#why is his hair like that. Chocobo ass

[otaku553]

i love your art, it's so cool!! for the req, can i request cloud from ff7 <3

Thank you! Here’s cloud :) his hair was difficult to figure out,,,,

[icycoldninja]

Beauty Day Headcanons for the First Class SOLDIER boys!

A/N: I have always imagined the 1st class bois doing a beauty day with their S/O cause why not? They're beautiful. 💅💄

♡ Sephiroth♡

-Let's start with skincare. He's not that into skin cleansing with creams and whatnot, but will definitely put on a face mask, especially if it's Moogle or Chocobo themed.

-He will allow you to put on some eyeshadow (see pic above, not mine btw) and maybe some foundation, but lipstick is out of the question because he risks getting it on his hair.

-LOVES to have his nails painted, especially black and white. I mean come on. Why do you think he wears gloves? It's to hide his shiny, glittery nails from everyone. Paint his nails for him once and you'll find it turns into a tradition. Every weekend, you two end up sitting at the kitchen table, painting each other's nails different colors, trying out new patterns and designs. Too bad his nails have to be kept short so he can fitght or he would have long-ass coffin nails by now.

-You want to brush his hair? By all means, go right ahead! Sephiroth is a living Rapunzel; to have a beauty day and not play with his hair would be to miss out on a golden opportunity. He loves it. You love it. Everyone's happy.

-What about hairstyling, you may ask? Well, he is in EUPHORIA when you braid his hair (it's soooo relaxing) and likes to have you help him tie it into buns, pigtails, ponytails and whatnot. At the end of the day, he ends up looking like a really big, muscular kawaii girl. ✌️🩷❤️✌️

☆Genesis☆

-LOOK at this man. A total pretty boy. It's likely that you were introduced to beauty days by him, and that he dragged you onto the makeup/skincare/shiny things bandwagon.

-Will wear literally anything you want him to, eyeshadow, lipstick, blush, facemasks, cleansers, you name it, he'll let you put it on his face. That can be interpreted many ways, don't sue me for your dirty minds

-Fingernail painting? He's fine with it, but he's more into pedicures because his hands get scratched up more often than Sephiroth's do.

-When it's time to paint the footsies...hoo boy. His toes are very ticklish, so you have to pinch 'em just so or he'll be wiggling and giggling, and then his feet will end up covered in nail polish and there'll be a huge mess in general.

-Like Sephiroth, Genesis enjoys getting his hair done. He'll let you wash it, style it, tie it up into little pigtails--he's basically your living Barbie doll.

-All in all, beauty days with Genesis are lots of fun. Sometimes you guys turn on a rom-com or drama and do each other's hair while watching it. ❤️

■ Angeal ■

-Aight, this man is different from the rest. He's not that into makeup, but he will don a little blush and guyliner if you ask him to.

-Angeal's preference is skincare, believe it or not. He wants the whole package, face masks, cleansers, lotions, hydrating soaps, etc. Being in S.O.L.D.I.E.R. means you have to leave for missions often--you don't get much time to maintain your skin. As a result, Angeal is now a skincare addict and relies on you to teach him how to use the products properly and help him establish a solid routine.

-Bonus points if you buy him one of those cute headbands to push his hair back. Imagine seeing your beefy boyfriend parading around the house with bunny ears and a pink sheet mask. Adorable.

-Another thing he enjoys is massages. Yes, you read that right. Coming home from an exhausting mission and being met with a warm bubble bath and then a relaxing massage? That's his kind of heaven.

-Also wouldn't mind giving you a nice full body massage as a reward afterwards. What did I tell you about double meanings, like jeez ?

[crescent-lockhart97]

What Would The First Class Trio + Zack & Cloud Dress Up As During Halloween?

Angeal:

In my honest opinion, Angeal could definitely pull off a Wolverine cosplay. His hair is long enough to be styled into Wolverine's iconic hairstyle and he's got big guns too 🤭🤭:

(he could just add some detachable facial hair and he's good 😂😂)

Genesis:

He'd dress up as Chucky 😈😈 no I will not take constructive criticism fight me!!!! Like, come on—he's already got the red hair and the blue eyes! And Genesis could absolutely emulate Chucky's murderous mannerisms (he's skilled in the theatrics, what did you expect?).

Also, Genesis, in my headcanon, is a skilled makeup artist, so recreating Chucky's stitched-up look would be effortless for him. However, the thing with Genesis is that regardless of the outfit he wears, even if it may be a costume of a creepy-ass doll, he still looks goddamn sexy somehow (that's the Genesis magic for you!). He becomes the reason why Chucky doll sales in Midgar went up and now every girl in Midgar is thirsting after a fucking doll lmao

Sephiroth:

Prince Nuada! What, did y'all think I was gonna say Geralt of Rivia or something? 😂 (A bit off topic but Prince Nuada is honestly an underrated villain. He's got similar vibes with Sephiroth, I sweeeaaarrrrr!!! 🥵🥵) With Sephiroth's pretty hair and face, muscular body, fighting prowess, and cold aura, he'd make a very convincing Prince Nuada.

Zack:

In my head, Zack would totally be a Dragonball enjoyer, so he'd cosplay as Son Goku. Not to mention, he shares similar traits with Goku: kind, energetic, caring, and has strong himbo energy and has spiky black hair lol. So cosplaying Goku would be a piece of cake for him!

(look at those goofy-ass smiles 😭😭🥹🥹)

Cloud:

As for Cloud?

CHOCOBO, 'NUFF SAID!

(LOOK AT HIM HE IS ONE WITH THE CHOCOBOS!!!! 😫😫😭😭)

advanced happy halloween y'all!!!!

[silver-wield]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review Chapter 8

Okay, this collection of posts will be filled with spoilers, including clips and screenshots, so if you don't wanna see things, then don't look. Some of the things I'm gonna highlight will include references to Remake and other sources to link with the overarching plot. This is a straight path playthrough with no sidequests or extra content.

Time to hit the Saucer!

The second we arrive, the girls are pulled into a short dance sequence against Andrea. After that we're introduced to Dio.

As usual, Cloud's pretty face gets him unwanted attention. Dio wants to duel. It's not a hard match, and yet I hate it so much. Cloud's proud of himself for kicking some virtual ass, and specifically looks for Tifa as he celebrates to see if she's watching. She is. He's happy.

After that the group splits after a diplomatic vote with the girls and Red going to have fun. Cloud would've gone with but when Tifa asked he had a vision of Sephiroth and she suggested he get some rest instead. He and Barret head to the ghost hotel.

We get our introduction to Cait Sith and his predictions, which kind freak Cloud out. Makes me wonder if he's superstitious.

Cloud has a nap and we get another interlude with Zack. At one point he strokes Aerith's hair and then goes downstairs to talk to Elmyra and Marlene. He then goes looking for Biggs to cheer up Marlene.

Back with the main crew and you get to take a wander around the park with whoever you have the highest affinity with. Obviously I went with Tifa and it was cute watching her and Cloud hold hands 😍

Cait Sith interrupts to let them know about a shooting. Cloud and Tifa defend Barret and state he couldn't be responsible. They volunteer to find the real culprit and Dio slaps a cuff on Cloud to stop them running away. This accessory becomes important later.

Cloud's blindsided by goons and everyone wakes up the following morning. Gus, the leader of the dust bowl, is willing to hand over the gunman if Cloud wins a chocobo race. It takes some sidequests to get Piko racing fit, but then it's off with Esther to the races!

Meanwhile, we see Elena in the desert complaining and reminding us she's only 18 🤣

Cloud wins his race. It really wasn't hard, and I say that as someone who hates chocobo racing. The others are let out of their prison cell to watch Cloud win and celebrate 🥳

After that it's an annoying trek through the desert following a frigging condor until we find Barret. Shocker, he's not the gunman who killed the people at the arena.

I'm not gonna spoil this part, but it's amazing and emotional and made me cry 😭

The combat with Barret was pretty fun and the transitions between stages were awesome!

Elena has her not vanilla ice cream, and we have to deal with a whiny Palmer in a massive mech. And this comes right off the back of a highly emotional scene. I needed a minute to get myself together 😭

After the battles are over, Dio appears and that bracelet becomes relevant. We get the buggy, Dio gives us a distraction and Barret takes charge clearing the road.

I sucked at this. I tried. I really did. This goes towards Barret's affinity for his date too, so do your best!

After we escape, it's a fast paced drive across the desert until Yuffie's motion sickness forces us to stop and get our bearings.

We have a quick stop in to find Reeve all cheerful as he doctors the wanted poster for the golden trio. Why would this make him happy? Why would he be happy in general? Well, he's teamed up with Cloud and co and finally feels like he's doing something instead of banging his head against his desk every time he tries to make Shinra do some good.

We also stop in at Rufus office for another meeting between him and Glenn, who we can see now is some apparition of Sephiroth's that'll trying to start a war. Why? Because war means death and those souls who died angry can be corrupted and used to fight the white whispers in the lifestream.

And it's back to Zack, so I'm assuming Cloud took another nap since we return to the crew the next day. He's off looking for Biggs like he promised Marlene, and we see them find each other. The interesting convo between them will be next interlude.

Barret's arc remains one of my favourites. It's everything I wanted from Rebirth and it's at this point I started getting excited to play the game. Before that I was kinda meh about it, but this chapter onwards everything is fantastic until we hit that long ass boring cut scene at the start of chapter 14.

[zoraalja]

prompt: anon • words: 345 • era: stormblood • [ masterpost ] soon; shortly.

“Stay.”

The word was a hand wrapped around her wrist, dragging her back into the treacherously soft bed despite her best efforts. The hand wrapped around her wrist also pulled her back in. Zenos’s warm palms were good at coaxing her into forgetting why she rose in the first place.

He wound his arms around her and laid his mouth to the soft rise of her breast where the unlaced neck of her blouse left it bare.

“Forget the call.” With each new word, the Garlean prince’s words smeared against her skin. “Feign poor weather as opposed to your utter disinterest.”

“I’m not…”

Annette’s chop of brown hair intermingled with his blond as she tilted her head down against his, her fingers climbing up his throat to rest at the nape of his long, love-marred neck. He reacted as prettily as he always did, with an arch and a sigh and a much-needed stretch. Quietly, she assured him, “I’m not disinterested. They are my friends, and I must go to them. Now.”

Friends that were awaiting her in Kugane. Friends who did not know of the bed she’d been pulled back into. They needed her, but the thought of riding her chocobo after the previous night’s exertions made her thighs ache.

She pressed a kiss to the top of his head, where his golden hair split to bare a sun-burned scalp.

“I must leave,” she whispered. “Soon.”

Zenos smiled without lifting his mouth from her chest, like the cat that got the cream.

“Oh, how quickly now becomes soon,” he said, his voice caught between a low rumble and a hum. The hand that had dragged her back down into bed slid over her back, over the generous swell of her ass, and to those aching thighs. “When will it become tomorrow? Or, perhaps… never?”

“Never,” Annette echoed, her brows arched and point made. “Soon will remain soon.”

They fell back onto the pillows with a huff and a laugh, knowing well that they would spend another night lost in each other.

[theguardianofinsanity]

I Told You Not to Sit There

FFXV boy x gn reader

Maybe a little ooc but I don't care. Man is too pretty for me not fuck with him a little

You turn the ignition, hearing the slight roar of the regalia. You turn to Ignis in the passenger seat, "Quick question, where are we going again?" You give him a slight smile. With a small sigh he opens up the map of the area and points to the chocobo haven, "Ah, right thanks...Blondie I can hear you bouncing in the back seat" You adjust the rearview mirror to see the widest smile coming from Prompto.

"Sorry man! I've been wanting to ride a chocobo for like ever" he nearly yells.

"I understand, but save the yelling until we're not around other people maybe?" You say while looking at the people in the parking lot near the diner giving you all weird looks.

"Alright fine" he slumps back in his seat while you readjust the mirror. You put the car in drive and drive out of the parking lot.

You all are in the middle of the trip when you start asking for specific directions from Ignis. "You're to be going straight for a while" he says looking at the map and then putting it away shortly after.

"Hey master chef! Where is that map going?" You question.

"By this point, I've memorized it. No need for it now" he says calmly while leaning back, "You're going to make a right here"

"Okay then smarty pants" you say with a sarcastic tone while turning the wheel. You shift a bit in your seat, "I can't believe the regalia doesn't have seat belts, don't any of you feel at a little uneasy?" You nervously say.

"Well if the driver isn't stupid, we don't have to worry" you hear Noctis say from the back.

"And that's why I put you in the backseat, the only ones allowed to say mean sarcastic comments here are me and Gladio" you say annoyed hearing a approving grunt from the bigger man. You look in the side mirror to see little my chemical romance ON TOP on the back of the car. "Noctis Lucis Caelum! Get down from there or I swear to the Oracle I will turn this car around and beat your ass!" He simply ignores you like the little shit he can be.

You lean over to Ignis and whisper, " You might wanna text Prompto and Gladiolus to prepare yourselves", he gives a nod with slight understanding of what your about to do. You look back to Gladio and Prompto to see them holding on to the car.

You turn your head to the road, you raise your foot and...

SLAM ON THE BREAKS!

You hear Noctis scream from the back. You look up to the rearview mirror just in time to see him slide and hit in his seat hard. "OW! Y/N!" He yells at you waving his arms in the air. Meanwhile you're cackling in the driver's seat.

"HA! THAT is what you get! That is what you get HOMEBOY!" You yell looking straight back him still laughing, the others soon joining you. Noctis slides down in his seat, hiding behind his hair.

Finally catching your breath, you press your foot on the gas and continue the drive to get some chocobos. "Just to let you know Noct, I am not sorry for that" you say with a smirk.

"I'm gonna get you back for that" he whispers.

"Sure you will sweetie" you say turning into the chocobo haven.

[hypaalicious]

Now why did you have to go and say chocobo butt hair I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING PROMPTO HAD A HAIRY ASS (Gladio definitely does) WHICH LEADS ME TO; BODY HAIR?! WHATS GOING ON WITH THAT? (no i will not stop with the caps lock i will NOT BE TAMED)

NO NO, his ass hair is normal! His pubes tho… well, at least it’s soft! You can pretend you’re laying on a fuzzy blanket!

Prompto: I’d like to unalive, now.

… anyway, BODY HAIR!

Noct ain’t got shit. He smoother than a baby’s bottom and hates it cause Gladio clowns him over it. 😂 But if Gladio didn’t groom, then he’d be Robin Williams level of hairy, okay? Yes, I know I said he don’t care about his pubes but he DOES care about his body hair. His sister claims that he got into the habit when he was getting his huge tattoo and needed to shave every time he went in for touch ups/progress so it just stuck.

Ignis has fine body hair that’s nearly invisible because his hair initially grows in light. So he doesn’t shave that.

Prom doesn’t start to get body hair until he’s older. He was happy to be able to grow a goatee! He was rather horrified when that meant he also started growing more hair elsewhere, like his chest 😂 But by that time, he was too busy being a daemon hunter to really fuss over it.

[hqmillioncorn]

FFxivWrite: Day three......Temper!

‘It takes my heart being broken again and again-To know that I am the reason why the suffering never ends.’

local lalafells falls off a cliff, get kidnapped, one of them meets her future friends but first has to make an ass out of herself in front of them and then camp out in a river  (not shown they sleep in the river water)

‘I know it must have been scary my little babycorn, but it's all okay now. There’s no need to cry, your papa and I are here now. Come here…’

That was the last thing Babycorn could remember her mama saying to her before something caused her vision to fade to black. She honestly couldn’t remember what happened afyer that but something must have gone wrong for her entire body to hurt this badly. 

Her eyes were open, that much she could tell, but for some reason it was still really dark around her. 

“Bebe! Bebe!” she heard Cherrypit say. It sounded like he was right next to her. Everything hurt too much to turn her head to look at him but she didn’t need to see him to know he was there. Babycorn tried to answer him back but she couldn’t manage more than a pained moan. 

There was a flicker of light to her right. Babycorn came to the conclusion that was where Cherrypit was. “Heal!” he cried out. There were multiple flickers of light and a few brief moments where Babycorn felt less pain in her body but ultimately Cherrypit couldn’t keep it up.

As talented with magic as Cherrypit was-he was still very much a baby and couldn’t channel his magic very well yet. 

Babycorn usually took care of that. 

‘Thanks for trying Cherry…’ Babycorn thought to herself. 

It was still so dark but for some reason Babycorn felt everything moving around her. It felt sort of like that time she and Cherrypit had snuck onto a Chocobo cart to Coerthas. The same bumpy feeling. Maybe that’s what was happening again? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d woken up in one with Cherrypit.

‘Oh well…’ It was dark so maybe that meant it was night time. Which meant it was time for her to close her eyes and try to go to sleep, as hard as it always was.

 As she closed her eyes she heard a couple of distant voices talking with each other. Damn, this was exactly like those times Cherrypit had thrown them into random Chocobo carts, wasn’t it? All down to the people talking about nonsense in the front. 

‘Coco, why did you put the baby in the trunk? That’s just a baby!’

‘He jumped in there as I was closing it!’

‘And you just let him?!’

‘It’s okay, it’s fine, it’s okay. We’re almost there!’

Yeah, nonsense as usual. 

———————————–      

His sister falling unconscious again didn’t deter Cherrypit from trying to heal his sister himself. He’d been trying to do just that since they’d both first fallen off that very high cliff. There must be something he could still do to help her.

Suddenly a sliver of light was shining in front of him. Its brightness was amplified by just how dark it was in the trunk of the car. 

Coco (as Cherrypit now knew he was called) appeared and stretched his hands out to grab him. “We’re here! Okay, little guy let’s-” Before Coco was even close to grabbing him, Cherrypit jumped up and used Coco’s head as a sort of springboard to propel himself onto the ground. 

As Cherrypit gently floated down he noticed that there were a lot of people staring right at him. 

Like, a lot of them.

Maybe too many of them.

Cherrypit’s finally reached the ground and looked up. He didn’t recognize any of the people standing in front of him. Not that there were a lot of people Cherrypit would recognize at a glance anyway but these people were complete strangers.

Which meant they were scary. 

“B-B-Be-Be…!” Cherrypit wasn’t able to get through saying his sister’s name before he started crying. It was a shock to almost everyone there just how loud his wails were.

A white-haired Lalafell was the first of the group to run up to him. She knelt down beside him and gently stroked his hair. “There there, it's okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” she reassured him.

As soon as Cherrypit heard her voice he turned to look at her. There was something about the way she was smiling at him that made Cherrypit feel like he could trust her. “Okay!” he repeated after her. There were still some tears coming down his face but he’d calmed down significantly. 

“Are…Are both of you going to explain what’s going on here or are we supposed to guess?” Cherrypit looked up to see the blond-haired Elezen talking. Everyone here was so much bigger than him. That was kinda scary. 

“We found them and it looked like they needed help. Coco said we should bring them here.” Vertical explained. She looked down at Coco, waiting for him to explain the rest himself.

Coco, having finally recovered from having a toddler bounce off his head, answered the rest. “Ah! You see-! Me and Vertical were out fishing, which you already knew we were doing. And right as we were coming home we heard someone crying! And that’s when we found…Um…Cherrypit and another Lalafell next to him…” 

“Another Lalafell?!” someone asked. Cherrypit had never really seen anyone like her up close. She had horns on her face and a tail behind her. They looked really cool…

“Yeah she’s in the trunk too! She looked really hurt so I brought her here!”

Everyone but the white-haired Lalafell rushed over to the open trunk of Coco’s car to check on the other Lalafell. Just as Coco had said-there was an injured Lalafell just lying there, unmoving. “Why would you put her in the trunk?!” the blond-haired Elezen asked Coco and Vertical. 

“AAAAH! There was no room for her in the back!!” Coco gestured to the various fish tanks and other fishing equipment they had piled up in the back of the car. Which was understandable with the context of how much Coco had worked to get all those fish.

The white-haired Lalafell crossed her arms and leaned forward. “You couldn't even fit the BABY anywhere else?!” Her name was Lunya apparently. Cherrypit learned this after the blond-haired Elezen said “Lunya calm down…”  

And then Cherrypit found out her name was Reese. After Lunya had retaliated with, “How can you be so calm about this Reese?”! 

“I wasn't! “I’m still not! But I think we should focus on the trunk thing later and help this person out first.” 

“Oh!” Vertical took that as their cue to step in. She’d been the one to carry the injured Lalafell to the car before, so they were happy to finish the job and carry them the rest of the way inside. Besides, last time when she carried her Vertical managed to carry her in a way that didn’t seem to injure her any further. That was probably another thing to consider. 

“There we go. Don’t worry you’ll be feeling better soon.” Vertical knew that the Lalafell couldn’t hear them but if they could hear her then maybe reassurance would make them feel better too. Even if she couldn’t really heal them physically.

“Alright, Vertical bring them over here, come on!” Reese ran ahead and into the mansion for Vertical to follow behind her. Cherrypit also found out that the person with the horns and tail was called Hanabi, when Hanabi herself immediately followed after Reese saying “I’ll help too!”

“Thanks Hanabi!” 

The only ones left outside were Cherrypit, Lunya and Coco. 

Cherrypit could feel that Babycorn was getting farther and farther away. Which was bad news for the both of them. He whined and pulled on Lunya’s shirt, pointing at the direction where everyone else had gone. 

“You want to follow them?” she asked. Cherrypit nodded and went ahead and waddled forward without waiting for Lunya or Coco. As determined to follow his sister as he was-he still needed someone to open the door for him. 

———————————–      

‘Given the way she’s dressed she must be someone from the Conjurer's Guild.’

Babycorn eyes twitched, slightly opening. Unlike the last time she woke, everything hurt just a little less. And this time she could actually see things around her. 

‘Do people from the Conjurer’s Guild usually travel with a baby with them?’

‘Not in my experience, no. But who knows?’

Babycorn opened her eyes and noticed that there were two strange people standing over her. They weren’t looking at her so she took this opportunity as her chance to strike. 

Unfortunately, Babycorn still hadn’t realized just how injured she still was.

So when she pushed herself off the couch she ended up hitting the floor and tripping on the first step, falling flat on her face. There was a muffled “Ow.” but it was drowned out by the heavy sound of Babycorn bringing down an entire shelf with her when she tried to grab onto it.

