Chapter Three
The rain was steadily falling without a sign of stopping anytime soon, and Aeris was still wandering about the streets of Midgar.
She had no clear idea of where she was heading, but she knew she wasn't any closer to her home than she was half an hour ago.
She couldn't bring herself to go home. Not yet, not in her present state. Her mother would throw a fit.
Well, she was in for one of Elmyra Gainsborough's stern scolding, one way or another. She might as well receive it with a clear head. And right at the moment, she was anything but rational.
She stopped suddenly, in the middle of the street, when she realized where her feet had taken her. She was all but two blocks from where she had bumped into him earlier. Gods! She didn't even know his name!
Unconsciously, Aeris brought a hand to her lips, remembering the feel of that heated kiss. His cool lips gracing hers; his strong hands on her back; his silky tongue, inside her mouth… She shivered as she recalled the reaction it evoked in her, making her cold and hot at the same time, like fire, like water. She thought such sensations only existed in the mind of a poet, but in his arms she'd experienced it all... And it was so, so real.
And then, it hit her: the reason why she was still wandering the streets at this ungodly hour. She was hoping to see him again. She wanted and needed to see him again. She wanted to know, needed to understand, what this man possessed to intrigue her so. Why the fascination, why the concern, why the passion-
Yes, it was passion, the uttermost force of passion, which made her act with such audacity that shocked her to the core. She could have struggled more, could have pushed him away, could have ran… But she didn't. It was a feeling of pity that made her respond when he first pressed his lips against hers. But what started as sympathy soon turned into passion, and that made her yearn for more.
Why? Why the feeling, why for that particular stranger…
Just then, a noise coming from behind told her she was not alone. Aeris whirled around. Instead of the silver haired man she was secretly wishing to appear, she came face to face with three vile-looking men, who were staring at her with undisguised interest.
Aeris froze with a sense of dread creeping up her spine. She had lived in the slums long enough to know it was time to play cool and run. She honestly thought this was a decent enough neighborhood- but she should have known better, and it was too late to regret anyway.
"Hey sweet lady, what are you doing all alone?" One of them grinned at her, bearing all of his black, rotten teeth, "Let's go hit a bar, what do you say? We'll buy you couple drinks and we can have some fun, alright?"
Aeris gave him her best stern look, and turned to leave quickly without saying a word. However, the three men caught up with her and one of them grabbed her arm. She tried to pull back to no avail.
"Let go of me." Aeris glared with as much hostility as she could manage, trying to let it suppress her fear. She resisted the urge to flinch when she smelt alcohol on all of them.
"Hey, relax, we don't want any trouble." The one who grabbed her arm leered at her, his voice indicating the direct opposite of his words, "We just wanna get you warm, you must be freezing…" He yanked hard to pull her closer. Aeris struggled against him with increasing panic, her eyes becoming frantic.
"Let her go. She's with me."
A shadow emerged from a dark alley, his eyes shone with the brilliancy of power. Aeris gasped, instantly recognizing the pale, handsome face of the stranger who had kissed her earlier. Unexplainable relief washed over her. Although she knew him no more than she knew these scoundrels, instinctively she did trust him. Using the moment of distraction, she broke free from her captor, and ran to her rescuer as fast as her legs could carry her.
Without thinking, Sephiroth opened his arms to accept her into his embrace. Her arms clutched his waist in a death grip, her face white as a sheet, showing how frightened she truly was. Seeing her thus made him oddly protective. Sephiroth's gaze traveled past her head to the three thugs, eyes narrowing in anger, wondering what kind of idiocy made them stay there, in his presence.
Indeed, they should have been alarmed. Should have noticed his lean but muscular built, should have seen the glint of Mako in his eyes, and the arrogance and power displayed in his air. But they were far too drunk to see the danger glaring right in their face, their minds too numbed by alcohol for their own good. The guy in the middle raised his fist and shouted at him: "Stay out of this, man, you don't wanna mess with us!"
"Really." Sephiroth smirked, "Try me."
That did it. With curses so degrading that made both Sephiroth and Aeris frown, the three thugs charged toward the couple.
