#ff7 au

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Come in,” Sephiroth says as someone knocks on his office door, looking up from his paperwork. The door opens and his eyes land on Zack, who’s wearing a worried expression. He puts his pen down at the sight, his eyebrows knitting together ever so slightly. “Take a seat, Zack. What’s got you looking so concerned?”

“It’s Raven,” Zack sighs as he sits down. “I haven’t heard from her in ages, man! I’m really worried about her and was wondering if you’ve heard anything from her.”

“Yes, I’ve been in correspondence with her. She’s doing alright, she’s being flown back as we speak. The director hasn’t had the time to make an official statement yet,” Sephiroth explains, crossing his arms as he looks at Zack. Zack lets out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, feeling like a weight has just been lifted from his shoulders. He looks down at his hands for a moment before looking back up at the general sitting across from him.

“Do you know when she’ll be back? I really want to talk to her, but she hasn’t been responding to my texts.” Sephiroth’s eyebrow quirks up at Zack’s statement, feeling intrigued. “What’s with the sudden interest? This isn’t the first time she’s been away, but you’ve never been this antsy about her absence.”

“Well, it’s— uh,” Zack stammers, his cheeks getting a bit hot. “I’m just worried about her, okay? She’s been in Wutai for a whole month and I didn’t hear a peep from her and this is the longest she’s ever been away ever since she became my mentor! Besides, you didn’t even answer my question”!

“I see,” Sephiroth hums, leaning forward to rest his hands on his desk. “To answer your question, she should be back in the evening. As long as she doesn’t take the day off tomorrow, you’ll see her then.”

“Aw, can’t I give her a warm welcome today? I don’t mind staying late, I’ll show up on time tomorrow either way!”

“I wouldn’t recommend that, she tends to crave privacy after a long mission. Don’t worry about her being welcomed properly, I’ll be there to greet her.”

“You two are really close, huh?” Zack asks, letting out a little sigh. Sephiroth chuckles at the hint of jealousy in Zack’s voice, giving him a nod. Zack thinks for a few moments before asking: “Do you know why she doesn’t like me?”

“Doesn’t like you?” Sephiroth questions, tilting his head a little. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she said she doesn’t want to be my friend, and she never lets me hug her! Angeal never had a problem with it!”

“That doesn’t have to mean anything,” Sephiroth chuckles softly, looking over at a framed photo on his desk for a short moment, before looking back at Zack with a reassuring expression. “Raven isn’t Angeal, Zack. I’m sure she told you that. You need to understand that she’s here to do her job, not make friends.”

“But you, Angeal and Genesis are her friends!”

“And she never fully opened up to Angeal or Genesis, even after years of being friends and having been in a committed relationship with Genesis for three years. This is just who she is, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t like you, I personally think you’re too good and too pure to make her dislike you.”

“If she never opened up to them, how did you make her open up to you? How did you get through to her?”

“It’s a long story, Zack. One that you don’t have enough time for, right now.” Sephiroth looks down at one of the papers on his desk before looking back at Zack. “You have a class in 10 minutes. I would worry about getting there if I were you.”

“Oh, shoot! Thank you for reminding me!” Zack says as he scrambles to get up, practically bolting out of Sephiroth’s office. The silver-haired man can’t help but chuckle at Zack’s energy.

In the evening, Zack makes his way towards the locker room as he sees Sephiroth coming his way, clearly in a hurry. He storms past Zack, not even looking at him. Zack turns around and follows him, a little worried.

“Sephiroth! What’s with the hurry?” He asks, following Sephiroth onto the elevator.

“It’s Raven.”

“What about her?”

“She’s injured,” Sephiroth sighs, impatiently tapping his fingers against his bicep as they wait for the elevator to reach their destination.

“She’s what?” Zack asks with wide eyes, feeling his heart drop in his chest.

“Something happened to her in Wutai, but she never reported anything. All I know is that she’s not feeling well and won’t admit that something’s wrong, that’s all the troops on the helo could tell me.”

The two men leave the elevator and head towards the helipads. As soon as the glass walls come into view, they see how a helicopter is in the middle of touching down. “Wait here,” Sephiroth commands before he runs out the glass door, making his way towards the helicopter.

A young infantryman opens the helicopter door and Sephiroth enters before he can even confirm Raven’s inside. He looks around and sees her lying down on the bench, her eyes closed. It doesn’t take more than a couple seconds for him to move into a kneeling position next to her, gently turning her around to face him.

“Kat, hey, look at me, come on,” Sephiroth beckons in a gentle voice as he brushes a strand of hair out of her face, her eyelashes starting to flutter. She lets out a small groan and opens her eyes, squinting a bit.

“There you are… Stay with me, okay? You’re gonna be alright,” he comforts her, though it seems like he’s more trying to comfort himself rather than Raven, seeing as how relaxed she is.

“Calm down, mom. I’m fine, just catching up on sleep, considering that I’ve been on deployment for a month.” She tries to push herself up with a groan, and Sephiroth immediately reaches out to help her into a sitting position. “I thought you were injured?”

“It’s just a scratch, nothing bad. Whoever told you that I was injured was either lying or overdramatic.”

Raven stands up and tries together off the elevator, but she’s bothered by the way Sephiroth keeps assisting her, pulling her up and leaning her weight onto him. She stops in her step and looks up with him, clearly annoyed.

“Can you stop treating me like a geriatric? I told you, it’s just a scratch,” she demands, pushing Sephiroth’s arms off her body. She steps off the helicopter right after, not even giving him a chance to respond. As her foot touches the ground, her knee buckles a bit under the weight of her body, but Sephiroth catches her before she can fall.

“Quit the lying, Kat. Your body is clearly weak,” he narrows his eyes at her, taking in her unfocused eyes.

“Have you ever considered the possibility that I’m tired and took a misstep? Now get your hand off my arm, you’re hurting me.” She pulls her arm out of Sephiroth’s grip, walking away from him. He’s left there standing confused at her attitude, taking in her gait. Her pace is slower than usual, and he can tell her range of motion is reduced by the way the left half of her body appears to be tense. He crosses the distance between him and her in just a few long strides, stopping in front of her to prevent her from walking further.

“I’m used to you being snarky, but that was a lot of attitude, even for you. You walk like you’re in pain, your eyes are unfocused, you’re as white as a sheet and you’re sweating, even though it’s February.”

“I got a little motion sick, so what? Stop fussing over me like I’m some sort of baby!” Sephiroth just scoffs at her answer and instead of talking back at her, he takes one of his gloves off before pressing the back of his hand against her cheek. Her skin is hot against his touch, causing him to pull his hand away almost immediately.

“You know what, that’s enough. You’re hot enough to cook an egg on your skin, I’m taking you to medical.” Sephiroth firmly wraps his arm around her shoulders, guiding her towards the door. When she tries to move away, he only holds her tighter, not letting her get away.

“Go fuck yourself,” Raven curses, knowing she can’t really hide it anymore. Sephiroth chuckles softly next to her, unable to stop himself from admiring how much of a spitfire she is despite the situation. “Let’s get you some help first,” he responds as he opens the door for her, letting her enter.

At the sound of the door opening, Zack looks up, his face falling at the state Raven is in. He immediately runs up to her, almost pulling her into a hug until he remembers her preference. Instead, he decides to put his hands on her waist to ground and support her.

“Raven! Are y—“ Zack is cut off by a loud moan leaving Raven’s lips as soon as his hand makes contact with her body, doubling over in pain as her knees buckle. Both Zack and Sephiroth catch her before she can fall to the ground, instead guiding her to gently sit down. She clutches her left side as she lets herself lean against Sephiroth, trying to hold back her pained whines. Her forehead is sweaty and hot against Sephiroth’s exposed chest, but he doesn’t move. Zack puts a hand on Raven’s shoulder, his face full of worry as he looks towards Sephiroth for guidance.

