[FF7][SC] Star Flower

Al was always worried about him, "What should I do?" he asked Rufas.Even though there was a huge gap in their identities, and the two of them didn't know each other at all, since Rufas took the initiative to tell him this, he definitely wouldn't mind talking more.

"Forcing him." Rufas said earnestly, "It's useless to be gentle with him, it will only push him further away. You have to push him to the point of nowhere to escape before there is room for turning back."

Zacks raised his eyebrows, thinking that this answer was simply unbelievable, wouldn't he be slandering him? "Then why don't you force him?" Is that confidant brother a fake?Speaking of which, what happened to my dear brother?

Rufas patted Zack on the shoulder and sighed regretfully. "I can't do it. If you get to know him, you will too."

[1] Bill, Chocobo Ranch staff.

[2] Sim, seam, means "crack".

#Uninteresting chapter.Originally, I wanted to be sweeter, but after thinking about it carefully, Yun Pian might not indulge himself to get close to Zacks, so I silently deleted the sweet stalk that I had written...

Domestication[3] until outright possession is indeed an enjoyable process.It's just that Claude is not a cute little thing like a cat. He should be a wolf cub who has not yet grown up, dormant and ready to bite back.The difference between Sephiroth and the ladies was that he wasn't about to pull out his tusks and smooth out his claws, he liked those little things.He would put a collar on Cloud and keep him chained to his feet.

Because he wants to.

Sephiroth took off his casual overcoat and threw it over, the overlong hem rustling against the stones.

Claude put it on without saying a word, buttoned it up, and covered the hood of the coat—youth also need to hide the silver hair that is different from ordinary people.Without explaining, the young man hugged the opponent by the waist, and then began to run at an alarming speed.There is a subtle tacit understanding between them. In many cases, even if Sephiroth doesn't say anything, Claude can see his intentions and even predict them in advance.Sephiroth is very sure that this is not simply a matter of observation but a tacit understanding, because no one has ever done it before.

There was a slight heat on his chest, and Claude buried his face in his chest, and further ahead was the residential area.

"Angel said, you want to enter the military academy." Sephiroth spoke after a moment of deliberation. The sight around him made him want to find something to distract him. He didn't need to care about it, but the instinct of the war machine made him unable to ignore them. Talking can alleviate this very well.

"Ah."

"You're only 12 years old."

It's an odd question to be asked by Sephiroth.Claude raised his head slightly and looked up through the gap in the hood, only seeing a perfect chin.Then he noticed that the nosebleed had rubbed against the young man's chest, but the black T-shirt couldn't be seen much.

"There is only one military academy suitable for your age, and it's full of rubbish, sent in because there is no one to discipline it." Sephiroth snorted, "The brainless little bastard, after enlisting in the army, became the main force of disciplinary expulsion, and there are also people on the battlefield. Countless cannon fodder. If you want to go to that kind of place, you might as well drop out of school and join the army directly at the age of 14."

"Angel was not allowed to drop out of school, he said I had to be at least 15 years old."

Sephiroth paused, he actually said that to Angel directly?No wonder my colleagues are always worried and sweet these days. "Conceivably. But why are you in such a hurry to get into the army?"

"I can't waste any more time." There is nothing to hide, "Study is unnecessary, I have no other options for the future, as long as I become stronger."

"So you can get rid of me?" Sephiroth guessed naturally, without getting angry, "It's very reasonable, but you shouldn't go to the military academy, but tell me directly." He often wondered if the boy had forgotten that his other identity was a general, Or—remember all too well? "I'm assuming you've thought it through. What are your plans after enlisting? Except special forces."

"...Why do you think I want to be a special soldier?" Sephiroth felt his body stiffen in his hands, as if he wanted to curl up into a ball.That would make it very difficult to hug, but fortunately it wasn't heavy, and he clamped it firmly.The lines of the back and thigh muscles became distinct, and he subconsciously squeezed to signal the other party to relax, otherwise he should roll down.

"I don't want to be a special soldier, never will." After a while, Claude shrank even tighter.

It’s not self-inflicted, Sephiroth’s original intention was that he would not be able to pass the physical examination, and he could help to suppress the physical examination of ordinary soldiers, but the data of special forces selection had to be verified by the Biological Research Department.But now it seems that there are other reasons? "Angel is very happy these days. He saw you touching the destruction sword secretly." The entry is correct. When Claude is upset, he always subconsciously tilts his head, even if no one is looking at him. It's a good habit. "He thought You want to be like him."

Claude opened his mouth, wanting to refute something, but he realized that Sephiroth might be right, he couldn't be a person like Angel.It takes too much sacrifice to be a hero, he can't do it, he's not that noble.In the end, he could only say bitterly: "Angel is not just a special soldier, he is a hero."

