EDIT: Thanks to a reviewer, I've been told that this chapter's content might lead you to believe that this is the end. Well, dismiss that silly notion from your head xD. This is not the last chapter. Genesis and Sephiroth still have a long ways to go before their new relationship with this strange concept called love is well established in their lives. So on that note, continue looking out for this story and I'll see you in the future =3

It's the eight chapter of this story and I'd just like to take this time out to say… thank you. Thank you to all who've reviewed and viewed and enjoyed this story so far and I hope you continue to pay contribution to this story with your opinions, critique and compliments. They really help me to keep my head focused and make sure that this tale of love is the best it can possibly be.

You reviewers are what cause more people to come to this story and enjoy it. I simply can't thank you enough.

There are many others that have reviewed my story, and unfortunately, some that have stopped reviewing, but I hope they're still reading. And several anon. reviewers have stopped by and given their compliments. Every little bit is appreciated :heartsforall:

Without further delay, I grant you the VIII chapter. Lol xD

Proof
Genesis POV

"There? Hah… hah… Satisfied? That's my… hah… answer."

Oh gods… I can't remember –won't even try to remember- how long I was kissing Sephiroth. I won't ponder how long he kissed me back. And I won't even try to recall how my red trench coat is halfway off my shoulders –pooled at the dip of my elbow- and why Sephiroth's hair seems to be mused beyond what a brush can fix.

I won't try and reason as to why one of my legs is currently wrapped scandalously around Sephiroth's pronounced waist. I won't ask when Sephiroth's ungloved –once again, not asking- hands tangled in my reddish brown locks. We're way past the point of whens, whys, and hows.

Damn, his lips felt good…

Yet, as we stand there, ruffled, tossed, and messy, our bodies pressed against the steamed window pane overlooking the city, I can… breathe. I can breathe so freely that I may die from oxygen poisoning. My eyes roll as Sephiroth cradles my face and the nap of my neck, letting the back of my head tilt against the window. I flex my hands to get a feel of where they are, only to gasp when I realize they've latched onto Sephiroth's leather sashes that he always wears against his chest.

My breathing hitches, but does not falter. The knot in my throat has been released, dare I say even tongued out, by this man in front of me. I've given him my answer the best I knew how. I… I need this man. This man is my new life, my reason for existence. It took years of regretful activities and the words and wisdom of my best friend to make me realize this, but I know now. I know that I… I…

"No. I'm not satisfied."

Yet he still pushes himself onto me. Ooooh… his bare hands are moving from their stationary position under my jaws. Nmmmm… he pushes my red trench coat completely off my arms, my hands slipping from their vice grip to paralyzed by my sides. Even the leg I'd haphazardly thrown over Sephiroth's waist at one point has slipped down to earth. Thank goodness, for I don't think it'd be standing right now if it hadn't.

"What do you want from me, Sephiroth?" I whisper almost painfully.

What do you need Sephiroth? Can't you tell by now? How I feel? What I want? What I need? Don't you see the power you hold over my mind, body, and… my heart? I know it's cliché but… I didn't know I had a romantic heart until you crushed both my friend's and my heart with your cruel words. Despite that, I stand before you, hot and bothered, once again indulging in sexual behavior that I swore I'd never taste again.

You've pushed me back into my supposed hell, yet you want more?

"You've only kissed me. I can get millions of kisses if I wanted to, but that tells me nothing. I'll ask again, Genesis: What do you think of me?"

Sigh… I resist the urge to groan and slide down to the floor with the window pane being my support. I resist by so much because I still feel trapped by this man's physical and psychological presence; he holds me to my feet by his words and aura alone. Such a density to my feelings… only Sephiroth can pull off that level of obliviousness.

"Sephiroth… I…"

"Yes…. Tell me. I have to know." There's that weakness in his eyes again. Maybe it's he… who needs to speak and not me.

"Kisses are numb to me. Physical touch is numb to me." He whispers, his hands moving back to cradle my cheeks. I've never had someone take so much care in touching me. It's almost… scary how sensitive Sephiroth is being. It'd almost be a turn off if it wasn't… well… Sephiroth.

"What have you done to me? I demand to know what spell, what materia, you've used in order to cause my body to respond only to you."

"I've… I've done nothing."

The intensity in his eyes grows hotter. The passion has melted and something is taking its place.

"Liar."

"Believe what you want, but I've done nothing to you. And why can you not understand my feelings through touch? It's the only way I'm able to--"

Hiss!

His nails dig into my skin.

"I just told you… my body's numb to everything… everything but your words. For some reason, only your words seem to stimulate me now. Everything you say seems to matter where as they used to never amount to anything with me."

Asshole.

"I can't even have sex without accidentally mistaking my partner with you. My every action has become completely dependent on how you might react to it. It's maddening!"

ACK!

I gasp and swiftly reach for Sephiroth's wrists as his tender and soft touches to my jaws turn into a potential attempt on my life. His slender, stronger fingers wrap around my neck to apply soft, threatening, frustrated pressure. Pressure that I know for a SOLDIER can be instant death if not held back by mental restraint.

