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sephirthoughts · 3 months ago

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Just Like Honey: Chapter 13

Such a Puppy

AU: organized crime, cabaret, sex work

SHIPS: MULTIPLE! rufus/cloud, vincent/cloud, sephiroth/cloud, reeve/cloud, rufus/cloud/tseng, zack/cloud, cloud/other characters as clients because that's his job, weiss/nero, background aerti

RATING: EXPLICIT, no minors allowed, 18+, minors DNI

WARNINGS: violence, sex workers, prostitution

Zakku: hi cloud! sorry i haven’t called but i was doing a thing i can’t tell you about for work. anyway i’m back now and i was hoping to see you soon.

Zakku: i was thinking food and a movie or something? no pressure. just let me know when you’re free!

Zakku: ps kunsel says hi too! [.img]

The attached image was a selfie of his black-haired SOLDIER friend (whose name Cloud had since abbreviated to Zakku in his contacts), with the purple-uniformed one in the face covering helmet, both grinning and giving peace signs.

It was fortunate for Zack that he’d sent the picture, with the text, because Cloud had almost forgotten how hot the guy was. That certainly would have motivated him to respond right away, too, but he was just walking in the door of the Honeybee, and hadn’t even been to his room, to put his luggage down.

He ignored his phone for the moment, returning a few cheerful greetings, as he made his way up to his room. When he got there, he shut the door behind him and fell face-first into his bed. It wasn’t that he hadn’t enjoyed himself in Wutai, with Vincent, there was just something about being alone, in his own room, that he badly needed, after so much time being ‘on’.

After he’d laid there recharging for a while, he kicked off his boots and began scrolling through the rest of his many, many messages. Tseng (for Rufus) and Reeve had both made appointments already, and Vincent wanted him to know he’d be at the show Saturday. There were about forty more, from regular clients, and also a calendar alert from Aerith, with a schedule of his booked sessions. This was going to be a busy couple of weeks.

Just then, there was a knock on his door, and one of the bellhops called out to let him know Andrea wanted him in the theater, right away. Cloud shouted back that he’d be down in a minute, then pouted to himself. Yes, he’d technically been on vacation for the past week, but it’s not as if he’d rested all that much. Damn that old man’s demonic sex drive.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I think I need a vacation from Vincent,” he sighed, as he pulled his boots back on.

A few minutes later, Andrea Rhodea found himself being faced down by his two headliners, who had their hands on their narrow hips and expressions of extreme indignation on their equally beautiful, but diametrically opposite faces.

“You want us to what?!” they demanded, in unison, which was ironic, considering what they were angry about.

“Listen, darlings, I know you’ve had your differences, but this is the only way to enter the upper city with the big splash the Honeybee needs,” Andrea reasoned.

“I don’t do tandem,” Nero sneered. “He’ll just get in my way.”

“I hate to agree with Nero, but I don’t understand how we’re supposed to perform together,” Cloud put in. “We don’t even do the same type of gymnastics. You can’t actually expect one of us to learn the other’s discipline, in three weeks. That’s not possible.”

Nero gave a derisive laugh. “Maybe for you. I learned yours in four days.”

“What?” Cloud demanded. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“When Nero covered your Saturday show, he…performed your routine,” Andrea answered, looking uncomfortable.

Cloud’s eyes flashed with anger as he turned on Nero. “That routine belongs to me! I don’t want you ruining my reputation, by fucking it up in front of my audience!”

Nero tossed his black hair. “I think what you’re really worried about is that I’ll ruin your reputation by doing it better than you. Which I did.”

“Andrea!” Cloud said, appealing vaguely to their boss.

“I didn’t authorize it. Nero took the initiative to do it on his own,” Andrea explained. “And while it wasn’t what I would call better, it was very good. That at least shows that he can learn quickly enough for the two of you to perform together, for the audition. Which you will be doing. So I suggest you get used to it. I want you both on stage, ready to start working on a new routine, first thing in the morning.”

There was a lot more arguing, pleading, and bargaining, along with a heavy dose of sniping, between Cloud and Nero, but Andrea stood firm, and eventually, the two dancers had no choice but to go away and stew about it.

The session in the morning (Honeybee morning, which meant noon) was more of the same, and nothing worth mentioning was accomplished. The next day's session went slightly better, but the one the day after that was a regression toward the mean. They butted heads about costuming and stage design, couldn’t agree on anything, insulted each other about sixty times, and wound up giving Andrea such a headache, that he ended the meeting an hour early and went back to his office, presumably to rethink his life choices.

