*The
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“Penny for your thoughts…” The dark man’s arrival at his side was a distraction, but not necessarily an unwelcome one. He didn’t bother to turn to see his new assistant settle at his side. He didn’t need to, able to feel the heat radiating off the bronzed arm closest to him in contrast to the cool night breeze.
“Must I be thinking of something?”
“Usually… You’ve never struck me as being big on the whole ‘meditate on nothing’ school of thought…”
“True.”
Zack rolled his eyes at the characteristically short reply. The general watched him discretely, taking in the way the shaggy hair swayed, matching the motion of the stiff sea-grass on the bluff behind them as it was bent in the wind. Zack hid his impatience well, if he felt any. It was impossible to tell sometimes. Other people when faced with such oblique answers usually took the hint, leaving him in peace. His cheerful friend had proven early on to be either more tolerant, or more obtuse than average. Instead of goading, or pushing the conversation ahead on his own, he sat in silence, seeming content to wait forever if necessary.
// Like a man trying to squeeze a lump of coal into something more valuable… //
The metaphor was flawed. Diamonds were something of tangible value. They could be bought or traded or made into trinkets. He doubted there was anything he could possibly put into words worth the effort and patience of coaxing them into the air. Obviously to the darker SOLDIER there was something of value there -- maybe of the comedic sort-- because even when ignored the man remained. Sephiroth sighed silently and returned to his study of the waves.
The beach was all but deserted, too late for the last of the
dusky romances, too early for the dawn-watchers. With
// … Just tides and time… And both are things we have plenty of tonight… //
Thinking of it reminded him of the hour, and gave a convenient place to break the silence. “Has the party finally settled down?”
“If you mean to ask ‘has everyone passed out yet?’… then no… I warned them that they’re to be back on the truck bright and early tomorrow… but sadly I was outranked and told to go soak my head… we’ll see how hard I have to kick them in the morning.” He seemed amused both by the insubordination and the prospect of revenge.
“You’re my assistant. They should have listened to you.”
“Yeah well, I can’t blame them… training’s been hot work, if you haven’t noticed… they deserve a little down time before being crammed back into their quarters. Midgar’s nice and all… but it’s no tropical paradise.”
“I’ll speak to them about it later.”
“No, no you won’t… Don’t go sticking your nose into our perfectly functional dysfunctions.” Zack shrugged. “I tell them to ‘toe the line’, they poke fun at me, I kick their butts… We all know how far we can take things. If you go and interfere it’ll be ‘official’ and then all the work I’ve done getting them to cope with me ‘as a superior’ goes out the window.”
“… You’ve really thought this through…”
“Nah… read it in one of those management training pamphlets I got from HR when I was down flirting with the secretaries…” The bland reply took a moment to sink in and startled, Sephiroth turned to look at the fighter.
“You what…?”
“You didn’t know? They have a whole wall of the little things, it was wedged in on the third row, right between ‘Submarine Maintenance for Dummies’ and ‘Boot Blacking for Career Enhancement’…”
“… You are lying to me, Mr. Thomson.”
“Definitely, but you have to admit for ‘on-the-fly’ it sounded pretty good? Besides, I thought I told you to call me Zack.”
“… A novel skill for a self-proclaimed ‘plain spoken’ man.”
“It’s an amusing way to pass the time, keeps people guessing after all.”
“If you say so.”
The shorter man sighed, lounging back in the sand until he could lean on his elbows and watch the surf. “Nice night.”
“You should be resting with the others.”
“I could say the same for you…”
“I… am not tired.” He could feel Zack’s eyes on him, feel the silent disbelief. The man was polite enough not to push the issue. Closing his eyes, he firmly told himself he was just resting them a moment. There was plenty of time for sleeping later. Right now he craved peace, soaking up the feeling of the quiet night as a store against the chaos to come. He risked another brief look at his companion before returning to his study of the gentle surf. The darker man’s face revealed no emotion in particular. He too seemed to be enjoying the ocean.
“Seems a shame, I think… to miss out on the scenery while it lasts… Might as well sleep on the way home, or back in Midgar.” Knowing no reply was needed; the general simply dipped his chin.
His friend shifted again, his boundless energy making it a challenge for him to sit still for long. Zack was a man meant to be always in motion. The SOLDIER conversion process had only enhanced his already spirited nature. Sometime he stood next to the lieutenant and could feel the man’s pent up tension, a crackle of electricity in the air. He was like a coiled spring, even when still he almost vibrated, ready to go.
On an impulse, Sephiroth reached into his pocket and produced a small slip of paper. The telegram was rather crumpled from the mistreatment, fluttering disjointedly on the breeze. The pale haired man held it out to his second, a silent offering.
“Ehhh?” Taking it before it could flutter free. His officer tilted it into the moonlight to see what it said. “… ‘confirmation that Operation ‘CANOPY’ has been authorized by the President and will be announced upon your return’…?”
Zack looked over at him with guarded interest. “… So that secret briefing you were working on the other week… was Operation CANOPY?”
“… Unofficially, yes.”
“… Unofficially until tomorrow afternoon, anyway…” The dark man raised an eyebrow, “So this is what you’ve been pondering about…?”
“That and other things…” The general lay back, stretching out his overly long legs and laying on the beach. The tickle of sand in his hair promised to be annoying later, but for now he was content to stare at the stars. They twinkled distantly, visible in numbers that were impossible from within the confines of Midgar’s steel towers.
“So… we’re going back to Wutai…”
“Your first real combat as a SOLDIER… do you look forward to it?”
“… That depends…”
“On what?”
“On who is running the show…?”
Sephiroth heard the real question beneath the playful metaphor. “… I am the one with the most experience with the political and geographic… eccentricities of the place.”
“In that case… Sure I’m looking forward to it… sir.” The dark man leaned over him, smile bright in the moonlight. “And if you ask nicely, I’ll happily put scorpions in the boots of whichever pathetic political officer they choose to stick us with.”
“…Discretely, of course?”
“Naturally.”
“I may have to take you up on that…”
He was surprised when his self-proclaimed friend collapsed back in the sand beside him, tucking his hands behind his head. “… War huh… Was inevitable I suppose… Fucking Shinra can never leave well enough alone.”
“Ours is not to question, Zack.”
“Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder…” For a moment his friend seemed thoughtful but then stretched with carefree abandon. “Ah well, just as long as I get paid, you know?”
Sephiroth carefully crushed the fleeting desire to reach out and touch the man. He didn’t have the right, not to a comforting pat, or even to touch the stray lock of hair sliding across the chiseled features. Propriety stated that he was to keep his traitorous hands to himself, and that was exactly what he would do. “… Mercenary,” he settled for a gentle scolding instead.
“Because I don’t fight blindly for ‘my company’?”
“Your loyalty is offered to anyone who can meet the price, is that any better?”
“Well the price is negotiable for one or two special cases…”
The general looked over in amusement, “Oh really… Give me a ‘for instance’…?”
“…For instance… They couldn’t pay me enough to set foot in Wutai again without you.”
Zack had spoken with mild humor, but there was a feeling of honesty about him. Smiling faintly, the pale general had nothing to counter it with. The pragmatic comment warmed him more than he would ever admit.
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