to get up. Rubbing her eyes, she stretched and yawned. Something was different. Not necessarily
wrong, just different. She decided to disregard it for a moment, shower and take her time. After
the refreshing feel of the water against her skin, she still felt that same… strange feeling. Still ignoring it, she watched the sun rise up over the trees of Mideel. Nothing happened. Everything around her looked the same and she got up and did her daily routine. But she was still bothered by the fact that something was wrong. She persisted to ignore it until mid-afternoon, when she decided that a walk on the beach might calm her perturbed nerves.
She grabbed her shawl and made way for the door, not even bothering to lock it. Other things, more
important things were on her mind.
She reached the beach after a short walk away from her home, breathing in the warm sea air and
smelling the sweet smell of the dark waters. She walked close enough to the ocean to feel the water rush
between her feet, cleansing and relaxing her. She started to walk along the shoreline, smiling to
herself and letting the wind blow her auburn hair behind her. The further she walked, the more aware
of an object in the distance became. The closer she approached, the more shape took form that of a man.
His hair was unnaturally long, silver, dirty and tangled. She ran to him and touched his back he
was breathing, but his breaths were short and shallow She knew she had to give him help. The
only tattered remains of his clothing were black pants, which were soaked. Placing her shawl across his
back, she hoisted him off the ground. When she saw his face, she took in a breath of air.
Covered in blood and dirt, his face was that of only a young man, perhaps no older than his
mid-twenties. His muscular body had bruises and cuts all over it
She looked up and about ten feet away from where she stood; there was a sword. This sword, impaled
in the ground, had a dark and eerie glow about it. She didn't know if it belonged to the stranger or
not so she decided to leave it, and return for it after she had stabilized the man.
Dragging him slowly, bit by bit, she was able to make it back into her house and cleaned his wounds
as best as she could before she laid him in her bed. She watched his expression he was in a
somewhat dreamy state sleeping, but far from ever waking
"Makou poisoning" she muttered to herself. "It must be really serious"
She grabbed water and tilted his head, pouring some of the liquid in his mouth. Instinctively, he
swallowed it and then went back to his dream, his eyebrows narrowed.
The next day, she discovered him lying in the same position he had slept in yesterday. After giving him
more water, she decided shed walk back to the beach and try and find that sword again. She'd
take it in, even if it didn't belong to him, so that way at least it wouldn't ruin the sword.
Dragging the sword back as well, she laid it underneath her bed.
It was 2 weeks of continual taking care of the man. She kept giving him water and staying by his bedside
in the middle of the night when he would be shifting uncomfortably, or sweating from his fever. She never
stopped taking care of him, and she didn't know why
She was sleeping in her armchair before a thunderstorm hit. She woke, startled at the thunder. After
realizing that it was only a storm, she looked towards the bed and noticed that the flush had disappeared
from the young mans face. She walked over and placed her hand on his forehead. No fever. She
knew then, that he would be recovering from his poisoning, and decided to make him something,
and see if he would get up.
She prepared some soup and heard him moan. Then she brought it into him.
He was partially sitting up, his eyes darting in every direction.
"Where..am..I?" he managed to choke out.
"Mideel" she replied, "my names Deirdre I found you on the beach outside of here so…
I took you in."
There was no reply.
"I've made you some soup do you think you can eat by yourself? Would you like my help?"
She asked.
"I can do it myself, I'm no child." he said with discontent.
Deirdre sat patiently as he ate.
"What is your name?" she inquired.
"Sephiroth" he replied with some hesitation.
"Sephiroth? As in, you are the Great Sephiroth? The guy who won ShinRa the war?" She looked
at him, even though he avoided eye contact with her.
"Didn't I just tell you?" he said sternly.
"Yeah, sorry just I heard you died five years ago."
"That's what I wish." He muttered, eating the soup.
"I'm sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have asked." She said, losing patience.
"Didn't you get the hint?" he snarled.
Deirdre held her tongue and sat down in her armchair.
"You dot have to sit here and watch me eat." he complained.
"I also didn't have to drag your sick, broken ass to my house and let you sleep in my bed for two
weeks straight so you could recover from Makou poisoning and make me go through sleepless nights
just to make sure you survived." Deirdre snapped.
"...Forgive my rudeness, then. All too often I am ill mannered to strangers." He continued eating.
Deirdre was a bit taken aback that she had lost her temper, but he had kept his.
"Look, sorry I blew up at you like that I'm happy to see you're alive and well, Sephiroth."
She smiled.
After he had finished he cracked his neck and looked at her. "I am still famished do you have
anything else to eat?"
"Of course, not much, but I can always run to the shop in town to buy something." She got up,
grabbed his used dishes and prepared him another meal.
Sephiroth waited patiently and looked around. He didn't understand why he felt so different he
felt renewed, restored and free He remembered everything. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, everyone. They
had defeated him killed his 'mother' and destroyed his plan. The miracle he didn't care. He
found himself free of control and influence from his mother almost as if he had been purged of the
very cells that corrupted his soul He leaned his head against the headboard, feeling his stomach
growl with anticipation.
"Shut up she's getting you more food." He looked down at his gut. He'd lost a lot of
weight. No wonder he felt weak.
