Fic: New Dress Part I
Title: New Dress
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~12 300
Pairing: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: romance
Warnings: smut
Also Contains: tentacles, dominance and submission, cross-dressing
Type: one-shot
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Sequel to Changes. It's time for Shin-Ra's Annual Tri-Service Ball; a gala event for SOLDIER, Turks, and the regular army. If only Cloud had a date who could take him.
A/N: This is set about six months after Changes. The tentacle hair is less of a focus, but it's still there. And I couldn't think of a title, so I'm stealing more song names. Posted in two parts because of long.
***
"Hey, Strife! You still not going to the party tonight?"
"No, Hollister, I'm still not going to the party tonight," Cloud sighed as he grabbed his water bottle and headed for the gym exit.
"C'mon, there's a bunch of us gonna be there without chicks. It's an open bar, Strife. O-pen bar." Hollister and a few other guys followed him out to the locker room.
"Holy shit! Open bar!? Why didn't anybody tell me that a thousand times already?" Not even an open bar could detract from the fact that Sephiroth would be there with Scarlet on his arm instead of him.
"Well, it sure as shit hasn't sunk in, 'cause otherwise you wouldn't be wimping out on us."
"Look, big parties just aren't my thing." Cloud got his locker open and froze. A keycard was propped up against his boots. There was a note tucked underneath, so he pulled it out and glanced over it. "I've gotta go," he said, grabbing the keycard and his things. "Have a good time tonight. Don't kill yourselves at the bar."
Cloud jogged off, leaving his protesting friends behind. He supposed that Sephiroth wanted to get laid before the ball. He often let Cloud shower at his place-he had more time for grooming the way that Sephiroth wanted him to that way-but he had never left him his keycard before. Cloud couldn't help but feel a tiny bit resentful, though. If this was meant to make up for the fact that he'd be drinking and dancing with Scarlet all night, he had really missed the mark. He didn't care that Sephiroth didn't want to go with her; Zack told him that the president always made them go together because Sephiroth never had a date. It still hurt. And he could have had a date this year, Cloud fumed, and he banged on the elevator button to take him up to the SOLDIER residences.
"Or not," Cloud sighed and slumped against the wall of the elevator when it arrived. There were a handful of guys in the various security departments who were out, but he supposed that Sephiroth couldn't risk it, considering his position. It would also be highly inappropriate once he got into SOLIDER and Sephiroth had actual authority over him. It was best to keep their relationship a secret.
It would be nice to have a proper shower, at least. Even if Sephiroth was only having him over so he could have a quick fuck before running off to the ball. Maybe he'd let him stay there while he was gone; a night of watching movies on the big screen TV wouldn't be so bad. Then, of course, Sephiroth would come home and tell him all about it. Unless he booked a room at the hotel to take Scarlet to-just how far did he take the charade?
He could have kicked himself. Sephiroth wouldn't cheat on him. He wouldn't. He was only going to the stupid party because he had to, and he was only going with stupid Scarlet because he had to. This was exactly the sort of thinking that Sephiroth was always telling him he needed to stop if he wanted to be a SOLDIER. Sephiroth said it was one of their most important traits: a single SOLDIER had to be able to convince civilians that he could defeat the monsters that had been terrorizing them, and he needed self-confidence to do that.
Sephiroth appreciated him and wanted to be with him, and he made both those facts abundantly clear. This was just a company function that he had to go to as a part of his job. With that thought firmly in mind, Cloud headed down the hall to Sephiroth's apartment and swiped his keycard with confidence.
The apartment was silent, which wasn't much of a surprise. Why leave a keycard if he was going to be home? So Cloud left his things neatly by the door-the note said he didn't need anything-and headed for the bedroom. He opened the door and froze with his mouth hanging open.
There was a coat rack in the middle of the open space between the bed and the bathroom. Hanging from one arm was a silky purple dress with a large bow on the front. Directly beneath it was a pair of gold-coloured high-heeled shoes. A little table next to it held a matching clutch, a pair of panties, a lacey bra, purple gloves, some boxes that looked like they probably held jewelry, and a blonde wig. A piece of paper sat beside them.
Your escort will pick you up at 1800. Be ready.
Cloud gaped at the setup with a pounding heart. He was going to Shin-Ra's Annual Tri-Service Ball. He was going to the ball as Sephiroth's date. A glace at the clock shook him out of his shocked stupor-barely three hours to get ready.
He ran for the bathroom.
Cloud was naked and halfway into the shower before he noticed the rest of the bathroom. He paused, with his one wet leg dripping on the floor, and glanced around. There was makeup lined up on the counter, with more paper beside it. There was a bottle of perfume and some lotion. And there was shaving cream and a razor with a stack of extra blades beside it. If Sephiroth wanted him to shave his legs, those extra blades were probably going to be very necessary, so Cloud took the whole works into the shower.
He went through two blades per leg, trying very hard to not nick himself, then went over them again with a fresh blade. He shaved what he supposed, for tonight at least, could be considered his bikini zone, figuring that if he was going to be wearing women's underwear, it wouldn't do to have pubes sticking out all over the place, even if they were trimmed. The hair on his chest and stomach was pale enough that it probably wouldn't be noticeable, but Cloud shaved it all off anyways. Then he stared at his feet. They weren't hairy by a long shot, but... it would look better. He very carefully shaved the tops of his feet and toes, knowing that Sephiroth would appreciate it.
He grabbed the soap and lathered up, but let out an embarrassed yelp moments later. Armpits! He totally forgot about those! As he reached for the razor again, he wondered vaguely how long it would take for his hair to grow back and if anyone would notice before it did.
Once he was as hair-free as he could get and thoroughly scrubbed, both outside and in, Cloud turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wondering what the next step was. Lotion, he decided, then should he get dressed or do his makeup first? He might smudge the makeup by putting on the dress afterwards, but if he got dressed first, he might get makeup on it or crush the bow.
He wrapped the towel around his waist and went out to look at the dress more closely. It had a zipper down one side; it would go all the way past his hips... he could totally step into it rather than pulling it over his head. That would work much better. Problem solved, he ran back to the bathroom to look at the makeup, praying to every god he had ever heard of that the papers on the counter were instructions.
They were, and Sephiroth had somehow obtained far better instructions than he had dared to even hope for. They were hand-written with diagrams for nearly every step, and had obviously been written with an absolute beginner in mind.
Step 1. Apply moisturizer (A) and lip balm (B).
Cloud looked at the products lined up on the counter; they all had little stickers with letters on them, and the two on the far left were labelled A and B. He followed the steps, applying foundation, concealer, and a "little bit of powder on the large powder brush to take away shine, but leave a healthy sheen". He wasn't entirely sure if he had the right balance between shine and sheen, or even what the difference was, but thought it looked all right.
His eyes took several tries before he judged that it was good enough. At least whoever had written the instructions seemed to expect that he'd fail spectacularly and told him how to remove all the eye makeup so he could start again from scratch, and how to fix just what he had messed up. And the liquid eyeliner was optional, thank Holy. His eyes began watering up when he so much as looked at it after nearly blinding himself during his first attempt.
Finally, after dabbing a touch of sparkly gloss on the centre of his bottom lip, Cloud declared himself made up. He admired himself in the mirror as he spritzed on a bit of perfume, then ran out to grab the wig. The instructions also included how to put it on properly, and he managed to get it on and looking like real hair in one go, much to his surprise.
When he walked back out to the bedroom to get dressed, his stomach did a couple little flip-flops. He ran his fingers delicately over the silk of the dress and the fragile lace of the underwear. He was nervous-who wouldn't be?-but excited at the same time. He wanted to be pretty and make Sephiroth proud. He could be pretty in this.
