Aerith couldn't believe she was actually here. She'd never imagined back when Cloud had asked where she'd most want to visit, he'd actually surprise her with an impromptu two-day vacation. But as the sights and sounds around her sank in, Aerith could no longer deny she was finally here: Gold Saucer.
They'd left Midgar in the early hours of the morning, earlier even than she normally woke up to pick flowers. A train had taken them to Junon Harbor, and from there they'd hopped on a boat to Costa del Sol. When they had arrived at the beach resort, Aerith had almost wished it was their destination instead.
The palm trees, golden beaches, and crystal blue water had called to her in a way she'd never felt before. Unfortunately, she hadn't packed a swimsuit, and there was no way she'd ever go swimming in just her underwear, so she resigned herself to returning on a separate trip. They'd had an hour until their next train departed, however, so she'd convinced Cloud to walk on the beach with her, loving every second of feeling the sand squishing between her toes. He'd left his shoes on, but she'd been able to tell from his face he was enjoying it as well.
Now, as the last remnants of the sun's light vanished beyond the horizon, the neon lights of Gold Saucer reached their peak impact. The dazzling colors, the sounds of the attractions, and the sight of so many people enjoying themselves blew Aerith away. Nothing she'd read could have prepared her for how incredible it was to actually be here. She wanted nothing more than to dive right into the middle of it all, dragging Cloud along with her, but her body was screaming for sleep after the long day of non-stop travel.
As a large yawn forced its way out of her mouth, she saw Cloud grin at her through her squinted eyes. "I told you you should have slept on the train ride," he chided gently.
Pouting playfully, she stuck her tongue out. "I tried! It's not my fault getting to visit Gold Saucer with my boyfriend made me too excited to sleep!"
She smiled to herself at the word 'boyfriend'. It felt so good to be able to call Cloud that, and it didn't hurt either that every time she did, she got to see his cheeks redden slightly.
"You want to go check it out before we sign into the hotel?"
Aerith bit the side of her lip, strongly considering this possibility, before another unexpected yawn ended up making the decision for her. "No… we can wait until tomorrow," she decided in resignation.
Hand in hand, they found the hotel Cloud had made a reservation at. He quickly checked them in, before carrying their bags down the hallway to their room—Aerith trailing behind him. Their room wasn't anything special, a bathroom right next to the entrance, down a hallway with a door at the end leading to the bedroom. The bedroom itself was fairly spacious, a large king-sized bed dominating the room, opposite a wall-mounted television, with a walk-in closet on the wall next to the bathroom.
Cloud dragged their luggage into the closet, before turning to look back at her. "Go ahead and use the shower first, I'll watch some television while I wait."
Aerith smiled in thanks. "Thanks, that's sweet of you to offer. It'll help give my hair more time to dry before going to bed, so I appreciate it. Want me to bring your stuff into the bathroom?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," Cloud responded, reaching into his luggage to pull out the small bag of toiletries he'd brought.
Aerith took it from him—grabbing her own, larger, bag from her suitcase—before moving off to the bathroom. She left Cloud's on the countertop next to the sink, not wanting to intrude on his privacy by poking around inside, and unpacked her own. While she'd brought her favorite lily scented shampoo and conditioner, she'd left the rest of her wide array of hair care products back home. They were only going to be away for three nights, so she wasn't concerned about any long-term damage, and it would have been a pain to bring them all anyway.
She started the shower water so it would be hot by the time she was ready to get in, and removed her clothes, before taking the ribbons out of her hair and quickly unbraiding it. Once finished, she tested the water and found it to be the perfect temperature. Aerith stepped into the shower, under the cascade of deliciously warm water, and let out a huge sigh of contentment. She'd needed this; nothing was more relaxing than a hot shower after a long day of travel.
Not wanting to make Cloud wait too long, she eventually grabbed her shampoo and began working it into her scalp, rinsing it out and then repeating the process with the conditioner. With her hair taken care of, Aerith grabbed the pink loofah she'd brought and lathered it up with her lavender-scented body soap. She quickly scrubbed her body down, making sure to keep her hair out of the water as much as possible.
Reluctantly turning off the shower once she finished rinsing all the soap off, Aerith grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her hair before using another to dry off her body. She'd forgotten to grab a clean set of underwear from her suitcase, so instead, she wrapped the towel around herself before heading back to the bedroom.