Sephiroth was tired from the physical and emotional drain he experienced earlier, his muscles aching and his head pounding, but such things hardly mattered unless he was facing an opponent the worth of a dark dragon. And he was pissed.
Quicker than the blink of an eye, he shifted Aeris in his arms to move her out of harm's way, and punched out with his free hand. Solid fist connected with a nose, and a resonating, satisfying crack immediately followed. Easy as breathing, Sephiroth shifted his balance to one foot, kicking the other one out, which sent the second man sailing forcefully into a wall. In the same movement, he backhanded the last guy, breaking another nose.
"Ah…" Aeris clung to Sephiroth's arm weakly, blinking in surprise. She didn't even see how it all happened, and could not quite understand why all three heavy men were suddenly lying on the ground, bloodied and moaning in pain.
With his arm still around her waist, Sephiroth guided her down the dark streets until they were a couple blocks away from the beaten men. He stopped then, frowning slightly as he looked down at his hands. With a snort of disgust, he started to wipe the blood onto his trench coat.
"Here, use this." Aeris said a little shakily, dug a white, clean handkerchief out of her pocket and started to wipe at his hand, "You aren't injured, are you?" Her voice filled with worry.
"No. It's their blood." He replied distractedly, her touch was bringing all the strange sensations back into his body. Surprisingly, he didn't mind that- much.
"Thank you, for saving me." She bit her lower lip hesitantly and offered after a moment, "I'm Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough."
"Sephiroth."
She froze in shock: "Se… General Sephiroth?!"
He looked down at her calmly: "Yes."
Aeris' mouth opened and closed several times without making a sound. She finally uttered a weak "oh" and fell silent.
An awkward pause followed, during which Aeris' mind was racing rapidly. He worked for Shinra… The strongest SOLDIER ever lived, the most brilliant war tactician, elite of the elites. He was the manifestation of Shinra, of its power, its reach, and its dominance. He was danger to her, and she must get away from him before-
"Thank you again, sir. I, ah-" She stuttered a little breathlessly, "Excuse me, I believe I should go home now. G-goodbye."
Not daring to meet his eyes, she abruptly turned and walked rapidly away.
Sephiroth watched her for a moment. It was the second time today she ran away from him, but he couldn't let her go this time. He had been sitting in that narrow alley all along and heard every awful, despicable word those men spoke to her. He could not bear the uncertainly, could not risk the chance of her encountering such parasites again-
"Wait!" He called after her retreating back.
She stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly turned around to face him.
"Let me escort you home." He walked up to her; "It is not safe for you to be out alone at this hour."
"Oh, but I-"
"Please, Miss Gainsborough." He said formally, gravely, "I just want to make sure you will be safe."
"I… Thank you." She replied weakly, not knowing how to refuse such a request.
He nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. Together they walked down the streets in silence, his tall, dark frame looking more imposing than usual next to her slender one.
Aeris gazed at his profile discreetly through her long lashes, unable to determine his thoughts. His face betrayed nothing as he walked with her, keeping a polite distance between them. Yet, she could distinctly feel his presence, feel the distance between them- It was almost as if an invisible link existed between them.
I must be crazy, she thought, yet, I've never felt more right in my life.
The rain had been reduced to a light drizzle, a mist covered the streets, making everything look illusory under the yellowish street lights. Aeris' mind was a whirlwind of mixed thoughts as she led Sephiroth through the many streets and alleys, heading toward the slums.
With an increasing sense of apprehension and a burning curiosity that she could not suppress any longer, she abruptly stopped when they reached the playground in Sector Six, which was only quarter a mile from her house. Turning to him, who also stopped and was looking at her questioningly, she hesitantly spoke: "General Sephiroth… May I ask you something?"
"What is it?" He asked quietly.
"When I bumped into you earlier, you…" She blushed scarlet, and before she could lose her courage, quickly mumbled, "Why did you kiss me?"
Sephiroth froze.
Why did he kiss her? Of all the questions... How was he to explain the insanity, the bitterness, the anger and despair that drove him to that point? How was he to explain the bottomless hole that existed in his soul, consuming, devouring, until coldness and loneliness was all there ever was, enveloped, suffocating him…
Finally, he replied quietly: "What I wanted from you, is best left unspoken… Aeris."
