Okay, people, this is SHOUNEN-AI!!! So, if you don't like seeing boys with
boys in romantic situations, DO NOT, under any circumstances, read this
fanfic!! I am not responsible for any personal trauma you receive while
reading this. Because I have given you fair warning. Now, if you LIKE
shounen-ai, by all means read on!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from FFVII. SquareSoft does. I wish I owned Sephiroth, because he's very very pretty. But I don't, and that's just another fact of life. Oh well.
In The Lowest Caverns of the ShinRa Mansion (the crappiest title I have EVER come up with. If anyone can think of something better, PLEASE, tell me!)
By Dark Kremepuff
Sephiroth sat in the basement, admiring his reflection in the chipped looking glass he had found discarded in the corner. He looked himself in the eyes and smiled alluringly. No, it STILL didn't look right. He loosened his trench coat and tussled his platinum hair seductively. With a sly, sexy grin in the mirror, he decided he looked pretty damn hot and walked over into the library. Cloud would be arriving shortly, and, if Sephy's luck prevailed, the boy would be alone.
The platinum haired man sprawled himself bonelessly in the moldy poofy chair behind the huge rotting oak desk, locating an ancient notebook and pen. For lack of anything better to do, he began scribbling on the lined paper. Writing kept his mind off waiting. And yet, at the same time, it didn't, because as the pen flew across the paper, he found himself sketching out a heavily detailed, completely plotless, tearfully citric yaoi scene between he and Cloud, with the little blonde being seme for once.
Sephiroth was getting hot and bothered. He grinned to himself as he continued to write. Oh, he was SUCH a talented author!
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Cloud turned the key in the door's lock, pushing the wooden thing open creakily on rusty hinges. He poked his head inside the room and found it frighteningly dark. "Red-XIII, shine your tail in here." the blonde said over his shoulder into the dimly lit hallway.
The orange beast nodded, walking ahead of Cloud into the pitch blackness of the chamber.
The pointy-haired blonde followed the bobbing firelight, eyes widening as a coffin came into view.
Thick stems of wax stood in old fashioned candelabras on either side of the wood box. Cloud lit the candles with Red's tail ("I feel so used," the beast had said), his heart pounding from fright. The new light whispered over everything, not making the atmosphere any nicer, as Cloud had hoped. Instead, it cast long creepy shadows from everything that could cast a shadow in the first place, making the place look like a dungeon from some b- grade horror flick. Empty caskets leaned against the walls, which were dripping mildew, which was growing fungus, which was crawling with spiders, which looked deadly poisonous, which was, of course, a bad thing. The shadows from everything and anything cast disturbing shapes on the walls and floor. Cloud worriedly peered around, noticing all the details in the room beside the coffin in the center. He didn't even want to consider what that death-box could hold.
"Hey, Reddy! C'mere!" Yuffie yelled from the other room down the hallway. Her voice carried easily in the dank rocky tunnels. "Get a look at this thing!!" Nanaki sighed and turned, sulking off to see just what had caught little Miss Ninja's attention this time.
Our lemony-blonde hero watched the beast leave in a state of anxiety. He didn't want to be alone in this room with a freaky coffin in the center, but he wasn't particularly interested in what Yuffie had found. So instead, he turned and looked at the highly revered casket. The white cross emblazoned on its cover glinted in the candlelight. Finding himself overcome with a morbid curiosity, he edged closer to the box, leaning over it, trying to look innocent. A glance around the room proved it to be clear of anyone who might be angered by his prying, so Cloud clenched the lid and heaved.
It was heavier than he had thought and he stumbled under its weight as he pulled it free, gasping and stepping backwards. He leaned the wood against the bottom of the stone slab the coffin was elevated on with a relieved sigh. The young man stood up straight and looked into the casket.
And gaped.
Lying there amidst the satin lining was possibly the most beautiful human being on the face of the Planet. He was asleep, clad in a blood red cape, his arms crossed on his chest. His right hand bore a fingerless black glove, his left hand and forearm a metal claw, bronzed in the low light. The rest of his outfit consisted of pure black: fabric, buttons, thread, it was all murky. But what truly amazed Cloud was the man's hair. Dark as midnight, smooth as silk, whispering around his face in an unruly manner, as if it hadn't been combed or cut in several years. It was held back by a red strip of cloth wrapped around his head.
"Kawaii." the blonde mumbled. He compulsively reached out and touched the milky white skin of one cool cheek, very tentatively.
The man stayed asleep.
//He's like a beautiful porcelain doll.// Cloud thought. His hand slid across the pale man's face, burying his fingers in the black hair. //It's so soft.!//
He had fallen deeply in love in less than a minute and he hadn't even talked to this man yet. Cloud traced the high cheekbones with his thumb, pondering the age of this pretty. Couldn't be TOO much older than himself, that was for sure. He looked down at the pointed face.
"I wonder." he breathed aloud. His beautiful new companion didn't seem to be waking up, or even thinking about it anytime soon. Cloud wanted to find out his name, and to gaze into those eyes, losing himself in the deep pools of color.
His light caresses hadn't brought the gothic beauty out of his slumber. Cloud made a silent decision, staring at the soft pink lips. He leaned over, closing his eyes just before they touched.
It was very brief because he almost immediately found himself with a gun to his head, crimson eyes glaring at him from a few inches away.
"Back off slowly and I won't shoot," he said. The voice was tenor and wonderfully musical, sending shivers down Cloud's spine. It was even more gorgeous than he had imagined it to be.
The blonde slowly straightened up, moving away from the man in the coffin, his hands held high in surrender. Although he ached to ask the man's name, find out what he was doing here, in a COFFIN, no less, he swallowed his curiosity.
