Thank you for all the reviews on the first one! As suggested by one of the reviews, I added the element of humor to parts of the story, but I'm not really that good at writing funny stuff so please bear with me on it. I also added how Aeris was alive, which probably doesn't make very much sense. I really didn't know she died before, because I haven't finished the game yet. And again, please read and review. ^_^
Aeris shivered in the cold of the night as she walked by Red XIII's side. They had begun their walk with some small talk, but the conversation had slowly died. She no longer took silence such as this for granted, like she did before she was resurrected through the intervention of the Lifestream. It was not her time, the souls she encountered had told her. She still had much to do in her corporeal form before she would join them.
"Isn't that the path your house is on?" Red's voice broke her train of thought as she looked back. She had just passed the path.
"Yes, it is." She smiled and turned around. "Sorry."
"I don't recall ever visiting your home before."
"You haven't. Only Barret, Tifa and Cloud have. They helped me move some things in, but other than that, I don't have any visitors usually. It's mostly only my flowers and me."
The second her yard came into close view, she heard a gasp from Red. "The flowers are beautiful. I thought that flowers couldn't be grown in cities, though."
"Thank you, Nanaki. It takes more than this soil to grow them, though. I had to buy special soil and supplies."
He leaned down and smelled the flowers. This is the first time Aeris had seen him admiring the beauty of nature the way she did. 'There is much to learn about you,' she thought. 'You're so quiet and deep. There must be a lot you have kept hidden from everyone.'
They reached her front door, and she unlocked it, ushering him in. "Make yourself at home. Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
"Not right now, but thank you for offering."
"I'm going to go put some tea on the stove. I'll be back in a minute."
Red took her temporary absence to his advantage by exploring the living room. He discovered a picture of Aeris and Cloud taken at Golden Saucer sitting on her mantle. A pang of jealousy ran through him. 'Does she really care about me, or am I just a diversion to keep Cloud off her mind? Tifa and Cloud have been spending a lot of time together lately, now that I think about it.'
"I'm not interested in that cross-dressing spikey headed jerk anymore, if that's what you're thinking. I'm not usually one to hold grudges, but I hate having my heart broken by SOLDIER failures." Aeris lifted the picture from the mantle and dropped it on the floor.
Red was surprised. He had never seen an outburst from the sweet and innocent Aeris like that before. 'Maybe she isn't with me right now as a diversion. Seems more like revenge on Cloud and whoever else has broken her heart.'
"Let's forget about him right now, though. Right now I want to talk about you..about us." She gestured at a couch near the mantle and took a seat herself.
"Yes." Red jumped up onto the couch beside her, still wary of her motives. She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss. "There are some things you should know about me before we proceed any further, though, Aeris."
"Like what, Nanaki? I'm sure whatever it is won't change how I feel."
He sighed. 'I don't want to lose this, if we have anything between us. But she has the right to know.' "I am nearly 49 of your human years in age. But in comparison to your human lifespan and mine, that would put me at approximately 15 or 16 if I were human. I am a child."
"What?!" Her words were more harsh than she intended for them to be. "I mean, you seem so much more mature than that."
"Does it bother you?"
"I must admit that it is a little unsettling...more than a little..."
A slight scuffling is heard from the stairs, and the pair turns around to see Yuffie. "Unsettling?!? It should be illegal, if it isn't already! You want to do stuff with a cat dog my age that doesn't even vaguely look human?!? What's wrong with you Aeris?!?" Yuffie laughed as she carried an armload of materia down the stairs.
"That's my materia!" Aeris stood and ran towards the stairs. An indignant Red lept off the couch to prevent her from exiting through the front door.
"This is a private conversation." Red calmly stated as he guarded the door.
"It won't private when I tell everyone else! The things they'll say! Man, this will be GOOD!" Yuffie jumped around Aeris to be met by a Red with bared teeth, growling.
"You will not tell anyone," he growled as he mauled Yuffie. The rage was almost emanating from his amber eyes. "Especially anyone from AVALANCHE. I have always wanted to do a human disection with my bare claws. If I found out you have told anyone, you will be my subject. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Yuffie was as white as a ghost. Aeris took the materia from her and opened the front door. Yuffie ran out of the house in a flash. After she was certain that Yuffie was not returning, Aeris shut and locked the door.
