The heat was oppressive and unnatural, soaking her body in sweat. It felt hopelessly unfair that after all the blood, sweat, and tears they'd shed to barely manage to defeat Sephiroth, they still had more to do—as if defeating him hadn't taken every last drop out of them already.

Aerith watched from the deck of the Highwind as the thin, white tendrils of their last hope struggled to hold off impending doom. Her friends had gathered around in a loose group, everyone completely silent as they all watched the battle raging in the sky above them.

He stood closest. She could feel his solid presence at her side, just within reach and yet impossibly far away. If she reached out to touch him he'd feel the tremble in her fingers. If she tried to say something he'd hear the waver in her voice. And if she turned to face him he'd see the tears in her eyes.

It wasn't enough. Holy couldn't do it, wasn't powerful enough to withstand the crushing might of Meteor. She'd been a fool to think she stood a chance at saving the world. To think that hope and a prayer would be strong enough to fight against something so massively overwhelming. She was nothing, no one, just a naive little girl with dreams that were far too large.

"I failed you," she said with a sob as the last traces of Holy evaporated beneath the blazing inferno and everything and everyone she loved vanished in a searing wave of agonizing heat.


Aerith woke with a panicked gasp, sitting bolt upright in bed before throwing the sheets off her sweat-slicked body. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she filled her lungs with the cool night air—banishing the phantom taste of ashes in her mouth. The gentle moonlight filtering through the window curtains helped to relax her. The soft whites and blues of the tinted light mingling together were a stark contrast to the horrific red from her nightmare.

That was all it had been, just a bad dream, and yet it left her shaking, even after all these years. A part of her knew that it would never go away, that this was something she would have to live with until she died. It was a small price to pay at least, considering what they'd managed to accomplish—that they were all still alive to even have nightmares.

"Aerith? You okay?"

She winced as she heard his voice, despite the way it made her heart flutter. Great, now she'd ended up waking Cloud too. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Go back to sleep."

The sound of sheets shifting filled her with relief. It was bad enough she had to deal with this, there was no reason to drag him into it as well. Besides, it was just a silly little dream. Taking another deep breath, she gasped in surprise as Cloud's arms wrapped around her from behind, the cedar scent of his soap softly filling her nose.

"I can't remember the last time you lied to me," he said, pulling a half-laugh, half-sob out of her.

Aerith couldn't believe how lucky she was to have him in her life, couldn't believe how much she loved him and he loved her. Without Cloud, she wasn't sure she would have been able to deal with the aftermath as well as she had, didn't want to even think of what life would be like without him at her side. He was her anchor—the steady, unmovable force that kept her grounded.

The last vestiges of Aerith's tension drained from her body as she leaned back into his warm embrace, savoring his closeness as she brought her hands up to wrap around his. Cloud's fingers intertwined with hers, his hands gently squeezing reassurance. It was comforting, especially to feel the rings on their left hands bump together and the connection they symbolized between the two of them.

"I guess I should have known better than to try and keep it from you."

Cloud's low laugh in response warmed her heart. She could remember back when it had been an effort to drag it out of him, but now it was a familiar friend.

"You're still my bodyguard, huh?"

"Always," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the crook of her neck.

Aerith closed her eyes, content to just lie there—the rise and fall of Cloud's chest against her back as he breathed a comforting rhythm.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked a few minutes later, a faint thread of concern still woven into his voice.

She shook her head. "No, not really. It's nothing new, just the same ol' nightmare as always."

Cloud's arms tightened around her slightly. "You know I'm not a stranger to bad dreams. I just wish there was more I could do to help. Like how you do with mine."

Aerith huffed a laugh, rubbing her hands up and down his arms. "You're helping me right now, silly. Never doubt the power of a good hug." She took a third deep breath, then decided maybe it would help to talk about it a bit more. "It's been five years already and yet I still remember that moment as if it were yesterday."

"Me too. Pretty hard to forget the world nearly ending right in front of you."

She gently shoved her elbow back into him, earning a soft laugh in response. "What do you remember most?"

Cloud was silent for a long, long moment before he swallowed deeply. "How helpless I felt." His voice was incredibly soft and laced with pain. "That there was nothing I could do to save the woman I loved and that we might not get a chance to have a future together."

The bedroom went blurry as tears welled up in Aerith's eyes, her throat growing thick with emotion at how raw his sorrow was.

"What about you?" he asked softly.

Wiping the tears away, she blinked until the room was clear once again. "That I'd finally made it to the end and yet it might still not be enough. That I'd failed you."

"But we made it. Together."

"Together."

She lay there, cocooned in his warmth until her eyes began to droop—drawing a chuckle from Cloud when she startled awake.

"Come on, let's get back to sleep, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow," he whispered.

Nodding groggily, Aerith immediately missed his closeness as he shifted away and settled back in under the sheets. Not wanting to lose the connection to him, she cuddled up against his side, laying her head to rest on his chest. She could faintly hear his heart beating, the rhythm steady and soothing as it lulled her into a deep, restful, and dreamless sleep.


Happy Birthday, Aerith! This little idea popped into my mind a while back and I'm pretty happy with where it ended up. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!