~!~

CHAPTER 4

~!~

"It's not fair!"

The Dark General sighed, sipping on his whiskey while watching his red haired friend mourn the lack of Sephirothness.

"Sephiroth is supposed to be mine!"

The Red General groaned and whined at the same time, if that was even possible.

"Genesis, just tell him already."

Angeal advised with a half slurred voice, feeling the sweet taste of alcohol in his tongue.

"You know that I can't…He doesn't show his interest no matter how obvious I make myself to be."

Genesis spoke, lazily crawling over to his friend, who was half lying, half sitting on one side of the couch.

"I need to make him like me first. Like me like a lover would. Not a friend…"

The word 'friend' rolled out with despise.

"Just ask him to go out with you."

"No. I'm afraid that he might say no…"

Angeal groaned. Genesis was on his limits when he admitted fear.

"Genesis, it would be easier for you if you just told him. Who knows, maybe Sephiroth will actually like you that way, if you just go out with it."

Genesis blinked at his dark haired friend, an idea forming in his mind.

"I can make him like me…."

Angeal blinked, feeling unsure about Genesis' new smile.

"I can make Sephiroth like me like a lover!"

The red head chirped excitedly.

"How?"

Angeal was afraid to ask when he saw that smile turn into a smirk.

"You'll see…I'll prepare a nice surprise for him."

Genesis leaned on Angeal teasingly.

"So great that mister perfect won't be able to resist."

The Dark General blinked at the nickname, and also feared for Sephiroth's well-being as well.

~!~

"What's wrong, Zack?"

A soft voice spoke.

"I think I saw Sephiroth just now."

"Huh? Really? Where?!"

Zack turned over to his companion, an amused smile plastered across his face.

"Right. I forgot how much of a big fan you are, Cloudy."

The dark haired man teased with a grin, watching said Cloudy blush.

"Don't call me nicknames, Zack!"

The blonde male whined out loudly, making Zack laugh.

"But I'm your superior in many levels!"

Zack tried to say in a serious tone, but failed miserably. He just loved teasing his little second year infantryman.

"I'm not talking to you if you keep that up."

Cloud threatened, turning his back to the other spiky haired man, while crossing his arms over his chest.

"C'mon. Look! It's Sephiroth!"

Zack pointed, making Cloud turn around quickly.

"Where?"

"Kidding!"

Zack made a dash for it, being immediately followed by an angry Cloud. But in the back of his mind, he was curious at what he saw. He did see Sephiroth on his car and he had someone with him.

~Wonder where they were going~

Zack blushed at the memories of when Sephiroth took him to a nice fancy restaurant, and how he blew it all over while making a fool out of himself in front of the general.

~At that time, I wouldn't mind being hit by a bullet and die right away~

As if destiny was listening, Zack was pounded heavily from behind by an angry yellow head. He yelped when he realized that he was spacing out completely and forgot that Cloud was chasing him.

"Ow…"

"Hey, you okay? You usually dodge my attacks."

Cloud asked out of curiosity, looking over at Zack who was bending slightly over while holding his lower back.

"Yeah, I just got distracted there for a moment."

The dark haired man heard the blonde 'hum', clearly not satisfied with the answer. But it didn't matter right now. Zack recomposed himself and motioned Cloud to follow him.

"Come on, we don't want to keep your friends waiting, now do we?"

"Right."

Cloud nodded with a smile and followed Zack close by.

~!~

The room had some nice combinations of browns and oranges. It felt very welcoming, light and warm all at the same time. On the walls, there were many types of decorations, from vases, to ornaments, to papers proving the restaurant's achievements.

Cid was sitting in front of the Silver General on a reserved balcony with a direct view to the ocean. That was a strategy that Sephiroth found to work well whenever the conversation would become stale. The breathtaking view of the moonlight illuminating the ocean would distract his dates if they ever got bored. Not like that happened before, yet.

And everything was going according to plan. Sephiroth was glad that he had great control over his emotions (usually), for he would have laughed out loud at the expression of the blonde when he saw the prices on the menu. But the blonde put on a brave face and ordered something expensive for himself. That action in itself showed that Sephiroth had won. The blonde would have to depend on him if he wanted to leave the restaurant without being forced to wash dishes.

"Yeah, I'm starting my trainin' within a week."

Cid spoke while eating with as best manners as he could, but found it hard to because of the amount of different types of forks and knives set out for them.

~Why can't these prissy little shits jus' use one goddamned fork?~

"So you had your interview, yet?"

"I just got off of it today, ya know. That was when I decided to watch that borin' play."

Sephiroth nodded, smiling slightly. It was funny of how one simple action, if done differently, could change the course of things.

"I know that you need at least three years of training before choosing a specific field. A ShinRA standard. Did you apply here?"

Cid gave up trying to guess which fork was for what, and just picked one randomly to bring food to his mouth, as gentle as a gentleman would. He wouldn't want to gross out the man in front of him. At least not right now.

"Naw, I did those three years in Junon, ya know."

"Junon? Only certain people are able to apply there."

Sephiroth spoke intrigued. Junon was almost like Midgar. If you wanted to reach to the top, you needed to know a few things, bribe a few people, and so on. The only difference was that Junon was much harder to access. There was only three ways inside: two elevators, guarded by a passcode that only the patrol man knew, and by helicopter. In Midgar, however, the top's access was facilitated by the train.

"My uncle put me there. Said it was time for me to grow up, or somethin'."

"Oh? Why would your uncle send you so far away?"

Sephiroth took a sip of his wine after he placed the question, watching intensely.

"I don' know. Sometimes I can't understand 'im."

The Silver General could tell that there was more to it, but allowed it to slide, because he was in no place to get personal details right now.

"Ya know, I can't wait to start."

Cid grinned at the general before looking over to the ocean, stretching his arm out.

"Can't wait to start flyin' out there."

Sephiroth's gaze followed the other man's and contemplated the view.

~This is a nice turn of events, indeed~

~!~

The Dark General leaned against the couch. He was able to put a drunken Genesis on his bed after he knocked himself out with a sip of the last drops of Banora Whiskey. The man's dark eyes wandered around the blank ceiling, not really focusing on anything in particular.

His mind, however, was drifting to dreamland slowly. He was drunk as well, and already knew that he should expect a hangover first thing in the morning.

He gave a kind smile to a curious Cactuar that bounced around in the living room, before turning over to find a comfortable position in his couch.

~!~

TBC