Archive of Our Own

“So kid, you got any plans for Yule?” Glenn asked the boy as they sat down with lunch. 

“No, I don’t.” Sephiroth answered, crossing his legs. Glenn had expected that, the kid didn’t have plans for… anything, really. He only thought about his missions and whatever else Shinra wanted him to think about.

“Don’t celebrate?” Matt piped up.

Sephiroth tilted his head, thinking about what to say. He then looked down at the table and quietly said, “I don’t have anybody to celebrate it with, so… I suppose no.” And goddess, if that wasn’t one of the saddest things he’s heard from the kid.

That was the expected answer, the kid didn’t have any friends besides them, and… it wasn’t as if he had any family to spend it with either. Poor kid… 

Not like Glenn had much family either, but he still had his grandma, as well as Matt and Lucia.

“What? No, come on, why don’t you spend it with us? Usually we spend the day before Yule together.” he suggested. Sephiroth’s eyes went wide, before he shook his head, looking away.

“It’s fine, there’s no need for that.” Sephiroth said. “I don’t mind spending it alone, it’s how I always have.”

“You don’t have to worry about intruding, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’d be great to have you there, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Lucia said, trying to convince him. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to go, but we won’t mind having you there.” Matt added.

Sephiroth shook his head again, though. “Please, really, it’s… it’s fine.” he said in an unsure voice. Clearly he wanted to go, he just kept insisting otherwise.

“Aw come on, are you really sure?” Glenn asked. “Aren’t you curious to know what it’s like?” Maybe that would get the kid to say yes.

Sephiroth furrowed his brows, and then let out a quiet sigh. “… I’ll think about it.”

Well, that was as good of an answer that they were going to get from him for now! 

*

At night, Sephiroth curled up on his too-thin mattress, and under his too-rough sheets. He continued to think about Glenn’s offer, about how insistent they were…

Why would they want him there? Sephiroth… Sephiroth wasn’t normal. He could barely hold a conversation, no matter how much they tried to include him. They shouldn’t want him to go, and yet…

He sighed. He would be expected to get something for the three of them, and that’s all Sephiroth knew about Yule. People got each other gifts that they’d like, but Sephiroth had no clue what people liked to receive as gifts, it wasn’t as if he’s ever gotten one.

He couldn’t ask Hojo about it either. Hojo didn’t like any of the P0s, and would likely forbid him from leaving HQ, or come up with a reason to have him in the labs if he found out that he’d been invited.

…  Perhaps he could go to Lazard, then. Lazard was smart like Hojo, but he was kind as well. He never snapped at Sephiroth when he had questions, never raised his voice and tried to hurt him like Hojo would. 

He was also more social than Sephiroth and Hojo were. He likely knew what normal people would like to receive on Yule. 

Right, that settles the issue. Sephiroth will go to Lazard tomorrow morning, and the problem will be resolved by the end of the day.

*

“Director Lazard.” Sephiroth greeted as he stepped into the man’s office. Hopefully he wouldn’t be bothered by his sudden appearance.

The man looked towards Sephiroth. He looked exhausted, dark bags hanging under his eyes. There were several coffee mugs on his desk, one of them lying broken on the floor. Despite that, he pushed his glasses up and offered Sephiroth a kind, tired smile. “Sephiroth, is something the matter?”

“Nothing urgent, sir, just… What do you get people for Yule?” he asked hesitantly. Lazard’s eyes widened momentarily, most likely from surprise.

“That depends on what they like.” Lazard said, adjusting his glasses again. 

“… What if you don’t know what they like?”

“Then you ask them. There’s no need for it to be a surprise unless you really know that person, because if you think about getting them a surprise gift, you’ll be in the damn department store the day before -” he cleared his throat, and breathed in slowly. “… Sorry, I’m tired.” he glanced away from Sephiroth awkwardly.

“… Thank you, sir.” Sephiroth responded, not sure what else to say. His advice sounded good, but… if Sephiroth asked them what they wanted, then they’d think that Sephiroth was going to accompany them, and then they’d be disappointed when he didn’t.

Well, Sephiroth was an observational person. He’s sure that if he spent more time around the three, he’ll be able to find out what they liked, and would then know what to get them for Yule.

He won’t run into the same issue that Lazard had before, Sephiroth’s sure of it.

