Director and General

by Ale Sieben

After being locked up in a coffin by Hojo and Lucrecia, Vincent wakes up to find that they're both dead and Sephiroth is alive and well. After a bit of coercion Rufus and Veld, Vincent decides to rejoin the Turks as Head of the Department. Things go rather well until Vincent starts getting hot flashes and Sephiroth says he wants to be friends.

12. Machinations

Chapter summary:

In order for Vincent and Sephiroth to sit down and have lunch (Galian permitting, that is), many preparations must be made. Said preparations are the start of a series of schemes aimed at bringing the Director and the General closer. But will they work…?

Chapter notes:

I'm back (again)! Explanation and more notes at the bottom.

[ : Reposting this on Sunday, September 27th to fix typos and continuity errors.]

[AO3: Sorry for the delay! I don't know why the site wasn't letting me paste the text on my tablet (it kept asking me to use the ctrl+V command, which is not possible when there's no physical keyboard, which was my case) so I had to wait until I could come to the café and get it done on my laptop. As a small bonus for this, though, you're getting a revised version. Still, if you find any typos or continuity errors, do let me know!)

Genesis didn't hate paperwork nearly as much as Sephiroth and the others did. In fact, he found it a rather relaxing activity that could, on occasion, serve as meditation. Now that he was feeling a lot better thanks to the compound to reverse his degradation, he was in good enough spirits to tackle the pile of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk in the past several weeks. While both Angeal and Sephiroth had offered to help him with it, the truth was that neither had any actual intentions of going anywhere near their own paperwork, let alone anyone else's, before the deadline loomed ominously on the horizon—not even when Lazard threatened to dock their pay. That was probably why the Director had made sure that Genesis didn't have anything too important on his plate since his health began to deteriorate. He was still late with it, though, and he felt slightly guilty about it so he thought to tackle it in the days prior to his full reinstatement to active service.

He was about a quarter of the way through the pile when he felt like taking a small coffee break. He signed one last report and set it aside to be filed later when a knock came on the door. He frowned and took a sideways glance at the clock—a quarter to eleven. It was too early for Angeal to be done with morning drills and come check on him or for Sephiroth to come do the same after rounds at the barracks. Other than them and Lazard, no one knew he was at his office, not even his secretary. With everything that was going on, he felt his stomach knot in anxiety.

"Come in," he said, warily.

A mop of fiery red hair was the first thing he saw come in through the door, a pair of goggles nestled atop it. That was all he needed to see to know it was Reno trying to sneak into his office by opening the door as little as possible while basically plastered to the walls. He managed it, although Genesis wasn't exactly sure how. Reno was willowy and nimble but the trick with the door made it look like he was made of shadows and smoke.

Moving past that, the auburn-haired Commander wondered why Reno felt the need to be so furtive.

"Good morning, Reno."

Reno closed the door behind him and locked it, earning a raised eyebrow from Genesis. A lopsided smile and a half-shrug were his only reply to that as he walked towards the desk and sat on a chair.

"Morning, Commander. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"No, not really. I was about to go get some coffee. Would you like to join me?"

The redhead shook his head. "No, thanks. I'd rather no one knew I was here, really."

"So I gathered," Genesis said. Once again, Reno made no comment on his impressive entrance so the Soldier decided to let it slide. "How may I help you?"

"I need some intel on the General that can't be found on official records."

Genesis frowned and leaned forward on his desk. "What kind of intel?"

Reno produced a notepad from somewhere in his jacket and a pen from behind his ear. After flipping through the notepad, he stopped on the page he needed, crossed his left leg over the other and used his knee as support while he tapped the pen on the armrest and read from his list.

"Food allergies, for starters. Anything he doesn't like to eat, stuff he does like to eat. Most and least favourite drinks. Anything that reacts the wrong way with mako. And… Wait, what?"

He squinted and brought the notepad half an inch from his nose. His eyes grew wide once he was able to read the note and a faint blush coloured his cheeks. He cleared his throat and crossed out the last item on his list.

"Never mind that. Just… the rest, yeah."

The Commander was incredibly curious about whatever it was that got Reno of all people flustered but he was even more curious about the sudden interest in his friend's eating habits. It clicked, then, a possible reason for the Turk's visit. A smile tugged at his lips.

"This is about his lunch with Director Valentine later today, isn't it?"

Reno nodded. "Yeah. The Director asked me to buy lunch for them at Leviathan's Scales but the General's never been there so it'll be tricky to choose something that he'll like and won't poison him or something."

Genesis laughed, relaxing back into his chair. "I don't think any of us can get poisoned, Reno."

The redhead shook his head. "I don't know, sir. I've seen Zack take some pretty serious hits from shady-ass seafood, if you'll forgive the expression."

Now that the Turk mentioned it, the auburn-haired Soldier had a vague recollection of Angeal leaving in the middle of the night to check on Zack at the infirmary. He'd barely been awake long enough to understand that Angeal was leaving, so the details of the reason behind Zack's trip to the doctor's had completely eluded him.

"Point taken," he said. "I wouldn't worry too much about Sephiroth ingesting questionable seafood, though. He doesn't really like it."

Reno nodded and started taking notes.

In the end, it boiled down to Sephiroth having no known food allergies (although there had been an incident with some cotton linens brought in from Cosmo that had lead to a very impressive and persistent bout of nettlerash) and disliking seafood overall while having a liking for salmon. He didn't have any particular favourite food and was open to trying pretty much anything laid before him so long as it didn't resemble something found in a ration pack, as he had developed an aversion to the stuff that made it difficult for him to go on long-term missions away from a decently stocked kitchen. The same went for drinks, both alcoholic and soft. He wasn't big on sweets but enjoyed dessert now and again, and while Genesis didn't know of any foods that interacted negatively with mako, he passed along the tip that over the counter painkillers did nothing for any of the Firsts and digestives took ages to work.

"So if for some strange reason he does come down with something caused by food, just take him over to Professor Faremis's office," he advised.

The redheaded Turk nodded as he finished writing everything down.

"Thank you, sir. This doesn't particularly narrow anything down but at least I know I won't accidentally get him admitted to the sick bay."

Genesis shrugged in lieu of an apology and asked why Reno hadn't gone directly to Sephiroth. The redhead closed his notepad and returned it to his jacket but kept playing with the pen, tapping it against the sole of his shoe.

"I was going to, but I didn't want to interrupt him. Besides, I figured he'd feel more relaxed if I didn't play 20 Questions with him before his lunch with the Director."

The last part wasn't entirely true (he didn't care too much about the silver-haired swordsman's relaxation but he did want the lunch to go well) but the first statement wasn't a lie. Reno just wasn't sure that he wanted to be the one to break the news of Sephiroth's altered schedule to Genesis, not when the Commander was still supposed to be taking things easy and the General was taking out his frustrations in a rather public and over the top manner.

When Vincent asked him to take care of lunch because he would be too busy to do it himself, Reno did go looking for Sephiroth. According to Soldier's intranet schedule, the General was on his weekly tour of the barracks and should be found precisely there. However, when Reno went down to the barracks he found everyone confused due to the General's unexplained absence. Undeterred, Reno decided to look for Angeal in the training grounds.

He expected to find a bunch of Seconds and Thirds going through drills with Angeal at the helm but found Cloud leading the session, instead. The blond told him that Angeal had started the morning routine but had been called away to the Training Room by Zack and Cloud had been assigned to fill in.

Feeling a bit like a sphere in a pinball machine, Reno went up to the Soldier wing. Once there, all he had to do was follow the growing crowd of idle Seconds and Thirds all the way to the VR chamber.

It was rare for the Firsts to make use of the VR room when they could be watched and it was easy to understand why: they attracted a lot of attention and productivity went down the drain, giving Lazard an instant headache. If any of them felt the need to spar with one of their fellow Firsts, they would usually find a secluded location off compound to engage in playful but less than harmless swordplay. For some reason, though, Sephiroth was in the middle of an impressive sword fight against Angeal and Zack in a jungle-like environment provided by the VR system.

Reno wasn't a big fan of sharp, pointy things. He preferred hand-to-hand combat and handy weapons like his electromagnetic rod, something that could leave a mark without spilling a ton of blood in the process. In that sense, guns made him uncomfortable, too, even if he had a decent accuracy record. Explosives were a lot of fun, provided he was well away from the blast zone—preferably on a chopper flying towards safety.

