AN: This is fluff. Pure and utter Tifa/Aeris fluff, along with a dash of something-that-I-can't-tell-you-about-because-it-would-ruin-the-story, but in the end, it's just pure, utter and complete fluff. Fun, no? This little thing popped into my head a couple of minutes after I first saw the leaked picture of Aeris from Advent Children on the Internet, but the whole little thing with- oh. Ahem. Can't say. Anyway, review after you read, please! Oh, and the title, I named it 'heartbreaker' 'cause... read AN 2 at the end of the fic, I don't want to ruin it for you this early.

"I suppose it's the red eyes then."

"Actually, no. It's more your nose."

"My nose? What about my nose?"

Aeris giggled as she ran a hand through her light brown curls, waving them dry.

"You don't know?"

Tifa frowned and murmured, "No, I don't. What about my nose?"

Another giggle and Aeris stood up, pink nightgown swaying gently around her slim legs, hugging her soft curves. She sat down again beside Tifa, on the bed, and leaned over, gently brushing her lips against Tifa's sensitive ear as she whispered, "I think it's cute. Like the rest of you."

If Tifa could have suppressed that stray shiver, she would have, but as it happened, she couldn't and didn't. And because of that, she got a playful smile from Aeris, accompanied by a gently finger that ran itself down her spine. Another shiver wormed its way up her hypersensitive body.

"You shouldn't do that, Aeris."

"Mm? And why is that?"

It was Tifa's turn to lean over, and she did, resting her head on Aeris' slim shoulder.

"Because I won't be able to sleep, and if I don't sleep, you won't sleep either."

"Oh, really?"

There seemed to be a bit of a challenge hidden in Aeris' calm voice.

"Yes, really."

Tifa turned her head and planted a soft kiss on Aeris' delicate jawbone, earning a slight tremble from the other girl. Tifa laughed, and the sound of it sent Aeris into a frenzy of barely suppressed shivers, something that delighted Tifa to no end.

"Look who's all worked up now, Aeris." she murmured, chuckling silkily into the other girl's ear.

Aeris squirmed, playfully uncomfortable at how Tifa could easily turn her into a puddle of shivers and moans in a matter of moments, and only with that laugh of hers. Well, there were also her delicate fingers too, but that was beside the point. Aeris frowned, squealed as Tifa blew into her ear, and then pulled away, standing up and stretching.

"Well, in that case, I think I need to go to bed. Good night, Tifa."

"G'night...?"

Aeris laughed, spinning around and skipping, sending her brown waves twirling out around her playful face, pink nightgown following suit. She looked like a goddess, Tifa realized, and just that thought sent a warm rush of emotion through her body. Aeris had a way of doing that to her.

"Yes, good night. I need to sleep, and so do you. Tomorrow's a big day, you know. Cloud said so."

"Cloud said so," Tifa whined, mocking Aeris.

"Hey now, don't do that. It doesn't work right on you."

Tifa laughed again in so many minutes, shrugging and falling back onto the mattress with a thump. She stared up at the ceiling of their inn room.

"So what if Cloud says so? Doesn't mean he can ruin our fun, right?"

Aeris was quiet for a while, leading Tifa to wonder if she had actually gone to bed and fallen asleep, when she was suddenly surprised by Aeris' smiling face looming above hers. She could feel Aeris' knees on either side of her waist, straddling her, hands pressed down onto the mattress on either side of her head. Tifa felt a blush rising steadily into her face.

"You want fun, then?" Aeris asked, voice husky and low. Her head dipped down, lips brushing past Tifa's red cheek and onto her progressively reddening ear.

"M-maybe."

"Mm."

And then Aeris pulled back into a sitting position, putting her remarkably slight weight onto Tifa's toned stomach. She reached down with her hand, tucked a stray strand of dark chestnut behind Tifa's white porcelain ear, traced a fingertip across the rim of it, then pulled away, smiling lovingly at the girl beneath her.

"You stuttered," she murmured, making Tifa frown prettily at her, "so does that mean you don't want to play with me?"

"No." Tifa muttered, almost crossly. Aeris was so tempting at times, and this was one of those times, yet she always pulled away in the end.

"Then why'd you stutter?"

"You... you.. you make me..."

"Yes?"

Tifa frowned, sighed, squirmed, lay still. Finally, she reached up and gently stroked the side of Aeris' face with the back of her hand, revelling in the softness of the older girl's skin.

"You make me nervous when you do that. When I'm nervous-"

"You stutter."

"Exactly."

