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ffviiprompts2015-07-20 11:12 pm
icyboots) wrote in ffviiprompts2015-07-20 11:12 pm
SFW.
For SFW prompts. The prompts can be gen or shippy just as long as they remained tame.
General rules:
General rules:
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- No policing of preferences.
- Triggering content must be warned about at the subject line of the comment.
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- Try to fill as many prompts as you request.
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- A prompt can have more than one fill.
Re: Sephiroth/Cloud: Sephiroth is used to propositioning people quite bluntly. From Anonymous.
“No it’s not.” Zack insisted, watching Cloud preen in the window of the elevator with amusement.
“I told you what he said… and then he confronted me in the middle of my guard shift. He was going to ask me out in front of half my squad! Not to mention the stunt with the strawberries.” Cloud scowled and ran his fingers through his hair, trying desperately to finger-comb it into a neater style, “Why the hell am I suddenly so interesting? He’s Sephiroth and I’m me and-“
“Spike.” Zack said sharply, cutting off his angry, self-depreciating rant before it could start, “We’re friends, right?”
Cloud did not answer, but he nodded. Zack bit back a smile at the sullen pout on his face, “Do you really think I would have suggested this unless I was sure of Sephiroth? He’s sorry. He feels bad and wants to make it up to you. Just sit back, enjoy a good meal and have a chat with your idol. You’ll be surprised to find that he’s just as human as the rest of us and says stupid things when confronted with a handsome face.”
“Zaaack.” Cloud moaned, hiding his face in his hands, “Comments like that are doing nothing to make me feel better about this.”
“I’ve known Sephiroth a while.” Zack said, stepping through the elevator doors as they slid open, “I’ve never seen him like this. He got the wrong idea when I said you were a fan. His fans are a little…”
“Easy?” Cloud asked, his voice deceptively pleasant.
Grinning, Zack nodded his agreement, “Not to mention stupid. I also befriend a lot of people. He didn’t realize you were more than just one of my casual acquaintances. It was a case of poor communication all around. Just give him a chance, okay?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t going to give him a chance.” Cloud muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets, “I just don’t get it.”
“And that’s part of your adorable charm.” Zack said and tossed an arm over Cloud’s shoulders, leading him toward Sephiroth’s apartment, “Damn that smells delicious!”
Cloud was forced to agree with him. He could smell apples and roasting meat along with the hint of familiar spices. It made his mouth water. The food in the mess was not terrible, but it was made quickly to feel a large group, not crafted carefully with flavor in mind. If whatever Sephiroth was cooking tasted half as good as it smelled, Cloud would be thrilled.
Zack barely bothered to knock on Sephiroth’s door before letting himself in, “Hey Seph! We’re here. Tell me that’s almost done, because it smells good enough that I might not care.”
“Savage.” Sephiroth called from the kitchen, his tone lacking any real heat.
Cloud followed Zack’s example, toeing off his boots just inside the door before following his friend into the kitchen. He nearly tripped over his own feet when he saw Sephiroth standing before the stove. He looked oddly domestic, his long hair pulled back in a low ponytail and a plain dark apron protecting his clothes… his not a leather uniform, clothes. Cloud caught himself staring at Sephiroth’s stockinged feet and forced his eyes away. It was oddly intimate to see him standing around in his socks, which made no sense considering Cloud saw his naked chest on almost a daily basis.
“So what are we having?” Zack asked, trying to peer around Sephiroth’s shoulder into the oven.
Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder at the both of them, a slight smile on his lips when he noticed Cloud, “You will have to ask Cloud for the proper pronunciations… I am not sure I could manage without mangling it.”
Before Cloud could ask what Sephiroth meant, the timer sounded and Sephiroth pulled open the oven door. He quickly pulled several ceramic dishes from the racks, each holding food that he had not seen since he had last eaten at his mother’s house. It took everything he had to not drool as the dishes were set on the nearby table.
It looked like a mid-winter’s feast. There was a roast topped with chopped apples and his favorite baked noodle dish covered in a creamy cheese sauce. The stuffed potato dumplings looked exactly like the ones that his mother always made and the bread smelled freshly baked.
Zack grinned and threw himself into one of the chairs, “Oooh… mountain bumpkin food!”
“Better than backwoods jungle food.” Cloud replied tartly, a furious blush blooming on his face when Sephiroth laughed.
