#cloud strife angst

[ninibeingdelulu]

How he react when you…

ft. leon kennedy, cloud strife, zack fair, simon “ghost” riley

How he react when you kiss/lick/nibble his earlobe/neck/jaw.

Leon Kennedy -

The hardened former rookie cop would freeze completely still at the first intimate swipe of your tongue along the wiry tendon of his neck. Eyes fluttering shut, Leon would fight back a full-body shudder, teeth gritting as that rugged jaw twitches with mounting restraint.

As your nibbles and caresses increased against the sensitive flesh behind his ear, his calloused palms would clench into white-knuckled fists. Battling the ingrained instinct to defensively seize and subdue like with any other threat. Until, at last, Leon can resist no longer.

A strangled rumble erupts from his broad chest as he twists with feline grace to back you against the nearest solid surface. Pupils blown wide with smoldering hunger, he braces one strong forearm by your head as the other hand cups your nape with surprising tenderness despite the desperation ravening behind each fevered caress of his lips along your jawline. The first of many tremors to rack your entire frame that night.

Cloud Strife -

The stalwart AVALANCHE mercenary lurches as if jolted by a live current when the first pass of your tongue grazes that sensitive spot below his jaw. Spiky blond brows knit sharply over those blazing mako-tinged eyes squeezing shut on a guttural groan torn straight from his diaphragm.

Though his initial fists clench at his sides instinctively, Cloud permits no further retaliation - whether physical or to extract himself from your wandering affections. Quite the opposite, in fact. His head lolls aside, granting you ample access to continue feathering scorching kisses and teasing flicks of your tongue along the sensitive column of his throat.

Only once your relentless sensual torment threatens to buckle those powerful thighs entirely does Cloud shudder and haul you flush against him with dizzying abruptness. Equal parts possessive and reverent, he claims your parted lips in a soul-searing kiss, broad palms framing your face like a precious treasure as he savors every ardent swirl of your twined tongues.

Zack Fair -

That blinding, boyish smile wouldn't dim one iota as your teasing ministrations first make contact. At least, not outwardly. Inside, however, Zack's breath would leave him in a harsh gust as electricity lances up his spine from the languid glide of your mouth torturing that sensitive zone.

Far from the fierce, untamed passion of some of his counterparts, Zack would be endearingly awestruck and bashful at the outpouring of tenderness behind such a simple act. His fingers would splay tenderly through your hair, those sparkling blue eyes crinkling at the corners with unbridled adoration as you eagerly bestow your affections over every inch of accessible flesh.

Inevitably, he'd succumb to the smoldering fog of arousal steadily consuming every rational thought. Zack's doting caresses would roam freely along the sculpted planes of your body, lavishing you in turn with a breathless reverence and earnestness reserved for only you until the lines blurred completely between worshiper and revered.

Ghost -

One glimpse of that icy blue glare, and you'd know the elite marksman's mind was already whirring through a dozen calculated scenarios and counterattacks as soon as your lips made contact. Every toned muscle would go rigid, coiled like a cobra ready to strike or retreat at the first suspicious provocation.

Until, of course, realization trickles through that predatory hyper-alertness - this tantalizing torment stems from no external threat whatsoever, only the exquisite onslaught of pleasure steadily unravelling his razor-sharp restraint. As your roving mouth brands a searing path along Ghost's neck and jaw, his broad shoulders would slump minutely, permitting the faintest hitch of an indrawn breath to escape those chapped lips.

No vocalized encouragement or returned passion yet; such overt displays would likely always be suppressed lest they expose potential weaknesses to be exploited in the field. But like a silent storm front rolling in, Ghost's heated stare would spark with a new, tangible intensity wholly untamed and promising of the inevitable downpour still to come at your unhurried pace.

[cephei-ea]

Cloud Strife - Interlinked

Genre: angst, drabble

Disclaimers: ib yt interlinked, symphocat, long whale song ;(

Synopsis: to be interlinked

A/N: I wrote this with a person in mind, so my apologies if it doesn’t make sense or suit Cloud.

I feel this will make more sense to those who have experienced the loss of someone they thought was their person.

What is it like to hold the hand of someone you love?

Interlinked

Your own fingers interlinked as he stared blankly at the food you made him.

Interlinked

Your legs interlinked as you lay on his chest, feeling his heart beating beneath your own.

Interlinked

Your minds had become one— a direct result of the amount of time you’d spent with each other.

Interlinked

When did he change?

When did he stop seeing you when he looked at you?

You’d watched as his gaze slowly morphed overtime. When Cloud began looking through you, instead of at you.

Interlinked

Do you long for having your heart interlinked?

Interlinked

When? When when when had you become so desperately attached? When had the love you felt looking at him become tension? Searing pain blistering at your chest, walking on the sharpest of needles while in his presence?

Interlinked

In the most intimate, skin to skin moments, when he whispered against your skin that there was something about you. That there was something between you that was different.

That no one could ever recreate what you’d built together.

Interlinked

How did you feel when he opened his heart to you and in the moment that your hearts

Interlinked?

What ran through your mind when one day, his kisses became scant. The next, his eyes stopped meeting yours and the time you spent with him became but a weekly occurrence.

Cloud had changed.

It was clear how his skin became a cold touch against yours, it was obvious how it pained him to even hear your voice.

Cloud had changed. His eyes dimmed in vibrance, his hair rarely indulged in his care, his lips dried and his routine consisted of work, fighting and little to nothing more.

Cloud had changed.

He no longer loved you.

INTERLINKED

Did they teach you how to feel, finger to finger?

Interlinked

Despite how he hoped it would, despite how he screamed and yelled and fought and rampaged, not even time could not erase what once was. Time could not erase the tattooed feeling of your fingers pressing against his fingertips.

Interlinked

Cloud tried, hands pressed finger to finger against each other and digging into his forehead, to forget you.

Interlinked

Cloud did everything in his power to act like you never existed, to hate you, to do anything to move on.

Cloud would have done anything to forget you. Still, despite all of his efforts, he found himself weak in the face of your existence.

Cloud was incapable of forgetting you.

Interlinked

What he did not know, was that the feeling of your fingertips against his would never, ever fade. Regardless of the time or method he used to fix himself.

Interlinked

Do you long to have your heart interlinked?

Interlinked

“We’re interlinked…” a giggle, a heart beat, a breath, a touch, a kiss. Cloud eternally longed to be interlinked with you once more. If only once more.

Cloud hadn’t changed.

Interlinked

His hair was still jagged and soft, his hands were still calloused and lithe, his eyes were still the same hue of blue and adorned with long lashes, his voice was still gravely and deep, his body was still the same shape, though a bit bulkier.

