Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Untitled FF7 Fic #2 ❯ One-Shot
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Lsama-no-miko 
Title suggestions always welcome!!!
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.14.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.8K | Visits: 587 | Status: Completed
Title suggestions always welcome!!!
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.14.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.8K | Visits: 587 | Status: Completed
Untitled FF7 fic #2
By Sakura
It was pitch black all around her. Normally she’d be scared out of her wits, but she had this dream several times before over the past couple years. There was a strange warm sensation of being held by someone. "I’m so sorry," a rich, masculine voice behind her said. Turning around all she could see was the darkness. Once she began to focus a dim figure appeared. She could see it had silver hair and aqua eyes that glowed with a strange light like her own blue ones. Just as suddenly, the figure vanished.
Opening her eyes, the chestnut haired girl saw she was lying in the arms of a black haired man in equally black clothing and a red cloak. He had been holding her as if she were a fragile porcelain doll, fearful he’d hurt her with the golden claw fused to his left shoulder.
"Uncle Vincent?" she asked groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Feeling better," the usually taciturn man asked, helping her to sit up. She had known the man all her life and never thought to question why he was on her bed holding her.
"Another attack." She didn’t need to phrase it as a question. She had always had what her ‘uncle’ and father termed ‘Jenova’ attacks due to the alien Jenova cells unwittingly passed on to her from her father. Also waking up in the black haired man’s arms after attacks was nothing unusual. The closeness of Vincent’s own Jenova cells was enough to calm her own. Her father had tried holding her but because their cells were too similar genetically, it would only make things worse for the poor girl.
Usually it would take several days for her ‘uncle’ to reach the little villa in Costa del Sol, but as luck would have it, the extremely hard to reach man had been on his way to Lucrecia’s cave and in the vicinity when the most recent attack occurred.
"How is she? Any better?" a dark brown haired woman asked, coming into the room littered with tons of stuffed animals. "Oh good you’re awake now," she said, relief written all over her face. "How do you feel, sweetie?"
"Aww mom! Stop fussing over me! I’m not a baby anymore," the girl said swiping at the hand on her forehead.
"But the attack…" her mother started.
"Tifa honey, she’s fine now. ‘Side’s there’s nothing any of us can do. All the people on the Jenova project are dead. It’s my fault she got those damned cells in the first place," a blond, spiky haired man said coming up behind his wife.
"Demo (But)…"
"Cloud is right, Tifa," Vincent interjected, "There is nothing we can do. Just hope that they stop once she gets older."
"But they aren’t stopping are they? In fact she’s getting them more often than ever now!"
"Tifa! Not so loud," Cloud said noticing his daughter’s worried and somewhat annoyed expression. "It’s just her hormones, right? She is sixteen after all."
"Stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here!!" the girl yelled, breaking from her ‘uncle’s’ grasp.
"Aeris, sweetie…" Her mother never got to say what she wanted. The chestnut haired girl had run out of the room and out of the villa all together.
"Let her go calm down a bit, Tifa," Vincent said blocking the woman’s way when she started after her daughter. "She’s just as worried as you are and letting her see how worried you both are is making it even harder for her."
"But she could have another attack," Tifa said.
"She’ll be all right, Tifa," her husband said, "You now she’s never had more than one attack at the same time."
"I’ll go keep an eye on her," Vincent said before Tifa could say anything further.
"If I know my daughter," Cloud said, chuckling a bit, "she’s probably at Gold Saucer by now blowing all her allowance."
Aeris Lockheart-Strife was indeed at the famed amusement park, venting her frustration on the simulated monsters at Battle Square. She was always crabby when she’d wake from the Jenova attacks for some reason, she always felt that there was something she was supposed to remember but never really could. It stayed at the back of her consciousness, a constant nuisance that never let her be. Busting monsters at Battle Square always made the stress and frustration go away.
It didn’t take long for Vincent Valentine to find Cloud and Tifa’s wayward daughter. Another of Aeris’ ‘uncles’, Cait Sith had met the tall man at the entrance and filled him in on the girl’s whereabouts. After extricating himself from the stuffed cat and moogle’s insistent chatting, Vincent headed for the battle arena. He really didn’t approve of the sixteen-year-old girl’s choice of hobbies, but as usual, never said anything to her, believing he should respect his ‘niece’s’ wishes. He placed himself nonchalantly against the wall, waiting for the girl to finish.
About a half hour later, Aeris emerged from the battle area, sweat causing her bangs to stick to her face. "Whoo! Do I need a shower!" she said wiping at her sweat-drenched hair, freeing her eyes. "Oh, hi Uncle Vinny!" she called, seeing the quiet man leaning against on of the walls.
He inwardly winced at the nickname she’d insisted on calling him, but kept his disgust hidden under his usually calm expressionless face. "Feeling any better?" he asked, falling into step with her as they made their way to the elevator to the entrance.
"Sorry about earlier."
"It’s all right, Aeris. They’re just worried about you."
"I know, but fussing over me isn’t going to make these attacks stop. Let’s go home, ‘k? I probably stink like a Grand Horn."
"It’s not that bad," the black haired man said chuckling, which was an extremely rare occurrence, "They smell much worse." Soon both were laughing as they boarded the shuttle car home.
That night Aeris had the dream again, the first time without suffering from an attack. As with before, just as she was about to see the dream figure’s face, she was forced awake. "I have to find that place," she whispered. "I know it has something to do with these cells." Making up her mind to start right away, the chestnut haired girl packed a few changes of clothes, her staff, which she had smuggled in from Gold Saucer and kept hidden at the back of her closet – her mother always panicked when she talked about her fighting at Battle Square, some books to keep her busy, and her favorite stuffed moogle – for luck of course.
"Sorry Mom, sorry Dad, but I’ve gotta find out what’s going on with me." Feeling guilty, she hastily wrote a note to her parents and left it on the nightstand where she’d be sure one of them would see it.
Once she managed to sneak out of the villa without waking anyone, she sighed and looked at the nighttime sky. "Great now where do I go?" she asked the stars. "I know this place in my dream is real, but where the heck is it and why is it so dark?" Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes hoping to remember something, any small detail from the dream. But all she could remember was the darkness, the figure, and the cold.
Wait a minute! She didn’t remember it being cold where she was. "Where’d the heck that come from? Well I guess it’s better than nothing." Shrugging, she headed for the docks and the ship to Junon.
After managing to bribe the sailor on duty, she snuck into the ship’s cargo hold and waited for daylight and the ship to shove off. Clutching the stuffed toy, she fell asleep, lulled by the distant sound of waves lapping against the steel hull.
When she awoke, the ship had all ready left the port of Costa del Sol and was on its way to Junon. "Well guess I’ll start reading these, it’s a long way to Junon." She pulled out one thick book and started reading.
A week later, Aeris had finally made her way to Midgar and after successfully worming a boat out of one of the shop owners of Wall Market, she was now on her way to the Northern Continent. "Good thing I was able to find some monsters to bust," she said checking her wallet. "I was almost out of gil and I didn’t have any warm clothes back at home. Plus I’ve got a feeling I needed that armor too." She silently added a prayer that the Jenova cells wouldn’t act up until she made it to her destination.