The pretty man looked at him for a moment, gun still aimed at the yellow target of spiked hair.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Vincent wondered what the hell had just happened. He had been resting in his own dark oblivion for the longest time and had come awake just as his coffin had been opened. He had sneaked a peek at the blonde while the young man had been setting the heavy lid of his bed on the floor and had liked what he saw. Muscles well defined by the shadows cast from the flickering firelight, but he saw now that they had only been visible because they had been in use. He dropped his aim a bit. He wasn't pointing AT the man, but he wasn't NOT pointing at him either.
"Why did you kiss me.?" he asked.
The blonde blushed. Vincent thought that maybe he shouldn't have been so blunt. It had been such a long while since he had interacted with the conscious world.but then he decided he had every right to not beat around the bush. HE was the victim here, as much as he hated to admit it.
"I.I." His arms drooped slightly as he struggled to answer. Then he blinked defiantly, glaring hard at the Vincent. "I'd like to get an exchange of names here, first."
Vincent gave a wry chuckle that sounded almost like a song. "Names before we converse, but not before we kiss?"
This comment caused the blonde to blush harder, hands dropping to his sides.
"You were ASLEEP, how was I gonna ask your name then?! And you wouldn't wake up!"
The raven-haired one smiled lightly, feeling good about asserting some status. "How do you know I was asleep?"
"You." the blonde trailed off in confusion. The questioning look in his blue eyes turned to stunned surprise. "You.you were AWAKE?!" His voice cracked on the last syllable and he slapped a hand across his mouth, thoroughly embarrassed. He glanced at his feet uncomfortably.
A young girl and a large red-orange catbeast ran into the room to investigate the piercing, girly squeak. Vincent looked at them, wary, his grip on his gun tightening. "Cloud, is something wrong?" the cat asked. Vincent noticed the end of its tail was burning brightly. The beast looked completely unfazed to see the man in the coffin.
The girl, on the other hand, was stunned.
"HOLY SHIT!! A VAMPIRE!!!!!!!" she screamed, running away.
Cloud smiled apologetically. "Um.nothing's the matter." He shifted his attention back to Vincent. "That was Kisaragi Yuffie, and this is Red-XIII, or Nanaki. Red, this is.?" the blonde trailed off, a triumphant glint in his bluer than blue eyes.
Vincent scowled for a moment before answering. "Vincent. Vincent Valentine." The little prick had beaten him. Names first, conversations later, kisses before anything else.what was the world coming to?!
"I'm Cloud Strife," the young man offered a hand and a smile.
"EEEK!! HelphelpHELP!!"
All three of them looked to the door to see Yuffie running past and away from a rather epileptic Yin-and-Yang.
"Go help her out, Red." Cloud grumbled, rolling his eyes. The beast nodded and trotted out the door. The young man followed, and for a moment Vincent thought he was going to leave too. But he just shut the door, and Vincent heard the lock snick into place. He scrunched his brow. Why'd he do THAT?
"Vincent Valentine, d'ya say? A very pretty name."
Crimson eyes widened as Cloud walked closer, slowly shedding his armor, gloves, belt, and finally his shirt. Vincent swallowed, his heart pumping his tainted blood throughout his body. He was sure this was going to quickly. He tried not to look, except that he almost couldn't help but stare at the near perfect torso presented to him. A soft, lean body, smooth skin bronzed in the candlelight. His face, though, his face still looked so young and pretty. And before he knew it, that face was mere inches from his own.
"I want you, Vincent Valentine."
Whatever this 'vampire' had been about to say next was cut off by a hard, chaste kiss.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Sephiroth read over what he had written and ignored the pooling warmth between his legs. He could take care of that later. When Cloud came. He giggled at the pun, then frowned. Thinking of which, where WAS he? The great general shook his head. The blonde was probably tinkering around with some puzzle or valiantly slaying badguys to impress the ladies.
Sephiroth chuckled. Impress the ladies.yeah right.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Vincent let his mind go, pressing his hands against Cloud's chest, deepening their sudden kiss. Cloud responded, hands moving to try to start stripping Vincent's clothes off. After a minute he pulled out of the kiss, perplexed.
"How.?" he asked, glancing at the myriad of buttons and buckles.
Vincent half smiled, still unsure of himself. He almost began thinking of Lucretsia and how SHE would feel about this, but he pushed those thoughts away with grim determination. Lucretsia was long dead and gone. He still loved her, but he resented her just the same. Because of Hojo.
Cloud looked up from the buttons and into Vincent's eyes. They glimmered a dangerous red for a moment, then faded back to dried crimson. The raven- haired one gently grabbed his hands, banishing any questions about what he had been thinking, and started to instruct.
"First, you unsnap these." he said, letting Cloud fumble with the clasps of his cape. Once the blonde was done with that, he pushed the red cloth off of Vincent, who smiled. "Then, you unbuckle this." The hands were guided to his belts, which Cloud removed fairly quickly and with a somewhat practiced ease, condemning the strips of leather to the floor.
Vincent began to pull off his glove, but Cloud stopped him.
"No, allow me," he said, slowly slipping the fingerless glove off of Vincent's pale hand, taking one of the digits into his mouth.
The dark-haired man gasped. He was suddenly extremely happy he was waist deep in a wooden box.he had just received the mother of all hard-ons, and he was acutely embarrassed as it was WITHOUT his new acquaintance seeing it. That word lingered in Vincent's mind for a moment. Acquaintance. That's exactly what they were. He took a deep breath and ignored it, pulling his hand away from Cloud.
