_Unexpected Evening_
*Zack snippet*
“See?” The dark haired officer smiled, gesturing with his drink. “It’s like I said. Nothing wrong with you getting out and mingling with the masses… It’s just a matter of finding you something a little classier than the average enlisted dive.”
Sephiroth watched Zack leaned back in the stylish blue leather chair. Everything in the club was blue and stylish, or at the very least modestly trendy; as befitted a bar named ‘Blue Heaven.’ Much like Zack in his favorite sweater, the place just seemed to emote a feeling of ‘shabby chic.’ The un-prepossessed air was a nice change from the stiff formality that surrounded everything at work. The club’s music – live - and of a bluesy persuasion, was passable as well. The general still felt as though he stuck out compared to the regular crowd of officers and Shinra white-collar management. His friend simply kept up a steady chatter, knowing he wasn’t paying more than half attention. Sephiroth forced his mind back to the present.
“… Even you ought to have /someplace/ to go… You know… unwind and have a drink… Enjoy a bit of R&R? And hell, you haven’t even seen Samantha yet… that woman’s got a voice like…”
“Like what?” Sephiroth drawled, amused. The band switched to doing a moody jazz set, all ten of the musicians dressed in full tuxedos. He’d never admit it, but his wild-haired aide had done it /again/, anticipated his tastes down to the very forks on the tables. Their table had an excellent view of the room, and even better, allowed him to sit with his back to the wall. He gingerly slouched into his chair and allowed himself to relax a notch. ‘Going out’ especially ‘for fun’ wasn’t something he had ever considered doing on his own, but really, it wasn’t altogether bad.
“Nice, hmmm?” The officer simply grinned. There was no doubt that he already knew he had scored a solid win. Sephiroth simply shrugged, refusing to give the man anything to gloat over.
Their server, a man with a rather elegant looking mustache, took their order with a minimum of fuss. The general was pleasantly surprised when he felt the unavoidable moment of recognition, and then just as quickly, felt it vanish beneath the professional exterior. He relaxed another degree. There would be no gaping and gushing tonight it seemed.
Agreeing to the televised interviews for Shinra had been the worst sort of mistake. Given his options he have done it again, the celebrity status had proved a useful trump card in the flurry of post-Wutai backstabbing. However they had made his already strained anonymity pretty much nonexistent. He had become a poster-child over night, or if Zack’s stories were to be believed, a /pin-up/. He wasn’t sure which was worse.
Being the insightful sort of friend he was, the dark man had noticed the waiter’s reaction, and his reaction to the man’s reaction.
“I told you, it’s a nice place… low key…”
“So it seems…” Sephiroth conceded the job well done. “How on earth did you find it?”
“What’s the matter…” The southerner scrounged a cigarette and glared when his commander moved to bat it away. “Doesn’t look like one of my usual habitats?”
“Not precisely, no.” Leaning over, he requisitioned the rest of the small box and the lighter as well. He couldn’t stand the smell. Zack would just have to sate that particular habit later. “There are no naked women, no one’s spitting fire… no limbo dancing or boisterous beer brawls… hardly anything here to captivate a rowdy SOLDIER.”
“Touché.” His friend raised an eloquent eyebrow, imitation at its finest. Their waiter reappeared as if awaiting the lull, depositing fresh drinks and a plate of something that looked edible before disappearing again. “I’ll have you know that there’s more to me than just fast drums and big-chested-beach-babes, old man.”
“Really? Do tell?” Sephiroth knew the man wouldn’t be provoked, but it was funny to watch him slowly sipping his scotch like an elegant bachelor who knew his five-year from his twelve-year varieties. Given a different setting, and a different crowd, Zack would be just as comfortable slamming back an entire bottle with casual ease.
// … and that would be /while/ he was dancing on the tables, and seducing every female in sight… //
The chameleon nature of his friend was always interesting to watch. Reading his thoughts, the dark haired man simply shrugged. “There’s lots to like about this place… the /jazz/ for one… best in Midgar in my considered opinion…” Maintaining a serious face, he posed, ‘deep in thought.’
“… And there’s a benefit to having a swank place like this to take the more… elegant ladies when I go a-courting…”
“Ahhhh… Of course. I should have known.” Sephiroth nodded, relaxing enough to play along. The appetizers weren’t bad either.
