Disclaimer: Genesis Rhapsodos, Cissnei or anything to do with Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix.

Rex and Davis the infantrymen, as mentioned further down, are completely and totally OWNED by septasonicxx on both this website and deviantART. They can be found with a much larger role in her story titled 'Roy Peters.'


'Imaginings of You' - Chapter 4

Reflections
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Fire.

Warm tongues of flame licked at the glowing logs, silvery tendrils of smoke twisting their way up into the darkness of the chimney above.

She was so mesmerised.

Well, considering the embers were glowing such a pretty orange…emitting the most wonderful heat, covering her with a blanket of gentle warmth that made her want to fall asleep right then and there. Of course, such pleasure to fire would have been expected after trekking through the frigid mountains of Modeoheim. If she hadn't heeded the advice of Genesis Rhapsodos by not wearing something ice resistant, she would've been an icicle. Even then, she was still suffering from some mild effects that seemed an awful lot like hypothermia - just her luck. Keeping a tough, smart exterior was harder than she was hoping, even if she did undergo strict training through her childhood.

Cissnei sighed, sinking down into the blanket that was wrapped around herself a little more, thoughtfully provided by one of the staff at the Inn a little while ago. She, Genesis and two fellow infantrymen Davis and Rex had returned from their mission a short while back - thankfully, it had been a success, though Cissnei certainly wasn't happy about her torn business suit, nor her shirt underneath.

Everybody was in complete bliss as they trampled through the doors to the Inn, embracing the comforting heat of the ever-burning fireplace inside. Genesis had given it an extra kick with a gently placed fire spell, turning it into a fiercely burning blaze, the flames hungrily engulfing the logs. Then he'd hastily made sure Cissnei had a seat to rest in, before mumbling some orders to his two underlings and letting them make use of the spare time. He'd then disappeared to his own room, leaving Cissnei to slowly thaw out by the fire and Rex and Davis to muck about in the snow.

Or so Cissnei was thinking, anyway.

Feeling sleep cloud her vision, the Turk was about to let her head lull to the side when a hand waved in front of her face, making her blink in surprise.

"Wha…?" She mumbled, straightening her posture and turning her head around. "Oh…" she narrowed her eyes slightly, seeing Rex standing right behind her, giving her a goofy grin.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on duty?" He said slyly, winking.

"Would you be working if you had hypothermia?" She replied just as quickly, giving him a questioning look with a slight tug of a smile.

"Aw, come on, it's not that bad!" Rex said with feigned irritation, leaning on the back of her chair. "Though I gotta say, that suit on you earlier looked-"

"Re-ex!" A whine came from the other side of the Inn's entrance, clearly sounding like a very annoyed Davis. Rex rolled his eyes in frustration, stepping away from Cissnei as though to hide the fact he was communicating with her. Seconds later Davis burst through the door, a dripping snowball in his hands as he glanced around for the presence of his friend.

"There you are, you idiot! What did I say!? No hiding inside!" Davis growled, stepping over and dragging Rex by the arm back through the doorway. "What were you up to…?"

Cissnei heard their voices fade away as she slumped in her chair again, wondering why there was the sudden interest that males seemed to have around her lately - it was starting to give her the willies. Rex was probably just having a bit of a flirt - he seemed like the type to do that to whatever girl he fancied.

Not that Cissnei knew what that felt like, anyway.

She kept her eyes open halfway as she gazed into the dancing flames of the fire, seeing the embers radiate a soft glow of gentle warmth, even if hidden behind whatever remained of the log.

It was…kind of funny.

What she was seeing in the embers… led her mind Genesis, of all people - one of her new acquaintances. There was so much she was yet to learn about him, but there was something about his person that seemed to draw her in…his alluring voice? No, no. That wasn't the right word for it…maybe…it was his subtle ways of courtesy, the way he seemed to just treat her different. Nicely.

But he probably treated all girls that way - surely he did. Yes.

It wasn't just her.

