The following months were by far the best days during her time in SOLDIER.

Lightning felt almost carefree.

They were the calm before the storm.

There hadn´t been any signs of rebellion from Wutai since their leader had been eliminated and most missions they were assigned now revolved either around obtaining relics, materia, or other stuff for the science department, as well as getting rid of monsters lurking around the outskirts of Midgar again.

All in all Lightning didn't need her new healing materia much. Piece of cake, as Zack Fair would have said.

Her black haired comrade was still talking about getting that damned piercings to anyone who'd listen and he'd let his bangs grow out too which he let hang into his face in what he doubtlessly thought was a very sexy way, but Lightning herself hadn't changed much. She still wore her's brushed to the side and her lenghts thrown over her shoulder.

Cloud, despite all his private training sessions with Genesis, still had not been made second class, a fact that greatly disturbed the redhead who seemed to have given up on his apprentice some time ago now, obviously stamping him a lost case.

Now that she was First Class, Claire Farron found herself in company of Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth more often. Finally being part of the SOLDIER elite, Zack and her spent most of their free time together with them now, leaving Cloud Strife to hang around with his third class comrades most evenings.

The quality of their freetime activities had changed too.

There would be those quiet enjoyable occasional meetings, where Angeal would be in the mood to cook for them, inviting them over to his clean but cozy appartment, comfortably furnished, with pictures of his family on the cupboards and cute flower-patterned tablecloths on every available surface, where he'd serve them delicious roast chicken or pork and potatoes.

They always dug in, stuffing themselves, sitting together and talking or watching the news on Zack´s huge flat screen he´d bought the second he had received his first First Class salary, sometimes even playing a game of Texas hold´em, which, with Sephiroth joining in, was almost impossible to win.

Sephiroth...

Despite the fact that they were seeing each other now every other evening, Lightning couldn't help but notice that her former mentor kept his distance.

She didn't know whether it was because he still feared for his manhood or whether it were just the sideeffects of him not being her sensei anymore, but for some strange reason they hadn't spent time alone together after they'd bade each other goodnight the evening he had presented her with the maxed out healing materia.

The pink haired female couldn't decide whether he had been evading her on purpose or whether it was a coincidence, but fact was the two of them never spent time together alone anymore, hardly ever spoke in fact and if they did, it was only as part of their new formed elite group or for practical reasons out on some mission.

Lightning didn't know what she had expected.

It wasn't as if she missed those lessons in the training room exactly. The humiliation. The beatings. Not really.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Somehow, in her boundless naivety, she had hoped that they would get a little closer now that she'd made first class, that they would act a little more like friends.

Well. Turned out General Sephiroth Crescent was not one to befriend that easily.

Claire Farron should have guessed.

Still. It was confusing in a way, made her feel a little sad, inadequade.

How much would she have liked to get to know him, to meet the man beneath the seemingly impenetrable facade, behind the war hero decorations and the haughty smirks.

She had seen glimpses of him. True. Tiny instances, where the marble mask had slipped. Where she had gotten a peek at the real Sephiroth. But those had been so few, had been so scarce, that Lightning hadn't been sure whether they'd been real at all. Maybe she had just imagined it. Misinterpreted. Who could say for sure?

Still, none of all that kept her gaze from gravitating towards the individual in question whenever they were in the same room, kept her from secretly studying his profile from out of the corner of her eyes whenever he looked the other way.

The silver haired legend, he didn't seem to notice, didn't seem to mind.


It was quickly that autumn passed and winter had arrived. Quickly that the air grew cold, and winds got chilly as the days got shorter and shorter and the nights stretched endlesslesy.

The year was finally drawing to a close and it wasn't until the midst of December that Lightning was finally assigned a real mission again.

Now the wutai war was over it seemed as if Shin-Ra didn´t have much use for them anymore.

Claire Farron was looking forward therefore to her next job, looking forward to finally leave Midgar and it´s Slums again, to get a little change of scenery.

It was the evening before they left for that mission, that the first class's chose to eat in the dining hall instead of going out, something they hadn´t done in a very long time. Since their departure was scheduled for the early morning hours of the next day and Angeal didn't feel like cooking, they didn´t really have a lot of options.

It wasn´t until Angeal and Sephiroth took their places on the opposite site of the table, putting their trays in front of her - Zack, Cloud and Lightning had arrived early this time - that the pink haired soldier realized she had never before seen the First Classes dine there with the others.

For a moment her two comrades only stared at her when Lightning voiced her observations.

'Yeah... That´s because we don´t.' Sephiroth clarified, a smirk threatening to form on his narrow lips again.

'...as the food is just terrible...' Angeal managed in between enthusiastic bites of beef.

Not too terrible to be safe from him it seemed.

Genesis arrived at their table last, squeezing himself in between Sephiroth and Angeal and looking at his food as if he'd been served a personal insult.

'Hey Light... You´re prepared for our mission tomorrow?' he asked, taking a bite from his apple, not touching the main dish at all.

'You know, we will be leaving early!'

Lightning herself hadn´t exactly felt pleased when she´d learned about the line-up for the upcoming mission, finding out that she was going to leave together with Sephiroth as well as the redhead himself.

Oh how much she wished Angeal would come along instead!

