~Ch. 01: Assurance~

… … Soft lashes fluttered, and emerald eyes slowly revealed their color under fair-complexioned eyelids.

The soft sunlight of the church bathed her in a subtle warmth, but the cooling air made her want to sleep some more. The sight of navy blue next to her made her smile; the feel of the cotton blanket underneath them asked for a nuzzle from her gentle face, and she did, and she took a deep breath as her eyes wanted to close again.

"…I don't get it."

She blinked her eyes open again. "Hm?…"

"Oh." He blinked, realizing she had already woken up. "I mean, the flowers bloom even with this much sunlight." His hands rose and set an ample range from each other, as if to measure. "Every single one of them. They bloom perfectly. It's… weird."

She laughed, quite sleepily. "It's amazing…!" she replied, watching his hands. "Normally, you would have to plant flowers like these out in a field, or a normal garden, or right by the windowsill. But here… they don't need that much space and yet they bloom like any other flower." She shrugged, smiling softly.

"The church is amazing, if you ask me…" he answered, grinning. "And hey, it survived your spell! I can see why you like it here, too." He looked at her and smiled. "… And hello."

"…Hellooo." She said, her body curled up next to his as she had a sleepy smile, and a bit of a melody to her voice.. "Good morning… or is it afternoon already?"

"I think so. Who cares…" He snickered and leaned over to give her lips a soft kiss before turning to lie on his back again. "Had a good rest?"

"Mmhm. A veeeeery good one."

"A very good oneee? Did you dream of me?"

She laughed. "Gueeeess."

"I'm guessing you did." he snickered.

"Oh, pfft." She rolled her eyes and grinned. "I daydream about you ALL the time. I don't have to dream of you anymore, I think."

"But dreams work best when you're sleeping!"

"Oh, dear. Have you been reading romance novels again?"

"Gueeeess."

And together they laughed softly.

… Aerith Gainsborough and Zack Fair, lying next to each other, had their locked onto each other as the sunlight that streamed through the broken roof washed over them. They closed their eyes from time to time, quietly basking in the warmth of the church as they talked about life. The two had been spending time together for the past few weeks - though now in their ethereal forms - reminiscing about the past days they had together. And if anything, this was a way to make up for lost time. Aerith genuinely loved Zack's company, and having not been able to spend much time with him before helped her treasure each day now like it was her first and last. Zack, on the other hand, was infinitely glad to be spending time with her that each day felt like the first day he laid eyes on her. Taking her hand and lacing his fingers with her, he ushered himself close to her.

"…Hey…" he started, "what do you say we explore the world?" Zack smiled warmly at her.

Aerith blinked, a smile settling on her face too. "…That's odd…" she said, her forehead slightly creasing, "…I dreamt of the Goddess. She told me to take you with me and to go visit some friends."

"Really?…" Zack's eyes widened slightly and he chuckled. "I should thank her for reading my mind then," he said. "But yeah. Why don't we explore the world, along with visiting your friends?"

"Again?… But we've done that already~" She nuzzled the back of his hand, giving his skin soft kisses. "Or have we not yet explored everything?"

… He couldn't help but grin wide. "Explored everything?"

"I meant the world, silly!" the flower girl giggled, pinching his nose playfully with the other hand. Zack groaned, nasal-sounding. "I don't remember the last place we visited, though."

"Hm…" Zack rubbed his nose after Aerith let it go. "Wasn't it Junon?"

"…Oh! Right!" Aerith nodded. "I remember now. You brought me to that locker room where you said you saw Cloud try to do the whole SOLDIER routine again. And you tried to imitate him. Good thing we're ghosts! Or else the SOLDIERS over there then would have thought we were crazy."

Zack laughed. "Right. And I took you to the cannon, too. Nice view, huh?"

"Sister Ray, sitting there against orange skies…" She sighed. "Dramatic backdrop!"

Zack smiled at the mere sight of her quietly swooning. He knew her very well to know that she loved sunsets.

She began to ponder, "So. We've been to Junon… where do you want to go next, then?"

"You pick, princess."

