Chapter 5

I think….I wanna be forgiven…more than anything….

"What?!" said Cloud, suddenly waking up from his sleep. He sighed angrily, wiping the sweat from his forehead. What the hell was that all about?

"Must be that slice of cheese I had…" mumbled Cloud tiredly, he lay back down on the pillow and shut his eyes.

"Cloud?"

"Huh?!" Cloud opened his eyes again, only to find Aerith standing at the doorway, looking a bit concerned.

"Cloud? Are you ok? I thought I heard you talking…" said Aerith awkwardly.

"What? Yes, I'm fine ok? Just go back to bed," said Cloud grumpily. Aerith nodded and did as she was told.

What was that all about? What would I want to be forgiven for?

Cloud brushed the thought away and went back to sleep.

---

"Wa-cha! Hey there, my sweet delicate flower!" said Zack cheerily to Aerith at work the next day.

"Hi, Zack! Thirsty?" she asked, smiling.

"Just water please, my dear!" said Zack, beaming.

"You're in a very good mood today!" said Aerith pouring him a glass of water.

"I sure am!" he replied. Zack peered around the pub. "You're not very busy today, I see. Where's Teef?"

"You mean, Tifa? She's over there chatting to some friends she's never gotten a chance to see," said Aerith, passing Zack's water over to him.

"Well…I was wondering, do you-- d'you think she'd let you take the rest of the day off? Just for today?" said Zack cautiously.

"Wait, what?! What are you talking about, Zack?" said Aerith.

"Well, I was just wondering -- because if you could -- then - then we can, you know, go out on a date?" said Zack, blushing.

"Oh, Zack. That's very nice of you, but I- I just can't really--""Of course you can, Aerith!" said Tifa, suddenly by her side.

"What?"

"Don't go refusing Aerith, you're wasting your time. You guys go off and enjoy yourselves! It's about time you started enjoying your life Aerith instead of being--" Tifa stopped to lower her voice. "--Being cooped up with a control freak." she said quietly. Zack grinned at Tifa, unable to believe what she just said.

"So that's it?! YOU BELIEVE ME!!" said Zack happily, punching the air in triumph. "Tifa! Oh, I love you, man!! Tifa-"

"Hey, hey, enough of the hugging! Save it for Miss Flower girl over here," grinned Tifa.

Aerith blushed, looking away from Zack. "Thanks, Tifa. I really appreciate it!" she said happily.

"It's no problem Aerith, you deserve it after all you've been through!" said Tifa, hugging her tightly. Aerith then rushed out of the pub with Zack, feeling a lot more confident.

"So, where did you plan on taking me?" said Aerith as they walked along a quiet path far away from the pub. Aerith admired the beautiful flowers that lay abundantly at the side.

"It's a surprise my dear Aerith," said Zack picking one of the flowers and placing it in her hair. She giggled happily.

"You know, Zack , I was a little afraid of being around you at first. But now I'm not, I feel…happy around you," said Aerith, smiling at him. Zack blushed.

"R-really? Cuz that's what I was just about to say -- you know, the 'happy being around' you part." said Zack, scratching his head nervously.

Aerith giggled. She then stopped. "What was that you were going on about back in the pub with Tifa?"

"The what now?" said Zack confusingly.

"You said 'So that's it, you believe me' to Tifa. What did you mean by that?" said Aerith.

Zack took a deep breath. It's about time I told you Aerith. "Aerith…it's obvious isn't it?"

"Obvious? What do you mean?" said Aerith, frowning.

"Cloud's abusing you isn't he?" said Zack. "There's no point in denying it Aerith, it's obvious from the moment I saw that cut on your lip and how strange you were behaving!" he added angrily. Tears welled up in Aerith's eyes.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Zack!" she said, suddenly breaking down in tears, she fell on her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably. "It's true! But I couldn't tell anyone, if I did, I was afraid he'd find out and kill me! The same how I felt when I was around you! If Cloud found out I was seeing you god knows what he'd do!" Aerith cried.

"I knew it…so you're actually just gonna stay quiet about everything?! You're gonna stay living with some control freak?!" said Zack, putting his arms around Aerith.

"I want to leave, I want to leave so badly! But…I can't! I can't!" said Aerith, sobbing.

"You can! You have to try Aerith! You can't stay with a guy like that!" said Zack, hugging her tightly. "I just can't believe Cloud's turned like this… how could he do this to you?"

"I wish I knew…"

Zack looked down at Aerith, suddenly smiling.

"Hey, c'mon, wipe away those tears," he said, chuckling. He reached in his pocket for a tissue and passed it to Aerith.

"Feelin' better?" he asked.

"A little, yeah. I'm actually glad to finally get it off my chest," said Aerith.

"C'mon, let's go," said Zack, helping Aerith up off the ground and continued onward.

---

"Don't peep," said Zack, making sure Aerith still had her eyes covered.

"I won't," giggled Aerith, her hands covering her eyes as Zack guided her along.

"OK - now - open!" said Zack.

Aerith pulled her hands away from her eyes and opened them, she gasped, amazed at what she had seen.

"Zack - this place is so beautiful!" she said, amazed.

The place was abundant with flowers of every kind, - lilies, daisies, pansies - everything. Aerith admired the beautiful scenery, she ran her finger along the glass fountain that gushed out crystal clear water. Aerith smiled gratefully at Zack. "Zack - this is just so wonderful of you! -""I'm surprised you don't recognize the place," Zack chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" said Aerith.

"It did change a lot I must admit, but this is one of the most treasured places we've been to back when we were dating," said Zack grinning, gazing at the place. "We had our first kiss here."

"Oh - this place! Now I remember!" said Aerith, she blushed slightly. "That was very thoughtful of you…"

"It is, as I said, one of our most treasured places…" said Zack, he leaned in and planted a kiss on Aerith's lips. Her fears of Cloud seemed to slip away, his kiss was affectionate, she slid her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Her problems faded away, nothing seemed to matter only Zack. Their childhood love flooded back, it was only now that she realized Cloud wasn't the one for her. It was Zack, it always had been Zack.

"Just like old times," said Zack when they broke apart.

"I wish it were like old times," Aerith replied.

"You don't have to be with Cloud anymore, I can help you out of that relationship!" said Zack, holding Aerith's hands close to him.

"Zack, you know I can't - he'll kill me!" said Aerith worriedly.

"We can run away, together, just the two of us! Away from Midgar! We can start over, just us," said Zack promisingly, Aerith shook her head.

"I don't know, Zack. Cloud might find us…I just want to be rid of him for good.." said Aerith sadly.

"You can do it, Aerith! I told you I'd help! You just need to get away from him! Please….will you say yes?" said Zack pleadingly.

Aerith looked at Zack, he was right, being with Cloud made life hell for her, it was time she'd gotten away from him. For good.

"Yes. I will."

Zack's smile couldn't have been any wider.

Oh noes, not again. Sorry for yet another short chapter ^^; I just shortened it because I wanted to add a lot more in the next chapter. I do apologize for not updating sooner! I got sidetracked with other things lol Read and Review please! :D