[FFVII] The Way to Begin
Feb. 19th, 2007 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bard_linnI blame this on Coyo aka ciceqi. And on chibirisuchan. And icedark_elf, just on you know, general principle. So if it sucks blame them.
Title: The Way to Begin
Fandom: FFVII
Pairing: OT4 – AerisxCloudxZackxSephiroth. (Pre-story established)
Warnings: R-rated for implied sexual behavior, occasional language. AU. Yaoi. Het. Multiple people having sex at once. Fluffy ending.
Note: Begins in almost the very beginning of game and jumps forward to AN end, if not THE end. Rough and unbetaed. You know the drill.
The first section is also my response to what should have happened, at least in my head, if AerisxCloud in any shape and fashion existed pre-game.
And the various titles you see floating around are actually off of various WoW CDs.
I THINK that’s it….
The Way to Begin
Saving Grace
Her eyes scan the crowds wandering by, looking for a kind soul who would want – no, need – one of her flowers, a touch of hope. She sold her flowers at different prices considering who wanted them; for those boys who only wanted her attentions the price was higher but for those who needed them the most they were barely any gil at all, the money only a thin cover for the gift they really were.
She caught sight of one man by his blond hair, feeling herself pulled towards him as she had no other, knowing that this one was wounded far beneath the surface of his skin and hurt beyond human care. It was so much stronger than any pain she had felt save the three times the Planet had screamed so loud she had fallen under its weight. A flower seemed poor substitute for true healing but it was all she could offer. “Would you like a flower? They’re only – ” She halted, staring into blue eyes and a face that seemed familiar but had been utterly changed from the last time she had seen them, happy and content as she kissed him goodbye. Surely she was seeing things; it was not the night the dead were said to walk the earth and he had been gone for five years. “Cloud? Is that you?”
Blue, mako bright – and how had that happened? Last she had heard Cloud had still not yet passed the SOLDIER exams – stared into hers without recognition. “…do I know you?”
So changed she barely knew him from the kind, loving teen she had met and loved in the streets of Midgar, this hardened young seemed almost uncaring, but the more she watched him the more she saw she realized was familiar. There was much Zack in him, Zack at his worst when he was angry and in pain and trying to hide it. And though she had only known him for a short time, she thought she saw some of Sephiroth there, buried beneath the surface.
“It’s me, Cloud. Aeris.” The flower girl smiled, reaching for his hand. He flinched at her touch then stiffened as her power rolled into him, strong, bright and sure. Aeris tried to pull it back, not willing to startle him if this truly was her lover, but for the first time in her life her power refused her commands, flowing deeply into the man before her, yanking her deep inside of his soul. His emotions, his fractured mind slammed into hers with a force like never before and Aeris saw something new in him, wakened or at least no longer hidden, a deep pulsing power from the Planet below their feet. There was more there – the power of the Ancients, flowing in him disguised as mako and a dark taint she didn’t recognize that fled from her mental touch.
Something in Cloud accepted her power though and clung to it. The blond swayed as false memories crumbled before her touch. Aeris braced him and slowly drew back from Cloud’s thoughts, trying to not leave too much damage behind her, afraid she had shattered his mind completely. Much to her shock she realized a piece of herself stayed behind, embedded in Cloud besides those touches of Sephiroth and Zack.
What had happened to change Cloud so completely?
Cloud cupped her face and stared into her green eyes, recognition finally flaring in his. “Aeris…” Then they were kissing, regardless of the people around them, staring at the pair. He tasted almost the same, save the bitter undertone she had known from Zack and Sephiroth, what she belatedly realized must be mako. Some moron made a few pointed remarks, causing Cloud to break off the kiss to glare at him. The man shut up, more than slightly intimidated by the fierce look in Cloud’s face.
Aeris grabbed Cloud’s muscled arm tightly. “Ignore him.”
“Aeris, they shouldn’t say things like that about you!” Cloud insisted, bringing hope to Aeris’ heart that even though he had changed the core of Cloud is still there, if hidden.
“I don’t care. I have you back and they can say anything they want, it won’t change that.” She tugged on his arm. “Come with me.”
Cloud hesitated. “I need to get back to sector seven…”
She didn’t care at the moment; she had lost too much to let anything get in her way. Perhaps she was being selfish, but she couldn’t destroy the fear that if she will let Cloud walk away she would never see him again. “Please, Cloud. We can send a messenger.”
None of her boys had ever been very good at resisting her when she really wanted something and Aeris was shamelessly taking advantage of that fact. Cloud capitulated in a moment, agreeing to send a message off to those who were waiting for him. Aeris grabbed her staff and led him back towards the Church, unwilling to let another moment pass.
“I thought you were dead.” Aeris grabbed Cloud once they were inside the decaying structure, holding him close. “You were gone for so long…all of you…”
“I know, I know.” Cloud smoothed the top of her hair and kissed her crown, a Zack gesture part of her brain noted. Aeris pulled his head down to give him a proper kiss and came up panting. Bright even beyond the mako, Cloud’s eyes pinned her, smoldering with emotion. “Here?”
“Here,” Aeris agreed, needing to touch him again, to know with her entire being that this was real and he wouldn’t vanish with the morning light. They fell in amongst the flowers, kissing, touching and holding. Clothes came off and Aeris silently thanked her instincts that had kept her on her pregnancy protection medicine despite having lost her boyfriends as an ache built inside of her. Cloud was careful, so careful as he touched her; he always had been but now it seemed he was three times more so. She could feel the power in him restraining himself and felt the tiny thrill that always came with the knowledge that her lover could snap her in half if he was careless.
“Aeris I…” Cloud hesitated. “I haven’t done this since the last time.”
“Neither have I,” Aeris admitted. “It’s okay.”
It was better than okay; it took them a bit of work to figure out a rhythm that pleased them both, but then they were both crying heading towards the edge with explosive force. But as they came they both were aware of the wrongness of it. There should be at least another pair of hands, if not two, touching them, voices crying out in mutual pleasure. Grief entered Cloud’s eyes. “Aeris, Zack is…” He choked, unable to speak.
“Shhh.” She kissed him lightly and slowly forced herself up, afterglow broken by heartache. She might as well get dressed. Not to mention rolling on the ground, soil and flowers or not, was outright uncomfortable. “Come home tonight. We’ll talk about it in the morning.” She could finally bring him home now – he wasn’t in ShinRa anymore, that was certain. She needed to say goodbye to her mother too, because wherever he was going tomorrow she was going with him.
Aeris didn’t know where this road would take them but she had one of her loves back at last; she wasn’t going to let Cloud go now.
New Way to Be Human
He should be dead.
It was all he could think some days as he stared vacantly out the glass though green glowing liquid. Not even First Class SOLDIERS could have survived that many bullets without help and yet here he was alive, and oh Shiva please don’t let them have Spike. He couldn’t handle it if they did…
He should be dead but he isn’t, because of a voice he could never hear before but now was enforced to endure and a crazy scientist he wanted to rip to shreds.
“Why do you want him?” Beady eyes peered at him through the glass. “He’s unsuitable as a specimen and invulnerable to you.”
“Insurance,” SHE had replied and he could feel her ghost like claws on his soul. “Against the Planet’s child.”
“Yes…the last Ancient is very close to him, isn’t she?” Hojo nodded. “I’ll see he’s repaired then.”
Repaired. Like he was some broken toy! He wanted to fight to smash them both into dust. He might not know who the last Ancient was, but from HER he knew who the Planet’s child was – and there was no way he was going to let HER use him against Cloud.
Oh little Cloud, so unsure of yourself, so quick to doubt your usefulness. When had the Planet forged you into Its Weapon, a focus for Its Will? Was it after Hojo? When you came to Midgar?
Or before you were even born?
“And perhaps proximity might over come his resistance to you. He seems to be responding already.”
“Yes.” SHE hissed, claws leaving bloody marks on his shoulder in a caress that was almost parental save for the pain it caused.
So he drifted, trying to block out HER voice and let himself dream. He saw Sephiroth sometimes, but it was not the Sephiroth he had loved, teased and held but the twisted thing SHE had made, lost in HER madness. Other times he thought he might be seeing Cloud, and sometimes Aeris. He hopped Cloud had survived long enough to make it to the city and find the flower girl. He didn’t know what power she had, but he knew she could fix him.
He would bet his non-existent pay on it.
Days blended together until he had no sense of time at all. Finally, there was screaming outside, he could feel it in his bones despite the thick glass. And it felt like a shade of Crazy-Seph had been there too. At least it had taken HER too; he almost felt normal.
He was dreaming again when that heart-breakingly familiar voice echoed outside of the glass. “Zack?” Bright blue eyes stared at him; Zack managed a faint smile. The kid looked good, just as strong as Zack had always known he could be some day. It was soothing to see, even if it was just a figure of his imagination. He hopped his lover really had awakened from that mindless slumber he had been stuck in.
