Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Family ❯ You Don�t Mean That ( Chapter 16 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Family

Disclaimer: We do not own any characters of Final Fantasy. They are the property of Square Enix and Sony. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Pairing: Sephiroth/Cloud
W A R N I N G: This is about male pregnancy (possibly) and male/male relationships. We are letting you know now what the relationships WILL contain. So, if you are AGAINST such pairings, please find something else more to your liking, you have been WARNED.

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Special thanks to: those who have read and didn't review thanks for reading thus far. We hope you enjoyed it.

oOoOoOo

Chapter 16: You Don't Mean That

The ride to Nibelheim was peaceful and uneventful. Sephiroth had hired out a mini-van which Zach was now driving surprising carefully, considering the hap-hazard way he usually did things. Sephiroth had never bothered to learn how to drive because he'd felt no need to…. He'd always had someone else to do it for him.

And besides which, if he needed to get somewhere fast, he just normally ran, at top speed, without so much as even breaking into a sweat. That was one of the advantages to being super human.

Zack could run at top speed too, but only for a short distance before he had to take a break. However, the dark haired man could still take out a league of enemies until his ability to outrun them kicked back in. He was a top rate 1st Class SOLDIER after all, as well as Sephiroth's second-in-command. And the General was glad to call him a friend.

While Zack and Sephiroth were up front of the mini-van, Cloud was nestled comfortably in the middle row next to the window. He'd slept for the majority of the trip, the only way he had been able to deal with the nausea that the swaying vehicle was causing him.

Aerith, who had tagged along at her boyfriend's insistence, sat pressed up tight against the sliding door on the same bench seat as Cloud. She didn't mind that he was taking up most of the room….she was tiny anyway.

All their belongings had been thrown into the back seat, Zack bemoaning at how many bags Aerith had packed.

“What?” she'd said, trying to defend herself.....“Cloud's taking far more than me!”

“That's because he's packing for two….What's your excuse?” Zack had teased, before pushing and shoving the last bag in, wedging it down tightly. “All aboard who's going aboard…”

It was now a little past mid-day, hours since when they had first started their journey. But, at last, the little group had finally arrived at Cloud's childhood home.

Not much had changed in the three years Cloud had been gone. He looked around him at the same old buildings he used to know….gazing up at the same skyline that never seemed to change.

Stumbling wearily out of the van, exhausted even though he had slept for about eight hours, he was thankful that Sephiroth was at his side to catch him.

The little blond smiled gratefully up at his lover, appreciative for his support and strength, holding on tightly to the tall mans arm as he led the way purposely forward, Zack and Aerith following in their wake.

It was only a short walk to their intended destination, and upon arrival, Sephiroth rapped at the door sharply with his knuckles, turning to look down at the little blond and give him a smile of encouragement.

Cloud gazed back, adoration shining in his eyes for the silver haired man. Not being able to resist, Sephiroth pulled the small boy into his arms, covering his lips with a kiss.

“Hey, don't mind us…You two wanna make out, that's fine, go right on ahead. Aerith and me, we'll just go back and wait in the van.”

“Zack, don't be such an as-”

The door silently swung open, cutting Sephiroth off mid sentence. A small, petite blonde haired woman stood on the threshold. Her vivid blue eyes scanned the group of friends, landing on the young boy still wrapped protectively in the General's arms.

“Cloud?”

“Hi, mom.” Reluctantly, Sephiroth released his hold on the boy, letting him go forward towards his mother.

Mrs. Strife latched onto her son, clasping him against her in a tight embrace. Then she stepped back to take a good look at him. He had grown quite a bit over the last three years. He was taller and much more muscular now than he had been when he left her.

He looksbetter foranextra bit of brawn, she thought, noticing the fullness of Cloud's face. He still hadn't lost his pretty looks; he was still as beautiful as ever. He had been far too skinny before. It was good to see him plumping out.

Why, even his once flat, scrawny chest had swelled a tiny bit. But the small mounds of flesh couldn't take anything away from the glowing beauty that being pregnant gave him.

She glanced down proudly at his expanding tummy, at the temple of his and Sephiroth's creation….. And she cried.

Cloud, thinking she was crying tears of shame, thinking he had brought disgrace to their family for allowing himself to be in such a condition, stepped away from her. “I'm sorry, mom,” he whispered.

He'd apologized for making her feel embarrassed of him, for it not being a girl that he was bringing home to introduce to her……For falling in love, with a man.

“Why would you be sorry, honey?” his mother asked, her little face screwed up into a puzzled frown.

“Because, of this,” Cloud answered, gently patting his distended stomach. “I've…. I've become a disappointment to you…I've let you down….”

