N/A: Sort of sequel to my previous one shot, 'Under the Rain' :D
Disclaimer: Anything relating to Aerith Gainsborough, Genesis Rhapsodos or Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix and not to me ~ c:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rain, rain, go away!
A young girl was dashing through the dark and dreary streets, desperate to find her way back down underneath the forsaken plate of Midgar. The rain was pouring down in heavy sheets, the droplets hitting her like pellets of ice, dribbling down her neck and soaking her clothes. Her chestnut hair clung to her head, her twisted pony tail beginning to unravel after coming free of her white hair elastic.
Aerith Gainsborough gripped her small grocery bag tightly as she ran, her knuckles white from the force she was using to make sure she didn't release her grip. Ah! Shelter!
Without a moments hesitation, the girl of fifteen bolted for the awning of the nearest shop, disregarding whether or not the owners would mind. Taking a moment to shake the water off and catch her breath, Aerith released the bag of groceries that were errands that her mother requested only two hours before. I don't even know if she's gonna be home when I get back…
Setting the plastic bag down, a loud rumble of thunder sent a small jump through her body, making her bite her lip to stop herself from squealing. There was a reason that Aerith wasn't all that fond of the sky. The constant downpour of drenching rain began to ease off a little bit, the weather changing its course of action into a light misty drizzle, letting Aerith actually give herself a moment to figure out where she even was. She took a few alerted glances, her eyes resting on a sign in the distance that read 'Sector Eight: LOVELESS District'. Mm…does that mean I'm near the theatre?
Just as the young teenager was contemplating that thought, a noise out of the ordinary caught her delicate ear drums. Is that…is someone…crying?
Faintly, Aerith could hear the quiet sound of sobbing, the short, sharp breaths catching her attention. Ever so slowly, she stepped closer towards the source of the sound, acting extremely cautious as she did so. She peered her head around the corner of the alleyway, barely making out the shadow of a hunched over figure who was huddling against the wall, their knees drawn right up to their chest. Who…who would still be out here in such awful weather?
Very timidly, Aerith crept around the corner, trying her best to ignore the raindrops that continued to fall softly around her. I know my mother says never to talk to strangers, but… She took very slow steps, fearful that her presence would be unwanted.
The young man who was curled up in the opposite corner of the alleyway raised his head, noticing the sounds of footsteps approaching. A few remaining tears trickled down his pale cheeks, merging with the light misty rain which continued to fall from the sky.
Aerith froze in her tracks, seeing the familiar glow of turquoise radiating gently from the figure's eyes as he hesitantly looked at her from underneath dripping locks of chestnut hair.
What seemed to have escaped her attention until now was the silky wing that rested at the man's left shoulder, lifeless in regards to movement. What's…who…is this?
Curiosity and fear mingled with Aerith's emotions as she stared at the man in his early twenties before her, her mind processing the fact that this person had…a wing. He's…with SOLDIER, looking at his eyes…
"U-uh…" Aerith stuttered, beginning to feel tongue-tied at the notion of actually talking to this rather unusual stranger. "Did you…I mean, are you…alright?"
The member of SOLDIER paused for a moment, as if to say something, but briefly shook his head. Tears began to well up as he lowered his eyes, the young man succumbing to his distress as sobs began to shake his body again. In a flustered attempt to hide his soft cries, the SOLDIER member helplessly wiped his eyes with his red leather sleeve, feelings of embarrassment tugging at his mind.
Reasoning with herself, the fifteen year old girl crept forward and stooped down beside the upset man, part of her resisting the urge to just hug him. Something's definitely not right here.
He turned to look at Aerith, his eyes brimming with tears despite his best efforts to remove them. Even if this SOLDIER was in his early twenties, to Aerith his facial expressions and stance made him look like a lost child.
Careful not to kneel on any of his primary feathers, Aerith lowered herself down to his level, delicately putting a small hand on his shoulder. The man flinched at Aerith's touch, feeling pain resonating through his shoulder. Gasping, the female removed her hand immediately, lowering her head.
"Sorry…does it hurt? Your shoulder?" She asked, slightly more confident than before. Maybe…because of his wing…
"Y…yeah." He mumbled quietly, finding it difficult to speak. Nodding slightly, Aerith offered her comfort by gently placing her fingers on his hand, hoping that it would show she was concerned.
"My name's Aerith." She began, offering a small smile. Sniffing, the young man turned to look at her, his eyes still not quite reaching hers.
