Disclaimer: Characters are copyrighted to Squaresoft/Squaresoft-Enix. I'm getting no money out of this whatsoever... Boo, hiss.

-oOo-

: Chapter Eight : Zack

"This Reactor is a disgrace," Scarlet was saying, stopping in her tracks to observe the construction. "I want you and your men to clean this mess up. Junky reactors only produce junky materia, Tseng."

Tseng gazed at Scarlet out of the corner of his eye with masked repugnance, but as he answered her question, his voice gave nothing of his true feelings toward the Head of Weapons Development away, as always.

"But we have our hands full with Sephiroth and AVALANCHE. Elena has just reported to me that as of yet there have been no sightings of AVALANCHE. We're currently extending the search."

"Oh?" Scarlet shifted her weight, her vermilion stilettos crunching in the grit. "So the information was incorrect." She paused thoughtfully. "So I suppose I'll have to deploy someone else to get all this muck tidied up. Don't you ever get tired of doing all the Shinra's donkey-work, Tseng?"

Tseng frowned slightly.

"We Turks are totally dedicated to the Shinra. Our work means everything to us, Ms. Scarlet."

Scarlet began to laugh in her harsh, mannish tone.

"Sometimes I wonder how the country would be run if you Turks were in government and not our Head Council. I suppose the world would be a much more tiresome place. Let me tell you Tseng, it's a hard life, and once you have a little power, you're better off abusing it. As they say: 'It is better to die on your feet that to live on your knees.' You Turks are exactly like Reeve - all brains and no bullying. It's a wonder he's still on our board." She stopped musing and grinned. "Well...if I get round that thick-skinned boss of yours, Heidigger, I'll see to it that you'll clean up this trash-site."

Tseng glowered at her with loathing, but the sound of a helicopter making its descent prevented her from noticing.

"Ah. Here comes my helicopter." She turned back to Tseng. "Excuse me, but I have a date with the new President to keep. Make your report immediately - the Gongaga Reactor is a disgrace to be cleared up, pronto."

She disappeared inside the helicopter, fluffing up her wind-blown hair in self-satisfaction. Tseng watched the aircraft ascend into the air and then fly off into the distance. Shaking his head wearily, he spoke softly to himself, unaware that he was being watched.

"Your plan is to live on your feet, Scarlet - but I have a feeling that you will end up dying on your knees."

Slowly, he turned and walked off down the path wordlessly, into the woods. When he had safely gone, Aerith turned to Cloud.

"So Gongaga is round here. It must have been down the path we didn't go down."

Retracing their steps and turning down the first path instead, the three made their way to Gongaga Village. Not a very pleasant sight greeted them as they entered. The tiny community had been practically flattened by the explosion of the Mako Reactor nearby, and it now looked more like the Midgar slums than the beauty spot it would have been not long ago. The people, too, were subdued and quiet. An old man and a young woman were in a small graveyard, praying. The man stared at Cloud and the others with vacant eyes as they passed, as though he could see them but his mind was still stuck in the past. There seemed to be no one else about. Everything was relatively silent, except for the pitiful baying of a dog in the distance. The only thing that seemed to imply inhabitation was the thin line of smoke that exuded from a makeshift hut. A sign above its door, in clumsy black characters: ITEMS FOR SALE.

"We need more potions," reminded Aerith, soberly. Cloud guessed it was because of the atmosphere of the area. He nodded.

"Come on, let's go in then."

They entered into the item shop. A surprisingly cheerful looking man stood at the counter.

"So what'll it be?" he greeted amiably, "I have everything available here. Potions, Phoenix Downs, Tents..."

"Too bad there aren't any Ethers round here," Tifa commented flippantly. The man frowned, but said nothing. He simply watched Cloud pick up some of his goods.

"Been a quiet day, huh?" Cloud said, as he got to the counter. The man sighed.

