(Untitled)

[ebbingvigilence]

Characters: Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair
Status: Complete
Location: Costa del Sol
Date/Time: 29th July 2498, early'ish morning, probably around 8am.
Summary: After a good workout in the morning, Zack heads back to the inn to meet up with Aerith.
Warnings: N/A

Comments

[sealevil]

Aerith shook her head stubbornly, but wound up laughing instead. It was hard to banter with Zack having a straight face. She could hardly think of a time when she actually could be seriously upset with him as it was, so joking around was clearly impossible. She didn't bother letting it continue, otherwise he'd be named the victor.

"Never?" she repeated with a small smile, and hid sadness despite how it rushed over. He had always promised her that, hadn't he? In a lot of ways, Aerith had to agree he kept his word.... Just not physically, which was what she had often longed for. She pushed the thoughts aside and grasped onto his other hand willingly, stepping deeper into the water. Her eyes tore away from his gaze and to the ocean that was enveloping both their bodies. Well, hers quicker than his. Being tall had too many darn perks!

"Erm..." Aerith smiled a little nervously, but fought back the urge to instantly deny the idea. No, this was a new experience and something to learn. Besides, she doubted she was in much danger at all around Zack as it was. "Okay!" her smile brightened up. "How do...you swim, exactly?"

[ebbingvigilence]

"I think you already know the answer to that," Zack saw the small smile, and despite better judgement, Zack couldn't help it as he leant in to press a light kiss to her forehead. He might have placed her as second when it came to protecting Cloud's life on that day, and even though he hadn't yet experienced it himself, Zack knew without any shadow of a doubt, that she had been on his thoughts.

The contact didn't last for long and as soon as she grasped his hand in return, the SOLDIER began to move them deeper into the waters. He only went so far that it would cover up to Aerith's shoulders. Zack didn't want her getting overwhelmed at all.

"The first thing about learning how to swim is to have trust in your partner. So forget about the water and the waves, and just focus all of your attention on me," Zack announced as he kept his hold on her hands. He knew there would be no problem in that regard, but he simply had to wait until she felt comfortable enough to begin teaching her how to swim. "Do you trust me enough to do that, Aerith?"

[sealevil]

Aerith made a soft sound of concurment as she felt his lips against her forehead. She unashamedly leaned into it, feeling her smile widen and remain even as he pulled away. It was strange that such a simple gesture had already pulled her from reality and left her pleasantly isolated with Zack. The deep waters hardly even crossed her mind until she was chest deep and more vulnerable than she ever had been to the ocean.

"Zack," she began at first in hushed worry as he spoke, but slowly urged herself to heed his words and concentrate on mako-infused eyes instead. She nodded gently, smiling. "I trust you." she murmured honestly, though wondered if he could hear her heart racing underwater.

[ebbingvigilence]

The smile on his face only seem to grow at the sight of Aerith's expression. He never wanted to see her in any other way, in all honesty, and he knew he'd do whatever he could do to protect Aerith's happiness.

He could sense her worry, but he never once broke eye contact with her. She had every right to be nervous. That was natural, though, and Zack wasn't about to go anywhere. "I'm right here with you," He softly murmured with a smile. "Now I'm going to let go of one of your hands to help you get started. So there's nothing to be alarmed with."

Zack lightly squeezed his right hand against her left to indicate that was the hand he was going to remove. He did so slowly while keeping his left arm taunt enough to continue supporting Aerith as he moved to stand at her right side.

"First we need to get you used to just floating in the water and keeping your head up, 'kay?" Shifting his hand down to lay flat on her stomach, Zack's attention never once left Aerith's gaze as he asked, "Tell me when you're ready to give it a try."

[sealevil]

He had a knack for being especially calming, and Aerith forced away fear with a smile in return. "Okay," she murmured, concentrating on him and not the depth or the fact she'd lose his support. As his hand slipped away her arm impulsively moved to flail, but the flower girl caught herself and simply stared wide eyed at Zack.

Terrifying, she thought. But thrilling.

"I'm ready," she replied with determination. Flailing was a no go, she just had to keep her arms and legs moving, right? That couldn't be so bad. "I'll make you proud! Eheh," Assuming she didn't right out scream and latch onto him.

