Time and Tides Archives

Cissnei was awake. In fact, she had been awake for nearly an hour but hadn't moved from her bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling, anxious of Sephiroth's arrival. She promised information and she would give it to him but it didn't mean that she was going to be happy obliging. So when Reno knocked on her door, she simply grunted a general "I'm alive" sort of reply and slinked out of bed. After her morning routine, she trudged down to the kitchen, serving herself a cup of coffee.

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After leaving Tseng's room and knocking on Cissnei's door, he'd actually headed to the kitchen, himself - taking out the items they'd need to get a real breakfast started up.

"Hey," he murmured as Cissnei padded in, sipping at his coffee and flashing her a hopeful smile. "This ought to be an interesting morning..."

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"Tell me about it," she replied. "Don't tell me you plan on staying shirtless." She leaned against the kitchen counter, pushing aside some of the things he'd gotten out delicately as to avoid any accidents. "I couldn't convince Zack," she began quietly, almost sadly. "Think we'll have more luck with Sephiroth?"

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He stopped his work for a moment, moving to sling an arm around the girl in a gentle hug. "I'm sorry, Ciss. Zack can be a stubborn ass when he gets it in his head to be. But..." He sighed, letting her go so he could get back to collecting foodstuffs, hunting for eggs.

"Sephiroth agreed to come, which is more than I can say for Zack right now. I know we'll get that stubborn ass to see reason eventually, but... yeah. I think we'll have more luck with Sephiroth. Until he snapped, he was good at keeping a level head, being reasonable, and realizing when an offer really was in his best interest." He gave a little nod, then smiled at the girl. "Here's hoping he hasn't changed too much"

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She smiled weakly at him. Reno did have a point on both accounts, so why did she still feel so... bad? "Guess you can only lead a horse to water." Cissnei shook her head and took another sip of her coffee. He probably hates her, why should she feel otherwise towards him? Hmph. Asshole.

"Need help with anything?"

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He gave up on the eggs - they obviously weren't in the fridge, and since Tseng hadn't made mention of them, they weren't all that important. Instead, he took out some fruit and bread, butter, and orange juice - snorting at Cissnei's comment.

"I'd say something about comparing Zack to a horse, but..." he winked and shrugged, then set the bag of bread by the toaster and scrounged around for two knives and a large bowl.

"It's fruit-slicing time. Add a bit of honey and some lemon juice and the apples shouldn't brown before the big-guy comes." He flashed her a grin, passing over three apples and a knife while he took a mango, a pear, and a bunch of grapes for his own work. Nifty how bomb-making expertise could help in the kitchen - he'd learned that citric acid stopped browning. As did honey, which had a few hundred other uses. "I figure two oranges and a few dozen strawberries and we'll be good to go. Shiva I could go for some cake right now..." Leave it to Reno to think of cake at a time like this!

He dug out a lemon first, though, and bruised it up a bit before slicing it neatly in half and squeezing it over his hand to catch the seeds as the juice fell into the bowl. He repeated with the other half of the lemon, throwing the rinds away - juice waiting for the apple slices.

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Cissnei let out a short laugh and stifled it quickly. "Yeah, that might be a little too nice for him." She took the knife and apples from Reno and first washed them before cutting when she gave him a quizzical look about his cake comment. "Cake sounds pretty good actually."

She began to slice them in perfect eighths without missing a single beat, setting each neatly aside one next to the other. Cissnei wasn't much for making meals (she never had the time for it truth be told) but this she could handle easily.

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Small cubes of mango and pear were added to the apple slices as he worked on his own pile of fruit - it really was the only thing he could do, as well. Hell, Reno could burn water at times.

Once the few items that needed to be chopped were finished, he pulled out some oranges and began to peel them. "After all this is over, and after whatever it is Rufus wants to chat with me about, I'll go out and get us some cake from... somewhere. Anywhere. Got any flavor you're in a particular mood for?" He flashed the girl a grin as a few sections of orange were dropped in their fruit bowl.

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"Well," she began with a mischievous smile, "you know my one real weakness is chocolate. But I'll let you pick this time. You done over there?" she asked as she began to collect her knives and used cutting boards to clean. "I won't be surprised if Sephiroth inspects every inch of this house to see if it's clean," she said with a bit of a scowl. Sure she was organized and was a neat freak, but it was entirely too early to even think about that, coffee or not.

