FIC Responsive Part 24
Oct. 9th, 2007 09:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jessara40k_ljFinal Fantasy VII fic, pre-game, mostly, with a post-AC epilogue.
CloudxSephiroth - and yes that does mean Cloud is topping.
Rating R.
Sephiroth looked oddly young when he was asleep and Cloud brushed his hair away from his face before kissing his cheek in case that would wake him. It didn’t so Cloud left the bed reluctantly, collecting his new circuits from the draining board now that the ice had all melted and drained away and drying them off before putting them away. Then he came back to bed, sliding in and wrapping his arms around his lover, nuzzling against his neck for a moment. Sephiroth made a small sound at that and pressed a bit closer to Cloud, and he rested his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder, enjoying the contact.
“Mmmm...Cloud? You stayed with me?” Cloud really didn’t like the hint of surprise in Sephiroth’s voice, but he didn’t let his anger show.
“You asked me to stay with you when we did this. And I’m glad you did. You’re really sweet like this, and I don’t think I’ll see this under any other circumstances, will I?”
“Don’t think so. ’Cept sometimes after Hojo’s had me I’m just as tired.” Cloud didn’t like the sound of that, but he didn’t say anything, since he didn’t want to bring up bad memories for his lover.
“You won’t...have problems today then?” He reached up to brush aside Sephiroth’s hair, kissing his bared throat. He’d asked before in similar circumstances once he’d learned how long it took Sephiroth to fully ‘recharge’, or at least he thought he had, but Cloud hadn’t gotten a full enough answer for his tastes.
“No...think I’ll skip my training today, but...not really a problem. I told you, they shift the paperwork around for the Exams, and it’s more supervising than anything else.” Cloud had a feeling Sephiroth was understating the case, but he wasn’t going to press his lover on this, especially since it wasn’t anything he had a right to ask about. “I...can we make love before you go?”
“If you think we’ve got time.” Cloud ran his hand lightly down Sephiroth’s side, ending at his hip, and bit gently at his lover’s lower lip while he kissed him. Then he pulled back a bit, in case his lover felt at all pressured.
“That’s why I’m skipping my training, so that we will have time.” Sephiroth leaned up, kissing Cloud again and Cloud resisted the urge to laugh. “I just have to be in my office by half past eight.” And glancing at the clock Cloud could see that it was only half past six now.
“When you put it that way...” Cloud pushed Sephiroth down onto the bed and climbed on top of him, kissing his way down his chest to nuzzle briefly at his groin, just long enough to make sure Sephiroth was aroused. He might have preferred to actually taste his lover, if only the skin, but when Sephiroth made a small distressed sound he gave over his exploration, returning to lying on top of Sephiroth. But he didn’t want to take Sephiroth today, although he knew he should do most of the work considering how his lover was reacting, and one day it might be nice to see how differently Sephiroth responded when he was like this.
He kissed Sephiroth’s throat, gently, careful not to leave any marks, and reached down between their bodies to stroke Sephiroth to a slow climax before doing the same for himself. He hesitated, then brought his hand up to Sephiroth’s mouth, pressing it to his lips, and letting his lover lick their mingled seed from his hand. He knew that if he asked him to Sephiroth would do this until he’d licked up all their seed, but Cloud didn’t want that this time. Instead he pulled back a bit, and got out of bed, offering Sephiroth a hand to help him up as well. Sephiroth smiled and let Cloud lead him to the bathroom without any resistance, sitting down on the toilet seat to braid his hair as Cloud fiddled with the temperature.
“By the way, there’s three SOLDIER 2nds trying out for 1st class tomorrow, and five SOLDIER 3rds trying for 2nd class on Thursday, and you should be able to get a ticket to watch easily enough. Just ask your company quartermaster; there’s something like thirty tickets assigned to each filter unit, and this time most of the company are busy with the Exams.”
“Ah, thanks for the info. It should be interesting to see SOLDIERs spar against equal opponents, without holding back the way they do for me.” Cloud stretched up to kiss Sephiroth before he left, keeping it brief, almost platonic. “And I’ll do my best to find a sparring partner to practice that move you taught me today.”
“Good. Try and find a SOLDIER if you can, it would be better for you to have someone who knows how that move’s supposed to work, so they can correct you if it goes wrong.”
“Yes sir.” That advice was clearly from his sponsor, and Cloud nodded obediently before leaving. He decided to see the quartermaster first, and knocked on his door, waiting for an invitation to come in.
“What do you want Strife?”
“My sponsor told me that there’s SOLDIERs applying for entry to the higher classes this week, and that each filter company received thirty tickets to see the bouts. He suggested that it would be educational if I attended.”
“Yes, it would. And you’re the first person to request a ticket for this month.” That sounded odd, but Cloud didn’t have the right to question procedure. “Which set do you want to watch, the 2nd class tests or the 1st class tests?”
“Both if I can please.” But if he couldn’t Cloud thought the 1st class tests would be more educational.
“Here then.” The sergeant handed both tickets over to Cloud with a smile, but he could read the clear undertone of ‘now get out of my office so I can get some work done’ and left with a word of thanks and farewell.
He hadn’t gotten the chance to buy the contacts and hair dye he’d promised last Wednesday, so he spent the morning getting those, and picking up the armband Killian’s had just completed for him, leaving the slot with cut lunarium circuits there to be set into an armband with grey leather and steel metalwork. He’d be able to pick it up on Thursday and he fully intended to leave the first slot with moulded lunarium circuits there to replace it. There wasn’t anyone he knew to eat with when he got back, but that wasn’t a problem; Cloud was perfectly comfortable eating alone, in fact he was usually less comfortable eating in a group.
It probably wasn’t an entirely good idea to spar straight after lunch, but it would take him a while to find a suitable opponent, so Cloud started looking as soon as he finished eating. He managed to find one of the SOLDIER 3rds he usually sparred with apparently waiting for someone to finish sparring, and decided that would do.
“Excuse me, Lieutenant Ilden? Would you mind sparring with me for a bit?”
“I might as well I guess. It doesn’t look like Greg’s going to be finished anytime soon.” He led Cloud over to a free spot, drawing his sword as he spoke. “Anything special you want to do?”
“Well, there’s this attack my sponsor taught me, he sort of implied it’s something most SOLDIERs learn, but I’m not sure I’ve quite got it right, so if I screw any moves up could you call a time out and help me correct my mistakes?”
“Of course I can. Although if it’s something the General taught you it might not be an attack I know.”
“Because he tends to assume people are more capable than they are in reality, I know. I’ve run into that assumption myself, so I try not to disappoint him.” With those words Cloud attacked, focusing as fully as he could on his swordwork, always watching for a chance to use his new attack, and distantly aware that by asking Ilden to split his attention like that he’d given himself an advantage, and be describing the move Sephiroth had taught him as an attack he’d basically forced him to stick to the defensive, even when he could go on the attack.
Eventually he saw the opening he needed, and applied his new technique, to spectacular effect, actually scoring a hit on the SOLDIER and drawing blood.
“Fuck! Was that it?” Lieutenant Ilden sounded pissed, and Cloud swallowed uncomfortably as he nodded. “Good.” And with that the man stopped holding back, going on the offensive to disarm and defeat Cloud within a minute, leaving him on the floor of the gym.
“You did well, and that move really wasn’t anything I’d expected.” Cloud accepted the hand Lieutenant Ilden was offering to help him up with a muttered thanks and stood, waiting for any other comments on his performance, but looking for another opponent when none was forthcoming. This time he picked out a normal soldier, but one who’d just won his last spar, and managed to pull off the attack Sephiroth had taught him twice during this spar before saluting his opponent and leaving.