Five days after leaving Kalm where the boat was kept, the chestnut haired girl landed on the shore just outside of Bone Village.
"Don’t get much travelers around here," the item seller said handing the supplies she needed. "What’s a nice looking kid like you doing here anyway?"
"I’m looking for someone." Though it hadn’t been the original reason why she had set out on such a dangerous journey, it was part of it. Aeris had been thinking that not only did the place had something to do with the Jenova cells in her body, but the person in her dream may have some idea as to why she had the attacks.
"’S’at so? Well good luck to ya." She paid the man and climbed up the ladder to the second level of the excavation site.
Looking around she could see no way past the thick forest surrounding it and was about to turn back. ‘Looks like I’ll have to hike around these damn mountains after all.’ One of the workers saw the girl head back to the ladder and called to her.
"Hey kid! Were you trying to get in there?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, but the trees are too thick," Aeris replied.
"Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but ‘bout twenty years ago or so a group of kids got past here using some kind of harp."
"Where’s this harp now?" the girl asked, very interested.
"Hmm. Lemme see. Oh yeah, I think the boss has it. But I doubt he’d lend it to you. You’re just a kid."
"Thanks anyway ma’am," Aeris said before returning to the lower level and the foreman’s office.
Knocking on the door, she double-checked her money. "Yah? Whadya want?" the foreman asked opening the door. It was obvious he was annoyed to see a kid at his door. "I ain’t buying no cookies kid so you’d better get home."
"Um… could you please let me use your harp for a minute?" she asked, softly.
"Harp? I ain’t got no stinkin’ harp. Now scram kid," the foreman said refusing to let a kid head into the dangerous forest.
"I’ll give you a hundred gil if you let me use for a sec. Pretty please?" Aeris batted her eyes and gave him her sweetest look while shoving the money into the man’s face.
"All right, all right, kid. Ya can have that piece of junk just don’t come ‘round here bothering me again." The foreman grabbed the gil then shut the door. A few moments later he returned, shoving an oddly shaped harp into the girl’s hands. "Here now get outta here!" he said before slamming the door.
"Hmph. Real nice guy," Aeris muttered under her breath, heading once more up to the second level. Standing at the edge of the ‘Sleeping Forest’ the chestnut haired girl looked puzzled at the harp. "Hmm. How am I supposed to work this? Maybe if I played around with it a bit." She looked at the instrument some more then deciding to just go for it, she ran her hand along the strings. A sweet, delicate sound emerged from the harp and like magic, the trees parted and made a path for the girl. "Cool!" She placed the harp in her backpack and stepped onto the path before it could close up again.
"Whoah! Look at this place!" Aeris had just reached the Ancient City beyond the forest. She’d heard only a brief description of the place from her parents, but could never get them to tell her anything more for some reason. Whenever she kept asking, they would quickly change the subject.
She could not believe how beautiful the forgotten place still was, though it had been almost twenty years since anyone had last traveled there, nothing had changed. The buildings were still standing in spite of twenty more years worth of dust had been added.
"This must have been one heck of a place to live," she said, placing a hand on the door of the more intact conch shaped houses. She then promptly sneezed and coughed at the amount of dust that greeted her as she made her way inside. "Could use some major housekeeping, but this isn’t a bad place to shack in."
With that she walked along the inclined floor until it wrapped around the central column and led her to an area where two still made beds waited. "Great! No cold, hard floor for me tonight!" Aeris squealed with delight. She took off her backpack, but left her cloak and warmer clothing on. Placing the pack on the floor beside the closest bed, she began dusting the covers off as best as she could, sneezing and coughing as it went sailing into the air. Once that was done and she had made certain that no animals or insects had made the bed their permanent home, she took out her stuffed moogle and lay down on the bed, almost falling asleep immediately.
"Damn! Just who the heck am have I been dreaming of?" came the girl’s sleepy voice. She rubbed and squinted her eyes, for the sun was pouring into the abandoned house through one of its remarkably still intact windows.
Grateful that no one or anything had snuck into the house while she slept, Aeris ate a somewhat leisurely breakfast of some Shinra army rations she’d bought just the other day and remade the bed. The latter being a habit drilled into her by her mother.
"Well this isn’t the place in my dream, so I might as well keep heading north and see what I can find." Taking one last look at the Ancient City, the chestnut haired girl took out her compass and headed towards the north again. "Definitely have to remember this place," she said as she passed through the northern gate of the city.
It took the girl two weeks to get past the Great Glacier due to the fact that the constant snowstorms had gotten her turned around several times despite the fact that she had a compass. But once she made it to the cave ridden Gaea cliffs at the northern most edge of the glacier, she was able to move much more quickly.
"Whoo!" that was some climb," she said panting when she reached the top of the Gaea cliffs the next day. Looking over the edge, she could see a vast plain of white as far as the eye could see. At the center of the blinding field of white was a humongous, gaping, black hole, like a great, big mouth yawning in the late morning sun.
"That’s it!" Aeris exclaimed. "That’s gotta be the place in my dream. I finally found it! Yes!" She hurriedly grabbed her backpack and half ran, half climbed down the other side of the cliffs towards the Northern Crater. She couldn’t have stopped herself now if she wanted to; the crater seemed to be pulling her towards it, as if it wanted to swallow her.
A day and a half later, the chestnut haired girl stood at the very edge of the crater. Gulping slightly as she looked into the abyss, she almost changed her mind. Almost. "Well this is it, Aeris. Might as well get this over with." Glancing back one last time as if saying goodbye to the world she knew, she silently asked her parents and ‘uncles’ to forgive her. "Here goes nothing," she whispered, silently adding a prayer as she took the first step into the dark hole.
The monsters became more and more dangerous as she went deeper and deeper into the crater. Also the light became dimmer and dimmer as well. Aeris was a good enough fighter to win against most of the monsters due to the practice she did at Gold Saucer’s Battle Square. She was also young and quick enough to run from those she knew she couldn’t beat. Soon she had to bring out a mako flashlight for it had become completely pitch black. "Just like my dream," she said a little bit nervous.
As she reached the bottom of the abysmal crater, she began to get a pounding headache, which signaled she was having a Jenova attack. The girl then went into a trance like state and started walking robotically towards a certain spot that would have been all too familiar if her father were there with her. The pain from resisting the cells had become too much for the sixteen-year-old and she collapsed after taking only a handful of steps.
She thought she was still dreaming when she came to, but there was a brief scratching sound and a burst of light as a candle was being lit. "Can you stand?" a rich, masculine voice said on the edge of the candlelight. Seeing that she was no longer suffering from her latest Jenova attack, the girl pulled herself up from the small cot she’d been laying on. She stumbled a bit and strong arms caught her and helped her to stand.