And when he looked at you, the look in his irises was the same. Cloud hadn’t changed, he still loved you.

Interlinked

The moment that Cloud saw you, it was as though a ribbon was tied around the muscle in his chest.

Interlinked

When he met your eyes for the first time in over a year, the tie pulled ever tighter with each passing second.

Interlinked

Cloud swore to all above that the planet had stopped spinning, if only for a few moments.

Interlinked

Cloud felt his heart wrench and his gut twist when he saw you again, all the air in his lungs seemed to claw its way out of his chest, inevitably escaping him. He felt every drop of sweat like a tsunami, every memory like torture, every recollection and every sprout of a tear being ripped from the tight shackles he’d hoisted down on himself after you left.

Interlinked

When Cloud saw you again, he was forced to relive the moment you were ripped away from him.

Interlinked

Do you feel that there’s a part of you that’s missing?

Interlinked

The hole created by Cloud in your stomach the day that you separated grew larger with every second that you stared into his eyes.

The pain returned with a vengeance, as though the wound had been inflicted yesterday.

Interlinked

Do you recall the feeling of meeting the eye of the person you love again?

Interlinked

When his bright blue eyes, deeper than any ocean could ever hope to be, became the center of your eyesight again, everything and everyone around you ceased to exist.

“We’re interlinked…”

His voice had been deep, muffled against your chest as his warm lips kissed past your sternum and down your bellybutton.

Interlinked

There wasn’t a day that you didn’t think of Cloud. There wasn’t a single hour of any day for the past year and a half that you were not tortured by the memories you made together.

Interlinked

“I will do anything-“ a husk of a memory. It was the first and last time you had heard Cloud beg. Beg you to stay. Beg you to forgive him. Beg you to rethink leaving him. Beg you not to walk away from him. “You can’t. You can’t do this.”

Interlinked

Tears stabbed at your eyes, the memories of your time with Cloud, and the months of agony you’d gone through before and after your separation were all enough to wrench your stomach like a vice and urge bile to rise in your throat.

Interlinked

You swore to every living being, to every god, to every rose, to every diety and every star that graced your vision that you would never allow another person to become your missing puzzle piece. Because the dry heaving, head spinning experience you had when you left to empty your stomach a moment after seeing cloud again, and then turned to see him breathing heavily behind you and desperation splitting his face gave you the visceral urge to curl into a ball.

You’d never truly wanted to die before.

You didn’t know what it was like to relive your world cracking and shattering to pieces, every fragment of your soul being spread far and thin until picking up the pieces became all but a feeble wish.

Interlinked

Your emotions had been run so raw by the mercenary in front of you that laying eyes on him, the missing piece of your soul, after a year and a half, was another trauma in and of itself.

Interlinked

Love could not,

never had been, nor ever would be

A word strong enough to depict the magnitude of the torrent of emotions that Clouds existence gave you.

You cursed him for it

Interlinked

“DO YOU FEEL THERE IS A PART OF YOU THATS MISSING?”

He was silent because he knew he didn’t need to say anything for millions of words to fill the air between you.

Interlinked

When you touched again, another rise of bile threatened you; you pushed it down.

Still, not a word managed to leave him.

Interlinked

You couldn’t recall a single moment when you and Cloud hadn’t been interlinked. There hadn’t been one moment when your minds were not one or when your bodies were not in sync.

Interlinked

You were interlinked when you were in love, you were interlinked before you separated and you were interlinked during your separation.

Interlinked

And you were interlinked then again, in the moment that your arms snaked around his neck and his around your waist, your arms a bond taut and unbreakable. Whether from the trembling strength of his arms pressured around you or the painful depth of your shared emotions in the moment, Cloud had managed to steal your breath once again.

Interlinked

Do you feel

there’s a part of you

that’s missing?

___

Hope you enjoyed, this was self indulgent

[meiluu]

omg omg omg I've got an idea!! So... mean and demanding Cloud when he was controlled by Sephiroth?? Like you know how he's usually so nice and soft during that time... well now he's the opposite? I mean only if you're comfortable with it of course

I love this idea and, so here's a little something that came to mind after reading this...

CW: SMUT 18+, a bit dark, Angst, Cloud isn't fully there and his actions are being influenced by Sephiroth. smut below the cut. *NOT EDITED*

Cloud your sweet boyfriend, who could be a bit icy on the outside but when he's with you that icy nature melts and underneath that layer is a young man who craves your love like he needs air. Wholly devoted to you, his heart handed to you for safe keeping forevermore.

But with the threat of the planet and the loaming shadow of sephiroth, cloud has been...different to say the least. Quick to give into his anger and frustration, especially on the battlefield. Acting strangely towards some of the other members in your merry little group. You had thought that maybe it would lessen over time, but it only seem to do the opposite. But even with all of this you made it clear to cloud that you were there for him, yet he seemed to brush you off nodding absentmindedly.

It hurt you to say the least, but you held strong and continued to remain by his side. And your efforts seemed to be paying off, slowly cloud had begun to seek you out after battles and when he needed your comforting.

Although this time seemed different from others, his mako infused eyes held an emotion that had your hair standing up on end.

A muffled cry of pleasure leaves you as Cloud continues his near brutal thrusts. On your knees with your head partially buried into your pillow, you can feel Clouds strong and unyielding grip on your hips as he ruts into you like he was a starved animal. When he had come to you after another day of fighting monsters as they followed the trial towards Sephiroth, you had expected a typical cuddle session or made some soft sex to come down from the stressful day. Not this.

Its not that you didn't like this, it was just something Cloud had never really done. He always took his time with you, relishing in your shared time together. And even when he did get a bit carried away you could always feel the love with his actions or with his pleasure filled words.

"Cloud- too much I-" your words are hard to get out with your moans breaking them up. Hands gripping into the sheets as you lift your head turning it to the side to see Cloud. Eyes focusing in on his gorgeous face, his eyes are locked onto where his cock is thrusting in and out of your cunt. His eyes rise to meet yours, pupils blown wide at the view in front of him. A smirk crawls onto his face, then he is moving his hands from your hips to beside yours that are still gripping onto the sheets. "You can take it, you were made for this- For me." His near patronizing words are barely registered with the new angle he has you in. Cock going so deep hitting the spots within you that had the breath leaving your lungs in a moaned cry. One calloused hand of Cloud clasps onto one of yours while the other goes underneath your chin. Acting as a makeshift collar, turning your head towards his. Mako gazing piercing yours.

"You're mine, this-" a thrust accentuates his words cock bullying itself deeper into your orgasming cunt, "is only for me. So perfect just for me."

