FIC: Change, PG-12
Change
By Emerald Embers
Louise_cmi_vc@hotmail.com
Rated PG-12 for yaoi.
Fandom: Final Fantasy 7
Pairing: Sephiroth/Zack, Zack/Cloud, Zack/Aeris
Non-profit fanfiction, please don’t sue.
Sephiroth knew he ought to be sleeping soundly. The trip had been long, the day ahead looked busy - but events in the bed on the opposite side of the room were keeping him distracted. The lad in the middle bed had the right idea, going out like a light seconds after he hit the sheets, and snoring loud enough it was a wonder the windows weren’t shaking. He hadn’t been troubled by the aimless thoughts that were frustrating Sephiroth beyond belief.
Zack loved him and he knew that, or at least thought he did, having been told enough times. Love was such a silly concept anyway - who would give a name to something you couldn’t define? Nonetheless, some part of his mind had apparently decided love was a serious enough issue to keep him awake over.
It wasn’t quite that he felt jealous, though if he had been on the receiving ends of whatever was making Cloud bury his face in Zack’s neck it was doubtful he would have been having these thoughts. He knew Zack had an attitude with people that suggested he’d never, ever run out of the capacity to love. He liked people and seemed to believe there really was some hope for the planet, had genuine faith in humanity. What bothered Sephiroth was the stupid, but simple fact that Zack had a life outside him.
It was a useless feeling, but whenever he had time alone with Zack he never wanted it to end. Even when they weren’t doing anything noteworthy, when Sephiroth was filling out paperwork and Zack playing solitaire to pass the time, even when they weren’t talking, he felt more satisfied somehow than he would have been anywhere else. It was an effect the dark-haired man had on people - you didn’t necessarily know something was missing from your life before you met him, but once you had, it was as if he dipped his fingers right inside you and pointed to a gap you hadn’t realised was there. And he would fill it. Even if you resisted, he would find ways to fill it. Sephiroth remembered one week spent cooped up in the laboratory with Hojo when the scientist had flown into a sudden impotent rage on realising ‘someone’ - oh, what a magnificent someone - had broken into Sephiroth’s observation room and covered the wall in unflattering doodles of the bespectacled man.
Zack was of the firm opinion life was only hard because people made it that way, and spent so much energy trying to perk up the spirits of everyone around him it was a surprise that he didn’t try to demand payment for it. He just... worked at making people happy.
Cloud gasped and shifted, the outline of his leg moving up and obscuring the line of Zack’s hips, and Sephiroth caught himself wondering if the blond boy had any idea how appallingly lucky he was to have caught Zack’s eye. During missions Sephiroth made a habit of observing his subordinates, making notes as to who seemed to be making too much of an effort to fit in, who spoke with a non-Midgarian accent, who stood out from the crowd for good or bad reasons. Cloud was a very, very ordinary boy in terms of physical prowess, but extraordinarily sullen. Checks into bullying at the academy revealed no obvious reasons for his attitude, and Sephiroth had written it off as another typical form of adolescent rebellion. Apparently Zack had seen differently.
Watching the two of them together was neither settling his mood nor helping him sleep, but the General found himself drawn to the sight nonetheless. He knew full well why he could not look away. They were quietly beautiful together, but more importantly, Zack’s movements were completely different to how he acted with Sephiroth. With Cloud, Zack was reassuring and comforting, smoothing the boy’s hair with one hand while his other was... well, one couldn’t see for certain, but it was occupied elsewhere. When Zack slipped into Sephiroth’s bed he was subtly different, guiding and encouraging as if he thought Sephiroth already knew the intricacies of sex but just needed a little assistance with putting theory into practise. With any other person it would be insulting, but the dark-haired man had a way of expressing his ideas that made them palatable.
Cloud’s eyes widened, unfocused, before the blond boy pulled one hand out of Zack’s hair and bit down on it firmly, orgasm written all over his expression and the muscle spasms he could not quite repress. Zack made no real attempt to hide his own but was somehow subtler for it regardless, grunting quietly and shifting against Cloud for a moment before relaxing into the bed. If Sephiroth hadn’t been watching, he might even have been fooled that it was simply Zack fidgeting in his sleep. The dark-haired man seemed to whisper something in Cloud’s ear before stroking the boy’s hair and turning over, facing Sephiroth and waving a little.
Zack was honest about the fact he loved other people, had made no attempt to hide it since the day he was promoted to First Class and thus rendered damn near untouchable to all save the highest ranking members of Shinra. He made love seem easy. And Sephiroth ached, knowing he would never be able to return that simple love, knowing he would always be different from Zack. He wanted to possess Zack, make sure the promise of an easy life held in the dark-haired man’s was extended to him alone.
