#Strifesodos confirmed

[rottenpumpkin13]

Guys clearly the suspiciously-shaped cloud is Genesis 😞/s

GUYS CALM DOWN I FOUND A SECRET SECOND ARTWORK WITH GENESIS. IT’S OKAY, HE’S HERE!!

[lettersofsky]

A Change of Events - Chapter Two

Another chapter’s finished and up! Yay! And I know what I’m doing for the next chapter so that’s even better!! 

Fandom: FFVII Pairing: Future Strifesodos Warnings for mentions of death/dying, fighting and Shinra’s shitty practices

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Ko-Fi | AO3

It took another four days for them to make their way into The Slums of Midgar, held up by the still healing Fair and their need of stealth. Cloud may be conscious now, but he was of little use out here in the wastes, confused and anxious as he was.

Cloud hated being away from them and would cling to one of them tightly at all times, something neither of them minded. Genesis suspected it was from the scare with Fair, one reason why Genesis kept a close eye of his own on the other. That didn’t explain why he clung to Genesis of course, but that hardly mattered, he didn’t mind the little one burrowing into his side when the other got a hold of him.

Fair would always watch them with concern when Cloud did so, but Genesis couldn’t fault him the concern either. Now if only he applied that worry to himself, then they’d be golden.

Fair was doing much better by the time they stole their way into the Slums, but that didn’t mean Genesis trusted him to go off on his own. Especially not for an undetermined amount of time.

“Fair,” he sighed in frustration, arm around the trembling form of Cloud against him. Cloud wasn’t too pleased with Fair’s insistence to go alone either, resulting in gazes averted from large, begging blue-green eyes. “I need to know when to expect you back if you insist on going alone.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be,” Zack said, arms tense and crossed over his chest. “And I don’t want –“ he cut himself off, chancing a guilty look down at Cloud before adverting his eyes again.

Genesis understood what he was implying though, he didn’t want to be worried about how absent Cloud still was when reuniting with his beloved. Genesis didn’t fault him that, he just wished the other was being smarter about this.

“If you don’t return in five hours then we’ll have to assume you’re not returning.” Genesis’ statement surprised both Fair and Cloud, the latter of which squeaked against him.

“B-but Zack…”

“The hell do you mean by that?! Of course I’m coming back! I’m not abandoning Spike!”

“Five hours,” Genesis repeated, using the same tone he had used with unruly SOLDIERs. “Before I assume you’ve been captured by the enemy and I get Cloud and myself somewhere safe.”

Fair stood, stiff and tense, before him, looking ready to strike him, but Genesis wasn’t going to revoke his words. Fair sighed heavily, seeing the reason in his statement.

“Yeah,” he said, dropping his eyes from Genesis’. “If I’m not back by then, get yourselves somewhere safe.”

“We’ll remain here until then,” Genesis answers, letting himself relax now that Fair wasn’t arguing with him.

Fair nodded before turning his attention to Cloud, still clinging tightly to Genesis’ side, eyes flicking between them. “I’ll be back before you know it, Cloud,” Fair promised, kind and confident. “Genesis will look after you until then, ok?”

“Ok,” Cloud breathed, worried tone belying his words. “Stay safe.”

“I’ll see you soon,” Fair confirmed, shooting a last look at Genesis before turning towards the Sector 5 Slums, where his beloved was hopefully still awaiting him after so long.

Genesis swept his gaze around the run-down train station they found themselves standing at, keeping Cloud close as he guided him over to a nearby bench where they could wait for Fair’s return. “Here we are,” he says as he settles them both, allowing Cloud to pull his legs up onto the bench and tuck himself against him tightly. “How are you doing?”

Cloud shook his head against him, face remaining pressed against his signature coat. “No.”

Genesis’ brow furrowed at the answer, concern blooming in his chest. He rested his hand on the back of Cloud’s neck, fingers scratching at the soft hair there. “What’s wrong Cloud?”

Cloud still wasn’t the best with conversing or words yet so he expected the frustratingly vague answer he got. “It’s too much.” Cloud’s tight, uncomfortable voice squeezes something in Genesis’ chest.

But that didn’t stop his need to squirrel out what Cloud meant by that, it was difficult enough to look after him without them both failing at communicating. “What is?” He asked gently, fingers continuing their soothing motion. “The people?”

“No.” Cloud shook his head again, a bit frustrated himself. “No, it’s all too much.”

Genesis’ eyes furrowed, mind racing with possibilities before halting as he figured it out. He could have smacked himself for being so dense; Cloud was still new to being enhanced, the stimuli of the Slums must have been overwhelming him.

“It’s ok,” he hushed, curling around Cloud in return. “Just focus on me, alright? Nothing else, just me.” He kept his fingers moving through Cloud’s hair, gently manoeuvring the other until he rested against his chest, ear to his steady heartbeat.

There were a few tense moments before his efforts started to take effect and the stiff tension in Cloud’s form eased, the younger relaxing against him with a shuddering breath. His breathing slowly started to deepen, calming from his previous short, pained gasping as his senses blocked out anything but Genesis.

They must have made quite the sight together, the two of them huddled up on that bench. But Genesis knew they both radiated danger, something giving them away as being ‘not entirely’ human anymore; something that would keep the denizens of the Slums away from them.

Or so he thought.

He didn’t expect the woman that approached them, but he was aware of her from the moment she entered the station. He felt her hesitate upon catching sight of them, followed soon by her making her way over to them.

Genesis tightened his grip on Cloud, the other unaware of the woman’s presence, turning to her in preparation to send her away from them. He was not in the mood to endure any hate speech from a Slum-dweller, Cloud certainly didn’t need that today.

The first words out of her mouth froze him in place.

“Cloud Strife? Is that you?”

Cloud stiffened in his grip at the unexpected voice knowing his name, pulling away from Genesis; chest and glancing up at the woman. His gaze narrowed, dropping uncomfortably away from the waiting, expectant expression before them. “I don’t,” he started softly, uncomfortable with the situation. “I don’t know you.”

The unknown woman’s face fell at Cloud’s answer and Genesis could see the gears turning in her head. He narrowed his gaze at her in warning, ready to stop her should he need to. He didn’t trust that expression at all.

“It’s me, Tifa Lockhart,” she explained slowly, getting nothing from Cloud in line of recognition. “We grew up in Nibelheim together.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember that,” Cloud said, looking frustrated despite both Genesis’ and Zack’s constant reassurances that it was normal not to remember much after what had happened to him. “Were we close?”

The woman, Tifa, stuttered a moment, paused and hesitated and Genesis cut in before she could answer.

“That hardly matters now,” he said, reminding her of his presence. Cloud relaxed against him as Genesis squeezed his softly, letting him take over the frustrating interaction. “What did you want from us?”

Tifa looked shocked, put upon the spot by his question, but Genesis wasn’t a fool, nor was he as naïve as Fair was. There weren’t many reasons for a civilian to approach an enhanced individual, let alone two of them.

She composed herself quickly, straightening herself out and standing as tall as she could, trying to make herself appear more serious and believable. Genesis was used to such displays, they hadn’t been uncommon in Shinra’s forces after all.

“I have a job I need help for,” she answered, doing her best to keep a hold of Genesis’ gaze. Unfortunately, her best wasn’t enough, and she kept dropping her eyes from his own glowing stare. “And I need mercenaries to do it.”

“And you thought we’d be amicable enough to approach?” That I would be?

“You’re SOLDIERs in the Slums,” she justified, face flushing as if just realizing her presumption. “I was going to lead with the offer, but then…” she trailed off and Genesis needed nothing to understand what she’d been about to say.

Cloud stopped him from immediately dismissing her with a soft hand on his arm and words so low only Genesis could hear them. “We should hear her out.”

He raised a questioning brow at the other, causing him to flush before continuing.

“We, we could use gil, right? And there’s no harm in listening and talking it over with Zack later, right?”

Genesis sighed, taking a deep breath before nodding slightly in agreement. Cloud had a point, they could definitely use the gil the job would bring, and they could turn it down later. “Alright,” he said, addressing Tifa again. “We’ll hear out your proposal.”