The person she’d heard felt warm against her and the beat of the heart next to her ear was strangely comforting and somehow reminded her of her ‘Uncle Vincent’. Blushing, she backed away from her supposedly savior. "W-where am I?" she asked, suddenly shy.
"My home, such as it is," the person replied. "I found you collapsed out there."
"Thank you," Aeris said blushing at the sudden wish he’d hold her again.
The person who had been hiding just outside the light stepped closer and the chestnut haired girl gasped. The man appeared to be in his late twenties and was dressed in black clothing that seemed to make him blend completely with the darkness around them, his muscular chest peeking through the straps crossing the top of his body. But what really caught Aeris’ attention was the man’s hair and eyes. The hair was silver and hung down to his waist and his eyes were the same aqua color she’d seen in her dream. And as in the dream, they were glowing. If she hadn’t been so shocked, she would have considered the man to be extremely handsome.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously displeased at having his solitude interrupted.
"I know you!" Aeris said, ignoring the question for the moment.
"Well I certainly don’t remember you," he spat back, "If you’re able to walk now, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave." He then turned his back on the girl.
"Sephiroth! You’re Sephiroth, right?! My father told me about you." Aeris found herself rooted to the floor, unable or unwilling to move. She wasn’t sure which it was nor did she care.
"And what did your father tell you?" Sephiroth said advancing on the girl, intent on scaring her away.
The chestnut haired girl backed away, but only one step. "That you were a bad person who wanted to destroy everything and that he stopped you."
Sephiroth was about to draw the masamune, but hearing the girl’s words he stopped as soon as his hand touched the sword’s hilt. "Your father wouldn’t happen to have spiky, blond hair would he?" the silver haired man asked, not taking his eyes from the girl.
"So it was true," she whispered. When she became old enough to tell truth from fiction, Aeris had begun to doubt her father and mother’s tale of how they and her ‘uncles’ and ‘Aunt Yuffie' had defeated the great Sephiroth.
"You’re the failure’s daughter? Never would have though he had it in him," Sephiroth chuckled at the thought of his arch-nemesis actually having a daughter. "You have his eyes, the same blue mako glow."
"I’m… I’m Aeris Lockheart-Strife," she said blushing once more as she held her hand out.
The silver haired man didn’t know what to make of the hand offered to him. He regarded it as if its owner meant to harm him, but soon realized that the girl was too innocent to really want to kill anyone. "Did you say Aeris?!" he said in shock once the girl’s introduction registered in his brain.
"I was named after a friend of Dad’s who died. Did you know her?"
"I killed her," Sephiroth said flatly, not too happy about being forced to recall one of his many sins. "Didn’t your father tell you that?"
"Oh!" Aeris didn’t know what to do at that moment. She had come searching for this place and hopefully answers to how to stop the Jenova attacks. And now she was standing before one of the most dangerous people on the planet and the one who had murdered her namesake. "They never told me anything about what happened before I was born."
"Maybe it was for the best," Sephiroth said sadly. "I’d want to forget about me too if I were your parents."
The chestnut girl then felt sorry for the silver haired man. She didn’t know anything about him, but she felt a strange connection with him. And through it could sense that his life was not one you would want to remember. "It wasn’t your fault. My ‘Uncle Vincent’ said that you went crazy because you had Jenova cells in you."
"What right have you to say that none of this was my fault!" he yelled, pouncing on her and slamming her against the wall. "You have no idea what my life was like!"
Aeris bowed her head, ashamed for shooting her mouth off again. "You’re right I don’t, but I do know what it’s like to have Jenova cells inside of you. I… I have them too." Unbidden tears began to fall from the girl’s eyes.
Sephiroth let go of her, more frightened of his own violence than sorry. "Is that why you’re here?" he asked in a friendlier tone this time.
She nodded. "I kept dreaming of this place every time I’d have an attack. You were there, but I couldn’t see you at all and I didn’t know who you were. But you would keep me close and the pain would go away." Aeris then blushed. "I went searching for this place because I wanted to know if there was a way to stop these attacks. They were getting more and more frequent you see."
The silver haired man reached out and gingerly wiped the tears from the girl’s cheek. "I… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Aeris," he said hesitantly wrapping his arms around her.
The chestnut haired girl, held on tight to Sephiroth, afraid he’d vanish and she’d find out that this was just another dream induced attack. "Is there away to stop them?" she asked.
Sephiroth shook his head. "I’m afraid not. I never could find a way to stop my own."
"So I’m gonna suffer for the rest of my life then, huh?"
"Aeris," the silver haired man began, "h-how do you feel when… when you’re with me?" She looked up at him and had to blink to make sure she hadn’t been seeing things. Sephiroth was blushing.
She blushed as well. "I like being held by you, Seph. I don’t even feel crabby like I usually do after an attack," she said, laughing nervously. The silver haired man laughed as well, the first time in many, many years.
"I’m glad you’re feeling better," he said, daring to bring his face closer to hers. For what seemed to be hours, the two stared at each other, not wanting to let go but not sure why and even less sure what to do next. Then on a whim, the chestnut haired girl put one hand on Sephiroth’s head and pushed it closer to hers, causing their lips to meet.
His eyes went wide in surprise, this being his first kiss ever. He found her lips were soft and tasted sweet like berries. Taking the man’s shock as a rejection, Aeris broke the kiss. "G-gomen," she said blushing furiously.
"Don’t be," he said before pulling her even closer into the most passionate kiss either experienced. Aeris melted into Sephiroth’s arms, suddenly too weak to stand.
One month later, Aeris and Sephiroth appeared at what used to be the original Aeris’ home in Midgar. Elmyra had taken Barret’s daughter Marlene with her to an obscure village not too far from Choco Billy’s chocobo ranch. "You sure about this, Aeris?" The silver haired man asked, nervous about being back in Midgar after so long.
"Yeah. There’s no one living here now, Seph and hardly anyone comes by here so we should be all right," the chestnut haired girl said reassuring her lover and fiancé.
"But I still think we should have found someplace… less crowded."
"No one knows you’re still alive and I doubt there’s that many people around here who know who you are," she said pulling out a key that she had swiped from the villa in Costa del Sol. Seeing her lover’s unspoken question in his eyes, she shrugged her shoulders. "’Auntie Elmyra’ gave Mom this key in case she ‘n’ Dad ever decided to move back here," she explained, "I thought I might have to stay here for a while until I found a way to the north continent, so I borrowed it."
Sephiroth’s eyes darted all over the quaintly furnished house, checking for any sign of trouble out of sheer habit. "Will you quit that all ready?!" Aeris chided. "It’s not like the entire new Shinra army’s gonna pop out of the woodwork."
"You never know," her silver haired lover quipped back. "But you’re right. This does look like a nice place to live." He gently placed a kiss on her neck making her jump and giggle. "It has a nice comfortable feel."
"I’m glad you approve, koi, let’s get settled." She was about to cross over the threshold, but soon found herself literally swept off her feet. "Hey!! Put me down!" she said with mock fear.
