~!~

CHAPTER 2

~!~

A sigh.

"Genesis, calm down."

Angeal spoke, but his voice sounded defeated.

"No, I will not! I want her to understand."

The red haired man then turned to the person he mentioned and continued on his lecture about Loveless. She wisely listened.

The Dark General shook his head, while the man beside him merely stood quietly as a ghost.

"This is not how I wanted to spend my free time."

Angeal groaned audibly. Sephiroth looked over, raising a silver eyebrow.

"How would you spend your day, then?"

"I don't know…"

The man pondered, running his finger over his lined up stubble.

"Maybe get some work done."

He continued, his fingers lazily tracing the short hairs in contemplation.

"Maybe relax in my room with a drink and TV."

Sephiroth listened as he watched Genesis feverously prove his point to one of his fangirls.

"I can concur with you there, Angeal."

Sephiroth spoke, closing his eyes in annoyance. They always ended up giving in to Genesis persuasions.

~More like begging~

Sephiroth snorted mentally. His red haired friend could be so obnoxious sometimes.

"The line's moving. Come on, Sephiroth."

Angeal's deep voice broke the general's thoughts, and he quickly followed his friends inside.

Being a SOLDIER meant that they always had the front seats, and today was no exception. Both Sephiroth and Angeal wished that they could choose the seats in the back row and play cards during the play.

Sephiroth wasn't sure about Angeal, but he almost knew every line from the script.

~Damn Genesis for beating this boring thing into my head~

Speaking of beating.

"I thought that Zackary was accompanying us today."

The Silver General knew he had sneered with jealousy at the 2nd Class SOLDIER's absence, and he didn't care. Angeal sighed, obviously envious as well.

"Lucky bastard. He was placed as a substitute teacher for the 2nd year cadets, so he couldn't come today."

"That would be more interesting than this."

Angeal had to stifle a laugh at Sephiroth's remark.

"Shh, guys!"

Genesis hushed his two friends as they took their seats, and waited impatiently for the show to begin.

"It's such a shame that your pupil couldn't make it, Angeal."

Genesis spoke as he took a seat right between the other two males. It was a habit the red head acquired to prevent Sephiroth and Angeal from chatting during the play.

The Silver General scowled mentally. He couldn't just argue over the seats like a four year old, even if he wanted to, just to annoy Genesis.

Sephiroth noted how Genesis would also lean on him, his mouth running a well practiced speech of his favorite subject. From the upper corners of his eye, Sephiroth could see Angeal giving him a sympathetic look. What have they done to deserve such torture, he wondered.

~!~

It was dark and the only thing perceptive to the vision was small dots of light spread all over that black curtain. He should feel scared, but he wasn't. That endless space with lack of an horizon irked his curiosity. Looking down, he could see blue.

~Gaia's ocean~

He turned his eyes back to the blackness in front of him, but this time there was a few hints of brown and red to it.

"Hey…"

He blinked. Was he supposed to hear sounds in space?

"Hey!"

This time he felt being slightly shaken, the movements making him frown in confusion and open his eyes.

~!~

Angeal sighed heavily, not caring if Genesis hushed him right away. Or was he actually hushing the man next to him. The dark haired man couldn't tell. He had taken notice of Zack's 'replacement' rather noisy sounds.

The seat that Genesis had reserved for his student had apparently been sold to this fellow blonde, who was sitting next to Angeal.

That was the only explanation, because the blonde man was not dressed properly for the event. That alone had drawn Angeal's attention to Cid, who was leaning heavily against his seat, snoring his head out.

The moment the snoring assault began, Angeal and Sephiroth had been exchanging knowing glances between each other.

They could see Genesis's shoulders stiffen at the noise, his body fidget uncomfortably in his seat and his lips twisting into an annoyed gesture.

Both men were enjoying the small torture the red head was enduring. Sadly, Sephiroth motioned Angeal to take action. The dark haired man agreed on it, because they both knew that Genesis would cause a scene sooner or later.

Angeal turned over to the blonde man, being able to take a better look at his features in this new position. The calm expression indicated that the youth was lost deep in dreamland. His face was only being lit by the play's light, but that was enough for the Dark General to see how untamed the blonde's hair was, even though it was short. He could also see how the man's equally blonde eyelashes were reflecting the play's light. His mouth was partly open, which made the snoring become more audible.

~Cute little stubble he has~

After Angeal finished examining the blonde's face, he blinked himself out of his thoughts and called out softly to the other man.

"Hey…"

He saw the blonde stir, having some trouble getting back into reality. The Dark General waited for another two seconds before trying again.

"Hey!"

This time, Angeal lightly touched the young blonde's shoulder and watched bright blue eyes open with confusion clear in them.

"Huh?"

