Goat's Milk Soup

Rating: R
Category: AU
Pairing(s): Zack/Sephiroth, Cloud/Sephiroth, Cid/Vincent.
Warnings: mpreg, angst, goat milk.
Summary: Cloud gets drunk and tells a story.
Notes: The seventh of the donation fics for Pyro. This one is for quinn_goblin, who wanted some Cloud/Seph. Hon I am DEEPLY and SINCERELY sorry for forgetting this.

Vincent understood. Cloud knew he would. All he had to do was gaze into those deep, soulful red eyes and he knew that Vincent understood every word he was saying. Vincent understood all about sins of the past, and regrets, and loss. Cloud didn’t have to even say a word to him. It was the other members of this strange little family that were having a problem with his suggestion as they sat together in the dark and dumpy little tavern.

“Why do you want to go back there?” asked Tifa. “Why do you want to go back to the crater after all this time? After everything that happened there?”

“I just have to see him,” said Cloud, pushing the ice in his drink around with one finger.

“What the hell for?!” asked Barret.

Cloud just shook his head. “That thing we fought was not Sephiroth. It was a Jenova-created puppet. You didn’t know the real Sephiroth. I did.”

“He was cold,” said Tifa quietly.

“He wasn’t cold,” said Cloud softly, staring down into the amber depths of his drink. “You have no idea what he had been through by the time you met him. He was trying to do his job while one of his friends was dying and another was having a breakdown. That would make me a little tense. You have no idea what they put him through, and then they sent him to Nibelheim to make sure he broke. I did have a lot of rage against him, but the more I think about it… the more I realize that thing we fought was not the real Sephiroth.”

“How do you know?” asked Cid.

“Sephiroth knew me. Not well, but he did know me. He knew I was Zack’s friend, and… he knew that I knew things about him and Zack.”

Eyebrows raised all around.

“Knew what?” asked Yuffie.

Cloud smiled slightly, raising his glass and having a swallow. He then cleared his throat before speaking. “Well, I knew more than Aeris did, that’s for sure. I knew Zack was getting ready to leave her. And I knew it was because of Sephiroth.”

“Sephiroth told Zack to leave her?” said Tifa, looking puzzled.

Cloud said nothing. There was a little pause, then Cid’s jaw dropped.

“Zack? And Sephiroth?!”

“No way!” said Barret. “Why would Zack dump a little cutie like Aeris for Sephiroth? And where does Sephiroth get off being gay anyway?! Nothing that can level a town should be gay!”

Cloud slowly raised his glass once more. His hand was wavering slightly, but his voice, though soft, was steady.

“It shouldn’t be pregnant, either, but he was.”

“Get the fuck out,” deadpanned Yuffie, her eyes huge.

Cloud downed the last of his drink. Cid, Barret and Tifa each ordered him one more. This was just too good to risk Cloud leaving.

“How the hell did Sephiroth get pregnant?” asked Barret.

“Genetically engineered super-warriors like Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis cost millions to create,” said Cloud. “And the science is inexact. What works in one could kill another. Sephiroth cost twenty-three million dollars to breed and raise, and after all that they had to deal with the fact that he was not interested in girls in the least. Gay warriors don’t breed. That’s twenty-three million dollars down the drain with no chance of him breeding little warriors. So… where do all these drinks keep coming from?”

“Just keep talking, don’t worry about where the drinks are coming from,” said Cid.

Cloud shrugged. Tifa giggled as he slowly and solemnly decided which glass to pick up first. He finally chose one.

“So they altered him. Made him capable of conception. It wasn’t that hard; he was already physically rearranged to the point where he barely qualified as human, what’s another two point three million dollars if it means your golden goose can breed? And let’s not forget that Zack was SOLDIER First Class, and would have soon been in Seph’s category of fighter.” Cloud swallowed down half his drink, then reached in with one finger to chase an ice cube, catching it and slipping it into his mouth. “I saw the estimates for what Zack and Seph’s baby would have cost to create.” He hiccupped quietly, then smiled. “Their first child would have been worth hic!-zactly four point six billion dollars to Shinra Weapons Division.”

“Billions?” said Barret.

Cloud nodded. “Billions,” he repeated. “And I was the only person who knew Seph’s condition. Zack didn’t even know yet; Seph was going to tell him after the mission. I knew everything. And that’s how I know that thing we fought was not Sephiroth.”

The group exchanged glances. Then Tifa gasped.

“On the ship from Junon to Costa del Sol! When we saw him on the ship, he didn’t know who you were!”

“Bingo!” said Cloud. “You’d think he would remember the only person who knew he was pregnant. Especially if he was your husband’s best friend.”

“Yeah that does seem to be the sort of thing you would remember,” said Cid. “So… okay… fine. We get that. But why do you want to go back to the crater?”

“I want to get Sephiroth’s body,” said Cloud. “I wanna bury him beside Zack. It’s not fair that Zack’s all alone, and Sephiroth is miles away. They were a family. They should be together.”

“Yeah okay, I can see that,” said Barret quietly.

“Me too,” said Cid softly. He turned his head at look at Vincent, who was on the chair beside his own. Vincent had one long leg drawn up, his heel resting on the chair’s wooden seat, his arms wrapped around his long shin. As usual he looked shy and vulnerable. Cid put an arm around him and nuzzled him gently.

“If I was dead I’d wanna share a coffin with you.”

“Highwind you’re gay,” said Yuffie.

“I’m not gay. I just know beauty when I see it.”

Vincent actually blushed. Cid grinned, nipping his ear, while Barret and Yuffie made gagging noises.

“You’re both terrible,” said Tifa.

“So when are we leaving?” asked Nanaki.

