Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. This is for the 30 Kisses challenge using list kappa. This is AU. Theme 16: White Flag.

Lily of the Valley, Bluebells, Snowdrops, and Violets

He stumbled across her in the conservatory. It was one of Sephiroth's favored places for reading in the winter, and very few students tended to frequent it. When he found someone else there, Sephiroth took notice. Especially since she was hard to miss. The young woman was wearing jeans and a bright pink t-shirt, and she was up to her elbows in dirt planting some sort of flower. She was also singing to herself. Spotting him, she waved cheerily but left him alone.

That was the sum of the interaction, but for some reason she stuck in his mind. Both her smile and her green eyes stuck in his memory. The second time he met her Sephiroth ended up rescuing her. Admittedly, it was not that dire of a situation, but it wasn't exactly in character for him either. He had spotted the young woman heading towards the conservatory, her arms full of various potted plants. There had also been several young men hanging around. They clearly weren't helping her with her burdens, and there were signs of tension around her eyes and her mouth.

Sephiroth had decided to intervene. He was not sure what was going on, but he didn't think he liked it. All it really took to shoo the young puppies away was his presence as it turned out. As it turned out, they had been pressing her to go to a frat party that she was clearly not interested in. Sephiroth simply moved to intercept the young woman and hold open the conservatory door for her.

The student offered him a shy smile. "Thank you. I appreciate the help, Professor?"

"Sephiroth Valentine."

"Aeris. I'm a biology major with a specialty in botany. One of my lab's this term is basically working here. I'm a scholarship student, and I take my class work rather seriously. Unfortunately, not all of my classmates get that, and I haven't been able to convince them that I'm not a party girl."

The she surprised him by leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Thank you again, Professor."

Aeris went about her work getting the plants in the ground, and Sephiroth headed off to his own class. He found a potted orchid on his desk the next morning. Sephiroth frowned at the plant. She had left him a thank you note as well as instructions on care for the plant. The white orchid was lovely, and it appeared to be easy enough to care for. It only needed to be watered about once a month. Sephiroth installed the plant in his office and did not think much more of it.

He did end up striking up a conversation with Aeris the next time he ran into her in the university's conservatory. Surprisingly, they seemed to have a great deal in common. She also appeared to be much more intelligent than most of his regular students, and Sephiroth quickly found that he enjoyed her company. He appreciated her practical nature, and her optimism did not seem to grate on him like other people's. Within two months of that second meeting, they were fast friends. Even if she still had the habit of calling him Professor instead of his name.

It was a very good thing that she would most likely never be in any of his classes. Sephiroth had put up the white flag of surrender and admitted to himself that he had fallen for Aeris. It would have been unethical to get involved with one of his own students or a student in his own department. However, he was not even in the same college as the biology faculty, and a relationship with Aeris would have absolutely no impact on her academic career for the most part.

He found her today amidst a stand of late winter, early spring flowers. It was clear from the trowel beside her and the pile of weeds just what she had been doing. Sephiroth cleared his throat so not to startle her.

"Professor?" She looked up as she finished packing up her tools.

"Sephiroth," he corrected. "I was wondering if you would be interested in dinner?"

She smiled at him and took his offered hand. "That sounds lovely."

Together, they left the conservatory, their relationship like the flowers just starting to really bloom.