[ebbingvigilence]

Zack knew that the fear would remain until she got entirely used to being in the water, but that was fine since it would give Aerith just the right amount of adrenaline to overcome this step. She was wide-eyed, yes, but there was a determination within that caused him to smile warmly.

"You always make me proud, Aerith. Now just relax your body for the time being and just feel the water flowing around you." He murmured before he started to apply pressure to the hold he had on her stomach. Aerith just needed water-confidence, and Zack didn't want to start teaching her to swim until she felt more comfortable with the water all around her. Slowly he began to add more pressure until the point where she'd begin lifting up into the water, "Keep your head above the water."

[sealevil]

As instructed, Aerith let her body relax and tried her best to ignore the waves that splashed up against them. Every time they came to the beach, the waves seemed taller and taller to her. She gave Zack a smile as he assured her of his confidence; rising up to her task now with double the determination. She wouldn't let him down, even though the prospect of clinging onto him for dear life still was appealing.

Her body slowly moved in the water so that her toes lifted from the ground and her weight was solely reliant on Zack. Not that she was particularly worried about being dropped, but her hand lightly grasped onto his arm for comfort. She kept her head straight up so that water barely brushed at her chin, and her smile returned. "Am I doing it right, Zack?"

[ebbingvigilence]

He slowly raised her up from the support of the sandy sea floor while keeping a trained eye out for any signs of panic. There were some signs of concern as her hand reached out for his arm for comfort, but when he sighted the smile on her face, Zack definitely found himself proud of her for beginning to overcome her fears.

"You most certainly are," His words were warm as he spoke. Keeping his hand firmly on her stomach to keep her supported, he watched as Aerith's body remained floating among the soft current. "Close your eyes and tell me how it feels."

[sealevil]

Aerith's smile widened at Zack, and slowly allowed her hand to disconnect from his arm. Floating there was turning out to be more relaxing than scary.

Her eyes slid shut as her head tilted backwards. In the distance she could hear children playing, people laughing, birds chirping loudly. But they were irrelevant, and all she found herself caring about was the sound of the waves and his quiet presence. "It's so calm," she answered softly. The worries, they were being washed away and her lips curved happily. Slowly green eyes opened to regard him with a smile. "I don't feel scared at all."

[ebbingvigilence]

To say that he was proud of her was an understatement, and as Aerith closed her eyes to take in everything, Zack's expression softened. He remained silently at her side as she took in her surrounding. This was something Aerith had to discover without his interference, but he did remain watching over her as the sounds of the beach surrounded them both. He knew she just needed to realise that the water wasn't something to be afraid of. It was dangerous, yes, but if it was respected it could be one of the most relaxing places on Gaea.

When Aerith finally spoke again, Zack waited until her eyes were back on his before he broke his silence, "It's only scary if you let it be," He softly said with an expression mirroring Aerith's own. She was almost ready for him to remove his supportive hand holding hers, but there was still one thing that he needed to do first.

"Now when you're ready, start kicking your legs beneath the water in a scissor motion," While she couldn't go anywhere while he was still holding her, Zack could at least move them around and control where they went as she did it, "I'll keep you up, so just focus on getting your legs into a steady rhythm."

[sealevil]

Aerith's smile faded as she returned to concentration. "Right," she murmured, furrowing her brow as her feet moved back and forth. Scissoring was harder than it sounded, but she found that her legs refrained from kicking out and splashing water everywhere. Once she found a slight rhythm, she smiled happily and looked up to Zack.

"I think I get it!" she exclaimed, laughing. Aerith gently nudged him with her hand, then lifted them both above the water's surface. "What about my arms?" She still didn't trust herself to not flop and flail around like a fish out of water.

[ebbingvigilence]

It was hard not to smile fondly at the sight of the concentration on Aerith's face, but Zack managed to hold it a bay for now. When she started kicking her legs, he began moving around slowly to let her get used to the feel. It didn't take long, and before he knew it, she was kicking those legs of hers like a pro.

Zack shook his head at her antics as she released his hand, and without so much of a second thought, the now-free hand came up to support her upper body. There was a debate as to which method of swimming would be the best to teach, but he found himself leaning more towards breaststroke. It would be stable and comfortable enough for Aerith to learn. At least that way Aerith wouldn't have to put her head underwater until she was comfortable doing it.