Gaia. Why am I even thinking this way? Cissnei shook her head abruptly, dismissing her unusual thoughts as quickly as they had come. This wasn't like her at all - she hadn't been raised to think this way about - about anybody, actually. Her training said to take caution with every person she met - anybody could be an enemy, a threat, whether it be to herself, or even ShinRa.

But the pathways weren't connecting like that at all lately - especially with him.

I wonder how normal girls my age deal with feelings like this? Cissnei pondered, absently looking around the room. Not that many teenage girls are in positions like me…

Across the room, she caught a glance of Genesis himself leaning against the edge of the hallway, taking a moment to fidget with his hands as he stared off into space, clearly not focusing on anything in particular. His gaze was only drawn away when the elderly receptionist gave a huff, giving him a level glare from across the desk. He merely bowed his head in response, trying to brush her off.

Cissnei suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, despite how she wished to - didn't that woman ever stop?

Meanwhile, Genesis absently let out a low sigh, bringing his half closed eyes to Cissnei's level but still keeping his head bowed so she wouldn't notice. From his side of things, she looked pretty beat - she'd been on that chair warming up for the last half an hour - and to him, she still looked a little frozen around the edges. Unless it was ice around the outside of his eyes - even that wind made them water quite a bit during their trek though the mountains.

To his surprise, Cissnei turned her head around to face him, making his head automatically jerk upwards and away, trying to break his gaze. Genesis mentally groaned, not wanting an awkward feeling developing between himself and her - it wasn't often he opened up to people, yet she seemed kind of trusting - Genesis felt he could speak his mind without worrying.

Although, now he was a bit concerned, hoping his reaction wasn't too sudden. Much to his relief, the Turk's gaze drifted around the room, and eventually she went back to staring into the entrancing glow of the fire again.

Inside, Genesis was mentally slapping himself - he wasn't acting normally. Well, sure, 'normal' for him was only being with Angeal and Sephiroth - they were the only ones who he could really show his true colours to. Others saw him for a proud and somewhat quiet SOLDIER, who had a notoriously poetic and graceful demeanour and a tendency to charm girls, or so he was thinking. He wasn't actually sure, considering he changed his mind about it far too often because of how much more people focused on Sephiroth rather than himself.

Which hurt, sometimes.

But what did it matter what others thought of him? …well, to himself, that actually meant a lot - he had a reputation to uphold, and even if it were only the minority that respected him, he would maintain that. With honour, of course. For Angeal's sake.

Genesis smirked.

He would do that especially at this very moment, he decided. He'd be careful, of course - he didn't want Cissnei to get the wrong idea. After all - they were colleagues - maybe even friends now. Yes. That's all it was.

Distancing his thoughts again to clear his mind, the SOLDIER let his feet guide him forward, cautiously stepping over to the fireplace where Cissnei was resting.

The Turk sensed him coming, and quickly shrugged the blanket off her shoulders, giving her jacket a quick dusting to remove any tiny ice particles that hadn't melted. Just in case.

"Hey," Genesis said delicately, resting his gentle gaze on her.

"…hi," Cissnei replied shyly, immediately feeling guilty for spending so long by the fire. She should've been filling out her official reports by now…

"Warmer?" Genesis inquired, motioning to the enticing fire beside him.

"I'm much better," Cissnei nodded quickly, wriggling her toes inside her boots. Finally, some feeling!

"I was thinking…" he began, trying not to tap his fingers against his leg, "did you want to catch up over some coffee? I'm sure a warm drink would top the day off a bit more eloquently."

Cissnei bit her lip. "I…I was supposed start on my documentation of the mission, actually."

"Oh, well," Genesis said quickly, masking his disappointment, "if you don't have the time, that's - that's alright."

Cissnei glanced up at him, seeing a flicker of pleading in his eyes, the side of his mouth twitching downwards. Reading facial expressions wasn't a problem to her - she could tell he quite plainly wanted time to relax with some company. It was no question that neither of the infantrymen were suitable for his standards, either.

So she made a split second decision.

"I suppose it can wait," she mumbled thoughtfully, "maybe some caffeine will, you know…awaken my senses?"

Genesis felt a tiny tug of happiness inside of him, a little smile pulling at his mouth. "Perhaps it might."

