Work Text:
"Injection administered at 19:30, providing double the usual dosage, as instructed. At approximately 20:10, Specimen S began exhibiting symptoms of a potential overdose. Results not unexpected, but symptoms appear abnormal."
"Abnormal" was a word that Cloud used only under extreme duress, because it would have been entirely unprofessional to use "completely fucking bizarre" on an official lab report. He had studied mako overdoses extensively, both professionally and recreationally, and had expected everything from vomiting to light sensitivity to restlessness and convulsions; what he had not quite expected was to return from a bathroom break to find his specimen crouched over his cot, hospital gown pulled up past his waist, digging his nails into the mattress as he slowly rocked his hips against it.
"Sephiroth?" the intern said quietly as he unlocked and opened the door of the specimen's holding cell, hesitating in the doorway. Aggression, he knew, was also a common side effect, and the last thing he wanted to do was make the specimen feel attacked. "What are you--"
He stopped. He had been instructed by Professor Hojo to use as few words as possible, to avoid being engaging or friendly, and to avoid asking Sephiroth any questions about himself; although the reason for those instructions wasn't very clear, Hojo's vague explanation involved preventing the specimen from becoming distracted by sophisticated means of communication. And while this seemed illogical and bordering on cruel to Cloud, he was still under strict orders, so he cleared his throat and tried again, speaking in the most bland, impersonal tone he could muster.
"Sephiroth. Stop."
Sephiroth's hips stilled and his head turned, green eyes focusing on Cloud and locking onto his gaze. Slowly he shifted away from the mattress and sat up straight, allowing the intern to see that the fabric of the mattress where he had been sitting was soaked in a slippery and faintly-glowing fluid, strings of which clung to him when he pulled away. With a noise that was unmistakably a purr of some sort, Sephiroth rolled onto his back and positioned himself on the mattress with his knees drawn up and his thighs spread, presenting his swollen pink opening directly to Cloud with a steady, expectant gaze.
Cloud frowned for a moment before entering the holding cell, determined to proceed with the routine physical examination that followed all notable changes to a dosing schedule, in spite of the highly unusual results. Producing a digital thermometer and a pair of medical gloves from his pocket, he turned away and began preparing to take the specimen's temperature.
Frustrated that his presentation had not garnered a satisfactory response from the intern, Sephiroth wriggled his hips from side to side, arching his back slightly to allow Cloud a better view as another generous amount of mako-infused fluid began to trickle from his opening, pooling on the mattress underneath. Cloud, however, did not respond or even acknowledge the attempt to gain his attention, and merely continued with the task of pulling on his gloves.
"Mouth open," Cloud ordered when he at last approached the cot, holding the thermometer in one hand. To his surprise, Sephiroth immediately sat up straight and opened his mouth wide, showing the black expanse of his throat and closing his eyes; however, when the only thing placed in his mouth was the cold metal of the thermometer, he fixed Cloud with an offended glare.
As instructed, Cloud did not speak or offer any explanation, and merely glanced down at his watch. "Mouth closed."
Sephiroth pursed his lips around the thermometer and continued to give Cloud the same nasty look until the offending metal was removed, displaying exactly what the intern had been looking for: a remarkable spike in temperature.
"Sit," Cloud commanded as he turned away to write his findings on the clipboard he was carrying under his arm, and Sephiroth did so, looking insulted. However, by the time Cloud looked up from his writing, Sephiroth had undertaken a different tactic; one hand had shifted from the mattress and come to rest between his thighs, with two fingers spreading the plump folds of his entrance wide. When he noticed the intern looking at him again, he lifted his head to fix Cloud with a needy, pleading gaze.
"No."
One finger slipped between the folds to penetrate the searing heat inside, and began to move in a lazy swirling motion, accompanied by a quiet trill of pleasure. The thumb of the same hand stroked the little bud above the entrance until it began to grow visibly firm and swollen, and pale pink lips parted to allow a hot, slippery tongue to slowly trace their shape. Still Cloud was unmoved, but before he could reject the specimen's advances again, his phone rang, and he turned away to answer it.
"Strife."
"Ah, Cloud, glad I caught you." Professor Hojo's voice crackled slightly, as if his connection was bad. "How is Specimen S responding to the increased dosage?"
"Well..." Cloud glanced over his shoulder at Sephiroth, then back at his phone. Dealing with it himself was one thing, but having to report the specimen's behavior to the notoriously lecherous scientist was a much more uncomfortable matter. "He's displaying a lot of aggression," the intern finally said, hoping he could get away with leaving out a few key details.
"What kind of aggression? Has he tried to bite you? Is he marking his cot with urine again?"
Cloud blinked; these were not symptoms associated with mako in any dosage that he was aware of, but he was in no frame of mind to question exactly what else Hojo had been up to with his specimen to prompt those results in the past. "No, no, nothing like that. He's being, ah... very sexually forward, acting almost like he's in some sort of heat period."
"Perfect." Hojo's grin was recognizable in his voice. "Are you prepared for the next step in the experiment, then?"
Cloud felt a cold sweat begin to prickle at the back of his neck. "I'm not sure what you mean by that. I was only given instructions to give him the mako and observe his responses--"
"We chose you for this project for a reason, Cloud," Hojo said in the unnervingly quiet tone he reserved for revealing something in the most dramatic way possible. "I intend to have you mate with Specimen S to produce the next generation of Jenova-infused life forms."
"You what?" Cloud exclaimed. Sephiroth, who had been rocking his hips against the palm of his hand and growing quite flushed in the process, lifted his head to look at him. "When exactly were you going to let me in on this plan?"
"When I knew whether or not Specimen S would respond favorably to the increased mako dosage," Hojo replied impatiently. "I expected one of two potential outcomes-- this, which was clearly the preferable result, or mako poisoning. I'm quite pleased."
"Great," Cloud said irritably, trying to ignore his heart thundering in his chest. "So what you're telling me is you expect me to fuck him?"
"In layman's terms, yes. But it is vital that you reach completion at least once... twice or three times would be preferable, if you can manage it. Make sure he is well fertilized by the time you're through."
Cloud leaned back against the wall, trying to process what he was being told. "I don't understand. Fertilized?"
"Project S was, from the time of its inception, a breeding program. I intend to find a way to breed a new species that has Jenova cells already incorporated into its DNA from conception, and Specimen S is to be the... matriarch, so to speak, of this new breed of creature."
"Why didn't I know any of this?"
"You didn't need to." Cloud wanted to reach through the phone and slap the audible smirk off of Hojo's face. "There was no need for you to know the details of my work until it was time for you to participate more actively."
"And if I refuse? I can find an internship elsewhere, I don't need a job this badly."
Hojo laughed; an irritating, nasal sound. "You can't really think I would let you leave, now that you know so much. You've seen Specimen S, his development charts, the details of his conception and the process used to create him. You refuse, you become a liability."
"So--"
"I know you're on friendly terms with a few of the Turks, Strife, but they're still under President Shinra's orders, and at the end of the day, if Project S is compromised because of you, it's the President who will have lost a fortune. Keep that in mind while you finish up your work for the night, will you?"
Before Cloud could even respond, the connection went dead, and he was left alone with the newfound knowledge that from here on out, he was trapped. Professor Hojo and the Shinra company as good as owned him. Resisting the urge to smash his phone against the wall, he slowly turned to look at Sephiroth, whose movements had stilled entirely, and whose eyes were now fixed unblinkingly on him. With a deep breath and a sigh of resignation, the intern gave one last order.
"On your back."