"Sephiroth…" I whisper, my whole body going rigid, yet my face –I'm sure- remaining calm and relaxed despite my position. I'm suffocating… but I've never felt more alive.

"So it's for the sake of my own sanity that I know what you think of me. I don't want kisses. I don't want caresses. I want words. Talk to me, Genesis. Tell me through your diction. It's the only way this… this sickness over me can be overcome."

I'm… I'm the key to Sephiroth's liberation? His libration from this supposed madness that he's going through. He's only thinking of me, only able to process what I feel and what I say. These… symptoms sound awfully familiar…

"Y-you're… a monster." I murmur, causing Sephiroth's whole body to convulse as if shot through the chest and back at the same time. This, in turn, only caused his grip on my neck to tighten.

I can't breathe… but my voice has never been more clear!

"But you… you're at the crossroads, just like I was."

His grip tightens, as if becoming more frustrated, more angered, more helpless of his own actions. Those piercing cat eyes watch me squirm against the window, my breathing shallow, but my words crystal clear.

"You… are in love with me."

"Love is an illusion." He shot back.

I repeat myself.

"No! There's not such thing!"

I say it once more.

"How could I ever be in love with you?"

"The same way that I'm in love with you."

Aaaaah! Air!

Sephiroth's iron squeeze feel noodle limp, his pupils dots amongst the white in his eyes. I'm released, holding my bruised throat. I'm on the floor? How long have I been suspended off my feet my Sephiroth's grip…?

"No…"

I hear Sephiroth ever so faintly. I had been choked harder than I realized.

"Love? How? Why?"

I can hear you Sephiroth, but I can only observe. A monster like me can not explain how a human thing such as love exist and what its existence is for. I can not tell you exactly why you've been struck with a love for me and why I've been struck with a love for you, but it's there and I know it.

And now you do.

Sephiroth takes a few steps backwards, almost bumping into my chair. He stares down at me as if I'm some foreign creature, then at his hands, as if they're foreign tools. I guess some monsters respond to their sins differently than others. For me, I ran from the sin only to be left to wallow in it in my solitary confinement.

For a monster like Sephiroth, the confrontation with his sin is much faster and much less dramatic. But the overwhelming realization is the same.

I wonder what he's thinking right now. What is he feeling right now? If my every action is a command to his reaction, how has my declaration of love affected Sephiroth? Will he cry? Will he run? Will he kill me in order to rid himself of this foreign emotion? Will he walk out and never speak to me again?

At this point of confrontation, I wish for Angeal's guidance and leadership. He'd know what to tell this monster. He'd know what to do.

Wait! Maybe… maybe that's what Sephiroth needs right now.

He doesn't need an angel's confront.

He needs… he needs the understanding aura of another monster.

He needs someone who's gone through what he's going through.

He needs a monster –someone on his level- to tell him "it's okay".

He doesn't need a savior, someone like Angeal, someone who can do no wrong, to tell him that everything is forgiven.

"Sephiroth… it's alright…" I finally stand up and walk over to him. I take his shaking palms into my own, holding them close to my chest, where my heart was.

"It's okay to love, even if it's not completely understood. It's alright to be loved."

"How can I be in a state of non-existence? You can't touch love. You can't hold it. You can't look at it. You can't analyze it. It's… it's not real." He whispered helplessly and that's when I knew I was right.

Slowly slipping my bare arms underneath Sephiroth's, I held him close to me, resting my chest on his chest. I don't think I've ever been this close to him before. I may be the first man alive to listen to the General's heartbeat.

"You feel me?"

"Y-yes…" Sephiroth falters. I can tell he's trying to understand, but still having trouble.

"Can you feel me holding you like this?"

"Yes?"

"And how… are you feeling now?"

I can sense his surprise.

"I… I want to embrace you back."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Common courtesy. You return hugs given to you."

Heh… oh Sephiroth. "That's never stopped you from denying hugs before. But right now, you have the desire to hold me close and never let go."

"I see. That is abnormal for me. I don't… usually want to hug."

I tilt my head up, catching Sephiroth's cat eyes. He was looking down at me the whole time. Flattering.

"This is part of the proof of love." I slightly wiggle against Sephiroth, my hands once again grasping those silly sashes; they wrap around to his back. At least they're being convenient right now.

"Hold me Sephiroth. Act on your new impulses."

After my instructions, I can feel his arms wrap about me in a way that was much different than the hot, energetic, and over all frantic embrace from before. It was a skittish, experimental embrace and slowly grew warmer and warmer as he got used to it.

Sephiroth is learning faster than I could have. Does he have to be good at everything?!

"Now… now how do you feel?"

"I feel hot. But… I'm not sweating. I feel hot on the inside, right over my heart. Yet, it's not a cardiovascular problem, I'm sure. I'm heart rate has also hitched slightly, but I don't feel dizzy."

"Now, you're feeling the proof of love." I replied, nuzzling over his heart out of impulse

"Hmmmm…"

…?

W-what was that noise? A…A purr? Did Sephiroth… just purr?

"That felt nice. What you did there, Genesis."

"Seems like you are responding to touch again. That's a good thing."

This is the weirdest game of 'doctor' I've ever experienced.

