Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Never Alone ❯ One-Shot

Never Alone

 

Zack knocked on the metal door of room 45-9 and waited for an answer. Sephiroth would most certainly be there, because he never went anywhere other than the training facility when he wasn't on duty and Zack had already checked for him there on his way up.

 

Receiving no answer he knocked again, beginning to wonder if something was wrong. Curious, he punched the button by the door and was extremely surprised when it opened. Why would Sephiroth have left his door unlocked?

 

Zack went in and the door slid shut behind him.

 

“Seph?” he called, and when he received no response, he started to get worried. As much as Sephiroth seemed annoyed by him, he wouldn't outright ignore him.

 

He ventured into the living room and looked around, hoping to see some clue as to where his friend was. He received much more than that when his eyes fell on Sephiroth himself on the floor in the entrance of the hallway that led to his bedroom.

 

He ran to him and knelt beside his prone form. Sephiroth was clearly unconscious and he was much paler than usual. Zack touched his shoulder; he could feel the warmth of Sephiroth's skin even through the thick material of his shirt. Something was very wrong.

 

Zack shook him. “Seph?”

 

Sephiroth didn't move at all.

 

Zack shook him harder. “Come on, Seph, wake up!”

 

Sephiroth still didn't respond.

 

“Shit…” Zack said.

 

He shook Sephiroth even harder. “Sephiroth!”

 

Sephiroth groaned and his eyes opened. Zack felt nauseous when he saw them; they were glowing faintly and had a vacant look to them. Mako poisoning…

 

“Zack…?” Sephiroth said, his voice raspy as if he hadn't had water in days.

 

Zack pasted on a fake smile. At least his friend recognized him, so it couldn't be too bad.

 

“Come on, Seph. Let's get you over to the couch.” He draped one of Sephiroth's arms over his shoulders and heaved him to his feet. He was extremely glad the mako treatments and training had made him stronger or else he never would have been able to even lift Sephiroth like he was, let alone help him halfway across the apartment. As it was, Zack was sweating a little as he eased Sephiroth down onto the couch.

 

Sephiroth just sat there, staring at nothing. It pained Zack to see the usually quick-minded general so out of it and he was compelled to do anything to end it as soon as he could.

He went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water and brought it back out to Sephiroth. He knew that Sephiroth's body needed the water to dilute the mako that was coursing through it and he hoped it would be all that was needed to bring him back to himself.

 

He sat down beside Sephiroth on the couch and held the glass up to his lips. “Drink this.”

 

Sephiroth drank it quickly and Zack went to fill it again, bringing it back and making him drink once more.

 

After four glasses, the glow in Sephiroth's eyes was beginning to die down and his color began to return to normal. The general drew a shaky breath and leaned his head back against the couch.

 

“Damn you, Hojo…” he muttered.

 

“So, he did this?” Zack said.

 

“I didn't even notice he had tripled the usual dose until the needle was already in my arm,” Sephiroth said.

 

Triple the dose?! Zack resisted the urge to go strangle the mad scientist. That much mako could easily kill a normal person, and do serious damage even to a First-Class SOLDIER like himself. Sephiroth was different, but good god!

 

“Bastard…” Zack cursed, clenching his hands into fists.

 

They sat in silence for awhile. Zack could see that Sephiroth was thinking about something. With anyone else he would have said something, since even he admitted that he talked entirely too much, but with Sephiroth he had found that it was best to leave him alone when he was thinking.

 

“Why are you still here?” Sephiroth said finally.

 

Zack looked at him, wondering where on Gaia that question came from and exactly what he meant, since he didn't sound annoyed.

 

“I can go if you want…” he said.

 

For a moment Zack could have sworn he saw a hint of sadness in Sephiroth's eyes, but he shrugged it off; it had to be the glow from the Mako making him see things.

 

“That's not what I meant,” Sephiroth said, with a sigh, “Everyone is either afraid of me or idolizes me. They are only around because they believe it will make them look good, and once they realize that it makes no difference, they leave.”

 

Zack was irritated that Sephiroth could ever think that he was like those scumbags. He wanted to kill every last one of them when he saw them fawning over Sephiroth like he was some god with those stupid smirks on their faces. They only cared about themselves.

 

“I'm still here because you're my friend!” Zack said, his irritation coming through in his voice. “I can't believe you would think I was like them! Those people make me sick!”

 

Zack stood. “But since you seem to think I have no reason to be here, I guess I don't!”

 

He stormed out and walked as fast as he could to the elevator. Once inside, he punched the “44” button so hard it made his hand sting and waited impatiently as the elevator descended.

 

When it stopped, he got off and walked the few doors to his room. He slid his card and punched the button. The door slid open.

 

He threw himself on his bed and glared at the ceiling. This always seemed to happen to him; people just assumed he was exactly like nearly every other SOLDIER, cocky and self-centered. He could usually just shrug it off, but it really hurt coming from someone he actually cared about.

 

“It's what I get for wearing my heart on my goddamn sleeve…” he muttered.

 

The rational part of him kicked in then and he realized what an idiot he had just been. Of course Sephiroth would have assumed he was just like everyone else; that was all he had to go on. He had just asked a genuine question and Zack had blown up at him.

 

“I'm such a moron!” he said, beating his fist on the mattress.

 

He sat up, intending to go back and apologize, when there was a knock at his door. Surprised, he sat there for a moment wondering who it could be. The only one who ever came to his room was Cloud and that didn't sound like Cloud's knock.

 

The knock sounded again and this time, he got up and opened the door. On the other side stood Sephiroth, looking less than happy, but not angry like Zack figured he should be.

 

Zack stepped back from the door and gestured for him to enter. Sephiroth stepped into the room and the door slid shut behind him.

 

Zack sat down on his bed, as Sephiroth glanced around the small room. Then Sephiroth leaned back against the wall a few feet from the bed, and bowed his head, causing his hair to obscure his face.

 

“I…apologize,” Sephiroth said, his voice flatter than it usually was.

 

Zack just stared at him. Sephiroth had deliberately sought him out and was now apologizing to him?! He could hardly believe it.

 

“It was wrong of me to assume you were like them,” Sephiroth said.

 

Sephiroth shifted a little as if he were uncomfortable, which was even more strange, because he was always cold and collected.

 

“I…” Sephiroth began, but stopped and cleared his throat.

 

He fidgeted again and turned his head away. “I…I don't want to be alone anymore…”

 

Zack's heart lurched at how much Sephiroth sounded like a frightened child. So, that look he had dismissed before really had been there. When Zack said he was going to leave…

 

Zack stood and went over to him. From that position he could see the strange haunted look in Sephiroth's eyes and it hurt.

 

He stood there for a moment looking at Sephiroth and then he did the only thing he could think of, and something he knew Sephiroth needed, he hugged him.

 

Sephiroth stiffened at the contact. Zack knew he hated to be touched, but right now he didn't care.

 

“You're never alone,” he said.

 

Sephiroth breathed heavily, as if he had been holding it and relaxed a little. He pulled away and Zack let him go, knowing how uncomfortable it was making him.

 

A ghost of a smile appeared on Sephiroth's face and Zack couldn't help but grin. That small smile made it all worth it.