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Resurrected Light

Cloud awoke sometime later, his body in slightly less amount of agony, but now he seemed to have lost his voice. He desperately needed something to drink and Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen.

Trying not to wince, he managed to uncover himself and sit upright. Naked. Sephiroth had left him naked. And weak. He felt almost overpoweringly dizzy and exhausted from the small task he'd just performed.

According to Sephiroth, he had lost quite a bit of blood. Still, the cure spells should have helped more. Unless, Cloud realized, he really had been hurt that badly. He couldn't remember.

And everything was spinning.

A moment after he sank back onto bed, a shadow passed across his vision.

"Leaving so soon?"

Cloud shook his head and formed a weak smile as Sephiroth helped lean up against the headboard and offered him a glass of water.

Still, he wasn't going to say thank you.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sephiroth pulled a chair from across the room and sat down beside the bed.

"No."

"Just give it time. You will." Sephiroth reached a hand out to brush Cloud's hair back from his face and feel for a fever.

"I don't just want to lay here," Cloud replied once the hand was pulled away.

"Tomorrow," Sephiroth replied as he stood. "Rest today and you can go anywhere you'd like tomorrow."

"But I'm not tired."

"Yes you are. You need to rest," Sephiroth said as he walked around the bed and climbed onto the other side.

"You sound like my mother," Cloud shot back, biting back a bit of anger he thought he'd gotten past.

Sephiroth just laughed softly as he took the almost-empty glass of water from Cloud and leaned over to set it on the bedside table. Cloud just froze as Sephiroth then settled in next to him and started running his fingers through Cloud's hair.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked, his eyes meeting Sephiroth's for a moment.

"Distracting you, Strife," Sephiroth replied before quickly ambushing Cloud with a sleep spell.

When Cloud woke again the light in the room was dim enough to tell him that it was evening already. And he was very, very warm.

A moment later he realized that was due to the fact that he was sprawled between the blankets, which had been pulled over him at some point, and Sephiroth. After another awkward moment that involved determining that he was, in fact, still naked, he realized that Sephiroth was still awake and keeping watch over him. In fact, Sephiroth was still slowly running his fingers through Cloud's unruly spikes, as he must have been for several hours.

"You've been here the whole time?" Cloud asked, shifting as best he could to look up into the glowing green eyes that watched him.

" Yes," Sephiroth replied, smiling a bit wider as he maneuvered enough to meet Cloud's lips with his own.

"Why?"

"To keep you from trying to leave without me."

Cloud didn't reply. Instead he was paying more attention to the hand that trailed down his back, tracing his spine and his wing in a hypnotic pattern. With a glance he realized Sephiroth was lying on his own wing in a position that had to be painful after so many hours.

"Seph..." But he was cut off again with kisses that were quickly becoming more involved. Cloud found himself moaning into Sephiroth's mouth, begging for more as he reached up to tangle his hands in Sephiroth's silver hair. It was perfect, except for the fatigue that was setting in quickly.

Sephiroth kept his word. The next morning, after a couple rather awkward minutes during which Cloud realized they'd most likely both been naked all night, Sephiroth had found them both suitable clothing for a quick walk through and around the labyrinthine Coliseum.

Cloud spent at least another few minutes trying to remember if he'd ever seen Sephiroth in anything other than his usual uniform or, well, naked. He still wasn't sure, but he stopped straining his brain as Sephiroth performed some quick alterations on a spare shirt to accommodate his wing.

The clothing Sephiroth had given him hung off his smaller frame, but Cloud didn't much mind. Once on his feet, he realized he felt several thousand times better than he had the day before. He still had a touch of dizziness, but it was offset by his desire to stretch his body and move around.

"Ready to go?" Cloud hadn't even noticed Sephiroth slip behind him until arms wrapped around his mid-section and help him tightly. Cloud just nodded. Besides a quick kiss first thing in the morning, Sephiroth had barely touched him. He was starting to wonder if they were both a bit confused about just how to follow through on the relationship that had ended more than six years ago.

They walked along an outer corridor in silence, each seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Still, Cloud noticed, Sephiroth kept close and with a hand outstretched in case Cloud wasn't as sure on his feet as he thought he was.

After another couple minutes of walking, they found themselves in one of the smaller practice arenas.

"This is perfect," Sephiroth said after appraising the space. Instead of the standard clear plane, this arena had an uneven floor filled with columns and barrels.

"For what?" Cloud asked, looking around.

"For you to train in, of course."

"What?!" Cloud had his eyes on Sephiroth in a heartbeat.

"You obviously need a bit more practice."

Cloud just grumbled under his breath before stalking away. Leave it to Sephiroth to add insult to injury. Still, he was a bit surprised to find that he wasn't being followed. After a couple of turns and forks in the corridor, he managed to make it back to his own room. He quickly pulled off the clothing he'd borrowed and stood naked as he sorted through his own clothing to find something to wear.

Still, as he stood there, holding up a faded black shirt, strong arms wrapped around him again and silver hair spilled over his right shoulder.

"Sephiroth..."

"What is it, Strife?" he replied as he let his hands trace lower for the first time in years. "I daresay you're recovered enough for a bit of... physical exertion."