Prisoners of War Ch. 36
Title: Prisoners of War Ch. 36
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4300
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: torture in the name of science
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 |
Did everyone remember to LOOOOOOOOOK!!! Ahem. Just a smidge excited. It may have shown. The pages Tomo has sketched out look amazing too.
***
Sephiroth wiped the blood off Masamune from the last lab tech they had encountered. This section of the basement looked a lot newer and was definitely more active. There was a large white door with a keypad next to it just ahead. Maybe... Sephiroth stepped forward and listened at the door. He could just make out a voice; it was slurred and it sounded terrified.
"Nnnn... nnn!" It was Cloud. He'd recognize his voice anywhere, no matter what.
There was no time for fiddling with keypads, so Sephiroth simply used his sword and sliced through the reinforced door like it was butter. He kicked the remains of the door down and was greeted with his worst nightmare.
Cloud was naked, and strapped to a table with Hojo standing over him, cutting into his chest. Sephiroth froze. He had no idea what he could do; Hojo had a scalpel in Cloud's chest. The man could do anything before Sephiroth got there. Cloud was awake and struggling against his bonds, but then his eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of Sephiroth standing in the doorway.
"Se-" Cloud fought even harder, bucking against the straps and trying to wiggle out of them, completely ignoring the blood pooling around him.
Hojo paused and turned around, seemingly unsurprised by Sephiroth's appearance in the doorway. "Oh, the failure's back. Well, we need your cells anyways, if we're going to have a proper reunion." He turned back to Cloud and roughly pulled the scalpel out of his chest. "We can postpone this for another day. Kill him."
Cloud flailed some more before his entire body suddenly stilled and his eyes went vacant. He seemed to be waiting patiently while Hojo unstrapped him. Sephiroth took a few steps towards him and Cloud pulled his legs underneath himself with a feral snarl. "Traitor..."
"Shi-"
Cloud launched himself at Sephiroth with a level of ferocity he had never seen from anyone before. Cloud was unarmed, but it made no difference. He fought tooth and nail, and the force of Cloud's impact knocked Sephiroth back into the wall. Small, but incredibly strong hands wrapped themselves around Sephiroth's throat and squeezed. Sephiroth didn't want to hurt Cloud, but he had to breathe. He managed to pull Cloud's hands off his neck and push him away. This was bad. This wasn't Cloud, but Cloud was still in there. He just had to get him calmed down.
Sephiroth attempted to pin Cloud underneath him, but Cloud was too fast. He dodged and grabbed Sephiroth by the arm before heaving him up and throwing him across the room into a row of cabinets. Sephiroth lay among the broken glass and shattered vials, gasping for air. Never before had he been thrown. Like a ragdoll. He saw Cloud coming for him and struggled to stand.
Zack and Vincent threw themselves at Cloud's back, grabbing his arms and trying to slow him down. He saw Tseng make a run for some cabinets on the other side of the room and start rummaging through them.
"Jenova's controlling him!" Aerith shouted. "I'm going to try and block her."
The effect of Aerith's actions was immediately apparent as Cloud suddenly ceased all fighting and collapsed to the ground.
"Sephiroth? You-you really came? He told me you were dead."
"Of course I came, Cloud. I'd never leave you." Sephiroth rushed over to Cloud's side and pulled him into his arms while Zack and Vincent backed away.
Aerith suddenly let out a pained scream and Sephiroth looked up in time to see her fall in a heap on the floor.
"Aerith!" Zack rushed over to her side and Cloud snarled again.
This time, Sephiroth reacted in time to land properly when he was thrown once again. Cloud launched himself at him again, but was stopped by Vincent landing on his back. Cloud let out a scream of anguish and Sephiroth saw Vincent's clawed hand digging into the wound on Cloud's chest.
"DON'T HURT HIM!" Sephiroth shouted and rushed forward to try and pin Cloud down again.
"Move away!" Tseng suddenly commanded, and Sephiroth stepped back instinctively. He heard a loud pop and saw a dart embed itself in Cloud's neck. Sephiroth moved quickly enough to catch Cloud's unconscious form before he hit the ground.
"What did you hit him with?" Sephiroth asked as he cradled Cloud in his arms and activated his Restore to cure the wound on his chest. A wound that now looked significantly nastier thanks to Vincent's 'help'.
"It was labelled 'Specimen C - Emergency Tranquilizer', so I figured it was worth a shot." Tseng knelt down next to them and pulled the dart from Cloud's neck and checked his pulse and breathing. "Yeah, he should be fine."
"How's Aerith?" Sephiroth asked.
"She's unconscious, but she's breathing," Zack said.
Sephiroth nodded his understanding and turned his attention back to Cloud. He ran his hand through what was left of Cloud's hair; large sections were shaved and he could feel the bumps of scars and stitches. The rest of his body was littered with scars as well. Hojo hadn't shown any mercy.
"HOJO!" Sephiroth shouted and sat bolt upright. "Where's Hojo?"
"I think he escaped in the chaos," Tseng said disappointedly. "Do you want to go after him?"
"No… Cloud needs help. And we should get Aerith someplace safe as well. We'll deal with Hojo later." Sephiroth paused and concentrated for a moment. "I... I can feel Jenova now. She's moving."
"Where?" Zack asked nervously.
"Farther away. And fairly quickly; her presence is getting more and more faint."
"Maybe Hojo took her and ran."
"Maybe... that'll make him easier to track down, at least."