“If you’re moaning in pain, it has to be really bad. Come on, I’ll carry you to medical to save time,” Sephiroth says in a soft voice as he shifts on the floor, adjusting Raven so he can pick her up and carry her without putting too much pressure on her side. He slowly stands up and looks down at her, checking if everything’s fine.

“Tell Zack to leave,” she mumbles groggily, her eyes fluttering shut. Zack frowns at her words as he looks at Sephiroth, who only gives him a nod. Zack leaves the other two alone with a sigh, watching as Sephiroth hurries towards medical.

Only a few minutes later, Sephiroth has Raven sitting on a cot, taking her coat off before gently guiding her down onto her back. He stands close to her head as to not get in the staff’s way while also keeping her company.

“She wouldn’t tell me what happened. All I can tell you is that she has what feels like a high fever and she was in agony when her waist was lightly touched,” Sephiroth informs the staff as he stays close to Raven, feeling how her hand is frantically touching his thigh and hip, looking for his hand. He gently takes her hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze, talking in a low voice: “I know you hate this, but I’m here. Just focus on your breathing, alright? You’re strong, you’ll be fine.”

Raven nods as the medic and nurses work on undressing her, lifting her shirt and pulling her pants down after getting all her belts out of the way. Sephiroth’s eyes land on her toned, muscular stomach at the movement, his face losing all color when he sees it: Almost the entire left side of her stomach is red and swollen, the inflammation spread wide around a heavily infected gunshot wound, covered in old blood and mainly pus. He almost feels queasy at the sight of such a serious and infected injury on his best friend, but he takes a shaky breath as the medic touches the wound gently. Raven whines and writhes in pain at the sensation, gripping Sephiroth’s hand tight as she tries, and fails, to back away from the medic’s touch.

“It’s definitely infected, she needs broad spectrum antibiotics before it spreads any further. The surrounding tissue looks infected too, so I want to run a few blood tests. How long ago did you get this injury and what did you do to it?” The medic asks while a nurse is putting an IV in her.

“I don’t know, maybe a week ago. I stuffed it with some gauze or bandaging because it was bleeding heavily.” The medic’s eyes widen at her words, and he reaches for a few instruments.

“A whole week? Did you change or remove the gauze at all?”

“No, I ran out of supplies.”

The medic curses under his breath as he starts prodding at the wound, causing Raven to squirm and whimper again. He orders for the nurses to hold her down to stop her from squirming while he tries to pull the gauze out. Raven clings to Sephiroth tightly, trying her best to stay quiet, but she can’t stop the whines and whimpers coming from her throat. Sephiroth talks to her in a soft, reassuring tone, trying to distract her from the pain.

As the medic pulls out the gauze, a mix of blood and pus starts flowing from the wound, running down the side of Raven’s stomach. The pus stops flowing after a second or two, but the blood doesn’t slow down the slightest. The medic takes some clean gauze and pushes it firmly on the wound before motioning a nurse to take over.

“Prep her for surgery. The bullet’s likely still in there and there might be some damage to blood vessels, judging by the bleeding. Not to mention that all this pus should be drained.”

“Wh- Surgery? That isn’t necessary,” Raven grunts through clenched teeth, her grip on Sephiroth’s hand still tight, almost painfully so.

“Yeah no, it definitely is. Your body needs a break, anaesthesia will do you good,” the medic explains as Sephiroth looks down at Raven, taking in the worry in her eyes.

“You’ll be okay, Kat. I promise. I know you hate being defenseless like this, but I promise that everything will be fine. I’ll make sure no one from the science department even comes close to where you’re being treated.” Sephiroth reassures her, brushing the hair out of her face. “You just need to stay strong and pull through, okay? I can’t afford to lose you too.”

“Oh come on,” Raven scoffs, shaking her head. “Do you really think a little bullet could kill me? Get outta here.”

Sephiroth can’t help but chuckle at her cocky demeanour despite the state she’s in. He pats her head gently before the medics wheel her away, letting go of her hand.

“I’ll see you when you wake up,” he says, watching the medical staff disappear around the corner.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist: @bardic-tales @syntheticdesign02 @felix-winged-kitsune-derg @sapphirothcrescent @kitcatling

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Do you think Lazard has been acting suspicious?” Raven asks suddenly, pulling Sephiroth out of his thoughts. He picks up the remote and pauses the documentary on the TV before he turns to face Raven, who’s sitting on the other side of the couch with her feet in his lap. He furrows his brows at her, confused. “What? Where is this coming from?”

“Just answer my question,” Raven demands, turning her head to look at her perplexed friend. He just stares at her for a few seconds, blinking as he thinks.

“I wouldn’t say I ever noticed anything strange,” he eventually says, still caught off guard by her sudden, unexpected, and odd question. He narrows his eyes at her. “Why are you asking me this?”

“No reason. Just… got a hunch, I suppose.” Raven stares off into space as she explains, her eyebrows knit together.

“Just a hunch, huh? You know you never have ‘just’ a hunch. You always have at least one reason, even if I’m not on a high enough plane of consciousness to understand them.” Sephiroth teases with a soft chuckle, beckoning Raven to explain her train of thought. “Promise to keep everything about to say between us?”

“I promise, Kat. You can always trust me.” Raven lets out a heavy sigh at his assurance and looks down at her hands in her lap, tracing the scar under her left thumb with her right thumb.

“After Genesis deserted, Lazard wanted to hear my theory on why he left. He never asked you or anyone else, only me, someone who’s known for being able to look through bullshit. I told him that I think he’s with Hollander, which I’m still convinced is the case. He’s been acting a little weird since, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In Wutai, I noticed Angeal acting weird, so I told Lazard that I think Angeal will desert too. He subtly tried to basically push me into going after Angeal so he can’t leave us too, even though that was not the goal of the mission at any point. He also kept touching his pocket where his phone was in such a nervous manner. He didn’t appreciate my presence there, that’s much was clear. Before we left for Wutai, he kept asking if I was sure I wanted to come along and protect him.” Sephiroth takes in her words, still feeling a bit confused. He watches her as she takes a deep breath, waiting for her to continue.

“I’ve submitted multiple mission plans to try and track down Genesis and Angeal, but Lazard shut every single one down. His reasons don’t check out, either. He’s hinted multiple times that he’s not exactly happy with me putting in the work, or at least try to. He’s too much of a coward to tell me straight up. Up until recently, I just found the whole thing a bit odd, but then I worked the VP’s security detail. Did you know there’s rumors that he and Lazard are related?”

Sephiroth shakes his head at Raven, “No, I didn’t. How can they be related? They had completely different upbringings.”

“Turns out president Shinra is sort of Midgar’s city bicycle, letting all the women have a ride. Word is, Rufus and Lazard might have the same father.”

“Hm, that would explain their similarities.”

“Exactly. So, back to the story,” Raven clears her throat before leaning in a bit, getting more serious as she lowers her voice. “During the first night, I talked to Rufus about a few things. He’s been funding the SRC, and I told him I knew of it,” Raven lets her words hang in the air for a few moments, watching a hint of shock spread over Sephiroth’s expression. Before she continues, she takes a deep breath.

“Most of our conversation is irrelevant, all you need to know is that both of us ended up taking personal jabs at each other. Before he went back to bed, I told him I’m not his enemy, since I won’t blow the whistle on him for trying to do good. He said something among the lines of that multiple apples can ruin a bunch, that it doesn’t always have to be just the one. I never accused him of anything bad, so I had no idea why he said that. It didn’t take me long to figure out that he’s likely talking about Lazard, his half-brother. My suspicions were pretty much confirmed when Lazard started acting weird after I’d told him that I had some interesting conversations with Rufus. Since then, he’s been so tense with me. And now, he’s sending me to fight in Wutai once again, out of nowhere. Even though things have calmed down a lot and SOLDIER isn’t even necessary over there. I think he’s working with Hollander and is now trying to keep me off the scent by sending me to war.”

