Thank you for all your lovely reviews^^ I hope your new year started well? Now on to the chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 19

Azure eyes opened up to the dim darkness of the room, a muffled groan escaping his lips. A glance towards the clock told him that he had just woken up in time. Genesis rolled over, the movement making his head swim even more. He heard the faint rush of water, probably caused by Sephiroth who was already up and washing. It was a miracle that the man had let him sleep until now, normally he would wake him up earlier with cruel glee. How much drinks had he had last night? He could only remember fragments; an all too nice Brad flashing by every now and then, the strange guy that had threatened him – he thought he remembered that at least – and Sephiroth half-carrying him home.

Sighing the redhead slowly sat up, careful not to disturb his already upset stomach and head. The noise from the bathroom died down.

"You have ten minutes left to shower," Sephiroth informed as he came into the room, drying his hair. "Hurry up. We got summoned to the labs right after. You'll get your fist mako injection." Smirking, the man turned to get his uniform from the wardrobe and dress his partially still wet body into the appropriate gear. He hated going to the labs but for Genesis it was all new and amazing and whatnot.

The redhead was very tempted to just lie back down and curl up into a tiny little ball until his hangover would pass. A smirking Sephiroth in the morning, who obviously took delight in his pain was anything but cheerful. He got up grumpily, grabbed his stuff before he shuffled out of the door towards the showers, deliberately ignoring everybody who dared to look at him the wrong way. He should be excited about the injections, he should be proud because it meant he was a somewhat valuable part of the SOLDIER program. At least to a certain extent. But right now, he was just tired and wanted the day to be over already.

Sephiroth waited for him patiently. He had decided that they wouldn't have breakfast this morning. There was no time, Genesis looked sick already and everyone reacted differently to mako injections.

Eventually Genesis came back and they silently made their way down to the labs. Sephiroth noticed the shadow tailing them and inwardly sighed. Reno hadn't gotten any better at 'secret' observations.

Either Genesis did not notice the Turk or he ignored him as he was staring straight ahead, massaging his temples every now and then. "You couldn't have kept me from getting ass-drunk yesterday, could you?" He groaned, shooting Sephiroth a suing, angry glance before messing up his already messy hair even more. He wanted his bed. Now.

"No, probably not." As if Genesis would have listened to him. "You had fun, didn't you? Stop whining and take it like a man," the other grunted, but inwardly he was amused. They stepped into the elevator, going down to the labs.

"The injection may hurt the first few times, but you will get used to it. You might also feel dizzy and a bit sick afterwards, but that will fade. The next day you will feel refreshed." Sephiroth only told Genesis that because the lab personal wouldn't bother. They just did their job and didn't have time explaining or answering questions, which could be confusing and scary for first timers.

"Tz, as if I wasn't sick enough anyways. Now I have to suck some poisonous shit up my veins and puke it out afterwards …Fabulous." Okay, so he was very grumpy and ill-tempered. But who could hold it against him? He had a hangover and was confronted with a lover who – instead of pitying him- was amused by his agony. Which was a bit strange,Sephiroth seemed to be in a very good mood today. Genesis could guess why. "And as if that wasn't enough, we are getting observed by that obnoxious red-head again that I so want to throw out of a fucking window right now." He said the last part deliberately louder for Reno to hear it. Given the small… discussion he and Sephiroth had had, he was allowed to dislike the Turk.

"You'll get over it," Sephiroth replied dryly as they entered the labs. People in white coats were running around, looking busy. One of them turned towards them and impatiently waved them into a room with several stretchers that were divided by green curtains. It looked like a makeshift arrangement, and Sephiroth frowned. Usually they got one bed per room during the mako injection and he actually cherished that privacy.

"You'll have to share a room today," the assistant explained languidly. "Professor Hollander will check on you later during the injection, he's busy right now. Lay down and pull up your sleeves from your arm."

Bubbly excitement filled Genesis' already abused stomach at the environment he was facing. He hated hospitals and he hated doctors. But he hated labs even more. Bracing for whatever was to come, he gingerly sat down on one of the stretchers, pulling his sleeve up until his crook was visible. Oh, this day could only get better now.

"Have you done this a lot already, Sephiroth?" He asked to calm his raging nerves.

"Yes. It isn't that bad." Sephiroth pulled up his sleeve as he lay down.

The assistant lifted a brow and then came over with two syringes. He went to Sephiroth first, finding a vein quickly and smoothly putting the needle in, then emptying the glowing green substance. Sephiroth leaned back, gritting his teeth. As if to prove his words wrong today it seemed to hurt more, the nerves around the little wound tingling as the mako spread through his arm.

"There you go." Moving over to Genesis, the assistant leaned over his arm, searching the white skin for a blue line that he could use. "You afraid of needles?" he asked with little interest, making small talk.

