jessara40k_lj (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jessara40k_lj) wrote2006-09-23 10:26 am
jessara40k_lj) wrote2006-09-23 10:26 am
FIC Keeper Part 3
Keeper
Final Fantasy VII fic, pre-game AU.
CloudxSephiroth - and yes that does mean Cloud is topping.
Rating R.
Sephiroth wondered absently if Cloud had been given a keycard for his quarters as he nibbled on a carrot stick. His keeper had agreed to eat with him tonight, around six, so he’d ordered a buffet style meal for two set up here at quarter to, because he didn’t think it would be a good idea for the servants to see them eating together. He was pretty sure Cloud would prefer to be discreet about their connection, and keep people from thinking his advancement was due to the fact that he was sleeping with Sephiroth. He didn’t like it that they’d probably be limited to spending time as a couple only in his quarters, and any time they spent together outside his quarters would almost certainly have to be with Zack there as well, but he’d accept it; his relationship with Zack and Angeal had similar limitations so he was used to it. But Cloud wasn’t, and he didn’t have a bedroom to himself so they couldn’t go there the way he could with Zack and Angeal.
From the knock on the door he suspected Cloud hadn’t been given a keycard, but in case it wasn’t him Sephiroth grabbed Masamune, fastening the sheath in position before he opened the door.
“Hello Sephiroth. I’m not late am I?” Cloud glanced at Sephiroth’s sword meaningfully, and he dropped his eyes in submission, hoping that his automatic hand on the hilt wouldn’t be seen as a threat.
“No, I just wasn’t sure if it was you at the door. Please, come in.” Sephiroth stepped back in unspoken invitation, wondering absently if his hunger for Cloud’s touch was natural or something that had been built into him, and whether Cloud felt the same hunger for him. Cloud ran a casually possessive hand through his hair as he stepped passed Sephiroth, and then he froze. At least Sephiroth knew that Cloud did want to touch him as much as he wanted to be touched, even if it looked as if he was angry or disgusted by what he’d just done, and he shut the door quickly.
“Shiva’s Tits! I thought I had better self-control than that, touching you so openly while the door was open isn’t exactly discreet is it?” If Cloud was angry he was angry at himself, and Sephiroth wasn’t going to give him any reason to transfer that anger to him, not considering the way he’d been conditioned not to even defend himself from Cloud, even if the blond wanted to kill him.
“So, then we know that I shouldn’t meet you at the door if we haven’t seen each other for more than...say a week?” Hopefully a practical suggestion would calm Cloud down a little, and redirect his attention to ways to avoid indiscretions caused by their bond.
“If we haven’t seen each other privately for a week I’d say. Except I don’t have a keycard for your quarters and people would wonder if you started to leave your door open. Did you see anyone in the hall when you opened the door? I don’t think there was anyone to see us, but...”
“Neither do I.” It was something he’d wanted to say when Cloud had blamed himself for being indiscreet, but he hadn’t been sure how to put it, and now that Cloud didn’t seem to be angry he felt he could talk about that. “And I arranged a keycard to my quarters for you, in case Hojo hadn’t done so already. Here it is.” He’d left the keycard on the table with the meal and he smiled as he handed it to Cloud, enjoying the way Cloud’s hand lingered on his own.
“Thanks. I...didn’t expect...”
“It isn’t as if I have anything to hide from you even if I could.” Sephiroth wasn’t sure why Cloud hadn’t really used their link yet, but he knew exactly how limited his own control of it was, and he had the feeling that Cloud would be able to use it for some of the things he’d thought of but been unable to do. He placed Masamune back on its stand and pulled his coat off, watching Cloud as he sat down on the couch, then sat beside him and wrapped an arm around him. “You don’t mind if I touch you while we’re eating?”
“I missed touching you too.” Cloud stroked his arm gently before deciding to leave one hand resting on Sephiroth’s wrist and he resisted the temptation to purr in pleasure at that action and knowledge. “But...we can’t just base our relationship on sex, there has to be something more.”
“I know Cloud, but...until you my life was made up of; duty, training and maintaining my body to perform that duty, playing lab rat for Hojo,” Sephiroth couldn’t help shivering at that particular item, and Cloud reached up to stroke his hair soothingly, “and basically doing whatever Zack and Angeal wanted when they dragged me away from that.” He’d sometimes missed sleep to make them happy, and they’d learned when the best times to try and grab him for some fun were, but things had changed since he’d been given to Cloud, and they seemed to approve. “I don’t really have the outside interests you must have, or the sort of interests Zack and Angeal showed.”
“You should try and find something you like doing then, something totally unrelated to work.” Cloud popped a small sausage roll into Sephiroth’s mouth as he opened it to speak and Sephiroth couldn’t hide his pleased response to that. “It would be suspicious if we sparred together, I’m not good enough to be a match for you, I know, and people would wonder why you were bothering with me.”
“What sort of thing would you suggest then?” He wanted to please Cloud, and if Cloud suggested things he could do in his off-duty hours it was more likely to become something they’d have in common.
“Sephiroth...”
“Please. I don’t know what a normal thing to do would be, and I am yours, my interests should be based on what you want in a partner.” He hesitated before continuing to speak. “And...we need to talk about our link, and if you want me to start taking action against Gregori. I’ve done some research and background work, but...I can’t really talk to the people he’s driven out of the SOLDIER program, they won’t be willing to talk to me. And I can’t ask Zack to talk to them without your approval.” He’d tried, but he just couldn’t get the words out, he thought it was because he’d talked about finding a way to deal with Gregori before Cloud had completed their link, and Cloud had been very keen on the idea, at least once he’d talked him into it. Cloud sighed, sounding resigned when he did speak.
“I like doing those word and number puzzles you find in newspapers, I’ve usually got a book of them with me, like this.” Cloud showed him a small book and Sephiroth looked through it quickly. “There’s also other sorts of puzzles, or you could try card games, or jigsaws, or something similar. Or you could try reading for pleasure. And yes, if you want to ask Zack to help with sorting Gregori out then go ahead.”
“Thank you. Cloud...I don’t have any control over our link, I can’t keep you from sensing what I think or feel, and I can’t use it to contact you. Will you try to use it please?” Cloud frowned, and Sephiroth could see the concentration on his face.
‘Like this you mean?’ Sephiroth could feel Cloud’s desire for him, as well as hear his words through their link, and it was accompanied by a hint of self-doubt that paralleled his own doubts, the doubts that Cloud seemed to sense and soothed with his hunger and desire for him.
‘Yes. I think that if you use this, at night perhaps, it will give us more time between meetings if we need it, say if one of us is assigned away from Midgar.’
‘We’ll see.’ But there was a hint of approval in Cloud’s emotions. ‘Eat for now. By the way, Zack suggested I watch him and Angeal do a scene with you to learn about aftercare.’
‘If that is what you wish.’ He knew that Cloud could feel his mingled shame and arousal at the prospect, and Cloud responded with reassuring emotions, desire and a love he felt unworthy of.
