Disclaimer: FFVII is property of Squaresoft.

Get ready for a long author's note!

I just realized, there's a story *kinda* like this already on ff.net! It's called Sadistic Love, and it's really a great fic by Akira Silveracious Majere. If you like my story, you should check that out. F&I might seem to be similar, but it's turning in a different direction. In Akira-san's, Aeris returns Sephiroth's affections…ahem! I'm warning you all now, Sephiroth will be a bit warped (and perverted). Seriously. He will do some…not-nice things, and he doesn't care. This isn't one of those "and Sephy realizes he was wrong and goes off with Aeris and they rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after" fics, though I do like those a lot ^_^. It's…well, dark. And not necessarily an AeriSeph. So proceed with caution…

Fire and Ice: Hatred

Sephiroth found it very easy to hate Zack the next day. The black-haired young man was in a state of constant joy: grinning like an idiot, humming, talking nonstop about her and how wonderful she was. The other SOLDIERs listened with mixtures of envy and amusement as Zack described their walk home together with amazing detail.

"So how was she in bed, Zack?" One asked. His companions guffawed and slapped each other on the backs.

"Guys, please," Zack looked pained, "this is different. She is different. She's not a love 'em and leave 'em kind of girl. She's the kind you fall in love with."

"You're tellin' us you love her, after you just met her? The infamous womanizer Zack is ready to settle down? I don't believe what I'm hearin'!" laughed a fellow SOLDIER, giving Zack a good-natured punch on the shoulder. "She must be some girl if she's already got you hooked. But if she's really as great as you say, then I'm happy for you, man!"

Zack beamed. "She's a hundred times better." His hand wandered into his pocket, and he pulled out the parting gift Aeris had given him last night: a perfect pink rose, grown in her own garden. She had pressed it into his hand, saying lightly that she had had a great time and would love to meet him again. Playing it cool, Zack had nonchalantly agreed to a time and place, keeping up his calm exterior until Aeris had smiled and closed the door of her home. As soon as he was sure she wouldn't hear, he had whooped his happiness to the heavens.    

Zack brought the flower to his nose and inhaled deeply. Its sweet, natural scent reminded him of Aeris, and she reminded him of what a cheerful mood he was in.

"Life is great," he sighed, brushing aside a lock of black hair that fell into his eyes. He twirled the rose with his thumb and forefinger, admiring how it shone even under the false sunlight.

"Hey loverboy! Snap to attention, the General's coming!" whispered his friend. The ten or so SOLDIERs quickly stood up and arranged themselves in a line, shoulders squared and backs straightened. They smoothed the wrinkles from their suits moments before the General came into full view.

Sephiroth, his long silver hair streaming behind him, surveyed his troop with his normal critical eye. In his white shoulder guards and outfit of dully gleaming black, he looked as he always did: imposing, cold, emotionless, the perfect General for Shin-ra. No one, he knew, would be perceptive enough to sense the change in him. Awakened within him was the heady, intoxicating feeling of desire; it slumbered now, deep within his breast, and would stir once again at the mention, the hint of her. Awake, too, was his hatred; concentrated and smoldering, it was nearly as intoxicating as his lust.    

That's when he saw it. His beautiful emerald eyes narrowed imperceptibly, and grew vibrant with suppressed anger. Sephiroth stepped in front of Zack, and stared down at the slightly shorter man. Zack returned his flinty glare with an almost surprised, earnest look of determination.

"What," said Sephiroth with deadly precision, "is that?"

"It's a flower, sir," answered Zack. The obvious statement might have caused a few men to snicker, had this been any other General. Sephiroth had never been laughed at, and if someone had, surely he was not around to tell the tale.

"A SOLDER has no need for feminine things of nature like flowers," he spat out the last word as though it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Give it to me."

Zack opened his mouth to protest, and for a moment, all present tensed and held their breath. Sephiroth leaned back slightly on his heels, his eyes glittering beneath silver lashes, and everything in his stance was daring Zack to object. Give me the slightest excuse to kill you, Zack…he remembered thinking. I will do it, gladly.

Zack, perhaps sensing the danger he was in, snapped his mouth shut and wordlessly handed Sephiroth the rose. His hand dropped back to his side, looking very empty. Sephiroth didn't glance at him again.

