Valkyrie Profile: Sephiroth

by Valkyrnovas

If you told Cloud Strife to make an offering to the Valkyries so that they wouldn't steal his soul, he would laugh in your face and walk on. He didn't believe in such childish superstition. Over the years, an encounter with the myth of legends will turn his worldview upside-down.

Valkyrie Profile: Sephiroth

A/N: So here is a fic that fuses my two favourite universes, Final Fantasy VII and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. This fic won't follow the storyline of Valkyrie Profile. It will just borrow concepts and legends from Norse mythology and of course, it will be Valkyrie-centric. See Author's Note at the end for spoiler.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters.

Warnings: Profanity, Character Deaths, Slightly Descriptive Deaths, Mentions of Sexual Situations, Inappropriate Use of Loveless,Valkyrie AU, MalexMale relationship.

---

Even after so many years, Nibelheim remained a superstitious town. However, the locals weren't concerned with black cats or walking under ladders. They didn't care about things like that. What many feared, and some revered was the legend of Valkyries. Elders spoke of Battle Maidens descending from the heavens into the battlefield to take with them the fallen souls, whom were deemed worthy enough to enter Valhalla (meaning Hall of the Slain). This was how they earned their infamous title "Chooser of the Slain". In their metal armour and helmet adorned with white feathers on both sides and wings spread behind them, they were a sight to behold – if you lived long enough that is. Most families praised the Valkyries, glad that someone would guide their loved ones into the afterlife. Others were bitter with hatred, believing that the Valkyries stole the souls of warriors who would have otherwise lived a longer life had the Valkyries not intervened. Both sides strongly believed in their version of the Valkyrie.

As young Cloud Strife listened to his mother's tale for the umpteenth time, he came to a conclusion that both parties were wrong. To him, it was just a gimmick to scare children into coming home on time and going to bed early, lest the Valkyrie steal your soul. He didn't believe it for a second. He had his life all planned out. He was going to join SOLDIER and show the neighbourhood punks what he was made of. He would rise through the ranks and become a legend who people would speak of in reverence. He would make his mother proud. There was no way he could accomplish all that if he was afraid of a Valkyrie jumping out to steal his soul at any moment.

So, no. Cloud did not believe in Valkyries. The townspeople were foolish to believe any of those B-rate horror stories. Some idiot trooper probably believed in those stories and walked straight into his death, because he was busy looking over his shoulder for the Battle Maiden. Preposterous, utter rubbish. Especially since no one has ever seen a Valkyrie.

When mother Strife finished her story, Cloud nodded politely and went off to bed, firmly believing that there were no such things as Valkyries.

Little did he know how wrong he was going to be proven.

---

Their first encounter was in a battle in Wutai. Cloud accomplished his dream of becoming SOLDIER and climbed the ranks a short amount of time. He made SOLDIER 1st class by the age of 20, practically unheard of in the history of the programme. However, that wasn't the point now.

The point was Masamune grazing his arm. Shit, he needed to concentrate. Cloud quickly moved back to put some distance between himself and his opponent, trying to gauge his next move.

Across from him, his attacker landed gracefully on the field. The field that was now drenched with the blood of soldiers from both sides of the conflict. Everyone had fallen except for him. It was a massacre. Some idiot activated a Comet materia right in the middle of battle, with both armies on the field. That had ended really well, Cloud thought bitterly. Cloud had noticed the signs of a Comet spell being activated and immediately activated his Barrier materia. He shouted for everyone to do the same, but it was too late. Comet had hit and his comrades lay scattered across the field. He had known some of them. They met as recruits in the SOLDIER programme. Kunsel, Weiss and Rosso to name a few...and his best friend, Zack Fair. The duo was a pair of troublemakers in the company, always pulling pranks on the senior executives they disliked. They brought a storm of chaos wherever they went and thus earned the nickname, Avalanche.

Back to the present, if Cloud was the lone survivor of that catastrophe then who was his opponent? Well, long silver hair cascaded in a waterfall across inky black armour. Atop the head of silver rested a helmet decorated with black feathers on either side. Cloud couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a Valkyrie.

"Oh, a survivor? How very odd. The manifest said that everyone would perish in this battle." The Valkyrie tilted his head to the side, green cat-slit eyes falling upon the singularity.

"Who are you and what do you want? And what do you mean that everyone would die. Nothing can foretell the future – foretell death. Especially not some manifest!" Cloud yelled in fury.

"Is it not obvious what I am? I suppose that's only natural as usually those in our presence are already dead. I am one who leads slain heroes into Valhalla to become our Einherjars. I am Valkyrie Sephiroth." Sephiroth explained in a smooth baritone.

"This can't be real. You're not real. You're just a myth in children's bedtime stories!" Cloud yelled frustrated.

"I can assure you we are very real. My standing here proves it. It appears there has been an error in the manifest. I intend to fix that mistake," Sephiroth said ominously. "Surrender your soul, Cloud Strife," he commanded.

"Over my dead body!" Cloud screamed indignantly.

"That can be arranged," Sephiroth smirked, readying Masamune.

"Wait a minute, how do you know my name?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth lowered Masamune and scoffed, "Something trivial such as the name of lesser mortals is easily obtainable. After all, we have all knowledge in the world at our fingertips." Cloud raised an eyebrow. He knew a bluff when he saw one.

"Alright, your place and time of death, along with your name is in the manifest. Or rather was until it disappeared the moment you cheated death." Sephiroth said accusingly. He did not like this anomaly.

"I didn't cheat anything. My decisions are my own and I won't be controlled by fate or a manifest and certainly not a Valkyrie," Cloud spat out.

"Come now, everyone you cherish is gone. You have nothing else to live for, so just give up and surrender your soul to me." Sephiroth's eyes gleamed, looking like a cat about to get the canary.

"Never. I still have lots to live for!" Cloud answered passionately.

"I see. There are still others whom you cherish who are still living. Very well then. It's such a shame. You would have made a great addition to our Einherjar warriors. I look forward to the next time we meet, Cloud." With that, a single black wing spread out from his right shoulder, enveloping his body and then he disappeared in a flurry of feathers.

Cloud could only stare at the place where the being once stood. His worldview turned upside down in an instant. His first meeting with a Valkyrie and he didn't like it. For it was at the cost of his dear friend.

---

Their second encounter was confusing. Cloud was sent to Midgar's Sector 7 below the plate to eliminate a terrorist threat. They received Intel that the terrorists were planning to take out the support pillar, which would bring down the upper plate onto the citizens below. Due to the nature of the threat, everyone above and below the plate was evacuated.

He found the terrorists instantly and swiftly removed the threat. In a last ditch attempt, they had summoned a huge beast. Still, it was no match for his onslaught of strikes, when he unleashed Omnislash. Cloud swung his blade one last time, sending the creature crashing into the side of a bar, before disappearing in green tendrils of light. Cloud cringed. Tifa would kill him for destroying half of the Seventh Heaven. He could already imagine the earful and pummelling he would receive.

Throughout the fight, Sephiroth was perched on a nearby balcony, giving pointers and criticising some of his movements, saying he could have been faster and more efficient if he had done it another way. It was grating on his nerves!

"Why are you here? I already told you I'm not giving you my soul." Cloud lashed out at Sephiroth.

"I'm not here for you this time, Cloud. I'm merely waiting for the appointed time." Before the fight with the terrorist group, Cloud had spotted Sephiroth on his way to the Sector 7 district. Cloud thought that he was here to try and kill him. When Sephiroth saw him approaching he asked again for Cloud to surrender his soul. Cloud promptly let him know where he could stuff it. Then, instead of attacking, Sephiroth turned back into the direction he was previously facing.

Puzzled, Cloud asked what he was doing in the slums. Sephiroth spared him a glance and cryptically said that he was at the appointed place, waiting for the appointed time. That was about the time the terrorists made their appearance, and Cloud rushed to subdue them, pushing Sephiroth's words to the back of his mind so that he could focus on the fight.

Suddenly, a yell could be heard from amongst the rubble. Tifa was there together with a small girl. The next sequence of events happened so quickly that Cloud's brain didn't have time to register and acted on autopilot. With a cry, Tifa flung the girl away from the building, before the rest of the building groaned ominously and collapsed, burying its owner in a pile of concrete and twisted metal. Cloud had caught the girl and watched in horror as his childhood friend disappeared from view a few feet from where he was standing. He carefully laid the unconscious girl in front of an empty clinic, after checking that she was free of injuries. Cloud dialled a number and gave a quick report to Director Lazard, and was told that paramedics and a clean-up crew were on their way. Cloud ended the call and quickly turned around towards the bar, hoping that Tifa was just trapped in a crevice. He frowned when he saw Sephiroth standing up from where Tifa had fallen.

"I must be off. My task has been completed." Sephiroth's gigantic black wing emerged.

Cloud now realised with dread, the meaning of Sephiroth's appointed time.

"It was Tifa. You were waiting for Tifa! You knew! You knew and you didn't do anything!" Cloud felt fury coursing through his veins like he had never felt before.

Sephiroth's wing paused in the air. "What do you mean nothing? Of course I did something. I collected her soul, as per the duties of a Valkyrie."

"You could have prevented her death! Or you could have told me and I would have done things differently." Cloud's anger rising with every second.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I cannot divulge that sort of information to you. It will disrupt the Lifestream's cycle of death and rebirth, and bring about the world's end. We are governed by a set of rules and I'm not about to break it for a mere mortal. Besides, wasn't it you who said that you decisions were your own and that you did not want outside forces tainting your actions?" Sephiroth reminded Cloud.

His own words rang in his ears. Words Cloud recalled saying so boastfully a few months ago. "But she's special. Fuck your rules. Rules are meant to be broken. Surely you can spare one life. I'm sure the soul of a mere mortal, as you put it, would not disrupt the Lifestream." Cloud continued to plead miserably.

"Ah, I understand now. She was someone you cherished, wasn't she? I'm sorry, but the answer is still no. It's more of the principle of the matter."

For a while silence hung between them until a flurry of feathers was heard, signalling Sephiroth's departure.

