Chapter Text
“Sephiroth!” Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at Cloud’s loud shout as he turned around.
“My, my, what an aggressive greeting, Cloud. Did you truly miss me that much?” Sephiroth said with amusement.
His amusement skyrocketed when he saw Cloud in all his glory, which… well… Cloud was wearing a sack on his back. Sephiroth tilted his head to the side, deeply amused and yet, curious about his change in attire.
“What have you done!” Cloud snapped.
Sephiroth eyed him.
“Why, Cloud, I haven’t been alive long enough to do much of anything. So truly, I don’t know what you mean.” Sephiroth said.
His eyes stayed on the sack Cloud was wearing, curious if this was some kind of new fashion statement. It would certainly be the strangest one yet.
“Liar!” Cloud spat.
“Liar? My, what a bold accusation. Tell me, do you have proof I did anything?” Sephiroth demanded.
“Don’t fuck with me, Sephiroth! Just undo what you did!” Cloud snapped angrily.
Sephiroth’s amusement was starting to wane.
“I told you before that I have done nothing. Yet, you insist I have. So again, I ask for proof of your claim.” Sephiroth stated, holding out his hand.
“You fucking-! Fine! You want proof! Then here it is!” Cloud snapped.
Before Sephiroth could say anything, Cloud ripped the sack off and…
“Oh.” Sephiroth whispered, his eyes landing on what Cloud had revealed.
The beautiful ebony black wing with white tips stretched to the sky before it folded neatly behind Cloud’s right shoulder, the exact opposite side of Sephiroth’s own black wing. In fact, if Sephiroth didn’t know any better, he would say the wing was about the same size as his own.
“Now fix it!” Cloud demanded angrily.
Sephiroth wasn’t even pretending to listen to Cloud’s words as he ranted and raved at him. No, Sephiroth’s eyes landed and stayed on Cloud’s wing with something close to wonder. Sephiroth’s own wing flared out, causing black feathers to appear around them.
“Are you listening to me!” Cloud demanded.
Sephiroth finally turned his attention to Cloud, whose face was flushed with rage.
“I will admit, I may have missed a few words.” Sephiroth stated.
“Are you going to fix this or not!” Cloud demanded sharply.
“Fix it?” Sephiroth asked.
“Yes, fix it! Make it go away! Undo whatever bullshit you did to make this happen to me!” Cloud shouted.
Sephiroth started to move closer and Cloud seemed unsure if he should move closer or keep Sephiroth away. Cloud kept a hand on his blade, but allowed Sephiroth to come close enough to touch. Sephiroth’s hand reached out and Cloud flinched away, causing his wing to flare out. A single feather fell from Cloud’s wing, which Sephiroth caught and held in his hand, staring at it, his eyes diluting in delight.
“And why would you wish to get rid of such a glorious gift, Cloud? When this just continues to prove what I have always known and you refused to see?” Sephiroth asked, twirling Cloud’s feather.
“And what would that be!” Cloud demanded.
“That we are two sides of the same coin. Two meant to be one. After all, isn’t it perfect that your wing matches my own?” Sephiroth asked, smirking.
Cloud slapped his hand away, causing him to drop the feather before Cloud grabbed his lapels and yanked him closer.
“Knock it off! Change me back, damnit!” Cloud yelled.
Sephiroth hummed as he grabbed Cloud’s arm and tightened his grip until Cloud was forced to let go with a hiss of pain.
“You seem to believe that anything that goes wrong in your life is my fault and normally I would be more than happy to take credit for it, but this, my dear Cloud, was not my doing.” Sephiroth smirked.
“If I had decided to give you such a glorious appendage, I would have certainly made it look more like mine.” Sephiroth finished.
Cloud’s face fell. At first, he seemed confused, then shocked and finally, he pulled away from Sephiroth’s grip, which Sephiroth graciously allowed, to stare at the wing over his shoulder with something akin to fear.
