Kei: Haha, that was something, wasn't it! Though if all you need is Ollie, you are very easily pleased :P haha. Then again, I adore Ollie! I know I'm a tease, but, I will make it up to you! I will upload my next chapter early ;) So, here it is.

Asneed: I haven't come across it actually! I'll put it on my list, I've got another fic suggestion I want to read, but I don't want to get influenced by other stories, so until my story is finished, I'm not reading any other Reno work :P I will look for it, so thanks! And thanks for liking mine better, haha. I'm a sucker for Seph too, but then again, I'm a sucker for a lot of ff7 characters :O. I saw that the demo came out! I watched it, but haven't played it. I've pre-ordered the game, bought myself a PS4 and am patiently waiting for the official release :P I do know that I can barely wait, everything about it is pure perfection. Have you played it?


Chapter 196

He'd barely changed. He had always been beautiful, apart from that period of years he had been in the process of degrading. His silky auburn hair had dulled to white, his blue eyes had faded, but now he was as colorful as ever. His face was still young and his beloved Rapier was still strapped to his body. I felt like I was looking at a page in a history book. Jenova must pass on some pretty good genes.

"Eden," He breathed and strode over to me. He still possessed the same arrogance I remembered, that confident stride, as if he knew the world lay at his feet. He ignored everyone in the room, like they didn't even exist to him. He hadn't changed in that aspect either. "You're here," He halted before me, almost forcing me to crane my neck to look up into his eyes. He was still beautiful, still perfect, but the burden of everything that had happened to him lay dormant in his gaze. That challenging sparkle his blue eyes had once contained had dimmed. He took my hand in his and placed it against his beating heart. I squirmed under his intense stare, a response I wasn't accustomed to. I wanted to pull away, but he held on to me tightly. "I've missed you..."

"Oh, brother..." I heard Reno grumble in displeasure, momentarily tearing my concentration away from Genesis.

"I was certain I would never lay eyes on you again, but the fates have been kind." Genesis brought his other hand up to rest against the side of my face, which truly was too much for me to handle. His thumb caressed my cheek. "We are together now. All will be all right."

I cleared my throat and removed Genesis' hand. "Genesis, we're in the middle of something here. We'll talk later." His eyes left mine for a moment, roaming around the room as if he only now noticed the other people present. Some, like Ollie and Reno, stood looking at his dramatic entrance with an appalled look on their face. Ollie's mouth was actually hanging open, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. Rufus' eyes had gone even colder than usual, his gaze as sharp as a razor. Only Tseng seemed happy with the intrusion. Then again, he was always smiling. Reeve seemed to be at a loss for words. Genesis looked at Rufus and his Turks with something worse than distaste. It was contempt.

"I'm not here for them," He then said as he looked down at me, treating the people in the room like air. "I'm here for you." Actually, that wasn't entirely the case, but I decided against telling him that now. He needed to be handled with silk gloves, something I generally made a piss poor job of doing. Right now, he wanted me to give him some attention, to make him feel like I'd missed him too. Over the years, I'd certainly wondered whether he was still alive and how he was doing, but I hadn't exactly missed him. Telling him so would only add to his delusions again. I needed to tread carefully. "You asked me to come, and I am here." This might turn out do get very embarrassing for me.

"Okay, we'll talk." I assured him before stepping around him and leading him from the room by the hand. "Let's go."

I escorted him out into the hallway and into the first room that I encountered. The door read 'archives'. Other than the three employees going through some files, the room was vacant. Their faces looked up at me when I opened the door and stepped inside with Genesis.

"Out," I demanded, holding the door open for them. They didn't need to be told twice and hurried outside. Maybe it was my tone of voice, maybe it was Genesis' presence, but right then, I didn't care which had done the trick. However, the way they moved around Genesis in a wide arch as they passed him made me suspect it was the latter. Everyone knew the history of the three First Class SOLDIERs, and how Genesis had started it all when he deserted and chose to start a personal war with Shinra. Even if they didn't recognize him, his aura was enough to force anyone into submission. I closed the door behind us and faced him, for once unsure of what to say. "Okay," I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, feeling like the choice I made would turn out to be wrong, no matter what I decided on. Honesty might anger him, but so would lies. Was there even a gray area here? "Let's talk then." He looked at me for what felt like forever, taking me in, eyes roaming over me top to bottom and back again. An uneasy feeling came over me, but I couldn't deny that I was somewhat positively affected by the appraising look in his eyes.

