Skywalkers

20. Epilogue
or
"I made the damn rules. I can break them if I want."

Leon was in Heaven. His house was silent. His wounds were healed. His stomach was full with a delicious dinner that he had prepared. And Cloud was doing the dishes.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Leon nursed the last of his wine and watched the muscles in Cloud's back as the blond scrubbed at a greasy pan. It really was wonderful how quiet and simple and normal everything was once again. Leon had his old life back, but now it was substantially improved. He had love in his life again, and instead of being merely content, he was truly, blissfully happy.

"Ow, dammit." Cloud lifted a finger and inspected it for a moment before sticking it under the tap and turning the water to cold.

Even though he knew his lover had probably jammed or scraped the digit, Leon couldn't help teasing him a little. "What's the matter, dear? You break a nail?"

Cloud didn't even turn around, just flipped Leon off with his other hand and, switching the tap back to hot, returned to his task. Leon chuckled at him and took another sip of wine. He knew Cloud didn't particularly like doing the dishes, but the man insisted on pulling his own weight around the house. After all, they were a couple now, and even though Cloud would probably never be able to legally own anything, Leon still considered everything he had to be Cloud's as well. Including the tableware.

"Ow! Godsdammit!"

Setting down his wineglass, Leon rose and walked over to stand behind the other man. "What's going on?" he asked, concerned.

Cloud sucked on two of his fingers and glowered. "I can't get this shit off the pan," he complained around the digits. "It's like glue." He angrily tossed the pan into the sink, crossed his arms over his chest, and sulked. "Fuck it," he mumbled. "Just fuck it."

Leon leaned over his shoulder and gazed into the pan that was thinly lined with bits of breading, slivers of semi-burnt garlic, and just general oiliness. Sighing quietly, he reached around the other man who refused to move and grabbed the liquid soap. After squirting a generous amount into the pan, he turned on the tap, switched the head to form a spray instead of a flow, and filled the pan up, aiming the water at the soap to create lots of bubbles.

"You've got to let something like this soak for a while," he explained patiently.

Cloud continued to sulk. "I don't care anymore," he grumbled. "Seriously, fuck it."

Leon grinned. That sounded like a good idea actually. And he already had Cloud in a rather compromising position.

"Leon!" Cloud squawked when he felt a hand slide up the inside of his leg. "I said fuck it, not fuck me!"

"Same difference," Leon smirked. He dropped his lips to the blond's neck and began to kiss a line from his ear to his collarbone.

"I am not in the mood for this," his lover protested.

"Then just stand there and pout. I don't mind." He drew a small picture on Cloud's skin with his tongue and then pulled the area into his mouth where he sucked gently on it. Cloud humphed at him as if to say that he had no intention of responding to this treatment, but Leon was not discouraged. He moved his hands to Cloud's waist and slipped his thumbs under the fabric of his shirt. Gently he began to massage the small of the other man's back.

"You know," he whispered, going back to kissing Cloud's neck lightly, "standing here with you has given me this wonderful mental image."

"I bet," Cloud snorted. He still sounded uncooperative, but Leon could feel the muscles in his back relaxing as Leon worked on them. "I thought sex in the kitchen was forbidden."

Leon paused for a moment to laugh against Cloud's shoulder. "True," he conceded. "But," he continued with obvious meaning in his voice, "since I am the head chef of this kitchen, I can change the rules to suit my needs. And right now, I think I need to pound you into this counter."

Cloud snorted again, but the sound only had about half of its usual disdain. Leon realized with satisfaction that his hands and voice were having their desired effect. Carefully, he pressed his lower half into the man before him so that the other could feel his warm arousal. He was rewarded with the smallest hitch of breath and a slight tightening of shoulder muscles. As he dropped his head down to soothe those muscles with his mouth, he moved his hands around to Cloud's front and grasped the blond's arms, pulling them apart from each other and guiding them down to hold onto the counter. Cloud resisted for a minute but eventually gave in when Leon did nothing more than run his hands up and down Cloud's arms, stopping here and there to massage a muscle or trace a pattern on his skin. Slowly, he began to let himself relax.

Which is exactly what Leon wanted. He watched in triumph as Cloud's rigid posture curved a bit forward and his head dropped just slightly towards his chest. A quick glance at his lover's face showed that his eyes were closed and his expression calm. His breathing was steady but just a tad shallow. Leon smirked to himself. He was very much enjoying turning Cloud on in spite of himself. It was a definite challenge.

