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Zack stood impatiently on the helipad, watching with his arms crossed against the chilly air as the helicopter carrying Sephiroth finally landed. It was late. So late. They were supposed to be back at ten AM. Sephiroth was supposed to come to Zack’s apartment for the first time. Hang out. Relax.
Now it was two in the morning.
A whole sixteen hours later. Zack tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. He might be annoyed that he spent so much time cleaning his apartment in preparation, but it wasn’t Sephiroth’s fault. Zack wouldn’t begrudge him getting delayed by a sudden Epiornis outbreak.
Damned ostriches ruined everything, every time.
The door to the helicopter slid open, and Sephiroth stepped out, followed by one of the Security Officers also assigned to the mission. Sephiroth gave him orders, inaudible from where Zack was standing.
Zack didn’t need to hear Sephiroth to tell the other First was exhausted, though. It wasn’t obvious—His hair and uniform were still perfectly maintained, after all. To everyone else, Sephiroth was acting a little more prickly than usual. Maybe. Zack, on the other hand, could see that the only thing keeping Sephiroth upright was the tension keeping his neck and shoulders taut.
When Sephiroth caught sight of Zack, the briefest flash of upset crossed his features.
He was disappointed too, Zack knew. So, Zack did what he always did, offering a sympathetic smile as Sephiroth approached. “Heya. Welcome back,” he greeted gently.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Sephiroth told him quietly, too tired to keep the sound of fatigue out of his tone. “We could’ve rescheduled.”
Zack shrugged, looking away and opting not to remind Sephiroth that this was the first time they could meet after a month. “I still wanted to see you before my mission tomorrow,” he said instead.
“I see.”
Even holding his travel bag seemed to be draining Sephiroth, Zack noted. The guy needed rest. Now. Somewhat petulantly, though, Zack didn’t want to just say goodbye and tell him to sleep.
Sephiroth frowned faintly at Zack’s silence. “What is it?”
“How about…Do you still wanna come back to my place?” Zack asked hopefully. Even if all Sephiroth did was sleep, it was still, technically, time together.
“I’m in great need of a shower,” Sephiroth informed him. “Drying my hair afterwards will be—”
Zack scoffed. “If that’s the problem, I’ve got a blow dryer too, y’know. I could help.” Then, remembering himself, and the fact that Sephiroth was perhaps too worn out to want to do anything outside his typical routine, quickly amended, “If you wanna just go back to your place though, I get it.” He tried to smile again. “Really. Zero pressure.”
Sephiroth considered the options for a moment, only to shake his head. “No. I would prefer going to yours.”
Not expecting that answer in the slightest, Zack instantly perked up. “Oh. Oh! Yeah, okay!” He beamed. “Let’s go, then,” he said, quickly swiping Sephiroth’s travel bag out of his hand before Sephiroth could protest the help.
Sephiroth’s empty hand dangled for a moment before he seemed to snap out of his stupor. He didn’t bother trying to retrieve the bag, trailing tiredly after Zack.
While Sephiroth showered, Zack whipped up a quick meal. Nothing fancy, just some pasta with oil and garlic salt. He pondered over his spice rack, debating whether he should add something else, when Sephiroth emerged from the bathroom.
Sephiroth’s hair was wrapped up in a towel, preventing it from dripping onto the floor. He was still securing a second towel around his waist when he noticed Zack. Sephiroth frowned confusedly at the sight of him in the kitchen.
“Nice timing,” Zack commented with a grin, and then added a fork to the plate. He moved to grab a stool from its place at the breakfast bar, carrying the plate of pasta with his other hand. “C’mon,” he told Sephiroth, setting the stool near the bathroom door. “Sit here. I’ll start drying your hair while you eat.”
Sephiroth was puzzled by the tactics involved, but he sat down anyway. He took the plate from Zack. “...Pasta?”
“Figured you’d be hungry,” Zack explained, retrieving the blow dryer from under the bathroom sink. He plugged it in and then brought it back out with him, grateful for the long power cord. “I’m always starving by the time I get off the helicopter,” he elaborated with a light laugh.
Poking at the pasta with the fork, Sephiroth smiled softly. “Thank you.”
