[Final Fantasy VII] Call
Characters/Pairings: Zack/Aeris
Rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers.
Notes: 450 words. For mako_reactor, themes #8 Death, #23 Shin-Ra, #39 Dark, #69 Loyalty
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Squaresoft. I own neither the characters nor the setting, nor do I make any profit from my fanfiction, which is purely for my own enjoyment.
Summary: Aeris knew he was gone before they told her.
She was tending flowers in her church when he came. She heard his footsteps, quick and sharp on the wooden floors. She knew that stride, and yet it wasn't Zack. The footsteps paused behind her, a floorboard creaking as he shifted his weight. The church, formerly bright and sunny, seemed dark. She patted soil into place around a plant she'd just finished transplanting from her own yard and brushed the dirt from her hands. She knew she only delayed the inevitable, but she was still slow to rise to her feet, slow to face him.
She recognized the glow in his eyes, and the bearing of a SOLDIER. She vaguely recalled having met this man once. His name was... "Brandt, right?"
He looked surprised. "You remembered."
"Yes." She clasped her hands in front of her and waited for the bad news she could read in his face.
"Uh..." He shifted his weight and rubbed at his hair. "I came to..."
Part of her screamed a silent denial, but she already knew Zack had returned to the Planet. She'd heard him say goodbye. "He's dead." Her voice was barely audible even to herself.
Brandt grimaced. "He...he asked me to come and tell you. If something happened."
She knew. She had known the moment Shin-Ra troops gunned him down. And Brandt was so obviously miserable at being the bearer of bad news, yet he had done it. She wondered if that loyalty was something instilled in all SOLDIERs, or if it was personal, something brought about by the force of Zack's personality and charisma.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"It ain't much." Brandt shuffled his feet a bit. "But this is for you." He held out his hand, and she automatically lifted hers to accept the object he offered. It was a small photo of the two of them, one she had given to Zack six months past.
She rubbed at the glass where she had smeared dirt over Zack's face. "Thank you for coming here, and for bringing me this. It was very kind of you."
"Uh...listen. If you need anything." Brandt rubbed at his hair again.
She forced a smile onto her face. "I will be all right."
After a few more awkward attempts at conversation, he left. She stood in the church, her head bowed, and couldn't help trying to call out to him through the Lifestream.
She heard no answer. Wherever he was, it was beyond her reach now.
She returned to tending her flowers, but it was a long time before she could stop herself from calling out, every now and then, just to see if he would answer.
Rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers.
Notes: 450 words. For mako_reactor, themes #8 Death, #23 Shin-Ra, #39 Dark, #69 Loyalty
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Squaresoft. I own neither the characters nor the setting, nor do I make any profit from my fanfiction, which is purely for my own enjoyment.
Summary: Aeris knew he was gone before they told her.
She was tending flowers in her church when he came. She heard his footsteps, quick and sharp on the wooden floors. She knew that stride, and yet it wasn't Zack. The footsteps paused behind her, a floorboard creaking as he shifted his weight. The church, formerly bright and sunny, seemed dark. She patted soil into place around a plant she'd just finished transplanting from her own yard and brushed the dirt from her hands. She knew she only delayed the inevitable, but she was still slow to rise to her feet, slow to face him.
She recognized the glow in his eyes, and the bearing of a SOLDIER. She vaguely recalled having met this man once. His name was... "Brandt, right?"
He looked surprised. "You remembered."
"Yes." She clasped her hands in front of her and waited for the bad news she could read in his face.
"Uh..." He shifted his weight and rubbed at his hair. "I came to..."
Part of her screamed a silent denial, but she already knew Zack had returned to the Planet. She'd heard him say goodbye. "He's dead." Her voice was barely audible even to herself.
Brandt grimaced. "He...he asked me to come and tell you. If something happened."
She knew. She had known the moment Shin-Ra troops gunned him down. And Brandt was so obviously miserable at being the bearer of bad news, yet he had done it. She wondered if that loyalty was something instilled in all SOLDIERs, or if it was personal, something brought about by the force of Zack's personality and charisma.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"It ain't much." Brandt shuffled his feet a bit. "But this is for you." He held out his hand, and she automatically lifted hers to accept the object he offered. It was a small photo of the two of them, one she had given to Zack six months past.
She rubbed at the glass where she had smeared dirt over Zack's face. "Thank you for coming here, and for bringing me this. It was very kind of you."
"Uh...listen. If you need anything." Brandt rubbed at his hair again.
She forced a smile onto her face. "I will be all right."
After a few more awkward attempts at conversation, he left. She stood in the church, her head bowed, and couldn't help trying to call out to him through the Lifestream.
She heard no answer. Wherever he was, it was beyond her reach now.
She returned to tending her flowers, but it was a long time before she could stop herself from calling out, every now and then, just to see if he would answer.