Okay... so maybe he should have come to meet Cloud's coworkers before this, especially since his boss had let him bring home more than his fair share of goodies. Which was a nice gesture but also only further contributed to the struggle of self restraint when suddenly there's been so much free food.
Part of him has been certain he'd only be a bother if he came to see him at work, definitely would mess up the badass lone wolf he tries to project to others. He doesn't want to risk his...... friend's job, knows that most places that'd be a real concern. Everything is so old fashioned here, though, that he has no idea what the expectations are. In the end it's the fact that he's finally able to really get around without anything hurting that has him going stir crazy in their little cottage. He tells himself he'll just go by and if they're busy he won't bother him.
Which is why he hesitates before coming into the building proper. Silly when it's so cold and there's so much snow, maybe, but he's so anxious of messing something up for Cloud he can't help it. Though, once he catches sight of the blond in the back, he ends up just... hovering there watching him work, scooping something out onto a tray. Cookies maybe? It's good for him to have something to do, even if it is surprising to see him doing something so.... domestic.
No that definitely does not make his heart do strange little flips.
By the time he actually comes into the shop Cloud's boss has probably had a good few minutes to watch this boy watching another boy. He swears he's not some sort of lovestruck fool teenager. Though he may be a fool because once he's inside and has a chance to actually pay any attention to the other man in the shop he's left staring in surprise up (and up and up) at the man.
This is by far not the first time someone who clearly knows one of his bakers has lingered outside the window to stare in blatant attraction. Angeal still finds it kind of endearing every time, however... especially when the person on the other side of the window seems to be such a sweetheart. Something in that puppy crush stage as he watches after Cloud.
It's pretty cold out there, but hey, that's his choice. So Angeal lets him just linger for a while even as he gets something else right there in the oven and prepares something in a kettle over by the stoves.
While their new friend outside is clearly head over heels for Cloud, Angeal can't say he recognizes him personally. And with how good his memory is due to Jenova-based predatory mimic fuckery, that means he knows for sure that they aren't familiar with one another. So when the guy finally steps on inside, Angeal just passes over a fairly friendly smile and puts down a plate onto the counter with a fresh-out-the-oven hot bun. "Not Cloud, sorry to say. But he just stepped out back for a second."
Of course... There's a different between "familiar with" versus "familiar to".
And Angeal may very well be familiar to Wedge if he can look past all the draconic changes that have come over him. Even with the winding golden horns pressing up from dark hair, and the shimmering trimmed claws from scaled hands....
There may be gold scales all across his forehead down to his brow, but the brilliant glow of those eyes is hard to miss. SOLDIER always get recognized, no matter where they go. It's been a long time since First Class SOLDIER Angeal Hewley was on any magazine cover or in the news, save for maybe the occasional retrospective article and oneshot show piece, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's been forgotten by anyone with a good memory... or anyone who's looked hard into ShinRa for various reasons.
But after all this time, the man himself sure isn't thinking about being recognized anymore. What are the odds, after all, of yet another person from Midgar showing up?
Not Cloud he says and suddenly Wedge's face goes even redder than the cold had made it, blue eyes widening just a smidge. His gaze flicks back to where he knows Cloud is and then returns to Angeal with a sheepish laugh as he unwinds the bright red scarf around his neck so he can properly smile at Angeal.
Because that's absolutely who this is. The horns and scales are definitely not enough to hide the familiar features of a man Wedge had, for a long time, wanted to emulate. "N-no I uh..." Another glance toward the back, this time surreptitious as he moves closer to the counter with a shrug. "Don't imagine he'd want to be at the front counter." Nor would it be good for business if Cloud were the one at the counter. The idea of him doing customer service with his, at best, rbf is almost comical.
"I just didn't expect to recognize you? Or I guess..." He pauses, looks up (and up) at Angeal and then he's just chuckling to himself. "I shouldn't be that surprised that you'd start up something like this." Something down to earth and homey. Though Wedge is pretty sure, from what he remembers from magazines when he was a teenager, that he'd have more expected some sort of plant or flower shop from Angeal.
Jeez. Just how does a sourpuss like Cloud attract such cheery people? Angeal has got to wonder, considering that besotted little look in this guy's eyes as he stares off to where Cloud disappeared, but he can't say it's a bad thing. A stubborn little hard ass like Cloud needs someone sweet like this. Help get his shit together. Not let him sink into his own fucked up little head.
