#floofcanon

[prismaticpichu]

The amount of times Zack has called his friend “Seph” is double the amount of squats he can do in a month. He uses the nickname every day—every time he’s with his pal (“Seph! Hey, Seph! C’mon, Seph, get some shuteye!”). And it makes sense, too, for someone as loving as Zack to use such a love-laden nickname for his friend. Just as it makes sense for Sephiroth’s professional nature to only refer to his friend by his proper name.

Except no one but Sephiroth knows of the time when the gesture actually was returned. When he broke character. When Zack had fallen asleep on the couch in the office for the dozenth time, unwilling to go to sleep until Seph did, too. When he had taken the decorative throw blanket, tucked it over the boy, and had murmured with a faint smile on his face,

“My little buddy.”

[genius-floof]

A brief bio

So just for future references, this is what my Tails is like:

He’s 30 but doesn’t appear to actually age out of his young body. Why? Because he is in fact a ‘kitsune’, he just doesn’t know it yet. He has read up but refuses to believe the possibility of being from spiritual descent. His powers are dormant but do awaken shortly as the moon cycle nearers to the ‘full moon’. He will then undergo a subtle change during that time period. Canines growing sharper, beast mode pupils, more tails being grown (more specifically the amount of tails that represent his current extent of wisdom) probably 2 more tails and a more mischievous, wild sort of behaviour—Especially on the battleground.

Personality wise, Tails is as sweet as you know him to be. Humble, caring, insecure and hard-working. He does whatever he can for Sonic and the team to the best of his ability. Despite still having remnants of clinginess in his personality, he’s trying his best to be more independent so that he doesn’t have to constantly rely on Sonic. Times will come where he will be alone once more and his to shift away from instinctively calling out for Sonic to save him. It’s a great insecurity of his that he wants to get rid of. Most often than not, he’ll find it hard to accept compliments as he has high expectations of himself that aren’t yet met. But, there’s no time to mope. He just has to keep working and doing his best because that’s the sort of hero he wants to become.

Other: He’s quite a logical thinker so sometimes will appear to be thinking insensitively but act with compassion instead. It’s a correctional habit that he’s had to develop. When he was younger, he thought himself too soft and so has started trying to be more assertive. He’s rather passive and doesn’t particularly like fights that are unnecessary but he CAN stand up for himself and isn’t afraid to. In terms of relationships and adult related things, he’s impartial. He isn’t as innocent as before so he knows about these things but doesn’t tend to think much about it. Catching his general interest is actually quite difficult because Sonic is currently up on that pedestal that nobody can remove him from.

[prismaticpichu]

One morning, a casual civilian walked onto the sands of Costa Del Sol to find a beautiful, elaborate drawing of General Sephiroth hugging a puppy etched into the shore. No one could figure out who on Gaia would dare to draw something so wild—who would dare draw something that portrayed the steely warrior as so…. vulnerable. Who on Gaia would have the guts—let alone the imagination—to draw a faint, closed-lipped smile on the man’s face. Pictures were taken; they spread to articles, and those articles spread around to each and every person in the city. It became something of a phenomenon, really. A legendary story of someone who had the audacity to illustrate the strongest SOLDIER on the planet as someone so soft.

No one but Zack Fair knew it was drawn by none other than Sephiroth himself, who he watched use Masamune to create it the night before <3

[prismaticpichu]

Sephiroth, using his prodigious strength to carry Zack on his shoulders more times than he has seen the stars.

Which is alright, in his book, when Zack has the idea of using his newfound height one day to stick glow in the dark stars onto the ceiling of Sephiroth’s bedroom <3

[prismaticpichu]

This concept WON’T pay rent or leave my brain.

