*Job Counseling*

"So..."

Sephiroth refused to take his eyes off the mountains for the lazy conversation starter. If the SOLDIER had something to say, he would dive right in whether encouraged or not. Sadly he was starting to see it as part of the cheerful man's charm. He wondered what it said about his falling standards over the past six months. Zack was a laidback sort of black-hole from which no moral value or ethical standard could escape un-warped, or at least mildly tarnished. The fact that his officer had followed him up the narrow trail and was badgering him instead of leaving him to enjoy the valley and distant ocean unmolested, was only further proof of his supreme indifference to many things, tact for instance. Personal safety was another. Most people would have been too scared of 'the general' to dare intrude when he was doing everything short of wearing a sign saying 'leave me alone'.

The dark haired man slouched so that he could rest his elbows on his knees, making himself comfortable. "... Nice view."

Anything if not persistent. The general didn't need to turn to know that his strange new friend was grinning into the sunshine.

"Would be an awesome place to build a vacation home... you know?"

"I suppose."

"Not too far from Midgar... far enough south that the winters are nice... a bit of sea... lots of space... a person could breed chocobos if they wanted... give the old man by the swamp a little friendly competition."

Sephiroth didn't bother to respond, simply shaking his head in disbelief.

The man laughed lightly in return and seemed to ponder the landscape. "... Dunno if I'd want to be so close to Fort Condor though... too easy for people to find me... If I was going to retire I'd aim for something a little more remote I guess... maybe with trees too... All this open space... enough to give a jungle-brat like me the shivers..."

"Somehow I don't see you retiring."

"Don't think I'll live to see it, you mean."

"I didn't say that." The pale man murmured.

Zack laughed again. "You were thinking it." He made a scolding noise, and stretched back into the dry grass. "In a way you're sort of right though... Even if I did retire... it sorta begs the question of what would I do with myself... can't just sit around all day telling war stories about my time with the 'great general' and pissing off the neighborhood kids... Want to get out of the city. I know that much... probably settle down somewhere become a tinker... you know... fix engines, tractors, what have you. Always work for a guy who can deal with doodads."

"Heh."

"So what about you?" The silence had been too good to last. The dark haired man was watching him, half lidded eyes hiding his curiosity.

"...What about me?"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" To a lesser man, the grin would have been infectious. Sephiroth was thankful he was not so weak.

He stared at his companion, wondering if the man had lost his mind. "Excuse me?"

"You know... in a few years... after this Army thing gets dull and monotonous... what are you going to do with yourself...?"

"I don't expect I will tire of things quite as quickly as you, Mr. Thomson."

"Zack. Please. Zack... or anything but that... My father is Mr.Thomson... I don't have to be for at least another 10 years... hopefully never..." His mournful expression was spoiled somewhat by his suppressed laughter. "You're going to stay with Shinra for life then? No ambition outside our 'great and glorious corporation'...?"

"None."

The dark man blinked. "What, none at all? Not even for a holiday...? You can't tell me that the thought of telling the President just where to stick his unreasonable requests and walking out some day holds absolutely no appeal..."

For a moment he couldn't answer. The idea presented did have a certain captivating feel, wishful thinking at its furthest and most impossible limit. Freedom. It was a novel concept, if rather impractical. As annoying as President Shinra was, he served his purpose, as did the entire Shinra war machine. So long as Shinra needed SOLDIERs Shinra would need 'Sephiroth.' As long as he was the needed, important, indispensable 'general', he could avoid exactly the questions that Zack seemed so fond of asking. Cowardice perhaps; but it was of a very specific sort. Realizing that the man was still watching him, he sighed in an approximation of boredom.

"... None what-so-ever."

"...Oh." Zack gave him an odd look and then shrugged, dismissing the conversation as easily as he had brought it up. "... Maybe you could join the circus... you know... lion tamer... Rar."

"... lion tamer...?"

"... or you could go on an epic quest! Search for... all the 'Giant Materia' in the world? Or live it up on the Golden Saucer..."

"... no thank you."

The dark man grinned. "Well whatever, you can always come crash at my place for a night if you happen to be in the neighborhood... we can exchange old war stories about the 'general' and piss off the neighborhood kids..."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes as he stood, deciding he'd probably get more peace back at the fort than he would find on the hills. Talking about the future never accomplished anything save remind him of things he had no part in and waste valuable energy that could be spent in more productive ways.

"... If you're bored enough to speculate about my future career as a professional mendicant, you'll have no complaints about drafting me a time-table for the night patrols we've been asked to set up."

The younger man groaned in protest, but stood up just the same. "Yes sir."

"I have to read and approve the base logbook anyway... might as well get that over with..." Confident that he would be followed, he picked his way over the ridge and back down towards the singular looking mountain that held the army base within.

"You're just grumpy because you didn't have an answer..."

"Leave it, Zack."

"How about a painter...? You can retreat to pretty vistas for days at a time with your canvas and brushes..."

"I don't paint."

"Skiing? Have you ever tried skiing?"

"No."

"I know! Motorcycle cop!" The dark haired SOLDIER couldn't help but start laughing at the thought. Admittedly it was more than a little absurd.

There was no doubt about it. He was getting a headache. "... Yes. That's it. It has been my life long dream to become the sultan of traffic safety..."

"See? That wasn't so hard..." Zack smiled broadly. "I'll you a pair of those mirrored sunglasses so you can look particularly menacing when you pull the hooligans over for expired plates..."

"... you are inexorable."

"No, I'm Zack. You're Sephiroth. That's Fort Condor... any other confusion? How many fingers am I holding up...?"

He refused to laugh. It wouldn't be proper. It would only encourage the lunatic further. The only problem with trying not to laugh was that it was hard to remember not to smile at the same time. Something in his face must have given him away. Sephiroth caught the officer watching him with a satisfied smirk and then had to remember not to hit the man out of frustration. He really was an incredibly trying - entertaining - man to be around. The general could almost feel his carefully set rules and regulations slipping under the constant gentle force of the twinkling hazel eyes. He just couldn't tell if the idea of shedding some of his professional persona depressed or relieved him. He rather imagined that one way or the other he was bound to find out, and soon.