[incomplete]

[zacked]

Who: Zack, FF7!Aerith.
When: After Aerith arrives.
Where: By the river.
Rating: PG?
Warnings: Idk; prly none.
Summary: Aerith is once again in Purgatorium, sans any memory of ever being there, and Zack goes to find her and try to explain what's going on.

Comments

[zacked]

“I promise I won’t leave anything out,” he answered, meaning that. Back on Gaia, he hadn’t had that freedom, had he? Work had almost always been a subject he couldn’t approach and sometimes that had been such a bother that he had almost felt like yelling in frustration, but-well, here and now, there wasn’t anything he had to keep from her, was there? So he didn’t plan on it.

He put his hands upon his hips at that poke, giving her a look that definitely suggested he’d poke her back, if she got close enough to him. His head tilted, watching her, and Zack nodded. “There are a lot of people who complain about being stuck here, but, I’ve gotta say… this is actually a pretty good place to be.” Especially with the people they cared for there and the fact that… if it weren’t for this place, they’d still be dead, wouldn’t they? And being alive, in Zack’s book, was always a good thing.

Zack’s expression darkened at Aerith’s next statement, something resembling sadness and regret flashing briefly through his eyes. “… Sephiroth,” he said slowly. Cloud had told him about that, hadn’t he? He couldn’t help but say, “… I’m sorry about that, Aer. I was there, in Nibelheim. It all should have ended there.”

[cetran]

Aerith bowed her head, refusing to allow herself to cry. She had died, back in her own world, but came back to life in another. She couldn't be sad for that. "I'll never see Elmyra again, or feel the Lifestream again... but I'm glad to be alive. It'd be silly of me to be sad because of something like that. Wouldn't it?" She lifted her head then, a smile once again on her face.

"Sephiroth was the one who killed me, but I hope that I was able to summon Holy in order to stop him. If I managed to do that, before I died, then it was all worth it." She brushed off the idea of Zack being guilty for anything related to her death, with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about that, Zack. I'm alright now, and so are you. And that's what matters, in the end."

Grinning, she reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder. "And I know there's going to be all kinds of things we can do, now that we're both here. Tell me what you've been up to."

[zacked]

Zack smiled, but shook his head. There were things that he could get sad about, even with all things considered, wasn’t there? Sometimes, what he really wanted was to see his parents again, and here-no, he couldn’t do that. Not unless they somehow showed up here, but it had been months already and there was no sign of them; he didn’t honestly think that they would appear. “Nothing wrong with being sad over it. So long as your sadness doesn’t overwhelm your happiness, anyways, because then I’d have to go on a mission to make you smile again.”

“From what I understand,” he replied, recalling back to what Cloud had told him and what Rufus had told him as to the events that had occurred after his death, “You did… a really good job, Aer. Everyone was safe because of you.” And, upon learning that, Zack hadn’t been surprised at all, had he? Even before Cissnei had told him that Aerith was an Ancient, he had known that she was unique and capable of things that others weren’t.

Zack found himself smiling again, inclining his head into a nod. She was right, when she said that what mattered was that they were all right now. And, as to what he’d been up to, well- “That’s a long story,” he answered with a laugh, “You know me, always getting into trouble. I’m working for Rufus now, trying to help rebuild this place and make it safer for everyone.”

[cetran]

"Rufus ShinRa is here?" Aerith sounded suprised, although she honestly wasn't. What did suprise her, however, was that Zack was working for him. "Isn't he...bad?" She didn't want to sound like a child asking such a thing, but it couldn't be helped. "He and his father wanted to get all the Mako energy they possibly could, they..." She felt herself getting worked up, and bit down on her lip as she counted to five in her head.

She quickly calmed herself down, and cast Zack a lopsided grin. "It doesn't matter. You're working, and you seem very happy! That's a good thing, I think. As long as the happiness isn't caused by you getting into too much trouble. I didn't come all the way here to bail you out, you know." Placing her hands on her hips, she gave him a playfully scolding look.