“No time like the present,” said Cid. “Come on, let’s get on the ship so I can set it for autopilot and then spend the next few hours trying to talk this man into giving me his virginity.”

“Then you’ll have to find the guy in high school I gave it to,” said Vincent.

“I thought you liked girls,” said Barret.

“I’m friendly,” said Vincent.

“You’re a little undead slut is what you are,” said Barret.

Tifa shot beer out her nose at the idea of Barret calling Vincent a slut. Cid looked affronted.

“My Vincent ain’t no slut! You take that back!”

“Fine. He’s not a slut. Let’s just get to the ship.” Barret looked over at the gooned warrior with the chocobo hair who was now face down on the table, the hilt of his sword poking up from behind him like an exclamation mark. “I’ll carry Strife.”

***---***

It took three days to hike to the area where they knew Sephiroth’s body to be, trudging into the depths of the crater, following old paths and memories down into the darkness. They found him where they had left him, lying naked, pure and shining white, inside a crystal blue spear of materia. His eyes were closed, and he looked asleep, save for the deep and brutal injury a frightened MP had done to him years ago. Knowing what they did now, the group gathered around Sephiroth’s crystal sarcophagus could only stare at Cloud.

“You stabbed your best friend’s pregnant husband,” said Barret. “Man it doesn’t get any harsher than that.”

“I had to,” said Cloud softly. “I’m not proud of it.”

“You did have to,” said Tifa softly. “If we could have reasoned with him we could have helped him. But…”

“I know,” said Cloud. “Let’s just get him out of here and back to Zack.”

“Not like this,” said Cid. “That’s gotta be several hundred pounds of mako he’s encased in. We’ve gotta lighten the load somehow. If we can fracture it we can split it open and lift the body out without damaging it.”

“Okay,” said Cloud. He drew his sword. “Stand back.”

The group drew back. Cloud studied the case of mako, trying to decide where the best place to hit it would be. He gave it a few experimental taps, testing the strength needed to break the materia. He didn’t want to bring Sephiroth’s body back to Zack in tiny pieces. Finally deciding how much power he needed to put into the blow, Cloud raised his sword and hit the case. There was a strange sort of crystalline ripping sound, and they watched as the fracture lines began spreading through the glass-like matter. Cloud reached down and began pulling aside pieces as the mako began to crumble. His friends stepped forward to help him remove the blocks of materia, and soon Sephiroth was free of his crystal prison.

“He’s gonna be stiff as a board,” said Barret. “We’re gonna need a stretcher.”

Cloud unfurled a sheet he had brought to wrap Sephiroth in, but as he took hold of one arm to gauge just how stiff the body was, he was astonished to have it come up limp. More disturbingly, it was warm. Then Tifa drew a quick gasp.

“Cloud he’s bleeding.”

Cloud snapped his gaze to the wound in Sephiroth’s body, his jaw dropping as he saw that she was right, the wound was leaking blood. Without a second thought, he drew his heal materia and began closing the wound.

“Is he alive?” asked Yuffie. “He can’t be alive!”

“I think he is,” said Cloud.

“He can’t be!” said Cid. “His entire body would be full of crystallized mako!”

“Mako doesn’t crystallize in the body,” said Cloud. “Oh my god he’s choking. Cid, help me.”

Cid knelt down beside Sephiroth and helped Cloud to move him on his side. “What are we going to do if he comes up swinging?”

“He’s not going to be in any shape to fight for a while,” said Cloud. “If he’s still dangerous… we’ll deal with him.”

Sephiroth vomited up congealed globs of mako, coughing and choking as litres of fluid ran out of his lungs and stomach. Tifa knelt down to move the long white hair out of his face as he moved onto all fours, heaving and coughing, clearing the liquid out of his body.

“Sephiroth?” said Cloud softly. “Are you okay?”

He raised his head and glared at Cloud with cold green eyes, coughing. “Do I look all right to you, Strife?”

Cloud grinned, recognizing his beloved commander. “No sir.”

“Then shut up and hand me that sheet.”

Cloud did. Sephiroth wrapped the cream-coloured fabric around himself and slowly sat up, pushing his hair out of his face with one long hand.

“I want to see Zack,” he said softly.

“Sephiroth, Zack is…”

“I know. I felt it. I felt every moment of hell and pain he endured, locked in that tube, being subjected to those experiments. And I felt his murder. Had I been able to free myself I would have made some people pay for their crimes.”

“Why didn’t you?” asked Barret. “Damn man we could have really used your help!”

“I couldn’t. Jenova would not let me go. She had her puppet-clone, she could not risk me freeing myself and foiling her plans. My madness was temporary. Her evil was not.” He coughed again, choking up more fluid. Cloud stroked the long white hair, trying to comfort him.

“I want to see Zack,” said Sephiroth quietly.

“All right,” said Cloud softly. “I’ll take you to see him.”

***---***

The grave was simple; just a broken, rusted sword standing alone in the night that had once been Angeal’s revered family heirloom for a marker. Sephiroth seemed to lose all strength at the sight of the grave, his legs failing him as he staggered forward the last few feet to collapse onto the resting place of the man he had loved, his gloved hands clutching at the fine, golden-red dirt. The hot dry summer wind tugged at the silver-white hair, causing a light coating of dusty earth to settle over him. Cloud knelt beside the long body, reaching out to trail a hand over the pale hair as Sephiroth sobbed quietly into the soil.

“He deserved so much more than this.”

“He did,” said Cloud softly. “He was a great man. He loved you.”

“I’m not leaving this place. I’m not leaving him again.”

“Sephiroth…”

“Leave me.”

“No! Zack asked me once to look after you if anything happened to him. I couldn’t save him but I’m sure as hell gonna take care of you.”

“Do what you must,” said Sephiroth softly, dismissing him. “But I am not leaving.”