Abandoning Cloud's arms, Leon pulled his hands to his lover's chest and wrapped him in a tight hug. He rested his chin on Cloud's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I've changed my mind. I'm still going to pound you into the counter, but not right away. Those sounds you make when you're on the verge of orgasm are so beautifully delicious that I think I'd like a helping of those as an appetizer. So first, I'm going to suck you off."

A soft gasp escaped Cloud's lips, but he quickly shut his mouth to prevent another. Leon could feel trembles start to work their way through his lover's body. He smiled. So Rinoa and Cloud did have something in common. His wife had loved it when he talked dirty to her. There was something unbearably sexy, she had said, about imagining what was going to happen to her before it actually did. Apparently Cloud felt the same. And Leon had plenty of practice crafting words in such a way to create the exact image he wanted.

"I'm going to get you good and hard just the way we are. With you facing the sink, your hands on the counter. I'm not going to let you kiss me or even touch me. You're going to have to just stand there while I stroke you through these sexy jeans of yours. And then, when you're just about ready to go mad with need, I'll spin you around, lift you up on the counter, move only enough of your clothes so that I can get to your cock, and then suck you."

Cloud was breathing hard now, his lips parted, his chest expanding erratically against Leon's arms. Leon hadn't moved his hands from their places near the blond's armpits. He had absolutely no intention of touching Cloud until he had finished speaking. He had even ensured that his face was far enough away that his lips wouldn't brush the other's ear or cheek as he talked. Only his voice and the warm breath it rode on stroked his lover's flushed skin.

"While I run my lips and tongue all over you, I'm going to listen to all those amazing sounds you make. Those moans and pants and those quick, high-pitched gasps that are so amazingly erotic that I get damn near close to coming just thinking about them. Jesus, Cloud, you have no idea how completely captivating you are when I'm driving you over the edge. The way you arch your back, the way your hands scrabble and search for something to hold onto, the way your head moves back and forth in utter abandon. It makes me want to please you over and over and never stop." He sighed deeply, digging his chin a little further into Cloud's shoulder. His lover was openly shaking, his head tilted back onto Leon's shoulder and his body leaning against him for support. When Leon's sigh traveled down his neck, he shuddered and moaned softly.

"After I get you to come for me, I'll give you a small break to recover, but not too much. I'll pull you down off the counter and start kissing you. And then I'll start pushing buttons. I know where they all are, Cloud. You know I do. That spot at the hollow of your neck. Your nipples, mouth only since fingers don't work as well. And of course, that special spot on your back. I'll push them all and drive you wild. You'll be so aroused that you'll be damn near close to begging, but I won't push you that far. I wouldn't do that to you. So when I start to see that desperate desire in your eyes, I'll send those jeans to the floor, turn you around so your hands are gripping the counter again, and enter you. And then I'll fuck you, Cloud, until we're both near-screaming in ecstasy. I'll fill you with my entire length, the way I know you like it, and start driving in and out. I'll push you higher than you've ever been before, and I'll make you come so hard that the only thing keeping you standing will be this counter, right here."

Leon paused and tried to wet his lips with a dry tongue. He had managed to keep his voice mostly level and calm through all of that even though he had so much blood in his lower regions right now that he wondered why his brain hadn't starved. Cloud was barely standing. Leon was supporting almost all of his weight, and he trembled violently with desire.

"So," Leon said brightly after a moment, "how does that sound?"

Cloud swallowed thickly and answered in a surprisingly even voice. "Leon?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut the fuck up and fucking do it already."

Leon couldn't help himself. "Such language," he teased with a mild chuckle. "Are you telling me you feel like being on top instead?"

Cloud snarled viciously in response, and Leon decided he had tortured his love for long enough. One hand shot to the blond's head, snagging him by the hair and pulling him to the side to expose his neck to Leon's mouth, and the other slid down to seize Cloud's erection through the hot fabric of his jeans. Leon's touch shocked a loud, wild cry from Cloud who nearly fell as his knees buckled at the onslaught of pleasure, but Leon clutched his lover more tightly to himself and held him up. He ran his hand roughly along the prominent outline in Cloud's jeans and listened greedily to the reactions he was producing. The verbal foreplay had aroused the blond nearly to the breaking point, making his cries as his desires began to be fulfilled substantially louder and unrestrained. Leon very much wanted to grind himself against Cloud's perfect body, but he held himself back. This first part of the fantasy was for his love alone.

Considering how hard Cloud had gotten simply from Leon's sensuous words, Leon quickly decided to move on to the next step. He seized Cloud by the hips and spun him around. Instinctively, the blond leaned forward to kiss him, but Leon ducked the approaching lips and instead lowered his body so that he could swiftly and easily lift Cloud onto the counter next to the sink. Dazed with lust, Cloud just blinked at him as Leon's fingers undid the button and zipper of his jeans, but when Leon pushed all the fabric away and closed his hand around Cloud's erection, his head fell backwards, eyes closing. It hit the window with a soft rattle, making Leon grin.