"Move out. Today you search the east end of the slums." He ordered, disinterestedly. The SOLDERs filed past him, each mentally grumbling to himself about the menial work and the general unfairness of it all. Zack was the last to leave. He paused, and looked halfway over his shoulder at Sephiroth.

"Something to say, Braf?" inquired Sephiroth, smiling sardonically as he held up the rose. He watched Zack's back stiffen.

"No, sir," Zack near-growled, and followed his comrades out into the dingy, metallic streets.

Idiot, thought Sephiroth derisively. He isn't worthy. He turned his attention back to the flower in his grasp. It looked so light and delicate between his black-gloved fingers; a beautiful gift of nature to a ravaged world. Gently, the fingertips of his other hand caressed the silky soft petals before cupping it lovingly. Its shade, a pale blushing pink, was the color of her lips. How extraordinary.

His smile, which had been approaching genuine, turned malicious. He watched the rose slide down into the palm of his hand, fragile and perfect. His fingers curled about it tenderly, affectionately, before his hand clenched into a tight fist. The stem snapped, and the petals tore out to flicker and fall to the stained pavement. He opened his hand, and the crumpled remains of the rose fluttered down by his boots. Still smiling his charming, spiteful smile, Sephiroth ground the destroyed flower into the sidewalk.          

"Ah, Aeris," he murmured almost inaudibly, "I'm sure it will be even more…pleasurable…to break you." 

In a thoroughly foul mood, Zack stalked down the street. The search for AVALANCH had proven futile once more, but that wasn't really what was bothering him. It was, of course, Sephiroth and the rose. Why had he taken it? He had never known Sephiroth to be so…so unreasonable! And then, there had been that strange look in the General's eyes again, past the coldness and the anger. What was it? Zack himself didn't know, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to. It appeared…well, deadly. Still, there was no reason to take his rose! Zack was so embroiled in his musings he didn't realize he had walked all the way to the street corner Aeris had agreed to meet him at. 

"Hi Zack!" He looked up and was greeted by her, an angel in pink and red, beaming at him happily. His bad mood vanished, and he grinned back with just as much enthusiasm.

"Come on! I want to show you something!" To Zack's delight, she took his hand to lead him. As they walked, she chatted cheerfully, and his thoughts wandered, though they still centered on her. There was an innocent, childlike quality about her, he decided, that made everything she did special. Maybe that was why he liked her so much. That, and her beauty. Zack was only a man, after all, and he noticed all the things that men will. Aeris was slender, not too curvaceous, but with an inherent, unconscious grace in her movements. She was definitely attractive. Beautiful, of course. Angelic, even!

Then it hit him, with the subtlety of a whisper but the force of a sledgehammer, leaving a strangely heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was impossible, really, but…was she attractive enough to be desirable to Sephiroth? He knew, as all the SOLDIERs did, that Sephiroth had been with women, but had never stayed with any past one night. They had been beautiful, sophisticated upper class women, attracted to his fame or his looks, nothing special. And there was the kicker. They weren't special…but Aeris was. She was unearthly, nearly too good to be true, and if Zack had noticed, Sephiroth must have noticed too. Could Aeris be the source of the strange light in the General's eyes?

He felt a gentle pressure on his arm, and glanced to his side to see Aeris watching him.

"Zack? Are you alright? You look a little pale." She commented, her head tilted slightly as she kept observing him.

"Wha—? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Zack raised a hand to his forehead and grinned sheepishly, banishing all thoughts of Sephiroth from his mind and preferring instead to focus on the young woman beside him. Aeris searched his blue eyes with her own green for a moment, before giggling and walking faster.

"Where are we going?" He asked, amused. She peeked shyly over her shoulder at him, face alight with joy and mischief.

"It's a secret, and anyway, we're almost there!" Aeris grabbed his arm, and after a few more turns in the street, released him. The building she was now scampering over to was relatively small and shabby, though it looked to once have been a magnificent structure. The stone and metal it was made from was grayed, and looked very worn down.

"Come on, Zack!" Aeris called; she slipped in through the rotting doors, and beckoned for Zack to follow her. Somewhat confused, the SOLDIER did so, squeezing through the tight spot with some difficulty. The inside was old, very old; it held a certain mystical air that hushed even the bustle of Midgar. A forgotten place of worship, and here he was.

Aeris was standing at the end of the aisle, in a stream of sunlight glinting through the window. It shone golden off her chocolate brown hair, creating the illusion of a halo around her head. 

