I do not own Final Fantasy VII. Once again, I've been super late in updating this piece. Sorry for the delay you guys!


Too Much To Ask

Chapter VIII: The Kiss

Zack rolled onto his side as he lie on the floor watching Aerith care for her beloved flowers. She was so careful with each individual bloom it was like watching a mother tend to her children. His mouth lifted into a tender smile and his eyes softened as he observed her.

"So, Zack what you doing after work today?" Aerith asked abruptly, causing Zack's shoulders to tense up before he relaxed once more.

"Actually, I'm going out with a friend of mine." He sighed nonchalantly as he sat up. "I won two tickets for Loveless from a raffle and I asked Cissnei if she wanted to watch the show."

Aerith paused but she didn't look at him. Instead she continued to gaze at the lilies at her feet. "You asked another girl to go out with you?"

"Yeah, I figured since you didn't like that play, that you'd probably say no." Zack was completely clueless about what this meant to her.

"Oh..." She continued to shovel at the soil.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing...it's just that you asked another girl to go out with you."

"Cissnei is just my friend, Sweetie." He rushed to her side when he realized that she'd thought wrong about the situation. "It's nothing like what you and I have together."

"That's not the point...it's that you didn't ask me first."

Zack just didn't get the point of the matter. "Listen, Sweetie, wouldn't you have rather I told you I was going out with my friend, instead of hearing from other people that I was out with another woman?"

She finally turned her luminous green eyes up to him, they weren't brimming with tears, but they did shine with a shimmer of betrayal. "It doesn't upset me that you're going out with another girl...it upsets me that you didn't ask me if it was ok first."

Zack gulped down the hard lump that had formed in his throat and he put his arms around her. Pulling her into his chest he kissed her cheek tenderly and caressed her hair. "I'm sorry, Aerith...I didn't realize it was so important to you."

She only buried her face in his neck.

"I promise from now on that I'll always ask if it's alright with you before I do something like this again."

She nodded softly and wrapped her arms around his waist. He could feel her frantic heart beating gainst his chest and felt his own heart fighting to keep pace with it. He sighed into her ear and felt that this was perfect time to tell her exactly how he felt about her.

"Aerith...Sephiroth and I were talking earlier today...and I...want to tell you something."

Aerith lifted her head and looked into his cerulean eyes, finding within them every trace of emotion he felt for her. The rising jealousy in her heart cooled and she waited for him to continue.

"I'm a Soldier, Aerith...and...because of that...there's a chance that every time I leave here, I might never come back. I could die tomorrow..."

"Zack..."

"Please let me finish." He caressed her cheek and twirled a curl around his fingers. "I just wanted you to know...that...I love you, Aerith..."

His lips trembled as he spoke as did his entire body, he breathed heavily and his heart thundered passionately in his chest. Aerith was dumbfounded; she couldn't believe that he told her that. After waiting months to finally hear those words, she was utterly speechless. The entire world became silent as she sought to voice her reply, but she couldn't. All she could do was lean back into his embrace and let her lips press against his, in the most passionate kiss she'd ever exprience. She loved him with all she was and so much more, but her voice had failed her at the most inopportune moment, leaving her with nothing but her body to reply. But her body did little more than kiss him, she wanted to go further, but a sense of fear gripped her and she was unable to give him what she desired to. Both partners yearned for one another's flesh, to make love there among the flowers in the ruined church and release all inhibitions. But alas, it only ended with that kiss.

And for now...it was just enough.


That evening, as Zack waiting for Cissnei to come out of her room, he felt a sort of nagging feeling in his chest. He couldn't quite place it, but there was a soreness there that hammered inside of him.

As she entered the livingroom, Cissnei noticed Zack leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his head lowered.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, her voice seemed to be back to its usual bubbly self.

He snapped his head up, having not realized she was there. Her face seemed happy and lively, very much unlike earlier that day.

"Not at all! I was just thinking about stuff." He offered a lopsided smile.

The smile however faded into an expression of awe when he realized how she was dressed. Sephiroth's mention of her attire earlier that day unconsciously caused Zack to pay a little more attention to her. She was wearing a blue dress, nothing too fancy, but it accentuated her figure and flared at her hips into a full knee-length skirt. She wasn't wearing make up and her hair was down around her shoulders, but the simple change of dress offered an intesnse transformation. When he saw her at work, Zack saw just another Turk...he looked at her like she was just one of the guys. But now...

"Wow!" He gave her thumbs up.

"Thanks..." A timid blush kissed her cheeks.

"Who'd a thought you'd make such a cute girl?" It wasn't supposed to be an insult, but Zack's mouth sometimes had no cooth.

