Kalli's Journal

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"He said he'd be back as quickly as the Highwind could bring him. You don't think something's happened in Nibelhiem, do you?" Pretty sat up quickly, looking over at her brother. "You don't think he's decided not to come back?"

Sephiroth looked up at Pretty for a moment before closing his eyes. "If he did, there's nothing I can do about it."

"You can't say that! I saw how happy you were. You two need to be together. Need! Everyone in town, it's all they've been talking about too. Angel and his lover, the two most insanely happy people ever!" Pretty rolled slightly so she could grab Sephiroth by the shirt-front. "Open your eyes. You have to figure out what's going on."

"Pretty." Mako green stared straight into her own red-tinted eyes. "I've told you upwards of sixty times, I sent a message to the Highwind. I haven't heard back. Until I do, I can't do anything."

He removed her hands from his shirt, but let her stay close.

"Then let me go! I can do it! Really!" She clutched her fists to her chest. "I'll find him."

"It's probably something simple." Green eyes closed again as Sephiroth stretched his arms above his head. "We'll find out something soon."

"Angel?" Pretty flopped down again, taking a position similar to Sephiroth's.

"What now?"

"How long has it been?"

"Pretty." It was more exasperation than warning. His mind raced to set upon a menial task to send her to do. Anything to get her mind off of the same constant thought he was having. Where was Cloud? Why hadn't he heard anything?

"Sorry, Angel. It's just..."

"I know. Just relax for a few more minutes. Then clean up and see if Yuki needs any help. We're almost full this week."

Both had the requisite amount of gore on them from the Mako creatures, though Pretty seemed to have gotten the worst of it today.

"Yes boss! I'll start laundry while I'm in the basement, and..." Pretty stopped short, quickly sitting up and listening.

"Pretty." Sephiroth didn't move. "Go answer the phone."

Pretty leapt to her feet and sprinted to the house. She crashed through the front door and around the corner into the office to snag the reciever right before the machine got it. "Hello..." she panted. "Heaven's... Cloud... Hot..."

"Pretty? It's Kei at the post office."

"Kei?" Pretty collapsed on the floor. "I was across the yard."

"You sound like it. I heard you put on a hell of a show killing critters too. You're such a riot sometimes, or maybe we just named you wrong. We can't call you 'Pretty the Destroyer', it just doesn't sound right. Of course, your brother... I guess we could call him an 'Angel of Destruction'." Kei giggled at her own joke, unaware of how true the descriptor was.

"But that wouldn't fit... He's a creator too. You know he helped build the post office? The lifestream took out the original one five years ago. We didn't have one for more than a year."

Pretty leaned back, hoping not to pull the rest of the phone off the desk. "Kei!"

"What? Was I rambling again? You know, I tend to do that sometimes. I just get going on something and it's one thing after another. But it's just who I am. I..."

"Kei!"

"Oh. Sorry, Pretty. I did call for a reason. Angel just got a ten page fax in and a call confirming its arrival. It's not resort stuff - not sure what it is, but the man who called used words that made me blush. I can't believe someone could be that vulgar. Apparently it's all really important though, so you may want to come down here and get it as soon as..."

"Kei." Pretty was shaking. Her voice had taken a totally different pitch. "Is there a return number and locator on the fax?"

"Sure thing, Pretty, though I shouldn't be telling you, it is Angel's after all."

"Tell. Me." She almost dropped the phone and was thankful she wasn't standing up. "Now."

"I'm guessing this is something you've been waiting for. I'm not supposed to read these you know, but is this something to do with Angel's new boyfriend?"

" Kei!" Pretty screamed, sitting up. "Tell me the return locator on that fax this second or I'll... I'll... It won't be nice!"

"No need to get upset... The return locator is..." There was a pause. "The return locator is coming from something called 'Highwind'. Return number is..."

"Thanks, Kei, I'll see you in a couple minutes." Pretty slammed the phone down and ran as fast as she could out the back door towards the shed where the motorcycle was kept.