“Oh, darling! Don't you ever feel sorry about being pregnant,” she hastened to reassure him, wiping away her tears with the back of one hand.

“It's all my fault for never telling you there was a possibly you could conceive…….But, we'll talk about that later—you come on in now, and get some rest, you look tired.”

She placed her arm lovingly around Clouds waist, hugging him to her. “You can take a nap in my room until I serve lunch….and oh, don't worry…The sleeping arrangements for you and your friends have all been taken care of,” she said, as she stepped to one side of the door, gesturing for everyone to follow her in.

Sephiroth was the last one to enter the apartment. He took a quick look at Mount Nibel, before disappearing inside with the others.

He didn't know why, but it felt as if the mountain were calling to him.

oOoOoOo

Vincent was missing. He had not been seen since the day before, which was strange, because the tall, dark haired man, though quiet and reserved, had an imposing presence, making him hard to miss, even when he tucked himself away quietly in a corner.

But, he was gone, and nobody knew where the red eyed gunman had run off to, or why.

After their heated kiss yesterday, Cid had left Vincent alone to cool down, to let the ex-Turk get his feelings together. And even though the blond haired pilot had wanted to confront him, had wanted to carry on the kiss from where it had broken off, he had resisted…had forced himself to his own room, and had lain awake most of the night reliving it over and over again, until finally falling into a restless slumber.

He'd woken up bleary eyed and irritable. And with that damn kiss still on his mind….It had even been the vision of his dreams as he'd slept. Well, he was going to put a stop to it right now…He was going to ask Vincent what the hell he had meant by it.

But, when the pilot went to Vincent's room, the door was wide open and the room empty. And, just taking one look at the neatly made bed, it showed Vincent hadn't spent the night in it.

Probably off somewhere sulking about something, he thought. Well, he could damn well sulk on his own. Cid had things to do….He didn't have time to go looking for temperamental drama queens….

But, even though Cid spent the rest of the day trying to dismiss Vincent from his mind, he couldn't forget the kiss…The taste of it, the feel of it against his mouth, the pleasure that radiated down to his boots.

And he knew he had to find the gunman….if he was to get any peace at all.

Cid checked throughout the entire place without any luck, and was just about to leave and begin scouring the city for the brooding man, when Tifa yelled up to him that Cloud and his friends had arrived.

Placing an unlit cigarette between his moist lips, Cid stomped downstairs.

oOoOoOo

As the group of four entered the doors of 7th Heaven, they found themselves showered with confetti and strings of curly ribbon as the occupants inside yelled in unison, “WELCOME HOME, CLOUD!”

The teenager blushed madly, and said a polite thank-you, before quickly moving to sit at the end of the bar. So far, thanks to the loose fitting shirt he wore, no-one had noticed his swollen stomach, and Cloud wanted to keep it that way.

Tifa took her post behind the bar, happily mixing drinks and passing highball glasses of beer around, right along with single and double shots of Tequila, and whatever else the patron of friends could think of as the night wore on.

Her gaze kept drifting towards Cloud. He seemed different somehow—he seemed subdued. And in addition to his odd behavior, she noticed he wasn't drinking any alcohol. Tifa had never known for Cloudnot to drink when a party was going on.

He had stuck to soft drinks and fruit juices the entire time he had been here. And she also wondered why he kept looking at the man sat beside him.

The martial artist didn't take too kindly to the extremely tall, silver haired man who was sticking close to Cloud. He hadn't left his side all night, and she wanted some time to talk to her friend in private.

Sephiroth sensed the anger and jealousy coming his way from the dark haired brunette. He wondered briefly for a moment if there had ever been anything between her and his little cadet….but he let the thought drop as Cloud's fingers sought out his hand, giving a quick squeeze, before releasing his hold just as quickly. Sephiroth smirked to himself, looking around to see if anyone had noticed.

Not that he cared……

His attention was caught by Zack and Aerith. They had their arms entwined, sipping from their glasses, eyes locked together. They were totally in their own little world.

The General inwardly smiled at his friends. They were so smitten with each other. And Zack, for all his bravado about how many women he had slept with, refused to take the lovely Aerith to his bed, declaring he would wait for her until she was ready.

Sephiroth knew for a fact that the dark, spiky haired man had not slept with anyone since he'd been dating her; which was quite a feat for the SOLDIER… considering how bad a flirt and ladies man Zack was.

Turning his attention back to his lover, Sephiroth noticed that the girl behind the bar had finally struck up a conversation with Cloud, leaning provocatively over the counter, her huge breasts all but falling out of her low cut top ……And he also noticed how tired Cloud was looking.

