To Lunara training was easy, a fun little hobby during the day and the missions, just the reward. She was sixteen by the time she made it into second class and was well on her way into first. She only knew a handful of men from her first months of training actually making it into second class, but only barely. She had breezed through the tests with hardly a sweat, but she was nowhere near as good as her roommate.
Sephiroth, her silent companion, had actually grown fond of the girl he bunked with. Enough to actually initiate conversations and go training at least once a day with her. She had laughingly informed him of the fact that all the other recruits and some of the instructors thought her to be a young boy with talent and even the stony expression he always wore cracked to let out an amused chuckle. She had prided herself on the fact that she could break through his exterior with a simple fact.
It was one day that they were in the training room with only a few other cadets present that they sat talking and observing others after a long sparring session. She propped one leg up on her seat on one of the high beams of the obstacle course and rested her arm across it lazily. Her lean frame was slowly starting to fill out with age, she even had breasts. Small ones, but they were there. She worried that with them she was to be spotted as a girl finally, but it didn't really matter when her armor hid them well. She was also lucky that many men weren't very bright and only thought her to be a young man not yet hitting puberty.
"Lunara," Sephiroth suddenly spoke and her attention was dragged from a struggling man on the ropes to her friend. She made a sound of acknowledgment and tilted her head. "Do you have bad eyesight?"
She blinked curiously at the man that had to almost be 4 years older. "Why do you ask?"
He turned his head in her direction to look into eyes that matched his. His hair fell gracefully down his back and his long bangs brushed his cheek as he moved. "I was curious. I saw a glasses case on the desk this morning that clearly isn't mine."
She stared at him for a moment before answering him. "Sort of. I'm farsighted and need glasses to see things close to me, but it's not that bad."
He arched a brow. "Then how can you fight so well at close range?"
"Practice and instinct. I can see well enough to know how and when I'm going to be attacked, but reading is a pain in the ass," she said, sighing at the last part. She saw a small smile twitch on his face, but as soon as she spotted it, it was gone just as quickly.
They sat in silence once more, liking the sound of metal crashing against metal and smirking at the curses coming from SOLDIERS that fell from one attack or another. Eventually, she yawned in boredom and stood from sitting on the beam to standing on it. Sephiroth looked to her as she did and she smiled warmly.
"So, a few more rounds before we hit the hay?" she inquired. Sephiroth chuckled at her tenacity to fight not for winning, but to harness her skills. He was about to agree when he suddenly remembered that he was to meet Genesis and Angeal for dinner and looked to the clock at the far end of the room to find that was to occur in less than a half hour. When voicing this and his apology her face fell slightly, but was quickly covered with a smile.
"That's alright. I can just train with one of the other guys," she shrugged, but a tinge to her tone voiced the disappointment in her. For some reason or another he felt guilty for turning her down and suddenly got an idea.
"Why don't you come with me?" he asked and stood as well. She looked at him in shock for a few moments not sure if he was joking or not, but that couldn't be. Sephiroth never joked. He was clean cut and straight to the point. When he said something, it had a purpose and even then he didn't say much.
"I wouldn't want to intrude on you and your friends," she said modestly when on the inside she was wanting to jump at the chance to see Genesis and Angeal again. She thought they got along quite well the day of her first training session, but never got another chance to say hello. She didn't want to embarrass them either with a young second class SOLDIER saying hello to them in the hallways. They probably didn't even remember her.
The older man shrugged and leaped from his own perch to the ground, quickly followed by his roommate. "It doesn't matter to me. Come if you like. I'm sure Genesis would like to have you around. You two seem like you'd get along and that would get him off my back," he said with a soft smile that had Lunara laughing slightly as she caught up with his long strides.
"Alright, but If I feel I'm intruding in any way, I'll leave and won't bother you guys," she laughed as they started back to their room. Upon reaching it Lunara used the bathroom to change into a pair of black pants and her favorite leather tank top. She didn't bother with her hair or any makeup, because she thought all that was just ridiculous. She only changed because she wanted to wear something more comfortable than her mandatory uniform.