“Great” she breathed, relaxing at his agreement. “We can discuss it at my bar and I’ll feed you something for listening.” The bribe was obvious, but Genesis didn’t care too much. Cloud was dreadfully then, a bit of real food would do him good.

Ko-Fi

[lovelesstobeloved-blog]

Our Lives as Your Stories are Truly Worth Reading for

Prompt fill for strifesodos week day 7 - Soulmates

A/N: I can’t believe myself that I actually made it through the whole week of writing fanfic prompts for Strifesodos Week 2017! Wow... At first, I thought I would stop around Day 3, but a part of me worried that there will be less submissions like Last Year, and I DO NOT WANT THAT HAPPEN AGAIN AND LET ALL THE HARD WORK @helenrenee​ MADE GO TO WASTE. So, no mater how terrible my prompts are, better I go yolo and make it rather than do a no show just like my last year’s strifesodos event. 

I already let most of my followers and supporters down last year, and I refuse to let that happen to them again this year. Well, hope you enjoy the final prompt. And thank you @helenrenee​, I glad to know that this year if finally sucessful.

Also, this prompt is kinda inspired by one of silentpeaches‘ Soulmates AU Story Ideas: mostly the writer writing popular stories, which in reality were based of the previous reincarnated lives of the writer and their fan, or the Reincarnation section. With AU elements, dreams included, references of Freedom Wars, the Compilation, and Sinnatious’ Beloved, and some tiny hints about my fanfic’s plot.

... Sorry I made it long.

They said soulmates would reincarnate numerous times to keep being together throughout every lifetimes, and that these reincarnates will receive dreams of their previous lives. As for Cloud’s case... well...

When Cloud Strife was young, he had glimpse of his unusual dreams as he grows up. Dreams he could hardly understand as a young boy. He had a dream of being a knightly king with his adviser, who is also some kind of mage, by his side. He had a dream of being young blonde girl, originated from a noble family, meeting a young brunette farm girl. He had a dream of being an android that serve as a parole officer for a redheaded prisoner in the dystopian future. Dreams of accursed school life to Dreams of clashes in the criminal world. From this world to another.

However, there is one particular dream Cloud favors the most.

The glimpse of this particular dream is truly something. It involves him and the auburn-haired man, who shares similar qualities with the other brunette or auburn-haired characters in his previous dreams. The dream of their struggles, their destinies, tragedies they faced along the way, the relationship they developed together.

Cloud tried to understand what is more to these dreams, but only catches glimpses of them instead. He really wished what really happened in the end...

When Cloud was around eleven, he was went to the library afternoon in preparation for Summer Reading. After all, his parents insist that he should find something to read rather than do nothing at home, since he hardly had any friends to play with this summer.

He’s getting really bored after wandering around every sections on finding some book that could interest him.

When he noticed some of the librarians finished stacking the latest release at the center of the library, he decided to check out the new book.

“The Forgotten History of the Dragon King“ by Genesis Rhapsodos

... That title... Cloud could’ve sworn he heard that title before...

The young boy wasn’t aware that it’s already midnight as his eyes were still glued to this book. He was almost surprised that this author manage to publish this first book that Cloud is still reading at the age of seventeen! Genesis must be some kind a prodigy or something.

Ever since he checked, got home and finished dinner with his parents, Cloud stated reading, and is already halfway there. The Mage Merlin, the boy named Arthur, who is destined to become king, the sword of the stone, the quests, the tales of the king’s twelve knights, and he’s still halfway there!

For some reason, this book is nearly similar to the dreams he had. Just reading this almost gave him a clear picture behind these dreams. He wondered if the author, Genesis, has these similar dreams like him, or perhaps came up with this creativity out of coincidence.

“Cloud, it’s getting late, time for bed.“ 

Cloud rubs his tired eyes as he heard his mother’s voice across the hallway before looking at the clock. Two minutes passed midnight, and he’s still not finished. Cloud yawns and leaves a bookmark on where he left off and closes the book before turning off the left. As he laid to rest, he brought the book close to his chest. 

He’s disappointed that within a few weeks, he have to return it to the library once he’s done. That’s why Cloud decided after returning the book, he’ll go to the book store and buy it as his own. Also, he heard from one of the librarians that Genesis is currently writing another book that will be published within less than a year, and Cloud can’t wait for it.

Ten years has passed, and Cloud has owned every books Genesis published, and he slowly starts to understand the connection between his dreams and Genesis’ books bits by bits.

“Risk-Takers”, the story about Alisha and her childhood friend, Theodora, as they developed something more than friendship regardless of their social status as they grew up since their encounter, which led to struggles, elopement, trials, and still a satisfying ending for the two girls as the family issues have been resolved. 

“Freedom Wars“, the story set in the far dystopian future where the rest of mankind are prisoners of the underground city-states, which also serves as prisons, being sentenced for one million years for existing, and are currently at war one other. This chronicles the story of amnesiac Sinner and his Accessory, an dual-purpose android that serves as an observer and combat partner that will later grow sentient as their relationship develops throughout the story as they gained liberation near the end.

“Polar Opposites“ tells a tale of a Investigator, Natasha, being forced to team up with cynical former-criminal-turned-informant, York, who desires revenge on Mephis, the gang that Natasha is trying to capture, for betraying him.

“Not that Normal or Natural in this Ordinary Life“ involves with a boy name Howard who transferred to his new and got himself recruited by Gwendolyn, the president of the Occult Club, ever since his first encounter with the Paranormal activities in the after school hours to help uncover mysteries of the school grounds, with other elements such as ghosts, demons, and even magic and ESP along the way.

All these books he read, this dreams slowly come back to him, almost like in full pictures, slowly connecting the dots after he finished every chapter, every book.

However, there’s the series that Genesis is currently writing.

“Raison D'être“

Unlike the previous, this is the first series that Genesis started, due to the length that his editors advised him to separate into volumes and release them once a year.

The First Volume of “Raison D'être“, “Principalities”, was released around the Cloud’s sophomore year. Starting with mythological origins of creations and heroes preparing for the upcoming threat. The volume ends with the birth of Arthur.

Even the author, Genesis confirmed that his first book is connected to the series as a companion book. And Cloud would totally agree with his claim.

More volumes published. “Powers” Start with Myrdin Emrys, Merlin’s reincarnate, the crimson soldier who deserted after learning the shocking truth of his birth as an experiment, starting war criminals and nearly wreck havoc and causing downfall, especially cause his companion to fall into despair and inevitably became a next threat to the Planet, until he is defeated by a friend of Artorias Penhaligon, and later seal himself away with regret of his action. 

“Virtues” continues with Artorias, Arthur’s reincarnate, and his journey with new comrades of stopping the threat and saving the world, while suffering lucid memories and false persona modeled after his fallen friend, the one who defeated Myrdin. “Dominions” follows the aftermath from the previous volume, this focus Artorias’ struggle with guilt, a global epidemic and an uprising, which end’s with Myrdin’s awakening. 

“Thrones” then continue with the with Artorias finally meeting Myrdin. A rough start due for Artorias due to Myrdin’s background, especially when the threat, a former friend of Myrdin,  returns. But, as the story progress, there were some development going on that the two main characters slowly start to develop a relationship.

Years passed to the present time, Cloud has one year left on completing his College year and will soon graduate. So far, “ Raison D'être” series has become a huge hit. Last year, “Cherubim” follows the aftermath that “Thrones” left off. The journey that Myrdin and Artorias must prepare themselves when the true final threat appears to mankind, and so far ends in a cliffhanger.

To everyone, “Raison D'être” is a popular must-read series that every readers around the world. But to Cloud Strife, there is something else. Every time he read Genesis’ series, he felt something.

Though there are some Sadness, Pain, Guilt. But, along the way, there was Joy, Satisfaction, Nostalgia. There are bad times he felt ashamed of, but there are still the good time that he was grateful he experience throughout the journey he read.

It’s almost if... Cloud is relieving moments...