"Oh. Hm."

"Yes, hm."

"Well, in that case," Aeris said, grinning mischievously, "I guess I can continue what I was up to before, couldn't I?"

"Y-yeah, you could..."

Aeris threw back her head and laughed. Tifa was so adorable when she stuttered.

"Stop laughing and get on with it." Tifa grumbled, reaching up and hooking a hand behind Aeris' head. With a swift pull, she brought the other girl's face down until it was mere inches from hers.

There was a pause between the two of them as they stared into each other's eyes, swirling and sinking into orbs of crimson and emerald. It was Aeris who managed to break away and surface from the sea of Tifa's gaze first.

"Well? Aren't you going to do something?" she whispered, breathless. She was extremely aware of the soft rubbing Tifa's hand was administering on the back of her neck.

Tifa shrugged in response, feeling her shoulders brush Aeris' bangs up and down her cheeks, and said, "Maybe. Or maybe not. I could stay like this. Would that annoy you?"

The disgruntled look and the soft 'humph' that Aeris gave as her only response told Tifa all she needed to know. So she smiled, a look of completely and utter mischief shining in her eyes, and gently pulled Aeris down further, until their lips almost met. She stopped there, letting her breath tickle the other girl's lips, hoping to drive her insane. There was another moment of silence as Tifa lay back to enjoy the feeling of Aeris' lips nearly on hers, so close that there was a distinct tingling in them. She was sure she was driving Aeris insane by now.

"I think we've established the fact that I'm the impatient one out of the two of us now," Aeris whispered huskily, impatience biting into her voice, "so can we get on with it?"

"I thought you were the one who wanted to play around first." Tifa replied, letting her words brush the tip of her lips against Aeris' again and again, effectively tempting Aeris' beyond what she could handle. So Aeris did the only thing the last part of her rational mind told her to do: bring her lips smashing down onto Tifa's.

The kiss was searing, mind-boggling almost. That's what happened when you kept two lovers separated for a whole day. Aeris had realized, several days ago, that she could never seem to get enough of Tifa. Of the taste in Tifa's hot mouth, of the soft touch that Tifa was capable of, of that irrationally seductive chuckle of hers, of everything. Mere hours of being apart from the other girl did horrible things to Aeris' mind and body. A whole day had seemed almost impossible.

And the cravings weren't one-sided, either. Tifa had been jumpy, edgy, irritated when she couldn't touch Aeris, at least brush her hand along Aeris'. It did horrible things to her. She had almost wanted to sock Cait Sith today, when he'd mentioned her bad mood, and the urge to hurt something hadn't gone away until Aeris had finally come back and had stolen a kiss from Tifa that she felt wasn't nearly enough to make up for all the hours apart, but did hold promises of what was to come. And here the promises were being fulfilled. Tifa felt her heart burst with a particular large wash of love.

Aeris' nightgown found itself floating down onto the ground, forgotten, along with Tifa's black shorts. Closely following was Tifa's white tank top, and the only articles of clothing that separated Tifa's fingers from Aeris' bare body were just about to come down when a sudden knock sounded. The girls stopped their explorations, Tifa wanting to curse, Aeris wanting to scream and hurt whoever was standing on the other side of the oak door.

"Who is it?" Tifa called, anger and frustration barely hidden from her voice.

"Me." came the voice of the intruder.

If it had been anyone else, Tifa would have dressed, opened the door, and decked them, for two reasons of course. First, because they had said 'me' rather than answer the question of who they were. Second, because they had interrupted her alone-time with Aeris. But then again, it hadn't been anyone else. Tifa shot Aeris an apologetic look that was returned by the older girl, and they both clumsily slid into their lost articles of clothing. By the time Tifa had finished dressing, Aeris was already at the door.

"Ready?" she mouthed. Tifa nodded.

Aeris gently turned the doorknob and swung open the door. The adorable face of their intruder stared up at her.

"Hi!"

Aeris laughed, suppressing a shiver as Tifa slipped up behind her, running a hand gently down her back and across her waist.

"Hey there. What're you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep. There was no-one to tell me a bedtime story."

Tifa, knowing that their little intruder wouldn't tell on them, gently wrapped her arms around Aeris' waist, earning a slightly disapproving look from the older girl, but there was no visible sign of rejection, so she left her arms where they were. Aeris, on the other hand, reached out with a hand, offering it to their now-considered visitor.

"Would you like to come in, then?"

"Will you tell me a story?"