To Cloud’s surprise, Zack let out a little whine, “Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge after all these years, Sephiroth.”
“I will never forgive you for it.” Sephiroth replied, pulling the apron off and hanging it on a hook near the refrigerator, “Please, make yourself comfortable, Cloud.”
Cloud took one of the remaining chairs, eyeing Zack, “What’d you do, Zack?”
“It was right after Angeal picked me up as a student.” Zack said, scowling at Sephiroth’s back, “Angeal and Sephiroth got tapped to go on a mission south of Gongaga and decided to bring me along as a local expert.”
Sephiroth let out an inelegant snort at that. He took down several large mugs and ladled something from a pot on the stove into each mug. He set one before Zack and another in front of Cloud, “Be careful, that’s quite hot.”
“Aw man, I haven’t had a good Banoran spiced cider… well… in a while. Thanks Seph.” Zack cradled his mug between his hands, “Anyway, we spent the day merrily killing monsters and protecting the populace. As the sun was going down, I convinced them to stop at a little village to get dinner.”
Sephiroth joined them at the table with a mug of his own, “It was nowhere near Gongaga proper and everyone spoke the native language.”
“Old Gongagan…” Zack said with a fond smile, “Sounds like you’re trying to gargle with rocks. Of course, no one would speak in the common tongue, even if they knew it. There wasn’t an inn to speak of, but I was able to talk an old granny into giving us each a bowl of dinner. Basically, dinner is made up of whatever they had that morning. We’re close to the water, so there’s usually quite a bit of seafood. The ground’s good for growing, so most families have gardens with peppers and tomatoes and things. They toss it all together with some spices and simmer all day long.”
With a roll of his eyes, Sephiroth set to slicing the roast and gestured for Zack and Cloud to start dishing out food for themselves, “Everyone knows that Soldier enhancements improve sight and hearing, but most civilians don’t consider what that means when applied to the other senses. Smell is also more acute, touch is more sensitive as is taste.”
“Poor Angeal’s eyes watered just from the smell.” Zack said with a grin, “When Sephiroth saw me tuck into my bowl, he was determined to eat his. Poor sucker. I had grown up on the stuff, it had never tasted spicy to me!”
“In my life, only mako treatments and that crone’s cooking have ever made me ill.” Sephiroth said, scowling darkly at Zack. Cloud could hardly believe that Zack did not shrivel up and die under the intensity of it. He was careful to hide a grin, to keep Sephiroth from turning that glare on him, “She laughed and laughed…”
Zack chuckled and sipped from his mug of cider, “Do you remember how quickly Angeal drained his canteen. He ran to the well and filled it, just so he could drink it down again. He looked like a wet dog when he was finally done!”
Cloud could not help but laugh at that. He had never really seen Angeal Hewley before his death, but he had seen enough pictures of the man in Zack’s apartment for him to accurately imagine the large man practically dumping water over his head in his rush to stop the burning in his mouth.
Sephiroth’s gaze met his and his lips twitched up in a slight smile, “I am glad to say that Nibelheim’s native dishes are far kinder to an enhanced palate. You’re lucky, Cloud. Should you choose to join Soldier, you’ll still be able to enjoy a home cooked meal.”
“I’m a little jealous. That meal I had was the last Gongagan meal I’ll ever be able to eat. I was only a Third at the time, so it wasn’t so bad. I walked past a Gongagan place near Wall Market a few weeks back and the smell made my eyes sting.” Zack nodded down to his full plate, “This look great though, Seph.”
Cloud flushed, realizing how bad mannered he had been, “It really does look like one of my Ma’s home cooked meal, sir. Thank you for inviting me up.”
“Think nothing of it and for tonight, at least, I am Sephiroth.” Sephiroth said, waving Cloud’s thanks away, “Really, it’s the least I can do. We had a poor start and I would like to begin again. Now, have a bite and tell me if I managed to get the taste right.”
Cloud was more than happy to do that. He eagerly scooped up a spoonful of the noodle dish. It was perfect. The cheese sauce was rich and creamy, the noodles melted against his tongue in a way store bought ones never could, “You made the noodles from scratch?”
Sephiroth looked pleased, “I didn’t think anyone would notice the difference.”
“Cooking is one of Seph’s hidden talents.” Zack said with a noise of contentment as he tried some of the roast, “We used to have dinner sometimes and it was always so good.”