“Hm,” Sephiroth hums, looking down at the couch. Raven can see the gears turning in his head, so she stays quiet to give him time to process everything. “I see your point, but will you be fine in Wutai? All alone, I mean?” Raven rolls her eyes at his question, letting out a scoff.

“Seriously, I told you about how our boss might be cooperating with someone I would consider an enemy, and all you’re worried about is me, one of the strongest soldiers, surviving a little deployment to Wutai? Come on.”

“Excuse me for being worried about you, especially with recent developments.”

“I’ll be fine, Seph. Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself.”

“You better. Do you need me to take care of Zack again while you’re away?”

“I would appreciate that. Just need you to make sure he stays on top of his training, but you don’t need to train him or anything. I’ve given him enough inputs for now, he just needs to practice. I’ll prepare some training simulations for him.”

“Alright, I can do that.”

The next morning, Raven is walking to her office after being briefed on her assignment to Wutai. She can hear Zack call out her name and run towards her with his arms spread, clearly excited to see her. Before he can trap her in a hug, she puts her hand on his chest, gently pushing him back.

“No hugs, Zack,” she orders, giving Zack a stern look. He pouts as she starts walking again, following her.

“Aw, why? Hugs are nice!”

“To you, maybe,” she says as she unlocks and enters her office, motioning for Zack to enter as she walks to her desk. “If I ever do hug someone, it’s only my closest friends.”

“But we’re friends!”

“No,” Raven plants her hands on her desk, giving Zack a stern look. “I’m your mentor, not your bestie. There’s a huge difference between the two.”

“Maybe, but Angeal was my mentor and my friend!”

“Yeah he was, but I’m not Angeal. I didn’t step up to fill the hole Angeal left, I stepped up merely to support you through the last stretch of making first class. I’m here to teach and train you, not to buddy up and cuddle.”

Zack deflates at her words, a pitiful frown on his face. His shoulders slump a bit as he lets out a small “okay” and turns around to leave, only to be interrupted by Raven. “Did I say you were dismissed, Fair?”

“Uh, no, you didn’t,” Zack answers, turning around to look at Raven.

“Then why are you leaving?”

“Because you don’t want to be my friend, so I don’t want to bother you any further.”

“I wasn’t done talking to you,” Raven points at the chair across from her, talking in a serious, commanding voice. “Sit.” Zack nods and walks back to the chair, sitting down in it. He bounces his leg in a mix of restlessness and nervousness.

“Listen,” Raven sighs, “I’m going to have to leave you with Sephiroth again for a little while. I’m being deployed to Wutai as of tomorrow. All I want you to do is follow your schedule, I’ll put it together later, give you a copy, send you the file and print a few backups again. I’ve introduced you to quite a bunch of new tactics and whatnot, so I want you to practice those and solidify your skills while I’m gone. While we’re on the topic, I’m going to give you a short performance review so you know what I want you to work on,” Raven says as she sits down, looking for one of her notebooks. Once she finds it, she opens it on a specific page and looks over her notes.

“You’re exceeding expectations in weightlifting, you could easily pass the weightlifting part of your upcoming test. I want you to keep going as you are, but you really need to work on your stamina. With your running pace, you’re unlikely to pass. So, make sure you hit the treadmill at least five times a week and improve your pace. I’ll provide you with some resources to help you improve so you’re not completely lost, but you can and should always ask one of the instructors in case you’re unsure. When it comes to your combat performance, I’m mostly satisfied. I already told you how to improve the things I’m not happy with, so I want you to work on those, like I said before.” Raven looks up at Zack and meets his eyes, seeing him nod in approval.

“You can expect to see a lot of physical training on your schedule, but no missions. I’ll put together a few VR simulations for you as well. I’ll also sign you up for a few classes that you still need to absolve before you can even sign up for the exam. You have a spontaneous appointment with our psychologist in half an hour to assess whether you’re ready for RTI or not.”

“Wait, what’s RTI? And why do I need to be assessed?”

“It’s resistance to interrogation training. An assessment is necessary due to your young age and lack of experience.”

“But why does a psychologist need to clear me? What’s so bad about that training?”

Raven sighs at Zack’s question, rubbing her forehead. “You’ll be prepared and trained to not give away any information during interrogations. It’s not uncommon that humiliation and torture are used during interrogations to force the subject into talking, RTI trains you to resist that. You’ll be subjected to common methods used such as deprivation of warmth, food and water, prolonged nudity, sexual humiliation, and more. It can be really tough on somebody’s mental health, that’s why the counsellor needs to assess whether you’re ready for it or not. No need to worry, though. You’ll be eased into it the more you progress during training, you won’t be subjected to the worst methods during your first session. If it’s too much for you, you can end stop the session whenever you need it and you can always talk to the counsellor to process it.”

Zack nods, but there’s a look of terror on his face. He takes a deep breath to calm his racing heart, letting it out shakily after a few seconds. Noticing his uneasy demeanor, Raven speaks up again:

“Really, you don’t need to worry. During my first session, they just cuffed my hands behind my back and tried to intimidate me by hitting on me. It sounds worse than it is, if you ask me.”

“Alright, then. I suppose I have no choice if I want to make first…”

“No, you don’t. Now, go on and prepare for your psych eval. If the counsellor clears you, I’ll arrange a few RTI training sessions with the turks for you. You’re dismissed.” Zack nods and stands up, heading towards the door. He stops and turns around before leaving, looking at Raven.

“Will you be okay in Wutai? I can come with you if you need assistance!”

“Don’t be such a worrywart, I don’t need your or anyone else’s help.”

“Whatever you say,” Zack shrugs, turning back around to leave her office.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist: @bardic-tales @syntheticdesign02 @felix-winged-kitsune-derg @sapphirothcrescent @kitcatling

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Hey, guys! Another day, another— Wait, what is that?” Zack stops in his tracks as his eyes land on what he could only describe as a cursed, furless mix between a possum and a beaver, standing on the couch in the lounge room as it hisses at the understandingly terrified men, who are standing as far away from it as possible. There are two rookies who are braver than the rest, standing a little closer to the animal as the rest of the men. One is holding a broom, the other a bucket, but both of them are shaking despite their courage. Zack’s eyebrows knit together with worry as he looks at a fellow second class, who’s currently standing with his back pressed against the wall.

“Dude if you value your life, you should get the hell out of here,” the young man’s voice trembles as he talks, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. The animal suddenly lurches forward at the young man holding the broom, making all the men jump backwards in fear, some of them even yelping. It hisses loudly, fletching its small, but very sharp teeth at the broom. Zack feels his heart start to race in his chest at the sight of this clearly aggressive and defensive animal, but he tries to stay brave. Eventually, he decides to take his leave while he still can, but as he walks out of the room, he feels himself bump into someone behind him. He turns around and looks down, seeing Raven trying to push past him. She’s looking at him with a disappointed expression as she shakes her head before turning her attention back to the lounge room.

“What’s all this ruckus about?” She asks as she pushes past Zack, drawing the attention of the entire room onto herself. The young men look at her with shocked and terrified eyes, not expecting her, out of all people, to enter at this very unfortunate moment. She looks at the animal on the couch as it hisses at her, rolling her eyes before looking at the men.

