Here's the third chapter to my story. Thank you for the reviews ChronoStar-san!!^^ And as requested this chapter will be Aerith's pov and I had been planning on doing so this chapter anyways.
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Final Fantasy VII the company S.E.I. does.
Chapter 3: Song of Lament
Aerith's pov.
I woke up and felt so warm, like I was in an embrace. I woke to a pleasant heat emanating from the figure sleeping next to me with an arm wrapped around me and a hand placed on my waist. I smiled and looked at Tifa who was still sleeping so peacefully. She looked so beautiful the way her pale skin reflected sunlight streaming into the room through blinds on her windows. I thought I heard her say something in her sleep and strained to hear it "… fine … no more … Aerith … stop … calling me that Aerith … I'm … not … cute." I couldn't help but stifle a giggle because she was cute beyond words. A thought occurred to me. I was going to play with Tifa a little bit before getting up for school and waking her up. This is going to be so much fun I thought wickedly.
"Tifa … Tifa … why can't I tell you that you are cute?" I whispered in her ear. I had to lift my face up since she was facing me. I leaned up again to whisper in her ear. "You are so cute when you blush like that you know Tifa! You look too adorable when you blush and you try to hide your face!" I whispered in her ear again and I heard Tifa groan a bit and mumble something else I couldn't quite catch but it was either "that's not fair" or "I'm going to eat your hair" but I was sure it couldn't be the latter. So I poked Tifa's cheek to try to get her up and she instinctively brought her right arm to swat my hand away and groaned again, but this it was because her arm was hurting her and I instantly felt regret and guilt filling me. "Tifa … please wake up Tifa," I whispered and when no response came from her I placed a hand on her face and gently slapped it and she scrunched her face up a little bit but made no other move. I sighed when another thought occurred to me. It was going to be mean but I didn't know how else to wake her up. "Tifa! Help me! They're back again!" I spoke into her ear and her eyes immediately shot open to come face to face with mine and she looked like she was about to have a heart attack, only adding to my guilt from earlier. Her panicked face slowly turned into a frown as she blinked a couple of times to clear her vision.
"Aerith," she started looking confused, most likely because of the guilt and regret she could see on my face. "What … do … you … think … you're doing?" She looked at me disapprovingly and continued. "I thought you were being attacked for god sake!" She took a sharp intake of breathe when I visibly cringed and placed the hand that had been on my waist on my left cheek instead and said softly and gently "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you Aerith," she said and then sighed before continuing "you must have had a good reason for doing that." She paused to let me answer. I felt a small smile tug at my lips with the trust I heard in her voice and eyes as she said that.
"Well," I paused, hesitating for a moment, "you wouldn't wake up for school and I felt bad when I poked your cheek and you slapped my hand away from yours using your injured arm so I um … tried to slap you on the cheeks to wake you up and you still would not stir so I thought that you would wake up if you thought I was in danger." I said looking up into her eyes guiltily. I saw her eyes soften and she smiled a little at me to tell me that I had been forgiven and I smiled tentatively back.
"Oh Aerith," she rubbed my cheek with the palm of her hand as she spoke and smiled, "whatever am I going to do with you?" She asked me rhetorically. I smiled through the slight blush forming from feeling her hand rubbing my cheek ever so softly and gently before I answered her cheekily.
"Tifa," I smirked a bit and a playful look crossed my face, Tifa looked at me suspiciously before I continued looking at her face for her reaction, "I think you will … forgive me … and you will … allow me to get up to get ready for school." My smirk widened when she looked at me quizzically and I pointedly looked down. She followed my gaze and saw, to her horror, that her legs were entangled with mine and that her arm had a grip on me. She was holding me with an arm going around my back to rest on my side. She blushed furiously and slowly made an effort to disentangle our legs. When she had accomplished that she made no move to remove her arm from around me. I looked at her confusion written on my features, she smiled at me and a bit shyly I noted before she spoke in a soft whisper.
"Um Aerith," she paused to take a deep breath, "can I … can I stay like this for a little longer?" She looked at me with the most adorable expression I had seen on her face yet. I smiled at her and she smiled back, but not as shyly as she had before she asked me.
"Yes you may," I answered breathlessly. "Might I ask why though?" I said smiling at the adorable little blush that had started forming on her cheeks. I held back a giggle when she started shaking her head blushing harder. "You're so cute Tifa!" I couldn't help but voice it. I smiled when her blush turned into an unhealthy shade of red at my comment.
