Unspoken

By mihoyonagi

Chapter 33: Content

Sephiroth gazed intently up at the starlit sky. Each far away light glimmered like a tiny diamond, twinkling happily and brightly. Despite the beauty the stars offered Sephiroth, the general was not content. As Sephiroth contemplated the previous day's events, he couldn't shake off the feeling that everything had happened in one large blur. In fact he could hardly remember when he or the flower girl had awakened, let alone when they had bought passage on the fishing vessel headed for the peninsula south of Rocket Town. The only thing Sephiroth was able to think about all day was how they were going to get out of Wutai without attracting the attention of Cloud, Tifa, or the Turks.

The breeze that blew over the top of the boat smelled strongly of sea salt and fish, but was welcoming none the less. Despite the rolling darkness that had turned the waves of the ocean to black silk, the air was warm. It had only been a matter of days since he and the flower girl were in the cold airy forests that surrounded Junon- again, they were back in the southern hemisphere and summer had, obviously, taken the helm. Nearly a month before, they had been so comfortable in their cottage in Mideel.

Despite the stars and their silent symphony composed only with light, Sephiroth was not pleased with the night. Having grown accustomed to sleeping when they had lived in the small, tropical tourist town, Sephiroth found that the more time he seemed to spend outside the less he felt he needed sleep. After waking up in such pain as he had nearly when he was revived, his body had needed quite a while to heal. In his previous life, sleep was something that his body didn't need. The cells of Jenova that once swam inside of him provided him with so much strength and energy that sleep was something he did when he was bored. Food was also something his body could do easily without a supply of, though Sephiroth rarely turned down a good, hot meal.

But that was then.

Sephiroth watched Aerith let out a small shiver under the blanket she had draped over her shoulders. She stood near him on the deck of the ship. Her cheeks were a rosy pink from the wind, a color that suited her delicate features rather well.

The general looked away, feeling inwardly sheepish over such a thought. While it had technically been two days since his mouth had descended upon Aerith's sweet lips, he was still fighting the color that attempted to rise to his cheeks every time he thought about her. She had been so delicate beneath him, so frail, and yet she was stronger than any other being Sephiroth could think of. Sephiroth suddenly found the waves very interesting.

Aerith slowly made her way next to him, her tiny feet dragging across the metal of the deck of the ship. "Nice out, isn't it?" Her voice was casual, nonchalant, and she spoke as though the kiss they had shared was the absolute last thing on her mind.

Sephiroth found it hard to swallow (not that he could talk, anyway). He nodded, numbly.

"I can't believe we made it out here without those guys finding us. The whole day just seems like a blur; like I closed my eyes and missed everything from sunup to sunset." Aerith let out a large sigh. Sephiroth wasn't sure what to do. Merely shifting his weight from one side of his body to the other, he kept his eyes on the waves of the ocean and tired desperately not to think of the kiss they had shared.

"I have a favor to ask." Aerith's voice had suddenly taken a slightly cold tone. "In Rocket Town, there might be someone I used to know."

Sephiroth's mind sorted through memories. Rocket Town? Aerith must have been speaking about the old pilot whom she used to travel with. Inwardly frowning, Sephiroth silently hoped that Aerith wasn't about to ask to visit the pilot. The only thing that the general remembered about the space man was that he was loud, and he swore enough to make a sailor cringe.

"I don't want to be in Rocket Town any longer than we have to be. If we run into Cid, he'll be sure to tell Cloud. Cid isn't the type to listen very well. You know how that will end up."

Immediately, Sephiroth thought of the several narrow escapes he and the flower girl had managed. That, however, was all based off of Cloud's speculation. Sephiroth didn't want to even begin to fathom what would happen if any further proof of his existence were to show up. He already had the testimony of two Turks, albeit one was drunk and the other hung-over.

Sephiroth sighed, feeling somewhat guilty for hoping Aerith wouldn't ask to visit her pilot friend. On the other hand, that was her old life was it not? Sephiroth had moved on. It was obvious to him that Aerith was still searching for the strength to.

It seemed that Aerith took Sephiroth's silence as an affirmation of what she had been speaking of, for she didn't say anything about Rocket Town or the pilot again. Instead, she leaned her head against Sephiroth's shoulder and let out a large sigh. "It's so nice out tonight."

Suddenly, Sephiroth found breathing very difficult. Again, he tried to concentrate on the waves of the sea licking the boat. He hadn't the slightest idea as to what he was meant to do. Shiva forsake him, he hadn't the slightest idea how to act around Aerith since they had kissed. Sephiroth wasn't one for wooing women, and while he was certain he had some kind of feelings toward the beautiful flower girl leaning against him, he was entirely sure what she wanted from him.

