Summary: What does his former friend's happiness and peace of mind matter when compared to his own? Sephiroth and Akalara's date is rudely interrupted by somebody unexpected. Same AU as "What Might Have Been".
Disclaimer: Akalara is mine. The others? I wish.
Queen's Quornor: I've had somebody ask where this guy was and what he was doing in the AU, as well as in the mostly-canon storyline of EoSH. Since I'm still stumped for ideas on a lot of my other fics, I figured I might as well answer that question with a oneshot. This takes place after Seph and Ak get back from Wutai and Razor dies, but before they all leave Midgar.
Selfish, Helpless, Useless, Arrogant Has-Been!
"So where do you want to go for dinner, Ak?" Sephiroth asked, taking in his teenaged lover's appearance as she emerged from her apartment. He had decided to take her out on an actual date for once, and she had dressed for the occasion in a form-fitting halter-dress that flared out around her hips and thighs. Despite his extensive knowledge of what lay beneath the dress, the silver-haired man was finding it difficult to keep from staring.
Akalara smiled knowingly and let her eyes slide along his body, taking him in with an approving smirk. Sephiroth had put aside his usual attire for a button-up shirt of purple silk, black dress pants and sports jacket, and shiny black shoes. As devastatingly handsome as he was in leather, this casual-formal look gave him a darkly refined appearance that she could delicious. Besides, he looked fantastic in purple. "To be quite honest, I don't care where we eat. You've been gone almost a week, and I missed you."
He took her hand with a smile of his own, peridot eyes softening. "I'm sorry. Our search-and-destroy involved far more targets than we originally thought."
Akalara wanted to ask if he had missed her too, but she had a feeling she already knew the answer from the way he was looking at her. Instead, she merely squeezed his fingers between hers and walked with him to the elevator. "Can you tell me what you were supposed to be destroying?"
The silver-haired man shook his head. Akalara had come into his life after Genesis left the company, after the controversy of his disappearance. She didn't know of his personal involvement with the fugitive and his army, or even that much about him, and he'd like to keep it that way. "Just terrorists, Ak."
"Cool. I bet you kicked ass, didn't you?" She leaned against the elevator wall as he hit the button for the parking garage under the building. "You know, there have been more terrorist attacks lately. They keep getting blamed on AVALANCHE, but..."
He looked at her curiously. "But?"
"AVALANCHE couldn't be this wide-spread, Seph. And there's a huge discrepancy between the nature of the attacks. Most of them do follow the pattern of terrorist strikes, but then there's a few that seem more like military activities to me. Like the assault on the Shinra building and the nearby sectors before we met." Her cranberry eyes searched his peridot ones, finding nothing readable therein. He had withdrawn behind the aloof mask, something he rarely wore around her. "It seems like there's two separate groups at work here, not just AVALANCHE alone."
"Ak - "
"Don't patronize me, Seph. I'm neither blind nor stupid." She raised one hand to his face, forcing him to look at her. "I just want to know what's going on, and the Turks are even more close-mouthed than SOLDIER about this."
Sephiroth was at a loss. He didn't want to get Akalara involved in the fight against Genesis, but he found it hard to deny her anything. She saw his reluctance in his eyes. "Seph, please. Just tell me."
"I can't, Ak," he forced out, averting his eyes. "It's extremely classified information, so civilians, cadets, and trainees can't be told anything. Besides, I don't want you mixed up in it."
"Why not?"
He responded by pulling her into his arms, burrowing one hand into her dark emerald hair to hold her close. "Because when I'm with you, I can forget about things like that. I need somebody who doesn't know."
"So you want me oblivious for your own peace of mind, is that is?" she asked, her arms down by her sides.
"I suppose you could phrase it that way." He looked down at her, despite knowing that she was resting her cheek against his chest. "Can you just forget about your suspicions, Akalara? Please?" The last word came out almost in a whisper.
Akalara stood motionless for a minute, then her arms came up around his waist and she relaxed into him. "If it's that important to you, I guess I can try. No promises, though."
"Thank you, Ak. Really, thank you." Sephiroth held her a bit longer, then released her when the elevator jerked to a stop. "Would you like to try Wutaian teppanyaki cooking? There's a restaraunt that opened on Loveless Avenue recently, and they cook in the style."
