Chapter Text
All of it was bad timing.
Right after morning meetings when the next task on Genesis’ agenda was training some new recruits, he could feel the grip in the back of his head starting. Fearing a migraine coming on, he opted for taking the stairwell up to the training room to get some peace and quiet to hopefully avoid his head feeling as if it could burst for the rest of the day. It had happened before, and Genesis had found the routine of avoiding the chatter of the lobby to be an effective headache deterrent.
He had made it up maybe a few steps when he heard the echoing of a door slamming open several flights above, followed by swift heavy steps down. Great. There goes his peace and quiet.
Turning the corner, Genesis came face to face with the last person he expected.
Both of them stopped momentarily on the steps recognizing each other. The look Sephiroth was one Genesis had never seen before.
Angeal had mentioned a few times that Sephiroth was not as strong as he seemed. Genesis’ stalwart friend had the opportunity to lead a mission with the elusive hero long ago, but never fully explained what had happened to make him so certain that Sephiroth’s icy exterior was a front. Angeal seemed to have decided it was not his own story to tell.
Genesis was used to seeing Sephiroth the hunter. The demon of Wutai who slaughtered rebel soldier and civilian alike. A weapon ready to kill at any notice.
But this Sephiroth was different. His eyes were that of prey. A deer in headlights. A rabbit just about to sprint away. Full of adrenaline and fear and panic.
His actual expression was that of his eyes blown open just a bit wider than usual. His brow creased. And his chest raising with hurried breaths. On anyone else he would look a bit shaken, but compared to Sephiroth’s usual stoic demeanor, it looked like terror.
“My friend, what ails you-?” Genesis started to ask before Sephiroth dashed right past him.
“Move.” Sephiroth huffed sharply as he looked over his shoulder to check if anyone else was listening, and continued rushing back down the stairs.
“Are we under attack!? What's going on?” Genesis tried to follow Sephiroth’s hurried steps, taking them a few at a time to keep up with the General’s pace.
“Leave me be.” Was Sephiroth’s only reply, not even looking back.
That ticked Genesis off more. Being brushed aside. Being out of the loop.
So there’s no way he’s not sticking his nose into this.
Jumping down a few steps, Genesis rounded in front of the general to cut him off in his tracks.
“No way.” If it took mimicking Angeal’s tone to jog Sephiroth’s memory so be it. “We had an agreement, no more running off to handle things all on your own. Now tell me, what’s going on? Why are you running through the stairway?”
His hands rested on his hips as he waited for an answer. Sephiroth stared for only a second, then he stepped passed Genesis and continued down the next flight of stairs.
Oh, its like that, now is it?
Fine. A fight it is.
“Don’t think you can just brush me off like that!” He started again, catching up behind the general. “Sephiroth, what is this-”
The distant sound of another stairway entrance came from bellow. Before Genesis could even register the annoyance of another presence entering their space a leather bound hand was shoved over his mouth. The general rushed them through the stairwell, only pausing a moment next to a maintenance closet door to confirm its existence, and promptly ripped the door open.
Genesis’s mouth was finally released as Sephiroth flung him into the closet and locked the two of them inside.
“Seph! Nghh! What in the hells?!” Genesis demanded. It was tiny, dark, and damp. They barely had any distance between each other standing up. Sephiroth’s shoulder pauldrons and belt dragged against Genesis when he turned after locking them inside. Yet even standing face to face in the stuffy closet, locked on the green glow of each others eyes, Sephiroth remained in his panicked silence.
Genesis tried to console the taller man, squeezing his hands up to try and catch a piece of Sephiroth's hair to hold. Anything to calm him enough to communicate.
“Talk to me Seph, what’s going on.”
Sephiroth glanced back and forth between Genesis and the dark walls of the closet as he took in fast breaths. Mouth opening to speak before closing now and then.
Finally, he took one big deep breath, and looked Genesis dead in the eyes.
“They want to mate me.” Sephiroth finally spoke.
Oh.
Fuck.
The temperature of the closet dropped as the words sunk in. Of course its something awful and inhumane that Sephiroth is running from.