Cloud quietly walked away, heading back to the Highwind and the group of people that waited in the darkness there for him. He climbed onto the ship, making his way into the galley, where he knew his friends would be. Vincent especially would want to know what was happening.

“He’s staying,” said Cloud softly. “I guess that means I’m staying too. I can’t make him leave.”

Vincent didn’t say anything. He simply looked distant, probably finding a way to blame himself for all this.

“He can’t stay here,” said Cid. “There’s nothing out here! He’s going to have a baby, he can’t do that lying on a dusty grave in the middle of nowhere.”

“I know,” said Cloud. “But I promised Zack I would look after him. And in his current emotional state, he definitely needs looking after.”

So what are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure. Build him a house I think. Maybe set up a proper memorial for Zack. I’m not sure how capable Sephiroth is of functioning in the real world.”

“What do you mean?” asked Tifa.

“Well he was raised in a lab. He’s never had to pay bills or buy food or get car insurance. Everything was done for him. All he had to do was be a warrior. Maybe I can help him adjust.”

“Sounds to me like you just ended up with the world’s most expensive cat,” said Barret.

“Yeah well the cat and the kitten need help,” said Cloud. “I couldn’t save Zack, but I’m not leaving Sephiroth alone. He’s my responsibility. I promised Zack. So I may as well start building a house.”

Cid looked over his shoulder at his tall, thin and silent lover. Vincent was standing in his usual place, head down, arms crossed, gazing at Cid with those eyes that were so gentle despite the vibrant burning red colour. Cid sighed heavily.

“I’ll help,” said Cid resignedly.

“Highwind you are so whipped,” said Barret, chuckling.

“Uh huh,” said Cid. “Yeah, I know.” He stood up and stretched his large, strong body, joints snapping and popping. Then he strolled over to Vincent, gently gathering him in his arms and holding him close. “But at least my ass doesn’t hurt.”

“What are you talking about?” said Barret. “My ass doesn’t hurt.”

“No?” With lethal speed Cid reached out and managed to snag hold of Barret’s underwear. There was a loud ripping noise, and suddenly the white undies were lying in ragged bits all over the floor. “How about now?”

Barret squeaked, his dark eyes huge. Cid scooped Vincent into his arms.

“Come on, you shouldn’t be exposed to all these crazy people yanking each other’s underwear off. Let’s get to bed. You’ve got a long hard day of watching me work ahead of you tomorrow.”

Barret squeaked again. Cid carried Vincent to bed, Vincent’s arms draped around Cid’s neck.

“Don’t you just love the way Vincent crosses his ankles when Cid picks him up?” said Yuffie. “It’s so cute.”

Yeah,” said Cait Sith dreamily, seated on the table on his furry little butt. His feet were stuck out straight, and he had his tiny paws clasped together before him. Tifa reached out and tapped the toy on the shoulder.

“Reeve? There are little anime hearts coming out of your cat.”

“Dammit,” muttered a very not Cait voice.

Tifa giggled and picked him up. “Come on, let’s get you into your kitty basket.”

“Can’t I sleep with you?”

“Nice try, pervert.”

Cloud watched as his friends went to bed, realizing how late it was. He was tired right to his soul, but he couldn’t rest. Instead he left the great airship and returned to the grave, seating himself on the ground beside the despondent figure lying there.

“You don’t have to stay here,” said Sephiroth quietly.

“Yeah I do. I made a promise to Zack and I’m keeping it.”

“I suppose one of us should. I failed him. I tried so hard to escape the mako, but could not. It was like one of those waking dreams, where I can see, but cannot move. For five years I listened to him cry in pain but could do nothing to help. Finally I tried focusing my energy upon him, willing him my strength.”

“It worked,” said Cloud. “He finally broke out of his container.”

Sephiroth seemed to consider what Cloud had said, then raised his head. “He broke free?”

Cloud nodded. “Didn’t you know?”

“I knew he got out but… I didn’t know I helped. I was overwhelmed with agony, and fell unconscious. I did not wake again until his murder. I assumed they had simply taken him out and shot him.”

“No,” said Cloud softly. He reached out to stroke the long, dirty hair. “It was you. He told me so. At the time… I was so ill… I didn’t really understand anything he said. In fact I… really just recalled it now.” He smiled. “You did save him. Now it’s my turn to save you. Come on, let’s get you into a warm bath and then bed.”

“But… Zack…”

“We’re not leaving. We’re building a house right here. You and me. We’re going to live here. I’m going to take care of you.”

Sephiroth gazed at him, the green eyes unreadable.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Cloud just smiled. “It’s okay.” He rose to his feet. “Come on, let’s get you warm.”

***---***

No one knew how the building supplies got there. They were just there. Everything they needed to start a house. Lumber, nails, saws of all kinds, hammers, stone for a foundation, mortar, and things Cloud could not even name.

“Where did all this come from?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” said Tifa. “It was here when I woke up this morning. You don’t think someone else bought this land before we had a chance, do you?”

Cid was standing on a heap of stone, reading a handful of papers that had arrived with the supplies. “Somebody did. And they gave it all to Seph. This is his land, and his building supplies.” He looked over at Cait Sith. “Why do I smell the unmistakeable stink of Shinra all over this?”

“Can’t imagine,” said Cait.

Yuffie held up a hammer. “It could have something to do with the Shinra logo all over these tools. Rufus isn’t planning on hurting Sephiroth’s baby, is he?”

“No,” said Cait. “He’s not planning on hurting anyone. But it was his father’s fault that Zack is dead, and many other people as well. He’s trying to make up for that.”

Cloud looked over at Cid. “What about it, Cid?”

