Over the next few days, Leon, Aerith, Yuffie and Cid started to notice something very strange. More and more Heartless were beginning to appear in Traverse Town, especially in Third District.

That night, they held a small meeting.

"Okay, kids," Cid said to Leon, Aerith and Yuffie. They were all seated while he walked around in front of them.

"Too many people are being killed in Third District," Cid continued grimly. "The survivors need to be protected." He paused and turned to look at the group. "Since we're the strongest individuals in town, I say we should go ahead and move Headquarters up there." There was a confused pause.

"Move Headquarters to Third District?" Aerith repeated.

"But it's dangerous up there!" Yuffie yelled. Cid nodded and took the straw out of his mouth.

"Exactly," he said and started pacing again. "There's an empty house we could use. You job today is to go get it up and running."

"So, in other words," Leon said, crossing his arms. "You want us to go clean it."

"Unless you want to stay in it the way it is now," Cid replied, grinning. Leon rolled his eyes.

"What?!" Yuffie said, standing up. She looked like she was about to run over and strangle Cid. Aerith stood up and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Come on, Yuffie," she said, smiling. "We'd be helping so many people." Yuffie glared at her, then crossed her arms and looked down.

"Fine," she mumbled. Aerith smiled.

"Alright, then," Cid said. "Let's go." He walked off. Yuffie followed him, her arms still crossed. Aerith straightened her dress up, while Leon put away the chairs. She suddenly felt a scratchy feeling in her throat, and then started coughing hard. She felt dizzy for a moment and raised her hand to her forehead. Leon noticed.

"You alright?" he said, walking over to her.

She turned to him and smiled. "It's nothing. I'm just a little under the weather."

Leon continued to stare at her.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked after a while. He kept doing that lately, and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

Leon snapped out of it. "No, it's nothing," he muttered, and he brushed past her.

Aerith smiled and shook her head. She started coughing again. She took out a potion vile and drained it. She had been sick for a while now, and the potion only rid her of the coughing and dizziness for a few days. Aerith needed an elixir to cure herself completely, but they were very hard to find. She didn't want to burden anyone for something that could be nothing at all.

Aerith put the empty vile back in her pocket and followed the group to Third District.

Yuffie carefully opened the door of the vacant house and peeped in.

"Oh dear god," she muttered as she saw the state of the house. Leon pushed the door wide open so the rest could look in.

Leon, Aerith and Yuffie stared into the house, their mouths fell open.

It was a one-roomed house, and it was a mess. There were cobwebs everywhere and the room was intoxicated with dust. There was a small bed in the corner, but the mattress looked like it had been infected with mold. Aerith began coughing again. Leon rubbed her back with his hand. She smiled at him.

"When was the last time someone was in here?" Yuffie said, covering her nose and mouth with her scarf. "A million years ago?"

"Oh shut up," Cid said behind her. "Like it or not, we're gonna do this."

Cautiously, they entered the house. Aerith immediately went over and opened the window.

"We have to clear the air out of here," she said. She waved some of the dust out.

"And we need to get rid of all those cobwebs," Leon suggested, looking at the ceiling.

"I know," Cid said. He handed them each a broom. "Get to work."

"What about me?" Yuffie asked.

"You go outside and start cleaning the bricks," he replied. He turned to the door and started walking. "I'm gonna go order some furniture." At that, he handed a bewildered Yuffie and bucket of soap water and a scrub, and then left.

"Great," Yuffie mumbled angrily. "Just great." She glanced up at Aerith and Leon. A mischievous smile crept onto her lips. On second thoughts, Yuffie said to herself, this could be interesting.

"I'll leave you two alone now," Yuffie said, smirking. She winked at Leon and went outside, closing the door behind her.

Leon tried to calm himself down quickly. Aerith, however, didn't seem to notice.

"What do you think she meant by that?" she asked Leon. He hesitated for a moment, then just shrugged.

They started to clean. It seemed like hours. Leon swept and swept the floor, the pile of dust getting bigger every second.

"He could've gotten me a vacuum, but noooo…" Leon grumbled. "It had to be a broom." He glanced up at Aerith. She was standing on a chair, desperately trying to clear the cobwebs from the ceiling. At least she was here too.

Aerith reached up higher. She stood on her tiptoes holding up the broom. The cobwebs didn't seem to move, more likely the broom had been caught in it. Aerith tugged and tugged, but it really was stuck. She stood back down and sighed wearily. She wiped her forehead with her wrist, then suddenly she felt dizzy again. Everything went blurry. Aerith closed her eyes before falling off the chair. She expected to land painfully on that hard dusty ground, but she didn't.

