*Unexpected HouseGuest*
-Zack snip-
He had been so caught up in the frustrations of the week that it wasn’t until
he had been coaxed onto the couch with promises of a quiet evening that he
realized how long it had been since he had sat down on the familiar piece of
furniture. The hands pressing his shoulders back into the cushions seemed to
agree. His dark haired friend’s smile was full of gentle affection as he put up
with the last of his grousing.
“What do you want to drink, Seph?”
“Anything. Tea?”
“How very civilized of you.” The officer chuckled, rising slowly to
wander into the kitchen. “I think I still have some mint somewhere… don’t drink
it much, but after being chewed on by Heidigger all afternoon, I think I could
go for some myself…” His voice got lost inside the wooden interior of a
cabinet. “… Very soothing, they say.”
“Indeed.”
A night at Zack’s, his mind slowly adjusted to the idea. It had been a while
since he had last had the pleasure. He couldn’t quite remember why, something
had just always come up. Sephiroth shook his head and slid further down into
the couch’s leather embrace. To be fair, his friend had had precious little
free time in the past month. The dark haired SOLDIER had just seemed busier
than usual in the wake of the recent funeral. He wondered if it was avoidance.
Not that he was one to point fingers if it was.
The general watched as Zack move calmly about his tiny kitchen -dwarfing the
every day appliances- as he went through the motions of daily life. It was
there if he looked for it, a lingering something, a dip in the shoulders, a
slowness to the hands that seemed to tell more than in words that the man was
still thinking about her. Not for the first time, he wondered just how close
they had been. The singer had been very beautiful after all.
Thinking about Samantha, about them, wasn’t conducive to relaxing. He closed
his eyes and sighed. It was only then that he really paid attention to the
familiar sounds and smells. The officer humming to himself in the kitchen, the
fan above his head, the skittering rustle of something under the couch which
then jumped up to within striking distance of his head. His eyes flew open in
surprise, wondering what was going on.
“What’s the…?” There was something there. The pale man didn’t know if he was
relieved or even more alarmed to find he hadn’t been having a paranoid
daydream. A moment later came recognition. Not a monster, or a spy, the animal
if anything looked disgustingly tame; every faux diamond on its collar proving
that it was definitely domesticated. He tried and failed to disguise the fact
that he had just flinched and almost grabbed for his weapon. Zack was looking
at him from the safety of the kitchen as if about to start laughing. It didn’t
help his temper any.
“What… Is… That?!”
“She’s cat. What did you think she was?!” The object of their conversation
turned around once, and sat down in a furry mass on the arm of the couch. Pale
gold eyes looked disdainfully at him as the ears flickered forwards and to the
side, obviously using Zack’s mood as a signal that it was safe to confront the
apartment’s new intruder.
“… what the hell is a cat doing here?” It was weak, he
knew it, but at least it was better than gaping wordlessly at the unwelcome
surprise. Serve the man right if he had kicked the animal, with it sneaking up
like that.
“She’s just passing through, old man. I’m temporary housing, I’m afraid.”
“Oh.” Determined to not make his lapse of control any more
obvious, he vetoed several more acerbic replies in favor of a fairly safe,
“Does it bite?”
“Her name, is
Fearlessly, he scooped the cat up as if it was a baby and clucked at it again.
“Yeah…you’re practically a person aren’t you… we’ve got to find you someone who
will spoil you rotten…” The dark man got a lick on the nose for his effort,
paying no attention when the animal turned back to its silent interrogation of
his other guest.
“She’s staring at me”
There was something uniquely menacing about the feline’s squashed looking face.
He had been looked at as ‘prey’ before, but never so convincingly by something
so small; and hopelessly fluffy.
“You’re mental. She’s just a cat…” Zack set the animal down and rummaged in his
refrigerator for a half open can of pet food. “Come on babe, dinner time.”
“Where’d you get her from?”
The dark man’s shoulders stiffed noticeably, warning him that he probably could
have been more tactful. Sephiroth frowned wondering what was so important about
the small carnivore in his friend’s kitchen. The soldier rinsed the empty tin
and tossed it in the bin under the sink before answering, not looking up from
where his new pet was stuffing her face.
“… Sam’s manager called me on Monday… said she was trying to take care of her…
but she’s allergic, you know? All Sam’s other friends didn’t want her.” He
shrugged, “They’d put her down if she went to the animal shelter, and I
thought… how is that fair…? You know? It’s not
“Oh.”
Suddenly the loud feline’s presence took on a whole new meaning. He watched the
white Himalayan as she groomed her front feet and then dexterously cleaned
behind her ears.
Sephiroth meant to say something sympathetic, something that would let Zack
know he understood how he must feel; that he too felt the vibrant woman’s loss.
He wanted to somehow express how unfair it was that a car accident could cause
so much hurt to normal people who didn’t deserve it while they, the
more-than-mortal army, could probably have walked it off. Instead what came out
was, “Hopefully no one will report you for violation of the pet policy.”
He could have kicked himself.
Zack gave him an exasperated look. “… Why, you planning to turn me in, old
man?”
“Don’t be silly.” He countered mildly, thankful that he hadn’t pissed his
friend off. Trying to prove he was an ally in the endeavor, he gingerly reached
out a hand and snapped his fingers a few times to catch the cat’s attention.
“Here cat. Come here,
The animal gave him another long look-- seeming to imply that its pedigree was
more than just sprinkled with names of ancient royalty-- and ignored his
request completely.
“… Yup. That’s cats for you.” The shaggy haired
officer chuckled as he poured them both a mug of tea and moved to set them on
the coffee table. “Want unceasing love, loyalty, and blind devotion? Get a dog.
Want a nagging prissy megalomaniac? Get a cat.”
“Heh.”
“We should get you a
dog…”
“No thank you.”
“You’d probably like one. They can be a lot of fun.”
“Messy animals.”
“Let me guess, you had goldfish as a kid.” His friend snorted and put
his feet up on the unused corner of the table.
Sephiroth shook his head, “No. No pets. Unsanitary.
Not to mention the threat of allergies.”
“You’re kidding, not even a pet rock?”
“No. Imaginary pets were considered unhealthy for a developing psyche. All my
toys were designed to promote skill training.”
“That’s pathetic.”
“It wasn’t so bad.” He couldn’t help but keep a close eye on the cat, just in
case it decided to suddenly start attacking something. It looked harmless
enough. Settling back into the couch, he tried to relax.
“… So… Who do we know that’s a cat lover…?”
*****