She fumbled with the ignition for a moment, thankful that the keys were always in it for emergencies such as these. A couple seconds later she was racing across the back lawn to where Sephiroth had been. He was already on his feet at the sudden noise, and gave Pretty a questioning look when she stopped a foot away from him.

"Kei! Post Office! Fax! Highwind!" Pretty yelled. "Get on!"

A second later after Sephiroth had processed the fragmented information, he slid onto the motorcycle in front of Pretty, and once she grabbed onto him, he took off for town.

"What does it say?" Pretty cried, trying to snatch fax pages away from a smiling Sephiroth.

"Nothing you can see yet," Sephiroth replied. "Sit down. Or go shopping."

Pretty pouted, crossing her arms. "Fine."

She sat down in the middle of the post office floor and continued to glare. "Can't you tell me a little?"

Sephiroth sighed. "Okay. Everything is fine. Tifa is safely back in Nibelheim. Cloud is with Cid and Vincent in Junon. One of the new hydroelectric power systems, the one that powers most all of Junon, was vandalized and had to be taken offline. The Highwind ended up running parts for it.

"Most of that has taken about two weeks, and the Highwind was used as a main communication center since it has its own fax and locators and is already integrated with ShinRa's computer systems."

"They couldn't call or fax us though?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "Cid wrote a page that has quite a few things to say about that entire incident. You're too young to read most of it."

Pretty considered sticking out her tongue, but restrained herself. "So are they on the way?"

"Not yet. Everything is fixed in Junon, but Vincent writes that there's one more thing they need to take care of before they come back."

"What?"

"He doesn't say, just that it's very important and he'd already had Cid working on it even when he was staying with us." Sephiroth looked a little confused as well. "You didn't put him up to anything, did you? I remember him writing out a letter that first night."

Pretty shook her head. "I didn't ask him to do anything. Really. So that accounts for about half the fax, what's the other half?"

Mako eyes glittered. "I'm not telling you."

Pretty stood up and stalked out of the post office. "I'm going to the store."

Sephiroth sighed, leaning against the counter as he continued to read the long letter, most of which was from an overly apologetic Cloud.

"You know something?" Kei had been oddly quiet through the whole incident. Having a box of doughnuts beside her chair may have had something to do with it though.

"What is it, Kei?"

"You two fight like siblings."

"Thanks."

When Sephiroth left the post office, after sending a quick one page fax back to the Highwind, Pretty was perched on the motorcycle drinking a soda. "So... When's he coming back?"

Sephiroth smiled, grabbing the soda from her and taking a swallow. "Next week, sometime. It depends if they find whatever they're after. It's a secret."

"I don't like secrets."

"I know."

Even though they were on opposite ends of the resort, both Pretty and Sephiroth saw the Highwind fly over at the same time. Sephiroth, being the one who wasn't naked in the back hot spring, had a slight advantage over Pretty. She came running, barefoot as usual, trying to pull her clothes on as she raced towards the motorcycle where Sephiroth was waiting.

Neither said a word as they sped towards the landing field. A few guests stepped out of their cabins to stare as the bike roared through the yard, probably wondering what was so important at seven in the morning on a weekend.

They made it there before the giant airship had made it down, but it didn't matter, Cloud was already out on the deck, waving and smiling as he saw the motorcycle skid to a halt.

"Cloud!" Pretty yelled, waving back as she leapt off and went running. Sephiroth wasn't far behind her.

As soon as the ship was fully down and settled, Cloud threw a rope ladder over the side from where he was, but ended up jumping before he made it halfway.

Pretty stood back while the pair reunited, wondering if the last few weeks hadn't been just as bad as ten years.

"Next time, call," Sephiroth said, crushing Cloud to him.

"Sorry, I..." Cloud began, only to be cut off with a kiss.

"That's still the most fucked up thing I've ever seen," Cid said, stepping off the airship with Vincent trailing behind him, carrying a large package.

"Pretty?" Vincent called, looking around before spotting her by Sephiroth and Cloud.

"Hi Vincent! Hi Cid!" Pretty yelled, waving.

Just then, of all things, a nearby warning bell rang.

Sephiroth nipped one last time at Cloud's bottom lip before letting him go. "You have weapons? Pretty and I are unarmed."