”Why’d you stop?” Cloud asked.
It had been an innocent question, but the silence that followed it was heavy. Sephiroth and Zack shared a look before Zack said, “Things just got really busy after I got promoted. Sephiroth and I are in and out of HQ so much nowadays that it’s hard to find the time and energy, you know?”
“I had forgotten how pleasant it could be to prepare a meal, and to have company.” Sephiroth added, “Perhaps it is something that we could attempt to find time for again.”
Zack laughed and pointed at this plate with his fork, “You wouldn’t hear me complain… right Spike?”
Cloud knew there was more that was going unsaid, but he did not push it. He also doubted that Sephiroth had meant to include Cloud in that invitation. Then, Sephiroth turned to him, eyebrows raised in silent question.
“I… yeah, that would be nice.” Cloud could feel his cheeks heating up and quickly turned his face down toward his plate to hide it.
Zack used the distraction to give Sephiroth a pointed look. He slid his eyes toward Cloud with a tiny nod and subtly gestured for Sephiroth to keep the conversation going.
“Zack tells me you have been in the Infantry for some time now.” Sephiroth said, jumping to the firs topic that came to mind, “How do you find it?”
Sephiroth ignored Zack’s frantic head shaking, focusing instead on Cloud. The blonde shrugged, but looked away from his plate again, “It’s alright. It’s boring, mostly, but I’ve been going on more missions with Soldier recently. That’s how I met Zack, actually.”
“Cloud was one of the Troopers assigned to Tseng and I in Modeoheim.” Zack added softly, “All that snow didn’t even slow him down and he had a cool head in a crisis.”
Cloud smiled at Zack, but Sephiroth could see the edge of worry in it. They all knew how hard the mission in Modeoheim had been on Zack. Sephiroth cleared his throat, “Tseng mentioned that the members of the Army that had been assigned to that mission had handled themselves admirably. It’s little surprise that you’ve been tapped for other missions since then.”
Cloud blushed faintly under the praise, but met Sephiroth’s gaze with pride, “Thank you.”
“Have you considered testing for Soldier?” Sephiroth asked, doing his best to ignore the way Zack’s encouraging grin faltered. Despite his initial misstep, he had every confidence that he could navigate a conversation with Cloud. Zack’s continued lack of faith was annoying.
“I… joined the Cadets when I arrived.” Cloud admitted between bites of food, “I failed out of the testing. My scores were good enough to join the Infantry, so I did. I’ve always just figured I didn’t have what it takes.”
Zack rolled his eyes, “What he’s not telling you is that he was fourteen when he tried to test into Soldier.”
Cloud glared at Zack, “I had just turned fifteen.”
“All of two days before-“
“That’s certainly… ambitious.” Sephiroth cut in, trying to head off what was obviously an old argument, “Have you decided that you prefer the Army?”
“It’s not that.” Cloud said, ignoring Zack again to turn back to Sephiroth, “I’ve seen the guys who pass the Soldier exam. They’ve usually got about four inches and a hundred pounds on me before the mako. I just figure that I shouldn’t waste anybody’s time.”
Sephiroth studied him a moment. While it was true that he did not have the physical attributes that the usual Soldier candidates possessed, there was an obvious stubborn willfulness in him that would be just as useful. Physical strength could be cultivated, but conviction and drive made Firsts.
Of course, Sephiroth knew that he could not say as much. That would be coming on strong, even for him. Instead he said simply, “The waste would be losing out on a Soldier with potential, regardless of what he looked like.”
Cloud smiled and glanced back at Zack, “Well, Zack did start giving me some lessons with a sword. He says he’s going to change my mind yet.”
“He’s good, Seph.” Zack said, shoving Cloud’s shoulder playfully, “Not a natural or anything, but he’s a quick study. If he built up his endurance and pushed himself, he’d be a damn good swordsman. If I could get him casting materia, he’d make Third easily.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve never been great with materia.” Zack said, scratching the back of his neck with a wry smile, “I mean, I never had a problem with casting, but that’s because I could always just do it. I don’t really get theory and I can’t explain it in a way that Cloud gets.”
Sephiroth made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, eyeing Cloud again for a completely different reason than he had been before, “I’ve… never been a teacher before, but I’ve always been a bit of a materia prodigy. If you would like, I would be glad to try and help you through the block.”
