Chapter 9
(A/N: Wow. Didn't think it would take me that long to post another chapter. Sorry about the delay! I'm beginning to find that this is primarily written for one person, although I'd be floored if anybody else enjoyed it as well! For anybody out there that's actually reading this...thank you. Getting myself back into writing in general is a tough process; thank you for helping me see it through! Hope you enjoy.)
A beam of late morning light shone between a pair of dark blue shades, splashing onto the face of a huddled blond form tucked in a mass of blankets. Alathea's eyes scrunched even more tightly closed, then hesitantly began to open; she blinked into the sunshine and groggily began to take in her surroundings. Blue curtains...? On the left side of the bed...? That wasn't right at all.
In a panic, Alathea shot up into a sitting position, her white-blond hair forming a lofty halo around her head, which was now searing with pain. She gasped, gritting her teeth and forcing her eyes closed again.
Drinking. Last night, she'd certainly been drinking. Enough to forget drinking that essential glass of water before bed, and enough to ensure she didn't know where she was this morning. The panic bubbled up in her throat again, and she braved peeking through her fingers to piece together her new surroundings. She was alone, thank God, in a fairly large bedroom that was just littered enough to be slightly comforting.
It was a bachelor pad, to be sure. T-shirts and the occasional pair of boxers lain strewn over the carpeted floor and open dresser, a green neon beer sign glowed warmly on the inner wall, and despite the lack of glitz of the rest of the furniture in the room, an enormous 48" TV sat against the wall directly across from the bed. Also, mixed in with the faint tell-tale scent of cologne was just a hint of beer sweat.
Turning back towards the window, Alathea finally took notice of an ancient-looking PC tucked into the corner of the room. She crept out of the sheets and tiptoed her way to the machine, jiggling the mouse when she got there. Slowly, the monitor woke up, revealing an eccentric desktop layout. Minesweeper, solitaire, backgammon, free cell, hearts, mah jong, Internet, Shit To Give Elena Instead, and an icon with the WRO logo on it.
Elena? WRO?
She double-clicked on the icon, pulling up with looked to be the organization's employee intranet. Company-wide emails from the top, links to general department pages, and an employee directory.
A memory of last night flashed through her mind, making her gut twist with agony but leaving her with what she needed. Her mouse hovered over the Department drop-down menu, producing a new list to choose from.
Military
Investigative
MedTek
Public Relations.
There! Her heart skipped a beat when, after she clicked on it, she was met with a large photo of the woman from last night. "Ava Hartwood", it read under the picture, followed by "Head of Public Relations" and a few informative paragraphs about the department. Nothing juicy, sadly. Just the obnoxiously smug smile that screamed, "Hello! I'm a class A bitc-"
A door slammed shut in the other room, and Alathea nearly choked on her breath. She hurriedly closed all the windows on the computer and clicked the monitor off, scurrying back to bed and managing to grab one sheet before the bedroom door swung open, and in walked...Reno. Wearing light blue pajama pants and just about nothing else, save for a hair tie at the nape of his neck. His hair seemed to have grown back since the incident with that hellish alien during their first stay there.
The two stood frozen to the spot, one mirroring the other with slightly terrified expressions.
Suddenly, Alathea pieced something together. She'd been drunk last night, only to wake up in Reno's apartment. Reno, whose morning wardrobe was decidedly...scant. Her mouth popped open in shock, and Reno's arms shot out in front of him defensively, frantically waving his hands back and forth.
"N-n-n-n-no! Whoa! Not what you think!" he pleaded, taking a step backwards, just to be safe. He watched as Alathea blinked, glanced at the mountains of sheets, then to his pajamas, and back to the bed.
"What...What happened last night?" She dared, trying to keep her voice even. Reno sighed and visibly decompressed a little, sensing that maybe she wasn't going to shoot holes in him just yet.
"Apparently, you got a little...er...tipsy last night. Nothing too embarrassing... just enough for Elena's Menstrual Senses or whatever kick in and come to the rescue. She told me to take care of you or else she'd tell Tseng about how I was the one behind the mass flooding of toilets at HQ."