"Genesis." He said softly, not knowing what else to say. Surely…she should have run away when she saw me…a monster…
"Why…why don't you…" Aerith began, stumbling over her words. She paused for a moment, considering if what she was about to suggest would be the right thing. "Why don't you come…back to my house?"
Genesis Rhapsodos turned away again, his mind a mess of thoughts and emotions. Under normal circumstances he probably would have refused, but…she was being so…kind to him.
There was silence for a few minutes as the rain continued to fall, gently washing over both of them in a light mist. Finally, Genesis couldn't keep a lid on his emotions any longer and turned to Aerith, mumbling a quiet 'yeah' whilst trying not to cry. I…don't know…what else I should do…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Taking a gentle hold on the door handle, Aerith quietly pushed at the door, only to find that it was locked. The young girl sighed in relief, fumbling for her keys in her pocket to let herself and Genesis inside. Thank Gaia…mum's not home at the moment.
Gently pushing the door open, she motioned for the bedraggled young man to enter first, moving to the side so that he could pass. Gently clicking the door closed behind herself, Aerith kicked her shoes off onto the mat and motioned for Genesis to take his rather wet boots off as well.
"Just stay there for a moment, 'kay?" She said quickly, dashing off upstairs to retrieve a towel. Moments later, Genesis heard the floorboards creak as Aerith came dashing downstairs, holding two old towels in her right hand. "Right," she began, handing him one of the towels. Putting on her most mature attitude, Aerith stepped over to Genesis' left and began to gently rub down his dripping feathers. "You can dry yourself off, okay? I'll handle your…wing."
Genesis moved his hand in a small protest, but relaxed as Aerith slowly worked her way down the shaft of each feather. Mm…that feels good.
Leaving Aerith to her self-imposed job, he began to rub the towel over his face first, feeling relieved to dry off his skin. He then continued to pat the towel over the rest of his clothes, soon finding that it was the towel that was soaked and his clothes that were dry. Well, dryer.
Gently going over the last few feathers near Genesis's shoulder blade, Aerith sighed as her towel began to drip water on the floor. At least that means I got most of the water off…
"…better?" She asked sweetly, gently taking hold of the wet towel that Genesis was holding on to.
"Much," Genesis replied softly, being careful where to turn in fear that his wing might hit something. Aerith smiled a little, stepping over to the table and pulling out a dainty wooden chair for him.
"Want to sit down for a little?" She said quietly, draping the two towels over a small wire clothing rack that was standing in the kitchen. Obliging to her offer, Genesis carefully stepped over and took a seat on the chair, drawing his damp wing closely to his side. Looking up, he saw that Aerith had indeed run off again, making him wonder what else she was doing for him. Seconds later, the girl returned with a lightly coloured blanket, stepping over to him and gently wrapping it around his shoulders.
Careful to include his shivering wing in the process, Aerith let Genesis pull the blanket more securely around his shoulders.
"That rain…must have made you cold…" she said timidly, seeing Genesis huddling into the blanket as he felt his body temperature rising slowly.
"Mm…" Genesis mumbled in agreement, looking at Aerith as she began to open cupboards within her mother's tiny kitchen. "…did you…need a hand?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Just sit there and rest, 'kay?" Aerith responded, beginning to boil some water in a jug. Minutes later, she placed a steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of him, gently placing two marshmallows in the milky froth. "I hope…you like marshmallows."
Pulling out the chair beside Genesis, Aerith sat down and began to sip on her own small mug of hot chocolate, glad to be indoors from the torrents of rain.
"Aerith…" Genesis began, looking over at the kind girl.
"Mmhmm?" She replied, licking the milk moustache off her lips.
"Come here…" he said gently, setting the warm mug down on the table. Aerith looked at him with a hint of confusion, putting her own mug down and rising from her chair.
"Yes?" She said, smiling sweetly. Genesis reached his arms forward, bringing the girl into a warm embrace. Ever so gently, the young man just hugged Aerith Gainsborough, feeling her shift her weight to make it easier.
Kneeling down, the young female felt herself going slightly red, smiling shyly as Genesis held her closely.
"Thank you…" he whispered, feeling a few tears brimming from his eyes. Aerith's own eyes widened as she felt the tear drops landing on her shoulder where Genesis rested his head, feeling his body shake slightly.