“Aeris! Look over here!”
“Cloud, we have to hurry up and get out of here! Do you want to get caught again?”
“Shut up, Tifa.” Cloud snapped. He gestured to someone nearby.
Then Zack was looking into a pair of eyes as green as Seph’s but only glowing with love. “Zack.”
The former First Class managed to find a slightly bigger smile this time. It was good to see them together, so obviously right for each other. He really had a good imagination; Spike didn’t even look hesitant at all when he put an arm around Aeris’ shoulders in support.
“We’re getting him out of there.”
“Damn your spiky head. We have to move!”
“Go on your own if you want, Barret. I’m not leaving without him.” Cloud glared over at a figure Zack couldn’t see. “Help me, Aeris.”
The mako left with a whoosh and Zack found himself being carried over Cloud’s shoulder. His brain had a wicked sense of humor; apparently, it thought it would be funny to reverse the escape from the lab.
Not that he was complaining. It was nice to have a dream about something other than death and hurting the Planet.
But he was so tired…
Violet eyes slipped close and he drifted again. Around him the sounds of battle echoed, but he barely noticed, though he did see how the kid managed to drive a bike – nice to see Cloud still remembered what old Zack had taught him.
He was drifting out again when they finally got outside of Midgar, stiffening as he was laid on the ground. He liked being draped over Cloud, damn it!
Zack mentally kicked his subconscious; it better not be getting ready to throw another nightmare about that Hades-thrice-cursed-cliff at him or he was going to kill it, even if it was a part of him.
“Zack? Come on, Zack. Wake up. We have to get moving.”
Love to, Spike. Just let me stop my head from spinning.
“Can you help him?”
Aeris’ hand settled on his brow. “He’s blocked, somehow…I think it’s natural, though. He’s always had some resistance and he’s really fighting anything trying to get into his mind at the moment.”
Cloud bit his lip. “Damn. We really have to get away from the city. They may send someone after us any minute.”
Aeris stroked Zack’s head gently, running her fingers through black hair. Zack decided he liked that a lot – and to think he used to tease Seph about the whole hair brushing thing. “Well, I can’t get it…but you might be able to.”
Cloud’s double take was extremely amusing. “Me, Aeris? I’ve never…”
“You have a piece of him in you, and a piece of me, and a piece of…” Aeris trailed off, not willing to speak the last but saw Cloud understand what she meant anyway. Zack reminded himself that she probably didn’t mean that in any sexual way what so ever even though Aeris could be down right dirty when she got in the right mood. It wasn’t in her tone of voice, for one thing. Still, a guy who hadn’t gotten any for over five years got ideas when he finally found two of his lovers. “I can follow you in and you should be able to slip in because you are him, at least a piece of you.”
“Can you all start making sense some time soon?”
Cloud gave the man a Sephiroth-level glare. Zack decided it was damn sexy on the blond. Of course, Cloud looked down right sexy in most things. And out of them as well. “Look, if you want to head out feel free. We’ll meet you in Kalm.”
“I will stay.” Zack decided right then and there that his imagination was far too powerful, because he had no idea how in Ifrit’s fiery hells it had come up with a talking cat. “I will guard while you work.”
“Thank you, Red.” One of the nicest things about Aeris; when she thanked someone she did it completely. Zack’d seen people fall over their own feet to help her because of it. “Cloud, get over here.”
Unfamiliar hands this time – more sword calluses than Zack remembered, and bigger too – settled on his head. “What do I do?”
“Just relax. This seems to come naturally for you – you nearly dragged me in too deep the first time!”
And then Zack was spinning, falling, loosing himself in an endless sky of mako blue only to find himself in Aeris’ flower bed. “What?” Cloud was next to him, watching him carefully and a minute later Aeris appears on his other side.
“Ready to wake up?” Her voice echoed inside of him like HERS did, but without the pain. Somehow that made this disturbingly real and for the first time he wondered if this wasn’t just a dream.
“Aeris? Cloud?” He could reach for them now, grabbing a handful of each and they didn’t disappear oh Planet please, don’t let this be a dream…
“Right here,” Cloud promised, squeezing his hand.
Zack threw himself up, tackling the no-longer-comatose-blond and kissed him like never before, fierce and almost violent but Cloud could take it now and responded in kind. Then Aeris plowed into both of them, setting herself on Cloud’s lap as she kissed her first lover. Zack was more careful this time, holding her delicately but he is no less flushed when they finally come up for air. “Come on,” Aeris insisted, pulling Zack to his feet. “We need to go back to the physical world; this isn’t good for any of us.”
“Lead the way babe,” Zack responded with a grin. “I’ll follow you no matter where you go.”
Voice of Truth
He watched Aeris and Zack out of the corner of his eye. Zack was murmuring into Aeris’ ear and kissing her gently. She returned the gesture with more than a little interest. His hands itched to slip over to help out but restrained himself. They had been waiting a long time and it was rather predictable about what the four – three – would end up doing if left alone with nothing to do.
As if hearing his unspoken desire, Aeris lifted her head to look at him. “Cloud?”
The blond smiled at the brunette. “Don’t worry about me. Go enjoy yourselves.”
The pair looked a bit torn at that but eventually went back to their activities. Zack had always had a hard time keeping his hands off of his lovers in any situation; having to travel with AVALANCHE must have been driving him crazy. The group had accepted that Aeris was Cloud’s lover when he had showed up with her possessively holding his arm at Seventh Heaven a day later than he was supposed to (and hadn’t that been a sight. Tifa had nearly turned green with envy; Aeris later confided in Cloud she didn’t care how the Nibelheim native felt about their relationship at all. If Tifa had been nicer to Cloud in the first place she could have laid claim to the blond) but throwing Zack into the mix might be a bit too much for them to handle.
And let’s not even bring up Sephiroth….
In any case, the three had few moments alone. The most memorable one was the three-way “date” the trio had gone on together at the Golden Saucer. Aeris had managed to get a hold of a copy of the play they had been pressed into participating in and gleefully chortled over it on off times. Cloud had enjoyed a chance to race the chocobos; he was developing a vague plan for the future involving the three – no four because he hadn’t given up hope yet – of the them having a house in the middle of no where with a garden, a chocobo farm and something or another to keep Zack happy…maybe something like a “dojo” where Zack could teach up coming warriors. The black haired man had always loved to teach swordwork.
Other than that, they only had gotten some privacy at Gongaga (which had been a very interesting trip, seeing as Zack finally was reunited with his parents. Predictably enough he had snuck out of his house as soon as darkness had fallen to meet up with Aeris and Cloud). They had only managed the occasional stolen kiss and hugs that could be passed off as “just friendly” Zack had been mostly neglected. Or neglected for Zack anyway.
Cloud noted with some amusement that Aeris and Zack seemed to be playing the “get the other’s partner’s clothes off with as little damage to the clothes as possible while still remaining damn tempting” game. Aeris seemed to be having an easier time at it, but then again Zack’s uniform didn’t wrinkle as easily as Aeris’ dress.
The blond stared down at his own outfit; similar in cut to the SOLDIER uniform it was made out of dark blue material that Aeris claimed brought out his eyes. It had felt distinctly wrong to wear a uniform he had never earned once he had regained his memories. Zack had taken it back at his insistence then bitterly complained that Cloud had gotten the better color choice anyway because who under Bahamut thought it was a good idea to dress First Class SOLDIERS in purple anyway? It was amazing that no one had killed themselves laughing at them!
To which Aeris had of course responded that the uniform color only brought out Zack’s eyes as well. Things could have gotten more interesting from there if they hadn’t had company who were looking at them with much strangeness seeing as Aeris was practically flirting with Zack.
Company could really be a pain sometimes.
Cloud forced his wandering thoughts back to task, trying to focus on being ‘open’ the way Aeris had taught him. The Cetra was hardly fully trained, nor were Cloud’s erratic abilities exactly like hers, but she had given Cloud a bit of control over them. Of course, being open could be just as problematic as being closed; Sephiroth had nearly managed to control him in the Temple of the Ancients. If it hadn’t been for his “pieces” of Zack and Aeris, he probably would have given in but they grounded him and protected him enough to resist.
The Black Materia was safe with Vincent now, hidden away from where Sephiroth had wanted it to come, to the Crater.
Speaking, well thinking really, of the Temple of the Ancients…
Cloud sat on his irritation. Aeris had something come up with the awesome, wonderful, fantastic idea that she should go fight Sephiroth alone there. When the group had made it to Gongaga – Cloud unconscious at the time and being carried by Zack – she had slipped away to head here, the City of the Ancients. Zack had shaken Cloud awake when he realized that Aeris had gone and the pair of former SOLDIERS (or at least one former SOLDIER and one that was so close the difference barely counted) headed off, Cloud listening to the inner voice Aeris had helped him cultivate. It was pretty erratic at the best of times but it always led him to Aeris and Zack if he needed to find them anymore.
