Author's Notes-- No, this is not the last chapter of this story! Zack was just offered to go on a mission, let's see what Aeris thinks about it. BTW, this won't be one of the best chapters. I was rushing through this! Flower Girl and Soldier Boy
By: Aegis
"That's wonderful news, Zack. So, all your dreams of fighting finally came true. I'm so proud of you!" Elmyra congratulated Zack. Zack was just offered by the Great Sephiroth to go to a mission with him. Everyone was happy for Zack's achievement. "Well, actually, I didn't give him an answer yet. I have to make sure that all of you are okay with this." Zack said. "Of course, we're okay with it! We support every decision you make!" Elmyra laughed. Zack was happy to hear the support. Something bothered him, though. Aeris had been gone for quite a while. He was getting worried. He decided to search for Aeris, before saying his 'goodbyes'. Zack searched every part of Midgar. He asked everybody who knew Aeris. He was feeling sad and desperate for not knowing Aeris enough. Then, out of no where, Aeris showed up. "Hey Zack..." "What's with the long face, Air?" "Ahh...nothing...I've just been thinking a lot!" Aeris forced a smile on her face. "What have ya been thinkin' about? I told you the news, right? Aren't you glad I've been offered to go on a mission! This way, I won't have to bother you and Elmyra anymore!" Zack showed Aeris to a bench. There, they sat down. "Actually, that's what I've been thinking of. It will be kind of sad without you around..." Zack grinned and put his arms around Aeris. Aeris blushed at the fact that Zack had his arm around her. For a while, Aeris has had feelings for Zack that she was too ashamed to admit. Now, that he was going away, Aeris felt that it was too late to state her feelings for him. "Hey...Air..." Zack seemed to hesitate finishing his words. "What's up, Zack?" Aeris looked at Zack, with concern. "Umm...Can--...uhh...if you don't mind...would you go ou--" Zack was stuttering with his words. "Zack, wanna go on a date?" Aeris was rather shocked at what she said. "Sure, if you insist" He was glad that Aeris said it and not him. Aeris and Zack spent their date going all over town. It was a magical evening for Zack and Aeris. They stopped at several places and everywhere they turned, it seemed as if the people were glad that they were together. "Psst...Zack, someone's sating at us again. Do you think their jealous or something?" Aeris whispered to Zack. "Nah. I think they're happy for us..." Zack laughed. "Happy? Anyway, I know a great place to end this evening at!" Aeris took off her silk cloth that tied her hair and wrapped it around Zack's eyes. She giggled as she led him to different roads. "You're not going to leave me in a middle of train track, are you" Zack was worried, but he knew that he could trust Aeris. "Now, if a monster attacks us, you'll have to fight for the both of us!" Finally, Aeris reached her destination. She slowly untied the cloth that was covering Zack's sight. Once the cloth was gone, she put her own hands on Zack's eyes, just to tease him. "Air, come on! I wanna see where you took me!" Zack was like a little kid who was about to open a present. "Well, here you are" Aeris took her hands off of Zack's eyes. "The playground...beat ya to the slide!" Zack ran towards the slide, trying to beat Aeris to it. "Cheater...Hey Zack...ready for a little fun?" Aeris smirked as she picked up a handful of sand. Zack instinctively turned away to dodge the sand, but nothing attacked him. "Just kidding!" "Come on Air," Zack patted the spot next to him on the slide, signaling her to sit. She quickly climbed on the slide and sat next to him. "Air, you've never told me what you think of my decision" "I know...I don't think you'd want to know my opinion" Aeris sighed. "Come on, how bad can it be?" "I don't want you to go Zack...I want you to stay here...just stay here for a while...longer." Aeris looked away from Zack, afraid of his reaction. Zack snuggled closer to Aeris and Aeris rested in Zack's arms. He didn't give any responses, nor did Aeris say anything else. She just treasured their time there together, and wished that time would slow down a bit. For a while, Aeris and Zack stared at the stars. Then, they started talking and found out new things that neither knew before. After a while, Zack realized that Aeris was sleeping cozily in his arms and that it was time to head back to the house. "What took you two so long?" Elmyra questioned, ignoring the fact that Aeris was already asleep. "I'm sorry, but we just lost track of time, I guess" "Take her upstairs, and you should rest too. Tomorrow's the day you'll be giving your answer, right? You would want to look good, in front of your general" "Yea, right...my answer" Zack took Aeris inside her own bedroom and laid her on the bed. She squirmed a little, but went back to sleep. "Don't worry, I won't leave you just yet..." Zack whispered in Aeris' ear.
"That's good..." Aeris murmured. Zack went to his own room and stayed awake the whole night. He knew the answer to Sephiroth's offer already. Even before he told the news to anyone, he knew the answer. Even though it was buried under all of his excitement, it was still there. It still told him that he wasn't ready. It told him that he needed to stay. And with Aeris' response to the news, Zack was sure that it was the right answer.
By: Aegis
-->>End of Chapter 3
