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"Hello?"
Growing up in the lab of the Shinra company, Sephiroth had almost no one around him. The few scientists that were currently orking with him only did the bare minimum of looking after him under the strict guidance of Professor Hojo as the man didn't want anyone but him influencing his precious specimen. His special alpha boy with Jenova's cells coursing through his veins. It was an incredibly lonely existence for poor Sephiroth.
That was why, when he eventually learned of fated packs and the way they communicated, he had immediately asked for a pen to try and write to them but Hojo had laughed in his face and had said there were more important things to do than communicating with people who didn't exist. Sephiroth had lowered his head at this, but refused to give up. The moment he was allowed to live outside of the labs, he immediately grabbed a pen.
It was said that the Goddess once took pity on the people living on her planet a long time ago as they always searched and searched for their fated pack and created a way for them to communicate with and find each other. Only those who were actually fated to be with you could see the writing and many people found each other by pure coincidence or because one wrote something very specific down and there were usually a lot of smiles and laughter when they were found. You also had to send the first message to be included in the conversation.
Because of this, many parents didn't allow their children to draw our write on their arms until they were considered old enough, sometimes going as far as to make them wear long and tight sleeves to prevent them from it and they weren't allowed to write their names until they were of age. After all these lonely years, Sephiroth really put all his hope in that little word as he put it on his arm and sat down to wait, hoping that Hojo wouldn't come in.
He tensely waited for several minutes for someone to respond and right when he started to lose hope, started to think that Hojo was right in that there was no pack for him, writing slowly appeared anyway one word after another "Why, hello. And who might you be?" Was written on his skin in very elegant handwriting. Sephiroth immediately covered his mouth as he realised he truly did have a pack. After all these years, he wasn't alone anymore.
New writing then appeared on his other arm, it being very different than the first. "Gen, don't be so rude. You don't know if they're allowed to tell us that by their parents." The second person wrote and Sephiroth let out a shaky breath at realising he had already two mates that were destined to be with him. ""They" can read this now too, Ang. Good first impression on our newest mate." Was the reply and even from writing, Sephiroth could practically feel the snark coming from it as the second one immediately apologised to him for his short-sightedness.
Honestly, Sephiroth was too overwhelmed to be bothered. 'I.... cannot believe I'm writing to you. My....guardian said there was no pack for me." He wrote after hesitating about what to call Hojo after everything the man had put him through. He chuckled when an unhappy face was drawn next. "Well, he was clearly wrong about that, dear one and I think I speak for both Ang and I that we can't wait to meet you." "Gen's" writing told him,
His second packmate "Ang" or rather Angeal as he later learned, agreed. We live in the same village so it's easier for us to meet and stay in contact, but even though I'm an alpha and Gen's an omega, we still feel incomplete so we're very happy to be contacted by you. Could you tell us where you live?" He asked and Sephiroth replied he lived in Midgar, Gen promising they'd come and find him when they could and he wanted to be found, making him smile.
Over the next couple of years, his two packmates honestly kept him going through everything that came on his path as he was eventually sent out to fight Wutai's forces and soon became known as a war hero. He smiled dryly as he laid in bed and read Gen's ranting about the "hero Sephiroth," having no idea he was talking to the man himself as Sephiroth had still refused to give them his name as he had explained he first wanted to meet them in person and they had accepted that, Gen calling him "dear one" instead and Angeal calling him "love."
Sephiroth made sure to keep their conversations a secret from anyone else, but especially Hojo as he'd likely try to take his pack away from him. One evening, as he laid in bed, he saw writing appear again."My soul corrupted by vengeance. Hath endured torment to find the end of the journey in my own salvation and your eternal slumber." It read and he smiled as he wrote back it was of act 3 of LOVELESS. "You remembered." Was the reply.
"How can I not when you've beaten it into my head?" Sephiroth replied with just a tiny smile as this was a small inside joke between them and it never failed to cheer him up. Even if Gen's obsession with the poem could be rather annoying at times, it at least gave him something he could perhaps use to recognise them when they came to Midgar. "Guys, I'm trying to sleep." Came Angeal's grumpy reply and they apologised as they went to bed too.
When they told him they were moving to Midgar to join the SOLDIER program, he had never been so interested in meeting the many new applicants, even if he was careful not to show anyone he was enthusiastic as over the years, he had managed to keep his expression in check. The moment he entered the room, all the men immediately straightened up until he gave them the "at ease" order and they relaxed. Looking around, Sephiroth started to walk through them. He hadn't heard that his mates had failed to apply, so they had to be here but where?
"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus and take to the sky." He heard, before hearing a grunt as a red-haired man was poked by his neighbour, a hissed "Gen, not now" audible and his heart skipped a beat as he walked toward them, trying to fight his smile. Even the red-haired man, who he now knew was none other than his packmate looked less certain as many around them whispered about how he was in trouble.
