Trying to get back into fanfic writing after a long hiatus. I'm working on an original novel as well as freelance writing, so please bear with me.

This takes place shortly after the conclusion of my main FFVII work, 'Those Who Have Been Broken'. It takes place about a year after the conclusion of Dirge of Cerberus. What you need to know of TWHBB to understand this story are:

1) Sephiroth has, through a series of (my) in-universe events, regained his sanity and his hero status has been restored;
2) Due to events in the canon work "On the Way to a Smile: Case of the Lifestream - Black" Sephiroth's memories of his past are few, far between, and hazy;
3) He works mainly for the WRO, but also as a more direct hire for Rufus Shin-Ra, whose need to make penance is not so different from Sephiroth's own;
4) His physical form is that of Advent Children; as such, he does not need to blink, nor he does he breathe except for that which is required to talk;
5) Cloud, in an act of utter mercy, has invited Sephiroth to stay at Seventh Heaven.

Please enjoy :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Final Fantasy VII or any of its Compilation. I am merely a fan who hasn't had her fill of these amazing characters; this fic is written for pleasure only, not for profit.

Minerva's Feast

-part one-

He had no idea what to get her for Minerva's Feast. Denzel and Marlene were covered, but Tifa…

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Sephiroth said from the couch, watching his old enemy pace back and forth.

"Shut up," Cloud muttered. Sephiroth shrugged and went back to his paper. The construction on one of the new schools was finally done, which meant that the children from the northern side of Edge wouldn't have to come all the way to the western side to attend. The WRO had found more people tainted with Geostigma — he cringed — but had enough vials of Lifestream-water to cure them (he relaxed).

Stomp, stomp. Stomp, stomp. Stop, turn; stomp, stomp, stomp. Sephiroth put his paper down again, slightly irritated.

"What has you so worked up that you must continually pace around the floor like a lion in a cage?" Wolf was probably more accurate here, Sephiroth reflected, but the point stood. Cloud stopped, turned, and sighed.

"Nothing."

"You have to know I'm not going to believe that," Sephiroth deadpanned. "If the matter is too personal, I understand, but if that's the case it seems odd that you will pace about in clear view where I am certain to see you, wonder, and worry."

"...You worry about me, now?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"I worry about all men who have served under me," Sephiroth answered. "You've also taken me into your home, after all the crimes I committed against you. Of course I'm going to 'worry' about you." It wasn't to say that Sephiroth couldn't have survived if Cloud hadn't extended the offer — he would have, even if Rufus hadn't made offers of his own — but to say that he appreciated what Cloud's offer meant.

"...Ugh," Cloud sat down on one of the couches, opposite Sephiroth's chair. "I...did you ever celebrate Minerva's Feast?" The question popped out before Cloud could stop it.

When the Planet had fought back against Meteor, the disembodied Sephiroth had allowed all memories of his childhood and "pathetic" human years to be sacrificed. Even his appearance had been somewhat forgotten; when he had found a way to resurrect himself two years later using Jenova's cells and his avatars, he'd had to piece together what he'd looked like from the memories of others, leading to the not-quite-authentic form he held now.

But while the differences in this form were indiscernible to those who did not know him (and only barely so to the people who did), it was these odd questions that brought all their struggles to the surface. Cloud could never tell whether or not these questions were because Sephiroth could not remember something, or if he had never learned it in the first place. Genesis had confirmed what the party had long believed: the ex-general had been raised in a lab, under the care of Professor Hojo, then sent off to war when he was 12. Any one factor by itself was a rather large handicap for life, but together they pretty much guaranteed that some aspect of that person would be screwed-up. Hearing this — as well as Genesis' stories about what Sephiroth was like prior to Nibelheim — Cloud was honestly surprised he'd made it to 22 as normal as he did. With Aerith's and Zack's help, he was slowly regaining memories, but there were still huge gaps in what he did and didn't remember, peculiar gaps in what he did and didn't know.

