Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Seduction ❯ Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

Path of Seduction

Chapter 12

Yuffie stumbled out onto the dry, barren ground. "Look, I told you, I can fiddle with it, but I can't fix it completely!"

It was evening and the red rock that towered above them blazed with reflected fiery glory, but no one paid it any attention. All they knew was that it was growing late, the buggy had slowed to a painful crawl and they were stuck in the great outdoors for the night.

For the second time that day, Cloud looked under the hood. He scratched his head, confused. Cait Sith hopped over and whistled. "I'm guessing those things aren't supposed to turn red."

Barret was not any happier. "Figures that nut would screw us over and give us a hunk of junk."

Yuffie took another look. "Gawd, this one needs a professional."

"Tell me something I don't know, kid!" Barret thumped his fist on the red machine. Yuffie stamped her foot.

"Hey, it's not like you could do any better than I did!"

Tifa inserted herself between the two. "Come on, you guys. It's nobody's fault. I'm sure you'll be able to patch it up." Cloud sighed.

"It'll have to be tomorrow." He shut the hood. "We don't know what's out here and it's getting dark fast." He slid into his Leader mode, assigning duties and arranging camp. Tifa pulled out the travel rations and began passing them around. There was no brushwood in sight with which to start a fire so it would be a cold meal tonight and a closely huddled camp to discourage predators.

Red bounded over the rocks, running in and out of the lengthening shadows in excitement. Aeris watched him spin around and try to catch his tail. He looked like a frisky young pup, perfectly at home on the expanse of dry red rock. Aeris was amazed at how well he blended in with the surroundings, his fur colored as much like a flame as the rock formations that towered above him. She smiled and turned to grab her pack from the trunk. She had a tent to set up.

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Hours later, Aeris lay in the confines of her small tent, nearly stifling in the trapped air. It was not really hot, but uncomfortably thick. It was like breathing peanut butter. She had tossed and turned for so long, had tried every position, every method to slow her thoughts and still had only felt the minutes tick by with maddening slowness. She missed the feel of another presence at her side.

She sat up abruptly, frustrated with herself. How was she supposed to get any rest if her mind refused to be still. She drew deep breaths in the darkness. It was not just her mind. Need rushed through her blood like a raging river. Her skin felt flushed, alive and aching to be touched.

She reached for her boots and staff. Moments later, she crept out of her tent, trusting the Planet to guide her as it had before. A quick whirring sound stopped her just as she was about to slip out of the tight semi-circle of tents arranged at the side of the buggy. She glanced over her shoulder and made a sound of relief. It was only Cait Sith buzzing in the back seat, safely in his dormant mode. Aeris wondered why a machine, even a sentient one, should need rest, but it suited her just fine at the moment.

The rock floor was smooth and level beneath her feet. It sloped upwards in delicate curves to form lofty pillars and platforms. The soaring formations cast pools of inky shadows at their feet. The sky above was nearly starless and the wispy clouds glowed with the pale yellow of a ripening moon.

The girl set off up the broad slope, driven by a certainty that she would find what she searched for if she could only get closer to the sky. The ground was blue in the weak light, where before it had been shades of flame. Purple-tinted ledges hovered above, emerging from the shadows. Aeris was sure that the path into the darkness would lead her to them. She hurried onwards with no clear sense of direction. All she had was the sensation that she was moving slowly upwards, where she needed to be. She turned where the path turned and walked a smooth, straight line despite the trail's deep shade. What she saw faded from her awareness as she opened her senses to every last flickering nuance of the Planet's wishes.

A sudden hissing filled the air, barely covering a rumbling, a groaning, a high pitched growl. Vision flooded back and Aeris spun just in time to see three beasts behind her, short, waddling birds with fiery crests and vicious eyes.