‘It does sound interesting, and it will help me learn how to take care of you.’ So the matter was settled and Cloud didn’t seem to see the need to use their link any further as they ate.
xoXox
Cloud had known they were going to end up in bed tonight, but he’d wanted more control than he’d had last time. So he forced himself to pull back from kissing Sephiroth so urgently, and waited for both of them to get their breathing under control.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth sounded uncertain, and Cloud could feel his self-doubts through their link, doubts he almost instinctively soothed by sort of ‘wrapping’ Sephiroth’s mind in his desire and affection for him.
“I want to take this slow, and I want control. So, why don’t you get undressed for me now?”
“Yes Cloud.” Sephiroth glanced over at a door; the door to his bedroom, even if Cloud didn’t understand how he knew that; but stood and began stripping slowly, sensually, and Cloud opened his pants to accommodate his growing arousal. Sephiroth ended up on his knees in front of Cloud once he was naked, and that gave Cloud an idea. He leaned forward and grabbed hold of Sephiroth’s hair pulling his head forward and down until the other man took his cock into his mouth.
‘Don’t try to make me come, not yet. I want you to make this long, slow and teasing. And meanwhile, as a distraction for the two of us I want you to use this link to tell me all about your sexual preferences.’ It was something Cloud needed to know anyway, and then he could figure out what he was willing to give his lover.
‘Yes Cloud.’ Sephiroth made a happy sound around his cock as he responded, and Cloud let go of the hair he’d grabbed, stroking it instead. ‘Where should I start?’ Good question, if the information Cloud got wasn’t specific enough then he wouldn’t know how to deal with Sephiroth properly; he’d had the feeling once or twice that Sephiroth had been enjoying the fact that he was pleasing Cloud more than what Cloud was doing when they’d been together that first week.
‘For a start I think I’ll suggest some situations, and you can tell me how you’d feel about them.’ He might as well use their link, so that he could get used to it, and to keep from feeling self-conscious at being the only one talking aloud. ‘Let’s start with Zack and Angeal fucking you while I watch, what does that idea do to you?’ Since he’d more or less agreed to that already.
‘I...do you mean simple fucking, like with Angeal in my mouth and Zack in my ass or something like that, or one of the dominance games we play?’
‘Would it make a difference?’ Cloud wouldn’t have expected it to. ‘Tell me about both of them. The dominance games first.’ Since it would be the dominance games they’d need to demonstrate to teach Cloud about aftercare.
‘Ashamed, almost humiliated at first, that you’d be seeing me submit so readily to someone else, even at your command. But...I’d be excited by the humiliation too, and I’d probably lose myself in what we were doing faster than usual, and I’d stop registering things sooner. If it was just sex...I’d always be aware of your presence, it would help if you were enjoying watching me with Zack and Angeal, if you weren’t and I could tell then I don’t think I could handle it.’ Cloud was aware that Sephiroth was being almost painfully honest, and he appreciated it, even if he wasn’t going to actually say it, but he did send a sort of mental caress and feelings of approval through the link with his next scenario.
‘How about if I tied you up to fuck you?’ He didn’t need words to interpret the flood of arousal and pleasure that suggestion triggered, but he waited for them anyway.
‘I’d love that. If it was something I could break then it’s about your will over mine, the bonds just there to remind me not to move except as you allow it. And if they were something I couldn’t break...’ He trailed off momentarily conveying half-formed images instead of words. ‘I’d love the sense of being helpless with you, the idea that I couldn’t do anything to stop you if you did something I wasn’t happy with.’ But there was a hint of fear coming through Sephiroth’s arousal, a hint of fear that Cloud found himself homing in on and drawing to his lover’s attention in a wordless question. ‘The way I’m bound to you, I’d be helpless if you decided to hurt me even if I wasn’t restrained. I think I could spar with you if you wished it, but I certainly couldn’t fight you, even now.’ Cloud really didn’t like the sound of that, it made it all too clear how easy it would be for him to abuse Sephiroth, and he didn’t want to act that way, so he shifted to a slightly different scenario.
‘I know you like it when I bite you, as long as it isn’t anywhere too sensitive, but what about scratching you, or spanking you?’ He wasn’t sure where the idea of spanking Sephiroth came from...although Sephiroth’s heightened arousal gave him an idea.
‘Angeal and Zack won’t risk biting me, but I just wish I could get away with wearing whatever marks you wanted to give me all day; I’ll have to use Cure on them when they’re in places exposed by my uniform, even if I want people to see and know I belong to you. And if you wanted to spank me I think it sounds like fun.’ That wasn’t the word Cloud would have used, but if Sephiroth liked the idea it was something to bear in mind, and he obviously did from the renewed eagerness he was sucking Cloud with, and from the hand he’d slipped between his legs.
‘And marking you by coming in your face, or somewhere else?’
‘It’s something I like, a lot.’ And apparently something he did with Angeal and Zack from that simple answer.
‘How about blindfolds, earplugs and gags?’
‘I...yes, please. The thought of you controlling my senses, what I see and hear, and what I say...’ Sephiroth’s arousal at the idea told Cloud all he needed to know about his opinion of that suggestion, and he thought he’d found out enough to be making a start.
‘One last thing, then you can make me come, and come yourself as well.’ Cloud could sense a hint of shame and embarrassment, Sephiroth seemed to think he wasn’t supposed to be pleasuring himself as well. ‘Tell me one fantasy you have about the two of us.’
‘Rufus ShinRa demands a private meeting with the three of us, and he asks you to force me to have sex with him. You refuse, and to rub it in, you strip me and take me in front of him, showing him that I belong to you, and that he has no right to my body.’ Cloud was sure that there was more detail to that fantasy, but he didn’t ask, it told him that Sephiroth had a faintly exhibitionist streak, and he hadn’t thought to ask about anyone else watching Sephiroth with him. He could concentrate enough to think about it further, because Sephiroth swallowed around his dick, and Cloud could feel the head hit the back of Sephiroth’s throat just before he came.
Cloud let his hand fall from Sephiroth’s hair, freeing the other man to kneel back, showing the seed splattered at his groin, and stood himself, offering a hand to help Sephiroth up.
“Do you think we have time to continue this in your bedroom?”
“If you want to, yes.” Sephiroth was keeping his eyes cast down, but Cloud could hear his breath quicken, so he knew his lover wasn’t just being polite.
“Oh yes, I certainly want to.”
xoXox
Sephiroth knew he had a stupid smile on his face as Cloud pulled him through to his bedroom, but he didn’t care. Cloud had asked about what sort of thing he liked in bed, he’d given Sephiroth permission to get Zack involved in their campaign against Gregori, and most importantly, when Sephiroth had told him a bit about how much power Cloud had over him Cloud had been uncomfortable with the idea. He hadn’t said anything when Sephiroth explained, but the fact that he’d changed the subject had been a big clue, and Sephiroth wasn’t entirely certain that Cloud hadn’t intended him to feel the discomfort that leaked through their link.
“Would you like to undress me?” The veiled order broke through his pleasant daze, reminding him of the equally pleasant reality.