Cid let out a yawn that he covered with the back of his hand.

~Damn, this play is so borin'!~

"Your snoring was too loud."

Angeal felt that he needed to explain why he woke up the blonde, but of course, he omitted the 'real' reasons.

"Oh…sorry 'bout that."

Cid apologized with a small smile. The Dark General blinked. It has been a while since he heard a heavy south accent, and it still amused him, even today.

"That's quite alright."

Angeal spoke, his body still half turned to the blonde, but upon receiving an apologetic smile from Cid and watching him turn his attention to the play, Angeal wisely did the same.

Ever so cautiously, the black haired man looked to his other side to check on the situation. Genesis was still annoyed, for he had crossed both his legs and arms after leaning into his seat. Sephiroth, even thought he was smiling evilly, gave a friendly pat on Genesis's arm.

This action, however, seemed to cheer the red head a little.

~Will he ever tell Sephiroth, already?~

Angeal shook his head and turned his eyes to the play. However, the man found himself paying more attention to the corners of his vision, where he could see half of the blonde's face and body, or watch what he was doing.

~I feel like a stalker, now~

~!~

After the play was over, everyone had gathered by the main hall, contemplating or discussing about the play, the story or the cast's performance.

Sephiroth didn't pay any particular attention to the conversations that surrounded him. Nor did Angeal. Both men were waiting for their red head friend to finish talking with people about Loveless, so they could move on with their lives.

~I wonder if that man already left. Lucky~

Angeal wondered mentally, but made sure not to show it on his face. He heard Sephiroth let out a bored sigh and refrained from doing the same. The Silver General then shifted in his position, which made Angeal look directly at him in question. Sephiroth, upon catching the dark haired man's attention, motioned him with his head. Angeal followed his friend's gaze, to have it land on a bright yellow head.

It would appear that Cid had taken his time into leaving and it was obvious that he was searching for a path through the crowd of gathered people so he could leave.

"Do you think that Genesis will do something?"

Sephiroth questioned, but he knew the answer already.

"You know it."

The Dark General confirmed, moving his eyes in search of the red head. It was too late, though.

Genesis had already spotted the blonde (who stood out like a white sheep in a flock of black cotton), and was making his way towards him.

"Here he comes."

Sephiroth spoke, sharing a knowing glance with Angeal.

"You."

Cid blinked, looking over to an obvious annoyed red head.

"Me?"

He started, confused.

"You fell asleep during the play."

Genesis stated the obvious; looking at Cid like an angry parent would look at his children after they did something bad.

"Yeah? So I did."

Cid replied in a bored tone, showing obvious discomfort towards the other man. He unconsciously reached into his pocked to take his favorite brand of cigarettes, apparently forgetting where he was, for a moment.

"Care to explain why?"

"Huh?"

The blonde blinked, not noticing that his cigarette was slipping through his fingers and back into the package. Who did this red head think he was to be demanding explanations?

"Simple, so lemme 'xplain it ta ya."

Cid spoke in an annoyed and thick accent, crossing his arms over his chest, as if to emphasis his point on the following.

" 't'was borin' as hell!"

Red eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"What?"

Shock and hurt was obvious in the read haired male's face, which made Sephiroth and Angeal become aware and at the ready.

"Now, I'm not a fan of theater or anythin', but this thing put me to sleep jus' like I thought it would!"

Came the confession, which seemed to cut the tongue off of the red head. The Silver General watched with amusement, but approached them slowly for safe measures.

"Then why did you bother watching?"

"I thought of catchin' up to what I been missin'. Boy, do I regret it."

Cid spoke with a shrug on his shoulders in a playful manner. He would rather avoid getting into trouble. At least until he was officially inside of ShinRA forces. Then he could go nuts.

He watched the red head press his fingers against the bridge of his nose, apparently trying to calm himself.

"Figures…I can't expect such a simpleton to understand art."

" 'Xcuse me?"

One of Cid's eyebrows quirked upwards. If one thing he did not appreciated was being told what to understand or enjoy. Especially by a hardcore fan, like the man in front of him.

"It's just as I said. Your brain must be too small to see through the hidden meaning of those 'boring' words."

Genesis let the word 'boring' roll out of his tongue, watching with please as the young blonde's face turned red. Was it out of anger or embarrassment, he did not cared.

Cid was quick to his actions. He quickly raised his fist upwards and Genesis stood, ready to retaliate.

But Sephiroth was faster than both men. Cid blinked when a large warm hand firmly held him in his place.

"That's enough, Genesis. This is no way to behave. Nor is it honorable."

Cid watched in disbelief as Genesis was forcefully guided out of the theater by a tall black haired man, to which he recognized to be the person that woke him up during the play.