"When did you become such an optimist?"
"He's alive." Sephiroth smiled and looked down at Cloud fondly. "He's alive; he'll be okay." Sephiroth looked up again, all business. "We should get out of here." He managed to take off his coat without letting go of Cloud and wrapped it around his naked body. Gathering Cloud up, he stood and then paused for a moment. "Where should we go?"
"Why don't we go to Alde's house?" Zack suggested. "She's got beds and we really should explain what's going on. She deserves to know that Cloud's alive."
Sephiroth grumbled quietly. He really didn't want to go see that woman again, but Zack was probably right, and it was a better option than the inn. Besides, Cloud would want his mom to know he was alive, if not well. "All right. Tseng, Valentine," Sephiroth snarled Vincent's name, "You're in charge of fending off nasties."
***
They definitely drew a crowd when they walked back into town; people were practically lining the streets, waiting to catch a glimpse. Sephiroth felt the urge to bring out his wing and use it to hide Cloud from their stares, but figured that would draw even more attention. Instead he settled for covering as much of Cloud as possible with his coat and draping his hair like a curtain over Cloud's head. Alde was waiting outside, looking anxious as they made their way down the street towards her house. She didn't say anything as she ushered them in; she didn't even give Vincent a second glance, despite his unusual getup.
Alde led them upstairs into a tiny bedroom with old posters and a toy train set on the dresser. This must have been Cloud's room, Sephiroth thought as he looked around.
"You can set him down on the bed and get out," Alde ordered.
Sephiroth tightened his grip on Cloud and slowly turned to face her. "What?"
Alde stepped forward and reached out to grab at Cloud. Sephiroth saw Tseng's eyes go wide as he dodged out of Alde's reach and ended up across the room before he even realized he was moving.
"Give me back my son, you bastard!" Alde suddenly screamed at him.
"We came here so we could have a safe place to stay while we try to heal Cloud. We also thought that you deserved to know what happened. If you don't want that, we'll leave, right now, but I'm taking Cloud with me." Sephiroth shifted Cloud so that he was holding him with one arm and Cloud's head was tucked into his shoulder, just in case he needed a free arm to fend Alde off.
"Don't you dare take him away from me again! I've been worried sick about him these past months! And now you show up again and tell me that you abandoned him all this time? You think I'm going to just let you have him?"
"I never abandoned him, you bitch." Sephiroth's pulse was going a mile-a-minute, and he rocked Cloud gently, stroking his hair; he was worried that his anger might affect Cloud somehow. "I spent this entire time trying to get back to him. What did you do? Other than wait around for him to come back?"
"How dare you!? How was I supposed to know where he was? You Shin-Ra folks never tell anyone anything! You think I didn't call him? Didn't write? I thought you stole him from me!"
"Do you really have so little faith in your own son? You think he'd just walk out on you like that and never contact you again? Cloud doesn't do that to the people he loves." Sephiroth bend his head and planted several kisses on Cloud's head. Cloud smelled of mako; he needed to have a shower sooner, rather than later.
"Don't you start putting words in my mouth, you cradle-robber!" Alde was positively beside herself with fury. "How am I supposed to know what sort of mind-games you played on him? For all I know, you threatened him into staying with you! Everyone knows you're completely heartless!"
"I spent far too long believing that I wasn't capable of love to be willing to take that shit from anyone, ever again! And that includes backwater hags who don't know the first thing about me! I love Cloud more than you can possibly imagine, and don't you dare tell me otherwise!" Sephiroth rocked Cloud some more and mumbled some random comforting nothings in his ear. He hoped that Cloud couldn't somehow hear him calling Alde names. Not that she didn't deserve them.
"You're just saying that! If you really loved him, you'd leave him with me. He needs his mother, not some warmongering SOLDIER."
"And how exactly do you plan on taking care of him? In case you haven't noticed, Cloud's been through hell. He needs people who know what they're doing to look after him. Besides, if Cloud and I ever separate, it'll be because Cloud made the decision, not you."
Alde just gaped at him, completely at a loss for anything more to say and Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud. He really needed to get that mako washed off.
"Can we stay here without you being a bitch about it or not?" Sephiroth asked.
"You… you can stay," Alde conceded.
"Then where's the shower?"
"What?"
"I need to get the mako washed off of him." Sephiroth took a deep breath and tried to calm himself and explain patiently. "Too much exposure to mako causes mako poisoning. Right now, he smells like he just came out of a mako tank; it's all over him, so I need to get him in the shower."
"Is that why he isn't waking up?" Alde asked as she led him towards the bathroom.
"No, he's sedated. I'm not sure what it was that was used on him, but he should wake up soon." Sephiroth didn't feel the need to mention that they were the ones who had sedated him. The truce between him and Alde seemed too shaky for that bit of information. He just hoped that Cloud would be himself when he woke up.
"What about that girl? The one Zack was carrying. Is she all right?"
"I'm not sure; I hope so. She was injured in the fight." Sephiroth set Cloud down on the toilet and pulled his jacket off Cloud's shoulders. He left it draped over his lap, however, and gave Alde a pointed look as she set some towels on the counter. "Tseng will be able to explain more about what happened. And I can handle this myself."
Alde looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but she bit her lip and nodded, reluctantly backing out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Sephiroth looked over at the shower and noticed that the showerhead was fixed in one place; that would make things tricky. He leaned Cloud against the counter and quickly stripped, then pulled the jacket off Cloud's lap and picked him up again and set him on the edge of the tub. Sephiroth sat down next to him and fiddled with the taps until he had a nice warm spray going. He pulled the curtain shut around them and found a sponge that would probably make things a bit easier.