Red laughed, which sounded like a pleasant cross between a purr and growl. "I think she believed my idle threats. She won't be coming back here anytime soon."
"Are you physically mature or are you still growing?" Aeris plopped back down on the couch with Red right behind her.
"I have little or no growing left to do. 250 years is the average lifespan of my tribe. That simply means that I have a long time left to live, not that I'm really physically immature. If there were more than one of my species remaining, then I would be considered a child. But I am all that's left..."
"Oh...it still makes me a little uncomfortable, though...I don't know why but I keep thinking that being with you would be wrong the way that me being with a teenage boy would be wrong. But you're so much more mature than that. This is all...confusing."
"I understand. I'll leave you so you can think about it. I don't want my presence to cause you to do something that you don't feel is right."
"No, you don't have to leave! Please don't, Nanaki. It's really late and pretty far back to Seventh Heaven. I have a spare bedroom upstairs. I don't want to spend all night worrying about you."
After a moment of silent deliberation, he gave in. "Okay. I'll stay in your spare bedroom for tonight...but I'm going to leave very early in the morning. I don't want your reputation stained by everyone finding out I stayed here."
"I'm going upstairs. I'm very tired, and a good night's sleep will help clear my mind. You can come up when you feel like going to bed. I'll leave the guest room door opened." She began walking up the stairs. "But don't try to leave. I'll know if you leave before the morning comes."
'She reads my mind,' he thought as he settled on the couch. The only sound to be heard after Aeris's room door closed was the ticking of the large clock hanging beside the window. He counted the clock's ticks and thought about Aeris until he found himself drifting off. He softly crept upstairs into the room with the opened door and layed on the bed. Soon, he fell asleep.
A few hours later...
Red purred as he felt his tense back muscles being rubbed. He was still partially unconscious and assumed he was dreaming. The hands were warm and experienced in the realm of massage. It felt so relaxing, so good. He continued his content purring. His eyes soon fluttered opened. He, then, remembered where he was and turned his head to see Aeris grinning in the candle light.
"Did you know you can purr in eight or nine different ways, depending on how and where I massage you?" She continued grinning and massaging him.
He was very happy that he was incapable of blushing at the moment because if he would have been blushing a very deep red if he could. "You're a very talented masseuse. What time is it?"
"It's only about two in the morning. Don't worry about that now. How are you feeling?"
"Good...surprisingly good." He allowed his eyes to further adjust to the lack of light as he became more alert.
"I'm glad." She kissed him passionately.
Getting caught up in the moment, he returned the kiss and let himself sink into the orb of contentment surrounding him. 'Yes, this is nice,' he detachedly thought and sank even deeper into oblivion. His mind returned from its state when he heard a soft tap on the window. He reluctantly broke the kiss and looked towards the window. 'Yuffie,' he thought.
"You foo'! You haf' to go ruinin' the show!" a loud whisper said that was obviously Barret.
"You were the one who wouldn't move so I could get a better view." It sounded like Cid. "No, it was you, Yuffie. You and Tifa insisted on having the best view."
"Shut up! They'll hear us." This was definitely Cloud.
"Now they stopped!" Tifa hissed. "I was looking forward to this." Now that his eyes had completely adjusted, he could see Tifa was looking dreamily at Cloud.
"Would the voyeuristic party outside of the window please leave?" Red asked as he jumped off the bed and approached the window. They showed no signs of even thinking of leaving. There were several ladders propped up against the house, which the group was using to watch. With a wicked grin, Red cast a quake spell, which sent them all toppling to the ground. "That'll teach them."
"Everyone insists on interrupting us." Aeris groaned. "Another question has just popped into my head. Are we...ummmmm...physically compatible if it ever will come to that?"
"Hojo wouldn't have had his plans in mind if we weren't. It just might take some slight adjustments...but I don't think we should be that involved so soon." Again, embarrassment began to overwhelm him. He only felt this way around Aeris.
"I don't either. I was just wondering...after this, I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep. Do you want to go do something to pass the time?"
"Why not? What do you want to do?"
"We should do something fun...it's karaoke and all you can eat steak night down at Nigel's Place."
