Oh No, There Goes My Halo

Disclaimer: Sephiroth, Aerith and all other characters mentioned in this fic solely belong to Square Enix and Disney.

A/N: So much for having this done in a few days, huh. Lately my comp's been having spaz attacks on me and randomly shutting down, and I've lost bits of my work in the process. You can probably see my frustration shows in this one, as it's not as good as the others. The next one, #07., will go back to 'present time'.

#06. meetings and greetings

One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed. Maybe a bit more. Slowly Aerith's eyelids droop closed. The empty wicker basket that was held in her grasp slipped through her fingers, rolling away across the floor. There was a knock at the door.

Aerith mumbled under her breath, turning her head to face the other way. Her upper half was resting over a large, elegant looking dining table, her toes barely brushing with the ground from the high seat of her chair. As she slept on, a taller figure silently swept past her, briefly pausing to pick up the basket before heading for the door. The handle was pulled back to reveal two small boys arguing with each other, their little spat effectively cut off as both turned their gazes upward, at the woman who answered the door.

"Uh, hi," the shorter one said with a sheepish grin, "does, um, Aerith live here?"

The woman took a moment to regard them. "She does indeed. I take it you're Storm and Chip, yes?" They nodded. "I'm Mrs Gainsborough, Aerith's mother. Would you both like to come inside?" she asked.

"No thank you, ma'am," the taller one replied. "We'll just wait out here for her, if that's all right."

The woman smiled. "Why certainly. I'll just go fetch her now. Heaven knows she's been giddy with excitement, waiting by the clock all morning to go out and play with you two."

She left them by the doorstep, soft footsteps approaching her daughter's side. Her still form indicated she was still asleep. Gently Mrs Gainsborough prodded her shoulder. "Aerith, Aerith – time to wake up. They're here." Aerith shifted in her chair, her head rising to blearily meet her mother's gaze. "Huh? Wh-who..."­

"Your friends. They're outside waiting for you." In a flash Aerith was out of her chair and dashing past her mother, who still had her basket and was shaking her head, smiling. Aerith took a wild turn round the door, her enthused greetings cut short as she unexpectedly tripped over the doorstep and tumbled into the two boys. Together they rolled back, over the terrace and onto the grass.

Chip groaned. "My bum, oh my bum, it hurts..."

He continued to roll around in the grass, unaware of Storm rolling his eyes at him. Storm was propped up on his knees, brushing the dirt off his clothes. Aerith reached for a paper lying next to her, recognising it as the one she gave to Storm. It was a picture of where she lived, drawn and coloured to aid him and Chip in finding her house. "Did this help?" she asked.

Storm chose his words carefully. "Well, the house"– he took a long look at her drawing before gesturing at Aerith's home –"you definitely have a house."

"What you don't have, though," Chip added, snatching the picture from Aerith to scrutinise it up close, "are those rabbits, the flying 'm' things –"

"They're birds –"

"– and a sun wearing sunglasses. Other than that, it was very helpful."

Aerith had her hands on her hips. "You're lying. I don't think you think it was very helpful."

"I think you don't know what I'm thinking, no matter what you think or don't think," Chip said, placing his hands on his sides in the same manner as her.

"Aerith!" All three children turned to see Mrs Gainsborough standing by the door, holding the basket as well as a large sunflower hat in her hands. "Don't forget to go without these." Aerith skipped up the front steps to retrieve her wicker basket, allowing her mother to fit her favourite hat on for her. "There."

Mrs Gainsborough looked to where Storm and Chip were, noticing Storm's scuffed knees and Chip's hair. She finally turned back to Aerith, and saw a dirt patch marring the front of her dress.

"Did something happen here?"

"I tripped," Aerith said in an apologetic tone, looking down at her toes. Mrs Gainsborough didn't know how that could have resulted in the state the two boys were in but she decided not to enquire further.

"Oh no – my dress!" Aerith brought the hem of her frilly blue dress up to eye level, taking notice of the stain for the first time. She was going to inspect it further when it was suddenly smacked out of her hands.

"Aerith you silly girl," her mother scolded, "What did I say about lifting your dress up in public? Do you want your two friends to see your panties, hmm?"

Aerith blanched. "No! I, I..." She trailed off, quickly glancing at Chip and Storm. Chip's cheeks were puffed up, appearing as if he was about to burst. Storm was looking the other way.

"Good. And don't worry about the dirt on your dress, we can clean it off later when you come home. Now then," Mrs Gainsborough said, tapping the basket Aerith was holding. "In here are the chocolate cookies I had promised to bake for you and your friends, which you can all eat on the way. I expect you to be back here before sunset, and preferably not alone, so you'll have to ask nicely if Storm and Chip are able to walk you home."

"Of course they will! They're my friends," Aerith said. She hugged her mother around the middle, hopping off the terrace to rejoin with the two boys afterwards.

Mrs Gainsborough waved after them, calling out, "It was nice to meet you, boys. Have fun." She retreated back into the house.

"All right, so where are we heading off to?" Storm asked. He was looking to Aerith, who was adjusting the sunflower hat on her head. "To the park," she answered. "It's not too far off, we just gotta cut through those houses up ahead and stick close to the kingdom walls. It'll lead us there."

