I don't own FF7 or its characters and make not profit from writing these stories.
Alone he had always been alone, yet he had joined the cause of the heroes against a cause as they needed someone of his skills, even if he was, had been an anti-hero. He had been volunteered by his saviour and his murder victim, Aerith who had insisted they include him as he was "different" now, that she had personally put to rest that false care giver him in him.
He had fought a noble fight and had in the end prevailed and had rescued many.
Yet while he held his sword dripping with blood of what had been a common enemy, he was ignored as everyone clung onto Cloud, who quite frankly had done little.
Yet the shorter man received hug after hug from people with a smile of almost innocence on his face as it proved as well to be his birthday.
Without a thought, they all departed for Tifa's bar without a single glance or whisper of an invitation to him. Masamune seemed to sag in his grasp until it disappeared as he watched them go, his eyes decidedly moist.
He trailed after them without invitation, hoping that now being on their side, he would be included in their revelries if only for a single night.
Yet the rain came as they all entered the bar as a unit and presents and a cake were displayed to the grinning blonde man with everyone else vying for his attention as he blew out the candles and drew the two children onto his lap to help him open the presents.
Yet Sephiroth hovered at the window, never invited and would never be a guest to such gathering. His false mother had seen to that, never would he be accepted, always would he be judged and condemned for crimes he never committed, would never have committed in lucidity.
Silently he made his way back to the hole in the wall someone permitted him to rent and noticed that the fridge had stopped working again, he frowned and took out the single cupcake he had pilfered while Tifa had worked on the cake and cupcakes in front of him with only a scowl to announce her distant of him to show that she didn't want him there.
He put into it the candle he had stolen too and lit it with his areo spell.
"Happy Birthday" he said to the empty room as he had several birthdays before as it was his birthday too, the same day as Cloud's and no one knew or cared.
He put on the VR helmet and put on the program he had designed, a smiling Aerith stood there wearing a dress she had worn for another but now wore it for him, he held out his arms as she came with the cake towards him. In VR he could feel her embracing him and the two matching silver haired twins with their mother's eyes climbing into his lap.
"Darling aren't you going to blow out your candles?" she asked him, giving him a loving smile.
"Just give me a moment, I want to remember all of this" he said.
"Take all the time you need" she said, giving him a kiss on his lips.
"Don't you want to help me blow out the candles boys?" he asked them.
"Of course daddy" Renji assured him and Saskure gave him his teddy bear.
"Okay, one, two, three" he said in reality brought out the gun he had stole from Vincent's room, he was a sword's man but knew enough about guns to know it would be final. Aerith could bring back his body, but not without a brain, he didn't hesitate for a second as he fired a bullet into his cranium and his body went still. Yet he was smiling and in VR they all blew out the candles as a final tear leaked from his eyes.
"Come on time to cut the cake" Aerith said over her shoulder.
In the program, he ran and joined his family as free as can be be, embraces taking him in with gusto, his heart lighter and happier than it had ever been in real life. Sephiroth for the first time was happy.
