Archive of Our Own

Sephiroth wasn’t sure what to think of this place. He had been brought to this area for some advanced tests, but those were currently at a pause while the assistants looked over the first set of results, thus leaving him to his own devices. He knew he wouldn't have a terribly long time to himself, and he was curious, so he set out into the surrounding terrain. He made sure not to go far, not wanting to be reprimanded for going past some unspecified limit, but he needed to be outside while he actually had the chance.

It wasn't long before he caught a glimpse of pale hair out of the corner of his eye. It was a youth, that was established quick enough once he followed the flash of color back to its source, and he found himself curious over what the tiny blond thing might be doing out here once he realized it was limping. What was wrong with it? He hadn’t seen another young person before, and was less than certain if this one was allowed to be where it was.

Sniffling as he made slow progress, the little one took no notice of the fact that there was someone else there, let alone that he was being watched. Finally making his way to an area that he apparently deemed acceptable, the small figure sat down and tugged up his pants on one side, looking at his leg.

Slowly creeping closer from the side, he let his eyes run over the tiny form. He was so small. Sephiroth could remember being that little, vaguely, but he did not remember crying like that. Not on his own at least. When he was close enough, he reached out and touched the boy, brushing his fingers over the little one’s shoulder without alerting him first.

The child immediately jerked, yelping, and his eyes went wide as he tried to flail away. That was not quite acceptable, so he tightened his hand into a real grip to keep the boy from running, and a moment later Sephiroth found himself looking at bright blue eyes. “You cry,” he made sure to keep his tone soft as not to terrify him further, and his fingers loosened when the child seemed to calm. He didn't release him fully. “Why?”

He continued to be stared at, and finally, after a long moment, the child spoke. “Who are you?” There was a hesitant tone to his voice, not unexpected given the fact he had been startled rather badly by someone he did not know.

“Sephiroth,” he told the child, running his fingers up the little one’s neck to tip his chin up. Studying his face, he continued. “You did not answer my question.”

The boy blinked at him, eyes flicking to Sephiroth’s hair, then back to his eyes. “I got hurt.”

That wasn’t really an answer, so he tried again. “What did you do?” He looked the boy over, trying to see where all the damage was. After a moment, he was pointed towards a discolored spot on the thin leg.

“One of the others threw rocks.”

He knew what that was called, it just wasn’t coming to him quite yet. Studying the mark, he traced it lightly with his fingers. “They do that often?”

The tiny one sniffed again. “Yeah.”

“Why?” He returned to petting the other’s face and neck, the other hand curling around his leg. So small. He couldn’t remember being let around small people before.

“They’re mean.” The tone of voice was completely certain. Then he paused at looked at him, curiosity clear on his face.

Sephiroth met his eyes easily, curling his fingers around the boy’s jaw. So tiny. “But why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?” Bruise. That was it. He petted around the mark, pleased to have remembered the name properly, and leaned in. Tilting his head, he took a deep breath. A soft little new thing. Were they going to get one of these to replace him once he was too big to do what they wanted any longer?

The child looked confused. “What are you doing?”

“Touching.” Tipping the other’s chin up with his fingers, he tilted his own head down, scenting the boy’s breath as he exhaled.

“Why?”

“You feel different.” He leaned close, touching noses with him. “So small, too.”

The child immediately started to lean back away from him. “What?” The boy blinked at him, then scowled. “Am not!”

He clearly had taken offense to the small comment. “Compared to me,” Sephiroth explained. His fingers moved away from the bruise, running up to rest against the blond’s side. “What do you get called?”

“I’m Cloud,” the little one, Cloud, said as he tried to move away.

He paused, and then let out a soft breath. “Why are you running?” He hadn’t done anything wrong, so he didn't quite grasp the cause of the retreat.

“Cause I don’t know why you keep touching me.”

Sephiroth looked at him. “You are nice to touch. Soft and warm.” He studied him for a moment. “Do you not like it?”

The immediate answer was a shrug. “I don’t know.” He was looking at the older boy with large eyes again. “Whatcha doing out here?”

“I am here for tests.” After a moment, he resumed petting the thin neck, feeling the delicate skin.

The actions earned him another half-shrug. “Why?”

That was an unexpected question. He thought about it a moment, his fingers trailing up along the small throat to the child's jaw line. “Because they want to see if I am up to their expectations.”

“Huh?” He paused in his attempt to move away again, looking at him with curiosity this time. “What’s ex-pec-tations?”