Few more weeks, at the same time his Fall Semester will end, Genesis will finally release his final Volume, “Seraphim”. The best part? Genesis will be present for his book signing at the famous Ashcroft bookstore, where it resides in the same city that Cloud was attending college. 

And Cloud Strife make sure that he will be there.

Ten in the morning, and Cloud was getting anxious as he stands in line for over an hour. But, at the same time, he’s really excited to meet his favorite author. He always wanted to meet Genesis since reading his first book. He wanted to meet him, but there are sometimes, Cloud couldn’t afford to travel to far city or country that Genesis was attending, and sometimes with complicated schedules. But now, perhaps his prayers has finally answered, Cloud finally got this chance to meet him.

Finally, Cloud is next. As Genesis finished signing the for his fan before Cloud, their eyes locked each other.

Cloud doesn’t know what just happen, but he sees numerous familiar people in Genesis’ places along with the change of setting, from one-winged man in a red coat standing next to a white tree, to a female student with in a school club room, to a young man in a police car during the heavy rain, to a prisoner in a futuristic prison cell, to a beautiful farm girl, to a cloaked mage in the throne room.

Cloud was brought back to reality when of the security cleared his throat and ushered him to step forward. He finally approaches to Genesis the newly bought final volume.

“Um, my name is Cloud,“ he spoke up. “Cloud Strife.“

Genesis kept staring at Cloud for almost a minute as he forms a small smile to him. The author then looked down and open the cover to the title page. As he signs it, Genesis when to the final page of the last chapter and wrote something else before closing it and return the book to Cloud.

“Promise me you’ll keep reading this to the very end, and then you’ll finally understand.“ he said. “Thank you for coming, Cloud Strife.“

“Y-you’re welcome.“ Cloud as he shook Genesis’ hand before leaving “Thank you, it’s really an honor to finally meet you.“

“... I would like to meet you again.“ Cloud manage to hear Genesis’ last response to him before the author continues signing. Now he’s curious about that meaning.

As Cloud did promise to not skip to the last chapter, he decided to check out Genesis’s signature. As Cloud starts to admire the signing from his favorite author and the way he wrote Cloud’s name, he furrowed his eyebrow at something else Genesis wrote.

I’m sorry I took so long to finish this

What did Genesis mean? Whatever it is, Cloud must finish the book, maybe things will make sense.

Cloud was stunned as he’s nearing close to the Epilogue. Ever since he first started reading, some parts of the chapter made shed tears as he kept reading.

It’s just... everything

Artorias’ Father. Myrdin’s Father. The One with Many Names. The Call of the Void. The Presage. Lucifer. Michael. Minerva. Diabolos. Janus. Cosmos. Arthur. Merlin. The Lady of the Lake. The Final Battle. The Sacrifice. The Alpha.

It all makes sense now.

The Dreams. They’re finally coming back to him. 

... No. These were Not Dreams...

They’re Memories... Memories of Cloud’s past lives...

Memories of Genesis’ past lives as well.

He finally remember them. He remember who he originally was, he also remember who Genesis was originally.

Cloud was Arthur, Alisha, Natasha, Howard, and Artorias; while Genesis was Merlin, Theodora, York, Gwendolyn, and Myrdin.  

The “Raison D'être“ series... this was their previous life before this.

So, Cloud and Genesis... are Soulmates.

As Cloud finally reached the end with the two main characters, promising to always be together, even in the next, he can finally read Genesis message at the last page.

Now you finally remember, My King?

Cloud finally understand. These books... Genesis wrote them not just his way of retelling their previous lives, but to call out to Cloud, wherever he is. 

Below that message... was Genesis’ phone number. Cloud quickly picked up his phone and dialed it.

Cloud was overjoyed when Genesis picked up. 

Regardless that it’s nearly midnight, the city lights are beautiful. Cloud kept sprint to where he would meet up with Genesis: at the park by the bay bridge. 

His heart was racing, but kept on going. After all the lifetimes he experience, it’s time for a reunion.

Cloud finally arrives and stops to catches his breath before looking around. Less populated, good for privacy for both him and the famous author. As he finally spotted Genesis, standing by the tree, looking across the bridge, Cloud starts to approach him.

As he got closer, Genesis, who is aware of Cloud’s presence, turned to face him.

“I should be the one to apologize to you,“ Cloud spoke up “for not being able to realize this sooner.“

Genesis smiles to him as spread his arms out. “It was worth the wait.”

Cloud then rushed to Genesis’s arms as they embraced each other.

[lettersofsky]

The Fantasy AUs Monstrosity

The Complete Collection of Fantasy AUs I did for Strifesodos a while back using these prompts. Includes one Cloud/Rosso thing at the bottom.

       Ko-Fi

Scenario 1 - Please Return Me to My B.D.F. (Best Dragon Friend)

“I’m only going to say this one more time,” Genesis froze outside the door to the home he shared with his old friend, Angeal, and Angeal’s student Zack, listening to the voices coming from inside. “Take me back, eight now.”

That voice sounded far-too familiar for his comfort.

“But what about the Dragon?” Was Zack’s whined response, confirming the identity of the other person behind the door

Genesis opened the door, striding through with his usual confident stride. “Zack Fair, I swear if you’ve kidnapped who I think you have...” his voice trails off at the scene that meets his eyes.

A slim blond man dressed in simple hunting leathers leaned over Angeal’s student, his pale hands fished in a plain collar as he glared at the other with a furious gaze.

He allowed himself a moment to take in the blond’s muscular form, he was looking good.

He blinked at the two younger men, watching them with a disinterested gaze. “Please don’t strangle the idiot Cloud, Angeal likes him for some reason.”

Cloud dropped Zack without a second thought, lifting himself to stand over the stunned young man. He came to stand in front of Genesis expectantly.

“I expect you’ll fix this?” Cloud questioned staring up at him with intent blue eyes.

Genesis placed his hand over his heart and bowed graciously to the blond, “I will ensure that you are returned to Sephiroth’s safe-keeping.”

“Wait!” Zack’s voice was loud and confused, drawing both their attention back to him. “You guys know each other?!”

“Of course I know Cloud.” Genesis answered in an exasperated tone, “We’ve worked with him for years.”

“Then why didn’t you save him from the dragon?!”

Genesis watched Zack flail on the floor with an unimpressed look. “You mean Sephiroth? The man’s a sweet heart, he wouldn’t hurt anyone that didn’t try to hurt him first.” He explained with a shrug, Cloud nodded along with his explanation.

“Sephiroth?”

“The guy who’s going to freak out when he gets back to find me missing?” Cloud responded snidely, glaring at Zack coldly.

Zack didn’t notice either the tone or the glare being focused on him. “The dragon?”

Genesis cut in before Cloud decided to tackle Zack again, taking a deep breath before speaking exasperatedly. “Yes, Zack. The dragon.”

Before Zack could put his foot into his mouth once again, the door opened behind them once again.

“I’m back!” Called Angeal’s voice, “I stopped at the market before - Oh! I wasn’t aware you were coming Cloud.” He came to stand at Genesis’ shoulder, smiling down at Cloud. “Should Zack and I make ourselves scarce tonight?”

“I wasn’t originally,” Cloud muttered, adverting his gaze from Angeal’s teasing grin with a soft blush.

“Oh?”

Genesis decided to alleviate his friend’s confusion, “your student kidnapped him from his home without listening to his complaints.” He flicked his gaze from Angeal’s rapidly darkening gaze to Zack’s chastened form.

“Oh really?” Angeal’s voice held anger and disappointment as he came to term with what he had just learned. “My apologies Cloud, I’m sure you want to get home. Gen will take you, I have to have a serious conversation with my student.”

Cloud nodded, walking out of the house without a backwards glance.

“Genesis,” Angeal stopped him before he could follow the blond with a tight grip on his arm. “Please tell Sephiroth that we’re very sorry for the misunderstanding and try to dissuade him from burning down the village, ok?” Angeal asked with a serious expression on his face.

Genesis blinked at his old friend, flicking his gaze over to Zack before replying in a deadpan tone. “If he asks, I’m throwing your apprentice under the bus.”