"Not so fast, sweetling," came the reply. Sephiroth then proceeded to carry his young lover over the threshold, being careful not to bump against anything then, to her surprise, deftly shutting the door and locking it behind them without releasing her.
"Now put me down, Seph. I have to see if we need anything," the girl in his arms protested.
"Whatever it is, it can wait," he said, kissing her deeply and making her blush. Then he continued to carry her through the eating area, up the stairs and into the nearest bedroom. "Welcome home, itoshii," he murmured into her ear as he lightly nibbled at the lobe making her squirm.
"You’re unbelievable," she said pulling off the black trench coat.
"I love you too."
He then resumed showing her just how much.
"Aeris, I’m home!" Sephiroth called, but no ecstatic reply came. Instead an all too familiar figure came from the back room on the first floor. The black haired man’s eyes widened when he saw the silver haired man.
"You!" Vincent said, his surprise visible only in his eyes.
"Valentine," the other man hissed. "What are you doing in my home and where is Aeris?"
"Your home?" the former turk asked surprised to find that his ‘niece’ was living with his former enemy.
"Yes my home. Now either tell me where Aeris or get out!" The silver haired man found it very hard not to impale the dark clothed man with the masamune.
"She’s upstairs packing," Vincent answered not taking his eyes from Sephiroth for an instant. "I came to take her home."
"The hell you are!!" the slightly taller man yelled, drawing his sword. "I’m warning you Valentine, leave us in peace. Aeris is happy here with me." The glow in his eyes burned brighter as he struggled to keep the bloodlust at bay.
Vincent narrowed his eyes and drew his Death Penalty, ready to kill the man should he make any sudden moves. "I won’t stand by and let you hurt Aeris again, monster."
"Leave him alone Uncle Vincent!" Aeris said bursting into the house and placing herself between the two men, letting the basket of flowers fall to the floor, forgotten.
"Aeris, get out of the way!" both men shouted.
She glared at the man she called ‘uncle’. "How dare you! How dare you break into someone’s house and start accusing people!" she yelled back, shocking the taciturn man. "Can’t you see that Seph’s not the same he was all those years ago?!"
"Aeris, he might go crazy again," her ‘uncle’ said trying to reason with the irate teenager. "Your parents are worried sick about you. Don’t you care about that?"
The chestnut haired girl fumed. "Of course I do!" she spat. "But do you think I’m crazy enough to tell them who I’ve been living with?! They rather kill him than listen to us."
"And with good reason," the black haired man added.
"Get out," Aeris said as calmly as she could. "Don’t make me hurt you, uncle." She grasped her staff from the wall it had been leaning against, never taking her eyes from Vincent.
"Aeris, please," the black haired man pleaded.
"You heard her," Sephiroth warned, "leave."
There was an extremely tense moment between the three, none of them wanting to back down. Finally Vincent sighed unable and unwilling to fight the poor girl. "Don’t think I won’t come back," he said to the silver haired man before going through the still open front door.
Throwing her weapon to the floor, Aeris ran to her lover. "Are you all right? He didn’t hurt you did he?" she asked fussing over him.
Naturally he would have enjoyed his little love’s attention, but the confrontation with his former enemy still had him upset. "I’m not hurt Aeris. He never laid a finger on me." Checking for herself, Aeris only let him go when she could find no marks or bruises.
"I guess the old church’ll have to wait some more," the girl said sadly getting their backpacks from the hallway closet.
"Aeris, I’m sorry," Sephiroth said, ashamed for letting his lover and the only person to treat him as a human being see a small portion of what he once was.
She turned and smiled at him, making him return the loving smile. "It’s not your fault. You were only thinking of protecting me, right?" He nodded. "Well then it’s all right. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me Seph. The Jenova monster doesn’t control you anymore."
"Aeris… Thank you so much for… for believing in me," he managed to say, fighting the urge to run out of the house and of the girl’s life.
She wrapped her arms around the taller man, holding him close. "You needed me as much as I needed you," she said wiping a single tear that managed to sneak out of one aqua hued eye, "and I love you."
"I love you too… angel." He brought his face closer to hers, intent on kissing his mako blue-eyed angel.
"We’ve gotta pack, silly," she said squirming out of his strong, yet gentle hold. "When Uncle Vinny says he’ll be back, he means it."
"But where can we go? Your ‘uncle’ was a turk remember." Sephiroth wanted to stay, show his enemy that he wasn’t afraid to fight for the one he loved.
"We can go back to the Ancient City. That place is as far out as you can get. ‘Sides I’ve got a feeling he’d never think I’d be smart enough to think of going there."
The silver haired man thought the idea over for a few minutes then nodded his head. "That sounds like a good idea, but if he does show up, we’re not running away again."
"All right, but I’m praying that he never does. I really don’t want to fight someone I’ve known all my life."
"I don’t blame you, itoshii. I have no real desire to fight Vincent either, but I will if he threatens to take you from me again." He then gave her one of his most passionate kisses as if he was laying his claim on her all over again.
Panting from the kiss, Aeris steadied herself on the table. "Cut that out!" she said, giggling, "We’ve got to hurry."
"I’ll help," he said grabbing his own backpack and rummaging through the house for anything and everything important.
A month passed and the fugitive lovers had made it safely to the Ancient City. Once the conch shaped house Aeris had stayed in not too long ago was thoroughly cleaned out, they began to restore it turning it into a cozy little love nest for two.
"You’re doing wonders with this place, angel," Sephiroth said coming back from the supply trip to Bone Village."
"Not without your help I couldn’t," she replied, wiping her sweat-drenched brow and getting paint on her bangs.
"Look at yourself!" he chided mockingly, "You’re a mess!"
"Oh yeah?" A very mischievous glint began to glow in her blue eyes. "So are you!" She then glomped her ‘husband’, getting the whitish paint on his black clothing.
"Aeris! I just cleaned these!" The girl laughed merrily and ran toward the lake at the northern edge of the city. "Get back here you little minx!" he yelled after her, smirking as he followed the trail of discarded clothing.
Finding his ‘prey’ bathing in the lake, Sephiroth licked his lips and shed his own soiled clothes before joining the nymph in the water. Catching her by surprise, he pulled her into his lap and began to nuzzle her neck.
Aeris giggled at the ticklish sensation of his breath against her wet skin and held on tight to his shoulders. "I’m glad I left home," she said enjoying her lover’s caresses immensely.
"So am I, my angel. Otherwise, I’d die a very, very lonely man." Smiling at him, her love shining in her glowing eyes, she ran her hands through his silken hair, pulling his up from her chest so she could give him a kiss that came from the depths of her soul.
"Don’t let this be a dream," she murmured.
"I won’t, Aeris. I love you too much, angel." With that, he returned the kiss with equal passion and began to show his soul mate just how deeply he had come to love her.
~owari~
Arrrgh!!! I seem to be having trouble coming up with titles for my FF7 fics!!! What is it with me?! All right enough about that. I can't believe I wrote another fic for this game and it's been how long since I wrote the other one?! Anyhoo tell me whatcha think minna! Oh yeah if any of you have any, I mean any, ideas for a title for this or my other FF7 fic, pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase don't hesitate to tell me.