“Seriously? You’re worried about a little lab specimen that has breached containment? Unbelievable,” She scoffs and walks towards the animal, which hisses even louder as it tries to back away from her. She reaches out with one hand and grabs it by the scruff of its neck, lifting it into the air. She takes a good look at it before turning her gaze onto one of the men, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I-it tried to, to uh, it bit James, ma’am!” The soldier explains, his legs turning into jelly as Raven, who’s already intimidating on her own, is staring daggers at him while also holding an aggressive animal. Raven lets out a scoff and turns towards the door.

“Tell James to get that bite looked at by the medic,” she stops in front of the door and turns around to look at the armed rookies. “And next time this happens, grow a pair and just get it over with. This poor thing is stressed and terrified, your attempt at a tactical use of cleaning utensils certainly did not help.” The soldiers confirm with a “yes, ma’am”, which earns them a short nod of approval from Raven before she leaves the room, animal in hand. Zack’s eyes follow her as she walks away, shifting the animal to put it into a more comfortable position. He’s pulled out of his thoughts as he feels a strong jab against his bicep, turning around to see one of his buddies giving him a shit-eating grin.

“So, that’s your new mentor, huh? You failed to mention how gorgeous she is,” his friend teases, wiggling his eyebrows at him. Zack blinks a few times, not expecting his buddy to comment on that, specifically. He feels his cheeks getting hot as he puts his hands on his hips, giving his friend an embarrassed smile.

“Yeah well, it’s her strength and bravery that stand out to me! Besides, I thought you knew what she looked like!”

“We’ve all known about her for years, but none of us saw her that close until now. Her pictures really don’t do her justice. You’re really lucky for getting to spend so much with her, you know that?” Zack rubs the back of his neck at his friend’s teasing, starting to feel a bit flustered. “I don’t spend that much time with her. Only really during training, actually. I don’t hang out with her.”

“Sure, but I’m sure you’d love to do that!”

Before Zack can defend himself, he hears his name being called from down the hall. He turns his head and sees Lazard at the end of the hall, waving him over. “Gotta go!” he says with a sheepish grin before taking off, running towards Lazard.

“I just crossed paths with Raven, do you have any idea what she’s up to?” Lazard asks as Zack stops in front of him, looking a bit worried. “She was holding… an animal, of some sort.”

“Not a clue, Director! The animal went rogue in the lounge room and she came and saved us from it! Why, did she say something bad?”

“No, don’t worry. Just… I know this isn’t your job, but would you mind keeping an eye on her? I’m pretty sure she’s headed for R&D.”

“On it, Director!” Zack grins before heading to the elevator, making his way to the science department. Once he gets there, he looks around and sees a dark figure closing a door right behind itself. He heads to the room in question and opens the door, looking down to see Raven kneeling on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Zack asks, closing the door behind himself. Raven removes the cover of an air vent, placing the animal in front of the opening.

“Just returning some misplaced cargo,” she explains in a low voice as the animal crawls into the vent, almost whispering. “Huh?” Zack tilts his head, and Raven shushes him before he can say anything. She remains kneeling on the ground, silent. The only sound is the animal’s nails scratching against the metal inside the air vent, but it only lasts for a few seconds before the room turns dead silent.

Zack is about to speak up, but he’s caught off guard by a loud scream. Zack’s eyes widen as Raven’s face breaks into a rare smile at the sound of a man screaming and cursing. She just listens to the yelling, which stops after almost half a minute. Once the man stops screaming and is only cursing, she stands back up and faces Zack. Her face turns serious again, but the afterglow of her pleasure is still evident on her face. Zack stares down at her in silence, feeling a sense of confusion. Raven raises an eyebrow at him and crosses her arms, waiting for him to explain himself. When she eventually clears her throat, he finally speaks up:

“Oh, uh… Who exactly was that? You know, the screaming?”

“A man you will hopefully never have to meet,” she says before walking past him to leave the room, Zack following behind her. “Why are you here, Zack?”

“The director asked me to keep an eye on you, he didn’t quite trust you with that… thing.”

“Oh yeah? I would say he should’ve trusted me, I returned it after all.”

“Yeah, but… nevermind.”

“No, go on, Zack.” Raven demands as she gives him a stern look, pressing the elevator button.

“Don’t you think you could’ve been… a little nicer about it?” Zack folds, the intensity of her stare sending shivers down his spine. Raven lets out a soft scoff as they enter the elevator.

“I definitely could have, but the bastard can be glad I didn’t infect the thing with rabies first. Anyway, did Lazard need something from me or what?”

“I, uh… maybe? I don’t know, he didn’t say anything.”

“Hmph. I’ll go and see if he needs anything,” Raven says as she leaves the elevator, Zack following behind her.

“I can come with you if you want!” Zack’s words make Raven stop in her tracks as she turns around to look at him with a confused expression.

“I think I can handle it, but if you really can’t help yourself,” she trails off before continuing her way to the director’s office.

Once they make it there, Lazard looks up from his paperwork with a smile. “Ah, Raven! It’s good to see you again. How was Wutai?”

“It was nice. Had some interesting conversations with the vice president,” Raven says in a flat tone, crossing her arms as she looks at Lazard. “Really? That’s good to hear!”

“Yeah. It was… very insightful, to say the least.”

Lazard’s smile fades a little at Raven’s rather cryptic tone, giving her a soft hum. Her gaze doesn’t change at all; it remains stoic and cold. He eventually clears his throat and turns to Zack: “Zack, would you mind giving us a minute? I need to discuss something confidential with Raven.”

“Oh, uh, sure!” Zack agrees before walking away reluctantly, looking at Raven before he turns around.

“I’ll meet you for training tomorrow morning, Zack.” Raven gives Zack a curt nod before turning back to Lazard.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist: @bardic-tales @syntheticdesign02 @felix-winged-kitsune-derg @sapphirothcrescent @kitcatling

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“Oh! Colonel Valentine! It’s good to see you again!” A receptionist calls out as soon as Raven enters the Shinra building, wearing a thick winter coat while her left hand rests on the strap of her backpack, holding her badge in the other hand. She tries her best not to roll her eyes as the receptionist gets up and hurries towards her, taking a clipboard and a pen. The receptionist gives her a kind smile as she pushes the clipboard towards her, noticing the dark circles under Raven’s eyes. “Are you okay? You look tired, ma’am.”

“I’m fine,” Raven takes the clipboard and skims over the form attached on it. “I would’ve called in sick if I wasn’t.” She sighs and hands the form back to the receptionist before making her way to the elevators. “Tell whoever gave you that form that it’s not your job to handle my paperwork, so they can either drop it off at my office or deposit it in my compartment. Also, please let them know that I won’t sign off on any form that doesn’t even contain the name of the person who submitted it. Thank you.”

The receptionist nods at her order and heads back to her desk while Raven enters the elevator, the door closing in front of her. Once they’re closed, she lets out a sigh and closes her eyes, relishing the potentially last moment of quiet she’ll have this day. She eventually opens them again, shoving her badge into her pocket just before the elevator reaches floor 49, stepping out. Her hand finds the zipper on her coat as she walks towards her office, opening it as a few rookies salute her. She can hear heavy footsteps thumping from somewhere, getting closer. She takes a deep breath, hoping to make it to her office in time. When she sees Zack round the corner, she braces herself for anything he might decide to do.

“Raven!” Zack exclaims happily as a wide smile breaks out on his face, running towards his mentor. Any hope Raven had for a somewhat calm day fades away as she sees Zack’s highly energetic attitude, knowing she’ll have to deal with him bouncing off the walls. She reaches her hand out once he gets closer, trying to keep him at a distance. He stops right in front of her, his smile fading.

“I appreciate the thought, Zack, but I don’t want any hugs today.” Raven explains calmly, watching a look of concern spread over Zack’s face. She walks around him and continues making her way towards her office, Zack following right behind her.