"It's always like this," he replied. "Hasn't changed since that damned reactor blew up all those years ago. Business used to be booming then. Now we're lucky to get any customers at all."

Cloud handed over the Gil.

"Yeah, living is pretty rough these days," he remarked. The man turned cheerful again.

"Oh well. Nothing we can do about it, except survive from day to day."

Cloud nodded, then decided it was time to ask about Sephiroth.

"I was wondering. Have you seen this man round your village recently? He has Mako eyes and wears a black cloak."

The man shook his head.

"Afraid not. No one comes here anymore. He may have passed through the forest though."

"Okay, thanks."

The man called to him jauntily, if not hopefully, as he left: "Make sure you come again!"

"Are they desperate here or what?" Tifa asked candidly. Aerith giggled.

"You've got to feel sorry for them. It's not likely that many people would stop by here just for fun." She turned to Cloud. "Cloud, I was thinking, since Sephiroth's not here, can we stay the night? I'm too tired to go back through that forest."

Since the other two felt the same way, they went in search for an inn, but there didn't seem to be any sign of one.

"Hmmm." Tifa scratched her head and looked around. "They should sign-post this place better. I can't see an inn anywhere."

"Hey, Tifa," Aerith suddenly began. "Do you think there'll be any boutiques around here?"

Aerith and Tifa both burst into laughter. Cloud pulled a wry face.

"Well, at least you two are happy."

They didn't appear to hear him, so, sighing, he began to look out for an inn. The place didn't seem to have one. It was so run down Cloud thought, that maybe, if there had been an inn, it would probably have closed down due to a lack of visitors. Cloud turned to the other two again.

"I don't think there is an inn here," he told them. "Maybe we should just ask some of the inhabitants here whether they have a room for the night."

"Look, there's a nice-looking house over there!" Tifa exclaimed. The house, if it could have been called nice-looking, at least looked better then the other drab and dirty huts around. They trudged over toward it.

"Do you think we should?" Aerith asked doubtfully.

Cloud nodded.

"It's getting late. If we don't find a place soon, we'll have to sleep on the streets or something." He knocked on the door.

It took a long while to be answered. When the door finally opened, it was by an old-looking woman. Cloud didn't think that she was that old, but she had circles under her eyes and hair that seemed to have greyed many years before it should have. She stared at the three of them blankly.

"Yes?"

Cloud cleared his throat.

"Hello, we were just passing through here and we couldn't find an inn anywhere. Do you think you could put us up for the night?"

The woman still looked quite expressionless.

"Sorry, there's no room here," she answered, in a dead-pan voice. "But the inn's on the other side of the village. It's next to the weapon store."

Cloud tried to smile. "Thanks."

He turned to go, but before he could, the woman suddenly stopped him.

"Wait a minute."

Cloud stopped and turned. The woman looked different somehow: it was almost as if she looked younger all of a sudden. There was an unanticipated touch of hope in her eyes.

"Will you come into this house for a minute?"

She did not explain herself, but waited on the doorstep, looking eagerly up at Cloud, expecting him to agree immediately. Cloud hesitated. He was confused at the woman's sudden strange request, but he had been touched by that look in her face. It was as though Cloud appeared to be a last hope to her. Wordlessly, he entered through the door that the woman was holding open for him. Aerith and Tifa followed in reluctantly.

Once inside the house, they stopped and stared. They had found themselves inside a pleasant-looking room, decorated with sparse furniture and possessions, but looking cosy enough. An oldish looking man was sitting in a chair by the fire, quietly reading from a battered, worn book. He looked up in surprise at the unexpected guests as they entered, then, as he saw Cloud, a look of undisguised hope filled his wrinkled face, just as it had the old woman's.

"Those eyes," he remarked in a croaky voice. "Mako eyes! You're from SOLDIER, aren't you!"

Cloud nodded.

"I was. Why? What do you want?"

The old woman shuffled over next to her husband and turned to face Cloud. She looked nervous, frightened almost. Flustered, she rubbed shaking hands over the front of her apron.

