Summary: Aerith enjoys the aftermath of both battle and sex. She doesn't enjoy the visit by Cloud's friend so much.
Chapter 9: The Ripple Effect
Aerith heard Cloud stomping up the stairs exactly 90 minutes after he'd gone down them.
She was feeling the soreness Cloud had said she'd feel tomorrow from the monster fighting. Even if she was doubly sore later, it didn't matter. Every ache would bring wonderful memories.
They'd taken advantage of Cloud's shower and the large quantities of hot water they'd made. Apparently, it was an army trick, using low-level Fire materia to heat buckets of water, and Cloud had adapted it for his home. Zack had let her warm the water. He'd stood behind her, his hands on her arms holding them steady, guiding her on how to direct the energy.
Not that she actually needed the guidance, but as an excuse to keep touching, it had been brilliant!
By the time Zack's new friend tromped up the stairs, they were both dressed and presentable.
"Hope you heard me making noise, 'cause I'm coming in," Cloud said and opened the door. He had her silver staff on his back and bags of food in his hands.
"Oh, man, Cloud!" Zack said, springing to help him set everything down. "You didn't have to."
Cloud smirked at him. "I figured you'd need it."
He gave both of them quick looks from toes to top. Aerith got the impression that he knew they'd used all of Zack's condoms. She also got the impression that he didn't care. They could've used one or none and his reaction would've been the same.
He took her staff from his back and handed it to her. He'd added not one but two materia slots, and he'd done such a nice job that she could hardly tell they'd been added later.
"Sorry, couldn't link them." He gave a sheepish shrug. "Need a proper weaponsmith for that."
She twirled the staff. "Don't be silly. You've done a wonderful job!" He turned away before she could see him smile, but she knew that he had.
He'd brought a selection of spicy foods and rice, and a half-dozen bottles of beer.
Aerith had never had beer.
"I've never had beer."
Both men looked at her in shock. "Never?" Zack repeated.
Aerith shook her head, enjoying the feel of her long braid brushing against her back. "Too expensive. Plus, I don't think Mom likes the taste, so she never bought it." she added honestly,
Cloud looked at Zack, who just raised his eyebrows. With a little shrug, Cloud popped the cap "See if you like it."
It was… interesting….
"It tastes like bread smells."
Zack snickered. "Yup. You get used to it."
Aerith wasn't sure she wanted to.
The sound of light footsteps running up the stairs came only moments before the door slammed open. "Cloud! Know you're here!"
The woman who burst in was about Aerith's age, maybe younger. They were about the same height, and they both had long hair. Those were about the only things they had in common. The newcomer had dark, dark hair, golden eyes, and very generous breasts accented by the suspenders that she wore connected to a very short skirt… short thing.
She had stomach muscles!
Aerith tried not to feel inadequate.
"Heard you were back… from Johnny," she said as if Aerith and Zack weren't in the room. "Did you forget our planning session?"
Cloud, standing next to the small kitchen, frowned. "Not the time, Teef. Guests." He jerked his head at them on the couch. Aerith smiled brightly. Zack gave a little wave. "Heya."
The newcomer, Teef, tensed as she finally noticed them. She looked at Aerith, the same kind of toe to top examination Cloud had used, before shifting her gaze to Zack. There was a long moment, then her eyes narrowed. "You!"
It was accusation and curse, and the newcomer shifted into a battle-ready stance.
"Teef! Stop!"
But Cloud's friend wasn't listening. She moved towards Zack, fists up.
Without thought, Aerith stood and pointed her staff at Cloud's friend. "That's my boyfriend," she said. "I just got him back and I would be very upset if you hurt him."
"He's a killer!"
"Tifa!" Cloud said firmly and loudly, and the woman turned on him.
"He was there, at Nibelheim," she said. "He did nothing to stop Sephiroth. Nothing!" She whirled back to glare at Zack accusingly. "He let Nibelheim burn."
"I'm sorry." Aerith only heard Zack because she was right beside him.
"He's a good man," Aerith said. "If he could've saved your village, he would have."
"You can't know that," the woman sneered.
Aerith drew herself up straight. "Yes, I can."
"Found him on the cliffs," Cloud said, breaking the tense silence. "Shinra tried to kill him."
The woman froze for a second. Her fists were still up, but she was hesitating.
"He killed me, too," Zack said. "Sephiroth did. If it hadn't been for Hojo…. His damn scientists." He rubbed his breastbone, and Aerith knew he was reliving the moment Sephiroth had stabbed him. He actually had a scar from it, and he didn't have many.
Aerith dug a hand into his hair, offering comfort. He leaned into her.