He took his time washing Cloud, using the opportunity to inspect the damage that Hojo had wrought. He had only had a brief glance at the scars earlier. The first thing he noticed was the small numerical 'one' tattooed on his left hand. That and that Cloud was far too thin. He had grown at least a couple of inches-Sephiroth had noticed that when he was carrying him-but he had also lost weight. There was no fat on his body at all, just lean muscles that looked strained, even while he was unconscious. Sephiroth ran his fingers over thick, ropelike scars that were all over Cloud's body, and when he washed Cloud's hair, he felt several large staples in his skull.
Sephiroth let himself slowly drop to the floor of the shower and pulled Cloud into his lap. He rocked them back and forth while he cried for the second time in his memory. "I'm so sorry, Cloud. I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sephiroth whispered over and over again until the water began to run cold.
With a heavy heart, Sephiroth shut off the shower and pulled back the curtain. He grabbed a towel off the counter and wrapped it around Cloud, gently rubbing him dry. He carefully patted the area around the staples dry; it was too late to worry about not getting them wet, but he didn't want them to get infected. He would see about taking them out tomorrow and healing the wound properly, with materia. Just as Sephiroth was drying himself off, there was a knock at the door. He wrapped his towel around his waist and opened it a crack. Zack was standing there with a bundle of clothes.
"Tseng went over to the inn, and apparently Mrs. Guptar kept all our stuff in case we came back for it. So I got out some PJs for Cloud. Figured they'd fit him better than anything he had left here. And here are yours as well."
"Thanks, Zack." Sephiroth took the bundle. "How's Aerith?"
"She woke up, maybe... fifteen minutes ago, but she's pretty groggy. Tseng says he thinks she'll be all right. Not sure how he knows so much about her... but he seems pretty sure. Get dressed and we'll talk some more about what we're going to do now."
"All right, thanks for the clothes."
"No problem, wait till Spiky sees what else I found!"
Sephiroth shut the door and turned back to Cloud, who was leaned up against the counter again. His drying hair wasn't nearly as spiky as it had been; the missing patches seemed to kill its ability to stand on end. He wondered vaguely what Cloud would want to do with it as he dressed them both. People teased Cloud about his hair a lot, but he never changed it, so Sephiroth supposed he must have liked it. He sighed. Of all the changes, hair was probably the least concerning. It would grow out in time. Other things were probably a lot more permanent.
"Come on, Cloud," Sephiroth said, scooping Cloud up once more, "Let's go see if we can avoid another fight with your mother."
"Nnn..." Sephiroth heard a small moan in his ear.
"Cloud?" Sephiroth hurried back to Cloud's bedroom and sat down on the bed. "Can you hear me, Cloud?"
Cloud's eyelashes fluttered and his head flopped feebly. "Nnngh..."
"Shh, don't try to move, Cloud. You were sedated, but you're safe now. Don't be scared. You're safe. I've got you." He rocked Cloud and stroked his hair, hoping to keep him calm.
"Se..."
"Yeah, it's me. You're all right now." Sephiroth heard a small sound in the doorway and looked up to see Alde standing there with an odd expression on her face. "He's waking up," he informed her.
She nodded and came and sat next to them on the bed, keeping her distance and a wary eye on Sephiroth. Sephiroth ignored her and went back to rocking Cloud. Cloud cracked open his eyes and looked up at Sephiroth blearily.
"Seph?" Cloud's voice cracked as he tried to speak.
"I'll get him some water," Alde said quietly.
"Ice chips would be better."
"Okay." Alde hurried out of the room and down the stairs.
"Hey, Cloud." Sephiroth leaned his head down and kissed Cloud's forehead. "Your mom's going to get you some ice and that should make talking easier." Sephiroth paused, unsure of what else to say. Cloud was probably really confused right now, but Sephiroth wasn't sure how to explain. At least he seemed to be himself; that was a step in the right direction.
"Mom?"
"Yeah, your mom's here. We got you out of the lab and we're hanging out with her for a while."
Alde came back in with a cup of broken up ice cubes and set it on the nightstand. "Cloud? Baby? Are you all right?"
Sephiroth selected a piece of ice from the cup and held it to Cloud's lips until he opened his mouth, allowing Sephiroth to place it on his tongue. "Just let it melt," he said quietly.
Alde kept a shaking hand on Cloud's knee as he sucked on the ice chips. Sephiroth supposed she must have been really worried about him. Tseng and Vincent had gathered in the doorway, and were waiting expectantly-like they were worried something was going to happen. Finally, when he had had enough, Cloud reached out weakly for Sephiroth's hand.
"Not dreaming?" he asked.
"No, you're not dreaming. You're really safe now, I promise."
"Imagined so many times you'd come. Never real, though."
"It's real this time. I promise."
"Saw Tseng. Doesn't like me."
Sephiroth glanced up at the doorway; Tseng was there, but Cloud was only focusing on Sephiroth. He must have seen him in the labs. Sephiroth wondered what to say to that, and where Cloud gotten the idea that Tseng didn't like him. While he struggled, Tseng came over to kneel down beside them.
"I don't like you enough to carry you when you're drunk," he said, "But I do like you enough to come rescue you."