His cock twitched as he pulled the panties on, first over one leg, then the other. The fabric was soft and smooth; it glided over his ass and felt so good... But there was no time for distractions; Cloud glanced at the clock with disappointment. Surely Sephiroth would want to take the time to appreciate him dressed like this, he thought as he tucked his cock into the panties. He wouldn't have bought such nice things if he didn't want to see him in them.
The bra was already pre-stuffed with jelly things sewn into the cups. Cloud guessed that they felt quite similar to real breasts, though he had only had the one very quick opportunity to feel Tifa's, and they were still pretty small at the time, so it was hard to compare. He had to put the bra on backwards in order to get the hooks done up, then he twisted it around and got it settled in close to the correct position-it was hard to tell without breasts or even shoulder straps.
Boobs were not his thing, Cloud had to admit. He hoped it would look better with the dress overtop, but as far as just being in the underwear went, he much preferred the look of panties and no bra. Maybe Sephiroth would get him a little see-through chemise type of thing to wear...
Cloud snorted loudly, then had to run up to the mirror to check that he hadn't ruined his makeup. To be pondering what other women's lingerie he could wear when he didn't even know if Sephiroth actually wanted to see him like this, or if it was just because he had to was a bit silly. Sighing, he pulled the dress off the hanger and unzipped it, then stepped into it and pulled it up.
He found himself blushing when he looked in the mirror; Sephiroth must have put a lot of thought into the style of dress. It managed to make his shoulders look a bit narrower, and at the same time, it minimized his biceps with little meshy sleeves. It even gave him the appearance of hips, though he rather doubted they'd be childbearing standard. The skirt ended modestly, just above his knees; Cloud licked his thumb and rubbed a bit of dried blood off his knee where he had nicked himself shaving. No one would notice, he was sure.
He turned to the jewelry boxes. A wide choker with a cameo featuring a single wing and fabric that matched the colour of the dress covered his Adam's apple nicely. There was a pair of clip-on earrings and a matching set of bangles as well. He slipped the bangles on over the long purple gloves that went up past his elbows. Once those were on, he sat down and crossed his fingers, hoping that he'd be able to walk in the shoes.
He wobbled several steps to the mirror to look at the finished product and smiled. He was indeed pretty, and felt certain that Sephiroth would think so too. And no one would know that he wasn't a girl, either. Not unless they were getting way too familiar.
The doorbell rang and Cloud jumped, then grabbed onto the coat rack for balance. "Coming!" he called, wondering why Sephiroth didn't just come in. He grabbed the clutch and ran as quickly as he could-with delicate, mincing steps-to the bathroom and took the lip gloss, lipstick, eyeliner, shadow, and compact, shoving them into the bag. Would he need his ID? He couldn't imagine Sephiroth putting him in a position where he'd have to show it, but he supposed he should take it anyway, just in case. The doorbell rang again, so he grabbed it and the keycard and minced his way to the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered as he opened it.
"Damn," Zack whistled appreciatively. "Lookin' good."
"Zack?" Cloud's heart dropped and felt like it had landed at his toes and been stomped on with his big spiked heels. Was Zack going to pretend to be his date? Did that mean Sephiroth was still going with Scarlet? He wasn't going to cry, he wasn't. It would ruin his makeup. But what the hell was the point in having makeup that wasn't ruined if it was all for nothing!?
"Cloud, what's wrong? You look like I just killed your puppy and I swear, I haven't. I didn't even know you had a puppy."
"I thought-I thought-" Cloud stomped his foot and bit his lip, still trying not to cry. "Sephiroth was-I mean-Where is he?"
"Oh, dude, don't cry. Shit, he sent me to get you because he had to be there early. He's waiting for you. Hey, c'mon, you know he wouldn't ask you to dress like a girl and then stick you with me." Zack ducked inside for a tissue and began blotting at Cloud's face.
"He's waiting?" Cloud sniffled.
"Of course he is. Didn't he explain? He said he left you a note."
Cloud shook his head. "He never explains. The note just said to be ready by eighteen hundred hours. I assumed that he meant for me to be his date, but then I saw you and-and-"
"And thought that Sephiroth would choose man-eater Scarlet over a hot piece of ass like yourself? Idiot. So wait, are you telling me that you shaved your legs and put on a dress and makeup and you didn't even know for sure why?"
"Well, sure," Cloud laughed. "He wanted me to. That's a good enough reason."
"That's... fucked up. And I don't know if I mean that in a good way." Zack frowned at him with concern in his eyes. "Do you do everything he wants you to?"
"Mostly. He knows my limits and doesn't have me do anything I really don't want to do. But if I'm uncomfortable, I'll say so."
"So you're saying you're comfortable with dressing like a chick without knowing why?"
"Sure. I mean, it's just clothes, and I think I look good. My hair will grow back, so it's no big deal." Cloud supposed that it was maybe a bit strange that he hadn't balked at the idea at all, but it was just clothes. Besides, Sephiroth liked the fact that he was strangely accepting of things.
Zack raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. "Just clothes, huh?"
"Scared to wear a dress?" Cloud said with a grin. "Or are you worried you'll get teased if you shave your legs?"
"You little-"
"Hold my purse for me, would you? I'm just going to make sure my makeup's still good." Cloud shoved the clutch into Zack's hands and minced his way back to the bathroom, exaggerating his tiny steps to tease Zack. He quickly fixed a few smudges around his eyes and dabbed a little bit of concealer on his nose.
"Okay, I'm good," he said when he came back out. He took the clutch back and held out his arm. "Walk slowly, these heels aren't easy."
Zack took his arm with another small shake of his head. "Yes, ma'am. Oh, your name's Claudia, since apparently he doesn't tell you anything."
"Okay. That's a nice name."
***
"Sephiroth, you're needed inside," Heidegger's voice grated on Sephiroth's ears, and he ground his teeth in annoyance.
"My date isn't here yet. You can start without me." Sephiroth glanced at his watch again. It was only a couple minutes drive to the hotel from headquarters. They should have been here by a quarter after at the latest.
"You don't even have a date, do you?"
"At least I didn't rent mine," Sephiroth muttered under his breath. "She'll be here." It hadn't actually occurred to him that Cloud might have refused to go along with it until now, but he would have called and told him he wouldn't do it if that were the case. He checked his PHS again just in case there were any new messages, but there was nothing. "Come on..."
At long last, a car pulled to a stop in front of the entrance, and Zack hopped out of the far side and jogged over to him. "Sorry we're late," he said, "There was a minor crisis, but it's all sorted."
Sephiroth ignored Zack and went over to the car. The back door had opened and Cloud was struggling to get out. "Can I offer you a hand?" he asked.
"Fuck yes, you can. Cars and these shoes do not match." Cloud held out his hands and Sephiroth hauled him up, grabbing hold of his waist to help him balance. "Oh shit, my purse!"
Sephiroth reached into the car before Cloud had a chance and grabbed the purse off the seat. He thanked the driver, then slammed the door shut and turned to look at his date. Cloud had stepped back and was smoothing his skirt and straightening the bow, blushing slightly.
"You look wonderful," he said, holding out the purse.
Cloud blushed a deeper shade of pink. "It's all right? The makeup was hard, but I think I did okay."
Sephiroth leaned in and kissed him softly, inhaling the floral scent of his perfume. "It's perfect," he murmured. "You're perfect. Thank you for doing this for me."
"Heidegger's looking like he's about to burst something," Zack called out. "You might want to hurry up."
"Shall we, Claudia?" Sephiroth offered him his elbow and Cloud took hold of it with a smile.