"You're right. I did nothing." Zack's hands came up and clutched at Aerith's dress, pulling her closer. "I'm not a hero." He pressed into her. "I couldn't save anyone!" Aerith turned so Zack could bury his face in her belly. She wrapped her arms around him and held him as he shook. Just like she'd done before, so many years ago.
When he finally quieted, they were alone in the room. She couldn't hear anyone on the stairs. There was only Zack's hitched breaths. She was doing her own sniffling to match his – so much pain. The years of experiments had caused physical pain, but the betrayal by his last hero had hurt Zack so much more than what Hojo had done. Hojo had hurt the body, but Sephiroth had hurt Zack's heart.
It was such a big heart.
"You're a good man, Zack," she murmured. "You tried. I'm so proud of you." She kept repeating it. She'd keep repeating it for as long as he needed to hear it.
"I'm not proud of myself," he finally whispered back.
She ruffled his hair. "Of course not," she said. "You expect a lot of yourself. Too much."
"No such thing in SOLDIER."
She lifted his face, so he had to look at her. His was red and splotchy. Hers probably looked the same. "You're more than a SOLDIER, Zack. You're a human being. And that's better than being a SOLDIER." He frowned. She gave him a small smile. "It's more work though. And it hurts more."
He looked at her, eyes unsure and confused and lost. "I just wanted to be hero."
Oh Zack, she thought. He'd put himself under a lot of pressure in his desire to be 'a hero', without ever realizing that being a hero was so much bigger than Shinra had envisioned, and simpler than he'd believed.
Now wasn't the time for that discussion though. Instead, she kissed his forehead. "You wouldn't be my Zack if you didn't."
He buried himself back into her, and she held him. She could see so much of him – feel so much of him.
Cloud's place only had two small windows, so it hadn't been bright to start with. But as Aerith held Zack and rocked him, it got darker, and darker. The food on the table got cold and the beer got warm. And she held Zack and rocked him, humming a soft song Ifalna had sung to her long ago
Finally, he pulled away, wiping a rough arm across his face. "I don't know why you waited."
She lifted his chin. "Because you have the prettiest eyes. They see sunshine and life and love, even behind the darkest of clouds." She rubbed her finger softly over his eyebrow.
He gave an embarrassed cough but didn't argue.
"We should see where Cloud got to," he said after a while. It still took him a few more minutes to uncoil himself. He ducked into Cloud's bathroom, while Aerith went into the kitchen to splash cold water on her face and to wipe away any trace of tears. She tried to clean the worst of it off her dress but just ended up with an even bigger wet spot.
Giving up she put the food away in Cloud's Iced food box. Another ingenious idea she'd have to remember. (Maybe that's why Elmyra's husband had sent her the Ice materia so many years ago.) While she waited for Zack to come out, she made sure the rest of the room was tidy.
He finally emerged, eyes still red. She held out a hand – they'd go down together and face whatever was down there together. They could do that now – now that he'd come back to her.
But at the bottom of the stairs, no one was waiting to confront Zack. There were people in the lane, walking by to somewhere else, but the only person was standing around was Cloud and he was grooming his chocobo. He looked up as they came down but didn't stop what he was doing. The bird's eyes were half-closed and Aerith could hear it cooing.
"She left?" Zack asked, hand tight around hers.
Cloud nodded. "Had a talk. Explained a few things; reminded her of a few others."
"She has the right to be angry at me."
Both Aerith and Cloud frowned at him. He held up a hand to stop their protests. "I knew something was wrong with Sephiroth way before he went crazy. I mean, he holed himself up in the creepy secret basement and I just… let him."
Cloud was still frowning, but now it was for a different reason. "Why didn't you stop him?"
Zack shifted his weight, ran his free hand through his hair. "I did try," he said. "But he ordered to me go, and so I went."
"I thought you were friends," Aerith asked. Zack had always talked as if they were, but now he shook his head.
"We were friendly, yeah," he said. "Because of Angeal I'd met him back when I was a Second, and then after… After Genesis and Angeal took off, we were the last Firsts in SOLDIER. And, I mean, you know me: I get along with most people. So yeah, friendly. But not friends." He looked away.
Cloud had stopped grooming his chocobo, so now the chocobo was grooming him. "But you did stop him, yah. You killed him."
Zack stiffened, and Aerith thought strong supportive thoughts. Five years ago, before he'd been sent on that mission, Zack had idolized Sephiroth. To have been forced to kill him – another one of his heroes….
"Genesis started it," Zack finally said. "They fought at the reactor and Genesis was hurt. Still an asshole, but he warned me something was seriously wrong with Sephiroth. When I fought Sephiroth, I managed to get a couple good hits in, but he was better than me, stronger.
