Nations - Expectations
September 14th, 2009 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skerenTitle: Expectations
Arc: Nations
Fandom: FF7
Characters: Sephiroth, Cloud
Words: 604
Rating: G
Warning: The AUness!
Arc summary: It's an alternate universe where Sephiroth is a king, while Zack, Cloud, Vincent, and Rufus are his harem slaves, who he has renamed as gems.
Note: smokyglass (of LJ)'s long involved comment made me pause and think, then reread all my old chapters of this. At which point you finally get a new chapter. Thank you for your enduring patience with me.
“My King... I...” The blond looked away from him, and he felt an odd sense of vindication. Why had his Gem kept such a thing secret from him? Why did he think that he ought not be aware?
“Sapphire. I will take no excuses about this.” His tone was mild, and he knew that even then the warning in it was clear.
“There are always those that might hear my King.”
“I will have my answer.”
There was silence, the blond staring at the ground as the king stared at him. When he finally spoke, his voice was very quiet, and it was clear he’d lost his resolve to silence. “What did she tell you?”
“She told me that I had my answer, and that I no longer had to fear so keenly for the safety of my Gems because they were mine in a far deeper way than before.”
”Because of the ceremony.”
”Yes, because of the ceremony. What happened that day Cloud? What did the Gods do?” The blond twitched when he spoke his given name. Good.
“They... invoked Binding. It wasn’t meant, nor the symbols used... Please forgive me this, it was not what was intended in any way.”
”Was it everyone in the ceremony Cloud?”
The young man’s voice got softer still. “Yes.”
”Reno of two lands, my gems, my Queen, the Priestess, you? All of you?”
”Yes my King.” His voice, at this point, was barely audible.
“You were not going to ever tell me.”
“No my King.”
”Why?”
The silence that followed that was stifling, but he would wait. He would have this clear, and then the blond would be punished for keeping it from him. Binding or no, he would ever be his Gem, and his other Gems would remain with him ever after as well.
However, he wasn’t without awareness that the blond was afraid, and he moved to him, resting his hand on his hair to stroke it. He wouldn’t strike him. No, there were more effective ways to make him see his errors. “Tell me Sapphire.”
”I was afraid.” He held his silence, waiting. Sapphire seemed to realize why and his tone was forced as he continued. Was he afraid now? “I was afraid that something would change, with you. Not... Not that you would turn me away, or hurt the others, but... do you still trust me my King?”
Unfortunately, he could not immediately reassure. He had to think about it. Clearly, his Priest hadn’t intended this. Clearly, he hadn’t had these designs for several years. No, he would have determined something, found something. The blond wouldn’t have defended the castle so well with his magic. The blond wouldn’t be terrified if it were anything but an accident. But he’d been tied with two who had nothing to do with him. Tied to people he didn’t particularly care to be, no matter how advantageous this might yet become.
Did he trust?
He wasn’t entirely sure, but the blue eyes that looked up at him were filled with a spirit that he didn’t wish to shatter, and he knew that he could do that. He could break him irreparably. “I do Sapphire, but never again will you do this to me. Never again.”
When the blond folded to his knees to show how thankful he was, he decided that being soft wasn’t always the worst way. He would see, however, if this softness and the man’s value were worth trust he wasn’t certain he’d wished to continue giving.
Either way, they were his forever now, so the point was, of course, moot.
Arc: Nations
Fandom: FF7
Characters: Sephiroth, Cloud
Words: 604
Rating: G
Warning: The AUness!
Arc summary: It's an alternate universe where Sephiroth is a king, while Zack, Cloud, Vincent, and Rufus are his harem slaves, who he has renamed as gems.
Note: smokyglass (of LJ)'s long involved comment made me pause and think, then reread all my old chapters of this. At which point you finally get a new chapter. Thank you for your enduring patience with me.
“My King... I...” The blond looked away from him, and he felt an odd sense of vindication. Why had his Gem kept such a thing secret from him? Why did he think that he ought not be aware?
“Sapphire. I will take no excuses about this.” His tone was mild, and he knew that even then the warning in it was clear.
