And the votes are in! In a close vote of 7-5, the winner is…. Our lovely Zackary Fair! I thank those that voted and love you all! I'm sorry for you Genesis fans. If you guys want, I can make a Genesis story? Just tell me if you want one (: Love you all and here we go from this. Sorry it took me a while. I'm supposed to be writing a 6-12 screenplay for my college class.

Niva and Zack were walking through the Midgar and dressed in something other than their normal attire. Zack was dressed in some regular denim jeans and a semi tight black shirt than pretty much showed off his well toned torso. Niva was dressed in a pair of black shorts and a white v-neck shirt. She decided wearing short would be easier since she was going to have to go through the grueling horror of having to try on dresses for the party. She still couldn't believe it was tomorrow night. She hadn't planned what to do with her unruly hair or anything. She was screwed for the most part.

It was only 11am and the two were looking through the dress shops.

"How about we pick your tuxedo first?" Niva asked with a whine.

"Because I know what and where the tux I'm getting is. You have no idea. Just show me a place you think looks good and we'll go in and check it out. Alright?"

She sighed and looked around. She didn't know a thing about dresses. What was wrong with the one Genesis got her? She saw a dress shop and decided it would do. "How about there?"

Zack smiled. "Let the adventure begin."

Niva rolled her eyes. "You're enjoying this too much. Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked suspiciously. Playfully hinting at his sexuality.

The man in question just draped his arm over her shoulder. "That I really want to see you in a dress before Genesis?" He chuckled.

"He already has," she replied without really thinking.

"Huh?"

"I used to hang out with Genesis when he lived in Banora. The was before we joined SOLDIER. I used to wear little sundresses all the time since it was out in the country." She hadn't worn one since she was about fourteen maybe. That was when she started wishing she could join SOLDIER. People there didn't wear dresses so she gave it up until she decided to finally join at seventeen years old. It had been about maybe five or six years since then.

"I see," Zack said, drawing her from her thoughts. Was he upset? He suddenly looked at her with a grin. "Well, I'll be the first one to see you in a formal dress, then. Not a sundress. That doesn't count." His optimism was endearing.

Niva smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

When they walked into the shop, a salesperson greeted them with a smile. "Welsome, how may I help you?"

"Yeah, this little lady needs a dress for a party tomorrow night," Zack replied.

The saleswoman smiled as he pushed Zack forward. "Alright. And are you looking for anything, sir? Would you like someone to take your measurements?"

"Nah, I'm good."

The woman ushered Niva into a changing room. "And color in particular, sir?" She was obviously flirting.

Zack seemed uninterested. "Maybe a dark blue or black?"

"Of course, sir." She started looking through dresses and handing them to Niva through the changing room door.

Niva slipped on dress after dress, making faces at each and every one. Too short. Too long. Exposes too much. Covers too much. Was this woman TRYING to find a dress for her?

"How the dresses looking, Niva?" Zack asked.

"I'll tell you when I find a good one," she said under her breath. This saleswoman.

And then she heard it.

"So, is she your girlfriend?"

"No."

"Well, if you don't mind me saying, sir, you're very handsome. Is she a friend that's trying to surprise her boyfriend?"

"Thanks and no. There's a party going on and I didn't like the dress she was going to wear."

"Oh, I see." She giggled obnoxiously. "She must have poor tastes in dresses then."

Niva grit her teeth and was about to unlock the dressing room door so she could give that woman a piece of her mind, but Zack's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"No, her mentor does. And how about that dress? I think she'd look good in this one." Niva made a noise when Zack tossed is over the stall door and onto her head.

"Try that one on, okay?"

Niva sighed. "Fine." She heard the dinging of the store bell.

"I'll be right with you, miss," the saleswoman called. "I'll be right back, sir," she said to Zack and left.

Niva sighed with relief, then paused. She was trying to get the zipper in the back down, but it was stuck. "Zack, the zipper is stuck. Could you help me?"

Zack felt himself flush a light pink before he nodded. "O-Okay." He wasn't nervous because she was a woman. He had, had his own experiences with women before. It was just because it was Niva. When she opened the door and turned her back to him, lifting up her long wavy hair, he had to fight to swallow the lump in his throat. He smoothed the back of the dress out and reached for the zipper. As the dress revealed more of her sun kissed skin, he drowned in the thought that all of that skin had been touched by Genesis in many ways. The small of her back, her shoulders, her shoulder blades, her spine. Every inch of her skin had to have been memorized by the First Class General. The zipper slid all the way down to the small of her back and Zack reluctantly let her go. "There you go."

Niva smiled from over her shoulder. "Thanks, Zack. Be out in a minute." She closed the door again.

Zack let out a quiet sigh. Genesis was one lucky bastard. His finger tips still tingled with the warmth that came from her skin.

