Her collar was itchy, the cuffs on her silk shirt (one she could barely afford but found herself impassionate enough to buy) were too long and her heels were digging into the callus she was so sure she was developing. She smiled as genuinely she thought she should to the seven-or-so-foot tall man, sinking into his seat, desperately trying to maintain eye contact with the short and stout woman. Helena adjusted her glasses, putting into focus the intense attention Sephiroth had on her. Her smile dropped as soon as she realized how unamused he was. She hated how she was put into this position just as much as he did, she ascertained, so she was going to have to make the most of it – for her career's sake, at the very least.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you, this does seem a bit odd." Helena could feel her words bounce against the tension and rest steadily on his cool demeanour.

"That I'm here or that you are?" His words were less of a question and more of a statement on Helena's capabilities.

Helena adjusted her back and Sephiroth in turn adjusted his glare. "You don't want to be here."

Sephiroth smiled. "I think that's an understatement. I really don't want to make this harder on you, but you have your work cut out for you."

Helena's lips curled slightly at the sudden sound of an iceberg cracking. "I think I know what I'm getting myself into. Have you been in therapy before?"

"I think it says in my paperwork I was at one point, yes." A sore point, Helena noted.

Sephiroth's attention was drawn to the picture of water lilies that decorated Helena's office, pictures she picked up from the side of the street. They drew her in like her client was drawn to them, she chuckled inwardly. "Do you like the photos?"

"They're very unassuming but I like the composition."

"Do you like taking photographs? I used to have this old crank camera."

"Are these your photos?"

"No. I found them in the dumpster. They used to decorate my living room. I thought they would have a bigger purpose here."

"Hm. They are very beautiful." Sephiroth's hands grasped his knees, trailed up black slacks and crossed across his chest. "How should this go?"

"Well," Helena paused, fixated on how a stray bang was out of place, tucked behind his ear and standing out to the side. Compulsion led her to throw her hair over her shoulder. "How did it go in your last session?"

Air escaped from his lungs in a short burst that tore through Helena's reserve. She felt a sudden sense of incompetency. She had to remind herself that he asked her to become his therapist – if he were to go to therapy at all. His attention was again drawn to his left where a small congregation of water lilies stood. Helena in turn swallowed her thoughts and decided to build rapport instead of brute forcing this little experiment.

"It's pretty calming, eh?" She said.

Sephiroth stood up, his height suddenly feeling imposing to the 5-foot-5 woman; she looked for her panic button, just in case.

"It reminds me of Wutai," he said with such profound sadness that perhaps went completely off the radar of the First Class SOLDIER.

"I've never been," Helena revealed. "Is it beautiful?"

"It was," Sephiroth sardonically snapped, head slightly tilted as he approached the photograph.

Helena smiled and approached the intimate interaction with care. "It must be very hard to think of it now. I can only imagine…" Helena trailed off, suddenly unsure of her words, fearful that they would tear him away from the hallowed space he created for himself.

"I'd rather forget," Sephiroth whispered, turning towards Helena.

"You don't have to be here, you know. This is your time, not mine." Helena wanted him to know that she would be the best practitioner she could be. She wanted Sephiroth to know that she could hold the space he needed. These were all words built up within her that she couldn't express but she felt like her eyes spoke enough. Sephiroth smiled, sitting back down on the leather chair. Yes, she was sure he knew.

"Maybe we can talk about Wutai another time."

"Okay," Helena slunk down on her office chair and then adjusted her posture. "What do you think will be helpful to talk about?"

"I heard you playing a record before I came in."

Helena blushed. "Yes. Do you like Jazz?"

Sephiroth nodded. "I collect records. From what I could hear it was Selena Montcreiff you were playing."

Helena rolled her office chair backward and snatched the record sleeve from her desk. She read the sleeve, "It is Selena. I'm not a huge fan of Jazz but I can see it's of particular interest! What kind of Jazz do you like?"

Sephiroth felt the buttons on the armrests, eyes unwaveringly studying the Shinra therapist he chose. "I like Smooth Jazz. I would hide the records I would find under my cot in the barracks."

Helena swallowed hard. Fearful it was audible, she proceeded with caution. "They wouldn't let you have records?"

"You've never been to a barrack, have you?"

"Sephiroth, I have no clue what it's like. But if you walk me through it, I'll get it soon enough."

Sephiroth's head swung backward, his back flush to the chair, one leg perfectly poised on the other. He let out a sigh out of the corner of his tightly wound lips. "What do you want to know?"

