My apologies for taking so long to update; my life hit a few speed bumps, though I am now on the better side of them. This chapter is for you, Rama. Keep your chin up, and your spirits high. You still, after all, owe me that drink!
Unspoken
By mihoyonagi
Chapter 39: Happiness
No matter how odd they might have looked, the four of them sitting around a giant oak table eating sausages, eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit, Sephiroth had to admit they got along just fine. Never before having been around a social situation like the one he sat in the middle of, he was actually happy to nod in agreement, or shake his head in disapproval when it was called for, while Aerith, Yuffie, and Vincent made quite the chatter over their food. Several stories were relayed via Yuffie, telling about her clumsiness- just the previous week, she had fallen down the last two stairs on the staircase nearest the door and had landed in a most unceremonious position (in which she demonstrated on the dining room floor, causing Sephiroth to nearly spit out his juice from laughter).
"And last week," Yuffie continued, through a bite of toast, "while Vincent was helping me in the back garden, some kids were playing baseball in the town square. There was this big cracking noise, and Vincent looks up at me and asks, 'What was that?' I swear to Leviathan, Aerith, not a second later a baseball fell and hit him right on the head. You should have seen the look on his face- it was hilarious!"
Vincent cleared his throat. "Surely it wasn't that funny, Yuffie."
The conversation paused for a moment, whereupon both Aerith and Yuffie began to giggle.
Shaking his head, Vincent teased Aerith. "Come on, it couldn't have been that funny."
Aerith held up her hands in defense. "Vincent- just imagining the look on your face after something like that is hilarious."
Sephiroth hid his enormous smirk behind a piece of toast.
Vincent, all in good humor, put his hands up in defense. He, however, was smiling. "Alright, so it was a little funny. You can't blame me for being surprised, though."
Yuffie let out a high-pitched squeal of laughter. "Vinnie, you looked like someone had popped your balloon and slapped the ice-cream cone right out of you hand. It was precious- precious, I am telling you!"
Aerith snorted and squeezed her eyes shut.
"And what about last week, young lady?" Vincent pointed an accusing finger at Yuffie.
She smirked in retaliation. "What about it?"
Rolling his eyes, Vincent nudged Sephiroth in the arm with his elbow. "You should have seen it! There she was, out in the middle of the night, on the back wall. She was standing on it- that big stone one, that's about five feet off the ground and about a foot wide. Well, Yuffie was standing on it and singing to herse-"
"I wasn't singing, Vincent, I was humming. Get your story straight."
Vincent laughed. "Alright, alright- so she was humming to herself. I walked out of the back door, having noticed her out of the kitchen window and I just say 'hi'. That was it, just 'hi', I swear."
There was a paused added for drama.
"And she screams like a kid – that high-pitched, something is hiding in my closet and just moved kind of scream- and falls ass over elbow off the back wall. I didn't think I could laugh that hard."
Yuffie scoffed, despite her smile. "You big liar- you only started to laugh after you were done freaking out about whether or not I had broken something on my way down."
Vincent threw his head back and laughed harder. "I'm not heartless. Worried about you or not, I still had a good laugh that night. I swear- I didn't know a person could tumble like that. And don't even get me started on how many times I've saved her from falling over the darn stair railing! The girl has two left feet!"
Sephiroth smiled, laughing with everyone. He wondered if this was what a family felt like. It seemed nice t have friends.
A light change of subject, care of Yuffie, tore Sephiroth's attention from his second helping of scrambled eggs. "Aerith, is that a new hair ribbon? I thought yours was pink."
Aerith smiled, somewhat shyly. "It was. This was a birthday present."
Vincent tilted his head, obviously having not caught on. "Birthday? Wasn't your birthday back in February?"
Nodding, Aerith swallowed a bite of bacon. "Yeah, but remember? Sephiroth and I didn't actually leave Mideel until March- we lived in that cabin for a good three months before we left. We really didn't do anything for my birthday, anyway. The only reason he knew it was my birthday was because I had made a mark on the calendar."
Vincent smiled, something sly lying beneath his lips. "So, Sephiroth bought that for you? How thoughtful."
Sephiroth upended his glass of orange juice while he attempted to avoid Vincent's eyes. Even Yuffie seemed slightly surprised. It was no wonder, though- the last time the two had seen him had been in the crater, with him in the middle of a mass of energy, attempting to take over the world and not giving a damn about what, or who, got in his way. The silence was highly uncomfortable. They all had been sitting at the dining room table, taking as old friends would, despite only having been together for less than a week (most of which Sephiroth had been asleep for, anyway). It was not all that strange to him to think they still thought him callous, regardless of what Aerith might have told them.
That was another life, however, and Sephiroth wouldn't let Vincent's curious gaze or Yuffie's speculating facial expressions bother him.
Aerith shrugged. "Yes, he bought it for me. I was a little surprised- I didn't know he had read what I'd written on the calendar."
"You didn't throw a party?" Yuffie stole the last piece of toast from the plate set in the middle of the table.
Shaking her head, Aerith smiled. "Not really. I was never that big on birthdays when I was little, either. It's just like any other day, only with a little more cake and the occasional present when my mom could afford it. Growing up in the slums kind of sucked."
"Man, that's crazy. In Wutai, birthdays are huge! I remember every single birthday of mine-"
"That's because you're father is Lord Godo, and he spoiled you rotten, little princess," Vincent interjected.
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter- they were still super fun, even when I was little."
There was a distressing paused in the room, and Sephiroth got the vague feeling that Yuffie was planning something that wouldn't end well in anyone's favor. His stomach churned slightly and he was unsure if it was because of the orange juice he had guzzled so quickly, or the look on the young girl's face.
"Hey, Vinnie- let's throw Aerith a belated birthday party!"
Great Shiva, Sephiroth hated when his gut was right.