Chip sniffed the air. "Hey, do you guys smell that?" He wandered closer to Aerith. "Something smells really good."

"You mean these?" Aerith showed her basket to him, letting him see the batch of fresh cookies inside. Chip smacked his lips, a delighted look overcoming his features.

"Yeah, that's it," he said. "Uh, you know, carrying that basket around must be pretty tiring... why don't you let me carry it for you?" He ignored the fact that they were still standing in front of her house, and were yet to start moving.

"Oh, um, okay." She handed him the basket, and off they went.

The layout of Aerith's neighbourhood was bizarre, to say the least. Many of the houses were clustered together, all facing in different directions. The area was on ground level, fenced in between the sky-scraping walls that divided the districts. As a result, most of the kingdom's lower class residents (those of higher status lived in the Borough, one district over) lived in perpetual shadow. The three manoeuvred their way around the quaint dwellings, keeping to the wall as much as they could. Whenever they passed other people, most of whom Aerith would instantly recognise, she'd give a brief hello and a wave, always receiving a greeting in return.

"You seem to know a lot of people," Storm commented. They had just walked by a young couple, shortly followed by an elderly woman and young girl. All knew Aerith's name.

"I like getting to know other people," Aerith replied.

"Why?"

"Why not? We all live in the same town. I see these people all the time."

"But you don't really know them."

"Doesn't mean I can't try," she countered, "Don't you know the people who live around you, you know, your neighbours? People you see everyday?"

Storm thought about it for a bit. "No, not really." Aerith gave him a look, one full of pity and bewilderment; it irritated him. "And I don't want too, either." His tone was just a touch snappy.

"It was only a question."

They walked in silence for a while until a loud burp sounded somewhere from behind. Turning around, they saw Chip shaking Aerith's basket to see if there was anything else inside.

"Chip!" Aerith cried, rushing back to take her basket from him. "I can't believe you ate all the cookies!"

"I know," Chip said sadly, "I really thought there was more than that in there. I'm still hungry."

"Good, because that makes two of us now," she huffed. She really had been looking forward to munching on her mother's homemade cookies. Boys! she thought. Angrily Aerith spun on her heels and marched ahead, brushing past Storm and putting distance between her and the two.

"You got on her bad side too, huh?" Chip asked Storm. He didn't reply.

Eventually the gateway to the park loomed in their sights. By this time the irritation-almost-anger that had nearly all but consumed Aerith dissipated, leaving her to feel relatively happy again. At the sound of two pairs of footsteps slowly, almost hesitantly catching up behind her, Aerith turned to face Storm and Chip. She announced in a cheerful voice, "We're here! Now we can finally get started!"

"Started?" Chip repeated dubiously. "Started on what? What's she talkin' about, Storm?"

Storm shrugged. Going to the park was Aerith's idea, after all. What had started as a simple suggestion from the girl back during the time she was still a recent addition to the group had evolved and became incorporated into their routine; basically, that each of them would have a turn every so often choosing where they'd spend the day and what to do. He could admit it was a welcome change – the Waterway had long lost its mysterious appeal, seeing as how the castle guards had finally caught on to their little 'adventures' in there and closed it off. Aerith brushed the last of the crumbs out of her basket.

"Silly," she drawled, "there's only one reason I'd bring the two of you along here." Neither boy could see the mischievous glint in her eyes obscured by the brim of her hat.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Chip prompted. Instead of replying, Aerith plucked a blue blossom from its bush nearby, briefly holding it up in the air between them before making a point of dropping it into the basket.

"No." The adamant response came from both of them, arms folded, with identical frowns on their faces. Aerith didn't feel deterred in the least. "You," she said, raising a finger at Chip who stared at it warily, "don't get a say 'cause you ate all my cookies. If you ever want to taste my mum's cookies again, you better do as I say." She rounded her words off with a seemingly sincere smile of sweetness. Chip looked stricken.

"I..." Chip sent Storm a desperate look, one that was returned with a steel gaze. Several silent but bizarre facial expressions later, Chip broke away from the staring match, shoulders slumped. "Where do you want me to start?" he asked Aerith, sighing. Storm mumbled under his breath, something that sounded a lot like "pathetic".

After Aerith directed Chip to a row of vibrant tulips, she turned back to Storm, the glint in her eyes still there. Storm unblinkingly tried to stare her down.

"You can't make me pick flowers. I'll never do it."

She merely smiled.

Five minutes later, Storm found himself reaching for a large petunia across from Chip, Aerith somewhere nearby. How did he get roped into this? "Look Storm – smell this pink one I found!" Storm pushed away the fourth flower Chip had tried to shove up under his nose, glaring at his friend. He had been so firm in his resolve, so sure that he'd never be swayed by her, and for a moment it really did look like it was going to work. Then, she had turned the tables on him, doing the worst thing any girl could do – she threatened to cry.

"Hey Storm, I think there's a bug in thi–OW!"