"Maybe why you're here. Maybe what you would like to get out of our time together." Helena looked at the time on the clock perched behind him – only thirteen minutes had passed.

Sephiroth studying the tiles above him noticed Helena's eyes darting behind him. "It'll be a long fifty minutes, I'm assuming."

"I'm trying to pace our work together," Helena lied. She knew well that the silence he could easily produce would allow her mind to wander and would inevitably kill her.

"I want Hojo and Lazard to leave me be, once and for all."

"Are you talking about the incident in the training room?" Helena recollected her supervisor mentioning an event that would propel Helena's career if only she could play it right.

"I nearly killed him," Sephiroth revealed so calmly, a cool gaze on her throat and chest, determining if her heart would skip a beat.

Helena nodded slowly. It was Genesis, that much was becoming clear to her. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sephiroth said with such sincerity. Helena's gaze in turn studied his eyes, softened with some emotion she could not quite pinpoint until she finally settled.

"Are you afraid it will happen again?"

"It won't. It can't."

Helena settled on the fact that he was not a risk. Making mental note of checking off the right boxes in her session notes, Helena continued, "Are you afraid of hurting yourself?"

"No. Not now."

"But you have in the past?" Helena dug a little deeper, taking the chance to do a risk assessment as best as she could.

"I think that's for another session," Sephiroth smiled, letting a silence lull before continuing, "I'm not a risk."

"I know they've asked about this before. But," Helena was interrupted.

"I know. I might actually tell you something this time."

"You mean you weren't entirely truthful with your previous therapist?" Helena gathered the nerve to interrogate despite knowing this wasn't her place to prod. The left side of Sephiroth's lips curled; his dominant hand, Helena mused.

"You used to photograph?" Sephiroth took an interest in his therapist, changing the tone.

"I used to," Helena did not like the abrupt ending to her line of questioning and the attention it brought to her. "I don't anymore. The film is too expensive."

"Ah, so a film camera. Do you still have it?"

"I do. Somewhere. I used to take macro shots in the city. Do you like cameras?" Helena attempted to draw the focus on the subject. Helena soured at the thought that the experiment was on him.

"I think I would like the idea of photographing. I suppose after years of being photographed; I would like to see how others would react to it."

Helena chuckled. "You're very human," Sephiroth said, genuinely sinking into his chair.

"Is that why you chose me?"

"Not really. I just remembered you are friends with Genesis' ex-girlfriend and that you were a counsellor."

"You know that's a point of contention. They find my Master's distasteful," Helena let slip. Her entire body tightened at the thought that he was learning more about her than he should. Why? He was very tall, taller than she remembered. Imposing, maybe? Or was it his eyes, slit like reptiles, pupils softening when a pervasive sadness filled the room and snapping when concentrating on her. Or maybe it was his gaze she noticed that would calculatingly, precisely examine her.

"Did I ever ask for your credentials? It means nothing. I just want some peace, for once."

Helena looked over his shoulder to the clock – seventeen minutes left. Was this as productive as she imagined? The voice at the executives' table in her mind snapped, hand slapping down and proclaiming how useless she was. What would her mom say?

"I can't promise they'll leave you alone but we can make sure the time you have here is helpful. For you," Helena added, making it clear that this space was something they would construct, that this space was for him, and only him. No Lazard. No Hojo.

"Just tell me one thing," Sephiroth leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands forming a small temple, "Can you handle this?"

Helena was drawn back into her chair, firmly. "I can make space. I'm not afraid of this."

Sephiroth leaned back, satisfied. "I heard from Genesis you were a bit of a case. But he never said that it wouldn't be helpful to come and see you."

"And there you go, then," Helena said jokingly.

Sephiroth's gaze again landed on her chest, calculating the heartbeats her fragile heart hummed along. "Should we schedule another session, then?"


Client ID: S-01-01

Therapist: Helena Menninger

Risk Assessment: Client reported that he is not at risk for harm but does report an instance that he once experienced SI. Therapist to follow up with client in subsequent sessions.

Client Summary: Client reported that there was an incident in which a friend was at risk of being hurt. Client assured that he is no longer a risk to others or himself.

Interventions Used: Therapist and client built on rapport. Therapist gathered background information.

Therapist Observations: Client was congruent and calm, interactive and functional. Therapist observed a positive impact.

Next Session?: Client will connect with administration to book a follow-up session. Therapist will continue exploring behavioural goals with client for subsequent sessions.


A/N: Trying my hand at a new fic. Helena is my fav name and I like to play with this character. I'm also very much into this dynamic. Let me know what y'all think!

Song of the night: I Might be Wrong, Radiohead