“Please.” He knelt in front of Cloud, and waited for him to lift his foot, letting the image of what he expected fill his mind, hopefully telling him what to do without implying that he’d ordered his keeper. Once Cloud had braced himself with a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder he removed each of Cloud’s boots in turn, and the socks as well, before standing and pulling Cloud’s sweater over his head. That was the last thing he’d need his hands for, and he folded them behind his back in a reminder not to use them again.
Cloud laughed when he unfastened the top button of his shirt with his teeth, lifting his hands to rest them on the back of Sephiroth’s head, playing with his hair rather than trying to control his actions. At least, Cloud didn’t control Sephiroth’s actions until his shirt had fallen open far enough to expose his nipples, even letting Sephiroth kiss and lick the exposed skin instead of forcing him to continue with his task. But then he wrapped his hands in Sephiroth’s hair, guiding him to suck on Cloud’s right nipple, which he did until Cloud decided to move Sephiroth’s mouth to his left nipple, and he only continued on with his task of undressing Cloud when he seemed to tire of having Sephiroth’s mouth on his nipples.
When he’d finished unfastening the shirt Sephiroth nuzzled at Cloud’s groin, he’d put his cock back inside his boxers, but left his pants open, making this task a little bit easier for Sephiroth. Then he stood and took the edge of Cloud’s collar in his teeth, pulling it back to expose Cloud’s shoulder and repeating his action on the other side, Cloud looked a little surprised, but he dropped his arms to his sides so that once Sephiroth had got the shirt partway down his arms it fell under gravity. That let him get back to Cloud’s pants, and he nuzzled at Cloud’s groin again before beginning the painstaking work of pulling the pants down using only his teeth to grip the cloth.
“Enough.” There was laughter in Cloud’s voice as he pushed Sephiroth to sit back on his heels once he’d worked Cloud’s pants down to his knees, and the blond finished undressing himself. “Come and join me on the bed.” Cloud sat down on it and patted the bed beside him, and Sephiroth responded by crawling over to the bed before standing to sit beside him.
“What would you like now?” He only spoke when it was clear that Cloud wasn’t going to do or say anything himself, and his keeper laughed unexpectedly.
“Good. You’d never really been passive with me during that week, but I wanted to check.” Had he done something tonight to make Cloud worry about that? “No, but I wasn’t certain how much effect completing our link had on your behaviour, and I know you weren’t exactly passive the next morning, but...I was a wreck then, and it throws things off.”
“At least your experimental method doesn’t involve performing operations without anaesthetic.” Sephiroth spoke without thinking, he knew it bothered Angeal and Zack to hear about his time in Hojo’s lab, especially since he wasn’t bitter about it the way they expected him to be. Even so, he hadn’t expected the flare of incandescent fury burning across their link from Cloud, and he whimpered from the pain in his head as his keeper grabbed him by the arms.
“Who did that to you? Who abused you that way? Tell me so that I can kill the bastard!”
“You can’t Cloud. It was Hojo, and he’s too important to the company for them to let you kill him. And if you do you’ll never be as strong as he could make you.”
“Do you think I care? Keeping you safe comes first.”
“And you’ll be able to do that now, if you kill Hojo they’ll probably kill you. I couldn’t handle that.” Sephiroth knew that was the truth, and it had the benefit of calming Cloud down a little, as did his next words. “At least you can stop him doing anything like that again.” Hojo would probably know enough about the protectiveness he’d built into Cloud not to try, and for the most part he was past the point where Hojo wanted to experiment on him anyway.
“And I will, I promise.” Cloud released his grip on Sephiroth’s arms to wrap his own around him, kissing his forehead lightly. Sephiroth shut his eyes, relaxing in Cloud’s hold and waiting for him to decide what to do next, sliding his own arms around Cloud’s waist when he got the chance.
xoXox
Cloud had a lot to think about as he returned to his room: the barren nature of Sephiroth’s life until now; the way he was paralysed when it came to implementing a plan they’d discussed together; the way Cloud had total control over their link; what he’d learned so far about Sephiroth’s sexual preferences; the fact that Hojo had abused him, and Sephiroth didn’t want Cloud to take vengeance on his behalf; and how very yielding Sephiroth had been when they made love. The issues could be grouped together into three pairs, and he decided to consider each pair in turn.
The simplest pair of issues was what he knew of his lover’s sexual preferences, and how yielding he was; he could handle what Sephiroth wanted, but he didn’t think his lover would be quite so yielding all the time and Cloud didn’t want him to be. If he did turn out to be so yielding all the time then Cloud would do what he could to make him a bit more aggressive in bed, but he had reason enough to believe he wouldn’t be.
Next was the apparent control Cloud had over Sephiroth and their link; it was worrying, but Cloud couldn’t think of a way to deal with it. He’d known that he had control over Sephiroth before of course, that was the point of their link, but he hadn’t expected the indirect aspects, he’d thought it would just be a matter of Sephiroth having to obey direct orders, not him requiring direct orders for some things. Something about the link also seemed to compel him to touch Sephiroth, and display his ‘ownership’ of the General, but he thought he could keep that under control if he saw him often enough in private, and especially if he could use his link to keep tabs on him.
Last and most worrying was the clear evidence that Sephiroth had been severely abused, and didn’t want Cloud to take vengeance on his tormentor for him. Having no life outside of his duties, and being subjected to what were obviously painful tests without anyone caring for his injuries were two obvious signs that he was so accustomed to abuse that he’d even been willing to hide it, because he’d learned that no one would help him, or because he was ashamed of being abused. Cloud wasn’t certain if Sephiroth had been so insistent that he shouldn’t kill Hojo from the purely practical reasons he’d explained earlier, or because he’d been trained not to even think of taking vengeance. Either way Cloud suspected it would be healthier for his lover if he could at least be there when Hojo was killed, and give his consent for that, or better, kill the bastard himself.
He’d think about that later; for now he needed to deal with his room mates, and to explain to them why he hadn’t been promoted to SOLDIER 3rd class and trained with all the others who’d taken the Exam with him. The cover story was pretty simple; Hojo had been very interested in the results he got back from the test he ran on Cloud, and he’d demanded that Cloud be made into a SOLDIER despite failing the interview so that he could play with him. It was even the truth in a way, and he could tell them about his interview with Gregori if he needed to.
He knocked at the door to give anyone inside some warning before he went in, stripping off his sweater as he did.
“Odin’s Eye! You’re just a kid!” Both of his room mates were ten years older than he was, at least, he didn’t recognise them from his Exam, or any he’d had the chance to see and something about them said they’d had their first Mako treatment a while back; they were probably content with their positions and resigned to not getting any further.
“I’m over the minimum age to join SOLDIER.” If only just, his fifteenth birthday had been just two days before the Exam started, or he’d have had to wait another six months; fourteen year old boys could start training to enter SOLDIER, but they couldn’t sit the exams, and twenty-five was the oldest you could be when you sat the Exams.
