[A/N: Arrgh , it's been so long xD [or it seems like it ;3] since I did anything for this… DAMN YOU TYPING UP, DAMN YOU TO HELL AND BACK D: Anyways, do enjoy :3]

The morning dawned cold and bright, the sun blazing down triumphantly but giving no warmth. There was a paper-thin coating of glittering ice over every surface, the flatted grass outside the tents sparkling like shattered diamonds. The sky was a flat, pale blue, with not a cloud in sight; seabirds wheeled and dived in exuberance at the day, yet its porcelain beauty was wasted on Sephiroth.

He woke from a light sleep shivering and miserable, muscles aching from fatigue; he had not been able to fall asleep properly all night. Memories of sensations and rags of emotions had haunted him all through the darkness, and as he lay with his eyes open, staring at the roof of the tent, all he could see was Genesis leaning over him, bending to kiss him, drawing him into a sensual oblivion…

The afterimage was burned into his mind and even when he swung to sit with his feet on the floor that morning and buried his head in his hands, all he could see was Genesis rushing towards him across the tent, gasping in ecstasy at his touch – then pulling away, eyes troubled, confusion written on his features as if with a pen, his quiet words – "I understand" – even though he so clearly did not – holding back tears, leaving so swiftly.

The recollections swept over and over through Sephiroth's mind, like waves on the beach below the camp that he could hear ever so faintly over the muffled wind and noises of the camp stirring.

In recognition, or possibly hope of, a pattern in his new existence, it was to this beach that Sephiroth was drawn after dressing distractedly and muttering a few greetings or reprimands to the men he passed. As he arrived at the edge of the treeline and looked out over the cliff, he saw a figure by the shoreline rise form a crouch to skim a large stone onto the waves.

Even from this distance he could sense genesis' presence and though his mind cautioned him against it he felt an irresistible pull towards the beach; ad so he found himself stumbling down the rocky path to the base of the cliff, scattering pebbles and dirt as he descended.

Though Genesis must have heard – even a deaf moogle with cotton wool stuffed in its ears would have heard – he did not turn and watched his stone sink to the bottom of the ocean silently and sincerely.

As Sephiroth hesitantly approached from the lee of the cliff, Genesis held up a hand. Held lightly in it was a large Banora White, crisp purple and gleaming with clear water droplets.

"Ripples form on the water's surface," Genesis said quietly to the apple, refusing to look at Sephiroth. "The wandering soul… knows no rest."

With the last words he tossed the apple in Sephiroth's direction and looked back at the sea. Catching the missile, Sephiroth considered it and stepped up to stand beside Genesis. They stood in awkward silence for a while, both becoming accustomed to the others' presence while the restless waves flowed in and out before them. Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Sephiroth spoke.

"I… I'm sorry about… last night," he said falteringly, looking at the sand, "It was just

I… it was…"

"I understand," Genesis spoke in a flat voice. "I'm sorry too."

Sephiroth looked at him finally, willing him to return the gaze. "No, I don't think you do understand," he said forcefully. "Last night was… well, it was what I've been waiting for… and of course there's nothing I'd rather do than continue it…"

"Yet you broke it off," Genesis cut in with a hint of anger in his tone. "You refused me, threw me out, when you were the one who…" His voice cracked and he angrily rubbed a hand across his eyes. "You started it, but you finished it before it had even begun. All this time you've been… confusing me with these feelings, leading me on, until all I could think about was you… and now you push me away, pretend it meant nothing? That I meant nothing?" He turned his head suddenly and stared at Sephiroth with tortured eye shadowed from lack of sleep. "What do you want, Sephiroth?"

The silver-haired SOLDIER almost took a step backwards from the accusation in his gaze, mind whirling in confusion and desperation. One clear thought remained;

I cannot lose him.

"No, no it wasn't like that!" he replied swiftly, desperately staring into Genesis' eyes. "Of course I didn't want to 'lead you on'… I wasn't trying to play any games with you, and I definitely-" He emphasised the point by shaking his head violently "- wasn't trying to make you feel like nothing." He paused, breathing fast. "You could never be nothing."

Genesis looked at him searchingly, as if trying to determine the truth in his words. "So why did you…"

Sephiroth stepped close to him and put one hand on the side of Genesis' face, drawing him ever closer. "Genesis, I… I think I'm in love with you," he said quickly, keeping Genesis' surprised face near his. "I just think that last night was too sudden, I couldn't… I didn't have time to adjust…"

He took a deep breath, reading genesis' shock and sudden hope swirling in his eyes. There was movement from the camp above, and fearing interruption and a breaking of this fragile moment, Sephiroth drew him in quickly and kissed him, feeling Genesis' surprise and then abrupt longing through his lips.