"We want news of our son," she finally explained, in a quavering voice. "He was in SOLDIER, top-class."

Cloud said nothing, but watched the woman, who seemed pained to carry on. The old man intervened.

"He went on a mission five years ago," he continued wearily. "But we haven't heard from him since. There has been no form of contact, no letters, no visits. We just want to know how he is. If you've seen him..."

Cloud looked at the two jaded figures and felt sorry for them. He spoke.

"I might have known him. What was his name?"

"Zack," the woman replied promptly, eager to get this over and done with, eager to find any news. Cloud thought. The name meant nothing to him.

"No," he admitted apologetically. "I didn't know anyone by that name. I'm sorry."

The woman hung her head.

"Then...he must be dead."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Cloud felt sad, and oddly ashamed. This poor old man and woman had waited for years in hope, years hanging on to the fact that their son might have been alive, some place, somewhere in this world. Cloud felt as though he had let them down. The old woman had begun to weep bitterly. Cloud bent his head.

"I'm sorry." he repeated. The old man, who'd been comforting his wife, smiled apologetically.

"No, it's all right. We should have had better sense, especially after all this time..."

He didn't finish, but shook his head sadly, and the room fell into a silence again. Cloud tried to think of something comforting to say, but a sound at the door made him turn. It was Aerith. She'd gone out quietly, leaving the others behind.

"Where is she going?" Cloud asked Tifa, but she made no reply. Her face was white, her eyes wide. Without saying anything, she too walked to the door and went out. Cloud was surprised. Why all this sudden evasiveness? He turned quickly to the couple.

"I think I'd better go too."

The old man nodded dejectedly and Cloud left. Tifa was walking away from the house in large, even strides. He had to run to catch up with her.

"Tifa, what's wrong?" he asked breathlessly as he levelled with her. Her face was still pale, and she looked anxious.

"Nothing's wrong, Cloud." she answered roughly, still walking fast. Cloud persisted.

"Tifa, did you know Zack?"

Tifa suddenly stopped and turned on him, a wild look in her eyes.

"No!" she cried, almost in horror, and then her face clamed suddenly. "How should I know Zack?" she asked. Cloud shrugged.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"I didn't know him," she insisted and it was obvious she'd say no more on the matter. She looked away from him quickly, waiting for him to speak.

"Where's Aerith?" he asked. Tifa shrugged.

"I think I saw her back there," she said quietly.

Aerith was standing not far off from the old couple's house, her eyes fixed on the floor. She remained motionless as Cloud and Tifa approached.

"Aerith, you all right?" Cloud inquired, noticing the odd, pensive look on her face. She nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking? About what?"

Aerith raised her head and looked soulfully into the distance.

"Zack," she answered shortly.

"Zack!" Cloud was astonished. "You knew him!"

She looked up at him and smiled wanly.

"Sure, I did. He was my first love."

Cloud was taken aback. Tifa said nothing. Aerith sighed, kicked at a piece of frozen earth with her foot.

"He left one day five years ago. He said he was going on a big mission. I never heard from him again. I assumed he'd found another girl. He was a real lady's man," she paused, laughed regretfully. "It never crossed my mind he was dead."

"I'm sorry," Tifa sympathised stiffly. "It must have been hard for you."

Cloud swallowed hard. He couldn't speak. Aerith laughed again.

"It doesn't matter. I'd kind of forgotten about it all."

She remained looking out into nothingness and Tifa suddenly shuffled her feet in the silence.

"I think...I'll go and find that inn now."

Cloud watched her walk away, and then looked at Aerith, who still seemed a million miles away. The more he thought about this Zack person, the more jealous he seemed to become of him. Aerith's first love? Judging by the way she acting now, Cloud thought, she'd been pretty serious about him.

"Zack," he said to himself. "Wow, what a big coincidence. Who'd have thought you'd have heard about him here and now, after all these years?"