Cid shook his head. “This contract is pretty clear. This all belongs to Seph. If anything happens to him, it goes to the baby. If the baby dies, the land is owned by the spouse of caregiver, assuming Seph has one. So far as I can see there is nothing in this for Rufus.”

“Rufus wouldn’t hurt Sephiroth,” said Cloud. “I used to see him with the Turks and the First Class warriors. He loved them, and they loved him. Rufus Shinra might be a bastard but he always understood who it was keeping him alive. He would practically hand-feed them.”

“Good to his body guards, was he?” said Cid. “Yeah I would be too.”

“His father was a different matter,” said Cloud. “I’m willing to bet that it was no accident that we didn’t run into any Turks in the Shinra Tower when we broke in looking for Aeris.”

Cloud, Cid, Tifa and Yuffie looked towards Cait.

“It was no accident,” confirmed the cat. “Rufus knew Sephiroth was coming for his father and ordered the Turks out of the building. He didn’t want them hurt.”

“Sounds to me like the gift is in good faith,” said Cid. “All right. In that case let’s not waste it. Cloud, let’s you and I get to work. We’ve got a house to build.”

So they began building, ignoring the work crews that occasionally showed up in order to put in the electrical wiring, the plumbing, and the heating. Cid of course took it as a personal insult dealt to him by Rufus Shinra, and Tifa assured him that Rufus Shinra had no reason to do such a thing.

“He just wants to help!” she said. “He’s not such a bad man after all, Cid, he just wants to make up for the crimes of his father. It’s really very sweet.”

Cid just grumbled and resumed work. Forty minutes later a Shinra courier showed up with a package for Tifa, addressed from none other than Rufus Shinra.

“You see?” she said to Cid. “Nice things happen to nice people.”

“Uh huh,” said Cid, watching the courier beat his ass the hell out of there before she opened the package. Cloud, Yuffie, Barret and Vincent gathered to watch as Tifa withdrew from the package a long piece of black leather and a small piece of paper. Her brow furrowed as she read it.

“Pay to the order of Miss Tifa Lockheart… one dose of reality?” She looked at the leather, then the paper, then suddenly exploded with outrage. “THE BASTARD MAILED ME A REALITY CHECK AND THE OTHER HALF OF MY OUTFIT!”

Vincent, Barret, Cloud and Yuffie hit the ground laughing. Cid ran over to Cait and scooped the animatronic cat up.

“Rufus! I take back every lousy thing I said about you! I love you! I wanna have your babies!”

There was a soft click, and a quiet, refined voice came out of the cat.

“Just take good care of my warrior, and let’s not have anymore of this nonsense about me being a decent human being, hmm?”

Cid was still giggling. “Trust me Rufus, we’ll never think of you as anything other than a complete underhanded bastard.”

“Why thank you Cid, you’re very sweet. Happy building.”

Tifa stormed off to have a fit, tossing the package and contents into the trash. Cid put down Cait and walked over to Vincent, who was still giggling.

“Well it’s nice to know there’s still a few giggles left in that pretty body. Want me to carry you away and do dirty things to you?”

Vincent smiled up at him. “Sure.”

“All right.”

Cid scooped Vincent up and carried him off to the Highwind. Barret and Yuffie decided they were on break, and Cloud made his way to the edge of the property where one lone figure was holding vigil beside an old grave marked by a rusting sword. Cloud sat down beside Sephiroth, reaching out to touch his long hair.

“We’re building as fast as we can.”

“You’re touching me,” growled Sephiroth.

Cloud quickly withdrew his hand. “Sorry.”

Sephiroth sighed quietly. “There’s no need to be. I’m just… not well.”

“I’m not surprised. You’ve hardly eaten a thing.”

“It all looks, smells and tastes abysmal. I can’t keep anything down. The only thing I want is vanilla ice cream.” He placed a hand on his stomach. “It’s definitely Zack’s child.”

Cloud smiled. “He did like vanilla ice cream.”

“He liked it topped with a ghastly chocolate liqueur,” said Sephiroth. “I miss him so much.”

“We all do,” said Cloud softly. “He was a good man.”

Sephiroth said nothing, lost in his memories. Cloud motioned for Cait to come over.

“Do you think Rufus would send over some vanilla ice cream for Sephiroth?”

“I’ll ask him right away,” said the cat.

“Thanks.” Cloud returned his gaze to Sephiroth. “It’s going to be all right.”

Sephiroth nodded. He little resembled the beautiful and arrogant warrior Cloud remembered. He was depressed and listless, his lean frame faded to skin and bones within his long black coat. Cloud reached out once more to touch him.

“Sephiroth… you have to start looking after yourself.”

“Or what?” he asked morosely. “Something bad will happen to me?”

“Or something bad will happen to your baby,” Cloud said quietly. “You’re not eating, you’re not sleeping, you’re just lying out here in the sun, dehydrating. Now you can take it. But how much do you think that foetus is going to be able to endure? Do you want to be sitting on two graves?”

Sephiroth slowly swung his head to look at Cloud, the green feline eyes narrowing. Then the wings came out. Cloud had heard about them of course, but he’d never seen them. He’d never been standing in front of Sephiroth when he was pissed enough to bring them out, and he’d certainly never been the focus of Sephiroth’s ire. He felt the blood drain away from his face as the massive black wings beat, lifting Sephiroth to his feet.

“Don’t you preach to me, you insect, you have NO idea what I have endured! Save your cheap psychology and your pathetic attempts to guilt-trip me, I’ve endured much harsher mental torture form those far better suited to delivering it than you.”

Cloud held his ground. He didn’t know how, but he did. Sephiroth weak and ill was still Sephiroth, and Cloud was not so certain in his own abilities that he was willing to start any sort of a fight.