“But… if it appeared on its own… that means… I’m degrading again?” Cloud whispered in horror.
Sephiroth tilted his head to the side.
“Or, perhaps, you are simply evolving beyond your humanity. Perhaps, this isn’t something to be afraid of, but something to celebrate?” Sephiroth stated.
Cloud scuffed as he moved backwards.
“Celebrate? Celebrate what! Nothing good as far as I can see!” Cloud snapped.
Sephiroth just shook his head with a chuckle.
“Still so blind to what is standing right before you. This is just one more step closer to me.” Sephiroth said, placing a hand against his own chest.
“I don’t want to be closer to you!” Cloud replied hotly.
Cloud moved back even more, pulling his blade from his back.
“I know this will disappear once you are gone! So I just had to kill you again and it will go away!” Cloud stated.
Sephiroth just chuckled and called his own blade.
“Then come, Cloud, and I will show you that we are more similar than you wish to believe.” Sephiroth said before Cloud charged in.
Fighting with the new weight on his back was clearly throwing off Cloud’s movements. His usual speed was almost halved as he struggled not to accidentally cut off his own new appendage, which kept opening and closing due to his own excitement. It was actually quite amusing to see Cloud struggle, but soon enough, Sephiroth grew tired of their game.
“Come now, Cloud. Is this truly the best you can do?” Sephiroth asked as their blades clashed.
“I am trying!” Cloud hissed, causing his wing to flare out again.
Sephiroth’s eyes landed on the beautiful ebony wing once more before he suddenly reached out, his hand moving right over Cloud’s shoulder. Cloud was so thrown off that he didn’t stop it from happening.
“What the fuck are you-” Cloud’s exclamation cut off when Sephiroth’s hand brushed against his wing.
Both were startled when Cloud moaned loudly before he slapped his hand over his mouth as his face flushed with mortification. Sephiroth’s eyes lit up at the sound, a twisted smirk coming to his lips as his fingers tangled into the black feathers, causing Cloud to let out another erotic moan as his knees became weak. Cloud finally shoved him away, trembling in embarrassment and horror.
“What the FUCK is wrong with you!” Cloud roared.
Sephiroth just chuckled, twirling a new feather he had plucked from Cloud’s wing between his fingers.
“Come now, Cloud. Why are you acting like you are against it…” Sephiroth brought the feather to his own lips and pressed a kiss to it, making Cloud flush even deeper.
“When you are clearly enjoying it so much?” Sephiroth purred.
“You fucking sick asshole! Leave my wing alone!” Cloud spat.
“Oh? Your wing?” Sephiroth smirked.
Cloud flinched before he scowled.
“Just fight me!” Cloud charged in and Sephiroth blocked his next few attacks without really trying, studying the feather between his fingers intensely.
“I wonder if you have been grooming it properly. Wings tend to be ruffled and dirty if not taken care of properly.” Sephiroth stated.
“Excuse me! Do you have any idea who you are talking to! I have an entire farm of champion level Chocobos that I take care of! Of course I know how to take care of my wing!” Cloud snapped, aghast he would dare say such a thing.
Sephiroth eyed Cloud’s wing and then paused.
“Even still, you wouldn’t be able to reach the back… has someone been… assisting you?” Sephiroth asked.
Cloud paused, feeling strange about the way Sephiroth stared at him. Why did it seem like Sephiroth was upset about this?
“The only one who even knows about my wing besides you is Vincent. He was helping me maintain it. Though he didn’t shove his hand into the feathers like you did.” Cloud muttered, uncertain why Sephiroth was even asking.
“The half dead zombie?” Sephiroth asked.
“As if you have any right to call anyone that.” Cloud said, rolling his eyes.
Sephiroth pointed his blade at Cloud, making him tense.
“Watch your words, my dear Cloud.” Sephiroth said coldly.