He glanced at the clock and decided that he had enough time to do some practice with his Lightning materia if he could find a free target range...although the range his squad usually used should be empty now. It was, and Cloud decided to use the trick Sephiroth had taught him on Saturday, concentrating a Bolt into a pinpoint attack, using markers to draw aiming points on his chosen target, and managing to get within a finger’s width of the aiming point by the end of his practice. After eating he went back to do some extra work with his sword, and when he got back to the barracks he found the rest of the squad there already, talking about how they thought they’d done on the physical.
o0()0o
Cloud got up at his usual time on Tuesday, making sure he had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast, and still arriving among the first twenty or so spectators for the 1st class tests. That got him a place towards the front, and a chance to watch the referee pacing and marking out the sparring area. Cloud must have looked confused at the sight, because the man standing beside him nudged him in the ribs to get his attention.
“First time seeing one of these kid?”
“I...yes.” He wasn’t an officer, or at least he didn’t look like any sort of soldier, more like some sort of office worker. “Are they held often?” He’d assumed that SOLDIER promotions ran on a six month schedule, but there weren’t really enough SOLDIERs testing for that, or at least he didn’t think there were enough SOLDIERs testing.
“Usually about once a month, whenever there’s enough SOLDIERs who’ve been recommended to go up to 1st class. I come to as many as I can, and I settle for the 2nd class tests if I can’t get time off for the 1st class tests. So, feel free to ask me any questions, as long as you don’t interrupt the fights.”
“Thanks. Can you tell me why he’s marking off the sparring area then?”
“It’s an automatic loss if a fighter goes outside the area; meant to keep casualties down among the spectators. There’s a story about how Brigadier Knight won his second spar when he made 1st class in five minutes, by taunting his opponent until he was so angry he attacked blindly, and letting his opponent throw himself out of the sparring area.” Cloud had to laugh at that, but...
“And do you know who his opponent was, or isn’t that part of the story?”
“Not part of the story I’m afraid, and I hadn’t started watching these things, I’ve only rated a chance at a ticket in the last two years. How’d you get your hands on one though?”
“I’m in one of the filter companies, and my sponsor told me we get thirty tickets assigned to us for these tests. Since I’ve got all week off while most of the company’s trying out for SOLDIER I asked for tickets.”
“I see.” The man patted Cloud’s shoulder in what was probably supposed to be a friendly manner. “Well, stick with me and I’ll answer all your questions.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t think he’d have any more questions, but it was nice to have someone willing to explain things to him if he needed it; and Cloud fully intended to use the ammunition he’d just got on Zack sometime fairly soon. He was half expecting the man to keep on talking, but an influx of spectators silenced him, and Cloud was pleased to spot Marius and Alex over at the other side of the room. He’d do his best to talk to them later about whether they were expecting a hunt tomorrow.
Two SOLDIER 2nds arrived then, and the referee called for silence, explaining the rules once he’d got it, then they began to fight. It was breathtaking, the skill, strength and speed they displayed, and Cloud could tell that they were both fighting at their full capacity, or nearly so anyway. The darker SOLDIER was clearly outclassed though, and the spar didn’t last that long, as he yielded after just under a quarter of an hour.
“That’s one applicant through to the next stage of testing then?” Cloud made it a question because the referee hadn’t been quite clear enough on which SOLDIER was applying for promotion to 1st class for him to understand.
“Oh, yes. Did you see the green ribbon the winner had tied around his right arm? That’s how you can tell who’s trying to go up a class, and who’s been assigned to test the applicants.” And the man beside him seemed all too pleased to show off his knowledge and experience of these tests.
“I saw it, but I didn’t realise the significance. Is it the same with the 2nd class tests?” Since he wasn’t likely to get such an informative neighbour at those.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” Cloud was spared the need to answer by the next pair arriving. The fight lasted longer this time, just over half an hour, as the SOLDIERs were more equally matched - and Cloud realised that the winner of the first match had been dragging it out, showing off. Thinking back on it there’d been half a dozen openings he could have taken that would have let him win earlier, but Cloud might not have realised if it wasn’t for the contrast of this match, where both fighters were working for every touch and using every single opening they could find. Eventually the applicant won, but just barely and on a technicality, because his opponent misjudged their distance from the edge of the sparring area behind him and stepped back just past the marked line.
“I was expecting a draw there.”
“I figured that this would be one of those fights that goes on for hours, SOLDIER stamina you know, because they were so equally matched.”
“Oh no. That wouldn’t happen. If a fight lasts for an hour in the 1st class tests it’s always considered a draw.” Did a fight have to last longer to be considered a draw in the 2nd class tests, or did it take the referee less time to declare a draw then? Cloud would probably see for himself on Thursday.
“I see. Still, he isn’t going to manage a draw in his next match.”
“No, I doubt that he could pull that off.” The only way Cloud could see this applicant making it through to 1st class was if he managed to win on a technicality like he had this time. The next pair weren’t as evenly matched, but it did last a bit longer, with the applicant almost constantly on the defensive, and losing decisively something like forty minutes into the match. The referee announced a break for refreshments then, and Cloud let his neighbour lead him over to the adjoining room where snacks had been laid out, before excusing himself to speak to Marius and Alex.
They arranged a time and place to meet the next day and when they went back in to watch the last two matches Cloud went with them instead of finding the man he’d been standing with before. The first match was the applicant who’d been showing off, and it was the longest so far, with the applicant making an early attack, then being forced on the defensive for the rest of the match. It looked as if he was going to manage a draw, until about fifty-five minutes into the fight, when he clearly made a mistake from fatigue, and was disarmed as he attempted an attack.
“I suppose he’ll know better than to waste his energy showing off in his first match next time, if he’s ever put forward for SOLDIER 1st again.”
“Showing off?” Cloud had thought his comment had been unremarkable, but Alex sounded puzzled, and a quick glance at Marius told Cloud he was equally puzzled by it.
“He really outclassed his opponent in his first match, and he could have finished it in five minutes, ten at the outside, except he decided to show off.”
“He wanted to make his opponent yield, instead of just disarming him, or knocking him out you mean. And that cost him. But he wasn’t going to win this match anyway, so what difference does it make?” Zack hadn’t explained how this worked to them then.
“If he’d lasted a full hour then it would have been a draw, and that would be enough to get him promoted.” They didn’t have a chance to say anything else, since the next match started then, and after the applicant lost (in half an hour, the SOLDIER 1st going slightly easy on him to spare his pride) Alex and Marius agreed to spar with Cloud two against one for a bit.
Cloud reached Sephiroth’s quarters before he did, and pulled out their current jigsaw hopefully before working a bit more on the other slot he had completed. Sephiroth looked a little tired when he arrived and Cloud immediately stood to greet him with a kiss.
“I don’t quite feel like having sex today. Will you mind too much if we do other things instead?”
“Do you have a plan for tonight then?” Sephiroth didn’t sound disappointed, if anything he sounded just a little bit pleased, probably that Cloud wasn’t just interested in fucking him.
“I was thinking we could shower together, I could wash your hair and you could return the favour, then we could work on that together, and afterwards sleep together, just sleeping.”
“I just washed my hair yesterday, so we don’t need to do that just yet, and I’d like to give you a massage as well. Did you enjoy watching the 1st class tests?”
“They were really educational. I take it they’re really just to make sure a SOLDIER 2nd can fight well enough to be promoted; the people putting them forward for promotion are supposed to decide if they have the other qualities needed?” Cloud began drawing Sephiroth towards the bathroom as he spoke, pausing before adding what was almost an afterthought. “Oh, and since you don’t think we need to bother we’ll both skip washing our hair, and yes, you can give me a massage if that’s what you want. Will just before we go to bed work for you?”
“Yes, that would be good. And it is assumed that a SOLDIER put forward for promotion has all of the skills required, except possibly fighting skill.” Sephiroth wound his hair up into a sort of bun as he moved and let Cloud wash him without any complaints, or more than one attempt to return the favour. From that one thing Cloud knew that his lover was stressed and probably exhausted as well, and he wondered just what Zack had done with him last night. But he shouldn’t ask about that, he refused to interfere in Sephiroth’s friendship with Zack, even if he did feel that his lover gave in to Zack too often. Instead he talked about how the applicants had done in the tests he’d watched, and Sephiroth commented on that while they worked on the jigsaw together, and Cloud suggested they go to bed perhaps a bit earlier than usual.
o0()0o
Cloud woke up to Sephiroth’s mouth around his cock, and he reached down to stroke his lover’s head, sure that the man would allow him to return the pleasure afterwards. But it was a pleasant way to wake up, and even more so when Sephiroth didn’t contest the way Cloud drew him up afterwards, although he did seem a little uncomfortable about lying on top of Cloud. He didn’t think they’d ever been in this position before, but Cloud liked it, liked the feel of Sephiroth’s weight pressing him down into the mattress, at least for a while. He kissed Sephiroth to distract him, and reached between their bodies to stroke him gently to completion before letting Sephiroth roll off him.