Cloud crumpled to the ground, oblivious to the sudden downpour that pelted him. He now understood the pain and bitterness some people felt towards Valkyries. Death clung to them like a disease. Every encounter with the Valkyrie was tainted by the death of his friends. He decided he hated Valkyries and vowed that the next time they met, only one would walk away.

---

Cloud was sitting on the roof of the inn he was staying at. He was using up the remainder of his annual leave. Stars dotted the night sky above Kalm.

Over the years, Cloud had a lot of time to think about what happened to Tifa. The more he thought about it, the less resentful he had become. It was later found out that the little girl went to Seventh Heaven looking for her father. That was after Tifa had closed the bar and everybody had left. When Barret couldn't find his daughter among the evacuees, he voiced his concern to Tifa that she could have gone to the bar to wait for him. Promising to return safely with his daughter, Tifa rushed to Seventh Heaven and after some searching found the girl hiding in the supply closet. They were on their way out, just as the monster crashed into the building.

Everyone had acted according to the situation then. Tifa being the courageous woman that she was selflessly sacrificed her life for another. Naturally, Sephiroth had come to guide the female warrior's soul to Valhalla. He also did not hasten her demise and instead waited patiently for nature to take its course. Nobody was to blame. Everyone had played their part. In fact, Cloud should be proud of her for she was a hero worthy of joining the ranks of Einherjars. Besides, if Tifa were here right now, she'd kick his sorry self and yell at him to stop moping around and get his ass into gear. She would be right. She made a choice and it wasn't his place to be hung up over it.

Cloud wondered if he would ever see Sephiroth again. If he did, he wanted to apologise for making irrational demands and for being a selfish prick.

"Surrender your soul." A sombre voice sailed through the air.

Cloud gave a sigh. "Aren't you tired of repeating that? Especially when you know the answer will never change, which by the way is still a no, in case you were wondering."

"In all of our encounters, it is what I have greeted you with first. It is...familiar." Sephiroth said forlornly. "Are you still upset with me?" Sephiroth asked with hopeful, sad eyes.

"Initially I was a bit upset. I hated you. I hated that you seemed to invite death wherever you went." Sephiroth's features fell a bit before Cloud continued, "But, I realise now that life took its natural course and when my friends died their violent deaths, I'm glad that you were there to assuage their fears and ensure their safe passage into the afterlife. For that, I am grateful to you.

"There is no need to be thankful, for it is our sacred duty to guide lost souls. Nonetheless, I appreciate the sentiment." Sephiroth paused for a while before starting hesitantly, "I wish to apologise for my callous words. She was your close friend, someone who knew you almost better than you knew yourself. And when they are gone, it feels like a piece of you has gone with them, leaving a hollow, empty pit. Mortal or not, every being is precious."

"There is no need to apologise. No one was at fault. Tifa made her decision on her own. A decision which led to her death, but it was of her own free will. You didn't coerce her into doing something she didn't want to do. In fact, I don't think anyone can make that woman do anything she didn't want to. So don't blame yourself for what happened." Cloud took a deep breath and just went for it, "I need to apologise to you too. I was being irrational and said hurtful things to make you do something for me. I was being selfish and I want you to know that I don't mean any of what I said back then."

Sephiroth looked at him with those green cat-slit eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You were distraught after your friend's death. You were entitled to a hysterical outburst or two. As you've said, there is no one to blame in this scenario. I think we can chalk it up to circumstances."

"So no hard feelings?" Cloud asked.

"No hard feelings." Sephiroth agreed.

They settled into – not friendship, but more of an agreeable companionship.

They talked deep into the night, neither one bringing up subjects of death or Valkyries. They just stuck with normal mundane things like hobbies and favourite places to sightsee. The stars twinkled brightly overhead, casting a soft glow on them.

---

Cloud was walking down the street on his way to his usual breakfast place on the upper plate of Midgar. It was a quaint little cafe with friendly staff and reasonable meals, unlike the majority of posh restaurants on the upper plate.

"There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess."

Cloud didn't need to look to know who was behind him.

"That's new," Cloud commented. Sephiroth fell into step beside Cloud.

"A change of pace. Just trying out a new greeting, although if you prefer the old one, I can –"

"No, no. A change of pace is fine. It's great!" Cloud hastily assured him while whipping his head to the left. What he saw surprised him. In place of his normal battle armour was a long black leather coat with silver buckles, the top few buckles undone to give a view of a smooth chest. He wore black gloves, black leather pants and knee high black leather boots, but he did not see Masamune on him.

"I didn't know you could wear normal clothes. If you're here, then where did you keep your sword?" Cloud questioned.

"This is my human form. We are required to remain in this form when we walk among the denizens of Gaia. I can summon my sword at will, as well as my battle armour. When I leave the city's walls, my armour will appear, replacing my current attire." Sephiroth explained.

"Kind of like Superman." Cloud commented.

"A super man? I don't think changing apparel constitutes as a special power." Sephiroth was puzzled.

"No, not super man. It's Superman, one word. He is a fictional hero who flies around in blue and red spandex, fighting bad guys and saving people." Cloud supplied in explanation.

Sephiroth snorted, "What a horrible clash of colours. He might as well carry a siren to announce his location. It would be more subtle. Not to mention, it must be rather inconvenient and uncomfortable to engage in any sort of battle in a rubber suit."

"Says the one covered head-to-toe in leather." Cloud mirthfully pointed out.

"It's not as restrictive as it appears and at least I look good in what I'm wearing." Then he added, "Although judging by your appraising looks, I'd say that I would look good out of it as well." Sephiroth smirked, raising a silver brow.

Cloud blushed and sputtered as he realised that he had been blatantly staring. "What –? I wasn't –! It's not what you think!" Quickly switching topics to the hide his mortification. "Anyways I'm on my way to breakfast. You can join me if you want. Have you eaten? Wait, do you eat?"

"While human food does not provide our bodies with sustenance, I enjoy the flavours regardless." Sephiroth explained.

"Oh good. Well come on then. There's this place I've been going to that serves really good homemade food." Cloud urged as they made their way to the cafe.

---

Cloud sipped on his coffee, having finished his meal. He couldn't believe Sephiroth devoured that mountain of pancakes. Where did it all go? Was it because they didn't need to eat human food, so their bodies vaporised anything that entered the stomach? It was mind boggling.

"Oh, about that quote you said this morning where did that come from? I didn't know you liked poetry." Cloud mentioned absently.

"While I enjoy poetry as much as the next person, this one in particular was beaten into my head by an overenthusiastic friend. It is a quote from Loveless, an old epic. I'm not sure you've heard of it." Sephiroth smirked in remembrance.

"Oh, Loveless. I've never read the book or seen the play, but it's quite popular in theatres right now. There's even a whole street named after it, with stalls selling all sorts of memorabilia." Could recalled seeing the posters he had seen throughout the streets of Midgar.

"Genesis will be thrilled," Sephiroth said in disdain. No doubt, when Genesis got wind of this, he would drag Sephiroth to said district as he gushed about his beloved poem.

"Does your friend happen to be a Valkyrie?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, and I think the two of you would get along well, since you both have fiery tempers."

"I do not have a temper!" Cloud yelled, despite proving the very thing he was being accused of.

Sephiroth raised a slender brow. "Hmm, you could have fooled me. As I was saying, Genesis is obsessed with Loveless and he will probably force us to sit in on one of the plays. He could never make us like the poem with the same level of passion as himself. Genesis also has a tendency to drone on forever once he gets started. We usually humoured him, although we were itching to get away." Sephiroth cringed.

"Um, we?" Cloud inquired.

"Genesis, myself…and Angeal. Angeal was another Valkyrie and the peacemaker in our tight-knit group." Sephiroth explained.

"What do you mean he was a Valkyrie? Does that mean he isn't one anymore? What happened to him?" Cloud asked before he could filter his words.

Sephiroth sent him an icy glare. "I do not wish to talk about it," he said with an air of finality, signalling that this subject was closed for discussion.

"Oh, um sorry for prying." The silence hung heavily between them. Sephiroth sipped his coffee, scowling at the table. Cloud, desperate to shift the dark and stormy mood back into the easy banter from before, resorted to his failsafe.

"People make fun of my hair because they think it looks like a chocobo's ass," Cloud blurted out.

For a minute, Sephiroth sat there wide-eyed, before he burst into laughter, hands clutching his sides.

Cloud was floored. He had never seen him show such a happy expression. Sometimes he smirked or a quirk of the lips, but never full-blown ecstasy. Cloud was glad that he got to see the breathtaking sight, even though it was at his expense.

Just like that, they settle back into a friendly atmosphere.

"So I noticed you look a bit different in your human form. It's not just the clothes either. Your pupils are no longer glowing, cat-slit eyes and I think your hair seems shorter. It now ends at your back instead of at your knees." Cloud commented on these changes.

"We are supposed to blend in so as not to draw attention to ourselves and to avoid exposing the existence of Valkyries," he explained.

"Even in your human form you still stand out though," Cloud pointed out.

Sephiroth scoffed. "Better to be different than to be another mindless drone converging into one massive hive mentality. Fed with false promises from adverts and product placements, society is moulded to have the same thoughts and aspirations. If that isn't horrifying enough, everyone has similar styles and tastes. I swear, every generation the people look more and more like one another. It's like looking at goldfish. I would say the cavemen from prehistoric times had more individuality than the average person today." Sephiroth ended his rant with a huff.

"You misunderstand. I meant that you look different in a good way. Your features are stunning. They make you look ethereal – They make you unique." Cloud explained.

"Like your hair." Sephiroth said with mirth in his eyes.

He will never let me live that down, Cloud thought. "You are never going to let me live that down." Cloud stated more than questioned.

"Not a chance, Goldilocks." Sephiroth used the moniker for gold chocobos.

Cloud groaned. He hated using that failsafe for a reason.

---

Cloud was sitting under a beach parasol with a blanket spread out under him. The heat was sweltering, made even more so by his black turtleneck, but he had to wear his SOLDIER uniform when on missions. No exceptions. The PR department saying something about looking the part of a hero and upholding Shinra's public image. Cloud could care less about Shinra.