“Woah!?” Reese stepped back in surprise, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the shelf. Hanabi covered her mouth in shock, “Are you okay?!” she asked, but she only received a muffled groan in response. 

The whole commotion could be heard all the way from the basement. “What’s going on in here?!” Coco came running up the stairs with Lunya and Cherrypit following behind him. As soon as Cherrypit saw his sister lying on the ground he rushed over next to her, “Up! Up!” he told her. She needed to get up! 

Babycorn tilted her head up, her eyes were open and for the first time the others could see her hauntingly empty green eyes. Not as weird as Cherrypit’s eyes were of course, but it was still very unexpected.

“Here I’ll help you up!” Coco stepped up to the plate before anyone else could try and help Babycorn up. He wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to help her up but Coco would probably think of something. At some point Coco’s hand got too close to her.

Then Babycorn lunged forward and bit him.

“OW?!” 

“Hey!!!” Reese acted quickly and grabbed Babycorn like one would grab a disobedient puppy, holding her up slightly above the ground. “Put him down! Stop it! Get that out of your mouth right now!!” All of Reese’s pleas ended up working and Babycorn opened her mouth to let Coco’s hand go free.

Coco took this opportunity to run as far away as he could from Babycorn and hide behind a conveniently Coco-shaped potted plant. “What is wrong with you?!” he yelled from behind the safety of the plant. 

And honestly he was right to ask that. “Who gets saved and then thanks the person who saved them by biting them?!” he cried.

Babycorn continued to move around sporadically in Reese’s hold. “What are you talking about?! Who are you people?! Where am I?! Where’s Cherry!?” Reese could tell she was trying to pull herself free but after what she did there was no way she was putting her down anytime soon.

Well, there was that but she also might end up tripping again and undo all of her and Hanabi’s hard work. 

“Cherry?” Hanabi had been trying to come up with a way to diffuse the situation until something Babycorn said caught her attention. “Do you mean Cherrypit? The baby that was with you?” 

“You-!? Did you do something to him?! I swear if any of you did anything to him! I’ll-!!” 

“Cherry!”

Suddenly Cherrypit popped into the scene, yelling his own name. “Okay! Okay!” he ran around Babycorn and Reese with a smile on his face. His long sleeves were dragging themselves along the floor but he couldn’t care less. 

Precarious situation she was in aside, Babycorn was glad that at the very least Cherrypit was okay. Even if she wasn’t. 

With the matter of Cherrypit taken care of, Babycorn could put her focus on getting away from these weirdos. “Let me go!! Let me go!” Babycorn punched and kicked as hard as she could to try and get Reese to let go of her but as soon as she kicked the wrong way a wave of pain put a quick stop to her efforts.

“Ow…ow…ow…”

Reese noticed that Babycorn had finally stopped wiggling around and took this as an opportunity to finally get a word in, “Okay, listen. I don’t know who you are or what your deal is but I’m going to set you down on the couch again. If you try to move again it’s going to really hurt because you’re really hurt. Got it?” There was no response from Babycorn save for a grumble or two.  

Reese took that as a yes and set her down on the couch again. “See? That wasn’t so hard.” Babycorn crossed her arms and looked away. Crossing her arms actually really hurt but she wasn’t going to admit that. 

“Whatever…” 

Hanabi stepped forward and gently grabbed Babycorn’s injured arm to cast a healing spell on it. “Here! This will help you feel better!” she said with a smile on her face. Before she could even get started however, Babycorn quickly pulled her arm back and turned away from her. “H-Huh?” Hanabi was too caught aback to say anything else.

“Now wait just a-” Reese began but she was cut off when Babycorn turned completely away from her, refusing to acknowledge anything either Hanabi or Reese were saying.

Lunya, who had been busy watching from across the room, decided that it was time to put her foot down. “Hey! My friends are trying to help you! The least you could do is be nice to them!” She raised her voice as loud as she could and glared at Babycorn.

“Why should I?! I don’t remember asking anyone to help me!” Babycorn got up the couch again, even at the behest of Reese and Hanabi. Instead of tripping on her face again, this time Babycorn was able to hold herself up through sheer determination and also some help from technically being undead. 

“They’re helping you because they want to help you! Otherwise you’d be dead in a ditch somewhere!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Because I was fine before I woke up in this stupid place!”

“You have no right to call this a stupid place when everyone here literally saved you life!”

“I…I don’t have to take this!” 

Babycorn noticed her staff laying on a coffee table. There was a strand of thick string in the middle of it, showing that at some point the wand had been snapped in half. 

(Surprisingly enough it had not broken during Babycorn’s fall earlier but instead when Babycorn tried to beat a Chigoe to death with it.)

Despite protests from Hanabi and Reese, Babycorn limped her way over to pick up her wand and then made her way to the front door. “Come on Cherry, let's go.” she let Cherrypit ride on top of her head since her arms were hurting way too much to carry him. 

“Go!” Cherrypit tapped on her head, not noticing that every time he did that Babycorn would wince in pain. As Babycorn closed the door behind her Cherrypit took the time to wave goodbye to everyone. 

Seeing him do that caught Lunya by surprise. 

Then the door loudly slammed shut. 

———————————–      

With the door behind her closed, Babycorn took a few steps before turning back to see if anyone was following her.

A slight frown crossed her face when she realized no one was coming. 

And why would they?

———————————–      

As it would turn out-Babycorn didn’t end up going very far. 

There was a small river near the house she had suddenly found herself in so she decided to stay there for the night. Not because of any particular reason or anything, just because it was a nice view to look at. 

Babycorn watched as Cherrypit splashed around in the river. He was getting his sleeves all wet but they would be dry soon enough with how much he flapped them around. Hopefully he wouldn’t get any mud on them though. 

“What is wrong with you…?” 

Babycorn recognized that annoying voice. 

“More like what’s wrong with you? I know you’re some sort of vision only I can see but don’t you have a way to warn me before you show up?” So I can ignore you.

Chelinka frowned, “Those people helped you! They let you into their house and you just-! Did all that! What were you thinking?!” Surely there was at least some part of Babycorn that realized just how much of a jerk she was being. 

“Like I said-I didn’t ask for their help.” She didn’t need them, she didn’t need anyone anymore. 

If there was no one around she couldn’t get hurt anymore. 

“You need Cherrypit don’t you?”

Babycorn didn’t answer.

———————————–      

Lunya opened the curtains in the kitchen, a scowl on her face. Even from here it was easy to see that Babycorn and Cherrypit were still out there, camping out by the river. 

“Are they still out there?” Hanabi asked.

Lunya nodded and went back to looking at them. For some reason it looked like Babycorn was arguing with someone she couldn’t see. Either there was somewhere there in the darkness or she still had that concussion that Reese was talking about earlier. 

“I think…If they’re still there in the morning we should invite them back in.”

Lunya whipped her head to look at Reese so quickly that some of the hair on her back almost grazed her face. “What?! You can’t be serious!” While she would welcome Cherrypit back in with open arms, there was no WAY she was letting whoever the other one was back into her house.

The only reason she was even still looking at them was because she was worried about Cherrypit.

“She’s still hurt and might need our help!” Reese pleaded.

“Need I remind you that she bit Coco?!”

“Oh, who hasn’t bitten Coco…Cocoda…?” Reese closed her mouth and looked away. 

“...What?!”

[creamypudding]

Woeful WIP Wednesday

Oh boy, this fic... I have a torrid relationship with it. A long time ago I wrote a story called BFF which some of you might be familiar with. It’s for another ship. And then I really wanted to try the same kind of ‘needy desperation for a fuck’ dynamic with  Zakkura. But Cloud being Cloud made this story turn into... what it is.

I started it in April 2018 and it is actually finished but I have never been able to bring myself to post it. Until today. And even now I’m deeply self-conscious about showing this story to anyone. I don’t know what it is that makes me recoil from this story. It’s good. Like... the smut is good. It’s got heart. It’s also a bit different to how I write nowadays. Maybe? There are a fair few things in this story that I should probably rewrite but I have no energy or will to do that.

I don’t know. I really struggled with this story. I’m still mentally struggling with it even existing. Maybe it’s because this story is set in a canon-divergent universe? Fuck canon, honestly. Fuck writing stories that have to fit the boundaries of someone else’s universe.

Meh.

Realistically, I’ll probably never post this outside of Tumblr, so I hope you enjoy and if you do enjoy it, or any of the other WIP’s it would be great if you would let me know. Cheers.

Rated E Word count - 15,940 Tags: Oneshot. PWP, sex toys, marathon fucking, not politically correct or sensitive (unlike Cloud’s dick and ass)

Mission: Chicken Soup

Boots thudded heavily against flimsy metal as he ascended the staircase in search of his little Chocobo infantryman. The SOLDIER 1st class hadn't seen hide nor spiky hair of his friend in a month, which pronounced the longing in his chest. He loved his job—when it didn't involve paperwork—but the long and unpredictable stints out in the wider world made him miss Midgar. Though more specifically; Cloud Strife. He missed his friends' quiet presence, the soft smiles, and the good-natured laughs, which served as reason enough for Zack to be out here at present: the Stacks; a refurbished tower of shipping crates stacked on top of each other which served as a Shinra initiative to get some willing participants to offer themselves up for ’science’, though everyone knew it was just a way for mad old Hojo to get around the ethics department.

What Cloud was doing there baffled him completely.

He had arrived back in Midgar this morning, had done the minimum debriefing he could get away with and then had been in search for his friend—best friend—if he was to be honest with himself. He had checked that barracks but had found Cloud's bunk empty, which had sent Zack into a spiraling panic for all of five seconds before he had whipped out his phone and tried to call him. And then message. And then email. Zack had given up and gone to find some other cadets to get answers from. He had spent the afternoon asking around for Cloud and had received the same response, “Dunno.” Zack had sighed and wished that Cloud had more friends who knew what was going on with him, but since all the wishing in the world wouldn't bring that about, and his phone remained woefully silent, he had eventually gone to Cloud’s squadron leader in the hopes of getting some actual answers as to his whereabouts.

The news had been that Cloud had transferred out of the barracks and into the Stacks about a month ago and was currently sick, which surprised and worried Zack since the young man had never let a few sniffles keep him down before, so it had to be serious. That, coupled with the move to the Stacks to be a lab rat, had Zack grow doubly worried. So that's why, by evening fall, he was stomping up the flimsy metal staircase.

He reached the 5th level and walked to the second door set into the shipping container where cloud apparently lived now. He knocked. He waited. He knocked again. "It's me, Zack. I got back this morning. Been looking for you all day. I spoke to your squadron leader."

Silence greeted him. He pressed his ear to the door, trying to listen for any sound of life—or suffering. Zack wasn’t beyond kicking down the door. He heard some faint sounds; shuffling, a grumble. He leaned back from the door. “I know you’re in there. SOLDIER hearing, remember?”

Still nothing.

Zack groaned a little. “Are you alright, Cloud? I tried calling you. What're you doing here in the Stacks, bud? We always laughed at people who signed up for this shit… and now you're sick?" He tapped at the metal door with his fingertips and picked at some of the paint chips. "You never get sick. Cloud. Are you okay? Let me in? Please? I've missed you," he said far quieter and pressed his ear to the door again.

More silence stretched out. 

“I’m gonna kick the door down if you don’t tell me you’re okay. I’m worried.”

“I’m okay,” Cloud finally responded.

“Can you let me in?”

“Go away.”

Zack grimaced. "If you're not gonna let me in at least let me take care of you. I got you some chicken soup… at least I think it's chicken. Not sure what passes for chicken at the cafeteria lately.” Zack glanced at the container he was holding and heard some shuffling inside the room. 

“Just leave it at the door. I'll grab it later.” Cloud's voice sounded a lot closer now.

Zack frowned. “Okay, I'll leave it at the door. Let me know when you feel better, alright? I've got a souvenir for you from Wutai.” Zack put the small canister down and walked away, thumping his heavy boots along the narrow gangway and away from Cloud’s door but then backtracked quietly and leaned against the wall next to the door. He waited for a while, looking out across the cityscape of Midgar. The Stacks provided a pretty nice view. Maybe that was the reason Cloud chose to move here? He did always say he liked the open skies of back home in Nibelheim. He knew Cloud got homesick sometimes. Coming back to Midgar after prolonged field missions always gave Zack the same sort of heartache, so he tried to bask in the view now. But it wasn’t the same; could never be the same. 

Zack couldn't comprehend Cloud’s choice of living arrangements. He furrowed his brow and wrinkled his nose. What was Cloud doing? He breathed in deeply the cool but nonetheless stuffy night air. Midgar had a smell about it which Zack had never smelt anywhere else. Not even in the sewers or reactors. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't unpleasant. It just smelled like being back in the city. Zack picked at the dirt under his nails, deciding that a bath was in order after being on the road for so long. He looked forward to getting out of his SOLDIER uniform and putting on some slacks and a t-shirt, even if his rest only lasted a day until the next unscheduled mission was ordered. He really hoped he wouldn't be sent away for at least a week. Especially with Cloud under the weather.

There came the sound of a lock sliding open and the creak of rusty hinges turning, which snapped Zack out of his thoughts. The door opened and Zack turned, wedging his foot into the jam before Cloud could pull it shut again.

“Go away, Zack,” Cloud grumbled plaintively.

“No, let me look at you.” Zack pushed against the heavy metal door and Cloud's body on the other side. It wasn't too difficult for him to pry it open enough for him to squeeze through.

“What’re you—? Get out! Please,” Cloud finished in a whine as Zack entered and pushed the door shut behind himself.

“It's alright. You won't infect me. Now, let me look at you.” Zack stood at Cloud's side but Cloud kept turning away and batting at Zack's hands.

“C’mon.” He pulled at Cloud’s shoulder forcing the smaller man to face him, but his eyes were squeezed shut and his head sunken down.

Zack still noticed Cloud's pale skin looking even paler. His forehead was damp, his hair drooped and Cloud definitely looked like he was running a fever; rosy cheeks and dark circles under his eyes. “Wow, you look like shit.” Zack pressed the palm of his hand against Cloud’s temple and brushed limp hair out of the other man’s face.

“Please leave,” Cloud growled as he wrapped his arms around himself and crouched down to the floor of his tiny shoebox of a home. 

Zack looked around. There were only two rooms. The bathroom and the main one which they were standing in. It housed a small two-seater couch, a tiny TV which sat atop a short bookshelf, and Cloud's bed right next to it. Zack had always known Cloud to be tidy but this place was a complete mess; sheets, blankets, and pillows were tossed all over the floor, the couch cushions looked to have been moved and replaced haphazardly, and the few books and magazines that should have been on the bookshelf lay scattered and thrown.

The state of the place worried Zack even further. He reached down; it was meant as a comforting pat on the shoulder but Cloud jerked as Zack made contact, shirking out of the touch and snapping harshly with his words, “I told you to leave!”

“What's wrong?” 

“I just need to be left alone,” Cloud whined, still avoiding all eye contact with Zack.

Zack’s hands went to his hips and he stared down, a doleful frown settling on his face. “Is that why you moved in here? To get away from people? Are those two dickheads still giving you a rough time?” He crouched down beside Cloud, but Cloud shuffled around so his back faced Zack.

“It’s better here.” “Even with the catch twenty-twos?”

“I know what I got myself into. I don’t need you telling me what a big mistake I’ve made.”

“You think you’ve made a big mistake?” Zack asked, alarmed.

“No,” Cloud said softly and hunched in on himself further. “Everyone else likes to tell me though.” 

Zack humphed. “You’re allowed to live your life like you want to. I’m sure everyone’s just worried about you. I’m worried about you.” Zack stood up, needing to shake off the  restless discomfort agitating his limbs, especially with Cloud acting this way with him. He began shuffling around the small living space, picking up the strewn around linen and pillows and placing everything back on the bed.

“I’m fine, really. Thanks for coming to check on me,” Cloud muttered, softer than before.

Zack looked over at Cloud; his head still bowed and his eyes squeezed shut. “I wish I could come and check on you more often. My schedule’s been really crazy lately.” Zack picked up the random books that lay scattered around the place and continued to tidy up.

“Did you get put on any cool missions?” Cloud’s head tilted up, looking eagerly in Zack’s general direction before his gaze dropped to the floor. 

A glimpse of Cloud’s enthusiasm settled some of the nervous anxiety inside of Zack. “I don’t know about cool but it sure kept me on my toes. Lots of running around, chasing up loose ends here and there.” Zack kept moving around the space, picking up things, setting them down in their assumed proper place while Cloud continued to sit on the floor following Zack’s feet with his eyes. “I went to Wutai. Got you a nice windchime. It’s all blue and has a dragon on it. You always talk about the tinkle of the cows in the meadows… I know a wind chime won’t come close but… well, I thought you might like it?” 

“Thank you, Zack. That’s very nice of you,” Cloud muttered the words.

Zack looked at his friend pull his knees up tight and curl into a tight ball. It made Zack’s frown deepen and an ache welled up in his chest. “Do you wanna come over and get it? Get you out of here? Stretch your legs? Fresh air—well, as fresh as it can get in Midgar—might do you some good.”

Cloud sighed and turned away once again, having his back face Zack.

“If you don’t tell me what’s wrong I can’t help you. Have you been to the infirmary?”

“I have to go to the labs for all problems. I can’t go to the infirmary. Part of the deal of living here.” Zack grumbled, letting his annoyance be heard by the other man.

He picked up a pile of rumpled clothes and as he collected them in his arms he felt something hard in the bundle. He looked at the heap in his arms, jostled his limbs a little and witnessed something black fall out and roll onto the floor. Zack’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Well, well, well, I didn't know you had some adventure in you. A butt plug? It's pretty big too.” He grinned. Maybe CLoud wasn’t really so sick? Just embarrassed?

Cloud cried out in mortification and sprang to his feet, scooping up the toy and his head swiveling around his room. 

Zack watched as Cloud darted around, picking up things Zack hadn't even noticed until now. Were those… “Dildos too?” Zack gave a low whistle. “Never thought of you like that, Cloud. I'm impressed. Is that the Titan? I hear it's got a crazy vibration setting.”

“Please just leave,” Cloud cried out with desperation while pulling out a box from under his bed. He dumped everything into it, shoving it back under with his foot and sat down heavily on his bed, arms on his knees and his head buried in his hands. “Please go away.” He sounded strained and frail.

The amusement and teasing spirit left Zack. The now-feeling-almost-perpetual frown on his face returned. “Can you tell me what’s wrong? Is it shit from Hojo’s experimental lab?”

“Of course it is.” Frustration hitched Cloud’s voice.

“You shouldn't be doing this. Who knows what crap they’re putting into your body. Is privacy really worth the risk? Not even they know what effects their meds have, that's why it's experimental.”

“It’s worth it when I can have my own space and bunk and peace and quiet, which isn't what you’re giving me right now.” Cloud finally snapped his eyes onto Zack’s, but a sheer look of horror flashed over Cloud and he grimaced as if in pain. He buried his head in his hands again and began rocking. 

“Shit,” Zack muttered under his breath. “If you can’t go to the infirmary have you at least been back to the lab? Have you told them how sick you are? I spoke to your Squadron leader. You've missed days of patrols and training. That’s so not like you.”

“I don’t need a lecture from you,” Cloud snarled.

Taken aback, Zack checked himself. “Yeah, sorry, bud. You know I just worry about you,” he said softly and sat down on the bed next to Cloud, rubbing his back.

Cloud threw himself to the side, like Zack’s touch was searing pain, but he twisted and screamed in Zack's direction, “Don’t touch me!” with his eyes clenched shut. His shaking hands went back to his head, cradling himself.

Zack’s heart thundered in his chest and he stared wordlessly, in shock over this harrowing situation. He’d never seen Cloud like this. His heart ached for his best friend. “I’m sorry,” he said so quietly he barely heard it himself.

Cloud let out a great big huff and his shoulders sagged a little. “I’m sorry, Zack. I’m really sorry. I’m not at my best. I wish you’d just go so you didn’t see me like this.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll go. I should have respected your wishes from the start. I’m sorry.” Zack went to reach out for Cloud, but he stopped, his hand hovering.

“Please don’t,” came the hasty and tight response from Cloud.

Zack withdrew his hand. “I won’t touch you. I’ll go.” He made to get up— 

“Please don't go!” Cloud pleaded, his eyes still shut tight, but turned toward Zack, his hand on Zack’s knee, staling all further motion from him. “I’m sorry. I don’t… don’t want you to go.”

Zack looked at the hot hand on his knee. He could feel the tremble going through Cloud’s body. He put his hand on top of Cloud’s. Cloud yanked his hand away.

“Sorry,” Zack muttered. “Can you tell me what’s been going on?”

“I went in for some testing five days ago—they gave me pills to swallow and a log book to take notes in if anything happened. I’ve been here for four weeks. Each week it’s something—pills, injections, patches, sprays—it was all fine. I haven’t had any symptoms but now… these pills… they said they’re just vitamin pills but…” Cloud shook his head, crossed his legs and rocked, groaning a little and rocking harder.

Zack watched on and listened to Cloud struggling with something internal. His heart beat a little firmer and regrettably a pulse of desire throbbed down into his shaft. He couldn't be thinking about this right now. Not when Cloud was miserable. He shouldn’t be thinking about how dirty Cloud’s groaning sounded, not ever, but especially not right now. He shouldn’t be hyper-aware of the sex toys under the bed and thinking about Cloud using them. ‘Shit,’ he thought.

“I told the lab assistance about my symptoms. They said it should clear in the next three days but,” Cloud hunched in on himself deeper, almost doubling over. He kept rocking and moaning quietly.

‘Shiiiiiiit!’ Zack took a deep breath and cleared his head, deciding to think about this as a mission. “Can I do anything to make it better? Where's it hurt?—Cloud, look at me. Where's it hurt?” He got up and knelt before Cloud, looking up at him.

Cloud uncurled himself and he stopped his rocking. His eyes slowly opened but seeing Zack before him made him squeeze them shut again. “I can't look at you… it… hurts too much.”

“Is it your eyes?”

Cloud shook his head.

“Your head? Is it an all over sensation or localized?” Zack looked all over Cloud’s body, trying to see something physically wrong with him, but all he saw was clammy pale skin, flushed cheeks, wild and messy hair and the gray t-shirt with darker gray sweat patches under the arms and around the neckline, and the sweatpants Cloud wore.

