Author's Note: I actually felt kinda bad since the first person who popped into my head when I heard Mother's Day was coming up was Sephiroth...
Edited 5/23/14
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. I do, however, do similar things to my cat as you will see Genesis do.
Mother's Day
"She does so much for us, and we... We don't even know where to find her." ~ Kadaj
"Sir?"
Sephiroth looked up from his paperwork to see a short, blond infantryman standing in front of his desk. He squinted for a moment, attempting to place the familiar face. Meanwhile, the cadet shifted awkwardly. Then Sephiroth glanced over at his laptop, Shiny, and remembered.
"Cadet Strife, isn't it?" he asked. A slightly smug smirk came onto his face when the infantryman lit up at the recognition. Who said SOLDIER Firsts weren't allowed to know the names of cadets?
Cadet Strife nodded vigorously, throwing in a salute as well. "Yes sir. I already asked Director Lazard, but he didn't have any so he told me to go visit Commander Rhapsodos' office since he's always doing things like this, but he wasn't there, so I went back to Lazard and he said I should come ask you."
Blinking, Sephiroth shook his head when the boy finally stopped to take in air. "Ask me what?"
Strife's large blue eyes widened even more than they already were. "Didn't I say, sir?"
"Not that I recall..."
"Oh, I beg your pardon sir, I've just been so tied up with extra duties and trying to find a gift that my brain hasn't been functioning very well, sir..."
"I can see that," Sephiroth muttered under his breath, then cleared his throat. "You wanted...?"
"Stamps!"
The general blinked again, tilting his head to one side. "Your own commanding officers don't have any?"
"A lot of people have been asking for them, sir," Strife said with a helpless shrug. "That's why I was sent to Lazard, and he sent me to see-"
"I got all that," Sephiroth interrupted, holding up a hand as he pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk and retrieved the item in question. "Why the sudden need for stamps?"
"Well, it's Mother's Day, sir."
Sephiroth stared at him blankly. Mother's Day? What on Gaia is Mother's Day? But of course, he wasn't about to ask. He responded instead with, "Ah, yes. How could I have forgotten? Keep the sheet, I have plenty."
The blond hopped in place before hurrying out the door, tossing a "Thank you, sir!" over his shoulder as he left.
Once the boy had gone, Sephiroth rose from his chair and moved to look at his calendar. Sure enough, there was 'Mother's Day' written in bold letters on a day later in the week. Crossing his arms in frustration, Sephiroth frowned. Of course he didn't know about Mother's Day.
He didn't have a mother.
"Sephiroth! I'm so glad you're back!"
Sephiroth briefly debated running back to his office when a whirlwind of red and yellow darted from the general direction of the bedroom. But it was too late and Genesis was in front of him, clutching a limp mass of fuzzy kitty. Sephiroth exchanged a sympathetic look with his cat. He knew how he felt.
"You just have to accompany me to the theater Friday night," Genesis begged, swinging the cat, Cloud, around in a circle. The cat flailed its paws in panic, but the redhead didn't notice. Sephiroth winced. "There's going to be a new production of LOVELESS and for reasons beyond my comprehension, I invited my mother to come and see it with me. I might've been intoxicated when I did it. Or temporarily there is no way I am going alone with that woman."
Sephiroth rolled his eyes and shouldered past Genesis. "Why not? It is Mother's Day, after all," he said bitterly.
"Yes, and she is the very last person I want to spent it with."
"That seems rather contradictory to me, but it's not like I'd know anything," he grumbled, flopping down on the couch.
Genesis repositioned himself in front of the general once again. Cloud swished his tail in irritation, limbs stuck straight out like he'd been stuffed. "Don't tell me you don't know what Mother's Day is."
"Well what do you think?"
Genesis rolled his eyes. "Honestly, don't you ever look at your calendar? But be glad you don't have to celebrate this one," he said. "It's nothing but a pain. It's bad enough I have to spend the whole day being an angel and buy her whatever she fancies, but now I'm going to have to listen to her criticizetheee best work of art known to man for an entire four hours."
"Find someone else to drag with you, Genesis."
"Well, fine! I'll just take Cloud."
"You know Cadet Strife?" The words were out of Sephiroth's mouth before he realized Genesis had been talking about his cat. He peeked up at the redhead to see the confused look on his face slowly morph into one of malicious intent.
"Oh yes," he nodded, grinning. "I know Cloud Strife... Hmm, perhaps I shall ask him instead. And maybe dinner beforehand, yes?"
