AN: A different version of the first story I wrote. I feel that this on is alot clearer
The Great General Sephiroth frowned as he entered his office to find the empty spot on his desk. He had known it was coming, so he had cleared a spot just for it. Sephiroth frowned more.
Surly he wasn't disappointed? After all Fair's gifts had come to be accepted as something that the General couldn't get out of.
Sephiroth sat down, grabbing a paperweight and tossing it between two hands.
Two years ago, The Great General Sephiroth's Second-in-Command, Zackary Fair had discovered that Sephiroth didn't know his birthday, let alone ever gotten a birthday present.
Honestly Sephiroth wasn't sure why Zackary was so surprised. He had grown up in a laboratory. The scientists barely knew how to function around each other, it was understandable that it would never occur to them that his date of birth would be of any interest to the child they where molding to become the perfect soldier.
Zack, in his own wildly exuberant way had found that totally unacceptable. Upon becoming Sephiroth's second in command Zack had made it his unofficial mission to expose Sephiroth to what he called, the softer side of humanity. Sephiroth wasn't sure how he felt about these social experiments, but had soon discovered that even though he outranked Zack, they were apparently not a choice.
The very first time Sephiroth had met Zack, Zack made it clear that he was not a conventional soldier. Sephiroth had been sitting at his desk when his new colonel had strode in and introduced himself.
"Colonel Zackary Fair, SOLDIER First Class, sir, reporting for duty."
Sephiroth had nodded his acknowledgement and gestured towards one of his plain wooden chairs. "Reports are coming in from Junon that the monster population is heavier than we planned for. We'll need to find a idle platoon to send as back up."
Zack had stared at him for a moment before wincing and grabbing a folder. Sephiroth ignored him as he flipped through the leave roster. "R company. We'll have to cut their break by a few days, but they'll suffice. It'll get their rookie's field experience as well." Zack snapped the folder shut. "I'll let Captain Fual know and we can hit a bar."
Sephiroth had looked up in disbelief. He wasn't sure what surprised him more, the fact that Zack thought that they only had one thing to go over, or that he thought the general might drink.
"We have twelve more items to go over." Sephiroth told him coldly, gesturing to the pile of folders hovering but his right elbow.
Zack strode over and snapped up the pile. "Great, we'll do it at the bar." He said and before Sephiroth could say a thing, strode out the door.
Zack hadn't changed much since then. He was a good man, he cared about the other soldiers, could be formal when he needed to. He drove Sephiorth crazy, because once he decided that something was for someone's own good, there was no stopping him.
So honestly, Sephiroth shouldn't have been surprised that as soon as he heard that Sephiroth had no know birthday he had declared on the spot that today was Sephiroth's new official birthday and had arrived after lunch to put a brightly colored box on Sephiroth's desk . The reprint of Boileau-Despreaux's classical Oeuvres Diverses du Sieur had been Sephiroth's first present. After that each year, even if Zack was away on assignment, even the year he was unconscious in the medical bay, even the year he was broke because his father was ill and he had to chip in for the medical expenses there had been a colorfully wrapped present on his desk when he went into his office on May 15.
Until now.
Sephiroth initial reaction was confusion. Why didn't he have a present? Did something happen to Zack? No, someone would have let him know. When Zack had been hurt by a jammed gun while training recruits a few months ago Sephiroth had beaten him to the medical bay.
Sephiroth shook his head and grabbed the first paper in his in-box, trying to ignore the awkward tight feeling in his chest. This was one of the issues he had with Zack's experiment's, it made him feel emotion's he wasn't sure what to do with. Zackary had no obligation to buy him a present. It wasn't even his birthday.
Sephiroth turned to the looked up from maps he was going over, which was technically each Colonel's job. They were fine really, but ever since Corel incident Sephiroth was insisting that either he or Zack had to go over every plan before it could get approved.
He heard the door mechanism click open and but didn't bothering to look up. He wasn't pouting, really. He was reading. He wasn't looking up because he busy, not because seeing Zach's empty hands made his chest hurt.
"Zackary."
He heard a faint clunk as Zack placed something on the desk. Glancing down he saw a brightly wrapped present. On it was a card with a dog with ridiculously large eyes and large blue type saying "Sorry I missed your birthday."
"But it's still my birthday." Sephiroth reached out and snatched up the box. Sloppily wrapped, which was unusual for Zack, it was also incredibly light.
"It's a bit last minute. My original idea never worked out." Sephiroth nodded and slit the tape with his finger nail. Discarding the paper he regarded the plain brown box. Zach looked unusually nervous as HE grabbed his letter opened and cut the think duct tape and peeked inside.
It was a torn off corner of paper with December 13 scribbled on it in stereotypical secretary type.
"What is it?" Sephiroth asked as he reached in to grab the scrap of paper.
"It's you birthday." Zack blushed. "I bribed one of the secretaries at the lab to look up your birthday for me in your medical file."
Sephiroth stroked the paper with his thumb. "but what of today?"
Zack grinned, "Come on Sephiroth, You may be the Great General of Shinra's Army, but not even you get two birthdays."