In Sleep
(Sephiroth/Zack)
Part Four: Lips

Rating: NC-17

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Zack reached out, biting his lip as he slid his hand along the tight line of Sephiroth's belly, tracing the skin just over the waistband of Seph's pants. He needed to know, needed to be sure—

Strong fingers snapped closed over his wrist, holding his hand determinedly in place. "What are you doing?"

Zack cleared his throat. He looked up, his eyes traveling the length of the General's shirtless body before fixing on a pair of curious, burning green eyes that reached down into his chest. "Nothing." Zack shook his head, trying not to flex his fingers against the warm skin of Sephiroth's stomach. "I was just…"

"Checking me for injuries?" Sighing wearily, Sephiroth released Zack's hand, stifling a surge of disappointment when the boy drew it back from his skin. He sat up and re-settled the blanket across his lap. "I told you, Zack. I'm fine. It's been a few hours. No blood, no bruises, not even a scar to remind you of…what happened."

Zack shuddered. The slick slide of the knife as it tore through flesh, the harsh gasp ripped from Sephiroth's lips. The blood, hot and damning. "You mean what I did."

"No, Zack. You didn't do anything but what I asked you to do. And thanks to you, I feel better now than I have in days. So spare yourself the guilt. I'm the one who should have to bear that burden, not you."

"No!" Zack shook his head viciously. "Not you. None of this is your fault. You didn't ask for this! It's Hojo. He did this to you. He's the one who should have to pay the price for it."

Sephiroth smiled softly. It's nice to have a friend. He flashed back to earlier that night, to Zack's lips pressed against his, hot and insistent. A spark of interest thrilled through his veins. Sex was something he hadn't considered before in anything more than the abstract. He hadn't been able to ignore it completely, of course. People were afraid of him, and he'd been falsely accused of rape on more than one occasion. It was a common fear that his savagery extended beyond the battlefield, which was precisely why he'd been so quick to assure Zack that he wouldn't harmed or even touched within the walls of Sephiroth's apartment. And there were always one or two women willing to throw themselves at him, hoping for a marriage contract for the power and the status Sephiroth would bring to them. And there were even a few cadets hoping for an easy way to slip upward through the ranks. Despite the offers, however, the idea of sex had never really appealed to Sephiroth. These offers…they were just another objectification, another attempt to use and control him. No, he'd always politely put off the advances of the women and expelled the cadets, electing to take care of his needs on his own. It was much simpler and probably more pleasurable as well.

But this… Zack was different. He had power of his own, and he wasn't looking for more. Sephiroth wasn't sure what the boy was looking for exactly, but he did know one thing. Zack genuinely liked Sephiroth. He didn't want anything from him except attention and maybe…friendship. It had taken Sephiroth a long time to fully realize this, and it still seemed strange to him. He'd been suspicious at first, but in the end, Zack was Zack. He wasn't loyal to Soldier or to ShinRa. He was loyal to Sephiroth and Sephiroth only. So he thought that maybe, just maybe, it was time to explore this idea of sex a little. There was only one problem.

Sephiroth clenched his fist in the sheets and suppressed a growl. He touched his hand gently to Zack's arm. "Hojo will get his reward some day, Zack. But first we need answers. For now however…" Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow. "I need a shower. And with my guts now safely back in place, I can actually take one." Drawing his hand back reluctantly, Sephiroth rose to his feet, a slight surge of unease rippling down his spine as he stood shirtless before Zack's curious eyes. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of the sleep pants he'd put on earlier to replace the blood-soaked ones. "Care to join me?"

Zack blinked, his brain struggling to process Sephiroth's last words. Huh. When he said he'd've kissed me, he must have meant it. Zack swallowed thickly, trying not to stare at the pale expanse of Sephiroth's chest, half-melting into the shadows of the room. He sat up slowly and ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. Zack flicked his eyes back to Sephiroth and struggled to swallow down the nervous energy that trembled in his fingers. He spread his lips in a wide, teasing grin and pulled himself to his feet, on the opposite side of the bed from Sephiroth. "Sure, Seph. You need me to wash your back for you?"