"Well, he doesn't want to be baking either, but I've got him at it anyway," Angeal tells him, grinning right back. Honestly, he's all prepared to get into talking about the blond behind his back - and in front of his face if he makes a bad choice in timing.
Except... Then comes the part about recognition. And Angeal pauses in the middle of pushing forward the plate.
Hm. So. "Didn't think I'd get anyone who recognizes me around here," he says, slow and careful. It doesn't... look like the sort of expression of someone who knows him particularly well, no emotional impact to it - which is what he would expect if they were familiar with some alternate version of him in the same way that he knows another Rosie. And he knows for a fact that he never knew this man in person back in his homeworld.
And if he doesn't know him now, then he never knew him. Angeal is dead, after all. Technically. In at least one reality.
The question has Wedge's face flushing a little brighter, a nervous sort of chuckle in his throat as he glances down, not quite prepared to hold Angeal's gaze.
"I mean.. who doesn't know the SOLDIER First Class trio?" A shrug, it's no big deal really. Really. Please don't let it be a big deal. "Especially after all the rumors when you guys disappeared. It was all the papers could talk about for weeks."
"Not... exactly who I expected to be working in the bakery. Especially since Cloud didn't mention that you worked here too." Which would have come up, what with Cloud bringing home treats for him over the last few weeks. If Cloud had wanted it to, anyway.
SOLDIER First Class trio... Now isn't that an old phrase he hasn't heard in a hot minute. But it's not wrong, really. Sephiroth was the original poster boy, of courses, but him and Genesis really pushed through the ranks faster than anybody else. Combine that with how no one else could ever really seem to match them for a damn long while...
Hell. They probably would have been known as a trio even if they didn't end up becoming such close friends.
Still, he keeps track of exactly what the guy says, how he's referred to. The timing. Spoken in the past tense, and how they were talked about for weeks... But that doesn't reveal too much, just that it's been a known quantity that they're gone. Still, he knows Cloud, doesn't he? So, so long as their times match, he guesses he knows the answer. Probably. Although you know what they say about assumptions...
He may as well make sure things are clear. "Well, he wouldn't, considering he's working here primarily to make up for the time he fried some things with his breath," Angeal comments wryly. "At any rate.... I picked this up from working with an old friend of mine, and I don't want her memory to fade." He'll be able to ensure this even better if he can ever get a proper picture set up. For now...
"I haven't been aligned with ShinRa for a long time... and I'd never go back either."
All the possibilities. No limits, just epiphanies (Sephiroth)
It all feels sort of surreal, really. Meeting Angeal first and then seeing Sephiroth waltz into a bakery like he's just a normal dude. The tension for a moment there was palpable a strange sort of energy, an awareness from both Sephiroth and Cloud of the other's presence. Like someone with allergies quietly keeping tabs on the cat and the cat being drawn in by the attention, circling cautiously around each other in a way.
...... He's really got to stop comparing Cloud to a cat.
Still it is interesting to see how they both react to each other, how drawn to the man Cloud is even if it clearly makes him uncomfortable in a way too. Just watching the interaction, however brief, even with a counter between them (and maybe even moreso after seeing Sephiroth interact with Angeal).
It only makes him more certain that he needs to talk to the man. So when Sephiroth takes his leave Wedge also gives Cloud a little wave and trots out the door a moment later. The silver is easy to spot, even in the snow, and Wedge hustles after him, waiting until they're out of sight of the bakery before he calls out. "Um... General? Sir? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
It's...certainly been some time since anyone called him 'General'. He didn't really need any more reason to stop than the request, but the surprise of it pulls him up even before he processes that the request has been made.
When he turns to see who's spoken, he recognizes the speaker. Not particularly well, truth be told - Jenova had been less active in Cloud's mind early on in his stay in Midgar than it had become later, its awareness less keen, and Sephiroth recognizes this man as one of the doomed members of AVALANCHE who had died even before Cloud had left Midgar on the adventure that would eventually lead him to stopping Jenova and Meteor. So there's considerably less familiarity, in Sephiroth's gleaned knowledge, of Wedge than there is of Cloud's other companions, the ones who'd spent far longer with him and which had been observed by Jenova more closely.
But he knows the name, the affiliation. The man's fate. The basics, perhaps, but still enough to process that this is one of Cloud's friends...and to wonder just what Cloud may have told Wedge about him. As recently as a month or two ago, Sephiroth would expect Cloud to have imparted dire warnings, but now - well, now Sephiroth actually has no idea what Cloud might say about him. Technically an improvement, so why does being at such a loss as to what to expect feel more unsettling than bracing himself for hatred?
