(Untitled)

Aug 17, 2009 12:53

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

Swimming and smoothies and sand, oh my! )

aerith gainsborough, zack fair

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sealevil August 17 2009, 22:29:59 UTC
Waking up early was no problem for Aerith, even though she had spent most of that previous night dragging Yuna around the city for what seemed to be hours on end. Although, the summoner had been out before her, which meant her body subconsciously demanded a couple more hours of sleep than usual ( ... )

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ebbingvigilence August 19 2009, 16:21:30 UTC
"Well, I can't see them denying the requestion from such lovely ladies," Zack murmured affectionately. If the inn did, then he'd have to have a few choice words to them. He doubted it would come to that thought. Who could ever deny Aerith? Or Yuna for that matter.

Slowly Zack began to move their arms beneath the water in a subtly imitation of how they should be moved. "I haven't got anything else planned for today," He said with a cheerful smile on his face. He continued to steadily move her arms subtly faster while they continued their practice, and with a teasing wink, Zack added, "So I'm all yours until you decide to give me the boot."

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sealevil August 19 2009, 21:54:51 UTC
"Of course not!" Aerith laughed. She wouldn't take it personally if they were; letting strangers operate possibly dangerous machinery such as an oven could make anyone skeptical. They'd figure out a way to use those recipes, one way or the other though.

Her gaze lowered from Zack's eyes to the way their arms were moving beneath the crystal clear water. It wasn't what she initially had imagined one would do when trying to get from one point to the other, but then again he was the swimmer and she definitely wasn't. She glanced up at him as he spoke, and caught his wink. It was especially good to know she could horde him all to herself for today, as she had a sinking feeling he wouldn't be around Costa for too much longer. It was selfish indeed, but she hoped he wouldn't mind.

"Who could ever give you the boot, hmm~?" Aerith gave him an affectionate smile. "Unless that's your way of trying to get rid of me?"

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ebbingvigilence August 19 2009, 22:18:14 UTC
Zack merely chuckled in amusement at Aerith's reply, but said nothing else. He could see her trying to figure out what their arms were doing, but the SOLDIER said nothing in regards to it for the time being.

"Spike tried to give me the boot a few times back in the day, but it never worked," The SOLDIER said with a cheeky grin on his face. He kept up with the arm movements, and after seeing her affectionate smile, his expression softened. The expression didn't last long before his usual one returned, "Oh yes, that's my vile and evil plan all along. I can't pull the chocobo feathers over your eyes, hmm?"

Gesturing down with his chin to their arm movements, Zack happily murmured, "Know what we're doing with your arms?"

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sealevil August 19 2009, 22:35:00 UTC
Aerith had a feeling, earlier on in their friendship, that Cloud's irritation towards Zack was probably genuine. It was probably more of a recent development that it was secretly his way of expressing affection, although that didn't seem to differ much to Zack. She simply smiled, but didn't voice her thoughts. The look her gave her churned everything inside her around once, and Aerith found herself struggling to say anything at all.

"I'm in tune with these things," she laughed, but wound up nodding to his question. "I think I get it," she glanced up at him and smiled nervously. "Are... you gonna let go?"

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ebbingvigilence August 19 2009, 22:43:09 UTC
He glanced at her curiously when she simply smiled, and wondered if he'd once again said something stupid. Zack covered it well enough, and as he saw the nervous smile, the SOLDIER gave her an encouraging one in return.

"Only for a split second. I'll start supporting your midsection instead," His voice was soft. Zack wouldn't release his hold on her until he was certain she was ready, and if not, then that was fine as well. "But I want you to keep going with the arm and leg movements while I'm doing that, 'kay?"

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sealevil August 19 2009, 22:54:39 UTC
Aerith gave Zack a look of relief as he explained what he'd go after letting go of his hands. So she wouldn't be released into the wild just yet, thank Gaea! "Okay," she murmured with a smile, and gave him an assuring nod.

She glanced down at her arms and mimicked what they had been doing moments before just to make sure she knew to do, then looked back up to regard Zack confidently. "Let's do this!"

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ebbingvigilence August 19 2009, 23:00:21 UTC
There was only so far that he could go teaching her while holding her hands, and he wanted nothing more than to see her swimming confidently by the end of the day. It wasn't much that he could give her, but it was something he'd been wanting to do since Junon.