She was so not looking forward to the first class´s constant bickering.

Genesis and Sephiroth.

The everlasting tension between those two never seemed to cease or even let up and she could already picture them arguing about the silliest things all day long.

'Yeah, I guess I´m all ready.' she assured her colleague.

'Good... I don´t know why we have to leave so early anyway...' Genesis began giving the first class general besinde him a reproachful look.

And so the nagging began already.

Looking over at Sephiroth, Lightning could see that smirk of his intensify.

Being First Class General, the decision of leaving in the early hours probably rested with him.

She knew he had a thing for departing early.

That guy just wasn´t one to waste much time.

Intent on not looking at her former mentor for too long, Claire Farron forced her attention back to the food on the plate in front of her.

She had promised herself to stop thinking about him, to stop looking at him if it wasn't necessary, to stop spying at him from the corner of her eyes, from underneath her lashes whenever she was sure he wouldn't notice, but somehow all of that was far easier said than done.

Her gaze drifting back to his lips and that complacent smirk that was still tugging at the corners of his mouth, Lightning couldn't help but remember how handsome her former sensei looked when he really smiled, how gentle his voice could be if he wanted to, how nervous he had seemed when she'd caught him in the corridors sneaking the parcel with the healing materia onto her doorstep.

It was so weird, was confusing, the way he sometimes acted like he cared, to just turn back into that cold distant persona a moment later. Lightning did not know what to make of it. What to make of him.

There was just one thing she knew for sure. The man on the other side of the table, he was constantly on her mind, occupied every waking thought of her, haunted her dreams at night.

And no matter what she tried, it was not something that was going to change soon.

Claire Farron wasn't pleased.

She was ripped out of her musings when Genesis took a huge sip from his cup.

Spitting the contents out immediately, the redhead sprayed them all in water, disgust written all over his face, as obviously he was revolted at the taste.

Drenched in a mixture of saliva and his beverage, the rest of the five were left to look up at Genesis Rhapsodos in a mixture of surprise and dismay.

What -

'The fuck is wrong with you?!' Sephiroth shouted in his face, looking down at his drenched uniform in distaste.

Abruptly getting up from his chair, he almost turned over the table in rage as pushing Genesis to the side, he angrily turned to hurry out of the room, leaving the whole dining room to stare at them.

Oh yes.

Their upcoming mission definitely stood under a good light already.

That Claire Farron knew for sure.

Genesis Rhapsodos only raised his hands apologetically.

'I'm sorry...' he started somewhat carefully, all the eyes fixed on him now.

'What´s in it anyway - cat´s piss?' he wondered, eying his cup suspiciously.

'Actually it´s water.' Zack kindly informed him, his lips twitching upwards as he quickly made to wipe his face on a cafeteria napkin.

Lightning could tell he was trying hard to prevent a grin from spreading on his face as he watched the redhead grimace.

'Guess you´ve never had any of that before, huh?'


It was early the next morning that Claire Farron had gotten herself ready to exit her apartment just to find nobody there.

Strange...

They had agreed on meeting in the corridor since their rooms where so close together anyway.

Wondering what'd gotten them all late she went over and knocked on Genesis Rhapsodos' door next to her´s.

A grunt from inside indicated that he was probably not even up yet.

The pink haired female gave a tiny snort.

'Genesis aren´t you ready yet?' she called through the closed door.

'Just give me a few minutes...' came a sleepy voice from inside.

Lightning only shook her head. She couldn´t understand how Genesis had made First Class. The redhead had not an ounce of discipline inside of him.

Hesitating only a moment she slowly made her way over to Sephiroth´s door, carefully contemplating her options before finally she knocked, wondering once more what had him late.

That man usually was a walking atomic clock.

Claire Farron shuddered at the thought of what he would have done to her had she ever dared to arrive late to one of their appointments. But well... He was General Sephiroth Crescent after all.

It was the first time that she actually knocked on a door of his. He'd usually sense her outside and ask her to enter before her knuckles would have had the chance to touch the wood.

But this day everything seemed different. Was different.

'Sephiroth? Are you in there?' the pink haired first class called somewhat astonished at the general's uncharacteristic lack of vigilance.

Was he ill or something?

There was no response.

He hadn't left without them had he? Well... It wouldn't have been the first time that Claire Farron had been left behind.

Listening hard at the firmly closed door, she could hear the sound of a wooden chair´s leg scraping against the linoleum floor on the other side of the door.

So he was in there indeed...

'May I enter?' Lightning heard her voice ask softly.

She didn't know what made her say it. She could just have asked him whether he was ready from her side of the door.

She was about to take back her rather hasty question when suddenly there came an answer.

'Come in.' the general instructed from inside.

It should have been an invitation, but coming from the sillver haired first class it sounded like an order.

Coming from him, everything did.

For a few moments Lightning stood there stupidly waiting for him to come out regardless, but when nothing happened, she cautiously moved to open the door, wondering about how it wasn´t even locked.

Then on the other hand... Who would be foolish enough to enter this room without permission? That would be equal to signing one´s own death warrant.

Realizing she had never been to the general´s appartment before, Claire Farron entered to find herself surrounded by sterile white walls, by plank polished surfaces.