"Maybe," Aeris said. She turned her head and gazed at Tifa, who gave her an innocent look. Turning back, she said, "But I'm sure Tifa will."

"Hey!" Tifa exclaimed, indignant, but their visitor ignored her and ran into the room.

"C'mon then! And be quiet, or you'll wake up Daddy and then you'll be in trouble."

Tifa sighed, shook her head while extricating her arms from where they were, gently whacked the side of Aeris' head with a light hand, and turned to walk back towards Aeris' bed, where the wide-eyed Marlene Wallace sat, waiting for her promised bedtime story.

"Oh, I'm sure I will." Tifa muttered, shooting a pointed look at Aeris. Aeris simply shrugged and smiled, earning a growl from Tifa.

"Oh, lighten up. What's wrong with telling Marlene a bedtime story?" Aeris asked, sitting down on the bed beside Marlene and wrapping an arm around her small shoulders, letting the little girl curl up against her side.

"Nothing. Except I don't know any bedtime stories."

Aeris looked at her, emerald eyes flashing, but Tifa stared stoically back, refusing to give even an inch.

"I'm sure you know at least one, Tifa. Come on. Be nice to little Marlene."

"Yeah! Be nice to little Marlene!" Marlene echoed, before suddenly exclaiming, "Hey! I'm not little!"

Aeris laughed and gently tapped the tip of Marlene's nose with a delicate fingertip.

"Oh yes you are. Isn't she, Tifa?"

Tifa joined the two of them on the bed, sandwiching Marlene between her warm body and Aeris'. She smiled and wrapped an arm around Marlene as she felt the girl snuggling up into her too, taking care to brush the tips of her fingers along Aeris' bare arm.

"Yes, she is. And little Marlene is going to get a bedtime story from big old Aeris, isn't she?"

Tifa shot an amused glance at Aeris, chuckling at the indignant look on her lover's face.

"No, she's not." Aeris replied.

"Awwww, but Aeris!" Marlene whined, poking Aeris' side.

Aeris squealed, laughed, and said, "No, no, little Marlene will get a story from me, but I'm not old. Or big."

The last part of that sentence was directed at Tifa rather than Marlene, but Marlene was the one who laughed.

"Okay, okay. Aeris isn't big or old. She's really pretty, and young. Now can I please have my bedtime story?"

Chuckling, Aeris consented and soon began to weave a beautiful tale of princesses and knights and chocobos. There were mentions of humourless guards and walking stuffed cats, as well as one very snobbish Materia-loving cook who ate more than she served, and Marlene seemed completely enthralled by it all. Tifa, on the other hand, was more enthralled with the serene and loving look on Aeris' face. For one frozen moment, Tifa suddenly envisioned the two of them, sitting on the edge of a large bed with their own little child cuddled between them. Aeris would be weaving the same wondrous tale while Tifa would gently run her fingers through their own little girl's wet hair, waving it dry. By the time she could shake off that vision, Aeris was already done her story, and Marlene was getting sleepy.

"D'you want us to walk you back to your room, Marlene?" Aeris murmured, gently running a hand through Marlene soft brown locks.

Marlene, too tired to answer, gave a soft moan and shook her head, rubbing her face into Aeris' side. Aeris looked up and met Tifa's amused eyes.

"Well? What do you think?" Aeris asked, tilting her head to the side in that inquisitive way that Tifa loved so much.

"We could carry her back." Tifa suggested, but the idea seemed a little silly now that Marlene was practically clinging onto Aeris, desperate to keep her newfound pillow.

Aeris, noticing how Marlene had attached herself to her, chuckled. Checking to make sure that little Marlene was indeed asleep, she finally looked up and into the wine red eyes of her lover, and whispered, "I guess we just won't have this night for ourselves."

Tifa shrugged and answered, "I guess we won't."

Aeris sighed and Tifa, noticing how disappointed she looked, leaned over, pressing her soft lips onto Aeris' even softer forehead.

"But we'll have tomorrow night, won't we?" Tifa murmured, gently running a hand through Aeris' own brown locks, soothing her.

Aeris sighed, nodded, then said, "But I was so hoping that we would, you know..."

"I know. I did too. But we have our little girl to take care of now."

Tifa gently slid her arm out from around Marlene, careful not to wake their little charge, and smiled as Marlene murmured something under her breath and snuggled deeper into Aeris side. She sighed, stretched, and rubbed a tired eye.

"I'm feeling like Marlene. Think I'm going to go to bed now."

She eyed her own ruffled bed, sheets rumpled from her and Aeris' little playful encounter, and turned to smile apologetically at Aeris. Aeris, on the other hand, shot Tifa a questioning look.