"I am a girl!" Cissnei grabbed his cheek and pinched him just hard enough to syphon a small squeal.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his cheek, "What was that for, huh?"

Cissnei just smiled at him, her face was still blushing. She abruptly looped her arm in his and pulled him out of the apartment, "Come on! We'll be late!"


Sephiroth stroked his fingers up Scarlet's arm and listened to the soft sound of her breathing. He counted each puff of warm air as her breath hit his chest. She snuggled into his side and became still once more.

Silently, he reflected on Zack's irregularly eloquent speech earlier that day. His heart pattered in his chest as he thought about his relationship with Scarlet. He really couldn't figure why he was with her; he didn't love her, that much was obvious...but it seemed his loneliness outweighed that. He sighed heavily and looked down at her sleeping face. Well...at least she was beautiful...and a good fuck...so, he supposed it wasn't a total loss.

As he wandered through his mind, his thoughts fell upon Cissnei. She was a truly delightful creature. Not only was she a pretty little thing, but she was sweet, polite, and radiated a kind of warmth rare to many. The corner of his mouth lifted into a smug grin and he rolled Scarlet onto her back. She stirred a little and opened her eyes to gaze up at him.

"Sephiroth..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a lazy kiss. He obliged her, but she fell back to sleep abruptly. Pulling back, Sephiroth slowly slid away from her and got up. The evening was still young, and he didn't feel much like sleeping early. He dressed and went out onto his balcony.

Leaning against the railing, he looked out over the city. He could see Loveless Avenue, the busiest street in town. Zack and Cissnei were there now. Cissnei...Why did his thoughts keep falling on her? Perhaps he was just wondering if their date...friendly outing...was going well. He knew it was pushing the boundaries of a legal relationship, but he doubted either of them would be stupid enough to do anything in public. He was positive they were smarter than that, but he was also certain that Cissnei had deeper feelings for Zack, beyond the approved level. Lazard had been suspecting this for a while, but Sephiroth turned a blind eye to it; his liking for both parties overshadowing the obvious.

He yawned and pushed back his hair.

It wasn't illegal for them to love each other...but it was illegal for them to have a sexual or romantic relationship. After all, you can't help who you love - he thought about Scarlet - or who you don't, for that matter. Sephiroth continued looking out over the skyline, taking in the beauty of the sunset. He wondered if they were having fun at the very least, regardless of any hidden emotions either of them had. He didn't care much for the play, as Genesis drove each verse into his mind repeatedly until he committed it to memory. He could recite each line by heart, verbatim...word for word without skipping a beat. He did like it before...but with Genesis, he recieved too much of it and became bored with it.

"The Gift of the Goddess..." He chuckled beneath his breath, "...I wonder what it really is..." He turned away from the view of Midgar and returned inside. "We'll see how it went in the morning."


Aerith sat quietly as her mother brushed out her long chestnut hair. Her heart nagged at her and a ball of anxiety rolled around in her stomach.

"What's the matter, Sweetheart?" Elmyra inquired gently as she eyed her daughter's worried expression in the mirror.

Aerith tensed for a moment before lowering her eyes. "Oh...nothing, Mom."

"Something is obviously bothering you." Mothers always seem to know when something is wrong.

"It's not really anything." Aerith insisted, but she knew her mom wasn't going to let it slide. So she spoke up. "Zack is going out with a friend tonight. A girl."

Elmyra paused in her brushing. "He's going out with another girl?"

"Yeah...but, he said it's nothing to worry about; they're just friends. But...I just get this strange feeling in my stomach."

"Oh?" She continued to brush her long curls.

"It's not that I don't trust Zack, it's that I don't trust the girl." Aerith sighed heavily. She raised a hand over her heart and suddenly felt wistful. "And there's something else...Zack...told me that he loved me."

This caused Elmyra to stop again. She looked at Aerith's reflection once more, this time finding her child's eyes staring back at her. "He did?"

"Yes." She suddenly turned toward her mother and grasped her hand. "Do you not approve of him?"

Elmyra sighed and closed her eyes thoughtfully, only to cast a smile upon Aerith. "Of course I do." She turned her back toward the mirror to finish brushing her hair. "It's just that sometimes I worry. But, I guess all mother's do."

"It's alright, Mom."

"I know it will be. So, don't worry about that other girl, Dear; Zack isn't the type of man to say something only to take it back...if he says he loves you, then I'm sure he really does."

"Thank you."