The guilt of standing in Sephiroth’s way started to creep in. Another moment misread. That feeling would have to wait though. For now, Genesis brought his hands to reach and cup the general’s face. Sephiroth was still breathing quickly, but brought a hand to hold onto Gen’s wrist, accepting the touch but ready to move if he needed more space.
“Who wants you to mate?” Gen asked despite already knowing the answer.
“Shinra.” Sephiroth answered unsurprisingly.
“Tch. Those bastards.” Genesis scoffed. Of course its those scientists grasping at any semblance of autonomy Sephiroth had been trying to claim for himself and yanking it away from him. Genesis padded his thumb across Sephiroth’s cheek before continuing.
“Who are they trying to mate you with?” Genesis asked.
“I don’t know. I walked out of the lab room before they could finish the explanation.”
“You did good. You’re ok now, Seph.” Genesis comforted the general, moving his hands to wrap around and brush through the silver hair. Sephiroth, surprisingly, seemed to lean into the feeling.
“I am being followed.” Sephiroth stated plainly. While the stairs provided some privacy in that they were rarely used, if the Turks were contacted, it wouldn’t be long before they tracked Sephiroth’s movements on the security footage.
“Where were you going to go?”
“…I don’t know.” Sephiroth spoke with an slight sheepishness. “All I could really think of was to get away.”
Guilt spiked again. Realistically, there wasn’t anywhere to go. Shinra will make sure he attends his appointments, one way or another. Genesis had seen Sephiroth return in worse shape from visits to the lab. He knew that the few details that Sephiroth shared were only a fraction of the horrors that he had endured there.
But he never walked out from an appointment. He’s put them off, sure, but never ran from them.
This was his breaking point.
And Genesis had stood in his way.
“I…don’t want this.” The confession came with an uncharacteristic waver in his voice. Sephiroth’s face hiding deeper into his bangs as his curled in on himself. Genesis tried to shift his arms around him for some semblance of a hug. To provide protection where he had failed.
What else was there that Genesis could offer him?
“You know…” Genesis started, hesitantly. “They can’t mate you…if you’re already mated by someone else.”
“Genesis, that’s the point-”
“Someone that you know.” Genesis interjected.
Confusion gave way to shock as the realization of what Genesis was offering hit the general.
To be fair, the idea had crossed Genesis’ mind before. The firsts had been dating on and off for the last few years, in secret of course. But even then, they had talked about it. Angeal and Genesis’ intention to mark each other and be bonded eventually. Extending the offer to Sephiroth if he was interested.
It wasn’t just a polite invitation out of obligation. Or some fantasy strewn up from Genesis’ childhood adoration. He genuinely loved the man. Not the prodigy SOLDIER Shinra plastered on their recruitment material. The living, breathing Sephiroth. A man of incredible strength and endurance. A man hiding unspeakable sorrows and loneliness. A man who could have easily turned his back on humanity and let his heart grow cold with despair, yet clings to kindness in the face of Shinra’s cruelty.
That Sephiroth, to Genesis, was absolutely beautiful. He could only hope that someday he might take Genesis up on his offer and join them as a pack. But even then, it is only if Sephiroth himself wished to. Only if Sephiroth choose him.
And that’s what made this whole situation all the more unbearable.
“Look, how about this.” He tried to speak plainly, find a way to make his words hold no ill intention. “You can bite me first. If you don’t want to reciprocate after that, we’ll stop.”
Sephiroth hesitated, eyes deep in contemplation.
“I do not wish to take this decision from you.” He started. “But I do not want to be mated with someone Research and Development chose for me either.”
“Then I’m alright with it.” Genesis assured him. “I don’t want someone else to shove a stranger in front of you to bite either.”
Grabbing his turtleneck collar, Genesis pulls as far as he can to reveal the patched scent gland on his lower neck. He usually kept blockers on more so to keep the knitted fabric from irritating his gland and driving him insane. Sephiroth had opted to go without his shirt altogether. How Angeal managed the chafing of their uniform was a mystery.
Finally ripping the blocker off, Genesis was bare.
Sephiroth hovered, mouth half open, over Gen’s shoulder. Heavy breaths brushed onto the gland, causing a shiver to run up Genesis’ spine involuntarily.
They stood there like that. In the dark silence. Steeling themselves for the moment. The glow of green iris’ searching for resolve.
