Faithless Memories

First Date - Sort Of

Since they were taking a cab, it didn't take them long to get to their destination. He frowned slightly when she didn't wait for him to open her door again, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he retook her hand and led her into the small restaurant. They were immediately greeted by a tall woman that showed them back to a corner booth. Kris felt a little self-conscious after the woman left. Between the towering Commander and the woman, she had felt like she might disappear, with her full five feet two inches.

The thought disappeared quickly when she took in the fact that it was just the two of them. She turned to him with a slight frown. "I thought others would be joining us?"

He had been motioning to the waiter, but he turned and smiled. "They should be here soon. I did confirm with Angeal that he would attend."

Her frown deepened slightly, and his smile softened. "I give my word on my Soldier honor that they will be here."

Kris decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and nodded. She was pleased to see she was correct when it was only a few minutes later that she saw Zack following Commander Hewley in. The person next to the Commander had her staring, though. When they reached the table, she stood. "General Sephiroth, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Sephiroth took her hand with a smile. "The pleasure is mine. I've heard about your recent encounter, and I'm glad to have this chance to speak with you."

Kris didn't know how to respond to that at all, so she turned to Angeal. "Commander Hewley, it's good to see you again."

He grinned at her and motioned to the empty seats. "Why don't we have a seat."

Kris started to sit back down, but Zack interrupted. "Would you please excuse us for a moment, I need to speak with my sister."

She gave him a curious look, but as soon as Angeal gave him a nod, he dragged her to the other side of the room. When he felt they were out of earshot, he turned to her with a frown. "Why didn't you tell me you already had a date?"

She gave him a confused look. "I thought you knew already. Genesis said he would invite you and the Commander. When you didn't mention it, I thought it was because you didn't want to start another argument."

Zack sighed and gave her an exasperated look. "He did invite us. Today. I was blindsided, and I wish you had told me. I've already asked you to just leave him be."

Kris didn't want to fight with Zack, not about this, but she had never asked for much of her own. Even if this didn't turn out, she wanted to try. She realized part of it was because she had been so bored, and this was interesting, if unexpected, but convincing him of that would be difficult. Still, she planned on trying.

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Genesis eyed Sephiroth as he watched the siblings walk away. He was not happy to see the man, but he wasn't surprised. After his spar with Kris earlier in the week, news of her lasting for more than fifteen minutes against a First spread quickly. He had seen the Puppy overrun several times already and had to turn away each time. The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize anything before it was started by setting Zack's friends on fire.

He huffed in irritation but turned to watch the two siblings talk to each other. He couldn't hear them, but if their body language was any indication, he could well guess what it was about. He really didn't blame the Puppy for being worried about his sister. There was a reason for his reputation after all, but it wasn't his fault that he had yet to find a woman that was both beautiful and intelligent.

Despite his track record, he already found himself attracted to the tiny woman. It was a shame that she was attached to his best friend's protégé, but he had always been told that good things were worth fighting for. He would see if the adage were true.

When he saw Kris put her hands on her hips and lean forward slightly, he grinned. The woman wasn't afraid of anything, although she was speaking to her brother, so she had good reason to believe she was safe. Still, she had acted much the same with him. When he saw Zack slouch slightly and shuffle his feet, he turned to Angeal with a smirk. "Have you ever seen a dog cower down before a spitting cat many times smaller?"

Angeal frowned at him. "Don't. Don't start."

Genesis just raised a brow and looked back again before he gave Angeal a knowing look. His friend ran his hand down his face with a sigh and pinned him with another glare. "At least don't say anything where they can hear it."

Genesis smirked again. "I don't find it an inappropriate analogy, but I will abide by your request for now."

They both turned when Sephiroth spoke. He was giving Genesis a confused look. "I was under the impression you were pursuing Miss Fair. Is that not the case?"

Genesis raised a brow. "It is. Why are you confused. Surely even you can understand that she is beautiful. So far, I have been pleased to find that she is also intelligent and quite spunky."

Sephiroth shook his head slowly. "If that is the case, why would you compare her to an animal?"

Angeal groaned when Genesis' smirk turned into a grin that was just shy of devilish. "Because, my dear General, cats have many fine qualities that I am not disappointed to see the lovely Kristobel shares."

Angeal groaned again. He was already regretting forcing Genesis to go with him when he went to visit Zack. It had seemed like a good idea at the time because the man had been in one of his temperamental moods. He thought getting out of headquarters would help. Now, he just wished the whole mess would end quickly, one way or another. He looked up and saw the siblings finally headed back and nodded towards them to let the others know.

When they finally sat down, Angeal shook his head. The girl seemed nice enough, and Zack always talked about her. The boy was obviously proud of her. He once again mourned being stuck in the middle, but he tried not to think about it as the conversation turned to the spar between Kris and Genesis.