"Aerith," she said shyly, "I'm not cute!" She said this defensively in response. "Anyways we … um … had better get ready for school." She said hastily but she was slow to pull her arm out from around me. She did so almost reluctantly. Her hand remained against my cheek still even after she had removed her arm from under me. I blushed realizing that she hadn't even noticed that her hand was still on my cheek and her gaze was boring into my eyes. I couldn't bring myself to drag my eyes away from that intense gaze that was crimson orbs. It seemed that she didn't want to either. Her face was very intent before she startled and realized that the reason I hadn't moved yet was because of her hand resting gently on my cheek. Her cheeks turned a light pink again and she slowly removed her hand, but before she could remove it my hand shot out to grab her hand and placed it back against my cheek. I hadn't realized what I was doing until it happened. Her cheeks became a darker pink but her gaze was back on my eyes before they trailed down a little to the hand on my cheek and then it moved to the left a little. I gasped as realization dawned on me what exactly it was she was looking at so intently. I did something so unexpected Tifa gasped as she felt me burrow my face into her chest. I felt my cheeks become warm as I nuzzled into her chest. And then a loud ring sounded from somewhere in the room and part of a piano piece played after the initial ring. "I … um apologize about that Aerith." Tifa said looking at me sheepishly. "That's the ring tone for my alarm clock. It's set for 5:55 a.m. and you know that's actually an original by me. I recorded it as a song on a piano and then downloaded it onto my phone," she explained and I smiled at her "do you um … like it Aerith?" She asked me shyly. I swear she couldn't be any cuter than when she is shy.
"I love it … but it is very sad," I trailed off because I could have sworn I'd heard it somewhere before "I think I've heard it somewhere before … it sounds very familiar Tifa." I looked at her thoughtfully before I noticed the endearing little blush adorning her face and then it hit me like a ton of bricks "I heard it before because you were playing it before. I think you've played it many times have you not Tifa?" She nodded at me before I continued. "I think it is so beautiful the way you play it so slowly and softly and it is so very emotional. It reminds me of a song you would play at a funeral. A requiem seems to be going a bit far … but it isn't too far off either. The word I'm thinking about is lament … it sounds like a song of lament and mourning. Is it not?" I asked her she nodded again but her eyes looked like they were miles away.
"We should get ready for school now Aerith," she smiled at me and continued in a mischievous tone of voice, one uncannily similar to the one I had used earlier when I was teasing her "I would like to get ready for school now if you don't mind Aerith." She finished looking at the side of my cheek pointedly and she successfully got me to blush profusely and let go of her hand immediately and for a moment looked disappointed at the loss of contact but tenderly put her hand down. Remembering why I was in her house in the first place I quickly got up walked around to the other side of the bed and gently and tenderly put my hand under her head to help support her and put her in a sitting position. She didn't protest when I helped, which I found a bit odd the way she behaved last night it seems she doesn't like help, so her lack of protest confused me. She looked up at me and smiled again "Thank you Aerith," she said warmly and affectionately put her left hand on the arm helping her stay seated. She then looked embarrassed for a moment and then she looked at me again and looked down.
"What's up," I asked her seeing her hesitating in voicing her thoughts to me. What she wanted to ask became clear when she looked at her shoulder and then back down to her clothes again. "Oh … I see." I left it at that and silently moved my free hand towards the zipper to her vest just above her chest and below her neck maybe an inch or so. I could feel my face heat up and I could tell she was nervous too. I started to slowly bring my hand to unzip it completely. "Um … Tifa … do you … want to go pick out an outfit now?" I asked her and with a nod of her head I helped her up and went to her closet with her so she could pick out an outfit. I pulled the clothes she pointed at out for her and placed them on the bed and helped her undress and dress. By the time I was done I thought my face was a burning volcano about to explode. Her face, I noted, looked no less red or flustered than my own. It was only just ten after six when I finished dressing her and sat her down so I could dress myself. Much to my embarrassment, and oddly enough my pleasure, I brushed her teeth for her and I fed her the breakfast I made for the both of us and fed myself in between her bites. It seemed that by this point neither of us could be embarrassed anymore. Once we had finished eating and I had washed up all the dishes it was only just 6:40 and I went to grab our schoolbags and we left to walk to school. We talked the way we normally would, and much to my dismay Tifa demanded that I let her carry her own schoolbag and even worse I let her because she said that she still had a left arm to use.
