He was already fully in Blank Face mode, so when he caught a glimpse of honey-brown hair trapped behind glass it was easy to keep himself from reacting. He walked on under the watchful eye of the junior physician, past the containment area where the most valuable specimens were kept, and not even a flicker of eyelash betrayed him.
It was less simple to endure the smug look on Hojo's face as he ran Sephiroth through the usual battery of tests, but it helped to ignore the hints the scientist was so blatantly dropping and refuse to ask what he was so happy about. That, in itself, wasn't unusual - he'd stopped indulging Hojo's vanity about the time he proved himself in Wutai - but the act of holding his peace didn't carry the satisfaction it did when he was just doing it for the sake of it. This was another intel mission, pure and simple - his first undercover action since they'd started plastering his face all over the news and he'd become too recognizable to do it anymore.
Of course, in the long run, Sephiroth's acting abilities meant nothing. "Arm, please," Hojo said, and Sephiroth held out his arm, palm up, the response ingrained in him since childhood. Outside the labs, he was General Sephiroth, the Great Sephiroth, the Hero of Wutai; inside them, he was merely a lab specimen, if a valuable one. Even the most junior researcher could expect compliance from him - how much more, then, could Professor Hojo?
***
The injections took hours, and by the end Sephiroth was dizzy and uncomfortable as every nerve stood on end. He refused help back to his quarters and stalked out of the labs, his gaze slightly unfocused and his step deliberate - so far, no different from any other physical. As the door slid closed behind him, Sephiroth stepped to one side and leaned against the wall, relishing its cool solidity and its silence.
The current pattern dictated that Hojo and his assistants would barricade themselves in the lab for at least an hour, comparing and analyzing the data extracted from Sephiroth's body, and Sephiroth himself would return to his quarters, there to be left alone for the rest of the day. Sighing, he pulled himself away from the wall and started walking again.
The current pattern dictated he turn left to reach the elevators. Sephiroth turned right.
***
The girl - young woman, really, for all she could be mistaken for a mature twelve at first glance - was crouched against the wall of her containment tube and did not even look up when Sephiroth entered. The tubes muffled sound, Sephiroth knew, so it was possible she was honestly unaware of his presence rather than pretending disinterest as he had done with Hojo. Rather than attempt to get her attention - his worst headaches had resulted from people tapping the glass - Sephiroth located the controls and tripped the door switch.
The containment tube opened with a hum of gears; its occupant darted for freedom, away from Sephiroth. The General did not try to catch her, but let her gather her wits until she finally looked up at him with startling green eyes. Startling and natural, he noted with relief - no signs of drugs, no Mako-shine. The young woman's mouth worked silently a moment before voicing his name in a whispered query.
"Miss Gainsborough," he said. "Are you injured?"
Aeris Gainsborough bit her lip and started to nod, then faltered and finally shook her head no. "I - " she managed, voice strained, "- got careless. I'm sorry."
Were she a soldier under his command, Sephiroth would have - but she wasn't, and he tried not to treat her as if she was. "Don't dwell on it," he advised gruffly. "Going home may be inadvisable for the moment, but there should be places - "
Aeris made a tiny, distressed noise, high and soft in the back of her throat; Sephiroth held back a wince, thinking he'd said something wrong. That hypothesis was confirmed when she burst into tears and leaped at him.
It took all his discipline and then some not to react - not only was she a civilian, Aeris was a victim of the very company he represented, and she had the right to attack what she feared even if she had little to no chance of causing him any damage - but Aeris only slung her arms around his waist and wept into his chest. The contact set his skin ablaze, residual sensitivity from the injections making his perceptions leap and spin. A rush of flame roared up behind his eyes and sped down his spine, pooling at the bottom and glowing meaningfully at the edge of his vision.
On the whole, Sephiroth would have preferred an attack. "Miss Gainsborough," he tried.
"Aeris," she corrected between sniffles.
"Aeris," Sephiroth acknowledged with a sigh. "We should get you out of here. The techs will be reviewing my data for some time, so that gives us an opportunity for a head start."
Aeris didn't look up, didn't release her death-cling around Sephiroth's waist one iota. "But won't you get in trouble?" she wavered.
