Aerith got up from bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She walked over in front of her big bathroom mirror. She stared at herself.

No longer was she the teenager when she first arrived in Traverse Town, the scared girl who struggled to hold everything together. She was now a woman. Her eyes sparkled like two emeralds, full of wisdom and prudence. Her chestnut-brown hair had grown longer now, so Aerith had tied it up in an elegant braid. As she grew older, her beauty had matured to a state where any man who set eyes on her would lose his breath. But still, Aerith's heart already belonged to someone.

Aerith took out her pink dress and put it on. She looked at herself again in the mirror and smiled. Cloud had always told her that she looked beautiful in pink. She let out a sigh and went over to blow out the candle on the windowsill. Aerith had lit a candle every night for him for almost 9 years. She had waited for him for 9 years, and she would keep waiting.

Aerith let out another sigh and headed downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast. She was surprised someone was already there.

"Good morning, Leon," she said warmly. Leon was reading the morning newspaper at the table. He looked up at her.

He too had grown up. His hair had grown and was down to his shoulder. His figure was built, perhaps from all his training. On his face, a long scar ran across on the bridge of his nose. He had gotten it from fighting the Heartless, and it seemed to scar his heart and soul than just his face. Despite that, he had grown into an incredibly handsome young man. Girls all over town loved him from afar, but Leon never let himself get involved with anyone.

"Morning," he mumbled. Aerith walked over to the fridge and opened it.

"Would you like eggs or pancakes today?" she asked from behind the door.

Leon resumed his reading. "Do whatever you want. I don't care."

Aerith just smiled and took out the ingredients.

"Fine," she said cheerfully, walking to the stove. "I'll make you both." She started getting the utensils from high and low cupboards.

"Mornin' everyone!"

Both Leon and Aerith looked in the direction of the voice. It was Yuffie. She walked over and took a seat next to Leon.

"Good morning, Yuffie," Aerith said. "Did you sleep well?"

Yuffie nodded and yawned loudly. "Breakfast ready yet?"

"It'll be ready in a minute," Aerith replied.

Yuffie had grown a lot too. From a little girl, she was now a spunky teenager. As she got older, Yuffie developed a passion for ninjutsu and had spent years training. Her toy shuriken had been replaced by a real one, and she used it around quite often, much to Cid's despair. She had never worn a dress and had cut her black hair very short. However, despite her tomboyish ways, she was a pretty girl. Aerith always commented on how much she looked like her mother. She was 16 now, but she still had the child within.

"Mornin' Squall," Yuffie said happily to Leon.

"It's Leon," he said monotonically, resuming to his paper. Yuffie just giggled at him.

"Where's Cid?" she asked Aerith.

"Oh, he's in the garage," Aerith replied as she poured out some orange juice. "As usual." She turned around, carrying two trays of food. Leon stood up to help her.

"Here," he said as he took a tray. Aerith smiled at him.

"Thank you, Leon," she said, placed the other tray in front of Yuffie and dusted her hands.

"Well, enjoy," Aerith said, as Yuffie dived in and started stuffing her face. She turned and walked to the front door.

"Whoa," Leon said, standing up again. Aerith stopped and turned to him.

"Aren't you eating with us?"

Aerith smiled and shook her head. "I'm going to pop down to the store for some things. I'll be right back." She took out her shoulder pouch and opened the door.

"What about the Heartless?" Leon asked. Aerith rolled her eyes and took out an Ether bottle to show him.

"I'll be fine," she told him, smiling. She gave a quick wave and left.

Leon blinked, standing there for a moment. Slowly, he sat back down and started to play mindlessly with his eggs. Yuffie noticed. She frowned at him.

"What is up with you lately?" she said.

"What do you mean?" Leon said, glancing over at her.

"You!" she said, putting down her fork. "You've been acting so weird around Aerith. She's going down to the store and you act like it's a big deal."

"I'm just afraid for her safety," Leon replied. "I made a promise to protect her." He tried to return to his food, ignoring Yuffie's baffled gaze.

"It's not just that, is it?" she said, shaking her head.

Leon glared coldly at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yuffie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She glanced between him and the door.

"Tell me the truth, Leon…" she began, but she then decided just to shake it off. She stood up.

"You know what," she said. "Scratch that." Yuffie took her plate and emptied it into the bin. Leon quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"Nothing," Yuffie replied. She took a moment to put the dirty dishes into the sink. Then she turned back to him and smiled.

"You like her, don't you?" she said cheekily.

Leon went bright red. He tried to lower his face down so she couldn't see.

"Hey, you're blushing!" Yuffie said. "You like her!" She laughed.

"I do not," he said, glaring at her coldly.

"You so do!"

Leon rolled his eyes and looked back at his paper. "Whatever."

Leon sat by himself in the lounge. Yuffie had gone down to Cid's garage to help him and Aerith wasn't home yet, so he had to whole place to himself. He sat there on the sofa, thinking.

He tried to think back, when Rinoa was with him. He tried to remember the good memories he had with his first love.

But he couldn't.

All he could see were still images. The memories flashed by, but he couldn't see her face or hear her voice.

Leon closed his eyes and frowned. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to remember. Everything good, everything special. It was so strange; he could only remember the events of the last 9 years clearly.

Most of the good times were with Aerith.

Leon smiled as he recalled the time when he was injured while protecting her from Heartless. It was three years ago.

"Leon! Watch out!" Aerith yelled from behind as a Heartless jumped at him. It extended its long claws and slashed Leon right across the chest. He let out a cry of pain and collapsed onto his knees.

