Hey guys!

Sorry that this is so short. I've read all of your reviews and I'm considering all your ideas. Thank you for reviewing and reading my story, I'm really happy about it.

I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot.

Chapter Seven - Being Casual

It had been a few days since Sephiroth had been introduced to Tristis. To say that she was fragile would be false by the look of her reports. To say she was an enigma was correct in his mind. He was suspicious of her skills and he suspected her of being some sort of spy from AVALANCHE.

"You usually have people fainting from fear or adoration, Sephiroth. She didn't and that makes you curious, even more so when she called you by your given name. Don't worry about it, Triss is just like that. She's being casual." Angeal told him with a smile (he often wondered why Angeal always smiled when he mentioned Tristis).

If casual meant getting him to do some small talk everytime they saw each other then no. He did not want to be 'casual'. The General was horrible at idling. He was a busy man with loads and loads of paper work lying on the desk taunting him to grab as much coffee to survive the night before all the other pesky secretaries made a run for it to do their paperwork and deliveries. They were like hungry animals fighting over scarce food. He groaned just thinking about it.

"You alright, Sephiroth?" He had several friends that called him by his given name, but only one was female.

"Memoria." He greeted her with a nod.

She didn't seem pleased with him as she rolled her eyes, "Call me Tristis."

"That would mean we are close and we had only just met. It would only be sensible and wise to keep our distance." He stated in his professional tone of voice.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "If it makes it any easier, you can call me Ria."

He didn't answer back to let the subject slip past like a welcomed breeze and continued to walk by. However, she followed in sync with tinkling bells. "Tired of paperwork?" She asked politely.

Again, it was small talk but he complied to give her satisfication. "Yes."

She hummed in response, "Want me to help you?"

He stopped abruptly and swiftly turned to stare straight into her eyes. He tried imagining her as a secretary with a pair of glasses and her tresses of brown hair tied in a loose bun. She'd wear a black pencil skirt and a ruffled white blouse with paperwork tucked under her arm and her other hand holding a cup of coffee... He could definitely believe it, despite her young looks. "Are you sure you can do it?"

Her pink lips twitched into a small smile... or was that a smirk? "I helped Angeal with his." She paused and he swore her smile twisted into a grin. "With Zack in the same room."

His eyes widened slightly. That was an impressive feat. Even he couldn't deal with Zack when he had to juggle between paperwork and doing reports on the computer. Zack always had a thing with burning the most important paperwork on the first class SOLDIERs' desks. He waited for the catch of such an intriguing deal, but when nothing came, he decided to ask.

"You ask for nothing in return?" He inquired carefully.

"Just for you to relax and stop analysing me. You look as if I will grow fangs and bite your hand off."

Sephiroth sat behin his desk with paper piles neatly stacked on the left side. Most were reports on how certain missions were going, permissions that needed to be granted and several appointments needing to be confirmed. Tristis sat on the black leather cough to the right of his room beside an old wooden bookcase filled with documents. A coffee table was placed infront of her with hundreds of papers scattered ontop of it. Her feet were wedged between the couch and the coffee table, yet she didn't seem uncomfortable.

She skimmed each paper to find keywords and define which pile it should go in. She had made a few piles of different categories and sorted in lowest to highest priority. By the time Sephiroth had finished one pile, she was half way done with her second one which greatly pleased him despite not letting it show.

An hour later, Sephiroth was greeted by a bittersweet aroma of hot coffee. He looked up to see Tristis placing a cup on his desk with her own share in her nimble hands. His mind flashed back to the image of her in a secretary outfit again. "Thank you." His gaurd and previous suspicions faltering. Maybe he had a soft spotfor people who did his paperwork, but he was grateful for her help nonetheless. "How did you get so good at this?" He murmured with a tiny bit of interest.

A gentle smile caressed her prim, young face. "I guess you could say I have experience."

He was content with that answer and began to mimick her. He sipped his nicely brewed coffee in comfortable silence.