All the same, the display the three Firsts were putting on as he stood amidst the ogling crowd was impressive. In spite of being numerically outmatched, Sephiroth seemed to be winning the encounter. Simply put, Angeal's Buster Sword and Zack's Hardedge were formidable weapons… provided you could get close enough to the enemy to land a hit, something Masamune's range and Sephiroth's speed made nearly impossible even for his fellow Firsts. Angeal was holding back, though; it was evident in the way he pulled his slashes just before impact and in the way he blatantly disregarded the few openings Sephiroth offered on his right side. Zack, on the other hand, was trying to compensate his lack of speed and range by putting his whole weight into every swing and charge. That only led to him getting tired faster than he normally would have, an advantage of which Sephiroth was fully aware and did his best to exploit and that resulted in Zack landing awkwardly on trees all over the place.

The redhead decided to leave when it became obvious that Zack had decided to just hang back and let Angeal do all the work while he caught his breath. It was around that time that he noticed just how tense Sephiroth seemed to be. He would've been willing to bet his entire month's salary on the cause of the General's frustration being the scheduled lunch with the Head Turk and that worried him a little. However, if Sephiroth acknowledged the fact that he needed to let off steam before meeting with Vincent and found a more or less safe way to do it then it meant that he cared about the meeting and wanted it to go over well. That certainly helped Reno's plans along.

Of course, Genesis didn't need to know any of that. At least not yet.

"I appreciate your concern," Genesis said with a small smile. "If there's anything else I can assist you with, give me a call or come see me."

Reno nodded and stood up, throwing a lazy salute and a 'thanks, sir' Genesis's way.

The Turk left as stealthily as he had arrived, once again leaving the Commander impressed. Dismissing the feeling quickly, he grinned. He now had someone to turn to when the time came to set his plans in motion.

Cloud hadn't been aware of Sephiroth's match with Angeal and Zack until after it was over, given that he'd been stuck with morning drills. Zack had been the one to tell him all about it while they were both taking a shower in the gym. His friend was still adrenalised, talking faster and more enthusiastically than usual. Already the bruises he sustained from his multiple collisions with the trees in the jungle environment were beginning to fade, and he didn't seem to mind the soap running over the still open cut on his right bicep. Amidst Zack's chatter, Cloud picked up the fact that Angeal seemed to be worried about Sephiroth's behaviour; Zack even expressed some degree of surprise over the silver-haired man's desire to spar in the VR room but the excitement of taking on Sephiroth alongside his mentor overruled everything else.

He was adjusting his boots and mulling over the information Zack had given him when his phone beeped, informing him he'd just received a message. He nearly dropped the device when he saw the message had come from the General and was an order to meet with him at his office ASAP. In all his years in Soldier, Cloud had never been summoned to a meeting with Sephiroth. There had been briefings for missions and he'd had to deliver reports to the man's office in person, but never something like this.

Up until a few years ago, he would have been thrilled to have been personally called by his childhood hero, but ever since Vincent's reinstatement to Shinra Cloud'd had the feeling that Sephiroth didn't particularly like him. It wasn't something he could pinpoint, as the General hadn't said or done anything to indicate any sort of animosity towards Cloud, so he hadn't mentioned it to anyone, not even Tifa or Zack. Yet there were times when Sephiroth would look at him with mistrust and maybe even a small degree of contempt. There was something else in those looks that Cloud had failed to identify over and over again, but it was that something that cemented his suspicions.

Given this, he wasn't too thrilled to have received the summons. He was even less enthused when Zack, upon reading the message over his shoulder, patted his back in sympathy and warned him to thread carefully. Whether it was a joke or a warning stemmed from the General's earlier behaviour Cloud wasn't sure, but it made his stomach tie itself to knots all the way to Sephiroth's office.

As soon as she saw him, Sephiroth's secretary told him he could go into the office right away. Taking a deep breath to brace himself against whatever the silver-haired man had in mind, Cloud opened the door.

Whatever he was expecting did not include the great General Sephiroth Faremis pacing up and down his office like a caged tiger (Cloud was well aware that the expression called for a lion to be mentioned but the General was more of a tiger, at least in his mind; perhaps if he'd ever seen a panther, he might have been reminded of that, instead). The sound of the door closing brought the pacing to a halt and Sephiroth's glowing eyes rooted Cloud to his spot right by the door. It took him a second to recover and salute, standing even straighter than on the day of his promotion to Second Class. Sephiroth quickly motioned for him to be at ease and take a chair while he returned to his own. Cloud could see the older man was agonising over something but he kept quiet, waiting for Sephiroth to explain why he had called for him.

Once more, what the General asked was the last thing Cloud expected to hear.

"What would be an appropriate present to give Director Valentine on an informal lunch?"

Cloud blinked slowly and tried to process the question. When he realised he had no idea how to answer it, all he could do was ask for clarification in hopes something would come to mind. Eying him wearily, like he did whenever someone asked something stupid at a briefing, the General repeated the question with the exact same wording, adding a tone that indicated that the blond better have a satisfactory answer this time.

Not having one, Cloud decided to ask a question of his own to try to come up with an answer that wouldn't get him pinned to the wall, Masamune straight through his heart.

"I'm sorry sir, but… Why would you bring a present to a lunch meeting?"

He mentally congratulated himself when he didn't flinch at the daggers Sephiroth was shooting from his feline eyes. He did an imaginary backflip when the General then deflated and seemed to consider his question carefully. After almost a minute, Sephiroth sighed and shook his head.

"I simply don't want to arrive empty handed but I have no idea what to bring him."

Out of all the questions that crammed into his head just then—why is he even worrying about something like that?, why isn't he asking one of the Turks?—, Cloud settled on one that would help the situation along (and, once again, would allow him to leave the office on his own two legs).

"All right. Um, well… Were you thinking about something simple like food, maybe, or something more… significant?"

"Significant?"

The blond gulped audibly. It was uncanny how much meaning and subtext Sephiroth could confer on a single word. In this case, significant was an order to elaborate, but also a warning to thread lightly and to avoid meddling in affairs that were none of his business. All in all, it struck terror into the young Soldier's heart.

"What I mean is… Do you want to thank him for something or maybe congratulate him? Or is it just, you know, a matter of courtesy, sir?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Sephiroth said it was just a matter of courtesy. Feeling like he dodged an onslaught of bullets, Cloud relaxed some and thought about it.

"You could always get him sweets, sir. It might seem a bit odd but anything with chocolate makes Director Valentine very happy."

Sephiroth frowned and scrunched his nose as though Cloud had just told him Vincent liked poisonous frogs. Not wanting to inquire as to the reason for this reaction, Cloud racked his brain trying to think of something else that Vincent might like but nothing he came up with could be considered a casual present. Just as he was about to blurt out the first thing that came to mind to at least end the heavy silence that had fallen between them, Sephiroth nodded decisively.

"Does he have a favourite brand?"

"He's not very particular about that, but I seem to recall him really liking ChocoMog's strawberry-filled truffles."

"Do you know where to buy them?"

Cloud nodded and started giving directions to a confectionery over in Sector Two when Sephiroth's phone rang. He answered with a snarl—an actual snarl that made Cloud jump a bit on his seat—and put down the receiver with enough force to leave a crack along it. Looking at the time, his scowl deepened and he took out his wallet. He looked at the bills inside and seemed about to ask something when he shook his head and took out his credit card, instead, handing it over to Cloud.

"I have just been called to a meeting so I'll need you to go buy them for me. I'll contact Zack to let him know you'll be out on an errand. I'm supposed to meet Director Valentine at two so be here by one-thirty at the latest."

To his credit, Cloud didn't hesitate to take the card and nod. He waited to be dismissed and then all but ran out of the General's office and towards the elevator bank, heading straight to the garage where his motorcycle was parked.

He'd made the trip to and from Sector Two in less than an hour, allowing him to return to headquarters with fifteen minutes to spare. Given the General's somewhat keyed up behaviour when he entrusted him with the bizarre errand, he was glad.

Cloud parked Fenrir and took out a small plastic bag from the trunk. After making sure the contents were not damaged, he took his Tsurugi from the side compartment and went to the elevator bank. While he waited for the elevator to arrive, he checked his phone and found one message from Sephiroth stating that he was back in his office and would be expecting Cloud. The blond took a moment to inform the General that he was on his way then he got on the elevator and pressed the button for the Soldier COs' floor.

The doors were closing when he heard someone asking to hold the elevator so he stopped the doors. Reno came running then, carrying two take-out bags from Leviathan's Scales on each hand a cold bag slung over his left shoulder.

"The Turks' floor?" Cloud asked while Reno left the bags on the floor and rubbed his hands to try to smooth out the impressions left behind by the handles.

"Yeah. Thanks, yo."