“Not by much I’ll bet. So what’s a young prodigy like you doing rooming with a pair of old plodders like us?” Cloud knew he had to be blushing at the way the older of the other SOLDIERs described him, but...
“They probably figured there wouldn’t be jealousy issues with you two.” He wasn’t going to say why people might be jealous of him, not unless he was asked; odds were they could come up with reasons themselves - Zack had been nearly sixteen when he qualified for SOLDIER, and until Cloud he’d been the youngest SOLDIER ever except for Sephiroth.
“You have problems with your last room mates then?” The younger SOLDIER sat up as he spoke, while the older one still lay back on his bed.
“I spent the last month in Hojo’s lab, getting my first set of enhancements because he wanted to run an experiment on me.”
“You mean you failed the Exam and were admitted to the SOLDIER program anyway?” The older SOLDIER sat up then, surprise in his voice and on his face.
“Yes, Professor Hojo insisted that I be used for this experiment even though SOLDIER 1st class Gregori felt my interview showed me to be unsuitable for SOLDIER.” He’d decided to defend himself from any veiled accusations with that simple implication that he hadn’t received a fair hearing...if the younger SOLDIER had ever dealt with Gregori it would probably work.
“Let me guess, he asked you two questions then dismissed you when he heard you admired the General?” The redhead was heavily muscled now, but his hair fell just past his shoulders and there was a delicacy to his bone structure that said he’d been ‘pretty’ before he was enhanced. “I’m Geran by the way, and this is Daniel. You didn’t give us your name either.”
“I’m Cloud, and you’re right, he dismissed me before asking all the questions he should have. Did he do the same to you?”
“Yes, but SOLDIER 1st class Angeal had made it clear to everyone that we were allowed three chances at the SOLDIER Entrance Exams, that the requirements to reach interview were greater each time, and that we’d be interviewed by a different SOLDIER 1st class every time we got to interview. SOLDIER 1st class Raven didn’t even ask me my opinion of the General. Good job too, because it hadn’t changed.”
“You need to talk to the General about that. Professor Hojo had him in for a few tests when he was working on me, and he mentioned that he was collecting things he could use against Gregori. He was very pleased to hear that I had a reason for complaint against him, more than one actually, because it gave him something new he could investigate.”
“I couldn’t talk to General Sephiroth.” Geran sounded horrified by the idea, not that Cloud entirely blamed him for that, but...
“What about SOLDIER 1st class Zack then? Could you talk to him, or to SOLDIER 1st class Angeal?”
“I...maybe. Do you know where you’re assigned yet?”
“No, for the moment I’m just training by myself, but...”
“I can show you where any official messages for you would be held tomorrow, but you’ll have to get up early.” Cloud smiled at Daniel when he made his offer.
“Then I’d best get to sleep now, so I won’t have a problem waking up early enough. Thanks.” He deliberately finished undressing in front of them; Sephiroth had gotten him past his earlier embarrassment about his appearance, after all if the General liked how he looked his body couldn’t be as bad as he’d thought it was.
xoXox
Sephiroth looked through the lists he compiled of people who might be able to tell him something useful, he hadn’t quite realised how many people Gregori had affected before this, and he really should have. He had four filters; the cadets he’d trained - ignoring those who dropped out for now - divided into the ones who’d applied again after failing the first time, the ones who hadn’t and the ones who passed at their first attempt and the applicants he’d failed on interview. He’d added the last filter just today, since he’d been entirely focused on the cadets Gregori had been in charge of training until last night when Cloud had contacted him with the information that one of his room mates, both of whom had been trained under Angeal, had experienced the same sort of interview that Cloud had. Later Sephiroth might add the applicants Gregori had passed in the interview, but only if he needed to, if it would add to the case against him or something similar.
“Sephiroth?” Zack sounded unhappy about something, probably the timing of his request to come to his office. “You do realise it’s lunch time, right?” Did he think Sephiroth was disobeying Cloud’s orders and starting to neglect his health again?
“Yes, but I wanted to ask you to do something for me, and I’d rather no one saw me give you the lists.”
“Lists?”
“Of people who might have evidence against Gregori. A month ago I learned that he doesn’t complete the interviews properly if he disapproves of an applicant, and that he doesn’t let all the cadets trained under him know that they have three chances at the SOLDIER Entrance Exams. I’ve been collecting the names of people to question about this, and I intend to do some analysis of how well they’ve done since they had to contend with him, compared to how he rated them. But I can’t actually ask them the questions I need answers to without drawing too much attention to my actions, besides which I doubt they would be comfortable answering the questions for me.”
“You are a bit intimidating. What do you want me to ask them?” Zack sounded more relaxed now as Sephiroth stood up from his computer, picking up the lists he’d selected as the first priority from his printer.
“You need to ask the people on this list if they were ever told that they could retake the SOLDIER Entrance Exams; Cloud wasn’t.”
“What? That bastard didn’t even bother to let Cloud know he could try again?” Sephiroth shared Zack’s outrage, but he’d had time to convince himself not to go and beat Gregori up for what he’d done.
“Worse. I got the impression that Cloud was led to believe he only had one chance to be accepted into SOLDIER. Please, don’t do anything that can be traced back to you.” There was no point in asking him not to do anything rash. “This list are people who Gregori failed at the interview, you need to ask them about the sort of questions he asked; he dismissed Cloud when he learned that he admired me, and did the same with one of Cloud’s room mates. And you need to ask both questions of the people on this list.” He’d ask Angeal to question the cadets trained by Gregori who applied for the SOLDIER Entrance Exams more than once; his teacher was a bit less approachable than Zack was and he half felt the cadets who’d kept the knowledge that they could apply more than once a secret were almost as guilty as Gregori was.
“I’ll do that for you. And I swear I’ll keep records of it all.” Since Zack’s paperwork tended to be abysmal.
“Thank you, and ask everyone if they’re willing to testify about how he treated them if they need to.”
“Sure.” Zack made an obvious, conscious effort to change the subject. “Do you want to come and have lunch with me now? And you could tell me what went on last night.”
“Of course I’ll eat with you.” If nothing else it would be a good cover for him giving the lists to Zack. “Will Angeal be there as well?” His two lovers tended to gang up on him when they thought he needed to take care of himself better, and if Zack ‘dragged’ him to meet with Angeal for lunch everyone would just assume he’d fallen back into his old habits of overworking and neglecting his body’s needs. It had caused more gossip when he started taking care of himself than seeing that probably would; Zack had said the rumour was that the week he’d spent in Hojo’s care had been some sort of motivation to avoid working himself to exhaustion the way he had before.
“Yeah, we were going to meet for lunch five minutes ago, he’ll be glad to see you.”
“I haven’t been neglecting you two over the past three weeks, and I doubt Cloud would make me neglect you.” He admired Zack at least too much for that.
“Yeah, but we were a bit worried about what might have happened last night.” Sephiroth smiled at Zack in appreciation as he locked the office behind him; it was comforting to know that Zack and Angeal were concerned about him, even if they wouldn’t have the ability to stop Cloud if he chose to abuse him.
