Aerith loved flowers, she always had. She used to sell them around town all the time, but ever since the Heartless came, she was forced to leave behind her flower basket and fight to protect those who couldn't.

But still, she loved flowers.

In Traverse Town, there was another woman who loved flowers enough to make a business out of it. She had become a good friend to Aerith over the years.

Meghan was 6 years older than Aerith, but she was wise beyond her years. Her specialty was roses. She grew the most beautiful roses there were, so delicate and perfect, selling them at an agreeable price of 10 munny each.

She loved them so much; she named her 3-year-old daughter Rose.

Meghan was one of the few people in Traverse Town who had been affected by the Heartless the most.

5 years ago, she and her husband Jason escaped their world to Traverse Town. They lived peacefully, but 2 years later when Meghan was pregnant with Rose, Jason was killed when trying to fight off the Heartless. Rose never got to meet her father, and Meghan was scarred for life.

She had opened up a small flower shop, calling it Jason's Sanctuary. Aerith visited it often, normally to see Meghan and Rose. Meghan had this way of being able to tell when something was wrong, and today was no exception. Aerith came over, playing with little Rose and admiring Meghan's flowers. She seemed sad and distracted a lot more than she usually was when in a crisis. Meghan sensed it was something else.

"Go and play with the flowers, darling," Meghan told Rose, shooing her away. She took Aerith gently by the arm and they sat down on a bench. Meghan smiled softly at her.

"Aerith. Is everything alright?" she asked. Aerith forced a smile.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You seem a little distracted than usual today," Meghan replied, leaning back onto the bench. "Is everything alright with Leon?"

"Yes! Of course!" Aerith exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I've…I've never been happier." She looked down at her hands and started fidgeting with her fingernails. Meghan wasn't fooled. She placed a warm hand on her back. Aerith looked up at her.

"It's okay, Aerith," Meghan said, smiling. "You can tell me."

She knew Meghan was there for her, and she'd always understand. Aerith sighed and closed her eyes, a small tear escaping down her cheek.

"It's… it's suppose to be his birthday today," she breathed softly.

"Whose?"

Aerith sighed again. "Cloud…" she leaned over and rested her head on Meghan's shoulder.

"Ah," Meghan said, smiling and wrapping her arm around her friend. "You miss him. That's natural." She smiled again. "But Aerith…" She looked over at her. "You're getting married soon. You can't keep doing this to yourself." Aerith sat back up, rubbing her eyes.

"I know, I know," she murmured. "But I keep having these strange dreams of him..." She dropped her gaze to the ground. "…Of darkness. I don't know why." Meghan nodded silently and stood up. She walked back into the shop, Rose running past her towards Aerith, holding a white rose in her hand.

"Aewith!" she shouted excitedly. Aerith smiled at her. "Lookie! Isn't the flower pwetty?"

She held out the white rose to Aerith, to which she took. It was so beautiful and delicate; the white petals seemed to glow with light.

"Hmmm, a white rose?" Meghan said, walking towards them. She picked Rose up and held her tightly. "The flower that symbolizes everything that is light, everything that is good." Aerith stood up, still examining the rose thoughtfully.

"Light…" she muttered softly. She frowned a little. "Should I keep on believing in the light?" Meghan nodded, still holding Rose tightly.

"Take that rose," she said. "Take it as the symbol of light, to guide you through your time of darkness." Aerith smiled softly at her.

"The light that helped you?" she said, looking at Rose. Meghan sighed and put her down. "It must be hard, seeing her grow up and become more like Jason everyday."

"Yeah," Meghan said softly, watching Rose play. "But she is the light Jason gave me, and I will never stop believing." She looked up at the sky and hugged herself. She let out a sad sigh.

"Oh, Jason," she muttered softly. "Why did you have to die?" Aerith walked over to her, casting a sympathetic look.

"Meghan…"

Meghan closed her eyes and smiled gently, the cool wind blowing her long brown hair.

"I envy you, Aerith," she said, looking over at her. She smiled at Aerith's confused expression. "You were able to move on, to find love again with a wonderful man." Aerith smiled sadly at her.

"You should move on, too," she told her. "You're still so young, and Rose needs a father." Meghan sighed again and placed a hand over her heart.

"My heart and soul was with Jason," she murmured. "When he died, he took them with him, never giving them back." She looked back up at the sky, smiling. "Sometimes, I hate him so much for that. For leaving me all alone." Meghan turned at Aerith. She took her hands.

"Love your husband," she said. "Don't take Leon for granted. He loves you more than you know." Aerith nodded. Meghan smiled and walked back into the shop.

"I better get back to work," she said as Rose ran after her. "Oh." She turned back to Aerith, smiling. "I can still do the flower decorations for your wedding, right?"

"Of course," Aerith replied, beaming. "I better get going too." She gave a quick wave to Rose and a nod to Meghan and headed back home.

She went up into her room, closing the door behind her. She leaned on it as she fiddled with the white rose. She sighed deeply and pressed it to her chest. She glanced over at the windowsill where the burnt-out candle was. She went over and placed down the rose, watching it for a moment. She smiled.