"No, just a healthy amount of dislike for labs." Genesis mumbled as he watched with a mixture of awe and fear as the needle sank into his skin. Perhaps not the best idea because it caused his stomach to do stupid flips. He turned his head away and faced the curtain to his left. The assistant smirked knowingly before he injected the mako.

"There you go," the man in the lab coat said, turning and walking to the door. "Just lay down for half an hour, the professor will come check on you soon."

He threw them one last look, then closed the door behind him.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Sephiroth asked from behind the curtain. He wasn't feeling too well but didn't want to worry Genesis unnecessarily. His last shot had been a while and he just needed to adjust. The dose got stronger each time too, so a few symptoms were to be expected.

"My arm is aching, my head is swimming and my stomach is doing rodeo. But other than that, it's not that bad, you are right." Genesis groaned and lay back, his eyes closing on their own as he shifted to lie at least a little comfortably. "At least it will make my eyes shine…" He joked, his nausea slowly calming as long as he did not move or opened his eyes.

"Hm, it will..." Sephiroth's head lolled to the side. He had difficulties focusing and his arm started to burn pretty bad. But Genesis showed the same symptoms, so he wasn't too worried. Professor Hojo prepared his shots and he was known for going overboard at times. He wouldn't do anything that could harm his precious specimen though, Sephiroth thought wryly. Besides, he had worse shots.

"It'll go away soon," he comforted in a slurring voice, blinking and pinching the bridge of his nose to stay focused. His skin felt too hot.

Genesis took a few deep breaths, a dizzy part of his brain noticing that Sephiroth sounded strange, sounded completely like he shouldn't.

"Are you alright?" He asked raspily. "For someone who should be used to this… you sound too pained."

"I'm fine... probably," Sephiroth dismissed, shifting on the mattress. He didn't feel fine. In fact he felt feverish and his whole body was sore and hurt badly. And it got worse, fast. Hollander would come to check on them soon anyways, then he could ask if something was wrong...

"That doesn't sound convincing at all, Seph…" Genesis remarked, a shiver running through his heated body. Goosebumps rose on his skin and he shook his arm a little to shoo it away. It didn't help much.

"Hm... maybe someone should get Hollander," Sephiroth mumbled. The corona around his pupils had become almost white, the skin on his face was waxy and moist with sweat. Sephiroth tried to sit up but couldn't get his body to cooperate. Hissing he looked down at his arm that had become red veined.

Genesis deemed that a good idea, but 'someone' in this case meant him – he assumed Sephiroth was not well enough to move anywhere at the moment. He sat up slowly – good so far because he had not yet emptied his already empty stomach all over the shiny white tiles – and placed his feet on the floor. Why was there nobody to look after them? He mentally added another argument against labs in his head as he shakily got up and grabbed at the curtain for support. He was doing better than he had thought.

"I doubt there is even a freaking nurse button here…" He groaned, shaking his head and shoulders to get rid of the shivery, itchy feeling that had overtaken his body. Pulling the curtain aside, Genesis almost doubled over at Sephiroth's condition. All the skin that was visible on him was covered with a fine layer of sweat, his eyes looked haunted and shone, ablaze with the mako in his veins. If he hadn't looked so ill, it would have almost been pretty.

"I'll be right back…" And where was this dumbass of a Turk when you needed him?

Sephiroth just nodded, but it was hard for him to keep a line of thought. Thinking about it now he had never seen that lab assistant. The whole situation had been strange, but Sephiroth had been too concerned about making sure that Genesis was comfortable to notice. And even though he was barely able to stay conscious, he recognized the was not just a slight overdose, this was severe mako poisoning, Sephiroth could tell the difference as he had had his fair share of overdose before. Hojo liked to experiment with what he could take, and from time to time he went overboard. But nothing like this. Nothing that would make his heart race as if it was trying to burst.

The red-head stumbled towards the door, his fingers shaking like leaves in the wind as he grasped the handle and opened the door. Everything was turning round and round and he thought he was going to be seasick, but he needed to get somebody, anybody. Sephiroth really didn't look well and deep down Genesis feared he was going to die without medical care.

Outside, there was nobody to be seen – of course. Why would somebody run around in the labs at that very moment? They were just being injected a freaking overdose of mako for fuck's sake.

"Genesis? You really don't look so well…" The auburn haired man started at that voice, tripping and nearly falling over in surprise.

"Whoa, easy there."

It was Reno, it was freaking Reno. Genesis had never been so happy to see the goddamn Turk.

"Reno…" He breathed out. "You… you gotta get somebody. They injected Sephiroth… too much mako… he really looks ill." At this very moment he would have even begged for it.