Hm. Maybe he's not so far removed from his younger self as he'd thought. Preferring a miserable known quantity to a more nebulous but potentially brighter uncertainty...
He turns to look back at Wedge, unconsciously straightening his posture a bit and drawing himself to his full height. Being reminded of being ShinRa's General can't help but trigger the old habits that went with that title, the ingrained awareness of the public's eye on him at all times and the expectation to comport himself, in all ways, so as to project an impressive image.
"Of course," he replies, sizing Wedge up. Strange, to think that this man was (is?) an ecoterrorist. He has one of the most open and friendly faces Sephiroth thinks he may ever have seen. Beating even Zack, and that's no small feat. It's not the kind of face Sephiroth has seen much of in his life, even after his death, but somehow...it relaxes something in him. It's hard to imagine this man coming at him with anger and recriminations, no matter what Cloud may have told him. There's a kindness in that face that makes him think of...well, Aerith.
"...did you follow me all the way from the bakery?" This is said with curiosity, rather than as any kind of accusation.
That someone would look at him and compare him to Aerith would be such an honor, honestly. He'd also say it's a disservice to the woman herself. Aerith has a presence to her that soothes the soul, something Wedge could only dream of. But even that small comparison would make his day.
Of course all that open kindness slips a little as soon as Sephiroth asks that question, cheeks heating slightly as he glances aside with a self-conscious chuckle. "Y-yeah... I uh... didn't wanna make Cloud worry or anything, y'know?" Because they both know he would. Probably he wouldn't even be able to pinpoint what he was worried about. What Wedge might say to Sephiroth? That Sephiroth might do or say something to Wedge? That he was going to end up embarrassed when Wedge reads him for filth (again)?
Wedge doesn't know the details, doesn't know the extent of what Sephiroth might know. And he certainly wouldn't expect Cloud to talk about him to anyone else. So he holds out a hand, smile broad and bright again after that momentary embarrassment. "The name's Wedge! I'm a-uh... friend of Cloud's." Friend. Yes. Definitely. That's the word for it.
"I believe he'd worry far more at the idea of you being alone with me, although I suppose if he doesn't know you're with me, that isn't a concern." He cocks an eyebrow slightly at Wedge. It's not quite a callout; rather, he's more inviting Wedge to consider just what he's doing and how Cloud might feel about it if he hasn't already. Still, Sephiroth supposes it's possible he has. He doesn't know much about Wedge, even though Jenova, but he knows that he was a member of AVALANCHE - and that AVALANCHE, including the branch Wedge was in, had been operating for some time before Cloud joined them. Sephiroth doesn't know of any anti-ShinRa movement that stayed in operation for long without brains and competence in considerable measure, and such movements were also never stronger than their weakest link.
He can reasonably assume, then, that Wedge has both intelligence and skill, and enough of both to have stayed one step ahead of the most powerful company and governing body in the world for as much of a handful of years. He can't know how many without asking, but even one would be significant.
"Cloud is still learning to trust that I and the man from his nightmares aren't exactly the same person, and perhaps never were." He pauses, looking at Wedge thoughtfully. "I don't know how much he told you." Not so long ago, Cloud would have readily laid out all Sephiroth's sins in graphic detail to anyone he spoke to about him, to illustrate how evil he was and how he couldn't be trusted. These days...well, he's not sure at all what Cloud would say to others about him these days. He wonders if Cloud is certain what to tell people about him.
Also...if there's one thing Sephiroth knows about Cloud, it's his desire to look cool in front of others. That's always bulked large in his mind, almost enough that one could see it without any assistance from Jenova whatsoever. Acknowledging himself as a helpless victim of a tragedy...it's something Cloud had been willing enough to do back when he felt people needed to be warned about Sephiroth, but would he be so willing now? Is that the way the man who seeks to define himself by the picture captured in other people's eyes wishes to be seen?
Well, Wedge can likely clarify, if he cares to. If Cloud hasn't given him details...Sephiroth supposes it's not his place to do so, either. If he has, all well and good. However much Sephiroth detests the things he's done - or the things he's been made to do - he has no desire to shrink from them.