"Where're you going?"

"Hm? To bed. Where else?"

And then she realized what Aeris meant.

"Well, you have Marlene to sleep with you tonight. I'm big enough to sleep by myself, you know."

Aeris gave a funny, lopsided grin and said, "Yes, well, that never stopped you before, did it?"

"Actually," Tifa murmured, feigning thought, and then laughed quietly at Aeris' indignant look before continuing, "you're right. But still. I don't want to disturb Marlene."

"You won't," Aeris promised, then added with a quiet but adorable imploring tone in her voice, "but could you do it for me, please?"

Unable to resist that voice, unable to resist anything about Aeris, Tifa sighed and nodded. Aeris gently picked Marlene up into her arms as Tifa pulled back the covers on Aeris' bed. Moments later, Aeris finished tucking Marlene in and gently slid under the covers herself. She looked up to see Tifa looking at her weirdly.

"What? What is it?"

Tifa shook her head, an odd smile on her face, and replied, "Nothing."

She climbed in on the other side, snuggling up to Marlene and letting Aeris drape an arm across Marlene's small form and onto her waist. Smiling, she gazed across the bed and into Aeris' contented face. Aeris, noticing Tifa's gaze, turned to stare at her and gave an inquisitive smile.

"What is it, Tifa?"

Tifa remained silent, choosing to enjoy the feel of Aeris' arm on her waist combined with the feeling of little Marlene's body pressed up against the side of her own. Aeris, noticing that Tifa wasn't going to answer, shook her head in amusement and closed her eyes, readily drifting off to sleep. Several minutes passed during that peaceful silence and Tifa was just about asleep herself when she heard Aeris' soft murmur.

"Tifa?"

"Hm?"

"You know before, when you called Marlene 'our little girl'?"

Tifa paused and tried to think back through the sleepy haze that had settled in her head. When she finally managed to figure out what Aeris was talking about, she blushed.

"Yes? What about that?"

"I was wondering..."

"Mm hm?"

"Did you... mean anything by that?"

"Did I...?" Tifa began before drifting off. Had she seriously meant anything by that? But then the image of her and Aeris and their own child drifted upward in her mind and she suddenly realized that she had actually meant something by that.

"Tifa?"

"If I said yes, would that mean anything to you?"

Aeris was quiet for a while, and when she finally chose to answer, her voice was slightly shaky.

"I... I don't know. Maybe."

Another pause. Tifa was about to say something else when Aeris voiced her final answer.

"Yes."

The two of them lay there, buried beneath a layer of soft bed covers, minds turning over what the conversation they'd just had. When Tifa could finally stop thinking, she propped her head up with a hand and stared across Marlene's sleeping body and into Aeris' eyes. Maybe this was it, where she was meant to be, where she belonged. And Tifa could see it in Aeris' sparkling emerald eyes that the older girl was thinking of the same thing. Tifa realized that perhaps it was time to get that ring her father had left her out from beneath that loose floorboard in her room back in Nibelheim. Her father had told her to save it for the one person she knew she'd want to spend the rest of her life with, and for the longest time, she'd thought it would have been Cloud. But that'd changed in the last few months, hadn't it?

Tifa smiled and found Aeris returning the gesture.

"Aeris?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Aeris' smile widened.

"I know. I love you too."

Before they knew it'd happened, the two of them found themselves leaning forward, lips drawing together for an inevitable kiss. When they did meet, faces pressed together overtop Marlene's sleeping form, the kiss was soft, tender, loving, and Tifa felt as though it would go on forever.

But then Marlene woke up.

"Mm... Wh- Aeris? Tifa! Ewwwww! Kissing! Noooooo! Daddy said it's bad for yooooouuuu!"

AN 2: Okay, finished? I was originally going to explain my choice of title here, then realized that maybe some of you don't want to know, or don't want to have your read ruined by my explanation. So for those of you who wouldn't mind knowing, email me and I'll tell. Other than that, hope you enjoyed your time reading this thing.

Avy

PS AN: Oh, and I won't be updating anytime soon for those who might be wondering. School's started and grade 11 is hectic as hell, but besides that, I've been finding that I'm having problems finishing things. I'll have great starts of stories, but then I can never find the time or inspiration (mostly the inspiration) to finish them, so I can't post them. This one just happened to be one of those randomly lucky things that I managed to finish. Which, as it is, probably won't happen again anytime soon, and should be an extra incentiveto review. Wink wink