Anxiety - Sephiroth/Aerith oneshot fic
An AU Styled KH2 fic.
Leon was their leader for as long as Aerith knew. Saved from the world she, Yuffie and Cloud called ‘home’ by Cid, she was brought to Traverse Town when she was merely a child that was about to slowly morph into adulthood through a process called ‘adolescence’.
Perhaps it was because of this responsibility as leader of their group, that he was compelled to warn his underlings of danger that lurked in the shadows, such as the Heartless. Even as they moved to Radiant Garden, formerly known as Hollow Bastion, the brown-haired swordsman remained steadfast to his duty.
But today, Leon’s daily warning had changed over the breakfast table.
“Yuffie, Aerith,” he had said. “Don’t wander in the streets at night, or outside the town proximity.”
Yuffie, the curious girl she had always been, questioned the leader back with a quirked eyebrow. “Why not, Leon?” she asked.
He hesitated to tell her why, especially since it was thanks to her snooping ninja skills that they found Cloud wandering around, and also Tifa, both of whom belonged to Aerith and Yuffie’s world. He was afraid that she would seek whatever that bothered him so. But still, she was not that dumb to seek such a powerful man.
“Sephiroth is in town. Apparently, he’s come looking for Cloud.”
Yuffie let out a gasp that was very child-like. “Sephiroth? You mean the same Sephiroth who wields the Masamune, and is said to be immortal? I thought it was just some big ol’ Heartless that you and I can take care of, but sorry - I ain’t going anywhere near that guy!”
Aerith was bewildered. Sephiroth, a man so powerful even King Mickey cowers in fear. What kind of man he would turn out to be, she wondered.
Despite Leon’s strict warning, Aerith set off from the house with a basket of flowers, magic readied as she made her way through town and soon, outside town. She bumped into Cloud once, saying ‘hi’ and giving him a flower.
Making her way outside the town was easy enough. The Nobodies and Heartless chasing her were of low rank and died easily with a Fira spell or two. She felt a knot in her stomach, her heart beating rapidly as she ran through the terrain, in her frilly pink and white dress, her combat boots making army-like noises as her feet collided to the floor. Perspiration was already glistening on her forehead and her ears turned pink with excitement.
She leaned against the cold, stony wall as she arrived at a cliff, where just like the rumours had stated, stood the legendary figure. His one black wing was arched above him in a closed position, his long, silver hair flowing with the gentle wind. The extremely long sword he wielded lay on the floor beside him, and he didn’t even pick it up - she knew he knew that she was there.
Her once quicken footsteps were reduced to smaller steps as she approached him. The wing jerked, and broadened quickly, as if like a warning.
This was a risk to her. She knew that by seeking him, it would end up in her untimely death; one way or another.
She stood still, not wavering from his sudden reaction to her presence.
He turned around to face her. Aerith knew, from then onwards, that the curiosity that led her to that spot could never be satisfied. She would forever be insatiable.
“What are you doing here, Cetra?” he asked. A smile crept up her lips. He remembered. Even though she was so young when she left her home world, where she had been living in the laboratories of Shinra Corporation with him, she knew him - and she knew he would not forget her.
“It’s Aerith, you silly boy,” she said as she walked towards him, speaking to him as if they were still children. But they were far from that age, far from that mentality.
His piercing, almost glowing green eyes never ceased to amaze her. “Aerith,” he said. She liked the way he pronounced her name. “Why did you come here? Do you have a death wish?”
She pouted at him, and he was already entranced in her gentle, emerald-coloured eyes. “I fought 27 Heartless and 12 Nobodies just to see you, and this is how you greet me? After so long?”
Sephiroth closed his eyes. “Fine. So, what is it that you want from me?” he asked, irritated that she could make him feel this way. Even back then when she was frumpy and unattractive as a 12 year-old girl. What more to say now, as a 24 year-old woman?
“The kiss you owed me from that bet I won when I was 8 and you were 14.”
She pointed to her forehead, which was the soft spot he would have to forcefully kiss if he lost a bet for every single aspect of the daily life in Shinra Corp, of the executives, the Turks, the experiments…
He leaned down and kissed her forehead ever so gently and Sephiroth never thought it was possible for him to hold her without breaking such a fragile doll like her.
Perhaps that’s why he was anxious to find Cloud all along. Because where Cloud was, Aerith was sure to follow. He hated it; it made him sick with envy.
As Aerith received the kiss with closed eyes and a hopeful, optimistic smile, she knew why this anxiety haunted her so ever since she heard of his name two years ago. She had always prayed that he, her one friend as a child, would still be alive after the invasion of the Heartless.
She felt the warmth radiating from his hands as they held her around the waist, the way she fitted so nicely in his embrace, and she knew then that disobeying Leon to come to him was worth it.
