With a groan, I reached over and silenced the insanely cheerful sound of the alarm. When I'd seen it a week ago, the black-and-white plastic cat with a trumpet had seemed like a perfect gift for Zack. The alarm was loud, had a penetrating sound, and would ensure that he'd wake up. If there was one fault that my lover had, it was that he has a hell of a time waking up. But then, considering the hours that he kept, it wasn't too surprising. What was surprising, was the fact that he got any sleep at all.
What time was it anyway? Five thirty in the morning? I still had a couple hours before I had to get up. With a sigh, I snuggled deeper under the covers and reached for my love. My eyes popped open as my hands encountered nothing but air and sheets. Where was he?
Before I could do more than wonder where he was, I heard the door to our bedroom open. I closed my eyes again, he was probably just getting in. Another night with the great General going over the logistics of managing this army, most probably. Welp, that was the price for being the second-in-command to the Mighty Sephiroth.
I listened to the rustle of clothes being taken off and dropped on the floor. I imagined each part of his perfect body being bared. Those beautifully defined shoulders and that chiseled chest. I could spend hours running my hands over that chest of his. The washboard abs...the tapering waist...the slim hips...the lithe legs. The man was cut like you would not believe. Yet with all that muscle, he wasn't stocky and remained lean.
I abandoned all pretense of sleep, opened my eyes, and rolled over so that I could see the reality of what I'd been fantasizing. At the moment, I could only see the thick, tousled mop of his hair. Zack always said that my coloring was exquisite, and was what attracted him to me in the first place. I don't believe him. I'm pale, and blonde. Nothing more to be said. Zack, though, his coloring was simply striking. He had beautiful skin tanned a honey-gold, framed by hair so black it was almost blue, and silver eyes to top it off. Not gray. If'd I meant gray, I would've said gray. No, they were a liquid, burnished silver. A silver that glowed constantly, thanks to the Mako-treatments. Even from a distance, his eyes would shine like the stars.
I think it was his eyes that I'd noticed first. They were so alive. Even without the Mako-glow, I'd bet that they were beautiful. When he looked at me with his eyes, I imagined that his sharp eyes could see to the very heart and soul of me. I could never lie to him when he looked at me, as if he held a magic spell over me.
He must've felt my eyes on him because he looked up with a grin on his generous lips. I held out the sheets to him, and he slid in beside me. I immediately burrowed my way against him, warming his chilled body with my own.
"I didn't wake you, did I?" I felt him place a kiss on my brow. I shook my head, just happy to be near him, to feel his strong arms around me.
"When do you go back on duty?" He shrugged. I was hoping it wasn't for a while - a day at least. He needed a rest. He had bags under those beautiful eyes of his. His body still hadn't gotten rid of all the tensions of the day, and night. I tilted my head back to look at him and noticed a furrow between his brows, a sure sign that he had a tension headache. His neck and shoulders must have been full of knots.
I motioned with my hand for him to roll over on his stomach. While he was rolling, I reached in the nightstand and snagged the massage oil - vanilla scented. My favorite. By the time I was done with him, he'd be smelling like a batch of fresh-baked cookies. I could feel the drool starting already. Then again, that could just be the fact that I had Zack's flawless body under my fingertips.
I warmed a few drops of oil on my hands before I started at his shoulders. Yep. Full of knots. I could practically feel each individual muscle. No wonder he had a headache. Zack let out a groan as I rubbed and kneaded at his shoulders and neck. I worked on every single knot that I could find until his shoulders were completely relaxed. I moved my way up the column of his neck, relaxing those muscles, running the pads of my thumbs along the lines of muscle and tendon, adding extra pressure along the pressure points.
Zack was making lots of contented noises. He says I give the best massages he's ever had. He was just lucky I loved to give them.