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty,” said Cloud quietly. “I just wasn’t…”

The massive wings fanned, churning up dust. “Wasn’t what, Strife?”

“You’ve got more to consider than your…self…” he said, his voice starting to shake.

“And of course being selfish and insane I would never for one second think of my baby, would I?”

“That’s not what I said!”

“No it’s never what people say, is it?” Sephiroth quietly snarled. “They coach their words so politely and sit in smug self-superiority, assured that no one could possibly know what they really think. My husband is dead. My entire world is shattered and gone like the falsehood it was. All I have is this baby to consider. But of course I’m just sitting here contemplating my navel with no consideration at all for Zack’s baby, the only thing I have left of the only human being on this miserable planet who loved me.”

Cloud swallowed nervously. “I’m sorry.”

Sephiroth swatted dust at him with the massive black wings.

“You’re damned right you are.”

Cloud flinched, covered in fine dust, then watched as Sephiroth walked away, flipping the wings closed before they receded back into his body. Cloud sighed heavily, then began dusting himself off. Just off to his left he saw a shadowy grey wolf with long shaggy fur, watching him with intelligent blue eyes.

“I’m doing the best I can,” he mumbled to the wolf. “I can’t handle him the way you could.”

‘He’s an eagle, not an equal. He was bred to soar high above the likes of us. You have to respect the ego.’

“I don’t know anything about caring for dinosaurs.”

‘Look he’s fragile, Cloud, he has his strengths but he has many more weaknesses. He’s never done this before. He’s lost and afraid and he’s pregnant and I was supposed to be there with him. Please Cloud, please try. He needs you so badly.’

“I’m not leaving him. But I don’t know what I’m doing either, Zack. He’s a bit out of my league. It’s like you said, he’s an eagle not an equal. You’re asking me to care for a phoenix when all I’ve had is budgies.”

Zack made a quiet sound of amusement. ‘Just be gentle with him. He’ll respond. He’s scared, I can tell.’

Cloud sighed, shaking his head as he slowly rose to his feet. “I wish you were here, Zack.”

‘I know. I wish I was there too. Please look after my family, Cloud.’

The wolf faded away. Cloud shook the dust off himself then followed after Sephiroth. He had not gone far. Cloud found him standing in what would one day be the livingroom of the small house, sitting on the floor beside the fire pit. Cloud sat down beside him, eyeing his condition with some concern. Sephiroth was pale and shaking, his skin cold and clammy. Cloud brushed back the long white hair.

“Do you want to try to eat something?” he asked quietly. “You’ll feel better.”

“How is throwing up going to make me feel better?”

Cloud smiled. “It can’t make you feel any worse.”

Sephiroth managed a faint smile, then glanced out the window at the start of another house two hundred yards away.

“So who will be living there?”

“Cid and Vincent.”

Sephiroth made a face. “I don’t care for that Valentine fellow. He’s always watching me.”

“I think he feels responsible for you.”

“And why would he feel that?” Sephiroth asked wearily.

“Well he knew your mother.”

“Oh how perfectly ghastly.”

“No… not Jenova. Your real mother. Did… did no one tell you this?”

Sephiroth snapped his full attention to Cloud. “My… my real mother? Jenova is not my mother?”

“Well she may be in a metaphorical sense. But you had a real mother. Her name was Lucrecia, and Vincent was in love with her. Had things gone a little differently for them… he would have been your father.”

Sephiroth stared at Cloud in cold astonishment. “My…? He…? But why did Zack tell me none of this?”

“Zack didn’t know or he would have. We didn’t know until we met Vincent on the road, and he told us all about Lucrecia, and you. I think he’d like to be part of your life if you let him.”

Sephiroth just stared at Cloud for a long time, his green eyes searching Cloud’s blue ones for any sign of a lie. “I… I think I’d like that. He and I are going to have a lot to discuss. I wish he had come to me with this.”

“I think he was scared he would just make a bad situation worse.”

“Yes I can see why he would. He… really knew my mother?”

“Yes,” said Cloud softly. “Knew her and loved her deeply. He wanted to marry her.”

“Do you think there is any chance he is my father?”

“I really do not know, Sephiroth. You’ll have to ask him.” Cloud reached out and stroked Sephiroth’s long hair. “When’s the last time you had a bath?”

“I don’t know. It hasn’t seemed very important to me.”

“You know Cid and Vincent have a beautiful stone hot tub put in behind their house. They wouldn’t mind if you used it. You’ll probably feel better. I can bring you something to eat.”

“Green tea and ice cream?”

“If that’s what you would like.”

Sephiroth smiled slightly. “Yes. That’s what I would like.”

***---***

Sephiroth carefully picked his way over the stony ground, clad only in his long black coat, carrying a gym bag with him as he walked to the stone hot tub that sat behind the structure that would one day be Vincent and Cid’s house. He had asked permission, and Vincent was very quick to grant it. Sephiroth made up his mind to try to strike up a friendship with this strange, shy, almost timid man. He was the closest thing to family he had, and he intended to get to know him. He suspected Vincent would be only too happy to play grandfather to his genetically-altered freakish almost-son.

It would be hilarious if it were not so damned tragic.

Sephiroth walked around the back of the house, out of sight of the airship, casually discarding the coat and strolling naked over to the massive hot tub which Cloud had already filled for him. He sat down on the edge, swinging his long legs into the deep swirling water, dabbling his feet to check the temperature as he reached for the bag beside him. He opened it, and began removing various bottles and bags and brushes and sponges and loofahs and a myriad of other things, including a litre of fresh whole goat’s milk.

Cloud had said a bath would make him feel better. Sephiroth intended to take a bath that a Roman Emperor would be envious of.