Zack smiled lazily, eyes twinkling before he closed them and adjusted his position, looking sated and satisfied. Part of Sephiroth’s mind took some pleasure in the fact Zack had not spooned around Cloud as he so often did with him, wondered vaguely what the dark-haired man did with his girlfriend back in Midgar. Soldier sterility meant relationships with women were just as useful - or useless - as relationships with men, the pressure to do one’s duty and marry greatly reduced given the only real use for marriage was to do so for political or financial gain. Many a raving letter had been sent to the Shinra army headquarters from some irate mother or father screeching about the fact they would never have grandchildren despite the fact the leaflets on mako treatment clearly stated common side effects, usually followed by an even more irate letter after a secretary sent the generic reply of “Learn to read”, albeit more eloquently phrased.
“Seph?”
The General blinked, surprised Zack was addressing him despite clearly being two thirds of the way to a deep sleep. “Yes?”
“Stop thinking. I can hear you from here.” It was friendly advice disguised as a jibe, and Zack adjusted the pillow he’d been forced to share with Cloud, trying to fluff it up slightly in vain. It seemed the blond occupant of the bed had taken the best part of the pillow and wasn’t about to give it up now he was sleeping and gripping it for dear life. “There’s nothing in this world worth losing sleep over.”
Sephiroth nodded and sighed, forcing his eyes to close and his head to sink further into the unpleasantly flat pillow, frowned slightly when his mind prompted the answer ‘What about you?’. Romanticism wasn’t in his nature, and seemed alien when found amongst his thoughts. Still, there was no denying it; thoughts of Zack had kept him awake. “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Good night.”
“Good night,” Zack replied with mild exasperation, though the air between them seemed to soften when Sephiroth yawned in reply.
Only a little time passed after that before the dark-haired man’s snoring could be heard, and the General realised that his initial feelings of tension and worry had been replaced with a gentle fatigue. Many of his conversations with Zack went the same way, Sephiroth’s ears open but never fully registering the messages he heard, the world seeming to cruel to fit his friend’s outlook. Nonetheless, it was late; and no matter how difficult it was to listen to and comprehend Zack’s attitude, it was undeniably seductive when night was heavy in the air.
Sephiroth doubted he would ever understand Zack’s ways fully, but as much as it kept him awake into the early hours given the chance, it was also the easiest thing to fall asleep to, same as a child’s fairytale. Taken literally it could disturb or bother someone, but the sentiment there was soft and sweet, and pillowing.
A quiet, somewhat comical wet sound came from the dark-haired man’s direction and the General could not help but laugh quietly in response. It seemed Zack wasn’t prepared to move, but was still quite ready to blow a kiss across the room. “Go to sleep.”
“Oh shh.”
Silence reigned for a while before two sets of heavy breathing became three, and at last, with a relieved sigh as Sephiroth finally slipped into sleep, four.
- The End
By Emerald Embers
Louise_cmi_vc@hotmail.com
Rated PG-12 for yaoi.
Fandom: Final Fantasy 7
Pairing: Sephiroth/Zack, Zack/Cloud, Zack/Aeris
Non-profit fanfiction, please don’t sue.
Sephiroth knew he ought to be sleeping soundly. The trip had been long, the day ahead looked busy - but events in the bed on the opposite side of the room were keeping him distracted. The lad in the middle bed had the right idea, going out like a light seconds after he hit the sheets, and snoring loud enough it was a wonder the windows weren’t shaking. He hadn’t been troubled by the aimless thoughts that were frustrating Sephiroth beyond belief.
Zack loved him and he knew that, or at least thought he did, having been told enough times. Love was such a silly concept anyway - who would give a name to something you couldn’t define? Nonetheless, some part of his mind had apparently decided love was a serious enough issue to keep him awake over.
It wasn’t quite that he felt jealous, though if he had been on the receiving ends of whatever was making Cloud bury his face in Zack’s neck it was doubtful he would have been having these thoughts. He knew Zack had an attitude with people that suggested he’d never, ever run out of the capacity to love. He liked people and seemed to believe there really was some hope for the planet, had genuine faith in humanity. What bothered Sephiroth was the stupid, but simple fact that Zack had a life outside him.
It was a useless feeling, but whenever he had time alone with Zack he never wanted it to end. Even when they weren’t doing anything noteworthy, when Sephiroth was filling out paperwork and Zack playing solitaire to pass the time, even when they weren’t talking, he felt more satisfied somehow than he would have been anywhere else. It was an effect the dark-haired man had on people - you didn’t necessarily know something was missing from your life before you met him, but once you had, it was as if he dipped his fingers right inside you and pointed to a gap you hadn’t realised was there. And he would fill it. Even if you resisted, he would find ways to fill it. Sephiroth remembered one week spent cooped up in the laboratory with Hojo when the scientist had flown into a sudden impotent rage on realising ‘someone’ - oh, what a magnificent someone - had broken into Sephiroth’s observation room and covered the wall in unflattering doodles of the bespectacled man.
Zack was of the firm opinion life was only hard because people made it that way, and spent so much energy trying to perk up the spirits of everyone around him it was a surprise that he didn’t try to demand payment for it. He just... worked at making people happy.