Such a little thing. Petting Cloud’s chest, Sephiroth answered. “What they want me to be.”

“Are you?” Cloud was staring at him with some type of expression Sephiroth didn’t know, but he had stopped moving away from the touching, so that was good.

“I try very hard to be,” he said calmly, hand wandering down, then sliding back up, working under his shirt to see if the skin was as soft there as it was elsewhere.

That got a reaction, too. “Hey!” Cloud's yelp was immediate, and he seemed to have no qualms in swatting at his hand.

The action did cause him to pause, and he made a curious sound at the boy. “What?”

“Why are you touching me?” Almost indignant, that tone, though Sephiroth didn’t understand why.

“I told you that already.” He blinked at him. Had the little one forgotten already?

“It’s weird.” Another scowl was directed at Sephiroth, causing him to blink more.

“Bad?” He curled his fingers against the boy and watched him for a moment. The others liked touching him, so he didn’t see anything wrong with it.

A look of confusion came to the boy's face, and Cloud shrugged. “Mom says adults aren't supposed to touch under stuff. Are you a adult?”

Oh, well, that was easy. “No,” he spoke as he nudged the shirt up. “Only fourteen. That’s not an adult yet.”

The action got a bit of shifting on Cloud’s part. “Are you supposed to touch there? And fourteen is really old….”

“I was touched all over before, nothing bad happened. I can be careful.” He leaned in a bit and shook his hair out of his face, looking at the boy.

Blue eyes studied him closely. “You got really pale hair. Are you sure you aren’t a adult?”

“It was always this color.” He shrugged slightly and ran his finger along Cloud’s nose, still fascinated. “You want me to go?”

Cloud’s eyes crossed as he tried to follow the finger. “Not gonna hurt me?”

“I will try.” He almost sighed. “I break things on accident still, sometimes.”

There was a blink, and he found Cloud looking at his face once more. “Break things?” He seemed confused again, and Sephiroth began to wonder if that was a normal state of being for ones this small. He nodded and lifted his hand.

“Yes. I will be careful, however.”

“Oh.” There was a pause. “Okay.” The confusion cleared at that point, just leaving behind an innocent look.

Nodding slightly, he dipped his head to nuzzle at Cloud’s temple some, fingers playing with his hair. Interesting hair.

Cloud made a soft, curious sound and shifted a bit. Sephiroth could just catch a bit of blue from the edge of his vision and realized the boy was trying to watch him. After a moment, he sat back and collected Cloud into his lap, peering at his face. “You smell interesting.”

“Hey!” Cloud yelped, flailing his arms and legs wildly even as he was being moved. “Not a little kid!”

The actions were unexpected. Catching the boy’s hand, which almost hit him in the face, Sephiroth blinked a bit. “What?”

“Don’t just pick me up!” And the boy was scowling at him. Again.

“Why?” Now that the flailing and danger of being hit on accident was gone, Sephiroth returned to combing his fingers through the spiky hair.

Cloud huffed. “Cause that’s what you do to little kids.”

Oh. “I have never been around children before,” Sephiroth admission was quiet.

“I’m a big kid.” He huffed a bit more, seeming to puff up as he tried to look bigger.

The boy was confusing. After blinking at him a few times, Sephiroth ran his fingers up under the front of his shirt, feeling the pale skin. There were not many muscles under there, and that felt odd, but that was why he was touching.

Though the reaction to that seemed to be more squirming. “Are you sure you can do that?”

And a new random question was formed. The boy was full of them. “What do you mean?”

Cloud looked at him, expression holding just a bit of a sense of missed obviousness in it. “The touching stuff.”

The child was being confusing. “Of course I can.” He petted lightly. “I am.” If he was already doing it, then it simply made sense that he capable.

“Okay. Nobody’s done that before.”

“No?” He moved his free hand to pet at Cloud’s leg, avoiding the bruised spot. He was so tiny, warm, and soft. Why had nobody petted him before?

His answer was a shake of Cloud’s head and a definite “nu-huh.”

That puzzled Sephiroth even more, and he decided to just ignore that thought. He took a moment to tug the shirt off as his curiosity perked up. “You don’t get touched?” It was just… odd to think of something like that.

Of course his actions met with their own form of objection yet again. With something like a growl, Cloud grabbed for his shirt and missed. “Mom gives me hugs.”

He moved the shirt to the side and set it on the ground before turning the boy so that he was facing him. “Those are…?”

