35 – Unstable
Summary: Genesis gets congratulated by Sephiroth in the most unexpected way. Genesis and Sephiroth start their turbulent relationship and you should all pity poor Angeal! A Collab between Soyna and BMIK
Rating: If you have read any of BMIK's or my stuff, you know this is rated Mature in nature. That means that there will be men love (yaoi), bad language and a lot of bad attitude as well.
Lazard and Genesis: Soyna
Cloud and Sephiroth: BMIK
Cloud had been copying for two hours now. Genesis was annoyingly late and there was no other place from which he could see the man's office. Angeal wasn't there yet either and Joseph threw him a worried and impatient look from where he was inspecting the water dispenser they had broken a bit earlier (so Joseph would have an excuse to repair it). The job was tiring and they were slowly running out of excuses of why it took them so long...
Finally the elevator doors opened and Genesis in all his red, mighty glory flounced down the corridor. Cloud stood straight to attention, wide awake, his heart beating in his chest. He even forgot to copy.
This would be the big moment of his victory.
Genesis was not eager to see what had to be done in his office, but it was safer than going back to his apartment at the moment. He was sure that he had a desk full of papers.
He didn't doubt that Angeal was at home brooding about his dishonourable behaviour or something. He would try to talk to him tonight and get him to understand why it all happened.
He frowned when saw the water cooler being repaired. Sephiroth made an awful cup of coffee and he wanted to wash the taste out of his mouth before he delved into the horrors of paperwork.
Genesis gave a mighty sigh as he opened his door and went into his office. He groaned as he saw the papers on his desk. This day couldn't suck any more than it already did. Angeal's desk was empty as he sat himself down on his and went on a search for pen.
But the drawer didn't have pens in it.
It was full of small cylindrical tubes in foil wrappings.
Genesis felt his eye twitch.
"WHAT IN MINERVA'S NAME IS THIS SHIT?" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he grabbed a handful of the offending products that were in his drawer.
Maybe Cloud was a bit drunk on his victory and the success of his mission but he felt invincible. Leaving his copy machine he went over to calmly stand at the door, looking at the startled man holding the little objects with an incredulous and very stupid expression plastered to his face.
Cloud was gloating.
"I believe those are tampons, sir," he replied innocently.
Genesis turned to see that blond cadet standing there with an amused smile on his face and soon there was a crowd behind him of people jeering and laughing as he held the handful of bloody tampons ... not to turn a phrase or anything.
"Oh, haha! Who did this stupid joke?" he growled at the crowd as he started to throw the tampons into a garbage bin. He saw the flash of a phone and turned around to see one of his fellow SOLDIERs taking a picture.
"Lucus! What the hell are you doing?" Genesis fumed as his fellow SOLDIER just smiled and hit another button.
"Jus' spreadin' the joy, man," Lucus said simply.
Genesis slumped in his chair as he looked at all the tampons that were in his drawers.
He heard someone mutter, "Well, that explains his mood swings."
"At least women only get it once a month though."
Genesis went to grab a folder to throw it at the so called comrades but seeing as they were all glued together that failed as well.
The laughter grew louder and more pictures were taken of the block of paper that landed on the floor.
Today was just not Genesis' day.
Cloud felt so happy that he thought his heart would burst in his chest. He had humiliated Genesis BIG time and shown him his place! Now Sephiroth was all his!
The man looked so gloriously miserable ... and everyone was having a blast!
Cloud shared a quick look with Joseph who was grinning from ear to ear with the others. They could celebrate later.
Genesis growled. "I'm going to kill whoever did this!" He yelled over the laughter and tried to look dignified cleaning up the tampons from his desk.
hr
Lazard left a message with Sephiroth's secretary to see him as soon as he got in. He needed to see him now. He needed to find out about Hojo and how far he had gone. And also he had to get Sephiroth to control his sexual urges with Genesis in public.