When we arrived at school many students looked in our direction and upon seeing Tifa's condition all was silent on the school grounds. The usually stoic Cloud looked surprised and concerned and the even more stoic Vincent looked worried. They walked to where we stood and before they could ask questions I put a finger to my lips and motioned them to follow me. I led them to my secret flower garden and started to explain what happened to them. We sat in thoughtful silence for a little while before Cloud spoke up.
"Tifa are you all right now? Is it still really painful?" He looked at her with such concern and he spoke gently. Smiled and shook her head. I giggled at her and she scowled back at me and I playfully tried to slap her hand but she caught it and held it so I couldn't try to slap at her a second time and smiled at me triumphantly.
"Tifa doesn't want to admit it but she ---" Tifa quickly covered my mouth before I could continue and Cloud and Vincent smiled, amused by our playful banter. I stuck my tongue out, which was a mistake on my part because then I tasted her skin and it was something I would never forget, causing her to squeal and pull her hand back. I continued as if nothing had happened "is still in a lot of pain and needs me to coddle her." I said smiling at her pouting lips. I then decided that I was wrong about when she was cutest. She was at her most adorable when she blushed and was flustered and when she pouted. I laughed at her which caused her to pout even more. "She doesn't like admitting that she's in pain because she's such a tough strong girl." She opened her mouth to retort when Vincent suddenly stood up and pointed to the school.
"We've got five minutes until we have to get to our homerooms for roll call," he explained calmly and then added mischievously "much as I enjoy watching you banter and scowl at each other we must get going." He smiled at seeing the both of us blush profusely and become tongue tied because of how flustered we were. Cloud wasn't helping the situation either by laughing and adding in on Vincent's teasing.
"Yeah," he paused to laugh at what he was about to say "I think the two lovebirds ought to get going before they're late for class, don't you agree Vincent?" Vincent only nodded because he couldn't speak due to his fit of laughter seeing us become even more flustered.
"Hey Tifa what happened to you?" Asked another student in their class, his name is Miyamoto, Sato. "I can't believe someone was good enough to hurt you!" He said incredulously. Many students nodded their heads in agreement. Hasegawa sensei had asked Tifa about her injuries and she had said it was nothing serious and she looked at Tifa dubiously but let it drop and went on with the Ancient Literature class.
I sighed because Tifa was surrounded by many students again asking her what had happened and if she was all right. She stared at many of them very annoyed and she got up and asked to be excused before walking over to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back apologetically. I mouthed "it's ok Tifa," and she shook her head.
It was now lunchtime and she was still being bombarded with questions even though she made it clear she did not wish to answer any of them any time soon. She sighed and smiled when she looked up to see me approach her desk. "If you'll excuse me, I would like to eat my lunch," she said as she stood up to walk over to me. We left the classroom full of stunned students and went to our usual place for lunch and found Cloud and Vincent already sitting there and eating their lunches. They smiled when they saw us coming. I inwardly cringed and could feel Tifa tense up at the smiling pair.
"If you don't mind Aerith, Tifa, we would like to eat here during lunchtime from now on," Cloud said looking up at us expectantly and continued on when we nodded for him to do so "the reason why we want to eat here is because … it's so peaceful and quiet here." He paused and Vincent spoke up.
"That and it's a good hiding spot, what with all those crazy fan girls and boys stalking us during lunch all of the time." Vincent said with a shake of his head his crimson eyes looking on with a disgusted face. Cloud only frowned at the thought. "You don't know how scary and creepy they are and the lengths they would go just to talk to us." He continued and both Cloud and Vincent shuddered visibly at what might be bad memories.
I cupped my hands around Tifa's ear and my mouth and whispered into her ear "What do you think Tifa? Should we let them stay? I think we should because I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let anyone else know about this place and we should help them out anyways right?" She nodded her agreement and I beamed at her.
"Are you two lovebirds whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears," Vincent said much to our dismay. I shook my head but he continued with the onslaught "you know Cloud maybe we should sit somewhere a little farther away so they can have their privacy, unless you want to tell me what you were whispering to each other instead?" Vincent smiled cruelly at the two of us. We were a blushing pair.
"Hmm, Vincent I don't know," Cloud started off thoughtfully "maybe we should leave them here to their own devices. I mean do you think you really want to know what they were whispering into each other's ears'." He looked at us smiling and Vincent burst out laughing at our expense.
"You ha … know what ha ha … Cloud … I think ha ha … you're right about this one." Vincent said in between fits of laughter. "Well I think we should stop teasing them before they die of embarrassment Cloud." Vincent said still smiling. Cloud nodded and though he didn't smile there was amusement in his eyes.