Cloud swivelled his head to focus his gaze on Tseng.
"It's weird, though, isn't it? I'm not the person you'd imagine coming to get you, am I?"
Cloud slowly shook his head, no.
"And you've never seen that guy before, have you?" Tseng pointed at Vincent, still hovering in the doorway, looking awkward. "He looks too weird to just be a figment of your imagination. And you probably never thought that you'd be taken to your mom's house when you were rescued, did you?"
Cloud shook his head again. "No... it's weird."
"So it must not be a dream," Sephiroth said, throwing a grateful smile at Tseng.
"Not a dream..." Cloud bobbed his head slowly. "Zack?"
"Zack's downstairs," Tseng said. "He's making some soup for you and Aerith."
"Are you hungry, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked.
"A bit."
"I'll go see if it's ready." Tseng stood and swept out of the room.
"Aerith?"
"She came too. She can block Jenova's voice, except it seems that Jenova attacked her when she tried to block her from you."
"'M sorry." Cloud turned his head and buried it in Sephiroth's chest. "Didn't mean to, 'm sorry."
Shit, he shouldn't have brought that up. "Shh, shh, it's okay. I know you weren't in control. You've got nothing to be sorry for."
"What's he talking about?" Alde asked.
"Um, just-" Sephiroth was saved the trouble of answering by Tseng coming back with a tray with a bowl of soup on it. He waited while Sephiroth sat himself and Cloud up, so they were propped up against the headboard. Tseng set the tray down in front of Cloud, who fumbled, trying to pick up the spoon. Sephiroth took it from him and scooped up a spoonful of broth. He tested the temperature and blew on it a few times to cool it before holding it up to Cloud's lips.
"Sorry," Cloud mumbled as he slurped the soup.
"Don't be. It's hard getting your hands to work properly after you've been out for a while. And you need to eat."
Alde watched Sephiroth the entire time he fed Cloud and he really wished she'd stop. It made him feel uncomfortable, like everything he did was being judged. When Cloud had had enough, she took the tray and set it on the nightstand. The ice chips had long since melted, but Sephiroth figured that Cloud was awake enough to handle drinking from a cup without choking. He held the glass steady while Cloud slowly sipped at it.
Eventually, Sephiroth got them both lying down on the bed, with Cloud curled up in his arms. "Go to sleep now, Cloud. I'll be right here in the morning," he whispered in Cloud's ear.
"Promise? You won't leave?"
"I promise. I won't leave you alone. I love you."
"Is he sleeping?" Zack poked his head in through the door, looking disappointed.
"Not quite, did you need something?"
"I just wanted to give him this." Zack held out that stupid stuffed chocobo and waved it in front of Cloud's face. "I found it jammed in the bottom of his pack."
Cloud cracked open an eye and grabbed the toy out of Zack's hand faster than Sephiroth thought he was capable of moving. He wrapped one arm around it and kept the other one firmly around Sephiroth as he closed his eyes once again.
"If he gets mad about it in the morning, I'm blaming you, Zack," Sephiroth warned.
"I know, I know, you always do. Oh, and speaking of chocobos, Tseng also rented a few stalls at the inn when he was there. It's a good thing someone's on the ball. I totally forgot about them." Zack turned to Alde and spoke, "We should all get to bed; it's been a long day." He shooed Alde out of the room and turned back and mouthed to Sephiroth, "I'll be back in a few."
Sephiroth nodded and listened to Alde protesting about leaving him and Cloud alone together as Zack ushered her to her room. "Don't worry, ma'am," Zack was saying, "Sephiroth is very good at being a platonic teddy bear."
"You don't actually expect me to believe that their relationship is platonic, do you? I may be a backwater hag, but I'm not stupid."
"You're not a hag, ma'am. And no, I don't expect you to believe that. But Sephiroth would never even consider touching Cloud unless Cloud was awake and consenting."
Alde sighed, "He really does care about him, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, he does. With all his heart. So give him a chance, okay? They're good for each other."
"He'll have to prove that to me," Alde said resolutely. "I have a hard time believing that he's good enough for my Cloud."
"I'm sure you'll be able to see that for yourself, eventually. Anyways, have a good sleep, ma'am. Thanks for letting us stay here."
"You're welcome. Goodnight, Zack."
Sephiroth settled back in the bed, stroking Cloud's hair and thinking of what Alde had said. Of course he would never touch Cloud when he was like this. Was that what ordinary people really thought he was like? Sephiroth sighed, at least... at least she seemed to be coming around. And she had left them alone, although he wouldn't put it past her to sneak out of her room to eavesdrop on them.
"What made her so overprotective of you, Cloud?" he whispered quietly enough that he wouldn't actually disturb Cloud. "She knew about you being bullied, didn't she? She's worried you'll be hurt again."
Sephiroth sighed again. That was probably her reasoning, but it didn't make him feel any better. "And what are we going to do about you? What did Hojo do to you?" Jenova being able to control Cloud was a huge problem and Sephiroth was certain that it would happen again. Sephiroth was at a disadvantage when it came to fighting Cloud; there was no way he could bring himself to use enough force to hurt him. And they couldn't just keep sedating him, either. "Jenova controls you by controlling her cells that were implanted in your body, right? Like they were implanted in mine." Sephiroth paused with his hand on Cloud's head. "Hey, Cloud, I have an idea."
***
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
A/N: Aaaand we're back to the hurt/comfort. It definitely takes a mother to think that Sephiroth isn't good enough for someone.