"It was kind of a shock..." Aerith said slowly. "...I had almost given up hope on him."

Cloud pulled a face. "Yeah," he muttered acidly. Aerith detected the malicious tone in his voice. She stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Are you jealous, Cloud? Are you?" she asked him innocently. He passed her an evil look, but did not reply. Her face fell.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, it's just that..." she stopped mid-sentence, then suddenly perked up. "Let's go and find Tifa, shall we?"

Tifa was waiting outside the inn.

"I found it," she said, unnecessarily, her voice blunt. "It's only fifty Gil a night."

"Let's go in then," Cloud said quickly.

The innkeeper was over-joyed at the prospect of guests. It appeared that he had been on the verge of closing and that Cloud was in luck at having got him when he did. The room he had on offer was surprisingly cosy, the beds soft and welcoming.

"Wow!" Tifa exclaimed, throwing herself on a bed. "This is exactly what I've been needing all day!"

After phoning Barret to explain about Sephiroth's non-appearance and that they were staying the night in the village, the three settled down to sleep. It took Tifa little time to fall off into a deep slumber. Aerith got into bed at a slower pace, and she remained largely silent, except for a final 'goodnight'. Cloud had gone to bed last. He felt drained after the fight with Reno and Rude, but he didn't feel tired either. The bed was uncomfortable after a while, and it was hot. After tossing and turning for along time, he decided to sit up in bed. It was still humid. Cursing, he pulled off his top and chucked it somewhere. It continued to be stuffy. Cloud did not know how many hours had passed, but he soon lost the need to go to sleep. He remained wide-awake, sitting up, his head against the headboard. Tifa and Aerith seemed to be fast asleep, and this made him even more sullen. His mind turned viciously toward Zack.

His heart gave a violent twinge of unexpected jealousy. He had at first thought it ridiculous that he should feel so envious of someone he didn't even know, even if he was Aerith's first love. But then again, Cloud hadn't even been conscious that he was that concerned over Aerith anyway. He winced. Yes, well, maybe he had occasionally thought of her as vaguely attractive. Or very attractive. Or maybe...

A sound from Aerith's direction made him jump. She had been talking some nonsense in her sleep, he realised, and then suddenly, she sat bolt upright in her bed, awake. In the dim moonlight, he could see her suddenly bury her head in her hands and give out a long groan.

"Aerith?" he ventured, unsure. She jumped and stared at him in fright. Then her hand went to her breast.

"Oh. You're awake," she said. "You scared me."

"You were having a nightmare," he explained, flatly. "It seemed pretty bad."

She shook her head. "No, it was nothing. I can't even remember it." She flopped back on to her bed and sighed. After a while she spoke again. "It's hot in here, isn't it."

"That's why I'm awake," he replied. After a short pause, he continued, "Aerith, can you tell me about Zack?"

"Why?" she answered shortly.

"I'm just curious." Not only that, he also remembered Tifa's white face earlier on, and his own confusion, amid the envy.

"It's not important," she said finally. "It's in the past."

"Judging by your face this evening, I'd say it was important."

She sat up again and looked at him, putting herself into a more comfortable position.

"It's a long story," she said. "I'd better whisper, otherwise I'll wake up Tifa."

He nodded. Anything to pass the night away. To see if his jealousy was justified. To find out about Zack. It seemed important.

Aerith began her story.

It was very late at night in Midgar City, and I didn't know what time it was because I had no watch. But I knew it was late, because the Shinra soldiers were crawling around like dogs, going in and out of the bars, singing and drinking aimlessly.

The reason why I was out so late was because business had been bad that day. It had been going downhill steadily for the past year, in fact ever since I'd started working as a flower girl. I didn't even really know why I was out hoping for customers at that time. The only people about were the Shinra soldiers, and they weren't very likely to want to want to buy flowers. I had decided, suddenly, that it would be better to go home.

