Title: Farewell
Pairing: Aerith/Vincent (though they're not really a pairing in this)
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Theme/Lyric Code: T.36 (goodbye)
Genre: General, angst
Rating: G
Warning: Non-canon usage of Vincent's feelings for Aerith. YEAH, DEAL.
Summary: And deep in the back of his mind, he realized he'd failed a second time.
Other: For the 40-mixed (underscore, not hyphen) challenge on LiveJournal after dropping my Nick/Sara claim and switching to this one. :D (premiered 02/14/07 at 607am.)
Vincent stood beside the young flower girl in silence when it was finally his turn to pay his respects. He lingered for a few short moments, so many thoughts racing through his head.
What if I'd been able to convince her not to go?
Would she have listened and stayed?
What if I'd jumped up there and pushed her out of the way right in the nick of time?
Would she have been safe then?
What if she'd lived?
Would anything have progressed between us?
What if she loved me?
... Because I think I might have loved her.
He needed to get away, now. With a sigh, he walked away from her, looked at Cloud, then joined the others at the very place they had all stood as she was struck down.
They stood aside as Cloud passed by, carrying Aerith's lifeless body in his arms, and then followed him outside to the lake. Here, he placed her in the water, and Vincent watched as she gradually sank beneath the surface. Part of him wished she would wake up, break through the pristine water, gasp for air and start yelling at Cloud for putting her in there.
But he knew it would never happen.
This is goodbye.
Rest in peace.
A/N: Still moving stuff here from the writing journal.