"Happy birthday, Cloud," she murmured softly. Wow, 22 now, huh? I wonder what you'd be like now. I wonder if you really are still out there somewhere. She looked out the window and wrapped her arms around herself. Why can't I stop loving you? All that's doing is hurting me even more. She sighed softly.

A knock came to her bedroom door. Aerith looked over to see Cid who was holding a small package in his hands. He grinned at her.

"Hello, beautiful," he said. "Listen, I need someone to give this package to Merlin. Are you passing there today?" Aerith smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Leon's training for the Hades Cup tomorrow in the Secret Waterway. I thought I'd visit him." She extended her hands for the package. Cid grinned again and handed it to her.

"Good girl," he said. He let out an exhausted sigh. "Well, I'm gonna go to the Accessory Shop, got a new project." He winked at her and walked out. Aerith laughed to herself. She glanced back at the white rose on the windowsill. I'm getting married, so I guess we can't be anymore. She sighed one last time, and walked out of the room.

The walk to Merlin's House was quite an adventure. First, you had to go on the trip to the entrance of his house without getting killed. There was a big door, and the only way to open it was to blast it with fire. Anybody who didn't know magic couldn't go in. Aerith placed the package on the ground and took off her ring.

"Fire!" she yelled, holding her hand out at the door. A fireball shot out from her fingers and hit the fire emblem on the door, opening it. She let out a satisfied sigh and put her ring back on. She looked at it. It was hard for her to wear the ring 24/7, because she had to use magic. If she wore her ring, she couldn't use any magic because then it would destroy it completely. She wasn't so sure about wearing her wedding ring, either.

"Maybe just one for the ceremony," she muttered to herself. She shrugged and picked up the package. Cautiously, she entered the house.

Well, it wasn't really entering the house. More like entering the entrance of the house. Merlin's house was surrounded by some kind of moat, being right in the middle of the pond.

Aerith never liked the trip across the pond. She remembered when she was 15, she fell in, and at that time she couldn't swim yet.

She took a deep breath, holding the package tightly; she carefully jumped on the moving stepping stones. It was scary, because she didn't really know which way the next stone was going next.

After about 5 tense minutes, Aerith finally reached the shores of Merlin's house. She wiped her forehead with relief and headed inside.

Merlin was always in his house, living there with his sister, the Fairy Godmother. Aerith had no idea who was older than who, but she knew it would be rude to ask. Merlin was sitting in the centre table, quietly writing.

"Merlin?" she said. He looked up.

"Yes?"

"Cid told me to deliver this to you," Aerith said, holding out the package. Merlin stared at her blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered.

"Ah, yes! Of course!" he said, chuckling. He got up and walked over to Aerith. He took the package and opened it. Fairy Godmother then appeared behind them.

"Hello, dear," she said, smiling at Aerith.

"Hello, Fairy Godmother," Aerith replied. Fairy Godmother took Aerith by the hand and held her out at arm's length, studying her carefully.

"Hmmm," she muttered. "Dear, for your wedding, perhaps you'd like me to do your hair for you." Aerith hesitated; she had been the victim of Fairy Godmother's experiments before.

"Err… that's alright," she said, forcing a smile. "I don't want to trouble you too much." But the Fairy Godmother merely laughed.

"Oh, nonsense! I could do it right now if you like." And before Aerith could do anything, she took out her wand.

"Bibbidi." A whirl of sparkles flew out of her wand. "Bobbidi." They spun faster and faster around Aerith's hair. "Boo!" Aerith's hair was instantly lifted up and tied neatly into a huge old-fashioned bun. Fairy Godmother quickly handed her a mirror.

"What do you think?" she asked eagerly. Aerith stared blankly at the mirror.

"Um…" she tried to think of something nice to say. "I… erm… well…"

"Oh, my goodness gracious!" Merlin exclaimed, looking up from the package, noticing for the first time. He immediately took out his own wand and changed Aerith's hair back to normal. "You are not going to let her get married like that! Absolutely not!" Aerith was silently grateful. Fairy Godmother merely muttered a "Hmph!" and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Aerith let out a relieved sigh, brushing her bangs out of her face.

"Merlin," she said. "Can I take the shortcut down to the Secret Waterways?" Merlin nodded. He tapped his wand and a platform appeared. He chuckled.

"It's strange," he said. "I still remember when I first met you both. You were children, and now look at you." He smiled at her. "All grown up and about to get married." Aerith smiled and stepped on the platform.

"Yeah, it is strange to think back," she muttered, more to herself as the platform carried her down to the Waterways. She jumped off and headed down the stairs. She peeped out from behind the wall. Leon was there by himself, slicing the air repeatedly with his Gunblade. She smirked as she quietly walked up behind him.

"Hey there, handsome," she said. Leon turned around. He smiled, put down his Gunblade and went over to her.

"Hey," he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. He looked at her for a moment. "It's Cloud's birthday today." Aerith's smile faded a little. She nodded.