".and then you unbutton these." He trailed the moist finger down one of the two lines of buttons.
Cloud gave an out-of-place disgruntled sigh. "Can't you dress less complicatedly?"
Vincent glared. "I wouldn't complain if I were you. You're lucky I haven't shot you yet." Now that he was talking, he couldn't seem to stop. He continued as Cloud unbuttoned his shirt. "I'm not exactly fit with what I'm doing here. I mean, we just met a moment ago and I've already kissed you, and then you are." He paused as the blonde finished with the buttons. ".you're." The fingers that brushed against his newly bared skin distracted him from his thoughts. ".uhm." Cloud slid his hands beneath the heavy dark fabric, resting them heavily on Vincent's narrow shoulders, pushing him backwards gently.
"Just shut up, Vincent." And he toppled into the casket he had once feared to go near, pressing Vincent flat on his back and kissing him in a gentle, reassuring manner. Cloud had his eyes closed, but Vincent's were wide open, not completely comfortable being at such incredibly close quarters with this stranger. He wriggled a little bit, and Cloud pushed himself up, looking down at him. He still held his shoulders down, pinned to the bottom of the padded interior of the casket. Vincent was flushed light pink high on his cheeks and he was gasping slightly. Cloud thought that this was the most beautiful thing this side of Planet. But he looked concerned.
"I won't do anything if you don't want me to," he stated.
Vincent shook his head, scarred chest rising and falling with his small breaths. "I.I don't mind." he muttered, ignoring the sudden barrage of memories. He caught the tail end of a thought as it fluttered through all the bad things that had happened: //.he'll make you forget.// Voice stronger, he said, "I haven't shot you yet, have I?"
Cloud smiled. Vincent liked his smile. And the way his azure eyes lit up when he did. And it made HIM smile.
The blonde felt almost faint as he looked at the man pinned beneath him. He was so gorgeous.leaning down to kiss Vincent again, he felt smooth skin and cool metal circle around his body. The vampire leaned up and into the kiss, blushing slightly. Cloud moved so that their hips were locked tightly together in the bed of the coffin.
"Shit." Vincent squeaked into the corner of Clouds mouth, eyes squinching shut at the new feelings flooding through his body. The blonde moved his attentions to Vincent's stretched neck, tasting his porcelain skin.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Sephiroth impatiently drummed his fingers on the desk, leaning his chin on one gloved hand.
God dammit, where WAS he?!
The platinum haired beauty had heard voices quite nearby, but they were gone now and he was stuck with silence and an aching loneliness that longed for the angelic blonde.
"Where the hell are you, Cloud.?!" he mumbled in frustration, throwing himself back heavily on the chair. It spun around for a few rotations, slowing to a stop. Sephiroth felt oddly silly. The Great General of the ShinRa army never EVER spun around on rotating chairs. It was uncivilized, immature, and against ShinRa moral code!
"ShinRa can go fuck their mothers." Sephiroth growled with a sour face. He then smiled. "Except for Rufus. And some of the Turks." He set the chair in motion again until he felt like he was going to throw up. Then he spun a little more kicking it to stop, facing the large bookcase behind the desk. Sephiroth waited until his head stopped spinning before deciding to pick a book out and read it.
"Hmmm.eenie, meenie, meinie moe.catch a Hojo by the toe.if he hollers make him pay.fifty beatings every day! My mommy said I'm an experiment and so are you you two-timing evil megalomaniac.you!"
The platinum haired one pulled the book his finger had landed on off of the shelf.
With a quiet, ancient rumbling and the sound of gears turning, he found that the entire section of the wall and the flooring he was sitting on (complete with large old desk) was slowly but surely rotating around, stopping with a heavy clunk, facing a dimly lit room. If he wasn't mistaken, that was a coffin in the middle! And inside the coffin.
"CLOUD?!" Sephiroth dropped the book and the blonde looked up startled. He was sitting on top of a flushed, frightened looking dark haired man. The blonde looked completely paranoid, his elder lover staring at him incredulously.
"Have you ever heard of a little thing called 'fidelity'?" The platinum haired one's baritone voice sounded flat.
"But.Sephiroth." Cloud began.
Vincent interrupted. "You.know each other.?"
The blonde looked at him apologetically. "In the biblical sense or in the normal world sense?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow, feeling a little put out.
Sephiroth sighed desperately. "Why?!"
Cloud blushed a little. "Well, his name is Vincent and he's really pretty." His blush deepened. "And.uhm.I'm always uke with you!! I want to be on top for once!"
Vincent turned scarlet, the words slowly sinking in. Oh man, this was complicated.
"If you'd ASKED you could've. I never said you HAD to be uke."
Cloud's eyes shined and he smiled. "You.you really mean it!?" he squeaked.
Sephiroth nodded.
The blonde was ready to leap over and glomp onto the older man but, being a little preoccupied with Vincent, he glomped onto him instead.
"Oh, I'm so HAPPY!!"
The vampire winced at the shout going off next to his ear. He gently cleared his throat, wondering how things could go from sweetly romantic to.whatever THIS was.in a matter of seconds. He decided to get a few things straightened out.
"Cloud." The blonde ignored him, nuzzling his chest. "Cloud? Cloud!" Finally he looked up. Vincent met his gaze evenly. "Who is this?"
Cloud looked slightly ashamed and blushed. "Well, I suppose he's my boyfriend."
Vincent sighed. He had figured as much.
".it's Sephiroth!!" Cloud added proudly like it explained everything.
Vincent's eyes widened in the pause that followed. He suddenly sat up, shoving the younger man away.
"Sephiroth?! Son of Lucretsia and Hojo??!"