"And crazy," Cloud muttered. Aerith could've hugged him. "Crazy people don't set limits on themselves the same way."
Zack smiled and nodded. "There was a Turk with me. She used a shotgun and blew chunks out of him, but that still didn't stop him. You know who really saved the day? A lowly infantryman jump-tackled Sephiroth off the walkway and into the mako pool. Private Gidson, willing to die to save the world." He looked at them with a cynical smile. "That's who was a hero that day."
"That kid in Sector 5 – the one who recognized you," Cloud said. "How'd you meet him?"
Zack shifted, pulling Aerith closer before answering. He told Cloud of the day they'd met. How he'd fell off the plate and through the roof of Aerith's church.
"And then I called 'Hell-loo' and he woke up," she added. For some reason Cloud's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Aerith didn't have a chance to ask about it though, because Zack continued with the tale of their first date. Of going to the Sector 5 market and being robbed. Of chasing Oates around and around and around – with no help from Aerith. (Here he frowned down at her, so she smiled sweetly back.)
He told Cloud about Oates' mom being sick, and how he had no money to buy her medicine because his wallet had been eaten by a boundfat.
"And you believed him?" Cloud asked in disbelief.
"Oh, it was the truth," Aerith assured him. "She never really got better, but the medicines helped with the pain."
"So I went and killed the boundfats–"
"First he offered to buy the medicine, but he didn't have enough money," Aerith said. Cloud's eyebrows went back up.
"Hey!" Zack pouted. "My dignity!"
That made Cloud smile. "So, you were his hero," he said. "Guess being a decent guy is all it takes sometimes."
Zack's mouth opened and hung there, while Aerith hid giggles behind her hand. "That's what I said."
Zack frowned at them. "Have you two got some kind of psychic bond happening or what?" He complained in easy tones. The tension that he'd carried since Cloud's friend spat at him was gone now, and Aerith relaxed as well.
Above them the huge lamps under the plate dimmed indicating nightfall. Aerith looked to the rim of the plate and saw the sun halfway between it and the horizon. "Oh! It's late."
Both the men looked at the west.
"Shit!" Zack said. "The delivery service!" His eyes opened in dismay.
She looked back at Cloud. "Is it still running?"
He gave a weird head shake. "Missed dinner, but there's another after midnight, to let in the late-night crowds from Wall Market.
"Oh hells. Elmyra's going to kill me." Zack scrubbed his head.
Aerith giggled. "I can always stay here with you tonight."
She wasn't disappointed when Zack turned to her with horror in his eyes. "She'd skin me first then kill me."
"Said I'd take you," Cloud said. "On Deza."
Aerith looked at the large bird carefully combing Cloud's hair with its beak. She'd never ridden a chocobo before, but then there were a lot of things she'd done today that she'd never done before. This could be another one. She nodded.
While Cloud got Deza ready, Aerith turned to Zack. "Are you going to come back with us?"
Zack opened his mouth to say yes, then sighed. "There's really no place for me to stay in Sector 5. It doesn't have an inn, or anything."
"There's the second bedroom at my house?" Aerith could imagine it. She and Zack separated by just one thin wall… It would be gloriously awful, and likely neither one of them would get much sleep. From Zack's smile he was imagining the same thing, but without the wall separating them.
Aerith liked Zack's imagination.
Then he shook his head. "We'd try sneaking into each other's rooms and your mother would catch us for sure. I need to keep on her good side, so she won't forbid you from seeing me."
Aerith tipped her head. "Do you think that would stop me?" Her hands were on her hips, because if that's what Zack thought…
Zack smiled. "No, I don't, but I don't want you to fight with your mom over me, so I will find someplace around here to stay tonight. I'll come to you in the morning."
Then he groaned, "Gods, that sounds so sensible and old…"
"It did a little," Aerith agreed with a smile. "But is that really a bad thing?"
"I never had to be sensible before," he explained. "I had superior officers, a mentor."
"And what? They did your thinking for you?"
"Kinda, yeah." Zack agreed ruefully. "I'd just show up and swing my sword, and everything was simple."
Cloud, walking up to them with Deza's reins in his hand, snorted. "Only seemed simple because they were lying to you."
"That doesn't make me feel better," Zack said in mock outrage.
Cloud shrugged unrepentant. "Ready to go?" he asked her.
Yes, but not really. She didn't want to leave Zack. She turned back, clutching him. She was suddenly afraid that if she let him out of her sight, he would be taken from her again.
He seemed to be afraid of the same thing if his murmured assurances were anything to go by. He kissed her, cupping her cheeks in his hands like she was precious. "Tomorrow," he promised. "First thing."
Deza was crouched on the ground. "Step over him here," Cloud indicated. "But don't sit. Easy."