"Absolutely. You look really nice, too. I think I like you in a tux."
"Thank you." Sephiroth still wasn't entirely sure that he liked the way his hair looked braided, but it needed to be, especially at an event like this. The SOLDIERs all knew about his hair's special properties, but it stopped there. The last thing he needed was a bunch of civilians finding out.
Cloud was a bit off balance, so Sephiroth set a slow pace and led him into the ballroom, past the milling crowds of people, and up to the head table. He pulled out the chair for him, and Cloud sat, then bounced up immediately to fix his skirt before trying again. A waiter materialized mere moments after Sephiroth had taken his seat to offer them wine.
"You made it." Tseng was seated next to Cloud and looked him up and down. "We were beginning to think you didn't exist. Sephiroth's never brought his own date to the ball before."
"Sorry," Cloud said in a slightly higher pitched voice, blushing again, "There was a bit of confusion when Zack came to pick me up."
"I see." Tseng looked like he was about to say something else, but turned away when someone called his name.
Cloud began looking around, trying to see the other people at the table, but apparently getting frustrated.
"What is it?"
"Where do you suppose they've stuck their purses?" Cloud asked holding his up. "No one else seems to be holding theirs on their laps."
"Hmm..." Sephiroth glanced at his neighbour and noticed a bag at her feet. "On the floor, apparently. I've never even thought of what people do with stuff like that."
Cloud set his clutch down between them so it was leaning on his chair leg. "Me neither. It's a pain to have to remember it all the time. And how am I going to dance?"
"What have you got in it?"
"Just some makeup, your keycard, and my ID. I didn't think I'd need that, but I didn't really want to be without it, either."
Sephiroth nodded. "There's a side room I've got access to; we can stick it in there after dinner. I'll put the keycard and ID in my wallet."
"Thanks." Cloud fell silent when Heidegger stepped up to a podium to the right of the head table, but Sephiroth ignored the speech he had heard a dozen times before and played with Cloud's hand instead, running his fingers up and down the long, silk gloves.
The dress he had chosen suited Cloud well, and the makeup artist he had gone to had obviously been worth the money. He wished he could have been there to watch Cloud getting dressed, but then they might not have made it to the ball at all. The wig was nice, too, he thought. It was a similar shade of blonde as Cloud's hair, but longer, with some well-structured curls.
Applause broke out as Heidegger finished thanking them for another year of service, and Sephiroth half-heartedly patted his thigh until Heidegger sat down. Waiters began bringing out trays, and chatter broke out at all the tables.
"So, how did you meet Sephiroth? It's my understanding that he doesn't get out for dates very often."
Sephiroth looked sharply at Cloud, wondering if he'd have to jump in, but Cloud smiled happily. "That's true, I think, mister...?"
"Tseng. Just Tseng is fine."
"Tseng, then. Sephiroth was on a mission when we met. My daddy owns an inn a ways outside of Kalm, and he stays there sometimes when he's in the area. I know he's busy, being a big SOLDIER hero and all, but he always takes the time to stop by and have a chat with me. When he asked me if I'd like to come to this ball, well, of course I said yes. I haven't been to the city since they started building the plate. Sure has come a long way... Everything's so shiny now."
Sephiroth had to cover his face to hide his grin; he had never imagined that Cloud could act, but he was doing a fine job of it. Tseng's eyes had glazed over at the mention of her daddy, and he appeared to have tuned out everything past the big SOLDIER hero. It was perfect; Cloud could convince everyone that Claudia was a walking stereotype of a starry-eyed country yokel, and therefore too boring to talk to, which would make it easier for him to pass as a girl.
"That's great," Tseng said and turned back to his own date.
Cloud turned towards him and raised his eyebrows in question.
"Brilliant," he said. "I'm just going to pretend that I seduced you in the barn and your daddy doesn't know."
"You're gonna git in so much trouble with him," Cloud threatened, wagging his finger at him, "There'll be a shotgun weddin' fer shure!"
Sephiroth laughed and raised his wineglass. "Cheers, Claudia. To shotgun weddings and ravishings in the hayloft."
"Cheers!"
"So what was the crisis?" Sephiroth asked after a waiter had left them with plates piled high with food.
"Hmm?"
"Zack said there was a crisis that made you late, and you told Tseng there had been some confusion. What was it?"
"Oh," Cloud blushed, "I was just being stupid."
"Cloud..."
"Okay, silly and overly dramatic and jumping to conclusions then, not stupid. Anyways," Cloud waved his fork in dismissal, "I was all excited because I was going to go to the ball with you, but then Zack showed up, and I thought that meant that I was supposed to go with him, and you'd still be going with Scarlet, and I may have cried just a little and had to fix my makeup."
"You thought I'd do that to you?" Sephiroth wasn't sure if his feelings should be hurt, or if he should smack Cloud upside the head for being an idiot.
"No..." Cloud waved his fork again. "Not really. I was just-your note said that my 'escort' would come get me, and I assumed that meant you because isn't a lady's escort usually the dude dancing with her at the ball? And then it was Zack, and Zack's great and all, but he's not you, so I was really disappointed and wondered if I misunderstood the note, and you know that I'm trying with the self-esteem and confidence, but it's hard sometimes, and-"
"Okay." Sephiroth held up his hands to cut Cloud off before he ended up in tears again. "Okay, yes, I do know that. And I understand that it's hard. I should have been clearer in the note; it's not like when I'm there in person and you can ask questions if you need to. Sorry."
Cloud shook his head. "Not your fault. I overreacted."
"A little, yes," Sephiroth agreed, "But next time I'll be clearer. No one's ravishing my Claudia but me."
Cloud giggled and took a sip of wine. "That would be appreciated. It would also be appreciated if you didn't leave me alone in the vicinity of Scarlet tonight. I think she's going to murder me."
"What? She's not-" Sephiroth looked over at Scarlet and caught the glare she was shooting in Cloud's direction. "Maybe she is... I wonder what's going on."
"Maybe she's mad at me for stealing you."
"No," Sephiroth said with a shake of his head, "She hated being ordered to go as my date."
"Maybe that's it. I mean, if I were her, I'd be pretty pissed off if I got treated like... like an escort by a bunch of men who were supposed to be my equals. She must've worked really hard to get where she is. I know she dresses kinda slutty, but she's got to have more than that going for her."
"She does," Sephiroth conceded. "She's extremely good at her job, though I can't stand her personality."
"So when all that gets tossed aside and she gets told to be your date, it's got to hurt. Even if... even if maybe she wanted to go with you. Maybe especially if."
"So you're saying she's mad because she had to be my date, and also because she wanted to?"
Cloud shrugged. "Maybe? Maybe she's just jealous of my outfit. Either way, please don't leave me alone with her. I think she could at least take out an eye with her nails; mine wouldn't be so good for that." Cloud looked at his hands sadly. "Gloves were a really good idea."
Sephiroth smiled and gave Cloud's thigh a squeeze. "I'll send you for a manicure and pedicure next time." He glanced back down the table at Scarlet and gave her a small smile. Cloud was definitely right in that it had probably really hurt for the men of the company to treat her like she was just a piece of meat. She deserved more respect than that.
***
Cloud stared in awe at the table that was being wheeled out in front of the head table. Claudia was channelling the country boy in him, and the country boy was very much impressed with the huge fountain of chocolate and plates of fruit, both familiar and exotic. Smaller fountains were being wheeled out to strategic places around the room, and Cloud couldn't help but be a little smug that they got the biggest one.
"Are you okay?" Sephiroth asked.
