_Heading Out_

zack bit


"So you've got everything?" Sephiroth let himself in and almost felt bad to interrupt the amusing battle in progress. Zack bounced up and down on his suitcase a third time, finally crushing the contents enough to engage the latch, before rolling off the overburdened luggage with a groan. The southerner waved up at him from his sprawl in the floor.

"Looks like." He accepted Sephiroth's outstretched hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. "The presents are all packed, at any rate. And my stuff is in the duffle by the door." Looking around his apartment, Zack rolled his shoulders and relaxed a moment. "I'm only going for a week, so that ought to tide me over."

"Fair enough." Sitting on the couch, Sephiroth couldn't help but feel a little lonely all ready. It was sad how dependant he was becomming on the southerner for companionship and the occassional daily entertainment. He resolved to finally read through the set of manuals he had waiting for him on his coffee table upstairs. Maybe they'd be more palatable if he brought them down here and read while watching TV. It wasn't like Zack would be around to complain about his boring evening, and being able to glance up and catch the late show would keep him from throwing the dull reading down the closest elevator shaft for disposal. He glanced towards the kitchen where his friend's latest and already rather bedraggled-looking fern sat peacefully. "Is that the plant?"

Zack gave him a hard look. "You're going to water it."

"Yes, I know."

"Not like last time. You're going to water it ever second day..."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes, "Yes. I will water it repeatedly while you are gone."

"Not more than every other day. Just poke the soil and see if it feels damp, ok? No drounding."

"Right." He smirked. "I promise you that I won't kill your already half-dead houseplant of the month. All right?"

"Maybe I should just give it to Pavan, he could handle it."

"Zack!" Sephiroth glared. "I think I can handle babysitting a single piece of delapidated shrubbery for seven days without too much hassle."

"That's what you said last time. I came back and found I had a briquette instead of an african violet. Those things are supposed to be bloody impossible to kill."

Sephiroth simply smirked again, silently acnkowledging that he /was/ the best after all. If it could be killed, he'd manage it. It was just that normally, he was actually /planning/ on killing things, not inadvertantly letting them dry out to the consistancy of pumice by leaving them on the radiator over a long weekend. Zack was still apparently bitter about that. Given the southerner's personal track record with plants, Sephiroth didn't see what the big deal was.

"Well, I'm off then." His friend dumped the last of his luggage on a small dolly, and wheeled the cases to the door. "Coming? Or do you want to hide out at my place all weekend?"

"No, I have work to do this afternoon." Sephiroth caught one of the bags, threatening to slip of the back of the pile, and resettled it firmly. "We can't all take prolongued spring vacations, you know."

"Vacation sans-pay, to deal with my mother, is not vacation." Zack groused, backing his load out into the hall. "It's a damn headache waiting to happen." He stopped at the elevator and grinned weakly. "Promise you'll send troops if I'm not back on time? They might decide to drop me down a well or something any day now."

"Heh." Looking down the hall to see if anyone was coming, Sephiroth felt his second sidle up to him. "What?"

"Promise you'll miss me?"

"It's only a week."

"Yeah, So?"

"Go on, you'll miss your flight." He nodded at the elevator's opening door. Not wanting to say anything particularly damning in the middle of a public hallway. Zack's smile, a little knowing, and plenty wicked, answered him in full.

"Yessir. See you Tuesday."

Sephiroth waited until the doors slid shut, hiding the last glimpse of the messy dark hair before moving. Simply watching as the man was whisked away. He crammed his hands in his pockets as he contimplated the days ahead and couldn't help but sigh a little.

He was bored already.