He leaned his head back again and started thinking… "I can't believe this… I mean… all my life… lies… Jenova… lies… lies and more lies….. When will the chaos ever stop? The lifestream…." He stopped himself from admitting the truth.
She walked back in carrying another tray. The food was hot and the water tasted better than life. He
ate until his stomach was full and stopped growling so much.
"I figured you'd be hungry, but yikes!" she laughed.
Sephiroth found that he was smiling and didn't exactly know why. He quickly erased it off his face and
leaned his head back again.
"Tired still? Understandable why don't you sleep longer and then well decide what you can
do after you wake up, okay?"
He just nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted beyond recognition he closed his eyes and fell into a
deep slumber
For the next few days Sephiroth and Deirdre had the same routine, Sephiroth would sleep most of the
day and wake up sometime in the mid afternoon when Deirdre would bring him more food and would
sit and talk with him. The conversations where usually one sided and no questions where asked and personal lives were never mentioned. Deirdre had had so many questions to ask Sephiroth, but not
wanting to upset him she kept them to herself. Sephiroth just laid back eating and listen to Deirdre.
He didn't mind because found Deirdre to be a very intelligent woman. As Deirdre talked Sephiroth would
finish eating and slowly fall back asleep. After he went to sleep Deirdre would try to get on with the day
but would always poke her head in his room to see if he had woken up.
As the days went on Sephiroth slept a little less each day. In about a week after Sephiroth started to talk to Deirdre, and she found that he was getting his energy back and was able to get up and move around more and more each day.. At first Sephiroth found it very hard, he hadn't walked in about a month and he had lost a lot of muscle. Sephiroth at first would take no help, he would get up and walk around a little but his legs where like Jell-O and he would stumble over and fall on the ground. Deirdre was quick to rush over and help him up. For awhile Sephiroth refused any help from Deirdre but after a few tries he finally shut up and Deirdre was able to guide him through her house. Little by little Sephiroth was able to walk more and
more on his own, usually bracing himself with the wall.
After being there for about a month Sephiroth had almost fully recovered from his Makou poisoning.
Sephiroth was beginning to get bored lying in bed in the same room. In the Mornings Sephiroth knew
Deirdre would usually leave the house; he didn't know why, he just assumed she had some sort of a job,
and never bothered to ask.
Sephiroth got up out of bed and smelled himself, he smelled like he hadn't bathed in years. He slowly got up balancing himself and made his way down the hall. He had walked down the hall many
times but had never really bothered to memorize what room was what. Sephiroth popped his head in
one room, it was Deirdre's room. It was small and orderly and Sephiroth wondered how she ever found the
time to take care of him and keep her house nice.
He then turned and walked over to the next room, which was a small bathroom. Deirdre had some
clothes laid out in there. Sephiroth moved them out of the way and closed the door and locked it
behind him. He then turned on the hot water and climbed in the shower, as the jets of hot water sprayed
over him sighed. He really was alive, the past month to him and felt like some sort of a dream... and it was a dream… Sephiroth washed his long silver hair making sure he got whatever was left of the sand that was in it and then climbed out.
Sephiroth grabbed the towel that was on the rack and dried himself with it. He then left the bathroom
and walked around the house. Sephiroth looked at the walls through the hallway and in the living
room. Deirdre had no pictures of family or of herself when she was younger. She only had what
appeared to be pictures she had of sunrises and flowers and such, probably taken by her.
Sephiroth finally saw a couple pictures in the living room; he picked one up and looked at it. It was a
much younger Deirdre, she was dressed in a ShinRa uniform and was standing around a couple guys. The
one next to it was of Deirdre again, about the same age again, but this time with only one of the guys from the picture, his arm was around her waist and both of them where smiling. Sephiroth set the picture down.
Sephiroth wanted to go outside but figured that it would be best for him and Deirdre if he just continue
to lay low for awhile. Sephiroth opened a window and looked outside, from Deirdre's house you
could see the ocean. He smelled the beautiful ocean air and gazed off into the horizon. There wasn't a
cloud in the sky and the sun was up and shining. As Sephiroth looked out he noticed a few children
running towards the beach, a little nervous, he stepped out of view and closed the window.
He then decided that he had enough of that and walked over to the couch and set down. Sephiroth
saw a TV remote control sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. Sephiroth leaned over and
picked it up and turned on the TV, each channel was pretty much only fuzz. He flipped through them
over and over again. He finally found about one station, it was a classic TV show station obviously for
the large populations of old people that lived in Mideel.
"Most of the stations don't work" Deirdre's voice sounded from the doorway which scared Sephiroth,
causing him to jump up and lose his balance and fall off the couch.
"I'm sorry," Deirdre said walking over to him reaching her hand out but Sephiroth didn't take he grabbed
the couch and lifted himself up off the ground.
"I didn't mean to scare you, I just was surprised to see you up by yourself" Deirdre said smiling at
Sephiroth's improvement.
"It's no big deal," Sephiroth said looking at the ground
"I went out and got us some dinner for this evening" Deirdre said holding a couple bags filled with
food. Sephiroth looked up at and reached out and grabbed the bags.