Reno's eyebrows knit together as he seemed to really get lost on that last statement. After about 5 seconds, Alathea cleared her throat. Reno snapped back to reality.
"Oh. Sorry. So yeah, she helped change you into one of my team-building shirts and tucked you in. I had to sleep on my couch...in my own vacation home."
He squinted again, throwing another mental fit. That was okay, though, as now Alathea's conscious was alleviated, and her desire to check herself in to the nearest clinic and get herself tested had come and gone. She beamed at Reno, who was distracted enough by the display to stop the pouting. He raised his eyebrows, his mood shifting from terrified, to annoyed, and now to awkward.
"Uh...want some coffee?"
Alexia, for the first time in months, had slept soundly. She woke up slowly and smiling, remembering each incredible moment since the wedding reception...
"I'm going to show you why this is your home."
And he'd certainly done just that. He'd kissed her, then, making her heart nearly burst and completely inhibiting her ability to walk. Or speak. Or move.
"You...don't want me to do that?" Yazoo murmured, grief lacing his melodic voice. Alexia blinked a few times, collecting herself to the best of her ability. Not only had she had enough to drink to make basic motor skills difficult, but she had just experienced such an awakening that her brain couldn't stop reeling. For over a year, she'd been sinking into herself, forgetting what it was to feel the adrenaline of a kiss like that - one that made your soul sing. The first thing she'd felt since her long bout with depression was fury after Jason had left her with Yazoo's drawing. Then anxiety over tonight. And then, of course, came this.
It didn't make sense. She'd come here to give Yazoo an end to his young life by choking him out with his own hair! And now, suddenly, he was the reason she breathed. One kiss had re-oriented her world and completed something in her. It didn't make sense, but neither did most things she'd experienced since being brought to Gaia. Giant chickens that serve as public transportation? A river running through the core of the planet, composed of the very essense of life? Cloud's hair, and its blatant defiance of gravity? Well...maybe this did mean a bit more sense.
Alexia's face visibly relaxed as every epiphany bubbled to the surface.
She closed the distance between them, melting back into his arms and a state of euphoric vertigo. Stars danced in her mind as she remembered his lips and the feel of his strong hands at the small of her back.
And then they were flying. Or what felt like flying, anyway; probably speeding through the sleepy streets of Costa del Sol on his motorbike. After the flying came a speedy retreat up white stairs that reminded her of the ethereal trees in the Forbidden Forest, glowing and comforting amidst the frightening nothingness around it.
Finally, Yazoo put her down in the room she was currently half-asleep in. She wavered, then took a deep breath and began examining the room.
White. Everything was mostly white. Lush, heavy-looking down comforters upon a bed made from the same wood that the stairs were. There were no pictures on the walls, but there was a small bouquet of white lilies on a glass desk with steel legs. On the outermost wall was a large, sliding glass door which led to a balcony that stood open, the coastal evening breeze making the translucent curtains sway. From where she stood in the center of the room, she could see the town below; this place seemed to have been built at the top of the hilly landscape, overlooking the soft, golden lights of all the streetlights and homes.
Alexia smiled, and Yazoo, watching her every move, slipped his hands around her waist from behind.
"What is it?"
"I can hear the ocean from here. And nothing else. It's...nice." she sighed, and Yazoo gingerly turned her to the right. In front of her was another desk - a vanity - with an enormous round mirror that captured almost all of the opposite wall.
Alexia watched Yazoo in their reflection as his quick hands snuck into her hair, gently pulling out the pins that held up her hair. One by one, her thick curls fell to her back. She shivered unintentionally - it felt good to get those damned things out.
"You're pretty fast with this.." she whispered, cocking an eyebrow and causing Yazoo to smirk.
"I may have some experience with long hair."
"Yes, you'd look so pretty with your hair done up like mine."
Finally, when every pin had been removed, Yazoo planted a soft kiss on top of her head.
"Much better," he breathed, turning her once more back to him. Alexia yawned, then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, causing Yazoo to shake with silent laughter. "Bedtime for the Lilyou."
"But...!"