They made it to the cafeteria at exactly seven o'clock, the time Sephiroth was to meet his friends and found the two first class SOLDIERS at a table in the far corner involved in a heated discussion. Lunara raised a brow at this as she and Sephiroth took their seats across from them. She looked to the silver haired man for an explanation, but Sephiroth merely sighed and sat quietly in his seat, waiting for his friends to stop bickering before he could introduce his roommate.
"There is no way, no way, that spaghetti is better than fettuccini. It's just not right," complained Genesis as he crossed his arms over his lean chest defiantly. His handsome features where twisted into a joking sneer as he stared boldly into the larger man's eyes.
"It is to me. You know I don't like creamy pasta," replied the other man calmly, but his expression turned into something that someone would wear when they knew they had just said the wrong thing.
Beside him, Genesis grinned cheekily. "Bad experience with creamy noodles, Angeal?" he joked with a laugh and Angeal groaned in annoyance, finally turning to Sephiroth with a begging look.
"Please, Sephiroth, help me out here," he pleaded as Genesis patted his back and said something about 'coming out of the closet'.
Without distracting himself from smoothing the imaginary wrinkles and wiping flecks of dust from his leather coat, Sephiroth didn't look up at either of them. "Genesis, Angeal is not homosexual. End of discussion," he stated as if he'd repeated it more than once. He looked up to his friends who he found staring shamelessly at his roommate who didn't even shift nervously under their gazes, but merely smiled politely.
His gaze shifted between them for a few moments before he spoke. "Angeal, Genesis, this is my roommate, Lunara." Their reactions came at the same time, both gazes flickering to the silver haired man.
"Roommate?" asked Angeal with a brow raised.
"Her?" said Genesis, pointing a finger at the raven haired girl across from them not caring that it was rude.
Sephiroth nodded emotionlessly. "Yes. I invited her to dine with us. Is that a problem?" His tone left no room for argument, but that didn't mean Genesis couldn't stay on the subject.
"Since when did you start bringing girls to the table?" He inquired with a smirk and his eyes wandered back to the teenager sitting next to his friend. She was hiding a smile and a snicker behind her palm as she watched the interaction. Never before had she seen Sephiroth like this. Yes, he was always cool, calm and collected, but it just seemed different when his friends were around.
"That's none of your concern," he replied coldly with a stare that dared Genesis to counter him. The redhead only chuckled and didn't say anything more. Next to him, Angeal was staring at her curiously as if he recognized her, but Sephiroth spoke again. "She's a friend and after our spar in the training room I thought I'd bring her with me rather than leave her to train with someone not even close to her skill."
At that Lunara had to raise a brow. He was complimenting her? Of course, he had complimented her skills in the past, but never in front of another person. She supposed he didn't want anyone to know that he thought of her in a friendly way and not a business-like way lest he get any other recruits hopes up.
"Wait. Genesis, we know her. What's you're name again?" Angeal asked narrowing his eyes slightly as he examined her. Genesis too looked back at her and looked her over with his own mako eyes.
"Lunara," she replied and grinned slightly when Genesis snapped his red leather clad fingers and pointed at her yet again. From the corner of her eye she saw Sephiroth slowly raise a silver brow.
"Cadet Lu!" he shouted in excitement and a wide grin spread across his lips. Angeal too, smiled and nodded. Other cadets and officials in the cafeteria looked in their direction, but dismissed it as they did not want to know what Genesis was really shouting about.
"It's second class SOLDIER Lu now," she laughed and Genesis' smile grew as well as Angeal's.
"Second class? Well done. After that first day of training we knew you were going to do well," the boulder of a man complimented. With a gracious nod and a 'thank you', Lunara grinned. So they did remember her after all.
"Lu, Lu, Lu," Genesis sighed as if he were proud of a great work of art he created in front of him. "How are you? We haven't seen you in months."
"Wait, you know each other?" Sephiroth suddenly cut in, his expression passive, but his tone questioning.
Next to him Lunara nodded. "Hardly. We met the first day of my training when they were to instruct our class until our actual instructor came back. It was Genesis who actually suggested that I should be known as a boy so as to not burst the other men's egos by being beaten by a girl," she laughed and Genesis nodded excitedly.