The Planet's will moved her arms before she could think to do it herself. She swung her staff out to land a stunning blow on the closest one. It barely even rocked. The other two backed up but she knew the glittering in their eyes could not be a good thing. She stood her ground. She would have run if not for the burning presence of the Planet inside. She had a purpose and nothing would keep her from it. She lashed out at the closest one again with a two-handed swing, but the blow glanced off and though the thing fell back, it was merely dazed. That was no matter. It would be a long fight, that was all. How dare these vermin stand between her and what she needed?

A signal passed between the beasts and they rose into the air as one. Even from the distance, Aeris saw the ripple in the feathers, tightening muscle that foreshadowed a violent attack. Despite the armor of Planet-rage that she wore, she cringed inside. She shut her eyes tight and held the staff out before her, using weapon as shield for whatever attack the monsters would launch. A loud crashing rent the air, accompanied by shrill, hideous screams. Aeris turned away from the rush of searing heat, whimpering a bit before sending a breathless prayer for the strength to end the fight. The heat faded quickly. All was still.

She opened her eyes, fleetingly grateful that she was unharmed and ready to continue her attack. Where the creatures had hovered was now a filmy cloud of fine ash that rained slowly down to the hard earth. A tall shadow stretched across the night-dyed rock. Aeris' heart fought to break out of her chest at the sight. She spun around to find the source.

He stood bare-chested on a high ledge, at once pale and shiny dark against the backdrop of deep blue sky and purple rock. His eyes glared, fierce green embers on a cold expression. Aeris felt her heart flutter as her breath returned. His anger was not for her, she had to remind herself. It simply could not be. He had saved her. A shining knight, he had come to her rescue.

She frowned.

How dare he? It was not that big a battle. She could have handled it herself, even if not so quickly. Why did everyone think she needed constant protection? He turned before she finished gathering her thoughts.

He leaned against the wall of stone beside him as he pointed out a pathway to the lowest part of the ledge on which he stood. "Come up that way, Aeris." Fresh from battle, simple though it had been for him, his voice was clipped and curt, the tone that of a commanding officer who expected nothing but immediate obedience. Aeris snapped.

"Aren't we confident? What makes you so sure I came out here for you?" She stared defiantly up at him, knowing full well that she was being unreasonable.

A silver brow rose slowly to an arch as the sharply angled face tilted down. "Who else do you think you would find out here?" He turned and began to walk away. Aeris started after him, using her staff for extra support along the path he had indicated. It lay deeply in shadow and even with her weapon planted firmly beside her, she lost her footing several times, momentary slides on loose rock. Sephiroth made no effort to help her. He stood at the end of the outcrop, a few feet ahead and above her, and wordlessly watched her progress. Aeris stormed on, growing more irritated with each step. She half-considered turning around and heading back to camp.

She slipped again on her next step, but maintained her balance. The path narrowed to a fine point and she could see no way to get up to the ledge where the warrior stood. It was only a few feet above her head. She could climb it. She raised her staff to slide it up onto the shelf of rock before her. Now Sephiroth did move. He sank to his knees and lifted the metal rod out of her hands. Surprised, Aeris simply stood where she was and looked up at the man as he hefted the staff in his hand. He studied the dark rod, ran a hand from the slender center to one thick end and looked down at her with a worried frown.

"Are you sure this isn't too heavy for you?" His voice was softer now, the way she liked it. Calmed now by his concern, she shook her head.

"It's pretty new and I'm still getting used to it, but it's not that heavy." She began to climb. Sephiroth looked on in interest and she found the look oddly disquieting. She had only stepped onto the first higher foothold when he set the staff down beside him and reached for her.

She took his arm without a word. His large hand closed about her slender wrist as her own hand struggled to return the grip. In a move of deceptive smoothness, he rose to his feet and pulled her up along with him. The thin skin of her wrist protested his tight grasp, but he was careful not to let her be scraped against the rock. He set her down so gently that she scarcely felt the ground beneath her feet before he let her go. He bent to pick up the staff as she caught her breath.