Cloud shook his head again. “Please just leave me alone, Zack. It’s nothing you can help me with.” He winced as if a new wave of pain smashed into him.

“You want me to stay, but you also want me to go. What should I do, Cloud? What do you need me to do? Please, I want to help you. There must be something I can do.” “Zack—” “Please, Cloud.”

“There's nothing you can do.” 

“At least help me to understand what’s going on; how you're feeling.” It took everything in Zack’s power to not touch Cloud; not hold his hand; not place his hand on Cloud’s knee; not cup his face and brush the hair from his eyes.

Cloud sighed, heavy and low. “If… if I tell you will you leave me alone for a while?”

Reluctantly, he said, “Yes. If that’s your wish, then yes.”

Cloud grumbled and frowned in that way he did when he was weighing up his options. Cloud suddenly stood up. Startled, Zack fell back on his ass. He threw his hands out behind himself for support. He stared at Cloud’s crotch and gulped, a heat springing alight in the pit of his stomach. Even though Cloud wore loose gray slacks, this close, with Cloud’s hips thrust forward and the fabric stretched just a tiny bit, Zack could see the hard bulge. 

“I’ve had this for four days now,” Cloud cringed, holding his head woefully and still pushing his hips toward Zack. “I don't think it's anyone else but me. It just won't go away. I've tried everything.” Cloud stepped back and sat back down, whining in a high pitch as he did so and holding his head in his hands again, while his elbows were on his knees. “I ordered all those toys and got them express posted but nothing's working.”

‘Shit, shit, shit!’ Zack swallowed the dry lump in his throat. His heart-rate kept spiking uncomfortably. “What’s the problem exactly? I mean… having an erection for so long can’t be good for you, sure, but… can’t you just… you know.” Sweat prickled his brow from this conversation.

“I can't cum. I want to, but I can't. I'm so damn…” Cloud winced. “It hurts. I want to—everyone in sight.” He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter.

“Oh.” Realization dawned. “Is that why you don't want to look at me?”

Cloud nodded woefully. “You're my best friend. You shouldn't see me like this.”

But he already did. ‘Shit.’ Zack, still sitting on the floor, leaned forward, pulling his knees up and resting his arms on them. “Cloud, look at me. Look at me.”

Cloud shook his head. “I can't. If I do, I'll jump you and hump you and… I can’t have you see me like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. You can jump me and hump me all you want, just please, look at me,” he tried again, gentle and reassuring. His body buzzed with anticipation and shock over Cloud’s situation. He wanted to help. He wanted to help even more now because a desire sat inside himself.

“You don’t understand! I’d molest you. I’d… rape you. It’s getting worse. I have no control left over this. IF I look at you… that’s it.” Cloud raised his head a little and cautiously trailed his eyes over Zack’s feet and legs, but stopped his gaze somewhere around Zack’s arms on his knees. “I don't want this to ruin our friendship. You're important to me.”

“You’re important to me too, Cloud.” The young cadet had always been special to him. Zack felt protective over him and overwhelmingly proud of all of Cloud’s achievements and ways of handling himself. Even this reckless move to the Stacks screamed like a Cloud thing to do. If he saw something he went and got it, no matter how difficult. There was something completely compelling and alluring in his stubbornness and determination. It was something Zack greatly admired and found attractive in the younger man. And Cloud wasn't a bad looker, not at all. They had sparred together enough times for Zack to have a healthy appreciation for Cloud’s physique. Though over the last few months it might have been getting a bit unhealthy. “You can’t rape me if I’m a willing participant.”

Cloud furrowed his brow. “But I’m a guy. You’re a guy.”

“So?” “So? You’re Zack Fair. Ladies man extraordinaire.”

“I’ve slept with guys in the past. If it’s not a problem for you then it’s not a problem for me.”  

“Y-you have?” Cloud fought with himself to keep his eyes off Zack’s face. He kept frowning and shutting his eyes tight every time they drifted too far.

“Yeah. Not a lot. I don’t… I don’t sleep around with anyone who looks nice or is a fun conversation. I don’t know what those fan club messages have been hinting at lately,” he shook his head. “You’re my friend though, Cloud. Remember how I told you I’d always have your back?” Cloud nodded after a moment. “Well, I mean it. Even with something like this. Us backwater boys gotta stick together.” He carefully reached out and slid his hand on Cloud’s knee.

Cloud tensed under Zack’s touch but he didn’t jerk away this time. He gave a sad sounding huff. “You would seriously let me… with you?” Cloud focused on Zack’s hand on himself. He pulled one arm off where he was hugging his midsection and lay his hand atop of Zack’s, his fingers curling and then relaxing.

Zack chuckled, a little nervous. This was a bit awkward. They had never talked about sex. It wasn’t even a thought Zack had let himself entertain about Cloud… not till recently…. He wet his lips, feeling parched. “Yeah. If you needed me to. That's what friends are for, right? If I can help you then I want to. Even if it’s having sex with you. So c’mon, Cloud. What's sex between friends when one of them has a medically raging boner and an inability to cum? I've had blue balls before. I can't imagine how much it must suck to be you right now.”

Cloud lifted his head and looked at Zack with wide blue eyes. Zack smiled back gently and then toppled over backward as Cloud launched himself on him and ground his pelvis against Zack's. 

“Woah there,” he laughed. “So I guess we’re doing this?”

Cloud nodded frantically, still grinding and looking like he was satisfying a very painful itch.

Zack let himself get caught up in Cloud’s frotting for a couple of seconds. Tension and need tightened his muscles and sped up his thumping heart. A deep tingle buzzed through his innards and woke him into an aroused state. He wanted to kiss Cloud, roll them over, bite his neck, touch him under clothes—all the millions of forbidden scenarios that had danced around his head during his times spent training and sparring with Cloud—rifled through his head. He tried to clear his thoughts, to be methodical about this, to not get caught up in desperate feelings which weren’t welcomed or needed here right now. “Tell me what you wanna do. Tell me what you’ve tried. Maybe we can figure out a way to get you off.”

Cloud's motion didn't abate as he ground his hot bulge against Zack’s hardening shaft and lower abdomen. Cloud also didn’t look at Zack, focusing on his shoulder as his cheeks grew even hotter. “I've tried dildos and plugs. I tried my hands, I even bought a… a thing to stick myself into.”

“A fleshlight?”

“Yeah.” Cloud nodded and kept grinding, his breath huffing with the strain from his movement.

Zack took a moment to swallow. Cloud’s stiff and hot bulging erection rubbed him in a very satisfying way. He cleared his head and asked, “Anything else?”

“I, ah—” Cloud stilled for a second and then rolled his hips again, but he kept quiet and didn’t look at Zack at all.

“Go on, you can tell me.”

He bit his lip and took a deeper-than-the-rest breath. “I phoned up an escort service but… but I chickened out when… they got here. I paid the money and told them to go away.”

“Woah. Them? You got more than one?”

“N-no. Just the one. It… it was a he.” Cloud pressed his forehead against Zack’s shoulder, no longer being able to look him in the eyes.

“Are you… gay?” Zack had never thought of Cloud’s sexual preference. He assumed it to be heterosexual, he supposed. He supposed the wanting-to-have-sex-with-him thing was just because Zack was currently here in the room and available. A jolt of arousal went through him when he thought of Cloud wanting him and not just any random gender to fuck because of his desperation.  

“Please… can we not.”

“Oh, okay. Why’d you send him packing then? Can I ask that at least?”

Cloud kept rutting, humping, frotting against Zack. He pushed his face deeper against Zack's shoulder as he muffled, “I… I just couldn't—didn't want my first time to be with a hooker. Not even for this.”

Zack tensed. “You’re… you've never—” The words wouldn't come.

Cloud shook his head and kept rutting.

“But the toys I saw.” Zack's head reeled a little. Cloud not having been with anyone but having that stash… 

“Using toys is easy. I don't want to get into it.”

“Okay, okay.” Cloud’s first time… it was rolling around Zack's skull. He didn't think he had ever been anyone's first. He had always found willing and experienced partners in the past. This was a big responsibility and Zack felt nervous. He didn't want to let Cloud down, not when he needed some relief so badly, and especially not if this was the first experience Cloud ever had with someone else. “Um, did any of the toys you used feel nicer than the others?”

“No, it’s all the same.”

Heat and friction built between them. Zack felt himself completely hard. Having Cloud against him like this was a wet dream come true. He just wished… not like this. He wished circumstances had been different. “Is grinding against me helping?” he asked.

“A little.”

“Okay, well, keep doing that then, but maybe we should get naked and get some lube happening.” Maybe it was the matter-of-factness Zack spoke with, or simply just talking about sex made it less awkward. Either way, Cloud lifted his head and gave him a hesitant look.

“I've got that. I bought all kinds. Warming, spiced, normal, silicone based, water, oil.” Cloud slipped off Zack with a displeased groan and turned around to dig around under his bed. He pulled out the box he had hidden, picked it up and nonchalantly dumped the contents on his bed, a stark contrast to the embarrassed and frantic fumbling he had done before.

Zack rose to his feet and stepped up to the bed, looking down at it and whistled at the large collection spread out before him. “You must have spent most of your pay on this stuff. Some of this stuff’s not cheap. Ifrit's Inferno?” he picked up the red tube laced with five spices to make you hot and sweaty.

Cloud remained mute. Zack dropped the tube and turned toward Cloud, putting his hand on the other man's shoulder. Cloud winced. 

"You still good to do this?" Zack asked, looking Cloud once over.

Cloud nodded. "If you are."

"I am." Zack got to work undoing his belts.

Cloud’s hands shook and fumbled with his pants as he undid the string keeping his slacks on. “You knew the Titan by sight. You have a few of these?” Cloud still wasn’t looking at Zack but the attempt at conversation dispelled some worries in Zack 

“Yeah. But Sephiroth is the guy you’d want. He's a walking encyclopedia on this stuff.” Zack nodded at the things on the bed.

Cloud’s head snapped up to stare at Zack. Wide blue eyes gawked in adoration—it was a look Zack regrettably never got to have directed at himself. 

“He does?” Cloud huffed out.

Something bothersome and ugly fluttered in Zack’s chest. He ignored it. “He does, but c’mon, let's see if we can fix this problem of yours.”

Cloud winced as he was reminded of his predicament. With a deep inhale of breath and whilst casting his eyes just off Zack's shoulder, he dropped his slacks.

Zack stared at Cloud’s girth and length. He definitely hadn't expected it—not that he had ever thought of Cloud's junk in any great depth… maybe just a fleeting thought here and there during intense sparring matches. He shook himself out of his reverie and dropped his own pants. He tried not to think about how hard he was from Cloud's grinding, and how the sight of the half-naked man before him sent harder throbs through his shaft. He stepped close to Cloud, the man’s red and swollen erection almost touching Zack's thigh. “So, what do you want to try first?”

Cloud swallowed, his head held up, full of pride and silent determination as he squarely looked Zack in the eyes. Zack had seen that look before when they had fought off enemies Cloud thought way too big to handle. It was flattering, but Zack didn't want to be intimidating. “It's okay, Cloud. We can do whatever you need to do. I'm here for you.”

Cloud gave a stern nod, picked up a bottle of lubricant, handing it to Zack and then turned around and bent over.

Now Zack gulped. Cloud's ass was a masterpiece of youth and hard work. Beautiful and pale, lean and toned. “Alright,” he barely got out in a steady tone. Zack uncapped the lubricant and squirted it into his hands.

“Don't bother stretching. I—don't need it.”

Zack imagined Cloud trying to get off for days on end, ramming the Titan into himself. He moaned a little. Cloud was so plucky, it bordered on sexy—scratch that—Cloud was sexy. Considering they were about to do this Zack felt it okay to acknowledge the thought he had been trying to hold at bay for the sake of their friendship. He stretched his arm out and touched. A shiver and deep desire ran through him. He ran his hand down Cloud's flank and felt and saw the shudder go through the other man. He kept traveling over Cloud's smooth, soft, hot skin, cupping his ass cheek and a longing to bite Cloud's ass—because it looked so delicious—rose inside him.

While he kept fondling Cloud's ass he reached for himself with his lubricated hand; spreading the substance and letting out a restrained sigh with how good it felt. Zack was too familiar with his hands. He knew the feel of every callous and patch of rough skin on his palms. Beating off was more a chore than a real pleasure these last few years. The thought of being with someone—being with Cloud—Zack hoped he wasn't about to embarrass himself and the renowned SOLDIER stamina. “It's okay if I just go for it?" A needy grunt left Cloud and he nudged his hips backward.

Zack put more lubricant on his hand, spread Cloud’s firm cheeks apart and pressed his finger against Cloud's puckering. He pushed and watched himself disappear inside of Cloud's heated entrance. He had never thought in a million years they this would happen; that Cloud would ask him to have sex. Zack shook his head. He was here to help his best friend. Nothing more. He pushed his one finger, two fingers, three, and even four inside to find little resistance. Cloud had indeed stretched himself out and seemed relaxed enough, even though he seemed tense as well in his shoulders as he leaned his upper body on the low bed. 

Zack’s heart went out to his friend at that moment. He withdrew his fingers but also nudged the tip of his penis closer to Cloud. When was the last time he had done this? Life had been too busy. He shook his head clear and pushed forward with ease into tight heat. He moaned and simultaneously a satisfied groan burbled up out of Cloud; a sound Zack had never heard before; deep, pleasurable, and a touch feral. Zack kept pushing in, letting heat and tightness engulf him all the way to the hilt. Somewhere he registered Cloud’s vocal groan; a mix of satisfaction and need. Words were attached too, which Zack couldn't make out at first, but which became sharp and clear after the third time—“Move!” Cloud barked, sending a threatening glare over his shoulder toward Zack.

“Yes, Sir.” Zack almost saluted but instead gripped Cloud’s hips and pulled himself off and then pushed back in. Zack threw his head back, moaned louder and smiled up at the ceiling in delight as he rocked into Cloud at a steady pace.

An indistinct sound came from Cloud.

“You alright?” It was probably a dumb question but—

“Of course not. Harder,” Cloud ordered with frustration and pushed back against him for emphasis.

Zack chuckled, not used to Cloud being so domineering and pushy. The shift in his friend’s usually quiet demeanor was gratifying so he did as he was ordered; slamming into Cloud with vigor. His hands gripped Cloud tightly and his pleasure was immense. 

“Harder!” Cloud snarled and slammed himself against Zack as Zack canted his hips forward again to deeply penetrate his friend.

“I don't want to hurt you.” If he really let himself go Zack wasn't sure how Cloud would fair. 

“Just… please,” came the grumbling plea through grit teeth.

A grimace fell across Zack's face. “Okay, but promise to tell me if I'm hurting you.”

Blond mop nodded vigorously and with that Zack did as he was asked. He thrust into Cloud's tense heat at full tilt. The bed creaked and slammed against the wall, breaking some of the thin plasterboard that lined the inside of the metal box Cloud called his lodgings.

The sound of skin slapping on skin sounded and their mingling moans echoed around the space. For how long Zack kept it up he couldn't say. Cloud stayed braced against the bed but at some point his right arm disappeared under himself, probably to tend to his erection. Sharp rasping breaths filled the air and groans from both of them bounced off the walls.

The intensity and strain of pumping into Cloud took its toll on Zack and he became overwhelmed by the tightness in his shaft and the tingle in his sac. A tremble ran through his limbs, and the tight coil in his gut snapped, causing him to shoot his load into Cloud with a deep moan. 

A few sharp exhales, a slowing of his thrusts and Zack muttered his almost breathless apologies, “I'm sorry. So sorry. Sorry, Cloud.” He slid out, already missing the heat and intensity and slumped down on the bed next to Cloud, who sank to his knees on the floor and buried his face in his mattress.

Zack tried to steady his breath, but it hitched every time a post-orgasm shudder pulsed through him. His vision of the ceiling danced around but eventually steadied and he heard a small whimper, making Zack look over. “You okay, buddy?” He placed his hand on Cloud’s shoulder. He felt the jerky movement as Cloud pulled away, sitting on the floor with knees tucked under his chin.

“Nothing works. Fuck.” Cloud pulled at his hair in aggravation and frustration. “I thought for sure being with someone would work but….” He groaned.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Zack, with a groan, sat up. “Don't give up yet. There are still a lot of different positions and things to try. We'll just go again until we figure this out.”

“Again? You seriously want to go again?” Blue, red-rimmed eyes looked up at Zack for a split second before darting away again.

“Yeah. I can't leave you hanging. And,” he gave a tight chuckle, “SOLDIER stamina lets me recover a lot faster so… we can keep doing this until we find a fix for you.”

“Thanks,” Cloud mumbled, not sounding very sincere. “You sure you can go again? Aren't you sensitive?” 

The abashed side-glance made Zack's heart flutter. Cloud was just the sweetest guy Zack had ever met. “You don't have to worry about me. Few minutes and I'll be good as new.”

“No you don't—you shouldn't even be having to do this now. Just go. I'll be fine.”

“We're friends. I can't just leave you in the lurch.”

“I don't think this is what you ever had in mind when we became friends,” Cloud grumbled into his knees.

“Maybe, but… well, it's not the worst job in the world,” he laughed gently and smiled down at Cloud, who had ventured another look up at him. Cheeks were stained red and an abashed Cloud was enough to invigorate Zack in that very moment. He leaned down and ran his fingers through Cloud’s damp blond hair. He smiled down at his friend, a warmth in the pit of his stomach which had nothing to do with arousal. “C’mon. Let's try again. Were you getting close? Did I angle myself right? Was I hitting your prostate?”

Cloud groaned and buried his head. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Don't think about it like anything other than a mission. This is the briefing where we figure out the target and how to achieve our goal. The actual act is the mission and afterward we do a review of whether it was successful or not. Though I guess I'll know when we've succeeded, huh,” he giggled. 

“Mission briefing, huh?” Cloud seemed to snap out of his eternal mortification and side-eyed Zack.

He grinned and nodded at Cloud, happy that the other man appeared to like the analogy Zack had thought up. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. Now let me hear it.”

Hesitation let seconds tick by before Cloud said, “It… was good. Better than… what I was doing before. You,” Cloud took a deep breath, “slamming into me… it's a nice distraction from… well, having blue balls of death.”

“I bet. I saw you pumping yourself. Did that feel nice?”

Cloud nodded, burying his head in his hands.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” he repeated. “Do you want me to try…” the thought of what he was about to say made Zack's heart race and his throat feel parched, “sucking you off?”

Cloud was quiet for a long minute but then he gave the tiniest, “Yes,” and head nod.

Zack swallowed. He was kidding himself if he chose to ignore how much this was actually turning him on. “Okay. Sit up here and open your legs.” Zack slid off the small bed as Cloud got up and sat down.

He scooted toward Cloud, placed his hands on his knees and gently coaxed Cloud’s legs apart and moved in close. Cloud’s erection looked formidable. Hard, thick, throbbing. It actually looked angry and sore, swollen with blood and unspent desire.

That same need was also painted on Cloud's face, clear as day. His jaw clenched and teeth ground. Hips jerked upward minutely with restraint. Zack grasped at those hips, holding the smaller man down as he got in position, mouth poised open just inches from the cause of Cloud's discomfort. 

“You ready for this?” He looked up at Cloud who gave a shaky exhale and looked down at Zack for the briefest moment.

Zack took that as an 'okay’ and slid his mouth over Cloud’s head, first making contact with his tongue, teeth and then the roof of his mouth. It was so hot; physically so hot in his mouth, on his tongue.

Cloud hissed and bucked but Zack held him down. He sucked for a few tentative moments on the dry as a bone head. Zack wondered what the pills had done to Cloud if they prevented him from even having pre-cum pooling out. Maybe there was a blockage? Maybe if Zack sucked really hard…. He began doing that. It was as good a plan as any. He sucked and rubbed his tongue. He took Cloud’s thickness down further into his mouth, working on getting the man down his throat.

Cloud moaned and bucked. He bucked fiercely, letting Zack know that it must feel good and that he needed more of this, so Zack gave him more. He vigorously bobbed his head and did that until his jaw became sore with being locked in place but he didn't want to stop. He wanted to relieve Cloud's pain, take away the pressure, make his best friend okay again.

He kept going until Cloud ordered him to stop because Zack chose to ignore the tentative pleas and suggestions that Cloud had been making to him until this point.

He opened and closed his mouth, working the tightness out of his jaw after he pulled off Cloud. He sat down and leaned back on his hands, looking up at his needy friend who stood before him now. “Why're you telling me to stop? Isn't it making you feel better?”

Cloud looked down at him, some of the tension and pain disappearing from his face. “It's helping but it's not a fix. You could do that to me for hours and it wouldn't get me anywhere,” Cloud said, a darkness in his eyes.

“Well, if we can't find a solution I'll just call in sick and suck on you until this stuff gets out of your system.”

Cloud actually laughed. “You're so dumb. You can't do that.”

“Watch me,” he grinned. Cloud was probably right, but then again seeing him smiling and less in pain was also a good enough motivator for Zack to want to try if it helped. He scrambled back up to his feet, ready to go again but Cloud pushed his hand against Zack's chest.

“You're hard again.” They both looked down at Zack's predicament, though Cloud looked away again almost instantaneously.

“You want me to try in your butt again? We can try facing each other if you want.” That thought got Zack kind of hot. What they were doing right now was intimate, but that would be even more so. 

Cloud shook his head. “Behind is fine. Um… can you maybe try… touching me while you're… you know.”

“Yeah sure.” Things were getting hotter by the second.

Cloud got up and knelt with his hands and knees on his bed, rear toward Zack.

“Lube?” 

“Don't need it.” Cloud shook his head. “I feel like a wet slide back there.”

Zack laughed, feeling lighter with Cloud's lifted mood. He eyed Cloud's delicious hole to see a trail of moisture leaking out. Zack felt himself getting harder with the realization that Cloud was still full of his cum, and Zack was able to do it all again.

“You want me to use a condom?” He probably should have asked at the start but man, his head had been in the clouds. He smirked at himself, careful not to spill the beans to Cloud for fear of feeling the man's wrath over the terrible pun.

“No. Too late now anyway. Just keep doing what you were doing. Don't forget, make it hard and fast.”

“Got it.” Zack stood at the edge of the bed, pulled Cloud to himself and then took a few deep breaths. He wanted to kiss Cloud, lick him, fondle him. He wanted to make him cum and scream his name. It was Zack's personal mission.