The gunman's reply was instant. "No."
Yuffie whined. "Why the hell not, Valentine? It would be so much fun- we could get balloons and streamers, and everyone could get her a present, and we could bake her a cake, and we could get some booze and-"
"The last thing you need, young lady, is to get any more alcohol in your system. All that you're looking for is an excuse to drink. You remember what happened last time?"
Yuffie's smile was impish, and Sephiroth thought that, had he looked closer, he would have seen small devil horns pop out of her head in a cartoonish manner. "I held my liquor better than you!"
Aerith coughed and hid her smile behind the back of her hand.
"Yuffie, I-" Vincent was cut off before he could lodge another protest.
"When is the next time we're going to be able to do something like this together, Vincent? We can't hide them from Cloud forever, and they're going to have to leave soon, right? Why can't we have a little fun?"
There were several moments of silence before Sephiroth heard the gunman crack. "Alright- but go easy on the alcohol, princess."
Jumping out of her chair, Yuffie grabbed Aerith's hand and pulled the flower girl from the remains of her breakfast. "Come on; let's go into town and shop!"
When the girls had left the room, Sephiroth watched as Vincent shook his head, defeated and looking slightly deflated. "Goodness, what have I done?"
Had Sephiroth the vocal abilities, he would have laughed good and hard. It was a party- a birthday party of all things. There was little chance that something terrifically wrong would occur. Things might go bad, the the chances of Yuffie actually blowing up the house were slim. He wanted to tell the gunman to relax- instead, he smiled, shrugged, and took the empty plates to the kitchen where he loaded them into the sink.
Thundering footsteps alerted him that Yuffie had arrived in the kitchen. He turned around to face her, curious.
She was slightly out of breath when she spoke. "Are you two coming, or what? Let's get a move on, boys!"
In less than fifteen minutes, the four of them had assembled in the main hall of the mansion, Yuffie and Aerith bouncing around in excitement, Vincent and Sephiroth shifting slightly, unsure of what to expect of the women. Before they headed for the door, however, Vincent took a good, long look at Sephiroth.
"I don't know if you should go into town, actually."
The tension in the room raised fifty-fold, and Sephiroth gazed down at the floor, a look of shame crossing his features for a split second before his face relaxed into a cooled, collected expression. Would the people of Nibelheim remember him?
"We could always dress him in up in a disguise," Yuffie suggested.
Sephiroth frowned and thought immediately of his cross-dressing escapade in Wutai. He would need a disguise just as good to fool the people of the town, but it would be a cold day in hell before he placed fruit in his shirt to act as- well, anyway it was looked at, cross-dressing again was out of the question.
"I have an idea." Aerith smiled up at him, kindly. She reached out for his hand and laced his fingers into hers, leading him up the staircase and into his room. "Give us just a minute," she called over her shoulder.
Without asking permission, Aerith opened the door to his room and made a beeline straight for his back pack. She began to dig through his bag without hesitation, pulling clothing and potions out left and right, in search of something. She stilled when she pulled a strange-looking book from his bag. "What's this?" Her voice was innocent.
Sephiroth could feel heat beginning to radiate off of his face. He took the book out of Aerith's grasp, gently, and pulled the notebook out of his pocket. He handed her his scribbled message, tucking the book under his arm and avoiding eye-contact with her.
"A journal? You mean, like, a diary?" Her tone was light and curious, without judgment. It seemed to the general that she was truly interested.
Sephiroth shrugged and nodded at the same time, keeping the book pressed between his upper arm and his chest. He remembered having taken the book off the shelf of the house in Mideel; how he had been so eager to open it, and then had been disappointed when the old leather book held nothing but blank pages. He had, in secret, been writing in the journal every so often since the night he had found it. Merely having forgotten it as of late, Sephiroth hadn't realized that he had left it in his backpack. During the day, he pushed the thoughts of the book out of his mind and concentrated on what needed to be done- the book was more of a hobby, really, and even had little sketches doodled in the margins. The book was merely a way for him to get things off of his mind; there were some things he didn't want to talk to Aerith directly about. Heaven knew he never wanted her to know about the journal.
Still, she smiled up at him. "I think it's neat that you have a journal. It's a good place to keep your thoughts when you can't keep them all in your head." Aerith went back to pilfering through his clothing.
Relief flooded through Sephiroth's veins, and he let go of the breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding. He found himself being very grateful that Aerith was kind enough to know when he wasn't comfortable and to drop the subject; he didn't know what he would do with himself if she ever were to read what he had written on the pages within the book.
Pushing the thought from his mind, Sephiroth forced the book beneath his pillow and helped Aerith sort through his clothing. Lying out a new outfit for him to wear, she left the room and let him change in peace. When he opened the door and let her back in, having donned the pair of plain, dark-blue jeans and black turtleneck sweater, Sephiroth was shocked to see that he had fetched her hairbrush from her room.
Then, he was filled with a slight sense of dread. She reached up and made a grab for his hair, but he twisted out of her grasp and held her wrists tight in his hands.
"We can't take you into town looking like, well- you. I just want to fix your hair a little."
Sephiroth shook his head, unsure of why his chest constricted so tightly. Never before has someone touched his hair, and the general wasn't sure if he was ready to take such an awkward step forward, even with the flower girl.
He had always prided himself on his wild mane of hair- it never seemed to tangle, always stayed right where it was meant to, and it never dulled. Taking care of his shock of silver hair had been the one thing that brought him a small shred of joy in his previous life. It was his, and his alone. No one else was to touch it.
Aerith shifted her stance from one foot to another, obviously unsure of what to do. "Please, Seph? I'm just going to brush it a little. I promise to be nice."
Sephiroth swallowed hard, letting Aerith's hands free. How could he deny those beautiful, glowing emerald eyes of hers? She directed him toward the ground, and so he sat on the floor and waited for the inevitable.