Sephiroth shook his head, already feeling sorry for the cadet. "I don't know how we've managed to stay friends this long." He gasped in horror when Genesis suddenly dropped his cat. Sephiroth hurriedly scooped up Cloud, who proceeded to stuff himself inside a fold of his leather jacket. Genesis ignored Sephiroth's death glare as he draped himself on the other end of the couch, propping his feet up in the general's lap.
"Not everyone has expensive computers and stray kitties dropped at their doorstep," Genesis sneered. "Some of us actually have to work to find company."
Sephiroth laughed when Cloud made Genesis yelp by attacking the commander's wiggling toes.
It didn't take Sephiroth long to decide that he hated Mother's Day. Having Zack doing an arts-and-crafts-style project on the floor behind his desk certainly didn't help things. In fact, he was having great difficulty resisting the urge to send him to the infirmary via silly scissors once the Second started babbling on and on about the things he used to do with his mother as a kid.
"...and she'd always make me this amazing berry pie for my birthday," he was saying. "I'm not really sure what she put in it 'cuz she never told me, but it's delicious. I guess it's some sort of secret recipe passed down from her great grandmother. I wish she'd tell me so I can have Angeal make it some time..."
And suddenly, Sephiroth remembered why he'd never taken on an apprentice. Genesis' very existence was bad enough, let alone having to babysit Angeal's protege.
"Are you visiting your mother this year?" Sephiroth dared to hope.
Zack's face fell, taking Sephiroth's precious hope with it. "Can't. She's really sick right now and I've got a lot of stuff to do here," he said, sounding so sad that the general actually felt sorry for him. "But Aerith is giving me flowers to send and I'll be visiting her in the summer."
Sephiroth nodded, turning back to his work.
"What about you? Are you visiting your mother?"
"I don't have a mother."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
For the first time in his life, Sephiroth was happy he could use that excuse. Zack remained silent until he finished his project, then scooped up his things and shuffled quietly out the door.
When Mother's Day finally rolled around, Sephiroth refused to get out of bed. He turned his PHS to silent when it kept ringing and curled up underneath his covers. Cloud snuggled happily on his pillow.
He would have been perfectly happy to ignore the existence of the rest of the world, but it seemed the world was determined to get through to him and they sent in their best. The sound of the bedroom door banging against the back wall sent Cloud skittering under the bed and light flooded the room. Sephiroth cracked open an eye to see a large, dark figure silhouetted against the glare of the lamp.
Enter Angeal Hewley: Gaia's annoyingly punctual hero of the day.
"Go 'way," Sephiroth mumbled, rolling over.
But Angeal lived with Zack, which was something Sephiroth tended to forget while still mostly asleep, and simply would not be deterred.
"I've been trying to call you for the past two hours," he said. "Why aren't you up?"
"I'm not getting up."
"And why not?"
"I don't wanna." If there was ever a moment when Sephiroth felt like a bratty child, this was it.
"Tough, SOLDIER," Angeal snorted. "Director Lazard wants you to inspect a batch of Thirds in a half-hour."
Sephiroth sent a surprisingly threatening glare over his shoulder, considering how tired he was. "Get Genesis to do it."
"He ran off towards Sector Eight this morning and no one's been able to find him since. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that his mother is coming to Midgar this afternoon."
"What about you?"
"Training with Zack."
"UGHH! Can't I have today of all days to lie around and be depressed?"
"You have twenty-six minutes to take a shower, get dressed, and eat. I suggest you stop complaining and start moving."
Groaning in frustration, Sephiroth kicked the covers away and rolled off the bed. "Forget it," he growled. "I'm giving you a card for Mother's Day."
"You can thank me when it's Father's Day."
"When it's WHAT DAY?"
Sephiroth's eyes brimmed with tears of joy as he approached the being encased in the glass tank. Her long silver hair hung limply in the mako and she looked like she was missing a few limbs, but that didn't matter. To him, she was a goddess fallen from the heavens. He gently brushed his fingers against the glass before flattening his palm on it. He'd finally found her.
He'd found his mother.
"Mother." The word tasted sweeter than honey and brought so much relief that he nearly collapsed.
When he ruled the planet, every day would be Mother's Day.
A/N: I always felt kinda sorry for Sephiroth for having to grow up without a mother. I'm like Kadaj and I call Jenova 'Mother.' But that's just because I watched Advent Children first and didn't know Jenova's real name for, like, EVER.