#fortunately sephiroth's line works in either context

[zacksephreunion]

a no-context zackseph oneshot i wrote a while back. Takes place in that one scene where zack and sephiroth are off to nibelheim, where sephiroth admits he's considering defecting:

“Depending on what happens, I may abandon Shinra.”

The words had little time to echo before Zack blurted out, “You’d leave me?”

Zack's words did echo, and their pathetic clinginess echoed in his mind even longer. His arms hung limp at his sides, his whole body feeling as if all his strength had left him. What was left was a painful anxiety that gathered in his face, that pinched his eyebrows and fixed his gaze on Sephiroth, who suddenly seemed so far away, despite only being across the room.

Sephiroth, for his part, showed some remorse in his stance. He ducked his head to the side, his shoulders squared but somehow still appearing hunched. His whole frame was angled away from Zack, and teetered on Sephiroth’s long legs, which pressed together as if to make himself smaller.

Zack didn’t remember when Sephiroth had started doing that—allowing himself to seem small—around Zack. But Sephiroth had, at some point, and it was still fascinating to witness.

“If I leave,” he began, carefully, “I plan to set out alone. It would be very difficult, and very dangerous.” Sephiroth breathed in, then out. “I could never ask you to do the same.”

Zack didn’t know when he’d started walking, back towards Sephiroth, but he was suddenly right in front of him, and Zack reached out his hand.

"Then I won't."

. . .

Sephiroth gasped when Zack slotted his right hand beneath his, and raised them until they were between their chests. Sephiroth suddenly felt like the maidens he had read about in stories as a child. His fingers were gently cradled in Zack’s palm, as if to Zack, Sephiroth’s hand was the most delicate thing in the world.

Sephiroth had to see it, to believe this was real.

And so he finally looked at Zack.

"I'll go with you."

Zack’s eyes…were so bright. Sephiroth never believed himself apt at reading human emotion, but he could swear that hope was blooming in Zack, right before his eyes.

Zack’s eyes were—impossibly—more beautiful than ever.

Sephiroth could feel his own expression soften, as it always inevitably did when he felt this particular emotion around Zack.

“Together,” Sephiroth could only whisper, and Zack glowed.

---

I wanna check the word count first but might just post this on ao3 lol. Basically, i want them to elope 😭 excuse the quality, all my little writings are spur of the moment rambles but i wanna have it somewhere that's not an old phone i don't use anymore lol