Having Aerith brush his hair wasn't, much to his own reassurance, as terrible of a thing as he thought it might be. She was gentle, just as promised, and it was oddly soothing to have her fingers weave in and out of his long hair. When she had finished, he made to get up, but she placed a tiny palm on his shoulder to hold him down. He heard scuffling, and then something fuzzy was forced over the top of his head.
She had put a hat on him and, without regret, braided his hair. When he turned and gazed at himself in the mirror, he was struck between the urge to rip the braid out, or to touch the glass to make sure it was his actual reflection. The beanie and the braid had worked wonders. Someone glancing at him would merely see him as a large man with long white hair, braided low and loose along his neck. It wasn't much of a disguise, but it worked well enough- that much was for certain.
Aerith smiled and looked up at him. "Sorry; that's really the only hair-style I know how to do well. I didn't think a ponytail would work, so I did all I could."
He glanced up at her from his position seated upon the floor and let a smile befall his lips. Nodding once, he held his head low for her in gratitude. Not expecting her to throw her arms around his shoulders, Sephiroth was rather taken aback at Aerith's sudden closeness when she suddenly hugged him. A few hours ago, in the same room as they occupied, he had held her close to ease his heart, to erase his pain. Now, she was the one who latched onto him, though Sephiroth was unable to fathom a reason as to why. His eyes swiftly met the image in the mirror and the general was even more surprised to see Aerith had partially buried her face into his neck, her front pressed tightly against his back. Though it was only her nose and eyes that peeked up over his large shoulder blade, he could tell she wore a smile about her lips. She was calm, and seemed almost happy.
Sephiroth mentally berated himself, trying to gather enough courage to just tell her what his heart felt. It was simple fear that clouded his sense, however. It seemed the mountain was afraid of the mouse. What would happen if she rejected him? Sephiroth could feel not only his heart but his entire body ache as he thought of the outcome were he to admit his feelings for her and have her reject him. It would be emotionally and physically devastating. Yes, he wanted her to be happy, but he also understood that he might not be the one destined to make her so. That didn't mean, however, that he was going to be pleased with it at first, were she to reject him. Heartache hurt, of that he was sure, but Sephiroth knew that once he saw Aerith happy, even if it were in the arms of another, then he, too, would be happy. It would merely take time.
Despite the way she held on to him, her eyes closed, her face partially buried against his skin, calm and peaceful, Sephiroth was scared senseless over what everything could lead to. What, then, would happen if she were to return his feelings? How would he respond? What would there be left for them? They had no home to return to, and few knew of their return- they had no family or friends to turn to, save Yuffie and Vincent, and being a guest in a house he only had terrible memories of for the rest of their lives was simply not an option. Cloud was bound to come after them, and soon. Would they be on the run for the rest of their days?
Something dawned on him, then, as he slowly reached up to place his hand against Aerith's forearm. Sephiroth wasn't afraid of her rejection; he was terrified of not being able to make her happy, to give her the life she deserved, the life she wanted. A flower garden, a beautiful house, having nothing to worry about, complete happiness- these were things Sephiroth was unsure if he would provide.
Suddenly, Aerith opened her eyes. Her face filled with concern, as if she had heard his thoughts, she tilted her head against his skin.
He smiled up at her, trying to mask the pain in his heart. When she returned the smile it was hesitant, and Sephiroth knew that she had seen the pain so heavily set across his face. He hadn't meant for her to see it, but she had. His heart jumped when she spoke.
"Are you ready to go, then?"
Thank the Lifestream the woman didn't press into his comfort bubble. He nodded and, as soon as she had unlatched her arms from around his neck, stood. Holding the door open for her, they headed down the hall and into the foyer where Vincent and Yuffie were patiently waiting for them.
Yuffie smiled at Aerith and Sephiroth as they walked down the staircase and neared the front door. "It isn't much of a disguise, but I'll be damned if someone recognizes you, that's for sure."
Sephiroth knew that was as much of a compliment as he was going to get from the young ninja, and he took it with a grain of salt and nodded once in gratitude and approval.
The sun was, much to Sephiroth's surprise, beating down upon the earth with a newfound strength. The light that fell to the ground was warm and Sephiroth found himself almost regretting having worn a sweater. The walk to town wasn't much of a walk as more of a trudge down the gravel path that connected the town to the mansion, and then to the mountains. Several children were playing in the town square, pretending to hit one another with wooden swords. Their high-pitched laughter and squeals of delight told Sephiroth that life, for the moment, was good. He smiled slightly as he and his comrades passed them on their way to the general store.
Nibelheim had grown in size considerably since last he had traversed through the town, and apparently the population had as well. Despite the still early hours of the morning, the marketplace was hustling and bustling with shoppers of all ages. Fruit stands and vegetable carts littered the area, as well as wagons full of trinkets that sparked in the mid-morning sun. Though Sephiroth would have enjoyed stopping and looking over what the merchants were peddling, Yuffie navigated their rag-tag group through the small crowd and toward the larger building set nearest the town's entrance.
The store was brand new- Sephiroth could still smell the paint from the walls- but, despite this, the place still carried a homey, lived-in atmosphere about it. A tall young man poked his head around the corner of an aisle, apparently placing new stock on the shelving he was partially hidden behind. His expression immediately perked when he saw Yuffie and Vincent. "Hey, Yuffie- we just got some new chocolate stocked in the back. It's some of that new foreign stuff, the kind you liked last time, shipped here from Costal del Sol; the new brand is supposed to have citrus in it. Vincent- the new coffee and tea shipment won't be in until next week." The young man's eyes looked to Aerith, then to Sephiroth, curiously. "New friends of yours?"
Yuffie tilted her head and smiled. "I guess you could say that. We aren't here to hit the usual stuff, through."