"Coffee it is, then."


Oh, that smell - it wafted past her nose as Genesis set the mug down on the table in front of her, washing over all of her senses.

Whoever discovered coffee was a genius - a mastermind.

Before taking her first sip, Cissnei rummaged around inside her pocket, pulling out a small sum of gil and closing her palm around it.

"Hold on, Genesis," she said quickly just as the SOLDIER shoved his wallet away. "Let me pay for that."

"Oh, no, don't you worry," Genesis replied smoothly, reaching for the sugar packets in the middle of the table.

"I insist," she said sternly, smiling playfully as Genesis sighed in feigned annoyance. Groaning, the SOLDIER put his hand out, and Cissnei carefully dropped the gil into his palm.

After pocketing the money, Genesis grasped three sachets of sugar and tore open the first one, pouring the contents into his steaming mug of milky coffee. Cissnei, on the other hand, found herself only adding one - it seemed the roles were in reverse.

"Three?" She questioned, stirring her own with a spoon as the SOLDIER ripped open the last packet.

"Yes," Genesis said indifferently, "three."

"Got a sweet tooth?" Cissnei inquired, taking the first delightful sip of her coffee and nearly swallowing the wrong way when she realised how informal that sounded.

"Actually, no," he replied seriously, quickly stirring in the undissolved sugar. "I have sweet teeth."

With that, he flashed a quick grin at her before drinking some of his coffee.

The Turk suppressed a snort, letting out a tiny, muffled giggle instead.

"What about yourself? One?" Genesis asked in put on astonishment, fingering the single empty packet of sugar Cissnei had used.

"I think I adjusted to normal men making my coffee - Reno never put in more than one when he first started making them for me."

"Reno made you coffee? And you call him normal!" Genesis huffed, playing along.

"Of course," Cissnei teased, shrugging. Her tone then changed back to normal as she spoke. "I was too young to make them myself at first."

"Young?" The SOLDIER questioned, taking another sip of enticing coffee.

"Reno was a bad influence on me," Cissnei whispered knowingly, cupping her hands around the warm mug.

Genesis smirked. "Not surprising."

"But he's not so bad," she went on, fingering some of her hair. Cissnei was glad she was used to idle chatter with people - or she'd have a terrible time when she grew older. She had to learn at an early age how to adapt good social skills in order to survive a business employee's life.

"I used to follow him around a lot. When I was younger." Cissnei mumbled absently.

Genesis nodded in response, feeling their playful edge lost - he'd enjoyed that. Any other girl he'd taken out before was too embarrassed or shy to even try being funny.

Not that he'd gone out with many girls, mind you.

And this wasn't a date.

"So," Cissnei said absently, setting down her coffee mug. "How long have you been a SOLDIER?"

"Seven years." He replied casually, as if that were normal.

"…wow," she gasped, suddenly feeling suppress by his authority. "That long?"

Silence. Genesis lowered his head.

"Not as long as some," he mused, taking another gentle sip as he gazed out the window. Another thing Sephiroth's done better…than me…

Cissnei glanced at him shyly, seeing his expression darken slightly as he stared off into space.

"Sorry," she said quickly, stiffening at the tense feeling that seemed to fill the air. "…was that…I mean, are you alright?"

Bringing himself out his own slightly troubled thoughts, Genesis turned his sight back on Cissnei again.

"Yeah." He gave her a small, reassuring smile, trying to relieve the tension that had slowly began to build. Why worry her in affairs not her own?

She nodded in return, suddenly feeling guilty for treading on the wrong grounds. Wonder what that was about?

For the next few minutes, a comfortable silence settled on the pair as they enjoyed the afternoon's setting sun and the remains of their coffee, each enjoying the presence of the other.

As friends, of course.


A/N: Ohh, those two, they're trying to run away with my story! XD I swear, it's like they want to flirt with each other or something… Anyway, I'm quite pleased with this chapter - I liked the insight I gave into their thoughts about each other.

Yes.

They're totally friends.

Ahaha. But only time will tell what shall become of their recent friendship. Bwahaha ~

Until next time!

- Lioneh