[closed] i have twenty-three tiny wishes

[activatingcombatmode]

Who: Zack Fair & Aerith Gainsborough
Where: Temple of Beginnings
When: October 23
Rating: G
What: These two have some serious ducks to align about what happened back home. Thanks to a certain spiky haired blond that got his story wrong.

[After everything has settled down it is about time that Zack searches out Aerith to talk to her about a few things that have happened to them that just don't add up. So, he searches for her in the places that he thinks he’ll find her most. More than likely wherever flowers grow in one of the temple courtyards or ruined clearings outside.

When he does find her he lets out a simple greeting and a wave of his hand.]

Yo. Thought I’d find you out here.

[He walks over with his hands in his pockets. He has no sword with him today as life settles for him at the Temple. It's easier to leave it behind in his room some days. It's peaceful enough around here for now.]

Comments

[inheritedearth]

The White Materia.

[She instinctively reaches for her ribbon as if to pull it free and show him the materia in question, but of course her fingers only brush against pink silk and her own hair. Right... it hadn't made the trip with her, and for good reason.]

My mother left it to me. For the longest time, I thought it was useless— good for absolutely nothing, but the Ancients spoke to me. I knew I had to find the City of the Ancients and draw on the energy there to make it work, but—

[She averts her gaze, unable to meet his eyes.]

Sephiroth caught on. He followed me. I knew that he might, that I was taking a risk in going on my own. He was determined to stop me.

[activatingcombatmode]

[Somehow- Zack doesn't need Aerith to finish her explanation from the last few points she makes. She found a way to stop Sephiroth and the man went after her first.

The blood on Aerith's pink dress when he saw her here--

The look in her eye when he told her of his own apparent fate--

Sephiroth had always been a man that Zack looked up to. A man that would take initiative and that burned with ambition and fire. He was stern and stoic but there was a way about him that people were drawn to him. The life almost other-worldly in his eyes. He was a man that never gave up and when he wanted something he took it.

... He stopped Aerith.

Zack doesn't say anything as he pulls Aerith into his arms and holds her tightly with trembling shoulders. He heart feels like it could break into a thousand more pieces. There are regrets deep inside of him. Why didn't stop Sephiroth? Why wasn't he strong enough? Was pushing Cloud to go on without him not enough? There are so many things in his head that it feels like it might split.

All he can muster is a quiet...] You... pulled it off, though. Didn't you.

[The White Materia.]

[inheritedearth]

[Though she's sorry to have to give him this sort of news at all, that telling him about the future means revealing that she wasn't as safe as he might have hoped, she's glad that he's able to put the pieces together. She's glad that she doesn't have to spell it out, that there's an understanding between them, however grim the circumstances might be.

But to his question, she nods, a small and somber movement.]

I did. At least... I think I did. I don't know if my prayer reached the planet or not, but... I hope so. I gave it everything I had.

[Holy would come, wouldn't it?]

[activatingcombatmode]

Aren't we two peas in a pod.

[Zack lets out a slightly defeated sigh. The both of them had fought so hard for something bigger and more important than themselves. Honestly, someone should write a play about them. A real screwed up version of Romeo and Juliet.

He glances at her and looks at how green her eyes are.]

But with you behind the prayer... I'm sure it worked. You've got nothing to worry about.

[inheritedearth]

We have more in common than we first thought, don't we?

[She smiles faintly, even though neither of their tales are any laughing matter. Still... she has no regrets. She had given her all, and it would have to be enough— for everyone's sake.

She takes his hand once more, lacing their fingers together.]

I knew what the risk was, and in the end, it means I got to see you again, doesn't it?

[activatingcombatmode]

[He squeezes her hand in his. It's a small comfort to know that they're together again despite the grim circumstances.]

Maybe staying in this world for a little while isn't so bad after all.

[Because they can be together this way. At least... For a little while.]