In the near distance, Nanaki's tail twitched side to side as he chatted to Barret. Long since vanished out of sight, Cloud had set off at a punishing pace, unable or unwilling to pause for those not granted the enhanced strength of an Ex-SOLDIER.

Encountering an Ex-SOLDIER was rare; allegedly there were a few around, though Tifa knew of no other specific instances. Cloud was the only one who fought back against Shinra in any capacity. But there remained an additional oddity to Cloud (in addition to his alleged presence at Nibelheim during the fire); how vague the past five years became whenever conversation touched on the time-period. Had so little of interest happened to him? Why had his descriptions of Aeris's flowers seemed as if during his time wandering the land as a mercenary he had utterly failed to see any kind of flora?

Aeris's garden came up during the walk from the edge of Midgar. Cloud previously related a few details regarding it once they resolved to rescue Aeris; there was a church in Sector Five and she somehow grew flowers there. An impressive enough feat all its own, though Cloud's words failed him when Tifa pressed for more details. Aeris in turn was unable – or perhaps unwilling – to articulate how she succeeded where others failed.

Tifa had coaxed further slim details about the garden from Cloud before they arrived at the Shinra building. The flowers Aeris grew in the church and her garden were yellow – identical to the one he gave Marlene. The gift was a fortuitous action on his part; how Aeris gained Marlene's trust in Sector Seven. But why did Aeris grow flowers in the church when they surrounded her mother's house? A further mystery of her new friend.

Now, for the first time, Tifa and Aeris had a chance to talk. No need for snatched words when faced with Don Corneo's goons, or rushing through the train graveyard, or locked up in a prison cell, or tearing along roads as they fled Midgar. Cloud might be charging ahead focused on his new mission, but the rest of the group took the opportunity to slow their pace. Impossible to resist given the situation; wonderful to be out of Midgar once more.

There were numerous obvious reasons why Aeris never ventured outside the city before now. Understandable, human concerns; the severing of what became normal life not yet worth the cost of doing so. Fleeing from Shinra forced the issue; now Aeris was here. The blue sky enthralled her, the barren land surrounding the city an irresistible curiosity.

The first patch of weeds proved fascinating for her. Terrible for her to never experience the wider world. Until now, she like so many inhabitants of Midgar seemed fated to be born, live and die within Shinra's metallic cage, never trying to set foot outside. Perhaps Aeris's reactions were not so unique?

The city still loomed too close behind, but for Aeris the outside was a succession of new experiences. So long spent anticipating the open country and now she was actually there. Despite the newness, her conversation was often prosaic, mundane. She had her favourite TV programs, her favourite shops and foods and restaurants. Nor were her aspirations outlandish. "I would love to see Costa del Sol. And Cosmo Canyon. And – not easy, but – Wutai." A grin – Aeris's smiles came easy and often.

Travel was something Tifa contemplated back in Nibelheim. Unlike Aeris, she remembered life outside of the city; rain and sun, snow and gales, grass and rock. But she never strayed far from her home until the fire. Her hand clutched at her chest, fingers gripping her shirt; with a shudder she forced her hand back down to her side.

Strange to have passed through – but have no memories of – those settlements between Nibelheim and Midgar. A glance back to the city. They would need to come back eventually; she might accept Cloud's words, his assertion of Sephiroth's threat, but foolish to overlook Shinra's vampiric effect on the Planet. She and Barret at least would return to continue their mission. "Anywhere but there will do me right now. That place never felt like home."

Aeris did not seem to notice the hollowness of her words. "Guess I was used to it. Not a good reason to stay, but it was- Life I guess. Daily routine and wanting to do something else and planning on sorting something, but things never lined up and-" Aeris closed her eyes and stretched her arms towards the sun. New concerns for her and the others; sun cream. None of them were used to direct sunlight like this. "I should have just come here. Could have moved out on my own." She shook her head. "Never mind. Here now. Too many delays already – not adding any more!"

