A/N: This is the prequel to Unholy Encounters! Sorry for the wait everyone. This is a Sister story to Unholy Encounters. First Chapter is just getting into it. Trust me, it gets better. There WILL be a lemon... or many later. Thank you to everyone who reviewed Unholy Encounters! I was not expecting that many people to be interested. This story follows Angeal more than it does Tifa.
Chapter 1- Sweet Tooth
"This next song is dedicated to all the ladies out there!" The loud booming voice of the radio DJ shouted. His voice carried around Angeal's small but comfy apartment. The dark haired man sat up at his kitchen table, rubbing rice paper up and down the blade of his sword. He knew he didn't need to continue polishing the blade, he had been done for an hour, but the act of taking care of his most prized possession was soothing. He absently continued to rub the blade, listening to the music on the radio.
The dark haired man did not recognize the song but bobbed his heat to the rhythmic beat. His bright azure eyes ran over the massive piece of metal. He could see his reflection in it. The Music stopped and the DJ came on once again.
"Alight! That was today's number one track! Now it's time for some SOLDIER news! There was a Sephiroth sighting last night at the Goblin's Bar. According to our sources, he is still unattached so ladies you better hurry before he finds himself a girl. But don't despair! If you aren't into the mysterious silver general you're in for a treat! Two new men have been promoted to First Class SOLDIERS along with Sephiroth. One of them has been called the Crimson General. His name is Genesis Rhapsodos. The other one has no nickname as of yet. His name is Angeal Hewley. And ladies we have an even bigger treat for you today! Sitting right next to me is the Crimson General himself who has agreed to do an interview."Angeal smirked a little. That was the real reason he had tuned to that station.
"Thank you, Johnny. I am ecstatic to be here," Genesis said. Angeal picked up on his slight accent. Only the people close to Genesis could identify it since he did a good job of suppressing it.
"A pleasure, now, why don't you start by telling us a few things about yourself? How did you end up joining SOLDIER?" The DJ asked.
"Angeal and I joined at the same time. When we were little boys we wanted to become stronger. I more so than Angeal. Back when we lived in a small country town called Banora I really wanted to join SOLDIER. Angeal joined only because I did. He didn't like it at first, but in the end, he did better than me on all the physical tests." Genesis laughed lightly.
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"I enjoy reading poetry and plays. My favourite is LOVELESS. I have the entire play memorized."
"What is your favourite colour, food, and animal?"
"Garnet, coconut macaroons, and it is not really an actual animal but I am quite fond of phoenixes. The idea of a flaming bird that bursts into ashes when it's at the end of its life and then is reborn from those ashes is fascinating."
"You know that you're going to get a bunch of wrapped boxes filled with coconut macaroons now that you've said that," The DJ joked.
"I figured as much."
"Can you tell us a little about Angeal?"
"In a nutshell, Angeal has always been about honour and pride. Like Sephiroth, he is not the social paragon that I am, but by no means is he a shy man. He is not the type to wear his heart on his sleeve and doesn't open up to very many people. He has an unbelievable amount of control over his emotions. If he is displeased with you, he isn't the type of man to say it or yell at you. He will never do anything that might jeopardize his honour which he values above all else." Angeal was grinning as he listened to his best friend speak. "He is quiet in nature, but strong in character. Every word he speaks is well thought out and most often has a hidden meaning behind it."
"From what I hear, he always appears to be mad. What is the deal with that?"
"No, no, no, he's hardly ever mad. Sometimes he gets irritated, but you'd have to know him for as long as I have to be able to tell when that is. It's his eye brows. They're drawn in a permanent scowl. He actually has a sense of humour, though it is quite dark."
"What is the relationship like between the three first class SOLDIERs?"
"We each have our own specialty. Sephiroth is the strongest of course. I am the most intelligent. Angeal is the perfect combination of strength and intelligence. Sephiroth and I tend to clash personality wise but Angeal is always around to settle any arguments we may have."
"Alright, now we'll be taking a few calls from our listeners. Here's Jackie from sector two."
"Oh my gosh! Is this really Genesis?" A high pitched female voice sounded.