I grinned as I started on his back. It was usually really relaxing for me to give massages, but whenever I did Zack, I always got real horny. Hmm, scratch that. Everytime I was anywhere near Zack, I always got real horny. By the time I was done with his back, I was sporting a raging hard-on. Straddling him as I was, I'm sure he could feel it. Hoping that he hadn't relaxed so much that he'd fallen asleep, I leaned down to nibble on his ear.
"Better?" I whispered.
He stretched and turned his head, a smile on his lips. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I kissed him before he could respond. I slid off his back to lie next to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and opening my mouth to deepen the kiss. His tongue stroked mine as he shifted to his back, his hands guiding my legs until I was straddling him again. I leaned down, eager to nuzzle his neck, as his hands wandered along my thighs until they settled on my rear. His strong hands started to knead and stroke as I licked my way to his shoulders.
I startled as I felt a finger caress down my ass. We hadn't gone all the way yet, but I figured it was only a matter of time before he got over his hang-up with my relative age. For a flirt like him, he had a remarkable set of ethics about sex. I was just lucky I got past his self-control so that we could touch and caress each other to our hearts content. I snorted to myself. The idiot. As if a few weeks would make a difference. I couldn't wait until he made me completely his. Until then, I guess that meant that I was still technically a virgin. That was kinda funny, considering everything else we'd been doing.
It was my turn to groan as he continued to caress me. Aroused as I was, that slight caress was both incredibly intimate, and incredibly pleasurable. With each pass of his finger, I felt a jolt of pleasure that reached to the very core of me. Since I wanted him to feel just as good as he was making me feel, I continued to nibble my way down his chest.
I've mentioned already how much I love his chest, haven't I? Even if I have, they deserve another comment. The man has the most perfect set of pecs that I've ever seen on anyone. Ripples upon ripples of hard muscle. Yum. When he's in a playful mood, he can move the muscles in them independently of each other, which always sets me too laughing. He just looks so silly doing that, especially when he waggles his eyebrows in that 'come hither' way.
Smiling, I took one of his dark nipples in my mouth, rolling the tiny nub around with my tongue. Zack's hands moved from my rear to travel up my back, his light touch sending shivers down my spine. He buried his fingers in my hair and pulled me up for another kiss.
Laying full length on him, I wrapped my arms around his neck. By the Ancients, the man was a good kisser. Every time that his lips touched mine, my thought processes turned to mush, and I was helpless in his arms. Gently, almost languidly we stroked each other with our tongues.
Zack's body tensed for a moment beneath mine, and in a flash, I found myself on my back, blinking up into his amused silver eyes. Smiling, I lifted my face for another kiss as my arms attempted to bring him closer. My strength was no match for his, and a teasing light entered his eyes as he resisted. Instead, he ran a palm down my side, traveling to the outside of my thighs. With a sigh I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his callused hands on my body. Slowly, he ran light fingers along my stomach and I arched into his touch. Feeling the sudden warmth of his mouth on my nipple, I cried out.
Distracted as we both are by his tongue trailing down my chest, neither of us noticed the steady pounding at our door. I thought it was the pounding of my heart until Zack lifted his head, a quizzical look on his face. We both lay there for another moment before we realized that the pounding was someone at the door, and that someone wasn't going to go away.
Hanging his head, my love muttered under his breath, "Shit. Just when things were getting interesting. . ." Flashing me a grin, he kissed the tip of my nose and rolled off me, reaching for his pants. Slipping them on, he opened the bedroom door and moved to answer whoever was making that racket.
Rolling on my stomach, I pulled the blankets over me and peered out from under them, wondering what was so urgent that they had to wake the Second in Command of the entire Shinra Army at . . . I glanced at the clock . . . not even six thirty in the damn morning?! With a groan I buried my face into a pillow. The sound of an unmistakable voice snapped my head up in surprise.
It was the General. Sephiroth was waiting outside the door, his normal look of distance on his face. Zack had been familiarizing me with the General enough that I didn't feel like a *complete* fool around him, but I still felt awe whenever I saw him, or met with him. As if feeling my stare, he turned his face in my direction and to my surprise, I could see amusement light in his glowing Mako-green eyes. Turning back to Zack, he murmured something too low for me to hear and Zack burst out laughing.
