No Wish To Be Alone Chapter 18

Icicle Inn

By Chocobo Goddess

The four of them left the temple and headed to the inn that gave the town its name. Not trusting her to be quite fully restored, Sephiroth had swept his wife up into his arms, and so she left the building the way she had come in. Vincent and Nanaki trailed after them, telling Eron that they would return later to take care of the legal issues involved in the marriage.

Outside, the snow was sparkling in the sun, blindingly white. A slight crust had formed, and it crunched beneath their feet as the two men and the beast walked to the inn. All looked forward to the warmth it promised. Aeris giggled. "Love, is this always going to happen? It seems every time we spend the night at an inn, you end up carrying me through the door."

He smiled. "I just hope our stay doesn’t end the way it did last time."

Nanaki looked puzzled. "Why? What happened last time?"

"She slapped me."

Vincent and Nanaki, surprised once more, stopped walking and looked at each other. "I must say, I’m glad you’re here to witness this," said the dark-haired man, "Because I’m not sure I quite believe everything we saw…happened."

The feline creature gave a wide grin, tongue lolling. "Neither am I. Shared hallucinations, perhaps?"

"Simultaneous hypnosis?"

"Confusion magic?"

Sephiroth had stopped and turned, husband and wife listening to the conversation in amusement. "Are you two coming, or shall we simply let you get your own rooms?" He called. "I was going to pay for everyone, but…,"

"We’re coming!" cried Nanaki, laughing as he stumbled and accidentally got a mouthful of snow.

The desk clerk nearly fell over himself trying to help them. The Great Sephiroth, here? Staying at Icicle Inn with his new bride, no less?? He was happy to get them settled in two rooms, one for the happy couple, one for their two friends. He reserved additional rooms for the others he was assured would be arriving soon, along with the guarantee of warm fires in all rooms, and a hot dinner awaiting them.

They found the room to be small, but extremely comfortable. He dropped her onto the bed, then went to the door and shut it quite securely, bolting it from the inside. "There, now we don’t have to worry about nosy innkeepers." He grinned.

She yawned and stretched on the soft feather mattress. "Come here, husband." At his smirk, she sighed. "Oh, not like that. I’m just, umm, tired…," Her eyes danced, though, giving the lie to her words. He hung his coat by her cloak on a wall peg, then sat down to remove his boots.

"Actually, I’m tired too. Remember, I ran for almost two days while carrying you. That’s quite a feat, you know."

She sniffed. "And here I thought you always said I weighed nothing. That’s it, we get married and poof! There goes the romance."

"Oh really?" he said, putting one knee on the bed. He braced his arms on either side of her shoulders, beaming. "So you didn’t find the whole ‘running-for-two-days-and-bursting-into-a-church-to-marry-you’ thing romantic?"

"Well, when you put it that way...," she traced his brow with one hand, touched his mouth with the other.

He closed his eyes in bliss. "Hmmm...you know, you did this that first night, when we arrived at the inn."

"I did?"

"Truly." He opened them again, and they glowed softly as he studied her form beneath him. "I didn’t think you realized it. You were half-asleep. You said, ‘thank you.’ I wanted to kiss you then." He lowered his head to brush his lips over hers. "Thank the gods I finally got around to that."

She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him down to her. "Thank the gods indeed."

He allowed himself to be drawn downward, seizing her bottom lip with his teeth. He growled deep in his throat, pulling away and returning to claim the rest of her mouth. She rose to meet him, grasping his shoulders as he wound his arms around her. She felt him tugging at her short red jacket, trying vainly to remove it. She laughed at his insistence, pushing him away slightly and obliging him with a shy smile.

"Better?" she asked when the garment hit the ground.

"Much," he replied huskily. He felt the change in the air when she met his eyes that moment; everything became unexpectedly serious. He let his gaze wander over her body, taking the whole image before him. Her hair lay strewn with his over the pillows, framing her face and her now-uncovered shoulders. He noted the way her threadbare dress strained at the buttons with every breath she took, the shadowed cleft that showed over the sweetheart neckline...He looked back up at her face. Her eyes seemed to have grown larger during his perusal, her breathing more ragged. She’s nervous, he realized, Gods, I have to remember that she’s never done this before. His face softened. "I’m sorry, it’s just...I can’t believe how much I wanted this. You. Everything."