"Personally? I doubt it," Sephiroth answered, unbothered. "But I think Genesis and Angeal did, when they were younger." In fact, Genesis had probably never stopped, Sephiroth realized. He had told Sephiroth he was going to Banora twice this week: in addition to the weekly tribute he paid Minerva, Genesis had prepared something special to give the rumored goddess of the Lifestream on her day. Sephiroth could not see the point of the holiday, and doubted that he ever had. If a person truly loved someone, wouldn't they want to express that more often than once a year? Why go out of their way to surprise someone just because social convention said so?

"Why?" Sephiroth asked then.

"Well..." Cloud trailed off.

"...Well?"

"I...don't know...what to get Tifa," the blond finally said, looking away. Sephiroth blinked at him.

"...What?" Sephiroth tilted his head, trying to keep the amusement out of his tone.

"We got stuff for the kids," Cloud elaborated. "Mom and I always did a little something for Minerva's Feast, and Tifa and I wanted to keep that tradition. We got 'em some Chocolate Chocobos and 100 gil each...but I don't know what to get Tifa."

"...That's what has you pacing?" The silver-haired man could no longer hide his amusement; he had thought it was something, well, serious.

"...It is serious!" Cloud snapped, surprising both Sephiroth and himself. The insane persona Sephiroth had only recently been able to shake had often peered into Cloud's mind to torture him, an ability wrought of the Jenova and S-cells both shared...but had that conduit just worked the other way?

"...Did you just read my mind?" the ex-General asked.

"No," Cloud answered, annoyed. "I just...knew what you were feeling. It's those stupid cells of yours I have!"

"That's odd," Sephiroth commented, tilting his head again. "Has that ever happened before?"

"Only you catching my emotions when you were controlling me," Cloud grumbled, and Sephiroth winced.

"...What is this about finding a gift for Tifa?" he asked, changing the subject. "What makes hers so difficult? She uses her fists in battle, correct? What about a new punching bag?"

"Too predictable," Cloud said.

"What about something she could use for the bar? Perhaps some more wine or shot glasses?"

"Not good enough."

"Some new earrings?"

"Not...special enough," Cloud responded, crossing his arms with a frown.

"Ah." Sephiroth hid a smile, and the blond before him growled.

"Quit laughing at me."

"I'm not," Sephiroth disagreed. "I just...I should have realized that's what was at the root of it all." Cloud raised an eyebrow. His face was annoyed, but his cells were saying 'confused'.

"You still want to impress her," Sephiroth answered. "You still feel that you're not worthy of her, or perhaps...like you owe her something."

...Didn't he, though?

"...I just...Tifa's always...stuck by me. And I put her through a lot of hell. She...she deserves better than me, and she and I both know it."

"It doesn't seem like she shares the same sentiment," Sephiroth commented. It was true he hadn't been living with them for very long, but he had retained the memories made in his insanity. A person would have to be willfully blind in order to miss Tifa's feelings for the blond: regardless of whether or not Cloud thought he deserved it, he was wanted.

"Which is exactly why I need to get her something nice," Cloud was saying now. "Especially for something like Minerva's Feast."

"What's so important about Minerva's Feast?" Sephiroth asked him. "Why would you show more affection that day as opposed to others? It's consumerism."

"Yeah, but..." Cloud looked away. "It's tradition. And...after Meteorfall and Geostigma and then that crap with Omega and Chaos..." Tradition. Silly to some, but...it was those customs and the memories made with each one that made people happy, that could help them heal after a crisis.

"I'd just like my family to have a nice holiday for once," Cloud said then. "I want to give 'em something to remember. Give Tifa something to remember, too." He looked away; it wasn't as though his former enemy didn't already know how strongly he felt for Tifa, but Cloud still wasn't great at 'sharing'.

Abruptly, Sephiroth stood up. Cloud was confused; the ex-General wasn't mad, he was actually smiling. Cloud blinked.

"Come," Sephiroth said.

"Come where?"

"To the shopping district," his rival said. "You've shot down every suggestion and you don't have any better ideas. So, do something about it."

"You're taking me shopping? For Tifa?"

"Two heads are supposed to be better than one," he said.

.:I:I:V:I:I:.

"Well, what about this one?"

"Have you ever seen Tifa wear pink?"

"The ribbon," he answered offhandedly, and Cloud had to bite his tongue. That was Aerith's ribbon; even Barret wore one. But dredging up past sins of an insane man would do no good, and in the end, Cloud had been able to see his friends again. Aerith was happy; she was at peace. They'd saved the Planet, that was all.