“‘Course,” Zack replied, and set to work on unraveling Sephiroth’s long hair. With him on the stool, it nearly touched the floor. Zack started parting it into sections, and then turned on the blow dryer.
Sephiroth finished eating well before Zack was done, the empty plate in his lap as he waited.
Normally, this would be the time Zack would start jabbering about his day. About the new recruits he trained, and how one of them got chased up a tree during a field exercise—But judging by Sephiroth’s total non-reaction to Zack’s occasional brushes with his shoulders, Zack thought he might prefer the quiet, for now.
The blow drying took so long, Zack suspected Sephiroth did fall asleep for a few minutes, still sitting upright.
Sephiroth jerked with the sound of Zack putting the dryer back. Then he touched his hair, thoughtfully running his fingers through it.
“Gimme that,” Zack said, holding his hand out to take the plate. Once Sephiroth handed it to him, Zack nudged Sephiroth to get him off the stool. “You go get comfy. I’m gonna get myself ready for bed.”
Sephiroth did, silently padding into the bedroom.
With the dish in the sink, Zack returned to the bathroom. He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, the quiet hanging heavily in the apartment, despite the company.
It wasn’t what he planned for Sephiroth’s first time over. At all. They were supposed to have more time than this.
Zack shook his head lightly, like he could shake off the gloom with it, too. He stared at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, noting how tired he was, himself. Dark circles that wouldn’t go away any time soon. An uncharacteristic lack of smile lines. He felt drained and disappointed, but that wasn’t fair—Not to Sephiroth.
It just…wasn’t enough time. They never had enough time.
We’re together right now, Zack reassured himself, spitting his toothpaste down the drain. This much would have to be enough. He dabbed at his lips with a towel, wiping off the excess, and hopefully his frown with it.
That done, Zack proceeded to the bedroom, tugging his turtleneck off as he went.
Sephiroth was sitting on the bed when he came in, already close to finishing braiding his hair. He was, Zack supposed, technically dressed down. But the man was still in all black, just different clothes—pants that clung to his hips, but were otherwise loose and lightweight. Yet Zack was more distracted by the t-shirt Sephiroth wore. Some sort of blended fabric. It looked soft—softer than anything Zack ever saw Sephiroth in.
Zack, contrastingly, stripped down to his underwear for bed. “You put a shirt on?” he marveled.
“Yes,” Sephiroth answered, tying off the end of his braid.
Sensing Sephiroth had not picked up on what Zack meant by his question, Zack elaborated, “You go around all day with no shirt. Your uniform has no shirt,” he laughed. “You’re telling me the only time you wear one is when you sleep?”
Sephiroth let out a quiet, amused huff. “I do get cold, you know.”
“Not next to me, you won’t,” Zack countered.
“No?”
“I’m basically a human furnace,” Zack grinned. Then, seeing his empty nightstand, clicked his tongue. “Dammit. Forgot my water bottle,” he grumbled, and then went back to the kitchen to retrieve it.
When Zack returned, Sephiroth was already under the covers, eyelids drooping.
Zack shot him another small smile, forlornly accepting that this was the best they could manage, this time. He turned off the light, consoling himself with the fact that Sephiroth was here, where Zack could at least be near him. Maybe even get some cuddles out of a sleepy morning, but that was only if Zack woke up earlier…
Zack was halfway into the bed when Sephiroth suddenly stated, “I’m sorry.”
Completely confused, Zack stared at him. “...Huh?”
“This wasn’t…You wanted to spend time together,” Sephiroth clarified.
So, Zack hadn’t been able to hide it, after all. Zack sighed through his nose, clambering into bed next to Sephiroth. “This is spending time together,” he insisted.
“We both know it’s not what you meant.”
“I know, but…” Zack muttered, frustrated. He tried so hard not to let it show. Dammit. “Shit happens,” he shrugged, jostling the covers off his shoulder. “It’s not your fault you got back late. Plus, you came over anyway!”
Sephiroth wasn’t looking at Zack, the glow of his eyes soft as they narrowed at his pillow. “...not good enough.”
“Seph,” Zack chided gently, reaching out to lay a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder in reassurance. “It’s…It’s good enough for me.”
“Perhaps,” Sephiroth acknowledged. “For me, it isn’t.”
