"Have you told him yet?" Yuffie asked yet again.

Yuffie and Aerith were cleaning up the dorms in Ansem's castle. Yuffie was in charge of the broom while Aerith was in charge of the dustpan. Yuffie stared down at the older woman as she swept half-mindedly.

"Aerith, you're making this worse!" Aerith was on her knees, trying to sweep up the dust beside a dustbin. She was probably trying to ignore the teenage girl. "Aerith!" Yuffie stomped the broom down in front of Aerith. "Look at me! This has to stop!" Aerith coughed and glared at her.

"Don't do that," she told her calmly. Yuffie scoffed and dropped the broom.

"Are you even listening to me?" Aerith sighed.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked. "I've gone too far already to just tell him the truth." She sat up, misery in her emerald eyes. "I'll lose him, Yuffie."

"But if you tell him now, he might understand," her friend replied. "You keep lying and the scar's going to run deeper." Yuffie shook her head. "Leon's really hurting." Aerith stopped cleaning and fiddled with the pan. "I don't get it. It isn't like you to do this." She crouched down to her best friend. "Leon hears you. You do know that, right? He hears you every single time you lie to cover up the lie you told Cloud. It hurts him. It hurts him bad." Yuffie placed her hand on Aerith's shoulder. "Please, Aerith. Make the pain go away for him. Make things right before you lose them both." Yuffie gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before standing up again and walked off with her broomstick.

Aerith dropped the dustpan, Yuffie's words echoing through her head, making her feel so angry with herself.

She was hurting the two people she loved just because she was so selfish and afraid. She didn't know if she would ever be able to tell Cloud the truth, after all she's done. Maybe it was too late, but she knew the problem was never going to go away, it would never go away. If she didn't tell him, surely someone would, and that would hurt him even more. She didn't want to hurt him.

And then there's Leon, her ex-lover. She was hurting him more than she knew. He had been there for her every day of the 9 years they've been through together. She didn't know if she was still in love with him, but she hated seeing him this way. She hadn't been able to talk to him at all once since Cloud came back. She knew he didn't want to get hurt, but at least he could try and talk it out with her. Maybe he would've been able to help her find a way to talk to Cloud about their engagement, but he just wouldn't do anything.

She was so angry. She hated herself. She hated the person she had become.

Aerith slammed the dustpan onto the dustbin, knocking it over. A scrunched-up piece of paper fell out. She frowned a little at it; no one was here before, how could that be there? She picked it up and opened it up. She smoothed the paper out and looked at it. She felt a stab of guilt in her heart as she read it.

It was Leon's vows.

She looked away from it again.

"Oh, Leon…" she whispered. She held the paper close to her heart, feeling the pounding of her guilt. He was in so much pain; she didn't want to see him like that. She loved him, but she loved Cloud too. She was torn, not knowing whether to be happy and hurt Leon for the rest of his life, or to save him.

"Aerith!" Cloud's voice called out.

Aerith quickly stood up and blinked away any reflections of regret from her green eyes. She had to be strong. She couldn't let Cloud see her like this. She scrunched the paper in her fist and hid it behind her back. She smiled as he ran up to her.

"Cid, Yuffie and Leon decided to stay over," he told her. "Can you make dinner for us?" Aerith nodded.

"Like I did for the last 9 years?" she joked. "Sure." Cloud smiled softly and took her hand.

"They're waiting at our house," he said, leading her out. "Leon's still a little quiet about…" He shifted uncomfortably. "… the incident…" Aerith's smile faded but she said nothing.

It was a good meal that night. Cid and Yuffie ate heartily, seeing neither of them could cook well in their own house. Leon sat in the far corner. He didn't eat but just stare at Aerith, though she tried to ignore his gaze. The sheet of vows was still in her pocket.

"Tell me," Cloud asked her over the table. "Do you still sell flowers like you used to?" Aerith smiled and blushed.

"No," she sighed. "All I've been doing is fighting the Heartless with these guys." She looked over at her friends. "But I still love flowers." Cloud nodded as he took a sip of his water.

"Ever gotten any from anyone?" he asked. Aerith looked at him. "You know, like an admirer?" Aerith blushed, smiled shyly and shook her head. She knew looking innocent would erase any suspicion, though she would stab herself afterwards for it.

"No," she lied. The table stumbled a bit as Leon stood up. He walked over to the couple and grabbed Aerith roughly by the wrist. He pulled her out of her chair.

"We need to talk," he muttered to her. Aerith tried to pull away but he was strong. He dragged her away, out of the room. Cloud stood up and watched them.

"What is he doing?" he asked as Yuffie and Cid walked over to him. He glared at them. "Alright, that's it. What's going on?" The other two exchanged grim looks but stayed silent.

Leon dragged her into the bedroom, closing the door behind them. Aerith was extremely angry.

"Leon, let go of me!" she said hotly. Leon looked at her, a serious look in his eyes.

"Why do you keep lying to him?" he asked. Aerith looked away. Leon approached her and took her by the shoulders and tried to regain eye contact, his voice softening with sadness and desperation. "Why haven't you told him about us yet?"

Aerith closed her eyes and breathed in and out, unable to look at him.

"It's in the past," she said, trying as hard as she could not to let her voice shake. Her green eyes turned to ice, ignoring the pain. She released herself violently from his arms. "I ended our relationship, okay? I ended it properly." Leon shook his head.

"You ended our engagement because of Cloud," he said. Aerith nodded, breathing hard.

