"...and only with you do I feel whole. Where in your eyes, did I lose my..."

Aeris looked up, halting in her soft murmuring of the song. A ways up the path, she could hear laughter. For a moment, the voices failed to register, but then she nodded to herself, remembering that they were having visitors today. She stood, carefully stepping out of the flowerbed and onto the path.

"Hi, Aeris!" Katrina called as she came into view around the shell house, Delphine beside her waving her arms broadly, and Nanaki at their heels.

The Cetra smiled softly, brushed the soil from her hands, and waved back.

Nanaki bounded up ahead of the others, rubbing his face against her leg then sitting back on his haunches to look up at her. "Aeris, it is good to see you. You are well, I hope?"

She nodded, kneeling down to scratch him behind the ears and noting the four feathers in his mane. A replacement and another mark of honor for fighting with Jenova, she guessed. "Yes, Nanaki, I'm doing pretty well." She ran her fingers along one of the feathers. "You didn't have these two last I saw you."

He tossed his head. "That was months ago. They had not yet had time for the little ceremony then. And I know you know what they are for, so I don't need to tell you that."

She smiled and got to her feet as the two girls joined them. "Hello, Katrina, Delphine. Glad to see each other as always, hmm?"

"Of course," Delphine replied. "I can't wait 'til my parents let me move to Cosmo Canyon."

"But we're glad to see you, too, Aeris," Katrina added, giving her friend a look.

The Cetra laughed. "Well, come on. I'm sure Reno and Minerva will want to know you're here."

She led them down the path to the shell house, opening the door to the living room. "They're here, guys," Aeris announced.

Minerva and Reno looked up from where they sat on the couch as the four entered. "Hey, everyone," the redhead greeted.

"Hi, Reno," Delphine replied. "Hi, Minerva."

She and Katrina walked over to sit down on the couch, on the other side of Reno. Minerva shifted uncomfortably and moved to perch on the arm of the couch, giving the other three more room. Nanaki lay down at their feet, and Aeris stood by the entrance, watching the group for a moment, as though she was only an observer. Silent. Invisible.

Reno waved her over. "C'mon, Aeris. We can make room for you."

"Nn!" She gave a start, smiled slightly, and joined them at the couch, sitting down beside Nanaki on the floor. "So, Katrina, how are things going?" she asked. "Settled in yet?"

"Oh, yeah," the girl replied. "I bought a little cliffside hut about a month ago. Haven't paid in full for it yet, but I'm getting there. It's pretty high up so it's got a nice view of the canyon."

"Sounds cozy."

"How big is it?" Delphine wanted to know.

"One room," Katrina answered. "I don't really need any more space than that. I've got a mattress, a set of shelves, and a view, and that's good enough for me. The neighbors are nice, too."

"And everyone remembers you very fondly, Aeris," Nanaki added, sitting up and glancing behind him at Katrina. "Actually, we brought something for you from all of them..."

The girl started. "Oh! Right." She handed a hand-bound book down to the Cetra, who took it carefully, blinking in mute surprise.

"It is a compilation of various writings and drawings from around the village," Nanaki explained. "Some are simply thank you notes, others stories, ink sketches..."

"This is really too much," Aeris breathed.

He laid down again. "Of course not. We kept getting suggestions for various ways of thanking you from the villagers until finally Miera came up with the idea for doing this. The elders did most of the work collecting and combining the works. Katrina helped also."

"And I'm sure you had something to do with it, too," she replied, running her fingers over the thin wooden cover and gently opening the book. "I thank you both. Will you tell the villagers how grateful I am for this?"

"I will."

"If only all villages had such fond memories of the Cetra," Minerva murmured.

"Most people don't even know they were called the Cetra," Delphine lamented. "Something should really be done to change that..."

"Aeris, you've got friends practically everywhere," Katrina said brightly. "Maybe they could, you know, educate people. Do you think?"

"Maybe," she agreed absently, closing the book again and looking out the window. Minerva had helped her install it only a month ago; it faced north, and further down the path, just before it turned into the mountain caverns, she could see a great, sharp-spined structure shining bone-white in the sun. She always found it disconcerting and fascinating at the same time.

"Has Elena come to visit you yet?" Nanaki asked of Reno. "I recall she was quite upset with your decision to come here."

"Nah," the redhead answered. "She writes--Delphine's been nice enough to let us use her address and to deliver our mail--but she hasn't come up here yet. Maybe she's waiting for summer or something so she can take a long vacation. I dunno."

"Perhaps she is merely being stubborn," Minerva suggested. "Afterall, you have not visited her either, and I doubt you even write as often as she."

Reno laughed sheepishly. "Think I should go down for a few days?"

"Yeah, you probably should," Katrina chimed in. "I think she'd appreciate it."

"You wanna come, too, Min?"

"That depends. Will Aeris be coming...?"

Aeris twisted to glance at them. She shook her head, smiling faintly. "No, that's all right. I think I'd rather stay here, but honestly, I don't need anyone to babysit me. I can take care of myself for a few days."

Minerva nodded. "Of course. I only wanted to be sure you would not mind the lack of company..."

"I won't," the Cetra assured her.

"She probably can't wait to be rid of us," Reno joked. "Afterall, we're here every day, invading her privacy and calling it 'cheering her up.'"

Aeris laughed, settling back down to look out the window again. "Oh, but it does cheer me up. Who knows what I'd be like without you two here?"

"Morbid and taciturn, no doubt," Minerva said with sarcasm.

Reno snorted. "Morbid old Aeris. Sure."

The Cetra smiled. "No, perhaps I wouldn't be that bad."

"What time is it?" Delphine asked abruptly.

"Just past noon," Minerva stated.

Her friend was puzzled. "How can you tell? Is there a clock in here that I missed?"

"No, no clock. I can tell by the shadows outside."

