A/N : I'm back from vacation and ready to keep on trucking. I seem to be going in some sort of order, depressing, happy, depressing. I guess I'll make the next one rather joyous, eh? :)
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Trust
Despite her relationship with Zack, Aerith had never really stopped fearing SOLDIER.
The words she spoke to him blindly, in the revealing, fairytale playground of children, were her true thoughts. She announced them before she knew who he was and what he did, but opinions cannot always change on the whims of the people who hold them, and so Aerith still felt and believed the same. SOLDIERs were vicious, bloodthirsty, and barely any more human as were the monsters they fought. Each carried enough destruction and ruthless military training in one finger to murder an entire city impeccably and guiltlessly, as long as it was called a mission.
And while Zack's chemically enhanced eyes were beautiful, Aerith could not deny that they and their unnatural shine sometimes frightened her.
When she saw him fight, with his staggering sword held in his hands as easily as a child toy, a blade that sliced through mortal and demonic flesh with the equal dexterity and skill, Aerith was scared. The way the mako turned electric, blue and green tendrils sparking with excitement and death; it sent a terrified, icy chill down her spine. Even when Zack unsheathed his sword and strength alike with the only reason being to protect her, she still trembled so horribly afterwards that he had to hold her close, tightly, mistaking her shaking for something she knew it was not.
She never told Zack that it was caused more by him than the creatures he had destroyed.
Everyday, the people in the slums told stories about SOLDIER, ghost stories, since everyone who starred in them was dead. They whispered about how ShinRa shot down everyone who denied them power, even rebuilding entire towns to protect their disgusting, mocking joke of a clean name. Children, huddled around burning piles of rotten garbage, seeking warmth in torn and tattered clothes, spoke in awe and terror of carcasses spewing enough blood to bathe in.
As everyone was taught to know, SOLDIERs were cruel, and they killed without mercy, and they enjoyed it.
Often after hearing tales like these, Aerith would have nightmares. She'd see Zack, Zack whose eyes teared if he accidentally stepped on one delicate, precious flower, with a face splattered with crimson blood, innocent bodies falling around him with dozens of gaping mouths screeching a silent scream no one would hear. His smile, always so soft and compassionate, would drip then with venom and madness, sizzling down his face and mixing with the revolting red rivers that drizzled upon the ground, burning the earth as monstrosities were always born to do.
Then she'd wake up, her cheeks wet and her heart thumping so loudly that she was sure the whole of Midgar could hear it.
But in the end, Aerith would calm down, dry her face, and rest her head back onto her thin pillow to ease back into sleep. The next morning, with the sun glowing placidly in the sky, she would wait patiently on the steps of her church until an eager silhouette rambunctiously dared to stand against the sky. Tan skin and sparkling blue untainted eyes, would stand inspiringly against black clothes, the true, inner-innocence winning over the weak forces of corruption. It was like a symbol, a silent contrast from the planet that proved everything would not fall to ruin as in her nightmares.
Just as how, after each doubt and fear that plagued the nights, the moon would whisper to her its reassurances, and Aerith would recover and be stronger for it.
Yes, Aerith was scared of SOLDIER. It was a primal, guttural aversion she would probably never be able to shake. Zack, though, was not just SOLDIER. Zack was something more.
Zack would never hurt without reason, or maim for the pleasure of doing so. His actions were those of a protector, not a hateful reaper who stole from the world and gave nothing in return. Everyday, he solidified that, proved himself even more, stayed the honorable young man Aerith had grown to love.
Zack was Zack, and Aerith trusted Zack more than anyone else she had ever known.
While his eyes were beautiful, Aerith knew his soul was even more so.
And a soul as pure as that could not be tainted with even the most potent mako energy.