The platinum haired man blinked slowly, taking in the rage that filled Vincent's eyes. It almost radiated off of him. "Yes," he answered. "What of it?"
Taking a deep breath, Vincent shook his head. "Nothing."
Cloud's face split into a smile and he pointed at the vampire. "It's something. What is it??"
"I told you already, it's nothing." the dark-haired man repeated. He didn't feel like explaining his entire past to these two almost complete strangers. Glancing at Sephiroth, he could barely tell that this man was the son of people he had once known. Looking at him and judging his age, Vincent figured he had been asleep longer than he had originally thought. But it didn't matter. No explaining, and that was final.
Obviously, Cloud and Sephiroth didn't listen well. Sephiroth gracefully unseated himself from his chair, strolling over to the casket, peering at Vincent, and Cloud smiled jovially.
"Oh, you are hiding something. Tell us."
"No."
"Pleeeeease?"
"No."
"I am curious as to know of the connections you had with my bastard father."
Vincent almost smiled. So, even his own SON didn't love him! "No. I mean it."
Both men stared at him expectantly.
He stared back.
They stared harder. Vincent made a quick decision to lie and get them off his back.
"Hojo and I.were.friends, of sorts. Back then." Oh, how it hurt to say THAT. He stared down at the interior of the coffin for a little bit, reminiscing without thinking about it. The silence stretched further. He finally snapped out of it, thinking //well, at least it shut them up.// Looking up, he found the two of them sharing an intimate kiss, hands roaming where they shouldn't be. Vincent scowled, feeling more than a little hurt. Cloud had just been leading him on. Figured. It was like he was cursed. He sighed.
The blonde opened his eyes, mumbling through the kiss. "Mmm! 'Orry, mmnce!"
Vincent eyed him quizzically.
Cloud shoved Sephiroth away. "Sorry Vince," he repeated. The Great General looked perturbed.
"Doesn't matter." Red eyes sparkled with indifference. "Why don't you two just leave and get yourselves a room?" he suggested, beginning to redress himself. Sephiroth grinned, eyes flashing. "Ooo, good idea. Come on, Spike."
Cloud looked infinitely sad as he left the casket, even more so as he slipped on his shirt. He picked Vincent's two belts up off the floor, handing them to the vampire. They were snatched from his grip without so much as a thank you.
Completing the final buckles on his cape, Vincent laid back down and closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Cloud and Sephiroth had a quick whispered conference, and Sephiroth soon left the way he had come, replacing the book on the shelf and disappearing from sight. The blonde walked over to the coffin. Vincent kept his eyes shut and feigned sleep.
"Oyasumi, sleeping beauty." Cloud muttered. A soft kiss on the cheek and he was gone.
Crimson eyes opened to look sadly and longingly at the ceiling.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Sephiroth glowered at the blonde. His anger was very sincere; he had specifically asked Cloud NOT to bring any of his 'friends' with to the library. Flinging a Destruct materia at the blonde, cursing him, condemning him to death, making up something hokey about the 'promised land' and leaving a clue to his future whereabouts, he flew over their heads, out the door, and landed on the front steps of ShinRa Mansion, stomping the rest of the way out of town. That was one of the few drawbacks of flying.you couldn't do it angrily. Unless, that is, you crashed into things. And Sephy was in no mood to get hurt.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Cloud tucked the materia into his pocket, wondering why Sephiroth had given him such a USELESS piece of materia, and rubbed at the bruise forming on his abdomen. Damn, Sephiroth had a strong pitch!
Yuffie was busy reading off the titles of books and declaring how boring they all seemed.
"Hey, lookit THIS one! 'The Science of Transfigurational Biology in Homo sapiens.' Let's read it to Sephiroth and see if he dies of boredom!" she exclaimed, grabbing the musty, thick, leather-bound edition from the shelf. She staggered under its weight. "Gee whiz, this thing is HEAVY. That means it had GOT to be boring."
Red-XIII came up beside her to get a better look at the book as she placed it on a nearby table, sweeping papers onto the floor to make room. Yuffie deftly stole his materia as he leaned over the book.
Cloud sighed. "Well, let's go, you two. I don't think there's anything left to see here."
The group of three walked out into the cave-like hallway, passing the door that contained the gorgeous man Cloud's thoughts kept circling back to. He stopped in front of the door, contemplating going back in and asking Vincent to come with on his little 'adventure.'
"Come ON Cloud! Leave the vampire there!!" Yuffie all-but-shouted. Then she screamed. "Oh my GOD, that THING is back to KILL MEEEE!!"
The blonde raced over to his two compatriots. Yuffie was shielding herself behind Red, who gave a despairing growl.
"My materia is gone!"
The ninja girl chuckled nervously, shoving the beast towards a Yin-and- Yang, which was twitching and flolloping happily. Nanaki dug his claws into the ground. Suddenly, the air exploded with two successive BANG!s.
The epileptic freak fell back two twitchy paces before falling over, cavernous holes yawning in its deformed heads.
"That thing won't bother you anymore."
Cloud turned, his heart beating quickly at the sound of the musical voice.
Vincent blinked at the blonde, showing no emotion. He continued speaking as Yuffie threw herself behind Red again, whispering "Sic 'em!" into the beast's bedecked ear. Nanaki just groaned.
"I think I am going to go with you. I need to get revenge on someone.the person who made me what I am." He flexed his copper claw in front of him, glaring at it intensely.
Cloud smiled lightly. Good.
THE END
I don't like this as much as I should. I like the bits with Sephiroth.he's out of character, but I don't think he's ever really IN character in most fanfics. His personality doesn't make for easy writing. So I simplify him, or give him different motives. Oh well. Please review.