When Aerith gave indication that she was ready, Zack gave a small acknowledging nod of his own. "Sounds good to me," He tightened his grip momentarily to give her further indication before releasing his hold and moving to her side instead. Aerith was only swimming by herself for a mere moment before Zack reached one hand beneath to hold her up by her stomach. His other hand remained drifting out in front on the odd chance she might need it. The SOLDIER doubted it, "Just keep yourself relaxed and following the rhythm. It isn't any different from when we were holding hands."

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sealevil August 20 2009, 17:07:37 UTC
Aerith glanced up at Zack as he nodded, internally wondering if he doubted her ability at all. He was babying her up to this point, but perhaps it had been needed. Once the grip on their joined hands tightened, her gaze moved forward to regard the water before her again.

The moment his hands released her, she felt her body's weight shift forward as if a supporting wall had just been removed. Aerith squeaked just quietly before regaining her posture and her body could relax again. She passed him a small smile before returning to the task at hand. Her legs kicked, her arms moved. For a moment Aerith furrowed her brow as she struggled to keep both in slow rhythm together; it was easier said than done.

Once her arms fell into balance with her legs, it was simply a matter of keeping her head above water and not worrying about anything else. In an effort to distract herself, she glanced over to Zack, "...How did you learn to swim, Zack?"

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ebbingvigilence August 21 2009, 01:57:57 UTC
There were a few short moments where Aerith had to regain her rhythm, but Zack did nothing but keep his hand firmly supporting her midsection. He held no doubt that she'd be able to do this, and when she began to relax and moved far more smoothly, Zack found himself smiling in return.

"In the swamps around Gongaga," Zack said while he kept his pace moving along where Aerith was swimming, "Most of the kids there learnt how to swim just for the sole reason for getting out to the bigger trees in the middle of the swamp."

He had done it for that and the thrill of putting yourself into that sort of situation. Zack supposed it was for that same 'thrill' that he had originally wanted to join SOLDIER, well, one of two reasons.

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sealevil August 21 2009, 05:36:35 UTC
Aerith simply listened to Zack talk as her gaze returned to the water and her body began working in unison. She wasn't exactly graceful, but was still proud of herself for keeping her head above water without flailing about. His hold on her bodice definitely helped that from becoming an issue.

"I remember you talking about the swamp," she murmured absently, her body bobbing up as she made a slow stroke into the water then glanced at him warmly. "I bet you were a natural, huh~?"

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ebbingvigilence August 21 2009, 06:25:49 UTC
He had been nothing but a kid with too much energy and nowhere to focus it on back in those times. There were some quiet moments when he idly wondered how his parents had even been able to survive. It was a miracle that they'd had any shred of sanity left by the time he'd run off to join SOLDIER ( ... )

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sealevil August 21 2009, 16:18:28 UTC
At the mention of stubborness, Aerith smiled to herself as she continued to casually make strokes into the water. She was no natural, but it was starting to get easier and easier to do now. Who knew how she'd fair without Zack holding onto her.

"I bet there were a lot of kids to play with too," she murmured, knowing he was a social being by nature. He probably wooed girls at an early age too, for all she knew. Her gaze lifted to him at his inquiry, and the smile widened. That would never change. "Of course. It's where I feel comfortable, and... it has a lot of good memories." And some not so good, but they didn't compare. She looked forward again as she added, "And I knew you would always be able to find me there if you needed to. That made it all the more special."

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ebbingvigilence August 21 2009, 16:58:20 UTC
Aerith was getting better with each stroke that she took. Just seeing her so boldly stepping out of her comfort zone and furthering herself was enough to bring a smile to his face, but to be there while she was doing it meant all the more to him ( ... )

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sealevil August 21 2009, 21:41:10 UTC
"Really?" Aerith laughed. She knew how that felt, not having anything to do. Living in the Slums after all either meant you got in trouble or found alternate ways to occupy yourself. Thankfully Elmyra had raised her to know better, and it was probably fate that the church had been abandoned for her usage. Otherwise, she would have never met Zack in such a peculiar way, or Cloud. The old rickety place really did have a special attachment beyond her flowers ( ... )

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ebbingvigilence August 21 2009, 22:07:37 UTC
"You bet'cha!" The lack of anything to do was a large part of the reason why he'd left in the first place. It was just that Gongaga was no Midgar for those wanting adventure. Yet despite that thought, he had had fun while he was growing up, "There were often these stupid little competition that we'd make between us all." He reminisced with a fond smile ( ... )

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