"What's teppanyaki?" Akalara asked, following him to his car. He didn't drive it very often, but Sephiroth was the proud owner of a black Crossfire customized with an excellent stereo system, silver racing interior, and a hidden cooler and cd rack behind the seats. Thanks to a little tinkering with the engine he could hit almost four hundred miles per hour in less than three minutes, and Akalara had been lucky enough to go on such trips with him before.
"It's a very flashy, showy type of cooking," Sephiroth explained, opening her door for her. "The chef makes the food right in front of you, and it's rather entertaining, to say the least."
She smiled up at him and relaxed into the carseat. "Sounds good. But if it's so close, why are we taking your car?"
He smirked down at her, reaching out to brush some stray hair behind her ear. "Who said I was only taking you out to dinner?"
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The car's departure from the apartment building did not go unnoticed. A lone figure watched the black vehicle roll up the road, curious and cunning. Silhouetted against the moon, no features could be discerned by anybody who cared to look up and spot the anomaly crouching atop the building. No identity could be given to this being, this silent watcher.
Then it was gone, leaping across the skyline after the car. As it departed, the darkness was pierced by clear blue eyes, glowing faintly as if with mako...
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"How did you ever hear about that place, Seph? That was amazing!"
The silver-haired man chuckled, not taking his eyes off the road. "You're certainly easy to please. A quick show with knives and a good dinner, and you're like a little girl."
"Don't act like the mature adult here, Seph. I saw that smile when the chef lit the grill." Akalara stretched and rested her hands atop her belly, watching him with playful cranberry eyes. "You're such a pyro."
"And you're a nymph. Luckily for you, I prefer lighting a different sort of fire where you're concerned." Sephiroth switched gears as they left Midgar behind and entered the wasteland, hitting the switch to put the car's top down. "I'm thinking of really making you burn tonight."
"Out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Actually, I was thinking of the hood of the car." Peridot eyes gleamed as the engine sped up. "Seeing you writhing on the hood with that emerald hair of yours dragging across the paint has been an enticing fantasy of late."
"And you didn't want us to get busted for public nudity and lewd conduct." The Turk trainee nodded sagely. "And the chances of me seeing you writhe on the hood?"
"Not good. It's not made to withstand a man of my size, and I'd rather not go back to Midgar with an enormous dent in the middle of the hood." Sephiroth gave a short laugh. "You might get me writhing in the seat, though."
"I never did get to do that as a teenager," Akalara mused.
"You're still a teenager."
"As far as the law's concerned, I'm an adult."
"Only because the law says you're legal at eighteen."
"And the fact that I've done some very adult things has no bearing on your judgement?"
"I'm the one who introduced you to the greater majority of those very adult things."
"And you enjoyed every second of it."
"Of course." His grin mirrored hers. "But I'm happier with the end result of those very adult things."
Akalara's smile softened, and her hands slid a little lower on her abdomen. "That's three of us. Now, question. Have you found a buyer for this car yet?"
Sephiroth nodded. "One of my fan clubs is buying it. The Silver Elite. They're paying exactly what I asked, up front. They're getting it tomorrow, when Christine delivers it to them."
"The Silver Elite? You mean your psycho fan club? As in, the one that sent me death-threats when we got back from Wutai?" she asked with a frown.
"The club's president came to me with a formal apology and stated that apart from a few members, the men and women of the Silver Elite were overjoyed that I had found a woman who truly makes me happy." Sephiroth eased up on the gas; they were several miles away from Midgar now. "I didn't really believe her, but we need the money. So enjoy the ride, Ak. This is the last time either of us will be in this car."
Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "All the more reason to re-christen it, Seph."
"See, now you're thinking like me," he purred with a wicked smirk, putting on the brakes and switching off the engine.
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A cold smile spread his lips wide as he took in the scene before him: Sephiroth standing in front of his car, holding the thighs of a woman up and apart while he drilled her into the hood, the woman twisting and writhing, her fingers slipping frictionlessly on the midnight metal. Even from his high vantage point atop the cliffs, he could hear her ecstatic cries.
So that was Sephiroth's woman. How intriguing.
It was time to meet the reason Sephiroth had never arrived in Nibelheim, the reason he had been waiting in the gods-forsaken hamlet for the past month. He stepped off the cliff and drifted to the ground just as the preoccupied couple managed to touch heaven.
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Akalara arched high one last time, then collapsed bonelessly against the warm metal of the hood, smiling up at Sephiroth as he propped himself up with a hand on either side of her torso. He returned the smile, his glowing eyes tender as he gazed down at her.
