Title: Legendary (Part One)
Author: nishi_shinji
Universe: Final Fantasy
Characters: Sephiroth/Zack, Genesis, Angeal
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Sadly, they aren't mine.
Other Parts: Juxtaverse Master List

Summary: Genesis had a reputation for being less than kind; not cruel, per se, but subtly mischievous in a way that made him a dangerous person to cross.

Author's Notes: I'm so sorry that the Juxtaverse has been neglected for so long. The truth is, this has been hanging out on my hard drive for a long time now, I just wanted to wait to post it until I had part four of Hotter finished (and it is finished, it just needs to be beta'ed before posting). And speaking of beta'ing, this was beta'ed by ldybastet, whose praises I would sing to the heavens if my throat wasn't sore.


"We've got to--"

"Be quiet."

"Actually, I was going to say we've got to find a bed," Zack replied with a breathless laugh as he snuck his gloved hands into Sephiroth's coat. "Not that I'm against being snatched into dark hallways and kissed, but I'm going fucking crazy."

Sephiroth murmured something unintelligible against his jaw, and Zack threw his head back to offer his throat. When he felt the faintest hint of teeth rake over his bare skin, his toes curled in his boots and he bit his bottom lip on a quiet moan. They'd been doing this for weeks-- hurried kissing sessions in dark corners and empty bathrooms-- but they hadn't been able to steal more than ten minutes alone since their first night together. Sephiroth had been working long evening hours that dragged on into the early morning, and Zack's morning guard duty usually lasted until late afternoon. The whole situation was worse than a tease; it was absolute torture.

Something beeped.

"No," Zack groaned and immediately looped his arms around his lover's shoulders to keep Sephiroth from pulling away. "You didn't hear that-- I promise you didn't hear that."

"I've got to go," Sephiroth whispered, still lapping at the hollow of Zack's throat.

Zack whined until Sephiroth kissed him again, at which point the whine deepened to a soft growl. The hands on his hips tensed and he shivered, but then Sephiroth was pulling away and pushing him back against the wall with a hand in the center of his chest. Zack glared. To his surprise, however, Sephiroth didn't chastise him with a lecture about duties and responsibilities. In fact, Sephiroth looked almost as frustrated as Zack felt.

"Meet me in my quarters at twenty-three hundred hours," Sephiroth murmured. "I'll have Angeal stand in for me at tonight's hearing; find Kunsel and bribe him into taking your shift tomorrow morning."

"I thought you said I shouldn't--" Zack began to protest.

But Sephiroth was apparently undeterred; he leaned in to drag his lips over Zack's and whispered, "Forget what I said; just be there on time."

Before Zack could respond, Sephiroth was gone, leaving him standing there in the deserted hall with his fingers pressed to his lips and his heart beating furious and frantic in his ears. It wasn't until he heard the doors at the end of the corridor open that he tore himself out of his daze and scampered around the corner just in time to not be caught daydreaming like an idiot. When he heard the familiar voices of the two men who had just stepped out of the lift, he swallowed thickly and flattened himself against the wall. The last two people he wanted to have catch him where he wasn't supposed to be were Angeal and Genesis.

"...sure that his duties are still his top priority," Genesis was drawling, each honey-smooth syllable punctuated by the sharp tap of his boots.

That statement was followed by Angeal's distinctive sigh. "I'm sure that's what all this is about, Genesis."

"Why Angeal, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were accusing me of having ulterior motives," Genesis replied with a low, breathy chuckle.

The footsteps came to an abrupt halt. There was a rustling sound, then a whisper too quiet for Zack to hear, and Angeal said, "I'm serious, Genesis. If you keep playing this game--"

"It isn't a game, Angeal," Genesis murmured.

"Everything you do is a game," Angeal replied softly. "But there are some people you should leave out of it, and he's one of them."

After a brief pause, Genesis gave a theatrical sigh and said, "No one is untouchable, Angeal, no matter how much you might like them to be."

Zack frowned. The conversation was too vague for him to piece together who they were talking about, but he wasn't sure he liked the implications. It wasn't that he didn't respect Genesis-- everyone in SOLDIER respected all three of ShinRa's prized generals-- but he wasn't naive and he wasn't deaf. Genesis had a reputation for being less than kind; not cruel, per se, but subtly mischievous in a way that made him a dangerous person to cross. What Zack couldn't figure out was why Angeal sounded so resigned to whatever it was that Genesis was planning; as far as Zack knew, Angeal had always been the voice of reason when it came to his friendship with Genesis.

The footsteps picked up again, drawing closer, and Zack tried to shrink back into his own skin. Any moment now, they were going to round the corner and catch him in the act of eavesdropping, so he bit his lip and tried to think of an excuse. But to his surprise, luck seemed to take pity on him because not only did Angeal and Genesis continue walking past the short corridor he was hiding in, neither of them even glanced in his direction. Zack waited until he was absolutely sure they had gone before very hesitantly peeking out into the hall--

--and coming face-to-face with an obviously irritated Angeal.

"Er," Zack offered with a sheepish smile.

"What were you thinking?" Angeal snapped. He looked the very picture of indignation, with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed to a pointed glare.

Zack stepped out into the main hall and scratched at the back of his neck as he muttered, "I wasn't trying to listen, I swear, it was just-- well, I was already here and--"

"Spare me any lip service about trying to be polite, Fair," Angeal interrupted. "If you'd been trying to be polite, you would have announced your presence, not skulked around in the shadows."

"I wasn't supposed to be up here in the first place, and I didn't want you to get mad at me," Zack explained, which was the truth. Looking away, he mumbled, "I guess that didn't work out as well as I hoped it would, huh?"

There was a brief silence before Angeal sighed and said, "You're lucky Genesis didn't catch you."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." Zack swallowed, then hazarded a glance in Angeal's direction. "So, uhm--"

"It's none of your business," Angeal interrupted with a shake of his head. Though he didn't seem angry anymore, he was definitely still agitated by something, judging by the firm set of his jaw and the tense line of his mouth.

Zack wasn't sure what to say. After all, since he didn't know what was bothering Angeal, he couldn't very well try to offer advice-- not that Angeal would accept feeble advice form a subordinate anyway. In the end, Zack settled for shrugging and examining his boots, which seemed like a far better choice than pushing the issue and making an even bigger ass of himself.

"Speaking of where you should and shouldn't be, why are you here instead of eating lunch with the rest of your battalion?" Angeal asked with a frown.

Zack blushed.

Angeal's frown darkened to a scowl. "This is going to be your first and only warning that if you faint of hunger during training, I'm going to hold him personally accountable."

"Does that mean you're buying lunch today?" Zack asked with a hesitant grin.

After a few more seconds of looking irritated with the universe in general, Angeal sighed. "Fine, but next time you'll just have to suffer-- and you're going to eat real food, not cake and snack chips."

"Yes, Sir!" Zack offered a full formal salute and a beaming smile as Angeal turned on his heel and started down the hallway. When that didn't get any reaction besides a quiet huff, he laughed quietly to himself and hurried to catch up with his commanding officer.