Eloise was asleep when Genesis let the mask fall. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over her. He caressed her cheek and sighed. She looked pretty much the same as 10 years ago. The DNA was the cause. It stopped her aging, just like it happened to him.
"I'm sorry, Eloise" Those words, she was tired of hearing. He apologized to her a lot in the past because he knew the outcome of Hojo's Jenova Project.
His eyes moved down her body to her side. She had her back turned to him therefore her wounded side was up. He raised the edge of her shirt enough to show the wound. Firstly, it looked bad. She wasn't bleeding but she did have a line of electricity along her skin. He touched it and it didn't electrocute him. Instead, it just stuck on his fingers, like jelly. He frowned. Once he touched that spot, he saw something white in front of his eyes before the image of Sephiroth came into his mind. He got up with a jolt and looked at her.
When she woke up, Genesis wasn't there. She rubbed her head and got up. She walked down the hall and descended the stairs. She could hear him talking to someone.
"I thought about it and I think I will stick around for the time being" He was talking on the phone. She was surprised he had one since he was 'hiding'.
She could only guess who the other person was. Once she walked in, Genesis hung up.
"What? Did the chivalry called?" He only blinked and watched her as she walked to the nearest table. "You're living in quite a luxurious bunker, aren't you?" He didn't respond. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened her eyes, Genesis was standing in front of her.
"Your body is reacting to the Life Stream. Something inside it is struggling to get out and we both know who that is" She chuckled and grabbed a hand through her hair.
"You know everything, just like in the past" He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned over the table.
"He's going to kill you, Eloise. Anything just so he could come back. You are no exception" She blinked. She changed so much that he couldn't read her anymore.
"I know" She leaned towards him and grimaced. "But I am not able to fight against him"
"Because he was your mentor?" She blinked before she leaned back and shook her head.
"No. Because he didn't do anything to hurt me. He didn't take anything from me; instead he gave me everything I wanted" She was realistic. Genesis sighed and stared at her in the same way he used to. "Wh-what have you done in these past few years?" She asked but tried to seem like it didn't matter much. It was just out of curtsies. Yes. Just that.
"I traveled" He got on his feet and walled to the fridge. He grabbed something from it and put it in front of her. "You should eat something" She looked down at the food in front of her. She unpacked the bowl and smelled it. She scrunched her nose in disgust and pushed it aside.
"Are you living with only vegetable soup?" He raised an eyebrow and stared at her blankly. She glanced between the fridge and the bowl. She got up and rolled up her sleeves. "I'll cook something" She turned her back on him but she could still hear him scoff.
"Can you cook?" He couldn't quite believe it. She rolled her eyes.
"A lot has happened in 10 years. It may not look like it but I am already 30 years old" Genesis smirked and checked her out. He was a man, after all.
"She's with him" Reno, Cloud and Rufus were in her former room. Eloise left quickly in a really bad state. Genesis informed Tseng after she woke up. "He's going to watch her for the time being" Cloud frowned and took a step forward.
"Can we trust him?" Rufus glanced at Reno, who didn't seem concerned.
"Can we, Reno?" Rufus asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The redhead rubbed his neck and thought of an acceptable answer.
"Well, he did leave her before but the situation changed. He's not going to do the same mistake twice" Tseng blinked and left the room. He was sure that if something were to happen, Genesis was probably the only one who could help her; be it only emotionally.
"Are you done? The smell can attract desert wolves" He was annoyed mostly because she entered his kitchen and blocked him outside.
"There are no desert wolves!" Genesis glared at the door and clicked his tongue. She was the same stubborn Eloise. He was going to break down the door when she pulled it open. "It's done" He hurried past her and checked the room. Nothing was out of place except the two plates of what looked to be omelets.
"Your fridge is an exact replica of the one in SOLDIER" She was amused by that. At first she couldn't believe it but while she was cooking, she started to remember the past. She was really bad at cooking back then but things changed.
Once they sat at the table and started to eat, she started to think about different things from the past.
"Do you still read Loveless?" He looked up at her and smirked.
"Did you miss it?" She chuckled. She suddenly stopped when she realized how she was acting.
"No" Her answer was cold and completely different than how she spoke before. She took a bite of her omelets and kept her head down for the rest of the time.
"Where are you living now?" He was genuinely curious how she was living since Tseng might have lied.
"Edge" That was short.
"Are you living alone?" She felt like chuckling and had a sweet comeback on the tip of her tongue.
"No" However, she couldn't just act like nothing happened. "I live with Cloud" Genesis frowned.
"Who's Cloud?" She grabbed a hand through her hair and rubbed her neck.
"The one who killed Sephiroth" Genesis's eyes widened for a fraction of second. "He was my pupil. I trained him especially for that reason. Afterwards, I left Shinra"
"You could control the energy well. What happened that triggered the disturbance?" Her eyes hardened and she looked down at her hands. "It's not just Sephiroth, is it?"
"I had Geostigma two years ago. I had to face everything I've been through all over again. But what hurt the most weren't the deaths I witnessed. It was the one I didn't"
"Zack's?" She shook her head.
"No. Yours" He seemed surprised. He thought she already left his memory somewhere in the back of her mind. That never happened. "I guess I wanted to talk to someone who's been there when the Crisis happened. I wanted a friend but not just any friend" she licked her lips and looked deep into his eyes. "I never saw you as a monster because I knew what a monster really looks like. I never blamed you for leaving and I never judged you but Genesis-"She stopped and leaned towards him. "-my love for you fell in the depths of my heart and only hatred and anger are left at the surface. If you came back now with a personal gain in your mind, leave" Genesis froze. Her tone changed drastically and her eyes started to shine. "Leave and never come back. If Sephiroth will come to life and the Reunion will happen it has nothing to do with you" She leaned next to his ear. "You're not part of the family so do what you do best. Leave me to fight alone" She whispered before she got up and went upstairs. He stared at the empty space in front of him. He's never heard her speak like that and he never got such a chill by just looking into her eyes. She was definitely different; completely different yet she was the same Eloise.
She only got into the hall when she heard someone chuckle. She looked around but no one was there. Her side stung and she leaned against the wall. She closed her eyes in pain and her head started to hurt like it was going to explode. She flinched and fell on her knees. She whimpered and started to cry. She wasn't sure if it was because of the physical pain or the emotional one.