Just one step forward, basket clutched to her chest, impossibly bright green eyes meeting the intensity of his own and his resolve just crumbled away, like a chocolate cookie underneath a set of sharp teeth. That was all it took for him to surrender. Storm frowned to himself. Well, that and maybe because he felt just a little bad about snapping at her earlier.

"Hey, you two!"

Storm and Chip looked up, seeing a girl jog towards them. Flipping a stray brown curl over her shoulder, she said, "I'm looking for a boy with spiky hair. Have either of you seen him?" If she thought it was weird that two boys were busy picking flowers in a park, she didn't show it. Nevertheless, Storm kept his handful of flowers out of view.

"I have spiky hair." Chip pointed at his head.

The girl grinned. "Another boy with spiky hair – but yeah, you do kinda look like him." Eyes roaming over the park, she sighed. "Guess I'll keep looking, then." She left them to resume their flower picking.

"Wonder who she's looking for?" Chip mused. He took a whiff of the flower he was holding and sneezed. "Eugh, stuff's got dust in it."

Some moments later, Aerith returned with her basket, a variety of colourful flowers poking out. "I'm back! Now, let's see how many flowers you both picked." They showed her and she uttered a gleeful squeal at the amount they collected. "Can we stop now? My arms are hurting," Chip complained.

"Course you can," Aerith replied, carefully filling her basket with their flowers, "we've got lots anyway." Once done, she turned to face them, looking suddenly awkward. "Um, my mum says for me to ask if you guys can walk me home, and I told her you's would, so, um, will you guys walk me home... please?"

"Course we will," Chip said, grinning. Storm nodded.

Aerith giggled a little, straightening up and patting down her dress. She gave them a grateful smile. "Thanks." They made to leave when Chip suddenly gave a squawk of surprise and scuttled behind Storm's back, shouting and pointing at an area of bushes close by. "The flowers! Over there! There's something in the flowers and it blinked at me!"

"Calm down, Chip," Storm ordered, attempting to remove himself from the younger boy's hold as Aerith ventured forward, towards where Chip pointed at. "You know that flowers don't –"

"Hello?" Aerith bent down on her knees, peering through the leaves. The bush rustled back in reply.

She shrieked and almost tripped as she scurried backwards. "Behind me," Storm instructed, pulling her back. Slowly the eldest of the trio advanced closer to the source of the rustling noises.

"Come out – show yourself!"

Storm narrowed his eyes. Whatever or whoever was hiding in the bushes didn't comply. Big mistake. He pounced forward.

"Ahhhh!" Chip and Aerith heard the scream and waited with bated breath until a small boy was sent hurling out of the bushes, Storm emerging shortly after.

"C... Cloud?" Chip voiced weakly.

The boy groaned, pulling himself to his feet. "Z-Zack... why'd your psycho friend attacked me? I wasn't doing anything!" He rubbed his scalp, wincing.

Before anything else could have been said, a far off shout alerted all four; it was the girl Storm and Chip recognised from earlier. She approached the boy named Cloud.

"Ha – found you!" she exclaimed, poking him in the chest. Cloud sighed.

"Why were you hiding?" Aerith asked him curiously.

"Well, me and Tifa were playing hide-and-seek and I was winning until that wacko over there ruined it all." Cloud sent a glare at Storm. Storm glared back.

"So, I guess that makes me the winner." The girl known as Tifa beamed.

"No way, you cheated Tifa – I know you were asking people if they've seen me and that ain't allowed in the game."

"So? There's a bazillion hiding places out here, Cloud. You know I'm not that good at seeking so I had to. It was either that or giving up and leaving you here in the park... alone." Chip, Aerith and Storm watched in bemusement as Cloud wailed and clung tightly to Tifa's arm. "No! You can't freakin' leave me here! Not with crazy-gray-haired-bush-attacking freaks like him around!" He pointed at Storm.

"Oh spare me," Storm muttered. In a much louder voice he said, "All right, we're off." He strode past the two, barely a second before Cloud yelled out and started hopping on the spot.

"HE STEPPED ON MY FOOT! HE STEPPED ON MY BLOODY FU–"

"Gotta wonder where he learns all those words from," Chip said as he and Aerith trailed after Storm, waving their farewells to the other two. Curses continued to fill the air. "Though I hear there's a man who lives on his street that likes to cuss a lot, maybe he learnt them from him." He shrugged at his own answer, looking over to Aerith who was still peering over her shoulder.

"Their names are Cloud and Tifa, right?" She sighed. "I didn't get a chance to meet them properly. They sound like nice people."

"Aww don't worry about it," Chip reassured her. "I'm sure we'll see 'em again soon enough."

"I hope so." Several paces ahead of them, a derisive snort sounded.

"Hey Storm, what's wrong?" Chip called out. He and Aerith caught up with him just as they exited the park through the gateway.

"Nothing."

"...You stepped on Cloud's foot on purpose, didn't you?"

Storm turned to face them and grinned. It was an act so rare it almost made him appear sinister. "Maybe."

A/N: Yeah, ending's weird, but I didn't know how to put a stop to it – it just wanted to keep going and going! Mm, and yeah, I used to draw my suns with shades, make them look hot and cool at the same time. (Bad joke, haha.)