"Oh, perfect timing, this show—" Cloud began as she entered the room before he abruptly cut off.
Glancing over to see what was wrong, Aerith was flustered to see him staring directly at her, his eyes seeming to drink her in. "You're staring," she teased softly, snapping Cloud out of his trance.
He averted his eyes, flushing slightly before responding. "Sorry, you're just so…" he trailed off.
"Don't apologize, I didn't mind," she clarified, her heart swelling. "I've just never had anyone look at me that intently before."
Cloud looked pleased at this, as he turned the television off and moved towards the bathroom. "I hope you left some hot water for me," he said, winking as he walked past her.
Aerith felt her mouth drop open. Was this really Cloud? The same stubborn, always serious, man she'd fallen for? She found herself falling even more in love with him, before whirling around and sticking her tongue out at his back. "Let's see how long you spend relaxing once you're the one under the water, Mister!"
Cloud laughed as he closed the bathroom door, and she made her way over to her suitcase to get her pajamas. They were cool, lightweight silk, perfect for the summer heat. She slipped them on, before grabbing her hairbrush and settling down in the chair Cloud had been using earlier. As she waited for her hair to dry out a bit more, Aerith found herself thinking back to the story of his past he'd told her last week.
Just the thought of it made her eyes wet. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose someone so close to you, much less having to be the one to ultimately take their life. Aerith was amazed at Cloud's strength. It had broken him, for sure, but she didn't think she would have been able to press on the way he had. Recognizing part of this was due to his promise to Jessie, Aerith said a thank you to the incredible woman she'd never gotten the chance to meet.
"Alright, I have to admit, you were right. It was worth spending a bit of extra time relaxing in the shower," she heard Cloud say as he entered the room, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"See! I told—"
It was Aerith's turn to be struck speechless. Cloud was wearing only a towel, but unlike her, he'd only wrapped it around his waist. His chest was like a marble sculpture, the surface marred by two long scars, but they only served to enhance his look. She was thankful to already be seated, her entire body feeling like it had liquified all at once.
"Now you're the one ogling me," he pointed out, his amusement clear.
"I wasn't ogling!" she spluttered in denial. "I was just… admiring."
Barely managing to tear her eyes away, she shifted her gaze up to his face. She wasn't prepared for what she saw. Aerith tried as hard as she possibly could to contain her laughter but ended up failing miserably.
"Your hair," she gasped, struggling to talk. "You look like a drowned rat!"
Cloud struggled not to smile at this description, one of his hands lifting up to run through his damp hair. His normal spikes were completely gone, his hair instead limply drooping around his face. "I've always thought the exact same thing every time I get out of the shower. Thankfully it spikes back up on its own once it's dry. I've never really understood how."
He walked into the closet, closing the door to give himself some privacy as he got dressed. Cloud emerged a moment later, a bathrobe wrapped around himself. Even though it covered much more than the towel, Aerith found her eyes drawn to the narrow sliver of his chest still peeking through.
"I'm surprised to find you still up, I expected you to be all curled up in bed."
She laughed softly and shook her head, reaching up to undo the towel that had been holding her hair in a bun and used it to help finish removing the last of the moisture. Now that it was mostly dry, she left it draped over the back of the chair.
"I have to let my hair dry out and then brush it before putting it into a loose braid, or else it's going to turn into a knotted mess and be a complete nightmare in the morning," she explained, picking up her brush.
"Want a hand with that?"
Aerith's hand paused in midair and she blinked in surprise at the offer. "Oh, um, sure, I guess if you want to?" Realizing she was rambling, she closed her mouth.
Cloud walked over to stand behind her and took the brush from her hand. "Anything I need to know? I don't ever have to brush mine."
She shook her head softly. "Nope, nothing special. Just be gentle please. I've got a lot of it, so it's really going to hurt if you yank it."
Aerith sat there waiting for him to begin, feeling him gathering her hair in one of his hands, but then nothing. The moment drew out longer and longer until she started to wonder what was going on. "Cloud?" she asked, slowly turning to look over her shoulder.
Laughter burst from her lips when she saw what he'd been doing. He'd grabbed her hair near the end with one hand and was staring intently at it, making very slow and delicate strokes with the brush. "Okay, maybe not quite that gentle," she teased, one hand raised to her mouth to stifle her amusement.
