[a/n]: back at it again after a 22 day delay. i'm horny on main now, please don't sue me. If you think I should raise the rating please tell me.


It was in our weekly meeting with Lazard that he dropped the big bomb on us.

"We are to go to war with Wutai." He said it like it wasn't a big deal. Sephiroth refused to react and kept an appearance of calm, seemingly contemplating the implications of that statement, but of course I had to ask.

"Why, exactly? Are you supposed to be telling us? Because we haven't heard anything that indicates Shinra going to war."

Lazard sighed. "The president told the board of directors this morning. I am telling you two now because the president intends to use SOLDIER as a primary focus of Shinra war propaganda. I believe the next few days will be hectic for you both, but especially for Sephiroth."

Sephiroth nodded. "Why do you say that?"

Lazard smiled sympathetically. "You are to report to Hojo immediately. I assume he has something for you." Sephiroth stiffened and nodded, standing up to leave.

"Good luck," I whispered to him, knowing his enhanced hearing could catch it.

Opening the door, he turned to look at me and nodded. Then he disappeared, sealing the door behind him.

Lazard raised an eyebrow. "What do think Hojo has in store for him?"

"More tests. More enhancements. Maybe something more, if we're going to go fight a real war. Am I needed here; can I go?"

"Actually, I do need you. Shinra intends to put Sephiroth in charge of the campaign."

I blinked at that. "No offense to Sephiroth, but maybe someone with more field experience should lead. I get that Sephiroth is the one people look up to, but I don't know if he's ready to lead a war. What is the war for, by the way? I don't believe Shinra has ever gone to war like this before."

Lazard pushed his glasses up. "You are correct. Shinra has never waged war like this before, no one is qualified to lead it. As for why we are going to war, Wutai refuses to submit to the authority of Shinra. They refuse to have a reactor built in Wutai."

"And President Shinra sees that as something that cannot be tolerated, right? He intends to control the world this way, through power." Great.

"Yes. Although I am sure Shinra propaganda will paint it very differently."

I could see it now. "Wutai rebels refuse allow their government to construct a Shinra reactor within their borders. We are being called in to put down this 'rebellion'."

Both of Lazard's eyebrows rose. "You should a Turk propagandist with those words."

I chuckled. "If only."


I never thought that preparing for war might be fun. Maybe not fun, exactly, but it's more akin to that feeling you get when you cross of the last item on a list of tasks you thought was going to take you forever to finish, and you feel good now that you're done? That kind of feeling. That feeling that you're actually doing something, that your contributions actually matter.

"I'm just really excited, you know, we're finally going to go to war against Wutai. You know, we're actually going to make a difference for the Shinra Corporation; we get to put ourselves out there and really see what we're made of finally instead of pissing about in classes and training sessions seeing what we're only theoretically capable of."

That was a quote from one SOLDIER to a reporter. They decided to replace 'pissing about' with 'practicing'. At one point I had to remind everyone that Shinra would document this preparation for the propaganda pieces that would follow.

One of the most fun things to do was to pick out our new outfits. To really differentiate us from the common soldiers and SOLDIERS on the battlefield.

Sephiroth has picked out a ridiculous looking costume made of leather & straps exposing his bare chest of the world. It turns out one of the things that Hojo wanted to give to Sephiroth was a long katana-like blade that apparently was designed especially for him.

"It's not a katana," Sephiroth corrected. "It's an odachi blade." He ran his hand along the sheath. "This sword feels… right."

As for me, I am having trouble deciding what to wear I find it difficult to pick out a costume that best represents how I did for myself from other soldiers. What I almost want to do is to forgo the sword all together and a simply equip myself with a staff people.

"So do you think the virtual reality system will be up and running in time for us to cover it before you get shipped off to war?" A reporter asked me.

"No, I don't believe so, I'm still working out the bugs and the holographic systems are still in beta more or less."

The Virtual Reality System, as it's being called, represents the greatest culmination of my engineering abilities; it is certainly the most complex technical task I have ever attempted, but I am working with a Shinra's best on the project; I feel completion is inevitable.

I decide on wearing an outfit that would eventually become the SOLDIER trademark uniform: A sleeveless turtleneck and flexible, comfortable pants with minimal armor. I figured that a SOLDIER's own enhancements would be the primary factor in keeping one alive, and that too much armor would be more impediment than help.

Hojo is having the SOLDIERS go through a few individualised treatments to really pump up every last cell in preparation for war. Sure, it hurts like hell to have metal rods pierce my spinal column. Sure, it burns like Irfit for the raw, unfiltered mako to touch me, to flow through me. Sure, it feels strange to be on twelve different intravenous drugs and drift back to my room completely without feeling.