“You’re the one getting huffy about someone else knowing about my wing that you caused! Now shut up and let me kill you so I can go back to normal!” CLoud charged in again.
“Such a simple puppet.” Sephiroth stated as he let the feather fall from his grip.
The battle was long. Over time, Cloud got used to his wing, using it to get higher than before, but also keeping it close so Sephiroth couldn’t grab it again. In the end, however, it was no use. Cloud’s back hit the ground, causing him to lose his grip on his sword before Sephiroth pounced on him, pinning him down to the dirt. Sephiroth swatted the sword out of Cloud’s reach just because he could.
“Get OFF me!” Cloud yelled, struggling violently.
Sephiroth paid him no mind, focusing on the wing pinned underneath Cloud’s body. Using his larger frame, he kept Cloud down before he reached out again for Cloud’s wing.
“No! Stop! Get off of me!” Cloud wiggled desperately, trying to get him off, but there was no chance.
Sephiroth stroked the feathers, watching as the wing twitched and listening as Cloud tried to choke back another moan. Sephiroth smirked as he ran his hand through the soft feathers, listening to Cloud as he attempted to keep from moaning. Going so far as to bite into his own fist to try and stop them.
“S-Stop it!” Cloud whined, still trying to shove him off.
Sephiroth ignored him, reaching up to touch along the top of the wing to see how strong it was. It trembled in his grip and Sephiroth chuckled as Cloud shivered underneath him.
“Have you attempted to fly with it yet?” Sephiroth asked curiously.
“W-What! No! Of course not! I just want it gone!” Cloud yelled.
Sephiroth hummed as he trailed his hand down, coming to where the appendage met skin and paused, eyes narrowing when Cloud whined in pain. Forcing Cloud’s shoulder up some, he saw what had caused the blonde pain.
“Did you attempt to remove it?” Sephiroth demanded, staring at the scars where it was clear someone had attempted to cut the wing off at one point.
Cloud was silent, but he was looking away from Sephiroth, which told Sephiroth everything he needed to know.
“And did your zombie help you with this?” Sephiroth demanded.
“He actually stopped me. That’s how he found out.” Cloud admitted softly.
“I see.” Sephiroth turned back to the wing before him.
Sephiroth’s hand pulled back and Cloud turned, trying to understand what Sephiroth was going to do next. Sephiroth grabbed his chin and forced Cloud to meet his eyes.
“Do you truly believe that my death will free you of this wing?” Sephiroth demanded.
“It has to. It’s the only option I have.” Cloud replied.
Sephiroth hummed before he pulled back. He held out his arms.
“Then go ahead, Cloud. Kill me and see for yourself that I had nothing to do with this.” Sephiroth stated.
Cloud didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his blade and surged forward. The Fusion Sword tore through Sephiroth’s body and he sighed.
“But you will see soon enough… that I was not the cause.” Sephiroth whispered as he faded away.
Cloud panted as he stood there, waiting for… something to happen. He looked over his shoulder, waiting for the wing to disappear or fade away or fall off, whatever, but… nothing.
“No…” Cloud whispered.
His sword dropped from his limp hands before he reached back and tried to pull the wing off. The agony that came from his back was enough to make his eyes water, but the wing refused to come off.
“No! No, no, no! It was… that was supposed to be it!” Cloud yelled as he pulled at the wing, trying to get it to come off, but eventually, he released it and dropped to his knees.
Trembling, Cloud let out a sob and then another one. His shoulders heaved as he cried, feeling so fucking overwhelmed and angry. Sephiroth’s death was supposed to…
“Cloud!” Cloud looked up as Vincent rushed over to him.
“I-It didn’t work.” he hiccupped.
Vincent frowned as he knelt down.
“What didn’t?” Vincent asked.
“Killing Sephiroth. I-I killed him and it’s still!” Cloud choked on his tears as Vincent sighed.
Wrapping an arm around Cloud, careful of his wing, Vincent allowed the young man to cry and said nothing.