would, he loved watching it bounce while she rode him reverse cowgirl style, a favorite position of his that wasn’t used nearly as often as he’d like.

She was however quite tame in the bedroom, another way in which they contrasted each other, and while Sephiroth definitely enjoyed the sex, there were times when he wished she’d be more adventurous.

Another finger flew up like a flag pole as Aerith barked aggressively, “Secondly, just be honest about the photo and text, but don’t go overboard! You were drunk, it was an accident, end of story!”

Eyes rolling far beyond the sun, moon, and stars, Sephiroth truly felt insulted whenever she spoke down to him like this. “Holy shit, we went over it already. I won’t blab. Christ.”

Standing up and fixing Sephiroth’s hair and tie, Aerith’s nose snobbishly turned up, her eyes flashing madly at him. “Just making sure, because this is kind of embarrassing, Seph. My dad’s very strict, and I so didn’t want him meeting you like this!”

Given that they spent a decent amount of time at his place, and ever the pleasing and dutiful boyfriend he was attempting to be, he felt he had to make the effort to get to know her family at some point, but he didn’t need the guilt and anxiety at least. Still, setting an upset Aerith on another path entirely was as wise as fighting with a lion barehanded. It was much smarter to shut his mouth and obey, which he did until he drove them both half an hour into the next town until they reached her decently sized home.

Having been to her place a few times, Sephiroth counted all the times he’d been messing about with Aerith, right under her father’s roof, grateful that the guy had always been working late shifts. He’d taken those sweet moments so badly for granted, so much that his stomach felt queasy as he turned off the engine and held onto his knees in total fear.

Stricken and frozen as he was like a statue, Aerith was already out the door, her long, brown locks flowing behind her small frame. Slamming the door after her exit, she hissed while rounding her way over to him, “And don’t ask him any personal questions! Leave the small talk out of it!”

Aerith had to practically drag him out of the car, with Sephiroth being trapped in his stupor as he thought of other ways he could dig himself out of his sordid mess. Sadly, he had nothing, and he knew that dipping now would only make Aerith’s father ever so suspicious of him. He’d already painted a piss poor image of himself, and he didn’t dare want to make it worse, for both their sakes.

Seriously shallow as it was, he hoped that with his handsome features, muscular frame, and tall build measuring over 6’2 already, he would maybe charm and sway her father to a degree…if he cared for bias in the way of good looks, anyway. Fingers crossed…

Annoyed as he was when Aerith looped her arm around his and stood right beside him after she knocked on the door, Sephiroth forced himself to wear the same sort of expression she had. Though he wasn’t certain if he was in love with her, they were still in that early stage of their relationship where he felt like he had to show how committed he was by proving how much she mattered to him. Painful as it was, he tried a bit harder to make some kind of connection with her father, mostly just to show he cared enough about her to try.

Well, the time was now, the place was here.

The door unlocked and opened, the interior lights as bright and welcoming as the exterior. To Sephiroth, it felt like walking through the gates of hell itself when he’d never seen a picture or video of Aerith’s father. Without having any basis for comparison, Sephiroth didn’t know how to react, for he seriously had expected someone extremely different to show up once the door completely opened.

Rather than a tall, beefy, or short, sickly man appearing there in the lambent light, a young man much shorter than most adults Sephiroth knew entered his world. Although he appeared thin, his body was often obscured by the dark, oversized clothing he now wore, which matched the black polish on his nails and, along with the soft, blonde locks that framed his youthfully innocent face, giving him an androgynous, almost feminine, look. Without any traces of facial hair and wrinkles, lashes rather enticing around his perfectly shaped, jewel blue eyes to stand out over his oval shaped face, Sephiroth assumed this had to possibly be someone Aerith’s father was looking after, until the man faced Aerith and proudly perked up at the sight of her.

Beaming at her, blue eyes flitting down her red dress before settling on her face, with a hand extended, the man finally reached forward and hugged Aerith.

“Sorry we’re a bit late, dad!”

“It’s fine sweetie,” he replied, the dulcet tone so pleasant and serene, giving himself vibrant youth even more. “I’m happy you made it safely.”

This man was Aerith’s father?!? How?! He didn’t even look older than twenty!

Despite the changes in appearance that came with passing through one’s teenage years and entering early adulthood, it was overwhelmingly obvious that this man still remained quiet and shy, appearing standoffish in response to Sephiroth’s attempts to get to know him. Speechless as Sephiroth was, unable to understand how such a person with an innocent, babyish face existed, he also sensed that this wasn’t a man to be taken too lightly.

Amicable with Aerith, though cold towards Sephiroth, he backed out of the doorway, bowing his head as he began to introduce himself.

Rather curtly, he almost snapped as if addressing an enemy, “I’m Cloud Strife.”

High heels clicking across the perfectly mopped, shiny floor, Aerith felt at ease and ever so comfortable. Settling into her own home well, once she kissed her father on the cheek and removed her heels, she waved at Sephiroth, eyes turning a tad dark and menacing.

Realizing that he’d been so powerfully stricken with how young and rather interesting of a person this Cloud was, Sephiroth had resorted to gaping like a mute jackass. Still hanging there in the open doorway, he couldn’t dare move, frightened of the half-dream-half-nightmare he’d somehow stumbled into.

Groaning in agony, Aerith pulled him inside the house, smiling awkwardly as she blushed up at her father. “Dad, this is Sephiroth! I’m glad you guys got to finally meet, and he’s awfully sorry for that umm…the uh…text.”

Inscrutable as his features were, Cloud was already assessing Sephiroth with hardened eyes. “I see.” Shutting the front door, he avoided staring back, winding around Sephiroth as he sighed out, “Let’s all just sit and talk.”

It only took those few seconds of Cloud walking around him for Sephiroth to determine that he was many inches shorter. Unable to pinpoint an age due to stature, he poked Aerith until she scowled resolutely at him in retaliation.

Once he had her attention, Sephiroth nervously asked, “He looks so young…how old is he?”

Possessing sharper hearing than Sephiroth initially suspected, Cloud viciously hissed over a shoulder, “It’s extremely rude to inquire about someone’s age when you’ve already left a bad first impression on them, but for your information, I’m thirty-three.”

He absolutely had to be lying or exaggerating for fun. Cloud Strife looked well under twenty even, and it had nothing to do with the superb lights playing tricks on Sephiroth’s mind. Never in his young, heterosexual life had he considered any man to be appealing, and while he wasn’t enamored with Cloud in particular, he knew the man was elegantly attractive in his own unique manner.

Aerith meanwhile was scolding him, sibilantly hissing in his ear, but the night was already spinning into disaster even when they sat down for supper in the lavish dining room. By no means destitute, though not extremely well off, the decorations and furniture catered to a top tier sense of quality and unique fashion. Everything shined and glistened, the carpets so freshly clean and wondrous smelling…in fact, everything smelled distinctly of roses and berries washed by rainfall.

The fragrance didn’t even go away when the food was set and brought in, leaving Sephiroth feeling a bit uptight. Throat parched and constricting, he tried washing the dryness away with water, but it didn’t work. Worse than that, he was required to begin talking, clearly well communicated as Cloud sat on the opposite end of the large table, though closer to Aerith than Sephiroth.

Mildly standoffish, he regarded Sephiroth with a venomous edge, not bothering to even look at him as he asked, “So, how’s school going for you, Sephiroth?”

A tad languid given the serenity the odor brought on, Sephiroth shook himself out of it as he confidently replied, “Good. Can’t wait to graduate.”

“I’m sure.” Sipping his red wine, Cloud held delicately onto the thin stem, fingers coiling about it beautifully. “What do you want to do after you leave school?”

It was a relatively normal question, and it normally would’ve earned a simple answer, only Sephiroth was getting quite a bad headache. Eyes disturbingly burning as his nostrils did, while flaring them to get more fresh oxygen, he lowered his head and emitted a tiny cough.

“I uh, I want to take a summer off because I got accepted to work an apprentice program for a roofing company.”

Majestically, as Cloud sat there, he somehow managed to balance and channel out mannerisms and behavior to suggest he was both interested in listening, though ever so removed from the topic entirely since it didn’t suit his tastes. Tie just as red as the crimson fluid he was drinking, it stained his lips when a small drop spilled onto the lower seam.

Wiping it off when Sephiroth stared rather intently at his lips, Cloud turned away from him in a breme way and then smiled at Aerith. 

“I see.” Pushing his utensils around his plate, he played with his turkey rather than devouring it, almost not being able to hear Sephiroth speaking.

“What about you?”

Suddenly rather stiff and awkward, Cloud tilted his head to one side, still refusing to make eye contact properly. “Hmm?”

Before Sephiroth could speak, spasmodic coughing took over, and he wanted more than anything to be able to tear his tie off his neck. It felt like it was choking him, but he never tightened it that badly!

Waving a hand in his face as he drank more water, Aerith stated, “My dad’s a fashion magazine editor and photographer, Sephiroth.”

Ah. That did well to logically explain the odd paintings and photos framed on the walls throughout the main level of the house at least.

Holding up his glass after his coughing fit, Sephiroth weakly offered, “Oh, neat.”

Setting his fork and knife down, Cloud emitted a tiny sigh that edged on annoyed. Draping a hand into his lap, he didn’t straighten his posture much, though his barbed tone aimed right at Sephiroth so snidely.

“I’ll cut to the chase, because I prefer being blunt.” Licking his lips, he sat up a bit, looking ever so sickened as he asked calmly, “I’ll forget that nightmare of a text, seeing as it was obviously a mistake, but are you going to hurt my little girl, Sephiroth?”

The freezer suddenly hummed loudly, ice cubes crinkling and melting in their cups. The snapping noises and buzzing didn’t bode well for Sephiroth, the stressful blend and heat sweltering internally as he started sniffling like he was set to burst out sobbing. Already, he couldn’t tolerate this person at all. Cloud Strife acted less like a parent, and more like an army drill sergeant. He hadn’t even been in the man’s presence for twenty minutes and he found it tough to think around him, quite frankly.

Wincing on his behalf, Aerith replied, “Dad, please. We’re fine.”

Though he coughed again, Sephiroth defended his own pride and honor when Cloud tried to demean and snatch it away. Glowering, he hissed out, “We’re adults.”

Nodding, smoothly as a perfectly honed blade of ice, Cloud smiled, though it was extremely sarcastic. “I know. And as adults, you should also know what boundaries and limits are.”

Unable to stand the confrontational conversation, feeling as though he’d somehow been tricked into this all along, Sephiroth immediately became resentful. It just wasn’t fair. There was nothing wrong with meeting a parent to set a record straight, but this entire ordeal felt like a test he was set to fail no matter what. He could only stoop so low and beg, losing all his dignity as a man before it became grating and intolerable. 

Wasn’t it enough, after all? His girlfriend’s father had unfortunately seen his nude cock on full display, which was horrendously mortifying enough on its own, which he’d taken responsibility for and apologized, so what else was he expected to do to make amends?!

With some air of courtesy, he began, “Look, I respect your daughter. I care for her a lot, and I didn’t mean to be weird with that text and disrespect you or her.”

Tugging on his sleeve didn’t cause him to back down at all. Aerith was rather frightening at times, but she wasn’t any match for her father’s wrath right then and there. 

Affronted and clearly disturbed by the answers Sephiroth had given him, Cloud immediately masked and morphed his youthful visage into one of total hideousness. Contempt bled out of him, his lips curling and twisting like wire under immense heat. Pupils forming jagged electrical bolts to shoot out at Sephiroth and strike him down, his tone turned so frigid and deadly even as he whispered.

Calculating and jarring, akin to shears cutting through fleece so easily, Cloud intoned, “Listen to me. I’ll only say this once. Aerith is all I have. I may not be her biological father, but everything I earned and worked for is all out of real love for her.” 

There wasn’t any need to feel threatened by someone shorter, older, thinner, and someone merely trying to afflict him with terror, but Sephiroth absolutely was frightened of Cloud more than he was of monsters as a child.

Minatory fires burned Sephiroth alive without mercy, and Cloud knew the influence he held over the younger male as he bitterly continued dominating the conversation topic.

“If you hurt her in any way, I won’t even give you a chance to explain yourself and express remorse.” Lips firm and taut like steel itself, Cloud breathed frostily, “I promise you that you’ll face an entire lifetime of suffering.”

The icy tendrils now coiled around and inside his throat, mucking Sephiroth’s mind and turning it all upside down. He’d never had a chat like this with any parent, and it truly smothered him worse than the aroma wafting around the dining room so profusely. Seeping into his pores and skin, he squirmed by it far less than Cloud’s ferocity on full display.

Thickly choking on his saliva, Sephiroth whined, “W-wait...I—”

“I also know that my daughter is an adult now, and even if I disapprove, she can make her own decisions and has her own life to live.” Vehemently, after stating that by way of encouragement, Cloud still warned cautiously, “Just don’t you dare even think of breaking her heart, or so help me, I will personally hunt you down and make you pay for it.”

Well, this certainly cut him a lot of grief, saved time, and embarrassment as a potential risk. The stereotypical script of a disgruntled father was well heard, but for many unknown reasons, Sephiroth was genuinely taking them to heart and hearing them out as if they were scripture.

Not yet through, Cloud rattled the table when he slammed a palm up onto it by his dishes, the cutlery flying up an inch or so. Eyes set in slits, he roughly demanded, “Do you understand me?”

Swallowing the thick knot feeling larger and rounder than an egg lodged in his throat, Sephiroth nodded rapidly, eyes wider than plates. “Yes…yes…”

“Yes sir!” Cloud corrected, jaws snapping worse than a feral animal.

Swiftly, Sephiroth fed him what he wanted to hear, hoping this was the end of the diatribe, however refined it was. “Yes sir.” Trying to be polite in the hopes that it would add a band-aid of sorts to his own wounds, he began feebly, “Th-thanks, I—”

A long, drawn-out sigh was thrown in his way, followed by the wave of a hand that still held the spiritual and physical bond with his beloved daughter when she reached over and touched the back of his limb. 

“Don’t thank me yet,” Cloud caustically muttered as he lazily gazed at the warmth his daughter provided before she stroked the back of his hand in support. “I’m just letting my baby girl live and learn on her own.”

To this, Sephiroth raised a curious brow, and Cloud shortly snorted. “If you’re going to end up hurting her, I won’t threaten to kick your ass or anything; it’s a solid promise and a guarantee.”

The alpha’s jaw dropped, and Cloud merely scoffed as he shook his head in dismissal. “I suppose you think that’s what a shitty father does,” he dismissed Sephiroth’s emotions plainly, as if he had the power to read the other man’s thoughts and share his own conclusions.

There was a natural tendency to feel upset and angry enough to lash out, but working against that which would only bring himself poor results, Sephiroth changed course. Truthfully, he felt a little hurt that the father of the adolescent he valued and cherished so deeply was already thinking this way about their relationship. He needed his support, but with the way the Strife patriarch was being so pessimistic and dismissive, it wasn’t doing much in the way of encouraging him.

He still didn’t give up, and he pressed on as he nodded at the man. “I won’t ever do that to Aerith,” his voice rose a little in volume, as if wanting to make the point very clear. “Just give me a chance.”

The older man closed his eyes and gave a single nod, already exhausted with the topic. “Just take care of my daughter, alright?”

Sephiroth had long since vowed to do just that, and so much more. “I promise you, I’ll always care for and cherish her deeply.” 

Seriously, how was he supposed to thank and be calmer around this scary jerk of man?! 

He really had no clue where to start, but while he knew his jaw was still wide open, he sputtered, “Sir, still…I…I m-must th-thank you for understanding…”

Appetite nonexistent now, he resorted to coughing, turning to his glass, but finding it to be empty. Mutely, Sephiroth reached for the pitcher of water, but it was already empty, leaving him rather baffled. 

Not recalling if he’d finished it all, he stared past Cloud and into the kitchen, wincing as he tried getting up to fetch more water, but Cloud shot to his feet instead with a growl.

“Don’t bother.” Snappy and ever so moody for no reason, he turned away and crudely snarled down the path to the kitchen, “I’ll do it.”

As soon as he was more certain that Cloud was far out of earshot, his tonsils swollen and throat scratchy and drier than a cat’s litter box, Sephiroth held onto his neck as he whimpered at Aerith, “Did your d-dad put any weird seasoning in the turkey?”

Confused, Aerith pursed her lips as she then offered, “No? It’s plain meat, Sephiroth…”

“I don’t…” Scratching at his neck, the fabric of his clothes too scruffy against his flesh for no reason, it seemed as though many insects were crawling not only around and on his epidermis, but were now inside his brain.

Clutching at his skull as the room spun, olfactory bulbs burning worse than an oven, Sephiroth felt too woozy, so much that he couldn’t even sit properly. Never having experienced a cold or flu like this, his mind scrambled for what sort of symptoms these were. He didn’t even have any food allergies, and Aerith didn’t have any pets…there was no reason to be feeling so hot, sweaty, nervous, and on the brink of an implosion…

Supposing it was some kind of fabric softener or cleaning product he was sensitive towards, Sephiroth did his best to hold out during dinner. It all seemed like he had a way to fight back for control, but occasionally, between bites, whenever Cloud’s cerulean eyes traced and landed on his form, that was when the pin-prick sensations surged tremendously. Flesh burning off his bones practically, the berries and saccharine fragrance returned with a vengeance. Triple-fold, it revitalized between the seconds, his oxygen limited, lungs filled with nothing but the tantalizingly nauseating odor until he couldn’t even see a damn thing inches away from his nose.

Cloud luckily didn’t interrogate him beyond the levels he already had, dismissing both Aerith and Sephiroth when a call from work landed in his schedule. Taken away from the teenagers, Cloud soon disappeared, time flying and Sephiroth rapidly finding himself running out the door as his heart turned to mush within his chest.

Somehow making it across the driveway and into the car, he held onto the wheel for dear life, hands sweaty and too clammy, even after he wiped them many times over his dress pants. Retrieving a tissue, he dabbed at his own face, looking at his reflection in the mirror and feeling like total garbage. He certainly looked like he’d been fleeing from demons from hell, his face flushed, hair matted to his forehead and temples, pupils dilated so oddly. Fanning himself with a hand many times eventually brought more fresh air, and when he finally turned on the vehicle and kicked up the air conditioning, that was when Aerith gave him quite the incredulous look.

“Sephiroth? Are you okay?”

Touching his stomach, Sephiroth mused out loud, “Can’t be uh, f-food poisoning…the fuck is this?”

Rolling her eyes as she tucked a palm under her right cheek and dipped it into her open hand, Aerith bitterly ordered, “Just keep the AC on. Nothing’s wrong with you other than jitters about meeting my dad.”

The man was indeed a bit of a hardass, for sure, but there was something else at work, something rather mysterious and heinous in one eerie blend. Sephiroth could feel it itching beneath his skin, the familiar ache slamming from his head down to the end of his spine. Hips tightening as he drove on to the best of his abilities even though he felt like he was going to vomit, as he trained his eyes on the road keenly, he thought back to the totally sweet smell. Whatever it was, it not only smothered the senses, but even overpowered the aroma wafting off food until it overpowered the entire dining room.

Nostrils flaring instinctively, he described precisely what he scented, hoping that Aerith could possibly find a solution to the conundrum. “It smelled like berries…fresh berries in the rain, and on top of it, something warm like a bakery? I don’t know…”

Shrugging callously, it was easy for Aerith to toss it away when it clearly didn’t get to her as much as it did Sephiroth. “Calm down. You did fine, all things considered.” Saucily, she snickered and added, “Oh, my dad likes baking, but because I hate carbs and stuff, it’s been nearly a year since he even made cookies.”

“Ugh, I beg to differ about doing fine,” Sephiroth countered, holding an arm up to his sore nose. Even though it wasn’t physically hurting, the stinging sensation tricked him into assuming someone had almost punched him. “Shit, my head’s a bit clear after all that yapping from your old man…gosh.”

Finding something she actually agreed with, Aerith cheerfully giggled, eyebrows arching into her bangs. Voice so serene and soft, her eyes twinkled as she merrily sang out, “True! I sometimes forget he’s an omega since he’s so aggressive and so not like me, you know? But he’s my dad, and I love him!”

Almost causing the vehicle to swerve off-course, Sephiroth’s brain ceased functioning, his whole body becoming rigid and tense. Limbs at least moving on autopilot to navigate the vehicle properly, there was still a form of agony present. Even when the sensation subsided, all that remained happened to be a dull throbbing in his shoulder. Sephiroth’s stomach was queasy, and while he knew it had everything to do with the honey-like odors wafting around, the majority of his illness came from the realization that Aerith was indeed correct. 

Foolish as he was not to have noticed it back then, it was as sensibly true as the change in temperature and seasons. The planet and entire universe shifted as the earthquake blooming broke out over the expansive ground, threatening to devour him along with the wild tide. Somewhere in the back of his mind, as he shivered slightly, unsure what was to happen and what lingered behind the meanings of betrayal, despite all the horrors on display, Sephiroth’s symptoms hadn’t waned, not even by a little.

While the physical pain wasn’t worse than anything he’d suffered through earlier, this act came as a surprise. Sephiroth knew he’d been terribly betrayed by the people he trusted and thought of as close family a few times in his life...as brothers...but this, this was tasteless. 

“Sephiroth!” Holding onto her seat with both hands, Aerith wailed from the bottom of her lungs, “What the hell is wrong with you?! Can’t you drive?!”

Dodging away from the lanes of heavier, speedy traffic safely, Sephiroth eventually rotated the wheel and tires, making a dangerous U-turn and charging back to the edge of the highway, emergency stop lights blasting on before he changed gears to stall the car.

Slamming ahead in his seat with Aerith, it was her turn to cough and pant, eyes round and thick lashes fluttering wildly. Heaving herself to sit upright, as she surveyed the road, a hand now on her chest to steady her racing heart, her arguments were cut short when Sephiroth threw her one of the most contemptible scowls she’d ever seen.

“Your father is an omega, and you never thought to tell me that well before inviting me over?!”

As Sephiroth sat there quaking on the spot, feeling pity for him, perhaps, Aerith’s dainty hands dug into his shoulders, and her head fell forward against his upper arm almost in a carefree, loving gesture. 

“Sephiroth, calm down!” Laughing it off once she was certain they were at least safe from traffic, she chuckled louder, “It’s not a big deal anyway! Don’t worry about my dad!”

Oh, he was, but for a plethora of new reasons altogether, not that she would ever get it. 

Sephiroth not only loathed the way he’d embarrassed himself in front of Cloud before even meeting him, but an egotistical part of his honor and pride as a male alpha were shot by such a measly omega, and he loathed Cloud for that the most. Omegas were nothing but trouble as well, and while he’d only dated one online in his younger years, that relationship had never been serious. 

Loyally determined as he was about Aerith, knowing her father was an omega, this one experience was a true nuisance already when he thought of Cloud’s horrid attitude. Cloud was equally as stubborn, haughty, conceited, arrogant, and downright nasty. Assertiveness was a trait Sephiroth liked in himself and his social group of friends, but to see it on someone so small, annoying, and boring truly pissed him off. 

To think that Cloud had mouthed off to him about leaving bad first impressions too…what a pitiful joke.

“Crap.” Massaging his nose and forehead, fingers digging into his skin and rolling as if kneading dough, he grunted to Aerith, “What a night. Seriously, thanks for the heads up.”

Snorting and then taking more interest with her phone, as she texted away next to him in the dark, one hand patting his knee, Aerith reassured him that all would be well as any decently supportive girlfriend would, but Sephiroth never trusted her words as much as wanted to.

“You’ll be fine. I don’t think he’ll want to see you around again.”

“Thank god,” Sephiroth growled, starting to drive off towards his house and crash, sleeping peacefully all night and well into the morning, hopefully. “Feeling’s so mutual.”

Chapter Text

Light shone, bright, and fiercely determined, across Sephiroth’s unwilling eyes as a fading, pleasant dream left his thoughts. He blinked awake, once, twice. He usually never remembered his dreams, always losing them to the swarm of morning duties and intricacies of life before giving them any true thought.

Passing that off, he grumbled slightly and sat up in bed, likely not putting even four hours behind himself. It felt like less, but he had to get a move on for his apprenticeship training. Finally accepting that, he shrugged off his fatigue for morning drowsiness and climbed from bed, forcing himself to a standing and wakeful position before searching for and dressing in the best, clean and comfortable pants he could find.

Seven o’clock, Wednesday. The roofing company apparently didn’t need him until nine. He could check in with the site manager then...but he needed to get some air and possibly go to the bank. All these thoughts passed through again as a morning ritual of sorts, blank, by instinct before he made his way downstairs for coffee. 

Loving how crisp and fresh it smelled, the Keurig machine working like a charm, Sephiroth went through his regular routine of cleaning, shaving, and covering himself with body deodorant. Stretching and doing quick exercises while the morning news play had been interrupted by a text message from Aerith. While he wasn’t entirely ungrateful or upset to hear from her, when Sephiroth took a well earned break and read what she’d sent him, he felt his world rapidly going to hell.

Babe, May 1, 8:05 a.m.
Good news! My dad apparently wants to invite you over more! He really liked you, Sephiroth, and he said you left a positive impression on him after all! Luv you lots!

So much for Cloud Strife not ever wanting to see him again. What a practical joke from the universe, all aimed at his expense. Furious and sent into rage blazoned by more pressure he didn’t need, Sephiroth thought of calling Aerith to settle the matter and gain clarity, when he remembered she was at work. 

It had to wait, but he needed air, space, and a better place to collect his disarray of thoughts, all emotions charging away and firing up in the worst of ways. Piecing together quite the creative, colorful assortment of possibilities for why Cloud wanted to see him again only left Sephiroth feeling more dejected and lost than before. Overthinking it was a guaranteed way to get another bloody headache, so he decided to get moving rather than stewing.

Driving around town with his heated beverage in a thermos rather than sitting at home and properly enjoying it, the initially aimless trip proved to be rather refreshing. Stopping by a park he’d often frequented with his parents when he was younger, he took great joy in watching toddlers and kids now running around, maneuvering their bodies around and onto playground equipment. Dogs eagerly got their morning exercise as well, bonding with their owners as they engaged in their games and jogging, pink, long tongues hanging out their gaping mouths as their paws bounded across the dewy earth.

The wind blew around Sephiroth as he stood there with his hair still mildly damp from his morning shower. After recently chopping the ends a bit more, the neat trim bolstering his naturally handsome aesthetics, he drew an arm back, carding through the messy strands. The powerful odor of grass and mud hit his nostrils when he inhaled, feeling rather refreshing and generous traces of calm introduced to his system. Gasoline occasionally blended with it, which wasn’t altogether too bad…not until tires screeched over gravel not too far in the parking lot from where he was standing and brought along the same sweet odor he’d scented only hours ago.

A horn blared off seconds later in the same way alarm bells rang out in the teen’s mind, causing Sephiroth’s heart to skip a few beats. Turning around and fearing for his life, the notion that he was going to be hit by the car flew out the door when he noticed a rather new, hybrid vehicle, the hood drawn back as a blonde head poked up. The tinted windows rolled down even further, the driver easily parking not too far from Sephiroth and shutting off the engine before they stepped out. 

Walking with reverent pride as though they owned the entire park, the figure dressed neatly in a long, dark cardigan and tight, onyx dress pants and matching designer shoes stood with a digital camera in both hands. Sunglasses slanted on the smooth, creamy face, though concealed to a degree, their presence stuck out so remarkably for Sephiroth in seconds.

Speak of the damn devil…

There wasn’t time to run off and hide. Cloud Strife surveyed the open field beyond the parking lot, eyes stopping and landing on Sephiroth until he seemed taken aback, though recovering rather swiftly. His luck was truly horrible to run into the same odible man he loathed twice in less than twenty-four hours, but it was better to just be an adult rather than cower away, Sephiroth supposed.

Blushing, Sephiroth gave him a tiny nod, shoving his hands in his pockets as the tall teenager sulked, though had no choice but to walk up towards Cloud. “Good morning sir.”

Curtly nodding back at him, Cloud greeted sternly, “Morning.”

Stopping a few feet away from him, even at this distance, Sephiroth easily dwarfed Cloud. Sealing that victory in a bit, he tried not to gloat as he then asked, “What brings you here?”

Pointing at his camera and then having his chin poking out ahead at the open field so Elysium green, Cloud replied, “I came to take a few photos for my new client. If the proposal pulls through, hopefully I can get a model or two here for the next magazine.”

“Oh yeah.” Smiling, though not at all close to being friendly enough to Cloud, Sephiroth remembered that he was doing this all for Aerith, and it made the interaction somewhat more manageable. “Are you uh, are you the boss basically?”

Frowning and coming off as conflicted, the way Cloud gaped gave Sephiroth the impression that no one had ever asked him something as unusual as that.

Dropping a hand away from his camera, he still cradled it to his sternum as he shook his head. “Not exactly…it’s more complicated than that I guess.”

Thumb poking into his chest, Sephiroth announced with pride, “I’ll be the boss of my own roofing company one day. That’s why I’m going for my apprenticeship.”

Brows flying up, Cloud commented, “Ambitious.” 

Strangely, to Sephiroth’s precision, it didn’t come off as sententious and rude as how Cloud had sounded last night. Working with that, he smiled in gratitude when words failed, but Cloud rescued him from that plight by asking a question of his own.

Spinning around in a half circle, he inquired gently, “What’re you doing here?”

“Ah I…I sometimes come here to clear my head, think. That stuff.” When Cloud quizzically stared at him in a way that suggested he didn’t follow, Sephiroth laughed a tad strangely and supplied for clarification, “I used to come here and feed the geese, ducks, raccoons with my mom. I have a lot of memories here.”

The silence was endlessly struck with illimitable grief. Drawn out between them, taut and agonizingly intense as it was, there was a chance this could be salvaged, perhaps. Eventually, with time passing, there was only the distant sound of the wind and ripples sloshing in the nearby pond. Branches heaving against the trunks of trees supporting them, and beyond, the ringing clash of heavy metal and the euphoric cries of play and celebration from children. The flags on top of adjacent buildings billowed like primordial wings in the savagely beating wind, the blood-hued rays of the rising sun slanting through the canvas and across Cloud’s face, lighting it with unearthly fires. 

Slowly, never taking his eyes off him all the while, Sephiroth began to approach, putting a hand out to the side of a bench to steady himself. All his primal instincts were alerting him to imminent danger, his nerves thrumming with the beginnings of exhilaration. The blind impulse to call out Cloud’s name seized himself, the word almost formed on his lips, but he conquered it. Sephiroth dreaded panic, above all else, when he needed his keen senses about himself now more than ever.

“So uh,” he began in an unsteady tone of voice, and this, the meticulous politeness in his voice, warned Sephiroth more than any violence could have, that he was in real danger if he pursued this, for some unfathomable reason, yet he still approached. 

Watching from with only a few inches now between their bodies, Cloud’s lips turned up, down, brows knotting, then relaxing. Like a small scarecrow, his shoulders crept up, then relaxed, the omega shuddering a few times before he broadened his stance and wound back an inch.

Sephiroth still hadn’t offered anything else. The first move had to be his, and with Cloud so deadly quiet, so unpredictable, any word or action could provoke him to flee, no doubt. In the meantime, Sephiroth knew he was acting rather bizarrely himself, approaching, pausing, wanting to leave and provide some sort of excuse, but failing to do so numerous times. All he knew was that he was lost and baffled, feeling fast asleep, though simultaneously awake into such painful confusion.

Deathly still, Cloud also remained, crowned in shadow, dark bags caused by his lenses staining his white, white face. His slanting smile was almost courteous, but there was veiled menace in the way he held himself, languid grace turned to threatening intent. And his eyes…smooth as water, cold as ice, yet lit from within by a faint crimson glow. He seemed a bit more relaxed, though cautious, leaving Sephiroth to realize now that there’d always been that latent animal quality in his own nature as an alpha, the potential to be ruthless, something so carefully concealed beneath all the delicate courtesy and elegant mannerisms. 

Not that anyone would be judged for not wanting to be too involved with any alpha. Modern science and advancements in technology helped them move forward as a society, barriers between what separated men from beasts more evident these days. Regardless, traditionalists prevailed with their sentimental notions, proclaiming that omegas could never be too careless around any alpha.

Was it to be feared by this older male, however? 

He didn’t think so, not when Cloud grinned at him, not as deeply thrown in paralysis and meekness anymore when he’d taken all the time he needed to speak.

“Well, I have a few things in one of my studios to clean and pack up.” This time, he was the one who’d moved closer, shoes gently pressing on top of long grass blades. “Would you like to join me? I promise I won’t make you work too much.”

A small snort escaped from Sephiroth, his lips quirking to one side as he chuckled a bit louder. “I’ll bite.”

Beckoning him over, Cloud was mindful to maintain a distance, walking over to his own car as he expressed in amusement, “That easy, huh?” Opening the driver’s door, as he sat, he quipped facetiously, “No lectures on my villainous conduct or sneering remarks with your prim mouth and disapproving looks?”

Annoyed by Cloud’s silly remarks, Sephiroth didn’t care for the failure at jokes, taking them as that as he flashed his own keys at the shorter male. “Whatever. I’ll follow your car, okay?”

“Hmm. As you wish.” 

Waving at him, before he sat himself in his own vehicle, Sephiroth shouted over the bombastic engine, “Don’t back up and hit me suddenly!”

Adjusting his rear-view mirror, Sephiroth buckled himself in, peeking up at the shiny pane of glass as he caught out of his peripheral vision for two swift seconds Cloud possibly staring at him. It was tough to see and determine, the taciturn omega technically facing the parking lot exit, though his eyes somehow seemed to be constantly watching Sephiroth.

Before he drove past Sephiroth, he slowed down deliberately and long enough to be heard shouting, “Don’t tempt me!”

~~~********~~~

Once he parked behind Cloud and exited his vehicle, Sephiroth could feel his palms going sweaty as he walked up the driveway toward the studio not far from Aerith’s home. It wasn’t just the wealth and luxury of the estate that intimidated him, though the opulence would have been enough to scare anyone away, truly. The building was larger than most apartments, he noted as he took a peek around the outside of the place. Emerald eyes roaming over the ornate molding and lush greenery that surrounded the entrance, it suddenly dawned on Sephiroth that he hadn’t seen a single person on the property. No gardener, no service workers running around, nothing. It left him wondering how an estate this size functioned without constant maintenance.

Cloud unlocked the door, knowing the code and punching it in. Removing his sunglasses and folding them back to sit up on top of his skull through his thick, golden hair, he led Sephiroth in first and removed his shoes.

“Doesn’t look so busy here,” Sephiroth began in a way to get to his question. “Who runs this place?”

“I sometimes just drop by here and use it as a storage facility of sorts but rarely do much else other than place equipment and props in it.”

Sephiroth followed after him into the slightly cold, dark building, past the grand staircase in the foyer and into a large area which broke off into a hall where many office doors were closed. Vague as it was, he studied the area, his head spinning at the collection of art and intricate woodwork that filled the spacious building and hung on the pale walls. Okay, maybe the opulence was just a little bit intimidating after all.

Pausing by the fourth door to the left, Cloud beckoned to Sephiroth without any other word and turned on the light in the hall.

Sephiroth quietly nodded his acceptance, following after the smaller man as he led down the hallway to, apparently, the guest room, or storage room, as he previously termed it. As soon as he opened the door and entered a few inches past it, Sephiroth knew the smell of abandonment, not rotten, or bad, but no one had disturbed this room for far too long.

Boxes scattered the floor. Empty, half-opened, half-full, overflowing. But each piece of jewelry, clothing, was in perfect order, neatly folded or stacked, nothing crumpled, nothing out of place, but like it had stood there, alone, untouched, for ages on end without wear.

Assessments were one thing, but Sephiroth wanted to know why this dusty room held anything of value to Cloud at all. Barren of much furniture, at least he was honest regarding the manner of props and other old equipment strewn about. Newspapers and all sorts of cameras and their tripods stood about, some curved and clearly too old to be operated.

“How long...has it been?” Sephiroth questioned quietly, glancing to the cobwebbed ceiling. 

Apparently, someone at least took the liberty and dusted it to a degree, or something of the sort, as none of the scattered clothes had even a speck of dust, well preserved.

“Maybe a little over ten years…I stopped coming here to this specific room after my divorce.” Cloud’s sharp eyes snapped up, but Sephiroth’s looked distant, distracted, and didn’t meet those blues. 

Although he sensed he was betraying one of the rules Aerith had set for him when interacting with her father, this technically had been Cloud choosing to divulge a personal statement to him, therefore, he didn’t suspect he’d be held accountable. He didn’t detect any lie and felt a sudden wash when he locked eyes with Cloud, a small shiver running through himself, though the room was kept warm, not even a draft seeping in.

“That’s too long, and it sucks. I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly and ebony focused, glancing down. 

At first, Sephiroth had expected something angry, defensive, or cold, but Cloud only replied softly.

“It is what it is. We weren’t right for each other anyway.” Pushing a chair out of his way and placing it by a wall, Cloud added didactically, “Breaking up when you’re an adult with attachments is way worse. I wish it happened when I was your age.”

“I know.” Sephiroth hated to think of what would ultimately happen when he ran into deeper troubles with Aerith, but it wasn’t the right time to voice these thoughts to her own father.

If he started running his mouth so pessimistically, the other man might think him obsessive, or at least less than sane from the long duration. Somehow, he didn’t find it right to lie, and he knew that he was having some sort of issues with Aerith already, given how many ‘red flags’ there were lately cropping up in their relationship. Wagering that he had to start opening up, letting some advice in from someone would be wise, but at a more opportune time. This, in a way, was a first step.

Sephiroth looked about the room, feeling lost for a starting place when it came to conversing, anyway. Clothes, perfumes, jewelry, purses, shoes, likely everything any sane woman could want lined the floors, window sill, closet. The morning light now shone brightly through a large, rectangular window and he glanced at a single, faded pair of jeans, lighted by the sun, on bold display as if an omen for the taking. 

He started there, pacing over to the jeans. Nudging them away from the windowsill, they were neatly folded, and when from their slightly bulging pocket, a tiny lighter dropped to the floor.

Frowning at the silver, shiny object, Sephiroth bent to pick it up, but Cloud was already on that task. Swiping it into his own palm, fingers curling around the lighter, it obviously meant something more precious to him when he hid it behind his back, slouching near a wall away from Sephiroth.

Carefully, Sephiroth surmised, “Oh…your ex-wife’s?”

Stolidly, almost, Cloud snapped and corrected, “Ex-husband’s.”

“Ah…” That was treading too much as it was, so Sephiroth decided to let Cloud select what they would do and discuss next.

Swallowing nervously, feet shuffling over to the stack of boxes piling on top of each other, though not yet taped shut, Cloud suggested, “Want to start with those? We can go through them and determine if they’re of use before we send them to Goodwill.” 

Neither he nor Cloud could’ve assessed how much time they spent there. What began as a search for decent clothes turned into an exploration, an adventure, and an entire avenue of outfits as each thing Cloud explored brought about surprisingly little-pained memories. Sephiroth went along with it all just fine, now sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor, in a loose fitting but simple white t-shirt and that first pair of comfortable, slightly faded work jeans. His cheeks flushed slightly in the now greatly warmed room as the day bled into afternoon, and his hair tousled from the scramble each time he retrieved another heavy box. 

Too wrapped up in his tasks, fingers and hands smoothing out wrinkles in the old clothes when Cloud did the same, Sephiroth missed how the omega almost smiled at him a few times before he schooled himself into remaining impassive. For that instant, he could completely forget the stickler for rules, nuisance of a parent he’d been introduced to the night before, and now see a comfortable, honestly energetic young man, relaxed and chatty before himself.

While Cloud still didn’t fit the innocent look portrayed by his short, slender form entirely, he did follow up on the energy quotient, and Sephiroth found that, when not turned against him, his continued flow of speech could actually produce some interesting intuition and conversation. Cloud was far from stupid and with his first small step, began to change, unknowingly, the man’s original, more prejudiced perspective of him.

Needing more than silence between themselves, Sephiroth chose his words cautiously as he partly complimented Cloud in the hopes that it would lighten his spirits some. “So, you were saying that you’re a brilliant fashion magazine editor…”

Scratching at his chin, Cloud scoffed, shaking his head once. “I didn’t say that.”

Taking note of his now awkwardly precarious situation, Sephiroth smiled lightly as he tried once more. “Tell me what you said then.”

Instead of hurting, stabbing, like the first loss and shock of his difficult past, counter opposite to what Sephiroth had expected the minor form of assertiveness would do, Cloud only considered it as he went through the boxes. Staring down at each new outfit, it was obvious that they brought back only sordid thoughts, though not forcibly so.

Sighing as one would almost in the throes of lifting a giant weight from their chest, Cloud’s eyes settled on the right corner of the room as he asked, “What do you want to know? The reason for the divorce?”

Well…it seemed he did prefer being blunt rather than hanging onto phony pleasantries. Admirable. 

When Sephiroth nodded and silently waited, Cloud looked bitter as he seethed, digging far back in memory lane until he stated, “Rowan got a promotion one day, and it was right when I was starting up my own business. We had decent funds, but instead of him supporting me, I woke up one day with a note saying that he was leaving me, and our business savings bank account had been drained.”

Glowering with fury unsurpassed, though not at Cloud, Sephiroth still waited and held off on his comments, the silence something significantly appreciated as Cloud comforted himself by rocking a bit on his bottom.

Arms moving up and down over his lap as the friction brought him some warmth when he shivered, through clenched teeth, he finished, “I tried contacting him for some time, but I wish I never did go digging for answers and the truth. He left me for a younger guy, moved to New York, and I always thought it was my fault for not sticking around and maybe supporting him more in his work. I just argued with him often and we couldn’t compromise.” 

More aggressive now, Sephiroth sensed and spotted a conflicted, weak spot in Cloud that he himself had once always displayed. Wanting to help Cloud rise above it when no one else had been there to do that for him, he snarled, though the noise wasn’t ever intended to frighten Cloud.

“Stop. Stop apologizing and thinking it was all your fault because he was just a selfish asshole.” Looking somewhat apologetic for his crude language use, he turned red as he then added in a hurry, “You can’t do everything by yourself. If it were me, I’d have made you start up the business and given you my full support every day.” 

Bitter at once, clearly not accustomed to hearing comments of this nature, Cloud beat that down in an instant. “You’re still young and everyone always says crap like that.”

“I mean it,” Sephiroth interrupted with a tiny growl, so close to vilifying Cloud out of frustration. “I’d compromise.” 

Refusing to take his word on it still, Cloud stubbornly barked in protest, “Maybe one day, when you reach my age, you’ll get it, but you don’t know crap about sacrifice and compromise!”

Rather than being offended and backed into lashing out, a rather mature side of Sephiroth the teenager didn’t sense he ever had reared its head. Tone calm and somewhat stern, he stuck to his courage and convictions, placing more neatly folded clothes in bags and then pushing those off to the side.

“There’s no need to be harsh and condescending.” Holding up his right hand as though swearing under oath, he confidently expressed, “I may never get what you went through, sure, but I do know the meaning of sacrificing for someone else’s happiness, because I want to do that for Aerith every single day.”

Somehow, this change in tone helped ease Cloud’s nerves. The metamorphosis of his demeanor was gradual, not a night and day contrast, but his shoulders relaxed, his arms not as tense, bones not too uptight. Exhaling softly, he gazed at the floor, lost in his own tangential thoughts for a few seconds until his neutral lilt and expressions revitalized onto his visage.

“Thanks. It’s good to hear someone say that and mean it.” Blue eyes only flicking up to green for a second before they gazed down again, Cloud commented louder this time, “I’m glad Aerith found you.”

His sunglasses fogged when he tried placing them on his face, falling slightly due to his sweaty nose bridge. They now hung at an off angle, which the man took that brief time to fix, situating them once again on his nose properly, and frowning at their hazed state. His tousled blonde hair looked mainly in its regular state, possibly slightly more amiss than usual, the only true sign of anything out of the ordinary being his usual pale cheeks heated and pink. Not for the first time, Sephiroth noted the man could be quite attractive when it came down to it.

The blonde man knelt over him, not tall in particular, but above him nonetheless. From the new angle, he looked sad, guilty almost, even as he maintained grace when he brushed a hand lightly over a smooth cheek, gracing, tentative. Sephiroth’s gaze flickered briefly to the move, then back up to the almond-silver of the gaze above himself. Cloud was stacking a few boxes onto each other, the items within them rattling and shifting, working to the notes of silence.

Brain on autopilot though for psychological assessments, without considering the ramifications of his words, Sephiroth commented pointedly, “Yeah, he was an idiot to let you go.”

Immediately after that statement, Sephiroth’s nostrils were instantly overwhelmed by Cloud’s musk. Together in that room, with only inches apart, it was as if Sephiroth was forced to breathe it in straight from the source. The odor emanating from the omega was so strong that the adolescent alpha could almost taste it. It was like the smell was driving straight up into his nose and through to his brain, rooting there forever. Too addictively sweet, Sephiroth began getting lightheaded as the heady scent penetrated him like a knife, invading his nostrils as it traveled throughout his entire body. 

He truly was surprised to notice the smell wasn’t unpleasant at all. It was powerful and overwhelming, to be sure, but not altogether unpleasant like the night before. Something about the smell...relaxed him. It was like slipping into a warm bath, enabling him to begin feeling the tension leave his body as his mind became unburdened. Between it all, due to his conscience, Sephiroth could feel panic eating away at the edge of his responsible mind, but the feeling was dull, muted. It was being edged out by something much stronger, and he couldn’t help but feel...so damn good. 

Succumbing to instinct, Sephiroth rose to his full height and closed his eyes. Depending more on his keen olfactory bulbs, he walked over to where Cloud stood, back turned to him. Deeply breathing Cloud’s scent a little deeper as his struggles to stay away became weaker and weaker, Sephiroth loomed close by, the tip of his nose practically kissing the back of Cloud’s slightly exposed nape.

That was the very essence of where the odor was permeating from…he just wanted to smell it. Just for a moment.

Suddenly, as if struck in an instant with profound realization, Sephiroth snapped from his daze. He’d been gazing at Cloud’s neck like he wanted to lunge at him and do what? This was his girlfriend’s father!

Sensing he was being closed in on, Cloud whirled around, yelping and slamming himself back in a corner. “What’re you doing?!” Waving and shooing Sephiroth off, he snarled angrily, “You’re too close! Too close!”

Finally, the volume of Cloud’s shrill voice had been the best dose of medicine to wake up to reality Sephiroth needed. Alarm bells rang off in his stupid brain, lucidity and awareness now in his grasp as he backed up appropriately, though covered from head to toe in thick sweat under his clothes.

“I’m sorry…I…” Searching through the room as if it would help provide solutions to his errors, Sephiroth was left with nothing but sputtering in the end. 

Blue eyes snapped down in warning, roughly as he finished wiping the haze from his sunglasses and replaced them neatly. In that small instance, Cloud returned to the role of a stolid parent, upheld, firm, and unrelenting, losing every bit of hesitancy as he took back the position he played best. The asperity did well to keep the barrier that always needed to be present between them, especially when Sephiroth knew that they weren’t too lofty and lauded to be placed above concepts of ‘alpha’ and ‘omega’ after all.

Knowing he had to leave, Sephiroth didn’t even bother saying much else, ducking out of the room silently as he wondered how he’d managed to screw everything up yet again in less than a day. Truly, he was developing a fucking talent for this shit.

~~~********~~~

Thankfully, Cloud wasn’t too petty and centered on vengeance to share with Aerith what’d transpired between himself and Sephiroth. Acting as if it’d never happened in the first place and going about things as usual, the temperament between Cloud and Sephiroth appeared to be relatively the same as when they’d first met.

In the next week, between classes and time off from work, Sephiroth hung out with Aerith at her place. Cloud would occasionally drop in from time to time, though he didn’t share many words with either his daughter or her boyfriend. Clearly too busy, he would stop and grab something from the fridge or oven, rushing up to his room or office in the basement where he quietly sequestered himself for hours.

It suited Aerith just fine, the young woman needing more time and privacy with her boyfriend. Spending time together in her house helped them bond, and with Sephiroth feeling somewhat more welcome and accepted into the family, he put the arcane interaction with Cloud out of his mind…until Aerith sometimes tried fooling around with him, that was.

Something about messing around under the same roof as her dour father was too wrong for his tastes, but Aerith clearly didn’t mind it. She eased the way into foreplay, trying to fondle Sephiroth over and under his pants many times in the most subtle ways. When that failed, and when they’d been interrupted to make dinner and clean, Aerith would still show how impish and playfully inclined she was. Perhaps the forbidden and somewhat taboo turned her on, but she would sneak a foot under the kitchen table, gently patting and stroking his member, and when he moved, she would often grope his tight ass right in the open.

Sephiroth never understood it, frankly. She’d once been so old-fashioned about this sort of activity, but now, she didn’t appear to care for that. No longer clandestine, she wasn’t shy, initiating heavy make-out sessions and almost grinding herself on top of him right on the living room sofa. 

They’d nearly had half their clothes removed one rainy afternoon, with Sephiroth discarding caution in the wind and eager for sex after abstaining from it for a few months. Things were getting hot and heavy quickly, lust escalating rather well, when the door to Cloud’s office just to the left abruptly opened.

The clean, diaphanous glass inserts of the living room double doors gave him a decent image of what was going on when he passed by the living room, unfortunately. Freezing by the entrance to the spacious, lavishly decorated room, Cloud glared down at the teenagers, clearing his throat to grab their attention when they both failed to notice his presence. 

Mewling in terror and panic, Aerith scooted herself off Sephiroth’s lap, grabbing her blouse which lay on the floor. Her lacey, see-through pink bra was still on, but Sephiroth’s jeans and shirt were nearly halfway off, presenting his toned abs right to Cloud in the glowing lights. Scrambling for his shirt as one hand busily zipped himself back up, Sephiroth turned pale, then flushed down to his ears and neck at being caught like an obviously befuddled teenager by his girlfriend’s strict father. 

“Daaaad!” Aerith wailed, slotting her slender arms into the sleeves of her blouse, fingers missing a few buttons in her haste. “You scared the hell out of me!”

Whether Cloud meant to focus on Sephiroth’s rippling muscles or not, no one knew and paid much credence to, but the omega’s eyes imperceptibly zoned in on the spots, pupils dilating until he forced himself to turn away from the sofa. 

“I’m glad I did,” Cloud hissed into the air, crossing his arms over his chest. Frigid and sangfroid, he scolded and questioned Aerith, “Are you using protection and being wise about this crap?”

Laughing so inappropriately given how it wasn’t uplifting or amusing in the least, Aerith then exchanged a nervous look with Sephiroth while shaking her head. “Wow. I’m eighteen. Don’t need to have this talk like I’m sixteen or something.”

Aiming to be the responsible one and try to patch things up, Sephiroth’s eyes darted back and forth. Fishing for an effective explanation, his cranium burned as he tried to think, his head still dizzy from...whatever it was that just happened. It felt like his mind was trucking through mud, like this was all a dream. Clearing his throat once his shirt was on, he shook his head, trying to empty his mind of gibberish so he could focus. 

Gingerly, though he knew Cloud was more furious with Aerith, he weakly began on a repentant note, “I’m sorry, sir. I started it.”

Rounding on him, though without as much venom seeping out of his tone and eyes, Cloud furiously raged, “I don’t give a damn who started it!” Pointing at Aerith and then the floor, he motioned down with his index finger with each punctuated word, “As long as you’re under my roof, you’ll obey my rules, and that means hands off each other in this house!”

“I’m an adult and I don’t need to share everything with you, dad!”

Roughly the same height as his daughter, Cloud didn’t allow her to intimidate him yet as he stood on his toes, arms still folded firmly across his chest. “Good for you, Aerith.” 

This was the very epitome of god damn awkward. Sephiroth had been in this position before, a guest in friends’ houses, right when shit hit the fan and they started bickering with their parents. However, back then, it’d never been for reasons like this, as he’d only been a witness rather than the contributing force of the arguing.

Now the very quintessence of annoyed, Aerith gathered her long hair in a tight ponytail, slanting it over her shoulders as she rose from the sofa and moved into the front hall.

“Whatever. I need some air,” she crudely announced, fetching her gym bag off a hook in the wall. Once she snatched her keys and opened the front door, she snapped out to Cloud robotically, “I’m going to the gym.”

Shrugging flippantly as he eased himself on a stool before an easel and a desk sporting all sorts of notes and sketchbooks, Cloud propped open a few drawers, retrieving art supplies and neatly organizing them on the desk.

Rather snarky at once, he expressed undivided indifference to Aerith as she’d never expected. 

“I thought you just said you are an adult and don’t need to share everything with me?” Eyeing the door, Cloud derisively sneered at it for a second before turning to his work.

Realizing that the conversation was over for the time being, Aerith’s flip flops slammed onto the floor, the front door banging shut seconds after her stormy departure. 

Cringing as he heard picture frames on the walls shaking and sliding due to the impact of the slamming, Sephiroth slowly noticed he was left alone with Cloud in the living room. Though not yet panicking, he gradually sat up, immobile otherwise on the sofa while Cloud uncapped pens, markers, shuffled papers, the scent of toxic chemicals and paint rising in the air to waft over to Sephiroth.

Fidgeting while Cloud worked on something unknown and unseen to himself, Sephiroth at least attempted to salvage the relationship he was trying to develop with Cloud.

Hoping that this would place them on the right track, he calmly expressed, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to disrespect your rules.”

Spine seizing in place, Cloud acted as though he’d forgotten that Sephiroth was even in the room. Shooting up like a meerkat, his neck gradually turned until one eye shot out a monstrous glare aimed right for the pathetic alpha on the sofa.

Treating Sephiroth as he would a formidable enemy, Cloud angrily protested, “What? Still here?” Not giving Sephiroth a chance to speak, he glowered on with intentions to reduce the alpha to ash and grind him to powder. “Will I have to remove you from my property by force?”

This was extremely unwarranted and unfair. Worse than the initial threat, Sephiroth understood that Cloud was testing his limits, guarding himself well to gauge his reactions. As much as he originally thought to leave, now that Cloud had addressed him this way, Sephiroth chose to be as obstinate as Cloud, refusing to budge and be intimidated and walked all over. 

Steely green eyes burned through Cloud’s, with Sephiroth settling back on the furniture, legs crossed as he growled potently, “You can try, but I’ll leave when I feel good and ready.”

Prepared to fight for his own rights if he had to, Sephiroth remained like a block of wood. Nothing was set to shock and terrify him, the teenager with a mild affinity for fighting due to genetics ready to fire up harsh words, all until he caught the faint glimmer of what appeared to be a tiny grin working itself on Cloud’s face.

Like the shimmer of a pleasant mirage in the heated desert playing tricks on the foolish mind, just as it’d appeared, time wasn’t a gift and luxury for Sephiroth to determine whether it was all real.

Spinning back around to face his work station, Cloud hunched over it, delicate hands moving away with such form and trained grace that it distracted Sephiroth well enough not to hear the statement Cloud had whispered more as an aside.

“Maybe you are the right guy for my daughter after all.”

Chapter Text

During the second week of May, everyone in Sephiroth’s class had been given a huge take-home project that would serve for a large chunk of their final grade. It was a case of a good-news-bad-news situation, sadly. While they were permitted partners to work with in order to divide the tasks evenly, it was the stupid teacher who’d assigned Sephiroth to work with Chadley, a rather nerdy, albeit helpful kid who did relatively well in all his subjects. 

Despondent, Sephiroth had wanted to work with Aerith, feeling a tad nervous and uneasy when he discovered that she was paired up with Zack Fair. No way did Sephiroth trust that jackass, especially when it was as obvious as day and night that Zack had a crush on Aerith since kindergarten, basically, and now, he was working with his girlfriend after school for hours on their ‘project’...

Just to keep an eye on them, Sephiroth invited Zack to his own house as well as Chadley and Aerith, the little study session going fine until Chadley became ill suddenly and left Sephiroth with his plethora of notes to figure out. Punctilious in providing him with some format and agenda at least that he could work on while he faced his own convalescence, Sephiroth not only had a lot more to do by himself, but he was growing weary himself when Zack started getting too aggressive, wanting to focus on his own paper with Aerith, all without Sephiroth constantly breathing down his neck, of course.

This was putting a major dent in their relationship, and even Aerith started behaving unusually cold and distant. She suddenly became obsessed with ‘studying’ lately, or so she claimed. Sephiroth trusted her to a degree, but he always checked her social media profiles whenever she wasn’t home for updates. When that didn’t abate his nerves, he practically forced himself in her house each chance he had alone with her, though she was too exhausted and drained to put up a fuss.

Cloud felt they were all under heavy amounts of stress, responding accordingly by preparing and serving dinner and dessert, not getting too close and lingering around to distract or bother them. Fortunately, he hung around on the weekends, behaving quite like a supportive parent who only wanted to bond with his daughter and her boyfriend.

In time, Sephiroth learned enough about Cloud too, all without needing to pry much in his personal life. 

Cloud had taken a liking to art and even majored in the subject after high school. A bright art student at the local college, he graduated top of his class and eventually broadened his scope to fashion and photography as well as fine art. No wonder he was almost always sketching when Sephiroth was over at their house, leaving the alpha to ask him about it one afternoon while the three of them were in the living room together.

Sephiroth had been watching TV on the love seat with Aerith’s head in his lap while Cloud sat on the couch adjacent to the teenagers. He held a look of intense concentration on his face, his long sleeves pushed back to reveal the pale white of his skin underneath as he gracefully dragged the pencil tip across the paper of his sketchbook with long, nimble fingers. He’d pause occasionally to sweep his soft, blonde curls out of his eyes and off to the side, something that always made Sephiroth grateful for deciding to keep his silver hair in a short fashion, only the bangs neatly drooping to bolster handsome style and attractive features to his eyes and angular face.

“Hey, sir, what’re you always drawing?”

Perking up, Cloud’s blue eyes peered at Sephiroth over the top of his sketchbook for several seconds before he offered a casual shrug. “Usually people. Sometimes, I’ll draw an animal or a character from something, but I usually stick with people.”

That sounded interesting and tough, and Sephiroth wanted to know more, never having much of a talent in art at all. “Any particular reason why?”

Humming as a finger curled under his chin, Cloud soon shrugged again. “I’m not sure…people are more challenging to draw I guess, and I like a challenge, but when things remind me too often of work, I tend to stop pursuing them as hobbies.”

Confusion was evidently displayed on Sephiroth’s face before he asked, “How so?”

“Well,” Cloud softly began, “for starters, you have to make sure to include the finer details. Beauty marks, scars, those sorts of things, and I have a thing for details rather than abstract art. But the real trick is capturing emotions and body language. Everyone expresses emotions and body language in their own unique way, which can be tricky to put to paper.”

Eyes brightly shimmering, Sephiroth whistled, impressed as he nodded slowly and tried to imagine himself mastering that sort of interest. “Yeah! No doubt! I’d never know where to start, honestly.”

“Some courses helped me, and you have literally no idea how many sports games I attended in person so I could get an up-close view on the human form in motion.”

The more Cloud talked about art, the more animated and lively he became. Features bolstering with a new sort of vitality and color, Sephiroth could tell he really had a passion for art from the way he spoke of it, no longer keeping to breviloquence. Low key excitement instead began filling his voice and a tiny spark flashed with spirited potency behind his eyes. He even looked years younger, smiling a few times as he sat up taller in his seat, his pencil waving about in the air as though it were a magic wand set to bring anything to life because of his talents for creativity. 

Smiling away at him encouragingly, Sephiroth triumphed when he felt like he’d finally found a way to get Cloud Strife to open up.

Ignoring how Aerith slowly blinked at him during a commercial break, her mouth opening in slight awe, Sephiroth beamed at Cloud as he cried out, “That’s awesome, man! Err, I mean, sir! Can I see some of your stuff?”

Golden eyebrows slowly rose before Cloud squeaked, “Seriously?” Coughing and sputtering, he patted himself on the sternum as he added more as an aside of sorts, “It’s just…no one’s ever asked much…no one shows interest in this boring stuff!”

Snorting, Sephiroth commented lightly in good humor, “Screw those other people! I wanna see, so come show me!” 

Sitting up and tapping the seat next to himself, he made room enough on his right and Cloud slowly shuffled over. Aerith perched on Sephiroth’s left, grumpy that she no longer had a pillow for her head when Sephiroth’s lap became temporarily unavailable.

Spreading open the neat sketchbook with his signature and the date of his art added and signed at the bottom, Cloud pointed to the first page as he elucidated fondly, “I just started sketching in this book so I don’t have much of it filled out yet.”

Showing off the impressive stature of a horse riding along a grand meadow with its long mane floating in the wind, the legs were powerfully shaped, each muscle, length of bone, and the shiny, round eyes so well detailed and planned out. It was as if Sephiroth was really staring at a real life horse. Studying the majestic animal even on a blank page still helped his mind fill in the drawing with plenty of vibrant color akin to a somnolent summer’s day. The connections he made with the art came too easily associated with his own merry memories of when he’d gone horseback riding years ago.

Whistling again, he smirked and commented in fervent approval, “This is some good stuff.”

“Maybe,” the somewhat doubtful adult demurred, shyly glancing away with a small smile while a blush crept into his cheeks. “I can be a bit of a perfectionist I guess.”

The ebullient mood caught on like wildfire, and Sephiroth demanded without hesitation, “Show me some more.”

Obediently, fingers moving quickly, Cloud had already flipped to the next page.

“This is my colleague, Tia!” he announced, tapping the left page with his thumb, on which was a drawing of an Asian woman with dreadlocks staring down at her phone, an inquisitive look on her face. Motioning at a curled up ball of darkness by her side, Cloud chuckled, “And this is her dog, Otis.”

Glancing to the right, Sephiroth squinted long enough until he made out the shape and features of an old terrier who seemed to be looking up at him, happy and desperate to please as he loyally sat next to his master.

Practically able to feel the animal’s soft fur since it was accurately brought to life with each strand shining on the page, Sephiroth cooed, “Beautiful dog.”

“I have another drawing of him in here somewhere,” Cloud mumbled, trying to locate it swiftly.

Flipping to a random spot in the sketchbook as he did, Sephiroth leaned in closer to a distracted Cloud Strife, getting a whiff of his lavender shampoo in the process. It was purely unintentional, but strands of golden hair were too close to his nose, and Sephiroth subtly found himself scenting the fruity blend and enjoying it.

Gasping at once, Cloud flipped to another page, but Aerith stopped him as she pressed a small hand right in the center of the book where Cloud had originally been looking. Drawn away from Cloud’s hair, Sephiroth peeked down at a pencil drawn image of a relatively handsome man laughing as he sat by a shiny window.

Judging by the small crow’s feet at the corners of his eyelids so meticulously drawn out, this was an older male, and someone extremely close and special to Cloud. An almost angelic halo of perfection was added, the effects giving his features a glowing, sentimental appeal. He was a spectacle unto himself, posing so wonderfully, gazing far into one’s soul, practically. Even the world around him in the drawing seemed so far out of view, as he was the important one, the center of the universe displayed here.

Frowning as she tried piecing the man’s identity together, eyes flitting up and down the image, Aerith blushed as she wondered, “Dad? Is this…is this—”

“My ex-husband, and we don’t speak about him, as I’ve said to you before, Aerith. Just…” Snapping the book shut, Cloud bitterly concluded as he turned rigid, “Just forget it if you can.”

Understanding why Cloud was sensitive around the subject, Sephiroth couldn’t easily put himself to the task and forget what he’d seen. Art was always interpreted differently and invoked many emotions in different people. Viewing an art piece at even a unique angle and lighting changed the entire perspective of the piece, and when one was in a specific mindset, the lens could vary. Sephiroth had long since learned what it also meant to separate the artist from their art, the message their work depicting perhaps needing to be interpreted far beyond the face-value.

“Well, I see more than the person; I saw the soul of the art and enjoyed it as that,” Sephiroth exclaimed. “It was lovely and full of life, like he was looking right at me, and it should be viewed as that and nothing too deep.”

Struck by the arrow of such a philosophically inclined comment, Cloud sputtered before he tilted his head down to gape at Aerith and then smile. “You think so?” 

His eyes shifted to the side, watching Sephiroth as he nodded and recalled the professional sketch.

“Fuck yeah, dude.” Ducking when Aerith swatted his head for using such foul language, he giggled as he held onto her hands and pressed them down. “I can almost hear someone’s laughter in my head. You drew him perfectly; the laugh lines around his mouth, the way his eyes crinkle. It’s simply incredible, so don’t hide them.”

After he’d commented with great exuberance, Sephiroth shook his head, genuinely impressed. Wishing he could offer Cloud more compliments but drawing short, he hated that he didn’t know much about art, but he knew when it was good and Cloud’s was beyond great. That wouldn’t suffice at all, and he’d already gone too far overboard with Aerith’s dad, knowing it was time to dial it back a little…a lot.

Following the palpable, enthusiastic vigour of his own, when the room became too eerily silent, Sephiroth turned to direct his gaze and locked eyes with Cloud. Within seconds, he felt as if the oxygen was gone from not only his lungs, but the house itself. Everything spun and froze up on an unusual axis, and in the silence, Sephiroth genuinely realized something rather strong and potent.

It was practically deafening as it rang in his ears, and then sank down within the pit of his heart. It grew and grew, like someone had planted a seed there in his core. Expanding and smothering him, the tethering forces stretched on from Sephiroth to Cloud, and the teenager had to hold back on exploding in pure joy and elation when Cloud offered him a most beautiful smile.

Neither man seemed to want to comment yet, but by hanging his head and remaining quiet, Sephiroth fortunately communicated and presented the best message and most gentle of pensive symbols to someone as introspective as Cloud Strife. As poorly as their introduction had started, Sephiroth knew they were past that, far better than merely resorting to arguing with one another any further. Perhaps they could even be…friends… 

Was Cloud thinking and feeling the same way?

There was some sort of connection here, Sephiroth conceded that interesting point, the intrigue and source being art and how to decipher it matching Cloud’s opinions to a degree. This stung him with greatness for a magnitude of reasons he didn’t fully understand, though he wanted to linger by and understand.

Since he’d sat down next to Cloud and explored a new side of his personality, nothing but waves of confusion and uplifting grace brewed about over his head. It replaced the previous turmoil, and Sephiroth knew he yearned for more than enough of them. This was far too much to handle in one day alone, though he wasn’t exhausted, bored, acting, or pretending to be pleased and at ease…he genuinely felt something here.

A bit of an apprehensive smile coated Cloud’s lips, and he began flipping through the book until Sephiroth held up a hand to stop him, recognizing a character from one of his favorite manga.

Gasping in awe at the fantastically shiny, thick sword brandished by the raven-haired character bearing his recognizable scars and iconic fashion, he then crisply hooted, “Whoa, great job with Guts!”

It was Cloud’s turn to question through an unbelievable likeness for the piece of media, a heady rush reflecting in how he swayed. “You read Berserk?”

“I should ask you that!” Sephiroth laughed while gleefully nodding his head. “I’m not saying you’re old for it, but holy shit, no one at school reads it or even knows Evangelion!”

Meeting his bright eyes, the surprise evident in them, Cloud smirked and boasted, “Ha. It’s one of the best, and you can never be too old for anime and manga!”

Slapping a knee in joy as he lost himself to the energetic conversation, Sephiroth crowed in pure glee, “It’s one of my favorites too!”

Reeled right in, arms perched on his legs as he let the sketchbook slide off to his right, Cloud beamed away, head tilted forth as he remained at eye-level with Sephiroth. “So, you watch a lot of anime?”

Not certain how he would be judged given his scholastics needing to be in better standings, Sephiroth thought of a way to at least be honest, though not too detailed in his reply. “Eh. A decent amount, mostly if I’m that bored.”

Fingers wiggling, Cloud stretched them out, winding his wrist as he offered pleasantly, “I’m watching this one right now that’s super interesting! I can send you the—”

“Weirdos!” Aerith suddenly coughed beside Sephiroth, holding a fist up to her mouth in exaggeration and for dramatic flair. 

Cloud only rolled his eyes and Sephiroth smiled at him, not bothering much with Aerith’s raw rudeness. Once again, he tried to find out what Cloud had been up to before showing off older sketches. 

“So what were you drawing just now?” he inquired politely and nodded down to the sketchbook on the seat by Cloud.

Eyes landing on Aerith first, Cloud appeared to be seeking her approval before he threw caution out the door and scratched his neck. “Oh, well...um, I guess I can show you.” Semi-reluctantly, he flipped a few more pages before tentatively tipping the drawing towards the two teenagers. Holding the book well beneath the lights, he explained, “It’s not...um finished yet.”

Warmth swarmed into his flesh, and Sephiroth could feel Aerith leaning and peeping over his shoulder, joining him in looking at a half finished sketch of themselves happily sitting on the couch. It was the very same position they’d been in for some time, with Aerith’s head resting on Sephiroth’s lap and their hands intertwined as they relaxed and watched TV.

Even the ink was still relatively fresh, glowing when the book was shifted over into Aerith’s hands. Sephiroth glanced up at Cloud gradually and could see the hopeful apprehension in his eyes as he then shook in mild anxiety as one would before a performance for a larger audience.

“I just—”

Wanting to support him, Sephiroth interrupted, “No! It’s cool! I like it!”

Standing out in the opposition, Aerith scowled monstrously, eyes turning cold and stern at the drawing. “Um, I do not look like that,” she heatedly interrupted.

Sephiroth turned toward her as she scowled away at the drawing as if it’d insulted her, but he couldn’t get through her when she had her sights soon set on Cloud.

“Sweetie,” her father began, beyond startled, “it’s not really finished yet, remember? So—”

“Even if it was,” she cut him off, “it still wouldn’t look like me. I’m definitely not that broad around the shoulders and I’m not that gosh darn short!”

Not minding how irritable she was, Cloud set to comfort her as he extended a hand to her cheek. Patting it, conciliatory motions doing well to placate her sharp motions and tiny growls of disapproval, he was able to successfully calm her down long enough so he could provide a rational explanation for himself.

Sliding onto the edge of the sofa seat, Cloud cupped Aerith’s cheek as he proudly intoned, “No matter how much you grow up, to me, you’ll always be my little girl. It’s a parental thing.”

Grumpy at once, even though she relaxed even more, Aerith at least momentarily bought into the words and accepted them to some degree when she pushed past her unfavorable attitude. 

“Humph, kay,” she groused tightly, sitting up and checking her phone before her eyes grew wider in shock. Hanging tightly onto her phone, she almost frantically searched for her books and bag on the carpet. “Crap! I gotta get outta here!”

Astonished to hear that when they’d previously discussed and settled on the agreed plan of staying indoors and eventually ordering Chinese, Sephiroth croaked, “Wait, what?! Why?”

Tossing him a bewildered look that spoke volumes even before she did, Aerith shook her head, a hand on a hip as she murmured, “Sephiroth, I agreed to meet up with Zack at the public library for researching the topic for the term paper…calm down.”

Once again, she’d put him in a tight position, and he felt his blood turning to lava at the mere mention of Zack’s infernal name. Outrageous as it was to hear this, Sephiroth inhaled and counted to three before he thought of a more pragmatic approach to solving the issue rather than flying off the handle like a jealous moron. It wouldn’t do himself well if he ranted and raved like a petulant kid in front of Aerith’s dad too, especially when they’d recently patched up their fraught, volatile relationship.

“You can stay here and work on your research!” Stroking his chin, the stubble growing in under his skin only peeved himself further, an interesting symbol to the frictional tension rising between himself and Aerith. “There’s working Internet here, Aerith, so why go to the library?”

More frustration and annoyance flew out of the hot headed teenager just then, and she was well past hiding her displeasure. 

“This is ridiculous, Sephiroth.” Strapping her bag over her slender frame, shoulders rolling it in place, she explained in a rush, “We need actual books for this, and some of them aren’t available on the online database!”

The next suggestion came out easier and faster than a bolt of crisp levin shooting and flaring across a stormy sky.

“Invite Zack over here then with the books!”

Throwing her arms in the air with a listless regard, Aerith cried, “Sephiroth! We don’t even know which ones we exactly need, and we can’t check out many books at a time!”

This was outrageous. Suspecting that Zack had been rather clever and conniving to convince her that they could sneak around behind his back for the sake of the assignment, Sephiroth hated that he had to act on such incredulity towards a classmate with a childish crush, but as an alpha, he wasn’t above basic instincts and primal urges based on securing, protecting, and possessing a mate, which included fending and warding off potential threats.

Pouting over him when he became as cold and rigid as a statue, Aerith sighed, cupping and then pinching his chin playfully.

“You goober.” Standing on her toes and rubbing the tips of their noses together, she beamed lovingly at him, foreheads touching as she whispered, “I’ll be back later tonight, okay? Work on your own stuff too!”

Bickering with her and showing egregious levels of disrespect right in front of her own father would seal a shitty fate for himself and he knew it. Grimly, the cards were stacked high in Aerith’s favor, for she even had Sephiroth wrapped around her little finger.

Anger already melting rapidly when she gave him a puppy-eyed look, Sephiroth deflated, shoulders and chest slouching inward.

“Fine.” Moody as a brat, he didn’t care if he came off slightly invidious; he hated Zack Fair and Aerith hanging out without his company.

Shutting his mouth and sealing away those opinions however proved fruitful, for Aerith didn’t linger around to argue, gathering him instead into a tight, warm embrace Sephiroth wished would last many minutes longer.

Breaking away from her reluctant boyfriend, Aerith sped away from the living room, pausing and running back as she threw herself near Cloud and hugged him briefly as well. 

“Later, guys!”

Like a dream fading at the first sign of dawn, Aerith had departed, only the enticing smell of her perfume lingering in the air and the final trace of her body heat against Sephiroth the only signs that she’d been so close. Hearing the engine of her vehicle firing up outside and the tires easing the machine down and away from the driveway instilled feelings of loneliness too easily within Sephiroth, and he immediately started sulking without giving much credence to his other companion in the room.

More than four to five minutes had ticked away on the clock, the sense of helplessness only proliferating for Sephiroth. This unusually dependent sense of attachment was intriguing yet exceedingly strange to handle and cope with, which truly baffled himself. He’d dated a few other girls even before Aerith, but he supposed he’d never been that badly and deeply invested in those relationships as he was with this beautiful young lady. Missing her dearly as if she’d gone away on an extended leave was rather unbecoming for himself, but there wasn’t any way to shake off the frosty tendril of concern about Zack cozying up to her, school assignment or not.

A short cough suddenly erupted, shaking him out of his worrisome thoughts and back to the current situation and setting.

Oh…right…Cloud was still here as well.

Pressing a hand over his lower lip and chin, Cloud watched the TV as he softly expressed, “Well, I guess I should get back to work too.”

Shoulders drawn and rolling back, hands sliding in his jean pockets, Sephiroth wished he could take back his moment of weakness and erase it from history. It always seemed like Cloud was there to personally witness every awkward moment for him, and he hated that feeling of susceptibility. No one had been privy to having the front-row seat of such a dastardly performance, so he set himself on the path of obtaining and rebuilding some semblance of masculinity back.

“Uh…” Brain feeling like a pan of messy, scrambled eggs, Sephiroth grunted, “Sorry for that. Maybe I’m simping over her more than I thought.”

Frowning lightly, skin still rather perfect and smooth to belie the aura of a youthful individual, Cloud only commented in a neutral tone, “No, I’d rather someone simp for her, for lack of a better term, than remain uncommitted.”

Growing slack seconds after the sentence slid into his ears and brain registered them, Sephiroth felt his palms turning rather sweaty and warm. That gooey feeling bristled all his body hair to stand up on needle points, bones locking firmly in place as he experienced what only seemed like a brief moment of tranquility.

Much like the soothing balm or medicine required to relieve someone’s suffering, the arrangement of words became less foreign to his ears and rather delightful. The perfect balance Cloud exuded, neither giving him too many compliments but also not belittling him left Sephiroth hovering closer to the edge of genuine comfort and satisfaction than he thought.

Breathing deeply, the sour, malignant sensations of burning in envy were immediately washed away as control and focus settled back into his system to enable Sephiroth to make better decisions now.

Gesturing over his shoulder, he then took a step back as he muttered under a goofy expression, “I should get going too. That paper won’t write itself, sadly.”

Holding onto his inscrutable veneer, Cloud nodded, stretching his skinny legs out before himself though he didn’t rise from the sofa. “Do what you have to do.”

Nodding plaintively, Sephiroth made his way into the front hall, gathering his spring jacket and placing it onto his upper torso. Strings perhaps tugged on his back and shoulders like that of a puppet, for he had no other rational explanation for why he paused in the middle of the open doorway and looked back at Cloud.

“Later.”

Though Cloud didn’t completely turn himself around to face Sephiroth, his blue eyes could be seen glancing over his shoulder as he waved farewell. “Later.”

~~~********~~~

“Aerith, are we in some sort of open relationship I wasn’t aware of?”

“Sephiroth! Don’t be weird!”

“I’m serious, because why else are we having a goddamn pool party with Zack here?!”

“Umm…maybe that’d be because I invited him since the weather was nice, for one, two, the pool is gigantic here, and three, I’m not an antisocial weirdo like you?”

He never should’ve started bickering with her, but to say that Sephiroth was livid was only putting it mildly. The weekend had approached and brought along a rather wonderful time for himself and Aerith, though it was only temporary. Visiting the town’s famer’s market, the baked goods they’d purchased and planned to share with each other after lunch had been interrupted when the doorbell rang and Zack Fair of all people had shown up right on Aerith’s front step. 

Carrying along a fresh change of clothes, sunscreen, and a rather confident aura Sephiroth wanted to beat right out of him, the teenager he’d deemed his personal rival was here to stay and bask in the beautifully warm weather, all against how Sephiroth felt about the matter.

It just wasn’t right. They were all beyond exhausted and stressed, which was understandable to a degree, but Aerith seriously had a poor lack of judgement if she invited Zack Fair over for a damn afternoon swim, no less. This was just a gift perfectly wrapped and handed over to him…he would see her half-nude, wet, pink, creamy skin on display under a soothingly warm sun, and Sephiroth had no damn say in the matter. Terrific.

Regardless, it was too late for arguing over it. The pool was gigantic and freshly clean to be enjoyed, and Sephiroth wasted no time wandering the house to risk leaving Zack and Aerith alone. Showering himself and applying sunscreen like his girlfriend was in her own bathroom, it didn’t take him too long to wander out the patio doors and linger by the pool. Fearful that he would get hard when he thought of Aerith donning her bright green, sexy bikini, his woes were mounted higher when he found Zack already in the spacious pool. 

Swimming a few warm up laps, Zack kept to himself, not even the least bit troubled by Sephiroth glowering away at him as he waited for Aerith to show up. Eventually, the gorgeous young lady slid past the patio doors, perching next to Sephiroth on a lounge chair as she turned her back to him while giggling in a silent invitation and encouragement for him to massage and spread sunscreen on her creamy skin. 

Having his set of doubts about Aerith going in the pool with Zack, that was when their little verbal confrontation occurred. Aerith sadly won in the end, accusing Sephiroth of being too silly and worrying over nothing before she dove into the pool and swam to the other end far from Zack, thankfully. 

Sitting there in his silver and blue shorts while stewing away beneath the glowing hot sun was rather stupid and a huge waste of time, Sephiroth thought. The day was rather bright, somnolent, the ambiance quite serenely set for relishing in the early arrival of summer. Only a fool would sit there squandering the day worrying over nothing, so he too decided to join the other two teenagers in the pool.

Just when his body became acclimated to the slightly cold water, arms waving about to keep himself afloat above the surface of the deep pool, a distant splashing sound echoed nearby. Water surged in the air, spreading out over the surface before dousing Sephiroth’s head in more liquid and giving him a decent soaking he didn’t want. 

Sputtering, he glanced around, soon hearing chipper laughter ringing out from both Zack and Aerith. Staring over to where they were facing and pointing, Sephiroth wanted to lash out in reverent irritation, when he choked up at once.

The slightly pale, hairless, smooth expanse of Cloud Strife’s body squatting near the edge of the pool hadn’t been anything he could prepare for. After a short blast of nerves from the initial dose of shock entering his system, Sephiroth fully began gaping up and down at the thin omega. Awe ate up his expressions and feelings, but it couldn’t be helped at all. If Cloud didn’t look much like his own age before, now that he was dressed only in a pair of black swimming trunks with the majority of his torso exposed, he seriously put forth that image well. 

How could someone of his age have a body closely resembling a teenager’s?! 

Not even a single trace of body hair was sprawled onto his flesh. Most adults, including Sephiroth’s own father, had at least some belly fat in their older age, but certainly not Cloud. Stomach flat as Aerith’s, not at all toned by manly muscles, he immaculately kept himself in wondrously attractive shape.

As someone who loved and lived for fitness, Sephiroth could tell that Cloud ate well and worked out to some level, but as most omegas he knew, Cloud evidently wasn’t able to build much muscle. All that aside, Cloud looked like he could model for his own art and magazines, honestly. His face was full of vibrant life and light, shoulders broad, legs and thighs thin, but lean enough for showing off great fashion and apparel. 

A deep voice suddenly bellowed out from behind Sephiroth, scaring him right out of ogling at Cloud, which was the very thing he needed lest he wanted to get caught staring.

“Mr. Strife!” Zack chuckled as he beckoned to the older male. “You gonna join us or what?”

“Hmm, no,” Cloud replied as he pointed back over the garden and revealed a hot tub with the cover drawn back. “I’ll just do my own thing while you guys have fun.”

As the bubbles and steam floated from the hot tub about, Sephiroth heard Aerith’s sweet voice call out, “Bring the ball over, babe!”

Snapping out of his daze, Sephiroth quickly turned away from Cloud and saw his own girlfriend lazily wading in the pool with her arms on the side of one wall, looking at him with a seductive smile. Her honey-brown hair was slightly wet and floating in the water, and she motioned at the large volleyball Cloud had thrown into the pool. 

Slowly realizing that the round object had been responsible for the explosive splash moments earlier, Sephiroth silently obeyed Aerith, fetching the ball and rolling it across the water. Becoming mobile helped, the cold pool water feeling amazing after Sephiroth had roasted and sweat so much in the sun. Physical comfort soon helped him forget about Zack’s presence, unwanted as it was, and he even began tossing the volleyball back and forth with the shorter male.

Somewhat amiable, Sephiroth felt himself relaxing, exchanging only civil conversation with Zack. Affable as well, Zack humored him while Aerith dipped herself back in the pool with her head resting on the edge. She was fine just relaxing in the water while Sephiroth accidentally chucked the ball a tad roughly and had it sailing past Zack and right out of the pool. As he went to retrieve it, Sephiroth casually looked up. Not really aiming to glance at anything or anyone in particular, like an unknown, ethereal magnetic force, he was suddenly drawn to Cloud only feet away in the outdoor hot tub. 

By some odd force of miracle, Cloud was already staring at Sephiroth. He was holding a small book in his hands, but not at all reading it. Though he hadn’t greeted Sephiroth at all that day, he at least smiled in a rather friendly manner until his blue eyes dipped down to Sephiroth’s pectorals. Knowing that his firm abs glistened with sunscreen and his arms and chest looked fucking amazing, Sephiroth thought the very same about Cloud’s slim body when the omega stretched himself upwards and retrieved a small glass of champagne from the table next to the hot tub. 

Watching him sipping his refreshing beverage while their eyes never broke contact, Sephiroth slowly started to feel a little self-conscious. Unlike his adopted daughter, Cloud was rather shrewd, saucy, and a bit of a miser when it came to expressing himself in the ways of optimism. It was a bit impossible to tell what he was thinking and how he was feeling when he conveyed very little, eyes only glimmering as the rays of the sun hitting the ripples of the water. 

Zack had hardly gotten back into the pool when his phone vibrated loudly on the lounge chair he’d tossed it onto, distracting him at once. “Crap, one sec.” 

When he slid back out to tend to the call, his deep voice murmuring and fading away in the background, Sephiroth never heard Aerith addressing him and approaching until she pressed her curvaceous body right over his. He’d somehow turned into a frigid statue, frozen as he intently focused on Cloud, losing all sense of time and occasion. 

Steam billowed around his attractive features, smothering them one moment, but then, in the next, Cloud smirked right then and there. Keen eyes were looking at Sephiroth, but not at his face. Flesh tingling strangely, Sephiroth couldn’t even breathe under the scrutinizing gaze. Given the way Cloud was studying him, Sephiroth felt like the omega was a wild animal looking at his prey as he eyed up his well-built body from head to toe.

“Babe? Why’re you so distrac–ooooh…uh oh!” Giggling mischievously, Aerith suddenly slid her arms beneath the water, grinding her hips onto Sephiroth’s as her fingers smoothed over his bulging erection. “I seeeee! Nice!”

Dainty fingers wrapping around his member brought him out of his trance in seconds. Sharp electrical bolts caused more discomfort, Sephiroth’s legs hitting Aerith’s as he almost slipped under the water. Toes hitting the bottom of the pool and grating his skin, he winced from the discomfort, face flushed down to his neck as he cleared his throat before breaking out into wild coughing fits. 

Why was he hard in the middle of such a normal activity, in front of Zack too, no less?!

Keeping an eye on Zack as he paced around the large trees and bushes of the garden, Sephiroth whispered to Aerith, “I gotta go to the bathroom!”

“Hmm? Why don’t you let me help you with that, babe?” Aerith playfully suggested with a grin, her fingers coiling around Sephiroth’s tip.

As she casually stroked him, Sephiroth, in a fit of panic, suddenly glanced back at Cloud to catch him staring yet again. His member didn’t become flaccid at all as he expected it to, especially when Cloud’s keen eyes moved down to the water, as if he could see the teenage alpha’s very obvious hard cock.

Cooing at him, Aerith hungrily purred, “How about we go to my room, Seph?”

Tongue lodging in his throat, Sephiroth couldn’t say anything, his jaw just left wide open and body frozen solid. As lovely as Aerith’s hand felt moving up and down his thick length over his shorts, his attention wasn’t at all on his girlfriend. Focusing out of his peripheral vision at Cloud, when Sephiroth looked at him, the older male was staring at him with hunger in his eyes. It all too well matched how Aerith gazed at him before they had sex, and Sephiroth couldn’t help but stop for a split second and look at his girlfriend’s slender, oiled-up body.

Cock very powerfully twitching and balls too heavy and full, he choked on a cry, almost prematurely ejaculating right in the pool. Had Zack not hung up the phone and whirled around on time, Sephiroth knew he would’ve blown his load right then and there.

“Sorry about that, guys,” Zack sang out as he shook his head, droplets of water flicking down onto Sephiroth deliberately to break him away from Aerith. “My mom gave me like, a laundry list of stuff I have to do later today like I’m five or whatever. So annoying.”

Darting over to the opposite side of the pool and climbing out, Sephiroth croaked out in terror, “Oh my god! This can’t get any fucking worse!”

“Seph? You okay?” Attempting to follow him, Aerith hardly held onto his leg when Sephiroth pushed her away gently.

Clamping his thighs together to conceal the tent in his shorts from protruding upwards, before anyone could see what his issue of conflict was, Sephiroth nervously darted away from the backyard, making a beeline right for the patio doors. The entire time, right until he found shelter in the shadowy recesses of the large house, he felt his spine and lower body tingling. Deep down, he knew that it wasn’t his imagination at work; Cloud Strife’s eyes were glued to his back and bottom the entire length of the brisk jog from the pool to the interior of the home. 

Chapter Text

Sequestering himself in the main floor bathroom, Sephiroth slammed the door shut, locking it as he backed away in a corner. Practically hyperventilating, hard cock not going down at all, he trembled in both arousal and confusion.

“This is fucking crazy!” he wildly thought, wondering what the hell had happened outside to even bring him to this level of depravity and absurdity. 

Knowing it was all because of one person, Sephiroth threw himself into a deeper pit of despair and bewilderment. Why was his own girlfriend’s father staring at him in such a way?!

Spinning himself around to face the vanity, Sephiroth almost clumsily crashed into the mirror. Turning on the faucet, he allowed the cold water to gather into his cupped hands, and he doused his face in the liquid and then slapped himself a few times. That didn’t help at all, nor did pinching himself around his upper arms and chest in order to keep his erection down.

Glaring at it rising and jutting up between his legs, Sephiroth hissed thinly, “Fuck…why do I have to do this?!”

Ascertaining that the problem unfortunately wasn’t going to disappear on its own unless he tended to himself, Sephiroth moved to place an ear on the flat door. Taking seconds to listen carefully, he only heard the air conditioning and a radio on full blast, the occasional sounds of birds, the wind, and construction outside echoing into the bathroom. 

“Let’s just get this over with!” Deciding to take the risk and jerk off in the bathroom, Sephiroth hurriedly tugged down his shorts, leaving them hanging by his knees just in case he had to stop quickly.

Sitting himself on the edge of the tub, the icy cold of the object felt nice against his heated thighs and bottom for a second. Taking deep breaths, he ignored the ambient noises outside, slipping into a fantasy involving Aerith stripping and dancing naked for him. Truth be told, it’d been a while since they’d had sex, which was why he supposed it was natural to get easily stirred up. 

Yes…it was all because of Aerith that he felt this way!

Her body was so addictive, her hands so soft and smooth, her mouth sensual as it touched every part of his body to light it on fire with passion he only and always felt for her. It was his girlfriend’s sexy body he always craved! He only needed and yearned for Aerith, and he pictured her there on her knees between his parted thighs, her tongue and beautifully plump lips working his cock like a charmer.

Firmly fisting his aching, throbbing cock, his hand began jerking the heated flesh up and down quickly. While this hadn’t been the first time he’d masturbated, it’d been the first time he’d done it in a semi-strange place, and with so much urgency and desperation. 

He palmed himself as he tried not to moan out, and as he threw his head back and closed his eyes, his mind was flooded with sexy, sensually-charged images. He saw Aerith’s creamy, delicious thighs just before himself spreading in invitation. Hungrily, he pictured her thin legs moving around as her hips swayed from side-to-side seductively. Her lips were red and plump, while a tongue slid out to moisten the seams as her eyes begged for a kiss from him.

She moved about gracefully, lifting a leg as she placed it over his thigh. She reached for the back of his neck, pushing it down to meet her breasts, and he would touch them and hold them in his large palms while he softly kneaded the globes. As she then would press down on the back of his head, she would slowly guide him down to her abdomen, slowly spreading her legs for him as his mouth lowered down to meet her damp center and glistening folds…

That was when Sephiroth heard laughter right outside the window, and though his eyes were clenched shut in his fantasy, he immediately identified the tone and generously humble laughter belonging to Cloud Strife. The gentle serenity eased with good grace and placid warmth into his ribs, turning his entire world upside down. 

Even now behind closed eyes, he could see her sharp, hazel-green eyes as they scowled at him, but her anger made her so much sexier to him. He wanted nothing more than to hold her against his body whenever she glared at him that way, and he wished he could yank up that lovely, revealing bikini she was now wearing, easily hooking his fingers into her panties as he pulled them down her ankles while he buried himself deeply inside her, slipping and sliding between her wet folds.

Just thinking about that made him half-hard again, and he cursed himself for being so damn weak. He’d never been this in dire need of sex before, and he remembered that the first time he’d resorted to masturbating while waiting for Aerith to be ready for their first time had been more so by accident. She’d even discovered him accidentally in his own room taking care of his erection like this, and she’d helped him awaken from his sensual slumber, which of course led to their first time making love…

Yet again, as he reached the precipice, his balls tightening badly, his hand slipped right when he heard Cloud yelling out to Aerith. The words were incoherent, but they didn’t matter; it was his tone that stood out the most. Even when Aerith chirped her reply to him, the second Cloud cried out again, Sephiroth’s eyes rolled back into his skull and he nearly slid off the edge of the tub as powerful waves of his own orgasm hit himself without warning.

With a painful hiss, Sephiroth bit down hard on his tongue accidentally. Wanting to muffle his sensual noises, he reached to his right and yanked a clean towel off the vanity countertop, draping it around his nose and mouth. Inhaling deeply, he witnessed a kaleidoscope of vibrantly colored stars before he spilled all over his hand, coating the length of the bathroom wall and his thighs as he fell forward a little. His legs felt much like heavy logs, rendering himself beyond weak, but he barely managed to remain on them as he hissed out Aerith’s name as if it were a prayer. 

No…it wasn’t Aerith he saw behind closed eyes, nor her name he was repeatedly moaning out. That was what he’d tried to convince himself, at least, but he heard his own sonorous notes ringing all through the bathroom, knocking into every corner as clarity settled in the pit of his loins.

“Cloud…”

Like a mirage, Aerith’s smile, beautiful visage, shapely figure, all of it faded and dissipated in seconds. With his musky seed drying and sticking to his palm and thighs, Sephiroth began panicking terribly upon learning that the towel he’d been scenting held faint traces of Cloud Strife’s body odor etched inside and all over the cloth. Aerith had been the distraction, the lie all along. He hadn’t truly fantasized about her, and there wasn’t any way to deny it. Though he’d achieved some release on a physical level, emotionally and psychologically, he wasn’t even the least bit at ease. 

Knowing he still had to get back out there before he made Zack, Aerith, and Cloud suspicious, as he cleaned himself up as best as he could, Sephiroth began trembling from both hot and cold temperatures bolstering internally. Washing his trembling hands was impossible, but he pulled it through, toweling off as he then stared at himself in the mirror.

Even though he felt a little more relieved, he still thought of nothing but Cloud all too easily. The older male had been the one who’d occupied his entire thoughts and mind, and he didn’t know what to do even long after he calmed himself down enough to breathe softly. Plagued with the horrific nature of what he’d just done so shamelessly right in Aerith’s home, he hated himself more than he possibly could, going so far as deeming himself unworthy of even being around such a lovely, young lady long after he rejoined everyone outside.

Keeping his distance from Aerith, Sephiroth occupied his own mind and time by observing Zack interacting with her until it became obvious to his own twisted reality that it wasn’t Aerith he was distancing himself from, but her father.

~~~********~~~

Until he understood what the hell was going on with himself, whether he was even attracted to men or simply going through a confusing stage of his life, Sephiroth chose to stay away from Aerith’s house until late May. The excuse of the term assignment needing to be completed worked brilliantly, at least until Chadley returned and began rewriting the entire draft Sephiroth had come up with, clearly not impressed by his attempts.

Sephiroth frankly didn’t care much. He wasn’t as scholastically gifted as Chadley, granted, but it wasn’t his ultimate goal to head off to a reputable university anyway. Besides, his recent frustration mounting in relation to Cloud had to be solved first, otherwise, he knew he was in for some difficult times ahead. 

Playing cool was wiser than spazzing out, especially when Aerith called him during one of his boxing sessions in the gym and reminded him that they were supposed to go out clubbing with Aerith’s best friend Tifa and her boyfriend.

Wondering how the hell he forgot about their regular outings like this when clubbing and dancing had always been a favorite way of his to bond with and spend time around Aerith, Sephiroth raced over to her place without a second thought. He’d done well with ignoring the butterflies in his stomach floating around, right until they resurfaced as soon as Cloud answered the damn door.

Dressed in a turtleneck long-sleeved shirt that made him stand out as it hugged his frame well, the caliginous pants were held up by a dark belt, the buckles and seams running down the legs rather fashionable and glimmering in the evening lights. Cloud looked like a million bucks, so much that Sephiroth wondered if he was going to join them…

Disgruntled when the feelings of anxiety returned to taunt him tenfold, Sephiroth shunned the memories of masturbating while inhaling Cloud’s hand towel weeks ago in the bathroom. To push it away from his conscience would prove tricky, as he couldn’t exactly find the best course of action to take in order to circumvent it. Sephiroth theorized that maybe it really was a case of sexual repression, stress from schoolwork, and his rather rocky relationship with Aerith that was all a result of a significant, genuine attraction to Cloud at least.

Awkwardly nodding in greeting as he settled for that in mind, he spoke out, “Hey Mr. Strife. Is Aerith ready?”

Hanging onto the door handle and playing with it for a second, Cloud looked a bit affronted, licking his lips then as he replied, “I think she’s still in the process of getting ready.”

Crickets chirped around in the yard, a car horn beeping in the background only adding to the tension that birthed from the silence stretching out between the two men.

“Ah, and Mr. Strife makes me sound old…older,” Cloud opinionated gently, opening the door wider to invite Sephiroth in.

“My bad.” Freezing when he heard the shower running upstairs, Sephiroth then hung his head in mock anguish, drawing a laugh from Cloud.

Shrugging, though not for the sake of being indifferent and callous, Cloud stated through a smile, “You can wait downstairs if you want to and maybe kill some time.” 

It was rather ironic how badly Sephiroth had tried to put in an effort to understand and get along with Aerith’s father, but now, he yearned to stay as far away from the man as he could. Feeling a kernel of guilt for avoiding Cloud when he hadn’t done anything to offend and make Sephiroth feel less than welcome, the standoffish teenager quit acting a tad distant as he shoved away his less than savory actions from memory.

Deciding to take him up on his offer, Sephiroth gleamed radiantly. “Thanks, that sounds a lot better than watching Aerith put on makeup for an hour.”

“I know! Girls and the bathroom!” Cloud chuckled, patting himself on the chest to brush off loose threads to look as pristine as always.

Careful not to stare too much, Sephiroth wandered over across the hall and opened the door to the basement before he flew down the stairs. The basement had been turned into a rec room some years ago, with hardwood floors and a neutral beige paint on the walls. From what Sephiroth gleaned when he paced around the large space, half of it was divided into a dark room of sorts, images and photos Cloud perhaps had taken plastered neatly on desks and walls, while the other side of it held a gaming area. Couches and plants of all shapes and sizes stood around the wide center of the room, a few thin partitions set up as dividers between them.

Diving for the largest one, Sephiroth was soon splayed out lazily across the couch, fetching an Xbox controller from the coffee table and holding it in his hands. Focusing on the TV mounted to the wall opposite himself, he perked up as soon as the console came to life, displaying the main menu where at least ten pretty recently released games flashed on screen.

Brighter than a lightbulb when Cloud reached the right side of the sofa and stood by the armrest, Sephiroth cooed out, “Duuuuude! Look at these games!”

Eyebrows cocking, Cloud took one look at the TV before running a hand through the back of his hair. “Yeah, wish I had more time for them though.”

Impressed with his collection, the style and genre matching the majority on his own list, Sephiroth demurred, “No! Doesn’t matter! The fact that you have some of them is sick enough!”

Casually waving his hand, Cloud snorted and commented, “What’s sick is how quickly I get put in my proper place in these games.”

Letting the trailer for the most recent Call of Duty campaign play on, the volume of the TV lowered a bit so they could chat, Sephiroth grinned. “I get my ass handed to me as well, but I think it’s tough when you get older. Reflexes slow down, you know?”

Dryly, Cloud sighed, deflating as he crossed his arms over his chest and sat down next to Sephiroth. “There you go reminding me of my age again.” Maintaining at least six or so inches away from the teenager, he crossed a leg over the other, slanting himself near the armrest. “You’ll soon find yourself in my shoes, genius.” 

Unable to control the guffaws from spilling out of himself, Sephiroth profusely chuckled until he had to force him to pause. Pressing a hand over his forehead, he squinted as he snickered uncontrollably, “Sorry man. I’m not really laughing at you, honestly.” 

“Keep laughing,” Cloud threw back, clearly not believing him, though he wasn’t at all in a sour mood as he turned to Sephiroth and gradually began smirking as well. 

“Okay, okay!” Holding up his right hand as if under oath, Sephiroth pushed the controller into Cloud’s palm as he suggested with a challenge fully set, “Let’s see how far you can even get past the basic tutorial, if you’re so dang good!”

Offering him what could only be described as a playfully enthusiastic look, Cloud’s enchanting eyes twinkled darkly with an aura of mysticism. “Watch and learn then.” 

Holding the controller tightly, though he never uncrossed his legs, in his slightly ridiculous position on the leather couch, he selected the main tutorial challenge which would give most players a timed instance on a random map. Enemies promptly spawned in the unknown area, the zone marked well by many of them, and the timer was set in the bottom right hand screen, ticking away the second the character Cloud selected also loaded in.

Knowing which buttons to push and how to at least apply stealth to a degree, Cloud marked the AI NPC characters, sneaking up to one and burying a large blade in his spine. Dispatching another the same way, he then slit the throat of the third, doing quite well until Sephiroth decided to carry through with an impish idea.

Snickering puckishly, the rakish alpha leaned towards Cloud, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. It didn’t take too long, with Cloud ever so serious and determined, not even blinking away from the TV. The propitious moment had arrived, and Sephiroth wasted no time to act. Pinky finger hitting the right analog joystick, he forced the character to charge from behind a large truck and right into a horde of enemies.

The vicious group locked onto the character, targeting and gunning him down within seconds before Cloud realized what even happened.

“HEY!”

“Too slow, my dude!” Sephiroth laughed on, ducking when Cloud tried shoving him away while holding onto the controller.

Wrenching it out of Sephiroth’s hand, Cloud got another round going and began to slaughter more inimical foes. It’d all gone well for himself until Sephiroth began continuing to talk crap, which encouraged the omega to do so as well. Sephiroth and Cloud were both trying to ensure a loss while laughing and jostling each other the entire time. 

Observing the gameplay between tears gushing out of his eyes and abdomen aching, Sephiroth had to admit, Cloud was a lot better than he initially thought, but he still wasn’t quite at his gamer level.

“Come onnnn, let’s goooooo!” Sephiroth bellowed as Cloud failed to make the final, winning kill.

Clenching his teeth, Cloud whined, “Damn it! I was so close, too!”

“Ha! Close ain’t gonna cut it when you’re going head to head with me, so focus on this practice run before the real thing!” The look of haughty confidence Sephiroth gave Cloud was beyond arrogant, but the omega didn’t pay it much attention as he lost himself to the flurry of childlike spirits.

Second and then third finger propping up, Cloud waved as he asked, “Best two out of three?”

Sephiroth countered out past a laugh, “Once wasn’t enough? You want to get shit on twice?”

Borrowing in the confidence and simulating the role of someone younger and more experienced in video games, Cloud’s chest puffed out. “Nah, I was just getting the general feeling for this,” he reasoned. “Now that I know what I’m up against, considering how much you bark and show no action, I’m prepared to own you.”

Coyly smiling given how free he felt opening up to Cloud and speaking to him as he would one of his school friends, Sephiroth scoffed. Shaking his head as he basked in the relaxing ambiance, he poignantly expressed, “So much confidence for someone who just got their ass kicked.”

“Oh, I’ll show you an ass kicking, you little brat!” Cloud smiled back, a challenge in his eyes as he lunged at Sephiroth when the sly alpha tried grabbing the controller yet again. “If this were Mortal Kombat, trust me, you’d be on the floor sobbing!”

Deliberately allowing Cloud to have the upper hand, Sephiroth cackled in quite the carefree way, practically forgetting that this was a grown adult rather than one of the ‘guys’. “Gloating is unseemly, you egotistical jerk!”

Playing tug of war a few times with shit-eating grins each, Cloud and Sephiroth forgot about the game, poking fun at everything and anything else, the manly competition long abandoned even after Cloud’s character ended his own life by accidentally chucking a grenade at himself. 

Clapping and hooting at the explosion firing away with an exaggerated display of blood and guts spewing everywhere across the screen, Sephiroth howled in triumph. Not finding it amusing, though he was holding back his saucy grin, Cloud gave up and placed the controller down on the coffee table.

Nodding and pointing at Sephiroth, he accused with full intent to have witty fun, “You couldn’t stand the thought of someone older being better than you, huh? Cheater.”

Tapping on his chest as his laughter subsided, voice rather hoarse and raspy, Sephiroth exhaled and faced the ceiling. “I’d never cheat…cross my heart and all that shit, dude.”

The amicably generous feelings matching an addictive high lingered as they finished chuckling until they ran out of oxygen. Energy settling a little, they naturally turned towards each other in the silence permeating. Their eyes settled and locked, but Cloud was the first to break the contact, nervously fidgeting as he stared at his phone on the coffee table. 

“Wow, uh, one hour has passed…” Smile and demeanor less confident now that he became too self-aware, he squirmed as if in pain and added, “Guess you’re stuck down here, huh?”

“Eh, pretty much, but I wouldn’t call being down here with you ‘stuck’ or anything.”

That was unwise to press out, for it didn’t exactly curtail the unsteady feelings Sephiroth was feeling, which now were affecting Cloud as well. As if to test and explore in good measure, he tilted his head back as he looked up into Sephiroth’s emerald eyes, right as Sephiroth swam through Cloud’s blue ones. They were directly looking into his own, and there was a supernal energy floating in their depths that Sephiroth didn’t know of. It was rather exhilarating, for he’d never felt or experienced something like this before, so he was unsure of what it even was.

Regardless, whatever celestial emotion Cloud had emanating and glowing from his eyes definitely was keeping Sephiroth warm, now. Despite the air conditioning wafting around the large basement, Sephiroth’s fingers and toes still felt moderately cold, but the heat had slowly started spreading from the pit of his stomach…

It was unmistakable and undeniable now, and all he felt he could do was enjoy how the warmth was set ablaze from the bottom of his stomach and slowly moved upwards to his chest. In heightened waves, it sat there for a while before flying to his arms and fingertips, where he slowly started feeling them heat up, his torso coming to life like the first buds of spring.

There was no way he was arrogant in assuming that Cloud must have apparently been experiencing an almost-similar feeling, for his fingers practically burned with a warmth akin to the one moving up and down Sephiroth’s knee as he fought hard not to blink. He didn’t want to miss anything his senior’s eyes showed him…

Then, as he’d been staring into his eyes, Cloud closed them quickly. Chest moving as his hand retreated, he seemed to take a deep breath, and in a split second, he turned and glanced up directly at Sephiroth’s mouth.

Their eyes met again a few times when Cloud’s flitted up and down, back and forth from Sephiroth’s lips to his virid orbs. A vulnerable expression was settling onto his veneer, much to his own indiscretion. Sephiroth had to force shudders from fleeing out of his body as he felt the same frozen feeling crawling across his body as it had weeks ago in the pool. This time, it rooted him as it paralyzed his body on the spot. He was unable to move as he kept looking down into his older companion’s eyes…

And then, the connection had been rather abruptly broken off as the basement door creaked open, footsteps and perfume floating down until thin arms wound around Sephiroth’s neck.

“I’m ready sweetie!” 

Fruity, lip-gloss covered lips smacked on the center of Sephiroth’s left cheek when he was tugged back into Aerith’s embrace. Wincing when she pinched his opposite cheek and pulled it, Sephiroth groused at her that he was ready, rising to his proper height since he knew she would have a difficult time reaching it.

Clapping her hands together and bouncing effervescently, she crooned, “Let’s get going! Tifa’s apparently really hungry, and she booked that fancy restaurant up by Zack’s!”

“Ugh,” Sephiroth grunted, straightening his shirt and brushing the traces of her shiny, sparkly lip-gloss off his flushed cheek. “Can you not mention him right now if we’re gonna go eat? Please?”

Sticking out her tongue at him, she then flipped the switch on her emotions and attitude, squealing before hugging her father as well, though not as energetically as she had with Sephiroth. “See you later, dad! Love you!”

Patting her arm as she held onto him, Cloud gently commented, “Behave yourselves.”

Releasing her exhausted father, Aerith looped an arm around Sephiroth’s, winking at him as she then sang out childishly, “No promises!”

Shaking his head at that silly attempt at facetiousness, as Sephiroth was led away, he subtly turned back toward Cloud and saw a flash of disappointment flare across his face, mirroring how he surprisingly felt as well. Unusual, it was; he normally enjoyed spending time with Aerith, impatiently waiting for her to finish dressing until he grew bored out of his mind. This time, however, he hated how quickly the time had flown, bringing his cheerful girlfriend down to interrupt the peaceful moment all too soon.

Why couldn’t he have been given only a few more minutes?

….

Deep down, he knew the answer to that question, and it harbored nothing that uplifting, tilting the scales in one direction he hadn’t considered he was easing into given how precise and gentle of a motion it was, not even requiring too long for himself to grow accustomed to it.