"LOVELESS, act 1." He stated and both Genesis and Angeal stared, the former letting out a quiet "you remembered" out of habit more than anything. "How can I not when you've beaten it into my head?" Sephiroth asked and that was the day Genesis Rhapsodos was almost kicked out of the SOLDIER program before he was even fully accepted for trying to attack the general, Angeal having to hold him back and Sephiroth actually laughing
Hojo soon found out about this and definitely wasn't happy to learn Sephiroth had not only been communicating with his pack despite him thinking his experiment didn't have one, but had actually found it as well. Thankfully for Sephiroth and the others, there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it now they had found each other and it also helped that once Genesis and Angeal realised he was that guardian that had told Sephiroth there was no one out there for him, they made sure that he was never alone with the despicable man if it wasn't necessary.
Once Genesis calmed down, he grumpily conceded at Sephiroth's explanation why he hadn't told them as he thought it would be better to do so in person before he and Angeal strove to get to First Class too. Not too long after they succeeded, they found excited writing covering their arms from their next packmate. With his enthusiasm, Genesis nicknamed him "puppy" and he didn't even mind it as he was too happy to be finally talking to them
His parents had apparently been one of those strict people who refused to let him talk to them and he had run away from home, making the three men worry about his current situation. A few weeks after that, Angeal was on patrol when someone tapped his arm. Turning around, he saw young man looking up at him. "Can I help you?" He asked and the teenager rolled up his sleeve to show the same writing on his arm as there was on Angeal's.
The older man promptly took him home to Genesis and Sephiroth at seeing this and after loudly scolding him for being very reckless and impatient, they briefly brought him back to his hometown of Gongaga as they really didn't want to be accused of kidnapping someone even if they had ran away. Zack Fair was scolded for hours by his parents but when they realised he had actually found his own pack and that, they reluctantly let him go back to Midgar after they made the other three men promise they'd look after him and they swore they would.
Once in Midgar, Zack joined two things: SOLDIER and the "protect Sephiroth from Hojo" squad of which the current members were him, Angeal and Genesis. Every time he saw the scientist try to start a conversation with his packmate in the hallway, he'd bounce over, talk excitedly about something random and then pull Sephiroth away to seemingly show it to him. The other three praised him for his cleverness the first time he did it.
With their pack consisting out of two alphas, one omega and one beta, Sephiroth honestly thought this was it. He actually had his pack and they cared about him for who he was, not for his reputation or for being a "perfect specimen." He had someone to come home to after a long and difficult mission and was genuinely happy with what he had now, so when unfamiliar writing appeared once more, they were all incredibly shocked.
Zack was the one to find their last packmate this time as he happened to bump into one Cloud Strife in the company locker room where he was changing and saw their writing on his arm. He almost dragged the poor guy over to meet the others once he realised what he was seeing. Cloud was understandably intimidated when he realised who the rest of his Pack was, but they quickly welcomed him as warmly as they could. When he saw a sleep-deprived Sephiroth bump his head against the doorway, Cloud truly realised that even his hero was human.
One of the best things about this way of communicating was that even when they were apart on different missions or something similar, Sephiroth still woke up to "good morning" messages from his packmates after years of waking up completely alone and with two omegas in the pack, he was allowed to stay at home to take care of their heats at least twice a year which was a nice bonus as he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into Hojo.
Thankfully, even the scientist knew better than to approach the home of a pack when their omegas were in heat as he knew he'd be ripped apart by a protective and furious Sephiroth and Angeal if he came anywhere near their currently vulnerable mates during this and they wouldn't even be blamed for it as people would see it as them protecting their pack. Despite the chaos heats always brought with them, that was at least one bit of peace.
Waking up one morning to see all his mates snuggled together on the bed, Sephiroth felt a smile grow on his face as he gently buried his face in Genesis's red hair and the other man turned his head to look at him. "Good morning, dear one." He whispered as he didn't want to wake the others up, turning around and giving him a kiss that he happily returned. Breaking apart, Genesis rested his head against Sephiroth's chest, closing his eyes to get some more sleep. Pulling one of his omegas closer to him, Sephiroth then looked at the rest of the pack, all of them still sleeping.
Angeal was curled up around Cloud while holding him close from behind, both alphas instinctively preferring to keep the omegas close to keep them safe, even if Gen was a First Class SOLDIER too. Zack was in-between the two alpha-omega pairs, his back now touching Genesis's back and holding one of Cloud's hands as he drooled on the pillow. Sephiroth smiled at the sight as he stroked Gen's hair and felt the other man fall back asleep.
He remembered how incredibly heartbroken he'd been when Hojo had told him there was no one out there for him and that he belonged to Shinra only and how utterly relieved he was to have seen that statement proven wrong over the years. The four men lying in bed with him were his pack and he loved them all just as much as they loved him. Closing his eyes for a bit more rest too, Sephiroth let out a very deep breath as he relaxed.
He'd found his pack and he'd never be alone again