When Cloud suggested they keep working, Nero rolled his eyes and walked away, which was just fine with Cloud. Not even pretending to be dissatisfied with getting out of that unpleasant task, for the day, he quickly escaped to the bao place and treated himself to a basket, while he worked on returning some of his messages.

First, he sent one to Vincent, thanking him again for the lovely trip, telling him to send Cid his best regards, and reminding him to update him, if he found out how the queen ‘dealt with’ the princess. Next, he sent one to Reeve, saying he was looking forward to seeing him soon, and asking if he should wear anything specific.

Finally, he sent one to Tseng, saying there was no need for President Shinra to send a helicopter, since they’d actually made an appointment in advance, like adults, and thus he would have plenty of time to get there, on his own. Tseng replied with a middle finger emoji. His work messages now taken care of, Cloud replied to Zack.

Strife: movie and food sounds good. you free tonight?

He didn’t expect to get a message back right away, but the phone vibrated before he’d even set it down.

Zakku: awesome! yeah i’m free! anything you like or don’t like eating?

Strife: you pick. something casual though i don’t want to dress up

Zakku: got it i know just the place! what kind of movies you like?

Strife: anything but weepy melodramas

Zakku: the cinema in the tower is always playing all kinds of stuff. let’s just choose one when we get there. should i come pick you up?

Strife: no i live in sector 6. i’ll take the train up just tell me when

Zakku: oh why didn’t you say so? i can meet you down there instead if you want. there’s a lot to do in the undercity too!

Strife: i’d rather go up. i’m kind of sick of everything down here

Zakku: cool! that means i can still take you to that place to eat. tower entrance at 2100?

Strife: i’ll be there

SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair was a genuinely upbeat and optimistic person. He was well-adjusted, had loving and supportive parents, and despite being generally aware of his strength, good looks, and high status, he was not vain. Instead, he had a rare healthy balance of humility and self-confidence.

However, the moment he caught sight of the little, spiky-haired blonde, striding purposefully across the square, to meet him, all of that flew out the window, and he immediately felt ungainly and out of his depth.

Zack had courted and been courted by extremely attractive people of all genders, but none even came close to comparing with the tiny, freckled blonde, with the sharp blue eyes and even sharper tongue. He’d simply never met anyone like Cloud Strife.

He was small and slender, and so beautiful, it made Zack’s chest feel tight and achy. But there was also something indefinable about him, too. A kind of strength that couldn’t be measured in weight lifted or fights won. A kind of grace that came with near-perfect mastery of oneself. He couldn’t help being fascinated.

In anticipation of their date, and because he was a naturally conscientious person, Zack had been at the entrance to Shinra Tower, at nine o’clock sharp, just like they’d agreed. As a result, he waited for Cloud for fifteen minutes, but Cloud was at the mercy of the train, so Zack had expected a bit of delay.

“Hey, Cloud!” he said brightly, when the young man approached. “Thanks for meeting me. I hope the ride up was ok.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Cloud replied, less brightly. “The train, you know.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m just glad it got you here as fast as it did. I hope you’re hungry.”

“Always,” Cloud smiled, already beginning to loosen up, under the influence of Zack’s warm and easygoing aura.

The ‘place’ Zack had talked about was on Loveless Avenue, but a bit off the main drag, on a side street. When he saw that it was a bar style mini-restaurant, with only four stools for seating, and was operated by one very old Gongagan man, Cloud knew he was in for some amazing food.

They wound up getting okonomiyaki and omuraisu to share, along with two full orders of takoyaki, for which the place was apparently quite renowned. Zack and the old man bantered back and forth, while they watched him cook, and another couple soon arrived and took the other two seats, so the atmosphere was lively and convivial.

The food was perfect, especially for the brisk weather, being hot and hearty homestyle fare. Cloud was full before he was even halfway through his own half, but Zack was more than happy to pick up his slack, and even looked as if he could stand to eat a bit more.

When they were finished eating, Cloud didn’t insult Zack and make things awkward by pretending he was going to pay for himself. He merely bowed his appreciation to the old man, and then thanked Zack sweetly for the meal, as they departed. He could tell Zack was impressed, with this basic bit of etiquette, which made him smile inwardly. As a professional, he at least knew how to behave himself on a date.