The young man smiled, his white teeth a slight contrast to his tanned skin and dark hair. "Yuffie, is there a day of the week that you don't crave chocolate?"
Sephiroth watched Yuffie huff indignantly and place her hands on her hips. "I didn't say that I wasn't going to pick some up; I just said that we aren't here to scout out the new shipment. We have more important things to worry about."
The smile on the young man's face only grew. "What is more important to you than chocolate? And don't even say materia, because that doesn't count."
Vincent took the initiative to respond to the question. "We are actually throwing our friend here a little birthday party, and we needed some things to accommodate the celebration." Vincent then shrugged toward where Sephiroth and Aerith stood. "Rama, I'd like you to meet Aeri and Seph. Aeri, Seph- this is Rama. His family owns and operates the shop here."
Rama nodded toward the both of them, still wearing a smile. "Where are you two from?"
"Kalm." Aerith's response was a little too fast, but the young man didn't seem to notice.
"Used to have family up there- nice place. Well, if anyone needs help, just holler for me. I'm stuck doing stock since my sister is sick." Rama disappeared behind the shelf he first peeped out from.
Sephiroth silently thanked the planet that Yuffie was occupying Aerith's attentions for the moment. Glancing over his shoulder, he indicated to Vincent that he was going to do his own disappearing act.
What would Aerith like for a present? Sephiroth's mind began to struggle with the question. He had already spent much his brain power trying to think of what to get her for her actual birthday- now he had to get her something again, and it wasn't even a full year later? He was in a rut.
Browsing section after section after section, Sephiroth eventually meandered into the one part of the store he had hoped desperately not to venture into; the jewelry and trinket department. The younger gentleman whom he had acquainted near the entrance of the store, Rama, stood behind the jewelry counter, dutifully polishing one of the glass cases.
He smiled up at the general when he approached. "Looking for something for your girl?" Rama placed the rag and cleaner behind the counter.
Sephiroth tried to ignore the statement about Aerith being his girl, and instead focused his attention to the jewelry in the cases that splayed out before him. The silver sparkled, the gold glistened, the gems glittered, and all the while Sephiroth's head began to spin. He had always felt jewelry to be a personal gift, something someone gave a lover or a family member for an extremely special occasion. True, Sephiroth felt that the feelings he harbored toward the flower girl were, indeed, that of love, but to take such a huge step like buying her jewelry before he had even confessed his heart was something he thought might not be the best of ideas.
Great Ifrit below, what if she didn't approve it?
Sephiroth's inner anguish, much to his own discomfort, must have been displayed across his face very obviously, for the general was slightly taken aback when Rama made a rather obvious statement. "Your girl is always the hardest person to shop for."
Swallowing uncomfortably, Sephiroth shrugged, trying to avoid eye contact with the clerk. He looked upon the cases of rings and necklaces, and with each he attempted to picture the flower girl wearing something so frivolous upon her delicate neck or her thin fingers. He couldn't, and he wasn't without reason; aside from the ribbon Aerith wore in her hair, there was little she carried on or about her person to indicate what sort of tastes she might have. Jewelry was something Sephiroth was inexperienced at buying. He was just as inexperienced in reading the flower girl's deeper side. Sure, he could read emotions off of her face every now and again, and easily understand the tone beneath her voice when she spoke, but it was there, in the jewelry department of a general store in which Sephiroth realized that he knew little, in actuality, about Aerith.
The things he actually knew about her could be counted on one hand; she was Cetra; she had grown up in the slums; she had dated Zax; she had traveled most of the world with Cloud; she liked flowers.
What kind of music did she enjoy? Why did she wear that silly pink dress more often than her other, more practical clothing? What was her favorite food? Her favorite color? Her favorite season? Book? Animal?
None of these questions Sephiroth had an answer for.
Glancing up at Rama, who held a look upon his face that indicated he was rather concerned over Sephiroth's strange lapse into severe thought, the general decided he was going to do something daring for a change.
Aerith seemed like the type of person who enjoyed surprises. Sephiroth would, then, surprise her with something that no one would ever assume he would purchase; a ring.
It wasn't a forever type of thing; it wasn't as if he was purposing. A ring, however, signified a never-ending circle of life, and Sephiroth felt it only befitting considering that, after all, she was the reason he was breathing. Their lives were connected in a constant flow of give and take, and a ring was the only symbol Sephiroth could think of that would signify everything he felt for her, not merely love. She was courageous and strong willed, brave and determined, and Sephiroth himself knew that she made one hell of a cake.
He took another long look at the jewelry case and decided to seek Rama's help. Sephiroth pointed to a ring in the case, and glanced up at the clerk. Rama opened the case and took out a small stand with six rings creating a circle around a seventh; Sephiroth carefully plucked the one in the center of the circle and gazed at it. Then, he once again looked up at Rama.
Scratching the back of his head, Rama smiled sheepishly. "I like that one, I guess. I've always felt gold to be a little tacky, and the silver actually looks nicer with the diamond."
Sephiroth swallowed, hard. He liked the ring- it was the reason he had picked it up. Out of the entire case, it was the only ring he could ever see fitting upon Aerith's hand. The band was small and silver, and in the center of it, slightly raised, was an embedded diamond that gave off a luminous, faintly pink glow.
The only problem was that the ring seemed to be too large. If he were so inclined to wear such a thing, Sephiroth would have been able to fit the ring securely onto his own pinkie-finger. It was small to him, but he knew immediately that it was too large for Aerith's dainty fingers.
Apparently, Rama was thinking the same thing. "We could have it sent into to be resized, if you're going to be in town for a few days."
Sephiroth shook his head, instead pointing to another case full of chains. Rama smiled slightly and, without protest, retrieved from the case the stand full of fragile silver necklaces.