The blond nodded and pressed the button, leaning against the back wall while the elevator lurched to life.

"Lunch run for the entire department?"

"Not exactly. This is just for the Director and the General, plus some for me, Tseng, and Rufus. The rest don't like Wutain food."

The blond smirked, shaking his own, smaller bag. "Seems like we were both sent on errands for Vincent and Sephiroth's lunch."

Reno blinked and took a peek at the contents of Cloud's bag.

"Sephiroth sent you to get ChocoMog's strawberry-filled truffles for Vince, yo?"

Cloud just nodded and Reno looked confused for a moment. He grinned afterwards, though, leaning against a wall and crossing his arms behind his head. He seemed pleased, which only piqued the blond's curiosity and prompted him to ask something he hadn't been able to bring up with the General.

"Is this lunch meeting particularly important for some reason?" When Reno merely raised an eyebrow, Cloud elaborated. "Sephiroth has been acting weird today. He challenged Zack and Angeal to a fight in the VR and he seemed very uneasy when he called me to ask what to get for Vincent. I don't even know why'd he want to bring something to a lunch meeting."

The redhead hummed and thought about it for a moment. He shrugged after a while and said, "It's complicated. All I can say is that it's related to the stuff we hauled over from Nibelheim."

Cloud nodded slowly. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Vincent about that but given what he knew of the gunman plus what had happened with Galian in Jenova's containment room, he had an idea of just how complicated things were. He knew Reno wouldn't explain further even if he asked so he decided not to. There was no time, anyway, as they arrived to the Turks' floor and Cloud had to hold the door so Reno could pick up his bags and exit the elevator. Soon after, he arrived on his floor and went straight to Sephiroth's office. Again, the General's secretary told him to go right ahead and the blond knocked on the door quickly before entering.

He stopped right inside the office when he noticed all four Soldiers First Class were inside. Angeal and Genesis were sitting on the chairs in front of Sephiroth's desk while Zack was perched on the corner of the desk. The General was sitting on his chair, for all the world looking like he was about to have a nervous breakdown—the kind that would end with a lot of bodies and a nightmare for housekeeping.

He was still debating whether or not to say something when three pairs of blue, mako-glowing eyes zeroed in on him, rooting him to the spot much like Sephiroth had done before. The difference was that the three men looking at him were smiling and they looked all the more intimidating for it. He'd rather they were scowling or something—at least then he'd know what to expect from them.

All of them except Genesis, that is. There was something about his gaze that wasn't so predatory as the others' and that made Cloud feel like he was being sized up.

"Spikes! You're just in time," Zack intoned.

The youngest First jumped off the desk and strode merrily towards the blond. Huge discomfort momentarily forgotten in favour of feeling miffed at being called such an embarrassing name in front of all his superiors, Cloud blushed and frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and taking a defensive stance.

"I've asked you not to call me that in front of our COs, sir."

"What's with the 'sir'? We're all friends here, Spikes! Besides, you're already one of us!"

"Not officially," the blond countered. Zack was already only a few steps away and it made Cloud uncomfortable. "As for the rest, I'm here on official business, Lieutenant."

He'd hoped that would stop Zack but it only seemed to spur him on.

"That is precisely what we wanted to discuss. See, Seph here won't tell us what it is he sent you out to do, so we were hoping you'd be able to answer that."

Cloud shot a quick look at Sephiroth and the man's eyes were clear enough: speak and you will regret it. So he shifted his stance lightly and as casually as he could to keep the bag out of Zack's reach. He had no idea what the Lieutenant and Commanders were up to but he would rather face their wrath that incur in the General's.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, sir. General's orders and all that."

Zack pouted and stood less than two feet away from Cloud, arms crossed over his chest and legs spread like Angeal did when giving a lecture.

"I am your CO, soldier. If I ask you a question, you must answer me."

"And I am yours, Lieutenant."

Sephiroth was walking towards them, pointedly ignoring the amused expressions on Angeal and Genesis's faces. He walked all the way up to Cloud and stood at his side, standing straight as an arrow to take advantage of the few inches he had on Zack to look taller and more imposing.

"Since you are so keen on upholding the chain of command, Lieutenant Fair, I'm sure you will comply when I order you not to interrogate Second Lieutenant Strife on this matter. The same goes for both of you, Commanders."

Without giving any of them a chance to reply, he turned to Cloud and said, "Follow me outside, Strife."

Cloud saluted hastily and followed Sephiroth without another word. The General was giving instructions to his secretary when Cloud closed the door behind him. As soon as he was done, he motioned for the blond to follow him and they walked all the way to the elevators before Sephiroth stopped. He glanced quickly towards his office, probably expecting the other three to have followed them. When it became obvious that they were going to wait there, he nodded and turned to Cloud.

The blond handed him the bag and his credit card and Sephiroth looked at the contents. There was a green paper bag inside along with the box of truffles.

"In case you wanted something nicer than a plastic bag to hand the chocolates to Director Valentine, sir," Cloud promptly explained.

Sephiroth nodded and placed the box of truffles in the paper bag, handing Cloud the plastic one. He took a deep breath and looked at his watch. It was still early but he didn't want to go back to his office to deal with his nosy friends. Which reminded him…

"It's unlikely they'll drop the subject—"

Cloud shook his head and interrupted him. "I ran into Reno on the elevator and he said this lunch meeting is important for you and Director Valentine, sir, so I won't tell them what it is you asked me to do. I'll come up with something else."

Sephiroth looked at him with that same something that made him so uneasy. However, it only lasted for a couple of seconds before the General looked relieved.

"Thank you… Cloud. I'll go kill some time at R&D before going to lunch with Director Valentine. I would suggest you find somewhere to lay low for the rest of the day. I can't give you the day off but I'm sure you can avoid those three just fine."

"I'm sure I can. Good luck, General."

Sephiroth nodded and took the elevator, leaving Cloud dealing with conflicting emotions. That thank-you, for starters—the blond couldn't remember the General ever genuinely thanking him, much less using his first name while doing so. It made him feel like he'd earned a little bit of the silver-haired man's trust. However, that was greatly shadowed by the look he gave him right before.

As he stepped into another elevator to go to the med wing to visit Kunsel, he finally realised what the something in Sephiroth's eyes was. The realisation was so sudden and strange that it forced him to lean on the wall for support.

There was no real reason for it—not that he could think of, anyway—but he was now certain that Sephiroth was jealous of him. Backtracking a little and adding what he knew, he amended that thought: Sephiroth was jealous of his relationship with Vincent. That was the only logical explanation for the General's overall demeanour towards him since Vincent's return.

The implications of why Sephiroth would be jealous of such a thing weren't lost on the blond but he didn't want to even consider them—it felt too much like intruding in something he had no right to witness. All he focused on at the moment was the fact that, in spite of how he felt, Sephiroth had asked him for help and trusted him enough to ask him to run the errand for him. He had also seemed reassured by what Cloud told him about not telling the other Firsts what the errand was, so all he had to do was show the General that he had no intention of getting in the way of whatever Sephiroth was trying to accomplish with Vincent. Simple enough, really.

A small smile tugged at his lips as the elevator stopped on the med wing floor but quickly faded when he found Genesis waiting for him in the hall. He had no idea how the Commander had gotten there so quickly; probably the stairs or some new teleporting materia.

He briefly considered just pressing the button for another floor but knew that Genesis would make it into the elevator before the doors even began closing so he took a deep breath and stepped outside. He eyed Genesis carefully for a moment and waited for him to say something. When he eventually did, Cloud once again found himself utterly confused.

"Zack and Angeal are looking for you in all the wrong places. We'll stop by and say hello to Second Lieutenant Larouche and then I'll cover for you the rest of the day."

Cloud opened his mouth to say something but he remembered the look Genesis gave him back at Sephiroth's office. Apparently, he'd passed whatever test the Commander had put him through and was now willing to keep him away from the other two. If made him feel like he was stepping into something potentially dangerous but he really didn't want to end up on the receiving end of one of Zack's interrogations. So, with a small nod, he followed Genesis to Kunsel's room.

Reno stood outside Vincent's office trying to figure out how to knock on the door without leaving the bags on the floor again. Realising it was impossible, he shrugged and kicked the door twice. When Vincent told him to come in, he sighed.

"I can't, Bossman. I don't have enough arms."

Vincent opened the door with a bemused expression. As soon as he understood Reno's comment, he reached for one of the bags and closed the door behind the redhead.

"I know you think I don't eat enough but I believe you've gone overboard this time, Reno."

