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Tifa startled from her doze when the shower door popped open, cool air swirling briefly through the steam as Cloud stepped in to join her. Hands clasped protectively to her chest, she blinked foolishly at him for a moment as her instinct to defend herself warred with her eyesight. Brain and body fell back into sync when his arms wrapped around her waist, his slightly larger form crowding hers for access to the hot water.
"You're back early," she observed, resting her head on his shoulder as she relaxed in his embrace. Tilting her chin slightly, she could see the curve of his jaw and the smile playing across his lips as he reached out to play with the taps, adjusting her shower to his liking.
"The inn in Junon has lumpy beds." His bland, absolutely factual observation prompted her to grin, knowing it was his way of saying he had decided to travel all night rather than spend another day away from Seventh Heaven.
"If you're so tired you couldn't wait to take your own shower," she scolded, lightly slapping his hand away from the hot water, "you shouldn't have been driving."
"WRO water conservation guidelines recommend reducing the number of showers per household," he answered, his tone striving for serious but threaded with humor. Reaching for his shampoo he crowded her further, and she turned to face him in time to see the small smirk curving his mouth. "And I never said I was tired."
Hmmm.
Wondering what she should make of that statement, Tifa watched him lather his hair, the blond strands briefly succumbing to the weight of water and soap to lie flat and slicked back from his face. Rolling his eyes when she laughed, he leaned forward into the spray and dowsed them both with warm suds, then shook his head slightly, freeing his gravity-defying locks to return (more or less) to their usual shape. One of the longer spikes that normally framed his face clung wetly to his throat, and she bit her lip as her eyes slowly followed the steady stream of water past his Adam's apple, down his chest, to a part of his anatomy that proudly proclaimed he was, indeed, wide awake, and happy to see her. Blushing, she jerked her line of sight back to his chest in time to watch him start rubbing brisk circles as he scrubbed lean muscle free of road dust, exhaust, and sweat. Shoulders and arms speckled with foamy suds, his mako eyes never left her face as he let the soap glide over his chest, then down and along one hip, practically daring her to "help" him get clean. She resisted the temptation, fidgeting but unable to look away as his hands slid down his stomach to his groin and thighs. She briefly managed to close her eyes when he bent to wash his calves and feet, but they sprang open again when she felt his hand grasp hers to wrap her fingers around the soap.
"Wash my back?"
She was positive there was a smirk in his voice now. A tiny part of her wanted to be annoyed at that - at his confidence in knowing he had her full attention - but a much larger part was all too happy to have him there and teasing her. So she lathered up his back, and let herself enjoy the way the suds dripped down over his fabulous butt. After, she wrapped her arms around him and simply stood, savoring the feel of his hard muscles, his clean scent, and the heat of the shower.
Cloud was quiet in her hold for long moments, merely tilting his head back and to the side to rest against hers. Tifa knew he was waiting – with a patience that both excited and disconcerted her – to see what she would do next. Although he was usually the one to offer and to take control when they made love, he could also adopt a passive-aggressive stance to draw her out and encourage her to touch him as well. If she pushed him away now, he'd give her a kiss and leave her to finish her shower alone. If she didn't, they would share more than just the space and the hot water before this was over.
To her mind, the only real question was whether or not she tried to make him as desperate for it as she was – or would be – by the end.
Nuzzling between his shoulder blades, she began to lather her hands until they were slippery enough she almost lost the soap. Trapping the bar between her palm and his abdomen, she then let her other hand glide down to cup his shaft. Cloud gave a soft sigh, his hands covering hers as she began stroking his length. As she'd already seen, he was long and hard and ready, and her body clenched in hungry response. Hugging herself more tightly against him, she pumped with an easy rhythm, his hand gently restraining hers when she tried to increase the pace. "Slowly," he murmured, prompting Tifa to pout a bit in response, lips pursed against his shoulder. Slow meant he was planning to take his time, and his enhanced body could last. She felt his chest vibrate with amusement, and then to her surprise he straightened, turned, and spun her back under the spray.
"Your turn," he murmured.
Steadying her in front of him, he began working shampoo into her hair, massaging her scalp with strong, nimble fingers. Even with arousal rising through her, his sure, careful movements were relaxing, and she went just a bit more boneless against him. Stroking both hands through the long, dark strands, he rinsed away shampoo and lingering tangles; then twisted the lot around his fist to wring the excess water free. Holding her gathered hair away from her neck and shoulders with his left hand, he slid his right down her arm to clasp hers. Guiding it back and up, he placed her palm over the wet twist of her hair, before repeating the motion on the other side – pausing only to remove the forgotten bar of soap from her fingers.
