Chapter Text
Since Cloud doesn’t have anything better to do, he opens the browser on his PHS and starts to search for a good place to hold their mating ceremony.
He doesn’t find anything interesting. Costa del Sol and Gold Saucer are the most popular tourist attractions on the Planet, and Cloud doesn’t want to go to either, at least not for something like this.
Not that he even should bother with it yet, since they’re going to look into it later in detail, but it’s still only eight in the evening, he still isn’t tired and he’s bored as hell.
“I have ideas what I could get to my room,” Cloud says as the idea suddenly enters his mind, previously unattainable because of the price.
“Oh?”
“A proper TV,” Cloud says carefully. “And… a SHISYS.” SHISYS, or Shinra-System, is the latest game console model from Shinra. Cloud has played video games very little in his life—Nibelheim’s community center had had an older model, too old to play any of the modern games anymore.
A brand-new SHISYS is not a small ask. They’re ridiculously expensive, only available to those with a lot of money. Cloud knows that it’s a wide issue, a lot of poorer consumers complaining that gaming is getting too expensive for them.
Not that Shinra cares. They only cater to Midgar’s elite and what they want, everything else comes second. That is the reason why Midgar is the most advanced and safest city on the Planet, with the rest getting far fewer resources and mako to survive.
“Sure,” Sephiroth says and lifts his eyes. He laughs when Cloud can’t hide the surprise from his face. “I told you. This is your home now. You’re my omega. Of course I will provide you anything you want.”
“Why?” Cloud blurts out. “Why are you… so nice to me? I’m… just an omega. Just… good for breeding and being pretty.” It’s not the whole truth, and he knows it, but it’s something that has been drilled into him ever since he was a child—and as a male omega, that makes him even more different from others.
Sephiroth pushes back from his desk, stands up and then walks to Cloud. Then, to Cloud’s immense surprise, Sephiroth crouches in front of him and takes his hands into his own.
“I know our bond hasn’t matured yet, so you can’t catch my feeling properly,” he says, cat-like eyes insistent on Cloud’s face. “But you are my mate. My true mate. Something I never thought I’d have. I feel a very base need to look after you, to protect you.”
“But you could do it the other way,” Cloud insists. “I know that happens! True bond doesn’t mean a happy ending for the couple—at worst, it gives the alpha complete control over the omega—”
“Hey, calm down,” Sephiroth says firmly.
Cloud realizes then that he’s gasping for breath again, heart hammering against his ribs.
Sephiroth moves closer and presses his forehead against Cloud’s, his scent filling Cloud’s nostrils enough for him to get a bit wet. He takes a shuddering breath.
“What do you feel?” Sephiroth asks. “When we are like this? Take your time.”
Cloud closes his eyes and focuses, searches for the bond they already have. It’s like a ghost, barely there and needs a proper bite to mature, but still there. Cloud smells alpha, very rich vanilla and a sweet tang of mako. Probably because Sephiroth is a SOLDIER.
He also smells like safety. Like someone Cloud could trust, love.
Sephiroth smells like his true mate.
The sob breaks out without a conscious thought. It feels as if, for the first time, Cloud is in tune with his omega, acknowledges that Sephiroth is his mate, the one he has always been supposed to meet, to mate, to breed.
Sephiroth wraps his arms around Cloud as he collapses into frantic sobs, kneading the front of Sephiroth’s shirt. It’s not a surprise, then, when he starts to purr, loudly and intensely.
“I know I can’t make you trust me,” Sephiroth whispers. “I know my reputation speaks against me. But I hope I can show you that you’re safe with me.”
Cloud doesn’t reply. He cries so much that his sobs warp into hiccups and his purr wracks his throat.
He has a mate. He has a true mate. He wants to believe so desperately—believe that this is something that will make him happy. That his hometown wasn’t destroyed for nothing, that he didn’t go through that captivity for nothing.
Cloud cries until everything fades out, and just Sephiroth’s scent remains.
***
The next morning, Cloud wakes up from his bed. It’s raining outside—storming almost: he hears the wind howling and the rain battering the windows. He rubs his eyes and reaches for the remote. He fumbles with it a bit, but eventually the curtains rise.