He flushed cutely in embarrassment. She took the brush from him and quickly ran it through her hair in a broad stroke while sectioning it off with her other hand to show him what she meant—handing it back to him after. As Cloud began to properly brush her hair, Aerith was surprised at how different it felt compared to what she was used to. It was like tiny sparks of electricity were shooting from her scalp across her entire body. She sank deeper into the chair, focusing entirely on the sensation.
Her mother had brushed her hair as a child, of course, but that had been many years ago, and she was positive it hadn't been anything like this. It certainly never felt this good when she did it herself. Aerith lost track of time as she immersed herself in the feeling of the brush running through her hair. She was incredibly disappointed as the experience came to an end.
"Uhh, I think I'm done? Sorry if I wasn't very good…"
She spun around—Cloud jumping in surprise at her abrupt movement—as she clasped his hands in hers. "No, that was amazing," she reassured him. "We're going to be doing this again in the future."
Cloud looked surprised to hear this but nodded in confirmation before a large yawn escaped his lips. Of course, that caused her to yawn as well. Quickly, with practiced hands, she braided her hair loosely into the simple braid she slept in. "I think our bodies are trying to tell us something," she said, laughing.
He murmured his agreement, and the two of them got up and walked to either side of the bed. Cloud flipped off the lights and she heard him remove his bathrobe as she slipped under the sheets, slightly self-conscious about sharing the bed while half-naked. Light filtering through the curtains from outside still allowed her to see the outline of his body.
As they settled down onto their respective sides of the bed, an idea came to Aerith. Before she could second-guess herself, she decided to bring it up. "How would you feel about trying to get more used to some physical contact by touching me, not just my hair?"
"Just places you're comfortable with," she hurried to clarify. Not that she was inherently opposed to letting him touch her more intimately, but she knew that would be moving way too fast for either of them. "Maybe my arms or my stomach?"
There was a long moment with no indication from Cloud of what he thought about her proposal. As the silence drew on, Aerith was about to speak up again, when she felt him shift towards her slightly. "It's… been a very long time since I've done anything like that," he said softly, embarrassment clearly evident in his voice.
"That's fine, just take it slow and do whatever you're comfortable with. I'll let you know if I want you to stop."
As she lay there, waiting to feel Cloud's hands on her skin, she fought against the negative memories that bubbled up, threatening to overwhelm her. Her hands gripped the sheets at her sides tightly and she took several deep breaths to try and calm herself. Cloud wasn't Kadaj. She knew, without doubt, he wouldn't take advantage of her like the other man had, or she never would have even put herself in this position in the first place. Despite that, she still felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she waited.
After several minutes of absolutely nothing happening, however, Aerith felt her heart rate return to normal and she loosened her grip on the sheets. She turned her head to the side to look in Cloud's direction. Her eyes immediately met his, and she saw a hint of something that looked like panic flickering in their sapphire depths.
"Cloud?" she asked, softly. "What's wrong?"
He swallowed deeply, before responding. "You were trembling like a leaf in a storm. I don't want to hurt you."
The last of the tension in her body melted away as she heard this. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I know you're not… him," she said gently. Reaching over, she took one of his hands in her own.
"But I do want this," she stated clearly, pulling his hand across the gap between them and settling it on her stomach—her top pulled up slightly.
His hand flinched slightly as it touched her skin, but Cloud didn't jerk it away. For a moment they lay there like this, his hand motionless except for the gentle rhythm of her breathing. The warmth of it was sinking into her, and she shifted her legs, the sheets sliding against her skin. Her breathing picked up. She hadn't realized this would excite her so much, so quickly.
Aerith tried not to giggle as she felt his hand slowly start to move. She wasn't particularly ticklish, but the intimacy of Cloud's hand moving across her skin was more enjoyable than she'd expected. As he slowly got more comfortable, her body relaxed, her thighs rubbing together now as his touch ignited her.
His hand began to drift upwards, and her heart began to beat even faster as she anticipated what was coming next. Right as his hand brushed gently against her top, however, it jerked away—back down to the safety of her stomach. Slightly disappointed, Aerith's amusement warred with her arousal as his hand drifted lower, once again bouncing away once he touched the silk of her bottoms.