"That match your fantasy, Seph?" she asked, reaching up to stroke his cheek.
"Reality's always better than fantasies. Especially when they involve you." The silver-haired man bent to kiss her, a heating meeting of lips and tongue before he pulled away. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Akalara stretched, feeling him beginning to harden inside her. "So I take it that we're going to be here for awhile?"
"I didn't drive us all the way out here just for one round, you know." He curled his arms beneath her and lifted her up against him. "It's Friday night, and we don't have to be anywhere for many hours. So long as we get this car to the Silver Elite tomorrow, we have the whole night in front of us. I intend to make full use of it."
"I was hoping you'd say that," the forest-haired female purred, looping her arms around her love's neck for another deep kiss.
"So the mighty Sephiroth is tamed and claimed at long last." The couple froze at the unexpected voice. "Midgar must have shaken with the wails of your disappointed admirers."
Sephiroth released Akalara and turned around to face the intruder, one hand remaining on her thigh to keep her safely behind him. "I was told that you are supposed to be dead."
"It wasn't difficult to fool the puppy. The cavern was deep enough to fall out of sight and still catch myself, with room to spare. I have no intention of giving up so easily."
Akalara peeked around her love's body, cranberry eyes widening at the sight of a handsome man garbed in red leather and elegant black clothes. He looked familiar, but she was unable to place him. His head tilted as he turned his attention to her.
"So you're the woman lucky enough to have captured the heart of Shinra's most famous warrior. You must be Akalara Forrest, Turk trainee level three." He swept into a deep bow, precise and formal. She caught a glimpse of grey streaks in his auburn hair. "Genesis Rhapsodos, ex-SOLDIER First Class."
"Leave her out of this, Genesis," Sephiroth warned, his voice low and icy. "She has nothing to do with your ambitions."
"On the contrary. She kept you out of Nibelheim, where our reunion was to have taken place."
"All the better that I didn't go, then." Her love's body practically thrummed with hostility, detectable only as the merest shudder beneath her fingertips. "Our friendship has long since ended, and I want nothing to do with you. Leave us."
Genesis smirked. "I came to congratulate you, actually. The hero has found his woman, and she has saved his life. I bet that if you had to leave her, she'd promise to wait for you, no matter what. Such devotion is to be treasured in a woman. So many seek another's comfort when their heroes must leave." He walked to the side, and Sephiroth shifted to keep himself between Akalara and Genesis. The redhead's smirk widened a little, exposing perfectly white teeth.
"As magnificent as your physique is, I have no interest in men. Put on your pants, at least."
Akalara scowled and felt her love tense, but he begrudgingly went to retrieve his clothes. The green-haired teen drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, very uncomfortable with the way Genesis was looking at her. She didn't mind being naked, and her previous career as a topless dancer had accustomed her to unwelcome male scrutiny, but there was something deeply unsettling about the way those glowing sapphire eyes slid up and down her body. Sephiroth straightened, and his eyes flared dangerously when he saw the other man gazing at his woman. He tucked his folded pants beneath his arm, then shook out his shirt and draped it over Akalara's shoulders, hiding her body from Genesis' eyes. Only when he was certain she was covered did he step into his pants and pull them up.
"What do you want, Genesis?" he growled, fastening his belt.
"I need your cells," the redhead replied simply. "Your cells can stop my degradation."
Akalara felt a shiver of foreboding race along her spine. "Don't listen to him, Seph," she whispered. "Please don't listen to him."
He glanced at her. "I'm not going to," he assured her before turning back to the other man. "We're not compatible, Genesis. I thought that was made clear when you needed a transfusion."
"Only because I needed mako. Your cells will help me where your mako could not." His eyes shone with a light not born of mako, but something far more sinister. "After all, you're unique. Your abilities cannot be passed on to anyone else. You will never know degradation."
The silver-haired man simply stared at his red-clad counterpart. Akalara knew his curiosity was piqued, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen if he pursued the subject. Something terrible.
"You know, you really are pathetic, Genesis." She ignored Sephiroth's surprised look, instead focusing on Genesis' sudden scowl. "You interrupt us while we're making love, you ogle me, and then you demand cells from my man? You are hardly the Genesis who was so famous during the Wutai war!"
The red-haired ex-SOLDIER glared at her. "Watch your mouth, woman."