“Then I’ll be happy to talk to you both about last night if it will make you feel better.”
xoXox
Final Fantasy VII fic, pre-game AU.
CloudxSephiroth - and yes that does mean Cloud is topping.
Rating R.
Sephiroth wondered absently if Cloud had been given a keycard for his quarters as he nibbled on a carrot stick. His keeper had agreed to eat with him tonight, around six, so he’d ordered a buffet style meal for two set up here at quarter to, because he didn’t think it would be a good idea for the servants to see them eating together. He was pretty sure Cloud would prefer to be discreet about their connection, and keep people from thinking his advancement was due to the fact that he was sleeping with Sephiroth. He didn’t like it that they’d probably be limited to spending time as a couple only in his quarters, and any time they spent together outside his quarters would almost certainly have to be with Zack there as well, but he’d accept it; his relationship with Zack and Angeal had similar limitations so he was used to it. But Cloud wasn’t, and he didn’t have a bedroom to himself so they couldn’t go there the way he could with Zack and Angeal.
From the knock on the door he suspected Cloud hadn’t been given a keycard, but in case it wasn’t him Sephiroth grabbed Masamune, fastening the sheath in position before he opened the door.
“Hello Sephiroth. I’m not late am I?” Cloud glanced at Sephiroth’s sword meaningfully, and he dropped his eyes in submission, hoping that his automatic hand on the hilt wouldn’t be seen as a threat.
“No, I just wasn’t sure if it was you at the door. Please, come in.” Sephiroth stepped back in unspoken invitation, wondering absently if his hunger for Cloud’s touch was natural or something that had been built into him, and whether Cloud felt the same hunger for him. Cloud ran a casually possessive hand through his hair as he stepped passed Sephiroth, and then he froze. At least Sephiroth knew that Cloud did want to touch him as much as he wanted to be touched, even if it looked as if he was angry or disgusted by what he’d just done, and he shut the door quickly.
“Shiva’s Tits! I thought I had better self-control than that, touching you so openly while the door was open isn’t exactly discreet is it?” If Cloud was angry he was angry at himself, and Sephiroth wasn’t going to give him any reason to transfer that anger to him, not considering the way he’d been conditioned not to even defend himself from Cloud, even if the blond wanted to kill him.
“So, then we know that I shouldn’t meet you at the door if we haven’t seen each other for more than...say a week?” Hopefully a practical suggestion would calm Cloud down a little, and redirect his attention to ways to avoid indiscretions caused by their bond.
“If we haven’t seen each other privately for a week I’d say. Except I don’t have a keycard for your quarters and people would wonder if you started to leave your door open. Did you see anyone in the hall when you opened the door? I don’t think there was anyone to see us, but...”
“Neither do I.” It was something he’d wanted to say when Cloud had blamed himself for being indiscreet, but he hadn’t been sure how to put it, and now that Cloud didn’t seem to be angry he felt he could talk about that. “And I arranged a keycard to my quarters for you, in case Hojo hadn’t done so already. Here it is.” He’d left the keycard on the table with the meal and he smiled as he handed it to Cloud, enjoying the way Cloud’s hand lingered on his own.
“Thanks. I...didn’t expect...”
“It isn’t as if I have anything to hide from you even if I could.” Sephiroth wasn’t sure why Cloud hadn’t really used their link yet, but he knew exactly how limited his own control of it was, and he had the feeling that Cloud would be able to use it for some of the things he’d thought of but been unable to do. He placed Masamune back on its stand and pulled his coat off, watching Cloud as he sat down on the couch, then sat beside him and wrapped an arm around him. “You don’t mind if I touch you while we’re eating?”
“I missed touching you too.” Cloud stroked his arm gently before deciding to leave one hand resting on Sephiroth’s wrist and he resisted the temptation to purr in pleasure at that action and knowledge. “But...we can’t just base our relationship on sex, there has to be something more.”
“I know Cloud, but...until you my life was made up of; duty, training and maintaining my body to perform that duty, playing lab rat for Hojo,” Sephiroth couldn’t help shivering at that particular item, and Cloud reached up to stroke his hair soothingly, “and basically doing whatever Zack and Angeal wanted when they dragged me away from that.” He’d sometimes missed sleep to make them happy, and they’d learned when the best times to try and grab him for some fun were, but things had changed since he’d been given to Cloud, and they seemed to approve. “I don’t really have the outside interests you must have, or the sort of interests Zack and Angeal showed.”
“You should try and find something you like doing then, something totally unrelated to work.” Cloud popped a small sausage roll into Sephiroth’s mouth as he opened it to speak and Sephiroth couldn’t hide his pleased response to that. “It would be suspicious if we sparred together, I’m not good enough to be a match for you, I know, and people would wonder why you were bothering with me.”
“What sort of thing would you suggest then?” He wanted to please Cloud, and if Cloud suggested things he could do in his off-duty hours it was more likely to become something they’d have in common.
“Sephiroth...”
“Please. I don’t know what a normal thing to do would be, and I am yours, my interests should be based on what you want in a partner.” He hesitated before continuing to speak. “And...we need to talk about our link, and if you want me to start taking action against Gregori. I’ve done some research and background work, but...I can’t really talk to the people he’s driven out of the SOLDIER program, they won’t be willing to talk to me. And I can’t ask Zack to talk to them without your approval.” He’d tried, but he just couldn’t get the words out, he thought it was because he’d talked about finding a way to deal with Gregori before Cloud had completed their link, and Cloud had been very keen on the idea, at least once he’d talked him into it. Cloud sighed, sounding resigned when he did speak.
“I like doing those word and number puzzles you find in newspapers, I’ve usually got a book of them with me, like this.” Cloud showed him a small book and Sephiroth looked through it quickly. “There’s also other sorts of puzzles, or you could try card games, or jigsaws, or something similar. Or you could try reading for pleasure. And yes, if you want to ask Zack to help with sorting Gregori out then go ahead.”
“Thank you. Cloud...I don’t have any control over our link, I can’t keep you from sensing what I think or feel, and I can’t use it to contact you. Will you try to use it please?” Cloud frowned, and Sephiroth could see the concentration on his face.
‘Like this you mean?’ Sephiroth could feel Cloud’s desire for him, as well as hear his words through their link, and it was accompanied by a hint of self-doubt that paralleled his own doubts, the doubts that Cloud seemed to sense and soothed with his hunger and desire for him.
‘Yes. I think that if you use this, at night perhaps, it will give us more time between meetings if we need it, say if one of us is assigned away from Midgar.’
‘We’ll see.’ But there was a hint of approval in Cloud’s emotions. ‘Eat for now. By the way, Zack suggested I watch him and Angeal do a scene with you to learn about aftercare.’
‘If that is what you wish.’ He knew that Cloud could feel his mingled shame and arousal at the prospect, and Cloud responded with reassuring emotions, desire and a love he felt unworthy of.
‘It does sound interesting, and it will help me learn how to take care of you.’ So the matter was settled and Cloud didn’t seem to see the need to use their link any further as they ate.