“… And then, of course, there’s the fact that the main act at this particular club is one hell of a dish…”
“Of course she is…” He was willing to relax a little, but laughing in public wasn’t going to happen. He contented himself with a smirk. “… Nice to see your true motive is finally revealed.”
Zack gave up the game with a chuckle. “Bah, you’re no fun. The truth of the matter is Jona, the owner, plays poker over at the
The general rolled his eyes at the unsurprising revelation. “Is it possible that there is a single lounge-act in this town that you haven’t charmed the garters off of yet?”
“Excepting the ones that have no garters…. Nope.”
“It’s a wonder you ever have time to sleep.”
“I’m a firm believer in power-naps.”
Sephiroth had his come-back ready and available, but to his surprise, the SOLDIER held up a hand to cut their friendly argument off. “Hush now…”
“What?”
“She’s on…” The room seemed to mirror Zack’s anticipation, conversation falling off as the jazz band looked over at the spotlight and curtain.
They gave their mystery woman four-bars of introduction and in proper club-style a liquid sounding female voice took up the melody even as she emerged onto the stage. Sephiroth’s first impression was of a curvaceous blue satin dress. The second was of her voice. Untrammeled by the curtains, its rich flavor easily filled the room and silenced the last of the conversations. Beauty /and/ talent, he couldn’t fault the blonde either. Impressed by the presentation, it took him several moments to recognize that there were also tactics at work. Under the guise of working all sides of her little stage she was unmistakably sizing up the room.
// Looking for big tippers and potential affairs, I bet… //
His suspicions were confirmed when the woman caught sight of their table and tossed a wink in Zack’s general direction. He tended to have that effect on women. Sephiroth watched the interplay, amused to realize that stationed on the shadowy side of the table as he was, for once it was /he/ who was ignored in favor of his friend. Maybe there was something to this ‘going out with Zack’ after all. It seemed a pretty safe bet that he wouldn’t be ‘going back’ with him however.
The singer moved on to a slightly faster, brighter number and his aide finally looked away to whisper. “See? Dish.”
“She does have a certain popular appeal.”
“You cannot tell me that /that/…” Zack pointed at the stage. “Is not a beautiful woman. As cold as you are, I know you’re not blind…”
“I do indeed acknowledge her charms,” He raised his hands to ward off criticism. “I don’t know if I’d be so blunt as to call her an entrée, but…”
“… I hate it when I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic…” His friend’s mutter was followed by a half-smile, too distracted by the performance to hold onto his doubts long. They returned to the safety of watching the woman go through her set. There was definitely some cold calculation that went on behind her seemingly coy movements. In a way she almost reminded him of Scarlet, but without the aura of tastelessness and tobacco. Sitting with Zack, he had no choice but to meet her eventually. He found he was curious to see what she was like off stage.
Five songs left her posing triumphantly in the center of the stage as her band hammered the finishing chord with panache. The house-lights came back up, allowing the rest of the room to be able to see each other clapping, not to mention their menus.
Zack turned back to the table with a happy sigh. “… Some day I’m going to marry that woman…”
“That’s what you always say.” Sephiroth was hardly convinced.
The dark haired man blinked, and shrugged in easy agreement. “You’re right. Besides, give her another year and she’ll be famous enough to go after someone with a better checkbook… if she isn’t already. But a man can dream.”
“You wouldn’t want to marry her anyway.” He murmured philosophically as he watched the blonde daintily move off stage and into the club, stopping at a table to say hello to someone. “… The two of you would kill each other in fighting over being center of attention.”
“.. You think?”
“Definitely.” The pale officer nodded.
His friend laughed. “We’ll have to ask her when she comes by.” They fell to inspecting the menu again in search of something more to eat than alcohol alone. Sephiroth simply let his friend take care of it, confident that the southerner wouldn’t order anything too insane. He was surprised when the waiter returned with a helper in tow. The younger man added a third chair to their table with a murmured ‘by your leave, sir.’
Zack simply shrugged when he silently asked ‘why?’ The SOLDIER was irritating like that. All was explained however when the singer finally found her way over to their side of the room. Leaving their table until the end, she leaned on the back of the empty chair and smiled at them. Mentally he rephrased, she was staring at /Zack/. His dark friend was practically sparkling under the attention.