“I...Cloud, why did you do that?”
“I wanted to feel you on top of me. And it isn’t as if you’d take advantage when I make myself vulnerable, is it?”
“No, never.”
“Well then.” Cloud didn’t have to say anything more, and they washed and dressed together. Before he left Sephiroth insisted on filling Cloud’s power reserve to its maximum capacity, and Cloud waited a few minutes before he followed and went to meet Alex and Marius for breakfast.
“Where are we going this time Cloud?” Alex managed somehow to sound respectful as well as eager, and Cloud had to wonder if Zack had spoken to his friends about assuming Cloud would arrange a hunt for them.
“The sector six slums, but not the sewers.” The hunt was almost routine now, even though Cloud did his best to vary the areas they hunted in he wasn’t willing to take them out of Midgar and that limited their options a bit. Still, it was profitable, and added to their experience and after eating with his friends Cloud didn’t have any real trouble finding a sparring partner. As it happened Lieutenant Huff offered to teach Cloud a few new techniques once he’d lost the first spar, and made a point of giving him a chance to use them in the next spar.
“Thank you sir. I appreciate the lesson, and the chance to put it to use.”
“You’re welcome. It’s good to see someone so eager to learn, and so dedicated.”
“Well sir, the General’s my sponsor, and I don’t want to embarrass him in any way.”
“Good for you. Come on, I’ll talk to you about where you’ve been making mistakes over dinner.” Cloud did manage to ask relevant questions during the critique before Lieutenant Huff had to leave for a late appointment.
Cloud decided that he could get an extra half hour of training in before he needed to go to Sephiroth’s quarters, but he didn’t want to risk getting caught up in a spar. So, materia it was, and he spent perhaps twenty minutes using his Lightning materia before he ran out of energy - he just used it in a standard slot, rather than waste the energy on using it unslotted - and then he made his way to Sephiroth’s quarters.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth had been waiting for him, and there was a hint of insecurity in his eyes as he came to greet him with a kiss. Cloud returned the kiss, gently, but with as much passion as he could, hands wandering over Sephiroth’s bare upper body, as he did. “I...expected you to be here before me.”
“Because I usually am, you mean? I didn’t think of that...I just figured I had time to do some training with materia while you were busy.” It was a bit of a hint and a peace offering, if Sephiroth noticed, and he did.
“Then I can give you some of my energy now, to replace it?”
“I’d appreciate it; I all but drained my reserves dry without really thinking about it.” Cloud shrugged, slightly embarrassed about that; he knew that he could go from a quarter of his energy reserves to full faster than he could go from drained reserves to just a quarter full. But for him a night’s sleep was enough to fully replenish his reserves, so letting Sephiroth feed his own energy into Cloud’s power core was more to please his lover than to help with his own recovery.
“That’s enough Sephiroth.” By now he could tell when he had to stop Sephiroth without having to wait for it to hurt. Still, there was a hint of hurt when Sephiroth pulled back, and considering what Cloud had sort of noticed when he hadn’t went out and used up the energy his lover gave him, he could easily enough make Sephiroth feel a bit better. “If you want to you can give me some more energy before we go to bed. I should have ‘lost’ enough of the excess by then for it to be safe.”
“I’d like that. I...could I wear my collar and leash tonight? And will you tie it off to the bed frame overnight? Please?”
“Yeah. I can do that for you. Why don’t you go any get your collar and leash now then?” A thought occurred to Cloud, or rather a couple of thoughts. “And a gag, that little bell we used for signalling, and some scarves.”
“Yes Cloud.” Sephiroth sounded positively eager, and Cloud repressed a pang of guilt at his own reluctance to play the games that his lover seemed almost to need. He went through to the kitchen, looking for ice cubes, but when he saw a bottle of cider he changed his mind, glancing over at the spice rack and in the cupboard to see if Sephiroth had what he wanted. He did, and Cloud returned to the main room at the same time as Sephiroth did, taking the collar from him first.
“I’ve changed my mind a bit. I saw that you’ve got cider, and I wondered how you’d feel about mulling it, then just sitting and talking instead of playing games?”
“It’s left over from the drinks Zack brought with him on Monday, and yes, it would be nice to talk to you. I like hearing what life’s like for normal people.” Sephiroth hesitated, eyes going to the collar and leash in Cloud’s hand. “But...will you still collar me?”
“Yes. But you can go put the rest of that back, then get undressed and join me in the kitchen.”
“As you wish Cloud.” Sephiroth seemed content, and Cloud decided that they might as well drink the rest of the two litre bottle of cider between them, so he poured it all into the largest pan he could find, adding a couple of broken cinnamon sticks and a handful of cloves before starting to heat it on low power. He couldn’t remember what other spices his mother had used for the batch of mulled cider she’d made just once a year, at Winter Solstice, but those two were the most important. He glanced around at a sound that seemed...out of place, and saw Sephiroth leaning against the counter, naked, as Cloud had requested. So he walked over and kissed him, fastening the collar around his neck as he did, and clipping the leash to it without saying anything, just pulling Sephiroth back over to the oven with him.
“Should I ask where you learned to do this?”
“I didn’t, not really, but for as long as I remember my mother would do a batch of mulled cider every year at Winter Solstice. This is a couple of days late, but I’m using the spices I remember and recognise. I’ll sweeten it with some honey too, but I’ll do that to your tastes; I can always add more honey to my glasses.”
“Ah, thank you. Is...there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, you can stir this while I get the honey, and taste it once I’ve put some honey in.” He gave Sephiroth a small ladle and went for the honey, then once the cider was hot enough and sweet enough he told Sephiroth to take the honey, a plate and two glasses through to the main room. He put the lid on top of the pan, leaving a gap at the side for the handle of the ladle, and carried it through carefully, putting the pan down on top of the plate Sephiroth had carried through. Then he served them each a glass of mulled cider and added enough honey to his glass to make it sweet enough for his tastes before sitting down next to Sephiroth. Sephiroth leaned against him just a little, a smile on his lips as he drank a mouthful of the mulled cider.
“This is delicious. I think Zack would appreciate it as well, but...”
“He isn’t here, and we’ve managed to boil off quite a bit of the alcohol in the cider anyway.” Cloud couldn’t think why else his mother would have let him have some even when he was just a toddler. “Maybe next Winter Solstice, if we get the chance to meet up together I’ll do a batch to share with you and Zack.”
“Sounds good. But perhaps we should meet in Zack’s quarters for that?” That sounded as if Sephiroth was trying to say something else as well, a hidden meaning in his words, but Cloud couldn’t tell what it was, and decided it would be easier to agree.
“Yes. He’s probably got more cider, and I can write to my mother to ask her about what spices she uses in her mulled cider sometime during the year.”
“Should I ask about your day? Or...do you want to hear about mine?”
“If it’s anything you can tell me I’d appreciate hearing it.” Cloud took another drink of his cider, and Sephiroth did the same, draining his glass. “Here, I’ll get you another glass while you decide what you can tell me, if you can tell me anything.”
Cloud topped his own glass up while he was standing, and Sephiroth seemed to have decided what he could tell Cloud by the time he handed the glass over, because he started talking straight away, explaining how the psych tests weren’t really rigorous enough, how could they be? Cloud made understanding noises, and just let his lover vent about how unstable some of his new SOLDIERs tended to be, and how odd he found it that a single spar against him seemed to make them so much more reliable. Afterwards Cloud talked a bit about his own day, then led Sephiroth to bed, making love to him slowly, managing to bind Sephiroth’s hands to the framework of the bed, probably because he was just a little drunk.
o0()0o
When Cloud woke up the next day he was pleased to see that Sephiroth had removed his collar without waiting for Cloud to do it for him. He was less pleased to see his lover wearing his uniform, clearly ready to leave, but he couldn’t blame Sephiroth for letting him sleep in a bit.
