Notes: These two segments are shorter, so I'm going to post them together.

Day 27 - Prompts: Stuck in a Loop/Devotion

Cloud trudged down the stairs to the living room, pausing when he saw Zack sitting on the couch with a photo album open on his lap. "What's that?" he asked as he started over.

Zack ran his hand over one of the pages. "I was making this about me and Seph years ago, before I fell off that cliff," he said. "I just added some new stuff recently after we started all being friends and living together. I thought I'd look at it again."

Cloud sat down and looked at the page. Zack had slipped in pictures of them all together on the day Cloud had moved in with them. All of them looked so happy. . . . He had to look away after a moment. ". . . You've got lots of pictures?" he asked, his voice suddenly thick.

"Oh yeah. Lots of albums' worth," Zack said quietly. "I'd use up whole rolls of film when me and Seph would travel around to help people. Digital pictures too. It was pretty amazing."

". . . I'd like to see them," Cloud said, equally quietly.

Zack smiled a bit. "I'll show you, Pal."

They paused for breakfast, but after eating they sat back on the couch and Zack pulled several heavy albums out from the small telephone table next to the couch. For hours they pored over the pictures—adventures traveling to Olympus Coliseum, throughout Radiant Garden, even pictures of Twilight Town and Traverse Town. Zack was generally always having a good time. Sephiroth usually looked serious, but upon closer inspection he was usually looking fondly at Zack, happy to be with him and happy that he was happy.

The ones after they all started growing close were the hardest to look at. There were pictures of Sephiroth smirking at Cloud, Cloud pretending to be annoyed when he really wasn't, peaceful scenes around the dinner table. . . . Zack had even snapped a couple of shots of when Cloud and Sephiroth had ended up under a mistletoe, as well as a sweet scene of them falling asleep on the couch together.

". . . I miss him," Cloud finally whispered, touching the image of Sephiroth in the latter picture. His wings were around Cloud as they dozed and they were both peaceful and happy.

"I know, Pal," Zack said softly. "I do too. And if he really can't come back, we always will. But he'd be happy we're still living together as a family. He wouldn't want that to stop because of him."

"Yeah. . . ." Cloud looked away, blinking back tears that just wouldn't stop coming. "I wouldn't either. But Zack . . . I . . . don't know if I can stand it without him. I know that sounds stupid when I hated him so much, but I've loved him so much now, and I . . ." He shook his head. "I just don't think I can do this. . . ."

Zack reached over, squeezing Cloud's shoulder. "I know it's rough. I don't know how to deal with it either. But I can't lose you too. Okay? We've gotta be here for each other."

"You're so much stronger than I am, though," Cloud rasped.

"Because I've got somebody to be strong for," Zack said with a sad smile. "If I was all alone, I think I'd lose it."

"I can't let that happen to you," Cloud said.

"Then hang on, Cloud," Zack pleaded. "Not just for me, but for Seph too. He sacrificed to save us both."

"I know." Finally Cloud looked down at the photo album again. "But . . . can people really be saved when part of them goes with the person who sacrificed?"

Zack's shoulders slumped. "I wish I knew," he lamented. "It's not easy, that's for sure. And it'll never be the same. But we've got a chance to try, thanks to Seph. And we need to take it."

Cloud was too choked up to respond again, so he just nodded.

Day 25: Prompt - Drowsiness

Sephiroth continued to rest, gradually getting his strength back. The strange dreams still came, but what originally triggered them was beyond him. Were they buried memories or were they just nonsense? He had no idea. More and more he wanted to know, but when he got home, he didn't intend to search too hard for his birth mother to see if she could tell him. He wasn't afraid to face his birth father, not the way he was now. But if he started digging up a past meant to stay buried, perhaps he would put his birth mother in danger. She had not wanted him to ever have any contact with his birth father, and if he was the shadowy man in the nightmares, Sephiroth understood why.

Honestly, after all he had seen and done and been through, calling someone good or evil seemed so trite, so simplistic, so naive. People were so many things. One little word to describe their morality was hardly enough in most cases.

But the man in those nightmares felt unequivocally evil.

He was so sleepy one day when he tried to drag himself out of his nightmare world and into the present, he almost wondered if the man had found his way to the 100 Acre Wood and had poisoned his son. But the more he slowly came awake and saw the little piglet nervously shifting in the doorway and really looking like he was about to change his mind and dart out, he knew it wasn't true. He was still safe.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Sephiroth sir," Piglet stammered. "I never wanted to disturb you. I'll go. . . ."

"Did you want something?" Sephiroth grunted in response.

"Oh . . . it's nothing," Piglet insisted. "I shouldn't have come in. I'm sorry."

Sephiroth gave a weak shrug. "Your entrance pulled me out of an unpleasant dream. I don't mind. What did you want?"

Piglet perked up a bit. "Well . . ." He shifted again and then brought his hands together. "I . . . I was just wondering, Mr. Sephiroth . . . you're so brave and all . . . I thought maybe you'd know . . . how I can be more confident and brave too."

That was not what he had expected. He raised a tired eyebrow. "You came in here when you were clearly nervous about asking me the question and you don't think you're confident or brave?"

Piglet looked surprised. "But I stammer all the time and I'm scared of doing things and I'd rather hide from them sometimes. . . . Sometimes I do, too. . . ."

"But you still end up doing them. Am I right?" Sephiroth returned.

"Yes . . ." Piglet said slowly.

"Then you already are confident and brave," Sephiroth said. "I haven't wanted to do some of the things I've done, but if they needed doing, I did them anyway. That is what it means to be confident and brave."

Piglet stared at him in awe. "G-G-Gosh. . . . I never thought," he said dreamily. "You and other heroes always seem so fearless."

"So you think I've never been scared?" Sephiroth replied. "That's a common misconception about heroes. In some situations, it would be foolish not to be scared."

"So . . . that really doesn't mean I'm not brave?" Piglet said in amazement.

"Not at all. You do what has to be done. Your friends can rely on you in times of trouble, can't they?"

". . . That's true," Piglet mused. "I'd never let them down no matter what!"

"Then you have what is needed," Sephiroth said.

Piglet brightened. "Thank you, Mr. Sephiroth sir! I'll let you get back to sleep now!" And he hurried out, still floating on air.

Sephiroth smirked to himself. "Heh. . . ." Who would have ever thought he would be giving pep talks to a living piglet plush?

He settled back in the bed, hoping for a peaceful sleep. Soon he dozed. And to his relief, this time he didn't dream about the mysterious mad scientist.