Eyes wide in embarrassment and feeling an intense blush crawl up my cheeks, I hid myself under the blankets. When I heard, not one, but two amused chuckles I blushed harder. I burrowed deeper under the blankets, glad that they couldn't see my glowing cheeks. He knew. The General knew what we'd been doing. . . Oh Ancients! How was I supposed to face him after this?
Lifting just enough of the blankets to peek out, I tried to make out the conversation.
"So Wutai refused?"
Sephiroth nodded, "Shinra wants us to take the Army and smash it to the ground."
Zack walked to a chair, and sank into it, "Shit."
The General nodded and let his head hang slightly, his hair flowing down the side of his face, keeping me from seeing his expression.
"When?"
"Not for a while, yet. Reeve convinced the old man to try one more time. He's sending his son."
"His son?" Zack asked as he leaned back to sprawl in the chair. The General leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, and nodded again.
"Shinra wants his son to take on more duties. Rufus and the Turks will be leaving in a couple of days. But before that, and the reason I'm here so early, is that Shinra wants Rufus to take some Army Regulars, and one SOLDIER, with him. As a show of force."
Zack sighed, "Let me guess. You want me to be the SOLDIER."
A tiny smile appeared on Sephiroth's lips, "Right on the first try. Shinra and his son will be here to inspect, and choose, the Regulars to go with them tomorrow. I want you to work with Tseng on security."
Zack nodded, "All right. What about the recruits?" At the General's raised eyebrow, he continued. "Since this is more of a diplomatic mission, the main duty of the Regulars will be drills, most probably, since those look impressive as hell. This could be a great opportunity for the recruits to get a bit of experience."
"True. I'll talk to the other officers a little later. Tseng will meet with you this afternoon."
"Alright. I'll page Tseng later and set up a time." Zack shifted forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. "By the way. How're you doing? I know what a shock it must've been to have Hojo show up at the meeting. What did the bastard want, anyway?"
The General snorted. "What he always wants. He thought he could make the old man convince me to participate in more of his damn 'experiments'."
"So what did you do?"
An icy smile of satisfaction settled on Sephiroth's face. "I told him to go jump in the Lifestream." Zack raised an eyebrow, and I watched in shock as the General's smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "After the last time, when I broke three of his ribs, he knows better than to push now."
"Heh. You'd think a 'genius' like him would get a clue." Zack shook his head in wry amusement. "You know, it wouldn't be too difficult to arrange a little . . . something for our not-so-favorite sadistic bastard."
Sephiroth shot an amused look at my lover, "You know better than that. Hojo may be a 'sadistic bastard', but he *is* good at his work. Shinra's got more guards on duty ensuring his security than even *you* can get through."
Zack gave a lop-sided grin, "Yeah. But it doesn't stop me from hoping that some poor fool will stick a few feet of steel in his back." Zack's expression turned serious, "If he hurts you again, in any way, I may have to become that poor fool myself."
I felt myself blink in surprise. I never knew my lover could be so protective. It took almost another second for the implications to sink in. Looking at the General, I tried to imagine what this 'Hojo' could have done to him to make Zack so angry. I was in another room, but I could still hear the barely restrained rage in my lover's voice. Whatever it was, it must've been a doozy.
Sephiroth shook his head, "No. He knows better than to try anything with me now. I'm much too invaluable to the old man for Hojo to try anything stupid. Besides, Oh Great Protector, I can take care of myself you know. I didn't become the head of the Shinra Army by pure luck."
"I know. But I also know what he did, and what that bastard's capable of. He's a rabid dog. He needs to die. I'm really rather surprised no one's offed him yet."
"It's not for lack of trying. That man's got more lives than a cat."
The General pushed himself off the wall, "I'll be going now. You should get back to bed."
A wide grin was spreading on Zack's face as his gaze moved towards the bedroom. His eyes caught mine and he drawled, "Is that an order?"