Picking out the chain to dangle the ring from seemed to, Sephiroth thought bitterly to himself, be just as difficult as picking out the ring itself; some chains twisted, while others were woven; the clasping on each one was different, as was the size of it. It was a never ending disaster and Sephiroth had, unwittingly, decided that sitting in the middle of it was a grand idea.
Finally forcing himself to decide on something, Sephiroth plucked a sturdy silver chain from the array spread out before him. It was a pretty weave, but practical; thin, but durable, just as the thing needed to be for no one knew what other kinds of surprises were in store for the two traveling companions on the road ahead. They were, after all, still fleeing from Cloud. The chain needed to be able to withstand wear and weather alike.
It was a good thing that every now and then Sephiroth had taken to pocketing the Gil earned from slaying the monsters upon their journey through the Nibelheim mountains, for he had left nearly all of his previous fortune back in Wutai in the hands of Zahi and his sister. Sephiroth, while he paid Rama for the jewelry and his services, pondered briefly what the energetic youngster and his kin might be up to considering they were once again reunited. It was an odd sensation, missing someone he had only been with for a few days, but Sephiroth couldn't necessarily pin the feeling as a bad one. He knew, from first hand experience, that Zahi was resourceful, and didn't doubt for a moment that the two had made it to safety. When he had been in Soldier, there were men he had known for several months, though few he had come in contact with after their initial training, yet he felt no sadness in knowing he hadn't the slightest idea where they were or what they were doing with their lives. It was odd, then, for him to think of Zahi and to wish he knew what the boy was up to.
Sephiroth forced himself back to reality and paid Rama for the goods and services he had provided, and bowed his head in thanks to the boy.
Rama scrunched his face up a bit. "You don't talk much, do you?"
Blinking rapidly, Sephiroth suddenly realized that upon being introduced to Rama, Vincent hadn't informed the young man that the general was mute. Taking it upon himself to convey his muteness to the boy without the use of his notebook, Sephiroth merely pointed to his neck and shook his head.
It seemed that Rama understood well enough because he offered up an apologetic look and a kind smile. "See you around, then."
Trudging away from the jewelry counter, wallet considerably lighter, Sephiroth allowed his mind to wander off again.
Perhaps, Sephiroth thought to himself, that Zahi might be happy that Sephiroth was finally loosening up. The poor boy had acted so stiff around Sephiroth when they had first met. Of course, their first meeting and the close quarters they shared thereafter were anything but welcoming, what with having been stuffed into an uncomfortable wooden crate and shipped halfway across the ocean after mere hours of bumping into one another, but such was Sephiroth's life. His next step was not to be predicted accurately, even by him.
Such is why Sephiroth was not the least bit surprised to find himself looking for some sort of cute, stuffed animal to present Aerith when he gave her the ring. The idea popped out of nowhere; place the ring on the chain, then place the chain on something charming, cuddly, and preferably not alive (Sephiroth really didn't need he to worry about keeping something else alive. He was already having problems with his own life, not to mention the inclusion of Aerith's- he didn't need the burden of another being depending on him).
Sephiroth had always thought teddy bears to be cliché, as something a softer man gave to his woman to appease her after a lover's quarrel. As he wandered down a particular isle within the general store in which teddy bears and stuffed animals of the like cascaded down the shelves, he began to think otherwise. He and Aerith had never truly had an argument, and Sephiroth suspected that, despite the fact that they seemed to get along quite well, it was mostly due to the fact that he couldn't speak. Had he a voice, he was sure his newly developed senses of dry sarcasm and wit would have stuck his foot into his mouth on several occasions, thusly leading up to him, had he a normal life, buying her several teddy bears to compensate his lack of apologetic skills.
While he walked amongst the retail forest filled with cute that was quite over the top, his foot hit something on the ground. Naturally, as when something obscured his path, he was inclined to look down at whatever had caused his foot to falter and was not surprised to see a small teddy bear staring up at him with innocent glass eyes. He was, however, slightly surprised at how cute he believed it to be. Not one for cute things before, Sephiroth almost felt guilty as he gazed downward at the bear upon the floor.
He felt, though quite silly, a little sorry for the bear. Bending at the knees, Sephiroth squatted down and gave the small, cuddly stuffed animal a closer inspection. It was adorable alright- its fur was a deep, rich brown, its eyes were as green as the sea, and the little pink ribbon tied neatly around its neck pulled the endearing and innocent look together into one cotton-stuffing filled creature that could not be passed as anything but lovable and naive.
Sephiroth stood, stuffed animal in hand, and decided that he would present the bear, along with the ring, to Aerith as her gift. He pondered deeply what her reaction might be when she would be presented with such different gifts.
Lost in thought, Sephiroth turned around. He dropped the bear when he almost ran into the younger ninja girl for he hadn't been expecting to see her just a few feet behind him. When had he gotten so sloppy?- he hadn't even felt her presence approaching, he had been so lost in thought.
Yuffie bent down to retrieve the bear Sephiroth had dropped. Without saying a single word, she picked up the bear and held it at arms length toward him. Her face was mostly blank, though her eyes were curious and attentive. Sephiroth reached out and accepted the bear, and nodded once in appreciation.
Finally, the ninja spoke. "Despite everything that's happened, Aerith only has good things to say about you."
The statement struck Sephiroth as somewhat awkward not because Aerith would tell Yuffie anything about him, let alone however good she might think him to be, but rather that it had come from Yuffie herself. When Yuffie spoke, it was as if it wasn't a statement she was proclaiming but, rather, question she was asking. Something along the lines of, 'Aerith trusts you, but can I?'
Yuffie's gaze fell to what Sephiroth held in his hands. Suddenly, the general noticed it had become very hot in the store. He wasn't embarrassed to buy Aerith such a silly gift; he was, however, embarrassed to be seen parading about with it in his hands, in what would most likely be the least manly area of the entire store.