It seems that his child hero complex is still deeply rooted.

Sephiroth laughed softly, not continuing on this topic.He thought of a good idea. "It's okay to go to the military academy. I remember they had a chance to be promoted when they graduated." Although the closed training of the military academy will reduce the chance of contact, this is not a problem for the general, "I will tell Angel for you, But correspondingly, the intention to assign must be an assistant officer."

Claude understood what he meant.

And - he has no right to refuse.

After checking Sephiroth's credentials, the guards saluted the general.When the general put the person in his arms into the back seat of the car, he sharply noticed a small amount of blood dripping down the other's calf.Just as he was about to speak to remind him, he was held down by his colleagues, and finally chose to shut up under the sight of the warning.It wasn't until the black sports car drove away that he couldn't help asking: "That person was injured——"

"Yes, I was injured, but where do you think the injury is?" The colleague kept waving his hands to signal him to lower his voice, "It is impossible for the general not to find out, and it is impossible not to have the healing magic stone." Seeing the other party's gradually shocked eyes, The colleague added, "It was rumored a long time ago that he has some special hobbies. I have a friend who owns a restaurant..."

It seems that soon, the silver-haired general's romantic anecdote will be added.

The wound was finally healed, the body was washed, and some school uniforms kept by Sephiroth were put on.After drying his hair, Claude rolled on the floor a few times, so that the clothes were not so clean, but not too dirty.During this period, Sephiroth has been staring at it, saying that it is to check for omissions, but it is probably just for fun.

Sephiroth then picked him up and scanned his irises.

Angel also opened the door at the same time.

The pink apron covered with golden chocobos came into view. It was a gift from the supermarket, and it was ridiculously small to wear on the strong special forces.The enticing aroma of food filled the air.Because of the arrival of the guests, the living room fell into a brief silence, only the aria on the TV was still going on——

"What you still have seems to be far away from your eyes."

“What is dead comes alive again.”[4]

"Wow, your head looks like a chocobo! Can I touch it?" The black-haired teenager emerged from behind Angel, grinning, revealing a row of shining white teeth.

Claude's mind went blank.

No, it can't be like this, it's too scary.The healthy, living Zack was smiling at him, the image that once gave him courage, but now it was too scary.The smile faded, and he became a little confused. He kept smiling until he died.Claude froze in place, his adrenaline was pumping wildly, he had to run away, but his trembling legs didn't move.

The familiar boy raised his hand in confusion, trying to cover his embarrassment by scratching his head.

Claude took a half step back and bumped into Sephiroth who was blocking the door.Can't let him touch it.The last caress when leaving, doting, helpless, regretful... relieved, and then the outstretched hand can't keep the back of leaving.

"Did I scare you...Sorry sorry! Don't be angry! I won't make this joke again! That..." Zack put his hands together and closed one eye playfully, his eyes were still pure Sky blue, without any pollution of Mako, "I am Zack, Zack Fair, Gongaga..."

"No matter what you want to say, why not go in and continue?" Sephiroth, who was blocked by the three people, suggested.

"Your Excellency General!" As if he had only just realized—in fact, with Zacks' rough personality, he might have just discovered it, he let out a small exclamation, "Uh, I... am not..." Max was at a loss for words, and only Sephiroth could do this pioneering work.But anyway he stepped back awkwardly out of the way.Sephiroth closed the door, bypassed Claude and walked in first. Genesis finally looked away from the TV and nodded to him.

Angel patted Claude on the shoulder encouragingly, and was surprised to find that the boy was shaking violently, his eyes were wide open, staring at the dazed Zacks without blinking.

"Claude?" Angel asked worriedly, calling the boy's attention back, "Are you okay? I called you this afternoon, but you didn't answer. I thought you were in class so I sent an email. We didn't hide it You mean, Zack is my student, I think you can be very good friends..." His voice became softer and weaker, and finally disappeared.Angel was frightened because Claude's eyes were wet.Since Hunis passed away, Claude has never cried again. He has always been very sensible, worry-free, and patient, but now he is so sad that he is about to cry.God, I must have done something wrong. "It's okay... calm down... tell me what happened..."

All eyes from the living room are now focused.

He doesn't know how he's acting, he's trying to control, he can't act like he knows Zack, he can't stare at him anymore, even if he'd give everything to get one more look.

Angel's worried eyes forced him to calm down, and he remembered that Sephiroth was still there.

"I...I'm fine...very good..." Tears burst out of my eyes suddenly, "I'm just a little tired, you continue..." He shook off Angel's hand, and rushed into his room and locked the door in the blink of an eye.