"Is this how you greet an old friend?" He seemed more than disappointed. Had he forgotten the fact that we hadn't been friends since he had killed my father eight years ago? Was he suffering from memory loss? The words got caught in the back of my throat, threatening to tumble from my mouth, but I knew I had to prevent myself from being too harsh on him. I had forgiven him that night in Banora Village after he had been defeated by Zack. I hadn't meant that as a sign that we would be together one day, I'd only meant for my own heart to finally be at peace over what had happened to me. I hadn't wanted to live a life full of wrath and hate. Maybe to him, the way we had parted did mean that we were friends. If he chose to fight on our side to make amends, then perhaps he was a friend after all. I still didn't know what to say, though. I tried to place myself in his shoes, to imagine how he felt. It was a no-brainer that he had felt betrayed by Shinra when he found out he was created in a lab, and I couldn't agree with him more. However, I didn't agree with the way he'd lost it after that. He'd killed his adoptive parents because he felt they were liars, and he'd caused havoc with his copies. They'd murdered more than one innocent civilian on his command. He'd let me believe that he has seen the errors of his ways, realized his mistakes, but that didn't mean that I could simply set this feeling of discomfort aside.

"I'm not sure what you're expecting me to do," I decided to settle for the truth. It's what I would want. "I can't say I'm over the moon to see you, too much has happened between us, don't you think?"

"Still as forward as ever," He smiled sadly. "I understand that you may feel... conflicted... about seeing me again. But you must believe me, Eden, I have nothing but good intentions with you."

"What about with everyone else?" It was all good that he felt that way, but there were other people to worry about. "Can we trust you? Do you understand my worries concerning that?"

He shook his head impatiently. "I don't want to talk about that. Don't you think that we could leave what happened behind us? Can we not make a fresh start? I am willing to do anything, Eden."

"Genesis," I said to him sternly, hoping to get through to him once and for all. "I didn't call you here to talk about us, I called you here because the world is about to end. Whether you're aware or not, your friend Weiss is about to awaken Omega, and there will be no more you and there will be no more me. Seeing you after all this time...I'm glad you're all right, and I agree what Shinra did was wrong, but I'm going to need some time if you ever hope to be friends again. I need you here to do your duty as SOLDIER." I really found it incredible that after all this time, he still harbored feelings for me. I'd known when he came to see me nearly four years ago, but this obsession seemed to sit deep with him. He reached out and took my hand in his again, staring down at it in thought.

"All I want is a chance," He whispered softly, gaze still locked on our conjoined hands. "I would do this for you, if you could only give me a chance." There it was, the one thing I had dreaded. I thought about the fights with Azul, Max and Rosso, and how we were seriously outmatched. Maybe Cloud was strong enough to defeat them, but even he was only one person. Max had been a lucky shot, because his heart hadn't been in it in the first place. Azul and Rosso were determined, and we hadn't even met the two brothers, Nero and Weiss yet. Even though I was an enhanced human being, I had lacked the strength to defeat Rosso. Perhaps in a rematch things would turn out differently, but she wasn't the only one to worry about. On the other hand, Genesis' capacities came close to those of Sephiroth. He'd never been his exact equal, but he'd been a match for him at least. Which is more than I could say for anyone else, apart from Cloud, including myself. This was what Shinra wanted me to do, and their strategy made more sense to me by the minute. I was fairly sure that Vincent would be against it, and so would Ollie -not to mention Reno, with whom I could easily imagine the storm clouds accumulating above his head as we spoke- but this wasn't about me. There were bigger things at stake here. Who could better fight the Tsviets than Genesis, the very person whose genes they were created from?

"I.." Still, the words wouldn't leave my lips.