Cloud had known they were going to end up in bed tonight, but he’d wanted more control than he’d had last time. So he forced himself to pull back from kissing Sephiroth so urgently, and waited for both of them to get their breathing under control.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth sounded uncertain, and Cloud could feel his self-doubts through their link, doubts he almost instinctively soothed by sort of ‘wrapping’ Sephiroth’s mind in his desire and affection for him.
“I want to take this slow, and I want control. So, why don’t you get undressed for me now?”
“Yes Cloud.” Sephiroth glanced over at a door; the door to his bedroom, even if Cloud didn’t understand how he knew that; but stood and began stripping slowly, sensually, and Cloud opened his pants to accommodate his growing arousal. Sephiroth ended up on his knees in front of Cloud once he was naked, and that gave Cloud an idea. He leaned forward and grabbed hold of Sephiroth’s hair pulling his head forward and down until the other man took his cock into his mouth.
‘Don’t try to make me come, not yet. I want you to make this long, slow and teasing. And meanwhile, as a distraction for the two of us I want you to use this link to tell me all about your sexual preferences.’ It was something Cloud needed to know anyway, and then he could figure out what he was willing to give his lover.
‘Yes Cloud.’ Sephiroth made a happy sound around his cock as he responded, and Cloud let go of the hair he’d grabbed, stroking it instead. ‘Where should I start?’ Good question, if the information Cloud got wasn’t specific enough then he wouldn’t know how to deal with Sephiroth properly; he’d had the feeling once or twice that Sephiroth had been enjoying the fact that he was pleasing Cloud more than what Cloud was doing when they’d been together that first week.
‘For a start I think I’ll suggest some situations, and you can tell me how you’d feel about them.’ He might as well use their link, so that he could get used to it, and to keep from feeling self-conscious at being the only one talking aloud. ‘Let’s start with Zack and Angeal fucking you while I watch, what does that idea do to you?’ Since he’d more or less agreed to that already.
‘I...do you mean simple fucking, like with Angeal in my mouth and Zack in my ass or something like that, or one of the dominance games we play?’
‘Would it make a difference?’ Cloud wouldn’t have expected it to. ‘Tell me about both of them. The dominance games first.’ Since it would be the dominance games they’d need to demonstrate to teach Cloud about aftercare.
‘Ashamed, almost humiliated at first, that you’d be seeing me submit so readily to someone else, even at your command. But...I’d be excited by the humiliation too, and I’d probably lose myself in what we were doing faster than usual, and I’d stop registering things sooner. If it was just sex...I’d always be aware of your presence, it would help if you were enjoying watching me with Zack and Angeal, if you weren’t and I could tell then I don’t think I could handle it.’ Cloud was aware that Sephiroth was being almost painfully honest, and he appreciated it, even if he wasn’t going to actually say it, but he did send a sort of mental caress and feelings of approval through the link with his next scenario.
‘How about if I tied you up to fuck you?’ He didn’t need words to interpret the flood of arousal and pleasure that suggestion triggered, but he waited for them anyway.
‘I’d love that. If it was something I could break then it’s about your will over mine, the bonds just there to remind me not to move except as you allow it. And if they were something I couldn’t break...’ He trailed off momentarily conveying half-formed images instead of words. ‘I’d love the sense of being helpless with you, the idea that I couldn’t do anything to stop you if you did something I wasn’t happy with.’ But there was a hint of fear coming through Sephiroth’s arousal, a hint of fear that Cloud found himself homing in on and drawing to his lover’s attention in a wordless question. ‘The way I’m bound to you, I’d be helpless if you decided to hurt me even if I wasn’t restrained. I think I could spar with you if you wished it, but I certainly couldn’t fight you, even now.’ Cloud really didn’t like the sound of that, it made it all too clear how easy it would be for him to abuse Sephiroth, and he didn’t want to act that way, so he shifted to a slightly different scenario.
‘I know you like it when I bite you, as long as it isn’t anywhere too sensitive, but what about scratching you, or spanking you?’ He wasn’t sure where the idea of spanking Sephiroth came from...although Sephiroth’s heightened arousal gave him an idea.
‘Angeal and Zack won’t risk biting me, but I just wish I could get away with wearing whatever marks you wanted to give me all day; I’ll have to use Cure on them when they’re in places exposed by my uniform, even if I want people to see and know I belong to you. And if you wanted to spank me I think it sounds like fun.’ That wasn’t the word Cloud would have used, but if Sephiroth liked the idea it was something to bear in mind, and he obviously did from the renewed eagerness he was sucking Cloud with, and from the hand he’d slipped between his legs.
‘And marking you by coming in your face, or somewhere else?’
‘It’s something I like, a lot.’ And apparently something he did with Angeal and Zack from that simple answer.
‘How about blindfolds, earplugs and gags?’
‘I...yes, please. The thought of you controlling my senses, what I see and hear, and what I say...’ Sephiroth’s arousal at the idea told Cloud all he needed to know about his opinion of that suggestion, and he thought he’d found out enough to be making a start.
‘One last thing, then you can make me come, and come yourself as well.’ Cloud could sense a hint of shame and embarrassment, Sephiroth seemed to think he wasn’t supposed to be pleasuring himself as well. ‘Tell me one fantasy you have about the two of us.’
‘Rufus ShinRa demands a private meeting with the three of us, and he asks you to force me to have sex with him. You refuse, and to rub it in, you strip me and take me in front of him, showing him that I belong to you, and that he has no right to my body.’ Cloud was sure that there was more detail to that fantasy, but he didn’t ask, it told him that Sephiroth had a faintly exhibitionist streak, and he hadn’t thought to ask about anyone else watching Sephiroth with him. He could concentrate enough to think about it further, because Sephiroth swallowed around his dick, and Cloud could feel the head hit the back of Sephiroth’s throat just before he came.
Cloud let his hand fall from Sephiroth’s hair, freeing the other man to kneel back, showing the seed splattered at his groin, and stood himself, offering a hand to help Sephiroth up.
“Do you think we have time to continue this in your bedroom?”
“If you want to, yes.” Sephiroth was keeping his eyes cast down, but Cloud could hear his breath quicken, so he knew his lover wasn’t just being polite.
“Oh yes, I certainly want to.”
Sephiroth knew he had a stupid smile on his face as Cloud pulled him through to his bedroom, but he didn’t care. Cloud had asked about what sort of thing he liked in bed, he’d given Sephiroth permission to get Zack involved in their campaign against Gregori, and most importantly, when Sephiroth had told him a bit about how much power Cloud had over him Cloud had been uncomfortable with the idea. He hadn’t said anything when Sephiroth explained, but the fact that he’d changed the subject had been a big clue, and Sephiroth wasn’t entirely certain that Cloud hadn’t intended him to feel the discomfort that leaked through their link.
“Would you like to undress me?” The veiled order broke through his pleasant daze, reminding him of the equally pleasant reality.