"Look at all the chocolate!" Cloud forgot to keep his voice down and saw Sephiroth make a face at Tseng over the top of his head.
"Sit tigh-you want to come up to get some yourself, don't you?"
"Yes! Can we go? Is it rude to be first?"
Sephiroth stood and offered him a hand up. "Come on, we'll get to it before too many people stick their fingers in."
Cloud wobbled momentarily when he stood, but remembered how to balance quickly. The woman who was sitting at Sephiroth's other side smirked at him, but he didn't care. There was a fountain of chocolate, and he was going to try everything.
Sephiroth held a plate for him with an indulgent smile while Cloud skewered the fruit and stuck it in the chocolate until he had two of each kind.
"Is this all for you, or do I get some too?" Sephiroth asked.
"I thought we could share," Cloud said and felt himself blushing. It was probably weird to share a plate at something like this.
Sephiroth just nodded. "Are we good to sit down, then? We can come back for seconds."
"Yeah, I think we're good." Cloud noticed that the other people who had gotten up had much less on their plates, even taking into account that his was for two. The women especially only had one or two pieces of fruit with just a tiny bit of chocolate on them. "Maybe we should pretend that it's mostly yours," he said quietly.
Sephiroth laughed and caught his hand. "Hey, you're a hard-working country girl who deserves to indulge a little. Fruit's good for you, and so is trying new things."
That made Cloud feel slightly better, but when Sephiroth set the plate down, he put it in front of his own chair, not between their places. "Not very lady-like..." Cloud mumbled as he sat down.
"Well then, fold your hands neatly in your lap, sit up straight, don't put yourself down, and you'll be back on the lady-like side in no time."
Cloud obeyed the instructions automatically before he stopped to wonder how he'd eat anything with his hands folded in his lap.
"Eyes on me," Sephiroth murmured in a tone he normally reserved for when they were alone. "Open up."
Cloud glanced through his lashes at Sephiroth and blushed deeply before opening his mouth. A chocolate covered raspberry was placed between his lips, and Sephiroth let his fingers linger long enough for Cloud suck the chocolate off of them.
"Good girl. Do you like it?"
Cloud nodded, and Sephiroth held up another piece for him. His eyes fluttered shut as he swallowed and opened his mouth again. This was one of the mystery fruits, he decided, full of seeds, but delicious and juicy. He darted his tongue out to lick Sephiroth's fingers as they withdrew, prompting a chuckle. Cloud blushed again, remembering that they were surrounded by people, and started to pull away in embarrassment. He opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of a few people staring and shrank back some more, staring at his lap.
"Eyes on me," Sephiroth said again, more firmly this time.
Cloud forced himself to raise his eyes, trying to block out everything but Sephiroth.
"No one here knows you," he murmured.
"I don't want to cause a scene."
"You're not." Sephiroth popped a piece of fruit into his own mouth. "Sitting on my lap while I feed you with one hand up your skirt would be causing a scene. Feeding you using my hair would be causing a scene. You're simply choosing to not take off your gloves, so I'm helping you out. Pineapple?"
"Yes, please." Cloud rather wished that he could sit on Sephiroth's lap; somehow, that seemed a lot safer and less exposed. He would pass on the hand up his skirt, though, unless they were alone. He compromised and scooted his chair a little bit closer to Sephiroth's while he swallowed his pineapple.
Sephiroth smiled at him and held up a strawberry. "I think I'm going to have to get some chocolate fondue for at home," he said. "The idea of you naked and tied up on my lap, covered in chocolate, is very tempting."
Cloud liked that idea, but frowned at Sephiroth. "Don't say things like that in public!"
"Why not? If I seduced you in the barn, wouldn't it logically follow that we'd be into activities where nakedness is involved?"
"Well, yes, but not with tying me up and stuff!"
"Who's getting tied up?" Zack's face appeared out of nowhere behind Sephiroth, and Cloud nearly fell out of his chair.
"Shit, Zack!"
"Claudia..." Sephiroth's voice held a warning tone, and Cloud immediately snapped his gaze back to where it was supposed to be. "Good girl. There's not a lot left; have you had enough?"
"Maybe a couple more pieces." It was really good chocolate, and he rather liked having Sephiroth feed it to him.
Sephiroth nodded and selected another piece of fruit before turning to Zack. "Claudia is. When I get fondue for at home."
"I see..." Cloud saw Zack blush bright red out of the corner of his eye. "Well, you've got all the guys drooling over you, Claudia; they all want someone to lick the chocolate off their fingers."
"Oh Gaia, Sephiroth, I can't. I-yellow." Cloud looked away and hid his face in his hands, fighting the urge to just get up and run. Everyone thought he was a slut, and they were all laughing at him, he knew it.
"Nice going, Fair," Sephiroth snarled, then a warm hand touched his shoulder. "Hey, sweetheart, it's okay. Come on, let's go outside for a moment."
Cloud nodded with his face still hidden, and Sephiroth pulled him up by the elbow. He heard Zack following, but he kept his face down and didn't make eye contact with anyone while Sephiroth led him to a door much closer than the one they had come in. It opened into a quiet hallway; he could hear voices further down, but they didn't seem to be coming closer.
"Is this okay?" Sephiroth asked. "We can go somewhere quieter if you need it."
Cloud shook his head. "It's fine." Strong, warm arms wrapped around him and held him close, keeping him safe.
"Sorry, Cloud, I-"
"Shut up. You're not helping." Sephiroth rubbed his back, and Cloud allowed himself to relax a fraction and listened to his heartbeat.
"Hey, I'm not the one who made him eat from my hand in the first place."
Cloud cringed and pressed himself closer to Sephiroth's body, covering his ears. He didn't want to hear about how he was a freak for letting Sephiroth do things like that. For enjoying it...
"Not now, Zack. If you want to be out here, be quiet and let Cloud calm down. If you've got concerns, we can talk about it later."
The authority in Sephiroth's voice worked, and silence fell across the hallway. Cloud lost track of how long he stood there, listening to the steady thump of Sephiroth's heart.
"No one knows who I am," he finally whispered.
"That's right," Sephiroth said. His voice was low and it made his chest rumble; Cloud decided he quite liked that. "Cloud's at his boyfriend's place watching movies and drinking all the expensive beer."
"Not all of it."
"Hmm, maybe not all of it. As long as his boyfriend doesn't stay out too late." Sephiroth kept rubbing his back and speaking in his comforting, rumbly voice. "Claudia's going to go back home to her daddy's inn after tonight. I'll see her again, but not often."
"Because she's a slut?"
"She's not a slut. She just lives far away. But I like her a lot, so I'll stop by and see her when I can."
"That's nice. You'll tell people that she's not a slut if they ask?"
"Of course I will."
"Thank you." Cloud waited a few more minutes, then opened his eyes and breathed deeply. "I'm good."
"Do you want to go home, or are you okay to go back in?" Sephiroth rubbed his thumb at the corner of Cloud's eye. "I know you were looking forward to dancing."
"I want to dance, but I want to fix my makeup first." It was probably all smudged by now.
"Of course. Zack, can you go get Cloud's clutch? It's at the foot of his chair."
"Yeah, sure." Zack didn't sound very happy, and Cloud started to worry all over again.
"I'll talk to him," Sephiroth said, stroking Cloud's head. "Spend some extra time in the bathroom, and I'll get it sorted out with him. Okay?"
"Okay."
Zack came back out with his clutch and handed it over silently. Cloud gave him a small smile, then glanced around.
"Around the corner and to your left," Sephiroth said. "They shouldn't be very busy at this end."
"'Kay. Thanks." Cloud hurried off, hoping that Sephiroth would make Zack understand.