Aeris twisted to look at Delphine. "I'm guessing you asked because you're hungry?"

The girl nodded, grinning sheepishly. "Yep. And hoping I'm not the only one..."

"I'm hungry, too," Katrina said.

"And so am I," Reno added.

"Mm." The Cetra set the book down on the floor and got to her feet. "I'll go fix something for everyone. I'll be back in a little while."

"But you always do the cooking," Delphine said. "Why don't you let someone else make lunch for a change?"

"Dear, have you ever tasted Reno's cooking?" Aeris asked.

The redhead laughed at her tone of voice, and Minerva made a face.

"I guess not," the girl conceded. "All right, go ahead."

The Cetra smiled, leaving the room and heading for the kitchen area added on to the upper part of the shell house. A bit strange to have it just past the bedroom, really, but, lacking a dining room, they ate in the Aeris's bedroom as often as in the living room.

She kept her gaze to the left wall as she passed through the room. She did not want to see him now. She did not want to ruin her mood. She had been doing so well being cheerful, she thought, and she didn't want her guests to think her otherwise. So she couldn't see him lying there... She couldn't...

And then she had walked on into the kitchen. Aeris sighed softly in relief. Perhaps it would be best if she added on one more room... For Sephiroth, so that she and her friends would not have to suffer through seeing him lying there. She could go see him whenever she liked, but Minerva and Reno wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable whenever they were in her bedroom.

And Aeris wouldn't have to see him when she couldn't bear it.

Yes, that was best, she decided, opening the pantry and forcefully pushing all thoughts of Sephiroth from her mind.

Laughing, Shera leaned against him as they headed home. "Oh, come on, Cid... You know you teased them at their wedding, too. I don't see what you're so angry about."

He snorted. "Aw, Shera, you know I'm not really mad. I just never thought that spiky-headed kid would have the nerve to--"

"Hush," she interrupted, moving to stand in front of him and gesturing towards their house. "You're supposed to carry me across the threshold, you know."

Cid ran a hand through his hair, regarding her imploringly. "What, and I have to kick the fu--er, damn door down, too? Hard to open it with no hands free."

She laughed again. Gods, it was a beautiful sound. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her this happy.

Or this gorgeous. Normally, she'd wear drab-colored loose blouses and trousers, but the wedding dress was a very pale blue, snug-fitting, and left her arms bare. Her hair, which she usually forgot to brush and tied back in a simple pony tail, was left mostly down, with the tresses around her face pulled back into the hairpiece from which her veil hung.

Of course, he probably looked a lot better than usual, too, considering he didn't normally brush his hair either and didn't care if he wore the same clothes for days on end. But the suit was making him uncomfortable.

Shera put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, an timid smirk on her face. "Well?"

"Aw, fuck it," he muttered, grasping her by the waist and tossing her unceremoniously over his shoulder as she yelped in surprise.

"This is not what I meant!" she squeaked indignantly.

"Too bad, hon," he replied, fitting his key to the lock and opening the door. He set her down once inside, and turned to close the door behind them as Shera straightened her skirt.

"That was... uncalled for," she told him.

Cid turned back to her, grinning when he saw the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Come on, you know you liked it."

She maintained the frown for a second longer before bursting into giggles. "Oh, you're terrible," she laughed.

He chuckled and started taking off his jacket and tie. "I'm never wearin' a suit again," he declared, tossing the distasteful articles of clothing across the room.

"Not even for me?" Shera asked, fingers working to take off the veil and let down her hair. "You looked so handsome."

The pilot snorted. "Handsome, my ass."

She set the veil down on the kitchen table, shaking her head to let her hair fall back to its natural position. "Well, I thought so. And you even shaved!"

He frowned, fingering his stubble-free chin. "Probably not gonna happen again."

"It's a good thing Yuffie took some pictures then."

"Whatever," Cid muttered. "Want some tea?"

"Tea sounds good," Shera said. "Oh! But I should like to change first. I've been afraid of spilling something on this pretty dress all day."

"Go ahead," he told her, setting some water on the stove to heat.

She came back in some minutes later, dressed in her nightgown, and stretched her arms over her head as he poured her a cup. "Mm," she sighed, sitting down. "Mr. and Mrs. Highwind..." She smiled and took a sip.

"Husband and wife," Cid stated, just as awed. "Who would've thought it?"

"Your friends," Shera reminded him with a smirk. "They all thought it was about time."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well... Nobody every said I was quick."

"I didn't think it would happen either," she admitted. "But I'm glad they persuaded you otherwise." She sighed contentedly and looked around the house. "Now this is really home."

"What do ya mean? You've been living here."

"Yes, but not as your wife. I've been living here as 'that engineer Shera,' not as Mrs. Highwind."

"I guess you're right," Cid agreed. "Sorry I took so long."

Shera got up, walking over to kiss him lightly. "It's quite all right, Cid. I would have waited forever if it meant being your wife."

"You really mean that?"

"Yes."

He pulled her into his lap, grinning. "So I bet you're glad you didn't have to wait forever."

"Exactly."

"What's wrong?" Miera asked, brushing her cheek against Nanaki's as she sat down beside him.

He sighed; it was about time he talked this over with her. "...you remember Yuffie, yes?" he asked.

She tilted her head to think for a moment. "The girl from Wutai, the one who went with you to battle Jenova. Isn't she also the one who calls you every day?"

He nodded.

"What about her...?" Miera prompted, aware that he wanted her--needed her--to press him.

Nanaki closed his eye. "Aeris put it best... 'Falling in love with a human,' she said. Ridiculous, isn't it? Absolutely ludicrous... I am a guardian of Cosmo Canyon; I should not have such feelings for a two-legged being."

"Why should it be ridiculous?" she inquired. "You have numerous human friends, and you find nothing wrong with caring about them, do you?"

"No..."

"Then why should it be so wrong to take those emotions a little further with one in particular?"