"There comes a time in your life when you're going to have to make a choice, Eden," Genesis lectured me. "You either wait for whoever it is you're waiting for and end up alone for the rest of your life..." He looked at me sadly. "Or you concede. If you'll have me, I swear I will cherish and love you till the day I die." I cursed softly and turned my back towards him, feeling hurt by his words. He was right about one thing; I was more than terrified that I would end up old and alone. This had been one of my concerns for years, and in the end, it seemed that no one wanted me. "Is there someone?" He asked me reluctantly. "If so, then where is he?" Something in his voice told me he already knew the answer. "Deep down, you've always known this would happen to you in the end. Despite your beauty and intelligence, you're simply too strong for most. Not only physically, but by personality as well. I know you can be sweet and caring, but Eden...They don't want to have to handle you, they want you to submit. I would never ask you to be something you're not. I'm throwing myself at your feet, I am offering you everything I am and I accept you for everything you are. Please, Eden, will you have me?" He stepped towards me, his aura warming my chilled skin. Goosebumps arose on my arms, making me shiver. "Do you still have my book? He whispered to me, almost making me laugh. I remembered him giving me his Loveless copy before he left, eight years ago. He never came back as one of ours. I smiled at the memory.

"It was still in my dormitory when I made a run for it. Maybe it's still there."

"I love to see you smile," He took my hands in his and looked at me intently, gaze lingering on my lips. "I want to make you smile every day, Eden." He brought my hands up and placed a feathery kiss on my knuckles. I sighed and looked at our hands, his red gloves cradling my finger-less black ones. The heat from his palms was still evident through all this leather.

"You're right about me, Gen," I said reluctantly. "I'm tired of being alone and I don't want some weakling who'll be afraid of me. I don't want to have to restrain myself or be someone I'm not… And I know I would never have to with you, but..."

"But?" He placed a finger under my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "Tell me what it is you desire from me and you shall have it." I hated myself for the way my heart skipped a beat at those words. The last thing I wanted was to react to Genesis like this, but words like these were all a girl ever wanted to hear, all I ever needed to hear, and this goddamn Turk refused and rejected me so stubbornly. If only he would say things like these… But he wouldn't, and that was the problem of my life. Here I was, in the arms of a man who had once been one of the most desirable men on the entire Planet. A man every girl had swooned over. There wasn't a person in the world who didn't know his name, his fame and his strength. What was there to complain about?

"You'd have to prove to me that you're loyal and reliable," I said to him. "Not just to me. I want you to prove that you've changed your ways and have stopped doing things solely for your own needs. Then, and only then would I consider it," I'd already known he was no longer the angry man he had once been. He had stepped off that path years ago, but his hatred for Shinra and his arrogance had remained. "I can't promise you anything, Genesis." His eyes searched mine for a long time. Was he looking for a lie? I had told him nothing but truth, but I feared he might see right into my soul, that he would see that my heart was in someone else's hands. Would it anger him? Or would it make him work harder? He pressed my hands to his lips again before letting them go. Instead, he wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and pressed a kiss to my forehead. His next words were whispered, breath dancing over my skin.

"I swear that I will prove to you that I have bettered myself. You won't regret this." I stepped back from him when the door opened and Reeve peeped in.

"So sorry to interrupt, but we have been called outside. If you're ready, care to join us?"

"Man!" Ollie pushed the door open all way, almost shoving Reeve aside in his haste to talk to me. "You'd better come see this!" Curiosity got the best of me and I left Genesis standing to join my friends in the hallway. Rufus and the Turks were making their way outside with Reeve, but I noticed Reno wasn't among them. Where had he gone? "You, demon-spawn," Ollie said to Genesis, earning him the most deadly glare I had ever seen in my life. Ollie swallowed and grinned nervously. There was no need for me to smack him over the head, Genesis' silent warning was punishment enough. "Uh...You'd better be good to my girl, or she'll hurt you!" I raised an eyebrow at him, knowing for certain that hadn't been what he had wanted to say.

"And who are you?" Genesis demanded, sounding like he was looking at a cockroach.

"He's my best friend," I said to him darkly, not appreciating the way he was assessing Ollie. "Got a problem with that?" He looked at me for a long time, and I could see the turmoil in his head. How easy it was for me to read his inner conflicts. Then, he finally spoke.

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. As long as he refrains himself from calling me demon-spawn."

"That's wasn't very nice," I agreed and smacked Ollie over the head anyway. A curse left his lips as he rubbed the back of his skull. "It won't happen again." I concluded. Genesis nodded and joined me out into the hallway. Together we made our way outside, but when we passed the door to the lab, I heard a voice call out to me. Reno's voice. My first reaction was to keep walking, but Ollie stuck out his foot right then, and Genesis had to catch hold of me to keep me from falling. "Hey!" I scolded Ollie as he laughed and ran away down the hallway, leaving us to deal with a very uncomfortable situation.

