A/N: HUZZAH! This is now officially the longest chapter story I've ever written! 8DD GO READ!~ This chapter is funny xD
Disclaimer: Anything to do with Genesis Rhapsodos, Cissnei, Reno or Final Fantasy VII belongs entirely to Square Enix.
'Imaginings of You' - Chapter 7
Festivities
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"What a mess…" Cissnei murmured, suppressing the smile which pulled at her lips - was it a mess? Were they in a mess?
She sighed, burying her face into her arms as heat danced across her cheeks, igniting them as a crimson shade tinted her skin. She was quite thankful nobody was here to see her, or else she'd be in a flustered muddle incapable of proper speech and even stringing together a comprehensible sentence would have been an impossible task.
And that was saying something - normally her speech was quite formal and well-refined. Especially in comparison to her some of her Turk comrades. But she wasn't mentioning any names, of course.
Cissnei, in the state that she was, hadn't even bothered to get out of her dress before collapsing onto her bed in her private quarters, doing something quite immature - laughing like she'd never laughed before.
She wasn't even sure why she was giggling like some preppy, stuck up teenager - she felt odd.
She'd tried to put her finger on it, contemplated for several minutes as she'd sat on the edge of her bed, picking at a rough edge on one of her nails.
Sadly, she was too dazed and foggy in the head to think like a Turk should, so in the end, she'd given up.
And now her mind just wouldn't stop irritating her, tempting her with the strange happenings of only hours before. Her thoughts picked over and over the scene, that…that enchanting look in his eyes, the pause, and then - she swallowed - that kiss.
She compulsively brought a hand to her lips as she travelled the memory, her mind awash with confusion, reeling with enjoyment and yet, clouded by a daze.
Since they'd parted ways, albeit rather awkwardly, she just couldn't shake it - her mind misted up, and it was like she was walking through a dream… she'd had a few nibbles on food, said her goodnights, and even dismissing a drunken Reno didn't seem all that consequential - even if he'd feel it in the morning.
But what happened?
Over, over and over again Cissnei had kept on telling herself they were friends, but she had obviously been blinded to her own emotions. Here she was, a sharp minded, qualified Turk - and she hadn't even recognised her own feelings!?
"No," she snapped at herself, "not feelings, no…"
She let out an exasperated sigh - come on, girl - face it.
"Goddess…" she bit her lip, fidgeting, "…I don't really love him, do I?"
That was the eternal question.
But the infinite mystery became irrelevant and pushed to the back of Cissnei's mind during the following week in the lead up to Christmas - six days, four days, three days, two…
Was it two already? Two days?
Cissnei groaned. That meant, for yet another Christmas, she was stranded at a certain redhead's apartment - Reno. The ShinRa building closed temporarily during two days before and after the holiday in question, and the higher ups had failed to consider what to do with the employees who boarded at the building - like herself. Reno, being the 'kind gentleman' that he was, had let her stay at his apartment nearby for the last few years until she earned enough to rent her own.
Not that she'd be doing that just yet - why reject when he always offered?
A smiled pulled at Cissnei's mouth. She slipped the last piece of paperwork into her 'out' tray, leaving her with, finally, an empty 'in' slot above. Pitiful relief filled her heart - her desk was finally clear.
Of course, the feelings were short lived - Christmas was not the most festive time of Cissnei's year. Growing up without a family shed little happiness on the events of Christmas - as a child she lacked the buzzing around the evening beforehand, wondering what her presents were…waking her parents up in the morning to check the tree…tearing open the wrapping, eyes alight with excitement. As she entered her teenage years the very longing for a normal Christmas faded, and now at fifteen she wasn't even fussed.
Though, she didn't completely forget the season - in her older years she would leave some kind of gift, a present of some description on her fellow employees' desks, though she never really received much in return.
She sighed - it was just in her nature to be considerate.
Occasionally, though, she got presents - maybe a card, a bit of gil, or perhaps a candy cane - but that was generally about it.
But it didn't matter. She had the revenue to buy whatever she needed - so she didn't mind.
Cissnei emitted a wide yawn, stretching her arms high above her head - maybe she would enjoy her short break over Christmas, even if it were only a few days. As long as Reno didn't irritate her too much, it might actually turn out nicely.
She nodded to herself, then slowly edged her way out of her office chair, feeling her muscles complain - she was going to have a nice, long relax tomorrow.
She glanced around the room, seeing most of the other desks vacant - save for a few of her fellow Turks still remaining hunched over their desks. Speaking of which-
"Ciss-nei!" Reno chirped, swinging the door wide open as he entered the space beside her desk.
"Give me a minute," she sighed, scooping up a few of her belongings from the table .
"Going somewhere?" The other Turk probed cheekily, seeing her then rolling a miniature suitcase from underneath her desk.
"To your place," she replied, making a 'no duh' face at him.
Reno just laughed, giving his head of untidy scarlet hair a shake. "Just messin' with ya," he chuckled.
