Faithless Memories

Worries

Chapter 39

After that night, things changed between Genesis and Kris. It was subtle, but to Kris, it was a source of concern. In one way, they were better. Kris was more open and less intimidated. They were also a bit more physical with each other. Not that there was any way Kris was ready to be intimate, but there was more than one occasion that she wished she wasn't so scared of what might happen if she said yes.

That hesitation and fear fed into the flip side. There was a growing tenseness that she knew would eventually have to be resolved. She only hoped that when it came down to it, she was ready. She also felt closer to him, and that frightened her. She felt like she was being swept away, and the thought of the rocks waiting for her at the bottom were all she could picture. When she thought about that analogy, she would laugh bitterly to herself. It gave falling for him a new meaning. She just hoped she came out relatively unscathed when it happened.

Despite her worries, they spent more time together. When they were together, it was great. Kris couldn't believe that it had been months, and he was still as patient with her. Although there were some times that he needed to leave earlier than before. She knew the reason why and chastised herself for her cowardice. With each passing day, she wanted time to stand still.

At least her classes were going well. There had been a few hiccups, but overall, the Thirds were great to work with. Their progress was slower than she had expected from Soldiers, but one of the classes was already moving into advanced maneuvers. She occasionally had a few Seconds come in too. They were not scheduled to be there, but after the first one showed up, Kris cleared it with Sephiroth. He had no problem with it. As far as he was concerned, it only helped his troops become better.

Kris also had to occasionally put up with Tseng dropping by. He always had a reason for being on the Soldier floor, but he seemed to make sure it was one of the two days she was there. Or at least, that was how it appeared to her. She turned him down every time. She was just glad that he seemed to take it graciously.

The only Turk she spent more time around was Reno. She still managed to go out with Zack and the others at least every other week, and Reno was always there. Despite his constant flirting, Kris had come to like the man. It was hard not to. He was genial and funny. Even if he could be obnoxious sometimes, he still had a good heart. It was hard to see sometimes, but Kris knew it was there.

All and all, her life had gone from driving her crazy with boredom, to feeling that she was almost overwhelmed sometimes. She loved it, though. She hadn't felt as alive in a long time.

Besides Genesis, her only point of concern was the fact that Mr. Alexandros had taken to staying at the store for longer each day. He didn't stay all day, but he was there for more than half the day in total. When Kris finally worked up the nerve to ask him about it, she was unsure of how she felt about his answer. She had told him that she was working part-time with Shinra as soon as she accepted the job, and he had been happy for her, but it wasn't long after she told him that he started coming in more.

According to him, it was mostly because he had already finished everything he wanted to get caught up on at home and was bored. He mentioned in passing that a part of it was also so she wouldn't get burnt out, but he insisted that it was only a small part of the reason. When more than two months passed and nothing else changed at the furniture shop, Kris finally relaxed and took him at his word.

Despite her few worries, Kris felt that her life would have been perfect, with just one change. She hated that the Soldiers would be deployed for weeks at a time. It wore on her, but she could tell that it wore on them too. Zack would come back exhausted, and that was saying a lot for a Soldier. It only took him a day to get back to himself, but Kris hated seeing it.