Sephiroth chuckled and strolled from the room, not bothering to look back at Zack. No pressure. If the boy wanted to follow, he would. Sephiroth kicked off his pants as he walked into the bathroom, smiling at the telltale sound of soft footsteps behind him. The smile turned into a grimace, however, when he opened the shower door and turned around to face Zack.

Zack had lost his shirt somewhere along the way to the bathroom. That, however, was not what had caused the grimace. His chest was pale and tightly muscled, leading down to a slender waist and that thin, teasing trail of hair just below his navel. His chest was stained with blood. Sephiroth's blood. The mark of Hojo's influence.

Sephiroth snarled. He didn't want Hojo here. These were his rooms, and Zack was his Soldier. Hojo didn't belong in here. Reaching out almost blindly, Sephiroth caught hold of Zack's arm, jerking the boy up against him and tumbling them both back into the shower.

"Seph?" Zack's eyes were wide and his expression was confused, almost wary.

Growling, Sephiroth slid the glass shower door shut with a loud bang and twisted the hot water on full blast.

Zack gasped as the spray rained down on him, icy cold and sharp as needles. "S-Seph?"

"Shut up." Sephiroth ran his hands over Zack's shoulders and down his chest, washing the blood from his skin to run down the drain in a red stream as it mingled with the swiftly warming water.

"But I'm still wearing my pants."

Grunting a slight acknowledgement, Sephiroth jerked down on the waistband of Zack's sleep pants and smiled slightly as they fell to the floor, baring his body completely. Without looking away from Zack, Sephiroth reached for a bottle of soap and poured some into his hand. Then carefully, methodically, he trailed his palms over the boy's flesh, cleansing him of the taint of the mako and the violence. What had he been thinking, inviting Zack here, asking him to do this for him? The boy was only fifteen years old. He didn't deserve this…this…

"Seph."

Sephiroth knelt, drawing his hands down sculpted thighs and over tight calves. The blood continued to run. The water was clear, Sephiroth knew, but that didn't stop the blood from running. What had he been thinking? He rose to his feet, turning Zack around roughly and shoving him up against the shower wall. He ran his hands over the deep scratches on the boy's back, wincing as he looked at them, mourning as he cleaned them. It had been a stupid move, inviting Zack into this, asking for his help. It could have gotten the boy killed. Sephiroth could have killed him.

"Seph."

Sephiroth leaned down then, pressing his lips unthinkingly against the bruised and swollen bite mark on Zack's neck.

Zack flinched slightly.

Sephiroth's eyes flew wide and he stumbled backward, his hands splaying against the smooth glass of the shower door for support. "I-I'm sorry."

Zack spun, growling, and launched himself forward. His hands tangled in Sephiroth's hair, he pulled the older man down for a rough kiss, thrusting his tongue into the General's mouth and slamming them once again against the back wall of the shower. Breathing roughly, he pulled back and leveled a fierce glare up into Sephiroth's eyes. "Now who's being the idiot?"

Sephiroth's eyes went sharp and narrow. "You could have been killed."

Anger lancing through his veins, Zack slapped Sephiroth across the cheek. Hard. "So could you!" He shook his head. "Damn it, Seph, if this goes on we could both be dead tomorrow for all I know. But you know what? That's a risk I'm willing to take. For you. To help you. And you can just stop whatever bullshit line of thought you've got going on because I'm not a kid, Seph. I'm a Soldier, damn it! So let me do my job. Let me help you."

Sephiroth raised a hand to his cheek, pressing his fingers against the slight sting. Zackary Fair had slapped him. Casually, angrily. Slapped him. A slow smile spread across Sephiroth's lips. He knew now what had provoked him, what had been guiding his near-panic at the sight of his blood sheathing Zack's skin. The mako, in normal amounts, worked to sharpen natural ability—strength, speed, intelligence, stamina. In extreme amounts, it mutated both the mind and the body, creating what were essentially monsters. At its present level, the mako in his system was working to sharpen and twist his instincts and inclinations, urging him toward radical behavior and uncontrolled reactions. And Zack…Sephiroth's instincts told him to claim Zack, to possess him and protect him. To keep close this boy who thought nothing of casually slapping him, of striking the Great General Sephiroth across the cheek.