They had caught up with Aeris in the Sleeping Forest and explained in very loud voices and sharp tones exactly how wonderfully stupid Aeris’ great plan to defeat Sephiroth was.
Especially since it required her death.
Behind Cloud Zack fell to the floor. Without turning to look Cloud knew what he would see: Aeris straddling Zack’s hips, the pair kissing fervently and without a stitch on. It was a good thing Aeris kept using her tablets daily; a baby in the middle of this would have been a major problem.
Above him Cloud felt a twinge of exasperation and annoyance. That, more than anything else, told Cloud this was the true Sephiroth above them in spirit at least. So far they had only run into shades of the man, clones or spiritual representations of Sephiroth who could briefly make themselves corporal. This wasn’t Sephiroth’s physical body either, but it was the core of the man. Luck, it seemed, was with them.
Even more so since his “mother” wasn’t in the immediate area from the feel of things.
Cloud closed his eyes and focused on letting go, blinked and found himself staring at his body, leaning against the wall where he left it. This was always so weird. He drifted upward, coming to settle next to a nigh-corporal Sephiroth. The madness in his eyes scared Cloud, whether he liked to admit it or not, but the sight of Masamune in his hand made Cloud’s stomach twist. The blade, Zack had told Cloud in strictest confidence, had in fact always been an astral projection of Sephiroth’s power. He had managed to do it at a young age and no sword had suited him better since. It also explained why Sephiroth would leave the sword around; it was almost a bizarre calling card and he could always materialize another if he should need it.
The blond had seen that blade in action before. It was terrifying to think it might be used on Aeris or Zack. He swallowed and spoke.
“Hello, Sephiroth.”
Green eyes snapped over to meet his, fury and madness swirling in their mako bright depths. Cloud almost backed down but forced himself to stand his ground. He was probably the only one who could do this. Not many people could talk to Sephiroth on a good day, much less when he was crazy. Zack couldn’t do the astral walk trick, as he liked to call it, so that put him out of the running. “Besides,” Zack had pointed out with a grin, “Seph’s used to saying no to me. You he’ll have to work at. Especially if you give him the puppy look” Aeris might have been able to contact Sephiroth but the former General would probably shove her back on general principle, her being an Ancient and all that nonsense.
Which left Cloud.
Who didn’t flinch as Sephiroth’s hand clasped tightly around the base of his throat. It hurt, but he wasn’t going to show his fear even if he was scared near witless. He wasn’t a little unblooded boy anymore; he had tolerated far worse than this. No, he didn’t flinch away. In fact, Cloud did the exact opposite, leaning into the touch even if it made it more painful. Sephiroth had always been a bit weird about touch and proximity. The former General had hated both with a passion except when it came to those few people he trusted. From them, he had craved it like a thirsty man begged for water.
Cloud knew he had made the right move when the pressure around his next loosened just slightly, allowing him to speak. “It’s been a long time.” Green eyes bore into his, confusion underlying the rage in their depths. Maybe, Cloud thought, they had been going about this all wrong last time. They had yelled and screamed, only making Sephiroth feel more alone, not less so.
"My family! My hometown! How could you do this to them!?"
Meaningless words. Foolish words. How could he possibly think of Nibelheim as home? He must have hit his head or something. Nibelheim had never been home for Cloud, not when it counted. Home had been Aeris’ church, Sephiroth’s quarter’s and Zack’s bike. As far as family went, while his mother might have been his blood relative, his true family had been those whom had become his lovers in the end.
“We’ve been waiting for you to come home, you know,” Cloud continued, keeping his voice almost Zack light, giving his words only a shade more weight. “We’ve missed you.” They had, too. Wandering around the Golden Saucer betting that Sephiroth’s war bird could outrace any of the jockeys’, wondering how Seph would have taken to being introduced to his “in-laws” in Gongaga, even feeling a little sorrow at the thought of the kind of welcome they would have received had Sephiroth been with them when they had tracked Yuffie all over Wutai.
It never would be home until Sephiroth came back, Cloud abruptly realized. Once the leather clad man finally put aside his last links with ShinRa and came back to those who loved him most maybe they could finally all be whole…
“I was thinking of someplace over by the chocobo ranch, myself. Nice quiet area. We can raise chocobos and Aeris can have her garden, the huge one she’s always wanted with vegetables and fruits and stuff. Who knows what Zack will want to do – I’m almost afraid to ask him because you know how it is.” Cloud grinned. “Of course, you’ll have to pick something out to do with yourself as well but there’s no hurry. Zack and I can always go monster hunting to keep us fit until we get settled down. We’re having a contest, you see, to figure out who can cut down more of them. He thinks a Malboro should counted as more than one but I doubt it somehow, especially when he insists dragons don’t count double…”
Sephiroth’s hand dropped from Cloud’s neck entirely; the silver haired man stared at the blond blithely talking without an apparent care in the world. “…so if you want us to come bust you out just let us know. We’ll break you out in no time.”
“Cloud?”
The voice was so desolate it nearly made Cloud weep. “Yes, Seph?”
Broken green eyes stared into his. “I can’t. I can’t go back. I – ”
“To Hades’ Dungeon with that,” Cloud snapped. He reached over and pulled Sephiroth closer, trying to force the man to remember how it had been back in Midgar. Zack, Sephiroth and Cloud just enjoying each other’s company despite ShinRa schemes, a bright spot in the misery of Sephiroth’s never ending duties, a haven for Cloud’s ever falling self esteem and a place of rest for the every busy, ever running Zack. Cloud focused on remembering how he had felt the first night the three of them had come together, how privileged and honored he had felt that Zack and Sephiroth had looked at one pathetic cadet and saw something worth loving.
“You were never pathetic,” Sephiroth hissed, glaring at Cloud.
Cloud’s eyes brightened. “Nice to have you back, Seph.”
NO. The mental scream tore through both Sephiroth and Cloud with devastating force, leaving Sephiroth near comatose and Cloud not much better off. YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY SON FROM ME, PATHETIC HUMAN. HE IS MINE.
Cloud could feel Jenova pulling Sephiroth back into her world of madness and knew if he lost now he would loose Seph forever. He lunged forward and grasped Sephiroth’s hands, bringing up the memory of the first and only time Aeris had joined their usual trio in bed, barely a month before the disastrous Nibelheim mission. Using that weird part of him that was Cloud, Sephiroth, Aeris and Zack all at once, he dragged up those memories of acceptance and love, passion and pleasure. It wasn’t difficult to recall with the sounds of Aeris and Zack performing the most ancient religious act of all time echoing in the cavern.
Sephiroth flinched as Aeris’ eyes stared into his, bright as she kissed him goodbye. “Now, Mr. General,” the memory spoke, “I expect you to give yourself more time off. I intend to get to know my new boyfriend better.” Sephiroth had felt flustered at the time but somehow pleased at Aeris’ unconditional acceptance; Cloud invoked those feelings again, shoving the love the other three had felt for their silver haired lover against the false, corrupt, selfish love Jenova offered. At Nibelheim SHE might have been the only thing that Sephiroth had felt he was like but now there was Cloud as well who had been touched by HER, who had faltered beneath her touch as well but had been dragged back from the abyss SHE represented by Zack and Aeris –
- who would do the same for Sephiroth in a heartbeat –
“Crater. Lifestream – moved.” Sephiroth managed to gasp out before Jenova’s rage became too strong and he disappeared in a cry of pain, the conjured Masamune falling to the ground with a clang before fading.
Now for the hardest part. Cloud focused very hard on getting back into his body, something his soul didn’t seem to like very much. When he finally blinked his physical eyes open he found himself sandwiched between Zack and Aeris, both fully clothed, warming him with their body heat. That was a good thing, because Cloud felt cold after leaving his body for so long.
“How’d it go?” Zack asked, tense.
“Pretty well, I think.” Cloud forced himself to his feet. “He’s in the Crater – now we just have to get there.”
Healing Rain
He’s been waiting so long with HER hissing in his mind, promising things he knows now to be false but has a hard time resisting anyway. It was easy with her, almost mindless. He didn’t have to think about others or anything else, only THEIR goals…
But the others he had left behind made living that life poor in comparison. Zack, the first one to reach out for him without fear. Cloud, who had loved him from afar but hadn’t stopped when confronted with the truth of his nature, only cared deeper and offered him unconditional loyalty. Aeris, who he only barely knew but remembered from some time long ago in the labs, when green eyes had met green eyes. He had thought he had been mistaken the first time he met her, but now he knew she too had suffered under Hojo’s not-so-gentle care and wondered if his memory had in fact been true. Had the last Cetra and Jenova’s Child met far sooner than any of them had realized?