Far too soon, Sephiroth pulled away, every fibre in his being protesting against the action. He quickly stepped away from Genesis, his whole body screaming to do the opposite, and looked anxiously up to the cliff top. Rigid in shock, Genesis stood completely still and stared after Sephiroth, one hand clenching and unclenching spasmodically in thin air.

"Sephiroth…" he managed to utter, taking a step towards him. "I…"

Sephiroth looked back at him, the consequences of what he had just done beginning to seep into his mind. "Oh, Genesis, I'm sorry…" He turned his gaze away, cold dread creeping up his spine. "I shouldn't have…"

Oh Lifestream, what have I done? I've lost him, I've lost him forever…

To his intense surprise and then joy, Genesis abruptly seized him and his mouth met Sephiroth's in a sudden desperate union, snaking a hand behind the silver-haired SOLDIER's head to draw him closer, the camp full of subordinates waking in plain view momentarily forgotten by both in the heat of the moment.

For long seconds filled with longing and need, they remained in a shifting embrace, both manoeuvring to try to absorb more of the other into themselves, dancing fingers racing through silver and red hair; the purple apple fell to the sand and roiled to the edge of the waves before the hungry sea swept it up and floated it away.

Eventually Genesis placed a finger over Sephiroth's mouth to halt him as they paused for shallow breath.

"There is nothing to be sorry for," he whispered breathlessly, smiling through a thin veil of tears prickling his eyes. Sephiroth smiled and wiped the moisture from the redhead's eyes, then incredibly reluctantly pulled completely away, noticing abruptly the tiny violet lump sailing into the distance, and laughed.

"It seems to be escaping," he said, pointing, and looked back at Genesis, who shook his head.

"I've got plenty more," the redhead smiled and turned back to the camp. "We should be getting back."

Without waiting for acquiescence, he began to walk back to the path, leaving light footprints in his wake. Sephiroth paused and watched the apple bob a little further away for a moment, then shook his head and followed.

-

Night fell swiftly, ebony blackness sinking into the blue evening like ink spilt into a pool of water. The trees around the camp swayed mournfully in the rising breeze, leaves crackling and brushing past each other impatiently to produce a sound mimicking the caress of the waves on the shore below, where the sea was now nudging the cliff face itself. The yellow glow of the campfires and lanterns warmed the cold white shafts of moonlight lancing down on the SOLDIERs, and through the gap underneath his tent walls Sephiroth could see the silver-lit ground contrast cleanly to the light inside.

He sat on the bed, carefully cleaning his masamune with a cloth, making certain that no speck of rust or travel grime marred its gleaming length. The smooth rhythmic motion of his arm helped him to think, allowing his mind to clear the accumulated knowledge gained from the first day of reconnaissance and to focus on the events that morning;

"There is nothing to be sorry for."

At the memory, a warm feeling blossomed in his chest, reminiscent of the relief and happiness he had felt at those words. Briefly, an imagined scene in which Genesis had not forgiven him, had walked away from the beach before the dumbapple had dropped into the sea flashed through his mind, such emptiness and despair accompanying the images that it was not until he had banished them from his mind that he realised he had stopped cleaning.

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath as he resumed polishing; though only a few seconds had passed before he set down the cloth and sword and stared at the right wall of the tent, imagining what lay beyond…

I need to see him.

Cautiously resting the masamune against an upright tent pole and wrapping the cloth around its hilt, he considered a moment. If he left by the front tent flap, there was a chance that some of the men might see him entering Genesis' tent – and if he did not return, they might begin to suspect, which would nip the relationship sharply in the bud.

After a second of thought, Sephiroth extinguished the lamps in his tent, carefully and quietly untied the ties at the back of the tent and slipped out, tying them again afterwards. He then moved the few paces to the back of Genesis' tent, silently as a cat, and taking a deep breath to steady himself he worked the canvas wall undone and lifted it…

… to be faced with the gleaming scarlet point of Genesis' rapier at his throat.

"Who are you and what in the Goddess' name are you…" There was a shocked gasp and the weapon disappeared, replaced with a helping hand that trembled ever so slightly. "Sephiroth! Oh, Goddess, I'm sorry, come in…"

When Sephiroth had entered fully and stood, Genesis stood back and gave him an odd look.

"What on Gaia were you doing out the anyway?" he asked quizzically, nodding towards the makeshift door. Sephiroth cleared his throat and looked down, trying in vain to conceal his embarrassment. Somehow, Genesis had the ability to make him feel like a mere cadet again; something no one else in the world could do.

