A/N: A little crack pairing treat for all of you. Sure, this treat will take a while to digest, but it's one, nonetheless. ^_^
Disclaimer: Don't own anything...at all. Game belongs to Square Enix, as do the characters.
Set the Soul on Fire
"That will be twenty-five munny," Aerith told another pleased customer once she had finished arranging a beautiful lily bouquet for her.
"Thanks! Keep the change." The young woman cheerily admired her flowers before walking out the shop door.
Aerith permitted a sweet smile to grace her lips before gazing at a mirror behind the desk. She sighed wearily, though, and the smile soon became an evanescent memory. Her beloved Cloud had been gone for nine years now, to the very day today; he had vanished without a trace after the Heartless raid in Hollow Bastion, formerly called Radiant Garden.
The lone blond hero insisted that he could fight his own battles, though had no idea that Aerith would always be there for him as his shining light.
She had loved him as long as she could remember and yet, he had no clue as to how profound her love was, deeper than any ocean. And to think, she still arranged delicate flowers day after day for people who most likely had caring lovers. Aerith used to adore seeing their bright, beaming faces once they espied bouquets fitting for their beloved, but this merely soured over the years. In her twenty-one years of life, she had spent fifteen of them helping her mother with this quaint shop. When she had passed on, Aerith took over the family business faithfully, nary a day-off in sight.
Here were these blissful customers with such fulfilling lives, whereas she attired her lips with false smiles and continued her silent vigil until the day when her prince would sweep her off her feet. But, that only happened in fairy tales... When would Cloud return from his seemingly ceaseless quest for whatever he sought? Exhaling deeply again, Aerith examined herself in the mirror. Were those worry lines creasing on her forehead just so? And, honestly, did her lips seem to form into a constantly concerned frown nowadays? At that moment, she felt older than she actually was in real life.
A dinging of the silver bell in her shop announced another customer, so she put on that artificial smile that concealed her true emotions again. Only, this wasn't a customer, but Yuffie Kisaragi, her long-time friend.
"Hey, Aerith," she greeted, her face containing perpetual smiles that deeply contrasted with Aerith's own, "we're having another Restoration Committee meeting today. Do you want to go and help us?"
"Sure, that'll be great." The young woman with the long brown braid down her back answered, feeling a great weight being lifted from her womanly shoulders.
Yuffie excitedly led her to Merlin's house but on the way, Aerith glimpsed something alien and strange. An ovate circle colored dark purple and black swirled in one of the narrow alleyways; she pondered why it could even exist in this town. Then again, odd things had been happening lately here, though Sora had promised to check up on Hollow Bastion every so often. She knew that he currently saw to other worlds, ensuring the safety of their denizens. He had strenuous weight on his shoulders, proverbially speaking. Still...what was this portal's purpose? Aerith resumed catching up to Yuffie after her momentary pause, consequently pushing that question from her mind.
This Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee meeting was the same as all the others, nothing new being discussed among the members. Cid messed with his computer as usual to search for any information that could lead to the town's peace. Leon supplied the occasional comment, though for the most part remained silent. Yuffie peered over Cid's shoulder at the glowing screen, which irritated the older man somewhat. And Aerith merely watched him type on the keyboard from his left side, her green eyes glazed over with minute boredom. When would any change take place as to the monotony of the meetings? Sora could probably solve all their problems faster than they ever could, she figured. She was in a rarely cynical mood today, though she scarcely knew why.
When Leon adjourned the meeting, Aerith trudged out the door with disappointment in her heart. If only Cloud would come back! Sure, he returned to Hollow Bastion for visits sometimes, but she wished he could triumph over his darkness; therefore, he would stay in this village forever more. She had no idea where her sudden, uncharacteristic impatience originated, though she believed she had an understandable motive for it.
"Hey, what's up?" a conceited voice greeted, which stunned and caught her off-guard.
Cautiously turning to that same alleyway from where she espied the malevolent portal, Aerith saw a cloaked redheaded man. He wore this atrocious smirk on his face, and she distrusted him on instinct.
"Who are you?" she interrogated promptly, her normally gentle forest green eyes taking on fiery hostility.
Overconfidently, the man sauntered his way toward her, his smirk widening another two inches.
"My name is Axel, Number Eight in Organization XIII. Hey...speaking of the Organization...I suppose you've heard of us?"
Oh, yes, Aerith had heard of that detestable bunch. Sora had told Leon everything about them and their cruel intentions, definitely a group to distrust. They were to blame for all the Heartless underfoot, or so the Committee assumed.
"Yes, I've heard of you."
"Good. And you are?"
She placed her hands on her hips as she defiantly glared into Axel's emerald eyes that closely resembled her own.
"I won't tell you anything."
