Sunset
"Come on up," Zack called from atop his perch on the rafters of the ruined church.
He leant down, offered his hand to Aerith and carefully lifted her up, handling her as one might hold a delicate flower. She settled next to him, and through a hole in the decrepit ceiling they looked out over the ruins of Sector 5. An orange sunset cast a warm glow over the charred remains of what had once, in another life, been shops and houses.
"It's changed," Aerith said.
"You don't say," Zack replied with a grin. He looked around him. "This is where...that thing used to sit, isn't it?"
"You mean Angeal?"
"Was it?"
"I was never really sure...but it wasn't aggressive like the other copies, was it?"
"I guess not..."
Aerith leant back against him, nestling her head into the comfortable hollow between his shoulder and ribcage.
"Do you miss him?" she asked.
"Yeah. A little. I guess I hoped I'd see him again, you know, when I..."
"Died?"
Zack grimaced.
"Yeah. But it doesn't work out like that, does it?"
He put his arm around her middle and the two sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking of all that had and could have been.
Finally Zack pointed to a spot comparatively free of rubble and asked: "Is that where the market was?"
"Mhmm," Aerith answered, "Remember when that kid stole your wallet?"
Zack chuckled and Aerith smiled.
"How could I forget? He helped me build the wagon too."
"Operation Midgar Full of Flowers, Wallet Full of Money. That...never really worked out."
"It would have if I'd been there. With my near-perfect sales approach, we would have sold them all in no time!"
Aerith giggled and kissed Zack playfully on his cheek.
"We could have bought a house out in some backwater town, maybe even Gongaga, and lived the slow life." he said.
They both knew it was an impossibility; even if Zack could have extricated himself from Shinra's ties, him living 'the slow life' was about as likely as Cloud's hair staying flat. But it was a nice idea and the pair talked it over as the tired sun lazily descended to its rest on the other side of the world.
When the lengthening shadows had enveloped the city, Zack stood up.
"Time to go." he said, and again offered Aerith his hand.
Together they returned to the lifestream.
Well, there you have it, in all its awfulness. It's my first fic, so go easy, ok?