"What is this place?" Zack asked, not noticing how awed his voice sounded. 

"This is the Church. It's where I come to get away from everything…out there, and it's where I grow my flowers." She smiled tenderly at the thick patches of yellow, pink, and blue petals behind her. Zack stared in amazement at the flora that basked in the ray of sunlight. Nature's small blessings smiled back at him, fairly singing with life as they clustered together.

"I've…I've never seen anything like this," murmured Zack, as he knelt before the flowers. They were so beautiful, so delicate, so…out of place, in a harsh city like Midgar. Kind of like Aeris herself. Zack heard the whisper of fabric and a sudden comforting warmth at his side. Aeris knelt next to him and wrapped her graceful fingers around one of his hands.

"Most people never have. Nature is hurt and retreating, even as technology advances, and people just turn away. How could they be expected to do anything else, when all they have been faced with is smoke and skyscrapers and Shin-Ra?" She frowned at the name of the company, her gentle features not angry but reproving.

"Shin-Ra's doing what's best for the people," shrugged Zack. She knows I'm a Shin-Ra SOLDIER. In all truthfulness, I can't disagree with them. But Aeris's mouth dropped open a little in shock, and she shook her head sadly. Then her shoulders relaxed. Her face took on a faraway expression, her eyes slightly glazed, and her voice grew soft.

"The Planet is suffering…it screams in pain with every drop of Mako being stolen from its veins. Weakening as Shin-Ra's greed only swells, and begging for help as humans care only for themselves. Shin-Ra's appetite will never be sated, not until the Planet is sucked dry of Mako, and has become a dry, lifeless husk. The Planet…is slowly dying…and with it die the people…"

Zack stared at her, confused and overwhelmed. Aeris blinked several times, and shook her head. Looking at Zack's face, she seemed to realize something strange had happened, and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"…Aeris?" Zack found his voice. "What was that?" Aeris looked at him again, her pretty face solemn, and her eyes searching his for…something. Finally she smiled and returned her gaze to the flowers.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm just a bit…passionate about the Planet, and how Shin-Ra has been hurting it," was her vague answer; he got the feeling there was more to it, but he didn't press her. There was silence between them for a few minutes, while Zack considered what she had said, and she considered Zack.

"Zack, I'm sorry," Aeris burst out imploringly, "I didn't mean to upset you." He favored her with a sickly grin, but assured her she wasn't the cause of it. The gears in his head were turning wildly now, casting doubt where there was none, making him question his life up until this point and the road he had taken.

"They are hurting the Planet, aren't they? I hadn't thought of it like that...I was always told Shin-Ra was doing what was best for the people. They can do such amazing things with Mako. It's for the people, they said." He thought aloud, quietly.

"Look outside, Zack. Shin-Ra is only doing what's best for themselves. They get richer and richer, and the regular people here in Midgar and all across the Planet just get poorer and poorer. They've got nothing left, and Shin-Ra just keeps taking. We don't even have real sunlight here." Aeris gently told him, watching as his expression changed and became disgusted, as he realized the truth in what she was saying. He gave a bitter laugh.

"All my life I've wanted to be a famous SOLDIER and work for the great Shin-Ra Company. It was such an honor to be chosen by them…I was so proud!  All this time I never knew…or I just never wanted to admit…that I'm working for the bad guys. I'm their…puppet. A little SOLDIER puppet, who fights their wars and does their dirty work, and intimidates the people we're supposed to be protecting!" He hung his head in shame, and started when a warm hand touched his cheek.

"Maybe the other SOLDIERs are like that," she told him, "but you are not. You're a kind, sweet, honest man, and that's the most anyone could hope to be."

Zack would have snorted or sneered at that, if only someone else had said it. She had such conviction in her voice that he simply asked softly, "How do you know that for sure?"

Aeris blinked, surprised; then her lips curled into a gentle smile. "I can see it in you."

He believed her. It was impossible not to. With her brilliant emerald eyes shining, and a message of love and trust radiating from her, Aeris was truly an angel. His angel. 

Almost unconsciously, Zack inclined towards her. His rough, tanned hands cupped her face, and she didn't move away. Aeris smiled and leaned into his touch. He drew her closer, his heart beating rapidly and the blood rushing in his ears. No woman he had ever been with had made him feel so giddy and so nervous at the same time. A shy blush crept over Aeris's face, making her look even younger and more innocent, and her eyes remained locked in a gaze with his.