Cloud nodded. "One second." He sprinted onto the ship while Sephiroth listened to the bell.

"That way," he said, pointing. "Pretty? Think you can handle one of Cloud's Buster-type swords?"

Pretty started to nod.

"She doesn't need to," Vincent said, walking over with the package. "We went through a bit of trouble to find this."

He offered the package to Pretty, who took it hesitantly before realizing what she held.

"My new sword! You brought it! Just for me..." She trailed off, dropping to the ground to eagerly unwrap the weapon. "Wow!"

Cloud came running back off the ship with two swords, his usual Buster sword and the lumescent Ultima. He handed the latter to Sephiroth, who took it quickly and broke into a run with his entire 'family' behind him.

"Don't fuck shit up!" Cid yelled to his crew, following behind the group.

"It's perfect!" Pretty said for the seventh time in five minutes as she cleaned the mini-Buster. "Perfect!"

" You're going to have to work with it every day until you're as good with it as you should be," Sephiroth said. "You seemed a little off balance earlier."

"Relax, Angel," Cloud said. Everyone had relocated to the resort, including the entire Highwind crew, many of whom were enjoying the springs. "She's had the sword for two hours now."

Sephiroth looked at the man who was half-leaning against him on a porch bench. "That's no excuse."

"Cloud'll practice with me, right?" Pretty asked, wiping the blade one last time before finally being satisfied.

"Of course he will," Sephiroth said. "Every day, first thing in the morning."

"There are better things to do first thing in the morning." Cloud replied, winking at Sephiroth.

"This is too fucking weird," Cid said, lighting another cigarette and leaning back against the railing.

"Thank you again, Vincent!" Pretty said as she set the sword down. "I never would have thought to have anyone look for it! I figured it'd get here when it did."

She jumped up and lunged at him, making a slightly-less-confused face than the first dozen times Pretty had hugged him.

Vincent looked down at the woman latched onto him, and tentatively patted her back like he had all the other times. Finally, he looked quickly at Sephiroth and Cloud. Both were smiling as they watched, and Vincent relaxed and wrapped his arms around Pretty as well, careful to keep his claw off her skin.

When Pretty let go and bashfully returned to the porch floor, Sephiroth was examining the mini-Buster. He shook his head disbelievingly as he ran his fingers over markings along the bottom of the blade.

"What is it, Angel? Something wrong with the sword?" Pretty asked, standing again and leaning over the Sephiroth.

"Did the merchant you bought this from tell you anything about it?" Sephiroth asked, a far away look in his eyes.

"Well..." Pretty began, settling back down on the floor. "The guy said it was a woman's sword. He said it had ShinRa markings, but wasn't the same as the female guards used. Nothing else, I can think of, just that it was some sort of hybrid that most people wouldn't be able to use."

Sephiroth nodded.

"I think it might be a prototype. Before Nibelheim..." He trailed off, collecting his thoughts. "Before Nibelheim, I was working on a program like SOLDIER, but for elite women. We... We were waiting on a couple studies on women who's been exposed to Mako, but I think... There were designs for weapons, including a smaller but still powerful Buster-style sword. I can't remember if they were ever made... I guess they were. This is..."

Cloud didn't like the next look that passed across Sephiroth's face. "Angel?"

"I wonder if they implemented the program I was designing. It was small, very small. Maybe for a half-dozen at first... Cloud, you don't know if..."

Cloud shook his head. "I don't remember seeing women with Mako eyes... Pretty's the first one, actually."

"Good. I'd hate to think what Hojo would have done to the poor women who'd been selected."

All but Pretty winced.

"Angel?"

"Yes?"

"If... If things had been different and you'd been able to run the program safely and all, do you think I could have made it?" Pretty smiled up at Sephiroth. "Do you think I could have even met you? Cloud told me once that you were like a god."

Sephiroth smiled. "I think you would have made it and become one of my favorite soldiers."

"That, in itself, is a frightening thought," Vincent said before letting a rare smile cross his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be out practicing with Pretty?" Sephiroth asked as he walked into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee.