The blond's attempts at getting the shirt stopped, and Sephiroth found himself the focus of surprised, and wide, bright eyes. “You don’t know what hugs are?” The boy sounded shocked.

“Should I?” Arching a brow, he waited calmly for an answer, his fingers petting up Cloud’s sides. Soft there, too. After a moment of touch, ignoring the boy’s gape jawed expression, he found himself wrapped up in the boy’s arms. It caused him to pause a moment before he just started to pet down his back, fingers trailing down along his spine.

The arms tightened on him. “This is a hug.”

“Being held in a non-confining grip?” He continued to pet his back, dipping his head to nuzzle at his shoulder. This was unusual. He wasn’t entirely sure how he was supposed to react to this hug thing.

“It’s supposed to be nice.” There was a bit of irritation to the boy’s voice this time.

“You feel warm.” He rested his hands on the boy, holding him close, nuzzling against him and just taking a deep breath.

“I do?” He could feel the soft warmth of the boy’s breath against his neck.

Nodding, he nuzzled at Cloud’s pulse. “Yes,” he focused on the steady beat he could feel under his skin.

“What are you doing?”

“I can hear your heart.”

There was a pause, then Cloud sort of bounced a bit. “Really? That’s neat!”

Nodding again, he slowly lifted his head and studied the boy. Then, after a long moment of focus, he leaned in and pressed a brief kiss against his lips. Moving back after just a second, he looked to see how the other reacted. Sephiroth was well aware that not everyone was pleased with kisses.

Cloud was blinking at him. “What was that?”

“A kiss. There are different types.” He studied the boy a bit. “Was that all right with you?”

Yet again, Cloud had a confused expression on his face. Sephiroth idly wondered why he kept looking like that. “Kisses are what moms do to your forehead. Or where you get hurt.”

“I do not remember ever being kissed on the forehead.” He thought about it. “But I have no mother, so that would be appropriate.”

Cloud patted his chest. “That’s sad. Moms are really good with hugs and kisses.” Nodding, he looked up at Sephiroth.

“Perhaps,” he said calmly. “I am going to kiss you again, a different one, all right?”

“Kay.”

That was the only response, and ignoring the large eyes, he nodded slightly and dipped his head to kiss him again, lingering this time and licking at the child’s lips. There was no struggling or pulling away, so that wasn’t bad. Wandering a hand up to press on his jaw just a bit, Sephiroth deepened the kiss some, sucking on his lower lip and hoping Cloud didn’t bite in a startled response.

There was no biting, thankfully, but he did get a curious sound. Pleased at the lack of teeth, he swept his tongue along the boy to get a taste of him, curious what the small one was like.

Of course, these things took time, and after a moment Cloud spoke. “What are you doing,” his words were muffled because he hadn’t pulled back first, but he could still pick out the odd tone to his voice.

Lifting his head, Sephiroth licked his lips. “It is kissing.” He had just said that.

“It’s weird.” Cloud’s expression would have made Sephiroth smile, but he wasn’t sure if he liked it in response to the kissing.

“I was taught kissing,” he said softly. “You taste good.”

“Is that good?” He looked unsure.

Petting his hair, Sephiroth nodded, dipping his head again to kiss the corner of his lips. “I think so,” he said softly. He liked kissing the boy and didn’t want to stop if he didn't have to.

“Oh. Okay,” Cloud was still watching him with large eyes. Sephiroth couldn’t decide if he was reacting to the kisses, or if his eyes were just naturally that big. Deciding it didn’t matter; he just tucked him in close again, and moved to continue the kissing since he didn’t seem to mind.

It took a moment to realize that while the boy wasn’t fussing, but he also wasn’t kissing back. It made Sephiroth feel just the slightest bit frustrated. Lifting his head after a moment, he studied the blond. “Try it back?”

“How?” No fear, just curiosity. That was good.

“Try what I did. I was tasting you.” He touched his nose to Cloud’s again, taking another breath of the boy. Then the blond moved, pressing a small, closed mouth kiss against his lips. It was quick and small, a peck, and he looked at him when the boy pulled back. “Not going to try what I did?” He raised an eyebrow.

Cloud looked at him, then fidgeted a bit. “Don’t know how.”

Ah. Sephiroth thought about it a moment. “Do you ever lick fruit when it drips?” That got a nod from the boy. “Well, try a bit like that, and combine it with a kiss and what I did.” Hopefully that would help.