The ninja's lip suddenly pursed in a mock-expression of annoyance mixed with a pout. "You stole my idea!" Her accusations were followed by her pointing directly at the bear in question, and Sephiroth, again, felt rather awkward. It wasn't that she was an annoyance. If anything, Sephiroth could claim that he was slowly becoming used to Yuffie's company. Over the last few days spent in the Shina Mansion with everyone, however, not once had Sephiroth found himself alone with Yuffie. If ever they were in the same room together, so was Vincent and Aerith. Sephiroth thought dryly that had they even been given the chance to be alone together, Yuffie would do most of the talking, as she always seemed to- not that he could contribute much to the conversation anyway.
"I wanted to get her something cute and cuddly, too. That's not fair." Yuffie set her arms across her chest and stuck out her lower lip, trying to look irritated. She mostly looked funny, with the way that she stood and the expression her facial features took, but Sephiroth wasn't going to be the one to tell her such. Yuffie was too much of a fire-cracker; all she needed was an excuse to go off. It was ironic, Sephiroth thought, how well she and Aerith got along with one another, yet how different they really were. "Why are you getting her something so small, though? Don't you think she'd like a great big bear? I know I would want a giant one, that's for sure!"
Sephiroth, glad he had thought to pack his notebook and pens on their little into-town-trip, pulled the small, green spiral book out of his pocket, clicked his pen, and wrote Yuffie a small message.
'Aerith would, much like you, enjoy a larger stuffed bear, I'm sure. We are, however, still traveling, and bringing something that large when walking through wilderness isn't a good idea.'
For the first time, Yuffie smiled directly at the general. Sure, she had smiled in his presence before, mostly due to the jokes she and Aerith had shared, but Yuffie had never really paid much heed to Sephiroth other than the occasional glance during her story-telling and sporadic yes-or-no questions she threw at him, like asking if he would mind putting his plate in the sink, or if he wanted more eggs. Deep down, Sephiroth thought it was rather nice to be getting along with Aerith's friends. It made him feel as though they were his friends as well as hers. He had, after all, shared some rather deep secrets with Vincent only a few nights before.
"Alright, listen up." Yuffie's expression turned devious, like that of a cat who had just found a hidden saucer of cream. "I told Vincent to keep Aerith busy- they're looking for food together, for dinner tonight- so that I could find you and we could find something really awesome for Aerith."
Sephiroth nodded once in understanding.
"I already know what I want to get her, though. She needs clothing! What she's been traveling with inside that puny backpack isn't enough to keep a woman satisfied, no matter how practical it is to pack light."
Cocking an eyebrow, Sephiroth raised his chin while he looked upon the girl and tried to understand the tone under her words.
"Look, the lady needs some new threads! I helped her with her laundry the other night, and all the clothing she has is either fading, dingy, or smells like feet. She needs nicer things to wear."
Pondering such a notion for a moment, Sephiroth had to agree that Aerith, much like himself, was in need of more extensive wardrobe, despite the fact that they didn't have much room in their backpacks for it. Traversing through the mountains without the proper attire had been extremely unpleasant, and that was just for him; Sephiroth's body was toned for obscene climate structures, and if it had been uncomfortable for him, it must have been grueling for Aerith.
Without too much hesitation, Sephiroth nodded toward Yuffie in agreement.
"Good!" Her smile, were it at all possible, became more mischievous. "With both of us picking things out, we can't go wrong."
Sephiroth's heard suddenly sunk. Yuffie wanted him to pick out clothing with her? What experience in the field of women's clothing did he have? Back in Mideel, he hadn't even picked out clothing for himself- Aerith had always neatly lain something for him to wear out on his bed, the thoughtful thing she was. Sephiroth didn't have the slightest idea what Aerith liked to wear (other than pink, of course). With a heavy heart, and even heavier footsteps, Sephiroth followed Yuffie to the women's clothing department. The only instance in which he and women's clothing had crossed had ended up with... well, it was best he tried not to think of his cross-dressing escapade.
The shopping ordeal, however, turned out to be less painful than Sephiroth first suspected. Yuffie seemed to harbor a rather good sense of fashion, and would only consult Sephiroth's opinion when she couldn't make up her mind over something. Envisioning Aerith in something Yuffie held up turned out to be easier than expected. Having been around the flower girl for so long, day in and day out, it was not difficult for Sephiroth to picture what she would look good in, and what she wouldn't.
When it seemed that Yuffie was satisfied with the mountain of clothing she had picked out, she unloaded the garments into Sephiroth's hands and promptly told him to 'wait a minute.' Skeptical that whatever Yuffie was planning would actually take a minute, Sephiroth fought the urge to roll his eyes and instead adjusted some of the clothing in his arms so that the load was easier to carry. Yuffie promptly pulled out a cellular phone and began mashing the buttons. Sephiroth watched as she placed the phone next to her ear and tapped her foot upon the ground, openly indicating her impatience over the fact that the person she was calling had let it ring more than once before picking up.
Finally, there was an answer. "Vincent, it's me- keep Aerith busy, so Seph and I can go home to prepare."
Yuffie swiftly shut the phone, not waiting for reply from the gunman. Sephiroth shifted slightly as the young girl scooped up several things from his arms, as to make his load considerably lighter. "Alright, we're heading home. I had Rama hide a few bags of balloons and streams for me behind the counter so we can get those when we leave."
Sephiroth, whose opinions apparently didn't much matter to Yuffie plans, dutifully followed her to the front of the store and to the checkout. He listened in while Yuffie and Rama made small chit-chat over the presents that were being purchased for Aerith, all three of them packing the clothing into shopping bags and trying to hurry without looking rushed.
