Authors Note: Okay here is chapter two! Woot. I love the holidays, but I never really ever got into the mood of the season. I AM NOW!
Review Replies.
UnderdogAngel: XD YOU ARE SO CUTE! Thank you so much for the review and the endearment! You have no idea how much it means to me haha. I love writing and don't usually care what people think, but when it's for a friend I love knowing that they like it. Yes, I know Cloud is usually the one who is always down, but don't worry, Zack will be okay! I mean come on, he's Zack! Haha he's always okay. Oh and there's a reference to your short Death note story, should be pretty easy to spot.
NOTE: This chapter takes place before chapter one. Yes it had to be written this way.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE
Chapter two: Greening up and the Scent of Apples
The General's office was usually such a neat, up kept space. The stacks of paperwork always being neatly stacked on one side of the desk, the finished paperwork being neatly stacked on the other side. But not today. In fact recently the paperwork had been stacking up, and the neatness was slowly vanishing into untidiness. Sephiroth was exasperated as he sat behind his desk, sighing in frustration as he attempted to go over a report from the Turks HQ that he needed to go over before sending it back to Tseng. He groaned setting the report down and pinching the bridge of his nose. 'So much paperwork to do, have rounds to do as well. Damn.' The silver haired general pushed away from his desk and stood, walking around his desk and exiting his office. He'd finish his paperwork after his rounds. 'The next time a whiny little bastard can't do his rounds I will not be talked into doing the rounds for him.' He thought bitterly to himself as he stalked down the hallway, not at all looking forward to having to go to the slums on monster patrol for two hours.
As Sephiroth walked his senses picked up on the presence of another person. He could sense them standing just around the corner at the inner section, smell their shampoo and hear them mumbling to themselves. He paused as the figure rounded the corner and smacked right into him. He didn't so much as budge as Zack Fair took a stumbling step back and gazed dazedly up at him, obviously having been unaware of his approach. He blinked looking down at the other man. "Zackary." He greeted with a slight nod of his head. He eyed the other man wearily. Something was…off. Zack wasn't looking at him. His slanted pupils focused and his eyes narrowed slightly as his brows furrowed. Why wasn't Zack looking at him? "Zackary." His voice was a little more demanding. "Look at me."
The younger man, who was frowning quite seriously, lifted his head but avoided making eye contact. He didn't need to, Sephiroth knew why he wasn't. He was greened up.
When one joins SOLDIER they are given weekly injections of mako for three months, or until the sparkle and shine of mako can be seen mixing with their own eye color. It is more noticeable with those who have lighter colored eyes than with those who have darker colored eyes, but the effects are the same. The mako, which is injected into the blood stream, remains in the blood stream. It is pumped through the body along with the oxygen rich blood cells, but lays dormant until the person is put under a great amount of stress. Once the adrenaline spikes, the mako begins to burn and is pumped to the muscles to fuel the body, either for battle, or for retreating. The mako has other effects on the physical body, usually causing rowdiness and sometimes arousal, or a least in the younger men, or those who are just being exposed to the substance. SOLDIERs are taught early on that should their temper flair and their anxiety levels rise causing them to 'green up' they are NOT to look at their superiors in the eyes, it is a sign of rebellion and challenge. If they don't want to get the snot beaten out of them they will be good little SOLDIERs and keep their heads down until they have brought themselves under control.
"What's wrong Zackary?" Sephiroth asked, not at all bothered by the fact the other male wasn't looking at him. He merely crossed his arms and waited an answer.
"It's not important." The other said. His words were clipped. Sephiroth cocked a delicate silver eyebrow.
"I highly doubt that. You are obviously distressed and-"
"Would you just DROP it!" The other snapped turning his gaze onto him. Sephiroth's own eyes narrowed and momentarily greened up before he blinked and forced himself to calm down. Zack was his friend, he was angry, and he was sure he wasn't stupid enough to challenge him. But despite knowing this that didn't mean he wasn't going to put the other in his place.
"No, I will not just drop it!" He snarled, uncrossing his arms and drawing himself up to his full height, looming over the smaller male. "You are obviously upset and I do not want one of my SOLDIERs running amok through the Shinra building in this kind of state! You are a first class,"
"It doesn't matter!"
