Cloud's sure that, this close, Sephiroth must be able to feel his heart pounding. He was nervous with Zack, too, but that was different; it was the uncertainty of the unknown, but he knew Zack wouldn't judge him no matter what happened. This is a whole other level of nerves - he has basically no idea what he's doing and he's with Sephiroth. The guy who basically invented perfection!

But so far, that guy seems content to take the lead, and that's fine by Cloud. He's pretty good at learning through observation and mimicry. A gloved hand slips under his shirt and there's something about the touch of that leather that's oddly exciting, even if he also wishes he could feel Sephiroth's bare hands on him instead.

Well, maybe there's something he can do to get a small step closer to that. Without breaking the kiss, he slides his hands down to fumble with the buckles of Sephiroth's pauldrons, aiming to remove them.