Humanity and Shinra

Aeris Gainsborough, head of the Shinra Upper Plate Architectural and Design Department, sat at her carved wooden desk on the 64th floor, basking in the hollow atmosphere of boredom. There was, to be blunt, nothing to do. No work, no endless stacks of forms to sign, none of her workers finding problems that she needed to fix, there was just....silence.
She absently brushed some lint off of her ivory white suit, with a skirt bottom that reached her ankles. She looked like the perfect business woman with her hair tied back in a braid, a pink ribbon playing the role of the cherry on the sundae.
She noticed that a white envelope had been placed on her desk for the first time. It was the *only* thing on her desk besides her name block, and a few other things that served of little or no relevance. Curiously, she carefully opened the envelope, to find a single piece of paper concealed inside it, a letter.

Dear Aeris,
Hello sweetie! This is your mother, Elmyra, I just wanted to say that my vacation in Sector 7 is turning out great, and I wanted to see how you were doing. I know that a lot of Shinra people are evil, so I hope your taking care of yourself. I heard on the news that Avalanche blew up another reactor, I hope you're alright. Well, I don't have much time left to write, gotta go! I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,
Your Mother

P.S: When are you going to get yourself a boyfriend? Surely there must be *someone* in that infernal building?

Aeris blushed slightly at that last comment. Actually, there *was* someone in the corporation that she had a fondness for, very much in fact. Perhaps too much.
Aeris sighed dreamily as her thoughts wandered to Sephiroth, the prize of Shinras SOLDIER department. His long silver hair that seemed as soft, and maybe even finer, than silk. His rippling muscles which were evident even covered by the trench coat that he wore. His angelic face, which in Aeris's mind was perfect in every way imaginable.
Aeris sighed as she continued to dream about the man that she loved. She let her head fall into her soft hands, and continued to dream as she stared into space. He was so beautiful...
With a soft creak, the door to Aeris's office opened, and, ironically, Sephiroth was the man who stepped through it. He was carrying a file folder in his left arm, and holding the knob with his right. He trodded forward. "Miss Gainsborough?"
Aeris was jolted out of her daydream and glanced at the source of the sound. Her eyes widened to the point where it would appear they were going to pop, and she bolted upright so fast that the force flung her chair to a tilt backward, but she didn't notice.
"Sephiroth! I...whoooaa!" Aeris said as her arms began to flail wildly in different directions. She fell backward while still on her chair and let out a soft "oof!" as her descent was halted by the blue carpeted floor.
Sephiroth peered down at her from over her desk and said, with a note of concern evident in his voice, "Are you all right?"
Aeris glanced up at Sephiroth, and, feeling extremely embarrassed, gave him a stiff nod and a bright smile. Sephiroth seemed satisfied, although in his mind he was fighting back a snickering fit as he offered her one of his gloved hands to pull her up. Aeris took it gratefully.
Aeris hoped that Sephiroth interpreted her scarlet face as a sign of embarrassment, rather than what it really was. He was holding her hand! She stared into his eyes with her emerald greens, gazing at his eyes of the same color. Sephiroths however were lighter, and, Aeris thought, *much* more beautiful.
"Thanks, Sephiroth." Aeris said as she sat back into her chair that she picked up off the floor.
Sephiroth gave a very slight bow, and then replied,"No problem Ma'am."
After Aeris had finally regained her composure, and when her cheeks stopped flushing, she spoke again, Sephiroth waited patiently, but seemed to be slightly annoyed, Aeris silently scolded herself.
"Now, um, Sephiroth, hello," She said, giving him a warm smile,"What is it?" She tried to sound intimidating, but failed miserably.
Sephiroth gave another slight bow, and then spoke again,"Well ma'am, Reeve, the head of Urban Development, has asked me to give you the new layout for a new SOLDIER training facility in the outer region of Sector 4. I've reviewed it with him, and I think it fits, but your the expert here ma'am, and we wanted your opinion."
Aeris's cheeks turned pink again as she opened the file, there she saw a normal design for a SOLDIER facility on the edge of the plate's building boundaries. The area was level and there would be no need to insert any plumbing or electricity pipes/wires, they were already there from a previous buildings ruins before it was razed by terrorists some years ago. She surveyed the plan, and the measurements seemed pretty good. It was only going to to be a one story building, so no structural supports were needed for higher floors. Aeris thought it looked pretty good.
"I don't see a problem with it."
Sephiroth gave her a small smile, then picked up the folder and turned and headed toward the door. Aeris's mind was screaming for him to stay and talk, about anything, she didn't want him to leave. Not only would she be bored again, but she would also miss an opportunity to maybe get to know him better so, in the long run, she would have a better chance of winning his heart.
Sephiroth suddenly stopped, as if reading her thoughts, and turned to walk back toward her. "oh, and one more thing." He started.
"What's that?" She asked.
"This," He said, pulling out a small envelope,"Is the estimated costs for building, complete with a detailed blueprint of the facility, Reeve wanted you to review it too."
Sephiroth once again turned around, but stopped when the door flew open, and in stepped Scarlett, head of the weapons division. Sephiroth saluted.
"At ease." Scarlett declared.
Scarletts lips curled into a seductive smile as she stepped closer to him.
"Now Sephiroth, you don't have to be so formal with little ol' me..." She said, in a tone so sweet it made even Aeris want to vomit. Speaking of Aeris, she was gripping the armrests of her chair so hard her knuckles were turning white. The blood that coursed through her veins was boiling with unrestrained fury at Scarletts little escapades.
"Maybe you and I can get together sometime and go out for dinner...."
Sephiroth gave Scarlett a smirk and said, in a slightly quieter voice, "Maybe..."
It was all Aeris could do to keep from clawing Scarletts eyes out at this particular moment. Sephiroth turned and left.
Scarlett meanwhile was wearing a big, sappy grin. "I think he likes me." She said.
Like hell he does you lying, stinking-

