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A Cruel Smile

Summary:

Curious, wanting hands traveled through red strands of hair; it was soft, Cloud mused, finding the back of Reno’s head and pulling him closer. Reno laughed into Cloud’s mouth, pulling back only enough to study Cloud’s dazed, flushed expression.

“God,” Reno murmured against his lips, yet refrained from stealing another kiss. “Who knew you’d be so goddamn needy?”

“You really just don’t shut up, huh?” Cloud quipped, and the venom he’d meant to infuse his words with was nothing more than a small trace of bitterness on his tongue, incredibly overpowered by the desperation that clung to his voice.

“I’d watch that tongue of yours, Strife.”
--
or: cloud/reno being horny mfs in some dingy wall market alley. cloud is needy and reno is an asshole. thats it thats the fic.

Notes:

hi. this is the first smut ive ever written so if there's things that straight up dont make sense that's why LMAFOOO

also there's little notes sprinkled about for my friend bc this was for a fic trade where we used the same prompt! so shoutout to pookie xo

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

The sound of weapons clashing rang throughout a back alley of Wall Market; Cloud and Reno both fought viciously to gain the upper hand. They’d run into each other unexpectedly, Cloud finding himself somewhat lost on the streets as he waited for Aerith to get ready with Madame M.

---

“Didn’t imagine I’d see you here, ‘SOLDIER’,” Reno said, a sarcastic emphasis on the word “SOLDIER” punctuating his sentence. Cloud fought back a groan of frustration- he already wanted to be out of here as quick possible, and Reno was only going to serve to stall him further.

“Could say the same to you,” he replied flatly, already reaching for the handle of the sword on his back. He gripped it tightly, waiting in anticipation of Reno’s next move.

“Fair enough,” Reno said with a small chuckle, reaching for his weapon as well. “What brings you here, anyway? I hadn’t pegged (lol) you for…that kind of guy.” Reno smirked as he brought his baton in front of him, readying his stance.

“None of your business,” Cloud replied, already fed up with Reno’s incessant need to hear himself talk. He mirrored Reno, bringing the buster sword to the ready, standing steady.

With a crackle of electricity and the heavy swipe of metal, they all but fly at each other, weapons meeting with a strike, quickly closing the distance between them in the small space of the empty alley.

---

With a sudden electric shock biting into his arm, Cloud lost the grip on his sword, causing it to fall to the dirty floor with a startling crash. Cloud flinched back, grasping his injured wrist with his other hand, hissing through his teeth at the pain. Reno charged forward, lunging at the open opportunity, and delivered a kick straight to his chest. Cloud yelled in pain before he could muffle the sound, stumbling back towards the wall, trying to create distance between the two- as much distance that could be made in the already cramped space.

Like a hunter to prey, Reno refused to relent, sparing no time in closing that distance. Before Cloud could dodge, his wrists were roughly taken in Reno’s hand, then slammed against the wall behind him- just above Cloud’s head. Cloud grimaced at the stinging that filled his nerves as a result, musing that there would for sure be bruises left there after this fight was over.

Their faces were dangerously close, and it was almost intoxicating how Cloud could feel the other’s hot breath on his face, heavy from exertion of the battle. Reno flashed a cocky smile, his eyes taunting, and Cloud’s face burned bright red with anger.

Just anger. Nothing more.

“Aww, what’s wrong, SOLDIER boy?” Reno teased, squeezing the fabric of Cloud’s gloves tighter as he speaks.

“Fuck you,” Cloud spat back, a little breathless from the pain, fighting the urge to actually spit in Reno’s face.

It’s tempting- very tempting- but he has standards.

Reno simply hummed in amusement in response, leaning in closer to Cloud, looking thoroughly pleased with his current predicament. “For all that talk about being first class…” Reno tilted his head up and brought his weapon to just below Cloud’s chin, tilting it up as well, forcing Cloud to keep his gaze on him. The sudden action elicited a sharp, quick gasp from Cloud, and he stared back at Reno with a silent fury written across his face. “…you were really easy to catch off guard. A little disappointing, really.”

“Shut up,” Cloud snapped, his words doused in loathing.

Of course, Reno did not, in fact, shut up.

With a mean smile still upon his features, Reno hooked a thumb under the edge of Cloud’s glove, pulling it ever so slightly off of his skin. It was a slow, concentrated motion, and Reno’s eyes flicked up to the gloves and back down to Cloud’s face in an instant, wordlessly signaling the request to him, a clear desire burning in his bright, blue eyes.