Darkness is safe, no one will see his weakness.

The warm yellow light in the living room leaked in through the crack of the door, stinging his eyes.Then, covered by a little shadow, Angel knocked lightly on the door, and the voice came through vaguely. "Claude? Come on, at least let me take a look... none of your business Zacks, go sit there for a while..."

Claude knelt down slowly, folded his arms tightly, and pressed his forehead against the door panel.There was no sound from the opened mouth.He thought he could do better, be natural, don't cry like a kid.But no, he can endure war and pain, loneliness and despair, but only gentleness makes him weak, and then breaks his armor.

He was just... so happy.

Gaia, it's not a dream, it's not a dream, it's not a dream...I miss you so much, I still have a lot to say to you, although I always say it badly...I don't want to cry...I'm so happy...Happy Gotta die... It's okay to die now... Maybe it's better to die now...

"Claude!" Angel's knock on the door became urgent. Normally, he would leave enough space for Claude, but not now, it's too strange, "Come out! If you don't come out, I'll go in!" No time to be cautious , Angel kicked up.

The door panel shook violently.The blond boy trembled and raised his head slowly. Angel has the key, doesn't he?

Then he came back to himself. "I'm fine, Angel." There was a choked nasal voice, almost choking on saliva, but it had stabilized a lot, and he was just frightened by the sudden happiness. "Don't worry, I'm fine." His voice was behind the door, and Angel had to stop. "Leave me alone...I promise I'll be out soon...I'll be fine..."

"Open the door." Angel demanded stubbornly, "I told you I wouldn't leave you alone."

There was an uncontrollable smile on the corner of his mouth, and Claude covered his eyes and took a few deep breaths, "Angel, I'm a man, and a man should be stronger, right? I can do well in Nibelheim, and now I still have you, no Please give me some time."

Angel was silent.They were very close through the door, but seemed far away.Eventually he relented, "If you insist...I'm always outside."

The atmosphere in the living room was extremely awkward.

... Zacks was sure that he was the only one who was embarrassed, and took responsibility for the three of them.

If you really want to describe it, it's like mustering up the courage to take a girl home who hasn't had a date yet, and then your mother tells her about the embarrassing story of you still wet the bed when you were 13 years old, and the degree of that is multiplied by a thousand, at least.Hey, he's not going to wet the bed until he's 13, just a metaphor.

Angel sat down wearily.The only thing left between them was the TV that was still making noise.No one was going to say anything first, but they all knew that the party had broken up badly.

Regardless, Zack decided to apologize.He was a little uncomfortable, the way the little chocobo was crying was too painful, if he had known this way, he would never have made a joke.He meant no harm!Other times he says the wrong thing, but people get angry when they get angry and never get this sad, which is too bad. "Angel, don't you—"

"it's not your fault."

"it's not your fault."

Two voices, one fast and one slow.

Normally, Angel always let Genesis speak first.

"It's not your fault," repeated Genesis, smiling thoughtfully, "'There's a power that's always trying to do evil and always be good[5]', and that's desire. What a It’s a good show.” Complimentary words, subtle intentions, “A brat who is afraid of being taken away may not be able to shed a few tears at all, so I can’t let you go in and expose the truth.”

He was implying, or explaining, that as an adopted son, Claude very much rejected the existence of Zacks, because Zacks took away Angel's sight.

"Genesis." Angel frowned, "Don't say a few words."

The great poet shrugged, "It's just a certain possibility, one of thousands of choices. But if I were you, puppy, it's not bad to be careful."

"Genesis!" Angel was angry.

"I can hear you, don't think of yourself as a repeater." Genesis shook the glass, and the ice cubes collided, "Anyone can see whose fault it is, if you want to play a good 'father' , don’t spoil him blindly.”

"Jene," Angel said weakly. He knew that his friend was in a bad mood, but he still shouldn't say such words. "He's just a child..."

"Child." Genesis bit the word hard, curling up a wondrous tone, "A doting excuse. Or—have you found him guilty?"

"I mean don't take your anger out on the kids!"

Zack stared dumbfounded as the topic escalated into an argument and became irrelevant to him, leaving him and the general to watch.Then he watched Sephiroth in shock and calmly picked up the remote control to change the channel... But thanks to him, everything is good except opera!

He honestly sat next to Sephiroth, Geography Channel, Borderline series, this time the theme is Bone Village.Due to harsh conditions and inaccessibility, many minerals under the ice and snow have not been developed.Some experts also speculate that the closer to the north, the higher the possibility of being able to explore Moko, so Shinra is investing some resources there.

"Puppy?" An elegant and alienated voice suddenly sounded, that is the voice that Zacks imagined the army should have, "very Angel-style nickname."