~

ZackSeph Nibelheim au wherein Zack and Seph are sharing a room at the inn. Zack’s brow is furrowed in distressed, tossing and turning as he lays gripped in the haunting talons of a nightmare. A prophetic nightmare where he sees Seph turning against him—turning against everyone—laughing like a maniac with an unrecognizable blaze in his eyes, with a blood-bathed Masamune in his hand as he viciously attacks him without mercy. Seph… he’s mumbling in his sleep. Please… it’s me… Please… don’t…

Suddenly, tender hands are shaking him awake, shattering the nightmare. Zack’s eyes flare open to see Sephiroth standing over him, concern etched deep on his features. The boy’s breath is erratic, panicked; it takes several beats for it to find rhythm again, remnants of the nightmare clinging to him like the glistening pearls beading his lashes. Sephiroth asks what’s wrong—why his friend was calling his name. Zack is hesitant to respond, swallowing. But he eventually gives in as Sephiroth remains by his side, patient and assuring, a comforting presence that soothes his soul like balm. He explains his nightmare, spilling his terror. His emotions. Throat nearly closing as he struggles to finish the conclusion—the bloody gleam of Masamune, the way Seph had speared her through his—

As Zack’s voice trails off, shaking, Sephiroth face softens into an empathetic ache. He reaches out to brush the tears from Zack’s eyes, catching them with tender fingers. It’s just a nightmare… he assures kindly. It’s all alright now. But Zack isn’t fully assuaged; something about it all was too real, too vivid. Already stabbed with the pain of betrayal, having to fight a friend to the death… it’s just too much to think about his last remaining rock turning against him. Seeing his distress, Sephiroth gathers the boy into a warm embrace, holding him close, sinking onto the edge of the bed as Zack burrows into his chest. Listening to his heartbeat, wrapping his arms around him in turn. Clinging.

Shhh…. It’s alright. I’m here. You’re safe.

I thought… I thought I lost you. You didn’t even recognize me.

Sephiroth only holds him tighter.

They stay like that for a long, nebulous stretch of time, until Zack’s breathing begins to steady, until his eyes begin to close. As sleep begins to claim the boy again, Sephiroth carefully tucks him back under the covers, ensuring his comfort and warmth. Pulling the sheets up to his shoulders and slowly pulling away.

As he turns around, ready to return to bed, Zack’s eyes creak open.

Seph... would you... stay with me?

There’s a beat, a moment of stillness. But one that is quickly broken. Understanding the depth of his friend’s turmoil, Sephiroth returns nothing but a slow, kind nod, sliding into the bed beside his friend and wrapping his arms protectively around him. Zack nestles deep into the embrace, finding solace in the familiar warmth and sanctuary.

It’s my job to protect you, Zack… You know that. I won’t let anything harm you.

Zack nestles closer, sinking deeper into his best friend’s arms as a dreamless slumber begins to wash over him… safe and sound with a steady heartbeat pressed against his own.

…I don’t know what I’d do without you.

Sephiroth holds him tighter, protecting his treasure.

And you will never have to find out. I promise.

~

Does he find out? Does Sephiroth go insane, or does Zack remind him of the promise he made as Jenova attempts to claim him? Does their love break her control? Does Sephiroth choose his best friend over his book, keeps his vows over learning the twisted truth?

Well… I’m me. I think the answer is obvious <3

[prismaticpichu]

Zack, making sure to get a physical copy of the local newspaper every single weekend. Not so he could read it, though—not so he can study the cover article depicting ShinRa’s greatest, unstoppable, legendary hero.

He picks it up every weekend so he can do the fun little crossword puzzles with Sephiroth sitting beside him <3

[prismaticpichu]

Zack, and his beliefs of good luck and superstition gradually rubbing off on Sephiroth as their friendship begins to bloom.

The man used to scoff at the mere idea of a wish.

Now one of his most prized possession is a lucky Gil that Zack picked up for him on a walk. He never leaves his room without the coin in his coat pocket.

[prismaticpichu]

Late Night Floofcanon!

~

On nights when Angeal wasn’t around to be in the kitchen for his student, Sephiroth took over dinner duty. He wasn’t exactly a stellar chef, no, or as experienced and cook-literate as his older friend. But he always tried his hand at it. Zack needed to eat, after all—and he didn’t want to let down Angeal. Nor did he trust someone so rambunctious with the stove. (Nor did he trust Genesis.)

And so the routine started: Angeal would leave for a mission, or this, or that, and he would scrawl down a recipe for Sephiroth to follow. The man could usually mimic them with ease, making Zack’s favorite food taste just like it would had Angeal made it. It was a simple and easy procedure to follow when Angeal wasn’t around.

But then, Angeal wasn’t around. And there were no more recipes to follow.