HAIL ILPALAZZO-SAMA! -DK
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from FFVII. SquareSoft does. I wish I owned Sephiroth, because he's very very pretty. But I don't, and that's just another fact of life. Oh well.
In The Lowest Caverns of the ShinRa Mansion (the crappiest title I have EVER come up with. If anyone can think of something better, PLEASE, tell me!)
By Dark Kremepuff
Sephiroth sat in the basement, admiring his reflection in the chipped looking glass he had found discarded in the corner. He looked himself in the eyes and smiled alluringly. No, it STILL didn't look right. He loosened his trench coat and tussled his platinum hair seductively. With a sly, sexy grin in the mirror, he decided he looked pretty damn hot and walked over into the library. Cloud would be arriving shortly, and, if Sephy's luck prevailed, the boy would be alone.
The platinum haired man sprawled himself bonelessly in the moldy poofy chair behind the huge rotting oak desk, locating an ancient notebook and pen. For lack of anything better to do, he began scribbling on the lined paper. Writing kept his mind off waiting. And yet, at the same time, it didn't, because as the pen flew across the paper, he found himself sketching out a heavily detailed, completely plotless, tearfully citric yaoi scene between he and Cloud, with the little blonde being seme for once.
Sephiroth was getting hot and bothered. He grinned to himself as he continued to write. Oh, he was SUCH a talented author!
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Cloud turned the key in the door's lock, pushing the wooden thing open creakily on rusty hinges. He poked his head inside the room and found it frighteningly dark. "Red-XIII, shine your tail in here." the blonde said over his shoulder into the dimly lit hallway.
The orange beast nodded, walking ahead of Cloud into the pitch blackness of the chamber.
The pointy-haired blonde followed the bobbing firelight, eyes widening as a coffin came into view.
Thick stems of wax stood in old fashioned candelabras on either side of the wood box. Cloud lit the candles with Red's tail ("I feel so used," the beast had said), his heart pounding from fright. The new light whispered over everything, not making the atmosphere any nicer, as Cloud had hoped. Instead, it cast long creepy shadows from everything that could cast a shadow in the first place, making the place look like a dungeon from some b- grade horror flick. Empty caskets leaned against the walls, which were dripping mildew, which was growing fungus, which was crawling with spiders, which looked deadly poisonous, which was, of course, a bad thing. The shadows from everything and anything cast disturbing shapes on the walls and floor. Cloud worriedly peered around, noticing all the details in the room beside the coffin in the center. He didn't even want to consider what that death-box could hold.
"Hey, Reddy! C'mere!" Yuffie yelled from the other room down the hallway. Her voice carried easily in the dank rocky tunnels. "Get a look at this thing!!" Nanaki sighed and turned, sulking off to see just what had caught little Miss Ninja's attention this time.
Our lemony-blonde hero watched the beast leave in a state of anxiety. He didn't want to be alone in this room with a freaky coffin in the center, but he wasn't particularly interested in what Yuffie had found. So instead, he turned and looked at the highly revered casket. The white cross emblazoned on its cover glinted in the candlelight. Finding himself overcome with a morbid curiosity, he edged closer to the box, leaning over it, trying to look innocent. A glance around the room proved it to be clear of anyone who might be angered by his prying, so Cloud clenched the lid and heaved.
It was heavier than he had thought and he stumbled under its weight as he pulled it free, gasping and stepping backwards. He leaned the wood against the bottom of the stone slab the coffin was elevated on with a relieved sigh. The young man stood up straight and looked into the casket.
And gaped.
Lying there amidst the satin lining was possibly the most beautiful human being on the face of the Planet. He was asleep, clad in a blood red cape, his arms crossed on his chest. His right hand bore a fingerless black glove, his left hand and forearm a metal claw, bronzed in the low light. The rest of his outfit consisted of pure black: fabric, buttons, thread, it was all murky. But what truly amazed Cloud was the man's hair. Dark as midnight, smooth as silk, whispering around his face in an unruly manner, as if it hadn't been combed or cut in several years. It was held back by a red strip of cloth wrapped around his head.
"Kawaii." the blonde mumbled. He compulsively reached out and touched the milky white skin of one cool cheek, very tentatively.
The man stayed asleep.
//He's like a beautiful porcelain doll.// Cloud thought. His hand slid across the pale man's face, burying his fingers in the black hair. //It's so soft.!//
He had fallen deeply in love in less than a minute and he hadn't even talked to this man yet. Cloud traced the high cheekbones with his thumb, pondering the age of this pretty. Couldn't be TOO much older than himself, that was for sure. He looked down at the pointed face.
"I wonder." he breathed aloud. His beautiful new companion didn't seem to be waking up, or even thinking about it anytime soon. Cloud wanted to find out his name, and to gaze into those eyes, losing himself in the deep pools of color.
His light caresses hadn't brought the gothic beauty out of his slumber. Cloud made a silent decision, staring at the soft pink lips. He leaned over, closing his eyes just before they touched.
It was very brief because he almost immediately found himself with a gun to his head, crimson eyes glaring at him from a few inches away.
"Back off slowly and I won't shoot," he said. The voice was tenor and wonderfully musical, sending shivers down Cloud's spine. It was even more gorgeous than he had imagined it to be.
The blonde slowly straightened up, moving away from the man in the coffin, his hands held high in surrender. Although he ached to ask the man's name, find out what he was doing here, in a COFFIN, no less, he swallowed his curiosity.