Turning, I began to walk through the slums toward my home, but I hadn't been journeyed for more than ten seconds when two soldiers came running from the bar at the side of the road and straight into me. They didn't even appear to see me land on the hard, stone pavement, amongst a pile of my fallen flowers.

"Wait!" a voice called from down the path. "I said wait!"

But the two men didn't hear, or pretended not to hear, and disappeared, swaggering round a corner. I felt dizzy. I'd been slammed into quite heavily, and it had happened fast. Trying to pick myself up, I saw that my flowers were lying in a broken mess on the floor.

"Oh God," I groaned. I knew I was definitely not going to get any money tonight. I began to pick them up quickly, trying to mend their broken stems and leaves.

"Need any help?"

The disembodied voice that I'd heard earlier was above me, offering me help. I hardly looked up.

"Yes, please," I answered in relief. "Oh, my poor flowers."

The person bent down and began to pick up the flowers with me in silence. After a short while, the voice spoke again.

"This one doesn't seem to be broken."

I looked up.

It was a boy, not much older than me, with a good-looking face and bright eyes that shone with a strange glow. I found myself blushing and, with great difficulty, I managed to tear my eyes away from his to the flower in his hand.

"Oh, that's a rose. They don't break easily, because they have thick stems."

He still held it between his fingers and still didn't take his eyes off me.

"A rose, huh? So that's what it's called. Don't see many flowers round here."

I was still blushing.

"You can have it if you want. I'll sell it to you for a Gil."

The boy made no reply, but handed me the money. I was surprised.

"Oh, thank you!"

He smiled at me "How about telling me your name then?"

I stared up at him, feeling my heart flutter slightly. "Aerith," I stammered, "Aerith Gainsborough."

"Aerith," he repeated thoughtfully. "Pretty name for a pretty girl."

I couldn't help colouring again as he helped me up. Once I had thanked him again, he stayed looking at me, then he spoke once more.

"My name's Zack. I'm here with the Shinra. I'm in SOLDIER, top-class."

"The Shinra? You're not bad, are you?"

He laughed. "Bad? No way! I'm not like those drunks back there! They've got no brains. But I have. That's why I'm top-class." He paused. "Hey, I could walk you home. Just in case you run into any trouble."

"I'd much appreciate it, Mr. Zack."

He laughed again.

"Just call me Zack. Where do you live?"

I directed him to my home and then thanked him before he left. He shook his head and smiled at me.

"It was no trouble at all. All my pleasure." He seemed pensive for a moment, then he held out the rose to me. "Here, take this. I'd only ruin it. It's safer with you. And...it kind of suits you."

Once again, I could not help my cheeks turning as red as the rose "But your money..." I protested mildly, but he shook his head again.

"Keep it. It's the least I can do for a girl like you."

I received the rose gratefully.

"Are Shinra soldiers really as kind as you?" I mused out loud. Zack grinned at me.

"No. Only I am...to you." He turned to go, then stopped halfway. "Oh, I almost forgot...Goodnight, Aerith."

"Goodnight, Zack."

I watched him disappear into the blackness of the slums, then opened the door to my house. Letting it shut slowly, I leaned against it and gave a deep sigh. I was getting one of those silly, hot feelings you get when you think you've fallen in love. All that night, I tried to kid myself out of thinking about him. I didn't expect him to stick to me at all. And yet, nevertheless, he turned up at my door the very next evening.

I was astonished to see him.

"Zack!" I almost yelled. "What are you doing here!"

"Well," he leaned against the frame of the door conversationally, "I was hoping to ask you if you'd like to go to dinner."

"To dinner!" I gasped. I could feel my heart beating fast again. "I'd love to. But I'd have to ask my mum first."

Zack shrugged. "As long as you can come."

Elmyra agreed, although rather dubiously, as always.

"You watch out Aerith," she warned. "You know what the Shinra are like. He could be someone from the Turks."