By Sakura
It was pitch black all around her. Normally she’d be scared out of her wits, but she had this dream several times before over the past couple years. There was a strange warm sensation of being held by someone. "I’m so sorry," a rich, masculine voice behind her said. Turning around all she could see was the darkness. Once she began to focus a dim figure appeared. She could see it had silver hair and aqua eyes that glowed with a strange light like her own blue ones. Just as suddenly, the figure vanished.
Opening her eyes, the chestnut haired girl saw she was lying in the arms of a black haired man in equally black clothing and a red cloak. He had been holding her as if she were a fragile porcelain doll, fearful he’d hurt her with the golden claw fused to his left shoulder.
"Uncle Vincent?" she asked groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Feeling better," the usually taciturn man asked, helping her to sit up. She had known the man all her life and never thought to question why he was on her bed holding her.
"Another attack." She didn’t need to phrase it as a question. She had always had what her ‘uncle’ and father termed ‘Jenova’ attacks due to the alien Jenova cells unwittingly passed on to her from her father. Also waking up in the black haired man’s arms after attacks was nothing unusual. The closeness of Vincent’s own Jenova cells was enough to calm her own. Her father had tried holding her but because their cells were too similar genetically, it would only make things worse for the poor girl.
Usually it would take several days for her ‘uncle’ to reach the little villa in Costa del Sol, but as luck would have it, the extremely hard to reach man had been on his way to Lucrecia’s cave and in the vicinity when the most recent attack occurred.
"How is she? Any better?" a dark brown haired woman asked, coming into the room littered with tons of stuffed animals. "Oh good you’re awake now," she said, relief written all over her face. "How do you feel, sweetie?"
"Aww mom! Stop fussing over me! I’m not a baby anymore," the girl said swiping at the hand on her forehead.
"But the attack…" her mother started.
"Tifa honey, she’s fine now. ‘Side’s there’s nothing any of us can do. All the people on the Jenova project are dead. It’s my fault she got those damned cells in the first place," a blond, spiky haired man said coming up behind his wife.
"Demo (But)…"
"Cloud is right, Tifa," Vincent interjected, "There is nothing we can do. Just hope that they stop once she gets older."
"But they aren’t stopping are they? In fact she’s getting them more often than ever now!"
"Tifa! Not so loud," Cloud said noticing his daughter’s worried and somewhat annoyed expression. "It’s just her hormones, right? She is sixteen after all."
"Stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here!!" the girl yelled, breaking from her ‘uncle’s’ grasp.
"Aeris, sweetie…" Her mother never got to say what she wanted. The chestnut haired girl had run out of the room and out of the villa all together.
"Let her go calm down a bit, Tifa," Vincent said blocking the woman’s way when she started after her daughter. "She’s just as worried as you are and letting her see how worried you both are is making it even harder for her."
"But she could have another attack," Tifa said.
"She’ll be all right, Tifa," her husband said, "You now she’s never had more than one attack at the same time."
"I’ll go keep an eye on her," Vincent said before Tifa could say anything further.
"If I know my daughter," Cloud said, chuckling a bit, "she’s probably at Gold Saucer by now blowing all her allowance."
Aeris Lockheart-Strife was indeed at the famed amusement park, venting her frustration on the simulated monsters at Battle Square. She was always crabby when she’d wake from the Jenova attacks for some reason, she always felt that there was something she was supposed to remember but never really could. It stayed at the back of her consciousness, a constant nuisance that never let her be. Busting monsters at Battle Square always made the stress and frustration go away.
It didn’t take long for Vincent Valentine to find Cloud and Tifa’s wayward daughter. Another of Aeris’ ‘uncles’, Cait Sith had met the tall man at the entrance and filled him in on the girl’s whereabouts. After extricating himself from the stuffed cat and moogle’s insistent chatting, Vincent headed for the battle arena. He really didn’t approve of the sixteen-year-old girl’s choice of hobbies, but as usual, never said anything to her, believing he should respect his ‘niece’s’ wishes. He placed himself nonchalantly against the wall, waiting for the girl to finish.
About a half hour later, Aeris emerged from the battle area, sweat causing her bangs to stick to her face. "Whoo! Do I need a shower!" she said wiping at her sweat-drenched hair, freeing her eyes. "Oh, hi Uncle Vinny!" she called, seeing the quiet man leaning against on of the walls.
He inwardly winced at the nickname she’d insisted on calling him, but kept his disgust hidden under his usually calm expressionless face. "Feeling any better?" he asked, falling into step with her as they made their way to the elevator to the entrance.
"Sorry about earlier."
"It’s all right, Aeris. They’re just worried about you."
"I know, but fussing over me isn’t going to make these attacks stop. Let’s go home, ‘k? I probably stink like a Grand Horn."
"It’s not that bad," the black haired man said chuckling, which was an extremely rare occurrence, "They smell much worse." Soon both were laughing as they boarded the shuttle car home.
That night Aeris had the dream again, the first time without suffering from an attack. As with before, just as she was about to see the dream figure’s face, she was forced awake. "I have to find that place," she whispered. "I know it has something to do with these cells." Making up her mind to start right away, the chestnut haired girl packed a few changes of clothes, her staff, which she had smuggled in from Gold Saucer and kept hidden at the back of her closet – her mother always panicked when she talked about her fighting at Battle Square, some books to keep her busy, and her favorite stuffed moogle – for luck of course.
"Sorry Mom, sorry Dad, but I’ve gotta find out what’s going on with me." Feeling guilty, she hastily wrote a note to her parents and left it on the nightstand where she’d be sure one of them would see it.
Once she managed to sneak out of the villa without waking anyone, she sighed and looked at the nighttime sky. "Great now where do I go?" she asked the stars. "I know this place in my dream is real, but where the heck is it and why is it so dark?" Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes hoping to remember something, any small detail from the dream. But all she could remember was the darkness, the figure, and the cold.
Wait a minute! She didn’t remember it being cold where she was. "Where’d the heck that come from? Well I guess it’s better than nothing." Shrugging, she headed for the docks and the ship to Junon.
After managing to bribe the sailor on duty, she snuck into the ship’s cargo hold and waited for daylight and the ship to shove off. Clutching the stuffed toy, she fell asleep, lulled by the distant sound of waves lapping against the steel hull.
When she awoke, the ship had all ready left the port of Costa del Sol and was on its way to Junon. "Well guess I’ll start reading these, it’s a long way to Junon." She pulled out one thick book and started reading.
A week later, Aeris had finally made her way to Midgar and after successfully worming a boat out of one of the shop owners of Wall Market, she was now on her way to the Northern Continent. "Good thing I was able to find some monsters to bust," she said checking her wallet. "I was almost out of gil and I didn’t have any warm clothes back at home. Plus I’ve got a feeling I needed that armor too." She silently added a prayer that the Jenova cells wouldn’t act up until she made it to her destination.