In any case, Sephiroth extends his own hand to shake Wedge's. "Sephiroth, as you obviously know." A beat, and a touch of a wry smile. "I don't know what you would call me in relation to Cloud. I doubt Cloud does, either." He tilts his head slightly. "But...I'm not entirely unfamiliar with you. You were a member of AVALANCHE."
It's fascinating, seeing the man in person after so many magazines and posters had borne his image. He'd expected... something very different from what's presented to him. Concern for Cloud's impression of the situation, worry over what the blond may or may not have said, what Wedge might think. His entire demeanor is so carefully measured.
It's a surprising parallel between the man in front of him and the one connecting them.
Wedge just smiles shaking his head lightly to dismiss the concern with a knowing glint in those blue eyes, just the barest tilt of his head that acknowledges what they both know about Cloud. That the worry would come from seeing them talking, wondering what they're saying. That pause though, the barest hint of a smile only earns Sephiroth a broad one in return. "I dunno if Cloud would say it..." Because of course he'd be tsun about it. "But you're a friend too. I know that much."
The mention of AVALANCHE gets an awkward laugh out of Wedge though, one hand coming up to habitually adjust the bandanna that marks him out as just that. "Y-yeah. Not... really any need for that sorta thing around here. Hope that's not a problem?" Sephiroth is, after all, the most powerful weapon that's ever been at ShinRa's disposal.
"No," Sephiroth says softly, gaze slightly distant. "Even when I was in SOLDIER...there weren't many people with more distaste for ShinRa than myself. It was simply all I knew. All I was made for. I had no other purpose or structure in my life, no one I knew outside of the company. I wanted any other life, but in the way that a fish might desire to walk. Not only did it seem impossible on every conceivable level, but I couldn't even begin to fathom what a life outside ShinRa could be like, or what I would do with one if I had it."
The fact that fish did eventually learn how to walk, all the same...perhaps that's a rather apt extension of Sephiroth's metaphor.
After a moment he shakes off whatever inner thoughts he's having(for the moment), eyes focusing on Wedge again. "I will also say that during my last mission for them, I discovered just how deep their lies and depravities ran, in particular when it came to me. So you can trust that if it came to burning the company down, you and I would only disagree over who would strike the match."
He looks at Wedge for a moment, and ends up saying what he's thinking. "I envy those of you in AVALANCHE. In all the time I was alive, I almost never fought for something I believed in, or could take pride in." He averts his gaze. "Other than the few friends I made...it was an empty waste of a life. And I fear that even more than ShinRa, it was the fault of my own cowardice."
He shakes his head. "...but why am I saying this? Whatever you followed me for, it wasn't to listen to my regrets. They hardly have meaning here, in any case. What did you wish to speak to me about?"
The more Sephiroth speaks the more the odd sort of fascination fades, Wedge's empathetic nature drawing his brows in with concern, taking a half step closer as though he might put a reassuring hand on the other man. He's not quite so bold as to do so but the thought is there, one that has him chewing the inside of his lip lightly. There's... so much there, not just in the words but in the distance in those vibrant green eyes and the melancholy that seems to weigh on the man so that it casts his gaze down and away so often.
"I know... we only knew the half of it. There were some things I saw, not long before I came here..." The memories are vague and hazy, he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness a lot after the plate fell. The main thing he was aware of was Reginaldo curled against his shoulder, licking at bloody, matted hair and purring as loud as he could. He'd been certain he would die down there. But that there was a "down there" spoke volumes to the things Shinra hid from the public.
Wedge shrugs slightly, dismissing the way the fear and uncertainty from that strange place (lab?) lingers even knowing it doesn't really matter. Not now.
"I don't know that any life is wasted, not completely. Whatever else they made sure you represented, y'know in all the propaganda and stuff, for a lot of kids you helped them figure out how to find their own bravery. Not just the ones that went into SOLDIER or working for ShinRa." Wedge lets his gaze drift away from Sephiroth just a little, not looking directly at him. He suspects that the silver might not want to acknowledge that, no more than he would, really. How many times has he had similar conversations with Cloud already?
Wild to think he shares something with Sephiroth.
"And I'm sure you made a difference to your friends. Which... is what I wanted to talk to you about, sorta. Because you are making a difference for Cloud. And I just-" Ah well now there's a faint dusting of pink over his cheeks and his gaze flicks from distant to looking down, a weak, self-conscious chuckle in his voice. "I guess I just wanted to say thank you. For looking after him. Making sure he wasn't alone. He tries really hard to do that and- I'm just glad someone was around to make sure he didn't."