It was so hard, just waiting for them to come to him. Waiting had never been his strong point in general, unless he had something to do while he was waiting. Yes, he was patient almost to a legendary degree but even then he usually was doing something productive towards a goal then, not sitting around in a mako chrysalis listing to his ‘mother’ rave about how SHE was going to destroy his lovers.
It made him a wee bit angry.
Jenova had created a barrier around the Crater keeping him separated from the rest of the world. SHE hadn’t managed to get the black materia though, thank goodness. ShinRa had managed to awaken the Weapons in their stupid attempt to break the barrier surrounding the Crater, causing an even longer delay until AVALANCHE could attack the Crater.
But now, finally, they were here. He could feel them, especially Cloud as they walked into the Crater. It was a bigger group than he had expected, unfortunately. He really didn’t want to see anyone other than Aeris, Cloud and Zack, given the choice.
“We better split up,” Cloud suggested, glancing around the group. It’s a long way down and we have a lot of ground to over.”
The group split itself into three, the cat, a dark haired man that seemed somewhat familiar and a pilot in one, a Wutaiian child, a black man with a gun instead of a hand, a young woman he recognized as Tifa from Nibelheim and a bouncing moogle/cat combination in the second. Aeris, Cloud and Zack made up the third and final group. They split up and headed down the paths. “Which way, Spike?” Zack asked his youngest lover, violet eyes twinkling with mischief. “You do know where he is already, don’t you?”
“More or less,” Cloud admitted.
“Then let’s mosey!” Zack shouted, causing Aeris and Cloud to laugh. The trio hurried down the path before them, eerily knowing exactly which way to turn to get closer to him as Cloud followed the inner call towards Jenova’s Child he had known almost his entire life.
He was glad they were coming, except that being closer to him was being closer to Jenova and she was waiting for them. He tried to call out mentally to Cloud, willing the other man to hear him but got no response. Of all the times for Cloud to be shut down….
WATCH THIS, MY SON. THEY ARE TOO WEAK TO STOP ME.
And then SHE was there, standing before them. He felt panic grip him in its claws; he thrashed against his mako bonds. Zack was strong, yes, and Cloud had survived Hojo but they couldn’t possibly destroy Jenova –
He blinked as Aeris raised her staff, and rain began to fall around the group. What was that girl doing? The last thing they needed to do was create even more difficult conditions to fight under! They would be slipping all over the place at this rate.
Jenova didn’t wait for an invitation as the rain stopped, striking Zack with a tentacle hard enough to break the man’s spine -
- only to have nothing happen.
“How do you like that?” Zack was grinning fiercely. “Do what you want, Jenova. It’s not going to make the least bit of difference to us.”
…Had Aeris given Cloud and Zack invulnerability? But that wasn’t possible! He watched with shocked eyes as Zack and Cloud focused on attacking physically. Zack had his familiar Buster Sword in his hands, but Cloud had a translucent purple weapon Sephiroth didn’t recognize. Both were inflicting major wounds on Jenova with astonishing ease. Aeris wasn’t just standing around watching, either. Her staff didn’t make as much of an impact against Jenova as the swords, but she was spell casting with amazing accuracy.
It seemed his lovers had become quiet powerful while he was away; it was almost…disturbing.
Abruptly Cloud’s blade shown green instead of violet, the glow in his blue eyes flaring. He brought the sword up in a distinctive pattern and plunged into Jenova, power washing over the wound in waves. SHE screamed – loud enough he would have fallen over in pain, were it not for the mako encaging him.
“Come on. He’s that way.” Cloud pointed and the group was up and running again, closer and closer to him until if he could have opened his physical eyes he would have seen them a bare yard in front of him. Aeris raised her staff again and the mako began to slowly melt, allowing himself to fall to his feet.
Only to discover he had no feet, only a sliding mass of tentacles, undoubtedly a mutation resulting from his long exposure to mako and to Jenova. Only fitting his outside should be as repulsive as his inside…
“Hey, hold on there, Seph.” Two strong muscles arms caught him, one on each side: Zack on his right and Cloud on his left. “Sorry we took so long, but you would not believe the trouble we got into. ShinRa, Weapons, Cloud getting into fights with jockeys -”
“That was once!”
“Anyway, I think you need some reconditioning, SOLDIER.” Zack’s tone made it a joke rather than an order and the brilliant smile he got when he turned to stare at his former subordinate officer made him feel better, at least for a second.
“Somehow I doubt reconditioning is going to take care of this, Zack.” He should just ask them to put him out of his misery, really. He was too far beyond redemption –
Cloud smacked him. “Don’t even think that.” Sephiroth stared at his blond lover, not used to him being nigh telepathic. Zack, yes. Aeris, even more so. Cloud? That would take some getting used to.
Aeris pulled out an ether and drank it slowly, refilling her magical reserves. “Okay, I think I’m ready.” She stepped closer to the three men, staff held firmly in both hands. Cloud reached over and grabbed the metal as well, while Zack linked an arm around her waist. “Let’s hope this works.”
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll keep you two grounded,” Zack promised. “Hold on, Seph, this is going to be one wild ride.”
The top most materia began to glow in Aeris’ staff, which Sephiroth belatedly realized was not a pale green as he had thought at first but white. Energy flickered around Cloud’s hands, boosting whatever spell Aeris was casting, wrapping the pair in light.
And again, it began to rain.
The liquid burned where it touched him, making the former general flinch in pain. Zack’s hand squeezed his side, trying to anchor him through the stinging sensation but at the same time it felt incredibly good, like the burning of a wound being cleaned at last…
He had legs again, Sephiroth abruptly realized and was able to balance on them with some effort. Zack didn’t let go, though, only gave him another gin. “What’s going on?”
“Jenova’s a virus. Even though we killed most of the bitch that doesn’t mean her cells don’t exist other places – in all the SOLDIERs, for example. So even if we kill her physically as long as those cells are still around we’ve got problems on our hands.” The former First nodded at Cloud and Aeris. “The Cetra didn’t spend all of the time Jenova was locked up just sitting around. They figured out a way to get rid of her for good, but it would take a sacrifice to activate Holy.”
“Holy?”
“The white materia. The opposite of Meteor.” Zack explained. “A life freely given, with no thought of reward – well, Cloud and I weren’t all too happy when we found out about that little plan so we stopped Aeris from doing it. What we did figure out was Cloud’s got this little quirk where he can pull energy right from the Planet so we’re using that instead of killing the last Ancient off.” The black haired man turned his head upward so the water fell on it. “It’s probably raining like this all over the world, you know. A nice change from my last big memory of rain.”
“What was that?” Sephiroth asked, unable to recall anything in particular that had to do with rain.
“Nothing much.” Zack shrugged. “Just dying.”
“WHAT?”
Zack was saved from answering as the rain abruptly stopped and Aeris collapsed into Zack’s arms. He kissed the top of her head. “Nice job.”
“Thanks.” Aeris glanced at Cloud, now alone in supporting Sephiroth. The blond somehow only looked slightly weary rather than completely worn out. “That is completely unfair.”
“I guess channeling isn’t as hard as casting.” Cloud glanced around. “Come on, we better get out of here if we don’t want to run into the others and have to explain everything.”
Zack and Aeris winced at that thought. They would probably have to fight to protect Sephiroth, who could barely stand much less defend himself. The man was in serious need of healing. Not to mention recovery time. Aeris her self could use some rest and relation too, and good though they were, Zack and Cloud would have a hard time taking on all of AVALANCHE.
Well, maybe not all of them. Vincent probably wouldn’t out and out attack and Cait Sith might not either. Yuffie was a toss up. Everyone else though…
Yeah.
“Cloud, we just can’t run off with the Highwind. The others will need it to get home,” Zack pointed out.
“Just why did you think I spent all that time breeding gold chocobos anyway?” Cloud retorted. “We go, take our share of the gil we’ve collected and four chocobos. And leave a note, I suppose. Vincent, at least, will want to meet you, Seph. He knew your mother.”
“…you’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you.” Aeris murmured.
“Yeah,” Cloud admitted. “We can work out the details as we go, I guess, but we should get moving.”
“Riding Chocobos across the ocean to freedom. Sounds like a good way to begin a new life to me. Lead on, SOLDIER,” Zack instructed Cloud with a grin. “It’s about time we finally go home.”
THE END
There, done.
...I need a SephxCloudxZackxAeris icon....
ciceqi. And on chibirisuchan. And icedark_elf, just on you know, general principle. Title: The Way to Begin
Fandom: FFVII
Pairing: OT4 – AerisxCloudxZackxSephiroth. (Pre-story established)
Warnings: R-rated for implied sexual behavior, occasional language. AU. Yaoi. Het. Multiple people having sex at once. Fluffy ending.
Note: Begins in almost the very beginning of game and jumps forward to AN end, if not THE end. Rough and unbetaed. You know the drill.