[demialwrites]

FF7 x Reader

Annoying things about being in a relationship with them

Rufus Shinra

He knows how to clean surprisingly decently because of his time confined to Turk HQ in Before Crisis but stubbornly refuses to do certain things. It's 'beneath him'

Even if you're on birth control or otherwise can't get pregnant, it doesn't matter. He's wearing a condom and how dare you suggest otherwise

He takes up all the space in the closet because of all the layers he insists on wearing

He insists on taking his dog everywhere, even if you explain it terrifies some people. For example: your poor parents

Rude

There's a third wheel in this relationship and his name starts with a Re and ends with a No

Rude is very romantic. However, he only barely has time so his gestures happen spontaneously and it's hard to plan around his schedule

Often comes home with injuries and you're the one who has to patch him up and worry about him. He doesn't worry about himself

He prefers to show not tell. You have to learn how to read him with a glance

Reno

There's a third wheel in this relationship and his name is Rude

His insecurity randomly spikes and he gets mega jealous, sometimes with threats at the offending party

Very loud. All the time

Gets broody about things he has to do at work and sometimes nothing you do will help

Gets whiney when you don't have the stamina to have sex all damned night

Cloud

Cannot communicate his needs. Does not know what his needs are. WHAT ARE NEEDS?

Everyone flirts with him but if you try to talk to him about it, he never noticed the flirting in the first place

Sometimes cute animals follow him home and oops, one day you have seven cats, fifteen chickens, four dogs, several chocobos, and one of those giant elephant fiends because it was injured and alone. You didn't sign up to live at a zoo but here you are, shoveling elephant shit every day

Occasionally, one of his hair spikes stab you straight in the eye when he's being the little spoon

Barret

Thinks he can fix everything himself when sometimes you just need him to listen

Like Reno, Barret can be quite loud. If you like peace, sometimes you have to take some space. It makes the big guy sad

Not very detail-oriented. Leaves little things like ammo all over the garage/shed floor and small bits of trash all over the house. He meant to pick it up, honest!

Occasionally breaks the bed

Tseng

You can't be spontaneous for shit because he anticipates everything

He has certain cleaning standards but he doesn't always tell you. He just redoes it himself

Must be the one to clean and iron his suit himself or he will get annoyed

His handwriting is annoyingly perfect and it makes you feel bad about your chicken scratch

Elena

Puts herself in danger way too often. She doesn't understand your horrified reaction to her story of how she jumped out of a helicopter onto a moving dune buggy in the middle of the Corel desert

It can be hard to tell if she's actually angry or just venting

You know more about her work than is probably safe for you

Too spontaneous. She sometimes makes important decisions without consulting you first

Reeve

Main bad habit: he is a workaholic

Sometimes puts others needs before yours. He's just trying to help

Doesn't take good care of his health

Uses the sad puppy eyes to get out of arguments more often than he should

Sometimes leaves spare cait siths and his parts all over the living room

[frickingnerd]

tell me you love me, even if it's a lie

pairing: cloud strife x gn!reader

summary: cloud wants to hear you say you love him just this once, even if he knows it's just a lie...

tags: angst, implied yandere!cloud, unrequited feelings (cloud for reader), zack & reader relationship, lovesick cloud

“tell me you love! even if it's just a lie…”

cloud had taken your hands into his own. he knew that you were dating zack. he knew that he'd never be him and that he'd be never be with you. but at least once, he wanted to know what it would be like if you'd say his name with the same fondness you said zack's and told him that you loved him.

“cloud…” you sighed softly, trying to let him down gently. but there was no way you could convince him to drop this.

“please, just once. i know you could never love me, but just for a moment, let me pretend like you could truly love me.”

you silently considered it. yet if you said it once, what if he wanted more. what if he'd want a kiss next? what if it was more than a kiss that he wanted?

“i'll say it, just once.” you finally gave in. cloud's eyes widened and brimmed with excitement, but you quickly shut him down. “but after i say it, you have to move on. no more requests like these!”

cloud hasty nodded. he'd do anything, just to hear you say those words to him once. anything.

“i love you…”

the words you whispered weren't as sincere and affectionate as cloud had always imagined them as. but he shouldn't have expected so much. hearing you say them, he could pretend for a second that he'd be the one you truly loved. but just for a second, as afterwards, despair filled him.

“t-thank you…” his voice was quiet and shaky. you had just broken his heart with those words, yet he thanked you. but at the very least, he could pretend for just a moment that this wasn't a lie…

[priceofreedom]

FF7 replay 74/?

[salternateunreality2]

Zakkura fluff please? 🥺

Henlo Pumpkin! ❤️🍊❤️ Zakkura fluff (and some angst at the end):

Literally:

Genesis, vigorously using a lint roller on his person: I don't know how I can stand to be around you two!

Cloud, leaning back into Zack's chest, hugging Zack's arms: You're jealous of our relationship?

Zack: You wish you had a hot Nibel boyfriend? *Smooches*

Cloud, mumbling around the kiss: You can't stand the sight of healthy displays of affection and warm honesty?

Zack, nuzzling Cloud's hair: You're worried about how to finally confess your feelings to Sephiroth?

Genesis: IT'S YOUR FUCKING SHEDDING, YOU INSUFFERABLE HOUNDS! I CAN WEAR NEITHER DARK NOR LIGHT COLORS, AS EACH OF YOUR VAPID HEADS INVARIABLY SHEDS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I CHOOSE! *Sets fire to the lint roller, throws it at them, and storms off*

Cloud: *casually freezes it before it hits Zack* Jealousy. Wanna make out?

Zack: YES!

-----------

Figuratively:

Zack waking up at fuck off in the morning, but being so, so careful not to move and disturb his exhausted Cloudy. Until he really really REALLY has to pee, then playing the mission impossible theme song in his head while slowly and carefully extracting himself.

Cloud being too shy to say he's fallen for Zack, but leaving him weird little presents everywhere: a grocery bag with two of his precious cookies from Claudia tied to Zack's apartment door handle, a wolf-shaped rock on his desk, a little woven charm smuggled into his pocket, a rose ring made from a twisty tie on his sword, Nibel leather shoelaces threaded through his boots...

Zack pretending not to notice Cloud limping and forcing down every impulse to sweep him off his feet, because that's what Zack wants, not what Cloud needs.

Cloud noticing Zack limping, shoving him onto a bench, treating his leg, and ordering him to lean on him until they get home.

Zack carrying Cloud when he's out of it, even as his arms ache and burn, his patience has long since worn thin, and he hasn't had a full meal in 4 years. He is still as gentle as the first time he kissed Cloud's hand in the dim stairwell, the faulty lighting masking both their blooming blushes.

