Rest and Recreation

Rating: PG
Category: AU
Pairing(s): Zack/Sephiroth, Angeal/Genesis.
Warnings: Worms
Summary: The more things change, the more they don’t.
Notes: Just a short little hug-ficlet for vampfan30 and x_cybergoth_x, because they both need a hug.

Those had always been Zack’s favourite days; the ones where they had nothing to do and they could just go down to the beach. Not that Sephiroth liked the beach at all. Not with that delicate white hide. That was fine with Zack; he would just sit and keep him company while Angeal and Genesis chased each other in the surf.

There were worse jobs than keeping seven feet of mostly-naked beauty company.

“I can’t believe I let those two talk me into coming here,” said Sephiroth, eyeing the beach with disdain. “People come here on purpose?!”

“Why not?” said Zack. “It’s beautiful.”

“It smells.”

“Yeah a little,” Zack conceded. “But it’s beautiful!”

“There’s sand everywhere.”

“That’s why it’s a beach. And it gives a place for the little critters to live.”

Sephiroth eyed Zack warily. “What little critters?”

“Oh I don’t know, clams, crabs, kelp, sand worms…”

The mighty Sephiroth somehow managed to leave the beach so fast it was if he had dematerialized. Zack sighed.

“Millions of dollars worth of research, and it can be defeated by a blind invertebrate,” muttered Zack. He sighed resignedly. “May as well go find him.”

Zack looked around, and located Sephiroth forty feet away, perched on a massive rock in full Persian cat mode. All he needed was a buzzed-out tail. He was clad only in a pair of ripped shorts that used to be combat fatigues and nothing else. His white hair shone like silver fire in the sunlight, his skin the colour of ice. Zack felt his heart melt as he gazed at the argent perfection that was Sephiroth.

“I was not informed there would be worms here!” Sephiroth howled.

“Hey Fluffy!” called Angeal. “There are worms everywhere in the world!”

“I demand a worm-free environment!”

“Sorry,” said Angeal. “I left my worm-barrier materia at home.”

“Come on, General,” said Zack. “They don’t come this high up on the beach, it’s too dry and hot. They stay down in the wet sand by the surf, where it’s cool and damp.”

Sephiroth gave Zack a cold look. “If you’re just making that up I will be highly displeased.”

“Have I ever lied to you?” asked Zack indignantly.

“Frequently,” said Sephiroth.

“Okay yeah, a few times. But never about worms. Come on, it’s a beautiful day. Let’s play in the water.”

“Don’t be insane, you just told me there are worms down there.”

“They stay in the sand. Unless you go digging for them you won’t see them.”

“You’re sure?” he asked warily.

“Yes,” said Zack. “I’ve been to the beach numerous times, the only people I ever saw get bit by a sand worm were digging for them.”

“THEY BITE?!”

Oh this was so shaping up to be one of those days.

“Some types of sand worm do bite, yes,” admitted Zack weakly.

Sephiroth’s soft smoky voice reached a pitch better suited to a cantankerous cartoon housewife. “YOU BROUGHT ME TO A BEACH WITH CARNIVOROUS WORMS?!”

“General…”

“I DEMAND YOU TAKE ME HOME THIS INSTANT, ZACK FAIR!”

Zack sighed. Millions upon millions of dollars worth of genetic research…

“OH MY GOD A MILLIPEDE! GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!”

… and Shinra Inc. ends up with a hysterical debutante that can rend heavy machinery with his bare hands.

“ZACK! MAKEITGOAWAY!”

Zack captured the offending insect and sent it on its way. “There. Buggy go bye-bye.”

“I demand you take me home this instant.”

“General…”

“Now, Major!”

“All right, all right. I’ll get the jeep.”

Zack went for the jeep, driving it down onto the beach so Sephiroth could step off of it and into the vehicle without touching the sand. He took him back to the barracks, never realizing it would be years before he saw the beach again. In a few weeks they would be at Nibelheim. Then all the tragedy would start. The nightmare that went on for seven whole years. Longer, actually. Making Sephiroth well once more had taken a bit longer than movies and after-school specials liked to portray, and in the end Zack had to face the fact that Sephiroth was never going to be completely right again. But they were together, all of them, and that was all that mattered; just he and Sephiroth, seated under a beach umbrella, while Angeal and Genesis chased each other in the surf.

There were worse jobs than keeping seven feet of mostly-naked beauty company.

Zack reached out to stroke the long white hair. “Have I told you recently that I’m madly in love with you?”

Sephiroth kissed him. “Not for the last fifteen minutes.”

“I’m madly in love with you.” Zack ran his fingers through Sephiroth’s long hair.

“DADDY! MAKEITGOAWAY!”

Zack sighed. “Make what go away, Miki?”

Miki pointed at something small and busy with a lot of legs. Zack rolled his eyes, then rose to his feet to go assist his daughter.

“It’s just a beetle,” he said as he approached. Zack picked the small beetle up and moved it. “There. All gone.”

It was the same beach, just many years later. Same crowd with a few more additions. There were a couple of little cottages along the shore now, where once there had been none. But it was funny how no matter how things changed, they seemed to stay the same.

“Hey look!” said Angeal, holding up some sort of nasty grey wiggling thing. “Sand worm. Oh cool, it’s the kind that bites, too.”

“What are you going to do with it?” asked Genesis.

Angeal grinned. He flung the thing, watching as it wriggled and writhed in the air until finally it landed in the ice-white tresses of a certain former general who really wasn’t terribly mad about the beach in the first place. Zack sighed heavily as Sephiroth pitched a five-star, platinum-clad fit, complete with wings. Of course now it wasn’t just Sephiroth having a fit – now it was Sephiroth along with four small children who decided that if Mommy was having a meltdown then they should have a meltdown as well. Oh just… special. Zack sighed as Miki, Akira, Faelan and Sephira all began screaming in unison with their mother. Well that was just great, now he was going to have to…

The fuss and chaos stopped as little Faelan, who of all the children looked the most like Sephiroth, suddenly sprouted little fuzzy wings covered in black down. Faelan was the most surprised of all, and stared at the downy appendages, eyes wide, tears suddenly stopped.

“Mommy,” said Miki, “how come Faelan has wings? I thought we couldn’t have wings ‘cause Daddy wasn’t the same as you.”

Sephiroth walked over to his second youngest, who was beating the stubby wings with great delight.

“Perhaps because I am the father, and Zack is the mother?” said Sephiroth.

“Well that’s not fair! I want wings too!”

“We’ll get right to work on that,” said Zack.

Miki pouted. Sephiroth picked up Faelan, gazing at his child with quiet regard.

“Let’s just hope the flight feathers don’t grow in until he’s much older,” said Sephiroth. “I don’t fancy chasing after a flying toddler.”

Zack walked over to Sephiroth, slipping an arm around his waist. He lightly nuzzled his lover’s neck.

“Figures that the one you father has to be different. Hojo would have been fascinated.”

“Bully for Hojo,” said Sephiroth dryly, then smiled at his little son. “Well look at you.”

“You realize we have a problem,” said Zack.

“Oh we always have a problem of some sort.”

“Yeah well I was wondering if the little ankle-biter has your shape-shifting abilities as well?”

Sephiroth thought about that, raising an eyebrow delicately as he considered the ramifications of having a shape-shifting flying baby.

“Oh this can’t be good,” said Sephiroth.

Faelan beat his baby-wings and giggled.

“Flying shape-shifting baby,” said Zack. “Remember how the other night you were nuzzling up to me, trying to convince me I wanted to be pregnant again? The answer is ‘no way in Hell’.”

Sephiroth kissed him, and Zack just smiled.

There were definitely worse jobs.