The kitchen was bathed in the soft glow of overhead lights, a stark contrast to the growing tension in the air. The sounds of the city outside—the hum of traffic, the distant echoes of life—seemed muffled as Sephiroth stood in the doorway. His presence was like a shadow falling across the room, tall and imposing, his silver hair catching the dim light in unnerving waves. He was no longer the soldier they had fought beside, the man with a purpose, but something... more. The madness in his eyes was unmistakable, a fire that burned with a cold, unyielding fury.

"You’ve been avoiding me," he murmured, voice smooth, almost affectionate, though there was a chill to it that made the words feel like a threat. You hadn’t really been avoiding him—you both were on opposite sides of a fight. That didn’t exactly set up opportunities for quality time between old friends. He stepped forward, his every movement deliberate and graceful, as though he had all the time in the world. The air in the room thickened with the weight of his words, the unspoken history between them hanging like a heavy shroud.

His gaze locked onto their face, eyes glowing a piercing cyan, watching the shift in their expression as fear took root. He savored it—that was a feeling he recognized. The fear of the inevitable, of the things you couldn't outrun.

“I missed you,” he continued, his tone almost wistful as he closed the distance between them. The tip of his Masamune glinted menacingly in the low light, the blade an extension of himself, of his madness.

“I thought about you, often. When I was... alone.” His lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, the warmth of it an illusion. “But now, we have all the time in the world. You will be mine, just as I am to be the planet’s.”

He reached out slowly, fingers brushing their cheek, feeling the tremble beneath their skin. His smile deepened, a flicker of something dangerous and possessive in his gaze.

“Say yes," he whispered, "and you’ll never need to fear again.”