Sephiroth fully understood that even a few more minutes alone with Cloud wouldn’t ever be enough to satisfy himself. 

~~~********~~~

“It feels sooooo good to be indoors with AC on, right sweetie?!” 

Tifa Lockhart certainly was the Queen of making the dumbest comments of the century sometimes, and things seemed to be getting more annoying for both Sephiroth and Aerith as they allowed the other teenage couple to lead them inside the restaurant. 

Thankfully, Tifa and Johnny had already reserved a booth for four people, and the waitress led them towards it with a merry attitude. The entire place had been decorated to the brim with summer decorations and themes involving the beach already, and it made Sephiroth’s stomach churn uncomfortably.

For one, a lot of the servers and waitresses already were wearing pink, yellow, green, and white uniform colors. On their heads, the majority of them had either sunhats, ribbons, and sunglasses with flowers dangling oddly whenever they walked about. Classic, upbeat tunes blasted on the speakers, and a group of beach balls, umbrellas, tacky bird stickers, dogs, and coconut trees were planted about and could be found in every other corner of the restaurant.

Suiting each other well, Tifa and Johnny had really gone out of their way to dress fancily to compliment one another as a lovely couple.

Tifa’s black hair was still as long as Sephiroth had last seen in the photos on her Instagram profile, of course, but she obviously had cut it a little, so it rested just in the middle of her waist. Still slender and rather athletic, Tifa looked fit and healthy in her red miniskirt, thigh-high black fashion boots, and black summer shirt that’d been freshly washed and ironed. She wore a thin layer of eyeliner above her top eyelid, and her perfume was rather…potent.

Soothly, Sephiroth hated it whenever a woman doused herself in perfume, and he was already feeling his nose burning up and reacting quite badly to her scent.

Johnny on the other hand smelled clean and fresh as well as looked the part, but he somehow seemed more subtle and a lot calmer than his girlfriend. His soft, warm colored eyes and auburn hair reflected nicely in the lights of the diner, and as he removed his spring jacket, he was simply dressed in a blue dress shirt and a dark blue tie. The cuffs had been rolled back a little, however, and as he pulled his arms up to rest on the surface of the table, Tifa peeked down at his cufflinks and let out a tiny hiss.

“Babe, you have a stain on that!”

Noticing it as well, Johnny flushed red as he yanked his arm away from view. “Woops! Haha, I guess I’m crap at doin’ laundry!”

Their booth was a fuzzy, red seated circular one, and it was as close to the bar and grill as possible. A fresh scent of the meat cooking and steaming hit Sephiroth’s nostrils, and he had to work hard on repressing the sounds of his growling, demanding stomach.

Once they sat down at their clean booth, the waitress handed them all their menus, and she had already set out glasses of crystal-clear water. Once she saw Sephiroth grimly fuming however, she did a double-take when it came to how swiftly he downed the beverage. As he waited in anger, she winced, and then took away his glass to refill it promptly. 

“I’ll let you folks just look through our menu, now,” she announced while she avoided all eye-contact with the rather taciturn alpha, as though he made her quite uncomfortable. 

She left as soon as Johnny gave her an auspicious wink, and as he settled next to his girlfriend, she shrugged back her long, ebony-colored hair and draped the thick ponytail over her shoulder. Placing her black purse to loop it back around her chair, now that she was embroidered in better light, she seemed to be at the height of her happiness next to her handsome boyfriend.

When Tifa and Johnny became engaged and wrapped up in their own conversation, Aerith started her own by poking Sephiroth and then leaning next to him to aim her quizzical words into his ear.

“Since when do you guys play so many games?”

Knowing she was referring to Cloud and himself, Sephiroth scratched his nose and shrugged. “I dunno, we started a little while back. I didn’t think he was a gamer.”

Their brief moment of privacy was gone when Johnny heard them speaking about video games and perked up immediately.

“Wait!” Excitedly, he looked at Sephiroth and asked, “You got into some new games without me?”

Permission to reply was denied for Sephiroth when Aerith folded her hands over her chest and hissed frostily, “He games with my dad. It’s weird.”

Taken aback by this and assuming it was only a facetious comment at first, Tifa snorted and then waved it off. When Aerith however gave her quite the stern scowl, she sensed how serious it was and stopped being so cavalier herself.

Frowning at Sephiroth, she came off as pouty before she tried comforting Aerith. “That’s not a bad thing, Aerith. Not like they’re causing harm to each other.”

Assenting with full optimism in swing, Johnny nodded and sang out, “Yeah! Dudes just chill and bond that way!”

Only somewhat at ease and allowing that to take over for reality and assurances, Aerith muttered dryly, “Yeah maybe, but they were having too much fun earlier today at the house, if you ask me.”

Tapping his sneakers on the floor, Sephiroth calmly expressed, “It’s just how Johnny said, and you told me to get along with your dad, Aer.”

Bossiness oozed out of Aerith, her crossed arms growing a bit tighter as she held the position to be stubborn. “Look, I appreciate that you made the effort to get to know him and all, I really do. But you don’t have to keep hanging out with him for my sake. We should focus on our own relationship now.”

Busying themselves with staring at the menu rather than being the awkward wheels in a testy conversation that had nothing to do with them, Tifa and Johnny became quiet immediately.

Meeting her temper glare for glare, attitude just as snarky, Sephiroth sneered away. “What makes you think I’m hanging out with him for your sake?”

The music switched to something classical, and Aerith coldly raised an eyebrow at Sephiroth. “Seph, come on. I had a good influence on your folks when I first met them, and I know you tried to do the same with my dad.” Ignoring Johnny and Tifa gaping, she added without rushing, “I also know he kept turning you away because he’s done the same with any guy who tried getting close to me, right until that day you asked to see his sketches. Are you honestly saying you didn’t do all that to try and impress me?”

Knowing that most of what she’d uttered was true, and since he wasn’t that much of a liar, Sephiroth decided to acquiesce to a degree.

“Okay, fine. You’re right, that is why I was nice to him at first,” he carefully admitted. “But once I got to know him and we hung out a little, I realized he’s actually a pretty cool guy.”

“Yeah, but he’s my dad, significantly older than us, and you already left your impression on him!” Aerith conceded arrogantly. “Chill out now and hang out more with me!”

After gathering her own observations and pondering from across the booth, Tifa tapped a finger on her chin as she rasped, “Aw, come on, Aerith! I think you’re taking this way too seriously!”

As always, it didn’t take Johnny much time and goading necessary before he chimed in with notes of pure agreement. “She’s right! It’s not super common to have parents and family always accepting your partner!”

Aerith only waved her hand dismissively, turning to grab her purse and reapply some lip gloss. “Oh, my dad’s said much worse about some of my exes, I can guarantee you that.”

Looking bewildered, but not yet stuck, Sephiroth snapped angrily, “So? That was the past. Leave it at that.”

He’d made a brilliant choice on not commenting on anything else, the memory of himself in the bathroom, engaged in quite the provocative act while whispering out another name in confusion still daunting him to minor levels. If that didn’t toss him into the category of ‘shitty boyfriends’ Aerith dated, then he wasn’t certain what other line he had to cross first.

Needing something else to divert his attention, Sephiroth began staring over at his menu, and he pretended to take up interest in it, even though he’d already settled for roasted ham with a side dish of mashed potatoes and corn.

Good enough.

Glaring at Sephiroth for a moment, Aerith seemed to be non-verbally asking just what else perhaps was going on between her stoic boyfriend and her father, and what else Sephiroth knew about him. Extra sensitive to her newfound hostility, Sephiroth looked away as he flushed pink. Aerith seemed to be expecting an answer, however, but Tifa-ever the chatterbox-seemed to keep on going down the path she’d carved out for herself. Really, it was a train that couldn’t ever be stopped, and to want to stop it was only a futile desire.

It was better to let the questions and comments just flow naturally in order for Aerith to blow off some steam, and for the first time in months, Sephiroth seriously didn’t want Tifa to shut up.

One by one, they poured out of her, and she waved her hands ecstatically about, her wide, round eyes and long eyelashes the only things that Sephiroth could see as she drew herself closer and closer to him.

While Sephiroth gazed off to the side almost shyly, Tifa decided to suddenly act as though she were a long-lost sycophant fan of his or an admirer. 

Tapping a clean, white-manicured fingernail in the center of the wooden table, she asked, “So, what are your plans this summer after graduation with Aerith?”

Grateful that Tifa had sent a new topic his way like a fresh slab of meat for a lion, Sephiroth began happily, “I was thinking of—”

“Sephiroth, look,” Aerith suddenly interrupted, pausing to fling her napkin at Johnny when he sighed sadly. “It’s fine that you like hanging out with him or whatever. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to be that close to my dad because of me!”

Curling a hand around his cold glass of water, though not yet taking a sip, Sephiroth rolled his eyes. The exasperated alpha eventually reasoned, “Look, I’m not doing that, trust me. I just have fun playing video games and talking with him, that’s all.”

Tugging on her sleeve and gesturing at the waitresses walking by, Tifa commented in a bored tone, “Guys, I know what I want to eat.”

“If you say so,” Aerith stated, unclear as to whether she was speaking to Tifa or Sephiroth. 

Watching her callously shrugging and sitting back with such a stolid regard for everyone, Sephiroth couldn’t help fight off the nagging feeling that she wasn’t convinced nor super keen with the whole thing. Knowing how his obsessive girlfriend was geared however, he opted to drop the subject, not wanting to open that can of worms for now.

Flipping a hand up in the air and waving at the closest waitress, he flagged her down, nodding and smiling before he politely informed her that he was ready to order.

He didn’t have to try too hard to win her attention; the young woman pranced over towards their booth, and she smirked coyly at Sephiroth as if she already knew what was going on when Aerith scowled in a competitive manner at her.

“Sir,” she addressed calmly and formally, bending over halfway as Sephiroth held up his menu and Aerith’s.

Holding out the menus while Aerith wound an arm protectively and possessively around his waist, Sephiroth wearily expressed to the waitress, “I’ll take the roasted ham and side dish of mashed potatoes and corn, please…” Pausing, he quickly added, “…With lots of butter, please.”

“Certainly, sir.” Turning to the others, she then asked, “Are we all ready to order, then?”

With a brief second’s peek at Sephiroth and Aerith, Tifa held a hand up to her mouth as she giggled. “Teehee! Well, my boyfriend and I are still deciding, but the chicken breast roasted in basil and honey seems good!”

Her smitten boyfriend who lacked originality chuckled as well, gently holding her to his side as he coughed up a laugh at the dainty waitress. “Yeah, I think I’ll just have what my girl’s having, thanks.”

Oh, how Sephiroth wanted to wipe that stupid, shit-eating smirk off both Tifa’s face and Johnny’s when they winked at him. Powerless by the whims of social grace, all he could do was sit and watch as the waitress took down their orders, and then marched away with the bells attached to her sunhat making musical noises harmoniously.

The air was suddenly so stuffy here, but he felt that mostly because they’d reached a sort of age-old-familiar ‘social awkwardness’ that Sephiroth hadn’t regularly faced whenever he’d been forced out to socialize with friends. These were people he’d gone to school with and hung around quite often, and they’d always had good intentions and common ground with him, of course. Unusually so, today was different, for once the social niceness and politeness had waned off and he found that there was nothing left to talk about, that was when the embarrassing feeling of being ‘stuck’ weighed and slammed into his head.

He was now stuck here for hours without an excuse to leave.

Aerith’s intractable behavior earlier hadn’t exactly helped, either, but it seemed to not matter to the willful woman at all. She sipped her water, her pink lip gloss staining the cold side of the cup she was drinking from, the stain serving as a darker symbol beyond surface level. The moment Tifa looked down to check her phone with Johnny doing the same to his device resting on his lap, no doubt, Aerith tossed a flirtatious wink surreptitiously at Sephiroth.

“Well,” she cooed as she nuzzled against him, rubbing her nose in the crook of his neck comfortably. “At least I get you all to myself after this!”

That was it; past the point of what he could tolerate, Sephiroth decided he was going to get extremely drunk tonight.

Chapter Text

‘Home sweet home’ wasn’t an applicable, realistic term Sephiroth could find comfort in. Shortly after dinner with Tifa and Johnny, unwisely, he’d presumed he could indeed head home and find some semblance of peace, but Aerith immediately got on his nerves and turned that idea sour.

The second Tifa and Johnny parted and left them to their own devices, Aerith had quite the mouthful for Sephiroth. As soon as the car doors shut and Sephiroth turned on the engine, all hopes of obtaining some peace and serenity were stripped away. Aerith started lecturing and scolding him, yapping away madly in his ear as if she were his mother, and all because he’d paid for Johnny and Tifa’s drinks after supper.

Chastising him and speaking well on his behalf about what he should do with his own finances, Aerith made it all her business to even dictate precisely what he needed to spend his money on. Fury built between the young couple, with Sephiroth expressing his stern opinion that it was his money, therefore, he had all the say in decisions for how he spent it. Aerith remained staunch and stubborn in her own convictions still, preaching to him that in being so frivolously giving, he was only teaching others that they could use and take advantage of him as they liked.

The nerve. She was the one doing the same damn thing, going on little shopping sprees using his credit card whenever she wanted. Hypocrisy wasn’t an admirable trait in the girl he was seeing, but by the time they reached Aerith’s house, Sephiroth was too drained to keep arguing with her. All he wanted was to get some well needed sleep, hoping that by the time morning arrived, it would bring with itself the promise that they could move on from this stupidity. 

Too bad life never guaranteed anything even remotely close to that as a possibility, however. 

Aerith was even more furious with him when they entered the house, making such a spectacle out of herself as she kicked off her expensive high heels and stormed up to her bedroom. Emphasizing that she wanted to be alone, she slammed her bedroom door powerfully enough to rouse the entire street practically. 

Reading properly through the message, Sephiroth tossed his car keys in his pocket and removed his shoes while murmuring under a hot breath, “Fucking hell...women are so dumb.”

A click sounded through the steady quiet, and one second breezed by before the hallway light flickered on. Searing off-white walls and luminescence flowed into Sephiroth’s retinas, the teenager gasping in fright, though not needing to freak out when he found Cloud standing there.

With a hand adjusting the dimmer settings to lower the intensity of the lambent glow, Cloud blinked at Sephiroth through the silence until a friendly glint took over his features.

Skin so smooth and shiny like crystal that complimented his eyes, he nodded at Sephiroth, taking a moment to acknowledge and give the alpha time to adjust to his presence.

“Crap, sorry man, you just scared me.” Placing his hands in his pockets didn’t help, so Sephiroth leaned against the opposite wall instead.

Bashful when he wondered whether Cloud had heard his epithets and foul language from before, he glanced at his feet, toes awkwardly stretching like his clammy fingers. He could feel the heat resonating off Cloud, though he sensed his gaze wasn’t malicious and standoffish, thankfully.

Corners of his lips twisting up, Cloud at least smiled before he eventually spoke. “Did you have a fight with Aerith?”

Shit...so he wasn’t that subtle after all, was he? 

Resisting the urge to punch himself and kick at the baseboards, Sephiroth donned the mask and cloak of maturity. Knowing he’d made a mistake not to only think his thoughts and keep them internalized, the damage was already done, and moronic as he felt now, he figured he could at least save face and act like a responsible person rather than a brainless child who ran from troubles.

Ensuring that he didn’t show even more disrespect than he already had by portraying fervid honesty, Sephiroth explained while wincing, “Sir, look, I know I made a mistake...err, many, actually, but—”

Laughing instead of screaming away at him, Cloud was taking the admission quite well, surprisingly. “I told you that calling me ‘sir’ makes me feel a lot older than I am, you know.” Folding his hands by his front, he relaxed himself as he added with a pleasant grin, “Just call me Cloud.”

Swimming in a murky daze was quite regularly associated with Cloud lately, and Sephiroth didn’t know why that was the case. Growing up as not only an alpha but one from a distinguished family and with over average aesthetics, he’d all too often ended up as the one everyone sought after. Sephiroth had been the cynosure of all eyes, a desirable object for women to possess and men to covet and aspire to.

Having plenty of his fill with people who swiftly bored him given how badly they tried to impress him just to be by his side, Sephiroth was quite accustomed to phony smiles, demure laughter, dainty flirtation, and showy, flashy attitudes. However, he couldn’t do well to lie to and convince himself that he was used to Cloud Strife at all.

Cloud wasn’t out to gain any favors in his eyes, not of his age group and social life either, so why was he finding it quite the challenge to express himself or find a way out of this? 

Stunned given how many parents he’d met, of both friends and girlfriends, Sephiroth thought about those cases and realized how much simpler it’d been to get along with those individuals, especially when he determined that he’d never intended on strengthening those bonds to begin with. He’d always just faced the music, sat through dinners, desserts, parties, attended other events and gatherings just to be polite. Perhaps it was close to having a one-track mind, but he’d never felt much in the way of investing, keeping his interactions quite brief and copacetic enough to remain pleasant yet mysteriously distant.

Did that imply he had other goals this time? If so, why wasn’t he fully aware of those ambitions?

Stammering messily over his own words, he incoherently stated, “Okay...yeah uh, sounds good, Cloud.”

Oddly, this encouraged Cloud to snicker, and he did it rather softly, a hand wrapped around his lips while his eyes beamed ahead at Sephiroth.

Embarrassment hit Sephiroth, and he inched back as he frowned. Not taking full offense yet, he cautiously inquired, “What? What’s funny?” Assuming it had to be the way he’d gushed like an awkward fool, he asked for clarification, “Am I talking weird or something?”

Demeanor so pleasant that it was contagious for Sephiroth, Cloud shook his head firmly. “No, you’re talking fine.”

Though that wasn’t meant to be a compliment, Sephiroth decided to take it as one. To avoid disappointment, he chose not to analyze what Cloud had uttered beyond goodness and grace, loosely smiling and forgetting his perplexed mood earlier. Knocking down one good point at least helped calm himself down significantly, as he soon persisted to obtain more favor in Cloud’s eyes.

Hopeful that Cloud wouldn’t become too upset with him for his little outburst, Sephiroth explained, “Sorry. I get along with Aerith fine for the most part, but sometimes, she uh…well, she…”

Stuck as he was with his statement, Cloud didn’t need to worry himself with treading lightly as he intoned, “She can be a bit too much to handle, I get it.”

Well, that was the tip of the iceberg, but it would suffice. Sephiroth couldn’t have put it so well for the sake of brevity, and though the vague summarization of his girlfriend’s moody antics was rather difficult to put to descriptive details, he wasn’t in the mood to divulge much.

Tapping a few fingers over his chin, Cloud took on a pensive expression as he remarked, “The dating scene hasn’t really changed I guess; it was even difficult when I was your age.”

Sephiroth leaned forward, eyes glued to the wall next to Cloud. As he fixated on that random spot, unusual stirrings within himself scrambled his brain and turned it into a mess. Impulsive, suddenly, though he didn’t understand why he wasn’t in charge of his emotions, he didn’t struggle with them as he started digging around into Cloud’s personal affairs.

“Are you in a relationship now?”

That absolutely had to go on record for being the weirdest question he’d ever asked a person so far in his life. It made no sense why he would even go there, for even Cloud looked completely baffled and taken aback.

Eyes rounder than little balls, Cloud was unable to process it, leaving Sephiroth feeling rather ridiculous for embarrassing them both in such a brazen way. In less than a minute, he knew he’d violated a strong boundary, and he had to rectify his error before Cloud threw him out.

“I’m sorry.” Frowning with his fists clenched by his sides, he awkwardly commented, “I guess all I do lately is mess up around you, but I’m sorry.”

The generous smile that worked itself on Cloud’s veneer was his saving grace. It was all Sephiroth needed, the symbol of hope, his silver lining resting on that tiny expression he found himself depending on too often.

Quickly, before he made more of an ass out of himself, Sephiroth inquired, “Anyway, how’d you know I fought with Aerith?”

Motioning at him, Cloud triumphantly grinned. “Clenched fists, set jaw.” Ranting on as he counted on each finger, he explicated, “And the look of inexplicable frustration as if you were trying to move a mountain with a twig was all I needed to know, really.”

Knowing he’d lost and wasn’t half as smooth and subtle as he’d originally surmised, Sephiroth snorted to shield his defeat. “You know the signs well.”

Plaintively shrugging, Cloud added, “Hearing you grumble ‘fucking hell, women are so dumb’ under your breath was a pretty dead giveaway too.”

Hearing Cloud swearing as he had was rather unbecoming, though not in any negative way. In fact, it was Sephiroth who’d laughed this time, suddenly grateful for his senior’s presence and ability to try and commiserate.

“Yeah, I guess I let my anger get the better of me, huh?” Understanding how petulant he’d been, he shook his head as he murmured, “I’m still a stupid kid.”

Not fully agreeing with that, Cloud rolled his eyes. “Oh please. Aerith could make a monk swear, and she sometimes tests even my patience,” Cloud easily and logically dismissed.

“I’m legit starting to see that,” Sephiroth whispered, rubbing his throbbing temples. Limiting his speech to courteous phrases regardless of how uptight and exhausted with Aerith he was, all for the sake of her father, he supplied calmly, “Relationships are tough. It’s always a balancing act, I guess.”

Acquiescing, Cloud affirmed, “I get it. I really do. You’re making a lot of effort, and it can be draining when you’ve placed someone else’s happiness far above your own.”

At least whatever tension once existed and lingered between themselves had totally disappeared and deteriorated, now, leaving the hint of a friendship lingering on the horizon. The more Sephiroth conversed with Cloud, the less he viewed the omega as his girlfriend’s father. No longer focusing too heavily on the fact that the older male was a parent, he started thinking of and considering Cloud as a friend, mostly even forgetting their age gap given how easily Cloud understood and connected with him.

Sephiroth could usually sense when someone was acting up to get on his good side, but there was none of that with Cloud. He’d easily basked in their conversation, extending empathy for the troubled teenager without influencing his opinions and decisions that much like some parents did. It was rather new and refreshing when someone understood their limits and respected them as well…

Squinting at him, though with an edge of a smile teasing his lips, Cloud asked, “What were you two fighting about, anyway?”

“Oh, just our friends.” Snorting again and raking his eyes to the ceiling while shaking his head, Sephiroth pitifully commented, “Aerith got pissed because I paid for their drinks. She thinks I let people walk all over me.”

“Color me surprised!” Cloud’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and he didn’t hold back on releasing more of it as he expounded, “Sounds a lot like Aerith, but what really set her off?” 

Of course…this man had adopted Aerith, raised her when she was quite young, which meant that Cloud knew her rather well. Spending so many years watching Aerith mature and transition from childhood to womanhood no doubt gave him a bigger, wider frame to work with, his conclusions and biases set in a certain direction.

However, as many parents often would talk up and exaggerate certain attributes their children had, Cloud didn’t seem to want to do that, which was rather breathtaking in many ways. Cloud understood respectable limits and obeyed those set boundaries, but he certainly wasn’t a pushover to spoil Aerith too much either by only highlighting nothing but the best in her to hide the glaring flaws. 

Praying that Cloud wouldn’t decipher and interpret his message the wrong way, Sephiroth stared at the ceiling, making sure that Aerith was still in her room before he whispered, “I don’t think she really likes me spending time or attention on anyone else other than herself.”

This was the best way to test the waters, and he was dipping his toes to determine how far he could go without outright stating that Aerith didn’t find it all that wondrous that he was spending time with Cloud. He had to tread with extreme caution, akin to someone moving across a thin layer of ice.

Not only would be betraying his girlfriend’s privacy and trust in him if he mouthed off to her father about her, but he didn’t want to run the risk of hurting Cloud either. He’d only recently started getting along with the man, which was rather interesting since he’d never had a friend older than himself, but there was also a slight possibility that he could sour the relationship between a father and his daughter.

Grin no longer eating away at his face, though a rather amiable expression was still there persisting, Cloud offered nothing at first. Blue eyes twinkling like the stars dancing and glittering around the moon and inky sky, his onyx clothes and peculiar sense of style and fashion massively stood out with his slender frame.

Fingers crossing, as he looped them, his mouth hardly shifted, the words so fleeting like a summer breeze. “Was there another girl at the dinner event tonight? Sometimes, Aerith can be insecure, but she means well.”

“I’ve heard that deal from Johnny, but Tifa gets along with her and always did.” 

Working under the assertion that Cloud knew of Tifa had been a wise assumption when Cloud nodded and smiled on.

“Tifa’s a sweet girl and has been friends with Aerith even before we moved to this neighborhood. If she was the one there, then perhaps something else is on her mind.”

Pointing at the ceiling, Sephiroth cried, “That’s what I said! I think it’s a control thing or something with her!”

Eyebrows arching, Cloud rose on his toes as he asked, “So it was just about treating friends to an outing and she gave you heck over the offer of payment for their drinks?”

Nodding quickly, Sephiroth raised his arms, then let them drop listlessly. “Yep. That was it. She made it into such a big deal when we were supposed to be having fun.”

Leaning further back onto the wall, Cloud listened well, taking it all into high consideration until he started stating his own opinion. “I understand that, but I think it’s more of the principles Aerith’s after.” Approaching it pragmatically, he finished, “There was a trigger, not that I’m saying you did something wrong, but there’s a lot beneath the surface.”

The lights went on then, and Sephiroth thought back to the entire conversation, one-sided as it was, in the car from the time they left the restaurant right until they reached the house. All signs legitimately pointed to the fact that Aerith wasn’t the average, jealous, insecure woman, but more than control being the tool she sought to exercise and utilize, she genuinely had a concern and a means to chip away at an aspect of his personality that was normal for long-term couples as they grew together.

Conceding the point now, Sephiroth agnized, “It doesn’t matter who I get along with, who she likes. The bottom line is, I should’ve let Johnny and Tifa pay for their own stuff because they’re a couple who can care for each other and provide, and I should’ve provided for myself and Aerith.”

Cloud blinked rapidly, a look of incredulity on his face, even though he nodded in agreement. “Yes, but she needs to get over herself.” 

“From your mouth to heaven’s ears,” Sephiroth glumly muttered.

Chuckling away, the euphonious notes so soft and tremulous in the air, Cloud added fatuously, “Maybe I spoiled her a lot more than I meant to, but I’m sure you’ll both get over and past this in no time.”

There came a brief second of slight relief in the fact that Cloud was something of a cheerleader for their relationship, but Sephiroth couldn’t bring himself to embellish appreciation and gratitude in any way. This went well beyond the regular relationship he’d normally shared with parents of other classmates even, which was noble and thrilling, but also confusing.

From Aerith’s warped perspective, he could at least understand to a minute degree why she’d brought it to everyone’s attention that he’d been spending a lot of time lately with Cloud. If he stepped back and assessed it himself from a new lens, he truthfully was acting out of sorts around Cloud and had been since they ran into each other at the park.

Picking up the pieces from where they’d left off so he didn’t give off any impression that he was just an ungrateful brat, Sephiroth cordially conducted himself once again.

“Thanks for hearing me out at least.” Peeking down at the crown of Cloud’s head brought a tiny grin to his features easily. “It sometimes helps when you have support that isn’t just from friends.”

Chuckling, Cloud humorously asked, “Wait, is that why you’ve been spending more time here lately?” Beaming, a fatuous Cloud clarified with a leading insinuation, “I’ve been told that I’m easy to talk to, kind of like a therapist, so it wouldn’t shock me.”

Having no time for games and bullshit, Sephiroth replied, “Partly, but it’s for Aerith mostly. She doesn’t like hanging around my place when my buddies are also there, but it’s also because she’s just gotten more clingy lately, almost like she wants all of my time and attention. So you see, that’s what the fight was really about, that and how I’m a shitty boyfriend for not giving it to her more than the money stuff.”

Evidently, that wasn’t what Cloud wanted to hear. He channeled his disappointment and expectations not being met by mildly wincing, shaking his head in clear frustration.

“Well,” he began, the word rolling out in a light growl, “I wouldn’t go that far. I think you’re a good boyfriend, although, if I’m being honest, I’d say that about anyone who manages to put up with Aerith’s bullshit.”

Humorous as that was, Sephiroth took his time to laugh, eyes almost watering when he tried ensuring that he didn’t cackle and rouse his sleeping girlfriend above. “You know, you’re really easy to talk to,” he informed Cloud quite fondly.

Stiff at once, Cloud minaciously glared at Sephiroth from the corner of his eyes, lips hardly moving as he asked, “Why do you sound so surprised?”

Realizing his error, Sephiroth’s hands flew up as though he’d been held up at gunpoint, eyes quite wide. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean—”

Suddenly, like quite the skilled actor, Cloud broke out in a grin and patted Sephiroth on the shoulder. “I’m only joshing you because I genuinely like you. Relax.”

Releasing a strained breath, though his heart now eased into a relieved pattern of beats, Sephiroth pressed a palm onto his sternum before laughing once more. “That was a bit mean, dude!”

Mischievous eyes glimmered in the low lights, enticingly intriguing and mysterious. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

“Oof. And after I’ve been so nice to you,” Sephiroth quipped in mock offense. “You don’t even look remotely sorry.”

Voice so sweet, Cloud laughed again, fully enjoying himself as he eased all his inhibitions and truly acted more like someone far too young and friendly. “I know, I know. I was a bit standoffish when we first met.”

“Dude,” Sephiroth deadpanned, “you acted like I had the plague or something.”

Cloud’s tiny grin reached all the way up to his playful, blue eyes, earnest regard being held for Sephiroth through a gentle mien. “Alright, I guess I was kind of a prick, but I was just on my guard, partly because I found out you were an alpha.”

Heart sinking to his gut and lodging there somewhere, Sephiroth frowned as he swam through the turbulent currents of genuine hopelessness. If Cloud was really discarding virtue by sticking to stereotypical misconceptions about alphas from the view of an omega, then this was all for naught, unfortunately. He’d thought of the older male as more intelligent, open-minded, and efficiently esteemed, but the odds weren’t playing well in his favor if he’d been the one to address the elephant in the room after all.

“Ah…” Downtrodden for a moment, he didn’t fly into a defense yet as he stated bluntly, “Well, alphas can get along with—”

Waving a hand and then placing it before him to interrupt, Cloud firmly proved his assumptions wrong in one sentence, bolstering pragmatic clarity on a personalized stance. “You just intimidated me a little bit, and it had nothing to do with the alpha crap.”

Feeling his heart melting when Cloud had indeed reaffirmed his notions that he was well above prejudice at least, Sephiroth wasn’t totally at ease just yet. 

Wanting to know what he’d done to make Cloud uneasy in the hopes of rectifying it immediately, he asked, “How?”

The first part of the reply Cloud offered him was an urbane lift of an eyebrow, his expressions twisting to morph into a silent question of ‘are you seriously asking this?’ Tapping a foot on the floor, the light sounds closely resembling that a metronome created, but he didn’t appear genuinely upset.

Frowning, he seemed too taken aback as he answered plainly, “Uh, anyone would be a bit shocked to see a text from an unknown number, as well as a dick pic. Just saying.”

The glowing flush of mortification settled all over Sephiroth, causing the timorous teenager to hang his head as he coughed out a few times. “Right…ugh, I wish I could take that back.” Wishing he could just walk through the wall and escape from the nightmare of a memory, he added with a wince, “Wish you didn’t bring it up…was just starting to forget it.”

“You asked, I answered.” Unfolding his arms from about his sternum, a rather relieved, proud, and charming smile took over Cloud’s face, brightening the room more than the lights ever could have. “Sephiroth, you’re fine. You’re not the asshole I initially took you for.”

Awkward as it was to receive that ‘compliment’, Sephiroth had to snort in fond humor at it to a degree. “Gee, thanks.”

The facetious humor and jocularity was what he needed after all, his nerves now settling into comfortable warmth rather than icy dread. No longer did he feel susceptible and open to unwarranted tests. Talking and venting to Cloud didn’t feel undesirable and improper, it felt right. It in fact brought quite a wide grin to Sephiroth’s face, made even fuller with confidence and ebullience when Cloud looked up and gleamed at him. They lapsed into silence for a few seconds, the moon hanging high in the inky sky, fog and smoke still lingering lazily around outside. The luminescence shone down on Cloud especially, heightening his naturally handsome features with a keen shine. 

If Sephiroth had thought of him as fairly appealing before, now, bathed in the beaming moonlight, Cloud’s more than average appearance solidified the magnetism Sephiroth saw in him and was drawn to. This wasn’t a man who was plain at all. His vibrant eyes birthed serenity and calm, his sunny-colored strands collectively bolstering full thickness and volume that sat down nicely past his firm jawline.

Jaunty and buoyant, his spirits soared, even making Sephiroth feel afloat, but the feeling was far beyond joy and elation. It was somewhat akin to a spiritual high, the out of body experience rather intoxicating. Sweet perfume rose in the air, seeping out of Cloud’s pores and into his, causing Sephiroth’s system to almost suffer from a collapse.

He could almost count the few freckles Cloud’s upper cheeks had, ever so faint, but complimenting his skin tone that was perfection and art itself…plus, he smelled so fresh, clean, pure…

Exhaling with a small whistle, he lifted his arms to fan himself so suddenly, the motions making his entire body feel sluggish. “Wooo, it’s uh, it’s a bit hot in here.”

Grabbing the bottom of his hoodie, he began pulling it over his head. As he did so, Sephiroth felt the shirt underneath ride up along with it, exposing his toned stomach in the process. Cursing, he struggled on the spot until he managed finally to wriggle out of the article of clothing. Rolling it into a small ball, he peeked up and noticed Cloud’s lovely eyes trained down, his gaze focused intently on Sephiroth’s taut, defined abs and the line of fine silver hair that ran down the center of his abdomen. He immediately looked away, but not quickly enough to avoid being detected, the time of night perhaps having apparently dulled his response time.

His pale cheeks burned bright red with embarrassment as he avoided Sephiroth’s quizzical gaze, but rather than feeling odd about it, Sephiroth smiled to himself, quite highly amused. Understanding that Cloud was interested in men shortly after they’d been introduced, Sephiroth didn’t think Cloud would take too much notice of him, as he’d never caught the older male checking him out before. The way his eyes lingered and roamed however was apropos for someone seeking him out now.

Truly, it didn’t bother Sephiroth the way he knew it would bother some other guys. Quite honestly, he actually took it as a compliment, and Cloud’s reaction to being caught, how he’d blushed so intensely and shyly looked away while playing with his shirt, was kind of endearing, even adorable in a way. Women at the gym often gaped and drooled after him when he worked up a good sweat, and seeing Cloud not entirely doing that was a nice reprieve from typical reactions.

Seeing how flustered he was, Sephiroth wisely opted not to follow his initial instincts and poke fun at Cloud or push him, choosing instead to make a suggestion.

“Uh, I guess I should get to bed.” It wasn’t quite the sagacious, prodigious point to make, but he was beyond exhausted, and the excuse of needing to rest wasn’t as much of a rotten excuse after all when it came to the situation.

Complacent enough to accept that, Cloud gave a tiny wave as he moved away from the sturdy wall. Stretching and yawning, arms easing above his blond head, he sighed as he remarked, “Yes, it’s getting late, and I have some notes to make for my project, so I’ll be up and about. Don’t panic if you hear noises.”

Pivoting and heading up the stairs, Sephiroth waved back and sported a pleasant expression that beamed handsomely in the ethereal moonlight. “Gotcha. Night, Cloud.”

“Goodnight, Sephiroth.”

Unusually and quite unbecoming of himself, Sephiroth subtly played on the art of stealth and silence, waiting at the top of the staircase, perched behind a large pillar and flowerpot while observing intently for Cloud to begin moving. From his position, he could somewhat see the bottom of the stairs, and as he squinted in the blanket of darkness woven around himself, he faintly made out the silhouette outline of Cloud’s legs slowly dragging himself away from the hall. 

Was he genuinely that badly drained to be imagining things, or did Cloud seem reluctant to part ways?

~~~********~~~

Sephiroth and Aerith thankfully made up the next day, although without really addressing the issues that had led to their fighting in the first place. Aerith didn’t want to speak on it much, too focused on the assignments floating her way from school, which suited Sephiroth just as well.

In an effort to appease her, he doubled down on his efforts of being kinder to her and started spending even more time at her place, which helped a bit as she seemed to ease up on the clinginess. The silver lining was that he got many chances to spend more time with Cloud.

If Aerith was getting ready for an outing or had fallen asleep before Sephiroth, the ecstatic alpha would often slip down to the basement to hang out with Cloud. There, they would play video games, munch away on light snacks, watch anime, sometimes even sneaking outside in the yard for a tiny walk and to get fresh air when the house became too cramped and boring.

The additional company helped lighten even Aerith’s mood. She didn’t mind her father sticking around initially, and Cloud even began hanging out with the young couple more when he assumed it was permissible. However, when Cloud was constantly around at most hours, it turned into something that Sephiroth sensed was getting on Aerith’s nerves. She showed evidence of that, once again rather frigid and bitter, but Sephiroth hesitated bringing it up.

They had a very complicated relationship lately, something that he’d picked up on over the last few months, and he decided it would be best not to prod and poke into, not until their end of the semester exams were through at least. No one responded well to stress, and Aerith wasn’t an exception to that rule, which was why he lowered his expectations to be more accommodating. 

There was a tiny elephant in the room, however, even if Sephiroth pretended not to acknowledge it even in his mind. 

Since the first night they chatted in the hall, Sephiroth never caught Cloud checking him out again. The attractive teenager figured it was just an in the moment thing, that when his shirt rode up in such a close space, his elder’s eyes naturally wandered. It was several weeks later when Sephiroth found out Cloud was actually much more discreet with his observations than he’d initially realized.

It was early in the evening on a Friday, and Sephiroth and Aerith were the only ones at her house. She’d just gotten out of the shower and was getting ready for their dinner date, shifting around in the bathroom while Sephiroth waited in his usual spot downstairs. Pacing like an obedient puppy waiting for its master, he decided to play a mobile game to help the time move faster.

Noticing however that his battery percentage was plummeting rapidly, he searched the main floor of the house wherever he could in assumptions that his charger was around where he’d previously left it. Aerith’s house was pretty much now a second habitat of Sephiroth’s, the youthful male so comfortable now that he’d discarded his own personal items about in the abode.

Unable to locate his charger after ten minutes, a frustrated Sephiroth shouted up at Aerith, “Babe! Have you seen my charger?”

Floorboards groaned before Aerith called to him, “It’s not anywhere downstairs?”

“No!” Sephiroth answered, running up the stairs and entering her room when she suggested that he check there. 

Praising the gods that she was more organized than he was, after shifting through the few items on her nightstand in case he missed it, when his search came up empty, he growled in anguish and rushed back out into the hall. When Aerith closed the bathroom door and fired up the blow dryer and her hair straightener, obviously too busy to respond to him, Sephiroth stood in silence, eyes slowly adjusting to a tiny beam of light coruscating from beneath a partially closed bedroom door adjacent to the linen closet to his right.

Following instincts as he knew this was the way to Cloud’s bedroom, Sephiroth kept his steps light and soft as he approached the shut door of Aerith’s father’s room. Planting a hand onto the cold, smooth surface, he winced when he thought of how irate and explosive the private man perhaps would be when he discovered that he’d chosen to sneak inside his bedroom, but it wasn’t as if it was locked.

Promising himself that he would just take a quick peek and then rush back out even before Aerith noticed, Sephiroth eased himself right in when the door swung inward gently under his grip. 

Once he’d swept inside, the entrance to Cloud Strife’s room wasn’t as dreary and dark as Sephiroth initially suspected it would be. A few lights were already on, with florescent bulbs and glowsticks lighting the way and highlighting his king-sized bed in the left side of the room.

The windows had the drapes pulled down, naturally, an older dresser with the paint chipping off was propped near a fireplace without wood placed in the hearth, and the closet doors were firmly shut. It looked much like any other room in the house; normal, with items and furniture one would usually find in a bedroom.

He didn’t understand why he’d hoped to find something gruesome and nasty in his girlfriend’s father’s room. Perhaps it showed how he still viewed the man with such crude judgement, but Sephiroth was mostly let down and disappointed when the bedroom proved to be cold, bland, dull, and quite basic as far as décor and furniture was concerned.

The layout was rather clean, with the drapes, carpet, desks, and drawers barren of dust or grime, and the bed was made up in a pristine condition. He in fact even was left wondering whether Cloud actually slept here, or was he only using the space to store his art, laptops, books?

The off-white walls were covered in various prints and drawings, however, which Sephiroth expected. Curiously, he looked them over each one with minor interest, wondering if any of the illustrations were Cloud’s. Wandering over to the neatly made bed that seemed too soft and enticing and by the desk next to it, Sephiroth suddenly spied a phone charger. It looked like it would work for his own device, so he took several steps forward and reached out to grab the white block and cord when he noticed Cloud’s sketchbook next to it.

Trying and failing to remember the last time Cloud had been so forthcoming to show Sephiroth what he was working on, a nosy aspect of Sephiroth surged to the surface in order to encourage him to gingerly lift the sketchbook up, his curiosity truly piqued.

Flipping a few pages, he eventually came across the sketch of Aerith and himself on the sofa that Cloud showed proudly the other day in the living room. Seeing that he’d left it unfinished reminded Sephiroth instantly of the hurt look on his face after Aerith had insulted the drawing as well as his artistic ability to a degree, and even Sephiroth now felt a pang of sadness in his chest.

Understanding that many artists were rather sensitive about presenting their pieces, when someone close and dear especially formed harsh critique rather than appreciating the work, it hit that much harder. Cloud was amazingly talented, supremely gifted, and Sephiroth couldn’t stop himself from seeking out more, rude and horrific as this was to not only trespass, but pry.

Voracious enough to keep going after the glorious art, Sephiroth continued flipping through Cloud’s sketches, once again amazed at the detail of each drawing, until he came to one that gave himself a strong pause. Tongue and mouth dry, he gasped when he looked at a side profile of himself, taken right from the night they stood together chatting in the hallway.

Distinctly able to make himself out beneath the large windows and effulgent moonlight, while it wasn’t as detailed as the other sketches, it still made Sephiroth think that Cloud had created it from the powers of his memory. The figure of the teenage alpha was definitely full of life and color, smiling down at his own feet as his broad shoulders leaned against the wall. Bangs trickled down over his forehead and touched his upper eyelids, lips turning upwards as if caught mid sentence so radiantly. 

In full awe, Sephiroth didn’t even blink as he continued stared at the drawing for a few more moments before flipping to the next page, stumbling on several more sketches. They were smaller, and again, less detailed, but all of them were of himself; laughing, smiling, deep in thought, stretching.

Cloud had clearly chosen Sephiroth to be his muse. Sephiroth marveled at his ability to draw such a likeness just from memory, even if these sketches lacked the fine detail that the others had, while at the same time, he began feeling flattered to have been the subject of several of his drawings. Each piece was well dated, attached properly to a clear, concise memory rather than being conjured and fabricated. That did well to present more than interest; Cloud was aware, realistic to borrow in Sephiroth’s experiences, focusing on him as more than an art piece, and deeply as a person gracefully weaving through his own life experiences with raw definition. 

Sephiroth had obviously been so wrapped up in the art, that he failed to hear Aerith’s approaching footsteps as she padded up beside him.

Her right hand reached around him while she shrieked, “Sephiroth! You can’t be in my dad’s room!” 

Leaping an inch off the floor as his heart jumped as well, Sephiroth choked out with wide eyes, “I’m sorry! I just wanted to find my charger!”

Angrily looking down at the sketches for several seconds, she then snorted and groused, “Wow. Looks like someone has a little obsession…” Squinting and tilting her head around Sephiroth to examine the sketches, she griped on, “Why are all of these you?”

Knowing his girl as he did so well, Sephiroth swore he detected just a hint of jealousy beneath her sarcastic tone, but opted to say nothing. Searching for a way to extricate himself from the tense situation, he hurriedly began flipping the page for another drawing to gaze at instead, though he easily landed on the last sketch in the book, one much more striking than the previous few.

Like the others, it was also of himself, but instead of being drawn from memory, this appeared to have been drawn in person. Sephiroth confidently identified with and recognized the image from a night last week when he’d been hanging out with Cloud watching anime down in the basement. Vividly, he remembered him having his sketchbook out, but Sephiroth assumed then that Cloud was only drawing one of the characters from the show that was playing…

In this particular drawing, Sephiroth was splayed out lazily on the couch in jogging shorts and a dark tank top, one leg hanging off with his foot planted on the floor and the other stretched out in front of himself across the coffee table. Long hands were clasped together behind his head as he rested it against a pillow while staring at the screen through heavy eyelids, practically on the verge of dozing off in the height of enjoyment.

What was so striking about this sketch wasn’t just the level of detail. Sure, Cloud expertly had managed to capture more by drawing in person; the stubble along Sephiroth’s jaw, the firm line of muscles that poked out from beneath the hem of his tank top, the drowsiness on his handsome face.

No, what was so striking about this image in particular was the emphasis he’d put on certain parts of the alpha’s impressive body; the muscle of his full biceps as they curved outward, the broad, firm surface of his strong chest straining against the tank top containing it, and, most notably, the bulge from his thick cock along the inseam of his shorts too...

The lines of each of these areas were drawn darker and more carefully than others, making them stand out, especially his bulge, which seemed to be the focal point of the sketch and gave the entire drawing a sensual, almost erotic, quality.

Sephiroth was absolutely blown away by the entire thing. It really showed just how talented Cloud was as an artist to highlight all the masculine qualities Sephiroth displayed outwardly and inwardly, but it also made his feelings quite obvious, something that was not lost on Aerith especially.

Inhaling sharply, fingers like claws, she held onto the spine of the sketchbook tightly as if wanting to tear it apart. “He really needs to start getting out there dating again,” she muttered, a touch of venom in her voice.

“We shouldn’t be snooping,” Sephiroth replied as a firm suggestion, shutting the book quickly and setting it down.

Chin jutting out at him, Aerith rolled her eyes sardonically. “You were the one who was looking through it when I came in,” she accused and planted her hands on her hips to take on a defensive stance. “I called out to you like, five times, and you didn’t even hear me.”

“Ugh, I know, I’m sorry,” Sephiroth repentantly croaked, grabbing the charger as if it would save him somehow. “I get it. This was the wrong thing to do, looking at something so private, but he’s damn good at these!”

Digressing, Aerith’s nose curled upwards as she snorted. “It’s odd…it feels wrong and dirty. I’ve never seen him drawing men like this…” Staring off to the side, she whispered under a strained breath too hotly, “It feels like this was a fantasy of his…”

Nauseous for a plethora of reasons he couldn’t get into for the moment, Sephiroth tugged on her elbow as he snapped, “Still though, we need to leave it be and just forget this crap.”

Pragmatic and sensible as it was for a rational solution, Aerith wasn’t listening, instead staring off in thought. Sephiroth could see her mind turning over, and when she crossed her arms, a small, fiendish smirk appeared on her face.

“I’m gonna speak to him when he gets back,” she promised in determination, mostly to herself. “He needs to know where he stands, and where I do.”

Horrified as he suddenly pictured the omega in the midst of that diatribe, handsome face clouded with shame, embarrassment, and anger as she ridiculed him for his drawing, Sephiroth barked out, “Aerith!”

“What?!” she snapped out of whatever she was imagining and looked up.

“Don’t,” Sephiroth urged her. “Just leave it alone!”

“Why would I?” Shaking her head, arms gently touching his as she wrapped her fingers around his, Aerith pulled Sephiroth close to her slender body as she explicated, “Sephiroth, this isn’t a good thing! Whenever my dad turns people into subjects for art, it’s his way of disassociating and detaching from them!” 

Seared with uncanny, arcane pain he never should’ve been feeling, Sephiroth locked eyes with her and never ceased feeling genuinely hurt. Disappointment seeped into every pore, pooling into his blood, tainting his heart and mind as he gaped like he’d been punctured and harpooned many times over.

“What?”

She held eye contact with her distraught boyfriend, her gaze intense and searching until she expounded, “It’s an artist thing, but he basically told me years ago that in order to separate work from private life, he detaches emotions from his pieces to bring them to life that way. If you’re the focal point of his work, his art, Sephiroth, it means he’s not seeing you as a person who’s relatable beyond his work!”

Shattered at the core, Sephiroth deflated, hands growing cold even as Aerith held them. He didn’t know why he felt so wounded upon hearing this news, but it truly was a harsh disappointment. After spending so much time with Cloud, Sephiroth genuinely liked him, he really did. All of that clearly had been one-sided, sadly. Sephiroth thought highly of Cloud as they got along well and he was really fun to be around, but Cloud all this time had only been thinking of and seeing him as a subject of art.

It hurt. It tugged at his heart when he’d thought of Cloud as his friend, and it’d been why he’d often found himself sticking up for him if Aerith was being too harsh to him. Their connection had been the sole reason for Sephiroth offering words of comfort when he knew Cloud had his feelings hurt by one of his daughter’s off handed barbs. 

Now learning that Cloud maintained a wall between themselves all along tore his entire world upside down. The reactions he was having made him realize that nothing normal was occurring between himself and Cloud. Regular people didn’t behave this way, and it all was a reminder of just how much he actually liked the guy, and how badly he’d tried to get closer, only to have his own feelings squashed and reduced to a pile of embarrassing ashes.

Shaking him when he stood there like an object, eager to get a response from him, Aerith whined, “Sephiroth! Please just promise me you’ll let me deal with this, okay? Please babe?”

Settling in the present, Sephiroth was instantly brought back to mobility and reality. Despite how badly he felt stung and wounded, eyes rather dry and nostrils burning, he gave a small nod, forcing himself to smile.

It was impossible to get the words out, but he focused on speech as he expressed through sadness, “Okay. I promise.”

Breathing in relief and offering him a brief hug, Aerith then held onto his hand and turned to stride triumphantly from the room. Head hanging, Sephiroth let out a long sigh and followed her, though not before stopping to close the door. As he did, with an almost natural sense of magic to bewitch his heart, his eyes caught the sketchbook on Cloud’s desk once more, and the knowledge of its contents made him smile softly to myself for just a second. 

At least he’d meant something to Cloud, and he had to be grateful to take up some of his time and energy, even as a tool for art. That would suffice. Quietly, Sephiroth tugged the door shut behind himself, much too eager to spend time forgetting the most recent issue that was welling up inside his mind.

Chapter Text

Quite honorably so, Aerith didn’t get on Sephiroth’s case to abuse his trust in her at all, and she didn’t even mention much to Cloud about the discovery made in his artbook. Nothing needed to be said otherwise given how awkward it all was, although she did act a bit more frosty towards her father than she usually did, which he always dismissed with a dramatic roll of his eyes. On the opposing side of determining that this behavior wasn’t anything so unusual as to set off alarm bells that something was wrong, the older male tossed it off to teenagers being moody teenagers.

The furtive secret existed only between Sephiroth and Aerith, but begrudgingly, even after coming to terms with Cloud and his art, Sephiroth endured an entire weekend spent with her alone. They frequented attractions already setting up for the arrival of summer, shopping around until Sephiroth was positive Aerith’s credit card had been maxed out. Slowly, they returned to her home when Sephiroth’s father informed him that he was hosting a work meeting and dinner well into the evening and night. That basically meant the house would be off limits, so they had no choice but to head back to Aerith’s. In truth, it wasn’t as bad as Sephiroth had anticipated, mostly due to the excessive amount of alcohol he’d consumed to make dealing with being there easier. 

Depression had hit himself a few times previously, but it’d always been centered around subjects and personal difficulties in his life. Transgressions and grievances he took up seriously because they directly affected himself were normal, but this recent struggle was completely unwarranted and out of the blue. Sephiroth knew for an undeniable fact that he was truly hurt and sorrowful, wading in the ocean of blatant disappointment all because an expectation hadn’t been met. He’d only himself to blame for ridiculously assuming that he shared a lot with Cloud and that they were well on the road to friendship.

Cloud had only been trying to get closer to him for the sake of creativity and art, but if Sephiroth examined things considerably, he knew that he was also in the wrong as well. Weeks ago, he hadn’t exactly decided to cozy up to Cloud Strife for the sake of being a good person either, only seeking out his approval for Aerith. 

Well, two wrongs didn’t make a right, but he decided not to think about it when he ascertained desolately that he wasn’t ever going to be in the clear. Whatever chance there was for an earnest friendship was gone anyway, but rather than crying over it like a baby, he focused on picking up his grades. Cloud had unintentionally even distracted him that badly, leaving Sephiroth focusing on and looking forward to their hangouts rather than dedicating more time to his review sessions.

Unfortunately, when his studies and work came to an end, he found his thoughts wandering over to Cloud as if it were second nature. Ever since he found those drawings, he subconsciously searched for any indication of the feelings carved so ardently in Cloud’s neat sketchbook, yet finding none. The omega had mastered his expressions well and always kept a rather inscrutable face, giving absolutely nothing away while they hung out together. If it hadn’t been for those drawings, Sephiroth wouldn’t have a single clue as to how deeply and closely Cloud observed finer details. Cold as ice and firm as steel, Cloud went on about his business, which encouraged Aerith and Sephiroth to do just the same until the mundane events had Sephiroth even wondering if he’d dreamed up stumbling on the sketches.

Putting it out of his mind became easier when Cloud wrapped himself in heavy, lengthy tasks as well, making himself quite scarce. The absence of his presence wasn’t felt and noticed much, until late at night when Sephiroth stayed over at his father’s behest upon needing the entire house silent for a workplace presentation.

The young couple had just recently returned to Aerith’s place after a late dinner. Both the beta and alpha had a decent amount to drink at the restaurant, and the mildly inebriated teenagers went right to sleep as soon as they crept up to Aerith’s room. Sleep went uninterrupted until several hours later, Sephiroth bolted up in bed, mouth severely parched. Turning over, he realized that Aerith wasn’t in bed beside him, leaving him to wonder if she’d gone for water. 

Releasing a begrudgingly deep sigh of aggravation, Sephiroth tapped his phone on the nightstand and saw that it was well past three in the morning. Climbing bleary eyed out of bed, Sephiroth groggily stumbled the way down to the kitchen for some water. The house was dead quiet as he padded silently through the living room, half asleep and close to knocking into a wall. Rounding the corner, he stopped dead in the entryway to the kitchen, ears latching onto peaceful music floating out of the art office near the kitchen.

Unable to recognize the piece by himself, Sephiroth shook his head, rubbing his forehead and ears as he heard the feminine chanting and gloriously formed notes swaying on. They held some sort of mystical aura to them, relaxing his body and drawing him out of his slumber. Ensorcelled by the harmony, he thought it sounded an awful lot like a song Aerith had sometimes played in her car. The singer was amazingly talented, pouring so much emotion and rapture forth that it aroused every sense in his body.

Wanting to know where the music was exactly coming from, Sephiroth followed his ears well, right until he scented strong feminine odors. It was more than body wash wafting in the air now, tickling his nostrils and teasing his mind as he approached the foggy glass inserts of the doors midway open to the office. The underwater effect they held didn’t discourage him from wanting to dive in, the aroma so pure and fresh, but that wasn’t Sephiroth’s target.

In the center of the glowing room, the TV light and candles all around highlighted a slender figure with curvaceous hips. Barefooted, the individual swayed and turned themselves about, donning a bright red shawl, skirt, the complete apparel of what closely resembled some sort of exotic, Arabian dancer. In fact, they were most definitely dancing. The music set the best well, the tempo rather easy to turn one’s body to, but this ombré person wasn’t just dancing…they were seducing and charming.

The entire dance was quite the mesmeric performance indeed. The thin person used every part of their body extraordinarily well, their arms and legs extensions of their soul as they swiveled about backwards with their hips. Arms floating upwards on the higher notes, the limbs then draped back and down by a supple, round bottom, hips gyrating deliciously. The individual’s right leg slid back as they dipped themselves sensually, their crimson veil tracing to their spine. In sheer delight, they stood on their toes and balanced themselves expertly, twisting around a few times so quickly that it made Sephiroth dizzy.

When the dancer bent, they revealed that they had on a sexy, thin G-string. The lights were enchantingly and tantalizingly reeling Sephiroth right in, and he couldn’t help but feel his body responding. Each time those hips swerved and those tight globes pushed up in the air, he felt his cock twitching and rapidly growing erect. The sight was so succulent…that tight ass barely hidden by the panties that encased the globes called out to him, the flesh smooth and creamy, practically glowing from the light of the full moon that flooded the room. Like a siren calling out to him, the figure shook slightly from erratic movement.

This was better than his favorite porno. Sephiroth found it absolutely fucking hot that Aerith was putting on such a show and sexy dance for him. 

On the verge of losing control and just wildly taking her right there in the office, he strode in, closing the doors behind himself. She hadn’t heard him since the music was playing quite loudly from the large, high definition speakers, but it would be a requirement since his girl was always a bit of a screamer.

The smell of his own testosterone and other blends of perfume was so overwhelming it made him leak through his underwear. It was so strong, so beguiling…

Maybe just one good whiff...one would do the trick.

Leaning in close, Sephiroth took a deep breath in, enjoying the way the sweaty musk and berry scents traveled through his body, flooding his brain with warmth and making him tingle. It was calming and soft, like he was floating on a cloud. The scent was so soothing that he felt his body relax, just for a moment, until he felt his primal urges taking control.

Snarling as he was hit with a wave of pure aggression, he grabbed onto the dancer’s hip, bending the slender figure over firmly. With his free hand, he groped the person’s bottom, spanking it twice in quick succession.

Salivating practically, he groaned madly, “How about you start twisting and working that sexy ass on my hard cock instead, babe?”

Several long, still seconds passed before the figure trembled wildly in his hold, and not from arousal or passion. The red veil slipped and was pushed away from the individual’s head, and when Sephiroth looked down, he nearly expired and exploded. He hadn’t been holding onto Aerith after all…instead, he was gaping in terror at the shocked face of Cloud Strife. Blinking many times and wiping his eyes, Sephiroth confirmed that it indeed had been Cloud dressed up in Eastern-styled gear, his head swiveling around to face Sephiroth while the soft glimmer from the lights around the room effulgently illuminated the blond strands dangling around his face.

Wide-eyed, Sephiroth stared heavily in confusion and felt his brain whirling and throbbing as it attempted to connect the feeling of the silky, round bottom cheek in one hand and the view of the surprised face of his girlfriend’s horrified father staring back at him. It couldn’t be possible, but yes, to his confirmation, Cloud felt softer and smoother, even wearing makeup that closely matched Aerith’s.

The pieces finally came together in a quick, harsh snap of realization, and his mouth fell open in a mien of horror. Somehow, due to grogginess, exhaustion on-going, and the minor similarities in height, weight, and build, Sephiroth had idiotically confused Aerith for Cloud and assumed she’d been dancing around at some ungodly hour in the morning for him…shit, they’d even smelled the same, but when reality doused him in a thick layer of frost, he differentiated and separated that tiny distinction between a beta’s pheromones and an omega’s.

“Holy fuck!” Sephiroth yelped in total bewilderment. “Sir! C-Cloud! I um—”

It was then that the disgruntled alpha realized he still had Cloud’s ass gripped tightly in a hand and he immediately let go, taking several steps back as he straightened up in a slow, stiff manner. Hands up as if he’d been placed under arrest, Sephiroth winced shamefully. 

“Cloud,” he weakly repeated, “I’m so, so sorry! I thought…ugh, i-it was dark! I-I just saw the panties and your um, I mean, I saw...you and thought it was Aerith! She was g-gone and I just came down h-here to get some water and I thought…fuck!”

The messy rambling trailed off as Sephiroth noticed every expression and movement Cloud made. Wincing back, his blue eyes were cast down and cheeks aflame, fidgeting in front of Sephiroth as he stood hunched over a bit, his body partially turned away. Sephiroth looked at him more closely for a moment, confused, before it eventually dawned on him, and then he understood perfectly that Cloud was trembling in terror and embarrassment as well. 

Cold no doubt due to the fact that the dancing gear hardly concealed any skin, the top rested just slightly below his chest, revealing his flat stomach perfectly. Pushing his hands on the short skirt, Cloud’s thighs quivered until he somehow ambled back to fetch a remote and shut off the TV. As soon as the device was off, the music abruptly ceased playing, replaced instead by Cloud’s teeth clattering and tiny mewls of panic rising. 

Feeling even more ashamed and guilty now, Sephiroth wept, “I s-swear! I thought it was Aerith!”

This was truly despicable and deplorable. Not only had he made a pure jackass out of himself once before by sending a picture of his cock to Cloud, but it genuinely seemed like history was bound to repeat this way for them. Mortification became a running theme between Cloud and Sephiroth, with another incredibly embarrassing situation happening not even a full month after the first.

It wouldn’t ever be enough to satiate the gods who wanted to see him suffer, for Sephiroth still shockingly maintained an erection and was trying to hide it. That was a significantly sick part of why he was so embarrassed. After slapping and groping his girlfriend’s father’s ass by mistake, it’d turned him on quite badly, and he was still caught in that heady rush as the pulse beat and throbbed back and forth between his dick and heart.

How was it possible, though? Cloud wasn’t unattractive, sure, but he was a guy, and Sephiroth didn’t like men at all!

Supposing it had to be the stupid clothes he wore, the skirt presenting such smooth calves, sexy ankles, and lean thighs with a nice gap between them to bolster those slender hips, Sephiroth growled as he snapped out of his daze. Fetching a small blanket off a nearby rocking chair, he draped it around Cloud’s mostly nude upper torso to cocoon him away from his own prying eyes. In this lighting, he could still see perky nipples and the outline of the thong Cloud was wearing, only creating and adding more sensuality to the mix he never wanted to persist. 

Shivering as he held onto the blanket, a beleaguered Cloud mewled, “Th-thanks…” 

Green, wide eyes sought his elder’s, but he seemed to almost recoil from Sephiroth’s fixated gaze, clearly ashamed at this recent discovery. 

Trying to patch things up, Sephiroth opened his mouth to speak, unsure of exactly what he would say, but instead, Cloud blurted out, “Please, don’t tell Aerith. She can’t know I do this.”

Resisting the urge to facepalm, Sephiroth growled, “Ugh, your concern is your daughter finding out you like belly dancing, but not the fact that I groped you?”

“It can be both,” Cloud replied, shyly beginning to flee, though before he made it past Sephiroth, the alpha grabbed onto his wrist and effectively prevented him from escaping.

Despite how profusely his fingers stung and tingled when he made contact with Cloud, Sephiroth courageously still asked, “How long h-have you been at this?”

The upstairs floorboards groaned, with Cloud and Sephiroth both eyeing the ceiling and quieting themselves. Not even breathing loudly out of mortal fear that Aerith, who was in fact still upstairs, could hear them, they both cringed and moved away from each other.

Wrenching his arm out of Sephiroth’s hold and touching the spot the alpha previously had, as beads of sweat trickled down his chest and arms, Cloud blushed even deeper. “E-ever since Rowan left me.”

Feet padding across the gentle carpet, he opened the doors to the office, burrowing out of them with Sephiroth hotly on his heels to keep up. 

Hand reaching forth and touching the back of Cloud’s shoulder, Sephiroth eventually leapt away when Cloud whirled around and snarled angrily, “Stop!”

Incapable of understanding what was compelling himself to behave this way, Sephiroth continuously chased after Cloud, drawn to him like a magnetic force while trying to grab at him repeatedly.

Swatting his arms away each time, Cloud snapped with each step he took, “Stop it! Just stop!”

Baffled by his own actions of persistence, despite the fact that Cloud didn’t wish for it, Sephiroth again tugged at his skirt like a pathetically needy child. “W-wait–I—”

“Shh!” 

Ascending the steps, Cloud crept in ways and on areas to drown out their noises, keeping the creaking to a minimum until he reached his own bedroom down the hall. Pausing at the door, as he headed inside slowly, once on the other side, he aimed a corrosive sneer at Sephiroth.

It did well to prevent the headstrong alpha from entering his room, and while he wondered just what the hell was wrong with himself, Cloud’s arm dashed ahead and shoved Sephiroth a few inches away from the door.

“Go away, Sephiroth! Go to bed!”

Slamming the door in Sephiroth’s face, he made his point quite firm and clear. The air stood as still as Sephiroth in the hall, brushing past him and leaving the scent of lavender to linger behind as he remained there in place, well beyond stunned. Tormented by the darkness suffocating himself more than the pheromones, his weary mind struggled to process everything that’d transpired while he slowly shuffled back down the hall to Aerith’s room in a daze, no longer thirsty. 

Dizzying senses hit himself, and Sephiroth began swaying like a drunkard. Losing his balance a few times, he held onto his skull in fear that his head would roll right off his shoulders. Focusing on a spot in the middle of the room, he found that it was Aerith lying under the covers in the bed. Muttering to himself and asking what the heck was wrong with his mind and body to feel the way it presently was did nothing for himself but make Sephiroth even more exhausted. 

Mechanically, he held onto the mattress and then climbed in next to Aerith, softly exhaling and settling on his back. After the rocking motions, he felt Aerith’s body stir as he stared up at the ceiling, the alpha now wide awake. Fully aware of more than just his thoughts, the focal point of his tangential concerns were met with equal torment and grief as his cock continued remaining erect and jutting up into the air. 

Peeking over at Aerith and pondering on waking her for a quickie, Sephiroth was soon frightened out of that when Aerith yawned and turned over to face him.

“Hey, what’s up?” she mumbled out her question, her voice lazily laced with sleep. “When I got out of the bathroom, you were gone...where’d you go?”

It took Sephiroth a moment to process her sluggish words before he answered absentmindedly with a heavy voice, “I went to get water.”

She uttered a grunt of acknowledgement and turned over, her back now to Sephiroth after his answer had satisfied her sufficiently. Laying there in the dark, it felt as if Sephiroth’s brain was trapped in a fog, the minutes slowly ticking by as he replayed what had just happened over and over, contemplating how he’d wound up mistaking Cloud’s ass for Aerith’s, the way it seemed so perfect when he held it tightly in his hand, and above all, the full erection he’d maintained ever since.

Staring at the tent in his shorts, Sephiroth’s dick ached as it strained against the front of his boxer briefs, begging for relief which he’d been resisting to provide. Squirming about, he kept his sweaty hands at his sides, trying to ignore the strong pulsing in his needy groin, his cock so swollen it practically hurt.

Finally, when tears leaked out of his eyes, he couldn’t take it any longer. Desperate to alleviate the tension between his legs, he glanced at Aerith to check on her. Finding her smiling to herself, no doubt enjoying the comforts of the sheets, bed, and her dreams, her still, heavy breaths were all he needed to obtain as far as confirmation was concerned. 

Slowly climbing to his feet, as he headed for the bathroom, Sephiroth silently begged her for forgiveness, knowing he was a complete pervert, one sick, filthy degenerate for heading off to engage in something he never should’ve been even thinking of doing.

Keeping an eye on Cloud’s shut bedroom door, Sephiroth cautiously eased his way out into the hall and headed towards the bathroom, his hard cock bouncing in his damp shorts. Once inside the secluded spot, he shut the door and flicked on the light. Yanking his shorts and underwear to the floor and leaning against a wall by the tub, he quickly freed his pulsating cock and grasped it in a hand, sighing as he didn’t even waste a single second. Dipping his head back, his fingers and palm were at work, stroking his feverish flesh several times before he let a more fervid pace take over.

Weak in the knees when the blood pumped more so downwards, Sephiroth wheezed and plopped down on the closed toilet lid. Balancing himself there, he swiftly got to work, wasting no time in furiously pumping the hard, heavy cock in his palm. Leaning back to gain some form of comfort, he stretched his long legs out in front of himself before yanking his shirt off and tossing it away in a fit of petulant impatience. 

Clothes were in the way…he needed to be free…

It was so damn warm…was there a heat wave in the area?

Basking in his fantasies, Sephiroth’s emerald eyes closed and the image of Cloud’s thong covered ass floated up to the surface. Rather than pausing to replace that image with memories and thoughts of Aerith, he jerked himself faster, remembering how pale and round the globes looked in the moonlight, the way they felt so full and silky to the touch against his fingers, yet meaty and tight in his grasp. Soon, Sephiroth could almost hear the sound of his own palm making contact with the underside of those perfect globes, the slick sounds of pumping himself replaced by the swatting he’d given Cloud’s ass. Pleasure rained down his body as he vividly recalled the resulting ripple across those tight cheeks. They were perfect…everything about Cloud was truly beautiful…it all had to be savored to the fullest.

Already, Sephiroth was getting close, but it didn’t take much of an effort really to get him to this point given how horny he was as well as the acute memories he was using to pleasure himself so salaciously. What finally pushed him over the edge was the sharpest image of them all; how slutty and sensual Cloud Strife had looked standing in front of him, bearing his handprint on his sexy ass while his hard cock tented out of the bright red panties he was wearing, betraying just how much he loved Sephiroth’s aggressive ministrations more than he cared to admit.

“Fuuuuuck,” Sephiroth moaned, semen bursting from the tip of his cock without warning just as the images faded away into an explosion of color.

Immediately, his entire body spasmed as thick ropes of come splattered all over his chest and stomach, coating and then oozing off his tight abs. Sweat became the reason for his silver hair matting over his skull, pecs and arms tightening as he exhaled until he felt weaker and more deflated than a balloon. Oddly, he lost track of how long he sat there twitching spasmodically before the trembling finally subsided, but when his tired eyes opened and looked down, Sephiroth winced as he saw just how much of a mess he’d released. The amount of sperm that he was covered in made him look like a stupid male porn star, which was extremely unusual. It wasn’t exactly like he was fourteen and a virgin again…

Winded, Sephiroth felt his throbbing head knock back against the wall as fatigue took over following his little workout session. Slowly, his irregular breathing eased itself over to normalcy, and he gingerly stood up, trying to avoid dripping more of his own mess everywhere. Snagging a washcloth from the towel closet, he softly ran it under the faucet and cleaned himself and the soaked areas of the bathroom up, mopping up all the semen before it had a chance to dry and stick.

After he’d managed that, as best he could without making any noise, Sephiroth crept back into Aerith’s room and found her still fast asleep. Sliding under the covers, sleep quickly found Sephiroth, but before he passed out, he reached the filthy conclusion that he’d not thought of his own girlfriend at all during one of the hottest masturbation sessions, and he didn’t feel too guilty about it.

Maybe there was something remarkable about entertaining illicit fantasies after all.

~~~********~~~

After their late night encounter in the office, Cloud cleverly avoided Sephiroth for the next few weeks. Hurt at first, when Sephiroth was completely honest with himself and less egotistically inclined, he eventually felt a bit relieved. In truth, he needed some time to wrap his head around what the hell was wrong with him, what’d even happened, and his response to it all. When he could process it, one issue removed, there was the matter of Cloud himself. Sephiroth had no idea how this would affect their blossoming companionship, especially since he couldn’t stop daydreaming about his ass instead of Aerith’s.

Sephiroth was constantly obsessed with and fixated on it, conjuring all the images and feelings of how it looked and felt. It was more than baffling how such a toned, tight ass could even exist on the omega’s lanky, thin body to begin with, hidden by many layers of dark clothing.  All he wanted was to have another look at it, yearning for the chance until he thought of nothing else.

One day, not long after the incident, Sephiroth caught sight of Cloud as he slid into the house through the garage door. Shyly, the quiet omega finally chose to ascend the stairs and when he turned away, Sephiroth’s sharp eyes keenly scanned his backside for any trace of the delectable ass he’d encountered just a few weeks earlier. Finding not even a trace of that swell, Sephiroth marveled at how hidden it indeed was beneath layers of heavy, oversized clothing, like secretly hidden treasure waiting to be unearthed.

Hating that he was fixated on something so unbearable and unattainable, Sephiroth touched himself and got off many times thinking about those evenly shaped mounds of attractive flesh, replaying the memories of that night so often until they felt deeply carved into his brain. A few times, he even conjured up those images while avoiding having sex with Aerith. There was just no way to admit that he was turned on thinking about her father’s ass while he was locked in her bathroom, using the memories of when he groped the handsome omega to help him find fulfillment and release.

Unfortunately, the more Sephiroth jacked off while thinking about Cloud’s ass, the more curious he became about it, and soon, he wasn’t just thinking about how it’d felt in his hand, but also about how it would feel if his cock was buried inside it.

Knowing very little about anal penetration, since it’d never been something his girlfriends and even Sephiroth himself found captivating, lately, it was the only form of sex he wanted to try. Curiosity channeled into himself, allowing him to conduct some research on the topic. At first, Sephiroth watched heterosexual, anal sex, but after the second pornographic video, he felt he wasn’t as aroused by the sights.

No…what he wanted wasn’t heterosexual, anal sex…

Waiting for the most opportune moment, he heard the shower running on the other side of Aerith’s bedroom wall. That was the signal, and he closed her door, grabbing his headphones and phone. Navigating over to Pornhub, Sephiroth slowly and somewhat timorously began exploring through the plethora of gay sex videos. 

This was a new kind of degenerate lowliness, even for himself. Cheeks on fire, he drank a small glass of water, shaking his head and calming himself down as he found one of the shortest videos posted. The thumbnail was extremely perverse, but what’d entrapped himself and caught his interest so profusely was the fact that the man on the bottom was blond. Though he had brown eyes instead of beautiful blue ones, Sephiroth tapped on the video and slid under the sheets, not even blinking away from the screen.

Biting his thumb, the nervous teenager watched as the blond man began heavily making out with his partner while toying with his erection. The damn bit of flesh was massive and extremely thick, a stereotype all male porn stars evidently possessed. That wasn’t ultimately what Sephiroth focused on however, taken aback instead by how the slender blond took initiative by mounting his partner rather aggressively. It was really fucking hot to watch him straddle the other male, taking his own dick in his hands and sliding it along his partner’s. As they stroked each other, their groans became louder and more erotic.

His own cock was aching terribly, but Sephiroth continued watching, growing hotter when the dark-haired man flipped himself back on top. Pinning the eager blond down, a hand swatted his ass, instantly reminding Sephiroth of what he’d done to Cloud.

Biting back a groan himself, his own noises were drowned out by the loud moaning as harmonious notes of wet squelching became a strong part of the heightened scene. If his cock had been mildly tumescent before, now that he observed the larger man working a wet finger in his lover’s ass, Sephiroth nearly exploded. Hips shunting back and forth on their own, he lost himself to ideas of how Cloud would react and look, notably, the sounds he would make while being spanked and fingered this way too.

What piqued his ravenously charged interest soon was how easily a second finger stretched that tight ring of muscle. The salacious noises were echoing wildly in his skull, the notes so vibrant, ones he would never forget. The younger man’s hole was stretched so widely, accommodating three meaty fingers now. Such a supple shade of pink, too, inviting the tip of the other man’s cock inside it just like his digits so greedily.

Unable to cope watching the teasing sights without tending to himself, Sephiroth turned over, lying down on his front. Hips gently grazing the pillow under himself, his erection began prodding the mattress, and he brought minor gratification to himself as he gyrated into the pillow. 

Ridiculous as he felt dry-humping a bloody pillow, that didn’t even hold a candle to the moment of mortification when at his exposed back, the bedroom door suddenly opened. 

Without warning, Aerith walked right in, torso still drenched with droplets clinging to her creamy skin. Wrapped in only a white, fluffy towel, she dimmed the lights, wandering over to Sephiroth immediately while beaming seductively. 

Much too slow to react on time as he should have, Sephiroth emitted a tiny cry of horror when Aerith leaned over him, lips flapping as she spoke in animated ways. Noticing he wasn’t as attentive to her, she leaned in closer, yanking out one of his earbuds and then gazed at the video displayed on his phone.

Like a braindead idiot, Sephiroth remained there on the bed, spun midway around as he held up his phone when Aerith’s hand slid under his. Embarrassment now washed onto her features as well as his own, her jaw hanging open wider than her round eyes when she watched him clamp his thighs together and deliberately hide his erection with the pillow.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Pulling a furious face, she held onto her towel now instead of his phone, her opposite hand drawn back until she swatted Sephiroth powerfully on the bottom. “What the hell, Sephiroth?!”

Stunned when he realized there was no way out of this due to being caught red handed, Sephiroth sputtered after the echoing swat and his ass burning from the impact of her hand, “Uh…I uh…umm…”

This inspired Aerith to gasp out, though she didn’t back down from the side of the bed before lambasting her stunned boyfriend. “You were watching porn?!” Mouth even wider than before, she froze that way, though she never gave him any time to explain himself. “What the fuck, Seph?! Why’re you watching gay porn?!”

Cradling the phone to his chest with the screen pressing into his shirt, as if it would help erase the sights she too had witnessed, Sephiroth’s veneer broke out into deeper regret and panic as he cried, “Wha?! I was…I was just…what’re you doing in here, Aerith?!”

Glowering at him in disgust, Aerith snapped brutally, “What do you mean what am I doing in here?! This is my room!”

Without thinking, Sephiroth blurted, “You were supposed to be showering!”

Before he could make up for that grand error, realizing how horrid it sounded, Aerith stomped a foot into the floor as she shrieked at the height of rage, “So you waited for me to go shower and then watched this?! Sephiroth, why would you do this?!” Furious as she had every right to be, she questioned, “Am I not enough?! Is the sex we have not good enough for you?!”

Soothly thinking about it, they hadn’t been intimate in a long time, but it wasn’t the reason at all for why he was avoiding her. Sephiroth frankly didn’t even want to touch her, not until and unless he figured out why he wasn’t as interested in his beautiful girlfriend anymore and more enraptured and enthralled by her father. It just wasn’t fair to her at all, but he couldn’t come forth with it given how horrible the entire situation truly was. Aerith deserved to know everything, but he hadn’t expected her to waltz in like this and catch him doing something so hideous either.

Hiding his burning face in a sweaty palm, Sephiroth groaned, “Aerith, no! It’s not about that!”

She right away bemoaned, “Baby, we used to have sex all the time anytime, anyplace, anywhere you wanted! What has changed?!” Motioning to herself, then displaying her nude body to him so shamelessly, she parted the folds of her towel and yelled, “Why give those morons on that site attention when I’m right here in front of you!”

Understandably, this hurt himself as much as it did his girlfriend. She was stunningly sexy, gorgeously hot, and an all-around wonderful woman fit to become the perfect spouse one day. Standing there with water still dripping off her sensual body should’ve made his dick stir and his arms wrap around her, but as he studied her form up down from head to toe, Sephiroth didn’t feel sexually aroused at all by her. Supposing it had to do with being caught watching gay porn, he shuddered and looked away from her, brushing his messy bangs away from his eyes and forehead while scrambling for a reasonable explanation. 

“Aerith, I’m sorry.” It didn’t work well and suffice to explain the unprecedented fuckery at all, but he could only repeat how sorry he was to her until she’d heard it enough. “Jesus, my heart’s beating so fast…”

Strident as she could be, Aerith’s first instinct was to seethe. “Your heart’s beating fast because you were watching porn!” 

“Aerith, for fuck’s sa—”

Wrapping the towel around her perky breasts and thighs, she scowled as she hissed thinly, “Do you know why I came in here like this?” Not waiting for a reply, she replied, “I came in here because I wanted to have sex with you, Sephiroth. You’re so disappointing.”

He didn’t need the reminder, especially when she’d admitted something so promising to him which should’ve conjured images of their naked, sweaty limbs intertwined, including his cock sliding in and out her tight pussy until he flooded her with his come, but instead of that happening, he sensed and experienced nothing but disdain and fervent disapproval. Hating how damaged and broken he suddenly was, Sephiroth sat on the edge of the bed, legs touching the cold floor. It served well to bring back morbid frost into the soles of his heated limbs, but there wasn’t any plausible way he could explain himself now at all.

Shaking his head ruefully, the disgruntled teenager whispered to her, “I can’t have sex right now. I need some air and space, Aerith.”

“Nugh, Seph! Wait!” 

Grabbing at his shirt, she tugged him close to herself, but when her round breasts and soft appendages smothered his back, Sephiroth wriggled away from her with a tiny growl. It was quite inconceivable to know that a hot woman wanted to sleep with him, and he naturally should’ve wanted to mutually return that. Fucking her brains out should’ve been on his mind, yet it wasn’t. More than wanting Aerith, Sephiroth wanted her father, and he loathed himself for stooping to such a despicable place ever. 

Gently removing her arms off himself as he pocketed his phone, Sephiroth murmured in deep shame, “Don’t touch me. I’m the lowest tier of human shit there is, Aerith, and I’ll only make you dirty as I am.”

Stepping after him, Aerith wailed desperately, “Sephiroth! That’s so crazy! Just come back and we can talk about this!”

When she reluctantly stopped by the top of the stairs, not so eager to follow him down due to her state of undress, Sephiroth mentally thanked his good luck. Fortune needed to be on his side since he had little else to save face, and he counted on it while he ran down to the main floor of the abode.

On autopilot, he fished his car keys out of his spring jacket, never sparing a concerned Aerith even a second glance as he muttered in a disjointed fashion, “I’ll be back later. Give me some space.”

Chapter Text

Sephiroth needed to go anywhere that was still open late at night in town. Given how it was well before midnight, many businesses were shutting down, which only left his options limited to bars and seedy nightclubs, unfortunately. Not that he was particularly picky tonight. In fact, getting drunk would significantly help him forget the fact that he was more than likely attracted to Cloud, and facing a lifetime of embarrassment after being caught watching gay porn by his girlfriend.

Parking in the back of the bar he often frequented with Aerith and even when he’d been single, Sephiroth exchanged a few words with the bouncer and bar owner, sitting behind the counter as he began downing his first round of heavy alcohol.

Unwise as it was to run away from his issues and bury himself face-first in the bottom of the glass, it was all he could do to numb himself from the nagging fetters and painful woes. A few people asked him what he was up to, whether he was okay or not, but he signaled to be left to himself, not wanting to explain his issues to anyone. In the past, it’d been somewhat beneficial to share his problems and divulge secrets to strangers, but this time, he knew it wouldn’t get a damn thing off his chest. His issues were now much worse and he’d already dug himself too deeply in them.

It was pathetic enough to admit that there was a high possibility that he was disconnecting from Aerith, and the last thing he wanted to share out loud was that he was not only losing his girl, but it was all his own damn doing for being such a filthy pervert by lusting after her own father.

After consuming his third drink, the bar started looking blank, dark, and empty from the inside, likely nearing closing time at this hour anyway, but Sephiroth stood unfazed by outer appearances. He now sat, alone in silence, propped up against the main bar counter on one of the many uninhabited stools along the area, all being empty at the time. As he waited for the nightclub to slowly become populated and crowded, head down, rested on crossed arms, he tried to remember the last time he sat alone, truly alone, in the quiet of a still room.

The empty streets of the more ‘night focused’ town lay silent, uninhabited, a ghost town by any standard, and anyone who didn’t know the place might think it deserted, so many buildings boarded up, locked, chained, and closed tight. Practically unopened in years, the city always thrived at night to a selective clientele who could appreciate its sordid gifts. He was much safer indoors, and as long as he wasn’t set to be kicked out, he decided he was going to drink until he passed out somewhere in the back behind the stage or his own vehicle.

The music faded out along with a few oily grins and leering looks the women sent his way, trying to buy him drinks and seduce him. Waving them off, Sephiroth moved away from the main bar and began wandering aimlessly beyond the dancefloor. Uncertain of where the hell he was even going, he slumped against a wall, watching one employee as he finished cleaning the few tables, swept, reset stools and chairs around the bar counter, and dealt with the several other problems created from the havoc of the night before. By the time he finished watching nothing mesmerizing, his head badly ached, far worse than before, and he briefly wondered if he were coming down with something, but decided that was unimportant as well.

The rain pattered outside, tapping lightly from overhead, and though he didn’t mind rain, usually enjoyed it; in fact, its presence at the time foreshadowed a long, cold walk home.

He sighed as he lifted his head, frustrated at feeling so miserable with himself. Misery had no purpose and no place in his life, he had no time for it, but each passing minute his headache increased, and his stomach now churned, reminding him he’d had nothing to fill it since that morning. 

If only more people seriously knew what a great gift hugs and listening, sympathetic ears really were…

A sultry woman brushed past him suddenly, hanging onto his arm. Sephiroth winced at her grip, or perhaps at the intensity and volume of the music. Booming notes blasted as they blared loudly on speakers mounted highly on most of the walls in the club. The foundation shook the closer he wandered to the front, some European band playing on and the singer singing in French.

Now with a newer crowd walking in for the later activities, the nightclub looked no different than any other ones Sephiroth had been in previously; a large dance-floor lit up with brightly odd lights. Weird confetti kept falling from the ceiling, and showed off the swaying and energetic bodies of men and women as they kissed, groped, and danced about wildly. Everyone here was having the time of their lives, while lines of other customers ordered beverages and sat about at small tables around the outside of the dance-floor, drinking, laughing, and just passing the time.

He interrupted a conversation another employee was having by accidentally bumping into him. Apologizing with a raised hand, while the server grabbed two glasses and began pouring once the ice was in, ready to serve his customers, Sephiroth walked on.

“It’s alright; I never hold a grudge.”

Sephiroth smirked at him and pushed back some of his hair. The air inside the club smelled of perfume, sweat, alcohol, smoke, and a lot of high-strung emotions. Smelling it all made the alpha slightly dizzy as he watched a nearby couple grab their glasses and tap them together in their own toast and celebration.

“Ladies first.”

The woman swished the beverage around in her cup, with Sephiroth already zoning out. Watching lazily as it slid around and created a small tide-like-wave every time she pushed it from one hand to the next, he focused on that until he felt shoved about. A few sweaty bodies moved around as more people began to order their drinks, and their voices soon grew louder than Sephiroth could bear. It made understanding what some people around him were shouting and cheering out nearly impossible, the crowds entering a wilder stage of partying. Slowly at first, then faster, picking up in bombastic fervor, all of Sephiroth’s previous worries were temporarily abated.

Gazing around at the people about, Sephiroth wagered they had at least been similar to the regular crowd, if not more. But perhaps, the young man considered, it only seemed more, seeing as how each shout, each crash of breaking glass or falling chair, brought an insistent ring to his ear and a pounding, dizzy sensation to his whole form.

The orders then came in by the second akin to a swarm of angrily buzzing insects. Loud, shouted, obnoxious calls, offers, even the occasional threat, but Sephiroth easily passed them all off as normalcy and took it in stride with routine. In a more vigilant state, he may have noticed the single pair of eyes that kept on him all through, may have caught the glance, and registered that, even as all others came and passed over him, this one stayed.

So many watched him though, so many bodies, so many people. Sephiroth didn’t notice anyone in particular, never registered an ounce of change from the ordinary, and kept up perfect business as usual, if not a little less enthusiastic than true to form. As far as he was concerned, he’d arrived here to forget…to float in something warm and fuzzy.

Sephiroth thought about ordering another drink for the purposes of burying and drowning his anger and resentment in, when he noticed an older man approaching him from the right side of the room. Given the sinister grin etched onto his face, the astute alpha could anticipate the mess that was about to happen, and choosing to pay good attention to his premonition, he stood abruptly, making his way to the upper level of the club separated by the mezzanine. 

Not accustomed to being chased by men, Sephiroth swallowed thickly, and felt the man still approaching, so he abandoned the original plan to hide in the lower level bathroom, and made his way instead towards the upper level dance-floor.

Weaving between the crowd, he wasn’t sure where he was heading now, but anywhere except in front of that man, whoever he was, was a lot better than anything else. Sephiroth made a beeline and aimed to confuse, hoping to lose him sooner rather than later. Stuck in the sea of people, he felt a few warm bodies rubbing against his own, and he groaned, recoiling and holding his hands up as he made his way through the crowd without being able to see much beyond the tip of his own nose.

Eager to keep going, Sephiroth rapidly walked past dark edges of the dance-floor, where couples stood, some making out, and others doing more lewd things, when he stopped dead-on in his tracks. Glowing with many glow sticks mounted on the walls, the hallway leading to the washrooms looked promising and Sephiroth ducked down the corridor immediately. Burrowing into the men’s bathroom, he dashed ahead at a sink before ducking back into a stall. Placing his hands over his ears to drown out the bombastic sounds, all he could hear beyond the fizzing of white noise was ambient whispering and murmuring. 

Men came inside the bathroom, did their businesses, then left. Faucets flared, toilets flushed, the hand dryer whirred. Spinning around and hitting the stall door with his back, as Sephiroth ignored the shrill noises, voices in the stall next to his own came loud, raspy, but muffled behind the block of steel, wood, and whatever else the manager decided he wanted for protection, a valuable precaution in this area. Even through it all, the longer Sephiroth listened, the more he thought he recognized the tone. 

Feet padded out the room, and Sephiroth patiently waited as he heard the scrambling of clacks and locks on the other side of the door. Groaning, he held his skull in both hands as he turned to get back on his knees and crawl away from the imminent screaming which belonged to someone in the washroom. However, once his vision steadied, and the instant he’d regained his energy, he noticed that save for two feet beneath the stall closest to himself, the room was empty.

Odd…

Whispers and hissing sounded from the other side of the stall, and Sephiroth was even more curious when he heard distinct mewling and whimpering that harbored pain firing out. He figured if teenagers were here shooting themselves up with drugs, he could at least report and then escort them out. Vowing to do so, he approached the stall door, knowing it was already tightly locked.

At once, before he could knock to rouse the people inside the stall to attention, he heard a clear whine followed by a statement that was truly alarming.

“L-let me go! Stop!”

A deep growl shot out, muffling out the sobbing as the other man snapped urgently, “Shut up and bend over! Hurry up!”

“No! I changed my mind!”

A skirmish was happening then and there, the pair of feet entangled as the man with the guttural voice snarled, “Hold still! I paid for your supper and bought your drinks! I thought we were gonna do this!”

Sephiroth was growing closer to identifying the owner of the more panicked voice, but because of how tipsy he was, he didn’t want to assume too much. In the end, it didn’t even matter. He’d already heard enough to determine that someone was possibly on the brink of being sexually assaulted, and he wouldn’t tolerate that at all. 

Raising his left leg, on the count of ‘three’, he kicked in the stall door as powerfully as he could. Crashing forward with an explosion that rang out, finally, after some considerable amount of rattling and rambling, the door gave. Once he saw who was inside the stall, he had to pause before glowering away madly.

As real as it was, Sephiroth still couldn’t believe it. A few feet away, bent over the toilet with his hands up on the wall, Cloud Strife was pressed with his bottom in the air, back curving into the lower torso of another man. They both had their clothes still on, thankfully, but the blond omega had his legs spread, his partner’s belt undone but hanging on the belt loop. Both men emitted surprised gasps as they turned over to gaze at their intruder, and when Cloud looked at Sephiroth, he screamed and crept away in a corner while trembling wildly.

Minutes ago, Sephiroth had assumed that someone else was getting beaten up and assaulted, never being able to piece together that this was reality. Regardless, it was, and it didn’t take away from the fact that his girlfriend’s father was in the filthy public bathroom, wound up in a compromising position with…this…thing!  

The unidentified bulky man clearly had no shame being caught this way. Ruffling his brown hair back while laughing, inches away from grinding his lap into Cloud’s bottom, as if they knew each other for years and got along so well, he only derisively sneered at Sephiroth. 

Not fully deeming him a threat, he glared at the broken stall door, then with his black eyes flicking back up at Sephiroth, he groused, “You ruined the mood, you little shit.”

Unable to hear his words beyond that, as Sephiroth gazed over at Cloud trying to cover his neck, that was when he felt his blood begin to boil in his veins. The longer he watched the frightened omega covering his throat, the more obvious it became that little hickeys and love marks were dotting the way around his pallor. 

Scared as he was, Cloud tossed Sephiroth a pleading look followed by a relieved one, but when he tried moving away from the brown-haired man, that was when he snapped and snatched his arm. Tugging him back and sneering at Sephiroth, the beast didn’t appear to care for what Cloud wanted, which did well to infuriate Sephiroth further.

Brows flying up at him, the aggressive stranger questioned, “You deaf, punk? Put the door back! We’re busy here!”

One of his hands slid over and latched onto Cloud’s chin, forcing him to peer away from Sephiroth in such a violent way that the blond began whimpering once more. That was it, and Sephiroth’s threshold for self-control had finally been crossed past the point of no return.

The fact that this creature had been proven to be such a lowly, disgusting, vile, perverted, agonizing bastard was enough to send Sephiroth completely on edge by itself, but to add the title of soon-to-be-rapist was enough. Volcanic magma was pooling in his system when he thought of the horrors Cloud almost had to suffer through, and it was sufficient to drive Sephiroth into a mindless frenzy.

Sliding back, Sephiroth picked up one of the metal poles of the door frame, wrenching it out of the floor in one go. Veins bulging as his eyes darkened, he stepped in and moved past Cloud, taking a deep breath and freezing an inch away from the man’s attacker. 

Nervously glancing at the piece of metal, the older stranger wheezed, “What do you think you’re—”

Swooping at him, Sephiroth hooked onto his elbow, yanking him out of the stall. With such great strength heightened by rage, he flung the older man right out, bashing him into the floor. Charging away at him with murderous intent, left arm bearing the metal drawn back, Sephiroth beat the devious man twice with it before he reacted to the agony. Swiftly catching the other end of the pole before it came down on his stomach, he twisted himself up, only managing to ease himself on his side before Sephiroth traded the blows of the bar with his own feet.

Knocking into his ribs at least four times with his boots, he held down on the man’s hand gripping the pole, using his foot placement on the floor to yank up on the object with his hands. Fighting the length of the pole out of the hold the desperate stranger had it in, the momentum caused Sephiroth to leap back, giving his prey enough time to crawl on hands and knees and race into another stall. This one had the door intact, sadly, and he slammed and locked it while panting heavily on the other side. 

Flinging himself at the door, when it refused to budge, Sephiroth tried kicking it down as well, only to be discouraged by Cloud.

“Calm down! Sephiroth!” Wrapping his trembling arms around the tall alpha, Cloud yanked him back until Sephiroth eased away by himself.

Breathing harshly, Sephiroth held up an index finger, signaling he wanted some space. Placing himself on a small stool, he slammed it down a few feet away from the stalls and whipped his short bangs out of his pink eyes.

Legs shaking, he inhaled and exhaled deeply and slowly, smiling maniacally as a means of calming himself down. Knees jerking and eyelids twitching, he snickered when Cloud removed the bar from his hands and tossed it to the grimy floor.

Looping his fingers together, while picturing himself strangling the stranger who’d nearly violated Cloud, Sephiroth asked, “What the fuck did I just see?”

Anxiety took its hold on Cloud now, coloring his face deep pink and bringing his voice and posture to a meek display. “Look, you didn’t have to beat him like that!” Sheepishly, Cloud added, “I had it under control!”

“I beg to differ considering how I heard you crying!” Growing nauseous at once when he thought of the tenuous connection between Cloud dancing and dressing strangely and now this, Sephiroth quizzically croaked, “How often do you do this shit too?!”

Furious and emboldened with what he was subtly being accused of, Cloud hissed mutinously, “I don’t do this, ever!”

Pressing and wiping his sweaty palms over his jeans, Sephiroth sighed out, “Christ, I hope not…”

Floored with the bizarre set of circumstances lining up to him discovering and learning odd new things about his girlfriend’s father, Sephiroth couldn’t continue the conversation when the stall door unlocked and banged open again. Out came the aggressor, though he instantly flew past Sephiroth and Cloud, heading right out the bathroom.

Seeing red and once again flying off the handle with incensed anathema guiding himself, Sephiroth forgot their argument as he targeted the fleeing man once more. 

With a burst of new energy unsurpassed, Sephiroth lunged after the man, sticking to his heels as he leapt forth and grabbed onto a decent portion of his hair. Tugging onto it, he successfully held the man down, both their bodies crashing to the top of the stairs. The dancing citizens of the club parted and gaped in terror at the fight brewing, their own celebratory cries dying down to allow the music to grow exponentially loud.

Rolling together in a curled mess of limbs, Sephiroth and the attacker went sliding from the top of the second level stairs all the way to the middle. Punching and grabbing at the man when he sprang up, Sephiroth held onto his chest and then hips, but each time he assumed he’d victoriously seized him, that was when the slippery prick would wriggle away. The ridiculous spectacle and pathetic excuse for a brawl went on as they wrapped their arms and legs about each other, with Sephiroth wrestling on top of the injured man only for a split second before his attempts at choking him out were cut off.

Abruptly, the older male stunned Sephiroth by holding onto the alpha’s head and bashing his temple into the wall. Loosening his hold on the stranger, Sephiroth fell and smashed his forehead into one of the steps, effectively leaving him in weakness and permitting the assailant to dash away out of the club.

Groaning and clutching his temple and then forehead, when Sephiroth brought his palm to his eyes, vision steadying, he made out a generous streak of blood coating his flesh. Instantly realizing that he’d sustained a decent amount of damage but hadn’t felt any of it only due to rage and adrenaline pumping wildly throughout his system, he wagered that if he hadn’t been mildly tipsy, he would’ve sealed in his victory for certain.

Bounding down the steps and catching up to where he was, Cloud pushed away a few people as he gently touched Sephiroth’s forehead.

Wincing on his behalf when he examined the open wound, he snapped at someone who tried to intervene, “Stop! Get away from him!”

“Should I call the cops or an ambulance?” another woman gently asked, only to have her suggestion shot down when Cloud derisively glared at her.

Looping one of Sephiroth’s arms around his neck, he helped the wounded alpha stand up as he explained to the worried onlookers, “Please. This is my future son in law. I’ll send him home and take care of him.”

Not fully registering what Cloud had referred to him as, Sephiroth, still focusing on his previous target, spat out angrily, “I’ll kick your ass, you freak. Just wait until I find you.”

Rolling his eyes at the untimely bravado, Cloud led Sephiroth all the way out of the club, past the parking lot, across the dark street and eventually into his car silently.

~~~********~~~

“Ahh! That hurts!” 

Slapping Cloud’s hand away from his forehead when he tried disinfecting the area with a wet cotton ball, Sephiroth reared up and fled from the bathroom angrily like a tornado. It was already maddening enough to have Cloud fussing over him, cleaning him and helping patch his wounds like a worried parent, but Sephiroth was more pissed because of the plethora of mysteries surrounding the nature of what Cloud was doing in that nightclub to begin with.

Following him down the hall with the cotton ball still in his hand, Cloud called out, “Such a baby! I thought you were all tough back there?”

Not needing to be prodded and poked with his dignity not so intact after having his ass handed to him in front of many onlookers, Sephiroth simply seethed.

Steam was almost visibly billowing out of his ears, the top of his skull, and from his mouth as he snapped monstrously, “The wound’s already healed, mostly! Piss off, because I don’t need another father figure!”

Fury built within Cloud as he chucked the pink cotton ball into a disposal bin and walked inside his own bedroom with Sephiroth ahead of himself. 

“I say you could use a new one,” the curt omega began as he chuckled out cruelly. “Looks like the father you were raised by clearly didn’t teach you to keep your anger in control.”

Rounding on him viciously, Sephiroth ground out, “Oh yeah? And what did your old man teach you? How to make out with strangers in filthy bathrooms and almost get assaulted?”

Pointing at him as Sephiroth began pacing around the bed, Cloud reminded him in a protest, “Just because you’re on top of the food chain and all that with your stupid regenerative powers and prowess needed to dominate over all else beneath yourself, doesn’t give you the right to insult and hurt others!”

Flabbergasted still when he thought of the obscene incident in the dirty bathroom, Sephiroth again asked, “What the hell were you doing with him anyway?”

Bluntly this time when he chose not to avoid being honest, Cloud replied, “It was a dinner date gone wrong. We met up after chatting on Tinder for a few days, but he was pushing me for sex and I didn’t want it.”

What was wrong with him? Why did someone even remotely as decent and attractive as Cloud Strife need to go and find some creature like that to begin with?!?

Even more hideousness in the way of rage flew into Sephiroth at this prospect, and without consideration for what he was doing to his companion, he rushed over to Cloud and started dishing out apoplectic ire at him by the mouthful.

Boxing him into a corner as he slammed both hands on the wall by either side of the short omega, Sephiroth leaned in real close and held nothing back.

“I bet you thought the world of him, huh?” 

Glaring at his recalcitrance, Cloud snapped just as aggressively, “It’s none of your business! I was just looking to be with a nice guy!”

Sarcasm was the only way to respond to this and reach Cloud, evidently, so Sephiroth went right on with that. “A nice guy?” Tapping on Cloud’s head, he mocked, “Have you got a screw loose? Can’t you find a nice guy somewhere else?!”

Standing up to Sephiroth, quite the fiery temper to boot, Cloud menacingly barked, “Get out of my face, Sephiroth! I don’t need the lecture!”

“No,” Sephiroth began, back in position when Cloud shoved him away. “What you do need however is to get some sense into your head!” Making his point quite abundantly clear, he screamed, “You could’ve been brutally raped! Or do you not give a shit about yourself as long as you get some attention?!”

Releasing quite the putrid glare and a stentorian roar, Cloud shoved Sephiroth’s hands away before leaping up on his toes just to be able to remain at eye level with the hulking male.

“It’s not easy for me! You won’t ever be able to understand because you’re still so young!” Reaching the pinnacle of what he could tolerate, he finally broke, tears freshly seeping out of his moist eyes. “My optimism is dwindling down with my options! I’m getting older, and soon enough, no one will want me!”

“Oh my god, Cloud,” Sephiroth tried reasoning, face rather neutral, “it’s not the end of the world.”

Swatting his chest, voice cracking several times, Cloud wept on, “I don’t expect you to get it but it is what it is!” 

Emitting a tired sigh, Sephiroth let his arms slide away from the wall, shifting up to his proper height when a warm, added weight landed on his sternum. His clothes were soaked through at a particular spot, the warmth seeping all around as something tickled his chin.

Glancing down at the top of a moppy head of golden hair inches from his nose now, Sephiroth frowned and then faced the ceiling while holding his position firmly.

“Ah geez, Cloud. So much doom and gloom.” Ears hooked onto the sounds of sniffles and more crying, Sephiroth stretched his neck upwards, eyes still so steely and rather focused. “You know, something just occurred to me…something strange, now that I think about it.”

Clutching at his nose and wiping his eyes, Cloud yelped when Sephiroth draped an elongated arm around his waist and embraced him. Shivering in Sephiroth’s hold, he didn’t fight much however when Sephiroth brought them both down onto the soft bed, nudging himself and Cloud right up until they were able to lay their heads on separate pillows.

Facing each other as they rested on their sides, the bed shook when Cloud shuddered repeatedly, teeth clattering as he stared somewhere at Sephiroth’s chest. Akin to a small animal seeking shelter and warmth, he whined and drew into Sephiroth, burying his face against his broad chest while the alpha merely lay there without touching Cloud anymore. The clock ticked by too loudly on the night table close to Sephiroth, but eventually, Cloud stopped crying and lifted his head to wipe the last tear.

“It’s just not fair.” Draping his head back, he looked at the ceiling, lips moistening by his tongue swiping over them. “I wish I could just wake up from this nightmare and be happy again. Wish this feeling would go…”

Playing with a few of his stray strands of hair casually, Sephiroth whispered in the dimly lit room, “Happiness is something we have to create for ourselves, Cloud. You can’t rely on other people to make it happen for you.”

Shaking his head in dismay, Cloud protested, “I would but I don’t know how! I just wanted to be artistic when I was younger, and now I’m old and just a washed-up excuse for an artist!”

“You are artistic,” Sephiroth pointed out as he smiled at a painting Cloud had signed, now hanging on the wall above the bed. “You’re plenty artistic.”

Still so vehemently disagreeing, Cloud whined back, “I’m not artistic! I would start over but I’m too old!”

Hugging him tightly this time, Sephiroth gave him a light shake as he demurred, “Stop it. You’re not too old.” Releasing his hair and now more occupied with how pleased he was when Cloud stopped shaking, Sephiroth intoned, “These are only silly concepts you feed yourself day in and day out, but they’re not true at all.”

Pressing onto his forehead, full of chagrin and grief, Cloud mewled, “It won’t make sense to you because you’re so—”

Rushing to the end of his statement before he had a chance to lambast away, Sephiroth growled, “Young?”

Dropping his arm onto the bed, Cloud clicked his tongue against his teeth, a derisive look meeting Sephiroth’s coy, playful one. “I was going to say that, sure, but now, I’m changing it to annoying.” Bumping Sephiroth’s chest with his nose and chin, Cloud took his turn to smirk while whispering, “Anyway, it’s your fault for starting all these.”

“It’s always my fault,” Sephiroth bemoaned, though it lacked spirit and true energy required for a verbal confrontation.

Cloud didn’t have an audible response for that prepared. Rather than speaking, one of his hands slid up to cup Sephiroth’s cheek. Admiring the bone and sturdy jaw line, his fingers dug in a bit, though without much potency. Eyes latched onto each other, blinks rather gradual and lazy. Muscles relaxing, they stared deeply at each other, with Sephiroth eventually swallowing in a fit of anxiety as he observed Cloud leaning into him. 

Surprisingly, Cloud shut his eyes, sealing the gap between their mouths as he placed his own lips onto Sephiroth’s. The meeting of lips was brief and chaste, a tiny peck like one his grandparents would give his cheek, but this was most certainly on the mouth. 

Gazing in shock at Cloud since he was so up close in his face, Sephiroth’s right arm slipped off and away from the omega’s dainty shoulder, eyes widening in true confusion until Cloud sensed he was stricken by the oddity. Sephiroth went lax on the bed before Cloud under the slight pressure of lips on lips, and when he did, Cloud broke the quick kiss, ducking away from him and averting his vacant stare.

Sitting up in bed and drawing his tucked knees into his own chest, cheeks flaring rosy shades, Cloud held onto his lower lip as he muttered, “Sorry. I just wanted something to hug…” Laughing despite the circumstance not being humorous at all, he quickly added, “...Even you, even my daughter’s boyfriend.”

Sephiroth begged Cloud to lock eyes with him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say so verbally at all. Still so struck by the random form of a more intimate embrace Cloud had sprung on him suddenly, Sephiroth gazed mutely at Cloud. Sitting there inches away from him curling into himself, Cloud had never looked more vulnerable, but also insanely appealing. The light sparkled and danced around his lithe limbs, accentuating the stark differences between his torso and Sephiroth’s, simultaneously reeling in the alpha’s keen interest and causing his desires to surge massively.

Delectable as Cloud looked, Sephiroth was frozen and rendered incapable of moving. Statuesque enough to only study the thin omega, he felt his mouth turning dry as a desert, eyes stinging when he hadn’t blinked in over a minute. It didn’t change anything, yet it did at the same time, being this open to Cloud…frightened of himself and where to head after this, Sephiroth sealed his mouth shut, though he felt his lips tingling still in the aftermath of the gentle kiss.

Rocking slowly on his bottom, Cloud sighed and draped his cheek over his knees. “Anyway, you haven’t made me feel that great, so stop looking so smug.”

A deep rumbling and series of underground vibrations emanated suddenly from the lower level of the house, signalling to Cloud and Sephiroth that it was the garage door opening.

Drawing his hands over his ears and carding his fingers through his unkempt hair strands, Cloud suggested to Sephiroth while combing his own locks, “You should go spend time with Aerith now since she’s home.”

That was the very last thing he wanted to do at this moment. How could Cloud ask him to even do that after their kiss? Sephiroth naturally only wanted to stay and remain closer, desperate to find out what had inspired such an event, but he knew it was pointless to do so.

“Dad?” Aerith cried from below, fumbling and moving items around in the kitchen, which meant she would soon reach the hall. “Dad? Are you home?”

Precipitously, emotions conveyed what phrases couldn’t, the boundaries limitless even through silence stretching on between both men. Caught in their own unusual glances, Cloud was the first to break out of the ensorcelled daze. Completely showing his back to Sephiroth did the trick to snap his junior of his own stupefied state as well, for the quiet was something they both counted on to prevent Aerith from becoming much too incredulous. 

Despite the heavy amount of chagrin he was facing, numerous questions weighing his heart and numbing his mind, Sephiroth eased himself off and away from the bed, silently shutting the bedroom door right in the nick of time.

Aerith had immediately turned on the upper hallway lights, already midway up the staircase when she located Sephiroth a few inches away from her father’s bedroom door.

Placing a hand on her chest to steady her racing heart after a tiny leap in the air, she then exclaimed in a soft exhale, “Babe! You scared me!”

“Shh,” Sephiroth hushed, an index finger touching his lips before he reached out to grab onto Aerith’s hand.

Mistakenly assuming he wanted to embrace her, Aerith pouted when Sephiroth quietly led her to her bedroom after turning away from her. Tugging in frustration on his shirt, seeing as he was so set on not basking her in his attention, when she whined and bemoaned after they entered the warm room, he finally nudged her to sit on her bed.

“Aerith, your dad had a rough day and just went to bed. Let’s just uh…” Locating the TV remote not far away from a pillow, he scooped it into a hand, pushing the power button and wincing when the speakers blared on. “Shit, let’s just relax and watch something until we fall asleep.”

Kicking off her shoes as she snorted, a rather contemptible scowl eased onto her face while she crossed her arms over her chest. Much too tired to bicker, thankfully, Aerith compiled with that suggestion.

“Okay, weirdo,” she haughtily began, leaning back onto some pillows festooned to the headboard of the bed. “It’s strange how you suddenly know everything that’s going on with my dad!”

She had every right in the world to utter such a reproachful statement. Sephiroth knew he had a lot more to conceal, and the guilt was slowly stacking to a point where he didn’t know what to do with it. In the end, he truly had nothing for her, as he couldn’t even fathom his own emotions by himself. Until and unless he did, he vowed not to allow those feelings to spoil the rather peaceful moment, his conscience needing to be clear by dawn, hopefully.

“I’m tired, Aerith. Goodnight.” 

Rolling over and facing the opposite wall, as he glowered at it with all the loathing in the world, he knew he had another reason to hate himself. He never handled anger and stress well, and as much as he didn’t mean to snap at Aerith, he decided that he would apologize for at least one thing in the morning.

Maybe then, he could absolve himself and feel less like a shitty person.

Chapter Text

Beyond what constituted as a shitty mood that next morning, Sephiroth knew his entire day was only going to get worse by the hour, and it sadly did.

Every prediction came true when he woke to find Aerith already gone, a sight not too common after being together for some time. A text that was too harsh and cold informed him that she’d apparently gone shopping with Tifa and Yuffie, and she wouldn’t be back until midnight.

None of the guys wanted to hang out, but Sephiroth wasn’t exactly in that sort of temperament anyway. The weather was a tad on the wet and cold side, with heavy showers beginning in the afternoon and set to last all throughout the night. That meant that he couldn’t exactly go anywhere special, nor did he want to…not until the least expected person reached out to him.

Unpredictability was lately a special talent Cloud Strife possessed. He’d been the one to text Sephiroth asking if he wanted to have lunch with him later that afternoon. After reading the message four times just to ensure that he wasn’t imagining things, and when he glanced around his house with nothing more exciting to do, Sephiroth confirmed the hangout and asked for where this meeting would take place.

Not one for feeling rather anxious and apprehensive, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was feeling rather antsy at the idea of being alone with Cloud in his house ever since the strange kiss they’d shared. Supposing that maybe Cloud was just trying to be nice and get closer to the person his daughter cared for, that idea was soon scrapped when Sephiroth thought of the other guys Aerith had dated.

‘I highly doubt Cloud has gone around kissing all those dudes, honestly.’

To think and obsess over it was pointless, and he was soon even more pissed off and cranky due to being hungry. It didn’t matter anyway, because Cloud probably felt it was weird as well, going so far as to claim he was stuck at a popular tourist hotel since his client had been hosting a party in celebration of the new magazine being launched shortly, so that was where they would spend some time.

Grateful that Cloud had reserved a room for him ahead of time, when Sephiroth finally reached the hotel, he was waterlogged and far too soaked for recognition. The rain was now a bloody tsunami practically, and he eagerly raced up after checking in to the fifth floor. Just as promised, room 509 was quite orderly and clean, but quite empty. 

Bored out of his mind after his warm shower, Sephiroth searched around the room when nothing good was on TV due to the storm and weak signals. There wasn’t any decent food around, but he didn’t want to ruin his appetite. Assuming that Cloud was probably stuck in the party being chatted up by some guests, Sephiroth occupied his time in the bathroom, playing with his hair at least ten times. The tip of his nose was slightly pink, head stuffy, and body a tad cold. Pathetic as his visage was reflected in the mirror, he eventually walked around the entire fifth floor, playing with elevator buttons until someone from hotel security kindly asked him to stop.

Damn near close to pulling every strand of his hair out and calling it quits, when Sephiroth rushed over to the door after discovering it was well past 3 p.m., the damn thing finally opened to reveal Cloud standing there.

Holding onto a few wrapped packages and boxes while glitter covered his skin, makeup done rather impeccably, Cloud smiled at first, immediately wincing when Sephiroth only stood glowering back with impudent rage, ready to lash out.

Lips curling back, as he watched the short omega walk inside the room, Sephiroth roared, “You are four hours late!”

Shutting the door and placing the boxes on a chair, Cloud could only sigh dejectedly. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Loathing rolled off Sephiroth as he stared at his belongings, and as Cloud brushed his clothes free from dirt, eyeing the various products and colorful gifts, he tugged and yanked one to his chest.

“I didn’t expect the party to go on for so long, but we invited a lot of people we flew in from Europe, so I had to stay!” Steps light and swift, he backed down the hall and provided Sephiroth enough room to follow him.

“Where were you?!” the irate alpha almost shrieked. “You said you’d arrive before three, and I was going to check the other floors!”

“I had to host my own fashion show on the main floor!” Cloud cried out, slightly lowering his bags as he struggled against wanting to boot them across the hallway. “I just gave you a time window I thought would be reasonable!”

Opening and slamming the closet and dresser drawer doors shut, Sephiroth knew he felt a bit lighter in his clothes after his shower, at least, but definitely not warmer or drier, sadly. The anger had seeped into his bones, and he didn’t care how vitriolic he was becoming around his girlfriend’s father.

Waving a hand around so carelessly, Cloud suggested, “Anyway, there is a neat antique store around here, just down the street! You could’ve visited it while waiting!”

Stricken by the senseless argument, Sephiroth paused and gaped at his elder. “An antique store?!” he repeated petulantly, not giving a shit about being polite anymore. “You took your time while I was stuck in here and you knew I couldn’t go out?!”

“Sephiroth, relax! It’s nothing, and you’re making a huge deal out of it!”

Madly gesturing around the open concept living room that was brightly lit, Sephiroth screamed explosively, “I had nothing to do and nowhere to go because I didn’t want you to be here and stumble upon an empty room, and I couldn’t even watch the stupid football match that was supposedly going on today because it’s been raining all over Nibelheim for fuck’s sake!”

“Calm down, Sephiroth!” Leaping up and grabbing his chin in a hand, Cloud then soothingly stroked his skin, staring away into Sephiroth’s eyes as he whispered, “Anyway, this isn’t much of a greeting! You didn’t even shave!”

Lips suddenly pressed down onto his own, warm pressure light at first, but then rather vicious. It could scarcely be called a kiss, indelicate and rough as it was, but it tasted the part; like sugar, addictive, uncouth, hot, and unrefined. It was not how Sephiroth had imagined Cloud to taste. Stunlocked into shock for the second time in less than a day, he kept his eyes open widely, focusing on the heavy breaths through his nose, on keeping his heart from tumbling out of his mouth. Then, on the way Cloud’s lips felt. Still so soft, moisturized by some fruity blend of lip gloss. A shred of ignobility that somehow humbled him...

Instead of releasing him, Cloud’s hands shifted, pushing Sephiroth and pressing him bodily against the wall. Confused even more than previously, Sephiroth frowned, his breath caught in his chest, his arms raising to steady himself against the other man’s shoulders. Their faces were only inches apart, when Cloud drew back, the omega’s breath lingering at Sephiroth’s agape lips. 

Blushing heatedly, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind an ear, fidgeting as he muttered, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what that was for.”

With much in the way of spite, Sephiroth griped, “You keep doing that to me. Why?”

Furious at once, even though he logically had no reason to be, Cloud frostily spat, “Just forget it. I never should’ve done it.”

Right when he made to turn and walk down the hall, as soon as he turned his back to Sephiroth, a hateful gleam burst forth from verdant eyes. After a brief moment of glaring, Sephiroth finally pulled away from the wall.

“You’re not going anywhere! You don’t get to do that to me and then pretend it wasn’t anything!” 

Whining in terror when Sephiroth aggressively grabbed him by the center of his shirt, when the other man’s opposite hand caught him by the throat, Cloud was the one thrown back against the wall as he regarded Sephiroth from above. Squirming a few times, Cloud somehow slipped back down to his feet, and right when he did, Sephiroth boxed him in, both palms hitting the wall above his head.

At eye level with him now, Sephiroth leaned in, kissing him just to be as much of a nuisance, but it didn’t work. His plan badly backfired, the calm veneer finally shattering as his anger dissipated. Cloud made a desperate noise in his throat, pressing back against the alpha forcefully. Sephiroth was rather appeased when Cloud’s mouth opened, his own quickly following suit and allowing him entry. Immediately, Cloud’s tongue pushed past his lips to slide against his own, and the alpha within Sephiroth’s nature surged in ecstasy. The kiss took a wilder turn the second Cloud’s legs lifted and moved to wrap around Sephiroth’s firm hips, and they both welcomed it swiftly. 

He didn’t know quite when the tension came to its peak, and then shattered. He didn’t know who did it and who started it, nor did issues as such matter. Operating less on logic, Sephiroth wasn’t even thinking about the word or action of ‘kiss’. He was just feeling, feeling a mouth over his, pressing hard, and it felt enough like a battle that it was easy to fight back with an open mouth and sharp teeth. With increasing increments, terror was rising in his chest, a bloom of heat sparking his fingertips, flooding with adrenaline ready to take fight.

Except it really wasn’t a fight. They just bit at each other’s mouths wildly, hands pulling on anything they could reach, a most violently charged pantomime of sweet intimacy. 

It wasn’t even a good kiss. Applying such a word to it would be incredibly pathetic, because it was hot, wild, and incautious, barely a kiss at all, with an edge of desperation. But it was...Sephiroth truly didn’t want to think about what it was. He only confirmed that he didn’t want it to be real, so he closed his eyes and slid his hands over Cloud’s flat, but broad chest, mind flickering over the notion of imagining someone else. Right when he did, he felt a little sick at the perversion of his own thoughts and clung a little harder.

Caught between his massive form and the white wall, in his daze, Sephiroth thought that Cloud had never looked smaller. His long shawl fell around them, with Sephiroth’s bulky frame blocking out all light and leaving Cloud soon shrouded in darkness. The heat grew between them, kisses turning increasingly frantic until teeth audibly clashed and snarls sounded. Bold and brash, Sephiroth’s grip tightened at the omega’s shoulders, hips rocking against Cloud with determination. 

Though he let Cloud fall back down to his feet, Sephiroth slammed his hands back on the shorter male’s shoulders, pressing hard. As he did this, Cloud unleashed his own version of an assault by wrapping his hands around Sephiroth’s neck, and then yanking as hard as he could on his pale hair strands. It was as though if they hurt each other they could imagine something else sufficing as a release from the painful reality and truth of their current seat of problems.

It was now more or less a twisted competition to see who could inflict the most pain. However, Sephiroth thought he was winning whatever the game was, because now Cloud was roughly pinned by the length of the alpha’s muscular body pressing him to the wall, and there were hands in his hair and his legs felt weak against the assault.

Those sharp teeth suddenly woke him out of his lust. Cloud had bitten through his skin, tugging on his lower lip with such ferocity that Sephiroth leapt back and released him.

Holding a hand up to his visibly bleeding lip, as soon as he felt and saw the ruby droplets coating his pale skin, with a casual glance over at Cloud, he then sniffed as he noticed the blood smeared eerily across Cloud’s mouth as well.

“You goddamn prick.” Spitting into his own palm, he snapped through red rage, “What was that for?!”

Huffing at him, eyes a shade darker and pupils dilated, Cloud angrily protested without hesitation, “You’re dating my daughter, or did you forget that, you son of a bitch?!”

“You’re one to talk! Throwing yourself at any guy, including me!” Tapping on Cloud’s skull and feeling even angrier when Cloud swatted his finger aside, Sephiroth got even closer in his face to fight fire with fire. “I’ve had enough of your mind games. If this is some fucked up test to see if I’m worthy of Aerith—”

“I don’t want you in my house anymore, Sephiroth.” 

In abject bewilderment, Sephiroth blinked and struggled to register the low order through the haze of his tumbling thoughts. Steady, hard, commanding, and somehow...familiar. Meeting Cloud’s fierce gaze did nothing for himself, the puzzles and countless questions however soon bottled down to only one word.

“Why?”

Moving his arms to fiddle with his earrings, Cloud didn’t remove them as Sephiroth suspected. More so playing with them out of anxious fits, he sighed, rolling his eyes when he knew he could only buy so much time and keep Sephiroth’s rage in check.

Bracelets jingling as he slapped a hand down over his right thigh, Cloud exclaimed, “I wanted us to meet here today because of this. I’m not stupid, you know. While I’m accepting of you being with Aerith, I don’t want you in my house for many reasons.”

Stomach churning and guts melting away on venomous bile he soon was ready to spill out, Sephiroth growled, “I didn’t do anything but treat your daughter like gold.”

The way Cloud tossed him ever a filthy, degrading look back despite how short and slender he was this time sent Sephiroth reeling and taking a few steps back. Cloud might as well have hit him, for his entire torso started aching, his head spinning as agony boiled up from his chest down to his toes. Swaying on the spot, he couldn’t even think and breathe, but he didn’t have to when faced with such a powerful being.

“I told you, I’m not dumb.” Upper lip curling back like a feral creature, Cloud seethed and mocked, “You think I don’t know about your little late night jerk off sessions? I can smell your pheromones even in my sleep, and it’s messing with my heat cycle.”

Shit…he was caught, but what made matters worse was the fact that Sephiroth hadn’t been dreaming at all; Cloud was indeed affected just as much as he was, and that truly terrified the alpha to his wit’s end. If Cloud slipped in the way of control, then they would both destroy not only themselves, but Aerith.

One last attempt at being rude and cocky was made. First, Sephiroth corrected his posture, then snorted as he curtly bit out, “I was jacking off to Aerith, you narcissistic asshole.”

Shrugging callously, Cloud didn’t buy the flippant remark as he then rolled his eyes again. “Whatever you want to believe to help you cope is one thing, but I saw you checking me out many times since the day we went swimming. I’m not stupid!”

Choking on saliva, though he was running out of excuses, the hot headed youngster in Sephiroth still wanted to argue just to win…even for a slight possibility that he could turn this all back on Cloud since he was so deeply wounded and mortified.

“You have a nice body and I like nice bodies. Sue me.”

Laughing in a strained manner, Cloud tossed his arms in the air, hurriedly gushing as an aside more to himself, “Do I have to spell it out for you?!” Facing Sephiroth then, he bluntly and crudely hissed, “Do you want to sleep with me?”

“What the—” His voice sounded weak, hoarse, faded. Loathing himself for being so weak and ridiculous, Sephiroth frowned. Aiming to correct himself while swallowing another breath and choking back the pain his throat left, he pressed again, louder, trying to get over the course of the rain booming and bashing on the windows outside. “Don’t be stupid. I hate you.”

Lifting an index finger as if it were a knife primed and ready, Cloud argued, “I’m not offering. I’m asking because I like being blunt. No bullshit.”

Unwisely, as he slouched against the wall, Sephiroth accidentally bit on the lip already bleeding and winced. Thrown into depravity and sadness, he rubbed the blood away as he ground out, “No! You’re being disgusting now!”

Cocking an eyebrow in challenge at this acrimonious claim, Cloud astringently stated, “So you looking at gay porn was just for the fun of it? Or was it your final exam review material?”

Dropping his arm and feeling his heartbeat shooting through the roof, Sephiroth much less feared as opposed to desired expiring from a damn heart attack now that he was truly done for. He’d run out of excuses and jabs, resorting to inertia as he gaped away mutely, just waiting for Cloud to punch his lights out. 

Pulling a face, Cloud placed his hands on his hips as he explained to fill in the dots though it was obvious, “Aerith tells me lots of stuff, and we both think it’s beyond strange for you to do that, Sephiroth!”

Aiming not to shout so they would be heard, Sephiroth gushed out using his indoor voice, “Alright fine! I got a little curious, okay?! Doesn’t mean I wanna do you, okay?!”

Ruefully laughing and then adding to the mockery by shaking his head, Cloud listlessly jabbed, “Figures. Either way, I won’t ask you to stay away from my daughter, but just remember, if you hurt her in any way, I’ll—”

Crude enough to want to spite Cloud right back, Sephiroth didn’t think too cleverly about ramifications at all, he only wanted to wound out of frustration.

“Cool,” he interrupted with a snarl that was rather potent as it shook walls. “I’ll save you the headache then! I’m breaking up with Aerith tomorrow!”