Sephiroth had to make his own food, eventuality. Take the knowledge he knew of his new friend’s likes and dislikes and cook for him himself. He crafted his own meals and served them, knowing deep inside that Zack’s health would suffer should he not push him to eat. He would know: he had grown increasingly malnourished since the day Genesis was reported missing. By cooking for Zack, he not only ensured his best friend’s student was safe and healthy, but force him to stay afloat as well.

So they would sit together at Sephiroth’s kitchen table, Angeal’s apartment silently off-limits. Zack would say the food was good. Great, actually. And he would thank him every dinner. And Sephiroth would nod in return, gathering the dishes to wash them.

Eventually, time passed in ShinRa, various tragedies ravaged the company and various tempests tried to break both their spirits. More secrets were uncovered. More people were loss. Angeal’s apartment was locked from the outside, and never opened again.

But even through the worst of it all, there was the still the eye of the storm—the same, familiar routine that stood strong amid the winds. And that was eating dinner together. Sephiroth still cooked for them both every night. Every night Zack would come over, and every night Sephiroth would be over the stove, the gravity of the day and afternoon carried on their shoulders……. and it was there, at those fragile dinnertimes. where that weight would be slowly shed. Zack would let his emotions bleed, confessing how hard it was to keep a smile—to stay happy, to the SOLDIER he was supposed to be; and Sephiroth would listen, and say Zack was doing his best, and express his own mutual feelings on the absence of their friends. And It was one of these nights that Zack confessed what happened in Modeoheim.

Zack broke down at the table, unable to bridle his emotions any longer. Sephiroth hadn’t known what to do, initially. Let the numbness of what Zack had confessed sink in. Let him grieve, let the broken dirge choke harrowingly throughout the apartment. Sephiroth stared at his own food, silent, uncertain…… and that’s when the realization of what he was doing sank in.

There we was, looking after his friend on the most surface level imaginable. He cooked for him, kept him healthy…. and that was at all. He was letting him cry—let him be consumed by his own guilt and grief. He was letting Angeal down.

He pushed his chair out then, standing up, walking around the side of the table to take his place next to the boy for the first time since their routine started. And there he pulled his only friend into an embrace.

Sephiroth didn’t known how long he had been holding him for, but at some nebulous point in time Zack did calm down. He offered to try and make him something else, something to make him feel better. Zack wiped his eyes and almost jokingly said that ice cream healed all wounds. It was a sad kind of joking, like a desperate attempt to light a waxless candle. But the request was still serious at its core, and that’s how Sephiroth found himself scooping blobs of chocolate into a blender as he made his friend a milkshake. Zack said it was one of the best things he had in a long, long time. That much wasn’t a joke.

As time went on, wounds were gradually scabbed over, gauze was wrapped, and normalcy began to take its place again. Zack’s smiles became more genuine—Sephiroth could tell, could see the shift every night thereafter. And Sephiroth, for his part, felt his own world beginning to mend. The days didn’t seem so bad of so long, not when he always had something to look forward to at the end of them. He felt something inside him come back together again every time he cooked for himself and Zack, and every time he made him a milkshake after, and every time Zack thanked him for being there—something he now returned with gratitude of his own.

Soon, he really did begin to feel whole.

[prismaticpichu]

You are pure 🐹The most wholesome of blogs

*glances up from hot cocoa with sprinkles in it* AHHHH tysm Alto!!! <33 It means a ton when the warm and fluffy vibes come across!!!

And y’know what??? For being so incredibly awesome, lemme put an itty-bitty headcanon in a to-go cup for ya~

Angeal, Genesis, Zack and Sephiroth, all playing scattegories. The letter of the round was “R” and one of the questions was “something priceless”. Everyone’s answer was as follows:

Genesis: Ring

Angeal: Ruby

Zack: Rare things

Sephiroth: Right now

[prismaticpichu]

I can't figure out how to do the empty down-pointing triangle and copy-paste is mean to me. the aging one for our pals zack & (sane) seph. We don't really get to hear about aging SOLDIERs cause well, they're not really meant to survive so long, so I'd love to hear about thoughts about if they *did*

Ooooh oooh OOOH!!! Such an interesting premise….! :0

You’re absolutely right in that SOLDIERs unfortunately tend to lead very short lives. So what would a life look like post-ShinRa? What would it look like for our bestest buddies, had they had the opportunity to live the life they deserved….?