"No mum, he's in SOLDIER," I explained patiently. "Besides, I can take care of myself, you know that."

Elmyra agreed in the end. She always does. So Zack and I were free to go wherever we wanted. In the end, we decided to go to the restaurant in Wall Market. we ordered Wutainese barbecues (you guessed it!), and we took a little time to get to know each other.

Zack was eighteen, a year older than me. He had been in SOLDIER since he was fourteen, and worked himself so hard he'd got to first-class. He had been stationed in Midgar while taking care of some Mako Reactor business, and didn't expect to be moved out of town for quite some time, which was good for the both of us. Then I got to know more about his personality. He hated country life and liked being in the city. He was clever, and had always come out top in his SOLDIER training. He liked stuff to do with Mako reactors and he liked all the latest Shinra vehicles. He loved his women too. But best of all, he said he loved me...

"Hang on a minute!" Cloud interrupted quickly. "He said he loved you on your first date!"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Aerith replied, defensively.

"God, this Zack had a nerve," he mumbled, feeling slightly put out. "And what about that 'silly, hot feeling' you got? What does that suggest?" Aerith passed him a long look.

"Cloud, we were young and we liked each other. Besides," she looked at him solemnly, "when you fall in love, you don't get 'silly, hot feelings'. You feel something deeper than that."

Cloud hunched up his knees and rested his arms on them.

"Oh, and I suppose you'd be an expert then, Aerith? I wouldn't know. I don't think love exists, whether a 'silly, hot feeling', 'something deeper than that', or otherwise. It's all in the mind."

Aerith looked irritated by his little philosophical speech.

"As you say, Cloud, you don't know. How can you talk about something you don't know anything about?"

"Okay, okay," he brushed aside the comment. "So what happened in the end?"

Zack was stationed in Sector Five for several months after that. We didn't stop seeing each other and had surprisingly grown quite close. At least it was a surprise to me, because by now I'd obviously heard a lot about his reputation. I should have known that it wouldn't have lasted.

It happened one cool evening. I was out doing my usual job of selling flowers, when I suddenly saw him approaching me. He looked decidedly agitated, but his face lightened up as he greeted me.

"Aerith! Hi!"

I walked up to meet him.

"Zack! I thought you were on patrol with others today."

He shook his head.

"I got the day off. Listen, I was wondering. There's somewhere I'd like to take you. Do you think you could leave the flowers for an afternoon and come with me?"

I nodded. "Of course I could."

He looked relieved. "Great, let's go."

Zack led me through a place I did not know. After a while of walking, I began to feel uneasy.

"Zack, where are we going?"

He did not answer, but lead me through a long, dark ally. I began to feel frightened all of a sudden. I began to think wildly of how I should not have trusted him, that maybe he'd rape me, then turn me over to the Turks.

"Zack..."

He shushed me. "Wait, we're nearly there."

I fell into a quiet. I couldn't find the presence of mind to run away now. Besides, there was no point in turning back either. I had no choice but to follow close by him. We soon reached to the tall ruin of a building.

"Inside here," Zack prompted. I went inside. Everything in the building had fallen apart and I found myself standing in the middle of broken bits of glass and wood. Zack followed me in.

"Zack ,where are we?" I asked nervously.

"We're in a church," he answered, looking pleased with himself. I looked around warily and saw that it was a church. The pews were still in place, the wood rotting. The stained glass windows had been smashed in, except for a few at the front of the church. Above where the altar had once been a life-size crucifix was still hanging. I took in a short breath.

"It's beautiful."

Zack walked up beside me and nodded.

"Sure is." He walked past me, then beckoned to me. "Come here."

I followed him to the front of the church. Wordlessly, he pointed to the ground. The floorboards had been stripped to the earth. In their place, a few yellow primroses had begun to grow.

"Zack! Flowers!"

He had an expression of immense pleasure on his face. "Yep. Flowers."

I got down on my knees and looked at them. "Why?" I asked, unable to say anything else. He knelt down next to me.

