Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/13580772.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Compilation_of_Final_Fantasy_VII
  Relationship:
      Sephiroth/Cloud_Strife, Reno/Cloud_Strife
  Character:
      Cloud_Strife, Zack_Fair, Sephiroth, The_Turks_(Compilation_of_FFVII),
      Tifa_Lockhart, Aerith_Gainsborough
  Additional Tags:
      Drunk_Sex, Dominance, Mind_Control, Rape/Non-con_Elements, Mental_Health
      Issues, Underage_Rape/Non-con, Eventual_Relationships, Alternate
      Timelines, Angst_and_Hurt/Comfort, Forced_Relationship, Unwilling
      soulmates, Rape_Aftermath, Rape_Recovery, Foul_Language, Puppet_Cloud
      Strife, Forgiveness, Eventual_Happy_Ending
  Stats:
      Published: 2018-02-05 Completed: 2018-02-14 Chapters: 14/14 Words: 15367
****** Breaking Cloud ******
by Kalta79
Summary
     Cloud wants to make Reno pay for Sephiroth's hold over him and
     Aerith's death. There will be relationships I don't have tagged,
     because they change as the story continues. Cloud/Reno is not an
     actual relationship, just a pairing.
***** Chapter 1 *****
“I’ve got nothing left to lose. I’m dying, you stupid ass!” Cloud said as his
hand started trembling…his anger increased as well as his fear. He couldn’t
have a Geostigma fit now! Reno needed pay for his failure…reaching into the
stunned man’s pocket, he was somewhat disgusted to find the tube of lubrication
still there, just like it had been that horrible night that began it all…
 
***
The first night in Nibelheim
 
“Well, we wanna get started to the reactor first thing in the morning, so I’m
calling it a night.” Zack said, standing up from their private booth at the
local bar. “Anyone coming with me?”
“Later.” Sephiroth replied, wanting to finish his brandy first. He had been
pleasantly surprised at the quality of the drinks in this backwater hole.
“I’m staying too.” Cloud decided, wanting to spend more time basking in his
idol’s presence in a non-professional capacity.
Sephiroth frowned, not entirely happy about that. The adoration evident
whenever the boy looked at him was both flattering and disturbing. But as the
night wore on, he was increasingly amused by him. Cloud would do anything
Sephiroth asked of him, but he was also getting drunk, as no one cared if he
was of age or not, since he was part of SOLDIER. Something about Cloud’s
subservience pleased him to no end. A commotion across the room got his
attention.
“You drunken pervert!” A woman slapped Reno and stormed out, as the redhead
just shrugged and took another sip of his beer.
Sephiroth shouldn’t have been surprised, if the mission was important enough to
send him, of course the Turks would be doing surveillance. And he agreed with
the woman’s assessment, Reno was a pervert, always looking for the finest
female flesh he could sample and discard. As Sephiroth looked at Cloud and then
again at Reno, an idea to teach the horny man a lesson and see how well Cloud
would obey him popped into his head. Part of him felt it would be wrong, but
the longer the thought festered in his head, the more he wanted to test them
both above all else.
“Stand here in front of the table and pull your pants down, then rest your
upper body on the table.” Sephiroth suddenly commanded Cloud.
“Sir?” Cloud asked, not because he was refusing, but because he was too drunk
already to entirely comprehend the order.
“Come here.” Sephiroth said, and Cloud managed to get up but was unsteady on
his feet and ended up falling in Sephiroth’s lap. The First Class SOLDIER
sighed and decided to take his pants off himself, surprised at how he enjoyed
touching Cloud’s bare skin. He positioned him on the table how he wanted him,
then Sephiroth took his coat off and covered Cloud’s upper body on the table.
“Hey Reno, I got a live one for ya!” he called out to the Turk.
Reno grabbed his beer bottle and went over to see what Sephiroth had…maybe
there was a chick worth fucking in this hellhole after all. Staring at the bare
ass and legs, Reno drunkenly turned to Sephiroth. “A bit too muscular, isn’t
she? And what about the rest of her? I‘ve got my lube with me,” Reno patted his
pocket. “But why not enjoy all of a woman. Where’s the fun in that?”
“I’ll show you the fun in that.” Sephiroth closed the curtain in their private
booth, then took the lube out of Reno’s pocket and undid his own pants,
realizing he didn’t want the perverted Turk being first to try Cloud. It was
him that Cloud worshipped after all, not Reno. He would reward him for that.
“Sir?” Cloud repeated from underneath the coat. He understood some of what was
being said, and he started getting nervous.
“You want to please me, don’t you?” Sephiroth demanded of him.
“Oh, yes sir!” Cloud exclaimed.
“See how biddable she is?” Sephiroth told Reno, who nodded.
“That’s useful, but how good do they feel?” Reno wanted to know.
“I’ll show you now.” Sephiroth positioned himself in front of Cloud as he lubed
up. He was worried that his body would not cooperate, but as soon as he put his
hands on Cloud’s cheeks to spread them apart, he felt himself hardening, and he
quickly forced himself into Cloud, who cried out instantly at the violation,
and started to struggle under the coat. Sephiroth slammed his hands down onto
Cloud’s. “You’re going to tell me how much you like this, aren’t you?”
Sephiroth ordered him.
“Yes, sir.” Cloud’s voice came out squeaking from the pain and horror of his
hero ravishing him.
“Do it then!” Sephiroth snapped.
“This is the best I’ve ever felt.” Cloud whispered.
“Say it louder!” Sephiroth insisted.
“This is the best I’ve ever felt!” Cloud blurted out.
“For me too.“ Sephiroth told him, putting his hands under the coat and running
his hands over Cloud’s chest and back. “No one has ever done this to you, have
they?“
“No, sir.” Cloud quietly replied.
“That’s because you’re mine, aren’t you? Keep saying how much you like it!“
Sephiroth smiled. He was amazed at how good it felt to fuck Cloud, and forgot
about Reno, forgot about everything but pleasing himself by subjugating Cloud.
His trembling body made it even better, it already felt like an exquisite
caress every time he thrust into the wonderful tightness of Cloud, but the
quivering flesh was silken pleasure encasing his member.
Cloud was crying as he repeated over and over again how much he liked Sephiroth
inside him, grateful he couldn’t see any of what was happening to him.
Eventually he made himself believe that he liked it, feeling incredible relief
as he gave in and let Sephiroth dominate him, mind and body. He wasn’t being
raped, he was enjoying having his idol’s undivided attention…Cloud felt himself
smiling as Sephiroth told him how special he was.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     Sephiroth continues with Cloud and Tifa meets Reno for the first
     time.
“Dammit, get a room already!“ Reno exclaimed. Watching other people having sex
wasn’t his thing, even though it had surprised him to have his personal
assessment of Sephiroth as incapable of emotion destroyed. The man was so lost
in fucking his conquest that Reno thought maybe this was a clone, not the real
deal.
Sephiroth frowned. The Turk’s sour comment destroyed the wonderful afterglow he
and Cloud were enjoying again. When he had felt Cloud’s body start responding
to his domination with genuine ecstasy, it added another dimension to the
pleasure Cloud gave him, and he couldn’t bring himself to stop. “Is there a
problem?” he asked Reno in a tone that made him flinch.
“You were only going to test her out for me, but that was ages ago! I’m never
going to get my turn, am I?” Reno demanded to know. "Even the beer tastes bad
now!"
Sephiroth paused. He had promised the man, and nothing was more repellant to
him than breaking his word, except the thought of someone else inside Cloud. He
had just made him his, after all. “Stand in front of her.”
“Does this mean I get to see what she looks like finally?” Reno asked as he
stood in front of Cloud’s covered head.
“No!” Sephiroth sneered. “No one sees her but me!” He was about to blindfold
the Turk, but Reno refused.
“No way!” Reno wouldn’t let someone like Sephiroth blindfold him for anything,
that was against all the ingrained survival skills he had learned growing up
and during his career with the Turks. “Forget it…she’s probably too ugly to
fuck anyway, that’s why you’re hiding her, isn’t it?” Reno stormed out of the
private booth with his beer. Sephiroth’s eyes glinted dangerously as Reno’s
continued rant as he headed into the bathroom reached his hyper-sensitive
hearing. “Fucking asshole…he probably hired some two-bit whore to tease me!”
“Don’t pay him any mind.” Sephiroth told Cloud as he took his coat off him so
he could see. His need to avenge the insults Reno made towards Cloud was
tempered by the fact that Reno hadn’t touched him after all. “But he was right,
we should go back to my hotel room. Stand up.” Sephiroth redressed him and
threw money down on the table for their bill, then put his coat around Cloud
and picked him up. The coat was big enough to hide Cloud’s smaller body from
view again as he carried him outside. “Rest yourself a little, you‘ll need to
regain some energy.“ They passed a dark-haired young woman entering the bar as
they left, and Sephiroth recognized her as their hired guide to the reactor.
 
***
 
Tifa was furious…she’d heard over and over again that Cloud was back in town,
but he never bothered to find her and say hello. He’d been gone a long time,
and she was eager to find out how his career with SOLDIER was going. “Where is
he?” Tifa demanded to the entire bar.
“Where’s who?” Reno wondered as he came out of the bathroom and headed towards
the door to go to the inn. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
Tifa’s anger now had a new target and she followed Reno outside. “What do you
mean by that? I’m not a child!” She was also fed up with everyone always
treating her like one.
Reno stood up to his full height and looked down at her, examining her figure
with a critical eye. “You’ve got the boobs going for you already, but give it a
few more years, then call me.” Reno held out one of his cards that he gave to
his informants to get in touch with him. Tifa shrieked in outrage and slapped
him before storming off. “Well, that answers that question. Only attractive ass
in this place is a child.” Reno muttered as he tossed the card onto the ground
before sulkily heading to his room at the inn.
 