~

Sephiroth was always uncertain about his future. It was almost impossible to imagine a life without being bound in the ropes that he had known since his first breaths. A life… without fighting? Without bloodshed? Without orders to follow and rules to adhere to? A life where he didn’t have to fill the contours of an already-existing poster? It was…. frightening, truly. And perhaps that’s why he never tried to leave.

Zack changes that though.

He takes Sephiroth by the wrist one day, tells him that they need to leave. They’re poisoning themselves by standing. Who knows how much longer they would be able to stay standing if they remained put? What if one of them crippled next? Sank into the shadow of Genesis and Angeal….? Zack vehemently states that he’s not willing to lose Sephiroth. Not another best friend. And he wasn’t going to wait around for that to happen.

Still…. there’s that flicker of hesitance in Sephiroth’s eyes. That fear. That uncertainly. Still tied to those ropes, seemingly forever bound. The overwhelming weight in his chest, the thundering thoughts, trying to process a world where he would… where he would be—

Zack squeezes his wrist tight.

“Don’t worry, bud. You will never be alone. I promise.”

And Sephiroth knows then that it will never be broken.

They both agree that leaving civilly, and safely, is the best course of action. Gaia knows they don’t need troops of SOLDIERs dogging them for the rest of their lives. So it’s up to the President’s Office they go. ShinRa is startled, for one thing—a reaction that quickly whets into a cold, angry denial of their request. Losing Sephiroth? Losing Sephiroth?

But the fortunate reality is that Sephiroth is a cosmic warrior with the strength of a thousand radioactive elephants, and there’s nothing ShinRa can truly do when he resorts to pointing Masamune at him. Tells him that he was to not come after him, or his treasured friend. Tells him to pass the message to Hojo. ShinRa has no choice, ultimately, lest he want to unwittingly mirror a much bleaker future. He lets them go.

Goodbyes are exchanged all throughout SOLDIER. Zack goes through a line, hugging all his buddies he made over the years. Promises Cloud that he will amount to amazing things, and he will be there to see it. Promises Aerith he will call every day. There’s a ceremony held for Sephiroth’s retirement, only about 1/3 of the SOLDIERs shedding tears—plus a mystery droplet shed by one of the Turks.

And then, after the final goodbyes, Zack & Sephiroth are off. Away from ShinRa. Away from the cage. They eventually settle in Gongaga, after several days and nights of travel and stargazing and campfires and sleeping bags, and Zack tearily reunites with his parents. Seph is initially awkward, feels out of place. But his parents welcome him with open arms. Not starstruck, not a trace of fright or anxiety. Zack had written countless letters home in the past, and the last several had only described his best friend in glowing light. How kind he was. How thoughtful. How much more he was than simply a face on a poster. He wrote about how much they had been through. How he become his brother…. family. And how he would one day be able to prove it to them.

Sephiroth is soon given his own room, just across from Zack’s—a fact that they are both very grateful for, Zack constantly coming into Seph’s room in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep and Sephiroth always able to check on him when he needs to. Disregarding these things, however, Sephiroth ends up spending much less time in it than he would have expected. It’s a clear-cut opposite from his more secluded time in SOLDIER, addled with days where he never left his room or the office. Here, he’s out in the sunshine with Zack almost every day. They fish for dinner, they take walks through the jungle, they fight off local monsters, they help the neighbors and their children and even check on the Reactor when they can (discovering a malfunction and thankfully tending to it immediately).

Weeks fade into months, months fade into a year, a year fades into several, and Zack & Sephiroth are still safe and sound in Gongaga. All of the initial awe that the residents once possessed, it had long withered away. Sephiroth is accepted as an official member of the village. Accepted as a person. A resident. People wave good morning to him when he leaves the house each morning, and he waves back. Zack can’t be any happier <3.

While most of their SOLDIER roots have been severed over the years, there are still threads of their lives that are simply too strong to be broken. Such as sparring, for instance; Zack & Sephiroth still enjoy getting their blood rushing with spars, clanging and clashing their old blades without any stakes or rivalry or competition. It’s all in good fun, for old times sake, as well as delivering some solid, riveting entertainment to the villagers. Still, even though their spars stayed alive, countless of other aspects of their old lives had long evolved and changed. It was a gradual process, getting Sephiroth to shift clothes. But ultimately he assimilated into much more climate-appropriate t-shirts and pants. He eats meals much more regularly, practically eating a healthy three every day. He is also sleeps sounder than he ever had in his life.