“A little bird told me you’d be here tonight…”
“Jona may twitter but he’s hardly a bird…”
“… The bird also told me you were bringing a VIP…” The blonde looked at him and smiled broadly, the expression adding a human sort of liveliness to her fashionable aura. “Now that I see you, General, I have to say… your photos just don’t do you justice.”
Looking to Zack to give him some clue as to how to respond, Sephiroth tried not to feel put on the spot. His friend came to the rescue with a playful huff of dismay. “That’s always the way of it… You’re always upstaging me, old man… Good thing you’re no socialite.”
His comment did exactly what it was supposed to, distracting the woman back in his direction with a playful, “Jerk.” The singer sighed prettily. “I suppose that /was/ rather forward of me, wasn’t it.”
“Just a bit,” Zack drawled before standing up chivalrously. Sephiroth stood as well, manners second nature despite their lack of daily use. “Sam, may I have the honor of introducing you to /the/ General Sephiroth? General, may I present Ms. Samantha Kent? Charmed? Charmed. I’m sure.” He smirked. “It seems they’ve anticipated you resting your feet a moment, Sam, won’t you sit?”
“Delighted.” Matching his posh tone, she affected an air of brainlessness as he held her chair for her. Sephiroth sat as well, watching the two of them and wondering if he could cope with /two/ ‘Zack’s at the same table. For her part, the blonde just laughed. “It’s not often Jona lets me mingle with just one table between sets. I plan to enjoy it to the fullest, I assure you.”
“Just one table? Woman you’ve already been around the whole room!”
“Well if I didn’t, you’d be able to cut the jealousy with a knife. Although given who I’m sitting with, I don’t think anyone would dare say anything.” Rolling her eyes, she smiled up at the waiter who returned with a new set of drinks. “Thanks Anthony.”
“Thirty minutes, Ms.
Sephiroth must have let some of his confusion show on his face. She winked conspiratorially at him. “What, didn’t you know that you’re the biggest bully around? Who the hell is going to complain if The General monopolizes my time...?”
“… When I come here alone she can spare me a whole five minutes.” His friend agreed complacently.
“So /that/ was your ulterior motive for getting me to come here tonight?” He couldn’t help but tease.
Zack tutted, “Now you know that I only have your best interests at heart… can I help it that I can enjoy some of the perks of being friends with the biggest bully in town?”
“… You just like making a splash.”
“You know me well, general.” He sipped his drink. “Actually, this is partly business too. But I wanted you to meet her first.”
“Business?” The singer echoed his comment, both of them staring at the dark haired man with interest. “… What are you plotting, Zack.”
“Give me a minute…” Turning to Samantha, the officer rested his arms on the table and leaned closer conspiratorially. “Sam, what if I was to offer you an invitation to the opening see-and-be-seen gala of the season… compliments of Shinra Inc.”
“I’d say you’re crazy, they’d never let a nobody like me perform at a posh party like that.”
“Sadly I agree. That’s a bit beyond my ability to get for you… But how about as a guest? Think of all that delicious mingling…?”
“As /your/ date?” The blonde raised a skeptical eyebrow. “… I’m impressed! What would I owe you for such a great /honor/? And what does /he/ have to do with it…?” She glanced over at Sephiroth and back to Zack, laughing lightly. “I’m not going to sleep with you for a party invite, so you can just forget it.”
Sephiroth nearly choked on his drink, a fact that didn’t escape the southerner’s
notice. “I never said I had with /her/… you just assumed.” The dark man
murmured too-sweetly as he patted his commander on the back.
“He assumed what?”
“The general has an overblown impression of my romantic escapades…”
“I /wonder/ who gave it to him…” She smirked.
“Me, of course.” Zack grinned. “In any case, no, there will be no sleeping with anybody involved with these negotiations. What you do on your own is entirely out of my control. All I wanted was to introduce the two of you, and mention to the general here that you might perhaps be an ideal candidate.”
// What are you getting me into this time… //
Interested in a morbid sort of way, Sephiroth leaned forward. “Come again?”
