(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]

"Really?" Aerith's eyes widened a little. "I bet it's nowhere as amazing as my combination," she teased with a small laugh. For such a silly conversation, she was feeling absolutely at ease. Her emotions were still running high, but they were containable. She would enjoy herself and make sure he did too. The inevitable conversation could wait until later, and Aerith pushed it to the back of her mind.

A great night? Well... vague indeed, but his innocence didn't fool her. Cloud admitted he went a little wild when drunk, and she had a feeling Zack wasn't much better. "If you got Cloud in a dress again, I hope you took pictures," she murmured casually, catching herself smiling as he winked. "Good, because you're gonna need diligence for the ocean! Otherwise you might get swallowed up," Of course she was only teasing but... then again she wasn't. She really needed to get over silly fears that developed in the Slums in gossip.

Her lips twitched into a small smirk as she leaned her head back to regard him, "It was a great night," she

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[sealevil]

"Very lucky," Aerith murmured in reply with amusement in her tone. Their conversation wasn't transitioning smoothly, but it wasn't like she could hide from him very well. At least the silent agreement had been to let it go for the time being, which Aerith was ardently appreciative for.

Swimming took quite a bit of physical work, but Zack hadn't pushed her pace any faster. She liked the sensation of water gently rushing past her body, but still didn't feel comfortable enough to let go of his hands. In a very selfish light, she simply didn't want to.

"We should," she replied, blinking brightly. Yuna had suggested something similar, but they had been busy all night exploring Costa to get around to it. She smiled again at him, giving his hands a light squeeze underwater. "What else do you have planned for today, Zack?"

[ebbingvigilence]

"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."

[sealevil]

"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?"

[ebbingvigilence]

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?"

[sealevil]

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?"