Niva slid the other dress on and smiled. The material was comfortable and the dress fit her form easily. It was a deep midnight blue that flowed down gently. There was a slit that went up the side that was perfect. Not too far down or too high up. Perfect. The top was cute to a comfortable v-neck shape with two thin straps that reached up and around her neck. It was backless to and very lightweight. She didn't feel like it was dragging her down like the other dresses.

Zack sure knew how to pick them. She bit her lip and walked out of the dressing room. "Well, what do you think? And please don't laugh."

Zack saw her and his jaw dropped slightly. He couldn't muster the brain power to even talk.. After a while. He shook his head and smiled. "You look great! This is the one. I pick the best things." He laughed. He picked another great thing, but it wasn't the right time to brag.

She looked at him critically. "You're sure?"

"Definitely. Hurry up and change so can leave. That saleslady is giving me the googly eyes"

Niva laughed and quickly changed. They went to the register and Niva paid for the dress.

"Don't hesitate to come back for any apparel needs, sir," the woman called with a giggle.

Niva grit her teeth and grabbed a hold of Zack's arm. "Let's go already."

"Ooh, jealous?"

"Huh? What? No way!" She turned to look away.

"Whatever you say, Niva. So, lunch?"

Niva looked at him with a smile. "Oh, no. We're getting your tux, dude. I want to see what you look like in it."

He shrugged. "Okay then." He broke into laughter.

They went to a small tuxedo shop and walked in.

A salesman smiled warmly. "How can I help you two, today?"

"He needs a tux," she said, motioning to Zack.

He looked between them. "You two getting hitched?" He straightened his glasses.

Both SOLDIERS blushed bright red and pulled apart.

"No!" Zack denied. "I-It's for a party!"

"Yeah! A work thing!" Niva agreed.

The salesman just smiled, his eyes wrinkled and worn like the rest of his face. "If you say so. I used to be a young'un way back when. A couple of crazy kids, running away to get married." He winked at Zack. "You got yerself a keeper."

Zack flushed and rubbed the back of his head. "You got it all wrong, old timer."

The man laughed in reply. "Whatever you say, sonny."

Quickly, Zack found a tuxedo that fit his measurements and purchased it.

"Not putting it on?" Niva asked, pouting.

Zack smirked a little. "You'll see me soon enough." He walked out of the store quickly. "Thanks, old man."

The man just smiled and laughed an old wheezy laugh. "I didn't see a thing, kiddos,"

Niva sighed. "That was one weird old man," she commented. "Why would anyone want to just run off and get married at such a young age?" She couldn't even fathom the idea at all.

Zack looked at her oddly. "You're a girl, that's supposed to be your dream come true. Loving someone so much you'd even run off and elope. Didn't you ever think of that as a kid?"

Niva shook her head. "Not really. And now it doesn't seem like a possibility since we're in SOLDIER. We never know what day will be our last. I couldn't leave someone behind like that. It'd be too horrible. And even though I was pretty much born in the country, the simple life just never seemed to be for me."

Zack put his hands in his pockets as he walked alongside her, his bag hanging on his wrist. He'd always thought it was an easy and pretty ideal concept. Falling in love, marrying. It seemed like something he wasn't ready for yet, but it could be a possibility. "I think it sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Coming home after a long mission to a warm place with someone waiting for you." He chuckled. "And I can see some mini me's running around." The thing almost every guys wanted. The simple life. A hard working job, a wife, and munchkins all over the place.

Niva laughed at that last part. "It's hard enough keeping track of you, I couldn't imagine there being little you's running all over the place. Think of all the trouble they'd get into." She laughed and looked at her watch. "Wow, it's only like 12:30. Wanna grab a bite to eat at the food court?" She was trying to change the subject.

Zack nodded. He was actually pretty hungry. Shopping was just something he'd never trained for. How could girls want to do it so often? "Sounds like a plan."

The two had ordered burgers at the food court and were eating at one of the tables.

"I'm glad you're not obsessed with 'bad carbs' and 'calories' like most girls are. It's better."

"Why should I worry about it? I normally eat very healthy food and I train all the time and do missions. I should have no ill thoughts about my weight at all since I know I'm at my highest level." She took a bite of her burger and waited for his reply.

Zack just smiled. "And that's why I'm glad you're not like most girls. You see how beautiful you are and you don't want to change it. I like that about you." Zack started munching on his fries sheepishly.

Niva blushed a little. He shouldn't be telling her things like that. Sweet little things that made her think he was cute. Not when she had Genesis. It just wasn't fair to either of them. "Thanks, Zack." She took the last bite of her burger and drank a bit of her soda. When her mouth wasn't fool of food, she responded. "That's really nice." It was really nice to hear something positive about her from someone else. Genesis usually just commented about her training. But that was okay too. Oh, she was getting so confused.