“You’ve got just over an hour and a half to get to the 2nd class tests, if you managed to get a ticket to see them.”
“Right, thanks. I appreciate the wake-up call then. And I guess you’ve got to be going now?”
“Yes. I’ll see you again on Saturday though.” Sephiroth hesitated, then bent to give Cloud a quick kiss before he turned and left his quarters. Cloud got a move on himself, and he was relieved that the 2nd class tests weren’t quite as well attended as the 1st class tests, so his last minute arrival didn’t keep him from getting a good view. But the referee started the first fight just a few seconds after Cloud found his vantage point, and Cloud focused entirely on that.
The first three spars were clear victories, for the applicant, or for their opponent, and they were resolved in twenty minutes at the most, but the fourth spar was stopped after only half an hour and announced as a draw. Not good enough for the applicant to go on to his next opponent, but it answered the question Cloud hadn’t wanted to ask his neighbour about the difference between the 1st class tests and the 2nd class tests nicely.
In the end three out of the five applicants went on to spar against a SOLDIER 2nd class, but Cloud was disappointed to note that Alex and Marius had decided not to watch when he looked for them in the adjoining room with the refreshments. But he pushed that from his mind and returned to watch the second round of spars. One of the applicants actually won his spar, albeit on a technicality, and another held his opponent to a draw while the third lost, and afterward Cloud went to pick up the slot he’d left at Killian’s on Monday, ordering his other lunarium slot set into a blue armband with steel metalwork and agreeing to pick it up on Wednesday.
He did manage to get a bit of sparring in, and when he met up with Alex and Marius at dinner he agreed to go drinking with them. It turned out that they’d arranged to meet up with Kyu and Lavan before they went drinking, and it ended up as a proper pub crawl, visiting about eight or nine pubs before they called it a night. Cloud knew he was in for a hangover the next day when he couldn’t find the right bed in his barracks, but he didn’t care, he’d had fun and it had been good to hear Lavan talk about his sniper training and hear how Kyu was doing in flight school.
“Good job most of the squad’s bunking in a different barracks for the SOLDIER Entrance Exams.”
“Uh...wha?” Cloud’s head was pounding, and he was desperately thirsty too. Blinking he could see that he’d taken over Finn’s bed somehow, even though it wasn’t the closest to the door, and he climbed out of bed, still wearing the same things he’d had on last night, stinking of alcohol and vomit. He needed an Esuna before he could think straight, and he didn’t bother slotting the Heal before casting the spell he needed. “Shit, yeah. I was really drunk last night.”
“I can smell that. First time for it? You didn’t really get that drunk when you’ve been out drinking with the squad.”
“Yeah, first time. I didn’t throw up myself, but I think a couple of my friends got me when they threw up.” It certainly smelled like it, and Cloud ignored the amusement on Sergeant Redson’s face to head for the showers, drinking as much water as he could direct from the tap first.
When he got out of the shower he could smell how filthy his clothes from the previous night were, so he dropped them off at the laundry before breakfast then headed out for a short run. Well, he’d planned on a short run, but he ended up just getting back in time for lunch, and he ran into Zack on his way to find an opponent to spar with.
“Cloud, Seph’s got tomorrow afternoon off from about two, and so’ve I, so meet us at three and we’ll go out for dinner first.”
“To give us time you mean?” Cloud didn’t want to say what they needed time for, but he could see that Zack understood. “Yeah, I can do that. will you be able to book a restaurant in time though?”
“I’ve already done it. I found out about the time off on Monday and booked the restaurant the same day. Sephiroth agreed when I told him that I’d already made the arrangements. See you tomorrow then?”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.” Cloud had to laugh a bit as he separated from Zack, and he ran into one of the SOLDIER 3rds who’d been trying out yesterday, Lieutenant Roth, who agreed to spar against Cloud for some of the afternoon.
He actually managed to win his first spar, partly because the lieutenant didn’t know who Cloud was and had underestimated him, but after that he lost, three times in a row, and Lieutenant Roth finished the afternoon looking considerably more cheerful than he’d been when Cloud asked to spar with him. Cloud ate alone and quickly, getting to the armoury a bit earlier than he usually did, and finding that Colonel Grafton was busy finishing something off himself.
“Just go through and wait for me.”
“Yes sir.” Cloud was relieved to see that the mould for completing a single slot was out, as well as the moulds for the circuits he’d agreed to do today, and he decided to finish off the slot he intended to give Sephiroth while he was waiting for Colonel Grafton to have time for him. He was just ready to pour the molten alloy into the mould when Colonel Grafton came into the room, and he only hesitated for a moment before finishing what he’d started.
“I take it you’re expecting to try checking that out for yourself?”
“If it’s ready by the time you want to kick me out of here, yes. But...how much do I need to check? Is it just for the same things as the earlier stage?”
“That too, but the main test is a machine that quantifies how well your slot functions when a materia is equipped to it.”
“I see. Well...I’m happy to settle for a qualitative test, does it work or not, as long as there’s no problem with air bubbles. I want this one for something personal, so I’m not going to put it forward for assessment.” And he certainly wasn’t going to let anyone but Sephiroth and Zack see what he’d done with it.
“If that’s what you want.” He sounded dubious, and Cloud could hardly blame him for that. “I won’t use this slot to teach you how to assess a completed slot then. I can get some suitable examples from the armoury.”
“Thank you sir. So, what do you want me to start with?”
“Do you think you’re up to preparing the circuits for a linked pair of slots now?”
“Yes sir, but remember I haven’t had as much experience using materia in linked slots as in unlinked slots.”
“I understand, just try your best.”
“Yes sir.” And Cloud made a point of focusing fully on the effect each type of circuit was intended to have, as well as the overall purpose of a linked pair of slots while he poured each circuit. He was only using metarium, but he intended to perform the task to the best of his abilities. After that he moved on to learning precisely how the colonel had assessed his slots...and they talked about how he should decide which three of his slots were to be assessed for his ‘final exam’.
“Do you have an easy way to tell them apart now that you’re having your slots set into armbands?”
“Yes sir, that really won’t be a problem. I’m just having leather armbands with brass or steel metalwork made up, and I’m going to select a different combination of leather colour and metalwork for each slot. For instance my metarium slot’s in a brown leather armband with brass metalwork, all three lunarium slots will have steel metalwork, and I’ll probably pick two different colours to go with brass for the other two slots. Like I said, I’ve got something else planned for the slot I finished this week.”
“Hmmm. I can’t advise you about which three slots you should put forward, and I won’t be the one assessing them, but I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about just from what I’ve seen so far.”
“Thank you sir. Can I ask who is going to assess my work then? And how you’re going to keep him from knowing that the General’s also being assessed?”
“You can ask. But since I haven’t decided yet I can’t answer you. One of my senior men anyway. And I won’t be telling him who made each set of slots, just give them labels. That’s how we do it in the O-school training as well, and what we’ll be doing with the course we run for medics and SOLDIERs later.”
“Oh, I see. I should have thought of that myself sir.” Cloud felt a bit stupid, but Colonel Grafton just looked amused at his chagrin, clearly thinking it was only to be expected.
“You don’t have any reason to. You probably thought I’d be assessing your work and the General’s at the end of this course, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t actually think about it to be honest. There were other considerations for me, but I’d rather not talk about those, except that I thought learning how to make slots might make it a bit easier for me to use an unslotted materia.”
“And has it? I don’t know how to use a materia without slotting it, so I wouldn’t know.”
“A bit. When you use a materia without slotting it you’re effectively making yourself into the slot in part, so understanding how slots work makes it a bit easier to adapt to each new materia, instead of having to learn how to cast each spell separately.”