His blue sky eyes then switched to that gloved hand that still held him in place.

"Forgive Genesis. He can get carried away, sometimes."

The deep voice of the General left Cid speechless. He was firm and strong, just like the media made Cid believe.

"Huh…yeah, I guess…"

Cid's own stupor allowed his body to relax, which caused Sephiroth's grip to loosen on the blonde's wrist.

"Don't hold anything against him. This is just how he is."

Cid crossed his arms, as he regained his composure.

"Oh, I will hold a grudge, alright!"

Sephiroth blinked. Usually people listened to him, never daring to contradict what he said.

"Pardon?"

"Ye don' jus' walk on someone an' call 'em dumb, ya know?"

The Silver General frowned at the unusual lack of articulation of the words, but found himself to agree to that statement.

"That is true…"

"See, ya know what I mean."

Cid grinned at the taller man, but he still had some annoyance present on his features.

"I won't forgive that bastard until I get an apology."

Sephiroth forced himself to refrain from laughing. If Genesis was hearing this, he would be tearing a new hole on the young man for his imprudence and boldness.

"I don't think he will agree on those terms."

"Oh, poor him!"

Cid threw his arms in the air in frustration. Sephiroth watched in silence.

~These two are more alike than they realize. So carefree on showing their emotions~

"I don' care! Either I get an apology, or next time we meet, it won't be good for'im!"

Sephiroth wondered if that was true. There was no way that this youth would be able to over-power the Red General, but he knew this wasn't just about power. It also had to do with social appearances. It would look bad if Genesis appeared on the newspaper for abuse of power.

The Silver General sighed mentally. Sometimes he felt like he was the older brother, even if all three Generals were in the same age group.

"How about I apologize in his place, then?"

"Huh? Ya didn' do anythin'."

Sephiroth didn't know what drove him into saying that. But it was done and he would stick with it to the end.

"What would take for you to accept an apology?"

Sephiroth pressed on. He had to admit that he felt curious about the other male. Also, this was the most interesting turn of events of the day.

"Oh, geez, I dun' know…a date…?"

Cid froze at his own choice of words. He had thought about it mentally as a joke, but lost in his mind, he spoke without realizing it.

~Damn, me and my habit of daydreamin'~

Sephiroth stared at the blonde for a moment.

~Bold, indeed~

"Very well. Give me your contact so I can set us up on a date."

Cid blinked for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. He wasn't expecting the man in front of him to actually agree. Much less, the General himself. But, then again, he wasn't expecting any of today's events to begin with.

"A'right."

He agreed. It would be wrong and sound weak if he backed down on his own words, now.

After exchanging numbers, Sephiroth asked for Cid's name, to which he realized he didn't know until now.

"The name's Highwind. Cid Highwind." The blonde stated his name in Agent 007 style with a grin.

"Sephiroth. But I suppose you already know that."

"Ye don' have a last name?"

Cid inquired curiously, watching as Sephiroth shook his head, the silver bangs waving around his features delicately.

"No, I wasn't give one."

"Oh, okay. So, I'll be expectin' that date, then? When's that gonna be?"

Sephiroth pondered for a moment at the question. When, indeed? Today was one of those rare days when he had free time for himself.

~Which became a torture instead of a pleasure~

And by tomorrow, his usual busy schedule would take place. SOLDIER candidate interviews, reports to file, missions to take, Hojo's (Sephiroth grimaced at that thought) health check-ups, and the list goes on.

~Tonight would be a nice change of routine~

"Are you busy tonight?"

He tried, awaiting for a response.

"Hum…not really. Ye wanna go after dinner?"

"No. going out 'for' dinner sounds more like a date."

The Silver General pointed out and Cid saw no point in arguing with that common sense, nodding his head in response.

"A'right. But I'm paying my own, okay?"

"I thought you wanted an apology. Paying for your own is the same as not accepting."

Sephiroth raised a silver eyebrow at the blonde, hiding his amusement at the sudden change on the man.

"It's not that…"

The blonde youth, trailed off, not knowing how to explain himself. Everything in this moment felt weird to him, but not wrong.

~Having your dinner paid by another man sounds girly…~

He heard the Silver General chuckle and flushed slightly in embarrassment.

~Shy one, huh? I would have never guessed~

Sephiroth thought as he pushed a few of his silver strand behind himself graciously.

"Alright, Cid. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable on the first date."

~First date~

Cid scratched his head, showing his appreciation at the general's understanding attitude. He also couldn't help but wonder if Sephiroth goes on dates a lot. He has to. After all, he is pretty famous. Pretty, too.

~ And he acts so natural, like he's used to it~

"Alright. Do we meet here?"

"This place would be the most appropriate."

Sephiroth smiled at the blonde in agreement.

~!~

TBC