*

Glenn had no clue what to get Sephiroth. Kid was a blank page. Never had any interests he liked to talk about, never indicated when he liked something… this was going to be harder than Glenn thought.

“Hey, kid, so for Yule… what would you like?” Glenn asked him before the kid departed for his next mission. Sephiroth wrinkled his nose.

“You don’t have to get me anything,” he said.

“But I want to.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Just tell me what you like, Sephiroth.” Glenn said before the kid could repeat himself. 

“… I don’t know.” he said quietly, looking down at the ground. Gods, poor kid, he didn’t even know what he liked! 

Sephiroth then looked to the side. “I have to go now.”

“Yeah… be careful, alright?” he said, patting Sephiroth on the shoulder once before the boy left. 

So Glenn had nothing to go off of for Sephiroth’s gift. Which meant that neither Lucia or Matt would know either. He sent a quick email to the both of them about Sephiroth having no known interests, because hey, this shit was important!

They’d find something for Sephiroth. Something that the kid would like! So what if they had nothing to go off of?

*

When Lucia next spotted Sephiroth, she asked the question she’d been wanting to ask him since Glenn told her about the situation.

“Sephiroth, what’s your favorite color?”

The boy’s nose wrinkled, and then he shrugged. “I don’t have one.”

Well that complicated things. Lucia thought for a moment, before asking, “Do you… have any favorite chocobos based purely off of aesthetics?” 

That made Sephiroth’s nose wrinkle again, and after a few seconds, he said, “The Nibel and Mideel chocobos.” 

So then blue and light pink…

She lifted her hand up and pat Sephiroth’s head. “Thanks for the answer.” she said, causing Sephiroth to frown in confusion. He leaned into her hand, and a subtle look of disappointment crossed his face once she moved her hand away.

She left afterwards, finally knowing what to get him.

Clothing.

The boy’s wardrobe was barren. He wore his uniform, a suit if he had to go to a Shinra party, and a grey hoodie paired with black pants if he went out with the three of them. Lucia’s never seen him wear anything besides those outfits!

… It was kind of funny, thinking about how when she was Sephiroth’s age, she would loathe getting clothing for Yule. She’d smile for the camera and thank the relatives who gave it to her, and then complain about it with her friends and cousins.

Though in the case of Sephiroth… he’s likely never been gifted something before. No clothing, no toys… nothing. She couldn’t help feeling bad for him, he deserved better than what Shinra and that asshole in the labs had given him.

*

It wasn’t uncommon for Sephiroth to finish missions earlier than the expected time. Matt found it to be nice, because that meant that missions with him never lasted too long. He also found it to be annoying, because then it meant they’d have to wait for transport longer. 

Also being alone with Sephiroth without Lucia and Glenn felt like an entire mission on its own. Sephiroth was calm, he didn’t try to cause trouble… but getting Sephiroth to admit if anything was wrong with him was impossible without the other two.

“Are you injured?” Matt asked once their mission was over. Sephiroth quietly shook his head in response. “Are you sure you aren’t?”

The boy then let out a frustrated sigh, crossing his arms. He didn’t wince or tense up as he moved, so the risk of him having any upper-body injuries was mitigated. “Yes, I’m sure.” he sighed, and then pulled out a whetstone from his pocket.

“Just making sure.” Matt said. Sephiroth’s gaze softened, and he let out a quiet hum in response, before bringing the whetstone up to his blade, starting to sharpen it.

He then wrinkled his nose, frowning down at the whetstone.

“Something wrong?”

“My whetstone needs to be replaced soon.” Sephiroth was practically pouting, an expression that Matt doesn’t think he’s ever seen on Sephiroth before. The boy sighed again, and pocketed the whetstone.

Matt took his own out of his pack, and then offered it to Sephiroth. He took it from hand, quietly thanking him, and went back to sharpening his sword.

… And that’s when it hit Matt. He could just get him a whetstone as well as other weapon maintenance supplies for Yule. It wasn’t as if there was much else to go off of for his gift, since Sephiroth wasn’t sure about what he even liked. 

Besides, when Matt was his age, and even now, he preferred getting practical items. He knew he’d get a lot of use out of them, rather than the gifts sitting on a shelf and collecting dust. It saved gil, too. 

Transport back to HQ arrived a few minutes later, and before they got onto it, Matt asked once more, “Are you sure you aren’t injured?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Sephiroth said with an exasperated sigh, narrowing his eyes at Matt. 

