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Everyone Has One
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Ch. 1: Sephiroth
He couldn't stop looking at it.
It sat in the rather large pot in one corner of the chilly ShinRa executive meeting room, smoothly green and almost glowing with life under the too-bright artificial lights. It was alive, he knew; ShinRa would never accept anything but the most perfect Cactuars to decorate his building. Sephiroth hated him for that--it was almost as if the President were mocking him by placing them all over the floor. Almost as if he knew.
Sephiroth stared, unable to tear his gaze away from the unbearably sexy plant. Hell, it even had one arm raised, as if beckoning him closer...
"General Sephiroth!" snapped a voice in his ear. "If you would please pay attention to the meeting..."
Sephiroth just shot President ShinRa a cold glance and nodded once, which prompted the pompous CEO to launch back into his speech. But he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering to that corner, over and over again...
It was just so deliciously tempting.
It was, also, probably a bad idea to sneak into the meeting room at night, Sephiroth thought now, thanking the Gods that his everyday clothing blended in so well with the darkness. His hair, he'd tied back and stuffed under a cap, and he'd stolen a pair of sunglasses from one of the Turks' rooms... that, with his stealth training, ensured that he'd never be caught. But it was probably still a bad idea...
His misgivings gave way as he swung the door open and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the Cactuar again, hands clenching involuntarily at his shirt. There it was, the pinnacle of beauty--and it had turned to face the door, its round little eyes and mouth peering at him through the dark. It was almost as if it had been waiting for him.
"You..." Sephiroth started, then tossed a furtive glance around, clapping a hand to his mouth. When no alarms went off and no guards appeared, he relaxed a little, creeping over to the corner. He shot one last glance behind him--all clear--then bent, gently brushing the tips of the Cactuar's spines with one finger, his words coming out of him in a breathless whisper. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this..."
The Cactuar stared at him, openmouthed.
"Yes..."
Then, in one swift movement, Sephiroth swept the rather large pot into his arms and dashed out of the meeting room and into the elevator, only stopping to catch his breath once he was leaning against the cylindrical glass walls and gazing down at his prize. He knelt, green eyes glistening.
"You just wait. I'll make you mine..."
The Cactuar stared at him, openmouthed. Sephiroth stared back.
"Mine..."
"GENERAL SEPHIROTH!" President ShinRa yelled the next morning, pressing down so hard on the speaker's "talk" button that his fingers were losing circulation. "THERE IS A MEETING ON THE 65th FLOOR THAT REQUIRES YOUR ATTENDANCE. GENERAL SEPHIROTH--"
Beneath the President's yelling, Reeve rolled his eyes, muttering to his left. "He's gone AWOL, like I said he would. I tell you the man is crazy."
"He was here last night. I went by his room." Reno shrugged in response. "Dunno... All I heard was him yelling 'Mother' over and over again."
"I tell you, the man has snapped," Reeve whispered back, pounding a fist lightly onto the table. "He's totally insane."
They both looked up as the President, desperately trying to catch his breath, finished yelling and smashed both hands into the table.
"Well, as we cannot hold this meeting without the General here..." He raised a hand to his forehead and let out a sigh. "We will reschedule. Dismissed. Back to work with all of you."
"Insane," Reeve hissed softly before rising.
"No skin off my ass," Reno replied, scratching his head. "He's gone, isn't he?"
"Hee, hee, Mother." To their right, Hojo giggled a little, murmuring something that sounded like "Geneva."
They both looked at him, looked at each other, shrugged, and headed for the door after everyone else. "Lunch!"
It was Rude that tapped the President's shoulder and pointed to the corner, murmuring quietly.
"Sir, I think your Cactuar is bleeding..."
With a nod at the President's blank expression of astonishment, the Turk followed the others out, leaving the President alone with his thoughts.
-Fin.-