"...Here.... I'll take care of that..." Sephiroth said walking towards the kitchen. Sephiroth had no idea
how where Deirdre kept her food or in what order she would want it but he didn't let her know that.
"I'm sorry, it must be getting kind of boring here now that your up and moving around, the TV doesn't
really work anymore. It hasn't sense everything with Meteor"
"What do you mean?" Sephiroth said as he put a gallon of milk away
"Well, most of the TV stations where based out of Midgar, and when Midgar was destroyed there went
most of the TV stations."
"How was Midgar destroyed?"
"There's a lot that happened. After the meteor almost hit… something stopped it…" she trailed off. She knew that he summoned meteor… the very man that sat across from her… "And it… disappeared… that was it. Mideel had been torn up by the lifestream, but… it was in a flash… and… everything was as if Meteor never approached."
"You seem like you know more than you let on." Sephiroth looked back at her. She didn't reply. "Well, what happened to the ShinRa?" He continued.
"Nobody really knows...a lot of people escaped Midgar but a lot of people died to. Nobody has heard
anything from Rufus or The Turks or anyone for months. Most of the surviving ShinRa solders abandoned
the company after Meteor was destroyed. There is a general...General Rosenzweig.... he is in control of
what's left of the ShinRa. But he doesn't have much of an army." said Deirdre said glad to finally be
getting Sephiroth to talk.
"How do you know all of this?"
"Radio...TV is dead and so are most of the phone systems.... so we have a man in town who owns a
powerful radio...he communicates with all over the world....Kalm, Costa del Sol, Gongaga,
Nibelheim... I've even have talked to someone from Wutai before...were you in Midgar all of this
was going on?"
"No…" Sephiroth said beginning to feel uncomfortable
"Same here.... I used to live there when I was in soldier...but it got bad fast"
"You where in soldier?" Sephiroth said already knowing the answer
"Yeah.... that's me right there," Deirdre said pointing at her pictures "When I graduated basic
training...I used to have a picture of me when I was in my first class uniform but the frame broke"
"You where in first class?" Sephiroth said surprised
"Yes I was.... one of the only women to ever make it in....I joined not long after the war in
Wutai.... everyone wanted to be like you..... we heard so many stories....about how fast you went up the
ranks....about some of your battles, it was incredible. Why did you ever leave soldier?" Deirdre said
knowing she had asked to much
"It's not really your concern" Sephiroth said getting annoyed with her
"Well I'm sorry.... I was just trying to have a conversation.... like what normal people have together."
Deirdre said getting frustrated at Sephiroth's difficulty
" Well I don't care what normal people do...why I left soldier is none of your business."
"Well I'm going to stop caring...I don't know why I put up with you," Deirdre said raising her voice "I put my life on hold the past month to take care of you and I've doubled my grocery bill on you and I just try to
have a nice conversation with you and you have to act like an asshole.... What's your problem?" She snarled.
"Look," Sephiroth said with anger in his eyes " I didn't ask you to help me... and I'm sorry I've put your
busy life on hold...but rest assured in a week or so I'll be bad to 100 percent and I'll leave and you
won't ever have to see me again....then you can go back to your busy life." Sephiroth snapped turning
walking towards his room " I dot have much of an appetite tonight, so you can eat by yourself, I'm going
to bed."
With that Sephiroth left Deirdre standing in the living room alone and went back to his room and
slammed the door and set on his bed. He was now determined to get better so he could leave Deirdre. Sephiroth decided to start exersizing so he would have the strength to leave so he got down
on the ground and started doing elevated pushups. After awhile they began to take there toll and
Sephiroth fell on the ground in pain. He was still tired and still weak but determined to be strong so he
Rolled over and started doing sit-ups until he couldn't do them anymore. Sephiroth lied there starring at
the ceiling to tired now to get up and climb into bed so he climbed into a little ball and fell asleep on the
ground.
A few moments later, Deirdre came in wanting to apologize and noticed that he was on the ground sleeping. She tilted her head to the side and decided that she was too harsh on him. What else did she expect…? He was the one who summoned Meteor… She knew it but pretended not to know… for his sake.
She picked him up as best as she could manage, and set him on the bed. She took his boots off, and covered him with a blanket that was set on the end of the bed. Smiling, she touched his forehead to make sure his fever was down. He was hot, but not feverish. She sighed, relieved, then walked out into the living room.
"Does he really hate me…?" she thought to herself, "I mean… I know I didn't have to help him, but… I wanted to… I guess I just had false hope…" she leaned against her window, looking at the setting sun. "Deirdre… you're destined to be alone… you always have been." She muttered to herself, fighting back tears.
She watched the sunset then got up and sat in her favorite chair and pulled out a book. She curled up into a ball and fell asleep before too long.
She woke up early that morning restless and feeling energized. She decided it'd be best if she got up right away and made the best out of her day. Before she got in, she checked in on Sephiroth, who was sprawled out on the bed, sleeping peacefully. His hair flowed around his body like molten silver… and she felt herself become attracted to him. She had noticed his good looks and nicely muscled appearance before, just never really thought about how attractive he really was. His high cheekbones gave him an aristocratic appearance and his deep and glowing eyes burned with intelligence. She decided to stop staring at him and go on her way.