Once more, Sephiroth followed Yuffie out of the store after all of their wares had been properly paid for. The journey back to the Shinra Mansion was a short one, and it ended on a bit of a frustrating note.
"I want to lay out Aerith's clothes on her bed for her, as a surprise. Can I count on you to start blowing up the balloons?"
Never having blown up balloons before in his life, Sephiroth gave Yuffie a look that tried to convey a 'are you kidding me' type of message. It seemed, however, to work somewhat. Yuffie sighed, placed her hands on her hips, and tapped her foot on the ground while she tried to think of a solution.
"Fine," she concluded. "I'll hurry up and put the clothes in her room. Can you at least get everything out of the bags for me, and find the tape from the kitchen drawer under the phone? I'll show you how to decorate when I'm finished upstairs."
It wasn't as if he had much time to protest, for once Yuffie had finished speaking she raced for the stairs, bags in hand. Sephiroth, however, didn't care to argue with the girl and meandered into the kitchen and pulled out the drawer underneath the phone. He was lucky enough to have been told the correct location of the tape yet was only able to unearth it after he unloaded half of the drawer's contents.
Vaguely, Sephiroth mused about the house he had shared with Aerith in Mideel, and how the junk drawer had been his own personal mission to clean. He was still determined to get around to it… eventually.
Knowing that Yuffie was bound to take her sweet time, Sephiroth took a moment for himself and placed the present he had bought for Aerith in his bedroom, neatly under the pillow next to his notebook. He quickly made his way back downstairs and into the kitchen.
Sephiroth took to the package of balloons, not entirely sure as what to do with them. While he understood that they were to be blown up, he wasn't completely certain how to go about the process of actually getting air into them. The balloons looked rather puny given their state, deflated and shriveled upon the kitchen counter. After several moments of close observation, Sephiroth decided it was a good idea to wait for Yuffie to show him what, exactly, he was meant to do with the wrinkly rubber.
Sure enough, Yuffie tumbled down the stairs moments after Sephiroth became bored of looking at the deflated balloons. She rolled her eyes when she spotted him, pile of balloons on the counter that remained to be inflated. Yuffie demonstrated for the general, who instantly picked up a balloon for himself and blew it up. He tied the loose end in a knot easily enough and tossed the rubbery sphere onto the floor.
In no time at all the two had finished all preparations that included balloons and moved straight for the streamers, whereupon the tape Sephiroth had located earlier began to come in handy. Never one to have planned any type of party before, let alone decorated for one, Sephiroth was designated Yuffie's official taper. The ninja would hold a piece of a streamer or a balloon to the wall and indicate with a simple nod of her head, and the general would swoop in and tape whatever it was directly to the wall. It wasn't the most dignified of jobs, but at least he didn't have to actually do very much: a tape dispenser was far from a formidable enemy for the general.
After the streamers had been placed up, Sephiroth watched Yuffie stand in the middle of the front room to admire the handwork. "I don't suppose we could yell out 'surprise' when Aerith comes home. You can't yell much of anything, and I have a feeling she'd be less than surprised. After all, she kind of knows that we're throwing her a party."
Sephiroth nodded, hoping it was the reaction Yuffie was looking for. He was pleased when the front door wiggled open and he was cut short from having to endure any more of Yuffie's rather odd rhetorical statements. The girl had sounded more like she had been talking to herself than to anyone else in the room, let alone Sephiroth.
"It looks wonderful, you guys!" Aerith's face was aglow when she was lead into the front parlor of the house by Vincent. Like a gentleman, the gunman was carrying what looked to be the heaviest of the grocery bags. Sephiroth caught the pleading look that was shot his way, one that clearly read 'my arms are going to fall off!' and took the initiative to lend Vincent a hand.
Aerith and Yuffie followed them into the kitchen, chatting and smiling.
Sephiroth thought it was nice to see Aerith truly happy for a change. It had been a while since she had smiled so widely, and he missed it so.
Food preparations mostly seemed like a rather frantic ordeal with everyone, all at once, in the kitchen doing something, be it peeling vegetables or cutting meat. Chatter and laughter rang from the tiled floor to the paint-cracked ceilings, and even Sephiroth was prone to a silent chuckle or two when Yuffie was recalling more of her stories involving her horrific sense of balance versus the stairs. Their meal was consumed in much the same way, with mirth and happiness spilling from the faces of all who sat around the oak table. Everything that had been prepared for the meal had merely been placed in the middle of the table so that anyone could take anything they pleased. Such an idea worked well for Sephiroth, for right away he had a feeling that whatever it was Yuffie had prepared might not suit his tastes. To seem polite, he took a small scoop of whatever it was she had concocted, for he couldn't tell what it was meant to be in the slightest, and was not disappointed when he discovered it to be rather salty and tasting of fish and, oddly enough, feet.
After the all of the plates were on their way to the sink, and all of the leftovers had been put away safely into the fridge, Sephiroth noticed it was well passed nightfall. Everyone meandered into the living room, Yuffie and Aerith both nursing their second glass of champagne.
Sephiroth didn't have much taste for the bubbly drink and was more inclined to have a shot of harder liquor. He, however, didn't feel the urge to drink, so he merely poured the champagne when it was asked of him and didn't bother to take any for his own glass. Vincent seemed to be harboring the same idea and only took a few sips of drink when it had been shoved under his nose by a somewhat giddy Yuffie.
"Present time, present time!" Yuffie's whimsical chants were high-pitched and as bubbly as the drink in her glass. Sephiroth through briefly that it was a good idea Vincent had purchased champagne instead of something that contained more alcohol. Yuffie and beer would have made a most annoying couple. The girl was cheery enough when she was sober- copious amounts of alcohol coursing through the ninja would have been too much for the general to handle.