"Sounds good to me."
"Let's go! We're going to have a great time!" Aeris was very enthusiastic as she got ready and as they left for Nigel's Place...
Aeris shivered in the cold of the night as she walked by Red XIII's side. They had begun their walk with some small talk, but the conversation had slowly died. She no longer took silence such as this for granted, like she did before she was resurrected through the intervention of the Lifestream. It was not her time, the souls she encountered had told her. She still had much to do in her corporeal form before she would join them.
"Isn't that the path your house is on?" Red's voice broke her train of thought as she looked back. She had just passed the path.
"Yes, it is." She smiled and turned around. "Sorry."
"I don't recall ever visiting your home before."
"You haven't. Only Barret, Tifa and Cloud have. They helped me move some things in, but other than that, I don't have any visitors usually. It's mostly only my flowers and me."
The second her yard came into close view, she heard a gasp from Red. "The flowers are beautiful. I thought that flowers couldn't be grown in cities, though."
"Thank you, Nanaki. It takes more than this soil to grow them, though. I had to buy special soil and supplies."
He leaned down and smelled the flowers. This is the first time Aeris had seen him admiring the beauty of nature the way she did. 'There is much to learn about you,' she thought. 'You're so quiet and deep. There must be a lot you have kept hidden from everyone.'
They reached her front door, and she unlocked it, ushering him in. "Make yourself at home. Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
"Not right now, but thank you for offering."
"I'm going to go put some tea on the stove. I'll be back in a minute."
Red took her temporary absence to his advantage by exploring the living room. He discovered a picture of Aeris and Cloud taken at Golden Saucer sitting on her mantle. A pang of jealousy ran through him. 'Does she really care about me, or am I just a diversion to keep Cloud off her mind? Tifa and Cloud have been spending a lot of time together lately, now that I think about it.'
"I'm not interested in that cross-dressing spikey headed jerk anymore, if that's what you're thinking. I'm not usually one to hold grudges, but I hate having my heart broken by SOLDIER failures." Aeris lifted the picture from the mantle and dropped it on the floor.
Red was surprised. He had never seen an outburst from the sweet and innocent Aeris like that before. 'Maybe she isn't with me right now as a diversion. Seems more like revenge on Cloud and whoever else has broken her heart.'
"Let's forget about him right now, though. Right now I want to talk about you..about us." She gestured at a couch near the mantle and took a seat herself.
"Yes." Red jumped up onto the couch beside her, still wary of her motives. She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss. "There are some things you should know about me before we proceed any further, though, Aeris."
"Like what, Nanaki? I'm sure whatever it is won't change how I feel."
He sighed. 'I don't want to lose this, if we have anything between us. But she has the right to know.' "I am nearly 49 of your human years in age. But in comparison to your human lifespan and mine, that would put me at approximately 15 or 16 if I were human. I am a child."
"What?!" Her words were more harsh than she intended for them to be. "I mean, you seem so much more mature than that."
"Does it bother you?"
"I must admit that it is a little unsettling...more than a little..."
A slight scuffling is heard from the stairs, and the pair turns around to see Yuffie. "Unsettling?!? It should be illegal, if it isn't already! You want to do stuff with a cat dog my age that doesn't even vaguely look human?!? What's wrong with you Aeris?!?" Yuffie laughed as she carried an armload of materia down the stairs.
"That's my materia!" Aeris stood and ran towards the stairs. An indignant Red lept off the couch to prevent her from exiting through the front door.
"This is a private conversation." Red calmly stated as he guarded the door.
"It won't private when I tell everyone else! The things they'll say! Man, this will be GOOD!" Yuffie jumped around Aeris to be met by a Red with bared teeth, growling.
"You will not tell anyone," he growled as he mauled Yuffie. The rage was almost emanating from his amber eyes. "Especially anyone from AVALANCHE. I have always wanted to do a human disection with my bare claws. If I found out you have told anyone, you will be my subject. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Yuffie was as white as a ghost. Aeris took the materia from her and opened the front door. Yuffie ran out of the house in a flash. After she was certain that Yuffie was not returning, Aeris shut and locked the door.
Red laughed, which sounded like a pleasant cross between a purr and growl. "I think she believed my idle threats. She won't be coming back here anytime soon."