He pushed his head against Cloud's entrance, hissing quietly as he pushed inside of the welcoming heat. Almost immediately he began pounding into Cloud, shifting his hips and shaft with every deep thrust until he heard gasps turn into moans. He hadn't been paying attention to Cloud's need before, too lost in his own and too confident in his ability to alleviate his friend's pain that he hadn't really been trying before, but he was trying now. He aimed to nail Cloud's prostate with every blow.

Moans turned to needy mewls. “Zack… Zack—hand. Please!” came the begging from in front.

Zack reluctantly dislodged one of his hands from hips, running fingertips along smooth, damp skin into thick hairs and grasping around Cloud's heat. He found Cloud's shaft well lubricated, something Cloud must have done only moments before. 

Zack moved his hand with his thrusts, working from base to tip with great force, still working on the theory of a blockage somewhere, hoping to dislodge it.

He kept those motions going for a while until his legs began to tremble, his throat began to get parched from his own moans and gasps of pleasure because fuck, Cloud was tight and hot and it felt too good. Pounding into his friend was leading back to the cord of desire tightening too much around his cock and inside his lower abdomen and he was on the verge of an orgasm again.

Cloud still moaned, heady and thick. Zack kept nailing him, but there was no extra moisture, no pre-cum on his slit, which Zack thumbed once in a while as he changed his pace of thrusting and jerking. No sign of Cloud getting closer to his release.

Zack needed a rest. He gave in to his pleasure and let out an unencumbered throaty shout as he came with a few very sharp thrusts into that perfect little ass. His energy left him and he half collapsed onto Cloud's back, careful not to put his entire weight on the man, because crushing him was the last thing Zack wanted to do.

He gasped for sweet air, whilst laying against damp, and his own back awash with a river of sweat from the exertion. Zack was ashamed to admit it but he needed a breather. The room felt heavy with moisture; with no windows around the space suffered from terrible ventilation. It didn’t help Zack in his cause.

Rolling onto the bed he stared up at the ceiling, panting, “Anything?”

Cloud flipped onto his back and lay by Zack’s side, shaking his head. “No.”

“Far out, buddy, you're a hard man to please,” he joked.

“I’m sorry, Zack. You should just go home—” “Never! I want to make this better and make you feel good.”

Cloud kept looking up, but Zack saw the feverish cheeks turning a little pinker. “It does feel good—really good—its just… it’s not you, it’s me.”

“Oh wow,” Zack laughed gently. “We’re already having this conversation? I haven’t even taken you out on a date yet.”

Cloud snapped his gaze onto Zack. “What? N-no it’s not… I… I just… I—”

Zack laughed. “Relax, buddy. I’m just teasing. It’s good to hear it feels good to you even if I can’t get anything out of you. You’re bone dry.” Cloud nodded.

“You ever get a single drop out?”

Cloud turned a definite rouge color. 

“Oh,” Zack chuckled. “Okay. you don’t have to tell me but maybe do whatever gets you turning that bright red.” A small noise left Cloud and he turned his head the other way. Zack found it adorable, especially after the demands Cloud had thrown out before. “I think you might have a blockage or something if you can’t come. So if it’s a toy you need, or if you need me to touch you in a certain way let me know and we can use that next time around.”

“It’s nothing… physical. It’s just… thoughts,” Cloud dragged those words up like heavy stones out of a well.

Zack certainly felt curious but given Cloud’s embarrassment, he thought it best to leave alone. “Well, do more of that. And tell me, during the anal and blow job what gave you some relief?”

Cloud turned his head back toward Zack, but not fully. He just looked at him out of his periphery. “Your hand on me. The stuff in the back just made me—it was really good but—”

“Not what you needed.”

Cloud nodded.

“All right. You're already super stimulated. You just need the release. Right?”

“Yeah.”

Both men sighed.

“Can we turn on the fan? It's really muggy in here.” Zack sat up and stripped off his shirt, hating how the thick woolen fabric stuck to him.

Cloud stared for a moment and then as Zack caught him in the act he hastily said, “Yeah, it's just over there,” and pointed toward the cough by the bathroom door.

Zack went to the corner of the room and flicked the switch of the standing fan to the highest setting. He parked himself in front of it for a few moments, loving the air currents wicking away the moisture from his chest. He turned around and did the same for his back, sighing happily. He opened his eyes, locking with Cloud’s as the other man stared at him. Cloud fell back onto his mattress looking back up at the ceiling.

Zack’s heart drummed harder every time he caught Cloud looking at him. Was it dumb to want something more from his best friend? With his best friend? Cloud was just suffering, that’s all it was. He was too obsessed with Sephiroth. Maybe, Zack thought, the least he could do would be to set Cloud and Sephiroth up on a blind date? Since Cloud was most probably gay and all. He didn’t like that thought. “You don't wanna take off your shirt too?”

“Nah, it's not going to help.”

Zack smiled with a brittle sadness in his soul. He felt for Cloud, was angry at himself for not being able to make his friend cum and again the thought returned to asking Sephiroth over. Maybe Cloud would be turned on enough since he clearly admired the other man immensely. That thought only made Zack bitter. He tried to ignore it and let his eyes trail over Cloud, as his chest rose and fell heavily, but in an even rhythm. That almost angry looking erection stood proud, dry and hot. Zack wanted to try his mouth around it again. Touching Cloud there seemed to be what gave him the most relief. That thought was confirmed when Cloud's hand idly went to his penis and began pumping. Zack watched from his position before the fan. He imagined Cloud doing that to himself whilst thinking of him. Zack roused himself out of that thought. “Do you wanna try the blowjob again?” “How’s it gonna be different from before?” Defeat shaded Cloud’s words.

Zack thought, sucking on his lips. “Maybe—” his gaze landed on the sex toys strewn around the bed and floor, “if you use one of the dildos it might help?”

Cloud hummed in thought and then sat up, looking around himself. He picked one up and held it aloft. Zack walked over and took it from him. Cloud threw himself back on the bed and sighed.

“Cheer up, buttercup and stay positive.” Cloud grumbled.

Zack knelt on the floor before Cloud, pulling on his legs, dragging him closer to himself so Cloud’s butt hung a little off the edge of the mattress. Zack looked at the big bullet-shaped plug with its tapered tip and ribbed body. Buttons were at the base and Zack pushed one. The toy came to life in an instant. “Nice.”

The appropriate lubricant was handed over, Zack covered the silicone toy in it and once Cloud propped himself up on his elbows, so he could watch (an action which got Zack’s cock twitching and dripping). Zack then pressed the toy against Cloud. “You ready?” 

“Yeah, get on with it.”

Zack definitely expected the grumble of confirmation and accepted it with a chuckle. He pushed the plug into Cloud carefully, enjoying the intimate show. The wide base sat snug against skin and then Zack, with a lick of his lips, bent over Cloud’s radiating-with-heat penis and got to work. As he licked, sucked and bobbed he changed the vibration settings, each time eliciting the most delicate of gasps from Cloud. He fiddled with the base as well, moving it so it would tilt inside of Cloud, pushing and brushing against different parts of him. When Zack got a strangled moan out of the other man he held the toy in place and deepthroated him for as long as possible before needing to come up for air. He breathed deep through his nose while he sucked on Cloud’s head and finally, he smiled around the hot rock hard cock in his mouth as he could taste a saltiness that hadn’t been there before.

Zack saw this as a good sign. He kept pumping the toy in and out of Cloud at varying speeds, massaged Cloud’s innards with the vibrations and alternated between vigorously deepthroating Cloud and lovingly, tenderly, kissing and sucking on his head. 

Zack kept his ministrations up for a while. The fan hitting him and circulating the air helped a lot in keeping him going. But everything he was doing still didn’t seem enough and they both came to a mutually agreed stop, without having to utter a single word between them. Cloud lifted his leg over Zack’s head and rolled onto his side. He pulled out the still vibrating butt plug, turned it off and threw it across the room.

“Go home, Zack. It’s useless.”

“No way. I’m not a quitter and I’ve never known you to be one either.” He stood up to stretch the stiffness from his muscles and joints.

“There’s nothing left, I’ll just… I’ll be okay.” 

Zack thought he could see Cloud’s spirit leave his body and enter the Lifestream. “No!” He stomped his foot, made to clear what little toys were left on the bed, grabbed the warming lubricant and threw it at Cloud’s head, which caught it rather spectacularly. 

“Hey, ow! What in Ifrit’s name!” Cloud picked up the tube and sat up, glaring at Zack

Zack, steely-eyed and determined, went down on all fours on Cloud’s mattress, positioning himself so his rear was in the other man’s face. “Do me.”

“W-what?” Zack almost heard Cloud fall over backward.

“Do me,” he said again, sharp and clear, looking back over his shoulder at Cloud, who sat with his legs wide apart, leaning back on his arms, as if the surprise of Zack’s words had truly bowled him over. “There’s still lots we haven’t tried. This is one of them. So c’mon, get in there and do your reps.” Zack pushed his butt back.

Blue eyes went incredibly wide. “Y-yes, Sir.” Cloud got up on his knees, hesitantly, uncapping and squeezing out some lubricant.

“Don’t dawdle, and put something in your butt before you come here.” Zack watched Cloud scramble around and grab something which he shoved into his rear without even a flinch.

Cloud finally approached, shuffling in behind Zack. Heat radiated and that was about all.

“Cloud. What're you waiting for?” Zack looked behind himself again. Cloud looked even more feverish than before.

“I can't,” he whispered and sank onto his haunches, the tips of his hair touching and brushing against Zack’s ass with how close he was to him as he sat with his head bowed.

Zack raised himself onto his knees and turned around carefully, grabbing at Cloud’s feverish and clammy shoulders. “You can. We’ll get through this. We'll find something that works,” he said, with as much optimism as he could muster without putting Cloud off.

“No. I can't do this. I don't want to do this. Not like this. Not when you feel obligated.”

“I'm not—I wanna help you. We're friends.”

Cloud roused, raising himself to his knees and thrust his arms outward, pushing Zack's hands off himself and toppling him over lightly. “Friends. I don't—just—please just leave.” The glare Cloud gave Zack melted and he sat back down on his bed, head bowed and hands interlaced before himself.

“Buddy,” Zack sat up again and went to pat Cloud's back.

“Don't! Don't 'buddy’ me. Don't touch me. Just go away,” Cloud said, pushing Zack away.

Zack backed off and leaned back, looking at Cloud completely confused. What had happened? Had he been too rough? Too demanding? Too commanding? “I'm sorry. I just wanna help,” he muttered.

Cloud turned away and pulled his knees to his chest, remaining silent.

Letting out a hefty defeated sigh Zack got up, meaning to respect Cloud’s wishes because he was all out of ideas. If Cloud didn’t want to have sex with him like that he didn’t know what else to try. He went about finding his clothes and putting them on slowly to bide his time while he thought. But he had still come up with nothing, even as he fastened his last belt, and Cloud still sat wordlessly, not even chancing a glance at Zack. 

As Zack stood in Cloud’s small room, with his best friend so desperately upset and in agony Zack made a decision. “I'm gonna go get us some drinks and then we'll talk after you've had a time out.” He thought the fresher air might do him some good and maybe he could come up with another plan.

Cloud still said nothing so Zack headed for the door. Upon opening it he nearly stepped on the container of chicken soup. “Oh, hey, eat this while I'm gone. You should stay hydrated.” He went back into the room and dropped the air-tight canister before Cloud. “Should still be hot. Might even have actual chicken in it somewhere,” he smiled but got no response. “I hope it makes you feel better.”

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair, which made the other man wince. Zack frowned and left the Stacks. He had to go back to the main Shinra complex to find vending machines and get his caffeine and sugar hit. His pace kept alternating between a power walk and a dawdle as his mind wandered in and out of feeling like a creep for using Cloud like this, and genuine deep concern for his friend. Zack told himself that he wasn't using Cloud, but damn, it felt like he was, especially since he had left without actually helping him. But Cloud had wanted him to go. Cloud had felt hurt about something and Zack needed to get to the bottom of it… pun not intended but he chuckled at it anyway. But he also knew that Cloud needed space to think and process his thoughts. He hoped the walk to and from the vending machines would give him enough time to process what they had been doing and what he needed Zack to give him.

Vending machines were reached. He scrounged around his pockets for some gil, found none, but did see some very lovely ladies walking by so laid on the charm. It worked wonders and he bought a hot coffee and three icy energy drinks and made his way back to Cloud's. At least now that Cloud wasn’t in the barracks there was no curfew for him. Zack found that nice and thought about actually taking Cloud out. Maybe even on a date? He could hardly believe he had sex with Cloud Strife. It made him all giddy inside. Or maybe it was just the caffeine hit he received as he finished his coffee and downed one and a half cans of the energy drinks by the time he arrived at Cloud’s front door and knocked. “It's me.” Now would be the real test to see if Cloud had gotten over his mood enough to talk.

Shoulders relaxed when he heard the door unlatch. Zack pushed it open after a few moments more of nothing happening and entered. He found a fully clothed Cloud hunched on the ground leaning against the wall near his bed, cradling his head in his hands. Zack spied the empty chicken soup container on the low bookshelf. It made him sigh out a little with relief.

Zack sat down next to Cloud, holding out the last of the energy drinks to him. “Brought you something. Was the soup any good?”

“Was all right,” Cloud mumbled, only looking up to register the can and grabbed for it. “Don’t know how soup’s supposed to help though.” Cloud cracked the can open and guzzled the contents down.

“It’s something warm and comforting. Ma’s soups always made me feel better when I was sick. What about you?” Cloud hummed. A soft expression, which Zack recognized as only ever washing over his friends face when he thought of home, sat on Cloud’s face then. “Yeah. Mom makes this delicious creamed corn and pea soup. She toasts wafer thin garlic bread and crumbs it over the top.” Zack smiled. “That sounds divine.” “It is. If we ever get shipped out to Mt. Nibel together… I’d like to…” the light in Cloud’s eyes vanished. He swirled his can and began drinking it again. “Midgar soup can't compare.”

“True.”

They sipped their drinks in relative quiet until Zack finished his. He crushed the can and aimed for Cloud’s waste paper basket. “Nothing but net!” he quietly cheered as he sunk it. “So mind telling me what that was about before I left?”

Cloud frowned and his eyes stayed low. “You’re not—” Cloud stopped. “I—” A heavy breath was released. “Why're you doing this? Why’re you here? This is so weird… so embarrassing. It makes me—” Another huff was let out. “It makes me think of bad things. It makes me think of shit I don’t want to think of.”

“What kinda shit?”

Cloud wrinkled his brow as he quickly glanced at Zack, but just as quickly he looked away again, and out in his room. “That you’re gonna lord this over me. Hit me with the ‘I told you so’s’. I don't like the idea that I can't handle this myself. It was my choice to sign up to that program. I hate that… I hate that you're seeing me like this. I hate that we—I didn't want it to be like this. I don't want your pity, your sympathy. I don't want SOLDIER first class, Zack Fair, hero of the people only doing this to rescue me. I don't want to be rescued.” Cloud grimaced and his hand went to his crotch to rub himself through his slacks.

A current of shock buzzed through Zack. How could Cloud even think that of him! “I won't lord this over you. We don't ever have to talk about this ever again.”

Cloud grunted. “So we're going to pretend this never happened? That you didn't—in me, like twice? That you sucked on me?” He grimaced.

Panic rose in Zack. “You said you were okay with it.” Had he inadvertently taken advantage of Cloud and molested him? “I offered you to do the same to me.” Like that somehow made it better. Zack was not happy with this turn of events. “Why didn't you?” Was he blaming him? Zack wanted to scream. He wasn't good with words.

Cloud shook his head. “Forget it.” 

Zack laid his hand on Cloud’s shoulder, gripping him in desperation. “No, you just said you didn't want us to pretend this didn't happen, so out with it. I need to know if I hurt you. I think I hurt you.” He frowned with worry and spoke with panic.

Cloud clenched his jaw and he still refused to acknowledge Zack but he said, “You didn't.”

Zack breathed a huge sigh of relief, but he didn't let either of them off the hook. “So what is it?”

Cloud mulled something over in his head for a few moments and then, with his head sinking down even further, he said, “You're going to laugh.”

“I won't. I swear. You're my best friend—just don't tell Kunsel, okay? Anything you tell me I keep safe.”

The briefest of smiles lit Cloud's face, but then he gave an exasperated grumble and clutched his head. “That’s the problem.” “What is?”

“We’re friends.” Zack stared, dumbfounded and not comprehending. “Wha—?”

Cloud sighed. “I think about you all the time.”

“I think about you too, buddy.”

Cloud winced. “No. I think about you—all the time.” 

“Ah… yeah… me too? As I said, I really missed you while I was away.”

Cloud huffed, trying to push Zack’s hand off his shoulder. “Forget it.”

He let go but took hold of Cloud’s hand instead. “No, make me understand.”

Fingers twitched and flexed in Zack’s hand. Cloud chewed on his lips and then turned, finally fully looking at Zack. His eyes trailed down and… lingering on Zack’s crotch. 

Zack looked down at himself as well and then… his mouth drifted open. Was… Cloud saying what he thought he was saying. Zack had no chance to ask because in a flash Cloud lurched forward and pressed his lips against Zack's, catching him off guard and freezing him in place, wide-eyed in bewilderment. He blinked at pale, feverish skin. Beautiful blue eyes were shut tight, breath blew against Zack’s cheek. He felt his heart begin to race and then Cloud pulled away.

“Never mind,” Cloud said quietly, trying to move away from Zack.

Zack’s brain unfogged and he sprang into action, reaching out, stopping Cloud from getting up as he cupped Cloud’s face and turned him toward himself. He leaned in without a second thought and their lips connected. Instead of just an unreceptive press of lips, Zack actually kissed, capturing Cloud’s top lip and sucking. Cloud reciprocated shyly after a hesitant moment. They moved together clumsy and uncertain of each other, tasting sugar and the lime flavor of the drink they just had. Zack tilted his head, pushing his chin against Cloud’s and sucking a little harder on Cloud’s lips and tongue. 

They pulled apart but Zack kept his forehead pressed to Cloud's. He was as breathless as if he had just fought an army. “I think I get it now,” he huffed. “You want me to want to do this with you because I have actual feelings for you, and not because I feel sorry for you or want to save you for an ego boost.”

Cloud nodded.

“I'm a bit thick but I get it eventually,” he gave a small laugh and smiled.

“Do you?” Cloud asked, quiet as a mouse.

“Hmm?” Zack pulled back a little so he could see more of Cloud’s flushed face.

“Have feelings for me,” Cloud elaborated, his eyes looking shimmery and wet and only holding the eye contact for a split second.

“Cloud,” Zack smiled softly. “I do. Yeah. You're my best friend. The idea of anything hurting you kills me. That's why I need to make you come… because I care about you. I think about you every second I’m not with you.”

A reluctant sort of joy battled its way to the surface on Cloud’s face and his eyebrows strained to keep their sour expression. A smile tugged at his lips even as he said, “You're not just saying that?”

“No. If… if this was happening to anyone else—to Kunsel… I’d have dragged him out to Wall Market and paid for a room for him and however many ladies he might need. But you… you,” he stroked the side of Cloud's face, “I don't want anyone but me to help you… to touch you.” He felt protective over Cloud all of a sudden. Possessive even. “Is that what you wanna hear? Because that’s how I feel about you. Only you.”

Cloud nodded and the depth of despair lifted from his face, making his eyes and smile shine.

Zack’s breath caught in his chest at the sight and he let out a long sigh. “Thank goodness. I was feeling like a creep doing this with you. The fact that we like each other makes me feel better.”

“I'm glad one of us is feeling better,” Cloud muttered.

“Oh no, I didn't mean it like that.”

“No, it’s fine. At least something good came from this, even if it’s not me.”

The laugh burbled out of Zack. He slapped his hand across his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled through his fingers.

Cloud cracked a smile and huffed out a sound of amusement, which caused relief to flow through Zack. But then the smile faded and Cloud winced in pain, head dropping down.

“Okay, can we try again? Can I try to make you feel better because I really care about you and I want to see you happy?”

“What’re we going to do?” Cloud asked, righting himself again a little.

Zack leaned into Cloud, running his hand up his neck and cupping his cheek again. “I wanna make out with you and see where we end up. Is that all right?”

A soft exhale matched the soft smile. Cloud nodded and Zack tilted his head pushing Cloud’s head against the wall with the kiss he planted on him. This time it was a lot surer. They moved against each other in unison, mouths open, tongues gently but firmly rubbing against each other. Zack felt the flutters in his chest stirring at the clear desire Cloud showed him in the way they kissed. At last his worries evaporated because his dream was coming true. Zack slid his hands over Cloud’s body, under his shirt, feeling hot skin, flat abs, smooth flesh.

Zack moaned into Cloud’s mouth and left lighter kisses on his hot mouth. “You’re really sexy under all your clothes.” He went back to kissing Cloud deeply and brushed Cloud’s sides. He grabbed tightly and dragged Cloud onto his lap. Legs tightened around Zack’s sides and Cloud rocked into him a little. Zack trailed kisses down Cloud’s slender neck and placed a few more just at the collar of Cloud’s shirt, which he pulled open a little to place even more kisses on the well-defined collarbone.

“You really like me?” Cloud asked.

“I do. The way you stick to your guns, your determination, drive, passion. You’re an inspiration.” “Zack,” Cloud sounded disbelieving and tired.

Zack looked up from where he was sucking on clammy skin. “I mean it. Some days I wake up and don’t wanna do anything. But I think of you and how you’d kill to be in my position, so I get up, do the menial tasks because…  well because I don’t want to dishonor what you hold dear.”

Cloud cupped Zack’s face and looked at him for a moment. Blue eyes scanned, looking for… sincerity? His smile unfurled and warmth bloomed in Zack’s heart at the sight.

“I hold you dear,” Cloud said quietly. Zack bit his lip. Why had he never seen it so clearly as he did now, at this moment? Cloud was everything. “You’re amazing.” He kissed the other man, hungry for Cloud like he had never been before, but he was also sure it wouldn’t be the last time. He stood up, carrying Cloud to the bed and dropped him onto the mattress gently. Zack repositioned himself on top of Cloud and resumed their kissing.