Warm breath and firm lips brushed her nape as he whispered instructions not to move. Tifa arched into the press of his mouth, head tilting to the side, and Cloud obligingly pressed open-mouth kisses along her throat and the curve of her shoulder, while his left hand drew slick, sudsy circles on her hip. Another kiss to her nape, a slight nudge, and she tilted her head to the other side, the soap making a similar transition across her stomach as he passed the bar between his hands. Satisfied with the thick lather on her hips and belly, he discarded the soap to splay his hands low on her back and slowly stroke upward, palms flat and firmly pressing along her spine as he spread the suds across her smooth skin. The simple motion felt divine - a combination caress and massage - and she stretched, leaning forward and angling her hips back, feeling his erection against the curve of her bottom. His hands returned to her hips, firmly bracing as he ground against her and they both savored the sensation, before slipping around to repeat their splayed motion upward along her body, this time from stomach to breasts. She straightened as his touch swept over her skin, pressing her flush against him from shoulder to thigh. He paused to trace the jut of her collarbone, then let his fingers skim down her sides, ignoring her breasts after that first warm, languorous caress. When his hands passed over her flat tummy to the tops of her thighs, then reached for the cleanser again, Tifa protested softly.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Hmmm?" Cloud seemed to consider, his palms roving over her skin, callouses scraping nipples that were ruched and aching for attention. "No... everything feels clean to me."
"Cloud!" Her voice was breathy, plaintive, and amused all at once.
"If I missed anything Tifa," he answered, a single fingertip delicately circling the rosy crown of a breast, "just tell me." She swallowed, the sound loud in her ears, and then that teasing touch was withdrawn, the press of his body with it. Crouching, he began lazily soaping up her legs and feet, working his way up one slender limb to the crease where thigh met hip, before abruptly switching to the other. It was teasing and frustrating and made her all the more aware of how she needed him. Her breath came faster, her legs parting to give him better access as he cupped her bottom with slippery hands, fingers coming tantalizingly close to her core without ever actually touching.
Seemingly finished he rose to his feet, and as he did she let her hands fall from their position clenched in her hair, half turning to meet him, needing to touch, to persuade him to hurry. Cloud was faster, catching her hands in his as he embraced her, trapping her firmly against him, her back still to his chest. He nuzzled her neck, mouth unerringly finding her ear. "Not yet," he murmured, making her shudder with want as the words caressed her skin, "I definitely missed something this time."
She watched as he very deliberately lathered his hand.
Pressed her head into his shoulder, body rising against his restraining arm as that hand finally found its way between her legs.
Unwittingly held her breath as she waited for the press of his fingers.
Whimpered when his touch was scarcely more than businesslike.
He shushed her, kissing her cheek as he nudged her legs further apart with one strong thigh, and reached for the detachable shower head. The water made a brief sweep across her breasts and stomach before he angled the flow to rinse between her legs, and Tifa's eyes widened at this new, sudden influx of sensation. His free hand shifted to curve over her mound, fingers parting her folds, and then the spray was drumming against her core. It was different from his hand, different from his mouth. Constant, inescapable, and building fast – too fast. Her body responded willingly, leaping ahead of her emotions: crying out in surprise and a touch of fright, she came - hard - before she really knew it was happening.
"It's alright, just a little one to start."
The rumble of Cloud's voice was comforting, his arms warm around her. For all that it had hit faster than ever before, the explosion had been small, and left her shaken rather than satisfied. Not bad, just... not enough. As he returned the shower head to its holder, she turned and threw her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist, needier than ever. Lean muscles flexed and stretched as he moved to brace her back against the damp tile, palm warm at her nape as he pulled far enough away to see her face. Mako eyes were tender as he brushed back the hair clinging to her cheek. Her own were wide and dazed: "What...?"
A faint smile, lost as he brushed her mouth lightly with his. "Too much, too soon, too fast." He shifted, cupping her bottom to lift her higher as his lips ghosted over her features, kisses feather light. "Ready and wanting here," was all the warning he gave before thrusting suddenly and easily home within her aching, empty warmth, "but not ready here," he nuzzled a soft kiss to her temple. One arm beneath her, holding her close, he braced the other against the wall to rock against her with easy, shimmying strokes, and was rewarded with a hungry sob. Teeth grazing her earlobe, gently tugging, his voice dropped lower. "I'll make sure the next one is better."
His husky, beloved, maddeningly calm voice spiked her arousal higher. Internal muscles clenched around his hard fullness, fingers tightened on his shoulders, and her ankles locked behind his back as she sought to tune her body to the inconsistent rhythm of his. Strong, shallow thrusts were interspersed at random intervals with firm pressure against her swollen nub as he ground his hips into hers. The pattern never left her completely empty nor full as it delivered sudden jolts of pleasure, tossing her high, then letting her sink only to repeat the motion again.
It was heavenly. It was maddening.
Tifa's legs clamped tighter around his hips as she rolled her shoulders back, straining closer, trying to restrict his movements to those she needed, knowing she would only succeed if he let her.
He didn't.
"More," she whimpered the next time he ground into her, "more... please, Cloud."
Obligingly, his hips gave another sharp swivel, then both hands slid to cup her bottom and hold her tight against him as he sandwiched her flush between his body and the tiles. Between her legs a pulse beat frantically, calming only slightly from the steady pressure their new position exerted. She wriggled, needing friction, but succeeding only in making things worse – or was it better? – as her breasts rubbed against the hard muscles of his chest and sent little darts of excitement to her center. "Cloud!"
