Midgar High School

Sephiroth's Magic Lesson
by Vestergaard

Filled with a lethargy that could only come on a Sunday, Reno turned off the TV, yawned and rolled to face the back of the couch, intent on giving in and taking a nap. His face was pressed to the leather, sticking to it, but he was too content to really mind.

He imagined chocobos jumping over fences, which was his usual trick for sending himself off to dreamland. At about the hundredth chocobo, they began to warp strangely; one had Elena's 'keel' face, the next looked like a ninja, and the next grew long white hair that spread out and tickled his arms...

Reno tapped his teeth together and yawned again, his thought patterns already fragmenting and the castle song from Dragon Warrior running in lazy loops inside his sleepy head.

One more minute and he would be asleep...

"Re."

Dammit. Sephiroth.

He had jerked a little at his nickname on his boyfriend's lips, so it was no real use pretending to be asleep now. So, of course, he pretended to be asleep anyway.

"Wake up, Re."

Another slight adrenaline rush at that name. Damn him. Reno was so sleepy...Sephiroth had to ruin his naps every fucking time.

"You know...I have to sleep sometime," he mumbled inarticulately into the junction of the cushion and the back of the couch. "If you're not gonna let me sleep at night, then I'm just gonna have to sleep in the fucking goddamn daytime."

Silence behind him, and sudden suspicion did more to wake Reno up than anything else had. Still, when he turned to look warily up at Sephiroth, he was still prepared to go back to sleep if by some miracle Sephiroth decided to leave him the fuck alone.

"What in the world are you muttering about?" White teeth, white hair, white shirt, a flash of green; Sephiroth looked like a pallet of non-color. Especially with his hair in his face, leaning over him that way, hand braced against the couch. Why did that look make Reno want to spread his legs, pull Sephiroth's weight down like a blanket, and bite his neck until he gasped?

Oh yeah. He forgot. Because he let Seph top him. But only because it really seemed to do it for him. And not because Reno was actually girly or anything. Of course not. That was just silly.

Ah, shit. He was totally awake now. Damn teenage hormones!

He blinked slowly, brain not easily keeping up with his libido. "I said, 'Shut up and go the fuck away.'" Reno smiled, eyes half-lidded, looking him up and down.

Sephiroth sighed, used to the verbal abuse. "And here I went to the trouble of getting you a present. I guess you're not worthy of it." And with those vague words, he turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Reno said, still not willing to sit up. He glared down his nose toward the grumpy white-haired man in the hall. "Wait one fucking minute."

Sephiroth turned and came back, scratching his cheek and looking thoughtful. "What? This had better be good."

Reno blinked, still kind of wishing he could be napping. "This present had better be good," he muttered, then winced internally at the sudden, angry glint in Sephiroth's eyes. "I mean..." he trailed off, closing his eyes. "I mean, er...sorry. I'm just tired, okay?"

Movement, and then Sephiroth knelt next to the couch, torso resting against Reno's chest, face in his neck and hot breath rushing out against his skin. "Yeah, me too," Sephiroth said in his ear. "I think I'll take a nap, right here."

Reno shivered at the proximity, Sephiroth's weight forcing him to expel a breath. It felt like he was under water, somewhere warm, long white hairs spilling down occasionally to fall across his throat, soft dark breathing at his neck. He was half-asleep again when he realized that Sephiroth was gradually increasing the weight, pressing down vindictively until Reno started to cough, the pressure threatening to crack his ribs.

"Bastard," Reno breathed, hitting his shoulders, pulling on his hair. "GET OFF!"

Sephiroth let up, just enough so Reno could see him laughing silently.

"GET OFF, NOW!" Reno yelled and managed to push Sephiroth off of him and onto the floor where he lay sprawled and motionless. The redhead sat up, rubbing his chest, working air back into his lungs. He glared down at Sephiroth. "What the FUCK was that about?"

Sephiroth opened his eyes and blinked at him. Then a slight smile. "You awake?"

Reno sighed. "Yeah, yeah."

The smile widened and Sephiroth sat up. "You sure? You still look half-dead."

Reno shook his head, still rubbing his chest. "That's because you almost killed me just now, you bastard."

Sephiroth seemed to consider this for a moment, a finger at his cheek. "Ah, well. There's only one way I can make that up to you."

Reno tilted his head. "The present."

The white-haired man nodded. "One track mind."

Reno jumped up and into the hall, where he turned. "Then we are of an accord. You give me this present and I go back to sleep. It all works out." He paused impatiently. "You coming?"

Sephiroth stood up, following. "You don't even know where or what it is, you nerd."