***
 
Sephiroth witnessed the exchange as he stood in front of his window and closed
the curtain. Cloud was laying obediently on the bed naked where Sephiroth had
placed him. “You really wouldn’t have let that man touch me, would you have,
sir?” Cloud asked plaintively as Sephiroth undressed. That part of him that
still knew he was being abused did not want to endure being violated by anyone
else.
“Don’t call me sir when we’re alone like this. I’m your lover, understand?”
Sephiroth told him as he joined Cloud in bed, cupping his face in his hands and
kissing him.
“Yes, lover.” Cloud liked saying that. It made him feel so important to the man
he had worshipped for so long.
“Now I’m going to teach you another way to please me.” Sephiroth forced Cloud’s
head to between his legs. “Take me in your mouth.”
Something in Cloud screamed at him to try and flee, but he automatically opened
his mouth and obeyed instead. He had already convinced himself that he enjoyed
whatever Sephiroth did to him, now he worked on convincing himself that this
would help him become a First Class SOLDIER. After all, Sephiroth was the best
of the best, anything he taught Cloud how to do must be part of his training,
right?
“Well, you need to practice that a lot more.” Sephiroth told Cloud when his
clumsy first attempt was finished. He cleaned up Cloud’s face, since he
couldn’t stand sloppiness.
“I’m sorry, lover.” Cloud kept his head down, upset with his failure.
Sephiroth put his finger under Cloud’s chin and forced his head up. “You’re
just new at this, you’ll learn. I’ll make you please me, don’t worry.”
Cloud’s spirits lifted as Sephiroth kissed and fondled him all over until they
both hardened. “Please take me again, lover.” he pleaded.
“I like it when you beg.” Sephiroth smiled as he easily slid back into Cloud,
who was still wet from their earlier activities. “I like all of you.”
Cloud clenched the bed sheet with both hands as Sephiroth thrust into him again
and again. Guttural cries erupted from his throat as he felt his lover’s hands
caressing his penis, until he felt himself ready to burst. Nothing had ever
felt so good! Sephiroth’s long silver hair lightly covered them as if they were
in their own world. He timed it just right so that Cloud was overloaded with a
double orgasm and he himself exploded amongst the stars.
“Promise me that I’m the only one you’ll ever be with.” Sephiroth demanded when
he noticed Cloud about to pass out from the momentous night.
“I could never want anyone but you.” Cloud murmured fervently before closing
his eyes.
Sephiroth watched his lover’s breathing slow, feeling so peaceful. He had
experienced sex before, since there were always willing women eager to have
bragging rights by making it with a First Class SOLDIER of his reputation, but
he never understood passion until this night. Having something that was solely
his awakened so many new feelings in him. He never knew his family or ever had
real friends, just coworkers he was familiar with. But Cloud…he had stolen his
innocence and independence in no time at all, and he would never let him go! A
contented sigh escaped Sephiroth’s lips as he fell asleep himself.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Summary
     The morning after for Cloud/Sephiroth
Cloud woke up an hour before dawn, feeling very disoriented. He also felt sick
and sore, and wanted to go to the bathroom, but an arm was holding him tight,
and Cloud turned over to see who it was. He froze in shock when he was
confronted with a naked sleeping Sephiroth. Wisps of the drunken night before
flew through his head and waves of nausea hit him, so Cloud threw off
Sephiroth’s arm and ran to the bathroom. He felt trapped when Sephiroth entered
the bathroom moments later, since he couldn’t go anywhere til he finished
vomiting. It wasn’t just his hangover that made him sick, it was his rejection
of what he remembered of the night before. As Sephiroth gently held him over
the toilet, Cloud trembled with fear, anger and something else he didn’t want
to identify.
“You shouldn’t drink so much next time.” Sephiroth told him once Cloud had
finished and sat there in front of the toilet just panting. “Let’s get you
cleaned up now.” He gently lifted Cloud up into a standing position and took
firm hold of his hand, leading him to the sink where he made him use the
mouthwash to get the sickly sweet taste out of his mouth, then Sephiroth turned
the shower on, waiting for the water to get to his preferred temperature before
pulling Cloud into the stall.
“No, please, let me go back in my room!” Cloud attempted in vain to free
himself from the much stronger man.
“I really do like it when you beg.” Sephiroth forced Cloud against the tile
wall as the hot water sluiced down their bodies. “Beg for me some more.” He
kissed him as his hands freely roamed his firm young body.
“Please let me go!” Cloud pleaded, hoping Sephiroth would let him go if he
obeyed. He was scared, but he didn’t know if it was because of Sephiroth’s
advances or his own body’s growing excitement over them.
“No! Beg for this!” Sephiroth snapped and shoved Cloud forcefully to his knees
and held his head straight so he could see how ready Sephiroth was for him.
Cloud stared at his idol’s swollen member, shuddering at the thought, but he
didn’t know what else to do but what he was told. “I…I want that inside
me…please take me!” he lied, grateful that the shower hid his tears. What would
Tifa think?
“As you wish. Get up and face the wall.” Sephiroth smiled as he was presented
with Cloud’s beautiful backside. He put his hands on his hips and pushed
himself forward, groaning as his lover’s body eagerly welcomed him.
Cloud wanted to scream out in protest, but his body betrayed him as it relished
Sephiroth fucking the resistance out of him. He went so slowly at first, almost
hesitantly, and it was exquisite torment for the young man. If it felt this
good to be with Sephiroth, it couldn’t possibly be wrong, Cloud told himself.
“Please don’t stop!” he was soon freely begging.
“You are the best I’ve ever had.” Sephiroth kissed his neck and wrapped his
arms around his lover as he continued dominating his body. “I could fuck you
straight for a year and never be disappointed.”
“You like me that much?” Cloud asked hopefully.
“Without a doubt. But now…” Sephiroth and Cloud’s voices mingled together as
their mutual cries of fulfillment echoed throughout the room. “Nothing like
starting out a new mission clean and refreshed, is there?” he asked Cloud as
the afterglow faded.
Cloud nodded. He felt so wonderful…the great Sephiroth was fond of him! He had
never expected that when he left home to join SOLDIER. “Will you leave me after
this mission?” he asked in almost a meek voice, afraid of what the answer might
be.
“You’re my lover, aren’t you?” Sephiroth reminded him. “I won’t ever leave you.
Now let‘s get dressed and grab some breakfast before we start out, shall we?”
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Summary
     The 'incident' at Nibelheim and the reactor
Cloud felt so confused as they headed up the mountain to the reactor with Tifa
leading them. Now that he was no longer alone with Sephiroth, he didn’t quite
know what to think, especially since Sephiroth was in his coldly distant
professional mode while in public. Cloud didn’t like it, he was unable to admit
his idol had raped him, and seeing Sephiroth like this made Cloud extremely
uncomfortable. Or was he mad at Cloud for not taking his eyes off their guide?
Tifa was prettier than he remembered, and he wondered if he should let her know
who he is. Cloud sighed…he wasn’t sure himself who he was now. He was eager for
the mission to be over so he could be alone with Sephiroth again and he could
explain things to Cloud.
Sephiroth had indeed noticed how Cloud seemed to be staring at their guide, and
it did make him mad, but not at his lover, he couldn’t be mad at Cloud. He was
mad at Tifa…she had interested Reno but rejected him, was she just another one
of those slutty teases that Reno loved so much? She obviously had no problem
exposing herself. She would never have Cloud, he’d see to that. His
possessiveness over Cloud surprised him with its intensity. Emotions were a
detriment to his line of work, and he had no life outside Shin-Ra Corporation.
But Cloud…he belonged to Sephiroth alone. He didn’t mind Cloud’s friendship
with Zack, that wasn’t a threat to him. After this mission was over, he would
take his first vacation, he had plenty of days off that he never used. Cloud
would come with him, and he would really have his lover all to himself then.
 
***
 
Cloud’s confusion only worsened after the trip to the reactor. Zack wouldn’t
tell him what happened, or where Sephiroth was. He did suggest that Cloud talk
to Tifa, but Cloud couldn’t bring himself to do that, or even tell Zack why.
Not only was he just a lowly infantryman, but there was Sephiroth in his life
now, but he didn’t know to what end. Had Sephiroth lied to him when he said
he’d never leave Cloud? He shuddered at the very thought…he needed to believe
that Sephiroth was incapable of being anything but a hero. Cloud smiled at how
special it made him feel that someone like Sephiroth wanted to keep Cloud to
himself.
 
***
 
Sephiroth refused to attack the inn when he unleashed his fury upon the town,
in case Cloud was there. He had other plans for him, after all. He would rescue
his mother, and take her and Cloud somewhere safe. Then he would destroy
anything that stood in his way…he would rule this planet with both of them at
his side.
 
***
 
Cloud saw Zack head towards the mountain reactor, and he followed slowly at
first, in shock at hearing people say Sephiroth had gone mad. When he heard
someone mention that Tifa had gone there to confront Sephiroth, something broke
inside of him, and he ran the rest of the way. The sight of Tifa and Zack’s
injured bodies engulfed him with a wrath fueled by betrayal.
“How dare you?!” Sephiroth was outraged that it was his chosen lover who dared
attack him and his mother…his favoritism had its limits, after all. When Cloud
insisted on fighting, Sephiroth skewered him in kind to try and reason with
him. “Don’t test me!” he gave his lover one final warning. His eyes widened
when Cloud somehow found the strength to gain control of the sword away from
him. “No…impossible!” Those were what everyone assumed to be Sephiroth’s final
words.
Cloud felt dead inside as he stumbled out of the Jenova chamber, falling down
the stairs and collapsing next to Zack.
 
