Zack and Aerith – Don't ask, don't tell

Living in the slums of Midgar meant never truly getting to see a sunset, and Aerith knew this was something that bothered Zack more than anything else about the place she called home. He laid back on the big moogle slide, kicking his leg in an impatient manner. There was something bothering him, and Aerith thought she knew what it was. He had to leave, but how long would he be gone for this time?

Her mother had been the first one to bring this frightening idea to the surface. Although Aerith had denied her feelings for so long, her mother's words still weighed heavily on her mind. "What if this time he doesn't come back? I don't want to see you get hurt, honey... So think about it, before you get in too deep."

The two of them had met a little over a year ago. It was an accident, and how he had survived falling through the roof of her church could be anyone's guess, but Aerith was confident that she played no small role in it. She was a Cetra, after all, which was an ancient race of people who knew things about the Planet that no other could even begin to comprehend. She was proud of what she was, even if it made her feel a little bit weird sometimes. Then there were the moments she was alone, and the things she would hear that had always sent shivers down her spine. Not all about being a Cetra was great, especially the parts that scared her the most.

Still, there was that one person who always seemed to make her smile, even if he was a little weird himself at times. That was Zack, the SOLDIER from Shinra who had fallen into her life and though they hadn't spent as much time together as they would have liked, falling for his charms had been painfully easy. Telling him, though? That was going to be the hard part.

Doing what he did, he was often away and there were so many times she just wanted to hold onto him just a little bit longer. He had always reminded her of a big kid, or even like a puppy, as Angeal had once said. Even now, he still had his moments, but ever since Angeal's death, there had been more sadness in his eyes than anything else. She wasn't sure how she could fix it, but she knew that she wanted to. Seeing him smile had gotten her through so much, and she wanted nothing more than to do the same for him.

She remembered the day he had come back with a strange new scar on his face, and that humongous sword heavy on his back. He was still so young, and that was the first time that she had really noticed the strong and confident SOLDIER was just as vulnerable and scared as anyone else out there. She had quickly moved in to comfort him in the only way she knew how. Her heart pounded inside her chest as she knelt down behind him and pulled him into a hug, his own body trembling as he sobbed beneath her. "It's all right," she remembered telling him. "I'm here... Zack, you can let it all go now."

She smiled to herself as she sat up on her favorite slide and looked back at Zack. They had spent the day working on building a flower wagon, and though it wasn't as pretty as she had hoped it would be, she was still happy that they they'd been able to build it together. They sold less than a handful of flowers all afternoon, but none of that even mattered. Right now she was with the one person that made her feel like she was just like everyone else. He was her best friend, and she hoped they would stay just like that for the rest of their lives.

"Huh?" Zack looked at her, his eyes filled with confusion.

"What?" Aerith said, blushing a little.

"It's nothing," he said, and jumped down to the ground to stretch out his legs.

"You're not ready to go yet, are you?" she asked, nervously twirling her hair. "We haven't even seen the sun go down yet."

"It's not really the same," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wish you could see what a real sunset looks like."

"When you get back we will," she said, and jumped down in front of him. "Until then... can't we just stay here a little while longer?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I was supposed to be ready to leave hours ago, but... I'm glad we got to come out here, even if we didn't sell a lot of flowers."

"I told you we needed a better wagon," Aerith joked. "But I'm glad, too."

"Yeah, well," Zack chuckled. "I guess we'll have to work on it some more when I get back."

"Mm-hm," Aerith nodded, a smile spread on her lips.

"Aerith?" Zack said, his voice suddenly strained. "I was wondering... about what you said earlier about going to sell flowers under the sky together..."

"What about it?" Aerith asked, aware now of the sadness in his voice. "Are you all right? You seem... sad."

"N-no, I'm fine," Zack dropped his hands to his sides. "I just... there's something I want to say to you, but I'm not really sure how."

"That sounds bad..."

"It's not bad!" Zack attempted a grin, but Aerith still wasn't convinced. He dropped his gaze to the ground and then said: "You'll probably think it was silly, anyway."