Kneeling in that old, broken down Church, illuminated by the streak of golden sunlight, they kissed.

Aeris and Zack walked down the street, hand in hand. Aeris was talking happily, while Zack listened with interest. Normally, he wouldn't have cared for the chitchat, but he genuinely cared about what she had to say. Abruptly, Aeris stopped and looked around, her eyes narrowing as they skipped about. If Zack could have seen the hairs on the back of her neck, he would have noticed they were prickled and standing. For a terrifying instant, all Aeris could hear was the keening wail of the Planet in her head, while a chorus of her ancestors screamed that the danger was here, she was in danger, death was around the corner—

"Something wrong?" asked Zack. Aeris exhaled the breath she had unconsciously been holding. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"No…but I do think I should be heading back home. I promised my mother I would help her this afternoon." Zack looked so crestfallen at the cutting-short of their date that Aeris giggled despite the vestiges of the Planet's warning in her mind.

"However, if you'd like, we could meet again later," she suggested. "There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, and I was going to watch it from the Church's roof…"

It sounded utterly romantic, and there was a coy promise in her demure eyes. Zack quickly agreed, even though he knew he would have to sneak out of the SOLDIER barracks to do so. There was a good chance he'd get caught. Seeing Aeris again would be worth it, though.

"Goodbye, Zack." She said, giving him a little kiss on the cheek. Zack felt himself blush a bit at that.

"Bye, Aeris." He responded, and tweaked her nose playfully. She gave his hand one last squeeze, then retreated down the street.

Zack sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets; they felt uncomfortably cold without Aeris's in their grasp. His heart was light as he strode down the street, and the gray cloudy sky didn't seem nearly as dismal.

As soon as Aeris had turned the corner from where she left Zack, she ran. Her pulse throbbed painfully, and a surge of adrenaline, the result of her panicked fear, kept her running. She wouldn't stop until she made it to Elmyra's house, and when her adoptive mother asked her what was out there to scare her so, she wouldn't have an answer.

From a nearly rooftop, a tall and dark figure had watched the couple part. The crimson of the dying sun washed over him, tinting his delicate features with blood, and it seemed to fit him somehow. Unnatural green fires blazed in his eyes, glowing embers set out like jewels from his pale face.

The Church roof, hmmm?

He smiled, a handsome and deadly smile, and remembered the pretty pink rose.

It's a date, Aeris.

Sephiroth, in his eternal sleep of death, remembered all of this with no remorse and no shame. The memory of his hatred of Zack remained sharp and bitter tasting in his mouth, and his all-encompassing desire to own and subjugate Aeris pulsed even stronger. It had been so strong in his life that Aeris could almost sense it, as could Zack. To some extent, they knew he was dangerous, and that he was hungering for her. Did they voice their concerns? Yes, he was certain they had. He searched his mind, and pinpointed the event. It was when Aeris and Zack were walking, on that chilly afternoon, and talk had turned to Zack's job. He seemed reluctant to mention Sephiroth, but did nonetheless, and Aeris's body became rigid as she stared up at the sky…her mind flung, perhaps, to that time in her far future, when her end would fall upon her from the heavens.

"Aeris?" The insufferable boy had asked.

"I know Sephiroth is a brilliant general, and great warrior, but…" Aeris trailed off, and worry crept into her eyes. With her hands clasped together at her chest, she looked very vulnerable. "I…I don't trust him. There is something about him…that makes me nervous."

"Aeris?" asked Zack in concern, noting the fear on her face. "Has he been bothering you?" He recalled, faintly, the evil smouldering emotion in Sephiroth's eyes when he had seen Aeris, and banished it with dislike.

"Oh, no," she answered quickly, "nothing like that! I'm just being silly, Zack. He hasn't done anything to me."

Sephiroth as well as Zack could hear the unspoken 'yet' at the end of her sentence, and the memory of her fear and her near prophetic words made the silver-maned General smile.

Yet.

He hasn't done anything to me yet.

And for Aeris, 'yet' would come too soon.

I changed my mind…Fire and Ice is going to continue, and not in sequel form. One big lump called 'The Sick Rose.' Tee hee. ^_^ I'm thinking of changing the title…any suggestions?