***
 
“Are you serious? We have to go back? That place is a hellhole!” Reno’s voice
crackled with disgust over the helicopter’s radio as he was flying himself and
Rude back to headquarters.
“It is now. You’re on cleanup duty. Head to the reactor first.” Tseng’s voice
responded.
Reno got a pouty expression on his face as he turned his bird around and headed
back to Nibelheim. “What the…” Shock at the wreckage he witnessed as they
overflew the charred ground now covered his face. He and Rude cautiously
entered the reactor on full alert, Rude hurrying to check the vitals of the
three survivors they found there while Reno stood guard with his weapon on its
highest voltage setting. Reno recognized them all, but Zack was the only one he
hoped was still alive. They were getting low on First Class SOLDIERs, with no
likely candidates in the available pool. That infantryman was easily
replaceable, and the girl…well breasts didn’t have to be natural to interest
him these days, but it would still be a pity that she wouldn't grow up.
“They shouldn’t still be alive.” Rude commented as he radioed for help. “HQ
says we stay here til Hojo arrives. Apparently he wants new test subjects.” he
told his partner.
“No surprise there. What about the girl?” Reno asked.
“I’ll take her.” Zangan said from the doorway leading outside, catching Reno
and Rude by surprise. A few other of the surviving villagers were behind him.
“She’s all yours then.” Reno gestured for Rude to hand her over once he was
finished administering first aid.
“It’ll be alright, Tifa.” Zangan said as he carried her outside.
Cloud briefly came to when he heard the familiar voices, twitching when he
heard Tifa’s name. One man’s voice triggered a feeling of being violated, but
he passed out again before identifying it.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Summary
     Cloud/Zack's tenure and escape from the lab after four years
“This is a wonderful spot.” Sephiroth remarked, looking around the beautiful
scenery as Cloud spread out the picnic blanket.
“I know.” Cloud smiled and opened up the picnic basket. “Did you remember to
bring the drinks?” he asked.
“I’ve got just the thing.” Sephiroth revealed a small cooler he had been hiding
and opened it, bringing out a chilled bottle of wine and six wine glasses.
“Six glasses? I thought this was a private celebration for two.” Cloud said.
“It is a private celebration. Take your clothes off.” Sephiroth ordered with a
mischievous grin.
“Yes, lover.” Cloud obeyed as always, anticipating the joy of having Sephiroth
make love to him outside for once. They were finally going to move in together,
and make a formal announcement to let everyone know they were exclusive. But
Sephiroth had insisted on a first date beforehand, and Cloud had wanted a
picnic. “Hey, what is this?” he asked as five men seemed to appear out of
nowhere once he was naked.
“This is our private celebration.” Sephiroth indicated he spoke of himself and
the newcomers.
“But I thought…” Cloud got a sick feeling as he looked at the men. They looked
familiar but he couldn’t place them, and he quickly cast his eyes down to the
grass as they surrounded him. Were they going to…he got his answer as painfully
as possible, and one of the men tackled him from behind, forcing him onto his
hands and knees. Cloud tried to cry out as he felt the man shove himself into
Cloud, but another man forced Cloud take him in his mouth, and it was all Cloud
could do to keep from gagging.
“You’re not here to think.” Sephiroth told him as he took a sip from his wine
glass.
Tears streamed down Cloud’s face as each of the men took their turns with him.
He would gladly submit to the man he still worshipped, but being taken by any
other man made him feel so degraded.
As if divining Cloud’s thoughts, Sephiroth carefully set his wine glass down
and came over to his humiliated lover. “I meant it when I said you were my
lover. Look at them.” Cloud obediently lifted his head and blinked as he saw
five identical Sephiroths before him, each with their own wine glass. “I also
meant it when I said I’d never leave you. I’m deep inside you now, and always
will be.” Sephiroth kissed him passionately. “I could almost wish you were a
woman so you had another place for me to take you, but I wouldn’t change you
for anything.” Sephiroth lovingly told him, and Cloud’s tears dried at that
unequivocal reassurance.
“Well, that’s weird.” the lab tech said as he threw the syringe into the
biohazard waste bin. “He’s smiling.”
“It’s because he knows what a lucky test subject he is.” Hojo replied
condescendingly as he waved for the orderlies to put Cloud back in the
containment capsule. “He just got the last pure S cells we have. He is now the
closest being on the planet to Sephiroth.”
 
***
 
Cloud barely registered Zack freeing him from the lab. It wasn’t only the mako
poisoning that had turned him into a vegetable…the constant ‘dreams’ of
Sephiroth dominating him in every way possible and his vague awareness of being
turned into a lab rat had destroyed Cloud’s sense of self-identity. He was just
a tool for someone else to use. When he was conscious during their escape, he
heard what Zack was doing and saying, and that was the only thing he had to
figure out who he was. His health started to recover as they got closer to
Midgar, and found himself sobbing and shuddering while he hid during Zack’s
final climactic battle against the Shinra army. He could do nothing but crawl
to Zack’s dying body after it was over, and was relieved when he told Cloud who
he was.
“You’ll be my living legacy.” Zack said before handing the Buster sword to him.
“My honor…my dreams…they’re yours now.”
Cloud took the sword. “I’m your…living legacy.” He repeated the words slowly,
trying to figure out what they meant, then cried out as Zack died. “Thank you,
I won’t forget. Good night...Zack.” Walking away, he let all the memories he
had of Zack replace what Sephiroth and Shinra Laboratories had stolen from him.
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Summary
     A slight step back in time to show what Tifa was up to after
     Nibelheim
Two years after Nibelheim
Tifa headed into the bar, easily recognizing her contact. He hadn’t changed,
but she had. She adjusted the flower pin she was wearing that marked her as his
contact, and smiled at him as she approached the table. “Is this seat taken?”
she asked.
Reno perked up, smiling back at her and gesturing for her to sit down. “Feel
free.” he said. He was so relieved that the latest potential informant with
ties to AVALANCHE was so easy on the eyes. He was positive he had seen her
before, but he couldn’t place her. He was slightly annoyed by that, then
shrugged it off, sure that he would eventually remember her.
“So, what’s good around here?” Tifa asked him as she positioned herself
comfortably on the stool opposite him, crossing her legs carefully with the
short tight skirt she had on.
Reno managed to stop himself from saying he hoped she would be. This was
business, not a first date after all. “Try one of these.” he lifted his beer
bottle up and then put it back down on the table.
Before Tifa had a chance to respond, a very large drunken man put his arm
around her. “Hey bootyful, ya wanna ditch this skinny bastard and be with a
real man instead?”
Reno started to stand up to teach the interloper just what kind of a skinny
bastard he was when Tifa urgently gestured for him to sit back down with an odd
twinkle in her eyes. “Why, of course.” she smiled winningly at him as she slid
off the stool and faced him. Her nose wrinkled at the mixed odors of cheap
booze and sweat he exuded. “I just have one question for you first.”
The man couldn’t believe his luck…he had gotten laid in…in…in a very long time!
“What’s that?” He moved his arm slightly to run his hand down her backside
before slapping and pinching her. The next thing he knew, the woman had grabbed
the offending hand and twisted his arm behind his back, slamming him down onto
the table.
“Do you know where I can find a real man?” she sweetly asked while Reno
hurriedly grabbing his beer bottle before it spilled.
“I’m sorry, Miss!” the man apologized.
“Leave us alone.“ Tifa let him go and he scrambled for the exit while she
turned to Reno. “Would you mind if we went for a walk? This place is too
crowded.”
“Sure thing.” Reno just reached into his pocket and threw out whatever gil he
had onto the table, trying to keep from smiling too much. So far she seemed
like his kind of woman…he appreciated that she could hold her own.
Tifa took a deep breath once they were outside in the fresh air. She was amused
that Reno hadn’t seem to recognize her. On that horrible day when she had
everything stolen from her, she had found his card on the ground, outside the
burning rubble of what used to be the bar. It was miraculously undamaged, and
she had figured out that he must be connected to Shin-Ra somehow, so Tifa had
kept the card. Making her way to Midgar, she kept her hatred alive by the
stories of other travelers who had also suffered at Shin-Ra’s hands. She had
quickly fallen in with AVALANCHE upon her arrival in Midgar, but Tifa kept
quiet about Reno’s card, waiting until she was older. If the man she had met
was still the horny jerk she remembered, there were so many ways that would
work to her advantage.
“Where do you wanna go?” Reno asked her.
“There’s a little park, that way I think.” Tifa pointed and then started
walking, Reno staying by her side. “It’s so peaceful here.” she said as she sat
down on the park bench in front of an artificial pond.
“I guess.” Reno said as he sat down next to her. He wasn’t a park kind of
person. “So what’s new?” He got down to business.
“Here’s my number. Call me and I’ll tell you.” Tifa handed him a cocktail
napkin with a phone number clearly written on it, but no one could see the
flash drive hidden in the folds of it, with enough genuine encrypted
information on it that the AVALANCHE leaders had given her to convince Shin-Ra
that she was a legitimate informant. Tifa kissed Reno’s cheek and walked
provocatively away from him, knowing he’d be watching.
He was indeed checking her ass while putting the napkin into his pocket. Reno
frowned, wishing she wasn’t a professional contact. He’d definitely like to try
her out.
 
***
 
Four months later
Reno could tell Tifa was worried as soon as he sat down on the bench next to
her. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“They’ve seen us together too often. They know there was something going on.”
she whispered.
“What are you going to do?” he questioned Tifa. He’d be pretty disappointed if
she wasn’t smart enough to have a backup plan for this situation.
“I’ve already done it. I told them we’re planning a secret wedding.” Tifa
replied calmly.
“What?!” Reno shot up out of the bench and stared at her with his mouth hanging
open. Was this bitch crazy?!
“I told them we wanted to marry in secret so your snobby rich family wouldn’t
find out, and your father would still sign over a quarter stake in the family
business over to you in two years when you graduate.” she continued.
“And they believed that?!” Reno was incredulous. He’d told so much crap to
women over the years, but nothing so far-fetched.
“They believe that I do. And they want me to prove it…they’ll arrange
everything, but we have to be at the local justice of the peace next Tuesday at
3 p.m., or I’m done for.” Tifa told him.
 
***
 
When Reno reported to Tseng the next morning, he was stunned when his superior
howled with laughter. “You will be free Tuesday afternoon.” Tseng promised him.
“Sir?” Reno was clearly unhappy.
“This girl is the best informant on AVALANCHE we have right now.” Tseng pointed
out. “Endangering her over such a trivial thing is bad for our business.”
“Trivial?” Reno’s voice squeaked.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be official, I’ll take care of that.” Tseng dismissed
his distraught second-in-command.
 
