The World That Never Will Be Chapter 21
by the infamous and notorious tocasia
6/11/2019
CHAPTER 21
...It didn't turn out the way he'd expected.
Surprised, she'd yelped and elbowed him in the stomach, hard. He didn't drop her. He brought them down safely, and promptly fell over.
It definitely wasn't as romantic as he'd... hoped?
Aqua stared, aghast. "Oh no! Oh no! I'm sorry! You surprised me! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Sephiroth had rolled onto his side, clutching his abdomen, battling a wheeze that soon evolved into laughter. "Heh. Ha! Well, I won't get very far trying to impress you if I injure myself." His murmured embarrassment faded so fast she wondered if she'd imagined it.
Trying to... impress me?
Secret thoughts swam in elation. He was already pretty impressive...
She hurried closer, drawn by the instinct to assist. There wasn't any visible tissue damage. His wide belts had taken the brunt of the accidental blow; Aqua doubted she'd bruised him at all.
Sephiroth tilted his head a fraction, a small smile. He clearly didn't object to her looking... Laughter lived in his eyes, cyan flames dancing there, his mild gaze trained on her, watching, interested, relaxed. Still prone, he'd propped himself up on one arm, chin supported in one hand, and arrayed his legs just so... stretched long, swiveled hips to tall shining boots, angled forward slightly. A lounging glamour pose. Arrogant, daring... an invitation...?
...and she was standing over him.
...he'd probably take off his coat if she asked...
...and what else?
Get it together, Aqua! She shouldn't think about him like that if he was hurt!
"You're really okay?" Strange, she couldn't get any reading on his health.
"Yes."
"You're sure?" she repeated. He seemed confused.
"Yes."
Hmm. She always said she was fine, too.
"Just in case..." Aqua stepped back, and raised Master's Defender skyward, wreathed in gales of Spring's blessing.
Sephiroth had not been the subject of another's curative magic for... not since... before Nibelheim. Not counting those he mind-controlled into it to experiment.
The strength of hers... torrential cascade, rushing over him, rejuvenating...
He... that body would have been fully restored. As he was now... the thought of care and kindness proved the relatively greater healing. No single spell could heal all of him.
"Thank you," he said, even more sincerely than he sounded.
Master Aqua beamed with pride.
He decided it was his favorite of her expressions.
Aqua was proud. Guilt hadn't slowed her down; she'd fixed her mistake right away. She truly was doing better! She'd given her attacker a decent wallop, Curaga was one of the most strenuous spells to cast, and she wasn't exhausted. It felt so good to help... And to be thanked by him.
Sephiroth mumbled something, "Perhaps I have been overconfident..."
"Huh?"
"I... apologize for hiding my condition from you, Master Aqua. As my ally, you deserved to know. It was dangerous not to tell you. But, I suppose it's obvious now that I'm not at my best. I'm not recovering as quickly as I should be. I haven't sent Cloud to do our hunting for us just for fun. While you've been sleeping, I've been resting too, and yet..."
Of course he had been. Was she supposed to assume otherwise? ...Ah.
"I understand. I don't like showing weakness either."
...You'd hate me for saying this, so I won't, but... I forgive you for not being perfect.
Heh, that's so much easier than forgiving myself.
We're alike, aren't we? Ashamed by our own unreasonable expectations.
"It's okay Sephiroth. If you need it, I don't mind taking care of you. You did say we would recover together, remember?"
"Thank you." His words guarded profound relief. Was it really that big of a deal?
"Here." Aqua offered him a hand up.
Sephiroth took it, but she had no sense of pulling. He rose mostly on his own, oh-so-graceful. There wasn't any dust on his coat, and no dirt in his hair. A couple of vagrant midnight-indigo feathers tumbled into smoky nothingness.
Her nervousness melted full away. Sephiroth wasn't upset. It was kind of a ridiculous situation.
Aqua giggled. "You really surprised me back there!"
But... I wasn't afraid. As soon as I realized it was you, I wasn't afraid.
She continued, "Maybe... when you're feeling better, we can try again?"
He made her so happy that she was certain... even if he let go, she'd be able to glide.
He matched her grin, "Alright."
This time, they watched a sunset.
A fiery one. Breathtaking heavenly embers. The only flames that would touch Radiant Garden today. Sephiroth decided it was invigorating.
Master Aqua leaned against him. She was tired, but a peaceful sort of tired, a happy daze, resting her head on his upper arm. Not the softest pillow.
She reached to hold his hand and he did not pull away. He was coming to accept, to rely on, her presence. After years of solitude... he didn't mind. Even if all she wanted to do was sit quietly together. He liked her company. They didn't really need to do anything else.
He was getting sore and stiff, but loath to move her.
Mentally adrift, Sephiroth retraced his disappointing survey of the camp. Practical enough, but it lacked a certain ...grandeur. Freedom from all need was not freedom from all want.
Beds. A proper shower. A place to sit and read.
Two beds, like an inn room, or would Master Aqua prefer privacy?
Clean soft white sheets, and the bedspreads he'd liked best were... he'd seen a blue tartan pattern once that could serve. Or should there be quilts?
...he could make an illusion of it.
He could do better than that! Imbued with the substance of shackled memories, quasi-real. A temporary construct, but so was time.
What is your paradise, Master Aqua?
She had a warrior's pride and self-reliance, and yet she knew hardship. She would not refuse what luxury he could provide. Would she be frightened, at the sudden transformation?
If she was, he'd comfort her.
Except...
The darkness tainted everything he made. Aqua would recoil, flinch from his attempted gift. It would be awkward. Ill-advised, it would offend them both...
No, he would overcome that. Consider it an exercise in control. To minimize the use of darkness, to cauterize defilement...
Was it a labor worth his energy? Why not? None existed who could judge his folly. He'd earned the right to do as he pleased. Still... he would not overexert himself, would not stray far from simplicity.
And he wasn't alone. Master Aqua would take care of him. He could trust her to watch his back... Such security, he'd gone so long without. This is what he wanted, what he missed, what he ached for. In friendship, to reciprocate...
Sephiroth delved into the possible, and began to shape the spell. The wing, a filter, coursing with darkness so his creation might be pure. The flow of magic, measured, throttled, so his precious ally wouldn't be alarmed in her near-sleeping state. Change would come slowly. The night was young.
She was warm, by his side.
Heh. And on the eighth day, the God of Despair made a beach house, "inspired by" Midgar's best interior designers.
He rolled his eyes, and made it so.