He chuckled amusedly, treating this encounter as a riotous joke as he neared her, making Aerith feel like an ensnared rabbit. She had to admit that with his formidable stature and daunting eyes, he proved himself as an intimidating force. Now, this was quickly becoming one of those rare occasions in which she wished that she could fight, to prove her strength. But, then again, she never liked to wage battle on anyone, no matter how vile they acted. Axel only watched her with his cat-like eyes, his leer still mocking her thinking; he found it hilarious that she probably feared him. He kind of liked that feeling.
"Oh, really? You won't even tell me your name? Humph, at least I had the good manners to introduce myself!"
Aerith maintained her stony glare, though she sensed it failing when Axel stepped even closer to her, until he only stood a breath away. If she had ever had claustrophobia (and she never had), she would have panicked right then and there in front of him.
Sighing deeply, she surrendered to this taunting, this oppressing by saying, "My name is Aerith."
He raised one eyebrow, whereas his other one furrowed in deep thought. "Hmmm...I think I've heard of you, too. Oh, I've got it! You're his girlfriend, right?"
Unbeknownst to him, Axel had struck a nerve when he guessed right; Aerith lowered her shoulders upon recalling her earlier musing in which she remembered how Cloud had scarcely visited her due to his traveling.
She realized now that she had proceeded to tremble with suppressed tears, ones that she had never revealed to anyone, not even to her beloved. Preferring to keep up her façade of that pure, innocent smile, she had never let her friends know just how hurt she was. And to think, this strange man was actually on the verge of cracking that armor.
"From now on, I would like it if you would just leave...and never come back to this town again," Aerith demanded of him before the tears flowed down her soft face.
Axel was somewhat taken aback once he glimpsed this, but he would not be entirely baffled; instead, he smirked again.
"I'll come back here whenever I feel like it. I do as I please, after all, going against stupid orders among other things. So, what makes you think you can change me?"
Glaring at him again, she murmured quietly, "I don't know. You probably never will. It's a shame; I thought that possibly...there could be good in you."
"Huh? Why would you even say that?"
"It was just a feeling... I guess I was wrong." Aerith turned away from him to head back to her flower shop. Most likely, more customers eagerly waited outside the door, where she had hung up her "be back in twenty minutes" sign. She had not lied when she had told Axel that she thought benevolence existed in him. Through the tears misting her eyes, she had seen his emerald ones narrow in puzzlement, as well as guilt. If he had felt guilty about wounding her—but, how could he? Organization XIII possessed no hearts. Everyone knew that. Still, those eyes continued to haunt her the rest of the day.
Axel insisted on dropping by Hollow Bastion, despite Aerith's softly uttered command. He pestered her at every opportune moment, even at her own florist shop. At first, this merely irked her, but with time, he had become quite companionable. They conversed lightly about the most trifle of things, though it hardly mattered; the two them had slowly started to hit it off splendidly.
Aerith, however, still remained wary, considering the fact that Axel participated in the atrocious acts of Organization XIII. The redhead in question, on the other hand, rather enjoyed her company and the extremely wry smiles she gave him, no matter how fake they looked. He couldn't help but be suspicious of her as well, what with her ties to the one committee that could help yield his defeat. And he had so many plans too...
One day, though, completely lost its sanguine taste for Aerith when a simple customer appeared to request a bouquet of daisies for a niece.
"It would do my heart good to see little Henna smile that big smile of hers on her birthday with that bouquet," the particular woman beamed.
The young florist complied with the customer's wishes, seeing to it that the flowers were exquisitely cut and arranged. When she glimpsed the bright yellow middles of them, she espied Cloud's blond hair in her mind. How she missed stroking it! Remembering every tendril, every spike almost brought tears to Aerith's eyes. It was practically too much to handle to keep the sobs at bay for her.
Henna's aunt gently snatched the daisies away from her hands due to the fact that she saw them quivering.
"Don't worry. Your loved one will come back," she assured, for every villager knew the tale of Cloud and Aerith, the two star-crossed lovers that rarely saw each other.
Brushing her braid back onto her back, Aerith smiled wanly at the kind older woman. "He might... I always hope he will."
With one last sympathetic hand touch, Henna's aunt abandoned the shop after telling her to save the change for a rainy day.
The young woman with the brunette braid could hardly take it anymore; she fled from the building to maybe erase her sorrow concerning her beloved Cloud. She so desperately tired of the villager's false sympathies and assurances that he would return to her. At this rate, he would never arrive at the threshold of the one building at which she ardently worked to bring smiles to people's faces.
Before she could burst into her usually rare weeping, a familiar portal formed, with Axel emerging from it. Aerith prepared to tell him to leave her alone, when his gloved hand pulled her into the portal just before its closing. They ended up at the Crystal Fissure, the most captivating sight in all of Hollow Bastion. Its blue lights it created from the sun's prying rays comforted her at once, though the hollow feeling in her chest persisted.
The Crystal Fissure had always served as one of her esteemed locations in this town, so now she could bask in its beauty. Axel leant on the side of the fissure across from her selected side, with his arms crossed and his green eyes sharply assessing her.