The first section is also my response to what should have happened, at least in my head, if AerisxCloud in any shape and fashion existed pre-game.
And the various titles you see floating around are actually off of various WoW CDs.
I THINK that’s it….
The Way to Begin
Saving Grace
Her eyes scan the crowds wandering by, looking for a kind soul who would want – no, need – one of her flowers, a touch of hope. She sold her flowers at different prices considering who wanted them; for those boys who only wanted her attentions the price was higher but for those who needed them the most they were barely any gil at all, the money only a thin cover for the gift they really were.
She caught sight of one man by his blond hair, feeling herself pulled towards him as she had no other, knowing that this one was wounded far beneath the surface of his skin and hurt beyond human care. It was so much stronger than any pain she had felt save the three times the Planet had screamed so loud she had fallen under its weight. A flower seemed poor substitute for true healing but it was all she could offer. “Would you like a flower? They’re only – ” She halted, staring into blue eyes and a face that seemed familiar but had been utterly changed from the last time she had seen them, happy and content as she kissed him goodbye. Surely she was seeing things; it was not the night the dead were said to walk the earth and he had been gone for five years. “Cloud? Is that you?”
Blue, mako bright – and how had that happened? Last she had heard Cloud had still not yet passed the SOLDIER exams – stared into hers without recognition. “…do I know you?”
So changed she barely knew him from the kind, loving teen she had met and loved in the streets of Midgar, this hardened young seemed almost uncaring, but the more she watched him the more she saw she realized was familiar. There was much Zack in him, Zack at his worst when he was angry and in pain and trying to hide it. And though she had only known him for a short time, she thought she saw some of Sephiroth there, buried beneath the surface.
“It’s me, Cloud. Aeris.” The flower girl smiled, reaching for his hand. He flinched at her touch then stiffened as her power rolled into him, strong, bright and sure. Aeris tried to pull it back, not willing to startle him if this truly was her lover, but for the first time in her life her power refused her commands, flowing deeply into the man before her, yanking her deep inside of his soul. His emotions, his fractured mind slammed into hers with a force like never before and Aeris saw something new in him, wakened or at least no longer hidden, a deep pulsing power from the Planet below their feet. There was more there – the power of the Ancients, flowing in him disguised as mako and a dark taint she didn’t recognize that fled from her mental touch.
Something in Cloud accepted her power though and clung to it. The blond swayed as false memories crumbled before her touch. Aeris braced him and slowly drew back from Cloud’s thoughts, trying to not leave too much damage behind her, afraid she had shattered his mind completely. Much to her shock she realized a piece of herself stayed behind, embedded in Cloud besides those touches of Sephiroth and Zack.
What had happened to change Cloud so completely?
Cloud cupped her face and stared into her green eyes, recognition finally flaring in his. “Aeris…” Then they were kissing, regardless of the people around them, staring at the pair. He tasted almost the same, save the bitter undertone she had known from Zack and Sephiroth, what she belatedly realized must be mako. Some moron made a few pointed remarks, causing Cloud to break off the kiss to glare at him. The man shut up, more than slightly intimidated by the fierce look in Cloud’s face.
Aeris grabbed Cloud’s muscled arm tightly. “Ignore him.”
“Aeris, they shouldn’t say things like that about you!” Cloud insisted, bringing hope to Aeris’ heart that even though he had changed the core of Cloud is still there, if hidden.
“I don’t care. I have you back and they can say anything they want, it won’t change that.” She tugged on his arm. “Come with me.”
Cloud hesitated. “I need to get back to sector seven…”
She didn’t care at the moment; she had lost too much to let anything get in her way. Perhaps she was being selfish, but she couldn’t destroy the fear that if she will let Cloud walk away she would never see him again. “Please, Cloud. We can send a messenger.”
None of her boys had ever been very good at resisting her when she really wanted something and Aeris was shamelessly taking advantage of that fact. Cloud capitulated in a moment, agreeing to send a message off to those who were waiting for him. Aeris grabbed her staff and led him back towards the Church, unwilling to let another moment pass.
“I thought you were dead.” Aeris grabbed Cloud once they were inside the decaying structure, holding him close. “You were gone for so long…all of you…”
“I know, I know.” Cloud smoothed the top of her hair and kissed her crown, a Zack gesture part of her brain noted. Aeris pulled his head down to give him a proper kiss and came up panting. Bright even beyond the mako, Cloud’s eyes pinned her, smoldering with emotion. “Here?”
“Here,” Aeris agreed, needing to touch him again, to know with her entire being that this was real and he wouldn’t vanish with the morning light. They fell in amongst the flowers, kissing, touching and holding. Clothes came off and Aeris silently thanked her instincts that had kept her on her pregnancy protection medicine despite having lost her boyfriends as an ache built inside of her. Cloud was careful, so careful as he touched her; he always had been but now it seemed he was three times more so. She could feel the power in him restraining himself and felt the tiny thrill that always came with the knowledge that her lover could snap her in half if he was careless.
“Aeris I…” Cloud hesitated. “I haven’t done this since the last time.”
“Neither have I,” Aeris admitted. “It’s okay.”
It was better than okay; it took them a bit of work to figure out a rhythm that pleased them both, but then they were both crying heading towards the edge with explosive force. But as they came they both were aware of the wrongness of it. There should be at least another pair of hands, if not two, touching them, voices crying out in mutual pleasure. Grief entered Cloud’s eyes. “Aeris, Zack is…” He choked, unable to speak.
“Shhh.” She kissed him lightly and slowly forced herself up, afterglow broken by heartache. She might as well get dressed. Not to mention rolling on the ground, soil and flowers or not, was outright uncomfortable. “Come home tonight. We’ll talk about it in the morning.” She could finally bring him home now – he wasn’t in ShinRa anymore, that was certain. She needed to say goodbye to her mother too, because wherever he was going tomorrow she was going with him.
Aeris didn’t know where this road would take them but she had one of her loves back at last; she wasn’t going to let Cloud go now.
New Way to Be Human
He should be dead.
It was all he could think some days as he stared vacantly out the glass though green glowing liquid. Not even First Class SOLDIERS could have survived that many bullets without help and yet here he was alive, and oh Shiva please don’t let them have Spike. He couldn’t handle it if they did…
He should be dead but he isn’t, because of a voice he could never hear before but now was enforced to endure and a crazy scientist he wanted to rip to shreds.
“Why do you want him?” Beady eyes peered at him through the glass. “He’s unsuitable as a specimen and invulnerable to you.”
“Insurance,” SHE had replied and he could feel her ghost like claws on his soul. “Against the Planet’s child.”
“Yes…the last Ancient is very close to him, isn’t she?” Hojo nodded. “I’ll see he’s repaired then.”
Repaired. Like he was some broken toy! He wanted to fight to smash them both into dust. He might not know who the last Ancient was, but from HER he knew who the Planet’s child was – and there was no way he was going to let HER use him against Cloud.
Oh little Cloud, so unsure of yourself, so quick to doubt your usefulness. When had the Planet forged you into Its Weapon, a focus for Its Will? Was it after Hojo? When you came to Midgar?
Or before you were even born?
“And perhaps proximity might over come his resistance to you. He seems to be responding already.”
“Yes.” SHE hissed, claws leaving bloody marks on his shoulder in a caress that was almost parental save for the pain it caused.
So he drifted, trying to block out HER voice and let himself dream. He saw Sephiroth sometimes, but it was not the Sephiroth he had loved, teased and held but the twisted thing SHE had made, lost in HER madness. Other times he thought he might be seeing Cloud, and sometimes Aeris. He hopped Cloud had survived long enough to make it to the city and find the flower girl. He didn’t know what power she had, but he knew she could fix him.
He would bet his non-existent pay on it.
Days blended together until he had no sense of time at all. Finally, there was screaming outside, he could feel it in his bones despite the thick glass. And it felt like a shade of Crazy-Seph had been there too. At least it had taken HER too; he almost felt normal.
He was dreaming again when that heart-breakingly familiar voice echoed outside of the glass. “Zack?” Bright blue eyes stared at him; Zack managed a faint smile. The kid looked good, just as strong as Zack had always known he could be some day. It was soothing to see, even if it was just a figure of his imagination. He hopped his lover really had awakened from that mindless slumber he had been stuck in.
“Aeris! Look over here!”
“Cloud, we have to hurry up and get out of here! Do you want to get caught again?”
“Shut up, Tifa.” Cloud snapped. He gestured to someone nearby.
Then Zack was looking into a pair of eyes as green as Seph’s but only glowing with love. “Zack.”
The former First Class managed to find a slightly bigger smile this time. It was good to see them together, so obviously right for each other. He really had a good imagination; Spike didn’t even look hesitant at all when he put an arm around Aeris’ shoulders in support.
“We’re getting him out of there.”
“Damn your spiky head. We have to move!”