"You know, I'm glad what I did made a difference. It makes things all the more better, to hear that. And if working with Rufus means I get to make a difference here, then I'll do that too. Rebuilding sounds easy enough!"

[zacked]

Zack was quick enough to shake his head. Of course, by now, well… he was rather used to having to explain to people that no, Rufus wasn’t a bad guy. A bit of a jerk, no doubt about it, but overall he was-a lot different than Zack had remembered him back on Gaia. “Rufus has changed a lot,” Zack explained, “I mean, he’s still a pain in the ass a lot, but he’s doing his best to be a good guy now.” Even if he did, you know, have that habit of shooting at Zack every time the SOLDIER so much as opened his mouth.

He had to laugh, both at her expressions and her words. “No, there’s not much overall happiness when I get myself into trouble, aside from the satisfaction of doing what I think is right.” Which was, as he saw it, really the most important thing when it was said and done, but… he knew when Aerith found out about some of the things he had done here, she-well, he was definitely going to be in trouble then. “I do my best to be a good boy, but sometimes things happen.”

“Rufus will definitely hire you,” Zack said, recalling that he had hired her… last time she had been here. Even given her a special job, hadn’t he? “If you don’t want to rebuild, though, then you could always help… the other you with flowers.”

[cetran]

"That would be fun. I miss my garden, back at the church." She smiled fondly at the memories of her flowers, and hoped that they were being taken care of by someone else. She had worked so hard on them, and to just leave them behind had been a very hard thing to do.

"But there has to be something else I can do, other than planting flowers. Something to make a difference. I'll have to talk with Rufus, soon. I don't think he'll have any trouble remembering me." Snickering, she recalled how many times the young man had attempted to stop AVALANCHE from doing their thing.

A rustling in the trees caused the woman to gasp, and her head turned to look and see the cause. A wolf like monster was there, staring at the pair with hungry curiousity. "Zack..." She warned him of the creature's presence, and rushed over to stand behind him. "I think we need to find a weapon I can use, soon." The wolf sniffed at the air for a few seconds longer before turning and running off, to which Aerith sighed in relief. "I don't have materia with me, either. If Yuffie were here, I think she'd be dissapointed about that."

[zacked]

“I’m sure they’re being taken care of,” Zack said, as though he just knew that she was thinking about that. And, really, why wouldn’t he have? He, of all people, knew how important those flowers were to her. After all, most of the time he had spent with her had involved helping her with them, and he wasn’t likely to forget that any time soon.

The SOLDIER laughed at that, nodding. “I don’t think anyone would have trouble remembering you, Aer.” Though, Zack would have to follow the hero complex and speak to Rufus as well, to ensure that he wasn’t going to ask Aerith to do something that would put her in way too much danger. Not that he thought the brunette was incapable of protecting herself but-some things just never changed, did they? And that Zack would always want to protect her and keep her safe was definitely one of those things.

When Aerith spoke again, Zack’s attention was caught. At once, his gaze was upon the wolf, one hand held out in front of Aerith and the other reaching behind his back, to take ahold of the hilt of the Buster Sword. He watched the creature warily, even after it had disappeared from sight, before finally turning his attention back to the flower girl a few moments later. “Materia wouldn’t help you any,” he said, shaking his head. “They seal everyone’s powers until they move to the upper level, so magic won’t work for you. Don’t worry, though-I’ll definitely get you a weapon soon. Whatever one you want, all right?”

Though, he did have to add, “And by the way… Yuffie is here. Try not to let her know you don’t have any.”

[cetran]

Aerith nearly squealed at that. "She's here too?!" Clapping her hands together, she couldn't help but grin like crazy. Most people didn't seem to enjoy Yuffie's company, but Aerith adored her. "I won't tell her, don't worry." Bringing a finger up to her lips, she signaled that she was going to keep quiet on the lack of materia.