"Why would I think that?" She crossed her arms.

"Er," Zack sighed, unable to answer her.

"No, no," Aerith shook her head. "You're not leaving here until you tell me what's going on."

"Well..." Zack hesitated and then snapped his fingers. "Right! I was thinking... we should make a promise."

"A promise?" Aerith blinked. "For what? When to meet next?"

"No... not exactly," Zack scratched his cheek. "More like, whenever we meet, you should dress in pink. Something like that wouldn't be so bad, right?"

"Heh," Aerith laughed. "Don't be silly."

"I knew you'd think it was silly," he chuckled. "Anyway, I should probably be going."

"Wait," Aerith pleaded. "I have a question..."

"What about?"

"Why is it... you haven't tried to kiss me yet?"

Her words had almost come out unintentionally, but it had been a question she had kept locked away for some time. Her breath had caught in her throat as soon as she said them, and her face flushed a little while she waited for his answer. It was strange to think that he could really be that shy, but how could she tell him that she felt the same way? She had never been kissed by anyone before, but would telling him that bring him any closer to actually doing it? Besides that, wasn't this the type of thing boyfriends were supposed to do anyway?

He had responded by opening his mouth into a silent "oh", and then cleared his throat before answering in a rather squeaky voice: "I... wasn't sure you wanted me to."

"Well, I do," Aerith said, a warm blush upon her cheeks.

"I see," his brow furrowed. "You mean... right now...?"

"Hmm," she paused a moment, and then nodded. "Yep. Right now."

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms nervously when he didn't move any closer to her. It seemed like he wasn't ready, and so she shrugged her shoulders and asked: "You've never kissed anyone before, have you?"

"My mom," he said, shrugging a little. "I guess I just haven't had the time... or someone to share it with."

"Oh?" Aerith smiled. "What about now?"

"Yeah, well," he looked away, embarrassed.

"Zack?"

Then it happened. It had always been easy for him to startle her in some way or other, but kissing was something new entirely. The moment she felt his lips move over hers, she could have melted straight into the sand beneath their feet. Her heart was leaping, and her legs felt like jelly, but a part of her felt a little bit afraid. Her hands braced against his chest, and she felt his arms reach around to catch her before she could fall into the slide like the clumsy fool she felt she was. She looked up at him as he pulled away, but her hands lifted to his face and she pulled him in for another go.

Their lips continued to move over one another, gentle and soft, and sending her mind into a haze that contained only the two of them. She brushed her thumb lightly over the x-shaped scar on his cheek, and tried not to giggle when that stubborn lock of hair of his tickled her skin. She felt the warmth between them, and no matter what, she wanted this moment to last.

When they finally broke the kiss, their emotions were a little bit of everything... but was there love, too, hidden behind their smiles? She looked away, still feeling the heat on her lips as she felt his hand brush her hair from her shoulder. His smile was different, and for the first time since he had lost Angeal, he seemed to relax. She looked back at him, his brightly colored eyes full of wonder, when before it had almost seemed like it had been lost to him.

"That was..." she said, unable to finish her sentence.

"Heaven?" Zack asked, almost in a daze.

"Yeah, exactly," she chuckled, and then added a little more seriously: "Maybe... we can do it again when you get back from your mission?"

"Of course!" he spoke in broken, excited words. "I mean, yeah... I wouldn't miss it."

"Then come back safe, Zack," she said, touching his face again, a little lighter than before. She stepped away from him, and the cold quickly swept through them like a greedy ghost who wanted only to see them torn apart. It left Aerith feeling a little bit chilled.

"I'll see ya," Zack said, a faint smile on his lips. "I promise."

"I'll be here," she replied, and rubbed her arms anxiously, trying to brush away the goosebumps that had formed there. And while she watched him bravely walk away, she herself felt bravest of all as she looked over at the sliver of orange sky, and prayed for his safe return. "I love you, Zack. Maybe... I'll tell you that when you get back. Maybe..."