* * *

Sephiroth walked down the hall, thinking to himself. Maybe....he thought again as he smirked (again ^-^), When hell freezes over, he finished. Unknown to Aeris, he had known about her little "crush" on him for quite some time. Sometimes he might make a nice smile at Scarlett, or another female Aeris hated, just to tease her a little. It was cruel, and he hated to do it to a friend. He had to admit, however, it was hilarious to see how Aeris reacted when this happened.
Sephiroth also knew, however, that Aeris usually thought he was just trying to humor them so he wouldn't get in trouble, because most of the higher up women, with the sole exception of Aeris, had *very* big egos, and weren't afraid to give someone a demotion or pay cut for tarnishing them. It was sad really.
Sephiroth suddenly noticed Reno, the red haired second in command of the Turks, passing by him.
"Hey Sephiroth, what's up?"
"Oh, nothing much Reno, I'm just giving these back to Reeve."
"That's cool, hey, when you're done, you wanna come to the lounge? You look like you could use a break." The crimson haired one replied.
"You always say that, but, alright, what the hey." Sephiroth said, and with that, he headed onward to Reeves office.
Reeve wasn't in his office now, so Sephiroth just dropped the folder on Reeves extremely messy desk, pausing for a moment to observe the room. The room was smaller than Sephiroth thought it would be, With huge windows to the rear of the room. Sephiroth silently wondered if it was by Reeves will, or someone elses that Reeve had such a small office. He shrugged, and headed for the door.
He put his hand on the knob, but was surprised when it moved by itself, and the door suddenly swung open, hitting him square in the head.
"OOF!" Sephiroth grunted as he staggered backward, holding his head in his forehead with his left hand.
"Sephiroth!? Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!" Came a voice that was not unfamiliar.
"That's okay Mrs Gainsborough." Sephiroth replied, the pain had subsided, and Sephiroth was fine.
"Are you alright!?" Aeris asked.
"I'm fine." Sephiroth remarked, brushing a strand of hair from his face.
Aeris inwardly sighed with relief. Sephiroth was alright, that was a good thing. Of course, how could *she* ever manage to hurt him?
"I'll try to be more careful next time ma'am." Sephiroth said.
"Oh, don't! I-it was entirely my fault really, I should have been more careful. H-how about I treat you to a snack at the lounge? I'm bored out of my mind anyway." Aeris added with a smile, Sephiroth chuckled.
"Alright."