"So, what time did you tell Genesis you'd be back? Do you two have training today?"

Niva shrugged. "I told him around 4 or 5. I wasn't really all that sure when I'd get done with this stuff. Looks like I gone done a lot earlier than expected." She looked at her watch again. "I might even be back between 2 and 3." How would she really spend the day with Genesis? Maybe they would just sit up in her room and sleep in her bed or watch television on her couch? Or maybe they would train? She had no idea.

Zack smirked, an idea in mind. "How about you play hooky a little while and hang out with me? We should go see a movie or something." He would prefer to spend the day with her and a movie would definitely help.

A movie? Niva laughed and looked at Zack with mock disbelief. "Why, Zackary Fair! I'm shocked you would ever suggest playing hooky when we have such important duties as SOLDIER members. What if there's an emergency?"

Zack knew she was just playing around. He gave a mockingly suave look. "What emergency? The only emergency is the fire might cause in the theatre from being so hot."

He and Niva started laughing at their jokes and they both threw away their finished food.

"You're so funny, Zack," Niva said once she was done laughing. It was something she liked a lot about him. He could make her laugh all the time. She never laughed around Genesis. His sense of humor was as little dry sometimes. She pretended to look like she was thinking. "I guess I could spare an hour or two of my busy, busy schedule to accompany you." She laughed a little, grabbing her bag.

Zack smiled, picking up his own bag. "Well I'm humbled by your generosity, Madame." He laughed a little bit. "Allow me to lead the way to your cinematic adventure." He hld out his arm playfully.

Niva laughed at him and took his arm. "Yes, lead the way."

The movie wasn't bad. It was a horror movie about monster from another planet taking over the brains of SOLDIERs and making them kill people and infect them. It was a little corny of a plot, but it wasn't horrible. Niva did find out one thing though. Zack was not a fan of gore. His face paled when one of the squirmy little aliens popped out of the forehead of a SOLDIER member and bit into the face of a cadet. Niva nearly laughed at his reaction. When they walked out of the theatre, Niva checked her watch. It was almost 5. That was a long movie. She looked over to Zack. "It was your idea to go see a scary movie."

Zack nodded. "I know." His plan had not worked out the way he wanted. Pick the scariest movie that was showing and use it as an excuse to comfort her. He was so disgusted by the gore, he thought he was going to throw up.

Niva giggled a bit more. "Geez, you're a SOLDIER 2nd Class. Can't handle a little gore?"

Zack shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just you don't normally see things popping out of their heads and stuff on the battlefield." Not that he had ever really fought over in Wutai yet. He was usually sent to get rid of the people trying to get into Midgar. "I can handle gore sometimes. But not like that. That was disgusting." He stuck out his tongue for emphasis.

The two of them were walking towards the motorcycle that Zack had borrowed so they could get around. Zack helped Niva buckle her helmet like he always did and got on, smiling when she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"C'mon, Zack. I need to be back so Genesis doesn't freak out," she said with a small laugh.

"Yes, ma'am." Zack started the bike and raced off. He didn't want to take her back but she was right. He couldn't monopolize her all for himself. Yet.

It wasn't a long ride back to the ShinRa building. Zack parked in the lot and put the helmets up. He and Niva walked up to the elevators and went up to her floor.

"Today was a good day. Thanks, Zack." Niva smiled as she held onto her shopping bag.

Zack smiled back with his usual bright demeanor. "No problem. Any time you need a good day, I'm here." He held his own bag casually.

Niva just kept smiling. Zack was just so sweet. The time it took to reach her door was just a bit too soon. She reached into her back pocket to grab her key card and slid it into the automatic lock. "So, looks like I'll see you tomorrow?"

That made Zack smile more. "Yeah. Definitely. Remember to save me a dance." He gave her a wave and walked back to the elevator so he could get to his own floor.

Nodding and waving as well, Niva walked into her apartment and looked around. The lights were off and it was quiet.

"Gen?" she called, turning on the lights. Nothing. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

After a few rings, he finally answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Gen, where are you? I thought you were going to wait at my place?"

"I wasn't feeling too well so I retired to my room. Sorry for that, little fawn."

"No, if you're not feeling well stay in bed. Do you want me to bring you anything, Genesis? Do you want me to come over and stay with you?"

"No, that's fine. It's just a simple cold or something. I'll see you tomorrow night." He then hung up.

Niva stared at her phone for a while. He must have been tired to hang up without saying goodbye or anything. Well, he said he would meet her so she supposed he would be well enough. It was just odd though. His tone just wasn't like him at all. It was a bit distant and weary. No airs of confidence or superiority. Maybe he was sick after all. She took a shower and dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a tank top and crawled into her bed. Even though it was only about 7:30 at night, she was actually very tired. The lights were off and she was just getting comfortable when she heard a noise.