He shook his head. "But she is a human, and I am..."

"Who ever said love was restricted to within one's own species?"

"I suppose you are right..." Nanaki risked a glance at her. "But don't you feel anything about this? You are the last..."

Miera smiled. "We are the last two of a nameless race, and that makes me your future mate, unless our race dies with us." She tossed her head. "Why should that make any difference? We're hardly more than children now."

He laid his head in his paws, frowning. "And Yuffie is already an adult..."

She nuzzled his side. "As much as I hate to say it... By the time there is any relationship required of us, she will be dead. It would be foolish of me to be jealous of a human girl, especially when you're only a friend to me."

"But what should I do?" Nanaki asked. "Aeris said to tell her, but perhaps it is better if she does not know...?"

"How is that better?"

"If she thinks I am only a friend, then she will think these feelings ridiculous. 'Silly Red. What about Miera?' she would say."

"And if she feels as you do, she may be just as uncertain," Miera added.

He sighed. "How do I tell?"

"I'm no human," she replied. "I don't know how she would act if she loved you. But I can tell that she considers you a great friend at the least. Even if it's only that, she's mature enough to understand and accept it."

Nanaki got to his feet and started pacing back and forth, tail waving in agitation. "Still... Won't it make her feel uncomfortable to be admired by a member of a different species?"

"Perhaps it would, perhaps it wouldn't," Miera told him. "I honestly don't know. But I do think that keeping this from her will drive you crazy."

He stopped pacing and sat back on his haunches. "You are probably right... But I lack the confidence to tell her now."

"Then tell her whenever the opportunity arises."

Nanaki nodded, settling down again. "I will try."

"Ah! Aeris, there you are! Trying to hide, were you?"

The Cetra started and got to her feet. "No... I just... saw your garden and..." She shook her head. "Did you want to kn--"

"Oh, no," Lucrecia interrupted. "No, I don't want to ask you about that. If you knew anything more, I'm sure you'd tell me."

Aeris smiled faintly, stepping onto the path to join her and ruefully brushing some dirt from her dress. "Probably ruined it," she murmured. "Well then, what did you want?"

"To thank you. I don't think I ever sufficiently expressed my gratitude, and you've done so much for me..."

"You don't have to say anything," Aeris told her. "It's gratifying enough hat I can see you and Vincent so happy together. That's all the thanks I need."

"Still... if there's anything that I can do, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'm getting on well enough, but I'll keep that in mind."

"At least you aren't blaming yourself," Lucrecia said softly. "That's what Sephiroth would have done had it been the other way around."

The Cetra nodded. "He probably will anyway, when he gets back." She closed her eyes. "I do miss him though... I'd give anything just to hear his voice, look in his eyes..."

"I know the feeling. Don't let yourself become too isolated. It'll drive you crazy, and no one seems to see enough of you as it is."

Aeris dropped her eyes. "I just don't want to be a burden to anyone... I can't pretend as well as before, and..."

"Your mood affects others, and you don't want them to be sad," Lucrecia finished.

Nodding faintly, the Cetra only let her gaze wander. "...it will be a beautiful garden, once these flowers get growing. You've done a lovely job."

"Thank you, but I'm sure this is awfully plain compared to what you could do."

Aeris shook her head. "There is beauty in simplicity. This looks much better than my own garden so far."

"But you have a bad climate and poor soil to work with, I imagine," Lucrecia reminded her. "I should like to see what you can do with it."

"Not much until I'm feeling better, I'm afraid... But nevermind that." She inclined her head. "Congratulations. You must be so happy today, Mrs. Valentine." She looked up and smiled. "Now go on back to your party. I don't want to spoil anything."

"Won't you come back with me?"

Aeris hesitated, looking around at the sparse garden. "I think... I'll stay here just a little longer. I'll come back when I'm certain I can smile without it seeming transparent."

"I understand," Lucrecia said. "But if you stay too long, I'll come looking for you again."

"All right." The Cetra smiled as she watched Lucrecia disappear around the other side of the house, then turned her gaze to the mansion itself. This was where Sephiroth had grown up... If only it had been as loving a household as it was now.

She walked to the front gate, leaning on it and looking out. So this was as far as he had gotten...? To get out of the mansion only to be stopped at the gate by the frightened gaze of some young child? The streets were empty now, as Aeris had always remembered them to be. Nibelheim never changed, it seemed. Not since the fire.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and trying not to imagine what the town looked like in flames. Trying not to imagine him standing amidst them, because she knew where that would lead.

Aeris opened her eyes again, and glanced backwards. She inhaled, exhaled, and smiled. Yes, she could do this. She could keep up a convincing pretense for just a little longer. Letting go of the gate and the memories it brought, she turned to walk along the path and join the party in the back yard.

Yuffie played with the violet-tipped feather in her hands, twirling it, holding it up and letting it drift slowly down to catch it again in her palms. Her face was set in a frown. Feelings like these for another human or one closely related to a human--like a Cetra--would have been easy to explain. She could have called the emotion love and been happy with that.

She let the feather flutter to the floor in front of her folded legs.

But what did you do when you felt love just as deep for a member of another species entirely? It seemed ridiculous. A human and a... sapient cat? How could she have feelings for someone so vastly different? But she did. She loved Nanaki for his personality, of course. But humans expressed love physically.

Yuffie picked up the feather again. So what? she thought defiantly. I don't have to follow convention when what I'm feeling is so unconventional. Worry crept across her face. But did Nanaki even think of her as more than a friend?

We view things differently than humans, she recalled him saying. He had never seemed to fully grasp the concept of love, either, always giving her puzzled looks or turning instead to his knowledge of friendships. So maybe it was just a human thing, and Yuffie was just crazy.

But then, most humans didn't understand it either. Not until they actually felt it. So maybe Nanaki was just clueless like the rest of them.

