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Sephiroth frowned at his maps and Major Latisse's plans. It was a rather stupid plan, a repeat of what they had attempted last time. Perhaps no one had explained to him that the Wutaiian people were actually quite brilliant and would see (and had seen) right through it.

"Is there a problem, Captain?" The Major said. Mom had used that tone before when she addressed people she believed were morons. He had a feeling that this time was not much different. He wished she was here so she could tell him off. She was very powerful within Turk rankings, and she would be able do it without consequences. He had to figure out a way to do it on his own (a task in and of itself) without getting himself court martialed. These plans were bad and he could not in good conscience allow anyone to follow through.

"Yes," he said, "This exact course of action was used during the last campaign. It failed."

"I'm well aware, Captain," Latisse said. Sephiroth was confused. So why were they using it? "This is the most strategically sound plan, it is the one we will be using."

"But it won't work," Sephiroth said.

"Are you arguing with your superior officer?" Latisse said blithely. Sephiroth bit his tongue before a rather creative curse word escaped his mouth(Cass would have been proud).

"It has been my experience that the Wutai guerrilla fighters can take apart the best strategies," Sephiroth said coldly, "They will pick off all of the sentries then attack from the back and kill at least half of the troops before you can organize anything to stop them." Latisse just gave him a look, one used when he tried to tell older people what he knew to be true.

"I'll ask again, are you questioning your superior officer?" Latisse asked.

"What if I am?" Sephiroth asked in return.

"I could have you court martialed," Latisse said. Sephiroth felt the rare urge to use sarcasm and crushed it. If he was going to disobey, he would do it politely.

"If that is what you must do, then do it," Sephiroth said, "I cannot allow my men to go into battle where I know most of them would be killed. Until then, Major, I'm afraid I shall not give out the orders."

Sephiroth stared out into the field and waited for the fallout for storming out of the command tent after refusing orders. It probably wasn't going to be good.

"Sir?" he heard behind him. He glanced back. It was a SOLDIER from his own training squad. Angeal and Genesis were elsewhere sadly. They would back him up surely.

"Have we orders to move out yet?" the young man (though still older than Sephiroth) asked.

"None from me," Sephiroth replied.

"Sir?" the SOLDIER asked, "There are rumors going around that there is tension between you and the other commanders." Sephiroth turned and saw more than one person glancing his way.

"I have refused a direct order from Major Latisse," Sephiroth said, "I suppose it's well founded."

"May I ask why?" the SOLDIER asked. Sephiroth never understood that phrase. If they wanted to ask they should just ask.

"I'd rather risk a plan I was uncertain of than waste men on a plan I know will fail," Sephiroth replied curtly. The man sounded like he was backing away.

"Sir, would you care for company during dinner?" he suddenly asked. Sephiroth sighed. Standing and waiting, and wishing that he was not completely alone in his decision, would do him no good. He turned and followed with a weary nod.

Sephiroth watched the fire. He tried to pick apart what was on his mind. He ran through his insubordination numerous times. He was certain he was in the right, but it still nagged at him.

Then he realized that this evening had been the first time he had ever flat out refused to do something ordered of him. If he was wrong (which he should not be) then there would be no one else to blame. He was on his own. He almost smiled. Mom would be proud.

"Sir?" Sephiroth pulled himself back to reality. There was more than one person looking at him nervously. Oh, right. Eating.

"Are you alright, sir?" it was that Sergeant from before.

"Fine," he said simply, "merely bored like the rest of you." There was a quiet guffaw. He looked in its direction and a man straightened.

"Sorry, sir," he said quickly.

"No," Sephiroth said, "I've been told I don't look bored." That earned another laugh somewhere else. He looked back down to hide his own amusement.

"I didn't know he could joke either," someone muttered. Sephiroth silently scouted out the speaker. The tone said that it wasn't meant for his ears. He let it go. They could think what they wanted. He doubted his current ability to change it. He only needed them to fight anyway, if he would still be here in the morning that is.

"What did you expect from Momma's Boy?" another whispered. Sephiroth couldn't stop himself from shooting the glare, but didn't expect every other SOLDIER to do the same.

"That was uncalled for," the Sergeant said, "apologize now."

"What did I say?" an army grunt replied.

"Have you met her?" the Sergeant continued, "I doubt it, she hates Heidegger and doesn't mingle with army. Don't make assumptions on things you don't know. Apologize to the Captain or I'll put your sorry ass on latrine duty." A few other grunts paled as they realized that everything they said could be heard. Sephiroth decided to make it plain who was in charge and what exactly he was capable of.

"I can assure you that I do have a very dry and straightforward sense of humor," Sephiroth said icily, "and that my mother is the only reason it is present." There was a quiet moment.

"I apologize sir," the grunt said at last, "I'll go sign up for latrine duty."

"You do that," Sephiroth said and sat back. The other SOLDIER's relaxed.

"Is she a popular woman?" a grunt asked. Eyes shifted to him. "Meaning no disrespect," he added quickly.