"She was out late with Rae. I'm letting her sleep. What are you doing this early?"

"Paperwork. The same thing I do every morning. Haven't you noticed I follow a rather intricate routine?"

"Yes. You need some variety in your mornings," Cloud said as he set down his own coffee mug and walked over to where Sephiroth was standing in the doorway.

"What do you suggest?" Sephiroth asked as Cloud took the coffee cup from his hand.

"I don't know..." Cloud said, crossing to set the mug next to his own. "I have a few ideas though."

Sephiroth smiled. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, let's see..." Cloud tapped his lips with one finger. "I know. I won't tell you."

"Cloud."

Cloud smiled at the look of slight annoyance on Sephiroth's face.

Sephiroth didn't resist though as Cloud pushed him back against the wall and leaned up to kiss him. Instead of fighting, Sephiroth let Cloud trace his lips with his tongue. Sephrioth moaned softly, running his hands over Cloud's back and down into his pajama bottoms.

"Angel!" Cloud gasped, kissing his way down to bite lightly into Sephiroth's shoulder. His skin healed too quickly to leave the purple marks that Cloud wore with pride, but Cloud quite enjoyed the noises Sephiroth made while he was doing it.

Experienced fingers quickly unbuttoned Sephiroth's shirt, trailing over toned flesh and sensitive nipples. The hands in Cloud's pajamas shifted forward, gently cupping his growing arousal as Cloud moved to take one of those delicious nipples in his mouth.

"We... We should... Upstairs!" Sephiroth managed to say as Cloud reached down to tug at both of their pajama bottoms.

Cloud acted like he didn't hear Sephiroth's suggestion as he shifted to the other nipple, biting lightly as he continued trying to strip them both.

Sephiroth let go of Cloud and leaned back against the wall when Cloud ran his tongue over tight muscle as he slid down to take Sephiroth's erection in his mouth.

No time was wasted with the pretenses of lightly licking and nipping; Cloud took as much of the other man as he could into his mouth. Both his hands roamed freely as he tried to touch everything his mouth couldn't take.

Blue eyes flicked up to drink in the look of ecstacy on Sephiroth's face as Cloud carefully inched a hand between strong thighs to tease around Sephiroth's opening. He very rarely got to take Sephiroth that way, but the opportunity seemed to be presenting itself.

Or not...

Sephiroth quickly disentangled himself from Cloud, divesting himself of his clothing as he did so. Cloud fell back, catching himself before he ended up sprawled and vulnerable on the kitchen floor.

"Angel?"

"Cloud." It was almost predatory, yet still fully in control.

Sephiroth offered a hand and it was quickly taken. Cloud was pulled up and then slowly backed across the room with a series of kisses until he bumped into the kitchen table.

"Perfect," Sephiroth said as he pushed a small pile of papers off the table and motioned for Cloud to climb on.

Compliance was instantaneous and, without words, Sephiroth was pulling Cloud's clothing off with his teeth, careful only over Cloud's swollen arousal.

"Angel!" It was more shock than anything as Sephiroth hungrily kissed the other man before pushing him farther onto the table. Cloud arched and moaned when the kisses trailing down his stomach quickly turned to a hot mouth around his erection.

Sephiroth was using one hand to pleasure himself as well while he ran his tongue repeatedly over the one spot he knew would make Cloud explode.

Through a haze of euphoria, Cloud heard Sephiroth's own noises of pleasure. He hoped that Sephiroth still planned to take him. At that moment, he needed it. Everything felt so amazing...

Cloud arched slightly again as he came, opening his eyes for a moment to see nothing but the long silver hair of his lover as Sephiroth intently drank his seed.

"Cloud."

Cloud opened his eyes again, trying to sit up so he could watch the other man sink to his knees, arousal in his own hands.

"Take me," Cloud murmured, shakily climbing off the table to collapse to the floor. "Please."

" I don't want to hurt you." Hands stopped moving as Mako green eyes met his own blue.

Cloud shook his head.

"There must be something to use." He ungracefully reached for a cabinet door and pulled it open. A second later Sephiroth had reached over his shoulder for a bottle of oil.

