Cloud was walking casually at the SOLDIER floor when he saw Zack talking to Kunsel. It's been months seen they saw each other in a normal environment. He smiled and approached them. He greeted them and as he went closer and closer to them he saw another figure. He was bowing to Zack while Zack on the other hand had an embarrass look on his face.
"Hey guys."
"Please be my master." Aerith asked again as she bowed her head.
"You're the guy from before right?" Zack asked Aerith while pointing her. Aerith looked up and took Zack's hands and said, "Is that a yes?"
Zack slowly back away and removed her hands from his. "I don't know what to say." He avoided his gaze and looked from a far distance, finding a way to escape. He then saw Cissnei walking, carrying loads of boxes. He hastily went to her side and took the boxes from her and said, "Girls shouldn't carry heavy things like this. Let me take this. Where are you heading Cissnei?"
"You do know that these boxes are emp—" Zack then cut her off and whispered, "Please go along with me. There is someone on my tail."
"Someone?" She asked as she looked around. She raised her brow after seeing Kunsel and Cloud. Surely, they're not the one he is referring to except if he owed them money.
"Please I'm begging you." Aerith emerged from Cloud's back and continued to pester Zack. Cissnei nodded in silence and said to herself it was him. While Zack on the other hand, escaped by running away from her.
"He-hey! That box doesn't suppose to go there." Cissnei shouted to Zack. She sighed and turned to Aerith . "Would you like to accompany me on this mission on capturing Zack?" She smiled that made Aerith nodded in glee.
"Run, run away." Zack said, sprinting like crazy. Tseng opened the door from the briefing room after catching a glance at Zack. He called him inside, that Zack hastily accepted as a way out of Aerith's vision.
"Thanks Tseng. I owe you one." Zack put down the box on the floor and tried to catch his breath. Tseng didn't reply –a typical behavior of his— and sat on one of the chairs. He operated the computer and showed some pictures on the monitor.
"Some witness accounts said that this girl was last seen her in the SOLDIER Floor. Even the ones tailing her lost their track here. A girl will not vanish into thin air unless someone helped her." Tseng said as he gazed at Zack.
Zack smug and smiled, irritating Tseng. "Are you saying that I'm a suspect for this girl's disappearance?"
"You don't know the consequence of this act Zack. It will save the world. She's the key of the future."
"As if the future doesn't look grim enough. Tseng I don't know what you or the company are planning but please don't hurt a bystander just to get what you want." Zack glared and threatened him.
"What's happening here?" Cissnei asked breaking the cold atmosphere. The two turned to her and break contact with each other. Aerith, beside her, was shaking as she saw her pictures shown on the screen. Her sweat was so cold and her whole body was trembling with fear.
Zack turned and tried to make his way out of the room. Tseng called him and said, "Her name is Aerith Gainsborough Zack, brown hair and the same age as yours. Keep a look out." Zack didn't reply but he silently waved his hand and patted Aerith's helmet as he passed her by.
"Let's go kiddo."
The two then went back to Kunsel and Cloud. Zack smiled as if nothing happened just a while ago while Aerith was silent the whole time. Cloud noticed this and asked if she was okay. She instantly replied and said she was okay even though she was still trembling.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Cloud asked again.
"I'm fine." She said as her voice cracked.
Zack smiled and fondly patted her helmet again. Her worries then started to fade, feeling the warmth of his hands. She looked at him and smiled. Kunsel –noticing something weird—asked Cloud to lend him his ear and whispered, "Aren't those two looked like the puppy and the owner?"
The party was then cut short when Zack's phone ring and asked his immediate audience at Directior Lazard's office.
"Sir." Zack greeted Lazard as he saluted him.
"No need for formalities Zack." Lazard said and asked him to sit which he politely rejected. "On to business. A marsh near the Mythril Mine has grown a massive hoard of Midgar Zoloms and people are starting to worry about it. I want you to not entirely destroy the whole Midgar Zoloms there but decrease its size. Killing everything might ruin the ecosystem and the whole extinction of the said monster itself."
"You sure are wary about the Midgar Zoloms."
"The one who requested the job explicitly said to keep numbers down and not entirely killed them because the chocobos on their farm was the only transportation to travel across the marsh, killing them all means killing the business entirely."