He smiled a little as he offered it back to her, guessing at the root of her temper. She met his eyes with a questioning look, with her hands so close to his along the length of the rod. He leaned in closer and white wisps of hair brushed her cheeks.

"If I'd known you liked midnight battles I would have taken a seat and cheered you on. I was worried for you, that was all." He pressed the staff into her hands more firmly. Aeris smiled sheepishly.

"Am I really as bad a fighter as everyone says?"

Sephiroth weighed his answer. Truthfully, her technique was terrible. If she had been a trooper she would have been drummed out of the corps if something on the training field had not eaten her alive first. His silence lasted a moment too long. She hung her head. The dark could not hide the reddening skin behind the curtain of dark hair. Here was something he had not quite suspected. Something like pity stirred in him, as it never had for anyone under his command. She was no soldier and should not have to act as one.

He reached out and brushed the soft hair back from her face. He cupped her cheek gently in one hand and tilted her head back up. Her eyes shone with a beautiful brightness but her quivering lips betrayed the cause. She wrenched her face out of his grasp, unable to meet his eyes. He pulled her closer, unwilling to let her step away from him. He wrapped his arms around her and felt the restrained tension in her body.

"There now," he whispered as he set his chin on her head, knowing the words were meaningless. "You do just fine for a civilian" She had no training or experience as the rest of her friends did. He knew that much from the blond boy's head. She was fairly weak, certainly, but not unwilling to do her share of defending the group. She hiked and climbed well enough that she was not a burden. It was a shame she overlooked her own great gift.

Aeris rubbed her cheek against his skin. There were no streaming tears tonight, but there was dampness on her lashes and her breath did hitch a bit. Briefly, Sephiroth wondered if it was something about the lack of sunshine that predisposed her to tears. She smiled up at him. "Think you could train me?"

He had to hold his words back for a while. Her innocent question had brought some enticing images to mind. He would have to watch himself closely tonight or he would run her off for good. "Think you could handle my training?" he asked and mentally slapped himself to drive out the thought of restraints and blindfolds.

He stepped away from her, partly to get a grip on himself and partly to avoid alerting her to the fact that his lower instincts were trying to take over. "You're holding the staff a bit strangely." He attempted to fill the space between them with words, to herd his mind to some kind of order. "That's why I thought it was too heavy for you."

He pulled her to the center of the broad rock ledge and slid behind her. His arms circled her body as he took the weight of the staff from her. He guided her limp hands to the right positions. The moment drifted in his consciousness, the image of her tiny hand beneath his own, gliding smoothly along the length of the shaft, the way her grip tightened at just the right spot.

He had to step away again and remind himself to breathe. He walked around the girl and studied her form intently, telling himself all the while that he was only checking her stance. He did not know how long he stood before her, simply staring. Her look of open curiosity brought him back to the present. He gave her a small smile to cover his lapse. "You would be able to swing with more force if you balanced yourself better. Try widening your stance a bit."

Aeris' eyes widened at that. "My dress is too narrow," she protested.

"Then you should get a shorter skirt." The words flew out before he could stop them. Aeris planted her staff firmly into the ground and leaned on it heavily as she shot the man a look he could not decipher. At least she did not seem about to swing at him.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Her words were slow and calculated. Sephiroth fleetingly looked askance out of guilt, a reflex no one else could bring out of him, but when he met her eyes again, his expression was one of sly amusement. He was surprised to see the same thing on her face. She exaggeratedly rolled her eyes heavenward. "Hm! Men!" Then she frowned and glanced upwards. "Do you smell smoke?"

Sephiroth gave her the closest thing to a goofy grin she had ever seen on him. "It's only the birds. I did flash-fry them after all." Aeris remained unconvinced.

"Sephiroth, something's really burning!"

Realization dawned. "Oh, sweet Shiva!" The SOLDIER turned and ran towards the rock wall, silvery hair a swift swirl from the force of his spin. Aeris ran after him as fast as she was able but he disappeared around the corner of the rock wall before she could catch up. The smell of smoke was powerful, so the source could not be too far away.