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4300
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: torture in the name of science
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 |
Did everyone remember to LOOOOOOOOOK!!! Ahem. Just a smidge excited. It may have shown. The pages Tomo has sketched out look amazing too.
***
Sephiroth wiped the blood off Masamune from the last lab tech they had encountered. This section of the basement looked a lot newer and was definitely more active. There was a large white door with a keypad next to it just ahead. Maybe... Sephiroth stepped forward and listened at the door. He could just make out a voice; it was slurred and it sounded terrified.
"Nnnn... nnn!" It was Cloud. He'd recognize his voice anywhere, no matter what.
There was no time for fiddling with keypads, so Sephiroth simply used his sword and sliced through the reinforced door like it was butter. He kicked the remains of the door down and was greeted with his worst nightmare.
Cloud was naked, and strapped to a table with Hojo standing over him, cutting into his chest. Sephiroth froze. He had no idea what he could do; Hojo had a scalpel in Cloud's chest. The man could do anything before Sephiroth got there. Cloud was awake and struggling against his bonds, but then his eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of Sephiroth standing in the doorway.
"Se-" Cloud fought even harder, bucking against the straps and trying to wiggle out of them, completely ignoring the blood pooling around him.
Hojo paused and turned around, seemingly unsurprised by Sephiroth's appearance in the doorway. "Oh, the failure's back. Well, we need your cells anyways, if we're going to have a proper reunion." He turned back to Cloud and roughly pulled the scalpel out of his chest. "We can postpone this for another day. Kill him."
Cloud flailed some more before his entire body suddenly stilled and his eyes went vacant. He seemed to be waiting patiently while Hojo unstrapped him. Sephiroth took a few steps towards him and Cloud pulled his legs underneath himself with a feral snarl. "Traitor..."
"Shi-"
Cloud launched himself at Sephiroth with a level of ferocity he had never seen from anyone before. Cloud was unarmed, but it made no difference. He fought tooth and nail, and the force of Cloud's impact knocked Sephiroth back into the wall. Small, but incredibly strong hands wrapped themselves around Sephiroth's throat and squeezed. Sephiroth didn't want to hurt Cloud, but he had to breathe. He managed to pull Cloud's hands off his neck and push him away. This was bad. This wasn't Cloud, but Cloud was still in there. He just had to get him calmed down.
Sephiroth attempted to pin Cloud underneath him, but Cloud was too fast. He dodged and grabbed Sephiroth by the arm before heaving him up and throwing him across the room into a row of cabinets. Sephiroth lay among the broken glass and shattered vials, gasping for air. Never before had he been thrown. Like a ragdoll. He saw Cloud coming for him and struggled to stand.
Zack and Vincent threw themselves at Cloud's back, grabbing his arms and trying to slow him down. He saw Tseng make a run for some cabinets on the other side of the room and start rummaging through them.
"Jenova's controlling him!" Aerith shouted. "I'm going to try and block her."
The effect of Aerith's actions was immediately apparent as Cloud suddenly ceased all fighting and collapsed to the ground.
"Sephiroth? You-you really came? He told me you were dead."
"Of course I came, Cloud. I'd never leave you." Sephiroth rushed over to Cloud's side and pulled him into his arms while Zack and Vincent backed away.
Aerith suddenly let out a pained scream and Sephiroth looked up in time to see her fall in a heap on the floor.
"Aerith!" Zack rushed over to her side and Cloud snarled again.
This time, Sephiroth reacted in time to land properly when he was thrown once again. Cloud launched himself at him again, but was stopped by Vincent landing on his back. Cloud let out a scream of anguish and Sephiroth saw Vincent's clawed hand digging into the wound on Cloud's chest.
"DON'T HURT HIM!" Sephiroth shouted and rushed forward to try and pin Cloud down again.
"Move away!" Tseng suddenly commanded, and Sephiroth stepped back instinctively. He heard a loud pop and saw a dart embed itself in Cloud's neck. Sephiroth moved quickly enough to catch Cloud's unconscious form before he hit the ground.
"What did you hit him with?" Sephiroth asked as he cradled Cloud in his arms and activated his Restore to cure the wound on his chest. A wound that now looked significantly nastier thanks to Vincent's 'help'.
"It was labelled 'Specimen C - Emergency Tranquilizer', so I figured it was worth a shot." Tseng knelt down next to them and pulled the dart from Cloud's neck and checked his pulse and breathing. "Yeah, he should be fine."
"How's Aerith?" Sephiroth asked.
"She's unconscious, but she's breathing," Zack said.
Sephiroth nodded his understanding and turned his attention back to Cloud. He ran his hand through what was left of Cloud's hair; large sections were shaved and he could feel the bumps of scars and stitches. The rest of his body was littered with scars as well. Hojo hadn't shown any mercy.
"HOJO!" Sephiroth shouted and sat bolt upright. "Where's Hojo?"
"I think he escaped in the chaos," Tseng said disappointedly. "Do you want to go after him?"
"No… Cloud needs help. And we should get Aerith someplace safe as well. We'll deal with Hojo later." Sephiroth paused and concentrated for a moment. "I... I can feel Jenova now. She's moving."
"Where?" Zack asked nervously.
"Farther away. And fairly quickly; her presence is getting more and more faint."
"Maybe Hojo took her and ran."
"Maybe... that'll make him easier to track down, at least."
"When did you become such an optimist?"
