Torn by Two – Chapter 1

His back aches, his head feels numb from the impact, mind spinning. The blonde haired man felt as if all the bones in his body has been shattered into million pieces. He thought for sure, he'd be dead. How could he not be dead? He fell from the reactor after Shinra's 'Air Buster' exploded, and the last thing he saw was a girl with long dark hair reaching out for him, she had tears in her ruby eyes. At least he got to see her again. At least her beautiful face was the last thing he saw before he fell.

"You came back!" He heard a young woman's voice, followed by quick footsteps approaching him. "No… That's not Za— He moved! Hello?!" I'm already dead, just let me rest in peace, damnit. The blond man frowned.

"Hey you are alive! Hello?"

I am… alive? The Soldier slowly opened his eyes. He squints, trying to focus on the blurry face in his vision. A portrait of a girl with emerald eyes pieced in front of him. She is looking down at him, and she wore a worried look across her face. Wow… The young woman has long brown wavy hair which she wears in a ponytail, bangs parted in the middle. Her skin is clear and translucent, with touches of pink on her cheeks, the color of her lips is a beautiful shade of peach. What a sight. He secretly thought.

His other four senses begin to revive as well. The air tasted like sweet nectar, causing his dry mouth to salivate, the smell of floral tickled his nostril, he can hear birds chirping faintly in the background. He felt something soft and moist below his back, and he slowly sat up to find that he is lying on a flower bed. Broken planks of wood surrounds him and the yellow bed of flowers.

"You okay?" the young woman let out a sigh of relief. The man in the purple Soldier uniform nodded as he look around his surroundings.

"This is a church in the Sector 5 slums, you fell from the sky", she answered before he could ask, pointing to the ceiling.

He looks up to find a hole in the ceiling, "I fell from the plate" after fighting Shinra… he brought his gaze back to the flower bed, "the ceiling of the church and this flower bed must have broken my fall".

"That's right" She smiled. Although she is curious as to why he was up there, she had never questioned the first man who fell from the sky and she is not about to ask this one either. "So, we meet again".

Her last comment surprised the blonde Soldier, he thought she looked familiar. He brought his hands to his forehead, as if it will help him fish into his memory bank, 'Flowers… yellow flowers, slums…. Girl in pink…' and it worked, he remembers. "You were selling flowers".

She was selling flowers near an alley in the slums. There was a huge commotion after Avalanche blew up the reactor, a man bumped into her, and she fell. He offered his hand to her, and he even bought a flower from the girl… which he gave to Tifa. The man beat himself up mentally for not remembering such a pretty face, then again, he never paid much attention to women's faces on the street. Up until recently, he only had one goal. To become Soldier… all for this one person…

"You remembered! I'm so happy!" This time, the woman in pink offered her hand to help the man up, "returning the favor", she smiled.

This tiny girl is offering to pull him off the ground? The corner of the man's lips slightly curved up as he reached and felt her warm small hand. He watched in amusement as the petite girl struggled to pull him off the ground. She bit her lips and pulled harder again. He intentionally keep himself grounded and watched her whole body rock back and forth as she recollects her strength at every pull. "Hey, don't just sit and watch. You need to do your part by wanting to get up!" She pouted and withdrew her hand, along with her offer.

The Soldier couldn't help but chuckle. He felt his expression relaxed, discovering muscles in his face that he had not used for a long time, his abdominal throbbing in a pleasant way. His heart felt warm. He has not felt this way for a long time. "I'm sorry, I'm just teasing", he smirked. He pulled himself up, and begin to dust off the dirt from his uniform.

The young woman observe the tall man before her. He is lean, muscles defined. His blonde spikey hair reminded her of the messy feathers found on Chocobos' heads. His purple uniform is definitely a staple of Shinra's Soldiers, she is certain of this. He wore the exact same uniform. She observe further onto his facial features and then, something drew her in, and she couldn't get out. It was his eyes. She felt her heart sink, she had forgotten this shade of blue, and she has not seen these sapphire for five years. His eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue, and no ocean, no gems, no flowers, no materia can match this color. She continue to sink deeper into his magnificent spell binding eyes. A Soldier's trademark, he once said…

The Soldier brought his gaze back to the woman and found her emerald eyes staring directly into his. He too could not help but to admire her beautiful features. The two shared a moment, and neither the man nor the woman can explain the sensation that is beginning to stir within their hearts. The Soldier, trying his best to keep his cool, put an end to the staring contest, "Thank you for saving me. I'm Cloud, what is your name?"

His words snapped her back to reality, "I didn't do anything, it was the flowers who saved you… " the woman in pink studdered nervously before she brought a hand to her chest to confirm her rapid pulsation. She then pressed her hands against her cheeks, making sure the raising temperature is real.

Finally, after five painful years... a pink glow blossoms on her cheek once more and her heart flutters again...

"Aerith… My name is Aerith".

oxoxoxox

Hi folks, Thank you for reading my first fic. I hope this served well as an introduction. I wanted to highlight the almost 'love at first sight' attraction Aerith and Cloud had for each other. I'm still thinking of a way to get Zack back, but he won't be back until a few more chapters, right now I want to concentrate on building her relationship with Cloud. To be honest, I don't even know which protagonist I like more, Cloud or Zack and I can't wait until I get to the part where I get to decide which hottie I want Aerith to keep. Thanks for reading :).