Five days after leaving Kalm where the boat was kept, the chestnut haired girl landed on the shore just outside of Bone Village.
"Don’t get much travelers around here," the item seller said handing the supplies she needed. "What’s a nice looking kid like you doing here anyway?"
"I’m looking for someone." Though it hadn’t been the original reason why she had set out on such a dangerous journey, it was part of it. Aeris had been thinking that not only did the place had something to do with the Jenova cells in her body, but the person in her dream may have some idea as to why she had the attacks.
"’S’at so? Well good luck to ya." She paid the man and climbed up the ladder to the second level of the excavation site.
Looking around she could see no way past the thick forest surrounding it and was about to turn back. ‘Looks like I’ll have to hike around these damn mountains after all.’ One of the workers saw the girl head back to the ladder and called to her.
"Hey kid! Were you trying to get in there?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, but the trees are too thick," Aeris replied.
"Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but ‘bout twenty years ago or so a group of kids got past here using some kind of harp."
"Where’s this harp now?" the girl asked, very interested.
"Hmm. Lemme see. Oh yeah, I think the boss has it. But I doubt he’d lend it to you. You’re just a kid."
"Thanks anyway ma’am," Aeris said before returning to the lower level and the foreman’s office.
Knocking on the door, she double-checked her money. "Yah? Whadya want?" the foreman asked opening the door. It was obvious he was annoyed to see a kid at his door. "I ain’t buying no cookies kid so you’d better get home."
"Um… could you please let me use your harp for a minute?" she asked, softly.
"Harp? I ain’t got no stinkin’ harp. Now scram kid," the foreman said refusing to let a kid head into the dangerous forest.
"I’ll give you a hundred gil if you let me use for a sec. Pretty please?" Aeris batted her eyes and gave him her sweetest look while shoving the money into the man’s face.
"All right, all right, kid. Ya can have that piece of junk just don’t come ‘round here bothering me again." The foreman grabbed the gil then shut the door. A few moments later he returned, shoving an oddly shaped harp into the girl’s hands. "Here now get outta here!" he said before slamming the door.
"Hmph. Real nice guy," Aeris muttered under her breath, heading once more up to the second level. Standing at the edge of the ‘Sleeping Forest’ the chestnut haired girl looked puzzled at the harp. "Hmm. How am I supposed to work this? Maybe if I played around with it a bit." She looked at the instrument some more then deciding to just go for it, she ran her hand along the strings. A sweet, delicate sound emerged from the harp and like magic, the trees parted and made a path for the girl. "Cool!" She placed the harp in her backpack and stepped onto the path before it could close up again.
"Whoah! Look at this place!" Aeris had just reached the Ancient City beyond the forest. She’d heard only a brief description of the place from her parents, but could never get them to tell her anything more for some reason. Whenever she kept asking, they would quickly change the subject.
She could not believe how beautiful the forgotten place still was, though it had been almost twenty years since anyone had last traveled there, nothing had changed. The buildings were still standing in spite of twenty more years worth of dust had been added.
"This must have been one heck of a place to live," she said, placing a hand on the door of the more intact conch shaped houses. She then promptly sneezed and coughed at the amount of dust that greeted her as she made her way inside. "Could use some major housekeeping, but this isn’t a bad place to shack in."
With that she walked along the inclined floor until it wrapped around the central column and led her to an area where two still made beds waited. "Great! No cold, hard floor for me tonight!" Aeris squealed with delight. She took off her backpack, but left her cloak and warmer clothing on. Placing the pack on the floor beside the closest bed, she began dusting the covers off as best as she could, sneezing and coughing as it went sailing into the air. Once that was done and she had made certain that no animals or insects had made the bed their permanent home, she took out her stuffed moogle and lay down on the bed, almost falling asleep immediately.
"Damn! Just who the heck am have I been dreaming of?" came the girl’s sleepy voice. She rubbed and squinted her eyes, for the sun was pouring into the abandoned house through one of its remarkably still intact windows.
Grateful that no one or anything had snuck into the house while she slept, Aeris ate a somewhat leisurely breakfast of some Shinra army rations she’d bought just the other day and remade the bed. The latter being a habit drilled into her by her mother.
"Well this isn’t the place in my dream, so I might as well keep heading north and see what I can find." Taking one last look at the Ancient City, the chestnut haired girl took out her compass and headed towards the north again. "Definitely have to remember this place," she said as she passed through the northern gate of the city.
It took the girl two weeks to get past the Great Glacier due to the fact that the constant snowstorms had gotten her turned around several times despite the fact that she had a compass. But once she made it to the cave ridden Gaea cliffs at the northern most edge of the glacier, she was able to move much more quickly.
"Whoo!" that was some climb," she said panting when she reached the top of the Gaea cliffs the next day. Looking over the edge, she could see a vast plain of white as far as the eye could see. At the center of the blinding field of white was a humongous, gaping, black hole, like a great, big mouth yawning in the late morning sun.
"That’s it!" Aeris exclaimed. "That’s gotta be the place in my dream. I finally found it! Yes!" She hurriedly grabbed her backpack and half ran, half climbed down the other side of the cliffs towards the Northern Crater. She couldn’t have stopped herself now if she wanted to; the crater seemed to be pulling her towards it, as if it wanted to swallow her.
A day and a half later, the chestnut haired girl stood at the very edge of the crater. Gulping slightly as she looked into the abyss, she almost changed her mind. Almost. "Well this is it, Aeris. Might as well get this over with." Glancing back one last time as if saying goodbye to the world she knew, she silently asked her parents and ‘uncles’ to forgive her. "Here goes nothing," she whispered, silently adding a prayer as she took the first step into the dark hole.
The monsters became more and more dangerous as she went deeper and deeper into the crater. Also the light became dimmer and dimmer as well. Aeris was a good enough fighter to win against most of the monsters due to the practice she did at Gold Saucer’s Battle Square. She was also young and quick enough to run from those she knew she couldn’t beat. Soon she had to bring out a mako flashlight for it had become completely pitch black. "Just like my dream," she said a little bit nervous.
As she reached the bottom of the abysmal crater, she began to get a pounding headache, which signaled she was having a Jenova attack. The girl then went into a trance like state and started walking robotically towards a certain spot that would have been all too familiar if her father were there with her. The pain from resisting the cells had become too much for the sixteen-year-old and she collapsed after taking only a handful of steps.
She thought she was still dreaming when she came to, but there was a brief scratching sound and a burst of light as a candle was being lit. "Can you stand?" a rich, masculine voice said on the edge of the candlelight. Seeing that she was no longer suffering from her latest Jenova attack, the girl pulled herself up from the small cot she’d been laying on. She stumbled a bit and strong arms caught her and helped her to stand.
The person she’d heard felt warm against her and the beat of the heart next to her ear was strangely comforting and somehow reminded her of her ‘Uncle Vincent’. Blushing, she backed away from her supposedly savior. "W-where am I?" she asked, suddenly shy.