Impossible not to smile at her exuberance, her fascination and amazement at each tiny thing. Tifa nudged Aeris. "Some more flowers for your garden?" She pointed to a clump a little past the end of the desert. The sight of grass entranced Aeris some way back, but it fought for her attention for little details like the sky, the vastness of desert, the distant sight of Kalm, and how far behind them Midgar now was.

Aeris ran to the flowers and dropped to her knees without preamble, fingers probing down into the soil at the base of the stems. Tifa walked to the flowers at a more sedate pace, Barret and Nanaki still in sight, Cloud who knew where at this point. "They're- Blue." Aeris cupped one of the flowers. "I mean, I knew blue flowers existed, there's pictures of them in Mom's books, but-"

Tifa crouched opposite her. "Not something you grew?"

Aeris shook her head. "But I will when I get the chance. I had other seeds, but none of them took hold. Only the yellow-" She bent lower, face pressed near to the ground. No one else to witness her like this, dress sprawled around her legs, jacket hiked up, braid threatening to spill over her shoulders however much she swept it back, the neckline of her dress drooping- "That's- that's curious."

"Hmm?" Tifa wrenched her focus back to the clump of blue flowers, away from red lace.

"The soil." Aeris glanced up at her.

"Soil? I, uh-"

Aeris pulled the grass away from the stems; the ground had not seen rain for a few days. Flaky, dry soil surrounded the flowers. "Plants out here are more resilient; I spent so long keeping everything watered, but-"She dug down, dirt catching in her cuticles and nail-beds. "It's damp a little way down but the top-soil's so dry." She absently wiped her hand on her skirt leaving muddy hand prints across the pink.

"Aeris-" Aeris glanced up confused. Tifa nodded to her skirt.

"Oh it'll be fine. Don't have to worry about appearances so much out here." Aeris grinned, leaning to one side, gazing back towards Midgar. "Can't believe it though. We've been walking about two hours?"

Tifa peered at the distant city. "About that."

"And these flowers-" Aeris touched the stems. "I could have sold each one on the Upper Plate for three hundred gil – at absolute worst." She stared at them. "And two hours away from the city they're just here out in the open." She sighed. "Guess I can't complain too much; if people came out here for flowers I'd have never sold a thing." A shrug. "Then again, I suppose I could have come here to pick them. But it's a long walk and-" She cast around. "They're not exactly densely clustered."

A few distant spots of blue were the only indicators of flowers nearby. "Yeah. There might be larger numbers further out, but-"

"Still; a small fortune." Aeris's hand encircled the stems, grip tightening and stopped. "And that's not going to work."

"'Not going to work'?" Tifa blinked at her.

Aeris let go of the stems and knelt up. "I was thinking – I could pick these flowers. Carry them to Kalm-"She nodded in the direction of Nanaki and Barret, only remotely visible in the distance. They would need to hurry to catch-up.

"Aeris-"

"I know." She clambered to her feet and helped Tifa up; she did not let go of her hand. Calloused skin; an inevitable result of Aeris tending to flowers for years and striking at monsters with her staff. "And then I could- Say 'thank you' I guess. Pay for the rooms, buy you all dinner." She smiled, hand squeezing Tifa's. "You came for me. You helped me escape. You helped me leave Midgar. So, I thought I should repay you- All of you. But the flowers won't be worth as much back there." Another gesture back towards Midgar.

"It's fine. You're our friend-"

Aeris was close beside her; she darted forward and kissed Tifa's cheek. "Thank you. Hope that'll do for now."

Tifa touched her cheek with her other hand, faintly giddy at the proximity, the gesture. "You planning on thanking the others the same way?" Her voice wobbled.

"Oh, no. That was just for you. For now. The rest- Ah!" She pointed. "Barret and Nanaki are getting away." She pulled away and Tifa hurried to follow, head whirling. The kiss was special for her. Did Aeris-

This was not a holiday. Now was not the time to get romantic notions about a woman she met a day or so ago. But by the same token; attraction could be quick and could be simple. And perhaps there would be time to explore things with Aeris. Time would tell. What would Kalm bring? Perhaps 'the rest' Aeris alluded to?