"It is," Genesis replied, cringing slightly at her excited squeak.
"My friends and I were just wondering what team you guys play for?"
"Angeal and I both play for the home team but I couldn't tell you what team Sephiroth plays for. He has never discussed such matters with me. If I had to guess, I would say he pitches for the other team."
"Oh! This is a treat!" The DJ all but yelled as he interrupted. "There is someone on the phone for you General!" The man clicked a button so the person could be heard over the radio.
"Genesis," Came an exasperated male sigh.
"Sephiroth? Is that you?"
"I play for the home team," the man hung up the phone. Angeal couldn't help but give a chuckle. He had recognized Sephiroth's voice as well. The dark haired man had been surprised to hear it. Sephiroth was not the sort of person to care what other people thought. Angeals cell phone ran in the living room. He rose from his seat in the kitchen, putting down the rice paper as his bare feet padded into the living room.
"Angeal," He said when he picked up the small black and silver electronic device. "Alright, I'll be in tomorrow." Angeal hung up the phone.
Angeal ran a hand through his hair as he looked out one of the only windows of his apartment. He could still hear Genesis answering questions over the radio. The two had only been first class SOLDIERs for a month and already they had a fan club.
A resounding crack came from the kitchen followed by a crash, then the clanking of metal hitting the tile floor. He quickly ran back to the kitchen. The wooden table was crack in half, splinters of wood scattered across the floor. His sword had fallen next to the chair, there was rice paper everywhere. In the middle of it all, a figure in agony rolled and groaned. Angeal stood still as he watched the figure prop themselves up on their elbows, push up, and then stand.
A woman dusted herself off. She was wearing a white tank top underneath a leather vest, a pair of leather capris, and what looked like some the back of some sort of a leather skirt. His eyes travelled up her body to her long, dark chocolate hair. Her face was pale and heart shaped. The shape of her eyes made her appear as if she was from Wutai. At first he thought she had red eyes, but upon closer inspection Angeal found that her eyes were actually a deep chestnut with flecks of vermillion in them. He found her enchanting but that didn't change the fact that she was from Wutai.
"How did you get in here? Are you a spy sent from Wutai?" He took a defensive stance, his permanent scowl deepening.
"Ah, no," She said, her hands coming to rest on her hips. "I'm not a spy." Angeal watched as her eyes trailed down his body. He was only wearing a pair of navy blue jeans that hung low on his waist. He noticed her face turn slightly pink as she looked away, desperately trying to find anything else to catch her attention. She surveyed the sorry state the table was in. "I can fix that," she began to pick up the pieces of the table.
"Leave it, how did you get in here?" He repeated himself.
"That is an excellent question," She picked up the rice paper, stacking it neatly on the counter. "How about we go for coffee? I'll explain it over a nice steaming beverage."
"Are you another fan girl stalker?" He asked as he cautiously picked up his sword, moving it away from her.
"What is your obsession with fan girls? You asked me that last time we met. The answer is no, I'm not a fan girl." She folded her arms across her chest.
"The last time we met? Look lady, I've never met you before,"
The woman slapped her forehead. "Of course, I didn't use the church this time." She mumbled to herself. She took a deep breath. "Alright, it's inevitable then. You may want to sit down." When Angeal made no motion to sit, she leaned against the counter and began her story. "My name is Tifa Lockhart. We met last week but judging by your appearance, I would say it would be anywhere between five and ten years from now that that meeting will take place."
"What do you mean my appearance?"
"You're much younger than when I first met you. You're a little shorter, and you don't have as many muscles. Anyways, have this Materia that lets me travel in time. I have never used it on an object before. Actually this is my first time using it; my friend usually uses it on a building that our friend used to take care of. I didn't expect it to bring me to the object. In all honesty, I didn't think it would work because I wasn't sure if it was the right sword. You see, when we met, you had that sword but, I've seen the sword have two other wielders. I'm just glad that I showed up during the original owner's time and not during the time of the other two. That could've been messy since they both know my younger self."
"What are you talking about?" Angeal tried to comprehend her words but he hadn't the foggiest what she was saying.