"We'll worry about your arms in a minute," He started with a laugh before gesturing for Aerith to put her feet back onto the ground. "I was going to teach you freestyle, but I figure that breaststroke would be the best one for you to learn." Shifting himself back around, he offered Aerith his hands to take again as he asked, "Have you ever seen a Touch Me Frog swimming? You'll want to mirror the same movements with its hind legs with yours. Start doing that and I'll support you."

Zack figured that it would be easier to show her the arm movement while he guided her around.

[sealevil]

Aerith obediently moved so her feet rested on the sea floor, and inhaled a long sigh of relief. She reached out to grasp his hands gently, but kept her gaze on him as he spoke. Indeed they had encountered a few of those frogs on their travels, she could distinctly recall Cloud complaining that they got his sword dirty with slime and were more of a nuisance than they were worth.

After exhaling the deep breath she had taken in, Aerith gave his hands a small squeeze. "I'm ready," she murmured, but didn't fall back into her determination mode. Her expression softened instead, and with a few light tugs of Zack's hands to lower his body to her level, Aerith pressed a small, affectionate kiss of thanks to his cheek. Whether or not it was inappropriate didn't phase her; the moment simply felt right. She only hoped he wouldn't mind. "You're a good teacher, you know~."

[ebbingvigilence]

It made things easier now that he knew she was aware of them. While he was all about flailing himself around to show her, Zack wanted Aerith to do this herself so that her confidence would grow.

He waited patiently until she was ready, but when he found his hands tugged down, Zack found himself automatically following the gesture. Zack's surprise was gone as quickly as it came when he felt the press of her lips on his cheek, and he felt his own expression soften at the gesture.

Zack didn't pull away at first, but instead shifted so that his forehead could press up against hers. His softly glowing gaze locked with Aerith's as he quietly admitted, "If I hadn't made First Class... I would have requested training the cadets and new SOLDIER recruits instead."

He'd never told that to anyone before, but it had been on the back of his mind if he hadn't been able to obtain his dream. With a lingering smile, Zack gently squeezed Aerith's hands affectionately before he pulled himself back. The last thing he wanted was for Aerith to become upset - not when she was making such great progress with her swimming lesson.

"Were the apples any good? Hopefully none of them had any worms in them," Zack asked as he began to slowly move back. He didn't release his hold on Aerith's hands, but gave her an encouraging smile to attempt the beginnings of the strokes while he moved.

[sealevil]

The idea in itself of Zack having a back up plan instantly took Aerith off guard, and had her simply staring after him even as he pulled away. She knew there were aspects of him quite well hidden by his dazzling and outgoing SOLDIER mask, but self-doubt had never been one she could fathom. Her lips slowly moved into a smile as she regarded him warmly. "There should never be any 'if's in your plans," she murmured finally. "They're not necessary, you know~."

At the sudden change of topic to apples, Aerith found herself switching gears just as quickly to evade tender subjects. If she wasn't careful, their conversation would go somewhere she wasn't quite prepared to venture back into. She was enjoying herself far too much, seeing him happy and smiling like this to ruin it.

"They were delicious!" she replied cheerfully, moving to follow him. Her legs made the motions to kick as she had practiced before, but she found that most of her weight was still reliant on his hands supporting her. For the time being she wanted it to stay that way just so she wouldn't go under like a drown victim. "Yuna and I are looking somewhere to start cooking. I wanna teach her how to bake a pie," Aerith grinned proudly as a mother perhaps would while talking about her daughter. "...But that all depends if we can get our hands on an oven, eheh."

[ebbingvigilence]

He wasn't all that surprised that Aerith was just as happy to switch topics. It was a coward thing for him to do, but he simply wanted to enjoy these moments with her despite the dark cloud hanging over them. Zack knew it was his fault... they both were just so far beyond his reach that he simply had trouble keeping up, and he felt terrible that he'd put his two closest friends through so much emotional strain.

"Well that's lucky," Zack said in good humour. She was using his hands heavily to balance herself, but that was more than fine. It would take her a little while to get used to this, and when she did, he'd begin moving her arms beneath the water as a guide.

He kept himself down almost on face-level with Aerith as he continued to move backwards in time with her speed. There was no doubt that she was looking forward to teaching Yuna the ropes. They both needed the company. Even he knew that men weren't the best company when it came to certain situations.

Peering curiously at Aerith, he asked, "Did you ask at the inn? They should have something there for you to use."