***
Part II
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~12 300
Pairing: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: romance
Warnings: smut
Also Contains: tentacles, dominance and submission, cross-dressing
Type: one-shot
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Sequel to Changes. It's time for Shin-Ra's Annual Tri-Service Ball; a gala event for SOLDIER, Turks, and the regular army. If only Cloud had a date who could take him.
A/N: This is set about six months after Changes. The tentacle hair is less of a focus, but it's still there. And I couldn't think of a title, so I'm stealing more song names. Posted in two parts because of long.
***
"Hey, Strife! You still not going to the party tonight?"
"No, Hollister, I'm still not going to the party tonight," Cloud sighed as he grabbed his water bottle and headed for the gym exit.
"C'mon, there's a bunch of us gonna be there without chicks. It's an open bar, Strife. O-pen bar." Hollister and a few other guys followed him out to the locker room.
"Holy shit! Open bar!? Why didn't anybody tell me that a thousand times already?" Not even an open bar could detract from the fact that Sephiroth would be there with Scarlet on his arm instead of him.
"Well, it sure as shit hasn't sunk in, 'cause otherwise you wouldn't be wimping out on us."
"Look, big parties just aren't my thing." Cloud got his locker open and froze. A keycard was propped up against his boots. There was a note tucked underneath, so he pulled it out and glanced over it. "I've gotta go," he said, grabbing the keycard and his things. "Have a good time tonight. Don't kill yourselves at the bar."
Cloud jogged off, leaving his protesting friends behind. He supposed that Sephiroth wanted to get laid before the ball. He often let Cloud shower at his place-he had more time for grooming the way that Sephiroth wanted him to that way-but he had never left him his keycard before. Cloud couldn't help but feel a tiny bit resentful, though. If this was meant to make up for the fact that he'd be drinking and dancing with Scarlet all night, he had really missed the mark. He didn't care that Sephiroth didn't want to go with her; Zack told him that the president always made them go together because Sephiroth never had a date. It still hurt. And he could have had a date this year, Cloud fumed, and he banged on the elevator button to take him up to the SOLDIER residences.
"Or not," Cloud sighed and slumped against the wall of the elevator when it arrived. There were a handful of guys in the various security departments who were out, but he supposed that Sephiroth couldn't risk it, considering his position. It would also be highly inappropriate once he got into SOLIDER and Sephiroth had actual authority over him. It was best to keep their relationship a secret.
It would be nice to have a proper shower, at least. Even if Sephiroth was only having him over so he could have a quick fuck before running off to the ball. Maybe he'd let him stay there while he was gone; a night of watching movies on the big screen TV wouldn't be so bad. Then, of course, Sephiroth would come home and tell him all about it. Unless he booked a room at the hotel to take Scarlet to-just how far did he take the charade?
He could have kicked himself. Sephiroth wouldn't cheat on him. He wouldn't. He was only going to the stupid party because he had to, and he was only going with stupid Scarlet because he had to. This was exactly the sort of thinking that Sephiroth was always telling him he needed to stop if he wanted to be a SOLDIER. Sephiroth said it was one of their most important traits: a single SOLDIER had to be able to convince civilians that he could defeat the monsters that had been terrorizing them, and he needed self-confidence to do that.
Sephiroth appreciated him and wanted to be with him, and he made both those facts abundantly clear. This was just a company function that he had to go to as a part of his job. With that thought firmly in mind, Cloud headed down the hall to Sephiroth's apartment and swiped his keycard with confidence.
The apartment was silent, which wasn't much of a surprise. Why leave a keycard if he was going to be home? So Cloud left his things neatly by the door-the note said he didn't need anything-and headed for the bedroom. He opened the door and froze with his mouth hanging open.
There was a coat rack in the middle of the open space between the bed and the bathroom. Hanging from one arm was a silky purple dress with a large bow on the front. Directly beneath it was a pair of gold-coloured high-heeled shoes. A little table next to it held a matching clutch, a pair of panties, a lacey bra, purple gloves, some boxes that looked like they probably held jewelry, and a blonde wig. A piece of paper sat beside them.
Your escort will pick you up at 1800. Be ready.
Cloud gaped at the setup with a pounding heart. He was going to Shin-Ra's Annual Tri-Service Ball. He was going to the ball as Sephiroth's date. A glace at the clock shook him out of his shocked stupor-barely three hours to get ready.
He ran for the bathroom.
Cloud was naked and halfway into the shower before he noticed the rest of the bathroom. He paused, with his one wet leg dripping on the floor, and glanced around. There was makeup lined up on the counter, with more paper beside it. There was a bottle of perfume and some lotion. And there was shaving cream and a razor with a stack of extra blades beside it. If Sephiroth wanted him to shave his legs, those extra blades were probably going to be very necessary, so Cloud took the whole works into the shower.
He went through two blades per leg, trying very hard to not nick himself, then went over them again with a fresh blade. He shaved what he supposed, for tonight at least, could be considered his bikini zone, figuring that if he was going to be wearing women's underwear, it wouldn't do to have pubes sticking out all over the place, even if they were trimmed. The hair on his chest and stomach was pale enough that it probably wouldn't be noticeable, but Cloud shaved it all off anyways. Then he stared at his feet. They weren't hairy by a long shot, but... it would look better. He very carefully shaved the tops of his feet and toes, knowing that Sephiroth would appreciate it.
He grabbed the soap and lathered up, but let out an embarrassed yelp moments later. Armpits! He totally forgot about those! As he reached for the razor again, he wondered vaguely how long it would take for his hair to grow back and if anyone would notice before it did.
Once he was as hair-free as he could get and thoroughly scrubbed, both outside and in, Cloud turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wondering what the next step was. Lotion, he decided, then should he get dressed or do his makeup first? He might smudge the makeup by putting on the dress afterwards, but if he got dressed first, he might get makeup on it or crush the bow.
He wrapped the towel around his waist and went out to look at the dress more closely. It had a zipper down one side; it would go all the way past his hips... he could totally step into it rather than pulling it over his head. That would work much better. Problem solved, he ran back to the bathroom to look at the makeup, praying to every god he had ever heard of that the papers on the counter were instructions.
They were, and Sephiroth had somehow obtained far better instructions than he had dared to even hope for. They were hand-written with diagrams for nearly every step, and had obviously been written with an absolute beginner in mind.
Step 1. Apply moisturizer (A) and lip balm (B).
Cloud looked at the products lined up on the counter; they all had little stickers with letters on them, and the two on the far left were labelled A and B. He followed the steps, applying foundation, concealer, and a "little bit of powder on the large powder brush to take away shine, but leave a healthy sheen". He wasn't entirely sure if he had the right balance between shine and sheen, or even what the difference was, but thought it looked all right.
His eyes took several tries before he judged that it was good enough. At least whoever had written the instructions seemed to expect that he'd fail spectacularly and told him how to remove all the eye makeup so he could start again from scratch, and how to fix just what he had messed up. And the liquid eyeliner was optional, thank Holy. His eyes began watering up when he so much as looked at it after nearly blinding himself during his first attempt.
Finally, after dabbing a touch of sparkly gloss on the centre of his bottom lip, Cloud declared himself made up. He admired himself in the mirror as he spritzed on a bit of perfume, then ran out to grab the wig. The instructions also included how to put it on properly, and he managed to get it on and looking like real hair in one go, much to his surprise.
When he walked back out to the bedroom to get dressed, his stomach did a couple little flip-flops. He ran his fingers delicately over the silk of the dress and the fragile lace of the underwear. He was nervous-who wouldn't be?-but excited at the same time. He wanted to be pretty and make Sephiroth proud. He could be pretty in this.
