Chapter 27

"Aerith, I just don't know."

Aerith sighed at her mother, who thankfully had listened to the entire story, but that didn't sway her opinion completely to the other side. She was still skeptical of Zack and everything that he was apart of, even if he said he wasn't with Shinra anymore. He once was part of it and that was part of the hurt that was left behind.

Aerith knew her mother meant well though. She was always looking out for her and wanting what was best. Her mother was just doing what a good mother would do, and that was protecting her daughter.

Overall it was still hard to overcome all of the feelings that were in her chest. She wanted to go against her mother and convince her to let Zack stay with them. She wanted to help Zack and comfort him because she saw how badly he needed it. Yet at the same time she still needed her space from him. It was ironic, since they had been apart for such a long time and only had just reunited. He wasn't the direct source of her pain, but he had been part of the cause and effect. Shinra was to blame, but he was only caught up in the middle of it all.

Before Aerith could speak up, Zack cleared his throat. He stood up from his seat and looked at Aerith's mother. "Aerith's mom, uh… ma'am. I understand if you don't really trust me. I have been gone quiet a while anyways. I think it may be best if… if Cloud and I leave. I don't want to be a burden or anything on you or cause any trouble anyways."

"Shinra has already caused enough trouble as it is," Aerith's mother replied. "You may be evading Shinra now, but I don't want to take such a risk with fugitives."

"Mother!"

"No, Aerith, she's right." Zack held up a hand to prevent Aerith from going any further. "She's right. Having me around is a big risk. If anyone from Shinra spots me, it could mean big trouble, and the last thing I would ever want to do is put you in danger."

"Zack…"

"I'll be fine, Aerith. Just gotta wait it out until it's a bit safer," Zack replied.

"You could at least stay at the church, right?" Aerith asked. "You need somewhere to sleep."

"Oh right, heh I guess I forgot that I don't really have any gil on me or anything. Guess I better start looking around for small jobs as well, it shouldn't be too hard." Zack smiled to Aerith and her mother, showing his usual enthusiasm and optimism.

Aerith couldn't help but laugh. She knew Zack was still hurting inside, but seeing him trying to be better and try to be happier was a good sign. But now he was going to leave again. She knew he would see her again, he wouldn't let it go any other way, but it was the 'when' that made her wonder like she did before.

"Thank you for letting me stay for some tea at least," Zack said, bowing his head slightly to be as respectful as he could.

Cloud, who had returned during Aerith's explanation to her mother, shortly followed suit and performed the same motion, thinking it was appropriate as Zack had done it. "Yeah, thank you."

"Of course," Aerith replied softly. "I'm glad I could help."

"Now if you boys are going to be staying out in the church for sometime, you'll need something to stay warm," Aerith's mother said. "Let me go and grab some blankets for you to use."

Zack shook his head. "Oh you don't have to do that, Cloud and I have been roughing it out on the road this entire time."

"I insist. You may be strong boys, but I am not going to let you go unprepared. Fugitives or not, you should be able to have some supplies."

Zack was surprised by the kindness of Aerith's mother despite her distrust in him. But he could see that there was a deep sense of caring in her eyes that could not be trifled with. Without anything more to say, Zack nodded to her with a smile, giving her his thanks once more.

She walked out of the room, leaving the three young adults to themselves. Aerith sighed deeply, looking over to Zack. "I'll come visit you, okay? But for now I probably need to talk about this with my mother some more."

"She is only looking out for you, so I get it… I should have figured she probably wasn't too thrilled to see me."

"Well I'm older now, so it's my life. But, I still like her help sometimes. Everything will be fine, just give it some time, okay? Just… so I can figure things out."

Slowly Aerith approached Zack and right away he opened up his arms to her. Aerith slowed slightly when she reached him, and instead of embracing the man as he expected, she turned slightly. A pause occurred between the two of them, with Zack looking slightly confused.

"Something wrong?" Zack questioned.

Aerith shook her head and then put one arm around Zack, giving him a halfway hug. Normally, he would not have thought too much about it. However, considering everything that happened, he felt that it was a bit strange. Yet he chose not to comment on it and kept his thoughts to himself.

"That's good. Yeah, good," he replied shortly.

Their eyes met briefly again as she went to pull away, but then both averted their gaze from one another, almost as if they were embarrassed.

Soon, Aerith's mother returned to the room, and in her arms were many blankets and sheets. "We have plenty of spares from over the years. So take them."

Zack thanked her once more before taking the items from her. With that said and done he shifted closer to the door. "I guess… we should be going. It was really nice to see you again Aerith. I hope… we can talk more soon."

"Yeah, me too," Aerith replied quietly, though there didn't seem to be a lot of confidence in her voice.

Zack smiled once more before he stepped out of the door with Cloud in tow. He didn't utter another word after they started walking, and Cloud did the same. It seemed as though the situation had taken its toll on the two of them, mainly Zack. The short walk back through the elaborate spot that was Aerith's property made them both glance around again, taking in the natural beauty of the place.