Whether he meant that threat or not was currently irrelevant to Cloud. As soon as the statement flew from Sephiroth’s mouth, Cloud’s paternal instincts completely fired up, tossing the omega in a desolate state. The tempest of his mindless rage boiled wildly and took over, the damage done and fate sealed when Cloud acted out too swiftly.

At first, Sephiroth never registered the pain, but seconds after a flash of light and color, his skull knocked back into the wall. The overpowering stench and taste of his own blood seeped into his mouth, flooding everywhere until his eardrums rang and zapped brutally. A quivering hand matched his jaw and lips, his nostrils flaring as he sneered in hatred, mind barely catching up to the reality that Cloud had indeed punched him rather viciously.

Refusing to buckle and cave under Sephiroth’s unhinged glare, Cloud only unlocked and held open the hotel room door. Pointing out into the hall, there was too much toxicity in his viperine scowl to be challenged.

“Get out of here, Sephiroth, before I call security.”

Knowing how crazy he would have to be to even think of fighting back, obediently, Sephiroth nodded, mumbling something lost to the havoc of his own tangential musings. Wondering briefly what exactly his next steps were, but not really having to let his imagination wander for an answer, he ran out into the hall, shaking his head and body filtering into the crowds. Once he’d made it to the door, throwing back unpleasant thoughts, any thoughts for that matter, as he reached for the cold metal and pushed on the handle, he fully discarded any guilt, despite the fact that he most certainly was to blame for everything taking such a nosedive.

~~~********~~~

The instant he made it outside, he felt the sigh of relief leave himself, like a previously unknown stress, lifted and gone, off his back as he gave a small, but honest smile of content. Letting his eyes shut in the cool, pattering stillness, Sephiroth simply stood for those few brief seconds, feeling the light, misted splatter of clean rain against his closed eyes and face, and reimbursing in the stillness.

Taking a breath, though slightly shaky, his smile kept and he stepped out into the rain.

The usually well populated strip of sidewalk lay empty, desolate and drenched in the ongoing downpour, and the crestfallen teenager suspected most of the more determined lot at least had traveled inside, choosing to be safe and dry in the comforting protection of the bars walls.

Rain fell heavy by now, in constant sheets, making the already dreary and darkened street into a fogged maze of bleary, yellowish lights. Those simple attempts, cast by the few working street lamps in the area, failed on nearly every occasion to actually clear up the area, only succeeding in giving a sort of eerie, off-put haze to their small circles of color.

In a mindless daze, Sephiroth blinked and struggled to register the low order through the haze of his tumbling thoughts. Steady, hard, commanding, and somehow...familiar. The throbbing pain left the side of his head and he felt the near crushing weight lift from his body. As he choked in breath and shook, coughing and sputtering, he was soon outside a bar he frequented, the rain and swarming water threatening to drown him in his downtrodden position.

To his sheer annoyance, his flimsy clothes clung to his skin, plastered, and drenched all through. Drinking wouldn’t fix this at all.

If the complete desertion of the streets unnerved himself, however, he gave no sign, and kept on, seemingly mindless of the situation. Despite his original confidence though, when the foggy, dark alleys he’d grown accustomed to turned quite monotonous, all taking on the same, unfamiliar characteristics, his worries began to peak.

Zack Fair lived in the area, as Sephiroth knew the streets so well, yet, at each pass, each turn, he felt less and less at home, and more and more at an utter loss to his location. His heart clenched in an on-coming panic, as he, more than anyone else possibly, knew the dangers of this town alone, on his own at night.

Dark, water-clogged gutters crashed, roared with their falling torrents, like swallowing waterfalls beneath his feet, and the pouring sheets of continued rain pelted at his skin, icy needles. Cold, wet. He shivered, but his face burned with heat, fever as he awkwardly stumbled, once, twice. Blinking rapidly, he swayed as he tried to clear his head and catch his shaky breath, trying to sort out his position, his hopeless predicament. As much as he gave it his all to think, his mind raced and his body hurt beyond anything rational.

Texting Aerith to confirm that she was indeed hanging out with Zack made things a lot less pain-staking, but no less annoying. Being mentally toyed with and played by his girlfriend’s father was one thing, but to turn to his own girl for comfort and support was denied, especially when she was spending more time in someone else’s company.

Not even bothering to let Zack know he was on the way over, Sephiroth jogged all the way over to his place, bashing on the front door until Zack’s confused mother opened her home to him. There was no need to fake being nice and polite. Brushing past her, Sephiroth dashed up to Zack’s room, and without warning and calling out for a single person, he rammed an elbow into the door and stumbled on the very last thing he’d been prepared to see.

Seated on the edge of Zack’s bed while holding hands so tenderly, Aerith and Zack faced each other, both blushing and wearing the same sort of goofy expression on their faces. Gazing into each other’s eyes, they didn’t hearken to Sephiroth’s brazen entrance until the stymied alpha snapped out of his terrified daze and lunged at Aerith first.

“Seph?! What the hell?!” She had no time to process what was going on, for Sephiroth soon tugged her away from Zack in under a second.

Too enraged and shattered after his disturbing interaction with Cloud and now having this torment added to his growing failures, Sephiroth didn’t rely on his capacity to think and reason. Instincts guided himself, and he acted like the possessive alpha he was. 

Teeth sharply and firmly broke through the delicate skin on the back of Aerith’s neck, biting and roughly marking her. Claiming her right in front of someone he constantly considered his competition, Sephiroth clung onto Aerith, mind reeling back as more pain flooded his system.

“Get the fuck off me, Sephiroth!” Kicking Sephiroth in the gut, once she’d dislodged his piercing teeth from her skin, as soon as she’d slapped his face, Aerith added bombastically, “I’m not an omega, you stupid ass!”

Zack decked Sephiroth horribly across the mouth as soon as he tried attacking Aerith again, and Sephiroth was immediately sent riding the powerfully shocking wave into reality. Skull slamming on one of the baseboards, he weakly rolled to his stomach, propped up on his elbows and spat out an epithet. The tint of blood in the liquid washed away near instantly as he struggled again for more air. He felt so dizzy, shaky, his body struggling after each command, barely following.

Fingers hooking onto the collar of Sephiroth’s jacket, with quite the shocking feat of strength, Zack hauled Sephiroth back up on his feet.

Assuring his frightened mother that they didn’t need the police being called, once Zack heard her walking away, he hissed to a swaying Sephiroth, “Explain what the fuck this all is, now.”

Knowing the strident order came directed at himself this time, Sephiroth didn’t struggle to comply. Forcing Zack back, he tumbled back onto his hands to brace his fall. Knees wavering, his entire torso felt shaky, a warning that he dangerously felt close to passing out, not even capable of standing as his stomach churned. 

Cursing the world for all his misfortune and plight, as he gave Aerith a sickening glare, brain spinning after the punches from Zack, the world felt slanted, off, twisting before his eyes. A hand gripped the back of his shirt, lifting him plainly to stand though his legs felt like giving any second, but before he had the chance to steady himself against Aerith, she rooted him by shooting forth her own unrivaled anger.

“Sephiroth, have you totally fucking lost your last braincell?!” Waving in a series of desperate and frantic motions around the room, Aerith screamed, “Wanna actually land in jail?! You’re nuts!”

As annoyed as he was by Zack white knighting for Aerith, the time was now, the place was here to get everything off his chest. Ears and head steaming, Sephiroth glowered once at the shorter male, but when Zack refused to read the signs and leave, Sephiroth turned to Aerith once more.

“We need to talk.”

Laughing in awe that wasn’t by any means an appraisal, a sarcastic Aerith belted out to wound, “Statement of the damn year.”

Rounding on Zack, Sephiroth glanced down at him and fumed. “Do you have to be here for this?!”

Equally as caustic, Zack retaliated, “If you can barge in here scaring the shit out of my family and bite Aerith like that, then you can show some balls and discuss whatever the hell you want while I’m here.”

Technically, as pissed as he was, he knew Zack had a decent point. They were after all in his house doing this crap, and he had nothing else to hide.

“Fine.” Setting his eyes on Aerith and burning her vitriol with his furious gaze, Sephiroth dipped his head in her direction and snapped bitterly, “What the hell are you doing here? You said you were hanging out with Yuffie and Tifa!”

“That was hours ago when you decided to ignore my texts and calls!” Knowing he wanted to refute this, Aerith grabbed her phone, revealing how many times she’d called and texted him. “Look! You have been ignoring me, so I came to talk to Zack as a friend! He was willing to listen and support me, you absolute embarrassment!” 

Shaking his head and refusing to believe that claim when they’d blatantly been up to something more nefarious, with his own insidious, ominous secrets looming on the horizon, Sephiroth suggested, “I think it’s time we ended this…this god damn charade of a relationship.” 

Of course, given how he’d made quite a scene, Sephiroth briefly wondered how he’d even managed to breathe that out to be heard when Aerith started wailing. She easily caved to her demand of emotions, but Zack, ever the level-headed one, seemed to have figured him out. In the dead middle of night, pouring rain, and hazing fog, Sephiroth contrasted everything, his own universe collapsing to the unsteady quagmire of mess he’d created for himself. 

“What?!” Aerith shouted out, exchanging warped glances with Zack as she pleaded, “Sephiroth! I didn’t do anything!”

Placing a hand to massage out the knots of pain in his jaw and temples, Sephiroth weakly bemoaned, “I didn’t say that!” 

“Sephiroth!”

“Let me explain!” 

Instead of undefined, rickety, everything crumbled, a direct change to the steadiness of the buildings around himself, the crashing weather, and his own shaky form, Zack stood as a firm base. Instead of confusion and heading into lost territory, he felt like familiar ground, and Sephiroth couldn’t explain it, but he felt safe as he grew closer to confessing and admitting the truth. Sephiroth, for once in his life, felt secure, and protected, hoisting himself in the lofty seat of liberation, holding his head high and inhaling deeply.

Once he was confident he had Aerith’s attention, despite how badly she was trembling while waiting for his words, Zack remained vigilant beside her. Not wavering like she was, he gently held a hand to her back, waist, holding her up and steady. After briefly noting Aerith’s continued inability to stand straight, and the unlikely possibility of beginning the conversation in a safe and guarded place, Sephiroth took a step back and braced his frazzled nerves.

“Aerith, I’m so, so sorry…I don’t w-want to do this, but I can’t g-go on with you pretending because I…I’ve…”

His gaze tossed forth indecision, reflecting the falling droplets outside the dark window in uncertain debate. Finally, he bit his lip and glanced away with a stoic glare, forcing his body up and away from a wall. Ignoring the instant rejection giving to iciness upon the denial of her outstretched hands while he defiantly stood alone, he didn’t even blink as he locked eyes with her. 

“I cheated on you.”

Aerith and Zack’s eyes bulged, the other two teenagers reeling back in morbid shock. Aerith’s head no doubt was spinning worse than Sephiroth’s, the young woman releasing a strained noise while she clutched her heart. Zack enveloped her in his arms while Sephiroth watched him, the pouring rain and crashing lighting silhouetting the tiny drenched figure of his girlfriend.

Entrancing eyes narrowed in defense despite all, and heated cheeks flushed with fever, her slender body still shaking behind even her greatest attempts to stop it. At that moment, he couldn’t explain it, no more than he could explain his reasons for getting out here as he did, but looking at that perfect defiance, he wanted nothing more than to ignore Aerith’s every protest and scoop her into his arms, carrying her home if he had to.

But he couldn’t do that anymore…the truth hadn’t set them both free; it’d made them miserable, but Aerith deserved that, because Sephiroth sincerely did love her. 

Teardrops splattering everywhere, Aerith sniffled as she tried to smile past her pain, “S-Sephiroth! Th-this isn’t funny! Haha…please, b-be serious now!”

Emptily shaking once the wet fabric of his clothes stung into bones, Sephiroth glumly replied, “I wish I was just being funny here, but I’m not. I didn’t mean it, but I kissed someone tonight, Aer.”

“You’re a piece of shit, Sephiroth,” Zack judged rudely, his harshness well received and not misplaced at all.

Nodding as his own eyes began stinging with tears threatening to grow and roll down his cheeks, Sephiroth knew he couldn’t stand the sounds and sight of Aerith weeping, especially not over him. He wasn’t at all worth even a single tear from her, but he had to right his misdoings while he could. She’d been nothing but loyal and faithful to him; she deserved that much and more than he could ever offer her.

“Aerith,” he began in a mousy tone as he glanced up at her. “I’m so sor—”

“Who did you kiss?!” Flying out of Zack’s hold and slamming into Sephiroth’s chest, she nearly sent their combined bodies tripping and crashing into more furniture. 

That didn’t serve as deterrent enough, her incandescent emotions swaying wildly out of control. She was too stubborn to burn away, so doggedly set on determining and obtaining information on what had happened in order to connect the dots.

Pounding relentlessly on his chest with both fists, she demanded urgently with tears still streaming, “Who was it?! Why did you do it?! Tell her name! Tell me now!”

This was certainly cruel, twisted, and absolutely abysmal. Sephiroth could think of at least another fifty words to attribute to how insane this entire situation was, but what sent him spiraling into the abyss of chaos and total humiliation was the fact that Aerith couldn’t be given the truth. No matter how he thought of phrasing it, the string of sentences couldn’t be pieced together. If she learned that her own father was the one who’d not only kissed her boyfriend on two occasions, but had also been on her own boyfriend’s mind, occupying every minute of his twisted fantasies, she would definitely shatter.

Throwing her head back, eyes pink now as every vein stood out, Aerith at least ceased bashing his chest while she wept, “Sephiroth! I’m not m-mad! Just t-tell me!”

The dark irony was that he wanted to spill his guts to her, he really did. A year ago, the strongest aspect of their healthy relationship had been the ability to share and open up. Together, they’d conversed as close friends, feeling beyond comfortable and safe to talk so freely, and now, as badly as he yearned for it, Sephiroth knew that to protect the woman he truly loved, he had to shield her heart with varnished lies.

Sweeping his eyes to the ceiling, Sephiroth gathered his guts, selecting his words carefully. “I was kinda drunk. I’m sorry. I just…it’s not really someone we know, don’t worry, and it won’t ever, ever happen again but I had to tell you.”

This was absolutely degrading and downright unfair. Regular people in decent relationships didn’t have to go through these struggles, but Sephiroth wasn’t going to pit Aerith against her own father. He was content and settling with her hating him for the rest of his sorry life, but he refused to tear her family apart. If he perhaps gave up on maybe becoming a part of her family in the future all for the sake of her love flourishing with her father, then maybe he too could forgive himself somehow.

Sniffling and releasing all sorts of whines and hiccups, Aerith didn’t give herself much time to process anything before she asked, “It really was just kissing? Like…n-nothing else?”

Throwing his hands in the air and circling around her, a fed up Zack hissed thinly, “Aerith, it doesn’t matter, he’s still scum!”

Resolutely scowling at Zack for a second, Sephiroth turned to Aerith as he assented, “He’s right, but yes. I realized it was wrong so I stopped and rushed over to tell you.”

Holding her quivering chin in a hand, as she stared up and down at Sephiroth from head to toe, she wiped her eyes and then suggested, “We can’t break up! We can just take a break, Sephiroth!”

Facepalming, Zack defeatedly croaked, “Oh, for crying out loud…”

He didn’t deserve her or any chances she was willing to give. Large and forgiving as her heart was, Sephiroth’s mind wasn’t so pure if he could stoop so low and go after someone else, no less an omega, and his girlfriend’s father.

Trying to bring about a semblance of rationality to the odd situation, Sephiroth reminded her, “Aerith, like it or not, I’m a fucking cheater. Why even bother with me?”

“Sephiroth we can get through this!” Cupping his cheeks and rubbing their noses and foreheads, she cried on, “Let’s just go on break, a-and we can figure it out! We need time maybe, but we can work this through!”

Not paying attention to Zack waving and muttering to himself while kicking small things around, Sephiroth pretended the other teenager wasn’t present as he pondered the new option.

Weighing it carefully, since it didn’t add up much for Aerith’s sake, he inquired, “A break? What’s that gonna do for us?”

Soft fingers stroking and dipping into his concave cheekbones, Aerith caught him totally unaware as she exclaimed in a coo, “Sephiroth, this break will help because if after some time, you feel you’re not in love with the other girl, and that you love me more, then—”

“Once a cheater, always a cheater…”

“Hush it, Zack!” Her unparalleled beauty shined brilliantly through her smile after she turned back to Sephiroth, but the edge of concern never left those round, doe-like eyes. “Sephiroth, you still love me, right?”

There wasn’t a logical reason to ask that. Sephiroth immediately knew and responded that he did and always would, and he was a man of his bond. He absolutely adored and loved everything about Aerith, but at the end of the day, he was slowly beginning to wonder if he was still in love with her.

Maybe they did need this break after all…

Aiming not to sound so bitter and harsh, he caressed her hands over his cheeks, looping their fingers until he kissed the back of her wrist tenderly.

Inhaling her scent and hanging onto it for as long as he could, he explained with a sombre heart, “We’re on break then. We’re not together, but I want you to try and date.”

Looking torn about this, Aerith worried her plump lower lip between her teeth, hanging back mildly. “Err, okay, but I won’t—”

“I won’t either.” Not requiring more details to hurt them both, Sephiroth looked at Zack before he sighed out to Aerith, “Just like, I don’t know, go to the movies or something with that idiot over there, and we’ll talk later and see where we can go from there.”

Strange and totally out of the ordinary as this was, Aerith seemed to agree with the terms. They wouldn’t be intimate anymore, not with each other, and not with others, but hopefully, in that time apart, they could dwell less on their flaws and more on the possibility of salvaging this relationship…at least, Sephiroth hoped so, anyway. 

If absence made the heart grow fonder, then he could hopefully come to fall in love with Aerith sooner rather than later. However, if they grew apart even more, then he could bring on the courage and set her free…set them both free.

Chapter Text

To say that the break was going well for them was quite the understatement of the century. Sephiroth had been in his fair share of relationships, even experiencing a few breaks in between, but none had been as refreshing as the one he was currently working through. 

Normally, he would’ve been missing and deeply pining for Aerith, but it seemed like the break was precisely what he needed. On the first day, when Aerith ran into him at school, she did project some sadness, but when Zack Fair rushed over to escort her to and from classes, Sephiroth was no doubt the last person on her mind.

Sephiroth thought she looked absolutely radiant and delightful as she surrounded herself with Zack and Tifa. Aerith looked even more gorgeous than ever, her uplifting spirits and effervescent mood tickling her skin pink, eyes brightly glowing as she lit up the entire classroom with her ebullient laughter.

At least she seemed happier, and if she could carry on being cheerful even without him being the direct cause and source, Sephiroth was vicariously pleased for her. Sacrifices had to be made anyway if he was to rectify what he’d done, and this was a first step at least in the right direction rather than hiding.

As the weeks rolled on, with Aerith and Zack getting closer, Sephiroth tried taking time for himself to consider what he was feeling for not only Aerith, but Cloud. It wasn’t even his own doing half the time, the emotions nothing he could force and suppress. Many nights after a brutal shift at work, instead of sleeping, he would find himself watching many adult films depicting gay sex. With every video Sephiroth watched, the more drawn to the idea of such activities he became, holding less curiosity and more genuine intentions to pursue it.

The idea of fucking Cloud slowly began to creep its way into his jerkoff sessions once more. The first time it happened since the break, Sephiroth was in the shower, pressing his back against the cold, wet tiles, eyes tightly closed and his hard cock in his hand. Eagerly, he began stroking away while picturing the omega’s ass, all round and pale, when the fantasy included Sephiroth’s cock suddenly appearing behind it, poised to enter the smooth pucker.

More violently giving in to his needs now that he wasn’t completely involved with Aerith, Sephiroth came immediately, surprised by how much the idea of being with Cloud turned him on. Incredible as it was, the next time he jacked off, he went a little further with the fantasy and imagined inserting just the tip of his dick inside Cloud. Like before, it turned Sephiroth on immensely, and he kept taking it further and further each time until all he thought about while masturbating was his rock hard cock pounding Cloud’s luscious ass repeatedly until the omega would cry out his name like a prayer.

Despite how much the young alpha thrilled in the raunchy fantasies, he still felt out of place with all of it. When he thought of his own sexual history in the past, Sephiroth truthfully would proclaim that he considered himself a highly sexual and adventurous person, but he’d never been prepared for experimenting and exploring his sexuality. Not because he was genuinely opposed to anything, he just never had any inkling, until now, that was.

The constant navigation over to the gay side of PornHub had run its course, and Sephiroth knew that porn wasn’t a great method to determine how sex with another person would be. A chronic masturbator as of late, he’d been thinking so much about screwing Cloud that he couldn’t resist wondering what it would entail, using the videos as supplements.

After some time carefully filtering out what he wasn’t looking for, and without the added pressure of someone walking in on him, Sephiroth was left with dozens of amateur videos, all featuring young, thin guys taking dicks up their tight asses. Promising himself that this was more for the sake of education at first, he sat through a few, deeply fascinated and aroused by the content. 

In the past, he’d imbibed in plenty of videos of girls being done and plowed in the ass, and was surprised by how little a difference there was between those videos and the ones he was currently watching. At least, it was that way when it came to the shapes, sizes, sounds, and bodies of the people being done.

A vast majority of the men possessed tight, delicious looking asses, just like Cloud did. It was certainly intriguing, but insanely sensual to observe thick cocks pound them, the noise of heavy balls slapping sweaty skin, hearing the onslaught of dirty talk. That was something else that had surprised Sephiroth too; the dirty talk. Not really that it occurred so much as the content itself, but it was jarring when he considered his own sex life lacking that for spice and flavor. 

Gradually, the teenager was introduced to a slew of new words and colorful phrases in addition to hearing familiar ones applied in a set of different ways. The filthy language made him truly blush as he pictured chanting them back to Cloud in the middle of such carnal acts. 

How would the omega react if he was referred to as a twink? 

Hearing terms like bitch, boy pussy, and breeding was indescribable to Sephiroth. Shocking, it was, for he’d never thought of sex with omegas, least of all where it mattered in terms of ‘breeding’ them. All of it made his head spin, but also made his damn cock throb relentlessly.

Yet, despite the growing interest, Sephiroth still wanted to not permit such actions and pursuits to progress beyond just masturbatory ideations and fruitful fantasies. That would serve as a wiser choice, no matter how young and curious he genuinely was.

Thankfully, after their big assignment for the semester was submitted, Chadley invited Sephiroth out for dinner and a fun night out around town. Unfortunately, the little fiend had his own agenda, Sephiroth soon learned, and it didn’t have much to do with celebrating the near end of the term.

Walking together side by side downtown, Chadley beamed up at Sephiroth as he cooed out in pure joy, “Seph, I like you!” Giggling, he clarified, “Not as in a friendly way, just so you know, and word on the street is you’re kinda single and moved on from Aerith!”

Resisting the petulant urge to cry away at this confession, Sephiroth aimed to be mature as he expressed in a neutral way, “Uhh, yeah, uh, thanks, Chadley. It’s true. I mean, like, we’re on break I guess.” 

Hugging his arm as they walked on, the vast, inky night sky blanketing over the entire city but not engulfing to take away from the bustling nightlife, Chadley leaned into Sephiroth, rubbing his upper arm with his cheeks like a cat.

Luxuriating in their closeness, he flirtatiously exclaimed, “Sooo, how about we give dating a shot!” Mindful of his approach, he justified the choice as he explained, “I heard Zack and Aerith went to the park earlier today, and since you guys are on a break, a small date won’t hurt!”

“Ha, uh, thanks for offering, Chadley, but you’re not my type, man. Sorry.” 

Pouting, Chadley loosened his grip on Sephiroth, but he whined, “Aww, whaaaat? Are you sure? I’ve been told by many guys that I’m cute!”

Wincing, Sephiroth expounded as he leaned away, “Um, yeah, you kinda are, but I meant—”

“You don’t like boys?” Quizzically, Chadley squinted away in the bright street lights as he murmured, “You don’t seem to hate me touching you though…”

Hating that he had to provide an explanation, despite being pinned into a corner without needing to owe anything to anyone, Sephiroth hurriedly intoned to his companion, “I actually might, but I meant you’re not exactly what I prefer in a guy, dude.”

Irritated as he was, they were running out of space, rounding the corner and noticing a large mansion normally open for party reserving and other events to be booked. The four-level building was already occupied, the foundations practically shaking and swaying, the loud tremors of music booming within, rocking all the way outside. A decent line-up down the street past many glowing lights and decorations seemed inviting enough, catching Chadley’s eye as well.

Waddling over to wait behind a few men, he still bemoaned to Sephiroth so moodily, “You’re so mean and picky! Gosh!” 

Shrugging, though not too callously, Sephiroth explained, “It is what it is. Everyone has a type.”

Winking at him and lowering his vocal volume even though he didn’t need to, given how loud the music was and conversations outside were, Chadley stated, “It may be worth it…I can suck dick like a champ.”

“Yeesh, no thanks.” 

Flippantly, Chadley took a step forward when the others ahead did, nose turning up snobbishly in the air. “Your loss. I’m a hot power bottom.”

Glaring at him this time and shoving his hands in his pockets, Sephiroth suddenly snarled, “Chadley, knock it off.”

Purrs never ceasing, boundaries be damned, Chadley snickered, “Well, you know what they say about nerdy, quiet ones! Freaks in the sheets!” 

Assessing the activities inside from the windows and the fact that the majority of the people in line waiting to be admitted were younger men, Sephiroth frowned before taking a step forward. “If you say so. Uh, Chadley?”

“Hmm?”

Nodding up ahead and then pointing, Sephiroth asked, “What exactly is going on in there anyway?”

Far out of space for a second, eyes zoning out, Chadley paused to give it thought until they had to walk closer to the enormous front porch. Nodding at the security member posted there, Chadley showed him a piece of ID before Sephiroth did the same.

“This is a boy party, Sephiroth!” Winking at him once they were allowed to walk up to the glowing entrance, Chadley opened and held the doors for Sephiroth.

Hardly taking two steps inside the manor, Sephiroth was immediately hit with a new change in ambiance. The scenery wasn’t that terrifying, truly. Beer and the stench of smoke, weed, candles, pheromones, cologne, it was all rather soothing when not concentrated in one area for long. Fluorescent lights flashed on, revealing many men eagerly dressed in their best clothes while waiting to be served alcohol, others dancing and partying it up wildly on the first and second levels. In some corners beneath spray painted walls and glowing lights, many male couples could be seen heavily kissing, but Sephiroth didn’t fear it at all.

Turning around to grin at Chadley, he salaciously sang, “Oooh, a boy party, huh?”

Settling in well, the warmth of the place and vibrant energy was grand for the events, but before dancing, Sephiroth wanted to get some alcohol in his system and ease out of his last inhibitions. The only issue was that at least twenty-seven other guys had the same idea, all perched around the small bar stools and counter while trying to flag down the only three bartenders.

Bouncing up and down while frantically waving his arms as he stood next to Sephiroth while two other men got their drinks, when no one focused on him, Chadley sighed and complained, “Ugh, I’m being overlooked!” 

Rolling his shoulders forward with an insouciant shrug, Sephiroth mocked, “Happens if you’re short.”

“Huh?” Unable to hear him due to the loud music blasting and shaking out of the speakers mounted on every wall, Chadley then cried, “Ooooh! The bartender’s mad hot!”

Channeling his sentence bombastically enough as he could in his eardrums, Sephiroth expressed while glancing over at the second level of the building, “See if you can get us something to drink! I’m gonna check the upper floors out!”

With that, eager as he was to preserve his sense of hearing while he could, he broke away from the bar and made his way upstairs.  

Seedy as the main level was, the second floor housed the most unsightly, impious actions. Mostly composed of sexual deviants and people abusing hardcore drugs, the ignoble crowd of miscreants went about their lewd and obscene deeds regardless of his presence. Having nothing much in common and similar interests with these shady people, more men were soon flocking in, and he had to head out before they shouted at him. 

Pulling his hood back up, he made sure to sneak between their swaying, inebriated bodies. Feeling emptier and lonelier than he ever recalled feeling in a long time, Sephiroth wandered aimlessly through the night club. Perhaps other people could have the time of their lives, but it was an impossible thing for himself to feel and experience. Aerith’s broken words repeatedly echoed in his mind as he stopped abruptly when a male table dancer and stripper’s hand shot out and tugged at his hair. The music blasted louder and louder, and the dancer’s fingernails scraped sensually along the skin of his scalp in all the best ways.

Frankly, he ceased caring and asking what he was even doing here. Perhaps the version of Sephiroth living in the past would’ve paused long enough to give this some thought, but the malapert, saucy teenager occupying the present, wouldn’t dare to lose himself to such a maudlin notion. Cunning, crafty, conniving, but also stupidly daring in his own right, he’d seen how the unruly, churlish brat of a grown man named Cloud Strife could always handle this without much fuss. Even if his own ex was comfortable with exploring her options and trying the dating pool, why couldn’t he?

Yes, somehow, he would just go on doing things. The mantra of ‘shooting first, asking questions last, or possibly never’ had been the skill the adult omega always wielded, but at the same time, it was a ’code’ he’d lived by in order to enjoy the fruits of life to his greedy heart’s content.

‘If he can do it, so can I…’

He just needed to stop thinking of and caring about Cloud. That had been his purpose, here, he supposed, and now, Sephiroth had willingly accepted and subscribed to the same way of thinking and living. Now, it was his turn to adapt to that particularly daring lifestyle without glancing into the ocean of regret and accountability…was this what being an adult meant?

Moving swiftly throughout the upper floor, he ignored the majority of the irritable drunkards, drug addicts, flashy, flirty performers, swaying dancers, as well as enigmatic, yet depraved musicians. He didn’t have any interest and business with them, but he found their acts mesmerizing, nevertheless. At night, this place was filled with light and life. The city never slept... 

Proudly sauntering forth like a steed, when the temperature mounted, Sephiroth slightly unzipped his dark sweater and allowed for the fresh, cool night air to kiss his skin. Though moving about like a man with far too much in the way of confidence, he in no time had passed by the end of the hall, and then paused right before the dewy, foggy windows. One last floor led to the balcony and connected restaurant.

Perfect. This would do.

Walking up quickly and locating a spot near a corner free from anyone else, Sephiroth sat down in order to make himself comfortable, but it didn’t take too long before he received much unwanted attention. A few men to his right were making it blatantly obvious that they were gossiping about him. Not paying it much attention, Sephiroth glared away at a male bartender who was trying to force a few drinks down his throat.

Deciding that he was already tormented enough by his own plight, he refused to drink on, trying to simply blend and then fade away in the background.

While obnoxious music blasted and echoed in the back, a solitary, red-headed female wearing a black and green flashy halter top with a curvaceous ass and a lovely, alluring, voluptuous figure smiled widely at him. Though her physical appearance did nothing for him in his pants between his legs, he knew he was thirsty for something else...something stronger. He realized it when he stared across the other end of the night club and caught sight of a male pole dancer giving it his all on a small stage off to the left.

The enamored woman approached steadily, laying a hand on his arm gently to grab his currently divided attention. Scowling down at her small limb as though it was a corrosive material, Sephiroth wrenched his hand as far away from hers as he could.

Unwilling to give up, yet, she whispered seductively, “Hey. Wanna buy me a drink?”

Her strong perfume and eyeshadow were both distracting to the levels of annoyance and ad nauseum, but beyond anything else, at a less superficial level, Sephiroth wasn’t looking for that type of fun.

Intending to let her down gently, Sephiroth retorted bluntly, “Sorry, but I’m not interested.”

She didn’t get the hint. Batting her eyelashes at him, she flirtatiously purred, “Why’s that? You seem lonely.”

Patience slipping by the minute, Sephiroth clenched his teeth and jaw. Steadily, he ground out loud and clear for her, “Look, there’s tons of guys around here, so just move on.”

Gasping as if he’d sent out a death threat at her entire family, her eyebrows flew up into her hairline as she cried in protest, “What’re you saying?!”

Turning to face her directly, Sephiroth’s eyelids flew open in a highly animated, exaggerated manner. Tilting his head at her with venom and malice dripping and oozing, he elucidated firmly, “What I’m saying is that I don’t want to buy you a drink or anything else, got it?”

Stomping her foot down on the floor loudly, she brazenly snapped, “What the fuck’s wrong with me, huh? You prick!”

Sneering, he hissed at a tiny half-lie, “I like men.”

Undeterred, she cooed softly, “I like men and women, and I’m okay with threesomes.” Nuzzling her face into his neck, she almost moaned, “Wanna take me home tonight?”

Now, he’d had enough. Growling ferociously, he shrugged her right off his shoulder and stood to take another seat. 

Once rejected, the ardent woman snarled at his back, “You asshole! Stupid loser!”

Even at his lowest, Sephiroth genuinely didn’t care what else she called him. Flagging down the female bartender, he decided to make do with a drink after all, even though he knew it was going to make himself super sick later on. He just couldn’t care less. If he was to somehow ‘live’ through tonight, he would require a magical elixir, something to numb his emotions out for a few hours.

Vodka shots-possibly more than five-entered his system in no time at all. His throat and esophagus terribly singed and burned as he downed the putrid beverage, but he needed so desperately to blend in. While nodding and bobbing his head in time with the thunderous beat and booming of stomping, dancing feet, he felt his heart turning thick, heavy, and blood flowed ever so slowly in his veins. The more he drank, the harder his heart pumped and throbbed at a deliciously torpid, languid pace, but he relished in it. He loved it. The lights beamed and burned into his skin, making him feel as though he’d already been melting. People moved by at both a snail’s pace, but also at lightning speed. 

What a delightfully sick, twisted moment to go through...such a painful ordeal, treacherous glory.

“Hey there.”

Turning his head to the left, he nearly groaned in disgust when a young man no older than twenty-seven at the most nodded at him in a move of acknowledgment. Appearing to be European, he fashioned his style well with slicked-back hair, a few piercings in his eyebrows and ears, and tanned skin that seemed to glow beneath the lights. Eyebrows cleaned and plucked nicely, his lips were far too plump to be natural, Sephiroth thought.

‘If I ignore him, he’ll go away.’

Scoffing when Sephiroth failed to reply to his greeting, the determined young man drawled, “What’s up?”

Seething all over again, Sephiroth bunched his fists tightly as he willed himself not to say a word. He wasn’t even flattered that both men and women were drawn to him. Frankly, he just wished to be left alone, but he didn’t know how to voice this without sounding crass and boorish. Anger stirred within himself, but he didn’t think it would be fair to dish it out at the young man standing next to himself.

Glancing back and forth between Sephiroth’s near empty glass and the copious amounts of alcohol behind the bar, the handsome man asked gingerly, “C-can I get you something?”

Sipping on the last bits of his vodka shot, Sephiroth almost sensually licked his lips, wiped the residue of the alcohol with the back of his hand, and grunted deeply. Eyes bouncing up to meet the dark brown ones of the youth standing far too close to him, he allowed disgust and revulsion to spring his answer.

“How about a big sack of fuck off?” Smirking sarcastically, he arched his back, slid his hands off the surface of the counter and walked away without another word. 

He knew he’d been more than rude, but the situation called for it. Who was he kidding by showing up here to begin with? One-night stands weren’t his thing; he was caught between feelings for Aerith and her father, and no one was going to replace that. There never would be another man or woman, even if he’d wanted so.

He stood and paced throughout the seedy bar, gliding and weaving past occupied tables. No path had been set with certainty, but he knew he had to keep moving once he worked his way beyond the dancers and exotic displays in order to make it through the back halls of the night club. A few people were already passed out and the ones still cognizant were either engaging in perverse sex acts or using heavy narcotics. He had no business here amid the neon blue and purple decorations and lights, but he kept moving further down the tight hall leading past the washrooms.

The sounds of retching, burping, and moaning hit his ears, his entire body one big receptor of anything painful and pleasurable. Wanting to turn back, Sephiroth shifted away from the door of the men’s washroom and turned to face a half drawn-back pink curtain. Peeking past it, he found a small room where a few teenagers obviously way too young to be here sat getting high. They passed a bong around, giggling and snorting while a few women lay draped over sofas and cushions.

No…this wouldn’t do, either.

Moving away, he’d barely whirled around when he found the same European man leaning against the opposite wall a few feet away from him. The young affrayer had pursued him all this time. Angry that he hadn’t noticed it sooner, Sephiroth snarled as he ignored the other male. When he tried moving past him, however, the pursuer stuck out an arm to stop him.

Livid, Sephiroth growled deeply in a warning, “Get out of my way.” 

At once, the hotheaded man gripped his shoulders and shoved him roughly and swiftly. Stumbling and stammering in confusion, Sephiroth couldn’t begin to understand how someone so young and so fragile looking possessed the strength and stamina to ram him against the wall, but it’d happened in the blink of an eye. Back resting against the wall flatly, Sephiroth could only mutely gape while the man smirked in triumph.

Tilting his head down suggestively between Sephiroth’s thighs, the ardent young man moaned. Dipping himself down low, his fingers grazed the way down the android’s abdomen, hips, and right between his legs.

Wincing as he was gripped firmly, Sephiroth rasped desperately, “Stop…get the hell off me!”

“Shh,” the young man cooed, already working Sephiroth’s zipper down. “You just close your eyes and pretend it’s someone you like…”

Scrabbling at the wall and his sides for a semblance of control and sanity, Sephiroth whined, “You’re…ack! T-too old, dude!”

Winking at him, the other male purred, “Genetics are wild. I don’t even look thirty-eight, do I?”

Watching as the troublesome male first pushed back his hood and then unzipped him the rest of the way with his teeth, Sephiroth blinked before shaking in rage. “Dude! No! Stop!” 

‘This isn’t right…I don’t need this from any other guy except Cloud…’

A warm pressure over his boxers had been what broke him out of his reverie before a hand crashed and hooked onto his shoulder. Screaming in fright, a tormented Sephiroth leapt back in an attempt to break away from the other male’s mouth over his cock. Tripping over a discarded beer can in the process, as he was dragged back down the dark hall, Sephiroth clumsily bashed himself against the door to the unisex washroom and tumbled in. The moment his head knocked into the floor, he saw vibrantly bright colors flitting up and down across his eyes. Glow Sticks flared, fluorescent bulbs blared on, the faint creaking of plumbing, door hinges rattling, feet bashing and thudding in a decent pattern with the musical rhythm shaking him from head to toe. 

Groaning, he held his skull in both hands as he turned to get back on his knees and crawl away from the imminent screaming which belonged to the women in the washroom. However, once his vision steadied, and once he’d regained his energy, he noticed that save for two feet by the stall closest to himself, the room was empty.

Glancing up to map out the most slender legs that went on for some time, the limbs were attached to a thin figure, their torso donning tight, ripped, black jeans, a matching black tank top, dainty hands crossed over a flat chest. Golden hair pooled down to frame their oval face well, azure, round eyes with thick eyelashes fluttering down at him while glowing, lip-gloss covered lips quirked in clear displeasure at his expense. 

Hanging his head in dismay, a moue of total fear crossed onto Sephiroth’s visage. Clinging to his head, beyond the throbbing aches, he bemoaned, “Why are you here?!”

Shrugging coldly, the move too clipped and robotic, Cloud snapped, “It obviously isn’t to get my dick sucked, so you tell me.”

“Oh, don’t act so high and mighty, Cloud!”

Scoffing, Cloud easily retorted, “Hey, I’m not the one who legit was about to do that, all while I can’t get my pathetic life figured out.”

Planting a hand on his right hip while he rose to his feet, Sephiroth admonished scathingly, “Yeah? Well, sorry to break it to you, but Aerith and I are on break, and I think she’s found someone who can meet your high standards, so shut up and stop judging me!” 

Eyes flitting down Sephiroth’s front, Cloud snorted before he quipped, “I suppose we both were caught with our pants down, then.”

Peeking down at his lowered zipper and jeans, Sephiroth squeaked and groaned once he realized he hadn’t zipped himself back up yet. 

Doing that while Cloud took his rightful turn to smirk at him, he eventually straightened himself as he sighed and then offered in exhaustion, “Whatever. Bottom line is we’re both shitty people, but I told Aerith some of the truth.”

“Aha.” Brows arching, Cloud looked quite proud of himself as he surmised, “I suppose you left out the part where we kissed, right?”

Running a hand through his hair, Sephiroth was shocked he wasn’t trembling, if not from rage, from embarrassment. “Why ask when you know the answer?” Cutting Cloud off in a jiffy, he snarkily shot out, “I’m not that much of a selfish dick to ruin Aerith’s relationship with you, even if her daddy dearest is fond of sticking his tongue down her boyfriend’s throat.”

Not even remotely put off by this, Cloud bent to the realistic truth rather well, perhaps having worked past his guilt to make peace with the notions Sephiroth accosted him with. “Well, last time I remembered, you also stuck your tongue in my mouth too.”

Wasting no time fishing for the direct answer to a question he’d held onto that’d been disturbing his mind for days since the incident, Sephiroth asked angrily, “Am I her only boyfriend you’ve done that to or do you just assume everyone she dates is fair game?”

Lips coiling back as a feral expression and wolfish snarl left his mouth, Cloud bitterly responded, “I’m not some greedy older man lusting after teens. She’s dated many guys before you, but I didn’t really think they were suitable for her, and neither are you.”

“Suck my—”

“Come here for a minute!” Snagging him by the collar, Cloud dragged them both out the back exit of the unisex bathroom.

Now out on one of the many balconies, the bird’s eye view from the top floor of the crowded building revealed dot-like ants, citizens of the city wandering around. The light drizzle went on, though they hung well under the cover of the roof, meshing with the wall.

Huddled by Cloud, Sephiroth watched while Cloud snuck out a cigarette from his wallet, a lighter producing a small flame to bring forth the powerful stench of tobacco in the air. The fumes wafted around their heads, steam from their nostrils billowing up as the inky sky stretched on for many miles while glimmering traffic and various building lights shimmered on.

Inhaling first, Cloud then offered the cigarette to Sephiroth, to which the alpha accepted, though not without a tiny jab at Cloud.

Fingers wrapping around the midsection of the joint, Sephiroth snickered, pausing to ask, “Did you take this up for your longevity?”

Just as saucy, Cloud nodded up at Sephiroth currently puffing away. “I don’t think smoking is good for you either, but I doubt you care.”

Handing him the cigarette back, Sephiroth emitted a pained hiss when something sharp scraped over his index finger. Whatever it was scratched over the first layer of his pale epidermis, and he reflexively tugged back his hand to soothe out the stinging sensation.

“Ouch! What the hell?!”

Peering down at the sharp jewels sparkling out from the top of his diamond ring, Cloud winced. “Sorry about that. I forgot to take it off.”

Discovering that the source of his minor fit of agony was the jagged ring, Sephiroth glowered menacingly at it. “Christ! It’s a deadly weapon, not a ring!”

“Hmm, it’s all I have left of Rowan.”

Hearing the name of the son of a bitch ex-husband renewed the irritation within Sephiroth to the point where he couldn’t find enjoyment and peace in the ambiance. Against the gentle sway of the breeze brushing the bushes and small trees lined ahead over the balcony, he drew an arm into a pocket, watching only the grey tendril of smoke emitted from the lit cigarette.

Bowing in phony humility, Sephiroth commented, “My condolences.”

Snickering and trying to be churlish, Cloud failed in that endeavor. “Why so rude?”

Now that he didn’t have a reason and motivational purpose to hold himself back and abide by social politeness, Sephiroth started speaking and acting freely. Grateful that he didn’t have to strive to maintain an impressive image to please anyone, without much of a barrier, he dipped back, elbows resting on the balcony railing.

Ignoring how wet and icy the metal pole was beneath his clothes, through his relaxed pose, he inquired, “Was he saving up since he was a freshman or something?”

Taking a deeper drag and in no rush to answer, Cloud’s blues sparkled in utter mischief and delight. Holding the cigarette lower from his lips, he snickered, the residue stain of his pink lip gloss twinkling around the white cover of the cigarette.

“He was pretty good with his finances for some time.”

There was no need to state the obvious digression based on the end result. Sephiroth imminently disagreed with Cloud for obvious reasons, but rather than swimming in that toxic sludge, he shrugged before the warm cigarette slid into his fingers once more.

Deciding to test the water and take things a step further, Sephiroth peered up and down Cloud’s thin body. Eyes trailing from his shiny boots to his neckline, as he inhaled the aroma wafting off the omega mostly bastardized by perfume, the tobacco also internally set his organs ablaze.

Eyelids mildly hooded now, Sephiroth detached his lips from the cigarette. Flicking down the ash by his feet, he gruffly asked, “How was the sex after marriage? I hear it can get dull.”

A tiny voice squeaked somewhere in the recesses of his mind that he’d gone way too far to even ask this brazen question, but Sephiroth knew Cloud was humoring him.

Smiling from ear to ear, with his vulpine grin too charming, Cloud smoked away before he exhaled, “It was good. We had ways to entertain each other but we didn’t do it as much during our last year together.”

“I’ve got no time and energy for emotional intimacy.” Puffing out his chest and pushing his short, pale bangs away when the wind messed them up, he calmly added with a smug tone, “Besides, I doubt that Rowan was an alpha, and trust me, alphas perform way better in bed.”

Biased as Sephiroth was, Cloud appeared totally neutral for his own furtive reasons.

“Rowan was a beta, but in the end, none of it mattered because he was screwing a younger guy behind my back.” 

This time, Sephiroth felt he had every right to lash out if it served the purpose of making Cloud understand a vital fact. “I guess you both have that in common, then…cheating.”

Tossing the last bit of the cigarette into an ashtray, Cloud’s fingers almost punctured a hole in the small object given his irate rage. “I told you, it was your stupid pheromones. I don’t go around many alphas, even at work, yet you were all over my house, touching my belongings and had your disgusting scent rubbing off on my daughter!”

Damn near close to flipping over into mortal anguish, Sephiroth held back from screaming, but he was still quite bombastic as he snapped, “Yes, and I cared about your daughter a lot and still do! Don’t you get it?!”

Grumbling to himself under a labored breath, boots shifting, Cloud pathetically bemoaned, “You’d only end up hurting her and breaking her heart anyway! There’s no such thing as genuine care!”

“Cloud.” 

Zapping them both in the realm of utter shock when he not only had gushed out the distraught omega’s name so tenderly, but approached enough to seal the gap between their forms, Sephiroth only stopped when a hair’s breadth of space lingered between their chests. 

Through heavily gritted teeth and wild snarls, there was the old, familiar mulish regard from them both, but Sephiroth truly wondered how long Cloud could control and conceal his own sordid misery behind the show of condescension.

Aiming to allow contrition to contribute for a deeper connection, Sephiroth removed his presence from a place of jarring vitriol. For the love he’d shared and felt for Aerith, he composed himself maturely, not a shred of patronizing emotions reserved for her father, but empathy that the broken man needed.

“Cloud, with that mindset, you won’t ever leave yourself open to being cared for. These walls you put up will only push people away.” 

Squirming under his gaze, the act of defiance soon diminished by Sephiroth closing in on him, Cloud shrank beneath his muscular frame and blushed angrily.

Ignoring how Sephiroth boxed him in with both palms hitting the wall above on either side of Cloud’s ears, the omega hissed thinly, “Good! If it can help protect me from liars and scumbags, so much the better!”

Clicking his tongue against his teeth, Sephiroth pressed forward, reaching for and gingerly grabbing the bottom of Cloud’s chin. Tilting it up so they could look at each other, though Cloud refused to lock eyes with him, Sephiroth gave him that comfort while he eased his tense expressions into a generous smile.

Fighting with some unnamed battle internally, Cloud awkwardly asked under duress, “Who was that young guy you came here with?”

Left in awe despite being accosted by a harsh tone, Sephiroth squawked, “Wait, were you watching me or something?”

Red all over, Cloud reacted like a firecracker and exploded immediately. “Just tell me!”

If Cloud didn’t look like he could commit manslaughter due to his jealousy, Sephiroth absolutely would’ve laughed his ass off at him. Mature and wise as he was in many ways, this time, Cloud appeared like a bratty teen, befuddled, morose, and of course, fishing for answers to seal his own inclinations. 

Deciding not to prolong the torture, as cute as he found an overly jealous Cloud to be, Sephiroth snickered, then steeled his expressions, bracing himself for a swift rejection. “I’ll tell you who that guy is only if you tell me why you showed up here.”

Cloud’s raucous laugh cut him short, but he shook his head, stubborn as he wanted to be. “No! It’s none of your—”

Backing off, Sephiroth held up his hands, the palms so cold after having held them flatly on the brick wall for many seconds. “Cool. Fair enough.” Feet shifting away, he pointed at the door they’d used to enter the balcony as he explained, “Well, I guess I’ll be heading back to my guy now, if there’s nothing else you wanna—”

The frisson of playful joy Sephiroth had felt was chipped away when Cloud circumvented the matter with an execrable growl and a matching glare of hatred.

Contempt bled all over the place, oozing directly out of the harried source, a persistently taxed Cloud snapping, “Fine! Okay, I was just out here because I was trying to take my mind off the weird stuff going on between us, and one of my colleagues told me that they hooked up with someone here so I thought to check it out for myself!”

That was quite the enormous monologue riddled with issues and buried with accusations Sephiroth wanted to iron out immediately. Taking great offense to the idea of Cloud yet again trying to hook up with someone, he first zeroed in on that as a more genuine grievance.

Disgust and anger poured out from Sephiroth, the temperature increasing around himself drastically. “So I guess the last incident you had where I saved your sorry ass taught you nothing, huh?” After a snort and a head shake, he supplied in a demonic tone, “And whatever the hell’s going on between us is your fault too, so why don’t you start taking some fucking responsibility for a change?”

Facing his own bevy of vitriol perhaps internally as much has externally, Cloud’s eyes zapped and brutally sparkled red. With a maddening aura about himself, he protested, “Finally learned something about being an adult, have we?” 

Rolling back from the insults, Sephiroth shut his eyes, massaging his nose bridge with a few fingers. In exhaustion, he inquired, “Cloud. What do you want from me? Just be clear…you know, since you’re such a perfect paragon of an adult and shit.”

“Nothing. I got all my answers, so what else could there be?” Slipping away from him, shimmying with his back against the wall while eyeing the door, with an urbane lift of an eyebrow, Cloud displayed his quizzical regard and not so savory opinions for Sephiroth.

Wondering how it could be that someone was able to communicate so much without offering anything substantial, as Sephiroth’s arm draped by his side, he permitted Cloud to wrench open the door to the balcony, hanging between the outer and inner portions of the doorway.

Slinging an arm to the side where it draped onto the doorframe, Cloud tipped his head back, saucy enough as he shrewdly addressed something else Sephiroth had accused him of. 

“Oh, by the way, I never said I came here to hook up with someone. Nice assumption there.” Sneering and eyes set in vicious slits, he slowly gaped back at his own feet, taking the first step inside to blend with the other shadows and figures partying away. 

Extending his arms to the sides, Sephiroth barked, “Hey! I didn’t get to tell you who my guy pal is! Thought you wanted me to?”

Fighting with himself to turn around and continue walking on, with much self-control and profound strength, Cloud only froze, though his petrified state lasted no longer than a few seconds. Lights shimmering around his torso as he hung inside, he softly chuckled, shaking his head in a bewildered fashion before moving on.

“Doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

Chapter Text

The month eventually changed over from May to June, and the separation changed from a positive standpoint to something quite vile and cutting on both ends. Sephiroth’s relationship with Aerith was pretty much dead, the two teenagers consistently encountering the same problems they’d experienced before but had never addressed until they were practically forced to.

Despite their efforts to get back together and spend more time around each other, Aerith seemed more fine-tuned and hyper aware of Sephiroth more than ever. Easily, she noticed how distracted he was, and although he assured her that nothing was wrong, it became clear that Aerith never bought into his lies. As a result, she not only began acting clingy again, though this time, she was more demanding of his time and attention, which began to grate on Sephiroth’s nerves.

To add salt into the open wounds, Sephiroth didn’t even have the chance to try and make it up to her through sex because of how frequently he was sequestering himself to masturbate with this new, inexplicably erotic desire that’d piqued his sexual interest, something that created even more tension between himself and his estranged ex-girlfriend. What made matters worse was that Aerith began resenting him for everything, turning even a few mutual friends against Sephiroth who wished to take her side and hear her story over his.

The friction completely boiled and burst over one night while they were out with a group of friends. They’d been bar hopping as usual for their social routines, and Aerith had drunk quite a bit, more than she normally did. She’d been in quite the destructive mood when they left her house earlier after Sephiroth had snapped at her for flooding his phone with needy texts and calls all afternoon, and it was all only getting worse from that point on. Paired with opposition on either side, as the night slowly wore on, the more alcohol she consumed, the nastier she became around him until she deliberately embroiled herself in any form of an argument she could find and create.

She dubbed him a pathetic boyfriend several times and accused Sephiroth of being neglectful, to which Tifa agreed. It felt like Aerith was trying to coax him into a fight, but a wise Sephiroth refused to take the bait, a few drinks aiding in him swallowing down his anger after every piercingly cruel, aggressive insult. Unfortunately, Sephiroth downplaying the concerns Aerith had only encouraged her to guzzle down drink after drink like a bloody sailor.

In vain, he begged her to calm herself and chill out on the liquor, but she brusquely waved him away when he got too close. 

“So now you act like give a damn?” she slurred at him as he tried wrenching her cup out of her hand. “Or is it just so I won’t embarrass you when I tell others the truth?”

“Aerith, don’t be stupid!” Fighting for the shot of alcohol, he set her cup down on a nearby table, rolling up his shirt sleeves as he advanced on her. “Please, I think I should drive you home! You’re beyond drunk!”

Worming her way between them so snobbishly, Tifa channeled her aggression and heated emotions reserved for Sephiroth as she snapped wildly, “Back off, you disgusting asshole!” 

Anger boiling over without his control, Sephiroth set his eyes on her next as he shot back, “The fuck’s wrong with you, Tifa?! This is between Aerith and I!”

Waving at the thick crowd of people in the bar, with sarcasm and biting wit, Tifa replied, “Why don’t you go stick your tongue down someone else’s throat? Leave Aerith alone!”

It was the mature move on his part to let it be after that. Knowing he had nothing in the way of a battle when it came to volatile women, Sephiroth paced around until eventually, as predicted, Aerith crossed over from drunk and angry to sloshed and sloppy, forcing Sephiroth to rush to her aid. Propping and holding her up, he dragged her out of the bar while she became resentful and reproachful towards him and blamed him for destroying her life. Along the way, Sephiroth felt grateful as her insults seemed less aggressive when he sat her down in the car.

After a tough wrangling, Sephiroth finally drove the car onward down the highway, with Aerith passed out on the ride home, quite satisfyingly so. Despite the fact that he had to pretty much carry her up to her room, he was glad she wasn’t awake to start anymore shit with him. She was snoring and snoozing away like a kitten, clinging to him until he entered her bedroom and turned on the lights.

Depositing Aerith gently onto the bed, like a parent, he tucked her in, then stood back and massaged his searing, throbbing temples. This had been the absolute, shittiest night of his life by far. The tingling buzz from what little he had to drink wore off long ago, giving Sephiroth only a pounding headache instead of the reward of being buried deeply inside his woman all night long. In exhaustion, he studied her slumped body, and for the first time, he truly wondered if their relationship was toxic, seeing as he lately was being subjected to quite the substantial amount of degradation and social humiliation.

Questioning himself, Sephiroth whispered under a strained intake of oxygen, “Was I ever in love with you, Aerith?”

Looking at the tiny smile she gave before she flopped over and buried her face in a pillow, Sephiroth knew he couldn’t obtain an answer anytime soon and was further stuck wallowing in his sorrows and misery. Slowly, he began to strip off his jeans and button down shirt, pulling on a black tank top and mesh shorts. Hand shaking, he did his best to dig through Aerith’s purse for the joint he’d rolled earlier and stashed inside, desperately needing something to help relax his distraught nerves.

Pulling it out along with a lighter after some struggling, he softly slipped away, his feet quietly padding downstairs. It was well past midnight and he didn’t want to wake Cloud, unsure of whether he was even home or not. All that mattered was something to take the edge off, and Sephiroth stepped out onto the backyard deck, shutting the sliding glass door behind himself quietly.

It was quite cool for early June, and the night air felt delightful on his feverish skin. Once he’d firmly held the object in his fingers, Sephiroth casually leaned against the wooden railing and put the joint between his lips. The moon was his only source of light and it shone down on him with many incandescent rays while he flicked the lighter several times, the flame finally catching. Calmly, he lifted it and lit the end of the joint, inhaling a large puff of smoke as he slowly dipped his head back to gaze across the inky sky.

Holding the potent aroma in his lungs, he counted down the seconds before exhaling with a sigh, the tingling mist of a damn good high already settling over his brain. He raised the joint to his lips, ready to take another hit, when he saw movement out of the corner of an eye and paused. A radiant, but pungent odor soon took over the smell wafting off the joint. Sephiroth took a deep breath in, enjoying the way the nectarine smell traveled through his body, flooding him with tingling warmth and making his body temperature skyrocket.

The night folded around himself like a calming and soft presence, leaving Sephiroth feeling as if he was drifting away on a gentle current. The scent was so soothing that he felt his body relax, just for a moment. His sharp tastebuds were instantly overwhelmed by the saltiness of sweat and pheromones through a few layers of flimsy fabric. Hampered as it was, there was something else present, something sticky and sweet…something that gave Sephiroth a profound urge to respond even deeper inside his body.

Turning his head back to peek at the patio glass, Sephiroth’s eyes widened when he spotted Cloud on the other side of the door, looking tentatively out at him. They stared at each other for several seconds before Cloud held his hand up in greeting. Sephiroth politely responded in kind and watched as Cloud pushed open the door a crack.

“Hey.” Generous at first, the veneer slipped away before Cloud puckishly entertained in good humor, “Thought I told you not to come to my house ever again?”

Shrugging and trying to be as distant as he could, Sephiroth only chuckled. “Well, I hate to break it to you, Cloud, but I’m not exactly well known for listening to anyone.”

“Right, right…” he trailed off, looking away. Eating up the distance over to Sephiroth, Cloud hung back a few inches, ruffling his own hair with a shaky hand. “Aerith’s passed out in her room. I just checked on her.” 

Omitting certain details surrounding how she came to be that way, Sephiroth struggled for words, though he didn’t have to owe and offer Cloud any explanation when the older male eyed his joint.

“Wow. Is this going to be a habit or something?” Gesturing to the object, he didn’t appear too despondent, shockingly. 

Tapping a finger in an almost coy rhythm on the side of the joint, Sephiroth eventually turned quite sly. Offering Cloud a mischievous sneer, he then shook his head in mild apathy before turning his head to the side to expel smoke into the chilly air.

“Not really.” Flicking the ashes by his feet, he finished, “Just needed something to take my mind off the pressure lately.” 

“Oh?” Keeping to himself at a distance, Cloud’s slender arms wound up by his chest first, but then moved over his throat as if to conceal something precious. “Don’t you talk to your parents and try to get some advice from them?”

Observing Cloud as he paced about, mindful not to cross over to him while his arms and hand wound around his neck and specifically to the back of it beneath his messy, golden hair strands, Sephiroth’s eyes turned a shade darker. Pupils dilating as his nostrils flared, he too kept to his own spot by the railing, taking into full view every jittery motion from Cloud, his veins bulging as his eyes widened a fraction. 

“Meh,” Sephiroth began, rolling his eyes up to catch two flushed cheeks flaring at himself. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions, and my folks raised me with a very ‘hands off’ approach, you could say.”

Wincing, Cloud’s jaw tightened as his temples did, and when he touched his left cheek, Sephiroth knew he’d accidentally bitten on the insides of his mouth.

“Oh…I s-see.” 

A stutter? Interesting…

Hissing as he folded his hands over his sternum for the fifth time in less than a few minutes, Cloud shuddered, staring around the deck at everything and anything other than Sephiroth. “Umm…so…uh…” 

Sweeping his vagarish eyes from Cloud’s toes to his quivering knees, Sephiroth then let his gaze travel up to his trembling hands, the dainty limbs trying not to lock up as he pressed the clammy palms over his shirt. Clearly battling with something profound on his own terms, Cloud again twitched, so skittishly inclined as his chest heaved up and down for many silent seconds. Practically withering away there, he turned his face to one side, averting his azure eyes from Sephiroth, even going so far as to cover his nose and mouth with the palm of his opposite hand.

Noticing his perky nipples shooting up and pressing on the inside of his shirt to create small tents, Sephiroth inhaled nothing but a saccharine odor once more.

Trying not to be too maudlin and mawkish, he kept his sentimental views to himself before he expressed bluntly, “I think I’m falling out of love with Aerith. It sucks.”

Pallid and then flushed once the words registered, Cloud indignantly mewled, “Huh? H-how do you know?”

Choosing not to answer straight away, Sephiroth smiled fondly and gestured with a finger at his joint. “I just lit this,” he announced as he extended the arm holding the joint, which trailed smoke all over. “Why don’t you take a few good hits while we chat?”

Cloud nervously bit his lip, shaking even more frantically. “Are you sure?”

“Mhm. You’re fine, so just get over here.”

A tiny grin broke out across Cloud’s face and Sephiroth thought he also saw some relief painted there as well. Stepping up a bit faster, as Cloud turned to check the interior of the dark house, Sephiroth’s eyes swam over the loose shorts and oversized t-shirt he was wearing. Perverted thoughts racing, he wondered if Cloud truly was wearing a pair of bright panties underneath the loose garments, or if he was completely going commando.

One step at a time, Cloud gingerly walked up to Sephiroth until they stood facing each other. With a casual shrug, Sephiroth offered him a hit of the joint and he took it too willingly. 

Knowing that Cloud still looked a bit nervous to be around him given their odd history, Sephiroth smiled as a means of setting a better, friendlier tone in the hopes of establishing more in the way of comfort. 

Bowing his head in respect, he then purred, “So. How are ya?”

“Well,” Cloud began, coughing slightly after his first inhale, “I’m a bit worried about my borderless art course, but I think it should be fine.”

Holding no opinion on it either way, Sephiroth still comforted Cloud as best as he could. “I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors. You’re talented and love what you do.”

Upon receiving the compliment, Cloud deeply blushed and looked away, a small smile on his face. “Thanks, Sephiroth.” Hiding how shy he was with ease, he took another quick hit before passing it the joint back over. “I’m also worried about Aerith, but maybe I could try this ‘hands off’ parenting thing.”

Laughing softly, Sephiroth lazily quieted down to grin. “So, borderless art, huh?” 

Taking a long puff after Sephiroth, Cloud nodded in confirmation. “Yep. It’s a new course offered through my work.”

Diving for information just to keep himself afloat in reality, Sephiroth asked, “What makes it borderless? Never thought I’d hear of anything like that.”

“We use techniques and a variety of tools that aren’t commonly used for art. A great portion of the program depends on the borders of the mind and the hand of the artist, and as I said, it’s a new program.”

“That sounds really cool, actually.”

“It has some perks!” Beaming away, Cloud concluded, “I’d say it’s pretty well balanced to push the limits of creativity, and it’s honestly helped me to be more devoted to explore the uncanny side of my projects!”

Gradually, as they stood out there talking and getting high, the awkwardness slowly melted away until it appeared as if it was too easy to begin joking around like nothing had ever happened. Sephiroth knew that wasn’t the case, however, but it was a decent surprise after all the unnecessary drama latched onto his reputation wherever he went.

The joint was nearing its end as he passed it off, both men lightly giggling at some ridiculous comment Sephiroth made. Eventually, the guffaws petered off as Cloud took a hit while glancing up at the sky, the alpha and omega now silent.

“I’m actually a lot happier now that I came out here,” Cloud announced so suddenly, eyes twinkling brighter than the few stars in the expansive sky. “I almost didn’t, but I’m happy I did.”

Gaping in awe, Sephiroth inquired, “Why did you want to keep away?”

Cloud then hesitated, dropping the finished joint into the ashtray on the railing, before slowly proceeding to answer. “I thought it would be really weird between us, but maybe we can be friends again.”

“I don’t know, man,” Sephiroth began in a low voice, turning away from the night sky toward Cloud, now making proper eye contact. “It’ll be difficult because of some of the stuff that we went through, but I can try.”

Nose turning up in displeasure at this, Cloud tilted his head to one side as he whined, “What stuff? You mean like that night in the office when I was uh, dancing?”

“Um, yeah, that’s a good start,” Sephiroth whispered, running a hand through his short hair to calm himself down the moment he recalled the vivid images. 

Almost petulant to a degree, Cloud pouted and mumbled in obvious disappointment, “I knew you’d be disgusted.”

“No, I wasn’t. You don’t need to worry about that stuff,” Sephiroth reassured, wondering how Cloud, given how astute he could be, had totally skipped over the real nature of their problems where it mattered most.

Even more anxious, Cloud chuckled, though cut the noise off as he hugged himself despite the wind having disappeared a while ago. “Well, can you blame me for thinking that way? Guys really don’t enjoy finding out they were groping another dude instead of a girl!”

Sephiroth paused, contemplating his next words carefully before wondering out loud, “What makes you think I didn’t enjoy it?”

Golden eyebrows raised dubiously, Cloud mewled in heavy surprise, “Wait, you enjoyed groping my ass?”

Calm as ever, Sephiroth only shrugged. “It’s a pretty sweet ass, mistaken identity aside.”

Grinning and assuming this was all a joke, Cloud chuckled before he planted both hands on his hips. “Okay, weirdo. Since when are you so bold around a girlfriend’s parent?”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Sephiroth corrected truthfully. “The break is more of a break up.”

“I guess, but it’s not usual to hear stuff like this, and no, I’ve never ever been this close to one of Aerith’s dates before.” Nodding up at him, stance still broad to bear confidence, Cloud asked, “Go on, then. Inform and enlighten me as to what makes an ass ‘sweet’ in your opinion?”

Green eyes traced Cloud’s face as Sephiroth watched his smile turn smug the second he called the alpha out what he interpreted and perceived was a bluff, though Sephiroth could tell Cloud wasn’t ever expecting a sincere response.

His challenging tone and the glint in his eye triggered something rather primordial within Sephiroth, and it wasn’t a feeling he’d ever experienced with Aerith or any other woman. Feeling suddenly bold, he possessively looked Cloud dead in the eye, holding his gaze intently, and in as serious of a tone as Sephiroth could muster, he began elucidating to the omega everything he’d surreptitiously been thinking the last several weeks.

“Well, for starters, I like how toned and tight it is,” he explained, his voice coming out clear and certain. “Not like a model’s or anything, but supple. It’s full and a bit plump. Fits perfectly in one of my hands.”

While Sephiroth emphasized each adjective, he caught sight of Cloud’s arrogant smile faltering a bit, the first signs of doubt starting to trickle through as he began to question if Sephiroth was playing around and messing with him or not. Knowing he wasn’t, Sephiroth’s heart leapt in his chest and he took a half step towards the short omega, still holding eye contact, a subtle thrum of excitement suddenly running through his entire body.

“Your skin color is so pale…so smooth and sensitive. Even in the moonlight, I could clearly see my handprint practically branded onto your flesh after I spanked you like the little tease you are.”

Boldness evanescent the more Sephiroth described and spoke, the gravity of the alpha’s words finally sinking in held the novel effect on Cloud. Inflicting him with an array of emotions, his pheromones surged, and Sephiroth felt his cock stirring slightly inside his shorts, bristling at the hint of sexual tension beginning to permeate in the air.

Leaning in closer, though not making any physical contact with Cloud, he carried on being as descriptive as possible. “Then, I felt those cheeks, those two perfect globes. I couldn’t even believe how your little thong made them look.” Salaciously, he prompted with a low growl, “If only you knew.”

“How...how did they make them look?” Cloud fought out until he spoke in quiet disbelief, his smile completely gone now. “T-tell me…”

A sultry grin slowly spread across Sephiroth’s face as Cloud appeared enticed into whatever this was. “Slutty,” the tall alpha proclaimed emphatically after a beat.

Delighted when he heard his companion’s breath hitch slightly, a light shiver ran across Sephiroth’s body. Knowing he was the source to cause Cloud to spiral out of control, he turned even more aggressive, possessive, open, and downright raw. 

“Such a sexy ass on a sexy guy, but in that moment, it was totally slutty,” Sephiroth hungrily continued. “Those cheeks were practically begging for a good spanking and pounding even while being contained in that tight thong.”

Sephiroth’s treacherous cock was now half hard from the lewd conversation and the knowledge that he’d skillfully enticed someone as taciturn as Cloud Strife into this provocative allure of seduction. The omega was practically shaking, taking heavy breaths, staring up at Sephiroth with those big blue eyes full of excitement and terror; his face akin to a timorous target surrendering and allowing itself to be lured and consumed whole. It fueled a sexual adrenaline that urged the alpha forward, the corners of his mouth turned up in a sly, inviting grin as he continued enticing the omega.

“But you want to know what I liked most about your ass, Cloud?” Wondering how far he could push the boundaries slowly dissipating, Sephiroth reached out and traced a few of Cloud’s fingers.

“Ugh, w-what?” Cloud breathed with major difficulty, skittish and inclining towards Sephiroth. “What did you like the most?”

Swiftly, Sephiroth admitted, “How it felt in my palm when I squeezed it. So juicy, soft, but incredibly firm at the same time. I’ve never felt an ass like that before.”

Swallowing thickly, the noise was too loud for them both, but Cloud soon grunted to replace it. “Really?”

Firmly, Sephiroth nodded his head, noticing how badly Cloud’s eyes were glazed over with novel lust. “Absolutely, and you wanna hear something else?”

Much like a puppet following its master’s skilled motions, Cloud nodded his head, slow but deliberate.

Leaning in closer still, Sephiroth announced in a husky voice, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how damn hot it felt ever since.” 

Cerulean eyes grew wide, searching verdant ones for confirmation. Like Sephiroth, Cloud clearly was still checking to see whether this was all real or if the teenager seriously was messing with him. Leaving no room for doubts and childish games, Sephiroth pushed even further, unsure of what would happen but eager to find out.

“Cloud,” he intoned near the omega’s right ear hotly, “I’ve been playing the memory of that time many times for weeks.” Not caring how insane he came off, he admitted with a guttural growl, “I’m obsessed with it, just constantly thinking about your ass, how it looked, and remembering the feeling of it clutched tightly in my hand every time I jerked off.”

The sensual, depraved words hung heavily in the air as they broke away and stared at one another in sexually charged silence. Steam flew around as both men waited, anxious and almost giddy, for whatever would happen next. Finally, Cloud took a deep breath, steeling himself to speak, and Sephiroth felt his thick cock twitch in anticipation for what he would say next, practically seeking sustenance from the omega.

Salivating and closer to swooning than ever before, Cloud did in fact sway, his knees almost buckling as he fought to whine out, “You do realize I’m in heat, right?”

“I’m aware.” Remembering the first sign of the delectable odor, Sephiroth purred on a low note, “I smelled it ages ago. It drives me insane.”

Licking his lips incidentally when they were too dry, Cloud panted out of control while shaking even worse than ever. “Have you ever been with an omega?”

“No. Have you ever fucked an alpha?” Though the natural progression of the question was to be expected, Sephiroth turned red with fury when he considered how else he would react if Cloud answered that he indeed had.

Shaking his head, Cloud shot that down immediately, wet eyes trickling tears out of the corners. “No. I’ve only ever been with one guy. Rowan was…my only partner.”

Aroused out of his mind when he compared their sexual histories, Sephiroth took his turn to swoon and melt in pure joy. “I’ve fucked a lot of women, but no omegas, surprisingly.” 

“Do you want to touch my ass again?” Cloud randomly offered, voice low, but clear and full of determination.  

Heart skipping a few beats in excitement, before Sephiroth ran away with his emotions and confirmed that he did, something in the way of a final tendril of reasoning to foster future culpability slammed into his brain. Stepping close to Cloud while still holding eye contact, as he breathed in the lavender shampoo and nectarine odor of an omega in heat, Sephiroth struggled to keep his own desires in check. Every enticing smell was breathed in as he reached under Cloud’s t-shirt with his right hand and cupped his side, mapping out a few ribs in the process. Another shiver ran through the older male when the alpha’s coarse fingers made contact with his soft skin, but he didn’t break away nor did he get much closer.

The irony in all this was that like Cloud, Sephiroth wanted the omega to be the one to make the first move, which was why he snatched his arm back. Breaking out of the sensationally exquisite form of contact was torture for them both. Whining and crying together, in unison, they approached but then leapt back, nervously twitching and fidgeting until Sephiroth pressed a hand over his flaring nostrils. 

“I don’t want to touch an omega in heat, because once this wears off, you’ll regret it big time.”

Chasing after him, hands grabbing onto the hem of his tank top, Cloud tearfully begged, “Sephiroth, please just—”

Shoving his limbs down roughly, with a feral snarl to invoke feelings of fright just to keep Cloud away before he really lost control, Sephiroth barked, “Hands off! I won’t do anything if you’re in heat, plus, you’re…you’re…”

Drawing his hand back and waiting, fingers twitching while fresh tears streamed on, Cloud rushed to his own conclusion all based on what he assumed Sephiroth had wanted to say, yet couldn’t. Perhaps holding onto words others had scathingly sent his way, with extreme prejudice and a position of bias based on the past experiences he’d accrued, Cloud turned rather vitriolic. 

“I’m what? Old?” 

If that would solve the issue and work long enough to keep the enticing male at bay, Sephiroth chose to work with it, hurtful as it was. No matter how much he wanted to explain how badly he disagreed, as much as he wished he could divulge that age wasn’t at all a factor in this, Sephiroth held back from being selfish, for not only Cloud’s sake, but Aerith’s.

“Yeah. You’re old, dude.”

The clenched fist darted up and bashed him across the jaw even before he anticipated it, far ahead of any opportunity to duck or dodge. Agony and physical discomfort wasn’t even experienced as Sephiroth simply stood back, blinking wildly in shock and stunned awe. A hand cradled his jaw, the damn thing still without much pain seconds after Cloud huffed away and moved his balled up fist down.

Stomping a foot onto the wooden deck below, he huffed out in heavy contempt, “Screw you. I know myself. I may be an omega, I may be in heat, but I’m still a man, and you won’t ever take that away from me!”

Before Cloud had the chance to storm back inside the house, Sephiroth’s vicious nerves and curiosity outweighed the direness of the situation. Not even certain of what he was doing, he shot ahead, snatching Cloud’s shirt in one hand, and with the other, he latched onto the omega’s shoulder. Pulling him back, he spun Cloud around, slammed their chests together, then shoved Cloud’s neck to one side. Burying his face in the crook of his neck, Sephiroth rolled his tongue forth and began lapping at the few beads of sweat there. 

Mammalian brain operating and taking control, he needed to determine what the mystery substance was constantly enticing and drawing him to Cloud. It was slightly salty just like sweat normally tasted like, but there were other flavors mixed in as well. Sweet and savory at the same time, a cloying, syrupy texture that stuck to his tongue. The taste immediately put him at ease, like the first lick of an ice cream cone. A yummy, delicious, mouth-watering ice cream cone that made one feel warm, safe, and all fuzzy inside.

“Noooo! Stop!” 

Squeezing around Cloud despite his wriggling, Sephiroth guided his tongue, flicking it about and nursing on the succulent syrup. All too soon, as the situation escalated, his hands slid up over Cloud’s covered ass, pulling him deeper into his mouth as Sephiroth tried to identify the nature of the taste. Holding Cloud so closely, he could feel his toned posterior cheeks in both hands, incredibly sexy and so supple like dense boulders. He squeezed them lightly with his long fingers while he continued to suckle, milking the sweet nectar out of the omega’s pores and deeply into his own system.

The erotic tension pulsed between them, but Sephiroth stood firmly before Cloud, letting it wash over his brain to the point of drunkenness. Slowly, he slid a hand to the small of Cloud’s back, pausing before the tips of a few fingers pushed under the waistband of his shorts. Almost immediately, Sephiroth encountered thin, frilly fabric, confirming his earlier, unspoken question of whether or not Cloud was wearing panties again. 

“Seph!” Cloud hissed and blushed slightly at his discovery, offering him a small cry of hopelessness. 

Sephiroth only smiled in sincerity, conveying that he truly was impressed by what he’d discovered.

Diving back to taste Cloud’s throat, Sephiroth continued on, a hand slowly gliding down the slope of his senior’s ass, marveling at the way it flared out and taking great pleasure in the feel of his smooth, delicate skin. Strong fingers splayed out as Sephiroth centered his palm along Cloud’s left cheek, covering quite a distance in a short period of time. Pausing briefly, he let the tension and anticipation simmer before one of his large hands finally enclosed around the voluptuous pound of warm flesh, squeezing it with all the energy and zeal he could.

Reeling back, Cloud inhaled sharply, rising up on his toes as Sephiroth’s fingers dug harshly into his skin. Their faces were only a few inches apart now, and they held intense eye contact while Sephiroth mercilessly crushed his spongy, puffy bottom cheek in a relentless grip. Preventing himself from grinding and dry humping Cloud like an inexperienced teenager, Sephiroth exhaled slowly in relieved satisfaction, his breath coming out heavy and slightly gruff. Observing him up close, Cloud’s plump lips, parted slightly from wondrous enthusiasm, jaw and knees quivering from the mounting pressure delivered to specific zones.

They remained like that for some time, sweaty bodies nearly pressed together as one. Silhouetted in the moonlight, the men reveled in searing, sexual pleasure, the feelings derived from finally fulfilling illicit and long suppressed fantasies.

Eventually, Sephiroth slowly began to relax his grip, watching as Cloud rolled back onto the flat soles of his feet to permit Sephiroth to gently cup his ass. Nosing along Cloud’s pallor while breathing heavily, Sephiroth peered at Cloud curiously from under his eyelashes, suddenly shy.

All too soon, the pressure on Sephiroth’s brain and senses was released as Cloud somehow unwrapped his torso from around Sephiroth. Quite speedy, he leapt away, pulling his neck away from Sephiroth’s face and depriving the alpha of the sweet nectar.

“Did you like it? Do you enjoy this?” Cloud breathlessly asked, watchful eyes questioning to no extent.

“You tell me.”

Boldly, Sephiroth took Cloud’s arm with a free hand and brought his open palm up to his crotch, pressing it against the bulge of his now fully hard cock.

Cloud’s eyes went wide as the alpha’s thick, clothed cock writhed against his touch. Even when he tried shifting away, Sephiroth firmly held his hand there, watching his stunned reaction while he barely held back from thrusting his hips and dick against Cloud’s exploratory digits and warm palm. It took a few jerky motions before he snapped out of his shock and finally gathered scant clues on what he was trying to get Cloud to do, minor forms of lucidity present beneath his delirious exterior.

Releasing his arm once Cloud started rubbing the massive bulge on his own accord, Sephiroth sighed in relief. Relaxing himself, he closed his eyes and began running a confident hand across the bottom of Cloud’s ass, pausing once however to spank it roughly.

Jolting up in terror and arousal, Cloud cried, “W-watch it!”

They spent the next few minutes in awe and silence, simply fondling each other over their clothes. Sephiroth enjoyed those firm cheeks in between the tight lace of the panties, loving how the squishy feeling of plump globes molded around his clasped hand. Exploring away on his own terms and pace while he palmed and gripped Sephiroth’s stiff cock through the material of the mesh shorts he was wearing, Cloud began grinning when he heard the small grunts of pleasure from between Sephiroth’s lips.

Catching sight of how proud he was over his own deeds, Sephiroth rebuked the omega with shrewdness. “Smug son of a bitch, aren’t you?”

Fondling him faster, Cloud hissed frostily, “I wouldn’t be talking if I were–ack!” 

Wrapping a hand around his neck but not squeezing harshly, Sephiroth dominantly growled over his companion’s shrill mewls, “You talk too much, slut.” Daring to go even further with the depravity, Sephiroth snickered and loomed over Cloud as he demanded, “How about focusing on being nice for a change?”

And in less than a few seconds, the dominance Sephiroth had obtained was stripped away when Cloud shocked him with his own rebuttal of rebellion.

Snatching Sephiroth’s earlobe in between his teeth, he held onto the flesh before he channeled out so aggressively, “How about you offer me something better to make me obey you, daddy?”

“Fuuuuuuuuck, you’re such a dirty slut, aren’t you?”

Eyelids slamming shut as his back and spine met the railing upon being stroked faster, Sephiroth almost melted into the wood of the deck. All the strength and willpower totally began seeping out of his system per second, and he didn’t even bother putting up a fight. Hearing those arousing words left him completely done for, especially considering the fact that a few times, he’d tried to find a way to work that type of verbiage during sex with Aerith, but she shot his requests down swiftly as they came.

Eyes glazed over once more with voracious desire, when Sephiroth zeroed in on Cloud, he found that the omega’s gaze was trained down between his thighs, keenly soaking up every second as Sephiroth’s member thickened while it throbbed under his touch. Never one to grow weary of that type of look from anyone he slept with, Sephiroth arrogantly grinned, watching Cloud seek out his own form of pleasure in sizing up his cock.

Less mindful about what he was projecting, Sephiroth croaked with much lust, “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that you’ve been wanting this for a while now, huh?”

Pupils dilating as azure eyes became extremely wide with surprise told Sephiroth all he needed. Acting so coy, Cloud bit his lower lip, then lightly nodded his head in bashful admittance.

“I need to hear it from your own mouth,” Sephiroth demanded, thinking of all sorts of lewd things he truly wanted to do involving Cloud’s pretty lips.

“Yes,” Cloud admitted in a soft exhale, his body responding well while Sephiroth’s member began surging under his still moving palm, as if being charmed. “I’ve been thinking of what else you look like under all those clothes.”

To a degree, Sephiroth held some inkling of this, gathering his clues from Cloud’s personal, salacious drawings as well as the times he caught the older male discreetly checking him out. Indeed, something about hearing Cloud finally confess to it, to finally vocalizing his desire for the large pulsing member between Sephiroth’s legs, turned him on immensely, leaving him with a strong urge to hear more.

Risking both bursting into flames on the spot for asking but also passing out from holding back, Sephiroth rushed out, “Have you ever touched yourself imagining me doing it?”

Immediately, Cloud began nodding his head before stopping himself, remembering Sephiroth’s earlier command. “A few times, yes. It’s weird jerking off like some sort of teen but it’s true.” Incredibly perverse now as he sprinkled vivid detail everywhere, he almost moaned out, “I’ve even fingered myself and loosened my hole, imagining instead it was your big cock, as hard as it is now, deep inside me.”

Sweat, blood, and his own seminal fluid turned melting hot hearing such a dirty thing escaping Cloud. Eyes crimson, Sephiroth wildly began gyrating into Cloud’s palm while giving his ass quick, hard squeezes. Unable to keep his hands to himself, Sephiroth nearly fainted, quite positive he’d never felt this aroused even with other girlfriends to the point where he wanted to strip down and just take Cloud right there on the porch.

“Do you…” Thinking back to a few solo videos he’d seen, he wondered out loud, “Do you use a toy?” Pausing as soon as he felt a tad awkward and slightly jealous if Cloud had placed anything else inside that tight body, he growled, “Stop using toys!”

Taken aback by the aggression sent his way, Cloud innocently answered, “I don’t do it often, but what’s your deal with toys?”

“An alpha’s dick is way better,” Sephiroth pressed on, determined to encourage Cloud to elaborate further as he then nudged the omega back a few inches. “Trust me, none of my girlfriends ever even thought of other toys after one night with me.”

Holding the entire length of Sephiroth’s cock, from base to tip, Cloud slowly pumped it and groaned. Tossing his head back, he’d evidently picked up on how eager Sephiroth was to hear about the rest of his fantasies, and now spoke with less trepidation about them.

Whining and now jerking Sephiroth through his clothes in less coordinated motions, Cloud announced, “Your size is certainly impressive…definitely thicker than any toy I’ve used…gods…” Shyly, he paused for a moment in consideration before continuing, a bold new spark in his inflection. “I wonder how far I can take it inside…what it’d feel like to impale myself on…”

Possessively, a feral aura overcame Sephiroth, and he snapped as he dove ahead and hooked a hand onto Cloud’s throat. “Stop talking about toys!” 

While tears still continued to leave blue eyes in blatant shock, Sephiroth got even closer, pressing Cloud against the wall, his hands weaving around his waist and in his hair now, holding and caressing firmly. He felt a soft kiss on his wet cheek, then another one in the corner of his mouth before another one landed on his lips, Cloud on his toes while peppering his hot flesh with his moist, gentle lips to drive Sephiroth quite ravenously mad.

Anger dissipating, Sephiroth stood there unmoving as the other male continued to caress his mouth with small pecks, keeping the interaction relatively tame. Shockingly, when he pondered his sexual experiences, he didn’t think he’d ever been kissed like this before. Normally the person in any sexual exchange to go for maximum convenience, he never thought it’d feel so nice, taste so good, be so wonderful. He felt his eyes close on their own accord and his lips moved a little in reciprocation when Cloud slid his warm mouth over to capture his own. Given how sloppy and gentle Cloud still was, Sephiroth wondered if didn’t know how to kiss, had never learned properly, or whether he was intentionally holding back, but somehow, this course of action felt right. 

Content with taking things a bit slow, Sephiroth relaxed and sighed, feeling the world close in around his head. Steam still fogged his brain, but there was nothing else, not the house, not the darkness, not the hand in his hair or the one around his middle, not the heartbeat that seemed to sing a strange symphony along with his own. All he focused on was the feeling of lips on lips, just the feeling of his own parting gradually as the omega’s became more and more insistent. 

Wanting to respond in kind, Sephiroth parted for a quick second. “Hey, open your mouth,” the younger male deeply implored. 

Obediently, Cloud did, half not even understanding why, just as a hand closed around his jaw, forcing his lips to part further. Sephiroth nudged his legs apart with a knee, hoisting Cloud’s body up with a pit of pressure that had him hitched up the wall a few inches, feet dangling in the air. 

Crying out in pain and pleasure, Cloud’s lips parting helped Sephiroth’s tongue work inside his mouth, moving against his own. Breath catching audibly in his throat as his chest heaved, given Cloud’s less than subtle reactions, the younger man panicked, wanting to pull and leap away, but couldn’t when Cloud sent more pheromones in the air. Grabby hands flew to the omega’s slender chest and pushed against the pecs and nipples in hunger. Squirming weakly, there was much less of a resistance from Cloud now. Pressing himself forward, even more insistent than before just as the tongue continued to devour his mouth, tracing and mapping it, his nipples almost poked through his thin shirt.

Explosively, a moan left his throat as a wave of warmth slowly engulfed himself, Sephiroth’s panic subsiding as he slowly got used to the situation and the sensational feelings rising between deep kisses. More confidently now, he started to move his own tongue against the warm appendage, slowly and timidly at first, a little more daring later. In response, he felt Cloud brazen enough to bite down and suck on his tongue softly, alternately grazing it with sharp teeth. Close to reaching a boiling point, Sephiroth moaned deeply, feeling his blood rush everywhere all at once except his brain.

Mentally, he conceded filthily, “Holy fuck, he’s way better at kissing than Aerith…”

Arms wrenching between their torsos, Cloud broke the kiss, taking a breath and allowing Sephiroth one as well. Under the glowing light of the moon, Sephiroth admired how the omega’s lips were a little swollen and glistening with saliva, looking more delicious than anything else. The younger of the two blinked a few times, watching the other male smile just before he was upon him again, his mouth being thoroughly devoured, more passionately and possessively than before.

Swooning, Sephiroth felt lightheaded as his hands moved towards Cloud’s neck, touching the skin he found there timidly. His heart was beating so fast and he was quite certain he sensed butterflies in his stomach. Right then, the young alpha knew that had there not been the wall and physics to answer to, he would’ve surely failed at standing on his own.

Cloud was soft, rough, pliant, submissive, and compliant, his tongue expertly caressing Sephiroth’s mouth, tracing his teeth and the roof of his mouth before gently biting at his lips. Losing more control the longer the embrace went on, Sephiroth’s hands moved up towards the older man’s neck, trembling slightly before his fingers dug deeply in Cloud’s trachea. 

Not breaking the kiss, Cloud gasped, feeling it as much as Sephiroth wanted him to. At first, the dizzy alpha didn’t know what it was for sure, his mind beyond foggy with pleasure and desire to function properly, but when the blond-haired man moved away, he looked down at once. His eyes had adapted to the darkness of the outdoors to see almost clearly, and the few rays from the moon grazing the omega’s handsome face helped Sephiroth reach his own proposal.

Cock twitching excitedly upon hearing soft coos, Sephiroth’s heart practically leapt from the knowledge that they shared the same desires and fantasies. Decisions driven by the aching cock he so desperately wanted to feel buried within Cloud, Sephiroth leveled a wanton gaze at him, holding Cloud by the throat.

Loosening his grip after a few seconds, as he swayed, he strongly intoned, “Want to go somewhere and finish whatever this is?”

Swooning and panting as he grasped his own neck, hands eventually wandering off and away from Sephiroth’s limbs there over to his skull, Cloud blinked and bemoaned again, “I’m…but…I’m in h-heat!” As if searching for another excuse, eyes darting about, he added, “A-and you’re with Aer—”

“I’m single, Cloud. Very much single.” 

Preventing Sephiroth from stealing another kiss, Cloud pressed the palm of a hand over the younger male’s lips. It served to buy time so he could whimper within confines of reason, “Look, I’m glad that you know what you want and we aren’t doing horrible stuff behind my daughter’s back, but I’m not on any birth control since I haven’t dated or messed around, and if I’m in heat, I don’t want to risk—”

Silencing the ramblings with a potent growl that reverberated into his own toes and shook the wooden deck, Sephiroth startled even himself. “I’ll give you ten minutes to get yourself together and meet me in the basement, Cloud.”

Not following given how desire and heat pheromones zapped him of quick wit, Cloud gaped in dumbfounded awe. “Basement?”

“Walls are thick there,” Sephiroth pointed out wisely. “We won’t be heard, and since there are many doors and windows closed off, you can scream all you like while I give you the best, hottest dick of your life.”

Deciding either way that he truly wanted to experience this at least once to get it out of both their systems, Sephiroth completely released Cloud and backed off. Eyes still burning blood red, he flipped his messy, clammy bangs out of his line of vision, steps inching off backwards and then to the side as he grabbed the patio door and worked it open.

Chapter Text

Trembling from head to toe with anticipation as well as terror, Sephiroth wasn’t exactly sure when he’d decided he was going to sleep with an ex’s father. Whether it was that night several weeks ago in Cloud’s office, in the last few seconds out on the deck, or during one of the dozens of masturbation sessions in between, it all added up to him seeking Cloud out. Either way, it likely didn’t matter, because what Sephiroth relied on for confidence was, right at that moment, he sincerely wanted nothing more than to feel his throbbing, thick cock sandwiched snugly between those two luscious cheeks, teasing until he could become one with Cloud.

Back inside the air conditioned house, temporarily parting to go their own respective ways, Sephiroth waited patiently as he could. Once he’d somehow descended into the basement, he dimmed the lights a bit then stripped down to only his boxer briefs. Tossing the rest of his clothes to the side, he weakly plopped down in the center of the couch, sinking into the soft cushioned surface as he leaned back and sighed.

“This is insane.” As horny as he was while anticipating Cloud’s return, he had to pause and wonder what the hell he was even doing. 

Unfortunately, Sephiroth wasn’t ever the type to go back on firm decisions. Cock too hard and in dire need of release, the damn thing ached and he rubbed it through his underwear to relieve some tension. Once or twice, he’d allowed his dick to make choices for himself, logic and his brain flying out the window, but this was something incredibly dubious to every form of rationality. 

Assessing the case from a less than advantageous point, there technically wouldn’t be too much to lose…it wasn’t like he would be getting back with Aerith anytime soon, and with the inebriated woman far gone in the land of peaceful slumber three levels above the basement with her bedroom door tightly sealed, Sephiroth didn’t think she would even hear a rock concert playing. Morality and ethics in check, as far as he was concerned, he was eighteen, Cloud was well over that age, they weren’t riddled with alcohol or drugs, and whatever two consenting adults wanted to do was between them. 

In a win-win scenario, he was powerfully attracted to Cloud, the feelings seemed mutual, and there wasn’t anything hotter than having sex with someone he liked and also liked him. Technically, at this point in his life, he’d made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t looking for anything meaningful and long-term, and he didn’t think Cloud was ready for that either. This was just a means to an end, enjoying someone else and allowing them to delight in his body. When it was over and done with, they could at least move on knowing that in memory, they would have this fantastic night to hold onto.

Not requiring much else to be convinced that he could go along with this, Sephiroth excitedly jolted and turned around to peek over the top of the sofa as soon as he heard feet lightly padding down the basement steps. The door shut firmly seconds later, with Cloud poking his head first into the opening of the room as if curious to check whether Sephiroth had abruptly changed his mind.

“Hey.” Smiling in relief when Sephiroth nodded at him, Cloud wasn’t even dressed. 

No doubt, more went into this agenda than simply appearing from the shadows like a sexy model for Sephiroth’s viewing pleasure. Cloud had prepared himself as Sephiroth instructed, holding only a small, white and green carton of pills to cover his genitals. Mouth-watering as a nude Cloud Strife was with his creamy flesh on full display, Sephiroth frowned when he recognized the package of pills while Cloud approached the sofa.

Mien twisting in awkwardness, he questioned in a huff, “Aren’t those Aerith’s pills?”

Flushing as soon as he was caught, Cloud bashfully tucked a stray hair strand behind an ear. Thighs clamping together, he growled in irritation, “Birth control’s birth control. As long as it’s not expired, it’ll be fine.”

Rolling his eyes in exhaustion, Sephiroth shot out as he draped a hand over his face, “I meant get heat suppressants or something…that’s way more important for now.”

Turning sour as he halted in his tracks, Cloud’s body became rigid with tiny bouts of anger. “Well this was all I could do in ten minutes, you jerk! If you’re just trying to find an excuse because you’re scared, then say so!”

Not minding that Cloud had insulted him, Sephiroth lowered his arm to reveal his lust-filled eyes. Winking flirtatiously, he rejoiced when Cloud became reticent and coy, shutting his mouth and hiding behind the back of the sofa. 

“I’m not scared.” Stretching an arm out and grabbing Cloud’s elbow, Sephiroth was pleased when Cloud didn’t resist and allowed himself to be guided over to the side of the armrest until he sat next to Sephiroth. 

In the dead quiet that spun around their heads, pushing down on their ears when the ceiling creaked, pipes and plumbing gave out soft clicks here and there, the crickets outside the windows sounded far louder than their racing hearts. Simultaneously turning toward one another and gulping lightly, green met blue, searching eyes wandering endlessly until Cloud flushed even deeper.

“Uh…” Clearing his throat and fiddling with the package of pills to create soft rattling noises, he winced as he shuddered, shoulders panning out. “You know I’m way older than you, right?”

Pursuing with heavier interest, Sephiroth’s jaw tightened, lips tightly set as he then shrugged loosely. “I never said it was an issue. Older men and women can have a lot of sex appeal.”

Worrying his lower lip between his teeth as his eyes roamed over Sephiroth’s exposed, firm abs, Cloud almost moaned, heady enough before they even started. “You have a great body…I can’t believe it sometimes.”

Drinking in and feasting on the sight of Sephiroth’s well toned form spread out on the couch, more exposed than he’d ever seen before, Cloud crept in even closer, eyes completely glazed over with concupiscent desire.

Vainglory taking all control, Sephiroth smirked, watching Cloud’s vagarish eyes trace his muscular body. “Like what you see, huh?”

“More than I’ll tell you, arrogant ass.” 

“Uh huh.” Omitting the raw fact that he was well aware of the drawings hinging on the side of raunchy he’d discovered in Cloud’s artbook, Sephiroth instead ran a hand through the back of Cloud’s clean hair and purred to entice him. “I hope you have a condom at least.”

Freezing at once, Cloud blinked a few times, rolling back in disdain. Anguish set high, he bemoaned in a loud whine, “Oh my god! How irresponsible are you?! Don’t most people just carry one just in ca—”

“Relax,” Sephiroth interrupted, knowing that his joke didn’t effectively land well. Cloud was much too serious, taking things so literally that he spared him more misery as he reached into the back pocket of his shorts and produced a red condom packet. “I know what I’m doing, Cloud.”

Right when Cloud stretched his arms over to grab Sephiroth’s cock, the alpha leaned back, wagging an index finger before Cloud’s stunned face. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Slow at first, then catching on, Cloud hissed as he took the birth control. Popping one in his mouth and not even bothering to wash it down with water, when he eagerly tried hooking a finger under the waistband of Sephiroth’s boxers, the alpha let out a rumbling chuckle and backed away once more.

“No, Cloud.” Wagging his finger again, he then paused, curled it towards himself, the circular motions beckoning to Cloud sensually. “Let me take a good look. Get me in the mood, nice and slow.”

Grumbling, Cloud didn’t put up more of a fuss otherwise. Standing and then bending forward slightly, ever so slowly, he began draping his chest over the coffee table, his body portions revealed quite perfectly under the steady light. Arching nicely, first, as he spread his thighs, he exposed the thin, creamy expanse of flesh covering his slightly protruding spinal column, then, the dips in the back of his pubic bone, and finally, the voluptuous ass Sephiroth had always fantasized about.

Silently enjoying the stark differences between the build and shape of an omega in comparison to himself, Sephiroth noted the lack of defined muscle, body hair, and even Cloud’s cock. Much smaller and prettier to look at than he thought, its color was tickled pink like Cloud’s face, an adorable shade on him. Hungrily, Sephiroth’s hand moved over his own cock, squeezing it as he then leaned forward to get a close up view of the two toned, delicious cheeks he not so long ago had groped.

Developing quite the addiction to Cloud’s body, as Sephiroth studied the omega up and down, he was quite surprised to find Cloud just as slender as he’d imagined him to be. A bit on the skinny side and not too much like Sephiroth’s ideal, physical type, he at least possessed enough muscle on his frame to indicate some time spent in the gym, which gave him a uniquely trim figure. The omega’s broad shoulders and back had some natural definition, while his biceps and thighs were long, lean, and would look quite sensual in skirts.

Overall, his body had clearly been treated well, healthy meals and plenty of time devoted to shaping him up sensually. It was indeed quite the treat to finally see what a treasure Cloud was buried under all that oversized clothing. Truly, it wasn’t a wonder that he’d mistaken Cloud for a female; that pleasant, almost hourglass-like physique, attractively refined upper torso arching inward toward a slim waist before flaring out as it ended at the shapely, bulbous ass was to die for. 

Jolting up in shock, Cloud stood back up as Sephiroth gripped his bottom and exhaled warm air onto his cheeks, then gingerly stepped out of his less bashful mannerisms as he gazed over a shoulder at the alpha. Sephiroth automatically moved to grasp his senior’s ass, taking one of his cheeks in each hand. They ballooned around his palms as he gently squeezed them, and it required too much self-control for Sephiroth to resist the urge to lean forward and bite down on the milky white flesh. Posed before him like this, Cloud had no idea what kind of a feast he truly was. Palming and massaging his cheeks swelled outward from his narrow waist and hips repeatedly, Sephiroth’s excitement was almost difficult to comprehend and contain.

Being the one in the right frame of mind for a moment, Cloud crisply inquired, “You won’t go into a rut, right?”

Flitting his eyes up at Cloud, Sephiroth coyly smirked and shook his head. “Never have, never will. I’ve got this, and I don’t want anything deeper aside from a good, hot night of fucking. Relax.”

Although Sephiroth would never admit to it for the sake of bragging and appearing quite collected and mature in front of an older omega, ever since Cloud had kissed him the second time in the hotel, Sephiroth had decided to regularly take a strong dose of alpha rut suppressants. Uncertainty wasn’t a position he ever wanted to be in, nor did he feel comfortable with toying with his own limits. The last thing he needed was to go ballistic and become an irreversible, irreverent beast baying for omegas, but he clung to the image of heightened composure just as well.

Long fingers nimbly trickled down and around the underside of Cloud’s globes. Swiveling Cloud to the right so he was mildly facing Sephiroth, the alpha caught a glimpse of his hard cock bouncing in front of him from excitement. Now that he’d examined Cloud completely naked, Sephiroth once again gripped his bottom cheeks, admiring how they looked and felt while he firmly squeezed and mashed them together. Almost salivating, he took notice of the completely hairless cleft. Brain fogging over with animal instincts, Sephiroth gently pried Cloud’s cheeks apart in curiosity, exposing his little pink, equally hairless hole to the air.

“The heck? What’s going on—oooooh!” Shrieking, Cloud then whimpered as Sephiroth’s hot breath hit his most sensitive spot.

Out of his mind, Sephiroth’s tongue lolled out, the long appendage taking a deep, full swipe as he watched Cloud’s puckered hole quiver from the pressure. Licking away again, Sephiroth hooked his eyes on the spot in deep fascination. Rewarded with both the heady sight of slick as well as the sweet taste of it, Sephiroth continued to suckle, milking the sweet syrup out of the omega and onto his tongue. The fervidly sharp electric current sizzled all over his mouth as he confirmed that yes, this was an omega in heat, desiring to be mated and knotted by an alpha.

Ravenously, Sephiroth licked a few more times, though it was rather sloppy and messy. Mouth watering with hunger, Sephiroth delighted in creating a larger, wetter spot over Cloud’s hole, sucking and nibbling around the underside of his globes just to be that much more of a tease. Depriving himself of the sweet nectar forcefully, he was suddenly ready to get started, done with all the foreplay, sexy and fun as it was. Internally lamenting the loss of the addictively powerful and savory taste, Sephiroth pouted while licking his own lips clean. Deep down, he wanted it back, wanted to suckle for a little bit longer...just for even a minute...  

Frenzied to a degree, Cloud peeked around a shoulder to address Sephiroth, chest heaving and jaw slack. “H-hurry…please…”

Highly doubting that they needed lube given how soaked and dripping Cloud was, Sephiroth still applied a decent bit of lube to the condom after opening the packet and attempting to roll it onto his jutting member. Awkwardly pushing his boxers down out of the way to ensure the condom fit properly, his fingers slipped in his mounting excitement, eyes fogging and watering over given the lust and pheromones rife in the air.

Impatient and grouchy too suddenly, Cloud flipped his hair back over his shoulders before snapping, “Let me do it!”

Emitting a gasp as his eyes grew round with impressed awe, Sephiroth found he genuinely liked the bossier side of Cloud. Gaze darting briefly to his cock sticking straight up, almost touching his flat stomach, Sephiroth suddenly wanted to take that smooth bit of flesh deeply in his mouth. 

When Cloud swatted and snarled aggressively at him for delaying the action, Sephiroth frowned, offering him the bottle before attempting to remove his boxer briefs completely. 

“Chill, Cloud.”

In a daze of his own, Cloud carefully watched Sephiroth’s large, thick cock come into view when the toned male lifted his strong hips to drag his underwear all the way down and off. Luxuriating in the desire clear in Cloud’s eyes, the entire nine inches of alpha cock protruded stiffly from neatly trimmed silver pubes, leaving Cloud nervously biting his lip while studying the member quite intently.

Haughty and confident, Sephiroth tilted his head at Cloud and remarked with a snicker, “You like this big dick, huh?”

Drawing in unsteady oxygen, Cloud whimpered, “You know I d-do…”

Refusing to let the subject go that easily without hearing what he truly wanted from Cloud, Sephiroth ran a finger up beneath Cloud’s chin, cupping it then and wrenching his head up so their eyes met. 

Through an oily sneer, he demanded, “Say: yes daddy, I love this big, hot dick and can’t wait to feel it inside my wet boy pussy.”

Mortified by the instructions dictated to him, Cloud rejected obeying the script until Sephiroth reached around him and slapped his ass roughly. 

Brimming all over with embarrassment, he tucked a stray strand of sunny-tinted hair behind an ear as he rasped quickly, “Ugh! Y-yes daddy, I love your b-big, hot dick…a-and I c-can’t wait to f-feel it inside m-my wet boy pussy!”

Shooting back in mind numbing pleasure as soon as his brain and ears feasted on the filthy words, Sephiroth’s heart skipped a few beats. Eyes a shade darker, as his thoughts reeled over to more prurient desires, he hooked an arm over Cloud’s throat and drew him in closer.

“Good boy.”

Refusing to look away from Sephiroth’s large cock even after his brief moment of embarrassment, Cloud subsequently squeezed a liberal portion of the lubricant bottle into his hand.

Squatting lower, Cloud’s breath hitched, the timorous omega reaching out to take a hold of Sephiroth’s cock. Delighted by those thin fingers, nails painted black with shiny nail polish, Sephiroth almost moaned when Cloud tightly wrapped his digits around his throbbing shaft before he began gently pumping up and down. The lube felt cool as he spread it along the length of his dick, and even better, Sephiroth could tell that Cloud was thrilled by this lewd act. Every emotion was imprinted and presented on his cute visage, with Cloud almost drooling while taking his time slicking Sephiroth up just to be able to steal a moment to cop a feel now and then.

Dripping from base to tip with shiny lube now, after his thorough work, Cloud stood back up and began applying some to his own hole. Turning around so his back was presented to Sephiroth’s eyes, as he provided the stunned alpha with a decent show of what his fingers were doing, he took his chance to snicker.

Knowing he had Sephiroth’s undivided attention as he wanted, Cloud ordered, “Move yourself a bit lower, and spread your legs out.”

Acquiescing since he wanted to be buried in something hot and wet, Sephiroth ignored how annoying Cloud was now that he gained confidence back. Once in position, with his thighs slightly spread, Sephiroth balanced his nerves while he watched Cloud carefully climb onto him backwards. Approaching the couch and placing both his knees along the outside of each of Sephiroth’s thighs, he edged upwards until he was perched on top of the alpha with his legs spread, his supple bottom hanging a few inches above Sephiroth’s needy, throbbing cock.

This would be it. If there was even a smidgeon of doubt, fear, or anything else holding them back, before they reached the edge, Sephiroth felt strongly that these were the remaining seconds. Sweating mildly as his heart leapt in his chest, he wondered if Cloud was just as apprehensive as well as equally exhilarated. It was ultimately difficult to tell given how cryptic the older male could be at times, but Sephiroth didn’t even want to waste a second opening the gateway for doubt.

Cloud gripped his knees for support as he settled fully over Sephiroth’s lap. Ensuring he didn’t topple forward was tricky, but Sephiroth assisted, holding onto Cloud’s thighs firmly in response. Surprised at the softness he found there, he lazily ran his hands up and down them before realizing they were completely lacking any hair. It was a strange feeling, but not unpleasantly so, leaving Sephiroth quite heady while he took his time touching Cloud.

Informing Sephiroth what he was doing step-by-step, Cloud made the entire process even more sensual, unbeknownst to himself. “I’ll do this slowly. I’m just lining your dick up near my hole.” 

Reaching behind and beneath himself, in quite the sensual display, Cloud began grabbing Sephiroth from the base of his cock and pointing the member upward. Quite like when he watched Cloud’s slick fingers sliding in and out of his pucker earlier, while Sephiroth looked on, heat wafted off them both, and they simultaneously gasped, pausing for a few seconds. Fingers dug into flesh as they froze in that position, eyes wide in awe and rapture. Sensational as the feelings were, exploding internally and causing tears to almost build up in Sephiroth’s eyes, from this tiny sample, he yearned for more and refused to wait any longer.

Grateful that Cloud insisted they would do this without facing each other, Sephiroth knew he couldn’t hold himself together if he dared look at Cloud’s face while this happened. Already too obsessed with Cloud and finding his features quite beautiful to look at, he could better control himself when he wasn’t eagerly capturing all those fleeting expressions on such a gorgeous visage. 

Subconsciously, Sephiroth also wondered how it’d come to Cloud so naturally to be in this position; reverse cowgirl was Sephiroth’s favorite, and for the first time they were to engage in this passionate affair, Cloud automatically fell into place for his fantasies to come to life…

Groping and kneading Cloud’s posterior cheeks in each hand, Sephiroth carefully spread them to reveal his hole. Caution fleeting not so gradually, Cloud began to lower himself until the tip of Sephiroth’s twitching cock was pressed against his taut opening, smearing it with slick and lubricant so hot to the touch.

Struck by eclectic and equally cataclysmic shock, both Cloud and Sephiroth became petrified as they wavered precariously on the edge of their very first carnal encounter. The act didn’t require anything in the way of audible confirmation and glorious plaudits, the alpha and omega basking in the titillating electricity flowing between one another. The pure charge of levin generated from pent up anticipation and a strong sexual attraction that’d grown for weeks, the conduit finally in their grasp and control.

Ravenous and desperate to press on and become one with Sephiroth, Cloud began pushing himself firmly down on the teen’s pulsating cock. The rubbery tip of the condom strained against a tight opening, stubbornly resisting the pressure to push inside, but Sephiroth persisted as much as Cloud did. Savoring the moment before he erupted, he held a deep breath until the rushing urges finally broke through the void.

Hips shifting up and sealing the remaining inches, two astonished gasps were released the moment Sephiroth penetrated Cloud. Blinking back in stunned awe, despite knowing how silly he currently looked even if Cloud couldn’t see his expressions, Sephiroth couldn’t believe he was finally buried inside the tight hole he’d been fantasizing about for months.

Though he was only an inch past the tip, Sephiroth instantly regretted never sleeping with an omega in his young life. As many betas and alphas as he’d fooled around with, to even begin to describe and compare the sensuality to the body of an omega was ridiculous. This was more than astounding, refreshing, rejuvenating. He felt whole again, torn apart, then rebuilt as a more complete sum of a singular part. 

After a brief moment, and when the sharp shock of penetration wore off, already too tight, Cloud continued his descent. Hips rolling, in measured increments, he began sliding inch by inch down Sephiroth’s massive erection while balancing his weight by using Sephiroth’s thighs as leverage.

Fearful of coming when they just barely started, Sephiroth took deep breaths, each one coming out in short gasps. Cock tingling, he dipped his head and watched Cloud’s beautiful, tight ass sink lower and lower, engulfing his entire shaft and enveloping it in a snug, warm embrace. Sealed and locked in as his muscles clenched, Sephiroth was almost unable to process the mixture of gratification and lust that was reverberating through himself. He’d never been inside someone this tight, perfect, exquisite before…all too naturally and easily, given the tiny noises of pleasure Cloud created, Sephiroth sensed the omega felt the same way.

So…this was what some nerdy poets often wrote about and crafted in their art when it came to such ethereal pleasure…and now, it was his for the taking.

After what felt like an eternity simply gazing at Cloud’s greedy hole devouring his cock, when Sephiroth inched up, his firm abdomen pressed up against the smooth surface of Cloud’s spheres while he bottomed out inside him.

Once Cloud was through with his cries, Sephiroth felt too proud of himself for taking control at last.

“Fuuuucking hell,” he hungrily murmured in a strained voice. Close to drooling like an untrained mutt, Sephiroth remarked, “Oh my god…I can’t believe how damn good you feel…I’m finally inside you!”

Mutely nodding at first, Cloud then moaned and threw his head down, forcing himself to stay still. Trembling while straddling Sephiroth’s enormous cock, he tightened his thighs and hole in good measure, squeezing the member sheathed in his body in an effort to accommodate Sephiroth deeper inside his channel.

When those fluttery muscles took a great hold of his member in quite the tight, visceral grip, Sephiroth jolted forward, his hands automatically shooting out to grab Cloud’s hips. A sudden urge to just cast aside good manners, take what he wanted, and plunge brutally in that delectably tight hole almost overflowed Sephiroth’s conscience. For the first time in his sexual experiences, he had to resist the impulse to start violently bucking upwards. Holding back, he ground his teeth together and pulled Cloud against his lap, being hit with a renewed feeling of bubbly globes gliding and pressing firmly into his crotch.

Pressing a hand on his abdomen, Cloud let out a small whimper, the noise making Sephiroth’s hard dick pulsate even harder.

Hardly able to formulate any coherent sentence, he groggily inquired, “You like that?”

Much more eager to speak and provide Sephiroth what he wanted, Cloud panted, “Amazing…your cock is so huge, daddy!”

With the confidence and compliments shooting into his brain as he felt a wave of endorphins choking his system, Sephiroth swayed. In quite a mess with his less composed character, he nodded at Cloud as he suggested, “Wanna please daddy even more and show him how incredible his cock makes you feel?”

Devoted to being obedient, Cloud leaned forward slightly, arching his back to afford Sephiroth’s cock a more snug fit within his hole. With everything more exposed at this new angle, Sephiroth’s voracious eyes traveled up Cloud’s lithe body and he clasped the top of his shoulder with his left hand. Unsteadily, he tried processing what he was witnessing, dragging his palm and fingers lower while his vagarish eyes followed the natural flow of satin smooth skin down his senior’s back and over the beautifully built curves of his snow white globes.

Slanting himself up and hanging there for a second to show Sephiroth how much of his long length hung upwards, Cloud then shuddered and began making small, circular motions with his hips as he swiveled back down. Observing how much Cloud was able to take, Sephiroth felt his tumescent member being shifted around deep inside him, stretching the compact walls constricting his hard cock even more than previously. 

Flicking a finger and then the tip of his tongue under Cloud’s left earlobe, Sephiroth commended him for his actions happily. “You’re doing so well…just like that…keep riding this massive dick like the good boy I know you are.”

Passing over more control to Cloud, Sephiroth removed his hands off his shoulder and hip to lean back and watch him softly gyrate against his lap. Picking up some speed and a firm tempo, Cloud began working and manipulating the flesh that was snugly crammed inside his hole. Unable to cope with how sexy this omega was, Sephiroth’s eyes tracked the movements of his lower torso, watching both cheeks swell outward as they writhed tenderly against his own flesh. Each time, Sephiroth felt Cloud becoming wetter and hotter, the slick deliberately dragging and coating his own member in a highly intriguing, sensual way.

Breath ragged and eyes unblinking, Sephiroth flexed his thick arms and raised his hands a few times cluelessly, unsure of what to do with them. Vivid pleasure was radiating from deep within his core, rapidly traveling in sharp bursts up his tingling cock to the tip of his conscience. The entire length of his cock became even fuller, as if instinct had taken over to lock and lodge the alpha deep inside a perfect omega…

The air conditioning sure came in handy. Sephiroth was massively burning on the spot with lust and desire, the sexual gratification he received from having his dick inside the tightest, most addictive hole ever felt quite incomparable to any other experience.

Carefully, without startling Cloud to disrupt him, Sephiroth reached out with both hands and took a hold of the omega’s ass, clutching it for all the strength he possessed. Upon feeling that he was now grabbed, Cloud momentarily froze and stopped rotating his hips to begin pushing back against Sephiroth’s impressive grip.

Bringing the round orbs to mash them together as if they were supple breasts, Sephiroth salivated at the sight of the juicy bits of flesh squeezing and squishing against each other before outwardly bulging toward his palms.

Never wanting to cease groping such a sexy ass, Sephiroth growled when Cloud began moving it slowly back and forth, slightly lifting up before coming back down. Zapped with amazement given how Cloud pulled it off so lightly the first few times, Sephiroth hardly noticed the tiny motions at first. A bit bold after a few repetitions, Cloud suddenly rose up, releasing at least a quarter of Sephiroth’s erection before he eased back down, enveloping the alpha once more with his moist passage.

A stream of messy, garbled nonsense flew out of Sephiroth immediately. This form of stimulation by far with the most mind-blowing that it sent him back in shock. Primitive instincts taking over, he roughly squeezed Cloud’s bottom in response to nearly bruise his flesh. Amid the guttural growls, the resulting moan came out low from excitement, the omega in his own little world of heaven as he trilled and mewled away.

Knowing how demanding and needy he was, without much care for his change in behavior, Sephiroth nudged Cloud. “More…come on, more, Cloud!”

Not exactly requiring much in the way of encouragement, Cloud sought his own release as he gracefully lifted himself up. Bending his knees and freeing more of Sephiroth’s cock, he whined louder before his ass descended once again, repeating these movements frantically with just a bit more speed each time until he was riding Sephiroth at a moderately wild pace.

This form of fucking...it was incredible, especially when there was no doubting that a fraught bit of tension still lingered. Animal passion rather than anything emotional surged and bolstered, the longer the carnal act continued, the more impossible it was to despite it. Degrading as it partly was to admit even to himself, Sephiroth knew that the truth was rather dark and abysmally entrenched with lecherous treachery. 

As clear as the luminescent moon in the inky sky, he was here, engaged in illicit, torrid sex on the dark sofa in the basement with Cloud Strife. Sephiroth had finally crossed over a new threshold, fucking someone he shouldn’t ever have found desirable in the first place, but he indeed was doing just that. Humiliation left his brain as he conceded that he was screwing his ex-girlfriend’s father while the young woman herself was asleep in the same house, three floors above, not at all aware of what was transpiring in her own home.

Anyone normal, rational, and sensible would’ve looked down upon him and told him he was out of his mind for doing this, and by all rights, they would be fundamentally correct. Only, Sephiroth didn’t care at all. With his cock making all the decisions for himself, he only knew that this was fucking incredible, and he never wanted it to end.

Feasting on the sights, sounds, and sensations in pure disbelief, mouth slightly ajar, he couldn’t fathom how Cloud pushed his thin body to bounce on his thick cock with quite the supreme display of agility. This truly was something Sephiroth had never experienced before, but he loved every bit of it. 

Those soft, supple globes smacked against the hardened outline of his jutting abs and the coarse skin of Sephiroth’s shaved pubic zone in a consistent rhythm. Each time Cloud moved himself up and then descended steadily, the momentum wildly surged. The motions created tiny, fleshy plopping noises, which in turn, heightened the raw, wanton pleasure brilliantly surging through the teenager every time the omega above himself tactfully clenched his cock as it hammered in and out of him.

Piercing the air with a high-pitched cry, between deep breaths, Cloud’s fingers dug into Sephiroth’s knees for leverage to keep his position atop his cock steady. Blinking back a few tears, Sephiroth was vaguely aware of Cloud stroking his own member, the flesh just as hard as Sephiroth’s. Dipping his head to one side and curiosity enabling him to peek around, Sephiroth felt even more aroused to see Cloud’s cock between his fingers, bouncing up and down in front of himself while he delivered jerky, messy strokes to his own flesh.

Once he’d taken a decent view of Cloud tending to himself, Sephiroth again glued his eyes to his ass, watching the shiny, alabaster skin ripple in succulent waves across plump, circular cheeks each time their bodies collided. Not able to help himself, Sephiroth reached out and spanked Cloud’s perfectly round rump, his open palm only cutting through the air fervidly before he brought it down harshly on top of one of Cloud’s cheeks.

“Ooooh!” Cloud’s shrill cry of pleasurable pain mingled wonderfully with the sound of Sephiroth’s palm, the smacking sharply ringing out across the basement.

More punctuated and defined by timing the spanking with each thrust, Sephiroth orated in a bombastically charged growl, “How’s that feel, slut? Is it good?”

“Yeah! Yeah! So good!” Cloud sang out at Sephiroth with barely contained excitement.

“Damn, look at you, boy…” Sephiroth bit his lip and delivered another sharp crack to his partner’s raised rear, just a tad harder this time. “Bet you’ve never been dicked down like this before.”

“FUUUUUCK, YESSSS!” This time, Cloud’s cry was much louder.

With his head thrown back as he worked his own cock faster, Sephiroth felt his own flesh surge inside that wetness. This truly was only the beginning of mind-numbing pleasure, but he was already under the charming spell of their connection so easily.

Arching an eyebrow, he playfully purred, “You like being spanked by daddy, don’t you? Naughty slut.”

Not bothering to wait for a reply, Sephiroth delivered two crisp smacks, and was instantly rewarded with a third cry forced from the omega’s lips.

“Ohhh, fuck me!” Cloud’s desperation came through in a shocked whisper.

Witty at once, Sephiroth expressed in a clipped laugh, “I am fucking you, Cloud.” Breaking away into his own musings suddenly, Sephiroth felt numb in his skull as he elucidated to Cloud, “I’ve wanted to do this ever since that night in your office when I found you dancing…you were so sexy with your stiff cock tenting out the front of that red thong.” 

Bewitched by the narrative Sephiroth fed him, Cloud began pushing back against Sephiroth with more tenacity now, breaths coming out hitched. “Mmm?” 

“Mhm,” Sephiroth mimicked in reply. “Well. Look at you now without shame as I spank you like the little fuck slut you are. You deserve this, don’t you?”

This time, when his form descended, to meet him halfway, Sephiroth lifted his hips, spearing and impaling Cloud with his cock as it completely slid swiftly into the warm casing so addictively wet and slick. Balls now hitting the underside of Cloud’s thighs and ass, Sephiroth ducked his head again, capturing and immortalizing the beautiful view.

Vocabulary so limited, Cloud’s voice quivered. “Fuuuuuck! Oh fuck! Fuuuuucking…fuck!”

Saucily, Sephiroth chuckled out, “You were asking for this for a long time, Cloud. Isn’t this what you fucking needed?”

Following the acutely crisp slap, Cloud nodded in dumbfounded awe to confirm Sephiroth’s suspicions easily.

“No, it’s not enough; I want to hear your words,” Sephiroth demanded, steadily pumping up into Cloud’s ass, driving his cock deep inside the weak omega every time he dropped himself into Sephiroth’s lap.

Knowing how much better it was to give in and obey, Cloud moaned sharply, but with clarity. “Oooh! Yes! I’ve wanted this thick cock to stretch and fill my tiny hole for m-months!”

Pushing down on Sephiroth’s cock faster and harder now, Cloud proved how eager he was to meet those upward thrusts, his right hand gliding over his cock. Sliding his hand over the back of Cloud’s just to get a feeling for his own pace as he stroked himself, Sephiroth sensed now that their mutual fucking descended into a whole new level of intensity. Words became scarce as both the alpha and omega were too far gone in the lustful haze of gratifying, sexual indulgence, only relying on their biology and instincts as guiding factors.

Grunts, snarls, and soft cries sounded as their bodies moved together in a decadent cadence; the gentle beginnings of perspiration dotting Cloud’s skin before Sephiroth lapped and licked away at it. Pheromones permeated the air, the room echoing with perverse groans and heavy breathing of two animals deep in heat, using one another to satiate their primal hunger.

In between delivering such punishing spanks, fueling the rapidly approaching crescendo, scant words revved up both Sephiroth and Cloud given the salaciousness of the commentary.

“Please, f-fuck!” Cloud begged through tears “Fuck me, Sephiroth! Knot me with your big dick!”

Knowing that it was only omega heat pheromones talking, Sephiroth was still pleased to hear Cloud pleading away so feebly. “Are you worthy of this cock?!” Sephiroth abruptly yelled, pounding at Cloud’s hole with the occasional twist of his hips. “Are you worthy of receiving this alpha’s dick, my omega whore?”

Slapping Cloud’s cheeks in quick succession, Sephiroth decided to grab the older male by his hips. Sneaking his left hand into the back of Cloud’s hair, he gripped a decent portion, seizing it firmly before he shoved Cloud face-first ahead. Cautious not to harm him, he only pushed the omega until his chest lay across the cold, smooth surface of the glassy coffee table. Ass pert in the air, and knees drawn up to support his own weight, Cloud was then brutally thrust into from the new angle until he began spewing random gibberish. 

“Nuugh! Y-yes! Fuck! Fucking savage! M-more! Give it t-to me like th-this! Fuuuck!”

Another smack followed by another cry of pain and pleasure, yet Cloud hungrily continued moving his ass up and down, gripping Sephiroth firmly with his hole while he pinched and plucked his nipples before twisting gently on the tip of his own cock.

Bracing his weight up properly, Sephiroth planted his feet on the soft carpet, thighs still straddling Cloud’s hips. “Such a filthy bitch! Take this big dick! Take it like the cock hungry whore you are!”

Entirely baffled by Cloud permitting him to treat and speak to him this way, Sephiroth knew that even if he dated Aerith for another ten years and went so far as to marry her, this would definitely be a no-go. Given her personality being slightly frigid, she’d never let him use such crude language with her, and it made him appreciate Cloud even more.

Delivering another powerful clap to his ass in time with his hips and balls slapping his cheeks, reddening it further, Sephiroth let his tongue collect a few rolling beads of sweat. To his surprise, rather than being doused with salt, the taste was completely sweet and sugary…

Writhing on the table like a worm dangling from a hook, Cloud whispered, “Fuck m-my slutty h-hole, Seph! Fuck me until there’s nothing left!”

Dragging his teeth across Cloud’s back, cock throbbing from his putridly filthy words, Sephiroth coaxed him so he could hear more. “You’re such a hungry butt-slut for this rock hard dick, aren’t you?”

“Yes, and I want you to fuck me like one!” Cloud emphatically roared, “Fuck me raw so I never forget what kind of a cum-thirsty bitch I am!”

That did the trick to send tingling sparks shooting all over his cock. “Yessssss!” 

Swelling with pride and possessiveness, Sephiroth immediately grabbed a hold of his hips, taking control as a mix of power and lust surged through himself from head to toe. Fingers hooking and digging sharply into tender flesh, when Cloud shuddered in sensitivity, Sephiroth knew he’d leave marks there, adding to the excitement he already felt.

Good…very good…an alpha had every right to mark and stain his omega.

Bringing his own movements to a bit of a slower pace, Sephiroth snuck an arm beneath Cloud to readjust him. Bucking upwards, he drove himself with a monstrous pace, plowing that glorious hole with urgency and desire while simultaneously mashing his cheeks roughly against abdomen. The fervid pace now had the dual effect Sephiroth wanted; drilling his cock deeply into the tightening, slick space and creating a rapid, perverse slapping noise that he took great pleasure in, the obscenities guided Sephiroth even further into depravity.

Out of control now, he behaved like alphas of the past. Vicious, uncaring, and forceful as he gave in, he enriched the experience, plunging even deeper with intent to ruin the omega’s hole. This indeed was exactly what Cloud had begged him to do. Less guilty about it now, Sephiroth voraciously started fucking Cloud with the cold and distant efficiency of an alpha using an omega’s body solely for their own carnal enjoyment, and there was no questioning how much they both loved it.

Effervescent sounds Cloud frequently emitted grew quite loud, leaving Sephiroth extremely grateful that the basement was soundproof. As much as he loved all kinds of noises during sex, at this volume, they would’ve woken up the entire household by now if they were at Sephiroth’s place instead. 

Taking another decent eyeful of the show ahead, Sephiroth smirked at the sight of Cloud’s closed fist moving rapidly along his cock. It was that scene alone which goaded Sephiroth to continue to plow the omega’s ass without a shred of mercy, the wild pace and incredibly powerful friction causing the glassy table to shift away from the sofa a few inches. 

Fiercely screwing Cloud so he wouldn’t ever be able to forget this moment, Sephiroth and Cloud soon surrendered to the primal instincts that seemed to pour naturally out of their natures. Now at least doing his part to meet Sephiroth’s pace, Cloud crashed against Sephiroth’s pelvis in a rapid succession of backwards thrusts and plunges.

The deep grunts that emerged from between Sephiroth’s clenched teeth were deep and primitive. All he could focus on was the feeling of release growing steadily within the pit of his belly, so strong it felt like his dick was numb and close to reaching a swelling knot.

Relying with much faith in the suppressants he’d taken, Sephiroth inched away, barely managing to utter something out. “Gonna come…fuuuck!”

Turning and straining his muscles as he locked eyes with Sephiroth, Cloud almost crooned at the thought. “Yessss, do it for me! Shoot it deep inside my womb!” Louder, now, he implored Sephiroth, “Come inside me, alpha! Knot and breed my horny, slutty ass!”

Hearing him beg for his load made the blood and come boil in his veins, Sephiroth’s testicles quite heavy at once. Regrettably, it was that form of pleading which drew out Sephiroth’s orgasm far quicker than he’d anticipated and wanted, but there wasn’t any way to prevent it now.

Eyeing the back of Cloud’s neck through a slightly red-hazed vision, Sephiroth muttered under a labored breath, “G-get ready, whore! This is what you want! This is what you’ll get!”

“Fuuuuck, fuuuck, alphaaaa!” Cloud called out desperately before a thin stream of transparent fluids started to shoot out the tip of his member, blasting forward in long arcs that splattered across the carpeted floor when they seeped between his clenched fingers enclosing his cock.

As he came in an explosive wail, his walls automatically contracted, the fluttering muscles within clenching and releasing the alpha’s cock in a swift pattern that finally wrenched forth Sephiroth’s own long awaited orgasm.

Strangled by the potent grip, with a choking gasp, Sephiroth began to withdraw. Holding and pulling Cloud down onto his dick one last time, he gave the omega a few shallow pumps before his semen rushed out, claiming and coating the interior of the condom instead of Cloud’s womb.

Losing his balance, Sephiroth stumbled back, though he was still cautious enough not to swiftly pull out and harm Cloud. “Shiiiiiiiit!” 

Picturing his cock spasming inside Cloud rather than the used rubber covering his length, just the tip remained within the omega. Twitching and jerking back, Sephiroth imagined flooding the omega with heavy amounts of thick semen, the fantasy persisting long enough while Cloud moaned, low and long, still stroking himself. Though his arm slowed into a lazy rhythm now, his forceful spurts dwindled down to just a dribble, hips rocking back into Sephiroth as he bemoaned the loss of contact when Sephiroth finally eased the low-hanging tip of his spent cock out of the feeble omega.

Brushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes, with a casual sweep of his hand carding through his silver locks, Sephiroth snorted down at Cloud, bold enough to try and mock him.

“Well? Are you gonna be using toys ever again?” Haughty enough to pry further, he chuckled cruelly and asked, “Didn’t I tell you that sleeping with an alpha is the best?”

Bleary, before he faded out, Cloud raised his right hand, all the digits curling back until only the middle one was proudly erected in the air to face Sephiroth. “C-cocky l-little prick…”

Not taking it as an insult, Sephiroth swooped down, collected Cloud off the table, then held him close to his own sternum. Not surprised to feel Cloud’s heart almost ready to race and explode out of his chest, Sephiroth only soothed him by kissing the back of his neck, proud to smell their combined pheromones after their copulation.  

Chapter Text

Jolted out of a deep slumber when something slammed in the distance and solidified in his skull, Sephiroth shook himself up to study his surroundings. Head throbbing with blistering pain, he clutched his temples, stinging eyes adjusting after a few seconds to the sunlight potently streaming into the basement. 

Clearly, he’d passed out right there in the same spot, a bit of drool clinging to his lower lip and chin. Pissed off that Cloud hadn’t even bothered to stir him earlier, he was at least grateful that the omega had been the one to redress him, especially when Aerith’s voice echoed above the basement steps.

Unable to make her words out, Sephiroth yawned, stretching his arms and legs, cracking his stiff joints and knuckles as the sensual, filthy images of what’d happened last night pooled into his memory. 

Ah, yes. Last night, he’d had some of the hottest sex in his young life, and all with his ex-girlfriend’s father, no less. It was indeed the best experience so far, with Sephiroth in a heady daze while he found it difficult to ascend the steps. Sluggishly, when his ears informed him that his belt was undone and hanging by his hips, he hurriedly fastened it back in place before opening the basement door.

Eyes not accustomed to even more profoundly sharp light effulgently bursting in from the enormous kitchen windows, he groaned, olfactory bulbs badly burning when the odor of coffee and toast slammed into his nose. 

A blurry figure darted past him, but before he could yelp out in terror, he heard Aerith’s snappy voice finally securing into his lucidity. 

“Dad? Have you seen my pills?”

Rubbing his foggy eyes, the last bit of sleep trickling away when the trigger word ‘dad’ lodged into his brain, Sephiroth gulped down the thick knot in his throat. Cloud was in one corner of the kitchen, leaning by the fridge, his phone in one hand, the other wrapped around the handle of a coffee mug.

Head bowed over the steam billowing up from the opening, due to how composed and calm his demeanor was, Sephiroth wondered whether he’d dreamed of their fornication. There was just no way that anyone, especially an omega in heat couldn’t be affected in some way after sleeping with an alpha…no matter how talented of an actor Cloud probably was, Sephiroth refused to accept that he wasn’t afflicted in some way only hours after such a thorough fucking.

Impatient enough to slam a heel into the floor when Cloud didn’t respond to her, Aerith shrieked, “Dad?!” 

Slowly looking up at her, Cloud met her steely eyes, then turned over to peer at Sephiroth. 

Struck by the refined, cold mask of total indifference, if Sephiroth’s memory wasn’t too sharp and crisp to constantly alert him to the fact that he’d just had brilliant sex with Cloud, he would’ve completely doubted himself. 

Hair recently washed, torso scenting of body wash and fruity cologne, Cloud was dressed properly in a fashionably comfortable sweater. The collar was propped up well, the length of the fabric freshly-ironed, his sleek, black jeans fitting his frame decently. Nothing was out of order. Flesh clean, smooth, and pale, he appeared to be glowing with cleanliness, not even a single strand of hair out of place to suggest that he indeed had become the sloppy, sweaty, mewling mess Sephiroth had turned him into last night. 

Difficult as it was to believe, it was the truth that only a few hours ago, this very same man had been bent over a coffee table, steaming away with pheromones until he experienced quite the insane orgasm with Sephiroth. The furtive secret lingered in his bright eyes, but the highly trained veneer of total apathy denied anything else due to how fiercely Cloud clung to his own willpower. 

“Good morning, Sephiroth.” Turning away from the alpha, Cloud’s eyes shifted back onto his phone, his eyeballs moving from left to right as he continued his personal reading. 

Emitting a tiny gasp as she too suddenly noticed Sephiroth’s presence in their home, Aerith held onto her racing heart, eyes wide until she scowled at her ex-boyfriend. “Oh…morning.” 

Nodding at her and trying to play it cool, Sephiroth grunted and waved. “Sup, Aerith?”

Shaking her head in displeasure at him, cheeks burning pink, Aerith mumbled quizzically, “You dropped me off at home and passed out here?” 

Scratching his head, Sephiroth replied while the coffee machine worked to produce more coffee, “Uh yeah. I was drunk too and I didn’t wanna be weird and sleep in your room, so I slept in the basement.”

Having received a satisfactory answer, Aerith then rolled her eyes over to Cloud as she inquired with much determination, “Dad, have you seen my pills?”

Jerking up in mild panic when he assumed she was of course referring to her birth control, Sephiroth parroted, “Eh? Pills?”

Now that he’d washed his heat out of his system, far more poised and coherent, Cloud offered an innocent shrug. Not at all betraying his own emotions, he fished for his own information, behaving much like any other parent. 

“What do you need those for, Aerith?”

Embarrassed when she set her fiery eyes on Sephiroth, when the alpha pretended to be busy with something else as he turned to face the kitchen sink, Aerith marched over to Cloud in a few long strides.

“Dad, I’m hanging out with Zack today, and I don’t want to be irresponsible!” 

Not at all even the slightest bit jealous and peeved when he heard the other teen’s name, a nonplussed Sephiroth finally turned on the faucet. Adjusting the tap temperature to gush out warm water, he then filled a washed mug with it before gazing at the floor. 

Eyeing him wearily, Cloud then cleared his throat, azure orbs landing on Aerith. Smiling out of politeness when he was anything other than tense, his veins jutting from his throat and temples told everyone all they needed to know about his opinions.

“Aerith,” he began while patting her arms and smoothing her short, white mini-skirt. “I’m not trying to poke around in your personal life, sweetheart, but didn’t you just end things with Sephiroth?”

Uncomfortably growling, Aerith’s eyes landed on the calendar hanging on the fridge as she hissed, “Dad! Can we not talk about this right now if he’s here?” 

Slurping his water and feeling the liquid wash his panic down, Sephiroth then wiped his lips with the back of a hand as he elucidated, “It’s fine, Aer. I’m happy for you and Zack, and I’ve moved on.”

“See?” Aerith croaked on, “It’s fine, dad, so can you tell me if you’ve seen my—”

“Take better care of your personal belongings if you don’t want them lost, Aerith.” Hiding his angry visage behind his phone and mug, Cloud edged away from his daughter, passing by the oven as he snapped, “Your room is so messy lately. Clean it up before you hang out with Zack.”

When Cloud brushed past him, Sephiroth nearly missed the quick jab from the omega’s elbow ramming into his sternum. Although Cloud wasn’t in a position to even look at Sephiroth without giving anything away, the quick code was discerned well, and Sephiroth knew he had a bit of time on his side to head down into the basement and retrieve the birth control.

Pettily whining, Aerith fussed, “Ugh, dad! I’ll be late!”

Pointing up at the ceiling, Cloud barked, “Get a move on!”

Tossing her arms listlessly in the air, the recalcitrant female cast her father a withering glare before she stormed out of the kitchen and padded up the stairs to her bedroom.

Without another word, Sephiroth flew into the basement, crossing over from the last step over to the sofa. Locating the package of pills where Cloud had previously left them, he swiped them into a hand, rushing back up into the kitchen right on time when he heard Aerith screaming angrily.

“I can’t find them!”

Lowering his voice, Cloud grabbed the package from Sephiroth, turning the object over a few times. “Put it in the den!”

Eyes glazed over with confusion for a split second, Sephiroth only headed off in that specific direction when Cloud cried out loudly to be heard by Aerith, “I think they’re here, Aerith!” 

When her feet rushed over the floor of the second level, Sephiroth freaked out. Head and eyes turning about in the middle of the enormous den, he searched for a random place to leave the pills in, but when he was stressed, it became tricky. Far too many items were in the way, but he eventually settled for chucking the package on a chair beneath winter mittens and scarves before diving back into the kitchen and assuming the same relaxed position by the sink.

Aerith, though out of breath, rushed in, but her inquiry was interrupted by Cloud pointing into the den. When they were left alone for a few minutes, blue eyes meeting emerald ones, the soft sounds of rustling and shifting from the other side of the walls finally eased tense nerves when Aerith sighed in relief. 

Unfortunately, as soon as Sephiroth felt a tendril of levity returning, it was gone when Aerith snarled in confusion.

“The hell?! Why’s one missing?!”

Under the pretense that he hadn’t heard her properly, Cloud took a deeper swig of his coffee. “Hmm? What did you say, sweetie?”

Poking her head around the corner into the kitchen, Aerith held up the package of pills, shaking them a few times. “I think one’s missing?”

Playing dumb, Cloud shook his head and squared his shoulders. “Not exactly sure how, sweetie, but you said you’ll be late, so go on.”

Understanding that it was much better and wiser to seal his lips and keep his mouth shut, Sephiroth chose not to offer a damn word. Speaking too much would no doubt make her more suspicious, so he chose to leave the matter to the father and daughter, boiling away in his own conflict when he knew he was directly involved.

Slightly incredulous when she looked at her father turning around in a circle, closed off to her and rather distant, Aerith lifted an eyebrow, but chose not to dig deeper when she had obtained what she needed. “Kay…umm…” 

Collecting her purse as it lay on the soft cushion of a stool, Cloud then held it out to her, beaming away with his emotions under better control in comparison to Sephiroth. Nervously, the alpha coughed and choked on another mouthful of water when he pondered on how damn close to insanity this all was.

Clicking her tongue at him, though not incredibly despondent, Aerith slung her purse over a shoulder, ensuring that her pills, keys, and phone were all within the green bag. “I’ll see you around dinner, dad! Love you!”

Embracing her when she leapt into his arms and kissed his cheek, Cloud huffed, “Yep. Don’t be late, because I’ll need help cooking.”

Running off already with her dainty hand waving behind herself, Aerith cooed, “Okay! Later, dad!” Quickly, as she unlocked the front door and could be heard slipping into flats, she hissed in irritation, “Get out of my dad’s house too, Sephiroth!”

The door slammed, but Sephiroth this time waited until Aerith’s car engine and music could be heard from the open windows before he let out a weak exhale. The guilt and friction had indeed caught up to him, leaving him feeling weaker and more exhausted than he thought. Acting innocent was extremely unnerving as it was, the piercing pain throttling his heart feeling left in torn pieces as he stood there in stunned shock. The rays of the warm sun did nothing to comfort and heat his body to get him moving, the statuesque teenager shaking uncontrollably until he could glance up at Cloud.

“Holy shit…” Inhaling the fresh air he needed into his lungs, he felt only a tad better and less close to fainting. “I thought we were busted…”

Callous in every way, Cloud’s nose snobbishly turned upward, the omega averting his gaze. Jaw clenched as his knuckles cracked when he tightened his grip on the coffee mug handle, he bit out irritably, “You should go home now.”

Unceremonious as it came through, when he scented the intoxicating cocktail of their sweat and pheromones still clinging to his torso beneath his clothes, Sephiroth decided not to argue at all. Needing a shower and a few more hours of sleep, he crept backwards, head bobbing up and down a few times in full agreement.

“See ya around, then?”

There was a long, drawn-out pause which made their interaction extremely close to harboring volatility once again. The air was infiltrated by stolid and sour tension not necessary to abate anyone’s nerves, and the longer Cloud remained quiet in his own musings, the worse Sephiroth felt. Not exactly regretting what’d happened, he still found it quite unusual and disturbing; he’d assumed this would be a one-night stand he could easily move past, but now that clarity pooled into his conscience as the new day stretched on, he knew that he wanted to genuinely linger and talk to Cloud.

Choosing to end his misery when the coffee machine finally released a ‘beep’ to signal that more coffee was brewed, Cloud set his now empty mug on the counter by the machine, free arms now folding across his sternum.

Only meeting Sephiroth’s eyes for a second, it was all the distraught alpha found he needed, and he expressed his own form of gratitude by smiling softly at Cloud.

“I’ll text you later, Sephiroth.”

“Thank you, Cloud.”

