He met her outside of Midgar, in the dirtiest, but closest, place – Sector 5. A short blip of music sounded.
It abruptly ended with a, "Zack, here,"
After a few unseen head nods, he took off to their first spot of meeting. Their first encounter, where everything – all of this – had started, on just a whim, a stray chance. Racing past broken down housing and decayed shops, he landed in front of a ramshackle building. Without so much as a knock, and a light jump and swagger to his step, he set off inside.
What first met his eye was the beautiful, yet cracked, stained-glass. With its intricate design, it was as if it as delivered straight from the god's hand – only that one flaw brought about the sense of the gods being closer, flawed in the way that mortals are. It made the artwork play a more intimate note with the viewer.
Soft, golden rays filtered in through the broken, weary roof – sagging in on itself from years of beamed support. The lost beams and planks of wood from up-top cast a glow around the patch where various flowers of light grew.
He creaked past rows of emptied pews and dusted floors to stand next to the little spot of pure serenity, the sun kissing his face with its sweet warmth. Breathing in deep the aroma's of Nature's boon, his armor gave a squelch as he bent to gently graze his finger against the petals of a lone daffodil..
"Don't touch the flowers!" a voice chimed in a sweet, yet mocking, tone.
His head turned to the direction of the noise and smiled brilliantly as out from the shadows emerged a young girl. The light encased her in a yellow halo, crowning her from head to foot in a splash of honeyed colors.
"The only like to be tended to by me," she continued in the same falsetto.
He turned to face her full on, wrapping his hands on his waist, bent at the elbows.
"Is that so?" he asked, inclining his head and emphasizing his question with a raised brow.
"It is," she replied coyly.
He chuckled softly. "And did, they, tell you this?"
"Why in fact," she started, taking a gradual step forward. "they did." Her voice lilted lightly, childishly.
He took a foot forward and shifted to an inquisitive stance.
"And, how, exactly, did they tell you?" he gave a slight jump after each word. "... 'cuz, flowers can't talk."
Not wanting to be outdone, she came closer. "Well, they do for me,"
Staying his ground, the SOLDIER operative stared at the girl for a long while before, "Hi... Aerith,"
His eyes smiled as they danced with an inner, darker, light. She briefly looked down at the intensity.
She replied with a, "Hi... Zack,"
Greetings exchanged, he straightened up and bared his teeth in a huge, eye-creasing, grin.
"So, how've ya been? Life treatin' ya any good?"
She moved a stray hair out of her eyes and gently smiled up at him, blinking her long lashes innocently. Whenever she did that made the warriors blood rise, in all too inconvenient ways.
"Uh-huh, I'm fine," she responded airily. "the flowers say that they are well, also."
He laughed. "Well of course they'd be! If I was a flower being taken care of by such a beautiful girl like you, I'd be pretty darn happy, too!"
Aerith giggled and turned away to hide the coloring of her cheeks. She snuck a shy peek back at him from under her lashes, chiding, "Oh, you!"
He just shrugged his shoulders with palms up, looking to the side, smiling.
"What can I say, right?" he asked rhetorically.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, turning around and grabbing his hand in excitement. "how about we..." she paused to collect her jumbled thoughts. '...go... go to the park!"
He jumped back at the quick change of pace with their conversation.
"Huh—wha, uh, yea...?"
"Yay!" said she, jumping up in her happiness.
"Heh – heh." he scratched his head with an awkward hand. "Uh...alright then, shall we...?" he gestured to the unhinged, doorless doorway. She nodded and made a sound of approval.
They set off, Aerith walking ahead with a skip-beat in her step. The spiky-haired man placed a hand on the worn plank and turned his head with his front turned away, he gazed upon the stained-glass display. A splash of color depicted a white winged angel reaching to the outstretched hand of a mortal man. He tried to make sense of why the Angel seemed angry and the man distraught. He pondered until a hand laced in his, soft and sweet.
"Hell—ooo~" she tugged lightly and smiled. "let's go!"
He smiled faintly. "R-right..!" All thoughts of deep meaning and symbolism were chased away as his hand encased hers.
Trudging outside, they took frequent glances at each other, laughing and giggling along the way. As the two neared the hustle and bustle of the road close to the Slums' marketplace, a young boy made a beeline straight for them. Placing his right leg forward, bringing Aerith behind, he braced himself. The boy running at full, fast speeds, raced to them, brought his leg up high and kicked with all his might. The young lad crumpled in on himself, a pained expression lining his face.
"Hah!" Zack exulted triumphantly. "Iron-plating! I've prepared my right leg well, thanks to my previous visits!"
He, childishly, basked in the glow of having trumped a young pre-pubescent boy. Said boy noted a slight emphasis on the word, 'right' and shakily stood up.
"J-just the right...?"
With an evil smirk, he set off, rearing back and kicking the opened, forgotten, and vulnerable left leg, sending the trained fighter to his knees, face down in the dirt. The kid snickered, gave a last sneer down at the sprawled man, and bounded away, parting from the two.
"Are you alright?" Aerith asked, shock and worry coloring her delicate features.
"- -"
"I'm sorry...?" she asked, puzzled, inclining her head to the right cutely and questioningly.