“Hmm. I see.” Cloud managed to check out and take his gift for Sephiroth away right at the end of the lesson, without the colonel trying to find out what was so odd about it.
o0()0o
CloudxSephiroth - and yes that does mean Cloud is topping.
Rating R.
Sephiroth looked oddly young when he was asleep and Cloud brushed his hair away from his face before kissing his cheek in case that would wake him. It didn’t so Cloud left the bed reluctantly, collecting his new circuits from the draining board now that the ice had all melted and drained away and drying them off before putting them away. Then he came back to bed, sliding in and wrapping his arms around his lover, nuzzling against his neck for a moment. Sephiroth made a small sound at that and pressed a bit closer to Cloud, and he rested his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder, enjoying the contact.
“Mmmm...Cloud? You stayed with me?” Cloud really didn’t like the hint of surprise in Sephiroth’s voice, but he didn’t let his anger show.
“You asked me to stay with you when we did this. And I’m glad you did. You’re really sweet like this, and I don’t think I’ll see this under any other circumstances, will I?”
“Don’t think so. ’Cept sometimes after Hojo’s had me I’m just as tired.” Cloud didn’t like the sound of that, but he didn’t say anything, since he didn’t want to bring up bad memories for his lover.
“You won’t...have problems today then?” He reached up to brush aside Sephiroth’s hair, kissing his bared throat. He’d asked before in similar circumstances once he’d learned how long it took Sephiroth to fully ‘recharge’, or at least he thought he had, but Cloud hadn’t gotten a full enough answer for his tastes.
“No...think I’ll skip my training today, but...not really a problem. I told you, they shift the paperwork around for the Exams, and it’s more supervising than anything else.” Cloud had a feeling Sephiroth was understating the case, but he wasn’t going to press his lover on this, especially since it wasn’t anything he had a right to ask about. “I...can we make love before you go?”
“If you think we’ve got time.” Cloud ran his hand lightly down Sephiroth’s side, ending at his hip, and bit gently at his lover’s lower lip while he kissed him. Then he pulled back a bit, in case his lover felt at all pressured.
“That’s why I’m skipping my training, so that we will have time.” Sephiroth leaned up, kissing Cloud again and Cloud resisted the urge to laugh. “I just have to be in my office by half past eight.” And glancing at the clock Cloud could see that it was only half past six now.
“When you put it that way...” Cloud pushed Sephiroth down onto the bed and climbed on top of him, kissing his way down his chest to nuzzle briefly at his groin, just long enough to make sure Sephiroth was aroused. He might have preferred to actually taste his lover, if only the skin, but when Sephiroth made a small distressed sound he gave over his exploration, returning to lying on top of Sephiroth. But he didn’t want to take Sephiroth today, although he knew he should do most of the work considering how his lover was reacting, and one day it might be nice to see how differently Sephiroth responded when he was like this.
He kissed Sephiroth’s throat, gently, careful not to leave any marks, and reached down between their bodies to stroke Sephiroth to a slow climax before doing the same for himself. He hesitated, then brought his hand up to Sephiroth’s mouth, pressing it to his lips, and letting his lover lick their mingled seed from his hand. He knew that if he asked him to Sephiroth would do this until he’d licked up all their seed, but Cloud didn’t want that this time. Instead he pulled back a bit, and got out of bed, offering Sephiroth a hand to help him up as well. Sephiroth smiled and let Cloud lead him to the bathroom without any resistance, sitting down on the toilet seat to braid his hair as Cloud fiddled with the temperature.
“By the way, there’s three SOLDIER 2nds trying out for 1st class tomorrow, and five SOLDIER 3rds trying for 2nd class on Thursday, and you should be able to get a ticket to watch easily enough. Just ask your company quartermaster; there’s something like thirty tickets assigned to each filter unit, and this time most of the company are busy with the Exams.”
“Ah, thanks for the info. It should be interesting to see SOLDIERs spar against equal opponents, without holding back the way they do for me.” Cloud stretched up to kiss Sephiroth before he left, keeping it brief, almost platonic. “And I’ll do my best to find a sparring partner to practice that move you taught me today.”
“Good. Try and find a SOLDIER if you can, it would be better for you to have someone who knows how that move’s supposed to work, so they can correct you if it goes wrong.”
“Yes sir.” That advice was clearly from his sponsor, and Cloud nodded obediently before leaving. He decided to see the quartermaster first, and knocked on his door, waiting for an invitation to come in.
“What do you want Strife?”
“My sponsor told me that there’s SOLDIERs applying for entry to the higher classes this week, and that each filter company received thirty tickets to see the bouts. He suggested that it would be educational if I attended.”
“Yes, it would. And you’re the first person to request a ticket for this month.” That sounded odd, but Cloud didn’t have the right to question procedure. “Which set do you want to watch, the 2nd class tests or the 1st class tests?”
“Both if I can please.” But if he couldn’t Cloud thought the 1st class tests would be more educational.
“Here then.” The sergeant handed both tickets over to Cloud with a smile, but he could read the clear undertone of ‘now get out of my office so I can get some work done’ and left with a word of thanks and farewell.
He hadn’t gotten the chance to buy the contacts and hair dye he’d promised last Wednesday, so he spent the morning getting those, and picking up the armband Killian’s had just completed for him, leaving the slot with cut lunarium circuits there to be set into an armband with grey leather and steel metalwork. He’d be able to pick it up on Thursday and he fully intended to leave the first slot with moulded lunarium circuits there to replace it. There wasn’t anyone he knew to eat with when he got back, but that wasn’t a problem; Cloud was perfectly comfortable eating alone, in fact he was usually less comfortable eating in a group.
It probably wasn’t an entirely good idea to spar straight after lunch, but it would take him a while to find a suitable opponent, so Cloud started looking as soon as he finished eating. He managed to find one of the SOLDIER 3rds he usually sparred with apparently waiting for someone to finish sparring, and decided that would do.
“Excuse me, Lieutenant Ilden? Would you mind sparring with me for a bit?”
“I might as well I guess. It doesn’t look like Greg’s going to be finished anytime soon.” He led Cloud over to a free spot, drawing his sword as he spoke. “Anything special you want to do?”
“Well, there’s this attack my sponsor taught me, he sort of implied it’s something most SOLDIERs learn, but I’m not sure I’ve quite got it right, so if I screw any moves up could you call a time out and help me correct my mistakes?”
“Of course I can. Although if it’s something the General taught you it might not be an attack I know.”
“Because he tends to assume people are more capable than they are in reality, I know. I’ve run into that assumption myself, so I try not to disappoint him.” With those words Cloud attacked, focusing as fully as he could on his swordwork, always watching for a chance to use his new attack, and distantly aware that by asking Ilden to split his attention like that he’d given himself an advantage, and be describing the move Sephiroth had taught him as an attack he’d basically forced him to stick to the defensive, even when he could go on the attack.
Eventually he saw the opening he needed, and applied his new technique, to spectacular effect, actually scoring a hit on the SOLDIER and drawing blood.
“Fuck! Was that it?” Lieutenant Ilden sounded pissed, and Cloud swallowed uncomfortably as he nodded. “Good.” And with that the man stopped holding back, going on the offensive to disarm and defeat Cloud within a minute, leaving him on the floor of the gym.
“You did well, and that move really wasn’t anything I’d expected.” Cloud accepted the hand Lieutenant Ilden was offering to help him up with a muttered thanks and stood, waiting for any other comments on his performance, but looking for another opponent when none was forthcoming. This time he picked out a normal soldier, but one who’d just won his last spar, and managed to pull off the attack Sephiroth had taught him twice during this spar before saluting his opponent and leaving.
He glanced at the clock and decided that he had enough time to do some practice with his Lightning materia if he could find a free target range...although the range his squad usually used should be empty now. It was, and Cloud decided to use the trick Sephiroth had taught him on Saturday, concentrating a Bolt into a pinpoint attack, using markers to draw aiming points on his chosen target, and managing to get within a finger’s width of the aiming point by the end of his practice. After eating he went back to do some extra work with his sword, and when he got back to the barracks he found the rest of the squad there already, talking about how they thought they’d done on the physical.