I'm reading a book about ancient mythology when Sephiroth comes into our room. He's in his new battle outfit, holding his sword and a plastic bag surely full of… something. I try to think of what Sephiroth might have that would necessitate a disposable plastic bag. He leans his new sword up against the wall and sets the bag on the nightstand next to the bed. He stretches and I can hear some of his vertebrae pop one by one. He walks over to the dresser and states simply,

"I'm changing." And then begins to quickly and efficiently rid himself of his new leather clothes and armor bits. After so many times telling him, I know Sephiroth must know that stripping like that in front of another person isn't exactly professional or appropriate, but he seemed to relish in it. I guessed it was because he couldn't be like this with anyone else; I encouraged him to feel comfortable being freely himself around me. So in a way this is my fault, but I'm not complaining. His undergarments come off with a peeling sound and I risk a glance at Sephiroth's naked backside. His hair is growing nicely, I notice. He's stopped cutting it a while ago in what Sephiroth confided in me is a quiet rebellion against Hojo's domineering influence over his life. Sephiroth is an interesting contrast between direct and indirect behavior. Much of his professional life is spent in direct actions. He rarely beats around the bush with people, takes no shit, and is very clear about his expectations and goals.

But in his personal life, he craves the opposite. He can't criticize his own father so directly, but Sephiroth can feel better undermining little things. I know Sephiroth so well at this point that he and I could probably communicate to each other without speaking. And because nonverbal communication is becoming our thing, it creates an even more personal channel between us. Sephiroth knows that the stripping nude thing shouldn't happen, but because I reminded him one too many times he does it to tease me.

And I know it's to tease me, because, like it or not, Sephiroth knows he's maturing into a sexy fucking adult. It's no surprise I find him attractive. I've spent months upon months training with him. We spend hours of every single day together. Holy fucking Shiva Asher this is not the FUCKING time to get a massive boner as Sephiroth pulls up those FUCKING SWEATPANTS OVER HIS ASS LIKE THAT-

"You're staring at me, Asher." I blinked, hard and tried to think of President Shinra, naked. Professor Hojo, naked. Calm DOWN. I opened my eyes again.

"I'm sorry, how did your treatment go?"

"Terribly. The treatment was successful, or course, but I feel that I will never get used to my father's… methods." He rubbed his arms, holes still visible. "I see your injection sites have already healed themselves."

I nodded. "Yeah, but I can still feel them. All my joints are sore as hell. I've been popping joints all evening." Sephiroth sat down at the edge of the bed and placed both hands on my knee. Sephiroth's light touch sent waves directly to places it definitely shouldn't.

"Is this sore?"

"Yes, but it's… fine. You don't need to help me right now." My voice was wavering so much and I was shaking. I really didn't need this right now.

"Because of your erection?" Sephiroth had a genuinely earnest face when I met his eyes. I didn't know how to respond, exactly.

"To put it simply, yeah." Sephiroth's eyes traveled down my body to my crotch.

"Asher, I want you to explain something. Forgive me if this seems rude."

"Sephiroth, your questions are never rude or stupid to me. Ask." I was pretty sure I had melted into the bed at this point; I couldn't move. My book tumbled onto the floor.

"Erections occur when you feel sexual attraction to another."

"Yes." Sephiroth met my eyes again.

"You are attracted to me."

"Yes, Sephiroth."

"It was my disrobing, especially, which triggered it."

"Yeah."

"Part of Hojo's treatment today, he told me, was to accelerate our physical development towards maturity. I imagine hormones are at much higher levels than normal in both of our bodies." He glanced away. I tried to reason through the implications of that.

"So I'm not just extra horny for no reason, then."

"Correct."

"Well, that's a relief, I guess. Your hands on my knee aren't exactly helping, though."

Sephiroth continued to stroke my knee. I hissed as one hand began rubbing circles in my lower thigh.

"Asher, you accept me as I am, without compromise, and I thank you greatly for that. In our friendship, in private, you allow me to do whatever I want, free of consequence. But you don't afford yourself the same privilege. Why not?"

All my brain-thinking blood was down making my dick throb. Fuck, Sephiroth really had me by the knee.

"What?" I said intelligently.

"You restrain yourself too much. In private. You want to be whatever I want you to be. You know I've been domineered by Hojo and Shinra for too long to let you do the same for me. You're the one who revealed that to me, now let me repeat it back at you. You're perfect just the way you are." If I had any blood left to blush with, I would have. "What do you want, my lieutenant?" Fuck, he really knew how to tease me. This development to our relationship was probably a long time coming, but it was no less sudden. I had to try to take the diplomatic route out.

"Sephiroth, I think we should have this conversation when we're not mako-high or whatever you want to call it. When we're clear headed. I think if you touch me any… more that I won't be able to stop myself."

Sephiroth met me with a small smile.

"I don't want you to stop yourself."

"I do, can you respect that?" Sephiroth seemed a little shocked, but withdrew his hands from fondling my leg and sat cross legged on the bed. He seemed disappointed.

"I entered the room ready to ask you to help me, but then I found an opportunity to help you, and…" It was the first time I'd ever seen Sephiroth at a loss for words.

"Hey.. hey." I sat up to get next to Sephiroth on the edge of the bed, putting an arm over his shoulder. "No, it's alright. You shouldn't feel obligated to-"

"I want to."

"Okay. Let's just talk about it later." I reach to pet Sephiroth on the head. "What did you need me for?"

"Ah." Sephiroth got up and walked around to the bag and pulled out some hooks and adhesive strips. "I need your help attaching these to the wall to hang Masamune on."


[a/n] tell me what you think! 3