The first ingredient to go into the massive hot tub with the swirling jets of water was goat milk bubble bath. Following it was goat milk bath salts. Then goat milk body wash, shower gel, soap, and finally Sephiroth himself slid into the hot tub. He picked up the bottle of milk, and, standing almost waist-deep in the extravagant stone bath, began slowly pouring the creamy white fluid over himself. He allowed some of the milk to drip between his parted lips and down his throat before slowly pouring the rest of it over his face and hair, smearing white rivers of fluid into his fair skin with his free hand. The water bubbled and frothed around his hips, churning white fragrant foam as the milk ran down his body and into the water.

Sephiroth set aside the empty bottle, then brought one long finger to his mouth, slowly drawing it between his parted lips, sucking off the milk. Leaving the cream to soak into his hair, he picked up a bar of fragrant soap. He slowly ran it over his lean frame before picking up a sponge to dip into the hot water, then gently scrubbed himself. The sponge dripped soapy water, causing little rivers to run over his body as he drew it over his throat and shoulders, moving it down over his chest before dipping the sponge in the water once more, this time rubbing it over his flat stomach.

Satisfied at last, he dropped the sponge and sank slowly into the deep water, disappearing beneath the bubbles. He emerged moments later, hair slicked down and clinging in silver tendrils about his throat and hanging down his back, both hair and skin gleaming wet. Picking up the shower gel, he poured a little of the white creamy substance into his hand, then began working it into his hair, head flung back, eyes closed, trails of soap slowly caressing their way down his throat.

For once Strife was right. A bath was just what he needed.

“Funny,” he muttered, “seems to me a bath is what got me into this mess in the first place.”

Sephiroth closed his eyes and thought back to that night years ago, a mere seven weeks before the tragedy at Nibelheim. They had been drunk, and Zack thought a bath would help clear their heads before bed. He had been using the goat milk bubble bath that night too, if he recalled. He could still feel Zack’s powerful body beneath him, still feel his large hard shaft thrusting into him, could still feel Zack’s powerful hands clutching his hips as he spilled his hot seed deep inside of him.

There had been a strange moment of stillness between them as the passion gently fled like a sigh before sleeping, and they gazed at each other, as if they sensed something had happened. They separated and finished their bath, and then went to bed, but Sephiroth’s body was restless. Soon Zack was in him once more, but not for the last time that night. Zack took him twice more that night, but utterly refused him on the fifth time.

“Come on, Seph, if we do it again nothing’s gonna come out but dust! Good grief, are you in heat?!”

“It’s possible. Who knows what is in my body?”

“Well I won’t be me without some sleep.”

“Well all I can say is you better wake up feeling frisky.”

“If you come up pregnant I’ll be demoted to private.”

“Never. I won’t permit it. I can’t tell the children their father is a private, think of the embarrassment.”

So they had slept for a while. At dawn the orderly came in to wake them for duty, and found himself confronted by an angry green-eyed hell cat with great black wings. Sephiroth knew what he wanted, and breakfast and duty were not on the menu. Far from being displeased that their star warrior chose to spend his day in bed mating like a wild thing, the President and his underlings had been thrilled. They still had been anxiously awaiting the results of the coupling seven weeks later when Sephiroth went mad. Now, almost six years later, Zack was dead and Sephiroth was out of his mako-induced suspended animation, and the men who had hoped for the Silver Tiger to produce a cub were gone.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, kid,” said Sephiroth quietly, running his hand over his stomach.

“Sephiroth?”

Sephiroth looked up to see Cloud approaching, carrying a mug of green tea and a bowl of ice cream.

“I take it that’s for me.”

“Yeah,” said Cloud. “What’s that smell?”

“Goat’s milk soap, bath salts, body wash, shower gel, bubble bath, and plain old goat’s milk.”

“You’re going to turn into a goat.”

“Well if I do it will be Zack’s fault, he’s the one who got me addicted to it. Of course now you will tell me something horrid about how he was buying it for his little Midgar tart.”

“Not that I knew of. Personally I can’t see Aeris bathing in goat milk. For that matter I would have never pictured you bathing in goat milk, either.”

“I love it.” He slipped below the churning surface of the water, washing the shampoo and last traces of milk out of his hair. He emerged with a great splash, tossing back his long mane of wet silver hair. “It’s the finest thing there is. You should try. Come join me.”

“I don’t think I’m old enough to get into the bath with a superior officer.”

“I’m not just a superior officer; I’m a superior life form. Get naked and get into this vat of boiling ungulate fluid right now.”

“That just sounded so very… wrong.”

Sephiroth smiled. “You won’t regret it, I assure you.”

Cloud set down the tea and ice cream and began undressing. Moments later he was naked and standing in the tub.

“I’ll smell like a girl for a week,” he muttered.

“Strife, you are an angst-muffin,” said Sephiroth, wolfing down the ice cream.

“If you say so, sir.”

The bowl quickly emptied. In moments Sephiroth was licking it clean, then setting it aside before downing his tea. “Well I still want to thank you for the suggestion; this is the best I’ve felt in a very long time.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Cloud quietly, picking up the soap and sniffing it before giving a shrug and starting to wash himself. “You meant a lot to Zack, you know. He told me several times he had never been in love until he met you.”

“Did he? I felt the same way about him. I hope he knew that.”

“He did,” said Cloud. “He wanted to marry you. Kept talking about what a pain in the ass it was trying to get permission. He wasn’t going to stop until he got it.”

Sephiroth laughed. “I believe that. I never saw a man more determined to finish what he set out to do. I would have married him, bad hair and all.”

Cloud smiled. “I wonder what the baby will look like?”

“Rather like it has a clown wig glued on I expect. I’ll still love it.” A thoughtful expression crossed his beautiful face. “How far along am I, I wonder? Seven weeks when I fell into the mako…”

“And two months since we released you,” said Cloud.

