Aerith Gainsborough x Zack Fair.

Does countenances reveal one's true identity?

Summary: Honestly, I… miss you a lot and I would do anything to see that smile of yours again. Aerith… if only things had been different, then… maybe you wouldn't have had to wait for me for four years? Maybe then we could still be together and you… wouldn't have gotten killed? Please, my love… goddess of the lifestream… let me meet you, not just in my dreams but in… reality.

Chapter one: One of these days would just have to come around again, wouldn't it? He had… actually been feeling a little cheerful lately, in company of his best friend Cloud, but… true as it was stated, you can't forget your memories, can you? The memories of a fragile silhouette, one of which featured this long, brown, braided hair, put up in a bow… Her shoulders graced in a red bolero jacket and a pink dress underneath. Her light skin which brightened up in the sunlight as it almost seemed… snow white.
She began to move and slowly turned around against him to watch over her shoulder.
Her emerald green eyes seemed to be able to stare into his very soul. A soft smile extended on her lips slightly as she whispered something through the small, almost unnoticeable space in between them. Her glance moderated once she lowered her head and nodded, then… this fairness would dissolve in particles. Left to be shown was… a struck down body on the ground. The green grass with it long straws tickled her skin while the sun beams from above had been cumulated into an aureole, shinning down only on her.

Zack recognized it so well, yet to be remembered today.

She laughed, didn't seem to feel the damage her stomach had taken. Her… stomach which was stained in blood… hollow. She opened her eyes and the first person she captured in her eye field was him. That… blonde, spiky haired male with these mako blue eyes. Mako, something that iconic the members of Soldier, though he had quit by now. He wore a black robe, a high collar sleeveless black shirt, black pants and black boots. His body was shaking… easy to understand after what he just had been witnessing. In his hands he carried a weapon, Buster sword to be more specific. It was a massive sword, several feet long.

"Cloud?"

The young maiden whispered, her eyes was trembling. The male wouldn't reply. He simply just shared a few teardrops before his legs folded below him and he crouched down next to her. Shamefully he hugged his sword and felt too… discouraged to even give her the slightest of glimpse furthermore.

"C-Clo-…"

She realized what was going on as she shakily brought her hands to her stomach. With huge eyes she stiffened.

"Goodbye, Aeri-…"

"No!"

Zack sat up in his bed, cold sweaty. He frowned and slapped his forehead. Yet another dream about the event from before… He didn't look at the clock but went to his wardrobe and picked out some clothes for the day anyway. No idea to go back to sleep when he was wide awake, right?
Soon he walked into the bathroom next doors and took a quick shower to refresh himself before he headed out to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Currently he was living in a rather modern apartment… it was located in the central city and not too far from his current work.
The breakfast would be sandwiches with butter, cheese and fried eggs and a cup of coffee.
He sat by the dining table and read the newspaper. Apparently the time was half past five in the morning and in another… two and a half hour he needed to be at the full-time employment.
He drunk up his coffee after a while and washed the dishes, likewise the once from last night, then opened the front door in the entrance and headed outside. He decided to take a walk through the forest nearby… since it was a late spring season you could already hear those tweeting birds and observe a pale blue sky. Subsequently he sat down on a tree trunk, next to his favorite lake in the forest. This lake contained holy water and in fact… this was a forbidden place, though he wouldn't care. One of the few things he could care about, especially these days, was… his goner.

"Aerith, can you hear me… up there? It's me, Zack… again…"

Sometimes it almost seemed as if… he just were talking to himself.

"How are things going up there? This is… this is the thirteenth time I am doing this, actually... Praying, hoping… wishing. Honestly, I… miss you a lot and I would do anything to see that smile of yours again. Aerith… if only things had been different, then… maybe you wouldn't have had to wait for me for four years? Maybe then we could still be together and you… wouldn't have gotten killed? Please, my love… goddess of the lifestream… let me meet you, not just in my dreams but in… reality. One… one last time! That's all I need. I need to talk to you again, hold you again, laugh with you again… show you the sky above which you always told me you were so afraid off! … Can you hear me? Give me a sign, anything would do!"

He sighed… shouting wouldn't help. Oh, well… it was time for him to head back anyways.
He stood up from the trunk and brushed off his pants.

Just a sign…

The male rubbed the back part of his head and regarded the sky above once more.
Was there any chance… any at all?

The Lifestream:

"Yes, Zack… how could I not have heard your prayers? You must understand that I am missing you too… a lot. But, it's impossible for me to return as the way I am now, and on the other hand… I have my duties to take care off, I… I can't just let my people down like that and disappear. I hope you can cooperate with me till the end. I am sure that our ways will collide on the middle someday…"

She closed her eyes and in a sitting position she would bring up her praying hands to her chest and kiss her knuckle for a final wish. Twenty three tiny wishes summed up into one… She would like to spend more time with him.

Well as she had made her wish she would heave herself up on the ground. Barefoot she dipped down her feet in the water before her. It felt good once the cold liquid soaked her skin. In a white dress with a pink ribbon tied around her waist she would perform a water dance while she gracefully moved around and splashed this liquid around her. She felt free, like a bird… Her hair swayed in the wind while her loose fitting dress flapped.
Once it was all over she strolled up on land again. A laughter slipped through her lips as she started running, out on the meadow nearby. She was… almost acting like a small kid.
…

Should she tell you a secret? This was the first time she ever had heard Zack's pleading.
She were close to wonder if he had forgotten about her? But… it seemed like he hadn't. It made her incredibly happy and… she didn't know what to do with herself.

(End of chapter one… I hope you enjoyed it and please stay put for the next chapter. Hopefully I won't give up on this story like I did with all my others. Oh, and, I have created an account on three different roleplay pages now! If you feel up to rp with me, please do let me now! ^^

Roleplay – ElliEllie.

Aniroleplay – Claire Lightning Farron

Myanimebook - Marinette Dupain Cheng)