Life in the Fair houseshold changes a little as well. It becomes tighter. Closer. Like home. Sephiroth is treated like a true son, loved and looked after by Zack’s parents. And Sephiroth comes to love them in turn. It’s still magical to think about, sometimes, when he’s lying in bed with Zack by his side…. How he can be so lucky. To think he had once think he had nothing, in the early stages of his life. No mother. No father. No siblings to speak of. He clutches his friend tighter, resting his head against the bed of raven spikes.

And now he has the entire world in his hands.

More years go by. A decade. Maybe two. Due to the Jenova cells still in his body, Sephiroth ages quite gracefully, his physical appearance hardly changing as he climbs into his 40s. Both Zack & Sephiroth begin to lose their energy and drive to spar, engaging in the activity less and less and less. But that is not to say it’s not made up by other activities. The two love to travel, frequently visiting Midgar to reunite with Aerith and Kunsel (outside the walls of ShinRa). Those two aren’t the only people they check up on, however. Zack eventually learns that Cloud has moved back to Nibelheim, and eagerly convinces Sephiroth to go on another trip across the continent—a trip that Sephiroth happily agrees to. Though Sephiroth has a lingering headache throughout the visit, everything is smooth-sailing; Zack is ecstatic to learn that Cloud has a girlfriend, Sephiroth sharing the same pride and happiness for his old cadet. They stay for a few days, resting at the inn. Eating local food. Laughing about how Sephiroth is finally wearing a shirt. And then it’s back home.

Home…. Sephiroth can’t help but say to himself, stepping back through the front door and shrugging his luggage off. He says it every time he enters. Every time he walks through that foyer. Every time his parents come to greet them back. Every time Zack slings an arm around his shoulder, thanking him for coming along. He says it every time…. because somehow the magic never fades away.

Home…. Sephiroth repeats to himself. I’m finally home.

[prismaticpichu]

Miscellaneous FF7 Floofcanons To Heal Me From Rebirth 💕

• Zack, unsure of how to properly use chopsticks just sticks them in his mouth and pretends to be a walrus. Angeal tells him to have some respect just before Sephiroth picks up his own chopsticks and imitates Zack

• Genesis, quietly reciting Loveless lines to Sephiroth as the man lays ill in bed. There’s a steaming bowl of soup on the nightstand that Angeal just brought in. Gradually, Sephiroth begins to fall asleep in the presence of his two treasured friends. Friends who had been gone all week on a mission, all the way across the continent, and now were back safe and sound by his side.

• Zack, bringing Aerith a handmade Cactuar plushie for her birthday and then proceeding to do the Dance™️

• Zack and Cloud, having claimed a table in the mess hall that they eat at every day together. Zack is often invited to sit with his posse of other SOLDIER buddies, but always chooses to stay right there with Cloud. The two share a bucket of french fries every Friday.

• Lazard, having access to the files, sending out a mass email to everyone in ShinRa informing people that it’s Sephiroth’s birthday; everyone chips in to throw a surprise party for their general—all orchestrated by Genesis and Angeal, who keep Sephiroth out of the base by taking him on a picnic

• Sephiroth and Zack, devising a plan where Seph secretly stitches Zack’s clothes back together every time he rips something on a mission. He always makes sure to mend the uniform before Angeal ever finds out.

• Cloud, writing anonymous appreciation letters to Sephiroth that he asks Zack to deliver; Zack delivers them personally, and Sephiroth always writes back thank you notes for Zack to deliver back

• Angeal and Genesis, getting Sephiroth a little fish to brighten up his office. Sephiroth names the animal “Yūjō”, which translates to “friendship.”

• Angeal and Genesis and Sephiroth, rotating between their apartments each Saturday for movie night. When Angeal invites Zack into the friend group, he added the tradition of bringing candy and soda.

• Angeal and Genesis, always making sure their schedule is clear on Mother’s Day so they can stay by Sephiroth’s side. The first time Genesis and Angeal used their permission to deny a mission as a First was so they could be with their friend that day.