When they got to the cinema, in the Midgaria Mall, there were three movies to choose from, that were currently seating. It was between Meet Cute II: Whole Latte Love, Sayonara my Samurai, and Mega-Bahamut vs. Ultra-Behemoth. The correct choice was obvious, to anyone with two brain cells to rub together.

“Concessions?” Cloud asked.

“Hell yeah! Popcorn, hot dogs, slushies, candy!” Zack said eagerly.

“You just ate half a truckload of takoyaki. Are you seriously still hungry?” Cloud laughed, poking his (flawless washboard) stomach.

“It’s the SOLDIER treatment, man,” Zack pleaded, as he defended his midsection. “We need like, three times as much food as a regular person of equivalent body mass.”

“Is that true?”

“Yep. That’s why our meals are subsidized,” Zack said gravely. “They can’t pay us enough to feed ourselves.”

“Ok, now I know you’re bullshitting. Hurry up and get your snacks. We’re gonna miss the exposition, and then how will we follow the plot?”

Snacks were duly gotten, and they even managed to find seats without some tall jackass in a hat sitting in front of Cloud, which was an extremely noteworthy occurrence and absolutely worth mentioning, as any petitely inclined person can attest.

“What did you think?” Cloud asked, as they strolled out of the theater, at the end of the studio-approved two hours and eleven minutes.

“Eh, it was alright,” Zack shrugged. “I just wish the CGI didn’t look so fake. The first Meet Cute was better.”

“Yeah, the quality really tanked. So much for the Meet Cute-iverse.”

“So, um. You want to get going, or do you maybe…want to hang out at my place?”

Cloud made a doubtful face. “Don’t you live in like, barracks, or something?”

“Nope. Firsts get our own apartments. Nothing too fancy, but they’re way nicer than the dorms the Seconds and Thirds have to live in. And you don’t even want to know how the troopers live.”

“Alright, sure. I’d love to see your place.”

Zack’s apartment was on the secure 60th floor of Shinra Tower, in a quiet low-lit hallway, with brass numbers on the doors, of which there were only four. Inside, the apartment was astonishingly spacious, but otherwise, very much a young, single man’s living space.

In the living room, there was a huge flatscreen, several different game consoles, and various controllers, sitting all over the cabinet below the television. The coffee table was strewn with what appeared to be training manuals, and a few tech magazines. On one wall, there were posters from martial arts movies and bands, and on the other, a single, ten-foot-tall poster, featuring the world-famous First SOLDIER, Genesis Rhapsodos.

Cloud wasn’t going to ask about it, but it occurred to him that Zack might actually know the elusive, stunningly beautiful war hero, whose valiant and highly publicized deeds of heroism continually sent the entirety of Midgar into paroxysms of Pro-Shinra fervor. If the man was Zack’s friend, it seemed a little weird to have a poster of him on the wall.

“Uh, haha. Genesis hung that up,” Zack said, seeing Cloud looking at it. “He said it’s for inspiration. And also that if I take it down, he’ll make me do seven-thousand squats.”

“You two are friends, then?” Cloud said, trying to sound casual.

“Well. Yeah,” Zack laughed. “There are only three Firsts. We’ve all worked together for years.”

“Who’s the other one?”

“Angeal Hewley. He’s my mentor.”

“Why haven’t I heard of him? Or you, for that matter.”

“Shinra doesn’t want us in the spotlight. Genesis is the face of the program, so they direct all the publicity toward him.”

“That doesn’t seem fair to you two.”

Zack shook his head. “It’s not fair to Genesis. Angeal and me get to just do our jobs and live our lives. The whole world watches every single thing he does. People talk about him all the time, like they know him and have a right to have opinions about his work, and even his personal life. It’s pretty hard on him.”

“I’m glad he has a friend like you, then. You seem to care about him a lot.”

“I’d do anything for either of those two,” Zack said fervently. “They’re my best friends in the world.”

Cloud went over to the far wall, which was just a massive window, looking out over the city lights and the eerie-green glow of the reactors. It wasn’t as high up as Reeve’s office or penthouse, or anywhere near the president’s rooftop office, but it was still on the 60th floor, which wasn’t bad at all.

“Awesome view, isn’t it?” Zack said proudly.

Cloud nodded. “I live on the third floor of a tiny building. My window just looks out over the dirty street. It has a fire escape, though. The neighborhood cats like to sleep on it, when it’s warm out.”

“Aw, man. I wish I could have a cat.”

“You can’t?”

