A Night to Remember
By:
Mystwalker
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.
A/N: Silly little two (three? four?) shot idea that came to me as I was thinking about life after Jenova. Hope you guys enjoy it! A quick break from the seriousness of Another Side.
XxXxX
Cissnei walked through the sliding doors that led into Reeve's office, Sephiroth behind her. The summons had come just as soon as the two of them had walked into the WRO building, which led her to believe that it was probably serious. She studied Reeve's behavior as he walked in. He looked concerned, but not overly concerned, his eyes fixed on the sheaf of papers he was holding in his hand. The newest version of Cait Sith sat in the corner, grinning at them. No alarms were blaring, and no soldiers in uniform were running down the halls.
Business as usual then.
She took up her usual place against the wall as the door hissed closed behind Sephiroth. Reeve looked up. "Sephiroth. Cissnei," he said, greeting them. Sephiroth nodded back in response.
"Commissioner," said Cissnei in acknowledgment, nodding back. "Any chance you might tell us what this is about?"
Reeve nodded. "In due time," he said. "I'm just waiting for—."
The door hissed open again, admitting a familiar figure. "Yo, bossman!" said Yuffie with a grin. "What's on the agenda for today? Saving the world? Cleaning up another one of Shinra's dirty little secrets? Bandits harassing a poor defenseless settlement? Is Rufus getting death threats again, because if he is, I can go over and kick Reno's lazy ass because he's supposed to be the one dealing with that sort of—."
A clawed hand landed on her shoulder, quieting her. "Yuffie…" said Vincent, in the voice of one long suffering. Reeve looked up at them, slightly amused.
"Not quite," he said, pressing a button on his desk. An image appeared on the video screen in the room—a close-up of a rotund balding man that appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties.
"Ew," said Yuffie. "Two out of ten. Who's the Don Corneo lookalike?"
"Mikhail Vitalev," said Reeve. "Former Shinra investor, member of Junon high society. He runs his own company now, one of the smaller fossil fuel firms trying to get back into the oil business."
"He's running something on the side?" asked Yuffie.
"Drugs," said Reeve, with a nod. "We think."
Yuffie blinked. "You think?"
"His office is clean," said Reeve. "We think he's operating out of his penthouse. But his security is top-notch. We can't get anyone in there. Our contact tells us that Vitalev is hosting a party for his business investors and friends, two weeks from now. He thinks he can get two people through the doors then, undercover as party guests."
"So you want two people to go in, poke around, and sniff out any evidence?" asked Yuffie, with a grin. "Alright, Vinnie and I will—."
Reeve shook his head. "Not you…" he said. "We need experience for this one." He looked up, scanning the group. "Vincent and Cissnei," he finally said.
"What?" asked Yuffie, looking around. "But—."
"Understood," said Cissnei calmly, nodding. Vincent nodded as well.
"The party is tomorrow night," said Reeve. "You two know what to do. I'll brief you on what we know of the layout of Vitalev's penthouse later today. Meet with each other to work out names and identities."
"B-But," stammered Yuffie. "—but—."
"Understood," said Vincent, nodding. He placed a hand on Yuffie's arm, dragging her not too ceremoniously from the room. Her protests echoed as the sliding door closed.
"Wait—Vinnie—you can't—!"
Cissnei sighed as she left, shaking her head in amusement. She looked up, about to say something to Sephiroth, when she noticed him staring at her. The smile faded as she took note of the frown on his face and the look in his eyes.
XxXxX
"It's just a job," said Cissnei as she stood in the mirror, pinning up her hair.
"I'm aware," said Sephiroth from his seat in the living room, looking up from the book in his hand. She was fairly certain he wasn't actually reading it, considering he had forgotten to turn the page for the past ten minutes. She sighed, sticking another hairpin into the messy bun.
"It doesn't mean anything. You know that." She leaned into the mirror, checking her make-up. "Reeve picked us because we're ex-Turks. It makes the most sense."
"I know," said Sephiroth, turning his eyes back towards his book. Ah, now he remembered to flip the page.
"So what's wrong?" she asked.
"Did you have to wear that?"
Cissnei looked down at the dress she was wearing. It was a red dress, somewhat low-cut, but still appropriate for the type of formal party they were attending, and it accentuated her figure. She wore heels as well, and a necklace and earrings to top off the outfit. "If it helps, I'll be a blue-eyed blond."
He grunted noncommittally in response, flipping the page again. Too fast this time…she thought. "You're wearing your ring?"