“…What are you doing?” Cloud asked, ears burning at the dumb question that left his lips. Cloud’s dense, sure, but he’s not stupid. Still, he isn’t sure how exactly to respond; his experience in this field left much to be desired.

“What does it look like, genius? I guess that mako you SOLDIERS are injected with only boosts brawn, not brains,” Reno said with a roll of his eyes, further dragging his thumb further up Cloud’s glove, prying it little by little away. It’s an incredibly little amount of contact, but it’s far more intimate of an action Cloud can remember ever having, and he sucks in a sharp breath.

---

Reno’s left hand snuck away from Cloud’s face while his right remained cupping it; he glided it smoothly down to the small of Cloud’s back, then around his waist, pulling him in closer against his body. Cloud made a surprised noise against Reno’s mouth, but didn’t even think about pulling away. Both of their weapons lay a short distance away, completely forgotten.

Curious, wanting hands traveled through red strands of hair; it was soft, Cloud mused, finding the back of Reno’s head and pulling him closer. Reno laughed into Cloud’s mouth, pulling back only enough to study Cloud’s dazed, flushed expression.

God,” Reno murmured against his lips, yet refrained from stealing another kiss. “Who knew you’d be so goddamn needy?”

Cloud forced his mouth into a thin line at this, biting down on his own lip to suppress an annoyed whine at the loss of contact. He instead huffed through his nose in irritation, breaking eye contact. Yet, Cloud’s hands stayed right where they had traveled, gripping at the back of Reno’s hair, as though conveying a subconscious plea to keep going.

“You really just don’t shut up, huh?” Cloud quipped, and the venom he’d meant to infuse his words with was nothing more than a small trace of bitterness on his tongue, incredibly overpowered by the desperation that clung to his voice.

“I’d watch that tongue of yours, Strife.”

“Nah.”

The second after the words have left his mouth, Reno’s right hand gripped Cloud’s jaw roughly, forcing him to be still and look directly into Reno’s eyes.

“I said,” Reno’s voice was low, and his grip on Cloud’s face was almost beginning to hurt. Cloud has half a mind to jerk away, but is stopped by the startlingly sudden motion of Reno’s knee being shoved in between Cloud’s legs. The effect was immediate; Cloud’s breath hitched in his throat, his stomach started doing fucking flips, and against his will his eyelashes fluttered, though not fully closed. “Watch it,” Reno warned, looking extremely pleased with the reaction he’s managed to receive.

When Cloud doesn’t say anything in return, Reno moved his hand from Cloud’s jaw, snaking it back around his neck, and despite how flustered Cloud already looked and felt, every part of his body was still almost comedically stiff. Reno sighed dramatically, trailing his lips from Cloud’s mouth and down to his jaw; the skin of which was still red from where Reno’s grip had been.

“Relax, would ya?” Reno muttered against Cloud’s skin, and Cloud swallows hard. He isn’t sure where to put his hands, so he settles with keeping them in Reno’s hair, tugging harder subconsciously as Reno places messy, wet kisses along his jaw and, moving his turtleneck out of the way, down to his neck. The blonde jerked away involuntarily with a gasp, eyes shooting open wide, a contrast from the half-lidded haze he’d been in just moments ago. Reno pulled back, meeting Cloud’s embarrassed, almost panic-stricken expression with one of amused curiosity. He stared, waiting with raised eyebrows and a taunting smile for an explanation.

There’s a beat. Neither of them move; noses touching and breaths heavy.

“Well?” Reno said expectantly.

“…Well?” Cloud echoed, and it sounds less like a genuine question and more like an overly-defensive accusation.

“What was that?” Reno laughed, pulling his Cloud’s head closer still by his neck.

“Nothing.”

“You nearly gave yourself whiplash!” Reno exclaimed, voice light and taunting. “Nothing, though, huh? So, nothing would happen if I…” he trailed off, and for a moment, Cloud braced himself for the same feeling as before, ready to stay stubbornly unmoving to prove his point when he felt the soft kiss of Reno’s lips.

But, instead, Cloud was met with something new entirely. His hands clenched up in Reno’s hair as he felt something warm, soft, and wet move up in a stripe on his neck. What the fuck, Cloud thought, yet he couldn’t stop the shaky whine that escaped him as Reno’s tongue moved up at a slow, almost agonizing speed.

Shit,” Cloud cursed under his breath, and he felt Reno’s lips upturn against his skin. His legs felt like jelly, shaking nearly as much as his voice, if not more. Reno’s knee was still pressing up into his crotch, ever so slightly, more and more, and he had to physically stop himself from bucking against it.

