A/N: This three-shot is written for Puti Puripi, who requested Zack/Aerith in the Lifestream drabbles, quite some time ago. I'm so sorry for the delay, but here it is. Hope you'll like it. :)

Special thanks: M. L. Ayala, my lovely beta reader.

~ "Am I…still dreaming?" ~

The Lifestream was eerily quiet at this time of the day. Actually, there was always only silence that surrounded him and that was the most unnerving part. By now, Zack Fair was used to all the green swirling slowly around him, even if it was like a dagger piercing his heart. After all, it was the same shade of green as her brilliant eyes.

Aerith... Oh, how he longed to see her angelic face one more time. Did she even know that he had sacrificed himself in such a way? Perhaps the brunette thought that he had died years ago, since he'd never responded to any of her letters. Or maybe she was still waiting for him, thinking that he would come back to her one day. He didn't know which of the two was worse. Poor woman. She was the biggest sacrifice he'd made and she had no idea.

The raven-haired ex-SOLDIER let out a deep sigh. He was lying in something that could be seen as a bed. Admittedly, no one ever slept in the Lifestream, simply because there was no need to. Zack, however, wasn't in the mood to do anything else, feeling too depressed because of the choices that he'd made in the past. How different things would be if he had survived, if he'd found a way to get away with Cloud, alive and well...

It was always the same; whenever the man felt that a new measure of energy was added to the Lifestream, he would hope that it was her. It was foolish and selfish, but Zack honestly thought that his afterlife was useless without the beautiful brunette by his side. He didn't know how much time had passed, whether it was days or months...maybe years, but nothing changed in this routine. Of course he thought that she deserved a long and happy life, even if it was without him... Even if it meant that she'd eventually move on and meet another man who was alive and made her happier than he'd ever done.

Still, she didn't seem to move on at all. Zack had been watching her for so long now. For a brief moment, his heart had stopped when she seemed to get along with Cloud so well. But it didn't take a genius to figure out that those feelings were more platonic than anything else. Eventually, the troubled man had stopped watching (over) her, simply because it became too unbearable. And now, there was nothing left for him to do to keep his mind off things.

When there was a slight shifting sound on his right side, the dark-haired man automatically looked up, more out of habit than because he was really interested in who it was. The sight made his mouth drop open in utter shock. To his great surprise, he saw that Aerith, his beautiful Aerith, was sitting next to him, staring at him with those mesmerizing emerald-green eyes in which he could practically drown.

He couldn't believe his eyes, so he blinked several times. The image of her, however, stayed where it was. She hadn't changed a bit, and yet, she had never looked this beautiful before. The woman was like a dream; radiant and warm. Zack took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up slowly, too afraid that she might disappear if he moved a little too enthusiastically, for a lack of a better word.

He wanted to embrace her, tell her how much he had missed her, but he was scared that he might wake up from this dream...without her. Aerith, however, reached out and took his left hand in hers. Her hands were soft and warm to the touch and it made his heart skip a beat.

Eventually, he stammered, "Am I…still dreaming?"

Aerith squeezed his hand softly. "Not this time," she assured him, the beginning of a smile adorning her beautiful face.

The dark-haired man wasn't convinced that quickly, though. "Prove it."

"Okay."

Aerith didn't waste any time by pinching his arm, hard.

"Ow! Aerith!" he exclaimed, almost indignantly.

"What?" she said, innocently. The way she looked up at him with her big eyes only added to that effect, but he couldn't be fooled that easily.

He rubbed his sore arm, trying to give her a deadpan look. "That's not what I meant with pro-" Zack was then effectively silenced when the brunette woman kissed him softly on the lips. Even though he was taken aback completely, he almost immediately kissed her back. It was clear that both were regretting that they hadn't done this much, much earlier. When they parted, Zack was silent for a good moment, revelling in the euphoric feeling, before he sighed happily. "Whoa… I'm definitely not dreaming this time."

Aerith laughed at that. The instant that Aerith asked, "Got your proof this time?" his trademark grin was back in its place.

"…You bet."

"Well, shouldn't I get a tour around here?" she asked jokingly.

The ex-SOLDIER immediately knew that that was her way of saying that they should try to catch up on the lost time right now. "Oh, sure!"

At once, the man jumped out of the bed to do as she asked. And quite honestly, he hadn't felt this energetic in a long while. Something told him that from now on, he would never feel tired and unhappy again. The sacrifice had been worth it after all.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I don't know when the next update will be, but I'm trying my best. :)