She watched as Yazoo nimbly slipped out of his groomsman attire and into a pair of pajamas. Seeing him mostly exposed like that had derailed her train of thought. After everything that led up to her being swept away to this suite, he wasn't going to...seal the deal? Seriously?
He seemed to read her thoughts while he fetched her a shirt to sleep in.
"I fully plan on making good on my promise to keep you here," he murmured, grinning as he flipped a plain white t-shirt over his shoulder. She caught it and turned around, shimmying out of her dress to put it on.
"But...?" she dared, irritation slightly present in her tone. This seemed to only encourage and entertain Yazoo further.
"But you've had a lot to drink and you're about to fall asleep standing up."
She huffed, jerking the shirt over her head and turning back to face him. He looked her up and down appreciatively, making her face flush crimson. It was so sad that nothing could merit this kind of reaction out of her for over 2 years.
"Trust me. The time will come, and we'll make the best of it." He smiled, climbing into his side of the bed. Alexia followed suit, and he immediately tugged her over to him. "But that time is not tonight. Imagine if I were to lean down to whisper sweet nothings," he teased, choosing to speak to her with his lips resting just on her ear, "And you were asleep! My pride just couldn't bear it."
Alexia laughed, then, wrapping her free arm around him and cozying up to him as closely as possible.
And the next thing she knew, here she was. It was morning.
Stretching contentedly, she could feel the morning sun warming her back through the balcony doors. She rolled over and reached for Yazoo, and found...paper?
Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up, snatching the paper that wasn't going to cuddle with her and have breakfast on the balcony. Grumpily, she read his unmistakable penmanship.
Alexia,
Good morning, champion. I'm really glad you don't have your gunblades on you today, as I'd hate to hear that you blew a thousand holes in my room of the honeymoon suite. Sephiroth woke Kadaj and I this morning to start work on the beachside clinic. It's going to be a small job... the closest reactor to this place is in North Corel, which was the first place we ever built a clinic. It's just more or less a convenience thing for people who happen to be passing through at the port.
Anyway, try to not harbor too much anger towards me. I grabbed your things from the airship and left them in a bag by the door. See? Even though I don't have to defend your life with bullets and blade, I can still be your hero.
See you soon.
-Y
Despite her best efforts at irritation, Alexia smiled. Hero, indeed.
"Rise and shiiiiiiine, sleepyhead!"
Oh no. That voice! It was all coming back to her, but the question was where could she hide before he-
The door practically blew open, and there stood Sephiroth in his robe. Robe 2.0, as this one actually had substance to it and didn't hint at the shape of his...Masamune. He used to wake her up like this all the time, just to be a pain in the ass.
"Good morning, Seph." she grumbled, laying the paper down next to her and glowering into the doorway.
"Sorry for making your boyfriend work today, but you know how the saying goes. 'Brothers before...others...?"
Alexia actually facepalmed.
"Anyway, breakfast at Cloud and Tifa's rental cottage. Just wanted to let you know before you went prancing off to the airship to find nobody else there."
"Did Kadaj stay here, too?"
"Yeah."
"Well where's Alathea?"
Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow, and she sensed that she was missing something.
"Alathea's not here?"
"No...she's not here."
Before she could ask any more questions, he pulled the door shut. Yep, he was still irritating. Alexia stood, crossing the room and fumbling through her belongings until she found her phone. Sitting on the bedroom floor, she dialed her best friend, who picked up after just one ring.
"Thea!"
"Hey, Lex!"
"Dude, where are you? Sephiroth just barged in to let me know that you're not here at the suite..."
She heard Alathea gasp.
"You're at the suite! Ahhhhh, so things with Yaz went well last night! Holy shit, I'm going to need details...!"
"Alathea, where are you?"
"Uhhhhh...At Reno's."
"..."
"Can you meet me at the airship?"
"I will beat you at the airship."
"Shhh. I'll explain there. Loveyoubye."
*click*
Alexia sighed, closing her phone and tossing it back into the bag. Now that one problem had been squashed, another creeped up on her. Home again, home again, jiggity jig.