Sephiroth ignored the others outburst and merely let his voice rise slightly.
"You are a FIRST CLASS SOLDIER and you must set an example! If you tarnish the SOLDIER name Zackary you don't only dishonor yourself you dishonor us all!"
Zack gaped and looked as if he had been slapped hard across the face by the back of the others hand. His eyes were unfocused and he looked rather dazed. His eyes lost their green sheen and returned to their sparkling blue. He blinked several times before his body relaxed, his shoulders slumping. He hung his head slightly gazing blankly towards the floor. What had he been thinking talking to Sephiroth like that? The man had only been concerned for him, and not just in the general superior sense. Sephiroth was a friend, and worried as friends should (when did he learn that?).
"I'm…sorry." Zack mumbled before looking back up. "I've jus had a really…disappointing and hard day."
Sephiroth checked his mental clock and frowned. The day wasn't even half over. He crossed his arms.
"Care to tell me?"
Zack gave him an odd look before making a slightly choked noise in the back of his throat. He shifted his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"Sorry Seph but, you told me if I ever brought up this topic inside Shinra walls you'd have to beat the snot out of me."
Sephiroth nodded, quickly understanding what the other was talking about. He uncrossed his arms again and took a few steps past the other, pausing a moment to glance back over his shoulder.
"What did she say?"
The others shoulders shook slightly. He was obviously upset again.
"I should have know this would happen…I mean…what did I expect? The circumstances of the relationship weren't really that promising." He mumbled in a choked voice.
Sephiroth nodded to himself before exiting the hall and leaving the other man to his misery. He had business to take care of in the slums after all.
The Turks HQ was like a bee hive, or an ant hill. An elaborate maze of cubicles halls and people moving about like clockwork. It usually made SOLDIERs and other faculty uncomfortable when they had to venture down to the Turks HQ, but none of the Turks understood why. Kelsey, who was currently sitting in her cubical writing out a twenty-five page report about her resent mission to Kalm. Her hand motion paused for a moment when a slight 'thump' hit the side of her cubical. After a moment she began writing again.
Thump. Onto the next page. Thump. Fill in the questionnaire. Thump, thump. Her brows furrowed. Thump, thump, thump! She growled and slammed her hand down, her pen making a long ugly ink mark as she turned and glared up towards the top of her cubical. "RENO! STOP IT!" She yelled before spinning her chair and giving the wall a good sharp kick with her foot.
"What the hell Kels? I'm trying to work over here ya'know!"
The small brunet rolled her eyes and growled as she shifted back to her desk and picked up her pen again. She eyed the long ugly ink line before sighing. She took the piece of paper, crumpled it up and tossed it over the cubical wall, smiling when she heard a slightly surprised yelp.
After several yelling matches and losing her favorite stapler due to chucking it at Reno's head, Kelsey finally finished her report. She sighed in victory, stacking the papers neatly before standing and heading out of her cubical. She loved Reno, she really did, he was a great friend, but he could be a pain in the butt more often than she could be patient. Despite appearances and sunny dispositions Kelsey had a temper, and no one wanted to mess with her when she was pissed off. She would drop kick anyone who got in her way. As Kelsey headed for the commanders office she paused as he passed by the hallway. She trotted forward, her brown hair bouncing atop her head. "Commander!" She called as she skidded to a halt in the intersection between the copy room, the water cooler, the elevator, the cubicles and the commanders office. The tall stoic and somewhat frightening if not totally dull wutainese man paused at the elevator, turning to look back at her while he waited for the elevator. "I have that report for you." she said holding it up. Tseng nodded at her as the elevator door dinged open. He turned and stepped in.
"Please leave it in my office Ms. Johnson." And with that he was gone. Kelsey blinked before sighing, turning and walking down the hall towards the commanders office. She waved at the middle aged secretary man at the desk outside of the office. She held up the report.
"Just dropping these off." She said as she walked to the door. She didn't get a reply. No one ever seemed to get a reply from the middle aged man. All he did was glare at people. Kelsey glanced around the office as she crossed to the large desk, setting the reports down. She turned looking at the lampshades which were circular, painted in different shades of blue and had little tassels hanging from them. 'Pretty.' She thought as she turned, her sleeve catching on some papers and sending them to the floor. She jumped and quickly knelt down to gather them up, hastily shuffling them back together. She'd write the commander an apology note, was her thought when she paused, her blue green eyes finding a picture among all of the photos. She frowned before picking up the picture.