Cloud's hand made one more round-trip before pulling away. The loss of contact was disappointing, but she was more concerned about how he was doing. "Cloud, are you—"
"Sorry, I know that probably wasn't great. What if we just hugged again, instead?"
Compassion overwhelmed her, knowing he was doing his best to fight against the fear of letting someone get close to him again. "Not at all, it was perfect. Thank you."
She scooted across the bed to wrap her arms around him as he lay on his side, her head resting against his upper chest as his chin settled onto her hair. "You smell like coconut," she noted in surprise, the smell reminding her of the beach from earlier in the day.
"And you smell like flowers, of course."
She could hear his amusement in his voice, and it made her lips curl upward. "Which kind of flower?" she asked, softly.
"Your favorite, a lily," he responded with confidence.
She softly nodded her head against him, as the two settled into a comfortable silence. With her ear pressed to his chest, Aerith could hear Cloud's heart beating, the gentle rhythm extremely comforting. She loved the feeling of her cheek against his skin. It was soft, but with a firm hardness underneath—comfortable and reassuring. Feeling him poking her in the stomach, she was relieved to not be the only one who was getting turned on by being so closely pressed together.
"Your feet are cold," Cloud laughed softly, as her toes brushed up against his.
"Well yours are nice and warm, so help me out here," she teased, their legs and feet tangling together before eventually settling back down. "What were you going to say after I pointed out you were staring?" she asked in a whisper, feeling sleep sneaking up on her.
There was a long pause after the question—long enough she thought Cloud might have fallen asleep—before she heard him softly whisper in reply. "I was going to tell you how stunningly beautiful you are."
Her face caught fire, her heart suddenly racing to the point where she was sure he had to be able to feel it. "Thank you," she whispered back, snuggling even tighter into him.
They stayed together like this for several more minutes, Aerith enjoying the feeling of being so closely pressed against him. Eventually, she rolled over so her back was now against Cloud's chest, his arm wrapped around her, under her breasts, and the two of them fell into blissful sleep together.
—
Aerith woke up the next morning feeling better rested than she could remember in a long time. Blinking to clear the last of the lingering drowsiness from her eyes, she stretched her entire body, her toes barely scraping against the end of the bed. Reaching out for Cloud's warmth, her fingers only found the sheets. She was a little disappointed not to feel him still pressed against her, but wasn't too surprised he'd rolled away in the middle of the night. Wondering if he was awake yet, or if she'd get to see what he looked like while he slept, she rolled over to check on him.
Her heart stopped when she saw the empty side next to her. Aerith began to hyperventilate as she sat up and frantically scanned the rest of the room, but there was no trace of what had happened to him. She suddenly felt so cold. Against her will, she flashed back to that horrible night in college, her body beginning to shake.
She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid; that she'd thought anyone could care for someone like her. Some part of her mind was screaming Cloud would never do this to her, but it was drowned out by the overwhelming reality she had woken up to. Trembling violently, Aerith curled up in a ball under the sheets, a sob wrenching its way out of her throat.
Cloud finished drying his hands on the towel hanging next to the sink in the bathroom, hoping the sound of the running water hadn't woken Aerith, especially after he'd been so careful to not wake her when he noticed she was still asleep. He smiled softly at his reflection in the mirror, remembering how peaceful she'd looked with her head on the pillow and the morning sun dancing over her face. The last time he'd been this happy in a relationship had been with Jessie, and as this thought crossed his mind, he realized he was now able to think of her with a fond sadness instead of the usual overwhelming sorrow.
Eager to get back and see Aerith again, Cloud quietly opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hall, gently shutting it behind him as he softly padded back to the bedroom. He paused for a moment with his hand on the doorknob, his heart swelling at the thought of seeing her again. A faint noise came from the other side as he cracked the door open, and he wondered if she'd already woken up as he poked his head into the room.
Cloud's face contorted in horror as he saw the shape under the sheets rocking back and forth, Aerith's full-body sobs driving into him like flaming knives. Before he even realized what he was doing, he burst the rest of the way through the door—sending it slamming into the wall—as he frantically leaped onto the bed. He dove under the sheets, wrapping his body around hers.