Sephiroth looks at Wedge a touch bemusedly. Children finding their bravery because of him...he supposes he can understand that within the context of those who'd rushed to join SOLDIER, though that's hardly a good outcome by any metric. But Wedge seems to understand that, and suggests he'd helped kids with that who hadn't joined SOLDIER, and...Sephiroth isn't quite certain how that would work. How that would look. The propaganda had existed explicitly to make ShinRa and SOLDIER look good; what kind of inspiration did Sephiroth serve as in such propaganda, if not that? What kind of motivating force could he have been?
(And, considering it was ShinRa's propaganda, much of it lies, can he take any credit for it anyway?)
Being thanked for helping Cloud, however...it's a welcome distraction from his uncomfortable feelings about the other subject(utter confusion being one of those feelings). Certainly it means a great deal - the idea of actually making some kind of amends to Cloud always does. "I'm also glad I could be here for him," he says, a touch slowly, feeling out the words he says as he does. "I know from experience - both with him, and from being such a person myself - that isolation would only hurt him. And without any of his friends here, he was miserable. I'm relieved you're here to help ground him - people like us are lost without someone to care for. To care about. No matter how standoffish he tries to be, the depths to which Cloud cares about his friends are immeasurable. He - we - build ourselves around other people. Perhaps because nothing could matter more to us than the people around us, including our own selves."
And it finally hits Sephiroth, as he says it, why he and Cloud are so similar. It's stunning that he'd never really pieced it together before, but - loneliness. He and Cloud had been others, outsiders, for long enough that once they had actually had people to care about...that had mattered more than anything else. Will always matter more than anything else. Simply...not being alone again. Having people who care about them.
So simple, and yet it only now spells itself out plainly in his mind. Perhaps he's not nearly as intelligent as people believe him to be.
He shakes his head slightly. "But...while I understand Cloud, and have been trying to help him, you don't need to thank me for that. He has...suffered unimaginably through me." He doesn't know quite how to explain Jenova to Wedge, isn't really sure this man signed up for that talk at all, and so sidesteps the conversation for now. "Trying to right some of those wrongs may be well-meaning, but I don't feel it deserves thanks. I'm essentially trying to bandage stab wounds inflicted by my own hands. I can't accept gratitude for that."
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childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-11 02:31 pm
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess (Angeal)
Part of him has been certain he'd only be a bother if he came to see him at work, definitely would mess up the badass lone wolf he tries to project to others. He doesn't want to risk his...... friend's job, knows that most places that'd be a real concern. Everything is so old fashioned here, though, that he has no idea what the expectations are. In the end it's the fact that he's finally able to really get around without anything hurting that has him going stir crazy in their little cottage. He tells himself he'll just go by and if they're busy he won't bother him.
Which is why he hesitates before coming into the building proper. Silly when it's so cold and there's so much snow, maybe, but he's so anxious of messing something up for Cloud he can't help it. Though, once he catches sight of the blond in the back, he ends up just... hovering there watching him work, scooping something out onto a tray. Cookies maybe? It's good for him to have something to do, even if it is surprising to see him doing something so.... domestic.
No that definitely does not make his heart do strange little flips.By the time he actually comes into the shop Cloud's boss has probably had a good few minutes to watch this boy watching another boy. He swears he's not some sort of lovestruck fool teenager. Though he may be a fool because once he's inside and has a chance to actually pay any attention to the other man in the shop he's left staring in surprise up (and up and up) at the man.
"W-Wait... You're not-"
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It's pretty cold out there, but hey, that's his choice. So Angeal lets him just linger for a while even as he gets something else right there in the oven and prepares something in a kettle over by the stoves.
While their new friend outside is clearly head over heels for Cloud, Angeal can't say he recognizes him personally. And with how good his memory is
due to Jenova-based predatory mimic fuckery, that means he knows for sure that they aren't familiar with one another. So when the guy finally steps on inside, Angeal just passes over a fairly friendly smile and puts down a plate onto the counter with a fresh-out-the-oven hot bun. "Not Cloud, sorry to say. But he just stepped out back for a second."Of course... There's a different between "familiar with" versus "familiar to".
And Angeal may very well be familiar to Wedge if he can look past all the draconic changes that have come over him. Even with the winding golden horns pressing up from dark hair, and the shimmering trimmed claws from scaled hands....