Cloud isn’t worried if someone will see into his room. He can see the city spreading around them, other skyscrapers close by—but then again, as Cloud looks at them, he doesn’t see inside, so the windows are probably impossible to see through from the outside. He should’ve realized that.
His eyes are itchy and sore, and when he swallows, there’s a sharp pain in his throat. When he tries to talk, it hurts even more.
Right. He purred last night. It had been stronger than before, which explains why his throat is so sore now.
Cloud looks at the nightstand again, and sees a big, familiar-looking box with a moogle on it: purr drops. These are aimed for omega children still learning to control their purr. Cloud isn’t offended by this—somehow he knows the real reason Sephiroth got these for him.
They simply taste better.
Moogle drops have berry flavors and sweet flavors like that, while adult drops (named Tonberry drops) have ginger, menthol, licorice and other fresh shit Cloud can’t stand.
Still, these are raspberry and not blueberry, Cloud’s favorite, but he isn’t about to complain. Sephiroth couldn’t have known that.
He plops one into his mouth and flops back on the bed. When he thinks about seeing his mother and Tifa again, his heart makes an additional jump. It hasn’t been long yet, but Cloud misses them both terribly, and has been so worried ever since he had screamed at Claudia to escape, right before he’d been hauled into that truck.
Cloud wonders if he should get up to get some breakfast when there’s a knock on his door. “Are you awake?” Sephiroth calls. “I brought you breakfast.”
“Come in,” Cloud replies and sits up.
Sephiroth enters with the serving cart and another load of delicious and rich food—more porridge with blueberries, waffles, coffee, a sandwich that’s bursting with filling…
“Claudia Strife and Tifa Lockhart have arrived in Midgar,” Sephiroth says and sits on the edge of Cloud’s bed. “Once you’re eaten, we go see them. They’re at a hotel now, but I’ll make sure they both get an apartment to stay.”
Cloud’s heart jumps again. “Thank you,” he mutters. “I appreciate it.”
He starts to eat, and as he wolfs down his food, Sephiroth says, “I also ordered the TV and SHISYS for you. Seeing as you don’t have enough furniture here, I also bought a couch, a table and a TV stand.”
Cloud doesn’t even want to know how much it all costs, so he doesn’t ask—he just nods.
“I didn’t know what games you want, but you have the money I transferred to you, so you can use it as you want,” Sephiroth says.
Cloud doesn’t even know everything that has come out recently, so he’s eager to find out.
But first, though, he needs to see his mother and Tifa.
He eats fast—too fast, as he feels very nauseous when they leave thirty minutes later—but he pushes that back. He can’t be too nauseous when he’s about to see his mother.
Cloud can barely contain himself during the entire time it takes for Sephiroth to drive to the hotel, not too far away. It’s older, similar in style to the auction hall, but no less expensive.
Sephiroth parks an area reserved for VIP guests, and they go in. Cloud’s heart thunders in his ears as Sephiroth speaks to the receptionist and they move to the elevator.
Just the second they enter the hallway on the third floor, Cloud smells it. The fresh laundry, sunshine, cinnamon, sugar. Claudia may be a beta, but to Cloud, she smells like home, safety.
She smells like a mother.
“Room 305,” Sephiroth says and hands over the key.
Cloud starts running, eyes blurred with his tears. He barely manages to get the key to the lock—and he still fumbles with the handle before he finally pulls the door open.
And there she is. Dressed in a simple sweater and jeans instead of her familiar dress, blond hair tied into a ponytail like always, and she’s staring at Cloud as if suspended in time.
“Mom,” Cloud rasps.
“Baby?” Claudia whispers, her lower lip trembling. “Cloud?”
Cloud runs into his mother’s waiting arms and drinks her scent greedily, his purr breaking out even stronger than before. They both fall to sit on the floor and Claudia hugs her son tightly and cries into his shoulder.
“I was so worried for you!” Claudia sobs, then pulls back to look at Cloud’s face. “But—you’re okay. You’re okay.”
Cloud nods, hiccuping, still purring louder than any cat he has ever seen.
Only then does he turn to look and sees Tifa, her dark hair tied, dressed in black and white with sturdy, red sneakers. “Tifa,” he croaks. “Thank god you’re both safe.”