In the shower, she relaxed and let the water rush over her tiny but muscular body. After washing herself she stayed in the shower a bit longer, loving the waters feel. She finally turned it off, and got out, drying herself off.
She looked at herself in the mirror. "Maybe that's it…" she sighed, "maybe I'm just… too… plain…"
Her long, wet auburn hair clung to her body. Her eyes, dark brown with a makou glow, stared emotionlessly at her own reflection. She held the towel against the front of her body, and stared at herself for a while… until she heard the bathroom door open.
She turned, unable to scream as she saw Sephiroth come in. He didn't notice her at first, but when he did. His eyes bulged out and his face turned crimson.
"….Excuse….me….." he choked out.
Deirdre nodded and wrapped the towel tightly around her body, her face was also crimson red from the awkward encounter.
He nodded his head and walked out, stunned and obviously embarrassed. He closed the door and felt as though he were about to pass out.
"That's all you needed, you fucking idiot…" Sephiroth scolded himself, trying to extinguish the burning picture of the nude Deirdre from his mind… with little success.
The more he tried to fight the image, the more it burned itself into his mind's eye. He grabbed his forehead and felt the feeling of masculine thoughts go straight downward. Shaking his head, he tried desperately to prevent something embarrassing from happening… but it was too late.
He prayed that when Deirdre came out, she wouldn't notice anything. That was the last thing he really needed to think about. He knew Deirdre was beautiful, at least he thought so. Her skin was soft, her body tight. She had a perfect hourglass shaped figure, and long silky hair. He didn't really think about any possibility of any sort of relationship with her… physical or otherwise. He never knew what to do with women. He wasn't a virgin, of course… but the women he had in his life were not exactly… of the best stock. Deirdre was good stock. She was strong, confident and intelligent. Way beyond his league… but he couldn't help the attraction and the growing problem…
Deirdre walked out, her face still flushed and, to Sephiroth's advantage, she didn't even glance his way before entering her room. He got up and quickly went into the bathroom to shower and calm himself down.
"Do you think she's that naïve?" Sephiroth thought to himself after he had showered. "…I don't want to think about it." He muttered aloud to himself.
He brushed out his long hair very slowly. Trying to avoid the amount of times she would see him today. He decided a run along the beach would help calm his nerves and perhaps make him more… courageous in front of her.
"I'm going for a run." He stated bluntly, not looking at Deirdre.
"O… kay…" she blinked at him. She was already well over the morning's incident… and he obviously wasn't.
After he walked out the door, she laughed to herself. "Ooooh… you saw me naked, huh?" Deirdre mused, "like you've never seen a naked chick before…" she finished, scratching the back of her head.
Sephiroth ran along the beach, trying to avoid thinking about anything. It seemed as if the harder he tried, the worse it got.
He ran and ran… until his legs couldn't keep up with his will. He fell to his knees and started punching the ground.
"God DAMMIT!" he roared, "what the fuck's the deal?! Why am I feeling?! PLANET! WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE MY SOUL?!"
He slammed both of his fists to the ground and fought tears that rushed to his eyes. "Is it so much to ask for peace? Is it?! Don't I deserve it?!" he paused. "No, you don't deserve it, you monster… you… did everything in your power trying to destroy it… do you expect the planet to open up to you?" he thought.
He sat up and wiped sweat off his brow.
"This sucks." He muttered, getting up and walking back.
By the time he returned, Deirdre was preparing a meal, and it smelled good to his tired body. He wondered into the kitchen and saw her stirring something. Curious, he walked over to her and looked over her shoulder.
"Holy SHIT!" Deirdre screamed, jumping backward.
"What?" Sephiroth looked at her strangely.
"You fucking scared me!" Deirdre laughed, "I didn't think you'd be back so soon."
"I got hungry. What is that? It smells good…" he reached over and took out a random vegetable.
"Hey!" she slapped his hand. He just looked at her sternly. "You're supposed to wait, nerd." She grinned. "Is it good?"
"Yeah, tastes great." Sephiroth muttered, walking away from the kitchen.
Deirdre smiled and turned back. "Seems like he's calmed down…" she thought.
Sephiroth went and reclined on the couch. He grabbed a book that Deirdre had sitting on the table and started to read it. It was a pretty boring informative book, just talking about the basics to fighting with your fists.
"Why do you read these?" Sephiroth called out flashing the book.
"Oh, that? I'm just bored and I never have a sparring partner." She whined.
"Really…" Sephiroth said, smiling.
"Yeah… and it's not like you'd do it. You won't hit girls, will you?"
Sephiroth burst into laughter.
"Maybe not…" she turned around, stirring the food again.
"I'll spar with you, no problem, Deirdre. I need to brush up on my skills." Sephiroth was looking forward to this.
"Really?" She turned, getting excited.
"Yeah… that's what I said, isn't it?" he replied.
She ran into the living room and jumped onto his lap. Sephiroth responded with a surprised "Oof."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed, hugging him.
