Overworked
by the infamous and notorious tocasia
10/23/2017
17. annoyance for Seph&Zack Friendship 100 Themes
The little everyday annoyances from Zack were extremely important for keeping things in perspective.
tags: Sephiroth and Zack friendship, AU, always looking out for your friends, communication is important, the meeting was nothing special, paperwork
"You were asleep at your desk, and now you have ink blotches on your cheek, and that one kinda looks like a tonberry..."
Sephiroth took a tissue and rubbed it on his face. It came back clean. He frowned.
"Don't you have something better to do, Zack?"
"In all honesty sir, nope."
The little everyday annoyances from Zack were extremely important for keeping things in perspective.
But lately, things were not going as they should.
How long had it been since Zack came in to talk to him? Sephiroth missed his company. The paperwork was a poor substitute. Yes, he was a master of understatement.
Here was an ad for...
'DemiGod's Gym and Spa!
Use gravity spells to get a better workout, results in just 10 days!'
Less amusing was the not-entirely-unexpected budget increase. President Shinra was paranoid again and throwing money at the military to keep himself safe. How best to put it to use? There was a specific request for additional anti-terrorism units. Joint training with the Turks in the arts of subdual? Acceptable.
Something misfiled... supposed to go to... Palmer? Sephiroth reined in his curiosity and put the envelope in his outbox unopened.
And this was a copy of the medical results from a unit of potential SOLDIER Thirds, to go with the evaluations from their commanding officers that should have been here last week.
By lunchtime, he'd gotten more done than usual, but it didn't please him like it normally did.
He was on his way to practice katas for the benefit of the easily-impressed Seconds when Reno actually stopped him in the hall.
"What did you do to Zack?" It was an angry accusation, far harsher than appropriate Turk suspicion.
"Nothing. Why?" Sephiroth attempted to hide his confusion and his irritation at it, with dubious success.
Reno didn't answer him, and continued to block his path! Incredible. Reno typically showed more respect than this, even though the Turk was as loud-mouthed as Zack and was a comparable prankster.
What was Reno thinking?
"Why?" he repeated, this time refusing to conceal his indignation.
"You should know, yo," Reno muttered.
Sephiroth shoved Reno aside roughly, stronger than he'd intended, and resumed his pace. He decided to take the stairs.
He paused when the front door to Shinra HQ closed behind him. He began to worry. He hadn't done anything, had he?
It bothered him all night.
In the morning, after the board meeting (which was nothing special), Sephiroth found himself sharing an elevator with another Turk. They hadn't spoken much before, so he was surprised when she said, "Excuse me General, Sir, but have you seen the Lieutenant General today?"
Right, he remembered now. Elena was Zack's friend. They were both diehard chocobo racing fans.
"No, I have not."
"That's strange, isn't it? I haven't, either. I hope he's okay."
Zack was everybody's friend.
"...so do I."
This was his floor. Sephiroth stepped off the elevator into the lab lobby, which made absolutely no effort to disguise the nature of the rooms beyond.
He'd tried to allow Zack his privacy, but he was tempted to ask Hojo some questions, and if that got him nowhere, he could insist that Zack pay the Professor a visit just to be sure. If anything was wrong with his second-in-command, he deserved to know.
But...
No. Zack would not be okay with that. Outside of dire circumstances, it would be a breach of trust and would only make Zack avoid him further.
Was there really reason to worry? Zack did occasionally have to charge his phone.
Another day without Zack's comfortingly cheerful chatter and Sephiroth couldn't take it anymore. This was so uncharacteristic of his friend.
He hated to order in this case, but he would have the truth. He demanded Zack's presence in his office.
"Lieutenant General Fair. You have not been yourself lately. Why? Was there a complication on a mission? Are you ill? Tell me."
Zack was not as reluctant to explain as he'd anticipated. "No sir, nothing is wrong. I just needed some time to myself, you know? Some quiet for a while."
Oh. Now it made sense. Of course Zack would be tired of acting silly all the time.
"I should have thought of that earlier, how stressful it is to live up to expectations."
Especially his own! His knew his standards were exhausting; Sephiroth was proud of his perfectionism. He'd spent his whole life developing it, conforming to the public image Shinra had designed for him. He knew how draining that performance was. How could he blame Zack for wanting to get away when he'd so often dreamed of doing the same?
"You don't have try so hard for my sake."
"Well, someone has to keep you from being a murderous bastard." Zack even tried to smile about it!
He could say, "I never asked that of you," or, "I'm not a murderous bastard, I work at it every day," or possibly, "Don't worry, Zack, I have this completely under control." But that wasn't exactly true, was it? He had never said so, but he did rely on Zack. Maybe too much. He hadn't meant to be annoying.
"I think I can manage for a few days. You need your rest."
His friend seemed ready to disagree. Sephiroth pressed one gloved finger to Zack's lips to stop him.
"Thank you for your help. It will be alright."
And it was.