"She gives injections," A SOLDIER Third put in, "Most of the lab techs have other duties and experiments so injects are meant to be in and out. She's not in the lab, so she does the ones that are really bad."

"What do you mean really bad?" the grunt asked.

"Try imagining your body being lit on fire except you don't die from it," the Third said, "that's the average reaction. About one in twenty people feel worse."

"Then it feels like your body is being crushed, set on fire, and drawn and quartered," another answered, "I don't give a fuck about what you think, the woman's a miracle worker." A few more nodded.

"And there's a story all over the lab about why Professor Hojo doesn't come to injections," the Second Class Sergeant said, "story goes, she tried to beat Hojo to death once. He's got a crooked nose now to remember it by. He avoids her so she doesn't try to kill him again."

"That one's true," Sephiroth said, "It's more like they're trying to kill each other, but...Mom's better at it."

"No surprise there," A third said. Sephiroth smiled.

Sephiroth couldn't stop staring. Hojo's nose was broken. It was obvious he had tried a Cure, but it wasn't a perfect fix. It would never be straight again.

"Mom did that," Sephiroth said. Hojo visibly flinched and sent a hard glare down to Sephiroth.

"Do not mention her to me again," Hojo said.

"She kicked your ass," he said, disobeying immediately. Hojo's stare was getting dangerous, but there was a tremor in his hand.

"I don't know where you learned such language, but you will stop," Hojo said firmly.

"She doesn't care," Sephiroth said, "There are no bad words, only words people don't like to hear."

"There are so many flaws in her philosophy," Hojo said, "You'd do well to find a more suitable role model. In fact, I'd say you don't need one at all."

"She's not the one who lost," Sephiroth said. Hojo stopped writing.

"What did you say?" he said. Hojo's voice was a warning to stop, but Sephiroth knew that nothing bad would happen in this case.

"She kicked your ass," he repeated, "she won. You lost."

"I think we need a repeat of last week's test on a higher level," Hojo said. Sephiroth didn't care. His nose would still be straight after the test.

The grunts were losing interest. They weren't going to be SOLDIER. They were army through and through. Usually Sephiroth didn't even have control over them, but he had been given leeway in this case. They might obey him regardless.

"She always struck me as a badass," a Third said taking a now vacant seat, "Doesn't take shit from anyone."

"She doesn't," Sephiroth said, "not unless she has to."

"Not even from you?" the Third asked.

"She's never regarded my problems as shit," Sephiroth said, "I think she views it as another case entirely." There were more laughs. Sephiroth always felt more comfortable with SOLDIERs they understood the mentality better than the army. Perhaps he was just used to living with them.

"I'm sorry, but this has been on my mind for almost a year now," another piped up, "do you really not understand sarcasm?" Sephiroth gave a small, wry smile.

"Not really," Sephiroth said, "I can guess with the tone and the sensibility of the phrase, but otherwise I'll take it seriously. Rhapsodos has helped somewhat."

"I'll bet," he murmured, "but don't tell him I said that. I like my flesh unsinged. How can you not catch it?" Sephiroth shrugged.

"The way I was raised is my best guess," he said, "I didn't get a lot of human interaction until Mom came. I suppose it makes a more hardened warrior, but I seem to fight harder when it's for a cause I actually care about."

"What's a hug?" Sephiroth asked. He saw Cass stop what she was doing to give her full attention. He went on alert. Had he done something wrong? Would Hojo be upset? Would she be upset? He was finding he valued Cass's opinion more than Hojo's. Hojo would inflict pain when he was upset. Cass would take her presence away. It was strange the things he wanted more of now.

"A hug is a form of showing affection between two people," she said. Affection? That's what he understood, but it was the application that had him stumped. Cass caught on though. She always did and Sephiroth appreciated that as much as her kindness.

"In general, two people wrap their arms around each other," she said instead. That was something he could imagine, but the point was still vague.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well," Cass said, "usually they know each other very well. It can be used to show a greeting or a farewell, but mostly it's used to show pleasure of being in each other's company." So hello or goodbye or...I like you? Hmm. How come no one did it to him? Perhaps it wasn't something Hojo would approve of. Perhaps it was one of those things Cass was kind enough to show him or explain to him. In that case the feeling would be something Hojo wouldn't care about.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

"What?" Cass asked with a small laugh. It wasn't a mocking laugh, just a light one like she had misheard him and thought he said something funny. It happened sometimes.

"Does it feel nice?" he tried again.

"Usually," Cass said, "I don't have words to really describe the feeling." Sephiroth nodded. Feelings were hard to describe. Pain was easy, feelings were hard.

"Would you like to feel it?" she asked him. He looked up. She would hug him so he would understand the feeling?

"Is that okay?" he asked.

"Sure," Cass said.

"What...what do I do?" Sephiroth asked. He felt nervous. He'd never done something like this before on purpose. He might mess it up.

"Well..." Cass started. She got out of her chair and crouched down. "Come here," she said. Sephiroth slid off his chair and stepped forward. "Closer," Cass said. Closer? He felt nervous. People didn't like being this close to him, but Cass had said it was okay. He obeyed. Then suddenly Cass was leaning forward. He stiffened, daring not to move one muscle. Her arms wrapped around him. He waited for something to happen, a pinch or something. Nothing did. Cass let him go and sat back.