"I ended it because of Cloud because I wanted to be with him," she said harshly. "The fact is I ended it between us before anything happened with Cloud." She paused, feeling her heart skip a beat as the words seared through her body. "Stop acting like I betrayed you."

Leon lowered his eyes to the ground, unable to stand looking at her. Her words were brutal, it was as if she had forgotten everything they had gone through together in the past year. Why was she doing this? Why was she being so cruel when she knew how fragile his heart was?

But Aerith didn't stop. She needed to deliver the blow to push him away for good, even when her heart was ripping itself apart beneath her cool exterior.

"Whether or not I told Cloud or not doesn't concern you at all," she continued. "I ended our relationship. You aren't in that part of my life anymore." She shook her head, the first teardrop trickling down her cheek. "Why can't you understand that?"

Her answer sent a shock wave through Leon's crippled heart, but he remained emotionless. He finally looked back up.

"So," he muttered. "It meant nothing to you?"

Aerith paused for a moment, his words hitting her hard. Tears streamed from her green eyes, but she stood her ground.

"It meant nothing," she said coldly.

Leon's hand quivered uncontrollably, and he tightened it into a fist as he felt a rush of anger. His eyes flashed as they stared into hers.

"So it was all a lie?" he asked, his voice still calm. Aerith said nothing and continued to stare, trying her hardest not to let him see she was falling apart. Leon was losing his patience, and he suppressed his anger to a step forward.

"You told me you loved me," he said, his voice soft yet dangerous. "Was that a lie as well?"

Aerith couldn't take it anymore. She closed her eyes and turned away, but Leon grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around so that she was pressed to him, unable to escape. Aerith was shocked by this. She placed her hands on his chest and tried to push him off.

"Leon…" she began. Leon wasn't listening, and he didn't let her out of his embrace.

"Say it," he commanded. "Say it to my face that you didn't love me." Aerith struggled harder. "Say it." She began to cry weakly, placing her hands on his forearms as his hands tightened.

"Please stop…" she muttered. He didn't stop, but his emotions began to give way, his hands trembling as they held onto her.

"Say it and I'll never bother you again," he said, almost pleading.

"Leon, please…"

"Tell me you didn't love me, Aerith," Leon said again, his voice suddenly quivering. He shook her hard as she started sobbing. He comforted her, stroking her hair, and caressing her face with tenderness, but the stony look in his eyes did not change. "Tell me you didn't love me!"

Aerith's heart pounded, her breathing raced, but no words could leave her parted lips. Why couldn't she say it?

"Tell me, Aerith! Tell me and I'll stop!"

Aerith finally looked away, breaking away from the cobalt stare, not caring that she was crying, not caring. But she couldn't say it. She couldn't make herself say it. Aerith used all her might and abruptly pushed him off, trying to run away, but Leon spun her around again and caught her, this time pressing her to his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and he pulled her close, not letting her have any chance of backing away. Aerith let out muffled groans as she struggled against him, but Leon didn't stop. He pressed one hand to the back of her head and the other gripping her shoulder, pulling her in so she couldn't pull away. Aerith's body slowly succumb to his passion, her hand flying to his hair and gripping onto it, as if for dear life, unable to breathe, unable to think. She felt him grasp her more tightly, a drop of sweat from his eyebrow splashing onto her forehead.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Leon was suddenly ripped off her as an enraged Cloud grabbed him by the collar and slammed him hard against the wall. Aerith let out a gasp and collapsed onto the ground, unclear on what just happened. Cloud started punching Leon in the face, his eyes blinded by the darkness of his rage. Cid and Yuffie hurried into the room in horror.

"Oh, good God…" Cid muttered. He and Yuffie ran over from the door and tried to pull Cloud off, but he was out of control.

Blow after blow, Cloud smashed his fist into his jaw. Leon didn't have the chance to talk, or do anything for that matter. Aerith sat up, finally realizing what was going on and was horrified. She stood up and rushed over, pulling Cloud off.

"Cloud!" she shouted. "Stop it! Stop it! Please!" Cloud finally let go, breathing heavily. Leon slid down from the wall, his face bruised and bloody. He wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve. Yuffie quickly ran to his side. Cloud continued to glare venomously at him, his eyes again darkened by shadows.

"You kissed her," he muttered. His jaw clinched as he felt the anger rush in once more. "I'm going to kill you!" The soulless monster overtook Cloud's body, and he leaped at Leon, only to be held back by Cid and Aerith. "Let go of me! Let me kill him, LET ME KILL HIM!"

"No!" Aerith cried. "No, Cloud! Stop!" She pushed her way in between, shielding Leon. "Please stop!!" With the split second of relent from Cloud, Cid immediately pulled him as far away from Leon as possible, dragging him by his shirt collar. Aerith didn't even glance Leon behind her to see how he was, her eyes never leaving Cloud's.

Cloud was sweating and breathing hard, his eyes still piercing with rage, but now at Aerith. He ripped himself out of Cid's grip and stormed towards Aerith.

"You're going to tell me what's been going on between the two of you," he breathed in a deadly tone. He grabbed her wrist, glaring at Leon over her shoulder. "And you're going to tell me now." Aerith felt her heart beating painfully at her throat she forced herself to look into his blue eyes. She nodded, her entire body trembling with fear, but not of Cloud, but of what was coming.

What she had regretted.

"Yes," she muttered breathily. "I… I'll tell you everything."