“So four months, not counting the years into between. Five more to go.” He ran his hand over his flat belly. “I hope it’s all right.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Put your hand on it and tell me what you feel.”

Cloud froze in mid-scrub and glanced over at Sephiroth. “Whut?”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and sighed. “I don’t bite.”

“I don’t actually believe that but… all right.”

Cloud moved closer to Sephiroth, reaching his wet hand out to place it on Sephiroth’s stomach, slowly feeling his way over the flat expanse.

“I’m not sure… no… wait. I think I feel it. A little bump.” Cloud brought his hand to his own stomach, trying to feel any differences between himself and Sephiroth, then placed his hand once more on Sephiroth’s stomach. “Yeah I feel it. It’s not very big. But maybe it just seems small because you’re so large.”

“Perhaps,” said Sephiroth. He sighed quietly. “He swore once to love me until the end of days, until all time stopped and the world was no more. I believe he would have.”

“I believe that as well,” said Cloud softly, feeling the small bump in Sephiroth’s abdomen that would one day be a child. Suddenly he pulled his hand back. “Sorry. I… I shouldn’t have… had my hand there for so long.”

“It’s all right,” said Sephiroth. “I don’t mind.” He took hold of Cloud’s hand and placed it on his stomach once more. “It’s nice to be touched again. There was a time I never thought I would be touched again.”

Cloud blushed, but did not pull his hand away. “I just… don’t want to seem as if I’m getting too friendly.”

“Maybe I would like for you to get a little friendly.”

Cloud’s eyes became huge. “Me? With…?”

“Zack did ask you to look after me, did he not?”

“I’m not sure he meant…”

Cloud,” said Sephiroth quietly, “Zack is never coming home. I wish he was, but he’s not. I’m alone.”

“I’m just not sure that I’m what you need,” said Cloud.

“I think you’re everything I need. I think Zack knew that. I think that’s why he asked you to look after me.”

Cloud gazed at Sephiroth, blue eyes meeting green.

“I’m afraid,” said Cloud. “If… we don’t work out…”

“What if we do?”

Cloud thought about that. He thought about what it would be like to have this beauty in his life, in his bed… oh gods Sephiroth was going to be so very high-maintenance. But… he was being offered a Maserati. There were bound to be a few trade-offs to have something like Sephiroth in his life. He wasn’t just another guy on the street. He was something rare and beautiful and exotic, and he was turning to him of all people in his time of need.

What sort of idiot would say no?

“All right,” said Cloud. “I’ll do my best to make you happy. But if Zack’s ghost shows up and tries to pound my skull into small pieces you have to save me.”

Sephiroth smiled, then turned away, flicking his long hair back over his shoulder. “Two men fighting over me. Hmm. I’m not sure I would want to stop that.”

Very high-maintenance.

Cloud walked up behind him, slipping his arms around the long lean body. “You’re going to be a complete pain in the ass to keep, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely. It’s my job. I was bred and raised to be difficult.”

Extremely high-maintenance. He may require a crew.

“What do I have to do to make you behave?”

Sephiroth looked over his shoulder at Cloud, his expression one of disdain. “I suggest not trying to make me. I don’t like leashes. I tend to snap them.”

Truer words were never spoken. Terrific. Mr. Control-Freak meets the Great Uncontrollable. Zack must be laughing his ass off. But Zack never seemed to have any trouble with Sephiroth respecting him. Then again, Zack always treated Sephiroth like what he was; a force of nature. Zack couldn’t make Sephiroth do anything, and he never tried. It seemed the best way to control this beauty was just not to try. Sephiroth knew what he wanted and what he was doing, and if he was going to do something… well… he would. Anything else would be like shouting orders at a blue whale. If the damned thing had a mind to run you over, it would, and that was that.

“What if I ask nicely?”

Sephiroth blew a raspberry at him. Oh yeah. This was just going swimmingly. Seven feet and three hundred pounds of winged death, and he was supposed to look after him? Cloud considered digging Zack up to piss on him as he gently ran a hand over one powerfully muscled arm.

“But I thought you wanted me to get friendly..? Or did you change your mind?”

“No, I just want to see what you’ll let me get away with.”

“Sephiroth I can’t let you do anything because you will whether I like it or not, and my opinion means shit to you.”

Sephiroth laughed quietly, and pressed back against Cloud. “Now there’s the magic phrase I was looking for.”

There wasn’t any foreplay, just soft compliance. Sephiroth simply rested his upper half on the edge of the stone tub, forearms crossed, submitting himself willingly. It was possibly the single most erotic thing Cloud have ever seen, and for a few moments all he could do was stand there like an idiot, jaw hanging, erection poking out of the water.

“I’m waiting…” purred Sephiroth. If he had a tail it would be waving. There was a vague threat in the tone. How the hell could he do that? How could he be the guy on the bottom and still be the one on top?

Cloud stroked his hands over the lean white hips, approaching almost cautiously.

“We… uh… need something for…”

Sephiroth handed him a bottle of goat milk body oil. Apparently goat milk was his answer to everything. But it worked. It made everything nice and slippery. Sephiroth closed his eyes and breathed out a satisfied sigh as Cloud slowly worked the oil into him. Cloud paused as he noticed a secondary entrance that frankly shouldn’t have been there.

“Hey, you’ve got a…”

“You just never mind that. You’re not putting anything in there until I say you can.”

“So that’s how you got pregnant.”

“I can shape-shift my entire body; a uterus is no mean feat. How did you think Zack got me pregnant?”

“I was wondering about that.”

Sephiroth snorted with amusement. Cloud set aside the oil, and taking hold of the lean hips once more, pressed himself deep inside of him. There was some shifting and splashing as Sephiroth adjusted his position to accommodate him, then he let out a soft breath, his head falling back.