Someone had caught her just in time. She opened her eyes. It was Leon.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he laid her gently on the floor. She sat up and rubbed her head.

"I lost my balance," she said. "Don't worry about it." Leon wasn't fooled.

"This isn't the first time this has happened," he said, leaning in closer. "What's going on, Aerith?"

He was staring at her again, but his look wasn't just of concern. There was something else. Aerith had to know.

"You tell me," she replied.

"What?" Leon was surprised at the sudden serious look on Aerith's face.

"You've been acting weird all week," she continued. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?" Leon looked away and moved back. What was he going to say? It seemed so rushed all the sudden.

"Leon!" Aerith yelled. She looked annoyed. Leon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, but he still couldn't look at her. But he knew this time, he just couldn't hold back anymore. His heart would burst.

"I…I…"

"What?!" Aerith said angrily. "Just go ahead and say it!"

"I'm in love with you!"

Aerith stared at him.

"What?" she repeated weakly. She definitely hadn't expected that.

Leon took her firmly by the shoulders, staring into her frightened eyes.

"That one promise…" he muttered, shaking his head. "How could it bring all this?"

"What are you talking about?" Aerith asked.

Leon threw her back onto the floor and turned his back to her. Aerith was left baffled.

"You made a promise to Cloud, didn't you?" she asked after a while.

Leon closed his eyes.

"You promised him you'd protect me if he didn't come back?"

He turned to look at Aerith. He could see the pain that reflected his in her eyes.

"I love him," she said firmly. "That will never change."

Leon moved closer. He looked deep into her eyes.

"You'll always love him. I get that."

He slowly raised his hand to push a hair out of her face. Aerith exhaled sharply at his touch.

"But is he the only one you'll ever let near your heart?" he asked.

"Leon…" Aerith whispered "… please don't do this…"

"Is he?!" Leon said again, much more aggressively. Aerith looked away. Leon grabbed her by the shoulders again and forced her to look him in the face. She was frightened, but Leon needed her answer to his question.

What he was doing to her was wrong, and he knew it. He had promised Cloud he'd protect her, and he would. But the feelings he had for Aerith growing in his heart had always been blocked painfully by the loyalty to his best friend. But now, Leon just couldn't hold it in any longer. It had been 9 years.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Cid came in carrying a mattress. Yuffie was behind him. Leon quickly let go of Aerith and moved back. The other two stopped dead when they realized they had walked in at an awkward moment.

"Um…" Cid began, glancing between Leon and Aerith. "Are we interrupting anything?"

Leon quickly stood up. "No," he replied firmly. Cid glanced at Aerith, who was sitting on the floor. She was still recovering from the moment.

"O… kay," Cid said, still unsure. He tried to act normal again. "Help me with this, will you?"

Leon nodded. He grabbed one end of the mattress and set it down on the bed.

Yuffie walked over to Aerith and cast a concerned look.

"Aerith? Are you okay?" she said, kneeling down. Aerith covered her burning cheeks with her hands and quickly stood up.

"I have to go," she muttered, and at that she ran straight out of the house.

"Aerith!" Yuffie called after her. She got up and ran to look out the door. She turned and glared at Leon.

"What did you do?!" she snarled. Leon looked away guiltily. Yuffie shook her head at him, then ran after Aerith.

Cid turned to him, his arms crossed. "What's going on with you and Aerith?"

Leon just continued watching the door.

"I'm not so sure anymore," he muttered, more to himself.

"Aerith!"

Yuffie ran around for almost 15 minutes, checking every district for her.

She finally found her.

Aerith was sitting on the ledge behind the Accessory Shop in First District. She was lost in her thoughts.

"Aerith!" Yuffie called out again. She ran over to her, but she didn't seem to hear her. "Aerith!"

Aerith finally snapped out of it. She looked over to see her friend.

"Hi Yuffie," she said softly, giving her a small smile. Yuffie sat down next to her.

"What did Leon do to you?" she asked.

Aerith laughed wryly. "Well, apparently, he told me he's in love with me."

Yuffie's eyes widened. "What?!" She knew Leon liked Aerith alot, but she never realized he was actually so serious.

"Yeah," Aerith said, nodding her head. She laughed again. "And I don't know what to do." She rubbed her face with her hands. Yuffie shifted closer to her.

"Well…" she began, not really knowing what to say. "How do you feel about him?"

Aerith looked at her, confused.

"You love him, you don't love him, you can't love him, you won't love him…" Yuffie said, gesturing with her hands.

Aerith put her head in her hands.

"I don't know," she said, shutting her eyes tightly. Yuffie put an arm around her and patted her back.

"You'll know when the right time comes," Yuffie said. "Don't worry."