“No pets allowed on the SOLDIER floors. Probably better, anyway. I’m gone so much, I’d have to get a pet-sitter all the time. Poor thing would probably forget me.”

Cloud looked up at him. They were standing very close together, now. “What color were your eyes, before you were a SOLDIER?”

Zack smiled and leaned even closer. “You can’t guess?”

“Hm…grey?”

“Nope. Boring old brown, like everyone in Gongaga.”

“No one has brown eyes, in Nibelheim. I guess that’s why I’ve always liked them the best.”

“You don’t like my eyes how they are, now?”

“I do, in fact. They’re the first thing I noticed, about you. I mean, after the huge sword.”

Zack’s hands were sneakily slipping around his waist, so Cloud hooked a finger into the waistband of his pants and pulled him the rest of the way into a kiss. What a kiss. Goddess. Zack was devastatingly good at it. Gentle and tender at first, then increasingly heated and playful. Cloud could practically see his tail wagging, when he carried him to his bedroom and pounced on him.

“You want to be on top, or you want me to be?” he asked, as he peeled off Cloud’s underwear.

“You top.”

“Cool. If you ever feel like changing it up, just say the word,” Zack grinned. “I'm a switch-hitter.”

While he was saying this, he skinned out of his own underwear, and his big, gorgeous dick bounced free. Dicks did tend to be rather buoyant, in that state, but Cloud could have sworn there was an extra measure of spritely springiness to it, reflective of its owner’s personality.

They started face-to-face, and Cloud couldn’t keep his eyes or his hands off Zack’s cut-marble pecs and abs. Even without the waist armor and pauldrons to enhance it, he had the perfect, inverse-triangle body shape, so iconic to Shinra’s elite SOLDIERs.

“C—Cloud…fuck. You feel so good, baby,” Zack panted, pushing his thighs higher and wider, as he rocked into him. “I want to fuck you hard. Can I?”

Cloud nodded, biting his bottom lip eagerly.

Naturally, Zack was as good as his word, and fucked him hard. Not like a wild beast like Vincent, and certainly not with Sephiroth’s savage precision. And a lot less emotional and intense than Reeve. His energy was more like…a puppy, to be honest. Enthusiastic, mischievous, and absolutely relentless.

Fortunately for Cloud, however, SOLDIER stamina was impressive, but it wasn’t quite demonic. Cloud was extremely athletic himself, and thus had no trouble keeping up with Zack, in that regard. He was also sure he had never laughed and talked this much during sex, in his life. They were romping around together, purely for the joy of it. Sex was fun, and it should be.

Zack, well-behaved puppy that he was, politely pulled out and came on Cloud’s back or belly, every time, without having to be asked. He even went and got him a damp towel and a bottle of water, when they'd finished.

“Cloud…ah. How do I even say this,” he said, when they were lounging around in bed, afterward. “I really like you. Like, a lot. You’re so cool and beautiful and fun to be with. I can’t even tell you how amazing you are. I’d like to keep doing this, if you’re into it. But I owe it to you to be up front, and tell you that I can’t be, like…reliable. I go away on missions without warning, all the time, and I’ll never be able to tell you when, or where, or for how long. I might get hurt, or even die. And no matter how much I like you…my job has to come first.”

Cloud suppressed a smile. “Zack. Are you trying to tell me you can’t be my boyfriend?”

Zack looked painfully awkward. “Uh…”

“It’s ok,” Cloud laughed, coming to his rescue. “You wouldn’t want to be my boyfriend anyway, trust me. I can’t tell you about what I do, either. And my job comes first, too. We’re kind of in the same boat.”

“Didn’t you say service industry? I thought you worked at a café, or something,” Zack said, squinting at him.

Cloud arched an eyebrow. “Do you really think I work at a café, looking like this?”

“Well. Not when you say it like that, I don’t.”

“The point is, we can’t be boyfriends. But I like you and you like me. What should we do about that?”

“I guess…we should just have a good time together, when we can? And not worry about it too much?”

Cloud was so relieved to have this understanding between them arranged so easily, he very nearly teared up. “I’d like that a lot.”

“You still want to spend the night, though, right?”

“You think I’d rather ride the train to the undercity, at three in the morning?”

Much to Cloud’s amusement, Zack was a perfect gentleman in every respect, letting him shower first, giving him an (oversized) set of pajamas to wear, and even running downstairs to the all-night drugstore, to buy him a toothbrush. When they got into bed, the giant puppy wrapped his big arms around Cloud, nuzzled into the back of his neck, and instantly fell asleep. It was disgustingly adorable.