"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," he whispered desperately into her ear, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as he cradled her body against his. Some part of his brain was reacting in shock to what he was doing, but he shoved it away—ignored it—focused entirely on the woman in his arms. Her cries were breaking his heart, and internally he viciously beat himself over and over for doing this to her. Even though it had been inadvertent, he couldn't forgive himself for doing this to her.
"I didn't leave you. I had to go to the bathroom and I didn't want to wake you up. It was stupid; I should have known what it would do to you if you woke up while I was gone. I didn't mean for this to happen…"
His explanation trailed off as he wept, the sound of their sorrow twining together.
Aerith found herself in a pitch-black void. She had no idea where she was but curiously noted that didn't seem to alarm her. As she grew more accustomed to the darkness, she realized it wasn't actually a lack of light, but instead a lack of color. The only thing other than black she could make out was a yellow blur in the distance. Curious, she began to walk towards it.
As she drew closer to the mysterious object, she realized it was a yellow lily—seemingly floating in midair. She reached out to grab its stem, but before her fingers were able to touch it, they brushed against something hard and cold. There was a loud shattering noise, far louder than seemed normal, and she jerked her hand back—hissing in pain. A crimson trail making its way down her right index finger became the third color she could make out.
The flower now appeared to be floating on its side, until she realized its petals were completely flat, as if it were lying on a surface. Gingerly reaching out with her uninjured hand, she found that there was, in fact, a hard surface at about table height from the ground. Making a pass around its edge, her legs bumped into a chair she couldn't see. Figuring she might as well sit, Aerith did just that.
From this angle, she could faintly make out the shape of something lying scattered around the flower, presumably whatever she'd accidentally broken. Deciding to try again, Aerith pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head and wrapped it around her left hand. With some basic protection from the sharp edges now, she reached out and slowly gathered all the broken pieces in front of her. She left the flower alone in the middle for now.
As she placed the final piece next to the others, she realized she could see a warped, twisted, broken reflection of her face looking back up at her. She still wasn't sure what type of material it was made out of, but given the context, it must have been a flower vase before she broke it.
"You deserve this," the voice that was her, but wasn't her, in the glass whispered.
Aerith frowned at this. She wasn't disturbed by the mysterious voice, instead was more curious—unsure if it was correct. She picked up a piece from the edge of the pile and held it up against the flower, allowing her to make out its shape. She repeated this process with the other pieces until she found one that shared an edge with the first. As she placed the edges together, they firmly stuck together, as if glued.
"You're better off alone."
She cocked her head, considering if that was true as she picked up another piece and began the whole process over again. "Maybe before that was the case, but now I have someone I care about," she responded, finding another set of pieces and connecting them.
"Don't let yourself be vulnerable, you'll only end up getting hurt!" There was a hint of anger to the voice now.
"Possibly," Aerith admitted, connecting two more of the pieces. She wasn't entirely sure, but it felt like the smothering blackness was becoming just a bit lighter. "But without trying, without opening yourself to the possibility of being hurt, can you truly say you're alive?" she continued. "I could keep myself locked away, hiding from the pain, but that has its own consequences too."
She was now getting the hang of finding matching pieces, quickly connecting several in a row. It was easy now to tell color was indeed slowly filtering into her surroundings. The table and chair were a light gray—halfway between black and white. The floor had a soft hint of green and the ceiling was a faint blue.
"You tried before. That pain destroyed you, why would this time be any different?"
"Because they're nothing alike. Cloud cares for me, deeply. You can see it in the way he acts and the things he does, like the picnic dinner. Plus, he's also experienced more than his fair share of pain."
By the time she finished speaking, all but one of the pieces had been completed. The reflection of the other her was now reduced down to just its lips—locked in a grimace.
"He doesn't really care about you, he was using you. Like they all do," snarled the voice.
Saddened she could have ever thought this, Aerith shook her head. "No, Cloud would never do anything to hurt me. I trust him." She picked up the remaining piece, watching the last trace of the other her vanish.
As the final piece of the pitch-black vase clicked into place, it shimmered, changing into a clear, transparent glass. She could still see her reflection in it, but now it was the real her—smiling softly at herself.
Aerith got to her feet and took one last look around. She was standing atop a grassy hill, a white garden table and chair in front of her. The vast blue sky spread above her, spotless except for a single cloud almost directly overhead. She took the flower off of the table and gently placed it back into the vase.