“...Oh,” Zack uttered, unsure what to make of the statement.
“You did all of this…” Sephiroth began, silky silver bangs falling across his cheek as he shifted, just barely visible in the dark. “You’re…I want to be able to repay you, somehow. You do so much for me.”
“You don’t have to,” Zack said, brushing the hair out of Sephiroth’s face.
“I know I don’t,” Sephiroth said stubbornly. “I want to.”
“Seph—”
“I don’t—” Sephiroth cut himself off. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, yet still leaned forward into Zack’s hand. “I don’t know how to—”
Zack scooted closer, pulling Sephiroth into a hug. “Shh, Seph,” he chuckled, unable to stop his smile at Sephiroth’s sweet sentiment. “You’re exhausted. You know what you can do for me? Get some sleep.”
“What would you want?” Sephiroth muttered, cheek pressed to Zack’s.
“I just said—”
“That’s for me,” Sephiroth interrupted petulantly. “What do you want for yourself?”
Zack’s immediate, greedy thought was to ask Sephiroth to stay for the whole morning—Sleep in. Cuddle. Have breakfast together. Spend all the time they could have had yesterday, tomorrow, before Zack had to leave.
He couldn’t ask for that; he already knew Sephiroth’s schedule was too packed.
“You’ve thought of something,” Sephiroth observed, pulling back to look Zack in the eye. Even exhausted, he read Zack like an open book, all too quickly.
“It’s, uh…” Zack bit his lips together as he gathered his words. Eventually he caved, opting for the truth of his feelings. “It’s too much. Don’t worry about it—Let’s just cuddle and crash, yeah?”
Sephiroth sat up, doing the exact opposite. “Tell me,” he demanded.
Zack stared up at him in disbelief. He knew Sephiroth was stubborn, but enough to deny himself sleep until Zack…? He deflated, sure now that there would be no sleep for either of them until he gave in. “...sleep in with me,” Zack muttered grumpily.
Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed again. “That’s still for—”
“Not for you,” Zack argued. “For me. Ditch work in the morning and stay here.”
Sephiroth was silent, contemplating.
Zack felt his face burning, wishing already he hadn’t blurted out the words. He knew it was impossible. He shouldn’t have even—
“Alright.”
“Wh—Huh?!” Zack spluttered as Sephiroth turned around, reaching for the table on the other side of the bed. “What do you…What are you doing?”
“Turning my alarm off,” Sephiroth answered simply, fiddling with his PHS. Once his task was complete, he nonchalantly dropped the device back on the table. Then he rolled back over to Zack. “Did you still want me to cuddle you, as well?”
Brain-to-mouth filter no longer functioning, Zack immediately admitted, “Yeah? Yes.”
Sephiroth fixed the blankets, tugging them over himself before he pulled Zack into his arms.
Zack was right about the shirt, he realized, as he curled up in the embrace. It was very soft. “Are you…You’re sure?” Zack mumbled self-consciously into Sephiroth’s chest. “Don’t you have meetings?”
“I do,” Sephiroth muttered back, sounding as though he was already beginning to drift. “They can wait.”
Sephiroth was heavy when he fell asleep, going limp around Zack, but Zack didn’t mind it. It was a comforting pressure. Warm, soft, and secure. He quickly followed suit, snuggled up to Sephiroth’s shoulder.
The next morning, true to his word, Sephiroth slept in. In fact, Zack woke up far earlier than Sephiroth did, getting to enjoy the extra cuddles he’d been hoping for.
Zack insisted on making breakfast, but Sephiroth sat at the breakfast bar for company and conversation as Zack cooked. Sephiroth sleepily sipped his tea, smiling as Zack darted around the kitchen, catching him up on the latest in SOLDIER gossip. Sephiroth, in turn, detailed the bizarre and wondrous creatures he saw on his last mission, and the locale itself—Crystalline, icy caverns, like frozen hallways of mirrors, which he had imagined Zack would make faces in.
The morning wasn’t spent doing anything particularly special. Simply talking. Catching up. Being together.
All too soon, it was time for Zack to leave, and he hugged Sephiroth tight, promising to be back soon.
When Zack finally did return from his mission, Sephiroth was waiting for him, a bag of Zack’s favorite takeout in hand.