The whole apartment looking as though nobody had ever actually lived in it, there wasn´t a single thing displayed on the clean but empty shelves.

It looked almost as dreary as her own.

Almost.

She spied her former mentor seated at the kitchen table, his long silver hair slightly damp from the shower he´d taken that morning.

He was engrossed in some files strewn out in front of him, engrossed enough to not even register her presence it seemed, as slowly she stepped up to him.

Coming to a halt right next to him Lightning's eyes scanned the table taking in the hundreds of sheets of paper spread out there in front of him.

'What is all this?' Claire Farron asked, wondering how he could possibly keep track.

'Wutai transcripts.' The general explained, not bothering to look at her.

The pink haired first class only furrowed her eyebrows.

Why was he still studying wutai activities?

The wutai war was over wasn't it?

Wasn't it?!

Inspecting some of the papers at random, her eyes quickly skimming all the tightly fitted words, handwriting, and very messy one on top, Lightning could make out phrases like: 'gathering numbers', 'marching north', 'procuring supplies' and 'crates of weapons'.

Somehow it made no sense to her. No sense at all.

Still, it made her mind alert, made her heratbeat quicken.

Whatever it all meant, it couldn't possibly be anything good.

'Sephiroth... What is this all about?' the pink haired female asked, her voice suddenly small, barely even a whisper.

Somehow she was dreading the answer.

If the wutai were still about, if they were really gathering numbers again...

'Shin-Ra spies are reporting wutai movement.' the man still sitting at the desk answered somewhat absently, without even looking up, eyes still clued to the hastily scribbled handwriting in front of him.

'There is evidence indicating large numbers of them are marching north, probably gathering.'

'But we killed their leader.' Lightning insisted stupidly.

Godo Kisaragi was dead. She had seen to that herself. And there hand't been as much as a death rattle coming from the wutai ever since.

Somehow none of it made sense.

'Seems like they've gotten themselves a new one.' her former mentor said, making tiny shivers running through her spine.

Lightning swallowed hard.

She hadn't thought about the wutai much those past few months. Not in fact since she'd killed Godo Kisaragi.

Were those rumours really true?

Were the wutai gathering their numbers again?

But no.. They couldn't.

They simply couldn't.

How come nobody knew? How come noone had been informed?

Surely Shin-Ra would have taken precautions, would have sent people out on missions, would have set up gards again and patrols if the wutai were really rallying their troops.

Unless of course...

'Doesn't President Shinra know? Aren't they doing anything to stop them?!' the words had come out of her mouth too quick, too loud, too worried, but there was no way to take them back.

At that the silver haired man finally looked up at her.

His mako green eyes boring into her's as though he'd never really seen her before, Claire Farron couldn't help but swallow.

Why did he have to have such pretty eyes. And how come she even noticed now? There were much more improtant things at hand.

'Of course they know.' he said, his voice steady, calm, controlled. If the news troubled him at all, he definitely didn't let it show.

Claire Farron felt her eyes go huge.

How come they knew and didn't act? How come they weren't doing anything to quelch the wutai's preparations?!

'They're only rumours for now.' the general answered her silent questions.

'But...' the pink haired first class started to protest.

'Unrelieable sources, no solid evidence. Could be a ruse, could be a trap, could be anything really.' the man sitting at the desk explained, still staring up at her with those amazing mako eyes.

It was weird looking down at him for once, the fact that the sitting position she had found him in was making her at least a head taller for once, it didn't made her feel any more superior, did nothing to boost her confidence.

'Do you think there'll be another attack?' Claire Farron asked somewhat timidly, as forcing her gaze away from him she quickly made to study the papers again.

'Probably.'

'War?' she didn't look up from the table again. Had her eyes clued to the wutai transcripts there without even really seeing them.

'Likely.'

It was what she'd been afraid of most. In all her career in soldier. After everything she'd gone through, the pospect of a war approaching was still making her blood run cold.

There was nothing she could gain from the thought of marching to battle, of marching to her own death really, of watching her friends get slaughtered, of slaughtering people herself.

No. After all that time of living with the damocles sword of having to fight in the next wutai war above her head Lightning still hadn't come to terms with the thought of having to actually fight in it.

It wasn't something she was looking forwards to.

Wasn't something she wanted to experience.

Was something she would have wanted to evade at all costs, had there been the chance of it.

'Scared?' Her former mentor's voice asked suddenly, and Lightning couldnt help but turn back to look into his eyes.

'Yes.' she answered honestly.

It was true.

She was scared.

Scared for her life, scared for her heart, for her soul. Scared for her comrade's.

'You should be.' the general said, giving her a tiny strained smile.

It made Claire Farron forget how to breathe.

It had been a very very long time since the two of them had been alone together and somehow Lightning couldn't help but realize that she had missed it. Their time together. His snide remarks. Those haughty smirks. His husky voice.

How much she had missed him.

The man she'd once so despised.

She didn't know how it had happened, or when, but somehow she had come to like him, maybe admire him even.

They had spent so much time together in the past, just the two of them in countless training sessions. On so many missions.

Still. The two of them suddenly stranded in the privacy of his appartment, somehow it felt kind of awkward.

What was she to say?

She had to say something, hadn't she?