Obviously the boy was pondering on that for a moment before he nodded again. “Kay.”

Leaning in so Cloud could reach, Sephiroth made a soft, not quite amused sound as the younger boy tried to do some type of kiss-lapping maneuver. That didn’t stop him from catching the tongue with his lips and sucking on it a bit. Even when Cloud made a surprised sound and froze on his lap, he continued to play his tongue against the one he had caught.

After a moment, Cloud relaxed, though he stayed still under the attentions. Eventually, hands moving again to pet his back, Sephiroth let go of his tongue. When he did, Cloud returned to the licking, which made him happy, even if it wasn't quite what he'd intended him to do. Pressing in to return the sloppy kiss, Sephiroth couldn’t help but shiver and rub up against the little one.

Cloud made a small, questioning sound, not pulling away from the kiss, and he returned it with a curious sound of his own. He did squirm a bit before he got another reply though, settling Cloud a bit more snug against him. It felt nice. The other didn’t fight, so Sephiroth tugged him even tighter even as he pulled off the kiss and touched noses with him again, hands petting a bit.

“Whatcha doing?”

Hands pausing, he looked at the boy. “What do you mean?”

“You’re all huggy. Kinda.”

“Ah. No.” He shook his head some and petted back up Cloud’s back. “I am rubbing on you.” That had seemed obvious to him.

“Is that good?”

That was an interesting question. “It feels good, yes.”

Cloud’s only response was to go “kay.” After that, he shifted the smaller boy so that he could press him tight against his body and nuzzled at the boy’s hair. The younger boy fidgeted a bit, his face pressed against Sephiroth’s chest and he seemed to have no idea what to do with himself. Nibbling at the top of his ear with a curious sound, he finally had to ask.

“What?”

He squirmed. “This feels strange.”

“Strange bad, strange odd?” If it was bad, he would stop. But odd he could deal with.

Blue eyes glanced up at him. “Odd. I think.”

He nodded. “I do not mind if you touch back.” It was obvious from Cloud’s expression the child didn’t understand how that would help, but he did hug Sephiroth again, and Sephiroth found he liked that more now. Pleased, he petted down his back, slipping his hand down the back of his pants and resting it there while his other hand petted the back of Cloud’s neck.

“What are you doing now?”

The hug did not stop, so it seemed the boy was all right with this, merely curious. “More touching,” he explained, shifting his hold on the little one, tugging a bit on his pants.

“Okay,” Cloud then twisted a bit to look back at Sephiroth’s hand. The older boy shifted Cloud again, and then stripped off both his pants and underwear, drawing a startled, surprised sound from him. Pleased there was no renewed bout of flailing, Sephiroth petted up the small one’s hips and sides.

“Why did you do that?!”

That was not a happy tone of voice however, and he paused for a moment before kneading the skin and running his fingers over the smooth places. “They were in the way.”

“Of what?” Still indignant and confused. Hmm, he might have to think about his approach.

“Touching.” Though he did think that that should be obvious, and he nuzzled at the child’s shoulder and neck.

“Why are you touching?” This time wasn’t so loud. That was good. Though he was getting just a little tired of the same questions over and over.

“Because you are soft.”

Then the boy scowled at him. “Am not.” He sounded indignant again.

“You are.” To show him, Sephiroth took one of the boy’s hands and moved his own shirt out of the way to put Cloud’s hand on him. “My skin is, too.”

There was a pause as Cloud eyed him, and then petted a little. His face cleared a bit as he petted a bit more, obviously distracted by Sephiroth’s skin.

“See,” Sephiroth said, setting his shirt to the side where he had put Cloud’s clothing, then he returned to his own touching and petting. Small, soft person.

There were a few moments of quiet, and then Cloud spoke up again. “How come you’re soft?” His voice was quiet as he focused on petting Sephiroth’s stomach.

“I am not completely sure,” he answered honestly, “but it never got rougher like most.”

Cloud, with a fascinated expression on his face, continued to pet. Satisfied with this, he petted his fingers along the boy’s sides and back, following the path of the bones. Once or twice, Cloud squirmed on him, a bit of doubt on his face, but he stopped without him having to do or say anything differently. Sephiroth only dipped his head to nuzzle his temple again, tucking the boy as close to him as he could without squishing him, hand kneading absently on his bottom.

This time it seemed to dawn on Cloud what Sephiroth was holding him by. “You’re touching my butt,” he said, eyeing the man.