As soon as Sephiroth stepped into his office he was informed by his secretary - whose fingers maltreated the keyboard relentlessly as she kept staring straight at her monitor- that he was to see Lazard immediately. That didn't exactly brighten Sephiroth's mood. When he saw the stacks of paper waiting for him on his desk however he just turned and walked to the elevator without saying a word to Gertrude.
Lazard was clutching his cup of coffee as he waited.
There was a lot to discuss with Sephiroth and from past discussion with the man; he highly doubted that it would go well. Sephiroth was not a man that liked to be told what to do.
But then, he may appreciate the fact that he wouldn't have to deal with more painful session with Hojo any longer. He doubted that Hojo would keep his word, but explaining to Sephiroth that he didn't have to endure such treatments in the future or ask that he always go down to the labs with a witness — preferably Genesis, since they seemed to be attached — would ease the situation.
There were times when Lazard wondered if it was all worth it for the stress that he endured with this job.
Lazard's secretary just waved him through with a professional, never faltering smile that the General didn't reciprocate. He closed the doors behind him as he entered Lazard's office and greeted the man with a simple nod. They were past any formal greetings by now.
"You wished to see me."
Sephiroth hoped that Lazard wouldn't get long-winded because he was in a distinctly bad mood this morning and then he was running low on patience. He remembered Genesis mention something about video cameras in the restaurant they had visited and his mood dropped a few notches further.
"Have a seat? Would you like some coffee?" Lazard asked as he pointed to the chair. Sephiroth looked glum. He looked so much better than the picture that Lazard had on his phone and despite what he had seen on the videos of the lab, the man shouldn't be able to stand.
They were in for a long conversation.
Though coffee did sound tempting Sephiroth didn't want to spend more time here than absolutely necessary, so he declined but he did take the seat. It wasn't as if he had a choice.
Still he tried to shorten the conversation. "Director, I have a lot of work to do" - which was a massive understatement- "so I would like to keep this short."
"This will take as long as it takes," Lazard said. "There are a few things to discuss. Why don't we discuss your relationship with Genesis first?"
Lazard took a sip of his coffee. He needed to stay strong in this conversation. He wasn't sure if Genesis really understood the implications of their conversation that they had yesterday. He was so temperamental and really didn't seem bothered by the fact that he got caught on video doing things that were better left to a bedroom.
Sephiroth was close to bristling at the mentioning of the evil r-word. "I'm not in a relationship with that person," he corrected Lazard sharply. Why did people keep assuming that he was? He didn't say anything more; his strategy now was remaining stoic and unnerving the enemy to the point where he would slip up, make mistakes and finally surrender. Sephiroth could be a very patient man and he would be as difficult in this as he could.
Lazard refrained from rolling his eyes. "Fine. Let's talk about you fucking Genesis then, shall we? And the fact that you seem to be doing it in very public places. Public places that have cameras. You are lucky that you have not been outed to the press or fanclubs yet."
"I assume you want to say that you are lucky that nothing has leaked yet," Sephiroth replied calmly. He didn't give a damn, it was Shin-Ra who so meticulously worked at and shaped his public image. "And now I am wondering what cameras are doing at a private place such as a restaurant." His tone of voice made clear that he was less than enthused about being spied on.
"Let me deal with the camera's first. Our executives have meetings at that restaurant often, so they are monitored. They happened to be in one of the rooms that are used often by the President." He didn't know if that was true, but it was better than saying that the Turks were a bunch of snoops. "You," he emphasized the word," are lucky that Tseng brought it to my attention."
He took a sip of his coffee. "Your public image is what keeps you employed. What else would you do if you were not employed by Shin-Ra? You are a large investment and I know that Hojo would not want to lose his investment."
He wanted to see Sephiroth's reaction to bringing up Hojo in this manner. He was startled with Genesis' reaction when he used his usual Hojo threatening tactic. He held his cup firmly and stared directly at the General over his glasses.