***
 
Tifa was very happy on her wedding, because now she would have her double-edged
sword against Shin-Ra. If AVALANCHE couldn’t stop them from the outside, she’d
do it from the inside as Reno’s wife. She knew the ceremony would be fake
somehow, he wasn’t the marrying kind, but that didn’t matter. Reno would still
play his part, and she would play him.
The actual ‘wedding’ took only minutes, with Rude serving as the witness, and
he was hard-pressed to keep a straight face. Afterwards, he drove them to a
fancy hotel where they were expected to have their wedding night.
“Don’t be such a sourpuss.” Tifa told a sullen Reno as they entered the regular
room. Tifa had explained having the actual bridal suite would not help the
secret wedding scam, but a plain room for some funny business wouldn’t raise
any eyebrows. “We pulled it off, didn’t we?”
Reno just grunted in reply. His ‘bride’ was beautiful in the summer dress she
wore, but…he felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter, even though Tseng had
constantly reassured him that paperwork would not be filed and he was still a
free man.
“Well, almost. You really don’t want to have sex with me, do you?” she asked.
“I’d have sex with a fire hydrant if it had a rack like yours.” Reno muttered
under his breath, but it got him back on track. Why was he acting like he was a
special kind of stupid for pouting over the necessity of having sex with a
woman he wanted anyway? “You don’t mind?” He had never had an unwilling woman,
and he never intended to start.
“It beats the alternative if AVALANCHE finds out I lied.” she pointed out. “And
I’ve waited long enough.”
Reno’s eyes bugged out. “You’re a virgin?”
“Are you saying you thought I was just another bar floozy?” Tifa’s eyes started
to narrow.
“Oh, no, I mean…uh…” Reno didn’t know what to say next. “Are you even old
enough?”
Tifa sighed at him acting like the hesitant bride instead of her. “I was old
enough to get married, wasn’t I? Of course you can get married at 16 here.” She
sat down in his lap and pointed to the clock on the nightstand. “But to
reassure you, I turned 18 five minutes ago.” She cupped his face in her hands
and kissed him. “Just think of this as another one night stand, with wedding
night role-playing.”
Reno smiled as she mentioned role-playing. Maybe she was his kind of woman
after all, and he decided he would spend the whole night finding out.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Chapter Summary
     Tifa runs into Cloud while on her way to the grocery store. Takes
     place just before the beginning of the original game.
“We’ll have to try that again sometime.” Reno gasped, trying to catch his
breath.
“I think you’re right.” Tifa smiled as her ‘husband’ was his usual cuddling
self as they recovered from another extremely successful ‘meeting’. The sparks
between them on their staged wedding night had never faded, and with her
watchers expecting Reno to be coming around to her place now that they were
supposedly married, their exchange of information never failed to take place in
her bed. Tifa’s smiled deepened as she corrected herself. It wasn’t always her
bed, there was the shower, occasionally her kitchen counter or table, and his
unmarked car once or thrice.
“You got anything to eat?” Reno asked her.
Tifa laughed, having been waiting for him to ask her that. “I think I can find
something. She got out of bed, and Reno whistled at her backside when she
headed towards the kitchen, so she slowed and walked more seductively, enjoying
teasing him. She grabbed a few slices of his favorite pizza she kept on hand
for him, reheating it in the microwave,
“You’re the best, you know that?” Reno had snuck up behind her and put his arms
around her.
“And don’t you forget it!” Tifa said with mock anger. The microwave beeped and
Reno took out his pizza, wolfing it down. Tifa could never understand how he
could eat that stuff, she wasn’t big on the smell.
“So any news?” he asked her between bites.
“AVALANCHE is planning something big, but I’m not sure what. They usually don’t
announce it to the team that’s going to carry it until it’s time.” Tifa
reminded him, heading back to her room to get dressed. “Don’t forget to lock up
when you leave.” she told Reno when she came back to the kitchen fully clothed.
“I’ve got to get to work now. See you next week!” She kissed his cheek before
leaving, not wanting to kiss him on the mouth while he tasted like his pizza.
 
***
 
As she headed to her bar, Tifa struggled to maintain her usual cheerful
attitude. It was getting harder and harder for her to lie to Reno, especially
when they started behaving like a real happily married couple until the truth
invariably reared its ugly head that they were working for organizations who
were trying to destroy each other. Hopefully something would happen to make it
all work out…hadn’t she suffered enough? It was bad enough that Sephiroth had
obliterated her hometown, he had also tried to kill her, but only succeeded in
killing her chances to ever have her own family.
 
***
 
“Cloud!” Tifa exclaimed as she caught sight of him on her way to the grocery
store after work. Reno had an appetite like a chocobo on brownie grass, and she
was constantly having to stock up on what he considered essential food groups.
At least he always gave her money for groceries at least, so it’s not like she
was going to bankrupt keeping him fed for his weekly visit.
Cloud stared blankly at Tifa when she called out to him. “What do you want?” he
asked coldly, in character with the new persona he had adopted for himself. He
had been a SOLDIER First Class, but now he was a mercenary. He answered to no
one, and no one could mess with him. Having only allowed himself to remember
Nibelheim and the reactor as if he was Zack, all he knew was that he had been
strong enough to take out Sephiroth, and that’s all that happened. He didn’t
care to remember much else about his life. The past didn’t matter, only the
present and his next job did.
Tifa frowned. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”
“Friend? I don’t have any friends.” He started remembering her as the guide to
the reactor on Mt. Nibel. She had grown up into a very attractive woman, who
still seemed to like showing off her body. A voice in his head called her a
tease, and he shivered, not knowing where the voice came from. ‘I asked you
what you wanted.”
Tifa’s frown deepened. Something was obviously wrong with him, this wasn’t the
Cloud she remembered. “I want to make you dinner.” she replied, wanting to talk
to him in private and find out what he’d been through since they last met. The
look in his eyes made her feel extremely disturbed, especially since they
hadn’t been blue before.
Cloud hesitated…he wanted to get away from her as fast as possible for reasons
he couldn’t explain, but he was hungry, and a free meal was a free meal.
Besides, he could disappear afterwards.
 
***
 
“Where is he?” Cloud asked Tifa as he looked around her place while she cooked
dinner.
“Where is who?” Tifa asked distractedly as she was finishing up making what she
remembered to be one of his favorite meals.
“You have a man here frequently.” Cloud said as he came out of the bathroom,
wondering why that bothered him a little.
“It’s…it’s a long story.” Tifa was annoyed to find herself blushing over her
relationship with Reno. She put the food onto plates, and carried them to her
table. “Chow’s up!”
Cloud sat down and started eating, giving only monosyllabic answers in between
bites to her many questions.
“If you’re a mercenary now, I might know of some jobs available for someone
with your skills.” Tifa cautiously told him, thinking about the upcoming
planned attack on Mako Reactor No. 1. Something told her that she needed to
keep him close, because he’d need her help as much as she would end up needing
his.
***** Chapter 8 *****
Chapter Summary
     The beginning of the game to the scene in the playground after Sector
     7 is destroyed.
Cloud was more than happy to help AVALANCHE in their fight against Shin-Ra,
even if he didn’t show it. Something in him wanted Shin-Ra to pay and pay
deeply, he just didn’t know what for. He had no trouble on his first mission
until Barret told him to plant the charges, and he heard a voice warning him
about the reactor. He shook it off and finished his job. He got separated from
the rest of the team during the getaway, and after the explosion, Cloud met a
pretty flower girl who seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he didn’t have time
for her, he still had to rejoin the team, so he left her and made his way to
the train car where everyone else was.
“You forgot the promise.” Tifa ran after Cloud when he tried to leave when
Barret called a meeting once they were back at the base.
Cloud frowned as Tifa’s words triggered a childhood memory. The girl was a
damned fool for believing in heroes, he cynically thought as he felt an intense
momentary loathing of Tifa for reminding him of his idol worship of Sephiroth
and how he wanted to be just like him. “I’m not a hero and I’m not famous.”
Cloud pointed out and turned to leave when Barret showed up and paid him. That
was more like it, and Cloud promised to help out with the assault on Reactor
No. 5 for not only an increase in pay, but getting paid in advance as well.
Tifa was happy, but Cloud decided against telling her that he wasn’t doing it
for her, he was doing it for money…well, money and vengeance.
 
***
 
Cloud opened his eyes to find the flower girl standing over him. Moving his
head, he realized he was in a church on the floor. Wondering how he got here,
he remembered Tifa swearing hatred for Shin-Ra and Sephiroth over her father’s
dead body, then the President saying he was to have become another Sephiroth,
thoroughly disturbing Cloud, there was an explosion and he was falling. Aerith,
as the flower girl introduced herself, explained that she had been tending her
flowers when Cloud ‘dropped in’.
“Does your job include being a bodyguard?” she asked him, spying Reno at the
entrance.
Once he agreed to take Aerith home, he approached Reno and the uniform
triggered feelings in Cloud that made him accept Aerith’s plan to flee.
“Those eyes…they were mako eyes.” Reno said as they fled. All the renegade
SOLDIERs were gone, weren’t they?
 
***
 
Cloud wondered why the Turks would want a simple flower girl, but she wouldn’t
tell him as they headed back to her home. Upon learning that Tifa was in Don
Corneo’s mansion, Cloud barely agreed to Aerith’s plan for infiltration, making
no bones about his disgust over it. Looking in a mirror once she had him
dressed up all pretty, he heard the voice again. “I could almost wish you were
a woman.” it said, and Cloud shivered.
 
