Drabble #56: Hands
Summary: If only he could grab her hand…
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
He stood panting, watching as Sephiroth's form exploded with light and fell back into the lifestream. It was over. Sephiroth was dead at last. He had avenged Aeris and everything could be alright now. He sheathed his sword with a sigh.
But despite the fact that he had gotten revenge on Sephiroth for killing the beautiful flower girl, he still felt an ache in his heart. He slowly began to realise that no matter what he did, Aeris would never come back. He could never tell her how he had felt about her. He thought by killing Sephiroth, he would feel better but he didn't. The only good feeling he felt was the fact that the Planet was safe.
"I don't care about the Planet!"
He remembered the words so clearly of his first mission. It was true, he didn't care about it then. But when he met Aeris, everything changed. Seeing how much she cared for the life of the Planet made him start to care for it. He would have done everything to make her happy. He just couldn't protect her.
The lifestream swirled around his form before slowly travelling upwards. He gazed at the lights with a look of disinterest, his eyes following their trail upwards. His eyes widened as he saw a hand move through the light. He would recognise the smooth skin and silver bangles on the wrist anywhere. It was Aeris' hand!
Without thinking, he stretched his arm up, holding out his hand for hers. If he could just grab her hand, maybe he could pull her out of the lifestream. Maybe everything could be alright. If he could just grab her hand…
But it wasn't her hand. It was Tifa's. A feeling of overwhelming sadness took over him as he realised Aeris had used illusion to save his life. He would have been happier to die and be with her.
If only it had been her hand…