"Haha, so funny, Bossman. I made the mistake of telling Tseng and Rufus where I was going and they decided that Wutain sounded awesome for lunch so I had to get food for them, too. I was already there, so I got some for me, as well."

He was sorting through the bags to determine what he would leave in Vincent's office and what he'd take to the lounge when there came a knock on the door. Vincent got it and found Rufus and Tseng outside, the Wutain looking dejected while the President's look was pinched.

"What happened?" Vincent asked.

The gunman's tone made Reno turn around, alarm bells going off in his head. When he saw Rufus and Tseng, his stomach sank.

It got worse when, right after Rufus closed and locked the door, Tseng's eyes welled up and he clung to Vincent, holding him so tightly that Reno began to fear for the gunman's ribs.

Vincent's arms automatically wrapped protectively around Tseng, bringing him closer and kissing the top of his head. Tseng was crying so the gunman looked to Rufus for answers. The blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head slowly.

"He got a call from his youngest sister. Their father has just been diagnosed with end stage lung cancer and the prognosis isn't good. He's got maybe a few more months, definitely not a year. And…"

Rufus hesitated, looking at Tseng's back with the same anguished look he'd had when he saw Vincent break down in the Wutain's arms a few nights ago.

Tseng's hands fisted on Vincent's jacket hard enough for his knuckles to turn white and his ragged sob made both of them shake a little.

"He doesn't want to see me," Tseng managed. "Mother and Asumi are the same but the twins and Megumi got into an argument with my parents about it and she decided to call and let me know even after they were forbidden to contact me."

Asumi was Tseng's oldest little sister, Megumi being the youngest of them all. Keiji and Taiten, the twins, were two years older than Tseng. Out of all his siblings, Asumi was the only one to still resent Tseng's decision to leave Wutai to see the world and escape before the war started. His parents had all but disowned him as soon as they realised he was gone and he'd lost all contact with them. The twins and Megumi were the only links he still had to his direct family, a fact his parents chose to ignore most of the time.

Vincent led Tseng to the couch he kept in his office to nap on days when going back to his apartment wasn't possible and sat with his second in command on his lap. After telling them how he received the news, Tseng had gone back to crying more or less silently. Reno went over and sat to Vincent's right, resting his chin on Tseng's shoulder and rubbing his arm. Rufus sat on the other side and placed a reassuring hand on his bodyguard's knee; his lips were pressed tightly and he looked angry.

No one said anything for a few minutes. The truth was that neither Vincent, Reno, nor Rufus knew what to say to comfort Tseng. Reno had never met his parents and Rufus and Vincent had strained relationships with their fathers up to the moment of their deaths, which had come suddenly. None of them had experience with a terminally ill parent that didn't want to see them.

After a while, Tseng stopped crying and Vincent dried his face with a handkerchief he borrowed from Rufus. He kissed Tseng's eyelids and cheeks before speaking.

"Do you need to take some personal time, itoshii?"

Tseng shook his head almost immediately. He knew the offer was sincere and that Rufus would back it up but he didn't want his personal life to get in the way of work—it never had and he wasn't about to let it do so now. Especially not when he knew that going to Wutai so soon after his father's diagnosis would be a waste of time and effort. If his parents were to come around and allow him to visit them they would need time to let the implications of his father's condition sink in.

"All right," Vincent said. "If you change your mind, let us know. We'll take care of everything."

"At least take the rest of the day off," Rufus said in a tone that made it clear that it wasn't the first time he was suggesting it. "Rude can cover for you."

Again, Tseng shook his head. "I don't want time to think about it over and over, Rufus. I need to focus on something else."

Rufus looked ready to protest but one look from Vincent told him it would be best to drop the subject. With a small sigh, the blond nodded.

"Is there anything you need right now?" Vincent asked.

Tseng shrugged and snuggled closer to Vincent. "Not being alone, I guess. I don't want you to cancel your lunch with Sephiroth, though."

"I would, for any of you, if I thought it was necessary. But I know I can leave you in Rufus and Reno's hands for the time being. I can stay with you tonight if you like, though."

The Wutain sighed softly and nodded, closing his eyes for a moment.

When Vincent's watch beeped a few minutes later, everyone checked the time: ten 'til two. Tseng kissed Vincent's lips briefly before standing up and smoothing over his uniform; right after, Reno placed a loud, sort of wet smooch on the gunman's cheek before jumping off the couch with a cheeky grin and going back to the desk to finish sorting through the food. Rufus grinned as Vincent cleaned his face with the handkerchief and leaned in to kiss Vincent full on the lips. Initially, all he wanted to do was catch Vincent off guard (which he did), but halfway through it he decided that it had been too long since the last time he'd properly kissed the Head Turk so he went ahead and did just that. By the time he pulled back, both of them were blushing and panting softly.

Rufus was also feeling quite aroused but, given the circumstances, he decided to stand up and go help Reno before things got out of hand.

He'd barely made it to the desk when he felt strong arms wrap around his waist and chest from behind, pulling him towards a tall, warm frame; almost at the same time, warm breath tickled his ear, making him blush as a decidedly needy groan made it past his lips.

"That was very naughty of you, Kinnoki. We'll have words later, sir."

Rufus shuddered, half because of Vincent's implication—or promise—and half because of the sudden loss of contact with the taller man's warm body. When he turned around to reply, he found the gunman talking softly to Tseng, blush gone and the very picture of composure. The only hint that the exchange had even taken place was the Wutain's amused little smirk aimed Rufus's way. When he turned to Reno, the redhead winked and stuck his tongue out at him before resuming his task. Shaking his head slightly to clear it, Rufus did his best to focus on the task at hand.

When Reno finished sorting the food, he took what he, Rufus, and Tseng would be having out to the lounge while the rest cleared Vincent's desk and laid out the food on it. Reno had been thorough on his task and bought a sampler with things Sephiroth might like plus Vincent's favourites, including dessert. When they were done setting everything, the desk looked more like a small buffet than anything else and the office smell pleasantly like a Wutain restaurant.

The scent, plus the bamboo mats and chopsticks Vincent brought out, reminded Tseng of his mother and grandmother's cooking, bringing new tears to his eyes. He blinked them back quickly but Vincent noticed. He wrapped an arm around Tseng's shoulders and held him close, whispering something in Wutain against his hair. Tseng smiled and nodded, resting his head against the gunman's shoulder.

Rufus looked at the pair with a small smile and was about to say something when a knock came on the door, immediately followed by Reno's head peeking through the door with an amused smile.

"General Faremis here to see you, Director."

Vincent tensed a little and it was Tseng's turn to reassure him. He took the gunman's free hand in his and squeezed it, looking him in the eyes and nodding firmly. Rufus patted him on the shoulder and nodded, too. Vincent returned the nod and Rufus and Tseng left the office, leaving Reno at the door.

"Give me a moment, Reno."

"You got it."

As soon as the door closed, Vincent sighed and called Galian.

I am awake, Host.

Good. If you feel anything strange, let me know right away, please.

A nod was all his answer and he went to the door. Any nervousness he felt before had been pushed aside in favour of making sure Tseng was all right but now that his attention was focused back on Sephiroth and the importance of this one lunch meeting, he felt his stomach doing some pretty creative things with itself.

He was so distracted that he almost forgot about his gloves—he'd taken them off when he was setting the table and left them in his jacket's pocket. Looking at his left hand or, more precisely, to the scars on the back of it, he hesitated for a moment. The Turks and Rufus were used to his scars by now and never commented on them, only paying them any sort of attention whenever they were intimate with him. Other than Gast, Ifalna, and doubtlessly some of the Science Department's staff, no one else had ever seen them as he always wore long-sleeved shirts and gloves. He had promised himself to be as open with Sephiroth as he could but he wasn't sure whether or not that should include his scars. More precisely, he wasn't sure he was ready to field any questions the younger man might have about them.

After agonising over it for a few minutes, he put his gloves back on. Just because he wanted his relationship with Sephiroth to go way beyond friendship that didn't mean he had to expose himself all at once. Treating him like he did any other Shinra employee during working hours was, in his mind and for the time being, the best course of action.

Taking a deep breath, his hand reached for the doorknob. After exhaling, he opened the door and did his best to smile. He felt himself falter a little as his eyes fell on Sephiroth standing next to a still amused Reno, but the glint in the redhead's aquamarine eyes made him feel a little better. The fact that Sephiroth seemed at ease was also reassuring, although one never knew when Reno was even peripherally involved.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, General."

The second those green feline eyes were on him Vincent felt a lump on his throat that had little to do with nervousness and far more in common with Rufus's earlier kiss. After quickly checking with Galian he was both relieved and slightly taken aback to find that it had nothing to do with the Cetran guard, which meant it was all him. Tseng's words came back to him then and he had to bite his cheek to keep himself from grunting.

