I whipped this up for Xejicka's 18th birthday. She wanted something Sephiroth in some kind of therapy and bonus if I "broke the fourth wall". Well, this is as close as she's gonna get. This is Seph conversing with Donna, my Star Wars oc whom I've used in things involving Seph before.

Happy Birthday!

Common Threads

Sephiroth stood near the large window of the room, the orange-hued light of the sunset filtering through the blinds to color his hair and skin. He looked outside between the slots impassively, feline eyes rarely blinking. The feathers of his shoulder wing rippled; the only visible sign of his agitation.

"So, are you going to tell me why Riku's so worried about you or should I just start randomly guessing?"

The winged man flicked his eyes over to the woman sitting on his bed. She gave him a mild look, mismatched eyes slightly concerned but also displaying amusement. Her red-gold streaked brown hair fell around her shoulders.

Sephiroth shook his head as he turned. "I can't believe he called you all the way out here."

"Well, he said that you've been under a lot of stress lately and he felt you needed someone to talk to," she smiled faintly. "Apparently, I'm now your therapist on top of everything else."

He snorted lightly. "You have much more important things to be doing than running off and coming here because my brother thinks I'm stressed out, Donna."

Donna Knight smiled a touch, leaning back and resting her weight on her hands. "Maybe I wanted an excuse to run away. You know how much I dislike ruling an empire."

Sephiroth laughed once. "I seem to recall hearing that at some point. I believe it was at a rather large gala thrown in honor of your return as empress that you somehow convinced me to escort you to."

"There were a few of those," the woman stated dryly. She then angled her head. "Now, what's got you so tense that Riku is convinced you're ready to go Jenova on everyone?"

Sighing, Sephiroth came over and sat beside her. "I'm not going to go Jenova on anyone. It's just been… difficult having to again interact with Rufus Shinra and Tseng. Even though I had little contact with them in the past, they both represent my life prior to Mo- Jenova."

Donna lifted her hands from the mattress and shifted her body. She brought her leg up to lie on the bed close to Sephiroth's while the other continued to hang off the side. She placed a hand on her knee and nodded. "I understand that. There were a few members of the Imperial council when I reclaimed the throne that had been lower ranking members of the hierarchy. I remembered from before and I know they remembered me."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Sephiroth noted. "They have no actual bearing on who you are or even who you were and yet, their mere presence is enough to stir up memories."

"Yep," Donna agreed. "But that's what we get for suppressing all those nasty things from our youth."

"It's almost like they're constantly watching and waiting to see if you're going to fall back into your old habits." Sephiroth flicked his head to move his bangs. "It's irritating."

"Oh, I know. People are still waiting for me to go all Sith and starting trying to rule the galaxy with an iron fist." Donna shook her head. "I may have been raised by Palpatine and Vader but I am nothing like them. I've learned from the past and I refuse to go back to the monster I was back then."

"You were never a monster," Sephiroth smiled lightly, placing his hand atop hers. "You were just a lost girl who didn't know any better. You were what they made you."

Donna gave him a sincere look. "And the exact same can be said for you, Seph. Before, you were an incomplete person but now, you're as human as the rest of us. We've both become more than our creators wanted and anyone expected."

Sephiroth glanced down. "I suppose so. It's still very difficult to remember who I was and what I was like back then."

"And it's always going to be," the woman shrugged. "Neither one of us were shining examples of dealing with childhood issues and parental manipulation."

Sephiroth snorted.

"Hey, look on the bright side, you never actually succeeded in destroying The Planet. I did."

"Perhaps but what I did affected people on a much more personal level."

"True," sighed Donna with a trace of a smile. "So I go for the epic displays of fear and dominance while you play puppet master. At least if we snap again, we'll compliment one another."

Sephiroth unsuccessfully fought off a grin. "Well, there's a bright side."

"There always is, at least that's what both of our brothers are always claiming," Donna lifted a hand and brushed the side of Sephiroth's face. "Regardless, neither of us will be relapsing any time soon, right?"

The former general met her eyes. "Not if I have any say in it."

"Good." Donna bit her lip. "So I can tell Riku to quit worrying about you?"

"Please do," Sephiroth removed his hand from Donna's. "It's beginning to become troublesome and I find myself worrying about him worrying about me."

"Yeah, I go through the same thing with Tommy," She chuckled, standing up. She turned to face him and folded her arms. "So, I told Leia I would be gone for at least three days. Want to show me the town?"

Sephiroth got up and grinned. "Are you certain you're up to meeting everyone? Some of them can be a bit overbearing and Zack is liable to completely spazz out over you."

Donna stepped forward and placed a kiss to the corner of the tall man's mouth. "Bring him on. He can't be worse than some of the people I normally deal with."

"I don't know about that," Sephiroth took her arm and lead her from the room. "Zack's in a league all of his own."