Fuck. If it weren't for those pretty mako eyes...

The way they looked at her rendering her speachless, Claire Farron only stared.

There was so much emotion in those eyes, so much depth, so much him...

It was before she knew it that the moment had passed and the man beside her drew his eyes away to get up from the table.

'What do you want anyway?' he asked her somewhat grumpily as reluctantly he made to gather up his paperwork.

There it had been again. A tiny glimpse beneath the mask. And there it was gone again. Gone as quickly as it had appeared. Replaced by that steely coldness of the warrior, the killer really, that he was. Captain asshole, as Claire Farron had begun to call him in her head.

It made the pink haired first class take a step away.

She had obviously interrupted some important research of his. Of course.

How ignorant of her.

Hadn't he been the one who had suggested the early hour of departure?

'I´m sorry... I' she stammered insecurely. Feeling vulnerable under his scrutinizing gaze once more, suddenly she felt like being his student again, felt insignificant and small, pathetic next to a man like him.

Maybe that feeling would never pass, no matter how many of Angeal's dinners they'd be attending together.

Well. It was definitely better than the look he'd given her just a second ago.

That look that had made her lungs go breathless, that had made her mind go blank, that had rendered her so utterly speachless.

This was familiar. This was safe. This was the Sephiroth she was used to, the Sephiroth she knew to deal with.

'Our departure was scheduled for 5 o´clock in the morning...' Lightning began carefully.

General Sephiroth Crescent simply stared at her, his marble features giving nothing away, and Claire Farron couldn´t help but feel her chest tighten uncomfortably.

Had she been imagining things again?

Where he'd rendered her speechless with the depth of emotion showing in his eyes only a minute ago he was now making her shiver with the steely coldness of the killer stare that she knew so well.

It made the pink haired first class feel inferior, feel week pathetic and stupid, just like he always used to make her feel in all those third class training sessions. Made the skin on the back of her neck prickle with the beginnings of what she knew was her body's fight or flight response, just like it had the very first time that their eyes had met in the soldier briefing room at the day of her job interview.

What the fuck was wrong with her?! How could he still be having this effect on her?!

How, after all that time, could he still make her feel so weak? So volnurable? So fragile?

Because yes. That was exactly what she felt like underneath his mako killer gaze.

She had thought it would get better now that she'd made first class. Thought that she'd overcome it after everything she had endured. Everything she had achieved. Everything she had accomplished.

But no. The man in front her still made her heart race, still made her blush, still made her knees feel weak. Still made her shit her pants. Sometimes all those things at once, sometimes in exact that order.

Get a grip on yourself! You´re not a Third Class anymore!

Claire Farron knew it had to stop.

Whatever her feelings for her former mentor were, it was time she finally got a grip on them, put them on a leash. Things couldn't be going on like this forever. That much was for sure.

He wasn't her trainer anymore. They were of equal rank. She was his comrade now, not his disciple. And it was about time she started to behave like it.

What better time to start than now?

Maybe she could just pretend that he was someone else. Maybe Zack or Cloud, or Genesis, maybe Angeal even.

What would she have said to them, had they been in his position?

'Well it´s 20 past 5 already... So knowing how you usually are on time I just wanted to check... Whether you were okay...?'

There. Normal conversation. Wasn't it?

Claire Farron felt her cheeks blush slightly, but determined to pull through with this she forced her voice to sound strong, careful to hide the insecurities that were plaguing her around him these days. Had been plaguing her around him ever since they had first met, really.

Somehow it did seem to work.

'Ohw... Is it already?' the general said, looking somewhat surprised himself.

'I must have lost count of time.' he muttered rather to himself than anybody else as he quickly put away his papers and made his way past her, towards the door.

'Where is Genesis?' he asked as he passed only inches from her, the fabric of his coat almost brushing her arm and Lightning felt her blush intensify.

Really. What was wrong with her these days?

'Uhm.. I guess he´s just getting up...' she informed quickly, glad the general wasn't looking anymore to see her burning cheeks.

She followed her former mentor out onto the corridor watched him from a little distance as shaking his head in annoyance he headed over to rap on Genesis' door.

'Genesis!? It´s 20 minutes past 5 already! Aren´t you done putting on your makeup yet?!' He called through the door without waiting for response.

Claire Farron almost jumped in surprise when suddenly the door was thrown open, revealing a disheveled looking Genesis - crimson hair sticking out in all directions - clad only in a pair of red boxers, his muscular torso a sight that would have caught any woman´s attention.

Lightning's blush couldn't have grown any worse.

'NO Sephiroth! I´m barely dressed!' the redhead yelled, obviously annoyed at the general's impudent morning greetings.

Well... They all knew Genesis was terribly grumpy in the mornings.

'SOLDIER First Class Genesis Rhapsodos... I suggest you get that ugly ass of yours into your pants NOW - or do I have to report to Director Lazard about this!?' Sephiroth warned, his voice deadly.

Now who´s ass was he calling ugly?!

Lightning wouldn´t have imagined a half naked Genesis looking that sexy.

'Oh shut the fuck up, will you!?' the redhead retorted hysterically.