The picture was of a young woman, maybe only a few years older than Kelsey herself, with red brown hair which was braided. She had a pretty face with bright green eyes and slightly pink lips. It looked as if she were wearing a blue dress.
Kelsey eyed it for a moment before shrugging her shoulder and standing up, setting the stack of now northerly papers back on the desk. She quickly grabbed a sticky note and scrawled a quick apology and explanation before heading out. She had break and planned to go to the Gaia Café in Sector 8 and listen to the reading on the radio. She smiled happily to herself as she walked, hands clasped behind her back. She began wondering what she would order. Maybe she would get a fruit salad, or maybe a parfait.
She continued to ponder her vast choice of menu items as she descended the stairs into the main lobby when she suddenly paused at the end of the stairs. She quickly flipped over the railing and hid behind the large plant decoration, peaking out between two leaves. On the other end of the lobby (the otherwise empty lobby) stood General Sephiroth with a small cadet who shifted from foot to foot. Kelsey's eyes narrowed. She was trying to place the cadet, but with the helmet on it was nearly impossible. She was trying to take in what little features she could see and put two and two together, but ended up with nothing. So instead she strained her ears in order to hear what they were talking about.
"S-s-sir are you sure t-t-that would be okay?" The cadet questioned, obviously nervous. Maybe it was because he was being confronted by the General, or maybe it was because he was…no, being confronted by the general would be the only reason to stutter like an idiot.
"Yes, if anyone asks just tell them that Sephiroth told you to do it. They won't punish you, if they feel like causing a ruckus they will have to bring it up with me."
"O-okay…but what will you be doing sir?"
"I have to pay a visit to an old friend." The word 'friend' sounded very forced and not at all completely honest in Kelsey's opinion. She blinked and glanced up to see the cadet exiting the Shinra building. She stood up and frowned glancing around the lobby. She hadn't seen the General walk out, and he was no where in site. She walked around the plant.
"What the?"
"Ms. Johnson." A voice purred from behind her causing her to jump nearly a food in the air before she spun around quickly on the spot, hand over her heart, blue green eyes wide in horrific surprise.
"G-g-g-general!" She squeaked, panting hard as she tried to get over the shock. 'How did he do that!'
Sephiroth towered over the small brunet Turklet and eyed her with relatively cool indifference. He leaned forward slightly, his bangs framing his angularly narrow face, a few strands of silky silver strands sliding and falling over one of his shoulders as he gazed down at her, even at his stooped position. "If you are going to follow someone you should wear a less revealing scent."
Kelsey blinked and glanced down at herself, lifting her arm and sniffing at her sleeve before looking confusedly up at him. He stood up straight, making her twitch slightly. He walked around her, a few strands of his long hair brushing against her. "After all, the scent of apples is quite strong and distinct. I could smell you getting off the elevator." He stated as he walked out of the building. Kelsey felt herself flush slightly as she lifted her arm and sniff herself. She could hardly notice the smell of her apple body spray…maybe because she wore it so often? She blushed and covered her face as she headed for the door. 'How embarrassing. If he can smell me, then I bet every SOLDIER at Shinra can to!'
Zack sat in his apartment on the twenty-third floor, slumped on his sofa gazing at the large Buster Sword leaning against the wall blankly. 'Use brings about ware, tare and rust, and that's a real waste.' His lips curved downward. 'You're a little more important than my sword. But just a little.' He closed his eyes, sliding a hand over his face. 'This just isn't going to work…I like you…a lot…but….' He slumped over onto his side and merely lay there in his pants and sweater, gazing woefully towards the wall. 'Things were looking so perfect and then you left me alone… and now this on top of everything? I can't do this.'
Authors Note: Well here is chapter two. I hope the way I am writing this isn't to confusing. Okay, so this chapter are half of the events leading up to what happened in chapter one. The next chapter will take place after this one of course, but also before chapter one and are the second course of events leading up to what happened in chapter one. O.o If you end up getting to confused come the end of the story I am so sorry.