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you only had 1 job โ CLOSED
[ Zack really shouldn't even be in this city anymore. There's too much potential for things to go wrong, for someone to show up in just the right place with memories of exactly the wrong time. Every second he spends within the city limits is a great personal risk. (Probably? Hard to shake that feeling, after spending so much time on the lam.) He really needs to cut it out.
But then he's steering around that car that he's, uh, still borrowing, looking for a good spot to refuel, when he finds himself in Sector 2 and realizes that it feels familiar in a different sort of way. Yeah, this is like the parade route, and then if he takes his next right up here, slips under the dark cover of the bridge and parks at the meter, everything comes flooding back to him.
He finds himself upon the precipice of the old landing pad. There's a few crafts parked around that he doesn't recognize the make or model of, but otherwise, it's exactly the same as that day, the one with Hollander, with yet another failure, with Tseng rushing past him and standing at the edge and shaking his head in disappointment.
And Sephiroth, too. It's one of his fondest memories, and it slips over him like a warm, comfortable sweater as he leans on the rail and gazes out at the waves. It was the first moment he'd really felt like a 1st, like he was a part of something big and great, like he belonged. Sephiroth had his back, respected him.
And now look where that's gotten him. ]
Do you even remember?
[ Is it weird to be talking to someone who isn't there? For some reason, no. Not when it's Sephiroth. It's probably the better alternative, considering his propensity for stabbing. ]
no subject
[The response comes from behind Zack, a distance away but not too far. The way he stands is almost like he was there all along. He hadn't come here with the intention of crossing paths with Zack, or just sort of worked out that way.
Sephiroth spent most of the day scouting the city. He learned nothing new about the true nature of this world, but it wasn't totally unfruitful if it brought him here in this moment.
Like it was fated to be.
His words were actually not a dismissal of the memory itself, he literally could not recall random specific moments very well anymore. Many were lost in the lifestream when he attempted to infect it.
It was a price he paid for his actions. At the time, he didn't care though now it was a strange feeling to reflect on the past and not remember everything fully. It's not that he doesn't know what happened, but he can not describe any of it. From where he was standing, to how they were dressed. Those memories just weren't there anymore lost to time and the lifestream itself.]
no subject
It was the first time I saw you smile. N'I was so mad at you. You know how frustrating it is, to go from wantin' to deck someone to feeling like you're on top of the world, just like that?
[ His fingers snap. And then his track changes entirely, and he's murmuring: ]
It just doesn't make sense.
no subject
He approaches to the side, glancing out the horizon that has captured Zack's gaze. Had this been in the past, he might have laughed at the comment about wanting to deck him. Instead he falls silent for a moment and lets him continue.]
What doesn't?
[Other than everything. But why is Zack being so nostalgic? Was it because of their conversation before?]
no subject
But the question isn't important. He's spent enough time wallowing in misery over things that were that just aren't anymore. Maybe the issue is that he needs to be more proactive. And what's the best idea in the world?
Grabbing Sephiroth's wrist and running forward, of course. That's never ended badly for anyone. ]
C'mon, you remember. You came up behind me, right hereโ
[ Aaaand dropping his wrist, and running around behind him so he can push Sephiroth forward just a touch. Even if he doesn't move, Zack still gives him his best Sephiroth impression, dropping his voice low low low: ]
Mission... failed. This goes on your permanent record!
no subject
If there is one thing in this universe that truly remains a constant, it is Zack. And his nature to be both predictable and unpredictable just because of his personality.
Sephiroth kind of moves when he is both dragged and pushed (and Zack is very, very lucky he is putting up with this anyone else would meet a terrible end doing such things) but he mostly stays put and just ... watches.
The quizzical expression given isn't directed towards the impression, but the words and movements that he's actually struggling to recall. Familiar. Distant. He knows it happened, but even watching Zack he cannot place all the pieces together for a full picture.]
We were here, yes. I do not ... recall the details.
[He was so focused on his hate before he never really bothered to stop and think of all the tiny details missing. Events where there, the important ones. But so much else simply ... lost.]
no subject
[ Zack jogs to his place in the scene. Turns round dramatically. He can mimic it exactly, because it is, after all, his patented Dramatic Turn. ]
Sephiroth! Long time no see.
[ Is it theatrics, or is it just canon? (It's both, isn't it?) He waves his hands in the air flippantly, breaking character for a second to intimate that: ]
Then blah-blah-blah, you said some stuff about Modeoheim and the Genesis copies running rampant in the slums, and Iโ
[ He puts his hands on the sides of his face and gasps big. ]
And then you...
[ He takes a couple steps toward Sephiroth, arms crossed as he all but glows with how good this memory feels. ]
You said, "Permission to return, granted," and that was the first time I saw you smileโlike really smile.
[ Like how he's smiling now! Isn't it infectious, Sephiroth?? ]
no subject
But no Zack, the smiling isn't infectious. Maybe in the past it would have slipped past the cracks in his normally guarded self. But in this moment, he simply stares rather expressionless.
But he's thinking ... trying to put together this moment. He remembers the conversation but he--]
Why are you bringing this up? Is this a memory important to you? I --
[He pauses trying to think of how to explain.]
Remember the words. But I cannot tell you if your recreation is accurate or simply overdramatic.