Disclaimer: Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley, Sephiroth, Costa del Sol and anything else relating to Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix. -nod nod-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Pass me that lemonade."
With a groan, a young man with silver hair sleepily passed his friend a small glass of lemonade topped with ice. Sitting up, Genesis Rhapsodos took the glass with his left hand, bringing the cool liquid to his lips.
"Why aren't you having juice? You know, dumbapple juice." Sephiroth mumbled, a pair of sunglasses concealing his eyes as he lay on a beach chair, soaking up sun rays.
"These cheapo guys don't have any." Genesis said between gulps, enjoying the sensation of icy lemonade trickling down his throat. A gentle breeze ruffled his silky hair as he placed his glass down gently on the sand beside himself, careful not to tip it so his next drink wouldn't taste like sea water. Or rather, sea lemonade.
"Mmh. Rough." Sephiroth replied, hardly taking any notice as he lay. Maybe if I keep quiet and lie really still, the girls won't notice me.
Genesis rolled his eyes at his friend's lack of interest, letting out a sigh of disdain. He glanced at the empty beach chair beside him, his thoughts beginning to wonder where Angeal was, considering there wasn't much to do but sit in the sun. Of course, there's also swimming…but…
"I'm walking. Catch you later." Genesis muttered, fumbling for his sunglasses as he stumbled out of the beach chair. Placing them firmly over his eyes, he tenderly made his way through the scorching sand, trying his best to resist the urge to dash across it whilst yelping. I've got to remain inconspicuous…
Making his way up the steps, a small sigh of relief escaped his lips as he removed his feet from the sand and onto the damp concrete. Once at the top, Genesis found himself in the heart of Costa del Sol, a beach paradise bustling with people in bikinis and board shorts. The cries of the seabirds pierced the sea breeze and then melted into the sounds of beachgoers talking, strolling around the various vendors that took advantage of the large crowds.
Genesis shuddered, blending into the crowd as much as he could as he stepped forward in search of Angeal. Crowds were not his thing, and as much as he loved the beach, he wasn't fond of the enormous groups of people that came with it. He never liked mingling with people that much. I hope Angeal isn't chatting up girls…
After saying 'excuse me' for the thousandth time, Genesis managed to break free of the stream of people near one of the vendors, taking a moment to catch his breath and cool off. Sun's a real scorcher today.
Leaning against the wall, the young SOLDIER of eighteen closed his eyes and took a deep breath of ocean air, feeling the refreshing scent drift through his nose and into his lungs. However, a sticky sensation on his leg interrupted his peace and made his eyes open and his neck snap downwards, seeing a rather dopey border collie dog staring back at him. The brown and white dog panted heavily, staring back at him with big, brown eyes. With a bark, the collie reared up and put it's paws on Genesis' board shorts, looking at him with a rather silly expression. Where on Gaia did this dog come from?
"Uh, yeah…nice doggie…" Genesis mumbled, patting the collie gently on the head. His eyes searched the crowd as he petted the dog, hoping to come to rest on a frantic person missing their pet. Perhaps he would see a child waving their arms frantically or an old lady hobbling towards him waving her walking stick in the air. Unfortunately, Genesis Rhapsodos received no such luck and the dog continued its friendly panting and barking, trying to lick the SOLDIER every time he touched it. He gagged when he felt it's tongue lick his fingers, giving himself a mental note to dangle his hand in the ocean later.
"Ah. That's where you went." A figure approached Genesis and was revealed to be none other than Angeal, a small chuckle making his shoulders shake a little. Genesis gave him a pleading look saying 'get this mongrel off me!', making Angeal laugh harder as he shooed the dog away from his friend's lap.
"So what's all this?" Genesis questioned, seeing Angeal squatting down next to the dog and giving it all his attention.
"Some kid," Angeal paused, scratching the collie behind the ears, "begged me to look after his dog while he went swimming. He recognised me, apparently."
"Just like you not to refuse." Genesis let out a sigh, feeling his head begin to spin due to the roasting temperatures. Looks like I've got no choice. I'll collapse if I don't cool down soon.
Taking a deep breath, the redhead turned on his heel, beginning to step into the busy streets of Costa del Sol. "Later, Angeal. I'm hitting the ocean."
Not waiting for a response, Genesis quickly braved his fear and briskly strolled through, his eyes set straight upon the steps down to the beach. The crowds had eased a little bit, making his daunting task all that much easier. Quickly stepping down the stairs, Genesis grasped his sunglasses and discarded them on his beach chair with a quick throw. He bit his lip as he dashed across the sand in a hearty jog, trying to ignore the blazing heat that seared his feet. Someone's bound to recognise me now…it can't be helped anymore, I suppose.
Slowing down as the sand dampened, Genesis took a minute to catch his breath, wiping some of the sweat off his brow. Tentatively, the SOLDIER dipped his toes in the water, a quick shiver running up his spine at the chill of the ocean. The redhead shook his head slightly and stepped in further, feeling the gentle waves lapping around his feet. So far, so good.
He waded in a little further, feeling the coolness of the sea filling up his body. Unfortunately, his head was still clouded with the fuzzy heat from too much sun, forcing him to gently drop to his knees and bend over, splashing his head down underneath the water. Genesis then flicked his head back, sucking in the cool oxygen from the sea breeze. Water droplets sailed through the air as his locks of chestnut hair settled around his face, immediately clearing his mind. Finally, some relief to that blasted heat.