There may be gold scales all across his forehead down to his brow, but the brilliant glow of those eyes is hard to miss. SOLDIER always get recognized, no matter where they go. It's been a long time since First Class SOLDIER Angeal Hewley was on any magazine cover or in the news, save for maybe the occasional retrospective article and oneshot show piece, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's been forgotten by anyone with a good memory... or anyone who's looked hard into ShinRa for various reasons.
But after all this time, the man himself sure isn't thinking about being recognized anymore. What are the odds, after all, of yet another person from Midgar showing up?
Ha. Ha.
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Because that's absolutely who this is. The horns and scales are definitely not enough to hide the familiar features of a man Wedge had, for a long time, wanted to emulate. "N-no I uh..." Another glance toward the back, this time surreptitious as he moves closer to the counter with a shrug. "Don't imagine he'd want to be at the front counter." Nor would it be good for business if Cloud were the one at the counter. The idea of him doing customer service with his, at best, rbf is almost comical.
"I just didn't expect to recognize you? Or I guess..." He pauses, looks up (and up) at Angeal and then he's just chuckling to himself. "I shouldn't be that surprised that you'd start up something like this." Something down to earth and homey. Though Wedge is pretty sure, from what he remembers from magazines when he was a teenager, that he'd have more expected some sort of plant or flower shop from Angeal.
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"Well, he doesn't want to be baking either, but I've got him at it anyway," Angeal tells him, grinning right back. Honestly, he's all prepared to get into talking about the blond behind his back - and in front of his face if he makes a bad choice in timing.
Except... Then comes the part about recognition. And Angeal pauses in the middle of pushing forward the plate.
Hm. So. "Didn't think I'd get anyone who recognizes me around here," he says, slow and careful. It doesn't... look like the sort of expression of someone who knows him particularly well, no emotional impact to it - which is what he would expect if they were familiar with some alternate version of him in the same way that he knows another Rosie. And he knows for a fact that he never knew this man in person back in his homeworld.
And if he doesn't know him now, then he never knew him. Angeal is dead, after all. Technically. In at least one reality.
So. "Can I ask how you know me?"
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"I mean.. who doesn't know the SOLDIER First Class trio?" A shrug, it's no big deal really. Really. Please don't let it be a big deal. "Especially after all the rumors when you guys disappeared. It was all the papers could talk about for weeks."
"Not... exactly who I expected to be working in the bakery. Especially since Cloud didn't mention that you worked here too." Which would have come up, what with Cloud bringing home treats for him over the last few weeks. If Cloud had wanted it to, anyway.
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Hell. They probably would have been known as a trio even if they didn't end up becoming such close friends.
Still, he keeps track of exactly what the guy says, how he's referred to. The timing. Spoken in the past tense, and how they were talked about for weeks... But that doesn't reveal too much, just that it's been a known quantity that they're gone. Still, he knows Cloud, doesn't he? So, so long as their times match, he guesses he knows the answer. Probably. Although you know what they say about assumptions...
He may as well make sure things are clear. "Well, he wouldn't, considering he's working here primarily to make up for the time he fried some things with his breath," Angeal comments wryly. "At any rate.... I picked this up from working with an old friend of mine, and I don't want her memory to fade." He'll be able to ensure this even better if he can ever get a proper picture set up. For now...
"I haven't been aligned with ShinRa for a long time... and I'd never go back either."
All the possibilities. No limits, just epiphanies (Sephiroth)
...... He's really got to stop comparing Cloud to a cat.
Still it is interesting to see how they both react to each other, how drawn to the man Cloud is even if it clearly makes him uncomfortable in a way too. Just watching the interaction, however brief, even with a counter between them (and maybe even moreso after seeing Sephiroth interact with Angeal).
It only makes him more certain that he needs to talk to the man. So when Sephiroth takes his leave Wedge also gives Cloud a little wave and trots out the door a moment later. The silver is easy to spot, even in the snow, and Wedge hustles after him, waiting until they're out of sight of the bakery before he calls out. "Um... General? Sir? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
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When he turns to see who's spoken, he recognizes the speaker. Not particularly well, truth be told - Jenova had been less active in Cloud's mind early on in his stay in Midgar than it had become later, its awareness less keen, and Sephiroth recognizes this man as one of the doomed members of AVALANCHE who had died even before Cloud had left Midgar on the adventure that would eventually lead him to stopping Jenova and Meteor. So there's considerably less familiarity, in Sephiroth's gleaned knowledge, of Wedge than there is of Cloud's other companions, the ones who'd spent far longer with him and which had been observed by Jenova more closely.