Sephiroth's expression hardened, but that was all the reaction he showed. He was schooled in being emotionless.
"I follow your argumentation to the point where it becomes incomprehensible to me what I am gaining from being your investment. Being employed by Shin-Ra comes with a lot of responsibility, restrictions, risks - and nothing to gain from. Now you are even trying to tell me what I should and shouldn't do in the little spare time that you allow me." Sephiroth kept the eye contact with Lazard. He had no hopes of the man actually understanding what he was trying to say. Shin-Ra, the thing that had always been his life, his past, present and future had begun to frustrate Sephiroth recently. For the first time doubts and thoughts of rebellion seeped into his thoughts and the urge to free himself from this burden became stronger and stronger. His loyalty was waning and that could become very dangerous for him.
Especially if Hojo was involved
Well, Lazard thought, that was better than him blowing up and throwing a tantrum like Genesis did but it made it very clear what Sephiroth thought of the company. He could read between the lines as well as anyone and they couldn't lose Sephiroth but they still had to please the masses.
"You have had a lot of responsibility on your plate for a long time," Lazard said. "That can be readjusted now that we have more First Class SOLDIERs that are showing themselves quite capable of filling that roll, so we can allow you a bit more time for leisure. I would prefer that your leisure remain in the bedroom and away from prying eyes. And away from the young cadets as well."
Lazard took another drink of his coffee as he tried to put a plan together in how to deal with Hojo next. The man could not be trusted with a mouse, never mind the most prized SOLDIER. "You are a man that people look up to for leadership within the company. They do not look to the President or the Vice President. They look to you. Your employment depends on that and so does the company. If the company falls, so do you, unfortunately."
Sephiroth made a dismissive gesture with his hand that could have meant anything. He was tired talking about this. Apparently Shin-Ra was spying on him in his own quarters too; otherwise the 'subtle' reprimanding about cadets would've been superfluous. The first thing Sephiroth would take care of when he was out of this office was those cameras.
"Is there anything else?" he asked, not bothering to hide the impatience in his voice now.
Lazard nodded and set his cup down.
He was hoping for more of a reaction out of Sephiroth, but then, the man was always schooled to hide his true feelings.
"There is a very important matter to discuss. We cannot have you down like you were the other day for as long as you were. That is an unacceptable," Lazard said. "Since you seem to be... friendly with Genesis on a regular basis now, you will not go down to the labs without him present. If he is away on a mission, I will be called to join you. You will not be going to deal with Hojo alone from now on, as I do not trust the man to be around a shrub, never mind another human being." Lazard let his tone harden as he spoke.
He was still very unnerved by the video that he saw and had trouble sleeping because of it.
Actually that statement got a reaction out of Sephiroth; his mouth was hanging open in bewilderment for a second.
Then he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I refuse."
There was just no way in heaven or hell that he would let anyone witness his medical treatments! It was humiliating enough to have Hojo do this to him, though he had gotten kind of used to it. But apparently that wasn't enough for Shin-Ra; now they wanted to see firsthand how their investment was faring, it seemed.
This was probably punishment for the incident in the restaurant.
"Refuse?" Lazard was confused. He thought Sephiroth would welcome company to ensure that Hojo didn't treat him like a lab rat. "This is not a matter of discussion. This is what is going to happen. If I could, I would stop all your visits, but I do not see how I could stop them. That man has too much power in the company."
Now this was even more confusing. Why would Lazard want to stop his visits to the labs? From the moment Sephiroth could think they had hammered it into his soft little brain that the medical treatment was essential, that he could never, under no circumstances miss a session. Did they try to kill Sephiroth? Then surely Lazard would have found a more subtle way of doing it.
"I don't see why anyone should accompany me. Professor Hojo sends his reports to you regularly and it worked just fine till now," he finally said. Sephiroth really didn't like change, it gave him headaches.