"What made you practically lose it back there?" he muttered, half to her, half to himself. Aerith never cried, or so he thought. Now, however, she appeared as troubled now as she was three weeks ago when he had asked a non-specific question pertaining to Cloud. So, it was Cloud who did this to her, huh? Axel felt an impulse to search for him, proceeding to punch him in the face after he had done so. Why would this blond hero hurt his own girlfriend like that?
It must have been ages since the two of them had actually associated with each other. How stupid was he?
In the mean time, Aerith had nothing to say that could alleviate Axel's interrogating manner. She merely sensed a numb sensation in her brain, in her heart...and everywhere of which she could possibly think.
Finally, she answered him very timidly. "It's nothing."
He rolled his eyes in response. "Don't give me crap like that, Aerith! Tell me what happened. You know...the truth."
She tapped one booted foot nervously, her thoughts racing as to whether she should tell him or not; she couldn't really say he was a stranger to her anymore, after all.
"All right, I'll tell you. But, you have to promise not to tell anyone else. OK?"
Axel mused on this in an uncharacteristically solemn way until he agreed. "OK."
"Well, nine years ago, the Heartless attacked this town, where Cloud and I had lived at the time. We were only good friends at our age. So...we were separated until we found each other again in Traverse Town. After a while...I started to fall in love with him, but he became focused on one objective and one only: to defeat Sephiroth. He had unleashed the darkness within him, and Cloud thought that he could regain his light if he killed his enemy. But, the truth is, he did have his light all along...and he still doesn't know."
Aerith could feel the stinging saline water of her tears burning within her retinas, struggling to break loose like a tsunami bursting a dam open. Axel remained silent as he processed this story.
"So, let me get this straight. This guy basically got so caught up in his little revenge scheme, that he didn't realize that he had you to...um...love, right?"
She nodded before turning abruptly away from him to silently weep over this.
"Aerith...look at me," he ordered, almost softly. Then again, Axel could never be soft, so a rough murmur was as close as he could reach for a gentle tone.
Shaking her head back and forth, she now placed her hands over her eyes, so she could catch the tears.
Before he could stop himself, he wrapped his arms around her waist, causing Aerith to emit a tiny squeak of surprise.
Shockingly to her, she sensed her body relaxing under his touch, like melting butter. This couldn't be right... She had Cloud as a boyfriend, not Axel of all people. It had taken seemingly ages for him to gain her trust, so why should she even feel this way? Soon, she struggled against his embrace, revolting from this tranquil feeling that had bubbled within her chest.
"No," she muttered, attempting to pry his arms from her waist, "this is wrong."
"No, what he did to you was wrong! Aerith, you have to understand when I say he never loved you enough."
"You're lying. He—"
"Did he ever tell you he loved you?!?"
She fell silent at his words, recognizing the point he had reached: Cloud never did say those three words, much less anything remotely close to that sentiment. Axel had outsmarted her once again.
Bowing her head, Aerith began to shiver from the sobs desperately trying to break loose from her chest; she felt his arms returning to her body with no rejection on her part this time.
"Look," he whispered in her ear, "you've waited about six years for him, right?"
She nodded in assent.
"Then, I doubt he would come back here to stay. I'm...uh...sorry that I have to say that."
Aerith turned slowly around, so that she faced Axel, and she noticed something in his emerald orbs that had never before existed. These eyes spoke of feeling, passion even; no longer did they look dull and lifeless.
They burned with an intense fire that she could never douse. If anything, she had been the fuel for it in the first place. The mere thought of it made her smile, if only wryly.
Almost on impulse, Axel kissed her passionately, forgetting for one moment that he no longer possessed a heart; he could care less when it came to that. All that mattered was this brunette angel, who surrendered to his kiss and who was purer than any person he had ever encountered in his worthless non-existence.
Aerith, in turn, yielded to him, for she suddenly felt a renewed love for him, a love she never thought she had achieved in the past three weeks.
When they separated, he laid one gloved hand in an affectionate way on her cheek, stroking its soft essence.
"I have to go," he announced quietly, "but, you're not gonna see the last of me. Not by a long shot."
Smiling truly, she kissed him once more, for she privately admitted that she rather enjoyed the delightful sensation of his abnormally warm lips on hers. And even if she had loved Cloud, Axel did have a point when he told her what he thought about him.
"I'll see you later," Aerith murmured; she never liked saying goodbye. She knew from experience.
"Later." He raised a hand in farewell before he vanished in a created portal.
A/N: I know, I know. I could have made a better ending. And, I apologize if Aerith might have come off as a Mary Sue. But, once you think about how much crap she had to go through...well, yeah. In case you're wondering, I'm more partial to Cloti, and I just love putting Aerith in crack pairings such as this. I didn't know Axel/Aerith even existed on prior to typing this six months ago! So, I hope all of you enjoyed, despite my wordiness.