Giving Thanks
By Katie
Disclaimer: Aeris and Squaresoft belong to Sephiroth…wait, no, damn it…Aeris and Sephiroth belong to Squaresoft. There we go, Katie old girl.
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Heaving a sigh of relief, Aeris set down her backpack in one of the houses in the Forgotten City. She wanted to start the prayer as soon as possible, but as she heaved a jaw-popping yawn, she realized it would just have to wait until morning. Death can wait until morning, she thought in a rare burst on cynicism. Sighing, she shook her head, knelt down to remove her boots, and, folding her hands together, began to pray, not so much a prayer as a litany of thanks.
I know I'm going to die tomorrow, she thought, and I wish there was some other way. There is still so much I want to do, so much I want to see. But I refuse to be bitter. You have given me so much, Planet, and if my death can heal you, I can only be grateful for the chance to repay you for everything you've done for me.
"What are you doing?"
Aeris started as she heard that voice; a chill ran up her spine, but her hands remained still and clasped together. Sephiroth!
"I'm giving thanks," she said, her voice so calm she barely recognized it as her own.
The instrument of Jenova's will snorted derisively.
"For what?" he asked. "You'll die come the morrow."
"I can be grateful for not dying tonight," Aeris replied smartly. Smart one, Aeris! You're practically begging him to kill you before you can say your prayer.
She heard Sephiroth pause, then answer slowly.
"The pawns are slow. I want them to see you fall." His voice grew more confident, arrogant. "Besides, you will not start the prayer tonight. I have time."
Silence fell over the two.
"What else are you grateful for?" Sephiroth asked eventually, timid curiousity peeking out from behind a wall of detached arrogance.
Aeris was startled by his evident desire to continue their conversation, but grabbed the chance, no matter how slim, to try to talk him out of this.
"Mmm, it's hard to say," she replied slowly. "I've been given so much."
Sephiroth snorted.
"A lab specimen of Hojo's, the last of your race, an outcast in Midgar slums, and you're fated to die tomorrow. That's quite a bit to be grateful for."
"I always managed to escape the Professor," Aeris retorted coolly. "My people live on in the Promised Land, I managed to grow flowers where none would grow, and my death will save the Planet. That's quite a bit to be grateful for, and it's only a fraction of what the Planet and good people have done for me."
Sephiroth snorted again but fell silent.
I need to keep him talking! Aeris thought frantically. I need to reach him!
"What do you have to be grateful for?" she blurted out. Wonderful, Aeris, absolutely brilliant! Piss him off, why don't you?
"Me?" the former General asked.
"Yes," Aeris replied, turning around to face him for the first time. "Everyone has something to feel thankful for, no matter how small."
Much to the young Cetra's surprise, she saw Sephiroth actually ponder the thought.
"My mother," he said at last. "She keeps me company, and…she loves me."
Aeris smiled sadly. If only that were true…
Sephiroth continued to think.
"My Masamune," he said. "It too has been a constant companion, and I cannot imagine fighting without it."
Aeris watched with fascination as his features took on a sad, melancholy look as he continued to think.
"Professor Gast," he said finally, and Aeris started at the sound of her father's name. "He was…kind, to me, and before he left he was the only one who could restrain Hojo's… (His voice grew distasteful) enthusiasm for experimentation."
Silence fell once more, weighing heavily upon the rooms two occupants. Aeris was still reeling from the shock of having her past tied even more closely with Jenova's pawn, and Sephiroth? Sephiroth's thoughts were his own.
"You will die tomorrow," Sephiroth said at last, and Aeris' heart fell as she realized she had failed to reach him.
"I know," she said softly, and something of her regret must have reached her voice because Sephiroth's tone softened as he continued.
"It will be swift and painless," he said gently. "Befitting a member of our race, no matter how misguided."
Aeris smiled up at him, fighting back the tears.
"Thank you," she said, and this time her voice did tremble.
Something-Compassion?-flickered through Sephiroth's eyes, gone the moment it was seen, and with a curt nod he turned and vanished into the night. Aeris stared long after him, her mind blank. After many long minutes, she finally shook herself out of her stupor, and resumed her former position.
Thank you, Planet, for this…resolution. Thank you for the chance to talk with
him. I may not have changed him, but I think I reached him, and that…that is a blessing.
Thank you.
Amen.