~~~********~~~

“Seph?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you uh, did you get laid recently?”

“Why do you ask?”

Shrugging after he wasn’t able to directly piece it together despite how close they’d been since kindergarten, Sephiroth’s best friend Genesis Rhapsodos drew away from his laptop placed on his desk. Rolling his chair away from the work space he was occupying, his essay only halfway complete, while Sephiroth rested on his bed, feet slanted up on the off-white walls, the redheaded alpha was clairvoyant enough to at least sense something off about his childhood friend.

“Seph, you seem a bit distracted, you’ve been kinda smiling to yourself as if you’ve got this weird secret, plus, you stink like sex…didn’t you come here to work on your final paper for chemistry?” 

Texting Angeal as an excuse to buy time while awaiting Cloud’s promised message instead, Sephiroth dipped his head back on the mattress, eyes locking onto Genesis. “I’ve got okay marks in that class anyway.”

Snorting when he sensed Sephiroth boasting, Genesis murmured, “Yeah, that’s mostly because our teacher thinks you’re hot and probably wants to fuck you.”

Pulling a disgusted face, Sephiroth bemoaned to shoot that idea down, “Gen, Mr. Heidegger’s like, a hundred years old and married…the fuck?”

“I’d still smash.” 

Bemusement seeped out of Sephiroth, and he didn’t even bother hiding his disapproval for what Genesis had spewed. “Have some standards, my dude.”

Snickering, shoulders bunching up as he hid his expressions beneath a large hand, Genesis teased, “I do. By the way, Chadley still wants to fuck your brains out.”

“See? He’s got standards and good taste! Be more like Chadley!”

“Go play in traffic, Sephiroth.”

As much as he knew his friend was joking, Sephiroth’s anxiety bundled up within his belly, and he almost made the errant mistake of lashing out when he caught the time and still had yet to hear from Cloud. Recovering quickly with a joke and a laugh, he fondly humored Genesis instead.

“What’s going on with you and Angeal, anyway?” Pointing to his phone screen, he admitted, “He said you blocked him?”

“I muted him,” Genesis smoothly corrected, though he frowned and gave enough of his own emotions on the subject away. “It’s not exactly easy to get over the fact that he rejected me and slept with my ex.”

Raking his eyes to the ceiling, Sephiroth tried not to pity Genesis too much when he knew he had his own dark skeletons regarding sleeping with someone less suitable than an ex. “It’ll be okay. Angeal has had a thing for Scarlet for a while, so just let them figure it out.”

“Easy for you to say!” Genesis crudely snapped, “It wasn’t enough to come out as bi, but as soon as I do, Scarlet dumped me and fucked Angeal!” Plucking his glasses off his nose bridge, he placed them back in their case, finishing with a biting snarl, “So pardon me for being salty about it! Christ!”

Careful not to raise his voice when he heard Genesis’ father working and moving around in his office down the hall, with a stern glare at Genesis across the room, Sephiroth finally confronted what’d been bothering himself all day, at least with one piece of his nagging issue divulged out in the open.

“Dude, I’m bi too.” 

Now resolutely scowling, Genesis broke out in a tiny laugh of disbelief. Waving Sephiroth’s claim off, he dryly sighed, “Seph, there’s no need to be dumb and lie just to make me feel better.”

“Uh, I was serious.”

“No way! I’ve known you forever, practically, and you and Aerith are like, the most likely couple I know who will get back together and marry!”

Swinging his feet away from the wall and off the bed, Sephiroth held his hands in his lap, phone by his thigh though facedown on the bed. “You know how you asked me if I got laid recently?”

Stunned by the odd form of a subject change, Genesis nodded slowly. “Uh, yeah, why?”

Steadfastly vying to encase himself in his own secrets while also sending out a semblance of truth, with carefully measured words to construct his message in the way he needed, he finally divulged to one person what he needed to express.

Wringing his hands, he coyly smirked, that expression eventually breaking out into a soft snicker. “Welllll, I uh, see I met this guy a few times in a bar, and we started talking, hitting it off really well, and I just like him a lot.”

Sparing Sephiroth the useless platitudes most who didn’t know him would often spew upon hearing these phrases, Genesis instead wisely listened with heightened interest growing by the second.

Wiping his shaky, clammy hands on his jeans, Sephiroth held onto a breath, courage proliferating when Genesis showed no form of judgement at his expense. “We have a lot in common even though he’s kinda older than me.”

Treading on thin ice with quite the gifted form of talent, he omitted key factors that wouldn’t entirely reveal specifics about Cloud, but assisted in Sephiroth divulging just enough to lift a heavy weight off his own chest.

Tugging on loose threads of his jeans, he ceased wasting time when Genesis arched his eyebrows, indicating that he was intrigued, but also needed Sephiroth to go on with his explanations.

“Anyway, last night, we uh, we hooked up, and it was my first time with a dude, but it happened.”

Hanging his head as Sephiroth did, brows furrowed for a second, Genesis’ shoulders finally relaxed as he exhaled and then pursed his lips. Whistling softly, he eventually broke out into a tiny grin, but held back on outright smiling fully, holding a question before reaching any solid conclusion based on his own bias rather than Sephiroth’s feelings. 

Scratching his neck, he gazed at the shut door, taking a second before he inquired, “How was it?”

No hesitation was necessary, nor was exaggeration from the truth as it immediately spilled out past Sephiroth’s lips. “It was amazing. Seriously, I haven’t stopped thinking about it, but I swear, it was the greatest sex I’ve ever had.”

Presenting shock, but equal amounts of joy for his friend, Genesis blushed and respectfully commented, “That’s awesome, Sephiroth!” Slightly turning away, he held a frown on his face as he repeated, “Oh, but you did mention that this guy’s older…”

Wishing that he hadn’t been so quick to admit that, Sephiroth cursed himself inwardly while he hurriedly elucidated, “I mean, yeah, kinda, but I don’t mind it. He’s sexy as hell and the sex was fucking mind-blowing.”

Once again truly invested in the voracious tale of a lascivious nature, Genesis rapturously crooned, “I’m happy to hear that, Sephiroth! My first time with a guy wasn’t that great because we both had no clue what we were doing, but it sounds like you both had enough experience to enjoy yourselves!”

Winking, Sephiroth purred, “Yep! It was so visceral, because he legit let me talk to him in such a filthy way, and I kinda liked degrading him.”

With that out of the way, not needing specific details since he respected some levels of privacy, Genesis’ next question was what shocked Sephiroth the most.

“Are you gonna see him again? You know, now that you and Aerith are done with each other?”

Understanding why Genesis felt the need to travel down that path of inquiry, it was a thought-provoking issue Sephiroth himself had previously considered. In fact, it was a tremendous part of why he wanted to speak with Cloud, especially why he was anticipating the omega’s text…conflict had risen and proliferated out of their union, and while Sephiroth couldn’t put a label on his feelings and identify with his emotions, he was confident that he did want to see Cloud again, spend more time with him, and hopefully have it lead to more sexual encounters. 

With nothing in the way holding them back now, they had freedom to do as they pleased, but Sephiroth wasn’t certain what he ultimately wanted from Cloud. Sex was constantly on his mind, but he didn’t want to treat Cloud like an object of desire and tool for physical pleasure…things had to be different. He was older now, advanced beyond his earlier years as a teenager, and more at ease with his own sexuality as a person. This was more than a matter of an alpha using an omega for sexual gratification, the situation extending far past the realms of an omega in heat seeking fulfilment and a way to satiate their ravenous appetite.

In the end, Sephiroth remained sinking deeply into the quagmire of dismay. The pit deepened, with the troubled adolescent understanding now how and why there existed a stark contrast between knowing what one wanted and reaching out to take it. He still had quite the plethora of questions, hidden steps to take, the road somewhat plagued by very little in the way of clarity without Cloud’s opinions. 

Bearing the truth so openly when he’d taken far too much time silently cogitating, while still careful not to tread the boundaries that would give far too much away, Sephiroth only gave off a bit of an apathetic shrug.

“Well, you’ll figure it out, I guess.” Reading something on his phone, Genesis then leaned back, raising the device and pointing it close to his visage while putting on a rather charming smile.

Guessing that he was taking a selfie, Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow and wondered, “Hey, how come we don’t take selfies anymore?”

Pausing as his expression morphed into a bitter one, Genesis snarled aggressively, “Because you either photobomb mine or flip me off in them, that’s why.”

Feigning innocence even though he was damn near close to imploding from the reminder of his evil games, Sephiroth grunted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have at least five photos with your middle finger coming out the sides of them, so shut up, Seph!”

With his own phone still not vibrating to alert him to a message from Cloud, once again back to feeling more like a jilted lover being ignored, Sephiroth set to work being extra annoying and needy, firing away a text. It was short and concise to ask if he could drop by, and with that bait set, he waited for the fish to bite…hopefully. 

~~~********~~~

After eight messages, Sephiroth knew Cloud had either muted him or perhaps temporarily blocked him. The needy texts had been shot out by the hour, but Sephiroth wasn’t any less ashamed of himself. Quite the opposite, he felt pissed off, channeling his speech and mannerisms into acerbic and stilted formats once he finished dinner at Genesis’ place and drove over to Cloud’s. 

Uncaring that he was being rather rude and callous to invite himself over, Sephiroth rang the bell four times, knocked at least six other times in odd patterns, then started singing out loud off-tune until Cloud finally unlocked the door and yanked him inside.

“Would you stop?!” Slamming the object and then shoving Sephiroth near a wall, vehement exasperation seeped out of Cloud. Dressed immaculately with the house in pristine condition, he still channeled his rage and messy emotions uncontrolled as he snapped mordantly, “Do you have any idea how god damn annoying it was to receive all those messages when I was hosting presentations and meetings?!”

While that suggested Cloud had indeed muted him, Sephiroth still played the entire ordeal off with his faux innocence. Feeling rather playful despite how flustered Cloud was, he snickered while he purred, “Not sure what you mean.”

Boiling over like a volcano set to destroy anything in its path, Cloud steamed and fumed, sneering away to no end. Akin to a rabid dog, he growled, “Your texts, you little prick! Care to explain those?”

Standoffish and childish as one could be, Sephiroth pouted and shook his head firmly. “It wasn’t me, dude.”

Running his hands through his hair to give the trembling digits something to do, Cloud then stomped and tossed his head back to bark, “Okay, then who was it?! A ghost?!”

Suddenly, brain going into a foggy mode upon scenting the traces of omega heat pheromones, Sephiroth planted his lips on Cloud’s. Uncertain of what he was doing, he became overpowered by lust, cupping Cloud’s warm, soft face in his big hands. Angry as Cloud had been earlier, now, he melted and whined, obediently opening his mouth to accommodate Sephiroth’s tongue entry. Sliding inside the moist passage, Sephiroth growled upon feeling his thick tongue sliding even further past Cloud’s teeth to explore his mouth as thoroughly and sensually as he liked. 

It was strange, feeling his wet, smaller tongue running over his own, but the taste...it was even better than their embrace from the night before…so luscious, so sweet…

Vaguely, Sephiroth thought he felt something hard digging into his firm stomach, leaking something wet and sticky onto his skin. Cloud’s hands had already lifted his shirt to expose his abs, but Sephiroth’s attention was quickly drawn to the saliva welling up inside his mouth as their combined pheromones sent him reeling back. His brain and bloodstream was already so full of Cloud, so much so that he had to swallow and choke on it. As much as he felt he should’ve been creeped out by what kind of urges he felt for Aerith’s father, the taste of his saliva was like ambrosia he needed. 

Grinding himself over Cloud, Sephiroth let out a moan and was swallowed by obscenely crazed desire as his mind drifted further away from himself, fluttering away like a feather in the breeze. Bringing his hands up to Cloud’s nipples, he began squeezing them with his rough fingers and wrenched soft whimpers from the older male.

Aghast with shock when Cloud had somehow expertly removed his shirt without him even noticing, Sephiroth’s mouth was still open when Cloud finally pulled away from him. Wet sounds loudly popped as their lips disconnected, and Sephiroth simply stood there with his eyes closed, his tongue running over his own lips hungrily to capture whatever remnants of Cloud’s saliva still remained in his mouth. 

Operating only with lustful instincts, Sephiroth stroked his swollen lower lip with a thumb as he growled, “Wow…you’re amazing, Cloud.”

His remaining thoughts were quickly scattered when Cloud deftly caught his wrist and drew his hand close to his mouth. Sephiroth’s thumb now passed Cloud’s parted lips and into his wet cavern. Maintaining eye contact the entire time, jaw slightly slack, Cloud then wrapped his lips on the digit, cheeks going concave as he sucked on it lewdly, tongue lapping up the residue clinging to Sephiroth’s skin.

Refusing to let Cloud win, a sly Sephiroth spanked the short omega on the butt, making him yelp. He got back into position in front of Cloud then, staring at his elder with a malevolent smile. Cloud raised his hands nervously, trying his best not to shake where he stood, but it was no good when Sephiroth closed the remaining distance. 

Highly alert, Cloud gasped, a near-silent draught of breath then drawn across Sephiroth’s shoulder. At the puff of air, Sephiroth wildly shuddered, both incredibly hot and cold all because of this man. Reaching back to capture Cloud’s wrist, he used his other hand to rest not too shyly on his thigh, creeping over to his front, just barely not-touching while he pretended to be perfectly at ease.

“Seph—” Cloud’s breath hitched, and he let his arm be draped across, caught under Sephiroth’s firm arm, and settled against his sternum. “Sephiroth…” 

No sound to the rest of the words he wished to express could be formed. Just the shape of his name brushed with soft lips against his neck, powerful after only seconds of contact. The skin burned, as though marked by the silence.

Aggressive as he focused on what he wanted to take, Sephiroth ordered, “Shut up,” before he settled his hips more firmly into the bend of Cloud’s body. 

The omega was equally as hard as he was, but a deeper twitch of interest wasn’t prevented the more Sephiroth demonstrated his authoritative alpha nature. Nudging the wall, Cloud tried to edge back, his chest heating against Sephiroth’s shoulders, but the determined teenager gripped the captive arm tighter, twined their fingers, and didn’t let him get away. That interested twitch became a lurch of swelling flesh, pressing through the linen against the crack of Cloud’s bottom when Sephiroth turned him around to mesh with the wall. Cloud’s groan perhaps sounded pained, but Sephiroth knew better; Cloud was silent in agony, and anything but silent in passion. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” Sephiroth comforted, rocking himself back against Cloud, delighting in the growing tumescence within his pants once more.

A shake of his head, no more than a rustle, and an eiderdown brush of tickling, golden fell hair on his arm. “Sephiroth…please, I’m s-still…ugh…”

Sephiroth’s lips pressed a damp apology to the back of his partner’s neck, hands groping Cloud’s hips before he began fishing to pop open Cloud’s buttons and tug down his zipper.

Going weak in the knees, Cloud peeked back at him over a shoulder, seductively moaning out, “Condom, now…hurry!”

“I love the caveman talk, Cloud.”

“F-fuck you!”

Salivating over the moody show Cloud put on for him, Sephiroth appreciated that Cloud wasn’t always the type of omega to go weak and malleable like putty in his arms. “Sweet fucking nirvana, Cloud, I can’t wait to fuck the blues right out of your sexy eyes.” 

When Cloud tossed out another expletive at him, Sephiroth wondered if he had time to put Cloud’s mouth to better use but decided against it given how damn horny he was. Knowing they both needed to connect right now, Sephiroth rolled hard to the right while tugging Cloud’s arm to the left, bringing them nose to nose, and with a hard jostle of his knee, cock to cock as well. Then, he shut Cloud up in the only way that’d ever worked reliably.

The omega’s delectable mouth was softer than Sephiroth remembered when he swooped in and held onto the lower lip with his teeth. Relaxing into the kiss, it felt less of snagging teeth and crushing lips now, and more of that gentled tongue, sliding timidly along this own, twining hungry and clinging, even when their lips parted to snatch damp breaths like secrets whispered from the night. Giving Sephiroth what he wanted and taking what he yearned for, Cloud didn’t scrabble for control this time, wise not to resist when Sephiroth wound his hands into golden, soft hair to adjust the angle of his kiss. In turn, Sephiroth didn’t rut against him, even though he was impatient when Cloud slipped his hands over to his own front.

“Don’t do that!” 

Following the brisk warning, Sephiroth slapped his hand away and filled his own palms with those thick globes, instantly rewarded when Clous groaned and scrambled for friction when Sephiroth set them both into an easy, rocking pace.

“Fuuuck, w-wait!” Cloud begged, pulling away from the heated kiss to gasp boisterously, breaking stride to press back against Sephiroth’s seeking finger. 

Going haywire when Sephiroth slid a few digits between his cleft, he released streams of messy nonsense that could hardly be deciphered given how jumbled they sounded. A moment later, on the brink of exploding, he broke away altogether, letting the chilly air gust deeply into his own bones and muscles as he scrambled to get out of his pants and briefs. Back gliding to meet Sephiroth’s seeking hips as quickly as he could, the teen caught the omega’s shoulders, dragging him back into place with a dominant growl and a jutting of his own powerful hips.

“H-hurry already!” Cloud hungrily whispered, bucking when Sephiroth loomed around him and sought out his throat with needy, sucking kisses. Trembling thighs incapable of supporting the lusty bend of his body, he gripped the wall for dear life and shrieked incoherently. 

“Dude, relax,” Sephiroth murmured, stroking his palms along that arching back until the trembling stilled, until the omega’s full weight came gradually down on his chest, arms and knees alike curling tight to his sides. “Grab the wall more if it’ll help.”

Doing just that without needing to be encouraged much, with all the strength he dared to use, Cloud meshed himself into the wall. Upset that he wasn’t given the best of angles to capture every fleeting expression on Cloud’s handsome visage, Sephiroth gently held onto his chin. He didn’t need to coax Cloud much, the omega heat pheromones responding perfectly to any alpha’s influence well on their own accord. Inebriated, practically, Cloud turned, nuzzled carefully under Sephiroth’s chin to press three silent words in the hollow behind his ear.

“Just fuck me!”

“I said chill for a minute,” Sephiroth sharply answered, though his cock gave a hungry throb, and his heart a sideways lurch to such a succulent idea.

Smart to play things safely and not run the risk of being denied, Cloud didn’t repeat himself. His silence was rewarded well when Sephiroth gently traced a few patterns, shapes, odd letters in tiny licking motions, much akin to a cat. Pressing the flat of his tongue along the veins of Cloud’s throat, Sephiroth basked in the wordless mewls as his rewards while Cloud gyrated back against him. Knowing he wanted a teasing touch, Sephiroth’s fingers delved warmly into Cloud, seeking out his erection. Once he held it in his palm, Cloud thinly hissed through gleaming teeth. 

Having tolerated the faint caresses more than he could, Cloud’s brain operated only on a primitive basis. Snatching Sephiroth’s hand, he finally got to work on stroking himself as he snarled aggressively, “Just do it! Stop being a tease!”

Concern traced its way across Sephiroth’s veneer, and it propelled him into asking a rather odd question. “Can I…I mean, are you uh, like…ready?”

Head spinning around and with his red eyes shooting Sephiroth a probing look, Cloud suggested his awkwardness was highly inappropriate for the moment. In turn, that wordless reply from Cloud grazed the hot, urgent feelings of possessiveness swelling inside Sephiroth.

Wasting not even a second, the moment Cloud lowered his briefs, with a shift, Sephiroth got to work immediately. Fetching a condom from his back pocket, he mentally thanked himself for having the brains beforehand not to toss them out. After rolling and fitting it onto himself properly, Sephiroth’s cock breached Cloud in one generous thrust, immediately sinking into that tight opening as if he was made for Cloud’s body. 

Fingers scraping the wall, Cloud reared back, sleek as smoke in the dim light, lips stretched around a soundless scream. Twisting and writhing on Sephiroth’s thick member, his fingers scrabbled everywhere until he decided to snatch Sephiroth’s hands in his own. Adjusting to the connection bringing bristling heat to his cock, Sephiroth gently touched the pearly stream of liquid seeping out of Cloud, giving him firm, long strokes.

“Shh!” Sephiroth whispered when they were too loud, breath stuttering out between his teeth while he watched Cloud push back onto him.

Not caring much for the time of day and the neighbors, Cloud wildly arched up, sending Sephiroth’s cock throbbing even deeper into that softly, fiercely grasping heat. Mind going hazy after the first slow thrusts, Sephiroth began hammering away just for his own sanity. Craving contact as much as Cloud was, he eagerly reached, finding his left hand filled with Cloud’s twitching, sweat-slicked skin. Knuckles grazing his testicles, Sephiroth nearly leapt back in shock when Cloud released the wall and pulled him down again, close, heavy, panting with want. Twisting himself midway, he sank his teeth in Sephiroth’s chin due to their height difference, the missed kiss rather amusing to the tall teenager. 

Wanting to remind Cloud that he was the more powerful one, Sephiroth gave into his alpha nature and pushed onto Cloud’s hips, rocking himself up into the omega’s smooth, warm body, animal-needy, dazed with the wanting of him. Tongues meeting while they both stroked Cloud’s cock, Sephiroth’s tastebuds sang out pleasantly when he tasted the slick, saccharine flesh of Cloud’s lips and then worked down to his collarbone. Sinking his teeth into the skin, Sephiroth heard another hungry sound wrenched from Cloud’s beautiful throat. Eyeing it as their bodies surged and worked together, Sephiroth lapped at a few beads of sweat, his heavy balls obscenely clapping against Cloud’s round bottom now to match their brutal pace. 

Neither of them were completely driving, guiding the other, or even commanding, but both men knew they were succumbing to the momentum of the nameless thing lurking between them. Whatever it was defined as couldn’t be determined, nor did it need to be. All Sephiroth understood was that it was remarkable, the building glow caught in the sliding hollow of their bellies; to the salty, sobbing breaths they stole from beneath the tangle of silver and gold locks. Reality didn’t proliferate just by sex and connecting his flesh to Cloud. Upon deeper focus, he appreciated all of Cloud. Any part of the omega was to be savored, from the glide of skin to skin, tongue on tongue, pulse beating against pulse, passion to passion; to the press and drag of kisses without teeth, of teeth without blood, of passion without fury, of surrender without defeat.

Breaths irregular and frenzied thrusts in tune with their deep moans and exhales, the racing of Sephiroth’s heart was felt through Cloud’s back. Wondering if the omega was also experiencing the same, Sephiroth wished he could replay hearing those heated gasps. They were music to his ears and in the slight bend of Cloud’s shoulder, he felt that the omega was reaching his first orgasm. 

Needing to be in complete control of that, Sephiroth reached one hand between them, fingers pinching Cloud’s right nipple over his shirt while his free hand took Cloud’s cock. When Cloud retaliated by swatting his fingers from his taut nipple, Sephiroth snickered, choosing to punish him for his recalcitrance. Curling his digits in Cloud’s hair now to pull his head up, once Cloud’s skull dipped and their eyes met, Sephiroth swept over to slip his tongue between the damply parted lips, racing only to lose his breath in the urgent tangle.

Shooting up onto his toes and hitting the wall everytime Sephiroth slammed his entire length inside him, Cloud’s desperate, eloquent, pleading whine shook the entire main floor of the house. Eyes squeezed shut, he was gone in his own world, cock much too full, pulsing away as slick heat and fluid gushed over Sephiroth’s fingers. Crying out on a piercing note, Cloud’s body rippled, clenched, and flexed, his fluttering walls suffocating Sephiroth’s thick cock as he came in thrumming shockwaves of pleasure. 

Teetering on the edge, when he felt and saw Cloud using him to his own satisfaction, Sephiroth could only plunge into the maelstrom over and over until the tight-coiled need burst from his own core. Balls heavily slapping once more over Cloud, he released his grip on his side, bucking wildly inside him before he snatched his mouth and once more fell headlong into a desperate kiss.

Automatically, as they both continued their entangling dance of tongues, when Sephiroth started coming inside the condom while buried within Cloud still, he felt Cloud’s grip holding onto his hand. Unbeknownst to himself, during his intense release, he’d snatched Cloud’s hand and held it for dear life. It wasn’t anything regular for Sephiroth, but he’d carried it through as if it was completely normal. 

Trapped within their breathlessly clutching embrace, with a thundering blaze of white fire behind his eyes, when Sephiroth gazed down at Cloud, nothing added and heightened to the superb connection more than when Cloud’s fingers looped with his own. That reassuring, returned squeeze was the most blissful part of their embrace, and truly, it terrified Sephiroth to even think of something so innocent bringing himself so much serenity.

Chapter Text

The sliding glass shower door opened right when Cloud hung up rather aggressively. Hair and clothes neatly done and combed through, while his outer appearance resembled a stylish and comely state, internally, even with Cloud’s back turned, Sephiroth knew he was a total mess.

Toweling his short hair dry, Sephiroth nervously eyed the omega’s slender figure, approaching him with too much caution. Listening to Cloud’s ragged breaths, he paused to clear his throat, ensuring Cloud gave him a heck of a stern glare over a shoulder before he spoke.

“Everything okay?”

Motioning at his phone and then running a hand through his frizzy hair, Cloud snorted and then set the device down on the shiny, marble vanity. “Aerith won’t be home tonight after all. Zack’s mother’s spoiling them with dinner, I guess.”

Not swift to follow on why that was bothering Cloud since he was rather drained, famished, and too groggy after two more amazing rounds of hot sex, Sephiroth only tossed Cloud a blank look.

Taking that much too offensively, Cloud growled and nudged him with a clenched fist. Eyes wide and veins protruding, he grumpily explained, “I wanted to have dinner with her…like we used to…just father and daughter.” Exhaling deeply and unclenching his fists, he then expounded with a pained expression, “Where did the time go…I swear, it feels like she grew up way too quickly.”

Feeling a tad awkward when he didn’t know how exactly to support Cloud and even begin by empathizing with him since he didn’t have any children himself, Sephiroth stood there for a second with water sliding off his nape and down his back. 

Amid the light dripping of water echoing in the shiny, bright bathroom, the lights suddenly flicked on within his brain as an idea came to full fruition. 

“Well, how about we go somewhere to eat then?”

Fetching as Cloud looked, when he turned and offered Sephiroth a baffled glance, the alpha did his very best not to snicker. Youthful and childlike as he appeared, he knew that Cloud had quite the sour temper at times too.

Confused for the moment, Cloud’s curiosity shined on brilliantly whether he was aware of it or not. “Somewhere to eat? Why?”

Not wanting to elaborate too much on an empty stomach, Sephiroth beamed at him, patting himself dry just to drown out the noises in the large room. “We can make it a night out between guys. Why not spoil ourselves too?”

Juggling the suggestion between whatever else was perturbing himself, after a few more seconds stretched on in unsteady silence, in the end, the overly dramatic, pleading look that Sephiroth gave Cloud won his reticence over.

“Fiiiine,” Cloud sang out, then sighed away as he added, “I’m feeling like Indian may do the trick tonight.”

“Sounds good!” Deciding to be a bit naughty, Sephiroth winked and then playfully chimed in, “I’ll eat anything as long as you’re paying for all of it, okay?”

A most deadly glare of the darkest kind had immediately been summoned to reveal itself over Cloud’s formerly pleasant veneer at once. Steely eyes turned greyer than stormy atmospheres, with Cloud standing as tall as he could, teeth audibly grinding, he proved how badly appearances could be deceiving. Without blinking, he gazed on, nostrils flaring once until Sephiroth winced when he knew he’d failed in his attempts at being humorous.

“It was a joke. I have money…” Holding up both hands and running out of the room when Cloud pointed out the door, he hurried on to dress without landing himself in more trouble, somehow.

Once they both wore highly expensive, fancy suits as Cloud had instructed, the older male drove them both approximately forty-five minutes out into the next town. Of course, this place had clearly been established to feature and run the wealthiest of attractions to serve high-end clientele. Catering to the lavish, mollitious lifestyle befitting many visitors, traffic began to thin out as the bright, colorful lights attracted the eye even from a great distance. 

Casinos, bars, clubs, and restaurants lined up the streets and plazas. These buildings didn’t seem to support drive-by services, the restaurants enormous enough to seat as many as eighty people at a time. Delightful odors rode the crisp, dark sky, polluting the air with a tantalizing aroma which was driving both men wild already. 

Famished as he was, Sephiroth exercised wise judgment and good manners, helping Cloud out of his side of the vehicle and walking next to him before he held open the entrance door. 

Rolling his eyes though keeping his comments to himself, Cloud pointed ahead and announced, “You can see the shoreline from the back! It’s a nice view, especially in the daylight hours when people fish!”

Feeling torn by the perfume, cologne, and profound smell of Indian food cooking after he slid inside the restaurant, Sephiroth looked around quite fondly. This place had immediately made a great first impression on him. The windows were extremely clean like the mugs on tables, the bar was at full service, and steam billowed around to add a homey touch. The buffet upstairs entertained many people, and the lovely musical performances by classically trained musicians downstairs added the extra touch he didn’t think he would appreciate as much as he currently was. 

Life truly buzzed highly within this place, giving him the impression that the clients were held in high regard. The color scheme was quite appealing and pleasant to the eyes, and no doubt, other places were much the same as well in forms of spirit. Everyone dined here so happily, the beverages and meals plentiful and quite wonderfully on display even from afar.

What to eat first was the major question…

Standing back and allowing Cloud to confirm their previous registration and booking, Sephiroth only mutely followed while gaping around. The waiter showed them to their seats, a private booth at the back, directly facing the waterfront as Cloud wanted. Dark as it was, when the lights from traffic and offices shined over the ripples, Sephiroth indeed could take more than an eyeful at the expansive body of water ahead.

“This place is beautiful, Cloud.” Opening his menu and nearly imploding from joy at what he read, Sephiroth then added in full gratitude, “Thanks for this.”

Slightly miffed, though not because of his younger companion, Cloud offered him a smile tainted by some conflict. “Don’t worry about it and pick something great for yourself.”

Practically drooling at the images of the vegetables and the kabobs, Sephiroth paused to ask, “Do you bring Aerith here often?”

Eyeing his own menu, an odd blush enveloped Cloud’s features. Acting as if he hadn’t heard Sephiroth at first, he muttered dryly about his Rasam soup being cold the last time, but then shrugged. “She’s not into spicy food much, so we stopped dining here, sadly.”

Pulling a disgruntled face, though uncertain of why when Cloud seemed to be enjoying his own time alone, Sephiroth could only express some basic form of politeness.

“That kinda sucks. Do you feel alone sometimes without her?”

Shutting the conversation down by shaking his head, Cloud then smiled over at the waiter, giving him the unspoken cue that he was ready to order.

Rushing on to do the same when he’d messed up again by asking too deeply of a private question, Sephiroth turned to his menu. Selecting Sweet Corn Soup to begin with, the Biryani he picked out as his main course shocked Cloud and the waiter, especially when he specified that he was going for an extra large plate.

Once the gentle waiter jotted down their orders and left, Sephiroth turned to Cloud and squeaked uncomfortably, “I can’t help my appetite sometimes! Plus, I hit the gym a lot, so it makes me hungrier! Stop judging!”

“I wasn’t,” Cloud assured him, patting his suit down and ensuring it looked as crisp and clean as ever. “I want to eat more as well, but my metabolism has slowed down a lot since I hit thirty, and even Rowan said I was looking pudgy once.”

Groaning when the horrid, pathetic excuse of an ex-partner had been brought up again, Sephiroth chose to delicately head into that department. Knowing he could only look the other way for so long, the pink elephant in the room had to be addressed now, especially when he was sleeping with Cloud and growing quite fond of his company.

Eyeing the rest of the restaurant and lowering his voice, Sephiroth carefully began, “Look, I’ve just noticed this weird pattern. Whenever we hang out, not that I don’t appreciate it and all, it gets weird when you tell me something about your ex, which is fine, but you act like you still are taking his words seriously even now.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Cloud’s veneer didn’t even wrinkle and break out into another flush. Calmly sipping on his water, he then set it down and wiped his lips before he spoke. “It’s natural. We went to high school together and started dating shortly before graduation. Rowan was the one who even supported my choice to study fine art when my parents were so against it. Like it or not, he influenced my life in many ways, and that’s not easy to just wake up one morning and forget.”

Scratching his cheek, Sephiroth then stuck his index finger in the air, toying with his folded serviette dangling across his lap with his opposite hand. “I get that to a degree, but you’re legit hanging onto the negative shit he’s said. That’s what I mean.”

Eyes darting off to the side, Cloud sought refuge in his glass of ice-water again, lifting it to his lips. Shielding his face with the entire rim and front of the shiny glass, he softly whispered, “I don’t see how.”

“Saying stuff like you’re not eating much because he said you were chubby. That’s bullshit and toxic as hell.” Picturing himself beating the daylights out of Rowan, Sephiroth growled, “Even if it were true, you can say it in nicer ways than that.”

The light tap of the bottom of the glass touched the table, utensils mildly rattling until Cloud wondered, “I sometimes think he was just looking out for me…” Touching his own cheeks, he then asked Sephiroth in concern, “Do you think he was maybe telling me the tru—”

“Finish that stupid ass sentence, and I’ll find out where the fuck he lives and pay him a nice visit.” Flashing Cloud a cold smile to let him know he was extremely serious, Sephiroth almost tore the serviette as well as the runner moving along the table and dangling off its edges in decoration.

Somehow keeping his anger together in check even though he felt his head releasing steam as his skull felt like it would burst apart, Sephiroth panted for a moment, releasing a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding onto this entire time. Exhaling and then introducing more oxygen into his lungs, he shook his head, the action proving to be a bad decision when his head literally ached.

Blinking back in awe at his aggressive behavior, from across the table with a hand held over his sternum, Cloud took another sip of water, just for the purpose of buying time until he found the courage and will to speak.

“I think you should calm down a bit, Sephiroth.” Blushing, though this time not because he felt out of place, he supplied with much ease and grace, “It’s refreshing to have someone see another perspective, but this was years ago, okay?”

“I don’t care.” Scooting himself forward and pressing his elbows into the surface of the table, despite how painful it was, Sephiroth remained focused. Hunger now pushed away to the recesses of his mind, with much energy and stern regard, he began to channel out a question at Cloud. 

“Was Rowan in shape himself?”

Features twisting into a broken expression of pure anxiety, Cloud didn’t even need to reply audibly. Sephiroth had his answer, even envisioning it beforehand, and once he had even more confirmation, he knew his own doubts weren’t at all ill-placed prejudice backed without noble reasons.

Sighing, he bemoaned, “Yeah, that double standard crap is total garbage. Expecting someone to be perfect when you’re not. I hate that.”

Pulling on his earlobe with the piercing, blue eyes shining with a heavy sheen of admiration, Cloud nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry if this upset you. I don’t even share these thoughts with Aerith because she never liked Rowan either.”

Bouncing his legs up and down on the toes under the table just to hold still, Sephiroth laughed and rolled his eyes. “The asshole leaves a lot to be desired, but seriously, don’t apologize, and stop thinking you’re fat or something.”

Chuckling, Cloud toyed with Sephiroth a bit as he cooed, “Oh? Does that mean we can go for rice pudding as dessert, then?”

Right on time, the waiter brought over their meals on perfectly balanced trays, smiling from ear to ear as steam wafted all around. Appetites brought back to life just from the sight of the food alone, both men grabbed their utensils and sat up taller, almost visibly salivating on the spot. 

Evilly grinning, Cloud leaned forth and elucidated, “Oh, and I changed my mind about you paying for your own food, Sephiroth…”

Lapping at his lips, Sephiroth glanced up, brain not able to keep up with Cloud’s words due to his surging hunger soon to be tended to and abated. 

“Huh?”

Sinking deeper into his mischief, shoulders tightening and then shaking as he stifled his giggles, Cloud chirped, “You’re paying for us both.”

Nearly dropping his utensils right into his plate of colorful food, an alarmed Sephiroth shrieked, “What?! Why?!”

Rushing to silence him when a few people looked over to assess the situation by the noise levels, Cloud still giggled on and fanned the steam away. 

Enjoying himself even though it had come at Sephiroth’s expense, as he blushed a deeper shade of pink, he raced to finish, “Just kidding. This is my treat. You don’t have to pay for anything.”

Upper lip curling back, the competition swelled within Sephiroth as an alpha, and he couldn’t help but snap, “Just wait. I’ll get you back for this crap later on, Cloud.”

“Can’t wait, Sephiroth.”

The rest of the conversation would have to resume another time then. For now, they could afford to enjoy the hearty meal and each other’s company, as the little things in life were often the best and the ones taken for granted the most.

~~~********~~~

Nuzzling the tip of his cold nose in the back of Cloud’s neck when the unsuspecting omega rested chest and face-first down in his sheets and mattress, when Cloud yelped and leapt off the bed, Sephiroth mirrored the same evil expression he’d held in the restaurant. 

“Told you I’d get you back.”

Hissing at Sephiroth with rage when the alpha challenged him back with aplomb, Cloud whined, “Why’s your nose so cold?!”

Staring at the thermostat on the wall by the bed, Sephiroth took his turn to be snarky enough and complain, “Your room’s cold, dummy.”

Choosing to be more mature, Cloud turned around, lying on his back beside Sephiroth. Nudging into Sephiroth’s hand on top of his skull as his digits lazily combed through his locks, Cloud asked, “Did you like the food tonight?”

Emeralds never straying from his face, Sephiroth replied with confidence and truth, “Of course. Thank you.”

Sitting up and fetching Sephiroth and himself their glasses of strong wine, Cloud held his arm back when Sephiroth tried reaching for his beverage too swiftly. “I feel weird giving a teenager drinks in my own house.”

Snorting though without much derision, Sephiroth’s eyes swept between Cloud and the alcohol. “I’m not exactly that young, Cloud.” 

Meeting his eyes with a bit of a sneer of his own, Cloud’s answer to that pointed challenge wasn’t exactly pleasant to hear. “Compared to me, you are.”

The evening had been going so well, too, and Cloud just had to upheave it all effortlessly. Bringing up issues that were taxing enough on their own sent Sephiroth into anxious aggravation. Supposing it did matter in Cloud’s eyes when in his own opinion, he’d never connected better and held such amazing chemistry with anyone else than he had with Cloud, every nagging problem was now mounting to disastrous levels. As beautifully as he’d assumed things had been going, clearly, Cloud’s point of view differed, putting a question to his own experiences to the degree of warping every encounter. Where he’d held Cloud on such a high pedestal, Cloud evidently had been thinking of him as less…if it didn’t bother him, he wouldn’t have brought it up to begin with.

Miffed by what he considered some mild form of rejection, Sephiroth turned away from his beverage, placing the glass down on the other side of the bed on a night table. “I thought this wasn’t going to be such a huge issue.”

Chin jutting out as a palm stretched upward, Cloud chuckled, inappropriate as the situation was for it. “I never suggested it. I’m just saying that this is a bit odd.” Sitting up to lean with his back pressing against the headboard of the bed, brows furrowed, he concluded grimly, “Sephiroth, like it or not, but there’s an age-gap between us that’s kind of tough to ignore.”

Holding his breath and counting back from five mentally, when he felt calm enough not to lash out and rely on impulsivity alone, Sephiroth chose to be wiser about hammering a point from a fresh perspective to Cloud.

“Let me ask you something, Cloud.” Locking eyes with the other man, he eased himself on the sheets, knees drawn up to his chest where they poked into his breastbone. “Whenever you’re with me, whatever we’re doing, have you ever felt awkward about the age gap?”

Without hesitating, Cloud breathed, “No. We’re…you’re great.” Tilting his glass down, he then chucked out without thinking clearly, “I mean, Rowan never gamed with me or was into other stuff we do. Hell, he didn’t even have much of a sense of humor!”

Face-palming when the subject of Rowan had yet again been brought up unfounded, Sephiroth couldn’t hide and contain how annoyed he now was. “Stop bringing that douche up all the time, gosh! All the time, anything you say has to be centered on that asshole!”

“Don’t raise your voice, Sephiroth!” Clenching the sheets with his free hand, Cloud barked madly, “If you didn’t want to hear my truth, then why ask? Why piss us both off?!”

Gesturing at himself, Sephiroth made it loud and clear for Cloud as he emphatically explained, “Because whenever I’m with you, I don’t go comparing you and even remotely thinking of my other exes, dude! That’s so disrespectful!” Vehemently, on the verge of tears, he explicated, “I’m the one with you now! Not him! Stop mentioning him! Don’t you get that it hurts to hear you harp about him when I’m the only person you should be focusing on?”

Turning quite nasty when he’d been backed into a corner with the haunting shadows of his past, Cloud burned with fury unconstrained. “You’re not my boyfriend, so why the hell are you so upset about it?”

Someone could’ve slapped, kicked, punched, or otherwise knocked him out. Facing total darkness without prospects of moving ahead would be so much better than the interminable and immutable pain Cloud had brought down on him when he’d crudely cast him aside like that with such ease that it was mindless. 

Agony exploded all around, his vision going red, and as Sephiroth trembled with enough force to shake the bed a fraction, he gushed under a labored breath, “You’re such a fucking child, Cloud. Total brainless jackass.”

Given ammunition to go on in his own rage, Cloud fired back as he inched away from Sephiroth, “This is why I didn’t want to get involved with someone so young in the first place! You don’t and won’t ever get anything I went through until it happens to you!”

Squinting at him just to keep his tears at bay, through stinging, pink eyes, Sephiroth asked dryly, “Oh? Then what is someone as young as me good for, then? Was my cock that damn great?”

Pulling a disgusted face, Cloud leaned even further away to the point of hanging off the edge of the bed. “Stop being so gross. Such a child.”

“Well a thousand pardons, sir, but there’s little else I can think of when you act like this!” Begging himself not to cry out as much and as close as he was to that level of grief, Sephiroth held his head down as he wondered, “Don’t you feel something here, Cloud?”

Patience wasn’t on their side at all, especially when Cloud rushed on to speak, just as a means of shielding Sephiroth from his own inner turmoil as well.

“I…I like you, yeah, but…like, n-not in that way, Sephiroth.” 

The disquieted silence shook the entire room. Given its intensity, it could’ve easily brought the walls and ceiling down over their heads, and it wouldn’t make that much of a difference in the end. The regret flashed all over Cloud’s face, but he turned his head in an angle so Sephiroth wasn’t able to see it openly displayed there. Weaving through the grief set so fiercely against himself, Sephiroth held onto his head with both hands, eyelids twitching, face flushed to his ears, his brain clouding in the worst ways. 

“I…what the…so I’m just…a toy?” Heart hammering in his chest with every intent to burst out and escape, just to preserve anything without being riddled with pain, he wept out brokenly, “You used me? You hung out with me and…a-and did all that shit without l-liking me?”

“N-no! I didn’t say that! I said I like you!” 

Clinging to his rapidly deteriorating world with his emotions and sanity quickly declining by the second, breathing through his mouth was the only way he wouldn’t suffocate. It really felt like he was drowning in despair, and rather than having Cloud help him rise to the surface to hold his hands, he had nothing…no one was here to save him…he was cast out alone again…

Panicking now, Sephiroth reached his own conclusions, eyes going wide and to the brim with an odd, yellow sheen to them as he slowly spun over to face Cloud. “Was it the hormones? Did my pheromones affect it?”

Biting his lower lip and placing a foot on the floor, Cloud strangely commented, “Sephiroth? You…you’re scaring me…please just calm down!”

“I can’t!” Waving his hands about, Sephiroth yelled louder, “I wanted to actually see where this went, yet th-this was a f-fling to you?! An experiment with an alpha for the first time?!”

“I never wanted a relationship! Why did you jump to that conclusion yourself?!” 

Now adjusting with both legs on the floor, when Cloud hit the table next to himself due to wobbly knees, momentarily turning his back to Sephiroth, that was precisely when the alpha sprang ahead at him.

“Mine.”

Unable to process anything and think clearly, struck by the agony of his affections being shot down when it was limerence all along, Sephiroth’s competitive, possessive nature as an alpha took over. Logic shifted to the recesses of his mind, instincts harboring on primal urges. Satisfaction was to be gained, prospects optimized, gratification only in his mind. The need to dominate and hold an unruly omega he desired was all that surged in his veins, driving himself forth to act so wildly and unpredictably.

Landing on top of Cloud, Sephiroth held his hands down, turning the slender male around to expose the back of his neck. Pushing his shirt collar down so that enough skin was left open and vulnerable, his teeth automatically began aiming for that delectable spot. It was impossible to lean forward and just take a bite when Cloud was squirming, kicking, screaming, begging, and crying. His own fat tears obscured his vision, his heart racing, blood pounding in his ears. His voice mingled with Cloud’s, momentarily deafening him as he swooned above Cloud, pinning him firmly to the floor to squash his desperate motions.

“Sephiroth! Get off me! Please stop!”

“Mine. Don’t run. You’re mine.”

“STOP IT!”

Holding Cloud in position, Sephiroth shuddered a few times, his conscience floating somewhere to the forefront of his brain. The voice there spoke out to him to stop, that this was indeed assault, all of it suggesting that he wasn’t too far gone yet…he didn’t need to make this ungodly mistake…he didn’t need to prove to Cloud that not only were alphas incapable of being trusted, but all men were horrible…no…he had to overcome whatever this was…now.

Before he could sink his teeth into Cloud’s neck and forever brand him, Sephiroth jerked up, his left hand flying forward towards his mouth. Biting down instinctively on time with his limb bashing into his mouth, a scream echoed from below, warmth spilled all over, his teeth evading his target. Something wet and musky filled his mouth, teasing his tongue, coating the insides of his lips and staining his teeth. Hanging there in weakness as he was struck by a dizzying spell blaring into every sense, when he peered down past his tears, he found that he’d been powerfully latching and holding onto his own forearm with his sharp teeth instead of Cloud’s neck.

There wasn’t any way to feel and consider his own physical or emotional pain at all, not when the person he seriously was starting to develop powerful feelings for had moved back, huddling in a corner as far away from him as though he were a despicable monster to be feared and hated. To see Cloud hiding away from him immediately produced great self-loathing for Sephiroth, so much that while still tearing through his own arm, he bit down even harder as a means of punishing himself.

Now snapping back to reality, as soon as he recognized how dangerously close to a rut he’d been, he finally was able to loosen his jaws from about his arm. Releasing his injured limb, it fell to his side with a dull throb, blood dripping and seeping from his open wounds to cover the floor. Besmirched as much as the room was with the scarlet droplets, the larger stain on his conscience wasn’t something he could ever turn away from. 

Lights suddenly flashed from outside the window, tires screeching about on the pavement. The warning signs of a car entering the parking lot sent Sephiroth reeling backwards, his awkward exit encouraged by Cloud when he could finally find his voice.

Pointing past the door, he ordered with a firm tone, “Go through the b-basement door! Hurry up!”

Aerith was home…if she saw her father in this state…

“SEPHIROTH, NOW!”

That bombastic shriek shot him off his feet immediately. Bounding down the steps two at a time, Sephiroth almost tripped before he turned and rounded the corner, skidding all the way down to the basement. Leaping on top of a chair, he propped open the basement door, heading right for the fastest escape route via the window. Aiming for the windowsill, he cringed in guilt upon noticing the stains of blood all over various items and the floor. There wasn’t time to cover for that, not when door hinges squeaked above. Sliding himself through the open window as best he could, with his clothes slightly catching and flesh being scraped, he wriggled out and finally ran through the heavy fog and darkness without looking back once.

~~~********~~~

Aerith, June 12th, 2:21 p.m.
some psycho broke into our house and tried to assault and rob my dad!

With a tired glance cast at his ceiling after reading that emotionally distraught text six times over, entrapped within the same off-white walls of his own bedroom as though it were a prison, it required all of Sephiroth’s nerves not to break. There wasn’t anything he could do about the situation. Horrific as it was to consider, if he had a more honest bone in his body, he’d admit to Aerith that he was the psycho who hadn’t broken into her home, but he had indeed tried to assault Cloud. 

The omega had no doubt lied on his behalf, covering to save them both the embarrassment by informing his daughter that someone had broken in to rob the place…the calamitous guilt was too great to battle, and he wasn’t prepared for when she called him without warning. 

Trying to calm down his crying and out of control, emotionally disturbed ex-girlfriend was totally impossible. He didn’t need to get a word in, he only was required to listen to her harrowing sobs. Indeed, he gathered that Cloud had reported the incident by force after a neighbor called the police, supposedly, but without much evidence given his claims that a masked man had attacked him when he’d been inebriated and half-asleep, there wasn’t much of a case to be built. Cloud had wanted it that way, of course, but Sephiroth didn’t deserve to be let off the hook so easily.

For the majority of his life, he’d prided in himself for never being like other mindless alphas. Hearing horror stories in sexualities and family lifestyles classes regarding other alphas slipping into such a brainless nature was pure comedy built off old fairytale notions. As always, it was far easier mocking someone else, prodding fun at a bleak situation…until it happened to oneself. There wasn’t anything funny about what’d occurred the previous night at all. 

Despite what some alphas described the situation to be like, Sephiroth’s was chiefly unique. He possessed some semblance of right and wrong, decisions factoring somewhat into the mix, though not at the height of all morals and ethics. He wasn’t able to exercise much free will and caution…it’d been as though he could look at what he was doing from the other side of a glass, though not fully intervene. Not akin entirely to an out of body experience, but something else had taken control, enacting his deepest and darkest desires buried and hidden away for so long. He’d felt courageous and bold enough to tread into dangerous territory, mindless and contrary to his outward personality, and at that precise moment, until the shame and guilt hit, he only wanted more.

It was about power, control, and total domination of something lesser and weaker. The alpha within wanted to possess the omega, going so far as to even forcing a linking bond…that was all. There wasn’t anything glorious and sexual about it in the least. If that was the case, then Cloud didn’t need him after all. No one did. 

Checking with his family doctor and finally having no other choice but to increase the dosage of his rut suppressants had been the lowest form of dishonor and disgrace. Feeling at least more responsible after he groggily walked out of the clinic with some dignity still intact, the emptiness weaving around his brain added mystifying fog when he considered his victim. 

Cloud…he hadn’t apologized to Cloud when he deserved it most. That would be the sensible thing to do, but all Sephiroth could do was fantasize about it. For many hours, he sat in his room, right in front of the mirror with a downtrodden expression, rehearsing the lines he felt he owed Cloud. In the end, he only wasted time in a messy haze when he deemed that the apology wasn’t at all even remotely close to possibly rectifying his error.

Turning to friends for advice proved utterly useless. Genesis seemed reasonable at first, but his ultimate opinion was that Sephiroth’s apology appeared forced…

“If you have to force a fart, dude, it’ll turn to shit, and so will this apology.”

Muting Genesis for a few days, Sephiroth returned to his self-deprecation, lost and totally confused where and how to even begin begging for forgiveness. Fearful every once in a while that the police would be on the lookout for this supposed ‘robber’ who’d attacked Cloud made it less likely for him to venture out, but after hearing very little on the local news about the attack, Sephiroth felt one weight removed…marginally.

Left with nothing but nagging emptiness, the impetus to get him moving to act shockingly and not so surprisingly arrived with Aerith prodding him with her calls and texts. Relentless in her pursuit, she was incredibly nervous, attributing the attack to her father being an unbonded omega. Frightened of anyone who walked by and rang the doorbell of her house, her skittish mannerisms finally encouraged Sephiroth to suggest dropping by and checking in on Aerith and her father.

Unassuming and too trusting, Aerith willingly invited him back with open arms, taking him up on his offer when Zack failed to stay up all night on watch. 

Although it was rather inappropriate to many levels, Sephiroth entered the Strife abode Saturday morning, greeted first by Aerith, and then a sickly pale in the face Cloud hanging a decent distance away. Greeting the omega he’d nearly assaulted a week prior brought on the memories as if they’d occurred the very same day. Torn between what he held onto as far as horrid guilt and wanting to correct his errors and seek penance, Sephiroth respected and maintained the great level of space away from Cloud, hoping the omega would read his body language and understand his decisions.

Keen and fully aware of the signs he’d been given, Cloud gave Sephiroth a perfunctory nod and exchanged only a few words of a rushed greeting before Aerith ushered him back to his own bedroom.

Far too overprotective for her own good, Aerith even kept Cloud away from Sephiroth so harshly and vigorously that for a split second, Sephiroth worried that she somehow sensed he’d been the one who’d nearly assaulted her father. Careful of where to tread and how to conduct himself, he didn’t speak freely, allowing her to have her free space and comfort to rely on him. This was a dire time of need, and he was open to being her soundboard, shoulder to cry on, support system…then, he could hopefully tend to Cloud.

Biting her fingernails and rocking lightly on the sofa in the den, when the house was deathly silent, Aerith showed how disturbing that was to her and immediately started sharing her thoughts with Sephiroth.

“I c-can’t believe…I don’t understand why…who would do something like this?” Yelping even when he sat next to her, she then calmed herself down to add with tension madly brewing, “I’m scared! What if…what if it happens again?”

“It won’t.” Sensing her gaze questionably dancing over his form, Sephiroth hurriedly whispered, “I’m here. I promise, nothing will happen.”

The powerful maelstrom of experiences they’d shared as a couple, friends, and kindred spirits did well to appease and abate Aerith’s concerns, but Sephiroth’s own chagrin wasn’t personally mollified in the least. All he longed to do was rush upstairs and speak with Cloud, or hold him, but that would have to wait until Aerith gave them some room and time.

Hanging onto the nauseated visage Cloud had sported when he arrived, the image didn’t do Sephiroth any favors as far as calming his own guilt and despicable behavior as not only an alpha, but a human being. He’d been too damn close to breaking the law, and as far as he was concerned, there was no excuse and way to justify the crime he’d nearly committed. If it were up to himself to dole out a decent punishment, Sephiroth would’ve sent himself to a private island far from Cloud where he couldn’t even dream of doing any harm…

Scratching at her pink nose and then wiping her moist, swollen eyes, an exhausted Aerith demanded his attention once more.

Settling to the side and resting her chin on his shoulder, while slumping over him, she bemoaned warily, “I feel like it’s my turn to protect him when he protected me as a baby, but it’s not enough! I don’t know what I can do!”

Aiming to always land reasonable responses, Sephiroth replied, “You are doing enough by just being here, Aerith.”

Shaking him lightly, with her round, doe-like eyes bearing all the innocence, in the world Aerith stated, “So are you, Sephiroth! I know we broke up, but it’s so nice having you around as a friend!” 

What sort of friend was he, really? Friends never attacked one another to the point of emotionally traumatizing them. 

Though he couldn’t speak his mind and profusely open his soul to any admission of strong guilt, Sephiroth kept his own comments to himself and hugged Aerith back for support. She held onto him for as long as she could until her phone vibrated with a few messages from a concerned Zack Fair.

“Oh…Sephiroth?” Balancing her attention between the barrage of texts and her companion, she coughed awkwardly, “Can I uhh…”

Trying respectfully not to show much of a reaction either way to sway her decisions, Sephiroth smiled and kept a pleasant demeanor. “It’s fine. Go to Zack, Aer. I guess I’ll get going too.”

Deeply blushing and tucking back a wavy strand of hair behind an ear, Aerith rasped softly, “Umm, actually, I was wondering if you could maybe stay here for a night or two and just keep my dad company, Sephiroth? He honestly feels so comfortable around you and as a guy, you can help him!”

Internally breaking into another cycle of turmoil and grief, Sephiroth hated that he hadn’t anticipated for this. All along, he should’ve expected to hear such a request, as was probably the entire goal behind Aerith calling him over to begin with. Crestfallen as he was not to be able to read the room ahead of time, he longed to reject her request because of what he’d done.

What good was staying here? Would he run the risk of hurting Cloud again? 

Torn between refusing and accepting, Sephiroth understood that the longer he remained silent, the higher the likelihood of turning Aerith skeptical of his reticent behavior. In a split second, he sighed, giving her a brief nod and weak smile that didn’t even paint how badly he was suffering at every single angle of assessment.

Throwing her arms around him and squeezing with all her might, Aerith turned rather cheerful and calm with his acceptance. “Thank you, Seph!” Nuzzling him like a satisfied cat, she purred, “You’re so sweet! Thank you!”

Disagreeing in silence, Sephiroth smiled again and remained sturdy enough to pass along a convincing act of confidence. “Yep. Don’t mention it, Aer.”

Racing out of the room, between a few swift glances cast up at the second level of the house, Aerith projected her concerns still, even though she appeared more relaxed and at ease.

Holding onto her keys, purse, and phone, she swayed a bit by the front door, head hung down and hands wringing about. 

Easily deciphering the more than obvious signs of his ex-girlfriend in distress still, Sephiroth reassured her carefully, “You’re fine. You deserve some time to yourself too, so go. I’ll contact you if anything happens, but you’re a fantastic daughter, Aer.”

Not completely seeking approval or permission either way, shoulders drawn in and chin tucked close to her chest, Aerith’s skinny, short frame presented her on-going exhaustion, but she at least managed a tiny smile after hearing Sephiroth’s praise.

“You’re the best.” Raising her head and locking eyes with him, her warmth seeped forth liberally as she chanted, “We’re extremely lucky to have you in our lives, Sephiroth. Thank you.”

Any revulsion Sephiroth internally struggled with as far as disagreement was concerned was swiftly bottled up. Disgusted more with himself for not being able to give her the honesty she deserved for a second time involving her own father, he only opened the front door for her, hoping that his actions didn’t reveal how terribly he wanted her to leave.

Turning the interaction more facetious, he grinned and joked, “Okay, scoot, before I barf from all the cheesiness, girl.”

Winking at him, Aerith then leapt up onto her toes to reach his height, and automatically as she had when they were dating, her soft, gentle lips found the center of his right cheek, and she planted a tender kiss on his flesh.

Waving at him and then spinning away to run out into the front yard, Aerith yelled out happily, “I love you, Seph!”

Eyes welling up with tears he never imagined he would even have, Sephiroth touched his cheek where the aftereffects of her kiss lingered. Skin burning inside and out, he’d never felt so undeserving and horrid as he had in that single moment. Epidermis tingling with delight that was only automatically obtained from such a pleasant stimulus, while he longed to enjoy the way he’d become a friend again to his ex, morally and ethically, it just felt too deplorable to himself when he had his own dark secrets.

Perhaps he could share with her the truth, one day, but today certainly wasn’t the time for it. She was owed every bit of the truth, horrific and unsightly as it was, but when they were all ready. For the time being, he had other pressing matters to attend to, and he started by shutting and locking the door to head over to Cloud.

Chapter Text

Pausing to tentatively knock and announce his presence behind Cloud’s bedroom door, Sephiroth stood around nervously until Cloud walked over and granted him entry.

Highlighted by the soft glow churning around in the room, as he stood in the doorway, Sephiroth noticed how frightened and uneasy the omega still was even while holding onto a faux mask of calm. 

Putting on a decent face at least, Cloud smiled warmly at him, but his expression faltered and shattered when he shivered and backed away a few steps. Mildly hunched over, he bit down on his lower lip and broke the thin layer of skin, wincing and reeling back as he gingerly touched the new wound.

Feet shuffling backwards to make space for Sephiroth to walk into the room, Cloud’s dishevelled appearance broke the alpha completely while he tried imagining that they were at least on a better path to recovery. Cloud looked so worn-out and exhausted, bags looping around his blue eyes draining the life and color from them. Sunken in as his flesh was, his bones were a tad prominent, lips cracked and dry to the point where Sephiroth snarled angrily.

Rushing himself over to the bathroom, Sephiroth filled a glass with water, heading back to the main room and shoving the cup in Cloud’s hand. “Drink this, you look madly dehydrated, dude.”

Tilting his head back and pressing the cup to his lips, Cloud opened his mouth and sipped for a few seconds. Wiping his lips when he’d obtained his fill, he softly croaked, “Thanks.”

“And thank you for not taking care of yourself.” Knowing how cruel he was coming off by lashing out, Sephiroth ascertained that while it was coming from a place of genuine concern, he still added apologetically, “I’m being toxic as fuck, but I can’t stop worrying!”

Setting the glass down on a night stand by the closet, Cloud wandered from that spot over to place himself on the edge of his bed. “Sit with me, please.”

Muttering to himself messily, Sephiroth respected that request, crossing the distance and planting himself a few inches away from Cloud. Squinting and then squirming over to him, Cloud pressed their sides together, sniffling and then rubbing his eyes.

Unable to run out the tension and tiredness entirely, he weakly commented, “I didn’t tell the police much, and I don’t think they’re really looking for my attacker anymore.”

Snapping at him viciously, Sephiroth seethed at the fact that Cloud was still insisting on protecting him. “I should be locked up right now!”

“It wasn’t entirely your fault. It was an accident.”

Nudging Cloud off himself, Sephiroth channeled his disgust and growled, “Cloud, an accident is packing the wrong lunch. An accident is bumping into someone in a crowded place. What I did wasn’t an accident, holy shit. It was borderline evil fuckery.”

Loosely pulling off a weird move that resembled a stiff shrug, Cloud calmly expressed, “You’re a young alpha, though, and experiencing a rut once isn’t unusual.”

Resisting the urge to shake the stupidity out of Cloud, Sephiroth held onto his forehead and temples as he hissed sibilantly, “Rut or no rut, I almost forced a bond and raped you! How the fuck is that a regular part of an alpha teenager’s experience!?”

Taking his turn to snarl, with a more brutal push at Sephiroth’s side, Cloud showed clear contempt even before he spoke. “The righteousness isn’t needed here! I’m a grown adult, and I should’ve known better!”

Caustic enough to round on him when he assumed too much, Sephiroth barked madly, “Adults make mistakes too! Stop acting like you have your shit together!”

Gritting his teeth and tightly clenching the mattress and sheets, Cloud argued back strongly, “I shouldn’t have ever gotten involved with someone so young! That’s what I’m referring to!”

Yet again, they were back at square one, with Sephiroth heading into extreme pain and rejection. He’d already been stripped of any sentience and agency due to his primal urges, operating at a basic level akin to a beast. Rancid and putrid as it was, he’d established some form of recognition pertaining to his nature and every interaction with someone who wasn’t an alpha. Cloud was pushing him away again, albeit, this time, for sensible, legitimate reasons. That didn’t diminish the burning frustration and interminable agony, and what seared in more pain was the fact that Cloud was bringing to light their age gap as well when he’d claimed it never troubled himself in the beginning.

The bridge of trust was already unstable and shaky, and now that Cloud had called upon their age difference to assume authority over him, it was totally burned to a crisp. Sephiroth had never felt so unwelcome, hated, and ostracized before, but Cloud was firmly set on widening that distance as it were by continuing this type of verbiage and attitude to begin with.

How was he to battle against this tide and re-establish anything in the way of a connection with Cloud so determined otherwise? The war was already lost before it’d even begun…

“I know I sound awful right now,” Cloud interrupted in the heavy silence, eyeing the space between their bodies with minor disregard. “Believe me though, this is for your good more than mine. You have a lot to give, you’re so young still, and—”

“Oh, fuck off, Cloud, just fuck right off with that bullshit when we both know it’s only a weak cover-up!” Terrified of the loud volume of his own voice when it rattled a few items strewn over dressers and tables, Sephiroth soon returned to his bitterness when Cloud shuddered next to him.

Touching himself in the sternum lightly, Cloud flinched from Sephiroth’s scrutinizing glare immediately before he averted his gaze. “I’m older, an omega, and I honestly care about you too much to just let you waste your time with me.”

Jaw falling widely at what he was hearing being so ridiculously off the mark for reality, Sephiroth fired back, “It wasn’t ever a waste of time! I honestly like you and the time we spent together!”

Clamping up, Cloud then reflexively mewled back, “I did too! The time we shared together was some of the best moments of my life that I never even had with Rowan!””

Triggered by the first name of the individual he’d never met yet despised by every fiber of his being, Sephiroth stiffened, but before he slipped out of rigidity to lash out, he thought of a tenuous connection between himself and the aforementioned ex-husband. However minor and thinly stretched it was, before he ran away with it and got too carried off into something heady, he had to compare and consider something vital.

Maybe…if Cloud was happy with him more than what he could say about Rowan, did that imply he potentially cared and wanted to make it work? Did that mean he could possibly see a future here?

Aiming not to leap to any conclusions drastically, Sephiroth tested the turbulent water first by locking gazes with Cloud. The eye contact was maintained with a nod from the young alpha, the nagging turmoil bubbling over, hiding beneath the surface of a highly schooled veneer of composure until Cloud weakly winced at him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem too sickened by the idea and fact of staying seated next to Sephiroth, nor did he flinch away when Sephiroth leaned over to the side and sought his eyes with nervous regard.

There was something to be noted about desire, for he felt it immensely, and from what he could tell, Cloud felt the same.

It came in different forms, but the sensation remained the same; lingering and growing as an incessant, near unquenchable want for something more.

For Sephiroth even at this age, desire was something he thought himself immune to after all these years with Aerith. He could’ve gotten used to settling for less, easing into the promising comforts of a domestic relationship and dull, monotonous life, yet meeting and connecting with Cloud so powerfully had taught him so many new, interesting things even about himself that were previously unknown.

Phantom hands clutched at his shoulders in desperation, a short gasp piercing the harrowing silence as he fought to control the flames burning within himself. Every object in the room moved, and with Sephiroth pushing his body to meet the omega’s, he was practically driving himself almost violently with an urgent need to wring some form of response rather than the numbing muteness from them both.

Golden hair fell like a curtain around them, blue eyes hazy yet gleaming; alive with that irritable and inescapable desire he held as he finally exhaled before whispering Sephiroth’s name. 

“Sephiroth.”

“Cloud…” Sephiroth feebly buckled and rasped, voice somewhere between a low growl and a wraith-like whisper. “Do you want to make this work? Even after everything that’s happened?”

The loaded question seemed to immediately coax out a reply from Cloud. After a blink, eyelashes fluttering swiftly, he sat up taller, but then firmly shut his mouth and bit on the insides of his soft, fleshy cheeks. A glimmer of the reticent omega remained, though barely visible due to the forced demeanor of someone so disconnected he brought upon himself as a means to cope and seal away whatever hope and longing he entertained.

Beet red all over, he cleared his throat, steeling himself so fervidly while he replied, “It doesn’t matter what I want. I just know that this is a dead-end.”

Arms loosely hanging by his sides before the pits of his palms became sweaty, Sephiroth raked his eyes skyward and tried not to roar. “Dead-end?! What’s wrong? I was good enough to mess around with like some pet, and that’s the limit of it?”

Ever an inveterate stickler for ethics and integrity, Cloud gestured at himself, then Sephiroth, his arm gently resting just over Sephiroth’s lap. “Think about it and look real close for a second, Sephiroth. Right now, you’re about to graduate high school, whereas I’m a grown man with his own career underway, having nearly finished raising an adolescent daughter!”

Failing to reach the same sort of conclusion Cloud was trying to paint, with a quizzical head tilt, Sephiroth hoped he didn’t come off as incogitant. 

Perhaps not interpreting it as such, Cloud dipped his head low as well while he explained, “As nice as you are, as great as we get along, the bottom line is that there’s always going to be different stages of our lives that won’t simultaneously match. Where do you think you’ll be in a few more years?”

Hating to repeat himself, Sephiroth supplied, “I told you, finishing my apprenticeship and running my own roofing company.”

“There’s that, but since I’m a lot older, when you just begin with that journey in your career, I’ll gradually be aiming to shift to retirement, and I won’t be on the same page as you.” Lowering his voice, eyes moist and dripping out tears, Cloud choked up and cried brokenly, “I don’t think it’s fair to take so much of your youth when you may want kids down the road and you should, but with someone younger or your own age!”

Reaching his own breaking point, Sephiroth spared very little in the way of empathy for his own sake, especially when Cloud wasn’t even willing to listen to his hopes and plans, merely boxing them away and sending them off to a land of dire impossibility.

Slapping a thigh when he lifted a heavy arm and then dropped it in exhaustion, he complained, “Is this going anywhere? Or are you in parent mode right now, trying to convince me that I’m like, making the worst decision of my life and that I’ll regret it?”

“You may think it’s condescending now, but it’s true!” Sniffles escaping even when he held his shirt hem up to cover his pink nostrils, Cloud had a few seconds to wipe his tears, collecting himself a bit before he ranted onward. “If I genuinely care about you, which I do, then instead of stealing this chance, I should let you go live your life without attaching you to something so dull!”

“By jumping the gun, burning the bridges, and all because you assume I may want this or that?!”

“Sephiroth, we’re not even on the same road—”

Snorting, Sephiroth cut in and snapped angrily, “Oh, fuck the road you’re on, whatever road it is!” The unbridled stupidity panned out wider, but Sephiroth tried to chop it away immediately. “Right now, we should be enjoying each other, supporting one another. Why are you jumping to step ten and eleven when we’re hardly at step five and six?”

Weren’t adults supposed to be wise?! How was this in any way, shape, or form sagacious?! 

Dizzy from the mental gymnastics and circles he’d been looping himself in for almost an hour now, Sephiroth partially searched for a bottle of Advil or Ibuprofen, but when he couldn’t see any in the bathroom medicine cabinet or on any of the dresser tops, he bore through the agony and refocused on solving the issue at hand.

Blunt and pithy, he finally came clean with every thought he’d possessed and had brewing within the recesses of his mind even before he’d engaged in sex with Cloud. Taking the plunge, he tried not to worry about rejection and denial, instead quite hyper-attuned to simply being brutally straightforward.

“Look, for a while now, call me crazy, immature, or whatever else, but I really never felt as deeply connected with someone like I have with you.” Drawing the lines thickly and firmly, he demonstrated vehemence as he laid out examples swiftly. “Aerith helped me grow a lot, and I’m grateful that she let me be in her life for some years, but I never felt as free and alive with her or any other girl. You changed that for me, Cloud, and I thought I changed your life like that too.”

Cheesy as it all sounded, he didn’t assume Cloud found any part of the confession a corny rambling from a lovestruck teenager, so he granted himself the right to press on while he could.

“Yeah, it was just sex for me at first, but I swear to God, I never was thinking of using you for long as a way to explore my sexuality. I actually like you. I enjoy our conversations, I like that we can get lost for hours in art and video games, I love learning what you cherish most in life, and I want to hear news about your work and interests every day.”

The longer he spoke, the more he felt himself starting to produce tears, just as Cloud was. Steadily crying without creating much noise, he only shook wildly on the bed, the bedframe and mattress jittery with the vibrations of his torso while he drew into himself.

Draping a comforting arm about his upper torso and hugging him close, Sephiroth calmly and passionately intoned, “Cloud, give us a chance. Give this a chance instead of shutting me out. I want to actually make an effort and prove to you that I’m not Rowan. I’m not any other alpha either…I’m me.”

Breath catching in his throat, with a ragged tone, Cloud spoke out Sephiroth’s name, but was instantly silenced when Sephiroth kissed his forehead. The exchange was extremely tender and soft, but through that form of contact, the floodgates were profusely flung open. The conversation came to a standpoint, words going only so far to complete whatever notions both men were holding. The power of speech had been stripped from them, but the time and place fit more appropriately for actions rather than communication.

Cloud initiated the next embrace, arms and lips seeking to seal the space between himself and Sephiroth. Leaning into the younger male, he took Sephiroth by complete surprise when he showered him in deep kisses. Tame at first, the sensuality was expressed fully without teeth and tongues, a peck here and there to continue formulation for a bond and comfort. The fluttery kisses increased in length and intensity, the friction building up as it always had before the first few layers of clothing soon found purchase on the floor.

Opening Cloud’s heart to feelings he could embellish in turn was always tricky, but that night, Cloud was a willing participant as he undressed them both like a refined artist unraveling their piece before the public. Taking full control, the omega prepared himself on top of Sephiroth while the teenager watched, totally transfixed. 

The unparalleled rush of clamancy overwhelmed Sephiroth deeply within his core, his eyes taking in one aspect of Cloud’s body he deeply loved at a time. There was far too much beauty for one man to possess, but the natural escalation on his part followed suit when Cloud lazily fingered himself all while stroking Sephiroth. More than tumescent on his own from the sensational display, Sephiroth permitted Cloud to do as he pleased, even if it meant that his body was a mere tool for the purpose of acquiring immense pleasure to forget pressing concerns temporarily.

Lowering himself on the tip of Sephiroth’s unclothed erection, glistening with his own slick, Cloud faced no difficulty settling right onto Sephiroth fully in one go. Spreading his legs and wiggling downward, his curvy bottom nestled and gently touched Sephiroth’s heavy balls, the gyrating motions of their connection wrenching loud cries from their throats instantly. 

The pace was almost animalistic, bordering on brutal at the very start, and yet there wasn’t a single word of complaint from either man. Cloud held onto Sephiroth’s hands for dear life, riding him using the power in his thighs and hips, the only accompanying moans and pleas for more ricocheting over their heads. In the heady cacophony, Sephiroth vividly heard Cloud pleading for him to keep going, encouraging him on, delving deeper into the madness and elation.

His hands gripped the other male tighter, with Sephiroth eventually nudging Cloud, repositioning the lithe body beneath himself as he changed the angle for deeper penetration. Lifting one of Cloud’s legs and draping it over his shoulder, he began stroking Cloud in time with snapping his hips forward to further bury himself inside of the pliant omega. 

A keening moan broke past the thinner man’s sweet lips as they arched themselves upwards, Cloud’s slender form shaking as it attempted to meet Sephiroth’s more frantic motions. Rutting and trying to synchronize with one another, they searched through one another’s eyes endlessly for the unspoken solution and passages, less riddles in the way as they deciphered the body language and engaged in their erotic dance.

“S-Sephiroth, I’m…please!” came the almost broken plea, with Cloud sobbing out senseless streams of babbling only brought on by immense passion.

Losing himself completely at the sound of Cloud’s mellisonant voice, Sephiroth suppressed his possessive urges but still sank into a mindless, primal state, a voracious snarl escaping past his lips as he let go of his final restraint. Twisting Cloud around again, this time, he rested the omega on his right side, lifting his left leg and penetrating him deeply from behind. Intoxication established itself with the boisterous sound of skin slapping skin, dragging out the huff of breath from them both in perfect unison. Fully succumbing to the profound desire, Sephiroth allowed it to overshadow and embrace himself completely.

The line between pleasure and pain soon became blurred to Sephiroth as well as Cloud. Riding on that addictive high, Sephiroth picked up his pace, driving into Cloud’s wet, fluttering hole so hard with wild abandon that it might’ve broken any other person, but this was Cloud. Cloud Strife was his perfect match, truly made of something different to not only meet his needs, but exceed all expectations. 

Something stronger surged within, akin to liquid diamonds shimmering and coursing through his veins the deeper he drove himself inside Cloud. Met with the tight ring of inner walls clenching on and sucking his thick cock with every shunting motion, Sephiroth amplified his endurance and abilities. If to withstand the pace, even revel in and relish it, mind-altering pleasure gripped him as profusely as it did Cloud, allowing the blond to get lost in the sensation, to escape, fully let go, and allow the younger male total control over his body and the pace.

It didn’t take long at the grueling speed they were at to build to a crescendo of something terrifying but equally anticipated as they all but rushed forward towards their climax. Sephiroth was pulled forward by Cloud, their mouths brushing when Cloud turned over a shoulder before Sephiroth had the chance to bite the back of his nape. Tongues coiled for a frenetic moment before Sephiroth heard the screaming of pure rapture.

Palm soaked with liquids seeping between his clenched fingers, he continued moving his hand up and down, turning at the soaked tip to milk out the last few drops before he pulled out of Cloud. Tapping his own member on that curvaceous bottom he truly enjoyed touching and fucking, he released traces of thicky, ropey semen all over Cloud’s ass, eyes glued to the pale stretch of skin now shining with his own come.

Offering him a lazy grin from over a shoulder, Cloud lay flatly on his chest, ass pert in the air still, arms folded beneath his chin. Beaming with the beautiful after-glow of such an exquisite encounter, he soon reached out to Sephiroth, even happier when without hesitation, Sephiroth’s fingers wound over his own.

~~~********~~~

Three Years Later 

Dousing his shoulder-length, silver hair in cheap water he’d held onto for a few days, Sephiroth released a tiny sigh of relief as he squeezed the plastic water bottle until the entire contents were running from his scalp to his back. 

Above, the sun was scorching hot, bearing down on his head as he knelt on top of a roof with his tools neatly by his side. Working away faster and harder just to be able to beat the traffic rush after the day was through had taken a toll on his body after all. As in shape and up to date with his healthy lifestyle involving heavy exercise as he was, hours toiling away beneath a blistering hot summer sun wasn’t any joke.

Yet, he had a lot to be thankful and proud of, and the plethora of achievements he’d built for himself within three years was worth every bit of struggle. 

At the age of just twenty-one, for a birthday gift from his father, Sephiroth had been supported and given a few hundred thousand dollars to start up and purchase his own roofing and construction company. Naming it in respect after the initial of his father’s first name, H and S Roofing had successfully accrued decent numbers of clients and a lovely reputation within a few years. 

Hiring a small crew of six people including Genesis and Angeal, the extra money helped Sephiroth’s high school friends save up for college during their summers working. It was a decent win-win situation with grand outcomes for all, namely the changes that’d taken place in the last three years. 

Interestingly, Sephiroth worked to not only feel busy because he enjoyed his career, but more than he cared to admit to anyone close to himself, he only drove himself mindlessly all summer almost every single day to work all to forget the pain that he’d gone through as a teenager. If anything, he’d matured too quickly, learning the hard way that no matter how wonderfully it seemed like things could go at times, in a heartbeat, he could lose it all. 

The years had been kinder to Angeal and Genesis. Where they’d once been at great odds as rivals, when they both were given a better chance to work with Sephiroth, the circumstances brought them together to fix their broken friendship. Within a year and half, that friendship turned into a romantic relationship, and after another year getting closer, Angeal and Genesis proudly announced their engagement.

Content with being the odd third wheel in the middle of it, whenever they got together for meals and drinks after work, Sephiroth often thought of his own past and silently continued envying what his friends were creating so happily together.

As it were, right when he’d finally figured himself out and what he wanted to pursue, Cloud had broken his heart. The next morning following their conversation and passionately charged lovemaking, Cloud had truly dropped the ball on Sephiroth, shocking him as he asked to be released. 

A break up when they weren’t even dating. Twice by members of the same family, Sephiroth had been dealt with an unfair hand, his heart in many pieces and bloodied tatters the first time when he reached the conclusion that it wasn’t meant to be with Aerith, but never had he been prepared to face rejection by Cloud. Right when he’d assumed they were past their issues and on a better path with clean slates, his idealistic sense of pursuits had been stripped and chipped away within seconds.

That was the last time they were to meet and be connected. Cloud had decided so, stating shyly the next morning after his shower that he genuinely enjoyed every second and minute with Sephiroth, but this was goodbye forever.

Sephiroth had experienced his fair share of farewell fucking, but what he’d shared with Cloud wasn’t set by the same label. Firstly, the sex had been beyond ethereal and mind-blowing. The earth shattering moment he connected his flesh with Cloud’s without a condom had been truly liberating. Everything that Cloud felt, Sephiroth did as well. Every breath, sigh, gasp, cry of joy, all of it was his, and now, Cloud had completely cut him off and shut him out for years.

Irreconcilable differences and major incompatibility was what he ascertained the reason was, for that was all Cloud was willing to provide for explanations. The whole ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ crap had been chopped and served messily in pieces he couldn’t ever grasp, but he respected it all the same. 

From that horrid morning until now, Sephiroth never looked back. Focusing immensely on his apprenticeship studies and undergraduate program, he graduated from technical college with top grades. The business was doing well enough to where he could buy his own condo, but outside the regular achievements for any young person, he was still hollow, empty, and terribly alone.

Aerith had grown much closer to him in the aftermath, practically his best friend now that she was a bit older. Still dating Zack Fair, the couple occasionally stopped by to visit Sephiroth, the amicable friendship and free spirits uplifting him for only a few hours. As much as Sephiroth liked having Aerith around, he couldn’t help but habitually wonder about Cloud each time he kept her company. She was the only remaining tie to the very first and only man Sephiroth had fallen for, after all, but he never asked her directly, not wanting the interaction and information to feed back to Cloud.

The itching curiosity was appeased by tiny increments, the morsels of alleviation his to take. Sephiroth imbibed every once in a while, sneaking online articles, podcasts, magazines, and stopping to visit museums which featured Cloud Strife’s fantastic creations. The man had made quite the name for himself, his reputation spreading swiftly like wildfire in the world of art and fashion. Practically a brand by himself, Cloud had certainly achieved his own goal to be artistic, indeed. 

He also hadn’t aged a damn day. Physically, at least to Sephiroth’s biased perspective, Cloud may have chronologically been thirty-six now, but he looked the very same as the day they met. Cloud’s uncanny design in clothing continued to always show off his slender build, his hair imbued in nothing but pure gold. Quite the living art piece himself, truly, and he was desired by many adoring followers and fans.

And what did Sephiroth have at the end of the day? A lousy condo he often returned to alone, losing himself to mindless pacing, a few video games, cheap movies he often ended up sleeping all the way through, and many hangovers.

He thought of adopting a pet a few times, but with the better weather constantly rolling in from the South, that meant he would be picking up extra hours and have little to no time for a fur baby after all. Connecting with actual human beings was even more difficult, and freedom to be himself wasn’t entirely without an overbearing sense of guilt associated with the surface layer.

Since Cloud had written him off, devastating as it was, Sephiroth tried to move on with his life. Giving dating another shot was extremely nerve-wracking, however. Simply put, he couldn’t find it within himself to seek out anyone else and maintain anything to heavily and deeply trust the other person. 

If anyone could just snap their fingers and choose to leave him without provocation, then why bother? Why invest so much? 

Too frightened to pursue anything, he thought of one night stands as a viable option. Frequenting bars and seeking out other men more often than women since he held a greater preference for men in general, Sephiroth only almost slept with one man a year older than himself one winter.

Bringing the excited male over, as they sat to smoke, drink, and get in the mood in his bedroom, despite the thick erection he’d pleasantly held onto since meeting the man, Sephiroth soon felt too nervous. As soon as their clothes came off and he was shoved face-first down in the sheets, Sephiroth turned around and snapped too aggressively at the other alpha. They tried to swap positions, but Sephiroth was one hundred percent flaccid by that point and his partner was already drunk and passed out on the floor.

A creature of old habits, it wasn’t long at all before Sephiroth purchased a flesh light and watched as many adult films every other night. Particularly, he held a strong interest in blond bottoms, specifically seeking alpha and omega porn until he needed something…more pointed.

That was when he started watching interviews Cloud conducted, pulling up many clips and photos. Feeling every bit like his eighteen-year-old self again, Sephiroth unfortunately developed obsession and horrid patterns. Unable to sleep even one night if he didn’t jerk off to Cloud, he would do so for almost an hour at a time, revisiting every sexual encounter they’d shared when the sex toys and his own palm alone didn’t do much for himself.

Sad and pathetic, this was. Everyone else he knew was moving forward in life, and here he was, constantly living in the damn past.

It wasn’t the sex he missed, however. Deep down, Sephiroth knew that he was trying to trick his body into thinking that he was alleviating the tendrils of pain, but the satisfaction once he’d emptied his balls never lasted. In fact, he craved a deeper connection, a relationship he’d seriously only appreciated with Cloud. By himself, with strangers, even among other friends, he was tolerated, welcomed, valued, but he wasn’t binding his heart and soul to another the way he had with Cloud.

What tormented and haunted Sephiroth the most was that he spent many afternoons and evenings genuinely wondering if he ever would meet someone else like Cloud. Not that it would heal and seal the void in the wake, but maybe it was worth a shot to settle for less than Cloud.

Sighing as he looked down at the thick gloves and protective boots he wore while squatting on the enormous roof, Sephiroth dabbed at his neck and temples. Shaking when thick beads of sweat trickled all over, the salty odors blending with the water clinging to his hair didn’t appease him much. The wind was pretty much non-existent now, the summer weather torturous more than auspicious and fortuitous as predicted.

Brought back to reality when a blurry thing waved at him, Sephiroth looked at it from his peripheral vision and smiled when he saw Angeal.

“Hey! Gonna go for a quick lunch, okay?”

Nodding at him, Sephiroth watched Angeal descend from the roof, stepping down the ladder to join Genesis while he enjoyed a cigarette nearby.

Cupping his hands around his lips, Sephiroth shouted at both his buddies, “Be legit quick, because I can’t chase you both!”

Waving again at him, the couple wandered off to chat among themselves, once again leaving Sephiroth to his own devices. 

Balancing himself wearily on his knees, he stretched his arms and legs, the tense tendons burning, signifying to him that he was overdoing it a lot. The tension shot up into his spine, causing his toes and fingers to clench. Fearing that he would mess up the shingles he’d been trying to replace, Sephiroth decided to be cautious rather than hasty. 

“I think I need a break too, come to think of it.”

Stretching his arms, he eventually crept over to the edge of the roof, using the same ladder to scale down. Glancing about the expansive yards of the fancy neighborhood he had days of work in between various houses sporting mollitious lifestyles, he should’ve otherwise been delighted to have so many clients for a significant flow of income, but he couldn’t become too badly enthused. Work was only a distraction, and he could only work so many hours before his body screamed at him to stop. 

Lately, due to the lovey-dovey, public displays of affection from both Genesis and Angeal, Sephiroth missed Cloud even more. Feeling incredibly lost and hopeless wasn’t doing himself any favors, for he soon started skipping meals more than he normally would’ve, feeling too drained and exhausted faster. It was evident now when he swayed on the grass, sliding over and around from the back yard to the front just to sit inside the work van. Turning on the air conditioning, he fetched another icy bottle from the cooler, hardly popping open the cap before someone whistled at him from afar. 

Gritting his teeth and fully ready to scream out that he wasn’t a stray mutt to be whistled at, Sephiroth sat up fully, locating the source of the shrill noise. Eyes widening at once, he soon felt his facial muscles contorting into a painful frown when he squinted beyond the front gate of the mansion and spotted a strange man. 

Energetic to keep waving at him, face wide with a generous grin, the man had chocolate brown hair, golden eyes, a buzz cut, his right ear pierced. Dressed rather plainly in grey jeans and a plaid shirt, he wasn’t someone to stand out much in a crowd. A few inches shorter than Sephiroth, the way he came off with his body language and mannerisms spoke volumes by itself, but Sephiroth chose not to rush to any solid conclusion yet.

“Hey man! How’s it going?” Voice just a tenor, he sounded calm and friendly, consistent all the way with his smiles.

Callously shrugging since he didn’t really envision himself chatting away like a chump with this random guy, Sephiroth eventually drawled gruffly, “Fine. Something I can help you with?”

As it were, most people only approached him for a few set things…work, or a sexual opportunity, and Sephiroth certainly wasn’t interested in the latter thing at all and had to swiftly shoot the stranger down before he tried to swoop in and take what he wanted.

Pausing at the side of the gate which was lower than the rest of it panning around the house, the man wrung his hands, then wiped them on his jeans as he chuckled. “Pretty forward, I like it.” Eyes surveying the roof of the property, he cleared his throat and asked, “Are you a contractor for this place?”

Before he turned into a sarcastic dick, Sephiroth hurried to push out, “Sure am. Working on the roof.”

Clasping his hands together now, excitement returning, the man then elucidated, “Neat! My partner is the one who actually is looking right now for an estimate. We just bought a house a couple of blocks from here and it’d be great if you could fit us in for a brief appointment!”

Well, now that the pieces were falling in place, he did kind of look like the average young person who was probably moving into his first house with a lover to start a happy family.

Vomitous as it was when considering such happy families with their own futures when his own had been torn apart, rather than finding contempt and jealousy here, Sephiroth decided to set aside his personal problems and just see this man for what he was; a potential client.

Nodding, he brushed more sweat off his chin and announced, “Okay, I have some free time today so I’ll drop by and take a look.”

“Sweet. I’ll give you my number and the address.”

Walking over to where the oddball of a man stood, while he produced his own phone and swapped contact details, Sephiroth inhaled the man’s scent out of habit. Nostrils met with a more plain and masculine scent of too much cologne, his keen olfactory bulbs received and processed the information to determine that this guy was just a regular beta. Nothing passionate and full of adventure lingered in his blood, but he was a relatively calm and gentle individual who wished to lead a simplistic life, perhaps.

Pocketing his phone before he was caught staring, Sephiroth suggested as professionally as he could, “How’s six today looking for you?”

Flashing him another grin and giving him a thumbs-up, his potential client agreed. “Sounds great.” Extending his arm over the gate to Sephiroth, he then introduced himself. “I’m Ryan, by the way.”

A plain name for a plain guy after all.

Meeting him halfway, Sephiroth shook his hand and then backed away towards the van again. “Sephiroth. See you later.”

“Looking forward to it!” 

Once he was quite assured that this dull Ryan was far from hearing him, under a heated breath, Sephiroth strained out, “That makes one of us, jackass.”

A few hours later, after a quick shave and shower, once Sephiroth hit the road and made the way to the specific address, he couldn’t help but envisage something truly horrible set to go down. Never a believer in anything supernatural, superstitious, or a religious person by any means, he at least knew that a few times in his young life, he should’ve trusted his gut instinct.

For whatever reason, this meeting gave Sephiroth every nasty vibe on the planet. While he couldn’t put his finger on anything specific or singular as an identifiable cause for feeling the way he did, he forced himself to persevere and just get another job out of the way as he often had. Jerk clients were one thing, shitty houses another, and the weather sometimes throwing curveballs was easily handled. However, as he parked his vehicle in the driveway of the three-leveled mansion and gazed around at the greenhouse, extravagance oozing liberally out of the lusciously decorated yard sporting a huge swimming pool and a few gazebos looming around, he felt that this wasn’t the average job he could easily complete and walk away from.

Rubbing his hands together and praying that the other homeowner aside from Ryan would give him an advance in payment, he checked the time and read over the text message from his new, potential client twice before someone called out to him from above.

“Hey! You made it!”

Waving back at Ryan smiling at him from an open window on the second floor of the huge home, Sephiroth waited patiently for the man to reach him. Form descending and shimmering on the other side of the glass walls, he raced out to the front yard, offering Sephiroth another awkward handshake the alpha had no issues avoiding.

Retracting his limb when he sensed it wasn’t well received, Ryan coughed out, “Ah, well, glad you made it on time!” Thumb pointing over a shoulder at the house again, as the front door opened, he added, “Timing is good! My partner just got home and I guess I can introduce you!”

Right then in the five seconds it took for Sephiroth to peek up at the new man approaching them, he knew he’d been the biggest moron ever. At first, given how strange yet dull Ryan was, Sephiroth had naturally assumed his supposed partner would also be equally as boring and plain. Hell, he’d expected anyone else to be with this annoying guy, but out of all the possibilities in the world known to the imagination, the last person on earth he’d been meaning to ever see again was Cloud Strife.

After three painful years of separation and silence by Cloud’s request, the father of his ex-girlfriend was standing right there on the neatly cut lawn of a gigantic home, and he’d never looked better. Cloud Strife had come back to him by some odd stroke of luck, right there in the flesh…but he didn’t appear too thrilled at all to see Sephiroth once more.

Chapter Text

If God perhaps existed, then Sephiroth supposed His greatest and most beautiful creation ever had to for certain be Cloud Strife. After three long years apart, Sephiroth had imagined what Cloud would look like, and after every dream and nightmare, he found that whatever he’d pictured was extremely erroneous and off the mark. Shit, the pictures in the media didn’t even come close to revealing how gorgeous he seriously was in person.