“Excuse me, Tifa?” the General had interrupted as politely as he could, but he still received a cold, hostile glare from the female nonetheless.

“Yes, Sephiroth?” her response was a parody of false sweetness.

“I'm sorry to cut in on your conversation, but we've had a pretty long day and, as you can see, Cloud is clearly exhausted. I think he needs to go to bed now.”

Tifa didn't bother hiding the dislike from her face. He was ordering Cloud to bed…..Who did he think he was? Surely Cloud was going to say something? Make a protest of some sort? And she didn't really buy the story of her friend being tired…..until she looked, and saw for herself the heavy dark circles sagging underneath his beautiful blue eyes—Cloud was literally falling asleep on her! How could she have not seen it?

Throwing the drying towel she held in her hands onto the counter top, she stepped from behind the bar.

“Come. Follow me, I'll show you to your rooms.”

They climbed two sets of stairs, and then walked down a long narrow hallway. The General had to duck four low strung light fixtures, causing Cloud to laugh. Sephiroth smiled down at him. It was good to hear the boy`s laughter, even if it was the result of the first light fitting striking a perfect blow to Sephiroth's forehead!

Tifa stopped, and stood to one side, her arms gesturing to where they would be sleeping for the rest of their visit.

“This is your room, Sephiroth. And Cloud…This is yours,” Tifa said proudly, indicating a room directly opposite from the General's.

The blond said nothing as he turned and walked straight into Sephiroth's assigned room, closing the door behind him.

The look of dismay and puzzlement highlighting Tifa's face was priceless.

“What can I say….He doesn't like sleeping alone,” Sephiroth said, trying to contain the laughter in his voice, as he followed in after his lover, leaving the brunette by herself in the quiet hallway—fuming.

oOoOoOo

So many years had passed since the last time he had come here. He never thought in any of his dreams that what he had found was the one he had been searching for.

Ethereal light softly caressed the cave walls—filling the darkness around him with a warm soft glow. Vincent sat on the cool smooth stone surface of the cavern floor. His right arm supported his upper torso. He had his clawed hand draped over his left leg, while his right leg was stretched out. His eyes were closed, and his head hung low….Lost…. Deep in thought…..

I'm…I'm sorry

The words seemed to float around the room, like a whisper carried on the wind. But it was the whisper that Vincent had been waiting to hear. Now, he shifted his body, the crimson spheres of his eyes lifting at the voice, to solemnly take in the hard shell of all that remained of his true love.

“No, Lucrecia, I am the one who should be sorry,” Vincent replied, speaking the words out loud, even though there was no-one there to hear them.

Why…?

“I failed you, and… because… I should have prevented this,” he answered, standing at the edge of the shimmering pool of water, sweeping a tender hand down her immobile form. A single crystal tear fell from her closed eyes.

“Don't cry, Lu, tears are not becoming of you,” Vincent mildly chastised.

Our… son… where?

Alive?

She was asking him if their son were alive.

“I…” He hesitated, knowing he was going to shred her already broken heart with his answer. “I don't know, Lu,” he painfully admitted. He had been in his coffin, believing both of them to be dead, along with his soul.

Lies!

Nothing but lies.

Hojo told tortured him with the information that his beloved and their child had died. He should have known better than to have listened to anything that bastard had to tell him. He shouldn't……have trusted him.

Now Vincent waited, holding his breath, waiting to hear her reaction. But Lucrecia remained soundless in her mako crystal tomb.

“Did you name him?” he asked, desperately. “Maybe if you tell me his name, it would be easier for me to find him?”

But only silence met his request.

Sighing, Vincent turned to leave. He would get nothing more. With his shoulders sagging and his heart heavy, his thoughts were many miles away… he almost missed the gentle echo that chased urgently after him….

Seph…

Sephiroth…

oOo TBC oOo

A/N: Well, it's coming down to the wire. Vincent now knows the truth about his son and Lucrecia. What will he do? What about Cid? He's quite upset about how things went down between him and Vincent and would like to let the ex-Turk know that you just can't walk away in the middle of a fabulous snogging session. Tifa's not a happy camper either. Does anyone think that Cloud made his intent about his and Sephiroth's relationship clear? Don't know? Well, stay tuned the next chapter.

Mitts & ArchNemesis

oOoOo Teaser for Chapter 17 oOoOo

Tifa wanted to make sure that everything was alright but was stopped when Zack halted her footsteps.

“I wouldn't go up there,” he said.

“Why not?”

“They're fine, Tifa,” Zack shot back.

“How do you know that?”

“Trust me—the only thing that's getting hurt up there is the bed.”