As I fed Tifa her lunch I could hear a stifled laugh here and there but I was grateful that they had kept their word and didn't say anything to further embarrass us. They stopped laughing when Tifa demanded I stop and let her feed herself and before I could stop her she used her arm and tried to feed herself but ending up clutching at her arm painfully when she tried to reach for her fork and when she tried to raise her arm. She hissed at the pain shooting through her entire arm from such an action. They immediately looked guilty and regretful for forcing Tifa into such embarrassment to the point that she could not stand it anymore and cause her to feel more pain than necessary. When they opened their mouths to apologize Tifa immediately silenced them with her left hand.
The rest of the day went uneventful. As I walked Tifa home I realized something embarrassing and walked to her house with each step my face grew redder and redder. She seemed to notice that something was wrong but when asked I brushed it off as nothing. She looked unconvinced but let it go for the moment.
As we stepped into her house and put our shoes away at the entrance my anxiety grew worse but still I said nothing. Tifa then realized something as well. The realization that dawned on her face, made her face turn pink which quickly turned into red, changed within seconds and was replaced by anxiety and embarrassment. Her face looks no less red and anxious than mine I mused.
She requested that I help her go to the piano before we did anything else. I asked if she was sure she could play it when her injury was still new and she waved it off as she started to play that song I had heard earlier in the morning. I stood there and listened as she played each note slowly and I felt tears stream down my cheeks as the song progressed. It was the most beautiful song I had ever heard. The words she sang as the song played brought tears to my eyes because of the meaning of each note she played corresponded so well with the words. I could hear the pain portrayed with each passing second. The song, she had told me before she started playing, was called "Kiss Shita Mama Sayonara" (which translated into English means "As We Kiss Goodbye".) And the words to the song she was this:
Blink. Smell it. And feel it. Open. Open your eyes. Just look at me now.
Boku no sekai no subete datta. (You were my whole world)
The other lost shoe, a small broken fingernail
The spilled hot coffee and my stale dull tears too
Girl, tell me little lie
Please, tell me little lie
So that I can hear you
But your hand softly slipped away ...
Lonely people
Lonely people
That's right ... building up that day, talking
Lonely people
Lonely people
Crying ... crying ... simply crying ... left me no choice but I can't forget.
On this long road ... you are no longer here now
As we kiss goodbye
Girl, tell me little lie
Please, tell me little lie
So that I can hear you
Now the powder snow piles up, enveloping me
Lonely people
Lonely people
That's right ... building up that day, talking
Lonely people
Lonely people
Crying... crying ... simply crying ... left me no choice but I can't forget.
Memories blur,
And the number of tears (my heart will dry)
Cannot be counted, like the stars
Lonely people
Lonely people
Crying ... crying ... simply crying ... left me no choice but I can't forget.
Lonely people
Lonely people
I know you will be in my heart eternally
Lonely people
Lonely people
I'm only crying, crying … simply crying ... as we kiss … goodbye
"Tifa … did you really write this when you were 7?" I asked her through the tears falling down my face. She stood up and walked to me and wiped away my still flowing tears. She wiped them away so gently I felt myself stop breathing and my eyes close, the tears stopped flowing and all I concentrated on was the feel of her hand against my cheek, touching them so gently and I opened my eyes again and I saw her nod her head ever so slightly. "It's … such a beautiful song Tifa. You are a magnificent pianist and your singing added to the pain in each note you played on the piano." I stopped again when my eyes met hers and I saw pain and sorrow in those crimson orbs I loved so much. There was something in those eyes that I couldn't recognize though, amidst the sorrow and pain there was one emotion I couldn't quite decipher.
"Thank you Aerith. I … I've never played this song for anyone else you know." She said quietly, her voice barely a whisper. I smiled knowing that I was the only person she had ever played this song for.
"Um … how do I … go about … taking a … um … bath Aerith?" She looked at me very self-conscious at the moment and I couldn't blame her. I looked at her for a moment and swallowed hard I could swear I felt my throat move visibly as I did so.
"Well … we … um … are both … girls … so it … um shouldn't … be too big of a hassle … if we … take a bath … um … together … right, Tifa?" I asked her and she could tell how nervous and uncomfortable I felt because she seemed as uncomfortable and nervous as I was. She nodded and I helped her to her room so she could get her necessities and I mine.