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He arched a brow at the petite woman, clearly surprised. "Is he that picky? I never really noticed. But then, the Turks and SOLDIER didn't exactly mix often." It was true. The Turks were specialized forces used for covert, precise operations. SOLDIER was called in for brute strength, intimidation, and open strategy. "Let's just hope that the man isn't given a full tour of the house, then," he added with a groan. His own room wasn't bad - but then he hadn't really accumulated much. It was the same as when he was in their home world, too - better to be capable of just picking up and moving on, in his mind.

"I think we're done here..." he insisted after glancing at the bowl, a belated reply to her question from earlier. "Just gotta stir it up and all. Then get dressed." Well, more dressed. Half dressed would not be all that impressive.

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"From what I've gathered, he seems the type to be that picky. He might be more lax considering the last chat you had with him." She grabbed all the knives and other things they had used and started to wash them and setting them on a towel she had laid out for her to dry them quickly after. "You do that, I'll finish up here."

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Given Tseng's habit of being up ridiculously early, it should have come as no real surprise that he was already working on getting ready for the day when Reno came in. There won't be any surprise half-nakedness today. But he was grateful for the coffee all the same, taking it from Reno with a grateful nod, before getting his brain moving to answer the question.

"I can't recall what preferences our guest might have had."

It's been far too long since Sephiroth was actually part of ShinRa proper, unfortunately.

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He hummed in thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I can't remember ever seeing the guy eat breakfast. Could be wrong, of course - it was rare that we spent time together in HQ. But I figure we should just make food for ourselves and a little extra. If he's hungry, he'll eat. If not? We have leftover toast. No biggie." He smiled then, and leaned over to brush a light kiss across Tseng's cheek.

"So, what do you want? I'll get things started, at least." He could do toast, at least. Hell, he made that for himself often enough. Toast and coffee. Breakfast of champions.

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Well, Tseng wasn't surprised. But either way they shouldn't prepare to meet Sephiroth empty-handed. It was only by persistence that they'd managed to get him to agree to this, and it wouldn't do to prove less than good hosts.

"I'll be fine with toast. However we should consider something on the off-chance he does wish something. Fruit, perhaps?"

Simple, more or less healthy, and easily prettied up. Surely Sephiroth wouldn't have any problems with that.

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"Fruit, toast... I'll see if we have anything easily-made that we can add to it, but honestly, barring the rank-and-file, I don't think I've ever seen anyone at Shinra have too much more than buckets of coffee for breakfast..." He snickered, then leaned in to add one last kiss - this time to the corner of Tseng's mouth (hey, they both had morning breath, thanks!).

"I'll see you down there." And then he was off to start waking everyone else up.

A quick rap to Cissnei's door earned him the aforementioned grunt, and then it was off to Rufus' room. He'd informed the other man the night before of what had been told to Sephiroth, and what he and Tseng were hoping for, with the absence of the greater bitch that was Jenova. And if the blond wished to join in the conversation, he'd be very welcome to it. So long as he didn't try to recruit the General, who had made it clear he didn't want to be re-recruit into Shinra's ranks.

His knuckles made his presence known - not too loud to startle, but certainly loud enough to cut through the lighter sleep he knew Rufus was likely engaged in, knowing the good General would be visiting. "Sir?"

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Rufus had, as Reno suspected, just woken from a very light sleep. The nerves, though he would never show them to anyone, had kept his all-too-quick mind on overdrive in an attempt to plan the day and prepare himself mentally to meet the former General.

It had been years since he had seen Sephiroth, the revived man having murdered his father and fled the scene before he arrived at Shinra Headquarters. The last time they had met, Rufus had been Vice President for roughly a year. It was also a year before the General went mad.

When Reno knocked, Rufus' eyes blinked open, and he pushed himself to a sitting position, leaning on one hand while he rubbed his face tiredly with the other. The morning sun shining through the window made him squint, but his voice was firm, if a little groggy, as he called out, "Yes?"

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Whatever Reno had expected when he knocked on the door, a half-naked Rufus was not one of them as he pushed the door open. It took him a second or two - this was the same man he'd known as a stubborn little pre-teen, learning to hack properly, learning to fight like a Turk (as if there was any other way!), and not quite mastering the finer arts of bossing people around. That had certainly come later.