Dipping his head, soft, wet spikes brushing her cheek, he kissed her throat, tongue painting a hot line. "Did you miss me, Tifa?"
Nodding, she gulped air, body shuddering.
Felt his lips curve against her skin.
"I missed you, too," he assured her, teeth grazing the cord in her neck. "I thought about you every dull, dusty mile I was on the road. Your smile, your company... I wondered if everything was alright here at home, pictured what you might be doing." The kisses he scattered along her skin were soft, almost chaste, as if he lightened his touch to match his words. "Then when the hours grew long," abruptly, his tongue lashed out to lave the well at the base of her throat, then lick his way up to her mouth, "I started to imagine your sweet little moans until I was hard and aching and had to force myself to think of something else." A hard, passionate kiss prompted just such a noise, and he chuckled, eyes a bright gleam of satisfaction as he bent to drag his open mouth along her shoulder. "At night, I dreamt of being inside you, of the frantic way you cling when you're close, of holding you safe while you go just a little insane." Those heated words earned another moan, which he rewarded with a rocking motion of his hips. "So we're not going to rush this. I have days to make up for, and I plan on doing just that." Letting up a little, he pulled back a fraction to meet her gaze. "I'm going to wear you out."
Moving back until his shoulders were once again under the spray, he supported her at an angle, braced between his body and the wall. Hands splayed on her back urged her into a gentle arch, his arms holding her up as her head fell back bonelessly, her breasts rising like an offering. Taut pink nipples continued to beg for the attention he'd denied them earlier, and he ducked his head to gently circle one aching peak with his tongue, before enclosing it in the warmth of his mouth. Tifa's legs shifted restlessly around his waist, clenching and releasing as he sucked, her hands falling from his shoulders to burrow through his thick hair. Cloud took her weight easily, palms on her shoulder blades, her upper body a helpless curve. No longer restrained by sword calloused hands, her hips took up a circling motion without her conscious decision, simulating a shallow penetration as she slid back and forth on his length.
So good. In stark contrast to before, this time everything was building with agonizing slowness. Cloud's mouth shifted from one rosy peak to the other, careful teeth biting the nipple, tongue flickering against the trapped flesh and sending another jolt to her core. The tangle of nerves hidden there throbbed, anxious for some of the same attention, and she gave a whimpering moan. With one last kiss he brought them both upright, one hand sliding from her back to her hip and then finally between their bodies as he backed her into the wall again, forcing her to stillness. Deft fingers found her clit, gave just enough sensation to keep her building toward climax. Teasing it out of her. Shivering she nuzzled his throat, breathed a plea in his ear, braced her forehead against his shoulder as every muscle tightened, straining for release. "Don't stop... please, please don't stop..."
The hand not busy between her thighs cradled her neck, his thumb stroking her jaw, his voice murmuring encouragement and reassurances. "Not going to stop. I'm right here. I won't stop."
She struggled for it, keening, and his fingers shifted, suddenly pressing hard. Eyes shut, mouth agape she came, hands fisting in his hair.
"That's it," Cloud crooned, fingers still and firm against her, enjoying the fierce clenching of her internal muscles as they worked against his hardness. She gasped for breath, panting into his shoulder, entire body shuddering as the pleasure began to fade. When finally her fingers released his hair and her legs relaxed – if only slightly – he eased away to watch the play of expressions on her face. Momentarily sated, she was still exceedingly aware of his fullness inside, and blushed under his scrutiny. "I said I would wear you out," he reminded her.
Vibrant blue eyes locked on warm brown, he braced his palms on the tile, bracketing her head. Ever so slowly, then, he stroked in deep, giving her the penetration she'd wanted before, at a pace that ensured she felt every inch. Sunk to the hilt he paused, then just as slowly pulled back out. His angle allowed his length to scrape back and forth over that almost overly sensitive tangle of nerves with every thrust. In, out; in, out; and all too soon she found herself balanced on the knife edge of pleasure again. She had no idea how long he kept up the slow assault on her senses, only that it eventually had her begging him to go faster, thrust harder. He denied her until her fingernails were digging into his shoulders, her head tilted back and tossing in frenzied desire. Only then did he shift his stance and increase both pace and force, gritting his teeth as he held back his climax under the greater friction.
"Yes yes yes yes yes..." Tifa chanted, hips rising and falling to meet his in perfect harmony, before her voice rose in a sudden, emphatic cry. Silencing her with a kiss, he let himself go as well, surrendering to his own wants as her body hungrily, insistently milked his.
Several minutes later, spent, her legs slid heavily from about his waist. Turning, he reversed their positions: his back in the lee of the shower, hers under the now luke-warm spray. Taking the detachable shower head in hand once more, he rinsed them both, then turned the water off and just stood, embracing her as she leant against him. He was running one hand through her hair, smoothing the tangles their activity had created, when she spoke, her tone sleepy yet impish.
"I don't think it counts as water conservation when you empty the hot water heater."