"Leon!" Aerith yelled again. She ran over to him, but he raised his arm up to stop her. He looked up menacingly at the monster in front of him, jumped up and brought down the Gunblade onto it. The Heartless was immediately vanquished. Leon landed back on the ground on his feet, but quickly collapsed. He clutched his chest tightly to try and stop the bleeding. The pain was horrific. Aerith ran over to him. She gasped as she saw the wound.

"Leon…" she whispered.

"I'm… I'm fine," he said, standing up again. "Don't worry about it." However, he quickly fell down again. Aerith bent down to him, she threw his arm over her shoulders and placed a hand on his back. She helped him stand up and they headed back home.

Once there, she took him to his bedroom and demanded to examine his wound.

"Take your shirt off," she said as he sat down on the bed.

"What?"

Aerith smirked at him as she opened the first aid kit.

"Oh come on," she said playfully. "You've got nothing I haven't seen before."

Leon blinked. Though uneasy about it, he removed the torn bloodied shirt. Aerith immediately went to work cleaning the wound. Leon was quite impressed at how good she was and how much she cared about the pain.

"This may sting a bit," she said as she applied some potion mix onto the cut. She dabbed it gently with a cottonball, pausing whenever Leon winced. She then wrapped his whole chest with bandages. She wrapped it just right too; not too tight and not too loose.

"There," she said finally. Aerith ran her hand gently across his chest. It no longer hurt, but now he felt something else. It was a burning sensation in his heart, a feeling he thought he could never feel again after losing Rinoa. Leon raised his hand and placed it on Aerith's. She looked at him, confused. He gazed into her eyes, but she just smiled brightly at him.

"Feel better now?" she asked cheerfully. Leon removed his hand and dropped his gaze, a little embarassed. Not the response he wanted. Leon just shrugged.

"Good," she told him, smiling. She got up and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Dinner will be ready in an hour." She ran downstairs to the kitchen before calling out "Hope you like pasta!"

Leon closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa. Why was he feeling like this? She's nothing more than a loyal childhood friend to you, he told himself. Nothing more. Leon rubbed his face roughly with his hands. The sound of the door opening brought Leon out of his thoughts. Aerith came in, carrying a grocery bag full of food.

"Hey there," she said when she spotted him. He ignored her.

Aerith walked over to the kitchen table and placed down the groceries. She turned back to Leon. Her smile faded slightly as she walked over.

"What's wrong, Leon?" she asked as she sat down in front of him.

"Nothing," he said robotically, not looking at her. Aerith wasn't fooled.

"Come on," Aerith said, leaning forward to him. "I've known you since I was 2 years old. I know when something's up."

He looked at her. She was smiling at him. Leon sighed silently and gave in.

"I've been thinking."

"Thinking?"

"About her." Aerith smiled softly at him.

"You miss her?" she asked.

Leon closed his eyes and shifted a little. "That's not it." He let out another deep sigh and looked at her.

"I think I'm starting to forget her."

Aerith's smiled faded slightly. She tilted her head sideways and looked at him sympathetically.

"Oh Leon…" she said softly.

"I can't remember back. The memories are faded," Leon continued. "She's fading away."

Aerith sighed. "It happens. Sooner or later you start to forget." She looked at him concernedly.

"But why now?" she asked, moving over next to him on the sofa. "You can't just start letting yourself forget for no reason." She moved in closer to Leon. "Something else is going on."

Leon stayed silent for a moment.

"I think I'm falling in love with someone else," he said finally.

Aerith blinked. She would never have guessed that would be his reply. She leaned back onto the sofa and chuckled softly. Leon glanced at her.

"Love," she said after a while. "It's a complicated thing. You just can't control it." She looked back at Leon. He immediately dropped his gaze.

"It has been almost nine years," she told him. "You have to right to move on if you choose to. But even if you do, don't let yourself forget Rinoa, okay?" She shook her head. "She's the one who taught you how to love." Aerith leaned back and stared dreamily at the ceiling.

Leon leaned forward so he could look Aerith straight in the face.

"You still think he's out there, don't you?" he asked her.

Aerith suddenly looked uncomfortable. Leon shook his head and let out a bitter laugh of disbelief.

"Aerith," he said. "Like you said, it's been nine years, and we haven't heard from them since."

"I don't care how long I have to wait," Aerith said. "He'll come." Leon sighed.

"Aerith, listen to yourself," he said. He took her hands. "It's been 9 years, and you're waiting on a boy you still think you're in love with." Aerith's eyes flashed.

"I love him," she said in a hard voice. Leon shook his head again.

"You were a kid!" he exclaimed. "We were all kids! Who were we to know what love was? Who were we to know anything at that age?!"

"I knew enough," Aerith muttered, his words stinging at her heart.

"You're not in love with Cloud," Leon said. "You're in love with his memory." He shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have to let him go," he told her softly. "Sooner or later, you just have to."

Aerith looked away. She flicked off his hand and stood up. She didn't want to listen anymore.

"I have to go," she muttered. She turned towards the stairs and went to her room.

As soon as she disappeared up the stairs, Leon slammed his fist onto the coffee table and cursed loudly. What was he thinking? He had brought up the topic Aerith held most dear and crushed it right in front of her. Leon collapsed back onto the couch, hating himself all over again.

He was falling for Aerith, but her heart was with a boy she would never see again.

He didn't know what to do.