Chapter Text
Cloud stood at attention with the other cadets in the training room. Today they were given the honor of watching the great general Sephiroth spar with Angeal and Genesis. It was supposed to be motivational for the upcoming SOLDIER test. Cloud was thrilled to be able to see it, but he didn’t need any extra motivation. This year he was twenty two—the oldest possible age to try out. He was going to be a SOLDIER, and so he would not fail the test again.
As Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis entered the room, all the cadets rose their arms in salute. The three firsts stopped in the center of the training mats, facing them. Cloud’s commander took a minute to introduce the three, even though everyone already knew who they were. Cloud watched them curiously. He’d seen all three before of course, but only at a distance.
Everything about them screamed power, from their builds to their mako eyes to the way they stood and moved. They were just as impressive in person as they were in the propaganda. Cloud’s gaze kept returning to Sephiroth. Everyone else in the room looked outright ordinary next to him—even Genesis and Angeal. He was taller, incredibly handsome, and radiated a dangerous sort of strength.
Their eyes met and heat seared on Cloud’s wrist exactly where soulmarks were supposed to go. Everyone had a soulmate. There were many theories as to what it meant for two people to be soulmates, but most of society subscribed to the notion that it meant the two were the only possible romantic partners for each other. When soulmates made eye contact the first time, their names would be written on each other’s wrists in lifestream green.
Cloud took an involuntary step back, trying to process what was happening. Sephiroth’s eyes widened and flicked downwards, towards his own wrist.
“Cloud,” hissed the cadet behind him.
Cloud hastily stepped back into formation, glad that their commander was so focused on the three firsts. He swallowed nervously and moved his arm out of it’s salute just enough for his sleeve to shift and for him to see that there was now something on it. It couldn’t be...could it?
When he looked back down, Sephiroth’s green eyes were boring into him with predatory intensity. Time slowed. He’d admired the distinctive shade of green and cat-like pupils before, but now with their complete focus on Cloud, he couldn’t help but gasp.
His mind had deserted him and he didn’t know what to think or how to feel. He looked away.
When he looked back up, the general was eyeing him up and down. It took all of Cloud’s self control to stay in formation, arm held in salute. His heart beat so loud that it drowned out what his commander was saying. He suddenly felt like a piece of meat.
Their eyes met again and a shiver of unease shot down his spine. The corner of Sephiroth’s mouth curved up. But it wasn’t an ordinary smile. Cloud blinked, trying to understand. His soulmate was smiling at him. So why was it taking everything in him to suppress the visceral feeling of fear?
All the other cadets had broken formation and were moving to stand closer to the back wall. Sephiroth smirked. Cloud let himself be pulled along. It seemed that they were giving the three firsts as much space as possible. Genesis walked around, casting a few barrier and shell spells around the edge of the arena. The cadets murmured in excitement.
Sephiroth and Angeal stood ready about eight feet apart. Genesis fell into position next to Angeal. It was two against one.
Angeal and Genesis moved in sync, splitting off to flank Sephiroth. In a blur of motion, Sephiroth’s blade met Angeal’s. Sephiroth spun, silver hair flying through the air as he parried an incoming blow from Genesis.
Cloud had always admired the general. He’d been the reason he had joined Shinra when he was sixteen. He wanted to be strong like Sephiroth. He’d always been so excited when he could be in a crowd as Sephiroth marched by or gave a speech.
With everyone else's attention solidly elsewhere, Cloud pushed his sleeve back just enough to look at his new soulmark. And there it was—in the same green as the lifestream, written just above his pulse point.
Sephiroth.
Even staring directly at it, he couldn’t believe it. He traced the cursive with his other hand. It didn’t feel like anything, but the word was undeniably there. Sephiroth.
He supposed that this must make him the luckiest guy in the world. The Sephiroth was his soulmate. So many people dreamed of this. Members of the Silver Elite threw themselves, literally, into his path so that they’d have a chance to make eye contact with him.
There was a loud crash as Genesis was thrown, landing on one of the few patches of wall that didn’t have a cadet in the way. He slid to the floor and stood slowly. There was a large dent behind him and the shimmering of a broken barrier before him. Angeal and Sephiroth continued to duel. The cadets around him were making sounds of awe. For Genesis to stand up after that and for Sephiroth to use so much control that his enemy landed where he wanted while dueling multiple opponents was incredible.