Sephiroth paused, and then continued the light movement. An affirmative hum was his only vocal response, and he watched the little one closely.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“I dunno. But why?”

“Still touching.” He liked the feel of the boy and didn’t want to stop petting, and he was very soft right there.

“Oh.” After a moment of consideration, Cloud seemed to accept it. “Kay.”

That was a good reaction. Nibbling on his ear, Sephiroth shifted against him a little, just feeling.

“I taste really good?” Dubious now. The boy went through so many emotions it almost made him dizzy. “Are you gonna eat me?” Now there was a bit of worry.

“Yes, you do, and I do not think I will eat you.” He nibbled again. “Just taste.” Nuzzling down to his throat again, he let his fingers wander idly.

He really hoped the boy didn’t end up not liking this. The child wiggled again, and Sephiroth tightened his grip, just a bit.

It was going to feel not good if the boy decided he didn’t want to touch anymore.

Cloud wasn’t sure how he felt about this. Sephiroth had him pretty tight against him, and he wasn’t used to so much touching, but it was nice. He wasn’t used to the big kids paying attention to him. At least not when there weren’t hurts involved.

Then Sephiroth started to kiss him again, fingers playing with his butt. Cloud wasn’t sure why the other boy liked kissing so much, but he seemed to, so he tried to kiss back. For a moment, Sephiroth pressed harder into the kiss, then he used the hand on his butt to pick Cloud up against his chest and did some type of wiggly thing.

Surprised, Cloud made a little sound and pressed his hands against Sephiroth’s chest, afraid of falling. Then he was settled back into the other boy’s lap, only it felt different now, and there was something hot and a little hard pressed against his front. He wiggled again, then was tugged closer against Sephiroth. “That’s all hot,” he mumbled, kisses being scattered on his face by the older boy.

Sephiroth shivered when he wiggled again, hand running down his back. “Yes,” he said, sounding kinda funny.

“Why?”

“Because I feel nice.”

He felt nice? “That’s good, right? Why?”

Sephiroth blinked at him, and Cloud watched him, wanting to know why he felt nice. “Why does it feel nice?” Sephiroth asked, and Cloud nodded at him. “It is supposed to. Touching feels a different nice when you get a little older.”

“Oh. Okay.” It must, cause Cloud didn’t have anything do stuff like that when he got touched. He liked this person. He was nice. Then Sephiroth started to pet his hair, nuzzling at his cheek, and continued to explain.

“So touching it feels nice, and touching me makes it feel nice, see?”

No, but he could pretend. Pretending was fun. “Really?” He felt the other boy nod. “That’s good, right?” More nodding, then he was getting kisses on his jaw. That was good, he hoped, and he snuggled a little closer and hesitantly started to pet back. Sephiroth was nice and hadn’t hurt him, and if he made him feel good, maybe the other boy would be his friend.

Sephiroth leaned into the contact, and Cloud could hear the man purring. Like a big kitty. So this was good touching, like petting a cat. “So, if I touch you, it feels nice?”

That got him a kiss next to his lips. “Yes.”

“Just anywhere?”

Another nod. “More if it is there, but, yes, anywhere.”

Where was there? After a moment of chewing on his lip, Cloud moved to pet the hard part against his belly with really soft fingers as best he could. That got a soft sound out of Sephiroth, and Cloud almost pulled his hand back, but Sephiroth covered it with his own and held him there, even as he let out a loud breath. Holding still, Cloud looked at him, worried he had done something wrong. A few seconds passed, then Sephiroth let go, running his fingers up Cloud’s arm. “Good sound,” he said softly.

Hesitantly, he did the light pet again. Voice soft, Sephiroth said something else. “You don’t have to be quite so careful, you won’t hurt it.”

It felt weird under his hand, really soft and smooth. Carefully, he petted it, just like he would a kitty. He already thought Sephiroth was a big kitty cat, so that was right, right?

The shiver and nuzzling Sephiroth did said yes, and the bigger boy petting him again. So, hoping that was a good reaction, he continued to pet. Then Sephiroth moved some, pressing into the touch, petting Cloud’s back more.

Feeling a little braver when nothing bad happened, Cloud continued to pet, accepting the physical touches, cause it meant that Sephiroth was happy with him, right? Even the nibbling. And if he was happy with Cloud, maybe he would be his friend.

