FIC Affection Part 5
Jan. 10th, 2007 09:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII AU Set between Concubine and Birthday Gift
Title: Affection chapter 5
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, slavery, submissive Sephiroth, implied poly, monologue/stream of consciousness
Tseng couldn’t figure out what it was about his current position that bothered him; just a year earlier he’d thought belonging to a Cetra who had next to no interest in him would be as perfect as his life could get. And Sephiroth was kind to him, in a distant manner, never indulging in the sort of petty abuses he’d suffered from previous consorts. Sephiroth had usually been the driving force behind the small kindnesses Cloud had given him; he’d been the one to choose where Tseng would live, and who made sure he wasn’t shamed by having to wear the collar and cuffs he’d worn in the slave market.
And that was the difference, wasn’t it? Sephiroth was one hell of a lot more secure about his place with Cloud than any of the previous consorts Tseng had encountered had been about their places with their lords. He could afford to suggest giving little kindnesses to his lord’s first concubine, because he had no reason to worry about losing Cloud’s attention or affection. Not to Tseng for certain, Cloud sometimes seemed barely aware that he existed at all, he was so distant with Tseng.
None of the other concubines he’d met had ever said anything about being lent to the consort first before their lord tried them out himself, and it was unusual enough that if it had happened someone would have had a story about it. And then, what Cloud had wanted...it was beyond Tseng’s understanding, especially since he’d displeased his lord in satisfying his desires. First he’d been reluctant to be as aggressive and rough as Cloud seemed to want, and then he’d left a mark on Cloud he didn’t want, even if it was a mark Tseng couldn’t really see from more than a foot away.
He’d expected Sephiroth to be angry about that as well, but he hadn’t been, and the next day Tseng had seen Cloud with a bite mark on his neck that had bled. Cetra weren’t meant to wear marks like that, warrior caste ones certainly weren’t, but he supposed it was a sign of how close Sephiroth was to their lord, that Cloud would want to be marked by him. A closeness Tseng was all too well aware that he didn’t share.
In a lot of ways he felt isolated; the work Sephiroth had assigned to him was all stuff that could easily be done without him ever seeing more than one other person, if that, and the guards tended to ignore him unless he was taking a lesson and Ronan asked one of them to help illustrate a point. And Cloud had done his best to act as if Tseng didn’t even exist until Sephiroth wanted him, and then he’d let his consort dictate the limitations of their contact. Then there were the servants; they all seemed to see his existence as an insult to Sephiroth and tended to give him the bare minimum of service, mostly what they could do without coming into contact with him.
He couldn’t quite believe he missed the petty abuses many consorts indulged in, or the vicious gossip of the over-indulged lapdogs he’d considered most of the other concubines he’d met to be. But at least that would be contact, and there’d been a closeness in the other harems he’d been kept in that he was denied here. Instead he found himself hopelessly longing for Sephiroth to give their lord permission to spend another night with him, or for Sephiroth to decide he wanted to use Tseng again, only this time permit him to sleep in their bed, rather than dismiss him and send him to sleep alone.
Tseng wished that he dared to try and get closer to Cloud or to Sephiroth, but they both scared him. Cloud because he was a warrior caste Cetra, no matter how much leeway he allowed his consort - and that illustrated the love he felt for Sephiroth, something Tseng could never hope for, and Sephiroth because he’d seen how capable a fighter he was, even if he played helpless so very well in public. Of course neither of them were likely to ever think much of him if he kept letting his fears rule his actions, and he hadn’t seen any evidence they were the type to take their anger out on people weaker than them.
He glanced out of the window; if he didn’t push Tseng was sure he’d find himself forever trapped in orbit around the two of them, never getting close enough to feel any warmth, but never permitted to search for the closeness they denied him elsewhere. If Cloud had even one other concubine, or shown any indication that he might acquire another then Tseng wouldn’t risk it, but he knew that Cloud saw him as a necessary evil more than anything else. And so Tseng could only take the risk that by pushing for a bit more involvement with Cloud and with Sephiroth he would anger his lord enough that he might be sold again. He refused to resign himself to endless loneliness, always wanting, but never allowed the contact he needed.
“Sir?” Rufus seemed too scared to say anything else until Tseng nodded at him in acknowledgement. “The lord sent me with a message for you.”
“Then give it to me please.” He knew he had to be gentle with Rufus, the slave was taken advantage of and abused by most of the other servants and slaves, and he had no way to defend himself. Tseng took the note Rufus handed to him and read it quickly. He’d have a chance to put his vow to push things with Cloud into action sooner than he’d expected; Cloud was warning him that he’d be visiting Tseng tonight.
“Thank you, you may leave.” Tseng remembered that Cloud had wanted him to be aggressive in bed, so that was what he’d give the Cetra, as much aggression and passion as he could muster without marking him in a forbidden way.
Title: Affection chapter 5
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, slavery, submissive Sephiroth, implied poly, monologue/stream of consciousness
Tseng couldn’t figure out what it was about his current position that bothered him; just a year earlier he’d thought belonging to a Cetra who had next to no interest in him would be as perfect as his life could get. And Sephiroth was kind to him, in a distant manner, never indulging in the sort of petty abuses he’d suffered from previous consorts. Sephiroth had usually been the driving force behind the small kindnesses Cloud had given him; he’d been the one to choose where Tseng would live, and who made sure he wasn’t shamed by having to wear the collar and cuffs he’d worn in the slave market.