"Was that it?" he asked quietly. Cass was really it. That wasn't so bad. He had been so preoccupied with the whatever he thought would happen he hadn't paid attention to the feeling.

"Can you do it again?" he asked. Cass shrugged.

"Sure," Cass said, "what are friends for." It was said so simply, yet it hit him so hard. Cass...she...they...really?

"We're...friends?" he whispered. She parted.

"Sure," she said, "I like you. You're not half bad to hang around. I'm guessing you like me." She liked him? She wanted to be friends? He hadn't had friends before. He didn't know how to get them. They just had to like each other? It was that easy?

"That's all it takes?" he asked.

"For me," Cass replied, "I'm easy to please." Cass was easy. Now that he thought about it that was true. She wasn't upset a lot, and never at him. She was an easy friend. She accepted hugging him without even considering saying no. A new thought came up. Cass said she liked him and would hug him. He decided he liked her and wanted to be friends so...

"Can I do it? Can I hug you?" he asked.

"If you want," Cass said, "Do you want to do it together?" He nodded. That sounded best. They'd both get to show their pleasure of being in each others company. Cass wrapped her arms around him again. Sephiroth, nervous about messing up even this simple gesture, attempted the same. Cass didn't push him away and say it was wrong. Instead her grip tightened ever so slightly, as if to say that he was right and he should get closer. Carefully, so he could pay attention to the feeling, Sephiroth tried to do the same.

"Is that why you had your...disagreement with Major Latisse?" the Second Sergeant asked. Sephiroth recalled him being quick witted in training.

"Maybe," Sephiroth said, "I felt it was more like chess."

"Chess?" someone said.

"Mom and I play it a lot," Sephiroth said, "She's horrifyingly good at it." There were more laughs as the best tactician among them admitted he had been outwitted.

"I remember once she did a play where she laid out her pieces so that I would take them," Sephiroth said, "It worked and she won even though more than half her pieces were gone. I was rather upset about it. I like having greater numbers on defense and offense and I don't like just giving them away. They're more reliable than luck and human stupidity. If that's Latisse's plan then I don't want anything to do with it."

"And that's why the youngest among you is Captain," said a voice behind them. Major McKinnly, heading the second division of SOLDIERs, the one with Angeal and Genesis.

"Latisse is a brainless fucktard for thinking this would ever work," McKinnly continued, "if he thinks your court martial will fly he's even stupider than I thought. Then again, brass is full of morons."

"I'm not exactly keen on dying either," said a Third drily, "I recall agreeing to take orders from my Captain and not some army Major." McKinnly snorted.

"A full fledged mutiny," he said, "I like it. Carry on." Sephiroth found himself feeling a little better. The SOLDIERs, no his SOLDIERs, were standing by his decision, not only because it was the right one, but because it was his.

"I'd rather follow Momma's Boy than the brainless fucktard," another agreed, "army can go fuck themselves."

"What's the plan? Captain?" the Sergeant asked. Sephiroth felt whole and comfortable in his position, it was strange. It felt wrong to be taking orders now. He wanted to give them. Perhaps this was another part of growing up. Besides Sephiroth couldn't deny that a few plans had been rolling around while he was waiting. Yes, this was right even if the rest of the world thought it was wrong.

He wasn't used to waking up warm, but it was undoubtedly the best part of the nights with the nightmares. He was always terrified at the start, but then it got better.

Before he would be told to go back to sleep and forget about it.

Mom would ask him what the matter was. She'd let him talk. She would take the terror of his dreams so he wouldn't think about them. She would twist them around until they weren't scary anymore. They were meaningless. Then they would hug. Hugs weren't only for friends. They were even better in families because in families it didn't matter how much he squeezed. Mom would hold him close so he could smell her scent and feel her heartbeat and know that Hojo wasn't here and wasn't taking him away. She wouldn't be upset if those tear things came out and got her shirt wet. She'd use it to wipe his face when he stopped them and tell him that it was okay.

Then she'd do that rubbing thing. Her hand would move up and down his back. It was such a simple thing to do, but it made him feel calmer after she did it. Warm. Cozy. Sleepy. He was never fully awake when Mom would tuck him in, but he knew it had happened in the morning because he would still be next to her.

He would always be curled up to be as close as possible. Somehow he would maneuver himself near her waist, under the covers and she would wake him up by peering in to make sure he was okay and could breathe. It didn't matter: he was warm and it was the most right thing in the world at the moment because Mom would hug him back before kicking him out.

A/N: This took me so long to write. I really wanted to do a Sephy POV hug flashback sequence, then I changed my mind, so you get your flashback within a plot twist chap again. (thus the section that should look really familiar). Then school started and it turns out that my classes are kind of awesome this semester. I had to read through my reviews so I wouldn't give up. All 105 of them. I love you my reviewers. I don't tell you that enough, do I? If you want in on the love fill in the box below.