It was late afternoon by the time they had filed away everything. He breathed out a sigh as he melted into his comfortable chair and closed his eyes. He heard some shuffling from Tristis, most likely lounging on his leather couch. Maybe, Tristis wasn't so bad. Not many people were kind enough to help him (only Angeal, Zack and Genesis had ever did) and to think she would do so for a stranger like him. Is she trying to gain something from me? He thought.

He opened one eye to peek at her, only to find her lying on his couch innocently with her eyes closed. "Memoria?" He asked, surprisingly his tone was soft.

She didn't answer and he couldn't help but chuckle. People don't sleep admist their enemy nor target. Thus, she obviously was no harm to him. Maybe, she just wanted him to be... 'casual' around her.

At that moment, his door slowly creaked open to reveal his friend, Angeal. "Sephiroth, have you seen Tristis?"

He nodded towards the couch and heard Angeal chuckle. "She did paperwork for you too?"

His friend placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, "Triss, wake up."

She shifted her position slightly and mumbled something sleepily, yet her eyes stayed closed. With a sigh, yet fond gaze, Angeal scooped her up with an arm around her back and the other around the back of her knees. Her golden bells jingled softly as she cuddled closer to Angeal, resting her head against his shoulder and letting herself mumble more. "I'll see you around."

Sephiroth stood alone in this room, yet the smell of coffee lingered. With a sigh, he sat on the couch. Tristis's body heat still remained within the leather and that felt slightly... comforting... He lay on his back and stared up to the roof and closed his eyes.

It wouldn't be so bad to be a bit more easy going... Not as much as Zack, Goddess forbid. But, not as strict and formal as he was now. However, it was hard in a place like ShinRa. Well, for him that is. He had so many things to do in such little time and foolishly idling would result in more work to be done. His environment always was surrounded by professionals, even during his childhood. Sticking around scientists was never comforting for a child, especially if they expected the child to be the best of the best.

Maybe... Just maybe he could learn to relax a little. Maybe with the help of his friends, he could learn to be a little more 'casual'. He knew what the first step was. He slowly took out his cellphone and searched through his contacts. When they were having their small talk the other day, she had slipped her number into his contact list. Now, he felt slightly relieved she did so. He began typing away a text, hoping this would be a good first step.

Subject: Casual
Sender: Sephiroth
I will call you Ria from now on.
As payment for your paitence and hard work.

There we go, Sephiroth getting a bit relaxed around Tristis. Isn't it ironic that Sephiroth had claimed they'd only met a while ago, yet for Tristis, it's much longer than that?
I'm going to change the plot and depth in the story with the help of my brother. Unfortunely my brother really loves bittersweet endings. Therefore, I will make two endings to this story (If I ever finish it). One happy ending and one bittersweet. (Probably). The changes will include deeper meaning behind Tristis's power and how much it had affected her.
When me and my brother started discussing about it, I cried because it was tragic yet sweet. But like I've said, it will have two endings that are both up to you to decide which one is the true ending.

Spoiler
Tristis will not just meet the SOLDIERs in six life times. She'd met them twenty five life times instead. (as tragic and long as that sounds).
The reason why Tristis is experienced with paperwork is because in one of her life cycles, she was their competent secretary. Tristis may seem a bit mary-sue, but she has lived a LONG time and in that time, she tried increasing her skills to try find a way to save her friends.
End Spoiler

I also have to confess that I will not make a love triangle with Genesis, Tristis and Angeal. It will purely be friendship with romance between Tristis and Angeal. Because I honestly can't get Genesis's personality right and there a lot of other fan fictions with Genesis X OC. Certain characters might not appear in this story because I might not be able to grasp their persona well, or it will just make the story confusing. If your favourite characters do not appear in the story then I'm really sorry.

Lucky for you guys who love Reno and Rude, they will be appearing next chapter in all (Reno's) perverted glory!

Thank you for reading and have a good day!

-LoliMochi