And that was the difference, wasn’t it? Sephiroth was one hell of a lot more secure about his place with Cloud than any of the previous consorts Tseng had encountered had been about their places with their lords. He could afford to suggest giving little kindnesses to his lord’s first concubine, because he had no reason to worry about losing Cloud’s attention or affection. Not to Tseng for certain, Cloud sometimes seemed barely aware that he existed at all, he was so distant with Tseng.
None of the other concubines he’d met had ever said anything about being lent to the consort first before their lord tried them out himself, and it was unusual enough that if it had happened someone would have had a story about it. And then, what Cloud had wanted...it was beyond Tseng’s understanding, especially since he’d displeased his lord in satisfying his desires. First he’d been reluctant to be as aggressive and rough as Cloud seemed to want, and then he’d left a mark on Cloud he didn’t want, even if it was a mark Tseng couldn’t really see from more than a foot away.
He’d expected Sephiroth to be angry about that as well, but he hadn’t been, and the next day Tseng had seen Cloud with a bite mark on his neck that had bled. Cetra weren’t meant to wear marks like that, warrior caste ones certainly weren’t, but he supposed it was a sign of how close Sephiroth was to their lord, that Cloud would want to be marked by him. A closeness Tseng was all too well aware that he didn’t share.
In a lot of ways he felt isolated; the work Sephiroth had assigned to him was all stuff that could easily be done without him ever seeing more than one other person, if that, and the guards tended to ignore him unless he was taking a lesson and Ronan asked one of them to help illustrate a point. And Cloud had done his best to act as if Tseng didn’t even exist until Sephiroth wanted him, and then he’d let his consort dictate the limitations of their contact. Then there were the servants; they all seemed to see his existence as an insult to Sephiroth and tended to give him the bare minimum of service, mostly what they could do without coming into contact with him.
He couldn’t quite believe he missed the petty abuses many consorts indulged in, or the vicious gossip of the over-indulged lapdogs he’d considered most of the other concubines he’d met to be. But at least that would be contact, and there’d been a closeness in the other harems he’d been kept in that he was denied here. Instead he found himself hopelessly longing for Sephiroth to give their lord permission to spend another night with him, or for Sephiroth to decide he wanted to use Tseng again, only this time permit him to sleep in their bed, rather than dismiss him and send him to sleep alone.
Tseng wished that he dared to try and get closer to Cloud or to Sephiroth, but they both scared him. Cloud because he was a warrior caste Cetra, no matter how much leeway he allowed his consort - and that illustrated the love he felt for Sephiroth, something Tseng could never hope for, and Sephiroth because he’d seen how capable a fighter he was, even if he played helpless so very well in public. Of course neither of them were likely to ever think much of him if he kept letting his fears rule his actions, and he hadn’t seen any evidence they were the type to take their anger out on people weaker than them.
He glanced out of the window; if he didn’t push Tseng was sure he’d find himself forever trapped in orbit around the two of them, never getting close enough to feel any warmth, but never permitted to search for the closeness they denied him elsewhere. If Cloud had even one other concubine, or shown any indication that he might acquire another then Tseng wouldn’t risk it, but he knew that Cloud saw him as a necessary evil more than anything else. And so Tseng could only take the risk that by pushing for a bit more involvement with Cloud and with Sephiroth he would anger his lord enough that he might be sold again. He refused to resign himself to endless loneliness, always wanting, but never allowed the contact he needed.
“Sir?” Rufus seemed too scared to say anything else until Tseng nodded at him in acknowledgement. “The lord sent me with a message for you.”
“Then give it to me please.” He knew he had to be gentle with Rufus, the slave was taken advantage of and abused by most of the other servants and slaves, and he had no way to defend himself. Tseng took the note Rufus handed to him and read it quickly. He’d have a chance to put his vow to push things with Cloud into action sooner than he’d expected; Cloud was warning him that he’d be visiting Tseng tonight.
“Thank you, you may leave.” Tseng remembered that Cloud had wanted him to be aggressive in bed, so that was what he’d give the Cetra, as much aggression and passion as he could muster without marking him in a forbidden way.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-10 12:43 pm (UTC)I kinda feel sorry for Rufus - as far as I understand, Rufus is aproximately the same age as Cloud, so if he's such a low slave because he's a Shinra, then he's getting abused for things that really are his father's fault, considering the Cetra were woken when Cloud was still a kid.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-10 02:29 pm (UTC)Yes, I know. It really isn't entirely fair to him. On the other hand, when the Cetra council interviewed him after the Restoration he was very obviously scheming about how to get his family's power back, if he hadn't been they'd probably have sent him out to be fostered with a human peasant family or something like that.
I am thinking of writing another story where Rufus gets a protector, but I'm not sure who'd be the best option. I have about four options: 1) Reno becomes Aeris' replacement bodyguard, and he takes an interest in Rufus; 2) Elena becomes Aeris' replacement bodyguard, and he takes an interest in Rufus; 3) an OC becomes Aeris' replacement bodyguard, and he takes an interest in Rufus; or 4) an OC Cetra, Aeris' spouse takes Rufus as his lover, and gives him his protection, even though he isn't allowed to take a consort of his own.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-15 12:01 pm (UTC)annakas
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 02:09 pm (UTC)Did you ever plan to write a VincentXSephiroth story? It's an amazing pairing to me
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-15 12:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-15 12:12 pm (UTC)b) I was a bit worried that Reno would be too cliche, and that I was forcing associations from canon that have no real reason to exist in my AU.