Aerith sighed as she pushed her brown hair behind her ear. She looked up from the multitude of flowers she was tending. The bright sun poured its light on her as she worked, a few clouds blessing her with a brief amount of shade. She reached up to her pink bow to fix it.
Tenderly, Aerith let her fingertips run over the silk ribbon. Her mind flashed to the black haired, blue eyed man that gave it to her. She glanced at her pink dress and rubbed the material between her thumb and index finger. He asked her to wear pink so he'd be able to spot her easily when he returned.
The flower girl worried her bottom lip between her teeth. It had been forever since she saw him. When Cloud came back to Radiant Garden she had searched for him, but he never came back home. Aerith looked over as the sound of approaching boots filled the quiet air.
"Hello Leon." She spoke softly as the gunblade wielder joined her. He nodded and looked at the yellow flowers.
"They're doing well." He said with a small smile. Aerith beamed and went back to pulling out the minuscule weeds.
"I was worried that they wouldn't grow back after the Heartless attack. There must be something special about this house…they won't grow anywhere else." Leon looked up at the rundown house with a gapping hole in the roof. He always got the feeling that this place was dear to Aerith but she would never tell anyone why; not Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, or Cid.
He glanced sideways at the mailbox with a red flag up. Once, he had seen Aerith putting a letter in it. When he asked the group about it Merlin told him that she was always writing letters and putting them in there.
"It's gone." Aerith spoke as she looked where Leon was staring. His blue eyes looked back to the flower girl, watching as her bright green eyes swirled with emotions and a hopeful smile was on her face. "It was my eight-ninth letter. None of the others got sent, but this one did." Leon was silent for a moment before asking.
"Who are they to?" His question caused a beautiful smile to blossom across her face and her eyes light up.
"My boyfriend." She said then stared off at the flowers. Leon allowed a small smile to grace his lips before turning to the main road back to Merlin's
"Don't be out too late. I'll send Yuffie to get you again if you are." He warned lightly before walking away. Aerith waited for Leon's footfalls to fade before allowing the first tear to escape her eyes down her fair skinned face. She quickly rubbed at her eyes at hearing Leon's boots coming back. He must have forgotten to tell her something.
"Yes Leon-" Her sentence died on her lips as she looked up. "Zack…" She whispered as the man knelt down next to her. In his hand was her letter.
"I'm back." He said with his famous smile. Aerith hesitantly reached out and touched his cheeks. Once, assured that he was real and not an illusion she collapsed into his arms, sobbing into his chest.
"Zack, I thought you were…I missed you so much." She said as Zack wrapped his arms around her and a feeling of safety washed over her. He placed a soft kiss to the top of her head and held her close. "It doesn't matter, you're home now."