"Are you physically mature or are you still growing?" Aeris plopped back down on the couch with Red right behind her.
"I have little or no growing left to do. 250 years is the average lifespan of my tribe. That simply means that I have a long time left to live, not that I'm really physically immature. If there were more than one of my species remaining, then I would be considered a child. But I am all that's left..."
"Oh...it still makes me a little uncomfortable, though...I don't know why but I keep thinking that being with you would be wrong the way that me being with a teenage boy would be wrong. But you're so much more mature than that. This is all...confusing."
"I understand. I'll leave you so you can think about it. I don't want my presence to cause you to do something that you don't feel is right."
"No, you don't have to leave! Please don't, Nanaki. It's really late and pretty far back to Seventh Heaven. I have a spare bedroom upstairs. I don't want to spend all night worrying about you."
After a moment of silent deliberation, he gave in. "Okay. I'll stay in your spare bedroom for tonight...but I'm going to leave very early in the morning. I don't want your reputation stained by everyone finding out I stayed here."
"I'm going upstairs. I'm very tired, and a good night's sleep will help clear my mind. You can come up when you feel like going to bed. I'll leave the guest room door opened." She began walking up the stairs. "But don't try to leave. I'll know if you leave before the morning comes."
'She reads my mind,' he thought as he settled on the couch. The only sound to be heard after Aeris's room door closed was the ticking of the large clock hanging beside the window. He counted the clock's ticks and thought about Aeris until he found himself drifting off. He softly crept upstairs into the room with the opened door and layed on the bed. Soon, he fell asleep.
A few hours later...
Red purred as he felt his tense back muscles being rubbed. He was still partially unconscious and assumed he was dreaming. The hands were warm and experienced in the realm of massage. It felt so relaxing, so good. He continued his content purring. His eyes soon fluttered opened. He, then, remembered where he was and turned his head to see Aeris grinning in the candle light.
"Did you know you can purr in eight or nine different ways, depending on how and where I massage you?" She continued grinning and massaging him.
He was very happy that he was incapable of blushing at the moment because if he would have been blushing a very deep red if he could. "You're a very talented masseuse. What time is it?"
"It's only about two in the morning. Don't worry about that now. How are you feeling?"
"Good...surprisingly good." He allowed his eyes to further adjust to the lack of light as he became more alert.
"I'm glad." She kissed him passionately.
Getting caught up in the moment, he returned the kiss and let himself sink into the orb of contentment surrounding him. 'Yes, this is nice,' he detachedly thought and sank even deeper into oblivion. His mind returned from its state when he heard a soft tap on the window. He reluctantly broke the kiss and looked towards the window. 'Yuffie,' he thought.
"You foo'! You haf' to go ruinin' the show!" a loud whisper said that was obviously Barret.
"You were the one who wouldn't move so I could get a better view." It sounded like Cid. "No, it was you, Yuffie. You and Tifa insisted on having the best view."
"Shut up! They'll hear us." This was definitely Cloud.
"Now they stopped!" Tifa hissed. "I was looking forward to this." Now that his eyes had completely adjusted, he could see Tifa was looking dreamily at Cloud.
"Would the voyeuristic party outside of the window please leave?" Red asked as he jumped off the bed and approached the window. They showed no signs of even thinking of leaving. There were several ladders propped up against the house, which the group was using to watch. With a wicked grin, Red cast a quake spell, which sent them all toppling to the ground. "That'll teach them."
"Everyone insists on interrupting us." Aeris groaned. "Another question has just popped into my head. Are we...ummmmm...physically compatible if it ever will come to that?"
"Hojo wouldn't have had his plans in mind if we weren't. It just might take some slight adjustments...but I don't think we should be that involved so soon." Again, embarrassment began to overwhelm him. He only felt this way around Aeris.
"I don't either. I was just wondering...after this, I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep. Do you want to go do something to pass the time?"
"Why not? What do you want to do?"
"We should do something fun...it's karaoke and all you can eat steak night down at Nigel's Place."
"Sounds good to me."
"Let's go! We're going to have a great time!" Aeris was very enthusiastic as she got ready and as they left for Nigel's Place...