***
 
Reuniting with Tifa, the three of them cornered Don Corneo in his bedroom, and
were horrified when he revealed Heidegger’s plans for AVALANCHE and Sector 7.
They managed to escape his mansion and made their way to the pillar as fast as
they could. At the base, Aerith agreed to Tifa’s request to take care of
Marlene, and Barret rejoined Tifa and Cloud and they fought their way up the
pillar.
Reno and Tifa were shocked to find each other there. Reno recovered more
quickly than her from it, and activated the new stun pyramid feature on his
weapon, courtesy of the latest materia-enhanced upgrade to it. He couldn’t
bring himself to fight his ‘wife’, even if he was personally outraged that she
had so obviously lied to him, so he neutralized her first instead. Once he
activated the self-destruct bomb for the pillar, he headed back to his chopper,
trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach that he might never see her
again. Business was business, after all.
 
***
 
Barret, Cloud, and Tifa made it safely to the playground outside Sector 7, Tifa
feeling so much worse than her compatriots. The honeymoon was over with her and
Reno. “I don’t understand my own feelings.” she admitted when they discussed
the tragic event.
“What about you, Cloud?” Barret wanted to know.
Cloud starts to walk off, then pauses. “I want to know more about the
Ancients.” The blood of the Ancients flows within me. I am the rightful heir to
this planet. He heard the mysterious voice again, and he was troubled by
longing, not only what he heard in the voice, but also stirred within himself
by the voice.
***** Chapter 9 *****
Chapter Summary
     This chapter follows the game from their rescue of Aerith from the
     Shin-Ra building until her death at Sephiroth's hands.
Infiltrating the Shin-Ra building took some ingenuity, but it wasn’t that hard.
They found the lab where Aerith was being held, and Cloud noticed a large dome-
shaped holding tank, and upon reading the name Jenova on it and peering inside,
he felt himself start to collapse. When Barret and Tifa questioned him, he
didn’t tell them that seeing the entity triggered a deep sense of…need?…within
him. He shook it off instead to continue with the rescue mission, and they did
find Aerith, but they were unable to escape the building with her, until Cloud
wakes up after resting in his cell to find the door wide open. Freeing the rest
of the team, they realize the building has been attacked in gruesome fashion.
Following the trail of blood, Cloud has his suspicions, but doesn’t tell the
others until they find the President with a long katana impaling him to his
desk. Cloud is struck by a feeling of vindication and a disquieting relief that
somehow Sephiroth must be alive after all, as he tells the others who the
culprit is.
“So he wants to save the planet? He’s a good guy?” Barret asked.
“He’s not a good guy!” Cloud snaps, remembering himself.
 
***
 
“I am always by your side.” Sephiroth’s calm statement in the Temple of the
Ancients fills Cloud with a sense of peace, and he feels so close to him as he
listens to him talk, until Aerith’s words snap him out of it. Cloud was ashamed
of himself for the anger he felt at her for stopping whatever just happened to
him.
After some discussion, they decide to let Cait Sith obtain the black materia
for them, so Sephiroth can not summon Meteor. But once it’s in Cloud’s hands,
Sephiroth appears, and overwhelmed by his presence, Cloud hands it to him,
feeling an almost orgasmic rush of pleasure as Sephiroth praises him as a good
boy. Aerith intervenes again, and this time Cloud’s anger gets the better of
him and he attacks her, until Vincent stops him.
 
***
 
Reno was disgusted with himself on all counts, as Elena slept in his arms. He
wanted to get over Tifa, and taking advantage of Elena’s distress over Tseng’s
condition after his run-in with Sephiroth seemed like just the ticket. But he
just couldn’t bring himself to do it when it came down to it, and Elena thought
she was wrong about him, and he was just being a great guy by genuinely
offering her nothing but a shoulder to cry on.
 
***
 
Cloud awakens the next morning to find Aerith has left, and Barret and Tifa
have no idea where she’s gone. Cloud tells them she came to him in a dream and
explained she‘s going to the City of the Ancients to stop Sephiroth, and lets
them know Sephiroth also knows what she’s doing, and he won’t let her
interfere, leaving out Sephiroth considering himself and Cloud a team. Finding
no real support from Barret and Tifa when he confesses his fears, he
reluctantly agrees to go after Aerith. He can’t let them face Sephiroth on
their own, since they really didn’t seem to grasp the totality of his power,
especially over Cloud. When he realizes Tifa is lying about knowing whoever
Zack is, he hides his terrible disappointment in her. Apparently he couldn’t
trust anybody, least of all himself.
 
***
 
When Cloud approached Aerith as she prayed for help to defeat Sephiroth, he
knew what he had to do. He would protect and serve Sephiroth by eliminating all
threats to him. Lifting his sword to strike her down, it wasn’t Barret and
Tifa’s voices protesting that stopped him, but another voice inside him, that
wanted to protect Aerith from Sephiroth at all costs. Cloud just stood there,
torn by all the conflicting voices inside him, as Aerith looked up and smiled
at him. He felt Sephiroth’s presence before he saw him, gracefully descending
from the sky and impaling Aerith in one fluid motion. As he looked into
Sephiroth’s eyes, Cloud thought he had never seen anything so beautiful.
“I’m deep inside you now, and always will be.” Those words reverberated
throughout Cloud’s mind, and then were gone so suddenly it was painful. In its
place was the voice that had wanted to protect Aerith, now screaming in anguish
as Cloud cradled her body in his arms, feeling her grow cold under his hands.
Sephiroth taunted Cloud’s supposed feelings for Aerith, and a boiling rage now
filled Cloud as he fired back at Sephiroth, who merely floated away, with a
parting shot at Cloud, letting him know he was just a puppet.
***** Chapter 10 *****
Chapter Summary
     From the first trip to the Crater until the aftermath of the final
     battle with Sephiroth.
Cloud looked around at the replica of Nibelheim, knowing it must be a trick by
Sephiroth, since he was really on his way deeper into the Crater, with Barret
and Tifa. As if Cloud’s thoughts summon him, Sephiroth appears, and tries to
tell Cloud that his memory of Nibelheim is false. He rejects the claim, telling
Sephiroth that he doesn’t want to understand. Cloud tries to reassure Tifa,
puzzled by how scared she is of what Sephiroth is doing. Cloud’s memory can’t
be false, and that’s all there was to it, he told himself, ignoring his own
fear of Sephiroth…fear? All that Sephiroth done just made Cloud hate him,
didn’t it?
Tifa begs Sephiroth to stop his illusion…when he threatens to open her heart to
everyone, it’s not the truth of what happened during the mission to Nibelheim’s
reactor that she doesn’t want Cloud to know, it’s her ‘marriage’ to Reno. What
would he think of her willingly consorting with the enemy?
 
***
 
Listening to Hojo explain everything, Cloud’s will to keep fighting what
Sephiroth called his true self vanished. He was always meant to serve
Sephiroth, that’s what he was created for. After taking the black materia from
Red XIII, he apologized to everyone and let himself be drawn up to the top of
the cavern, as Hojo continued talking about Sephiroth and the experiments.
“All the anger and hatred I bore him made it impossible for me to ever forget
him. That, and what he gave me.” Cloud said, even though he felt there was a
time when Sephiroth only took from him. “Sephiroth? Sephiroth? I’m here. And I
brought you the black materia. Show yourself to me. Where are you?” Cloud
walked to the edge of the crystalline roots he was standing on. “Sephiroth…so
we finally meet again.” Cloud heard Red XIII yell at him and started to plummet
back down to the ground, but he had to obey Sephiroth, and he levitated back up
until he was in front of his…what was the word one of the other clones had
called him? Ah, yes, Master! Cloud stares for a moment at the protective cocoon
Sephiroth was encased in, before reaching in and placing the black materia in
front of his Master. It started to crackle with energy immediately, and Cloud
found himself trapped within a maelstrom of power as Meteor and the planet’s
Weapons were simultaneously unleashed out of the Crater. He felt a protective
presence surround him as blackness came.
 
***
 
Cloud opened his eyes to find himself on a gorgeous white sandy beach, sitting
in a hammock. He looked around and noticed he was in a secluded cove. There was
a small hut only a few feet from him with a barbecue pit behind it. “Hello?” he
called out, wondering if he was alone or not. What had happened? A confusing
collage of images flashed through his head, but he couldn’t understand any of
it.
“It’s about time you woke up, sleepyhead. The jet lag can’t have been that
bad.” Sephiroth remarked, coming out of the hut totally naked with a cocktail
in his hand. Cloud realized with a shock that he was naked too.
“What’s going on?” Cloud asked fearfully as Sephiroth got into the hammock with
him.
“Isn’t it obvious? This is your reward for serving me so well.” Sephiroth
replied as he started to caress Cloud’s tensed up body.
“Master…” Cloud hesitantly said, wanting him to stop, but not sure why.
“Cloud, how many times do I have to tell you? Don’t ever call me Master! That’s
for my loser flunkies, but you’re so much better than them. You’re my favorite
after all. Do you remember what you’re supposed to call me?” he asked Cloud.
Cloud relaxed at Sephiroth’s unstinted approval of him, and he let himself
enjoy the fondling as he searched his confused memory. “Lover?” Cloud couldn’t
figure out why that word made him shudder.
“Yes, that’s what you alone get to call me.” Sephiroth kissed him.
Cloud closed his eyes and was filled with serenity as Sephiroth made love to
him in the hammock, in such a beautiful location, with the only sounds being
the waves gently lapping the shore with an occasional bird cry mixing in with
the moans they both made. Could anything be better than this? Cloud thought,
then realized Sephiroth had suddenly stopped. Opening his eyes, he felt himself
being choked with fear as the scene started to change.
“Drat that girl! Remember I’m always with you!” Sephiroth told Cloud as he
started to fade.
“Don’t abandon me!” Cloud screamed out, feeling chilled to the bone. Everything
went black to be replaced with a vision of Nibelheim and Tifa was there, and
Cloud was stunned to realize he was looking at her from three different sets of
eyes.
 
***
 
Cloud felt sick acting like he was glad to have his memory restored, and that
he was okay now. Thankfully Tifa had never known what Sephiroth had done to him
that first night in Nibelheim. At least he had one more reason to take out
Sephiroth once and for all, so no one could ever know.
 