"He's alive." Sephiroth smiled and looked down at Cloud fondly. "He's alive; he'll be okay." Sephiroth looked up again, all business. "We should get out of here." He managed to take off his coat without letting go of Cloud and wrapped it around his naked body. Gathering Cloud up, he stood and then paused for a moment. "Where should we go?"
"Why don't we go to Alde's house?" Zack suggested. "She's got beds and we really should explain what's going on. She deserves to know that Cloud's alive."
Sephiroth grumbled quietly. He really didn't want to go see that woman again, but Zack was probably right, and it was a better option than the inn. Besides, Cloud would want his mom to know he was alive, if not well. "All right. Tseng, Valentine," Sephiroth snarled Vincent's name, "You're in charge of fending off nasties."
***
They definitely drew a crowd when they walked back into town; people were practically lining the streets, waiting to catch a glimpse. Sephiroth felt the urge to bring out his wing and use it to hide Cloud from their stares, but figured that would draw even more attention. Instead he settled for covering as much of Cloud as possible with his coat and draping his hair like a curtain over Cloud's head. Alde was waiting outside, looking anxious as they made their way down the street towards her house. She didn't say anything as she ushered them in; she didn't even give Vincent a second glance, despite his unusual getup.
Alde led them upstairs into a tiny bedroom with old posters and a toy train set on the dresser. This must have been Cloud's room, Sephiroth thought as he looked around.
"You can set him down on the bed and get out," Alde ordered.
Sephiroth tightened his grip on Cloud and slowly turned to face her. "What?"
Alde stepped forward and reached out to grab at Cloud. Sephiroth saw Tseng's eyes go wide as he dodged out of Alde's reach and ended up across the room before he even realized he was moving.
"Give me back my son, you bastard!" Alde suddenly screamed at him.
"We came here so we could have a safe place to stay while we try to heal Cloud. We also thought that you deserved to know what happened. If you don't want that, we'll leave, right now, but I'm taking Cloud with me." Sephiroth shifted Cloud so that he was holding him with one arm and Cloud's head was tucked into his shoulder, just in case he needed a free arm to fend Alde off.
"Don't you dare take him away from me again! I've been worried sick about him these past months! And now you show up again and tell me that you abandoned him all this time? You think I'm going to just let you have him?"
"I never abandoned him, you bitch." Sephiroth's pulse was going a mile-a-minute, and he rocked Cloud gently, stroking his hair; he was worried that his anger might affect Cloud somehow. "I spent this entire time trying to get back to him. What did you do? Other than wait around for him to come back?"
"How dare you!? How was I supposed to know where he was? You Shin-Ra folks never tell anyone anything! You think I didn't call him? Didn't write? I thought you stole him from me!"
"Do you really have so little faith in your own son? You think he'd just walk out on you like that and never contact you again? Cloud doesn't do that to the people he loves." Sephiroth bend his head and planted several kisses on Cloud's head. Cloud smelled of mako; he needed to have a shower sooner, rather than later.
"Don't you start putting words in my mouth, you cradle-robber!" Alde was positively beside herself with fury. "How am I supposed to know what sort of mind-games you played on him? For all I know, you threatened him into staying with you! Everyone knows you're completely heartless!"
"I spent far too long believing that I wasn't capable of love to be willing to take that shit from anyone, ever again! And that includes backwater hags who don't know the first thing about me! I love Cloud more than you can possibly imagine, and don't you dare tell me otherwise!" Sephiroth rocked Cloud some more and mumbled some random comforting nothings in his ear. He hoped that Cloud couldn't somehow hear him calling Alde names. Not that she didn't deserve them.
"You're just saying that! If you really loved him, you'd leave him with me. He needs his mother, not some warmongering SOLDIER."
"And how exactly do you plan on taking care of him? In case you haven't noticed, Cloud's been through hell. He needs people who know what they're doing to look after him. Besides, if Cloud and I ever separate, it'll be because Cloud made the decision, not you."
Alde just gaped at him, completely at a loss for anything more to say and Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud. He really needed to get that mako washed off.
"Can we stay here without you being a bitch about it or not?" Sephiroth asked.
"You… you can stay," Alde conceded.
"Then where's the shower?"
"What?"
"I need to get the mako washed off of him." Sephiroth took a deep breath and tried to calm himself and explain patiently. "Too much exposure to mako causes mako poisoning. Right now, he smells like he just came out of a mako tank; it's all over him, so I need to get him in the shower."
"Is that why he isn't waking up?" Alde asked as she led him towards the bathroom.
"No, he's sedated. I'm not sure what it was that was used on him, but he should wake up soon." Sephiroth didn't feel the need to mention that they were the ones who had sedated him. The truce between him and Alde seemed too shaky for that bit of information. He just hoped that Cloud would be himself when he woke up.
"What about that girl? The one Zack was carrying. Is she all right?"
"I'm not sure; I hope so. She was injured in the fight." Sephiroth set Cloud down on the toilet and pulled his jacket off Cloud's shoulders. He left it draped over his lap, however, and gave Alde a pointed look as she set some towels on the counter. "Tseng will be able to explain more about what happened. And I can handle this myself."
Alde looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but she bit her lip and nodded, reluctantly backing out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Sephiroth looked over at the shower and noticed that the showerhead was fixed in one place; that would make things tricky. He leaned Cloud against the counter and quickly stripped, then pulled the jacket off Cloud's lap and picked him up again and set him on the edge of the tub. Sephiroth sat down next to him and fiddled with the taps until he had a nice warm spray going. He pulled the curtain shut around them and found a sponge that would probably make things a bit easier.