His cock twitched as he pulled the panties on, first over one leg, then the other. The fabric was soft and smooth; it glided over his ass and felt so good... But there was no time for distractions; Cloud glanced at the clock with disappointment. Surely Sephiroth would want to take the time to appreciate him dressed like this, he thought as he tucked his cock into the panties. He wouldn't have bought such nice things if he didn't want to see him in them.
The bra was already pre-stuffed with jelly things sewn into the cups. Cloud guessed that they felt quite similar to real breasts, though he had only had the one very quick opportunity to feel Tifa's, and they were still pretty small at the time, so it was hard to compare. He had to put the bra on backwards in order to get the hooks done up, then he twisted it around and got it settled in close to the correct position-it was hard to tell without breasts or even shoulder straps.
Boobs were not his thing, Cloud had to admit. He hoped it would look better with the dress overtop, but as far as just being in the underwear went, he much preferred the look of panties and no bra. Maybe Sephiroth would get him a little see-through chemise type of thing to wear...
Cloud snorted loudly, then had to run up to the mirror to check that he hadn't ruined his makeup. To be pondering what other women's lingerie he could wear when he didn't even know if Sephiroth actually wanted to see him like this, or if it was just because he had to was a bit silly. Sighing, he pulled the dress off the hanger and unzipped it, then stepped into it and pulled it up.
He found himself blushing when he looked in the mirror; Sephiroth must have put a lot of thought into the style of dress. It managed to make his shoulders look a bit narrower, and at the same time, it minimized his biceps with little meshy sleeves. It even gave him the appearance of hips, though he rather doubted they'd be childbearing standard. The skirt ended modestly, just above his knees; Cloud licked his thumb and rubbed a bit of dried blood off his knee where he had nicked himself shaving. No one would notice, he was sure.
He turned to the jewelry boxes. A wide choker with a cameo featuring a single wing and fabric that matched the colour of the dress covered his Adam's apple nicely. There was a pair of clip-on earrings and a matching set of bangles as well. He slipped the bangles on over the long purple gloves that went up past his elbows. Once those were on, he sat down and crossed his fingers, hoping that he'd be able to walk in the shoes.
He wobbled several steps to the mirror to look at the finished product and smiled. He was indeed pretty, and felt certain that Sephiroth would think so too. And no one would know that he wasn't a girl, either. Not unless they were getting way too familiar.
The doorbell rang and Cloud jumped, then grabbed onto the coat rack for balance. "Coming!" he called, wondering why Sephiroth didn't just come in. He grabbed the clutch and ran as quickly as he could-with delicate, mincing steps-to the bathroom and took the lip gloss, lipstick, eyeliner, shadow, and compact, shoving them into the bag. Would he need his ID? He couldn't imagine Sephiroth putting him in a position where he'd have to show it, but he supposed he should take it anyway, just in case. The doorbell rang again, so he grabbed it and the keycard and minced his way to the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered as he opened it.
"Damn," Zack whistled appreciatively. "Lookin' good."
"Zack?" Cloud's heart dropped and felt like it had landed at his toes and been stomped on with his big spiked heels. Was Zack going to pretend to be his date? Did that mean Sephiroth was still going with Scarlet? He wasn't going to cry, he wasn't. It would ruin his makeup. But what the hell was the point in having makeup that wasn't ruined if it was all for nothing!?
"Cloud, what's wrong? You look like I just killed your puppy and I swear, I haven't. I didn't even know you had a puppy."
"I thought-I thought-" Cloud stomped his foot and bit his lip, still trying not to cry. "Sephiroth was-I mean-Where is he?"
"Oh, dude, don't cry. Shit, he sent me to get you because he had to be there early. He's waiting for you. Hey, c'mon, you know he wouldn't ask you to dress like a girl and then stick you with me." Zack ducked inside for a tissue and began blotting at Cloud's face.
"He's waiting?" Cloud sniffled.
"Of course he is. Didn't he explain? He said he left you a note."
Cloud shook his head. "He never explains. The note just said to be ready by eighteen hundred hours. I assumed that he meant for me to be his date, but then I saw you and-and-"
"And thought that Sephiroth would choose man-eater Scarlet over a hot piece of ass like yourself? Idiot. So wait, are you telling me that you shaved your legs and put on a dress and makeup and you didn't even know for sure why?"
"Well, sure," Cloud laughed. "He wanted me to. That's a good enough reason."
"That's... fucked up. And I don't know if I mean that in a good way." Zack frowned at him with concern in his eyes. "Do you do everything he wants you to?"
"Mostly. He knows my limits and doesn't have me do anything I really don't want to do. But if I'm uncomfortable, I'll say so."
"So you're saying you're comfortable with dressing like a chick without knowing why?"
"Sure. I mean, it's just clothes, and I think I look good. My hair will grow back, so it's no big deal." Cloud supposed that it was maybe a bit strange that he hadn't balked at the idea at all, but it was just clothes. Besides, Sephiroth liked the fact that he was strangely accepting of things.
Zack raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. "Just clothes, huh?"
"Scared to wear a dress?" Cloud said with a grin. "Or are you worried you'll get teased if you shave your legs?"
"You little-"
"Hold my purse for me, would you? I'm just going to make sure my makeup's still good." Cloud shoved the clutch into Zack's hands and minced his way back to the bathroom, exaggerating his tiny steps to tease Zack. He quickly fixed a few smudges around his eyes and dabbed a little bit of concealer on his nose.
"Okay, I'm good," he said when he came back out. He took the clutch back and held out his arm. "Walk slowly, these heels aren't easy."
Zack took his arm with another small shake of his head. "Yes, ma'am. Oh, your name's Claudia, since apparently he doesn't tell you anything."
"Okay. That's a nice name."
***
"Sephiroth, you're needed inside," Heidegger's voice grated on Sephiroth's ears, and he ground his teeth in annoyance.
"My date isn't here yet. You can start without me." Sephiroth glanced at his watch again. It was only a couple minutes drive to the hotel from headquarters. They should have been here by a quarter after at the latest.
"You don't even have a date, do you?"
"At least I didn't rent mine," Sephiroth muttered under his breath. "She'll be here." It hadn't actually occurred to him that Cloud might have refused to go along with it until now, but he would have called and told him he wouldn't do it if that were the case. He checked his PHS again just in case there were any new messages, but there was nothing. "Come on..."
At long last, a car pulled to a stop in front of the entrance, and Zack hopped out of the far side and jogged over to him. "Sorry we're late," he said, "There was a minor crisis, but it's all sorted."
Sephiroth ignored Zack and went over to the car. The back door had opened and Cloud was struggling to get out. "Can I offer you a hand?" he asked.
"Fuck yes, you can. Cars and these shoes do not match." Cloud held out his hands and Sephiroth hauled him up, grabbing hold of his waist to help him balance. "Oh shit, my purse!"
Sephiroth reached into the car before Cloud had a chance and grabbed the purse off the seat. He thanked the driver, then slammed the door shut and turned to look at his date. Cloud had stepped back and was smoothing his skirt and straightening the bow, blushing slightly.
"You look wonderful," he said, holding out the purse.
Cloud blushed a deeper shade of pink. "It's all right? The makeup was hard, but I think I did okay."
Sephiroth leaned in and kissed him softly, inhaling the floral scent of his perfume. "It's perfect," he murmured. "You're perfect. Thank you for doing this for me."
"Heidegger's looking like he's about to burst something," Zack called out. "You might want to hurry up."
"Shall we, Claudia?" Sephiroth offered him his elbow and Cloud took hold of it with a smile.