She saw that the wall of stone that rose high above the outcrop was more of a thick pillar than a wall, as she got closer. The ledge wrapped around it, very narrow at the closest point, but passable. She ran around as fast as she could, right into a cloud of heavy grey smoke. It was thick but she could see through it to where Sephiroth knelt on the ground. He was busy fanning the source in an attempt to blow off most of the smoke.

"Oh, enough of this," he grumbled and flung his arm up towards the open sky. The dark swirls coalesced in the air, assembled into order, then shot out in a straight line out of the rocky alcove. Aeris watched the filmy, grey dance within the stream and had to wonder how far the man's control of matter went. She had never tried anything like that herself, had not thought it possible.

The smoke fluttered in fine patterns despite it's confinement and Aeris felt the urge to let her own skill leap forth. She had always been subtle, sparing with her own ability because it might have drawn too much attention down beneath Midgar's plate. Here there were no suspicious eyes. There was just the one gaze that had only ever admired her. Would he cheer her on for this?

She supposed he would but he was occupied at the moment. With the smoke pouring itself out of the way, he had turned his attention to a low, flat rock. There was something on it, a dark slab that was still the source of thin tendrils of smoke and a rather fragrant steam. Sephiroth frowned at the slab, then looked mournfully over his shoulder at Aeris. "I'm sorry, honey. I burned dinner."

Aeris was incredulous. "You cooked?"

The man turned back to the dark slab on the cooling rock. "I tried." He sighed heavily and sat down beside his makeshift grill. His leather coat was draped over a large rock beside him and he offered the spot to Aeris with a small wave of his hand. She took the seat, noting that it left her in the perfect position to cradle his head in her lap. Almost as soon as she thought it, he rested his cheek against her thigh and tilted his head back to see her. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I really wanted you to have a hot meal."

"It's ok." The girl ran a hand through the fine strands of silver hair and smiled. "It's sweet that you tried and I'm not really hungry anyway." It was not longing for food that had driven her out of her tent, after all. She looked away for a while, lost in thought. She had no clue where to begin getting what she had come out for. She studied the wide plain below her, saw the faint, far-away line where the smooth rock became green field and wondered how long it would take to arrive there.

Sephiroth made a frustrated sound and brought a welcome break in Aeris' train of thought. She dared not think too far ahead these days, afraid that if she put too many pieces together, looked too far beyond the present, she would not like the picture. She turned to find him half-heartedly waving the last of the smoke off the piece of blackened meat.

"Sephiroth, what is it?" she asked.

"What's what now?"

She rubbed his shoulder. "The meat. What kind is it?"

The man turned and studied her curiously for a while. There was a trace of worry on his brow when he spoke. "Promise not to scream if I tell you?" Now the worry was on Aeris' face, but she nodded anyway. Sephiroth took a breath. "Those birds that attacked you? This is one I hunted down earlier. Well, part of it anyway." Aeris' eyes widened at the admission.

"You can eat them? I mean, is it safe?"

Sephiroth nodded. "They're fine, once they're properly cooked." He looked at his own pitiful attempt at the matter again. His shoulders slumped without his knowing it. So much for romantic dinner plans. Granted, wild meat eaten while seated on a rock was hardly a five-star experience, but under the conditions one had to make do.

Gods, but he was a fool.

"I'm a fool," he said.

Aeris looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

The man slumped forward to set one cheek on his knees. "I can't cook. I shouldn't have tried." Aeris tried not to laugh since he seemed so miserable but she could not keep the lilt from her voice.

"You mean there's actually something the Great SOLDIER can't do?"

"There are many things I can't do." Sephiroth grinned ruefully. "I make it a point not to try them too often so nobody finds out."

"Ah," Aeris nodded sagely. "So, now that I know you can't cook, are you going to silence me?"

Green, gleaming eyes grew sly. "Depends. Are you planning on telling anyone?"