The way he spoke her name was so soft, so entrancing, that she stood her ground and persisted: "Perhaps it is true. But… I wish to know, please."
He was silent for a long time. Just when Aeris grew increasingly nervous and was about to relent, he finally spoke: "Very well. I… I kissed you, because I wanted control. I wanted to have you surrender to me, obey me, in every sense of the word."
"So that was it? You used me as a… as an escape?" Even as she spoke, Aeris wondered at her own composure, her voice soft, her tone neither angry nor accusing.
Was that it? Sephiroth asked himself silently too. A memory flared in his rugged mind. In his mind, he saw her in his arms; her body molded against his so perfectly, her lips slightly parted, and her emerald eyes clouded with passion…
He swallowed. Suddenly, he realized what he admitted to her just then had been the easier part. He was tempted, more than tempted, to nod and concur to the silent lie.
But he could not. Some sense of perception, some kind of intuitive feeling would not grant him the access to the easier path. Deep in his heart he wanted her to know, wanted her to understand and to accept. His entire being was crying out to her in lonely desperation.
Come to me, try me, command me.
"No, that was not all. Perhaps it was, when I first kissed you. But… afterwards, I just wanted you." The words left his mouth before he knew he had spoken. And once he started, he could not stop.
"I wanted you. Wanted to feel you, possess you, know every inch of your body, and let you learn mine in return." As if mesmerized, he lifted a hand to cup her cheek softly, "I wanted you to stay in my arms like that and never leave. If only you know, Aeris… If only you know, how I want to hear you whisper my name in bliss, and let me be your happiness."
He had whispered the last part so intimately, that she shivered involuntarily against his touch, and lowered her eyes to the ground. He however mistook her reaction for disgust. A pain flashed briefly in his eyes, and he dropped his hand quickly.
Aeris felt the loss keenly. She was overwhelmed by just how intensely she felt it, and for a moment wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her once again. The words he spoke had not offended her in the slightest. On the contrary, she wished it too, to be held and touched and cherished, by this man and this man alone.
She could hardly breathe- such intense emotions, and for such an unfamiliar, powerful man. It could not be rational, could not be sane, to feel the way she did. Yet, even as her mind tried to deny the truth, her body and her heart had understood what the rational part of her could not. Her body had responded to his passion with her own, her heart had yearned for his presence and dragged her back to him. She had kissed him, had held him with a desire to comfort, had turned to him for protection in her peril.
"Aeris."
His voice made her jump. She startled and lifted her head, so quickly that he was unable to hide the agonizing tenderness from his eyes, before his indifferent mask slid on once more.
"I know… I know how you must despise me now." He said quietly, with a hint of bitterness in his cool voice, "But at least allow me to escort you home. I can do no less."
Upon hearing those words, Aeris felt a wave of panic, knowing he wanted to end all of their associations there. She reached for his hands without much of a thought.
"Sephiroth." She blurted out his name. To take this step was frightening, but he had been so absolutely honest with her, even to his detriment, even when he thought he would disgust her with his words. And she owed it to him to keep the truth between them.
The truth of the attraction that existed between them. It was not only he, she felt it as well... Oh how she felt it. And even though it frightened her so, she did not want to turn away either. Because it was so perfect, so blindly beautiful in all of its irrationality and uncertainty.
Deliberately, she stepped closer to him, well aware that with every step, the desire and passion emitted by him grew stronger, moving her, shaking her to the core, and her own yearning grew in response, answering, echoing his in such perfect synchrony.
Like music, like fate, she thought, so perfectly intertwined.
Breathlessly, their lips met. Her mouth parted immediately, and he forgot his astonishment and closed his eyes. So unlike the kiss they shared earlier, this one was tentative, gentle in discovery as they explored each other's mouth. Their bodies hardly touching except for her hands clasped with his, yet he had never felt so connected with another person before in his entire life.
"You are trembling so…" Aeris breathed in awe.
But even as she released his hands, pulled his head down and kissed him again, she was shaking like a leaf herself.
Again, I sincerely thank everyone who reviewed this story. I'm sorry my previous chapters were so very short, hopefully this one is more satisfying ^_^
