A/N: This was originally supposed to be for Valentine's day, but well… it developed a plot beyond just "Love triangle". I know, the last thing I need now is one more chapter fic I'll likely never finish. I've only finished like maybe two of those total, regardless of the fandom. I'll finish something soon. Hopefully. Between attempting to write an actual novel, and attempting to join the military, as well as college, that might be hard.

He entered, weary, tired, and still carrying his best friend, who'd showed some signs of life- finally! Thankfully, Tseng had actually found them first, and well, had gone against orders. So the three of them entered the church, opting to stay within the surveillance of the turks- for safety, Tseng had assured. And what better place than with someone already under their protection. He tried to help Cloud stand, and while it was shaky, the blond was sorta supporting himself. Then he called out.

"Aerith, I need help!" And she looked up, and her eyes went wide with eager relief, and she seemed extraordinarily happy. He had a feeling she would've tackled him if not for the sorry state that both himself and the blonde were in. "I'm sorry it took me so long-" He began, and was interrupted by Cloud's weight giving out beneath him so suddenly that he had a hard time propping him up right. Tseng stepped in and explained where Zack had been all these years. Zack was okay, letting Tseng explain for him, still in protective momma-hen mode, after taking care of Cloud for the last five years. And he was sorta back. Kinda. He felt eyes on his back once Tseng was done, and Aerith came over, holding a mug that she sometimes brought with her when she came to care for her flowers. It was a kind of tea that smelled well….flowery (honestly, if he found anything in her personal belongings that wasn't pink or flower themed…..he might just feel disappointed.) She was checking Cloud's temperature and other vitals with some strange magic. He never really got to see her use any before, though Tseng and Cissnei had told him she could heal anything, without exception. Her green eyes were hard and focused, and she seemed rather out of it. But she turned around and Cloud looked up at him, and his eyes were clear, and Zack sighed in relief. "It's alive!" He joked, doing his best Frankenstein impression. Cloud quirked an eyebrow and shook his head, and the confused face he made was just so….Cloud-like that he paused and just hugged him. And rambled. He was good at rambling. And Cloud just nodded and listened, and oh gods, Cloud was awake and functioning….and still Cloud. He wasn't all messed up like some of the others had been when they'd escaped-and-

"Zack….I can't breathe." He paused, realized he was smothering his friend to death, and backed off. He could hear Aerith giggle in the background, and then she grinned.

"Glad to finally meet you, Cloud." She said. Cloud looked up and nodded. He'd heard enough stories about her from Zack to fit the pieces together. But there was something there, Zack noticed, when Cloud's eyes-(the once pale icy grey-blue now a vivid cobalt) and Aerith's (Still so green, even greener than….no, don't go there. too soon) met. There was almost a sudden spark. He didn't think anyone else noticed, but he felt like fate just...clicked. Time paused. Froze actually. If anything, he didn't feel jealous like he should. He suddenly, felt...like he wanted this to happen. But….how…

-A Week later.-

Cloud was in the church. Zack hadn't come with today, so it was just him and Aerith. And he felt terrible for going with her alone. He knew…. she was Zack's girlfriend, but….everything about her…..And he ….hated himself for it. But she was just so….kindbeautifulperfect in every way and he couldn't help but steal little glances every so often, at her, and the flowers, and the slit in her skirt, and just how tempting it looked when she was sitting like that, leaning over to care for each individual flower separately. How the pink of her dress accented her pale, slightly olive toned complexion. How her eyes were greener than the leaves and stalks of her flowers. How her cheeks would flush when she was frustrated. Even for a man who'd lost the last five years of his life to torture and betrayal, he couldn't help but feel happier than he ever had. Because… he had something to live for again. But he couldn't have her. He wouldn't. Because that'd be just like betraying Zack. And after everything, he just couldn't. So he sighed. Aerith paused, having clearly heard it.

"Everything alright?" She asked sweetly, her voice like clear-toned bells, so dulcet and smooth and perfect. He just nodded shyly. "You sure?" She came over, sun-warmed hands brushing his hair away to check his temperature. His pulse was racing. She clearly noticed, because she gave him this look. simultaneously apologetic and flirty. And he didn't know how to respond so he blushed and scratched his neck.

"Sorry." He whispered. For what, he didn't know. But he was sorry.

"For what, silly?" She teased. It had become the thing she said most to him, very quickly. …...He remembered Zack saying once, before everything that happened when all three of them were together "Geez Cloud, if you weren't always so apologetic and blaming yourself for everything, it'd be exactly like having two Seph's in our group." And he remembered a chuckle beside his ear.

"It's still mostly like that. Right, Cloud?" And hands, too warm, inhumanly warm hands patting him on the head. "Like having a shy, apologetic younger twin with a chocobo's ass for hair." And then they'd both laughed at his expression.

"Hello? Earth to Cloud?" Aerith chimed. Cloud shook his head really fast. These flashbacks were becoming frequent. No one ever talked about it. Except Aerith. And only with him.

