EDIT: 7/20/11


Her heart was beating so fast it was a wonder it didn't burst right then and there, Cloud only shook his head, pulling his hand back, his eyes met hers. "It's just another day." Aerith tilted her head, biting her lip as she did so, 'that's what you think. . .' pushing the thought to the side she smiled at him.

"Come on, no one should be so down on their birthday."

He rolled his eyes, "Just another day" he repeated.

Leaning back in her chair she said, "Maybe, maybe not," looking down she hid her eyes from him and continued, "I have something important to tell you." He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, but stayed silent none the less. The room suddenly became hot, and the voices around her grew louder seemingly a hundred-fold, ". . .but first," reaching into the small bag she brought with her, she pulled out a long box covered in blue wrapping paper.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips but disappeared quickly, "You didn't have to, you know," he said.

She grinned and shrugged, "Well I did anyway, you should know me by now, Cloud Strife," as she finished her sentence she stuck her tongue out at him, a very childish thing she knew annoyed him. She was rather impressed with her acting skills, on the outside she was her normal, usual self, but on the inside she was a nervous wreck. He moved to take the box, but before he could even come close to it she moved it out of his reach, "Why don't we wait a while now, hmm?"


She didn't know what had brought her up here in the first place but here she was. Tifa reached the top floor of the Sherra and frowned, crossing her arms she paused to think, "What did I come up here for again?" The long corridors were dark and empty, what on Gaia was she supposed to be looking for? Tifa clenched her fists and groaned. She knew exactly what she came out to the Sherra for when she left Elmyra's house and now that she was here she couldn't remember, sighing, Tifa continued onward, hoping the surroundings would give her some sort of indication to what she needed.

'Typical' she thought.

She just kept walking and walking, struggling to remember, when a dim light caught her attention, '. . .no one is supposed to be here right now'. Heading towards the light she placed her hand on the wall, she called "Cid? Is that you?" there was no reply, "Vincent? Reeve?" those were the only other people she could think of that would still be on the ship. As she got closer, so did the light get brighter, the only companion she had was the sound of her footsteps bouncing off the walls in a monotonous melody. The light was at its brightest now, and she was relieved to find out someone had just left the light on in one of the rooms. Allowing herself in, she noticed a dark colored coat lying on the bed, "huh?" She picked it up in her hands and noticed the many badges and symbols on the right and left shoulders, and breast pocket.

The light that came in from the other side of the room shined on a gold colored clip, highlighting it just enough for her to make out the words, CLOUD STRIFE. Looking around the room she noticed a pair of small guns on the nightstand that rested on top of a pale pink top, beside it, a picture of AVALANCHE in the ruins of the church in sector five. Beside that was another picture, except with only two people in it this time, a raven haired, blue eyed man and a green eyed, woman with wavy cinnamon hair.

Zack and Aerith.

She let the coat fall from her grasp as she realized whose room this was. It was Aerith and Cloud's room.

Frowning, she shook her head and walked towards the bathroom, "I bet Cloud was the one who left the light on," she muttered to herself. Her hand came up to flip the switch but a noise sounded behind her, turning around the switch was forgotten. She knelt down and began to pick up the mess she had accidently made when she opened the door when she noticed exactly what she was picking up. It was a small plastic stick. . .thing, "What in the—" she turned it over and her eyes widened, her grip on the "stick" slackening and it fell to the floor once again with a small clatter. Shaking her head she searched around the bathroom floor until she finally found what she was looking for, she picked up the box the sticks had fallen out of and she gasped.

She didn't mistake what the stick really was. The box was a hot pink color but it was the words on it that had confirmed her thoughts: Home Pregnancy Tests. Placing her free hand over her mouth, she suppressed a gasp from escaping; she knew something had been wrong with Aerith. But she never could have guessed it was something as big as this. . . "Oh my god."


Aerith looked up from her glass of water to find icy blues eyes staring at her intently, she shifted uncomfortably. Normally she would have taken the opportunity to tease him about his wandering eyes, but now the eyes she had come to love so much made her extremely nervous. "What?" She asked sinking into her seat.

His eyes never left hers, and she was somewhat relieved when he closed them and shrugged, "Nothing, I was just thinking of something my. . .mom told me a long time ago," he whispered.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat before asking, "What did she say?"

Leaning back he brushed the question off, "It was nothing important." She frowned softly. Cloud and her had been married for a while, but even though she was his wife, he still felt compelled to tell her what was on his mind sometimes. Moving her fork around on her plate, she absentmindedly pushed a meatball off to the side,". . . but sometimes I wonder—" she looked up once more to see him staring out the window, "—what she would have thought of you." Sapphire met emerald again, "I really believe, she would have loved you."

Inside, she wondered if it was hard for Cloud to talk about his mother, he was a strong spirit, but she knew there were things that hurt him deeply too, he was human after all.

Deciding to change the subject to a happier one she slid the blue box across the table to him, "Enough of this now. We shouldn't dwell on sadness." Setting his glass aside he took the package into the hand closest to it, "I think it's time you open your gift."

Nodding he said, "Thanks," and brought his fingers to the taped edges, pulling lightly, 'Yuffie—' Aerith thought amusedly, 'would have torn the wrapping paper to shreds. . .', neatly placing the paper off to the side, he held the box by itself and removed the lid. His eyes grew slightly larger at the object inside. Reaching in he pulled out a long dagger with bolts surrounding its hilt, "Where?" He asked, his voice wasn't surprised, just curious.

"My secret," she laughed, he placed it back inside, if they weren't in a public area he would have tested it out, it looked like an ordinary dagger, but it was only in its inactive mood. In active mode it would have grown into a blade almost as big as his old buster sword.

What made it unique was the bolts on its hilt that allowed him to add it to his current weapon as an upgrade. "It's perfect," he smiled, "thank you." Just as she opened her mouth to speak, there was a low ringing sound, followed by a rumble from a vibration, she sealed her lips when he reached into his pocket and read the front screen, "Hold on a second." He stood up and flipped the phone open, his eyes scanning the restaurant for an exit, "What is it?" Slumping in her chair she released a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

As soon as he was outside, he felt the cold chill of the night.

"What is it Tifa?" He asked once more.


Yeah I lied. I added that little twist there at the last minute, it just worked so perfectly I couldn't pass it up! Hope everyone liked it so far; the next chapter should be up pretty soon.

Oh yeah

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me besides for the plot.