“Are you sure about this?” He asked one more time.
“No,” Genesis was honest. ”But I know that I don’t want you stuck with a stranger.”
He wanted to protect Sephiroth. Even if it meant being connected so suddenly.
“…Alright.” Sephiroth responded, hands tightened on Genesis’ shoulders, then a moment later teeth plunged into his neck.
Genesis flinched at the impact. At first he felt a burst of stinging pain at the broken skin, that was immediately replaced with a strange numbing. Like his body recognized what was happening and activated pheromones to receive the mating bond.
Sephiroth must be feeling the biological reaction too, his tight grip only pulls Genesis closer into his body.
It felt decadent. Like a spread of tingling adrenaline radiating from his neck all through his body. Biologically yearning to be claimed and wanted. Mentally, he knew the irony of it all. How different reality is. But his body didn’t care. All it felt was the satisfaction of connection radiating from Sephiroth’s teeth on his neck, hair draped along his shoulders.
The teeth slowly made their way out of Gen’s skin, and he shuddered as Sephiroth began to lick at the wound for healing. Each bit of contact sent another wave of tingling numbness through his body.
It felt so right.
Even if it wasn’t.
It should have been something Sephiroth was able to come to terms to on his own. Whether with himself, Angeal, or whoever Sephiroth wanted, it should have been on his own time. A sacred moment joining two people together and physically dedicating themselves to a union. If should have been a meaningful moment. A place of Sephiroth’s choosing with comfort and privacy.
Instead, Shinra and Genesis had stolen it away into a dusty maintenance closet.
“You regret it.” Sephiroth spoke suddenly.
Genesis pulled himself from his own thoughts and overwhelmed sensations to look at the man that just marked him. Long silver bangs hid anguished eyes and blood stained lips. Sephiroth’s breathing had picked up again as he looked to Genesis’ distant face.
“I can feel it.” He starts again.
“No- Seph- I-” Genesis tries to find his words in the jumbled mess of his brain. The closet feels so much more hazy as his scent gland buzzes hormones through his body. Everything feels so much softer.
Sephiroth moves to pull away further, but Genesis reaches for his tall neck again. Leaning his head on Sephiroth’s shaking chest, the crisscrossed leather straps brushing on Genesis’ cheek.
“I wish this moment could have been anywhere else.” Genesis admitted. “But if it means you can make your own choice, I will never regret it.”
It felt like floating. Leaning on the strong chest that rose and fell with every breath Sephiroth took. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but eventually a hand came and wrapped around to hold Genesis closer. He hoped that the calming hormones that had Genesis feeling like he’s full of cotton reached Sephiroth. Let him know the betrayal was not his own, but regret at what should have been.
With great effort, Genesis rose his head to meet Sephiroth’s face.
“Do you wish for me to mark you?” Genesis asks. “You can say no.”
Sephiroth’s eye’s look away to the cluttered shelves, searching for an answer buried deep in a conflicted heart.
Before either of them can speak, a rapid knocking thumps on the closet door.
“SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.” A forceful voice commands from outside. “Open the door.”
Mako green eyes meet again. In the glow of each others gaze, Genesis with concern and Sephiroth searching for answers. Finally, Sephiroth grabs at his collar and shows the scent gland below his neck.
“Do it. “ He says in resignation.
Genesis obliges.
By the time the troopers managed to bust the door down, it was already done.
Flashlights on their guns scanned the pitch dark interior of the closet, reflecting on the scattered tools and floating dust. They found their way to the two sets of glowing eyes.
The illuminated Sephiroth and Genesis held tightly to one another, bloody and bound. Genesis’ mouth was still locked onto Sephiroth’s pulsing scent gland lapping up the wound. The general himself seemed to be locked in some kind of trance, overwhelmed by the feedback of sensations looping between himself and his mate.
“Leave us.” Genesis commanded. Even blinded by the searchlights, he could see the troopers stumbling back in shock. He smirked, blood dripping from his lips. Genesis made a show of drawing the dazed general closer to his body, leaning his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder pads. He looked to the poor souls that had dared to chase his dear friend down.
“Sephiroth is mine. And I don’t like to share.”