Aeris returned the look with an impish smile of her own. "I could say 'no' just so you would let me go."

"That leaves me two choices. I could come after you with the first peep I heard of it from anyone other than you, or . . ." Sephiroth shifted forward, setting his weight on toes. "I could silence those lips right now."

He sprang forward and caught her lips in a quick kiss. A thrill went through him at her little cry of surprise and he placed one hand against the small of her back both to steady himself and keep her close. Aeris returned the kiss eagerly, but ended it before it became anything more than playful. She leaned back against the swordsman's strong arm. Sephiroth smiled at the dreamy expression on her face and wondered if she would look the same when she lay bare between the sheets.

The look faded too soon for him, but the way she looked at him was pleasing enough. She reached out with both hands and gently stroked his face. Sephiroth sighed with the gentle pleasure of having her fingers flow over his skin. Her hands slid down his throat and under the heavy mass of his hair. He felt his heart flutter at the feel of her hands on the nape of his neck and her lovely fingers twirled in his hair.

"Sephiroth?" Her voice was like music.

"Yes?" His response was tender, his voice nearly lost in the wind.

"How did you cook the meat with no fire?"

The man blinked. Of all the times for her curiosity to become evident. . . Laughter shook his shoulders and he shook his head. "Oh, you. . . I set a fire spell on the rock to heat it up."

She leaned her head past his shoulder to study the rock. "You can do that? Wouldn't a spell that strong break the rock?"

Sephiroth leaned back, once again her patient teacher. It was amazing how rudimentary most people's grasp of materia was. "I set the heat of my fire spell. Most people are only able to attain extremes of a certain materia, either very weak spells or very strong ones, so they can't do that."

"I was wondering how you got rid of the smoke. There's no materia to do that, is there?"

He grinned again at her. "I don't mean to brag, but I barely even need materia. I find it too restrictive." He told her of the things he had discovered, things that few were able to do. He knew nobody else who could choose the intensity and direction of even the strongest, most destructive spells, or use just the smallest bit of power to direct near-intangible things like smoke, or water. He had an unmatched fine control of magic and did not even need the glowing orbs he carried to achieve it.

Aeris was so attentive through all his talk, eyes narrowed in concentration as she took it in. The urge to stretch her own skill surged again. She knew her magic was strong. She was an Ancient and the power contained in hard, cold materia was alive in her. Why should he be the only one to do such amazing things? She slid off the rock to take Sephiroth's hands. "Teach me how! Please, show me how! I know I can learn, I know it!"

Sephiroth stared at her in surprise. He could hardly turn her down. She was so eager and she had a magnificent, untapped power of her own. If anyone else could learn the subtleties of magic that he had, it would be her. It would be nice to have someone like that close by. It fit perfectly with the plan. He got to his knees and raised her up with him.

He could feel her pulse rushing with excitement as he instructed her to set her staff far away and slow her mind. She wanted to try heating the rock herself and he indulged her. "Careful now," he whispered. "Pick your target, a very small area and let the power just flow." Her brow furrowed in concentration, but the trickle of magic was too weak. It would only be a typical novice's spell, nothing strong enough to heat rock if she did not loosen up. "Let it flow. Just a little less control." Sephiroth set his hands about her waist and gently massaged the muscles of her lower back.

She was not prepared for that and all at once a flame burst out between them, bright and fierce. It hung in midair, burning with no source. Sephiroth was flung back, speechless. Aeris was ecstatic.

"I did it! Oh Planet, I really did it! I made fire!" She bounced up and down gleefully, watching her flare with pride.

Sephiroth recovered his voice. "How are you . . .that's . . .it has no fuel! How are you doing that?" Aeris' eyes glowed in the reflection of her hovering blaze.

"I'm not sure. It just came to me, how to . . .release. I made fire! I made fire! Sephiroth, I made fire!"

