Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Paint The Town ❯ Feathering the Nest ( Chapter 7 )

Paint The Town

Feathering the Nest

 

Sephiroth stuck his hands in his pockets and ducked his head down, paying only minimum attention to the babbling man beside him. Zack's voice kept echoing around as they walked down the street. He gesticulated wildly as he spoke. Sephiroth could almost pretend that the man was conducting a symphony in his own voice.

 

“First thing you should get is a good living room set. You know, a nice overstuffed couch, a couple good armchairs and hey, a loveseat for when the ladies come over.” Zack waggled his eyebrows and elbowed his commanding officer.

 

“Stop poking me, Zachary,” Sephiroth grumbled.

 

“What's next? Maybe a dining room set. But I guess you don't do a whole lot of entertaining so maybe we can skip that. I know! Lighting! Get the right lamps, with the dimmer switch, turn them down low. I'm telling you, it's the perfect atmosphere for hot loving. Oh, you should definitely get shelves for all those books though. How'd they survive the fire, anyway?”

 

It took a while for Sephiroth to realize that he was expected to answer. “I never had shelves for them in the first place. I kept most of them in storage.”

 

“Oh, okay then. Lucky for them.” Zack was so busy talking he paid no attention to where they were. He just followed Sephiroth's quiet lead into a very upscale part of town. “You should think about getting some better window treatment or something. Those white blinds are so boring. Some artwork for the walls would be good too. Add some color to the rooms. Oh, hey…” He stopped and looked up at the building Sephiroth was about to enter. “You're shopping here?”

 

Sephiroth turned around, missing the flapping of his long coat. The one he wore now was double-breasted and came only to mid-thigh. Even though it covered his chest, he felt more naked in it. His military uniform was hardly suitable for walking through town off-duty. He breathed out and watched the slight puff that formed out of his breath. “This is where my furniture was always ordered from before.”

 

Zack scratched his head. “They really get nothing but the best for their General, eh?” He followed Sephiroth through the double doors and froze.

 

The store was remarkable posh. Everywhere Zack turned there was marble, leather, finely polished wood and rich fabric, stretched out as far as the eye could see. Faint classical music drifted down from the ceiling. The furniture was well-arranged, set out beside panels of complementary wall paper and interspersed with overpriced knickknacks, so one could buy an entire living room at will, junk and all, if one desired. Zack doubted he would be able to afford an ashtray.

 

“May I assist you, sir?” The slightly-greying attendant, garbed in black and white and looking almost like a butler, had approached so silently that Zack had to wonder if the man had trained in Wutai as a ninja. He had an image of an army of butlers sliding out of the trees to ask, “You rang, sir?” The man looked from Sephiroth to Zack with a slight question in his eyes.

 

“I'm with him!” Zack blurted out, pointing to the silver-haired man. The attendant nodded curtly.

 

Sephiroth paid no attention to the little exchange. “I need a couch,” he barked, blunt as ever. Zack might have smacked him if the surroundings and the man himself were not so intimidating. Even the butler-attendant had twitched a bit.

 

“Ah, are you looking for anything in particular?” The man swallowed. Zack suddenly felt a small kinship with the man. In his own mind he named the man `Jeeves'.

 

“Black leather,” Sephiroth barked again. `Jeeves' nodded.

 

“Sir knows what he likes. Follow me, please.” He recovered quickly enough and led them through the living room suites. “We have a very wide selection of leather upholstery, ranging from Kalm Town classics to the finest in Wutanese varieties.” After a few moments of marching they found themselves in a section where the little `living rooms' had mostly leather upholstery. “Feel free to look around. I will check in periodically and feel free to call once you've made your decision.” Sephiroth nodded and the man was off.

 

Zack watched `Jeeves' go. “They sure train `em strict round here.”

 

Sephiroth said nothing. He engaged himself in walking through the suites and inspecting the furniture. Once or twice he paused when something caught his eye. He was not sure exactly what to do, or how to choose. He never really had much choice in this matter before. His rooms were always furnished when he got them, whether it had been the lab cell, his bunk in the barrack yard or the smaller apartment he had been granted after the war. It had been expected that he would have his secretary or someone else handle the refurnishing with the granted budget for his new place, but Zack had been quicker. It was probably for the best. The General shuddered at the thought of having Julia decorate for him.