• Angeal, always making sure to have Zack’s favorite dinner prepared for whenever he returns from missions. Genesis always makes sure the TV remote is free while Sephiroth greets Zack in the hallway. He asks for his usual “secret Zack hug”, and the two only go inside once it’s been given.

• Angeal and Sephiroth & Genesis, all tutoring Zack to give Zack the education he missed out on when he ran away from home at age 13. Genesis focuses on art and literature, Angeal focuses on history, and Sephiroth focuses on math and science.

• Tseng, delivering Zack a hefty check on his birthday with a little note that reads “SOLDIERs really should be paid equal”

• Zack, putting up a bulletin board over his bed that reads “Home”. Over his time at ShinRa, the sparse photos of his parents and childhood are gradually joined by photos from missions and his fondest memories with Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, Cloud, Kunsel, the Turks, and all his other treasured friends

• Zack and Sephiroth, cocooned in each other’s arms as they lie in bed together. Their heads are touching, their eyes are closed. And in that delicate moment Zack mumbles, “you and me, Seph…” To which Sephiroth softly completes with, “forever.”

This has been your friendly dose of Pichu. Hope you have a wonderful night! <3

[prismaticpichu]

Zack, buying a manga for the cool as heck pictures, but not realizing that he is unable to understand the dialogue.

Sephiroth, bilingual, reads it aloud to Zack as they sit on the couch together <3

(Yes. He even does different voices to make the pupper laugh)

[prismaticpichu]

7 Wholesome Floofcanons to Heal From Inevitable Ever Crisis Trauma ❤️

~

• Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal, playing video games together in Genesis’s apartment. It’s one of the first times where Angeal commends Genesis’s competitiveness and gives a genuine laugh at how hard his friends are going at it. He keeps “switching sides” in order to keep the healthy rivalry going, as well as a way to boost both SOLDIERs’ self-esteem while he’s at it (and also just likes hearing “ANGEAL! HOW DARE YOU ROOT FOR MY NEMESIS?”). Ofc, the tides are turned when a two v. two minigame comes up, and Genesis & Seph join forces to crush their wishy-washy cheerleader. Angeal is playfully irritated by the defeat as Gen & Seph share a best-freindsy high five <333

• Zack, unable to sleep one night, too riled up from a training session he just returned from and desperately in the mood to go on a mission. Angeal tries everything in the books from lavender fragrance to a story, but nothing seems to calm the SOLDIER down. Suddenly, Sephiroth shows up, needing to borrow something from his friend, and notices the predicament. He tells Angeal he knows what to do before going up to Zack, crouching down beside him, and whispering something in his ear. Mere seconds later, Zack is plopped into his pillow and falling asleep. As Angeal and Sephiroth leave the room, Angeal incredulously asks what Seph did. Sephiroth simply gives a soft smiles and says he told Zack he could attend a mission in his dreams <3

• Sephiroth & Genesis, teaming up to make dinner one night when Angeal is bushed after a long day. They both realize amid their act of kindness that neither of them actually know how to cook, and so the two proceed to use one of Angeal’s cookbooks. What they end up making was actually something meant for dessert, and the three of them have a good laugh as they treat themselves to a sweet potato pie for dinner. <3

• Sephiroth, falling ill while his best friends are away on a mission. He tries to convince himself that he is fine, continuing to go about his duties, but the sickness has too much of a grasp on his throat to disguise when Angeal & Gen call to check-in. Hours later, and Sephiroth finds the two SOLDIERs at his apartment door, having managed to return home a week early from their 10 day-long mission in order to take care of their friend. Sephiroth falls asleep that night with an empty bowl of soup by his side and a cold washcloth pressed against his head <3

• Zack, slowly getting tutored by Angeal about the wonderful world of botany so he can impress Aerith. Angeal even finds little printable quizzes Zack can take to test his knowledge. Zack gets perfect scores every time <3

• Zack, slowly getting tutored by Sephiroth about the wonderful world of literature so he can have something to talk about with Genesis. The man hands him a copy of Genesis’s favorite novel, the likes of which he jokingly tells Zack to read. This eventually leads to Zack & Genesis starting a book club in SOLDIER together after Zack falls into an unironic reading spree. (Genesis is impressed by Zack’s vast knowledge and Zack is honored to have to finally have the respect of one his heroes <3)

• Zack, slowly getting tutored by Genesis about the wonderful world of pomology so he can finally understand Angeal’s stories. Genesis tells him all about the history of the Dumbapple—soon followed by Zack developing a newfound appreciation and fancy for Banora White juice. Angeal’s heart does a flip every time Zack asks for a glass <3

BONUS!~

• Zack, getting through to Sephiroth in the Nibelheim library because, instead of simply grasping Sephiroth’s hand as he turns to leave, Zack does a little something else: he squeezes it. One two three. It’s something they’ve been doing for over a year now, a sign of unconditional friendship and trust. A sign that breaks the fog of Jenova’s control as the three cryptic squeezes ring their true meaning in his mind.