Whatever the case, she decided she had to tell him. At the very least, she knew he would never laugh. He would take it as seriously as he took anything that wasn't meant to be a joke. The real question was, how was she supposed to tell him?

She wished she could talk to Aeris about it; Aeris would know how to deal with this, but Yuffie couldn't bother her with it. She had always dealt with other people's problems on top of her own, and the ninja wasn't about to let that pattern continue. She could figure this out on her own... maybe.

Letting out a moan of frustration, she tossed the feather up into the air and fell backwards, sprawling across her futon--which was now a satisfying shade of midnight blue. The feather drifted erratically downwards, back and forth, only to land in her open hand. Yuffie scoffed at the mild irony and closed her eyes.

Just call him up. Your PHS is inches from your fingertips. Call Nanaki.

And say what? 'Hi, Red. Guess what? I'm in love with you! Isn't that great?'

No, no. That would never do. She struggled with the wording. 'Nanaki, I wanna tell you something. I love you.'

"Rrgh." No, that wasn't it either. Yuffie sat up, snatching the PHS and dialing his number before she could waste another minute fretting over it. She'd say it however it came out, and that would be that.

"(Hello?)" Nanaki's familiar gravely voice came over the line after a single ring.

"Hi, Red," she greeted, trying to sound as confident as she usually did--and certainly did not feel now. "What's up?"

"(Not much really,)" he answered. "(How about with you?)"

She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I've been thinking a bit. And I came to a conclusion that... pleases me, frustrates me, and scares me..."

"(Yuffie?)"

"It's pretty crazy, I guess... But... I think I've finally figured out what it's like to be in love."

Nanaki hesitated. "(...d-dare I ask if this crazy feeling is directed toward... me...?)"

The eagerness in his voice made her heart leap. "Yeah," she said weakly, with a wavering grin. "I love you, Nanaki."

A relieved sigh. "(As I love you, Yuffie.)"

"Honto?" she asked, slipping into Wutain. Truly?

"(Honto. Gomen nasai.)" Truly. I'm so sorry.

"Doshite?" Why?

"(Boku wa...)" I... Nanaki faltered. "(I should have told you a long time ago. Or maybe I should have taken Aeris up on her offer to tell you for me, but I thought I could do it on my own.)"

"Baka," she chided teasingly. Silly. Idiot. "You're lucky I worked up the courage to tell you."

"(Indeed I am.)"

Yuffie ran her fingers through her hair. "Isn't it weird, though? We're so different..."

"(Physically, perhaps. But otherwise, I would not say so. We may have numerous differences, but we also have a considerable number of similarities.)"

"Prolly right. Still... not many interspecies relationships, are there?"

"(Does it matter?)" Nanaki asked.

She sighed. "Aside from the ridicule I'm gonna get once people find out, no, it doesn't."

"(I am sorry for that.)"

"What could you do about it? It's not your fault at all. And I guess... it doesn't change a whole lot, does it?"

"(I would not say that. It is a relief not to have to worry whether or not you feel as I do.)"

Yuffie nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Now we know we're both crazy. Great, isn't it?" she asked, grinning and without sarcasm.

Nanaki snorted. "(Crazy indeed. It does not seem like hearts care anything for physical forms, even if your senses tell you the other person is your enemy.)"

The ninja's smile faded. She knew who he was referring to there. "...do you really think Aeris's mind was telling her to stay away from Sephiroth because he had Jenova in him?"

"(Possibly.)"

"With a link that strong to the Planet, and with Jenova being a parasite to it... yeah, it probably was."

"(You were up there most recently,)" Nanaki went on. "(How is she doing?)"

She thought for a second. "It's always hard to tell with Aeris. She seemed like she was doing pretty well, considering it's been a year and a half and she's still got no word from the Planet. But there were a few moments when she got this far-away look in her eyes that was pretty worrying."

"(I suppose we cannot expect too much of her...)"

"Mm," Yuffie agreed. "If it wasn't for Sephiroth being dead, I'd've gone to her for advice about, well, you, but... I figured she's probably not stable enough to get involved in other people's problems, even if she acts like it."

"(Right. At least we do not have to suffer through the uncertainty and sorrow that Aeris and Sephiroth have been through...)"

She grinned ruefully as she lay back and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah... Even if the Planet could solve our little species problem--sorta like it's doing with Seph--I don't think I'd agree to it if it meant one of us would be waiting like Aeris is."

There was a startled pause. "(I had not thought of that at all. But I suppose you are right. It is not worth waiting years for something unnecessary like that. I would not want you to suffer that wait... And if you were the one to be changed, there would be so many other differences...)"

"And my dad'd be horrified," Yuffie added with a laugh. "The villagers, too. At first thought, it might be kinda fun to see what they'd think of one of your kind ruling Wutai, but I know it would be too much."

"(And you wouldn't quite be you anymore,)" Nanaki said.

"Nn..." She happened to catch sight of her clock and frowned upon seeing the time. She sighed and sat up. "I'm sorry, Red, but I should be going. I've got work to do, and Shake'll think I've slept in or something. He gives me enough trouble as it is."

"(I understand,)" he replied. "(I will hear from you later then.)"

"Love ya," she said, grinning. "Bye."

"(Suki,)" he replied. "(Ja ne.)" I love you. Later.

"Ja ne," Yuffie laughed, turning off the PHS. Later...

Delphine did not take off her coat before she sat down, but hugged it closer to herself. "Gods, it's hardly any warmer in here than outside!" she exclaimed. "How do you guys stand it?"

"There's a big difference between the temperature in here and the temp out there," Reno told her. "You'll notice it when you walk outside again."

"But not when I walk in," she added dryly, "unfortunately. Anyway, where's Minerva? She upstairs?"

He shook his head. "No, she's out somewhere."

"In this cold? She's gotta be insane."