"Absolutely. You look really nice, too. I think I like you in a tux."
"Thank you." Sephiroth still wasn't entirely sure that he liked the way his hair looked braided, but it needed to be, especially at an event like this. The SOLDIERs all knew about his hair's special properties, but it stopped there. The last thing he needed was a bunch of civilians finding out.
Cloud was a bit off balance, so Sephiroth set a slow pace and led him into the ballroom, past the milling crowds of people, and up to the head table. He pulled out the chair for him, and Cloud sat, then bounced up immediately to fix his skirt before trying again. A waiter materialized mere moments after Sephiroth had taken his seat to offer them wine.
"You made it." Tseng was seated next to Cloud and looked him up and down. "We were beginning to think you didn't exist. Sephiroth's never brought his own date to the ball before."
"Sorry," Cloud said in a slightly higher pitched voice, blushing again, "There was a bit of confusion when Zack came to pick me up."
"I see." Tseng looked like he was about to say something else, but turned away when someone called his name.
Cloud began looking around, trying to see the other people at the table, but apparently getting frustrated.
"What is it?"
"Where do you suppose they've stuck their purses?" Cloud asked holding his up. "No one else seems to be holding theirs on their laps."
"Hmm..." Sephiroth glanced at his neighbour and noticed a bag at her feet. "On the floor, apparently. I've never even thought of what people do with stuff like that."
Cloud set his clutch down between them so it was leaning on his chair leg. "Me neither. It's a pain to have to remember it all the time. And how am I going to dance?"
"What have you got in it?"
"Just some makeup, your keycard, and my ID. I didn't think I'd need that, but I didn't really want to be without it, either."
Sephiroth nodded. "There's a side room I've got access to; we can stick it in there after dinner. I'll put the keycard and ID in my wallet."
"Thanks." Cloud fell silent when Heidegger stepped up to a podium to the right of the head table, but Sephiroth ignored the speech he had heard a dozen times before and played with Cloud's hand instead, running his fingers up and down the long, silk gloves.
The dress he had chosen suited Cloud well, and the makeup artist he had gone to had obviously been worth the money. He wished he could have been there to watch Cloud getting dressed, but then they might not have made it to the ball at all. The wig was nice, too, he thought. It was a similar shade of blonde as Cloud's hair, but longer, with some well-structured curls.
Applause broke out as Heidegger finished thanking them for another year of service, and Sephiroth half-heartedly patted his thigh until Heidegger sat down. Waiters began bringing out trays, and chatter broke out at all the tables.
"So, how did you meet Sephiroth? It's my understanding that he doesn't get out for dates very often."
Sephiroth looked sharply at Cloud, wondering if he'd have to jump in, but Cloud smiled happily. "That's true, I think, mister...?"
"Tseng. Just Tseng is fine."
"Tseng, then. Sephiroth was on a mission when we met. My daddy owns an inn a ways outside of Kalm, and he stays there sometimes when he's in the area. I know he's busy, being a big SOLDIER hero and all, but he always takes the time to stop by and have a chat with me. When he asked me if I'd like to come to this ball, well, of course I said yes. I haven't been to the city since they started building the plate. Sure has come a long way... Everything's so shiny now."
Sephiroth had to cover his face to hide his grin; he had never imagined that Cloud could act, but he was doing a fine job of it. Tseng's eyes had glazed over at the mention of her daddy, and he appeared to have tuned out everything past the big SOLDIER hero. It was perfect; Cloud could convince everyone that Claudia was a walking stereotype of a starry-eyed country yokel, and therefore too boring to talk to, which would make it easier for him to pass as a girl.
"That's great," Tseng said and turned back to his own date.
Cloud turned towards him and raised his eyebrows in question.
"Brilliant," he said. "I'm just going to pretend that I seduced you in the barn and your daddy doesn't know."
"You're gonna git in so much trouble with him," Cloud threatened, wagging his finger at him, "There'll be a shotgun weddin' fer shure!"
Sephiroth laughed and raised his wineglass. "Cheers, Claudia. To shotgun weddings and ravishings in the hayloft."
"Cheers!"
"So what was the crisis?" Sephiroth asked after a waiter had left them with plates piled high with food.
"Hmm?"
"Zack said there was a crisis that made you late, and you told Tseng there had been some confusion. What was it?"
"Oh," Cloud blushed, "I was just being stupid."
"Cloud..."
"Okay, silly and overly dramatic and jumping to conclusions then, not stupid. Anyways," Cloud waved his fork in dismissal, "I was all excited because I was going to go to the ball with you, but then Zack showed up, and I thought that meant that I was supposed to go with him, and you'd still be going with Scarlet, and I may have cried just a little and had to fix my makeup."
"You thought I'd do that to you?" Sephiroth wasn't sure if his feelings should be hurt, or if he should smack Cloud upside the head for being an idiot.
"No..." Cloud waved his fork again. "Not really. I was just-your note said that my 'escort' would come get me, and I assumed that meant you because isn't a lady's escort usually the dude dancing with her at the ball? And then it was Zack, and Zack's great and all, but he's not you, so I was really disappointed and wondered if I misunderstood the note, and you know that I'm trying with the self-esteem and confidence, but it's hard sometimes, and-"
"Okay." Sephiroth held up his hands to cut Cloud off before he ended up in tears again. "Okay, yes, I do know that. And I understand that it's hard. I should have been clearer in the note; it's not like when I'm there in person and you can ask questions if you need to. Sorry."
Cloud shook his head. "Not your fault. I overreacted."
"A little, yes," Sephiroth agreed, "But next time I'll be clearer. No one's ravishing my Claudia but me."
Cloud giggled and took a sip of wine. "That would be appreciated. It would also be appreciated if you didn't leave me alone in the vicinity of Scarlet tonight. I think she's going to murder me."
"What? She's not-" Sephiroth looked over at Scarlet and caught the glare she was shooting in Cloud's direction. "Maybe she is... I wonder what's going on."
"Maybe she's mad at me for stealing you."
"No," Sephiroth said with a shake of his head, "She hated being ordered to go as my date."
"Maybe that's it. I mean, if I were her, I'd be pretty pissed off if I got treated like... like an escort by a bunch of men who were supposed to be my equals. She must've worked really hard to get where she is. I know she dresses kinda slutty, but she's got to have more than that going for her."
"She does," Sephiroth conceded. "She's extremely good at her job, though I can't stand her personality."
"So when all that gets tossed aside and she gets told to be your date, it's got to hurt. Even if... even if maybe she wanted to go with you. Maybe especially if."
"So you're saying she's mad because she had to be my date, and also because she wanted to?"
Cloud shrugged. "Maybe? Maybe she's just jealous of my outfit. Either way, please don't leave me alone with her. I think she could at least take out an eye with her nails; mine wouldn't be so good for that." Cloud looked at his hands sadly. "Gloves were a really good idea."
Sephiroth smiled and gave Cloud's thigh a squeeze. "I'll send you for a manicure and pedicure next time." He glanced back down the table at Scarlet and gave her a small smile. Cloud was definitely right in that it had probably really hurt for the men of the company to treat her like she was just a piece of meat. She deserved more respect than that.
***
Cloud stared in awe at the table that was being wheeled out in front of the head table. Claudia was channelling the country boy in him, and the country boy was very much impressed with the huge fountain of chocolate and plates of fruit, both familiar and exotic. Smaller fountains were being wheeled out to strategic places around the room, and Cloud couldn't help but be a little smug that they got the biggest one.
"Are you okay?" Sephiroth asked.
"Look at all the chocolate!" Cloud forgot to keep his voice down and saw Sephiroth make a face at Tseng over the top of his head.