“Just want to make sure.” Matt repeated as they got into the truck.

“Even if I got injured, it wouldn’t matter. I’d be fully healed by the end of the day, depending on the scale of the injury.” Sephiroth said, sitting down and crossing his legs.

And that was the crux of the issue. Sephiroth believed that just because he had enhanced healing, he wouldn’t need any help at all with his injuries, no matter how bad they were. Even if he’s never seen Sephiroth sustain any major injuries… if he ever were, then his excuse about ‘how he would heal fast enough’ would be more troublesome than it already was.

It was best to get him out of that mindset before it became an even worse issue.

“You don’t need to be half-dead to get help.” Matt said, shaking his head. “And it won’t be a waste of supplies as long as it’s keeping you alive. You don’t need to constantly hide your injuries just because you’re afraid of bothering people, or because you don’t think that your injury is as big of a deal as you think it is. It’s better to be careful, rather than end up dead on the field.”

Sephiroth breathed in slowly, looking away from Matt. He didn’t speak once throughout the rest of the drive, thinking over Matt’s words. It was a bit sad, if he was being honest. They were words so simple, yet for Sephiroth…

It was clear that he was raised thinking this way. Thinking that he shouldn’t bother medics for help even if the wound was severe, since he thought that he’d heal fast enough…

Well, Matt hopes that whoever raised Sephiroth into thinking that way would one day have an unfortunate ‘accident’, where they were left bleeding out with no medical supplies used on them, because it would be a waste, wouldn’t it? At least that’s what they should think, with how they’ve treated Sephiroth over the years.

*

Glenn has been having a time trying to come up with what to get Sephiroth. Lucia was set on getting the kid some clothing, Matt opted to get him some new stuff to take care of his sword, and Glenn… was drawing a blank. Matt and Lucia already took the easy options, so he couldn’t go and choose those!

Sure, Sephiroth would most likely still be grateful no matter what Glenn got him, but that doesn’t mean that he’s just going to copy what they were getting Sephiroth since he had no clue what else to get him! There was still… eight days before they met up! Glenn had plenty of time.

*

The streets of Midgar were cold and dry as the group walked over to the train station, headed for the slums to grab something to eat.

Though on the way there, Sephiroth stopped in his tracks, only for a few seconds. Matt and Lucia didn’t notice it, continuing to walk ahead, but Glenn sure as hell noticed it. He saw the kid’s pupils round out like a cat’s would as he stared into a store’s display windows.

And the object that had caught his attention was… a small, white, plush cat with a red and green ribbon tied around its neck, as well as a santa-hat in between its ears. The kid breathed in sharply and started to hurry after the rest of the group once he realized he’d been nearly left behind, cheeks painted a light pink that could almost be mistaken for being from the cold, rather than embarrassment.

… Even if Sephiroth would never openly admit it, it was obvious that he wanted the toy. Glenn almost laughed, it was so unexpected!

Goddess, he knows that when he was around Sephiroth’s age, he would have been mortified to receive a gift like that, complain how it was for children and that he was ‘nearly a grown man’. 

Though Sephiroth was wildly different from Glenn when he was a teen. While Glenn was loud and outgoing like he was now, Sephiroth was sweet and shy. Could still be a sassy little shit whenever he wanted to be, but besides that? He was a good kid. 

He was a good kid who deserved so much better than what he’s gotten.

*

It was the day before before Yule. 

It was the day before before Yule, and Sephiroth had no clue what to get any of them, as he never asked what they wanted, since he wasn’t even sure that he was going to accompany them.

It was the day before before Yule, and Sephiroth was standing in a department store located in Midgar. 

… He should have listened to Lazard more carefully.

There were so many things here. It was more overwhelming than any mission Sephiroth’s ever been on. Sephiroth was not made for this, he was made for fighting. He knew how to fight… he did not know how to shop. He’s never shopped for anything before.

The cafeteria provided food, and there were restaurants around Midgar if Sephiroth ever felt like going out. He didn’t need any furniture for his dorm, what he had was enough. Sephiroth didn’t need any new clothing, since the outfits he had already fit him well.

There was never any reason for him to shop- until now, at least.

… Maybe he should’ve just asked them what they wanted.