Reno shrugged. "At least she was wearing a jacket for once. But, I mean, you know she doesn't mind extreme cold. She does get hot easily, though."

Delphine smirked. "Which probably works out great for you, huh?"

"Hardly more than a year and how well you know me!" he laughed.

"Does she do this often? She's usually here when I come over."

"You usually don't come so early in the morning," Reno reminded her. "Min'll go out at night when she doesn't feel like sleeping. Aeris, too, sometimes. Minerva, I can understand, but I can't for the life of me figure out why Aeris might want to go out in the middle of the night, especially in the winter."

"Maybe she has trouble sleeping...?" Delphine suggested.

"Would you go outside if you were having trouble sleeping?"

"Definitely not."

"Exactly. She worries me sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

Reno shrugged. "I can't think about her all the time. I've got Minerva."

"By the way, have any of you gotten jobs yet? I don't see you in town very often."

"We don't need the money, really."

"You don't...?" she asked, puzzled. "Then how do you even feed yourselves?"

"Min hunts," he explained simply.

Delphine blinked, staring at him uncomprehendingly. "She hunts," she repeated.

"Yeah. She's pretty good with those knives of hers. Skins 'em and cuts 'em up and everything. And then we--"

"That's nice," the girl interrupted. "I don't need a description."

Reno grinned.

She looked at him accusingly. "Are you really serious about this, or are you just trying to gross me out? I wouldn't put it past you to make that up..."

"Neither would I, but it isn't made up. We end up eating a lot of strange things... Hungries, boundfats, acrophies... Hungries are actually pretty good. Maybe that's why they're called hungries..." he mused.

Delphine frowned at him for a moment, then shook her head. "I suppose she scavenges, too? And what about bread and stuff?"

"Have you ever seen us eat bread?" he asked her.

"Well, no..."

"Then there you go. And yes, she did do a bit of scavenging our first winter, but Aeris has a vegetable garden now. She can make it grow year round, which is pretty neat."

"It's because she's a Cetra, right?"

"Yeah. Unless you know anyone who can coax flowers to bloom in below-freezing temperatures?"

"Nope."

Reno leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "So, what are you doing here so early anyway? It's not even eight o'clock yet."

The girl shrugged. "I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, and I got bored after a while, so I decided I'd come over and hope nobody minded."

"Nah, no one minds. We're all early risers or all-nighters here."

"I wouldn't have thought you'd be an early riser, Reno," Delphine commented skeptically.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, pretending to look offended. "Just because I look like I just got out of bed whenever you come over, doesn't mean it's true."

"...but you always look like you just got out of bed," she said flatly. "Do you even know how to use a comb?"

"Not my fault I have unruly hair," he muttered defensively.

Delphine laughed.

"What is so amusing?" Minerva asked, stepping into the room and scrutinizing the two.

"Min, she's making fun of my hair," Reno whined.

The silver-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Reno, what does it matter?"

He grinned. "It doesn't."

"That's what I thought," she concluded, sitting down on the other side of him and only then acknowledging the other girl. "Hello, Delphine. You are here earlier than usual."

She nodded. "That's sort of what we were talking about. Oh! I forgot to ask; where's Aeris?"

"Where do you think she is?" Reno asked.

"Upstairs?"

The couple exchanged glances.

"She is with Sephiroth," Minerva informed the girl.

"Oh." An awkward pause. "Still nothing, huh?"

"Right."

"So... anyway... What's new with you guys?"

"You know how it is. Same old, same old..."

The sun was sinking in the west, melting into the darkening ocean and setting the sky afire. Elena never ceased to marvel at watching a sunset from Junon's harbor. She stood motionless on a walkway above the docks, just outside of where Rufus Shinra had once held command. The view was the only thing she liked about this particular place. Frankly, she still thought it reeked of Shinra, despite its takeover and severe remodeling by the citizens of Junon.

When the last sliver of molten orange finally slipped behind the horizon, Elena turned away from the ocean and headed home.

She, Rude, and Reeve lived in one of the ubiquitous apartment complexes in the upper city, on the second floor. Technically, Elena owned one apartment, and Rude owned the one next to it, but they were joined by a door between them, and nobody really paid attention to what room belonged to who.

Now that Reno was away in the City of the Ancients, Elena had a bedroom to herself. At first, she'd thought it a blessing to have that much more privacy, however much she knew she'd miss him, but nowadays, she found that she kind of missed the bickering. You couldn't argue with Rude--he answered everything in monosyllables or not at all. Nor could you argue with Reeve, who was pretty agreeable and pleasant most of the time. She never thought she'd come to miss that kind of banter.

She often wondered what it would be like to have their whole group together again. Reno, Rude, Reeve, herself, and, of course, Tseng. Elena had come so close, so very close, to getting them back together. Sephiroth had said he would try to bring Tseng back, but with him dead, too... After a year and a half, she was starting to doubt. It took him five years to regenerate himself last time, she kept reminding herself. Who says the Planet can do it any faster?

Another three and a half years, just to see if it was possible for Tseng to be resurrected? She hadn't even known Tseng nearly as well as the others, and one of her biggest fears was that he wasn't at all like she remembered. Her other was that he didn't--couldn't--like her that way.

Elena opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside, greeted by the smell of food. She closed the door, replacing her keys in her pocket, and headed for the kitchen. "Hi, Reeve," she greeted; he was the only one of the four--Reno included--who knew how to use anything besides a microwave. It was knowledge which had come in handy when electricity usage dropped to a minimum and wood-burning stoves were most efficient if you wanted other conveniences, like air-conditioning. They had lost Shinra's seemingly-abundant Mako energy and had to switch back to coal until someone figured out another way to harness energy.

But at least they no longer had to go to the market every day to buy fresh food, like they had just after Meteor. And Reeve cooked pretty good food anyway, even if it was pretty simple.