“If you must.”

“What?! Angeal!” Zack shouted in a panic, nearly tripping over himself as he tried to launch himself at them.

Genesis turned from them and follow Cloud out to where they kept the horses, seeing that Cloud had saddled Minerva and was waiting for him.

“Sorry for the wait, my dear.” He called as he approached the other man, “Angeal wanted to warn me about some bandits prowling the countryside.” He finished as he moved to stand in front of Cloud.

Cloud scoffed, focusing on Minerva’s mane as he spoke. “You’d incinerate them before they could get close.”

Genesis paused for a moment before admitting, “true.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were the dragon.” Cloud teased, finally turning to glance up at him.

“Oh, really?” Genesis prompted the smaller man, leaning into Cloud’s space.

“Yeah,” Cloud breathed, smiling up at him. “You don’t nearly enough muscle though, you’d never get yourself off the ground.”

Genesis laughed at Cloud’s answer, pressing a fond kiss to the space below Cloud’s blond spikes. “You’re right there, my dear. Now let’s get you hope before Sephiroth decides to come find you.”

Scenario 2 – You Can Go Back to Hating Me After I Kiss You, OK?!

Cloud grit his teeth, doing his best to ignore the presence behind him. After the week he had had, he wanted nothing to do with the aggravating man following him.

“I want nothing to do with you, Genesis.” He finally grits out, lengthening his stride in a vain attempt to increase the distance from the other.

It didn’t work of course because Genesis was taller than him and was easily able to keep up.

“I just want to help, Cloud.” The other spoke in a mocking tone.

Cloud didn’t need to look at Genesis to know that the man had a large smirk on his face and was peering at him intently. Stupid bird.

“I don’t need your help,” Cloud snarled, fists tightening at his side as he continued to move. Of course his bike had to die on him while he was searching for a rare plant for a customer.

He better be getting a great payment for finding the thing.

“How else will you lift that little curse of yours, Cloud?” Genesis asked, leaning over Cloud’s shoulder to peer at his face.

He knew what the other was staring at; some asshole witch had attacked him for some reason and had struck him with a curse before he managed to impale her with his sword.

Unfortunately for him, the curse was one of those lingering ones, one that needed that ‘True Love’s Kiss’ nonsense and he was miles away from any kind of civilisation.

“I’ll deal with it.” Cloud shot at the man, trying to shake Genesis off of him.

“Or you could let me help,” Genesis suggested, keeping a firm grip on Cloud’s form. He lifted his hand to Cloud’s face and began to fiddle with the fur that had appeared on his features. “Save yourself from tearing some innocent person apart.”

Cloud did his best to resist sinking his newly acquired fangs into the other’s flesh.

The fine feathers on the other’s face tickled his skin slightly as he turned to snarl at the man hanging from him. “I don’t need the help of some overgrown pidgeon!”

“Pidgeon?” Genesis scoffed, giving him a condescending look. “I am a magnificent phoenix, thank you very much.”

“Fire pidgeon, then.”

Genesis made a sharp noise of disgust at his ear, brandishing his large wings in Cloud’s field of vision of a moment before tucking them back against his back, knocking them down to the ground in the process.

“I should leave you to tear apart the next person you meet!” Genesis snarled from his perch above him, wings spread in a threatening manner.

“Then why don’t you?!”

Genesis ignored him, continuing to speak above him. “But the look on your face would be pathetic, so I shall gift you my assistance.”

Before Cloud could figure out what Genesis meant, the taller man leaned down and connected their mouths in an aggressive, painful kiss.

Cloud remained frozen in shock until Genesis pulled away, watching him with a pleased expression. “There, you’re fine now.”

“What…?” Cloud eventually spoke after several moments of silence, voice trailing off under the other’s gaze.

“No matter how good I think you’d look, you’d hate yourself if you tore some innocent farmer apart.” Genesis answered in a haughty tone, folding his wings back against his back.

He stared up at the male still sitting on him, blinking at him blankly.

“I thought you hated me.” He said suddenly, in a deadpan tone. “Why did you help me?” Genesis wasn’t usually willing to help other people, why did he decide to help him now?

The feathered-male stared down at him for a moment before lifting himself off of Cloud’s prone form. “I doubt you’d understand,” he mocked, turning away from him and striding away.

Cloud lifted himself to sit upright on the ground, watching Genesis take off into the sky ahead of him, leaving him behind in the wastes.

He watched until he was unable to see the other anymore, standing once Genesis was little more than a speck on the horizon.

He continued to walk back to the nearest piece of civilisation, hopefully his phone would get some kind of service there and he could call Tifa, so someone could come pick him up.

He could figure out why Genesis was acting so weird once he was back home.

Scenario 3 – I Don’t Care That You Love My Voice, Fuck Off

“He’s back again!” Genesis cried, slumping over the legs that Cloud had submerged in the water. He slung his arms over the other’s lap, being careful not to cut him with his sharp claws, gesturing towards the man approaching where they were resting.

Cloud flicked his gaze to where he had gestured but quickly returned his attention to the book in his hands.

Genesis huffed a breath against Cloud’s knee, hoping that the man approaching them would just leave.

“Good morning!” He called as he approached the water-front, though not close enough to be dragged into the water.

“Fuck off.” Genesis ordered, barely turning to acknowledge the stranger.

“Yes, it is a wonderful day, isn’t it?” The man continued, completely ignoring Genesis’ words.

Goddess, how he hated enchanted people.

He felt Cloud’s slim fingers thread through his hair and pressed back into Cloud’s hand before lifting his head to glare at the stranger.

“I want you to leave.” He told the stranger, lifting himself fully from Cloud’s space to glare at the stranger.

“Oh, I would love to come closer but I’m afraid I’m not the best swimmer.” He grits his teeth at the man’s cheerful tone, sharp teeth cutting into his lips.

“I want nothing to do with you.” He stressed, his tail twitching in irritation beneath the ocean surface.

“You say the loveliest things!” The man gushed, completely oblivious to what Genesis was trying to tell him. He was seriously considering a vow of silence after this nonsense; this was the eight man this had happened with.

He doubted that Cloud would care if he did.

Speaking of Cloud, he was flicking his gaze between himself and the stranger with an amused smile on his face. He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly for the human earning a bright smile from the other.

He wanted to ignore the bewitched man but that wouldn’t do anything to help him; it hadn’t with any of the others that had been enchanted by his voice, why would it work now.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” He asked without expecting an answer from the stranger.

“You have the most beautiful colours!” Was the jovial reply from the man standing at the waterfront.

It mightn’t have been as annoying if any of the people he bewitched had anything original to say. He was already aware that his scales were beautiful; many had told him that they resembled a magnificent sunset, and of course his voice was beautiful; if it wasn’t these people wouldn’t be so enamoured with him.

At least they hadn’t managed to annoy Cloud with their presence.

Not that they could without trying too, the artist couldn’t hear anything at all.

The stranger’s words were interrupted by a women’s voice approaching them.

“Oh, there you are!” Were her exasperated words as she came to a halt next to the bewitched man. “Gaia, you’re not supposed to come down here anymore!”

She turned to glance at where Genesis was submerged in the water with a fearful expression. “I’m sorry about him, we’ll do better to keep him away.”

He blinked at her slowly, unwilling to give her a verbal answer in case she became enchanted by his voice as well. She obviously wasn’t going to wait for a reply as she immediately began to drag the bewitched man away.

He huffed an annoyed breath as he watched them walk away, moving back to rest against the rock Cloud was sitting on. He waited until Cloud was focused on him before beginning to sign at the human.

‘You’re fortunate you can ignore these people, dear.’

‘That bad?’ Cloud asked with a concerned look on his face.

‘Worst.’ Was his response, lowering himself to drape across Cloud’s knees and enjoying the sunlight soaking his form.

He released a content breath when Cloud’s fingers sunk into his hair.

Dealing with bewitched people was worth it for this.