Cloud charging past Zack's broken body, scared shitless, towards a foe neither of them could hope to match, fighting and winning anyway, because he HAS to, because it's ZACK back there, he HAS TO SAVE HIM.

Zack and Cloud stumbling up to a crumbling church, dripping blood and barely coherent, slamming the doors open with a bang and demanding she take care of him first, before passing out arm-in-arm.

Zack teaching her Cloud's PT exercises for the days Zack is too weak to help and Cloud is too addled to be present. Cloud showing her where every damn bullet went and holding Zack steady as she digs each remaining slug out.

Both of them sleeping with their hand over the other's heart.

[dilutedbeanibeans]

swans mate for life, and follow each other into death

[altocat]

As Sephgeal inevitably becomes a more popular ship around here I'm putting it out there right now that Sephiroth's thing for Cloud how has an extra layer of angst.

Cloud carries the Buster Sword. Cloud stands where a greater man once stood. Cloud lives on in the shadow of what was once beautiful and pure and true.

How dare he. How DARE he.

And yet Sephiroth can't pry himself away.

Though he can't remember, though the shadows of the past no longer tug at him from the hazy gloom of Jenova's caress, every clash of their blades is a revelation, a homecoming.

Because for a moment, he's safe again. Warm. Far away. Held. And someone else.

For a moment, they have come together again.

Reunion.

[ninibeingdelulu]

Seeing you comforting a child…

ft. leon kennedy, cloud strife

Leon Kennedy would never dare admit it openly, but the stoic, badass exterior melted away ever so slightly at the sight of you tenderly comforting a lost child.

That time in the ransacked village, when the haunting wails of a youngster pierced the air amidst the carnage - Leon instinctively tensed, jaw setting grimly as his grip tightened on his rifle.

But then he spotted you already racing ahead unhesitatingly. Dropping to one knee, arms outstretched in a gentle beckoning posture as the little one startled then sprinted straight into your protective embrace.

Your soothing tones murmured comforting assurances while cradling their trembling form close against you. Fingers carding soothingly through tangled hair with the utmost tender care.

And Leon couldn't tear his widened eyes away from the tenderhearted display. Throat constricting over the unexpected lump suddenly materializing there.

That million-watt smile radiating from your features as you rocked them patiently until whimpering quieted was like the first vibrant blossom peeking through the ash after a nuclear winter.

An oasis of affectionate nurturing shining through the oppressive bleakness suffocating them both for far too painfully long.

Leon found his calloused finger-pads unconsciously drifting up to caress his own chapped lips as if wishing to physically absorb the tranquil serenity you effortlessly exuded.

Eyelids momentarily fluttering closed while permitting himself to just bask in the warmth emanating from your very presence like a soothing balm against all the harrowing darkness poisoning them both.

A tremulous sigh escaped between those parted lips as the barest ghost of a smile tugged at their corners for the first time in...Christ, had it really been years since he last felt anything even remotely resembling that fleeting glimmer of unguarded optimism blossoming in his chest?

The peaceful tableau you presented with the now-placid child tucked securely in your arms struck Leon deeper than any physical combat wound ever could.

Worming past every steel-plated layer of defenses, countermeasures and failsafes, straight down into the most vulnerable core of his humanity he'd sworn died an agonizing death ages ago.

It terrified yet entranced him in equal measure just drinking in the serene display. Eventually those narrowed steel-blue irises regained some of their piercing guardedness while surreptitiously cataloging every nuance etched upon your expressions and ministrations.

As if desperately searing the moment into his consciousness to be revisited and clung onto later through whatever hell awaited them next.

Thank Christ for your influence and the inexplicable balm it provided against the miasma of torment clouding Leon's withered soul more with every passing abyss they navigated together...

The uncompromising mask remained solidly affixed in place by the time you finally lifted your eyes to meet his guarded gaze, the child nestled peacefully into the crook of your neck.

Not a single flicker of that momentary softness penetrated the hauntingly chiseled granite of his features now.

Yet behind that shuttered and fortified thousand-yard stare, the barest ember pulsed with renewed tenacity suffusing Leon's frigid disposition with almost undetectable glimmers of warmth.

All because of your natural radiance and selfless compassion reminding him why they fought on through each grueling gauntlet.

Sure he'd never verbalize sentiments that unbearably raw and guileless aloud. But that infinitesimal spark continuing to miraculously smolder despite all efforts to smother it was enough to propel them onward through any escalating onslaught yet to come.

This time with a renewed fervor steeling Leon's adamantine determination from the inside out.

The desolate, mako-tainted wastes proved no place for a child's cries. Yet the haunting echoes still pierced straight through Cloud's calloused defenses when tiny lungs unleashed their heartrending wails upon the barren landscape.

His gloved grip instinctively clenched tighter around the battered Buster Sword's hilt, jaw tensing as those predatory ice-blue irises immediately snapped towards the source of the disturbance.

Fully prepared for whatever fresh horror emerged after the merc caught fleeting movement through his peripherals.

But the cautious sweep revealed only your slender form already hastening ahead. Moving with fluid grace directly towards the sobbing bundle tucked against a crumbling wall.

His firm chapped lips tightened into a grim line witnessing you unhesitatingly drop to one knee before the distressed child without any apparent armaments at the ready.

From this distance, Cloud glimpsed your gentle features soften with bottomless compassion wholly separate from the usual battlefield ferocity.

Small hands unfurled in placating gestures exuding profound warmth and sincerity instantly easing some of the fractures riddling his own battered soul simply by proximity.

While you deftly coaxed the tiny thing into your embrace with susurrant tones and infinitely patient ministrations, Cloud suddenly found himself robbed of breath altogether.

Those glacial spheres wide and stunned at the exquisitely tender vision you presented cradling their fragility so reverently. A profound ache lodged behind his breastbone at the maternal aura emanating from your whole being.

He swallowed convulsively over the sandpaper abrasions rasping along his windpipe.

Gloved fingers betraying the slightest tremor disturbing his usual uncompromising stoicism while still drinking in every indelible detail of the intimate scene unraveling.

From the tender flickering caresses smoothed across tangled russet locks to your honeyed vocals humming soothing melodies of consolation.

All suffusing the stale, mako-saturated atmosphere with vibrant healing essences Cloud found himself instinctively gravitating closer towards.

Feather-light brushes scritched lovingly along the whimpering child's back forming hypnotic ellipses mirroring your unguarded smile radiating all-encompassing warmth across those cherubic cheeks now drenched in tear tracks.

Until finally after an eternity, the miniature form stilled in your arms. Body unlocking from its terrified rigor mortis into the very picture of youthful tranquility tucked securely against your heartbeat.