Lazard frowned. "I have seen the reports." Lazard didn't understand why Sephiroth would allow such treatment. No one should endure being turned into a pin-cushion and cut up the way that he was ... except maybe Hojo himself. "They do not cover half the test that he is performing on you," he said in a low voice, hoping it would get through to Sephiroth that Hojo was performing unnecessary tests. Hojo was hurting him on purpose for shits and giggles.
"Then it would suffice to tell him that he should be more diligent in writing them from now on instead of wasting personal to sit next to me. Don't you have your cameras there anyway?" Sephiroth started to become unnerved because he didn't see what Lazard was trying to get at. He got the feeling that they were talking of different kind of things here.
Lazard grabbed a pen and clutched it in his hands tightly. "It was not the fact that he was not diligent in his reporting. He is very detailed, but it was the fact that he was omitting information on what tests he subjecting you too. It took a lot of digging to get this information as Tseng didn't even have access to it immediately."
Lazard didn't want to outright say that Hojo was torturing Sephiroth. He really wanted the General to realize it himself.
"We are not allowing such actions to happen again," Lazard said. "You mean a lot to this company and to the other SOLDIERs and seeing you carved up like a holiday turkey is not an appropriate pass time for a hero." Lazard stared at the blank look on Sephiroth's face but he could see him thinking behind those green cat-like eyes. "I will do anything in my power to prevent it. Sending a man with you will deter Hojo as there is no way I could stop the visits completely or transfer you to Hollander."
The words Lazard spoke barely reached Sephiroth's brain as it was occupied trying to process the revelation that hundredsof sessions, years of excruciating pain and torture and humiliation had just been for nothing.
This had to be a joke. Surely Lazard couldn't mean that. This was just another test.
It had to be.
The left corner of Sephiroth's mouth twitched once, the first facial movement in about five minutes. He was one inch short of snapping.
"How much of that was unauthorized," he finally said, his voice coarse.
Lazard looked down at his desk. "I don't have an answer for that." And he had no way of getting the information beyond asking Tseng to snoop further again and he didn't know how deep the Turk could go.
He was pretty sure that Hojo would lock things down after their little talk.
"I will try to keep the investigation quiet and it may take a little while to find out," Lazard hoped that Sephiroth would understand. Lazard would understand if he didn't after all, he was the one that was at the end of the scalpel.
Sephiroth's jaw clenched and unclenched. The implications of Lazard's revelation threatened to crush over him and he had a hard time keeping it at bay. He wouldn't have a mental breakdown. Not yet and not here anyway.
"I see," he finally said, his fingers clenching around the metal armrest of his chair. Now, the other issues aside, that information didn't change anything about the fact that he would not take company down with him to the labs. "I can take care of that now myself. I do not need a nanny."
Lazard frowned and stared at the tense figure. "You will take someone with you and that is that," Lazard said finally. "You have to quit dealing with problems on your own! Let other people help you for a change so that you don't have to bear the burden alone."
There were so many things wrong with Sephiroth and this situation. Lazard really wished he had come with him sooner. Maybe then he wouldn't be so damaged.
Sephiroth just seethed. He refrained from pointing out that last time he had been involved with other people they had turned out to torture him for no reason. Lazard of all people dared to lecture him on trust? It was ridiculous, but the man probably didn't even notice.
"Is that all then?" Sephiroth asked icily. He wanted to get out of here.
Lazard could see that Sephiroth was mad. He just needed to cool down for a little bit and then they would talk again. The man needed to think about this rationally and without the anger clouding his logic.
"We have more to discuss," Lazard said, "But I see that you are of no state of mind to discuss it." He stood from his chair, as his coffee was empty and he needed a refill. "Come back and talk to me at the end of the week when you are in a more stable state of mind."
Sephiroth wanted to punch him in the face, badly. He wanted to feel the man's glasses splinter and the shards drive deeply into Lazard's eyes while his knuckles crushed the man's nose and broke his teeth. Sephiroth wanted to feel Lazard's blood running over his fingers and breathe loud whimpers of pain.