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, "Is that all you ever think about?" There was suppressed laughter in his voice.
Never taking his eyes from mine my lover chuckled, "You've seen him. If he was yours, wouldn't that be all you thought about too?"
"Probably."
"Well, there you have it."
I started to choke and my cheeks flamed again. I couldn't believe they were talking about me like that! I tore my gaze from Zack to look at the General. He was looking in my direction now, too, and he met my horrified eyes. Slowly, he gave me a wink and turned to walk out the door. With an embarrassed groan, I drew the covers over my head again, burying my face in the pillows.
Zack climbed back into bed and I glared at him, still blushing. "Oh man, what must he think of me now?"
Grinning, Zack pulled me back into his arms, kissing the tip of my nose. "He thinks you're good for me. Now, where were we before we were interrupted . . .?" The infuriating man kissed me before I could open my mouth to answer. Slowly, he drove me insane again. Not that I was complaining, really, but I do wish he'd stop embarrassing me quite so much!
* * * * *
Glancing at my watch, I sped up, almost running down the corridors. Shit, I was late! While staying in bed with Zack had been a great deal of fun, he'd made me late for morning muster. Grumbling under my breath, I turned a corner and crashed into something. Someone, rather.
"Ow."
Staggering back to catch my balance, I rubbed my forehead. I'd managed to smack my head against the other person's. Hands settled on my shoulders, steadying me, and I looked up to meet amused blue eyes.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
I was struck momentarily speechless. A lazy smile played on the lips of the man I ran into. He was handsome. I had to admit that. Tall, thin, blonde hair slicked back, and utterly sure of himself. He made me feel uncomfortable, the way that he looked at me. As if I was some sort of treat that he couldn't wait to taste.
"I'm sorry. I should've watched where I was going." I apologized. He hadn't taken his hands from my shoulders yet. Glancing past the man, I saw another man standing silently behind him. This second man seemed to be ignoring us.
I took a step back, to get away from the hands that were still at my shoulders. I didn't want this man touching me. I didn't know why, but I didn't. Ignoring my apology, he ran his eyes slowly down the length of my body and then back to my face, which was blushing from the blatant appreciation that was shining from his eyes. His eyes didn't have that tell-tale Mako glow. He wasn't a SOLDIER. The way he was dressed, in an immaculate white suit, he didn't look like he was in the Army either.
Instead of letting me go, he took a step forward. "Where are you off to in such a rush, pretty one?"
"I-I'm late. I'm sorry, I-I really need to get going. . . " I took another step, and like before, he followed instead of letting me go. He stepped even closer in fact, sliding one of his hands from my shoulder to my upper arm, the other moving to cup the back of my neck. This time, instead of just stepping back, I tried to twist away. I was even more unsuccessful. He twisted with my motion, and then suddenly had me pinned against the wall, the length of his body against mine keeping me from moving.
His pale blue eyes were half-lidded and full of desire. Nervous tension was starting to make my stomach clench and my eyes widen as he leaned forward. When I turned my face away, he started to barely trace his lips along my jaw, and I felt his warm breath tickle my ear.
"Don't you think I deserve a little . . . recompense for my inconvenience, pretty one?"
Anger started to replace the surprise, and I didn't care that he was probably some big-shot Shinra executive. I wanted his hands off of me. Now. The time to be polite was over. Even if it got me in trouble, I was getting away from this bastard.
With my free hand, I grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked back. Pain replaced the desire in his suddenly sharp eyes.
"Get your hands off me." I was practically snarling. This bastard had managed to get me pissed. I know I'm small and frail-looking. I also know that because of that, a lot of people assumed that I'm weak and powerless. While that may have been true a few months ago, it wasn't true now. Although I didn't show my full strength and skills during practice, I could see that Zack had trained me well. I could take on any of the over-muscled idiots in my recruiting class. Or, at least, I should be able to. I was even starting to hold my own with Zack in our private training sessions. Compared to Zack, this man was nothing. There was no way I was just going to stand there and let this man do whatever he'd been planning.