The pretty man looked at him for a moment, gun still aimed at the yellow target of spiked hair.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Vincent wondered what the hell had just happened. He had been resting in his own dark oblivion for the longest time and had come awake just as his coffin had been opened. He had sneaked a peek at the blonde while the young man had been setting the heavy lid of his bed on the floor and had liked what he saw. Muscles well defined by the shadows cast from the flickering firelight, but he saw now that they had only been visible because they had been in use. He dropped his aim a bit. He wasn't pointing AT the man, but he wasn't NOT pointing at him either.
"Why did you kiss me.?" he asked.
The blonde blushed. Vincent thought that maybe he shouldn't have been so blunt. It had been such a long while since he had interacted with the conscious world.but then he decided he had every right to not beat around the bush. HE was the victim here, as much as he hated to admit it.
"I.I." His arms drooped slightly as he struggled to answer. Then he blinked defiantly, glaring hard at the Vincent. "I'd like to get an exchange of names here, first."
Vincent gave a wry chuckle that sounded almost like a song. "Names before we converse, but not before we kiss?"
This comment caused the blonde to blush harder, hands dropping to his sides.
"You were ASLEEP, how was I gonna ask your name then?! And you wouldn't wake up!"
The raven-haired one smiled lightly, feeling good about asserting some status. "How do you know I was asleep?"
"You." the blonde trailed off in confusion. The questioning look in his blue eyes turned to stunned surprise. "You.you were AWAKE?!" His voice cracked on the last syllable and he slapped a hand across his mouth, thoroughly embarrassed. He glanced at his feet uncomfortably.
A young girl and a large red-orange catbeast ran into the room to investigate the piercing, girly squeak. Vincent looked at them, wary, his grip on his gun tightening. "Cloud, is something wrong?" the cat asked. Vincent noticed the end of its tail was burning brightly. The beast looked completely unfazed to see the man in the coffin.
The girl, on the other hand, was stunned.
"HOLY SHIT!! A VAMPIRE!!!!!!!" she screamed, running away.
Cloud smiled apologetically. "Um.nothing's the matter." He shifted his attention back to Vincent. "That was Kisaragi Yuffie, and this is Red-XIII, or Nanaki. Red, this is.?" the blonde trailed off, a triumphant glint in his bluer than blue eyes.
Vincent scowled for a moment before answering. "Vincent. Vincent Valentine." The little prick had beaten him. Names first, conversations later, kisses before anything else.what was the world coming to?!
"I'm Cloud Strife," the young man offered a hand and a smile.
"EEEK!! HelphelpHELP!!"
All three of them looked to the door to see Yuffie running past and away from a rather epileptic Yin-and-Yang.
"Go help her out, Red." Cloud grumbled, rolling his eyes. The beast nodded and trotted out the door. The young man followed, and for a moment Vincent thought he was going to leave too. But he just shut the door, and Vincent heard the lock snick into place. He scrunched his brow. Why'd he do THAT?
"Vincent Valentine, d'ya say? A very pretty name."
Crimson eyes widened as Cloud walked closer, slowly shedding his armor, gloves, belt, and finally his shirt. Vincent swallowed, his heart pumping his tainted blood throughout his body. He was sure this was going to quickly. He tried not to look, except that he almost couldn't help but stare at the near perfect torso presented to him. A soft, lean body, smooth skin bronzed in the candlelight. His face, though, his face still looked so young and pretty. And before he knew it, that face was mere inches from his own.
"I want you, Vincent Valentine."
Whatever this 'vampire' had been about to say next was cut off by a hard, chaste kiss.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Sephiroth read over what he had written and ignored the pooling warmth between his legs. He could take care of that later. When Cloud came. He giggled at the pun, then frowned. Thinking of which, where WAS he? The great general shook his head. The blonde was probably tinkering around with some puzzle or valiantly slaying badguys to impress the ladies.
Sephiroth chuckled. Impress the ladies.yeah right.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Vincent let his mind go, pressing his hands against Cloud's chest, deepening their sudden kiss. Cloud responded, hands moving to try to start stripping Vincent's clothes off. After a minute he pulled out of the kiss, perplexed.
"How.?" he asked, glancing at the myriad of buttons and buckles.
Vincent half smiled, still unsure of himself. He almost began thinking of Lucretsia and how SHE would feel about this, but he pushed those thoughts away with grim determination. Lucretsia was long dead and gone. He still loved her, but he resented her just the same. Because of Hojo.
Cloud looked up from the buttons and into Vincent's eyes. They glimmered a dangerous red for a moment, then faded back to dried crimson. The raven- haired one gently grabbed his hands, banishing any questions about what he had been thinking, and started to instruct.
"First, you unsnap these." he said, letting Cloud fumble with the clasps of his cape. Once the blonde was done with that, he pushed the red cloth off of Vincent, who smiled. "Then, you unbuckle this." The hands were guided to his belts, which Cloud removed fairly quickly and with a somewhat practiced ease, condemning the strips of leather to the floor.
Vincent began to pull off his glove, but Cloud stopped him.
"No, allow me," he said, slowly slipping the fingerless glove off of Vincent's pale hand, taking one of the digits into his mouth.
The dark-haired man gasped. He was suddenly extremely happy he was waist deep in a wooden box.he had just received the mother of all hard-ons, and he was acutely embarrassed as it was WITHOUT his new acquaintance seeing it. That word lingered in Vincent's mind for a moment. Acquaintance. That's exactly what they were. He took a deep breath and ignored it, pulling his hand away from Cloud.
".and then you unbutton these." He trailed the moist finger down one of the two lines of buttons.
Cloud gave an out-of-place disgruntled sigh. "Can't you dress less complicatedly?"