He took his time washing Cloud, using the opportunity to inspect the damage that Hojo had wrought. He had only had a brief glance at the scars earlier. The first thing he noticed was the small numerical 'one' tattooed on his left hand. That and that Cloud was far too thin. He had grown at least a couple of inches-Sephiroth had noticed that when he was carrying him-but he had also lost weight. There was no fat on his body at all, just lean muscles that looked strained, even while he was unconscious. Sephiroth ran his fingers over thick, ropelike scars that were all over Cloud's body, and when he washed Cloud's hair, he felt several large staples in his skull.
Sephiroth let himself slowly drop to the floor of the shower and pulled Cloud into his lap. He rocked them back and forth while he cried for the second time in his memory. "I'm so sorry, Cloud. I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sephiroth whispered over and over again until the water began to run cold.
With a heavy heart, Sephiroth shut off the shower and pulled back the curtain. He grabbed a towel off the counter and wrapped it around Cloud, gently rubbing him dry. He carefully patted the area around the staples dry; it was too late to worry about not getting them wet, but he didn't want them to get infected. He would see about taking them out tomorrow and healing the wound properly, with materia. Just as Sephiroth was drying himself off, there was a knock at the door. He wrapped his towel around his waist and opened it a crack. Zack was standing there with a bundle of clothes.
"Tseng went over to the inn, and apparently Mrs. Guptar kept all our stuff in case we came back for it. So I got out some PJs for Cloud. Figured they'd fit him better than anything he had left here. And here are yours as well."
"Thanks, Zack." Sephiroth took the bundle. "How's Aerith?"
"She woke up, maybe... fifteen minutes ago, but she's pretty groggy. Tseng says he thinks she'll be all right. Not sure how he knows so much about her... but he seems pretty sure. Get dressed and we'll talk some more about what we're going to do now."
"All right, thanks for the clothes."
"No problem, wait till Spiky sees what else I found!"
Sephiroth shut the door and turned back to Cloud, who was leaned up against the counter again. His drying hair wasn't nearly as spiky as it had been; the missing patches seemed to kill its ability to stand on end. He wondered vaguely what Cloud would want to do with it as he dressed them both. People teased Cloud about his hair a lot, but he never changed it, so Sephiroth supposed he must have liked it. He sighed. Of all the changes, hair was probably the least concerning. It would grow out in time. Other things were probably a lot more permanent.
"Come on, Cloud," Sephiroth said, scooping Cloud up once more, "Let's go see if we can avoid another fight with your mother."
"Nnn..." Sephiroth heard a small moan in his ear.
"Cloud?" Sephiroth hurried back to Cloud's bedroom and sat down on the bed. "Can you hear me, Cloud?"
Cloud's eyelashes fluttered and his head flopped feebly. "Nnngh..."
"Shh, don't try to move, Cloud. You were sedated, but you're safe now. Don't be scared. You're safe. I've got you." He rocked Cloud and stroked his hair, hoping to keep him calm.
"Se..."
"Yeah, it's me. You're all right now." Sephiroth heard a small sound in the doorway and looked up to see Alde standing there with an odd expression on her face. "He's waking up," he informed her.
She nodded and came and sat next to them on the bed, keeping her distance and a wary eye on Sephiroth. Sephiroth ignored her and went back to rocking Cloud. Cloud cracked open his eyes and looked up at Sephiroth blearily.
"Seph?" Cloud's voice cracked as he tried to speak.
"I'll get him some water," Alde said quietly.
"Ice chips would be better."
"Okay." Alde hurried out of the room and down the stairs.
"Hey, Cloud." Sephiroth leaned his head down and kissed Cloud's forehead. "Your mom's going to get you some ice and that should make talking easier." Sephiroth paused, unsure of what else to say. Cloud was probably really confused right now, but Sephiroth wasn't sure how to explain. At least he seemed to be himself; that was a step in the right direction.
"Mom?"
"Yeah, your mom's here. We got you out of the lab and we're hanging out with her for a while."
Alde came back in with a cup of broken up ice cubes and set it on the nightstand. "Cloud? Baby? Are you all right?"
Sephiroth selected a piece of ice from the cup and held it to Cloud's lips until he opened his mouth, allowing Sephiroth to place it on his tongue. "Just let it melt," he said quietly.
Alde kept a shaking hand on Cloud's knee as he sucked on the ice chips. Sephiroth supposed she must have been really worried about him. Tseng and Vincent had gathered in the doorway, and were waiting expectantly-like they were worried something was going to happen. Finally, when he had had enough, Cloud reached out weakly for Sephiroth's hand.
"Not dreaming?" he asked.
"No, you're not dreaming. You're really safe now, I promise."
"Imagined so many times you'd come. Never real, though."
"It's real this time. I promise."
"Saw Tseng. Doesn't like me."
Sephiroth glanced up at the doorway; Tseng was there, but Cloud was only focusing on Sephiroth. He must have seen him in the labs. Sephiroth wondered what to say to that, and where Cloud gotten the idea that Tseng didn't like him. While he struggled, Tseng came over to kneel down beside them.
"I don't like you enough to carry you when you're drunk," he said, "But I do like you enough to come rescue you."
Cloud swivelled his head to focus his gaze on Tseng.