“Please.” He knelt in front of Cloud, and waited for him to lift his foot, letting the image of what he expected fill his mind, hopefully telling him what to do without implying that he’d ordered his keeper. Once Cloud had braced himself with a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder he removed each of Cloud’s boots in turn, and the socks as well, before standing and pulling Cloud’s sweater over his head. That was the last thing he’d need his hands for, and he folded them behind his back in a reminder not to use them again.
Cloud laughed when he unfastened the top button of his shirt with his teeth, lifting his hands to rest them on the back of Sephiroth’s head, playing with his hair rather than trying to control his actions. At least, Cloud didn’t control Sephiroth’s actions until his shirt had fallen open far enough to expose his nipples, even letting Sephiroth kiss and lick the exposed skin instead of forcing him to continue with his task. But then he wrapped his hands in Sephiroth’s hair, guiding him to suck on Cloud’s right nipple, which he did until Cloud decided to move Sephiroth’s mouth to his left nipple, and he only continued on with his task of undressing Cloud when he seemed to tire of having Sephiroth’s mouth on his nipples.
When he’d finished unfastening the shirt Sephiroth nuzzled at Cloud’s groin, he’d put his cock back inside his boxers, but left his pants open, making this task a little bit easier for Sephiroth. Then he stood and took the edge of Cloud’s collar in his teeth, pulling it back to expose Cloud’s shoulder and repeating his action on the other side, Cloud looked a little surprised, but he dropped his arms to his sides so that once Sephiroth had got the shirt partway down his arms it fell under gravity. That let him get back to Cloud’s pants, and he nuzzled at Cloud’s groin again before beginning the painstaking work of pulling the pants down using only his teeth to grip the cloth.
“Enough.” There was laughter in Cloud’s voice as he pushed Sephiroth to sit back on his heels once he’d worked Cloud’s pants down to his knees, and the blond finished undressing himself. “Come and join me on the bed.” Cloud sat down on it and patted the bed beside him, and Sephiroth responded by crawling over to the bed before standing to sit beside him.
“What would you like now?” He only spoke when it was clear that Cloud wasn’t going to do or say anything himself, and his keeper laughed unexpectedly.
“Good. You’d never really been passive with me during that week, but I wanted to check.” Had he done something tonight to make Cloud worry about that? “No, but I wasn’t certain how much effect completing our link had on your behaviour, and I know you weren’t exactly passive the next morning, but...I was a wreck then, and it throws things off.”
“At least your experimental method doesn’t involve performing operations without anaesthetic.” Sephiroth spoke without thinking, he knew it bothered Angeal and Zack to hear about his time in Hojo’s lab, especially since he wasn’t bitter about it the way they expected him to be. Even so, he hadn’t expected the flare of incandescent fury burning across their link from Cloud, and he whimpered from the pain in his head as his keeper grabbed him by the arms.
“Who did that to you? Who abused you that way? Tell me so that I can kill the bastard!”
“You can’t Cloud. It was Hojo, and he’s too important to the company for them to let you kill him. And if you do you’ll never be as strong as he could make you.”
“Do you think I care? Keeping you safe comes first.”
“And you’ll be able to do that now, if you kill Hojo they’ll probably kill you. I couldn’t handle that.” Sephiroth knew that was the truth, and it had the benefit of calming Cloud down a little, as did his next words. “At least you can stop him doing anything like that again.” Hojo would probably know enough about the protectiveness he’d built into Cloud not to try, and for the most part he was past the point where Hojo wanted to experiment on him anyway.
“And I will, I promise.” Cloud released his grip on Sephiroth’s arms to wrap his own around him, kissing his forehead lightly. Sephiroth shut his eyes, relaxing in Cloud’s hold and waiting for him to decide what to do next, sliding his own arms around Cloud’s waist when he got the chance.
Cloud had a lot to think about as he returned to his room: the barren nature of Sephiroth’s life until now; the way he was paralysed when it came to implementing a plan they’d discussed together; the way Cloud had total control over their link; what he’d learned so far about Sephiroth’s sexual preferences; the fact that Hojo had abused him, and Sephiroth didn’t want Cloud to take vengeance on his behalf; and how very yielding Sephiroth had been when they made love. The issues could be grouped together into three pairs, and he decided to consider each pair in turn.
The simplest pair of issues was what he knew of his lover’s sexual preferences, and how yielding he was; he could handle what Sephiroth wanted, but he didn’t think his lover would be quite so yielding all the time and Cloud didn’t want him to be. If he did turn out to be so yielding all the time then Cloud would do what he could to make him a bit more aggressive in bed, but he had reason enough to believe he wouldn’t be.
Next was the apparent control Cloud had over Sephiroth and their link; it was worrying, but Cloud couldn’t think of a way to deal with it. He’d known that he had control over Sephiroth before of course, that was the point of their link, but he hadn’t expected the indirect aspects, he’d thought it would just be a matter of Sephiroth having to obey direct orders, not him requiring direct orders for some things. Something about the link also seemed to compel him to touch Sephiroth, and display his ‘ownership’ of the General, but he thought he could keep that under control if he saw him often enough in private, and especially if he could use his link to keep tabs on him.
Last and most worrying was the clear evidence that Sephiroth had been severely abused, and didn’t want Cloud to take vengeance on his tormentor for him. Having no life outside of his duties, and being subjected to what were obviously painful tests without anyone caring for his injuries were two obvious signs that he was so accustomed to abuse that he’d even been willing to hide it, because he’d learned that no one would help him, or because he was ashamed of being abused. Cloud wasn’t certain if Sephiroth had been so insistent that he shouldn’t kill Hojo from the purely practical reasons he’d explained earlier, or because he’d been trained not to even think of taking vengeance. Either way Cloud suspected it would be healthier for his lover if he could at least be there when Hojo was killed, and give his consent for that, or better, kill the bastard himself.
He’d think about that later; for now he needed to deal with his room mates, and to explain to them why he hadn’t been promoted to SOLDIER 3rd class and trained with all the others who’d taken the Exam with him. The cover story was pretty simple; Hojo had been very interested in the results he got back from the test he ran on Cloud, and he’d demanded that Cloud be made into a SOLDIER despite failing the interview so that he could play with him. It was even the truth in a way, and he could tell them about his interview with Gregori if he needed to.
He knocked at the door to give anyone inside some warning before he went in, stripping off his sweater as he did.
“Odin’s Eye! You’re just a kid!” Both of his room mates were ten years older than he was, at least, he didn’t recognise them from his Exam, or any he’d had the chance to see and something about them said they’d had their first Mako treatment a while back; they were probably content with their positions and resigned to not getting any further.
“I’m over the minimum age to join SOLDIER.” If only just, his fifteenth birthday had been just two days before the Exam started, or he’d have had to wait another six months; fourteen year old boys could start training to enter SOLDIER, but they couldn’t sit the exams, and twenty-five was the oldest you could be when you sat the Exams.
“Not by much I’ll bet. So what’s a young prodigy like you doing rooming with a pair of old plodders like us?” Cloud knew he had to be blushing at the way the older of the other SOLDIERs described him, but...