When Cloud woke up, apparently alone, in a strange place and with a painfully stiff dick, it took his brain a moment to catch up, because it was attempting to comprehend why he was wearing pajamas, and why in the name of Odin an adult human being’s bed would be covered in blue jersey sheets.

Then he recalled that this was his big puppy’s place, and there was no accounting for the taste of males in their twenties, when left to their own devices. A cursory search revealed that the puppy in question was indeed, not in residence, but Cloud did find a message on his phone.

Zakku: sorry to bail on you like that. got called up for a mission. told ya it happens a lot. 😕 i don’t have much there except cereal but help yourself to whatever and stay as long as you want. i’ll call you as soon as i get back! 💙

Zakku: ps the door auto-locks and i won’t be back for at least a week so don’t forget anything when you go! 😄

Ugh. He was so fucking sweet and earnest, it made Cloud’s teeth ache. How could a person like Zack possibly be one of Shinra’s elite war machines? SOLDIERs First Class were supposedly human atom-bombs, sent in to destroy large numbers of enemies��be they monsters, automata, human beings, or otherwise—when things were too dangerous for the regular military.

Cloud glanced at the copper-haired hero in the poster, on his way out. It seemed like those things were too much for even the top level SOLDIERs to handle, sometimes. People said Genesis Rhapsodos was the greatest warrior the Planet had ever known, and that there had still been times when even he barely survived whatever hell Shinra sent him into.

An image flashed unbidden before Cloud’s eyes, of kind, thoughtful, cheerful Zack, in a war zone, with smoke and carnage all around. Under heavy fire. Covered in blood. Fighting for his life. Possibly even losing that fight. His throat constricted and his eyes stung with threatened tears.

Ok, no more of that. He shook himself and pushed those maudlin thoughts away. Sure, he liked this guy, but there was no sense worrying about what might or might not happen to him, in the future. Cloud’s work wasn’t exactly safe, either. All they could do was make their choices and take their chances, just like everyone else.

He was so wrapped up in his meditations, he hardly glanced at the group of white-coated scientists, who got on the elevator on the next floor. He just pressed himself into the corner, like usual, and kept his hood up and his head down. The elevator lurched, a little, as it started moving again, and Cloud gave a jolt, at a sudden, sharp prick, in his upper arm.

“What the fuck!” he said, grabbing it reflexively as he looked up.

One of the scientists was facing him, drawing his thin, gnarled hand back. In it, was one of those auto-injector syringes. It was that fucking weirdo with the round glasses! The one who lanced his finger in that lab, the first time he was here!

“You again! What the hell did you…you do to…me…” Cloud’s words slurred together as a wave of nausea swept over him, and his vision began to tilt sideways.

“We meet again, Nibelheim,” glasses-weirdo said, pushing up his weirdo glasses, with a positively reptilian smile. “I’ve been attempting to entice you to stop by the lab for a while, my boy. You’re a bit more slippery than I expected.”

Cloud tried to swing a fist at the bastard, but his arm wouldn’t go. His head weighed about eight tons and his legs had turned into cooked pasta. He staggered forward and would have collapsed on the man, but two of the other scientists caught him by the arms and held him upright.

Glasses-weirdo looked extremely pleased, which did not seem to bode well for anyone not interested in being vivisected. “Well, no matter. You’re here now. Take him to Exam-B. I’ll be in shortly. Full restraints and mako sedation.”

Mako sedation? What the fuck? Cloud’s whirling brain didn’t think that sounded very good, but he couldn’t make his mouth open, to object.

“But, professor, he’s a civilian!” a scientist objected, for him. “Surely…excessive for…like this.”

Cloud struggled to understand what she was saying, but their voices were fading in and out and becoming increasingly garbled, as his grasp on consciousness began to slip.

“Ha!” glasses-weirdo cawed. “Underestimate…at your…my specimen…as you’re told!”

Whatever the other scientist’s reply was, Cloud never knew. The cold, sticky, heaviness of the poison had crawled up his spine and poured into his head like sludge, sucking him down into unconsciousness. But he thought he saw something, as the blackness closed over his eyes. It was a face. A face from a photograph someone had shown him…

THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY

THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING ELSE TO SAY the correct choice was Mega-Bahamut vs. Ultra-Behemoth

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