“Go on your own if you want, Barret. I’m not leaving without him.” Cloud glared over at a figure Zack couldn’t see. “Help me, Aeris.”
The mako left with a whoosh and Zack found himself being carried over Cloud’s shoulder. His brain had a wicked sense of humor; apparently, it thought it would be funny to reverse the escape from the lab.
Not that he was complaining. It was nice to have a dream about something other than death and hurting the Planet.
But he was so tired…
Violet eyes slipped close and he drifted again. Around him the sounds of battle echoed, but he barely noticed, though he did see how the kid managed to drive a bike – nice to see Cloud still remembered what old Zack had taught him.
He was drifting out again when they finally got outside of Midgar, stiffening as he was laid on the ground. He liked being draped over Cloud, damn it!
Zack mentally kicked his subconscious; it better not be getting ready to throw another nightmare about that Hades-thrice-cursed-cliff at him or he was going to kill it, even if it was a part of him.
“Zack? Come on, Zack. Wake up. We have to get moving.”
Love to, Spike. Just let me stop my head from spinning.
“Can you help him?”
Aeris’ hand settled on his brow. “He’s blocked, somehow…I think it’s natural, though. He’s always had some resistance and he’s really fighting anything trying to get into his mind at the moment.”
Cloud bit his lip. “Damn. We really have to get away from the city. They may send someone after us any minute.”
Aeris stroked Zack’s head gently, running her fingers through black hair. Zack decided he liked that a lot – and to think he used to tease Seph about the whole hair brushing thing. “Well, I can’t get it…but you might be able to.”
Cloud’s double take was extremely amusing. “Me, Aeris? I’ve never…”
“You have a piece of him in you, and a piece of me, and a piece of…” Aeris trailed off, not willing to speak the last but saw Cloud understand what she meant anyway. Zack reminded himself that she probably didn’t mean that in any sexual way what so ever even though Aeris could be down right dirty when she got in the right mood. It wasn’t in her tone of voice, for one thing. Still, a guy who hadn’t gotten any for over five years got ideas when he finally found two of his lovers. “I can follow you in and you should be able to slip in because you are him, at least a piece of you.”
“Can you all start making sense some time soon?”
Cloud gave the man a Sephiroth-level glare. Zack decided it was damn sexy on the blond. Of course, Cloud looked down right sexy in most things. And out of them as well. “Look, if you want to head out feel free. We’ll meet you in Kalm.”
“I will stay.” Zack decided right then and there that his imagination was far too powerful, because he had no idea how in Ifrit’s fiery hells it had come up with a talking cat. “I will guard while you work.”
“Thank you, Red.” One of the nicest things about Aeris; when she thanked someone she did it completely. Zack’d seen people fall over their own feet to help her because of it. “Cloud, get over here.”
Unfamiliar hands this time – more sword calluses than Zack remembered, and bigger too – settled on his head. “What do I do?”
“Just relax. This seems to come naturally for you – you nearly dragged me in too deep the first time!”
And then Zack was spinning, falling, loosing himself in an endless sky of mako blue only to find himself in Aeris’ flower bed. “What?” Cloud was next to him, watching him carefully and a minute later Aeris appears on his other side.
“Ready to wake up?” Her voice echoed inside of him like HERS did, but without the pain. Somehow that made this disturbingly real and for the first time he wondered if this wasn’t just a dream.
“Aeris? Cloud?” He could reach for them now, grabbing a handful of each and they didn’t disappear oh Planet please, don’t let this be a dream…
“Right here,” Cloud promised, squeezing his hand.
Zack threw himself up, tackling the no-longer-comatose-blond and kissed him like never before, fierce and almost violent but Cloud could take it now and responded in kind. Then Aeris plowed into both of them, setting herself on Cloud’s lap as she kissed her first lover. Zack was more careful this time, holding her delicately but he is no less flushed when they finally come up for air. “Come on,” Aeris insisted, pulling Zack to his feet. “We need to go back to the physical world; this isn’t good for any of us.”
“Lead the way babe,” Zack responded with a grin. “I’ll follow you no matter where you go.”
Voice of Truth
He watched Aeris and Zack out of the corner of his eye. Zack was murmuring into Aeris’ ear and kissing her gently. She returned the gesture with more than a little interest. His hands itched to slip over to help out but restrained himself. They had been waiting a long time and it was rather predictable about what the four – three – would end up doing if left alone with nothing to do.
As if hearing his unspoken desire, Aeris lifted her head to look at him. “Cloud?”
The blond smiled at the brunette. “Don’t worry about me. Go enjoy yourselves.”
The pair looked a bit torn at that but eventually went back to their activities. Zack had always had a hard time keeping his hands off of his lovers in any situation; having to travel with AVALANCHE must have been driving him crazy. The group had accepted that Aeris was Cloud’s lover when he had showed up with her possessively holding his arm at Seventh Heaven a day later than he was supposed to (and hadn’t that been a sight. Tifa had nearly turned green with envy; Aeris later confided in Cloud she didn’t care how the Nibelheim native felt about their relationship at all. If Tifa had been nicer to Cloud in the first place she could have laid claim to the blond) but throwing Zack into the mix might be a bit too much for them to handle.
And let’s not even bring up Sephiroth….
In any case, the three had few moments alone. The most memorable one was the three-way “date” the trio had gone on together at the Golden Saucer. Aeris had managed to get a hold of a copy of the play they had been pressed into participating in and gleefully chortled over it on off times. Cloud had enjoyed a chance to race the chocobos; he was developing a vague plan for the future involving the three – no four because he hadn’t given up hope yet – of the them having a house in the middle of no where with a garden, a chocobo farm and something or another to keep Zack happy…maybe something like a “dojo” where Zack could teach up coming warriors. The black haired man had always loved to teach swordwork.
Other than that, they only had gotten some privacy at Gongaga (which had been a very interesting trip, seeing as Zack finally was reunited with his parents. Predictably enough he had snuck out of his house as soon as darkness had fallen to meet up with Aeris and Cloud). They had only managed the occasional stolen kiss and hugs that could be passed off as “just friendly” Zack had been mostly neglected. Or neglected for Zack anyway.
Cloud noted with some amusement that Aeris and Zack seemed to be playing the “get the other’s partner’s clothes off with as little damage to the clothes as possible while still remaining damn tempting” game. Aeris seemed to be having an easier time at it, but then again Zack’s uniform didn’t wrinkle as easily as Aeris’ dress.
The blond stared down at his own outfit; similar in cut to the SOLDIER uniform it was made out of dark blue material that Aeris claimed brought out his eyes. It had felt distinctly wrong to wear a uniform he had never earned once he had regained his memories. Zack had taken it back at his insistence then bitterly complained that Cloud had gotten the better color choice anyway because who under Bahamut thought it was a good idea to dress First Class SOLDIERS in purple anyway? It was amazing that no one had killed themselves laughing at them!
To which Aeris had of course responded that the uniform color only brought out Zack’s eyes as well. Things could have gotten more interesting from there if they hadn’t had company who were looking at them with much strangeness seeing as Aeris was practically flirting with Zack.
Company could really be a pain sometimes.
Cloud forced his wandering thoughts back to task, trying to focus on being ‘open’ the way Aeris had taught him. The Cetra was hardly fully trained, nor were Cloud’s erratic abilities exactly like hers, but she had given Cloud a bit of control over them. Of course, being open could be just as problematic as being closed; Sephiroth had nearly managed to control him in the Temple of the Ancients. If it hadn’t been for his “pieces” of Zack and Aeris, he probably would have given in but they grounded him and protected him enough to resist.
The Black Materia was safe with Vincent now, hidden away from where Sephiroth had wanted it to come, to the Crater.
Speaking, well thinking really, of the Temple of the Ancients…
Cloud sat on his irritation. Aeris had something come up with the awesome, wonderful, fantastic idea that she should go fight Sephiroth alone there. When the group had made it to Gongaga – Cloud unconscious at the time and being carried by Zack – she had slipped away to head here, the City of the Ancients. Zack had shaken Cloud awake when he realized that Aeris had gone and the pair of former SOLDIERS (or at least one former SOLDIER and one that was so close the difference barely counted) headed off, Cloud listening to the inner voice Aeris had helped him cultivate. It was pretty erratic at the best of times but it always led him to Aeris and Zack if he needed to find them anymore.
They had caught up with Aeris in the Sleeping Forest and explained in very loud voices and sharp tones exactly how wonderfully stupid Aeris’ great plan to defeat Sephiroth was.
Especially since it required her death.
Behind Cloud Zack fell to the floor. Without turning to look Cloud knew what he would see: Aeris straddling Zack’s hips, the pair kissing fervently and without a stitch on. It was a good thing Aeris kept using her tablets daily; a baby in the middle of this would have been a major problem.