Cloud gasped and shifted, the outline of his leg moving up and obscuring the line of Zack’s hips, and Sephiroth caught himself wondering if the blond boy had any idea how appallingly lucky he was to have caught Zack’s eye. During missions Sephiroth made a habit of observing his subordinates, making notes as to who seemed to be making too much of an effort to fit in, who spoke with a non-Midgarian accent, who stood out from the crowd for good or bad reasons. Cloud was a very, very ordinary boy in terms of physical prowess, but extraordinarily sullen. Checks into bullying at the academy revealed no obvious reasons for his attitude, and Sephiroth had written it off as another typical form of adolescent rebellion. Apparently Zack had seen differently.
Watching the two of them together was neither settling his mood nor helping him sleep, but the General found himself drawn to the sight nonetheless. He knew full well why he could not look away. They were quietly beautiful together, but more importantly, Zack’s movements were completely different to how he acted with Sephiroth. With Cloud, Zack was reassuring and comforting, smoothing the boy’s hair with one hand while his other was... well, one couldn’t see for certain, but it was occupied elsewhere. When Zack slipped into Sephiroth’s bed he was subtly different, guiding and encouraging as if he thought Sephiroth already knew the intricacies of sex but just needed a little assistance with putting theory into practise. With any other person it would be insulting, but the dark-haired man had a way of expressing his ideas that made them palatable.
Cloud’s eyes widened, unfocused, before the blond boy pulled one hand out of Zack’s hair and bit down on it firmly, orgasm written all over his expression and the muscle spasms he could not quite repress. Zack made no real attempt to hide his own but was somehow subtler for it regardless, grunting quietly and shifting against Cloud for a moment before relaxing into the bed. If Sephiroth hadn’t been watching, he might even have been fooled that it was simply Zack fidgeting in his sleep. The dark-haired man seemed to whisper something in Cloud’s ear before stroking the boy’s hair and turning over, facing Sephiroth and waving a little.
Zack was honest about the fact he loved other people, had made no attempt to hide it since the day he was promoted to First Class and thus rendered damn near untouchable to all save the highest ranking members of Shinra. He made love seem easy. And Sephiroth ached, knowing he would never be able to return that simple love, knowing he would always be different from Zack. He wanted to possess Zack, make sure the promise of an easy life held in the dark-haired man’s was extended to him alone.
Zack smiled lazily, eyes twinkling before he closed them and adjusted his position, looking sated and satisfied. Part of Sephiroth’s mind took some pleasure in the fact Zack had not spooned around Cloud as he so often did with him, wondered vaguely what the dark-haired man did with his girlfriend back in Midgar. Soldier sterility meant relationships with women were just as useful - or useless - as relationships with men, the pressure to do one’s duty and marry greatly reduced given the only real use for marriage was to do so for political or financial gain. Many a raving letter had been sent to the Shinra army headquarters from some irate mother or father screeching about the fact they would never have grandchildren despite the fact the leaflets on mako treatment clearly stated common side effects, usually followed by an even more irate letter after a secretary sent the generic reply of “Learn to read”, albeit more eloquently phrased.
“Seph?”
The General blinked, surprised Zack was addressing him despite clearly being two thirds of the way to a deep sleep. “Yes?”
“Stop thinking. I can hear you from here.” It was friendly advice disguised as a jibe, and Zack adjusted the pillow he’d been forced to share with Cloud, trying to fluff it up slightly in vain. It seemed the blond occupant of the bed had taken the best part of the pillow and wasn’t about to give it up now he was sleeping and gripping it for dear life. “There’s nothing in this world worth losing sleep over.”
Sephiroth nodded and sighed, forcing his eyes to close and his head to sink further into the unpleasantly flat pillow, frowned slightly when his mind prompted the answer ‘What about you?’. Romanticism wasn’t in his nature, and seemed alien when found amongst his thoughts. Still, there was no denying it; thoughts of Zack had kept him awake. “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Good night.”
“Good night,” Zack replied with mild exasperation, though the air between them seemed to soften when Sephiroth yawned in reply.
Only a little time passed after that before the dark-haired man’s snoring could be heard, and the General realised that his initial feelings of tension and worry had been replaced with a gentle fatigue. Many of his conversations with Zack went the same way, Sephiroth’s ears open but never fully registering the messages he heard, the world seeming to cruel to fit his friend’s outlook. Nonetheless, it was late; and no matter how difficult it was to listen to and comprehend Zack’s attitude, it was undeniably seductive when night was heavy in the air.
Sephiroth doubted he would ever understand Zack’s ways fully, but as much as it kept him awake into the early hours given the chance, it was also the easiest thing to fall asleep to, same as a child’s fairytale. Taken literally it could disturb or bother someone, but the sentiment there was soft and sweet, and pillowing.
A quiet, somewhat comical wet sound came from the dark-haired man’s direction and the General could not help but laugh quietly in response. It seemed Zack wasn’t prepared to move, but was still quite ready to blow a kiss across the room. “Go to sleep.”
“Oh shh.”
Silence reigned for a while before two sets of heavy breathing became three, and at last, with a relieved sigh as Sephiroth finally slipped into sleep, four.
- The End