Like always… Cissnei mentally groaned, suppressing the urge to give him a shove as she pushed her chair in.
"Ready yet?" He asked mindlessly, seeing her checking the suitcases' contents.
"Clearly, no." She mumbled.
"Ready yet?" He repeated seconds later.
"No."
"How about now?"
"Nope."
"…now?"
"For goodness sake, I never will be at this rate…" Cissnei hissed, feeling unusually annoyed at her fellow colleague.
"I'm gonna leave without yoouu!" Reno teased, taking a few steps towards the doorway. Cissnei, out of irritation, shoved him hard in the back, feeling a smirk edging the corners of her mouth as Reno let out a feigned gasp.
"She's getting violent!" He howled, much too loud for Cissnei's liking.
"And who influenced me?" She replied smugly, brushing past him through the doorway with her possessions. Reno opened his mouth to answer, but discovered he could not reply without bringing disgrace to himself.
"You win," he growled playfully, trailing behind her as they headed for the lifts.
"And that leaves our score at 57 to 4," she replied airily, smiling to herself as the elevator arrived and opened with a characteristic 'ding'. Both Turks stepped inside, fondly looking upon the numbers that ticked down on the screen inside, indicating they were closer to their short-term Christmas breaks.
Just as Reno stretched out his hands to press multiple buttons on the elevator's side, Cissnei shot out her own and grabbed his wrist.
"Don't do anything stupid." Cissnei warned wearily, "not today."
"Aww…" Reno whimpered, "can't I ever have a bit of fun around you, yo?"
Cissnei ignored him, lowering his wrist back to beside his waist as the elevator continued to glide down the shaft.
"I'll take that…" he mumbled, absently staring at the walls around him, "as a no."
Right you are, Cissnei thought, silently reflecting on the last time Reno did something as irresponsible as that - maintenance had to rescue them from their elevator jammed between floors 34 and 35. It wasn't a terribly enlightening experience.
Following her contemplation she was incredibly relieved to have the lift doors glide open to reveal the spacious foyer of the ShinRa building, which was, unusually, filled with bustling employees.
Reno stepped back, allowing Cissnei to step out of the elevator first and savour the first moments of their small vacation. He smiled to himself, thinking he was quite the gentleman.
"Off we go," he mused, hurriedly taking the lead as the duo made their way down the extensive staircase that led to the ground. Well, not the actual ground, considering they were suspended on a plate high above the surface of Gaia…
Right behind him, Cissnei placed her feet on each step, surprised at how weary she seemed to be - come on, you're fifteen, this should be easier-
"…Cissnei?"
"Wha?" She stumbled down the last stair, seeing Reno stride on ahead - where did that voice come from?
"Over here," the familiar tone inclined. Cissnei turned her head to see Genesis Rhapsodos waiting just by the wall, dressed in his normal uniform, save for a black scarf that was tied snugly around his neck.
"Genesis," she nodded shyly, stepping over to him as he chuckled a little.
"Here." Genesis said softly, taking her hands and pushing an object into her palms. "Merry Christmas."
Cissnei observed the book quizzically, only then taking the time to read the cover - LOVELESS?
"One of my favourites…so, I thought," he murmured to her, "you might…like a copy - just to read."
Disguising her reddening cheeks, the Turk quickly flicked through the pages, gathering this happened to be the SOLDIER's most treasured book title. Now that she recalled, he had quoted from it several times previously…ands she hardly dared to imagine the price - just seeing the book's quality, its leather bound cover - he really shouldn't have…
'You will…read it, won't you?" Genesis inquired, feeling somewhat nervous - nobody seemed to take an interest in the ancient epic nowadays.
Cissnei looked back up at him, seeing hints of worry edging on his face. It was then, just seeing him, that sparked the question to invade her mind again - love…?
Without a second thought she embraced him, savouring the sweet moment for a second or two before she released him from the hug.
"Of course," she smiled, seeing his tense expression melt into one of relief - she even spied pink tinging his cheeks.
Genesis couldn't help but smile back, almost wishing he could pull her in for a longer embrace - but there were probably too many people around. So, he settled the matter by slipping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze - hoping it was okay on Cissnei's part. He then gave her a playful push as a signal to get going, unable to stop himself from grinning.
"Thanks," he said gratefully, nodding.
"Merry Christmas, Gen…Oh!" Cissnei brought a hand to her mouth in surprise, "I mean, um, Genesis."
She felt embarrassment replace her confused emotions regarding him, wishing she could suddenly vanish because of her informal speech.
He chuckled, smirking. "Have a good holiday…Ciss."
Genesis then turned on his heel and proceeded to walk away, even though he wished he could stay with her for the next hour, just talking, spending time, laughing…
Cissnei felt her mouth open slightly in surprise as the SOLDIER departed, wondering at their sudden change in addressing each other…since when did it become nicknames?
"And they call me slow!" Reno chortled, striding back to his fellow Turk moments later. "What was that all about, with him?"