Wordlessly he stood and left the office without looking back, lest he really lost it.
The General headed straight to his gym, ignoring people greeting him and trying to involve him in useless talk about work and gossip.
Finally he stood in his gym, the sun shining brightly through the high window and painting small shadows on the white floor.
About half an hour later the gym was pretty much gone.
A soft breeze flew past the broken window and over the destroyed interior that had fallen victim to Sephiroth's rage. There was nothing left but pieces of metal and wood and concrete and glass littering the floor. One wall sported a giant hole and the camera that had been hidden in a smoke alarm was crushed and useless now.
Sephiroth sat upright against a wall, that was deeply scratched and dirty with black smears, and stared outside without seeing much. There was nothing left to vent his anger and frustration on, so he had just stopped
Genesis stood in the door to Sephiroth's private gym a few minutes later and saw the destruction.
He moved to stand in front of Sephiroth and looked around. "So, you hungry? I can use some lunch. I had a really trying morning and really need a drink or two. You must have worked up an appetite destroying all this."
Sephiroth's eyes shifted upwards to the impertinent redhead who stood there with one hand on his hips. The General gave a humourless, snorted laugh and looked back at the hole in the wall.
Well. He was hungry. And he most certainly needed a drink. "After you."
Genesis rolled his eyes. "Not that I mind walking ahead of you, but your ass infatuation is really getting bad if you insist on it."
"You haven't seen half of it." Sephiroth lifted a brow, grabbing aforementioned body part and giving it a firm, casual squeeze. He felt calmer now, though Genesis being within a 50 mile radius should have the opposite effect on him. Strange.
Genesis jumped at the hand on his ass and turned sharply and tutted at Sephiroth. "We are supposed to be good little boys and only make a spectacle of ourselves in bedrooms like good normal people." Not that he minded his ass being grabbed. He quite liked the fact that Sephiroth was still willing to grab for it. "And since Angeal kicked me out until he gets laid by Zack and your bedroom is destroyed, we don't have many options at the moment."
"People are supposed to do all kind of things. But within Shin-Ra no one seems to deem it necessary to follow any rules anyway." Sephiroth gave a sardonic shrug as he followed Genesis to wherever the redhead headed. If Hojo could 'carve him up like a holiday turkey' as Lazard had so eloquently phrased it then Sephiroth would fuck whomever wherever he wanted!
Genesis smiled back at him. "Well, then, let's get something quick to eat, you need to get a new mattress and I need some clothes and then we can test the mattress. We can make an afternoon out of it!" He turned and marched forward to the First Class Lounge. They could get a beer and a steak sandwich there ... as that was all that Sephrioth seemed to eat anyway
"I got work to do." Which he absolutely didn't feel like doing. Sephiroth pushed the button of the coffee machine, watching the black, hot liquid pouring into the cup. Fucking sounded way more tempting, if he thought about it.
Genesis scoffed. "What are they going to do? They can't fire you and the worse they can do to me is demote me. Wow, punish me with less paperwork and hassle." Genesis reached for a bottle of water from the fridge, "Plus, you need another shower. You look like you took a drywall bath." He reached out and brushed some dust off his jacket. "We can pick out some new clothes for you too."
"Oh joy," Sephiroth sneered, finishing his coffee in one gulp. Genesis was right though; he needed a new bed (damn Angeal) and he didn't feel like staying anywhere close to Shin-Ra right now. The shower in his gym had been destroyed too, so he would have to go back to his apartment.
"I'll meet you in half an hour," he declared, setting his cup aside and grabbing a sandwich that he devoured on his way back to the shower.
OMG…. I think Genesis got his way for once! What a shocker.
There will be a break for a week so you all know before I start posting again. I got a few things to organize and clean up and stuff, but it will be back my loves. It will be back with some Zackness.