"Welcome home, Elena," Reeve said with a glance and a smile in her direction.

"Dinner gonna be ready soon?" she asked.

"In about five minutes," he replied.

Elena nodded. "Rude's home already, I'm guessing."

Reeve gestured towards the living room with a spoon. "He's reading the paper, I think."

"Right." She moved on into the living room, which also housed the fairly small table at which they ate. Sure enough, Rude was sitting in one of the wooden chairs, leaning back slightly, reading The Aurora. It had been an underground newspaper back in Shinra's day, but now it was well-read and circulated planet-wide.

"Anything interesting?" she asked.

Rude glanced at her, removed one of the pages of the paper, and wordlessly handed it to her. It took a minute for her to find the headline 'Frequent Visitors Spark Interest in Forgotten City.'

Her eyes widened. "Is this--are they talking about the City of the Ancients?"

He nodded. "It looks like Aeris might have to deal with some very curious scientists and historians."

Elena grimaced. "Not fun. What do you think she'll tell them?"

Rude shrugged. "That it's a holy place and shouldn't be disturbed? She'll find some way to deal with them."

"Probably," the blond agreed, doubtfully. "But then, Reno says she hasn't been her usual knowing self lately. Maybe she won't know how to deal with them."

"She'll know how," he said firmly.

She handed the paper back to him and sank down into a chair, sighing. "It's entirely too quiet, don't you think?" she asked after a moment.

Rude raised an eyebrow. "Thinking of writing another letter asking Reno to come back?"

Elena shot him a glare. "No, I am not."

"Of course you aren't," he replied evenly.

She sighed. "Oh, come on, you miss him, too, don't you?"

He nodded. "But I'm not going to try to get him to do things he doesn't want to."

"You're saying I'm being selfish?"

Rude nodded again.

She threw up her hands. "Oh, whatever. But... first we lost Tseng, and now Reno... It feels like I'm slowly losing all of you."

"Relax, Elena," Reeve said, walking in and setting a plate down in front of her and another before Rude. "Neither of us are going anywhere anytime soon. And Reno will be coming back eventually."

Sighing, she snatched up her fork. "I know. But eventually should be sooner."

"Indeed it should," he replied, offering a sympathetic smile before returning to the kitchen to get his own plate.

Aeris sat on a flat rock at the exit to the Forest, bidding it let the little group of humans through. This one time, she would let strangers come so close to her home, because she had to speak with them, and she did not wish to leave her home. She belonged in it, and not one step beyond. Not until she had Sephiroth back.

The party of bright-eyed scientists, historians, and archaeologists stepped out of the Forest, only a couple catching sight of her right off, despite her black coat which must have contrasted harshly with the pale rock she sat upon.

"Please, don't go any farther," she bade them, and all eyes turned to her.

"Why not?" one of them asked.

"This is my City, my home, and I'd rather not have so many visitors. It's enough that I have to wake the Forest when my friends come through, but if so many of you intend to be travelling back and forth..." She let the sentence lie.

"This city belonged to the Ancients," another began, rather indignantly.

"No, it belonged to the Cetra," Aeris corrected. "And if you're thinking that I have no claim over it, you're quite wrong because I am the last of the Cetra. I won't have you swarming all over my home when I came here for solitude." Her eyes shifted to a young man who might have been a scientist. "And I won't have you trying to carry me off to some laboratory either."

"Ah..." a kindly-looking woman started. "Miss, I think you misunderstand... We don't mean to intrude. We'll be quiet. If you show us where you live, we'll be sure never to bother you."

She shook her head. "No, you misunderstand. This is my refuge. This is my City. And you can't come in uninvited to disturb it."

"Disturb what?"

"The dead who have found rest here, the memories which have found haven, and myself. You say you won't bother me, but I know you will. You'll ask for explanations, information, descriptions..." Aeris sighed. "These, I will not give."

"I still don't understand why we can't be allowed to have a look."

"Because I haven't invited you," she said. "Besides, I think you'll only get the wrong impressions and draw the wrong conclusions from whatever you find."

The woman spoke up again. "Can't you allow anything, miss?"

She faltered. "Perhaps I could... There is one girl from Bone Village who is a friend of mine. She comes here fairly regularly, and she might be willing to tell you what she's learned from me. I'll tell her about you when next she comes, and see what she thinks. Otherwise, you would probably learn more if you travelled to Cosmo Canyon."

"Cosmo Canyon...?"

Aeris nodded. "They have the most accurate records of the Cetra that I have seen. Now, go back to your homes and leave mine be. If you come back a second time, perhaps I'll be kind enough to let you through the Forest again, but not a third time."

"You control the forest?"

"No, but it seems to like me."

"Can you at least tell us your name before we go?"

"Aeris," she answered quietly.

"Thank you."

And they turned and headed back through the Forest, the younger ones looking around uneasily. It surprised her that they followed her commands with so little protest, accepted her words without argument. Could it be that she could still carry herself that convincingly? Could she still manage to say just the right thing?

She closed her eyes. She wasn't sure whether she really cared if they scoured the City for clues on the 'Ancients' or not. But she thought that Sephiroth would have disliked it. For him, the place had held a special reverence, and she wanted to preserve that, for him. For Aeris, though, everything was dull without him.

The hidden place really was quite enchanting; the spires were black-roofed and made of an umber-colored stone, perfectly smooth and curved. A thin mist covered the violet-tinted water into which all the perfect structures sank. A path of pillars led upward to an altar where a broken section of railing stood as the only testament to neglect. Curved glass shards of varying lengths encircled the place, and a crystalline stairway curved away upwards.

Beyond the glass, there was nothing but void. Minerva had to wonder where exactly this place was, and how it could exist. It was certainly a wonder.

She sat on the roof of the tallest spire which was also the closest to the altar. She thought that it was the place where Sephiroth had hidden in wait for Aeris. Indeed, it was an easy leap from here down through the encircling golden-glass of the altar itself and onto the platform.