Returning to his feet, the youth pushed his legs through the ever deepening water, feeling the chilly water rising past his waist. Satisfied at the depth, Genesis submerged himself beneath the gentle waves, feeling the water currents swirling around him. For that brief moment, everything seemed to disappear, leaving Genesis to his thoughts as he stared through the crystal clear ocean that surrounded him. With the enhancing abilities of mako energy, opening his eyes underneath the water and holding his breath for extended periods of time was no problem for the 1st Class SOLDIER. Fifteen minutes was probably his limit, considering that he was still a human being and not some kind of aquatic animal. Genesis settled on the ocean floor, plumes of sand billowing up beside him as he shifted his weight. Regular people don't know what they're missing out on.
With that thought, Genesis craned his neck around to make sure the ocean was still clear, his senses heightening as if expecting a shark to come swimming by. With a gasp that sent water rushing into his mouth, Genesis slapped his palm over his eyes and retreated to the surface a few metres from his original position. …!? Why…why did there have to be a bunch of girls…wearing nothing but bikinis!?
Gasping for air as he broke through the water's surface, Genesis was quite relieved to see that the girls hadn't paid any attention to him whatsoever regarding what he did. However, I swear one of them should have…recognised me by now…
As if in response to his thoughts, Genesis heard one of them emit a high pitched scream and burst into giggles and laughter.
"Huh…?" He said, turning to face them. However, the scream and giggles weren't in his direction, causing a wave of disappointment to flood through him. Sure, I don't like groups of people that much…but still…
Then the group of young females began splashing through the water, giggling and talking loudly as they hurriedly made their way towards the beach. Clearly they had spotted something, making Genesis inclined to follow them and see what all the fuss was about. A growl on Genesis' part signalled what had grabbed the girls attention.
Sephiroth.
"So I don't like raving fan girls," Genesis mumbled, looking over at the small group of females fawning over Sephiroth, "…but why do they all seem to never notice me outside of Midgar? Even then…"
Putting on his public façade, Sephiroth lazily sat up in his beach chair to mumble a few greetings to the girls, hoping their visit wouldn't interrupt too much more of his vacation.
Genesis, back out in the shallow ocean, was seething with jealousy. Why…does he get all the attention?
"Genesis," a familiar voice began, causing the redhead to jump a little. "What have I said about jealousy? There's no honourable qualities in that, you know."
"Great help you are, Angeal. A stoic, nature lover like yourself doesn't care about women."
"I thought you didn't like fan girls." Angeal questioned, wading through the water towards his childhood friend.
"Not the rabid kind. If encountered alone they're nice enough," Genesis shrugged, seeing Sephiroth engaging in conversation with his adoring fans. "Is it that much to ask for a little…recognition, though? As much as I dislike the outrageous antics of whatever fans I might have, Sephiroth is nearly always surrounded by a league of girls. No one outside of my deranged fan club ever bats an eyelid at me."
Angeal sighed, nudging Genesis with his elbow.
"The media chooses the heroes, buddy. I guess you'll just to make do with whatever you get."
"Easy for you to say," Genesis mumbled, giving Angeal a pouting glare.
"Yes, and that's because of one simple reason. I don't have an inflated ego."
Without a moment's hesitation, Genesis promptly dunked Angeal into the water, knowing that it probably wouldn't do any good but shut him up for a minute. Shoving Genesis' arm away, Angeal quickly surfaced with a laugh, splashing some water at his childhood friend.
"Come on, Gen. Lighten up, will you? Being popular isn't all it's cracked up to be."
Genesis remained silent, inwardly growling at himself for being so arrogant.
"Say, doesn't this remind you…when we were kids?" Angeal started, hesitant. I know he doesn't care much for the past, but…
"…yeah." Genesis mumbled a reply, turning to look at Angeal. "We'd always dunk each other in the waves. At the beach…back home."
"And you would always sneak under the water and grab my legs." Angeal rolled his eyes, and in that moment he felt his legs slip underneath him. Restless ocean water surrounded where Genesis had been moments ago. With a loud splash, Angeal crashed into the water, spitting salty sea water out of his mouth.
"…like that?" Genesis said smugly, a smirk pulling at his lips. The two friends looked at each other and promptly burst out laughing, letting the negative feelings of before dissipate.
"Exactly like that." Angeal chuckled, slinging an arm around Genesis' damp shoulders pulling him into a headlock, rubbing his fist into his friend's messy chestnut hair. Bending over with the force of Angeal's 'noogie', Genesis laughed, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid flying water droplets. "Besides, we've still got each other right?"
Forcing his head free, Genesis let a small grin grace his facial features, managing a nod.
"You might be a dumbapple at times, but I'm still your friend. Got that?" Angeal questioned, looking Genesis over.
"I can't really disagree to that. After all, we did grow up like brothers. I don't know how many times I snuck over to your place, even if it was crawling with bugs." Genesis mused with a nod.
"Now come on. Let Seph have his ladies, you're just waiting for the perfect girl." Angeal rolled his eyes, grabbing his childhood friend's wrist. "Let's go have a drink or something, before this heat really scrambles your brain."
Genesis obliged with a complementary shove, tagging along behind Angeal as they made their way towards the sandy beach.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: BEACH VACATION! -dance-
Yeah. Not so original, but I've been meaning to write one like this for a while. The last fan fic I wrote for 'Vacation' got eaten by my computer system. -glare- Anyway, bit of fan service here for everyone. Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis all topless in board shorts. -bricked- x3
86 stories left to go!
- Lioneh the cheetion