Aerith gathered the laundry around the house. It was early in the morning, and it was a sunny day. She had a new responsibility now, living with Leon, and that bachelor wasn't able to clean it all up. Aerith sighed and smiled a little, packing in all the dirty t-shirts. Leon walked into the room. She had her back turned and didn't notice. He smiled.

He sneaked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a fright, making her drop the laundry basket.

"Why won't anyone listen to me when I say that I hate that!" Aerith whined. Leon just smiled again, kissing her on the forehead.

"You don't have to do all that work so early in the morning, you know," he said. Aerith let out a breath but smiled. She bent down and picked up all the clothes again.

"No, don't worry," she said softly. "I'll be fine. I'm used to this, remember?" Leon let out a sigh.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, eager to help. Aerith nodded.

"We need more milk." She looked up at him. "Could you get some from the store? I want to make something afterwards for lunch." Leon smiled; he loved her cooking. He bent down and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He headed for the door.

"Skim, okay?" Aerith called out. Leon stopped, smiled to himself and nodded. He opened the door, surprised to see someone looking back at him.

"Yuffie?" Aerith looked over at the door. Yuffie dropped her gaze when she saw Aerith. Leon glanced between the two friends, knowing where his place was. He excused himself and left.

Yuffie slowly stepped into the house. Her hands were behind her back, her gaze still on the ground. Aerith put the basket down.

"Hey," she said, also looking away.

"Hey." Yuffie stopped a few feet in front of her. She circled the ground with her foot. "Um… well… Cid had to go to work… and I was feeling kinda lonely, and… well…" Aerith smiled.

"Apology accepted." Yuffie let out a relieved gasp and threw her arms around Aerith's neck in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry I acted like such a bitch!" Aerith raised her hand and patted Yuffie's back.

"It's okay," she said gently. "Let's just act like it never happened, okay?" Yuffie pulled away and beamed at her. Aerith picked up the basket and headed to the laundry room. Yuffie followed.

"So," she said after a moment. "You're back with Leon?" Aerith froze for a moment, but smiled and nodded.

"You bet," she said brightly. She crouched down in front of the washing machine, sorting out the clothes. There was a lot.

"So it's really over between you and Cloud?" Yuffie asked cautiously. Aerith closed her eyes for a moment, but nodded.

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "I've moved on, like he has." She resumed her laundry work. Yuffie raised an eyebrow.

"Wha…?" she muttered mindlessly. "Cloud has a new girlfriend? I never knew that." Aerith looked over at her over her shoulder. She frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, a little confused. "She's been living with him for the last two weeks." Yuffie stared blankly at her.

"No…" she said, trying to think back. She shook her head. "No, Cloud hasn't been seeing anyone for a long time, not even me. Heck, the only person he even talks to, probably, is his therapist."

Aerith scoffed, but she stopped when she realized what Yuffie just said.

"Therapist?" she repeated. She turned around to her. "A female therapist?" Yuffie nodded.

"Yeah," she replied. "Her name's Molly. She's an old friend of Cloud's." Yuffie's eyes narrowed as she realized something. "Wait a minute…you thought Molly was Cloud's new girlfriend?" Aerith went slightly red. Yuffie's jaw dropped.

"Aerith." She bent down to her friend. Aerith shook her embarrassment off quickly.

"It doesn't matter if he moved on or not," she said forcefully. "I've moved on." Yuffie couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Aerith, you gotta talk to him. It was all just a misunderstanding. You can still work it out." Aerith coughed a few times, clearing her throat.

"No," she said, fumbling through the clothes. She shook her head. "I can't do it." Yuffie let out a frustrated sigh.

"Can't you see you're still hurting?" Aerith ignored her. Her hands searched through her favourite pink dress. There was something in her pocket.

Leon arrived back home, a carton of fresh milk in his hand. He went and put t in the fridge. Smiling to himself, he headed to Aerith and Yuffie.

"Aerith!" he called out. He stopped outside the laundry room. They didn't seem to have heard him. He watched them for a moment.

Aerith reached into the pocket and pulled out a scrunched piece of paper.

Leon's vows. She stared sadly at it.

"Aerith," Yuffie said. She tried to get her eye contact. "You're not over Cloud." Leon's smiled faded completely as Aerith's response was silent.

"Yes, I am," Aerith said firmly. She clenched her hand into a fist. She glared at her friend. "Cloud and I are done for good. I'm with Leon. Period." She stood up and brushed past her friend. She stood with her back turned to her, the paper in her fist. She forced her tears back. Yuffie sighed and walked up to her.

"But you're not happy, Aerith," she said softly. Aerith refused to look at her. "I know when you're not happy." She placed a hand on Aerith's back. "You can't just go on like this." Aerith's figure saddened a little. A few tears seeped from her eyes. She raised her fist over her chest.

