Chapter 6 - First Steps

Winter, 1983

Sephiroth shifts on the couch in the living room. His legs swing free. He leans back and tries to close his eyes. He can't. He's too scared. He tries to keep track of everything happening to him.

The humming machine squats below him. Mariella and Landon double check the computers connected to it by snaky cords. Neither one will look at him. Some of the pipes have green light coming out of them. It looks a bit like their vacuum cleaner as it sucks in air rhythmically and breathes it out through a clear tube.

Professor Gast had helped him dissect it yesterday. Sephiroth had been allowed to pull it apart and see how the lungs brought in the air and intermixed it with mako. Professor Gast's fingers had traced the lines that powered the mechanisms and showed him the filters that made it safe. They had looked at the dials and switches. He had gotten to flip all of them and heard the snapping sounds. It calmed his heart. It still smelled wrong, like someone had poured chemicals into the mud.

It sighs at his feet now and feeds into the mask he's holding to his face.

Professor Gast sits next to him on the couch, relaxed but watching him. His arm is around his shoulders. This steadies him. It's not so hard then. Sephiroth tries to smile through the clear plastic but it cuts hard into his cheeks. Gast squeezes him gently.

The air is sweet and tangy like the ground. The fear starts to melt. This isn't as bad as his nightmares. This is like laying in the sun in summer after a long day of running around. Something shifts inside him, falling out of place. Everything is heavy. The room flickers translucent around the corners. He coughs.

"Easy now." A strong hand covers his.

His muscles relax and he slackens against the professor. It is okay. He probably shouldn't be using him as a pillow but he might not mind. They had told him he could pull off the mask at any moment but he doesn't want to. He's too tired and this feels good. The worries and tiredness that are heavy against him disappears. Parts of him disconnects, spinning off in creamy whiteness.

The adults whisper. He's being adjusted. His legs are brought up on the couch and he's stretched out. Someone props his head on a pillow in Professor Gast's lap. The elastics of the mask dig into his cheeks. A blanket falls over him. They are right, he realizes, he's going cold and warm at once. One of Gast's arms lays over his chest, pinning him from floating off into space. The machine continues to breath. It chirps every minute. He's counted three beeps but no longer knows how many more. The grip he has on the room loosens.

"Are you really going to sit there with him through the whole treatment?" Marielle's voice comes from far away.

That thought worries him. He can still barely feel. When he's gone, he needs Professor Gast stay with him, to protect him from the bad things. He tries to tighten his numb fingers against the large ones wrapped around his hand on his stomach.

"Neither one of you have kids, correct?"

The blanket is warm now. His breaths are even. It feels like there is a vibration in the couch, tickling him. His mind slips away like the floor is wet. It is only a couple days until Christmas. Would there be presents this year? There were a few under the tree last year. Maybe there would be new books to read. Everything left in the library is too hard. It takes him hours to get through a page and nothing happens anyways. Would Professor Gast to stay through the holiday?

"A word of advice. Kids need stability and protection. They need comfort that isn't surface level." The hand squeezes his. "So to answer your question, yes, I will sit here with him until he wakes up. I suggest you do the same in the future."

If the voices answer, Sephiroth has no regard for them. He'll be okay. The mako makes his lips tingle and a buzzing settles in his chest. The mask's pinching fades. He loses against the machine. The planet's energy hums in his ears. His eyes finish closing. His body slackens into the couch. He hears the machine chirp one more time and then he is gone, sinking far away into the green mist.

Pages turn. They crinkle in a slow rhythm. Sephiroth is curled up on his side. His hands and knees are tangle up near him. Hair covers half his face. Everything is loose and soft. Charlie pants nearby. Woods pops in the fireplace. Another page turns and he moves his head up towards the sound. Professor Gast is reading. A book is propped in his hand and he's studying the page. He did stay.

The mask is gone. The treatment is over. He's been napping like they said he was going to. Everything is sleepy still. His head is on a pillow against Professor Gast's leg. The blanket has fallen to his shoulder. Gast takes a drink out of the mug next to him and sighs. Sephiroth watches him as his eyes dip. It feels nice just to watch someone. For once, he isn't the one being studied. Eventually, an ache in his leg forces him to stretch them.

Professor Gast pauses, page in the middle of a turn. "Are you back with us, S?"

Sephiroth nods and rolls on his back, not trusting himself to speak yet.

He sets the book down. "How are you feeling?"

"Tingly." He realizes it as he says it. His fingers and toes vibrate and thrum with energy. They stay in place only because the rest of him is so sleepy.

"Aftereffects of the mako. Nothing out of the ordinary. It'll fade," Professor Gast says solemnly. "Does anything hurt?"

Sephiroth shakes his head and closes his eyes for a moment. The buzzing is in his teeth. He scrunches his face up. It makes Professor Gast's seriousness break and he chuckles down at him. It feels nice. He did something right.

"I thought you might like a little Christmas present. I picked it up back in Midgar. They are popular there." He shifts and knocks Sephiroth's head as he reaches in his pocket. Sephiroth tries to sit up but his arms are wobbly. He compromises by leaning up against Professor Gast so he doesn't have to strain to look up at him.

A little figurine fits in Sephiroth's hand. He has to focus to keep his fingers around it. It is a toy soldier. The detail dazzles him. The face is grimaced and eyes seem real. The joints are loose and move with the gravity. Light scars follow his arms and neck. A sword hangs in the fist. He grins. It's incredible.

He struggles to look at the professor. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, S. Merry Christmas." This time his voice is soft and his fingers drift towards Sephiroth's hair. That makes him look up at him. The fingers halt sharply. Professor Gast's face twists.

Sephiroth blinks. He knows already.

His eyes are a different color again.

It's so strange to have all these Christmas themed chapters near the holiday. I promise, I wrote this stuff back in September. Also, I gave up and bumped up the rating to M. I just finished writing a chapter called "Shinra Dogs" and well, I would feel dishonest if I kept saying this is a T rated story.

This chapter hurts my heart. What do you think?

Thanks for reading as always. -Quin