The Turks received intelligence of an imminent attack in Costa del Sol. Director Lazard sent his best SOLDIER (meaning Cloud) to take care of any possible threats. Also, since this beach was densely populated, he was not allowed to carry any weapons or offensive materia. How was he supposed to fight with such a severe handicap? Did they expect him to fight hand-to-hand with an enemy who would probably have guns and materia? This was absurd. Cloud hoped that they used Blizzara. That would at least end his suffering. Better yet, they should emerge from the ocean, so that he would have an excuse to jump into the sea and then get hit by a Blizzara. That was if he didn't die from heatstroke first.

An ice-cream vendor nearby took pity on him and gave him a popsicle. So here he was slurping on a lime-flavoured popsicle, moaning obscene noises and professing his love for the icy treat in between licks. Nearby beachgoers were giving him weird looks, but he didn't care, for he held salvation in his hands.

"My friend, the fates are cruel."

Cloud didn't bother to look up, knowing who had spoken.

"Do you have any idea how suggestive you look, not to mention the sounds you're making?" Sephiroth asked incredulously.

"Dunno, don't care," was Cloud's short reply.

When it looked like he wasn't going to get a further response, Sephiroth moved to sit down next to Cloud. This gave Cloud a glimpse out of his peripheral, of what Sephiroth was wearing, or not wearing.

"Why are you only wearing boxers?" Cloud asked wide eyed. Gaia, if he thought the coat from before was revealing, this was a whole other ball park.

Sephiroth gave him a weird look. "This is a beach after all and I do not intend to cook myself like what you are obviously attempting."

"Shut up! It's not by choice. Regulation requires all personnel to be in uniform for official functions or missions." Cloud grumbled unhappily.

"Then take it off. After all, rules are meant to be broken. You said so yourself. I believe your exact words were to fuck my rules." Sephiroth's eyes glinted with humour.

"I can't do that. I'll get into a lot of trouble." Cloud argued feebly, although he had been tempted to do just that since he stepped foot in this inferno. "Can I ask you something? It's about the manifest. How does it work? I mean how does it make all those predictions?"

"Are you purposely changing the subject to stop me from persuading you to take off your clothes?" he asked.

"No, I am not. I really want to know." It was a half truth. Cloud also did want him to get off his back about his uniform.

"Very well then. The manifest doesn't do the actual prediction. Our goddess, Jenova sees into the future and decides which souls will go to Valhalla. Just by thinking, these names appear on the manifests with all the relevant information. Then Valkyries are dispatched to pick up the chosen ones. Is this explanation clear to you?" he asked.

"Yes. It's kind of similar to how we get our missions in SOLDIER. The method may be different, but the process is the same. The higher ups make a decision and it gets filtered down to us to do the legwork." Cloud opinionated.

"Essentially, yes. So now that I have answered your question, will you remove your clothes?" Sephiroth went back to pestering.

"No," Cloud flatly refused.

"Whatever your mission is, it doesn't look like anything is going to happen, so why don't you call it a day and take the rest of the day off?" Sephiroth reasoned.

Cloud's resolve wavered a bit. It increasingly seemed like this mission was a bust. Perhaps their Intel was wrong this time. However, Cloud stubbornly stuck to his mission, and wouldn't budge until told otherwise by his superior.

Seeing that Cloud was being uncooperative, Sephiroth turned serious. "You know, life is too short for you to not indulge in wants and desires. It is over before you know it. Too many lives are filled with missed opportunities and regret. So for once in your life, do yourself a favour and cast aside those rules. Do not hesitate, especially over such a simple matter of your company's pride versus your own comfort, which in the grand scheme of things is trivial." Sephiroth implored.

What Sephiroth said was logical. Why should he care about Shinra? They weren't the ones sweating it out in this heat, he was! The other thing that he mentioned was also true. Many people passed on with regrets. Zack never got to ask out the flower girl whom he had a crush on. He always promised Cloud that he would do it next time...and then he died. Tifa never got to open her dream bar on the upper plate. She worked longs hours and scrimped every bit of Gil. All that was for nothing. She died without achieving her dream and didn't live a comfortable life. Sephiroth was right. He couldn't afford to waste a single moment of his life. He would do what he wanted and live with no regrets. With that, Cloud tossed his turtleneck and discarded his pants until he was only clad in boxers. The relief was instantaneous.

Dear sweet Gaia, why didn't I get rid of them sooner, Cloud thought.

"She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting," Sephiroth said in a sultry voice.

"Mmm, I'm too busy enjoying my bliss to even comment on your inappropriate use of poetry. Arrgh, I'm so hot, I feel like I could melt into the sand."

"You are undeniably hot." Sephiroth leered at him.

"That has got to be the worst pickup line I have ever heard," Cloud replied, eyes closed as a gentle breeze caressed his torso.

"I'm sorry, should I come again?"

"You can come whenever you want." That got a cough out of Sephiroth.

When his brain finally caught up with his mouth, Cloud opened his eyes and shot a quick glance at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth had an unreadable expression on his face.

Before either one could say anything, an alarm rang throughout the air. People were scrambling away from the beach, or rather what was coming out of the waves.

Holy fuck, the terrorists really are popping out from the sea, was Cloud's first thought.

A Thundaga pierced the air and struck white sands.

Great, they have materia, a Thundaga at that. They must have support materia to absorb the damage, but I'll be toast if I enter the water. How the fuck am I supposed to fight them, was Cloud's second thought.

"Sephiroth, can I borrow your sword?"

"No."

"Please, this is kind of an emergency, and I promise I'll take care of it." Cloud pleaded.

Sephiroth sighed. "It's not that I don't want to, but Masamune is a Valkyrie blade and if a mortal should touch it, their soul could be sucked into the sword. It's a safety mechanism imbued into all Valkyrie weapons."

"You said 'could'. That means it's 50/50 right, so my soul may not be absorbed by the sword."

Sephiroth raised a brow. "Are you really willing to risk your life just to defeat a couple of small fry? If you really are that desperate, why not use the parasol. It's got a long reach and a sturdy frame. It should suit your purpose just fine."

"Are you serious? How can I use that?" Cloud argued.

At the crack of another Thundaga and screaming, Cloud dropped all his uncertainty, grabbing the parasol and making a mad dash to the shoreline.

The terrorists had left the waters and were now advancing towards the town. Cloud make quick work of them and within seconds they were all knocked out at his feet. A camera flash blinded him. Reporters crowded around him and were snapping his photos. Shit, Shinra is not going to like this, Cloud thought.

Cloud looked back to his spot on the beach and saw Sephiroth doubled over in laughter with a hand cupping his mouth. That fucker! He tricked me! He was never going to listen to any of his suggestions for the rest of his life.

---

Cloud moved swiftly and silently through the trees on the mountainside. His prey was close, he could sense it. He arrived on a cliffside and scanned the surrounding mountainous area. Then, he spotted it, the Grand Cockatrice that he was sent to take out, perched on the opposite cliffside. After months of tracking and sticking his finger in bird poop, he would finally be free from this dreadful humidity.

Cloud was right, the Shinra execs were not happy with his stunt in Costa del Sol. The PR people said that he had sullied company's image. President Shinra was livid when he saw his SOLDIER elite on front page news in nothing but a pair of boxers, wielding a giant parasol. To top it all off, the boxers had slid down just a tad, showing just the top of his cheeks, the line between them slightly visible, and now the whole world had a view of his ass. Wonderful.

Which was why Cloud was shipped off onto this Gaia forsaken mission in the middle of nowhere. This mountain wasn't accessible by foot or buggy. The only way in was either by submarine, via an underwater channel, which connected to a lake here, or by airship. Since there was no way and no reason for a civilian to come here, the Grand Cockatrice did not pose a threat to the public. This mission was basically the Shinra execs' way of telling him to fuck off.

But now, it was almost over. His freedom was within reach. He slung his sniper rifle from his shoulder and carefully placed it on the ground. Then he took aim, taking the wind direction and distance into consideration. His shot needed to be perfect. He couldn't stand the thought of spending more time in the dirt instead of a comfy bed. He also missed his shower and air-conditioning. Simple comforts which he took for granted. When he got back, he was going to spend a whole day in the bathroom. For now, he needed to focus. He could do this. He patiently adjusted his rifle, needing to make the alignment perfect. He held his breath and squeezed the trigger.

"The arrow has left the bow of the goddess."

The crack of a gunshot echoed through the forest, bouncing off cliff walls. The bullet missed its target, and the cockatrice took flight and vanished behind a rocky outcrop.

"Well it has now!" Cloud whined in frustration.

Months upon months of preparation gone down the drain. He was right back where he started. Actually, it was worse now that the cockatrice was wary of him.

Sephiroth took off in the direction the cockatrice and disappeared from view. A moment later, a loud screeching could be heard rebounding off the cliff walls. Sephiroth reappeared and landed in front of Cloud.

"No problems now, right? Sephiroth said smugly.

Months and months of preparation, and it only took Sephiroth all of five seconds to vanquish his target. He hated him.

"I hate you so much." Cloud grumbled out.

"Come now, surely you don't mean that?"

Cloud vehemently ignored him.

"Are you going to spend the rest of our time in silence? You know I don't get to visit often."

Cloud continued to give him the silent treatment.

"Don't you have any questions about the Valkyries? About our lore, our culture? Ask me anything and I shall answer it." Sephiroth offered.

Cloud looked up at that. He was seated on the ground. "Well last time you mentioned about the manifest showing the names of warriors chosen by your goddess, right?" Sephiroth took a seat opposite Cloud and nodded for him to continue.

"So why did my name disappear from the manifest in the Wutai battle? Also, if it disappeared, couldn't you just kill me to add me back to the manifest?" Cloud queried.

"As much as people would like to believe, nobody is perfect, not even a goddess. Jenova sees into the future, but sometimes a strong willed individual will take a different course of action, changing their thread of fate. Humans are full of surprises sometimes," he said with genuine wonder.

