Alright—this started out as a 100 word drabble, so I'm not sure where this came from. Set early on in the game, and perhaps a little abstract.

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She wasn't going to fall for him. She wasn't.

Not another SOLDIER-boy with shiny eyes to charm her, no. That she knew she couldn't handle—if she fell for him, he'd only turn his back on her, just like the others. He'd be there one moment and gone the next, blue eyes and blond hair lost in the wind.

She wasn't going to fall in love with him. She wasn't.

Still, there was something about him; something that made her smile gently at his rough words and awkward glances. Something that told her she should hold his hand as they walked through the morning-dew of the dimly lit fields, sharing the unusual tranquility of a war stricken world.

And when he put his fingers around her jaw and pulled her face up so their eyes met, she almost forgot her promises to herself. She was a Cetra, the last of her kind, and he was only a human, pure blooded and oh-so different; she wouldn't throw her life away from him. She wouldn't kneel at his alter and become a sacrifice. Not for him.

His fingers were warm through the bitter weather, and worn from years of battles and struggles, and the only thing he seemed to know was that his name was Cloud; Cloud Strife with the shiny mako-eyes which confused her. She thought back to the years of sterile-white experiments and a lonely, lost childhood, and for the first time, she didn't feel so painfully alone.

He didn't seem to know much of himself, and was full of odd habits; the way he walked looked unnatural, almost as if someone else was pulling the strings, and sometimes his forced words burnt his own throat. And she, well she didn't have much herself, either; she had a name like the earth, wild-flowers in her hair, and sad voices in her head.

They didn't have homes; they didn't know themselves; and yet somehow, through all the happy silences, they seemed to know each other.

"Aerith?" he called, and it seemed to come from the sky, bringing her to life. "You'd better come back; you'll catch a cold out here."

She felt a hand rest protectively on her shoulder and eyes avoid hers. With a deep, sad sigh, she walked back to the inn by his side, pulling her jacket around her tightly, with an arm placed loosely around her shoulders to shelter her from the April Showers. Glancing up, she saw his lips twitch ever-so slightly and felt his finger tips dig into her arm that little bit more.

She wanted to tell him to not to worry. She wanted to tell him that no matter what, she was going to fall in love with him, and when the time came she would give up everything for him; and she would have, if she only realised it herself.

In the end, she only smiled, hoping to let him down gently.