“What? Are you not doing okay? Why do you not want hugs?” Zack asks as he walks next to her, looking down at her. They get to her office and she takes her badge out of her pocket again, holding it up to the sensor above the door handle to unlock the door. “I’m fine, I just don’t want to be trapped by another person’s body.” Zack hums in acknowledgement as he enters her office after her, watching her throw her backpack to the floor. He keeps his eyes on her as she takes off her coat, revealing a black sweater underneath it, which has the teenage boy furrowing his brows in confusion.

“Why are you wearing a sweater?” he inquires as he tilts his head at her, seeing her equally confused face. “Because temperatures are below freezing?”

“I mean yeah, but it’s not your uniform!”

“Who do you think I am? Someone who wears their uniform all the time?” Raven demands as she walks to her desk, stopping to look at Zack once she’s next to her chair. “I never arrive in uniform, I always change at work. Though I suppose you wouldn’t know that if you get in later and leave earlier than I do all the time.” She turns her gaze to her computer, which she turns on as she sits down. Zack nods at her words and copies her movement, sitting down across from her.

“Hey, I got you this,” Zack reaches into his pocket and pulls out an energy drink, holding it out towards Raven. “It’s a welcome back gift!” He smiles as she takes it from him and sets it down near her keyboard, where she usually keeps her drinks. “That’s really kind of you. Thanks, Zack.” She gives him a small smile as he leans back in the chair, looking around her office. He sits in silence as she logs in to her computer, waiting to see if she’ll say anything. After a few seconds, he decides to be the one to initiate a conversation.

“So, what’s the plan for today?”

“Nothing too special. You can join me in the weight room soon in case you haven’t done that yet, after that you have a negotiation course, then lunch, in the afternoon we’re going to do some one on one training and then you can knock yourself out with a virtual training exercise.”

“Oh yeah!” Zack exclaims happily before giving Raven another excited smile, practically bouncing in his seat. “Training with you is always so fun!”

“Not today,” Raven gives Zack a short glance before looking back at her computer. “I’m in a bad mood and I know you’ve been slacking lately, so I need to get you in better shape. Besides, you’re still trying to make first class, so I have to push you a bit.”

“That’s cool! I don’t mind being pushed!” Zack claims proudly as he crosses his arms over his chest, clearly oblivious to what’s going to hit him. Raven lets out a quiet scoff and shakes her head, typing something on her computer. “We’ll see about that.”

Raven spends her lunch break in her office, as usual. She’s asleep on the couch as the door opens and Sephiroth enters quietly, his eyes falling on Raven’s back. He lets out a soft chuckle and closes the door, kneeling down next to her. He leans in to the point where his lips are right next to her ear, saying: “Morning.”

As soon as he starts saying it, Raven turns around and swings her fist, which he can luckily dodge and catch in his hand just in time. She looks at him with wide, shocked eyes as her chest heaves, causing him to laugh. She pulls her hand out of his grip and turns onto her side again, her back facing him. “Asshole,” she mutters, which only adds to his amusement as he stands up.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Kat,” he says softly as he picks up her feet to sit down on the couch, putting them in his lap once he’s sat. This causes her to lift her head to look at him with furrowed brows, confused. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m sitting down, obviously. I was required to move some cargo first in order to not get killed,” he explains in a teasing voice, lifting an eyebrow as he stares at her with an amused expression. She groans and turns onto her back, making sure to forcefully dig her feet into his lap, arms, and wherever her feet can reach. Sephiroth lets out an exaggerated “ow”, looking at her with a faux hurt expression.

“Oh sorry, is my turning around on my couch in my office bothering you?” Raven asks sarcastically when she notices Sephiroth’s pout, pretending to care.

“Yes, very. It would be nice of you to consider the feelings of your peers next time.”

“I’ll see about that,” She sighs as she gets comfortable on her back, rubbing her hands down her face. Sephiroth puts a gentle hand on her knee, giving it small rubs with his thumb. He gives her a bit of time to properly wake up and calm herself down before he asks: “Are you doing okay?”

“I’m holding on,” Raven sighs. “Just got a lot of stuff going on lately.”

“Really? I figured getting a break from here would do you some good, even if you have to work a protective detail. You still had less work than you would’ve had here.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… I had too much time to think during this gig. Work is what’s been keeping my mind off things, I know that now.” Sephiroth’s eyes fill with compassion as he listens to Raven talk, watching her as she stares at the ceiling. He gives her knee a small squeeze, showing his support.

“Perhaps you’ve been working too much and your brain had to catch up on all the thinking it couldn’t do while you were busy. Thinking doesn’t always have to be a bad thing,” Sephiroth explains with a soft voice, still looking at her. Raven sighs again and sits up on the couch, pulling her feet off his lap. “It’s not a good thing when you can’t shut your brain off anymore.” Raven looks down at the couch as she talks, lacing her fingers together. Sephiroth puts his hand on her shoulder, still keeping his voice soft.

“I’m your friend. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” He says as Raven meets his gaze, showing a hint of worry in her eyes. She nods softly and responds: “I know I can, and I will when the time is right. For now, I don’t want to worry you or anyone else about something that might end up being nothing.”

“I doubt it’s nothing. Your gut has never been wrong.”

“Not so far, this might be the first time it is.” Raven looks down at her hands again, staying quiet for a moment. “I really appreciate your presence and reliability, though. Especially during a time like this where you lost two of your best friends.”

“I’m just returning the favor, Kat. You’ve always been here for me when I needed somebody to lean on. It’s about time you lean on someone else, too.”

“I’ll consider it, thanks again. I should get going now.” Raven gives Sephiroth an apologetic look, but he just gives her an understanding smile. “Got training with Zack?”

“Yeah, we’re doing an endurance run. He’s super pumped,” Raven says in a flat tone as she stands up, causing Sephiroth to chuckle. “Does he know what’s coming for him?”

Raven scoffs and shakes her head, tying her hair up. “I’ve tried to warn him, but he kept playing it off. Well, he’ll know soon enough.”

Two hours later, Raven is running through the rough and snow-covered terrain outside of Midgar, Zack trying to keep up with her. She checks the stopwatch as Zack pants: “Can’t we do this on a treadmill? The ground is so slippery and uneven!”

“No. You need to be able to run a certain distance within a certain time on natural terrain like this if you want to make first. Most of our duties don’t take place on perfectly flat surfaces,” Raven explains as she continues running, her breathing a bit heavy. Zack whines behind her, barely able to talk through his panting.

“Can you slow down please? I’m not first class like you are!”

“I’m running the pace needed to cross the finish line just in time on the exam. You should run faster, preferably.”

“Even faster than I already am? For such a long distance, too?! Are you sure this isn’t your normal running speed?”

“My usual pace is almost half as long as the one I’m running now, so I can go much faster.”

“Ugh! This sucks!” Zack exclaims as he slows down a bit. Raven looks over her shoulder and throws Zack a stern look.

“I’m not waiting for your ass when I get back to the truck, so you better keep up unless you want to walk back to Midgar!” Zack groans and catches up with Raven at her threat, sweat running down his face despite the snow falling from the sky. “Are you kidding me? You’re so unfair!”

“I thought you didn’t mind being pushed?”

“Not like this! This just sucks, man!”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist: @bardic-tales @syntheticdesign02 @felix-winged-kitsune-derg @sapphirothcrescent @kitcatling

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Raven’s chest rises and falls with each deep breath as she sleeps, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight. She’s laying on her side, her long hair contained in a braid to prevent it from getting tangled. There’s a gun on the floor right within her reach, loaded and ready to be shot. She suddenly jolts awake as her phone rings next to her, immediately reaching for it and answering the call without opening her eyes.

“Raven speaking,” she mumbles sleepily, holding her phone to her ear as she turns onto her back.