Sephiroth continued to shiver and move against the petting, moving the nuzzling to his throat, and Cloud wondered why the older boy kept doing that. He wasn’t that tasty. Then he got tugged closer, making it harder to pet, and he pressed his hands against the other’s belly, trying to not fall over.

There was some type of whining sound Sephiroth made when he did that, but he didn’t do anything other than nuzzling up to his ear and bite really lightly at it. In a husky voice, he murmured into Cloud’s ear, making him shiver from the funny feeling it made.

“It really does feel good when you touch there.” A nuzzles right in front of his ear, then the back against it. “I do not know if you would want to, but I expect it would feel very good if you licked it.”

Not sure what to do with that line, Cloud shifted and started to pet again. He liked that, right? Sephiroth’s fingers tightened on his hair, and Cloud wasn’t sure, but then they stopped grabbing and went back to petting. That was good, and still no hurt, so Cloud kept up the petting, watching Sephiroth. He was shiny, and Cloud really wanted a friend.

The older boy continued to nuzzle and nibble, and he pushed really carefully at Cloud. Unsure of what the bigger one was trying, Cloud went with it, wanting to make him happy. It took a little bit to realize that he was being pushed downwards, and he glanced at him with wide eyes. Now what were they doing?

The pushes and nudges continued, though Sephiroth was petting with his other hand, keeping Cloud from toppling over. His voice was still all soft sounding when he spoke. “You can keep petting if you want to.”

Cloud made a soft, curious humming sound. He got pushed down a little more by Sephiroth.

“Remember the fruit thing?”

He nodded a little. “With the kissing, right?”

“Right. Can you figure out how to do it there?”

He had been shifting to start petting again, and paused to look up at Sephiroth. “Where?”

More pushing downwards. “What you’ve been petting.”

Still going where he was being pushed to, Cloud petted the place lightly. “Here?” he asked, wanting to make sure. That got a shiver from Sephiroth, and a low “mmhmm” as the man watched him with bright eyes.

After a moment, eyeing it, now that it was so close to his face, Cloud gave a little lick.

Sephiroth’s eyes fanned partially shut, his breath making a funny little sound as it caught. Then, after a second, he encouraged. “Go ahead.”

Still not sure if he was doing that right, Cloud did. Confused on exactly what Sephiroth wanted, he lapped at it, just like he had lapped at Sephiroth for the kiss.

More shivering, and Sephiroth’s fingers got all tight in his hair again as the older boy used his hair to move him around. Not a lot, but to different places on him so the licking was all over the place. Cloud was curious and made a little noise. That made Sephiroth start to knead between his shoulder blades and talk in a low voice. “You can suck on it, too. Just no teeth, okay?”

Only…Cloud had no idea how he was supposed to suck on something with no teeth. While he was trying to figure that out, he kept licking, feeling the hands in his hair tightening and loosening again, and when he glanced up, he saw that Sephiroth was watching him.

Finally, he decided to try it like a popsicle, cause if he used his teeth on those, they hurt, and he didn’t want his teeth to hurt. He didn’t think sucking from the side would work so well, so he went to the end and sucked a little at the very end, nose wrinkling at the taste. Ew. But then Sephiroth made a noise, hands going tight on his hair, and he froze, wondering if he had done it wrong.

“Shh, good.”

Okay. He tried to suck a little more, hands on Sephiroth’s legs to brace himself, cause he didn’t want to fall over. This time the older boy’s hands kinda petted and pulled at the same time. It was weird.

Getting a little curious, he tried to lick at the same time he sucked, just to see what would happen. He was already making Sephiroth breathe funny.

When he did that, the boy made a soft sound, fingers combing through Cloud’s hair, the other hand petting his back. Good reaction, right? To make sure, he repeated the action, ignoring the way it tasted on his tongue. He got the noise again, and Sephiroth pressed on the back of his neck.

Well, that was good. Pleased with himself, Cloud kept up what he was doing, sucking a little and licking, and trying to remember to act like it was a popsicle, even through it wasn’t cold or smooshy in his mouth, but really hot and kinda hard.

Sephiroth continued to shift under him, moving a bit, and Cloud could actually hear the boy swallow. “Hands, too?” It sounded almost like begging, but Cloud wasn’t sure what he meant, so he hummed questioningly.

The noise was repeated. “Petting.” His voice sounded kinda strained, but he was asking Cloud to do stuff, so he assumed he as doing okay. Petting. Okay, he could do petting.