Sephiroth gave him a curious look before replying. The intensity behind it, plus the realisation that the General was looking at him inattentively enough to notice his minor fumble, made Vincent reel in his flailing thoughts and emotions before he could make a fool of himself.

"Not at all, Director. Reno was just updating me on Elena's condition."

"I should be going, though," Reno said. "Don't want Rufus and Tseng to start eating without me or your food to get cold."

He saluted both men, throwing a not so inconspicuous wink Vincent's way before heading over to the lounge. Vincent watched him go with a small glare but quickly returned his attention to Sephiroth, inviting him to come into his office. It wasn't until they were both inside that he noticed the bag in Sephiroth's hands. When he brought it up, the swordsman's shoulders tensed and the faintest of blushes coloured his pale cheeks as he silently handed the bag to Vincent.

The Turk's eyes moved from the bag to the General a few times before he looked inside. His eyes grew a touch wider and a smile tugged at his lips when he saw the box of truffles inside. It took him a moment to realise the bag's colour matched Sephiroth's eyes but decided not to comment on it. He was still trying to find a way to word his thanks when Sephiroth's voice cut off his train of thought.

"Strife said you really liked them and I didn't want to arrive empty handed, so…"

He trailed of with a shrug, not quite knowing how to go on without going into a mindless rant. The smile on Vincent's face eased off some of his worry, though, allowing him to relax.

"I do, thank you. I hope you didn't go through any trouble to get them, though."

Vincent motioned for Sephiroth to follow him to the desk and the silver-haired man debated whether or not to mention Cloud had ended up going to the store while he was stuck listening to Lazard complain about misuse of the VR chamber. In the end, he didn't feel right taking credit for something he didn't do so he just told Vincent that he'd had to ask Cloud to get the candy because he'd been caught in a last minute meeting.

"I'm afraid I had to delegate, too," Vincent confessed. "Captain Highwind ambushed me this morning and I had to ask Reno to buy lunch for us. He brought a little bit of everything so feel free to pick anything you like."

Sephiroth nodded and took his gloves off. He then realised Vincent was saying grace so he closed his eyes and bowed his head while the older man recited the words. He expected him to take his gloves off when he finished but the gunman simply opened his bowl of soup and started eating. It was then that he remembered that Vincent had been wearing his gloves during their dinner at Seventh Heaven and every other time he'd seen him, actually. Before he could stop himself, he asked about it. The hesitant look in the gunman's eyes made him instantly regret it but he was glad to receive an answer.

"A habit that turned into personal preference, is all."

Sephiroth nodded slowly and Vincent was relieved that he wasn't pressing the matter. He hadn't told him a lie, just a half truth, but he had hoped the General wouldn't notice the gloves. Wishful thinking, given the man's uncanny perception, but still.

Sephiroth dropped the subject almost at once as he looked at the small plates around the desk. He had to ask Vincent about what most of them were but he didn't feel like he was annoying or inconveniencing the older man in any way. On the contrary, the gunman seemed happy and even delighted to answer all his questions; he also encouraged him to try those dishes that didn't sound too appetising. Vincent also shared some of his ginger and coriander noodle soup with him and smiled brightly when he hummed in appreciation of the warm feeling the soup gave him.

"It's my favourite," Vincent said. "It brings back very vivid and pleasant memories of my mother."

"I remember Tseng mentioning his grandmother taught him how to cook. Did your mother teach you?"

The mention of Tseng's family made Vincent pause while he was biting on a pork dumpling. Knowing Tseng wouldn't want anyone other than Rufus and the Turks to hear about it, he passed it off as the morsel being too hot.

"She tried, but I wasn't very good at it. I only know how to make a passable Wutain breakfast and some simple things like buns and dumplings. I tried really hard to learn how to make this soup and ramen but I failed spectacularly. Veld used to tease me, saying I could make even instant noodles taste like rations."

Sephiroth half laughed and half coughed on his fist. "My sister says I could burn water," he said amidst breaths of laughter.

Vincent joined in, shaking his head. "That's what takeout and friends who can cook are for."

"And family. Father really lucked out with Mother, as Zack did with Aerith. I'm lucky my metabolism is really fast, otherwise I would've put on several pounds these past few days I've been back at my parents'."

Deciding to leave his own accelerated metabolism aside, Vincent asked if Sephiroth was planning on moving back to headquarters anytime soon.

"Well… That's up to you, Vincent. Rather, up to Galian."

Wrong choice of words, Galian growled. If it were up to me—

Easy there.

"Vincent?"

The gunman blinked slowly and smiled apologetically.

"Just checking in with Galian. It seems like your mother's instructions are holding so I think it's safe for us to be working together from now on. That also means that you can move back here whenever you like."

Sephiroth nodded slowly while he chewed on bit of salmon tempura. He watched as Vincent finished his soup and the last few vegetables in tempura, leaving the salmon and a couple of dumplings for him.

The truth was he wouldn't mind staying with his family for a few more days. He had missed his mother and sister's cooking as well as the peace and quiet he rarely found in headquarters. On the other hand, he missed being able to visit with Angeal and Genesis virtually at any time or going to the gym in the middle of the night to practice in solitude. There were decided advantages to both living arrangements and, even though he had been anxious to move back to HQ at first, now he was of two minds about it.

As if sensing this, Vincent said, "I imagine Lazard might want you to move back as soon as possible, though. There is still much to be done regarding the summit, not to mention the security plan for Midgar during it."

That reminded Sephiroth of something he had been thinking for some days.

"Are you sure you want me to stay in Midgar instead of attending the summit as Soldier's representative?"

The question caught Vincent off guard. The final lineup had already been cleared with Lazard and the Director of Soldier hadn't mentioned any objections. Rufus had also approved of it and all that was left was to confirm it with the rest of the departments on Wednesday's board meeting.

"It's for the best," Vincent added. "Having five Soldier Firsts here will help you optimise the rest of the army in case of an attack. Modeoheim is much easier to defend so bringing you or one of the Commanders with us would be a misuse of our limited resources."

"I was supposed to go, though," Sephiroth pressed. "Given the circumstances at the time, I understand the need to schedule Zack, instead. Now that those circumstances have been overcome, I don't understand why I have to stay behind."

"New circumstances have emerged. You'll be far more helpful here, Sephiroth."

Vincent started clearing the desk to bring out dessert. Sephiroth helped and was about to press the matter when he noticed Vincent's eyes flashed orange a few times. He pursed his lips and continued to help in silence until Vincent brought out two small containers from a cold bag. After inspecting the labels, he passed one of them to Sephiroth along with a spoon.

"Black tea and orange ice cream," he explained. "It's not too sweet but very good."

Sephiroth nodded and looked at Vincent's container. The ice cream inside was a dark shade of pink with black and brown bits of something he couldn't identify.

"Black cherry ice cream with chocolate and cherry chunks. Extremely sweet, but you're welcome to try it."

Sephiroth did and while he admitted that it tasted good, it was entirely too sweet for his tastes so he stuck to his. Like Vincent had said, it wasn't too sweet but he found it very enjoyable; he particularly liked the refreshing aftertaste of orange.

"I know you're worried about your family," Vincent said after a long silence, "but that is precisely why Genesis was our first choice back when Avalanche wasn't part of the summit's equation. Sending you or Zack is a huge conflict of interests and we can't afford any mistakes. You both became an option only because of Genesis's condition—and then my own—but now that new elements have to be factored in, we need to rethink our whole strategy. That's why appointing two new Soldiers First Class and taking one of them with us while leaving the other five behind to protect the city is the new plan."

Sephiroth set his ice cream on the desk and crossed his arms. He noticed Vincent tensing up and hesitate between putting his bowl down or continue eating. In the end, the gunman sighed softly and kept on eating, albeit a bit slower than before, and avoided eye contact with him. Sephiroth let it slide while he tried to put order into this thoughts.

Lazard and Vincent, with Rufus's approval, had decided to send Cloud to the summit. There had been a minor debate because Cloud's mako-tinted eyes could give the impression that Shinra was still using mako to enhance its army. However, that wasn't the blond's case—he had been thrown into a mako fountain by some bullies as a kid and fallen into a mako poisoning coma for several weeks, giving his eyes the same glow as a Soldier's. The incident had made him the ideal candidate for the program and a headhunter had brought him to Midgar as soon as he was old enough to join.