Perhaps he would claim the boy. But it would be on his terms and his terms alone. Sephiroth stared down into a pair of mottled violet eyes. He sighed, shivering slightly at the hot glide of the water as it rained down over his skin. "I apologize. My mind has a tendency to run away with me these days if I'm not careful, and I was too…distracted…to keep proper control."

Zack licked his lips, his hands moving to tangle in Sephiroth's wet mass of mercury hair. "Distracted?"

"Yes…distracted." Sephiroth leaned forward then, capturing Zack's lips in a gentle kiss. He closed his eyes, reveling in the soft heat of Zack's lips, in the first kiss he'd ever initiated. Zack's tongue was hot as it slid along the line of his lips, and Sephiroth smirked even as he opened his mouth to allow Zack entry. Even in kissing, Zack didn't hesitate to assert his independence. His dominance even. Sephiroth pressed his own tongue against Zack's in a slick caress as he reached out to shut off the water. His eyes gleamed as he moved, twisting them around so that his own back was against the wall and Zack was standing in front of him, pressed roughly up against him, his arousal evident as their bodies slid wetly against one another. If Zack was going to dominate, he might as well be in the dominant position, after all.

Zack's fingers dug sharply into the pale flesh of Sephiroth's shoulders as he ruthlessly explored the General's mouth. He moaned low in his throat as their tongues soared against one another, slow wing beats that rose and fell with their breaths.

Sephiroth gripped Zack's hair in one tight fist, keeping those lips desperately close and deepening the kiss, encouraging Zack to move deeper. His other hand moved down the length of Zack's body, trailing over the tight, wet muscles of his chest and tracing the fine trail of hair to close around the hard length he could feel pressing against his skin.

Zack gasped, his eyes flying wide and his nails biting deeply into the flesh of Sephiroth's shoulders. "S-Seph…"

Sephiroth only laughed softly and leaned forward, capturing Zack's lips once more with his, his own tongue snaking out to dip into the younger man's mouth. He tightened his hand, drawing it slowly down the length of the boy's sex, drinking in the shuddering moan that spilled into his mouth. So this was what sex was about—pressing and breathing and shivering and wanting. Perhaps it was worth it after all, at least where Zack was concerned. Sephiroth moved his hand slowly, up and down, keeping his grip tight and sure. His arm slithered from Zack's hair and down his back, wrapping around his waist and holding him steady, keeping him on his feet even as his knees began to buckle. Zack was beautiful like this, with his eyelids fluttering and his breaths shaking, his tongue still raggedly sliding against Sephiroth's, attempting to hold the kiss even as he lost all semblance of control.

It didn't take long. Zack's grip on Sephiroth's shoulders tightened, his muscles trembling as he bucked up into Sephiroth's grip, spilling himself in a hot surge of liquid against Sephiroth's skin. He fell, sated and boneless, into Sephiroth's arms, and they slid to the floor together, Zack practically lying in the General's lap.

Sephiroth smiled down into a pair of glazed purple eyes. He brushed a wet strand of black hair back from Zack's face. "Still alive?"

Zack grinned lazily. "Yeah. That was…that was…" Unable to articulate the feeling, he shifted around, moving so that he was curled against Sephiroth's side, one leg thrown over the General's thigh. He slid his hand down Sephiroth's chest and over the muscles of his stomach, but Sephiroth's fingers clamped down on his wrist once more before his hand could reach its intended destination. Zack looked up in almost-stoned confusion.

Sephiroth shook his head even as he bit down against his own arousal. "Can't, Zack. It's too dangerous."

"But…"

"Zack, I'm having trouble controlling my instincts just being around you. What in hell am I going to do if you wrap your hand around my cock?"

Zack looked sad, distraught. "But…I wanted…"

"I know." Placing two fingers beneath Zack's chin, Sephiroth tilted the younger man's head up and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. "When this whole mess is over and done with."

The glaze bled from Zack's eyes, leaving them bright and sharp. "You promise?"

A smile stretching across his lips, Sephiroth pulled Zack more tightly up against his side. He leaned his forehead against Zack's. "I promise."