Hands went everywhere, pants were undone and flies and undergarments pushed aside. Zack touched and pumped Cloud, giving him much needed relief. Cloud kneaded Zack’s taut skin and muscles, bucking into his hand.

“I want to have sex with you, because I want you, because I care about you,” Zack husked as he kissed into Cloud’s hairline, behind his ear.

A breathy huff came out of Cloud. “I want that too, I want you. You’re all I think about when I want to get off.” 

Zack shivered over Cloud’s words and then he shivered more at Cloud maneuvering himself so he could kiss Zack with a greedy and deep-exploring tongue,

The next thing Zack was aware of was something cold pressed into his hand. He looked at the lubricant, uncapping and squeezing the liquid out into his other hand. He kept kissing Cloud, pulling on his lips while he pushed his fingers into Cloud, slickening the other man up. Small needy and pleasurable sounds emanating from Cloud and his hot hands went to his own cock for more friction and to Zack's, stroking him firm and spreading the lube he had gotten onto his own hand. A few more kisses rained down before Zack was all ready and he spread Cloud open, pushing himself inside and eliciting deep and satisfying groans out of both of them.

"You feel so good. Cloud, I want you. All of you. Every bit of you. Let go for me. Let me see you," he murmured between kisses and deep thrusts.

Cloud held firm, his grip tight around Zack's shoulders, his nails slightly digging, and his whimpers keening. Zack fucked his friend—his best friend—his adorable, precious, stubbornly determined Chocobo. He increased his speed, frantically pounding into Cloud's hot and tight embrace. He gave it all he could, even reaching down between them and pumping Cloud as best he could to some semblance of a rhythm matching his jerky penetration.

Cloud's grip around Zack tightened; wrapping his legs around Zack's hips, drawing him down deeper, making Cloud pant louder in Zack's ear.

"Is this—good?" Zack strained.

Cloud nodded. "So—good. So right."

Zack groaned and slammed himself into Cloud even harder for as long as he could before he came. His aim was—had been—to stop before it was too late, but Cloud dug his fingernails in, moaned deeply and told him, ordered him—to, “Fuck me so hard that I need a phoenix down!” that Zack lost all semblance of restraint and with a raging roar fucked Cloud’s ass so vigorously that he lost himself and came while he bit into Cloud’s shoulder, making Cloud cry out in pain.

“Shit, shit, sorry, you okay? Cloud!” Zack chuffed, unable to see straight but knowing he had hurt the other man.

Cloud groaned. “Don’t stop.”

Zack tried to rouse himself, nudging his hips and his spent arousal inside of Cloud and also resumed his stroking and rubbing Cloud’s beading slit. Zack looked down at him and stared.

“What?”

“Ah…” He took deep breaths to steady himself. The heat of Cloud around him, the sight of Cloud below him; flushed cheeks, glistening skin, developing and toning muscles tensing and relaxing with his own breath��“You're really handsome," he puffed. "Y'know that? You always were but now… all the training you've been doing… it really shows and this really suits you." He rubbed his hand up and down Cloud's torso; his abs; obliques; pecs—rubbing and pinching at a nipple.

Cloud gasped and his cheeks and chest tinged red.

"You're beautiful." Zack leaned down and kissed him gently. Cloud's arms wrapped around his back, went into his hair and pushed him deeper into the kiss. 

Cloud hungered for him, sucking on him deeply. Zack canted his hips gently, pushing in and out of Cloud tenderly while they kissed and moaned. His soft shaft was already throbbing again with excitement. The energy drinks really helped, along with the realization that Cloud thought of him in a special way.

Zack pulled out of the kiss. He brushed Cloud's hair up and away from his face, kissed his cheeks and smiled down at him as he pulled out of his ass. 

A flash of disappointment breezed over Cloud's face. "What are you—” Zack kissed Cloud again. “I want to try the thing we haven’t tried yet.” He stroked Cloud’s burning hot shaft. Cloud lolled his head to either side and pushed his hips up. He gave a nod.

“Please. I want that. I want you. I—” Cloud’s abdomen quaked as he panted.

Zack felt it. He knew it. “I love you too, Cloud.”

Cloud blinked rapidly and focused on Zack’s smiling face for a moment, lips apart, eyes wide. And then a smile unfurled and softened his expression; it was the look Cloud always got when he thought of home. Zack leaned down again, pressing tender kisses to Cloud’s cheek and lips while he fumbled for the lubricant. On locating it he pulled off Cloud, sat up and squirted a large amount into the palm of his other hand. He threw the now-empty bottle over the side off the bed, rubbed his hands together, eliciting a squelching sound and then stroked Cloud’s cock while he reached behind himself with his other hand to prepare himself.

Cloud, looking quite feverish simply lay there enjoying Zack’s strokes and rubs of his head, relieving some of the unbearable tension and need in his body and taking the occasional pause from writhing to look at Zack touching him and just looking at Zack in general.

Zack smiled down at his best friend, while he kept pumping and lathering the shaft between his fingers, and stretching and wetting his ass. “I hope this’ll help.”

“Even… even if it doesn’t… I’m… still happy,” Cloud murmured.

Zack smiled wider. “I’m happy too. I’ll be a lot happier when you aren’t suffering, though. I want to do this with you again when you aren’t in agony.”

“A-again? You… want to do this again? With me?” Cloud’s eyelashes fluttered, baffled.

Zack laughed, a deep rumble to his tone. “Of course.” He pulled his fingers out of himself, his hand off Cloud’s straining need and scooched up, hovering above the other man’s hips. “I think—and you don’t have to say yes, right now,” he added hastily, “but I think I’d like to be your boyfriend and see where this might go.” He shifted, maneuvered the base of Cloud’s shaft back and lowered himself down, hissing and groaning at the heat and stretch and, “Fuck, you feel so good!” Tingles erupted through Zack’s body as he lowered himself. Cloud’s shaft was scorching hot inside of Zack but immensely satisfying as well. He rumbled deep in his throat with satisfaction as he got all of Cloud inside himself and sat on his lap.

Cloud’s eyes were squeezed shut and he gaped like a goldfish. His abdominal muscles rippled and it’s like his voice had been stolen from him.

“You okay, buddy?” Zack cupped Cloud’s face with concern.

Cloud’s eyes sprang open; a feral glint flashing through them. A guttural roar erupted and Cloud shot up, swung his arm and whole body, toppling them both over and off the bed. Zack grunted, slamming onto the floor, his head cracking, his shoulders and backside stinging and Cloud’s weight on top knocking the wind out of him.

Cloud huffed erratically. “Shit. S-sorry. Shit! Are you okay?” He touched Zack all over, softly, gently checking to make sure he was okay.

Zack winced but laughed. “Shit, man. That’s hot. Channel that energy and fuck me.” Cloud blushed a deep crimson. His cock was still deeply embedded inside of Zack and his attention seemed to return to his need just as Zack squeezed his insides around the hot shaft. Cloud slumped forward, resting his forehead on Zack’s shoulder, one hand under Zack’s ass, and the other arm at Zack’s side, supporting himself. He rocked in and out of Zack, the relief he got evident in the strum of his vocal cords as he murmured and hummed and huffed.

Cloud’s motions built back up the cooling furnace of desire in the pit of Zack’s stomach. He wrapped a leg behind Cloud, pushing him in harder against himself with every forward thrust, making them both moan with delighting need. Zack slid his arms around Cloud’s shoulders, hugging him, holding him, touching and fondling the definition in the muscles he found there.

Heat and sweat clung to their bodies and they gripped each other fiercely. Zack tried to keep his strength in check but the way Cloud rutted into him made him tense and coil as he struggled to keep his climax at bay. But he couldn’t; too wound up, turned on, still heady with the realization of what Cloud meant to him, and he to Cloud. His whole body tensed. “Fuck! Cloud!,” he grit his teeth holding, holding, holding—snap! He came with a deep groan spurting up Cloud’s abdomen, making Cloud whine and moan and fuck himself harder, deeper into Zack’s ass with fury and passion and desperation.

Zack’s orgasm kept rolling through him, sending a white noise through his ears, but as it cleared he heard Cloud’s labored breath, his hitching voice, and the hot, wet tears on his skin. Cloud trembled but kept hammering into Zack, needing his fill, needing to be completely drained.

“I can’t, I can’t,” Cloud chanted as he fucked, forlorn and desperate.

Zack groaned, pushed his leg, which still hooked around Cloud, further to the side and rolled them over, nearly landing them under the bed, but Zack hoisted Cloud up and away a little. He looked down at Cloud, his cheeks still red, but a tragic sadness painting his lips and brow.

“Nothing works,” he said bitterly.

“I’m not giving up, and neither should you. Were you feeling close?”

Cloud shook his head. “I need… more. I don’t know what though.”

Zack hummed and looked around himself. He spotted a toy and leaned toward the bed, grabbing it. “I’ll put this in you.” He pushed a button, bringing the vibration to life. “I’ll make you cum, Cloud. I will. SOLDIER’s honor.”

Cloud huffed; a little happy, a little sad. He handed Zack a tube of lube he pulled out from under his bed and canted his hips, stimulating himself whilst still inside of Zack, while Zack slathered up the toy and then moved it behind himself to push it inside of Cloud.

Cloud inhaled deeply. The plug sat snug against him and Zack turned it on. Cloud arched his back and mewled. Zack shivered at the sight and sound. He was a picture of perfection he wanted to see more of… but without the agonizing pain. Never that. He leaned down, sliding one hand under and around the back of Cloud’s shoulders, and his other one around the top of Cloud’s head, cradling him and kissed delectable lips; once, twice, thrice. He rocked on and off Cloud in a gentle rhythm, building momentum and speed. He fought against the shooting sensitivity inside his ass from his previous orgasm. It was nothing compared to Cloud’s state so he could easily survive this.

They kept kissing and huffing and puffing against each other. Cloud’s arms snaked up Zacks sides and broad back. Holding him, clinging, desperate as Zack worked his hips and ground his ass against Cloud’s hot shaft, pulling off almost all the way before plunging back down, and moving to shallow humping, nudging, and back to full on smashing himself onto Cloud’s burning need.

Their kissing broke at some point. Neither of them getting enough air. Cloud whined and groaned. Zack moaned and grit his teeth against the fire in his core and ass. The need to ejeculate upon him once again because Cloud’s cock was just, “Perfect. You’re so perfect. So special. Cloud. Fuck! I love you. I love you. I love you,” he murmured hoarsely with each push onto Cloud’s infernal and blisteringly hot erection.

Zack cried out in pain and ecstasy. Cloud’s nails dug, his legs suddenly shot up and clamped down around Zack’s hips, locking him down, and Cloud roared from the pit of his stomach, arching his back as heat like molten lava spewed out of him and into Zack’s ass. 

The harsh cries of release kept coming out of Cloud, as did his cum. Zack could feel it leaking out of his ass, a river of pent up desire and frustration. He couldn't move; Cloud wrapped around him like a vice of limbs, despite the trembling his whole body was experiencing. And then he went completely limp, his arms sliding off as if made of lead and his legs like heavy stones splaying out to the side. 

Cloud sounded like a locomotive with how he huffed and puffed. Zack looked down with adoration and relief. He witnessed the tremors rippling through Cloud and felt the hot angry cock inside himself finally slip out, soft, spent, decimated and free. But a painful shiver also looked to go through Cloud.

“Za-ck, ou-t. Out,” he whispered and winced.

Zack looked down at Cloud, suddenly affronted with the idea that Cloud wanted him gone; a painful hollow ache flushing through him—but then he heard it; the buzzing. “Shit.” In a flash he scooched off Cloud and pulled the plug out of his ass, turning it off and tossing it aside. “That better?” Cloud nodded weakly and hoisted up a ghost of a smile even as he could barely keep his eyes open. Zack ran his hand up and down Cloud’s body, trailing his fingertips over his soft, clammy, and rapidly cooling skin. He dipped down to Cloud’s abdomen and brushed against the much more normal-in-color penis laying floppy along his groin, somewhat submerged in Cloud’s own fluids, which looked a sickly green color. 

Zack frowned and worried. He reached between his own legs, feeling the damp oozing out of him.

“Zack,” Cloud managed with more strength and opened his eyes with a flutter. “Thank you. I love you. Thank you.” Zack smiled. His heart felt too full and brimmed with the adoration he felt for Cloud. He lay down next to Cloud, propping his head up with his hand and draping his other arm over Cloud’s stomach, catching his hand and interlacing their fingers. “I love you too. You don’t have to thank me. You're really okay now?" 

Cloud's chest heaved, his skin was so red but he smiled. He couldn't stop smiling. He nodded and laughed and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Zack relaxed, leaned in and kissed Cloud gently. A shiver ran down Zack’s back with Cloud’s reciprocity of a delicate suck of his lip and brushing of tongues. Zack snuggled down closer to Cloud, resting his head on the floor, pulling Cloud to himself and rubbing his nose against the top of Cloud’s wet hair. Cloud wrapped his arm around Zack, shuffled a little nearer and not an atom of space was left between them with how close they lay pressed together. 

Their hearts pounded. They could feel the reverberations. Their breaths huffed, and Cloud’s limbs still shook for a long time after.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

"Thank you. Thank you for everything. I know you didn’t mean all that stuff you said about loving me; you were just trying to make me relax so I could cum, but thank you."

Zack roused himself off his blissful cloud. He leaned back a bit and tucked his fingers under Cloud's chin to coax the other man's eyes up toward him. A stormy expression brewed there. Zack stared, somewhat bewildered. "What are you on about? Of course I meant every word. Cloud."

"Gimme a break. As if you'd really have feelings for me. I'm no one—nothing. I'll understand if you never come back to see me again."

Zack looked on, horrified. He forced himself to sit up and Cloud raised himself upright as well. They sat on the floor, Cloud shuffling back toward the bed, to minimize body contact. Zack huffed and scooched after, entangling their legs and grabbing both of, and holding Cloud's hands in his.

"No, Cloud. The only reason I'll never come back here to see you is because I'm getting you out of here. I don't want you to put your body through this kind of hell again because you want privacy. I'll get you some quarters elsewhere, with no strings attached and… and in the meantime, you can come live in my apartment."

"Live with you?"

"Yeah. I’ve got a spare storage room, remember? It’s like half the size of this place. I could fit a bed in there if you want. Or you could put your things in the spare room and sleep in my bed. It’s big enough for both of us, and I’m not in there except for maybe a day or two at most, most weeks. You know how crazy my schedule gets, yeah?”

Cloud stared silently for a few moments, his mouth hanging open. "Why would you… offer that?"

Zack frowned. "Because I wasn't pretending. I didn't say that I loved you and that you're amazing and important to me to put on a show. I love you! Have loved you for a long time. Your attitude, your determination, the cute way you get so shy even after you say or do something to put me in my place." Zack skilled and lifted one of Cloud's hands to his mouth, kissing it. "I want you to be my boyfriend, Cloud Strife. I want to have proper sex with you where you're not in complete pain and misery for more than half or all of it. I… want you bossing me around more. That's so hot. I'm being sincere, Cloud. Really. What can I do to prove it to you?"

Cloud stayed quiet for a while; thinking, looking. His cheeks suddenly flushed redder than before. "You know," he gulped, "that escort service I called…" Cloud looked away and pulled his hand out from Zack's and reached for a stack of papers on the lowest shelf of the bookcase which was within arm's reach. He looked through a few leaflets and then handed one to Zack 

Zack took it and looked at the bright, bold advertisement of an escort service. He raised his eyebrows. "A SOLDIER first class impersonator service? I don't know how I feel about this," he said with a laugh. He had heard of Sephiroth impersonators before. That made Zack frown a little.

"I… asked for someone that looked like you. I…" Cloud sunk his head down, unable to look at Zack, who stared in surprise. "I wanted to hire one for so long—it's why I moved in here. Well, part of the reason. So I could be alone. And I guess… I've liked you for so long… this just feels…"

Zack blinked and stared. Cloud had… wanted him? Even a fake him? He didn’t know how, because he was so spent, but that turned him on a little. He breathed out a huff of air. "It’s all a bit much, right? To have everything you thought you knew change, and to have all your secret wishes met." Zack supplied from his own muddled thoughts and experiences.

Cloud nodded.

Zack smiled with all the tender feelings inside himself. “I feel that too, Cloud. I never thought… I’m your superior. I never wanted to use that to my advantage.” He put the flyer down, leaned toward Cloud and hoisted him up onto the bed, where he grabbed the end of the blanket and draped it over Cloud's shoulders and sat down beside him. 

“I don’t think of you the way I do because of your status,” Cloud muttered and leaned against Zack and rested his head on Zack's shoulder.

Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud’s waist and hugged him to himself a little tighter. "Good. I… really liked you from the day we met. ANd then getting to know you better… I don't really know when the feelings started—well, I probably do. The way you always look at and talk about Sephiroth. I always wanted you to feel that way about me. But then, at the same time, I see how you get around him and… I didn’t want that actually. I don't want to be idolized by you. I just want your love."

Cloud moved a bit, pulled his hand out from beneath the blanket which he held wrapped around himself and took up and held Zack's hand. "You have that."

Zack squeezed him and smiled, dropping a kiss atop Cloud's head. "And you have mine, and I'll do whatever I can to prove it to you, and to keep proving it to you."

Cloud moved his head and looked at Zack, a soft smile blooming. Zack leaned in, Cloud closed the last of their distance and kissed him.

"Thank you, Zack. Thank you for being here and bringing me soup and… for not leaving when I told you to and for everything."

Zack chuckled and pressed another kiss to Cloud's chapped lips. "You're my mission. I never abandon a mission. I'll help you get into the SOLDIER program, I'll help you get a better place than this. I'll always be here for you." He made a fist and held up his arm. 

Cloud smiled, also raised his fisted hand and pressed it against Zack's as he nodded.

Zack beamed with elation. "So how about it; move in with me? Be my boyfriend? I'll talk with Lorraine in charge of the unit blocks to see if she's got anything freeing up soon. But I definitely want you outta here and no longer taking strange pills."

A chuckle left Cloud at that. "You really want to be boyfriends?” he asked softly. Zack nodded. “Yeah, but no pressure. You don’t owe me or anything like that," he thought he'd clarify.

Cloud shook his head. “No, I don't feel like I do. Though I am grateful that you’re here and such a good friend. Such a…” his voice dropped down into a shy whisper, “great boyfriend.”

Zack grew tingly all over again. “Will you accept my offer of staying with me?”

Cloud nodded, slow at first but it quickly sped up in strength. “Yeah. If that's okay.”

“Of course it is.”

"Alright then. I guess if I have the real Zack Fair I don't need to live here to get a fake one."

Zack laughed brightly and pulled Cloud into a fierce hug, peppering him in kisses. “What was he like? Did he look like me?”

Cloud pulled away a little to look over Zack. “He sort of did. He had your nose and your tan, but I think it was fake. He doesn’t have your smile though, your laugh, your hands.” Cloud pulled Zack’s hand up to his cheek and nuzzled into it.

Zack leaned in again and kissed Cloud softly; a glint of amazement coursed through him with every free kiss he got and took from the other man. “I’m glad I got to give you the real deal.” “You’re way more effective than a fake or the chicken soup. I don’t think it would have done me any good. Would have just made me feel worse.” Zack squeezed and hugged Cloud tightly. “I’m here to always make you feel better.” “Thank you.”

They shared another kiss and then reluctantly detangled from each other to go and shower together before making plans to exit Cloud out of the Stacks program and get him settled into Zack’s apartment.