“Ah, it’s good to hear your voice, Raven.” Hojo’s voice cuts through the speaker, making Raven groan and roll her eyes. “You did not show up for our appointment, and I couldn’t find you anywhere. I was getting worried.”

“The hell you were,” Raven grumbles, pinching the bridge of her nose. “What do you want?”

“You sound… compromised. Any symptoms I should know about?”

“Actually, now that I think about it, yeah. I’ve been having this huge pain up my ass lately, but bowel movements don’t make it go away.”

“Hm,” Hojo hums and clears his throat, caught off guard by her honesty. “Can you… describe it to me?”

“Sure, I can do that,” Raven sighs before continuing to talk in a low voice. “It’s short, has dark, thinning hair, looks like a moldy raisin, wears round glasses, has a god complex, wears a white lab coat—“

“I’ve heard enough. Where are you?” Hojo questions, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“On a mission.”

“Where?”

“That’s classified.”

“Are you tricking me again?”

“No. Do you want to know what a reversing truck sounds like?”

“Fine, I’ll hear you out.”

With that, Raven hangs up and snaps her phone shut, dropping it on the couch next to her. She runs her hands down her face and groans deeply, trying to calm herself down. She puts her hands on her stomach after a few seconds and stares at the ceiling, listening closely for any signs Hojo’s call woke someone else up. Once she’s confident that the coast is clear, she turns back onto her side, only for her phone to ring again. “For fuck’s sake,” she grumbles to herself as she turns around, propping herself up on her elbow. She reaches for her phone and answers it, keeping her voice low: “What?!”

“Hi Raven!” She hears Zack exclaim happily, having to pull the phone away from her ear for her eardrums’ sakes. “Guess what?!”

“Zack—“

“I just broke my bench press pr! I finally managed to do 130kg!”

“That’s great, Zack. I’m trying to sleep,” Raven whispers in a flat, unamused tone, sitting up on the couch.

“Huh? Why are you trying to sleep? It’s almost ten in the morning!”

“For you in Midgar, maybe. I’m in Wutai, remember? It’s like three in the morning here!”

“Ohhh, right. My bad! Wait, why are you whispering?”

“Because I’m not alone in the room.”

“Who’s there with you?”

“You are so nosy. I’m with Rufus Sh-“

“YOU’RE SLEEPING WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT?????” Zack practically yells, making Raven lower her phone again. She takes a deep breath, trying to stay composed.

“I’m not sleeping with Rufus, dammit! I’m on the couch, he’s in the bedroom! We’re just sharing a suite!”

“Ohhh, okay. Wait, why are you sharing? Can’t the company afford two separate rooms for you?”

“If Angeal saw genuine potential in you, he needs to get his eyes checked. I’m sharing a suite with Rufus because I’m his protective detail, idiot!”

“Hey, I just forgot, okay? No reason to become mean!”

“I can do whatever I want, Zack. Now, why did you call?”

“Right, the call.” Zack sighs on the other end of the line and Raven can just picture him running a hand through his hair, judging by the tone of his voice. “Well, you usually brief me every morning on what I have to do, but you’re not around to do that so I figured I’d call you!”

“Zack, I wrote you a to-do list for every day that I’m absent.”

“Yeah I, uh, I kinda lost those.”

“I gave Sephiroth backup lists. Go to his office and he’ll tell you what to do. You still owe me two mission reports, so make sure you get those done first. You can hand them in to Sephiroth. He can sign off on them.”

“You know me so well! Thank you, Raven! I’ll see you soon!” Zack says happily before hanging up, finally giving Raven the peace she wants. She lets out a deep sigh and shuts her phone, just letting it fall out of her hand this time. She lets her head fall against the back of the couch, closing her eyes to try and finally relax now. Her moment of calm is interrupted when a door suddenly opens, causing her to instinctively reach for her gun and turn around to the direction the sound came from. She raises the gun before realizing that it’s just Rufus, who’s standing in the doorframe with his hands in the air, eyes wide. Raven immediately lowers the gun once she registers his face, putting it down on the ground again.

“My apologies,” she sighs. “I thought you were an intruder.” Rufus chuckles at her words and heads over to the minibar on the other side of the room, Darkstar walking right behind him.

“You’re fine,” Rufus says, “I’m glad to know my bodyguard actually reacts when she hears a sound.” Raven scoffs as she sits down on the couch, hearing Rufus pour himself some sort of drink. She doesn’t say anything else, just staring out the window. Rufus turns around to look at her for a moment before he approaches the couch and sits down next to her.

“Can’t sleep either?” He asks, taking a small sip as he keeps his eyes on her. “I could, but idiots keep calling my phone.” Rufus lets out a small chuckle and shakes his head, looking down at the glass in his hand.

“I know the feeling too well. Even now that I’m vice president, my father can’t stop bothering me.” That finally makes Raven look at the man next to her, studying his face with a furrowed brow.

“Wow, you really can’t stand the guy, can you?”

“Are you really surprised by that?”

“I’d be surprised if you actually liked him,” Raven says, shifting on the couch to face Rufus with a stern, serious look. “I’m more surprised that you would go as far as to using your daddy’s money to fund a committee that’s trying to throw your daddy from his throne.”

“How do you know that?” Rufus suddenly tenses up, but he tries not to show it. Darkstar shifts on the floor next to the couch, standing up now.

“How about basic pattern recognition? You head to Wutai, the SRC’s headquarters, right after being promoted to VP, which means that you recently got a nice wad of cash for your promotion bonus. You know usually, VIPs like you don’t enter an active warzone. If it was about relaying information or working out an agreement, your daddy would’ve sent an informant or diplomat to do the job, so this must be business only you, Rufus Shinra, can do.” Raven explains coolly, watching Rufus’ face closely. She can see his jaw clench, knowing that he won’t say anything yet.

“Oh, and then there’s the fact that you were very specific about your protection detail during your stay here in Wutai, specifically. Not any of your other destinations. You asked for me, an elite SOLDIER who’s been in Wutai before. Now, you could’ve chosen Sephiroth, since he’s just as smart and strong as I am, except he’s loyal to Shinra. Therefore, I’m the only one who qualifies in terms of skill and won’t rat you out, because you know that I think the company could use some serious change.”

“So,” Rufus narrows his eyes at her, “Are you implying you aren’t loyal to Shinra, hm?”

“I’m as loyal as deserved.”

“I see,” Rufus puts the glass down on the small table in front of the couch before shifting to fully face Raven as the two stare at each other, neither of them showing any signs of feeling intimidated. “How much of your loyalty would you say the company deserves, then?”

“You tell me, Shinra. Seeing as you’re supporting the SRC, you should be able to tell me quite a few things about how much loyalty they actually deserve.” Rufus lets out a small chuckle and shakes his head to himself. He lets a small smirk play across his lips as he leans in a bit closer, lowering his voice.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t give my life for them, even if it meant becoming a hero and being remembered as such. I looked into you, you know. How you were taken from your daddy as a little girl, how you were forced to grow up in the labs, how you were subjected to torture hidden behind the excuse of doing ‘tests’, how you were doubted all your life just because you’re a woman,” he says in a soft, almost whisper, reaching out a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Raven’s ear, then letting his hand rest on the curve where her neck meets her shoulder. “You have every right to betray Shinra, yet you stay. Such an intelligent, amazing, not to mention gorgeous, woman, wasting her years fighting the wars of a corporation that’s failed her every day of her life. Don’t you find it ironic?”

“You can flatter me, touch me and play the empathy card as much as you want, but you won’t be able to radicalize me.” Raven doesn’t push Rufus’ hand away or lean away from his touch, she remains in the exact same position she was in before. Her stare doesn’t waver the slightest, still looking straight at Rufus. “The only interesting thing about your answer is how it basically didn’t answer my question.”