But he knows the name, the affiliation. The man's fate. The basics, perhaps, but still enough to process that this is one of Cloud's friends...and to wonder just what Cloud may have told Wedge about him. As recently as a month or two ago, Sephiroth would expect Cloud to have imparted dire warnings, but now - well, now Sephiroth actually has no idea what Cloud might say about him. Technically an improvement, so why does being at such a loss as to what to expect feel more unsettling than bracing himself for hatred?
Hm. Maybe he's not so far removed from his younger self as he'd thought. Preferring a miserable known quantity to a more nebulous but potentially brighter uncertainty...
He turns to look back at Wedge, unconsciously straightening his posture a bit and drawing himself to his full height. Being reminded of being ShinRa's General can't help but trigger the old habits that went with that title, the ingrained awareness of the public's eye on him at all times and the expectation to comport himself, in all ways, so as to project an impressive image.
"Of course," he replies, sizing Wedge up. Strange, to think that this man was (is?) an ecoterrorist. He has one of the most open and friendly faces Sephiroth thinks he may ever have seen. Beating even Zack, and that's no small feat. It's not the kind of face Sephiroth has seen much of in his life, even after his death, but somehow...it relaxes something in him. It's hard to imagine this man coming at him with anger and recriminations, no matter what Cloud may have told him. There's a kindness in that face that makes him think of...well, Aerith.
"...did you follow me all the way from the bakery?" This is said with curiosity, rather than as any kind of accusation.
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Of course all that open kindness slips a little as soon as Sephiroth asks that question, cheeks heating slightly as he glances aside with a self-conscious chuckle. "Y-yeah... I uh... didn't wanna make Cloud worry or anything, y'know?" Because they both know he would. Probably he wouldn't even be able to pinpoint what he was worried about. What Wedge might say to Sephiroth? That Sephiroth might do or say something to Wedge? That he was going to end up embarrassed when Wedge reads him for filth (again)?
Wedge doesn't know the details, doesn't know the extent of what Sephiroth might know. And he certainly wouldn't expect Cloud to talk about him to anyone else. So he holds out a hand, smile broad and bright again after that momentary embarrassment. "The name's Wedge! I'm a-uh... friend of Cloud's." Friend. Yes. Definitely. That's the word for it.
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He can reasonably assume, then, that Wedge has both intelligence and skill, and enough of both to have stayed one step ahead of the most powerful company and governing body in the world for as much of a handful of years. He can't know how many without asking, but even one would be significant.
"Cloud is still learning to trust that I and the man from his nightmares aren't exactly the same person, and perhaps never were." He pauses, looking at Wedge thoughtfully. "I don't know how much he told you." Not so long ago, Cloud would have readily laid out all Sephiroth's sins in graphic detail to anyone he spoke to about him, to illustrate how evil he was and how he couldn't be trusted. These days...well, he's not sure at all what Cloud would say to others about him these days. He wonders if Cloud is certain what to tell people about him.
Also...if there's one thing Sephiroth knows about Cloud, it's his desire to look cool in front of others. That's always bulked large in his mind, almost enough that one could see it without any assistance from Jenova whatsoever. Acknowledging himself as a helpless victim of a tragedy...it's something Cloud had been willing enough to do back when he felt people needed to be warned about Sephiroth, but would he be so willing now? Is that the way the man who seeks to define himself by the picture captured in other people's eyes wishes to be seen?
Well, Wedge can likely clarify, if he cares to. If Cloud hasn't given him details...Sephiroth supposes it's not his place to do so, either. If he has, all well and good. However much Sephiroth detests the things he's done - or the things he's been made to do - he has no desire to shrink from them.
In any case, Sephiroth extends his own hand to shake Wedge's. "Sephiroth, as you obviously know." A beat, and a touch of a wry smile. "I don't know what you would call me in relation to Cloud. I doubt Cloud does, either." He tilts his head slightly. "But...I'm not entirely unfamiliar with you. You were a member of AVALANCHE."
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It's a surprising parallel between the man in front of him and the one connecting them.
Wedge just smiles shaking his head lightly to dismiss the concern with a knowing glint in those blue eyes, just the barest tilt of his head that acknowledges what they both know about Cloud. That the worry would come from seeing them talking, wondering what they're saying. That pause though, the barest hint of a smile only earns Sephiroth a broad one in return. "I dunno if Cloud would say it..." Because of course he'd be tsun about it. "But you're a friend too. I know that much."