“I knew it, you fucking liar,” Reno continued to kiss, lick, and even bite Cloud’s neck. Despite his best efforts to control his breathing, Cloud was very quickly reduced to a total mess, hiding his face into Reno’s shoulder to muffle the sounds.

Satisfied with this reaction, too, Reno got a little bolder, moving his left hand away from Cloud’s waist, its spot soon replaced by his right. The left traveled downwards as Reno continued to mark Cloud’s neck; Reno found himself a little annoyed that his work would be covered by his uniform.

His hand stopped as he brushed against the tent (hi lol✌️) in the other man’s pants, chuckling as the action resulted in an absolutely pathetic noise rising up out of Cloud’s throat as he swung his head back into the wall.

Really?” Reno said mockingly, looking up from Cloud’s neck. “I didn’t even do anything yet.”

“Shut- Shut up,” Cloud gasped out, staring up, away from Reno’s taunting gaze. Cloud would’ve been more frustrated at how easily Reno had gotten him riled up, if it weren’t for losing himself in the feeling.

Reno trailed his hand up ever so slightly to Cloud’s belt(s??? WHY THE FUCK DOES HE HAVE TWO BELTS), tugging ever so slightly, waiting again for a response. Cloud hesitated, looking into Reno’s eyes; the rational part of his mind yelling about the risks of being so…vulnerable, especially in front of the enemy, or about the space they were in- this alley was empty, sure, but filthy, not to mention not far at all from the bustle of life just around the corner. Hell, Cloud could hear people talking just steps away from them.

“I don’t have all day, you know,” Reno huffed, impatience dripping from his words. Cloud licked his lips nervously, considering his options. He didn’t have very much time, either, and if he wanted to be back in time before the others got suspicious…it had to be now, or it’d be never.

Not trusting his own voice to stay steady, Cloud instead nodded shyly.

A sly grin tugged at Reno’s lips, which he pressed against Cloud’s own for a quick, sloppy kiss as his hands made quick work of moving the belt(s help) out of the way. When he’d finished, Reno’s bit at the edge of his fingerless glove on his left hand, pulling it off with his teeth. His right hand snuck back up to Cloud’s neck, playing with his hair on the back of it. Throwing the glove to the side with their weapons, he unzipped the other’s pants and glided his hand down into them at a frustratingly slow speed; as opposed to the swift speed with which he’d eagerly undone the belts.

“What happened to not having all day?” Cloud said through gritted teeth, squirming under Reno’s light touches to the skin of his upper thigh.

“What happened to watching your tongue?” Reno retorted, scoffing as if Cloud had said something utterly ridiculous. “But fine. If you’re that impatient…” Reno wasted no more time, shoving his hand under the waistband (….cummerbund) of Cloud’s boxers. In an almost rough fashion, he wrapped his hand around Cloud’s length, and pulled it out, giving it a small squeeze.

Cloud made a sort of strangled noise, something caught between a whine and a gasp.

“Careful,” Reno warned as he let go for a moment, though his tone held no actual sense of urgency. “Anyone could hear us here,” Reno spat (ptooey) into his own hand before wrapping his fingers back around Cloud’s cock. “And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” He trailed his fingers upwards along it at a deliberately slow speed once more, and Cloud found himself simply allowing it to happen. He opened his mouth to counter, but found the words were stuck deep in his throat, so he closed it once more with a huff.

A brief thought passed in his head, the rational part of his mind sputtering in confusion as to why he had even let this happen in the first place. Before he could entertain the thought, though, Reno abruptly quickened his pace, his thumb pressing against the head without so much as a whisper of a warning.

Cloud yelped, his hands grasping tightly in Reno’s hair as he bucked against his hand. His face burned bright and hot with shame as he swallowed nervously.

“What did I just say?” Reno all but slapped his free hand over Cloud’s mouth, muffling another moan that escaped him as Reno repeated the motion; it was almost unbearable, the pace at which he was going. “Needy and noisy? God, that’s just pitiful, Strife.”

Cloud was suddenly very aware of the conversations he could overhear from just around the corner of this alley; they were close enough that if he focused, he could hear every word and detail of the exchange. If he’d ever imagined himself in this scenario, his immediate thought would have been to find the nearest bridge and take a swift dive off of it. Not only was the situation horribly embarrassing, it was downright terrifying.

And yet.

And yet, as his eyes darted to the side, following the voices, Cloud felt his stomach dip in a way he wouldn’t describe as unpleasant. He shuddered out a breath, taken aback by his own body’s response to such a thing.

And, of course, perceptive and annoying as always, Reno noticed. He hummed, tilting his head ever so slightly as he observed Cloud.