Vincent glared. "I wouldn't complain if I were you. You're lucky I haven't shot you yet." Now that he was talking, he couldn't seem to stop. He continued as Cloud unbuttoned his shirt. "I'm not exactly fit with what I'm doing here. I mean, we just met a moment ago and I've already kissed you, and then you are." He paused as the blonde finished with the buttons. ".you're." The fingers that brushed against his newly bared skin distracted him from his thoughts. ".uhm." Cloud slid his hands beneath the heavy dark fabric, resting them heavily on Vincent's narrow shoulders, pushing him backwards gently.
"Just shut up, Vincent." And he toppled into the casket he had once feared to go near, pressing Vincent flat on his back and kissing him in a gentle, reassuring manner. Cloud had his eyes closed, but Vincent's were wide open, not completely comfortable being at such incredibly close quarters with this stranger. He wriggled a little bit, and Cloud pushed himself up, looking down at him. He still held his shoulders down, pinned to the bottom of the padded interior of the casket. Vincent was flushed light pink high on his cheeks and he was gasping slightly. Cloud thought that this was the most beautiful thing this side of Planet. But he looked concerned.
"I won't do anything if you don't want me to," he stated.
Vincent shook his head, scarred chest rising and falling with his small breaths. "I.I don't mind." he muttered, ignoring the sudden barrage of memories. He caught the tail end of a thought as it fluttered through all the bad things that had happened: //.he'll make you forget.// Voice stronger, he said, "I haven't shot you yet, have I?"
Cloud smiled. Vincent liked his smile. And the way his azure eyes lit up when he did. And it made HIM smile.
The blonde felt almost faint as he looked at the man pinned beneath him. He was so gorgeous.leaning down to kiss Vincent again, he felt smooth skin and cool metal circle around his body. The vampire leaned up and into the kiss, blushing slightly. Cloud moved so that their hips were locked tightly together in the bed of the coffin.
"Shit." Vincent squeaked into the corner of Clouds mouth, eyes squinching shut at the new feelings flooding through his body. The blonde moved his attentions to Vincent's stretched neck, tasting his porcelain skin.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Sephiroth impatiently drummed his fingers on the desk, leaning his chin on one gloved hand.
God dammit, where WAS he?!
The platinum haired beauty had heard voices quite nearby, but they were gone now and he was stuck with silence and an aching loneliness that longed for the angelic blonde.
"Where the hell are you, Cloud.?!" he mumbled in frustration, throwing himself back heavily on the chair. It spun around for a few rotations, slowing to a stop. Sephiroth felt oddly silly. The Great General of the ShinRa army never EVER spun around on rotating chairs. It was uncivilized, immature, and against ShinRa moral code!
"ShinRa can go fuck their mothers." Sephiroth growled with a sour face. He then smiled. "Except for Rufus. And some of the Turks." He set the chair in motion again until he felt like he was going to throw up. Then he spun a little more kicking it to stop, facing the large bookcase behind the desk. Sephiroth waited until his head stopped spinning before deciding to pick a book out and read it.
"Hmmm.eenie, meenie, meinie moe.catch a Hojo by the toe.if he hollers make him pay.fifty beatings every day! My mommy said I'm an experiment and so are you you two-timing evil megalomaniac.you!"
The platinum haired one pulled the book his finger had landed on off of the shelf.
With a quiet, ancient rumbling and the sound of gears turning, he found that the entire section of the wall and the flooring he was sitting on (complete with large old desk) was slowly but surely rotating around, stopping with a heavy clunk, facing a dimly lit room. If he wasn't mistaken, that was a coffin in the middle! And inside the coffin.
"CLOUD?!" Sephiroth dropped the book and the blonde looked up startled. He was sitting on top of a flushed, frightened looking dark haired man. The blonde looked completely paranoid, his elder lover staring at him incredulously.
"Have you ever heard of a little thing called 'fidelity'?" The platinum haired one's baritone voice sounded flat.
"But.Sephiroth." Cloud began.
Vincent interrupted. "You.know each other.?"
The blonde looked at him apologetically. "In the biblical sense or in the normal world sense?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow, feeling a little put out.
Sephiroth sighed desperately. "Why?!"
Cloud blushed a little. "Well, his name is Vincent and he's really pretty." His blush deepened. "And.uhm.I'm always uke with you!! I want to be on top for once!"
Vincent turned scarlet, the words slowly sinking in. Oh man, this was complicated.
"If you'd ASKED you could've. I never said you HAD to be uke."
Cloud's eyes shined and he smiled. "You.you really mean it!?" he squeaked.
Sephiroth nodded.
The blonde was ready to leap over and glomp onto the older man but, being a little preoccupied with Vincent, he glomped onto him instead.
"Oh, I'm so HAPPY!!"
The vampire winced at the shout going off next to his ear. He gently cleared his throat, wondering how things could go from sweetly romantic to.whatever THIS was.in a matter of seconds. He decided to get a few things straightened out.
"Cloud." The blonde ignored him, nuzzling his chest. "Cloud? Cloud!" Finally he looked up. Vincent met his gaze evenly. "Who is this?"
Cloud looked slightly ashamed and blushed. "Well, I suppose he's my boyfriend."
Vincent sighed. He had figured as much.
".it's Sephiroth!!" Cloud added proudly like it explained everything.
Vincent's eyes widened in the pause that followed. He suddenly sat up, shoving the younger man away.
"Sephiroth?! Son of Lucretsia and Hojo??!"
The platinum haired man blinked slowly, taking in the rage that filled Vincent's eyes. It almost radiated off of him. "Yes," he answered. "What of it?"