[rp-grannies]

[Sentence Starters] Final Fantasy VII

Feel free to add context, change pronouns, names, jobs, and anything else you need to change to make these work for you! Have fun! ^-^

❝ A floating city... pretty unsettling scenery. ❞

❝ Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers! ❞

❝ A promise is a promise. ❞

❝ Can't sleep? ❞

❝ Your hair looks like a Chocobo! ❞

❝ Cetra? That some kinda disease? ❞

❝ If everything's a dream, don't wake me. ❞

❝ I made it this far, believing in the memories we shared. This isn't happening! It's too cruel! ❞

❝ D-d-d-damn! My head hurts! ❞

❝ I don't like two-legged things. ❞

❝ Ordinary luck. It will be an active fortune. Give into the good will of others, and something big'll happen after summer. ❞

❝ I want to know you. The REAL you. ❞

❝ Who you callin' Mr. ( Name )? That don't sound right! ❞

❝ Any way you look at it, I'd say I make a fine human being. ❞

❝ Alright everybody, let's mosey ! ❞

❝ It's all right. You're here... Everyone's all together. Together... we can do anything. ❞

❝ Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is...blue? ❞

❝ Why don't we continue on as we did before? ❞

❝ Shit! The hell you so calm about? You bustin' up my rhythm... ❞

❝ Something bothers me. I think it's your way of life. You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me... it just makes me think about my life. ❞

❝ Quit slapping me! You old wench!!! ❞

❝ Let's just say I'm against capital punishment. Besides... I hate this broad. ❞

❝ I'm a light sleeper. It's a SOLDIER thing. ❞

❝ This day will never come again, so let me have this moment. ❞

❝ But, damn man, that thing gives me the creeps... ❞

❝ Hey, do you know who I am? I'm ( Name )—that's who the hell I am! Now just let me handle it! ❞

❝ Let's see how compatible we are! ❞

❝ Haeey!! Baaeby!! ❞

❝ We've worked this hard already. ❞

❝ It's really something, having a smoke at a place like this. ❞

❝ I don't want to regret not having done something later. ❞

❝ You Spiky Haired Jerk! ❞

❝ What you pursue will be yours... but you will lose something dear. ❞

❝ We're busy runnin' back and forth! Even my bikini goddess would be pantin' about now! ❞

❝ It's pretty hard standing on two feet. ❞

❝ My occupation is... forget it. ❞

❝ Escape from a world of illusions... Hmph... I wonder which is better. ❞

❝ As long as I'm with you... As long as you're by my side... I won't give up even if I'm scared. ❞

❝ Maybe God'd forgive an ugly shit like you, but I won't! ❞

❝ I know you want my help because I'm so good! ❞

❝ Only death awaits you all, but do not fear. For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. ❞

❝ Don't...push...your luck... ❞

❝ Sit your ass down in that chair and DRINK YOUR GODDAMN TEA! ❞

❝ These days, all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power. ❞

❝ People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished. ❞

❝ I don't care what you are doing, so much as the idiotic way that you are doing it. ❞

❝ Remember, if you piss me off... it'll cost you!! ❞

❝ God, I can't stand it! ❞

❝ Cold? Hmmm... I guess that's just the way I am, sorry. ❞

❝ Soon, you will live again as a part of me. ❞

❝ Would you like to be my guinea pig? ❞

❝ You are just a puppet... You have no heart... and cannot feel any pain... How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being? ❞

❝ You gotta do it then. You gotta live true to yourself. ❞

❝ A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That's just a fool. ❞

❝ With things looking like this, you better be ready for pay cuts... ❞

❝ Such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin like you... ❞

❝ Will you press 'up' please? ❞

❝ Just lookin' at you is makin' me sober. ❞

❝ I'm ashamed of myself. ❞

❝ There are so many frivolous things in this world. ❞

❝ I don't like being taken for a fool. ❞

❝ It's so stupid! They always talk about who they like or don't like. ❞

❝ That should keep the planet going...at least a little longer. ❞

❝ Don't step on the flowers. ❞

❝ Don't worry, I'll do my job. ❞

❝ You remembered...my name... ❞

❝ Hmph...you haven't changed. Oh, forget it. ❞

❝ H... hey, I'm one of the 'Turks'! Don't think you can get away with this!? ❞

❝ What you see will eventually become part of life's dream. ❞

❝ You're still sane, right? ❞

❝ Come over here sexy...we'll take good care of you! ❞

❝ I hear her voice... begging me... not to hate your rotten guts. ❞

❝ Strength without determination means nothing... determination without strength is equally useless...! ❞

❝ True beauty is an expression of the heart. A thing without shame, to which notions of gender do not apply. ❞

❝ I figure if I stay alive long enough, something good's bound to happen. ❞

❝ I don't care if it's the end of the world, I just want to sit here and drink cocktails. ❞

❝ Live with the planet, die with the planet. Maybe this is the way it should be. ❞

❝ You're sooo pretty. ❞

❝ Ahh, we're finally alone... All right, pussycat... Come to daddy! ❞

[miss-tc-nova]

Mine Now - Noctis Lucis Caelum x Reader

It’s not exactly fluff and it’s not the Smarmy Fluffcoat I’ve been dying to work on, but I had to finish it. Even if it’s not perfect, I had some fun. Also, a couple bonus endings because I could. 

~~~~~

               I jump out of the car, eager to stretch my legs after the seemingly endless car ride. “Thank the gods!” I groan while stretching.

               “What are you complaining about?” Gladio teases. “You didn’t drive.”

               I put my hands on my hips and follow him towards the trunk. “Look, sitting in the back with two men that barely understand personal space gets cramped.”

               “I didn’t hear you complaining that time you used me as a pillow all the way to Cauthess.”

               “What can I say? Gotta adapt; when the men can’t do personal space, neither will I.” I grab a bag, sling it over my shoulder, and grab a couple chairs.

               Prompto slaps my shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to sleep on Noctis? He’s got less muscle.”

               “Hey!” The offended man glares at the chocobo blonde.

               I giggle. “Noctis, let’s be honest; you’ve got muscle, but look at Gladio. His arm is as big around as my head. You definitely would’ve made a better pillow.” That doesn’t make him feel any better. “Plus, you won’t flex every five minutes to turn a damn page.”

               “Can’t be all muscle,” Gladio speaks up.

               Ignis butts in. “Well nobody is napping now. Let’s get moving. It’s going to take some time to get to the haven from here.”

               He was right; it took us three hours to get to the haven and the sun was long gone by the time we got there. Once camp is put together and we’re all set for the night, it’s time to relax, maybe play some King’s Knight. I pat my pockets. “Hey, anyone seen my phone.”

               “You mean this?” Noctis asks from his chair, displaying said phone above his head, clearly playing with my settings.

               “What are you doing?!”

               Noctis stands and smirks triumphantly. “You left it in the car. You’re lucky I swiped it before we left.”

               “Thanks for grabbing it, but why are you playing with my settings?”

               I reach for my cell but Noctis pulls it out of range. “You really should pay more attention.”

               “Says the man who slept through a bandersnatch attack,” I huff. “Now can I have my phone back?”

               A mischievous grin slips over his lips. “You can have it back if you can take it from me.”

               “So now we have a bully for a king?” I jump but he clearly expects to make a game out of this. “Noctis! Give me my phone!”

               He chuckles, easily holding said device above my head. “Come on. You can reach a griffin mid-flight; you can reach your phone.”

               “You want me to use my weapons?” I growl. “I will take you out by the shins! Don’t test me!”

               “Oh really? Show me what you got?” Reaching down, I grab his leg and jerk. Noctis effectively hits the ground. “Ow!”

               “I warned you. Now gimme my phone!”

               The man sits up, rubbing the back of his head. “I wanna say that was a cheap move but I asked for it…”

               I hold my hand out for my phone but he instead takes it to pull himself up. “Give it.” The man feigns giving it back, only to resume holding it over my head. “That’s it!”

               I lunge at the King, starting a skirmish that rolls around the campsite. Nobody draws weapons; it’s a simple quarrel over a phone so there’s not going to be any murder involved…Probably.

               My hand comes up, slapping Noctis’s and freeing the phone but I didn’t exactly think it through. The phone soars through the air and I’m pretty sure I’m about to have a useless cell phone. However, Noctis catches it before it can crack on the haven floor in a stroke of luck.

               “Phew,” he sighs. Relieved, he gives me a smile, my phone sparkles in his hand then disappears, and he jams his hands in his pockets. A second later, those cobalt eyes go wide. “Oh…shit.”

               Storming towards him, I grip his jacket. “What do you mean oh shit?!”

               Hands in the air, the King watches me like he does the dangerous fiends we come across. “I, uh, I may have just ruined your phone.”

               “WHAT?!” I change my mind: murder might be involved.

               “Well magic and electronics don’t…exactly…mesh together well. The magic tends to destroy electronics…like phones.”

               As the realization dawns on me, the anger rises. I start rattling the man. “YOU RUINED MY PHONE?!”

               “It was an accident!”

               “YOU LOST ALL MY INFORMATION AND CONTACTS!”

               “I’M SORRY!”

               I hold my hand out, silently demanding my device. Sheepishly, the King summons the stolen phone and slips it into my grasp. Turning away from him, I hold down the power button but I’m not even getting the dead battery signal, which is crap because I know there was at least 50% battery.

               “Rrrrgh!” I hurl the phone over his head and stalk towards the campsite.

               “Where are you going?!” Not answering, I snatch up his phone from the table. Immediately, Noctis starts for me. “Ah, hey! That’s mine!”

               I put some distance between us, holding the phone out of his reach. “Not anymore it’s not; you broke my phone so this is mine now.”

               His face erupts in a shade of red and it’s an interesting sight to see Noctis becoming so flustered. “No! It’s not! I’m sorry I broke your phone but you can’t have mine!”

               Ignis slips from the tent, looking over the minor chaos of me and Noctis. “What’s going on here?”

               Prompto glances up from his camera. “Noctis broke their phone so now they’re taking his.”

               I slap Noctis’s hand away from me. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you didn’t steal my phone and then sent it to your magical alternate dimension!”

               “Oh,” Ignis hums unbothered. Then his eyes widen. “…Oh!”

               There’s an interesting anxiousness on Noctis’s face. “Come on! Just give me my phone back!”

               “No. You broke mine and lost everything I had on it,” I retort.

               “Please! Give it back!”

               Rolling my eyes, I turn to walk away. A spoon clatters on the ground and I have only a split second to get the phone out of Noctis’s reach. “Excuse you!”

               “Give it back!”

               “No!”

               This turns into the second tussle of the night with the roles reversed. I may be shorter than the King but that doesn’t mean I can’t play my own game of keep away. It’s also in my favor that said man’s desperation works against him, making him far more straightforward and easier to read.

               Noctis reaches across me once again but, with my elbow against his chest, he can’t quite steal my stolen prize. I push back and the man stumbles back, foot catching on an uneven part of the haven’s stony floor and ending up on his ass.

               Grinning triumphantly, I press the home button and swipe to unlock. That’s certainly not what I expected to see after unlocking Noctis’s phone. I expected some picture of a video game scene or a picture of his friends or his fiancée; hell, I even expected a picture of a damn fish. But not this. Noctis’s wallpaper is a picture of us, me pulled against his side as we give peace signs, dirty and bruised, fresh off a hunt; but it’s us.

               Confused, I look back to Noctis who could possibly burst into flames at any moment. I show him the picture.

               “Why am I your wallpaper?” I swear I see smoke coming off him, but he doesn’t answer. “Noctis.”

               “Are you dumb, shorty?” laughs Gladio, closing his book, clearly more entertained by us. “Why else would he have you as his wallpaper?”

               It’s my turn to burn up while Noctis glares daggers.

               Ignis starts working on dinner from his make-shift cooking station. “Indeed. He’s not exactly subtle about it.”

               “Subtle enough they didn’t notice,” Prompto says. The blonde lifts his camera to snap a picture. Now I’m glaring too.

               “Are we sure they’re capable hunters?” Gladio points out.

               Ignis replies, “Just because they’re blindingly oblivious to each other’s feelings doesn’t make them terrible hunters.”

               Noctis and I, equally flushed, glance to each other. The fight’s over; I can’t even look at him without agitating the butterflies in my stomach. Turning away from him, I take a seat at the fire and fiddle with the phone, not even caring that I’m leveling up Noctis’s King’s Knight character instead of mine. Noctis retakes his seat, staring into the fire that masks how flustered he’d been.

               The night goes on far less rambunctious than it began. I’m not sure exactly what it is, perhaps those disturbed butterflies are far more addicting than I thought, but my gaze keeps trailing to Noctis. When I would’ve normally turned away to pretend I wasn’t, I just continue staring when caught. The corners of my mouth turn up and I get my confirmation of the butterflies—he returns the expression a bit bashfully.

               I can exactly say things will progress in a natural or expected way; he’s got Lunafreya after all and I shouldn’t get in the way of that. But I highly doubt I’ll turn him down if Noctis decides to make a move.

~~~~~ 

A Week Later…

               “Can I please have my phone back now?” groans the King,

               I shift in my chair, propping my feet up on his knees. “No. You’re not getting this phone back unless you get me a new one.”

               “But we don’t have any money.”

               I continue tapping away. “Sucks for you then.”

               Prompto leans closer. “If that’s your phone now, why haven’t you changed the wallpaper?”