Cloud got up at his usual time on Tuesday, making sure he had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast, and still arriving among the first twenty or so spectators for the 1st class tests. That got him a place towards the front, and a chance to watch the referee pacing and marking out the sparring area. Cloud must have looked confused at the sight, because the man standing beside him nudged him in the ribs to get his attention.
“First time seeing one of these kid?”
“I...yes.” He wasn’t an officer, or at least he didn’t look like any sort of soldier, more like some sort of office worker. “Are they held often?” He’d assumed that SOLDIER promotions ran on a six month schedule, but there weren’t really enough SOLDIERs testing for that, or at least he didn’t think there were enough SOLDIERs testing.
“Usually about once a month, whenever there’s enough SOLDIERs who’ve been recommended to go up to 1st class. I come to as many as I can, and I settle for the 2nd class tests if I can’t get time off for the 1st class tests. So, feel free to ask me any questions, as long as you don’t interrupt the fights.”
“Thanks. Can you tell me why he’s marking off the sparring area then?”
“It’s an automatic loss if a fighter goes outside the area; meant to keep casualties down among the spectators. There’s a story about how Brigadier Knight won his second spar when he made 1st class in five minutes, by taunting his opponent until he was so angry he attacked blindly, and letting his opponent throw himself out of the sparring area.” Cloud had to laugh at that, but...
“And do you know who his opponent was, or isn’t that part of the story?”
“Not part of the story I’m afraid, and I hadn’t started watching these things, I’ve only rated a chance at a ticket in the last two years. How’d you get your hands on one though?”
“I’m in one of the filter companies, and my sponsor told me we get thirty tickets assigned to us for these tests. Since I’ve got all week off while most of the company’s trying out for SOLDIER I asked for tickets.”
“I see.” The man patted Cloud’s shoulder in what was probably supposed to be a friendly manner. “Well, stick with me and I’ll answer all your questions.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t think he’d have any more questions, but it was nice to have someone willing to explain things to him if he needed it; and Cloud fully intended to use the ammunition he’d just got on Zack sometime fairly soon. He was half expecting the man to keep on talking, but an influx of spectators silenced him, and Cloud was pleased to spot Marius and Alex over at the other side of the room. He’d do his best to talk to them later about whether they were expecting a hunt tomorrow.
Two SOLDIER 2nds arrived then, and the referee called for silence, explaining the rules once he’d got it, then they began to fight. It was breathtaking, the skill, strength and speed they displayed, and Cloud could tell that they were both fighting at their full capacity, or nearly so anyway. The darker SOLDIER was clearly outclassed though, and the spar didn’t last that long, as he yielded after just under a quarter of an hour.
“That’s one applicant through to the next stage of testing then?” Cloud made it a question because the referee hadn’t been quite clear enough on which SOLDIER was applying for promotion to 1st class for him to understand.
“Oh, yes. Did you see the green ribbon the winner had tied around his right arm? That’s how you can tell who’s trying to go up a class, and who’s been assigned to test the applicants.” And the man beside him seemed all too pleased to show off his knowledge and experience of these tests.
“I saw it, but I didn’t realise the significance. Is it the same with the 2nd class tests?” Since he wasn’t likely to get such an informative neighbour at those.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” Cloud was spared the need to answer by the next pair arriving. The fight lasted longer this time, just over half an hour, as the SOLDIERs were more equally matched - and Cloud realised that the winner of the first match had been dragging it out, showing off. Thinking back on it there’d been half a dozen openings he could have taken that would have let him win earlier, but Cloud might not have realised if it wasn’t for the contrast of this match, where both fighters were working for every touch and using every single opening they could find. Eventually the applicant won, but just barely and on a technicality, because his opponent misjudged their distance from the edge of the sparring area behind him and stepped back just past the marked line.
“I was expecting a draw there.”
“I figured that this would be one of those fights that goes on for hours, SOLDIER stamina you know, because they were so equally matched.”
“Oh no. That wouldn’t happen. If a fight lasts for an hour in the 1st class tests it’s always considered a draw.” Did a fight have to last longer to be considered a draw in the 2nd class tests, or did it take the referee less time to declare a draw then? Cloud would probably see for himself on Thursday.
“I see. Still, he isn’t going to manage a draw in his next match.”
“No, I doubt that he could pull that off.” The only way Cloud could see this applicant making it through to 1st class was if he managed to win on a technicality like he had this time. The next pair weren’t as evenly matched, but it did last a bit longer, with the applicant almost constantly on the defensive, and losing decisively something like forty minutes into the match. The referee announced a break for refreshments then, and Cloud let his neighbour lead him over to the adjoining room where snacks had been laid out, before excusing himself to speak to Marius and Alex.
They arranged a time and place to meet the next day and when they went back in to watch the last two matches Cloud went with them instead of finding the man he’d been standing with before. The first match was the applicant who’d been showing off, and it was the longest so far, with the applicant making an early attack, then being forced on the defensive for the rest of the match. It looked as if he was going to manage a draw, until about fifty-five minutes into the fight, when he clearly made a mistake from fatigue, and was disarmed as he attempted an attack.
“I suppose he’ll know better than to waste his energy showing off in his first match next time, if he’s ever put forward for SOLDIER 1st again.”
“Showing off?” Cloud had thought his comment had been unremarkable, but Alex sounded puzzled, and a quick glance at Marius told Cloud he was equally puzzled by it.
“He really outclassed his opponent in his first match, and he could have finished it in five minutes, ten at the outside, except he decided to show off.”
“He wanted to make his opponent yield, instead of just disarming him, or knocking him out you mean. And that cost him. But he wasn’t going to win this match anyway, so what difference does it make?” Zack hadn’t explained how this worked to them then.
“If he’d lasted a full hour then it would have been a draw, and that would be enough to get him promoted.” They didn’t have a chance to say anything else, since the next match started then, and after the applicant lost (in half an hour, the SOLDIER 1st going slightly easy on him to spare his pride) Alex and Marius agreed to spar with Cloud two against one for a bit.
Cloud reached Sephiroth’s quarters before he did, and pulled out their current jigsaw hopefully before working a bit more on the other slot he had completed. Sephiroth looked a little tired when he arrived and Cloud immediately stood to greet him with a kiss.
“I don’t quite feel like having sex today. Will you mind too much if we do other things instead?”
“Do you have a plan for tonight then?” Sephiroth didn’t sound disappointed, if anything he sounded just a little bit pleased, probably that Cloud wasn’t just interested in fucking him.
“I was thinking we could shower together, I could wash your hair and you could return the favour, then we could work on that together, and afterwards sleep together, just sleeping.”
“I just washed my hair yesterday, so we don’t need to do that just yet, and I’d like to give you a massage as well. Did you enjoy watching the 1st class tests?”
“They were really educational. I take it they’re really just to make sure a SOLDIER 2nd can fight well enough to be promoted; the people putting them forward for promotion are supposed to decide if they have the other qualities needed?” Cloud began drawing Sephiroth towards the bathroom as he spoke, pausing before adding what was almost an afterthought. “Oh, and since you don’t think we need to bother we’ll both skip washing our hair, and yes, you can give me a massage if that’s what you want. Will just before we go to bed work for you?”
“Yes, that would be good. And it is assumed that a SOLDIER put forward for promotion has all of the skills required, except possibly fighting skill.” Sephiroth wound his hair up into a sort of bun as he moved and let Cloud wash him without any complaints, or more than one attempt to return the favour. From that one thing Cloud knew that his lover was stressed and probably exhausted as well, and he wondered just what Zack had done with him last night. But he shouldn’t ask about that, he refused to interfere in Sephiroth’s friendship with Zack, even if he did feel that his lover gave in to Zack too often. Instead he talked about how the applicants had done in the tests he’d watched, and Sephiroth commented on that while they worked on the jigsaw together, and Cloud suggested they go to bed perhaps a bit earlier than usual.