"To answer your second question, Valkyries are prohibited from harming a mortal whose name is not on the manifest. This was to prevent a repeat of the massacre that happened centuries ago. A whole civilisation was senselessly killed and slaughtered by a young group of Valkyries. They wanted to collect as many Einherjar as they could so that they could quickly rise through the ranks. Jenova dealt the Sovereign Rite to those rebel Valkyries. By then, the damage had been done as only a handful of that race, known as the Cetra survived. That is why the instant your name vanished, I was already bound by our laws, preventing me from taking your soul."

"But you did injure me. You gave me a cut on my arm. You fought me and kept harping on me to give up my soul. Based on your explanation, weren't your laws supposed to protect me from such assaults if my name was not listed?" Cloud huffed.

"Please, that was hardly a fatal wound." Sephiroth said dryly. "Besides I got carried away. You intrigued me." he admitted with honesty in his eyes. "There is one loophole to that law and that is Valkyries may collect from a human not listed, if that person willingly surrenders their soul." Sephiroth smirked, seeing the cogs turning in Cloud's head.

"In other words, you were trying to swindle me out of my soul," Could accused.

"I wouldn't call it that. I merely suggested."

Cloud rolled his eyes in annoyance. "So what was that other thing you mentioned, the Sovereign Rite? What does it do? What happened to the Valkyries who were given the Sovereign Rite?"

For a split second, Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise before they immediately darkened. He stood in a flash, facing away from Cloud.

"I just remembered I have an important errand to run. It skipped my mind. Apologies for cutting short our meeting, but it will have to wait for another time." Sephiroth said without looking sorry at all. A flurry feathers and Sephiroth was gone.

Cloud was left standing on the cliffside, puzzling over his odd behaviour. What had gotten him so worked up? Why did he look almost angry when Cloud mentioned the Sovereign Rite. Just what in Gaia was the Sovereign Rite?

---

Cloud had vowed never to step foot in that forest ever again. Yet, here he was, guided by a secretive and mischievous Sephiroth who was anxious to show him a surprise. Cloud hated surprises. Every time Cloud questioned him about the surprise, he was met with the same cryptic answer, "Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess."

Over the months, Cloud had not heard from him since the cockatrice incident. At one point, he wondered whether Sephiroth had forgotten about him and stopped his infrequent visits. Cloud was a bit crestfallen at the thought. He had warmed up to the silver-haired Valkyrie over time and was reluctant to lose their friendship.

Then out of the blue, Sephiroth appeared in his apartment and declared that there was something Cloud needed to see. Before Cloud had a chance to react or even reply, Sephiroth reappeared behind him. In a split second, Sephiroth had wrapped his wing around Cloud and the next thing he knew, he was back in the Gaia forsaken place. Sephiroth had proceeded to manhandle him, pushing him in the direction of Gaia knew where. If he had been the old Cloud, he would have thought that Sephiroth was leading him to his gruesome death. He was different now and Cloud trusted Sephiroth entirely, but would it kill him to let him know his plans? This jostling was getting tiring.

Eventually, Sephiroth led them into a cave behind a waterfall. The cave was filled with natural mako springs, each one glowing brilliantly with a full colour spectrum. At the centre was a beautiful mako pillar.

"This is beautiful. How did you find this place?" Cloud breathed, mesmerised. Cloud loved mako springs. He used to visit them with his mother in the Nibel mountains to hunt for materia. Materia created from natural springs were more powerful and never cracked, unlike the ones mass produced by Shinra.

"I happened upon it while on a mission. There was a woman's soul trapped in that mako pillar in front of you. A Valkyrie's soul to be precise. I can't understand why anyone would target her. She had long brown hair and kind eyes. Someone must have deliberately trapped her in there after activating the Sovereign Rite. It's not the first time, but I'll be damned to let it happen again." Sephiroth's eyes were stormy, a frown creasing his forehead.

Okay, Cloud had two bad traits. One was his stubborn streak and the other was his insatiable curiosity. When he heard an interesting concept, he would doggedly hunt for more information, like the Black and White materia. He wouldn't be deterred when he didn't get an answer or was told to drop the subject. That had landed him in many fights. People didn't understand his obsession, but he needed to know even if it killed him. So since the subject of Sovereign Rites had popped up, Cloud was reminded of his burning curiosity on the subject. The fact that Sephiroth made it sound somewhat taboo made it even more appealing. Gaia, he wanted to know so badly, he needed to know. So while curiosity killed the cat, well, Cloud hoped he was on his first life.

"Yeah, about that. I-Is it possible for a Valkyrie to die? Can they be killed? Is that what the Sovereign Rite does? You said this wasn't the first time this has happened, meaning it's happened before. Was Angeal hit with the Sovereign Rite?" Cloud unleashed a barrage of questions.

Before he knew what was happening, Cloud found himself shoved against the mako pillar. The impact forcing the air out of his lungs. Leather gloved hands encircled his throat in a vice grip. Cloud clawed at the hands as he looked down into slitted green eyes, madness and fury swirling in their depths.

"Why are you so interested in knowing about a Valkyrie's death? Who told you to ask about the Sovereign Rite?" Sephiroth said with a feral snarl, his grip tightening further.

"N-no, no one asked me. I wanted to know. I was...was curious." Cloud gasped out, his lungs burning with the need for oxygen.

"Why? So you can kill us, kill me? Is that what you were after this whole time? Was this all a farce? Did you get close to me so that you could betray me? Were you biding your time, learning all our secrets so that you may strike when my guard was down, so that you may avenge your fallen friends!" Sephiroth roared with a manic gleam in his eyes, but there was also a hint of hurt and disappointment in them.

"Seph-Sephiroth, p-please. I tr-trust you." Cloud wanted to say more, but he was nearing his limit, black spots dotted the edges of his vision.

"Then prove it!" Sephiroth taunted.

Cloud wracked his brain on how to get through to his friend. Time was running out. Not knowing what else to do, Cloud willed his body to become still, leaving him completely at the mercy of Sephiroth. He resisted the urge to thrash, even as the black crept across his vision.

Suddenly, Cloud found the ground rushing to meet him. He would have face planted if not for the hands supporting his arms. Cloud took in lungfuls of air, coughing and hacking with his abused throat. Once his breathing regulated, Cloud looked up and saw worry and regret in those green eyes.

"I...apologise. I reacted...badly." Sephiroth lowered his gaze, unable to meet Cloud's eyes.

Cloud snorted, "Ha! Understatement of the year."

"You shouldn't laugh. I almost...your life...with these hands." Sephiroth fumbled over his words, distraught over what he had come close to achieving.

Cloud said in a soothing voice, "Hey, it's not your fault. I was pushing you to answer something that I knew you were uncomfortable with. I intentionally hurt you by pressing you for something you weren't ready to share and I'm sorry. It's alright if you can't tell me. I can live with not knowing."

Sephiroth contemplated what Cloud had said. He felt stupid for overreacting and ended up harming Cloud. If he didn't want to answer his questions, he could have just declined. He made a decision.

"I didn't intend to hurt you like that. It's just that a lot of things have been happening, but that is no excuse for my actions." Sephiroth drew a breath and continued, "I can tell you everything, no I want to tell you. I trust you too."

They settled down on the cave floor as Sephiroth started his account of past facts. "When the Sovereign Rite is cast on a Valkyrie, it destroys their physical vessel. A Valkyrie's soul will still be intact and will automatically return to Asgard, our home, to regenerate. In that sense, a Valkyrie can never truly die. Somehow, a group of mortals have learned of the Rite and have been using it against the Valkyries that descended to Gaia. We don't know who they are, but from what we gather, they are a group of people who have a deep hatred for the Valkyries, and have vowed to destroy every last one of us. They have formed a cult, calling themselves the Vanir. Angeal was the first one to succumb to such a fate. His soul now rests in Asgard, waiting to be reborn. That was when we were alerted of this group's existence. After that, a few more Valkyries perished at their hands, including the Valkyrie soul I found in this cavern. Asgard is on high alert now. Actually, that is the reason for my visit and bringing you here. It is a parting gift. All Valkyries have been summoned to return to Asgard at once. It is by the order of Jenova and I don't know when I'll be able to see you again. Perhaps not in this lifetime. By re-calling the Valkyries, Jenova is hoping to wait it out. With time, the humans should perish on their own. This is farewell, Cloud."

Cloud reeled at the news. He couldn't comprehend that this would be their last meeting. His heart felt torn. On one hand, he didn't want Sephiroth to leave, but on the other he knew had to or risk being destroyed by the Vanir. Sephiroth was already taking an immense risk by meeting him now instead of staying within the safety of Asgard.

"I don't want you to go." Cloud said in melancholy.

"I know Cloud. I don't want to either." Sephiroth closed his eyes, resting his forehead on Cloud's. "I will always cherish the memories of our time together, of you. Goodbye, Cloud."

They stayed like that for a long while, neither wanting this moment to end. Alas, nothing lasted forever and the time to part had come. With a last sweep of his wing, Sephiroth disappeared in a rain of black feathers, never to return.

Cloud stayed immobile in his position, his eyes fixated on the spot Sephiroth had stood moments ago. "You will never be a memory," Cloud whispered to the cave. Sephiroth wasn't just a memory to Cloud, he was beyond that. He was real and had a strange sense of humour and a passion for swords. Cloud would forever remind himself that Sephiroth was real and not just a figment of his imagination.

---

Many years had passed and now Cloud's life was filled with misery. Everyone whom he had cherished was gone. Aerith, whom he had befriended after Zack's death had been killed in a mugging while peddling flowers in the slums. Then, he received news that his mother had died, falling into the deep abyss of the Nibel mountains along with the rickety old bridge. They had never used that bridge when they went materia hunting, always mistrustful of its capabilities in providing safe passage to the other side. Instead they took the long, but much safer path to the mountains. Mother Strife was up there visiting the mako springs, when a sudden downpour started. She didn't hear it as she was deep in the caves. When she got out, the sun had already set and the lower levels were flooded with water. Seeing no other option, she took a chance with the bridge, which led to her death.