"Y-you're welcome." She said softly, gently rubbing the right side of his back with her left hand. "Wait! What about your shoulder?"
"Hmm?" Genesis responded, releasing Aerith from his arms. Wincing, he felt his shoulder complain from the movement of hugging, even if it was only for a few moments. Blinking a few times, the SOLDIER's eyes widened as he realised that he had tears on his cheeks, and hurriedly wiped them away with the back of his sleeve. "Sorry…" he said, feeling embarrassed again.
"Really, it's okay," Aerith said, nodding her head reassuringly. "How about…if I have a look at your shoulder?"
Hesitantly, Genesis shrugged off the blanket and pulled his arm out from the sleeve of his red leather coat, feeling the material hanging around his wing. An unravelling strip of bandage concealed the sword wound to the shoulder that Genesis had, making Aerith's job as the 'nurse' slightly easier. Carefully, she unravelled the bloodstained bandage to reveal a nasty wound, making her cringe at the sight of it.
"Sorry…" Aerith said, averting her eyes. "I'm a little squeamish with blood…"
Returning to a standing position, the girl stepped over to the bin and disposed of the rather tattered bandage, much to Genesis' surprise. She held up a finger to stop him from talking as she searched for a fresh bandage in one of the high cupboards. Finally, her delicate hand closed around a roll, enabling her to get off the tips of her toes and close cupboard door. Hastily returning to the SOLDIER's side, Aerith worked quickly to wrap the new bandage securely and tightly, just like her mother had taught her. Well, her foster mother anyway.
"Wow…" Genesis said softly, feeling good support around his damaged shoulder. Much better than what Hollander did…
Blushing, Aerith checked it was okay and placed a catch in the loose end to make sure the bandage didn't unravel itself again. She then made her way to the sink and washed her hands, just to be safe. You never really know with these SOLDIER people…
Genesis slipped his coat back on, gently wriggling his arm through his sleeve.
"How does that feel?" Aerith asked gently, sitting back down in her chair beside Genesis. By now, the SOLDIER had taken hold of his warm hot chocolate mug and snuggled down into the blanket again, taking little sips of the sweet liquid. Aerith giggled, thinking that he really did look like a child who had lost his mother.
"Feels a lot better." Genesis said between sips, his first smile in days finally gracing his face. Aerith nodded, beginning to feel a little bit tired herself after such a long day. My mother's coming home soon…
Sighing deeply, Genesis set the empty mug on the table, feeling a wave of fatigue washing over him.
"Want to…lie down? You're all dry now…so I don't mind," Aerith suggested, pointing to her lounge that was at the other end of the room.
"…are you…sure?" Genesis said, finally beginning to feel his head clearing from all the deep, painful emotions from before.
"My mother won't mind. I'll talk to her. Promise." Aerith said, smiling sweetly at him. Nodding, the SOLDIER with chestnut hair shuffled over towards the sofa, clutching the blanket around his shoulders. Within minutes, he was sound asleep on the lightly coloured lounge, clinging to the blanket that was wrapped around him. His wing was tucked right into his shoulder, hardly noticeable underneath the soft blanket. His face was calm and peaceful, tinged lightly pink from being warmed up so quickly from the hot chocolate.
Aerith sat on the spare arm chair that faced the lounge, cupping her hands around her warm mug that contained a small trickle of hot chocolate. She watched him, feeling her face go red from looking at him. Even when he's sleeping, he still looks like a little kid. Even as a grown man, he's still retained his inner child. I hope he clings onto that…because growing up means more responsibility and life gets harder. He's still got some form of escape into his dreams as a kid…I'm happy for him…
On those thoughts, Aerith placed her mug on the coffee table beside herself and snuggled into her chair, smiling as she watched Genesis sleep quietly and peacefully.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: OMG! IT'S SO FLUFFY! *w* Aahhh ~
I've never written anything this gorgeously cute before! -squee- What with the blankets, hot chocolate, hugs and smiles! ^w^; I guess you could call this a 'what would happen if…' sequel to my one shot, 'Under the Rain'. In this case, it's 'what would happen if Aerith found him all bedraggled, upset and wet.' Yeah. -giggle- Under the Rain still stands as a story in its own right, this is just a kind of sequel thing that may or may not have happened. BUT IT SURE IS CUTE. AHH. -faint- And Imma draw Genesis sleeping nooww ~
-skips away happily-
Long live Generith! -gigglesquee-
- Lioneh the cheetion