Leon didn't particularly enjoy giving head. He supposed it must be his straight-guy roots. But if it was for Cloud … . Dipping his head down, he ran his tongue along Cloud's shaft, wetting everything down a bit before returning to the top and taking as much as he could into his mouth. Cloud groaned low in his throat and then gasped as Leon slowly ran his tongue in a circle around the shaft while it was within his mouth. He began to bob up and down, slowly at first and then faster once Cloud's gasps and sighs had fogged his head enough that he no longer thought about what he was doing. He couldn't deep-throat the way his lover could, so he circled one hand around the base, bringing it up and down in time with his mouth. Once Cloud's cries reached a certain level, he added the smallest bit of suction to his movements, instantly driving the sounds even higher. It wasn't much longer before Cloud came. As he released, Leon held his mouth and hand still, knowing that any further movement would drive the intensity to an unpleasant level, and instead enjoyed the feeling of muscles pulsing underneath his hand and the half-strangled sounds of utter ecstasy that escaped from the throat above him.

As Cloud slumped against the wall and tried to breathe, Leon took a step across the kitchen to retrieve a glass from the cabinets. He filled it with water at the nearby sink and tried to wash down the lingering unpleasantness in his mouth. It wasn't the taste so much as the texture, kind of like a thin coating of glue or paint that hid in the back corners of his jaw and refused to leave. He ended up downing the entire glass and filling it again.

"Doing this in the kitchen isn't such a bad idea," he commented to Cloud who had finally figured out how to focus his eyes again. When the blond's hand reached out silently for the glass, Leon gave it to him with a smile. "I mean," he continued, "just think of all the things we could use for lube. Butter, vegetable oil, chocolate syrup …"

Cloud rolled his eyes at him from over the rim of the glass. Putting it down in the sink, he reached out and flipped the tap on. "Water," he said pointedly.

Leon shut the tap back off and leaned onto the counter in front of Cloud, sliding his hands beside either side of him. "You're rather boring, aren't you?" he remarked.

"You probably should have thought of that before you fell for me," the cheeky reply came right back at him. Cloud leaned forward until their noses were touching and smirked cockily. "Considering the fact that my problem has been dealt with and yours hasn't, don't you think you should be nice to me?"

"Oh, I'll be nice to you alright."

In one swift, smooth movement, Leon slid his hands all the way behind Cloud and pulled, bringing their lips together forcefully. They kissed for a few minutes, but then Leon pulled Cloud all the way off of the counter and took a few steps backwards to give him some room.

"Wing, now," he ordered. "I want to pet it."

Cloud rolled his eyes at him again. "I'm not some kind of cat, you know."

"I know," Leon answered evilly. "You're a chocobo. Which still makes you pet-worthy."

Heaving a great sigh which Leon knew was just for show, Cloud did as instructed. As the wing stretched out behind him, he mock-protested one more time, "This wasn't part of your original plan."

"Head chef," Leon reminded him, already running his fingers along soft feathers. "I'm improvising." He considered his options for a moment, still touching and petting absently. Finally, he said, "Take your shirt off and turn around."

Cloud lifted a questioning eyebrow. The feathers on the back of the wing weren't as soft, so Leon usually preferred the front. But after receiving a confirming look, Cloud shrugged and began to take off his shirt. Leon still wasn't sure how the mechanics of that whole thing worked or even how the wing could emerge without tearing Cloud's shirt in the first place. When he had asked, Cloud had answered that it would take him several hours to explain and most of it would be scientific jargon that would also have to be explained on top of that. Leon had promptly declined and decided to just accept it as it was.

Once Cloud had removed his shirt and turned around, he placed his elbows on the counter, propped his head in his hands, and lifted an eyebrow at Leon as if to say, "Okay, now what?" Leon thought the whole effect was stunning: Cloud's strong back, that gorgeous wing, and the innocent mischief in his lover's expression. His arousal, which had faded slightly with all their preparations and dialogue, flared and twitched. Suddenly seriously turned on, he positioned himself behind Cloud and, instead of resuming his feather-petting, ran his tongue along the dark skin of the ridge at the very top where no feathers connected.

Cloud sucked his breath in so fast that he nearly choked. Then, when Leon did it again, he moaned in such a way that Leon knew the other had gone from normal to achingly turned on in a matter of seconds. Leon smirked to himself, pleased that he had been right. He knew that the junction on Cloud's back drove the blond absolutely insane, so he had wondered if perhaps the ridge along the top would produce a similar reaction. Apparently, it did, slightly less intensely but still worth noting.

