*Sniffles and sneezes out half of body's mucus content* Having a virus sucks. *Stares at PSP* Stop tempting me, Dissidia!
Zack continued following Angeal, now carrying Genesis, who was still letting out the occasional chuckle, over his shoulder to help him regain his breath, through the metallic hallways and corridors of Shinra tower, their boots resounding on the floor with each footfall. The spiky-headed warrior looked around as he walked, thinking of most of these dull, leaden surroundings as his home since he arrived here to join SOLDIER, except for the pristine whiteness of the labs where the probably clinically-insane scientists too blinded by their theories and egos to tell what they were doing was not humane worked, of course.
He then sighed fondly as his thoughts wandered to his previous home and his birthplace, the town in the middle of nowhere, Gongaga. There was really nothing memorable out there except for the mako reactor Shinra had built a while before he left. No one ever really came there apart from weary travelers and scientists checking on the progress of the reactor. The already-small population of the mountain village dwindled even further when there was an explosion at the reactor, one day.
Zack smiled and tilted his head back as he thought of his first meeting with an infantryman from a similar place. Whether it was the cadet's bright azure, eager-to-learn eyes or his golden locks that defied gravity just as his superior's did that made him stand out, he wasn't sure of. After a few minutes conversing on a mission in Modeoheim(the blonde's shyness to people ranked above him didn't help the conversation at all)Zack managed to wring out of the trooper, who identified himself as Cloud Strife, that he was from a town called Nibelheim, which was about as large as his own hometown. The talk playfully continued with them saying their respective towns were in the middle of nowhere and calling each other 'country bumpkins'. After the mission was over and he told Angeal and Genesis about the young teen, they gave him the affectionate name 'Chocobo' due to his hair. Sephiroth, on the other hand, merely asked about his combat abilities and had commented, "Bah, the boy is just cannon fodder." When he found out Cloud was among the worst in all of his physical classes.
A soft, cooing sound snapped Zack out of his thoughts, one an infant or child might make when receiving affection from its parent. He looked over at his mentor and saw that he had his head tilted curiously at Sephiroth's almost-closed door and even Genesis had fallen silent. The female's voice drifted from the room in a singing language that none of them could make out, but it sounded oddly familiar to them, as though their bodies knew it, but their mind did not.
Zack approached the door and, as quietly as he could, pushed it open with his knuckles. The sight he was met with was one of the oddest yet.
The silver-haired female had her back turned toward the door and was stroking and caressing Sephiroth's face lovingly like a mother would to a troubled child. The strange language, sounding more like the inner workings of the cosmos rather than words, continued flowing from her pale lips with every gentle touch she bestowed upon him. The normally at-attention all the time general seemed to bask in her attention. Luckily for Zack, his eyelids had drooped out of happiness, hiding his orbs from the second unwanted interruption. His tongue, seemingly the only thing on him that could pass as human, lolled out of his mouth like a happy dog and he looked relaxed to the point of seeming drunk.
When she reached towards his hair to stroke it, Zack heard an interrupting sound behind him, Genesis clearing his throat. "All of my blood is starting to rush to my head, so I would appreciate it if you would kindly put me down." He heard him comment dryly before he whipped his head back to drill a hole into his body with a gaze that read, 'Do you know what the hell you've just done?!' and noticed Angeal doing the same before letting him go, leaving him to drop face-first onto the hard floor.
Unfortunately for them, their antics did not go unbeknownst to the silver-haired general and his companion as he had immediately snapped out of his trance-like state of pleasure at Genesis clearing his throat and she had turned around with her features turned cross. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh. "I would have thought after getting kicked out the first time, you would have learned your lesson on eavesdropping, but, I suppose, just like the puppy you are, you must be taught a lesson multiple times for it to sink in. Looks like you are trying to corrupt the other SOLDIERs into following your ways as well, except Genesis, he's already corrupted."
The red-head pushed himself up onto his elbows and grinned playfully at his friend. "Corrupted and proud of it!" He chirped lightly, a slight bruise starting to form on his face from it smashing into the metallic floor.
Sephiroth merely sighed again and shook his head. "How did I know you were going to say something weird like that?"
Angeal clamped his hand over his friend's mouth to keep him from saying anything else that might provoke him. "We are simply here to find out who our new friend is here and then we will leave you two to go back to…whatever you were doing."
"You mean each other!" Genesis whooped through the fleshy barrier covering his mouth, the hand offering little resistance to the lewd words.
Sephiroth sighed yet again and got up at the foul, yet apologetic look in Angeal's eyes. "Hang on. I've got some in here somewhere." After looking through a few drawers, he pulled out a roll of duct tape from his nightstand. He walked over to Angeal and easily ripped off a piece that was a few inches long before sticking it on Genesis's lips, which the black-haired SOLDIER's hand had just vacated, moving instead to grip his wrists. He watched the red-head struggle for a few seconds before what seemed to be pouting and looked down at the floor like a naughty child that had got caught. He lightly walked back to his bed and replaced the tape before seating himself on the giant cushion.
"Anyway, this is Evalia and we were not 'doing each other' when you three so rudely interrupted us." He said in a scalding tone. "She was merely singing me a song to relieve stress."
Zack ignored Genesis's lips moving under the tape, no doubt trying to release another comment, and instead focused on the woman known as Evalia. "I saw an old woman that looks like you. Kinda weird in the head. You know about her?"
The now-identified female tapped her chin while looking around for a few seconds before snapping her fingers together. "Ah! You must mean my crazy, old grandmother. She has a tendency to wander around and mutter weird things. She hasn't had much social interaction, makes some people a little cuckoo."
"So, how did you two meet?" Angeal asked while leaning against a wall with his arms crossed against his chest, but still keeping an eye on his troublemaker friend.
"It's not like we're boyfriend and girlfriend." Sephiroth hurriedly said, a slight blush rising on his cheeks. "But if you must know, she was looking around in the lobby and I just thought she looked familiar."
"Well, she does look like a female version of you except for her eyes." Zack commented before grabbing Genesis. "I guess we'll be leaving you two now."
Sephiroth watched Zack drag away Genesis and Angeal wave goodbye before following his pupil. He then got up and slammed the door shut. "I should really get into the habit of locking that thing." He growled.