"You could voice an opinion, rather than wait for me to point things out and make suggestions," Sephiroth tacked on, apparently clueless about the thoughts tumbling through Cloud's head. Well, the blond reflected, at least he'd meant it when he said he'd stay out of Cloud's mind if he could. There'd been a few slip-ups, but to Cloud's knowledge he hadn't actually read his thoughts, just 'caught emotions' as before.

"Have you been to that one, Cloud?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "I've been to all of them."

"You've been out on deliveries, haven't you?" Sephiroth asked. "Have you been to any of the shops in those cities?" Cloud groaned and nodded.

"Yes. None of them have...anything I want." Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow. He could not say that Cloud was being 'too picky'; he certainly understood the desire for a gift to be special. At the same time, wasn't it supposed to be the thought that counted? Surely Tifa would understand Cloud trying his best, whatever he brought home? With a sigh of his own, he twirled the thought around in his head some more.

"Well, if the shops don't have anything that seems just right...perhaps you could get something special made?" he finally suggested, and Cloud blinked at him. He was silent for a minute, then scratched the back of his head.

"I guess that would work...but I don't even have any idea what to get made." Sephiroth sighed again, massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Well, are there memories that you and she share that stand out more than others? Did you have any family traditions that could be touched on in a gift?" Cloud shook his head.

"They were all bur-" With a glower, Cloud shut his mouth, crossing his arms. But the shadow had already passed over Sephiroth's face.

"They were all burned to the ground, weren't they?" he asked, and Cloud drew a breath.

"You don't have to walk on eggshells around me," the ex-general said. "Not talking about it won't make the sins any less atrocious."

"No, it won't," Cloud answered, looking away. "But...Genesis and Zack...they told us some of what you went through. What Genesis said to you. Vincent and your mom filled in everything else. It won't bring back my mother, or Tifa's dad, but…

"Genesis said if you'd been in your right mind, you'd have killed yourself to stop what happened," Cloud finished.

"...If it brought them back, I'd do it now," he said at last, frowning deeply. Cloud did not know what to say. Suddenly, Sephiroth's head snapped up.

"Nibelheim," he said.

"Yeah — what about it?" Cloud asked, brow furrowing. "What? What's wrong?" Besides the obvious, he added silently. Sephiroth turned to him, the corner of his mouth lifting in a semi-familiar smirk, one that had all of the confidence and none of the insanity.

"I have an idea for you," he said. "Come — let's go see Shin-Ra." He turned and began heading back in the direction of Seventh Heaven.

"Shin-Ra?" Cloud asked, knowing his old commander could hear him. Sephiroth only waved, gesturing to follow.

Well, I guess it's worth a shot...but why Shinra?

.:I:I:V:I:I:.

Even after four months of living with them, Cloud still found it odd that Sephiroth knew how to ride a motorcycle. Oh, it made sense, given his Remnants could do so, but that didn't make it any less foreign to the blond. His stalwart commander...riding a motorbike? The two images just didn't mesh...but there he was riding one and doing so extremely well.

Healen wasn't all that far from Edge, but it was far enough, and it was not where Cloud had planned to be today.

"So...you gonna tell me why we're here?" he asked. He didn't like the idea of owing anything to Rufus, even if the man did seem to have truly changed his ways. He hadn't shirked when Jenova rose in all her horror, somehow ghastlier despite her more human appearance. That didn't mean he didn't still exploit and elicit favors from people where he could.

"Rufus a businessman at heart," Sephiroth answered, and Cloud glared at him. "It's in his blood to negotiate and make contracts. It's like trying to tell a chocobo not to wark."

"Stop reading my mind," Cloud snapped.

"I didn't," he answered. "Discomfort is coming off you in waves and you've mentioned several times in the past how much you don't like owing Rufus."

"And what does Shin-Ra have to with Tifa's present?" Cloud asked, irritated. Sephiroth didn't answer, instead pressing in a code and bending to let the door scan his eye. Cloud was impressed; the last time he'd been out this way they'd only had the card keys. The engineers were certainly working fast. He followed Sephiroth into the building and down the hall to his office. After pressing in a different code, that door unlocked, too. They went in, Sephiroth moving to sit at his computer.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk.

