Woke up today unsure of what to do with this lil’ eep-written nugget that spawned the night before, sooooooo into the Tumble wilderness it goes!!~ 🐁💖
~
Sephiroth was no stranger to receiving gifts from Zack.
Whether it was sugary drinks, exotic snacks, wholesome trinkets from his missions—the young SOLDIER was always eager to find him presents, to capture precious pieces of their bond in delicate mementos that Sephiroth could tangibly experience or pose on his bookshelf. Almost all of the man's pantries were stuffed with food that Zack wanted him to savor; a fuzzy plush or copper creature ornamented the cozy spaces between his novels, dotting his apartment with handcraft splashes of color. His favorite thing to sleep under was a velvety blanket that Zack had gotten him for his last birthday.
“Zack, I…”
He just wasn't expecting anything like this.
“I, I don’t even..”
Brilliant, sun-kissed hues; rich, blade-sharp, graphics; a veneer of lamination that glistened over the full-length poster, protecting the fragile art from his wandering thumb as it glided over every pixel, every flare of color—tracing delicate outlines of the sun, the honeylike ocean, the dusk-coppered strands that flowed down his image’s back and over that mellow visage, brushing over those smiling eyes in thin, feather-soft strands of gold.
It was the gentlest, most beautiful poster he had ever seen.
“…I, I don’t even—“
And it was of him.
Him.
Not the SOLDIER.
Not the legend.
Not the mascot.
…
Just him.
Resigned to the fact that he was likely not achieving any form of intelligible speech, Sephiroth finally lifted his gaze, the awestruck flicker in his eyes having intensified into a blinding, almost ethereal state of wonder.
Zack’s eyes were alight with stars.
“I wanted to maybe wait until the holidays,” he admitted, leaning back against the kitchen table with a proud and doughy grin. “But after our patrol tonight, after we saw all that propaganda slop plastered all over the sector…” The First’s expression both sobered and softened at the thought of all that “Sephiroth” merchandise, the way there was bound to be more and more of it oozing out now that it was recruitment season, and his own gaze floated back to the custom poster as he finished, nodding, “…I wanted you to have it, y’know? Just so you can have something that’s really you. The real Seph they never can never find in those damn and articles.
The real Seph…
And there it was, woven in ribbon-like letters across the sky: his nickname. His name. The loving moniker that Zack bestowed upon him like a sacred gift, separating their friendship from the artificial protocol of his SOLDIER name. His stage name. A name that was stapled to him like his own flesh and blood, yet a name that he was never able to own, never able to control.
Not fully.
“…Thank you,” Sephiroth finally managed to murmur, finding himself subliminally drawing the poster against his chest. “Truly.”
Sensing the raw, unadulterated sincerity in his best friend’s voice, Zack’s own nearly softened to sand, his smile melting even further in suit. “I’m glad you like it, bud.”
“…when did you make this?” Sephiroth’s voice was still glasslike, porcelain.
Zack beamed. “A few days after we took that pic together, back in Junon. Knew I couldn’t let such a good picture go to waste. I was actually just gonna frame it and give it to you that way, but…” His expression mellowed, those kind eyes aglow with the warmth of memory, “…I wanted you to never something more than just a nice polaroid, y’know? Something better. Something that can encapsulate the complete and utter amazingness that is, well… that’s you, bud. The Seph I know and love more than anything on this planet. And what better way to do that than to show those plastic magazine covers and promo posters who’s boss?”
His heart on the verge on liquifying, Sephiroth found himself once again unable to respond, unable to process the cascade of gratitude that surged in his chest without at least filtering it through some quiet, heartfelt banter: “…so it’s a spite poster?” he grunted, the sound much more like a small ripple of laughter than the dry and stoic remarks one would expect from the man, his eyes betraying the sheer warmth and sincerity that pooled behind his like a hot spring.
Zack tossed him a warm, playful smile in return. “A love-spite poster,” he corrected in a chirp, nudging himself off kitchen table in order to stand beside his best friend, slinging a familiar arm around the General’s shoulders as he explained, giving him a gentle squeeze, “So you never have to forget that your lunatic lieutenant will fight someone in an alley if someone says they love the Great General Sephiroth more than I do."
And how could Sephiroth not succumb to a chuckle at that? "Heh…” the man rumbled now, welcoming Zack’s healing touch after a such a draining patrol. “Are you certain you want to be so confrontational? Some of those Silver Elitists can be… quite fervent.”
“Yeah?” Zack pressed, mirroring the playful smirk that graced his friend’s visage. “Then they haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Mnnn. I wouldn’t be so sure, Fair. Remember the shoe incident? A vehement sycophant nearly blinded another for saying my eyes were creepy.”
“Number one, your eyes are freakin’ awesome. Number two—they aren’t out-loving my love for you, ya hear? No way, no how.”
“All I’m implying is that they might be quite the challenge.”
“Yeah?” Zack repeated with a laugh, giving his shoulder another love-laden squeeze. “Then sign me up for it! Write it down! Me versus the entire Silver Elite: a showdown to see who loves you more! And I’m winning that thing, ya hear, bud? Ain’t nobody’s gonna be a bigger fan than me…!”
Rippling with quiet chuckles now, Sephiroth’s once again absorbed the sheer delicateness of his poster-self’s features, the way he had been at such peace when Zack took that photograph of them together. And his friend was certainly right about one thing: it was nothing the dizzying cameras of the paparazzi could catch, no matter how high-tech or candid their snapshots could be.
The kind of buried, glistening nuggets of joy that Zack and only Zack would be able to reach.
He held his gift closer.
“…Heh,” Sephiroth chuckled, already envisioning a spot on his wall to frame the poster as he tilted his head, gently smiling, resting his gaze on the precious SOLDIER who dedicated every day to sharing his unwavering love with him. “…then I am honored to have such a fanbase.”