Laughing, she thought over what kind of weapon she'd want, what she would be best with using. "I think I should just get a quarter staff again, like I used when I was traveling around with Cloud. I'm not fast like Tifa, not strong like Cloud, agile like Yuffie, and I can't shoot guns like Vincent. That kind of leaves me with only a few options. But I don't mind that. You'll just have to teach me how to use something else, alright?"

Stepping out from behind Zack, she grabbed ahold of his hand and gave his arm a slight shake. "Can I come and stay with you, just for a little while? Once I get a job from Rufus, I can find my own place to stay."

[zacked]

Zack nodded, grinning. “She’s here, too.” Personally, he didn’t mind Yuffie, either. Of course, why would someone overly loud and obnoxious get to him? Zack was perfectly capable of being that way himself, so he didn’t even think twice about it. Besides, he knew that Yuffie meant well and, having worked with her quite a few times in the past months, he thought she was rather fun to be around. (Especially compared to some of the sour people around here.)

“I can get you a staff,” he responded. There was a weapons shop in the upper level, wasn’t there? He’d seen it before, though he’d never had any need to go in it before, having the Buster Sword with him, but-he was willing to bet they’d carry plenty of different items. “Hey, I could always teach you how to use a sword! I bet, with some practice, you could even swing one as well as me!” … which was actually a rather amusing mental image, but something he definitely considered possible. Especially with Aerith’s ability to catch onto things and her determination.

Zack blinked at her request a moment later, staring at her. That wasn’t something he could answer right away, because he was… well, in the upper level. Which meant that his next inclination was to suggest she stay with Cloud, but Cloud already had his hands full, didn’t he? And, aah, really, there was no way Zack was going to leave Aerith on her own, so he frowned a bit, biting his lip in consideration.

… he could always ask the Gods, right? And, logically, they shouldn’t have a problem with that. Even if Aerith didn’t remember being here before, she had been here and she had fulfilled all of the requirements for moving up, to the best of his knowledge, so there was no reason why she shouldn’t get to keep that, regardless of whether or not she could recall it.

So, he finally nodded and said, “You bet you can. I just have to clear it with the Gods first, but I’m sure they won’t have a problem with it.” And then, a thought occurred to him and he paused again, expression faltering. Oh… oh, yeah, that could be awkward, huh? Though he was sure Naminé wouldn’t ultimately mind, but… “… first, though. There’s something I gotta tell you… there’s this girl…”

[cetran]

Aerith looked utterly confused at first, at the mention of a girl, and nodded dumbly. "Oh." A girlfriend, or just a girl? In the end, she supposed it really didn't matter. They were together, once, but had gone their seperate ways. Nibbling at her lower lip, she looked down at the ground, and poked the toe of her boot into the dirt.

"Well I would say that there's this boy, but I think Cloud should be with Tifa. So..." She trailed off with a laugh, and put a smile on her face. "Maybe it wouldn't be a very good idea for me to stay, if there's a girl involved. I wouldn't want to get in the way, and you're already doing so much for me."

[zacked]

Zack was very quick to shake his head and protest at that. “Don’t say things like that,” he said, something almost pained to his expression. “You wouldn’t be ‘in the way’. I’d be really happy to have you there and I’m sure Naminé would, as well.” Awkward, yes, but the truth was-Zack would do anything for Aerith, wouldn’t he? And he, personally, would feel a lot better if the brunette was with him, if he was able to keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe.

… though, if she found it too awkward… that wasn’t really something he had a right to push, was it? He didn’t want to think that she would, all things considered, but if she did-he definitely couldn’t have blamed her for that and wouldn’t.

[cetran]

"Namine... someone mentioned her to me, on the computer." Aerith murmured, wondering what the girl was like. Hopefully, she made Zack happy. That was what mattered, in the end. "If it's okay with the Gods, and you wouldn't mind, I think I'd like to meet her."

Truthfully, she did feel slightly awkward. He was her first boyfriend, and she had waited for him, even after everyone had told her he was dead. She never gave up hope...