It had been Kunsel's recent stay at the med wing that drove Lazard to choose Cloud as his representative. While the blond's strategy-oriented personality might have been more advantageous in Midgar, he would be more useful in Modeoheim as a backup for the Turks given that he was completely clear for active duty. Kunsel, on the other hand, would make a good intelligence coordinator if a raid on Midgar were to occur, keeping him away from the fray in case his physical condition were not at its best.

The logic behind the decision was sound, Sephiroth knew, but it still didn't sit well with him to be left behind while his family was away on a summit that had recently been marked as a target for Avalanche's twisted schemes. He wanted to be close by to protect them, yes, but that didn't mean his judgement would be impaired if they were involved. Zack had voiced a similar opinion at one point but he'd also expressed relief when he learned that Cloud had been assigned to the summit detail. Sephiroth hadn't, and even though he'd said it was because of Cloud's lack of experience, he knew there was more to it than just that. It was that irrational sense of jealousy that drove much of his displeasure towards the final lineup for the summit.

The feeling had somewhat lessened during the day, though. The fact that Cloud had been so willing to answer his questions about Vincent, not to mention accommodating enough to run the errand for him and keep it a secret from the other Firsts, had assuaged most of his misgivings. Irrationality is called so for a reason, though, and he was a long way from not feeling jealous and even threatened by Cloud's relationship to Vincent.

There was no way he could say any of that to the Head Turk, though. He sighed and picked up his ice cream again, doing his best to enjoy it and to not ruin lunch for Vincent.

"I'm sorry," he said after a while. "I know it probably wasn't an easy decision to make but I also know that it was probably the best one. I just…"

"I understand. I would have cancelled the summit but it sends the wrong message. We just need to do the best we can with what we have."

Sephiroth nodded and tried to find something else to talk about. It was nearly three and he had to make up for missing his rounds at the barracks that morning but he didn't want his second real conversation with Vincent to end on such a grim note. His impending headache at the hands of irresponsible cadets gave him an idea.

"Are you free this evening, Vincent?"

Vincent paused with his last spoonful of ice cream still in his mouth. As he mulled over the question, taking into account his assurance to Tseng and his promise to Rufus, he slowly cleaned the spoon with his tongue, inadvertently giving Sephiroth quite a show. When he finally pulled the spoon out of his mouth and tossed it inside the empty container, he noticed the General shifting on his seat while a faint blush coloured his cheeks again. Finally realising what had happened, he blushed, too, and cleared his throat.

"There are a few things I need to review with Tseng and the President but, depending on what you have in mind, I can work around that."

"I was just wondering if you'd like to attend the self-defence course Zack and Cloud are offering. There are more employees interested in it than Lazard had anticipated so he's asked Angeal and I to help, amongst others. I think there was mention of Cloud's girlfriend, too."

"Tifa is a martial arts specialist," Vincent said with a nod.

"We're all supposed to help with some demonstrations but there might not be enough instructors available."

Actually, Sephiroth hadn't been asked to participate so much as ordered by Lazard as part of his punishment for hijacking the VR chamber and attracting such a large crowd that productivity levels pretty much dropped to zero for nearly an hour. Zack was already involved with the course so his sanction would be different, but Angeal had been ordered to attend, too. Genesis was the only one spared as he'd been in his office catching up with paperwork instead of adding to the mayhem caused by his lover and his best friend.

Vincent nodded, thinking it a good opportunity to help Tseng keep his mind off his family. He agreed to go and volunteered some of the Turks to help with individual practice, something Sephiroth was grateful for since it minimised the possibility of him having to spar with some witless accountant or secretary. Still, with his luck, he'd end up paired with Director Tuesti or someone equally out of shape. At least Heidegger and Palmer were locked up and wouldn't make an unwanted appearance.

Sephiroth had just finished his ice cream when Vincent's phone beeped to remind him he had a meeting with Elena, Cissnei, and Kunsel to check on the status of the Avalanche data analysis. With Sephiroth's help, he cleared his desk and restored it to its usual layout. When they were done, he walked Sephiroth to the door. Once outside, he shook hands with him, realising it was the first time he had any sort of physical contact with him and wishing he'd kept his gloves off. Still, his fingers tingled where they met Sephiroth's still bared skin and he felt a pleasant warmth radiate from them to the rest of his body.

Sephiroth felt a pleasant shudder run up his arms when Vincent's fingers brushed the back of his hand. The contact felt good and he regretted having to end it.

"I'll see you at eight at the common gym, then," he reminded Vincent.

"We'll be there," Vincent confirmed.

With that, Sephiroth waved goodbye and got into one of the elevators. As if on cue, Reno, Tseng, and Rufus came out of the lounge just as Vincent was about to go to the restroom to wash up.

"So? What's the verdict, yo?"

Vincent's eyes flashed orange and he chuckled.

"Let's just say that if Galian flips out and attacks Sephiroth it won't have anything to do with his hormones."

Rufus frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I guess Gali doesn't like Seph, huh?"

Vincent shook his head. "Clashing personalities, unfortunately. But at least I don't have to worry about Galian trying to take over my body to maul Sephiroth."

"That's good," Tseng said. "It will make the next few weeks a lot easier."

"Yeah. By the way, I volunteered us to help at Cloud and Zack's self-defence class this evening. We're supposed to be at the gym at eight."

Reno groaned. "Why, Bossman?"

"They need our help. Plus, it's our responsibility as the Security Department to make sure that as many people as possible can defend themselves in case of an attack."

The redhead groaned again and Tseng and Rufus laughed. Vincent joined them for a moment before washing up and heading to the med wing.

The common gym was located on the twentieth floor and was one of the few areas in the building to which employees from all levels and departments had access. However, given that Soldier and the Turks each had their own gym, plus Soldier's VR chamber and the Turks' shooting range and track field, it was rarely visited. Housekeeping kept it in optimal conditions, though, and Cloud had taken the time to make sure that it was properly stocked for the week-long course. He wouldn't have managed it without Genesis running constant interference with Zack and Angeal, who were incredibly persistent in their quest to find what Sephiroth was up to regarding Vincent.

Shaking his head, Cloud drove that thought away and focused on aligning the mats so no one would trip on uneven edges. When he looked up, he found Tifa by the weapons rack, checking out the different items there. A small smile tugged at his lips as she tried to pick up a wooden broadsword only to find it too unwieldy. After putting it back in the rack, her hands went for something far more familiar: brass knuckledusters. She smiled and put them on as she walked towards the punching bags. She swung one and started punching a familiar pattern on it, bringing her legs into play to keep the heavy sack dancing around. A particularly strong kick made the chains rattle and strain, making Cloud worry for a second that Tifa might have broken them. When the bag swung back heavily towards her, she simply grabbed it with both hands and steadied it until it wasn't moving anymore. She looked terribly pleased with herself and Cloud couldn't help but chuckle. He'd definitely have to find time to spar with her more often.

He tore his eyes away from his girlfriend and continued with the mats. He was about done when he saw the Turks come in, missing Elena but with President Shinra in tow. All of the Turks were still in their uniforms but Rufus had traded his three-piece for a track suit—rather a stylish one, at that, but he was the President and he was known throughout Midgar and the world as an enthusiastic fashionista. That apparently extended to workouts but Cloud wasn't about to complain. The fact that the man had decided to show up at a self-defence course with his employees rather than getting private lessons from the Turks or just trusting them to protect him would be a huge morale boost for all attendees.

He lined up the last mat and went over to them, shaking their hands and thanking them for coming. He then introduced Tifa to Rufus and started more or less gushing about her credentials, making her blush. She turned beet red when Rufus decided to turn on the charm.

"Thank you very much for assisting us with the course, Ms. Lockhart. We're all very lucky that Cloud has such a beautiful and accomplished martial artist at his side."

"Thank you, Mr. President," she managed.

"Just call me Rufus."

"Can I just call you Rufus, too?" Cloud asked, trying to make Tifa relax by showing her she didn't need to be too formal.

"Of course not, Strife. You're nowhere near as cute as your lovely girlfriend so that's 'sir' for you, Second Lieutenant."

Cloud sighed dramatically and crossed his arms. "Such demanding standards, sir."

Tifa looked between them for a moment and then stole a quick glance towards Vincent. The gunman gave her a small smile and shrugged as if to say 'kids, right?' Finally catching on to the kind of relationship Rufus seemed to have with his employees—at least with the ones currently present—she smiled and hugged Cloud's arm.

"I think he's cute enough."

Cloud looked at her and huffed. "What's with the 'cute', all of a sudden? I'm not a little kid anymore."

"You're still cute as a button," Cissnei offered.