Although chronologically thirty-six, Cloud looked exactly the same way as when Sephiroth had first met him. If anything, it came off as though not even an hour had trickled by when he’d been seated at the dinner table next to Aerith, with her father glaring her boyfriend down given their less than wondrous introduction.

What he seriously wouldn’t give as an offering to turn back time and be with Cloud again…too much was left unspoken and undone between them, but none of that took significant precedence, not when Cloud immediately went from being warm and welcoming to sick and shocked.

Dressed neatly in comfortable loafers and loose but professional jeans and a short sleeved shirt covered by a cotton blouse, the color schemes hadn’t changed much, only black and shades of silver covering Cloud’s slender body from top to bottom.

As soon as he laid eyes on the taller alpha, no doubt taking into full view that he’d grown another few inches and now had longer hair, a most visible knot lodged in his throat. Facing difficulty speaking and swallowing, Cloud revealed signs that he was struggling to breathe, eyes too round and full of fear. 

Clutching at his constricting throat, he bent and coughed spasmodically a few times, then glanced up and wiped his eyes swiftly to double check if Sephiroth was really in front of him.

Head tilting quizzically at his partner, Ryan awkwardly inquired, “Uh? Cloud? You okay, honey?”

Honey? Honey?! HONEY?!

Well…a lot technically had gone down in three years, but of all people Cloud could choose over Sephiroth, it had to be this pipsqueak Ryan?!

When Ryan attempted to rub his back and tend to him out of sheer concern, Cloud shot away the comforting move as he straightened his posture and wedged distance between himself and Ryan. 

Clearing his throat, he fanned himself as he grunted, “Oh yes! Just uh, just didn’t think he’d uh, be so…young…”

Tossing him a disgusted look, Sephiroth was interrupted from even responding when Ryan beamed and got in the way between his frame and Cloud’s.

“Well, he’s Sephiroth! I know this is short notice and all, but he was the only one working a few streets down, so I thought I’d call him over to take a look at our roof!”

This guy was too effervescent…Cloud sure as shit had a type, indeed.

Nodding stiffly as he clasped and held his shaking hands behind his back, Cloud pretended he didn’t even know Sephiroth at all as he looked down at his feet and then at the wide rooftop. “For sure! We’re hoping to get it done before our wedding.”

…Fucking fuck. Now, Sephiroth seriously had to stop himself from laughing out of a fit of insanity. He absolutely loathed Ryan from the start, and now, as immature and childish as it was, he wanted to have him flown off to another country entirely just to get him away from Cloud.

Swaying from side to side and resembling a bashful kid more than an adult man, Cloud softly stated out loud, “H and S Roofing, huh? Should’ve guessed it’d be you.”

Catching on that odd implication, Ryan managed a light frown as he then cried out in a disjointed way, “Wait, you know him?”

In seconds, while Sephiroth tested the water and decided to give Cloud a chance to somehow start redeeming himself in some way, what hurt him more than being kept at a distance was the fact that Cloud again disappointed him.

Rolling his eyes and putting on a super convincing act, Cloud demurred, “No! I just uh, I meant like, see, it’s H and S Roofing, and S is for Sephiroth! Come on, Ryan!”

Harpoons had punctured his chest all the way through, but Sephiroth stayed silent for Ryan to buy into the flagrant lie.

Easily tricked, the simpleton of a man shrugged. “Makes sense, sorry honey.”

Nudging him when a flock of large birds sailed on past their heads to briefly block out the sun, Cloud then hissed, “Ryan! You forgot to tell the window cleaners to clear out their stuff so Sephiroth can take a look all around the property!”

Spinning to attention, and with a new task assigned, Ryan nodded and began running inside the house. Once he left Sephiroth and Cloud all to themselves, amid the light tunes of merry birds and bees occasionally humming on in drones fading in the background, the sounds of engines turning on throughout the fancy neighborhood before cars drove ahead finally roused Sephiroth from his stupor.

Glowering madly at Cloud, without much in the way of social etiquette, he roughly spoke, “Long time no see, Cloud.”

Beating the odds even when a large, muscular alpha continued leering away at him, Cloud wasn’t the least bit intimidated. Quite soon, like a seasoned expert gifted in the art of dissimulation, he schooled his veneer into a mask of total indifference.

“Come on.” Shifting away, he led Sephiroth around the left side of the house, weaving past large bushes.

Following him closely, Sephiroth wasn’t put off to see the various paint cans spread on the concrete, while the tools of window washers rested against the sturdy wall. Cloud set aside a few extension poles and canisters, clearing the path before he dragged out a ladder from leaning on a tree trunk towards the wall.

Wanting to lash out so hatefully while Cloud was nothing but calm and collected, Sephiroth spat out in spite, “He’s a pushover, dude.”

Surveying the apple and peach trees planted in his own backyard, Cloud then turned back to the ladder to check if its placement was sturdy and secure. “He’s also my business, not yours, Sephiroth. You’re here to give an estimate, not pry into my personal life.”

Refusing to let the subject go, the tenacious alpha sealed his lips, though only temporarily. Deciding to catch Cloud again when he least expected it, he held onto one side of the ladder, climbing up past Cloud as he rested on the rooftop using his upper body strength. Simultaneously grumpy and elated as always once he got that new rush of being so high up from the ground, he held a hand over his brow to avoid the searing sunlight while gazing around. The space he had to work with was truly wide and large, no doubt a project that would take his own team at least a month of effort to complete decently.

Mindful of where he was stepping, he righted his posture, walking around the chimney, touching the shingles a few times before he brought out a measuring tape. Already throwing out some dates for starting and completion, as he measured the width of a few shingles, he then turned to Cloud before producing his phone.

“Mind if I take some photos for the estimate?”

Tucking a few locks of hair waving in the light breeze, Cloud blushed when Sephiroth flexed his muscles, offering him a fantastic view from where he stood on the ground. “Do what you have to do!”

“Sweet.”

Spinning around as he took wide shots and then closeups, just to seep in a reaction from Cloud, Sephiroth turned his arms down and positioned the phone in front of Cloud.

When he pretended to take an unsolicited photo, the heated omega snapped loudly, “Hey! Stop it!”

Pouting, Sephiroth replied, “Why? You looked good there.”

Tossing him a withering glare that suggested he was playing with fire, Cloud went on to lecture him more, but Sephiroth chose to cut him off when he understood quite clearly that not only had Cloud ruined his fun, but really wasn’t going to give him an inch.

“Relax. I just need to measure the length and width of each portion of the roof, multiply length by width for each plane, and add the planes together for the total square footage.” 

Relaxing when they were back to a more ‘business’ form of communication, Cloud bossily explained, “Since this is a new place, we’re also looking to tear down the shingles and get in a solar panel.”

Holding out a hand, Sephiroth responded gently, “Cool, but you may not even need to purchase underlayment in that case, actually.” Sliding down the ladder carefully, he supplied to be as thorough as possible, “My general estimate includes prices for materials such as an ice and water shield, vents, boots, and once I add up the exact square footage of your roof, I can send you a most accurate proposal.” 

Curtly nodding and deliberately glancing away when Sephiroth leaned onto the ladder, arms relaxing by his sides, Cloud suddenly became too nervous. “Uh, h-how much do I owe you now for this visit?”

Knowing how badly Cloud wanted him out of the picture and off his property, Sephiroth felt his heart sliding down into his stomach, but his efforts to pursue were renewed in full. 

Checking a nearby window and not yet spotting Ryan, while moving himself off the ladder, he softly whispered, “Aerith never told me you were seeing someone else…you moved on…”

“Aerith’s my daughter, not my personal dating coach!” Cloud fired back, fists already tightly clenched. Fidgeting back and forth while looking too uncomfortable on the spot, he then inched to one side, seething immensely. “And like I said, it’s none of your concern! Keep it professional!” 

Managing his questions to avoid anything remotely close to professionalism since his ego was terribly scarred, Sephiroth continued the litany of questions for the sake of catching up, finding closure, but also needing to understand Cloud’s motivation for leaving him in the lurch three years ago.

“How did you even meet this jerk anyway?”

Fuming, Cloud warned, “Don’t talk about Ryan like that! He’s a good guy!”

“He’s weak, doesn’t genuinely challenge anyone, and a beta! Christ, you haven’t changed at all, have you?” Looking up at the eavestrough, Sephiroth snorted and bit through judgmentally, “Did he buy this place?”

Although he’d meant to keep Sephiroth away by circumstance, Cloud fell into the age-old patterns and bad habits at once when emotions turned him too blind to the pitiful responses he was freely giving away.

“I paid for it myself!”

Already knowing that Cloud was financially a lot better off than even a year ago, Sephiroth sneered away before he coldly expressed, “Ah, so he’s only with you for the money and fame. Nice.”

Lunging at him and then catching himself in the act midway, Cloud eased away, but Sephiroth was much faster. Snagging him around a wrist, he secured Cloud that way first, then looped a large hand over his waistline. Reeling him in close, he drew Cloud until their chests hit, blue eyes searing into green ones for seconds of heady silence.

Spotting signs of dizziness consuming an omega simply by being near any alpha they deemed attractive, Sephiroth grinned when Cloud’s pupils dilated, his breath hitching in his throat. The swift thudding of his heart hit Sephiroth’s muscular sternum, the bones too light but also rather appealing on his slender frame. He even smelled wonderfully intoxicating, a hint of Rosemary and berries wafting in their own unadulterated blend…pure omega.

Yelping when he watched Sephiroth leaning in just another fraction, Cloud broke the spellbinding moment, wedging a hand between their bodies until he squirmed away from Sephiroth.

Covering his cheeks and then dabbing at his unmarked neck awkwardly for a few seconds, he grew in his anxious fits, pacing too swiftly without going anywhere even while he wanted to truly flee. The best he could do was soon retire to the umbriferous shade of a peach tree, though his flushed face was easily spotted even at a distance.

“H-how much do I owe you?!”

Cheekily, Sephiroth laughed until he answered, “Cloud, I give free estimates, and with great pleasure when it comes to handsome guys like you.”

Biting down on the insides of his mouth, Cloud cringed in that form of agony, but then grew lippy and moody to battle on with what Sephiroth had exclaimed. Expressing his rage, it didn’t take him long to shoot out boisterously, “I said stop! Just s-send me the damn estimate!”

Taking only one step over the soft grass of the expansive yard, head tilting to one side, Sephiroth’s visage was covered in emotional pain and grief he couldn’t shield away. While walking another step closer, voice and tone gentle but troubled, he asked, “Cloud, do you honestly care for Ryan as much as you’re having me believe?”

Jaw and chin quivering before he tightened his entire posture to the point where it looked like he was in some pain, Cloud sibilantly hissed between clenched teeth, “Of course! I’m marrying him, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but I mean, like, did you rush into this relationship only because you were trying to force yourself to forget me?”

Indivisible pain crept and mounted higher and higher, suffocating every complaint, seizing every reaction, holding every thought completely frozen. Hostages of their own emotions through the best parts of the past, they were both struggling more than what phrases could express. Tugging back and forth even psychologically through the already unsteady imbalance, the injustice Sephiroth felt was exceedingly disproportionate when he knew that even after three years of being with another man, Cloud Strife still desired him as well. 

Trying to be reasonable and pragmatic enough even though he faintly scented omega pheromones, Sephiroth whispered, “Don’t you miss me? Because I’d be a liar if I told you I didn’t miss you every day since we stopped seeing each other and talking, Cloud.”

Frank and pithy by force, Cloud’s vehemence paid off to set a rather biting tone to shoot down anything else suggestive. “Sephiroth, stop living in the past like some dreamy teenager!”

Clutching his skull as his nostrils tingled with delight to continue scenting the omega, Sephiroth chuckled out, “I’m twenty-one.”

Sarcasm never seemed to be a talent that aged out of Cloud, immediately latching onto his eyes before he started speaking. “Congratulations, Sephiroth.”

“How old’s Mr. Baby-Face then?” 

Irritable when he heard the horrid nickname for the sake of attacking the character of his partner, Cloud began to exude a snippy attitude unbridled. “Thirty-five.”

Callously shrugging, Sephiroth flipped his hair over his shoulders and huffed. “Could’ve fooled me, but I have to also say that as much as you’re trying to act as a happy family here, Cloud, I think we both know very well that you’re absolutely miserable and empty.”

The walls were torn apart, bricks blocking the way between the two men taken down one by one, piece by piece, until nothing else was left. The barriers that’d persisted only due to the years in silence and time apart meant nothing when they both felt the supernal connection charging away like a bolt of lightning from heaven itself. Nothing had changed. A void still shockingly left both men feeling empty whenever they were apart, but the tension and difficulties they always felt given their unique personalities clashing set an interesting challenge to reel in undivided attention. The connection was magnetic, supreme, and addictive from the last time Sephiroth had seen Cloud right until the reunion.

All he longed to do was reach out and touch Cloud again. One soft caress, perhaps a hand combing through his wild, golden hair, fingers trickling down to capture the smoothness of his cheek, mapping the perfect shape of bone structure fit for a masterpiece…he wanted Cloud to only be his.

Susurrating just decibels above a whisper, words were soon lost in the wind, but perhaps deliberately planned so before their secrets could be carried by the summer breeze to unwanted ears.

“You’re just as lonely as I am, Sephiroth.”

How refreshing and fulfilling it was to be understood so independently of anything else rational. This was one of the many reasons why he needed Cloud in his life, and Sephiroth knew right then that nothing had changed between them throughout the years. As far as he was concerned, Cloud would sooner or later snap out of his unusual phase and come back to him. It was only a matter of time.

Door hinges squeaked, panting noises hitting the air before what sounded like a dog whining grabbed Sephiroth and Cloud’s attention.

“Holy smokes! It’s so hot out here!” Wiping his forehead with a cloth, in his opposite hand, Ryan held a dog leash, leading a playful Dalmatian over to where Cloud and Sephiroth were standing.

Holding out a bottle of cold water for Cloud, Ryan then grinned at Sephiroth and gave him another brisk wave. “So! How’d it go?”

Petting the eager Dalmatian while it sniffed at his feet happily, Sephiroth illustrated professionally, “Good. I took some photos and I’ll piece together the estimate and send it to you guys in a few days, then we can go from there if you want.”

“Nice!” Offering Cloud a rather charming smirk, Ryan bent over to his shorter partner, eager to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Doesn’t that sound good to you, babe—”

Too quickly and unpredictably, Cloud ducked and evaded Ryan’s lips. Moving his head and neck away as if he’d been burned, he swept past a sputtering Ryan, legs swiftly carrying him away from both his confused partner and Sephiroth.

A few feet away, before he rounded the corner and headed inside the garage, he called out, “Was nice meeting you, Sephiroth!”

Scratching his head in total astonishment, while gazing down the way Cloud had raced off, Ryan muttered, “Was it something I said or did?”

Floating in joy at Ryan’s obvious state of perplexity, Sephiroth never quite grasped how he didn’t openly gloat. Keeping his joy in check, he remained inscrutable while his thoughts wandered astray to house such inappropriate imaginings involving Cloud.

“Who knows, man.”

~~~********~~~

From ear to ear, facial muscles hurting as he held the grin on his visage for almost ten solid minutes, Sephiroth smiled down at the most recent photo Cloud had uploaded on his personal Instagram page. Posing right by the pool, although by himself, the reflection of Ryan cast in the background of the glass walls looking rather torn brought Sephiroth total satisfaction and levity.

Kicking his legs up and resting them over his office desk, he stopped monitoring emails and calls, enjoying how sexy Cloud appeared in the photo. The caption beneath it talked about how excited he was to have work done on his new house, and all without his annoyance of a partner in the way too.

Focusing so much on the photo, Sephiroth never heard the door squeaking open, nor the feet dragging over until they stopped right by the edge of his desk.

A snicker flew forth and an index finger then wagged about to draw him out of his fixation on the photo.

“What’s that naughty smile on your face?”

Contagiously laughing along with Genesis, Sephiroth feigned ignorance as he croaked, “Eh? Don’t know what you mean!”

“Naughty naughty! What’re you smiling at?” Setting down his folder of documents ready for submission and approval, Genesis repeated, “What’s the naughty smile for?”

Lowering his phone, Sephiroth wasn’t all that embarrassed even when he knew Genesis had caught a brief glimpse of Cloud’s picture. “I didn’t think I had a naughty smile on my face, dude, but I guess I can’t help it when I look at such a beautiful man!”

Taking his chance to boast while he could, Sephiroth held his phone up, screen facing Genesis. 

Smiling appreciatively, Genesis even whistled, finding Cloud just as appealing too. “Nice! He’s cute!”

“Right?” Deciding not to waste more time and potentially have Genesis ask too many questions, Sephiroth set his phone aside as he then nodded over to the documents. “So, what’s up?”

“Oh! I just finished designs for our new website and estimate templates, just in time for next year, and I also managed to book two new clients!” 

Pausing when he personally wanted all his free time to go to Cloud’s home instead so he could have as much uninterrupted time with the omega he was chasing after, Sephiroth frowned and became quite vexed.

“Uh, I mean, that’s great, Gen, but I’m personally waiting on this bigger place…” Wincing, he added with the truth, “I gave the estimate already and I’m just waiting to hear back. Sorry.”

Quick on his feet, Genesis winked and then announced with too much zeal and pride, “It’s fine. They’re small projects. I think Angeal and I can handle a few on our own, and we can always get the part-time summer students to help out!”

Truly grateful for so many new blessings being showered upon himself after the rough, dark patch he’d suffered through, Sephiroth reached up and high-fived Genesis. “Gen, you’re fuckin’ beautiful!”

Eagerly swallowing the compliments, Genesis beamed and mewled, “Thanks! Angeal tells me that all the time!”

Before he could share another crafty joke to continue their little victorious celebration, Sephiroth received a call. Initially assuming it was Cloud, without even checking the number properly, he answered too quickly.

“H and S Roofing, what can I do for you today?”

Once that introductory speech was out of the way pleasantly, a soft snicker hit his ears and a slimy voice cooed, “Oh, now you answer me? Cute.”

Groaning when he heard Chadley’s round of vibrating purrs on the other end of the line, Sephiroth set his feet on the floor and was much too tempted to turn the phone to Genesis.

“Ugh, what the hell, Chadley? I told you that this is a business line!”

Hearing his name, Genesis knew Sephiroth’s personal fan all too well, immediately set off and disturbed while he shuddered and only listened to the exchange.

Whining and being too clever for his own good, Chadley complained, “Yeeeeah, but I want to talk business too, Sephiroth!”

Challenging that claim to set him off once and for all, Sephiroth barked angrily, “Oh really? You live in a fucking apartment, Chadley! Why do you need my services?”

Coy and too disgustingly flirtatious with someone not receptive to that type of interaction, Chadley explained, “Weeeellll, you see, I love roofers, Sephiroth. I just wanna be stripped and nailed all fucking day long.”

Exploding with the milk gushing out of his nose and mouth, Genesis almost choked while trying to contain his laughter at his friend’s expense. Luck wasn’t on his side for long as a bystander, with Sephiroth stitching together a fun idea for Chadley and Genesis.

Jeering fondly, he suggested, “I’m a bit busy at the moment, Chadley, but since you want a roofer around, I’d be more than happy to send Genesis over. He’s amazing with his hands.”

Sliding the phone over to a horrified Genesis, now, Sephiroth knew he was the last one laughing when he had his childhood friend pinned in a corner.

Stammering away as he wiped his chin and lips free of dripping milk, Genesis grew nauseated at the sight of Sephiroth’s vulpine smirk and Chadley’s invitingly sensual mewls on the phone.

“I…suddenly, I’m straight! Uh, bye!” Cutting the call off before he could run the risk of being even more embarrassed, he hid behind his hands while steaming away.

Wiping his hands free of Chadley both figuratively and literally, Sephiroth rejoiced, “Well, that’s that! Hopefully he won’t continue with his borderline sexual harass—”

On cue, the phone rang again, but when Sephiroth and Genesis gazed at the caller ID this time, they were both equally stunned and relieved to see that it wasn’t Chadley.

Having memorized Cloud’s new number from Ryan’s a little too-eager-to-volunteer-information attitude, Sephiroth hardly noticed the time, place, and proper location before he propelled himself into speaking out of turn.

“Hey! Cloud!”

Brain operating on a totally strange and detached level far from business and proper social etiquette was concerned when it came to addressing clients in front of colleagues, he paused when he heard both Cloud as well as Genesis emit soft gasps.

Cringing when he knew how much like a teenager struggling through his first crush he was acting like, Sephiroth wished Genesis would leave, only to find more disappointment engraving itself even deeper within his brain before solidifying as his reality.

Cocking an eyebrow with some delicacy and reservations for his privacy, Genesis seemed to be quietly awaiting for the chat between Cloud and Sephiroth to continue and reveal more unique information.

Sighing, Cloud expressed on a dull note, “Looks like Ryan gave out my number. Well, how are you?”

Biting his lower lip harder than he wanted, Sephiroth instinctively responded without much attention to the pain he was feeling, “Uh, it’s going well, Mr. Strife!”

Realizing he wasn’t exactly alone when Sephiroth grunted and then broke out in series of strained coughing that didn’t end quickly, before Sephiroth conflated ideations of a bolstering reunion with Cloud and strict business communication for the sake of any client obtaining the best of his services, Cloud circumvented issues quite efficiently. 

“Well, this won’t take long.” Breathing softly, the occasional rustling noise reaching the speaker before the sounds became muffled by Cloud shifting himself, he paused and then orated with clarity, “Ryan and I went over the estimate, and after a lot of thinking and back and forth, we’ve decided that it’s a bit over our budget for now. Sorry.”

No! No! No! If Cloud took away this opportunity, he’d never have the chance again in his lifetime to try and glue back their broken relationship!

Trying to be reasonable, Sephiroth donned the mannerisms and inflection of a persuasive man aiming to sell his services and bargain with a particularly difficult client, all while somehow even boasting in front of Genesis.

“Err, Mr. Strife, you do realize that your home is almost 2,500 square feet and has three floors, correct?” Receiving a thumbs-up from Genesis for approval, Sephiroth rationally added, “I think what I quoted was pretty decent considering the overall height, slopes, odd layers of the roof, as well as extended winter weather protection was concerned!”

Disagreeing vehemently, Cloud’s sly smile could almost be visible given how seedy his tone suddenly was. “I’m afraid that $34,978 is just too much right now for a first-time home buyer, you see. I’m going to shop around but if I change my mind, I’ll be sure to let you know!”

Sensing the hang-up was on the way, Sephiroth hurriedly asked, “How about I knock off three thousand?!”

Squealing and then slapping his hands over his agape mouth when he knew he was too close to the phone and could be heard, Genesis dodged a swipe from Sephiroth’s hands as a fair warning never to make louder noises than that.

“Hmm? Thought I heard something…” Trailing off in thought, Cloud remonstrated with more energy, “Sephiroth, I’ve already heard of some of my neighbors who didn’t even pay close to thirty grand. Come on now.”

Eyes darting around as his headache grew only since the pressure to keep Cloud hooked on his line was getting out of hand, Sephiroth mentally prayed that his father wouldn’t ever find out about the low-balling maneuver he’d made just for one special client. If dear old dad learned of his infatuated son losing so much profit, no one would hear the damn end of the rampage, truly.

Making his mind up when he knew he’d stalled plenty, before Cloud had a chance to bid farewell, Sephiroth shouted wildly with wide eyes, “Err, how about we settle for $24,850? Consider it my w-wedding gift to you and Ryan!”

The enormous price drop of course brought out a truly boisterous scream from Genesis, the redhead not even bothering to apologize or show any sign of repentance once he’d yelled out. Bulging eyes matched Sephiroth’s, nerves telling plenty in the way of a significant loss, but it was much too late. Even though he wanted to dive ahead and speak out against Sephiroth’s offer, Genesis was perhaps reeled into the on-going bargain like an addict thirsting for the conclusion of such a maddening interaction. 

Even Sephiroth began sweating bullets, profusely and raggedly breathing until he heard Cloud audibly squeak as well in true shock.

“That…that’s…you’d actually…you’re being serious, Sephiroth?” Far too elated, he once more asked, “You’d…you’d charge me that much?”

Grouchy, Sephiroth hid his mumbling, covering his shameful face in a palm. Sliding it downwards to reveal his lips at least, he coughed bitterly and then answered, “Yeah. It’s fine. I don’t mind, Cloud.”

Echoing bangs and thudding sounds rang across the line, with more muffling whispers until past the rustling of clothes, Cloud cried out to Ryan, “Awesome! Wow! Yeah! Let’s do it!” Addressing Sephiroth for acceptance and confirmation, he cheerfully acquiesced, “We accept! Please send us the newly adjusted dates, because we’d like to get it done before the photographers and designers come to help us with the wed—”

Broiling over in jealousy, rage, spite, and hatred for Ryan especially, Sephiroth didn’t allow Cloud to finish the word he was lately growing to loathe the most. Weddings had been fond memories of his past. Having attended at least five, he’d enjoyed them when he was much younger, his own heart and emotions never needing to be put in jeopardy and in question when it came to finding his own love and way in life, his own person to marry and devote the rest of their lives to…shit.

“Okay, Mr. Strife. It’s a done deal…uh…I guess I’ll uh…send the shit over then.” Wincing when Genesis kicked him under the desk, he immediately corrected himself, but his spine began twisting when he heard Ryan crowing out in serene joy.

Unable to stand it any longer, Sephiroth ended the call, clutching at his face as he slammed his phone onto the desk surface. Groaning when he then slouched back, his shirt was covered in thick beads of sweat, the liquid gluing his clothing to his flesh and spreading massive discomfort. Groggy and exhausted even though it wasn’t even noon yet, he wondered how badly he’d created his own upcoming debts by allowing his emotions to settle and create business deals. 

Damn him…his dad was going to go homicidal if this got out…why had he done this? Was it worth it? This was far too risky already, but there wasn’t a way to shatter Cloud’s happiness by going back on his promise…in fact, his solid promises and fulfillment of delivery was what’d enabled him to help H and S Roofing to gain the glorious reputation it currently had, but this was absolutely a poor lack of judgement completely.

Chewing on his fingernails and lower lip, too frightened to even meet his eyes as he sensed Sephiroth’s darkening aura and mood poisoning the air, as rife with his own friction as he was, Genesis still was rather unwise to gently nudge him.

“Uh, dude?” Clearing his throat and trying again, a bashful Genesis muttered with too much caution between words, “Seph, that’s gonna set us back a while…just sayin’.”

Weakly pointing at the door to signal that he needed time alone now, Sephiroth hardly managed to whimper out, “Gen, please, just get outta my office before I go into an anxiety-induced coma.”

“No worries, boss.”

~~~********~~~

A unique question brought on by such a profound experience had left Sephiroth in a zombified state for days following signing a contract with Cloud to begin working on his roof. 

What would one suffer and put themselves through for another person they truly cared about? 

Though he never quite grasped the entire philosophy behind it, hardly recovering from the crude words his father had reserved for him once he caught wind of the ‘deal’, Sephiroth was just as bewildered as ever. Wandering about in a daze, he didn’t feel like the better version of himself Aerith often bragged about after what she and Zack had accomplished together as a couple. She had far more to show for it, especially since her feelings were at least returned. 

Grumpy that he had to be the odd one out still by holding onto profuse limerence rather than requited feelings, Sephiroth knew the week was grinding to a taxing halt. Each day dragged by slower than the previous one, leaving himself with very little else to think of in the way for a sensible solution to be reached. It was far too unattainable, his own damn fault as a young adult to pine for someone already involved with a partner rather than being smart enough to move onto better and more available prospects.

After all, he was the one doing this to himself…he was willingly going after Cloud, doing whatever he could to impress him, even if it required losing a decent amount of money and energy.

Glumly ordering the materials he would need for the job and printing out the model of the entire roof to work with as a blueprint, Sephiroth took an entire afternoon to load his truck, working much slower than he wanted, and all to postpone returning to a place where he wasn’t really desired beyond providing a service. 

Harsh and cold as it was, he knew that he was only wanted for manual labor, nothing more, nothing less. This was a happy home, a couple thriving and well on their way to establishing a moment in history, a grand celebration to commemorate the union of the rest of their lives in love. This wasn’t something Sephiroth should’ve been playing with, wishing the worst to happen, yet he was. As a creature of bias and raw instinct, he desired Cloud, and Ryan was in the damn way. 

Stewing while he drove over with his packed truck to set up before the project actually began, the entire length of the journey was riddled with his formerly repressed thoughts and hopes that the absolute worst would happen to rip Ryan and Cloud apart. Colorful imagination on overdrive, while speedily zipping by many streets, oddly beating yellow and red traffic lights, Sephiroth pictured Ryan being dumped by Cloud, abandoned on the wedding day, looking ever so weak and useless dressed in his tuxedo. 

It made him chuckle, those sinister thoughts adding some form of vibrancy he needed at this difficult time. The private guffaws he imbibed in were all centered around himself coming through as the victor, the one who deserved to win Cloud over and be with him. He would triumph in the end, poking fun at Ryan to his heart’s content. It would all be possible, and with Cloud at his side, he would be made whole and so confident once again. 

What a joke of a man…such a feckless person didn’t need someone so strong like Cloud. The relationship wasn’t going to last. It couldn’t…it wouldn’t. No way. Not a chance in hell that they would be together long…right? 

Discombobulated and too darkened by the fear that Cloud genuinely wanted to keep Ryan in his life, Sephiroth became increasingly bitter and moody, his attitude bearing over his next course of actions. Unbeknownst to himself, the moment he parked in the large street and walked up the driveway and around the edge of the house, his sour disposition was highly and clearly on display.

Slamming and banging doors and his tools down on the grass, he shuffled around, dragging his feet and creating quite the ruckus. Scaring off squirrels, chipmunks, and even causing concern in a neighbor passing by while walking her two dogs, Sephiroth was exuding such a bleak aura that became beyond stormy in only an hour during setup for the work.

Sweating profusely while he carried out bundles of heavier equipment, he didn’t even feel the strain pulling between his arms and legs, nor did he even feel the least bit troubled by his spine tensing. Chucking around hammers, nail guns, air compressors, and nearly tripping over tape and snipping tools, he created a mess rather than neatly organizing the equipment he needed for his work. Drowning in his anger, he was blinded by his emotions to feel any discomfort and pain, only realizing how sloppy the unpacking process was when cardboard boxes piled onto each other, wrapping paper, plastic bags, and tape floating by in the mild breeze.

Good God, this was pathetic. He’d regressed to his first day as an apprentice, making quite a pitiful mess all over. The disarray the yard was in couldn’t be left that way, not when he sensed that someone was home.

Deciding to clean up the disaster he’d caused, Sephiroth milled about quickly, grateful that Cloud or maybe Ryan had at least been understanding enough to leave multiple green bins out for his use. 

Dumping all the garbage and useless litter back in those appropriately designated bins, Sephiroth then set to work and arranged wide, large tarps everywhere to shield and protect the grass and beautiful vegetation from his handiwork. Stretching out the long, waterproof plastic over the space he was setting up, Sephiroth then swept away the debris and dust, gaining professionalism back right on time for a shadowy figure to exit from a side door and gingerly approach.

Pausing and then exhaling a breath he didn’t know he’d even been holding, Sephiroth felt his heart clench and then skip beats when Cloud smiled in a friendly manner at him.

“Need some help setting up?” Careful not to step on uneven terrains and piles of stone and wood strewn about, he added in a chipper laugh, “Didn’t think you’d start so early!”

Throat dry and scratchy, Sephiroth lowered his head, eyes searching for the cold water bottle he could’ve sworn he’d brought along.

Unable to locate it anywhere near himself, he cleared his throat as best he could before he replied curtly, “Well, you know what they say…early bird catches the worm.”

Eager to just be alone suddenly, especially when he was quite certain he looked, smelled, and was acting like total crap, sweating all over himself and drenching his hair and clothes, Sephiroth cursed himself for not at all bringing his water along due to his anger and haste.

Beaming like a scintillating star bearing the beauty of the entire cosmos, Cloud purred, “Yep! So, can I—”

“Nah, I got this.” Hearing how snappy he sounded, Sephiroth winced as he then tried again, “I mean, you’re already uh, paying me so you…umm, don’t have to do anything else.”

“I see…” Breaking into another cycle of awkward silence, Cloud then smiled once more, composing himself a lot better. “Do you want something to drink or eat?”

Hating how gentle and polite the man he wanted yet never could win over was with him, Sephiroth sought out the best way to protect himself from being even more upset by unwisely lashing out at Cloud.

Eyeing the kitchen windows from where he stood like a solid rock, he became rather rude and gruffly suggested, “Why don’t you go and help out Ryan? Aren’t you supposed to be enjoying this fantastic time in your life?”

Flying into an aggravated state when he was flung on the receiving end of such wild jealousy, Cloud heatedly protested, “Ryan’s working from home most of the time! He’s handling calls and working on websites he designs, so stop being rude!”

Not needing so much information on Ryan and his various vocational activities, Sephiroth became even more furious by nature. “Oh, so he’s some amazing achiever! Wowie!”

Pointing a finger at him so sharply, accusations ready to be sent out, Cloud shouted, “You’re so immature! I just wanted to be nice to you, but if you’re going to carry on as if you’ve got a stick in your ass, then—”

Sly and crude, to win back his own leverage, Sephiroth soon forgot about how uncomfortable he was sweating up a storm with a scratchy throat so deprived of water. Wanting only to embarrass and corner Cloud, he crossed over to him, ensuring that he was at least whispering and keeping to the shades various trees provided.

Grinning quite monstrously when he watched Cloud backing up, no doubt extremely intimidated, he towered over the omega and used his height well to his satisfaction and advantage while boxing him near a wall.

“You know, Cloud,” he began as he made sure to sound both voracious and vitriolic, “last time I checked, you really liked having my cock in your ass.” 

Red all over, Cloud planted himself firmly before Sephiroth and strongly urged out, “A lapse in judgment. I regret that every day.”

Slammed by the truest form of unadulterated pain at his expense, emotions completely shattered and blasted apart, Sephiroth nearly squeaked, “Is that right?”

Continuously serving as the assailant to strike down Sephiroth’s dominance and egotistical regard, Cloud didn’t even bother to keep away this time.

Showing Sephiroth that he was easily capable of turning the tables by nudging him aside, the closeness they shared was only a synthetic play and mockery of what they once had. Nothing delightful, intimate, and comforting lingered now when Cloud rubbed himself onto Sephiroth, ensuring at least they didn’t meet at the hip.

A highly talented archer to aim the jagged, sharp arrow right into the center of Sephiroth’s heart, Cloud threw the younger alpha in the center of the pit of despair by never even blinking out of his emerald eyes. Hands sliding around to hover by Sephiroth’s sides only for a moment, before the taller male could even trace his motions, Cloud held onto the wall, pushing himself around Sephiroth, steps light and almost fluttery.

Weaving himself away from the frozen adolescent blinking in confusion while he was slowly left alone in the yard, Cloud cast a disturbed glare back at Sephiroth the entire time while he retreated into the house.

“Oh, and for the record, Ryan is an achiever…” Sadistically smirking, Cloud cast his most deplorable statement with deliberate clarity to shred Sephiroth to pieces. “He’s a wonderful lover, and he’s never once failed to satisfy me in bed.”

Chapter Text

From that point onward, anytime Sephiroth fell asleep, no matter how brief it was, he was sickened and plagued by haunting nightmares entailing Ryan and Cloud making love. Waking up a few times in the night and puking his guts out given how vivid the details of his imagination were centered around Cloud and Ryan going at it, he wondered if he should seriously sign up for some sort of therapy. Since his thoughts were bordering on sick obsession, there had to be many things abnormal about him…

So what if Cloud had moved on? What did it matter in Sephiroth’s life if some pathetic, weak beta who looked like he couldn’t even manage one push-up was better at sex than he was?!

…It did matter, though…he was the one who really cared about Cloud, the one who wanted to make it his full-time goal to satisfy the omega in a million and one ways! Cloud needed to be with a pure-bred alpha, not some douchebag beta with the personality of a coat hanger!

Disturbed too deeply by the superfluous conversation he’d entertained with Cloud only days ago, Sephiroth suddenly sensed his pride and mood rapidly shifting. Plummeting all the way from such a bold person to a reticent, apprehension ball of frustrated nerves in bundles, he did his best to never go near Cloud again. Aware of the man’s working schedule, Sephiroth only arrived at the property well past nine in the morning. Quite confident that it was only Ryan lurking about indoors, perhaps still getting himself together and starting his morning routine, Sephiroth minded his own business as well.

Counting the extra items he’d brought, he set up a ladder to scope out the top of the roof, patting himself down and checking if he didn’t overload his pockets and bags with more than what he needed for the first few steps of the project. Setting his utility knife close by down, he then descended once more when he realized the saw he’d brought along wasn’t cordless. 

Crap.

Searching for an extension cord, he squinted around the grass and patio, locating at least a damn outlet that wasn’t plugged away with many of the decorative lights and barbeque sets strewn about. Having no choice but to retreat to his disorderly truck for the extension cord, he slid past the side of the house, ducking beneath the low-hanging fruit trees with round, fresh fruits so ripely dangling by his face. 

Unlocking the door and poking about in the disorganized mess inside the truck, Sephiroth threw coats, safety boots, helmets, caps, cigarette packs, an umbrella, empty coffee cups, and empty beer cans out of his way. Embarrassing to the highest degree, it was, but he’d never had time to clean out his truck these days. 

Fishing around for many minutes, he was successful in the end to locate the yellow cord he needed. With his back exposed to the garage door, he vaguely heard some squeaking in the distance, not at all prepared to see Ryan up-close in his face when he turned around.  

Resisting the urge to yelp out, Sephiroth’s heart lodged in his throat, his breath snatched out of his lungs as his skull almost hit the side of the truck. “God! Holy shit, man!”

Holding out both hands in surrender with an apologetic expression over his visage, Ryan whispered, “Sorry. Thought you heard me.”

Strident for numerous reasons, Sephiroth looked down his nose at Ryan and snorted. “Clearly I didn’t!” As much as he loathed the prick, he broke out of his sarcastic nature, remembering who it was in the end signing his cheques. “Is there uh, something you need?”

Shrugging, Ryan then left a few inches between himself and Sephiroth. Bending to press the power button on a few front yard sprinklers, he wiped his hands onto his creamy cargo shorts. “Just wanted to see what you were up to, I guess.”

Hearing the perpetual patterns of quotidian sounds of the street during the height of summer, Sephiroth focused briefly on the soft ‘pittering’ and splashing of the water spreading about, a plane high above humming as it lazily flew past. Air conditioners thrummed on, easily heard from a few houses down, children screaming energetically peppering between mild chatter rousing from open garage doors. Friendly neighbors chuckled together, entertainment rife in the air far from where the two men at odds stood. 

Cicadas and birds raved on quite loudly in the background, though their sounds couldn’t dampen Sephiroth’s reply. “I’m probably gonna start tearing some shingles down today. Nothing too thrilling.”

Inviting himself to hold up one end of the gigantic loop of the extension cord, Ryan assisted Sephiroth in carrying the object over to the backyard. “Nah man, we all have different tastes in life. It’s not boring or anything to me anyway.”

Propelling himself up the ladder, Sephiroth stopped midway, ensuring the extension cord hung around one of his shoulders before nodding at the outlet free for the item to be plugged into. 

Following his silent form of an instruction and connecting the midsection of the cord before plugging it in, Ryan only bled through with mild perplexity as he supposed aloud, “I’ve always wanted to try and learn a trade, but right after high school, I studied IT since it was promising for careers at the time. Spent so much time in that field to the point where it feels like I can’t even make a simple salad since I’m so technical.” 

Keeping his biting, acerbic comments to himself, Sephiroth checked all his other drills and tools, making sure they weren’t viable to slip and fall off the roof. The safety checks were soon through, and he dipped a knee onto the roof, his safety boots finding a solid purchase on the slope before he surveyed a spot he chose at random to start in. Checking a gutter nearby and frowning when he found dry leaves clinging to it, Sephiroth cleaned it out, tossing the bits down to the patio while Ryan sighed.

Sounding defeated for no reason, the source of his dejection soon became clear as he directed a rather random question at his hired contractor. 

“Err, sorry to pry, but are you seeing anyone, Sephiroth?” 

Freezing away on the spot when caught off-guard by something so audacious, Sephiroth wanted to yell out every profanity he’d memorized and heard of. Competing to win the affections of the man Ryan was currently engaged to and evidently sleeping with so wonderfully sent his blood boiling and steaming out of every pore in his body. 

Sweeping the leaves about with a hard swipe of his hand, he ground his teeth painfully before he snapped, “No. Work kind of makes it tough to keep a relationship.”

Why had Ryan even asked?! Did he somehow gain satisfaction and sense that he was tense around his presence? Was this his unusual way to exert some form of control and assertiveness over him by rubbing his lack of romantic life in his face?

Trying to one-him-up, Sephiroth became snarky and smug as he ground out thickly, “Must be nice to be engaged and all, huh?”

Rather than showing the reaction Sephiroth wanted when he was accosted by such a loaded question aiming to slice him apart, Ryan looked even sadder than before.

Mirroring the mannerisms and expressions of a small child on the receiving end of a lecture from a teacher or parent, he bit his lower lip, looking down at his own feet while swaying from side to side. Indecisive for a few more seconds, he threw inhibitions and caution to the wind, needing to speak out even if it meant he was trusting his complaints with someone still dangerously close to a stranger.

“It’s…it’s not what I thought it’d be like.”

Trouble in paradise already?

Unsure of how to decipher the brief spark of genuine joy Sephiroth felt when he gazed down and thoroughly examined the downtrodden Ryan, he held back on final conclusions just in case this was a matter of Ryan trolling or mildly exaggerating.

Lips tight, veins protruding over skin thinly stretched to shine off his mild light tan, today, Ryan wore reading glasses, perhaps requiring them for hours of work staring at the screen. The round lenses were a tad thick, the frame decently fashionable, but they definitely give him an aged appearance. None of it however went well with his rueful demeanor as he tried to find some sort of optimism in the middle of his woes.

“Everything gets complicated with time and age. Maybe the stress of the engagement and our financial situation is getting to me more than Cloud.”

Deciding that since Ryan had volunteered so much information for the conversation, he could dig in as well. From his higher position up on the roof, Sephiroth called down to Ryan, “You think so? You seem happy to me!”

Juggling what he knew already with what he was eagerly dying to learn, his little role of the uniformed worker milling around without paying much attention either way soon sent ample rewards his way when Ryan relaxed enough around him.

Assuming that he could most freely and openly devote himself to a form of cathartic release, Ryan explained, “We are. We’re great together. It’s not that we’re not compatible or anything, just…uh…”

Precision was key in his assessment of Ryan’s reactions, body language showing frigidity to a high degree. There was also an underlying struggle as the conflicted man gazed around as if searching for permission from an unknown, invisible overseer before he beckoned Sephiroth with an index finger.

Climbing down the ladder again after setting his tools aside, Sephiroth reached the bottom and informed Ryan with much assurance, “It’s cool. This’ll stay between us as guys, okay?”

Deciphering the signs that Ryan desperately needed to hear that before ranting on, Sephiroth casually took a spot on a vacant chair before the shiny, glass table on the patio. Noticing how relaxed he was, Ryan sat across from him, folding his arms over his sternum though he moved a leg up and down by bouncing it on the toes and rolling his ankle.

“This is weird, but, would you ever marry someone you’ve never slept with, Sephiroth?”

…Did this mean what he thought it did? 

Alarms blaring in the recesses of his brain as he remained extremely hyper-tuned to whatever else Ryan had to present from this point onward, Sephiroth always remembered to keep his judgement out of his voice and facial features just in case Ryan changed his mind and ceased sharing.

Scratching his chin, he too folded his arms over his sternum as he answered, “Not sure. I like sex as much as anyone else, and not to sound rude, but most people test drive cars before they buy them, right? It’s kinda the same with a person if you’re looking to commit your entire life to them.”

Agreeing in a heartbeat, Ryan slapped a hand over a knee and then shrieked effervescently, “Exactly! See, I feel the same! I want to make sure that I’m in every way a great match for Cloud, but he…he’s…”

Daring to go out on a limb and hoping he wouldn’t pay so dearly for it, Sephiroth just had to chase down his last suspicion. To settle his unique quest, to forever put himself at ease, the peace of mind he needed took significant priority, especially as he sensed that Cloud had been lying to him all this time about his relationship with Ryan being so bloody perfect.

Insane as it was to think of when he’d been proven wrong a few times, something about Ryan didn’t project the image of a man constantly getting laid every night with his fiancé at all. Ryan was much too tense, clearly sexually frustrated, and while most betas secreted little to no pheromones, Sephiroth keenly could identify a repressed dude when he saw one.

Worrying his lower lip between his teeth so vigorously that skin was sure to have come off, Ryan’s eyes darted about, the disturbed man finally wheezing out a shaky breath before he threw his arms up into the air. Listlessly, he finally confessed, “Cloud doesn’t even let me touch him. Anytime I try, he always says he is tired, has a headache, suddenly remembers he has something else to do, or will just walk away from me.”

Interesting. So it seemed as if Cloud truly had been making it all up, his fib just to spite and cause Sephiroth as much jealousy and grief as he could.

Before he exploded out in a cheerful cry of true ebullience however, without managing to sputter out awkwardly, Sephiroth asked, “Wait, you mean like, you guys uh…never have…?”

Thankfully, Ryan hurriedly sealed his final concern and doubt as he shook his head. “Never. I found it cute at first. I mean,” smiling and chuckling, he rubbed at a spot on his shorts before he expressed warmly, “I thought it was a little ‘wait until the wedding night’ act or something, but he won’t even kiss me…we sleep in the same bed, but with all our clothes on, and he’s never let me kiss him or kissed me.” 

Christmas, New Year, and his own damn birthday had rolled all in one gleeful form of celebration. This was absolutely the best news he’d ever heard in a solid three years, so beautifully delivered that he didn’t know what to do or how to elucidate his next phrases yet. Taking time before he grinned a sloppy grin as he wanted to, Sephiroth lifted a hand over to hide the goofy smile painting the way onto his lips. Ever so pleased to hear that his ‘competitor’ wasn’t getting any, Sephiroth didn’t emit his guffaws, straining his inflection to force out genuine sympathy instead.

When Ryan’s depleted body slumped forward and his tired eyes landed on Sephiroth’s, seeking comfort, consolation, recognition, and dignity, Sephiroth gave him only half of that.

Finding the situation way too damn funny for his own personal gain, he knew his entire face was in agony simply from holding back his cheerful grin to the maximum capabilities. “That’s…really…wow…I’m s-sorry to h-hear that, Ryan!”

His inner demons couldn’t help but cackle, ‘Sorry, not sorry!’

Sighing again, Ryan clasped his hands together, arms spread onto the smooth, diaphanous surface of the clean table. “Thanks for hearing me out, Sephiroth. I just wanna know, like, do you think it’s because of me?” Peeking at himself in the reflective glass, he then fought with a disgruntled expression as he softly added, “Am I unattractive or something?”

Oh boy. He’d certainly bitten off way more than he could chew at this point. Never having signed up to play ‘sex therapist’, Sephiroth cringed, balancing on the edge of his seat as if his body was acting on its own accord to flee far from the scene of friction.

“Uhh, you’re uh, not like, ugly or anything, Ryan…” That was a shitty start, but he sprang up after Ryan gasped, swiftly explicating as a means to provide an emotional band-aid, “I mean, you’re uh, n-not my type or anything, but…you’re…uh…nice to look at?”

Dejected and seeming to fall even lower in disparity upon hearing this, Ryan nodded much slower this time, eyes widening and focusing on something on the patio floor before they became glassy and unfocused. “It’s okay. I’m not as young as I used to be, and I feel like maybe working so much has changed me. My sex drive is still pretty high, but maybe Cloud’s is very low now that he’s running his own business and doing so many things in the media.”

Grossed out to hear about Ryan’s sex drive being quite high, Sephiroth still wasn’t improper even though the conversation was somewhat spiraling downhill more than he could tolerate. 

“I’m sure it’s not like that, Ryan.” Trying to offer something productive at least so he wasn’t the major prick in Ryan’s eyes, Sephiroth empathetically expressed, “Looks like you’re still in good shape at least…working out may help forget some tension and issues.”

“Does exercise help you?” Managing a weak smile shadowed by more pain, Ryan supplied messily, “You look like you hit the gym often.”

“I do it for my job, honestly, but I’m also an alpha.” 

Now, he could fully gloat, knowing that Ryan and Cloud weren’t as close. Under the guise of the truth to certain levels, he flaunted his nature, at least having that as a means to overpower Ryan as he wanted. 

Secretly enjoying how he’d been the first and only alpha to date to sleep with Cloud, the thrilling side of Ryan’s partner’s darker past was only Sephiroth’s to forever keep.

To toy with and dangle that before Ryan however wasn’t a wise approach. Perhaps as a last and worst case scenario and ultimatum, he would dive into it later, but Sephiroth vowed to this time be a master of experience. He wasn’t a love-struck teenager anymore and he didn’t want to resort to such basic, childish extensions now and ever…not when he still wanted to play the sympathetic ear and compassionate soundboard for Ryan.

Burning with jealousy even though he knew it would look better on his part to offer something someone not so involved would, through lightly clenched teeth, he forced a smile and elucidated, “I’m sure Cloud is just as eager to get married to you. Maybe he just doesn’t like showing it much?”

While his palm rubbed from his forehead to his chin like a long brush winding down a canvas, Ryan bemoaned, “I just get the weirdest feeling that he seriously sees me way more like a friend and only settled for me because we were introduced by one of my clients.”

If it stayed that way forever, Sephiroth wasn’t going to find faults and complain with that in the least. Ryan was somewhat cool to talk to, but the more he sat around observing the dull, plain man, the more he genuinely began to question what Cloud honestly saw in him. Sure, some cases of opposites could maybe attract, but this was purely comedic. Ryan was everything Cloud hated in a man, so much to the point where Sephiroth suspected that their relationship was already sailing across unsteady waters.

Holding out one hand, Ryan spoke down as he labeled out one foundation for his argument, “Sure, we’re both artistic in our own way, we both were married once before.” Gesturing at his opposite limb when it straightened ahead, he went on, “But, on the other hand, I don’t know what to say to him to have us become closer. He doesn’t like to cuddle me much…we just watch TV together, barely holding hands until he gets lost in his art book for hours.”

Sad as it was, Sephiroth couldn’t even laugh furtively anymore because he was so harshly reminded of going through the exact motions with Aerith. Clear as day, this was a case of one partner not being interested and in love with the other. Once upon a time, he too had been in Cloud’s shoes, coming up with every excuse he could dream of just to keep the other person at arm’s length. He could be polite and too gentle at times just to bring about more comfort and security, but in the end, it was a huge waste of time postponing the inevitable.

Cloud wasn’t into Ryan, and sooner or later, he would completely push this man out of his life. No one in this situation deserved the pain they were going through, but Sephiroth had already once been a homewrecker before with Cloud, and this time, he was going to make his approach differently.

Unable to come up with more accurate advice simply because he still felt too young and had his own hand to play in Cloud’s behavior to a degree, Sephiroth scuttled and hid beneath some mystery. 

Clinging to it and drifting off without risking the chance of increasing any suspicion, he only communicated nonverbally plenty of understanding for Ryan. Through a small smile followed by a casual sigh, he played with his long hair until he chose to toss it over his shoulders.

Leaning forward and then brushing his bangs away from his eyes, he softly exhaled and then spoke in measured words. “I’m sure you’re just your own worst critic. Try not to analyze every little thing. Pick up a totally new hobby that he won’t expect. Maybe it’ll be good to take your mind off work that way too whenever you can and who knows? Perhaps Cloud will want to also participate.”

This was such shit advice, honestly. Even he didn’t believe a single thing he was saying, and if anyone else had been listening, they’d be well within their rights to call him out on his bullshit, but also hit him in the head for being so dumb.

Ryan however appeared grateful to be heard, given some time, even on a miniscule level. This was a highly important matter to him, and his good will and kind nature enabled him to see beyond Sephiroth’s incogitant regard and unwillingness to even scrape the surface for developing a better rounded, wiser response to increase depth for cogitation. 

Evincing appreciation no matter what else he could’ve been feeling, Ryan started to envisage something fruitful lingering on the horizon, whereas Sephiroth yearned to only return to his tasks. He was squirming a bit too much on the edge of his seat, the problem more than a concern for physical discomfort and maladroitness by itself. Regardless of strange idiosyncrasies bordering on foibles in his character standing out, Ryan didn’t mind Sephiroth behaving eccentrically at all.

Turning brighter and more flushed with energy in comparison to earlier, he even looked like a new person as he took in the last suggestion. Allowing it to resonate deeply, he merrily acquiesced, “You know, I think I’ll join a gym too! I used to cycle a lot in high school, so maybe I can get back into it!”

“Yeah, that’s something at least.”

Proud of Sephiroth’s approval, Ryan started acting extremely chummy and open with Sephiroth right then, erasing the solid line between a contractor and their employer as he asked, “Say, what gym do you go to? Would you recommend yours to me?”

Well, as taxing as this new subject change was, at least he could entertain it when he knew for an indisputable fact that Cloud hadn’t been with anyone else since their separation…just like Sephiroth. This way, he could maybe treat Ryan with a semblance of civility when he was quite certain that Cloud wasn’t as crazy about him after all.

~~~********~~~

For dragging, endless hours of perfect silence, soft, tender words slipped, fading into the night as Sephiroth slowly succumbed to his aching fatigue. Reaching home and relaxing after his long day in his tub, Sephiroth had then made up his mind not to sleep, to stay awake and aware over the sleeping figure in his arms and never succumb to a drowsy lull to lose time until morning fell safely on the both of them. Groggy as he was, he knew the smaller male in his arms had to be the one he desired. 

The loving, sonorous tone was quite the lullaby to his ears. A soft, azure gaze fell shut, and his slow, rhythmic breathing became a steady, paced tempo against Sephiroth, just as the call of sleep became near impossible to ignore. Limbs twined, they found warmth until slowly, steadily, Sephiroth felt his consciousness drifting off.

He didn’t know when it happened, didn’t know why, but suddenly, some abrupt shift sent him instantly awake from whatever state of sleep he’d fallen into. His first instinct sent a jolt of panic through him and he cursed himself thoroughly for falling asleep, instantly checking the figure by his side for any signs of change. Finding none, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

Though a tuft of messy, light-colored hair tickled his skin, a lithe body still breathed in his arms. The chest rising and falling slowly with sleep, the movement was so minimal, it sent a fresh swell of grief through him, and he instinctively sifted his fingers again through the silky curls before himself. With each passing second, the pulse against him felt fainter, growing steadily more distant, and each time, he found himself waiting for the next as if his own life lay on the line, and not the end of this blissful dream to pass.

“Cloud…”

With a loud, exaggerated yawn, the spell was shattered when two skinny arms shot upwards. Notes reached their crescendo, the sheets fell around the person occupying Sephiroth’s comfy bed, and after the other individual finally sat up to turn on the lights in the room, instantly, Sephiroth felt he could’ve suffered from a wild heart attack.

Eyeballs searing when the light not only harshly dragged his pupils to adjust to the lambent glow shooting around, he didn’t want to acknowledge that while dreaming about sleeping next to Cloud, in actuality, it wasn’t Cloud in his arms at all.

Smacking his lips together and rubbing the bleariness out of his eyes, a smug Chadley luxuriated in Sephiroth’s astonishment and silence for many seconds before he flashed a wide grin. “I don’t know who Cloud is, but can you please hold me again? I was actually about to fall asleep for real this time!”

Freaking the hell out given how wrong this looked, when his memory was too fuzzy to piece anything else together, Sephiroth shot out of the bed and checked himself over. Relieved that he was still wearing his shorts and underwear, he then yanked the sheets away from Chadley, ignoring him yelping and complaining about the icy draft he was exposed to. Chadley was also clothed from the waist down, and not a single scar, hickey, scratch mark, or bruise on his body suggested a struggle or even rough sex, thank goodness.

Still, how the hell did he get here?!

Sticking an arm out between himself and Chadley and bracing himself as far from the bed as he could, Sephiroth coldly asked, “What the fuck are you doing in my place, Chadley?!”

Gazing all around the room from one corner to the next, Chadley was completely dumbfounded and didn’t even bother hiding it to put on an impressive act at all. “I think you had too much to drink, Sephiroth.” Filling in the blanks quickly, he rationalized, “I came by because Angeal gave me a ride and you got shift faced, barfed all over yourself, I helped you wash up, then you fell asleep here.”

It sounded like something he’d done, and he’d called Angeal to let him know when he could indeed stop by to drop off his mother’s famous cinnamon rolls, but what really had happened? Knowing Chadley and his bizarre crush, there was no way he hadn’t done something heinous.

Trying to be subtle about the matter, although he didn’t want to run ahead and label Chadley as someone who would take advantage of those who couldn’t consent, Sephiroth still inquired, “Did you…I mean, did we uh, do…stuff?”

Defeatedly deflating, a pure look of unparalleled shock flitted over Chadley’s face before his eyes began to produce detachment and sarcasm. 

Awkwardly scratching his neck, he looked to one side and laughed out as if talking to an unseen person. “Can someone get me a gun?”

“Chadley!”

Throwing Sephiroth a bland glare and shuffling until he gathered the sheets off the floor and draped them around himself, Chadley sniffed and then retaliated with quite a superior sneer. “You’re an asshole to even suggest I’d do that, Sephiroth. Besides, I may be horny for you, but I know you’re not into me and never will be.”

That…was absolutely far from eloquent and lovely to hear, but it wasn’t a lie. Chadley wasn’t ever the aggressive type, just a fool who had feelings for someone who didn’t mutually share them. He was always content with teasing Sephiroth from a distance, delighting in mocking and flirting with him to make him squirm a bit here and there, but nothing else.

Carrying heavy guilt for accusing Chadley to begin with, Sephiroth tried expressing remorse by approaching to chat. Calmer now as he lowered himself to where he was previously lying down, he hung his head almost in a subservient manner, shame stitching his tone and phrases.

“I’m sorry. I feel like I’m turning into a huge dick lately to everyone…” Drawing his knees up into his chest and leaning on them, he weakly whispered, “My issues are mine and I didn’t mean to take them out on you, Chadley.”

Pitifully shaking his head, Chadley seemed to speed through even his own unnecessary woes which held no place here. “Oh my goddess, Seph. It’s fine. We’ve known each other since high school, so don’t get all sentimental on me.”

“You’re a sweet guy, Chadley.” Talking up his friend and feeding him genuine compliments simply because he wanted to, Sephiroth felt relieved even more by the second. 

A tad on the edge of grumpiness, Chadley blushed and bemoaned, “Yeah, such a sweet guy who always gets friend-zoned. So done with it all.”

Torn between both sides, Sephiroth felt guilty even when he understood that Chadley wasn’t trying to send him on any guilt trips at all. Reminding Chadley that he didn’t need to be so distraught when he was contributing and bringing many great things in a friendship, he felt the scales tip back in rewards for them both when Chadley got over his own despondency.

“Hey, Sephiroth? Who’s Cloud?” Smiling heartily, Chadley clarified the connection to the name, “You were repeating that name a few times in your sleep.”

Hooked again on the turmoil lately centered so deeply on Cloud that he couldn’t even go one night without seeing the omega in his dreams, Sephiroth began tossing the question around and weighing it more than what it was on the surface layer. 

Not one entirely for philosophy, while Chadley sought the answer at a basic level, Sephiroth analyzed it thoroughly as he wondered who Cloud really was. To him, what power did Cloud wield so profusely to change his entire behavior, but also push him to such extraordinary limits he otherwise wouldn’t have ever tapped into? 

Raking his eyes upward and glowering at the ceiling, Chadley protested in exhaustion, “Ugh, you know what? I won’t go there because it’s so disgustingly obvious that you’re in love with this person.”

In love with Cloud Strife? He was in love with Cloud? Is that what Chadley really saw? Was that the way he was acting without even realizing it?

Focusing on it while he drew comparisons before earlier in his teenage years when he’d initially started dating, the way he interpreted the recent developments seemed tricky at worst and primed for problems. At best, he figured it was some heavy sort of fixation, perhaps a result of desiring a partner he otherwise never would’ve naturally been drawn to. Sephiroth had deeply been fond of anyone in the past he’d dated, devoted to one partner at a time, but those relationships always seemed superficial and shallow until he’d met Aerith.

Predicting that he could spend the rest of his life with her too had been only an extension of wishful thinking, unfortunately. The traces of familial influence always got the better of him in that relationship, the ubiquitous urge to settle down and start to fall into a daily routine of a family life his only goal. Where things had always been on the side of bland with Aerith at times, when Cloud had entered the picture, he’d not only taught Sephiroth about a plethora of beautiful things, but he’d practically breathed new meaning into the adolescent’s world. That was a rare gift, something he seriously didn’t take for granted, an opportunity he only felt he had to chase down before it was lost completely.

Maybe he was starting to fall in love on a much deeper level after all. Obsessive thoughts were now at bay during all hours, his mind certainly was always hooked on Cloud, but less than that of a typical alpha wanting to control and possess an omega to make them their plaything. No, he’d decided long ago that he was willing to take time and wait for Cloud to come back to him on his terms.

Slanting to one side and waving a hand abruptly in his face to steal his attention, Chadley sang out in a long sigh, “Heeeellllooooo? You still there?”

“Hmm?” Rubbing his eyes, Sephiroth snapped out of his daze, fixing his gaze over towards his companion. “Sorry. Just have a lot on my mind.”

Reading through his nonverbal body language like a seasoned expert, Chadley grabbed a pillow, scooting to one edge of the bed. Lying down flatly on his back, he smirked somewhat arrogantly before he tugged up the loose sheets around himself.

“Got my answer, Sephiroth. It’s clear to me that you’re nuts about this Cloud, and you know what? I genuinely am happy for you and hope it works out.”

Having one person who wasn’t entirely filled with the most accurate details to possibly judge him and make incorrect assumptions on his side genuinely filled Sephiroth with a tendril of hope. It felt pretty damn liberating to open his heart to someone else, someone more neutral than otherwise. He’d underestimated Chadley mistakenly, but just like most things he was lately learning, it wasn’t far too late to make changes to his mindset. 

Chadley was a fantastic listener, one who read social cues and signs well not to go prying much, and he didn’t need anything else to show gratitude. 

Turning around when Sephiroth least expected it, with a casual tilt of his neck upwards, too swiftly, Chadley plopped a soft peck on the bottom of Sephiroth’s right cheek. 

Touching the tingling area while his eyes turned rounder than small golf balls, all he could do was grin a sloppy grin Chadley didn’t seem too fond of looking at. 

Grumpily putting on a bit of a fuss, he turned over again, shoulders wriggling about until he faced the wall ahead. “Sleep tight, Sephiroth.”

Resting next to him and keeping a decent distance between their bodies, Sephiroth smiled away happily, feeling much better than he had in many days. Evidently, he needed this chance to divulge some heavy things to someone else, his body so relaxed that he almost passed out as soon as his own skull hit the soft pillows.

“You too, Chadley.”

“If you dream about your Cloud, try not to go poking me in the ass with that enormous monster between your legs, else I won’t be held responsible for what happens to you.”

“...I hate you, Chadley.”

“...I love you too, Sephiroth.”

~~~********~~~

Measuring around the unusual grooves of the roof to fit the shingles perfectly around the air vents, Sephiroth felt extremely bored as he slipped into painful redundancy within days. 

Almost wishing for trouble even if meant something exciting would happen to relieve himself of the perpetually dull activities he was carrying out, the ambiance was rather quiet. Safety glasses, gloves, and protective ear plugs wedged in his ears, he drowned out the entire world for half the morning and afternoon while he tore away at the older foundation of the roof.

Hammering and chipping away at nails embedded within the fixture, he abruptly thought the new vibration he felt coursing beneath his weight was his own handiwork. The power drill was shut off, however, so he glanced down just in time to notice from a window far ahead two figures rapidly moving around.

Squinting and then moving up his safety glasses for a better view, Sephiroth glanced on and finally made out Cloud’s slender body. 

Posture rather stiff and rigid, he was pacing a bit nervously before the kitchen sink. His lips were moving, but Sephiroth couldn’t make anything out. All he knew was that Cloud’s face was deeply flushed, the omega then turning on the tap and filling a glass with water before drowning himself in the beverage. 

At first, Sephiroth wondered if Cloud was feeling well. He was screaming away, arms moving quite aggressively, words of pure rage fleeing past his lips. Staring intently around the kitchen, Sephiroth didn’t think anyone else was there, but he was proven wrong when an agitated Ryan was spotted walking around the kitchen table. 

Were they having an argument? 

Shaken by the possibility, Sephiroth was torn between feeling protective over Cloud and mildly amused if things were going sour with Ryan.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s not my business.” 

Deciding to continue his work, he picked up a hammer firmly, but before he had a chance to do anything with it, crisp sounds of shattering rang out.

When he peeked up again, Sephiroth watched as Cloud moved out of the kitchen, covering the distance over to the den and then sliding open the door to the deck. The glass that’d broken was the same one he’d held his water in, as made evident by Ryan pointing at the sink while yelling his head off.

“Cloud! I’m not going to just let you throw a tantrum like this!” Chasing after his partner heatedly, Ryan rounded the corner and belted away, “Get back here and clean that mess up!”

Waving him off madly, Cloud didn’t even trouble himself with obeying those requests. “Leave me alone, Ryan! I need some air and I can’t get any peace around here with your damn screaming in my ear!”

“Cloud!”

Slamming the patio door shut on Ryan’s face, Cloud firmly cut away the rest of the bickering, head lowering as he hissed at his own feet, “Just shut up! Shut up for once!”

Even though Cloud was fuming away, Sephiroth slid into fantasy and dream land while staring at him. Furious as he was, this side of him was frankly extremely cute. His ears and cheeks were tickled pink, eyebrows furrowed so thickly that they almost looked a shade darker. Clothes baggy and hanging off his body, his upper chest and collarbone popped out beneath the low-cut collar, the view from Sephiroth’s elevated position up on the roof quite exquisite. 

Thinking about licking and biting at that pale expanse of flesh, he’d been zoning out and far too slow to react when Cloud glanced at him as soon as he sensed he was being closely watched. 

Caught in his daze, Sephiroth was too languidly possessed to react. Waving sluggishly, he paused when Cloud’s eyes widened, and he winced before turning on his power drill when he didn’t even need to be using it. Only a means to create noise and a distraction, Sephiroth burned bright red when it didn’t do well to cover his tracks given how Cloud waved back frantically at him.

Deciding to stop being such a child about his slip–up, Sephiroth shut off the tool, taking his safety glasses off to at least give off a good impression that he was paying attention to Cloud.

“Hey.”

“Sup?”

While steadily blushing, Cloud wondered in a clear voice, “You hungry?”

Trying to keep perverted ideas away from his brain, Sephiroth replied, “Always.”

Waving him down, Cloud then smiled and offered, “Why don’t we go to lunch?” Noticing Sephiroth hesitating, he added happily, “My treat!”

This indeed was an offer Sephiroth wasn’t going to reject, and not only because he was seriously hungry and Cloud was paying for their meals. 

Packing up quickly, he brushed himself free of dirt and dust, taking off his tool belt and neatly setting other objects aside. Not even bothering to use the ladder, Sephiroth stopped using common sense, jumping off the roof of the enormous house and landing perfectly on both feet close to Cloud.

Tossing him a shocked look, Cloud then glanced up and down a few times, assessing and measuring the distance between the roof and the ground level. “How does that not hurt your feet?”

Scratching his head as he removed his ear plugs, Sephiroth didn’t want to answer, reaching a conclusion that he’d wanted to actually impress Cloud by showing off his youth and energy. “I have no idea. Just don’t ever try that yourself.” 

“Wasn’t planning to.” Pockets padding out, Cloud gently touched the bulge as he announced with pride, “Got my wallet. Where should we go?”

Shrugging with indifference, Sephiroth muttered, “I’ll let you pick, but only if you let me drive.” 

Bowing his head, Cloud was already leading the way, steps crunching softly over leaves, grass, and rocks. “Deal.” 

While he walked ahead of Sephiroth, the young alpha caved into horribly filthy bad habits, eyes tracing the shape and outline of Cloud’s beautiful ass. Enjoying how it twitched subtly while he walked, he pictured those hips and meaty globes beneath his jean shorts, wanting nothing more than to stretch out his hands and grab a decent chunk to knead like dough in his palms. Salivating from the thought alone, he didn’t even blink while he continued following, eyes glued to Cloud’s backside and sultry stroll even when they reached his truck.

Spinning around when they were far from the windows and doors of the house, Cloud’s demeanor immediately changed in a flash. Leaning back over to Sephiroth, he surreptitiously inquired, “How much of that argument did you hear?”

“Hmm?” 

Nudging him out of a fit of impatience, Cloud hissed thinly, “Sephiroth, stop playing dumb.”

“I seriously actually wasn’t.” Hating that he had to somehow explain that he wasn’t listening, Sephiroth avoided glancing at Cloud, casually unlocking and opening the passenger door of his truck first while beckoning to Cloud. 

When Cloud didn’t stir, furiously crossing his arms over his chest in a steady show that he too could be stubborn and not move until he was given a decent answer, Sephiroth sighed and slouched over the door.

As it gave out a groan of protest, he too retaliated as he elucidated reasonably, “It’s not my business. I wasn’t trying to spy, but you guys were loud.” In the light silence that stretched save for the wind blowing through, Sephiroth hung his head and shamefully added, “Sorry.”

The friction didn’t need to go on between them and they both reached that similar thought quite easily. Cloud relaxed properly, arms moving to push his hair back, combing the unruly locks in some form of organized fashion, while Sephiroth fiddled with the door handle. Deciding not to torment him further at least, Cloud eventually smiled, however tiny and weak it was, moving once more without wasting anymore time.

“Let’s go.” 

Chapter Text

“Sephiroth.”

“Hmm?”

“My eyes are up here.”

“Right.” 

Unfastening his gaze off Cloud’s thighs when he was caught staring away like some depraved lunatic, Sephiroth cleared his throat, sensibly choosing to watch the road and occasional waves of traffic up ahead of their path. 

Turning on the radio station to a random channel playing classical piano music, Cloud then checked his own reflection in the side mirror, playing with the shades he’d brought along more for fashion than function. Pushing them up to rest in his bangs, he let the handles dangle over the outer shell of his ears, blue eyes sparkling with keen interest over at Sephiroth.

Focusing on his driving, Sephiroth noticed pizza shops, a Subway, Starbucks, as well as a Harvey’s not too far from where they waited until the glowing red of traffic lights changed to green.

Releasing the brake pedal, he added gas, the engine roaring and almost muffling his voice since he was so quiet. “What do you feel like eating?”

“Burgers sound good.” 

“Alrighty.” 

Targeting the speedy drive-through, Sephiroth appreciated the timing of the outing. Only two other vehicles lingered ahead, the drivers all ordering smaller meals. It was their turn soon enough, and he drove right up to the communication system speaker with his window already rolled down.

Once a feminine voice welcomed him and asked to take his order, he leaned to the side and barked out, “Yeah, can I get two large burgers with extra cheese and bacon, two fries, chicken nuggets, two slices of your special of the day apple pie, two large sodas, and an ice-cream cone?” In a playful smile, he turned over to Cloud and then asked, “What would you like now?”

Taking the good sense of witticism well, Cloud snickered and croaked through his giggles, “That all sounds good to me!”

When their food arrived, they headed over to a nearby park, though they didn’t exit the truck. Sitting side by side, they kicked back and relaxed, tension not even existing when the smell of steaming, warm cheese and ketchup floated around the vehicle. Cloud took small, delicate bites of his burger, perhaps wanting to savor it while he could, whereas Sephiroth devoured the majority of it in less than four large mouthfuls. 

Snickering and dabbing at his lips properly, Cloud examined Sephiroth’s poor eating habits and pointed out, “Big eater.” 

Pausing to wipe ketchup off his lips and pick at some burger bread crumbs landing and resting on his chest, Sephiroth became suddenly too aware and shy. “Sorry. I was a lot hungrier than I thought.” 

A few children with their parents occupied the playground equipment, elderly couples with their guide dogs walking and sitting by the larger ponds to watch the ducks and geese. Noises of play, excitement, the smell of barbeque promptly filled the air with their windows rolled down. Small critters in the park zipped by, squirrels scampering up on top of trees, their furry bodies shaking leafy branches and dislodging bits of leaves and acorns to scatter about. Not many other cars were parked in the lot at this time, but the other ones were much too empty, adding the sense of privacy Cloud and Sephiroth had been seeking unintentionally. 

Silence allowed them to finish their meal, and when Cloud eyed the ice-cream cone slowly melting as it hung in the placeholder between himself and Sephiroth, the alpha smiled and nodded at it. 

“I got that for you.” 

Beaming at him and tucking a hand under his chin in a dainty way, Cloud suggested, “I’ll accept it only if we can share it.” 

Unable to keep his desires in check when he pictured Cloud’s pink tongue curling around the melting ice-cream to gather drops as they splattered onto his chin and lower lip, Sephiroth purred, “Sounds hot, Cloud.” 

Knowing what territories his brain was starting to wander off to, Cloud dished out a sudden warning that even shocked himself since his mood turned quite taciturn by force. “I’m engaged, Sephiroth, so stop it.” 

“And you’ve yet to convince me that it’s a happy engagement, Cloud, so how about you stop pretending and be honest.” 

Moving out of his seat, Sephiroth took the wrappers and crumpled up bags with himself, tossing them all in a nearby garbage can while he waited for Cloud to pick up the hint that he didn’t wish to remain stuck in the cramped truck anymore. 

Rolling his eyes was as far as he took his pouty attitude. Cloud exited the truck as well, wrapping a few napkins around the melting cone before joining Sephiroth for a leisurely stroll through the gentle park. 

The ambiance at least helped them both calm down significantly, the height of the summer season temperature being just right without adding much discomfort. The occasional gust of wind helped keep profuse sweating at bay, the refreshing currents dancing along the surface of the pond, creating ripples as swans and ducks swam by. Dipping their long necks under the surface to peck away for food, their beautiful feathers glistened under the bright rays of the sun. Tons of other shimmering fish swam past the other side of the pond, with Sephiroth counting at least two dozen in fixation. 

Grabbing a cigarette out of his back pocket, he lit it, puffing once before offering it to Cloud.

Gently pushing his hand down, Cloud demurred, “I quit smoking.” 

“Oh. Wise choice.” 

Capturing a thick drop of ice-cream before it rolled over the back of his clenched hand, Cloud lapped it at, lips smacking together a tad obscenely. “You should quit too.” 

“No one likes a bossy guy, Cloud.” Turning away when he noticed Cloud’s tongue still working up and down over his own hand, Sephiroth tried not to imagine that tongue lathering something else instead. “It helps me relax sometimes is all.” 

“Humph, well,” Cloud began, moving the cone to another hand when Sephiroth glanced at the top of it, “not gonna share this with you now because I’d rather not taste tobacco in my ice-cream today, thanks.” 

Holding no opinion on that topic, Sephiroth merely approached a large bridge stretching out over one end of the pond to the other and gazed beyond the edge he was leaning on. Admiring the birds and fish populating the water, he took another deep drag, the wind still whistling past his ears until Cloud’s feet shuffled and then stopped to perch by his own. 

Taking a leaning posture like Sephiroth, Cloud slurped the ice-cream, cleaning his lips with his tongue swiping from side to side while his eyes became a bit unclear. The emotional upheaval that’d built earlier in his home with his partner dictated his next phrases, although the formerly composed omega still tried his best not to let anything slip to break out of his character convincingly. 

Sighing, he bemoaned, “I’m frustrated a lot with Ryan lately.” Staring at the mushy parts of his cone, he then spoke down at them, “I don’t want to fight with him constantly, but anything he does annoys me.” 

Pretending not to possess all the information Ryan had already divulged to him, Sephiroth acted cold and removed while he offered in a detached sort of way, “You should be telling him that though, not me. You’re marrying him, right? So, go talk to the guy.” 

“Of all people to be giving me dating tips.” Moving rocks about with his toes, Cloud took to balancing one well on the tip of his shoes before kicking it into the water below. “Such an adult, huh?”

Shrugging again in apathy, Sephiroth replied while glancing on ahead, “My relationship falling apart with Aerith taught me a lot, and then hooking up with you only honed whatever knowledge I’d gained from that. I grew up, Cloud.” 

Crestfallen when he caught onto what Sephiroth wanted to say yet couldn’t bring himself to be so impolite to do so, Cloud channeled his own criticism and frustration. “I know, I should try it sometime.”

Nodding, Sephiroth flicked the rest of his ashes by his feet, then chucked the cigarette down before squashing and snuffing it out with his heel. “I’m not going to get involved, but I’ll tell you one thing…if you’re not happy with Ryan, dude, just leave him. Talk it out if you can, but there’s no need to stick with someone when you’re unhappy.” 

Although it didn’t need to be further explained, the depressing thought already affecting Cloud, Sephiroth felt incredibly nervous as well. He hated playing the role of some therapist, but feeding Cloud the harsh truth was what he needed to hear right now. If he ever cared, this would be the way to show it. As much pain as he was in, as conflicted as he was not to be with Cloud, he could still offer this form of support as a close one would. 

“You’ll end up hurting yourselves if you don’t fix this.” Scanning the pond and other end of the park for visitors and only finding the odd cyclist, Sephiroth released a sigh. Turning and leaning with his back on the supportive pillar, he dipped his head to one side and extrapolated softly, “It’s all up to you in the end, but there’s a good reason why I never rushed into any relationships even to this day after you left me.” 

Stymied by what he was registering when he held his own judgment of Sephiroth as a man, Cloud didn’t look like he was close to buying into the claim. Slowly shaking his head, not yet blinking, he croaked, “You…haven’t…I mean, y-you’re not seeing a-anyone?”

“No, dude.” Treading and crossing more than plenty of boundaries so unsettling and improper, Sephiroth was at least courteous while he could discuss such a sensitive issue. “I genuinely was interested in you. I liked you, Cloud. I wanted to be with you, but you didn’t want me.” 

Defensive at once, Cloud snapped like a monster, “If you’re going to just attack me too, then you can seriously go to hell! I don’t need your shit today!”

Flicking his tingling arms down to bring regular blood flow to the limbs he’d been draping himself on, Sephiroth interrupted with a snarl. “I wasn’t attacking you. I know you had your reasons, but it hurt, Cloud.”

Emitting an unusually strangled noise out of frustration on both their parts for them, Cloud squeezed the ice-cream cone. With the cold drops pelting on his warm skin, he jolted out of his imminent rage boiling over. Throwing the melted cone into a garbage can close by, he wiped his hands down in jittery mannerisms unconstrained.

Pacing about just like he had in his home while bickering with Ryan, seeing Cloud feeling quite perplexed yet again when he’d only meant to help him left Sephiroth feeling quite guilty. His greater form of self-control however served as the balm they both were in dire need of, the tense air lingering not requiring to be filled with empty phrases.

Silence was the only thing they could use wisely, each man pondering the issues that time hadn’t been able to wipe away. Their own approach to the glaring problems prolific in their own mind, they couldn’t bring themselves to speak with each other for too many minutes. The tense moment was shattered when two boys on scooters zipped by, crossing over the bridge while laughing their heads off, effectively frightening Cloud quite badly.

Tripping over his own buckling knees when he tried getting out of their way without crashing, he went stumbling by miscalculating his own steps. Awkwardly flailing about, he spun and crashed against Sephiroth, the alpha’s long arms carefully winding around Cloud to ensure he didn’t go bashing to the ground.

Gasping when Sephiroth secured him well in his muscles, Cloud drew himself up on his toes, then adjusted his height. Unable to lock eyes with Sephiroth, he still wondered out loud, “Do you hate me?”

Neck craning as he glanced silently at Cloud, Sephiroth gave him nothing but the truth. “No. I never did, Cloud.” Not hanging back to impress Cloud anymore, he was even more forthcoming now. “I don’t think I could ever hate you, even if you asked me to.”

Fingers reaching out and clawing at Sephiroth’s light shirt, Cloud held onto it for dear life with such potency that the fabric gave out an audible noise upon being stretched wildly.

Once again looking deeply into Sephiroth’s emerald eyes, Cloud seemed to have lost his nerves and control by breaking out into a needy whine. “Can you…I would like you to…touch me…”

On any other day, Sephiroth wouldn’t even need to be asked. Even more attracted to Cloud than he had been years ago, his alpha blood boiled in his veins, pushing him to the brink of nearly exploding. Truly, he wanted to obey his primal nature, give into his crazy fantasies of listening to Cloud. Now that they were alone with a mutual attraction growing, he yearned to take Cloud’s hand in his own, tug him back to the truck, and tear off his clothes, but this was a totally different scene and setting altogether. This wasn’t the past, and he wasn’t a blundering teenager just looking to fuck. 

He’d already been labeled as a cheater to his little social circle of friends, the reputation only recently removed when Aerith had encouraged Tifa, Zack, and Johnny to drop that image of Sephiroth and forgive him. At his age, he couldn’t afford to repeat the same pattern of behavior and expect a new result. He now knew better, as did Cloud as someone much older than him. Temptation had to be ignored or beaten, and he wanted to reserve enough dignity for them both…hell, even for Ryan. The man seemed to actually be in love with Cloud, even if it wasn’t returned, and he didn’t deserve this.

Pushing Cloud and himself apart, Sephiroth didn’t let his arms linger on the omega’s soft torso for long. Already, he could sense the blood rushing between his legs, the tip of his cock twitching with vivid interest he didn’t want to acknowledge.

Cloud naturally questioned him with a small cry, but Sephiroth ground out thickly, “No. Don’t touch me.”

Chin cast down as he glowered at the ground, Cloud inquired with a harsh hiss, “Why not?”

“Because you’re engaged, Cloud, and I don’t want to be used as a homewrecker.” Knowing what Cloud wanted to argue next, Sephiroth was cautious with what he fed him, knowing that they were both in quite a vulnerable place. “You’re probably just seeking an outlet for your frustrations, which I can get, but no offense, unlike you, I actually broke things off with Aerith before I slept with you.” 

Enraged since he was using the example of his daughter against him for ammunition, Cloud shot back with pink eyes, “You can believe that if you want, but you kissed me while you were still with her, remember?”

Prepared for that, Sephiroth fired back, “You started it! You kissed me first in the hotel room! Nice try, Cloud!”

“You seemed to like it. If memory serves well, you didn’t ask me to stop.”

“Would you—” Shutting his eyes and fighting the urge to engage in the back and forth, Sephiroth suddenly realized that he wasn’t that much wiser if he was eating the bait Cloud had set so quickly. “Look, Cloud, I’m not the same kid I was before.” 

Eyes flicking down to Sephiroth’s thighs, namely what was slowly pressing and tenting up his jeans, Cloud whispered on a seductive note trilling away, “Yeah, I see that, Sephiroth.” 

“Would you stop being a stupid moron for five seconds and just listen to me?!” More fearful over what he would do beyond raising his voice in public, Sephiroth knew limits to his own control were dwindling faster than expected. Finding it extremely difficult to even scent the air around Cloud, he pleaded, “Don’t do something you’ll hate yourself for. I’m fine with you being mad at me, but please, don’t make it worse for yourself, Cloud.”

Contemptuous and not at all receptive to serene advice built on a better, healthier nature, Cloud became distant, bitter, and resentful. Closed-off to Sephiroth by facing away from him, he bitingly spat, “If you think this makes up for your crap in the past as if you have the moral high ground, then you’re even worse than I am. I’ve told you once, we’re both shitty people, and I don’t think the years going by changed anything.”

“Maybe you’re right, Cloud, but I’m at least fucking trying here!” Snide as he took two long paces over to the shorter male, Sephiroth waited for him to spin around, and when he was facing him, he loudly exclaimed, “Are you willing to try? What about your efforts?”

Things that would make normal people jump awake in fright, running from the imaginary safety of their warm beds where the nasty creatures of stink and rot could at least never touch them with their razor sharp words of guilt or those rows of jagged teeth in the darkness. The residual aftermath of how aware and rational Sephiroth was acting left himself with the feeling of unseen, rotting hands all over his tense body. They touched, groped, stabbed their maggot infested fingers inside his soul and lay him bare for all to judge. The deadly sins crawled all over him like swarming flies on fallen fruit. The hunger lurked, daring to coax him to look at Cloud. 

To gaze at someone like this and judge through empty sockets that dripped with venomous thoughts and poisonous intentions was intolerable when he only wanted to preserve Cloud. Those putrid lips would never cover him with rancid kisses, nor would his alpha pheromones mingle with the foulest decay to defile Cloud. They’d smothered him once, but Sephiroth wasn’t content with drowning him in their moldering.

Cloud looked like he was going to shout his lungs out, but he somehow kept himself composed. Shaking, he tugged at his jeans, hands threading up into his hair and pulling akin to starving beasts sinking their rotten, broken teeth into his supple flesh. The sound of his own skin being ripped open by careless claws filled Sephiroth’s horrified imagination, and he wondered where they could go from here. 

If Cloud even left Ryan, there was no guarantee that he would want to pursue and seal a future with him…if he was left to his own devices, would another alpha take him? Would those hungry maws tear away at him, snapping his bones with cavity filled teeth before he became undone? 

Knowing what other alphas would do around someone so lost and helpless, Sephiroth feared for Cloud being devoured by all the predators about, shrieking, screaming, and crying out upon a lake of fresh blood for somebody to save him before he was pulled under those molten depths…no…it wouldn’t end that way…Cloud still had a lot of life and love to give, but the only problem was that Sephiroth’s selfish side didn’t want Cloud to have anyone else.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, heart and brain at war with one another, the best he could do was postpone this conversation for another time when they were both calmer and wiser. Too many heated emotions were murking the paths, blurring lines and boundaries they definitely needed before moving ahead.

Looking at his phone and then flashing the screen with the time at Cloud, Sephiroth explained sadly, “It’s late. I have to go back to work, and I think you should rest, Cloud.”

In no mood or mind to disagree, Cloud turned to head back to the front of the bridge. Following him, when Sephiroth asked where he was off to, Cloud shouted out while walking forward, “I’ll walk back!”

Offended that Cloud hated being around him so badly that he was willing to walk over half an hour the way they’d driven, Sephiroth caught him by the elbow and impeded his motions. Getting right in his way, he blocked out the rest of his advancements by planting and rooting his taller, larger frame right before the headstrong omega.

“At least let me drive you back, Jesus Christ!” 

Reacting in quite the unruly manner, ever so unbecoming for someone his age, with a robust jerk to one side, Cloud immediately shot down Sephiroth’s attempt to pull him back.

Stiffly, with gritted teeth, Cloud warned, “Don’t touch me! I’ll accept a ride, but if you lay hands on me again—”

Predicting where this was heading when he was out in public with a volatile omega, to prevent an explosive encounter that someone else could misinterpret, Sephiroth aimed to calm Cloud down by complying swiftly and keenly.

“Okay! Fine!” Straightening the ruffled collar of his shirt, grumpily, he groused, “Suit yourself! Just calm down, okay?”

Quite the opposite effect unfortunately landed and took root, with Cloud hissing through barbed venom, “Don’t order me around, you jerk! I’m older than you, remember?”

Eyes naturally rolling upwards, Sephiroth bemoaned while pacing forward, “You sound like such a parent right now, dude.”

Heaving him down the rest of the path, as they walked all the way back to where Sephiroth had parked, although the younger of the two was rather heavily distracted by other factors within their environment shaping their interaction, as soon as Sephiroth wasn’t paying enough attention, Cloud gave him a shy, tiny smile.

~~~********~~~

Whatever friction Cloud felt that day was quite the contagious force Sephiroth wasn’t ever primed to battle. Never having failed to come out the victor in many skirmishes and psychological games, for the first time in years, it seemed as if he’d met his true match.

The less than affable mood started to settle and take over, styling the rest of the week into a disastrous one like a toxic form of bile hitting the system until all else was rendered meaningless. Nothing fortuitous developed from the overly fractious omega, gradually driving Sephiroth into an almost permanent questioning mode. 

Riddled with many doubts, he started second-guessing himself frequently, both while on the job, but also during his own free time. Naturally, on both aspects, Cloud Strife served as the one and only true catalyst for all those feelings to blossom. Concerns sprouted more than what Sephiroth deemed to be the usual amount, and it was poisoning every thought and interaction to spin them all wildly out of control.

Infinite as the possibilities were regarding the origins of the recent turn of his mood and outlook, Sephiroth knew he was only fooling himself by consistently pushing out of mind the true source. Cloud Strife was someone he no doubt was madly invested in, obsessed with, and potentially more. Sephiroth wanted to understand his own feelings, naturally, but the major roadblock in his way glaring at every angle was the unfortunate fact that Cloud was engaged. The grueling lesson he’d learned years ago was that he couldn’t and wouldn’t get involved ever again with someone else’s relationship.

Still, the commitment to obeying morality served as a punishment at times, and he refused to deny it. 

From his own observational, detached standpoint, Cloud and Ryan were horribly mismatched, disproportionately incompatible, and their disunity seemed to be revealing its ugly head quite frequently as the days passed. Any chance he got, Cloud would bicker with Ryan, and the normally poised, sangfroid beta was learning the habit of fighting back lately. 

Not entirely the pushover Sephiroth had first taken him for, Ryan set his own boundaries with Cloud, but anyone looking in was able to clearly see that they were already on their way to growing apart. In fact, one of Sephiroth’s part-time assistants even made a quick remark about it, the witty man snickering to himself that this was a couple soon on the path of breaking apart. Cautious not to give his own thoughts away and volunteer too much information, Sephiroth always shot down conversations like that, sternly reminding his employees to focus and stick to their tasks instead of wasting time gossiping.

That didn’t always guarantee people listened to him, nor did it do Sephiroth himself any favors when internally, he was itching to know what was going on between Cloud and Ryan. On the sidelines watching in, Sephiroth hated to be the negative, toxic force wishing for a swift end to the relationship so he could be the one to chase after Cloud and win him over, but that was at least far better compared to what he’d done back when he’d been a teenager and trying to figure himself out. As an adult, he had his priorities in order, was still single, and he was very confident that he only wanted to build a happy future with Cloud by his side.

If only Ryan would get out of the damn picture…

Oh well. There wasn’t any use in crying over spilled milk, as the saying went.

Shutting his mouth and focusing on his work taught him soon enough that he could at least focus less on acting like an obsessive creep when it came to the object of his affections, until an unusually random opportunity suddenly fell from the sky.

It’d otherwise been a rather dull Saturday just like any other, the weather a bit gloomy and overcast, but humid as summer often was. Wrapping up one section of the roof perfectly, Sephiroth counted a few nails and extra staples for restocking his personal inventory. Making a quite mental note of the items he needed to go out and purchase again, he’d slowly descended the ladder when he felt eyes wandering over his figure.

Turning to his right and peering past open blinds, he mirrored the same dumbfounded expression as Cloud. Watching him openly while gaping as if mesmerized, Cloud awkwardly swallowed, lifting a hand and weakly waving once he knew he’d been caught staring.

Choosing not to squander more time basking in oddities, Cloud ducked out of the house, sliding the patio door open but not entirely standing close to Sephiroth.

“How’s it going?”

Sighing and running a hand through his longer hair, Sephiroth casually replied, “Good. Gonna get going for the day.” Glancing past Cloud at the dark abode without any noises emanating through, Sephiroth paused before he wondered, “Hey, where’s Ryan?”

Along the glimmer of bitterness radiating once he heard his partner’s name, Cloud grunted, “He went to go visit his brother for the weekend. Guess I’m all alone.”

Having very little to offer to that, Sephiroth shrugged coldly. “Yeah. Well, later.”

This time, Cloud was prompted to follow. Weaving himself out the doorway, he called out excitedly, “Hey! I uh, I need you for a second, if it’s okay?”

Navigation to perversion was quite simple. As a man with needs, Sephiroth’s system reacted to the suggestion, augmenting and twisting his perception of it to sexual levels. Having been abstinent for some time, his balls felt too heavy, cock filling with curiosity and interests unbridled. 

“Calm down, dumbass,” he scolded himself irritably. “He probably means for work or something else.”

Confirming that idea as well, Cloud immediately explained, “If you’re not too busy, I need a model.”

“Huh?” Gaping as if Cloud had grown an extra head on his shoulders, Sephiroth’s eyebrows skyrocketed practically. “A model? Don’t you have someone?”

As bizarre and random as this request was, for a few seconds, he assumed Cloud was only joking around. Any minute now, he would surely break out in a hearty round of guffaws…

When Cloud only stood still, face rather serious, Sephiroth asked, “A model for what?”

Crossing his arms over his sternum and leaning on the wall, Cloud answered with a tiny grin, “One of our regular models came down with COVID, and the others are on vacation. I still have a few photos to take but before that, I need to make sure the clothes the designer provided genuinely fit.”

Taking his turn now to cock an eyebrow in puzzlement, Sephiroth snorted, now fully subscribing to the idea that this was just a silly game. “I’m sure they do. I don’t think you need me to confirm—”

Stalking over to him, hands still neatly folded over his chest, Cloud dipped his head back to smile away and meet Sephiroth’s eyes. “Our designer is a rather moody German guy in his fifties. This is honestly one of my only chances to make last minute changes before he gets on my case, and you’re seriously in way better shape than some of our models.”

Too annoyingly close to horny levels, Sephiroth felt his blood boiling and his dick twitching upwards to gently nudge the seam of his jeans.

“Uhh…thanks? I guess?”

Beaming, Cloud purred, “It wasn’t a compliment. Just a fact.” Licking his lips, though his gaze never strayed while he blushed, he tilted his head even higher, grin only growing. “So, wanna come?”

…Cloud had to be doing this shit on purpose. Using such specific, colorful language to suggest plenty other than work and projects going on was triggering Sephiroth’s gears and brain to operate in all the wrong ways. Or maybe the right ones depending on who was concerned. 

Praying to gods he never even believed in that he would keep his perverted desires in check, Sephiroth hurriedly nodded, thinking that it was much better to just silently go along with what Cloud wanted. The sooner they could start, the faster it would end, and he could watch porn all night if he had to in order to get this shit out of his bloodstream. 

Thankfully, Cloud allowed Sephiroth to sit in the back of his car, turning soft jazz music on as they slowly decreased the space between Cloud’s street and the studio. A grand shopping mall and tuxedo shop was between the tall buildings, and Cloud soon proved he was targeting the mall by parking in the lot. Having reserved an appointment with someone he knew quite well for his business, he dragged Sephiroth along to the highest tier, most expensive clothing store the mall held.

Knowing what to do ahead of time, Sephiroth cut out the likelihood of Cloud barking orders at him as he stripped down to his underwear in the change room and waited until the omega brought over seven new and different styles of clothes.

Draping the darker ones he separated from lighter colors on the door, Cloud then stood back while Sephiroth dressed himself in the selected attire. Once he was ready to present himself, when he emerged from the change room donning the high quality fabric covering himself all the way to his neckline, Cloud paused in deep thought.

“Hmm…” Approaching gradually while spinning all around Sephiroth to observe him from all possible angles, he then straightened out the cufflinks before gazing at Sephiroth in the mirror as well. “The color is nice, but something about the slants in the arms bothers me.”

“Glad we agree on that at least.” Tugging on the lengthy sleeves, Sephiroth then asked with mild discomfort tainting his inflection, “Can I get out of this suit now?”

Giving him space and privacy to do just that, Cloud’s booted feet were seen pacing beneath the door frame, and Sephiroth kept his gaze glued to them until he was ready to head out once more. 

Spine tingling as he stepped over to Cloud and looked directly at the blushing omega admiring his shoulders filling out the three piece suit, Sephiroth finally started enjoying himself. Not one for shopping and paying much attention to being highly fashionable, when it came to impressing the right person keeping him company, he bore the experience well and started gaining more pleasure.

Giving a little spin, Sephiroth tried not to gawk at himself much. The current attire he wore was practically made for his figure, not too tight in the legs and waist. The silver and black helped his pale skin and hair glow even brighter, emerald eyes filled with appreciation for the clothes.

Eyes flying from his toes to his head and then back down once more, Cloud’s sophisticated grin shined through even while he tried hiding his expression beneath a hand draped over his mouth. Corners of his lips winding upwards, he turned even redder, the sheen in his blues glinting with pride.

Nodding, he firmly communicated confidence borrowed from Sephiroth standing as his model. “I like this one better.” 

Marching over to him, arms stretching over to clasp under the shoulder pads, Cloud massaged them and expounded, “The shoulders here look a bit meaty, but—” Kneading flesh as opposed to shoulder pads as he formerly thought were bolstering the apparel, Cloud gasped at once, smiling even wider than before. “Oooh…this is all your body…nice.”

Wishing that Cloud’s warm hands could forever remain on him this way, Sephiroth fell into a similar grin, though forcing himself to take a step back after a few seconds spent in silence.

Withdrawing his hand and curling his fingers into his palm, Cloud whistled as a means to snap himself out of his daze. The shrill sound helped him pivot back to a professional demeanor, and he soon ducked to kneel by Sephiroth’s pant legs.

Gaping at him from his elevated position, Sephiroth hated how disgusting he was by thinking of Cloud doing something else on his knees in front of his crotch. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else to go work with, seeing as Cloud was inching over while keeping his head lowered.

“Uhh…Cloud?” Desperately hoping that he could somehow be subtle enough to cradle the back of Cloud’s skull and push his face right against his bulging cock, Sephiroth winced. “What’re you—”

Touching the hem of the ironed pants, Cloud eventually chuckled. “Sorry, I’m just trying to see if the measurements on these are a little off, because I have to keep in mind that you are taller than my model.”

Fucking hell. His cock was turning harder and hotter when Cloud’s nose practically touched it, though thankfully, the immense focus the other male had guided his neck to crane lower as he started hitching up the hem of the legs. The tender caress of the soft cotton started out as a gentle brushing, but then began tingling along Sephiroth’s ankles. The fabric rustled below, air hitting his exposed flesh before it glided downward again, tickling and awakening every nerve ending in his body. 

Pushing and adjusting it a few times, Cloud missed the tiny gooseflesh now covering Sephiroth’s legs, the younger male housing a rather tormented mien while fixing his eyes on Cloud. Aroused beyond belief, Sephiroth started softly panting, though the music playing on speakers in the mall echoed to drown out the heaving noises.

Nose and eyebrows twisting in the middle of his thought process and decisions factoring in, Cloud eventually sighed and crept a few inches back. “I will make a note to keep the same length because the shoes will go up to the ankles anyway on my model.”

Groaning when Cloud rose to his full height after that exclamation, Sephiroth shot aside the broiling alpha blood churning and added pressure in his cock as he shifted backwards into the stall to begin shutting the door and change. Cloud let him do so, a timely call distracting him immediately. While he paced and spoke on the phone, Sephiroth leaned over the bench in the stall, shimmying out of his pants with difficulty. 

Damn Cloud and his sexy eyes, voice, beautiful face, gentle touch…his cock was already leaking, the underwear more wet than necessary when nothing had even stimulated it.

Pretending that it wasn’t there, throbbing away heatedly between his legs, Sephiroth somehow battled with himself to get his own jeans back on. Trying his best not to fondle himself in the process, tempting as it was when his knuckles grazed flesh, he eventually zipped and belted himself properly, exiting the small space right on time when Cloud ended his call.

Swift and sly to catch an eyeful of that toned ass when the short omega had his back turned, Sephiroth immediately looked away then, fixing his hair back in place and breathing to calm himself and his crazed ideas brewing away.

Pocketing his phone, Cloud’s pink blush was still enveloping his entire visage, but the mood was totally off. Sephiroth didn’t need to be a talented genius and mind reader to tell that Cloud was rather disturbed, though aiming not to let it show much.

Posture now stiff and tone clipped, he gruffly opinionated, “Ryan’s staying at his brother’s tonight, so I’ll be alone longer than I thought.”

“Ah. Well.” 

“Yeah…” Weakly smiling even though it held no spirit, Cloud eventually grabbed the slim, digital camera he’d been carrying. Looping it over his neck, he stretched and raised his arms, pointing the lens right at Sephiroth as he adjusted it. “Can you uh, just kinda pose a bit as you are? Just need some angles of your body’s outline and such for the editing process.”

Agreeing to do so, Sephiroth straightened his posture before the change room, standing right beneath the bright lights while Cloud snapped at least three photos.

Giving him a thumbs-up, Cloud then motioned in small circles with his index finger as he requested, “Great, can you turn left now? I just wanna capture the left and right.” 

“Okay…” Shuffling his feet, Sephiroth turned and slanted, but Cloud didn’t settle for that.

Polite as ever, he smiled, though he shook his head. “No, uh, audience left, please. You turned inward.”

Confused, Sephiroth pointed ahead, “Uh, you mean like, that left, or the other?”

“I’ll show you.”

Jolting them both right out of their skin, Cloud initiated physical contact. Although he meant it for the sake of directing Sephiroth where and how he wanted him, the moment his hand cupped Sephiroth’s chin to adjust his position for the camera, almost with automatic and vibrant precision, green and blue eyes sought one another’s unending depths. Plunging forward as they stood barely a few inches apart, their fingers soon touched lightly, Sephiroth’s much larger hand covering Cloud’s as he leaned himself over. Looking from Sephiroth’s eyes to his lips, Cloud’s own seams parted to permit a tiny gasp to escape, the lull so profound. 

Before Sephiroth could capture the omega’s mouth with his own as greedily as he wanted, Cloud dipped to the opposite direction and deftly evaded him.

Smoothly recovering as he combed his hair back while Cloud adjusted and fiddled with his camera, the more experienced male softly chuckled out, “Your left side’s the best one.”

“My best one?” Sephiroth merrily laughed away with him, not offended or as vexed as he thought he’d be when denied.

Biting his lower lip while still giggling away, Cloud replied, “I don’t mean it in a bad way. Everyone has one and your left profile is the best.”

“Cool.” Posing tall for the camera, Sephiroth felt illuminated and even hotter when the flashes between shots snapped away numerous times. 

Wondering how many Cloud wanted to use for his own personal enjoyment was a waste of time and energy. Clearly, he’d misinterpreted some of the signs, assuming with haughty insolence that Cloud had wanted something other than professionalism as the goal to work towards. Having made a jackass out of himself plenty of times as it were before this unique man was one thing, but to deny the mutual attraction that’d never dwindled even after years apart was complete stupidity at its quintessential best.

And right then, just to make things more excruciating, Sephiroth’s stomach gave out a low growl, the tremors reverberating from the middle of the stall right out to Cloud’s keen eardrums.

Perking up while Sephiroth cringed, Cloud happily suggested, “Since it’s obvious you haven’t eaten something yet, should we grab something for dinner?” Although it wasn’t necessary to provide more in the way of details, he extrapolated, “I’m by myself tonight, and if you’ve nothing else going on, we can hang out more.”

Clever enough to sense an uprising rejection from Sephiroth on the way, Cloud put up quite the unbeatable bargain effortlessly. “I’ll pay for your dessert as well!”

Now, Sephiroth was truly reeled in, hooked on the line cast by Cloud without even a shred of doubt shadowing anything barring his choices. Being fed with extras on the side was quite the offer only a moron would shoot down, regardless of who the provider was, and there wasn’t any way he could think properly with an empty belly and a massive erection to boot.

“Say less, Cloud.”

Chapter Text

“Your hair sometimes falls in your eyes and hides a lot of your natural beauty.” 

“Does it?”

Tucking a few loose, unruly strands and then combing his messy bangs back, Cloud shot forth all the comfort and relaxation he could. Sitting across Sephiroth in the booth of the Japanese restaurant they’d picked, while they waited for their orders to be delivered, Cloud had given Sephiroth a generous lesson in photography and various positions when it came to poses for modeling. 

Stunned by how complicated and lengthy the art could be by demonstration, Sephiroth remained confused at first when studying the various photos Cloud had taken of him until he noticed obvious differences given the lighting and angles. In many photos, he certainly looked older and angrier, all a result of the aim and stance being taken from a crooked side glance rather than a focal point. 

“I had no clue that such little things made a huge difference, holy cow!”

Beaming at his display of zeal, Cloud cooed, “Oh, totally! But one thing can make all the difference in the world, which is why I think that aiming for perfection in this field is a forever pursuit!”

Inviting himself again to reach out and clasp Sephiroth’s shapely chin, Cloud very gingerly tilted Sephiroth’s head to the left again, admiring him from the designated side. Then, he dipped his head forward, turning him so that they were facing each other properly.

Feelings propelled forth like a most lavish waterfall gushing, but they both kept their comments at a distance and opted to remain vague and collected. The telltale flushing of flesh explained what words failed to, the shimmers of gold and silver falling simultaneously over their eyes, lashes fluttering as Cloud turned his coquettish glances to outward seduction.

“You’ve…certainly grown more handsome.” Reluctantly lowering his hand from Sephiroth’s jawline as his eyes traced over the good length of bone, Cloud followed-up inquisitively, “Do you…uh, I mean, are you seeing anyone?”

Chucking deeply when he had good, strong clues now to prove that Cloud was really out of it, Sephiroth replied without aiming to offend him. “I know that’s always a general assumption with good-looking people but I already told you a few days ago that I didn’t get into any relationship since we—”

Light tapping emanated from the underside of dishes and glasses knocking into the wooden surface of the dark, oak table, the clicking of high heels drawing them both over to study the gorgeous waitress at their booth.

Brunette braid hanging over one of her shoulders, her lip-gloss covered lips were already fixed in a lovely smile so welcoming while she placed their food before themselves. “Hey guys! Sorry about the wait!” 

Just as friendly as her, Cloud muttered while spreading his serviette open over his lap, “No biggie.”

Makeup glittering, she let her eyes wander over to Sephiroth, her demeanor suddenly changing to a flirtatious one when she learned how handsome Sephiroth was. “Everything’s kinda…hot, so be a bit careful if you’re touching the food. It should be fine to taste in a bit though.”

The punctuated words froze Cloud in the midst of smoothing out the cloth over his lap at once. Frowning before perking up, with his golden eyebrows furrowed, fireworks were already shooting up in suspicious regard at the waitress.

She delivered a rather coy smirk, forgetting about Cloud completely as she drew closer to where Sephiroth sat. Slanting her hourglass figure on his edge of the table, she waited until he peeked over at her.

Charming grace was a refined feature she exuded with talent, striking down his bewilderment as she asked, “Been here before?”

Tapping on his glass of sake, Sephiroth eventually drawled, “Not me personally, no.”

Sadly, if Sephiroth had meant that to end the little chat, it backfired at once and invited the young woman to press on. She was deciphering signs that Sephiroth never even sent her way, interpreting things he never even exclaimed in peculiar territories to fit her own narrative. Skimpy uniform sitting just above the top of her thighs, the gaudy young woman started to really flaunt her wares for him.

Pouring out a generous pout, she then sighed. “Oh, that’s unfortunate…well, it’s great you’re here now!”

Opposition carved to fit the appropriate generation gaps soon outwardly streaming through in a colorful dynamic. Cloud’s aura bled only contempt and disdain, his glowering rays shooting out every wish and unspoken command to have the interested female sent away. On the other hand, more experienced with projecting social etiquette and refined communication so as to not offend her, Sephiroth smiled politely and shifted away.

“It’s uh…that’s how it goes.” Clearly uncomfortable, Sephiroth visibly turned pale when she leaned across his booth and once again started her pursuit.

With much more enthusiasm than before when she surmised he was only playing hard-to-get, the smitten lady snickered. “You in college? I’m enrolled now in Kalm’s community college!”

Sliding out of her shadow, Sephiroth soon noticed that she blocked the light again, changing direction and getting in his face. “Oh yeah?” Pretending to be fascinated, he added, “That’s neat.”

“What about you?”

Thinking that it was smarter to just answer her, he fought with his patience as he replied, “Just technical college and I’m working now.”

Appearing disappointed for the first time that night as she flicked her gaze at Cloud, the young woman inquired thinly, “Oh, you mean you’re working like, now? Right now?”

The heat spiraled out of Cloud, the older omega extremely ferocious as he set his eyes full of envy and hatred on the female trying to learn as much about Sephiroth as she could. Even across the table from Cloud, given how furiously his companion was shooting daggers at the waitress, Sephiroth couldn’t deny that he was also affected by the heat and rage. 

Clueless as to what he could do to ameliorate the turbulent situation, Sephiroth rushed on to say, “Well, not now as in right this second. Just uh, just having dinner with a friend.”

That word itself was a disastrous death sentence. While the waitress seemed highly thrilled to know their relationship was one based on companionship, Cloud looked ready to explode. Drawing into himself, he shuddered wildly, a crazy look etched in both eyes with murder written all over the veins jutting forth. Gone was the elegance and classy sophistication, replaced by something so sinister and haunting.

Legitimately frightened for the young woman on the receiving end of such silent vitriol, Sephiroth tried to curtail the encroaching war as calmly and rationally as possible.

“Yeah, so uh…” Pointing at his steaming plate, he elaborated through patience diminishing, “Gonna umm, just eat before this all gets cold.”

Fiddling with the end of her long, braided lock of dark hair, the comment didn’t trouble the woman in the least. Unfazed by Cloud’s volcanic rage melting in her direction, she turned a blind eye to him stewing away and slouched closer to Sephiroth.

Draping a hand over his shoulder, she hummed a jejune tune to herself, sultry notes turning heads as much as her beauty glowed. “Do you have Instagram?” Changing her mind rapidly, she then requested, “No, can I actually have your number? You’re super cute and chill, and I’d like to get to know you a bit more!”

Ice, fire, snow, hail, and every burning ember rained from the sky, summoned by Cloud and his interminable rage. Completely overriding the ambiance with his presence, like a sore thumb, the awkward third wheel that he was, Cloud continued to channel his unforgivable anger at the unwanted female in their company. 

Wary of what else to say when she stood waiting by his side, Sephiroth rolled his shoulders and arms, pretending that it was some sort of relaxing exercise by rotating his wrists last. At least he successfully knocked her small hands off himself, but even when he’d accomplished that, it wasn’t good enough for Cloud to calm down at all.

This had to come to an end, now. Cloud was about to throw hands, the waitress was set on making another pseudo-romantic advance, and Sephiroth’s appetite was practically non-existent at this point.

Wincing as he caught the ire oozing from Cloud out of his peripheral vision, while mostly facing the needy woman, Sephiroth shot her down eloquently. “Look, I don’t really just give out my number easily. I hope you can understand.”

Thumbs and index fingers twirling around the end of the thick braid, she definitely smiled a lot less now, but her recovery tactics were smooth as ice and crisp as freshly fallen snow.

Waving him off, she threw out a fond giggle, discarding the request as she circumvented it well. “I get it for sure! Can I check out your Instagram or maybe Tinder then? I’m not seeing anyone right now!”

The last straw had been pulled ages ago. The time to escape a brutal beating from Cloud and possibly the police if they had to get involved had passed five minutes ago. Ashamed of himself for not nipping the sordid interaction in the bud far earlier, Sephiroth relied constantly on desperate measures now in order to get away. 

Espying the men’s bathroom sign thirty or so feet away to the left hall, Sephiroth knew he could wash his hands and face with cold water, just to set a calmer mood and buy time. The excuse was at least solid and not a total fib, so he decided to go with it immediately.

One leg stretched to the side outward, and he inclined in that direction as he weakly flashed his teeth at Cloud and the waitress. “If you’ll excuse me, I gotta just go to the bathroom. Sorry.”

Whether caustic backlash from Cloud or the other woman were sent after him was unknown. The verbal confrontation never came to fruition, with Sephiroth speeding away from their dining area and turning into the passageway. Nudging the bathroom door open, he bent over the first sink he could find. The other urinals and stalls were unoccupied thankfully, giving him plenty of space to go at his own liking. 

Pace slow, Sephiroth turned the faucet to cold, dousing his face in the liquid that jolted him to fill lucidity. The water drops slid from his chin to his chest, trickling under his clothes and leaving residual shudders dancing over his torso. Wringing his hands many times up and down his face, he grew accustomed to the frigid temperature and glared at himself in the mirror.

Appearance now drenched enough to sport someone so pathetic, a few of his bangs clung over his skin until he combed them aside and pitifully sighed. 

“Fuck you, Sephiroth.”

Feeling quite sorry for himself for some odd reason, he growled as he backed away from the clean mirror. Fetching a hand towel neatly folded on the counter, he wiped himself down, ready to head out, when he felt his underwear slightly out of place. He technically was to blame for that one, rushing to change for the sake of getting a decent meal that he’d accidentally tucked his underwear into his undershirt and sent it sliding upward more than necessary. Nothing a quick fix couldn’t do, however.

Sliding into the nearest stall, Sephiroth shut himself in, tugging his pants down to rearrange his clothes. The task was accomplished in no time at all without much of a fuss, and he was soon ready to go back out and face whatever Cloud had to say to him. Taking a moment to collect himself, the bathroom door swung open, music blaring briefly until feet shuffled over to his stall. Planting themselves there, they didn’t move, but the stall was free for use anyway. 

Opening the stall door to duck out and leave the individual to their own devices, as soon as Sephiroth made even a small attempt to leave, he was shocked to be faced with Cloud Strife. 

Knocking himself into the shorter male, Sephiroth then leapt back, holding a hand over his sternum to fight through his layers of surprise. Cloud had basically appeared out of nowhere, not even giving him a sign of warning that he’d been searching for him. 

Heart leaping into his throat practically, Sephiroth coughed through the kaleidoscope of irregularities, trying to battle onward to recovery as he smiled amicably enough despite being startled. “Holy crap! Sorry man! Were you waiting on me for long?”

Feeding him nothing but steady, grim silence at first, the way Cloud studied Sephiroth in such a detached, stoic way almost pushed the alpha to believe that Cloud was processing his question but not fully comprehending it. Perhaps frightened himself, he calmly stood there staring away with an inscription of plain regard, hardly making a sound when it even came to breathing. The ambiance of the restaurant beyond the washroom sounded explosive by comparison, shaking the various items and foundation in the secluded area as if an earthquake was underway.

Wondering if Cloud was feeling unwell, Sephiroth leaned into him, sincerely concerned for his well-being. “Cloud? Is everything okay?” Not wanting to laugh it off, he added, “You’re kinda freaking me out, dude. Say something, please.”

With one more in-depth glance at Sephiroth, abruptly, the taciturn, statuesque omega suddenly snapped to action. 

Charging ahead, he hooked a hand onto Sephiroth’s shoulder, giving him quite a violent shove backwards into the stall. Stumbling over his own feet as he tilted his head back and winced when the bright lights beamed like lasers into his retinas, Sephiroth was then thrown on the toilet lid seconds after Cloud reached out with his right leg and kicked it shut.

Sputtering for a few seconds, Sephiroth eventually caught up to what was going on when Cloud closed the door and locked it. That tiny clicking sound drew him out of his bewilderment, causing him to try and get back onto his feet again.

“Cloud! I think you’re drunk! Please wai—”

Hitting him in the center of his gut with a knee, though not wildly and with enough force to steal his breath, Cloud had Sephiroth sitting back down on the toilet lid as he wanted.

Undoing his tie, slowly, with a predatory glow shining from his eyes, he lunged at Sephiroth. Looping one end of the silky tie around his neck, he then slid it down while simultaneously clasping both his wrists together and firmly binding them. Tying a tight knot so expertly without even needing to look, once that task was complete, Cloud climbed onto Sephiroth’s lap. 

Straddling him well, he allowed his left leg to slip a bit, nearly touching the floor. Bringing their fronts flush together, as the tie held Sephiroth’s hands bound potently by his lower back, Cloud wedged a knee between Sephiroth’s thighs to spread them a little.

Chuckling darkly, not even an ounce of humor spilled out of him as he rolled up his own shirt with a free hand. “I’m completely cognizant here, Sephiroth, and I’m so aware that I have to tell you how much you’ve pissed me off.”

Baffled, Sephiroth wiggled on the spot, knocking his wrists into the tiles and the edge of the toilet. Beyond the cold pain blasting into his fingers, he croaked, “I don’t–I didn’t do anything! The fuck is this?!”

Grinding down on him, Cloud hissed between the gyration, “You know exactly what you did, you slut. You were flirting with that woman right in front of me, and now, you need to be punished for it.”

Cock nudging up to hit Cloud’s motions, Sephiroth forced his own hips to cease before they had other ideas. “Stop it, Cloud! This isn’t funny!”

“Do you see me laughing?”

Looking at that flat stomach and those perky, pink nipples inches away from his lips, Sephiroth’s mouth watered to the point where he was certain his tongue was lolling out like a damn dog’s. 

Getting a hold of himself, he stared at the floor and seethed until he could speak again. “Cloud! Get off me, now!”

“No!” Tightening the tie with slick fingers, Cloud then leaned back, upper torso stretching as he provided Sephiroth with a decent view of his nipples. “You have to make amends, Sephiroth. You were rather rude back there, so take your punishment. Be a good boy, and just obey me.”

Growling incoherently when his stupid body began to emit pheromones, Sephiroth envied how collected Cloud still was. Despite being an omega who experienced powerful heats, now, he was a man of high composure, index and middle fingers swirling and circling his own nipples. Clockwise and counter clockwise, their lazily patterns sent Sephiroth swooning in awe. Vagarish eyes traced the same path Cloud created, wishing he could take one of those rough nubs in his mouth, balancing it between his tongue and teeth to give it a damn good bite and suckle.

Proud when he noticed Sephiroth’s blanked out expression, Cloud purred in glee, “Look at you. You enjoy watching me play with these, don’t you?”

“Argh! Cloud! Enough!” Looking up at the top of their stall, Sephiroth whined, “Someone could walk in!”

Pretending to consider it, lips spanning over his teeth, Cloud continued plucking his nipples, hips meshing over Sephiroth’s to rub their erections firmly. “You don’t really sound like you’re that worried about it, Sephiroth. Since you can’t convince me either way, until you learn to behave, you’re not leaving here.”

“What’s up with this guy and catching me in bathrooms? Christ!”

Withholding from slamming his hips back into Cloud, Sephiroth’s sheer force of willpower was rapidly depleting as soon as he heard Cloud shifting to unbuckle his belt. 

“Cloud!” Visibly fearful now, he gulped when the zipper came down next, digits sliding inside to caress his cock over his underwear. “Urgh! Stop! You’re engaged! Don’t you remember?!” 

The complaint and what should’ve been a deterrent easily bounced off Cloud’s lust-fueled craze. Set on obtaining what he wanted, he wasn’t reticent in the least, conscience perhaps entirely omitted.

Inching back to release Sephiroth’s erection from his underwear, he started working on freeing his own from its confines next. “You see, you were nothing but a bad boy earlier, Sephiroth, so I wouldn’t be lecturing if I were you.”

Jaws snapping, Sephiroth tried to get another argument in, but Cloud shocked him into silence by sliding a finger between his lips, his hand holding not only his cock now, but also Sephiroth’s. Warmth sought to combine with warmth, the moist tips of flesh and veins hitting awkwardly before Cloud was able to press down on Sephiroth enough to hold him still. Drawing their pulsating members together, he held them and slowly stroked from tip to base to draw out a throaty groan from Sephiroth.

Knuckles touching his balls on the downward glide, he couldn’t take his eyes off Cloud’s dainty hand fisting their members so wonderfully. It’d been so damn long…this was so incredibly fantastic that Sephiroth didn’t think he would last too long. Even with this slow pace, he was certain he would come all over them both instantly. 

Rocking their hips together when he noticed the faint twitch from Sephiroth, Cloud was all too eager to take the lead. Cupping Sephiroth’s left ass cheek as soon as he removed his fingers from his mouth, he groped his bottom, moving the underwear even lower to expose his meaty globes. 

Huffing as he started twisting his wrist, fingers working like magic to tap over the opening of Sephiroth’s cock, Cloud grinned back up at him then. “That’s good. Just keep your eye on my hand playing with your gigantic fuck-stick.”

The derogatory language revved up Sephiroth’s lack of self-control, the alpha climbing ahead to try and grab at Cloud. Denied access to those rosy buds he wanted to fuck with his mouth, Cloud swatted his bottom, inclining back as he growled when Sephiroth showed clear signs of frustration. 

“No. You’ll be able to have a taste when I say so.”

“Jesus, he’s absolutely insufferable at times!”

Timing it well, Cloud’s hips pushed down when his hand did, solidifying the firm strokes to prepare for the ascension. Upward, they both went, falling to the rhythmic lull, Sephiroth watching without blinking as Cloud’s hand trailed up to their pink, leaking tips. Thumb flattening over the openings, he withheld more fluids from seeping out, much to Sephiroth’s dismay.

Quick to voice his displeasure, when Sephiroth glanced over at Cloud, the blond omega smirked with all the self-righteous confidence so unbecoming of one of his caliber and nature.

“Watch me.”

Hands coordinating with refined precision to wrench their unanimous gratification, Cloud palmed and ground their cocks faster, thigh muscles working himself up and down while settling on Sephiroth’s larger, wider form. Helping him by planting his feet on the solid floor, Sephiroth worked himself up from the place he was seated on, feeling the smoothness building up despite not being permitted to maximize his own release yet. Like his cock, both his brain and heart throbbed, nether regions burning until he was sweating profusely.

Keeping a close eye on Cloud’s fingers milking their cocks, the other digits of his opposite limb collected saliva from Sephiroth’s tongue. Rubbing his lips and coating them in his own saliva, Cloud then let it drip onto his nipples, the buds reacting even faster to the new stimuli. Using the fluid as lubricant, Cloud trickled the saliva all over his areola, massaging the breasts obscenely while squelching sounds from below rose to tantalize the senses. 

Holding a deep breath while Cloud’s thumb still clamped on his opening, Sephiroth’s eyes leaked tears of pain, his balls feeling like they were seconds from exploding. He’d never been this badly backed up before, but he chose to obey and achieve a reward from Cloud, hopefully. In due time, maybe Cloud would just end this, as intriguing as this reverse form of establishing dominance and control was.

Possessing the clairvoyance he needed to exercise even more assertiveness, Cloud whispered hotly in Sephiroth’s ear, “It’s a question of will I let you come?”

Pinching the tip of his cock to set the reply on his behalf, Cloud feasted on Sephiroth’s blatant vexation. Slamming himself back and forth, up and down, eagerly trying to find the most comfortable position on the toilet lid, Sephiroth chomped down on the insides of his mouth, pulling a tormented face with eyes firmly shut. 

“Hey!” Grabbing their cocks and not pumping, Cloud asked with a frosty tone, “What did I say about watching me?”

Right away, Sephiroth opened his eyes, much too wary of the burning fire coiling in his stomach. Needing to have at least one orgasm before he caused some severe, internal damage, he gazed wildly down, concentrating on Cloud’s hand massaging their cocks. Veins bulging, he felt the blood rushing lower and lower, leaving himself light-headed and cold despite burning through his clothes. Just as wet as Cloud, he wept out when the omega purred, satisfied with his swift call to obedience.

Lifting his thumb an inch, Cloud now gaped as a steady stream of fluid poured liberally out of Sephiroth to coat half his hand. Dangling so dangerously on the precipice, Sephiroth counted back from ‘ten’ hanging onto his limited control as his muscles flexed to support both himself and Cloud on the spot. His lower abdomen was overworked, the tendons and sinew weeping from the painful friction he required to keep his implosion at bay.

“Oooh, close, aren’t you?” 

“Fuck!”

Flicking and tapping flatly on his nipple, Cloud left hardly anything else to the imagination by flashing Sephiroth the majority of his upper body. “Shh…I think you deserve a little reward now.”

Fisting a hand in Sephiroth’s beautifully long hair, Cloud dragged him over to his sternum, sliding the alpha’s face up beneath the hem of his shirt. All too excited, Sephiroth didn’t require much for coaxing aside from that. Lips and tongue coiling around the right one, Sephiroth felt Cloud relax his grip in his hair, releasing only soft, addictive trilling sounds. Lovely to the ears they were, the musical accompaniment belonging to their frantically beating hearts to encourage the passionate affair. 

Winding his hand from the top of Sephiroth’s skull to the ends of his hair, Cloud let a few sparse strands trickle between his fingers. Combing through the locks, he kept the slippery motions somehow so miraculously coordinated. Sephiroth tried to drive Cloud into the same frenzy he was facing, his struggles unleashed upon Cloud’s chest as he bit the nipple he’d been suckling quite roughly. 

Loud, wet popping sounds were created, the occasional growl from Sephiroth echoing crisply around the washroom until Cloud seized up. Sephiroth was daring to begin nibbling along the length of his neck, enjoying the sensually soft, peach scented flesh, when Cloud began to climb up even higher. 

Holding onto Sephiroth tighter with hands and thighs, he let Sephiroth’s cock go for a second, then clamped down over the opening again. Trapped in that vice-grip, Sephiroth abandoned the quest for showering bites and kisses over Cloud’s throat and instead began to squirm on his seat. 

When he was almost thrown right off, Cloud cupped Sephiroth’s angular face in his unoccupied hand and peered right through him. “You’re not allowed to come now. I was gonna be good to you, but you just had to disappoint me, bitch.”

The chase for the exquisite heat from below was momentarily forgotten, even though Sephiroth would be damned before begging to come. Snarling like a rabid wolf got him nowhere either, his aggression somewhat abated when Cloud’s breath hitched and then blew over his lower lip. Repeating that gesture, the heated air puffed across Sephiroth’s lips, enticing and stifling all his woes simultaneously.

Right when Sephiroth thought that he was going to be kissed, mouth hanging an inch apart from Cloud’s, as he decided to devour every fleeting expression Cloud made while holding their cocks firmly at the base, that was when the omega jolted up. Their flesh had created just the best and perfect amount of friction, pulse matching pulse, blood surging madly to boiling temperatures. 

Fingernails of his opposite hand now dug into Sephiroth’s back where they found purchase, cutting the first layer of flesh to add dizziness for Sephiroth. Cloud’s bombastic mewling bashed into every part of Sephiroth’s brain, the alpha and omega blacking out while they rammed against each other. The entire time, Cloud never relinquished his hold over Sephiroth’s throbbing cock, enjoying how it twitched and spasmed under his thumb. 

Hoisting himself up higher, Cloud released only his own cock, and all while keeping the pressure on Sephiroth, he moved his hips up to aim a thin stream of warm semen to shoot and then land right on Sephiroth’s left cheek. Missing his eyes and nose just as he intended, Cloud screamed out a few profanities which eventually died down with the volume of his voice better fitting indoor territory. Covering Sephiroth’s alabaster face in his own essence, he held still for only a few more seconds, ensuring that he was entirely spent.

Total shock and heavy alarm spun within Sephiroth. Never having been treated like this before, as he felt the drops dripping and sticking to his flesh, some of it sliding down past his jaw before the rest of it cooled down to a sticky mess, he could only gape. The abundance of confusion forced his cock to cease begging for a faster release, though he remained tumescent all throughout listening to Cloud’s breathing eventually becoming more controlled. 

Emitting a satisfied sigh, Cloud began sliding himself down Sephiroth’s body until he removed himself from the baffled man’s lap. Grabbing plenty of tissues, as Sephiroth sat there in total bewilderment, Cloud wiped himself as much as he could, then tucked his flaccid member back inside his underwear. Pants back up on his narrow hips, he softened out a few wrinkles, brushed dust off a few spots, then casually started moving back to unlock the stall door. 

Facing the sinks and mirrors directly, he studied his own dishevelled reflection carefully, combing his own hair back in place after he washed his hands and waited for the glow to fade from his cheeks. Pausing, then, he turned and peered behind himself, gazing impishly at Sephiroth with traces of the drying semen clinging to his cheek. 

Snickering at the sight of his companion at the height of discomfort and astonishment, Cloud straightened his posture and snobbishly stated, “You look much better with my come on your face.” Crossing past Sephiroth and over to the bathroom door, before Cloud opened it, he advised sternly, “Wait another five minutes, then join me outside again, that is, if you’re not too tempted to lick it off first. Don’t even bother making yourself come, and you have to find a way to untie yourself.”

With that harshly thrown out, Cloud disappeared. The door slammed shut like a coffin lid enclosing around a corpse, but with Sephiroth seated and quietly heading to a state of calm, he waited only another three seconds before he went from hosting a perplexed face to one full of playful mischief. 

Shunting his arms up and around from his back to above his skull, he ducked, shoulders rolling until like someone pulling a magic trick, he undid the tight, thick knot without any fuss. Catching the ribbon like tie before it fell to the floor, Sephiroth looked at it with quite a goofy, lopsided smirk, heart still racing, and body tingling long after the event he would fixate on for many nights.

“Well, that was fucking sexy.”

