[A/N: the Spring part of the 'All Year Round Falling In Love' series with Chaos [gothicdragon752] for Global Sephesis Day! Egh, this took me two tries before coming up with this… Wutai's flower festival is a total rip-off of Japan's cherry blossom-viewing season ^--^

Enjoy~!]

All Year Round Falling In Love: Spring

Melting of the Ice

Brilliant blue skies presided over a bustling city filled with people, natives and foreigners alike, and a landscape drenched in sunlight. White fluffy clouds drifted lazily across the ocean of the heavens, trailing wispy remnants like the swirls of snowy blossoms that chased the breeze in the streets below. One such petal danced through its brethren on the sharply grey road and was suddenly swept up, over the raised walkway, past ebony and scarlet wooden buildings as it followed the persuasive touch of the wind and blithely ignored the glances of wonder it attracted in its final beautiful swansong.

Impossibly far it flew, almost as if on invisible wings as it was borne on the breeze, scooting almost on the earth before it lifted and glid on to whatever destination had been decided for it. It blew through wide, busy streets and finally to a small group of men exiting a building on the outskirts of town; up it swept, to eye level, before a hand snatched it from mid-air. Slim fingers opened hesitantly, afraid to let their prize disappear once more as Sephiroth turned to present the blossom to the man at his side.

"Look, Gen," he said as the redhead gently took the offering and held it up, appreciating the simple elegance of pearl-white petals tinged with softest pink against golden sunlight.

"These flowers truly are beautiful, wouldn't you say?" Genesis replied, studying the blossom. His cerulean eyes always had found joy in appreciating art and beauty – he said that was part of the reason he had chosen Sephiroth – and coming to this annual festival dedicated entirely to the wonder of new life, the opening of buds, had put him in his element. Asides from when he was fighting or engaging in far less honourable activities with Sephiroth – or a mixture of both – Genesis was never happier than when he found some spark of glory to admire, whether it be in music, poetry, literature, or as now in simple natural wonder.

"They are," Sephiroth agreed. "I understand why so many people come to see them every year."

The festival celebrating the much-awaited opening of flowers was held annually in Wutai. The event was participated in all over the country, and those who did not have the trees near their homes unfailingly travelled to see them and joy in their fragile beauty. The delicate ivory flowers on their ebony branches only bloomed for a few weeks each season, and when they did it was a time to rejoice; they were a herald of spring and new beginnings, a sign that winter's harsh grip was loosening on the land.

As so many people turned out to view the blossoms, the event had turned into a huge social event over the years. Visitors came from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the fleeting flowers as well as to experience the occasion; it was necessary to book a space for the day weeks or even months in advance, and it was only due to the already keenly-felt influence of the ShinRa Corporation here that the group the two First Class SOLDIERs were with had been able to come at all. They accompanied a party comprised of around ten ShinRa executives and managers; Sephiroth didn't know the names and positions of all of them, but didn't really care. He took orders and followed them; that was all he needed to know.

The president's teenage son was here, ice cold eyes blinking in the vivid sunlight glancing off his platinum blonde hair. Sephiroth had never much liked the boy; those pale eyes flickered all too often at Genesis, who had let the blossom drift away now, for the General's liking.

With him was that unpleasant woman, Scarlet, Head of Weapons Development. Crimson lips pulled up into a fake smile, she flashed too-white teeth at Sephiroth as he glanced in her vague direction, and he repressed a shudder. Too many times had she tried – and failed, miserably – to seduce him, never seeming to take the hint that he found her repulsive. He didn't take it personally that she targeted him so; she'd screw anything with two legs and the right equipment, and she'd tried her luck with every man here.

As the group proceeded on up the street, heading for a city park where their spot for the day's blossom viewing had been booked, Sephiroth glanced over the other attendees and found no one else particularly noticeable; this excursion was just a small reward for high-ranked employees who had wished to come.

Angeal and Zack had been invited – the puppy more as an addition to Angeal than as a guest in his own right – but the elder had politely refused, claiming that he had to stay for his students but probably worrying more about what Zack's behaviour would be like in the unfamiliar setting; he was unpredictable, to say the least.

The streets were filled with streams of people passing this way and that, visitors staring around with awe clearly distinguishable from unruffled residents who smiled indulgently at the wide-eyed foreigners. The flower-opening was certainly an overwhelming event for the first time, and though it never lost its sparkle veterans of the occasion could look at those newcomers and remember their own initial excitement with nostalgic warmth.

That almost childlike enthusiasm was reflected in Genesis' eyes now as they reached the elaborate gates to their destination, thrown wide to allow access to a sprawling, verdant park comprised of a mixture of emerald grass and clean gravel paths, and of course the blooming trees with their flowers hanging like ephemeral clouds on sable branches.

An attendant met them at the entrance and with a deep bow led them to a stand of trees around five minute's walk from the gate, all the way speaking in an accented tone about the celebrations.