"Now are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Cloud asked, plopping into one. "Why'd we have to come all the way out to Healen?"

"Shin-Ra always has backups," he answered, typing. Cloud squinted.

"What does that have to do with the price of tea in Wutai?!"

"The problem with lying is that you have to keep your story straight," Sephiroth said. "And Shin-Ra allowed for no mistakes. Therefore" — he hit another button, and the smirk appeared on his face again — "they have to keep track of the lies." He turned the screen around, and Cloud's jaw dropped open: his mother smiled back at him. A photo, opposite her name and the address of the street on which he'd spent the first 14 years of his life. He looked to Sephiroth.

"How?"

"I may not technically be a general anymore, but I still have access to classified information. Shinra altered it so that a normal lookup of these names or addresses would result in the imposters they filled Nibelheim with. You can only access these particular papers from a Shin-Ra computer." He turned the screen back.

"What was her father's name?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud answered, and with a few clicks, surely enough, Mr Lockhart's picture and identification info appeared. Cloud's eyebrows flew up. He and Tifa's father had never gotten along, but surely she would like a photo. They had almost nothing left of their original hometown.

"Now let's see if I can…" Sephiroth turned the screen back one more time, and Cloud was silent. What else could he possibly look up?

"Here we are." When Cloud lifted his eyes again, he saw his hometown. The inn, the store, even the dojo. From the dates on the bottom, he could see that some of the photos had been taken years prior to the Incident, even before he left for Midgar.

They were genuine.

A bittersweet taste rose in his mouth. He'd never quite fit in there.

But Tifa might like the memories.

"Would she want those?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud looked to him.

"How did Shin-Ra even think to take these?" he asked. A second sourness rose in his mouth; Genesis had once suggested that Shin-Ra had orchestrated the entire Incident, and given the leaders at the time, it wasn't a stretch. Didn't these pictures…?

"Shin-Ra kept tabs on every town that had a reactor," Sephiroth said, sensing Cloud's train of thought. For once, the blond didn't mind; it saved him having to ask out loud. "Tseng told me that after...well, after I happened, any documents from the original town that could tip someone off were taken to Midgar and digitized for Shinra's purposes, then locked away behind electronic doors. What I hadn't burned, they did. The mansion wasn't considered a liability, being that few people ever came to Nibelheim and the ones that lived in the impostor town were Shinra's employees."

"I see. And Shin-Ra had backups here?"

"Well, originally they were in Costa Del Sol and Deepground," Sephiroth said. "But yes, after...well, me...they rebuilt and moved everything here." He frowned. Deepground. The company's sins were more than even he imagined. If he had only known...if he had only kept his sanity throughout that time. He could have helped free his fellow prisoners of Shin-Ra. Cloud watched him carefully, surprised at the discomfort and sadness leaking over their shared cells. Suddenly, Sephiroth looked up.

"Do you think Tifa would like these?" he asked again, and Cloud nodded.

"She would. Yeah." Sephiroth stood and moved away from the chair.

"Pick the pictures you want, and we'll get them printed." Cloud hesitated.

"Won't you get in trouble? I mean, Shinra classified-"

"A lot has changed since then. And…" — here Sephiroth looked away — "it's not like there's a lot of survivors left to verify anything. And supposing those survivors did want to verify something" — he looked Cloud straight in the eye — "the populace deserves the truth. If Rufus is at all serious about repentance, he will agree." Cloud nodded.

.:I:I:V:I:I:.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

There WILL be a Part Two. I originally intended this to be a Valentine's Day oneshot, but real life got in the way so I decided to write it in pieces and post the first part before it got too late to be a Valentine's fic ;) I very much want to get back into writing fanfiction. It helps keep my creative mojo going and relaxes me (not something I can always say for original works!).

It's been awhile since I've written anything and certainly nothing FFVII-related; I am not sure about the tone of the characters so constructive criticism is welcomed :)

In keeping with the Valentine's theme, I have decided to post Part Two around March 14th - White Day in Japan ;)

Keep On Rockin' in 2020!
~MoonlightTyger