~~~********~~~

Naturally, as someone who claimed he was a refined, better man who learned from his errors and prolific past, within a few days after the bizarre incident in the restaurant bathroom, Sephiroth’s conscience began eating him alive.

Unable to look at himself in any mirror, he soon skipped a few meals, losing nights of sleep by staying awake berating himself. There wasn’t any way to turn back time, but for once, he truly wished he could sell his soul to the devil just to be able to achieve that. 

Obviousness pointed in the direction that he couldn’t resist Cloud at all. No matter how hard he tried, Sephiroth’s thoughts all focused on the omega with sunny-tinted hair at most waking hours of the day. It went without saying that Cloud wasn’t able to control himself either, but to enable someone to destroy their own relationship went completely against the grain. 

Sephiroth wanted to win Cloud back, but certainly not like this. Yearning for Cloud’s happiness was one of his many goals, but by doing nothing to oppose and disparage Cloud, he was just a foolish enabler. 

Tormented by guilt tearing him apart piece by piece, Sephiroth didn’t even bother showing up to work on Cloud’s roof per his schedule. Knowing it was extremely disrespectful to do so, Sephiroth only gave in and showed up the day after when Ryan called asking if he was in good health and spirits.

Trudging along with a begrudgingly dark attitude, Sephiroth knew time was dragging. Occupying his mind with minor tasks while he could, his body worked on autopilot, untying knots and fixing cords back in their appropriate places late into the afternoon. The roof was glinting wonderfully, and while he had a lot of ground still to cover, he wasn’t pleased at all.

Something warm brushed by him, various doors squeaking and sliding open at least twice before he finally broke out of his musing to glance up.

Standing right by his toolbox with a disgruntled face, Cloud wrung his hands, fighting with himself until he awkwardly started to whisper.

Turning away, Sephiroth marched over to the tarp he’d laid out, shifting heavy blocks and bricks that he’d already organized five times over. Just giving himself something to do by packing loose bungee cords to hold up various tools, he blocked out Cloud only until the dogged pursuer continued to get in his way. 

Keeping his head down as he tried turning away once more, this time, when Sephiroth swept between thick bushes, Cloud ran alongside him. Perched on the opposite side of the small hedge maze garden, Cloud searched his immediate area cautiously while keeping at Sephiroth’s pace.

“So, this is how it’s gonna be then? Huh?” Leaving no room for a reply, he barked, “You don’t speak to me, you avoid looking my way, you pretend I don’t exist!”

Fury bubbling beneath an icy surface of phony composure, Sephiroth stepped on tiny twigs, and once the crisp snapping ended, he ground out, “He’s a good guy, Cloud.”

Peeking around one hedge as if Ryan could be found spying on them, Cloud then hissed sibilantly, “I never said he wasn’t!”

Extending both arms to the side and holding the position of someone fed up entirely, Sephiroth responded in a clipped tone, “And I’m not going to get in the middle of this anymore.”

Brows knotting heavily, Cloud rasped back, “It’s a bit late for that because you already are in the middle of this!”

Reaching the end of the narrow path he’d been pacing along, though he didn’t get in Cloud’s area, Sephiroth looked above the top of his head. 

Much too scared of what he would find if he gazed into those round, blue eyes, he softly began, “I never wanted to do this to either of us, Cloud, but you can’t keep going back and forth here!”

“So you’re making me decide between you two?” Showing how much he loathed being given ultimatums like a child, Cloud fumed away, close to melting through the soil and grass. “Why does it have to be this way, Sephiroth?”

Retaliation already fully loaded, like a glass cannon, Sephiroth struck the heart. “Because that’s the way it is, Cloud!” Sniffling and convincing himself that it was only summer allergies, he wiped his teary eyes as he snapped, “I refuse to be thrown away and kept at a distance where I can only watch you and Ryan skip ahead hand in hand off to pretend to play happy family!”

Sheepish in every way to combat the prior anger he’d radiated, Cloud whined in a small tone, “This isn’t fair.”

Tilting his head down and pinching his nose, Sephiroth held back on his tears, though he wasn’t in any mood to count that as a victory on his part. 

“Trust me, I feel the same way.” Alert to Cloud’s penchant for rebuttal, Sephiroth swiftly supplied, “I never expected us to run into each other again, and I can’t help how I still feel.”

Clippers and a running lawn mower tried to snuff out the statement Sephiroth didn’t suspect he’d ever hear from Cloud. The gravity of the perilous situation was suspended by an invisible, thin string, the thread perhaps winding along many obstacles, but eventually finding its way back to Sephiroth and Cloud. However tenuous it was at times, fashioned and molded by countless woes and cumbersome transgressions, it couldn’t varnish the union stranded along the swaying bridge.

“I can’t help it either, but it’s real.” Doe-like eyes were round with utmost sincerity as Cloud declared courageously, “I’m in love with you.”

What good did it do to hear the mutual feeling when Cloud had yet again slipped through his fingers?

Sephiroth had experienced some minor satisfaction upon receiving confirmation from Cloud, but it didn’t mend the open, gaping wounds. Sephiroth may as well have swept it out of his mind, but the idiotic romantic lurking within himself desperately consumed the confession even well after Cloud exited the garden.

From where Sephiroth stood, he heard a car horn honking, the shiny rooftop of Aerith’s sports car visible in the front driveway of the large house. Her gorgeous smile beamed like the sun, her shapely figure exiting the vehicle to embrace her father. They greeted each other warmly, wearing matching smiles even when Aerith leaned into Cloud and heard him mutter something to her. 

Eyes landing on Sephiroth, she stood tall and waved at him, her effervescent nature not shared by Cloud. At least having some courtesy to nod and wave back, Sephiroth then watched as Cloud lightly pulled his grown daughter back towards her car. They soon sat, and Aerith took off, chattering excitedly with Cloud a mile per minute. 

Knowing already that Aerith would probably call or drop by to see him since she’d been the last person to catch up to speed with Sephiroth working on her father’s roof, Sephiroth started dreading that uneventful moment before it even happened. 

Something soft, warm, and wet touched Sephiroth’s neck suddenly, and when he whirled around in terror, he was face to face with a furry pug. Looking down, he heard shuffling and sniffing, discovering two other excited dogs scenting his body before they leapt up on their hind legs to greet him with tails wagging. 

A drained Ryan stood carrying the pug currently in the process of licking Sephiroth’s nose in greeting, bags under his eyes standing out while he held a burning cigarette between his upper and lower teeth. Clothes rather loose and baggy on his body, his matted, slightly oily hair signified that he’d been sleeping for some time, neglectful of his personal hygiene.

“This is Pug-Lea-Anna,” he stated as he introduced the pug. Nodding at the Chihuahua and Sheltie mix, he swiftly added, “Meet Bitch and Meu-Meu too. I’m dog sitting today for Aerith and Zack, as well as some of the neighbors.”

Scratching at his neck again after the pug lapped at his pallor, Sephiroth frowned and questioned, “Uh, where’s Cloud going with Aerith?”

Too drained and quite sluggish in his responses being delivered in a timely way, Ryan answered slowly, “Oh, shopping for the wedding. Aerith is pretty creative, so she wants to look at some cakes, decorations for the outdoor wedding…you know, to suit a nice theme I guess for the summer.”

Shouldn’t something like that also include the other person involved in the betrothal? 

Understanding how strange it was to have Ryan as the outcast, and while this matter didn’t concern himself, Sephiroth wasn’t given the chance he needed to walk away. 

Touching his arm, Ryan drew him back gently, heading for the patio chairs and table. “Come sit with me for a bit.”

Resisting at first, Sephiroth thought against it when Ryan awarded him with an extremely rare smirk that quickly vanished like a drop of rain on baking hot cement. 

“Indulge me a bit.”

Holding onto the other dogs, Ryan handed Pug-Lea-Anna to Sephiroth, the small dog content enough to settle on Sephiroth’s lap as soon as they pulled out chairs to rest in. The other canines eagerly explored their surroundings, noses touching everything in sight accessible while Ryan stubbed out his cigarette. 

The still quiet was bridled with tension and bitter resolve, the wind carrying along the traces of toxic sedition even when neither of the two men spoke. Their body language alone remained closed-off and standoffish, both men facing the open yard and fences far up ahead that separated every fancy house. Water splashing was followed by feminine laughter, children singing to tunes on the TV speakers blasting out of windows somewhere nearby instilling peace that never surrounded the space between Sephiroth and Ryan.

Eyes shifting over to sneak a glance at the older man, Sephiroth shook a bit when Ryan was already staring at him. The dread no doubt was taking root alongside the massive guilt upon fooling around with this exact man’s intended one, and there wasn’t any courage left within Sephiroth to admit that.

Exhaling in a deep sigh, Ryan eventually turned to look out ahead. “I love a good book and those crossword puzzle things you can find in magazines.”

Mentally…he did like word searches as well, but he didn’t want to assume Ryan was in any way seeking his approval. 

Riding the silence long enough, Ryan cracked his knuckles as he then ranted, “They keep me distracted for hours. Even as a kid, I always loved having the really big thick books to go through with different color markers. With one of those in my lap, it was all I could focus on. Nothing scary could sneak past and frighten me…God, life was so simple then.”

Emotionally, it was obvious that this man was a fucking train wreck, and one right after another that everyone tuned in to watch at all hours. He was fine one minute and the next, he was running away from all the bugs that came pouring out of a light fixture that no one else could see, or the bloodless corpses that would topple out of a closet. That was the manifestation of Sephiroth’s guilt, but again, like a true coward, he never failed to keep quiet.

The spunky Chihuahua darted over to a water fish set out for it, lapping loudly at the bowl while Ryan fidgeted in his chair. Weight causing the legs to grind into the wooden deck, he twisted himself around, but they both knew it wasn’t physical comfort and solace he would ever find. 

Hands jittery like his legs, he crossed them over each other, folding his arms along his sternum, downtrodden eyes landing on Sephiroth when he was ready to change the topic of the conversation.

“I know that Cloud doesn’t love me in the way I love him, if he even does love me at all.”

Tensing up but only resigning himself to listen as a support system for someone obviously going through a lot, Sephiroth kept a rather impassive face which seemed to help Ryan continue with opening up. 

Sadly smiling at one of the playful dogs pawing at his legs, he stretched out a hand and gave the animal a reassuring pat on the back. “You know, when Cloud first started talking to me and answering all my calls, I never thought he’d actually want to date me. Everyone knew about him as a famous fashion magazine editor, so I was in the same thought process of ‘what the hell would a handsome, talented guy like him want to do with a useless, boring man like me?’”

Going through the motions as one in grief, Ryan swam through self-deprecating thoughts, though was limited and careful not to cause severe harm to himself even by way of self-critique.

Squirming to the edge of his seat, he rested there as he explained, “I eventually stopped thinking about it too much and just enjoyed being with him. I thought I was blessed for sure, and I made all the effort I could daily to see him happy. I just wanted that.”

Stroking the dog’s ears now, as he ruffled the animal’s fur, the stormy glint in Ryan’s eyes was unmistakable, carrying over even while he kept his soft-spoken demeanor throughout the ordeal he was processing.

“I’m not an ungrateful guy. I always thought I was lucky to have Cloud in my life, and as much as this moment should be the happiest day of my life, I can safely tell you that it isn’t.”

Irony struck hard for them both, then. Sephiroth should’ve also been thoroughly leaping for joy, shouting from every mountain top that the man he’d dreamed of for so long had finally confessed to him that he was in love with him, yet reality depicted something much more bleak.

Lifting an index finger and pointing at something random in the distance that was easily missed, Ryan shook Sephiroth out of his stupor with an unusual growl. 

“I think Cloud’s in love with someone else.” Laughing and then stopping himself so briskly, Ryan looked stunned with what he’d expelled, eyes round and the lashes flapping many times too swiftly. “Wow. I guess it hurts way more when you say it out loud, but I don’t think it’s cheating…I just sense he’s not there with me anymore…he just…he isn’t the same guy I fell in love with.”

Nothing took away from the abject agony Sephiroth was also exposed to after reaching the solid conclusion that Ryan was far too sensitive when it came to Cloud. Highly observant, he’d noticed something changing within his partner for some time, and it made Sephiroth’s blood run cold in his veins to hear the word ‘cheating’ brought up. Feeling as if he’d been placed under a microscope, he winced, though Ryan wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. 

Navigating towards catharsis, he chuckled and drawled with much sadness, “I always knew that I’d love him much more than he ever loved me, but it was fine. As long as I had him, it was good enough for me and I was willing to look past it. Only his joy and the sound of his laughter mattered to me, but I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

Like the wind chimes clanging, the harmonies rang through as the hand of the wind brushed the natural elements and the man-made ones. The pain throbbing and depleting Sephiroth’s energy by each passing second was becoming an intolerable nuisance, but he stayed in place to hear the end of what Ryan was expected to declare almost naturally.

Seriously fixing his listener with a rabidly menacing gleam shining out of his eyes, Ryan slapped one of his knees like a judge bashing his gavel down. “Whoever it is he’s turning to, it doesn’t matter. The only thing I want at this time is to never see Cloud again until he figures this out and knows what he wants, whether it includes me in his life or not.”

The last pin dropped, and Sephiroth was finally cracking. Exploding at the seams, the electrifying guilt ripped nerves, bit through flesh, tearing him asunder, and it wasn’t enough. The grown man seated close by was entirely broken and there were too many pieces to even try and put back together again. All he could do was just try to help the best he could and hope and pray he didn’t off himself in some grisly fashion as he should’ve, especially when he was to blame for this mess in the first place. No longer able to be strong enough to show that he was a picture of perfect serenity and tranquility, he coughed once, announcing his exit so prematurely before rising to his feet. 

Handing Pug-Lea-Anna back to Ryan, he humbly bowed, evading all eye contact even when he sensed Ryan burning holes through the top of his bent head.

“I have to get going, Ryan. Sorry.” Tucking himself backwards, Sephiroth broke off into a jog, dashing through large bushes without looking at the man he was causing so much pain.

Desolate and empty, Ryan continued sitting there alone on the patio, his only source of comfort found in gently caressing the peaceful animal he was cradling.

“See you around, Sephiroth.”

Chapter Text

Surely, he had to be going mad.

With every breath, even when they were apart, Sephiroth only smelled Cloud’s fresh skin. When he lay facing his ceiling alone in the cold, dark, still nights, he felt Cloud’s warmth next to him, his golden hair spread across his chest, his cool hands on his body. The weight of Cloud’s arm across his sternum while they slept wasn’t a feeling he would ever take for granted. Habitually, Sephiroth relived every inch and curve of the body that wasn’t there, pining for even a fleeting touch.

The winds were heavy as the torrential rain in the following days, causing some flooding and destruction in the apartment building. In the nights, sometimes the wood and foundation squeaked in its old way of complaint. Water dripped from the ceiling, and Sephiroth knew it would’ve been smart to contain it in a bucket, but he couldn’t and wouldn’t even move. Crestfallen and rather despondent, he hadn’t even removed the new year’s decorations he’d last set out, the pine boughs dry and brown, blown-in bits of broken leaves stuck in the crusted-over, salty mounds in their bowls.

His dreams of Cloud were pure torture, far beyond nightmares. Each time, he would call out to Cloud and over; at first, just as it happened, and then in every assassination scenario of their union he’d ever created, they would be torn apart. Cloud wasn’t someone he could even hold and have in the freedom of his dreams. When he woke each morning, his nostrils were filled with a revolting odor, a mixture of the scent of white plum blossoms perfume and the stench of omega blood. It clung to him, sickening him right to his core until he lost his appetite. 

Far too sickened by the lack of nearness, it all felt like many personal strikes to cut him down and keep the distance he knew they both didn’t even wish to maintain. It was a strike intended for death, and death is what it brought internally rather than glorious salvation. History had a tendency to repeat itself, indeed. They hadn’t learned a damn thing after all.

Smoking his fourth cigarette outside Cloud’s garage, Sephiroth eyed his tools, uncleaned, rusting, just as much as scraps now. Feeling the enormous house looming behind, he’d not so much as glanced at it since standing there in the driveway. Ryan moved around a few times aimlessly on the porch, but Sephiroth had ignored him as he began to ruminate on his last interaction with Cloud.

Soothly, he’d ignored Cloud just the same way. He’d ignored the restless omega even on that same day as he went in and out to replenish his own courage and nascent interest in striking up a conversation. Cloud eventually gave up, retreating within his home and leaving Sephiroth be. Glumly, Sephiroth knew he was just as tired of the effort required to repel the mutual attraction, but along with the thought of the power he could have in his grasp, what he could achieve with Cloud at his side, supporting and inspiring him, the rays of the glowing sun hit his skin and melted the iron-clad walls of his guard. 

Gracefully, his mind skipped over the steel barriers entirely. Touching Cloud should’ve repulsed him, but he could never bind himself to any feelings of revulsion. Even Cloud’s sweat and tears were necessary for ablution, but he couldn’t clean and free himself of his misdeeds just yet. Sephiroth deserved to go on and live with his dark conscience as a permanent stain. Yes, then, he could firmly tie himself to the hilt to Cloud’s heart, with a knot that would never be untied, and then no one would ever dare to ruin and touch what was his again.

Every morning, he woke up more alone and depressed than the last, and had to remind himself, had to feel again the life drain from his world. As he prepared coffee and tea for one and sipped its bitter rush, he felt the sweetness of his barely-imagined future fading, slipping away, melting as surely as the mist on the lake melted under the merciless sun. At noon, he routinely devoured a few bites of cold rice and onion soup icy as snow, all while imagining Cloud seated next to him. 

Cloud’s place was at his side…he would be pacing around maybe, chatting on the phone, helping around the house before he went out on errands. Maybe he would return and greet Sephiroth with a loving smile just outside the open door, his dark clothes fading into the white, winter sky behind his shapely frame. In the evening, as they sat by the TV and fireplace, Cloud’s soft, silky hair and sensual nudity would fade into the shadows as they closed around Sephiroth, their bodies connecting within intimate moments. Memorable tunes and distinct inflection of Cloud’s humming sent Sephiroth to sleep, sweeping and faintly caressing every part of his soul to keep him company. In his creative imagination, the lullaby served as an achingly beautiful sound.

The question always burned on the tip of his tongue, but he knew he could no longer afford to ask. Wishing he could pursue it as he had in dreams again and again, he only wanted to ask Cloud for a second chance to change everything. Regrettably, he knew reality informed him that he could no longer reaffirm to Cloud his former vow. Hungering just to see his face, just once more, Sephiroth wished he could hold Cloud as a lover, to stroke and bestow upon his soft cheeks many kisses again, even cold and stiff ones. 

How was it possible that such a spirit, that independence, raw determination, and stolid stubbornness, could have simply vanished like dust in the wind? If only he could hold Cloud in his arms for one night…

In his desperation for some connection, no matter how tiny or ephemeral, he suddenly began saving many images of Cloud on his phone, well after the omega even ceased updating his own social media for the sake of the nosy press. Pawing through the collection he often visited until he found more than plenty, Sephiroth gazed at them for hours until he passed out with Cloud’s photos in mind. Avoiding all contact with Cloud stung quite terribly, but until he got his own ducks in a row, he refused to establish anything in the way of any relation. It just wasn’t fair to anyone, especially Ryan. 

Sitting in a busy coffee-shop one morning with a boring book in his hands he tried getting distracted by, as he flipped through a few pages, dog-eared and worn, he drew out of his wandering thoughts reverently and re-directed his energy when the door bells chimes and Aerith’s alluring scent hit his nostrils. Arriving at their agreed-on location for the chat they both desperately needed, when he hugged and greeted her, she shot down his offer of buying them treats and tea. Giving up on savoring the reading, he tried not to kindle the flames and fiery coals of past derision, his body heat soaring when he smelled traces of Cloud on Aerith’s clothing. 

Settling her purse on a vacant seat at the table reserved normally for three, Aerith brushed back her hair, though her veneer held a rather confused mien only because of Sephiroth’s cryptic beckoning. In between the awkward silence, Sephiroth had been vainly hoping that glancing at a few of the saved photos of Cloud would perhaps rekindle some life into his memories, ever more static, every day more dreamlike, but it was pointless when he knew he was only looking back on the past instead of moving towards the future.

Rubbing his arm and stirring his attention, Aerith sighed out, ruffling her wavy bangs in the process. “Hey stranger! How’s it going?”

Holding up his book when she asked what he’d been reading, he allowed her to riffle through a few pages, and the puffs of air that rose from its pages flying about stole his breath away with the bouquet of summer warmth and sunshine; the vividness of the flood of images quite unbearable. Eventually, he slammed the book shut between his fists, and yet he couldn’t put it down. The pain of reanimated memories was seductive against the gray flatness of dead ones, the cover of the book easily hiding the images of Cloud openly displayed on his phone.

Studying him carefully, Aerith paid no heed of formalities and cut right to the bone as he always preferred. “Sephiroth, you look like absolute crap.”

“I know. I haven’t been eating and sleeping well.” 

There wasn’t any need to go on; descriptions by themselves were evocative and authentic, and he could hear her voice as though she was reading aloud to him.  The authentic understanding exploded in his mind like a destructive bomb, and the book slipped further over his lap while he simply breathed gently as a form of new, raw guilt washed over him, swamping his mind. 

A scourge of disdainful images floated past his overactive imagination, twisting and making the worst out of every obsession he’d entertained over Cloud until he felt dizzy from overthinking. Such massive levels of anxiety hadn’t ever been an issue for someone as carefree and cavalier as Sephiroth, but now, everything seemed to get under his skin, turning him into a rather sensitive ball of uncontrollable emotions. 

Subtlety was an art he’d been forced to master ever since he struck up a relationship others would deem as ‘taboo’, and the provocative secrets which no longer held much allure had died down, but not gone extinct entirely when he considered his companion. Never having turned to Aerith for relationship advice before, he came off a little hesitant to speak, but her worried expressions in the end convinced him to explain himself, if only as a friend.

Eyes chasing something unseen and unknown as they darted about, he focused on nothing in particular. Tangential thoughts scattering by the second, he forced out with difficulty, “I uh, I was wondering if you really think that it’s a shitty thing to want to see two people who aren’t right for each other to break up.”

That at least set the stage for what he seriously was focusing on, and all without the risk of sprinkling in too many details that would alert her to the identity of someone specific in mind.

Frowning until she chose to break out of that expression, a delicate eyebrow rose on the ridge as Aerith then tucked her hands under her chin. “I don’t think so, Sephiroth. I mean, as long as you’re not the one getting in the middle of it to ruin things, naturally, if they go downhill on their own, sure.”

Naturally…on their own accord…a bit late for that, but the guilt wasn’t something he could allow to overshadow their conversation yet. The damaged state of his own pursuit of tranquility may have been at the forefront of his thoughts, but he could hope to cultivate more responsibility and equilibrium by at least staying away and not taking it too far. 

Wincing when he recalled how he’d reacted in the restaurant bathroom not that long ago, Sephiroth had to scold himself. On second thought, he hadn’t been acting like the mature, wise adult he’d convinced himself he was, not when he easily followed his lustful desires without much provocation.

“I’m such a fucking loser!”

An urbane lift of her second eyebrow informed Sephiroth that he’d mumbled his thoughts unnecessarily out loud. 

“Why do you say that?”

Massaging his knees, wrists, turning his ankles, any form of contact he could offer himself achieved nothing to ease out his frustration, deep-seated pain, and nascent confusion. The internal agony was affecting himself outwardly, but the pain was truly psychological and emotional. Pouring out his frustrations to someone he trusted was the only medicine he sought.

Hopeful that this method could eventually help him rise to the surface and burst out of the heavy pandemonium that was soon to drown him, Sephiroth weakly commented, “Aerith, I’ve…I’ve done some very horrible things.”

Trying to comfort him, Aerith paved the way for consolation as she touched his elbow and whispered, “Sephiroth, we all have at some point. It’s not a big deal.”

“Can you please just hear me out?” 

This was his journey, and he didn’t care much to judge what others were doing. The vast majority who engaged in unsavory things didn’t appease his conscience at all. They weren’t childish teenagers anymore, and the worst thing anyone could do in this situation was to feed him with statements that would enable his deplorable deeds. He needed judgment and critical assessment delivered fairly, which was why he was immediately set on chipping away at the unfettered discretion and formalities dotting the lines.

Not one to bullshit and beat around the bush much, Aerith understood what he needed from her and gave him a solid nod to signal her oath. 

Nodding back, Sephiroth settled in his chair better, back and spine arching to a straight posture as he started speaking. “I know this person who I feel is heading for a disastrous marriage. It’s a fucking catastrophe because I think he just rushed into this arrangement to forget about what he wants, and it’s so obvious to me that he’s miserable all the time while playing pretend.”

Challenging the narrative, Aerith shot out, “How can you tell for certain? How can you read his mind and know what he wants?”

“I know this guy, and he’s told me himself.” Caution built the bridge of blocks he could tip-toe across, and with measured words so carefully selected, he extrapolated, “He’s kinda my friend, but we talk a lot, and it hurts seeing him this way when he wants more than what his relationship so far has offered him.” 

Feeling hamstrung herself, Aerith considered what he’d explained, pondering it all with empathy for his sake, but the finalized goal belonged to credibility for a most neutral application. 

“Sephiroth, when people have strong opinions on something that they don’t waiver on, a person who disagrees with that position is going to make assumptions about the other person’s psychological makeup and values set. It’s natural, but it’s not your call.”  

Heatedly galvanized and feeling spurned, Sephiroth bemoaned, “I’ve even seen them together! They’re abnormal and not happy together, trust me!” 

Not fully convinced, she rolled her eyes and spat, “Holding a hot take like that will make another person think the person who holds that contrasting opinion seems more nefarious than they are.” Pointedly, she asked to get a hold over his logic rather than emotions, “Why are you so invested in this? What’s your angle, Seph?”

That was a damn good question anyone else who heard him out had every right to ask.

Perhaps simplicity was the source, but he’d been searching it for just one entry of peace, a single memory he could cling to, one that didn’t stab, pierce, scathe, or make him bleed. He’d learned about the rhythm of his own days cast in total seclusion, and Sephiroth’s growing urges weren’t forces he could trifle with for much longer. In their early days together, ones consisting of the gradual awareness of his own feelings for Cloud, the youthful advantages of a confused teenager were long gone, now bleeding heavily into painstaking gripes of jaded adulthood. 

Gazing out the window, Sephiroth forlornly dreamed of passages of time telling of their summer and autumn, and the bliss of their beautiful winter. He wanted to spend every waking moment with someone he couldn’t have. Unable to spread that joy, he kept his own thoughts to himself, wondering if he could somehow delay opening up to Aerith about the tentative hopes for a future with her own father, of the possibility of a real home and a family, the echo with his own sorrows too much. 

Shutting himself off to her inspective glances, although his guard wasn’t set down yet, very gently and carefully, he pushed his own yearnings based on idealism as far away from himself as he could reach. Looking intently at Aerith with a serious expression, he was quiet and still for a long time.

This had been a mistake. His heart was feeling something extremely forbidden, something he only fantasized about, even when he’d been with Aerith. This time, the feeling was magnified and elated by ethereal complexity and depth, propelling Sephiroth to only one conclusion. 

Grief was the price of love. Angeal had opinionated that to him once during yet another lecture. Back then, he seemed to recall, the issue was based and focused on surrounding attachments and their unsuitability for a practitioner of their style. He couldn’t truly remember ever having wept, not even as a child, but the grief that wrenched tears from his eyes now breathed intolerable reality for him. Thinking that he’d learned from his mistakes, he failed to grasp what he thought he’d already understood.

Miserably, he remembered the cries of anguish, the heartbreak he’d suffered through, all while never coming to terms with his errors responsibly. Now, the unspoken words were a living thing in his heart, the vow he’d asked of himself making exquisite sense if he was to preserve some shred of dignity.

Heart quite selfless, Aerith sensed he wasn’t ready to share anything deeper beyond that and only gave him a reassuring smile and a gentle pat on the back. “You’ll tell me whenever you’re ready for it, don’t worry.”

Deflating and leaning into her tender caresses, Sephiroth whimpered, “I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s just—”

Pinching his cheek playfully, Aerith’s random act interrupted him, though never took away from her politeness and kindness. 

“It’s weird we’re having this talk, because as happy as I am for my dad finding someone, whenever I look at him with Ryan, I don’t know, Seph, but something feels so unnatural about them.” Hanging her head and sighing a long, dejected sigh, she eventually added with sadness, “Is it so wrong of me to say that? Am I a bad person?!” Sniffling, she wept as she held onto him, “I know I should be sharing in his joy, but…I just…I don’t think he’s as happy as he wants me to believe!”

Swords and sharp needles prodded every bit of his flesh, puncturing him everywhere when he knew he had to resign himself to keep his own opinions to himself. The topic was a sore, delicate one, irony striking like a mighty hammer to cleave right through. Working against his greedy nature to seal in some satisfaction and victory upon discovering that Aerith held no favors for Ryan either, Sephiroth shut off the personal investment he held in her father’s romantic life, coaxing out of himself a most neutral expression and demeanor.

Clasping onto her hand when she sought his out, they held onto each other like lifelines drifting away on a stormy ocean. Breathing softly as one unit, their eyes searched one another, with Aerith whispering out apologies, feeling just as guilty as he was, all for a different set of reasons. 

As much as he could agree with her and understand, he turned back to her previous question, addressing more than her own concerns as a part of himself almost curiously wondered about his own agenda bearing great fault in something that wasn’t his to decide on and control.

Caressing her hands with a few calloused fingers, he enveloped her in a peaceful smile, all while falling apart worlds away. “No, Aerith. It doesn’t make you a bad person in the wrong. It just makes you human.”

~~~********~~~

Torn away from the boring program he’d been watching, an untouched portion of noodles now disgustingly cold on the coffee table in front of himself, Sephiroth’s attention snapped over to the front door of his apartment. 

Someone was wildly banging on the damn thing, hissing out on the other side of it without making coherent sense. Regardless, they summoned him forth immediately, the nervous alpha wincing when another set of resounding bangs practically bashed the entire wood of the door down.

As soon as he’d unlocked and opened the door only an inch, blue eyes flashed angrily at him, and he didn’t even have a second necessary to react. A hand reached out and slapped him unforgivably across the face, creating the effect of Sephiroth leaping back in shock and pain.

A shoulder soon wedged itself in the wider gap created by the alpha releasing the door, and at once, Cloud Strife invited himself right in.

Slamming the front door behind himself, with an accusatory finger shoved in Sephiroth’s stunned face, he derisively asked, “What the fuck did you say to Ryan?!”

The initial shock slipped away, his own rage easing in as Sephiroth oozed out an aura of vitriol to burn down Cloud’s. “I didn’t say anything to him. What the hell makes you think I did?”

Pacing around the front hall, pulling his hair and then his dark clothes, Cloud ended the moment of aggravation for himself as he placed his hands on his hips and glowered away. “He won’t talk to me! I got home after shopping with Aerith to find a damn note telling me that until I know what I want, the wedding is delayed!”

Ryan had acted a lot faster than Sephiroth thought, but in the end, this was a case of someone ripping off a band-aid quickly as opposed to gradually peeling it off to inflame and scrape delicate flesh. 

Flippantly giving Cloud a shrug, Sephiroth basked in coldness he felt the annoying omega deserved. “So what? What’s that got to do with me?”

Flying at him again, Cloud swiped at Sephiroth, grazing his flesh when Sephiroth had been a tad slow to duck. Hissing at him in a warning that started off as mild, when Sephiroth slumped near a wall, Cloud again chased him down.

“You were the last person in the yard after I left! It had to be you!” Decking Sephiroth with a cutting uppercut, he howled, “It isn’t your job to get involved in my life! You’re just working for me, and that’s it! Know your place!”

Dodging another blow, while backing into the living room, Sephiroth put some space between himself and Cloud using a three-seat sofa as a barrier. Pointing churlishly at Cloud, eyes turning slightly red, he mutinously growled, “Cloud, if you fucking try to hit me again, I’ll make sure you regret it, so watch yourself.” 

Imperiously, Cloud snarled like a bitter demon, wanting to appear more serious and aggressive. “Threatening me, huh?” he snarled with a red gleam beaming out of his pupils, shredding Sephiroth to pieces just by eyesight alone. “You ruined things with Ryan, and now you threaten me?”

“Stop it!” Gesturing about expansively, Sephiroth cautioned, “You came here on your own! You barged inside my home and hit me first!”

Bashing himself into the sofa, Cloud eventually made his way around the obstacle, hands landing right on Sephiroth’s neck. When they were pushed down with marginal strength by the taller male, Cloud pursued relentlessly, leaping up and knocking his knuckles into Sephiroth’s chin.

Leaping back like he’d been electrocuted, Sephiroth wheezed in a faint warning, “Cloud, I’m going ask you to stop one last time nicely, and if you persist, then I’m afraid I’ll have no choice but to be rude to you.” 

“You’re cute when you’re mad, you know.” Cloud’s tiny laugh at the end of that sentence caused Sephiroth’s violent anger to shoot through the roof.

Unsure of how much more of the teasing and pestering from someone so riddled with inconsistencies he could tolerate, he hardly moved as he sternly stood and just growled. This seemed to enable Cloud to lose himself to more boyish giggles, and only sent Sephiroth into an almost homicidal rage. 

Nearly bursting apart, he growled deeply, “Yeah? Well I’m about to get reaaaally fucking adorable.” Hoping to prove how intimidating he was, he took a step towards the shorter male while grinning internally.  

He’d already overstepped his bounds by interfering with this confused man’s love life, and he had no damn business talking him down, now. Especially after all he’d been through…it was cold and callous. Still, he knew it was all he had to offer, an omega propositioning an alpha for the greater, common good...pheromones were choking them both, with Sephiroth’s erection now too obviously tenting his jeans and only growing harder when Cloud gaped at it voraciously.

As much as he accosted Cloud with a snide sneer, Sephiroth truly didn’t seem to mind it, strangely enough. Looking as though he was becoming more and more enamored with anything Cloud uttered, no matter how crude, nasty, or harsh it was, he only sighed while a few of his warm fingers touched and caressed Cloud’s hip.  

Swatting his limb, Cloud roughly elbowed Sephiroth in the sternum. Without a doubt, Sephiroth knew he’d once despised this version of Cloud quite immensely. He’d felt that before burning from his head to his toes. Now, he was pretty sure he still loathed his aggressive mannerisms, although the lines and edges were blurring rapidly. This would’ve been acceptable, save for one tiny problem nibbling away at his conscience...a problem of man versus nature, desire versus morality.

As such, with this tucked away in the back of his mind, the moody, carnaptious omega decided it was finally time to set aside his devotion to a solid, dedicated goal and bask in the immoral, impious, and treacherous side of himself.

Nowhere near peeved, Cloud merely stood still with bold ambitions. Was this how Sephiroth himself had always felt sauntering up to shorter, smaller people? This was such an awesome power-trip he could share, and he didn’t mind that it was Cloud in his place. He could look down as much as he wanted on Sephiroth and never regret it…

Though being tall certainly helped the alpha, for now, it seemed he was lowly in his own mannerisms and regard, a hand shielding his nostrils. Scenting Cloud ever so deeply and thoroughly, Sephiroth blushed lightly, but shockingly, he didn’t back down.

Though his eyes wandered over Sephiroth’s chest, abdomen, and lower torso quickly, Cloud purred out ravenously, “Haven’t you ever heard of ‘personal space,’ Sephiroth?” There was distinct laughter in his voice lingering behind his teasing words, and Cloud couldn’t take himself too seriously, not when flirting was now coming to himself so naturally. 

Wanting to appear more serious and aggressive, Sephiroth minaciously snarled with a red gleam beaming out of his pupils, “I could ask you the same thing, you little—”   

Rain droplets made tiny splashes on the surfaces of the pond not far from where they were bickering. The pale moon reflected off the darkened water, luminous as it radiated and highlighted Cloud’s youthful features. The dark, night world was lightened by the quick dash of lighting. The quiet, night air was filled with the boom of thunder rumbling on akin to a giant’s stomach grumbling. The storm had raged for what seemed like days, but were merely seconds before it burst like a waterfall all over.

Noticing how Sephiroth evaded staring at him, Cloud confidently smirked. His drenched, blonde hair matted the side of his face, and his soaked clothes clung to his shivering body. Adorably, Sephiroth panicked, his emerald, wide eyes scanning his surroundings as he swallowed. Though before he could flee towards the covering of another object in the room, Cloud had already disallowed him to move an inch. 

Snatching Sephiroth by his broad chest, much too bold for his own good, Cloud touched the tip of his nose right against Sephiroth’s, and with almost fond glee, he flashed Sephiroth a rather gentle smile as he purred on. Voice blending with the gentle hum and rumble of the thunder, Cloud didn’t even have to utter a word to communicate to Sephiroth precisely what he wanted to do.

Clearly, it was the same thing churning within Sephiroth’s odious mind, a novel idea he was already starting to trawl for.

Deciding that he wasn’t going to be dominated this time, Sephiroth lashed out and hooked his fingers onto Cloud’s neck. Not yet squeezing, he spun the slender male around, throwing him chest-first over the edge of the sofa. Powerfully slamming himself on top, Sephiroth then fisted bundles of Cloud’s hair, shoving him into the sofa seats while his opposite hand undid Cloud’s belt and zipper. In heavy frustration, as he gritted his teeth while trying to contain himself, he hurriedly undid his own jeans, his cock springing out and hitting Cloud’s supple cheeks.

Aggression was his language, and he used it well as he grabbed one side of Cloud’s underwear and tore it right off his hips without hesitating. Once the garment was out of his way and thrown down to the floor, Sephiroth eyed the creamy expanse of exposed flesh he’d dreamed of fucking for three long years. Slapping the cleft and globes with the tip of his erect cock for a few seconds, Sephiroth then dug in the back pocket of his jeans, disappointed when he found he didn’t have a condom. 

Why would he, really? He’d been celibate after all for three years now, and it was childish to expect perfect preparation this time around.

Not one for breaking the mood, he raked his eyes to the ceiling, furious as hell when Cloud reared back against him in need. Delivering a few more spanks to Cloud’s pert bottom, Sephiroth became much too groggy to even think clearly. Gyrating his hips a few times, he watched as Cloud’s exposed, flushed hole clenched, producing enough slick glistening out around the pucker to invite him. 

Throwing all semblances of caution and accountability away, Sephiroth held onto Cloud’s hair even more roughly. Grabbing himself by the middle, Sephiroth guided his eager cock right into Cloud, sliding balls-deep in one go. Simultaneously, as those tight, moist walls opened to give frictional passage for his member, adjusting to his massive swelling, both alpha and omega gasped and groaned out deeply. 

Clutching the sofa seat beneath himself, Cloud bit into it firmly, screwing his eyes shut and wiggling his hips until flesh audibly slapped and squelched. Locking himself deeper inside that snug hole made for his cock, Sephiroth snickered, knowing fully well that given how bloody tight Cloud was, he absolutely hadn’t seen any action in years.

Deciding to point that out now with Cloud mewling under his weight, Sephiroth spoke down rudely, “Fucking liar. This sexy hole hasn’t been pounded since me, you slut.”

“F-fuck y-you!”

Hiking his own shirt up by the hem until he’d woven and tucked it above and behind his shoulders and neck, Sephiroth aimed his hips forward, practically puncturing Cloud right through.

“Yes sir.” 

Suddenly very impatient, abs touching Cloud’s bottom, Sephiroth enjoyed the view as he slid a hand down quickly, tracing just along the base of the man’s spine before cupping experimentally at those pert cheeks. Every time he rammed himself inside Cloud, those globes jiggled, Cloud’s shuddering coming out with a short, breathy gasp. Swatting him lightly, Sephiroth felt the wriggle of response in his palm and quickly began attacking all the right places he’d memorized within Cloud years ago.

Two fingers pressed past Cloud’s open lips simultaneously when he screamed out in delight. The motion matched how easily Sephiroth’s cock slipped past the tight muscle barrier and abruptly buckled into him with one deep stroke. Cloud was pinned firmly, but he somehow wiggled to one side and arched instantly. The sudden action sent a steam of possession shooting within Sephiroth, pushing him to knee apart the back of Cloud’s thighs. Instinctively obedient, Cloud mewled, his legs spread wider to accommodate Sephiroth, a ragged moan escaping him as he did so. The alpha rutted harder against him then, his spare hand steadying his desperate hips, pushing them back down to the sofa.

Cloud’s head fell back with a pant, the burning resonating within his scalp as Sephiroth pulled on his hair, urging him to belt out, “You’re…oh! You’re putting me t-to sleep! Harder!”

Calling his bluff, Sephiroth salivated each time his balls knocked into the underside of Cloud’s ass. “Doubt it when I’m sure my neighbors can hear how badly I’m clappin’ your thick cheeks, bitch.”

“Soooo good, Sephiroth!” Cloud’s slender form strained to buck as the other male began moving again, but Sephiroth teased him as he held him steady. Irritated, Cloud begged, “Shit! Please! Sephiroth, please!” 

It came out almost a whine now, his entire body struggling in vain to rock back on the younger male’s erratic movements, the sofa legs slamming into the floorboards shamelessly. Just as he opened his mouth to protest again, a third digit invaded Cloud’s moist mouth, and his words dissipated into an incoherent jumble.

Although he was being much too rough after years of abstinence for them both, Sephiroth practically drove himself in to the hilt, drilling within those walls with the intent to have Cloud feel every bulging vein of his member. Unable to take his eyes off him, it was as if an angel fell from heaven into his world at that very moment.

Loud and violent as they were, he wouldn’t have cared if every tenant in the building noticed; Cloud was his right now, and he looked beautiful as he twisted himself perfectly on the tip of his cock. With his chest heaving and his lips wrapped around Sephiroth’s now saliva coated digits, he looked worthy of the gods themselves. An impatient and needy whimper brought him back to reality, and perfectly azure eyes locked on him. His response came instantly.

As soon as the fingers left his mouth, Sephiroth loosened his grip and watched as Cloud rolled back flatly again, turning to his stomach and baring his backside fully up to him. Giving the stunned alpha a playful smirk followed by a coy head tilt, his almost shoulder-length blond curls splayed out behind himself as he glanced over his own frame, clearly enraptured by Sephiroth’s display of awe.

“I believe I told you to fuck me, Sephiroth.”

Just his tone, throaty and breathless, brought about a near uncontrollable twist of desire all through the addressed man, and when Cloud’s bent up knees spread to each side of himself, displaying that quivering hole sucking his cock and everything that went with it perfectly, Sephiroth had no room left for restraint.

Firm, steady hands gripped at his elder’s waist, steadying and bracing him before the larger man’s final entry filled the entire apartment with sharp wailing and throaty groaning. At the end of his piercing cry, Cloud’s head fell back to respond to another low moan escaping Sephiroth, coming out low and strangled from his throat.

“There!” Showing Sephiroth what he wanted, Cloud demonstrated his pure lust unmatched by anyone else, bringing his bottom up to almost unlock Sephiroth from his tight grip before he eased back down again.

“Cloud…”

Blue hues flickered back to him, lidded and dark with desire. Reaching back and massaging Sephiroth’s bulging abs in appreciation, Cloud’s rapidly fluttering lashes did nothing to veil the expression of pure desire. He made only a muffled, humming sound before stroking himself while eyeing Sephiroth’s toned body, and Sephiroth promptly took the opportunity to slide forward, capturing the petal soft, awaiting flesh at the back of Cloud’s neck.

Never once biting Cloud, he touched his lips to his nape almost gently before beginning a slow, steady rhythm with his tongue licking his skin while thrusting in shallow movements. Cloud’s quiet, lusty moan vibrated against his fingers buried within his mouth with the movement, until the omega growled lightly in response to the slightly tender treatment.

“I said harder!” It came out as a breathy whisper, pressed over those fingers between Sephiroth’s kisses and thrusts. Not given what he wanted immediately, Cloud’s eyes fluttered shut with a shudder. “Fuck me. Hard.”

Sephiroth’s hand slipped beneath Cloud, splaying across his stomach and guiding their motions together fully. Once fully touching Cloud where he wanted, he spoke carefully into the soft, silky hair strands as they brushed over his cheek. “Have I mentioned what a lovely vocabulary you have, Cloud?”

The belligerent omega started to smirk, and almost replied when Sephiroth gave a single, rough thrust into him. Realizing the depth of his errors, Cloud could only communicate in tiny, choked cries, shedding many tears of frozen pleasure. Rattling the furniture and hearing tearing sounds from the fabric, Sephiroth prepared to question in worry when Cloud proved how well he could defy all odds.

Eyes rolling back into his head, he cooed, “Again! Oooh, again!”

Instead of their lips touching, Sephiroth’s met Cloud’s nape hungrily, and by angling his hips to one side, he did just as Cloud instructed. It took little time to get up a pace, mutually incoherent grunts and moans fading quickly into their frustrated sounds and filling the otherwise silent room with wordless, descriptive tales of their obscene actions. Sweat and heat pooled around, fogging up glass nearby, but not enough to obscure Sephiroth’s vision when he gazed out a window and watched their reflections. Observing himself in the middle of sex hadn’t ever been a kink before, but now that he could see how his entire cock was being milked and devoured by that tight hole, he couldn’t dare stop staring.

Whining and mewling, Cloud rocked back to each press, gripping into the pillows beneath himself and struggling to spread wider with every hit. Occasional mutterings of urgent demands flew from him rather unceremoniously in barbed insults. Regardless of how unbecoming the cutting words were, they made it into the air between moans, and each time he heard them, the younger male gladly complied.

Long since unable to keep up the effort of turning his head around, Cloud now lay panting into the pillow beneath himself, his damp forehead down and shoulders up as he braced most weight on his elbows. Sephiroth’s hand kept at his stomach, reading the signs well to tease his erection, and somehow, it felt almost comforting, even as it weaved along each of their increasingly ferocious couplings. A particularly forceful hit sent a rough stem of pleasure through him and the smaller form arched, grip tightening helplessly into the already crumpled pillows as his head fell back again with a sharp cry.

For a few breathless, prolonged seconds, though he never ceased pounding and stroking, Sephiroth paused, his chiseled, bare chest pressed right over Cloud’s smooth back. Panting in awe, he draped a hand against the smooth, sweat-slicked back beneath his chest, and their bodies froze there in perfect, entangled alignment. Finally, Cloud whined out in a chopped, almost raspy note, curling a leg up and bending it to rest on the sofa.

Lewdly spreading his own cheeks and hole, he barked hungrily, “More! I said more!”

Heavily enamored, Sephiroth easily obliged, tearing deeper inside Cloud until he grazed a bundle of nerves he’d never felt within himself and Cloud. Experimentally knocking into those glands responsible for creating such immense pleasure, he increased the pressure. Cloud reacted just as wondrously, his body so small, fragile, and helpless beneath Sephiroth, under his control and bendable to his will. His slender, ivory smooth legs lay spread beneath his own form in quite the display of grand athleticism, though bent at the knees, and the alpha marveled briefly at his flexibility before returning to other, much more preoccupying thoughts.

Once past the initial breach, Sephiroth wildly began hitting the erogenous zone almost consistently, and Cloud quickly lost all breath and any semblance of coherent sanity in his cranium. Watching himself almost slipping out of Cloud’s hole with the intense speed he’d been hammering away at, Sephiroth vaguely registered one of Cloud’s hands catching his long, powerful fingers lacing through his smaller ones, which appeared like a child’s in comparison. In a way though, it added a rather cheerful dynamic, and even with little to no grey matter left to think by, he gripped to it, gaining support and comfort from such a simple, discreet act.

Noticing the hair covering the areas he wanted to touch, Sephiroth brushed back at the damp blond clinging to the omega’s neck, bringing out a shudder from Cloud. Administering tenderness, Sephiroth’s lips pressed there, and even with all else swarming his senses, the soft, heated touch sent tiny sparks of fire through himself. All too soon, Sephiroth felt the beginnings of release curl in his gut, the knot growing within his belly to signal off an early warning. 

Sobbing now when the kiss pressed lower, directly between his shoulder blades, Cloud produced a tiny, mixed gasp before a groan escaped him as the slick flicker of a tongue made it over the sleek, sweat streaked area.

“Oh gods, oh gods, Seph!” A litany of embarrassing phrases passed, and Cloud clamped on his lower lip. Catching the flesh roughly between his teeth as his panting came in quick succession, he eventually chanted, “God! Seph! Please! P-please! Just…oh! You—please!”

Lapping at his sweat, Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow, heady enough to almost sway. “Please what?”

It came so faint, but low and predatory, directly to the side of his face when Cloud spun around. Casting a resolute glare at Sephiroth, he shuddered, eyes fluttering shut once before turning properly back over his shoulder, wide and certain as he spoke desperately.

“Please kiss me!”

Stroking him and cupping those smaller, smoother testicles, Sephiroth decided to ask for his own favor, not wanting to show Cloud how badly and deeply he’d already fallen, how much he wanted to carry out his request.

“Only if you let me pull out and blow it all over your boy pussy.”

Inebriated by the prospect, Cloud nodded, his hand squeezing out drops of his own come at once.

Not rough, but firm, and erotically passionate, their mouths finally latched onto each other. Sephiroth took the lead, his lips crashing and crushing onto Cloud’s without a moment’s hesitation, and in that brief moment, it took nothing more to send Cloud soaring over the edge. He came hard, with a short, almost startled cry, his eyes tightly shut and lips parted as the alpha continued to kiss him. Tongues lapping and sliding to an erotic tangle, Sephiroth backed out, hips shunting up and guiding his throbbing cock out of Cloud’s delicious heat seconds before he aimed right at the soaked hole.

As their mouths explored and teeth bashed into soft seams, Sephiroth stroked himself a few times until he sent ropes of hot, thick semen to coat all over Cloud’s hole. The substance dripped in the sticky mess it was to cover the inside and back of his legs, the muscles quivering the entire time. It took them both a moment to come back to reality, their teeth tugging on lips as they came together with heaving gasps and groans hitting slanted mouths. 

Finally having experienced the powerful, delectable sex with the one he cared for after so many years of holding back, Sephiroth was more than spent. Clumsily spewing all over Cloud’s clenching hole to paint everything in a milky sheen, his mind felt dazed, his body beyond worn out as he realized the other male must’ve peaked with him. Relaxing over Cloud, Sephiroth smiled a lopsided smile upon feeling the warm, undeniable presence of the omega’s come now filling his palm, and his final movements finally ceased. 

Slowly, while still smiling like a goof, he allowed the expression to curve to his lips, and he kissed Cloud once more to end the passionate embrace with a chaste peck now. 

Although he felt hazy as he disconnected completely, Sephiroth could’ve sworn he heard a mumbled ‘thank you’ or perhaps a speedy version of ‘fuck you’, but at that point, he was really too far gone to pay much attention and genuinely give a crap.

Chapter Text

Eventually, fatigue returned to a once impervious Sephiroth, his digital, bedside clock flashing an absurd 2:18 a.m., and making sleep imperative to both exhausted men. Placing one last, slightly prolonged kiss to the rosy lips of a naked Cloud Strife beside him, the larger man rolled between the sheets, removing himself from the smaller figure and landing with a most ungraceful grunt beside him. 

Cracking open an eyeliner smeared eyelid at being roused out of his slumber, Cloud then gave a tired giggle before both cerulean eyes fully blinked open with a cross between a glare and a tiny smile. 

Leaning next to him and plopping a sloppy kiss on his cheek, Sephiroth then drawled softly, “Sorry I woke you.”

“It’s okay.” Rubbing his eyelids and yawning, Cloud peeked at the digital clock with a tiny huff. Deflating and sliding his hands under his pillow to fluff it back up, he protested with a small grin, “Your bed’s not as comfy as mine.”

Hearing the tiny gripe that normally would be too childish for anything as far as a response was concerned, Sephiroth didn’t focus on that at all. Despite the fact that Cloud was mumbling and shuffling around, no doubt trying to find a comfortable spot, gazing in wonderment at his nudity, Sephiroth was hopelessly lost. Cloud was an artistic gift all by himself, crafted and sent down by the gods. To see him like this was a rare blessing Sephiroth never wanted to take for granted ever again, which was why he refused to even blink away.

A colorful rush of blue, marigold, violet, pink, and silver flashed at every appropriately delicate angle. The rays floated from his hair to his exposed stomach, and with every breath he inhaled and exhaled, the glowing embers strove to only bolster his handsome qualities. They signified to enormous levels, webs of vibrancy interlocked to distinguish his differences in comparison to Sephiroth.

These stark contrasts were various, oneiric traits Sephiroth truly enjoyed in Cloud. All he could obsess on was how angelic Cloud appeared while lying down on his bed, messy hair panning over the pillow to elevate him beneath the shimmering moonlight. As it streamed through the half-open window, the effulgence wafted and settled around Cloud, bathing him in the utmost beauty Sephiroth had never thought he’d encounter.

“What’re you looking at?” Cloud mumbled with some irritation, but the gruff attempt at an accusation came out less menacing than he meant it, and the omega soon grinned.

Mimicking his contagiously uplifting smile with an even warmer, fuller one, Sephiroth didn’t hesitate to gush, “You. You’re so beautiful.”

Flinging the compliment away, Cloud crudely snorted, turning to lie on his back, a lazy hand falling to his chest as he blinked up at the ceiling. After a few moments, his round eyes glanced over at the eager alpha beside him. Sephiroth now lay on his side, his silver, long but frizzy locks clinging slightly to his fading, but still flushed cheeks as he smiled sleepily.

Propping a hand up on the pillow and slanting the palm under his cheek, Sephiroth purred, “You really are, you know.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Shapely pink lips twitched to a smirk as Sephiroth emphasized and built upon his former opinions. “You look incredibly sexy. Aren’t I allowed to look as much as I want?”

Coyly, Cloud raised an eyebrow, something between disbelief and appreciation crossing his features as he eyed the larger man for any signs of sarcasm. “I suppose?” Laughing it off, he tried being casual and detached. “I mean, you can do what you want, Seph.”

Shaking his head, Sephiroth fought the urge to laugh at his obvious distrust and rolled to his stomach, closer to the other male before leaning over him happily. Holding Cloud’s chin to steady his face, he nuzzled his forehead too affectionately, wrenching tiny chuckles out of Cloud first. Contagious, it was, and soon enough, even Sephiroth began sharing in the uplifting mood.

“I’m being serious, you know.” With that, he pressed a light, quick kiss to the startled man’s lips, and tugged slightly at his arm. “Come on, move so you can sleep with me. I’m still so tired.”

Mind clearly in the gutter, Cloud yelped, leaping a bit when Sephiroth’s arms wound by his back to pull him in close. “Sleep with you? I thought I just…I mean, we uh…”

Still fully wrapped within the post-coital glow, Sephiroth growled, “Hold me.”

Between an unfettered pause as his reply, Sephiroth glanced back to find a flickering look of surprise passing the other man’s features and he quickly flushed in turn, hoping the dark covered it as he turned his face away. When he next spoke, it betrayed none of his sudden nervousness.

“It’ll be fine, Cloud. A little cuddle won’t hurt us now.”

Wincing, Cloud shivered less from the dip in temperature as he retaliated with wisdom, “It’s not that…I…I mean, I’m still technically with Ryan and we…”

“Oh…yeah…” 

As much of a mood killer as that was, Cloud had only spoken the unadulterated truth. Certainly, Sephiroth held his own stance on the subject, but the grasp on ethics and morals had long since flown right out of his mind the second they’d found comfort in each other’s arms. Responsibility dashed in worse than a good mountain of snow over the peacefully still land, but rather than chastising himself for his less than favorable actions, Sephiroth chose not to squander the moment swimming in regret. As far as he was concerned, he’d enjoyed the encounter, and it seemed as if there weren’t doubts and regrets from Cloud either, quite like a few years back when they first struck up their unusual relationship.

The moral explanations did little to convince the alpha of anything else, but gave him time to wipe away surprise from his expression. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t mind. In fact, he enjoyed how wonderfully the feeling of Cloud’s smaller, warm body was pressed so comfortingly in his embrace, compelling him to pose no further questions. 

Whatever argument Cloud held turned him suddenly so sleepy, and the drained, quiet omega curled back contentedly against his partner’s firm chest. 

Nuzzling Sephiroth with his chin touching his neck, Cloud snuggled closer and whispered, “See, I can’t help but wonder…am I the bad person for wanting something more?” Nervous before he could go on, Cloud squeezed his eyes shut, shuddered, and then asked again, “Am I stupid, selfish, or just like anyone else?”

Patting him on the head with reassurance as his goal, Sephiroth shook his head firmly. “Not at all. It’s fine, but you really have to talk things out with Ryan at some point, dude.”

Squirming and emitting a noise of confusion, Cloud began to murmur on a salient note, “But it’s bound to happen again and if we don’t fix it soon, it’ll turn into a major issue until we’re caught red-handed.”

Although it seemed logical given the path they were speeding along, Sephiroth didn’t wish to point fingers and engage in a belabor whatsoever. 

“Cloud, we can talk about it in the morning. Just don’t spoil the mood, okay?” Evenly gazing at him and stroking his head, Sephiroth settled, “We both need sleep now.”

As the fog of slumber quickly took over after he’d stated the obvious, those thoughts rapidly dissipated, and he placed an arm over the smaller form without thinking about it, pulling the older man closer before his eyes shut. Brain humming and tingling with the buzzing rush of obtaining for relaxing sleep, Sephiroth fully embraced Cloud as one would a cushion.

With Sephiroth’s warm, protective embrace warmly snug around him, and the firm, steady heartbeat to his ear, Cloud gave a contented smile as he finally surrendered himself to sleep.

~~~********~~~

Taken years back before he’d spent much time away from Cloud, Sephiroth woke with a contented, almost lazy grin. Feeling better rested than ever, as he yawned, he took his time, blinking slowly and waiting for his hazy, groggy vision to focus. His mind woke before his eyes, and the effects snapped away his previous sleepiness instantly when he glanced at his side to find the spot occupied rather than vacant.

Cloud had almost glued their bodies together, not even allowing the bedsheets to get in between their forms. Sephiroth’s entire body pressed against him like a shield, curving over his slight form and holding him close. They still faced each other, much like the night before, but instead of tensed or worried, it only caused a sort of warm, unexplainably fuzzy feeling all through Sephiroth. Strong arms surrounded Cloud, the omega laying in an unconscious brace across the left side of his torso, and for the first time in his life, Sephiroth knew he felt completely at ease in that position. This was his missing piece…

His smile calmed to that of lazy contentment as he observed Cloud breathing softly, his bangs fluffing in the air and his eyebrows easing over in full glee. Wondering about the dreams he was having, Sephiroth smirked and relaxed again, wriggling slightly closer into the other man’s embrace and shutting his eyes. As he dropped his forehead down, leaning to the omega’s chest, he felt Cloud huff and then move against him.

At first, he kept his eyes shut, not quite ready for morning and still worn from the long night. A mild stirring in his arms alerted something, but Sephiroth all too stubbornly ignored his body’s mental contradiction. He wanted to sleep, just sleep while holding the one he’d dreamed of and yearned for. Shutting his eyes determinedly, he shifted his arm for a more comfortable position and found the smooth touch of a bare back against his fingers. Suddenly, when two arms nudged his weight back followed by a mewling yawn, Sephiroth rolled his eyes, now fully awake.

A warm hand shifted across his back, almost caressing him in a move of repentance, and then the taller male froze against him, suddenly perfectly still. Cloud let loose a trilling sort of noise, the vibrations traveling to Sephiroth’s dick, and he bit his lip as he remembered this sign from a satiated omega. Last time they were together like this, he got shoved off the bed bright and early before Cloud rushed out the door, offering him very little in the way of an explanation before he shut off all forms of contact. 

Tightly shunting out the horrid memory, Sephiroth knew they had to at least get the day started, so he prepared to withdraw, but just as he went to move, Cloud’s arm circled his waist tighter and prevented it. Eyes bulging at the abrupt move never anticipated, Sephiroth visibly tensed, the unexpected action catching him off guard.

With the feelings eventually flooding and settling in somewhere, Sephiroth felt the smaller body tense in his arms and frowned slightly before he grinned like a fool. Flickering his thumb absently across the smooth skin at the small of his partner’s smooth back, he lowered his head and spoke quietly against soft tips of golden, spiky bangs he’d grown to adore.

“Hey? Are you awake yet?” Certain that he already knew the answer, Sephiroth smiled even wider when a tiny nod in response confirmed it. 

After a brief moment of silence, he looked down to find the smaller man watching him. The silence dragged on for what felt like eternity to both until finally, Cloud’s quiet tone broke through, and it was heavenly music to Sephiroth’s ears first thing in the morning.

“Umm, yeah, uh…so…” It was as if he’d forced himself to sound only mildly curious, almost disinterested as he finished his question. “Are you…I mean, you’re not…you’re not upset?”

Snickering, Sephiroth rushed in as he finished, “Well, you’re not gonna push me off the bed this time?”

Cloud shook his head then, quite humble in his approach. “I’m sorry I did that to you. Everyday, I beat myself up about it.”

In reality, he thought his heart had increased a hundredfold in beats per second, racing in some sudden panic he couldn’t explain. Was he that desperate for the older man’s approval? Acceptance? 

Giddy as he was, Sephiroth was nearly imploding when Cloud’s blue eyes swarmed over him and their gazes locked eventually; between the two, Cloud was more rational and level-headed as he held the eye contact, which helped Sephiroth force back the shudder that threatened his entire system; yes. He most assuredly was seeking acceptance, approval, and desire as much as he was sending it out.

At last, once he trusted himself to be reasonable, Cloud spoke again, near as quiet as the alpha himself. “This time, things will be different between us.”

Tiny tingles hit his flesh, fingers lifting his chin, and the next moment, he couldn’t explain exactly what happened, even though he tried. Cloud was the one to close the space between them as he kissed him, but instead of the usual tingling warmth, typically located much lower in his body, Sephiroth felt a fluttering, bubbly excitement in his chest, like a million butterflies suddenly set to flight, and his heart melted. His cheeks heated, his breath caught, and all he could manage was a quiet ‘Cloud’ before long lashes fluttered shut. Taking initiative, Cloud’s fingers reached up by instinct, slipping over the alpha’s broad shoulders and pulling them closer as he tilted his head into the kiss. Nothing had ever felt so good as this, and the blissfully pleasant moment of peace would be forever treasured.

With a slender waist in his grip and soft, giving lips to his mouth, Sephiroth felt the effects instantly and quickly separated from his lover before the capability to do so left himself. For a moment, he simply stared as though Cloud were an art piece, watching as hazy azure fluttered back open, delicate fingers still on his shoulder, before he pulled back completely.

Attrition through love oddly had never felt better. All Sephiroth could do was simply stare on, watching as hazy, azure orbs fluttered back open, delicate fingers still on his shoulder. Sensing they were kneading his muscles, before he slipped away to slumber, he forced himself to pull back completely.

Rolling his eyes out of laziness, limbs coordinating next after a yawn and stretch, Sephiroth suggested, “We should get dressed. I’ll make some breakfast, and I need to make a few calls afterwards.”

Agreeing with that note, Cloud mostly planned out loud to himself, “Yeah. I need to find out what all happened last night and how I can somehow deal with this.” 

That was as good as anything else, a much better alternative to hearing Cloud shut down at least and thrive on in denial. Regardless, Sephiroth wasn’t in any mood to hear about Ryan, so he turned away, leaving Cloud to watch in silence as he left the bed and began to dress.

Given a decent show of Sephiroth’s exposed, muscular form in the middle of action, Cloud mutely blinked, trying to somehow clear his head and the strangely elated thoughts that bombarded it. 

Almost hungrily, though not for breakfast by itself, he tilted his head to one side and giggled. Sephiroth paused in the midst of putting his pants on, leaning sideways in front of a mirror propped on a dresser as he proudly took into view the fingernail scratch marks Cloud had embedded in most areas of his back from the previous night.

“Quite a good view.” A smile twitched at his lips, then, of its own free will, sprouted into a full-fledged grin, and he resisted the urge to laugh as he rolled to his back again with a lazy stretch and yawn.

Sephiroth eagerly glanced over at this reaction and raised an eyebrow. Blue eyes now opened ever so slightly, with Cloud mid-stretch to catch him watching, and the omega’s grin only doubled in size. Watching this in confusion, the alpha finally shook his head and finished zipping up his pants before grabbing a clean shirt.

Resisting the urge to gently spank Cloud when he shifted up in bed and bent to locate his underwear, Sephiroth purred ravenously, “Just get downstairs sometime soon, alright? Before I change my mind and keep you here for the rest of the day.”

Scoffing, Sephiroth then gave a brief nod, eyeing the shorter man the whole while as he slipped the loose white flannel over his head, and finally disappeared out the door. Once alone, Cloud sighed and gingerly lowered his gaze back to the still tangled white sheets strewn over the floor and bed in part, and the cream-colored comforter pulled up about his waist. As his thoughts moved back to the night before, he briefly noted that Sephiroth would have to change his sheets, and gave another flickering grin before slipping from the bed completely.

Searching through the laundry baskets and various drawers aimlessly, Sephiroth wondered why he’d never really unpacked from first moving out of his previous apartment. In the midst of his stupor, he shuffled absently through his options to get his day started. Frankly, he didn’t know exactly why he wanted his own clothes on this day specifically, instead of some comfortable, loose jeans he could surely find tossed around, but perhaps, considering his almost uncharacteristically jovial mood, he simply wanted some reminder of the sane, independent person he was, not the chipper alpha that currently wanted to curl up in the arms of his former lover to ensure he could stay there forever.

Once too easily, he’d fallen for that trap of forever…

Frowning lightly, he shook his head quickly at the image that those vivid memories of his past brought about and wished, not for the first time, for the ability to control his blushing. He picked a slightly lower-hanging, tighter pair of pants than what he’d planned on finding, and went from there to clean and place disturbed furniture in proper order.

When Sephiroth eventually walked into the kitchen and hurriedly busied himself with preparing breakfast, it did little to distract him; the simple acts came almost as a second nature now, and he completed all his usual tasks by instinct, no thought required. All he could think of was that he wasn’t cooking a hearty breakfast for himself, but for a partner…for Cloud. Everything lately was tied to the blond omega, tethering every breath Sephiroth took to inhale his odors and hold his wandering thoughts fervidly onto Cloud.

“Ugh, why don’t I just stalk him already?” Sephiroth grumbled lightly, putting on water to boil and frowning as he found an empty coffee mug still out, dirty, and likely from the day before. 

Sighing, he muttered to himself again as he took it to the sink. Unlike himself to leave things out…he hated messes. As he washed and rinsed cups and utensils, he vaguely considered that a lot of things had gone differently lately, in fact, if he admitted it to himself, he knew why. Cloud Strife turned normal upside down. The instant he laid eyes on the man, underdressed and flashing him his well-toned body years ago in the pool with a look of scorn, his world had changed. 

Whispering to himself did nothing to black out sensations of an approaching force, as he soon felt the eyes on himself before he heard anything, and spoke without turning around.

“You even like dairy, Cloud?”

“Eh, not really.” Soft footsteps padded about before the somewhat drowsy man yawned. Shuffling gently onto his tiled kitchen floor as Cloud fully entered, he rasped out, “Can’t gain weight and pose for magazine shoots anyway. Oh, what time is it?”

Knowing the drill ahead of time, Sephiroth prepared toast and coffee, setting the filthy mugs down in the base of his sink before he retrieved a clear one. While his coffee machine brewed on loudly, he glanced back to find Cloud covering yet another yawn. 

Wincing when he noticed the digital numbers displayed on his phone, he croaked with discomfort, “Almost noon.”

Shooting up like someone under gunpoint, Cloud now cringed as he bemoaned, “Jesus Christ! My boss is gonna kill me! I don’t have a clue what happened to Ryan even when I left the house!”

Toweling his hands idly, piecing all the displeasure together after such a passionate night, Sephiroth thickly frowned as he re-hung the dish cloth. “I meant it when I said you should talk to him, Cloud.”

Harboring on a flippant attitude, Cloud silently shrugged, and Sephiroth then turned to watch him sit at the small kitchen table. 

Standing across from where he sat as he leaned against the fridge, Sephiroth whispered with crossed arms, “You can call him after breakfast. I know it’ll be tough, but you’ll feel so much better afterwards.”

Postponing the matter was all Cloud relied on, waving Sephiroth off. “Another forty minutes won’t hurt him.” 

“Cloud…”

Tense eyes flickered up to find the alpha watching him and abruptly, the mood changed. It appeared that Cloud was trying to change the topic, resisting the urge to grin goofily, quickly turning his head to eye the floor on the opposite side of himself. 

Combing his own hair back with his fingers, he lazily smirked and inquired, “So, what’s the chef’s masterful surprise today?”

Sephiroth only snorted in reply, ignoring the sudden subject change and almost awkward tone. “Real romantic shit; coffee and toast.”

“Oooh, high quality stuff.” Cloud gawked in exaggerated disbelief when Sephiroth tossed a fresh slice of bread in the toaster. “No cinnamon?”

Turning the appliance on and watching until the elements within turned red, Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, but stood nonetheless immobilized. “We can go shopping for some later.”

Delighted by that idea, Cloud then wondered, “What about you?” Winking with flirtatious regard, he added, “A growing boy needs a nutritious meal!”

Facepalming away despite how adorable Cloud was, Sephiroth growled, “I don’t know. An omelet? Pancake? Sausages, or—”

Snickering as he tucked a hand under his chin and beamed away, Cloud turned the tables on Sephiroth as he stated, “We both know how much you like sausages at this point, Sephiroth.”

Realizing his tiny slip-up and how perverted Cloud was at times, Sephiroth tried to play into that humor as well, but found it to be stale when other issues glared at their budding relationship to challenge it.

Irritable suddenly, he aimed not to show it and ruin Cloud’s day at least. “How about you make the toast, I’ll cook the sausage, and then you finish the dishes? We can maybe go shopping another time.” Moving away from the fridge, Sephiroth tapped on the side of the stove as he stated plainly, “Then, we can have some decent excuse for breakfast whenever you stay the night, alright?”

Cloud glanced at the various, soapy mug and plates stacking in the sink, shooting Sephiroth a fleeting, curious look and finally nodded. “Sounds like a deal to me.”

Thirty minutes later, once their tasks were complete, the kitchen rather steamy and shiny, they sat together at the table. The peace and quiet was refreshing, with Sephiroth silently eating, and Cloud holding onto his coffee mug. Soon enough, Cloud revealed his keen penchant for fashion, eyeing with some heavy judgment, not for the first time that morning, the younger man’s choice of attire. 

Finally, he questioned with an urbane eyebrow raised, “That’s what you’ll wear today?”

Mood febrile suddenly when he interpreted that matter of inquiry in a pessimistic way, Sephiroth sighed. “Dude, they’re clean. Get off my case.”

Too playful for his own good, Cloud flushed and glanced over, a full, uncut sausage skewered plainly on his fork and resting, unbitten between his lips; he looked very content simply sucking on the tip, holding deep eye contact with Sephiroth until he shoved as much of the meat inside his mouth as he could.

Still maintaining eye contact with the alpha seated across from himself, Cloud then swirled his pink tongue around the midsection of the sausage, balancing it well between his lips as he alternated between loud suckling and tiny kisses. Constantly, with a firm rhythm set, Cloud slid the sausage back and forth between his now pursed lips, the wet popping noises bringing too much obscenity to the obvious effect and innuendo he’d been aiming to create.

When Cloud actually deep throated the sausage, Sephiroth genuinely felt an unwanted stirring occur in his pants as he took the look into account. Saliva dripped around to Cloud’s chin, and he seductively beamed before deciding to end the silliness and set the bit of food back down on his plate.

Reactions so swift and primal, Sephiroth dove for the sausage, not caring that Cloud had sucked it deeply. Collecting it onto his own fork, he took a bite from the tip, blushing and shaking his head. 

Too prim suddenly, the change quite random after the lewd act he’d pulled, Cloud looked just as ravishing as he tilted his head at Sephiroth. “So modest.”

“Modest my fucking ass, Cloud,” Sephiroth spoke around the spicy, warm meat, flickering his tongue out just enough to make it visible briefly to the older male before smirking as the man unconsciously fidgeted. 

“Oh? Fucking, you say?” Cloud fluttered his lashes with fake innocence and a coy smirk that ruined its effect completely. 

Reaching for the other half of the sausage which fell from Sephiroth’s mouth as he bit too roughly, Cloud then placed it into his mouth yet again. Toying with it once more, he made sure Sephiroth watched everything as he dipped the sausage out so just his lips curled around it, tongue flattening over the bitten edge.

“I feel,” he began, words spoken in measured increments as he licked away at the sides of the sausage, “pretty certain that you’re enjoying this.”

Cock hitting the interior of the zipper lining of his jeans, Sephiroth squirmed in obvious discomfort. “I mean, I prefer your tongue and lips actually wrapped around my dick, but—”

Pausing at once, Cloud teased him even more as he cut off the show. “Oh? Is this too much then?”

“Yea—I mean, n-no! I meant—shit!” Blood flowing to his cock didn’t help him use his brain well to formulate his statement, leaving Sephiroth to growl with heavy inelegance as he slipped out of his seat. “You do the dishes!” 

“You slut,” Cloud chuckled out, eyeing him innocently as his chair nearly clattered over at the abrupt movement.

Holding his palm over his stiff erection pointing in the air, Sephiroth cowered by a counter as he snapped, “You’re the slut!”

Cloud was now audibly moaning around the sausage lodged in his throat, but Sephiroth ignored it completely, struggling to keep his gaze from flickering over to what Cloud was doing. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Cloud now bringing the sausage languidly in and out of his mouth, cheeks flushed as he gasped and panted while squirming up and down, motions gyrating. 

“Cloud,” he fought out with extreme difficulty, “if you don’t cut that shit out, I’ll fuck you right here on the table, I swear.”

“Fiiiiiine!” Giving up, Cloud proudly smirked, shutting his eyes and tilting his head back against the solid mass of his chair as he crossed his ankles on the edge of the table. 

Rather than messing around again, this time, he took his first actual bite of sausage, handling himself more like a mature adult while Sephiroth aimed to get himself together in one piece. The familiar, tight heat was slowly dissipating from between his legs, cock flaccid and resting exactly where it should be. Body temperature no longer skyrocketing, Sephiroth drowned out the noises of Cloud eating the rest of his meal before he was in a better place to face the omega he constantly desired.

Once he was finished, Cloud respectfully cleared off the table, washed the dishes, and then set himself in proper order by gathering the few items he’d brought along. Sephiroth wandered into the hallway after him, helping him locate and collect his wallet and keys, his spite shooting up however when he caught Cloud swiping through his phone to text Ryan.

Looking quite angry, Sephiroth ceased being incredibly self-aware when he mumbled, “So, back to home sweet home then?”

Rolling his eyes skyward, Cloud composed the rest of his brief message informing Ryan that he was coming home. “Make up your mind, Sephiroth. First, you told me to talk to him, and now you’re giving me heck for doing just that.”

Sephiroth felt a knot of worry building in his guts, uncalled for, but very present as the distress increased with every passing second. He forgot butterflies, forgot sausages, and wanted nothing more than to comfort Cloud, do something to be with him, anything to push away the grief, yet he was totally helpless when Cloud insisted on carrying on as though their relationship was only there for the sake of convenience.

Eventually, Sephiroth hissed out of impaired judgment and impatience, “I don’t want to be a side dude for you to occasionally fuck, Cloud.”

Stepping over to him, with both hands outstretched, Cloud appeared ready to hold him close and speak, but right before he could even utter a single word, his phone rang powerfully. Jolting them apart, Cloud held onto his pocket, silencing and stilling the tremors to a degree before he answered the incoming call from none other than Ryan.

Spinning away from Sephiroth and holding the device up to his ear, Cloud cried out, “Ryan! Where the hell—” 

Muffled grumbling sounded on the other line, but it was too difficult to make any sense of it when Cloud paved around away from Sephiroth. Given how speedily Ryan was yammering, however, Sephiroth at least could deduce that the man was incredibly pissed off and heated about a lot, and he had every right to feel that way.

Hanging by the front door of the apartment, Cloud only listened for a few seconds before he barked madly, “Okay! I got it! I’ll come over later just, yeah.” Clenching his nose bridge and sighing, he supplied, “I’ll be there in a bit, just stop shouting at me!” 

Finally, he set down the phone back in his pocket, dropping his head to his hands and not once taking notice of Sephiroth approaching him until Sephiroth gently touched his back. Slowly, Cloud gasped to attention and turned midway about, but it wasn’t until Sephiroth spoke that Cloud could even properly acknowledge his presence.

“That sounded awful. You okay?”

A bit jaundiced, Cloud looked briefly surprised, lifting his head at the quiet mewling of his own voice and struggled instantly to force back his most composed expression before it betrayed his mood and started to fluctuate. 

Trying to speak and failing a few times to come up with something, Cloud eventually settled for a tiny quiver before he gave out a disjointed cry. “It’s all a mess but I think I should head home for now.”

“You don’t say,” Sephiroth joked as he gave a faint attempt at a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes to genuine levels. 

Nervous to the brim, Cloud awkwardly bit his lip before drawing near the wall from Sephiroth completely. Moving to stand by the sturdy wall on the opposite side to maintain the space Cloud clearly wanted, Sephiroth chose to be careful before questioning Cloud again. 

Wondering if he would regret this decision later, Sephiroth still asked, “Uh, so, really, what happened?”

For quite some time, the older male kept quiet, eyes darting around. Sephiroth almost expected not to get a response at all, but then Cloud surprised him after clearing his throat and shrugging.

Stretching his arms out, Cloud only gave out a defeated look before he followed up with a downtrodden comment. “Ryan wants to uh…he wants to cancel the wedding.” 

It was then that the egotistical side of Sephiroth tensed ever so slightly. Caught between a rock and a hard place, while he’d suspected as much from what he heard during his own previous conversation with Ryan, somehow, feeling quite satisfied and relieved about the news being outright a solid fact wasn’t ultimately appropriate. 

Pushing all traces of his blatant schadenfreude aside, Sephiroth supposed, “I mean, that sucks to hear, but I want you to know that whatever happens, I’m always around somewhere if you want to talk. Just try not to panic and stress yourself out first, and just know that you can always crash here if you need space from Ryan.”

After a brief pause and a spin for the sake of not wanting to remain completely immobile, Cloud stood statue still. Hardly making any movement aside from breathing, he ground out, “Thanks, but it’s seriously…I mean, it’s…nothing for you to worry about. I’m sorry…did I—”

Not needing or wanting to hear an overly and unnecessarily apologetic Cloud, Sephiroth shot him down immediately. “You’re good. Just chill out and try breathing once in a while, yeah?”

Blushing was the reaction Cloud gave, touching his cheek as if it literally was on fire while his eyes turned rounder than plates. “Err, right…”

Before the flustered omega got anything else out, Sephiroth swooped in as he offered Cloud one of the briefest, most awkward hugs. Truthfully, the way he held Cloud to his side and then pet him on the back a few times in light taps was remarkably similar to how he’d bid his grandparents farewell, and he loathed himself for flocking to a strange arrangement of action with someone he was quite intimate with.

Clearing his throat and finding it to be far too dry, Sephiroth winced, pulled away from Cloud and then began wringing his hands. “I still feel this is all wrong if it’s happening behind Ryan’s back.” Pausing for great emphasis to let the point sink, glancing his way, Sephiroth nuzzled Cloud but it was for the sake of getting him closer to the door. “I think…wait, no, I know it has very much to do with me. I’m sorry.”

Looking rather puzzled, Cloud nudged Sephiroth back rather tenderly, reaching up to touch his cheek. 

Enjoying how his fingers trailed over to the underside of his chin and felt out his jaw, Sephiroth wasn’t even certain how he even continued his speech coherently. 

Eyes downcast in sadness, he muttered dryly, “I could’ve had more control over my actions. I’m sorry.”

“What? Come on!” At first, Cloud frowned, but then eased out of it as he chuckled fondly. “I mean, it always takes two to tango. I came here and asked you for that. It wasn’t like you forced yourself on me.”

Stiffly averting his face when Cloud continued touching him, Sephiroth growled as he subtly watched the other man visibly tense at the noise. Aiming to show that he didn’t mean to come off quite aggressive, he weakly nodded and at least offered Cloud a tiny smile in good faith.

Snickering as he dug his fingers in Sephiroth’s cheeks and pulled mildly to morph his face into something comedic, Cloud purred with fervor, “I hereby declare under the order of Sir Strife, you, Sephiroth, should never be blaming yourself.” Raking his impish gaze over the figure before himself, when Sephiroth refused to fidget, Cloud added with a good dose of snarky attitude, “Oh, and wipe that sad look off your face.”

Tapping his nose with his index finger, Sephiroth flicked the appendage before kissing the very tip. “You little turd.”

Not taking too kindly to that, Cloud stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth and then fiddled with the door handle. “Such a charming way to talk, Seph. Real sexy stuff.” 

Snorting, Sephiroth supplied saucily, “Thanks. I actually put in an effort this time.”

Exaggerating and faking a yawn, Cloud turned the door handle to crack open the object, though he leaned away from it to grin over at Sephiroth. “I sometimes wonder why I care about you so much. You’re seriously my total opposite in a lover, but I’m always myself around you and even felt that way before you ended things with Aerith.”

“Waving pom poms for me since then, huh?” Puffing out his chest with much pride, Sephiroth found himself losing the will to argue. Trying not to put up a fuss about Cloud leaving, however temporary it was, he wedged open the door wider. “Alright, I’d get going if I were you, before your friends or coworkers have to send a search party after you.”

Fiddling about like a temperamental child, Cloud tightened his grip on the door, feet firmly planted on the floor. Looking as if he didn’t want to go, Cloud eventually whispered, “Well, they’re chatty and even Ryan will probably want to know everything…I mean, not like every little thing we did last night, but—”

Abruptly giving him a reason to stop, Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and parroted through a grunt, “Everything?”

Initially, Cloud responded in good measure. “Well, sure, but—” Stopping himself then as the lights within his head switched on to house a more fiendish regard, his words halted as he glanced at Sephiroth.

Taking into account how Sephiroth was twitching, eyelids half lidded as he flushed away in front of him, he eventually became sour and grumbled as he turned away to find a more appropriate spot by the front closet. 

At random, simply because he could use such crude language, Cloud gave Sephiroth an evil smirk and commented, “You’re a freak, Sephiroth.” 

This time, Sephiroth was the one who rolled his eyes, giving the closet behind himself a mild kick when the loose door swung open. “Whatever you say, but I think the one on his knees last night sucking my cock was the freak.”

Flipping him off as he slid through the slightly open front door, Cloud then winked, allowing his body language and happy mannerisms to communicate what words themselves couldn’t ever come close to cleverly paving for any deep interaction. The sly way his lips curled upwards and azure eyes twinkled promised so much merriment, all from future interactions not far off.

Once the door shut and light from the hallway was kept on the other side of the barrier between Sephiroth and Cloud, the alpha finally slouched tiredly against the closet door, sliding all the way down as his legs gave out. Sitting on his bottom and rocking on the floor, he pushed back his long hair and shook his head until a humorous glint appeared in both green eyes.

Chapter Text

The morning sun shed its vastly encompassing rays upon the earth, and a few of them got into Sephiroth’s home as well to truncate his peaceful rest. Shrouded in warmth, he opened his eyes and stretched his limbs lazily, and in that moment, he realized he was alone in his bed. 

Remembering what happened yesterday, he tried to concentrate on his wandering thoughts. Was it another dream? If it was, it felt so real…Cloud had been lying by his side, connecting with him…

No, it was much more real than any other of his dreams that had something to do with the omega he cared for so deeply. Although a full day had passed since Cloud had left to deal with his own set of concerns regarding Ryan, Sephiroth trusted him completely to do the right thing. Sleeping the hours away before work at least took his own mind off that nagging problem, but he did occasionally check his phone for recent updates anyway.

Flexing his muscles, Sephiroth groggily sat up in bed and only then it dawned on him that he was naked, and his clothes and sheets were lying on the floor beside a stool nearby. The bits were unidentifiable without any poignancy at first, but when Sephiroth reached for them, he scented Cloud’s pheromones on them. 

The same clothes they’d last worn before a full night together after so long. Sephiroth then smiled in bliss, realizing that all the savory things which had happened last night, indeed had happened for real. Cloud Strife had shown up in his apartment and they’d made love. Cheesy as it was, it was a night he wouldn’t ever forget. No one had ever made him feel such unadulterated euphoria, and Cloud was the one who showed Sephiroth what it meant to be truly free and happy. 

Feeling too much like a carefree child, Sephiroth swiftly giggled at the thought that he was most likely in love with an unattainable person totally out of his damn league, but if Cloud was the one who made him happy, nothing else mattered. Always one to fight for love, Sephiroth just hoped he would see Cloud again in not only his dreams, but with more freedom of conscience. When Cloud ended things with Ryan, Sephiroth knew he wouldn’t even dare to hesitate for a moment to progress and elevate the relationship to a proper level.

It didn’t matter if Aerith disapproved. Truthfully, he was a little leery of announcing to his ex-girlfriend that he was interested in her father, especially romantically, but he was through with shadows and the cover of lies. Aerith had been lied to before on his own accord, but now, Sephiroth had decided on gathering and owning up to his own responsibilities. She was owed that this time, as was Ryan. If Cloud made this first step, then Sephiroth knew he would dare to announce it to the whole world if he had to. As a man, he had the gumption to do this and so much more if Cloud wanted them to stand as a united front.

Unwise as it was to offer unsolicited advice and try to prod into a heavy subject he really held no profound, sagely experience in, Sephiroth decided not to even pretend to play the role of a veritable counselor. Readjusting his own expectations, he at least ceased borrowing trouble where it greatly impacted himself the most.

Minding his own business fared well for him until a certain point, however. A sudden rush of uninvited thoughts always streamed in even when he was occupied and hanging out with friends. The closer and more observant ones like Aerith always knew something was on his mind given how immensely and openly he projected his thoughts, but they always maintained a respectable space and distance not to inquire much about his woes and affairs.

The torrid subject plagued and tormented Sephiroth at many hours, especially when days trudged by and Cloud never reached out. Wanting to allow the omega to initiate contact whenever he was prepared with solutions, Sephiroth waited as patiently as he could. Three days eventually turned into six, and when the eighth day finished its cycle, he began sensing the overwhelming dread once again. 

Realistically, it shouldn’t have ever taken this long…Cloud said he would be in touch, and from what Sephiroth knew per the routines of the couple, Ryan was constantly working from home. That ensured that they would at least be under the same roof to chat, yet nothing gave him evidence and inclination otherwise.

Wondering if something genuinely concerning was going on, as Sephiroth kept an eye on the clock while occupying his mind with aimless pursuits like random TV programs and a silly video game, he would partially glare at his phone. Tossing such heated, hateful daggers at it did nothing in the way of summoning a phone call from Cloud, but Sephiroth wasn’t in any rational mood to be convinced otherwise. The seconds and minutes slowed down tremendously, the significant effects causing quite a stir to encourage him to snatch his phone in his hand and glower down at the screen.

“Come on!” Huffing away angrily while entrenched in raw impatience too grueling, he again gritted his teeth and ground out thickly, “Cloud, come on!”

Like the four previous times when he ordered for the call to arrive, after his most recent demand had been crowded out so bombastically, the device merely rested in his hold until the screensaver settings took control. The dark surface of the screen glared back at Sephiroth, revealing quite a stern expression he could hardly believe he was currently holding onto. 

Horrified by the way his eyebrows looked too furrowed and the corners of his eyes were so squinted to sport a few unusual wrinkles unbecoming for someone of his youthful age, he winced, relaxing his facial muscles as he then softened and exhaled. Slouching, he massaged his right shoulder a few times in small, clockwise motions, focusing on random dots implanted onto his ceiling to kill time.

Pathetic and dull as it was to be so wayward to rely even half-heartedly on something so pathetic and miniscule, time dragged until the very last second when the phone did in fact flash and reflect an incoming call from Cloud Strife. 

It was as if his patience and prayers had been rewarded, but Sephiroth still remained cautious not to leap at the opportunity too soon. At least permitting two rings to vibrate away, before the third could be completed, that was when he answered with the hope that he didn’t sound as high-strung and desperate as he assumed he was.

Selecting a deeper tone of voice, he greeted with clarity, “Cloud, hey! I was waiting for you for days!”

Skeptical perhaps when he ended up slightly raising his voice near the end of his second sentence, Cloud’s breathing came in through in a light hitch before he shuffled around. 

Aimless, it truly was. Not quite akin to how chipper and excited he always sounded, given how Cloud didn’t skip ahead to amicably greet him, the sense of trepidation surged within Sephiroth. Knowing how and when to decipher signs, both spoken and unspoken, he proceeded with heavy caution when Cloud paused and coughed a few times as if under duress.

Now, they were both heavily stressed, but Sephiroth didn’t wish to fling himself into the unsavory spot of the acquisitive person, highly efficient and clairvoyant. Holding no definitive evidence either way, he decided not to prognosticate and become a better listener. Far too many of his exes had often complained that he wasn’t the best communicator, and in time, he’d grown to learn that they never meant to suggest he wasn’t strong with speaking but he failed to listen to their grievances. 

Sputtering, Cloud slipped into the shoes of someone so detached though frustrated. “Ryan’s out. We didn’t talk much because he packed some of his belongings and cleared out his closets and drawers.”

Coaxed out of silence, like a playful puppy awaiting a treat, Sephiroth asked, “Wait, does that mean…is it…over between you two?”

Hardly a second went by before he cringed as soon as he mentally repeated what he’d asked. The ineluctable fact unfortunately was that without Ryan completely cutting ties with Cloud, Sephiroth would always be at a state of persistent unrest. As much as he longed to take their relationship to the next level and be proud enough to declare he was in love with Cloud in front of anyone and everyone he knew and associated with, he couldn’t contain that dream and proceed unless the gates of opportunity were flung wide open.

On the other hand, bleak and grim as it was, he had to maintain an iota of decency and shred of honesty with himself. No matter how he pieced it together, being this excited over the prospect of Cloud being single was rather crude. Breakups took time to process and work through, and he knew that as someone who’d been through a few heavier ones. It wasn’t smart and healthy to even remotely suggest to Cloud that they could immediately be together even if Ryan was gone. It was much too early.

Following an eternity of awkwardness, Cloud calmly drew air and mumbled, “We had a bad argument. I told him that I need a lot of time and he interrupted me and said he knows that I don’t care for him as deeply as he cares for me.”

Sitting on the edge of his seat literally and figuratively, Sephiroth rushed on to fill in the blanks. “Err, well, you told him, he knows, and he left? That means…?”

Frustrated as he had every logical reason to be, Cloud turned rather waspish. “That’s it. He just packed his stuff, left his ring, and told me not to contact him.”

Interest piqued even at such an inappropriate time, Sephiroth blurted out unwisely, “May I head over?”

There wasn’t any way to feasibly correct his idea, take back his request, and turn back time. The energy vibrant in his voice was so horrendously misplaced that he wanted to do Cloud the favor of hanging up on himself. Disgust ran through Sephiroth’s veins and arteries given how pleased he sounded, but rather than Cloud shooting him down, the older omega genuinely shocked Sephiroth as habitually as he often did.

“Sure. I’ll make some coffee.”

Careful not to speed down the roads to the point where he attracted the police, eventually, Sephiroth arrived far too quickly at Cloud’s property. Narrowly parking right beneath the garage lights shining on so supremely to highlight the fancy home among other neighboring houses, the place looked like an enormous monster on this night. The lights upstairs were on thankfully, otherwise, Sephiroth would’ve assumed he was sleepwalking.

The front door was unlocked, something he found rather dangerous, but his inclinations to stolidly lecture Cloud were removed instantly when the blond male greeted him with a large glass of wine rather than coffee. In fact, after stepping into the main foyer, Sephiroth noticed that not even a trace of the interior smelled like coffee at all.

Removing his boots and slamming the front door rightly shut, he scowled at Cloud, watching him sway as he pointed at the closet nearby and giggled in a disjointed, strange fit.

“It’s all empty as it is upstairs.” Cradling the bottle, the dark liquid inside its container was resting at less than half the entire confinement. “Have a look-see Sephi! Shoot, that rhymed!”

Sneaking an elongated arm around Cloud’s body, Sephiroth was stunned when Cloud, despite being rather inebriated, managed to dodge and avoid his grasp. 

Protecting his bottle with his life practically, he hissed, promoting Sephiroth to the level of someone rather perplexed and downright annoyed.

Wandering behind Cloud as they turned left into a den, Sephiroth snapped mordantly, “No offense, but the ‘drunk, recently dumped fiancé’ isn’t a very sexy look for you, Cloud.”

Lifting his thumb and then pointing it down to the floor, Cloud shook his head as he balanced himself on the carpeted floor as best he could. “Everyone has a way to cope.”

“Sure, but almost finishing an entire bottle by yourself is kinda scary.”

“I didn’t—”

Spinning around the large area they were currently standing in, with only a few minutes of surveying his environment, Sephiroth found out that many photographs on the walls were removed. Perhaps they once were of Ryan and Cloud posed together, but now, empty slots and nails merely hung there. Other art pieces and projects Cloud had previously worked on from his past remained intact, certain ones Sephiroth recognized and remembered being in Cloud’s previous home when he lived with Aerith. Altogether, the layout of this house was quite different, but it only promulgated too much space for stuffing the abode with more materialistic things. 

Filling an empty void, maybe? 

The decorations weren’t so tacky, strangely. The more defined, modern look and colors blended to encourage a rather pleasant mood while peach and off-white tones showed off creamy and silver pottery. The vibrant color scheme never seemed to run out of ways to bring warmth to the imagination and eye, instilling relaxation and bolstering peace. Incense burned away on the kitchen and bathroom counters, marble reflecting the shiny surfaces of tiles and backsplash decorating the walls. 

As it stood out, however, nothing belonging to Ryan could be located in the house. Even after navigating himself upstairs with Cloud clinging to the banister for dear life, the large bedroom with the king sized bed revealed that it hadn’t been touched, much less slept on for days. Dust had already started settling over the headboard and dressers, the damn things indeed empty when Sephiroth poked around in them just to be certain. Indeed, only Cloud’s clothes were traceable and found, nothing else out or order and misplaced.

The bedroom closet even showed that the arranged bundle of freshly washed clothes were only Cloud’s, the compiled portion belonging to him shoved to the right, while the left was eerily vacant. Slippers were even removed, only two pairs found, definitely fitting Cloud’s foot size. In fact, even the plain smell of beta was totally gone from cushions, sofas, sheets, the entire building quite impeccable and bare.

Lingering by the edge of the bed and almost collapsing onto it when he downed more alcohol, after wiping his lips crudely with the back of a hand, Cloud sighed rather forlornly. “I guess I badly underestimated his presence here.” Raking his eyes to the ceiling, he winced and allowed the taut expression to linger. “This place gives me the creeps since it’s so empty.”

Not too disturbed even though their voices echoed right down the hall and into the bathroom, Sephiroth growled when he ran out of patience, “Sounds like Ryan leaving hurts you way more than you initially thought.”

Letting loose a rather flippant shrug, a tormented Cloud bemoaned, “Who knows. Maybe this is a case of not realizing what I had until I lost it.”

Nausea and bile pooled around from Sephiroth’s esophagus to his mouth, causing him to be forceful enough and grind out angrily, “Talking like that makes it seem like you miss the asshole.”

Lifting an index finger and pointing at nothing, Cloud’s head lolled, and he gave out a dreamy sort of smile. Saccharine voice rather tender, he stated, “Eh, maybe I’m like, in love with the uh, the idea of how much comfort he gave me. Ryan was like, my stability pillar after you and I stopped chatting.”

“So you like the concept of having someone around when you’re alone, but you don’t want to entirely commit and understand that person’s feelings and needs?” Hating that he’d opted for putting it in such bleak terms, Sephiroth only shook his head dismissively.

As much as he still couldn’t picture someone like Cloud given his generous caliber and empathy doing something so bleak, after hearing how Cloud spoke about and to Ryan, and after taking a closer look at how the fragile couple lately behaved, it was the only sordid conclusion he could reach. 

Providing evidence that he was unfortunately correct in his assertion, Cloud ran a hand through his messy hair, making it more disheveled before he snickered. “I’m pathetic. I didn’t mean to use him. I just…needed someone.”

Resisting the urge to bash a clenched fist into a defenseless wall, Sephiroth shut the closet doors when he could no longer tolerate gazing at the void. “Get a dog or something then.”

Kind and patient despite being inebriated, Cloud only heaved an aggrieved sigh and clarified in a much sharper voice, “We have one.”

Recalling the Dalmatian he’d seen a few times, Sephiroth then corrected himself, “Take up a new hobby. Just something, anything that doesn’t involve…whatever the hell you had going on with Ryan.”

Announcing that he was exhausted, Cloud plopped onto the bed, tossing his bottle to the floor rather recklessly. Massaging his temples and forehead, he held his arms up over his shut eyes, muttering nonsensical comments to himself. He was quite the mess himself, slovenly and covered in thick beads of sweat even the rotating ceiling fan couldn’t wipe away.

Bringing himself to sit down next to him, Sephiroth hung back on his own barbed words, knowing that as optimal as his constructive advice was, this wasn’t the most opportune moment to be delivering his barbed speech. Cloud was already churlish enough by himself, in quite a dark place as he struggled for autonomy and agency. Well mannered as his phrases could be, a drunk Cloud Strife wasn’t someone who could readily soak up his feedback. 

Deciding to wait it out until Cloud became sober, Sephiroth tucked his head and body to curl around Cloud, draping his head to one side so he could at least hear Cloud’s thudding heartbeat. Slow, the pattern was at first, but when Sephiroth’s ear gently kissed his sternum, Cloud became aware of his warm pressure and responded.

Heartbeat picking up only because he shifted his right arm up and laid it onto Sephiroth’s skull, Cloud buried the tip of his slightly frosty nose in the alpha’s pale hair. Nuzzling the locks as he swiped his nose and face about from side to side, his smile could be felt through Sephiroth’s sensitive scalp, and the contagious feelings were instantly passed onto the formerly disgruntled alpha. Rocking himself onto Cloud as he timed his inhales and exhales as best he could to match Cloud’s, Sephiroth realized just how much he only desired to become one with Cloud, to be close enough as possible. 

Stroking his skull, Cloud whispered rather brokenly, “When I fall asleep, please promise me you’ll be here at dawn.”

Rushing to the precipice even though he’d been given the bitter lesson that he couldn’t just promise so carelessly, Sephiroth chose to make that oath firmly without protest.

Bowing his head beneath Cloud’s chin with a smile tugging at his lips, he let his rumbling, tenor voice seep past muscle and bone, landing to settle right into Cloud’s bloodstream with the desired effect he yearned for more than oxygen.

