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โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ sephirothโs eyes cut sideways to gyro sharp, guarded, something dangerous flickering behind the green before it smoothed back into careful neutrality.- monsters. - the word sat between them like a live grenade.
his fingers tightened fractionally around the small coffee cup, porcelain creaking under the pressure before he forced himself to relax. he set it down with deliberate care, each movement precise and controlled, like he was defusing something instead of just putting down a cup.
โtheyโre notโฆโ he stopped. exhaled slowly through his nose. started again, quieter this time. โshinra has its flaws. hojo makes them look monstrous. there were other ways to harness mako energy. less destructive ones. they chose the path of least resistance and maximum profit.โ
his jaw worked slightly, and he looked away past gyro, past the horse, toward the horizon where midgarโs reactors pumped pollution into an already dying sky.
โbut the people i work alongsideโฆโ he paused, and something almost vulnerable crossed his face before he locked it down again. โtheyโre all i know. my onlyโฆโ he didnโt finish. couldnโt, maybe. the word friends felt too complicated, too heavy, so he let the sentence die incomplete.
when gyro offered the bourbon, sephiroth glanced at it with the kind of polite disinterest usually reserved for things that couldnโt physically affect him anyway. enhanced metabolism meant alcohol was functionally useless no buzz, no warmth, just the taste and the social ritual of it.
โi appreciate the offer.โ he said carefully, not taking the bottle. โbut iโm not much of a drinker. canโt get drunk easily. not evenโฆ fuzzy.โ the admission felt oddly personal, like heโd revealed something clinical about himself that he wasnโt supposed to share.
he shifted then, unfolding from his seat with that same effortless grace heโd shown mounting the horse earlier. his gaze lifted toward the sun, eyes narrowing slightly as he calculated angle and position with the kind of automatic precision that came from years of field operations.
โas much as iโve enjoyed this.โ he said, and he meant it the sincerity was there, buried under layers of professionalism, โi have duties. briefing meeting starts in half an hour. then a conference withโฆโ he paused, and something almost pained flickered across his features. โfans. public relations. i canโt do much about it.โ
his voice stayed calm. soft-spoken, even. but there was something in his eyes hurt, maybe, or resignation that didnโt quite match the composed exterior. he adjusted his coat, smoothing imaginary wrinkles, buying himself a moment to compose whatever had just cracked open inside him. - poor little sephiroth.
โdo you need directions toward the city from here.แฃโ he asked, pivoting smoothly into practicality. โor a specific location. i can point you in the right direction before i head back.โ his posture had already shifted soldier again, general again, the brief glimpse of person tucked safely back behind duty and obligation where it couldnโt cause problems.โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
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โ โ Gyro froze โโโโ, completely still, the second Sephiroth's hand landed on his shoulder. The ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น awkwardness of it. The sheer, desperate effort behind that stiff little pat pat like a robot trying to comfort a human.