Except Aerith's skirt wasn't very wide. Determined not to balk at the first hurdle, she hiked her skirt up and stepped over Deza's back.
Chocobo's were very wide…
Muscles, already aching from being used in new ways, screamed in protest. Aerith grit her teeth and ignored them.
Cloud stepped in front of her, nudging her backwards until she felt unbalanced, and her skirt was dangerously close to her hips. "Crouch a little," he said. He whistled as she bent and Deza rose to meet them.
Chocobo's were also very tall!
"Oh my," she whispered.
Zack was there, ungloved hand warm on her bare calf. "You'll be fine. It's not as scary as it seems," he said. "And I'll see you tomorrow, first thing."
She didn't dare lean over to kiss him – she'd fall off for sure – but she laid a fond hand on his cheek. "I'll be alright. Cloud will take care of me." Cloud made a sound of agreement.
They walked to the edge of the sector, along paths that got narrower and rougher. By the time they reached the mountains of refuse that marked the outer limit of Sector 7, she'd gotten used to the rhythm of Deza's stride. Her thighs weren't protesting quite so loudly. She'd be okay.
Cloud said, "Hold on," and then Deza bounced up the hillside.
It was terrifying and excruciating and terrifying. Aerith wrapped her arms around Cloud's waist and held on so hard. She shut her eyes, but that somehow made the motion worse. At least with them open, she knew that Deza wasn't just leaping into open air.
They reached the top. The bottom of the plate seemed almost close enough to touch, but she knew that it wasn't.
Cloud held out a green materia. "Go ahead; cast Cura if you want. No need to suffer."
Aerith's cheeks grew hot, and she was thankful for the dim evening light. Cloud knew she was sore, and he knew why, too. Well, of course he did. That's why he'd made such a racket coming up the stairs, but this – casually saying he knew she had to be sore? It seemed far more intimate than the teasing he'd done back at his apartment.
He wiggled the materia. "Want me to do it?"
"No, thank you." She hadn't used healing materia earlier because she'd liked the ache in her body. It was proof that Zack was alive, proof of what they'd done, secret reminders that she could enjoy.
They could make more tomorrow, she decided and cast Cure.
"Thank you," she said politely as she handed the materia back.
"Be about fifty, sixty minutes at top speed," he said, pushing the orb back into his bracer. "Or can be sensibly slow and take ninety."
Aerith thought about it. Cloud was solid in front of her. Deza was solid underneath her. She'd hunted monsters today and made love to her boyfriend. Why not end it with a crazy nighttime run across the wastes?
"Fast as possible, please."
Cloud looked over his shoulder, grinning. "Hold on."
They made it in forty-five.
.o0|0o.
Heidegger didn't bother coming to attention. The president wasn't looking at him anyway. "The Turks have found a group that might be suitable," he reported.
"Where?"
"Sector 7 slums."
"Sector 7…" The president puffed his cigar. "Isn't that the most populated one?"
Heidegger nodded. "Many Shinra employees live there." He didn't expect it to matter.
"How long until they're agitated enough to act?"
"According to the report, the leader is a fanatic with anger issues. They're looking into his background now. Interesting thing," Heidegger said with a laugh. "They're calling themselves 'Avalanche' even though they have no affiliation with Fuhito's group."
"That we know of," the president suggested.
"Of course," Heidegger agreed. "We can play that up. Say they're backed by Wutai."
The president blew out a curl of smoke. Heidegger sneered mentally: the old man probably thought it made him look like a dragon.
"One month," the president finally said.
"You said two or three last–"
"I want this done," Shinra snapped. "Tseng has one month to bring this new Avalanche to the mark. Or you can blow up the reactor yourself, and I'll blame it on those traitorous bastards he's protecting."
This time President Shinra turned to look at him, so Heidegger gave a shallow bow. "I'll let him know your orders."
As Heidegger left the president's office, he couldn't stop the small sneer. The old man was crazy if he thought there was a Promised Land they could get to, but the president's fancy would stir up unrest, unrest could lead to insurgency and rebellion. Rebellion meant war. War made the security forces a priority over every other department except perhaps Scarlet's. That was fine. He and Scarlet understood one another.
He could finally order that pissant Hojo to create more SOLDIER Firsts. Firsts were arrogant, but they were still the best killing machines Shinra had ever produced, and they'd be under his control.
Yes, Heidegger thought. If he managed this properly, then war would be inevitable.
And if those insurgents managed a lucky kill shot on the president of Shinra… Well, those were the tragedies of war.
AN: I wanted Aerith to have this moment to focus on the joy she has because Zack is alive, and she's experiencing a lot of first. It is, unfortunately, a little short, but have no fear. She'll be back later. =]