I love you…

(Fic coming soon! :3c)

[prismaticpichu]

Sometimes, there are things that not even the most elite members of the Silver Elite are aware of.

Such as that one of Sephiroth’s favorite games is ring toss—literally—where he uses all the engagement rings he has accumulated from strangers and tries to land them on the quills of Zack’s spiky hair. It’s their favorite rainy day game of all time, always setting new goals and obstacles (Zack often dancing around to up the difficulty). Sephiroth loves the target practice and Zack loves watching the sheer joy in his friend’s eyes whenever they play, like an old, lost remnant of himself being rekindled from the past. From the days of sneaking into the training room. From the days of lobbing swords to knock apples square off of people’s heads. Just some pointless, stupid, ludicrous fun.

More then anything, however, it’s a display of trust. Zack knows with all his heart that Sephiroth would only ever aim for his wonderfully handsome hair; and Sephiroth couldn’t be more grateful to have someone who doesn’t fear him. Not even in the slightest.

[prismaticpichu]

Floofcanon!~

Knowing how strict Angeal could be through first-hand experience, Sephiroth took the young Second Class his friend was training aside one day, and together they developed a system: every time Zack returned from a mission with tattered, torn clothes, he would go straight to Sephiroth so the man could stitch the injured clothes back together. Ofc this happened almost every mission given just how headstrong the SOLDIER was, given how much he ran into the fire. That poor uniform ended up going through a whole lot—so much so that an entire chunk of fabric was pried right off by the maws of a Blood Taste. Yet no matter the severity Sephiroth was ready, ready to protect his new friend from the lectures. The shame. The discouragement. Ready to keep his honor in place. He stayed up all night stitching that fabric back into place, putting those old, child-absorbed medical skills to use, and Angeal was never the wiser.

A year later, the system was still in place. Except it was a First Class uniform that Sephiroth was stitching now. And stitching with a noticeable less sense of urgency.

~~~

“There.” Sephiroth handed the newly mended shirt to his friend, a certain delicateness in his voice that hadn’t been present before. “It’s in wearable condition again. For now.”

Zack accepted the bundle with similar fragility, a small grin budding at the quip. “Thanks, pal,” he said sincerely, before looking down to the floor, the blue eyes almost dim against the midnight gloom of the apartment.

Sephiroth waited for a beat to pass. “What’s wrong?” he couldn’t help but ask, although the knot in the heart filled in those contours for him.

“It’s, just…” Zack started quietly. “Sometimes I can’t help but think… y’know… about Angeal, and what he would think of me now… still messing myself up like this…”

A firm hand came down on his shoulder.

“He would be proud,” Sephiroth said then, without a single thread of hesitation laced between his voice.

Zack glanced up to meet his friend’s gaze. “…How do you know?”

Sephiroth kept his gaze quiet, gazing at his friend, the vague reflection of Mako puddling against the scar on the boy’s cheek. A blemish on innocence. A laceration on sprit. A mark. A reminder. A wound torn agape, and a wound stitched back together again.

“Because,” Sephiroth said softly. “I am too.”

[prismaticpichu]

“Oh, what is that? They spoil him too much...!”

~~~

Zack and Sephiroth developing such a strong bond that not only does Zack indeed say this to the man’s face, but it becomes a regular inside joke that the two chuckle over whenever Zack wants to tease his best friend <3

And the joke always works. Because Zack knows that the prized warrior isn’t spoiled; he is the most humble SOLDIER that he has ever met. He only turned down the mission to protect his friends. And the joke always works because Sephiroth knows that he has someone in his life who finally sees him as human—as something beyond ShinRa’s opulences. So much so that he can share a laugh about it.