The mention of AVALANCHE gets an awkward laugh out of Wedge though, one hand coming up to habitually adjust the bandanna that marks him out as just that. "Y-yeah. Not... really any need for that sorta thing around here. Hope that's not a problem?" Sephiroth is, after all, the most powerful weapon that's ever been at ShinRa's disposal.
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The fact that fish did eventually learn how to walk, all the same...perhaps that's a rather apt extension of Sephiroth's metaphor.
After a moment he shakes off whatever inner thoughts he's having(for the moment), eyes focusing on Wedge again. "I will also say that during my last mission for them, I discovered just how deep their lies and depravities ran, in particular when it came to me. So you can trust that if it came to burning the company down, you and I would only disagree over who would strike the match."
He looks at Wedge for a moment, and ends up saying what he's thinking. "I envy those of you in AVALANCHE. In all the time I was alive, I almost never fought for something I believed in, or could take pride in." He averts his gaze. "Other than the few friends I made...it was an empty waste of a life. And I fear that even more than ShinRa, it was the fault of my own cowardice."
He shakes his head. "...but why am I saying this? Whatever you followed me for, it wasn't to listen to my regrets. They hardly have meaning here, in any case. What did you wish to speak to me about?"
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"I know... we only knew the half of it. There were some things I saw, not long before I came here..." The memories are vague and hazy, he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness a lot after the plate fell. The main thing he was aware of was Reginaldo curled against his shoulder, licking at bloody, matted hair and purring as loud as he could. He'd been certain he would die down there. But that there was a "down there" spoke volumes to the things Shinra hid from the public.
Wedge shrugs slightly, dismissing the way the fear and uncertainty from that strange place (lab?) lingers even knowing it doesn't really matter. Not now.
"I don't know that any life is wasted, not completely. Whatever else they made sure you represented, y'know in all the propaganda and stuff, for a lot of kids you helped them figure out how to find their own bravery. Not just the ones that went into SOLDIER or working for ShinRa." Wedge lets his gaze drift away from Sephiroth just a little, not looking directly at him. He suspects that the silver might not want to acknowledge that, no more than he would, really. How many times has he had similar conversations with Cloud already?
Wild to think he shares something with Sephiroth.
"And I'm sure you made a difference to your friends. Which... is what I wanted to talk to you about, sorta. Because you are making a difference for Cloud. And I just-" Ah well now there's a faint dusting of pink over his cheeks and his gaze flicks from distant to looking down, a weak, self-conscious chuckle in his voice. "I guess I just wanted to say thank you. For looking after him. Making sure he wasn't alone. He tries really hard to do that and- I'm just glad someone was around to make sure he didn't."
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(And, considering it was ShinRa's propaganda, much of it lies, can he take any credit for it anyway?)
Being thanked for helping Cloud, however...it's a welcome distraction from his uncomfortable feelings about the other subject(utter confusion being one of those feelings). Certainly it means a great deal - the idea of actually making some kind of amends to Cloud always does. "I'm also glad I could be here for him," he says, a touch slowly, feeling out the words he says as he does. "I know from experience - both with him, and from being such a person myself - that isolation would only hurt him. And without any of his friends here, he was miserable. I'm relieved you're here to help ground him - people like us are lost without someone to care for. To care about. No matter how standoffish he tries to be, the depths to which Cloud cares about his friends are immeasurable. He - we - build ourselves around other people. Perhaps because nothing could matter more to us than the people around us, including our own selves."
And it finally hits Sephiroth, as he says it, why he and Cloud are so similar. It's stunning that he'd never really pieced it together before, but - loneliness. He and Cloud had been others, outsiders, for long enough that once they had actually had people to care about...that had mattered more than anything else. Will always matter more than anything else. Simply...not being alone again. Having people who care about them.
So simple, and yet it only now spells itself out plainly in his mind. Perhaps he's not nearly as intelligent as people believe him to be.
He shakes his head slightly. "But...while I understand Cloud, and have been trying to help him, you don't need to thank me for that. He has...suffered unimaginably through me." He doesn't know quite how to explain Jenova to Wedge, isn't really sure this man signed up for that talk at all, and so sidesteps the conversation for now. "Trying to right some of those wrongs may be well-meaning, but I don't feel it deserves thanks. I'm essentially trying to bandage stab wounds inflicted by my own hands. I can't accept gratitude for that."