For days Cloud had screamed in anguish, but now after decades, Cloud sat silently in his apartment, the weight of hopelessness crushing his spirit. Despair clung to every fibre of his being, seeped from his pores. Even the moon seemed to be hiding, as if sensing his dark mood. How he wished he had taken up Sephiroth on his offer all those years ago, then he wouldn't be left in this mess, awaiting death all alone.

At the thought of the silver-haired angel, all their encounters and conversations flashed past his mind's eye, making his situation even more unbearable. So with a hardened resolve, Cloud made a decision that would reunite him with Sephiroth. He unsheathed First Tsurugi and brought it to his neck. Cloud's lips twisted into a smirk at the irony. As a SOLDIER, he knew he would one day die by the sword, but he didn't know that it would be his own. He had no pride left and no honour remained. His wings stripped away, the end was nigh. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the slash – a slash that never came. Something had halted its descent. Cloud frowned. He opened his eyes to see what was obstructing the movement of his blade.

What he saw stunned him, for standing in front of him was the object of his thoughts. Sephiroth's hands were on his blade, standing in full battle armour with a furious expression on his face.

Sephiroth ripped First Tsurugi out of his hands and threw it into a corner, where it landed with a resounding clang. "Just what do you think you are doing?" Sephiroth gritted out in anger.

Cloud had never seen him so angry before. That time in the mako cavern didn't count, as that was temporary insanity. This was different. He seemed angry, angry with Cloud. "I thought I could go to where you were if I did this. I wanted to be with you," Cloud croaked out, his voice rusty from years of disuse.

If it was even possible, Sephiroth looked even more furious. "You fool! That stunt of yours wouldn't have brought you to Valhalla. Those who die by suicide are not worthy of stepping foot in its halls. That is a place reserved for heroes. Your soul would have been sent straight to Hel." Sephiroth's eyes softened in his rant. "And I would truly never see you again, for the Mistress Hel does not release souls from her domain. They would never enter the cycle of rebirth, damned to pay for their sins for all eternity." He took a shuddering breath. "Do you know how terrified I was when I saw your name on the manifest and the destination your soul was headed?" Sephiroth said brokenly.

The full implications of his attempted suicide hit him with the force of a steel train. He almost condemned himself to eternal solitude, the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Cloud apologised meekly.

"It's alright, I'm here now. You're alive and that's all that matters." Sephiroth tried to console a distraught Cloud.

"That's right. What are you doing here? What happened to the re-call? Aren't you banned from visiting Gaia? Shit, does Jenova know you're here?" Cloud started panicking. "You should get back before she notices you're missing."

Sephiroth raised an incredulous brow. "Do you honestly think a mere ban would keep me away, especially when your life was in peril? You think too little of me. Besides, Jenova herself sanctioned this visit. Well, more of demanded I get my ass here before you killed yourself and end up in the clutches of Hel. The two sides don't get along, what with all the disputes and fierce competition for souls. Jenova has lost many potential Einherjars to Hel, and is always seeking ways to get back at her. My intervention here serves two purposes. One is to save an Einherjar candidate, and the second is for payback against Hel. So you see, Jenova is as much invested in your soul as myself, if not more so." Sephiroth concluded with a curve to his lips.

Cloud was touched/honoured/humbled that a goddess cared about him. Which made his next words very difficult. "But I still want to die."

"Don't be ridiculous. I know you lost your mother, but people die all the time. It is a fact of life and it is the duty of the living to persevere and carry on their legacy." Sephiroth admonished Cloud.

"But it's so hard. I'm the only one left and if there's nothing left for me here, then I want to be with you." Cloud sobbed hysterically. The thought of being alone again crippled his thoughts with terror.

"I know, Cloud, I know. However, there is no other option. Give it time. I'm sure you will be able to pull through." Sephiroth did his best to soothe him, rubbing his back in calming circles.

For a second, Cloud stopped his sobbing and blinked. "No, there is a way. You said a Valkyrie can recruit an Einherjar if the soul was willing. I'm willing now. I surrender my soul to you. Please take me with you." Cloud pleaded in hopeful desperation.

Sephiroth frowned. "Cloud, I am not going to take your soul just because you want to escape the pain of living. Many people lose their loved ones, but they persevere in honour of their memory. You're just going to have to suck it up and move on."

"What? That's not why I want to give up my soul. Well, not the whole reason anyway. I want to surrender my soul so that I can be with you. I want to be with you because I - I love you," Cloud confessed. He had been harbouring feelings for his silver-haired companion. He couldn't pinpoint when these feelings started. They had just suddenly snuck up on him. He had finally realised and acknowledged his feelings after his mother passed on, leaving him alone. It was funny how death seemed to put things in perspective.

Sephiroth looked unconvinced. "Cloud what is it that you really want? Do you mean what you said or are you using it as an excuse?"

Cloud looked into emerald eyes and with all the sincerity he could muster he said, "Yes, I really love you. I think I have for a long time, maybe even from the moment you entered my life, I don't know. All I do know is that I want to be near you, to hear your voice and see your infernal smirk. I want to be a part of your life, if you'll have me."

Sephiroth didn't need any more proof. The honesty in Cloud's eyes made his intentions very clear. He lowered his forehead to Cloud's and breathed against his lips, "I accept your soul, Cloud Strife." With that, Sephiroth closed the distance and locked their lips in a passionate kiss. Cloud was in heaven. Euphoria thrummed throughout his veins at the thought of finally being with the one he loved. In fact, he didn't even feel it when a blade pierced his heart, so caught up was he in his bliss.

When they parted, Cloud looked up at Sephiroth curiously. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked, not understanding the direction of Cloud's thoughts.

Cloud sighed, exasperated. "Don't you need to kill me so that you can collect my soul?"

That surprised Sephiroth. "You are already dead. You are now standing in your astral body." Sephiroth pointed to where Cloud's physical body laid, slumped on the floor in a spreading pool of blood.

Cloud looked to where Sephiroth was pointing and was perplexed. "How – What – When did you –?" Cloud was dumbfounded.

"Oh my, were you that distracted by my kiss, to the point that you weren't aware when you had died? To think that I hadn't even used tongue." Sephiroth chuckled in amusement.

"Oh, shut up. So what if I didn't realise. It's no big deal. Can we go now? This place is depressing and I have dead body on the floor. My body. I don't know about you, but that is weird as fuck."

Sephiroth gave one last chuckle and the pulled Cloud into his embrace, wrapping his wing around them. "As you wish." They left in a flurry of feathers.

---

When Cloud entered the halls of Valhalla, he was stunned. It had a medieval-styled architecture with high ceilings and grand arches. Floor-to-ceiling tapestries in a rich crimson decorated the walls. However, all this paled in comparison when he met familiar faces. Zack, Tifa and even Weiss and Rosso were here. He couldn't believe it. They chatted at rapid-fire pace, trying to catch up on decade's worth of stories. Turned out, Zack had confessed to Aerith when she had arrived and they were now a happy couple. Then, he spotted his mother. She approached him and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace. Mother Strife wiped away happy tears and told her son how happy she was now that he was here. Sephiroth gave Cloud his space to reconnect with his loved ones. A while later, Sephiroth looked up to the sound of the large oak doors opening. Sephiroth politely excused himself and Cloud, and led Cloud to the head of the hall.

"Wow, everyone is here. Why didn't you tell me? I would've followed you in a heartbeat." Cloud asked.

"I didn't want to taint your decision. If you came here it would be because you wanted to be here, and not because you have more friends here or something like that. Besides, if I had taken your soul from our very first meeting, the world would have been robbed of your contributions, your heroism. Many would not have lived to see today had you not stepped in. Connections which you have made on Gaia would have been poorer without your friendship." Sephiroth elaborated his reasoning.

Cloud couldn't argue with that. He had made countless friends and bonds, and he wouldn't be the man that he was today without them.

"Wait, does that mean my mom is an Einherjar too?" Cloud asked wide-eyed.

"No, only warriors become Einherjars. All other souls are sent to Asgard, where they reside until it is time to join the Lifestream in the cycle of rebirth."

"Oh, okay. So where are we going now?" Cloud asked.

"There's someone I want you to meet," was Sephiroth's answer.

"Who is it?"

"You'll see." Sephiroth left it at that, unwilling give him any hints on whom it might be. Oh, did Cloud mention he hated surprises?

Eventually, Cloud was led to a beautiful woman with flowing silver hair and glowing crimson eyes. She wore thick flowing robes of silver, with gold trimmings. The silver robe reflected various colours under the lighting. She was ethereal and held an air of grace and authority.

"Cloud, this is Jenova, our goddess," Sephiroth introduced.

Holy shit. Cloud was not prepared for this. "Hello, your ladyship, err, your highness. It is an honour to be in your overflowing presence. I, Cloud Strife pledge my humble allegiance to your majesty." Cloud grimaced at his train-wreck of an introduction.

A melodious chuckle trickled from Jenova. "Do not fret over formalities for we do not use archaic greetings and customs here. You may simply call me Jenova and I know who you are Cloud Strife for I have seen your futures. I can see why you have so wholly captured my Valkyrie's heart. You have certainly chosen a charming one, Sephiroth."

"My apologies, your majes - Jenova. It was not my intention to take Sephiroth away from you. I promise, I won't do anything to come between you and your Valkyrie." Cloud tried to placate the goddess, not wishing to incur her wrath on his very first day.

"Hush now. I meant it as a compliment. Your interactions and relationship with Sephiroth have greatly improved his behaviour and personality. Before he met you, I had received many complaints from my Valkyries that he was impossible to work with, citing a major stick up his ass." Cloud's eyes bugged out, at the compliment and also at the fact the goddess had just said the word, ass. "You have my thanks and gratitude for turning my Sephiroth into a decent person." Jenova smiled and gave Cloud a slight nod.

"Thank you, Jenova for your words of wisdom and utter humiliation and ridicule of me in front of my Einherjar." Sephiroth deadpanned.