Cloud woke up to Sephiroth’s mouth around his cock, and he reached down to stroke his lover’s head, sure that the man would allow him to return the pleasure afterwards. But it was a pleasant way to wake up, and even more so when Sephiroth didn’t contest the way Cloud drew him up afterwards, although he did seem a little uncomfortable about lying on top of Cloud. He didn’t think they’d ever been in this position before, but Cloud liked it, liked the feel of Sephiroth’s weight pressing him down into the mattress, at least for a while. He kissed Sephiroth to distract him, and reached between their bodies to stroke him gently to completion before letting Sephiroth roll off him.
“I...Cloud, why did you do that?”
“I wanted to feel you on top of me. And it isn’t as if you’d take advantage when I make myself vulnerable, is it?”
“No, never.”
“Well then.” Cloud didn’t have to say anything more, and they washed and dressed together. Before he left Sephiroth insisted on filling Cloud’s power reserve to its maximum capacity, and Cloud waited a few minutes before he followed and went to meet Alex and Marius for breakfast.
“Where are we going this time Cloud?” Alex managed somehow to sound respectful as well as eager, and Cloud had to wonder if Zack had spoken to his friends about assuming Cloud would arrange a hunt for them.
“The sector six slums, but not the sewers.” The hunt was almost routine now, even though Cloud did his best to vary the areas they hunted in he wasn’t willing to take them out of Midgar and that limited their options a bit. Still, it was profitable, and added to their experience and after eating with his friends Cloud didn’t have any real trouble finding a sparring partner. As it happened Lieutenant Huff offered to teach Cloud a few new techniques once he’d lost the first spar, and made a point of giving him a chance to use them in the next spar.
“Thank you sir. I appreciate the lesson, and the chance to put it to use.”
“You’re welcome. It’s good to see someone so eager to learn, and so dedicated.”
“Well sir, the General’s my sponsor, and I don’t want to embarrass him in any way.”
“Good for you. Come on, I’ll talk to you about where you’ve been making mistakes over dinner.” Cloud did manage to ask relevant questions during the critique before Lieutenant Huff had to leave for a late appointment.
Cloud decided that he could get an extra half hour of training in before he needed to go to Sephiroth’s quarters, but he didn’t want to risk getting caught up in a spar. So, materia it was, and he spent perhaps twenty minutes using his Lightning materia before he ran out of energy - he just used it in a standard slot, rather than waste the energy on using it unslotted - and then he made his way to Sephiroth’s quarters.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth had been waiting for him, and there was a hint of insecurity in his eyes as he came to greet him with a kiss. Cloud returned the kiss, gently, but with as much passion as he could, hands wandering over Sephiroth’s bare upper body, as he did. “I...expected you to be here before me.”
“Because I usually am, you mean? I didn’t think of that...I just figured I had time to do some training with materia while you were busy.” It was a bit of a hint and a peace offering, if Sephiroth noticed, and he did.
“Then I can give you some of my energy now, to replace it?”
“I’d appreciate it; I all but drained my reserves dry without really thinking about it.” Cloud shrugged, slightly embarrassed about that; he knew that he could go from a quarter of his energy reserves to full faster than he could go from drained reserves to just a quarter full. But for him a night’s sleep was enough to fully replenish his reserves, so letting Sephiroth feed his own energy into Cloud’s power core was more to please his lover than to help with his own recovery.
“That’s enough Sephiroth.” By now he could tell when he had to stop Sephiroth without having to wait for it to hurt. Still, there was a hint of hurt when Sephiroth pulled back, and considering what Cloud had sort of noticed when he hadn’t went out and used up the energy his lover gave him, he could easily enough make Sephiroth feel a bit better. “If you want to you can give me some more energy before we go to bed. I should have ‘lost’ enough of the excess by then for it to be safe.”
“I’d like that. I...could I wear my collar and leash tonight? And will you tie it off to the bed frame overnight? Please?”
“Yeah. I can do that for you. Why don’t you go any get your collar and leash now then?” A thought occurred to Cloud, or rather a couple of thoughts. “And a gag, that little bell we used for signalling, and some scarves.”
“Yes Cloud.” Sephiroth sounded positively eager, and Cloud repressed a pang of guilt at his own reluctance to play the games that his lover seemed almost to need. He went through to the kitchen, looking for ice cubes, but when he saw a bottle of cider he changed his mind, glancing over at the spice rack and in the cupboard to see if Sephiroth had what he wanted. He did, and Cloud returned to the main room at the same time as Sephiroth did, taking the collar from him first.
“I’ve changed my mind a bit. I saw that you’ve got cider, and I wondered how you’d feel about mulling it, then just sitting and talking instead of playing games?”
“It’s left over from the drinks Zack brought with him on Monday, and yes, it would be nice to talk to you. I like hearing what life’s like for normal people.” Sephiroth hesitated, eyes going to the collar and leash in Cloud’s hand. “But...will you still collar me?”
“Yes. But you can go put the rest of that back, then get undressed and join me in the kitchen.”
“As you wish Cloud.” Sephiroth seemed content, and Cloud decided that they might as well drink the rest of the two litre bottle of cider between them, so he poured it all into the largest pan he could find, adding a couple of broken cinnamon sticks and a handful of cloves before starting to heat it on low power. He couldn’t remember what other spices his mother had used for the batch of mulled cider she’d made just once a year, at Winter Solstice, but those two were the most important. He glanced around at a sound that seemed...out of place, and saw Sephiroth leaning against the counter, naked, as Cloud had requested. So he walked over and kissed him, fastening the collar around his neck as he did, and clipping the leash to it without saying anything, just pulling Sephiroth back over to the oven with him.
“Should I ask where you learned to do this?”
“I didn’t, not really, but for as long as I remember my mother would do a batch of mulled cider every year at Winter Solstice. This is a couple of days late, but I’m using the spices I remember and recognise. I’ll sweeten it with some honey too, but I’ll do that to your tastes; I can always add more honey to my glasses.”
“Ah, thank you. Is...there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, you can stir this while I get the honey, and taste it once I’ve put some honey in.” He gave Sephiroth a small ladle and went for the honey, then once the cider was hot enough and sweet enough he told Sephiroth to take the honey, a plate and two glasses through to the main room. He put the lid on top of the pan, leaving a gap at the side for the handle of the ladle, and carried it through carefully, putting the pan down on top of the plate Sephiroth had carried through. Then he served them each a glass of mulled cider and added enough honey to his glass to make it sweet enough for his tastes before sitting down next to Sephiroth. Sephiroth leaned against him just a little, a smile on his lips as he drank a mouthful of the mulled cider.
“This is delicious. I think Zack would appreciate it as well, but...”
“He isn’t here, and we’ve managed to boil off quite a bit of the alcohol in the cider anyway.” Cloud couldn’t think why else his mother would have let him have some even when he was just a toddler. “Maybe next Winter Solstice, if we get the chance to meet up together I’ll do a batch to share with you and Zack.”
“Sounds good. But perhaps we should meet in Zack’s quarters for that?” That sounded as if Sephiroth was trying to say something else as well, a hidden meaning in his words, but Cloud couldn’t tell what it was, and decided it would be easier to agree.
“Yes. He’s probably got more cider, and I can write to my mother to ask her about what spices she uses in her mulled cider sometime during the year.”
“Should I ask about your day? Or...do you want to hear about mine?”
“If it’s anything you can tell me I’d appreciate hearing it.” Cloud took another drink of his cider, and Sephiroth did the same, draining his glass. “Here, I’ll get you another glass while you decide what you can tell me, if you can tell me anything.”
Cloud topped his own glass up while he was standing, and Sephiroth seemed to have decided what he could tell Cloud by the time he handed the glass over, because he started talking straight away, explaining how the psych tests weren’t really rigorous enough, how could they be? Cloud made understanding noises, and just let his lover vent about how unstable some of his new SOLDIERs tended to be, and how odd he found it that a single spar against him seemed to make them so much more reliable. Afterwards Cloud talked a bit about his own day, then led Sephiroth to bed, making love to him slowly, managing to bind Sephiroth’s hands to the framework of the bed, probably because he was just a little drunk.
