Vagaries of Fate

Surprise

Chapter 11 

It was five days until Clarissa and Genesis were supposed to leave for their trip to Wutai, and she still had not had much time to worry about it. The other Firsts had left their respective locations two days prior and were expected back the day before they had to leave. The thought of it made her cringe, as she was sure Genesis would be cranky the whole way there after having just got back. She had traveled with him enough to know that he didn't like being cooped up.

What was worse was the fact that the lab Angeal had been assigned to came under attack just a few days after the alert with Shears and Fuhito's images. Luckily it was turned back quickly, and nothing was taken, but that did show that Avalanche already knew where the rest of the locations were. It was a toss-up whether they could make it into Wutai before she and Genesis could ask Emperor Godo for permission. It didn't look good for them. At least all the relevant data from the three sites on the Western Continent was on its way back with the Firsts.

It was late afternoon, and Clarissa had thought about sending the Soldier assisting her to his bunk, but she had just gotten a fresh report from all three sites and wanted to go through them before they turned in. It was as she was reading through them that she heard a knock. She didn't bother looking up as she called out for them to come in. She vaguely heard the door open and shut, but she only gave it half an ear. The other Soldier that assisted her was in and out often enough that she only bothered stopping what she was doing if he had something to ask her.

It took her several moments to realize that the person hadn't moved or said anything yet, so she finally looked up. What she saw had her frozen for several heartbeats, at least until she managed to somehow spring out of her seat and across the room faster than most people would have been able to see. The sound of her voice barely kept up. "Genesis!"

His arms were open and waiting when she flung herself into them. He didn't hesitate to meet her lips with his own. He had missed her as much as she obviously had missed him, and they both poured all of that into a kiss that seemed to drag on, at least for the people watching. They were finally interrupted by a deep chuckle. Clarissa managed to push back far enough that she could look around. She was still a little dazed, but that feeling went away when she saw a grinning Angeal and a smiling Sephiroth. She felt her face heat slightly, but she didn't try to move out of Genesis' embrace as she managed to greet the others too. "Sorry, guys, I didn't notice you there. It's great to see you both too!"

At that, Sephiroth let out a genuine laugh and clapped Genesis on the shoulder. "And you were ever worried that her heart would stray?"

Clarissa felt her cheeks heat further, but she ignored it as she gave her commanding officer a glare. She wasn't given a chance to say anything, as Genesis relaxed his hold and took her hand so they could speak. "We wanted to surprise you."

She nearly laughed at his simple statement. "Well, I would count myself surprised. We weren't expecting you back for another four days or so. How did you make it back so quickly?"

Genesis gave her one of his devious grins, but it was Angeal that answered. "We may have stretched the truth a little. Genesis told us that he wanted us all back before you had to leave again so we could all attend the wedding. We only brought back the people we could afford to and had our Second's forward their daily reports to us, so we could send them to you. There wasn't much left to go through anyway. I imagine the rest will be on their way back within a few days."

She felt her heart lurch at his words. Given the fact that they had to leave so soon, she had fully expected the wedding to be put off until their return from Wutai. She gave Genesis a questioning look. His answering smirk had heat spreading through her. She tried to control the reaction as he answered her unasked question. "I made a promise that we would be wed when I returned from this mission. That is one that I took seriously and have no intention of failing to keep."

Clarissa felt like her heart was trying to burst from her chest at his words. She barely managed to keep from throwing herself on him again. She settled for burying her face in his chest and giving him a rib-cracking hug. Her voice was muffled when she answered. "You know I love you, right?"

He chuckled softly and kissed the top of her head before he pushed her back. "My love, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the Goddess. I have been blessed and plan on letting the world know." She laughed at his roundabout way of telling her that he loved her too. She was used to it, as it wasn't a new habit.

They were interrupted by the Soldier that had been going through the reports with her. "Excuse me, ma'am. I've finished these, so if you don't object, I'll leave you to your evening."

She had to fight to keep from blushing again as she turned to him. She had forgotten that he was there as soon as she saw Genesis. "Of course. I really appreciate you staying late and helping me go through those." He gave her a genuine smile with his salute before he walked out.

Thankfully, none of the Firsts commented on the interaction. Although Sephiroth did speak up. "You can give me a rundown of where things stand tomorrow. I think it's late enough tonight that you should take your own advice and turn in." She wasn't sure if he was being facetious, as it was sometimes hard to tell with him, but she wasn't going to complain even if he was. She and Genesis had a lot of catching up to do. She gave him a nod as both he and Angeal turned to leave. Once they were gone, Genesis didn't waste any time wrapping her up in his embrace once again.

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Even though she had said they would be turning in, it was nearly an hour before she and Genesis even made it out of her office. She was just thankful that she kept her desk neater than he did, or it would have been uncomfortable, to say the least. Even on the way back to their apartment, their hands stayed clasped, and neither of them let go for any amount of time.

Clarissa really tried to be considerate of the fact that the walls in the Shinra building were much thinner than she would have liked, but it was a lost cause as the night got later. They had been apart for far too long as far as they were concerned, and they were trying to make up for the lost time. Even though they were both enhanced, they finally succumbed to their exhaustion and curled into each other.

Before Clarissa could fall asleep, she was brought out of her doze by a kiss on the top of her head. She looked up at Genesis with a lazy smile. "You could do that every day for the rest of our lives, and I would never not love it."

He chuckled slightly. "Noted." Before she could curl back into him, he spoke up again. "I know that most of the arrangements have been decided on already, so I will make the necessary calls in the morning. It will be no problem, and I already have a venue. Once you give your report to Sephiroth, would you mind taking the afternoon off?"

She raised a brow at his uncharacteristic question, and her curiosity showed in her voice. "I'm sure it will be fine. Now that you are all back, the load will be a little easier to handle. Why do you ask it like that, though? You know I would love to spend time with you."

She was further surprised when he looked away. He was acting strange, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. He finally looked back with a slight furrow between his brows. The sight of it made her nervous, at least until he spoke. "I wanted to visit Aerith tomorrow, and I would appreciate it if you would go with me."

At his request, she leaned up and kissed him softly with a smile before she responded. "I would love to go. I haven't been able to do more than pass along messages since you've been gone anyway, and I have a couple of things that I need to talk to her about as well." She lightly kissed him again. "Besides, I said I would before, didn't I?"

He smiled at her teasing tone, but he still looked nervous. Instead of answering her, he changed the subject. "You said you needed to speak to her as well? Why?"

She let the change of subject slide as she curled back up against his chest. She was fighting sleep already, even with the topic, but she managed to respond. "A couple of things. The most important was that I wanted to ask her to be my maid of honor."

Genesis stilled at her words. He should have realized she would want that, and he wasn't upset, but it did give him mixed feelings. By the time he worked through them at least enough to answer, he had found that she had finally drifted off. He smiled at the sight before he allowed himself to follow.