Taking a deep breath, Vincent shook his head. "Nothing."
Cloud's face split into a smile and he pointed at the vampire. "It's something. What is it??"
"I told you already, it's nothing." the dark-haired man repeated. He didn't feel like explaining his entire past to these two almost complete strangers. Glancing at Sephiroth, he could barely tell that this man was the son of people he had once known. Looking at him and judging his age, Vincent figured he had been asleep longer than he had originally thought. But it didn't matter. No explaining, and that was final.
Obviously, Cloud and Sephiroth didn't listen well. Sephiroth gracefully unseated himself from his chair, strolling over to the casket, peering at Vincent, and Cloud smiled jovially.
"Oh, you are hiding something. Tell us."
"No."
"Pleeeeease?"
"No."
"I am curious as to know of the connections you had with my bastard father."
Vincent almost smiled. So, even his own SON didn't love him! "No. I mean it."
Both men stared at him expectantly.
He stared back.
They stared harder. Vincent made a quick decision to lie and get them off his back.
"Hojo and I.were.friends, of sorts. Back then." Oh, how it hurt to say THAT. He stared down at the interior of the coffin for a little bit, reminiscing without thinking about it. The silence stretched further. He finally snapped out of it, thinking //well, at least it shut them up.// Looking up, he found the two of them sharing an intimate kiss, hands roaming where they shouldn't be. Vincent scowled, feeling more than a little hurt. Cloud had just been leading him on. Figured. It was like he was cursed. He sighed.
The blonde opened his eyes, mumbling through the kiss. "Mmm! 'Orry, mmnce!"
Vincent eyed him quizzically.
Cloud shoved Sephiroth away. "Sorry Vince," he repeated. The Great General looked perturbed.
"Doesn't matter." Red eyes sparkled with indifference. "Why don't you two just leave and get yourselves a room?" he suggested, beginning to redress himself. Sephiroth grinned, eyes flashing. "Ooo, good idea. Come on, Spike."
Cloud looked infinitely sad as he left the casket, even more so as he slipped on his shirt. He picked Vincent's two belts up off the floor, handing them to the vampire. They were snatched from his grip without so much as a thank you.
Completing the final buckles on his cape, Vincent laid back down and closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Cloud and Sephiroth had a quick whispered conference, and Sephiroth soon left the way he had come, replacing the book on the shelf and disappearing from sight. The blonde walked over to the coffin. Vincent kept his eyes shut and feigned sleep.
"Oyasumi, sleeping beauty." Cloud muttered. A soft kiss on the cheek and he was gone.
Crimson eyes opened to look sadly and longingly at the ceiling.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Sephiroth glowered at the blonde. His anger was very sincere; he had specifically asked Cloud NOT to bring any of his 'friends' with to the library. Flinging a Destruct materia at the blonde, cursing him, condemning him to death, making up something hokey about the 'promised land' and leaving a clue to his future whereabouts, he flew over their heads, out the door, and landed on the front steps of ShinRa Mansion, stomping the rest of the way out of town. That was one of the few drawbacks of flying.you couldn't do it angrily. Unless, that is, you crashed into things. And Sephy was in no mood to get hurt.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Cloud tucked the materia into his pocket, wondering why Sephiroth had given him such a USELESS piece of materia, and rubbed at the bruise forming on his abdomen. Damn, Sephiroth had a strong pitch!
Yuffie was busy reading off the titles of books and declaring how boring they all seemed.
"Hey, lookit THIS one! 'The Science of Transfigurational Biology in Homo sapiens.' Let's read it to Sephiroth and see if he dies of boredom!" she exclaimed, grabbing the musty, thick, leather-bound edition from the shelf. She staggered under its weight. "Gee whiz, this thing is HEAVY. That means it had GOT to be boring."
Red-XIII came up beside her to get a better look at the book as she placed it on a nearby table, sweeping papers onto the floor to make room. Yuffie deftly stole his materia as he leaned over the book.
Cloud sighed. "Well, let's go, you two. I don't think there's anything left to see here."
The group of three walked out into the cave-like hallway, passing the door that contained the gorgeous man Cloud's thoughts kept circling back to. He stopped in front of the door, contemplating going back in and asking Vincent to come with on his little 'adventure.'
"Come ON Cloud! Leave the vampire there!!" Yuffie all-but-shouted. Then she screamed. "Oh my GOD, that THING is back to KILL MEEEE!!"
The blonde raced over to his two compatriots. Yuffie was shielding herself behind Red, who gave a despairing growl.
"My materia is gone!"
The ninja girl chuckled nervously, shoving the beast towards a Yin-and- Yang, which was twitching and flolloping happily. Nanaki dug his claws into the ground. Suddenly, the air exploded with two successive BANG!s.
The epileptic freak fell back two twitchy paces before falling over, cavernous holes yawning in its deformed heads.
"That thing won't bother you anymore."
Cloud turned, his heart beating quickly at the sound of the musical voice.
Vincent blinked at the blonde, showing no emotion. He continued speaking as Yuffie threw herself behind Red again, whispering "Sic 'em!" into the beast's bedecked ear. Nanaki just groaned.
"I think I am going to go with you. I need to get revenge on someone.the person who made me what I am." He flexed his copper claw in front of him, glaring at it intensely.
Cloud smiled lightly. Good.
THE END
I don't like this as much as I should. I like the bits with Sephiroth.he's out of character, but I don't think he's ever really IN character in most fanfics. His personality doesn't make for easy writing. So I simplify him, or give him different motives. Oh well. Please review.
HAIL ILPALAZZO-SAMA! -DK