Tifa’s eyes are wet with tears too. “Claudia saved my life,” she says wetly. “They killed my dad, and—yeah. Claudia helped me get away.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Cloud says brokenly.
“Of course, baby,” Claudia says. She looks over Cloud’s shoulder then. “You’re Sephiroth? Who found us?”
“Just helped my mate, that’s all,” Sephiroth says quietly, hovering in the doorway. “It’s the least I could do.”
“You’re a SOLDIER, right?” Tifa asks, her voice sharp and accusing. “Did you know about Shinra’s raid?”
Cloud adjusts so that he can see Sephiroth.
“Of course I did,” Sephiroth says and raises an eyebrow. He comes inside and shuts the door. “Just as I’ve told you before, I have a role I need to keep up so that I can be of help. I wouldn’t have been able to stop the raid without putting my own position—and all the benefits—in danger.”
“He saved my life,” Cloud says, frowning at Tifa.
“I know,” Tifa says, but she clenches her fists. “It’s still Shinra’s fault. It’s them that destroyed Nibelheim and are going to use the mako for their own ends.”
Sephiroth looks at her. “Do you want to fight against Shinra?” he asks. “Would you put your life on the line for it?”
Tifa blinks her tears away, looks confused at first but then nods. “I would,” she says. “If I could save anyone from having Cloud’s fate.”
Cloud realizes then, and he looks at his mate. “Sephiroth—”
Sephiroth raises his hand, and Cloud instantly shuts up.
“I know a group,” Sephiroth begins. “They save people from ending up into auction and help them escape. They’re always looking for more people to join. You will get the help you need to get an apartment and funds to get started with your new life, but I can also put you in contact with that group. It’s called AVALANCHE.”
“I’ll do it,” Tifa says. She looks at Cloud and smiles, though. “I won’t abandon you, don’t even think about it. I’m not losing you again.”
It’s good enough, and Cloud takes it.
“What about you, Miss Strife?” Sephiroth asks Claudia. “Whatever you want, I’ll provide it for you.”
Claudia still holds Cloud against herself. “It’s Claudia,” she says firmly. “And I want to stay close to my son for now.”
“We can arrange that,” Sephiroth promises. “Our apartment is big enough for you to live there for the time being.”
“I’m not expecting to live for free,” Claudia objects. “I will help around, however I can.”
“Mom—” Cloud starts, but Claudia presses her finger against his lips.
“No buts, sweetie. I want to do this.”
Cloud doesn’t argue back—he knows his mother well enough. “Fine.” Admittedly, he’s very happy to know she will stay close.
“So tell us what happened after you got taken,” Tifa demands. “This guy here”—she shoots a look at Sephiroth—“didn’t bother to tell us anything.”
“I figured it’s Cloud’s story to tell,” Sephiroth says smoothly.
Cloud snorts. He still stays like that, in his mother’s embrace, and tells them about the captivity, the auction and then finding out that Sephiroth is his true mate.
“But I don’t see a mate bite,” Tifa interrupts.
“We haven’t finished the mating yet,” Cloud says. He’s not about to reveal that he sacrificed himself to ensure their safety.
“All of this has been very stressful and new to Cloud, there’s no way I would’ve put him through with mating on top of that,” Sephiroth says.
“Thank you,” Claudia says weakly. “Thank you for saving my son.”
“He only saved him because they’re mates,” Tifa scoffs.
“That’s not true,” Sephiroth corrects, a slight hitch in his voice. “I was at the auction with the intention to buy Cloud anyway, and then help him to get to AVALANCHE. Us being mates changed all of it. It binds me just as much as him. If we’d tried to break it, it could’ve caused us both to frenzy.”
Tifa still doesn’t look convinced, but she doesn’t argue further.
They make the last of the plans for the next steps—Sephiroth calls one of his most trusted assistants to help Tifa with getting set up.
“Do you guys still have your PHS on you?” Sephiroth asks. “I could take your numbers just in case.”
Cloud takes his own PHS as well, and saves two more numbers: Tifa and Mom.
Once Sephiroth’s contact arrives—an eccentric young man called Johnny—Cloud and Tifa agree to meet later once she has settled. After she leaves with Johnny, Cloud looks at his mother.
“Shall we go home?” he asks and smiles.
The smile Claudia gives back to him is radiant. “Yes, let’s.”