"Sit tigh-you want to come up to get some yourself, don't you?"
"Yes! Can we go? Is it rude to be first?"
Sephiroth stood and offered him a hand up. "Come on, we'll get to it before too many people stick their fingers in."
Cloud wobbled momentarily when he stood, but remembered how to balance quickly. The woman who was sitting at Sephiroth's other side smirked at him, but he didn't care. There was a fountain of chocolate, and he was going to try everything.
Sephiroth held a plate for him with an indulgent smile while Cloud skewered the fruit and stuck it in the chocolate until he had two of each kind.
"Is this all for you, or do I get some too?" Sephiroth asked.
"I thought we could share," Cloud said and felt himself blushing. It was probably weird to share a plate at something like this.
Sephiroth just nodded. "Are we good to sit down, then? We can come back for seconds."
"Yeah, I think we're good." Cloud noticed that the other people who had gotten up had much less on their plates, even taking into account that his was for two. The women especially only had one or two pieces of fruit with just a tiny bit of chocolate on them. "Maybe we should pretend that it's mostly yours," he said quietly.
Sephiroth laughed and caught his hand. "Hey, you're a hard-working country girl who deserves to indulge a little. Fruit's good for you, and so is trying new things."
That made Cloud feel slightly better, but when Sephiroth set the plate down, he put it in front of his own chair, not between their places. "Not very lady-like..." Cloud mumbled as he sat down.
"Well then, fold your hands neatly in your lap, sit up straight, don't put yourself down, and you'll be back on the lady-like side in no time."
Cloud obeyed the instructions automatically before he stopped to wonder how he'd eat anything with his hands folded in his lap.
"Eyes on me," Sephiroth murmured in a tone he normally reserved for when they were alone. "Open up."
Cloud glanced through his lashes at Sephiroth and blushed deeply before opening his mouth. A chocolate covered raspberry was placed between his lips, and Sephiroth let his fingers linger long enough for Cloud suck the chocolate off of them.
"Good girl. Do you like it?"
Cloud nodded, and Sephiroth held up another piece for him. His eyes fluttered shut as he swallowed and opened his mouth again. This was one of the mystery fruits, he decided, full of seeds, but delicious and juicy. He darted his tongue out to lick Sephiroth's fingers as they withdrew, prompting a chuckle. Cloud blushed again, remembering that they were surrounded by people, and started to pull away in embarrassment. He opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of a few people staring and shrank back some more, staring at his lap.
"Eyes on me," Sephiroth said again, more firmly this time.
Cloud forced himself to raise his eyes, trying to block out everything but Sephiroth.
"No one here knows you," he murmured.
"I don't want to cause a scene."
"You're not." Sephiroth popped a piece of fruit into his own mouth. "Sitting on my lap while I feed you with one hand up your skirt would be causing a scene. Feeding you using my hair would be causing a scene. You're simply choosing to not take off your gloves, so I'm helping you out. Pineapple?"
"Yes, please." Cloud rather wished that he could sit on Sephiroth's lap; somehow, that seemed a lot safer and less exposed. He would pass on the hand up his skirt, though, unless they were alone. He compromised and scooted his chair a little bit closer to Sephiroth's while he swallowed his pineapple.
Sephiroth smiled at him and held up a strawberry. "I think I'm going to have to get some chocolate fondue for at home," he said. "The idea of you naked and tied up on my lap, covered in chocolate, is very tempting."
Cloud liked that idea, but frowned at Sephiroth. "Don't say things like that in public!"
"Why not? If I seduced you in the barn, wouldn't it logically follow that we'd be into activities where nakedness is involved?"
"Well, yes, but not with tying me up and stuff!"
"Who's getting tied up?" Zack's face appeared out of nowhere behind Sephiroth, and Cloud nearly fell out of his chair.
"Shit, Zack!"
"Claudia..." Sephiroth's voice held a warning tone, and Cloud immediately snapped his gaze back to where it was supposed to be. "Good girl. There's not a lot left; have you had enough?"
"Maybe a couple more pieces." It was really good chocolate, and he rather liked having Sephiroth feed it to him.
Sephiroth nodded and selected another piece of fruit before turning to Zack. "Claudia is. When I get fondue for at home."
"I see..." Cloud saw Zack blush bright red out of the corner of his eye. "Well, you've got all the guys drooling over you, Claudia; they all want someone to lick the chocolate off their fingers."
"Oh Gaia, Sephiroth, I can't. I-yellow." Cloud looked away and hid his face in his hands, fighting the urge to just get up and run. Everyone thought he was a slut, and they were all laughing at him, he knew it.
"Nice going, Fair," Sephiroth snarled, then a warm hand touched his shoulder. "Hey, sweetheart, it's okay. Come on, let's go outside for a moment."
Cloud nodded with his face still hidden, and Sephiroth pulled him up by the elbow. He heard Zack following, but he kept his face down and didn't make eye contact with anyone while Sephiroth led him to a door much closer than the one they had come in. It opened into a quiet hallway; he could hear voices further down, but they didn't seem to be coming closer.
"Is this okay?" Sephiroth asked. "We can go somewhere quieter if you need it."
Cloud shook his head. "It's fine." Strong, warm arms wrapped around him and held him close, keeping him safe.
"Sorry, Cloud, I-"
"Shut up. You're not helping." Sephiroth rubbed his back, and Cloud allowed himself to relax a fraction and listened to his heartbeat.
"Hey, I'm not the one who made him eat from my hand in the first place."
Cloud cringed and pressed himself closer to Sephiroth's body, covering his ears. He didn't want to hear about how he was a freak for letting Sephiroth do things like that. For enjoying it...
"Not now, Zack. If you want to be out here, be quiet and let Cloud calm down. If you've got concerns, we can talk about it later."
The authority in Sephiroth's voice worked, and silence fell across the hallway. Cloud lost track of how long he stood there, listening to the steady thump of Sephiroth's heart.
"No one knows who I am," he finally whispered.
"That's right," Sephiroth said. His voice was low and it made his chest rumble; Cloud decided he quite liked that. "Cloud's at his boyfriend's place watching movies and drinking all the expensive beer."
"Not all of it."
"Hmm, maybe not all of it. As long as his boyfriend doesn't stay out too late." Sephiroth kept rubbing his back and speaking in his comforting, rumbly voice. "Claudia's going to go back home to her daddy's inn after tonight. I'll see her again, but not often."
"Because she's a slut?"
"She's not a slut. She just lives far away. But I like her a lot, so I'll stop by and see her when I can."
"That's nice. You'll tell people that she's not a slut if they ask?"
"Of course I will."
"Thank you." Cloud waited a few more minutes, then opened his eyes and breathed deeply. "I'm good."
"Do you want to go home, or are you okay to go back in?" Sephiroth rubbed his thumb at the corner of Cloud's eye. "I know you were looking forward to dancing."
"I want to dance, but I want to fix my makeup first." It was probably all smudged by now.
"Of course. Zack, can you go get Cloud's clutch? It's at the foot of his chair."
"Yeah, sure." Zack didn't sound very happy, and Cloud started to worry all over again.
"I'll talk to him," Sephiroth said, stroking Cloud's head. "Spend some extra time in the bathroom, and I'll get it sorted out with him. Okay?"
"Okay."
Zack came back out with his clutch and handed it over silently. Cloud gave him a small smile, then glanced around.
"Around the corner and to your left," Sephiroth said. "They shouldn't be very busy at this end."
"'Kay. Thanks." Cloud hurried off, hoping that Sephiroth would make Zack understand.
***
Part II