"You're welcome," Jenova replied with a smirk.

"What's going on here? Why are you and the goddess having a meeting without me? Who is this kid and why is he in the presence of our goddess?" A well-groomed man came to a stop in front of them and swished his red cloak in dramatic flair. Underneath, he wore battle armour that was a blood red, and the helmet held at his side had black feathers. His hair which was a deeper red, framed his face perfectly. Demanding blue-green eyes flicked from Sephiroth to Jenova, before settling on Cloud.

"I'm not a kid."

"He's my Einherjar."

Cloud and Sephiroth answered simultaneously.

"Hmph, our standards must have lowered, if now all sorts of riff-raff are allowed to meet the goddess. I didn't get this kind of attention when I brought my Einherjar." The crimson Valkyrie scoffed in mock hurt.

Cloud seethed at being referred to as riff-raff.

"That's only because you keep changing your Einherjars. Perhaps if you stuck with one, Jenova might pay them the same attention." Sephiroth threw a barb.

"I can't help it if the Einherjars of Valhalla are pathetic. That little ninja is too hyperactive and she kept trying to steal my materia. While the gunman has excellent marksmanship, he is too silent and brooding, and he has terrible fashion sense. I mean who wears gold pointed shoes! That new one, Zack, grates on my nerves, what with his persistent yapping and he has a zero attention span. Most importantly, none of them have a fine appreciation of Loveless." The redhead ended his rant.

"No one has a fine appreciation of Loveless." Sephiroth pointed out.

"That is beside the point. Anyway, aren't you going to introduce me to your great and special Einherjar? I swear, you may have the looks and the airs of nobility, but you lack the tact of one." The fiery Valkyrie huffed.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes at his friend's dramatics. "Forgive me for not being able to get a word in edgewise through your seemingly long and hysterical rant." The crimson one glared daggers at him. "Cloud, this is my friend, Valkyrie Genesis. Genesis, this is my Einherjar, Cloud Strife."

"Pleased to meet you –" Cloud started.

Genesis's eyes lit up in recognition. "The Cloud Strife, as in the Cloud that Sephiroth has been pathetically pining over all this time?" Sephiroth shot him a venomous look, which Genesis ignored in favour of questioning his new interest. "That means you're also the same Cloud that told Sephiroth about Loveless Avenue, am I right?" Sephiroth groaned and Cloud nodded hesitantly.

"Oh my, I am eternally grateful to you. Through you, I discovered a melting pot of like-minded people. There were so many discoveries, from the plays, to the merchandise, new editions of Loveless and even a fan club called the Study Group, although that club's interpretation of the epic is wrong. So I created my own club to discuss anything and everything to do with Loveless. It's called Red Leather, named after the red leather bindings of the very first edition. You should join my club. I'll appoint you as my Vice-president in honour of your contribution to my momentous discovery." Genesis said ecstatically.

"Don't bother. Cloud isn't interested in Loveless," Sephiroth interjected.

"I wasn't asking you, I was asking Cloud. Don't project your own prejudices onto innocent people. How would you know whether Cloud likes or dislikes Loveless?" Genesis queried.

"I just know for a fact that he doesn't. He thinks they're inappropriate. You're wasting time trying to recruit him to your club." Sephiroth said as a matter-of-factly.

"You're just denying Cloud this, because you hate Loveless. Cloud should be exposed to Loveless so that he can decide for himself whether he likes it or not." Genesis countered.

"Oh, believe me, he has already been exposed." Sephiroth said with a sultry gaze, thinking back to a particularly glorious beach scene and the conversation that had led up to it.

Cloud, sensing exactly where Sephiroth's thoughts were, socked him in the jaw. He was still pissed about the humiliating beach incident. Sephiroth raised a brow at Cloud and smirked. That made Cloud want to deck him again, but before he could do that, Cloud's hands were pulled into a grasp, blue-green eyes staring at him in awe and adoration. "Marry me," Genesis gasped out.

Genesis had always wanted to punch that smug bastard's face, but he never had a plausible reason to do so. He would only get into trouble with the goddess, and Sephiroth would look even more smug from the sidelines. So he settled for just sparring with the bastard. It wasn't as satisfying though and not just because he tended to lose. There was just something inherently gratifying by delivering a resounding smack to a person's face. Cloud had done that in an instant and without any hesitation. Cloud was his hero and definitely at the top of the list in his good books.

Sephiroth wrapped his arm possessively around Cloud's waist and pulled him to his side. "He's taken," he growled out.

"Hmph, how rude." Genesis sniffed in disdain. Then he turned to Cloud and said, "Well, if you ever tire of that brute, know that my offer still stands."

"There is no way that will ever happen, so you can stop dreaming." Sephiroth snapped at Genesis.

"I fail to see where your confidence comes from. All couples argue and eventually have a falling out. You two are no exceptions. When that happens, and it will, I will happily accept Cloud into my embrace."

"So what if we fight? I'm sure I can always thoroughly persuade Cloud afterwards to see things from my point of view," Sephiroth said in a sultry voice.

Cloud was horrified at the bickering-turned-cock fight. Were they always like this? This couldn't possibly be more embarrassing.

"I can satisfy Cloud a hundred times better than you. After all, I am far more knowledgeable in the arts of pleasure, while you just use your dick!" Genesis argued.

Nope, this just evolved into whole new levels of mortification.

"Boys, please." Jenova chided the two grown men. "That's enough male posturing for one night. I'm sure Cloud is exhausted from his trip. Sephiroth, why don't you show Cloud to his chambers?"

Sephiroth gave a slight bow to Jenova. Cloud copied his actions and paid Jenova the same respect, before leaving.

---

As they walked down the halls, Cloud voiced his opinion of the company they had just left. "That was definitely unexpected. For a goddess, Jenova seems to be laid back and caring towards her Valkyries and even an Einherjar like myself."

"Of course she cares about you. She sees the lives and possible futures of heroes, so by the time you meet her, she would feel that she has known you her whole life. She is a mother to all her Einherjars, who are like her children." Sephiroth spoke of his goddess in a loving voice.

"Speaking of children, what are you, five? For a legendary and fearsome Valkyrie, the two of you acted no better than spoiled brats." Cloud spat out.

"He was trying to snatch you away from me. I was merely defending my stake." Sephiroth said nonchalantly.

"It's not just that. You seemed to be egging him on, like you were provoking him for a reaction. Do you behave like an insufferable ass to everyone?" Cloud questioned, and wondered whether this was considered normal behaviour for his silver-haired friend or whether it was in reaction to the red-haired Valkyrie.

"No. That privilege is reserved for my closest circle of friends. Seeing as you are my boyfriend, rest assured that I will pay special attention to your ass." Sephiroth smirked with a playful glint in his eyes.

"That is not my idea of reassuring," Cloud piped up.

Sephiroth gave a devious smile before he continued, "Genesis and I quarrel all the time, ever since we met, I believe. It is a game to us, to see who can agitate the other the most. When one is immortal, there are few pleasures in life. This ritual of hurling insults and provoking spars provides us entertainment and a necessary reprieve from our otherwise monotonous life. Angeal would usually be the one to intervene before things got too far. He was always the voice of reason in our friendship. This balance was disrupted with his death, which made me highly irritable and sensitive, and I sincerely apologise again for taking out my frustrations on you in the caverns that time." Cloud wanted to argue, but Sephiroth raised his hand, signalling that he would not hear Cloud's justifications of his actions. "The good news is that Angeal has almost fully regenerated and will be reborn soon. I would like you to meet him when he wakes up. He is like an older brother to me and has an abundance of patience and wisdom. Something Genesis and I both lack. I promise he will not be as hot-headed and flirtatious as my melodramatic friend." Sephiroth gave a humorous smile.

"I think I would like that very much." Cloud smiled back.

They arrived in front of a solid oak door, painted in black lacquer with silver trims. Sephiroth unlocked the door and gestured for Cloud to enter. More black and silver decorated the interior. The floor was covered in a plush silver carpet that felt soft under his feet. He wasn't wearing any shoes, for he had been barefooted when he died in his apartment. Sephiroth just willed away his armour which was replaced by casual wear, and went to follow Cloud into the living room. Cloud stared in envy at the extremely handy ability, and proceeded to tell him so. Sephiroth merely chuckled. Cloud continued exploring the place, picking up and studying knick-knacks, before setting them down. Most of the furniture was black, except for the tables and dressers. Black floor-to-ceiling curtains framed the windows. Black couches and a silver coffee table sat in front of a fireplace, above which hung a...was that a flat screen 60-inch television? That was weird. He would have to ask Sephiroth about that later. There was no kitchen, because they had no need to eat. There were two bedrooms, both with attached bathrooms.

The master bedroom had a king-sized four poster bed with black drapes and covered in black silk sheets. Another flat screen TV was mounted on the wall across from the bed. There was a large black walk-in wardrobe on the side. The master bathroom was covered in silver tiles and a large silver framed mirror hung above a black marble sink, which spanned half the width of the bathroom. There was a black tub with silver legs, sitting opposite the mirror and a shower stall with glass panels at the other end. The guest bedroom was similarly decorated, except that it had a queen-sized four poster bed and a smaller bathroom.

Cloud entered the living room again and went to inspect the fireplace. He loved fireplaces. They had one in his home in Nibleheim. He liked to cuddle under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace on cold winter nights. His mother would sing him a lullaby.

As he neared, he noticed a few photo frames sitting on top of the fireplace. With a frown, he picked one up and pointed an accusing finger at Sephiroth. "This isn't my designated chamber is it?"

"Of course it is. What makes you think that it's not?" Sephiroth smiled conspiratorially.

"If this is my place, what is a photo of yourself and your friends doing on this countertop?" Cloud gestured to the incriminating evidence.

"Perhaps I left it as a keepsake for when you got lonely," Sephiroth supplied.

"Oh, you are so full of yourself," Cloud berated.