“It’s been far too long.”

Yeah it had been a long time, hadn’t it? Who had been the last person he…? Right. Tifa at the edge of the crater, the pair of them assuming they were alone, happily fucking their brains out while Barret, Cid and Vincent munched popcorn and took notes on style, technique and duration. Cid had been a very bad influence on Vincent.

Cloud opened one eye and glanced around. He didn’t see anybody watching…

“Harder,” said Sephiroth quietly.

Cloud closed his eyes and forgot any potential audience, thrusting deep, trying to keep his footing on the slippery tub floor. He nearly fell once and had to grab on tight and hard, but Sephiroth didn’t seem to mind. In fact he seemed to like it and pressed back against him, uttering a rough gasp. Cloud increased his grip around Sephiroth’s waist with one hand, then reached up and tangled his other hand into the long white hair. His foot almost slipped again.

“This is a damned silly place to have sex,” muttered Cloud.

“I like it. Something so very… hot… about you having to struggle to stay on.”

Good grief this guy was just a big strange happy basket full of weirdness, wasn’t he? Oh well, there were worse kinks to have.

“It would be easier if your legs weren’t so long.”

Sephiroth altered his stance a little. “Better?”

Oh yeah. Oh yeah that was much better. Cloud wrapped his arms around the long body and thrust hard and deep, the water sloshing all around. He drove his fingernails into the white skin, gritting his teeth, pounding hard like an animal. It had been too long. He wasn’t going to last. Crap. No! This wasn’t… how this was supposed to end…

Shit.

Cloud loud out a strange, loud, breathy cry, his orgasm overwhelming him. He shuddered, his feet slipping on the hot tub’s bottom, holding on desperately as his semen spurted deep into Sephiroth’s body. He shuddered and gasped, feeling the sensations slow, then stop. He held onto his lover’s powerful body, completely spent but reluctant to relinquish his grip. Eventually, however, his strength failed and he fell off like a drunken snail and into the water. He landed on one of the stone seats, panting. Sephiroth looked over his shoulder at Cloud, one eyebrow raised.

“Well that was anti-climatic.”

“Sorry. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be much better the second time. It’s just… been about a year.”

“That long? The way Tifa is always hanging all over you I should think it had been a little more recent.”

Cloud shook his head. “We did once but… I don’t know. That’s not how I feel towards her. Our relationship is complicated. She likes to pretend we’ll get married one day and have kids and live happily every after.”

Sephiroth came to sit beside Cloud. “And you?”

“I had a complete nervous breakdown on the road chasing your clone all over the planet. She could have spared me that if she had just told me the truth, instead of telling me to be strong while I freaked out, wondering whose memories were in my head. How can I trust her after that? What kind of crap is that? Is that what she’s going to say to the kids when one of them breaks a leg? I don’t know if I’ll ever get to be a father, but I do know one thing. I’m gonna let my kids cry and be angry, have tantrums and play in the rain and ask ‘why?’ until I want to scream. None of this ‘be strong’ shit. None of this dumping perfume on pig shit and calling it roses. I’m going to talk to my children, and let them have feelings. I don’t want any child to feel the way I did.”

Sephiroth didn’t say anything. He simply looked thoughtful, as if he was thinking of something he hadn’t before. He picked up the bar of soap and reached beneath the water, cleaning Cloud off before gently caressing and stroking him into a state of arousal once more. Then he straddled him, lowering himself onto the stiff penis. Cloud smiled, slipping his arms around Sephiroth’s slender body.

“I thought you said I wasn’t allowed in there.”

Sephiroth kissed him. “Well now I say you are.”

Cloud’s smile widened. “Well I don’t know, this bench seems awful stable. You sure you wouldn’t rather have me try to do this on a chair with two short legs?”

“No. I like this just fine.”

***---***

It was roughly eleven in the morning when Cloud woke up. The day was bright and sunny, and the hot tub was cold and sludgy. Sephiroth and his myriad of goat-based beauty products were gone. Instead all Cloud found waiting to greet him was Cid Highwind, cigarette in place, a mop in his left hand, and a look of extreme annoyance on his face.

“Well good morning, sleeping ugly. What the hell did you do to my hot tub?”

Cloud looked around, then raised one hand, watching as a congealed concoction of hot tub chemicals and goat milk beauty products mixed with a few doses of semen dripped off his fingers.

“Made goat milk soup?”

“Uh huh.” Cid handed him the mop. “Clean it. And be nice to that mop. It’s my favourite.”

Cloud examined the implement. “This looks like the one you dug up in Bone Village and killed a dragon with.”

“It is. I want it and my hot tub clean. Now.”

"Where’s Sephiroth?”

Cid pointed. Cloud looked in the direction indicated, and smiled as he saw Vincent and Sephiroth sitting together, tentatively forging the first links in their friendship.

“I’m glad they found each other,” he said quietly.

“Yeah me too,” said Cid. “Now clean out my hot tub.”

“Cleaning, Captain.”

Cid walked away to help Barret with something, while Cloud began morosely cleaning the slurry of the previous night off himself and the hot tub.

“You know you could have at least woke me up!” Cloud called to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth looked over his shoulder at Cloud, and smiled.

“Well I could have left your clothes where you could easily reach them, too, but where’s the fun in that?”

Cloud’s eyes widened, and he looked around, searching for his clothes. He noticed them carefully laid out on a rock at least thirty feet away. He sighed heavily.

“Thanks a lot, Zack,” he muttered.

From the corner of his eye he saw the faded image of a shaggy grey wolf, lying on the ground beside the rusting remains of a sword. Cloud could have sworn it was laughing.