"Um… okay…" Sephiroth said awkwardly. "It's… not… a … big… deal…"
"Sorry!" Deirdre laughed, "Got a little carried away, didn't I?" she climbed off his lap.
He watched her go back then shook his head. "You must have been here by yourself for a while, huh?" He called out.
"Well, I've been here for almost 4 years… I turn twenty this June." She called out to him.
"Didn't think you could be that old… you still look like a 14 year old." He mused.
"Bite me." she laughed.
Sephiroth laughed back. "That would make me a pedophile."
"How old are you?" Deirdre came in with the pan of stir fry and set it on the table. Then went back into the kitchen to grab more. "By the way, it's ready."
"I think I'm 26… no… 25." He said, getting up.
"You're not that much older, Sephiroth." She said.
He didn't reply, only shrugged in uncertainty. "Point?"
"I'm only like… 5 years younger."
"5 and a half." He corrected her.
"When's your birthday?" she sat down at the table.
"January…" he paused, sitting across from her, "January 24."
"I'll remember that." She smiled.
"Don't bother. Never celebrated it before, don't have a desire to." He shrugged.
"Well, I still want to acknowledge it, even if I don't get you something. Besides…" she looked over at him, "it's been a long time since I've had anyone to share my thoughts with. I really wish you wouldn't leave."
Sephiroth looked up at her. They both had shocked expressions on their faces, Deirdre shocked that she had opened her mouth without thinking and Sephiroth… he just couldn't believe her words.
"You don't want me around, Deirdre. You're too pure for my presence." Sephiroth looked down and served himself some food.
"I'm not as sweet and innocent as you think." She stared forcibly into his eyes.
He looked up at her. "I know you've killed people. You've had to… Soldier and the ShinRa don't hesitate in those matters. However, Deirdre… you don't know me."
"I know that you summoned Meteor." She looked down.
It was his turn to stare at her. There was silence between them afterwards. They ate in peace, both of them avoiding eye contact.
"If you knew, why didn't you kill me… why did you take this dangerous creature into your home?" Sephiroth blurted out.
"Because I'm tired of being alone. Death is better than the life I've been living." She got up, "excuse me… don't worry about the dishes. Just finish up and I'll take care of it."
Deirdre went into her room and shut the door. She leaned against it and started to cry. She was tired… her memories started with Soldier… and the strange phenomenon of her seraph form. Something happened to her… Something that that bitch did. It had to have been her.
Sephiroth meanwhile stared at Deirdre's half eaten plate. He knew that there was more to her than she let on. She was hiding something… something so terrible, that it may rival his past. He knew that all of his actions weren't exactly his decisions. So much Jenova inside of him, it made him a puppet. But… he learned the truth… finally… the planet showed him the truth of his past, and his birth. Perhaps, now… he had a different purpose than killing… than massacre… than chaos. Perhaps Deirdre could show him a new life. Perhaps he should stay here… with her.
He got up from the table and decided to check on her. He didn't know if he should say anything or not. Instead, he walked to her room and knocked on the door. He didn't hear a reply, so swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he walked in. Deirdre lied on her bed, curled up into a tight ball. He heard her sniffling, lightly.
"I'll be out there in a second." She said through sniffles.
"You crying…?" he asked hesitantly.
She didn't reply.
He didn't know what to say, so just set down on the edge of her bed. She sat up, turning slowly to look at him. Her cheeks were red and tear stained. He looked at her without saying anything. Deirdre grabbed hold of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His muscles tensed for a moment, but then relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her, supporting her body. She laid her head on his shoulder and cried again.
Sephiroth tried to muster up words to say, but was too scared to say them. He was feeling for her. He didn't know if it was compassion or actual… feelings, but… he did know that something inside of him called him to her. He wanted to protect her, to stay with her.
"You don't have to do this, Sephiroth…" she whimpered through sniffles.
"I know." He said uncomfortable. "Sorry, I'm horrible with this shit…." He closed his eyes and swallowed, "I never have been good with emotions… I've neglected their existence my whole life… but… you know what, Deirdre?"
She looked up at him, calming down.
"I discovered myself in the lifestream. I found out who I was, where I came from. I'm not living a lie anymore…"
"Sephiroth…" she whimpered, "I'm so glad…" she smiled.
"I'm not finished…" he said, "My point is that if the planet showed me an answer, it'll show you, too. I am the only being on this planet who deserves to be locked away. My soul doesn't deserve to go back to the lifestream, to be allowed to exist again."
"Don't say that, Sephiroth. Everything that exists has a right and a purpose. I lost mine when I lost my memories. Everything I know about my life comes from Soldier and…" she stopped.
"And what?"
"…Something I have… it's… nothing you'd expect to see." She looked down.
"Tell me, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what I can do." Sephiroth persisted.
"…I can't tell you yet… I'm not ready." She shook her head.
He nodded and continued holding her for a moment.
"Thanks, Sephiroth." She smiled, "I think I'm feeling better now."
He nodded again, not sure what to say.
"Are you done eating?" she asked, "Sorry I… just left without warning… I guess everyone needs a good cry."
"No big deal. I'm finished…" he said.