“Hmm…You think they can hear us?” Reno asked, feigning innocence, purposefully neglecting to control the volume of his voice. Cloud’s eyes snapped back to Reno, and though his mouth was obscured by Reno’s glove, his eyes said everything that Reno needed to know. A teasing smile played on his lips and he removed his hand from Cloud’s mouth.

At the same time, he drug his thumb across the slit of Cloud’s cock, forcing a startled sob of pleasure out of his lips. Cloud frantically attempted to bring his hands to his mouth to silence himself, but Reno had already planned a counterattack for that defense, too.

Reno grabbed both of Cloud’s wrists, and back to square one they went. Reno pushed them up against the wall, never stopping the constant motion around Cloud’s length.

“Oh, absolutely not,” Reno murmured lowly. “You’ll control yourself, and if we’re found out, it’ll be your fault. But that won’t happen, right? Because you’re not so damn pathetic that you can’t even control your voice, right?” Reno’s voice was cruel, yet Cloud actually listened to the bastard.

Cloud blamed it on the fuzzy feeling in his head. Not a bad kind of fuzzy- like when he had weird visions and his head started to hurt- but like an exciting, just-a-little-too-drunk kind of fuzzy. In this moment, he felt he’d do anything to keep Reno’s hand on his cock.

…Which, put into words, even in the secrecy of his own head, was horribly humiliating, but Cloud couldn’t find it in himself to care right now.

Sweating with the effort of choking back another cry as Reno continued to toy with him, Cloud nodded his head in an almost feverish manner, eager to please.

“Good boy.”

The moment the words left Reno’s infuriatingly kissable lips, Cloud’s head went spinning. Despite the promise he’d just made, a whimper fell from his own lips.

Oh?” Reno quirked his eyebrows up curiously, looking intrigued. “You liked that?”

Cloud shut his eyes tight, expecting the inevitable laugh and mocking words.

Yet, they never came. Instead, he felt Reno lean his head in again, and when Cloud opens them again, Reno is smiling; it’s mean, as it always is, but all he does is kiss Cloud roughly and nip at his lip before saying something that has Cloud’s knees wobbling more than they had on his first day of SOLDIER training.

“You better keep being good for me, then, okay?” Reno squeezed both Cloud’s wrists and his cock at the same time, and it almost sounds a bit like a threat.

 Cloud shivered, forcing out a response, despite his shaky breathing.

“Y-yeah…” Is all Cloud managed to stutter out, his voice higher than Reno’s ever heard it; hell, higher than Cloud himself is used to hearing it.

Satisfied with his answer, Reno speeds up his rhythm around Cloud, which leaves Cloud panting. He’s close, he can feel it, the heat gathering and his sweat building. He braced himself the best he can; seeing as Reno’s the only thing holding him up against the wall, he doesn’t exactly feel stable standing there.

A loud whine left Cloud’s mouth as he neared the edge, yet just before he could finish, Reno stopped his movement with a sudden freeze.

Cloud sobs, his expression irritated, tears brimming in his eyes from the pain of unfelt pleasure. He dizzily focused on Reno, glaring and opening his mouth to curse at him.

And the bastard fucking laughs. No, actually, Reno cackles. Anger builds in Cloud’s chest, though in his current position, he can’t do much but glare and yell.

“What the fuck,” Cloud said accusingly, glaring daggers at the still-laughing redhead.

“What?” Reno chuckled, almost sadistically. “Is something wrong?”

“You-“ Cloud started, taking a deep breath to steady his voice. “You know exactly what-“

Before Cloud can finish even his goddamn sentence, Reno cuts him off with a press into his slit again, causing the words to die instantly on his tongue. A broken, pained moan replaces his irritated words, and with it melts away some of his annoyance.

Some being the key word here.

They continue on like this for a time, and after the fourth false climax, Cloud decided he really couldn’t take it anymore. Swallowing what little pride he had left (and truly, there was not much at this point,) he opened his mouth to speak, gasping as tears streamed down his flushed face.

“P-please,“ Cloud choked out, every part of him absolutely trembling, “just, just don’t stop this time, please-“

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands right now,” Reno remarked with a cruel smile, holding Cloud’s wrists together tighter for emphasis.

Please,” Cloud begged, sobbing as he stared into Reno’s eyes.

Reno looked thoughtful for a moment, before sighing.

“Fiiine,” Reno groaned, rolling his eyes over-dramatically. “But only because you asked so nicely. Still…” He trailed off as he began to resume his motions around Cloud. “Would’ve been fun to see you beg a little more…”

Reno quickened the pace of his hand around Cloud, drinking in every whimper and whine that escaped the blonde’s wet lips, and Reno nearly comes from just the absolute performance Cloud has put on for him.