“Sephiroth, would you like a flower? They’re rare in this world…”
>> END
Leon was their leader for as long as Aerith knew. Saved from the world she, Yuffie and Cloud called ‘home’ by Cid, she was brought to Traverse Town when she was merely a child that was about to slowly morph into adulthood through a process called ‘adolescence’.
Perhaps it was because of this responsibility as leader of their group, that he was compelled to warn his underlings of danger that lurked in the shadows, such as the Heartless. Even as they moved to Radiant Garden, formerly known as Hollow Bastion, the brown-haired swordsman remained steadfast to his duty.
But today, Leon’s daily warning had changed over the breakfast table.
“Yuffie, Aerith,” he had said. “Don’t wander in the streets at night, or outside the town proximity.”
Yuffie, the curious girl she had always been, questioned the leader back with a quirked eyebrow. “Why not, Leon?” she asked.
He hesitated to tell her why, especially since it was thanks to her snooping ninja skills that they found Cloud wandering around, and also Tifa, both of whom belonged to Aerith and Yuffie’s world. He was afraid that she would seek whatever that bothered him so. But still, she was not that dumb to seek such a powerful man.
“Sephiroth is in town. Apparently, he’s come looking for Cloud.”
Yuffie let out a gasp that was very child-like. “Sephiroth? You mean the same Sephiroth who wields the Masamune, and is said to be immortal? I thought it was just some big ol’ Heartless that you and I can take care of, but sorry - I ain’t going anywhere near that guy!”
Aerith was bewildered. Sephiroth, a man so powerful even King Mickey cowers in fear. What kind of man he would turn out to be, she wondered.
Despite Leon’s strict warning, Aerith set off from the house with a basket of flowers, magic readied as she made her way through town and soon, outside town. She bumped into Cloud once, saying ‘hi’ and giving him a flower.
Making her way outside the town was easy enough. The Nobodies and Heartless chasing her were of low rank and died easily with a Fira spell or two. She felt a knot in her stomach, her heart beating rapidly as she ran through the terrain, in her frilly pink and white dress, her combat boots making army-like noises as her feet collided to the floor. Perspiration was already glistening on her forehead and her ears turned pink with excitement.
She leaned against the cold, stony wall as she arrived at a cliff, where just like the rumours had stated, stood the legendary figure. His one black wing was arched above him in a closed position, his long, silver hair flowing with the gentle wind. The extremely long sword he wielded lay on the floor beside him, and he didn’t even pick it up - she knew he knew that she was there.
Her once quicken footsteps were reduced to smaller steps as she approached him. The wing jerked, and broadened quickly, as if like a warning.
This was a risk to her. She knew that by seeking him, it would end up in her untimely death; one way or another.
She stood still, not wavering from his sudden reaction to her presence.
He turned around to face her. Aerith knew, from then onwards, that the curiosity that led her to that spot could never be satisfied. She would forever be insatiable.
“What are you doing here, Cetra?” he asked. A smile crept up her lips. He remembered. Even though she was so young when she left her home world, where she had been living in the laboratories of Shinra Corporation with him, she knew him - and she knew he would not forget her.
“It’s Aerith, you silly boy,” she said as she walked towards him, speaking to him as if they were still children. But they were far from that age, far from that mentality.
His piercing, almost glowing green eyes never ceased to amaze her. “Aerith,” he said. She liked the way he pronounced her name. “Why did you come here? Do you have a death wish?”
She pouted at him, and he was already entranced in her gentle, emerald-coloured eyes. “I fought 27 Heartless and 12 Nobodies just to see you, and this is how you greet me? After so long?”
Sephiroth closed his eyes. “Fine. So, what is it that you want from me?” he asked, irritated that she could make him feel this way. Even back then when she was frumpy and unattractive as a 12 year-old girl. What more to say now, as a 24 year-old woman?
“The kiss you owed me from that bet I won when I was 8 and you were 14.”
She pointed to her forehead, which was the soft spot he would have to forcefully kiss if he lost a bet for every single aspect of the daily life in Shinra Corp, of the executives, the Turks, the experiments…
He leaned down and kissed her forehead ever so gently and Sephiroth never thought it was possible for him to hold her without breaking such a fragile doll like her.
Perhaps that’s why he was anxious to find Cloud all along. Because where Cloud was, Aerith was sure to follow. He hated it; it made him sick with envy.
As Aerith received the kiss with closed eyes and a hopeful, optimistic smile, she knew why this anxiety haunted her so ever since she heard of his name two years ago. She had always prayed that he, her one friend as a child, would still be alive after the invasion of the Heartless.
She felt the warmth radiating from his hands as they held her around the waist, the way she fitted so nicely in his embrace, and she knew then that disobeying Leon to come to him was worth it.
“Sephiroth, would you like a flower? They’re rare in this world…”
>> END