"Sir," he managed after perhaps slightly too long a pause, "There's about an hour or so before we're expecting Sephiroth. I figured giving you a little extra time to get ready might be welcome."

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Rufus shook his head slightly to clear it, then looked up at the redhead, brushing some blond hair out of his face while he nodded.

"Understood." And with that, he pushed back the covers, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and stood, clad only in black silk pajama pants which hung low on his hips as he padded over to his dresser.

"Oh, Reno," he called over his shoulder before the Turk could leave. "What time do you anticipate this little visit to be over?"

Hopefully early enough, mid-afternoon at the latest. Rufus had some things he wanted to do, and he needed Reno in order to do them.

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He had been about to turn and leave, eyes swiftly averting from pale skin. The call had him pausing, and blue gaze returned to his President, waiting for whatever the man needed.

"Considering that it took a shitload of persuasion just to get him to agree to come? It shouldn't take long. I see him leaving at the earliest possible moment it wouldn't offend you or Tseng. He has questions, and as I told him - we have answers." He'd explained the night before - he and Tseng felt that the more real information Sephiroth had, the less likely he'd be to go on a Jenova-induced killing spree. It had been Hojo's false conjectures that had started the silver-haired General down the path. That had given Jenova the weakness in Sephiroth's mind that she needed to take over.

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Rufus nodded, turning around to lean against the dresser with a light smirk, crossing his arms across his bare chest. "Good. And are you available once the good General leaves?"

Reno seemed the slightest bit... off. Almost nervous. Which combined with everything, including all he had learned from both Reno and Tseng, made Rufus just the slightest bit suspicious.

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Only a handful of people could pick up that Reno was 'off'. Of those few, Tseng and Rufus were at the top of the list - even the Rufus from before Meteor. He gave a little nod, hoping he wasn't giving away too much as he regarded the blond.

"For a bit, yeah." Hunting down gil could wait. It was Rufus, after all. He hesitated, then made a gesture toward the hallway. "I gotta get my ass to the kitchen, if it's okay? Tseng wants me to get some breakfast ready for all of us." And that line alone might inspire fear in those who knew Reno a little - but if they knew Tseng? The Wutaian would likely not have put Reno to work doing anything that involved actual cooking.

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Rufus smiled a secretive, knowing smile, and nodded once. "Very well. I'll try not to take too much of your time, then. I should be down shortly, and if not, please notify me when our... friend arrives, if you please?"

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The smile set off a small alarm in Reno's brain - but only a small one. After all, he trusted the other man well enough, but a smile like that meant Rufus was up to something. All the redhead did, though, was nod lightly.

"Sir." It was the only confirmation Rufus would get - or need - from Reno, and the Turk turned away from the door to head downstairs again. There was work to be done.

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As the door clicked behind the Turk, Rufus' knowing smirk widened. And with that, he pushed away from the dresser, heading to the closet to get dressed and ready to meet Sephiroth.

Thoughts of what was to come in the afternoon would keep him in a good mood for the rest of the morning.

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At precisely nine am, hard knuckles rapped on the door. Sephiroth stood just outside, not one to merely barge into a residence unannounced. In lieu of his "peaceful intentions", he'd not brought the Masamune with him, but rather left the sword comfortable back in his quarters across town. Nevertheless, he did still have those "other" abilities should they be needful and he was quite sure he'd be able to handle anything should it be thrown his way.

Half-turned to watch the citizenry bustle on by, Sephiroth waited, patient and calm for the moment. This little get-together would be interesting, if nothing else. Truth be told, he was quite curious to see how the "other half" was living these days.

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Mere seconds after his knock, he'd find the door answered by none other than Tseng. As always, he was looking nothing less than the picture of collected patience. He had worries, yes. Any man would have. But none of them of them were present in either his demeanor or his expression. Today, he was just a man, preparing to welcome someone into his home.

"Please, come in."

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A silver nod, then, "Thank you, Tseng," and Sephiroth swept inside, instinctively taking stock of the surroundings. A trained habit, that. Apparently, standards hadn't gone to hell quite that far from what he observed; Tseng still seemed composed and polished, a far better demeanor than their initial conversation. Interesting nuance, that.