'And I don´t wear any make up! So would you two please give me a break so I can properly dress myself, or am I to leave for wherever it is we´re going at the crack of dawn with only my shorts on !?' he added grumpily as not bothering to close the door, obviously pissed, like a little child throwing a tantrum, he started to put on his trousers, nearly toppling to the floor in the process.

Sephiroth´s just rolled his eyes at his comrade´s antics, while Lightning had a hard time stifling a laugh.

She hadn´t expected Genesis to throw a fit already, without them having even left.

This was going to be a long day... That much was for sure.

Or rather a long mission. With these two behaving like toddlers. And her like a fucked teenager.

Peeking past her comrade's broad shoulder she couldn´t help but notice the chaos of Genesis living room. Tons of books and parchment spread on every surface available, clothes and various take away food cartons littering the floor, the walls full with expensive looking paintings, the redhead's room was the complete opposite to Sephiroth´s.

And her´s.

Maybe they really weren´t that different after all.

Sephiroth and her.


It was quarter to six when they finally made their way up to the Shin-Ra helipad.

They had been scouring the wilderness for the Mako spring they were supposed to find for days, maybe weeks, but they hadn´t found a trace of it. So, coming to the conclusion that it could only be located at the top of the mountain that was towering over the wild lands they had been sent too, they had finally started their ascend.

They couldn´t reach the top with the heli or anything, because the raw Materia up there they had to obtain apparently had powerful electromagnetic powers, causing instruments not to work around it, as well as making it impossible to make out it´s exact location.

How very convenient...

Still. It was probably the reason why Shin-Ra wanted it in the first place.

There was no doubt that they were planning to turn it into a tool to use it´s abilities for military defense strategies. Maybe against the wutai even, should they ever really strike.

Either way. Without any of Shin-Ra´s inventive devices working up there it was up to them to find a path up the cliffs, secure the Materia inside the case the Weapon Development Department had provided them with to contain it´s powers and bring it back to Shin-Ra headquarters.

Conquering that mountain on their own turned out to be a task in itself. And it definitely wasn´t fun.

Most passages were almost impossible to climb and the hours had gotten darker and colder with every passing day. The nights were horrible - cold and wet - and it was constantly raining. Sometimes they were fortunate enough to find a cave to rest in, sometimes they had to try and find sleep with only as much as a ledge to shelter them from the storm.

The weather was clearly against them.

And so was the wildlife.

Despite not a blade of grass growing up there, the mountains were packed with creatures ready to attack them around every corner, under every upturned stone. They were no match for them of course, but they were annoying, constantly holding them up and slowing them down. If Lightning hadn´t known any better she would have said nature was trying to deter them from reaching that damn leak of lifestream.

All in all things were not pleasant and they were made even worse, unbearable almost by Genesis Rhapsodos' constant nagging, and by Sephiroth Crescent's snide remarks.

'I told you we should have taken the path to the left!' Genesis yelled, throwing firewood at his silver haired comrade in annoyance.

'Then maybe you should have!' the general spat in answer, his voice carrying a deadly calm as with one swift moevement he caught the half rotten piece of branch from the air and hurled it back at his opposite with such force it burst into splinters at the spot it hit the wall.

Genesis had only just evaded it in time.

'Guys please...' Lightning tried to appease them, but to no avail.

Keeping the two of them from going at each others' throats had become an increasingly difficult task, one that with Angeal's absence restend on her shoulders solely. One that she didn't feel up to. Not at all.

'Yeah, maybe I should have! At least I wouldn't have to see your ugly face all day!' the redhead raged on, and Claire Farron could only roll her eyes.

It was one of those horribly chilly nights again. They had been lucky enough to find refuge in a cave this time and had even managed to get a meager fire to burn, not enough to really keep them warm, but at least enough to warm their food in and to make out their 'ugly faces'.

All in all she had started to regret longing to leave for a proper mission again, picturing Cloud, Zack and Angeal nestled savely in their warm beds, while she was cowering against blank stone, freezing underneath her thin Shin-Ra field blanket, her clothes drenched with rainwater sticking to her shivering skin.

Oh how much she wished someone would have invented a cloth and hair drying materia or at least a warming spell. How much she longed for one of those thick and sturdy leather coats both her comrades had on them. Ridiculous they might look sometimes, still they sure did come in handy on missions like this, didn't they?

It was a miracle she hadn't caught a cold yet.

Lightning might not have had a coat or a warming spell, but she at least had her healing Materia with her. That precious gift from Sephiroth, she found herself clenching it tightly in her hands at all times, hoped that somehow it would protect her from falling ill, wishing it´d keep the cold away from her bones as well.

'Then go. Noone's stopping you.' the general retorted dryly. And somehow Lightning wished he would. At least it would stop the constant bickering she was slowly growing sick of.

'Fine. Lightning come, we go.' Genesis finally said, as moving around to gather his things he made to pack up.

'No. She stays.' Sephiroth decided the same instant that Claire Farron said: 'No way!'

'You side with him?!' Genesis observed looking at her reproachfully.

'Genesis, it is the middle of the night...' Lightning began somewhat carefully.

'And there's a storm outside.'

'He's led us into a dead end!' her crimson haired comrade protested.

'It's not a dead end!' came the general's defense.

'It is!'

'It's not!'

