Tifa tossed and turne din her sleep. She msised Aerith so much. The person she had whispered goodbye to had not been her lover - she had been too Cetra, had too much of the lifestream flowing through her then to be able to say goodbye.
She was still racked by guilt - she hadn't been sleeping, had kept the bar open long hours, hadn't smiled since. No-one commented on her clothes because she always wore black anyway. The addition of the scrap of pink had done little to soothe her soul.
The upshot was what had really been inevitable. She had made herself ill.
As she writhed in the constricting bedsheets in a fevered haze, searching for arms which were no longer there, she sobbed.
Suddenly the room seemed to cool, becoming more bearable to her fevered skin.
She relaxed, almost smiling as in her mind's eye she saw Aerith.
"You silly thing Tifa..." Aerith chided soflty with a smile, voic echoingthrough tifa's mind. "You aren't dispensable you know, but I'm not there toclean up every little scratch anymore..."
"You-..." Tifa began, but Aerith hushed her, placing a cool hand on Tifa's forehead and pushign away the fever.
"I know, and I'm sorry... but it was worth it, I hope... my life for the planet..."
"Not to me..." tifa whispered and Aerith smiled sadly.
"I'm still here Tifa, waiting for you... I'll always come when you call me... when you need me, I'll always come back..."
"But y-..."
"Shh..." Aerith hushed her gently, bending over to brush her lips over Tifa's forehead. Tifa smiled, pulling her lover lower and kissing her softly.
Aerith stared into her eyes, stroking the hair back from her lover's brow, then smiled and whispered "I'm waiting Tifa..." and faded into nothingness as suddenly as she had appeared.
Tifa fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, a small smile on her lips. The fever had broken.