               “Prompto!” I shout, the embarrassment rising. Getting only a glance at Noctis’s amused face, I launch myself over the back of my chair and chase down the photographer who’s now screaming ‘Sorry! I’m sorry!’ as he flees.

~~~~~ 

A Month Later…

               I pull the jingling device from my pocket. “Hello?”

               The person on the other end of the line hesitates. “Um…Yes, hello. This is Marshall Cor Leonis. I’m looking for Noctis.”

               I glance at said man. “Oh, sorry. But this isn’t his phone anymore.” Noctis frowns.

               “I see. Does he have a new phone number I could call?”

               “Nope. Sorry.”

               “Wait-”

               Before he can protest, I hang up and jam the phone back in my pocket. Not giving an explanation bothers Noctis enough for him to pester me.

               “What was that?”

               “Someone looking for you.”

               He waits expectantly, getting frustrated when I don’t give him more. “What did they want?”

               “He didn’t say. Was just looking for you. Then he asked if you had a new number but you don’t.”

               “Who was it?”

               “Some guy named Leonis.”

               His hands go to his hair dramatically. “You hung up on the Marshall?! Gimme the phone!”

               “No! It’s mine!” I step back defensively.

               “Just give it to me! I gotta call him back!”

               “It’s my phone now!”

               “Just let me call him!”

               “No!” I take off with Noctis chasing after me.

               In the distance, we hear Gladio yelling, “Get a room, you two!”

[holdin-out-for-a-hero]

Creep- FFVII Biggs X Reader Ch.13/?

A/n: Sorry it’s late again. I feel like a broken record saying there will be weekly updates and not delivering. Not gonna lie, I’ve been going through it™️ this year, but this series has been my escape. Thanks for the patience

You figured you would find her here, but the sight still made your breath catch in your throat. She rarely let her guard down like this. She often put on an act, always there to help others with their problems but never sharing her own. Seeing her this vulnerable meant something was really wrong- and of course it was. Cloud was an old friend. The only piece left of a burned-down hometown. And now he was gone.

Her shoulders shook slightly, you noticed. She must've been crying, which made your job much harder. You had came in to tell her the carriage was waiting, but it seemed like the carriage would have to wait a little longer. It felt wrong to delay or pause Tifa's grieving process just to help you get your ass out of trouble, but she did volunteer and no matter how hard you tried to talk her out of it, she always stood her ground.

You took a quiet step closer, and then another, and another, until you were just a foot away from her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, you smoothed a piece of her hair behind her back. She jumped the slightest bit, but didn't turn. She knew she had been caught; there was no use in hiding it.

"The carriage is here," you said. You hoped it didn't come off as insensitive, but there really was no time. Her eyes traced the sheets a moment more.

"I think I messed up my makeup," Tifa whispered, ashamed. She turned to you but didn't make eye contact, instead focusing on your necklace. Her eyes were red and watery, and just like she said, there was a small trail of black under each eye.

"I can fix it," you reassured, "But are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to."

She finally looked into your eyes, wiping her tears away and plastering on a smile.

"You can't talk me out of this."

You led her to the bathroom, taking some tissue and cleaning up the black smudges from under her eyes. Thank God she wasn't wearing foundation or else the whole thing would've been ruined.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think I was gonna cry..." she said, "I shouldn't have come in here in the first place. It was a bad call..."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Tifa. It hasn't even been a day since it happ-" you stopped yourself. It was best not to remind her.

She didn't reply. Instead, she seemed to get stuck in her own head, torturing herself with memories new and old.

"Tifa," you said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stayed in her trance a moment more.

"Huh?" She finally turned to look at you.

"Don't do that to yourself."

"...You're right."

She looked herself over in the mirror, examining her eyes to see if you had fixed the smudged mascara. To her relief, the makeup left no remnants; it looked as though it had never been messed up. The redness had started to fade away, but whether or not anyone would notice was another issue. There was no time for it anyway.

"Are you two ready?" A muffled voice asked from behind the door. It was Biggs.

"Almost done!" You replied. Then you looked back at Tifa, silently waiting for her confirmation.

She let out a held breath, "let's go."

You opened the door of the apartment, meeting eyes with the three people standing just outside it. Jessie stood to the far left, leaning on to the railing with her side to help support her weight: her leg was still hurting her a little, so it was best to stay off of it. Biggs was in the middle, his back against the railing and his arms crossed over his chest. And Wedge stood to the right of him, awkwardly looking between the four of you. After what he had just seen a few minutes ago, you couldn't blame him.

Wedge must've kept his mouth shut, because Jessie wasn't pestering you or Biggs. You'd have to thank him later. Speaking of Biggs, he was playing it off as well. Nothing in his demeanor was different than usual. From Jessie's perspective, nothing had happened between you.

"Oooh~ you two sure clean up nice!" Jessie said, "I really am the ugly one in our friend group."

You rolled your eyes. The nerve of her to call herself ugly...

"Chocobo's waiting just around the corner," Biggs said, "Can't keep 'em waiting."

Tifa led the way, speed-walking down the steps with relative ease in order to avoid any questioning about her red eyes. You were about to catch up with her when Jessie spoke up from behind you.

"Damn, Y/N, I really think you should keep that dress! It really accentuates your best features."

And then she slapped your ass.

"Jessie!" You yelped, turning around to glare at her.

"Just saying..." she smirked, passing you and walking down the stairs. You stood frozen as you watched her walk away. The nerve of that girl...

Another body took her place beside you, Biggs, and he seemed to wait for you to continue. You glanced over at him and noticed his hand was outstretched as if to help you down. A small smile formed on your lips when you took it.

"Thanks," you said, grabbing some of your dress with your other hand so you wouldn't trip on it. You took careful steps down the stairs; one bad move in your heels and you could faceplant, "I really can't stand her sometimes..."

"I know what you mean. She's a real character, that's for sure."

You both reached the bottom of the steps and you unclasped your hand from his, giving him a nod before catching up to Jessie and Tifa.

Just up ahead was the chocobo carriage and a stable hand checking his watch in annoyance. A look of relief washed across his face when he saw your group walking towards him.

"Hurry up! We ain't got all night." He said, ushering you, Tifa, and Jessie over. He must've remembered there were only supposed to be two girls going to to Corneo's, because his brows furrowed as he looked between the three of you.

"I'm assuming you're not coming with us," he said, looking Jessie up and down. While Jessie was naturally gorgeous, she really wasn't dressed the part, especially when put next to you and Tifa.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She questioned. He only ignored her, instead looking behind at Biggs and Wedge. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Didn't know you two were having a farewell party. Make the final goodbyes quick, will ya? I've got a schedule to keep."

"Final?" Biggs questioned. The man didn't care to answer him either.

The stable hand turned around, muttering to himself in annoyance as he went to tend to the chocobo at the front of the carriage. It gave your group a small amount of privacy.

You said goodbye to Wedge first, pulling him into a tight hug. He was like a brother to you, and though you knew you would make it back to see him again, the thought of a 'final goodbye' shook you to your core. And though he never explicitly agreed, you could tell he felt it too. 

Next was Jessie. She had just gotten done with wishing Tifa farewell and was waiting not-so-patiently for Wedge to get done. As soon as he walked away, Jessie tackled you with a surprise hug.

"Jessie!" You shouted.

"Sorry," she smiled, pulling away to stand in front of you. She took your hands in your own, her playful expression fading into something more serious, "Kick his ass. End his life. I don't care. Just makes sure this ends tonight, ok?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat before nodding your head. Hopefully you wouldn't have to end any lives tonight.

"And you better come back here in one piece so I can pick on you some more."

"Wouldn't want to take that away from you. Your purpose in life," you said, trying to lighten the mood.

"It sure as hell is."

She pulled you into another hug, a real one this time. Holding on tight, you prayed that this wouldn't be a final goodbye. Her hair still smelled of green apple. You were sure yours did too, since you used her conditioner last night. After all this was over, you'd have to buy a bottle yourself. After this was all over, you thought. That was the phrase getting you through it all.

Biggs stood just a few feet away, watching you and Jessie's goodbye. He had already said goodbye to Tifa and was waiting for his turn to get to you.

Jessie noticed his presence, and though she knew he wasn't trying to rush her, she got the hint. She took a step away and looked over at Biggs.

"I'll give you two your privacy," she said, walking back to Tifa and Wedge for a second goodbye.

Biggs took Jessie's spot in front of you. Something was different about this encounter with him than all the others, it was tense, awkward even. Well, that's what happens when you almost kiss a guy but get interrupted. Things get awkward.

But you could tell that wasn't what made him so uncomfortable. It was about the mission itself, something that you two had fought over many times. The tension was only grew as you stared into his eyes. It was becoming too much; you had to clear the air.

"Look, I know you're not happy that I'm doing this, but do you at least trust me?" You asked.

He hesitated, and as the moments passed your heart started to sink. Why couldn't he just trust you like everyone else? Did he not believe in your capabilities?

"...I do. I trust you." He finally said.

Relief hit you like a wave. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding as a smile settled on your lips. You pulled him into a tight hug and he reciprocated with the same urgency. His hand ran over your hair, then cupping your head as he leaned in to whisper something.

"Like Jessie said, if you have to kill him, do it. You'll probably be helping out a lot of other women."

Your smile faded at the thought. You didn't want to kill him or anybody. Sure, you wanted to deck him right in that stupid smile of his, kick him in the balls so hard he wished he were dead, but you didn't want to kill him. Why did one asshole's life matter so much though? Your hands were already covered in blood: the blood of Shinra troops and the unfortunate casualties of the bombing mishap. Those were innocents, this man wasn't.

You shook the thoughts away; you didn't want to face that reality yet.

"So you were listening," you replied, and you felt his body stiffen under your fingers. He pulled away and you released your grip on his shirt.

"You caught me," he said, trying to play off his obvious embarrassment. There was another uncomfortable silence as you both separated; you shifted your weight from foot to foot as he rubbed the back of his neck. Wow, almost kissing someone really makes things tense.

"So I guess this is goodbye," he said.

"Yeah, I guess it is," you trailed off, another beat of silence, "but not a final goodbye."

"Yeah... no, not a final goodbye." The air was still thick, filled with the weight of all your feelings and confessions left unsaid.

You couldn't leave like this, not without him really knowing how you felt. But you couldn't just confess, not in front of everybody. You didn't think you had the balls for it either.

But a gut feeling told you that you had to do something. So, with all your built up courage, you placed a quick kiss on his cheek. And though it only lasted a moment, you had memorized the feeling of his stubble against your lips.

You turned away immediately so you wouldn't have to see his reaction, and luckily for you, the stable hand was walking towards the back do the carriage. He opened up the wooden gate, ushering you and Tifa in.

Picking up the invitation that was in your seat, you held it in your lap as you sat down. Tifa seemed to do the same, giving a last smile and wave to the group. Just a moment later, the stable hand took off.

————————

The gate of sector seven creaked open, revealing the mess that was sector 6. At least that's what you assumed, since you couldn't really see anything that wasn't directly behind the carriage. There was an old playground just outside the gate, you remembered. It was mostly untouched from the destruction of the sector 6 plate. Lots of children still sneak into the abandoned playground since it's so close.

Looking back at Tifa, she seemed distant, an empty look on her face. She was probably thinking about her friend, the mercenary. It was a shame what happened to him.

You placed a hand over her own and she looked came out of her daze, looking up at you. As soon as she did, your mouth went dry. There was nothing you felt like you could say to make her feel better, so you stayed silent instead.

"Tifa!" A voice called from outside the carriage. It sounded familiar. You and Tifa turned to the voice. A man was keeping up with the carriage. His spiky hair, his flourescent eyes, and that ridiculously large sword strapped to his back... it couldn't be...

"Cloud, Your alive! I thought we'd lost you!" Tifa said, crouching down on the floor of the carriage to speak to him better. Cloud jumped onto the back railing of the Carriage, holding onto the wooden bars as it continued through sector 6.

"What's going on?" He asked. Tifa shushed him.

"I'll explain everything later. But now, we're on our way to see Don Corneo. You should head back to Seventh Heaven, meet up with the gang."

"But-" Cloud started, but Tifa cut him off.

"We'll be fine!" She reassured, "you've seen how much ass we can kick."

Cloud looked between the two of you, creating a small dip in the conversation.

"I have..." he sighed, before jumping down from the carriage.

Watching his figure grow smaller in the distance, you let out a laugh of disbelief.

Tifa did the same, a massive weight taken off of her shoulders. She couldn't hide the smile blossoming on her face. Cloud, her childhood friend, was still alive.

————————

The two of you were dropped off at the door of a large, wutainese-style mansion. It was both gorgeous and disgustingly lavish; a real slap in the face to anyone in the slums. You knew this Corneo guy was a jerk, but you didn't realize the extent.

There was a shady aura to the mansion; something to be expected from a crimelord, but it still put you on edge. You could tell Tifa noticed too, as she grabbed onto your forearm. You looked down at the invitation in your hand, the ticket in. Then you looked back up at Tifa.

"You ready?" You asked her. She nodded, a soft hum escaping her lips as she did.

You both hesitantly opened the door, revealing a small hall and another ornate door with three men guarding it. Your heartbeat rose as you saw them, and you sighed in relief when you didn't recognize any of them. No creep yet.

You walked towards the man in the middle; a young, skinny guy with silver hair. Despite his age and stature, he carried a presence like he'd seen some real shit and was jaded by it all.

"Invitation?" He asked apathetically, and you gave yours to him. Tifa did the same, and he read the invitations, "Two from Sam, huh? That's unusual."

"Looks like he's tryna get on the Don's good side. I mean, look at 'em!" The guard on the right side said, gesturing to the both of you.

"He's gonna have a hard time picking, that's for sure," The other guard, a large, gruff man, said, "Hell, he might just pick both!"

"He'd better leave us some leftovers!"

What the hell did he mean leftovers? As much as you wanted to tell them off for objectifying you and Tifa, you held your tongue. A lack of discretion was what got you in trouble in the first place; you didn't want to screw up again.

The silver-haired man looked up from the invitations, taking a few steps forward and signaling to the two guards to open the fancy double doors.

"Your room is the third room up the stairs. Don't touch anything."

Taking a few apprehensive steps forward and into the main room, you noticed two more Corneo lackeys who stood in the very center of it. You didn't recognize either of them as the creep or any of his men, which was a relief. But you would have to face him sometime. That was the whole point of you coming here: to put an end to your torment, whatever means necessary.

The piles and piles of junk caught your eye. Valuables were scattered all around the room, from expensive furniture to bricks of gold. You remembered what you'd heard about this Corneo guy- a lot of people were in debt to him. So maybe all of this was his payment. The sight sickened you; no man should have this much.

"Hey! Keep your eyes to yourself. You know where to go." One of the men said. Tifa took your arm again, leading you up the stairs.

"It's disgusting," you whispered to her.

"I know," she agreed, "Corneo's a sick man."

"Damn!" One of the men shouted, "Take a look at that ass!"

"Yeah," the other man laughed, "Did you see the other girls' boobs?"

You stopped in your tracks on the staircase, considering whether or not to march back down and slap the shit out of them.

"Come on," Tifa whispered, tugging softly on your arm, "let's just go."

Thank God for Tifa, cause if she hadn't snapped you out of your trance, you might have just followed that urge and gotten yourself into more trouble.

You turned away from those gross men, attempting to tune them out. Following Tifa up the rest of the stairs, you remembered why you were here: to figure out what Corneo wanted with Barrett and to end your creep problem. It wasn't your job to teach these guys to respect women.

Tifa pushed open the third room's door and held it open for you. Stepping inside, you rolled your eyes. It was another room filled to the brim with junk. Corneo was disgusting.

"Seriously, who needs this much stuff?" you sighed.

"Apparently the Don of the slums," She replied, glancing around the room, "How much of this stuff do you think is rightfully his?"

Before you could reply, a click caught your attention. The sound came from the double doors behind you.

"Shit!" You hissed. Turning quick on your heels, you ran to the knob, trying to force the door open. Tifa joined you, having no luck either. She groaned as she struggled against the door.

A soft hissing sound began.

"Y/N!" She said, her eyes wide as she looked across the room. You followed her gaze and noticed a pink, opaque gas pouring out of the vents.

This was a mistake, this was a huge fucking mistake. You walked right into this trap. And you got Tifa into this mess. Tears were starting to prick at your eyes as you banged on the door. You couldn't tell if it was fear, guilt, or the gas. It was probably all three.

"Let us out!" Tifa shouted, to no avail. Nobody was gonna get you out; they planned this. The gas had filled the room now, and you were starting to get dizzy. You tried to cover your nose and but it was a futile effort. There was no way to avoid it. Backing away from the door, you couldn't believe what you had gotten yourself into, what you got Tifa into. You screwed up. You screwed up so bad.

Tifa lost her balance, dropping onto her hands and knees. You tried to help her, but you were so dizzy you had to kneel down onto the floor to keep from falling.

"Tifa!" You called, nearly choking on the gas. She didn't respond.

The doors bust open. And then there were figures and voices, fuzzy and distant. You could barely hear them because of the loud ringing in your ears. That awful ringing, and the splotches in your eyes. They were growing worse and worse, until they took over your eyesight; your consciousness slipped away with it.

[insomniasix]

Chapter VIII - Seaworthy - Part 3

Previous

@mzargentum​

 “Sorry I freaked out.” Six breathed once everyone took their place in the car.

“Stop talking about it.” Noctis sighed, not wanting her to keep beating herself over it, “You’ve seen us freak over pretty much everything. Besides, you travel around with four weirdos all day for the past I don’t-even-remember-how-long-anymore days, you’re entitled to it.”

“I am?” she raised her eyebrows teasingly, catching his point right away.

“You know what I mean.” he grunted.

“I do.” she smiled, making his cheeks turn pink at the sound of her voice, “Thanks, love.”

“Hey, listen.” Prompto turned around in his seat, looking back at them all excited, “I have got this insatiable urge to take a photo with a chocobo. Can we go? Like right now?”

Six and Noctis exchanged a couple of stunned looks, laughing at the blond’s eagerness before the Prince gave his answer, “If you really want to, sure.”

“I do, I really do!” Prompto smiled brightly, “Oh man, where should I get the shot?”

Gladio followed the side road, bringing the Regalia into a stop at Wiz’s Chocobo Post. The blond photographer almost running out before the car had even fully stopped.

“Take a shot from here.” Noctis showed him the row of chocobos and Prompto agreed right away, “Good call. Now it’s picture time!”

“The gang’s all here, see? Us?” he smiled proudly at the picture he had taken before making his way to the car again. His needs to take a picture and see a chocobo up-close both sated.

“I might have asked before,” Noctis said, passing Ignis one of his Ebony cans when back on the road to Caem, “but is Ebony all that good?”

“I might have answered before, but Yes it is!” he looked back at the Glaive, laughing at his enthusiasm before taking a sip, unable to hide his own smile as she seemed to be doing a lot better.

It was late noon when they finally reached the lighthouse.

“Really looking forward to Iris’ cooking.” Prompto thought out loud as he exited the car, stretching his limps as Ignis looked at him through his eyelashes, mocking irritation behind his voice, “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” the blond blushed in embarrassment, “It’s different when a girl cooks for y-”

“Well, then I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Six was quick to join in the teasing.

“Oh, man.” he ruffled his hair before starting to catch up with Noctis and Gladio, already making their way to the house where Talcott and Iris waited for them.

“Finally ready to set sail.” Noctis commented once the house was in view.

“Altissia, baby. Big city, here we come!” Prompto shared in his excitement. After everything Six had told them about the beauty of the floating city, the boys were all eager to see it for themselves.

“How ya doing, Talcott?” the Prince asked; the kid’s eyes lit up at the sight of them all coming back.

“Good, Prince Noctis.”

“Hmm? What’s that there?” Six commented, seeing the boy’s figurine on the table behind him.

“Oh, this thing? It’s a cactuar figurine.” he smiled up at her, cheeks turning a light shade of pink, “I really like cactuars.”

“Oh...” Noctis nodded as the kid continued. “You can buy them in different places, and in different colors. I wanna finish the collection, but I still need a yellow and a blue one. I guess you wouldn’t have seen them at any shops, have you?”

“Uh, sorry, no.” Noctis answered before Six had the chance to, “Never paid attention to them before.”

“Oh, well, of course you wouldn’t.”

“But I will from now on. If I see the colors you’re missing, I’ll grab ‘em for you.”

“Really? Thank you!” the boy’s eyes were as big as a puppy’s when the company moved further away.

“Where can we find them?” Prompto asked almost right away, they all wanted to help do this for Talcott.

“We won’t have to look.” Six smiled, having everyone look at her, “I have both of them in the car, along with my things.”

“You do?” Noctis frowned his brows at her before realizing what she meant, raising one of them in mock judgment.

“Well...” the Glaive’s cheeks turned red almost immediately when she saw the rest shared his look, “Yeah.”

“Why?” Prompto almost sang.

“Everyone’s got a hobby.” she muttered before starting for the car, the boys close behind her, snickering about how awkward the mighty Glaive seemed over her ‘hobby’, “I can’t always collect swords, you know.”

“Yellow, from the Chocobo Post and blue from Lestallum.” She looked at the figurines before giving them to the younger boys, thinking they’d want to be the ones to present them to Talcott.

“Hey, Talcott. We got ya the goods!” Noctis said proudly as both him and Prompto showed the kid the figurines. Talcott’s eyes sparkling right away with glee.

“What? Really? Whoa… Yessss! I got them all now! Thank you so much, Prince Noctis!”

“How do you feel, momma?” Gladio wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind and letting his chin touch her hair, seeing the smile and calmness Talcott’s reaction brought out in her, “That feels a lot better that keeping them for myself.” she answered.

“I never really had you for a hoarder, ya know.” he laughed, earning an elbow to the side before she turned around, “It’s a hobby.” she laughed.

“I know, I know.” he mirrored before kissing her.

“We should go see how the old guy’s doing. Everything should be ready by now and the sooner we leave the faster we’ll reach Altissia.” the Glaive turned her attention to Noctis once he was done talking with Talcott about how fascinating cactuars are.

“Right.” the Prince nodded and they all started for the lighthouse where Cid waited for them, a bark stopping them just before they stepped foot inside.

Noctis dropped down on one knee, petting his loyal friend and taking Luna’s notebook, reading her message and placing his own before sending him away and joining the rest on the elevator.

Everyone was waiting at the hidden harbor.

“Look, Prince Noctis,” Talcott pointed out, “Even the marshal came to say goodbye!”

“I guess it’s goodbye for now.” Iris smiled sadly, “The Regalia is already below deck. Hopefully she will serve you well across the ocean, as she did here.”

“Something I gotta get off my chest.” Cor started speaking as the company made their way next to him, Six’s eyes falling on the old picture of them on the table between them.

“What’s that?” Noctis asked.

Cor let his arms unlock from his chest and move to his sides as he spoke again, looking at both Prince and Glaive as he did, “I’m sorry. Sorry I wasn’t there for your father. I swore an oath to protect the king, but I wasn’t strong enough to uphold it.”

“Cor, it-”

“Ain’t nothin’ nobody could’ve done to stop what happened.” Cid’s voice cut her words as he made his way to the couch next to the marshal, the latter’s eyes never leaving the ground.

“Yeah, I realize that.” Noctis answered with a low voice, just because he believed it, didn’t mean it hurt any less.

“But you need to realize just what you mean to the people by your side.” Cid continued, taking a seat, looking at the same picture she did.

“I do.”

“Even if they can’t solve your problems, you can’t hide what’s goin’ on from ‘em. It hurts like hell. Remember- those ain’t your bodyguards, they’re your family.” everyone took a step ahead, keeping their heads high at Cid’s words as well as the first smile he’d blessed them with, “Trust in ‘em. Always.”

When everyone was ready to set sail, and Prompto had taken one final group picture, Cid found his way on the captain’s seat of the boat, “Waitin’ for an invitation? Get your asses on board!”

Talcott and Iris came to see the boat off, Six and Noctis looking down at them and smiling their goodbye, “Hey! Your Majesty!” Talcott called out.

“What’s up?”

“Please come back soon! We need our king!”

“Yeah! Count on it!” Noctis used his hands to yell back at the boy before waving as his Glaive smiled, seeing the boat get out on the open waters.

Altissia was just a boat ride away.

Next

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter XIII

A groan slipped from (Y/n)'s lips when she felt her body being jostled around. Slowly, she regained consciousness and her eyes fluttered open. Looking around with just her eyes, she saw she was in the Regalia. Her head was resting against Prompto's shoulder as she sat in his lap. One of his arms was around her waist while the other rested against her thigh. She blinked a few times and finally realized the sharpshooter was staring at her with an expression mixed between worry and relief. "Hey, you're awake! How're you feeling?"

"Better." (Y/n) lifted her head and looked around in confusion. "Where are we going?"

"Malmalam Thicket, to investigate," Ignis replied.

Prompto looked around at the somewhat dense forest around them. "I don't like the woods. Too many monsters."

"You kidding? What could be better than roughing it out here?" Gladio asked.

"A million other things could be better."

Down the bumpy, narrow dirt road, Ignis parks the Regalia in the designated parking area. Everyone exited the vehicle, closing the doors behind them. Prompto, seeing the color had returned to (Y/n)'s face, allowed her to walk on her own.

The spirit glanced down at the trail. It was too narrow for a car and meant they'd have to continue their way to Malmalam Thicket on foot or via chocobo. Just as she thought of the large birds, Iris spoke up. "Oh! While you guys were gone, I saw a chocobo run past-and it had a person on its back! Have you guys ever ridden one? I bet it'd be super fun!"

Prompto chuckles at the mention of the feathery creatures. "Funny you should ask..."

Ignis glances over at the prince. "Noct, call a bird for the lady."

Noctis pulled out the chocobo whistle and blew it. Five birds came running at the sound of the whistle and circled around the group. Iris noticed the odd number of chocobos and how they would be needing one more. Before she could even say anything, (Y/n) already had a solution. "You can ride the chocobo with the (f/c) feathers, Iris. I want to stretch out a little bit. I might even go on ahead and scope out the area to clear my head."

"Are you sure?" Iris asked, unsure of the decision.

The spirit nodded with a smile. "Yeah." She petted the (f/c) chocobo's head. "Take care of him for me."

The younger girl smiled back. "I will!"

The moment (Y/n) went to transform, Prompto stopped her. He was clearly concerned about her. She usually wasn't one to run off and be alone with her thoughts, which he knew all too well. "Hey, is everything okay? Did Callyx say something to you?"

She lowered her head with a sigh, knowing she couldn't lie to him. "He said something and I can't get it off my mind. Hopefully a small stroll around the area will clear my head."

"You sure you don't wanna talk about it?"

She smiled sadly. "I'm sure. Thank you for the offer, though." Putting some distance between her and the others, she transformed. Once in her fox form, she stretched her legs and tails. After a good stretch, she shook her body with a faint growl before taking off down the path.

Iris, who'd been staring in amazement at the fox, blinked in awe and smiled. "Wow! So that's what a spirit can do. Now I wish I had one..." She watched the guardian until she was out of sight. Climbing into the saddle of the (f/c) chocobo, she gripped his reins tightly. "Let's hurry and follow (Y/n)!"

"Someone's bossy," Gladio commented, mounting his own crimson-feathered bird.

Iris ignored her brother's playful comment and followed Noctis down the trail towards Malmalam Thicket. As they crossed a bridge spanning over the river, the young Amicitia spotted the fox maneuvering through the woods. She stared in amazement as the guardian leapt out from the tree line and attacked a pack of seadevils prowling around the bank of the river. Iris was surprised at how well (Y/n) was able to handle the creatures and kill them before they spotted them.

Passing by the fox, Iris glances at her before focusing on the trail ahead. "If I remember correctly, you guys told me guardians can use elemental magic. So if each spirit is unique, what element does (Y/n) use?"

"Her specialty is fire. I've never seen her use any other element," Prompto answered.

"Wait, spirits can wield more than one?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah. (Y/n) said there are spirits out their who can use all elements, but it's difficult to master each one. That's why guardians usually stick to one." Just then, his attention was drawn to the tree line when he heard a twig snap. He tightened his grip on the reins of his chocobo, urging it to go faster. "Uh, guys...?"

"Yeah?" Noctis asked.

"I-I think there's-Ah!" Prompto screamed as something emerged from the tree line and landed beside him. When seeing it was his guardian, he pouted childishly. "Hey, that's not funny, (Y/n)!" He thought he saw a smirk on the spirit's face, but he wasn't sure as she took off up the trail before he could check.

At the end of the trail, they had located the entrance to Malmalam Thicket. The chocobos refused to enter, forcing the group to proceed on foot. Leaving the large birds behind, they stroll into Malmalam Thicket. (Y/n) reverted back into her human form with a huff. "I meant to ask, but why are we here?"

"Alleged reports of a royal glaive being unearthed in Malmalam Thicket were being circulated throughout Lestallum," Ignis answered.

"Let's just hope there isn't a giant-ass bird that we'll have to fight," Gladio added.

"A what?" Iris gasped.

While the shield explained what happened to them at the Rock of Ravatogh, they carefully proceeded forward. The vegetation of the thicket was dense. They watched their step to avoid tripping over the large roots of the trees. In the distance, they could see movement but weren't able to tell what creature was waiting for them.

Further into Malmalam Thicket, they saw the creature wandering around was a mandrake. Iris remained on the sidelines, providing support for the others. I didn't take them long to kill the mandrake, but they soon found themselves in a tougher battle with a soldier wasp further down the trail.

After disposing of the creature, Prompto began looking around the area with an excited gleam in his cerulean eyes. He peered behind trees and into bushes for any valuables. When he didn't find anything, he wandered over to Noctis. Knowing his best friend was an expert at finding things, he asked, "Find anything rare or exotic yet?"

Noctis grinned in amusement at the blonde's eagerness. "Slow down. We just got here."

"Y'know, if treasures were easy to find, they wouldn't be rare," Gladio commented.

"We'll see about that," Prompto retorted, returning to his search for treasure.

"Try not to venture too far, Prom," (Y/n) warned. "Wouldn't want you getting lost."

"Will do!" He scampered off a little ways and searches the area.

"You sound like his mom," the shield commented, glancing towards the (h/c)-haired girl. "Pretty sure that's Iggy's job."

"I am willing to pass the title to another," Ignis chimed in.

"I'm more of the babysitter than the mom. You can keep the title of "mom", Ignis," (Y/n) said.

"A shame..." The advisor sighed.

Deeper into Malmalam Thicket, they face off against a rather large shieldshear. Iris used a potion on Noctis when the large crustacean knocked him back. The prince shouted out to Ignis, who used sage fire to fry the enemy. A large explosion of flames erupted exactly where the shieldshear stood. The bright, hot flames consumed the enemy and killed it.

As the flames died down, Prompto's attention was drawn to the path ahead when he heard the sound of flowing water. "That a...brook I hear babbling?"

Gladio focused on the sounds around him and also heard the rushing water. "A regular river, I'd say."

Noctis seemed to perk up at the sound of the river. "Oh, think we have time to cast a line?"

"Sorry, bud. Need to reel yourself in this time around," Prompto replied.

Continuing forward, they eventually come across the rushing river they'd been hearing. On the other side of the shallow body of water is Kellebram Haven. The sharpshooter noticed the faint glowing of the runes and cheered, "Hey! I know those runes!"

"It's a sign. We should set up camp," Gladio said.

Noctis looked over at his shield. "You a fortune-teller now?"

"We can rest up or move on. It's your choice, Noct," Ignis stated.

Noctis looked over at the two girls accompanying them. "How you guys doing?"

"We're fine," Iris responded.

"Yeah. Let's keep moving," (Y/n) chimed in.

"Whelp, you heard the ladies. Let's mosey on!" Prompto chanted.

With no safe side path by the river, the group entered the shallow water and trekked upstream. They could see a waterfall in the distance as they trudged through the river.

"Take care the current doesn't carry you away," Ignis said over the sound of the rushing water.

"I'm not sure my footwear is up to this!" Prompto wailed.

"Don't let yourself get pulled in," Gladio advised, helping his little sister upstream.

The marksman followed behind Noctis, but his foot slipped on the rocky riverbed. He yelped at the top of his lungs as he went tumbling into the water. Luckily, (Y/n) was behind him and prevented him from being carried downstream by grabbing the back of his leather vest. She helped him back on his feet with a heavy sigh. "I swear, you're a klutz."

Prompto smiled with a faint blush. "Thanks for the help, (Y/n)."

"Try not slip again." She went to follow the others, but was immediately stopped by the boy.

"In that case..." Prompto grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers together. "You'll have to hold my hand."

The spirit blinked in surprise. She was astonished at how bold he'd gotten around other people. He wasn't as shy as before to show his affection for her. "What's gotten into you lately?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, honestly confused at her question.

"Sitting in your lap, holding my hand..." She held up their connected hands. "What happened to the shy boy I knew?"

"He's, uh...turned into a man!" Prompto answered with a nervous chuckle. Truth be told, he'd only grown confident because of his chat with Geralt. His words struck a chord with him and helped him with his shyness. His eagerness to touch the girl festered after learning just how easily Geralt lost Cynthia. He wanted to show her just how much he loved her through simple gestures. While more intimate moments still caused him to become embarrassed, the smaller actions were now easy for him to perform without hesitation or becoming flustered. He didn't care anymore about who saw them hold hands or exchange a brief kiss. He wasn't even all that bothered by his friends and Iris seeing (Y/n) sit in his lap.

Although Prompto had became more confident, it stemmed from his fear of losing (Y/n). He has already expressed this fear to the girl, but that didn't cause it to go away. He refused to let anything happen to her even though it was her duty to protect him. He'd do everything in his power to protect her, which is another reason why he wanted her to be in reach.

(Y/n), after thinking for a few seconds, tugged on their connected hands. "Well, it doesn't really matter why you've changed. I love you for who you are, shy or not." She helped him up the small incline he slipped down earlier. "Anyway, let's catch up with the others."

Prompto nodded with a small smile. He tightened his hold on the spirit's hand as they regrouped with the others just in time to be attacked by monsters. The couple reluctantly released each other's hand and joined the fray. They were targeted by a group consisted of shieldshears, mandrakes, and soldier wasps. The area was open, but the slippery stones and frigid waters caused small issues during the battle.

Even with the small hiccups during the battle, like Noctis slipping and falling into the river because of the slippery rocks, the group was able to deal with the monsters. When all the adversaries were dead, the six proceeded towards the waterfall. As they did, Noctis was splashed by the water pouring down from the cliff. "Ah! Cold! Cold!"

"Freezing cold!" Prompto rubbed his exposed arms as a few droplets of water splashed on him.

"You oughta stand under that waterfall and let it toughen you up a little," Gladio commented, unfazed by the frigid temperature of the water.

"I don't think that would be good for my camera. Or me."

Iris was also cold due to the water. She followed the boys and (Y/n) up a pathway where they crossed the waterfall. With the guardian's help, she was able to keep from slipping. What she also noticed was how warm the girl was. "You're not cold, (Y/n)?"

"Nope. This cold water is quite refreshing, actually," (Y/n) replied.

"You should've seen short stuff on the Rock of Ravatogh. While the rest of us were dyin' from the heat, she didn't even break a sweat," Gladio stated.

"I'm rather fond of hot temperatures. It makes my magic more powerful," the spirit said. "Of course, the same thing can't be said about a guardian who wields ice magic. They'd most likely prefer a place that's frigid."

"I never expected to learn so much about spirits on this trip," Iris commented.

"Neither did I," Noctis chimed in.

"We all have learned valuable knowledge on this journey," Ignis said.

The conversation ended there. The group, after having crossed the waterfall, entered a large crevice in the cliffside. Noctis was still in the lead and guided them down the path. "Just keeps going on from here."

"Then we keep going, too," Gladio responded.

The ravine was narrow and seemed as if it had no end. No sun shone into the large ravine, allowing no light to brighten their way. Only the shadows of the rock walls provided them company.

Because of their clothes being soaked and the lack of warmth from the sun, Prompto could feel a chill nipping at his bones. The shadows of the gully gave the entire place an eerie sensation. "This place is...cozy," he sarcastically said.

"Well, I wouldn't get too comfy if I were you," Gladio warned.

"Right. We're not out of the woods yet," Ignis commented.

Making their way to the opposite end of the gully, they exit into a clearing of the woods. Prompto smiled in relief when feeling the warmth of the sun's rays. "Man, am I glad to be out of there."

"Don't speak too soon," Gladio said as a large form came into view.

Prompto becomes aware of the large bandersnatch coming toward them, his smile vanishing. "Not so glad anymore."

"Not surprised either," Noctis commented.

"Hey, at least it's not a giant bird," (Y/n) added. "This thing is a somewhat manageable size."

"Oh, definitely," Prompto said.

Ignis summoned his daggers as the bandersnatch closed in on their location. "Let's have it!"

Iris remained on the sidelines and only entered the fight when someone needed help. Noctis, Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis attacked the legs of the bandersnatch. (Y/n), in her spiritual form, used her body as a ram and slammed into the creature's side. With her weight, she was able to knock it onto its side and make it vulnerable. Noctis complimented her performance before initiating a chain-link attack with his companions. The four boys timed their combined attacks and were able to deal some heavy damage to the bandersnatch. However, it wasn't enough to kill it.

The bandersnatch recovered, getting back on its feet. It roared and barreled towards the boys. Out of the four of them, Prompto wasn't able to dodge in time. He was knocked off his feet and sent tumbling. Before the creature could spot him, (Y/n) dashed over and used her tails to lift him off the ground and onto her back. The blonde thanked her for saving him before asking, "How 'bout we kick this thing's ass?"

(Y/n) growled in response. Prompto adjusted his grip until he had a secure hold on the nape of her neck with one hand. With his other hand, he wielded his pistol. "Let's do this, (Y/n)!" The fox leapt into action and ran circles around the bandersnatch. Prompto fires round after round, confusing and injuring the creature as it tried to pinpoint where to attack.

Using her magic, (Y/n) infused Prompto's bullets with fire. When he fired his last round at the bandersnatch's chest, all the bullets lodged inside its body shattered and bursted into flames. It roared out in pain as portions of its body were consumed with fire. Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis stepped back just in time to witness the creature breathe its last breath and topple over. The three dispel their weapons and eye Prompto and (Y/n).

"How the hell did you manage that, blondie?" Gladio asked. "And since when have you two been training together?"

"It's something (Y/n) and I came up with," he vaguely replied. "And we don't need to train! The two of us are the perfect team! Right, (Y/n)?" He bent over and did his best to wrap his arms around her neck.

The fox closed her eyes when feeling Prompto's arms around her neck. Her ears twitched at the sensation of him burying his face into the back of her neck. He chuckled seeing her reaction. "I'll take that as a "yes"."

"I'm not complaining," Noctis said.

Ignis, who looked away for just a moment as the others conversed, spotted something in the distance. It was a royal tomb. Interrupting the conversation, he grabbed the prince's attention. "Noct, you might want to see this."

Prompto lifted his head from (Y/n)'s neck and followed the advisor's line of sight. His eyes gleamed with excitement when seeing the royal tomb. "Score! It's all about that treasure."

The group approaches the royal tomb. Noctis enters and obtains the Scepter of the Pious. When the younger boy left the tomb, Gladio huffed out a sigh. "Feels good to get it done."

Prompto, who was still on (Y/n)'s back, nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Almost makes up for the soaked socks and bug bites."

"Now that that's over, are we heading back to the car?" Iris asked.

Noctis wipes some dirt off his cheek. "Yeah. Let's go. I could use a nap..."

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[serararku]

The Addict’s Edict Finale

Era slowed her breath and flattened her ears against her head, with her bright blue eyes twinkling in the shadows. She crawled on all fours through the foliage and beneath the cover of the bushes. Her heart pounded against her chest and temples as she scanned the area; her prey was as cunning as he was quick, and she couldn't afford the luxury of underestimating his reflexes. So she stalked him from the dark like a ghost in the fog. The time to strike was close. She could sense it.

"Scurryin' about ain’t gonna help you none!" Thalen called out, stepping into view. He balanced his magitech rifle on his shoulder as he searched for her, with pupils so dilated she could barely see the yellow of his eyes. Era lowered herself when his gaze swept across her hiding place, but she released her bated breath when he turned to the side. "Is Isenhart's youngest pupil scared a lil'ol me? You ready to yield and drop this farce?" He jerked his head in the opposite direction. "Can't hide forever, lass. Alls you gotta do is knock me on my ass with that stick. Easy peasy, aye? Come on out n'get your ass-whoopin' while it's hot!" His back was turned and his guard was lowered -- it was now or never!

Era dashed out from the foliage and raced across the pond, as silent as a shadow and as quick as a coeurl. She held her bokuto with one hand, letting the tip of the wooden blade brush against the surface of the water. She saw Thalen’s ears point in her direction just as she almost made it to the other side. The Gunslinger whipped around to fire off a shot, but was blinded by a spray of water when she flicked the sword at him. Thoomp! The burst of aether cut through mist and smoke before diving under the surface of the water.

Era reappeared from above, aiming to give this loudmouth a concussion with a downward swing. Like lightning he whipped his revolver up and pointed it over his shoulder! Thoomp! The bokuto bounced backward in Era's grasp when the aether burst ricocheted! Off balance and airborne, she grit her teeth as she tried to correct herself, but he had already stepped out of harm's way.

Her heart was pounding in her head when she landed, bringing the blade across to bounce his rifle away before he could aim at her! She whipped the bokuto back to smash against the side of his head, but he ducked and leaned back! Era stayed kept on the pressure, swinging high when she tried to knock him out, and low when she tried to throw him off balance; but the bastard was quick -- far quicker than she's ever seen him move in her life! When he spun on his heel to avoid another swing, he scraped his cupped fingers along the ground and threw a handful of dirt at her face. She closed her eyes and sputtered for a full second, and that was enough.

Thalen swung the back of his hand as hard as he could, smacking the bokuto out of her grip. Then he lunged forward, driving the butt of his rifle up and slamming her right in the stomach with a weighty thud!

"Haaugh!" Era buckled over and dropped into the dirt, gasping for air and in the fetal position. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and saw her weapon just a couple yalms away; Thalen once again had his back turned, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and basking in his victory. He was talking but she couldn’t really hear him -- she had one last trick up her sleeve. Clutching her stomach as she crawled, she hurried as fast but as quietly as she could to reach her discarded wooden blade. If she could get to her weapon before he had a chance to noti- BLAM BLAM BLAM!

Dust kicked up by her hand, stopping her dead in her tracks. Dust picked up by live rounds. She turned around to see Thalen pointing his hand cannon at her. She completely forgot about his 'pride n'joy'. "I win, princess." He sneered, spinning the sidearm on his finger before sliding it back into his holster. "I told you a swordsman ain't no match for a bastard with a clear shot."

“Woohoo! Yeah! Way to go Thalen!” Coroh cheered and clapped once it was perfectly clear victory of this duel was going to him. Mizuna on the other hand, who was here purely to ensure no one got seriously hurt, finally let out a breath she had been holding for what felt like forever.

Era rubbed dirt from her face as she sat upright, wallowing in her crushing defeat; eight moons of training under Hadriel and she still couldn’t defeat some drunkard with a spare pistol. “You cheated...”

"Cheated? Heh heh heh..." Thalen repeated, chuckling. "You think honor'll protect you when the chips are down? It won't. How did facin' your foes head on go back in Mor Dhona again? You got shot to hell, aye?"

“A real swordsman wouldn’t be beaten so easily…”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, Era.” He offered his hand to help her to her feet, his eyes still dilated with attentive excitement. “How’d you think Garlemald conquered Doma and wiped out most of them swordmasters in the first place? With bullets, that’s how. Lots n’lots a bullets.”

She was reluctant to accept his offered hand, but she didn’t want to look like a sore loser; she was definitely sore though. “Hadriel can deflect bullets… I’m sure he can.”

“Aye, I’m sure he can too.” Thalen saw the frown on her lips and heard the subtle pout in her voice -- he felt good about today despite his crippling thirst, as it was always a treat to knock a blademonger down a peg or two. A grunt and a heave later and Era was back on her feet. “But that takes a lotta focus n’strain on the body to move that fast. Even the greatest Samurai can only move so fast for so long. They’ll run outta stamina long before I run outta ammunition, I can assure you of that.”

She dusted off her backside and nodded -- she couldn’t argue with that logic. “You think you can take on Hadriel with that peashooter?” Almost immediately he threw his head back and laughed in an exaggerated fashion.

“Of course I could!” Thalen chortled, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. “And for the record… this is a ceruleum powered magitech mini railgun revolver. I could blow a squirrel’s brains out from twelve-hundred yalms with a clean shot, and at max power I could punch a hole as large as a hrothgar’s head in Garlean black steel. Course… the knockback would shatter my arm. But that’s besides the point! It’s deadly accurate and packs a wallop!”

“All that jargon is worthless against a katana wielded by a real master.” Era yawned, plucking her sword. “If you fought Hadriel, you’d be dead before you could draw your pistol…”

“Say it with me: railgun revolver.” Thalen turned to wave at Mizuna and Coroh, who were at a healthy distance. “Sure, if’n he could get me within swingin’ distance of that blade I’d be minced meat. But gunslingers like me fight at a distance, lass. And I’d be able to know where he’s at long before he can get near me.”

Coroh ran up first, still excited at that display of marksmanship. “Wow! That was really, really cool…! Can you teach me how to shoot like that?”

“Baby steps, darlin’.” He smiled, ruffling her hair. “Learn the bow n’I’ll teach you how to shoot a sidearm, aye. Plenty of folks at the estate are handy with precision guns too, so you’ll never be short a teacher.” He gestured to Era before grinning wickedly. “But show’s over. Let’s go ahead n’get outta here. I got jobs to do, gil to make, n’a thirst to quench.”

“Why don’t you take Coco along with you, S’era?” Mizuna chimed in, casually approaching the group with her hands deep in her lab coat pockets. “I need to speak with K’thalen alone.” Thalen and Era exchanged looks before the Samurai tentatively nodded, gesturing for the gushing Miqo’te girl to follow her to her chocobo Kwehzimoto.

With a lift and a plop, Coroh was in the saddle with the reins in her hands before Era climbed up to sit behind her. “Goodbyyyeee!” Coroh hollered, waving at them both as the two girls took off toward Ul’dah in a cloud of dust.

Mizuna watched them disappear along the horizon, waiting for them to be long gone before she turned to look up at him. “You can see aether.”

“Eh?” Thalen snorted, crossing his arms. “What’s this now?”

“You knew Ms. Rarku was hiding in those bushes. You knew where she would reappear when she vanished in that puff of smoke, and you dodged all of her swings perfectly.” Mizuna dressed him down with her gaze. “Half of those dodges happened when you weren’t even looking at her.”

“That’s just instinct, Doc.” He waved his hand dismissively, turning to make his way to his fenrir motorcycle. “Been sparrin’ with the hothead for moons now. She’s as predictable as the sunrise.”

Mizuna slowly blinked, before pulling a rubber stress ball from her pocket. She said nothing as she watched him wander away, halfway to his bike, before she lifted her arm and chucked it as hard as she could at him; Thalen ducked as soon as it was released from her hand, letting it soar clean over his head to bounce off into the dust and haze of the desert wastes. “I’ve made no indication I would do that. How can you call that instinct?”

He dusted off his hat before sliding it back onto his head. “Pfeh… I never let my guard down ‘round women, that’s why.”

“You can see aether. The only reason you dodged that ball is because it was in my pocket for bells. My aether had rubbed off on it, and you felt it leave my hand.” Mizuna took long strides to reach his side again. “I’ll need to run more tests to be sure you can help me with my problem…”

“A problem?” Never before had Thalen been so confused, and that’s saying something. “What kinda problem?”

“It’s confidential.” Mizuna tucked her hands back into her pockets and quickly changed the subject. “I also wanted to talk to you about your… addiction. If you have a moment to talk with me?”

“Doc, you ain’t comin’ on to me, are you?” He furrowed his brow and straightened his back. “Cause I got this rule where I nev-”

“I’m not hitting on you.” Her tone was curt and annoyed. “I’m referring to your drinking problem.”

Thalen relaxed a bit, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “I ain’t got no drinkin’ problem. Can’t a man enjoy a drink or two at his leisure?”

“If it was just ‘a drink or two’ we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Mizuna eyed him up and down before continuing. “You’re a grown man. I can’t force you to change your ways… I don’t know why you drink exactly, but I know you don’t drink because you like to have fun. You’re killing yourself trying to escape something… or someone. But you can’t run from whatever is haunting you forever, K’thalen. Trust me… I’ve seen what trying to drown your sorrows in alcohol can do to a man.”

Thalen wasn’t in the mood for another addiction lecture. He’s suffered through interventions before, from ‘friends’ who wouldn’t or couldn’t understand. The fact that this scaled wannabe mother of his could even suggest she has any idea of what it’s like to deal with his inner demons made his tail bristle, his face scrunch up into a snarl, and words laced with poison leap from the back of his throat. “Like who… you’re husband?”

Her faint smile vanished and she slowly blinked at him. The stone mask slipped onto her face as she slowly inhaled, but Thalen knew better than to trust a blank expression. “Yes. Like my husband.”

“Ah…” He sputtered, still more angry and irritable than embarrassed. “Sorry, Doc. I… didn’t mean it.”

“My husband tried to drown himself in liquor trying to forget the agony of losing not one, not two, but all three of our children. He became an angry, violent drunk, and although he never hit me… I could tell he wanted to. Alcohol has that effect on grief. But the pain can never stop until you face it head on.” She slowly inhaled as her gaze drifted to Ul’dah in the distance. “You’re one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen. Maybe the fastest quickdraw in Eorzea. Alcohol is not your buddy. If you won’t cut back for your sake, think about the people around you who are concerned for your wellbeing. Their lives are affected too.”

Thalen gulped dryly, the familiar stinging thirst stabbing him in the back of the throat. Mizuna brushed past him and sat down on the backseat of the motorcycle, with the slightest scowl on her face.

“Take me home.”

---

Mentions: @hadriel-ffxiv​

[ff15trashgoldenslumbers]

Another FFXV blog has done this but I want to see your take on it. Can you do the Chocobros + Nyx reaction of their s/o jiggle physics?

Thank you so much for your patience, this was such a long time coming. Hopefully, I can get back on the Chocobo and clear out the remaining asks for you all as well. Thank you again for waiting for me.