Cloud hadn't even realized he'd been holding his own respiration captive until the soft sigh expelled in a shuddering rush between lax lips.

A full-bodied flinch rattled his broad shoulders at its sudden harsh volume intruding upon the sacred tableau before him.

But thankfully, your features remained beautifully serene, wholly undisturbed while continuing to rock the now-quieted bundle in gentle rhythms.

Only then did molten sapphire pools drift up to lock with his widened stare burning with intensity across the slender lacuna separating you. A tremor not wholly attributable to anxiety skittered down his whip-cord musculature watching your radiant smile intensify directed solely towards Cloud.

As if silently communicating your infinite gratitude for him bearing witness to such an intimate and precious moment blossoming in this scorched hellscape...

Whatever parched recesses comprising the haunted mercenary's core still retained the capacity for absorbing nurturing warmth - it suddenly flooded within the confines of his barrel chest when those infinitely compassionate irises shone their benediction upon him.

Unknotting every rigid sinew and ligament hardened into a battle-tempered carapace purely through the power of your tender, life-affirming essence.

Almost imperceptibly, Cloud's chapped lips softened around the faintest half-curved suggestions budding there.

Posture unconsciously opening to welcome your pure light into his long-shadowed world while holding your loving gaze in mesmerized thrall.

As if determined to thoroughly archive this oasis of serenity and unconditional love in his consciousness so it may fortify whatever grueling battles destiny demanded they wage next.

Then in a single blink and a slight dip of your chin, the spell abruptly dissolved back into hyper-vigilance.

Yet even with the mercenary's legendary ice reformed across those exquisite Nordic features, perpetually braced for the next onslaught - a spark continued flickering in the hooded caverns of his stare.

A faint ember of something intangible yet transcendent now eternally kindled behind his armored exterior.

All because you'd reminded Cloud one of his most precious intangible dreams had been manifested into cherished reality...even under the most desolate conditions.

[c0smoshit]

Do you want me or do you not?

⋆ ࣪. ℙ𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 ≫ Cloud Strife/Reader

⋆ ࣪. ℙ𝕝𝕠𝕥 ≫ Cloud saw a letter with his name written on it, inside your diary

⋆ ࣪. 𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 ≫ angst!, reader not being present, guilt, not proofread!!

⋆ ࣪. 𝔸/ℕ ≫ I'm back again!! I don't like this drabble really much but I've spent sm time writing it that I thought I'd post it lol. Sorry if it's a bit shitty 🤧

⋆ ࣪. 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥 ≫ 1718

"Do you want me or do you not?"

His hands held the once hated paper as if it was worth millions of gils.

Cold fairies travelled up his spine, reminding him of the future he will never have with you.

A part of him was still attached to the past, a great part. That was his way to cope with everything that had happened in his life, swimming in a deep, deep pool of sorrow and unreached dreams.

Maybe he shouldn't have taken that path a long time ago.

Maybe he shouldn't have fallen deeply from your silk hands, following people he knew didn't speak to him like you did.

Or maybe his destiny was to end up like this, alone again.

His steps were curiously more careful, his inner voice telling him ( shouting at him ) that he should've been more careful.

But who could really blame him?

. . .

"Hey there"

Sometimes you would greet him with a smile, which he didn't return. Or some whispered out "hi", but this wasn't your usual greeting.

Your arms enveloped him for an instant, your cheek against his chest as you pressed further into him.

He could smell you and he liked it, he always liked clean ambiences. Something weird as he constantly had to smell Midgar's dirty air, but he didn't mind smelling sweet, fruity shampoos.

You parted from him as his hands stayed still against his sides, afraid of moving them too much.

As soon as he sat on a stool in the bar, you had a drink already waiting for him.

And he hated it.

He knew that he was being such a dick, but his mind couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable by your warm and so pleasant touches.

He wanted to be happy just for once, god you were giving him his favourite drink!

But weighs and weighs of stress and unsolved problems occupied more volume than his own welfare.

"Do you not like it?"

His gaze then looked at your confused eyes.

"I'm sorry I thought you did, I can always ch-"

"It's alright"

That's it?

You got nothing more to say than that?

His eyes looked at your ... he wasn't going to lie, he really did not know how to read the emotions you had hiding between those gorgerous orbs.

And he wished he did

So as your hands quickly retrieved themselves from changing the liquid, you were back to the chores Tifa probably told you to please do.

He wanted to go, not because you were there but because he was suddenly so nervous he needed "fresh" air.

So that's what he did, not before muttering a low "thanks" and wishing you a good night before stepping outside the bar once again.

He surely didn't want to go home, he didn't want the sun to come up, but on top of all of those wishes, he didn't know what he wanted to truly do.

So his feet, followed by a loud metallic "clank!" that quieted down the louder rumble of the city, dragged him through alleys.

His eyes looked everywhere, dimly lighted appartaments, people that were still returning home from work.

Would they visit their kids?

Their cats? Dogs?

Their partnerts?

He wouldn't wish anyone to be him.

And he ceirtanly day-dreamed about becoming some stranger on the streets.

He often recieved comments from some boys about how handsome he was, that he surely had a long pile of women on his palm.

But was it really worth it?

He didn't need women to love him, he didn't need nobody to love him.

Nobody but someone to hold at night, someone to lull him back to sleep after a rough night.

( he needed you )

. . .

And yet he was here, waiting for you to walk back into your room as he stared into the blank wall.

He remembers the day he moved in next door to you in Midgar, both of your rooms were so different you made him self-concious about his own decisions of decoration.

The way you would lit up the darkness of his empty room the moment you placed your feet inside of it.

But now they all remained just as memories

Memories that soon would dissapear into the void of his enigmatic mind.

He knew there was going to be a time that his brain, naturally, would forget how your face looked like.

How your voice sounded like.

The warmth of your shy touches against his skin.

And he didn't want that time to come, not ever.

But he was far, far away from where it all had started. The nostalgia of your steps as you guided him through Midgar, Nibelheim ( although he knew it like the back of his hand ) Gold saucer. . .

And finally, your room

Which was the place he was standing on right now, trying to read a note you wrote who knows when.

He knows he shouldn't be doing this, rumaging through your personal belongings. But once he had opened your diary and saw his name written on it, he had to take a look.

. . .

" He feels like a ray of sun after a storm, warm and welcoming you back to the sweet and beautiful world you once knew "

" Today I walked with him all through sector 5, he was so cute waiting for me while I asked him which clothes he liked most "

" I don't want to lose him ever again, not after what happened today "

" Maybe he likes Aerith, I see the way his eyes linger on her smile for quite a while "

" Maybe I'm being annoying but I don't get why he doesn't want me to take him home! We live right next to eachother >:( "

" Yesterday I laughed a lot when Tifa called him an angry chocobo, he sure looks like one of those big birds "

" I wonder what he thinks of me. .