“There are always those that might hear my King.”
“I will have my answer.”
There was silence, the blond staring at the ground as the king stared at him. When he finally spoke, his voice was very quiet, and it was clear he’d lost his resolve to silence. “What did she tell you?”
“She told me that I had my answer, and that I no longer had to fear so keenly for the safety of my Gems because they were mine in a far deeper way than before.”
”Because of the ceremony.”
”Yes, because of the ceremony. What happened that day Cloud? What did the Gods do?” The blond twitched when he spoke his given name. Good.
“They... invoked Binding. It wasn’t meant, nor the symbols used... Please forgive me this, it was not what was intended in any way.”
”Was it everyone in the ceremony Cloud?”
The young man’s voice got softer still. “Yes.”
”Reno of two lands, my gems, my Queen, the Priestess, you? All of you?”
”Yes my King.” His voice, at this point, was barely audible.
“You were not going to ever tell me.”
“No my King.”
”Why?”
The silence that followed that was stifling, but he would wait. He would have this clear, and then the blond would be punished for keeping it from him. Binding or no, he would ever be his Gem, and his other Gems would remain with him ever after as well.
However, he wasn’t without awareness that the blond was afraid, and he moved to him, resting his hand on his hair to stroke it. He wouldn’t strike him. No, there were more effective ways to make him see his errors. “Tell me Sapphire.”
”I was afraid.” He held his silence, waiting. Sapphire seemed to realize why and his tone was forced as he continued. Was he afraid now? “I was afraid that something would change, with you. Not... Not that you would turn me away, or hurt the others, but... do you still trust me my King?”
Unfortunately, he could not immediately reassure. He had to think about it. Clearly, his Priest hadn’t intended this. Clearly, he hadn’t had these designs for several years. No, he would have determined something, found something. The blond wouldn’t have defended the castle so well with his magic. The blond wouldn’t be terrified if it were anything but an accident. But he’d been tied with two who had nothing to do with him. Tied to people he didn’t particularly care to be, no matter how advantageous this might yet become.
Did he trust?
He wasn’t entirely sure, but the blue eyes that looked up at him were filled with a spirit that he didn’t wish to shatter, and he knew that he could do that. He could break him irreparably. “I do Sapphire, but never again will you do this to me. Never again.”
When the blond folded to his knees to show how thankful he was, he decided that being soft wasn’t always the worst way. He would see, however, if this softness and the man’s value were worth trust he wasn’t certain he’d wished to continue giving.
Either way, they were his forever now, so the point was, of course, moot.
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)Good that Seph has his Gems forever, but the Gods really should have gone about it in a different way.oh my... Poor Sapphire.
Good that Seph has his Gems forever, but the Gods really should have gone about it in a different way.
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)In the ceremony, Cloud and Aerith were standing as representatives of the gods, as priest and priestess. Sephiroth was representing his nation (as King), while Tifa was representing hers. All well and good, and pretty standard for marriage services. However, things get interesting when you consider who two of the three remaining Gems actually are, and the role they were serving at the time. One was the third in line to the throne of a third nation, while the other is linked to the royal house of the fourth nation in the loose (and shaky) alliance which keeps the world from collapsing into outright warfare. The Gems (aside from Cloud) were standing as Protectors - protecting the participants in the ceremony, and also the actual ceremony itself. Now, Zack and Reno were also standing as Protectors, and since Reno has already been named as a person "of two lands", I'd suspect there's something similar in Zack's ancestry (I'm guessing, since it hasn't yet been made clear) - thus between the two of them, they'd be acting as representatives of all of the peoples of the four lands together.
Thus when the gods invoked Binding on the marriage they also invoked the (symbolic) Binding on the Alliance itself.
When Jenova and Hojo work it all out, they're both going to be Very Cross Indeed, since it rather puts the kibosh on their plans to disrupt the whole thing from the inside out. Particularly since the Gods in this world appear to have a rather active interest in things, and a willingness to interfere when it suits them.