But ShinRa's Elite stood at his usual aggressive parade rest, calmly waiting.

"Good morning, Tseng. I trust all's in order?"

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If pressed, Tseng would have mentioned that his prior conversation with Sephiroth had been largely due to trying - and failing - to properly assess a proper threat. One that had very nearly killed him twice over. He meant to keep a proper eye on Sephiroth during this visit, that much was certain. But part of being a Turk was also making sure that one wasn't noticeably watching, and Tseng was one of the best.

So for now, all Sephiroth was likely to get was that Tseng was perfectly willing to be as polite as ever.

"As in order as it ever is," he answered with a ghost of a smile.

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"Lead on, then."

Sephiroth didn't miss the nuance; the tension in the house was thick enough to walk on. But he truly had no intention of losing his temper; Reno had promised breakfast and coffee, so the General was willing to simply roll with the flow, to so speak.

"It seems you've settled in rather well here."

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Tseng nodded, as he headed off to the rest of the manor, trusting that Sephiroth would follow him. Tension or no, it wasn't like there was any reason for thing not to proceed as if this were any other day.

"We've been lucky to have had the time to. Things have been less than settled, lately."

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Sephiroth followed dutifully enough, voicing a small noise of affirm. He himself hadn't had much trouble, all things considered. But then, he was simply one man; the Turks seemed to want to recreate what they had back in ShinRa. Well, Sephiroth had no intention of returning to that; he'd had quite enough of that family during the course of his life.

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By the time Tseng and Sephiroth made it into the dining room, he and Cissnei were clean, neat (well, at least as neat as Reno ever was, in his case), and breakfast of warm toast (butter on the side), jam, fruit salad and coffee sat on the table.

"Hey, good to see ya," he commented cheerfully, actually waiting for Sephiroth to get comfortable before finding his own seat. He gestured to the mugs of coffee, then to the carafe in the center of the table. "Coffee's poured, refill as you want."

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A bit of surprise flickered over his face; he supposed he hadn't actually expected such "cordiality" once he'd arrived for this little tête-à-tête. Nevertheless, the nuance was both amusing and appreciated; Sephiroth took a seat with gentlemanly grace, leaning back comfortably as the others went about their duties.

He truly wasn't all that hungry, but true to Reno's word, there was indeed fresh coffee within reach, but Sephiroth opted to wait a bit before indulging. There were proprieties to be observed, after all.

Cocking an eyebrow at the redheads, his lips twitched as he commented, "You certainly seem to be comfortable on a foreign planet, all things considered."

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After the near-disaster that their previous interaction had turned out to be, Tseng would have been honestly surprised if most of the Turks hadn't been willing to at least pretend to be polite. The mansion had seen enough attacks as it was. There was no sense in tempting things further.

"We've had some time to get used to things as they are here," he answered as he took his own seat.

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He smirked and nodded at Tseng's assessment. "Had my freak-out while Rude was still around here," he explained - and that was quite the explanation. Rude was exceptional at calming Reno down, and was the cool-head to Reno's fiery personality. "Still not all that used to the sudden appearance and disappearance of people here, but... it's easier to be here than it was. By a long shot." He doctored his own cup of coffee, lacing it with a bit of cream and a lot of sugar, then leaned back in his chair and regarded the General easily.

And it was easy, now that he knew the man wasn't about to freak out. Sephiroth had been a damned good ally before he'd lost it, and Reno wasn't about to forget that. While he might not have any intention of joining up with Shinra here (and Reno didn't blame him in the least for that), he could still be a friend. And that was his aim - just as it had been with Zack. He could be patient when it came to it, too! It'd taken a number of interactions before Zack started joking around with him instead of acting suspicious of him every time he contacted the man. He knew he probably lost some of that trust in contacting Sephiroth and telling him the truth, too. But patience.

He'd work it out, somehow.

"Can't say it'll get any easier to deal with the losses, though. Losing friends, getting them back only to find out they don't remember a thing about being here. Having coworkers or allies appear, only to have them disappear days or weeks later. But you learn to accept it, at least." Never mind that the last time he and Tseng lost someone they cared about, it'd nearly shattered them.

Edited Date: 2011-03-03 02:53 am (UTC)

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