Not wanting to lose his balance, he started to pet where his hands were on the older boy’s legs. That seemed to be okay, cause all Sephiroth did was tug him a bit closer and go back to kneading. Working on seeing if he could suck on more, Cloud took a little more in till his mouth was all full and he couldn’t put any more in.

It was weird doing that and having Sephiroth moving, rocking against Cloud and shifting, and Cloud thought it was all just very weird. Would he be like that when he got a little older?

After a bit, Sephiroth kinda curled up, Cloud could feel the other boy’s hair on his back, and his breathing was all funny. Hoping that it was a good thing, Cloud couldn’t help but hum a question, cause his mouth was full and he couldn’t really talk.

The other one was kneading against his back of his neck and shoulders, and he was shuddering a lot. “Feels nice.”

That was a good thing. Humming a small okay, though he still didn’t understand why this was so nice. But then Sephiroth shuddered again, and pressed his hands against Cloud, making a low noise as he did.

Making a surprised sound at the sudden pressure, Cloud dug his fingers into Sephiroth’s legs, trying to look up. Then the fingers in his hair got real tight and pulled him back, but he didn’t really pay any attention to that. There was stuff in his mouth, and it tasted icky, and he was sputtering and trying to breathe as more of the hot wet stuff got on his face, and he looked at the older boy with wide eyes. Sephiroth was shaking and breathing hard and was petting his hair, but Cloud was confused.

“What was that?” He spit, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. “Ew!”

Still breathing weird, Sephiroth moved him and started to wipe the stuff off his face, though Cloud was still looking at him suspiciously. “It’s what happens sometimes when you feel really good,” he said finally.

“I don’t do that,” Cloud told him. “All I do with that is pee.” He eyed the boy. “Did you pee on me?”

Sephiroth gave him a funny look. “No, I did not pee on you. It does not happen until you get bigger. Pee is not sticky, either, or this color.” He showed Cloud the whitish stuff, eyeing him back.

He still wasn’t sure. “You sure?”

“Very much so.”

Cloud wiped at his face. “Still weird.”

“I forgot it seemed weird,” Sephiroth said calmly, sucking on his fingers a little. Then he leaned in and started to lick at the stuff on Cloud’s face.

“You’re weird,” was Cloud’s reaction to that.

“Is that bad?” It was a soft question as Sephiroth kept licking him. Cloud shrugged.

“I don’t know. You just are.”

After a moment of licking, the silver hair boy pushed him back and looked at him closely. “Very well,” he said, ignoring how Cloud was looking at him. Cloud was right. He was weird.

One last lick on Cloud’s chin, then he started to lick his own fingers, and Cloud scrubbed at his face with his hands. After watching Sephiroth lick his fingers clean, Cloud held still as the boy petted him.

“That was really weird. You sure that was a good thing?”

“I liked it. Did you not?” Sephiroth was looking at him, reminding Cloud of one of the chocobos that were in the town stables.

“It was weird. I never did anything like that before. But…you liked it?” That was good. And kinda neat. He tried to remember the last time he had done something, anything, that someone had liked. His mom didn’t count, she was his mom.

Sephiroth leaned in and kissed his cheek.

That was good. That was what his mom did when she was happy with him. Smiling brightly in return, Cloud was happy when Sephiroth gave him a little smile back. Hugging the older boy, he continued to smile.

“Do you like me?” He wanted a friend so bad.

There was a minute he was afraid, when Sephiroth was all quiet, and just petted his back. Then he answered. “Yes.”

That was good. With a happy noise, Cloud hugged him tighter. “Wanna be my friend?” He held his breathe, hoping that he said yes to that as well.

Another moment of quiet. “I am not terribly sure what that is.”

Cloud felt a little sad, but he wasn’t sure if it was cause Sephiroth hadn’t said yes, or if it was cause Sephiroth didn’t know what a friend was. He tried to explain as best he could.

“It’s someone you like who you can play with.”

“I very rarely am permitted to play.”

“Oh.” He drooped a little, hiding his face against Sephiroth. He didn’t want to be friends. Should have known that. Nobody ever did. “Okay.”

A hand started to pet his hair. “I do not know if I will be allowed to wander again while I am here.”

Cloud wasn’t going to cry. He was a big boy. Wasn’t gonna cry over something stupid like someone didn’t want to be his friend. “It’s okay. Nobody else wants to be my friend, either.”

He was shifted so that he could see Sephiroth’s face. “I would not mind,” the man said slowly. “I simply do not know if I will be given opportunity.”