"I guess not." Reno blinked. "Okay, so you lead the way, then. Hurry up." He motioned dramatically for Sephiroth to go ahead.

The taller man did not move. He just folded his arms and stared at Reno. "You have to close your eyes."

The redhead was instantly incited to a full-blown, Snape-like rage. "Oh, no! No fucking way in this fucking world are you going to get me to fucking close my eyes EVER AGAIN!"

Sephiroth blinked, taken slightly aback. "Why not?"

Reno stalked over to him, poking him in the chest with one surprisingly sharp finger. "Oh, don't play innocent, you bastard." He poked again, harder. "I remember the fucking pop can ghost. Don't you? Oh, I will always remember that fucking pop can ghost. And do you remember the only reason why that stupid thing worked on me?" He leaned in really close. "Because you made me close my fucking eyes."

He stepped back and folded his arms. "You must be fucking insane if you think I'm going to fall for the same thing twice. No way."

Sephiroth just smiled slightly and turned away. "Fine, forget that then." He started walking to the kitchen. "You want some lunch?"

Reno stared at his back in disbelief. "Lunch!? You fucking woke me up from my nap for nothing! I don't want your fucking lunch! I'm going to bed!"

Sephiroth jerked suspiciously before he ran a hand through his hair, back still to him. "You sure you don't want some lunch?" His voice sounded strangely tense.

"No, I want to fucking sleep."

A pause. Sephiroth was desperately trying to think of something, Reno could tell. "No, you don't."

"Ah, so that means whatever it is, it's in the bedroom, right!?" Reno laughed and darted out toward the giant staircase, hearing Sephiroth right on his heels.

Reno got tackled on the stairs, shins catching the carpeted marble steps, Sephiroth's arms around his legs. He instinctively kicked back and leapt forward again, trying to look both forward and backward at the same time.

He was tackled again. This time his arms were pinned to his sides, but now he was near the top of the stairs. "Let go. You were going to give it to me anyway, so just let go and let me have it!"

Reno felt Sephiroth rub his nose against his back, which he interpreted as him shaking his head. The shorter man tried to free his arms or wiggle out, but Sephiroth's grip was like a freaking vice. "Let go of me," he demanded crossly.

Sephiroth only tightened his grip. And now his hands were starting to wander, to his stomach, to his nipples, to the bottom of his shirt, pulling upward. He inhaled sharply and tried to shake him off again, more emphatically.

Sephiroth readjusted, kissing the back of his neck sloppily. Whatever was in that bedroom must be really good, given how hard Sephiroth was trying to distract him...

Gathering up all his bones, which for some reason had melted in a messy puddle on the staircase, he counted to five, and snapped his head back against something hard, probably Sephiroth's forehead or nose.

It shocked Sephiroth long enough for Reno break free and dash the rest of the way up the stairs and down the hall. He stopped, looking over his shoulder, saw Sephiroth too close for comfort, reached for the handle and touched it before being tackled a third time, football style, onto the floor, head cracking hard against the floorboards.

The world spun white and painful for a second. He felt Sephiroth braced above him, breathing harshly. Something wet dripped on his cheek and for a stunned second he thought that Sephiroth was crying. But then Reno's vision cleared and saw with a stomach-jerking lurch that he was bleeding, his nose covered in blood, congealing where his white hair was touching it, matting to it like thick red glue.

Reno blinked. Another red drop fell to his cheek. Sephiroth's eyes were absolutely expressionless, strange and almost colorless above the glorious, violent imperfection of the blood.

He swallowed once, twice. Sephiroth gripped Reno's hair in tight fists, pulling painfully and leaning forward until he was an inch away, forcing Reno to look him in the eyes, too close, overwhelming.

"Bad Reno."

He shuddered. It was like that time...when he had been sane and Sephiroth had snapped for the first time, and had almost killed his clone brothers...

"Did you take your medicine today?" Reno asked breathlessly, and was vaguely gratified at how calm and reasonable the question came out.

Sephiroth's alien eyes seemed to crack, then shatter. He blinked, then smiled a little and nodded. "Yes." He cocked his head, unclenching Reno's hair and wiping some blood from his nose onto the back of his hand. "Sorry, did I scare you, little shit?" And he didn't look sorry at all; his eyes were amused slits.

Then he leaned forward and licked the drops of blood from Reno's cheek in one long swath, making Reno's eyes roll in the back of his head and his blood rush everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Let me....up..." he breathed.

"No," Sephiroth responded equably, licking the blood from his own lips and looking thoughtful.

"Come on, why not?" Reno was staring fixedly at Sephiroth's mouth. "I want to see it, whatever it is."

