Gently
A Tifa Lockheart and Aeris/Aerith Gainsbourg/Gainsborough Fanfiction
By Nagone
Summary: My hands are always beautiful when I'm around you.
Genre: Romance, Friendship
Prompt: work-worn hands
Rated: K+
Prompt hands from yuri-challenge's prompt list.
Author's Note: For story sake, Tifa is 20 and Aeris is 22, their respective ages in Final Fantasy VII.
Tifa always felt lovely when Aeris took care of her hands.
They were rough by nature of her fighting, knuckles permanently cracked, palms an expanse of dried skin, joints constantly aching. Tifa's hands were both her pride and pain, aiding her in fights yet throbbing intensely at night from constant stress.
Yet when Aeris knocked on her door every knight at seven, her hands rejoiced.
It wasn't much: a simple bottle of lotion made from Calendula, a tonic of comfrey and yarrow root, and a tough of plantain, all coupled with a Cure spell and a healthy dose of Snowdrop flowers, harvested from Aeris' garden and a staple in her old home of Icicle Inn. The concoction was basic at best, but for Tifa, it was a true gift.
When they met nightly, Tifa and Aeris rarely exchanged words. Tife simply slipped off her leather gloves, revealing bruised and cracked hands. Aeris would take them, one at a time, and place them in her lap, delicately as if they would break, and slowly, methodically, she'd dribble a bit of the magic lotion onto Tifa's hand.
Instantly, Tifa would relax, body unwinding completely. Aeris would chuckle, eyes closing a bit as she focused on chanting and healing Tifa's hands. Like true magic, her hands would become a bit closer to beautiful, the cracks fading a bit, her knuckles scabbing over, skin tugging at the edges.
After an hour, Aeris would be done, and excusing herself, she'd exit Tifa's room, quitting to her own room for the remainder of the night. It was their routine, one they'd both settled into.
Yet tonight was different.
"Aeris," Tifa began, reaching out to grab her wrist. Aeris paused, turning and looking at Tifa.
"Y-Yes Tifa?" Aeris began, blue eyes wide.
"Stay," she said, looking up with gentle eyes. "Stay and let me rub some lotion into your hands." She tugged again, beckoning her to come and rest on her bed.
Aeris' lips curled up into a smile, and she sniffled, heart overwhelmed at the gesture. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she made her way to the bed, sitting where Tifa pated: between her legs, cradled close. "I'd love to, Tifa."
Aeris extended a slender and sighed as the lotion set in, tingling with a magic all its own.