. . .

And then he saw it, a ruffled up small paper smashed against the last two pages of the little book. But when he grabbed it, he wished he didn't.

At first he found it quite hard to read as he got used to how you would normally write, but it was clear that you were upset in this one.

There were also some harsh drawn lines on top of your words, a mess of your thoughts and anger. All of the slurred out words came to the same conclusion.

Did he want you or did he not?!?

It is all so confusing, first he speaks to me kindly, he even cracks a few jokes! But then he comes back to this... cold and closed personality. Maybe I'm being dumb about this, maybe he just sees me as a friend just like he would with Barret or Tifa. Well, Tifa... Why am I being jealous of her? I don't want to feel like this, she has all the rights to be close to him. Hell, she was her bestfriend ever since they were little kids. But then again, why does he speak to me like he isn't interested in me??

Why does he talk to me like that if so?

He turned his eyes out of those last words, now understanding why you acted like that whenever he was around you.

Why you were gone now.

The first feeling that flooded his entire organism was guilt, that familiar clench inside his lower stomach. Then he went over 10 different ways he could have had you with him right now.

And they all ended up talking

Just that simple, right?

But the way his mind would automatically go blank whenever you spoke to him about something serious, the innability to express his real feelings without letting out lies instead.

And to add up to how deeply dumb he felt, it was a surprise for him to have just discovered that you actually felt the same for him ever since.

. . .

Going inside a cave wasn't really a good idea thanks to all the cons it has, confusing as a maze, bad lighting and of course, how cold they usually are.

So he wasn't really surprised that after the group had divided itself, you all ended up kind of lost. Next to Barret, he tried to stay calm as he tried to search Tifa, Red and, of course, you.

"Where the hell are we?"

Barret's loud voice echoed through the hard walls, making Cloud flinch as he tried to guide themselves into the exit.

After walking for quite a while, he found a strange section inside the cave that was way colder than the other ones. And when he was about to step into the other section next to it, he heard you.

But he didn't hear the chatting he had thought he would have listened, instead he heard a loud gasp, followed by some shoes ruffling.

And by the time his eyes were searching for you, he looked up to see you almost crushing him down into the ground. But of course, he was fast enough to catch you.

A blur of voices surrounded his mind, but the only thing that it was paying attetion to was the way your cool body fit in between his arms.

Your arms curled up against his chest as your mouth moved, probably surprised to had fallen into his arms instead of hard rocks.

. . .

He never will forget how you felt on his arms.

Reminiscing about past events had became his usual routine whenever he thought about you, he couldn't do anything more either way.

But it was pointless now, no matter how hard he tried to imagine yourself again, you weren't there.

And it was now when he finally had figured out why his words seemed not to seep out of his mouth as smoothly as usual with you.

Right after the group had started to live normal lifes again after the meteor, you were gone, far away from his reach. Or maybe you were right beside him, who knows.

He often wondered if you still dreamt about what happened in Midgar, Nibelheim, Junon...

He needed to find you.

But where shall he start?

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

Zack would be so stupidly possessive over Cloud when the blond woke up. He’d spent four years mildly aware of the shit Hojo was doing to the two of them and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

Then he’d spent another year hauling Cloud across continents, looking after the blond and protecting him from everyone and everything. Had done absolutely everything he could to get the two of them to safety together.

So like fuck was he going to let some random he either didn’t know or barely knew come between the two of them and try and take Cloud away from him now.

[prismaticpichu]

Tw for descriptions of Blood/Injury ❤️

Major angst- Nibelheim- what even is this?

~

The man's face contorted in what could only be described as unfathomable pain, mercifully sedated by the numbing haze of sleep yet still potent enough to cause the beaded visage of pale skin to shift and furrow against whatever it was that was plaguing him. Shallow and strained breaths scythed through his lips like invisible blades, each labored slice erratically laced with a faint but unmistakable groan or hiss that rode the tormented undercurrent of his respiration, mercury-pink bangs spilling like sweaty tendrils over the taut countenance and wetly brushing his cheeks as the man tossed and turned against the pillow. His hands clutched at the crinkled blankets, desperate yet feeble, as if a small child trapped in the throes of a nightmare—unable to awaken.

Zack had never felt so helpless in his life.

“Seph…” The First’s voice was failing him, his legs boneless and watery as he made his way across the bedroom, his breath slowly withering away to a rattled breath as he kneeled beside his friend. “Hey… can you hear me, pal? It’s me… it’s Zack. I’m right here now.”

Strained silence, filled only with the strained mumbles and groans

Zack swallowed thickly.

“What’s going on up there? What the heck happened…?” Blue eyes blinked back the encroaching mist, batting away the horrid memory. Batting away all of it—all of it was horrid, from the moment he and Seph stepped foot in that accursed Reactor to the grisly contours of the Makonoids to the vague migraine Seph suffered to the name arching above the chamber to the questions surfaced to the way his vague headache suddenly…

Zack’s eyes boiled with mist.

Raw, guttural—like a wounded animal letting out a blood-curdling shriek of pain. Never had Zack heard Seph scream like that before; never had he heard anyone scream like that before, so utterly agonized and vile, as if the man’s insides were being set ablaze from the inside, and spinning around in a tempest of terror to see Seph’s hands clawing into his skull. Crimson gushed and blossomed over the topmost silver strands, emerald eyes blazing and wide, his mouth pried agape as the agonized scream tore through his asunder and erupted like a shrill grenade around the Mako and machinery.

And he collapsed, crumpling.

“SEPH!”

He caught the man before he could make impact, a warm splash of blood spitting against his chest as the man crumbled into his lap—continuing to hiss and shriek, his eyes now clamped, convulsing and shaking, continuing to violently clasp his skull as if it were in danger of bursting.

“Oh my god… oh my god…” Zack’s body was torn between cradling his friend and pulling Seph’s bloodied nails away from his scalp, his heart palpitating at a painful frequency, his breath turning against him and constricting in his throat. “Seph… Seph! What’s wrong?! What the hell is going on?! Gen—GENESIS! Do SOMETHING.”

Desperate, his gaze shot up to the crimson SOLDIER, whose once vulpine eyes had now been completely eclipsed and subdued into an inexplicable terror of his own. Mouth ajar, he took several shaky steps back—wing quivering, color leeched from his face.

“I… I don’t… This wasn’t supposed to—“

“No… NO.” Seph hissed through his caged jaws, vaguely kicking against the metal, writhing and tensing in Zack’s trembling arms. “NO.”

