of the end

[angelstriken]

fairest-zack‌:

“Nope!” Zack grinned. Of course he never stopped moving what kind of question was that. It was bad enough when he was a kid but once the enhancements kicked it when he became a SOLDIER it just got worse. And worse both times he was promoted. Gaia only knows how Angeal dealt with him. The man had infinite patience that Zack was always appreciative of.

“Sure, I’ll pay! A date it is!” His grin only got wider at the General’s acceptance. “How about we meet at the Sector 8 entrance in….like an hour? I have something I gotta do for Spike real quick.”

        A beat.

“Spike?” Sephiroth turned his gaze towards Zack in question, arching one brow in confusion. Who was Spike? A cadet? He had never heard of the man in question. It was fair that he wouldn’t know them; he couldn’t know everyone. In fact, Sephiroth didn’t dally often with SOLDIERS or lower ranking guards. He hadn’t the time nor the comfort to do so.

So instead he merely nodded, slit pupils dilated to ovals, betraying his interest. “I see, carry on Fair. I’ll meet you for our date at the appointed time.”

[angelstriken]

not-cait-sith‌:

Reeve could tell by the pause before Sephiroth responded that the boy had indeed not eaten. Goodness, if only Reeve could get him away from Hojo. No one deserved to be treated as the scientist treated Sephiroth.

He stacked his papers carefully, tapping them against his desk to align them properly, and set them aside. “Perfect.” He smiled and stood, not nearly as gracefully as Sephiroth, but at least there was no cat robots trying to trip him up this time.

He opened the door and held it for Sephiroth, blinking in surprise at the offer to pay. “Nonsense. And you can just call me Reeve, you know, I won’t bite.”

        “Reeve,” It was odd to say a name that didn’t have formality attached to it, with no sir to follow, no title to utter. It made Sephiroth feel exposed, stripped down to bare essentials where he was grabbing at straws. So instead he bowed his head in return, stunned silent.

He followed silently with an expression of confusion settling over his features, fingers making their way to a loose lock of hair that fell over his shoulders, slowly weaving his fingers though the white strands.

The next few moments were a blur; his hands finding the buttons of the elevator, the cloying elevator music breaking his thoughts into small fragments and leaving him behind. It was only until he looked over at Reeve that he realized he should speak up.

Except the moment Sephiroth opened his mouth he couldn’t think of what to say beyond; “Your tie is skewed.”

[angelstriken]

@shinraslummer

        Sephiroth had never allowed himself to be close to any living creatures. He had the lesson hammered into his head over and over again in his youth that life was fleeting; he would lose everyone around him and one day, he himself would die. It was a simple fact of life.

Except when the SOLDIER looked at Lazard Deusericus his heart skipped a beat and his mouth went dry. Perhaps it was the man’s indomitable will, his commanding presence and calm blue eyes. His striking and serene expression that left the room silent; his commanding tone-

His gaze would naturally follow the man’s form, the way his long legs crossed over the other, the way his long fingered hands lingered on the bridge of his glasses. The smiles that graced his lips were warm and genuine. When Lazard would look at him it was with such a tenderness that Sephiroth had never felt before.

When he was summoned into Lazard’s office he felt his knees go weak, his palms prickling with sweat. He felt nothing but immense respect for the only man who had ever treated him like a human being, like equals.

“Yes, sir?” Sephiroth asked, tone light, feeling his chest tighten. “You asked for my presence?”

[angelstriken]

fairest-zack‌:

Zack was seconds away from starting to do squats when Sephiroth started walking. Following him, the younger idly swung his arms, a large grin on his face. “If you count company as something, then sure. I want something from you.”

He wasn’t going to demand Sephiroth grab a bite with him. But he sure was going to ask. “I great place burger place just opened on Sector 8! I was wondering if you’d wanna come grab something with me! It’s no fun to go alone.” He kept up at a gentle jog with Sephiroth, eventually passing him just enough to walk backwards.

He didn’t quite have the patented puppy-dog eyes out yet. Not that he ever pulled it out on purpose. His face just did that naturally!

        “Do you ever run out of energy?” Sephiroth asked, finally nearing his wits end at the other’s antics. Zack Fair never stopped moving. He would bounce and skip and run sooner than sit down and let the weight of the world collapse onto his shoulders. It was definitely a difference in experiences.

He felt something bitter overtake him. Something strong, powerful enough to make his breath his from between his teeth. Was this jealousy? He glanced at Zack with tired eyes, but he kept his composure in the face of the other man’s joy.

“Lunch?” He asked finally, “If you insist. Will you be paying? If so, make it a date.”

[recaption]

[destroymylife]

[angelstriken]

not-cait-sith‌:

Reeve nodded slowly. That was fair. It wasn’t like too many other people were awake at this point, not to mention still in the Shinra building. Most  people had regular work schedules and got to go home at a decent time rather than be stuck here looking at blueprints and equations.