Sephiroth quietly sighed, looking around. He should find something for Glenn, first. Then he would move onto the others. The store closed at 2300, so he had six hours to get this done.

Now… What would Glenn want? What does Glenn like? Sephiroth had no clue. He continued to walk around slowly, eyes scanning over the shelves and racks of clothing… goddess, he was never going to find anything for them!

“Hello there! Are you looking for anything tonight?” A faux-cheery voice asked, and he nearly jumped from surprise. How could he have lowered his guard so much? He turned to see who was speaking to him. It was just one of the store clerks. 

He wanted to say no, even if that would be a lie. Goddess, to ask for help for something so simple is humiliating… “I am… looking for something for an older man,” he said hesitantly. He then wrinkled his nose, already regretting the words. Glenn wasn’t old, he was… Sephiroth doesn’t know, actually.

“Oh, looking for something for your dad?”

“N-”

“Well, what does he like?” she asked before Sephiroth could deny the question. Denying the question now would feel awkward, so… Sephiroth just chose to ignore that 

“… I don’t know.” Sephiroth said, looking away. “He is a SOLDIER, though.” he added, as if that had anything to do with her question. 

“Maybe some outdoors gear then! We actually have a holiday sale going on for select items in our camping department!” she said. 

Sephiroth slowly nodded, and then hesitantly asked, “Where… Where is that?”

“Just right this way!” she then led Sephiroth to where their camping gear was located. He wrinkled his nose and glanced around. It wasn’t as overwhelming as the rest of the store was, as this was something Sephiroth was more experienced at. It wasn’t uncommon for SOLDIERs to camp out for certain missions, and during times of war. Sephiroth’s undergone training for this, he knows what to do here. 

He was brought out of his thoughts again by the worker’s exaggerated cheerful voice. “Just come talk to us if you need help finding anything, happy holidays!” she said, and then walked away before Sephiroth could thank her. 

Sephiroth breathed in slowly and started to walk around, looking at the tent displays they had up, the fold-up chairs, the battery-powered lanterns….

What would Glenn want? What would be best for him? Had he ever mentioned needing something? Well… he did complain about how the company-issued bedroll made his back ache the last time he went on an overnight mission with him…

He would probably benefit from a new one, then. His eyes scanned over the shelves, until he found a shelf displaying several of them. Sephiroth had no clue what the difference between any of them were, as they all advertised the same thing. Good for camping trips, water proof, item storage…

It probably wouldn’t hurt to pick one at random, then. He took one of them off of the shelf, holding it in his arms. The cost of it was 20000 gil, which… probably wasn’t a lot. 

Right, next he’ll start looking for Lucia’s gift…. And he also had no idea what to get her.

She seemed to like… sweaters. At least that’s what Sephiroth thought. Goddess, this was harder than finding something for Glenn. Sephiroth didn’t want to think more about what someone could possibly want, he’ll just default to getting her the gift that was his first idea.

He headed back to where the clothing was, staring at the festive-sweaters that lined the rack. They all had their own unique patterns, and they were all made of the same material. He stared at the sweaters, narrowing his eyes at one patterned with simplistic, white reindeer.

The main color of the sweater was navy blue, and there were snowflakes around the top of the sweater. It looked pretty… Lucia would most likely like it. He reached out to pull it off of the rack-

“Did you know that that sweater is by one get one half off?” Another store clerk had come up to him, and Sephiroth nearly jumped out of his own skin. “It’s meant to be sold- it’s meant to be a matching set!”

“... Is the half-off deal with any of the sweaters on this rack, or is it only this one?” he asked, frowning. 

“Just that sweater!” 

The clerk continued to stare at Sephiroth, so he hesitantly reached out and grabbed another one of the sweaters. 

“Happy holidays!” The clerk said, and then walked off.

… It’s almost over. This is almost over. 

Now he only needed to find something for Matt. 

Matt liked… Ah, Sephiroth could recall a conversation that the group was having, once. Matt had mentioned that he liked fishing with his mother. 

Thank the goddess it wasn’t nearly as hard to find something for him. If Sephiroth had to spend even more time in this store he’d go insane. It was the same few holiday songs on loop, and while they were pleasant to listen to at first, they quickly became annoying by the fifth time they played.

Before going to get something fishing related, Sephiroth grabbed a shopping cart by the entrance of the store and placed the current items in. It wouldn’t do to have his arms too full to carry anything else.