Sephiroth chuckles bitter sweetly. He's looking down at me again, his eyes flickering between that threshold. "I've seen love… I've felt love… but what does love sound like?"

"Well…"Hmmm, what does love sound like? Oh! "That purr you just let out is a perfect examine of hearing love. You've never made that noise before, I bet. Not even in your privacy have you made that noise."

"When did I purr?"

I nuzzle his chest again to pull that… amazingly erotic noise from his chest. I chuckle in my chest.

"That's the noise."

His silence speaks volumes. He now knows of the sounds of love.

"Do you need any more proof, Sephiroth?"

I felt a noticeably stronger snuggle over my body after that, almost taking the wind out of my body. O-oh! Sephiroth's face leans down to my face level (which isn't that much no matter what Angeal says).

He's stopped. Oooh I can feel his cooling breath wash over my lips. His breath is short and staggering, hesitating in his mind, but his newly developing heart has never been more certain about the actions he's about to take. I'm certain on this, because I've felt it before.

I can FEEL his anticipation. I can FEEL his next actions. I'm ready and awaiting, so very eager.

He's about to die of suffocation. Only I can liberate him.

"I have to taste love."

Nmmm… that familiar tingle in my toes. My heart's starting to keep pace with Sephiroth's. My palms are sweating again. My ears are burning and my eyes are going to water. Sephiroth… Sephiroth I can feel you.

"Then taste love, Sephiroth… taste me."

And did he taste. Taste is an understatement for what Sephiroth did that night. After that initial kiss –a kiss so different and foreign from the rabid embrace we'd shared before- he proceeded to taste every single inch of me. My clothing got in the way several times and I gave Sephiroth the pleasure of watching me remove them. The glow in Sephiroth's eyes sent a shutter through my skin. Ooooh I almost los it all right then and there. And I could sense that he could see my excitement.

Proof by sight.

I was growing tired of standing as he continued to devour my naked body and my desk did not suffice. He'd picked me up and laid me on the office couch. He covered over me like a blanket and picked up where he left off. The leather felt delicious underneath my bare flesh and so did Sephiroth's tongue on my thighs.

Proof through touch.

The General couldn't get inside me at the angle he wanted because of the leather couch. My sweat-sheen body was causing me to slide and writhe about the fabric. He took his trench coat, armor, and sashes off his body and laid that handsome glam underneath my body, giving me something to hold onto and giving him better leverage. Never have I screamed so loudly from pleasure. He leaned down once or twice during his thrusts and kissed me in a way that guaranteed that I'd be able to breathe forever.

After we hit our peaks, he held me closer than close, his cool moist hair becoming a calming blanket to my heated skin. He nuzzled his damp face within my hair and nibbled at my ear, continuing to devour me even after the main course was done. I could make out a wisp of a whisper before I passed out from exhaustion:

"You taste like cinnamon. Is that what love taste like?"

Proof through taste.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

I remember smiling. I remember that quite clearly. I remember smiling a smile so large and soft that I'm sure that I was kissed one last time before I completely feel asleep. I remember feeling a blush on my cheeks so innocent and pure that I swore I'd turned 16 again with my first boyfriend. I thought that this type of feeling was reserved for the sappiest of love novels, or the fantasy of teen angst. But what I'm feeling, what Sephiroth must be feeling, is nothing short of reality. Nothing conjured. Nothing faked.

What other feeling can this be except for love? I want to believe---

No… I WILL believe this is love. It can't be anything else.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"Genesis!! Genesis, are you in there?"

Sephiroth…? N-no wait… Angeal?

"Genesis! Open the door if you're in there. Why is the security lock on this door?"

It's so bright… it's hurting my eyes. Ouch, my ass is so sore… What the hell's going on?

"Maybe the electronic lock is broken."
"Maybe… can you get it open, Zack? Or I'm sure you know someone who can."
"Yeah I do, but maybe we should just find General Sephiroth. Isn't this security lock a specific General Pass? It looks like Sephiroth locked this door, not Genesis."
"...Ah you're right, Zack. At least I know you're learning..."
"So... what do we do, Angeal?"

"...Angeal?"
"Well, if this door has been locked by Sephiroth, there must be a good reason. This isn't a problem then."
"Aa-alright then, Angeal."

Retreating footsteps… thank the gods. I don't know what just happened but… I have the strange sense that I owe Angeal big time now. Now… where is that light coming from? Nmmm… Sunlight? W-what? Am I at home? No, that wouldn't make sense; I have no security locks on my doors. I'm still in the Shinra building. Why is it so messy in my office? They're papers all over the place!

What the fu---!

"Nm… stop squirming…"

I gasp in feeling a pair of strong naked arms curving about my naked body in a way that makes me flush shamelessly. Sephiroth's besides me… holding me?

Talking in his sleep?! How cute, now that I think about it—w-wait. Wait! I remember! Last night was… indescribable. Undeniable. Overwhelming almost...

"Genesis… go back to sleep…" murmur that man again, shifting his body against mine. I-is that the morning brick I feel against my backside? Alright Sephiroth. I won't recall everything. I won't try. Not right now. All there is right now us and that's all I need... not even Angeal.