The man sat up, looking lost. No flare of his had ever burned of its own accord. Fire needed something to burn. His flames might begin in the air, but they all shot immediately for the closest object if he did not direct them carefully. He caught the girl's eyes, meeting her excitement with his own wonder. "I can't do that. I can't keep fire burning in midair."

The smile that gave him was beautiful and bright. "Let me be the teacher this time, then," she said. With a small gesture from her, the flame shrank and went out. She reached out and took the swordsman's hands in her own, much as he had done before. As soon as her skin touched his own, he could sense something different.

It was if she had reached out to him with more than her body. There were rushes, lightning fast flashes beneath the surface of his consciousness. He lost sight of the physical link between them, finding himself in a flowing stream of thought. The colors, the very patterns of the whorls were unfamiliar, but soothing. They were hers, myriad streams of thought that he could not even begin to see. She was like him, strange and different, but they were not the same. He could not begin to see through the eddies in her mind and did not want to. It was what she was, and that was sacred. The deepest mysteries were for no mere initiate.

"This way," her voice echoed in his mind. The knowledge flowed around him and he saw. Some currents he recognized, some he did not. That was how one made a flame, he knew, but this was how one contained it, controlled it. So much poured out from her that he could barely even touch the half of it. He almost feared being lost in the flood. He wondered how much she knew, how much she still had hidden from herself behind the dam in her mind. He had thought he would be her instructor, coaxing her talents to flow freely. Not so at all, he saw now. He would have to put a crack in the wall and jump out of the way.

"Like this!" Now she was insistent and he drew his mind to the task at hand -create a flame, let it burn and hold it, hold it . . .just hold it. A blaze broke out, one of both their making, and it stayed where it was. She did it so easily, lifted him up, supported his own tenuous hold on the little glow between them. A blissful calm ran through him, that he could be so close to her, without the walls her mind put up for protection when she slept.

"You hold it now." He had not expected that. He felt the stream around him run dry as she pulled her mind away. He struggled to breach the gap, forced his mind to control the flame as she had showed him. The outer world of rock and sky became real to him once more and he saw how the small flame between them flickered with the transition. He had done such things before. He could make water fly and control the tiniest particles of air. He had mastered fluidity at the smallest level

But this was fire. It was not solid in any way, had no form to grasp. It trembled violently under his control. "Steady now," Aeris' voice was firmer than he had ever heard it before. "Just like I showed you." Sephiroth felt uncomfortably damp from the effort. A drop of liquid trailed down from behind his ear, slowly at first, but it picked up speed as it rushed to the curve where neck became shoulder. His mind slipped and he lost his grip on the flame. In an effort to save itself, the fire rushed to the closest object - Sephiroth's hair.

"Great," the man grumbled. "Just great!"

"Sephiroth, you're on fire!" Aeris shrieked and tried to fan his hair out. "Drop and roll, man! Do something!" Sephiroth was too busy frowning up at his fiery bangs, more upset at failing his assignment than the fact that flames were dancing on his head.

The fanning was not working and Aeris could not understand why the man just sat there. Her gift, freshly awakened, flowed through and before she even thought about what she was doing, she hit him with the strongest blast of ice that she had ever been able to bring forth.

It did put the fire out, but at such a close range, it nearly put him out too. He skated backwards from the force of the blow and his shoulders hit the stone floor with a loud smack. Silver hair drifted slowly down to cover his face and he lay very still.

"Oh no!" Aeris covered her lips, afraid. She leaned forward in a stiff, rocking motion, too terrified to get closer. "Oh no, oh no, oh, please, no! Please, don't be dead! Say you're not dead!"

"I'm not dead." His voice was hoarse.

Aeris rushed to his side. "Are you sure?" She checked his pulse with one hand and with the other, brushed the hair out of his eyes. The stern look she found beneath his bangs made her sit back.

He grimaced as he sat up. "Dead people don't hurt like this."

"I'm so sorry!" Aeris' apologized again. "You were on fire! Oh, your hair, your beautiful hair! I was afraid for it! I thought you'd burn up!"