When Elmyra retired downstairs after Aerith went to sleep, she contemplated her daughter's relationship silently over a cup of tea. Lifting the cup to her lips, she drank slowly, though seemed not to taste the spice or feel the warmth as it ran down her throat. A part of her worried that Zack was two-timing her daughter, but the other part of her heart advised her to worry not. But there was still that nagging sensation that troubled her. Of course she was concerned for the well-being of her child; not wishing for her tender young heart to be broken. But in the back of her mind she was worried that a young Soldier like Zack may grow impatient with a girl like Aerith. To Elmyra's knowlege, Aerith was still a virgin...she'd advised her daughter from a young age, teaching her to be a 'good girl' and to wait until the proper time and place, and at the proper age to give herself over to a man. She worried that if Aerith practiced abstinence, and Zack didn't approve...that he might seek out sex with another girl. This would undoubtedly break Aerith's heart...and in turn, her own.

Elmyra took another sip.

She was worrying over nothing at all, she decided. Zack wouldn't betray Aerith; he wasn't the type of guy to do that. He was a good boy, a nice boy, and cared very deeply for Aerith.

So she finished her tea and went to bed.


The play was boring, to say the least...not to mention that Zack already knew half of the lines from his previous encounters with Genesis. How can that moron really be obsessed with this? He yawned rather audibly and Cissnei giggled.

"Enjoying the play?" She whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Honestly...I'd rather listen to a Chocobo wark."

"Wanna ditch this?"

"Sure, let's scram." The pair got up and left.

As they left the theatre, they found themselves standing on a busy street with nothing to do. Neither of them had planned on what they'd do after the play...likewise, neither had counted on leaving before it was over.

"So...whatta you wanna do?" Zack asked, as he was completely clueless.

"I don't know." Cissnei just smiled, feeling a little bit devious. "Let's go back to your place and hang out."

Zack was a little put off. "We'd risk getting into trouble." He was all for going out on a limb, but not so much when his career was at risk.

"Too bad." Cissnei sighed, she really wanted to be alone with him, if only for a little while.

"Come on, I'll get us something to eat." Zack led her way from the curb and the pair headed down the crowded street toward a hole-in-the-wall restaurant Zack knew about.


Zack walked Cissnei home that evening, both feeling relaxed and much less stiff than they were before. They'd enjoyed meaningless though jovial conversation over their late dinner and, by the end of it, felt completely comfortable being together in public. They knew there was nothing wrong with anything they talked about and what did it matter if anyone they knew saw them? This carefree cloud hovered over both of them until they made it to Cissnei's door.

"Thanks for inviting me out tonight, I had a lot of fun." Cissnei chirped brightly as she leaned against the door frame.

"Pleasure's all mine! I'm glad you came with me." Zack flashed that charming smile.

Cissnei felt her heart melt at the sight of that smile. He was so breathtakingly handsome, so perfect to her in every way imaginable. She'd been watching his face the entire evening, completely aware of the way her heart quivered at his every movement. She'd hung onto every word that escaped his lips and found herself unable to tear her attention away from him. She wanted him so badly...in every sense.

"Well, good night then, I'll see you tomorrow."

As he turned to leave, the unexpected happened. Cissnei suddenly, unexpectedly, lost her self-control. She grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn back to her. She then tossed her arm around his neck and planted a solid kiss on his lips. As soon as she realized what she'd done, she ripped away from him, stepping backward into her door. It had almost felt like she was under some kind of hypnosis, unable to control her movements. She clapped her hand over her mouth and they both stared at each other wide-eyed, unsure of what to say or do. It was the first time that Zack could remember actually being truly speechless.

In a panic, Cissnei grabbed the doorknob and struggled to open it, and backed up into her apartment, mumbling a soft, "I'm sorry." As she shut the door in his face.

Zack stood there in shock. Of all the things that could've happened that evening, that was the last thing he'd imagined. Cissnei really felt that way about him? He approached her door, ready to knock and hope to talk to her. But he paused mid-stride. Perhaps it would be a bad idea; she could try to steal another kiss and it could lead to other things...then again, on the other hand, if he didn't seek some kind of closure to this abrupt parting, her feelings might be hurt...he did in fact think he heard a sob coming from the other side of her door.

He didn't know how long he lingered. It could have been a several seconds or several minutes. At length, he regained composure and sprinted down the hallway, heading for his own quarters in a sudden rushing desire to be at home.


Cissnei sat on the floor, her back to the door, and her knees pulled against her chest. Tears streamed down her reddened cheeks as all her thoughts and emotions flooded her mind. There was no coherence. There was no control. There were only the feelings she kept hidden inside her fragile heart. If there was no more sense left in the world, the only thing she understood was her deep, desperate love for Zack Fair. But even then, she wasn't sure she actually understood it at all.

But through her tears, she lifted her head and looked up toward the ceiling. Unconciously, she raised her fingers to brush along her lips, which then spread into a smile.