"I trust you, love." Her voice sounded very small, but her hand went to the top button, flicking it out of its buttonhole, continuing to the next one, and the next one, and down and down, her eyes never leaving his, until she couldn’t reach any more. The faded material clung to her figure still, as though afraid to leave her exposed under the smoldering green intensity of his eyes.

Finally, he allowed himself to look down at her, noticing how his own breathing had become more difficult. The early afternoon sun played over her, creating shadows and streaks of light over her fair skin.

"Please, love...," she said faintly, "Teach me." She put her arms around his neck, causing the dress to fall away as she encouraged him closer. With a groan, he surrendered and covered her with his body, his mind awhirl with passion.

I love you I love you I love you I love you my wife mine mine mine

As I love you, my husband...

Forever.

*****

Tifa shaded her eyes with one hand, wishing she could see the town. Three days of travel through the snow was beginning to take its toll on all of them. Yuffie had stopped complaining after the first day, and was bearing the cold with little more than an occasional sniffle. She glared from time to time at Cid, who had tripped her earlier by "mistake", or so he claimed. Cait Sith brought up the rear, his mechanical body feeling neither fatigue nor cold. Barrett had taken the lead with Cloud, and the two were talking quietly. Tifa caught the tail end of their conversation as she pushed forward to walk beside them.

"...don’t trust him. I keep thinking about what he said." Cloud’s gaze focused on the path ahead of them.

Barrett’s brow furrowed in thought. "What part?"

"The part where he told me not to be angry when I found out what he was going to do. That really bothers me."

Tifa stuck her hands deep into her pockets. "Cloud, we have to trust him. He seemed to know what to do for her; maybe we won’t like it, but we have to believe that he won’t hurt her. I think he truly has her best interests at heart."

The two men glanced at her, but neither spoke. She pressed on. "Listen, I’m still having a hard time with it, too. Vincent was right, though. We need to accept that Aeris knows her own heart. She has put her life into his hands, willingly. I wouldn’t like it if the others suddenly tried to prevent me from seeing you, Cloud."

He frowned. "I didn’t go on a murderous rampage, though."

"Point taken. However, I’m starting to believe him. He’s so different now, even from when we knew him before all that happened. He laughs, he worries, he even begged us to let him take her ahead. If that isn’t a change, I don’t know what is." She sidled up to Cloud, nudging him with her elbow. "Besides, he’s got Vincent and Nanaki with him. They’re both pretty levelheaded. I think Aeris is in good hands."

He sighed and put his arm around her, hugging her to his side as they walked. "I hope you’re right." A glimmer of something caught his eye on the horizon, and he stopped, pulling a pair of binoculars from his bag. "What the...Hey! Guys!"

The exhausted group halted in a ragged line. "What’s up?" panted Yuffie. Cid lit a cigarette.

Cloud pointed at what he had seen. "Icicle Inn, dead ahead! C’mon, guys, if we make one more good push, we should have a warm, dry place to sleep tonight!"

Renewed, they forged onward.

*****

The fire was the only light in the room. Sephiroth lay beside his wife, her head nestled in the crook of his arm. He let his now-cool green eyes wander over the back of her neck, her shoulder, her bare back that rested against his chest. His other arm surrounded her waist, his hand placed possessively on her stomach. Mine, mine, all mine, he thought drowsily, mine, mine, mine...

She said something in her sleep and stirred slightly, moving against him. His eyes snapped wide at the sensation. Nuzzling her ear, he held her closer.

She woke to find herself beneath him as he nibbled on her neck. She chuckled. "Again? Already?"

"It’s been almost an hour since the last time," he said, kissing her. "It’s your fault, you know."

"My fault? But I’ve been asleep!"

"Just goes to show you the power you have over me." He gazed down at her. "Gods, you are beautiful. I just can’t believe you’re mine."

Her lips curled. "And here I thought you belonged to me."

He kissed her again, deeply. "I am thine, and thou art mine," he said against her mouth.

She sighed, contented. "I am thine, and thou art mine."

"My wife."

"My husband—oh!" A low laugh. "Oh, my...you do recover quickly, don’t you?"

 

*****

 

AN: Hmmm…ok, what do you think? Was it good for you, too? Another difficult chapter. Review & I’ll email you back. *wark*


Chapter 19

Final Fantasy 7 Fanfic