"Are you sure he is your friend?" Genesis asked me, not letting go of me, even though I was steady on my feet again. Reno appeared in the doorway, his eyes glued to the way Genesis' hands were on me, and clearly not liking what he was seeing. The storm clouds above his head looked ready to burst. Genesis let go of me at the sight of him, and started pulling me down the hallway by the hand.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Reno called after me. He was glaring at Genesis, who continued down the hall. I already knew where this talk was going, and I wasn't going to like it. Still, I freed myself from Genesis' hold, unable to ignore Reno's call.

"Eden, come," Genesis stood some distance away, holding out his hand. "They are expecting us outside."

"I need a word with her." Reno pressed, resolve in his voice. I looked over at Genesis, who stood waiting for me with an expectant look on his face, his hand still outstretched. Suddenly, I hated him for his gesture. I didn't want him to beckon to me, I wanted him to go and wait outside.

"If you have something to say to my girl," Genesis said to Reno. "You can say it in front of me." Hostility radiated off him, and for a moment I worried that his old rivalry would rear its head again, the way it had with Sephiroth. Then again, he probably felt less than threatened by someone like Reno. Genesis and Sephiroth shared that arrogance, they thought that no one else could ever compete. Drawing swords on account of someone that was beneath them would hurt their pride. I could tell by the look on Reno's face that he was getting annoyed. It seemed his patience with Genesis was limited, if present at all. His mouth opened to no doubt shoot one of his sassy remarks, but I cut him off before he got the chance.

"I'll be right out," I said to Genesis, deciding that Reno's sass wouldn't be very constructive, if not disastrous. And then I was the one who never thought before speaking. "Go on." I added when I saw Genesis hesitate. Genesis' eyes moved over to Reno, as if finally acknowledging his existence. There was nothing but loathing on his face, and I knew what he thought of him; that he was nothing more than Shinra vermin, a weak one at that, and not worth the trouble. I suddenly despised him, cursing him for his sense of superiority over everyone that wasn't him. Then his eyes moved back to me and he gave me a small nod before making his way outside alone. Reno and I stared at each other as we listened to Genesis' footfalls echoing down the hallway. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.

"Don't tell me this is what you want." Reno stated, not wasting any time on sweet-talk or pretense. The playful way we'd treated each other over the past days was gone like it never happened. I knew my thoughts about this to be right; Reno had no idea how to handle certain situations, and it became more evident the longer I knew him. I couldn't even be angry with him about it anymore. All I wanted was him, it had become more than a wish, it had become a yearning. Still, I was done being tossed about like a toy that went out of fashion, but had too much sentimental value to throw away. Truthfully, I had no idea if this was the right thing to do. The very thought of being with Genesis made my skin crawl, and for the tenth time in as many minutes I asked myself the same question.

"What if it is?" I challenged, thinking that I wasn't doing this solely for myself. This was for the benefit of everyone I cared for, the world, Genesis, and maybe even myself. Reno's features hardened, his jaw locked tight as he looked at me.

"Then this conversation is over." He replied, sounding definite. I didn't want it to be over, I wanted to be with him in this room forever, but I also knew that this had to come to an end, if we were to move on from everything that had happened between us. But, I couldn't lie to him, he would see right through me anyway. He knew me too well. I looked away, thinking I'd rather not answer the question. "Didn't think so." He grumbled at me, folding his arms over his chest in irritation.

"Weren't you the one who told me to do this in the first place?" I remembered all too well the way that Shinra had made him call me to let me know they thought it would be a wonderful idea for me to reach out to Genesis and win him over to our side. "You instructed me to bond with him, remember?"

He grit his teeth. "Hardly my idea. I get that it's good strategy, but it wasn't me. I don't want you to do this. You're sacrificing yourself again, just like you did with Sephiroth. Don't do it, Foxy."

"This is the only way to get Genesis on our side," I explained. "And in case you didn't notice, none of us is a match for the Tsviets, and we haven't even met the brothers yet. I got my ass handed to me by Rosso yesterday. We need him. If I-"

"Stop arguing about it!" He suddenly snapped. "You ain't doing this, ya hear me?"