“I promise. I’m not going anywhere.”

~~~********~~~

Waking up to the desirable smell of coffee the next morning, as the pungent odor wafted into Sephiroth’s nostrils, tugging him out of his dreary rest, he eventually got out of bed and dressed to meet Cloud downstairs preparing breakfast. The sight of the omega cleaning and cooking in the kitchen was something he could watch all day long, especially when he looped his long arms around Cloud’s waist and pulled him into a tight hug from behind.

Squeezing him until his bones ground into his muscles, Sephiroth purred in utmost joy, “Good morning.”

Rather than exchanging that greeting, however, Cloud dejectedly informed him, “Ryan’s still not back, nor has he messaged me.”

Sighing as he released Cloud and planted himself by his side, Sephiroth leaned against the cupboards and shrugged. “I’ll stay here until I have imprinted on you and make you forget him.”

Tapping on the counter and then pressing his prodding finger onto his chin, deep in thought, Cloud eventually inquired precariously, “What should we do?” Daring to draw out a reply by comparison, he asked, “I mean, what would you and Aerith do? You know, as a couple?”

Having some brains and decency not to go into the gritty details which involved quiet mornings following passionate nights, considering he was thinking about how to formulate his reply, Sephiroth remained cautious. Knowing how fathers felt about their daughters, he skipped over discussions of sex with Aerith after waking up. As the drowsiness slowly faded away back then, he recalled his body tingling when Aerith took control, shifting over and burying her face in his neck, placing soft kisses along the pallid skin. Sephiroth would pull her body on top of his own, fondling her rosy nipples while her round breasts bounced in his face, and it wasn’t long before she was astride his thick cock, riding and milking him dry.

Now that he’d been with Cloud, Sephiroth much preferred watching the omega’s pert ass jostle softly as he gently rode the alpha’s member. Unable to stop himself from thinking about Cloud’s body, it wasn’t for the first time Sephiroth came to the conclusion how much better he was in comparison to Aerith’s or any other woman he’d been with. As he closed his eyes and thought of that night in the basement years ago, at once, he began feeling his cock stiffen slightly inside his shorts.

After hooking up with Cloud years ago even the first time, Sephiroth foolishly thought his sexual interest in him would dissipate, figuring that by giving into his raw urge to fuck Cloud, he’d get it all out of his system and could go back to being his friend without constantly thinking about him and that sweetly addictive ass.

For about a week or so, that was how it seemed to be going. However, even now that they’d reunited, Sephiroth found his smoldering lust and passion for Cloud slowly returning, with the urge to seek something permanent this time. The memories of him riding his cock would occasionally surface while he jerked off when he was younger, but the more time passed, the stronger his desires grew, and more frequently, Sephiroth began to fantasize about more than sex with Cloud…no, he seriously wanted a partnership this time as alpha and omega…soulmates. 

Choosing not to scare Cloud away with his wishes so early after his separation, Sephiroth only offered what he thought was a realistic, truthful response without much implication for more. “Uh, well, whenever we didn’t have stuff to do for school, we would just hang out.”

“Then what?” Cloud gave him an imploring look and he sighed before turning to face Sephiroth, both men at a bit of an impasse since they held on their own reservations for obvious reasons. 

Sephiroth merely crossed his arms and avoided eye contact by looking up at the ceiling, speedily spitting out at random, “We would…exercise together.”

Somehow, Cloud latched onto this even though it wasn’t a suggestion, frowning as he stated mostly to himself as a side observation, “Aerith often mentioned that she didn’t like that you were going to the gym without her.”

“Why?” Sephiroth asked, genuinely baffled before he deduced, “well, crap, I guess it doesn’t matter now. We were what most would call a ‘power couple’ because we were into the whole fitness thing.”

Glancing at his own wiry arms too thin for comfort, Cloud scowled away at them as though they were ugly and offensive. “Yeah, but working out together was your thing. You know, as a couple…I want to try it, too.”

Sephiroth only stared at Cloud incredulously, dry mouth slightly ajar. Unusual as it was for his ex-girlfriend’s father to want to carry out a specific routine he’d shared with his aforementioned ex was rather unbecoming, though not entirely odd by itself. Perhaps this was Cloud’s way of acting like a couple, a unified front with Sephiroth, doing the very same things his daughter did when she’d been dating Sephiroth.

Pondering what sort of activities someone of Cloud’s height and weight could do without hurting himself, Sephiroth tiredly closed his eyes and kneaded his forehead, already feeling the onset of a dull headache. Deep down, he wished he could exclaim how badly he was surprised by what Cloud had recently offered, but honestly, he really wasn’t. Truth be told, he knew he was to blame for this behavior of Cloud’s, and he didn’t want to deny him.

Motioning behind a shoulder, Sephiroth then dipped his head back in the same direction, body and feet soon sliding back from Cloud. “I guess we could try it. Just uh, just go easy on yourself and try not to do anything weird without me spotting you, okay?”

Face set in deep scowls, Cloud almost roared, “What? You think that just because I’m an omega, that means I can’t be in physical shape or something?!”

Moody as he was when faced with a grumpy Cloud, Sephiroth figured that if he acquiesced to his demands for his attention by spending more time together, it would placate Cloud’s unpredictable behavior. However, it seemed to have backfired and emboldened Cloud instead, Sephiroth’s uncanny appeasement becoming justification to continue acting the way he was.

They gathered a fresh pair of shorts and tank tops for the workout, and even still, this was a whole new level of possessiveness that Sephiroth had yet to experience. Once again, he asked himself if this was all really worth it, or were they just seeking for a temporary way to lick their wounds?

Gathering their running shoes and hanging by the front door, Sephiroth finally opened his eyes and looked at Cloud for several seconds. “Cloud—”

Flicking his nose though not to cause much alarm and pain, Cloud hissed coldly, “You know what, just forget it if you’re going to be tough about this!” Deflating and sounding tired and frustrated, he admitted under a painful breath, “I don’t feel like talking about it right now. I just want to do something.”

Steps dragging the entire way, Sephiroth flew into a detached spot of consciousness. Body working on autopilot, he only watched Cloud with increasing trepidation, various emotions warring inside his chest. This was it right here, the opportunity to be honest, to have a difficult conversation that could ultimately help fix their issues by addressing them directly or have it end with them splitting apart in a fiery blowout, just like how it’d happened years ago.

Though he wasn’t as confident with Cloud lately, shaken by the unsteady toils and labors without reward, Sephiroth didn’t dare want this to be like the past. Blankly, the alpha and omega stared at each other, indecision keeping them both silent until Sephiroth finally reached the gym he frequented.

Parking the car and grabbing their items, he offered to carry them, nodding at Cloud, who nodded back. Cloud marched ahead and checked them in, whereas Sephiroth served to function as his opposite. Defeated, though not seeking an opportunity to clash, he still chose to ignore the underlying problems and avoided dealing with the potential consequences of confronting them, like a coward.

Perhaps nothing had changed at all in the end. Time may have shifted the scenery through the transition of seasons, but Sephiroth felt much like his teenage self as he trekked behind Cloud and hung by while the omega carried out a series of warm-up routines. A leaden silence ensued, lengthening nearly into a lifetime, the persistent constitution and dogged demeanor forcing both men into their own inner dwellings.

The exercise soon turned into drudgery for Sephiroth. Watching Cloud getting in all sorts of positions started off as something one would normally expect to see in a gym, but Sephiroth couldn’t help but view Cloud in a totally different light after sleeping with him numerous times. Not trying to think of perverted things, the thoughts still raced on unbridled, heavily perpetuating when Cloud dropped down on all fours and stretched his lower back. Spine arching in the air like a feline, it all felt consuming, except now there was an edge to it, because Sephiroth had already acquired a taste of him and knew how delectable it was.

Eyeing Cloud turning and twisting back up, bottom raised lewdly in the air, Sephiroth began sweating as his libido rumbled like a dragon when stirred, hungry for some more of that sweet, pale ass.

The image of it descending along his rigid shaft before Cloud hitched up with his creamy thighs filled Sephiroth’s degenerate mind, causing Sephiroth to let out a satisfied sigh. Hiding behind a few a stationary bike, Sephiroth palmed himself discreetly, his cock surging when he remembered how it felt to fuck Cloud with ferocious abandon and hear his cries of pleasure from the pounding the alpha was giving him.

Aiming not to stoop so low and dry hump the machines even if they were alone in the gym for the time being, Sephiroth’s balls became fuller and drew up, the tightening of his groin almost unbearable. Grinding back and forth between the bike and a treadmill, when he bumped into the equipment, his elbow slammed onto the panel and brought it to life. Loudly, the treadmill went on operating by itself, and when Cloud threw his head back and released a satiated moan after stretching to his limits, Sephiroth was suddenly shooting his morning load deep within his underwear, messing up his shorts while secretly wishing he was plugging up Cloud’s ass with his seed instead.

Completely oblivious to Sephiroth jittering and becoming flushed feet away from him, Cloud shot up and stretched his arms high in the air after completing his bench presses. 

“Alright, aaaand done!” he joyfully crowed as he set the bar of weights back on the rack.

Juvenile as he felt for exploding in his own shorts like a prepubescent kid, Sephiroth wiped his brow, pretending to be busy with the treadmill. “Oh, neat,” he exhaled in relief and collapsed onto the nearest bench, limbs splayed out and breathing heavily. 

Cloud’s lips quirked up in a smile, amused by his over exaggerated reaction as he joined him. “Aww, come on, it wasn’t that bad!”

Sephiroth took his turn to grip the same heavy bar as he then leaned over it, ignoring Cloud grinning down at him. When Cloud made a move to admire Sephiroth’s biceps by squeezing them, the alpha nudged him aside, roughly growling through gritted teeth as he fought to keep space between himself and Cloud.

Mood changing abruptly, Cloud glared ahead at Sephiroth, puzzlement and hurt etched across his face.

Scraping to throw out something that would make sense for the situation and place, Sephiroth only offered, “This one weighs more…just didn’t want to uh, drop it.”

Deadpanning, a bemused Cloud Strife muttered in response, “If my own arms didn’t burn, I swear, I’d hit you.”

Seeking a distraction somehow before he became tense to unjustly lash out at Cloud, Sephiroth laughed when Cloud opted to flip him the bird instead. Yawning and shutting his eyes after setting the heavy weight set down, Sephiroth sat there quietly while taking deep breaths. He smiled softly to himself as he felt Cloud’s eyes tracing his form over, watching him trying to recover. Like Sephiroth, Cloud was drenched in sweat from their strenuous workout, the white tank top he wore clung wetly to his upper torso and soaked through enough for Sephiroth to make out his little, pink nipples and smooth, porcelain midsection through the thin material.

Mouth dry, Sephiroth eerily felt his half-hard dick twitch inside his mesh shorts despite finding some release earlier. Biting the insides of his mouth, he let go of the bench to stand in order to take a step back. Wishing he’d jerked off earlier to avoid this exact situation given what a monumental failure it was, although Sephiroth focused intently on the jump rope and squats, he felt that the blood flow spreading throughout various active limbs of his body did nothing to quell his raging hard-on.

Mimicking him, Cloud carried through with push-ups and sets of curl-ups while they were in the midst of working out. Despite doing his best not to act bizarrely, not accustomed to extending labor for long, the gasping and panting Cloud emitted left Sephiroth at his wit’s end. Popping a stiff one after listening to Cloud moaning, his preoccupied  mind, as well as his hungry eyes wandered to keep an eye on Cloud’s hips and bottom moving up and down on the mat.

Though bashful and cautious not to tread into unusual territory, Sephiroth knew it was a possibility given the resurgence of his interest in Cloud, and in the last few days, he genuinely had been wondering how much that had played into his offer to be his senior’s workout partner. Not wanting to carry away on a wrong note, Sephiroth sincerely thrilled and enjoyed hanging out with Cloud outside the bedroom, but he’d be lying if he tried even convincing himself that his decision wasn’t driven, at least in part, by his sexual attraction to Cloud. Thankfully, he was starting to see Cloud as more than an omega, and a man on equal standing with himself.

Letting loose a disgruntled sigh, Cloud finally hauled himself up off the bench to stand in front of Sephiroth, still looking a touch out of breath. Fanning himself with a hand, he whimpered, “God, next time we do this, I can’t forget to bring a hair tie! At one point, I seriously considered chopping all my hair off!”

Dragging his green eyes up and down Cloud’s unruly mop of golden hair, Sephiroth only chuckled. The ends of his blonde curls were damp and heavy, his bangs stuck to his forehead. Absentminded, he reached up and dragged his long fingers through the tangled mess of his hair, brushing it back and out of his face. As he did so, Sephiroth noticed tiny beads of perspiration dotted along his partner’s pale neck, and for a brief second, the alpha within imagined dragging his tongue across the skin there to taste it.

A light shiver ran down Sephiroth’s spine upon catching up with his primordial thoughts, and he tried to shake it off as he responded to Cloud with full wit intact. “Nah, don’t cut your beautiful hair off.”

Equally as saucy, Cloud winked and supposed, “Does this mean we can become exercise buds?”

Rolling his eyes, Sephiroth mocked him for that with some subtlety. “If you can keep up, yeah.”

Slightly derisive, though not augmenting the jokes to unadulterated bitterness, Cloud barked, “Not if you don’t kill me first with your insane routine!”

Heading into the changerooms, Sephiroth selected a shower stall far away from the one Cloud occupied, shaken even when listening to the omega shred off his soaked clothes to shower. “Eh, I was just trying to push you a little, bestie.”

“Pfft! A little?” Cloud awkwardly sputtered, eyes wide with incredulity. “You could’ve shattered mountains with your strength!”

Heady upon receiving a compliment catering to his physical prowess, Sephiroth felt a sly grin spread across his face. Toweling himself dry seconds after Cloud, once dressed, he reached out to pinch his cheek. “You’re so adorable when you act indignant,” he cajoled in a babyish voice.

Sticking his tongue out, Cloud then stared at Sephiroth with an impassive look on his face. “Don’t patronize me, you gigantic jerk,” he growled flatly, unable to be half as intimidating as Sephiroth.

Now forgetting all ideas centering on sex, Sephiroth enjoyed the fond friendship he could still persist with Cloud as he laughed and let go of his cheek. Eager to be close, he began saddling up beside him to throw an arm over his shoulder, carrying their duffel bags.

“Alright, I guess I can ease up just a tad,” he suggested playfully, guiding Cloud toward the exit.

Snobby and sassy as he could be, Cloud gave Sephiroth the side eye, snooty enough to pick on him. “For clarity, you so aren’t as funny as you think you are. All you have are good looks.”

To this, while they approached the parking lot, Sephiroth gave Cloud a mock look of offense and gasped. “How dare you!” Pressing and holding a hand over his heart, he squawked on, “I’m a riot!”

Dismissively, Cloud snorted, trying and failing to keep a smile off his face. Breaking down the more Sephiroth grinned a toothy grin, he couldn’t do much else to shield himself from Sephiroth.

“Ahh, see,” Sephiroth sang out as he poked his cheek. “I’m hysterically funny!”

Turning serious so suddenly that it was rather horrifying, Cloud nudged his hand away and pouted. “No, I’m just laughing at how lame you are.”

Whistling a merry, jejune song, Sephiroth then smiled and withdrew his arm to push open the back door. “Yep. Sure, Jan.” 

As much as he’d forgotten how relaxed he could be while he basked in the fun he often had hanging out with Cloud, it felt just as nice bantering with him again. Both their moods perked up as they strode out into the parking lot, the hot summer sun beating down on them through clear blue skies. Hopping into his SUV, Sephiroth waited for Cloud to slump in the passenger seat beside him and then smirked, starting the engine and blasting the AC.

“Are you glad now that I let you tag along and get a taste of this?” Making the connection to the workout, Sephiroth clarified before Cloud got any wild ideas, “Was working out as fun as you thought it would be?”

“Urgh, yes, you tool,” Cloud regrettably admitted with a sigh before sitting up and massaging the back of his neck. “My arms and legs feel like jello.”

“Yeah, that’s the idea,” Sephiroth merrily chortled, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road as he kept his eyes on traffic and Cloud in good measure. “Working out will do that to you, my old timer.”

Holding up a hand and waving it about, Cloud stated, “I guess Rowan wasn’t such a great work out partner then.” Letting that be processed and heard by Sephiroth in full, Cloud then crossed his arms and muttered, “All the bastard could do was complain about me without actually being supportive.”

That drew a laugh from Sephiroth, though his dry, constricting throat gave his emotions away as he thought of driving his clenched fist right into Rowan’s smug face. “I mean, he was probably fine with it at first but sucked later. I just wanted to see how much you could handle. I promise I won’t push so hard next time, and I’ll be more patient and supportive.”

Huffing, Cloud looked over at Sephiroth and raised one eyebrow questioningly. The febrile glow sent its doubtful message everywhere, pushing Sephiroth to rectify his point.

“I deadass swear, babe,” he added, laughing heartily. “I’ll take it down a notch or several.”

“Several sounds decent.” Appeased now, Cloud smiled and then caved to a more jubilant nature. “Thanks, but all joking aside, I do know that I have to work out harder if I want to see any progress because I get winded fast and your stamina is just never ending.”

“Yeah, but there’s other ways to get in shape and exercise if you don’t want to hit the gym quite so intensely.” Feeling his phone vibrating in his back pocket, Sephiroth kept a hand on the wheel while fishing out the device with another.

“Like what?”

Eyeing the dark screen and then swiping across it, Sephiroth lazily shrugged his side shoulders. “You could take up a sport.”

Finding fond pleasure in the serene weather and the drive, Cloud snorted and grinned over at Sephiroth. “I’m so surprised by such a meathead answer.”

Heart hammering when he read through the text message from Aerith inviting him over for dinner later that same day, Sephiroth only paid half a mind to the conversation with Cloud. “I’m serious, you shit.” 

Shaken out of his stupor when his own phone also buzzed, Cloud looked at it and whispered, “Honestly, I’m not really good at any sports…”

“The hell?” Reading over from left to right, Sephiroth never found it suspicious how Cloud had received his own text message seconds after him, his major concentration being on Aerith demanding his company.

Having regular dinners with Zack and Aerith had been more a thing of the past, and now that he was regularly filling in his free time with Cloud, it appeared as if he’d entirely omitted his lover’s daughter from the picture.

Stoically, when Cloud held his phone and asked if something was wrong, Sephiroth openly admitted, “Nothing’s wrong, just got a text from Aerith.”

Jaw dropping in awe as his eyebrows then flew into his hairline, Cloud rasped, “Me too!”

Racing to be polite enough to finish their former topic, Sephiroth tossed his phone onto his lap. “Anyway, you really need to be particularly fit, but not just for exercise yet anyway. With practice, you’ll get better over time, just like using machines at the gym.”

Agreeing to a certain extent, Cloud acquiesced, “Yeah but it’d definitely be embarrassing to be on a team and not be good at the sport you’re playing.”

“Don’t worry about that for now,” Sephiroth addressed and reassured them both. “You can always pick something up solo and besides, it’s weirder that we got messages from Aerith at the same time.”

Biting his lower lip, with one glance at his phone right when it turned dark, Cloud nodded. “That’s true…let me guess, she also invited you to dinner tonight?”

Perilously close to hitting the gas and confusing it for the brake pedal, Sephiroth coughed out through bulging eyes, “Holy…how did…why us both?”

Placid to his core when Sephiroth failed to be, Cloud balanced the quirkiness the younger alpha vehemently projected and calmed him down. “Knowing my daughter like I do, I’m assuming she just wants to kill two birds with one stone. She probably has something special to share with us.”

Rolling his shoulders back as he dipped his neck from side to side, then tucked it into his sternum, Sephiroth clipped out in judgement so snidely, “I think you’re a bit biased there, buddy.”

Hiding his chuckles behind a hand, Cloud joked back, “I’m not your buddy, pal.”

Eyebrows tightening before he settled into the good humor after not sensing anything untoward, Sephiroth became impish and far too cocky. “I’m not your pal, bro.”

“I’m not your bro, dude.”

Even faster than a bullet, Sephiroth fired away, “I’m not your dude, my boy.”

Taking a moment to work himself through another suppressed snicker, Cloud then proudly countered with a fully competitive nature in swing, “I’m not your boy, homie.”

Impressed that Cloud had humored him this far, Sephiroth wiggled his eyebrows up and down in a cartoonish way as he exclaimed, “I’m not your homie, my guy.”

“I’m not your guy, uh…” Pausing there when he’d run out of comebacks, Cloud gave up, tossing his hands into the air. “Screw it! Anyway, I think we should go to dinner at Aerith’s tonight, because it’ll at least give us some free hours to not think of other things. We deserve a break.”

Leaning and tucking a hand up beneath his chin, Sephiroth worked his index finger between his lips, carefully wriggling it while he thought it over.

When he was much too quiet as he drove on past various signs and large houses, Cloud winked and shook his side. “Come on!” he enticed Sephiroth with a soft coo, “don’t you wanna just break free from all this ‘adulting’?”

Green eyes narrowed too suddenly as Sephiroth became a tad too shrewd. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Shooting him a disheartened look at once to remain coy enough and seal his decisions, the persuasive omega mewled, “Please?”

“Okay, I see how it is! I get it!” Borrowing in the guffaws, Sephiroth nodded his head slowly and picked up the speed when traffic signs allowed it. Deciding to throw caution in the wind and cease being so paranoid and uptight, he affirmed, “You’re on. It’s a date then…between all of us, if Zack’s there anyway.”

Mirroring his determination, Cloud echoed, “A date it is, then.”

The words slipped out without thought when he heard Cloud chanting them, and Sephiroth immediately felt the weight of awkwardness attached to them. Knowing he’d been a tad hasty, he cogitated on his errant ways as he turned around until he worked away from the unknown streets and brought the car to a stop at a red light.

“Uhh…” When he glanced at Cloud to gauge his reaction, Sephiroth was surprised to find a wry smile on his face and amusement behind his eyes as they met his own.

Leaning close to him so Sephiroth could feel his lips flapping over the outer shell of his ear, Cloud seductively explained, “You know you’re supposed to take someone on a date before fucking them, not after, right?”

Hearing the derogatory word associated with their first act of raw fornication, Sephiroth’s mouth dropped open. Spasmodically shifting forward as he tried slamming a hand over his lips, he missed by inches and jolted, slapping his palm across his chin and yelping. As the vehicle shook, Sephiroth turned wide-eyed to Cloud, hiccupping until they both burst out laughing. Taken far back many years due to his innocent reaction, Sephiroth laughed louder, gripping the steering wheel as his chest heaved with his deep notes ringing out, pain soon settling in his abdomen.

There was an abrupt honk from the annoyed driver behind them, causing Sephiroth to snap out of it and look up to see the light had turned green at some point. Holding up his arm in silent apology to the drivers lingering behind, he eased up on the break, wiping tears from his eyes. Both men were still giggling even when Sephiroth pulled up in front of Cloud’s house only a few minutes later, the ride always ending much too soon.  

Switching into parking mode, Sephiroth adjusted the gears as he then leaned back into his seat while Cloud fidgeted next to him. It was unnervingly quiet for the next minute after their joyous laughter subsided, the wind too mild outside, and Cloud making no movement to get out. Sephiroth slowly looked over to see him staring off in thought until Cloud turned his head and smiled softly at the alpha.

“I want to see you in private,” Sephiroth told him truthfully, but then tried to sound more mature and less clingy. “We should do the dinner date though. Maybe we can arrive at different times so Aerith doesn’t suspect anything weird.”

“I too want to be with you as much as I can.” Easing out the small frowns and wrinkles in his visage as he massaged his flesh, the disappointment on his face and in his voice matched how Sephiroth felt. “Well, Aerith wants us there by seven, so we should properly shower before we go.”

Sephiroth only nodded his head in understanding. “Yep. Gonna head back and clean up.”

Perking up, Cloud slung his gym bag over a shoulder, stretching out a leg and exiting the vehicle. Though he didn’t make a move to entirely leave the car when Sephiroth rolled down the window to stare at him, much too transfixed, Cloud flushed deeply and dragged his feet side to side.

Hopping back and scraping his shoes across the dry pavement, he waved auspiciously and purred happily, “You can drive. I’ll see you before seven!”

Sephiroth merely watched him as he walked up the front steps and entered his house, the knotted feeling weighing his stomach too heavily with sadness. It truly sucked that they only had a few hours at a time in secrecy to hang out given that they hadn’t seen each other in so long, but the thought that they’d get to be together from this point on since Ryan was gone caused excitement to flicker in Sephiroth’s stomach akin to butterflies. 

One step at a time…first, he could help Aerith become more accustomed to the sight and idea of seeing her father with her ex-boyfriend, perhaps, and then maybe at some point in the future, if he still got along well with Cloud, he could hopefully ask Cloud to become his life partner. With such a heartwarming image in his brain and keeping his heart afloat, Sephiroth finally drove off.

Chapter Text

Mystery struck the ambiance settling in, as purple and orange shadows of dusk mantled the clean abode. The evening was warm and balmy, the windows in the dining and living room left ajar to regulate fresh air. A light breeze drifted inside, carrying with it the faint sounds of bird chirping and the intoxicating fragrance of blossoms from the nearby, luscious gardens.

The interior of the house Aerith and Zack shared was dimly lit, the sleek and modern furniture matching the rest of the decor. Once seven rolled around, the tense hour proved to be anything but friction-riddled. Anticipation was what soured everything the most, when in reality, even as both Cloud and Sephiroth arrived together, Aerith and Zack invited them in as joyfully as ever.

Soon, they all sat around a rectangular table, with Cloud pleasantly listening to his excited daughter regaling a story about something that happened at her job recently. Dinner consisted of beef and lamb chops, with only Zack munching on the larger portions of meat, wiping his lips with his serviette and encouraging Aerith to prattle away.

Feeling as if not even a soul had suspected anything, Sephiroth felt placid and at ease as he reached for his chilly glass of wine, his wandering eyes briefly shifting to Cloud, who sat across from him. Soothly, he’d been looking forward to tonight, courage rewarded well enough when Cloud appeared dressed in quite the ravishing, impeccable outfit. As always, whatever he chose to don over his body was done and chosen so with purpose, his apparel hugging his few curves well enough without showing off too much skin so vulnerably.

Unable to keep his gaze off Cloud, Sephiroth soon forgot about how shamelessly he’d been acting in front of people he considered family. They were all here to celebrate the announcement that Aerith was engaged to Zack, the subtle hum and tacit form of anticipation steadily growing in the days leading up this evening between the other couple, and all Sephiroth could do was look at Cloud with voracious intent. It was rather tough to believe that they were all gathered here after so many years acting like a family unit, but as forthcoming and open as Aerith and Zack were, Cloud and Sephiroth continued parading away with their reckless secrets. 

The ambiance certainly was soothing when tender humor floated about, but the beneficially nebulous, dim skills Zack and Aerith possessed not to be able to suspect anything transpiring between Cloud and Sephiroth was vital. Indeed, their gifts promulgated their own chatter, nothing making much sense when Sephiroth’s thoughts focused less on keeping up with the idle conversation and instead let his dick do the thinking for himself.

After releasing her effervescent laughter and calming down, Aerith gaped between Sephiroth and Cloud, her question formed behind her round eyes far ahead of her speech sounding it aloud.

“By the way, why didn’t you bring Ryan along, dad? This is important!”

Cock pausing in the midst of swelling as soon as he heard the name of the bane of his very existence, Sephiroth shut and sealed his mouth. Effectively, he longed to be the one to announce proudly that Ryan was someone of the past, and that Cloud had chosen him instead. The wayfaring thoughts had to be put away in the recesses of his mind however, especially if he wanted to save face and not volunteer any information to give himself away. After all, as Cloud had once stated, Ryan technically was business, and the very last thing Sephiroth wanted to attach to his shady reputation was to be a boastful distraction.

Aware that Sephiroth was the bizarre third wheel thrown in the middle of the merriment, Aerith repentantly told him, “I don’t mean to make this all about my dad’s life, Sephiroth. I’m sure you’ve seen him around while working at my dad’s property though!”

Witnessing the inside and back of his eye sockets since he rolled his eyes so far back, Sephiroth thought to himself, ‘Yeah, seen him and loathe him.’

Outwardly, however, he fixed onto his veneer a friendly enough mien and didn’t flex a positive mood to become rather sarcastic. “Yeah, he’s a pretty interesting guy.”

As soon as Zack tilted his head quizzically over at Sephiroth, Cloud raced in to exclaim, “Oh, sweetie, Ryan’s just going through something at the moment! Well, we both are, but he sends his love and best wishes!”

Hating to let the great food and amazing beverage go to waste, Sephiroth took a long, slow sip, discreetly watching Cloud from under his eyelashes. His head was turned toward his daughter, listening to her speaking with a smile on his face. Sephiroth’s warm gaze rested on the small, black ring along the left side of Cloud’s finger, proud that it wasn’t an engagement ring but one worn for fashion. When he’d spotted the engagement band for the first time earlier weeks ago, he realized how long it’d actually been since he’d missed Cloud. Pining for the man was one thing, yet still going on with this masquerade right under unsuspecting noses brought heightened excitement for the alpha.

Throat and mouth parched, Sephiroth swallowed the wine and continued holding the glass in his hand, grinning appropriately on time as Cloud laughed and Aerith finished her story. Feeling eyes on himself, Cloud swiftly glanced over at Sephiroth, expressions softening when Sephiroth beamed away intently.

“Well,” Aerith began as she clapped and clasped her hands together, unable to prevent the disappointment from etching onto her face, “I would’ve wanted everyone here together, but I’ll stop wasting time! I have to announce that Zack and I went to the doctor last week, and we learned that I’m pregnant!”

The jarring shock zapped into Sephiroth, causing him to nearly drop his glass. Catching it quickly, it still clipped the side of his plate, but he began coughing to clear his throat and the sounds of utensils banging out. Cloud followed his train of shock, jolting in his chair, though he regained composure much faster as he held onto Aerith’s hands.

“Oh! Th-that’s…uh…” Searching across the table and giving Sephiroth a leveled look, he then turned to Zack and his daughter to press on. “I’m so happy for you both! That’s wonderful, sweetie!”

Descending even deeper into his coughing fit, Sephiroth bashed himself on the sternum, knuckles grazing upward to knock into his Adam’s apple, not that it helped. Squeezing tears that never ceased trickling past his squinting eyes, he smiled awkwardly at Zack, offering him all teeth before he cheerfully tried to give Aerith the same respect she was always owed.

“That’s good news for sure, Aer! I’m sure you and Zack will be amazing parents!” Grateful that his cough covered the laughter bubbling up in his chest, he raised his glass to toast Zack, though not before he cunningly commented, “Guess the slowest sperm sometimes wins, right Zack?”

“You asshole—”

“That’s enough, you two,” Cloud interjected forcefully. “This is a special moment, and I wanted to say how proud of the two of you I am.” Smoothly massaging his daughter’s wrists with his thumbs and first few digits, he continued oozing pride and love so unconditionally for her sake. “I’m positive you both will have a bright future, and I can’t wait to see my grandchild.”

The topic of offspring by people he personally considered much too young still, especially his own former classmates, soon brought on an uncanny sense of detachment bolstered the alienating prospects. Already an outcast given how he was pursuing what most well adjusted people would label a taboo relationship, Sephiroth sought out even higher planes of segregation by not even thinking as much about the future…namely children. 

It wasn’t his own idea of having children he was thinking of, however, but for Cloud’s desires. How would Cloud feel about them after no longer having to coddle and look after Aerith? 

The silence that immediately followed was awkward, neither Cloud or Sephiroth looking at each other, distantly in their own musings until Sephiroth noticed Zack leaning over the table subtly.

When he knew he’d caught his eye, Zack mouthed, “Everything okay?”

Limited by what he could reply, Sephiroth held silent eye contact for a few more seconds before he callously shrugged. Aerith spoke up once more, eagerly rambling about fun wedding and baby shower ideas, and he reluctantly looked away as she addressed him.

“Sephiroth! I meant to ask you this before, but since Zack and I are getting hitched, would you be willing to be Zack’s best man?” Shooting scintillating beams out of her eyes at him, she purred persuasively, “Zack and I would be honored if you accepted!”

Abhorring being trapped in situations when those he was around gave off a pretense that he had a few options when good manners strictly enforced and bound him to only one choice, Sephiroth decided to focus less on being stuck and cantankerous. 

Covering his crabby mood immediately by holding up his wine and signalling to everyone around the table to do the same, he gripped the handle of the shiny glass so powerfully that it did let out distinct cracking sounds no one heard since he promptly filled the quiet air with boisterously charged speech.

Close to bleeding and seething internally now that something quite concrete had solidified in his reality, he bore the grotesque concerns well enough to push through as he announced, “Nothing would bring me greater pleasure. I accept and will be at your side, as a friend for you both on your most special day.”

Cheering them on, Cloud sang out, “To my beautiful Aerith and Zack!” 

Clinking and tapping the rim of their glasses, after they all happily toasted to that, as they dipped their heads and cups to press over their open lips, Sephiroth’s green eyes darted over to watch Cloud. He would’ve let his concupiscent glances continue to communicate plenty of what he wanted to do to the handsome omega, only, out of his peripheral vision, at the very last second before he turned his head around, he definitely caught Zack throwing him a rather serious look.

Hooting in true glee, Aerith set her glass aside as she suggested like the bubbly young lady she always was, “I think you and Sephiroth should totally do some off-side planning together, dad! What’d you think?”

Hearing Cloud agreeing with that suggestion, Sephiroth momentarily forgot about Zack’s unusual behavior. Eagerly soaking up the generous smile Cloud fed him, Sephiroth only acted naturally as he smiled back. It didn’t need to be said, but he truly felt a small flutter of excitement in his chest now that he most certainly had a workable excuse to see the omega he cared for on a regular basis.

~~~********~~~

Tennis was decided between Cloud and Sephiroth. At their agreed location for a meet-up, Sephiroth sat alone in his SUV, waiting for the omega to emerge from his house. A few people were already milling about the tennis fields at this hour of morning, but overall, it was pretty empty this early in the day, and thankfully not too hot yet, the sky devoid of any thick clouds.

Pulling up Instagram to kill time rather than idling, Sephiroth smiled upon learning that Aerith had just posted a picture to her daily story consisting of herself and several friends helping set up for the bridal shower. Matching the background sets and color designs Cloud had picked, Sephiroth was initially relieved when Aerith informed them both that she adored their ideas and boldly recruited many of their former friends and classmates to help set up. Although he wanted to stick around and genuinely be happy and show support, Aerith shooed him away, far too excited to do things her way. 

Owing it to his friends to be there at all costs, Sephiroth felt a bit low, however, that was quickly replaced with everything other than guilt from feeling that way.

Incessant and quite skilled at remonstrating in order to strike up a fitness routine, by his orders, Sephiroth didn’t deny that he was gaining a chance to spend more time with Cloud in private. While he knew his lover had to work later that afternoon, he invited him out early under the guise that it wouldn’t be too hot at this point in the day. He readily agreed, which made Sephiroth wonder if he was just as aware as the younger male was of the extra time they’d have.

Just then, when Sephiroth considered honking, Cloud’s garage door swiftly opened. Lights blasted on brightly, revealing the slender male waving at Sephiroth in amicable greeting. Moving to the back of his trunk, Sephiroth nodded at him through the window and waited for Cloud to retrieve whatever he needed. 

Rushing over to him with a bottle of icy water under an armpit, Cloud slid into the passenger seat and quickly leaned over to press a tiny kiss to Sephiroth’s cheek.

Wishing it could last so much longer, Sephiroth tried to be slick and stretch his arms over and around Cloud to trap him in a close embrace, only Cloud turned to present his back to him as he fiddled with his seatbelt.

“Hope you slept well, handsome,” Cloud sang as he then hefted the equipment bag from his shoulder and right onto the backseat.

Once Cloud was all packed and settled, Sephiroth huffed and faced him, mindful not to reveal that he was a tad disappointed. “Good ‘morrow, peasant.”

Smooth as butter, Cloud showed that he wasn’t put off at all by that mean comment and maturely purred, “So, how do we get started?”

Kickstarting the car, Sephiroth replied plainly, “Just gotta rent a spot and set up. Oh, but I almost forgot…”

Reaching to a pocket, he then held his now occupied hand up to Cloud, myrtle eyes shining when azure ones widened and shifted downward to what was clutched in Sephiroth’s tight fist. It was a stringy weed with a fluffy, white flower bud on the end, and Cloud only looked back up at Sephiroth in confusion when the alpha swiped his small baseball cap off his skull and fit the tiny flower into one of the temple bands.

Pleased with his handiwork, Sephiroth teased, “I always make sure to bring my date flowers!” Giving Cloud his most charming smirk that would send many women swooning, he supplied, “You’ll be the cutest guy out there!”

“Gee, I have been so romanced, it’s unbelievable,” Cloud bemoaned, touching the flower, his tone sarcastic and flat, even though he wore a small, amused smile. Rearranging the flower to hang behind his ear instead, he implored Sephiroth, “Let’s not go too crazy today. I’ve not played tennis since college.”

Clapping him on the shoulder, the destination relatively near since Sephiroth had memorized the fastest route, the alpha assented with a pleasant demeanor, “Of course! I wouldn’t want you to sprain an ankle, princess.”

“I’m serious. I don’t even know the rules.” When he felt Sephiroth freezing and releasing his hold over him, Cloud admitted hurriedly and blushed, “Um, I watched a few Youtube videos…that could help?”

They had to start all the way at the basics, then, but Sephiroth didn’t run out of patience for taking Cloud under his wing as a pupil. Vying to be a great teacher, under his tutelage, Cloud at least was able to deracinate the most crucial points which involved safety, gauging distance, how to trace the movement of his eyes along with the ball, and how to count his paces well. The omega’s hand-eye coordination was massively lacking, seeing as he missed a few practice swings, but Sephiroth reminded him that there wasn’t any sense of competition. Cloud could hardly hold the racket, brain and attention divided between keeping a target on Sephiroth, his own feet, and the damn ball.

“Try to keep a foot on the ground at all times, else you’ll scrape your knee, Cloud!”

Slipping, though thankfully not crashing, from the other side of the court, Cloud angrily protested, “Stop laughing at me! I know I suck!”

Wiping his haughty grin immediately, Sephiroth whined, “I wasn’t! Just…” 

Sadly, they both knew that Cloud wasn’t able to measure up to him going mild at all. Their height was a poor match, with Sephiroth trying to at least toss the tennis ball lower so Cloud could reach it, but the whole point of the sport was to exert the body, push the muscles and bones past their limits in order to mark out progression, after all. Even so, Cloud imperiously shrieked that he wanted to be treated like an ‘equal’, which entailed that Sephiroth had to hit him with everything he had.

Standing off to the side, after suggesting that Cloud merely toss the ball up and down to balance and catch it with his own racket instead, Sephiroth calmly watched as Cloud became furious with that. Sweaty and miserable, Cloud took swings at the first fifteen pitches with himself, missing slightly more than half and only managing to get decent hits off a few due to his rage.

“Look, uh,” Sephiroth began as he lowered the racket before Cloud genuinely hurt himself or someone else, “on the positive side, you aren’t completely terrible.”

Slanting his hips out deliberately and pulling a face, Cloud became contemptuous and sarcastic as always when faced with struggles. “Thanks, you’re so supportive, sweetheart.”

Not taking him too seriously, Sephiroth pet him on the head. “You just need to fix your form and practice a little. No biggie.”

Bitter as he could be when he thought he was being insulted, Cloud shoved the wooden racket in Sephiroth’s hand and smugly proposed, “Hey, alright, why don’t you have a go so I can see how it’s properly done then, teach?”

“Fine, you toss the ball at me from the other side and I’ll show you.” Keeping Cloud as his pitcher of sorts, Sephiroth spread his legs shoulder-width apart, rolling his head forward as he brought the racket up before getting into position.

Taking note of his stance, Cloud hung onto it as if to burn it into memory before he announced loudly, “Kay! I’m gonna throw it now!”

At least wise to know that a proper serve entailed the ball never touching the net or ground of even the other side of the court, Cloud hit it wildly, no doubt taking many frustrations out on the ball in one go. It came whistling through the air at Sephiroth, but he reacted speedily and with pointed accuracy. 

Sephiroth smacked every ball that was fired at himself, the firmly drawn guts and string of the racket making a powerful, resounding clank each time it made a connection that sent a small, white blur hurling in the opposite direction. After the last ball being knocked back with his impressive agility, Sephiroth lowered the racket to the dirt, casually using it to prop himself up.

Winded just from serving, Cloud panted, “Show off...you’re younger and an alpha!”

Full lips twitched and Sephiroth rested on the racket handle like one would a cane, twitching his waist back and forth, stretching. “Yikes, I actually wasn’t at my best there, Cloud.” Giggling when he held onto his own impish secrets just to keep Cloud thinking he was in control, Sephiroth delightfully added, “I never realized how rusty I’ve gotten.”

Tripping when he tried to emulate how Sephiroth had zipped and dove right under the ball to flick it up, Cloud grunted, “You poor thing.”

Making a dramatic show of wiping non-existent sweat off his brow, in good faith, after the gesture had been made and Cloud began chuckling rather than stewing in unbridled ire, Sephiroth lightly knocked into him. 

Yelping when Sephiroth swatted his bottom with his racket, Cloud groused, “God, if I knew you’d be this insufferable, I wouldn’t have come along!”

Feigning innocence as the net swung about each time he flicked it, Sephiroth gave him the best look of innocence he could muster. “Sorry, don’t know what you mean.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Energetically, Cloud waved his hand before Sephiroth, his wide smile now a playful grin. “I ask for a demonstration on technique and get a one man performance. So typical.”

Never one for showing off, Sephiroth promised to tone it down a lot. “I mean, you can have both, but I’ll chill.” 

Waving at Cloud, he summoned him over, and like an eager to learn puppy, the omega ambled over until Sephiroth pressed the racket into his hands. Covering the entire length of Cloud’s arms with his own, chest met back, and Sephiroth motioned over to the recently loaded pitcher machine ahead for use.

“Instead of using that, I want you to feel how I throw…how you should be readying for a serve.” Tilting his head down at Cloud and ever joyful when Cloud was looking back, no doubt so vibrant to soak up knowledge from any source, Sephiroth felt his own strength and spirit soaring high above the earth.

Preventing himself from gushing like a befuddled teenager when he felt the one he cherished deeply in his arms, Sephiroth acted like an esteemed tennis coach. Without thinking, when Cloud almost rolled the handle of the racket the wrong way out of impatience, Sephiroth stepped forward and reached out, cupping his sides. Choking back a breath, Cloud immediately stiffened at the faint touch for a just second before Sephiroth carefully guided him to the correct spot.

Flashing two fingers over past his own myrtle eyes and the ball, Sephiroth instructed didactically, “Keep your eyes on the ball and just feel how my entire arm flexes.” 

Responding better to this type of constructive feedback, Cloud let his arm work as an extension of his entire upper torso. Stiff down by his feet however, he clearly faced difficulty sticking to the rules so much that he hardly even shifted up on his toes. Rooting himself to the spot put strain on his fingers and wrist, his shoulders soon slumping poorly.

“Okay, now bend your knees just a bit more,” Sephiroth ordered after they both took a breath, gently tugging Cloud down into the correct stance. Tapping on his arms, he then muttered, “Nice. Good, now keep your elbows out. Like this.”

To show him precisely what he meant, Sephiroth  moved to take a hold of his triceps and spread them into position before sliding down to Cloud’s elbows to adjust their height. Following step-by-step, Cloud nodded, frowning so furiously in his focus that Sephiroth thought he did look a bit goofy.

Winking at him, Sephiroth pressed his nose on his forehead to stir him out of that deeply etched scowl. “Relax your face.” Nudging Cloud then, he administered positive reinforcement. “There we go. Hold this stance and tilt the racket to the right.”

To provide the support Cloud needed, Sephiroth leaned his firm chest into Cloud’s back and immediately felt his breath hitch slightly. The soft cries only grew when Sephiroth guided his hands lightly along the outside of his forearms to settle atop his own, a move which Cloud appeared to enjoy tremendously. His soft skin felt good sliding along Sephiroth’s rough palms and the pleasant scent of lavender drifted up from his bright golden locks whenever the wind drifted between them.

Mouth dry, Sephiroth gripped the tops of his hands firmly and used them to tilt the racket until it was poised correctly. Cloud went on imitating him, confidence growing substantially when Sephiroth gave him silent approval without correcting his posture.

“Alright, you’re ready to take a swing…” Almost gasping, his mouth was close enough to his partner’s ear that he felt the heat of his own breath when he spoke, causing the older male to shiver.

Somewhat irritable perhaps by his lack of fluency, Cloud asked through a deep blush, “Can you show me the proper way to do this?”

Voice steady, Sephiroth grunted his acquiescence, and without a word, he began to guide his arms backwards before bringing them forward again in a long arc, slowly swinging the racket to build momentum by practice. 

“Not so tense though,” Sephiroth instructed him softly. “Constricting your muscles too much can mess up how you hit.”

Nodding, Cloud forced his body to relax, settling into the motions and rubbing himself against Sephiroth. It felt really tender, and was bolstered by comfortably intimate designs. Flushed, Sephiroth took deep, steady breaths in order to try and bring his thudding heartbeat under control. Mortified given how close he was to Cloud now, he pondered briefly if he could feel the spasmodic racing of his heart.

Tossing that idle thought away, Sephiroth cleared his throat and gave out a solid nod. “Good, now, just wind your arms back and follow through on your swing.”

Acting as the best teacher, he guided an observant Cloud through the correct motions several times, slowly increasing the speed of their arms to help Cloud get used to moving his arms and body the way he should. Once, twice, the wind whistled as they chopped upwards and downwards to swat at the invisible ball. Cloud got the hang of it relatively soon, not even waiting for or needing Sephiroth to begin the swings before he made them all on his own accord.

“I think I’m ready,” he boldly announced after the last swing.

“Sounds good…” Smiling a forced smile, Sephiroth then added, “Let’s see what you can do.”

Showing his regret with a conflicted expression, Sephiroth hesitated before he let go of him and stepped back, wondering how long he would’ve kept guiding his swings if Cloud hadn’t offered anything to suggest he wanted to take matters into his own hands.

Even when Sephiroth broke away from Cloud, shockingly, the older male remained determined to complete his learning task. Broadly, he stayed in position taking practice swings on his own while Sephiroth collected and gathered the discarded tennis balls into the pitcher, his obsessive mind lingering on the feeling of his body pressed against the omega’s. Sorely missing that heat and friction, Sephiroth surreptitiously glanced over at Cloud from the corner of an eye. His face was stoic, as usual, betraying nothing but concentrated focus with every swing of the racket as if it’d personally offended his better nature somehow.

Sliding himself with a reluctant regard even further away from Cloud to give him space, Sephiroth encouraged him to get ready before standing off to the side, waiting anxiously to see how he’d do.

The first ball was fired, and when Cloud squinted, waited on bated breath, and then finally swung the racket, he made a solid connection that sent the ball thwacking against the net and sailing well in the proper direction.

“Awesome stuff!” Sephiroth cheered excitedly to himself, clenching his fist victoriously.

Needing only that as emotional sustenance, Cloud acted swiftly. In total awe, Sephiroth watched with growing eagerness as ball after ball was fired at Cloud, and he handled it all well. With a decent grasp of time, he tactfully managed to get at least five or so steady hits off, the thrill of it growing each time he whacked a ball until it finally spun around in the air. The perfect finishers matched the style and method Sephiroth had even taught him, with Cloud’s grin becoming wider and fuller after every successful hit.

“Not bad! Keep it going!” Sephiroth energetically yelled, running over with his arms held wide before sweeping Cloud up in an enthusiastic bear hug. 

Being squeezed and held a few inches off the ground, Cloud laughed while Sephiroth embraced him tighter, dropping the racket so he could hug Sephiroth back. Sniffing his hair, Sephiroth then thumped him on the back several times before letting go and pulling back to grab both of his shoulders.

Mildly joking, Sephiroth gave him a small shake before swatting him on the bottom. “Congratulations, you’re officially a stud!”

Rolling his eyes even though he was still laughing, his grin was so wide and ecstatic that Sephiroth felt a subtle warmth spread deep inside his chest just from the sight of it alone. Wondering if he could garner more attention in this way to bolster such an attractive appeal from Cloud, his groin started twitching with interest until he cursed the infernal thing for the unbidden thoughts flocking to his mind.

Breath almost audibly hitching, Sephiroth became randomly stricken, ever so compelled to stare into his lover’s blue eyes for a few more seconds before he shook his head, his grin fading into an amused smile.

Proceeding with caution when he remembered that they were in broad daylight and public, Sephiroth teased playfully, “You still suck, but it’s less obvious now, I guess.”

Exaggerating a pout, Sephiroth then elbowed Cloud, delighted to see him yelp, eyes wide as he almost tipped over. “Aw come on, don’t tell me it didn’t feel manly for you to touch and beat some balls, Cloud!”

Embarrassing as the joke with the specific words aimed at him were, Cloud nudged Sephiroth to release his shoulders and softly thumped his chest with the back of a hand.

Heaving out and clutching at his ‘sore’ area, Sephiroth then laughed and waved the rough housing away. “Mean.”

“Fine,” Cloud sighed and shrugged, “guess I’ll admit it was pretty cool, but I feel like I only managed it because you’re such a good teacher.”

Soaring on another plane when the one he cared about fed him such a graceful compliment, Sephiroth’s lips pulled back into a smile. Beaming as he detected no sarcasm or teasing in Cloud’s voice, only sincerity, the change in demeanor made the warmth in his chest grow stronger and he really had to strive to hold back from kissing Cloud.

Winking at the omega, Sephiroth then whispered in a sultry manner, “Good teacher, good student, right?”

Tongue-tied for some reason, they only basked in the silence and smiled at one other a couple more moments before both men abruptly looked away.

Scratching his neck, Sephiroth inquired with a tiny squeak to his lilt, “Wanna do this again sometime?”

Finding it just as difficult despite having the history and rapport with Sephiroth, Cloud blushed even redder, head hanging low. “Uhh, yeah, definitely.”

Taking up a dogged pursuit, Cloud seemed more enthused by the idea of practicing the new skills he’d accrued. Focusing on his target and posture, he got into position once more, swinging rapidly at the pitching machine. Moving faster and more elegantly now, taking flight supremely using all the force of his legs, he got another few rounds in before deciding to call it quits. 

Asserting the same position since he was exhausted and didn’t want to put Cloud through too much, Sephiroth offered no qualms. This was Cloud’s first time engaging in such vigorous exercise and Sephiroth knew that it would leave his arms sore in ways he hadn’t experienced before. They were better off taking things rather slowly, and that seemed logically convincing enough for Cloud.

Cleaning up as they decided to head out when Aerith sent Cloud and Sephiroth a message regarding wanting their opinion on a dress she’d already selected for purchasing, they put their items and equipment away in the trunk of Sephiroth’s vehicle. One at a time, they stacked their various equipment, wiping their sweaty limbs off and heading far from the tennis court. It was already late in the afternoon, time totally lost on Sephiroth after all the jokes, easy-going humor, and overall contentment he felt anytime around Cloud.

Prodding him with a question, Cloud caught even himself off guard when he wondered, “Do you think I can maybe build more stamina like you?”

Tilting his head at Cloud and feeding him with his handsomest grin as they drove by a few diners, Sephiroth reeled back in shock when the potent smell of food cooking blew inside the car and teased his nostrils. “Yes and no, but mostly no. I didn’t realize how much stance and position determined how you hit and move.”

Considering that, Cloud nodded his head, frowning a lot less now. “Yeah, it’s something you really need to fine tune if you want to hit well.” Flying back to his own rumination, he smirked in a foxy way and went on, “I knew a couple of players back in high school that would spend hours at the gym just practicing hits. Every damn day.”

Eyebrows rose as Sephiroth emitted a stunned whistle. “Shit. That’s dedication right there.” Comparing the memories Cloud was sharing with a few of his own experiences, he shrugged and compartmentalized to make a more down to earth statement, “It’s necessary if you want to play in college, even more so if you’re aiming to make it into the professional league, but we’re just doing this for fun.”

Sizing up Sephiroth’s firm arms covered in nothing but muscles flexing even as he drove, something playful sparkled in the center of Cloud’s pupils. “So, that’s not something you ever wanted to do?”

“Nah.” Shirking that off and staring at the omega swiftly before he got lost in his daydreaming, Sephiroth turned back to the road and concentrated on continuing the conversation. “Don’t get me wrong, I love sports, but I played them in high school because I enjoyed being fit, and I don’t think I would have as much if I decided to try to play in college or something. It would have just taken the fun out of it.”

Nuzzling him and falling into quite a comfortable place by his side, Cloud sat back and thrilled in the ride, rolling his window down and letting in tons of fresh air. “Makes sense to me. Turning hobbies into a career…you would’ve ruined what you loved about the game in the first place.”

“Exactly. Some people may find that path works for them, but not me.” Not one to boast about his choice in a career, Sephiroth’s eyebrows became knotted as he expounded, “Not that my dad was too proud of me for wanting to go on rooftops, roasting under the sun all day long, but fuck him. It’s my life, my choice.”

Gaping at him with a curious edge, Cloud perked up at this and was keenly reeled in to draw more information and learn about the new change in direction. “Oh? But H and S roofing…doesn’t he support you?”

Hating that he had to skip over many grueling months of bickering with his old man, Sephiroth glossed over the unsavory memories and hurriedly replied, “Eh, I mean, he does to a certain extent, like with finances, but I know deep down, even if he doesn’t nag me about it, it’s obvious that he wants me to have a normal nine to five job like most folks.”

“Oh…like maybe office work?”

Massaging his furrowing brow to alleviate the tension, Sephiroth softly eased out, “Yep.”

Hearing his curt reply befitting someone who didn’t want to go any deeper given his sensitivities, Cloud gave Sephiroth a nod of sympathetic understanding. When they touched hands, fingers automatically folding together, Sephiroth relaxed and felt a minor setback in the form of shame settling over himself. Clearly, he’d forgotten how easy it was to talk to Cloud, and brief moments like this had to be cherished. Even though they joked around a lot, it felt nice to have a real conversation too, and he promised not to take them for granted.

“Well,” Cloud eventually mused, “if you ever want to hit the gym more regularly, I’ll happily volunteer to be your exercise partner!”

Sephiroth felt both chilly and warm as a smile slowly spread across his face. “So, I take it you didn’t completely hate it then?”

Jovial enough, Cloud snickered. “No, but I think you made it more fun than if I’d done it by myself.”

Pinching Cloud’s supple cheek when he couldn’t keep his hands to himself any longer, Sephiroth almost started giggling like an effervescent child. “Not something you could see yourself doing regularly as a solo workout, huh?”

Yelping when his skin was stretched, Cloud shrugged Sephiroth’s arm away and retaliated with a tiny sneer. “Not sure, but it depends on you!”

Adoring his irritable reactions and gobbling them down as though they were treats, Sephiroth purred, “I was actually thinking up ideas the other day of other sports you might like, but hey, depends on you!”

Mindful of the rather goofy social gaffe sent his way, Cloud asked, “Come up with anything impressive?”

Thinking of Cloud’s toned legs as they moved himself forth up and down gravelly paths and lofty, green hills, Sephiroth almost salivated on the spot. “Well running is an obvious classic, but if you’re looking for more than just cardio then you could do boxing or swimming.”

Intrigued by that, Cloud shot up like a dart. “I love swimming!”

Mind wandering to dangerous territories involving what other things they could get up before and after the actual act of swimming, Sephiroth nearly moaned, “Is that so?”

Provocative where he needed to be with subtle traits enmeshed in his demeanor, Cloud nodded his head and beamed proudly. “Yes! It’s so invigorating! I thought a lot about joining the swim team in high school, but it just never panned out.”

Going the extra mile as he hoped he wasn’t treading on trauma, Sephiroth wondered, “How come you never did?”

Somewhat flippant, Cloud at least tried being more accommodating when he shyly looked away, pausing in consideration before replying. “Well, I was involved with Rowan, and besides that, I was really self conscious about my body. Still am to a degree.”

Enfeebled by too much anger on Cloud’s behalf for unknown reasons, Sephiroth firmly intoned, “Dude, you don’t need to be.” Narrowing his eyes at Cloud and sweeping over his frame once, Sephiroth then extrapolated, “Sure, you’re a bit on the thin side but you’ve got some nice definition to you. Plus, for your height, you’re extremely appealing and attractive.”

At least aware of a compliment he deserved, Cloud received it well and continued holding onto Sephiroth’s free arm before leaning his head onto his right shoulder. “Thank you. That’s actually why I started working out in the first place.” Pushing his hair back over his shoulders, he paused and then concluded, “I don’t think getting as big as you is in my future but I’m hoping that toning my body will improve my appearance in time.”

“Hey, so far, from where I stand lookin’ at you, Cloud, you look pretty damn sexy and hot,” Sephiroth opened up to him offhandedly, his mind recalling that night in the basement when Cloud had revealed his body by stripping for his pleasure. 

Zoning out as he replayed it all, it wasn’t long before Sephiroth felt his dick leap in his shorts at the lewd memory.

Perhaps thinking along the same lines, Cloud’s blue eyes flashed for a second before his cheeks reddened deeply and he timidly glanced away once again. “Should we go eat before we meet up with Aerith?”

Patting himself on the stomach, Sephiroth thought that indeed was an appropriately fitting idea. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

Entering a fancy brunch diner moments later, Sephiroth offered to pay for their meals, something which Cloud accepted willingly without any opposition. Reading through the menu, Cloud focused on selecting something scrumptious, while Sephiroth leaned back and propped an elbow up on top of the booth they were sitting in, smiling confidently at Cloud. Feeling roaming eyes on his person, Cloud glanced hesitantly back up at Sephiroth, and they held eye contact in silence. 

Warm passion seeped into Sephiroth as soon as he caught Cloud’s throat tightening, the omega swallowing and fighting off many bouts of nervous energy. Subtle as he was, he tucked a stray bang back over an ear which was also tickled pink. Pheromones were a bit prematurely released, but Sephiroth scented them all, allowing his thick cock to harden as memories of how Cloud’s body looked and felt sitting atop his stiff rod ran through his mind. Perverted as he tried not being during something innocent as eating a light meal, as he examined Cloud seated so closely, he genuinely wondered if he was able to tell what he was thinking about, a small, inquisitive glimmer in his eye from time to time between bites.

Just then, the waitress appeared with Sephiroth’s food and began to set it down in front of the pair, breaking whatever it was they’d been silently sharing in that moment.

Distracted and not half as aroused when his steaming plate helped waft in new odors past his flaring nostrils, Sephiroth snickered and tried poking fun at Cloud. “I can’t believe you ordered tomatoes and cucumbers on your toast. Such a basic bitch.”

Witty to no end, Cloud cocked an eyebrow at Sephiroth’s plate and cuttingly commented, “Oooh, I’m sorry, am I getting shit from the guy who thinks French toast is better than both waffles and pancakes?”

Clicking his tongue against his teeth and lifting a finger to wag it before Cloud’s nose, Sephiroth saucily chastised him. “So be it, just don’t send me begging looks because I ain’t gonna share my food.”

Flipping him off, Cloud let his middle finger hang in the air, widely smiling as he winked menacingly at him, quickly chewing through a bite of toast before swallowing.

Choosing to parade away in the fond merriment, Sephiroth adopted a rather childishly inclined sense of humor, not even remembering how aroused he’d been not long ago. 

“Well, I guess I just can’t understand how you can enjoy eating something that tastes just like cardboard, but hey, excuse me for offending your royal interests!”

Gasping and then flicking bits of chopped egg at Sephiroth, Cloud groused, “Now, that was uncalled for!” Ducking when Sephiroth flung the egg bit back at him, he giggled out, “Maybe you should learn to cook, you boring douche!”

Riding the bits of irreverent impishness, it took well over half an hour for Sephiroth and Cloud to consume their food, both men red in the face from the bombastic guffaws. Their little party was shockingly never interrupted, time not exactly working toward their benefit however when they had to pay the bill and acclimate once more to the outside world to keep up with false pretenses. 

Chapter Text

Sephiroth felt even more heat flare up in his body upon recalling such an intimate confession, harping on the wondrous fact that Cloud had informed him of his true feelings for the second time in less than a week. Had they not been needed elsewhere, and had Sephiroth still been a highly hormonal teenager, he knew that after their meal in the diner, given what Cloud had gushed to him, he would’ve spent half the day fooling around with the handsome omega in the backseat of his damn vehicle.

Every word and every touch from Cloud was so hypnotizing to him. At times, he felt like this wasn’t even real and that this was all some surreal, beautiful dream that he hoped he wouldn’t ever wake up from. If it was real, then it was real, but if it was not real, then he didn’t ever want to awaken.

On the drive back, Sephiroth found himself reminiscing on his morning spent with Cloud and recalled the brief conversation they had about his body. Once more, the memories of them fucking for the first in the basement and then routinely returned, causing Sephiroth’s greedy cock to swell. He’d thankfully made the right decision dropping Cloud off at the wedding dress shop to meet up with Aerith alone, his ex-girlfriend promising him that she would hang out with him at a much later date. It all suited Sephiroth fine, the aroused alpha speeding back home and practically fainting when he felt his epidermis covered in sweat and fiery desire.

Painfully tumescent the entire ride back to his apartment as images of Cloud’s toned ass repeatedly descending on his cock danced in his brain, once inside, Sephiroth plopped down on his bed weakly. Wriggling around, he fought to slide down his shorts to pull out his twitching dick, softly stroking it while he searched through his phone.

Pre-come was already thickly leaking from the tip as Sephiroth scrolled through Cloud’s photos, quickly finding one of his new favorite videos on his artistic site. Zooming in on it, Sephiroth pictured himself slamming Cloud against a wall, presenting his voluptuous ass, spanking it before the omega got rammed from behind by his huge cock.

Just like his attraction to Cloud, clearly, Sephiroth’s keen interest in gay porn hadn’t waned in the almost two days since he’d fucked the omega. Although he occasionally focused on heterosexual sex, he would always turn to videos he’d enjoyed when single, as they’d become his new infatuation, especially when just the memories of his cock plowing Cloud’s ass proved insufficient jerk off material. 

Craving watching that delicate little hole being repeatedly violated in his imagination, Sephiroth wildly growled and writhed, pounding his fist over his cock and wishing it happened to be Cloud’s ferociously tight walls he was impaling instead. Enraptured by the powerful image of his tool plunging in and out of the moaning blond, Sephiroth soon huffed out his own demands to fit the scenario he’d created of himself and Cloud.

“Ugh, Cloud, I want you…” Hearing how wet he was, flesh squelching against his palm, Sephiroth shouted out in desperation, “Take this fat cock! I want to feel your pretty lips wrapped around it, my filthy bitch!”

“Oooh, yes daddy! Yes daddy! Fuck me, daddy!” 

Without thinking, Sephiroth fell into his fantasy, picturing that it was Cloud moaning away in his ear while he reached out and grabbed his cock. Sephiroth wasn’t the least bit surprised when his fist slipped and couldn’t entirely close around his massive girth. Struggling, he spent a moment running his hand up and down the shaft before he drew the palm along the entire length. Holding his hand open and noting how long it took in order to glide up toward the tip, as his trembling limb then moved back down, Sephiroth could feel the power of it, the steely hardness beneath the velvety skin. There were three large veins running its length and when he pressed harder, he could even feel their ridges rising from the surface, a glaringly raw experience he’d never taken advantage of before.

Obediently, Cloud would turn over and crawl on his hands and knees so that his ass was exposed to Sephiroth’s face so enticingly. Oh, god he would seriously die for that ass. Smooth, pale, and perfectly rounded. Sephiroth could almost see the small, puckered hole, like a rosebud imploring him. That small orifice…his hungry mind instantly imagined something doing wonders to Cloud’s flesh to taint it pink, something bigger than his fingers…something that would appreciate the tightness of the omega’s delicious hole; an alpha’s cock.

Having trouble breathing, the situation was far too erotic for Sephiroth to handle. Uncertain of what to do, he dumbly followed his instincts’ lead, letting his hand go to his cock and pump it as hard and fast as he could once more. Focusing intensely on Cloud’s ass, he thought of the positions he liked best and imagined Cloud’s shoulders pinned to the bed while his ass was still held up by his legs spread apart. His penis would be stimulated as well as he touched himself while being pounded from behind, nonstop moaning and shuddering. Sweating profusely, Sephiroth gasped for air and almost felt like crying as he dreamed of Cloud’s lithe body swaying back and forth there on his bed while being fucked until he could hardly breathe.

Fastening onto the echoing cries of Cloud’s high-pitched voice, Sephiroth’s clock pulsed upon remembering every bit of their dirty talk. No longer really requiring the urge to begin seeking out videos featuring a heavy amount of verbal back and forth, he interjected his own experiences with Cloud, as something about the degrading language really turned him on. It was so incredibly filthy and perverse, and he truly loved hearing Cloud whining and begging for cock while being referred to in such lewd, debasing, and feminine ways.

The familiar desire to experience this particular type of nasty, verbal sex with Cloud yet again flared inside the alpha. It seemed to grow hotter and burn brighter each time it appeared, like dry brush catching flame during a drought. 

Whispering Cloud’s name hoarsely, Sephiroth’s balls tightened and his hand relented. Trailing his fingers in winding circles around the tip brought such interestingly jolting sparks, so he pursued it with only voracious greed. Casting his head back to face the ceiling, he groaned loudly and pathetically, unable to resist Cloud’s beautiful, naked body.

As the virile alpha continued pumping himself while imagining instead that he was unloading every ounce of seed deep inside the omega, he jerked up and shot a large wad of semen onto his toned stomach, grunting with every spurt until there was nothing left. Empty of his burdens for the time being, Sephiroth feebly collapsed in a puddle of his own come, his chest and knees burning slightly and completely drained, eyelids fluttering and his hair plastered to his sweaty forehead. 

Sighing and feeling only temporarily relaxed, Sephiroth leaned back into the pillows, content in the euphoric aftermath of his ejaculation. A creature of old habits, he tried to catch a quick nap before cleaning up with a relaxing, rewarding shower. The comfortable silence was suddenly interrupted by the cumbersome vibration from his phone on the dresser across the room, yanking him out of his mini-daze.

Wiping himself off with tissues casually plucked from the box on the nightstand, he weakly stood to tuck his spent cock back into his underwear and zip up his jean shorts. Annoyed given how loudly his phone vibrated to rattle the various items strewn across his dresser, Sephiroth scooped it up and frowned when he learned that he’d received almost a dozen texts from Aerith as well as four missed calls.

Feeling the protesting groan bubbling in the back of his throat since his needy ex-girlfriend had somewhat ruined the aftermath of his sexual high, Sephiroth tried calming himself down by rubbing his temples and then fanning his face before dialing her number.

Picking up after the second ring, Aerith immediately got down to her interrogation as if she were being timed. “Where the heck were you?” she spat beyond aggression, not even bothering with a polite greeting.

Equally as disappointed, though for a sea of other reasons, Sephiroth grumbled pettily, “Hey. I’m sorry, I was taking a nap and didn’t hear you ringing.”

Huffy, Aerith still reserved many lectures and retorts for him. “Well, you should’ve taken it off silent then. What if I really needed you? Gosh!”

“Aerith, calm down,” Sephiroth snapped and then bit back an even snarkier response, knowing she could always dish it out harsher to him. 

Deciding to apologize again proved to be a wise choice, as she took better to it rather than ranting away. “It’s fine,” she replied in an over exaggerated tone that made Sephiroth think it really wasn’t, but at least she held off on arguing.

Opting to change the subject, Sephiroth asked, “How’s the dress shopping going so far?”

“Could be a bit better, but my dad’s sense of fashion in this case is a huge help!” Chuckling as she eased into a much more pleasant mood and tone, Aerith supplied, “Having an artist for a parent comes in handy! I can model in any dress he finds, and his ideas are pretty neat so far!”

Borrowing from the overwhelming sense of excitement and joy over the phone, Sephiroth reserved happiness for her sake, shedding out of his thick layer of mortification when a tiny voice at the back of his mind informed him that he’d been technically jerking himself off to obscene thoughts involving Aerith’s father…the one she adored and thought so highly of.

“Anywhoooo,” Aerith sang out and distracted him, “Zack said he can’t stay afterward to help us pack up, so I need you to come down here so we can use your SUV to pack what we need for the bridal shower set up!”

And just like that, Sephiroth’s chipper mood was gone. Loathing manual labor, he briefly thought about asking if there was anyone else who could help them out but knew that doing so would just mean that Aerith would want to punish him for it when he showed up later.

“Leave it to Aerith Gainsborough, soon to be known legally as Mrs. Aerith Fair, to ruin my entire day! For shame!”

Resisting the urge to grunt out like a rambunctious brat, he asked with some force behind his tone, “What time do you need me there?”

Flatly, Aerith answered, “Make it by five if you can, and please make sure there’s enough room in your car, because I don’t want you to leave anything behind for another trip.”

Eager to end the call when Sephiroth heard someone talking loudly to her in the background, he quickly snapped, “Fine. I’ll be there shortly.”

Coughing and rushing a few words out to whoever was there with her in person, Aerith then half-assed the end of her chat with Sephiroth in quite a comically rehearsed speed. “Sounds good. Thanks a bunch, Seph. Gotta go, love you.”

The call ended shortly after that, and Sephiroth casually tossed his phone onto the bed wordlessly. Glaring at his clock, he knew he had only a few hours to himself before he had to race to Aerith’s beck and call. Plopping down on the bed once more, he dragged his laptop toward himself, resentment clouding his mind until he felt a tad guilty for begrudging his ex. Technically, this was one of the happiest days of her life, yet here he was, wanting to be selfish enough to focus on his own needs…

Distracting himself by browsing frequented sites such as Youtube, as Sephiroth sat quietly, ruminating on his own past with Aerith and what he could do moving forward with Cloud, his phone screen flashed on with a new text from Cloud himself appearing like a gift heaven-sent.

Cloud, May 30th, 4:07 p.m.
It’s so hot out…wanna come by for that swimming session?

Grinning wolfishly as he was already on his feet dashing to the front hall, Sephiroth ravenously swooned. “Say less, Cloud, say less.”

~~~********~~~

The scorching heat of the late afternoon sun warmed Sephiroth’s skin as he sprawled lazily on a lounge chair. The current outdoor pool in Cloud’s backyard was even larger than the previous one, something which Sephiroth was quite grateful for given all the generous space they had to themselves. The fence surrounding the property blocked out the view for any peeping neighbors and nosy denizens passing by, hedges tilting slightly when the gales of the wind trickled past.

A leg lazily dangled off the edge of his seat, toes dipping into the warm water as Sephiroth reached for the chilled beer on the plastic table off to the side. It was his second of the day, but he sincerely needed it. Refreshed by the beverage, a couple beads of condensation dripped onto his bare torso as he took a large swig, delighting in the contrast of hot and cold wafting around.

Rapacious lust dwindling a bit when he’d been too busy drinking and sampling a few portions of freshly-washed fruit Cloud had served, Sephiroth’s insides burned less with wanton desire and more with enthusiasm for speaking with his partner.

Lying next to the pool spread flatly on his chest, Cloud exposed his sun-screen covered back before the expansive sky, resting on top of a large towel. Pushing down his sunglasses with a finger, he laughed over at Sephiroth and then judged pointedly, “So, you ditched Aerith for spending time with me, huh?” 

No fan of the reminder by any means, Sephiroth winced and flushed automatically. “Ugh, I know it was a dickish thing to do, but she can find someone else to help her pack and set up!” 

Heartily laughing as his face scrunched up in the throngs of heightened joy, Cloud eventually chucked a dried stem of a grape vine at Sephiroth. “You’re such a mean bastard!”

Smirking to himself as he reread a few old texts he’d sent to Aerith, Sephiroth quickly drained the remains of his icy beer, tossing it into the nearby trash can before pulling out another from the cooler nearby. Cracking it open, he sipped at the foam before taking a large gulp. The only thing in his stomach besides beer were the eggs and toast he’d consumed for breakfast a few hours ago, so he was already feeling a slight buzz coming on. Light-headedness wasn’t something he could allow to bring his good nature down, so he focused less on it and hooked his voracious gaze on Cloud’s upturned bottom sticking in the air.

Surveying their immediate surroundings, Sephiroth wiped his lips with the back of a wrist rather unceremoniously. “Pretty quiet today.”

Nodding, Cloud didn’t budge from his spot as he commented happily, “Yep. I bought this place mainly because of how secluded it can be.”

Humming in agreement before dropping his towel onto a spot by the omega, Sephiroth lay on his side, staring over at the slight curve of Cloud’s rump. Wanting to admire it closer, he held a breath as he reached out, but prior to his palm landing on the dip beneath the hip bone, Cloud gave him quite the scare as he reared back and snatched his wrist at the last second.

“Hey,” he cackled before squeezing Sephiroth’s hand. “No need to be so grabby!”

Not one to be easily disparaged when it came to taking whatever he wanted, Sephiroth revealed his teeth and growled thickly, “Don’t stick your ass out like that then.”

When Cloud yawned and turned over to stretch with his arms winding up over his head, Sephiroth was immensely grateful for the sunglasses perched on his face. Furtively, they allowed him to take in the full view of Cloud pulling his arms up over his head undetected, revealing the smooth, pale torso Sephiroth always fantasized about. No longer hidden by layers of unnecessary clothing, the nipples rose in the air, almost a salacious invitation on their own. Green eyes roamed over his trim, upper body, absorbing the definition of lightly toned muscles and the hint of abs showing through his flat stomach whenever he breathed.

Twisting himself to the side, Cloud nudged himself up, legs coiling to slant to the right. Gaping away, Sephiroth’s dry mouth almost fell open watching Cloud wriggle his hips to reveal the black, square cut swim trunks he had on. Shifting himself, he fixed the slightly loose garments on his torso to a better fit, the waistline hugging his slightly bony frame, though assisting in the ‘v’ line protruding perfectly.

The small swimsuit hugged his pelvic region, perfectly accentuating his body. Pinching himself and then biting his tongue, Sephiroth tried not to make it so obvious that he was eye fucking Cloud, but it was ever a difficult task when Cloud looked fucking good, almost as sexy as when he’d been found dancing and wearing those lace panties. Sephiroth discreetly drank in the sight of him as he bent to grab the bottle of sunscreen close by, feeling his dick starting to come alive inside his swimsuit the longer he stared at his ass bulging out from beneath the black fabric.

Popping open the cap, Cloud then swayed back and squirted some into his hand. Amid the lewd noises of wetness, he began to rub it into his alabaster skin, which almost gleamed in the sunlight. Zoning out, Sephiroth took a long gulp of his beer, tipping the can back enough to be able to watch Cloud through the shade of his sunglasses.

Putting on quite the sexy performance without knowing it, he turned sideways as he rubbed sunscreen all along his ribs and waist, affording Sephiroth an excellent view of his delectable ass. The swim trunks that wrapped around his two thick mounds of flesh were the perfect size, small and tight enough to show them but not so much that they looked overstuffed inside the fabric. As always, Sephiroth knew they were jiggling about, perfect for being slapped, rubbed, and lightly tapped with his rigid cock.

Shuddering internally, Sephiroth permitted himself the opportunity to briefly indulge in the fantasy of fucking Cloud against the side of the pool, his tight little swimsuit yanked down just enough for Sephiroth to pound that sweet ass from behind while his screams of delirium echoed off the tiled walls and bushy vegetation of the pool and yard.

Inhaling crisp air, Sephiroth shook off a shudder while his cock threatened to tent lewdly outward from his shorts. Seeing Cloud standing there in such an exposing piece of clothing made him recall his words from their conversation a few days ago, especially where he conveyed feeling somewhat self conscious of his body.

The fact that he chose to publicly wear something so skimpy had Sephiroth wondering if he did so in an effort to entice him in some way, a thought that was all but confirmed when he held out the sunscreen bottle and asked if Sephiroth could help rub some into his back. 

Partly still exploring his own fantasy, Sephiroth ground out without thinking, “You filthy slut.”

Not quite having heard him when a dog barked nonstop, Cloud perked up and brushed his hair away from his ears. “Hmm? What was that, Sephiroth?”

“Nothing.” Glaring madly at the sunscreen in disbelief for a few seconds before taking it from him, Sephiroth crept over to Cloud and assumed the best position to complete the assigned task.

Beaming at him amicably, Cloud sat at the end of a lounge chair with his back to Sephiroth. Neck curving down, completely oblivious to Sephiroth trying not to appear too eager while he scooted toward him, Sephiroth wondered how the heck he approached as closely as he dared to, all without stabbing Cloud’s spine with his hardened cock.

Counting his blessings, he gritted his teeth and squirted some sunscreen onto his palm before setting the bottle down and bringing both hands together, smearing the lotion liberally onto the back of Cloud’s neck. Feasting his gaze on the stretch of such smooth skin, his heart hammered inside his chest while he slowly began to gently massage the sunscreen from Cloud’s nape over to his shapely shoulder blades, watching the white liquid absorb into his ivory skin.

Sephiroth used firm pressure in circular motions as his rough hands made their way to the center of his elder’s back. Fingertips easing up and down, he swore he heard Cloud sigh ever so slightly, his head tilted back just a bit. Grabbing the bottle for some more sunscreen, Sephiroth felt his nerves spiking as he began to work his way down to his partner’s lower back, stopping just above the hem of his shorts.

Spreading his large, slick hands across the skin there, he focused intently on working the sunscreen onto every inch of Cloud, fingers splayed out as they softly dug along the creamy surface. Reeling back as one struck in the skull, Sephiroth knew he’d be lying if he ever claimed he wasn’t enjoying this, or that his dick was soft throughout the entire ordeal. No, quite contrary, he was massively turned on, stopping himself each time before he ground his cock into Cloud’s bulging buttocks cheeks like some desperate hound humping something.

Squeezing his thighs together to restrict his cock from bulging did nothing but add more friction. In fact, Sephiroth’s member was so hard that it felt like he could use it to chop a tree down, and as he relished in the feeling of getting to touch Cloud so intimately, a tiny voice in his degenerate brain whispered, “Your apartment is only a few minutes away. Some well placed words could earn you a full evening spent with your dick buried in that twitching ass…”

Furious with himself, Sephiroth was steadfast in such a crude resolve, ignoring his own stupidity while he finished running his palms tenderly up Cloud’s back once more, letting go before leaning in to utter, “All done,” into Cloud’s ear.

“You’re the best, Sephiroth.” 

Like a bullet, Sephiroth scooted back up to lay against the chair, careful to avoid putting his boner on display for Cloud. In quite the jiffy, Cloud got up and raced over to the diving board hanging off one edge of the pool. Cheering himself on, he blasted down into the still surface of the water, splashing Sephiroth while he grabbed his beer and finished it off.

The moment Cloud lunged up past the ripples, Sephiroth took one glance at him and almost imploded. As Cloud waded across the pool and climbed back out, his dark shorts were soaking wet now and Sephiroth could see his cock tenting up through them. That’s what did it for him and turned him on in the midst of the infernal chaos he’d temporarily contained. 

Here he was, Cloud Strife, his personal sex god, his idol. Almost unconscious with lust suffocating himself, Sephiroth wondered if Cloud knew how vulnerable he was to any alpha in this gloriously erotic condition. The beast lurking within Sephiroth was uncontrollable, and even if he’d wanted to stop, he knew he couldn’t. No, he didn’t even want to stop…he only wanted Cloud. That sweet ass he’d dreamed of so many times, all the days he’d senselessly undressed this omega with his eyes as he fought to keep things tame and innocent were long gone when Cloud offered himself this way. Now, here he was, Sephiroth’s sex tool for the taking.

Incredulity hit Cloud when he realized that Sephiroth hadn’t even taken one dip in the pool. “You suddenly shy?”

Steeling himself well enough, Sephiroth held his gaze, his eyes unintelligible behind the sunglasses he wore. Cunningly, he permitted Cloud to waver in uncertainty for several seconds before allowing an obscene grin to dispel his doubts.

“No. Why do you ask?”

Rooting himself there like a statue with his hands splayed on his hips, mouth taut and lips pressed thinly over one another, Cloud didn’t need to offer much else. It soon became hot enough to force even Sephiroth into the pool following his drink. With a casual stride, he followed Cloud down the steps and into the welcoming pool, his eyes trained on his backside until the water reached their waists.

Releasing a complacent moan, Cloud sank down to his neck in the water, closing his eyes in full relaxation. “Ahh, just what I needed.”

Lapping at his lips as he watched per second how firmly Cloud’s nipples budded up, Sephiroth groaned, “Damn right.”

In a trance, he followed Cloud when the shorter male swam back, never wanting to be away from him for more than a few seconds. Foot slipping only since he’d moved without considering his steps, Sephiroth quickly submerged himself before reappearing with a splash close enough that Cloud got hit with a few drops.

Sputtering with wide eyes, he warned, “Watch it, you big jerk!”

Flailing still, Sephiroth reared back when Cloud rudely flicked the water using his thumb and middle finger, sending a sharp arc right into his left eye. Blinking back in shock, Sephiroth scowled mordantly, but then calmed down when he watched Cloud showing signs of remorse as he covered his mouth with his hand.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, babe! I didn’t mean it—”

Swiftly, he was cut off when Sephiroth suddenly thrust his open palm out across the surface of the steady water, sending a small wave that doused his partner’s golden head. Shrieking, Cloud spat out the water that’d collected in his open mouth and swept his damp hair from his eyes before tossing Sephiroth a hardened look of pure challenge.

“That’s it! This means war, fucker!” he declared and dove right at Sephiroth’s waist in an attempt to knock the larger male down.

Quick to react, Sephiroth met Cloud with perfect opposition, grabbing a hold of his waist instead. Easily yanking him a solid few inches out of the water, Sephiroth flipped him over a shoulder, though he soon had to wince when Cloud fussed about. The skirmish was rather lengthy, with Sephiroth having to force himself to use all his energy to hold Cloud before he kicked and wiggled away. Cloud was rather slippery and determined, using his fingers to tickle Sephiroth’s spine, resulting in the alpha pausing to recover and unwisely release his ‘prisoner’. 

When he had the chance, Cloud ducked into the water and hid well. Beneath the ripples, he sank to the bottom of the pool and wrapped his arms around his companion’s calves. Wobbling as he tried to evade the grabby digits, Sephiroth tottered over when Cloud pulled his legs forward with all his might. Now underwater, Sephiroth sputtered and coughed water out of his lungs as he wriggled out from Cloud’s grasp and rose to the surface. A second before he did, once his vision cleared and he steadied himself, he then launched his hulking figure at Cloud.

The two men spent the next few minutes fondly wrestling in the water, laughing and grunting as they each tried to get a hold of one another. Slick, soaked bodies slid against each other, limbs interlocked, while they effervescently thrashed around, sloshing water far out of the pool. 

The alcohol had done well to loosen Sephiroth up, and he didn’t see the danger in what he was doing with Cloud. Indeed, it was all fun and games until in a great feat of strength, he held the headstrong omega against himself in a loose headlock, his left arm slung across the front of his elder partner’s lower stomach to keep his body from flailing.

Shrewd when victory was his to celebrate, Sephiroth grinned in a vulpine way. “Ready to admit defeat?” he huskily breathed in Cloud’s ear, somehow having physically cooled off in the heated temperature, yet still burning all over within.

Finding humor in the face of loss, Cloud giggled away, hands clasped onto Sephiroth’s large forearm. “I fully submit to you! All hail Sephiroth!”

The dual meaning of his words along with the precarious position their drenched torsos were in made the whole situation seem suddenly erotic. Although keeping an innocent mien, Cloud’s flesh was flushed, nipples stiff, his tiny gasps fleeting in the humid air causing Sephiroth’s member to suddenly start growing stiff along the omega’s lower back. 

Wary of Cloud discovering his perverted reactions, Sephiroth saved his own dignity as he released him from the headlock, giving his shoulder a playful shove forward. Retrieving his sunglasses, which had gotten knocked off during the ridiculous horseplay, Sephiroth casually swam toward the edge of the pool and lobbed them onto a lounge chair before turning to rest his elbows along the rim. Shutting his eyes, he tilted his head back and angled his face toward the sun. The heat felt truly remarkable, encouraging him to release a long sigh right after he heard Cloud approaching again.

Knowing he could only use the excuse of concealment by separation for so long, Sephiroth’s cock had shrunk back to normal and he wondered if in the middle of the playful skirmish, Cloud felt it begin to grow fuller against his back. Hoping otherwise, Sephiroth opened his eyes and turned to face the omega floating around, gripping the ledge of the large pool with one hand.

Saucily, though not implying too much directly, Cloud laughed and stated, “I don’t think this is what you had in mind when you suggested swimming as a form of exercise.”

Matching his humor and laughter, Sephiroth replied, “Not exactly, although it’s probably a bit more fun than just doing laps like a dumb drill.”

“Yeah, especially since we have the entire yard and pool to ourselves.”

Preventing himself from supposing Cloud was being far too provocative, Sephiroth ignored his overactive thoughts and refocused on carrying out a regular conversation. “Speaking of, how come you aren’t working?”

Easily, Cloud countered through a vulpine grin, “I took the day off…magical stuff, right?”

Tossing him a sarcastic glare, Sephiroth rasped, “Fascinating. You can do that randomly now?”

Turning shy without rushing to state his reason, Cloud bought time as he coyly turned red and tucked a few wet locks of stray hair behind an ear. Eyelashes dripping with water, he shrugged and then cooed out warmly, “Well, yeah. I did it so I could spend time with you.”

Swallowing thickly, Sephiroth was the one who blushed furiously now, a small smile of surprised elation forming on his face seconds after he processed what Cloud had expressed.

“Oh,” was all he could muster. “I mean, you didn’t have to take off work just to hang out with me.” Giddy as he felt, he dearly hoped Cloud wouldn’t land in peril for such an impulsive decision.

Hanging onto the profound felicity, Cloud became too cunningly clairvoyant as he openly read through Sephiroth’s concerns. “Well I wanted to. Besides, I’m not terribly heartbroken about missing a day of staring at stiff, underweight European models walking around a studio while burning hotly under annoying lights.”

Nodding, Sephiroth croaked, “Sounds enthralling.”

“Such is the world of modeling and fashion,” Cloud affirmed tastelessly, expressions conflicted and contorting.

Aiming to cheer up the slightly crestfallen omega, Sephiroth nudged him and gave his shoulders a small shake. “Come on! Try not to sound so bitter! It’s cool work!”

Glumly, Cloud groused, “You haven’t actually done it, Sephiroth.” Gazing at the bewildered alpha and recalling his own words in the past highlighting his skills and prominent career, Cloud spun around and commented in his own monologue, “No, it’s fine. Not bad by any means, I just...sometimes…it can be just…”

Sephiroth looked at him questioningly when he hesitated, but his patience and silence was rewarded when Cloud eased up and divulged far more to him.

“Sometimes, I wonder if it just means I’m as boring as I feel.”

Eyebrows immediately knitting together in consternation, Sephiroth wasted no time shooting such lowly forms of self-deprecation down. “You’re not boring, Cloud.”

Not fully able to weave that idea into his mind, Cloud affirmed, “You’re being sweet, but I really think I am, though.”

“Dude, why?” Didn’t this clueless idiot understand how madly desirable and sexy he was without even trying?!

Unable to hang onto the similar opinions this time, Cloud prattled away sadly, “I don’t have an interesting job or a cool hobby I’m good at.”

“So not true!” Sephiroth vehemently argued. “You have good taste in music and watch great anime!” 

Rolling his eyes, Cloud dully commented without much snark, “That’s not what I mean, though.” Boldly, he interjected, “That stuff is just, like, mild entertainment at best…for my age, I don’t even hang out with a social group and just continue getting more isolated as the days pass.”

Having had his fair share of fake and empty friends over the years, Sephiroth knew all too well that quantity never promised quality, and one could most assuredly be surrounded by all manners of company yet feel so terribly alone.

“Cloud, that doesn’t matter.” Proving his point by emphasis, he gestured at himself and sang out crisply, “You got me. We connect so well! Who needs others?”

Biting his lower lip and playing with his hair, Cloud muttered, “That’s what I mean. Look at you for example. You’re a popular guy many people desire to be with, even strangers like that girl in the diner.”

Retaliating in full, Sephiroth barked, “So? Why don’t you look at yourself too?” Shaking Cloud again, he hammered away loudly, “You’re this wonderful artist who draws amazingly and has his own career and tons of sweet fans! You have a great house, a daughter who loves you very much, and a grandkid on the way!”

Pondering and running through the logistics in his head, Cloud nodded briefly in confirmation, not posing more in the way of conflicting disunity otherwise. Considering the words keenly at least, a goofy grin suddenly tugged at his lips and pushed his cheeks upward to give him much youth and serenity.

Assuming he was correct, Sephiroth waved a hand and smiled brightly. “See? You’re a creative person with an interesting skill you use. I don’t have anything like that.”

“You’re great at sports and building rooftops,” Cloud countered a tad smugly.

Deflecting easily, Sephiroth complained, “And? It’s not like I play sports professionally or really can hang out on roofs for long. It’ll get to me as I age.”

Buried in an ocean of surging, turbulent thoughts, Cloud frowned, tapping on his chin as he offered, “Well, why don’t you maybe try getting into a career as a fitness instructor or something?”

Resisting the urge to squirt more water into Cloud’s face, Sephiroth simply stared at him in confusion for a second before he shook his head in astonishment.

“Cloud,” raising an arm and resting the palm flatly on the top of the omega’s head, he clarified, “this is my point…” Lifting his hand a few inches over Cloud’s crown, then, he snapped, “My point, and how it went over your head.”

“Oooh, cheeky prick!” Shoving his hand away, Cloud pouted on, eyes squinting to produce and shoot out sharp, venomous daggers at Sephiroth for his wit. “I was just trying to—”

Gathering him into a tight embrace, Sephiroth nosed through Cloud’s hair, scenting his fruit shampoo to his sheer delight. Eyes rolling into his head as he enjoyed the hug more than he cared to admit, he at least managed to whisper coherently, “We’ll figure it out later.” Squeezing their bodies together to create the best kind of friction, he almost sighed out forlornly, “One step at a time, right?”

In agreement with unbeatable logic, Cloud grinned and nuzzled into Sephiroth’s heat. “Right.”

Watching as Cloud smiled back at him with such acceptance and awe, taken back to their connection developing years ago, Sephiroth began to feel a slight warmth spreading inside his chest. Peeking at Cloud’s half dried hair, the bangs curling in front of his eyes, he had the sudden urge to brush the wayward strands off to the side. Sephiroth’s seeking gaze then fell to the omega’s ring finger as he carefully tugged it between his lips and wondered absentmindedly what it must feel like when kissing. Spotting something shiny in Cloud’s left earlobe after his eyes strayed higher, he abruptly froze in place and gaped.

“What?” Cloud asked, noticing what Sephiroth’s solid gaze was focused on.

“An earring…” Sephiroth shook his head, slightly dazed. “Oh well. Just wondering…” When he paused once more, Cloud raised his eyebrows in question. “I mean, I was wondering...how much that actually hurt to get,” the alpha awkwardly finished.

Confused by the random inquiry, Cloud did his best to handle it well enough when he clearly had other things bubbling away on his mind. “Well, it wasn’t so bad, honestly. It’s how long it takes to heal that sucks.”

Bobbing his head in understanding, Sephiroth supposed, “Guess I should expect you to show up one day with some tats too?”

Waving him off, Cloud shot that down in displeasure. “Eww, no. I like my skin the way it is, thanks very much.”

“Ugh, I want one so badly but I have no idea what to get,” Sephiroth groaned, voicing his oppositions far too much for Cloud’s refined tastes.

“Can’t say I’d know and be in the same boat.”

Sensing that this wasn’t a favorable topic for Cloud, Sephiroth chose to tease him a bit just to see what reactions he could yank out of his stoicism and uptight nature. “Hmm, well, I can’t decide if I should play it safe and start with one or just say fuck it and go straight for a full sleeve instead.”

Thinking about it, Cloud suddenly caught them both off-guard when his lips parted slightly, his eyes flaring a bit. “You’d look really hot with a sleeve,” he blurted, using his wanton eyes to travel along Sephiroth’s elongated arms from the top of his shoulders right to his wrists.

Mildly disappointed though not to the degree to take umbrage with the unfitting response, Sephiroth snorted as his eyes went round in realization, a strong blush turning his cheeks bright red.

Creeping back, Cloud winced. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

Knowing how to adequately recover from shock with much charm and grace befitting someone rather brash, Sephiroth winked. “It’s fine, I know I would because I’m hot as hell naturally,” Sephiroth replied cockily, although he found that it pleased himself to hear Cloud confirm his handsome features.

“Nah, that arrogance isn’t sexy, Sephiroth,” Cloud joked as he bit Sephiroth’s index finger.

Biting the crook of his neck in rebuttal once he successfully captured Cloud, Sephiroth then leaned back and chanted in celebration, “Can’t deny what God gave me!” A tad callously, he ran a hand through his wet hair and gave his best impression of a model’s pose, staring off into the distance with a slight intensity while flexing his chest.

“Yeesh!” Cloud’s vibrant laugh deepened as he doubled over in the middle of his chortles. “Looks like He should’ve gifted you with some humility instead.”

Although it was all good natured teasing, Sephiroth was proud to still detect a glimmer of appreciation in Cloud’s bright eyes as he regarded his muscular, poised body.

Finally dropping his arms and grinning away at Cloud, Sephiroth realized that this interestingly had been one of the longest times he’d held a deep conversation with Cloud, learning so much more about him without carnal instincts getting in the way. Cases like this heightened his hopes for a fruitful relationship and future blooming, a thrill he was pleased to entice in.

“Hey, how about another beer?” Sephiroth playfully suggested, his buzz starting to wear off.

“Sounds like a plan,” Cloud assented, passing him by and swatting his behind impishly.

Sephiroth followed him out of the pool, and upon ascending the steps, the little black swimming trunks Cloud wore clung wetly to his ass, highlighting the bulge of both cheeks. Dazed when he compared them to the tight thongs Cloud had worn for his viewing pleasure in privacy, Sephiroth’s hungry eyes roamed his backside, dick pulsing as he marveled at how the small, soaked fabric strained to contain his bulbous rump, riding up to reveal the bottom curves of two round, pale orbs.

Once again, a voice in the back of his mind, louder this time, attempted to entice him into luring Cloud back inside the secrecy of the large house to fulfill every lustful desire he possessed as an alpha. Cloud oozed enough satyriasis on his own to entice even the most pious of men. Though he wanted to indulge, Sephiroth regarded their promise well and ignored it just like before, but for the first time, he questioned if he still cared about the reasons why he was holding back.

The lengthy time in between seeing Cloud allowed Sephiroth to ponder their nearly lewd interactions that day at the pool, from the way Cloud encouraged him to rub sunscreen onto his back to their wrestling match that ended with Sephiroth’s pulsating dick beginning to stiffen against the lithe male.

All of it seemed to be a curious mix of unintentional coincidence and deliberate calculation on Cloud’s part, even if Sephiroth couldn’t exactly discern the exact reasoning for it. Was he simply flirting, or was there a hidden motive behind his seemingly innocuous actions?

Chapter Text

After washing his hands and face once they retreated inside the house, Sephiroth aimlessly checked a few vacant rooms, pausing when he heard booming noises emanating from the basement. Heading into the lower level of the abode, it didn’t take him long to trace glowing lights all the way to a HD flat screen TV, noticing Cloud seated across from the device with a PS5 controller in one hand.

Capturing the game of Super Smash Bros. flashing about, at first, Cloud didn’t notice Sephiroth lingering behind him, but when his current game ended, he turned his head in the shadowy direction of the alpha. They made silent eye contact for a few seconds before both men broke out in matching grins of competition.

“Oh, you already know what time it is,” Sephiroth suggestively purred, striding forward to grab the extra controller resting on the seat next to Cloud. 

Sticking an elbow out and hitting Sephiroth for being too cocky, Cloud snapped back in a challenge, “Yeah, time for me to kick your ass again!”

On the coffee table next to the omega, an Alexa flashed red, the feminine, robotic voice announcing stiffly, “Pulling up results of fastest ways to cheese combat in Super Smash Bros!”

Having been caught with a plan to cheat, Cloud turned beet red as Sephiroth clicked his tongue against his teeth and then wagged a finger before his face.

Yelping, Cloud tried to save face as he shouted, “Alexa! Turn off!”

“You’re gonna eat those words, bud,” Sephiroth scolded him, next sentence laced with a deeper warning. “I never lose at Super Smash Bros.”

Facepalming, Cloud muttered between his fingers messily, “We’ll see about that, pal.”

Not allowing his vibrating phone to dare interrupt, Sephiroth developed and relocated his appreciation for reliving days of his past. It felt like decades had slipped by when he’d played video games with Cloud while Aerith wasted hours changing or fixing her hair and makeup before dates. This time however, they didn’t need to run the risk of a needy Aerith barging in on them to yank them apart, and Sephiroth aimed to spend all night with Cloud this way in zeal and enjoyment of the maximum level.

Feeling refreshed when Cloud smirked at him, blue eyes glancing sideways, Sephiroth let himself get amped to crush him. Controllers set to go and fingers twitching like energetic spiders, Sephiroth’s unbeatable reflexes set a standard of an inviolable spirit for three rounds. The alpha was already winning the first and second round, making the third the tie breaker when Cloud caught onto his methods and followed suit. It was more intense than the first two, their good natured smack talk and jostling fading away as they both concentrated on achieving victory, though not entirely for the sake of the sport of gaming.

It seemed like Cloud momentarily was on the cusp of winning when Sephiroth doubled his efforts to change course. Pride and ego firmly set in place, with potent resolve and a love of games unsurpassed, he easily managed to outmaneuver Cloud to deliver him his well earned defeat.

“Yeees!” Sephiroth cheered once they finished the last level, throwing his arms up in victory. “I knew I’d win!”

The imbalance of his own loss deracinated misery, and Cloud shook his head and placed the controller down. “Damn it!” he cried against the discommodious situation. “I was so close!”

Solacious transparency highly gleaming in his eyes, Sephiroth mocked with a friendly pat delivered to Cloud’s arm, “Close is great, Cloud, but not close enough to be the winner!”

Swiftly, he gave his partner’s arm a couple of light jabs, never ceasing even when Cloud glared at him before shoving him away.

Wondering if Cloud genuinely was upset since he was indeed pouting, draping a leg over the other and folding his arms over his chest to turn away from Sephiroth, the alpha then cooed as he pinched one of Cloud’s flushed cheeks.

“Aww come on, don’t be such a sore loser, babe!” With a snide snicker and a grin, Sephiroth reached over Cloud to squeeze his cheeks with one hand, making his lips puff out. “Come on,” the smug male purred while repeatedly poking him in the ribs with a free hand. “Admit it! I’m the superior Smash Bros. master! You can’t ever challenge me again without first acknowledging my status!”

Sephiroth was so lost in teasing Cloud that he failed to notice the older male’s hand rising up to his face until Cloud flicked Sephiroth in the nose, cutting off his ranting diatribe.

“Oy!” Sephiroth shrieked, “respect my authority!”

Even with his lips pursed due to Sephiroth’s forced grip, on his own, Cloud still managed a self-satisfied smile before Sephiroth released his hold in order to gently tackle him.

“You little punk,” Sephiroth barked out in a lower-pitched laugh, wrapping his toned arms around Cloud’s chest. Keeping him somewhat pinned, he growled with playful dominance, “You’ll admit it one way or another! You’ll see!”

“Oh, we’ll see about that for sure, Sephiroth,” Cloud huffed, attempting to work his way out of the firm grasp, something not as easily done without the former pool water to make his body slippery as an advantage.

Blocking any chance Cloud was trying to steal to get away, Sephiroth swooped over, hoisting him up and gently tossed him onto the opposite end of the couch where he landed on his stomach. He attempted to rise, not getting very far before Sephiroth speedily scrambled atop him. Bracing his knees along the outside of his legs to keep him in place, the alpha reached underneath the omega’s armpits to grab ahold of his shoulders.

Once again, while snickering and wiggling around, Cloud attempted to wrench himself out of Sephiroth’s strong grasp, so Sephiroth pushed down lightly on top of his body to keep him braced against the cushions. The roughhousing went on this way while small pillows and sheets were tossed and bundled about, capturing both their limbs and causing them to knock into one another.

Needing a breather, Sephiroth panted wildly, regulating his breaths as he leaned over Cloud’s right shoulder to speak into his ear. “Not as easy as last time, huh?”

Breath catching in his own throat before he swallowed, to this, Cloud had nothing to offer. His formerly brazen expressions were erased as he just breathed heavily. At least he’d somewhat stopped squirming against Sephiroth, but it was then that the younger male realized that Cloud had begun making more deliberate movements with his body, rolling his hips back and forth to gently grind against Sephiroth’s groin, which was pressed firmly into his ass.

Inching closer to chase after the delicious curves and heat by necessity, Sephiroth inhaled lightly as Cloud used his thick mounds to put pressure on his tumescent member. Even through the fabric of Cloud’s shorts and Sephiroth’s dark jeans, his wonderfully fleshy bottom still felt incredibly soft, yet firm, and had no less of an effect on making Sephiroth’s dick as stiff as a bat. Bending to the primal will of their nascent urges, they rutted against each other, using one another well as tools of the creation and birth of pleasure. Cloud knocked himself and worked faster into Sephiroth’s cock, which began to grow even thicker to tent up as the omega pushed back on it.

Feeling the situation escalate drastically while his cock began to fully thicken, Sephiroth moved faster against Cloud. In turn, the omega hungrily pressed his ass against the alpha’s cock with a bit more pressure and urgency. Without thinking, Sephiroth pushed back and ground his rapidly hardening cock along the curve of his lover’s ass, giving in to the sudden lust that swept over himself. Thighs tightening around Cloud, he pinned the omega on the sofa roughly, slamming his hips into his luscious bottom hard enough to draw a tiny gasp from him.

Caught off-guard, Cloud paused when he felt Sephiroth responding in animalistic passion, his head swiveling to the right to look Sephiroth in the eye. With his intense gaze burning with unbridled lust, Sephiroth witnessed the twinkle of mischief just below the carnal desire that clouded the surface, further igniting the sudden and mutual desire he too felt.

Shifting himself, Cloud angled his lower torso just perfectly to press Sephiroth’s cock downward, having the thick bit of flesh fall between the cleft in his cheeks. Filling the delectable slot, Sephiroth’s lips parted slightly and his heart leapt at the same moment his now fully hard cock pulsed against his lover’s ass. Cloud offered a faint, knowing smile, and once again began to sensually grind against the firm erection wedged between his globes.

This seductive demeanor starkly contrasted the normally easygoing but bashful guy Sephiroth knew, yet fell in line perfectly with the slutty behavior he managed to glimpse lying beneath the exterior during their previous encounter. Whenever the time and place was proper for it, Cloud indeed could be quite a savage.

It drove Sephiroth fucking wild seeing his partner’s usually calm, demure disposition give way to the sexually provocative being underneath, and through heavy and excited breaths, Sephiroth erratically humped his backside every time Cloud drove it against his impressive bulge. Their circular motions were well balanced and coordinated, akin to a question and answer call to reach a cohesive climax. Even with their clothes still covering their figures, the frictional, warm sensations were rather delectable to heighten the teasing.

They held increasingly intense eye contact as both men dry humped over the next few minutes, the sounds of cloth rubbing together intermingling with their strenuously exerted breaths. Eventually, Sephiroth couldn’t take it any longer, needing to take more direct control.

In a strong move, he lifted his hips up and shifted slightly to the side, taking a hold of the waistband of Cloud’s shorts with his left hand in a desperate need for bare flesh. Reluctantly breaking away from his gaze, Sephiroth gingerly looked down to watch as that amazing ass was revealed to his eyes while his fingers roughly yanked away the material covering them.

A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat when he spotted the maroon satin thong barely encasing Cloud’s two plump, porcelain mounds. They perked up beautifully in the air, practically begging to be spanked. Hurriedly, as soon as Sephiroth finished tucking Cloud’s waistband just below the curve of his ass, it wasn’t long before he began running his grabby hands along its smooth, ivory surface.

Lazily drawing circles over Cloud’s bottom to match the languid thrusts only wrenched out the most musically glorious notes from the omega’s throat. Meeting his gaze once more, impish desire dancing behind his eyes, without looking away, Sephiroth undid the button of his jeans and pulled the zipper down, opening the front just enough to work out his throbbing, hard dick from inside his boxer briefs. Palm quite gently delivering uncoordinated swats from the right cheek to the left, he took his time spanking Cloud back and forth long enough for the omega to buck many times against his titillating motions.

With his cock now free and his eyes on the prize, he wasted no time lowering himself onto Cloud again. Despite never intending to head into intimacy and only yearning for quality time with Cloud, this was appreciated as a natural course.

Sephiroth let out a sigh of satisfaction when his rigid, warm shaft rested along the crevice between his partner’s sharply sloping cheeks like it always belonged there. Quickly, once he’d taken himself in his left hand, he began rapidly slapping his dick against Cloud’s luscious ass. Following some swats, he melted into the fragrance of pheromones, as did Cloud, reveling in the wonderful feeling of his thick and supple flesh rising to meet Sephiroth’s thickness as it slid along his crack. Already, they could both feel the fluid leaking from Sephiroth’s opening, the sticky mess dripping all across Cloud’s lower back.

In awe, they studied and gaped at one another while their bodies writhed to an unheard beat together. Their feverish faces grew closer and closer as Sephiroth pressed more firmly into Cloud. His lips were parted slightly, a look of wanton lust overwhelming his features, producing the sudden urge for Sephiroth to crush his mouth to them. 

How could a man be so sexy?

Extremely aroused by this point, Sephiroth understood that if they kept this up, it wouldn’t be long before he nutted all over himself and Cloud. Madly close to thrashing and pounding, they were so closely pressed now that he could feel Cloud’s hot breath on his face every time he exhaled. Mere seconds away from diving in and shoving his tongue into his lover’s mouth and his pulsating cock right into that fluttery, slick hole, Sephiroth almost went for the kiss, when the basement door creaked and then burst open at the top of the stairs.

Highly alert now, both men froze instantaneously as a stern voice called down to them in mild anger steadily growing by the minute. 

“Sephiroth! I saw your car parked in my dad’s driveway!” Storming downstairs carefully since she was wearing heels, Aerith Gainsborough shrieked on minaciously, “How dare you skip out on helping me just to hang out here and play video games, Seph! You big butthead!”

Springing apart, in spry motions lightning quick, Cloud and Sephiroth began to rearrange their clothes in place, moving the plushy cushions and sheets back as well to rest on the couch prior to their antics. 

“Sephiroth!”

“Urgh, coming!” he called out to his aggravated ex, trying to keep a steady voice and failing when Cloud giggled evilly.

Whispering secretively, he behaved so shrewdly in ways unbecoming for himself and the risky situation they’d landed themselves into. “Yeah, a few more seconds, and you would’ve indeed come, Sephiroth.”

Kicking at Cloud’s leg to shut him up, bilious nausea overwhelmed Sephiroth then and he hastily stuffed his deflating cock back in his jeans. Cloud made no effort to move, lying on the couch while staring up at Sephiroth with a growing look of genuine disappointment.

Uncertain of what to say to him for the sake of comfort, as Sephiroth finished tugging up his zipper and buttoning his jeans, he stood there for a second trying to figure out something to offer when Aerith’s booming motions shook the entire foundation of the house.

Panting wildly, both men stared at each other wide eyed as they braced themselves for Aerith’s approach. Heart hammering in his chest while his mind appeared paralyzed with heavy indecision from the shock of being interrupted in the middle of doing something so illicit, Sephiroth cringed upon not being half as cautious as he should have, despite feeling initially that they were encased in total privacy.

Several beats of sacrosanct silent, suspended animation elapsed before Sephiroth was finally able to move his heavy limbs and push himself as far from Cloud and remain on his feet. Swaying by the TV, he almost knocked into a large, standing speaker, wincing as Aerith’s shrill voice reached him before she herself did.

Ponytail swinging and beads of sweat dotting her neck and round chest as soon as she entered the entertainment area of the basement, Aerith huffed and puffed like an incensed bull charging on through a China shop. Setting her ferocious glare at Sephiroth, Cloud, and then at the TV displaying the main menu of the game, she then whined and set aside her anxiety, trading it instead for vitriol.

“Sephiroth! You jerk!” Pointing at the game on display, she wailed imperiously, “I can’t believe you’d ditch me for a freaking video game!”

Times hadn’t changed in the least, even if years had flown by. Bold and quite assertive not to care about their height and build discrepancies, Aerith crossed over to Sephiroth, grabbing his left earlobe between her index and thumb finger. Wedging the flesh firmly, she gave it a bit of a strong twist, hissing sibilantly while she tugged him away from the TV.

Wincing was all he could accomplish, feeling much like a small, bratty boy being scolded and strongarmed by a heated parent. “Argh! Aerith! That hurts!”

“Good!”

Giggling away at the supreme display of silliness, Cloud permitted his aggressive daughter to drag Sephiroth right by the sofa, but he was incorrect to assume he wouldn’t receive scorn and terse words from her.

Shooting her index finger at Cloud next, Aerith screamed, “Dad! How could you let him play around here when I have stuff to plan for my wedding?! He said he would help me!”

Making the way over to the stairs begrudgingly by Aerith’s control, Sephiroth wept weakly, “Aerith! Calm down before you get stressed! It ain’t good for the baby!”

“Shut up, I’m already stressed!”

Shrugging when Sephiroth tossed him a pleading look, imploring Cloud to rescue him, the omega denied him that immediately. “Sorry, Sephiroth! A man always keeps his promises, so off you go!”

The entire time as he was literally and physically dragged out of the basement, Sephiroth felt Cloud’s voracious eyes tracking his figure. Before exiting the basement, he threw a swift glance over at Cloud one last time, mouth watering as he reimagined Cloud lying there with his tight ass hanging out and the gleam of a promise unfulfilled in his gaze. 

A tingling shiver rushed up and down Sephiroth’s spine before he ascended the steps, brain and ears tuning Aerith’s snippy words and barbed lectures out the entire time.

~~~********~~~

The restaurant was bombastic with the noise of so many people packed into booths and along the bar. Becoming less endurant of the noise becoming too rowdy for himself to handle, Sephiroth downed the remains of his third beer and belched quietly before setting the bottle down onto the table. He’d been anxious the entire ride over to Aerith’s and then the bar, barely managing to converse with his uptight ex in the car. Sephiroth wasn’t truly frightened of Aerith, even though her ire and tetchy attitude often knew no bounds. No, the reason why he began drinking as soon as he sat down in an effort to calm his inflamed nerves was simply for one logical reason as he saw fit.

As pleasurable and exciting as his antics were with Cloud, they’d nearly been caught. This time, it may have been Aerith, but who knew what else could’ve happened if they’d been a tad less careful? They were treading on extremely thin ice as it was, but the scandalous events of this night proved to be completely void of any rationality whatsoever.

By now, the alcohol had set in, vanquishing the tumult that’d been plaguing Sephiroth since he’d departed Cloud’s house. It churned and bubbled in his system, leaving only quiet, ponderous thoughts of the events that’d preceded his reluctant, though hasty exit.

Thankfully, when Aerith hauled him by force all the way back to help with packing for the celebration, there were only three other couples, all seated at two large tables pushed together, which meant everyone was engaged in conversation that Sephiroth only had to be minimally involved in. After completing his grueling chores and leaving the chummy group, he automatically sought refuge in the bottom of a glass, moody as murky as his potent beverage.

What occurred with Cloud even long after the thick pall of obscurity had dissipated had developed very quickly, any previous scruples Sephiroth formerly held about hooking up with him again evaporated the second they both gauged what the other wanted. Instead of feeling guilty about them messing around together, oddly, he’d only felt fear from almost getting caught. Anything else should’ve goaded him into being more cautious and putting Cloud at an arm’s length, at best, yet Sephiroth truly abhorred that as an option, intelligent and sensible as it was.

There was the matter of his attraction to Cloud, and the omega’s wanton behavior. He was clearly still interested in Sephiroth more than sexually, and the young alpha wondered how much of what had happened the last time they’d hung out together had been an assessment of his personal willingness to fuck around some more. Evidently, he’d reached the correct conclusion, and even if it hadn’t been definitive, his gamble had still paid off for their benefit.

All the thoughts centered Sephiroth back to that mischievous look he’d caught behind Cloud’s eyes earlier that night, and he almost lost all forms of control even out in public. The way Cloud gazed at him was always so...naughty, almost devious. Truly, Sephiroth didn’t think he had it in him to be so courageously sexy. Sure, he’d gotten nasty while they were having sex, but this was different. This almost seemed like he was trying to seduce the alpha to propelled vulgarity, or something close to it. It was a complete turn on, his cock beginning to lengthen when he recounted what happened on the couch.

Though uncertain of what exactly would’ve transpired if they hadn’t been interrupted, Sephiroth did know that he would’ve unquestioningly gone along with it. Cloud pretty much had him fully wrapped around his damn finger at this point, and above that, whenever they spent time together outside of sex, they really seemed at ease, peaceful, and happy.

As he was still evaluating the entire situation and the various consequences, Sephiroth suddenly felt his phone buzzing away in his pocket. Pulling it out, he learned that he received a text from Cloud, the contents of which made his damn cock go from half hard to full mast within seconds as he assessed everything displayed on his screen.

“Look what thinking about you did to me,” his lewd message read.

Below was a picture of a very naked Cloud taken from behind while he knelt on a bed. His knees were spread wide to make his panty covered ass stick out and look as exquisite and round as it actually was. He had his chest bent low, ass turned up toward the camera which was zoomed in to focus on the wet stains from the seminal fluid he’d left on the fabric of his pretty thong.

In awe, Sephiroth brought the phone close to his chest and looked around to ensure no one had noticed the photo. Seated at the very end of the table with a couple next to himself engaged in conversation while another man sat drinking on his left, across from Sephiroth, two guys were talking animatedly about the sports game on one of the TVs.

The waitress arrived with the appetizers and another beer for him soon enough, collecting his empty bottle along with a fresh round of orders before departing once more. Shaking all over and desperately trying to get a hold of himself, Sephiroth balanced the objects in his hands as he took a big gulp from the glass. Carefully, he studied the picture Cloud had sent him, enjoying the sight of his shapely ass in a bright purple thong leaving very little to the imagination, just as he liked it.

“Careful what you play around with, Cloud. I just might actually head over and make a real mess out of you.” Giving into his wanton whims, Sephiroth composed the message, firing it away before he downed more of his beverage.

The effects of the alcohol combined with his tantalizing text message had made Sephiroth more receptive to the thrill of engaging in such a conversation while a group of strangers sat right beside him.

“I so badly want to feel you spurt hot cum all over my body, daddy,” a rather lewd Cloud replied, knowing precisely which of Sephiroth’s buttons to push.

Wincing, Sephiroth then squirmed in his seat, trying not to make it so obvious that he was sporting such a huge hard on.

“Yeah, I would’ve covered your thicc ass with my load doing way more than only ruining those slutty little panties too.”

Twitching and clenching his teeth and thighs, Sephiroth set his phone down and took another swig of beer while he waited anxiously for his lover’s response, attempting to at least appear well adjusted. Listening to the conversations around himself, a few minutes later, he casually checked his phone to find with delight that Cloud had sent him another picture.

This time, he was completely naked and splayed onto his hands and knees in front of a full-length mirror, his upper body twisted around to capture the image of his chunky cheeks reflected in the glass. What brought so much satisfaction to Sephiroth was the sight of a small handprint on Cloud’s pale bottom, leaving the alpha to materialize images of himself rather than Cloud swatting at his ass.

“Sounds hot, but I would’ve preferred you filling me up with all that thick cream instead so I can feel it inside me for days.”

Swooning, Sephiroth bit his lip and stared at the new picture, his cock aching in the confines of his jeans. Tuning out the other ambient noises, he only paused in consideration for a brief moment before typing out a response, heart thudding excitedly while his thumb flew over the screen.

“When I get back, I’ll pound you until I blow all of my thick load deep inside that perky ass, just to remind you that you can’t play with me, Cloud.”

Shooting away the text, once again, like quite the addicted fan, Sephiroth didn’t blink away from his phone, bouncing a leg in anticipation for the next response. It was out there now, and he felt no remorse or trepidation having made his filthy proposal.

“Don’t make any promises you can’t keep,” Cloud replied, knowing damn well he was playing with fire.

Playing right back, Sephiroth texted out in sheer frustration, “My cock is too hard for me not to unload at some point tonight.”

“Show me,” came the demand from someone normally so reticent and demure.

Throat suddenly parched, Sephiroth swiftly drank from the glass he’d barely been holding onto properly and rose to his feet. Mumbling to someone who glanced at him in confusion that he had to piss, he then made his way across the crowded room. Once inside the private stall of the men’s bathroom, he hurriedly eased his hard cock out of his underwear and jeans. It throbbed in his hand, pleased to be touched, and having surged with renewed vigor since Sephiroth nearly exploded back in the basement.

Aghast to be behaving like this since early high school, he steadied his massive cock in a hand and took a picture of it jutting out commandingly from the opening of his jeans, adorned by the trimmed pubic hair poking out around it.

“Here’s what you’ve been lusting after and what will be plowing your greedy fuck hole later tonight.”

Gulping down mouthfuls of oxygen just to stay calm and not hump the walls of the stall, Sephiroth sent Cloud the obscene picture and accompanying message, receiving quite a speedy reply.

“I want you to leave me sweaty and aching…what a cock.” Adding more fuel to the fire, Cloud’s next photo revealed a close-up shot of a few fingers prodding and spreading his slick, pink hole ready to be driven into with a frenzy.

Bending to Cloud’s magical pull, Sephiroth allowed himself to be seduced properly as he wrote back, “I’ll do anything you want me to, just be a good bitch for me and play with that sexy hole.”

Reading his mind, Cloud voraciously sent, “Fuck yes, daddy. Anything to please my big, sexy daddy’s giant dick.”

Taking a picture from a bit of an overhead angle, Sephiroth held the phone up past his head, making damn sure he captured his shredded abs and massive cock jutting upwards for Cloud. “I’ll give you the rough fucking you desperately want as long as you beg for it like the slut you are.”

Needing release, he softly stroked himself while focusing on Cloud’s picture, careful not to overdo it and blow his load so early on in the evening. Quite primitively, the alpha in Sephiroth only wanted to save up as much come as he could to deposit it all inside the omega and properly breed him.

“Please, I need it! I need your big cock pounding my slutty ass! Make me scream your name, make me want it all day and night, daddy!”

“Holy fuck,” Sephiroth muttered, almost dropping his phone in the toilet when Cloud took a photo of himself spread eagle, three fingers buried to the second knuckle right inside that deep pink, stretched out, slick hole.

Not wanting to carry on touching himself when more men piled into the washroom, Sephiroth regretfully decided to get back to the bar. Pocketing his phone, he quickly relieved himself, washing his hands before returning to find new rounds of alcohol arriving. Cheeks tickled pink, he sat down and was quickly pulled into an inebriated conversation with the woman next to himself, much to his imminent frustration. 

Prompting himself to hang onto the moment, Sephiroth bore everything well while continuing to exchange dirty messages with Cloud throughout the night, although more sparingly than before when Zack Fair sent him a greeting message. Deleting it immediately when it broke his fantasy, Sephiroth was no longer occupied by the girl next to himself, but the images Cloud had shared still had the effect of keeping him half hard the entire time.