"It's a blond thing, yo."

"Indeed. Lazard is very cute," Rude said.

"Not as cute as the President, though. He's almost cloyingly cute," Tseng added.

That made Rufus blush and turn around to look at the Turks.

"Now wait just a minute!"

Everyone started laughing and Rufus eventually joined in. Soon after, people started coming into the gym and Tifa excused herself when she saw someone she recognised amidst the growing crowd. Cloud watched her trot away for a moment before turning to Rufus and the Turks with a small smile.

"Thanks for that, everyone. She was nervous about tonight but I think you've made her feel welcome."

"Any time, Cloud. Now, care to tell us what the program will be like and what we can do to help?" Vincent asked.

The blond nodded and told them that they would start with a warm up before dividing the attendees by their self-defence experience. He expected most of them to be entire novices but said he wouldn't be surprised if a few of them had at least some basic notions about it. Once divided, they would be assigned to an instructor and taught moves ranging from simply fending off an attacker in order to escape to incapacitating them, if at all possible.

"I was thinking that we could just focus on hand to hand combat from here 'til Thursday, leaving weapons for Friday. I don't think a lot of people will return for that so it's best to give hand to hand more emphasis."

"Sounds like a plan," Tseng said. "Are you leaving the specifics up to the instructors?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. I mean, we all went through more or less the same basic training, so…"

As Cloud explained further what he was expecting of them, Vincent looked at Tseng and felt relieved. He'd been gloomy on the way over and Vincent was afraid it wouldn't let him participate fully. Seeing him discuss moves and terms with Cloud and the rest in such an attentive way led him to make a note of asking Cloud to get Tseng more involved in the following lessons. Like Tseng, he thought it would be best if he kept busy in order to avoid thinking too much about his parents.

Halfway through the blond's explanation, Lazard came in followed by Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack, and even Genesis. All of them had changed from their usual attires into camouflaged or olive drab fatigues and combat boots; Sephiroth had even tied his hair back in a braid to keep it mostly out of the way. They all carried their trademark weapons but left them by the weapons rack before walking over to Cloud and the rest. Tifa returned about then and everyone turned expectantly to Cloud, even Zack.

"I'm just here as your supervisor, Cloud. This show's all yours," he explained.

To his credit, that didn't make Cloud any more nervous than he already was. After relying his plan to everyone, he asked Sephiroth to call everyone to attention—the General knew how to project his voice and was, perhaps after Rufus, the most respected man in the room.

It worked like a charm: at once, the chatter died down and all attendees moved around until they were standing in several rows. Amongst the crowd were Cid Highwind, Reeve Tuesti, and Shalua Rui; Rufus and Lazard had also gone to stand with the rest, having little to no combat experience.

Sephiroth had tried to get his family involved but Gast was busy trying to find a way to stabilise Galian's hormones and Aerith and his mother claimed that they had all the protection they could need in the form of Sephiroth and Zack. When he reminded them that neither of them would be attending the summit, they said the Turks would take care of them. Once it became clear that he wouldn't be winning the argument, he decided to drop it. He did make a mental note to ask which of the Turks would be assigned to his family so he could talk to them personally about their safety.

After a twenty-minute warm up, Cloud asked everyone to split into two groups according to their self-defence experience: novices and those with some hands-on experience. Over 90% of the attendees moved towards the left side of the room, where the novices were asked to stand. Realising he had grossly miscalculated matters—he had expected at least a third of those in attendance to have some experience—, Cloud decided to split the novices into eleven groups into which he added the employees with some experience as evenly as possible. That way the instructors would have at least a couple of people that could help them with demonstrations.

Luckily for Sephiroth, Reeve didn't end up in his group but on Vincent's, which was lucky for the R&D Director because Vincent was one of the most accommodating instructors. Also, unlike Reno, he didn't turn everything into a joke, relying on patience rather than humour to keep his trainees at ease. He was also generous with praise, making sure to congratulate everyone when they were able to properly block a punch or kick, or when they managed to bring their opponent down on the mat.

When Reeve managed to trip him and pin him down right after, Vincent found himself smiling and patting Reeve on the back. The bookish executive blushed and scratched the back of his head even as Vincent moved on to the next participant to try to get them to do the same. As Reeve refocused on the goings-on of his circle, he caught Sephiroth eyeing him warily. The intensity behind the gaze made him turn back quickly to Vincent's next instruction but he could've sworn he felt the General's burning gaze on his neck for a few minutes after.

About an hour into the training session, Cloud called for a break and called all the instructors to a corner of the room to exchange impressions and ideas for the second part of the meeting. He was discussing the best way to approach disarming when Rufus and Lazard walked over.

Reno was the first to spot them and he immediately raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Why do I get the feeling you're about to ask something really iffy, sirs?"

Rufus broke into a grin while Lazard tried his best not to smirk. They looked at each other for a moment until Lazard nodded, silently giving Rufus the reins of whatever was about to happen. That alone set everyone but Tifa on a kind of mild edge. It wasn't that Rufus and Lazard didn't get along, more like they rarely had occasion to agree on something given that they kept their work mostly separate. For them to come up with something together was rare and potentially inconvenient for their employees.

"Given that, save two exceptions, all the Turks and all the Soldier Firsts are here, we were wondering if you'd mind a joint demonstration," Rufus said.

"What kind of demonstration?" Sephiroth asked, the faint narrowing of his eyes warning his superiors to thread lightly.

"Just some sparring matches, Turks versus Soldier," Lazard explained. "Only a few minutes each to demonstrate how an actual encounter might go."

"So this is for the benefit of the attendees?" Vincent asked, already knowing whatever answer the blonds came up with would be at least a partial lie.

"Of course," Rufus said, grin widening.

"This has nothing to do with some sort of fraternal rivalry? Like whose elite team is superior or anything like that?" Tseng asked.

"Not in the slightest," they answered at the same time.

"Oi, oi, that's scary, yo."

"Blood will out," Genesis murmured. When both Lazard and Rufus gave him a narrow-eyed glare, he shrugged as if to say they'd just proven him right.

Letting it slide, the President and Soldier's Director turned to Vincent and Sephiroth, knowing they would have the final say in the matter. The gunman and the swordsman looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and sighing, respectively.

"Wonderful," Rufus said, as if their reactions were a standard affirmative.

Before anyone had a chance to think about it twice, Lazard announced the pairings he and his brother had decided on even before asking those involved for permission: Zack v Reno, Angeal v Rude, Genesis v Tseng, Cloud v Cissnei, and, rather unsurprisingly, Sephiroth v Vincent.

When the change in schedule was announced and the matches presented, an excited buzz filled the gym. A few minutes later, the crowd had increased as attendees called or sent text messages to their friends to brag or invite them over. Rufus and Lazard looked at their employees with self-satisfied grins that did nothing to make them fell less like well advertised merchandise. The only thing they could do to feel better about the whole deal was to avoid claiming winners after each match and keeping the fighting to an exhibition level.

Zack and Reno agreed not to use weapons and stick to hand to hand combat in an effort to adhere to the course's theme. Their combat was swift and very fluid, each excelling at reading their opponent to anticipate his next move and plan accordingly. Reno had a slight advantage over Zack, being shorter and of a much slimmer build; he kept Zack on the defensive for most of the agreed-to five minutes and landed several kicks and punches to the Soldier's torso and thighs, receiving only two punches himself.

Angeal also agreed not to use his Buster Sword given that Rude was a mixed martial arts specialist. Their fight wasn't as fast as the previous one but there were far more punches and kicks in it, most of which were expertly blocked and deflected. Even though there was an agreement not to use full force during the fight, the few hits that managed to properly connect resounded throughout the gym, making several of the spectators exclaim worriedly. The rest of the instructors, however, watched fascinated as the two men at the front dealt and took damage without so much as wincing.

Tseng agreed to a handicap in deference to Genesis's still healing status. He chose a katana from the weapons rack with a similar range to the Commander's Rapier and, after a few experimental swings, approached him to start the battle.

It was the first time since receiving the compound to fix his degradation that Genesis had been in anything close to an actual battle. Through the warm up and training exercises, he'd felt a great improvement on his body's response to the commands he was giving it, lifting his spirits. Now that he was sparring with Tseng, who handled the practice katana with amazing ease, he felt truly exhilarated for the first time in weeks, so much that he didn't mind the few times the Wutain managed to tap his arms or neck with the blunt edge of his sword. Genesis welcomed the challenge and met Tseng blow for blow, landing quite a few hits of his own.