It's a bit late to be considering that, Sephiroth thought wryly. Aloud he said, "What exactly are you afraid they'll do to me?"
That got Aeris to look up and smile, and Sephiroth awarded himself a small, secret victory. Then that victory was shattered when Aeris stretched up and kissed him.
It was supposed to be a chaste, friendly kiss, Sephiroth was almost sure - but the moment her lips brushed his the fire in the bottom of his spine roared to life and the next thing he knew he had snatched her clear up off the floor and was kissing her hard and deep. For her part Aeris was making sounds under his mouth that could have been mistaken for distress except her hands were clenched in his hair and she would not let him go. Sephiroth answered her with a soft sound of his own, his skin prickling with every beat of her heart.
Time and their surroundings greened out for a moment, leaving Sephiroth barely-aware as he set Aeris gently down on the nearest desk. Aeris's tongue flickered at his lower lip, her dress hiking up around her hips as she wrapped her legs around his hips and clung tight. Miss Gainsborough, Sephiroth thought, then, Aeris...
When he pulled back it was too sudden, and it hurt; Aeris squeaked in protest. "I'm sorry," Sephiroth said quickly before she could speak, his voice too harsh in his ears.
Tear-streaked face pulled in a frown, Aeris wrapped her hands in his hair and pulled tight; not enough to hurt him, but he bent his head to her direction anyway. "Don't you say that," she whispered fiercely, and kissed him again short and hard and unfairly sweet. Sephiroth hissed as his hands on her thighs wobbled.
"But- Zack-" he managed.
"-Will just be disappointed he didn't get to join in," Aeris finished firmly. "If you don't want this, then say so." Her expression softened. "You know he adores you. Us."
Sephiroth opened his mouth to reply, paused, and shook his head as he acknowledged that he really had nothing to say in response to that. He also acknowledged that, technically, he still had Aeris tight in his arms and really couldn't pretend to have the moral high ground. "I'm sorry," he said again, and - mostly to forestall further protest that he shouldn't apologize - this time he was the one to initiate the kiss.
His vision greened as she pulled him closer, oversensitive skin dancing madly under her hands. The pressure of her fingers drew trails down his leather-clad back - how could something feel so good and so patently not enough at the same time?- and he gasped softly and clawed at his belt without breaking the kiss. His trademark duster opened easily, flaring out to drape over them both, and Aeris took full advantage of the extra room to slip her hands in under it. There, he thought, relieved, and reached to unbutton his trousers.
It was much easier for Aeris, Sephiroth found himself thinking jealously, watching her hike up her dress. He was sure he was embarrassing himself fumbling with the buttons, but she was distracted by the line of his throat and didn't seem to mind. He tilted his head back and let her trail warm, teasing kisses along his jaw until he finally got his damnable trousers open.
They came together smoothly, as much as Sephiroth was terrified he'd hurt her. Aeris moaned and tipped her head back, gilded-brown curls falling over her shoulders, and Sephiroth forgot to move and just watched her. Her eyes were closed, lashes fluttering against her cheeks, and she rocked against him and the desk slow-quiet-gratifying as a heartbeat. She wrapped arms and legs around him, her skin slick and warm against his, and she wouldn't let him feel guilty when, despite her doing all the work, Sephiroth came first.
It wasn't much of a time difference, and all it took was a brush of fingertips to send her, but Sephiroth still determined to do better as he pulled her semi-upright against him and cleaned them both up as best he could. Aeris tilted her head against his shoulder and smiled, heartbreakingly warm. "I should get kidnapped more often."
"Don't even think it. Can you stand?" Sephiroth glanced around the room worriedly.
Aeris chuckled. "Think a bit highly of yourself, don't you? Oh, I'm just teasing," she added with a laugh when Sephiroth looked at her. "You were great." Even with her apparent assurance, the young woman wobbled a little as she slipped off the desk. "How do I look?"
"Like yourself," Sephiroth answered as honestly as he could, and wondered with a flash of cold guilt whether Zack would feel the same way. "Come on, we have to get you somewhere safe."
"Out of Midgar?" Aeris murmured, twining her fingers in the sleeve of his duster.
Sephiroth caught his breath. "Later, if we can," he promised. "Right now I know of at least one place they will never think to look for you."