"It's weird, though, isn't it? I'm not the person you'd imagine coming to get you, am I?"
Cloud slowly shook his head, no.
"And you've never seen that guy before, have you?" Tseng pointed at Vincent, still hovering in the doorway, looking awkward. "He looks too weird to just be a figment of your imagination. And you probably never thought that you'd be taken to your mom's house when you were rescued, did you?"
Cloud shook his head again. "No... it's weird."
"So it must not be a dream," Sephiroth said, throwing a grateful smile at Tseng.
"Not a dream..." Cloud bobbed his head slowly. "Zack?"
"Zack's downstairs," Tseng said. "He's making some soup for you and Aerith."
"Are you hungry, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked.
"A bit."
"I'll go see if it's ready." Tseng stood and swept out of the room.
"Aerith?"
"She came too. She can block Jenova's voice, except it seems that Jenova attacked her when she tried to block her from you."
"'M sorry." Cloud turned his head and buried it in Sephiroth's chest. "Didn't mean to, 'm sorry."
Shit, he shouldn't have brought that up. "Shh, shh, it's okay. I know you weren't in control. You've got nothing to be sorry for."
"What's he talking about?" Alde asked.
"Um, just-" Sephiroth was saved the trouble of answering by Tseng coming back with a tray with a bowl of soup on it. He waited while Sephiroth sat himself and Cloud up, so they were propped up against the headboard. Tseng set the tray down in front of Cloud, who fumbled, trying to pick up the spoon. Sephiroth took it from him and scooped up a spoonful of broth. He tested the temperature and blew on it a few times to cool it before holding it up to Cloud's lips.
"Sorry," Cloud mumbled as he slurped the soup.
"Don't be. It's hard getting your hands to work properly after you've been out for a while. And you need to eat."
Alde watched Sephiroth the entire time he fed Cloud and he really wished she'd stop. It made him feel uncomfortable, like everything he did was being judged. When Cloud had had enough, she took the tray and set it on the nightstand. The ice chips had long since melted, but Sephiroth figured that Cloud was awake enough to handle drinking from a cup without choking. He held the glass steady while Cloud slowly sipped at it.
Eventually, Sephiroth got them both lying down on the bed, with Cloud curled up in his arms. "Go to sleep now, Cloud. I'll be right here in the morning," he whispered in Cloud's ear.
"Promise? You won't leave?"
"I promise. I won't leave you alone. I love you."
"Is he sleeping?" Zack poked his head in through the door, looking disappointed.
"Not quite, did you need something?"
"I just wanted to give him this." Zack held out that stupid stuffed chocobo and waved it in front of Cloud's face. "I found it jammed in the bottom of his pack."
Cloud cracked open an eye and grabbed the toy out of Zack's hand faster than Sephiroth thought he was capable of moving. He wrapped one arm around it and kept the other one firmly around Sephiroth as he closed his eyes once again.
"If he gets mad about it in the morning, I'm blaming you, Zack," Sephiroth warned.
"I know, I know, you always do. Oh, and speaking of chocobos, Tseng also rented a few stalls at the inn when he was there. It's a good thing someone's on the ball. I totally forgot about them." Zack turned to Alde and spoke, "We should all get to bed; it's been a long day." He shooed Alde out of the room and turned back and mouthed to Sephiroth, "I'll be back in a few."
Sephiroth nodded and listened to Alde protesting about leaving him and Cloud alone together as Zack ushered her to her room. "Don't worry, ma'am," Zack was saying, "Sephiroth is very good at being a platonic teddy bear."
"You don't actually expect me to believe that their relationship is platonic, do you? I may be a backwater hag, but I'm not stupid."
"You're not a hag, ma'am. And no, I don't expect you to believe that. But Sephiroth would never even consider touching Cloud unless Cloud was awake and consenting."
Alde sighed, "He really does care about him, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, he does. With all his heart. So give him a chance, okay? They're good for each other."
"He'll have to prove that to me," Alde said resolutely. "I have a hard time believing that he's good enough for my Cloud."
"I'm sure you'll be able to see that for yourself, eventually. Anyways, have a good sleep, ma'am. Thanks for letting us stay here."
"You're welcome. Goodnight, Zack."
Sephiroth settled back in the bed, stroking Cloud's hair and thinking of what Alde had said. Of course he would never touch Cloud when he was like this. Was that what ordinary people really thought he was like? Sephiroth sighed, at least... at least she seemed to be coming around. And she had left them alone, although he wouldn't put it past her to sneak out of her room to eavesdrop on them.
"What made her so overprotective of you, Cloud?" he whispered quietly enough that he wouldn't actually disturb Cloud. "She knew about you being bullied, didn't she? She's worried you'll be hurt again."
Sephiroth sighed again. That was probably her reasoning, but it didn't make him feel any better. "And what are we going to do about you? What did Hojo do to you?" Jenova being able to control Cloud was a huge problem and Sephiroth was certain that it would happen again. Sephiroth was at a disadvantage when it came to fighting Cloud; there was no way he could bring himself to use enough force to hurt him. And they couldn't just keep sedating him, either. "Jenova controls you by controlling her cells that were implanted in your body, right? Like they were implanted in mine." Sephiroth paused with his hand on Cloud's head. "Hey, Cloud, I have an idea."
***
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A/N: Aaaand we're back to the hurt/comfort. It definitely takes a mother to think that Sephiroth isn't good enough for someone.