Retaining the same position, though lifting his face an inch off of the ground, he re-muttered his incoherent statement.
"My dignity is a little hurt – kiss it, make it better...?" Zack looked up on the last with sad, characteristically, puppy-dog eyes.
"Tsk – Oh, you!"she chided, standing up in her embarrassment, so as to shield her face from his view.
He laughed and tried righting himself the only way in which he knew how.
By jumping from his current position, much like a break-dancer would, he went from sprawled to standing.
Aerith laughed. "I bet...that you couldn't do that-" - she gestured at him with a waved hand - "- again."
Zack emphasized the motion of him placing his hands on his hips, slowly.
"Oooh, yea?"
We'll just see about that, he thought smugly.
"And what are you offering?"
Puzzled, she asked, "Huh?"
"My price.." he paused. "like, in return for task completion, I get from you... uh... one date!"
"And if you so lose?"
Huh-? Oh, er... a... date...?"
Aerith, as was her nature, gave a light giggle, covering her mouth to stifle her cute laughter with a soft hand.
"I don't think it works that way" she shook her head at him, sending her braid swishing this way and that.
"All right, then... how about... well, gee.. I don't..." he thought, fingers stroking his hairless chin. "You think of a punishment!"
A sense of slight regret passed through him, but he ignored it. What's the worst she could throw at him?
"Oh, I don't think you'll want that~"
"Hit me with your best!"
"Well..."
Upon his insistence, she started to think of what to do with him, should he be unsuccessful in his plight. She paced around, staring at the ground with intent in her eyes. She would put one foot in front of the other in a straight, if lazy, line. She turned around, dress swirling along with her, and brought a finger to her delicate lips.
"A-ha!" she exclaimed.
"Eu...reka...?" Zack questioned warily.
"Your punishment, should you fail, is this: you must wear a flower – of my choosing – in your hair – in a position and placement of my choice – to work, when you go to Soldier!" she clarified, "Clear?"
The warrior's jaw dropped. "WHA- n-no way! Aw, c'mon, Aerith... show some compassion! That's like... throwing me to the dogs and leaving me to be eaten!"
"Then you'd better not mess up~" she said sweetly, with a hint of evil.
With a groan of what the imminent future might hold for him and his dignity, he brought himself to the ground. Placing his hands beside his head, palms down, he tensed all the muscles he had come to possess and, with a last ray of hope, he redid his jump...
...to complete perfection – landing smugly in front of the soft brunette-haired girl.
"Hah!" he grinned. "See,"
She sighed dramatically.
"So it would appear your hair is saved...for today at least,"
"C'mon" he said. "We'd better get to the park before dark."
"Why is that?" she inquired with a tilt of her head.
"Because that's when...the monsters come out," he jokingly stated, waggling his fingers on the word 'monster'. "Plus, you have a curfew!"
She pouted. "Since when?"
His demeanor changed to a slightly more serious one.
"Since I care about your safety, that's when,"
She smiled. " I'm the one that worries. You're in SOLDIER, fighting is all you do... all you know..."
He grabbed her hand, flirtatious smile I tow.
"Oh-ho-ho... I can show you that that's not all I know."
She was pulled in by his gorgeous, mako-infused eyes. Only when his face was inches from hers did she pull herself back.
Nearly... thought he.
He brought her hand up and kissed the back of it, then flipped it over to give her palm the same attention. This was all he allowed of himself, setting boundaries for her own protection. She was like a gentle, fragile bird – needing to be kept safe and knowing that she was. He didn't want to break that mentality but his body yearned for more. He found himself constantly thinking of her, even with Angeal's constantly bickering of his unfocussed behavior, and of ways to get to her and spending more time with her. Just, being with her! He enjoyed her company and her presence. He loved the feelings he got every time she called, hearing her sweet voice as they chatted away, about simple nothings. He wanted to tell her all this, hoping to sway her, but it seemed to be against his nature to.
Aerith playfully tugged at his arm, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Well~"
"W-well what?" he raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Mr. Concerned-about-my-safety, shall we go?"
"If m'lady so asks me," he bowed, putting a hand to his chest in a showy manner.
"Dilly-Dally, Shilly-Shally!" she skipped away.
"...Wh-what?" he asked, jogging at her same-set pace.
"It's what I told that new recruit you introduced me too – the blonde one,"
Zack was taken aback, his face showing his surprise.
"Cloud – Cloud Strife?"
She paused to remember, then piped up with a, "umm-Yes!"
"He's a good guy," The black-haired young man mused. " A bit too quiet, but really great once ya get to know 'im!"
Zack was quietly lost in thought as he recalled his first meeting with the new ensign. Stranded due to a helicopter crash. Only Zack, Tseng, and two ensigns survived the unplanned landing. As Zack shared his experience with unmarked roads was due to being a country-boy, he enjoyed learning Cloud was of the same upbringing. Both bonded, laughing of the things the city-slicker turk, Tseng, would never understand.
Despite the circumstance they were thrust in, Zack really enjoyed himself and his time with his newly-made friend.
Back to reality, yet again jolted into the here and now, he caught a glimpse of her sweet, sweet, smile before she turned to the park.