"My home, such as it is," the person replied. "I found you collapsed out there."
"Thank you," Aeris said blushing at the sudden wish he’d hold her again.
The person who had been hiding just outside the light stepped closer and the chestnut haired girl gasped. The man appeared to be in his late twenties and was dressed in black clothing that seemed to make him blend completely with the darkness around them, his muscular chest peeking through the straps crossing the top of his body. But what really caught Aeris’ attention was the man’s hair and eyes. The hair was silver and hung down to his waist and his eyes were the same aqua color she’d seen in her dream. And as in the dream, they were glowing. If she hadn’t been so shocked, she would have considered the man to be extremely handsome.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously displeased at having his solitude interrupted.
"I know you!" Aeris said, ignoring the question for the moment.
"Well I certainly don’t remember you," he spat back, "If you’re able to walk now, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave." He then turned his back on the girl.
"Sephiroth! You’re Sephiroth, right?! My father told me about you." Aeris found herself rooted to the floor, unable or unwilling to move. She wasn’t sure which it was nor did she care.
"And what did your father tell you?" Sephiroth said advancing on the girl, intent on scaring her away.
The chestnut haired girl backed away, but only one step. "That you were a bad person who wanted to destroy everything and that he stopped you."
Sephiroth was about to draw the masamune, but hearing the girl’s words he stopped as soon as his hand touched the sword’s hilt. "Your father wouldn’t happen to have spiky, blond hair would he?" the silver haired man asked, not taking his eyes from the girl.
"So it was true," she whispered. When she became old enough to tell truth from fiction, Aeris had begun to doubt her father and mother’s tale of how they and her ‘uncles’ and ‘Aunt Yuffie' had defeated the great Sephiroth.
"You’re the failure’s daughter? Never would have though he had it in him," Sephiroth chuckled at the thought of his arch-nemesis actually having a daughter. "You have his eyes, the same blue mako glow."
"I’m… I’m Aeris Lockheart-Strife," she said blushing once more as she held her hand out.
The silver haired man didn’t know what to make of the hand offered to him. He regarded it as if its owner meant to harm him, but soon realized that the girl was too innocent to really want to kill anyone. "Did you say Aeris?!" he said in shock once the girl’s introduction registered in his brain.
"I was named after a friend of Dad’s who died. Did you know her?"
"I killed her," Sephiroth said flatly, not too happy about being forced to recall one of his many sins. "Didn’t your father tell you that?"
"Oh!" Aeris didn’t know what to do at that moment. She had come searching for this place and hopefully answers to how to stop the Jenova attacks. And now she was standing before one of the most dangerous people on the planet and the one who had murdered her namesake. "They never told me anything about what happened before I was born."
"Maybe it was for the best," Sephiroth said sadly. "I’d want to forget about me too if I were your parents."
The chestnut girl then felt sorry for the silver haired man. She didn’t know anything about him, but she felt a strange connection with him. And through it could sense that his life was not one you would want to remember. "It wasn’t your fault. My ‘Uncle Vincent’ said that you went crazy because you had Jenova cells in you."
"What right have you to say that none of this was my fault!" he yelled, pouncing on her and slamming her against the wall. "You have no idea what my life was like!"
Aeris bowed her head, ashamed for shooting her mouth off again. "You’re right I don’t, but I do know what it’s like to have Jenova cells inside of you. I… I have them too." Unbidden tears began to fall from the girl’s eyes.
Sephiroth let go of her, more frightened of his own violence than sorry. "Is that why you’re here?" he asked in a friendlier tone this time.
She nodded. "I kept dreaming of this place every time I’d have an attack. You were there, but I couldn’t see you at all and I didn’t know who you were. But you would keep me close and the pain would go away." Aeris then blushed. "I went searching for this place because I wanted to know if there was a way to stop these attacks. They were getting more and more frequent you see."
The silver haired man reached out and gingerly wiped the tears from the girl’s cheek. "I… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Aeris," he said hesitantly wrapping his arms around her.
The chestnut haired girl, held on tight to Sephiroth, afraid he’d vanish and she’d find out that this was just another dream induced attack. "Is there away to stop them?" she asked.
Sephiroth shook his head. "I’m afraid not. I never could find a way to stop my own."
"So I’m gonna suffer for the rest of my life then, huh?"
"Aeris," the silver haired man began, "h-how do you feel when… when you’re with me?" She looked up at him and had to blink to make sure she hadn’t been seeing things. Sephiroth was blushing.
She blushed as well. "I like being held by you, Seph. I don’t even feel crabby like I usually do after an attack," she said, laughing nervously. The silver haired man laughed as well, the first time in many, many years.
"I’m glad you’re feeling better," he said, daring to bring his face closer to hers. For what seemed to be hours, the two stared at each other, not wanting to let go but not sure why and even less sure what to do next. Then on a whim, the chestnut haired girl put one hand on Sephiroth’s head and pushed it closer to hers, causing their lips to meet.
His eyes went wide in surprise, this being his first kiss ever. He found her lips were soft and tasted sweet like berries. Taking the man’s shock as a rejection, Aeris broke the kiss. "G-gomen," she said blushing furiously.
"Don’t be," he said before pulling her even closer into the most passionate kiss either experienced. Aeris melted into Sephiroth’s arms, suddenly too weak to stand.
One month later, Aeris and Sephiroth appeared at what used to be the original Aeris’ home in Midgar. Elmyra had taken Barret’s daughter Marlene with her to an obscure village not too far from Choco Billy’s chocobo ranch. "You sure about this, Aeris?" The silver haired man asked, nervous about being back in Midgar after so long.
"Yeah. There’s no one living here now, Seph and hardly anyone comes by here so we should be all right," the chestnut haired girl said reassuring her lover and fiancé.
"But I still think we should have found someplace… less crowded."
"No one knows you’re still alive and I doubt there’s that many people around here who know who you are," she said pulling out a key that she had swiped from the villa in Costa del Sol. Seeing her lover’s unspoken question in his eyes, she shrugged her shoulders. "’Auntie Elmyra’ gave Mom this key in case she ‘n’ Dad ever decided to move back here," she explained, "I thought I might have to stay here for a while until I found a way to the north continent, so I borrowed it."
Sephiroth’s eyes darted all over the quaintly furnished house, checking for any sign of trouble out of sheer habit. "Will you quit that all ready?!" Aeris chided. "It’s not like the entire new Shinra army’s gonna pop out of the woodwork."
"You never know," her silver haired lover quipped back. "But you’re right. This does look like a nice place to live." He gently placed a kiss on her neck making her jump and giggle. "It has a nice comfortable feel."
"I’m glad you approve, koi, let’s get settled." She was about to cross over the threshold, but soon found herself literally swept off her feet. "Hey!! Put me down!" she said with mock fear.
"Not so fast, sweetling," came the reply. Sephiroth then proceeded to carry his young lover over the threshold, being careful not to bump against anything then, to her surprise, deftly shutting the door and locking it behind them without releasing her.