He sighed a little bit. “I don’t mind going back over the proposal, if you like. I think I have the notes from the meeting you can look at.” He was sure that anyone else on the board would have just laughed and dismissed the SOLDIER, sent him back down to the labs (where he didn’t belong. He was a child.) However, he noticed Sephiroth absorbed any and all information he could.

“A break sounds great, for now. Cafeteria it is. Have you eaten recently?” If he said no or said the last thing he’d eaten was something Hojo had given him, Reeve was going to make sure he got actual food in him. 

        Sephiroth took a moment to weigh his level of hunger and found, to his surprise, that he was. The SOLDIER took great pains in dehumanizing himself that he was always startled by natural, human bodily reactions. He took a sharp intake a breath and weighed his options; he could be caught if he spent too much time outside the labs. On the other, he no longer cared and he had suggested the trip.

No backing out now, he had fought far more challenging battles. A late dinner with a perfect stranger would hardly be a struggle. It would provide him with company, a living breathing human and not some hulking monstrosity in a cage. 

“I could use a meal,” He concluded, the variables in his head rolling around like demented marbles. It made him wonder, even briefly, what his mother would do in the situation. Would Jenova gracefully reject Reeve and insist on the fast coffee break? What would her laughter sound like?

He stood slowly, his languid motion from years of training, silver hair quick to fall from his face and over his shoulder like a waterfall. “I can pay, Director.”

[fairest-zack]

@angelstriken

“Hey! Sephiroth!”

Zack yelled as he ran across the helipad to catch up with the General. He wasn’t sure if the other had heard him over the sound of the helicopter blades, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to meet up with the man regardless.

He caught up to him as the helicopter took off. “Damn, that’s loud. Hey, man!” The younger First clapped Sephiroth on the shoulder and grinned at him. “Welcome back! Hope things weren’t too bad out there this time!”

Was he bothering Sephiroth? Maybe. Was he still going to invite him to dinner in Sector 8 as a way to cool down after a sudden mission? Absolutely. Would he also follow him around until he said yes? Yup, he sure would.

[angelstriken]

        Sephiroth winced at the hand that slammed upon his shoulder with surprising strength. He turned his head and peered at Zack through a curtain of silver hair, green eyes filled with exhausted question. “Were you waiting out here for me?” Was the first thing that left his lips. The next was, “I need to file a repo-”

There was genuinely no way he was going to lose the massive puppy of a man that trailed his every move. Zack Fair was notorious for lingering in places he wasn’t meant to be, to the entirety of Shinra’s chagrin. Still, he turned on his heel to face the other fully, sweeping his bangs from his face to replace his gloved hands over his eyes. “It was fine. How can I help you? Do you need something from me? Directions? Advice?” A restraining order?

God, don’t tell me, he thought, but began to walk, securing Masamune to his belt with quick strides off of the helipad, silver hair stirring in the wind as he continued forward. He could pretend he was alone for the most part, but Zack wouldn’t let that lie without difficulty.

[princeshinra]

@angelstriken

These days, it was a particularly rare pleasure to have the company of any interesting individual (or, indeed, a person of any worth) beyond his Turks; that, of course, was his own personal purgatory of his own making, something so sorely disappointing in the level of its failure that it verged upon making him sick when thought about in anything more than a passing fashion. Now, he had the particular honor of an individual not only of interest, but of a large degree of importance as well. 

His presence here was easily explained by Junon’s particular penchant for all things military, besides this certain individual’s popularity and military prowess. That aspect was not at all surprising - the part that was was his appearance here at Rufus’ prison. His father had decreed that none were to know exactly where his son was, casting him into the shadow of obscurity and further Shinra-typical lies (a family trait, by this point, so thought Rufus often and bitterly). Then again, the SOLDIER of all SOLDIERS was of a particular level of favor within the hierarchy of the corporation. 

Well. It must be important then. Rufus thought, sitting up in his chair and crossing one leg over the other to look directly into Sephiroth’s face. “Tell me. Have you been sent for a reason…or is this a more personal visit? Come to gawk at the cast-away son?”

[angelstriken]

        Sephiroth was on a tight leash. It would never slip, never falter- he was to be kept well groomed, well mannered and most importantly, on schedule. When President Shinra turned his cruel, sallow face towards him and informed him that for the time being he was to go on an extended mission he wasn’t surprised.

He only asked for how long he was to remain stationed in Junon.

“Indefinitely.” 

The command still rang heavily in his ears- was he being discarded? Fired? Was this the chance at freedom he so desperately desired? The chance to retire away and live in isolation, to die in obscurity? To be sent out of Midgar so suddenly was unheard of in his twenty-one years of life. 