Above him Cloud felt a twinge of exasperation and annoyance. That, more than anything else, told Cloud this was the true Sephiroth above them in spirit at least. So far they had only run into shades of the man, clones or spiritual representations of Sephiroth who could briefly make themselves corporal. This wasn’t Sephiroth’s physical body either, but it was the core of the man. Luck, it seemed, was with them.
Even more so since his “mother” wasn’t in the immediate area from the feel of things.
Cloud closed his eyes and focused on letting go, blinked and found himself staring at his body, leaning against the wall where he left it. This was always so weird. He drifted upward, coming to settle next to a nigh-corporal Sephiroth. The madness in his eyes scared Cloud, whether he liked to admit it or not, but the sight of Masamune in his hand made Cloud’s stomach twist. The blade, Zack had told Cloud in strictest confidence, had in fact always been an astral projection of Sephiroth’s power. He had managed to do it at a young age and no sword had suited him better since. It also explained why Sephiroth would leave the sword around; it was almost a bizarre calling card and he could always materialize another if he should need it.
The blond had seen that blade in action before. It was terrifying to think it might be used on Aeris or Zack. He swallowed and spoke.
“Hello, Sephiroth.”
Green eyes snapped over to meet his, fury and madness swirling in their mako bright depths. Cloud almost backed down but forced himself to stand his ground. He was probably the only one who could do this. Not many people could talk to Sephiroth on a good day, much less when he was crazy. Zack couldn’t do the astral walk trick, as he liked to call it, so that put him out of the running. “Besides,” Zack had pointed out with a grin, “Seph’s used to saying no to me. You he’ll have to work at. Especially if you give him the puppy look” Aeris might have been able to contact Sephiroth but the former General would probably shove her back on general principle, her being an Ancient and all that nonsense.
Which left Cloud.
Who didn’t flinch as Sephiroth’s hand clasped tightly around the base of his throat. It hurt, but he wasn’t going to show his fear even if he was scared near witless. He wasn’t a little unblooded boy anymore; he had tolerated far worse than this. No, he didn’t flinch away. In fact, Cloud did the exact opposite, leaning into the touch even if it made it more painful. Sephiroth had always been a bit weird about touch and proximity. The former General had hated both with a passion except when it came to those few people he trusted. From them, he had craved it like a thirsty man begged for water.
Cloud knew he had made the right move when the pressure around his next loosened just slightly, allowing him to speak. “It’s been a long time.” Green eyes bore into his, confusion underlying the rage in their depths. Maybe, Cloud thought, they had been going about this all wrong last time. They had yelled and screamed, only making Sephiroth feel more alone, not less so.
"My family! My hometown! How could you do this to them!?"
Meaningless words. Foolish words. How could he possibly think of Nibelheim as home? He must have hit his head or something. Nibelheim had never been home for Cloud, not when it counted. Home had been Aeris’ church, Sephiroth’s quarter’s and Zack’s bike. As far as family went, while his mother might have been his blood relative, his true family had been those whom had become his lovers in the end.
“We’ve been waiting for you to come home, you know,” Cloud continued, keeping his voice almost Zack light, giving his words only a shade more weight. “We’ve missed you.” They had, too. Wandering around the Golden Saucer betting that Sephiroth’s war bird could outrace any of the jockeys’, wondering how Seph would have taken to being introduced to his “in-laws” in Gongaga, even feeling a little sorrow at the thought of the kind of welcome they would have received had Sephiroth been with them when they had tracked Yuffie all over Wutai.
It never would be home until Sephiroth came back, Cloud abruptly realized. Once the leather clad man finally put aside his last links with ShinRa and came back to those who loved him most maybe they could finally all be whole…
“I was thinking of someplace over by the chocobo ranch, myself. Nice quiet area. We can raise chocobos and Aeris can have her garden, the huge one she’s always wanted with vegetables and fruits and stuff. Who knows what Zack will want to do – I’m almost afraid to ask him because you know how it is.” Cloud grinned. “Of course, you’ll have to pick something out to do with yourself as well but there’s no hurry. Zack and I can always go monster hunting to keep us fit until we get settled down. We’re having a contest, you see, to figure out who can cut down more of them. He thinks a Malboro should counted as more than one but I doubt it somehow, especially when he insists dragons don’t count double…”
Sephiroth’s hand dropped from Cloud’s neck entirely; the silver haired man stared at the blond blithely talking without an apparent care in the world. “…so if you want us to come bust you out just let us know. We’ll break you out in no time.”
“Cloud?”
The voice was so desolate it nearly made Cloud weep. “Yes, Seph?”
Broken green eyes stared into his. “I can’t. I can’t go back. I – ”
“To Hades’ Dungeon with that,” Cloud snapped. He reached over and pulled Sephiroth closer, trying to force the man to remember how it had been back in Midgar. Zack, Sephiroth and Cloud just enjoying each other’s company despite ShinRa schemes, a bright spot in the misery of Sephiroth’s never ending duties, a haven for Cloud’s ever falling self esteem and a place of rest for the every busy, ever running Zack. Cloud focused on remembering how he had felt the first night the three of them had come together, how privileged and honored he had felt that Zack and Sephiroth had looked at one pathetic cadet and saw something worth loving.
“You were never pathetic,” Sephiroth hissed, glaring at Cloud.
Cloud’s eyes brightened. “Nice to have you back, Seph.”
NO. The mental scream tore through both Sephiroth and Cloud with devastating force, leaving Sephiroth near comatose and Cloud not much better off. YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY SON FROM ME, PATHETIC HUMAN. HE IS MINE.
Cloud could feel Jenova pulling Sephiroth back into her world of madness and knew if he lost now he would loose Seph forever. He lunged forward and grasped Sephiroth’s hands, bringing up the memory of the first and only time Aeris had joined their usual trio in bed, barely a month before the disastrous Nibelheim mission. Using that weird part of him that was Cloud, Sephiroth, Aeris and Zack all at once, he dragged up those memories of acceptance and love, passion and pleasure. It wasn’t difficult to recall with the sounds of Aeris and Zack performing the most ancient religious act of all time echoing in the cavern.
Sephiroth flinched as Aeris’ eyes stared into his, bright as she kissed him goodbye. “Now, Mr. General,” the memory spoke, “I expect you to give yourself more time off. I intend to get to know my new boyfriend better.” Sephiroth had felt flustered at the time but somehow pleased at Aeris’ unconditional acceptance; Cloud invoked those feelings again, shoving the love the other three had felt for their silver haired lover against the false, corrupt, selfish love Jenova offered. At Nibelheim SHE might have been the only thing that Sephiroth had felt he was like but now there was Cloud as well who had been touched by HER, who had faltered beneath her touch as well but had been dragged back from the abyss SHE represented by Zack and Aeris –
- who would do the same for Sephiroth in a heartbeat –
“Crater. Lifestream – moved.” Sephiroth managed to gasp out before Jenova’s rage became too strong and he disappeared in a cry of pain, the conjured Masamune falling to the ground with a clang before fading.
Now for the hardest part. Cloud focused very hard on getting back into his body, something his soul didn’t seem to like very much. When he finally blinked his physical eyes open he found himself sandwiched between Zack and Aeris, both fully clothed, warming him with their body heat. That was a good thing, because Cloud felt cold after leaving his body for so long.
“How’d it go?” Zack asked, tense.
“Pretty well, I think.” Cloud forced himself to his feet. “He’s in the Crater – now we just have to get there.”
Healing Rain
He’s been waiting so long with HER hissing in his mind, promising things he knows now to be false but has a hard time resisting anyway. It was easy with her, almost mindless. He didn’t have to think about others or anything else, only THEIR goals…
But the others he had left behind made living that life poor in comparison. Zack, the first one to reach out for him without fear. Cloud, who had loved him from afar but hadn’t stopped when confronted with the truth of his nature, only cared deeper and offered him unconditional loyalty. Aeris, who he only barely knew but remembered from some time long ago in the labs, when green eyes had met green eyes. He had thought he had been mistaken the first time he met her, but now he knew she too had suffered under Hojo’s not-so-gentle care and wondered if his memory had in fact been true. Had the last Cetra and Jenova’s Child met far sooner than any of them had realized?
It was so hard, just waiting for them to come to him. Waiting had never been his strong point in general, unless he had something to do while he was waiting. Yes, he was patient almost to a legendary degree but even then he usually was doing something productive towards a goal then, not sitting around in a mako chrysalis listing to his ‘mother’ rave about how SHE was going to destroy his lovers.
It made him a wee bit angry.
Jenova had created a barrier around the Crater keeping him separated from the rest of the world. SHE hadn’t managed to get the black materia though, thank goodness. ShinRa had managed to awaken the Weapons in their stupid attempt to break the barrier surrounding the Crater, causing an even longer delay until AVALANCHE could attack the Crater.