For a moment, Cloud’s heart leapt eagerly. Training with Sephiroth was something he had only dreamt of. In his younger years, he had imagined doing well enough during training or exams to catch the General’s eye. The highest ranking Firsts often took on students, although Sephiroth had never done so. Cloud had so badly wanted to be the first.
Of course, Sephiroth had not noticed him because of his skill. The thought was enough to sober him immediately. He set aside his fork, pushing away the mostly empty plate in front of him. The delicious meal was quickly becoming a lump in his stomach.
Zack had been grinning at him, but the grin quickly melted off his face, “Spike?”
Cloud ignored him, fixing Sephiroth with a glare, “I’m not going to sleep with you.”
Instead of the anger or offence that Cloud had expected, Sephiroth’s lips quirked up in a smile, “Yes… you’ve made that perfectly clear.”
Zack shoved away from the table, tossing his napkin on top of his plate with a roll of his eyes, “You two are hopeless. I can’t handle this. I’m going to pretend to go to the bathroom to give you two the privacy to work this out.”
Re: Sephiroth/Cloud: Sephiroth is used to propositioning people quite bluntly. From Anonymous.
“Right.” Cloud snorted, disbelieving, “You really want to just help some random Trooper learn to cast magic, just to be nice.”
“No. I want to help you, because Zack sees something in you.” Sephiroth replied, not letting Cloud’s hostile tone put him off, “He and I have had our differences, but I trust his opinion. We need more good Soldiers, after losing so many. I won’t lie and say that I do not still find you attractive, but I can be a professional. I won’t attempt to pursue someone who is not interested.”
Cloud crossed his arms across his chest, “I don’t do one night stands.”
“I understand that now. I am sorry that I offended you with my offer. It was not my intent.” Sephiroth let his eyes slide away from the angry blonde, “Would you reconsider if I asked you for something more?”
“What?” Cloud asked, gaping at Sephiroth.
“I don’t know if there could be more to it than that.” Sephiroth said, his voice a little rough with embarrassment. His bright eyes flicked back up to meet Cloud’s, “Still, I would like to pursue it, if you’re interested.”
“I don’t…” Cloud could feel his cheeks flushing and scowled at his own reaction, “What are you talking about?”
Sephiroth shot him an exasperated look, “I thought we might try this again sometime. Dinner, perhaps a movie or something afterwards… preferably without Zack eavesdropping on us from the bathroom.”
Zack took the opportunity to obnoxiously flush the toilet, startling a laugh out of Cloud. When he got himself back under control, he unfolded his arms and twisted his fingers together shyly, “You want to go on a date with me? Zack said you don’t date!”
“I have not dated in the past.” Sephiroth corrected gently, “I would be interested to see if we were compatible, at the very least.”
Cloud glanced back up at Sephiroth, surprised by the earnest, vaguely hopeful expression on his face. After a few moments of thought, he nodded, “Alright. That sounds… nice.”
Sephiroth gave himself a little shake and let out a huff of laughter, “Well, I’ve heard people talk about how difficult obtaining a date can be. I see why, now.”
Cloud chuckled, rubbing a hand over his hair, “Sorry.”
“I suppose I deserved to worry a bit over your response.” Sephiroth replied with a smirk, “…all things considered.”
Zack strode back into the room, his face all smiles, “Got that sorted out? Good. You can hammer out the details later. For now, I want some more of this food and some lighter conversation, hm?”
Cloud laughed again and picked up his fork again, “Agreed. It’s not every day that I get to enjoy a meal from home. I’m going to enjoy it.”
“I’m glad you’re pleased, Cloud.” Sephiroth said, dishing out another serving of the dumplings for himself.
Cloud smiled at the man he had once idolized and decided to take Zack’s advice. He relaxed in his seat and enjoyed a good meal with his best friend and the man he had once considered far beyond his grasp. Sephiroth had proven surprisingly human, just as Zack had said he would. Now that he was past being insulted, Cloud found himself flattered that he had been the one to fluster the usually composed man.
They shared a small smile as Sephiroth passed him the plate of sliced bread and Cloud let himself enjoy the way his heart fluttered in his chest, hoping that it was the start of something good.
---
Heh. Had to break the last part up because it was too long. Sorry for the delay! I've been terribly sick for the last month or so and could not work up the brain cells to put an end on this. Hopefully this pleases the original Anon!