Scenario 5 – I Suppose I Can Allow You to Stay

Genesis stared at the form that had just fallen through the roof above him, terror rising in his throat when the small body didn’t move. He approached the figure lying in the broken rubble of his roof.

It was a male, quite a bit smaller than him dressed in patched clothing with golden spikes that seemed to defy gravity. His skin was light but dirty and bright-red blood was starting to run from the crown of his head.

Genesis was careful as he picked up the human’s body, trying not to jar any injuries that he wasn’t aware of, and brought him into his chambers so that he could properly look after the human.

~

The human remained asleep for two days and in that time, no one came knocking down his door trying to find the human so he assumed that he wasn’t from the small farming village a few miles away from his mansion.

The human awoke midway through the third day for a few minutes but he hadn’t said anything that made any sense to him before returning to sleep.

Genesis didn’t have to wait as long for the human to awaken once again.

“Hey…” came the hesitant voice from the bed, alerting Genesis that the human was aware of themselves. He turned his gaze from the book in his hands to the human resting in his bed.

The human’s eyes were very blue, he noticed.

“Greetings.” He responded after a moments consideration, long enough for the human to begin to fidget under his gaze. “What brought you crashing through my roof?” He asked the human curiously.

The human’s eyes focused on the wall on the side of the room as he responded in a clearly hesitant tone. “I, didn’t know, anyone was living here.” Genesis saw the human’s hands clench the blanket covering him. “I-I can leave.”

Genesis scoffed, drawing the human’s gaze to him for a moment before they swung back to the wall. “You won’t be going anywhere until you’ve healed.” He told the human, “wait here, I’ll bring you something to eat.”

He left the room with quick strides, quickly heating some stew in the kitchen before returning to the human resting in his bed. He was pleased to see that the human hadn’t attempted to leave.

“Here,” he handed the stew to the human before returning to the chair he had been reading in before the human woke. He slumped back into his seat, propping his head on the arm of the chair he held his book in his hands and started back from where he had been forced to stop.

He flicked his gaze to the human after a few moments of silence, confused by the fact that the small human wasn’t eating. “Is there something wrong with the food?” He questioned sharply, raising his head to stare straight at the human in his bed.

“Uh, No! Sorry!” The human assured diverting his eyes from Genesis to the bowl in his lap, “I didn’t mean to stare but…”

“But?” Genesis prompted when it seemed like the human wasn’t going to finish his thought. He lifted himself more upright in his chair, waiting for the human’s answer.

“Y-You’re really pretty…” the human eventually answered, muttering the words down at his hands.

“Oh?” He hadn’t been expecting that. Usually when humans saw him they called him a terrifying beast and tried to kill him or ran as quickly as they could in the opposite direction.

They never said he was pretty.

“Ye-yeah, you’re scales look really nice.” The human continued to speak, voice soft and cautious as if waiting for Genesis to attack him.

Genesis made a soft noise in consideration before discarding the topic, “You need to eat in order to heal.” He told the human, turning his attention back to his book.

“Ok.” Was the human’s reply. Soon after came the sounds of the spoon moving against the bowl of stew causing Genesis to relax fully in his seat.

“I’m Cloud.” The sudden sound surprised Genesis and he turned to stare at the human in his bed. The human saw the confusion in his face and explained further, “my name’s Cloud.”

Cloud. That certainly was an unusual name.

“I am Genesis.” He told the human, Cloud.

He saw Cloud make a gesture of recognition and returned his attention to the book in his hand.

Cloud would be staying with him for some time, perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as he had initially thought.

Scenario 6 – I Am Unfriending You Right Now! Why Do You Keep Doing This?!

“Zack, we’ve been friends for years, haven’t we?”

“Yeah! Since you came here!”

“You’re important to me.”

“Yeah, of course! I was your best man when you and Gen got married, you’ll be mine when me and Aerith tie the knot!”

“So, you know I’d only say this if I really meant it.”

“What do you mean Cloud?”

“You deserve what calamity is about to befall you.”

“Huh?”

“You stole a dragon egg.”

“I didn’t steal it!”

“Really?”

“,,,”

“,,,”

“… Ok, I might have, maybe, stolen it…”

“How do you ‘maybe’ steal something?!”

“Well, you see –“

“No, just go put it back where you found it.”

“But Cloudy!”

“Don’t ‘Cloudy’ me! Take it back before the mother comes to find it!”

“That won’t happen!”

“Like it didn’t happen with the manticore?”

“That was an accident!”

“And the phoenix?”

“That, wasn’t really my fault…”

“How about the naga?”

“Ok! Ok! I get it!”

“…”

“…”

“You’ll take it back then?”

“Yes, I’ll go take it back.”

“Good, when you come back I’ll help you pick out a safe pet for your girlfriend.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Mite had kittens. She’d probably like one of those.”

“Thanks Cloud! You’re the best!”

“Stop trying to crush me and take the egg back already!”

“See you when I get back Cloudy!”

Scenario 7 – He Wants Us Dead, Doesn’t He?

They were five days out of town when Genesis began to suspect the worse of their mission. He and Cloud had worked together a few times before but this was the first time they had a mission like this.

They had been instructed by the King to travel through the forest at the south-east border of the land in search of a flower he needed in order to cure the Prince of some deadly disease that had taken the heir from the public eye.

Genesis was starting to doubt that the Prince was even sick to begin with, or that there was even a magical flower in this forest at all. It seemed that he and Cloud had been sent on a death mission.

“Have you realized that the King has sent us to our deaths?” He asked his travelling companion. Cloud had been sitting on the forest floor sharpening his swords as Genesis paced the length of the clearing they were in.

Cloud jumped as his words broke the silence in the clearing, causing his attention to shift to Genesis. The sound that came out of his mouth was a confused one, “Huh?”

Genesis continued to speak, uncaring if Cloud was following his train-of-thought or not. “Why would he send us,” he gestured between them harshly as he spoke, “into some giant forest to search for a magical flower needed to cure the Prince?”

He didn’t give Cloud a moment to answer him or response in any way. “I mean he should have sent someone who knows what the flower bloody looks like at least! How will we know that we’ve found the flower? Will it have a ‘magical’ glow? Or will it look like every other flower we’ve ever seen?”

He stops for several minutes, panting in exertion. Cloud was staring at him in stunned surprise from across the clearing. Genesis felt his face heat under the other’s gaze.

He lowered his arms, crossing them over his chest self-consciously. He hadn’t lost control of himself like that for so long, he was surprised by his own tangent.

“Things like that are probably why the King sent you on this death mission.” Cloud said blandly, he didn’t say anymore, just returning his attention to the swords in his hand.

“Why did he send you then?” He snapped irritably, glaring at the man sitting on the ground.

“He doesn’t want any contenders hanging around in his kingdom.” Cloud stated nonchalantly, finishing with one sword and starting on the other.

Genesis blinked at the other for a moment, unused to hearing the other speak about the issue in such an uncaring way. Usually Cloud refused to speak about the similarities between his appearance and the royal line’s.

Genesis huffed and dropped to the ground next to Cloud, resting in the grass for a moment. Several moments of silence passed between before Genesis broke it once again.

“What are we going to do then?” The question was a valid one, Genesis was worried about what the next step was going to be.

“We can’t go back without being executed for treason,” Cloud started, stating what they both knew to be true. “The best choice would be to try to find a new home in a different kingdom.”

“You think we’ll be allowed to stay in a different kingdom?” Genesis wondered, leaning heavily against Cloud’s side, the knight was warm and he was tired from the stress of the past week.

“You’re a powerful mage,” Cloud said, focusing on the blades in his hands. “They’d be foolish not to try to keep you.”

Genesis hummed softly, finally succumbing to the fatigue that had been gripping him.

Scenario 4 – I Need Someone to Get Things for Me, You’ll Do

After the plague swept through the city and Shinra stopped making people into monsters, Cloud had hung up his weapons and decided to return to his alchemist job. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life hunting monsters and since he had the skills why shouldn’t he use them?

His friends had accepted his decision, though Tifa in particular hadn’t understood why he wanted to have his own space. He didn’t know why she thought he wasn’t going to get his own place to live and work in but she had.

