Many thanks to all the wonderful people reviewing! I really appeciate that! Thanks so much everyone!
Hmm... will there be any special guest-star appearances in this chapter? xD I'm in the middle of submitting my thesis at the university, but I couldn't help writing a short introductory chapter. xD After this is done, next chapters will definitely be longer. Anyway, this is a small taste of what's to come.
A few weeks later...
"What is this... piss?" Genesis spluttered in disgust as he took a small bite of his breakfast before spitting it out and throwing the rest back on the plate - staining the tablecloth and his freshly-cleaned coat with food droplets in the process. "Pffft.. Is this supposed to be edible?" Genesis exclaimed in a loud voice shooting a look of pure hatred and revulsion at the grilled bacon sandwich that accompanied his melted mozarella cheese on sliced mushrooms and tomatoes. The movement attracted the attention of the rest of the diners, who shot him some alarmed looks, but quickly returned to their plates when Genesis looked up from his plate and gave them his most murderous look.
"Whom do I have to screw to get some decent food around here?" Genesis continued his rant with increasing temper as the waiter hid behind the counter.
"It's tasteless, dull, insipid, crappy DOG FOOD! No flavour, no taste! Just plain... blandness! Actually no..." he stated after a few moments of consideration. "I stand corrected. It does taste like something... Yeah... It tastes like warmed cardboard! Oh, and yes... but of course! It smells like feet, TOO!" he ceremoniously announced to his bewildered audience, after bringing said sandwich close to his nose for a close up inspection.
"Angeal, can you pass me the salt?" Genesis finally asked and looked up towards Angeal, his gaze purposely avoiding the other end of the table, where a certain silver-haired –and very moody- General was sitting, drawing imaginary circles, triangles and other geometric shapes with his spoon in his muesli cereal.
"Angeal, can-you-pass-me-the-salt- PLEASE?" Genesis slowly repeated his question even louder, rolling his eyes in exasperation seeing Angeal's hesitation. He then flashed him a wide artificial smile.
"Please, oh pretty please?"
Angeal sighed. After a few more indecisive moments he reached for the salt that was inconveniently located within Sephiroth's grasp.
"Salt it is..." Angeal mumbled reaching for Genesis' current object of desire. The air was thick with tension this morning. He could cut it with his own sword, he thought, shifting uneasily in his chair. He had a bad feeling about this, and most of the times his gut feelings ended up being correct. And he hated being correct, especially since a certain red-haired friend of his decided to wake up on the wrong side of the bed today...
...or most of the days of the month, he thought after a while.
And then it moved...
"Oh, good heavens!" Angeal muttered though his teeth.
"Sephiroth, can I have the salt, please?" he tried pleading after seeing Sephiroth's hand moving the salt further away out of his grasp, a loud clattering noise accompanying the forceful banging of the glass salt container on the table.
"Sephiroth," Angeal tried to reason with him again, not liking the direction this... "salty" thing was heading. "Please... just give me the salt?"
"No," was Sephiroth's firm answer.
"Sephiroth!" Angeal repeated even louder in agitation, inwardly cursing Lazard for sending both Genesis and Sephiroth together on a patrol mission in the slums despite his warnings; especially so soon after that recent fighting incident in the training room. It's been a few weeks now since it happened but the two SOLDIERS were still not in speaking terms. In fact, not only they were not speaking but the temperature was slowly but steadily reaching boiling point with no signs of cooling off.
Angeal decided it was of paramount importance he had that damn freaking salt in his own hands ASAP.
An abrupt move of the silver-haired man's elbow though, and suddenly...
"Oops..." Sephiroth's deep voice echoed teasingly through the diner as the breaking noise of glass on the ground filled the deafening silence.
Angeal watched as the white grains and glass fragments scattered through the floor surface reaching the adjacent tables. He then rested his head hopelessly on his hands and sighed in defeat. What did he do to deserve this? Was it karma? Was the Goddess punishing him? As if his new trainee, Zack, wasn't already a handful...
A quick look around the cafeteria confirmed what he already suspected; empty seats everywhere, the last remaining customers an elderly couple who had miraculously forgot their disabilities and were now sprinting towards the door.
Genesis chuckled.
"Angeal, can you please tell him, that his childish pitiful attempts at annoying me, will not work? "Besides..." he added smirking, "seeing his ugly mug early in the morning, is enough to put me off food anyway..." and with that, he emphatically pushed his plate away in disgust, a nauseating look on his face.
Angeal opened his mouth to say something but an equally smirking Sephiroth grabbed his shoulder and cut him off before he had the chance to utter any words.
"Angeal, can you please tell Mr Loveless over there that, first, I don't speak idiot, and second, his own face is such a mess, he should actually stop reading Loveless before slamming shut that silly poetry book of his?"
"Ha ha ha ha! Genesis threw back his head and laughed in an obstreperous manner. And as if to acknowledge Sephiroth's amusing "joke", he started clapping his hands vigorously in a fake display of extreme delight.
"Hmph... at least I can read books Sephiroth..." Genesis mocked and chuckled. Besides... I wouldn't expect from a guy with a room temperature IQ to understand and appreciate real literature... real poetry... Reading Loveless would make your head hurt! Ha ha! You would easily drown within the profoundly deep meanings and epic ideas that Loveless encapsulates."
Sephiroth smirked before his icy lips returned to their usual frigid position, an expression that held the sadistic promise of pure torturous murder.
"Hmph! Sephiroth scoffed raising a silver eyebrow before leaning ominously over the table. "I could eat alphabet cereal and shit better lyrics than this crappy book of yours!"
Angeal had stayed silent all this time, simply listening to their puerile battle of wits. He just prayed that if there really was a God out there now was the best time to prove his existence by sending two big lightning bolts on either side of this table. Or at least an earth-shuttering earthquake... Was that too much to ask?
Angeal had enough. He stood up and banged his fists on the table just as he saw Genesis standing up and reaching for his rapier. The table shook and the plates and cutlery rattled by the sheer force of his assault on the wooden surface.
The abrupt motion of Angeal's reaction forced the two contentious soldiers to pause and look at him. Enough was enough.
"Will you two ever grow up?" Angeal fumed. "I'm sick of seeing you arguing and fighting all the time! At least have the decency and respect to keep your silly bickering over petty things within the Shinra establishment! Because this is getting plain ridiculous! And to be honest, quite embarrassing, too!"
The trio glanced around the long-deserted diner room. Plates with half-eaten food littered the benches and tables, while a considerable number of chairs fallen on the floor completed the whole hastily-abandoned decor.
Angeal sighed and tried to calm his breathing. After a few moments, he reached for his pocket and produced a cell phone.
"I'm calling off this mission now. I'm speaking to the Director now. You can both take the day off," he stated in a no-nonsense tone as he flipped the LCD screen open and tapped Lazard's number on the lighted keypad. As he waited for the busy signal to end, he watched Genesis re-sheathing his sword before finally walking off under Sephiroth's bemused gaze and the mellifluous sound of Loveless.
"My friend, do you fly away now?
To a world that abhors you and I?
All that awaits you is a somber morrow.
No matter where the winds may blow..."
Oh, please review and let me know what you think. xD I tried to inject a bit of humour into the situation. I couldn't pass such an amazing opportunity of Genesis and Sephiroth in the same room arguing over nothing! lol