"I did not deceive you, if that is what you are implying. Jenova said to bring you to your chambers, but failed to specify which one. You have your own apartment located in the Einherjar quarters in the East wing. Then there are the Valkyrie quarters in the West wing, which is where you are now. Einherjars who are unattached will reside in the Einherjar quarters. That means any Valkyrie may choose from this pool of Einherjars to accompany them on their missions. Then there are Einherjars like you, who are chosen by a Valkyrie to partner with them. The chosen Einherjar will have the option of sharing their Valkyrie's chambers, seeing as they will be working closely in the future. You answer only to me and have no obligation to obey the commands of other Valkyries. You will belong exclusively to me." When Sephiroth ended his explanation, Cloud couldn't help but blush when he heard Sephiroth say that he belonged to him. He knew it was said in terms of a work/job context, like the mentor-mentee programmes they had at Shinra. However, Cloud couldn't help that his mind lingered on how intimate it sounded, coming from Sephiroth's lips. Sephiroth smiled knowingly.

Embarrassed that he had been obvious, Cloud quickly asked another question that was nagging his thoughts. "H-How do you power your TV and where does the water for the shower come from? I doubt you have a power company here or plumbing in this place." Cloud waved his hands.

"It is magic," Sephiroth said. When Cloud looked confused, Sephiroth elaborated. "We harness the power from materia to supply our water, heat and electricity. However, we don't use normal materias like Thundaga and Firaga. In order to power the generators, we need to use the Huge materia. I've heard that it is quite rare now on Gaia."

"Yes, there are only three known Huge materias on Gaia," Cloud agreed. "So you're basically using Huge materia to power your household appliances. That sounds rather domestic compared to what Shinra had in mind. Shinra kept the Huge materia to be used in their nuclear missiles."

"Humans are greedy and wasteful creatures. They always hunger for power and dominance. It is not surprising that they would use such an immensely powerful artefact for warfare rather than as a sustainable energy source. The Cetras once used Huge materias too to power their houses and buildings in their community. Not much is left of that magnificent era."

Cloud nodded in wonder at the alternative use for Huge materias. If Shinra had researched on how to harness that energy, they would have a clean energy source that would be more sustainable and healthier than mako. Suddenly, a yawn erupted from Cloud and then he realised how tired he was. He hesitantly asked Sephiroth, "C-can I sleep with you?" Cloud cringed as soon as the question left his mouth. He could have worded that better.

"Of course. You needn't ask." Sephiroth instantly replied with a leer.

"Just sleeping! That means no inappropriate touches or any other activities. Get your mind out of the gutter," Cloud said, affronted.

"I didn't say anything," Sephiroth said in mock hurt. "What sort of activities did you have in mind?"

"I will not dignify that question with an answer," Cloud deadpanned.

Sephiroth chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't do anything...this time. After all, you need to rest after going through such a hectic ordeal. You are welcomed to join me in my bed," he promised. Cloud rolled his eyes at the suggestive comment, but didn't say anything. He was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to collapse on the pillows.

As they settled into bed, Cloud laid back with wide eyes, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep as he was still high-strung from his attempted suicide. Sephiroth, sensing his uneasiness, tentatively wrapped his arms around Cloud in a hug. Soon, Cloud's eyelids drooped and he drifted off to sleep in the warm embrace, with the scent of vanilla and roses surrounding him.

---

Cloud easily settled into his role as an Einherjar. Truth be told, it was quite similar to his life as a SOLDIER. He still received missions, targets to capture or eliminate, depending on their mission objectives. Of course, he also had the added bonus of working alongside his lover. Sephiroth was his Valkyrie and Cloud was his Einherjar. Their life would be made even more perfect once Angeal woke up.

After a century had passed, Jenova had deemed it safe for Valkyries to resume their missions on Gaia. That was where Sephiroth and Cloud were now. They were sent to retrieve a potential Einherjar soul. When they met the fallen warrior, Cloud was surprised and confused about their target, thinking that Jenova had directed them to the wrong soul. For in front of them stood a red lion-wolf creature, with a flaming tail. Then Cloud's eyebrows rose even further when the creature introduced himself as Nanaki, the last guardian of Cosmo Canyon. This was not what Cloud had expected when they were told to retrieve a warrior. Sephiroth chuckled at Cloud's stunned expression, before he proceeded to retrieve Nanaki's soul and temporarily stored the soul in a green jewel encrusted in his breastplate.

With the mission wrapped up, they hung around and perched atop a towering skyscraper and whiled away the hours, people-watching. Cloud had wanted to see how much had changed after 100 years. After the first few teenagers, he immediately regretted his decision. Sephiroth was right. People looked and acted more and more alike as time went on. Even now, everyone was dressed head-to-toe in red, which was currently the fabulous fashion trend. Fans were squealing and falling over themselves around the next "hot" idol actor/singer/musician, or whatever the hell they were these days. From their perch, the people resembled red ants, scurrying to devour the latest fad and gossip. Cloud was glad that he had left this life behind.

Sephiroth noticed his sour mood and spoke up, "What's troubling you, Cloud? You have been wearing an angry, constipated look since we sat up here. Was it something I said, or perhaps was it my techniques in the bedroom that displeased you? I thought you were very receptive to bondage, if the volume of your vocal agreements was anything to go by."

"No, nothing like that! And stop talking about stuff like that in public. What if someone overhears?" Cloud hissed, feeling his cheeks heating up.

"I hardly think anyone can overhear us, since we are sitting 60 storeys up." Sephiroth deadpanned. "What's on your mind? You know you can tell me anything." Sephiroth looked at Cloud questioningly.

Cloud wondered whether he should tell him something so trivial, but then again they shared everything and kept no secrets from one another. So Cloud decided to just speak honestly. "It's nothing important, really. I was just thinking about what you said at the cafe last time, about how humanity merges into a single mass of consciousness, lacking individuality and qualities which make us human in the first place. You were right all those years ago. I mean look at them." Cloud gestured to the tiny red dots below. "It's disgusting."

To Cloud's relief, Sephiroth didn't laugh at him. Instead he now had on a thoughtful look. After some time, Sephiroth said, "I wouldn't say that my view of humanity was correct. It was just one perspective that I had at that point in time. I have a different theory now. Care to hear it?" Cloud nodded. Sephiroth smiled and continued, "It is natural for humans to imitate one another, because it is all part of a baser instinctive of survival. Even animals with simple brain cells go through great lengths to attract a mate. If they are successful, survival of their species is guaranteed. Humans however, are less concerned about survival and more about a sense of belonging, to be accepted and to be loved. They are willing to do anything and everything to receive affection, even going so far as to change their lifestyle and appearance. They are compelled to like the same things, to have the same thoughts and ideals, so that they can be closer to the object of their affections. Just like how I find myself wanting to appeal to you, needing to find ways to keep you by my side forever. You are my Einherjar, my love." Sephiroth finished.

Cloud had never heard a confession before in his life. Sure, he received some gifts and cards from giggling admirers on Valentine's, but everyone did those things on that day. They didn't mean anything. This was different. This was a raw expression of emotions, of affection for him. Gaia, Sephiroth loved him. Well, Cloud knew that he did on an instinctual level, although Sephiroth never returned the words. Oh, but this was so much better. It was a confession said in passionate, brutal honesty which left Sephiroth's feelings wide open and vulnerable. Cloud loved him whole heartedly and promptly told him so.

Sephiroth pulled Cloud into his embrace. His lips brushed against Cloud's as he spoke. "Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you be my Einherjar for all eternity?"

Sephiroth said the word Einherjar with such intensity, that Cloud realised that Sephiroth did in fact tell him that he loved him before. Love was just interchanged with Einherjar. He always called him his Einherjar with the same affection as he was now. He was foolish not to have realised this sooner.

With a well of emotions bubbling up, Cloud answered Sephiroth unhesitatingly, "Always."

---

What was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission ended up so horribly wrong. Words could not express the horror and anguish of what had occurred.

They were sent on another mission to Gaia. This time, it was to recover a relic. Some upstart group was trying to cleanse the world by summoning Meteor. What a joke. How would the complete and utter destruction of Gaia solve anything? Genesis and an Einherjar were on their way to retrieve the White materia, while Sephiroth and Cloud were to retrieve the Black materia. The White materia was supposed to be somewhere up North in The City of Ancients. The Black materia was down South, in a cave system under a village called, Banora. No one lived here anymore. Everyone had long since moved away to the city. It was a good thing, because it meant they could conduct their search unhindered.

The underground cave was very long and winding, with many tunnels branching off to the side. After a few dead ends and backtracking, they made it to a large ancient door in the cave wall, with the design of a single black wing carved into the stone. Sephiroth strolled to the pedestal opposite the door and raised his hand, letting it hover above the device. The blue crystal orbs in the pedestal started to glow, followed by a loud rumbling sound as the two stone panels disappeared into the sides of the cave wall.

They entered this new cavern, which had a small lake all around, reflecting what little bit of light there was onto the walls. At the back of the cavern stood a tall black marble statue of the goddess, with seven midnight wings sprouting from her back. This statue had a vicious, condescending look, as if daring whoever had happened across this cave to take its treasure. In front of the statue was a raised dais and in the middle, rested the Black materia on a column of marble.

As Sephiroth moved to retrieve the Black materia from the dais, a bright flash erupted in the room. Moments later, Sephiroth was cradling a coughing Cloud on the floor. Cloud had moved to block the attack and was hit by a Sovereign Rite. Green tendrils of his life-force were already dissipating into the atmosphere. The perpetrators were now lying on the cave floor in a pool of cooling blood. When Sephiroth realised what had happened, he flew from the dais in a blind rage and cut down every single one of with Masamune. However, it was too late. Cloud was dying and his body would soon disappear into the Lifestream. This wasn't supposed to happen. The humans were not supposed to know about the Sovereign Rite, let alone use it. Sephiroth looked down, feeling hopelessness consume him as he could do nothing but watch his lover slowly deteriorate.

"Hey...what's on your mind?" Cloud choked out.

"You're dying," Sephiroth said sombrely.

"So? I'll just be reborn and then you can come find me so that we can be together again," he chided.