She froze in her bed and almost immediately jolted up. She could only see a few outlines of the furniture in her room. It was nothing. Just the wind, she told herself and laid back down. She heard another noise and tried to ignore it.

But, she couldn't help but imagine one of the monsters from the movie she had watched with Zack. She told herself they weren't real. They couldn't be. It was just a movie to scare little kids and teenage couples. She was a grown woman. But, she couldn't help but hide more under the covers, her heart starting to pound.

When her phone vibrated in alert, she nearly screamed and jumped out of bed. She hastily grabbed the device and checked her new message. It was from Zack.

That movie is still giving me the creeps. How about you?

Niva bit her lip and looked into the darkness of her quarters. She was so scared at that moment, but would Zack laugh if she told him that? She quickly typed back.

Just a little. Hearing a few bumps in the night but no worries. I'm fine. What a lie! It Didn't take long to get a reply.

Really? I almost couldn't take a piss in my bathroom. I was thinking one of those things was going to jump out at me or something. I'm super paranoid.

She bit her lip a bit harder. She was actually getting scared now that it was getting darker. She hesitantly typed another reply.

Maybe I am a little bit scared…. Any ideas? She turned on her bedside lamp so she could save her heart from exploding. The anticipation for his messages were making her heart pound more and she wasn't sure how much more adrenaline her body could handle.

Come to my place? I'm actually to scared to leave mine and it'd be better than just messaging one another and being scared out of our wits, right?

Figure that. Two 2nd Class SOLDIER members scared of a silly horror movie. She could hear the jokes, Nevertheless, she sent a confirmation to Zack and grabbed her key and slipped on her shoes. She kept her phone in her hand and carefully crept out into the darkness. The hallway that was brightly lit only hours ago now seemed eerie and almost evil as she walked to the elevator. That little ride wasn't too good either. Her heart pounded as her mind fed the rest of her possibilities of absolute horror. Once the elevator doors opened, she quickly hurried out. She found Zack's door easily and knocked quietly. She didn't want to wake up anyone else and have them wonder what she was doing at Zack's place at 8:30 at night.

After a moment, the door opened and there stood Zack, clad in black pajama pants and a button up shirt. He let her in and Niva respectfully took off her shoes at the door. "Pardon the intrusion," she said quietly.

"Not at all. I invited you. Well, um, sorry for the mess."

That was when Niva looked around. It looked like a typical boy's place. There were a couple clothes laying around, but nothing too bad. "I don't mind." She returned her attention back to him. "So, is it alright if I crash on your couch?" she asked.

Zack looked at her oddly. "What? No. You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch. No buts about it, missy." He ushered her towards the bed. "What kind of guy do you take me for?" he asked playfully.

Niva felt a bit foolish then. He was always such a gentleman. "Are you sure, Zack? I don't want to impose."

He smiled and shook his head. "Not a bit. Now, go to sleep." He took off the button up shirt and tossed it onto the couch, where there was already a pillow and blanket set up. With a flick, the lights were off and everything was quiet. Niva's heart was pounding from the dark, but she could hear Zack breathing and felt a bit better. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on sleeping.

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, she was awoken by a noise in the ceiling. She looked over to the clock and saw it was now around 11. She looked over in the direction of Zack couch and struggled to find her voice.

"Z-Zack, are you awake?" she whispered. She felt foolish being so scared, but her instincts wouldn't let her feel anything else but fear of the noise.

"Yeah, you heard that too?" he asked just as quietly.

"Yeah. I'm so freaked out right now." She felt so embarrassed admitting it.

"Me too. Want me to go over there with you?"

Niva nodded a bit, then remembered he couldn't see her in the darkness. "Yes, please." She needed to know that someone was there so she wouldn't be so scared until she could get some actual sleep.

She heard the rustling of Zack getting up and heard him walking over to the bed. She heard him stumble and curse a shoe and it helped ease her fears a tiny bit. She heard the blankets rustling and felt the bed move with the extra weight as Zack climbed in the bed.

"To be honest, that noise really scared the shit out of me," he admitted with a small laugh as he moved to lay right next to her.

"Me too," she said quietly. "I guess the movie just gets scarier after you watch it, huh?"

"Yeah."

Niva moved closer to Zack and felt so relieved when he rolled onto his side and put and arm around her. She was definitely feeling safer.

"Night, Zack," she said quietly.

"Night, Niva," he replied just as quietly.

She wasn't used to actually hearing someone call her name informally. Not even Genesis used her first name. Always 'little fawn'. It sounded nice to hear someone call her 'Niva'. It sounded good coming from Zack. Those thoughts were the last things going through her mind as she was finally able to fall asleep without worrying about the misleading noises.