Sephiroth and Angeal moved fast enough that Cloud couldn’t even appreciate their skill properly. Top SOLDIERS were leagues beyond any infantryman. Cloud knew he should be feeling awed and excited about the fight, but instead, the ease at which his soulmate could fight the other two had him swallowing nervously. Cloud was nowhere even close to Sephiroth’s level.
Why was he Sephiroth’s soulmate? How? He was just some four-time failed SOLDIER candidate. Cloud backed away, taking a spot closer to the wall that had been vacated by an excited cadet moving as close to the barrier as possible. He couldn’t even hold a candle to Sephiroth.
Then Cloud realized. When this duel ended, he was going to meet him. He thought of that predatory glint he’d seen in Sephiroth’s eyes, that dangerous smile, and the strength he was currently displaying. And that man was surely going to want to meet his soulmate. Suddenly it felt hard to breathe, and he knew that he wasn’t ready for this.
He moved as subtly as he could towards the back door. Luckily, most cadets had pressed forward and he was able to make it with only a few people jostled by his passage. Once he pushed through the door, he took off running. He made it through the empty locker room and into his barracks before finally slowing down enough to think.
Why was he running? He was going to be in so much trouble for skipping lessons.
No, fuck lessons. Why was he running from his soulmate? Cloud thought of those eyes and that smile and shivered. One facial expression. He was running because of one look. He leaned against a nearby wall with a sigh.
He wasn’t normally one to ignore his instincts, and in that moment he had seen pure danger. But that couldn’t be right. This was his soulmate. And the great hero Sephiroth. Cloud wasn’t an enemy of Shinra. Sephiroth was no threat to him.
Cloud closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He forced himself to take a deep breath. He needed to think, and he needed to be alone. Cloud quickly changed into civilian clothes. It wouldn’t be long before some cadets returned to their shared quarters. He gathered his stuff and left for a long walk and maybe a drink or three. He’d deal with the consequences later.
~
That’s how he ended up running a hellacious amount of laps around the track long after all the other cadets had been dismissed and the sun had set. The track was lit by a few overly bright field lights that cast portions of the track into light brighter than day and left others hidden in shadow.
He was eighty laps into his punishment and felt like he was about to fall over. When he reached the next patch of non-obnoxiously bright turf, he slowed to a pace that could just barely be called moving to catch his breath. He wasn’t supposed to stop running until he either finished or collapsed. Cloud pushed the sweat-soaked hair away from his forehead. It momentarily stuck to the rest of his hair before falling back into his face. Cloud normally hated laps, but it was a good outlet for his frustrations from yesterday.
“Hello, Cloud,” said a deep voice from just off the track.
Cloud started and swung his head around. All he could see in the shadows were trees and Shinra equipment.
“Why don’t you join me?” The voice sounded like maybe Sephiroth’s? But it couldn't be.
Cloud blinked, trying to regain any night vision he’d had before running beneath the track light. He squinted at where the voice had come from and could just make out two mako green eyes. Cloud’s heart rate skyrocketed. He took a calming breath and a slow step forward.
He was pretty sure, but needed to confirm. “General?” He hated how tenative his voice sounded.
“Indeed.” Sephiroth said in a tone of voice Cloud wasn’t sure how to read.
Cloud took another deep breath and looked around. No one else was on the track with them.
“This shadow is one of the most private public places on Shinra grounds. No visibility and it is out of range of the recording devices.”
He didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse. Cloud took a step forward and firmly told himself that Sephiroth was not a danger to him. Whatever he’d seen or felt the day before had to have been misinterpreted due to his deluge of emotions. They were going to need to talk sooner or later and the privacy for that would probably be good. This was his soulmate. He was safe here. But the discomfort in his stomach remained more unease than butterflies.
As soon as his torso was covered in the shadow, Sephiroth grabbed his arm and pulled. Cloud tripped and was yanked against Sephiroth’s chest. He looked up, confused and mortified. But before he could say or do anything, Sephiroth’s lips crashed onto his.
