Jan 24, 2010 17:16
It had all been going so well
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mccoy
"Neither did I," he plainly admitted, and that was for a completely practical reason. He shouldn't have been able to see her, but he wasn't about to complain now that it had happened. But even if Aerith was trying to act like she wasn't on the brink of tears, Zack wasn't that much of a dumb soldier. He noticed, and he wondered why she felt like she had to hide it. He'd cried openly in front of her before, so why didn't she figure that she could do the same?
Then again, this was in a crowded room. Still, Zack remembered what Aerith had done for him after Angeal's death, and so he decided to return the favor by leaning forward to wrap her into a hug. It lasted only a few seconds before the nurse returned with paper towels for them, and Zack had to release the girl in order to take the napkins from the woman. "Thanks," he said sincerely.
The nurse nodded. "Now why don't you two go sit down?" she suggested.
Zack could tell that she was worried that they'd somehow make more of a mess if they didn't get settled, and so he decided to just do as she said. "Sounds good. Thanks again." He glanced back toward Aerith and then started toward the nearest empty spot, handing her half of the paper towels as he walked.
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When the nurse returned with the napkins, Aerith reluctantly took a step back and away from Zack. "Yes. Thanks," she added, for once genuinely thankful for a nurse's help. The smile she wore now was completely genuine, and she was sure it showed even through her tears. Hastily wiping them away again, the flower girl followed Zack to an empty table, moping up as much of the orange juice as she could as they walked.
She wasn't sure what to say at first, but maybe that in and of itself was a conversation starter. Shaking her head, she finally found the words. "Wow, for once I really don't even know where to start. It's been such a long time. So much has happened." Aerith paused and took a moment to breathe. "You're... How are you?" Okay, so it was a little lame, but it was something!
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As he moved to the other leg, Zack kept his attention on Aerith. Even though he was handling this a little better than she was (probably because he had always known she was somewhat safe -- he had Tseng to thank for that), that didn't mean he wanted to take his eyes off of her for any longer than he had to. Now he really had the chance to notice all the differences that had taken place over those years -- if anything, she'd only gotten prettier.
"Me?" he asked with a laugh. While he was curious to know what had happened during his long absence (one that should have been permanent, he realized), Zack knew that he was going to have to take things slow. This was surreal for both of them, after all. "Well, I guess I have mixed feelings about it. I'm not too glad to be here, but it's better than some alternatives, right?"
Once again, he had no idea of how much Aerith really knew. Had the news spread about him already, or had Shin-Ra kept it all under lock and key? Still, after a certain amount of time passed, there was really only one conclusion to make. He watched Aerith, trying to judge from her expression if she'd heard of his death.
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"All this time, and you finally look me up in a mental institution." It was probably a pretty weak joke, but at least she was getting her sense of humor back. It was getting easier to smile too. That, of course, didn't last long as Aerith realized there was a lot she still had to ask him, things she wasn't sure she actually wanted answered. That same feeling reared its ugly head again... The one she didn't want to remember. The sense of passing, of something joining with the Lifestream. She'd felt it when Elmyra's husband had died, and she didn't want to assign the feeling she'd felt that day in the church to Zack. Her face fell a bit, and she stared down at the table for what seemed like hours before looking back up at him.
"Zack..." Her eyes probably asked what she couldn't. Maybe, just maybe, she was wrong.
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Though deep down, he'd always known that there was a good chance he wouldn't make it. Their last moments together hadn't been properly meaningful, and he still felt guilty for leaving Aerith the way he had. Maybe he could make up for that now.
Unfortunately, that look she gave him coupled with the way she spoke his name just made him feel worse. He'd let her down; he'd died on Cloud after everything they'd been through... How was he supposed to own up to that?
Still, hiding away from it would be even more cowardly. He let out a breath and managed a smile. "What is it?"
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"...I finally got to see the sky, you know," she opted instead. "It-" reminded me of you "-was nice." Yes, maybe it was best to dwell on happier things. So long as she steered clear of the end of her own journey, things could be less solemn. "I bet you'll be surprised to know I even left Midgar and went on a big adventure of my own." Aerith wanted to ask him what he'd been up to as well, but it was hard; she was too afraid of the answer.
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Zack fought not to look down at his chest again. It still took some getting used to, this living and breathing thing.
When Aerith mentioned the sky, Zack immediately found himself smiling. It had been something they'd been working toward, and while he hadn't been able to show it to her himself, he was still glad to hear that she'd made it on her own. What was even more shocking, though, was that Aerith had gone so far as to get out of the slums and explore the world for herself. Zack's smile expanded into a grin.
"You're not kidding, right? You really did that? Aerith, that's great!" He leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder -- it was the sort of thing he was more used to doing to a fellow SOLDIER, but he wasn't sure what else to fall back on when they were in a space that reminded him of the mess halls back at HQ. "I knew you could do it," he finished proudly.
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"I wasn't by myself, though. I had a lot of friends with me. One of them... really reminded me a lot of you sometimes," she finally said, resting her hands in her lap.
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He was genuinely shocked to hear that someone had reminded Aerith of him, though. Zack had been under the impression that he was one of a kind, so it almost bothered him, even though he knew that she couldn't have meant anything bad about it.
"How so?" he asked. "There's no way he could have matched up to my good looks." He leaned in toward her, flashing a smile as if to make his point. He was just going to have to hope that she agreed with him.
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