55/100: Lost. Sephiroth/Genesis.
I've always wondered what Sephiroth would've been like as a child... in Banora... with Genesis and Angeal milling around.
Warnings: teenage angst, possible OOC Sephiroth if you think he's always been stolid. And implied voyeurism.
Lost
Ignition
What had started as a simple walk to clear his mind had turned into an adventure. And it drew on and on until wonder dissolved into a frantic search for the surface. Every dark threshold led the way to another gloomy cavern. The only light resonated from the green mako crystals that grew like pillars from the flooded ground.
Without the sun, or civilisation, Sephiroth had no idea of how long he had been down here. Two hours at the least, he could guess. His shoes and socks were sodden; every step was uncomfortable. Cold was running through him with clawed fingers like nothing else he had ever felt before.
He was tired, tired from running into monsters and having to fight them with nothing but fists until he could slip away. He had learned to stay away from the columns of pale green light, as the strongest of the monsters jumped out of there every time he passed.
Lost, confused and exhausted, the youngster inside him that had been forced to hide deep within was leaking through more and more with each fruitless step in the search for safety. Desperation was taking form.
"Sephiroth?" called a voice with an accent he was overly relieved to hear. Though a lot more refined and cultured than the others that lived in this tiny village, it still possessed the twist of vowels that spoke of a knowledge of the terrain.
Sephiroth turned suddenly, feeling the tie in his hair slipping loose again. He didn't bother tightening it. He liked how his hair felt, flowing freely behind his shoulders. Dark green eyes blinked as a mop of red hair could be seen just over a pile of jagged rocks.
Relief turned to nervousness. The one to have found him was the very one who made the silver haired teenager go on this little escapade in the first place. He felt strange, watching the boy and his dark haired friend; the things they got up to when they thought no one was looking.
Deep down, Sephiroth knew it wasn't right to watch them, hidden from sight, as their senses were rendered near useless at the climax of the encounter. He knew it was wrong, for whatever reason, but he was just too enchanted to look away.
The combination of such clear azure and vivid crimson captivated Sephiroth as the only colours in Midgar were dull and lifeless. He had long grown bored of the emerald of mako.
Genesis, the name he had been introduced as, the eldest son of the mayor of the village – Rhapsodos – and most notably, a boy in the care of Hollander. Therefore, a supposed enemy, if Sephiroth fell for Hojo's attempts at indoctrination, and his own feelings, as wild and incomprehensible as they were, had no effects.
"I knew you'd be here," he smiled, white teeth gleaming in the strange light. The legs of his black jeans were equally as sodden, though his movements were still as fluid and lithe as any other time, especially in the private company of the other boy… Angeal.
Sephiroth stepped forwards. Frozen toes felt more of the uneven ground beneath the murky green water than before. As he frowned in bewilderment to the statement, Genesis' expression grew wider.
"I come here a lot too… It's a good place to escape."
"It's a hard place to escape," Sephiroth replied, a little more snappish than he would've liked. It was his instinct to be hostile when vulnerable – to not show any weaknesses whatsoever. But Genesis just laughed and continued closer. If Sephiroth didn't know better, it was like he understood.
"The first few times." He then stopped, staring with those beautiful eyes, silently urging Sephiroth to follow him. After all this time alone in the dark, longing for daylight and the open sky, Sephiroth didn't mind spending just a little more time down here… with Genesis. This was the only time the pair had been alone; any other, Angeal was there like a second shadow behind his flamboyant and verbose friend and lover, or either scientist was playing the unenthusiastic chaperone.
"Everything is a little scary when doing it for the first time, so smile, hmm?"
Smile… such a thing was alien upon his features. He had never done so since he could remember. Between training and treatments there was no time for anything that allowed a smile. Still, with Genesis' softly spoken words with that voice that was only slightly deeper than his own, a sign of the year that separated their births, Sephiroth tried. It seemed to have the desired effect. Genesis' eyes sparkled with approval.
"You're so pretty," he whispered quietly. But not quietly enough. Genesis' face straightened, the beam deserting. Instantly, Sephiroth was cursing himself silently for the uncharacteristic outbreak. Some things shouldn't be said, boy. He could hear Hojo's voice grating painfully in his mind, echoing from ear to ear.
"Thank you."
Sephiroth's green eyes snapped up to see Genesis closer than before, ever before, his face solemn and so very, very handsome for all of the boyish androgyny of his soft features. They would sharpen out over time, to make him as stunning as the models and actors on the posters that decorated the liveliest of Midgar's streets.
A warm hand cupped over his cheek. He shuddered under the touch, the intimacy like nothing else he could ever remember. No one touched Sephiroth. No one dared… but Genesis did. Was it bravery or ignorance? Or that understanding again?
"You're beautiful." Genesis' azure eyes were soft and deep and utterly mystifying. The strength of his emotions bewildered Sephiroth, who had only ever seen passive negativity or caught glimpses of passion in any literature he was able to slip into sidelines.
The silver haired boy was so caught up in his wonder and musings, he nearly missed Genesis' approach. But he was too highly strung to not notice the sudden invasion of his space – again, something that was never done by those who knew him. "But… Ang-"
"What about him?" Genesis asked patiently, tilting his head but not moving back. The scent of apples and spice was intense; distracting. "He won't be jealous, or angry or whatever you're thinking of… I just want to kiss you." He started moving closer again. And just as they met, Sephiroth's mind flared back into sense.
"Why?"
Genesis sighed inwardly, shrinking a little back inside himself. Although a year older, and undergoing the rapid changes to his body, he was only slightly taller than Sephiroth. "Because I want to?" he offered as his explanation. Surprisingly, introversion worked its way across his face.
Sephiroth just swallowed the lump in his throat, perplexed at the burning sensation in his cheeks. Then the touch came, a gentle brush of lips that tingled throughout his body, igniting every sensitised nerve. The fingers that framed his face applied more pressure, drawing him closer, tilting him back that inch's difference in size.
Opening his mouth, Sephiroth let himself be washed away in the storm of Genesis' fervour, as tamed as it may have been compared to what he had seen over the days he'd been in Banora. Then he attempted to respond, giving back to Genesis what he was receiving. One long fingered hand reached up to thread deeply into those mesmerising cinnamon locks. The other gripped tightly to a hip, holding on for stability, his own strength inadvertently pulled it forwards.
Genesis lips curved; he pulled away. His eyes reopened and glistened with achievement and mirth. "Someone's eager."
He stepped away but kept a firm grip upon Sephiroth's hand. The younger was grateful, being as fearful of falling as he was… although that one aspect didn't seem too intimidating anymore.
"There's time enough for the rest," Genesis smiled widely, a light chirpiness in his voice. It sounded like the closest thing to music Sephiroth had ever heard. Then he turned and made to leave. Sephiroth followed, smiling the first natural, genuine smile he could ever recall smiling.
However, the next day, Hojo had him on the helicopter back to Midgar. Time wouldn't wait. But Sephiroth swore he would.