"You're pitiful, demanding such a thing from a man who was once your friend when you haven't done a thing to deserve it. You're like the unwelcome houseguest who can't take 'no' for an answer." Akalara tossed her hair haughtily, deftly evading Sephiroth's hand when he tried to cover her mouth. "You're nothing but a sniveling, pathetic, helpless, useless, arrogant, selfish little no-name weakling has-been!"
A tremor of fear coursed through her when the glow from his eyes lit up the night, and she had to wonder if she had possibly pushed him a tad too far. "You have interfered with my plans, Miss Forrest, and I have tolerated your insolence long enough. Now you will allow the men to speak."
His hand lit up with golden spellfire, and Akalara threw up her arms and closed her eyes, tensing in preparation for the bite of whatever attack he was throwing at her.
There was a slicing sound, and then Sephiroth shouted Genesis' name. Akalara opened her eyes to see her love standing tall before her, Masamune's flawless length gleaming in the moonlight. "That's enough," he growled, rage lending new depth to his voice. "I will not help you, nor give you any of my cells. Intruding upon us like this is bad enough, but you compound the crime by attacking my woman!" He settled into his trademark fighting stance, standing protectively in front of the green-haired teen. "Know that if you continue, I will destroy you."
Genesis looked at him, then nodded slowly. "So that is your choice, then. To play the hero and deny yourself knowledge of what you are, who you are supposed to be. You cast away your chance to realize your full potential, all because of the woman cowering behind you."
"I know who and what I am, Genesis," Sephiroth intoned softly. "I am Sephiroth, SOLDIER First Class, General of Shinra's military. I am a warrior, a murderer, and a protector. A hero and a villain. A friend and an enemy. A lover and a teacher. I am the dream young people wish to realize, and the nightmare that makes my enemies tremble."
"You are a monster," Genesis interjected.
"No." Akalara leaned around her love's body enough to meet the other man's cerulean eyes, resting one hand on Sephiroth's upper arm. "He is different, yes, but he is not a monster. Monsters don't care about anybody other than themselves or their goals. They don't care who ends up getting hurt because of them. You are a monster, Genesis." She stared hard at the intruder, keeping her hold on her love gentle. "Sephiroth cares about others. He feels guilt for the things he's done. I've seen him cry over such things before. Monsters do not shed tears.
"Sephiroth is many things, and he isn't perfect. But he is not, and never was, a monster."
Genesis barked a harsh laugh. "Believe what you will, and deny the truth. But he is no more human than I, Miss Forrest."
She nodded. "I know."
"And that has no bearing on your feelings for him?"
Sephiroth had gone very still beneath her fingers. "I love him for who he is, not for his fame or his looks. I don't care if he's fully human or not. He's still a man, with a heart and soul like any other. I'd love him regardless of what life he led or where he came from."
Genesis shook his head with another snort. "So devoted, and so very naive. You definitely have a treasure there, Sephiroth."
"I know. But she is wiser than you'll ever know, not naive and foolish." Sephiroth pointed Masamune at him, then returned to his ready stance. "Now leave us. Stay in the past where you belong and leave us to our future."
The redhead shrugged, and Akalara gasped softly as an enormous black wing flipped out of his left shoulder. "I refuse to abandon my future, Sephiroth. I'm not lost to the past yet." Then he was gone, leaving the couple staring up at the sky with mingled anger and fear.
Akalara exhaled softly. "Seph, I - " She was cut off as he wrapped his right arm around her, holding her tight to his side. "Seph?"
"I won't let him, Ak," he growled, still watching the heavens. "He isn't going to touch you, me, or our child. If he tries again, I'll run him through!"
She searched his profile, seeking clues to whatever past he shared with the other man. "How do you know him?"
The silver-haired man glanced at her, then returned to searching the starry sky for any sign of a one-winged shadow. "That is none of your concern. It's in the past, and does not matter now."
She glared at him. "He made it my concern when he involved me in this. I remember hearing about the exploits of SOLDIER First Class Genesis Rhapsodos, and that he was killed in action during the Wutai War. One of his damned fan clubs tried to recruit me when I first came above the Plate. What's he doing alive and well, and how do you know him?"
"He is a traitor and an enemy, who should have died in Modeoheim eight months ago," Sephiroth answered shortly. "I once called him my friend, but that was a long time ago. There are some things I can neither forgive nor overlook, and he has done much that falls into both of those catagories. That is all you need know, Ak."