“You were so young, do you even remember your father?” Rufus deflects, tilting his head at Raven with a compassionate expression.

“I sure do.”

“What do you remember, then?”

“That he was loving, attentive, and would never name one of my ideas ‘L’ for loser,” Raven says, watching Rufus closely. She sees how his eyes narrow and the muscles in his jaw clench ever so slightly, knowing she’s hit a nerve. A sense of victory fills her chest as he lets out a heavy breath.

“I never imagined a turk would make such a good father, unless you’re lying.”

“A turk, you say?” Raven raises an eyebrow, acting surprised. This gives Rufus his confidence back, thinking that he’s got her intrigue now. Before he can say anything, Raven adds: “What kind of experiences have you made that makes you assume an ex-turk like my father wouldn’t be capable of being a loving father?”

Rufus’ smirk fades and he rolls his eyes, finally taking his hand off Raven’s neck. With a quiet groan, he turns towards the table and takes his glass into his hand again, taking a swig of his drink before looking down at Darkstar. “I hired you to protect me, not nag me with personal questions.”

“You said you looked into me, you never read anything Hojo wrote about me?”

“No, I did. What’s he got to do with this?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that he never fails to mention how he hates my guts, or how subjects aren’t supposed to talk back. I’m sure he wrote that down somewhere in my file.”

“Well, I don’t care what the bastard thinks, he’s just as bad as my father,” Rufus finishes his drink and stands up, bringing the glass over to the minibar. Raven’s lips twist into a barely noticeable smile of satisfaction as her eyes stay on his back. The room stays silent for a while apart from the sound of Rufus’ feet dragging along the floor and Darkstar following him obediently.

“I’m not your enemy, Rufus,” Raven speaks up before Rufus can disappear back into his room, causing him to stop in his tracks. His hand rests on the door handle, not opening the door yet.

“I know you’re not,” Rufus glances over at her, “like you said, I know you’re the only one who won’t rat me out. Just so you know, it doesn’t always have to be one apple that ruins the bunch.” Raven hums at his words, keeping her face blank. After a moment of silence, Rufus opens the door and mumbles: “Good night, Raven.”

“Likewise,” Raven responds, keeping her eyes on the door even after Rufus has closed it behind himself. She stares at it for a few seconds in thought before she eventually lays back down on the couch, closing her eyes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist: @bardic-tales @syntheticdesign02 @felix-winged-kitsune-derg @sapphirothcrescent @kitcatling

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“Look, daddy, look!” A gleeful, tiny voice calls out from the grass, the blades swaying in the gentle wind. The young man looks up from the newspaper in his hand, his eyes falling on the little girl now running towards him with an outstretched arm, holding something in her tiny hands. He puts the paper down on the porch steps to his left as he leans forward in his lawn chair, holding his arms out to catch the young child. She runs straight into his hands and he hoists her up high into the air, eliciting a happy giggle from the girl. He sets her down on his thigh and wraps one arm around her waist, resting his hand on her small thigh. His eyes fall down to her fist, which is now covered by her other hand.

“What have you got there, sweetie?”, he asks gently, giving her a loving smile.

“Something!”

“Oh, really?” He chuckles softly as he pulls her closer, leaning in a little. The little girl giggles again and nods, still keeping her fist shut tight.

“Are you going to tell me what it is? Or am I going to have to tickle it out of you?” The man threatens playfully, putting his free hand on her waist to emphasize his point. She squirms away from his touch with yet another giggle, shaking her little head.

“No! You have to guess!”

“I see what you’re doing, you little minx!” He gives her cheek a gentle pinch before he looks up at the sky, tapping his chin with his finger as he thinks.

“Is it… a flower?”

“No! Guess again!”

“Is it a bug?”

“Nuh uh!”

“What about a rock?”

“No! You’re so bad at guessing, daddy.” She exclaims, giving the man a disappointed pout. She opens her hands and reaches them out to him, revealing the contents. “It’s a feather!”

The man gasps dramatically and grips the tiny feather between his thumb and index finger, inspecting it carefully. “Wow, it’s so fuzzy! Where do you think it came from?”

“A bird!”

“You know what, I think so too. What kind of bird do you think it’s from?”

“Hmm,” the little girl hums as she thinks, studying the feather carefully. She suddenly lights up and looks back at the man’s face, her eyes wide and curious.

“A baby bird!”

The man can’t help but let out a soft chuckle at the girl’s ecstatic response, studying her features with nothing but adoration in his eyes. “You’re such a smart girl. I actually happen to know a little baby bird… Do you want to know who it is?”

“Yes! Tell me! Tell me!”

“It’s you!” He suddenly wraps his arms around her, causing her to shriek happily. He presses his face against her cheek, letting out a playful grumble as he keeps his arms tight around her little body.

“You’re my little baby dove,” he mumbles against her skin before peppering kisses all over her face, making her giggle and squirm.

“The past few weeks have been an absolute clusterfuck, Tseng.” Raven complains as she puts her feet up on her desk with a groan, looking at the man sitting across from her. “Losing Genesis and Angeal has been hard enough, but that comes with mountains of unnecessary paperwork and endless meetings. Not to mention that I also have to make space in my already full schedule just to fit Zack Fair in there. But yes, I’m doing perfectly fine, how about you?”

Tseng lets out a quiet chuckle at Raven’s sarcastic words, shaking his head softly. He leans back in his chair and clasps his hands together, resting them on his stomach. “I’m glad to hear you’re still hanging on. Personally, I’m doing as best as I can after what happened in Banora.”

Raven nods solemnly, letting out a soft sigh. “Sorry for pushing this mission on you. I should’ve been there.”

“Don’t apologize, Raven. I understand you’re dealing with a lot of administrative work and might not be able to attend every short-notice mission. It happens to all of us.”

“This isn’t about paperwork, Tseng.” Raven sighs, averting her gaze down to the ground. “This was about me being a coward and not wanting to look Angeal or Genesis in the eye.” Tseng’s eyebrows raise just a bit in curiosity, waiting for Raven to continue, which she does after a few seconds.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this before,” she looks back up at Tseng. “In every other situation, I would’ve known exactly what had to be done. I think what threw me off was the fact that I might have had to face two of my best friends after they’ve betrayed us, and the fact that Zack is my responsibility now. I have no idea how I’m supposed to work with him, my disciplined and stern hardass clearly isn’t what he needs.”

“You shouldn’t doubt yourself, Raven,” Tseng says softly, leaning forward in his chair. “You’re an amazing leader, perhaps one of the best Shinra has ever seen.”

“I’m not doubting myself, I’m doubting my ability to be the mentor Zack needs. I’m not Angeal, after all.”

“You’re doing just fine with Zack, he talked about you quite a bit on the way to Banora. He really admires you, you know.”

“Oh I know, he makes sure to tell me how cool and strong I am basically every day. I know he likes me, I’m just worried about meeting the standards Angeal has set for Zack. Angeal was more than just a fitness and tactical instructor like I am, Angeal was Zack’s best friend. He has a gift when it comes to human interaction that’s amazing to see, but I’m terrible at all this interpersonal stuff with people who aren’t my friends. And I know for a fact that Zack is at least two years and three wars away from that point. I don’t know how I’m supposed to get him through this, mentally. Telling him that it’s part of the job and that we need to move on won’t work for him.”

Tseng hums in thought at her words, understanding where she’s coming from. He’s been in this position before, where he was forced into situations where he felt inexperienced and new, despite having been on the job for a while. He studies her face for a bit before he eventually speaks up: “Try to think of what Angeal would do in this situation, if you or Sephiroth or Genesis were in Zack’s shoes. Try to do what he would’ve done. That’s all I can tell you, unfortunately.”