His business was good, there weren’t many others like it left after everything so he didn’t much competition. Many people came to him for cheap, healing potions and various medicines.

Good business though meant a greater need for ingredients. He was able to grow a lot of what he needed here in the city but some ingredients were only found in specific parts of the world, often at very specific times of the year.

He had tried to find an assistant to retrieve the ingredients he needed but it was hard to find people with the specific criteria he needed. Most people that could safely travel to where the ingredients were located were already employed by WRO and what remained of Shinra.

The ones that he had tried had been unable to safely harvest the ingredients without damaging themselves or the ingredients.

So without someone to help him get the ingredients he needed, he was forced to take numerous, long trips to find what he needed when he had the chance.

He was just returning from gathering ingredients along the coastline when Reeve called him. Apparently Shinra had made more monster people but hadn’t thought to tell anyone after it blew up in their faces and now they were pissed and determined to destroy Shinra.

Cloud had agreed to help with the issue but had stressed that he wasn’t going to kill anyone, he wasn’t some murder-for-hire no matter what others seemed to think.

~

The battle was more interesting than he thought it would be, after news got out that he wasn’t killing anyone one of the Deepground victims, a tall woman draped in red continuous sought him out on the battlefield.

Though the woman was a formidable foe, she wasn’t anything close to The Calamity’s level so Cloud was able to hold his own well enough against her relentless onslaught.

This time it was up to Vincent to put a stop to whatever plan Deepground had to destroy every they knew, once again. It had something to do with Vincent’s ex-girlfriend and the experiments that she and Hojo performed on him.

The end of the battle was announced by the remaining Deepground victims falling to the ground unconscious. He had been fighting the red woman at the time when she collapsed, he had managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

She was heavier than he was expecting, all solid muscle in his arms. She was also much taller than he was so that made it a bit difficult to carry her back to safety.

Lucky for her and the other remaining people of Deepground, the WRO believed in second chances and not killing people while they were unconscious. Also, lucky for them that they were insuring what remained of Shinra didn’t get within 10-feet of where they were being kept.

Cloud was suddenly overwhelmed with work, making healing potions for those wounded during the battle and those that they rescued from inside the facility.

He had been working on another batch of healing potion when Reeve came to him to discuss what they were planning on doing with the warriors when they eventually woke up.

Reeve had asked him to take one in with him, to keep an eye on them and help them assimilate to normal day-to-day life. Cloud had been suspicious at first but he eventually decided to do it.

Reeve was ecstatic when Cloud gave him his answer, telling him that he was being ‘an immense help’ by taking in Rosso.

That was the first-time Cloud had heard that name but Reeve left before he could ask the man about who that was.

~

He met Rosso the next day; Rosso turned out to be a woman, the woman draped in red that had kept attacking him during the attacks.

She wasn’t very happy to see him but couldn’t do too much of anything with how many drugs she was on at the time.

She still tried though, leaping at him from the bed. She hadn’t been able to cross the distance between them though and ended up gasping for breath on the ground.

He had moved to stand above, looking down at her sprawled form on the ground. “Do you want any help?” He had asked her; her response was to try to attack him from the ground.

“This is going to be great.” He told her after depositing her back on her bed. He wouldn’t hold the awful fight against her; she was on drugs that dulled her senses and reflexes.

Reeve had stayed by the door, watching them intently. He beamed at Cloud when he was sure that Rosso wasn’t going to attack again. “She’ll be ready to leave tomorrow.”

Cloud noticed that Rosso hadn’t made a move to indicate that she cared about Reeve talking about her like she wasn’t there.

This was going to be great.

~

Cloud’s life returned to a normal state after that, he just had a new roommate now. That and he’s almost training someone to help him do things.

For a while Rosso remained upstairs, in the part of the building that functioned as Cloud’s home. She ignored the world for as long as she could, refusing to interact with anyone.

Cloud had a lot of work to do so he left her alone until she was ready to face the new world she had been forced into.

At least until he needed to replenish the ingredients he could grow himself.

He managed to get her out of her room, but she quieter than he was expecting her to be. She kept close as they travelled to their destination, avoiding interacting with the few people they came across.

Instead she watched the world around them, staring at the forests and grasslands they passed with intent focus. Cloud was suddenly reminded that she had never seen the world aboveground before the attacks, this was all a new world for her.

They reached the shore in good-time and Cloud easily found what he was looking for. He thought that Rosso was watching the ocean so he was surprised by how close she was to him, watching him harvest the ingredients.

He blinked at her for a moment before gesturing for her to come closer. When she was crouched next to him in the sand he handed her a knife and began explaining how to properly harvest the plant before them without damaging any part of the plant and leaving enough for the plants to regrow.

She was completely focused on what he was telling her and was quick to understand what he was saying. After a few false starts she was working steadily on what Cloud had asked her to.

Cloud watched her carefully as she worked, carefully binding the harvested ingredients together after a close inspection. Working together they finished far quicker than if Cloud had been working alone.

He had more things to collect while they were here so he showed her how to handle each individual ingredient and when it was safe enough he allowed her to harvest them.

If things continued to progress like this than he mightn’t need to continue searching for an assistant.

~

Cloud was working on a potion for a client when he heard the bell that hung above his workshop’s door ring. “Sorry, we’re closed right now!” He called into the front-room from where he was working.

“It is only me, Cloud.” Came the heavily accented voice of his assistant from his front-room.

“Your back already?” He asked, keeping his attention on the potion. “Wasn’t expecting you back for at least another week.”

“People were more willing to talk than you said they would be.” His assistant said, voice coming from the doorway between the two parts of his store.

He reached the point where he could leave the potion for a few minutes and left it to shimmer on the flame.

He lifted his gaze from the potion to gaze at Rosso. She was leaning against the door in her travelling gear, she must have left her weapon by the door because he couldn’t see the large blade on her.

She was watching him expectantly, her red eyes trained on him intently as she watched him work on the potion. She was holding a wooden box used specifically to carry alchemic ingredients.

He moved over to her to take the box from her, bringing it back to the other bench to inspect the ingredients held within.

“Really?” He asked as he gingerly lifted the first vial from within the safety of the material lining the box. “Usually they’re so tight-lipped I can barely get their names out of them.”

She followed him to the bench, the sharp sound of her heeled boots on the hardwood floor. She watched as he inspected what she had brought him. “They seemed quite eager to please.” She informed him dryly, “they were probably worried that I would destroy their village if they didn’t talk to me.”

Cloud snorted, putting down the first vial to inspect the next one. “You’d think people living near an active volcano would be used to the threat of having their homes burned down.” He spoke calmly, turning until he could see the fine flowers clinging to the stem of the volcanic plant.

He flecked his gaze to Rosso to see that she was scowling at the dark-wood of the bench, her red eyes glaring at the pattern of the wood.

“Or they were terrified of the blade-wielding, tall women who scowls at everybody she looks at.” He suggested, trying to lighten the women’s darkening mood.

She scoffs at his words but relaxes, no longer scowling at the bench. Instead she returned her attention to the vials Cloud was inspecting, “they are what you were looking for, yes?”

Cloud hummed, swapping the vial he was inspecting for another in the box. “They’re the right plants and they look to be in good condition.” He told her, “you always bring me quality ingredients.”

“It is what you keep me around for, no?” She questioned, prompting her head up on her fist.

“Well, I don’t keep you around for your wonderful people skills.” He pointed out, inspecting the final vial she had brought him.

“I keep sending you to the strangest places to find ingredients,” he said suddenly, placing the vial down on the bench. “I need to do something to thank you.”

“You do not need to do anything,” she said awkwardly shifting on her feet. “I enjoy going to find ingredients for you, I would never have been able to see those places if you were not willing to take me in.”

“I told you not to worry about that.” The alchemist stated moving back to start the next part of the potion. “But since you’re back early, you can watch while I do this.”

“Is that what you needed the fireweed for?” Rosso questioned, watching him as he started preparing the next set of ingredients he needed confidently.