"Well, I don't know him well enough to agree or disagree," she shrugged as she walked on by. "But I do know that you are a great man,"
Zack was dumbstruck.
She thinks that I'm... a man... a great man...he thought, whilst a thrill of excitement ran down his spine.
Applause sounded that only he could hear as he inwardly boasted and gloated.
He felt he should reciprocate and said back, honestly, "Well, I think you are the most beautiful girl this here boy has e'er seen, lil' miss,"
He retraced his old roots and regained his accent for that statement, tipping his imaginary ten-gallon hat to her.
She giggled and slapped his forearm playfully.
"Then you must not have seen a lot of girls," Smirking, she told him this.
He stopped to look at her, with eyes so serious.
"I've seen every girl worth looking at in this place, and in many others...and none of them can even come close to comparing to you.
"You're inner beauty, though, is amazing. It shines brighter than you're smile. It makes you seem that much more gorgeous."
Aerith lost the ability to speak. At the point of his finish, standing waiting for a reply, they were placed smack-dab in the middle of the park. Instead of responding to all he had said, she opted for running and jumping on the swings.
Zack, expectant, gave a huge sigh.
Wow...after spilling my heart she just... … … leaves me here... I was replaced by a swing.. hah, distracted; this is so like Aerith, he smiled on the last.
Shaking his head, he watched as her normal glee from the height the swings gave her was missing.
Aerith sailed through the air, giving a last kick to soar higher, then jumping off. Zack, freaked, ran in tight circles, trying to get under her and catch her long descent. The young girl miscalculated her drop and awaited the pain that he was sure to come. Though, to her pleasant surprise, it did not.
Landing, he clutched her light form in his awaiting arms, tight and firm. The feeling it gave her was unlike any she had ever had before. The warm sense of safety and security was so nice and a thing she never had, but needed and missed terribly. He smiled down at her after a moment of adjusting to the new package he now held. It was as heated and warm as the comfort his arms gave her.
Her eyes began to sting, a feeling she had come to familiar terms with. Crying to her was a vulnerability and she wasn't ready to share it with Zack yet.
Throwing her arms around his neck and grasping as tightly as she could, she burrowed into his neck, so soft. He didn't like how she was hiding her face from him, but before he could do anything about it, he felt her plump lips part then place a soft kiss around his throbbing pulse. The crystal-eyed man quietly gasped at the feeling even though she continued to shield away from him. He had dreamed o a moment like this ever since their first encounter – awkward as it partly was. Falling unconscious through a roof after battling dozens of monsters didn't exactly help with the meeting.
"Wh-what was-" - he coughed to clear his slogged throat - "that, for? N-not that I, uh, haha, minded or anything but... uhh..."
Still hidden, she mumbled meaningfully, "For all the things you said... it was really nice, Zack. It made me... so happy to hear you say that. It really did. I've never had that said to me..."
The spunky fighter had had enough. He brought his finger under and lifted her chin up to see into her clouded hazel eyes. He spoke as his crystals met her light jades.
"Aerith, you deserved every word. You deserve everything – everything I could give you and so much more..."
She perked up at his pained and wistful inflection.
:What do you mean by that?" she said, hopeful and inquisitively.
"I..." he paused to collect his jumbled thoughts, stilling his wildly thumping heart – or at the very least, trying.
He swallowed thickly.
"I... wanted to offer... er... to ask you... if – " he stopped. Lost in her helpless eyes, pleading him. "if... I could... escort you around,"
Her lower lip puffed out a bit, expecting a different question entirely, pouting.
"You...you do that alrea – "
" – as your.. boyfriend ..." he interjected, silencing her, save for the gasp that escaped those magnificent lips of hers. "I love being with you. I'd like to make it more officially known... a... ya know..?"
She smiled brilliantly, throwing her arms around his neck again.
"Zack Fair, I would absolutely love that! I have wanted that for so long!"
She moaned against him. He tilted his spiky head back and exulted, sighing in relief.
"Haha, me too, as you should know by this point."
They became quiet for at time, he clutched her tighter to him.
"What do we do now?" she asked softly by his ear.
Zack rolled his eyes up in thought and smirked.
"Well," he began, a new edge to his voice. "Why don't we start..." He pulled closer. "with... this,"
Zack brought his face to hers, parting her soft, sweet lips with his own. Her eyes widened at his bold and quickness, at his passion, at the feelings the simple motion have her. Such a simple pleasure.
Her eyes closed as both delved into the feel of the other, each new sensation, heightened with each movement.
Thank God for lazy, purely opportune, days we are given.
A/N:
WOW THIS TOOK ME FOREVER TO TYPE UP!
I hope you enjoyed this, because I had the most amazing time writing this!
Read and review, please :D I always enjoy commentary and constructive criticism!
And yea, I was going to divulge my reasoning and the symbolism behind the Church's stained glass, but... I forgot and I had already written an ending and didn't want to change it... so, if you would like to know the symbolism of it, just PM :D I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have :)
or you can just leave it up to your interpretation! Whichever you'd like :)
Right then, Signing off noooooooooow~
Jaa Ne!
*DPVND*