* * *
Aeris felt like she was walking on the clouds (no pun intended) by just walking with Sephiroth down the hall. She felt as if any worry she ever had was light years away. She sighed contently, trying not to let Sephiroth notice anything.
It wasn't long before they reached the lounge. Sephiroth went in first, holding the door open for Aeris. What greeted them was quite a shock indeed.
Reeve, the head of Urban Development, had his face buried in his hands, sitting at a brown coffee table in the corner. Rude was obviously disturbed, as he sat across from Reeve, his collar unbuttoned and his tie hanging limp around the nape of his thick neck, clutching a bottle of brandy, sorrow evident on his hardened features even through the sunglasses. Tseng and Reno stood by a vending machine, both sets of eyes downcast to the floor, looking as if they had each been given a bullet through the chest. Aeris was startled.
"What's wrong?" She asked curiously.
Tseng, only now taking remote notice of Aeris's presence in the room, slowly lifted his head to meet her gaze. Aeris was further shocked to see tears brimming along the edges of his eyes, little by little coming to form the human made rain that falls from the eyes, and to the ground, but Tseng forced them at bay for a little while longer.
"They're gonna.....drop the Sector 7 plate."
Aeris's expression turned from curiosity to utter horror in that of a millisecond.
"They WHAT!?"
Tsengs eyes grew even more watery as he repeated his statement, "They're gonna drop the Sector 7 plate, the Sector 7 slums...will be crushed." Tseng said, his voice barely holding back sobs.
Aeris felt tears rising from inside her as well. She forced a glance at Sephiroth, who was frozen in a look of shock, mouth agape.
"Why?" Sephiroth asked, finally.
Reno suddenly looked up at them, his hands jammed in his pockets, "It's because of that damned AVALANCHE group."
"AVALANCHE? What doe this have to do with them?" Asked Aeris. Sephiroth also seemed curious.
"It was recently found out that AVALANCHE's hideout resides in Sector 7, so President Shinra is just going to drop the plate and be done with it." Replied Tseng.
Aeris was enraged. This was all just to get rid of a handful of terrorists!? Shinra was going to sacrifice thousands of lives just so they don't lose any more money, how dare they?
The Turks were suddenly called to President Shinras office, and Reeve decided to work to get his mind off of what had just been learned. That left Aeris alone. She walked slowly to the window and peered down at Sector 7, she began to cry slowly and silently for the people in the slums. For not the first time in her life, Aeris felt helpless, completely and utterly helpless. She wanted to help, but she couldn't do a thing, Shinra would kill her if she did.
Aeris felt a hand on her shoulder, startled, she turned to see who it was, and was suddenly hit with the realization that Sephiroth hadn't left with the others. She felt a sudden warmth flow through her being at his touch, and instantly relaxed from her tense position. She couldn't help but smile at him.
"Are you alright?" Sephiroth asked her.
"I'll be alright," She said, reassuringly, "I just feel so helpless, and even though I don't know anyone in the Sector 7 slums, I-" Aeris stopped abruptly as a thought hit her like a cannonball.
"My Mother!" She shrieked.
"What about her?" Sephiroth asked hesitantly.
"She's in the Sector 7 slums on a vacation!" Sephiroths eyes widened in disbelief, and Aeris felt a surge of tears flooding her senses. Without stopping to think, Aeris threw her head onto Sephiroth's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Nothing she could do would stop the tears, she stayed in this state for quite some time, Sephiroth just held her there.
Finally, Aeris stopped. She immediately realized what she had done, and turned bright red, but, try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to pry away from him. Sephiroth brought her chin up, and silently whispered, "It's alright Aeris, are you okay?"
"Y-yes, but it's just the fact that my mother is the only one who ever loved me, and I don't want to lose her."
"But your wrong Aeris."
"Huh?"
Sephiroth smiled, a smile that melted her heart. A smile that reached in, and seemed to blanket the fires of her sorrow, and douse them.
"Because, Aeris....I....love you too. I'm only sorry it took me so long to realize it."
And with that, Sephiroth gave a Aeris a passionate kiss on her soft lips, and right then and there Aeris couldn't have cared if the world exploded, Sephiroth loved her, and she loved him. She couldn't have been happier. Fresh new tears streamed down her smooth cheeks, tears of joy.
Sephiroth reluctantly broke the kiss, and the pools of emerald green that were Aeris's eyes overflowed at the sight of Sephiroths handsome face.
"Don't worry about your mother, Aeris," Sephiroth said, "We'll think of something. I promise."

Authors Note: Yeah, I know this isn't very good, the next part will be better. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!