"I… had to some and see you," he said quietly, a little awkwardly. "I'm sorry if you didn't… if it was a bad time…?"

Genesis shook his head, suddenly guarded. "No, it's fine, I was only reading…" He gestured towards the ever-present copy of LOVELESS, open on a side table. He looked searchingly at Sephiroth. "You keep apologising, but there really is no need. I don't mind… well, the irony is that I was going to come and see you soon." He dipped his head with a smile. "Coincidence, hmm?"

Carefully, Sephiroth moved closer, so he could easily reach out and touch Genesis. The redhead looked back at him and blinked slowly, a vaguely apprehensive expression on his face but a glow of hope in his eyes. As Sephiroth reached for him slowly, as if to a wild animal, Genesis caught his wrist and met his eyes squarely.

"For real this time?" he asked anxiously. "You won't back out again? No hesitation?"

As an answer, Sephiroth lifted the hand restraining his to his lips and kissed it gently, then brushed his mouth upwards along Genesis' arm to his pale neck and transferred his kisses to the warm skin there. For a moment, Genesis did not resist, tense muscles relaxing suddenly under the scant pressure; but then he pulled away slightly.

"Sephiroth, I'm serious," he said sincerely. "I need to know that you won't reject me again… I don't think I could take it…"

He tailed off as his mouth was covered by Sephiroth's once more, distracted form speech momentarily. Slowing his assault, Sephiroth stilled and spoke against Genesis' lips.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't resist this," he murmured. "No matter what, I can't stop now…"

Suddenly, Genesis pressed against him with all of himself, lips moving swiftly and hungrily against Sephiroth's, hands nimbly removing his outer clothing and twisting in his hair, entwining the two further. With a smile, Sephiroth did the same to him, until their bare chests touched, warm skin against warm skin. They remained standing for a while longer, relishing the feel of each other against their bodies, finally free from inhibition and the last reluctance to cross that line.

Swiftly and smoothly, Sephiroth pushed Genesis back onto the bed, lying across him while kissing his neck, tongue flickering into the hollow of his collarbone before dancing across his skin to the other shoulder, down his arm and back up, returning finally to his open mouth with a smouldering smile.

Sharp breaths wracking the air, Genesis raked his fingers through Sephiroth's hair almost painfully, twisting and tangling the silver threads with unconscious intensity as he concentrated on exploring the interior of the others' mouth with a questing tongue. Their breaths grew more and more ragged, movements more frantic until inevitably Genesis' hands reached the tips of Sephiroth's waist-length hair and after a moment the other arched backwards with a hiss, staring at Genesis with uncontrollable flames in his eyes and swore softly.

"Genesis!" The word was barely released into the air before he had thrown himself back down to the redhead's mouth, kisses now furiously hungry, heart pounding so hard and fast the whole camp should have heard it; though, in hindsight, Sephiroth would be immeasurably glad they could not, at that moment nothing existed but the metal bed and the man beneath him, and nothing mattered past those swift seconds so filled with such raging, sweeping emotions that he doubted either of them would have noticed if the tent had burned down around them.

An hour later, they lay tangled together on the bed, recovering slowly from the storm that had roared through them. Slowly, as the lanterns dimmed, their breathing returned to normal; heartbeats slowed from their frantic patterns to more regular rhythms; sweat-slicked skin cooled in the night air.

Genesis idly toyed with a strand of Sephiroth's hair, pulling it through his fingers slowly and trailing it across his lips, inhaling the scent deeply. Sephiroth looked down, the redhead's head resting comfortably on his shoulder, and smiled lazily.

"So what does it smell of?" he asked, eyes half-closed in the warm aftermath. Genesis switched his attention from his hair to his face, turning to kiss him lightly before answering.

"You," he replied simply, lips turned upwards in amusement. "Just everything that seems to be… you." He smiled and shook his head. "Difficult to explain; maybe you could help me…"

Sephiroth pulled himself up a little to reach Genesis' mouth better and then kissed him slowly, feeling the storm brew once more. "Maybe I could…"

With a grin, Genesis returned the kiss with enthusiasm, "Go on then," he murmured,

The words faded into the suddenly electrified air and sank, like them, into that beautiful, forbidden night.

[YEEEAAH DONE IT! xDDD Well, the next chapter is mainly 'safe' so it'll possibly be up quicker than this one was… in the meanwhile, thank you to all for keeping reading, and do keep an eye out for more! xxxx]