"You know, Elmyra told me to stop waiting for you to come back. I'm glad I didn't. If I had, seeing you here wouldn't be as special as it is right now." She admitted, picking up another rock from the ground. Instead of throwing this one into the river, however, she simply held it in her hand.

"I'll stay until I get a job with Rufus, and then I'll head back down here, to find a home of my own. Maybe there'll be room with Cloud and the others..." She hoped so. She would get very lonesome, if she had to live without her friends.

Tipping her head off to the side, she stared over at him for quite some time, looking him over. He was exactly how she remembered. Friendly, always smiling...

"I don't see why you ended up here, Zack."

[zacked]

Zack nodded, not at all surprised that someone had mentioned Naminé to her. (And, truthfully, he had seen that, but-aah, whatever.) “I don’t think there’d be a problem with it at all.” Certainly, he didn’t mind Aerith meeting her. Why would he have? He was more concerned with how awkward it would have been for them.

His expression softened as he listened to her, feeling-well, he didn’t really know. It made his chest tighten to hear that, though, and for a moment he was wordless, watching her. It was hard, maybe, to remind himself that so much time had passed-that stood true no matter what, because some part of him would never be able to believe it-and, standing there, he could feel traces of a desperation he’d carried back in Gaia.

“… I tried so hard, Aerith,” he admitted eventually, voice quiet. “That was-during that time, getting back to you was one of my most important goals.” The other being, of course, to protect Cloud. “I didn’t care about ShinRa or anything else, I just wanted to-I’m sorry that I didn’t make it.” Even if he didn’t need to apologise to her, still he… felt like he should, anyways. Because he was sorry for it. He had gotten so close-close enough to see Midgar, even! -and given so much to reach his goal, only to… ultimately, he had failed. And that’d probably always be a sore spot with him.

Zack nodded again, biting at his lower lip almost absently when Aerith turned to look at him. He always felt some level of self-conscious when she did that, didn’t he? Self-conscious and perhaps hopeful and-Zack never wanted to disappoint her, that was for certain. (And he’d changed a lot, he thought, since he had seen her last. Maybe in little ways, but someone like Aerith-she’d definitely pick that up.)

“I’m a SOLDIER,” he responded, shrugging his shoulders a little and glancing away, watching the river with no real interest. “I don’t honestly know why people keep being surprised about me being here.”

[cetran]

Aerith perked an eyebrow. "SOLDIER was your job, Zack. Not who you are." She gently reminded him, tiptoeing in for another hug. Arms wrapped around him, and she pulled herself in close. "I don't blame you, for not getting back. I knew, deep down, that you weren't coming back, but I refused to give up hope. I'm stubborn. You know that."

She stood up on her tiptoes then, so that her mouth could be close in to his ear. "I'm so proud of you, just for trying to get back. It means so much to me that you did." She pulled away then, and offered him a bright smile.

"I'm glad we can still be friends, Zack. I don't ever want to lose you." She held out her hand to him then, and wiggled her fingers. "Come on. Show me around."

[zacked]

… yeah, Zack had to think, Aerith was right with that. There were plenty of times, even now, that Zack forgot that. Times where he started thinking he could be entirely summed up by his job, that that was at least the basis of who he was, but-no, that wasn’t right at all. Even as a SOLDIER, he had never let go of his own pride, his own dreams and so, he-he was his own person. “You’re very stubborn,” he admitted, thinking though that it was something he tended to be grateful for.

Zack found himself sighing at Aerith’s next words, holding onto her tightly and perhaps not without an urge to just cry. That was all that mattered then, wasn’t it? Even if he hadn’t managed to make it all the way to Midgar, even if his journey had taken so many years and he hadn’t had a chance to so much as send a letter to her-really, he was so thankful that she understood. “… thank you, Aer.”

“You couldn’t lose me even if you wanted to,” Zack answered almost matter of fact, a bright smile upon his features. He didn’t hesitate to take her hand, nodding. “All right, let’s go~.”