The camping section of the store had fishing gear. Tackles, reels, fishing lines, rods… Sephiroth wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t skilled at fishing. He knew how to do it, though he didn’t necessarily enjoy it as a hobby. He found it to be pretty boring, in all honesty. 

Sephiroth’s frown deepened. He hesitantly grabbed a fly box and a pack of assorted tackles. That seemed to be good enough. Now he just needed to check out, and-

Lazard. 

Sephiroth should get something for Lazard, too. Sure, he wouldn’t be there for the day before Yule, but… Lazard was nice to him, just like the others were. It didn’t take him that long to come up with a gift for Lazard, mind flickering back to the memory from a few days before, the coffee mugs strewn over his desk, one of them lying broken on the floor…

Sephiroth would simply get him a new mug. They were located in an area filled with various other kitchenware. There were several mugs, some were decorated, some were plain, some had text on them…

Goddess, don’t be as hard as finding everything else has been.

One of the mugs read “World’s Best Boss”, which… was interesting. It would be fitting, as Lazard was technically one of Sephiroth’s bosses. He was certainly better than Hojo and President Shinra were. 

He picked up the mug and set it down into the shopping cart. Though Sephiroth wasn’t done just yet- he’s seen in the photos and advertisements that the gifts were typically wrapped with decorated wrapping paper, and tied up with either a green or red ribbon.

He wasn’t sure how much of those he needed to buy, so to be safe he got three rolls of wrapping paper, two rolls of ribbon, and two tape dispensers. The total cost for everything was about 40000 gil, which didn’t seem like that much. Not like he would really know, anyways

Now Sephiroth could finally return to his dorm, wrap up the gifts which shouldn’t take too long, and then go to bed.

*

Gift wrapping took longer than it should have. It took about an hour and a half to finish it, several ripped off balls of wrapping paper strewn across the floor. Sephiroth picked up the box that contained the mug and held it carefully in his hands, heading to the floor where Lazard’s office was located.

He would be leaving soon, so Sephiroth couldn’t give it to him tomorrow, or on Yule.

He hopes that he wasn’t too late, though, and Lazard would still be in his office.

*

It was late. It was late, and Lazard wanted to go home. He wanted to go see his mom and spend Yule and New Years’ with her, without a worry about what bullshit the SOLDIERs were getting up to. 

Fucking hell, who’s idea was it to pump a bunch of teenagers and men who acted like teenagers with steroids, or whatever else was in their injections besides the mako?

He picked up his bag, adjusted his glasses, ready to head out of his office and leave this cursed building for a few days-

The doors to his office slid open.

“Dir-”

“What?” He didn’t have time for this.

“Sorry sir, I didn’t mean to bother you, I-” Sephiroth. It was Sephiroth , who has now completely clammed up. Lazard turned around, eyes landing on the small box in his arms, before he looked back at those cat-like eyes.

“It’s fine, I… thought it was someone else, sorry.” Lazard said, waving his hand flippantly. “Is something wrong?’

“I knew you were going to leave soon, and that you wouldn’t be here for tomorrow or Yule.” he then offered the small box to Lazard. “... Sorry, I wasn’t sure what you’d like.” the boy’s cheeks were tinted a light pink, and he looked away from the man.

Lazard took the box from his hands. “Thank you, Sephiroth.” he said with surprise. Sephiroth nodded, and then hurried out of the office before Lazard could see what was inside of the giftbox. He looked back down at it and set it down onto his box, slowly tearing open the wrapping around it, and inside of the box was a mug that read “World’s Best Boss”.

… If it was anyone else who got him the mug, Lazard would not care. The mug was silly, it was cheesy, it was the kind of gift he would get if the giver was looking for a raise, as if Lazard was in charge of that in the first place.

Though from Sephiroth? It was now Lazard’s favorite mug. He didn’t even want to use it, out of fear he might end up breaking the mug. He let it sit down on his desk, a small smile on his face as he looked down at it.

Sephiroth was an honest person, so that meant that this was genuine. 

Sephiroth thought he was the world’s best boss. 

He would treasure this mug for as long as he lived.

*

Sephiroth couldn’t fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried. He kept tossing and turning on his bed as one thought plagued his mind: they were going to hate their gifts. Glenn, Matt, Lucia, even Lazard!