***
 
Tifa’s first stop when they reentered the Weapon-besieged Midgar was a private
excursion. She had gotten Reno’s real address from Cait Sith, and needed to
make sure that he was okay. She didn’t want to leave that situation unresolved,
in case she didn’t survive their final confrontation with Sephiroth. Tifa was
surprised at the poshness of the building he lived in. Cait Sith had told her
it was an exclusive condominium complex that Shin-Ra had built. Taking a deep
breath, she knocked on door no. 79.
“Tifa!” Reno exclaimed when he opened the door in just his boxers, glad to see
her, but at the same time thinking her timing was awful. “What do you want?” he
asked coolly.
“I had to make sure you were oka…” Tifa’s voice trailed off as she caught sight
of that blonde Turk she had seen in Wutai coming out of what must be his
bedroom, in just a bathrobe and toweling her wet hair.
“Thanks, Reno.” Elena said. “I knew you wouldn’t let me…what’s she doing here?”
she blurted out as she saw Tifa.
“I’m wondering the same thing myself.” Tifa frowned angrily. “I just wanted to
see you again before we took the fight back to Sephiroth.” she snapped at Reno.
“But don’t let me spoil your good time!” Tifa ran away down the emergency
stairs.
Reno wanted to chase after he, but maybe it was better this way, and she’d move
on so he could. If she survived Sephiroth that was…Reno didn’t want to think
about that.
“Why was she here?” Elena demanded to know. She was staying at his place while
hers was being fumigated. And maybe she could finally get him into bed. His
lack of interest in her had ignited hers in him. She felt a bit insulted that
Mr. Playboy never made a move on her. Elena might not be as gorgeous as some of
his other women, but she knew she wasn’t unattractive.
“That was my wife.” Reno explained.
“You’re married?!” Rage washed over Elena. “Of all the…” she punched Reno in
the stomach and stormed out. “Jerk!” she muttered under her breath as the
elevator opened, too made to care if she was only wearing a bathrobe. She’d
take a taxi to a hotel and stay there.
Reno sat down on his couch, clutching his stomach. He’d have a bruise there for
sure, he thought as he stared at his blank TV screen. At least Elena was
gone…he was getting fed up with her acting like he was her gay best friend…he
liked women! One woman, he automatically amended, but she was gone now. If…Reno
shuddered at the thought of being a widow, even if it was fake. That was one
reason he had no interest in marriage, in his line of work ‘Til death do us
part’ was pretty much a guarantee, usually far sooner than expected. But
Tifa…Reno was unsure what to do for the first time in his life.
 
***
 
Sephiroth’s stunned look as Cloud defeated the last vestige of him made it
impossible for Cloud to be happy that the world had been saved. He had realized
with his renewed memory that the one thing Sephiroth had never done was lie to
him. The only person that he could trust was the one he had to destroy.
“I say we celebrate!” Tifa said as Cid’s airship took them away from the
Crater.
“You’re right.” he told her, pulling her into one of the cabins. If Tifa was so
determined to help him, she could help him forget what he had just done, and
make him believe that he was okay now.
***** Chapter 11 *****
Chapter Summary
     Cloud finds out about Reno and Tifa's marriage
Six months after Meteorfall
Tifa was relieved when Cloud demanded separate twin beds for the bedroom they
were going to share in the apartment above her new bar where they were now
going to live. She didn’t want to be in the same bed with him. Their
‘celebration’ after defeating Sephiroth had made her almost afraid of Cloud.
Everything had been going well until he realized there was nothing virginal
about her anymore. Tifa had been stunned by his fury at her for not waiting for
him, and when he finally calmed down, she was grateful he had never wanted to
touch her again. She had thought he had been healed of his past, but obviously
there was something more that he wouldn’t tell her. And she didn’t have much of
an opportunity to really talk with him lately, not since he started his own
delivery business, using his specially customized motorcycle Fenrir for his
deliveries. He was gone frequently, and wasn’t good about telling her when he’d
be home. And now that Marlene was living with him, she didn’t want to discuss
potentially disturbing problems in front of her.
 
***
 
One year after Meteorfall
Cloud walked into the kitchen. “This Geostigma business is starting to get
really serious. Hope the brains can figure out a cure soon.” he told Tifa as he
watched her cook dinner.
“They will. They better.” Tifa replied. “Did Marlene enjoy the park?” Cloud
nodded. “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, so you two have time to
wash up first.” she said.
As the three of them sat down to eat, Cloud mostly ignored Tifa and focused on
Marlene. The little girl’s honest innocence was extremely soothing to him.
Everyone else around him seemed so jaded and occasionally deceitful. He had
sworn many times he wouldn’t let anything spoil her.
 
***
 
Cloud was horrified to find the first Geostigma lesion on his hand two months
later. He had thought himself immune to it, since he had spent years as a lab
rat that made him so different from everyone else. Apparently his alterations
weren’t enough…and there was still no hope for a cure. He pretended that he was
okay until the day he came home early enough to get the mail, and found a
letter from Reeve Tuesti addressed to Tifa. Thinking it was a mistake, since
Reeve always contacted Cloud, he opened the letter. Scanning the contents, he
was overcome by an overwhelming sense of betrayal. Cloud crumpled the letter
into a ball and threw it in the trash, then packed up his sparse belongings and
left Tifa for good.
 
***
 
Tifa came home after work, thinking nothing of Cloud not being there, until she
found the envelope on the table. Surprised to find it open and empty, she
looked around for the letter, finally finding it in the trash. Straightening it
out, she casually skimmed it until she read the ‘certificate never revoked’
line, and sat down in the nearest chair with a thud. Tifa stared out the window
in a daze…her marriage to Reno had been real after all? But that meant…”Oh,
Cloud, I’m so sorry.” Tifa realized he must have been the one who opened the
envelope. She had never meant for him to find out like this. She had genuinely
thought it was a sham marriage from the start, so saw no point in telling
Cloud, especially since she and Reno had ended when Cloud came back into her
life. And she definitely didn’t want Cloud to know it was Reno who gave her
such a thorough sexual education. He had been furious enough with her over it,
even with everything they’d been through together. How would he react to Reno?
In the rare occasions when the Turks came up in conversations between them,
Reno was the only one Cloud seemed to hold a grudge against. She’d better pay
her husband another visit and warn him.
 
***
 
Reno smiled as Elena dug her nails into his back. She had eventually forgiven
him about Tifa once Rude had confirmed the marriage was fake and mission-
related. Once he found out Tifa was living with Cloud, he was tempted to go
back to his womanizing ways, but Tifa had ruined that for him, and it just
didn’t appeal to him anymore. He wanted some consistency in his relationships
now, not just cheap thrills. He and Elena had been seeing each other for the
past four months, and he kept telling himself he was as happy as he could be.
He heard the urgent knocking on the front door, but he waited until he and
Elena were both satisfied before getting up to answer the door.
“Tifa? You have really bad timing, you know that?” Reno said as he opened the
door.
“Who is she?” Tifa glanced at Reno’s naked body, knowing him well enough to
know he just had sex.
“Um…what?” Reno would have been mad if he had known he was blushing. “What
business is that of yours anyway?”
“It’s my business because I’m your wife.” Tifa handed him the letter as she
ducked under his arm and entered his condo. “And I think you might be in
trouble.”
 
***
 
Cloud took up residence in the ruins of the church where Aerith’s flower garden
still bloomed. He tried to feel at peace there, but all he could do was think
of how all of his problems were because of Reno. He had taken everything from
Cloud…he had let Sephiroth rape him, which made Cloud so messed up Sephiroth
could control him and got Aerith killed and let Sephiroth summon Meteor. Zack
had passed on his hopes and dreams onto Cloud, expecting him to follow in his
footsteps, but he hadn’t been able to protect Zack’s love for him. Cloud had
realized that he himself didn’t really care for Aerith, it was Zack’s memories
affecting him. But her death still haunted him for Zack’s sake. And Tifa…Reno
had taken her away too…and if they were married, they could adopt Marlene and
her innocence would vanish by being exposed to his lifestyle. Now Cloud was
dying from Geostigma with no one left to care for him. Left alone since no one
knew where he was, Cloud just nursed his hatred of Reno, day in and day out,
until he thought of the perfect way to make Reno pay for his crimes.
***** Chapter 12 *****
Chapter Summary
     Cloud takes out his vengeance on Reno
Cloud spent the next two weeks familiarizing himself with Reno’s routine. He
was surprised that the man wasn’t picking up women in bars anymore…was he
serious about his marriage to Tifa? Cloud had felt a little guilty at first
over his plans for Reno, since she would be hurt, but then he reminded himself
that Reno had stolen her from him, and she was no longer any concern of his.
Sephiroth had been right, she was just another of those slutty teases Reno
loved so much. What he was going to do to Reno, he was doing for Marlene’s sake
as much as for himself. Tifa and Reno could never adopt Marlene once Cloud had
broken him like he had done to Cloud. It would be his wedding present to the
happy couple. Just another week or two, and everything would be in place…anyone
seeing the smile that spread over his face would know that Cloud was hanging on
by a thread.
 
