Life Finds a Way

Chapter 22

Silence descended on the room after that, only broken by the shuffling of papers. When Genesis finished skimming the documents to see if the contents were classified he looked over to find Clarissa quite literally curled up in one of his chairs. The sight brought a smile to his lips. It was obvious she was engrossed in whatever she was reading. He watched as her eyes flew over the pages, only pausing to brush back the silver strands that fell over her shoulder or to turn the page. When she fluidly shifted her body to rest on the opposite arm of the chair her gaze never left the book. It also allowed him to see what she was so wrapped up in. His smile widened as he realized she had picked the one about materia. Maybe it would be fun to have a student that could get that engrossed in the material, and without even being asked. With a shake of his head he went back to the papers in his hand, moving through them quickly and entering the needed information. He didn't want to take her away from something that could potentially be helpful.

He finished in a surprisingly short amount of time. When he powered his computer down he turned to find Clarissa in almost the same position she had been in. He didn't want to disturb her but knew it was late and they both had an early morning coming. "Clarissa." He chuckled when she jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.

"I'm sorry, I guess I forgot I wasn't alone." She blushed slightly as she uncurled from the chair and stood to face him.

Part of him wanted to feel offended that any female could be in the same room as him and forget that he was there, but the rest understood what it was like to get so lost in something that the rest of the world drifted away. "Think nothing of it, although I would recommend you not make it a habit. As a member of Soldier, you could find yourself in sticky situations if you aren't paying attention in the wrong place."

The look she shot him was obviously disgusted. "Please don't remind me. I will face that fact when I have to and not until then. For one more night I am going to pretend I have a shot at having a normal life."

"Are you truly so opposed to the idea? I am sure there are many people that would love to have the chance to be invited to join Shinra in any capacity."

Clarissa realized she needed to be careful with her answer. It probably wouldn't hurt for her to be more careful with showing disgust for Shinra as well. Most of the people around her now were dedicated to the company, or at least pretended to be. She didn't want to find out what they might do with someone that was obviously treasonous. "I am sure it's an honor, but it will take time for me to become accustomed to the idea. It isn't like I asked for any of this."

"Point fair made. I won't bring it up again until the morrow. For now, we both need to retire. It is late." She gave him a nod before moving to put the book she held back on the shelf. He stopped her before she could. "Why don't you keep that. It will come in handy soon."

Clarissa looked like she wanted to decline his offer but realized he had a point. Instead she gave him a nod. "Thank you."

Once they were back at his apartment he was kind enough to let Clarissa use the shower first. Thankful that he had allowed it she tried her best not to take too long. It was much later than she had realized, and she didn't want to keep him up longer than necessary or run him out of hot water for that matter.

When she was finished she lamented the fact that she had left her sleeping shirt in the room on the Turk floor. She had asked about it of course but had been told it had been disposed of already. She was sure that meant it was cut up and tested on. She heaved a sigh as she laid down fully clothed again. She hated sleeping in pants but knew it would be a good idea to get used to it. Maybe she would be given shorts at least.

She had already laid down but was still unable to sleep. There was too much going on in her brain and it refused to shut off. She pulled out the book that Genesis had been kind enough to lend her and dove back into it in an attempt to relax her brain, plus it was interesting.

When Genesis stepped out of the bathroom he was only partially surprised to see his guest still awake. He watched her for a moment, lying on her stomach with her feet crossed in the air and her nose back in the book she had been reading earlier. He hoped this meant she was the studious type. She had a lot to learn and very little time to do so. "You should sleep now."

She jerked her head around to face him before giving him a scowl. "I plan on it as soon as my brain shuts up. I was just trying to relax a little." Her scowl faded as she continued. "I won't bother you and I won't be up much longer. It's just that when my brain goes into overdrive it takes it awhile to stop."

He nodded his understanding. He knew how that could be a problem. He was certain that all the Firsts suffered from the same issue more often than they liked to admit. "Make sure to turn off the light before you go to sleep."

She gave him a smile as he turned away. "Good night Genesis."

He almost paused at her words. It had been a very long time since anyone had bothered to tell him goodnight. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. An image of his mother's face passed through his head, but he pushed the image away quickly. The last thing he needed right now was to be kept awake with his own thoughts.

edit 11/14/2019