Watching Aerith's reaction to the idea of receiving presents, however, was amusing for Sephiroth in a way that a drunken Yuffie wouldn't have been. The face of the flower girl grew rather pink, and she smiled sheepishly. "You guys threw me a party- I didn't expect you to actually buy me anything."
Vincent tilted his head, curiously. "You're our friend, Aerith. Besides- who knows when next we'll all be able to meet together like this."
Aerith bit her lip. "I'm sorry that I'm making you keep everything from Cloud."
Vincent dismissed Aerith's fret with a wave of his hand. "If I were in your position, I would ask the same thing. I'm sure I'm correct when I assume the fear involved with the situation at hand; You're not avoiding Cloud to hurt him- you're avoiding him so that you both may live. If Cloud were to see the two of you now, there's little doubt in my mind that he would strike Sephiroth down before he would listen to anything he had to say."
Sephiroth was pleased that Vincent understood their plight. The gunman was right in his assumption; Sephiroth no long had much against the blonde swordsman, though he knew that the crossing of steel against steel would be heard long before the trading of words between them.
Aerith's laughed brightened the mood. "Thank you all so much: I feel so special."
Yuffie placed her hands on her hips, slightly sloshing the drink she was holding. "You are special. No more talking about Cloud. I want you to come see your presents!"
Pulling Aerith by the hand, Yuffie lead the flower girl up the stairs.
"I'm so glad that I didn't buy anything heavier than champagne." Vincent's sigh was heavy, an indication that he already knew what Yuffie might have been like had she consumed any more alcohol.
Sephiroth scratched the back of his head, nodding in sheepish agreement.
Several moments of silence were traded between the two men, but it wasn't at all awkward; in fact, it was rather comfortable considering all of the chatter that had commenced when they had all been in the kitchen.
Vincent finally broke the quiet. His look was rather smug, and Sephiroth knew what going to be said before the words fell from the gunman's mouth. "So, Yuffie told me that you bought Aerith a teddy bear."
Well, at least Vincent didn't know about the ring. Sephiroth merely shrugged, trying not to smile. He was growing rather anxious about presenting Aerith's gift to her as the night wore on.
"Are you going to give her the gift anytime soon?"
Sephiroth rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. Vincent smiled in return. "You might want to do it soon; get your surprise in there before Yuffie chokes Aerith to death with all of those clothes."
Deciding that Vincent's suggestion sounded like a better option than putting off the presentation of his gift for the rest of the night, Sephiroth nodded toward the gunman and made his way to Aerith's room before his nerve was diminished.
He heard Yuffie's ecstatic fit of giggles before he rounded the curve in the stairs, and was again reminded of how happy he was over the purchase of champagne in the stead of heavier alcohol. Poking his head around the door, Sephiroth knocked on the wall and curiously looked inside. Aerith was garbed in one of her new outfits, and Sephiroth instantly felt it was perfect for her.
Aerith and Yuffie looked upon him as he entered the room. Aerith smiled and did a little twirl, showing off her new clothes. "What do you think?"
Sephiroth smiled and nodded in approval.
Yuffie giggled. "I knew I came to the right person!"
Tilting her head in curiosity, Aerith let a look of intrigue cross her features. "What do you mean, Yuffie?"
Again, Yuffie giggled. "Seph was the one to help me pick out all of your clothes. I would pick something out, and he would tell me if he thought it would look good on your or not."
Surprise crossed Aerith's face. "Did he really?"
Sephiroth could feel his face slightly flush. Yuffie nodded, taking another drink from her glass.
"Man's got class and style." Yuffie was particular to emphasize the 'and' in her sentence, though Sephiroth didn't have much time to react to her statement. "Hey, aren't you going to give her your present?"
Aerith's smile returned. "You know you didn't have to get me anything. You already bought me my birthday present." With a flick of her wrist, Aerith indicated the pretty green ribbon that held her hair back.
Sephiroth, now wary of his gift to her, held out his hand to the flower girl and indicated that she should follow him. Yuffie's grin grew as she took yet another swig of champagne, careful to only let Sephiroth see her sly smirk. Aerith took Sephiroth's outstretched hand and was lead out of the door and down the hallway.
Upon entering his own bedroom, Sephiroth let go of Aerith's hand meandered toward his bed. Aerith stopped behind him and gave enough room for the general to compose himself.
Swallowing the huge lump in his throat, Sephiroth gave himself one final mental kick in the pants and decided that it was either now or never. Heaving a large sigh, he pulled the bear with the ring secured neatly around its neck from under his pillow and turned around. He held the bear out, listening intently to the erratic heartbeats that echoed in his ears.
Aerith grinned. "Oh Seph- he's just..."
There was a pause, one that let Sephiroth know the exact moment she spotted the ring upon the chain secured carefully around the neck of the bear. Sephiroth's heart skipped a beat, then thundered so loud he was certain Aerith would hear it.
Emerald eyes widened in awe as they gazed upon the silver ring. Carefully, Aerith's fingers unclasped the chain from around the neck of the stuffed animal. She clasped the ring in her fingers, tightly, staring down at it in awe. "It's beautiful." Her whisper was barely audible. Sephiroth swallowed again, trying to rid his throat of its sudden dryness.
Aerith looked up at him, a small smile beginning to spread across her face. Sephiroth saw the hints of wetness at the corner of her eyes.
"Oh Sephiroth, I love it!"
Before the general had time to react, much less time to think, Aerith had thrown her arms around his waist and had pulled him into a gentle embrace. Letting out the deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, Sephiroth slowly reached out and tenderly entwined his arms around her in return.
Despite the heavy feeling of elation and the lightness of his heart, Sephiroth could vaguely hear Vincent and Yuffie in the next room, quietly laughing.
Shutting out the rest of the world, even if only for a few moments, Sephiroth allowed himself to cradle Aerith in his arms, free of guilt, and gave himself his first memory of pure happiness.