"Sorry, just remembering something from before." He blushed again, expression sheepish. Aerith just fixed his hair, flashed a smile, and went back to her flowers. Cloud stared after her, wondering why he was having flashbacks so frequently. Why Zack never spoke of the labs, or Sephiroth, even in passing. If the man was still out there. He didn't really trust his own memories, didn't think he'd really killed the man. Something made that thought impossible to accept. Maybe it was the dreams. dreams where he heard that voice whispering, all kinds of dark and terrifying things. Dreams that left him screaming, awake and trembling at midnight with Aerith looking worried and Zack looking like he thought it was his own fault, but Zack wouldn't let him talk about them. Aerith did. So he'd told her. She'd started trying to stop the dreams. Whatever she did, it was helping. They'd not ceased, but….they were less frequent, not as long as before. So he was grateful to her. But how could he pay her back….?

-Later-

"Take her on a date. She'll like it." Zack said, after he explained his predicament.

"What?" Cloud asked, incredulous. "I can't."

"Bullshit. You can do anything, cause you-" Zack shut down immediately. Cloud knew what he was about to say though.

"Did I really?" He asked, timidly, fearful.

"I saw his body disintegrate in the mako, Cloud. He's dead. It's for the best, you saw how he was."

"But-" It couldn't be true. He couldn't have been able to...and… and everything went white, so much noise just kept going through his head. It hurt. His head was ...he was in agony. He clutched his head to try and drown it out.

"Of course I'm not gone, Cloud." That voice echoed through his being, and he sat up straight immediately. He could vaguely hear the others worrying over him, but, it wasn't important right now.

"Sephiroth…." He all but breathed. The others were suddenly quiet.

"Hello, Cloud." The voice purred. "My Cloud." The emphasis on the "my" only rivaled by the drawled pronunciation of his name. "Don't you miss me?" The voice pressed. "My lovely one." Cloud couldn't help but shudder, old feelings stirring up.

"I-" He began.

"Come to me." The voice interrupted, and he stood, the noise and the white and the pain fading back to worried eyes, and Aerith hugging him so carefully.

"You okay, Cloud?" Zack asked.

"I….." He started, feeling woozy and like he had to be somewhere…. He started trying to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"He's alive, Zack. I can feel it."

"What do you mean?"

"I …..it's hard to explain, I just have to go…"

"How are you going to get there when we're both on Shinra's radar?" Zack finally asked. That seemed to shake Cloud from his sudden trance-like state.

'I…" The blonde paused. "I don't know." He felt confusion, more than anything. About why Zack never talked about it, about why the man's voice always spoke into his head. (He thought maybe Zack believed he was crazy or in denial or grieving, but he really wasn't sure. He hardly remembered what happened afterward, and the entire event itself was so insane that he just felt numb about it. Sure, he missed mom and Tifa….but….it was hard to think of it without being interrupted by green haze and noises so he didn't bother too.)

"We could run away." Aerith suggested in that seemingly innocent way of hers, but the way she said it let them know she was serious. Cloud was uncertain.

"Then we'd all be in danger, and on the run and it was bad enough when it was just me and spike but then you'll be in danger too and-" Zack began to ramble hurriedly. Aerith simply raised an eyebrow in a manner that she'd likely picked up from hanging around Cloud so much the past month.

"Sheesh, I can handle myself." And to demonstrate, she whacked Zack over the head with her staff.

"I think it'd be fun." Cloud piped up. He'd spent a lot of time in the church with her lately, and he knew Aerith was right. Give her any materia really, and she could whoop serious ass.

"Who are you and what have you done with spike." Zack teased. "I didn't know fun was part of your vocabulary."

"Must've learned it from you." Cloud teased back, earning himself a noogie in response.

"Anyway," Zack began, suddenly serious. "We need to plan before we can do that, maybe find more people so we have extra protection." No one spoke. Of course, if they were going to escape from Shinra's "world wide empire" the only bet they had was Avalanche. None of them, (even Aerith, despite her fondness for keeping up her naive facade) wanted to be the one to mention the Eco-terrorist group. Not with both men in the room having had to fight them and witness horrors before. (Upon thinking of them, however, Cloud suddenly had to wonder how Shotgun was doing, he hadn't seen in for a while, really, and she was one of the first people to acknowledge him as more than a standard grunt. She'd even told him that she was surprised by his strength at one point, which shocked him, as he'd thought little of it.)

It just so happened, that the timing of their conversation was perfect. The news on the small TV Tseng had brought them was showing a Reactor bombing that had just happened, and footage of Avalanche escaping. The film was blurry, but he could almost make out all the figures….including….

"Is that….." Zack began….

"Tifa?" Cloud finished. "I think it is." Feelings rushed over him. Relief, worry, disappointment, excitement, hope. They hadn't really been close, but, that promise, and well, the fact that anyone from his hometown was alive…. maybe they could become actual friends (even if she had joined an organization that was so terrible. Then again, he saw no Raven's or any other Anti-Soldier in the video clip, so maybe it was a different one. It had been years since they were defeated anyway.) "Zack, we have to…"

"I know." And then they all fell into silence, pondering just how they would get to her. Because, they had few options. Eventually, Tseng would have no choice but to send them off, back to Shin-ra, and then….

"I'll pack our things. I'm good at that." Aerith finally said, breaking the heavy, tense, silence that had overtaken the room. Cloud nodded. Zack did too.

"Tomorrow then?" Cloud asked. The quietness and somber atmosphere told him he was right.

"Soon." The voice whispered. He shivered. No one said anything, but they went to bed with heavy hearts anyway.