***
 
Reno went to Aerith’s church to see if reports of Cloud’s presence there were
true. He hadn’t told Tifa because she was afraid Cloud was going to hurt him.
Reno knew it was possible, after all, the man had bested Sephiroth multiple
times. And Reno wasn’t into fighting over women, there were too many available
ones. But for Tifa…he was willing to let Cloud get in a ‘lucky’ punch once or
twice and call it good for his wife’s sake. It wasn’t new for him, not with
Elena being totally unforgiving at finding out that she really was an unwitting
homewrecker, and Tifa herself had needed time to adjust to their relationship
was real, but when she had…Reno smiled at the memory. They were having dinner
at his place, and when he had kissed her, she had responded so eagerly it
surprised him. She had told him that she and Cloud were not lovers, but he
hadn’t believed it until then…Tifa had left him positively drained that night,
and he had fallen into an exhausted sleep as a happily married man. “Cloud, are
you here?” Reno called out.
“You weren’t supposed to be here yet. But I shouldn’t be surprised, you just
like to spoil things for me, don’t you?” Cloud had easily snuck up behind the
distracted Turk, and poked Reno’s back with the tip of the Buster sword. “Now
turn around and face me like the man you’re not!” Cloud demanded of him.
As Reno complied, he was disgusted at his lapse and letting someone get the
drop on him. Looking down into Cloud‘s eyes, Reno got his first hint that maybe
Tifa was right to be worried about her childhood friend. “I don’t want to fight
you.” he told Cloud in a conciliatory tone. “It’s not going to change anything,
and…”
“I’ve got nothing left to lose. I’m dying, you stupid ass!” Cloud said as his
hand started trembling…his anger increased as well as his fear. He couldn’t
have a Geostigma fit now! Reno needed pay for his failure…reaching into the
stunned man’s pocket, he was somewhat disgusted to find the tube of lubrication
still there, just like it had been that horrible night that began it all…”It
really doesn’t matter what you want.” A frightening smile spread over Cloud’s
face. “Only one of us is leaving here whole.”
 
***
 
“Is Cloud ever coming back home?” Marlene asked Tifa hopefully as they ate
lunch.
“I don’t know.” Tifa sighed. “That’s up to him now. Would you like to go visit
the flower garden?” Tifa knew that Aerith’s church was one of Marlene’s
favorite places to go.
“Yes, please!” Marlene clapped her hands together excitedly.
 
***
 
“It’s all your fault!” Cloud kept shouting as he hit Reno again and again, his
buried rage having finally erupted in violent fashion. When he realized Reno
was about to pass out, he dragged the Turk over to one of the pews and sat him
down almost gently. “Did you know it was me that night under Sephiroth’s coat?”
“What are you talking about?” Reno struggled to remain consciousness…he had
never taken a beating like this before.
“Remember Nibelheim? I was the one Sephiroth offered to you that night!” Cloud
exclaimed angrily.
“No!” Reno was disgusted by Cloud’s revelation.
“Yes! And you let him rape me!” Cloud barely stopped himself from hitting Reno
again, as he finally admitted out loud what happened to him that night. “Now
you’re going to know what it feels like to lose everything!” Cloud forced Reno
onto all fours on the pew and pulled his pants down before kneeling behind him
as he undid his own pants and lubed up.
 
***
 
Tifa and Marlene saw Fenrir parked outside the church, and Marlene got excited
at seeing Cloud again, and she pulled her hand out of Tifa’s grasp and ran
inside, calling out his name.
Cloud had sated his anger, and refastened his pants as he thought of how Reno
had cried out like a little bitch as Cloud took out his vengeance over and over
again on the man, who was now unconscious on the pew. When Sephiroth forced
himself on Cloud, he had only cried out the once. So much for the illustrious
Turks…suddenly he heard his name being called and turned to see Marlene running
happily towards him. Horror washed over Cloud…Marlene wasn’t supposed to be
here…she couldn’t see Reno. “Get away from me!” he snapped at her.
Marlene froze, having never heard him mad at her before. “Cloud? Are you okay?”
Tifa walked in right behind her, instantly realizing an intense fight had taken
place. She put her hands protectively on Marlene’s shoulders, preventing her
from going further. “Cloud…what’s going on?” she asked worriedly, feeling a
stab of fear as she looked at him. That wasn’t the Cloud she knew.
“You’re not supposed to be here! It’s all his fault!” Cloud yelled before
running out the door and Tifa heard him speed away on Fenrir.
“Stay right there.” Tifa ordered Marlene, and cautiously approached the pew he
had been standing. A terrified gasp escaped her lips as she saw Reno lying
there. She quickly pulled his pants back up so Marlene wouldn’t see, and looked
for some kind of blanket or first aid kit. She found both from where Cloud must
have had his ‘bedroom’. “You can go play with the flowers now.“ she told
Marlene. Tifa fought back tears as she tended to her husband’s broken body, not
wanting to get them into his wounds. “Aerith, if you can still hear me, please
save Cloud!” she prayed.
 
***
 
Cloud had no real destination in mind, he just had to get far away. He didn’t
care how fast he was going…the thought of Marlene seeing what he had done made
him beyond nauseous. He exited the city out into the wilderness, still going at
top speeds. As he was making a dangerous turn, the Geostigma made his hand
started trembling again, and he lost control of Fenrir. Suddenly he felt
himself falling through the air as he went over the cliff and then his body hit
the rocks below, Fenrir landing nearby.
“Please let me die.” Cloud pleaded as he looked up at the sky, then closed his
eyes, not wanting to ever wake up again.
***** Chapter 13 *****
Chapter Summary
     Cloud finds himself waking up as a somewhat unwelcome guest at
     Aerith's request
“Wake up, Cloud!” A woman’s voice insisted. “You’ve got to get up now.”
Reluctantly opening his eyes, he found himself in a strange bedroom. The woman
looking at him seemed familiar, even though he was sure they had never met.
“My name is Ifalna.” she told him. “You know my daughter, Aerith. She’ll be
along shortly. It’s at her request you are here.”
Cloud got out of the bed as Ifalna left, wondering what happened. He remembered
crashing Fenrir, and before that…he had betrayed Marlene and Tifa! How could
he?! His self-loathing was interrupted by Aerith’s arrival.
“I’m glad you decided to join us.” she said as she hugged him.
“What’s going on?” Cloud wanted to know.
“Tifa asked me to help you. Even if she hadn’t, I would have stepped in.”
Aerith replied.
“Why?” Cloud asked brokenly. “Don’t you know what I’ve done?!”
“Yes.” she replied sadly. “I know it all. Follow me.” Aerith walked out the
doorway.
Cloud hesitated…how could she stand to look at him if she really knew? But he
followed her to find out what was going on. He walked after her through a cozy
house, and Aerith led him into the kitchen, where Ifalna was preparing a meal.
“I’ll be back in a little while, Mom.” Aerith told her as she opened the door
to the outside.
“Be careful.” Ifalna warned her, flashing a disapproving look at Cloud.
“Why doesn’t your mother seem to want me here?” Cloud asked.
“Having outsiders here is problematic at best.” Aerith reluctantly answered.
“Where is here?” Cloud wondered.
“It’s too complicated for you to understand. Just think of it as the Promised
Land of legend.” Aerith offered as an explanation.
They walked through a quaint village, and the other Cetra they passed also
didn’t seem that happy with Cloud’s presence. Aerith walked to the edge of the
village, where there was a well-worn path into the woods surrounding the
village. At the end of the path was a shallow pond. Other Cetra were there, and
large bubbles were floating out of the water to them, and they were holding
them and looking at them very carefully.
“This is our scrying pool. It’s how we know what’s happening in the physical
realm of the planet. I‘m only half-Cetra, so I‘m not that good at it like the
others, but…” Aerith held her hand out towards the pool, and a bubble floated
up and landed in her palm without breaking. “This is you and Sephiroth.” she
told Cloud, holding it in front of his face so he could see fuzzy various
scenes, each with two people in it.
“Who are those other people, and why are we in the same bubble?” Cloud blurted
out, feeling himself start to panic and he took an involuntary step backwards
from Aerith. The other Cetra frowned at his outburst.
“Because your destinies are so closely linked, in all your lifetimes.” Aerith
gently explained.
“Lifetimes?” Cloud couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You mean I’ll never
be free of him? Do you know what he did to me?!” He felt so hopeless at the
thought of being chained to his rapist for all eternity.
“I told you Cloud, I know all about it.” She looked at him without the pity he
expected, just understanding, as she held her hand back over the pond, and the
bubble floated back down into it. “And you let it eat at you for so long, until
you took it out on everyone but Sephiroth. You‘ll never be healed until you
confront him with the truth.”
“Then I’m done for. I killed him, remember? I had to.” Cloud pointed out
dejectedly.
“If you could face him again, would you want to?” she questioned him.
Cloud stared at her. “I…I don’t know. I don’t want to go on like this. But even
if I could confront him, it hasn’t changed what I’ve done. It’s too late.”
“That’s where I come in. The Cetra aren’t happy with you being here, but they
haven’t forgotten the threat Jenova poses. Just remember, you have to be honest
with yourself and him. Don’t be afraid of the truth.” Aerith took his head in
her hands and kissed him benevolently on his forehead.
Cloud felt dizzy and closed his eyes as he felt himself falling. He startled as
he landed somewhere soft and he opened his eyes to find himself in the
Nibelheim inn room with Zack.
“Have you talked to Tifa yet?” Zack asked him.
***** Chapter 14 *****
Chapter Summary
     The final chapter, Happy Valentine's Day!
Cloud sat on his hotel bed in shock. Aerith had given him a second chance! But
why here? Sephiroth had raped him the night before, why didn’t she send him
back further so it would never happen? Was she serious about him confronting
Sephiroth? Doing it to save the world in a life or death battle was one thing,
but this…Cloud shivered. How would he know if he ’won’ after confronting
Sephiroth with his crime?
“Well, have you talked to Tifa yet?” Zack repeated his question.
“Oh…uh…no.” Cloud replied. “How…how do you talk to someone who’s hurt you
without letting them hurt you again?”
Zack stared at Cloud before sitting down on his own bed. “It’s seriously
complicated between you two, isn’t it?”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about Tifa, I just…oh, never mind. I’m gonna go for a
walk.” Cloud said and hurried outside. Once he was on the main street of
Nibelheim, he took a deep breath and looked up towards the reactor. Jenova was
there, and she needed to be destroyed, but Sephiroth was going mad, and that
was the more immediate threat. Jenova wasn’t going anywhere yet. Cloud didn’t
look forward to facing Sephiroth, but he couldn’t stand what he had become, and
Aerith had said he would be healed and finally free once he did. He wondered
why she had been so adamant about him being honest with himself and Sephiroth
during the confrontation. What was there to lie about anymore? Sephiroth raped
him, that’s all that was bothering him, wasn’t it? He took a step towards the
mansion, then looked up at the reactor again. If he destroyed Jenova first, she
could never be used for more experiments, and Sephiroth couldn’t use her
either, if Cloud failed when he faced him down.
 