"It's a gift, that's all. From me to you."

I found myself hugging him in a rush.

"Zack! That's so kind of you! Thanks so much! You shouldn't have!"

"Why not?" There was a sardonic grin on his face.

I shrugged wordlessly in reply and fingered the petals of the yellow flowers softly in the silence. Soon he spoke again, and I could not see his face.

"Aerith? There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Oh? What's that?"

A Shinra soldier appearing at the entrance of the church interrupted us.

"Zack! Here you are!" he exclaimed. "We've got to go now. The boss'll get pissed."

Zack turned to him, a dismayed look on his face.

"Hang on, I'll be down in a minute."

The man left sharpish. I turned to Zack, puzzled.

"Where are you going?"

He stood up and ran a hand disconcertedly through his hair.

"I'm leaving Midgar," he said in a subdued tone. I shot up.

"Leaving!"

He nodded. "Yeah. That's what I was trying to tell you. You see, I've got an important job west of here. A once in a life-time job."

"One you can't refuse?" I probed.

"I guess you could say that."

I hung my head. "So...I guess this is goodbye," I said, a lump beginning to form in my throat. He shook his head vehemently.

"No, not goodbye." he took in a deep breath. "I promise you, I'll come back when it's over."

"You promise?"

There was a sad look in his eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

I gave him a watery smile that was meant to assure him that I did. The man appeared again at the door.

"Zack...!"

Zack turned to him. "Okay, just a minute!" The man disappeared for a second time and Zack turned back to me. "Well...goodbye then."

"...Goodbye."

He gazed into my eyes again and then turned to go. He hadn't walked more than five steps when, quite suddenly, he stopped and turned. I looked back at him expectantly. Silently, he walked back toward me and gripped me by the shoulders, though not severely. For a long time he looked at me, then he kissed me suddenly, very hard. I was astonished at first. I had never felt so much feeling in him, so much emotion. I closed my eyes and held him. My heart, I felt, was breaking.

He finally released me and there was no more need to say goodbye. He turned again, this time for the last time. I watched him go, leave me. It seemed that I stood watching a long time after he'd left. I began to cry bitterly about five minutes after he'd left my sight.

I never saw Zack again.

Cloud didn't know what to say.

"You loved him, right?" he finally managed, but almost immediately regretted it. Aerith stared candidly back at him. They had become accustomed to the dark and he could see a trace of tears shining in her eyes.

"Love?" she repeated. "I don't think I'd admit to that. I was only young then. Things have changed." She sighed and wiped at her eyes fiercely, as though the tears had betrayed her. Cloud suddenly felt tired, much to his relief. He'd begun to believe he'd never go to sleep.

"You know," she said finally "I wonder what happened to him now. It's the truth; I really had blocked his memory out for so long. It's so weird to have told you everything."

"Do you regret telling me?" he asked.

"No."

After a moment, she looked up and held his eyes.

"Cloud?"

"Hmmm."

"I..." Her mouth remained open, but nothing came out. She clamped it shut, then tried to begin again. "Cloud, thanks for listening to me," her voice began an almost inaudible whisper. "It's good talking to you."

He thought, in an instant, of how strikingly beautiful she was, even in the dark. He pulled the covers over him.

"It's good talking to you too." he whispered back, then finished the sentence off in his mind.

It's good listening to you. It's good looking at you, and thinking of you, and waiting for you, Aerith.

Waiting for her? Waiting for what?

Cloud watched her lie back in bed, suddenly aware of how his thoughts had spiralled out of control. Guiltily, he rested his head on the pillow and turned her story round and round in his head. Something wasn't right, he thought. Something didn't fit.

"Cloud?"

Her voice caused him to cease the questioning of it all.

"Yes?"

Her voice returned, soft and silent.

"Goodnight Cloud."

He remembered her face.

"Goodnight Aerith."

Next: The entrance of a certain materia thief...