He must have seen the growing anger in my eyes because he slowly dropped his hands. He didn't step away though, and I tightened my fist in his hair.
"Step back." The man's eyes started to harden, the surprise being replaced with anger of his own. Without waiting for him to step away, I raisde my now free arm and pushede him away from me.
"Do you know who I am, boy?"
"I don't really care who you are. No one touches me like that unless I want them to."
Instead of waiting for a reply, I walked away, turning into the first corner I saw. Now, I've had my share of propositions, but I'd never had anyone try and grope me in public before. Not anyone I'd just met, that is. Zack did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Dammit, now I was really late! And I'd have to go the long way to muster because of the damn bastard. There was no way I was, going to go back down that corridor and possibly meet up with him again. Cursing under my breath, I broke into a run. If I was lucky, maybe I could still sneak in without anyone noticing. If I was lucky.
* * * * *
Rufus Shinra was bored. Tseng could see it in the way that his boss's normally relaxed movements became even more loose, the way that his eyes were half-lidded, the way that his gaze settled on nothing in apparent non-interest. A bored Rufus Shinra was a very bad thing. Especially for Tseng. A bored Rufus Shinra was apt to do something that would end up with Tseng having to clean up the mess. The last time Rufus had been bored, Tseng had had to find a way to clean up the mess made by two jealous SOLDIERS involving explosives, some rather bizarre morph materia, a cat, and one distraught and hysterical woman. The thought of it was enough to bring back the monster headache that mess had caused Tseng.
Without warning, a blonde streak ran into Rufus from around the corner. Tseng stiffened. He could recognize the suddenly interested gaze of his boss, and the possible headaches for himself. Rufus Shinra had found a way to relieve his boredom. Tseng forced himself to relax and watch without comment as his boss fixed his entire attention on the pretty little blonde that had run into him.
The boy looked in his direction for a moment, and Tseng was hit with a mesmerizing set of turquoise eyes. The boy had on a recruit's uniform of light-blue undress fatigues, and probably didn't come higher than Tseng's own chin. Anyone that small that was still a recruit had to be stronger than he looked, because he looked like a good sneeze was enough to topple him over.
At first, the recruit was stunned enough not to react to Rufus' advances, and advances they were. Rufus would not let the kid get away. But then, Tseng saw the boy narrow his eyes, and he knew Rufus was no longer dealing with a stunned boy. Now, his boss was face-to-face with a SOLDIER recruit.
Tseng bit back a grin as the recruit grabbed his boss's hair. It didn't look like the kid was going to do anything else, so Tseng just stood back and enjoyed the show. If the kid had meant serious harm to his boss, that would've been a different story. If that had been the case, the would-be SOLDIER would've been on the ground, twitching and dead, within seconds. Since all the kid wanted was to be out of the reach of his boss, Tseng let Rufus deal with the recruit on his own.
When the kid said that he didn't care who Rufus Shinra was, Tseng had to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing out loud. The recruit really didn't know who Rufus was to be able to make a bald statement like that, since most people went out of their way to accommodate the son of the single most powerful man on the planet. Silently, Tseng applauded the young recruit.
The tense way that Rufus was standing after the kid had run off warned Tseng that his boss was not a happy man. He put on his blandest face and waited. As he'd expected, his boss turned around and fixed Tseng with a glare.
"You were a lot of help."
Tseng shrugged. "You didn't ask for any help."
"Find out who the boy is. Everything." His boss's eyes were pale blue chips of ice. The kid had gotten the attention of his boss but good. Tseng sighed and nodded. Whoever the kid was, he hoped that he was ready for Rufus Shinra's attention.
End Chapter 2
Ta Da Da Da Da DA! WAKE UP! Ta Da Da Da Da DA! WAKE UP! Ta Da Da Da Da DA! WAKE UP! Ta Da Da Da D-