"Ah, well…" She glanced down at the ring on her left hand, clearing her throat. "We're—um—going to pretend to be a married couple, to keep the suspicion off of us if we decide not to mingle too much. And also so we have an excuse to leave the party early."
"Hmm?"
"Young kids," she clarified.
The page flipped again, more furiously this time. "I see," said Sephiroth thickly.
Cissnei put down her make-up set, turning towards him with one hand resting on her waist. "Sephiroth, are you jealous?" she asked accusingly.
"I am not," said Sephiroth quickly, keeping his eyes on the book in front of him.
"Yes you are," said Cissnei, stepping forward. She placed one hand on the book, pushing it down and out of his eye level. He looked up at her, frowning as she placed one hand on the back of the arm chair and leaned in. "Look, Sephiroth," she said, meeting his eyes. "This is a job. This is what I do for a living. I'm just going undercover." She smirked playfully, her eyes darkening as she leaned in, curling a lock of silver hair around a finger. "Maybe when I get back, we can talk about a different kind of undercover…"
Just as she finally got him to look her in the eye, a knock on the door sounded, and he tensed. She sighed. "That'll be Vincent," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek as she pulled away. "Look, I'll see you later, okay? Don't worry." She grabbed her purse off the rack, hurrying out the door.
XxXxX
He was not jealous.
The thought rang in his head as he walked back towards the kitchen, carrying his plate. The house was deathly quiet, the ticking of the living room clock being the only thing that told him time was passing by. He glanced at it. Eight o' clock. The party would almost certainly be underway by now. He supposed there would be dancing, some socializing with the elite, people asking prying, useless questions—.
He was not jealous.
He flipped on the kitchen lights, setting his plate in the sink. He was concerned, that was all. Vitalev was a dangerous man—but no, that wasn't it. He wasn't as dangerous as Vincent Valentine. He was restless. Restless because Reeve hadn't sent him on assignment for a while. That was it. That had to be. He turned on the faucet, reaching for a sponge and beginning to scrub the plate clean.
He was not jealous.
They would probably have to feign a certain level of intimacy in order to make their disguise more convincing. Holding hands, exchanging glances, the occasional inside joke. Perhaps even a kiss—.
He scrubbed more furiously, the sink filling with bubbles. He was not jealous.
The bubbles spilled over, splashing onto the kitchen floor. Sephiroth's eyes widened, and he quickly shut off the tap, looking down. How much soap had he added—? He quickly rinsed off the plate, fork, and knife and set them aside, letting the mass of bubbles drain into the sink as he looked around for a cloth to wipe the counter with.
He was definitely not jealous.
The window burst open suddenly as he passed it, a dark-haired figure jumping through. "Seph, you gotta help me!" shrieked Yuffie.
He jumped back in surprise, his eyes widening as he turned to face her. He lowered the hand that was already reaching for a sword that wasn't there, still feeling his heart pounding. "We have a door," he hissed.
"No time!" said Yuffie, turning around and grabbing onto his wrist. "You have to fly me to Junon."
He took a step back, pulling his wrist out of her grip. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?" he asked.
"Because I can't stand it!" said Yuffie. She whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Don't tell me you can stand it!" Sephiroth stared down at her finger for a beat before turning away, dragging the dishcloth across the counter.
"I'm not helping you interfere with the mission," he said, sternly.
"But—But, Sephy—!" whined Yuffie.
"I'm definitely not helping you if you call me that," he warned.
"Fine," said Yuffie, clasping her hands together. "Please? Oh Great General Sephiroth? Pretty pretty please with sugar and cherries on top?"
"I don't like cherries."
"Fine!" yelled Yuffie. "With a topping of your choice, gosh! Can we just go?"
He turned away, hanging the dishcloth up. "No," he said curtly, walking toward the living room.
"I'm not gonna do anything bad," said Yuffie, following him. "I just wanna check on them. That's all. We don't even have to enter the building. We can just look through the windows. Please?" She tried to jump in front of him. He turned away, causing her to turn rapidly around him and jump in front of his other side. His eyes narrowed.
"No means no," he said, placing a hand on her arm and pushing her out of the way. He turned towards the stairs, walking up the first few steps.
"Fine!" said Yuffie from behind him. "If it really doesn't bother you what they might be doing to maintain their cover, then you can just go."
He paused, his hand on the banister.
"Seph?" asked Yuffie, from behind him.
He turned around. "A quick check," he said. "No more. No interference. We can't be seen. And then we come straight back."
"Deal," said Yuffie, nodding.
Sephiroth sighed, turning around and walking back down the stairs. "Come on," he said, walking past her. "Before I change my mind."
TO BE CONTINUED