"The festival is good this year… the flowers are more – there are more flowers," he corrected himself, "than usual. Many people have come, but you have a place here with few others…"

He bowed again and waved for them to seat themselves on white blankets already set with food in anticipation of their arrival. Sephiroth followed Genesis to a separate spot apart from the others – especially Scarlet – and elegantly lowered himself to the ground as Genesis plunked down and gazed in wonder at the surrounding trees.

Sephiroth watched him with a faint smile, admiring how the sunlight glinted off his copper hair, radiated off pale skin, and thought that no mere flower could ever outshine his fiery love. After a second or two, Genesis noticed he was under surveillance and turned to meet Sephiroth's eyes with one eyebrow raised.

"What?" he asked, and Sephiroth smiled a little more.

"Nothing," he replied. "I was just comparing the flowers to you."

Genesis' eyes narrowed a little but he blinked and smirked, leaning close. "How do I rate then?"

"They don't stand a chance," Sephiroth said. His lover smirked and was about to come ever closer until Sephiroth cleared his throat and nodded infinitesimally towards the rest of the group in plain view. Genesis' gaze hardened and he backed away swiftly, anger flaring in sapphire orbs, his whole body set in irritation. Sephiroth sighed and looked away.

He didn't like having to keep their relationship such a closely-guarded secret, and Genesis knew that; he also knew the reasons why. Though at first the possibility of being with each other fully had far outweighed the risk of being caught, the punishment now would cause them both to lose everything, including – though he hated to think it – each other. Genesis' nature was such that he would be quick to apportion blame and slow to revoke it; and Sephiroth knew that with the upheaval of being thrown out of ShinRa, he would never stand for the redhead's vicious comebacks and they would be torn apart forever.

So they hid, confining their attraction and its relieving to their own private residences or locations where they could never be found. It had been close sometimes; too often had the intercom sent its warning buzz or one or the other of their telephones rung at precisely the wrong moment but with enough time to prevent discovery; too often had some patrolling soldier missed by barely a minute something that would give him a very interesting story to take back to their superiors.

It left both Genesis and Sephiroth with a constant wariness, yet the redhead believed it added an invigorating sense of danger to their trysts while Sephiroth merely feared the recriminations ever more.

With an irritated exhalation of breath, Genesis pushed himself to his feet. Sephiroth looked up.

"Where are you going?"

"Over there," came the terse reply with a flick of auburn hair before Genesis strode away out of sight through the trees, leaving Sephiroth looking after him, hurt. After a moment, the General shook his head, gracefully stood and followed; if he wanted to make things right, he had to do it now, before Genesis had time to nurture his anger into fury and bitterness.

Slipping between the rough trunks of the trees, Sephiroth breathed in the sweet scent of the flowers and blinked slowly. He opened his eyes to find Genesis leaning against a tree in a tiny clearing barely four paces across yet shielded by unusually close-packed trunks from any prying eyes. For a moment, he said nothing and waited for Genesis to air his discontent; he didn't want to presume over the redhead's grievances at this moment in time.

Genesis didn't look at him but instead gazed at a clump of blossoms opposite him, a clear hardness in his eyes rendering them similar to sparkling jewels.

"I'm sick of this, Seph," he said quietly, not moving an inch, "I'm sick of having to keep you secret, of being kept secret." Now he glanced towards the General, who was motionless as he listened. "I just want to show them all what I have, I want to show them that you're mine. I hate it when other people look at you – like that woman, like predators – only I should be able to look at you like that!"

He had unfolded his arms to gesture as he spoke, so full of movement and passion and life that Sephiroth wanted nothing more than to take him, right there, no matter who might hear; but he knew that would be a wrong move.

Instead, he went to where Genesis stood and carefully came close to him, slipping both arms around the redhead's waist and staring deep into softening azure eyes.

"And you know I feel the same way for you," he murmured, forcing Genesis to look back at him. "But it can't work like that. You know what ShinRa would do—"

"Fuck ShinRa," Genesis interjected, his fingers unconsciously threading through Sephiroth's hair. "Why can't we just leave them? What's stopping us?"

The very thought, though it had crossed Sephiroth's mind before, sent a shudder through him. He'd been born and raised in ShinRa; he'd known nothing else. Leaving the company would leave a gaping hole in his life. But would Genesis be able to fill that void?

The silver-haired man exhaled slowly and buried his face in the curve of Genesis' shoulder, for a moment wishing simply to forget everything and lose himself in the redhead's embrace; but there were still matters to be addressed.

"I don't know, Gen," he said softly into the other's neck. "But for now, can you be content with this?"

There was a long silence broken only by the sighing of the blossoms in the breeze and the muted conversations of other festival-goers. Finally, Genesis nodded and rested his head down on Sephiroth's shoulder.

"I suppose so," he said. "But," he added as Sephiroth lifted his head to meet his eyes, "you'd better make it worth my while."