"Now put me down, Seph. I have to see if we need anything," the girl in his arms protested.
"Whatever it is, it can wait," he said, kissing her deeply and making her blush. Then he continued to carry her through the eating area, up the stairs and into the nearest bedroom. "Welcome home, itoshii," he murmured into her ear as he lightly nibbled at the lobe making her squirm.
"You’re unbelievable," she said pulling off the black trench coat.
"I love you too."
He then resumed showing her just how much.
"Aeris, I’m home!" Sephiroth called, but no ecstatic reply came. Instead an all too familiar figure came from the back room on the first floor. The black haired man’s eyes widened when he saw the silver haired man.
"You!" Vincent said, his surprise visible only in his eyes.
"Valentine," the other man hissed. "What are you doing in my home and where is Aeris?"
"Your home?" the former turk asked surprised to find that his ‘niece’ was living with his former enemy.
"Yes my home. Now either tell me where Aeris or get out!" The silver haired man found it very hard not to impale the dark clothed man with the masamune.
"She’s upstairs packing," Vincent answered not taking his eyes from Sephiroth for an instant. "I came to take her home."
"The hell you are!!" the slightly taller man yelled, drawing his sword. "I’m warning you Valentine, leave us in peace. Aeris is happy here with me." The glow in his eyes burned brighter as he struggled to keep the bloodlust at bay.
Vincent narrowed his eyes and drew his Death Penalty, ready to kill the man should he make any sudden moves. "I won’t stand by and let you hurt Aeris again, monster."
"Leave him alone Uncle Vincent!" Aeris said bursting into the house and placing herself between the two men, letting the basket of flowers fall to the floor, forgotten.
"Aeris, get out of the way!" both men shouted.
She glared at the man she called ‘uncle’. "How dare you! How dare you break into someone’s house and start accusing people!" she yelled back, shocking the taciturn man. "Can’t you see that Seph’s not the same he was all those years ago?!"
"Aeris, he might go crazy again," her ‘uncle’ said trying to reason with the irate teenager. "Your parents are worried sick about you. Don’t you care about that?"
The chestnut haired girl fumed. "Of course I do!" she spat. "But do you think I’m crazy enough to tell them who I’ve been living with?! They rather kill him than listen to us."
"And with good reason," the black haired man added.
"Get out," Aeris said as calmly as she could. "Don’t make me hurt you, uncle." She grasped her staff from the wall it had been leaning against, never taking her eyes from Vincent.
"Aeris, please," the black haired man pleaded.
"You heard her," Sephiroth warned, "leave."
There was an extremely tense moment between the three, none of them wanting to back down. Finally Vincent sighed unable and unwilling to fight the poor girl. "Don’t think I won’t come back," he said to the silver haired man before going through the still open front door.
Throwing her weapon to the floor, Aeris ran to her lover. "Are you all right? He didn’t hurt you did he?" she asked fussing over him.
Naturally he would have enjoyed his little love’s attention, but the confrontation with his former enemy still had him upset. "I’m not hurt Aeris. He never laid a finger on me." Checking for herself, Aeris only let him go when she could find no marks or bruises.
"I guess the old church’ll have to wait some more," the girl said sadly getting their backpacks from the hallway closet.
"Aeris, I’m sorry," Sephiroth said, ashamed for letting his lover and the only person to treat him as a human being see a small portion of what he once was.
She turned and smiled at him, making him return the loving smile. "It’s not your fault. You were only thinking of protecting me, right?" He nodded. "Well then it’s all right. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me Seph. The Jenova monster doesn’t control you anymore."
"Aeris… Thank you so much for… for believing in me," he managed to say, fighting the urge to run out of the house and of the girl’s life.
She wrapped her arms around the taller man, holding him close. "You needed me as much as I needed you," she said wiping a single tear that managed to sneak out of one aqua hued eye, "and I love you."
"I love you too… angel." He brought his face closer to hers, intent on kissing his mako blue-eyed angel.
"We’ve gotta pack, silly," she said squirming out of his strong, yet gentle hold. "When Uncle Vinny says he’ll be back, he means it."
"But where can we go? Your ‘uncle’ was a turk remember." Sephiroth wanted to stay, show his enemy that he wasn’t afraid to fight for the one he loved.
"We can go back to the Ancient City. That place is as far out as you can get. ‘Sides I’ve got a feeling he’d never think I’d be smart enough to think of going there."
The silver haired man thought the idea over for a few minutes then nodded his head. "That sounds like a good idea, but if he does show up, we’re not running away again."
"All right, but I’m praying that he never does. I really don’t want to fight someone I’ve known all my life."
"I don’t blame you, itoshii. I have no real desire to fight Vincent either, but I will if he threatens to take you from me again." He then gave her one of his most passionate kisses as if he was laying his claim on her all over again.
Panting from the kiss, Aeris steadied herself on the table. "Cut that out!" she said, giggling, "We’ve got to hurry."
"I’ll help," he said grabbing his own backpack and rummaging through the house for anything and everything important.
A month passed and the fugitive lovers had made it safely to the Ancient City. Once the conch shaped house Aeris had stayed in not too long ago was thoroughly cleaned out, they began to restore it turning it into a cozy little love nest for two.
"You’re doing wonders with this place, angel," Sephiroth said coming back from the supply trip to Bone Village."
"Not without your help I couldn’t," she replied, wiping her sweat-drenched brow and getting paint on her bangs.
"Look at yourself!" he chided mockingly, "You’re a mess!"
"Oh yeah?" A very mischievous glint began to glow in her blue eyes. "So are you!" She then glomped her ‘husband’, getting the whitish paint on his black clothing.
"Aeris! I just cleaned these!" The girl laughed merrily and ran toward the lake at the northern edge of the city. "Get back here you little minx!" he yelled after her, smirking as he followed the trail of discarded clothing.
Finding his ‘prey’ bathing in the lake, Sephiroth licked his lips and shed his own soiled clothes before joining the nymph in the water. Catching her by surprise, he pulled her into his lap and began to nuzzle her neck.
Aeris giggled at the ticklish sensation of his breath against her wet skin and held on tight to his shoulders. "I’m glad I left home," she said enjoying her lover’s caresses immensely.
"So am I, my angel. Otherwise, I’d die a very, very lonely man." Smiling at him, her love shining in her glowing eyes, she ran her hands through his silken hair, pulling his up from her chest so she could give him a kiss that came from the depths of her soul.
"Don’t let this be a dream," she murmured.
"I won’t, Aeris. I love you too much, angel." With that, he returned the kiss with equal passion and began to show his soul mate just how deeply he had come to love her.
~owari~
Arrrgh!!! I seem to be having trouble coming up with titles for my FF7 fics!!! What is it with me?! All right enough about that. I can't believe I wrote another fic for this game and it's been how long since I wrote the other one?! Anyhoo tell me whatcha think minna! Oh yeah if any of you have any, I mean any, ideas for a title for this or my other FF7 fic, pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase don't hesitate to tell me.