Zack believes this is some kind of friendly gesture, and people generally don't strike up conversations with annoying guys.Thinking of this, he felt dejectedly that Claude might really hate him, but this thought didn't make any sense right now, "He said I was too energetic, of course, I think he was too old and dull."

"It all makes sense." Sephiroth nodded, and Zack was not sure if this was disgusting.

After a while, the light voice came again, "Have you met before?"

"We... you mean Claude?"

"Ah."

"No." Zack was sure of that.Claude's appearance is not the type that can be seen and forgotten, just look at the funny chocobo head - Zacks feels that he can rub it for a lifetime. "I don't know why...he seems to hate me..."

Sephiroth leaned forward and put the remote control on the coffee table, then looked at Zack strangely, with obvious inquiry flashing in his light blue eyes.It is a terrible thing to be inspected by the general like this, like being watched by some kind of feline, and a fatal attack will come at any time.Zack wished he hadn't acted so cowardly.He believed in Angel.

The oppressive gaze moved away, "No, he didn't hate you, hate is not this kind of reaction...you will understand if you have a chance to get him and Rufas together."

"what?"

"I want to know why he is crying." This question seemed to trouble Sephiroth very much. He asked as if he wanted to know how to make him cry. This must be an illusion, just because the general's expression habits are different from others. "I only saw him cry twice, once when his mother died."

"Uh..." As if asking some serious question, Zack swallowed, "What about the other time?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling, and then he said calmly: "The other time was when he himself died."

The dispute between Angel and Genesis finally came to an end, and finally ended with Angel's sentence "I'm not arguing with you, let's all calm down".Genesis seemed to have something else to say, but when Sephiroth talked to Angel about the military academy, he immediately left without saying a word.He lived next door, and the corner of his red clothes disappeared behind the door in a flash.Sephiroth didn't say much, but Angel relaxed a little because of the new topic.As for Zack, he had already applied for a weekend sleepover, so of course he stayed.

"I'm sorry." Angel said to him with an apologetic expression while helping to pack things, while wrapping the rest of the food in plastic wrap, "I hope you don't take it to heart, maybe Claude just didn't react, he There will be no ill will against you."

"I forgot about it." Zack touched a chicken nugget and threw it into his mouth. "Speaking of it, why does Genesis hate Claude so much? I can't imagine what could happen between them."

"Did you see it?" Angel's facial features were somewhat obscure under the small kitchen lamp.He put the rest of the dishes in the sink to soak, washed the foam off his hands, and broke off a piece of raw celery himself to eat. "It's not entirely because he hates Claude. He also has a bad attitude towards others. He encountered some accidents during the Wutai War...but it is true that the problem with Claude is more serious."

"So what exactly happened?"

"I don't know." Angel shook his head, "They weren't like this before. Genesis once asked for the custody of Claude. At that time, he liked Claude more than Sephiroth. The roles between them are simply It’s the opposite.” Then things always change silently, and when they find out, they are completely different from the original, and Angel often feels that he is negligent as a friend. "But I believe him. As long as Genesis remains Genesis, things will get better one day, aren't you naive and blind?" He smiled bitterly, "Maybe I'm just avoiding responsibility, because I Not knowing what to do, best friends and loved ones, I can't make a choice."

"It's not a matter of course to believe in friends." Zacks replied casually without thinking.

Angel choked suddenly.

After a while, he sighed half helplessly and half relaxedly: "The world is really simple to you."

He stretched out his hand and rubbed the boy's head, and Zack shouted in grief and angrily how to avoid the destruction, Angel couldn't help but smile.Maybe Genesis is right in a sense, Angel does like Zacks more and more... It's not that he doesn't care about Claude, his love for him has never diminished, but sometimes it's too heavy and too much concern.Claude's melancholy makes people want to give him happiness, but Zacks is happiness itself, shining sunshine in every corner.Nobody hates being happy, right?

"It's decided!" Zack clapped his hands, "If he is worried that I will take you away, then I will be his brother. I will protect him, take care of him, and make up for what he lost." He said for himself Perfect thought triumphantly, "A handsome and reliable brother like me, he will definitely like it!"

[1] Effie, the daughter of Wade in the BC plot, the former leader of the avalanche

[2] ProudClod, the strength of one is about [-] Reynolds (?, and [-]/[-] Genesis (???

[3] Domestication: See "The Little Prince"

Fox: To me, you are just a little boy, just like thousands of other little boys.I don't need you, and you don't need me either.To you, I am just a fox like a thousand other foxes.However, if you tame me, we will need each other. To me, you will be the only one in the universe; to you, I will be the only one in the world.

domestication = love

[4][5] Poetry from "Faust"