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"Ironic, huh?"
His head hidden in the cabinet, Sephiroth let out a grunt, shadowy items clinking and clanging in the search for a flashlight. "What is?"
"You know," Zack chirped, propping his feet on the coffee table and kicking back against the sofa, cloaked in the rich, velvet darkness that had extinguished all the lamps, "an Electric Power Company having a blackout? That's really funny! S'like if a fire station burst into flames, or a barista was caught sleeping, orrrrr..."
"If a doctor fell ill?"
"See? You get me, pal."
Zack earned himself a tiny chuckle at that, faint yet melodious; a rich ripple of music. "Heh, well..." Landing on the flashlight, Sephiroth finally withdrew from the cabinet, straightening back up with the pocket-sized beacon in hand, brushing off some of the dust. A lot of dust.
"Ayyy, you found it!" Zack cheered nonetheless. "Told ya you would!"
Sephiroth huffed, still unconvinced. "That was only half of it," he pessimized. "It still has to work."
"Oh, I'm sure it still—!"
Sephiroth flicked the switch, waiting for light.
Nothing happened.
"Oh."
Sephiroth sighed, albeit not surprised, and Zack was pretty sure the sheer defeatism in his breath implied that he didn't have any spare batteries. Or candles. Or enough stupidity to ignite a Firaga in the middle of his apartment.
Hmm.
"...I'm sorry," the man finally said, chin dipping as he folded his arms, a meld of annoyance and guilt threaded in the silken tone. "Truly."
"Whoa, Whoa." Zack's voice softened to match the mood, his instincts flaring as he tried to assuage Seph's regret. "Don't be silly, pal; it's not your fault! You didn't kill the power."
"Mmnn."
"Don't 'mmnn' me! Come here." Zack patted the neighboring cushion, smiling as Sephiroth accepted the gesture and sank onto the sofa beside him, leather-black attire melting into the surrounding gloom.
He let out another sigh.
"I suppose we won't be finishing the movie."
"Eh! We'll wrap it up another time."
"Mmmn," Sephiroth hummed again, that hint of shame still palpable. "...The power outage only affected the uppermost floors, according to the notice. It shouldn't have reached the SOLDIER lounge."
"Yeah...?" Zack canted his head, sensing there was some kind of implication there. "And?"
"And," Sephiroth elaborated, "if you would like to go, I completely—"
"Nope! Wrong! Ehhhh! Yield! Nada!" Zack stopped his friend there, much to Sephiroth's eye-widening bewilderment, not even giving his buddy a chance to rebut before carrying on with, "I'm staying right here, pal, and you best believe it. That was the plan, wasn't it?"
Sephiroth took a moment to digest this. "...Well," he eventually admitted, blinking in thoughtfulness. "I honestly believed you cared about the movie.”
"Yeah, and who am I always watching it with?! It sure as heck ain't the President."
The comment was so stupid that it rewarded him with another chuckle, albeit confused. "Heh?"
"Nevermind!" Zack resigned from that statement. "The point is: I'm here to be with you, pal. Movie or no movie. The flicks we watch are just the butter on the toast.”
It wasn't exactly any less of an odd thing to say, but his intentions seemed to indeed hit this time, and Zack watched with a warm heart as Sephiroth's eyes thawed in understanding, relief... tenderness. So much so that his lips were even able to melt into a bit of a smirk. “Is that so?"
"Of course it is!" Grinning now, Zack draped his arm around the man's shoulders, and it was only when Sephiroth leaned into the touch that Zack tightened his hold, securing the half-embrace. "I waited all week for this, y'know? To have a chill night with my best friend! And there ain't nothing that's gonna ruin that..." He leaned against his dear friend, flashing him a doughy smile, mako-fueled eyes their only source of illumination.
"I just wanna be with you, pal. Any chance I can get."
He felt the way Sephiroth relaxed at those words, the way he sank into his touch and closed his eyes, humming grateful vibrations against the darkened air.
The man could feel the tranquility that settled around them, almost tangible in its softness; a calm, steady respite amid the chaos that rattled the company, that had always been constant. Routinely meetups that had evolved from simple report-writing sessions to pizza nights to watching movies, even if—as Sephiroth was coming to realize—the reason for their “hangouts” was ruined, such as the pizza arriving cold or the power cutting, because… perhaps… that wasn’t the point at all. Because he still enjoyed those detoured nights, no matter what messed with their plans. And Zack did as well. Zack always did. Zack always would.
He just wanted to be with him.
He was wanted…
Sephiroth smiled.
"Do you know what else is ironic?"
Zack blinked, his own smile broadening. "What? Crashing into a 'drive safely' sign?"
"Well, yes, but I was thinking more along the lines of..." He paused, just for a beat, blanketed in darkness, "...being a beacon of light in a blackout."