"I remember that. You finished the obstacle in less than five minutes leaving the other guys in the dust unconscious. Yeah, that was a good day," he chuckled and stared at the roof as if picturing the moments over again in his head. Lunara grinned and laughed slightly when the SOLDIER came back down to earth. They spent the next hour and a half talking. Angeal and Genesis were curious as to how her training was going and when they were to expect her into first class.
"I was accepted into first class not five months later. At the same time Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal were promoted, each getting their own quarters high in the Shinra building, but it was Sephiroth that was given the title of General," Lunara explained and watched as both Tifa and Cloud nodded.
They seemed enraptured in the story, as she knew they would be and grinned when Tifa suddenly straightened from leaning on the table. "So, you became friends. They were promoted and you got into first class. What happened then?" she asked. Lunara chuckled at how eager the young woman was.
"We stayed in contact. They visited me when we didn't have missions or weren't training new recruits. By the age of 18 I was a well respected SOLDIER and given the job of being a training tutor for anyone who wanted it as well as Sephiroth's assistant to sign documents while he was away at the war. I was given my own place in my own wing near my friends, so we visited often," Lunara replied. "It was that year that Angeal spoke nonstop about this SOLDIER he was mentoring. He had introduced him to the others but I was always too busy to really find out who he was. That was the year I met Zack and everything started to go wrong."
"Lunara, this is Zack Fair. He's the one I've been mentoring for that passed while," said Angeal. She was working late, again, at the desk assigned to her outside of Sephiroth's quarters. She looked up over her black rimmed glasses as the two men approached and smiled when she saw them. Standing while taking off her glasses she set them down and smoothed the pencil skirt she wore. Coming around her desk she gave the large man a hug before turning to Zack with a warm smile and a hand held out to shake. The spiky haired man smiled back and shook her hand enthusiastically.
"Nice to meet you," he said politely and Lunara nodded as they released hands.
"A pleasure to meet you as well, Zack," she responded kindly then narrowed her eyes slightly to look him over. "We've met before, I believe."
"Really?" the youth asked.
"Actually it's not that surprising," Angeal cut in with a smirk. "Lunara, here, is the SOLDIER that's always in the training room for extra help. No doubt you've seen her. You spend more time there than what you should use to fill out your reports."
Zack grinned cheekily at the comment while Lunara snapped her fingers and wagged her pointer in his direction. "Yes, that's right. I've trained with you on countless occasions," she grinned. Zack Fair, the ambitious and almost ADHD SOLDIER with too much excitement to contain. She chuckled at a few memories of her and Zack sparring. He was good, but still not good enough to knock her sword away.
"Wait, you're first class SOLDIER Lu?" asked Zack, his eyes suddenly wide in astonishment. She nodded and the young man blinked. "Wow, never thought it would be a girl to kick my ass." His mumble was answered with two sets of laughter.
"Lunara has been in SOLDIER for three years. A while ago, she was accepted and quickly made it through the ranks. Now, she's the extra trainer and Sephiroth's assistant," Angeal explained fondly. Lunara smiled at him. He was like the big brother she never had. With him, she could say anything and not be judged. Genesis was always the one to jump to conclusions, but he was still a good friend to discuss books with and Sephiroth…
Sephiroth had become something a little more than a friend in the past few months. They had deep discussions that included the war, politics and sometimes just life in general. They stayed up late talking on the phone when he was available using the excuse that there were too many documents to get his permission to sign when in reality she was the one he confided in about his frustrations and he was the one that calmed her when stressed. His deep baritone always set her nerves at ease and she suspected her own voice did the same to him. Luckily, the war was ending soon and he would be back to take some of the tensions off her shoulders.
"Wow. Just… wow," Zack said and Lunara laughed.
"It's ok, Zack. I don't correct people when they think I'm a man in that uniform. It's a lot easier on me and them, not to mention I'd probably be out of a job when I stop having people come to me for help," she chuckled.
"But you'll always be Sephiroth's assistant. That has to pay pretty well," suggested Angeal and she shrugged with a smile that she hoped hid her slight blush.
"It has its perks," she agreed.