"Good." She walked into the dining area and began to clean up. Sephiroth followed her and began to help.
"You don't have to, Sephiroth." Deirdre grinned.
"Well, it's about time I got off my lazy ass and did something. You do too much work around here." He continued helping.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"As long as we practice after we're done." Sephiroth turned to her.
"Sure!" She smiled.
Sephiroth grinned and they continued doing the dishes. After they were done, they moved outside and began stretching.
"This feels so good." Deirdre said, arching her back.
Sephiroth reached his arms into the air, and didn't reply. His attention was completely on improving himself.
"Ready?" he asked after another pause.
"When you are, Sephiroth." She replied, grinning.
Sephiroth didn't move much, and Deirdre just stood there. They both stared at each other.
"Ladies first, Deirdre." Sephiroth smirked.
"Oh fine." She smiled. She jumped into the air and tried a heel drop move on Sephiroth. He grabbed her foot and flipped her over. She gracefully landed on her feet on time to see Sephiroth's fist coming at her head. She ducked and hit him square in the gut. He looked down at her, unphased.
"Don't be afraid to hit me, Deirdre. Because I'll not hesitate to hit you hard." Sephiroth slammed his fists into her back.
She fell into the ground and coughed. "You asked for it." She rolled onto her hands and kicked him square in the jaw, making him stumble back. They charged at each other, exchanging powerful blows and spells. It was a few hours before they stopped.
Sephiroth grabbed Deirdre and squeezed her rib cage against his body. Deirdre yelled out in pain before she started to feel her limit break…
Sephiroth was forced to let go as six large blue wings expanded from her back and forced his arms apart. She spun around and faced him.
"It's about time I hit my limit break!" She cracked her knuckles.
"What the hell? You… you have wings!" Sephiroth panted.
"Duh!" Deirdre laughed, "So are you ready to fight or not?!" she took a fighting stance.
Sephiroth cracked his knuckles and bent over. He screamed in pain as six white wings shot out of his back. He stood straight, his eyes still closed.
Deirdre's jaw dropped and she stared at him. "Sephiroth… you… you're a seraph, too?!"
Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked at her. "Duh."
She burst into laughter and then walked to him. "Perhaps we should wrap it up for today."
Sephiroth nodded. "I… haven't popped these things out for quite some time… it hurt like hell…"
"Really? Let's go inside and I'll take care of them. I know how to stop the pain." She took his arm and led him into the house.
"Deed, I'll be fine." Sephiroth said.
"Deed…" she laughed, "Giving me pet names already, Sephy?" she laughed.
Sephiroth rolled his eyes and sat down on a chair, leaning forwards and spreading his wings. "Ah… this feels goooood…" he lowered his head to his knees and let his wings drape in his huge wing span.
Deirdre came back, and tapped his shoulder.
"Getting comfortable, I see?" she smiled.
"Just in a lot of pain, Deirdre." He winced.
"Come here, I know what will help." She grabbed his arm and led him into the bathroom then reached into the tub and turned on the cool water.
Sephiroth blinked at her.
"Sit your butt down on the ledge." She commanded.
Sephiroth paused, but then did what he was told and sat down on the edge of the tub.
She took down the showerhead and started to wash Sephiroth's wings. He jumped a bit but relaxed immediately as soon as he realized it stopped the burning sensation.
Deirdre grabbed his wings gently, and thoroughly soaked them. After she was done, she turned the water off and started to squeegee his wings off.
Sephiroth just spread them out and let her pet his wings… it felt amazingly relaxing, only because he knew she wouldn't hurt him. He started to wonder if he had true feelings…
" thank you" Sephiroth said as Deirdre continued to massage his wings, she was very gental with them and took her time. Sephiroth was so relaxed he could have fallen asleep. Sephiroth didnt feel thank you was enough, he wanted to do so much more for her.
" you dont have to thank me" Deirdre said softly " it's amazing though, who would have thought, two Seraphs running into each other.......i thought i was the only one."
" well......your not alone now" Sephiroth said yawning " I'm tiered......I think i'm going to turn in......i'll have to use these things more often......thank you Deirdre" Sephiroth said stand up, he stook infront of Deirdre who was still sitting down. Sephiroth not knowing what to do reached his hand out and shook Deirdre's hand and then wrapped his wings around him and left the bathroom.
".....goodnight Sephiroth....." Deirdre said confused
" what does he mean, i'm not alone." she thought " is he going to stay?" Deirdre smiled at the thought of that. she couldnt belive herself. she had the man who almost destroyed the world in her house, and for some reason she wanted him to stay with her, and it wasent just for the fact that she was lonly, she cared about him and she didnt know why.
Sephiroth walked to his room and closed the door. " you are a fucking idiot.....how could you shake her hand?" Sephiroth though. He wanted to smash his head into the wall but he knew Deirdre would hear him. He sat down on his bed and looked down on the ground and saw his sword. He hadnet through about it for awhile, evendutlly Deirdre had brought it back when she had found him. Sephiroth picked up, it was a lot heavier then he had rememberd it being.
" I dont......... want to go........." Sephiroth said to himself looking down at his sword. " why am I doing this to myself? Your a monster and she is angel.......if she knew about you she would hate you......your leaving in less then a week......"
