This story takes place about four years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, and two years after the revival+reunion of Zack and Aerith in the Kingdom Hearts world. So... they had a baby, huh? Well that's cool...

It was a peaceful afternoon in Icicle Inn. The treacherous winds have finally died down, and everything was completely calm for the first time this year. Snow was still present and active on the streets, despite the temperature being over 10 degrees in the past three days; an extremely rare occurrence here in the Northern Continent.

It was certainly not a normal day for many people, especially for mother and child. Aerith Gainsborough and her 31 month old son Chris, had been waiting all morning and noon for the return of Daddy, Zack. Aerith was too excited and anxious to do anything else, as she just couldn't wait any longer to see her husband.

For Zack, he had survived another five months in the working world, and was coming home for just the summer. During the wait, Chris didn't seem as eager as mom, as he did not have a truly connected relationship with him.

"Mommy, what's Daddy's name?" Chris asked as he rolled on the carpet.

"His name's Zack," Aerith answered. She was also sitting down on the floor, but with good posture. "He should be here any second now..." she whispered to herself.

Chris climbed onto her. He struggled and pulled on her pink, long sleeves, faced up and asked another question. "Mommy, how old is Daddy?"

"Twenty-seven, Chris." Now Chris was playing with her hair, digging his fingers into the brown, soft silk. It smelled like flowers. Aerith did the same to Chris. "Alright, Chris, stop," Aerith giggled as she planted a kiss on his forehead.

Two sudden knocks on the door.

"Ahhhaaahhh! ZACK!" Aerith screamed. With Chris in her arms, she jumped up vigorously and ran for the door. And there was Zack, standing tall and alive with two travel bags in his hands.

"Daddy!" Chris yelled out as Aerith cried. Zack let out a huge smile and started laughing in delight. He picked Chris out of Aerith's arms and cuddled him for ten seconds before releasing him on the floor. Then he went for Aerith, and the two prepared themselves a long, warm hug.

"Miss me?" Zack murmured, nuzzling his wife's neck. "I promised you I was coming back. How's the boy?"

Aerith was in tears. "The boy's doing fine! Ohhhh my god!" The two were so happy to see each other, and it didn't take long for them to kiss once again. "Chris, this is Daddy. Remember him?"

"I miss Daddy!" Chris ran towards him. Zack picked up Chris again and lifted him straight up in the air. "Wheeeee!" he yelped excitedly. "Again! Ahahahahaha!" Zack continued to throw Chris around, while Aerith examined all the items inside the travel bags.

Both of Zack's bags were completely stuffed with clothes. Two heavy duty SOLDIER uniforms - one blue and one black, took most of the space. The rest were random T-shirts, jeans, and a couple souvenirs. But then she found something very strange...

"Zack, what's this?" she held up the mysterious object. It was a small bottle that contained some glowing, blue, oily liquid. "Zack!"

"Yeah?" Zack dropped Chris. When he saw the item in her hand, he gave out a surprised look, as if no one was supposed to find it. "Damn..."

"What's this?" Aerith asked again, curiously.

"Oh crap... um... uhh..."

"Hmm?"

"Eh.." he could not make things up. "It's just some... some magical thing." Zack admitted. "It's very powerful, so don't you ever open it!"

This surprised Aerith. "What? Why? What does it do?" she questioned in confusion. "Why do you have it?"

"Shhhhhhh..." Zack whispered softly, and tip-toed towards her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Don't tell anyone," he warned. "It made someone... physically invulnerable. Permanently? I don't know. So shhhhhhhh..." he paused for a brief moment. "That's all it is."

"But... but Zack-"

"I'm not the one who made it. But I'm the one who has it," he sighed. "Just shut it."

"But why?"

"Maaaaaan, I'm exhausted," he lied, hoping her to shush. "I'll tell you more later." And it worked, as the two quieted down for about a minute.

The warm, sweet atmosphere of home welcomed Zack so greatly that he didn't really feel tired at all, even though he had gone through a four-hour flight from Midgar, plus two buses and a taxi. Zack had told Aerith that the trip back was to take no more than five hours, but delays had pushed it to seven.

Aerith sighed. "Hungry? I cooked some pasta."

"Yeah."

"I also baked some cookies," she skipped over to the kitchen. "You know, I got really good at this while you were gone."

"Oh yeah?" Zack sneaked up behind her and began massaging her shoulders. He then slid his hands down her ribs and sides, causing her to cringe and jump up. Zack smiled.

"I'm happy you're here, Zack," Aerith turned around. "But don't do that."

"Well, Daddy's gotta eat," he walked over to the table with a plate of homemade pasta. After a few bites, Zack was acting as if he fell in love with it. "Damn, this is good stuff," he complimented, before stuffing in a forkful of caramelized onions and mushrooms.

"So Zack..." Aerith called. "I have something to tell you... something very important."

"Mmhmmmmm?" Zack replied sarcastically with his mouth full.

"Um... never mind. Finish your pasta first. It's important though." ... Crap, he's going to hate hearing this, she thought.

"Mommy?" Chris yelled out. All this time, he was busy doing his own thing, gaming away on his mom's iPad.

"Yes, Chris?"

"I'm tired."

"Okay, Chris, time for a nap?"

The one of many things that Aerith loved about Chris was that he tired easily and actually enjoyed sleep time, unlike most infants or toddlers. This left her with no stress about forcing him to take naps, even when he didn't feel like doing it.

"I guess I'm gonna take a nap too, Ris," Zack called out, finishing up his last few bites. "Pasta was really good by the way."

"Haven't heard feedback in a long time," Aerith laughed as she stepped out of Chris' bedroom. "Well, guess I'm on my own."

For Zack, it had been another busy, dangerous half-year, working in Midgar for the Turks and the Electric Company. It was a high paying job that he was greatly skilled at, but by far deadliest one out there. It was two weeks ago when they had accidentally discovered 'invulnerability'.

Every now and then, while he was gone, Aerith had nightmares at home alone, wondering if he was doing okay. Zack knew that he and Chris did not know each other very well, but they were both excited and looking forward for their two months together. Thanks to mother, Chris was growing well and nearing early childhood very quickly.

So there's Chapter 1. What was Aerith trying to tell Zack, and what was Zack trying to tell Aerith? Only time will tell!