This time, Reno doesn’t suddenly stop or freeze, and finally, finally allowed Cloud to come right into his hand, spilling messily all over his knuckles.

A strangled, louder-than-intended cry of pleasure filled the air around them, and the name that is uttered is…definitely not Reno’s.

Reno nearly freezes, his eyes widening, puzzled as he looks to Cloud, almost as if expecting some kind of explanation, but he continued to work Cloud through his high; it’s not like this arrangement was any type of emotional connection, anyway. He has no reason to be annoyed or jealous.

At least, that’s what he tells himself. He can’t help but feel a little miffed, though; he did all of that work, all for someone else’s name to be yelled during the climax.

Yet, even though he was coming down from the high, Cloud doesn’t even look like he’s noticed. His bright, mako-infused eyes were open now, hazy and watery, and he almost looked like he was going to cry.

The way he was suddenly looking just beyond Reno instead of at Reno set off all kinds of alarms in the older man’s head. Something about his behavior was… odd. More dazed than he should be, even after everything.

Hesitantly, Reno removed his hands from around the other man, wiping off his left with a spare handkerchief (along with Cloud) and throwing it to the ground, before moving it to Cloud’s shoulder in what he hopes is a comforting manner.

“…Hey, Strife? You okay?” Reno asked, voice softer than it had been throughout their entire…battle, of sorts, yet it elicits no response that could even be close to considered coherent. Cloud made a sort of pained noise and looked to the source of the voice.

“[   ]?” Cloud asked, and Reno could only describe his tone as something akin to hopeful.

Fuck.

Reno sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, grimacing at the state of the man before him.

“No, sorry, not [   ],” Reno squeezed Cloud’s shoulders tighter. “It’s Reno. Remember me?”

“…Huh?” Was the confused response that followed. Reno cursed under his breath.

“Reno,” he repeated, hoping it’d trigger at least something in Cloud to snap out of whatever the fuck this was. Truth be told, it was scaring Reno a little.

No, it was scaring Reno a lot.

Not that he cared about Cloud in that way, or anything like that. It was just… freaky. That was it.

 “The annoying one that never shuts up, remember?” He smiled, trying to sound reassuring, while simultaneously trying to ignore how surreal this was.

Just earlier, they’d been fighting, then Reno had his hands all over Cloud, and now he was talking him out of an almost sleepwalking-looking state? The whiplash sent his head reeling.

“…Where’s [   ]?” Cloud’s eyebrows furrowed, lower lip threatening to start wobbling.

“They’re- I don’t know-“ Reno felt himself begin to panic- what the hell was he meant to say? “I-“

A pained groan from Cloud cut him off, and he rushed to catch him as Cloud’s knees buckled. Holding him up, as Cloud held his head with a hand, Reno really started to panic.

“Cloud!” Reno exclaimed out of instinct, though the first name felt odd on his tongue- like it didn’t belong there. Cloud remained unresponsive for a time, going nearly limp in Reno’s arms and whimpering in pain.

It was over as fast as it’d come over him, though, and when Cloud opened his eyes, he looked…well, he at least looked like he knew where he was.

Cloud looked up at Reno, eyebrows furrowed and panting, faint tear marks still staining his face.

Neither of them moved, for a time.

Cloud broke apart from the awkward kind-of-hug first, clearing his throat and tucking himself back in, avoiding eye contact. Reno turned away, too.

God, the tension could be cut with a knife- and it wasn’t the sexy kind. (Referring to the tension or the knife? Up to interpretation.)

Reno was the first to break the silence.

“Are…what,” he tried to figure out exactly what he was supposed to say. “…You good, dude?” Good enough.

“I’m fine,” Cloud answered flatly, wiping his own tears away with the back of his hand.

“Good- that’s, um. That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

Cloud picked up his sword and turned to leave, wanting to be out of there as fast as possible.

“See you ‘round?” Reno said, voice slipping back into its regular tone, trying to at least make the atmosphere breathable.

“Hope not,” came the response from Cloud, waving a hand behind him before disappearing into the packed crowds of Wall Market.

Reno chuckled, watching him leave with a faint smirk on his lips.

Notes:

note from my word document reads: "ENDING IS RUSHED BECAUSE IT IS 4;38 AM AND I WANTT O SLEP GOODNIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" so if the ending is incoherent...there's ur explanation HELPPP

anyway TY FOR READING!!! MWAH