Saturday Night
Zack punched in Sephiroth's key code and walked into his apartment. It was after midnight, but Zack expected Sephiroth to be up. He'd just gotten back from the club and came to bug Sephiroth as he usually did on Saturday nights, because Sephiroth sure as hell wasn't going to go out with him and Zack didn't want him to spend the whole night alone.
He was surprised, when he entered the apartment, to find it dark. Sephiroth was there, because his boots were on the mat by the door, but there was no sign of him.
He ventured down the hall and into the bedroom, and found Sephiroth lying on his bed, lamp on, asleep, a book laying on his chest. Suddenly, he felt wrong for being there, but told himself that Sephiroth wouldn't have given him his key code if he wanted to keep him out.
Smiling, he looked down at his friend. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Sephiroth sleep; it was such a rare occurrence. This was the first time that Zack had seen him like this, though, completely relaxed and unguarded, like a child.
He was even snoring a little, Zack noticed with a chuckle. Sephiroth would be mortified if he knew, so Zack stored the information for future use.
Zack didn't think Sephiroth would object too much to being woken up, since it looked like he hadn't intended to fall asleep, so he reached out and touched his friend's shoulder.
Before he could even react, one of Sephiroth's hands closed around his wrist and the other went for his throat. Zack's chest tightened in fear for a second, before Sephiroth awoke enough to realize what he was doing and released him.
Zack sank down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his neck, and tried to stop his heart from beating so fast.
"Damn…"
"I'm sorry," Sephiroth said. "It's a reflex."
Zack waved dismissively.
Sephiroth sat up completely and ran a hand through his hair. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to bug you, of course," Zack said, with his usual grin. "But you were asleep."
"So you thought you'd wake me?" Sephiroth said, sounding tired, but not annoyed.
"I wanted to tell you I was back."
Sephiroth sighed and looked at his clock, which read 12:35, then back at Zack.
"I was thinking you would be back earlier," Sephiroth said.
It sounded like an admonishment for staying out so late, but Zack took it to mean that Sephiroth had been waiting for him.
"Heh, sorry…" Zack said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Got kinda involved in something."
Sephiroth looked him over. "Dressed like that, there are quite a few…things you could be involved in, none of which I want to know anything about."
Zack bit his tongue. Sephiroth was getting good at stopping his usually lengthy stories before he had a chance to start them. Oh well, Zack thought, he'd just have to work harder.
"You like it?" Zack said, gesturing to his outfit with a grin.
"You look like a 5 gil whore."
"Gee, thanks," Zack said, trying to sound as hurt as possible. "I thought I'd be worth at least 10."
Sephiroth looked pointedly at his crotch. "Why pay extra for that which one can get for free?"
Wow, Sephiroth was exceptionally witty tonight. Zack supposed that meant he was in a good mood, which meant he could probably get away with what he was about to say.
"Like those pants you wear in battle are any better," Zack said. "They leave nothing to the imagination."
"So that's what you do instead of forming a battle strategy, is it?" Sephiroth said, smirking.
Zack grinned. "Oh, yes," he said, in a tone that mimicked a really horrible porno he'd seen. "You make me hot…I can't stand it…Take me now!"
"Sorry," Sephiroth said, seeming completely nonplussed, "I don't have 5 gil."
Zack laughed. He bent down, so his mouth was just inches from Sephiroth's ear and said, in his most seductive voice, "Who said anything about money?"
Sephiroth pushed him away.
Zack plopped down on the bed. "Did ya miss me?"
Sephiroth picked the book up off the bed and opened it, looking down at the page before answering. "Yes, Zack," Sephiroth said, as if he were speaking to a particularly annoying child. "The peace and quiet was driving me insane…"
Zack stuck his tongue out. He knew, in reality, that Sephiroth had missed him, though there was no way Zack could ever get him to admit it.
He would be back a lot earlier next Saturday; that much was for sure.