Angeal smirked. Lunara had the feeling that Angeal had an idea that something was going on between her and Sephiroth, but neither of them voiced it because it wasn't a big deal. Maybe, just maybe, she could finally crack the rest of the way through his hard exterior and warm his frozen heart. It was nigh impossible, she believed, but it was still worth a shot.
"Anyway, we have to get going. There's a meeting that we're to attend," explained Angeal and he leaned forward pressing a soft kiss to her cheek as she did the same to him. "We'll see you later."
"Bye, boys," she called as they left and waved.
A month later Sephiroth returned from Wutai for a short one week break. When receiving the news, Lunara had to smile because it was nearing her anniversary of when she first joined SOLDIER. She considered that her birth date as she had no real idea when her birthday was. It would be her nineteenth year, she believed, and Sephiroth returning was the perfect birthday present.
As she shut down her computer and locked her desk drawers she hummed a light tune under breath. She wasn't sure exactly what time Sephiroth would be back, but as it was nearing nine o'clock she decided that she had waited enough and that she should pack up and go home. She was slightly disappointed that she couldn't see him before going to bed, but he was probably tired anyway and not up for a chat. As soon as the light of her computer shut off, she continued to hum as she straightened and headed to the door, her head bowed to look for the right key to lock up with.
Just as she reached the door and found the key she noticed the door was open and a pair of boots stood at the threshold. She tilted her head slightly in confusion. Surely she wouldn't have left the door ajar, but she failed to hear it open either. Slowly, her gaze drew up, scanning the long leather coat, pants and shirt that opened to reveal a lean pale chest. On the shoulders of this person rested metal plates and beyond them, a neck that held the head of a certain Shinra General.
Sephiroth smirked slightly at seeing her shocked gaze, his emerald eyes almost seeming to shine in the dim light of the room. Lunara blinked a couple of times as they just stared at each other, but finally she opened her mouth to speak.
"You're back," she said. Instantly she wanted to slap herself for saying something so ridiculous, but the SOLDIER's smirk only widened.
"I'm aware of that," he nodded, his silver bangs only briefly shielding his glorious eyes.
"Right," she laughed then nervously scratched the back of her neck. Funny, how she could be so calm in battle and in front of important people, yet almost melt into a puddle in front of a man she's known for years. She coughed slightly to gather her bearings. "Well, I was just locking up to go home."
Sephiroth didn't respond for a long moment as he stepped the rest of the way into the room and shut the door. Lunara raised a brow at this. He approached her slowly and she felt tingles rise from her toes to her head with the look he was giving her. Could that be... caring? No, Sephiroth didn't care for anyone, only tolerated and talked with. When he was standing mere inches from her he lifted a leather clad hand to brush a strand of black hair from her face before tucking it behind her ear.
His smirk turned into a fond smile as his eyes scanned her face. "I would be lying to say that I did not miss you, Luna," he said softly and she thought she was about to drop to her knees. Luna; he had never called her that before, only the others did. His hand traveled to rest under her chin and lifted it slightly as he began to lean closer to her.
Instantly she knew what was about to transpire and felt the heat rise to her cheeks as their lips met in a sweet and soft kiss. Both closed their eyes to revel in the feeling and Lunara didn't bother to fight the urge to lift her hand and place it on his shoulder. Moments later they parted to stare at each other, lust suddenly reflecting in their eyes.
It was hardly a second later that they crashed their lips together again in a heated kiss that sent waves of pleasure down Lunara's spine. His hands came to clamp firmly on her waist as hers buried themselves in his long silken hair. It was no surprise that in the next minutes they found themselves with no clothing and tangled together on her desk that was now clear of papers. He nibbled and sucked at her neck while her hands roamed lovingly down his torso to his-
"Stop right there. I don't want to hear about him making love to you," Tifa suddenly cut in. The two AVALANCHE members across from her held similar deep blushes that made the older woman grin. She had no qualms about describing her first time with the SOLDIER, but if it made them that uncomfortable she would say no more.
"Very well, but just for the record, he was a fantastic lover," she chuckled and the two's faces twisted into something similar to disgust. She couldn't help but laugh again at the expression.