"But, you've never met me so this meeting won't mess something up in the future, or in the past." She paced around the kitchen, "I've thought long and hard about this. How old are you? Usually I don't care about people's age, but I'm curious as to where and when I landed? Where is this?"
"You hit your head, didn't you?" He looked at the young woman sceptically.
"No I didn't, Mr Hewley. I would like to get to know you, if what happened between us was more than..." She couldn't meet his gaze. Tifa blushed darkly at the thought of their previous encounter.
"More than what?" Angeal asked, having an idea what she meant but wanting her to confirm his suspicions.
"Sex." She managed to choke out. An uncomfortable silence hung over them. Angeal's breath hitched in his throat as she uttered the single word. The dark haired man surveyed the woman. She was a little older than he was. She was incredibly attractive though. His large cerulean eyes travelled up and down her curvaceous body. Had he been a lesser man that was fuelled by his basic urges, he would've been tempted to ravish her right there in his kitchen.
The pair sat in a recluse diner near Angeal's apartment. Angeal held his French vanilla cappuccino in his hands. The man had asked for extra cream and sugar with it. He kept his head angled downwards so people wouldn't notice who he really was. Tifa took a sip of her peppermint hot chocolate. He wondered why he had indulged her by taking her out for coffee. She offered to pay for herself but he had insisted that it was a gentleman's duty to pay for the lady.
"I take it you have a sweet tooth," she smiled coyly at the larger man. Angeal looked up from his beverage. The sun was streaming through the window, illumining his partner. Her skin had a healthy glow about it. Her eyes looked like they were completely red. She didn't appear to be wearing any make up. Her skin was naturally smooth and her lashes were naturally thick. His eyes looked at her arms. She appeared muscular but still feminine.
"You could say that," He replied, remembering she had spoken. He met her gaze. There was something lying just beneath the surface of her eyes that Angeal couldn't place. When she had smiled, it had not reached her eyes. There was something bothering her but he was not the type of man to pry too much into other people's business.
"How old are you, Angeal?" Tifa asked after taking another sip.
"19," he said curtly. "And yourself?"
"24," She gave a small smile. "I guess I should tell you a little more about myself. I grew up in a small town called Neibelheim that sat at the base of Mount Neibel. I moved to Midgar when I was 15 and spent five years in the slums." The burnet took a small sip of her drink, relishing in the taste of mint and chocolate.
"What have you been doing for the last four years?"Angeal stared at her quietly. His bright cerulean eyes glanced over her lips that were still moist from her beverage. Tifa gave another coy smile as if she knew the secret to the universe and had decided to hide it from all that dared ask.
"You could say I was doing mercenary work. Or perhaps I was on a quest for revenge," She shrugged, her eyes glinted with amusement.
"Revenge?" Angeal quirked a thick eyebrow.
She waved her hand, dismissing the subject. "And what about you? What is your history?"
Angeal really wasn't comfortable telling anyone he wasn't well acquainted with his personal information, but something about her presence seemed to ease him. She was unlike any of the other girls he had met before. He had pushed the issue of her sanity to the back of his mind. "I was raised in Banora."
"Banora? Where's that? I've never heard of it." She cocked her head to the side.
"It's a small country village near Mideel that sits along the coast."
"Must've been nice to see the tides every day." She gave another half smile and he replied with a curt nod in reply. Tifa brought her hand up to her neck and began to work some of the muscles that had gotten stiff. Her hair moved to the side and a prominent, mustardy-green coloured bruise sat at the base of her neck on shoulder. Angeal couldn't help but stare. Judging by the colouration of the bruise, it was between 6 and 10 days old. Her slender fingers glanced over the spot and she winced slightly, sitting upright in her seat.
"Are you alright?" Angeal frowned, staring at her intently.
"Yea, just hurts still," She smiled sheepishly. Angeal got the sense that she wanted to talk more about how she attainted it.
"Is there an interesting story behind that? Perhaps something you got on your quest for revenge?"