He was so happy when the match ended that he bowed deeply at the waist, thanking Tseng in perfect Wutain. The gesture brought a smile to Tseng's face and, by extension, to all the Turks.

Cloud and Cissnei followed the format of the first two matches and fought hand to hand. There were some exclamations from the crowd for Cloud not to go easy on Cissnei because she was a girl, and for Cissnei to take it easy on Cloud because his girlfriend was in the room. They playfully rolled their eyes and decided to otherwise ignore the teasing, focusing instead on the match.

Cloud was able to use what he'd learned by sparring with Tifa against Cissnei, like taking advantage of their similar height when he would usually have to compensate for being shorter than his opponents. Cissnei, on the other hand, was used to practicing with Reno, which meant she had to be faster than her adversary if she wanted to land a hit before receiving one. Thus, their fight looked a lot like Zack and Reno's, except with more feints and fancier footwork. There was also a lot more cheering coming from Tifa and, hating to be outdone, Reno.

When the turn finally came for Vincent and Sephiroth to face each other, they went to a corner of the gym to discuss the terms of the engagement.

"Would you mind us fighting hand to hand, too?" Vincent asked.

"I haven't tried that in a while but it shouldn't be a problem."

"I'm sorry, it's just that, much to the dismay of my mother's side of the family, I was not built to wield blades longer than a kitchen knife."

"Are you saying I was?" Sephiroth deadpanned.

Vincent's eyes grew wide and he fumbled for a few seconds before realising Sephiroth was smiling. Sighing in relief, the gunman punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"You're as bad as Reno, General."

"I suppose I'll have to stop hanging around Zack so much, since that's who I seem to be getting it from."

Shaking his head but smiling, Vincent led the way to the front of the gym. He had already taken off his jacket and tie at the beginning of the session but he made sure his shirt was tucked in correctly and that his sleeve's cuffs were buttoned tightly. Sephiroth noticed as he quickly redid his braid but had little time to dwell on it as Vincent was on him in a second. He barely dodged the punch but was unable to completely slide out of the way, feeling the partial impact on his shoulder all the way down to his left hand. Vincent skipped back after recovering, giving Sephiroth a look that told him to stop daydreaming and get himself into the fight immediately or he'd be spending the rest of the night tending bruises.

After shaking his arm, Sephiroth decided to just go for it. Like he'd told Vincent, it had been a while since the last time he fought anyone without Masamune or materia at his side, so he started out a little sluggish. The gunman noticed but decided not to extend to the General the same courtesy Tseng had shown Genesis earlier, instead pressing him until the swordsman found himself mostly defending, just like Zack had been with Reno. Except Vincent was much faster than Reno and his punches and kicks, although certainly not full-strength, left Sephiroth reeling whenever he failed to block them or at least dance out of the way in time.

The allotted time was about to run out when Sephiroth tried to use Vincent's momentum to throw him to the mat. However, in a blur of movement, Vincent twisted out of Sephiroth's intended hold and he wound up on the floor, flat on his stomach with his left arm tugged back and up and the gunman's foot on the small of his back, pinning him down.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you subdue your opponent in two easy steps. But more on that tomorrow night—I believe we've kept you long enough for today."

Vincent released Sephiroth and helped him up as everyone broke into applause and Cloud stepped up to thank everyone for attending and remind them of the following day's session. It took a while for the gym to empty given that a lot of people had questions for the instructors and some took the opportunity to request autographs from the Soldiers First. Once they had fielded all the questions posed to them, the Turks quietly slipped towards a corner and discussed the night's events with Rufus while the Soldiers continued to patiently cater to their fans.

When the last starry-eyed employees left, the Soldiers, Lazard, and Tifa joined the Turks.

"Thank you all for helping out tonight," Cloud said. "I know you're probably busy but it'd be great if you could help out the rest of the week."

"Rufus will be attending so you can count me in," Tseng said.

"I'm game as long as we don't get dragged into another exhibition match, yo."

"I wouldn't mind a chance to spar with Tseng again," Genesis said with a hopeful smile.

"I take it the treatment continues to agree with you, then?" Vincent asked.

The Commander nodded. "Yes. I truly haven't felt this strong in… Well, it's been so long I can't even remember now."

In the end, everyone confirmed they'd be able to help Cloud for the remainder of the week, which brought a relieved smile to the blond's face. He excused himself to take Tifa home and little by little the group broke until it was just Sephiroth, Vincent, Tseng, and Rufus left.

"I think I'll have to ask you to coach me in hand to hand, Vincent. I was seriously outmatched back there."

"Perhaps you should've asked for a handicap, Seph," Tseng teased.

"I don't think it would've made much of a difference, to be honest. I'll improve, though, and then I'll ask for a rematch."

Vincent was about to say there couldn't be a rematch when they'd agreed not to declare a winner, but Rufus beat him and roped both swordsman and gunman to into having a proper match in front of the whole company sometime in the future. Before anyone could protest, Rufus excused himself and the Turks and led them to the elevator bank.

Tseng was trying very hard not to laugh while Vincent bit his tongue until they were inside the elevator and Rufus had selected the Turks's floor. After entering a code that would prevent anyone from calling their cart until it reached their destination, Vincent backed Rufus against a wall and pinned him there by his wrists.

"You've been quite insolent today, shachō."

"Have I, now?" Rufus's voice trailed off into a moan when Vincent's lips went straight to his throat. "I didn't quite notice th—ahn!"

Vincent bit on his collarbone, sucking loud and hard before letting go and brushing his lips against the blond's.

"Indeed. First you rile me up at my office before Sephiroth comes in… Then you make me spar with him… And then you set up another public exhibition match between us… Isn't that quite naughty, Corvus?"

He punctuated each phrase with a nip on Rufus's lower lip, making the younger man shudder and buck against him. Tseng had been entirely too happy to stand back and watch but as soon as he heard his pet name he stepped forward and leaned on the wall next to Rufus, running his hand down the blond's chest towards his awakening erection.

"Very much so, Vin-sama. I think our beloved Shiroi Ōji-sama is in dire need of a lesson."

"I couldn't agree more, Corvus."

Just then, the elevator dinged and the doors opened on the Turks's floor. Tseng got out first to open the door to his apartment, closely followed by Vincent, who had an unprotesting Rufus slung over his shoulder. Once inside the apartment, Vincent went straight for the bedroom while Tseng locked up. By the time he made it to his room, the gunman had already tossed the blond on the bed and was busy tearing off his track suit.

He was halfway done when, without looking up from what he was doing, he said, "Tseng, do you still have your felt-lined handcuffs?"

Two aroused moans filled the room as Vincent pinned an impatient Rufus down while Tseng rushed towards his closet to look for the handcuffs and a few other things he thought Vincent might like using on their boss. Maybe on him, too.

It was going to be a long night.

End of chapter notes:

First of all… *Bows deeply and repeatedly* I'm so sorry for the horribly long delay! It's just that I got a job now and the schedule is CRAP. Plus, I've been working on non-fan fiction and that's eaten away at my fanfic writing time, too. I've been trying to find a rhythm and balance the last couple of weeks but it's going to take some fine-tuning, so I hope you'll all bear with me in the following months!

The good news in all of this is that this is my third time at this same job, so the training phase of it is particularly light for me, so I've outlined most of D&G already—all the way up to chapter 19! So it should be a bit easier to get this bad boy going again—I'll just need to make the time.

Hopefully this chapter will make up a bit for the time you've had to wait—it's the longest so far (over 14K words? EGAD), and the less dialogue-y, I think. I also explore things from other people's POV, like Cloud and Reno, which was fun. I wanted to develop Cloud/Tifa a bit more but it was getting too long and I think there'll be enough time for that in the future.

On to other things, I was doing research on military ranks and the likes and I found a slight problem with the terms used by Square-Enix on Crisis Core. As far as I can recall, both Angeal and Genesis are referred to as "commanders", which appears to be a naval rank. Sephiroth has always been "the general", which is a rank used in the army, air force, and marine corps. I made Zack a lieutenant because I've read other fics where he's referred as such and it seemed to fit. That term is a bit like general, applying to multiple branches of the military. Given all of this, I should make Angeal and Genesis colonels or lieutenant generals or something, but a) I don't want to deviate from what SE has established and b) I'm too lazy to figure it out. So, from now on I'm sticking to army ranks for Cloud and the rest and leaving the beautiful mess SE made as is. Hopefully this won't irk anyone as much as it irks me!

(Also, if I'm totally wrong feel free to correct me!)

As usual, comments and likes/kudos/favourites/follows are incredibly welcome and appreciated!

*Goes off to write the next chapter before rotten tomatoes start flying about*