It meant he no longer had to sleep in his cold room in the lab, where the bed felt like cardboard and the sheets would tear if pulled too taut. Maybe- maybe Sephiroth could experience the open sky without fear that it would be filled with smoke and missiles. 

That hope was quickly and suddenly dashed against the rocks of his mind. He was very quickly escorted to his new place of living by a frazzled bald man in a suit; a Turk.

Bad sign, very bad sign. It put him on edge but did not push him into full defense mode yet.

The manor he arrived at was an opulent one, crafted beautifully and with more care than half of the other buildings in Junon. Maybe it was the Shinra way to put the poor beneath you. Sephiroth bit back a grimace as he was escorted inside, paying no mind to the marble flooring and sleek tall walls, even as he was escorted into the office of one Rufus Shinra.

The Vice President still had his petulant expression scrawled all over his face, as if the world owed him some grand favor. Sephiroth simply bowed in response, dropping his head and placing his hand over his heart in salute. “Vice President Shinra, I am stationed here starting indefinitely.”

Of course that was what this was. He was supposed to be a babysitter to a man who couldn’t be well enough trusted not to have his father killed. Of course that was a company secret now, but still. The grounding didn’t look good on the VP’s record- it would lead to suspicion and question. It only made sense that Sephiroth was meant to make things look better.

“I am at your command, sir. If there is anything you need I will provide within reason.”

[angelstriken]

not-cait-sith‌:

@angelstriken

      It was a long night in the Shinra Urban Development offices. Something about LOVELESS Avenue not getting the proper amount of energy from the reactors. Normally, Reeve would leave all that to the mechanics in the area. But apparently, they hadn’t been able to find a problem so it was left up to him to go through the plans and designs and all that what-not until he deemed it necessary to take a trip (or send one of his Cait Sith robots) down into the reactor and check it.

  For now, he ran a hand through his hair, pushing the bangs back out of his face and straightening, his back popping just a little bit. Maybe he needed a break. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, hoping to clear the tiredness from them, but it didn’t work.

   He opened his eyes again with a sigh and nearly jumped out of his chair when Sephiroth was just…sitting there. In the chair across from his desk that he had for guests. “Sephiroth!” He tried not to sound surprised, but it was hard not to be. The enhanced man (he was a child, really) could probably hear his heart pounding regardless.

     “Can I help you with something? I don’t see you around here often.”

        Sephiroth’s eyes gleamed in the dimly lit office; slit pupils dilating to accommodate for the dreary Shinra lighting scheme. It was far more bright in the labs, often painfully so in many locations with the sterile white walls and flooring throwing it back into his face. The SOLDIER noted the expression on Reeve’s face- shock? It was rare to see the Silver General out of the labs.

Truth be told he had slipped out before Hojo locked up for the night; it was a rare treat Sephiroth could make. The Shinra building was quiet at night; he was free of the noise, free of the attention- and lonelier for it than he was sure he had any right to be. “I saw the light on in your office,” he remarked airily, catlike eyes flicking over the bags under Reeve’s eyes for a fleeting moment. 

“I wanted to hear more of the proposal you had shot down during the last meeting- the one Heidegger was in opposition on. But I can see that you’re busy. Would you like to take a break?” Sephiroth had hardly ever conversation with Reeve Tuesti before, not outside of board meetings. He was one of the only people there that he found to be insightful. 

Scarlet was concerned with looking good to the public, Heidegger wanted glory, Palmer was a raving lunatic during the best of times- and then there was Hojo. Hojo who looked at Sephiroth like he was under a lens, who made his skin crawl. The Shinras, father and Son, were always in disagreement with the other and often times the meetings would end on a messy tantrum.

“I think the cafeteria should still be open.”

[not-cait-sith]

@angelstriken

      It was a long night in the Shinra Urban Development offices. Something about LOVELESS Avenue not getting the proper amount of energy from the reactors. Normally, Reeve would leave all that to the mechanics in the area. But apparently, they hadn’t been able to find a problem so it was left up to him to go through the plans and designs and all that what-not until he deemed it necessary to take a trip (or send one of his Cait Sith robots) down into the reactor and check it.

  For now, he ran a hand through his hair, pushing the bangs back out of his face and straightening, his back popping just a little bit. Maybe he needed a break. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, hoping to clear the tiredness from them, but it didn’t work.

   He opened his eyes again with a sigh and nearly jumped out of his chair when Sephiroth was just…sitting there. In the chair across from his desk that he had for guests. “Sephiroth!” He tried not to sound surprised, but it was hard not to be. The enhanced man (he was a child, really) could probably hear his heart pounding regardless.

     “Can I help you with something? I don’t see you around here often.”

[especially]

[recaption]

[angelstriken]

testing 

testing

TESTING

TESTONG

testosterone 

[eliminated]