The teen bit her lip, dying to know what Genesis had meant by 'degradation' and how Sephiroth's cells could stop it, but didn't want to rouse her love's curiosity in the subject. When he wanted to know the answers to a question, he would not rest until he found them. She didn't know exactly why, but something held her back from asking him about this matter. She knew Sephiroth had always known he was different, and had wondered why that was so, but he also had never fully delved into the subject of his origins. She had to admit that she was as curious as he was, but something about Genesis' words stirred an inexplicable sense of dread in her.
"Do you think we'll see him again?" she inquired softly, stifling the question she truly wanted to ask.
Sephiroth shrugged. "He is dying, Ak. Rotting by increments, dying even as he lives. I don't know when, but eventually he will no longer pose a threat to us. Genesis is not stupid; he knows that he can't heal anymore. He was never able to escape our sparring matches without injury, and those were never intentionally inflicted. If he fights me, he will not walk away unharmed, if at all. His body will fail him all the faster then."
"He wants to live. Can't really blame him for that." The green-haired teen sighed and slipped one hand inside the silken shirt to cup her stomach. "He can demand and whine all he wants, but there's somebody who needs you more than he does."
"I know. My family is more important to me than Shinra, SOLDIER, and my responsibilities as General." Sephiroth finally relaxed his guard and dismissed Masamune from his hand. "Genesis ceased to matter to me when I realized just how far he was willing to go to find the 'gift of the goddess', whatever that is."
"He sounds...insane," Akalara murmured, leaning into her love's warmth.
"He is insane. But it's a calculating insanity, and that's the most dangerous kind. I doubt this is the last we'll see of him, Ak. Genesis was never one to give up so easily." He looked down at her, and shrugged. "I think the mood is soundly ruined for tonight, thanks to him."
"Out here, at least," Akalara agreed. "I don't feel...safe. Or like we're alone anymore. The idea that he could be watching us right now, the way he was before, makes my skin crawl."
"I know what you mean." Sephiroth sighed and dug his keys out of his pocket. "Want to go back to my apartment? At least there we can have some privacy."
"Yeah." She slid off the hood and went to the passenger's side, snagging her dress off the seat. Quickly slipping out of Sephiroth's shirt, she shimmeyed the dress over her head and pulled it as far down as it would go, her eyes searching the sky as soon as the fabric was out of her face.
"He really did scare you, didn't he?" Sephiroth asked, grabbing his shirt and sliding his arms into the sleeves. "You've never dressed so quickly before, or been so modest in how clothes fit you."
"I can't really help it. I didn't like him looking at me." There hadn't been any lust in Genesis' eyes when he had looked her over. Akalara had seen desire, yes, but not the desire of a man for a beautiful woman. No, that had been the desire to own, to abuse, to destroy. If Sephiroth hadn't been there, she would have expected Genesis to try and abduct her, for no other reason than to hurt his former friend and punish her for interfering in whatever plans he had laid. She had no doubt that if he got his hands on her, she would never see Sephiroth again with living eyes. Her death would likely be agonizing, and long in coming. "Let's just go, okay?"
"Yeah." The couple got in the car and, in minutes, were on their way back towards Midgar, this time at less dangerous speeds. Sephiroth glanced over at Akalara and noted her pensive look, the way she had curled her legs onto the seat. Her left hand rested atop her belly, the other propping up her head as she stared out at the barren landscape, heedless of the wind whipping past them.
He wanted to tell her it would be all right, that he would protect her and their child from anybody who tried to harm them, Genesis included. But she was a smart woman, and a realistic one. She knew how powerful First Classes were, and had likely figured out how much stronger Genesis had to have been to hold his own against him. If Genesis decided to come after them, he would pose a greater threat than anything Shinra could send to pursue them.
Usually she was the one brightening his moodiness. But in this case...
"Well, at least one good thing came out of this," he commented off-handedly, turning his eyes back to the distant city.
She turned to look at him. "And that would be...?"
"I lived my fantasy."
Akalara snorted, and her left hand abandoned her stomach to lightly rest atop his thigh, a tiny smile playing about her lips. "Equal share in this relationship, right?"
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
"I think that if we can't rechristen this car of yours, we should at least christen your entire apartment."
The silver-haired man laughed and hit the gas, happy to see that the haunted, fearful look left by Genesis' unexpected appearance had vanished from her glowing red eyes. He would protect her, no matter what threatened her safety and that of their child.
But sometimes Masamune was less crucial to her well-being than laughter and good sex.