Closing her eyes, the smell of the grass slowly faded, the sound of the breeze vanishing. She felt a freeing sense of peace and calm as she slowly reopened her eyes, Cloud's tear-streaked face directly over hers coming into view. Beaming with happiness, Aerith reached up with one hand and cupped his cheek, using her thumb to brush away his tears.
"There's no need to cry," she told him.
Cloud's lip wobbled, his head pressing into her hand, "I failed you. I never should have…"
Aerith shook her head firmly and placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "You did nothing wrong. There's nothing for you to apologize for. It was silly of me to think you'd ever do that to me."
She paused for a brief moment, looking deep into the depths of the ocean of his eyes to give her words the weight she wanted. "Thank you for being there for me, Cloud."
"Always," he responded, his voice thick with emotion.
Tifa sighed in relief as she saw Aerith's account finally come online. She'd made her friend promise to video call her first thing in the morning, the day after they arrived, to let Tifa know everything was okay. With that assurance in place, she had felt comfortable enough letting Aerith go on vacation with some unknown man. Tifa knew she was being overprotective, but she refused to let anyone hurt her best friend, especially after what she'd already been through.
"Hey girl, how's it... what in the Planet happened?!" she demanded, her tone abruptly changing as Aerith's video finally came through.
"That bad, huh?" Aerith responded, wincing. Her hair was a disheveled mess, she had traces of bags under her eyes, and they were bloodshot.
"Go lock the door immediately. If it already is, then prop a chair up against it as well. Call security if he tries to force his way through. I'm buying a ticket to head over there right now. I knew it was a mistake to... Aerith?" Tifa hesitated in the middle of her onslaught as her friend started laughing.
It took Aerith a moment to stop laughing enough to be able to talk, and Tifa felt her body relaxing as she realized that despite how weathered Aerith looked, she actually seemed to be okay.
"You're adorable, but no, nothing happened. There was just a small... misunderstanding this morning," Aerith eventually explained.
"What happened?" she demanded, her fist clenching. "If he touched you against your will…"
"No, no! Nothing like that!" Aerith hurried to clarify. "It's stupid, really. He woke up and had to use the bathroom, but didn't want to wake me so he was very quiet. I ended up waking up while he was gone and… well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest."
Tifa let out a long sigh as she felt the last of the tension drain from her body. "Oh… I suppose that means you had to tell him why you reacted the way I imagine you did?"
To her surprise, Aerith shook her head in response. "Nope, I actually already told him a while ago. I don't blame him for doing what he did, even though he knew about my past. He was gone for like five minutes at most, it was really just horrible timing."
"So where is he now, this mystery man of yours?" Tifa asked, peering into the background behind Aerith hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
"C—He's out getting us a late breakfast, and also checking on reservations for any of the more popular attractions," her friend explained.
"You're going to pet a chocobo, right?" Tifa demanded, her excitement leaking into her voice.
Aerith nodded her head, laughing. "I may not love them as much as you do, but yes, I'm looking forward to getting to see one again. I'm also going to try and find you a plushy of one, or some other kind of souvenir."
Tifa couldn't contain her squee of joy at this, wishing she could jump up and hug Aerith. "You are the best friend ever!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down in her chair.
"Even despite the fact I won't tell you my boyfriend's name?" Aerith asked, her eyes twinkling.
"I'm surprised you haven't slipped up and used it yet, to be honest," Tifa grumbled.
Aerith laughed and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and shaking her head softly. "It's seriously exhausting, I'm already tired of it. Once we're back in Midgar I promise to introduce you. I hope you'll like him, I'm pretty sure you will."
Tifa saw Aerith turn her head, before she looked back at the screen, a wide smile on her face. "Oh, I think he's back. I've gotta run, can't be giving you an early peek," she said, winking.
Tifa wryly shook her head in response. "You two love chocobos have fun. I'm holding you to that promise once you're back, though."
Aerith nodded, and the call cut out. Tifa sighed as she got up and stretched. By this point, she was very much looking forward to meeting this mystery man who'd had such a positive impact on her best friend. She was also jealous Aerith was going to be able to see the famed chocobo races of Gold Saucer in person. Deciding to settle for the next best thing, she sat back down and pulled up some of her favorite chocobo videos.