“Hey, hey…!” Zack was trying his best to soothe his friend, holding him against his chest with fierce, unbridled intensity. “Hey, hey…—Oh my god… holy shit… Your scalp—CLOUD!”

Sephiroth kicked again, quaking and wriggling, his lungs never stopping to inflate again.

“CLOUDDDD!” he shrieked at the top of his lungs, shrieking to be heard over the man’s hellish screams. “I NEED HELP!”

He swept bloody ribbons away from his friend’s forehead, leaving damp streaks, revealing a ten-fingered gash raked beneath the mercury nest.

“Shit shit shit shit shit…! Genesis! Get the trooper outside! PLE—“

The words caught in his throat as Zack looked up and saw the winged man backing away with trembling, boneless legs, his expression bloodless and petrified, a faint ghost of tears casted on his sickly visage as he hobbled backwards and his breath hitched and he tried to mouth words too thick and too real to break through the clog of cotton.

“I’m… I’m sorry—“ was all he could manage, and that was the last Zack saw of him before Sephiroth’s agonizing cries broke Zack’s world into splinters.

“CLOOOUUDDDD!”

Kicking.

“Oh my god…. SIR!”

Trembling.

“What the heck is going on with him…?!”

“I… I don’t know…!”

Hissing.

“We gotta get him back…”

“Oh my god… SHIT. I don’t have any Cures on me.”

Screaming.

“Is it a seizure…?!”

“… I don’t… maybe?! Oh gods… his head—“

“Here! My scarf! Make a tourniquet!”

And screaming.

“You and Tifa know the way back…?”

“Yeah—though it’s gonna take longer without the bridge.”

“Shit… Alright, let’s go.”

And screaming.

“Hey… hey…! Ow—it’s ME, Seph. We got you. We’re getting you help.”

And screaming.

“Don’t worry… shhh… I’m not letting you go, bud. Just hang in there.”

And hissing.

“Just a little bit longer, pal… We’re almost there.”

And panting.

“Hey… hey! He needs help! Where’s the doctor…?!”

And mumbling.

“Alright, bud… alright. I’m handing you to the medics now.”

And breathing.

“I’ll be right there, Seph…”

And further away from the Name.

Jenova…

The catalyst that had been spoken.

Jenova.

Awakened.

Jenova.

Jenova.

Jenova.

~

To be continued? :3c

[katiemakena]

[strayheartless]

Cloud wakes up one morning in Edge, and everything is normal...but he feels like someone something is missing. He's used to it, his memory is shit these days, whatever.

Squall wakes up one morning, in his queen sized bed, all alone. Huh, that's unusual totally normal, like he gives a shit.

Neither of them realize time and space warped them into the same world for 10 years, where they got together, then warped them out and erased them from each other's memories and worlds.

😈

I know I asked for this but HECKIN’ OWWWWWWWWWWWW.

***

Denzel is pretty used to Cloud taking a second to recognise him in the morning. Tifa and Marlene say it happens sometimes, and he’s lived with them long enough now to know that it’s not personal. Still, this morning seems particularly bad.

Cloud is staring at him perplexed across the breakfast table, ignoring his own toast. He blinks hard a couple of times, then shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut tighter. He looks upset by something, maybe even a little confused.

“Cloud, is everything okay?” Tifa asks from the sink and Cloud opens his eyes breathing deeply.

“Yeah,” he mutters, reaching out to push Denzel’s bangs out of his eyes.

“Has your hair gotten lighter?” He asks and Denzel makes a confused sound.

“I don’t think so,” he says.

Cloud pulls his hand back, letting the hair flop back into place and Scrubs at his face, frustrated.

“Hey,” Tifa rounds the table and kneels next to his chair. “You sure your okay? You look spooked,”

Cloud let his head hang for a second, gripping at his own neck so hard that Tifa reaches out to extract his nails from his nape.

“I- I feel like I’m missing something. Like someone should be here and they’re not. But I can’t tell who,”

“Marlene?” Zel guesses but Cloud shakes his head.

“Were you dreaming about Zack and Aerith again?” Was Tifa’s guess.

“Not that I can remember,” Cloud shakes his head again and lets Tifa take over massaging his neck.

They were all familiar with Clouds spotty memory. Sometimes he forgot Aerith was dead. Sometimes he would wake up and insist that he had to go meet Zack at some hole in the wall pizza joint that hadn’t existed since Meteor fall. On really bad days he didn’t talk, just stared at everyone like he didn’t know who they were. Like he was completely vacant.

“Do you want me to call your Clients for today and postpone deliveries?”

“No,” Cloudbutted his head against Tifa’s shoulder, something he’d taken to doing as a sign of affection when his words were failing him.

She ruffled the back of his hair and let him get on his way.

There weren’t many deliveries that day anyway. His first was Cid and as he walked into the shop he almost dropped the box at the sight of Shera. He doesn’t know why, but he hadn’t expected her to be there. The Workshop looked wrong too. Had Cid painted the hill of the Gum- airship? Cloud tsked. He liked the red better.

“Hey kid, Y’alright?” Cloud jumps again. He swings round to see Cid squinting at him from behind his shouldering goggles.

“Yeah,” he not-quite-lies. “Just having an off day… feel like I’ve lost something. Don’t know what,”

Cid snorts.

“That’s called getting old son,”

“That’s called almost drowning in Mako twice chief,” Cloud bites back, but there’s no real heat to it.

“Yeah yeah, you’re a walk-in’ talking’ miracle. I got it,” he hands Cloud the cash for delivery and Cloud pockets it without checking. Even if it wasn’t all there, he knew Cid was good for it. Even if he wasn’t Cloud would let him off. He always did for friends.

“You got many more o’these?” Cid asked, sucking on the end of his cigarette. Cloud thought it was a tooth pick… weird.

“Couple. Headed out to Kalm next.”

“Well you be careful, it’s gettin’ Squally out there,”

Cloud freezes. The image of a face burns itself into the forefront of his mind. A hand holding his that just a touch bigger. A body in his bed that he knows is going to start out on the other side of the bed, but will inevitably Koala itself to his back. A dumb jacket with an even dumber white fur collar. A slim set of hips adorned with far too many belts to be practical. A Gunblade. A scar across the bridge of a wonderfully sloped nose. A set of warm Hazelnut eyes.

Squall.

Clouds knees give out, hitting the tiled floor with a horrific crack.

He Screams at the sky.

****

“Can I help you Quistis?” Squall grumbles as he flips through the mornings reports. She’s been stood in his office too long and if she keeps staring at him like that he’s going to end up growsing something he regrets.