"You might not be reborn!" Sephiroth snapped angrily. "Cloud, you don't understand. You should have let me take the Sovereign Rite. The spell was made for Valkyries. It was never meant to be used on normal souls or Einherjars. I don't know what will happen. I...don't know where your soul will end up, or whether you will be reborn. I'm losing you Cloud and I don't know what to do," Sephiroth said despairingly.

"Don't be silly. Of course I'll be reborn. I guarantee it." Cloud declared stubbornly. "Just make sure you come pick me up when I do, alright?"

Sephiroth didn't know where Cloud got such high assurance from, but he solemnly promised Cloud that he would wait for him no matter how long it took and he would be there for him when he made his appearance. With that, Cloud's body burst into fleeting tendrils of light. For a while, the cavern was alight with emeralds and white, before they disappeared and once again plunged the room into darkness.

---

Sephiroth waited. There was nothing else he could do but wait. Having heard about the mission, Genesis tried to console a distraught Sephiroth, assuring him that all would be fine and that Cloud would be reborn just like Angeal. Sometime after the incident in the cave, Angeal had finally woken up. When he heard about what happened, he joined Genesis in providing support and comfort to their devastated friend.

At first, Sephiroth was receptive of their companionship, thankful that he at least had the support of his friends when he was at his lowest. However, centuries had passed and there were still no signs of Cloud re-emerging. He withdrew from their company and locked himself in his chambers. Their attempts at trying to make him feel better was grating on his nerves and their concern for his well-being made him sick. They didn't understand. No, they couldn't understand the pain he was living with. There was no joy, no hope and all that remained was a sombre morrow.

The heartache he was experiencing was excruciating. It wasn't just a piece of him that died. No, it felt like his entire spirit was ripped out, leaving behind an empty husk. Gaia, he wanted to end his existence. Was this the pain Cloud had felt before? To think that Sephiroth had naively told him to suck it up. He wasn't that tough himself, now that he was experiencing the death of his loved one. Despair was eating whatever was left of him from the inside with each passing day. The darkness in his soul made him want to set the world ablaze in a sea of flames, so that it may consume him and take away his sorrow. However, no matter how much he craved to extinguish his life, he was halted by the promise he made to Cloud. He wouldn't go back on his word and so was forced to trudge through this suffering existence.

Jenova let Sephiroth mope for a few centuries more before she kicked his ass onto Gaia, telling him to stop dragging his pathetic self around the halls and make himself useful. Sephiroth went through the motions, a shell of his former self as he completed each mission with deathly efficacy and cold emotionless eyes. He had reverted to his closed-off, detached self from before he met Cloud. In fact, this was much worse compared to then, because back then he was just a stuck-up ass with a dry sense of humour. This was an entirely different monster. One that Genesis and Angeal didn't know how to approach. Sephiroth had severed all ties and distanced himself from his once comrades. Even Jenova kept silent, save for when issuing missions.

---

Just like that, millennia had passed him by. Sephiroth long ago gave up hope of ever seeing his beloved Cloud. He continued with the drudgery of missions and his pathetic existence, barely acknowledging those around him. His daily routine consisted of nothing more than missions or sleep, a cycle he was cursed to repeat for eternity.

Sephiroth was on his way to Jenova's royal chambers now, to receive yet another mission. He barely paid attention to a word she said, knowing that it would just be another mundane retrieval of something or other. When Jenova finished her briefing, Sephiroth took the manifest and stalked out of the room. He just wanted to get this over with and go to bed. Sleep was the only reprieve he had nowadays. If it was up to him, he would sleep forever so that he could escape the searing pain in his chest. That way, he wouldn't end up breaking his promise to Cloud.

Sephiroth landed on the edge of the Northern Crater. The biting frost and the frigid winds didn't affect him, for he was numb to the cold. There wasn't much that could affect him these days. The mountain was an enormous crater littered with jagged peaks and steep cliffs. Anyone attempting to scale the mountain would be either foolish or suicidal, or both. A scar left from a previous summoning of Meteor. That time, they had been lucky to stop it with Holy, before the whole of Gaia was obliterated. Still, it was a close call.

Sephiroth was surprised he was supposed to retrieve anything from here. It was a frozen wasteland as far as the eye can see. How could anything possibly survive out here? A flicker of white caught his peripheral. Visibility was poor due to the heavy blizzard, but Sephiroth thought he could see a figure approaching. When the figure was about 30 feet in front of him, he could finally make out its shape.

Someone, he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman from the clothes, but he knew they were human. Everyone tended to bundle up similarly in this climate. The person was wrapped up in thick, white furs and a white cloak with the hood pulled up. Tinted goggles and a white scarf protected his face. Gloves and boots were securely fastened, which were also unsurprisingly white. His completed look made him blend in seamlessly with the landscape.

Sephiroth took a step forward, but then stopped and frowned. Something wasn't right. After deliberating for a while, he realised that this was not a soul. The person wasn't dead. He recalled Jenova saying something about retrieving a soul at all costs. So he was authorised to use deadly force on a living person? That was a first, he thought. No matter, the outcome will be the same whether they are living or not.

Sephiroth unsheathed Masamune, the person in white drew his own sword. Sephiroth rushed the stranger and was surprised when his attack was parried. He jumped back and then tried again. Black and white clashed in a whirlwind of strikes and thrusts, with the howling wind accompanying the sounds of clanging metal. They were evenly matched. Sephiroth was growing irritable. He hated the white for it represented purity, innocence, happiness, bliss and love. Everything he was not. It was as if the colour was mocking him, a person whose heart had long since burned away into a singed black lump. For once, his battle armour accurately reflected his inner feelings. He could sense the white laughing at him. He wanted to wipe that smirk of its face. He put more force into his next strike and brought down a slash on the white figure. The stranger barely managed to deflect it, Masamune redirected to become a glancing blow. A long tear ran from the hood of the cloak right down to the middle. The goggles cracked and fell to the snow-covered ground, along with remnants of the scarf, revealing familiar blue eyes. Sephiroth gaped in shock and disbelief.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." A gentle voice dripped with nostalgia and affection. Then, in a scolding tone, "What took you so long?"

When Sephiroth failed to respond, the man continued. "I've been waiting here for ages. I even cleared all the monsters in this area and you still didn't arrive. I thought I'd die of hypothermia before you ever showed up."

Sephiroth still stood with an astonished expression. "I can't believe it. I've single-handedly stunned the great and magnificent Sephiroth speechless, with the return of my awesome self. Oh, I wish I had a camera. Genesis is not going to believe this."

At the mention of his red-haired friend, Sephiroth woke up from his stupor and finally said, "I'm not even going to comment on your inappropriate quote of Loveless...Cloud Strife." A smirk graced his features.

"Hey! It's not that bad. You have no room to talk since you used them all the time. Besides, this one actually fits the situation." Cloud huffed. Sephiroth closed the distance and embraced him in his arms, showering his face with fleeting kisses. He was happy to be able to hold the love of his life again.

"Quit it. That tickles." Cloud giggled out. Sephiroth ceased his attentions and looked into blue depths. "I love you. I've missed you." Sephiroth breathed.

"I've missed you too, you jerk. You made me wait up here in a freezing tundra. That is definitely very ungentlemanly." Cloud said half-angrily, half-jokingly.

"Why in Gaia would you wait for me in this goddess-forsaken wasteland? I'm sure there are warmer climates out there," he questioned, arching a speculative brow.

"Well it's not like you have a phone number, or a phone for that matter, for me to call you with. This was the only way I could think of. To put myself in the most dangerous, inhospitable environment and hope that it kills me, either by the beasts or the weather, whichever came first. And I almost had to resort to the second method, you prick. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to have to freeze your ass off?" Cloud ranted like an angry chocobo, with ruffled feathers, or frozen in this case.

"Is that so? I guess I'll have to warm it up again." Sephiroth teased, eyes glinting.

"You are so full of yourself. Is that all you can think of? I thought you'd say something mushy and romantic at our long-awaited reunion. Why do I even bother?" Cloud huffed into the air.

Sephiroth lifted Cloud's chin and swooped down in a crushing kiss. He let a millennia's worth of longing, frustration and burning emotions pour into the kiss. They continued even when their lungs burned, neither wanting to part. After a while, both came up gasping for air, cheeks flushed both from the cold and from the heated kiss.

"Cloud Strife, you are the most stubborn and insane person I have ever met. My life has changed ever since our first encounter. You barged in like a raging storm, barraging me with a flurry emotions, leaving me with no choice but to be swept away by your currents. Your presence affects me like a rushing rapid. I feel the highest euphoria when you are near, and the lowest withdrawals when you are away. You have captured my entire being so completely, that I would be adrift without you beside me. My life without you would be but an empty husk. You are my light, my love and I would be honoured to have you as my Einherjar again, if you are so willing." Sephiroth ended his passionate confession with a small smile and adoring eyes.

"That was...wow. " That was all Cloud could get out, awed to hear such long and passionate declaration.

Then, Sephiroth's features lifted into a devious smirk. "Is that mushy enough for you?"

"Yes, you idiot. Although, I wished you'd kept you snarky remarks until we returned to Asgard." Cloud wasn't sure whether to be happy with the sudden heartfelt confession, or to be mad at Sephiroth for ruining the moment just as quickly.

"You still haven't answered my question. Does that mean you accept my proposal to become my Einherjar?" Sephiroth asked with slight uncertainty.

"Isn't it obvious? That's the whole reason I came here, freezing off my extremities in the process. You had better take me with you or else I'll Blizzaga your balls off." Cloud threatened vehemently.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes at his lover's fiery outburst. Some things never changed. "I would still like a verbal confirmation." His voice turned serious and low. "Cloud Strife, will you be my Einherjar for all eternity?"

Cloud gave him a brilliant smile and breathed, "Always."

---

A/N: [Spoiler] It's a happy ending! [End Spoiler] Or not a spoiler if you've already read the fic. Anyway, I find that FF7 and VP mesh together really well, especially since FF7 already makes several references to Norse mythology. Thanks for reading and constructive feedback is welcomed.