Sephiroth barked a laugh. "You really think I'm going to give it to you after you made me bleed? Fat chance, shit."

Reno pulled both hands up and ran his fingers through Sephiroth's white and red bangs, trying to wipe the blood off. "Sorry. Didn't think you were so fucking sensitive. Bastard."

Sephiroth closed his eyes momentarily, leaning into Reno's right hand. "You can't have it."

Reno blinked, rubbing his cheek. "Why not? You nervous about giving it to me or something?"

He snorted. Loudly. "Yeah, right."

"Then what's the fucking problem?"

Sephiroth stared at him flatly until Reno, bored, wiped at the blood on his nose, trying to clean it but actually only managing to smear it around. He caught Reno's wrist and, without looking away from his eyes, stuck Reno's index finger in his mouth, cleaning the blood off with his tongue and his teeth.

"S...sick," Reno muttered, staring as he did the same with his second finger, then his thumb.

And Sephiroth's eyes crinkled in that half-smile. "It's my blood, stupid."

"It's gross." The ring finger, then the pinky to the hilt, even though it had no blood on it, the feel of his wet, pulsing tongue making it jerk involuntarily. He scraped it with his teeth, and then released it with a popping sound.

"You shouldn't have touched it, then," Sephiroth said calmly, looking strange with all that blood still on his face, drying to black.

"Blood fetishist," Reno accused. Then swallowed. "So you really were serious. That blood shit really turns you on?"

Sephiroth nodded solemnly, moved to grab Reno's wrists and pulled them above his head, mouth at his ear. "And isn't it ironic that you are a vampire fetishist?"

"Not fair," he managed before Sephiroth bit him, hard. He jerked and made that fucking embarrassing noise that was way too high and squeaky to be made by a boy. Reno heard Sephiroth chuckle into his neck and he flushed, raging, struggling against his tight grip on his wrists.

"Let me go," he said, so angry he was dead calm.

Sephiroth lifted his head from where he had been almost chewing on his neck and looked him in the eyes. He appeared to consider Reno's command for a moment. Then he kissed him softly, tonguing Reno's bottom lip thoughtfully, seeming to linger and savor the taste of him.

And he abruptly broke away, releasing his hands and standing. Without a word, he went into the bathroom. Reno could see him washing the blood off his hands and face, because he hadn't closed the door.

Reno wiped his mouth off; Sephiroth had tasted like blood, and it kind of grossed him out. But then he realized that he was free now and he jumped up, reaching for the doorknob to their room and turning it halfway before...

He stopped. And let his hand drop. And sighed. And waited until Sephiroth toweled his face off and came back into the hall.

Sephiroth smiled and barked a laugh. "So, when did you get so patient?"

Reno shrugged and motioned him closer. Grabbing his arm, he pressed Sephiroth's hand to the knob and covered his eyes with his hands.

This time, Sephiroth's laugh was so reverberating that it made him blush angrily, but he didn't uncover his eyes. The knob turned; the door creaked open. Sephiroth's arm twined around his back and led him to the center of the room, turned him just so...

Sephiroth buried his face in his thin neck again and pulled Reno's hands down so he could see.

Reno was speechless, for once in his life. Except for one word, filled with awe. "Fuck..."

There was a table in the middle of the room, a new one. With two chairs. And on the table...

Boxes of Magic: the Gathering cards. At least ten of those huge long boxes just filled with cards, booster packs scattered between them and on them like candy, boxes of card protectors, fancy counter disks, expansion decks, a thick, foot-long tube filled with all kinds of dice...

His mind was buzzing out of control; it was too much at once. His feet were moving unconsciously toward the bit of heaven spread across the small wooden table, his hand unconsciously picking up an expansion deck and smelling it...

The greatest smell...ever made...

...except for Sephiroth...in sex mode...

...but still a very good smell, anyway...

"This is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me, Seph," he murmured, running his hands across one of the large long cardboard boxes as a woman would have felt a velvet jewelry box.

"Then, I'm sorry, Re," Sephiroth responded behind him. "I have to tell you that this isn't for you."

Still feeling the box, he looked back at Sephiroth, horrified and speechless at his cruelty.

A soft smile. "It's for...me."

Reno's eyes widened and he stared at him for a long minute before realizing the import of that statement. "You mean you're going to...fucking play with me?" Incredulous, and so hopeful that it kind of hurt.

A nod. "Yes. I don't know how, though. So you'll have to teach me."

A moment of silence.

"This is the hottest thing you've ever said to me."

Another nod.

Another moment of silence.

Reno swallowed. "Fuck."

And then he leapt on him.