When Cloud woke up the next day he was pleased to see that Sephiroth had removed his collar without waiting for Cloud to do it for him. He was less pleased to see his lover wearing his uniform, clearly ready to leave, but he couldn’t blame Sephiroth for letting him sleep in a bit.
“You’ve got just over an hour and a half to get to the 2nd class tests, if you managed to get a ticket to see them.”
“Right, thanks. I appreciate the wake-up call then. And I guess you’ve got to be going now?”
“Yes. I’ll see you again on Saturday though.” Sephiroth hesitated, then bent to give Cloud a quick kiss before he turned and left his quarters. Cloud got a move on himself, and he was relieved that the 2nd class tests weren’t quite as well attended as the 1st class tests, so his last minute arrival didn’t keep him from getting a good view. But the referee started the first fight just a few seconds after Cloud found his vantage point, and Cloud focused entirely on that.
The first three spars were clear victories, for the applicant, or for their opponent, and they were resolved in twenty minutes at the most, but the fourth spar was stopped after only half an hour and announced as a draw. Not good enough for the applicant to go on to his next opponent, but it answered the question Cloud hadn’t wanted to ask his neighbour about the difference between the 1st class tests and the 2nd class tests nicely.
In the end three out of the five applicants went on to spar against a SOLDIER 2nd class, but Cloud was disappointed to note that Alex and Marius had decided not to watch when he looked for them in the adjoining room with the refreshments. But he pushed that from his mind and returned to watch the second round of spars. One of the applicants actually won his spar, albeit on a technicality, and another held his opponent to a draw while the third lost, and afterward Cloud went to pick up the slot he’d left at Killian’s on Monday, ordering his other lunarium slot set into a blue armband with steel metalwork and agreeing to pick it up on Wednesday.
He did manage to get a bit of sparring in, and when he met up with Alex and Marius at dinner he agreed to go drinking with them. It turned out that they’d arranged to meet up with Kyu and Lavan before they went drinking, and it ended up as a proper pub crawl, visiting about eight or nine pubs before they called it a night. Cloud knew he was in for a hangover the next day when he couldn’t find the right bed in his barracks, but he didn’t care, he’d had fun and it had been good to hear Lavan talk about his sniper training and hear how Kyu was doing in flight school.
“Good job most of the squad’s bunking in a different barracks for the SOLDIER Entrance Exams.”
“Uh...wha?” Cloud’s head was pounding, and he was desperately thirsty too. Blinking he could see that he’d taken over Finn’s bed somehow, even though it wasn’t the closest to the door, and he climbed out of bed, still wearing the same things he’d had on last night, stinking of alcohol and vomit. He needed an Esuna before he could think straight, and he didn’t bother slotting the Heal before casting the spell he needed. “Shit, yeah. I was really drunk last night.”
“I can smell that. First time for it? You didn’t really get that drunk when you’ve been out drinking with the squad.”
“Yeah, first time. I didn’t throw up myself, but I think a couple of my friends got me when they threw up.” It certainly smelled like it, and Cloud ignored the amusement on Sergeant Redson’s face to head for the showers, drinking as much water as he could direct from the tap first.
When he got out of the shower he could smell how filthy his clothes from the previous night were, so he dropped them off at the laundry before breakfast then headed out for a short run. Well, he’d planned on a short run, but he ended up just getting back in time for lunch, and he ran into Zack on his way to find an opponent to spar with.
“Cloud, Seph’s got tomorrow afternoon off from about two, and so’ve I, so meet us at three and we’ll go out for dinner first.”
“To give us time you mean?” Cloud didn’t want to say what they needed time for, but he could see that Zack understood. “Yeah, I can do that. will you be able to book a restaurant in time though?”
“I’ve already done it. I found out about the time off on Monday and booked the restaurant the same day. Sephiroth agreed when I told him that I’d already made the arrangements. See you tomorrow then?”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.” Cloud had to laugh a bit as he separated from Zack, and he ran into one of the SOLDIER 3rds who’d been trying out yesterday, Lieutenant Roth, who agreed to spar against Cloud for some of the afternoon.
He actually managed to win his first spar, partly because the lieutenant didn’t know who Cloud was and had underestimated him, but after that he lost, three times in a row, and Lieutenant Roth finished the afternoon looking considerably more cheerful than he’d been when Cloud asked to spar with him. Cloud ate alone and quickly, getting to the armoury a bit earlier than he usually did, and finding that Colonel Grafton was busy finishing something off himself.
“Just go through and wait for me.”
“Yes sir.” Cloud was relieved to see that the mould for completing a single slot was out, as well as the moulds for the circuits he’d agreed to do today, and he decided to finish off the slot he intended to give Sephiroth while he was waiting for Colonel Grafton to have time for him. He was just ready to pour the molten alloy into the mould when Colonel Grafton came into the room, and he only hesitated for a moment before finishing what he’d started.
“I take it you’re expecting to try checking that out for yourself?”
“If it’s ready by the time you want to kick me out of here, yes. But...how much do I need to check? Is it just for the same things as the earlier stage?”
“That too, but the main test is a machine that quantifies how well your slot functions when a materia is equipped to it.”
“I see. Well...I’m happy to settle for a qualitative test, does it work or not, as long as there’s no problem with air bubbles. I want this one for something personal, so I’m not going to put it forward for assessment.” And he certainly wasn’t going to let anyone but Sephiroth and Zack see what he’d done with it.
“If that’s what you want.” He sounded dubious, and Cloud could hardly blame him for that. “I won’t use this slot to teach you how to assess a completed slot then. I can get some suitable examples from the armoury.”
“Thank you sir. So, what do you want me to start with?”
“Do you think you’re up to preparing the circuits for a linked pair of slots now?”
“Yes sir, but remember I haven’t had as much experience using materia in linked slots as in unlinked slots.”
“I understand, just try your best.”
“Yes sir.” And Cloud made a point of focusing fully on the effect each type of circuit was intended to have, as well as the overall purpose of a linked pair of slots while he poured each circuit. He was only using metarium, but he intended to perform the task to the best of his abilities. After that he moved on to learning precisely how the colonel had assessed his slots...and they talked about how he should decide which three of his slots were to be assessed for his ‘final exam’.
“Do you have an easy way to tell them apart now that you’re having your slots set into armbands?”
“Yes sir, that really won’t be a problem. I’m just having leather armbands with brass or steel metalwork made up, and I’m going to select a different combination of leather colour and metalwork for each slot. For instance my metarium slot’s in a brown leather armband with brass metalwork, all three lunarium slots will have steel metalwork, and I’ll probably pick two different colours to go with brass for the other two slots. Like I said, I’ve got something else planned for the slot I finished this week.”
“Hmmm. I can’t advise you about which three slots you should put forward, and I won’t be the one assessing them, but I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about just from what I’ve seen so far.”
“Thank you sir. Can I ask who is going to assess my work then? And how you’re going to keep him from knowing that the General’s also being assessed?”
“You can ask. But since I haven’t decided yet I can’t answer you. One of my senior men anyway. And I won’t be telling him who made each set of slots, just give them labels. That’s how we do it in the O-school training as well, and what we’ll be doing with the course we run for medics and SOLDIERs later.”
“Oh, I see. I should have thought of that myself sir.” Cloud felt a bit stupid, but Colonel Grafton just looked amused at his chagrin, clearly thinking it was only to be expected.
“You don’t have any reason to. You probably thought I’d be assessing your work and the General’s at the end of this course, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t actually think about it to be honest. There were other considerations for me, but I’d rather not talk about those, except that I thought learning how to make slots might make it a bit easier for me to use an unslotted materia.”
“And has it? I don’t know how to use a materia without slotting it, so I wouldn’t know.”
“A bit. When you use a materia without slotting it you’re effectively making yourself into the slot in part, so understanding how slots work makes it a bit easier to adapt to each new materia, instead of having to learn how to cast each spell separately.”
“Hmm. I see.” Cloud managed to check out and take his gift for Sephiroth away right at the end of the lesson, without the colonel trying to find out what was so odd about it.