~~~~~

Noctis

“Noctis!” 

The prince in question blinked, unprepared for the sudden bark from Ignis. Normally it was a quick “Noct” or the ever-popular “Your Highness” but Ignis seemed rather pissed that he was almost thrown off the Chocobo that both of you had mounted. Seeing that you had quite a difficult time in the large dress you were in. 

It looked nice, but the way it fell off your shoulders and exposed so much your chest to the world, Noctis couldn’t help but notice with each stride of the large bird, and with the two of you so pressed up against one another that there were certain things jiggling. 

Weren’t they only suppose to do that in anime!?

“Can I get some help?”

Noctis suddenly noticed that they had stopped and he had leapt off, but you were waiting for him to help you down without landing directly on your face. His hands went to your waist as you placed your hands against his shoulders leaning forward so that you were basically smothering him with your boobs! Why were they so bouncy and perky!

“Noct, Y/N. you two all right?” Prompto called waiting with Ignis and Gladiolus for the two of you to arrive at the party where everyone was waiting.

“Be right there!” You called for the both of you as Noctis sat you down, only for your hand to wrap around his tie pulling Noctis to lean forward as you whispered softly, “I’ll let you see them later since you can’t keep your eyes off them.”

Noctis hardly had time to register as you moved to follow Prompto, for some strange reason he suddenly had a difficult time learning to walk again.

~~~~~

Prompto

Whenever the weather was too bad, either rain or snow, you and Prompto would meet up in the exercise room of your apartment to run your miles for the day. So it wasn’t strange for one of you to meet the other downstairs when they were ready.

So when Prompto came downstairs and found your headphones in and already doing your warm-up jogs, he wasn’t surprised. He’d do a few stretches and jump on the machine next to your own. So that’s what he did.

Setting his machine he began to walk, hoping to catch up with you shortly so that you both finished around the same time. You two normally didn’t speak during your jog as it was more of a silent bonding time, so in his own headphones went and they both of you started your run.

About ten minutes in, Prompto heard you holding back laughter, he glanced over to your phone, trying to see if you were watching something or listening to a podcast only to find something a lot more entertaining.

Your sports bra, hardly held anything back, and it was cut kind of strange, but he wasn’t complaining. If anything it made the entire situation a lot better! So much better he didn’t even register the pain he was in.

“Holy shit Prompto! You okay?” You asked quickly shutting off your machine, before running over to him. 

“What happened?” He moaned as you helped him sit up and checked him over.

“I should be asking that.” You huffed, pushing back his hair, finding only a bruise on his arm and nowhere else, besides maybe his ego. “You were jogging, looked over and suddenly got thrown halfway across the room.”

Prompto put two and two together, his face becoming red with embarrassment, he couldn’t just admit that he got so distracted by your boobs bouncing that he slingshotted himself across the room, so instead he muttered the only thing he could think of…

“I tripped.”

“You tripped?”

“Mmhm.”

“Why?”

He panicked, “Because I’m clumsy?”

“Was that a question?”

“No?”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you helped him up. You knew what exactly what happened but you’d at least save him face.

~~~~~

Gladiolus

You let out a rather dignified shriek whirling around to glare at Gladiolus, “What the hell!”

“Sorry, Babe.” The boyish smile greeted you.

“No your not!”

It was like this all the time! Gladiolus had stated that he loved jiggling your fat thighs and the way that you butt bounces when he played with it. Not to mention your chest when you got over-excited, or exercised, or moved to much in general. This was all said with just normal activities, the bedroom list was so much longer.

“I’m really not.” He chuckled, his hand raised again as he landed a firm open palm slap to your ass.

“Gladiolus Amicitia, if you don’t cut it out, I will purposely burn your noodles!” You barked.

Those large hands found their way to your hips, as he pressed his body against your own, pressing a kiss to your temple. It was almost rather sweet.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop.” 

You let out another shriek as you felt him grab a handful of ass and thigh before giving them enough of a jiggle that your entire body began to move. You hardly had time to register before he was running away.

“You’re such an ass!” You screamed, only to hear him chuckle halfway across the house.

~~~~~

Ignis

He was a man of culture, and he would not oogle you as such! But did you not understand what you were doing!

Ever graceful, he watched as you avoided the courel, watching as your lance moved so elegantly between your fingers, but earlier within the fight, one of those beasts managed to slice part of your shirt, leaving quite the large amount of cleavage showing, it was becoming unbearable, to say the least.

He would never tell anyone how to dress, aside from what is and what is not appropriate for certain situations, but he was worried that you might spill out from your attire at any moment, and considering how much “movement” was had, it worried that it would be sooner rather than later.

So when you gave a well-deserved shock to the large cat, and it went off running you turned toward him a smile on your face as you approached the others.

“Rather exciting wouldn’t you say?” You giggled, the jolt from your heels making the situation at hand a little more noticed.

“Love!” Ignis called causing you to quickly freeze in place, quickly moving over, removing his suit jacket, “Your attire as been ripped, do let me see to mending it.”

“Oh that would be lovely.” You smiled, as he approached you, wrapping the jacket around your shoulders and pulling it tight. “Yet Ignis, My love.”

“Yes?” 

You gently lifted his chin, “My eyes are up here.”

~~~~~

Nyx

Something that Nyx loved about you was that when you got excited you do a little hop, something very small. Often times you would just shift yourself to stand on your toes before lowering yourself. It was a habit you didn’t even realize that you had until he had pointed it out after a few years of dating.

Only Nyx had a few reasons to love that little movement. One he knew that it meant you were happy with whatever situation that you were in, another and this was for more personal reasons, was because when you did so, no matter what you were wearing, he sees just the smallest amount of jiggle in your chest, or butt depending on the angle.

And if he could view you just right he’d get two for the price of one!

So now when you did that little hop, he was happy for two reasons! Granted one of the reasons was better than the other. Though if one were to ask him, he honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you which made him more excited.