"I can't hurt him," she whispered. Aerith turned around to Yuffie. She shook her head. "I can't hurt Leon again. I don't ever want to do that to him again…not after all he's done for me…" Yuffie gazed sympathetically at her. "It's not like I'm just using him or anything…" she said truthfully. "Because I do love him." Yuffie wrapped her arms around her. Aerith closed her eyes and rested her head on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to talk you out of this," Yuffie muttered. "You do what you think is right." She pulled away and smiled at her. "I'm pretty sure you've learned that by now." Aerith smiled softly at her.

"Thanks, Yuffie," she said. She turned back to the laundry basket, letting out a sigh.

"I guess I should be going now," Yuffie told her. Aerith nodded. She patted her gently on the back and headed out.

Leon slipped behind the door before she left, so she didn't notice him. Leon let out a deep sigh and looked back into the laundry room.

Aerith tried to resume her chore, but was too distracted. She couldn't stop thinking about Cloud. It was so painful. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She began to cry again.

"Oh God…" she sobbed. "Why do you do these things? Why do you have to make my life so hard?" She covered her eyes with her hands, crying harder.

Leon forced himself to look away. It was too painful to watch. He turned and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door, leaning on it for a moment to digest what he just heard. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He went to the sink and ran the water. He splashed his face a few times with the icy coldness, trying to rid his mind of the stress. He let out a breath at the feel. He lifted his face up to the mirror in front of him, staring at his reflection for a moment.

"Am I the reason she's not happy?" he asked it. The water dripped down his confused face. He sighed again. He reached into his pocket and took out the ring he gave her. He closed his eyes again, making a final decision. He put the ring back into his pocket and went back out. He bumped into Aerith.

"Oh, sorry, Leon," she said, smiling at him. She noticed his pale look. "Is something wrong?" She raised her hand to touch his face, but he turned away. Aerith frowned slightly. "Leon?" He brushed past her.

"Go back to Cloud," he muttered. Aerith was confused.

"What?"

"I said go back to Cloud," he said coldly. He walked away from her. "I know you're not happy." Aerith's eyes widened when she realized what he had heard. She grabbed him by his arm.

"No, Leon," she said. "No, I'm not going to go back to him." Leon glared at her. "Because I love you now." The young man's expression softened as he stared at her. He brushed a hair from her face, but then realized what he was doing and stopped. He tried to walk away, but Aerith wouldn't let him.

"You think I'm not happy?" she asked. She moved closer to him. "I am. Right here. Right now, with you." She smiled softly at him. "You are my closest friend, the person I trust the most, the person I love the most, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and only you, Leon." She wrapped her around his back, hugging him warmly. Leon knew she was hurting as she said that, but he knew arguing wouldn't help at all. He slowly raised his arms to her. He forced a smile.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, we can make this work." Aerith pulled away and beamed at him. She reached up and tenderly kissed his lips.

"I love you, don't ever forget it," she told him. She patted him gently on the shoulder. "I'll make lunch now, okay?" She smiled. "Your favourite." Leon smiled and she left to the kitchen. The smile immediately disappeared.

Over the next few days, Leon disappeared from the house around noon everyday. He told Aerith he was doing deliveries, and she believed him, unaware of his real plans.

She cleaned his desk, three days later. She coughed, covering her mouth with her hand, accidentally knocking his backpack over and spilling his belonging all over the floor. Aerith let out an exhausted breath and bent down to clean it up.

One item she found suspicious.

It was a Gummi ticket. She examined it closely.

"Burton…" she read. Something clicked in her head. Burton was a town in another world, but by gummi ship it was reasonable close to Hollow Bastion. She looked back at the ticket. "One way ticket? Departing at 6am." She frowned. "Why would Leon have a one way ticket to—" Her eyes widened as a thought sprang in her mind. She quickly tried to shake it off.

"It's probably for a friend," she chuckled to herself. "Just for a friend." She laughed again and put the backpack back onto Leon's desk. "Don't make up new problems in your head." Suddenly, the phone rang. Aerith picked it up.

"Hello?" A man spoke back.

"Yeah, could I talk to Leon, please?"

"May I ask who this is?" The man suddenly realized who he was talking to.

"Uh… you know what? Never mind. I'll just call him back. Thanks." Aerith was taken aback.

"Wait. Who is this?" But the man had hung up. Aerith stood there for a moment, but then shook her head.

"It's nothing," she told herself again.

"Hello?" Leon picked up his cell phone.

"Hey, man. It's Charlie."

"Hey. What's wrong? Why are calling me here?" Charlie sighed.

"Well, I called your home phone and your girlfriend picked up." A chill ran down Leon's spine.

"And?"

"Oh, don't worry. Nothing happened. She still doesn't know anything." Leon sighed with relief.

"Good. So you can book me in for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but only if you're absolutely sure you're doing this."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well… the fact you haven't told your girlfriend worries me a little." Leon rolled his eyes.

"That's not really any of your business."

"Okay, okay. Just saying. So you're 100 percent sure?"

"Definitely."

"Because going to Burton isn't exactly a small decision."

"I'm aware of that."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow in Burton, then. See you, buddy."

"Right." Leon hung up his phone.