The warrior shook his head. He had not realized she had worried that much. "It's alright." He brought a thick lock of silky hair forward and showed it to her. It was healthy and shiny, just as it had always been. "I'm fire-proof, see?" He studied her pose. She knelt beside him with her hands clasped in her lap, her knuckles white. He reached out to stroke her hands. She had only meant to help, after all. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

When Aeris' chest heaved with a sigh of relief, Sephiroth actually grew thankful for the icy blast. From where he lay, the view was wonderful. Her skirt was open far enough to expose a magnificent amount of thigh. He lightly touched the pale skin and the girl gave a breathy gasp at the contact.

She sat very still and let him run his hand where he would. This was what she had come for. She had thought that he would go about taking it from the very first instant. She did not know how to go about offering it herself. Sephiroth pushed back the folds of her dress to better reach her thighs. Aeris could not help crying out as he massaged her flesh. He was gentle, always gentle with her. The girl felt her heart start to race again.

Her breath grew heavy as the man bent low to kiss her skin. She watched, fascinated at the way his pale hair draped across her legs. Her mouth flew open in surprise when she felt his tongue trailing up her leg. He buried his face against her body and nipped at her through the thin fabric.

Aeris leaned back on her hands and closed her eyes, unable to bear watching his movement any longer. She trembled from the sensation and a moan rose from deep inside her. He worked his way up her slender form and Aeris let herself slide slowly to the cold stone. It was wonderful, the way he touched her, kissed her, the way he looked into her eyes. She had come for this, ready to share herself with him if he so desired. What did it matter if the ground was hard and that there were pebbles grinding into her back?

She was torn. Something was not right. She had come for this, she told herself, as the swordsman nuzzled her throat. His hair felt so wonderful as it trailed over her collarbone. The weight of his body was so comforting. His hands were strong and gentle. The way he whispered her name made her shiver with delight. He claimed her lips with a deep kiss then and she reveled in the taste of him. She could have lost herself in it, but he broke it off suddenly and hovered over her.

She opened her eyes to look up at him. His hair was a silver curtain around her face, but the soft yellow glow of the moon still shone through the locks to light his brow. His lips hung open, reddened from kissing. They were both breathless; his chest heaved with the same rhythm as hers. His eyes glowed with a near golden tinge. There was a silent question there, but she did not know what her answer would be. She had been so sure a moment ago, so sure. She tilted her head back, unable to meet that pleading gaze with only indecision. The moon hung directly overhead, pale and full.

No, not full. Almost, but not quite. There was a tiny sliver missing, enough to keep it from being the perfect circle of a truly full moon. Soon, it would be full, but not tonight. Aeris did not even know how her brow furrowed as she noticed that little detail. She only thought it odd that she would see something like that while her pulse raced and her body throbbed with desire for the man who held her. She wanted him, but still, something was not right. The silence stretched out till familiar doubt and unease began to swim alongside the desire in her blood.

Sephiroth saw the look that flitted across her face and immediately forced his own needs aside. She was still unsure. It was easy enough to tell. He looked around at the little rocky alcove. He wanted everything to be perfect when he claimed her and a rough coupling on a cold, stone surface was hardly that. To an inexperienced young girl, perfect was silk sheets and rose petals. He laughed inside. One had to make do, after all, and that kind of idealized romanticism was not exactly within his ability to provide. He would settle for at least having her on something soft. He leaned in, ready to kiss her again, chastely.

"Sephiroth?"

He stopped an inch shy of her lips. "What is it?" He was prepared for her reply. He knew this was not the best place.

"I'm thirsty."

He had not expected that. It was even further evidence of what a bad host he was. How could he have thought of feeding her without providing a cool drink? He really was a fool. "I don't have anything." He took his weight off her and sat back on his heels to help her up. "I'm sorry." She gave him a small smile as she took his hand.