“No,” he responded absentmindedly. “It’s a little something to help with some more ‘intimate’ issues.”

Rosso made a soft sound of recognition before settling in to watch him work.

[lettersofsky]

Your Heart’s in my Chest Part 2

Strifesodos prompt fic using this prompt here. Part: 1, 2, 3

         Ko-Fi

Cloud had just returned from a delivery when he heard Tifa talking to someone within the bar, he was currently living above Seventh Heaven while he looked for a place of his own.

He was prepared to ignore the conversation until he heard his name come up.

“What are you planning on doing about Cloud?”

Cloud froze where he stood next to the door to the bar, a small curl of confusion rise in his chest. It was nearly matched by the swell of anger that bleed over from Genesis.

Hearing his voice confirmed that he was the one Tifa was talking to. “Excuse me?”

Cloud could imagine how Genesis looked on the other side of the door; eyes narrowed, hands clenched tight and crossed over his chest, he was probably standing, using his height to look down on Tifa.

“I just want to know if I need to worry about him with you around.” Cloud felt the way Genesis bristled at Tifa’s attempt at a reasonable tone, though he didn’t doubt that the other man also noticed the underlying frustration in her words.

“Why would my presence cause you to worry for him?” The words were almost hissed out, Cloud placed his hand on the door ready to break up the impeding argument.

“He doesn’t need someone causing more issues for him!” Tifa slammed her fists against the counter as she shouted.

Cloud took a steadying breath and almost opened the door when Genesis’ response stopped him.

“I adore him far too much to even contemplate causing him any strife!” The words were biting but Cloud couldn’t deny the overwhelming affection they caused in him.

There was a sudden silence on the other side of the door, as if Tifa wasn’t prepared for Genesis’ easy admittance.

Cloud jumped when the door opened in front of him, showing Genesis looking down at him. Concern suddenly bloomed in his chest and he watched as his Soulmate’s face twisted with the emotion, a strong hand coming to wipe under his eyes.

“Dearest, what’s wrong?” Cloud lifted his own hand, surprised at the moisture he came away with.

“Sorry,” he said, pulling away from Genesis’ easy touch self-consciously. “I didn’t mean to overhear.”

“That’s fine,” Genesis reassured him, concern painting the parts of his face that weren’t hidden by long, red hair. “But are you going to be ok?”

“Yeah,” Cloud told him, giving the other a soft smile. “I’ll be fine.”

Genesis doesn’t look convinced but he concedes anyway, “If you say so.”

“Did you mean it?” Cloud asked hesitantly, halting the other before he can move back into the bar.

"Of course I do.”

[lettersofsky]

Strifesodos Week - Day One - Reading

Day One of Strifesodos Week! Yay! I’m going to name all of these with song lyrics because I’m bad a titles. I’m happy with how this one turned out. I like it, it’s fine. Also, this are all kinda loose with the prompts but I hope that’s ok.  | AO3

Day One - Reading - Believe in Me and I Won’t Let You Down

Genesis was terrified, well and truly terrified about what was happening to him.

He and Cloud had been asked by Shinra to help deal with some rogue monsters terrorizing the outskirts of Icicle Inn. They had originally been planning to ignore Shinra’s request as they usually did but then Cloud’s bleeding heart got in the way and they ended up on a plane to the Northern Continent.

Shinra assured them that they were going to be dealing with Vlakorados, nothing too difficult for two ex-Soldiers. He hadn’t told them anything about the dragon that showed up when the monster’s numbers were thinning.

They hadn’t been been expecting it at all so they were unprepared to deal with it’s attack. They did the best they could to weather the beast’s attention, considering there was only the two of them and most people tended to fight dragons in groups of five or more.

Unfortunately, that couldn’t last. He had ordered Cloud to call for backup while he, the far superior Materia-user, held up the strongest shield he could manage between them and the dragon; it was the best course of action they could take at the time.

But the beast hadn’t relented.

His shield was starting to falter.

It was reaching it’s limit.

He wasn’t going to let the beast take them both down though. Not while he still had breath in his lungs.

He moved faster than the human eye could track, tapping into abilities he hadn’t used since he had last fought Sephiroth.

One hand planted itself in Cloud’s collar and grasped the material tightly.

He used all the strength he could muster to throw his partner away from him.

He heard Cloud’s shout of denial as the shield broke.

The world around him was drench in heat, light and agony.

The next thing he was aware of was pain filling his body and heat trapped under his skin. He could dimly hear Cloud somewhere nearby though he could neither make out where he was or what he was saying.

It hurt to breathe, the air in his lungs felt rough and boiling, burning his throat as he tried to take in the breaths he needed to fill his starved lungs. His chest felt far too tight as he fought to draw air into his lungs.

He tried to remain conscious but the effort proved in vain as he was dragged into unconsciousness by the agony running through his nerves.

He woke an undetermined amount of time later, unable to move or open his eyes. He heard the sound of machines nearby and he panicked, fear gripping his chest as his mind immediately turned to the worse-case scenario.

He… He wasn’t back in DeepGround. He wasn’t about to be cut open to figure out how he worked. Cloud wouldn’t allow it. Cloud wouldn’t let that happen to him. He knew it. He knew it…

Cloud wouldn’t…

He was unaware of the tears running down his face or of the noises tearing themselves from his throat, only aware of the thoughts in his head driving him further into panic.

There was a cacophony of voices surrounding him but they were unable to cut through the haze of his panic, the machine sounds unsteady sounds were too loud in his ears, only accentuating the fear he felt.

Then a dear, familiar voice broke through the chaos, calling out his name in a calm, clear tone. Somewhere close by but he couldn’t open his eyes to find out where.

He tried to calm himself, assisted by Cloud’s words. Cloud had told him that everything was going to be alright, that he was safe. Cloud wouldn’t lie to him.

But why couldn’t he see anything?!

His question was soon answered.

He heard Cloud talk to the unknown voices for a few moments before the sound of retreating footsteps reached his ears, the sound of a door closing told him that he was most likely alone with Cloud. He tried to move his head in the direction of Cloud’s breathing, managing it with a bit of effort.

He waited silently, waiting for Cloud to start telling him what had happened. Cloud’s voice was wrong as he spoke, blank and empty. “I managed to take out the dragon,” Cloud started, tone reminiscent of the one Genesis had heard from troopers before his Degradation, “but not before you were hit.” Cloud paused for a long moment before continuing, “3rd degree burns to your arms and eyes. They don’t think they’ll heal.”

Genesis felt his heart stop at Cloud’s words, there was no way that could be true.

The doctors, he was in a hospital of course there were doctors, came in after a few moments, repeating what Cloud had told him in more specific words.

Everything above his abdomen was covered in burns of varying degrees, the worse centralized on his forearms and face. They said that the less serious burns would be able to heal on their own but the more serious would require serious attention as they were unaware of how much his own enhanced healing would fix on its own.

They had lost all the data on SOLDIER, including whatever they had on their healing capabilities, meaning things would be touch and go for some time. They were adamantly uncertain about whether or not his eyes would heal, they didn’t want to give him any false hope so early.

They had done what they felt safe to do and would be closely monitoring him until they had a clear idea of how to handle his injuries. They were hoping that he’d heal the nerve and muscle damage on his own without further intervention on their part but it would be weeks before they knew for certain whether he would or not.

Cloud remained silent to the side of his bed, listening to words he had already heard the doctors say. Genesis was incredibly glad that he had listed as his next-of-kin not too long ago, he didn’t want to think about how he would have dealt with all of this if he was alone.

As it was, he could barely believe what the doctor was telling him. The thought that his eyes would never work again petrified him, all that he was depended on the use of his yes. He didn’t know how he would manage if he could no longer use them.

He managed to keep his distress to himself until the doctors once again left and only he and Cloud remained in his room. Only then did he let himself break.

Harsh sobs left his wetted throat, feeling exposed as he released all the sorrow and despair filling his chest. He heard Cloud move next to him but he had no idea what the other was doing, the doctors had discouraged contact for the moment and he couldn’t see what Cloud was doing.