Cloud’s mind went blank and his arms automatically pushed against the solid wall of muscle that was Sephiroth’s chest. He didn’t want this yet. Shouldn’t they talk first? His push did little. Sephiroth shifted and tightened his grip on Cloud. Cloud reflexively pushed harder, but it did nothing and with how tightly he was now held, he couldn’t reposition his arms to get better leverage.
Sephiroth’s tongue ran along Cloud’s lower lip, silently asking for entrance. Cloud barely restrained himself from all out panicking. He tried pushing away again, but it was like pushing a wall for all the effect it had. Sephiroth’s tongue traced the junction of Cloud’s firmly closed lips.
Sephiroth made a noise of discontent and finally pulled back. He peered at Cloud, his cat like pupils looking left and right between his eyes. Cloud froze, hands still pressed against Sephiroth’s chest.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth sounded strangely hesitant. Far more so than Cloud had ever imagined the general could. Despite his mounting panic, Cloud had the fleeting thought that it was unexpectedly endearing. Sephiroth looked down at where Cloud’s hands were still pressed against his chest, clearly not understanding. “Do you not wish to kiss?”
Cloud inhaled shakily and opened his mouth. “I...uh…”
“But you’re my soulmate.”
Cloud gaped at the man, trying to figure out how to explain that he didn’t want to just straight make out.
But Sephiroth must have taken his silence and open mouth as consent because the next moment, his warm lips were moving against his own and Sephiroth’s tongue was cautiously moving inside his mouth. Cloud froze again. Sephiroth snaked his arms under Cloud’s and around his waist. Cloud was once more pulled flush against Sephiroth, except this time, Cloud’s arms were out of the way—forced up and over Sephiroth’s.
Cloud stood completely still. Was he...was he just going to let this happen? Could he even stop it?
But no...this was his soulmate. He should want this, shouldn’t he?
Cloud forced himself to relax. Sephiroth had closed his eyes when he instigated the kiss. In the darkness, Cloud could just barely see the silver bangs that messily framed his face. Sephiroth shifted, and Cloud could feel that a lot of Sephiroth’s hair had fallen over his right shoulder. Sephiroth smelled good, Cloud suddenly realized. Like really good. There was a mixture of leather and some nice soap, but beneath it was just an absurdly good smelling man.
He was in the embrace of a hot, powerful, and ridiculously good smelling man. Cloud should want this.
Sephiroth squeezed his waist, eliciting a surprised grunt out of Cloud, which Sephiroth eagerly responded to. Cloud only hesitated for a moment longer before finally moving to return the kiss. He met Sephiroth’s tongue with his own and brought his hands together to gently rest on Sephiroth’s shoulder blades.
Sephiroth groaned and increased his pace, now positively ravishing Cloud’s mouth. Cloud gasped and squeezed his eyes shut. His fingers dug into the leather of Sephiroth’s jacket.
This was his soulmate. This was his idol. He was lucky to be kissing him. He should want this.
Sephiroth’s arms quested along his back, and Cloud just barely stopped himself from shivering. The thin fabric of Cloud’s sweat-soaked training uniform might as well have not been there for how much Cloud could feel Sephiroth’s leather-gloved fingers as they roamed around his back and sides. They moved tenderly, but Cloud didn’t doubt that they could turn painfully strong without warning.
As one slid down to his butt, Cloud couldn’t stop himself from trembling. Nor could he ignore his own feelings any longer. He clenched his mouth shut and turned his head away. He wanted to cry, even though he didn’t fully understand why.
Sephiroth drew back, his hands sliding up to Cloud’s shoulders. Cloud forced himself to breathe evenly. He would not cry. Not here, not in front of Sephiroth. No matter what, he couldn’t cry.
A leather hand nudged Cloud’s face up. Sephiroth’s eyes were lidded and dilated.
Cloud took a small step back. “S-stop.”
Sephiroth blinked, and with an expression of utter bewilderment asked, “you want me to stop?”
Cloud took another step back and guided Sephiroth’s hand off his face. He took another steadying breath, then firmly said, “Yes.”
Before he could double-think it, he turned and ran. Despite having thought that he could barely run one more lap earlier, he flew like he was fresh out of warm-ups. Sephiroth let him go, watching from the thickest patch of shadow.