I like these gods. They're sneaky.Ooooh, I think I see what's happened here.
In the ceremony, Cloud and Aerith were standing as representatives of the gods, as priest and priestess. Sephiroth was representing his nation (as King), while Tifa was representing hers. All well and good, and pretty standard for marriage services. However, things get interesting when you consider who two of the three remaining Gems actually are, and the role they were serving at the time. One was the third in line to the throne of a third nation, while the other is linked to the royal house of the fourth nation in the loose (and shaky) alliance which keeps the world from collapsing into outright warfare. The Gems (aside from Cloud) were standing as Protectors - protecting the participants in the ceremony, and also the actual ceremony itself. Now, Zack and Reno were also standing as Protectors, and since Reno has already been named as a person "of two lands", I'd suspect there's something similar in Zack's ancestry (I'm guessing, since it hasn't yet been made clear) - thus between the two of them, they'd be acting as representatives of all of the peoples of the four lands together.
Thus when the gods invoked Binding on the marriage they also invoked the (symbolic) Binding on the Alliance itself.
When Jenova and Hojo work it all out, they're both going to be Very Cross Indeed, since it rather puts the kibosh on their plans to disrupt the whole thing from the inside out. Particularly since the Gods in this world appear to have a rather active interest in things, and a willingness to interfere when it suits them.
I like these gods. They're sneaky.
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)::grins:: but,t he Gods are sneaky. Especially considering it's been a -long- time since the age of Miracles...::blinking at you so hard:: You know, I never tried to understand -why- the gods did what they did ::eyes them:: Though you're far closer to what the hell just happened than anyone else has yet to guess. ::eyes Reno:: Zack is accounted for in a way that hasn't been outed, as it is story history, but it might yet come up and explain your puzzlement at him. ::nods::
::grins:: but,t he Gods are sneaky. Especially considering it's been a -long- time since the age of Miracles...
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)He would see, however, if this softness and the man’s value were worth trust he wasn’t certain he’d wished to continue giving.
Wow, people are cold in this verse. I actually kinda like that. Poor Cloud though. I hope that hi did eventually come to care about them.Yay, you updated! I'm too happy about that to mind that honestly, I didn't uderstand what happened at all. (But that may be just because I'm terrible at reading between the lines. I need exposition to understand things properly.)
He would see, however, if this softness and the man’s value were worth trust he wasn’t certain he’d wished to continue giving.
Wow, people are cold in this verse. I actually kinda like that. Poor Cloud though. I hope that hi did eventually come to care about them.
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)More reactions: can't wait to see Yuffie's plan. Can't wait to see Reno's place in the harem. I remeber your image of Reno coming up behind and shoving his hands in Cloud's pockets, and it is a very nice (not to mention pretty) image indeed.
I like it that Cloud cares. His emotions and Sephiroth's are kinda hard for me to read in this verse.
Re-read your Sephira series. I'd forgotten to slap a "treat with caution" label warning on it, see. It made me die a little. Now I need some happy/hopeful/obsessivly-in-love fic to make up for it.
--smokyglassArgh, please forgive my typos - I've had to rush lately.
More reactions: can't wait to see Yuffie's plan. Can't wait to see Reno's place in the harem. I remeber your image of Reno coming up behind and shoving his hands in Cloud's pockets, and it is a very nice (not to mention pretty) image indeed.
I like it that Cloud cares. His emotions and Sephiroth's are kinda hard for me to read in this verse.
Re-read your Sephira series. I'd forgotten to slap a "treat with caution" label warning on it, see. It made me die a little. Now I need some happy/hopeful/obsessivly-in-love fic to make up for it.
--smokyglass
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)::eyes her fics:: I'm sure I have one like that somewhere, if nothing else I know I have a couple cracky ones.::waves a hand:: I understand typos all too well. I can say however, that Reno won't fall into the harem ::laughs:: good heavens no, it would never work for the man.
::eyes her fics:: I'm sure I have one like that somewhere, if nothing else I know I have a couple cracky ones.
(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 1/1/70 12:00 am (UTC)