Chaos Cursed

“Seraphina…?” The voice from behind her was soft, as though unsure of the welcome she would give. As she turned to face him with tears in her eyes, Genesis sighed, moving to join her on the pier below Junon City proper. “Are you alright?”

“…yes. I’m sorry for how my brother is, Genesis.” At the even tone in her voice, he frowned, glancing over at her to find her face as impassive as her voice. It was as though she were very carefully controlling herself, attempting to hide beneath the conversation that was expected.

“He’s always been like this - he takes his responsibility seriously, and now you and your sister are his responsibility. Sephiroth merely worries that I will hurt you. Understandable, I suppose.” A soft laugh, shaking his head. He noticed she was relaxing as he seemed to take her bait, and as she glanced over to him, he caught her gaze, his eyes hardening. “Now tell me what is wrong, Seraphina.”

“What are you talking about?” She got to her feet, much more slowly than usual, and began to walk away. His gaze followed her for a few moments, noting that she was very careful with every step, as though walking across glass. Eyes narrowing, he followed her away from the city, keeping within arm’s length of her. By the time they reached a small cove far from the city, it was obvious that she was in pain, as though every step, every heartbeat, every breath, caused her no end of agony.

“Seraphina.” Genesis’s voice had become a low growl, and as he lead her to one of the large, flat rocks beside the ocean, she sighed, looking up to him to see that he was not going to leave well enough alone. “What is going on?”

“…It’s complicated.” She murmured, sitting down slowly and pulling her knees to her chest as she looked out to the ocean. “…I…my body is deteriorating.”

“What!?”

“My body is destroying itself.” The voice was blank again, though as her eyes met his, there were visible tears within them. “I’m sure you’ve noticed - of Sanura and I, I am the strong one. The one who takes action no matter what. She has to be infuriated, or she will simply ease near the topic and hope someone else will actually pick up on it.”

“I’ve noticed. What does this have to do with-” Her hand moved over his mouth, as she shook her head with a soft laugh. He could see that even through her pain, his impatience to understand what was going on made her smile. It was something that had amused her since she had first met him, though he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“Let me finish.” She had a tone that bordered on scolding, but the laughter in her eyes softened the attempted severity in her tone. “I have to be the strong one. It was never necessary before now, but when I was growing up in that capsule, I was trained to be this way. Genesis, you’ve seen both shades of my eyes. Each shade represents a part of me, and these parts seek only to destroy each other. If one is not dominant over the other, they are constantly at war.”

“…in other words, the two parts of you are killing you.” His lips moved against her hand as he spoke, and she drew her hand away quickly, a blush on her cheeks as she looked back to the ocean, nodding in answer to the rhetorical question. “…why hasn’t this affected you before now?”

“The only way to keep them from killing me is if I am kept in pure mako - like I have been for the past thirty years. My…creator…knew this, but did not live long enough to find a way to save me. The most that could be done was program the capsule to train me to strength, and to give me the knowledge of myself.” A shake of her head. “I knew when I was freed that it was only a matter of time. But…I don’t want to go back to that…to living in a constant dream.”

“Seraphina, if you don’t, you will die.” He grasped her shoulders, turning her to face him. “Isn’t that what you just told me? If you aren’t in pure mako, your body will destroy itself?”

“Yes, Genesis.” Her voice was calm, even though he could feel her trembling with fear at the prospect of dying in such a manner. “But…I’m not ready to go back to that yet…I want to live a real life…just a little longer.”

“Why?! Seraphina, you could die!”

“I am certain that I can live just a little bit longer.” She told him, smiling at the worry in his eyes, her hand moving to touch to his cheek. “…don’t worry, Genesis…when I grow too weak to fight to stay alive, I will return to a capsule like before, until I can survive again. I won’t die on you, dearest.”

“…dearest?” He blinked at the affectionate term, only to stare as she blushed and turned quickly away from him. “…Seraphina? You mean that, don’t you?”

“I may be the twin that takes her time to decide, that weighs all her options before taking any step…but it does not mean that I cannot make choices without days of deliberation.” Her voice was very quiet, hugging herself as she looked down at the rock on which they sat. “I may not usually be quick to love, but…this time, I am. I love you, Genesis. I’m sorry I’m not a more openly affectionate and kind person by nature, like my sister, but -”

“Shut up.” For the second or third time that night, Genesis made her meet his gaze, his own intense as a low growl began in his chest. “You are not your sister, and if you were I highly doubt you would be half as interesting to me as you are. Stop attacking yourself for it.”

“But-” He actually groaned in annoyance at her continued protest, simply pulling her to him to press his lips onto hers, effectively silencing her. Eyes that shot wide at the start fell slowly closed, her hands moving to his shoulders, clenching slightly as he drew back from her. “…Genesis?”

“…I do not know what it is, to love.” He murmured, gaze searching her own as he spoke, for some sign that she understood. As she nodded faintly, he moved to brush his cheek against her own, lips near her ear parting. “…but I believe you could teach me…”

“Genesis?” The whisper was soft, as she pulled back to look into his eyes, one hand moving to touch to his cheek again. “…if I asked something of you…that my brother would probably kill you for agreeing to…would you agree to it?”

The laughter that emanated from his throat was far darker than she had ever heard from him previously, and as he lowered her back onto the stone still warmed from the summer sun, all traces of humor were gone from his eyes.

“Let’s just say, whether you ask or not, I intend to risk my life tonight.”