But now, finally, they were here. He could feel them, especially Cloud as they walked into the Crater. It was a bigger group than he had expected, unfortunately. He really didn’t want to see anyone other than Aeris, Cloud and Zack, given the choice.
“We better split up,” Cloud suggested, glancing around the group. It’s a long way down and we have a lot of ground to over.”
The group split itself into three, the cat, a dark haired man that seemed somewhat familiar and a pilot in one, a Wutaiian child, a black man with a gun instead of a hand, a young woman he recognized as Tifa from Nibelheim and a bouncing moogle/cat combination in the second. Aeris, Cloud and Zack made up the third and final group. They split up and headed down the paths. “Which way, Spike?” Zack asked his youngest lover, violet eyes twinkling with mischief. “You do know where he is already, don’t you?”
“More or less,” Cloud admitted.
“Then let’s mosey!” Zack shouted, causing Aeris and Cloud to laugh. The trio hurried down the path before them, eerily knowing exactly which way to turn to get closer to him as Cloud followed the inner call towards Jenova’s Child he had known almost his entire life.
He was glad they were coming, except that being closer to him was being closer to Jenova and she was waiting for them. He tried to call out mentally to Cloud, willing the other man to hear him but got no response. Of all the times for Cloud to be shut down….
WATCH THIS, MY SON. THEY ARE TOO WEAK TO STOP ME.
And then SHE was there, standing before them. He felt panic grip him in its claws; he thrashed against his mako bonds. Zack was strong, yes, and Cloud had survived Hojo but they couldn’t possibly destroy Jenova –
He blinked as Aeris raised her staff, and rain began to fall around the group. What was that girl doing? The last thing they needed to do was create even more difficult conditions to fight under! They would be slipping all over the place at this rate.
Jenova didn’t wait for an invitation as the rain stopped, striking Zack with a tentacle hard enough to break the man’s spine -
- only to have nothing happen.
“How do you like that?” Zack was grinning fiercely. “Do what you want, Jenova. It’s not going to make the least bit of difference to us.”
…Had Aeris given Cloud and Zack invulnerability? But that wasn’t possible! He watched with shocked eyes as Zack and Cloud focused on attacking physically. Zack had his familiar Buster Sword in his hands, but Cloud had a translucent purple weapon Sephiroth didn’t recognize. Both were inflicting major wounds on Jenova with astonishing ease. Aeris wasn’t just standing around watching, either. Her staff didn’t make as much of an impact against Jenova as the swords, but she was spell casting with amazing accuracy.
It seemed his lovers had become quiet powerful while he was away; it was almost…disturbing.
Abruptly Cloud’s blade shown green instead of violet, the glow in his blue eyes flaring. He brought the sword up in a distinctive pattern and plunged into Jenova, power washing over the wound in waves. SHE screamed – loud enough he would have fallen over in pain, were it not for the mako encaging him.
“Come on. He’s that way.” Cloud pointed and the group was up and running again, closer and closer to him until if he could have opened his physical eyes he would have seen them a bare yard in front of him. Aeris raised her staff again and the mako began to slowly melt, allowing himself to fall to his feet.
Only to discover he had no feet, only a sliding mass of tentacles, undoubtedly a mutation resulting from his long exposure to mako and to Jenova. Only fitting his outside should be as repulsive as his inside…
“Hey, hold on there, Seph.” Two strong muscles arms caught him, one on each side: Zack on his right and Cloud on his left. “Sorry we took so long, but you would not believe the trouble we got into. ShinRa, Weapons, Cloud getting into fights with jockeys -”
“That was once!”
“Anyway, I think you need some reconditioning, SOLDIER.” Zack’s tone made it a joke rather than an order and the brilliant smile he got when he turned to stare at his former subordinate officer made him feel better, at least for a second.
“Somehow I doubt reconditioning is going to take care of this, Zack.” He should just ask them to put him out of his misery, really. He was too far beyond redemption –
Cloud smacked him. “Don’t even think that.” Sephiroth stared at his blond lover, not used to him being nigh telepathic. Zack, yes. Aeris, even more so. Cloud? That would take some getting used to.
Aeris pulled out an ether and drank it slowly, refilling her magical reserves. “Okay, I think I’m ready.” She stepped closer to the three men, staff held firmly in both hands. Cloud reached over and grabbed the metal as well, while Zack linked an arm around her waist. “Let’s hope this works.”
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll keep you two grounded,” Zack promised. “Hold on, Seph, this is going to be one wild ride.”
The top most materia began to glow in Aeris’ staff, which Sephiroth belatedly realized was not a pale green as he had thought at first but white. Energy flickered around Cloud’s hands, boosting whatever spell Aeris was casting, wrapping the pair in light.
And again, it began to rain.
The liquid burned where it touched him, making the former general flinch in pain. Zack’s hand squeezed his side, trying to anchor him through the stinging sensation but at the same time it felt incredibly good, like the burning of a wound being cleaned at last…
He had legs again, Sephiroth abruptly realized and was able to balance on them with some effort. Zack didn’t let go, though, only gave him another gin. “What’s going on?”
“Jenova’s a virus. Even though we killed most of the bitch that doesn’t mean her cells don’t exist other places – in all the SOLDIERs, for example. So even if we kill her physically as long as those cells are still around we’ve got problems on our hands.” The former First nodded at Cloud and Aeris. “The Cetra didn’t spend all of the time Jenova was locked up just sitting around. They figured out a way to get rid of her for good, but it would take a sacrifice to activate Holy.”
“Holy?”
“The white materia. The opposite of Meteor.” Zack explained. “A life freely given, with no thought of reward – well, Cloud and I weren’t all too happy when we found out about that little plan so we stopped Aeris from doing it. What we did figure out was Cloud’s got this little quirk where he can pull energy right from the Planet so we’re using that instead of killing the last Ancient off.” The black haired man turned his head upward so the water fell on it. “It’s probably raining like this all over the world, you know. A nice change from my last big memory of rain.”
“What was that?” Sephiroth asked, unable to recall anything in particular that had to do with rain.
“Nothing much.” Zack shrugged. “Just dying.”
“WHAT?”
Zack was saved from answering as the rain abruptly stopped and Aeris collapsed into Zack’s arms. He kissed the top of her head. “Nice job.”
“Thanks.” Aeris glanced at Cloud, now alone in supporting Sephiroth. The blond somehow only looked slightly weary rather than completely worn out. “That is completely unfair.”
“I guess channeling isn’t as hard as casting.” Cloud glanced around. “Come on, we better get out of here if we don’t want to run into the others and have to explain everything.”
Zack and Aeris winced at that thought. They would probably have to fight to protect Sephiroth, who could barely stand much less defend himself. The man was in serious need of healing. Not to mention recovery time. Aeris her self could use some rest and relation too, and good though they were, Zack and Cloud would have a hard time taking on all of AVALANCHE.
Well, maybe not all of them. Vincent probably wouldn’t out and out attack and Cait Sith might not either. Yuffie was a toss up. Everyone else though…
Yeah.
“Cloud, we just can’t run off with the Highwind. The others will need it to get home,” Zack pointed out.
“Just why did you think I spent all that time breeding gold chocobos anyway?” Cloud retorted. “We go, take our share of the gil we’ve collected and four chocobos. And leave a note, I suppose. Vincent, at least, will want to meet you, Seph. He knew your mother.”
“…you’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you.” Aeris murmured.
“Yeah,” Cloud admitted. “We can work out the details as we go, I guess, but we should get moving.”
“Riding Chocobos across the ocean to freedom. Sounds like a good way to begin a new life to me. Lead on, SOLDIER,” Zack instructed Cloud with a grin. “It’s about time we finally go home.”
THE END
There, done.
...I need a SephxCloudxZackxAeris icon....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 02:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 03:23 am (UTC)This makes my little foursome heart squee with happy.
*uses Gracious icon for more foursome love* I need more foursome icons. So much shiny.
*curls up on you and glees*
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 03:30 am (UTC)Though I really do think Cloud loved Nibelheim despite everything. And even if he hated its guts, I don't think he could brush off its destruction just like that. And his mother! Geeze, I'm rambling.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:43 am (UTC)(Tifa got like, TWO MENTIONS. Geeze...)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 09:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 09:55 am (UTC)^_^
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-20 11:03 am (UTC)I loved all the fics, because you made the characters sound so very real, and of course, the plots kicked ass.
The only thing I didn't like so much was when Cloud thought he must have hit his head for caring about the people of Nibelheim. I think, that despite having an unhappy childhood there, Cloud would care whether they lived or died because they are people, and he's been around Zack and Aeris, who are very much people-persons.
But... I hope this didn't sound mean or anything, because I didn't mean for it to sound like that. It's just something that struck me, and I really did love all the fics, so... I hope you'll forgive me. *bows and runs away*
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 01:42 am (UTC)