"I know," she muttered quietly. She looked away, letting out a soft sigh. Leon watched concernedly.

"It's okay to miss him," he said. "I know you miss him the most." He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Aerith closed her eyes, taking in all he had to give her.

"Yeah," she said softly. "But I have to move on." She turned around to face him. "I'm with you now."

Leon smiled. "And we're getting married." He bent down and softly kissed her top lip. "We'll be happy for him." Aerith smiled sweetly. She reached up and stroked his hair.

"I love you, Leon," she said. "And don't let anybody or anything make you believe otherwise." Leon couldn't help but smile. He then dropped his gaze, blushing. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I… I've been working on something for the wedding." he muttered through his lips. Aerith tilted her head to try to look him in the eye.

"Oh? What did you have in mind?" Leon looked up at her, taking her hands.

"For the wedding, I… I sorta wrote my own vows," he said, blushing furiously. Aerith's face lit up.

"You wrote your vows? To me?" she said, smiling as he looked down again.

"Is it too much?" he said. "Would you rather do it the traditional way?" Aerith cupped his jaw gently, bringing up his face.

"Screw the traditional way," she told him, pulling him into a hug. "You are the sweetest husband a girl could have."

Suddenly, a splash of water from afar was heard. The couple immediately broke apart, putting on a casual act. They didn't want to get too public. Leon quickly picked up his Gunblade and resumed his training.

Sora, Donald and Goofy swam up from the shore, clearly excited to tell them something. They immediately started telling the two about the Keyhole they found. Leon and Aerith quietly listened; they were all business when it came to the Heartless.

"So," Leon said, crossing his arms. "You found the Keyhole." Sora nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "The Keyblade locked it automatically." Aerith smiled at him

"Good." She looked over at Leon. She knew he liked doing the talking, so she let fiancé go ahead.

"Every world among the stars has a Keyhole," Leon said, holding up his hand. "And each one leads to the heart of that world." He looked around the room. "There must be one in this town as well." Sora was a little confused.

"What do you mean?"

"It was in Ansem's report," Aerith remarked, once again letting Leon continue, to which he did.

"The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core."

"What happens to the world?" Sora asked, a little afraid of the answer.

Aerith let out a sad sigh and dropped her gaze.

"In the end, it disappears," she said grimly. Sora, Donald and Goofy all reacted in total shock.

"What?!"

"That's why your key is so important," Leon said, pointing at Sora's Keyblade. Aerith put her hands together, a worried look cast at the boy.

"Please lock the Keyholes," she said, almost begging. "You're the only one who can." Sora looked away.

"I don't know…" he muttered, unsure. Leon could see that he was scared to fail. He smiled his small smile; he had faith in Sora and his friends.

"Seeing other worlds would probably serve you well," he told them, knowing well that they were having fun doing so. That seemed to cheer the group up.

"Yeah!" Donald exclaimed confidently, determination reflecting off his eyes. Goofy looked over at Sora.

"We gotta find your friends!" he said to him. "And King Mickey!" Sora looked at his friends, at their confidence. He smiled.

"I guess you're right…" he muttered. Sora looked at everyone again, in their eyes the support he needed. It made him feel stronger.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, new determination sparkling in his eyes. He nodded at Donald and Goofy and they turned to leave. Sora then stopped, as if suddenly remembering something. He took out an unusual-looking gummi block from his pocket. He went over to Leon.

"Hey, Leon," he said, holding it up to him. "This Gummi block's different from the others. Do you know what it's for?"

Leon looked at the Gummi block, thinking hard. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to say something. After an embarrassingly awkward moment, Aerith cleared her throat loudly.

"Ask Cid," she said to Sora. "He should know." Sora nodded and they turned to leave again.

"Wait, Sora," Leon said, taking a green crystal out of his pocket. "Take this with you." He handed it to Sora.

"This stone holds some mysterious power," he said, watching the boy examine it with awe. "I've been carrying it for luck. I want you to hold onto it." Aerith knew he was trying to be dramatic. She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.

"How do you use it?" Sora asked, possibly destroying the moment. Leon scratched his head, thinking again. Aerith struggled to keep a straight face and quickly gestured Sora and his friends to leave.

As soon as the sound of splashing faded away, Aerith burst out laughing. Leon glanced over at her.

"What?" he said, a little annoyed and embarrassed. Aerith continued to laugh. She went over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in close.

"Oh, Leon," she said, smiling brightly. "You're just so cute when you try to be smarter than you really are." And at that, she kissed him.

Yeah, I know. I kinda wanted to put a little bit of "fluffly cute love" in the story, you know, taking off a bit of the suspense and drama. I also put in some stuff from the game's script, cos I'm actually trying to make it as if it really happened.

So anyway, thank you for all the reviews! hug School's finally out, so I'm pretty much free for the next two weeks. and guess what? I'll be writing like hell!

Keep reading and reviewing, guys! And btw, if you think it's dramatic and suspenceful so far, you ain't seen nothing yet! It's going to get better, folks! Stay tuned!

Anna oxoxo