"Perfect."

They kissed roughly as Sephiroth unscrewed the lid of the bottle and set it beside them. He then guided Cloud to his hands and knees on the floor and trailed a hand between warm buttocks.

Cloud moaned, moving into the touch. He cried out when Sephiroth's questing fingers were replaced by a warm, wet tongue, pushing its way into him.

"Angel!" It was one of the most exquisite things Cloud had ever felt. He wondered if he could have another orgasm just from this.

Before he got to find out though, slick oiled fingers were pressing into him instead, slightly cold but more than welcome. He thrust back against them, dropping from his hands to his elbows and putting his head down, muttering cusses and praises to the linoleum.

Sephiroth wasted no time, guiding himself slowly but fully into the body beneath his. He grabbed Cloud's hips, using them to keep himself at least partially buried as he thrust.

The overly slippery linoleum kept him from doing anything more adventurous, but he didn't find fault there. Despite wanting to milk another orgasm from Cloud, it wasn't going to happen now. He bent over Cloud and kissed his back lightly and assuringly before letting his own orgasm consume him.

They both fell fully to the floor, separated and panting. Cloud rolled to lay against Sephiroth. He was hard again, but not about to say anything.

That fact didn't escape Sephiroth's slightly unfocused eyes - he reached a hand down to gently stroke Cloud's hardness.

"Upstairs?"

Cloud looked at him questioningly.

"You... You can take me if you'd like. But... Upstairs."

Cloud kissed Sephiroth deeply, letting the full implications of those words sink in. What had happened earlier hadn't gone unnoticed.

Both shakily got to their feet, and after Sephiroth hastily shoved the cooking oil back in the cupboard, they slowly climbed the back stairs, each one a new kiss or caress on their way to bed.

Cloud wished he knew words to describe the sheer beauty Sephiroth possessed while getting prepared and stretched. He moved wantonly against the fingers inside of him, writing in a pool of his own liquid-like hair. Sephiroth was all the power and grace of a god in the body of angel, and he was spreading his legs invitingly.

Cloud shuddered as he removed his fingers. He was almost too excited now, intoxicated with what lay before him.

Half-lidded green eyes glanced at his hesitation before closing again.

"It's not like you're going to break me."

Cloud considered laughing as he positioned himself. He wondered if he'd even last long enough to try.

Sephiroth was visibly aroused again and was stoking himself as Cloud pushed his way into the tight heat that was his angel. Both cried out, Sephiroth arching to meet him and Cloud trying not to think too long or two hard about what he was doing.

Still, no more than a few minutes of frantic yet passionate thrusting left Cloud clinging to his lover as the throes of orgasm overtook him. Sephiroth finished a moment later, emptying himself between their bodies.

They were laying in bed, ignoring nagging feelings of business and duty until a piercing scream echoed through the house.

Cloud looked at Sephiroth. "Angel?"

"That was Pretty."

Another piercing scream followed a moment later.

"You want me to..."

"I'll find out what great calamity has befallen her today. I'll be right back."

Sephiroth kissed Cloud before climbing out of bed and grabbing his robe. He descended the back stairs quickly to see Pretty standing perfectly still in the middle of the kitchen floor. She was in an awkward position with both arms out to keep her stable.

"Pretty?"

"I stepped in something," she said quickly, gesturing with her head towards her bare feet.

Before Sephiroth could say anything, Pretty had taken a good look at him and smiled.

"Angel, you look like you just had the time of your..."

She paused, looked at her feet, looked at Sephiroth, looked at the pajamas laying on the floor nearby, and looked at her feet again. Her face turned to one of pure horror as she met Sephiroth's eyes.

"Gah! I don't want to know what I stepped in!" she yelled, turning as quickly as she could and running out the back door.

Sephiroth walked across the kitchen, poured himself another cup of coffee, and then walked back upstairs.

"Do I want to know?" asked Cloud, sleepily.

Sephiroth shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Pretty is just making life interesting again, that's all."

"Look at this! I have a grey hair!" Pretty yelled angrily as she spun around from the stove, one strand of hair between her fingers.