Sephiroth should never have done this. Sephiroth wasn’t made for this, he should have never tried to do this. He didn’t want to lose the only friends he had just because of his own inexperience.

*

Morning still came even if Sephiroth barely got any sleep. He put on the unwrapped sweater he had bought yesterday so that he would fit in. It was more comfortable than any of the other clothing he had in his closet. It was soft and warm, Sephiroth thought about going back to sleep in it. 

Though no, it was… too late to back out. 

Was it, though? Sephiroth never agreed to meet with the three of them. Sure, he’s already got the gifts, but that didn’t mean it was too late to back out and stay in his dorm the whole day. Or maybe he could even see if there were any missions he could take up and use that as an excuse as to why he couldn’t attend.

… What was he thinking? Why did he want to run away from them? They were his friends, some of the only people to truly care about him. He owed this to them, didn’t he? They’ve been so kind to him…

He reluctantly held the gifts in his arms, and headed to the SOLDIER area. He sat down on the couch and set the gifts down next to him, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. The three of them weren’t down here yet- or maybe they’ve already come, saw that he wasn’t there, and figured that he wasn’t going to join them.

He looked over at the clock, watched as the minutes slowly passed by. They still hadn’t come down. Maybe he really was too late, or they just accepted that he wasn’t going to join them. He quietly sighed, and looked down at the ground.

And just then, he could hear Glenn’s loud voice, “Hey, Sephiroth!” 

Sephiroth turned his head, eyes widening slightly as he saw the trio of P0s approaching him. He stood up from the couch and picked up the gifts, walking towards the three of them. Glenn grinned and ruffled Sephiroth’s hair.

“There you are, I was hoping you’d show up!” he said. Sephiroth wrinkled his nose and moved his head away from Glenn’s hair, lifting up his own hand to smooth down the mess.

“And now I’m thinking about leaving.” he huffed, narrowing his eyes at the man.

“Don’t be like that.” Lucia sighed, patting Sephiroth’s shoulder. “Are you ready to head up?”

Sephiroth nodded, holding the gifts closer to his chest. They made their way to Lucia’s apartment, because Glenn’s was in a ‘constant state of mess’ according to her, and Matt’s was undecorated. 

Sephiroth still felt anxious by the time they got to her apartment. He didn’t meet their eyes, he held the gifts closer to his chest. He flinched when he felt Glenn’s hand land on his shoulder. 

“So, what is it you got there?” he asked. 

“I’m sorry,” Sephiroth blurted out, for reasons unknown to him. He doubts the three of them were expecting an apology. “It’s gifts, for the three of you.” he answered. “I wasn’t sure what to get the three of you, but… I hope you like them.” he then offered the three gifts to them, feeling his face warm.

“Aw, kid…”

“What? Just… open them.” Sephiroth wrinkled his nose, glaring up at Glenn. The man just grinned and ruffled Sephiroth’s hair again, much to his annoyance.

Sephiroth could hear the sound of wrapping paper being torn, but he didn’t dare look up. He didn’t want to be met with disappointment.

“Hey, isn’t this the same sweater that you’re wearing?”

Sephiroth’s knee-jerk reaction was to deny it, even if it was. “It is, yes.” he confirmed, feeling his face grow even warmer. He crossed his arms, continuing to stare at the ground. “The- One of the store clerks had said that it was meant to be… sold to the same person, twice.” he awkwardly said, because saying the alternative was far too mortifying. 

“Aw…” Lucia cooed. Sephiroth forced down the urge to run out of the dorm. He then felt her arms wrap around his torso, squeezing him tightly. Sephiroth hesitantly hugged her back, hiding his face against her shoulder. “That is just adorable,”

“It’s not.” he grumbled. She just squeezed him tightly once more, before letting go.

“Thank you, Sephiroth.” she said, a kind smile on her face. Sephiroth only hummed in response, looking away once more.

“How’d you know I wanted a new bedroll?” Glenn asked. 

“You complain about the one you currently have each time I’m on an overnight mission with you.” Sephiroth said, wrinkling his nose.

“This couldn’t have been cheap…” he grimaced.

“It… was…” Sephiroth said slowly. Was 20000 gil for a bedroll considered expensive? “It was.” he then said, with more determination. Sephiroth had plenty of gil, it was one of Shinra’s ways to keep him from rebelling. 