"There is indeed an interesting story but no, it was not on my quest for revenge." Her complexion darkened as she averted her gaze. He took a long swig of his beverage as he waited for her to continue. "You gave it to me."
Angeal began choking on his drink, coughing violently and spilling the rest of his drink on the table. "What?"
"You gave it to me..." She repeated quietly, squirming in her seat a little.
"Alright listen, you obviously have some issues that you need to get over. I have never seen you before in my life, let alone slept with you. I think it would be best if you don't bother me again. Go home, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours. I wish to be left in peace." He quickly slid out of the booth, attempting to remove the coffee from his leather jacket, white t-shirt and jeans. He was about to leave when he heard her fist slam down on the table. He turned to look at her. Her hands were clenched tightly. She was standing next to the booth, one hand at her side and the other on the table. She met his gaze, a blazing inferno in her eyes. Angeal wasn't ashamed to admit that he was a little intimidated.
"I'm not insane, Mr. Hewley." She used his last name again. She dug into her pocket produced a small envelop. She thrusted it at him as she walked past him. He glanced down at it. When he looked back at her he noticed she was gone. He hadn't heard her leave or even the door to the coffee shop open.
Angeal lay sprawled across the couch his living room. He had tried to watch television for a bit to get his mind off of things but this thoughts kept drifting back to the girl he had met earlier. Part of him felt bed for angering her while the other part didn't really want anything to do with her. He turned off the television and sat up. The dark haired man had changed into a pair of pale grey sweat to get out of the coffee stained clothes he had been wearing.
His gaze shifted to the envelop that lay untouched on the coffee table. The envelop had sat there for hours, his curiosity had finally gotten the best of him. He picked up the off-white package and ripped it open. Inside was an assortment of photographs. He pulled them out to look at them more closely.
The first one was of a young man with spiky blonde hair and what appeared to be mako infused eyes holding Angeals sword in an attack stance. His brow furrowed as he turned the picture over to read the inscription on the back. Cloud. He flipped to the next picture. This one was of three people, two men and a young woman. He easily identified the man on the far right as Sephiroth, although he appeared much older than the Sephiroth he knew. The man left had bright blue mako infused eyes and for a black, first class SOLDIER uniform. His hair was black and spiked backwards, a single strand hanging down in front of his face. The girl in the middle was very young, probably around 15 and had dark chocolate hair half hidden underneath a cowboy hat. He turned the picture over to read the back, Zack, Tifa, and Sephiroth in Neibelheim.
Angeal turned to the next picture and saw two dark haired men, one of them he recognized as himself and the other he did not recognize. The other man in the picture had a happy grin on his face while he had his arm draped around Angeals neck, Angeal frowning. He turned to the back. Zack's Promotion. The fourth picture was of Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth looking much older, standing outside of the SOLDIER headquarters. He flipped to the back but found no description.
The fifth and final picture was of the woman he had just met. She was a bit younger and dressed differently. In the picture she wore a black miniskirt with suspenders, a very revealing white tank top, and red, black and white fighting gloves. Her hair was much longer and tied at the end in what looked like a dolphin tail. She had a wide grin on her face as she stood on a victory pose of some sort. One of her feet was placed firmly on the corpse of a large, hairy enemy. Angeal scanned the photo, carefully taking in all the details.
He turned it over to the backside.
Dear Mr. Hewley,
I hoped that you would take my word and I would not have to resort to using these photos from the future. But no harm will be done because they will disappear after several hours and no one will be able to see them. How the Materia works is that everything eventually returns to its original time. I cannot control where and when I land when I travel back in time but I hope to see you again soon. It might be hours for our meeting, it might be months. I don't know what will happen. Keep the sword with you and don't let it loose its edge.
-Tifa Lockhart
To say that he was perturbed would be a gross understatement. It just wasn't possible! Time travel simply did not exist. Or so he had come to believe.
A/N: There will be many more meetings... more erotic in nature. Sorry if you were expecting the first chapter to be a little lemony. Please review and tell me if you hated it or enjoyed it. This was to give Angeal some character development. If you like an alternate universe with Angeal and Tifa check out Fate of Men. It is much darker and set during a medieval era.