“They probably figured there wouldn’t be jealousy issues with you two.” He wasn’t going to say why people might be jealous of him, not unless he was asked; odds were they could come up with reasons themselves - Zack had been nearly sixteen when he qualified for SOLDIER, and until Cloud he’d been the youngest SOLDIER ever except for Sephiroth.
“You have problems with your last room mates then?” The younger SOLDIER sat up as he spoke, while the older one still lay back on his bed.
“I spent the last month in Hojo’s lab, getting my first set of enhancements because he wanted to run an experiment on me.”
“You mean you failed the Exam and were admitted to the SOLDIER program anyway?” The older SOLDIER sat up then, surprise in his voice and on his face.
“Yes, Professor Hojo insisted that I be used for this experiment even though SOLDIER 1st class Gregori felt my interview showed me to be unsuitable for SOLDIER.” He’d decided to defend himself from any veiled accusations with that simple implication that he hadn’t received a fair hearing...if the younger SOLDIER had ever dealt with Gregori it would probably work.
“Let me guess, he asked you two questions then dismissed you when he heard you admired the General?” The redhead was heavily muscled now, but his hair fell just past his shoulders and there was a delicacy to his bone structure that said he’d been ‘pretty’ before he was enhanced. “I’m Geran by the way, and this is Daniel. You didn’t give us your name either.”
“I’m Cloud, and you’re right, he dismissed me before asking all the questions he should have. Did he do the same to you?”
“Yes, but SOLDIER 1st class Angeal had made it clear to everyone that we were allowed three chances at the SOLDIER Entrance Exams, that the requirements to reach interview were greater each time, and that we’d be interviewed by a different SOLDIER 1st class every time we got to interview. SOLDIER 1st class Raven didn’t even ask me my opinion of the General. Good job too, because it hadn’t changed.”
“You need to talk to the General about that. Professor Hojo had him in for a few tests when he was working on me, and he mentioned that he was collecting things he could use against Gregori. He was very pleased to hear that I had a reason for complaint against him, more than one actually, because it gave him something new he could investigate.”
“I couldn’t talk to General Sephiroth.” Geran sounded horrified by the idea, not that Cloud entirely blamed him for that, but...
“What about SOLDIER 1st class Zack then? Could you talk to him, or to SOLDIER 1st class Angeal?”
“I...maybe. Do you know where you’re assigned yet?”
“No, for the moment I’m just training by myself, but...”
“I can show you where any official messages for you would be held tomorrow, but you’ll have to get up early.” Cloud smiled at Daniel when he made his offer.
“Then I’d best get to sleep now, so I won’t have a problem waking up early enough. Thanks.” He deliberately finished undressing in front of them; Sephiroth had gotten him past his earlier embarrassment about his appearance, after all if the General liked how he looked his body couldn’t be as bad as he’d thought it was.
Sephiroth looked through the lists he compiled of people who might be able to tell him something useful, he hadn’t quite realised how many people Gregori had affected before this, and he really should have. He had four filters; the cadets he’d trained - ignoring those who dropped out for now - divided into the ones who’d applied again after failing the first time, the ones who hadn’t and the ones who passed at their first attempt and the applicants he’d failed on interview. He’d added the last filter just today, since he’d been entirely focused on the cadets Gregori had been in charge of training until last night when Cloud had contacted him with the information that one of his room mates, both of whom had been trained under Angeal, had experienced the same sort of interview that Cloud had. Later Sephiroth might add the applicants Gregori had passed in the interview, but only if he needed to, if it would add to the case against him or something similar.
“Sephiroth?” Zack sounded unhappy about something, probably the timing of his request to come to his office. “You do realise it’s lunch time, right?” Did he think Sephiroth was disobeying Cloud’s orders and starting to neglect his health again?
“Yes, but I wanted to ask you to do something for me, and I’d rather no one saw me give you the lists.”
“Lists?”
“Of people who might have evidence against Gregori. A month ago I learned that he doesn’t complete the interviews properly if he disapproves of an applicant, and that he doesn’t let all the cadets trained under him know that they have three chances at the SOLDIER Entrance Exams. I’ve been collecting the names of people to question about this, and I intend to do some analysis of how well they’ve done since they had to contend with him, compared to how he rated them. But I can’t actually ask them the questions I need answers to without drawing too much attention to my actions, besides which I doubt they would be comfortable answering the questions for me.”
“You are a bit intimidating. What do you want me to ask them?” Zack sounded more relaxed now as Sephiroth stood up from his computer, picking up the lists he’d selected as the first priority from his printer.
“You need to ask the people on this list if they were ever told that they could retake the SOLDIER Entrance Exams; Cloud wasn’t.”
“What? That bastard didn’t even bother to let Cloud know he could try again?” Sephiroth shared Zack’s outrage, but he’d had time to convince himself not to go and beat Gregori up for what he’d done.
“Worse. I got the impression that Cloud was led to believe he only had one chance to be accepted into SOLDIER. Please, don’t do anything that can be traced back to you.” There was no point in asking him not to do anything rash. “This list are people who Gregori failed at the interview, you need to ask them about the sort of questions he asked; he dismissed Cloud when he learned that he admired me, and did the same with one of Cloud’s room mates. And you need to ask both questions of the people on this list.” He’d ask Angeal to question the cadets trained by Gregori who applied for the SOLDIER Entrance Exams more than once; his teacher was a bit less approachable than Zack was and he half felt the cadets who’d kept the knowledge that they could apply more than once a secret were almost as guilty as Gregori was.
“I’ll do that for you. And I swear I’ll keep records of it all.” Since Zack’s paperwork tended to be abysmal.
“Thank you, and ask everyone if they’re willing to testify about how he treated them if they need to.”
“Sure.” Zack made an obvious, conscious effort to change the subject. “Do you want to come and have lunch with me now? And you could tell me what went on last night.”
“Of course I’ll eat with you.” If nothing else it would be a good cover for him giving the lists to Zack. “Will Angeal be there as well?” His two lovers tended to gang up on him when they thought he needed to take care of himself better, and if Zack ‘dragged’ him to meet with Angeal for lunch everyone would just assume he’d fallen back into his old habits of overworking and neglecting his body’s needs. It had caused more gossip when he started taking care of himself than seeing that probably would; Zack had said the rumour was that the week he’d spent in Hojo’s care had been some sort of motivation to avoid working himself to exhaustion the way he had before.
“Yeah, we were going to meet for lunch five minutes ago, he’ll be glad to see you.”
“I haven’t been neglecting you two over the past three weeks, and I doubt Cloud would make me neglect you.” He admired Zack at least too much for that.
“Yeah, but we were a bit worried about what might have happened last night.” Sephiroth smiled at Zack in appreciation as he locked the office behind him; it was comforting to know that Zack and Angeal were concerned about him, even if they wouldn’t have the ability to stop Cloud if he chose to abuse him.
“Then I’ll be happy to talk to you both about last night if it will make you feel better.”