'It's is!'

'It's not. You're just too stupid to see it.'

It was too much. Claire Farron couldn't bear it. Things really were bad enough as they were already.

'STOP IT YOU TWO!' she suddenly yelled at the both of them.

'PLEASE!'

Looking up at her sudden outburst, the two of them fell silent. Finally.

Lightning took a deep long calming breath.

She needed to keep herself in check. She couldn't afford to loose her temper too. Someone had to keep a clear head.

'Would you two please just stop it. I really gotta get some sleep.'

It seemed to finally do the trick.

Her former sensei letting himself fall back against the wall of the cave with a defeated sigh, it was Genesis Rhapsodus who was not appeased so easily.

'I'm leaving.' he stated matter of factly, as gathering his supplies from the ground he quickly got up to his feet and made back out into the rain.

'Genesis...' Lightning called after him halfheartedly as she watched him vanish into the night.

'Don't worry. He can look after himself.' Sephiroth stated, his voice a deadly calm.

And it was only a second later that he made to roll unto his side.

'Get some rest.' came his advice as Lightning watched the shadow of his back against the dying embers of their fire.

She didn't need telling twice.

She was exhausted as she'd been those nights after her soldier basic training.

Wrapping her Shin-Ra blanket more tightly around her freezing body she finally closed her eyes.


First Class Claire Farron slept fitfully.

Well. It was a miracle she could sleep at all under the current circumstances.

General Sephiroth Crescent definitely couldn't.

Leaning against the far away wall of the cave, lounging beside the ashes of the died down fire, he watched his former apprentice tiny form shivering against the winter chill.

He knew the path he'd chosen hadn't led them into a dead end, knew they could make it up the cliffs if only they really wanted to. Knew he could have reached the top that night had he ventured out after his comrade, but he also knew that Lightning was tired. That she really did need some rest. And it didn't really make any difference, did it, whether they reached the top this day or the next.

Still, Genesis had gone up ahead. And it did bother him. A lot. The thought that Genesis could best him, could beat him to the top...

If the redead had the whole night's headstart, there was nothing he could to catch up on him, no matter how hard he tried.

It was the tought of it that got him to his legs, that soundlessly made him pick up his belongings.

His eyes falling on his female comrade, still sleeping trembling at his feet, he shortly stopped to pull his blankets over her before he strode outside.


It was still dark when Lightning woke up to the howling of the wind. It had to be late in the night. She could see the faint light of the moon shining throught the entrance of the cave between the passing clouds.

Her limbs were still heavy and her body still croggy but at least she wasn't so desperately cold anymore. Wondering what had produced that miraculous circumstance she found a second blanket wrapped around her.

Her mind was wide wake and alert in an instant and it only took her a moment to realize that she was alone in the cave.

'Sephiroth?'

There was no answer.

She really was alone for good.

Looking around her she didn't only find her comrades gone, they had also taken all their supplies and it was with a jolt of panic that Lightning realized she'd been abandoned.

No!

. .No.

It was in a hurry that she picked up her few belongings, that she laced up her heavy boots and pulling the spare blanket up around her like a raincoat she quickly followed out into the night.

And what a night it was.

It had to be the worst of nights imaginable.

The storm was howling with a vengeance that made Lightning wonder how she could possibly have slept before, chasing flocks of heavy monstrous clouds across the sky that turned her surroundings from barely visible through partially shrouded moonlight to absolutely pitch black darkness from one minute to the other and the rain that blasted from them was beating down her cheeks with a ferocity that made every drop feel like a grain of shot.

Yes. It was an especially awful night.

Still, there was no turning back.

The others had walked up on without her. Had abandoned her. And Claire Farron felt only very little desire to be left alone on top of that nightmarish mountain without any company or without any supplies, really.

So it was hunching her shoulders against the torrents of the storm that she inched forwards.

She knew where they had come from, knew where they must have gone and it was following the tiny path that led her away from the cave that finally she found herself against a particularily nasty spot of almost completely blank stone wall.

Had they really gone up that way?!

Somehow Lightning wasn't sure.

But it was examining the wall infront of her that she found dirt there, sticking to the minuscule ledges it provided.

Someone had climed up that wall. And it couldn't have been long ago either or the rain would have washed away all evidence.

So up the wall it was.

And there was only one way up really.

It was with bated breath that she reached forwards, with clammy shaking hands that she fingered the wet cold wall for a place where she could find hold.

Using the tiny hints of dirt still sticking to some ledges, to some shallow outcropings in the rock, she carefully pulled herself upwards, slowly made her way up ahead.

It was higher and higher that she ventured, the safety of the ground had fallen away into complete darkness what seemed hours ago, and it was forcing her eyes up ahead instead of looking down into the depths that lay beneath her, that Claire Farron kept pushing forwards. Upwards really.

Well there was no turning back.

She would reach the top of that mountain or die.

It was about half an hour later that she tought she saw a cliff rising up a few meters above her.

And a good thing it was too.

The wind still whipped the rain into her face relentlessly and Lightning's limbs were already feeling numb and weak from the cold and the exertion of climbing a particularly nasty spot of almost completely blank stone wall.