"I figured." She got to her feet, dusted herself off and went to retrieve her staff. "There's nothing around here is there?" Her expression did not change when he shook his head. She had expected as much. "I'll have to go back to camp then." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you for tonight. It was . . ." He raised an eyebrow as he waited for her answer and she laughed when she saw it. "It was something." Sephiroth could only nod in agreement.

Then a thought hit him.

She was going back to camp. She had a little tent of her own there, and a sleeping bag. The hideous red vehicle the blond puppet had managed to acquire had a backseat. There were possibilities . . .

He went over to pull his coat on, momentarily inspired. He did not trouble himself to secure all the straps and buckles. Why bother if he was going to have to undo them all again? He smiled as he took the girl's hand in his own to lead her back the way she had come.

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They both walked lightly as they neared the camp. Sephiroth knew that the puppet was sound asleep, but he could not be sure about the rest. Aeris found the half-ring of tents just as she had left it.

"That one's mine." She pointed to the one in the center. Sephiroth had to give his blond puppet some credit. It would take some sneaking to get past the other tents. Wordlessly, they walked past the buggy. A whirring sound caught his attention. Ever ready for attack, he spun around to intercept.

Aeris tugged at his arm. "It's only Cait Sith in the backseat. He's a . . . some kind of machine. A toysaurus!"

Sephiroth took that in quietly. So the backseat of the buggy was out. The tent was a tight fit, he remembered, but there would be enough space. They would have to be quiet though, very quiet. He watched Aeris bend over to get the zipper of the tent. She really needed someone to tell her that it was better to bend at the knee, but he enjoyed the view too much to be that someone. She rose slowly so the zipper would not make too much noise. "Come on." Sephiroth was only too eager to follow her inside.

The tent was exactly as he remembered it - small and cramped. He kept his head bowed even though there was no need, worried that he would brush against a support pole and bring the whole thing down if he sat up straight. The tent was barely long enough for him to get the masamune in.

Aeris rooted around in her pack for her canteen. She must have been thoroughly parched by the time she found it, but still, she offered it to Sephiroth first. He refused with a gentle push and a shake of his head. "I don't drink, Aeris. Don't worry about me."

She wasted no time in wetting her lips, though she knit her brows at him as she swallowed. "You don't sleep, you don't drink . . .you don't eat either?"

"It's true. I need nothing like that." Sephiroth knew it was strange.

Aeris capped the little bottle tightly. "Were you always like that?" She asked as she removed her boots.

The man shook his head. "Not always. I've only been like this for a few years." Sleep had been the first thing to go and he told her so as she settled onto her sleeping bag.

It had been a gradual thing. First there had been restlessness and tossing in the night. As a teenager he was able to function on only a few hours rest a night. By the time the Great Meaningless war was over, try as he might, he found himself unable to sleep for days at a stretch. Battle fatigue, the psychiatrists had said. One night came back to him vividly, a quiet night in his apartment, when he sat with a book and some music for company. He remembered how the book slipped from his grasp when the realization hit him, that he had not slept at all for the better part of a year.

His appetite diminished considerably during his last few years in Shinra. Exactly when he had become a wholly self-sufficient machine, he did not know. All this he told her, while he rubbed her feet in an attempt to keep his hands busy. She had pretty toes, he noted. He looked up to tell her so but her eyes were already closed. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, even measure.

Sephiroth smiled ruefully in the dark and stretched out beside her. He kept his face close to hers. She must have been tired after all the exertion the night had brought. The soldier had never thought that any part of his life would make a good bedtime story, but she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. A contented smiled graced his face. He may have finally achieved the perfection Shinra had always wanted in its living weapon, but next to this frail girl he was no weapon. He felt a simple joy in being alive. He put an arm around Aeris to enjoy her warmth, telling himself it would be for just a little while, just a little while . . .

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A/N: Quickest update ever. Don't expect a repeat performance. :P I've never written a chapter this fast, so if anything or anyone seems a little odd and out of place, let me know. Thank you again, all of you.