Glenn ruffled Sephiroth’s hair, a grin on his face. “Well thanks, kid!” 

Sephiroth again, let out a quiet hum in response. 

Matt was more casual about the gift. He didn’t squeeze Sephiroth, nor did he mess with Sephiroth’s hair. “Thank you, Sephiroth. This is really nice of you, I’ll make sure to put it to good use, when I next go fishing.”

Sephiroth nodded. “I am… glad the three of you like what I got you.” he said quietly. They weren’t pretending to like the gifts, Sephiroth could easily see through lies. They truly did like what he got them.

“Come on, now it’s your turn!” Glenn grinned.

“Huh?”

“We got you some gifts, too.” Lucia clarified.

For a moment, Sephiroth didn’t believe them. Only when the wrapped up gifts were given to him did he finally realize that they had actually got him something. Sephiroth’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He looked down at them, ignoring the storm of emotions starting to brew within him. 

He had never been gifted… anything before, not even from Gast. 

He breathed in slowly, and started to unwrap the gift from Matt. His pupils dilated as he saw the whetstone and other weapon maintenance supplies. “Thank you…. How did you know I-” Sephiroth cut himself, as he recalled the conversation he had with Matt a few days prior. “... Thank you.” he repeated.

He chose to unwrap the gift that was from Lucia next. It was a few shirts of various blue and purple shades. They were soft to the touch, like the sweater he was currently wearing. Sephiroth could feel his eyes begin to burn, and he tightened his grip on the shirts. “Why…?”

“It was… kind of obvious that you didn’t have much clothing to wear.” Lucia answered. “I didn’t want you to end up like Glenn, who only rotates between the same three shirts.” she joked.

Glenn let out an offended ‘hey’, and Sephiroth quietly chuckled, hiding his mouth behind his hand. 

“Aw, come on, don’t say you agree with her!” Glenn whined. Sephiroth didn’t answer, only continuing to quietly laugh. He’s sure that if he were to stop laughing now, the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes would finally fall- and he didn’t want that.

He kept his breathing in control, which helped, and once he was sure that he was no longer going to crumble, he started to open the last gift, the one from Glenn.

He slowly unwrapped it, and he breathed in sharply once he saw what was inside of it. It was the stuffed animal he had seen a few days before, when he was out with the trio. How did Glenn know…? Was it just from that moment’s hesitation?

His breathing was shaky as he stared down at the plush. He had thought about going back for it later that night, but… Hojo likely wouldn’t permit it. Sure, he didn’t live in the labs anymore, but… that fear was still there. The fear that that man was around every corner, watching his every move, waiting for him to slip up.

“I…” he breathed in slowly, trying to keep his voice from wavering even if it was a futile effort. “Thank you, all of you… Nobody has ever…” his voice trailed off, for he feared that if he spoke more, the tears that he’s barely holding back would finally fall.

Glenn hugged him against his chest. Sephiroth continued to blink his tears away, which was only made harder when he felt Lucia hold him as well. Matt had set his hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

“Thank you.”

*

Sephiroth only separated from them once he was sure he was no longer about to cry, a small smile on his face as he held his gifts close to his chest.

“So… you don’t have any plans for tomorrow, right?” Glenn asked. Sephiroth shook his head. Lazard had made sure to give him no missions for Yule or the day before, much to the President’s and Hojo’s annoyance. “Perfect! Was wondering if you wanted to spend Yule with my granny and me. She’ll absolutely love you, I’m sure of it. Place is a bit small, though.” he offered, a reassuring grin on his face. Before Sephiroth could even respond to him, Lucia cut in.

“What? No, you should come spend it with my family. They would love to have you there, especially my younger nieces and cousins. They get a bit rowdy at times, but they’re nice people. Goddess, I know my mom and older sister would adore you.”

… Were they seriously suggesting that he should join one of them for Yule…? Sephiroth turned to Matt for help, though the man just shrugged and said, “I think my dad would like you. And my mom.” he wasn’t as insistent as Glenn and Lucia were, thankfully, though that didn’t make him feel any less awkward.

Goddess, to think they liked him enough to offer something like this… it made him feel cared about. They always made him feel cared about. From Lucia’s headpats and Glenn’s hugs, to Matt’s worry over the possibility of him being injured… 

It made Sephiroth more emotional than he wanted to admit.