***
 
Sephiroth had left the mansion basement, feeling so sick that he had to get
some fresh air before he burst. The records of the experiments stored in the
basement made him feel so…he didn’t even know if there was a word for it.
Everything he had believed in was nothing but a lie apparently. He was
surprised to see that blond infantryman he had found so enjoyable head out on
the trail leading up to the reactor, and Sephiroth started following at a safe
distance, needing a distraction, and curious as to what he was doing.
 
***
 
Cloud felt a bit naked going anywhere without the Buster sword, but it wasn’t
his anymore, and he just had to be careful, using the night vision feature of
his helmet. He had a couple close calls, but he made it safely to the reactor.
Pausing in front of the sealed door leading to the Jenova chamber, trying to
figure out how to open it when he heard a noise behind him, and spun around to
find himself face to face with Sephiroth.
“You’re not supposed to be here!” Cloud blurted out as he backed up til he hit
the door.
“I could say the same thing about you.” Sephiroth coolly replied. “What are you
doing here?”
“Saving the world from monsters.” Cloud answered after a moment’s hesitation.
Sephiroth started laughing almost maniacally. “We’re all monsters now, thanks
to Shin-Ra. Haven’t you been paying attention?”
“I became a monster when you raped me!” Cloud snapped back, clenching his hands
into fists.
“Raped? You didn‘t have any problem begging for it, did you?” Sephiroth was
surprised to find himself on the defensive over their night together.
“I was sixteen years old, you bastard!” Cloud blindly struck out at Sephiroth,
who easily avoided it, and pinned him to the door, holding him up by his
throat.
“Was sixteen?” Sephiroth was alert to Cloud’s choice of words and demanded
answers. “Who are you?”
“I’m the person that’s going to stop you! I won’t let you do to anyone else
what you did to me!” Cloud raged on, unable to stop now that he had started.
“For years I looked up to you, wanting to be just like you. And when I finally
met you, I find out the great Sephiroth is a lie…he’s just a manipulative
rapist!” More buried feelings floated up to the surface inside Cloud, like
bubbles at the Cetra’s scrying pool. “How could you do that to me? You didn’t
need to force me, I would have done anything for you! I lo…” Cloud froze in
shock as Sephiroth let him go, and he fell to the floor, sobbing and
shuddering. How could he have loved Sephiroth? Was that why Aerith felt he
wasn’t being honest with himself about why being raped by Sephiroth had scarred
him so badly?
Sephiroth stared at Cloud’s huddled body on the floor as the young man let go
of the last five years in a cathartic released that Sephiroth found extremely
disturbing, especially when he heard Cloud keep mumbling about love in
conjunction with his name. Looking up at the Jenova nameplate over the door, he
decided to stay as far away from the young infantryman as possible, something
about him was too dangerous for Sephiroth to be near him. “Do what you will!”
he spat before disappearing into the night.
As Cloud recovered from his release, he was so grateful to Aerith. He did feel
lighter, even if he was a bit uncomfortable after realizing the truth about his
feelings for Sephiroth. He tried to stand up, using the sealed door to brace
himself against, but it was somehow open, and he fell into the chamber. Picking
himself up, he approached the containment capsule containing Jenova, feeling a
total repulsion of everything she represented. He was trying to figure out how
to destroy her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Can’t leave a job unfinished, can you?” Zack asked. “Keep it up, and you’ll be
First Class in no time.”
“Jenova must be destroyed. She’s what started it all.” Cloud fervently stated.
“Are you serious?” Zack stared at him. “She makes my skin crawl, but we really
should report to…”
“I’m going to do it with or without your help. I don’t want you to get in
trouble, so you can feel free to leave.” Cloud replied.
“Whoa, buddy, I’m helping, I just wanted to make sure you would. Let’s do
this!” Zack told him.
 
***
 
Cloud didn’t tell Zack of his next planned move as they returned to Midgar,
only telling his friend that he was quitting SOLDIER, since he wanted nothing
more to do with Shin-Ra. He was going to be a mercenary, and told Zack to keep
in touch with him if he ever needed help. Cloud’s next move was destroying the
research lab to stop Hojo. He snuck in after hours one night, planting several
devices that would cause a blackout in the lab so the research specimens could
escape while Cloud would wipe out all the computer hard drives, so they would
have no records of any of their research. He had just started on the computers
when Hojo surprised him. He pointed his gun at Cloud, who closed his eyes,
expecting to hear the gun go off and kill him any moment, but instead he heard
a sickening groan. Opening his eyes, he saw a stunned Hojo fall to the ground
as a long blade so quickly that Cloud never saw the wielder, even though he
knew who it was, and he smiled.
Cloud hadn’t seen Sephiroth for over six months, since their confrontation at
the Mt. Nibel reactor, but he had frequently thought about him, and he had come
to terms with his feelings for the silver-haired warrior. It wasn’t just that
he still loved him despite everything that allowed him to forgive the man, but
he realized that Aerith was right, he and Sephiroth were so linked that
forgiving him was the same as Cloud forgiving himself. Cloud also accepted that
he relied on him as his guiding star to know what he had to do. If he was a
hero, Cloud would emulate him. If Sephiroth was a villain, Cloud would fight
him…wherever Sephiroth led, Cloud would always end up following him.
After Nibelheim, he had constantly felt himself being watched, and during some
of his mercenary jobs, he had been aware that he had a guardian angel taking
care of any unexpected problems that arose. So Cloud was unsurprised to wake up
in the middle of the night two weeks after his assault on the research lab,
sensing another presence in his bedroom.
“You owe me.” Sephiroth said as he got into bed with Cloud, and he was
surprised that Cloud didn‘t object or resist at all. He had been furious with
himself that he hadn’t been able to stay away from the younger man, justifying
it by the fact that he had promised Cloud he would never leave him, and
Sephiroth could not go back on his word. He had looked after him, unsure why he
wanted to give Cloud a reason to trust him again.
Cloud fell into a relaxed sleep after Sephiroth had left him, and he had a
dream of being back in the Cetra village with Aerith and Ifalna, but he didn’t
understand any of it.
“Thank you for saving my daughter.” Ifalna’s spirit said, putting her hand on
Cloud’s head as he slept peacefully, removing his memories of the future
timeline he had left behind.
 
***
 
Three years after Nibelheim
Cloud finished adjusting Zack’s bowtie. “There you go. Are you nervous yet?
Today’s the big day after all.”
“I would be if you hadn’t taken that picture at the bachelor party!“ Zack
chided his best man. “If Aerith ever sees that, we’ll have to adopt our
family.”
“I could always tell her the truth.” Cloud teased. “That her noble husband is
always there for a damsel in distress. Now, let‘s get you two married!”
 
***
 
The ceremony was very well attended, since when the ‘commoners’ invited found
out that the illustrious Turks and some of the upper echelon of Shin-Ra would
be attending, they didn’t want to miss out at hobnobbing with them. It turned
into quite a social affair, which Zack and Aerith weren’t too happy with, but
as long as they had a nice wedding, they were willing to deal with it. Aerith
didn’t have any real girlfriends though, so Cloud introduced her to Tifa, and
the two hit it off, so Tifa was the Maid of Honor, and at Zack’s suggestion,
Cissnei along with Elena and her sister were bridesmaids. Tseng, Reno, and Rude
were the groomsmen. Aerith wore a traditional dark green Cetra wedding dress,
but those who didn’t know her heritage thought she was just following some new
fashion trend.
Reno wasn’t paying attention to the ceremony as much as he was just staring at
Tifa. He had a vague recollection of her from somewhere, and he was eager for
the reception so he could not only figure out who she was, but find out how
available she was.
Cloud was walking to the park where the reception was being held when he was
suddenly grabbed from behind. “I thought you didn’t like weddings.” he said.
“I don’t.” Sephiroth said as he led Cloud to a secluded area of the park. “It’s
something else that interests me.”
Cloud started unfastening his pants as Sephiroth backed him up against a tree,
smiling like a Chesire cat at his lover finally taking him in public, so to
speak. Sephiroth had been so resistant to any suggestion that they have any
kind of official relationship. Cloud just left his bedroom window unlocked for
Sephiroth to come and go as he pleased. He wanted Sephiroth to admit he loved
Cloud as well, but he understood that it would take time. After all, Sephiroth
was still dealing with his issues over his origins. Cloud had realized that it
was when he had a hard time with it that he sought Cloud out the most, and he
was touched that Sephiroth did rely on him as a calming influence. Love was
patient, Cloud knew, and he was willing to wait for however long it took for
Sephiroth to come around.
“You’re still the best I’ve ever had.” Sephiroth said as he entered Cloud,
pleased that his lover was eagerly begging him for more in between moans. He
would never admit it, but Cloud was so intrinsically important to him that it
frightened him sometimes. So he tried to keep his visits few and far between,
even though it was getting harder. Being with Cloud always felt so right…
 
***
 
“You really don’t remember me, do you?” Tifa was extremely amused by Reno’s
not-so-subtle attempts to find out who she was at the reception. This might
turn out to be an enjoyable party after all. “Oh, look, Aerith is about to toss
the bouquet, excuse me.”
Reno followed Tifa, wanting to get her to admit who she was. When Aerith threw
her bouquet, his training kicked in and he automatically reached out and
grabbed the thrown object. When he realized what he had just done, Tifa started
laughing.
“Well, how does it feel to have your face be the same color as the flowers?”
Tifa couldn’t resist needling him.
“Take them!” Reno thrust the bouquet at her, not wanting any part of it.
“If I take them from you now, we have to get married.” Tifa teased him.
 
***
 
When Cloud came home from Reno and Tifa’s wedding six months later, he found a
small box on his bed. Opening it, he found a plain wedding ring with a note
that simply said Now everyone will know you’re mine. A soft smile spread over
Cloud‘s face, knowing that this was Sephiroth’s way of saying “I love you.”
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