I felt myself swallow hard again when we got to the bathroom door. It seemed like such a small room now that the two of us were in it and getting ready to take a bath. Time seemed to slow down as I unzipped Tifa's vest. It seemed to take me even longer to undress her now than it did for me to undress and dress her the way I had this morning. When I took her shirt off I felt myself take a sharp intake of breathe, fortunately Tifa was too distracted by my fingers slipping the shirt gently off of her right shoulder to hear me. I then took off her shorts/skirt combination and forgot to breathe at the sight before me. She was magnificently pale and her skin was even smoother than silk under my fingers. I took off those leather gloves she was so fond of and I noticed her shiver when my fingers brushed past her knuckles in the process. I did the same with her other gloved hand and it sounded so sensual and alluring when I heard a gasp and felt her shiver under my touch. Now was the hard part … now I had to take off her lacy black bra and her panties just as lacy as the bra and just as black too.
I focused on her eyes as I undid the clasp holding her bra but I knew that I had to look at her now to take it off without hurting her and I felt my mouth go dry at the sight of her braless. I heard her take a sharp intake of breathe when my hands slid down to take her panties off, finally stripping her of her last article of clothing. What is wrong with me? I've only known Tifa for three weeks and now I'm acting so odd and thinking such strange thoughts. I mean … she is my friend right? Then why am I having such a difficult time undressing her to help give her a bath? Why are my thoughts … so … so weird? Why do I want so very much to touch her skin again? She looks so beautiful and her skin is so smooth and soft and deliciously pale. Why am I thinking like this?! I mean she's just my best friend right? I was having an inner conflict about how I viewed my friend, my best friend. I couldn't believe my thoughts were so … so unladylike and … so … so lustful towards Tifa.
It seemed like an eternity had passed when I finally was undressed too. I went over to the huge bathtub and turned the water on to fill the tub up with hot water. I noticed when I was bent over that Tifa's eyes were on me, or rather a certain part of me that wasn't exactly the same cheeks as the ones on my face. I blushed hard at the thought that she was looking at me and admiring me no less.
When the tub was finally filled to a few inches before the brim I helped Tifa in and gently sat her down and helped her prop her arm up so that her injury didn't touch the near scalding water. Her eyes caught mine again and I found myself, not the first time or the second but for the third time in less than ten minutes, breathless when this crimson eyed beauty looked at me so intensely. The way she is looking at me now … isn't the way a girl looks at her friend. The way she is looking at me now is the way … a boy … would look at … no not that. The way she is looking at me is the same way you would … someone you love dearly … and not in the friendship sense … but more of in the sense that … they are the most dear and beautiful person to you, it was a look that only lovers used with each other. And then it clicked in my head why I was thinking such unladylike thoughts. I wasn't so sure that Tifa even realized what she was doing, how she truly felt about me. I looked at her intently before I turned and tried moving towards our soaps and shampoos when I felt her hand grab my wrist and held it firmly in place.
"Aerith I … have something I … want to … tell you." She said hesitantly and I wasn't sure if it was the hot water or something else that made her face red. I looked at her and nodded for her to continue. "You know that I love you right Aerith?" She asked and waited for my response. I could feel my heartbeat quicken at the word
"love" and it beat so hard I thought she could hear it being so close to me.
"Yes I do Tifa … but why …?" I stopped mid sentence at the look in her eyes. She was looking at me with a face I had never seen before. The love in her crimson eyes was so deep and passionate, they were so … mesmerizing. I realized what she was going to tell me when she looked at me with those eyes … they were filled with a kind of love I knew friends did not show each other.
"Aerith … what would you do … if I told you … that my feelings for you … isn't the same … that friends harbor for each other? What … would do … if … I said that I love you … as … more than a friend? Would you … hate me? How … would feel … if I said that … I want more than friends?" She looked at with eyes that became impassioned with each word she spoke, her eyes brimming with love.
I smiled before I responded. "What … would do if I said … I feel the same way as you do, Tifa?" Her eyes brightened and her face lit up brilliantly into a smile at my confession and reciprocation and acceptance with her feelings. "I, Aerith Gainsborough, am in love with you, Tifa Lockhart." If anything her smile grew even wider hearing my words.
"I," she never had a chance to say anything as I pressed my lips softly against hers and our eyes fluttered closed as the contact lingered.
Well here's the third chapter to those who like my story. Well until the next chapter. Later!
This is my revised version mostly because I felt my translation was lacking so I changed the words to make it fit better the song. I hope you like the changes in wording even if it is slight to make up for typos I never noticed as I wrote it.^^
姫宮, 光る