“I appreciate it, Tseng. You don’t owe me any help, either way. Let’s just try to get this debrief over with before someone drags your ass out of here to go and celebrate Christmas.” Tseng chuckles at her words, knowing that Reno, one of the recruits, would come for him if he showed up late. Without much further ado, Tseng begins to share everything that happened in Banora.

About two hours later, Raven is ready to leave her office. She checks her phone before she leaves, seeing that she has a text from Sephiroth, asking if she’s still coming to the Christmas party hosted by the company. Raven sighs as she stares at his text, thinking for a moment before she types out her response: “I don’t know. I might have to miss it, something came up. I’ll still come to your place later, though. Promise.” With that, she puts her phone away and puts on her winter coat before heading outside.

“Knew I would find you here,” Zack jumps slightly at the sound of a familiar voice, turning around to see the person approaching him from behind. His eyes land on Raven, her black hair covered in a sheer layer of white snowflakes. He sighs and turns back to staring over the upper plate of Midgar, his shoulders slumping a bit. She sits down on the edge of the platform next to him, taking in the sight of a large Christmas tree in the square, surrounded by all sorts of people. The Shinra building stands proudly in the distance, which has a few decorations on its exterior to match the festive spirit. Despite the evident sadness on his face, Zack looks at Raven and tries to lighten the mood a bit: “Oh yeah? Did you install a tracker in my phone or something?”

“Not yet,” Raven says as she looks at him, “but I might have to if you just run off after a mission like you did back there. My orders were clear: Report back to me as soon as you arrive back at HQ. And yet this is my first time seeing you after the mission. Care to explain why you went against me?”

Zack sighs and looks away, clearly feeling uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze. His eyes land on his feet, which are gently swaying in the air as they hang off the platform. “I don’t have a good explanation, ma’am.”

“It can be a shitty explanation, too. And I’m Raven, not ma’am.”

“Okay, got it. It’s just… It’s been a lot lately, and the mission didn’t exactly make it better.”

“I can imagine, Tseng told me about what happened.“

“I guess that saves me the trouble, at least…”

“You can talk to me about it if you want to,” Raven says, “it’s what Angeal would do if he were here, after all.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zack exclaims as he gives Raven a short glance, “I want to know how I’m supposed to deal with all of this! I want to know how you and everyone else can just take it like a little breeze while I’m over here losing my mind about all this!”

“I see,” Raven sighs and looks down at her hands for a moment before looking back at the city. “First of all, we’re not unaffected by it. Quite the opposite, actually.” Zack perks up at her words, suddenly curious. He looks at her with intrigue as she continues. “Angeal was our friend, too. The difference between you and us is that we’ve had countless losses before and that we’ve learned how to compartmentalise. You still have a lot to learn, Zack.” Zack bites the inside of his cheek as his gaze falls down again, not knowing what to say. Raven picks up on his uncertainty and takes a deep breath, sitting up a little straighter.

“I was in a similar situation as you are right now eight years ago, when I was 12. Sephiroth, Angeal and I were deployed to Wutai for the first time, but I was stuck fighting with the standard troops. Not SOLDIER.”

“Wait, why did you have to fight with the normal military if you were SOLDIER?” Zack asks, tilting his head in confusion.

“Because the men in power are misogynists, that’s why. They thought I was too weak to actually fight as SOLDIER in the war because I’m a woman.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Yeah, I know. We can talk about sexism another time, right now I want to tell you about my experience back then.” Zack nods at Raven’s words, waiting for her to continue where she left off.

“I was the only woman in the unit and the youngest of the bunch too, so most of the other soldiers disregarded me. There was one soldier who actually paid me attention and eventually became my friend. His name was Davey, he was about the same age as you are right now. Despite our difference in age, we really hit it off. He was so effortlessly funny and always knew just what to say. He was my battle buddy, we looked out for each other throughout my time there, we kept each other warm in the harsh temperatures of the winter, and so much more. He was the reason that deployment wasn’t totally unbearable.” Raven lets out a deep breath, letting her words hang in the air before she continues.

“Then the end of December rolled around. He and I were taking cover behind some boulders since all the plants were stripped bare in the winter. He told me he had to piss, so he got up and walked away from our little hideout. I stayed put and waited for him to return. Out of nowhere, there was this sudden, deafening sound, but before I could identify it, something hit my face hard. I looked down and saw an underarm lying there in the snow, hand still attached. I looked in the direction Davey had walked and couldn’t see him anywhere, at least not in one piece.” She hesitates for a few seconds, her jaw clenching as she blankly stares ahead of her.

“The snow was painted red, there were limbs and other body parts I couldn’t identify everywhere. Turns out, some Wutai troops spotted Davey and launched an RPG right at him. The hand that smacked me in the face was Davey’s, it got launched in my direction from the blast. I just stared at the mess and didn’t really register what was happening around me, at that point. All I remember was that somebody dragged me away and that I was extracted and shipped back to Midgar pretty much right away.” Raven takes a deep breath, giving Zack the opportunity to speak up, which he doesn’t take, however. So, she continues her story, slowly coming to an end.

“It was New Years, so everybody in Midgar was celebrating. I landed shortly before midnight, so one of the first things I heard after I’d returned was fireworks. As if somebody wanted to play a cruel joke and rub in the fact that I just watched my friend get blown up. It was just as tone-deaf as this situation, here.” Raven looks over at Zack, seeing his wide eyes staring back at her. She sees a mix of horror, sadness, shock, and maybe a hint of compassion in them. Judging by the way his mouth hangs open, he still needs time to process her words.

“Your best friend disappeared a month ago, but today you got confirmation that he left willingly, that he’s not planning on coming back. You found the dead body of a mother shortly after you talked to her without worry, not anticipating that she would kill herself. You watched a village, the home of many people, the home of your best friend, get bombed into nothing today. You witnessed so much pain and loss on Christmas eve of all days, on the one day in the year that almost all people spend with their loved ones. That can’t be easy for you, Zack.”

Zack remains silent for a few seconds before he sighs, his eyes full of sadness now. “I- I’m so sorry about your friend,” he mutters, “no one deserves to go through that.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that, but it’s the unfortunate reality of our job. As long as there is war, there will be casualties. The only thing we can do to try and prevent that is look out for each other and always have each other’s six, no matter what happens.”

“How can you talk like this after you just told me about Davey? How are you so unbothered by it?” Zack questions, still looking at his new mentor. He studies her eyes for a moment, but is only met with the strength and determination he usually finds. The corner of Raven’s mouth twitches upwards, as if she’s cracking a very faint, tiny smile.

“Years of practice. I’m afraid I can’t give you any advice on how to deal with what happened to you, all I can do is let you know that you’re not the only one who’s experienced this before and that it will get easier with time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Now, how about we head back to HQ? Your lips are turning blue, you should warm up soon,” Raven says as she stands up, brushing off the snow that’s accumulated on her thighs. She extends one of her hands towards Zack, who looks at it for a second before taking it and standing up. He brushes his own clothes off and Raven starts walking, to which Zack calls out: “Hey, stop! Why are you always in such a hurry?” Raven stops in her tracks and turns to face Zack, who jogs up to her. He stops in front of her and looks down at her with a sincere gaze.

“Thank you for sharing that,” he pants softly, “I really appreciate your help. You can count on me too, y’know!”

Raven scoffs and shakes her head before walking again, Zack following her this time. “Don’t feel special, Zack. I’ll see if I can rely on you. For now, let’s forget about work worries and focus on celebrating Christmas, alright? That’s the first step to compartmentalising: knowing when to distract yourself from work stuff when you’re not on duty.”

“Yes ma’am! Do they have hot chocolate?”

“Again, it’s Raven. And no, they won’t have any left if you keep up this snail pace.”

“But I’ll slip on the ice if I go any faster!”

“Then maybe you should invest in some good crampons.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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