"Smart Chocobo farmer."
"You may leave at once." He said as he permitted Zack to leave the room. "You may bring troops if you want but the gil reward will not increase."
"Killing Midgar Zoloms? Sweet." Cloud said, accepting Zack's offer of joining him.
"How about you?" Zack asked as he turned Aerith. "Now that I think about it. What's your name?"
"I'm…."
"I'm?"
Aerith started to panic. She hasn't prepared a name for her disguise yet. Mario? Luigi? Cloud? Ares? Leo? "I'm Roy." She said after all that turmoil in her head.
"So you're Roy huh? I'm Zack, Zack Fair." He pointed his self and smiled. He then pointed Cloud and introduced himself. "I'm Cloud Strife."
"And the one who just left is Kunsel, an avid messenger if you asked me." Zack added.
"Where do you live Roy?" Cloud asked. She was state in shock. She doesn't have a permanent house to live in. She's now currently sharing a room with a sick man at a large pipe near her house. "You don't have any house to live in?" Zack curiously asked while Aerith shyly nodded.
"I remember my first time here at Midgar. I was also the same. Why don't you live with me? Will just have to leave the first thing tomorrow after Roy is settled, okay guys?"
"Sorry it's a bit messy in here." Zack opened the door and kicked a box near the door. Aerith was surprised it was squeaky clean –well except for the box he kicked earlier. For someone who is not often home his place is super clean.
"This apartment has two rooms. Mine is in the back take that one beside you. You don't need to pay every month and pay only if you are able. I'm used to paying this on my own and I can handle it so don't stress yourself on paying. You're just starting, so take one step at a time." He pointed out and dropped Aerith's things on the floor. "Take off your helmet now. I bet it scorching hot in there."
"Cloud and Kunsel occasionally stay here when they are lonely at their pad. So be ready for those sleepless nights." He added as he disappeared from her sight.
Aerith then realized that accepting his offer was a bad idea. She quickly took her things in the room and locked herself in, thinking of plan to move out or hide her identity. She tried cutting her hair but its more torture than an answer to her problem. Zack didn't bother her all those time, thinking she was dead beat tired.
It was night time when she noticed and her tummy was growling. But she can't go outside to eat. She thought of jumping from the window to eat and get back later on but she doesn't know how she will enter the house after that.
"Hey dinner's ready." Zack knocked on her door and said. She decided to take a drastic measure and went outside of her room. She went to the dining table and ate while Zack sat in awe. The house was fairly large for a couple of gils. It had a table top and a small kitchen. The room was not that large, only occupying a single bedroom and an itty bitty small cabinet perfect for sleeping purposes. The living room was also small with only the table they are eating at as the furniture.
"Uhm…Roy." Zack said, interrupting her from eating. "Do you really need to wear that helmet while eating? It's disturbing."
"Sorry. I just want to feel the inner SOLDIER within me. I'm more relaxed with this thing in my head."
"Ow-key." Zack replied and continued to eat. He looked at her again and smiled after seeing a strand of brown perm hair at the nape of her neck.
After they ate, Zack called it a day and went to his room while Aerith took a liberty on washing the dishes. When she turned around to clean the table, she saw a beret at the table. She went to Zack's room and asked if it was his.
Zack opened the door only wearing a shirt and his boxers. "No that's not mine. You know beret can hide a fairly huge amount of hair much better than any other caps because of its loose like structure. I need to sleep, you too, we need to go there early in the morning."
Zack closed the door and went back on sleeping. Aerith on the other hand went to her room and took off her helmet. She put her hair on a high bun and put on the black beret she saw at the table earlier. Zack was right. It completely hid her hair except the bangs framing her face. A little more clip and she will look like a male with a feminine face. She took a couple pins on her bag and pinned down her bangs on the top of her head and put back her beret.
"Perfect! Now I don't need to put that helmet every single day."
Zack smiled and went back to his room after eavesdropping on Aerith's room.
[A/N]
I don't know what to say…. But thank you for reading this. I can't picture Aerith with a beret on her head without a single strand of hair showing up. I can picture a whole different character but her it's impossible. Oh wait! I just pictured her. Hahaha review please.