But finally, a large sigh echoed into Cloud's ears. He looked over to see Zack still walking beside him, but hanging his head slightly as they continued.

"Z-Zack?"

"Yeah?" he replied back tiredly.

"Are you, um… will you be okay?"

The black-haired man raised his head back up and looked in Cloud's direction, giving a half-hearted attempt of a smile. "Sure, I'll be all right. In time. Let's get a move on now."


The church ground was nothing to write home about, but it would make do for them for now. After all, they had each been used to roughing it for a while now, but there were at least benches they could push together to form some sort of bed frame. They were even more thankful for the blankets given to them so it would make sleeping on the wood far more comfortable.

Once their little set up was complete, Zack walked over to the flowers that were growing within the church. He sat down beside them and let out a very long sigh. He just sat there though, staring at the beauty that was Aertih's little flower garden. Slowly he started smiling as he reflected on the memories that the flowers brought.

Cloud couldn't help but stare over at his friend. He knew that Zack must be feeling pretty beat up at the moment, and probably confused. But that was all his presumptions. Zack had not talked much since they had gotten to the church so far. However, something else was weighing on Cloud's mind as well. It was something that had been spoken much earlier, and even though he knew how Zack must be feeling, he felt as if he did not say something that the anxiousness would eat him alive.

"Hey, uh, Zack. You okay over there?"

Zack seemed to be slow to respond at first, but he quickly shook his head and turned around to find Cloud. "Oh, yeah, I'm good right now," he lied in an obviously false upbeat tone. "What's up?"

"Um…" Cloud averted his eyes to the ground. "I don't really know… Just something that's on my mind I guess…"

The hesitation in his voice caused Zack to turn around sharply towards his friend, while still sitting down on the ground. He didn't know what was ailing Cloud, but he knew that he wanted to help his friend if he could. Despite that he was still not feeling the best at the moment, he pushed those worries of his own down inside of him. He would save it for another time.

"Well, you know that you can tell me Cloud. Come on, sit down here with me," he said as he patted a spot on the floor next to him. Without a word made his way over and quietly sat down next to Zack. Once he was sitting, Zack continued to talk. "So what's on your mind?"

"Hmm… I think I'm probably just over thinking it… but I just can't stop thinking about this. It was something you said earlier."

"I did say a lot earlier Cloud. You'll have to be a bit more specific. Just tell me what it is. I'm sure whatever it is, it's nothing big to worry about."

Cloud fidgeted slightly before rubbing his hands together. He still kept his eyes away from Zack, instead looking at the flowers before them. "You said… You were telling Aerith that she was the only one who meant anything to you… that you were only happy because you were thinking about her… I guess I'm just worried about what that means for me…"

The words Cloud had said took a moment to process in Zack's tired brain. But when it did, he straightened up sharply and pulled Cloud in close to him, giving the blond a tight hug. He had no idea that Cloud had overheard him, but he figured since he had shouted it only made sense. His heart twisted a little while he embraced Cloud as tightly as he could.

"Don't think that Cloud. It was the first time I had seen her in a long time, and I just… got caught up in the moment. She does matter to me of course, quite a lot. But so do you Cloud. You're my best friend, and honorary brother, you got that?"

He spoke with such a reassuring voice. It comforted Cloud, and made him feel like things would be all right. However, there was still this pang of fear that would not leave his body. Even after what he had just heard, his anxiety still raged like a burning fire.

"Yeah I guess. I just got a little too worried about it… I didn't want to be forgotten about."

"You know that I won't do that. I never once left you behind on our journey here. Remember all that time we spent together?"

"Yeah… I know," Cloud replied softly as he thought over everything he could remember. "You really did look out for me when you didn't have to… I probably slowed you down a lot at the start."

"Nah, you didn't slow me down," Zack started. "Well… maybe a little. But hey! I didn't mind helping. You needed it, and that's what was important. And you were there for me later on. So we helped each other."

"If you say so. Thanks Zack, but just as you said…" Cloud turned to look up at Zack. "We help each other. So if you have anything on your mind, you can talk to me too."

"Glad that you understand Cloud," Zack spoke and released the blond from his hug.

He then got up and walked over to the spot he had made in the church to be able to rest. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna take a nap. I'm beat. Unless… do you need me to stay up with you?"

"Who me?" Cloud asked without thinking.

"Well, who else is in here with me," Zack sarcastically answered as a chuckle came from his mouth.

"Ah, uh no I'm fine. Thanks Zack. I'm just not tired for once actually."

Zack nodded and then turned and laid down on the makeshift bed he had made, leaving Cloud to stay up. It wasn't too long before Zack was snoring soundly, the largeness of the church carrying the echo.

Upon seeing this, Cloud wondered what he would do for all of that time. Without being able to come up with any good ideas, he eventually decided to head over to his area to sleep. At least he could rest his body somewhat. Though, relaxing his body seemed to be all he needed as his eyes became heavy as he too drifted off into a sleep.


We return yet again to this story! More development between everyone and finally some rest for the boys. But how much longer can they keep resting? Hm find out next time!