"Okay, let's get you back first." Reno steadied the other redhead, frowning as he looked around. It was really strange that no one was around, he'd wanted to ask someone for directions after he had lost the couple, but no one had been there. As they slowly went back he dialed a number on his cell, hoping to get through to Gast, who picked up the phone quickly and promised to come over immediately. "Where's the room?" Reno finally asked as he dragged Genesis along.

"Over there… number fourteen." The other answered quietly, all his attention bestowed onto the task of setting one foot after another. It worked, but now that the adrenaline of having to get somebody for help had worn off, he felt even sicker than before. His skin burned and itched, and it felt like it was falling from his bones, when it really wasn't.

"Ah, c'mon!" Reno moaned, hosting one of Genesis' arms over his shoulder. He always got the shitty jobs, this was so typical. "And don't you dare puke on my new shoes, yo," he uttered, as he pushed open the door to what seemed little more than a closet. After he had sat Genesis down on his bed he went over to the other bed where Sephiroth lay, white as a sheet, his pupils frantically shifting back and forth. Reno tried to talk to him but he didn't reply.

"What. The. Fuck."

"I told you he was bad…" Genesis mumbled tiredly, curling up onto the stretcher, his eyes never leaving Sephiroth's form. He hoped dearly that someone would come already, would help him. He assumed that his own body was just reacting normally to his first mako injection, but the silver-haired man had had those before and he doubted that this was normal.

Fortunately for them, only minutes later the door was opened and Professor Gast walked in, immediately turning towards Sephiroth, questioning the two red-heads about the incident and waving in two of the nurses he had brought along. One of them turned towards Genesis, checking him briefly, before stating that he was lucky because it was just a typical reaction to the mako.

Reno watched the counter measures being taken with quick precision. He'd have to inform Tseng, but not before he knew what was going on. Gast and the nurses looked tense as they worked their magic on Sephiroth. "We have to get him out of here," Gast said eventually and the nurses nodded curtly, rolling off with the stretcher. Reno wanted to follow but was sharply ordered to stay behind with Genesis.

This day couldn't get any worse.

"How ya doing?" Reno asked listlessly, looking down at the redhead with little interest.

"Like you care…" Genesis answered without heat. "But… okay so far. Compared to Seph it's probably a light sickness." Sighing, he closed his aching eyes and breathed deeply. His stomach began to calm down slowly, but he knew that the side-effects would take some time to fully wear off. "Reno, you promise me something?"

"It's not a dying wish now, is it?" the redhead tried to sound unbothered, but it was making him nervous. He'd been supposed to watch them, make sure nothing happened and now here he was, with the company's mascot in critical condition and the other was going all dramatic on him... Tseng would eat him alive if he let either one of them die.

"Pf, you wish I would ask for that…" Genesis chuckled drily. "I want you to find out what happened… okay? It… just feels like this wasn't an incident…" He said frostily. These so-called incidents were really getting on his nerves. Having to fight, escape bombs and whatever else was manageable, but injecting an overdose of mako, poisoning Sephiroth - that was something else, this was no unfortunate accident.

"That kinda is my job anyways, yo." Reno lighted a cigarette, inwardly relieved. The stress would kill him some day. "But shit really seems to pile up around you... don't worry yo, he'll be just fine. Bad weeds grow tall."

"I don't worry… at least not that much…" Genesis denied hastily, blinking into the light around them, his hands shaking even though they weren't doing anything. "And do your job right then…"

"Yeah... well how about you stop walking off like that?" Reno snapped back, blowing a cloud of smoke into the impertinent SOLDIERs face. "I bet he'll die," he then added petulantly, but he didn't really mean it.

Genesis snorted and coughed. "And I promise I'll puke on your shoes if you continue doing that." He snapped right back. "Don't you say that about him…"

"Oh don't you dare!" Reno jumped back against the wall to protect his feet, glaring. It seemed that Genesis felt a lot better if he could bitch like that already. "Stay here, gotta call the boss," he then ordered and left the room.

"Stupid Turk…" Genesis growled before he sat up. If Reno said he should stay here and then he knew what he wasn't going to do. He could try and find out where they brought Sephiroth and drop by for a visit, now that his arms and legs didn't feel like jelly anymore. He wouldn't be able to eat for the next few hours, but he wasn't hungry anyhow.

Sighing, he got up, gingerly taking two steps before he felt secure enough to walk properly. Outside it was still rather empty, but at least now he heard people talking and walking around. Wandering around , he finally found somebody to ask for the silver-haired First Class. He wasn't allowed to see him, as the young man told him, but welcome to wait in the infirmary.

tbc?

I hope to get up the next chapter soon^^ Constructive criticism is always welcome. Have a nice weekend you lovely people!