 

He stared down at one very sleek sofa. It was all straight lines and hard angles. Sephiroth was not sure if he liked it. He was not sure if he did not like it. He really had no idea.

 

“Well?” Zack sidled up to him. “Aren't you going to try it out?”

 

“Try it out?” Sephiroth was confused.

 

“Yeah, how else are you going to know if it's comfy or not?”

 

Sephiroth considered it. He really had no idea how to go choosing out furniture. The most he had ever really shopped around for was armor. Craftsmanship and materials, effectiveness and strength and durability mattered there. Maybe it applied to furniture as well. He never would by an armlet without at least hefting it a few times. He sat down gingerly.

 

“So how is it?” Zack asked.

 

“It is…adequate.” That was enough for Sephiroth, but Zachary was having none of that.

 

“Adequate? That's no good for a living room couch! You want something you can really slouch and sink in.”

 

“I do?”

 

“Yes!” Zack grinned at him. “You do! Or more importantly, I do, because I'm the one who's going to be sitting on your couch and if you pick a wretched plank of board that aggravates my poor back, you'll never hear the end of it from me.”

 

Sephiroth considered strangling the man to death right then and there.

 

Zack flopped down next to the General and wriggled around in the seat. “Nope. Too straight. You can't lean back much in this one. It's slidy too.” He winked at Seph. “Not too good for the old bump n' grind, but then leather is like that. Why'd you want leather so bad though? Everything you own gotta be black leather?” He motioned towards Sephiroth's coat. The General did not have a ready answer for that.

 

“My chair is black leather.” He really had little choice in the matter. Right after the war, when he returned home as a hero, Shinra had put image consultants to work on him. They offered him choices. He said `yes' or `no' and it made little difference. All the selections were tailored towards a particular image. He was the dark, brooding hero. He was not too sure about the last part himself but he was willing to accept the rest if it got other people to leave him alone.

 

“Right, right.” Zack seemed to have come to a conclusion. “Your stuff should match. I don't think I ever met anyone who coordinated their wardrobe to their kitchen ware but hey, if that's how you want it.”

 

Sephiroth frowned. Was that how he wanted it? He looked up but Zack had already flown over to another suite. Sephiroth followed.

 

This set had a more historic touch, with carved woodwork and brass embellishments. Sephiroth sat down and set his elbow on the wooden arm rest. The leather beneath him was hard and unyielding. He probably would not have noticed if Zack had not brought comfort to his attention. He leaned back and knocked his head against the wood on the back.

 

“I don't like this one,” he said firmly. Zack grinned at him.

 

“Now we're making some progress. Which one next?”

 

Having tried the stiff ones, Sephiroth next sought out the softer kind. He found a few that were too soft, offering no back support and one or two he simply did not like the look of, when he thought about it. Finally he sank into a clean-lined little sofa and knew it was right. It seemed to mold itself to him. “This is it,” he announced quietly. Zack flopped down next to him.

 

“Oh, yeah. This is it.” He exhaled appreciatively. “Sinking into this baby at the end of the day would be…I dunno, post-coital or something.” He reached for the little card on the coffee table to check the listed price. “Whooping fajungas! You could feed all the orphans in Wutai for a month for the cost of the couch alone!” He showed Sephiroth the card. The man did not bat one silver eyelash. The balance in the budget more than covered it.

 

“I'll take the set.”

 

Zack slid out of the seat and hit the floor. “Dude….we have got to learn you a thing or two about the value of money. What's left for those shelves you needed? I know a place where you can filch some bricks and a few planks of wood.”

 

“The budget is adequate.”

 

`Jeeves' swung by in a matter of moments, as if he had been waiting in the wings, and Sephiroth went about taking care of payment and delivery. Zack just watched them nattering on from his spot on the floor while he considered the absolute injustice of the Shinra pay scale.

 

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Time: 5 hrs 16 minutes

Music: In the Middle of the Night - Billy Joel

Notes: I've let this fic languish for too long and I am out of practice. I never forgot about it though.