Squibs

Her image was like a wisp in the woods, fading just as it was to be caught. A ghost shivering into silence.

“No….no…..” he gasped.

“Wake up, come on…you’re drifting again…”

“She wants to see me…..she’s…..”

“It’s not her….”

Something downy and comforting fell across his shoulders. Sephiroth nuzzled into it without thinking much about the gesture, clinging and clawing at the softness.

He wanted…he wanted…

His head fell back and he sputtered as he began to hear his own haggard breathing. The walls of invulnerability he usually kept standing were already crumbled thanks to the dream. A weight in his chest burned. It was so heavy, the grief.

Hold me…please….

He forced himself to face the world again and the first thing he saw was blue. Angeal’s eyes gazing down at him with worry. Tender, sky-blue. Like a summer rain from above.

Gasping, Sephiroth reached to grip Angeal’s arm for support, just for a moment.

“You were dreaming again. Just hold onto my voice, okay?” Angeal said, ever so soothing. He had thrown a brown wool blanket around his friend, who had fallen into sleep sitting upright on the sofa in Angeal’s quarters. It was the only place Sephiroth slept more than a few hours, and he needed it now more than ever. The past week had been a cyclical hell of unique R&D visits.

“Who is “she?” Genesis asked in the background, his tone hinged with sparked curiosity. He was in the other room, working on an edit to one of his recent research projects.

Angeal only sighed and sat on the sofa next to Sephiroth who nearly collapsed against him, finally breathing halfway normally again. “Never mind. Don’t let us interrupt your studying, Gen.”

“Hmph.” Genesis’ disgruntled voice vanished back into his secluded area of the apartment.

Angeal smiled and went back to fussing like a mother hen over his younger, sleepier friend. Sephiroth was now cocooned in the blanket, which was rather endearing to see. Especially with how tousled his silvery hair was.

“You okay?” Angeal asked quietly. Sephiroth appeared to be clutching the blanket like his life depended on it, having let go of Angeal.

“I like this color,” was all the hero said, ignoring the question and closing his eyes again. His mouth was covered by part of the blanket, leaving his words muffled and sleepy.

“….dark b-brown….?”

“Mhm.”

Angeal thought for a moment. He had learned years ago that Sephiroth had issues with sleep. He wasn’t used to finding rest in cushioning spaces. But…he needed to grow used to the experience badly, even if he would never admit it.

“When you sleep on guard, you have nightmares. You need to lay down properly,” Angeal urged, moving to make space for Sephiroth’s ever-growing size.

“No.”

“Yes. Sephiroth, I’m serious.”

“It wasn’t a nightmare.”

Angeal glowered at him and debated whether or not to protest with his next point. “It would have become one and you know it…..”

Sephiroth went still. He slowly dared to open his eyes and there was a knowing sadness in the green rings of his irises. He bit his lip, looking at Angeal with some hint of regret. The truth had been spoken with no quarter.

“You need to relax and actually sleep or else your mind will become a target for shadows and ghosts that neither of us need to be in contact with,” Angeal said. He placed a strong, guiding hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder and shook his head. “Lay down. Head on the pillow. With this blanket. Sleep all night. The sun is setting. I’ll wake you when it comes back.”

It was an order. Sephiroth once used to grimace at the way Angeal would demand he follow these “needless” routines to preserve himself, but in the days they presently shared, he knew better than to argue.

Angeal knew him.

“Fine….” Sephiroth sighed and forced himself to stretch out across the sofa with the blanket covering his lithe form. He winced once he let his head rest on the pillow Angeal had provided. It was almost frightening….the feeling of being propped up and cradled by such warmth and comfort. It felt wrong. It felt right. His chest hurt. His heart sang.

And eventually he breathed easy.

The dusty gold light of sundown spilled through the blinds of Angeal’s westward window and caressed Sephiroth’s serene visage as he faded back into sleep. Quiet snoring followed not long after.

Angeal was satisfied. His friend looked safe beneath the gentle covering of the mahogany blanket. He looked….homey, free from all dreams and nightmares. Free from the grief.

“Sleep well, my friend. I’ll be here when you wake,” Angeal whispered, fondness dripping from every word.