Genesis was probably somewhere up there securing a path or something. Or at least that was what she hoped. Lightning had seen no glimpse of him ever since he had left that damned cave.

Sephiroth had to be somewhere up ahead there too, but she couldn't see him either.

She in fact had lost track of both of them, the tiny dirt hints that had led her up that mountain wall had vanished a long time ago, probably washed down by the rain, leaving her to find her own way as she let her fingers run over the wet surface, looking for openings or protusions, as her feet inched forward, trying to get a better grip.

The fucked wall was getting nastier and nastier with every meter that she gained, the slippery ledges getting so small that she could barely even find them with the tips of her unfortunately chunky combat boots.

No those definitely weren't the right choice for a task like this, the pink haired warrior thought bitterly as she kept steering her tired mind back to the task at hand.

The truth was she was getting tired. She really was. If only she could take a break. A tiny alcove she could climb in, rest in, regather her strenght and focus. If only for a few short seconds she could relax her aching muscles...

Well, the gods wouldn't grant her any. That much she could see.

Still. There was that cliff ahead. Not too far now. Not too far. She only had to make it up there. Just a few meters more.

There was probably some path up there or at least some solid ground.

At least that was what she hoped, because her stiff cold limbs, they weren't going to put up with this much longer.

No. It couldn't be far anymore, she told herself.

Claire Farron desperately trying to force her body up the wall, her hand loosing grip for what seemed like the thousandth time, slipping a few inches she grazed her arm against the sharp stone, drawing blood.

Damn... Not again.

She had to concentrate. She couldn't loose her focus now. Not now. So close to the finish line.

Defeated she looked upwards, unable to make out a trace of either Genesis nor Sephiroth.

They had to be up there. Where else could they possibly be?

No, squinting her eyes she could tell there definitely was some plateau up ahead. A place where the wall ended and the world would turn horizontal once again.

It had to be were the others had gone too.

Soon she'd reach it too.

Almost there...

If only she could find a few more ledges...

Her hands and feet slipping and sliding on the smooth wet rock, Claire Farron couldn't help but notice how much she longed for those missions in the slums again.

All those times spent cleaning out maintainance shafts or sewers. How could she ever have thought ill of them?

Suddenly Lightning didn't understand. Couldn't even fathom.

She had almost reached the top, the fingers of her right hand finally finding the slippery edge of the cliff ahead, when suddenly there was a defeaning bang, an explosion really, thundering up behind her, startling her and making her loose her footing again.

Shit.

The shock of the unexpected event taking place behind her was quickly shoved aside as her mind screaming at her in alarm, Claire Farron felt her body slip.

It were only the fingers of her left hand now that held her where she was and suddenly her gaze shot downwards, to the endless depths that opened up beneath her.

No! Don't look down! Never look down!

Struggling to regain hold somewhere on that blank smooth stone again, she found the fingers of her free hand clawing at the rock beneath them, felt her boots kick the air violently.

If only her fingers weren't so cold, if only the chill wouldn't make them so stiff, so weak.

If only the rock weren't so smooth... So wet...

If only she could find hold with at least one of her boots...

It was a moment later that she felt the fingers of her left hand beginning to slip.

NO!

And it was loosing her grip even further that suddenly she felt herself slide downwards and a small gasp of surprise escaped her as she realized what was happening.

Her mind racing, she panickingly kept fighting to regain her grip on those slippery wet rocks again.

It was no use.

Her paralyzed mind playing out the scenario in front of her inner eye, Lightning saw herself plummet to a fast but painful death what must have been at least a thousand meters, her body hitting the rocky grounds with a sickening crack to indicate her demise, when suddenly a strong hand closed around her forearm.

The hand was joined by a second and together they pulled her up and over the edge with seemingly no effort at all, helped her to her knees and up into a standing position.

It had all happened very fast.

Her breath coming in small shaky bouts Claire Farron found her hands panickingly clawing at the fabric of a smooth dark leather coat, found her knees weak and whobbly, ready to give way, found a set of steady strong arms arround her, supporting her now trembling form.

Fuck, that had been close. Too close.

She´d almost been done for. That much was for sure.

She still saw it infront of her inner eye. The way her helpless body tumbled to her doom. Still felt the short lived terror of her body slipping, falling free, felt her heart hammering in her chest so hard, she worried it might break her ribcage.

It took a few long moments for her to calm down enough to notice those two arms around her, to notice the strong lean chest that she was pressed against, the hard line of the collarbone that she'd burried her face into, her eyes shut tightly.

Slowly realizing what she was doing Lightning opened her eyes to find her fingers still burried in the fabric of her saviour´s wet leather coat.

How long had she been doing that?! Somehow she wasn't sure.

Reluctantly releasing the first class general´s uniform she slowly took a tiny step away from him, slowly let her hands fall down to her sides.

Finding herself on wobbly knees, Lightning didn't dare look up into her former mentor's face as silently she fought to regain her composure.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She had almost died. Was slowly replaced by Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She'd just spent minutes with her body pressed against her former sensei's. With her hands burried in his coat, with her face pressed against his chest. With his arms wrapped around her.

Fuck.

She'd been daydreaming about that. True. But not under any of the current circumstances. And definitely not without her even realizing. And now that it had happened after all, suddenly Lightning found that she felt terrified, felt emberassed.