Minerva knew that Aeris came down here at night whenever she had trouble sleeping. The Cetra would even kneel on the altar, hands clasped, eyes closed, as though she expected Sephiroth to come down to claim her life as he had seven years ago. Minerva did not know what to make of it.

She herself only came to this place in particular because it was one that Reno and Delphine did not know about. She sought solitude in coming here; not that she disliked their company, but she was not nearly as social as to want it all the time. She liked to get away from them every now and then, just to think.

Her thoughts on this one occasion, however, kept drifting to Sephiroth and, ultimately, to Aeris's death, despite her attempts to guide them elsewhere. Finally, she sighed and let herself see the event through Sephiroth's eyes. Masamune sliding down, down, into her. Then back out smoothly, and the pink hair ribbon came undone as she fell forward into Cloud's arms.

And a small glowing orb bounced down the steps and into the water.

Minerva blinked. Materia? Was this the White Materia that Aeris had used? Ill-named then, for it was glowing a blue-green in that memory. What surprised her was that no one had seemed to notice it.

She shifted, leaning forward to peer into the water below. The mist obscured her view; she could not tell if it still remained where it had fallen. It was so small anyway; if it no longer glowed, she probably would not see it until she was fairly close.

Sighing, she dove off the roof and slid into the water by the altar with hardly a sound. Only the mists parted to show her entrance. Minerva swam towards the pillars that led up to the altar, scanning the uneven rocky ground and ignoring the light that played off of it from above.

It did not take her long to find what she sought, nestled in a little nitch in the rock a meter or two from one of the pillars. She grasped the tiny orb, enfolding it safely in her palm, and surfaced. She took a breath, then swam to the lowest platform, where she pulled herself from the water.

A simple air spell dried her soaking hair and clothes and skin, and Minerva opened her hand to inspect the materia. It was white now, and while it did not glow, it did catch the light and glitter a little. Strange how something so small could summon something as great as Holy.

She headed back up to the crystalline staircase, taking her time as she ascended from the isolated altar and into the great shell house by the lake. She continued on down the spine path, picking up her pace. She reached the shell house in which Aeris and Reno chose to sleep and slowed to dead silence, not wanting to wake them.

A turn of the knob, a climb up the ladder, and a few steps took her to Aeris's bedside. The Cetra lay on her side, half curled up with her hands loosely clasped near her face. Hesitating, Minerva reached down to slip the White Materia into her hands. She froze when Aeris shifted slightly and sighed in her sleep.

Relaxing when the Cetra settled down again, Minerva turned from the room and crept down the ladder to lean against the wall of the antechamber to wait for day. No one needed to know that she had retrieved the materia. No one needed to know that she even knew how to enter the altar chamber. Just two more secrets filed away and never to be spoken of.

Wutai was beautiful in the fall. The crimson paint on the the dark-paneled buildings and curving railings seemed to blend the normally prominent structures with the interspersed trees whose leaves fell red and gold. Some caught on sudden breezes and fluttered through the air like tiny birds or one-winged butterflies. Even the narrow rivers carried numerous vermilion leaves on their normally clear blue currents.

The people of the town seemed to recognize this harmony, and dressed in deep browns and reds trimmed or embroidered with gold and blue threads.

Yuffie, too, wore a short sepia kimono trimmed with little chains of red-orange leaves and a pair of dark blue jeans underneath. Nanaki, she decided, fit in quite nicely with his flame-colored fur. For a moment she even entertained the thought of asking someone to take their picture.

"I see what you meant when you said 'indescribable,'" Nanaki commented finally. It was the first time either had spoken since she met him at the harbor hours ago.

She nodded. "I really do love it here in autumn... See, this is what you've been missing these past two years, huh?"

"Gomen ne, I should have listened to you," he apologized.

"And you should come up more often," Yuffie added. "You startle a lot of people and it's terribly fun. I've yet to introduce you to Shake; I can't imagine what the look on his face'll be."

"But not today," Nanaki said.

"No, not today," she agreed, stopping in the middle of a bridge and sitting down on the edge with her legs dangling and her arms resting on the lower bar of the crimson railing. Her companion settled down next to her. "I've been meaning to ask... How does Miera feel about this?"

"Miera?" he asked. "Oh, no, we are only friends. And children at that. So it does not matter."

She nodded. "Meaning, I'll be dead by the time you guys grow up."

"Or older anyway," Nanaki amended. "Hopefully long over this and looking after grandchildren."

Yuffie gave him an odd look. "Grandchildren, huh?"

He returned the look. "What? I thought you said once that you wanted to continue the Kisaragi line. Surely that means finding a human consort."

"That'd be... really weird, you know? Like having two boyfriends..."

"But of two different races. I fail to see anything wrong with it."

The ninja rested her head on her arms and watched the crimson leaves float down the river. "You don't think you'd be jealous of each other for the kind of relationships you'd each have with me? You don't think I'd be guilty because of something I couldn't do with you that I could with him, or vice versa?"

"...I suppose that would be awkward," Nanaki admitted, "but I think, if you found a human tolerant enough, it could work."

"And that would be the problem," Yuffie sighed. "I haven't met any guys who could put up with a normal relationship, let alone such a mind-bogglingly bizarre one."

"I am sure there is someone somewhere who could put up with us."

She laughed. "Someone, somewhere... I just have to look a little harder, huh?"

"Perhaps."

She turned and stroked his mane. "For now, what does it matter? I've got you to keep me company."

"And I you," he replied, a slight purr to his voice.

Yuffie smiled, amused as always by his cat-like nature. He tried so hard to act human. He even fell in love with one. But he could not change what he was. Aeris had always said it didn't matter what you were, but maybe just this once, she was a little wrong.

