Work Text:
Cloud had noticed that Sephiroth had been shifting uncomfortably all day, unable to remain in place for more than a few minutes at a time. It was an odd thing to see from Sephiroth, who was usually so stoic and composed, usually able to remain still for hours at a time.
It came to a head in the afternoon, long after they’d eaten lunch; Sephiroth had tried to get back to work and had only managed to fail to focus or get anything done. Cloud had passed the door to the office, stopping completely at the scene he saw from the corner of his eye.
Sephiroth was sitting slumped at his desk, spine and shoulders tense, head cradled in his hands and silver hair hanging in his face.
Cloud was moving before he realized it, striding into the room until he could kneel next to Sephiroth’s form. “Hey,” he breathed, voice quiet and slow, careful of overwhelming the other. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Sephiroth could only whimper in response, a sharp jerk of his head shifting his hair. Now that he was closer, Cloud could see that Sephiroth’s hands were pressed to his face, the skin stark white with tension against his eyes.
He lifted a hand to Sephiroth’s hair, smoothing it away from his face to get a better look at him. The other man was sweating, lips pressed in a thin line, nostrils flaring as he pulled air into his lungs. He then moved his hand down to Sephiroth’s back, keeping his touch gentle and cautious.
The almost-violent flinch was answer enough as to what the issue was, and the pained noise that accompanied the movement hurt to hear.
“You wanna come lie down?” He asked softly, hand returning to his lover’s scalp, moving it soothingly through his hair. “Let me help with it?”
Sephiroth nodded, the movement stilted and stiff. Cloud hummed, lifting himself from his crouch so he could help Sephiroth stand with an arm around the other man. He leaned against him heavily as Cloud lead him out of the office, keeping his head down as they took shuffling steps towards their bedroom.
Their room was dark when they entered it and Cloud kept it that way, gently guiding the taller man to their bed before setting him down on the mattress. Sephiroth fell forward onto it immediately, spreading out on his stomach in the middle of the bed and burying his face in one of the pillows.
Cloud left him to get comfortable, quickly grabbing the brush he needed before returning to Sephiroth’s side as he settled back on the bed, having shifted enough to remove his shirt. Cloud ran his fingers through long silver hair for a few moments, relaxing the other man a bit before he started.
“You need to let it out before I can do anything,” he reminded the other quietly, feeling Sephiroth tense under his hand. He waited, fingers moving continuously through silken hair as Sephiroth shifted where he lay, wing seamingly appearing from thin air.
Sephiroth sighed at the release of pressure, flexing the limb before laying it flat on the bed.
“Alright,” Cloud said, moving until he could reach the entirety of the limb. He could already see numerous broken and out-of-place feathers in the wing, telling him that he was going to be working for a while to get Sephiroth’s wing back to rights. “It’s a good thing neither of us have that much of a life.”
An amused noise escaped the man under him, causing a smile to spread across Cloud’s own lips in response. It was good that Sephiroth was actually feeling better, he knew how much the other’s wing troubled him at times, not that Sephiroth would ever say anything ; he’d rather let things get out of hand until he was almost debilitated from pain and muscle spasms.
Because that was a great way to live.
Cloud dismissed the thoughts from his mind, focusing on the task at hand he’d have time to reprimand Sephiroth for not telling him later.