He had saved her again. Without him she'd be dead. She'd gotten herself in trouble again. And again he'd been the one to pull her out.

Why did things like that keep happening over and over again?

Lightning didn't know.

She only knew that she was glad. Glad that he was there. Glad that he was always in control, no matter what would happen.

She didn´t have time to thank her silver haired hero as suddenly without warning another explosion went off behind her and made her spin around.

Her attention fixed to the illuminated night sky in front of them, it was completely lost for words that Claire Farron stared into the distance where a million sparkling lights erupted, painting the horizon various amazing colors.

Of course.

The New Year´s Eve fireworks.

Never had they seemed so close. Never had they been so far away.

Lightning had completely forgotten. She actually couldn't believe it was New Year´s Eve already.

She must have lost track of time there in this wilderness, in this no man´s land.

Must have lost count of days, of weeks, really.

Time seemed to warp on those bleak mountains. That much was for sure.

First the days had passed so fast and now it seemed like hours that the both of them just stood there, rooted to the spot, marveling at the spectacle in front of them, a bit of color in those desolate grey days, their vision impaired by heavy drops of bitter rain.

Lightning had almost forgotten they were standing that close, had almost forgotten those arms that for some strange reason were still around her (almost!), as they watched the pyrotechnics light up the horizon like a multicolored thunderstorm, glowing in the distance.

It was probably one of the most beautiful things Lightning had ever seen, beside her former mentor´s eyes of course, as after what seemed an eternity, she finally turned around to look into them.

Two deep dark pools of mako flecked all with golds and silvers and purples and reds as they reflected the firework display that now played out behind her back.

Sephiroth.

There he stood before her. Only a few inches between them, hands still on her body, steady, strong and comforting as calmly he gazed down at her.

The rain had turned his hair into a sodden mass that stuck to the sides of his face and there were tiny rivulets of water making their way over the alabaster skin of his forehead, his nose, his lips...

Claire Farron's gaze followed them all the way down to his chin, then brought her gaze up to meet his eyes again.

The fireworks explosions droning in her ears like thunder, the heavy drops of rain slapping her cheeks and soaking her clothes, the chilly nightair turning her breath into a whitish mist and making her bones shiver, suddenly it all seemed so very far away, seemed insignificant, meaningless, small, as she let herself drown in those pretty mako eyes.

'Happy New Year then...' the general said.

His voice was so soft Lightning wouldn't have heard him had she not been standing so close.

She couldn't remember ever being so close to him except maybe when he had tackled her in their first ever wutai mission or that time in the training room where she had unintentionally cut his neck.

She had felt dread then, terror, mostly.

Well. That had been at least a million years ago.

So many things had changed.

She had changed.

She did not feel dread at all now. She felt weirdly happy, felt elated, felt safe there in her former mentor's arms.

His narrow lips were only centimeters from her face now, she could have reached them with her own had she pushed up on her tip toes. Those leather gloved hands were still resting at her sides and the pink haired female could feel her first class comrade's breath ghosting against the skin of her cheek, her lips, her jaw, could feel the warmth of his body reaching out for her's.

Claire Farron seemed to have forgotten how to breathe again. Somehow her diaphragm wouldn't move.

Her heart beating against her ribcage hard, the skin all over her body errupting in goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold, the man who was taking her breath away only stared into her eyes.

His expression unreadable, marble features giving nothing away as usual, Claire Farron allowed herself to drown in those intoxicating pools of mako.

If only he would lean down...

For an unbearable long moment she entertained the inexplicable thought that he was going to kiss her, followed by an equally unbearable one where she realized she actually wanted him to, that she was actually burning to feel his lips on her's, that she'd been feeling this way about him for quite some time now, when suddenly their private moment was interrupted by Genesis.

'Hey guys! Seems like I´ve found us a place to crash after all.' he announced, his voice sounding appeaced and joyfull, as taking a generous sip from a little hip flask, he displayed his other hand wrapped in flames using his fire materia as some kind of torch.

It made Claire Farron and her comrade snap back to reality.

Suddenly the rain was back hitting their faces, suddenly the bitter wind was chilly cold and the soaked through clothes on their bodies felt like dead weights once again.

Claire Farron shivered in her freezing wet soldier fatigues.

Still, it was only reluctantly that those two arms fell away from her, that the man infront her tore his eyes from her's and up to the spot where Genesis Rhapsodos had already turned on his heels to quickly lead ahead. Only hesitantly that he stepped away.

Lightning couldn't help but notice a painful feeling of loss spreading inside her as finally the silver haired first class turned to follow their comrade onto his barely beaten path.

It was a few meters away that he turned around to look at her, that for another tiny moment their gazes met. Mako green on icy blue. And then he was gone. Vanished into darkness.

Claire Farron only stood there. Rooted to the spot. The chilly rain beating down hard on her slightly blushed cheeks, as she realized she wanted nothing more than to feel his body close to her's again, longed to burry her face into his chest and feel his strong arms close around her protectiely once more, just like Zack's had done exactly a year ago now.

'Happy new year to you too.' she breathed into the darkness. Her words swallowed by the crackling of the burnt out fireworks, by the endless torrents of persistent rain.