I narrowed my eyes at his sudden outburst, feeling rage bubble up inside me. Now he cared? "You think you can tell me what to do?"

"Yes I can, and I will," He shot back. I couldn't recall ever seeing him like this. "It ain't happenin', end of discussion."

"Why then?!" I all but shouted, being done with his conflicting behavior.

"Coz-!" He snapped his jaw shut before he could say too much. For some reason, his reaction calmed me down. I knew what was on his mind, I knew how he fought some sort of inner struggle between what he wanted and what he believed was good for him.

"I don't want to be alone the rest of my life," I whispered to him, sadness taking me over. "No one wants me, but Genesis does." He must think me truly pathetic, if not completely unethical, but someone like him would never understand what it was like. Girls would throw themselves at him for being strong and handsome, even for being dangerous, because girls loved that. But me? Guys ran away from me or were scared of me, some even wanted to fight me because they had to prove their balls were bigger than mine. "If that means I don't have to be alone anymore, then I'll settle."

"Settle?!" He exclaimed, looking exasperated. "For less than what?"

The words 'less than you' lay on the tip of my tongue, but I wouldn't say them. I knew he didn't want me to. He didn't want me at all, but he didn't want to see me with anyone else either. "You have to let me go, Reno." I said to him desperately.

"Then tell me to stay away from you," He sounded equally desperate, almost pleading. The fight went out of him, the fire in his eyes died down. "Please make this easier for me, Eden. Just tell me that's what you want."

How could he ask that of me? If I were to say that, he would disappear forever. No matter how much easier it would make things for both of us, I didn't want him out of my life anymore. More and more, I realized that I had my own inner conflict going on. I wanted to keep fighting for him every day, but I also wanted him out of my life to stop the never-ending ache. For now, the scale didn't tip either way, for now I would do with getting to see him, at least. I would be lying if I claimed that his pleading and domineering didn't have an effect on me. One look at his face, at his beautiful pleading eyes, and I almost crumbled. If only he would offer me an alternative.

"I won't," I shook my head. "I can't tell you that, because that would be a lie. That's not what I want."

His face froze, eyes widened. "Eden..." Whatever he had to say, I didn't want to hear it. He was making things worse and even more complicated. I couldn't lie to him, and I'm sure he knew what I wanted. The stupid asshole just didn't want me, simple as that.

"Thought you said this conversation was over if this was what I wanted?" I started moving towards the door.

"Are you really gonna move forward with this then?" His voice was calm again, but I sensed the hint of darkness in his words. He hadn't accepted defeat yet.

"I'll have a warm body to snuggle up to at night," I replied, and didn't miss the smothered groan that rose up in his throat. "That's not such a bad deal." I reached for the door, about to open it.

"Don't walk away from me," His voice was suddenly dangerous, so cold it froze me in my tracks. In that moment, I almost feared him. I slowly faced him, afraid to see the look on his face. There was anger, and hurt, and a mixture of emotions too complicated for me to sort through. "If you step through that door right now, then consider this over."

His words took me by surprise, almost making me choke on my inability to come up with a sassy response. I'd never seen him looking this resolved. I composed myself, thinking he didn't even deserve me anymore. I'd had enough of his games.

"There was nothing to begin with," I said calmly. "You told me to get it out of my head, so what are you even talking about?" His resolve broke before my eyes, his brow knitted together, and the mask he was so adapt at hiding behind, shattered.

"Please, don't do this." He pleaded again, once he realized his harsh tones made no difference with me. He'd tried talking, demanding, then pleading, then getting angry, and now he was pleading again. He still had no clue that there was only one thing that would stop me from running to Genesis, and falling into his arms instead. It was the one thing he refused to do.

"What do you want from me?" I threw my hands up in frustration.

"I want you to stay away from this guy." He replied stubbornly. That wasn't what I was asking about, and he knew it. But once again, he refused to go there.

"I know what I'm doing," I said evenly, hiding behind my own mask. It hurt me to have to do this, and he knew it, but what else was I supposed to do? "And what I'm doing is leaving." Finally, I opened the door and stepped outside, wondering if this really meant it was over between us.