As Aerith tried to think of a possible destination to explore for them both, Zack's eyes began to focus on her. He found himself quietly admiring her; he knew she was beautiful and kept that in mind very well, but he realized he never did take the time out to marvel at her beauty like she was a muse for an art class. A smile crossed his lips as he sighed quietly, feeling like a little schoolboy seeing the girl of his dreams for the first time…

"…Nibel- oh, no! Icicle Inn?"

Zack's cheeks turned rosy red, and the silence made Aerith blink.

"Zack?"

Another sigh. "…Yeah?…"

"Oi." Aerith poked him. "How about Icicle Inn?"

"What about Icicle Inn?"

Aerith paused, before a laugh escaped her mouth. A slight blush came over her cheeks. "How about we make a trip to Icicle Inn? We've never really had the chance to go there. And I want to show you something, too."

And Zack, realizing that he zoned out, blinked as he realized that he was staring at the love of his life like a weird nut. Aerith giggled, and he blushed.

"Oh… OH, RIGHT! Man, I'm so sorry. URGH." Zack rubbed his face gently and covered it with both hands as Aerith sat up, cursing himself quietly for staring at her. "I'm so sorry. That was impolite of me."

"You're alright. I've seen worse stares in my life." Aerith stood and crossed the floor, deciding to kneel and tend to the flowers before taking that trip with him. Zack stammered.

"W-worse stares?…Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Men around Midgar giving… gave… GAVE- you perverted looks, hmm?" The SOLDIER pouted, and folded his arms. "WELL. That's not right. NOT AT ALL. NO MAN is supposed to give a LADY perverted looks, thank you very much."

She tried to contain a smile. "I'm just glad I've decided to settle with enough buttons for this dress to not expose myself."

… The two became silent. Zack stared and blinked at her. That was something he never expected to hear from her.

Aerith looked beyond her shoulder and gave him a smile. She shrugged and continued to speak, only this time, much quieter. "…Maybe you should be glad that I'm still around… and I saved myself too…"

… … Now, was that a compliment, or what?

Zack blinked, pondering on what she said. Rubbing his nape, he thought about it. Aerith saved herself for… what? Who? Deep inside he hoped it was him, but he didn't really want to intrude with it. He didn't want to ponder on it, but he couldn't help it. It kind of relieved him that she didn't give herself to Cloud, and he believed her - she wasn't like any other girl and he knew that by heart, but he felt a sense of… doubt. Zack tried his hardest to ignore it. But quite frankly, he was jealous that Cloud spent more time with her than he did.

"…A-Ah, really?… Yeah, I guess that's something to be glad about…" Zack replied. "I mean- of course! Well, I know I'M definitely glad." He nodded. "You're around, and we're together! And that's what matters."

… … Silence.

"Aaaaanyway. Hmm-hm-hm…"

Aerith scooted over to him, sensing the dismay in his voice. She was afraid she had just hurt him, and she didn't really mean to. "…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you or suddenly be impolite like that," Aerith said with a slight chuckle. "But… I mean it. I didn't just give myself away." She tried to choose her words carefully and to say it calmly and quietly, hoping it would comfort Zack. "And, not to mention, I meant everything I said in the letters, you know… how I feel about you will never change." She smiled and nodded at him. "I don't think they will ever change, anyway. So. You're stuck with me, buster!" She gently, and with soft hands, took his face into her hands and leaned up to give him a soothing kiss. "You're for me. And we shall travel together, and though it sounds mushy right now, I think it's right to say it's just going to be you and me and that's all there is to it.

And Zack couldn't help but smile as their lips folded together, with a slight rhythm that relaxed him. A soft sigh left him as Aerith parted from him and he nodded. "Couldn't ask for more, you know. I like this travelling thing we're going to do - keeps us on our toes, don't you think?" He smirked.

Aerith laughed softly. "Kind of brings us closer too!"

"…So Icicle Inn, huh… What're you going to show me this time?"

"Ah." The flower girl decided to stand as she took his hand. "Just something I never got to show you before. I mean, I've told you about it, but… I suppose seeing it would help you understand."

"Oh?" Zack tilted his head and blinked. "…Is this something about food? Because frankly I'm quite hungry right now. Odd for a ghost like me, huh?"

Aerith came over to him and laughed as she took him in her arms. "We'll see. But for now, close your eyes."

And Zack did as he was told. In a gentle flurry of green and white light, the two disappeared.