He felt like a hormonal, confused teenager. Sephiroth rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. Mustering up his courage, though inwardly berating himself, he leaned his head against the top of Aerith's. It was a gentle, friendly gesture, or so he hoped that was what it seemed like. Sephiroth didn't know what else to do. He hadn't the slightest idea as to what it was exactly Aerith wanted from him, so he allowed her what he thought would be alright. They had, after all, only narrowly escaped Cloud for the umpteenth time (it was getting rather old, the general was beginning to think; the damn blonde was such a stubborn mule), and Aerith leaning up against his shoulder could just be her way of letting Sephiroth know that she was relieved.

'Oh great Shiva, what have you done to me?' Had Sephiroth the ability, he would have given himself a swift kick in the behind so he might regain his senses. What a spell the flower girl seemed to have on him!

"Hey! You two, up front!" The voice was female, thick with sleep yet laced with excitement. Sephiroth and Aerith turned to look upon the ship's captain. Though she was small and female, the resolve that shone brightly in her eyes was unmistakable for anything else. "We're going to start hauling up our nets. You might want to get below, unless you enjoy being covered from the knees down in fish."

Needing no further explanation, Sephiroth scuttled down the small set of stairs and into the innards of the boat with Aerith close behind. Before the general was able to shut the door, he heard the captain shout after him, "If we get a decent haul, we'll dock south of Rocket Town within the next few hours. You and your girl get some sleep."

Making sure the door was latched tight as so no unwanted fishy explorers might venture their way inside the cabin, Sephiroth gave the door an extra push to make certain it was tight. He then turned around and was surprised to see Aerith already curled up in the small cabin bed. Sephiroth looked around for some sort of chair to sit in, or bench to lean against, and was disappointed when he realized that no such thing existed in the small cabin. There was a small writing desk with several books piled atop it, but it was missing a chair; the only other option was the bed, which Aerith had already claimed for herself.

The general watched as Aerith rolled over and gave him a puzzled look. "I know you're tired," he was informed. "There isn't anything else that can be done; we'll have to share." After watching her set her head against her pillow, Sephiroth took note that Aerith had curled up on one side of the bed in the first place.

With no other solution in sight, for Sephiroth couldn't very well stand all night and the floor was too small to sit on, he made his way over tot he small cabin bed and almost shyly crawled up against Aerith. Despite the fact that the two were lying on their sides with their backs facing one another, their bodies were still mashed up together.

Sephiroth suddenly found breathing difficult. Curse his damned emotions! Wanting nothing more than to rip out his own hair over the idea that he was back to back in a tight space against Aerith and that he was acting like a damn teenager over it, Sephiroth forced his heartbeat down to a normal pace and gave himself a few moments to regain his composure.

'It's just the flower girl,' he recited in his mind. 'You used to share a house with her, let her pick out your clothing for the day, cook your food, and wash your clothing. You're being silly.'

No amount of chiding, however, could reset Sephiroth's mind over the matter. He was slowly beginning to realize that the reason the previous day's journey had been a blur was because he was pushing it away from conscious thought with quite a bit of mental force. The entire day, despite being terrified that Cloud would eventually catch up with them, he had been thinking about Aerith. He had been thinking about her tiny hands, her slender hips, and her plump, pink lips and they way they had felt against his own. Having spent so much time in war zones and Shinra labs, Sephiroth had little time for women in his previous life.

Oh, sure, he had his occasional fill of beauties who had all but thrown themselves upon the 'great general Sephiroth, whom had conquered the foreign land of Wutai', but it was strictly out of primal need; not a single woman who had spent one night with him had been lucky enough to spend a second. Bodily needs like sleep and food were something Sephiroth learned to deal with; The Jenova cells within his body had made sure that the conservation and dispensing of energy were their priority, while his mind was elsewhere and the cells had yet to call out to their host. But needs that encompass his mind and body- those were something that he couldn't control. Despite being filled with Jenova material, and whatever else the Shinra decided to inject him with, his body was that of a mans and he could no more refuse the alluring call of a beautiful, willing woman than he could stop the moon in the sky and demand it go bother some other planet.

Not that he didn't enjoy it. The women, that is, not the part about yelling at the moon.

Sephiroth had never been the one to initiate any action; it was always the woman who came to him, thinking they could change him and make him love them.

Little did they know that all it would take would be a sword though the heart, a painful death (on both of their parts, it was supposed), a just as painful resurrection, constant kindness, good cooking, and the willingness to drop anything and everything to turn tail and run at the drop of a hat to earn not only his respect but some of his affection.

Sephiroth had, indeed, come to such a realization that he had some sort of warm, fuzzy feelings and they were all directed toward Aerith, for it was only when she was around did his heart pound, his head pound, and his hands tremble.

'Oh, screw it all.'

The general closed his eyes, let his body go slack, and reveled in the moment; he was close enough to Aerith that he could feel her heartbeat, feel her warmth, and didn't have to worry about getting pummeled by fish on the deck.

It was nice to lie next to the flower girl. It was calming, and relaxing, and Sephiroth, for the first time since he and Aerith had left Mideel, was content, despite the fact that the world outside was still turning.