Fuck, his head is pounding.

“You seem off today.” She says like it’s an off hand comment. Squall resists the urge to roll his eyes.

“Didn’t sleep well.” He mutters, scribbling his signature at the bottom of a page. The next set of papers is about refurbishments to the western corridors. He massages between his eyes with the knuckle of his pointer finger.

Hadn’t they done that at the beginning of last year? Sora had talked his ear off about it being too much of a rabbit warr-

Who?

Squall blinks. Who the hell was Sora?

“Are you sure that’s all it is? Rinoa says you’ve been pretty in and out all day,”

“And I suppose Rinoa is the foremost authority on my moods,” it’s a unnecessary bite, one that he doesn’t even know the reason for. His wife is absolutely the authority on his mood swings. She’s generally the only one that can handle them.

No she isn’t.

Squall puts his pen down and places his head in his hands. His headache felt like someone was drilling into his eyes and temple. He just wants today to be over. He wants to go back home to C-

To Rinoa.

Quistis looks at him for a second, before seemingly deciding it’s not worth arguing with him. Instead she waits for him to finish signing papers while she looks out of his office window.

“Sure is Cloudy today,”

There’s a crash from behind her and as she spins around she finds Squall on his hands and knees on the carpet heaving up the pasty and Coffee she’d brought him. He’s sobbing hysterically as his mind faces a million miles a second and his head feels like it’s going to explode with the pressure of the memories.

A hand a little smaller than his, that was calloused and almost always covered in motor oil. A tiny waist that was just right for wrapping his arms around in the early mornings and late nights. Broad shoulders clad in paldrons. A wold at his heart. A wolf in his ear. The most dazzlingly blue eyes Squall has event seen. Bright blond hair. A stupidly large sword wrapped in bandages so he “didn’t hurt the kid”. A scarred sternum and torso under his hand.

Cloud.

Squall passed out from the pain.

[salternateunreality2]

Time Travel AGSZC AU (AKA 2-for-1 whump hammer on Sefikura) - Opening

from the @strayheartless archives <3

Sephiroth and Cloud are fighting and jump into the past, but doing so knocks Jenova’s hold loose on both of them, and reduces Cloud's enhancements, so now they're in the middle of the desert outside of Midgar, Cloud is dying of injuries because his healing factor is gone, and Sephiroth is a mess of guilt and horror at what he's done.

Their sudden appearance is noticed by the Turks, who fly out with Genesis and Zack to see what's up. They see their lovers, Cloud a bloody heap, surrounded by Tsurugi's pieces, Sephiroth on his knees casting healing spell after healing spell, completely disheveled and unresponsive.

Zack: SEPH?! What- CLOUD?!?! GENESIS!!! 

Genesis dives in immediately, shoving Sephiroth aside when he realizes he's just casting wildly. Sephiroth slumps, his arms barely supporting his torso, hair a wild mess around him as he stares at the ground with unfocused eyes, heedless of his own (albeit minor) wounds. Zack runs up with Genesis and tries to get Sephiroth to make eye contact. Nothing's getting through to him though, so Zack just works on healing Sephiroth's wounds. 

Genesis is concentrating hard. Eventually, he gets Cloud close enough to stable and starts yelling at the Turks to help. Under his direction, Reno, Rude, and Zack finish what they can on Cloud, wrap him up, and strap him to a stretcher.

Genesis: Sephiroth. I don't know what's going on, but you are going to listen to me and you are going to get up and get in that helicopter. Now. 

Sephiroth drags himself up, Zack supporting him, and they get on while Reno and Rude secure Cloud. He can't look at any of them. He can't think. He can barely breathe. He feels their questions, but he can't make sense of the words. Following orders is the best he can do. 

—--

Hojo is at the landing pad when they touch down, hearing that Sephiroth might be injured and unresponsive. Cloud is removed first, Zack and Reno running alongside his stretcher, giving the medical team an update. 

Genesis: Sephir- 

Hojo: Sephiroth! Come ou- GURK! 

Sephiroth is securely strapped into a helicopter seat one second, and the next, his hand is crushing Hojo's throat, lifting him off the ground, Masamune through his gut. Then in the next second, before even Genesis can do anything, Hojo is on fire and hurtling over the edge of the building, his screams only croaks through his crushed windpipe. Everyone stands in silence, mouths agape, when suddenly, Sephiroth jumps after him. 

Genesis: SHIT. Call Hewley and a lockdown! 

Rude nods and calls it in, and Genesis starts making his way down the side of the building only a little more safely than Sephiroth did.

What he finds at the bottom is horrifying; a smoldering mess of deformed humanoid sludge with a sword through it, and Sephiroth with broken legs from his landing, leaning on the sword, glaring at the mutated sludge. No civilians are hurt, and fortunately, everyone is standing back. 

Genesis: Sephiroth? 

No response. 

Genesis: Sephiroth, you're hurt. 

Nothing. 

Genesis: Sephiroth, I'm walking to you now. I'm going to put my arm around you, and you will come with me calmly. Mission complete. Do you understand? 

Nothing. Then, a slight nod and grunt. 

Genesis carefully grabs him around the waist, forcing Sephiroth to lean on him while lifting his entire body with one arm. Genesis barks at the onlooking SOLDIERs, Turks, and infantrymen to "clean that up" and "get that door open" as he takes Sephiroth in through a side entrance, then to a service elevator. Angeal runs up as they're waiting for the elevator. 

Genesis: Angeal, take his other side, we're going to the SOLDIER clinic. 

Angeal: *nods and obeys, trusting Genesis implicitly*

They reset Sephiroth's bones so they heal correctly, and he doesn't make a sound. That's normal for him, sure, but not even a huff or a hitch of breath comes out during the whole process, which would have a normal man screaming.

He can't look at them. It hurts too much. The betrayal is too much. How he hurt them is too much. What he did to Cloud and Zack... Sephiroth stays in his shell.

Meanwhile, Zack is pacing as the medics work on Cloud. He's ready to jump in at any second if they ask; his magic power is strong as a SOLDIER, though he's not as talented of a mage as Cloud, Genesis, or Sephiroth. Then Cloud starts seizing.

There's not much they can do, just keep him on the gurney, protect his IVs, and tilt him on his side to prevent choking. But it calms down eventually, and they get back to work.

Finally, Cloud is wrapped like a mummy, blood in one IV, medicine in another. They try a mako drip since his file says he is enhanced, but it makes the seizures start up again, so they turn it off. Zack is left alone with Cloud, watching his breath fog up his oxygen mask, holding his hand, shaking and crying quietly.

Then Zack gets a call. From Cloud.