That hurt something, though Cloud wasn’t sure what. He looked down. “It’s okay. I get it.”

He almost didn’t hear the other boy’s reply. “It is not my fault.”

A little shrug. “Nobody ever wants to be my friend. I’m used to it.”

He got his face tugged up to look at Sephiroth again, and he fidgeted when he saw the frown on his face. “I would not mind. Being my friend, however, would do you no good if they do not allow me to see you.”

“Could still be friends, if you wanted? I could wait….” He was pretty sure that this one didn’t want to be his friend either. What did he keep doing wrong? He was so sure that this one would want to play after they had done the touching and making him feel good.

“It might be a very long time. I was not brought back here for many years last time.”

He really was trying to get out of it. Patting his chest, Cloud nodded. “Is okay.”

Was a big boy. Wasn’t going to cry.

Then Sephiroth kissed his hair. “Then I suppose I will try.”

What? Looking up at him, feeling very confused, he blinked. “Does that mean you wanna be my friend?”

“I said as such before.”

So confused. “Didn’t think you wanted to.”

“I said so, though.” Now Sephiroth looked confused, too.

“Kept saying why you couldn’t be.”

Oh, that was a mommy look right there on his face. That “you should know this” look. “Better you be aware than disappointed with me.”

“Kay.” Wait. What did that mean? “I’ve never had a friend before.”

“Nor have I.” Cloud realized that Sephiroth was looking at him again, but he was a bit wide eyed and staring himself.

“But you’re all big and stuff….”

“That does not mean I have had a chance.”

That…was really bad. But now Cloud was his friend, so he could make that better. And hugs made everything better, so he did just that, and hugged him as tight as he could.

After a moment, he felt his hair being petted again. “This distresses you?”

“I wanted friends, and it made me sad I didn’t have any. And you’re old, so not having friends is even worse.”

More petting. “I was not even aware of what I did not have.”

Cloud hugged him tight. “I’m your friend, now.”

Hand resting on his back, Cloud could feel Sephiroth rest his cheek on Cloud’s hair. “As you like,” the older boy said. That just made Cloud hug tighter until Sephiroth spoke more. “Do you wander near here often?”

Oh, that was an easy question. Nodding, he continued to hug. “The other kids don’t come out here, so it’s a safe place to hide from them.”

“When I have opportunity, then, I will look for you here.”

That was really good. “Kay.”

A soft sigh, and Cloud could feel more petting. “If I wish to have chance to see you again, I should go now, before they decide to be more strict with me.”

Cloud understood that, so he nodded and squished him as tight as he could one more time before standing up. After getting his belly petted, he took the clothes that Sephiroth offered him again. “I can get dressed again?” At the nod, he did so.

“Were you cold?”

“Not really, but we’re outside, and I don’t want bug bites on my butt.”

Sephiroth nodded and started to get dressed as well. It was quiet for a moment, then he spoke again. “Thank you for not being frightened of me.”

Tugging on his pants, he looked at the other boy. “Why would I be?”

“The doctors are often extremely wary of me at first.”

He didn’t know what wary meant. Would have to ask Mom when he got home. “Why?”

“Because I am dangerous.”

Cloud eyed him. “You don’t seem dangerous.”

“Perhaps not to you,” was the calm reply as Sephiroth tugged his clothing back on.

Something said he wasn’t being taken seriously. “Dragons are scary. Wolves are scary. You aren’t scary.” He huffed and scowled at Sephiroth, but blinked in surprise when the man dipped down and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you,” he said, then finished tugging on his shirt, leaving Cloud feeling more confused, though he pulled his shirt on as well.

After getting his clothes on, Sephiroth sighed. “You will not be in trouble?”

Wasn’t any reason he would be. Mom was used to him hiding up here by now. “Don’t think so."

Another nod, and one last pet of his hair. “Good. I would prefer it such.”

He smiled brightly at the older boy. “I’ll come out tomorrow, too. We can hang out and play. If you can,” he added quickly, just in case.

“If I can come, I shall.” He leaned in and kissed Cloud on the lips lightly. “For now, I need to be going back.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.” Hopeful tone. He really wanted to play.

“With fortune,” was the answer, followed by a pet of his cheek, then Sephiroth turned and walked away.

After watching him leave, Cloud smiled. Now he could finally tell his mom that he had made a friend. She’d be so happy.

Smiling brightly, Cloud headed back for home.