"N-nothing," Cissnei stammered, her face hot with embarrassment as she tucked LOVELESS away underneath her jacket, "he just wished me a good Christmas. You know Genesis, he talks to all the gir-"
Reno's chuckling cut her off mid-sentence. "You are really bad at lying, you know?"
He put up a hand to stop her from retorting. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
"Reno!" Cissnei griped, squirming in her place as the redheaded Turk continued to snigger. "I do not lik-"
"Better hurry up before I tell somebody, yo!" Reno called to her, already walking back across the foyer to the doorways.
Cissnei, feeling rather flustered, gathered her belongings and stormed behind him, her face flushed, her cheeks crimson.
I think I've answered my question, you know.
Love?
Yes.
"Want coffee?"
"Pardon?"
"I said," Reno growled from the kitchen, "do you want coffee?"
"Um…" Cissnei trailed off, her mind far away from the subject of beverages, buried deep within the first few pages of the book Genesis had given her - LOVELESS.
"You'll get nothin' in three, two-"
"Alright, yes!" She snapped, desperately trying to concentrate.
"Sugars?"
"…three."
"Cissnei on a sugar high?" Reno poked his head through the doorway of the lounge room, "why the sudden change?"
"Just make it sweet," Cissnei sighed quietly, waving her hand to send him away.
"As your majesty demands…" Reno mumbled as he walked away, dusting his hands on his pair of worn, black jeans.
"Peace…" she murmured, shifting about in her chair. Not that her mind was really at rest, in fact, it was being rather disobedient - it kept taunting her with images of Genesis whispering the lines of poetry in her ear, murmuring them to her softly, caressing her hai-
Cissnei took in a sharp breath as she flicked over to the next page with her index finger, frantically trying to dismiss the 'inappropriate' thoughts from her mind - quite frankly, they were scaring her.
She'd never ever, ever, ever thought that way about anybody-
"My princess, your cofffeee!" Reno sang loudly, stepping into the room and shoving the mug underneath her nose. Thankful for the distraction, Cissnei carefully took hold of the steaming beverage and set it down on the coffee table beside her, much too involved with LOVELESS to risk burning her tongue.
"You're not seriously reading that, are you?" The redhead chuckled, taking a quick swig of straight black coffee from his mug.
"So what if I am?" Cissnei mumbled irritably, looking furtively at the elegant words on the page.
"Can't be that interesting…" Reno mused to himself, "just poetry…I'd rather see it live - get it over and done with faster…"
"Well, no surprise with you," she replied quietly, "you never really learned to appreciate good literature…"
"But you're not exactly a bookworm yourself, are you?" He inquired, flicking on the television across the room. "Or has that Rhapsodos been rubbing off on you?"
Cissnei ducked her head at the name, immediately wishing she didn't as Reno laughed at her embarrassed position.
"Don't forget about the coffee I slaved over for you, either." Reno said tauntingly.
Cissnei gave him a level glare from across the room and took a hesitant sip of her sweet coffee, surprised at the taste difference - was it originally that bitter with just one teaspoon?
She took another mouthful, savouring the pleasant taste before swallowing.
A smile crept onto her face as she glanced over at the television screen, seeing the ShinRa news taking a quick glance at the festivity around Midgar - clearly, the city was in a Christmas spirit.
Even Reno had a stingy tree set in the corner of the room, little red fairy lights scattered over the plastic branches - red lights…so vibrant…
Cissnei immediately clamped down on her thoughts as they began to wander, resisting the urge to physically slap herself. If she kept thinking that way about - about Genesis, she was bound to mess up if she was on duty-
"Earth to Cissnei?"
"Huh?"
"It's alright, I know what you're thinking…" Reno smirked, his lips forming an 'o' as he produced a wolf whistle. "Or rather, who you're thinking of…"
Cissnei quickly set her copy of LOVELESS down and grabbed a pillow, hurling it right at the other Turk's face. "You-!"
"Hey, hey, calm down, Ciss!" Reno laughed, hitting the pillow away as Cissnei prepared another one. By now her face had turned a deep shade of crimson, and even she couldn't stop herself from giggling.
She then brought the readied pillow to her head, burying her reddened face into the soft fabric and just laughing, hunching over on the chair.
Oh, how am I ever going to survive these next few days…?
A/N: Awww, poor Cissnei XDDD Reno just won't stop teasing her…
Anyway, I found this chapter quite challenging to write, as their wasn't as much romance as I had hoped for…but believe me, there will be so much more in the chapters to come 8D
And Gen's so romantic.
Giving her LOVELESS for Christmas.
X3333;
And I adored writing Reno - please don't be mad if I refer to him too much, as all the other BC Turks don't really have official 'names', so, um, yeah. -sweatdrop- xD
Anyway, until next time! [Reviews are love, and really appreciated!]
-whispers- they boost my incredibly low ego…go on…
XDDD
- Lioneh