“General, allow me remind you that One_ the ball is only three weeks away. Two_ You have been asked directly by the powers-the-be to be in /attendance/, and preferably with something pretty on your arm to show that you’re relaxing into your less militant lifestyle…” Zack rolled his eyes to express his own opinion on the idea.
“Therefore, Three_ Please allow me to point out again, that this young woman is not only gorgeous but also talented, moderately witty, perfectly capable of being professional in front of a tough crowd, a tireless self-promoter, currently un-romantically entangled, and most importantly… tall enough to stand up next to you and not look like a midget.”
“I see.” He nodded thoughtfully, looking over at the topic of their discussion to see her reaction to the idea. The blonde looked just as thrown as he felt.
“You want me to go the party with /him/…?” To her credit, she sounded more disbelieving than offended.
// I have a feeling Zack, that you should have briefed the woman before you threw this particular curve ball… //
As far as he could tell, there’d be very little to tempt the singer to agree. Most people tended to fall into two categories when first working with him, terrified or manipulative. Samantha didn’t seem inclined to be afraid, so that left the question of what she would get out of it in return.
Anticipating, as usual, the southerner was nodding sagely. “Not a /date/, Sam, just a dinner companion. Sit next to him, smile for the cameras, mingle a bit…? Everyone is going to be there. The general may not be a stellar conversationalist, but he’s a must-have accessory when you’re not sure of your welcome somewhere… when you’re with the ‘biggest bully in town’ nobody in their right mind will snub you. In fact, they’ll be falling over each other to lick your shoes.”
Eyes sparkling, the woman warmed to the idea. “… An official invitation from the General… That would be fun.”
“The two of you do look rather good together…” Sitting back in his chair in order to frame them in a border of his fingers, he ‘hmmm’ed approvingly. “She’s a good height for you.”
“Certainly beats looking /down/ on my last boyfriend.” Samantha acknowledged. Looking at him with hesitant curiosity, she smiled a little. “… and you’re ok with this? Being set up with a random woman for a big party?”
“Zack is usually reliable in these matters.” He played at more confidence then he had. Never having had been ‘set up’ before, he wasn’t sure what etiquette demanded. She seemed capable enough, and anything was better than suffering through the evening alone. “It seems a fair trade. I get something to distract the civilians with… and you get a chance to meet some people otherwise beyond your everyday reach?”
“… ‘the /civilians/’… goodness… You are military to the core…” She laughed lightly. “… I’ll have to ask my manager, if you don’t mind… but I think I can offer a tentative yes.”
“Call him now.” Smirking, Zack pulled his cell phone out and offered it to her. “If he thumbs-up’s I’ll meet with you next week to give you a briefing.”
“…briefing?!”
Sephiroth shrugged in agreement. “… If you’re going to walk
into the lion’s den with me, Ms.
“Nice.” The blonde quipped. Standing, she retreated to the corner with the phone to have a conversation.
The southerner scooped up some cheese cubes and snacked on
them with a satisfied smile. “
“She might not accept.”
“She’d be a fool not to.”
“We’ll see.” The general sighed.
On stage, the band in their tuxedos continued to play. It really was a nice club. He’d have to come back some time when random Shinra nuisances weren’t looming on the horizon. Stretching, his partner seemed to agree. Zack worked the kinks out of each shoulder before folding his arms across his chest in a moment of perfect contentment. Chameleon, it was the only way to describe how he could go from animated relationship-broker to quiet jazz fan in less than a minute.
Sephiroth could only marvel at the transformation. In repose, the SOLDIER
was an incredibly handsome man, untamable hair not withstanding. As lovely as the willing Ms.
He missed the comfortable anonymity from before - or even during - the war. The further he was pushed into the public, the further back his friend seemed to stay in the shadows. After years of finally getting used to always having the wild southerner around, he found doing without him for the sake of ‘image’ to be rather lonely.
// Then again, it’s not like I don’t work with him /every/ day… It’s not that he’s not around… just not… an acceptable Shina trademark image… //
Maybe that was why he found himself retaliating by doing out of character things like ‘going out on the town’ with the man. He refused to let anyone, not even the president, control him completely. He was nobody’s marionette.
// Even if it did take Zack to help me see how to clip my strings… //
His friend didn’t bother to look back, aware of him just the same. “Nice place, hmmm?”
“Rather.”
*****
*****
-Lunar.