Sephiroth set the sword down and layed on his bed and starred at the celling. He hadnt felt this way about anyone before, sephiroth tried to convence himself that she didnt care. But he couldnt, she was wonderful and he knew it. Sephiroth closed his eyes and tried to stop thinking about her but he couldnt. He decided that it would be best if he just left in the morning so as not to get anymore attached to someone who wouldnt like him. Sephiroth turned out the light, and feel asleep wishing he could get rid of his lonlness.
Deirdre woke up late the next morning, her training with Sephiroth had tiered her out. She put on her bathrobe and left her room and walked down the hall. she walked by sephiroth's room, the door was open. She walked inside and notieced the bed was made nicely and his sword was gone.
Deirdre froze " he really left" she said to herself as she left his room and checked the bathroom and then the rest of the house. There was no sign of sephiroth. Deirdre walked outside and circled around the house. She wanted to cry but she tried to hold it inside. She wasent sure why she was so upset, he had never been overly nice to her but she knew there was good in him. He just needed someone and for a short time she thought she was going to be that someone.
Deirdre sat down on her door step and looked out at the ocean. The wind was pushing the clouds away and the sun was peeking out over the beach warming everthing up. The tide was comming in and birds flew over Deirdre. She rubbed her eyes trying to force herself to smile but she couldnt.
" whats wrong with you?" came a voice over her shoulder. Deirdre looked over to see Sephiroth standing across her yard holding a hammer and some wood. Deirdre immedatly jumped up and ran towards Sephiroth and hugged him.
" you scared me!" she said not letting go of him.
" scared you?" Sephiroth said confusing not trying to drop the wood.
" I thought you left. i'm so glad you didnt!" she said smiling " what are you doing?"
" well" Sephiroth said setting the wood down " it started raining this morning, and that woke me up.......and instead of going back to sleep i figured i would go out and work with my sword. I dont want to get out of practice."
" you went out in the rain?" Deirdre said looking up at him
"......yes...." Sephiroth said confused " thats what i said...."
" you'll get sick if you keep doing that!" Deirdre said taking a step back
" sorry mom" Sephiroth said sarcastially
" nerd" Deirdre smiled " what are you doing with the wood?"
" well i notieced that while it was raining my room had a leak. so i decided that i would fix it....its the least i can do for you taking care of me."
" since when are you a handy man?" Deirdre said " I didnt know they tought roofing in solder"
" they dont.....but i've repared dozens of makou reactors so therefore i think repeaing a roof should be easy" Sephiroth said with the upmost confidence
" thank you.....i'll be right back, i need a shower" Deirdre said walking towards the house.
" make sure you lock the door." Sephiroth said as Deirdre walked away. she turned around and stuck her toung out at him.
Sephiroth sighed, he hadnet told Deirdre the whole truth, Sephiroth did discover a leak in his room but he didnt get up with the intention to fix it. Sephiroth had made sure he got up extra early in order to try to leave mideel but before he left he had poaked his head in Deirdre room and as he watched he sleep he just couldnt leave her. Sephiroth felt like a fool but he knew he had feelings for her " your 25 years old, not 13 years old" he said gathering his things to fix the leak.
Sephiroth proceeded to walk around the house, in the 4 years of living there Deirdre had taken very good care of her house. There was hardly anything wrong with it. Sephiroth climbed to the roof and easly fixed the leak. Sephiroth didnt want to walk around to much being afrade that he might go through another part of the roof, however the thought of crashing through the bathroom celling seemed funny to him.
Sephiroth layed on the roof streching himself out starring into the blue sky. He knew he had to tell Deirdre somehow about Jenova and everything he had done. He felt obligated to but he didnt want to rouin what little feeling of happyness he had. He decided he would put if off for as long as possible.
After a few moment Deirdre came out of the house and called for Sephiroth. Sephiroth poaked his head down and looked at her.
" hey seph" she said " i thought i would make you some lemonaid"
Sephiroth climbed down from the roof and walked towards her. " Deirdre, you dont have to do anything, you've done enough for me."
" I know I dont have to but i wanted too. Now here take a drink" she said pouring some lemonaid into a glass for him.
Sephiroth reached over and grabbed it and drank the whole thing down in a couple gulps. Sephiroth handed the cup back to her making a face from the sourness of it.
" too sour for ya?" Deirdre laughed
Sephiroth nodded his head
" wimp" she said " watch this" Deirdre took the same size glass and filled it and drank the whole thing down and then set the cup down.
" impressive" Sephiroth said pouring himself some more this time drinking it slower.
" thats a nice sword" Deirdre said walking up to it " how long have you had it?"
" for years" Sephiroth said walking up to it and picking it up " its called a Masamune...its the only sword i'll use" Sephiroth pulled it out and slowly swung it around being careful not to hit anything.
" Impressive" Deirdre said " let me see it"
Sephiroth looked at and then relucantly handed her his Masamune. Deirdre lifted it but couldnt really swing it or anything and almost dropped it but sephiroth quickly grabbed the ends of it before she dropped it.