Right before the bar closed, Sephiroth somehow made the lengthy drive to his own apartment at the end of the night, having drunk more than he initially cared for. Wanting to focus on arriving safely without interference from the police, he didn’t dare text Cloud the rest of the way, truly making a concerted effort not to appear anxious and extremely thirsty for the omega more than he usually was.

~~~********~~~

Aerith’s big day was approaching faster than a hurricane touching barren land. Wanting everything to be quite perfect, she’d set aside wedding rehearsals a few times, bringing a few of her best friends from high school and college, as well as her maid of honor to practice and hang onto an authentic feeling before the actual wedding. 

Participating as well before she could dole out more stern lectures and reduce him to shreds, Sephiroth enacted the role of ‘husband’, walking awkwardly down the aisle with Aerith since Zack was awfully busy and out of town for some time. The show still had to go on, and he begrudgingly did his best for his ex, all while imagining holding onto her father and marching away with him instead.

Marriage? Since when had marriage even remotely entered his mind? 

Evidently, it had, perhaps sparked on by actively taking on an immense role during the rehearsal. Whatever the source of it was, Sephiroth knew it ultimately didn’t matter; he genuinely wanted to be by Cloud’s side more than he previously thought, a terrifying notion which solidified the second he entered the massive park and garden where the ceremony would be taking place in only a few short weeks.

The wedding would take place in a picturesque garden surrounded by lush greenery, blooming flowers, and towering trees. The venue featured a manicured lawn as the ceremony space, with a charming gazebo adorned with billowing white curtains serving as the altar. The reception area was already set up nearby, under a canopy of fairy lights strung between the trees. With everything so intact and beautifully arranged, delightful colors greeting the eye, anyone could be yanked out of a sullen mood to dish out high approbation. 

The aisle was lined with fragrant rose petals leading to the gazebo, where an abundance of fresh flowers in soft pastel hues such as blush pink, lavender, and ivory were arranged in rustic-chic containers. Twinkling string lights were delicately woven through the foliage, adding a magical glow to the setting. Elegant, wooden benches draped with flowing white fabric provide seating for the guests. Tables draped in crisp white linens were beautifully adorned with centerpieces featuring overflowing arrangements of fresh blooms, interspersed with votive candles and scattered rose petals. Each table was named after a different type of flower, adding a whimsical touch to the decor. 

Soon enough, this garden would be crowded, guests finding their seats with elegant calligraphy place cards nestled in delicate floral displays. An expansive dance floor was set up in the center of the reception area, surrounded by cozy lounge seating areas with plush cushions and glittering lanterns. Though not yet lit to full capacity and brightness, they sparkled radiantly, their alluring tones setting quite the perfect ambiance.

Soft background music filled the air as they all practiced their dancing routines, creating a romantic atmosphere as Sephiroth pictured guests mingling and enjoying cocktails served from a vintage-inspired bar cart adorned with floral garlands. As the sun set, the canopy of fairy lights began to scintillate like great stars overhead, casting a warm and inviting glow over the entire venue. Guests would then be encouraged to stroll through the gardens, taking in the beauty of the natural surroundings and pausing to snap photos at charming photo booths set up throughout the grounds.

Overall, the layout and decoration design of this outdoor summer wedding exuded elegance, romance, and natural beauty, creating a memorable and enchanting experience for all who would eventually attend. Aerith certainly knew how to select style, fashion, and theme, a thought which Sephiroth reserved for his own future…if he could ever gather his guts properly and pop the question to Cloud.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t. It would be quite inappropriate, especially considering the fact that Cloud had only recently ended things with Ryan. Only a selfish, disrespectful jackass would expect their beloved to shrug off something so intense and easily move onto another prospect, all without considering their emotions and a time to heal and gain closure. 

As much as these years had proven to Sephiroth that he couldn’t even begin to imagine a future without Cloud at his side, he needed to take things slow before he did in fact propose. It was what he wanted, and there wasn’t any doubt about that. Rekindling his passionate affair with Cloud was far more serious than any other relationship Sephiroth had maintained. While he had considered settling down with Aerith years ago, he knew that it’d only been a half-heartedly composed thought based on the precocious whims of youthfulness.

No, as firm and confident as he was with this choice to have Cloud as a life spouse, it would have to wait for much, much later. No one was ready yet for such a progressive aspect of a deeper relationship, and Sephiroth still hadn’t admitted to anyone in his little group of friends that for some time, he’d been messing around with his ex’s father.

Wanting to shove all that painful noise and drama out of his head, following the last rehearsal, he decided to stay the night away from his own apartment, crashing at Aerith and Zack’s place. A few other girls they’d all attended school with including Tifa, Yuffie, Cissnei, and Elena were also there to share the joy and continue chatting away eagerly. Leaving them to their own devices for ‘girl talk’ after they’d forced him to watch a cheesy romance flick, Sephiroth wormed his way out from between Yuffie and Cissnei, both young women draping their figures onto either side of his body, using his legs as pillows.

Quietly moving upstairs, Sephiroth settled in Zack’s room, groaning when the couple’s energetic pet dog nestled by his side, hotly panting in his ear. Having no other place to rest, Sephiroth tried focusing on the rather sexual conversation with Cloud, immediately feeling at ease and far from the discomfort plaguing himself. 

Falling in and out of disrupted sleep due to the dog shifting around, prodding him with its wet muzzle, as well as the foolish rounds of feminine giggling emanating from the lower level of the house, a weary Sephiroth glanced at the clock on the bedside table. The device told him it was almost two-thirty in the morning. The dog’s furry back was rubbing unnecessarily against him, its breaths coming out slow and deep, indicating that it was fast asleep. Frowning, Sephiroth squirmed underneath the covers and adjusted his cock, which had been in a state of partial arousal since he’d laid down to go to sleep a little less than two hours ago.

Furious when he couldn’t fall asleep anymore, Sephiroth gave up on the task entirely. Tearing himself off the bed and out of the room, he padded down the second level hallway, pausing when he passed the shiny, clean washroom. The door was wide-open, and Aerith sat behind the sparkling vanity counter, currently in the process of cleaning off her makeup. Freezing in place when she sensed his presence, her innocent eyes met his green ones in the mirror, and she beamed while pressing an index finger over her lips.

Returning the gesture and firmly nodding his oath to be silent while the other women were snoozing away downstairs, he jolted out of his stance when his phone buzzed a tad loudly in comparison to the gentle silence permeating all over the household.

Grabbing and tending to it before Aerith could stand and take a look, Sephiroth’s blurry vision adjusted to a few messages he didn’t care for much. Bleariness however escaped when he caught a message from Cloud Strife over the other ones also vying for his attention.

“I wanna see you…I need your thick cock inside me, now.”

Since the arousing photos in the bar’s dingy bathroom, Sephiroth had laid in bed letting the anticipation of a hot fuck keep him awake and half hard. Truthfully, he’d briefly ruminated on the lack of guilt he felt when thinking about the sex he’d be having with Aerith’s father while he was currently next to her in her own house, but he ultimately decided to forgo analyzing what that meant in the context of his wilting relationship buried ages in the past. Instead of swimming in regret, he eagerly fantasized about getting to plunder Cloud’s sweet hole once again, and it kept him in better spirits than he’d been in for some time.

Trying not to salivate, he messily texted back, “I’m horny too. Let’s meet up.”

“Hey,” Aerith’s dove-like voice tickled his ears while she dabbed a wet cloth over her forehead. “Who’re you texting?”

Checking the time, Sephiroth threw and rolled his shoulders back a few times, yawning as he crept away from the bathroom and his inquisitive ex-girlfriend in a swift stride. “No one.”

Noticing that he wore only a pair of dark mesh shorts over his boxer briefs, Aerith never understood that Sephiroth had only done so due to feeling no need to add more clothing that he would have to spend time stripping off quite soon.

“Oh.” Crestfallen for a second as she watched him walk over to the top of the staircase and grip the dark banister, she called out gently, “You’re leaving? Aww, thought you were gonna stay the night, Sephiroth!”

“Sorry, hon,” Sephiroth whispered back, massaging his lower torso as he admitted with some truth, “I’m more comfy on my own bed.”

Grumpy, though she understood that preference well enough, she sighed and approached him for a quick hug and peck on the cheek. “Kay. See you later this week.”

Depositing his phone in his pocket before she had a chance to see what he’d been forwarding off to Cloud, Sephiroth kissed her cheek in return and nodded in confirmation. “Yep.”

Seeing him off, Aerith followed him to the main floor, unlocking and opening the door for him without making any abrupt sounds. She waited there with a hand on a hip, the other on the door handle, while Sephiroth slipped into his sneakers, practically forgetting to bid her a goodnight since he was in such a rush. Tearing down the driveway and weaving past Yuffie and Elena’s parked cars for his own, with only a half-assed wave at Aerith that was quite callous and dismissive, he sped off into the inky darkness towards Cloud’s street.

Chapter Text

Arriving at his apartment’s underground parking garage like a speed demon, Sephiroth flew inside his abode, quickly grabbing a condom and lube just in case Cloud wasn’t as thoroughly prepared. 

Once the incredibly aroused alpha found himself back in the hall, he gently shut the bedroom door behind himself. Although it was pitch black, his eyes were adjusted to the dark, and he made his way silently down the stretched path. It was only inches away from the front door when he nearly ran into a shadowy figure that made Sephiroth jump out of his skin. 

Worried that it was an intruder, he cursed himself for being so brainless not to properly shut and lock the front door. Breathing roughly like the person stepping closer to him, as he deeply squinted, he eventually saw that it was only Cloud. 

Crying a bit in relief, heart pounding worse than a jack hammer, Sephiroth relaxed simultaneously when Cloud did.

“You scared the shit out of me,” he softly whispered, then broke out into a mild chuckle.

Biting his lower lip between his teeth, Cloud whispered back with a timorous voice, “Sorry. I just saw you rushing inside and I didn’t want to shout and wake the building, so I just followed you up.”

“Ahh, I see,” Sephiroth heaved out in a long breath, feeling his speedy heart rate begin to slow down as he recovered from the bout of shock. “Wait, weren’t we supposed to meet at your place?” curiously, he asked, his gruff voice still hushed.

Amid the cacophony of noises due to the building renovators and his lousy neighbors, Sephiroth glanced at Cloud, opting for something better to study. It was then that he finally noticed how little he was wearing. An oversized t-shirt covered his torso and hung just below his waist, allowing Sephiroth a small glimpse of the same bright purple thong he wore hidden underneath. Virile and lusting after Cloud after their teasing and flirtatious texts back and forth, Sephiroth’s dick became fully hard in seconds. With only the urge to take, his hungry eyes roamed the omega’s sexy little body, snapping back up to his face at what he’d drawled out next.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t wait…maybe we should do it here.” Nervously, Cloud beamed for a moment, swaying from side to side as he purred, “My neighbors are home from their vacation, sadly, and they’re rather nosy.” 

“Ugh, so does this mean we have to be extra quiet then?” Even at a low volume just to practice, Sephiroth’s deep voice still conveyed frustrated disappointment.

Tossing his hands up in a mystified shrug, Cloud didn’t seem to object to any prospect. “I mean, we can always go someplace else?”

Losing his erection by the minute as they discussed the matter akin to teenagers sneaking around behind their parents’ backs, Sephiroth groused, “Fuck, so what now?”

Optimistically, Cloud suggested, “We should go to my car!”

Woefully, Sephiroth was ready to chuck that offer aside. A bit too nervous with taking Cloud up on that, he sighed and ran a hand through his soft, clean hair. “I dunno, isn’t that kind of out in the open?”

A bit too cunning for his own good, Cloud pointed out, “When we all lived in a smaller home with thin walls, I used to sneak out with Rowan and do it in the car whenever Aerith was fast asleep in her room.”

Miffed to hear about Cloud and Rowan up to no good, Sephiroth reluctantly admitted, “Makes sense. Still seems kind of risky though.”

“Come on,” Cloud pleaded, stepping closer to Sephiroth with hands tightly clasped, eyes big and round like a cute puppy at play. Overwhelming them both with his pungent pheromones, he added, “I’m close to my heat…don’t deny me, Sephiroth!”

No wonder Cloud had been extra persistent! 

Unable to react on time, Sephiroth only looked down at the last second when Cloud reached out to cup the bulge in his shorts. Holding his massive member so bravely, Sephiroth gasped lightly at the pressure of Cloud’s hand against his hard on. Chasing the heat pooling into his member, he leaned back against the wall behind himself while Cloud drew himself even closer, rubbing Sephiroth’s pulsating cock as it strained out from his thin shorts. Hissing as he tried to hold back, Sephiroth’s clammy hands went to gently hold his partner’s slender waist, slipping underneath the hem of the t-shirt he wore to slide along his soft skin. 

Grinding their lower bodies together so wantonly, Cloud looked up at Sephiroth with those big, sexy blue eyes to entice Sephiroth to incline his head toward him as he spoke softly.

“Please,” Cloud begged seductively, grinning when Sephiroth shivered and accidentally bit on his lower lip roughly. “I’ve been dying to feel your cock inside me all day, daddy…I was so patient and good…”

Audibly, Sephiroth’s breathing became heavy and he toyed with the thin strap of his lover’s satin thong while he continued to plead with the tall alpha for another hard dicking.

Using all the proper words Sephiroth yearned for like honey, Cloud whispered directly into his eardrum, “I want you to stretch my tight hole and fill me with your come before you knot me. Please.”

Like Cloud, Sephiroth began grinding against his palm, his cock rock hard and leaking. Cloud willingly gave him what he sought, stroking him a bit harder and faster while licking in hungry swipes at his neck.

“Remember how amazing my ass felt the last time you pounded it? So fleshy and thick…just for my daddy.”

Inhaling sharply, as much as he needed to touch and get himself going, Sephiroth slid his hands down to Cloud’s thick ass, taking both cheeks in a firm grip before squeezing tightly.

Biting on his collarbone, Cloud then kneaded his flesh, rolling his hands from Sephiroth’s abs down to his balls. “Yes, that’s it. I want to mash my ass against your big cock again, feel the tickle of your pubes on my skin.”

Inundated with the sheer depravity of the description involving sight, smell, touch, sound, and hungering for more, Sephiroth felt himself bursting at the seams. 

“Fuck…” he throatily croaked, closing his eyes as the lewd images all seared right into his brain.

Holding him by the wall, Cloud easily slipped his hand inside the waistband of Sephiroth’s shorts and then his underwear before taking a hold of his shaft. Dragging his smooth palm up and down the entire length, Cloud gasped in awe to watch it become even thicker, while Sephiroth grunted softly. Sensing himself growing larger as Cloud began to slowly jerk him off, in turn, Sephiroth squeezed his smooth mounds even tighter, smooshing and fondling them like large, round supple fruits.

Pinning him roughly without warning, Cloud’s hand motions ceased, just to be an extra tease. “I want your cock, Sephiroth. Give it to me, please,” he challenged rather than asked quite fervently. “Take me out to my car and fuck me until I’m a complete slutty mess…blow your load deep inside my body…tame me…breed me…”

Hearing his bloody phone vibrating at the most inopportune moments, Sephiroth resisted the urge to bash the damn thing to bits. Shirking off his auspicious mood, when Cloud dragged an index finger right around his wet opening, Sephiroth stifled a loud groan and let go of his ass to steady the hand that gripped his cock. Opening his eyes just to ground himself in something real, when Sephiroth looked into Cloud’s eyes, he knew the crafty omega could see the heavy lust and acceptance in his green eyes before offering him a winning smirk.

Snatching his hand rather aggressively, pupils dilated, Sephiroth nearly growled like a ravenous beast. “Come on.”

As they practically dashed down the stairs for the parking lot, Sephiroth’s voracious eyes were trained on Cloud’s gorgeous ass the entire time he followed him out the second exit to lot B into the night.

The neighborhood was completely dead, the only sound that filled the air were that of crickets with their melodious tunes. The air was balmy, carrying with it the scent of freshly cut grass, blooming flowers, and distant barbecues. As the summer night’s heat gradually dissipated, a gentle breeze rustled through the trees, causing their leaves to whisper ethereal secrets to the night.

As darkness settled in, the world transformed into a scene of tranquility and magic. The sky above was a vast expanse adorned with twinkling stars, their brilliance amplified by the absence of city lights. The moon, round and luminous, cast its soft glow upon the landscape, bathing everything in a silver sheen. In the distance, the sound of laughter and music drifted through the air, evidence of gatherings and festivities that lingered long into the night from a nearby park. Fireflies danced in the darkness, their bioluminescent trails creating a mesmerizing display that seemed to defy all manners of explanation.

The symphony of nighttime creatures came alive, with crickets chirping their rhythmic ensemble and frogs croaking in harmony. The occasional hoot of an owl or the call of a distant loon added to the enchantment of the night, bringing a medley and euphoric amalgam of perfection. Underneath the canopy of stars, the world seemed to slow down, inviting reflection and contemplation. It was a time for quiet walks under the moonlight, for sharing stories around a crackling campfire, or simply for lying back and losing oneself in the vastness of the universe above.

In the tranquil embrace of nature, worries faded away, replaced by a sense of peace and wonder. A warm, summer night was a reminder of the beauty and magic that existed all around the world, if only people took the time to stop and appreciate it.

Still, as silent as it was around their immediate area, Sephiroth exercised great caution as he looked around to make sure they weren’t spotted, seeing as both men were wearing so little clothing. 

Leading the way, Cloud’s car sat on the far side of the driveway, parked towards the end by the garage. Almost dropping his keys due to his haste, when he opened the backdoor to move some items about, Sephiroth watched his rear end excitedly. Salivating when Cloud eagerly crawled into the backseat, Sephiroth then took one last look around before following him in, shutting the door behind himself with a soft thud.

Now confined in the small backseat area with Sephiroth, Cloud clutched at himself tightly, his eyes threatening to brim over with tears when alpha pheromones blended with his. Reaching and snagging Sephiroth’s right hand, the left gingerly brushed the hair from the side of Cloud’s face. Hesitance washed away as Cloud lifted his fingers to cover his alpha’s, clutching his palm to his flushed cheek, desperate for kind touch. 

“I don’t feel lonely anymore.”

All at once, for the years they’d spent apart, suffering immensely, Sephiroth knew he would forgive Cloud, if he allowed himself to be forgiven. He was a foolish man, too sentimental for his own good. Not that he would ever tell Cloud this, but he’d learned the hard way that he must never know of his own weaknesses just so his strengths could stand out even more. 

Lashes almost fluttering against each other given their propinquity, Sephiroth lifted his other hand to caress Cloud’s beautiful face. Mesmerized by Sephiroth’s extremely tender contact, Cloud sealed himself in the placid moment and looked up at him. Channeling only true beauty and betrayal of his own emotions, Cloud stared at Sephiroth’s mouth until the younger male leaned down, pressing a searing kiss to his lips. 

Melting into Cloud, Sephiroth abruptly and greedily stole many kisses as he pleased as though they would soon be in short supply. Cloud indeed was his temptation, and he would be the death of him, sooner or later.

Between tongues meeting and teeth clashing, they quickly and efficiently began to undress. Sephiroth slipped off his shorts and underwear, tossing them onto the floor alongside Cloud’s shirt and thong. There was no mistaking what they were here for; they both knew what they wanted and wasted no time in getting it, barbaric as it was with tiny hisses, snarls, grunts, and growls while they fought for dominance as they tumbled about.

Now completely naked, Cloud sat back and permitted Sephiroth to add some lubricant, despite how slick the omega already was. Taking extra precaution, Sephiroth squirted out a glob onto his thick shaft before curling his digits inside Cloud. Fingering himself without much difficulty, Cloud squeezed some of the substance as well onto his hand in order to prepare his hole while Sephiroth began palming himself. The view was spectacular, and he could hardly wait before hammering away at Cloud’s addictive ass.

Once they were both far too slick and aroused, Sephiroth slid onto the center of the backseat while Cloud gingerly lifted himself up and maneuvered between Sephiroth’s spread open legs. Turning around, with his back to Sephiroth again, he planted his feet along the inside of the alpha’s and lowered his ass down to meet the upward grind of Sephiroth’s member jutting out.

Wondering why he hadn’t used his last brain cell when it came to leaving his phone behind in his apartment, Sephiroth silenced the train of vibrations by shutting it down. Taking a hold of the base of his cock, he pressed the soft, spongy tip against the omega’s tight hole as he spread his cheeks for a comfortable entry. Properly gripping the omega after he tore open a condom packet and slipped it on, Sephiroth pulled him down with his free hand while continuing to hold his tumescent cock with the other. Watching Cloud’s hole stretch out to perfectly accommodate his girth, Sephiroth began lifting his hips even higher to stuff such a beautiful ass full of his throbbing meat.

After weeks of fantasizing about taking this gorgeous man again, Sephiroth practically quivered with raw eagerness, forcing his thick head past the resistant sphincter.

Eyes round and fingers clutching at Sephiroth’s thighs for support, Cloud’s gasp of lecherous hunger shook the car as Sephiroth entered him. Inclining himself into that snug orifice, Sephiroth was rewarded with another dulcet moan, the notes spurring him on to lock himself deeply in Cloud’s snug warmth. 

When his fleshly, pale bottom slapped against the skin of his lap, Sephiroth lowered onto the seat once more and roughly ground against Cloud. In his own world of maximum pleasure, Cloud leaned forward to arch his back, taking hold of the front seats with each hand to steady himself.

His loud moans filled the car even more while Sephiroth mashed his bubbly cheeks into his crotch and gave his hole several small, shallow thrusts. Dizzy, though inflamed by their connection, Sephiroth’s hands and fingers were harsh and relentless, squeezing his lover’s ass rigorously each time he tugged Cloud down onto his stiff member. Like all the other times, the delicious, smooth texture of Cloud’s thick ass cheeks rotating and smacking down against Sephiroth’s nude thighs was powerfully a sight to behold.

Tilting his head into Sephiroth’s chest while the alpha somewhat began applying pressure around his throat to cut off air supply for a few seconds, Cloud ceded complete control to Sephiroth. Trusting him to gently limit his oxygen intake, Cloud wept through the suffocation, further inciting Sephiroth’s rapidly growing, beastly, sexual urges. Fingers wound a bit tighter to feel out Cloud’s larynx, and when Sephiroth rubbed the trachea cartilage to map it out, he lost his final portion of rationality.

Holding him tightly by the neck just as Cloud’s pucker held and sucked Sephiroth’s cock into his hot, tight hole, the exchange was quite riveting. Plowing in and out with increasing swiftness and depth, Sephiroth gave Cloud barely any time to get accustomed to his large girth before the all consuming need to fuck him into glorious oblivion utterly overpowered the dominant alpha. Deciding to toss caution into the wind, he momentarily pushed Cloud up and off his cock, unrolling the condom off his flesh and discarding it before he slid himself right back in right to the hilt. 

Pressing the pad of his thumb into Cloud’s larynx while rolling his hips to buck into Cloud’s heated slick glands, Sephiroth forced cries of pleasure from Cloud’s pretty mouth as he penetrated him without a single barrier this time. Pistoning right at the perfect angle, while repeatedly violating his tender, puckered hole with his lengthy, wide rod, Sephiroth leaned back to watch Cloud’s ass jiggling from the potent thrusts. Biting his lip, Sephiroth deeply relished how waves rippled across the snow white skin of his partner’s voluptuous ass cheeks from every thundering clap his strong pelvis made when colliding against his creamy bottom.

“Mmm, yes, yes, ohhhhh fuck,” Cloud cried desperately, too weak to even hold himself up and fondle his stiff nipples. “I missed this thick cock!”

Chuckling and appraising Cloud for riling him up, Sephiroth rewarded him by replying just as wantonly. “Yeah, I missed this sexy, wet hole too.”

His head was lowered, signaling to Sephiroth to release his throat when Cloud mewled with difficulty. Letting him go, Sephiroth reached out to grab his hair instead, his fingers sinking deep into his blond locks. Exerting dominance in some other way, Sephiroth’s muscles flexed as he wrenched Cloud’s head back, exposing his face with the mix of ecstasy and disbelief etched there. Writhing on top of him senselessly, Cloud emitted a pleasurable gasp at Sephiroth’s sudden movement. His eyes were shut tight, the lips of his mouth transforming from an ‘o’ shape into a wide, satisfied grin.

Almost hopping there in Sephiroth’s lap, Cloud kept his back arched perfectly, allowing his shapely ass to jut out for Sephiroth to continue hammering, which the alpha did, mercilessly and with deep, carnal determination. Lining his cock up into Cloud excellently, Sephiroth’s hips moved at an agile and deft speed, pummeling Cloud’s engulfing channel and rocking the car almost noticeably now.

Whimpering as he peeked beyond his eyelashes out the tinted windows, Cloud sobbed in protest, “Th-the car! Noises!”

“Yeah, you like it rough and wild like that, don’t you, horny slut?” Sephiroth bellowed, then slapped the omega’s ass hard with a free hand. “Say you do. Tell me now.”

Resolutely, against the next resounding slap, Cloud called back without much of a hesitation, “Ugh! Yes, daddy! I do! I do!”

Blue eyes blinked open in surprise at his own words, sliding to the side to gauge Sephiroth’s reaction. Chuckling when he could see the slight hints of embarrassment and apprehension on Cloud’s face, perhaps expecting him to be disinclined to that kind of dirty talk, Sephiroth proved otherwise, however, the strong throb moving from his cock to Cloud’s bottom communicating plenty by itself.

Lazily rolling up into Cloud and shaking him in the process, Sephiroth kissed the omega’s nape in a dreamy manner. “Oh yeah, take daddy’s monster dick,” Sephiroth hungrily moaned, spearing Cloud even more quickly.

That cheeky grin plastered on Cloud’s visage was brief and unrepentant. The omega then shuddered, closing his eyes once more to continue enjoying Sephiroth’s hard cock piercing him repeatedly. A bit irritated by the tardiness, Sephiroth swatted Cloud’s bottom again, this time harder, and watched the red marks begin to blossom across his beautiful, porcelain skin with keen awareness and elation.

“I can’t hear you, Cloud.”

“I said fuck me, daddy!” Cloud yelled, tears and sweat mingling as he then chuckled and moaned out repeatedly, “Fuck me nice and hard! Fuck me with that big, beastly dick!”

Salivating at the piercing notes, Sephiroth muttered incoherently, “God damn it, Cloud.” 

Like sludge and tar, his brain was feeling overloaded. Twice more, his hand descended harshly on his lover’s pale mounds in quick succession, delivering brutal slaps to match out the lewd sounds of wet skip brutally slapping.

Filthy words began to pour out of Sephiroth’s mouth almost instinctively, guided only by the desire and lust surging through his veins, setting free the newly acquired vocabulary he’d picked up from his recent interest in rough sex and gay porn.

“Give me that fucking boy pussy,” Sephiroth demanded with another smack to Cloud’s ass. Pausing to deliver a chaste kiss by contrast to his nape, he begged, “Give it, and let daddy breed your fuckhole.”

“God yes,” Cloud moaned, his body jostling from the sheer force of their intense movement. Almost too far gone, Cloud parroted, “Gonna give it all…my boy pussy is yours to take, yours to breed…”

Grateful that they’d chosen to do this outdoors given how loud it now was, Sephiroth promised Cloud, “Oh, daddy will seed you well. Daddy’s gonna knock you up if you aren’t careful…though you’d like to be mine, wouldn’t you?”

Trust was yet again established when Sephiroth gripped Cloud’s throat, tilting the omega’s pallor to expose it in the way he wanted. At the appropriate angle he now created for himself, Sephiroth gently bit Cloud’s skin, mindful of his carotid artery and the most sensitive spot at the back of his neck.

Reckless with his own body and only operating on primal urges, Cloud whined, clawing at Sephiroth’s bare thighs. “Come on! Fucking do it! Plant your seed deep inside me!” Cloud tearfully begged, moving his hips to match Sephiroth’s furious thrusting.

“Oooh, how dirty, Cloud,” Sephiroth moaned. Clutching Cloud’s ass tightly with his other hand, he began squeezing it with a strong grip, pulling his hair just a bit harder. Driving himself forward in one harsh go like a drill piercing through, he snarled demonically, “How’s this for a taste? Hmm? This what you want, fuck slut?”

Nodding vigorously, Cloud affirmed his desires and doubled them in turn. “Take me whenever and however often you want,” he offered, hotly panting when Sephiroth’s palm created such loud slaps upon his pert globes. “I’ll be a great cum bucket for you and your big dick to drop fat loads in all the time!”

Seeing red hazing his vision, Sephiroth quivered, Cloud’s bombastic words piquing the nasty, depraved erotic fervor coursing through the alpha in that moment, and he couldn’t help but imagine keeping Cloud as a fuck toy…his own personal twink to satisfy every animalistic and degenerate sexual urge he had.

Suddenly close to exploding from that idea, Sephiroth banished it from his mind and promptly brought the pounding he was giving Cloud to a standstill, drawing a whine of complaint from the blond. With some reluctance, Sephiroth let his hair go and wrapped his left arm around his chest, dragging Cloud backward to meet his sternum as he leaned forward. It truly felt refreshing, resting his torso against Cloud’s back.

Their gyrating bodies were slick with perspiration, the windows completely fogged up from the heat of exertion, made stronger by the small, compact interior and warm, summer night. The air was beginning to thicken with the scent of intermingling musk produced from two, sweaty men engaged in torrid, illicit fornication. The smell was not altogether unpleasant; in fact, it only drove Sephiroth insane with new visions of taking Cloud many more times.

Quite protective in his stance, Sephiroth held Cloud against his bulk and slid his left hand to his hip. Taking a firm hold, Sephiroth guided the lower half of his body back in a slow rising and falling motion. Easily renewed with more energy, Cloud picked the rhythm up quickly, nimbly riding Sephiroth’s cock at the speed the handsome alpha had set, causing Sephiroth to release his hip to wrap his left arm around Cloud’s lower abdomen.

His breathing was heavy as he concentrated on manipulating and swallowing Sephiroth’s dick deep inside himself, simulating it enough to keep Sephiroth hard but not enough to make him burst just yet. Holding Cloud to his broad chest while he sensuously coiled and unfurled his ass against Sephiroth’s lap turned their frenzied fucking intimate and sensual.

Olfactory bulbs struck with too many heady aromas, Sephiroth’s nose grazed the slick skin of Cloud’s back and he bit down lightly on his shoulder blade, making his partner groan in appreciation. After planting a couple of kisses between Cloud’s shoulder blades, Sephiroth leaned his head forward to speak into his ear.

“Wow, your wet pussy feels so good, baby.” Deeply chuckling, Sephiroth flicked his lover’s earlobe with his tongue.

When Cloud only moaned in response, Sephiroth took it as his cue to keep speaking, brainless and ridiculous as some of his commentary was.

“It’s perfect for my cock,” he continued, focusing on Cloud’s hole covering the length of his thick flesh in slick, Sephiroth’s protruding member glistening in the dim lights around the street. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, Cloud…I wish I could fuck you forever.”

Eyelids twitching, Cloud shivered at that, squeezing Sephiroth’s shaft while it slid up and down inside his snug tunnel. Offering nothing at first, Cloud only raised and then slammed himself almost violently onto Sephiroth, shaking the entire car along the way.

Smiling at the reaction he’d been given, Sephiroth prodded and further goaded Cloud, “You like the sound of that, handsome? Being a personal vessel for me to store my cock in for all time?”

Sephiroth couldn’t understand how such brazen words suddenly came to fruition, as if he’d been waiting for this moment so he could utter them. What he sincerely wanted to say to Cloud was different than fuck talk, however, as he didn’t even know if he meant them as deeply, not without forming something deeper and more impactful first. As far as he knew, this was hot talk just to keep them going, and it would suffice, for the moment.

“Sephiroth, yesss,” Cloud whimpered, his eyes screwed shut, lips quivering. “I want you to only bury that huge pole inside me…only me…”

Sharp teeth grazed his earlobe, moving gently back and forth, while Sephiroth’s hands slowly roamed the slender body, feeling the firmness of muscles not yet fully developed like an alpha’s. Cloud’s silky skin slid against Sephiroth’s open palms as they glided down his pecs and over his abdomen before sliding across his smooth, creamy thighs, then back again to cup and pinch his nipples and breasts.

Hips twitching, Cloud moaned and squirmed like a bitch in heat while Sephiroth fondled him all over, his tongue entering his ear just as deeply as his cock plunged his hole. Nearing the start of a dangerously explosive climax, Sephiroth began humping his ass every time Cloud pressed back on his cock, trying to get as much of his flesh inside him as he could to interlock himself with an omega.

“Such a hot little ass,” Sephiroth moaned into his partner’s ear without giving it much thought.

Only mildly operating on lust, Cloud paused to whisper, “Better than any other girl’s?”

Blinking in shock, Sephiroth’s cock throbbed at the unusual words holding clear signs of envy, a gasp of sensual surprise escaping from between his lips. Truthfully, he would’ve came right then if they’d been fucking any faster...Cloud was just too cute.

“Fuck, it’s so much better,” he informed Cloud truthfully, eyes rolling into the back of his head as his bulbous cock head prodded those fluttering walls of pure slick covered muscle. “This is the best ass I’ve ever fucked.”

Incredulous still, Cloud fished and prodded for more information. “Am I a better fuck than all your exes?”

As he began riding Sephiroth a bit faster, clearly turned on by the comparisons to his previous women, Sephiroth smirked at him, trying to force it in Cloud’s strange brain that he didn’t care about anyone else, male or female.

“Without a doubt. You feel better than any girl I’ve ever been with, but I want you to focus on us now.” Voice guttural and thick with arousal, Sephiroth shook against Cloud as he repeated a bit more loudly, “It’s always only been you for me, Cloud.”

Wanting to deliver a distraction in the form of pleasure, Sephiroth wrapped his left hand around Cloud’s member, which had been hard since before they started their wild encounter, wagging between his legs while their bodies jostled lasciviously. No matter how many times he touched Cloud’s cock, it always felt like the first experience. Sephiroth marveled at how different yet similar it was to his own; not as thick but almost as long, and like the rest of his body, completely smooth, the shaft devoid of any veins or hair.

“Yesss! Touch me!” Cloud grunted as Sephiroth began to jerk him off.

Taking it lightly when Cloud was literally asking for things he was being given, Sephiroth licked at his throat again while fondling him in the front. “Look at you. So hard. You like being my little bitch? You like being wet for me in the front and back?”

Groggy and heady as he rolled his cock into Sephiroth’s tight fist, Cloud bit his lip and nodded in agreement.

Tasting the salt on his nape, Sephiroth hummed, getting a damn good buzz going for the first time during sex. “Feels good to have that boy pussy filled with daddy’s thick cock, doesn’t it?”

Eagerly and erratically nodding, Cloud sang, “Yes, I love your thick cock, daddy! It’s so fucking big! It fills me up and drives me insane!”

Licking his own lips at the bubbling thought he’d been brewing away for some time, Sephiroth finally pushed himself to inquire, “Do you want me to cum deep inside this slutty ass?”

Moaning excitedly, it didn’t even take a second for Cloud to make up his mind. “I do! Please! Do it!”

Sephiroth’s fist was moving more quickly along Cloud’s bobbing erection. It throbbed under such a firm touch, making him clamp down on Sephiroth’s cock every time it surged and welled up deeper inside his body. Cloud’s ass began descending with more speed and deliberation, as he was clearly aroused by the titillation he was receiving from Sephiroth.

Sewing his gaze to Cloud’s ass enveloping every inch of his cock before he slid himself out and teased Cloud with only the tip, Sephiroth almost broke down due to overheating and over exerting himself. 

“Then beg for this load, cum slut,” he aggressively growled at Cloud, tugging on his right nipple rather roughly.

Sloppily kissing Sephiroth’s fingers when they slid into his mouth, Cloud then spoke around them, “Please cum inside me, daddy! Cream my boy pussy and shoot that load deep inside my body! I want to feel your hot seed dripping from my ruined hole after you finish breeding me!”

The threat of release was getting close for both men, and although it seemed like Cloud’s was nearer than Sephiroth’s, from experience, Sephiroth knew his spasming ass muscles would make him bust while he was spewing his own load everywhere.

Rolling Cloud’s nipples between his middle and index fingers, Sephiroth focused on drilling his erection right into Cloud’s prostate. “Cum for me, baby. Cum while I fill your lovely boy pussy up with tons of sperm,” he commanded through herculean thrusts.

By this point, Cloud was riding Sephiroth hard and fast now, his ass slapping repeatedly against the strong pelvis as Sephiroth thrust upward to meet those magnificent cheeks, filling the car with the perverse sounds of wet skin smacking together.

Hooking his verdant eyes to the bouncing ass in his lap, Sephiroth grinned lewdly and confessed, “I came by my own hand to your pictures this morning, and now, I’ll do the same with your dirty hole.”

Pleased to hear that, Cloud groaned, then turned his head and mashed his lips against Sephiroth’s. Eagerly, Sephiroth opened his mouth, kissing him back hard, and felt Cloud’s tongue snake inside past his teeth. Melting into Cloud and resting their cheeks together, Sephiroth lapped at the invasive tongue, and feeling him respond, the alpha and omega began an incessant and lewd tonguing that persisted while Cloud rode Sephiroth’s massive cock in frantic earnest. Fucking each other’s mouths using an equal turn and exchange of teeth nibbling on tongues between mewls and snarls was equally intoxicating as they drove into one another in a frenzied manner.

Both men loudly moaned into each other’s mouths, their tongues writhing together and coiling as they exchanged saliva just like other bodily fluids elsewhere. Sephiroth’s hand gripped into an even tighter fist around Cloud’s hard cock, continuing to slide up and down his shaft, moving at a fast but consistent speed. Stimulated in such a sensational manner, Cloud’s movements along the alpha’s cock were getting sloppy, signaling to Sephiroth that he was on the verge of a mighty orgasm.

Holding onto Cloud’s hips now, Sephiroth pounded his ass harder, attempting to fuck the cum out of him, his fist moving even faster. Winding from side to side, Cloud groaned loudly and began to squirm in Sephiroth’s arms. Fishing for a safety net of sorts, he grabbed onto Sephiroth’s muscular, long thighs and sunk his nails into the flesh there. When his body started quaking, that’s when Sephiroth knew he was about to head into a release, and moments later, Sephiroth indeed felt the warm gush of hot semen begin to pour from his cock.

Hammering at one particular spot as he did, Sephiroth opened his eyes and watched as Cloud’s lips became immobile, his tongue still and jaw slack. Ears poised, he listened fixedly while Cloud moaned longingly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He drenched himself in semen, shooting repeatedly onto his abdomen as Sephiroth gently aimed his cock upward with cautious deliberation.

Finally, Sephiroth felt his own long awaited load rising up every time Cloud’s ass muscles clenched mightily, clamping down and releasing Sephiroth’s member in time with each spurt from his cock. Heightening senses prevailed, as Sephiroth returned his lover’s tiny moans with a series of grunts and pressed his cock roughly against his luscious ass so that he was lodged deep inside Cloud. Then, with one final thrust that squashed Cloud’s cheeks against Sephiroth’s lower abs, the alpha’s cock erupted, drenching so profoundly and profusely the inner walls of Cloud’s tight hole with copious amounts of thick sperm.

Twitching against his palm, thighs like jelly, Cloud broke their kiss with a gasp when he felt Sephiroth starting to bulge inside him, though not yet approaching a full knot. Sephiroth’s fist had slowed as the amount of semen he was ejaculating gradually waned, and now, it was completely still while he focused solely on occupying Cloud’s tight ass with every drop of sperm he could unload.

In awe over everything that’d transpired, both men were frozen while Sephiroth released another healthy amount of sperm inside the lithe omega, their bodies finally beginning to sag only when the last watery dribbles leaked from Sephiroth’s tip.

Holding his breath, Sephiroth let the pleasure of unloading inside the older man in his lap settle. Like a sword in its sheath, his cock was still snugly buried within Cloud’s ass. The smothering feeling washed over himself, and he began to feel dizzy by the time the throbbing in his cock finally started to cease, depositing less and less semen.

Cloud must’ve felt it dissipate also, gently squeezing Sephiroth’s throbbing shaft in an effort to extract as much of his seed as he could, whimpering with desperate need as he slid down to rest after the insanely unhinged copulation.

Collapsing like him, Sephiroth fell forward, his forehead pressing into Cloud’s back. His skin, like Sephiroth’s, was covered in a light sheen of sweat, and Sephiroth suddenly had the bizarre urge to stick his tongue out and taste it.

“That was absolutely phenomenal,” Cloud sighed out, completely content.

“It really was incredible,” Sephiroth murmured into his back, feeling equally satisfied and dazed.

Letting go of his now soft cock, Sephiroth wrapped his arms around Cloud’s torso and held him against his sturdier one. Carefully, he leaned back against the car seat, not caring when Cloud’s warm semen smeared across his skin. Removing himself from Cloud’s hole, Sephiroth heard him whimpering, but then solved that issue as soon as he moved to nuzzle his neck. Needing affection of some kind, Cloud tilted his head to afford Sephiroth better access and rested his hands on top of the alpha’s. 

Gently licking away at his salty skin, finally getting to taste the perspiration from his exerted body, Sephiroth took a small amount of skin between his sharp teeth, biting down ever so slightly, overcome by the sudden urge to mark this occasion as well as his prize.

Back down to earth following the sex-induced high, Cloud inhaled sharply before Sephiroth let go to snuggle into him further. Neither male was quite sure how long they cuddled that like in the back seat of Cloud’s car, but they knew they enjoyed it, never wanting the moment to end. Sticky as they were from sweat and other fluids, made worse by the muggy interior, Sephiroth didn’t mind. The intimacy between himself and Cloud always seemed to produce that familiar warmth and delightful panging in his chest he’d grown accustomed to experiencing in his presence, except this time, Sephiroth was alight with it and content to allow it to envelop him while they embraced.

Planting a single kiss to Cloud’s right shoulder, Sephiroth thumbed his sweat soaked skin, enjoying the soft suppleness of his body as it rested along his own muscle packed one. Letting the night cover their forms like a blanket of darkness, Sephiroth fell into a state of quiet placidity, concerned with little else until Cloud stirred slightly in his arms.

Frowning, the demeanor Cloud held was rather disheartening long before he even arranged his words. “We should go. It’s late.”

“I’ll uh…” Trying not to put up a fuss and show just how crestfallen and dispirited he was now to be separated from Cloud, Sephiroth finished in a jumbled mess, “I’ll drive us back and then walk or somethin’.”

Adoring him for his efforts, Cloud leaned into Sephiroth, kissing his lips chastely. “I love you.”

If they didn’t have to go their separate ways for the night, Sephiroth would’ve told Cloud he loved him as well in a heartbeat.

~~~********~~~

Eyeing Cloud and Ryan’s house with pure disdain, as soon as Sephiroth parked and turned off the vehicle in the driveway, he became quite ornery and reserved to self-imposed silence. With all the hatred he held for many reasons, he glared on while Cloud looked at the dark abode surrounded by motion detector lights, just as nervous and upset.

Biting his swollen, freshly-kissed lips, he softly announced, “I’m going to go in, now.”

“Do you have to go?” Despite asking that quite petulantly, Sephiroth permitted Cloud to slide across the seat to give him room to clean himself up before he handed Sephiroth his phone.

Truly hurt as their fingers touched with sparks sizzling between them, Cloud nodded sadly, while Sephiroth ran a hand through his damp hair, feeling suddenly tired. Following their passionate lovemaking, they’d both tugged on the little clothes they had before they drove on back, the trip over with much too soon even though Sephiroth had deliberately driven under the appropriate speed limit to buy them time.

Peeking past swaying branches filled with thick leaves hovering around the front yard of his home, Cloud nodded again as he pushed the straps of his thin shirt to rest properly on his shoulders. “You’ll see me again soon, Sephiroth. I promise.”

Unable to control himself once he caught the sexually charged gleam radiating off Cloud still, Sephiroth snuck a hand over towards the omega. Cupping his chin first, with delicately light strokes, he brushed his shapely jaw and cheekbones, feasting his gaze on every single flawless feature. Crickets chirped in the tall grass, more beaming, lambent lights from neighboring yards brightly coming to light and producing the most ethereal effect on Cloud’s handsome visage. 

Never intending to act out in carnal want after their heated activity, Sephiroth hissed under his breath hotly, swooping in and pressing his mouth against lips again. The heat surged between them, his hands seeking Cloud’s jaw, tilting his face up to meet his urgent kisses.

Falling into the demanding, aggressive kiss, with a pleasant sigh, Cloud gave over to his presence easily, almost gratefully. Sephiroth pushed his tongue into Cloud’s mouth, feeling the omega easily bending towards him. Unbuckling himself from the driver’s seat, Sephiroth pressed Cloud against the passenger door, trapping him between its edge and himself before moving his lips down Cloud’s neck, across the line of his jaw, nipping at his skin a bit rougher than was strictly necessary. 

Breathing catching in his throat, Cloud hands lifted to Sephiroth’s shoulders, holding him, his voice a contented humming sound. When Sephiroth slid his hands along Cloud’s sides, trailing his fingers down to the top of his hip, like a starfish, Cloud glued and clutched at him, trying to pull himself closer.

Suddenly snapping out of the exchange when a dog barked down the street somewhere, Cloud gasped and wedged a hand between their chests. Shoving Sephiroth back to his original spot, hair messy once more and pupils dilated, Cloud shook his head and groaned in frustration.

“Don’t get me going like this, Sephiroth!”

Apologetically wincing, Sephiroth decided that there wasn’t any way to win. While not stooping too low to be abhorrent to tease and pull Cloud in with the prospects of sex and his own prowess as a dominant alpha, he’d clearly been a tad hasty, thinking he could still seduce Cloud for more emotional company than sexual intimacy. 

Deciding to do the right thing and respect Cloud’s wishes, Sephiroth opened the door, the cool night air washing over his damp skin as he stepped out. Rounding over to the passenger door, he held it open for Cloud as he calmly smiled and suggested, “I’ll help you inside then, like a good guy, okay?”

Stretching his arms outward to Sephiroth, the most peaceful of smiles painted the way along Cloud’s rosy lips, causing his cheeks to draw up to perfection. “Thank you, Sephiroth. This feels good…” 

Breathing in the night air and feeling its refreshing effects, Sephiroth intoned in full agreement, “Yeah, I love summer.”

“Me too.”

The young men were silent as they looked at one another, smiling while standing smack dab in the middle of Cloud’s driveway. Feeling drawn to the omega as though there was a magnetic force tugging his heart to Cloud’s, Sephiroth deeply stared into those big, blue eyes and felt the warmth from earlier returning when Cloud’s smile melted away to be replaced with a more serious look, as if he wanted to say something but was debating himself about it.

Stomach topsy-turvy in a way he’d never experienced before, Sephiroth’s smile faltered as realization slowly set in. Dry as his mouth and throat were, he felt his heart rate quicken, sending ripples of nervous energy throughout his guts, intuition already telling himself what Cloud couldn’t admit wanting to hear.

Totally helpless, Sephiroth was frantically trying to predict what he was about to say and process his own emotional response when his eyes took on a sudden look of determination. Stepping forward, while Cloud stood swaying awkwardly on his toes, Sephiroth swiftly closed in on him and placed both hands on his shoulders. Gathering the omega into himself, while holding a truly unbreakable, confident gaze, Sephiroth was finally ready to confess everything to Cloud on this perfect night, and he did.

“I love you, Cloud Strife, and I want you to marry me.”

After his breath hitched for a few seconds while Cloud remained paralyzed in time, snapping out of it, he lunged at Sephiroth, latching onto his mouth for a deep kiss. The omega’s raw display of boldness shocked Sephiroth into inactivity for a brief moment, but in those sparse seconds, Sephiroth could tell that this wasn’t the lust filled, sloppy tongue kiss they’d shared earlier. No, this was one full of passion and sentiment; in it, Cloud conveyed all the feelings he held but couldn’t voice, feelings that Sephiroth had always mirrored, feelings which had been gradually building with all the time they’d spent together and every interaction, small or large, that took place, feelings that Sephiroth finally returned to him as he urgently kissed Cloud back.

Closing his eyes when he felt the answer Cloud had given him, Sephiroth pulled Cloud to himself and wrapped his muscular arms around his smaller frame, their bodies molding together as their lips sealed shut. Cloud made a noise of surprised relief before his hands slid from Sephiroth’s chest to cup his face. Lips pounded with reckless abandon soon, though eased off to a calmer embrace as Sephiroth gripped the back of his partner’s neck, keeping tight pressure while they kissed.

The crickets chirped around, moths soaring high in the air, the world spinning on by as they stood kissing half naked in Cloud’s open driveway. Revitalized boldly with love, Sephiroth allowed himself to wallow in the flood of emotion he felt until eventually, their tightly interlocked lips began to loosen, bright passion fading to a quiet smolder.

Their lips gently parted, the kiss reaching its end. Sephiroth sighed softly in unison with Cloud as he rested his forehead against his, still holding him close. Neither male had anything to offer, depending more on body language and feelings to savor the moment. Closing their eyes as they embraced, the dull but pleasing ache Sephiroth felt thudding softly in the center of his chest signaled many things, the most daunting of which was how much more complicated his life always had been without Cloud.

Never again would they return to such cumbersome, empty days. He wouldn’t dare allow it. From now on, they would walk side by side, reaching the path to endearment together.

Chapter Text

“You should probably put me down, I—”

“No talking, you’ll ruin everything.” His voice was a gravelly groan as Sephiroth kicked out of his shoes, chucking them aside in the front hallway before he carried Cloud out of the room and over towards the stairs.

By some miracle, while quickly undressing one another, they made it upstairs with both of them unscathed. Cloud practically sighed in relief when Sephiroth held him in his arms and passed through the door frame, gently standing Cloud upright before shoving him rather suddenly to the nearest wall. Boxing him in with green eyes flashing, Sephiroth pressed his tongue back into Cloud’s mouth, tilting Cloud’s head up again to afford himself a better angle. Just as fierce in his movement, Cloud shifted his hands to his alpha’s broad shoulders, holding him as if to keep him from escaping.

His lips danced around the next sigh of pure elation Cloud released, and then, Sephiroth was moving back down, kissing along Cloud’s jaw. With one fluid movement, he lifted Cloud by the backs of his thighs, rocking himself against Cloud. 

Peppering his neck and jaw with messy kisses, Sephiroth’s disjointed voice groaned out, “Damn…still, you feel so light, so...fragile.”

Roughly pressing his hips into Cloud and knocking his skull into the wall, Sephiroth feasted on his tiny gasp, shuddering when Cloud began tightening his grip about his shoulders. Pleased that the omega wanted him so badly yet again that night, he shifted them over to the large bed in the middle of room, tossing Cloud onto it first before he smothered the omega with his enormous torso.

Lying there beneath his form, Sephiroth couldn’t take his eyes off him; if an angel fell from heaven onto the bed at that very moment he wouldn’t have noticed; Cloud looked beautiful. With his chest heaving and fingers clutched tightly above his head as they held hands, he looked worthy of the gods themselves. A sharp whimper and impatient nudge slammed into his body and ears, the noises bringing him back to reality. Glancing forth at a perfect, cerulean pair of eyes, the graceful vision locked on Sephiroth, coaxing his next response immediately.

As soon as Sephiroth, while twining their fingers, permitted Cloud to move, the lithe omega rolled, turning to his stomach and baring his backside fully to the other male. Giving a small toss, his almost shoulder-length blond spikes splayed out behind himself as he glanced over his shoulder, and he smirked at Sephiroth’s current expression.

“Fuck me, Sephiroth.” Naughty enough to twitch his bottom, he placed himself on full display as he goaded the younger male. “Fuck me like a good husband does.”

Sadistically beautiful, enchantingly domineering, though shy and reserved when he had to be, Cloud Strife was an enigma. A walking mystery, though one of seduction, even a tiny look in his playful eyes brought about a near uncontrollable pull of sensuality all through the younger man. When Cloud’s body began twitching as trilling sounds meant to entice the alpha resonated and reverberated all about, Sephiroth knew he was done for. Having no choice and no way of fighting Cloud, he caved into his demands, ready and willing to become his slave.

Clammy, slightly trembling limbs held onto Cloud, steadying and bracing Cloud before the larger man’s cock moved up and down the cleft of Cloud’s ass. Teasing him through the thin layer of his shorts, in no time, when that wasn’t enough, Sephiroth tore off Cloud’s clothes and underwear. Still wearing his own mesh shorts, Sephiroth snuck his length out from the front, spreading Cloud open, aiming right for his pucker. In one go, he entered the omega, watching in awe as Cloud’s head fell back the moment a low moan escaped him, sounding so strangled, desperate for air, though equally at ease.

“Sephiroth!” As if stunned to believe they were connected, Cloud whirled around, seeking out the place their flesh joined before he again wept out in total shock and desperation, “Sephiroth!”

The cool rivulets of fresh, undiluted passion and rapture traveled over rapidly heating skin in flowing forms akin to mini-rivers, slipping giddily across locked lips, and giving both men the occasional taste of sky as the rare few bits made it between them. Crystalline droplets encased in heated fire gathered quickly, bunching like sparsely scattered dew across golden and silver eyelashes, and weighing them down with the extra burden.

“Sephiroth?”

Cerulean flickered back to him, pupils dilated, colors so dark and encased in impious promises to follow; those fluttering, golden eyelashes did nothing to veil the expression of pure love and contentment. 

Nearly coming apart himself, Sephiroth hardly managed to grunt out something incoherent, though he took the opportunity to slide forward, capturing the petal soft, awaiting lips almost gently before beginning a slow, steady rhythm. Thighs meeting the back of Cloud’s knees, each time Sephiroth rocked against Cloud, he both heard and felt his quiet, lusty moan vibrate against his lips with the movement, and he growled lightly in response.

“More, Sephiroth!” Cloud ordered in a groggy mewl, the notes ending in a throaty plea. More euphonious cries pressed over his lips between their kissing, and the omega’s bright eyes fluttered shut with a shudder. “Fuck me! Breed me!”

The alpha’s left hand slipped beneath himself with eerie precision, splaying across his stomach and guiding them together fully. Once pressed even closer than flesh and blood, he spoke voraciously into blond, silky hair as it brushed over his cheek.

“Yeah, I recall mentioning what an exceptionally impressive selection of vocabulary you possess, Cloud.”

Not only to halt his thrusts, Cloud started to smirk, and almost replied when Sephiroth anticipated his next plan and prevented it by giving a single, rough thrust into him. Doubling over in shock, Cloud’s words cut off instantly into some unidentifiable cross between a gasp and a whimper. Mildly stopping, Sephiroth prepared to question in worry whether he’d been too rough, when Cloud got out a single command shakily.

“Again! Like that!”

Taking his turn to be a bit facetious, Sephiroth licked Cloud’s ear, tongue slathering his left cheek before he purred pleasantly, “Yes daddy.”

Their lips met hungrily, and Sephiroth did just as Cloud demanded, brutally thrusting in and out of him until he’d drenched his entire abdomen in Cloud’s glistening slick. It took little time to get up a pace, mutual incoherent grunts and moans fading quickly into their kisses and filling the otherwise silent room with wordless, descriptive tales of their actions.

Despite being smaller, Cloud easily rocked back to each press, gripping into the sheets beneath himself and only marginally struggling to spread wider with every hit. Occasional mutterings of ‘more’, ‘harder’, and ‘faster’, made it into the air between moans, and each time, as they arrived, the more dominant male gladly complied.

Preparing to give his lover quite the wanton show, Cloud arched his back, deliberately providing a decent show of his toned bottom being pounded. Leaning on his palms and twitching, his groans increased when Sephiroth’s skilled hand kept at his stomach, and somehow, it felt almost comforting, even as it guided each of their increasingly sporadic couplings. Focusing on the sights and thriving on them alone, a brutal thrust from Sephiroth’s cock reached someplace deeper within those tight, fluttering walls.

Immediately, it sent a rough stem of pleasure through Sephiroth when he twisted his hips and dragged midway out, causing the smaller form to arch, fingers scrambling for anything to grab onto. The tangled sheets wound around them in turn as Cloud was roughly taken, body almost crumbling beneath Sephiroth’s savagery. 

For a few breathless, prolonged seconds, Sephiroth paused, his chiseled, bare chest pressed, panting, against the smooth, sweat-slicked back beneath himself, and their bodies froze there in perfect, entangled alignment. The world could end right now, yet he’d never have enough of Cloud.

Finally, when he sensed and both dreaded the temporary lull, Cloud got out in a chopped, almost raspy pant, “Move!”

With true happiness unconstrained, Sephiroth obliged. Picking up the pace and practically forcing Cloud to buck into the air after each set of massive pounding, Sephiroth noticed how Cloud’s body worked like a musical instrument, giving into his beck and call, his only aim to cave to the will of its master. The power in those toned, smooth legs spread to impossible positions. Cloud was just as frisky as he was creative, experimenting and exploring to his heart’s content while simultaneously entertaining Sephiroth.

After the first time in the new position where he took Cloud from the side with a leg draped up over a shoulder, Sephiroth began hitting the same area almost relentlessly, and Cloud quickly lost all breath and sane thought left in his mind. Sephiroth went on pounding, though vaguely registered Cloud’s clammy hands catching his own, strong, powerful fingers lacing through his smaller ones, which appeared cartoonishly tiny in comparison. Mind reeling back to Cloud often seeking out his hand to dearly hold onto right before he experienced a powerful orgasm, Sephiroth applied an even greater grip on those digits, feeling that desperate squeeze communicating its own form of gratitude for his efforts.

Applying more delicacy unlike his hips, Sephiroth brushed away the piles of damp hair clinging to the omega’s neck, and Cloud shuddered as lips pressed there. Even with all else swarming his senses, the soft, heated touch sent tiny sparks of fire through his veins, and Sephiroth felt the beginnings of release curl in his gut. The kiss pressed lower, between his partner’s shoulder blades, and he felt a tiny, mixed gasp and groan escape his throat as the slick flicker of a tongue made it over the sleek, sweat streaked area of his nipples.

Tending to his chest as he leaned up, Cloud whimpered brokenly, “Oh God, Sephiroth…” He then shut his eyes, lower lip caught roughly between his alpha’s teeth as his panting came through so ragged and hungry. “God, Sephiroth! P-please, please just…oh…”

Nibbling from his lower lip to his chin, Sephiroth snickered, having some idea of what Cloud needed. “Please what?”

Reacting to the deep, guttural growls of the alpha, Cloud’s teary eyes began fluttering shut. Holding his breath once he could do so, he then turned back over his shoulder, eyes bulging as he implored Sephiroth, “Please, kiss me!”

Wild, lecherous, raw, and violent, Sephiroth’s lips crushed onto his elder’s without a moment’s hesitation, and in that brief moment, it took nothing more to send Cloud into a mindless frenzy and babbling mess of inelegance. Without even touching himself, he came hard, with a short, almost startled cry, his eyes tightly shut and lips parted as the younger male continued to kiss him until he’d nearly turned into a messy pile of jelly.

It took Cloud a moment to come back to reality, his mind dazed, and body worn as he surrendered to the alpha treating him like an omega he could rule over. Succumbing to the feeling of the warm, undeniable presence of the silver-haired male now filling him, his movements ceased, as did his cries. Slowly, a soft smile curved to his lips, and he kissed back, petting Sephiroth’s hair in place and nestling against him.

When Cloud needed air, dislodging their lips with a tiny grin that erred on the side of fatuous regard, Sephiroth shocked him out of his skin, taking much pleasure from witnessing that smug look erase from Cloud’s veneer.

“We’re not done yet.”

In seconds, his tongue was back in Cloud’s mouth, and he lifted the omega as easily as one would a tiny pet. Carrying him a few strides over to the middle of the bed, Sephiroth threw Cloud onto it roughly. Hands now free, he slid them along the insides of Cloud’s spread legs, relishing the contact of such sweet skin. Yanking his shorts and underwear off his hips and away from the bed impatiently, Sephiroth now began easing his greedy lips over the newly exposed skin on Cloud’s body he hadn’t yet marked, savoring the way he tightened his grip on him when his bites pinched sore spots.

Minding his pressure, Sephiroth dared to slant a knee between Cloud’s thighs, pressing against him, causing the lovely omega to moan beautifully, his fingers tightening across the back of Cloud’s neck. Nudging Cloud back down, Sephiroth wasted no time pinning Cloud between himself and the mattress, the omega’s warm, delicate skin turning a deeper shade of red delightfully under his care. Dragging the teasing out, Sephiroth ground his erection against Cloud’s hips, causing him to moan once more, though it ended on a rather frustrated note when Cloud showed clear vexation for Sephiroth’s antics in the bedroom.

“Please, just stop with the banter and just—”

“Just what?” Playfully, Sephiroth leered over Cloud, a refined, but predatory glint in his eye. “Get on with the show? Hurry up and finish? I’m sorry, am I BORING you, my love?”

Throttled back when Sephiroth bashed their lower bodies together, Cloud groaned, covering his face while complaining, “Stop being so goddamn dramatic!”

Sephiroth lightly scoffed at this, pulling Cloud’s hands away and pressing them to the bed. “Dramatic? I hardly think that’s warranted.”

Rolling his eyes, Cloud bemoaned more than acquiesced, through an aggrieved sigh, “Alright, yes, fine, whatever.”

“Well,” Sephiroth mocked, clicking his tongue against his lower teeth, “someone’s impatient.” 

“You—”

He let go of Cloud’s hands, sliding his fingers along his sides slowly, teasingly tickling him. “It sure would be a shame if I were to take my time.” As he dared to then rock himself against Cloud, pulling another moan from between his gritted teeth, he had to also rub in another fact Cloud couldn’t escape from. “It’s a good thing I have such great stamina.”

Deadpanning as his nostrils flared to voice his next set of complaints, Cloud shook on the spot, frozen by Sephiroth’s domineering aura. “You can’t be serious right now.”

“Am I ever not? I am a patient man.” In lazy, odd patterns, Sephiroth drew circles on Cloud’s bare skin with his finger, trailing the gooseflesh which now kissed every part of his body.

Regarding him just as puckishly, Cloud snickered and spread his legs even wider, a hand covering his pert cock. “What point are you trying to prove?”

Keeping himself composed was tricky when Cloud looked so exquisite, but Sephiroth managed the act well with a loose shrug. “Just trying to teach you a lesson, I suppose.”

“About what?”

He shrugged again and decided to settle for something less sensible, especially when his blood was already boiling over with too much lust. “Just want to torture you then, I guess.” 

It was Cloud who surprised him as he touched the side of his face gently, seducing Sephiroth into a kiss. More agreeably than he liked, Sephiroth parted his lips ever so slightly, and by instinct, Cloud took the opportunity to deepen the connection, moving his hand to Sephiroth’s back. Shifting closer to him, Sephiroth had to remind himself to breathe, to not give into this treacherous incubus, but it was a battle he didn’t have much of a chance in winning.

Cloud climbed on top of him, lips moving to his neck, his erection pressing against the warm skin of Sephiroth’s stomach, and it awakened every synapse and nerve in Sephiroth’s lustful body.

“Please?” 

The word was a whisper against his throat, and then, rejuvenated with the desire to claim and overpower someone smaller, he was pushing Cloud down beneath himself, musical cries coming from Cloud’s delicately parted lips. Pivoting Cloud around as one would a toy, Sephiroth flung the omega midway off the bed, chest draped onto the mattress, his bottom jutting out in the air. Holding him there, Sephiroth ground himself against Cloud’s ass, digging his fingers into his globes before kissing each one tenderly.

Dragging his face with minor reluctance away from Cloud’s essence to reach his upper torso, Sephiroth’s possessiveness reared its head as he growled into the crook of Cloud’s neck, “Say it again. Properly.”

Begging with round, dewy eyes, never relinquishing his grip on Sephiroth’s hand, Cloud mewled, “Please, daddy alpha! Please!”

Yes…someone as strong as Cloud needing him was a beautiful sight, satisfying to say the least. Delighted with what he heard with a trace of intemperate implication, Sephiroth kissed roughly along Cloud’s throat, trying to taste the need in his tone. 

Swiftly, as he pushed Cloud to the mattress even harder, without holding back, Sephiroth slid his stiff erection inside his hole, amazed that he could go balls deep without any resistance. Screaming when Sephiroth worked himself in until his hips met Cloud’s posterior muscles, Cloud arched into his presence, gasping deliciously. Never leaving him to fear their union even for a moment, Sephiroth’s hands laced beneath his arms to hold Cloud tightly. Planting his left foot on the mattress and bending the knee to support himself, Sephiroth wildly thrust into Cloud’s wet passage, moaning his greedy pleasure against Cloud’s still open lips. 

Tugging at a few of Sephiroth’s silver strands, Cloud groaned and thrashed about as Sephiroth thrust into him, giving over the lead to him, letting the alpha set the pace. Handling himself well enough for being buried in a tight, snug space made perfectly for his cock, Sephiroth slid his hands down to the sides of Cloud’s hips, holding him still, building up a rhythm as he pounded against Cloud’s luscious ass, desperate to reclaim his territory. 

This heavenly omega was his. Cloud only belonged to him…Sephiroth needed him.

Eyes quite red, he breathed out dangerously, “You’re goddamn mine, do you understand?”

Cloud couldn’t respond, his spasmodic gasps growing higher in pitch as he was thrust into more and more quickly. Weeping, his fingers tightened against the edge of the bed while Sephiroth turned into a complete savage. Cloud was again on the cusp of coming, his orgasm on the brim of spilling over. The sensation of Sephiroth’s lips against his own filled the omega, intoxicating him beyond what he could manage.

Everything had changed as to their situation, of that much, Sephiroth was certain. No longer was he acting out of exhausted hate, though he was taking Cloud like a mindless monster, without any sort of tenderness. The roughness of his actions confirmed that, and Cloud didn’t seem to care, consuming everything Sephiroth offered.

The desire they shared was unbreakable and unreal. Sephiroth couldn’t even fathom going any other day without it, unable to shake the mourning in his chest at the mere thought of another prolonged absence. Ensuring that Cloud would never leave his side, his hands held Cloud tightly against himself, but it was never tight enough, never close enough.

Balls slapping Cloud’s ass now, forcing the omega to shunt along with the motions, Sephiroth cried out in adoration, “God damn. I really love you, Cloud!”

His words were heavy against Cloud’s neck, and then, all of a sudden everything clicked into place for Cloud.

Shouting for all to hear, as if bewitched, he trembled and aimed his words at the ceiling. “I love you! My alpha! MARK ME! BIND ME!”

Well, shit. All these years and all it took was a seduction attempt to get Cloud to admit that they were indeed destined soulmates. Vision going somewhat blurry as the room shook while he rammed harder and faster, Sephiroth urgently pressed himself to Cloud, swiping at the back of his neck to brush aside any hair in the way. Locating the delectable spot by a vein bulging beneath the flesh, aiming for the zone, Sephiroth dove at Cloud, his teeth burying themselves only an inch beneath warm skin. 

Hanging on to ensure that the bite had landed on the pressure point, when blood oozed into his mouth, Sephiroth relinquished his grip, only using his lips to pull at Cloud. Lapping and suckling at the blood, he listened to Cloud’s breath, haggard, anxious, almost afraid. Comforting the omega he’d newly bound himself to, Sephiroth placed his arm beneath Cloud, meshing his chest to his spine, hips gradually picking the pace once more after the potent bite. 

Imagining a glittering diamond ring on Cloud’s finger, one he would give him soon, Sephiroth smiled when clung to him desperately, as if he were drowning. Though it was phenomenal, he couldn’t help but be a little concerned. Old habits die hard indeed.

Wiping his lips with the swipe of his tongue, as he angled his hips to tear deeper into Cloud, Sephiroth growled furiously, “You’re mine, omega! You’re mine!”

Animalistic now, Sephiroth crashed against Cloud, no doubt leaving at least a few bruises across his body, yet, it still wasn’t enough. Guilt wrestled within Sephiroth to be doing such a brazen thing smack dab on the same bed Cloud had shared with someone else. Chest feeling heavy and less because he was out of breath, a sorrowful mix of pains were fleeting. 

Beneath him, Cloud opened his eyes, watching the ceiling as Sephiroth moved across him, within his deepest parts, physically staking his claim. The alpha won again. His hot breath darted across Cloud as he explored the conquered territory of his body, enjoying the liberty with which he handed it over. Their gasps quickened in pace as he finished, his breath scattered across Cloud’s open lips. Together, they were burning, consumed, exhilarated, only the feeling of Cloud against his body keeping Sephiroth grounded. 

Twisting himself back, Cloud brought his hands to the sides of Sephiroth’s face, holding his scorching kiss to his lover’s lips, leaving Sephiroth feeling absolutely destroyed.

How could this be? No matter; if he insisted upon his immense glory, he could have it. 

Sephiroth’s drunken thoughts reeled as he tried to catch his breath, kissing Cloud back while gyrating against him still. Lewdly, he shoved his tongue into Cloud’s mouth just like his bulging cock, all lust and desire, his legs tightening against his sides, trying to hold him in place.

At once, in the middle of their ravenous coupling, two separate voices all too familiar emanated from the open doorway of the bedroom. Immediately feeling eyes on his naked body, Sephiroth broke the kiss he was sharing with Cloud, head snapping up to catch one of the worst nightmares he’d ever entertained come to reality.

There, right in the brightly lit hallway, right beneath the beaming lights, with a shaky hand draped on the doorframe, Ryan’s wide eyes gazed at Sephiroth and Cloud in sheer terror. Face ghastly pale, his chin quivered, mouth falling open wider as though to help a scream shoot out, but it never did. Inches behind Ryan, with tiny creaks in the floorboards, Zack Fair also stood in the hall, gaping in awe at first and then wincing the moment he looked on at Cloud and Sephiroth completely naked.

Breaking out into a blush of pure mortification, Cloud’s forehead was suddenly encased and creased in wrinkles, his mewls turning quite broken and pitiful as he broke out of Sephiroth’s grip. Disconnecting their bodies and clamping a hand onto the back of his swollen, bleeding neck to hide it, he grabbed his discarded clothes from the floor. Barely balancing himself, he hurriedly started putting them on, messily sweeping over to Ryan while sobbing.

“Ryan! It’s not–please, just—”

Slapping his outstretched hands away as he choked on his own saliva, Ryan stumbled backwards over his own feet. Nearly tripping a few times as he crept away, he pointed at Cloud as he finally roared, “What the hell?! What the hell did I ever do to you?! How could you?!”

Tearing after him, Cloud shrieked on, “Ryan! Please! Let’s just talk!”

Wrangling his arm out of Cloud’s seeking grasp, Ryan screamed through a blood red face and hoarse voice, “DON’T TOUCH ME!” Taking one more sickening look at Cloud from his head right down to his feet, he screamed with all his fury, “HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!”

As their feet thudded and slammed down the steps and far past the front door into the dark streets, Sephiroth fell back onto the bed, completely deflated and defeated. Covering his eyes with a hand in pure shame over his own deplorable actions, he cursed himself for making decisions with his cock, yet again falling into the same pit of his own callous, unfettered stupidity.

Still cringing in the doorway, after a few seconds of pure awkwardness, Zack Fair raised an index finger in the air, a dark eyebrow twitching upwards while he shook his head in utter dismay. “You know, you should really check your phone more often, Sephiroth.”

~~~********~~~

“I tried to warn you, dude. You just kept ignoring my texts and I couldn’t call either due to shitty reception out of town.”

Scrolling along his list of unread texts, Sephiroth easily determined that he’d outdone himself for such brazen idiocy indeed. Zack Fair had been telling the truth. Most of his messages consisted of warnings entailing Ryan set to head back home to Cloud, wanting to reconcile with his partner, encouraging Sephiroth to be extra careful, have a mind not to do anything foolish since Ryan was halfway home…

Chucking his phone on the roof he’d been perched on with unceremonious regard, he growled his way through the rest of his mounting annoyances while Genesis, Angeal, and Zack looked on. Wary due to his outbursts as they sat near him and their spread over tools, Angeal and Genesis exchanged withering looks, while Zack remained the calmer one of the group, leaning against the brick wall directly under them with folded arms sealed across his chest and his head bowed.

With his entire day torn to shreds and spat back out, Sephiroth still hadn’t processed just how the hell something so explosively unfathomable had happened in the first place. Granted, they hadn’t shut and locked any doors before screwing each other’s brains out, but from what he’d been told, Ryan was fine with leaving Cloud…the relationship was over…

Furious more so with himself for not having the decency to scrounge up more responsibility and intelligence to prevent this volcanic eruption, Sephiroth flung an epithet directly at himself.

“God, I’m such a dumb motherfucker!”

Being a bit of a wise ass at such an inappropriate time, Angeal commented with a crooked smile, “Technically, Sephiroth, you’re an official father fucker now.”

Swatting him aggressively on the back for his stupidity, after reprimanding his ridiculously impulsive spouse, Genesis cried down to Zack, “How’d you even run into Ryan anyway? Talk about a coincidence of the century!”

Head still mostly tucked into his chest, Zack shut his eyes and answered succinctly, “I was going to the next meeting for work in Kalm, and I heard him shouting away on his phone in the subway station to someone named ‘Cloud’. Put two and two together.”

With one half of the unholy story solved, Sephiroth forced himself to dig deeper to draw out the other portion. “Yeah, but how did you know that I was…umm…you know!”

Rounding on Sephiroth with his head dipped back to reflect a caustic demeanor in the bright sunlight steadily streaming down, Zack practically screeched, “Dude! It was so obvious when you guys had dinner with us! You were looking at Cloud in the same way I look at Aerith!”

Memory winding back to the same evening when Aerith had announced with reverent pride her engagement and pregnancy, he had been ogling Cloud quite intensely. Assuming no one had noticed, he’d taken plenty of eyefuls of Cloud’s enhanced beauty, not half as abstemious as he should’ve been to conceal his intentions from Zack. 

Rushing to the end of his explanation, obviously uncomfortable, Zack concluded, “Anyway, I noticed it back then and tried warning you to stay away because of that Ryan guy!”

Of course. Life and fate just had to entangle and collaborate perfectly to create such devious irony. The fact that Zack Fair, the least likely of people to be that keenly aware of his surroundings, had been the one to figure it all out first. This was perhaps what he deserved as a presumptuous jerk to suppose that Zack was a true moron.

Exasperated to every level possible, Sephiroth couldn’t even pretend to work now, slamming many items around to startle Angeal and Genesis. 

“I just don’t get it! Why can’t I get anything right?!” Chucking the rhetorical question around, he screeched on, “All this time, I swear, I tried never to repeat the same mistakes I made, but it always happens to me anyway!”

Soothing him just as the greatest friends they were, Genesis and Angeal hugged him close, whispering comforting phrases Sephiroth normally would’ve latched onto and believed with every fiber of his being, but knew wouldn’t bode well in the long-run. At the end of the day, he was an adult, just as culpable as Cloud for the decisions he’d made. Expecting anyone else to make excuses was the very quintessence of enabling, and it was that black and white.

Appearing quite stricken with conflict, eyebrows knotted and expressions fleeting between pain and stern resolution, Angeal sighed, giving Sephiroth’s form a rough shake. “Sephiroth, I don’t—”

Alert faster than anyone else, Zack gasped and loosened his arms from over his chest to point down the street at the curb near the house they were at. “Guys!”

Surely, a resentful source of energy, perhaps stemming from an arcane origin of the darkest kind had unleashed itself on Sephiroth. No doubt, whatever the bizarre phenomenon was, no one cared to really analyze, dissect, and then piece it back together to create a clearer picture. Even if they wanted to extend every strength and solid form of energy, it just wasn’t plausible, not when smack dab in broad daylight, a dark Lamborghini pulled over and parked with a loud screech. 

All eyes on the tinted windows made it quite difficult to make anyone or anything out, but Sephiroth instantly recognized the shining vehicle the few times Cloud’s garage door had been open to reveal the machines inside and occasionally parked right in that specific driveway.

The driver’s door started to open, the windows reflecting the figure of a man Sephiroth hadn’t been expecting to see so soon after his epic blunder. Understandably, however, he knew that if he were in this man’s place, he too would’ve hounded down the participant involved in the ultimate betrayal.

Sliding out of the vehicle, after shutting the door and meandering around the hood for a second, Ryan finally glanced up at the three men perched on the roof and then leveled his gaze at Zack standing on the ground beneath them. Hands diving into his pockets, he stuck out a leg before the other, moving over the curb and grass rather slowly like he was trapped in a zombified state.

Looking worse for wear, as he approached, Sephiroth internally cringed upon assessing just how depleted and winded Ryan seemed. 

Skin covered in a decent patch of facial fair which sported plenty of greying strands, his hair was a scraggly mess on top of his skull. Clothes dishevelled and baggy, his slovenly mannerisms and dress left a lot to be desired when Sephiroth thought back to how lively and full of spirit this same man had presented himself when they first met. Now, Ryan held the overall disposition and appearance of someone at least ten years older than his chronological age. The dark circles around his lifeless eyes didn’t do him any favors, leaving Sephiroth to sense that he hadn’t slept more than a few hours at best.

For that, among a list of other reasons, Sephiroth felt extremely guilty. Knowing he was deep down the root cause of bringing something so unsavory out of another person wasn’t a damn win and flex by any means. Even as Ryan dragged his feet, practically giving the appearance that he was limping over to them while hunched, Sephiroth felt as though a million needles had eased the way directly into his guts and heart.

Waving at him in unison with Angeal and Genesis, Zack was the only one who could communicate verbally with Ryan when he stood a few inches away.

“Hey man. How are ya?”

Weakly smiling, Ryan then showed off more exhaustion as he laughed out tiredly. “Ah, could be better. Slept like shit.”

Eyes darting around, Zack felt the true depth of the sadness Ryan exuded and winced. “Sorry.”

Assessing Genesis and Angeal next to Sephiroth, Ryan looked back and forth between all the men near himself and sighed out a rather disjointed sound. Crumpling like a punctured tire, he removed his right hand from his pocket, scratching his stubble grazing across his jaw.

Voice somewhat peeved, though not wildly harboring irritability and fostering vitriol, he only asked gently, “Would you guys please just give me some time alone to talk to Sephiroth?”

Respecting Ryan’s wish, together, the other three men nodded once before they began moving about. Calmly descending from the roof, Angeal and Genesis held the ladder for Sephiroth until he too got down to the ground. Zack smiled politely at Ryan, leading the way with the taller men at his heels.

Sephiroth was utterly flabbergasted. Confused with how Ryan was choosing to handle something as deeply moving and impactful as being deceived and basically cheated on was quite remarkable. Sephiroth was in awe over his poised demeanor, knowing that if he was in Ryan’s shoes, he likely would’ve engaged in worse than a few terse words. Ryan however opted for a more peaceful approach, even turning around to wave at Sephiroth’s friends, who were ever cautious and mindful of the other male lashing out.

Sensing that Ryan genuinely only wanted to talk, Sephiroth permitted the older male to lead him around the side of the house back to where Sephiroth had parked. The van was a much better place anyway to orchestrate their communication, blocking out searing rays of the sun as well as drowning out their voices from nosy neighbors. Between the shade the large van provided as well as fences and large bushes, the ambiance was set rather serenely, rich in fluctuating temperature when it became too hot, though never allowing for coldness to permeate for long.

Choosing to observe by listening and being totally silent had proven to be a wise course of action. Even though Sephiroth felt compelled to run his mouth, in the end, it would be worthless. He was caught red-handed this time, and apologies wouldn’t suffice, even though he meant them all as they spun around in the recesses of his mind. The damage was not only already done, but he somehow held suspicions that Ryan wanted and only needed him to remain quiet and listen.

Sharing in the silent ambiance that’d settled around themselves for a few more seconds, along with a cardinal chirping majestically nearby, when he was finally prepared to speak, Ryan did so, clinging to his elegance rather than bending to impulsive ramblings.

“You know, back when I talked about how I had a good feeling that Cloud was seeking someone else, I honestly didn’t in a million years think that person would be you, Sephiroth.” Temper mellow still, Ryan turned and crossed his arms over his sternum, giving the street and grass beyond where they were standing a vacant stare. “Cloud was just…gone…I’d never seen him like that before.”

Uncertain what Ryan was specifically referencing, Sephiroth commented to set the narrative clear, “He told me that you wanted to cancel the wedding and that you moved out…I’m so sorry, Ryan.”

Shaking his head, a tiny tear finally developed in the corner of Ryan’s left eye, and he didn’t even bother wiping it as it rolled down to the center of his cheek like raindrops oozing along a lotus petal. 

The tip of his nose turned pink, yet he continued gazing out in shock as he stated, “I was standing there for nearly a full minute. Just shocked…he didn’t even hear me…you both didn’t hear me…it was as if Cloud was totally in another world.”

Burning under the spotlight, at this moment, a gust of berserk fury coiled and clawed up through his body, but whatever kind of apoplectic rage it was, Sephiroth knew it paled in comparison to the anathema Ryan was owed to feel for him. 

Losing himself to his own degradation and humiliation, he yet again began remorsefully, “Ryan, I’m so sorry. I swear, I—”

Removing his hands from his chest and leaving them on his hips, the elbows only gave away the tiny tremors, suggesting fully that Ryan was outwardly trying his best to compose himself, yet internally, he was battling to win a war he couldn’t come through victorious.

“God, I should beat the fuck out of you for this, but I’m not here for that.” Nostrils flaring loudly, his eyes welled up even more as he croaked in an unrecognizable tone, “Do you love him?”

There wasn’t any cause for denying, delaying, and rejecting the call to answer the legitimate question laced with heavy concern. Sephiroth had been hiding for far too long, and as he’d personally come to learn in the past with Aerith, a more decent person was always honest. This moment perhaps had arrived much sooner than he’d thought, and all for the sake of the correct reasons though through a less than desirable means, yet he needed this to happen.

Rather than wasting more seconds in the ocean of excuses, prevarication, and fabrication, Sephiroth firmly replied, “Yes. I have for quite a while.”

The turmoil and agony didn’t explode from Ryan immediately. Hanging there between the antagonizing seconds, eyes constantly welling up faster with larger tears, he appeared to be holding his breath, his posture stiff. Throat constricting, he turned beet red the longer he maintained that stance, limiting his oxygen as if to rely only on the fumes of reality to keep going. 

When he couldn’t get away with his frigidity, needing to relax his pose, Ryan’s eyeballs drew over to the sky, the teardrops gathering and raining even harder. Trying to dab away at a few and failing miserably, regardless of how badly he was shaking, Sephiroth had come to admire the man even through his abject sorrows. Ryan hadn’t yet broken down; this was a pillar of true strength rather than a person easily beaten by the odds, appearances ever so deceiving.

Nodding vigorously a few times while he drew his palms over his swollen, puffy eyelids to wipe more tears, his voice sounded muffled when he next spoke. 

“I love him too, but I just want him to be happy.” Pinching his nose and scrunching his eyelids tightly shut as though trying to fight back something which was ripping himself to pieces, he whimpered out, “As long as you love him. That’s all that matters, because I’m not going to have him choose between us like some douchebag.”

Under any other circumstances, if he hadn’t been the cause of such chaos, Sephiroth would’ve assumed that someone who held the position that Ryan did surely was insane. These kinds of outcomes typically only occurred in rare cases, but to genuinely have the chance he thought he’d never be given like this by the person cast in the most torment was simply astounding.

Uncertainty wrapped itself around Sephiroth, limiting what he could send out even as far as tiny gasps and baffled expressions went. Wondering if he’d even heard Ryan correctly, he coughed and grunted, the noises rather pitiful. Stuck in the quagmire of total shock, like before, Sephiroth reached the conclusion that it wasn’t important to ramble on during this emotional time.

Not minding his pathetic displays as sincere reactions, Ryan sniffled again, though now better able to calm himself. Shrugging his shoulders back to fix his loose shirt in place over his frame, he squinted at the ground, legs swaying as he played with bits of grass and gravel.

Head hanging, with a bit of an anguished aura, he announced, “If you love someone as deeply as I love Cloud, you’ll want that person to be their happiest, even if it means you won’t be by their side in the way you want.”

Dashing to try and interrupt to offer comfort and perhaps extreme appreciation was cut short when Ryan held up a hand to push Sephiroth away at first, but then curled that same arm around his shoulders and drew him in for a close hug.

Patting Sephiroth on the back a few times, Ryan gently eased their torsos apart as he requested, “Just take care of each other. That’s all I ask.”

Returning the hug tightly, Sephiroth suddenly became more aware of Cloud in the middle of the uphill battle. Struggling to keep himself steady when his heart was practically tossing and turning, he didn’t even see Genesis, Zack, and Angeal peeking around the corner of the house, quite desperate for any updates on the conflicting situation.

Springing away from Ryan, Sephiroth panted out, “Where’s C-Cloud?”

Smiling lightly, Ryan ruffled his own hair and sighed. “He’s with Aerith. He told her everything, and it was on me to come here and talk to you.”

Behaving much like his teenage self strung deeply in alarm, Sephiroth audibly groaned, glaring off to one side as he wrung his hands. Standing there sweating and burning hotly, he felt his heart rate picking up as his creative mind wove quite the list of outcomes for that type of conversation. Aerith was his ex, his best friend now, and more importantly, the daughter of his lover. Either way, he knew she wouldn’t take too well to this announcement, however forward and open it was when she’d shared so much of her time and emotions with him through the years.

Taking his stance quite easily with empathy, Ryan whispered, “She’s calmer now, I heard. She was upset like hell at first, but like me, she just wants Cloud to have someone who cares for him, because he’s been rather miserable without you around.”

“I wish I had the guts to tell her years ago when I had the chance, but it isn’t too late to fix this.”

Appreciation stemmed from Sephiroth to Ryan, the two men glancing at each other in silence for a minute before Ryan extended a hand over to Sephiroth. Respectfully, Sephiroth met Ryan’s limb, fingers flexing together and curling as they entangled their hands in a firm handshake. Ryan then used his opposite hand to clasp onto the back of Sephiroth’s and his own limbs, patting the alpha with reassurance they both perhaps needed.

Releasing their connected appendages after a few more seconds of silence, Ryan stepped back and nodded over his shoulder. “Let me give you a ride there; I’m sure you have a lot to go over with Aerith and Cloud.”

Wordlessly, Sephiroth sat in the passenger seat of Ryan’s vehicle, while Zack Fair sat in the back. Together, the trio headed over to the enormous estate, where Sephiroth awkwardly glanced at the tools and roof repair equipment he’d still left abandoned and strewn all over. Hating himself for leaving so many things postponed, especially when it came to being brutally forthcoming about his feelings for Cloud, he boldly headed inside the house with all the intent to right his errors over the years.

Finding Aerith and Cloud in the kitchen together, each with a small mug of tea before themselves, in the bright glow streaming in through the windows, as soon as Sephiroth emitted a tiny gasp, Aerith’s eyes snapped over to his. Encasing him in her own scrutiny, the slight puffiness of her eyelids suggested that like Ryan, she too had been weeping for some time. 

Quietly though cordially smiling at him in welcome, Cloud greeted them with a friendly nod. Zack returned the affable gesture, heading over to be by Aerith’s side as he held onto one of her hands tightly.

Deciding to give her the apology she absolutely deserved, Sephiroth walked over and breathlessly gushed, “Aerith! I’m so—”

Standing briskly and stunning him into muteness by force, Aerith turned herself away from his repentant advance, an arm jutting out in front of Sephiroth. “Don’t. I really don’t want to hear much of it right now, Sephiroth.” 

Holding onto his distraught woman, Zack nudged the top of her skull with his chin and growled, “Aerith! Baby cakes, come on! Don’t be like that!”

Hissing out between clenched teeth and rubbing her forehead, Aerith’s eyes roamed over to the ceiling and then over at Zack before she shook her head listlessly and swayed. “This is all just too much for me right now, you guys. My father explained it all to me, but I’m just…I’m just gonna need some time. I’m sorry.”

Regret pooled out of Sephiroth, his head hung humbly as he gave out a crestfallen smile which easily turned into one of pure pain. “Don’t apologize for anything, Aerith. I’m the one who should be the most sorry.”

Nose turning up in the air snobbishly, the sardonic young woman spat, “Yes, you should be, you weirdo.”

Hearing that playful pet name she’d used around him over the years helped break the rigid tension between everyone. It was a tiny, subtle step in the right direction, but Sephiroth was careful not to tread over her boundaries too prematurely. 

Where Sephiroth posed in a flummoxed manner, Aerith held her hands behind her back, dragging a foot back and forth awkwardly before she mildly harangued through a frown, “I’m just tired of seeing my dad mope about his house! I don’t want that for him!” Glowering off to one side, she still persisted with a pouty expression as he mumbled out with some forceful disdain, “Which is why I…as tough as this is…I accept your relationship with my dad, Sephiroth.”

Clueless as to how he could’ve stumbled in some parallel universe where Aerith was behaving quite rationally, to confirm whether he’d heard her claims correctly, Sephiroth’s eyes darted over to Zack. Finding the well-mannered male nodding and giving him a thumbs-up of approval still didn’t help melt the thick layer of uncanny ice covering Sephiroth from head to toe after hearing Aerith’s words.

When he stood there in awe, dumbfoundedly gaping at her for too long, Aerith finally broke out of her frozen mannerisms and gestured over at Cloud and then at Sephiroth to get him moving. “Well?!”

Not needing more permission and encouragement, like two magnets drawn to each other, Sephiroth and Cloud darted forth, enveloping one another in their arms and heat. Pushed together in one of the closest, tightest hugs, they met by the edge of the kitchen table, enveloped in the embrace as they relished in the physical contact and gave out soft coos and sighs while shutting their eyes.

Opening his eyes to glance at Ryan standing behind Sephiroth, with a small expression of sadness, Cloud mouthed, ‘Thank you’.

Waving at him with a friendly, but crestfallen shimmer lingering behind his soft eyes, Ryan had already communicated his own acknowledgment of acceptance for Cloud’s future. Disheartening as it was to watch Cloud and Sephiroth clinging to each other, he maintained his former phrases of understanding and support.

Miffed for her own sea of reasons, while tapping a foot on the floor and biting the insides of her cheeks, Aerith suddenly shook her head. “I don’t exactly want to know how this happened, because it’s kinda strange thinking about your ex being with your dad, but now, it’s my turn to step in and warn you the same way my dad did years ago, Sephiroth!”

Snagging his attention, though he refused to relinquish his hold onto Cloud, he at least turned a bit pale when her serious eyes burned through his to channel her immense warnings. Bearing the pressure as best he could, Sephiroth gave her all his attention, though not without fearing her prolific power to a degree. 

Pointing at him with a sharp edge to her motions, Aerith reduced Sephiroth to the level of a bratty child as she caustically ground out, “If you even dare to hurt my dad, Sephiroth, I’ll kick your ass! Just watch me!”

Losing control over his vocal chords for just a second, Sephiroth recuperated swiftly, deciding never to test Aerith’s will power and determination. “Yes ma’am.”

Feeling the tight squeeze of assurance Cloud gave him was a priceless gift for Sephiroth he wouldn’t ever take for granted. Never wanting to release Cloud, while Sephiroth stitched their bodies together and rubbed Cloud’s back and shoulders, Zack smirked, too much pride and playfulness trickling out of his shiny eyes as he leaned himself into Aerith before nudging her with a shoulder.

“Shall we make it a double wedding, then?”

Rolling her eyes, Aerith’s stoic mannerisms melted away magically, her heated emotions no match for her fiancé’s humor and cheeky wit. Returning the fatuous aura, however, as she eventually began to fight back a wide grin from etching onto her gorgeous face when she knew Zack sensed her derision dissipating, she stuck out her tongue brazenly. 

Taking it well enough, the raven-haired male started wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively, but she channeled her own rebuttal as she pressed the palm of her hand over his eyes and gave him a tiny shove away from herself.

“Zack Fair, you’re a total nerd sometimes, you know that?”

“Love ya too, sweetie.” 

Kissing her on the cheek so sweetly, Zack doted on her pleasantly while Sephiroth and Cloud continued holding onto each other in sheer elation and joy now that their relationship was revealed and mostly accepted by all those they cared for.

Chapter Text

Two Years Later

The air was thick, ever so difficult to breathe in. Steam fogged up the bathroom immensely as Cloud lost himself to his own touch; one hand focused around his cock and the other tracing his pucker. Leaning back against the soaked wall, chest and falling rising faster the more he teased his flesh, he let out a moan as a slick finger slipped inside himself. He was quick to clench around it, hyper-sensitive from the fantasies that had occupied his mind all day long. Already so hard, he was close to reaping the rewards, his cock jerking as he pressed his thumb right below its tip. 

“Fuck,” hotly, he whispered, eyes rolling back into his skull. 

Golden hair was as drenched as his body beneath the spray of water, sticking to his face and neck from his warm shower. Cloud raised a leg, resting his foot on a stool to ease access into that tight passage. Too eagerly, he pushed another finger in, gasping at the stretching sensation he was met with along his exploration. 

It hurt for a few seconds but he was too lazy to reach down for more lube, and the hint of pain only turned him on more, surprisingly. Letting his mind drift away, imagining something much bigger forcing him open instead, he toyed with the tip of his erection until he felt dizzy from the tingling pleasure.

With this angle, he could only finger himself so deep, and it was irritating and strange in equal measure. He needed more. So much more. The desire to be fully stretched, prepared, then stuffed and taken by a powerful force was resting at the forefront of his brain, possessing himself entirely until he only longed to become a tool for obtaining blissful pleasure.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened, but Cloud was cast too deeply within his lusty desires to care and notice. There was no cause to worry, especially since he knew only one person had access to this room. 

“Starting without me, darling?”

He couldn’t even answer, half-lidded eyes barely able to hold onto the tall, imposing figure walking in the bathroom. All he could focus on was the ball of pleasure building up in the pit of his stomach, the contrast of blazing heat seeping through his veins and the cool breeze from outside the room spreading goosebumps across his sensitive skin. 

Overwhelmed with how his body was reacting, Cloud could only watch as pieces of clothing dropped on the floor with every step the man before himself took. Advancing rapidly yet languidly akin to an odd dream approaching, the man’s pale eyebrows rose ever so slightly with a seductive air as the last article of dark clothing fell and he was left in his nude grandeur. 

Despite having seen his fair share of his partner naked, Cloud still had to repeatedly ask himself one very crucial question.

How was he so fucking hot?

Frame and musculature so damn perfectly toned and chiseled in all the right places and with great proportions, Sephiroth stood right in front of him, looking down at Cloud with a ravenous smirk. More than likely, he knew how delectable he was in Cloud’s mind and eyes, seizing that as his own triumph.

The height and build difference still staggered Cloud, even after years spent getting close to Sephiroth. 

Head dipping back so he could take a proper look at the older male, he rasped breathlessly, “Sephiroth, please—”

“No need to beg, my dear. I’ve been aching to touch you all day.”

Cloud’s answer got stuck in his throat; a sharp shiver sparking up his spine when he observed Sephiroth entering the shower stall. He was already panting, desperate to feel Sephiroth’s large, familiar hands travelling across his skin, his warm breath echoing with deep growls embellished in his ear. How rough yet gentle those hands were, how they knew each and every one of his weak spots. 

They hadn’t been able to delve into each other for a few weeks now, both too busy with their respective duties. Tension still proliferated and had built up inside of Cloud so much he could barely handle it anymore. Whatever small distance was left between their bodies felt like an endless expanse, and he wanted it to disappear instantly. 

He swallowed the rising knot lodged in his throat when Sephiroth lowered himself to his knees, his face aligned with Cloud’s flat stomach. And there, he left kisses, just barely grazing his tongue against the smooth outline of flesh. Guiding his mouth along upwards, each slide and dip of his tongue left an exquisite trail of wetness. Catching a nipple in his mouth, Sephiroth suckled it while locking eyes with Cloud. 

Having his sensitive bud of flesh tenderly sucked and pressed against Sephiroth’s flat tongue, Cloud senselessly moaned, pushing his chest into his lover’s touch, begging for more without using his words. 

As always, his wish was Sephiroth’s command.

While busy with delivering oral pleasure to Cloud’s nipples, Sephiroth’s long fingers wrapped around both of Cloud’s thighs, ever so slightly pressing into the muscles. Then, they slowly rose, thumbs stroking dangerously close to where Cloud wanted him to touch most. 

The tease he was, Sephiroth didn’t; instead, he placed his warm hands to wrap around Cloud’s wrists before releasing his nipple to look up at him with undivided attention. 

“Let me do it.”

Nodding, Cloud took a deep breath, reluctantly pulling his fingers out and letting go of his cock. His limbs trembled with pure need; Sephiroth’s mere presence crushed him, shook him to his core, and he could never get enough of it. His heart skipped a beat when Sephiroth reached to grab the bottle of lube, pouring a heavy amount onto his index and middle finger. 

Tremendously trembling beneath that wanton gaze Sephiroth gave him, Cloud knew he would soon be in an entirely new plane of existence. His own fingers were nothing compared to those talented, elongated ones about to work him to a gasping, weak mess.

Hungrily, his vagarish eyes flicked lower, finding Sephiroth’s half-erect cock already bobbing upwards.

“Gods.”

“Hmm?” Sephiroth chuckled, putting the bottle down when he’d generously slathered his fingers in the slippery substance. “I haven’t even touched you yet, my love.”

“Just—” Cloud looked back at him, blinking quickly just before he lost all senses of rationality. “I was…thinking out l-loud.”

Sephiroth’s smirk disappeared upon hearing the reticence, eyes darkening. “And what might you be thinking of?” 

Just when Cloud tried to collect himself enough to respond, Sephiroth pushed a finger inside of him. Taken aback by the long digit entering his tight channel, Cloud gasped loudly, hands slapping onto Sephiroth’s broad shoulders and holding on for dear life. Just one finger was as thick as two of his own, but reaching so much deeper as they plunged right in. Words could never come close to describing how it made him melt, limbs growing lax as Sephiroth pulled out and pushed back in, so slowly it was almost torturous. 

A ghost of a brazen grin flashed, lighting Sephiroth’s features to exponential levels. “Go on, tell me.”

“I—” Cloud forcibly choked on a moan when the finger inside him curled at just the right spot. “I can’t—”

He often forgot how impossibly good it felt, usually the one needing a tangible reminder such as this. How intense it was to be teased there, the overwhelming feeling of being full yet aching for more. 

Scrambling to hold onto something for purchase, Cloud’s nails dug into Sephiroth’s skin, pulling a slight wince out of him. But it didn’t matter, for Sephiroth often enjoyed pain just as much as he did the thriving pleasure. They were both weak for pain just as much as pleasure, having spent far too much time apart. 

Momentarily losing himself to panic and grief at the idea of being separated again from his alpha, Cloud then became distracted when he felt the tip of a second finger pressing against his hole, barely dipping in. 

Eyeing his reactions before his eyes flickered to where his hands were busied, Sephiroth emitted a fond laugh dangerously close to sounding heinous. “But I am so eager to know.”

“Just—” Cloud cursed under his breath, sanity slowly slipping away before his eyes. “Oooh, need you…want you inside me…”

As much as he tried to mentally prepare himself, the second that he sucked that other finger in, Cloud let out something akin to a cry, body slumping forward. Embarrassed to hear the wet squelching and squishing sounds, Cloud pressed his forehead against Sephiroth’s, eyes shut tight as he focused on nothing other than that devastating stretch. 

How could just that tiny pressure be so much? How could it make him struggle to breathe, how could it make his entire body shake? 

It was nothing and yet everything, turbulent waves of blazing heat washing over his body and tossing him adrift. 

“Oh, my dear,” Sephiroth whispered, free hand cupping Cloud’s flushed face. “How enticing you look and feel.”

“Big, your…thing is so big,” a shy Cloud managed to mutter, trying to somehow catch his breath as Sephiroth moved his fingers inside him faster and with true purpose. 

“I know,” he answered softly, leaving a light kiss on Cloud’s lips. 

Capturing a few drops of water with his tongue as the showerhead continuously rained down over themselves, Sephiroth beamed at his partner.

“But I need to add another if I am to fuck you, my love.”

Such crude language…he loved and lived for it.

Shuddering all over, Cloud meekly shook his head, playing coy on purpose. His head felt light, limbs heavier than logs. There was no way he could take another digit yet. He already felt so stuffed; Sephiroth’s thick, long fingers stretching him out to what felt like his limit. The traces of their phantom touches remained, moving languidly, dragging him ever so slowly to numbing frenzy. It was unfair how much of a licentious effect Sephiroth had on him; even if he hadn’t touched him, simply standing there and watching so intently. 

No, even if Sephiroth simply walked by him, Cloud ascertained that he still would have felt like this. Sex was an entirely different issue between them. Whenever they were apart, Cloud had tried to find a decent replacement by fucking himself with large toys before, but it never came close to this. Only Sephiroth could satisfy him completely.

It wasn’t just the size; it was Sephiroth himself that made Cloud feel so out of control. Everything about his entire being, even the weight of Sephiroth’s emerald eyes created wildfire to spread through his system; just his presence made him weak. 

“Did you not say you were thinking of me inside you?” came the dominant growl of a lascivious reminder at once.

Biting on his tongue, Cloud groaned, frustrated when he couldn’t escape the truth through denial. His heart was racing, cock pulsing madly, so hard and on edge that just a few strokes would most likely make him come. It was all too much and yet not enough. His mind wanted that and so much more, but his body could barely handle what was currently going on. The hand on his cheek disappeared swiftly, but Cloud couldn’t process much, blinking slowly and moaning incessantly as Sephiroth diligently kept fingering him. Vision blurry, tingles spreading to the tips of his fingers and toes, he knew he was reaching his limits even before they started to fully embrace.

“I want to be inside you,” Sephiroth seductively whispered, pulling his fingers out after pumping once more to the second knuckle. 

Rewarding Cloud with a kiss, it was chaste at first, but eventually turned slow and sloppy, more tongue than lips involved. 

Reluctance showed itself within Sephiroth as he disconnected their mouths to almost sob through a confession. “I want to feel you clench around my cock, I want to make you come so hard that you weep. Over and over again, I’ll take you, until you beg me to stop.”

“Sephiroth,” Cloud breathed, his lover’s obscene words hitting him right in the gut. 

Hearing such a tone was ravishing by itself. Sephiroth’s voice was warm and intoxicating, its rasp resonating and deep. Cloud wanted him to both keep talking and shut up, caught between desire and overwhelming urgency. No matter how long they’d been together, how many times they’d done this, every instance felt like the first time. Sephiroth’s touch was always just as crushingly potent as the first time they’d explored one another’s skin; if not worse.

The sound of water slipping off the glass walls and then touching the shower floor resonated in the small room and Cloud was suddenly snapped out of his colorful thoughts. He looked down and saw that the bottle of lube had moved, and before he even had time to process it, there were three slick fingers pushing into his body, gliding right in until they’d expertly located his erogenous zones. 

Knees jittery, Cloud bombastically whined, head falling over Sephiroth’s shoulder, hands grabbing onto his arms so hard his nails pierced skin. He hadn’t even passed the first knuckles and Cloud already thought he would faint, entire body tense and trembling. 

“You can take it, my love,” Sephiroth reassured, kissing the nape of his neck. “Relax your body.”

It was difficult, but he somehow managed, desperately trying to take deep breaths, though shaky ones. The deeper Sephiroth went, the more Cloud thought he might just come with nothing more than that. So close to a devastating edge, hanging on by a thread, he could almost feel himself collapsing. Limbs loose and eyes heavy, staring off into the distance, the initial shock of the girth slowly faded away and left nothing but deep, resonating pleasure. 

Taking his time, Sephiroth’s fingers haltingly went deeper, up until Cloud’s ass met with their hilt. Rubbing against his sweetest spots, he teased for a moment there, then, he abruptly stopped.

“See?” Sephiroth cooed and whispered before kissing Cloud’s sweat-sheened neck. “You’re doing just fine.”

The praise made blood rush to his cheeks, and Cloud was mortified enough. Quick to hide his face in Sephiroth’s long hair, he knew he was oddly behaving like a virgin, but he couldn’t help it. There was something so… embarrassing about being encouraged to feel like this. 

Barely standing on his own legs, he draped them over Sephiroth’s firm body for support. Stuffed and shivering, barely able to breathe, he had utterly surrendered to Sephiroth’s mercy. Cloud was completely vulnerable, laid bare, lost in a trance of pure rapture. 

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be taken by this man, to be passionately kissed, roughly fucked, and consumed whole. It was his desire to let himself experience blinding pleasure as he touched and tasted every inch of his partner’s body while offering Sephiroth his own. Cloud wanted to lose himself in the breathtaking bliss that was the very essence of Sephiroth; to be soiled, bruised, and sincerely filled to the brim with him. 

A cascade of soft moans rolled off Cloud’s tongue the instant Sephiroth began gently moving his fingers, still letting him get used to their intruding motions. Every slight shift made Cloud question his sanity, clawing at Sephiroth’s back. Behavior much like an animal’s, he wanted more…yet he didn’t want to come like this. 

“Put it in,” Cloud whimpered before he lost all capacity for speech, breaths broken. “Please, just put it in!”

Astonished with that demand heard, Sephiroth croaked, “But—”

“Don’t care! Do it!”

With that urgent cry, Sephiroth didn’t dare question any further, gently pulling his fingers out with much care in his motions. Shifting closer, his torso meshed with Cloud’s, then, it all happened too fast for Cloud to process. One second, he was standing up on shaky legs, and the next, he was swept up into Sephiroth’s thick arms, legs wrapped around his waist. 

Cloud reached up to snake his arms behind Sephiroth’s neck, staring in awe at his perfect nose and beautiful, emerald eyes. The way his soft, silver hair perfectly framed his face, draping over his broad shoulders, the stretch of muscle covering powerful bones…Cloud could look at him for hours, trace every line and curve with his fingertips and tongue, and he would never grow tired of consuming Sephiroth. 

“Here with me still?” came the question, Sephiroth snapping him out of his mental wanderings.

Meeting his eyes, Cloud nodded, taking a deep, steady breath. “Yes.”

It was impossible not to get overwhelmed by their sheer size difference, but it was a small part of why Cloud loved this so much. Towering over him, Sephiroth’s body began trapping him like a cage against the wall. Easily double his width, wrapping around him completely, Sephiroth felt like his missing piece. Skin slashed with scars that only made him that much more enticing, thick muscle poking through soft flesh, this was the body of an alpha well in his prime. 

Examining him from head to toe, Cloud inhaled sharply, gaze locking with Sephiroth’s as he felt the tip of his member rub against his hole so tenderly. Cloud’s twitching fingers found the nape of his neck, pulling on the hair there just enough for Sephiroth to wince due to the sheer teasing. In good turn, his grip on Cloud’s ass tightened, fingers digging in the plush flesh as he aligned with his entrance, slowly pushing in. 

Emerald trailed to deeply passionate blue eyes, ever so briefly in curiosity before shutting tight with a muffled moan as Sephiroth pressed in a few more inches, delving into and spreading the wet heat all over his thick cock. 

“Cloud…”

The smaller body tightened around his invasion and his words came through shakily, breathy, and low with a rising need. Drawing his hips up, Cloud begged, “Sephiroth, please…”

This speech provided more than enough incentive, but he wanted to give something more than what the alpha usually aimed to obtain. Cloud didn’t want Sephiroth’s brutal, quick style; he didn’t want one fast fuck. This, he wanted to make at least some, tiny imprint on each other’s lives before it erupted into true potency and addiction. 

Moving slowly to give Cloud time to grow accustomed to the breach, Sephiroth’s widened as he realized this turn of events, but quickly shut again with another keening whimper as feeling took over. “S-shit...Cloud…what—”

“Shhh...you of all people should know how to relax…” Cloud’s tone came calm, shifting across his already heated skin.

Sephiroth shuddered, vivid eyes lifting again, tossed in indecision before fluttering as lips met his lover’s. Slow, soothing…Cloud coiled his tongue around Sephiroth’s and cursed lightly when he succumbed to its magical spell.

Upon sensing the heat pulsating against his opening with more urgency, Cloud’s toes curled, back arching in invitation. Sephiroth took him slowly, driving his cock solidly forth the rest of the way, inch by inch. As he went deeper, stretching his partner a touch more, both men simultaneously released a purely satisfying groan. Locking himself deeply within Cloud, Sephiroth hissed between clenched teeth, closing the space between themselves to press his lips against Cloud’s. 

Happily giving in, Cloud groaned between kisses, tangling his tongue with Sephiroth’s. Moaning in answer, Sephiroth began licking and biting, sharing breaths with Cloud as their saliva mixed. Their embrace was quickly broken when they both gasped; Cloud’s walls sucking more of Sephiroth in, eager to take his entire length in one go.

“Oh, how delightful it feels to be inside you,” Sephiroth passionately whispered against Cloud’s lips, brows furrowing as he bottomed out. “You feel so good.”

Cloud wanted to answer so badly; he wanted to tell him how impossibly sensational it was to be filled with him, how he wanted to be fucked so hard he wouldn’t be able to walk the next day, but all that came out were erratic breaths and unintentional moans. Words were unattainable, and so he responded with actions, instead. 

Sephiroth was pleased enough to have that as a reaction, and he drove in right to the hilt. The moment his lover’s strong hips slammed against his bottom, Cloud furiously tightened his grip on Sephiroth’s wet hair, pulling him closer. Mouth opening, Sephiroth aimed for the exposed flesh, grazing his fang-like teeth against Cloud’s neck. Biting down on the spot he’d marked long ago, as he revitalized the symbol of their eternal bond, Cloud rested his palm against Sephiroth’s sternum, feeling his heavy heartbeat. 

That alone caused Sephiroth to bite down harder on the back of Cloud’s neck, almost cutting the first layer of epidermis at his nape.

Reeling in heady pleasure from the vibrating sensations sent to his throat and cock when Sephiroth growled while latching on with his tongue and teeth, Cloud acutely wept, “A-always trying to…oooh…one me up!”

To this, Sephiroth deeply chuckled before turning to devour Cloud’s lips. Between the exchange of deep and tender kisses, the feeling of his throaty groans began reverberating even into the kiss. Cloud forcefully shook his head, breaking just briefly as he met the other man’s gaze. 

Grinning evilly, Sephiroth posed a challenge. “Now...what fun would that be?” 

Deliberately toying with Cloud, he pressed himself deeper inside Cloud in unison with stroking his member, fingers covering the leaking tip just to temporarily bar Cloud from going buck wild. 

Moving his lower torso into Sephiroth’s palm, Cloud gave an appreciative moan, gripping tightly to the shower rack behind himself. Clinging to whatever he could, steadily, he began rocking back to the mounting sensations crawling all over his body. 

“I’ve told you, it’s way better this way.” In full gratitude for the view he’d been given, Sephiroth paused and watched before he swooped down to Cloud and deftly caught his lower lip between his teeth. “Yes...it’s better,” Sephiroth paused, pinching Cloud’s perky globes before he finished, “...when you know exactly who it is...that’s fucking you.”

Turned on even more so because of Sephiroth’s aggressive language use, Cloud moaned, the sound coming strangled from his throat. Though he tried, he couldn’t keep the heavy gaze that held him in place, shrinking back to the darkness and shaking in his struggling submission. 

“You’re a-an…evil…bastard!”

“I know.”

Pace quickening, Sephiroth groaned and thrust up with more vigor, forcing his entire cock up inside Cloud’s body. Penetrated so deeply, Cloud crisply cried out, tears springing in his eyes as all patience flew out the window. This time, he was properly fucked against the shower wall, bouncing on Sephiroth’s cock, ever an eager participant. It felt like he was getting impaled given the angle, insides turning to mush as Sephiroth gripped his ass so hard it would surely leave bruises the next day. 

The moment he met Sephiroth’s eyes, he comforted and delighted in recognizing something so familiar.

There it was; his fire. Sephiroth’s insatiable hunger for the pleasures of the flesh. It came out all at once, not a single ounce of holding back left as he moved his hands around Cloud’s waist, pushing and pulling him as he pleased. A puppet for gratification, Cloud’s entire body grew lax, eyes rolling back as all sense of reality slipped away, feeling nothing other than the large cock violently thrusting into himself pounding away in pure vehemence. 

“I want to devour you,” Sephiroth hotly murmured between groans, nails digging in Cloud’s skin as his teeth had. 

He kept thrusting so impossibly deep over and over again, every relentless hit fueling the white-hot flames spreading throughout Cloud’s shuddering body. This way, Sephiroth looked incredibly enticing as he concentrated, brows deeply furrowed, teeth bared like a famished beast, drops of sweat trickling down his neck and chest. Consumed by feral lust, Cloud reached to lick them off, and Sephiroth’s rhythm slowed down for just a moment. They were both panting, half-lidded gazes admiring the one before them, their arms and muscles tensing as they held onto one another. 

When the vapors and steam dissipated, Cloud was hit with a brief moment of clarity, a raging fire beckoning himself to grab his lover by the neck and stare right into his eyes. Without blinking, he pulled one daring move as he voiced his darkest, most frightening desire after being away from Sephiroth for so long.

“Make me come screaming your name,” he ordered, voice rasp and tainted with insatiable seduction.

Pupils dilating, Sephiroth inhaled sharply, quick to react. One of his hands left Cloud’s waist to wrap around his member instead, slowly but firmly pumping. Cloud mewled as he was tended to, his cock beyond sensitive after being untouched for what had felt like months. Unfortunately, he barely had time to focus on the tantalizing feeling before Sephiroth was wildly thrusting again. 

This time, he worked inside slower but just as deeply, hitting the right spots without Cloud even needing to move himself. Panting desperately, Cloud’s grip on Sephiroth’s neck stayed there and even tightened as he rapidly felt himself come close to his undoing. The firm hold seemed to awaken something in Sephiroth, beastly traits suddenly softening, growls turning into desperate whines. 

Above the slapping of flesh, when a particularly high-pitched one climbed out of his throat, Cloud was the first to explore unending regions as he reached his climax. It crushed him like a thousand towering waves, drowning in pure ecstasy as he shot ropes of come all over his own chest and Sephiroth’s hand. His walls clenched around Sephiroth’s thick cock, only heightening the euphoria bleeding into his veins. 

Squeezed tightly, the older male cried, whined, moaned and groaned. Far too overwhelmed, every inch of his skin on fire as Cloud’s was. Hoping this was as real as it felt, Cloud pulled Sephiroth closer while he rode the last swell of it, melting against his lips in a crushing, messy kiss. 

For everything he had, Cloud kissed Sephiroth almost desperately, lips sensitive, aching for that last bit of a tingling wave. Teeth clashed, breaths mingling just as Cloud loved it while he did in fact cry out Sephiroth’s name.

Sephiroth let go of his cock, fingers smearing the come all over Cloud’s stomach as though marking him. Motions stilling, he then brought the digits to his own mouth and sucked them clean, holding onto Cloud’s bewitched stare. 

“Really!” Cloud huffed, pushing his soaked hair out of his eyes. “Is that really what we want to be doing right now, babe?”

Unable to reply, Sephiroth took a deep, drawn-out breath. There were no words that could explain the feeling that swelled up inside his chest, and Cloud completely understood and mutually shared that knowledge. As exhausted as he was from all that vigorous activity, there were still embers inside of himself just waiting to be set aflame again. The night was young, and they’d just recently been connected again.

“I can’t help it,” Sephiroth whined, “you always taste so wonderful.”

Evilly winking, Cloud suggested, “Lick me clean, then.”

Sephiroth’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly and he began slowly pulling out, not needing to chase after his own pleasure just yet to completion. Cloud blinked fast, suddenly reminded of the huge thing that had been breaking him open leaving his body. He knew very well he would suffer the consequences tomorrow, but at that moment, it didn’t matter to him whatsoever.

All that mattered was the beautiful man he was madly in love with getting down on his knees, once again in front of him so submissive and responsive to his desires. 

He barely felt his legs, but it didn’t matter, as Sephiroth’s strong hands had wrapped around his hips, keeping Cloud held up. Moistening his lips, his tongue darted out and traced along his skin from the bottom of his shaft to his belly button, picking up every little bit of essence left there. 

Encouraging him, Cloud gently brushed Sephiroth’s hair back, marveling at the sight of the remarkably handsome alpha worshipping his body. 

There was always some kind of empowered instinct that beckoned himself whenever Sephiroth kneeled in front of him like this, and Cloud enjoyed the power dynamic. 

Such a large, powerful, and dangerous man getting down on his knees to tend to his body instead of selfishly chasing his own needs and wants…this man was his partner, the best lover, a close friend, and as Cloud stared at their matching wedding bands glittering beneath the steamy water and lights, he was even more proud to call Sephiroth his husband of two years.

Before a flood of memories involving their union came rushing in, along with all the times he’d been fucked out of his mind by this powerful man, Cloud grabbed Sephiroth by the hair and made him cry out.

At once, as Sephiroth snarled out, his voice echoing all over the bright, steamy bathroom, on the other side of the foggy shower door, the baby monitor blasted on, carrying and sounding out the shrill cries of a newborn infant in the other room.

Shutting his eyes, like Sephiroth, Cloud lamented unintelligibly, deflating into his husband’s arms. Feeling like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs, he sighed, shaking hair and water from his blurry vision as reality came hurtling back at full speed.

Staring at the baby monitor resting on the bathroom vanity, Cloud reluctantly untangled himself from Sephiroth as he bemoaned in an exhausted voice, “I’ll go see what’s up with him.”

It would be a long, long night, but a parent’s work was never done.

As he’d been on the way to opening the door, a hand snatched him back by the shoulder, with warm lips immediately smothering Cloud’s until he almost choked under the passionate pressure assaulting his flesh. 

Wrenching his mouth off Sephiroth’s when he couldn’t take it anymore, he’d meant to question the odd way his spouse had behaved, when Sephiroth held both his cheeks in his hands, bringing their foreheads close.

“I’ll go, Cloud,” he offered, moving back to press a wholesome kiss on the center of Cloud’s forehead. “You’re a hardworking wife and fantastic mother as it is, so you relax here, okay?”

Not waiting for Cloud to reply, as he turned his back to his shorter partner, before Sephiroth could exit the shower stall, a playful look broke along Cloud’s features. Swift to react, he lunged ahead and grabbed Sephiroth by the arm, though he pressed himself against his alpha’s nude back, arms then sliding around his front as Cloud embraced him tightly.

Content as he could be, he counted his blessing for a brief moment before he exhaled a complacent sigh that he knew could never truly explain how grateful he was for his new life.

“When you return, I promise it’ll be my turn to make you feel like the king you are, my love.” Proudly, Cloud smiled, wrapping his fingers around Sephiroth’s neck, fingers moving over to cup his chin before he turned his husband’s head around to face himself. 

“Come back to me soon.”

End