Sephiroth looked up from his paperwork. "So?"

"Well... you wouldn't understand. Neither would you," she half-spat at a laughing Cloud. "You two haven't aged at all!"

"Pretty, you can't be a day over thirty," Cloud said, trying to contain himself.

Pretty sighed, and turned back to the stove. "After lunch, I'm going to visit Rae."

"Are all the cabins clean?" Sephiroth didn't look up.

"Spotless, except for the occupied one. But everything's ready for tourists!" Pretty exclaimed, spinning around with a spatula. "I should go soak in the back spring; I worked so hard this week."

"We all did," Cloud replied, idly wandering around the kitchen for a moment before going to lean over Pretty's shoulder. "Is it done yet?"

Pretty glared. "No."

True to her word, Pretty disappeared towards town after lunch. Afternoon turned to evening, and neither Sephiroth nor Cloud thought much of her abscence. At one point, Sephiroth mentioned the fact that Pretty hadn't called, at the very least, but Cloud reminded him it was Pretty - nothing could stop her.

She still hadn't returned in the morning, when Cloud was waiting for her to spar for an hour before any chores needed to be done.

Sephiroth made coffee and and started making a list of the last few things that needed to be done. The resort was fully booked for most of the season, which left little room for oversights.

"Angel?"

"What is it?"

"Aren't you a little worried about Pretty? She's always back in the morning, even when..."

"I am," Sephiroth said. "She should be back by now. Let me finish this cup of coffee and we'll go look for her."

Cloud nodded. Pretty was his sister now too.

Cloud made dozens of phone calls while Sephiroth searched around the resort, neither having any success. Rae insisted Pretty had left early evening the day before without saying anything about where she was going.

Cloud had just hung up the phone after one long call to Kei when Sephiroth walked in to the office. If anyone knew anything, it would have been Kei. The woman had kept him talking though, giving him suggestion after suggestion while trying to contain her distress. She'd even volunteered to help with a town-wide search if neither man had any luck soon.

"Nothing?" Sephiroth asked, running his hands over Cloud's shoulders as he slumped down on the desk.

"No one's seen her since last night. Have you looked everywhere?" Cloud replied, turning to look up into Mako green eyes.

"All the cabins, sheds, stable, and surrounding woods. I can't imagine any creature getting the jump on her for more than a minute," Sephiroth said. "I'm going to walk out to the far springs, even though I can't see anything happening between here and there."

"I'll go with you," Cloud said. "I need to get out of this room if nothing else. I feel like I haven't done anything today."

" You know how much I hate that thing," An accusatory finger was pointed at the anitquated phone. "You didn't expect me to deal with it."

Sephiroth stepped back to let Cloud get up, and grabbed Masamune from it's usual location as he left the house.

"Why?" Blue eyes narrowed. Six years later and he was still a little nervous when Sephiroth picked up that sword. Daily sparring and daily love-making never got rid of the last little voice reminding him what that sword could and had done.

"Cloud." Sephiroth's entire demeaner had suddenly done a complete one-eighty. This was the General, cool and efficient. The one who appeared to teach Pretty to use her materia and to kill Mako beasts. "I care about her, but if there's something out there that got her, it needs to be destroyed."

Cloud nodded and retrieved his own weapon. Still, he did stay a little further than usual from Sephiroth as they headed down the path to the springs.

Neither said much as they passed the first three deserted pools. Instead they were listening for anything out of the usual, be it monsters or the cries of an injured woman.

Before either knew it they were almost to the back pool.

Sephiroth stopped suddenly, putting an arm out to stop Cloud as well.

"Something's wrong," he said pointing. An eerie glow tinted the woods an unnatural shade of green.

Both broke into a run and stopped at the edge of the pool, which was no longer filled with water. Instead, tendrils of green snaked through one another, glowing and shimmering.

"Mako," Sephiroth whispered, transfixed momentarily.

"The Lifestream," Cloud echoed. "But...?"

At that moment Sephiroth noticed a darker area near the middle of the pool. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before very slowly and quietly stating his suspicion.

"Pretty."