“Genesis,” Cloud called from next to him, probably standing as close as he dared. “I’m here, you’re here, we’ll figure this out.” Cloud sounded so sure of himself and what he was saying but Genesis just couldn’t bring himself to believe his partner.

Not at this point in time.

The next few weeks were difficult for them; Genesis’ body did indeed start to heal the muscle and nerve damage, though much slower than Genesis had been hoping for. His eyes though, weren’t healing and remained useless as time passed.

The doctors were pleased with what his body was healing though; slowly, agonizingly slow, his nerves started to work once again, flooding his system with persistent, sharp pain. It made him particularly irritable, especially after the doctors asked him to try moving his fingers.

The return of feeling in his arms made dressing changes particularly challenging. He wasn’t pleasant to be around on those days.

Cloud was always with him though, staying long past when they allowed him until one of their friends came to drag him home. Cloud was doing the best he could, all things considering, and Genesis was glad to have the other man there with him.

Until he blew up at the other and forced Cloud to leave.

It had been an awful day for him; his fingers felt tight and his bones ached, his nerves were continuously assaulting him with sharp stabs of pain and he had lost his patience with everything. There was no other way to explain it, he had attacked Cloud with cruel, harsh words.

He had mocked Cloud and accused him of such awful things, all because the other chose to remain optimistic and hadn’t appeared affected by anything going on. The room was silent for several long, drawn-out minutes after he finished speaking.

And then, Cloud left.

He hadn’t expected Cloud to just leave him like that. His partner had been here with him since he had awoken weeks earlier, always.

His chest felt tighter the more time passed and Cloud didn’t walk back in, tears prickling behind his ruined eyes. His chest heaved, a harsh, pained noise leaving his throat and echoing through the empty room.

He curled into himself as sobs wracked his frame, he was alone here in this empty room and it was entirely his fault.

Why?

Why did he say those things to Cloud?!

Why did he force his partner away?!

He slumped back into his bed after tiring himself out, drifting off into an exhausted unconsciousness.

He woke some time later expecting to be greeted by an empty room or perhaps someone coming to check on him, he didn’t expect there to be breathing from next to his bed.

He turned his head in the direction of the breathing, brow furrowing under his bandages as he tried to figure out who was there. He was saved from guessing by soft words, “hey, you need anything?”

Cloud… why had he come back?

He found himself stunned; shocked that Cloud had returned at all, let alone didn’t sound angry at him. No, Cloud didn’t sound angry at all, in fact he sounded… like he’d been crying. He’d made Cloud cry?

His heart clenched in his chest. He didn’t deserve to have Cloud here.

He swiped his tongue over dry lips, “you’re here?” He rasped out in Cloud’s general direction. He was rewarded not with any words from his partner but with the sound of something, most likely a glass, being lifted from the table to the right of him, a straw at his lips confirmed that the item in question had indeed been a glass.

He took a deep drag from the glass, soothing the ache in his throat. Cloud moved the glass away once he had finished drinking, placing the glass back on the table and clearing his throat awkwardly before speaking. “Yeah, I got back a few minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Genesis apologized after a few moments of silence, “I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Cloud agreed blandly, “but it was understandable.”

Genesis shook his head with a sharp, “no, it’s not.”

“Yes,” Cloud forced, stopping Genesis’ words. “Everything’s been awful for you since the attack and I can’t do anything to help you at all.” Cloud’s voice was getting thicker and heavier as he continued to speak, breaking Genesis’ heart as he listened to the other. “I’ve been trying to be strong for you because that’s all I can do.”

Genesis wanted to deny that but Cloud continued speaking before he could get the words from his throat. “I can’t do anything to help you and all of this is my fault.”

Genesis forced his voice to work, unwilling to let Cloud believe that without saying something. “This is not your fault!” He exclaimed, “you didn’t know that dragon would show up! Neither of us did! Shinra didn’t inform us of it so we didn’t know to prepare for it, you are not at fault Cloud!”

The room was silent after his words, Cloud neither confirming nor denying his words. He was beginning to think that they’d spend the rest of the day in silence until someone came to force Cloud away, but Cloud proved him wrong.

“I…” Cloud started, “I brought the book you were reading back with me.” Cloud trailed off awkwardly, shifting audibly in his seat. “I can read it for you, if you want.”

Genesis felt affection for the other flood his chest, he couldn’t believe Cloud was willing to give him his literature back. “That’d be wonderful Cloud.”

He heard Cloud shift closer to him and the rustle of pages informed him that Cloud was flicking to where he had left his bookmark. He relaxed back into the bed as much as he could, ignoring the pain of his nerves and focusing solely on Cloud’s voice as the other began to read.

[lovelesstobeloved-blog]

I've been dying to know, what is it you love about Beloved so much other than Gencloud? Why's it such a standout compared to other fics?

Boy, where to start? Brace yourself, it’s gonna be long.

Oh yeah! What I really love about Sinnatious’ “Beloved” is for being the most acceptable “Post-DOC” story (set after the Secret Ending) every written. 

I mean, it’s obvious that Square-Enix confirmed in their interview from that Polygon site last month that there won’t be anymore sequel for “Compilation of FFVII”, end the compilation with only BC, CC, AC, and DOC. That’s that, no more, they say. Ever since the release of DOC and CC, I want to find a decent “Post-DOC” fanfic.

Sure, we already know Genesis is ashamed of his past actions after being defeated by Zack and is going to protect the Planet, but still brings more questions to me: What’s the Condition for Weiss, and is Sephiroth truly gone (As stated by the creator, Sephiroth’s last message in AC means “he’s not done yet”)? And there are others minor questions when searching for this kind of story, such as what if Genesis meets Cloud? Especially I want to know what happen when Cloud discovers Genesis’ connection to Sephiroth, and what happen when Genesis finds out that Cloud was the one who defeated Sephiroth?

Initially, long before I imagine that as a ship, I would always imagine these two would be suspicious of each other (mostly Cloud), and then they’ll learn about each other and understand they’re not so different/have something in common, etc. that they decided to try and become allies and work together.

And man, long time ago, it’s so hard to find a decent “Post-DOC” fanfic in FFN that could reach my expectations and answer my questions, especially how most fanfics are “Post-AC” and “Post-DOC where Genesis is not involved”, or how very few “Post-DOC” that existed still didn’t meet my expectation or got discontinued and deleted. All I find something decent is a “TimeTravel Genesis” strifesodos fanfic a long time ago that I start to like that ship. But still no “Post-DOC” fanfic in FFN, that I just call it quits.

Then, after the announcement of FFVII Remake, I decided to search for the decent “Post-DOC” fanfic again, but I decided not to go find it on FFN, but instead I search for it on AO3. With a bit of searching, I found something that caught my eyes.

Post-Dirge of Cerberus

Main Characters: Cloud Strife, Genesis Rhapsodos, etc.

“It all starts when Cloud tries to leave during the middle of a Loveless performance.”

It’s COMPLETE

What caught me by surprise is that involved with shipping Cloud and Genesis, a rarepair from the past. I was really curious about this that I decided to read it. And HOLY SHIT, I stayed up past midnight to finish reading it! (and I punched myself to find out that the Author, Sinnatious, published this almost fanfic 5 YEARS AGO in LIVEJOURNAL! (why didn’t I find this sooner!)). 

I found it! I finally found the fanfic that I’ve been searching all this years! A well-written post-DOC fanfic that answers all my questions! The scene where Cloud and Genesis met! The interaction! Cloud slowly knowing that Genesis might have some connection with Sephiroth! Genesis learning that Cloud was the one who successfully killed Sephiroth! Cloud and Genesis understanding each other that they’re not so different after all! The twists! Sephiroth’s return! The struggles! Weiss’ Fate! The conflicts! The Awesome batte scene! HOLY. SHIT! This is it! Square Enix may have confirmed that there will be no sequel to DOC, but if SE won’t make a Post-DOC sequel, then I will continue to view Sinnatious’ “Beloved” as the “Post-DOC story that could’ve been canon”.