The only sound she could hear was that of rushing water to her right, strangely muted despite the fact that the fall was only a couple meters away. Aeris glanced towards the viewing platform, where, when working, a tiny crystalline sphere set into a pedestal would project an image onto the screen of falling water. She had never seen it work, but Cloud had told her about it some years ago...

Or had it been only a few months? It was getting hard to tell. She thought for a moment. Yes.. years. Two, probably... This was her third winter here. On recalling that, she seemed to notice the cold for the first time and shivered, pulling her cloak more tightly about herself.

Well, Aeris thought, at least the winters are getting a bit warmer... Either that, or I'm getting used to them. That first winter, she would hardly have gone outside for pleasure. Or, rather, to seek solitude. For what kind of pleasure was this?

She looked around the empty hall with its stonework arches, some broken, others still perfect and seamless, and its staircases, its curving walls... What had this been used for? Some sort of council? Aeris closed her eyes, and she could imagine a gathering of Cetra there, with a few up on this protrusion into the center where she sat. And they would all crowd onto the viewing platform whenever their ancestors had something to show them...

Perhaps, she thought, it worked like the portal in the Temple of the Ancients... That part of her life seemed so vivid compared to now. A memory from eight years ago easier to recall than one from yesterday. She did not even have to close her eyes to remember the images that her ancestors had shown her in the Temple, images of Sephiroth attacking Tseng, laughing madly, raving about becoming one with the Planet...

But, of course, that was not what stood out the most for her in that memory. She wondered if the others had felt it, his presence just behind them, as though he was looking over her shoulder, breathing down her neck... Had they seen that passing glance, that look of amusement? Had they seen that after image of him, sinking into the still-glowing pool? Had they seen the sad look in his eyes behind the madness?

No, of course not. How could they, blinded by anger, have seen or felt things such as that? And, she thought, it had seemed like those glimpses were meant for her alone. She liked to think that they had been.

Three years, four months, three days... Aeris thought absently. She gave a little start. Today would have been his birthday...

She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands, ignoring the cold once again. He would have been thirty-eight... And me? How old am I? Thirty? She laughed at herself. "Oh, Aeris, you're so old now... Imagine, thirty!" The smile faded. But I feel older... How long am I going to wait? How many more years?

Reno and Minerva had finally left a few months ago. Gone back to Junon where their friends were waiting... Elena and Rude and Reeve... She was glad they had decided to get on with their lives... Delphine had gone with them, in order to make her way on to Cosmo Canyon and join her friend Katrina.

And now Aeris was truly alone. The only reason she kept track of the days was so that she would remember those birthdays and anniversaries she knew... and also so that she would know how long she had been waiting, though why it mattered, she wasn't sure.

"Oh, Planet," she sighed. "I wish I could talk to you, my friend. Ask you how Sephiroth is doing. Ask you how you're doing... Is the weather really warming? Is it because you're finally healing yourself? Will the snow in the Knowlespole finally melt come spring...?"

Silence to answer her, as always.

"No wonder it was worried," Aeris went on more softly. "I didn't think I had come to rely on its presence that much... How did I ever manage in Midgar, with all those other voices drowning it out? With me trying not to hear it, trying to be normal? Hmph. Who knows?"

She sat up, drawing her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "And now I'm talking to myself... Sephiroth, you had better come back soon, or I'll be stark raving mad by the time you get here!"

There was no reply to her threat; she hadn't expected one.

Aeris laughed softly, a forlorn sound. "I should go back home," she told herself. "It won't do to be out in the cold for too long. I don't want to be sick on top of everything else..."

Slowly, she got to her feet, pulling back her hair with her hands, then letting it fall across her back. It seemed longer than she remembered. Shaking her head, she turned to walk back along the stone pathway and down the worn steps, past the broken archways and out of the chamber.

The stone structures here seemed crude, blockish, compared to those outside, but upon closer inspection, it seemed obvious that much of the elegance that had once transformed angles into curves had cracked and broken, contributing to the rubble on the ground some meters below. Inside of these homes, Aeris knew, the colors and styles were much like those of the shell houses: sparse, icy-toned, lit by blue glow-globes, and adorned with fan-shaped seashells.

The path curved out of the living, dying rock and outside, turning from stone to the overlapping plates that spread like a skeleton across the ground. Out here, things appeared better kept; the walls of the shell houses were worn smooth by the wind, but perfectly curved and without cracks. Most of them even had doors, and a few had newly-set round windows that looked towards the center of the City.

Flowerbeds lay around them with drooping plants, their leaves curled up against the cold. Some looked dead, and there were bare patches of near-frozen earth, but Aeris knew they would come back in the spring. The City looked beautiful in the spring... all green with budding flowers and fresh shoots. There were even a few young trees, not yet half as tall as the buildings by which they were planted.

Perhaps she could have made them grow in the winter, too, but her heart simply felt too heavy. How could she help things grow when she was dying inside?

As she continued slowly along the path, she started humming a sad to herself, barely realizing it. She opened the door to her house, closing it behind her with a muted, satisfying slam. It was much warmer inside now that there were no cracks for the wind to enter through. At times it even seemed as though the glow-globes gave off a faint heat.

Aeris took off her coat, hanging it on a peg near the door, and stretched, looking around the chamber. Pictures, she thought absently. These walls need pictures. They're so blank... She wondered if Sephiroth was any good at drawing... Of course he was; he was good at everything if he bothered to apply himself.

"Then I'll have to ask him to do some sketches for me, won't I?" she murmured to herself.

She turned into the living room, flopping down on the couch and reaching for the novel she was currently reading. Yuffie had given it to her recently. A story translated from Wutain, traditional but with some contemporary quirks. It was probably good, but she couldn't seem to get into it. Her eyes would slide over the words and her mind would slip into a state of half-consciousness.

Aeris sighed and closed her eyes, leaving the book in her lap. Come back, she prayed silently. Please...