Catching
the phone on the third ring, he lifted it to his ear without thinking. “This is
Sephiroth.”
“Hey ol’man… What’s up?”
The warm voice, coming to him from so far away, filled a void in his quiet
office. He hadn’t realized how oppressive the day had felt until its doldrums
were gone. Settling the handset under his ear, he freed up his hand to continue
typing. “…the usual Zack, how’s the cleanup? Anything to report?”
“Jeez, it’s always right to business with you.” The southerner chuckled
in reply. “Everything’s fine here. Crappy, muddy, exactly what you’d expect for
a leaky refinery. Wish you were here.”
“No thank you.” He snorted.
“So do ya miss me?” Zack’s voice took on a playful
lilt that left him struggling not to smile.
“Indeed. I can’t find where you’ve put any of my files.”
“Would you forget work a minute! Jeez…” His friend groaned. “Look, I’ll make it
easy… Sephiroth, I miss the fuck out of you. Babysitting disobedient-fuckhead-civilians is hell and I want to come home. There,
and now you say…?”
“Please tell me that they’re not in hearing range…?” The pale man gave up on not-smiling, able to visualize the southerner’s expression.
“Hell no, I’m in a phone-booth one town over. Went for a walk and ended up
here, so as far as I’m concerned this call never happened. My report isn’t due
until tomorrow.”
Sephiroth blinked, “Why are you calling then?”
“… just to chat… see how you were, all alone in the office…”
“Oh… well… it’s quiet.” It was strangely comforting to be worried about. “… Too quiet, really.”