Slowly, Leon traced along the top of the wing with his tongue, stopping now and then to suck on it or leave a few kisses, but always moving towards Cloud's back. By the time he reached that special spot, Cloud was panting heavily, his fingers flexing against the countertop in mind-numbing need. Leon kissed the junction once, making sure to capture both dark and pale skin with his lips, and then pulled back. He had promised not to make Cloud beg, after all, and it sounded as if the blond were only a push or two away from that humiliation.

After flipping on the tap to get the water warming, Leon turned to the issue of clothing. He had rather wanted to screw Cloud while they both had most of their clothes on, but his inspiration regarding the wing had changed that idea. So Cloud would be mostly naked while Leon would be pretty much fully-clothed. He realized, as he slipped the fabric of Cloud's jeans over the curve of his backside, that that arrangement worked rather well with the comparison of Cloud to a Renaissance angel and Leon to just a normal man. As he leaned down to give that special spot one more quick kiss, he wondered just what he had done to deserve something so wonderful.

The water was warm but not hot when Leon wet his fingers down. He didn't bother with one finger but went straight to two, knowing from experience that the previous blowjob would have relaxed his lover considerably. This angle apparently suited Cloud well, for sooner than he thought he would be, Leon was unzipping himself and using the still-running water to make himself slick. And then he had one arm around Cloud's waist to steady him and was using the hand of the other to guide himself inside. Once he was all the way in, he paused for several heartbeats, allowing Cloud to enjoy that feeling of being filled; then he clamped both hands on his lover's hips and began fucking him into the counter, just like he had promised.

It was undoubtedly the roughest they had been with each other. As far as Leon's romance writer distinctions were concerned, this was definitely having sex and not making love. But it didn't matter anymore. Leon truly loved Cloud, and Cloud knew it and trusted him. All of the things that making love did to build trust and strengthen a relationship, they had already been done. Animal instincts and carnal desires were free to have their way since once they faded, the foundation of their relationship would still be there, strong and unyielding.

All of these things, Leon thought of after the fact. At the time, he was far too engrossed with the sensations that were raging through his body and taking over his brain. Cloud was so warm and willing, and his cries were so very high and out of control. Leon tried to keep some form of coherency in his mind; he really did. He tried to focus on finding the perfect rhythm and just the right angle to give his lover the most pleasure. Unfortunately, his own insane level of pleasure pried every last shred of control away from his mind. Some deep-rooted primal need took over his body and forced him to just slam into his lover over and over again. Cloud clearly didn't mind; judging from the sounds that escaped him at every thrust, he didn't need or want perfection. All he wanted was for Leon to fuck him absolutely senseless.

By the time he felt his orgasm approaching, rearing up like some great wave about to drown him, Leon was damn near growling with lust, the deep, guttural sound pushing from his throat every time he pushed into Cloud. The blond, in contrast, had gone almost silent. Needing to hear what little was coming from his love's lips, Leon moved closer to Cloud. His hands left the other man's hips and instead forced him to straighten up and lean back against Leon's body. One hand grabbed the blond's head and pushed it back against Leon's shoulder; the other yanked Cloud's hand away from his hot erection, replacing it back on the counter before moving back down and engulfing the hard flesh itself. Leon began to move again, thrusting and pumping to the same rhythm, spurred on by the gasps in his ear that were so quick and shallow that, had Leon not been screwing the poor blond's brains out, he would have worried that Cloud was hyperventilating.

Neither of them lasted much longer. Leon came first, and, even though he would have loved to have driven deep within Cloud and just stayed there until it passed, instead he used the delicious explosions occurring within him to thrust even faster and more forcefully. When Cloud's breathing stopped entirely a few seconds later and his whole body seized and shook, Leon pushed one last time and then simply held on for dear life.

When they were both leaning heavily against the counter and panting, Leon commented, "We should have sex in the kitchen more often."

"I agree," Cloud replied with a small chuckle. "I'm not going to be able to walk for a week."

"Ha, now you know how I felt."

"Yes, but I'd much rather be temporarily crippled by a dick up my ass than by a sword through my gut."

"Hell, if I had had the choice, I would have chosen that one, too."

After several minutes of quiet during which Leon pulled out and cleaned his lover up with paper towels, Cloud regarded the mess he had made of the counter. Eventually, he turned and said, "Leon?"

"Hmm?"

"How about we go out to dinner tomorrow?"

Leon just laughed.