" Dont worry....its not an easy weapond to handle" Sephiroth said as he leaned over her putting his arms around you resting his hands on her hands to support the sword. Together they lifted the sword and swong it around Deirdres front yard slashing some bushes in the front of it. Sephiroth and Deirdre then turned the heads and looked directly into each others eyes. Sephiroth began feeling uncomfertable realizing what they where doing and he took a few steps back as Deirdre set the sword down.
" its a nice sword........" Deirdre said trying to brake the silence. " I have to go in town and buy some stuff......would you like to come with me?" she said looking up at him
" ............" sephiroth stood standing blankly infront of her.
" I mean.......you dont have have to if you dont want to.......but...I figure you must get bored just hanging around the house all day....we wont be very long.....i just have to pick up a few things."
"......sure....." sephiroth said looking past Deirdre at the town hoping nobody would recignize him.
" Great" Deirdre said as she started to walk away " lets go."
Sephiroth and Deirdre walked away from her house down a small path through some trees. They didnt say much sephiroth still felt uncomfertable around her.
" Mideel is a great town" Deirdre said braking the silence " its grown a lot....a lot of people left midgar to come here....teachers, doctors, business men, artests...all sorts of people."
" what do you do here?" sephiroth said looking at the ground
" well.....I work with the local doctor.....i'm not techinally a nurse but i know more then most nurses do."
" a nurse?" Sephiroth said looking up at her " you dont seem like a nurse to me."
" what do you mean?" Deirdre said " I took care of you didnt i?"
" well no.........its just that.......you where in soldger.....your a fighter......dont you get bored? " He said still not making eye contact
" theres not many fights down in Mideel......but yes......I dont like my job all that much....its nice helping people but i dont know.......what are you gonna do with your life now? "
" I have no idea" Sephiroth said " maybe i'll go off and be a farmer"
Deirdre started laughing, she at first tired not to but she couldnt help it.
" what?" Sephiroth said
" i'm sorry...... I cant picture you as a farmer......you in overalls and with a piece of grass hanging out of her mouth" Deirdre stopped and leaned against a tree laughing. after a few moments a smile broke out on sephiroth's face and he almost started laughing himself.
The two continued walked a little bit more tell they found themselves in Mideel. The town was full of people rushing around in there daily lives. Sephiroth had never really been in mideel, the city was so much calmer then midgar or junion the two cities he had been most used to. A few people said hi to Deirdre her and sephiroth walked through the city. Sephiroth got a lot of looks from people, he tried to ignore them but he found it hard to. Sephiroth stayed close to Deirdre practally being her shadow. the two walked to a corner market place and went inside. Deirdre walked down the isles handing sephiroth various items of food, Sephiroth never realized how much he ate. Aftet a few moments a women pushing a basket full of food walked up to Sephiroth and Deirdre.
" Deirdre!" she said in a loud voice that annoyed sephiroth.
" oh his martha" Deirdre said turning to her smiling " how are you doing?"
" Great.....i havent seen you around very much anymore......what have you been doing?"
" i've been realy busy" Deirdre said looking over at Sephiroth who was trying not to seem nervious.
" I see" she said looking directly at Sephiroth " Deirdre....you went out and found yourself a man......who might you be?"
Sephiroth wanted to smack the women for bothering him, but out of respect for Deirdre he controlled himself. " my name........my name is.....Maynard Quentin Demure" he said trying as best he could to sound nice.
" well Maynard Quentin Demure.....you better take care of Deirdre here." she said turning to Deirdre and whisping . " ya know if things dont work out with tall dark and handsome over there I know this guy, he is new around here, he is an artest and i think he would be great for you.....then i can have him" she said looking at Sephiroth giggling making him feel very uncomfertable.
"well i better be going......Casey will be wondering about me......the four of us should have dinner sometime......i'll talk to you soon Deirdre Bye! Bye Maynard!"
Deirdre and Sephiroth both waved as Martha walked away with her food.
" you hang out with that?" Sephiroth said annoyed
" she's the secreatry in the clinic" Deirdre said looking at Sephiroth.
The Two then went and payed for there food. Sephiroth feeling bad that Deirdre was spending so much money on him promised to pay her back and then picked up all the grocarys as they walked out of the store.
" Maynard Quentin Demure.....where did you come up with that name?" Deirdre said looking up at Sephiroth who seemed deep in thought.
" well......Maynard and Quentin where two men i knew a long time ago."
" from where?" Deirdre said glad at the oppertinity to learn more about sephiroth.
" From the war in Wuati.......Maynard and Quentin where my only friends.....they both died three months before they where scheduled to go home......" he said looking up at the sky " and Demure....i just came up with that at the top of my head."
" its nice.......i'm sorry about your friends.....i lost a lot of friends in battle too."
" oh well.....whats done is done.....i've gotten used to being alone...."
"......I havent......" Deirdre said looking down at the ground
They both paused the path and starred at each other in silence. " you
dont have to be anymore." Sephiroth thought. As Sephiroth looked at Deirdre
feeling surged inside of him that he had never felt about anyone before,
for some reason he knew this girl generally cared about him, he didnt know
why but she did. And he couldnt deny the fact that he cared about her.......