Aerith & Tifa

[Tifa Lockhart]

Slowly and carefully Cloud put a hand in Aerith's though he got up mostly on his own, not wishing to be a burden on any one else like he had been on Zack for so long.
He watched Aerith with wary eyes, still not completely comfortable around her.

"You should try this raisin bread stuff." Zack said cheerily as he was munching on another bite, "Tastes GREAT." He smiled to try and make Cloud feel secure.

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith gave a small laugh at Zack's words, crouching by the bags again to offer Cloud his selection.
"Doesn't take much to satisfy you, huh?" she teased.
She looked up to Cloud again, still smiling warmly to him.
"I promise we'll have a proper meal later, but for now, help yourself to anything you want, okay?"

[Tifa Lockhart]

Cloud began to deny a need to eat, but he was quickly reprimanded by a gruff word from Zack.
He grabbed a piece of fruit from the bags and retreated back a little bit so he was out of the way. He then picked idly at the food, seemingly intent on simply picking it apart rather than eating it, but another firm look from Zack solved that problem and soon Cloud was munching away slowly.

"I'll find some way to repay you for all this." Zack said, taking another small bite of his bread, he'd eaten half a single piece of the bread, not much, but it was a start.

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith shook her head with a small smile. Without a word, she moved to pick up the blanket she had placed beside Zack earlier, wrapping it gently around his shoulders.
"I only want to spend more time with you," she whispered in his ear.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zack's eyes widened as Aerith whispered her one wish in his ear, a sad smile crossed his face and he felt tears stinging at his eyes again. It was these words that had given his feet the wings they needed to fly home to her. He'd been afraid her wish would have died with her love for him during he long absence, but it seemed it hadn't.
Exhaustion began to sweep over him again and he fought to stay awake, not wanting her emerald eyes to disappear from his view.
"I'll grant your wish..." He said with a tired smile, "Not even Shinra will stand in the way..." He let the warmth of the blanket seep into his aching body as sleep descended on him in a heavy cloud.
"Genesis was right..." He said sleepily as he begun to drift off, "Even if the morrow be barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith stayed awake, watching Zack for a long time, before finally lying down on the floor beside him to rest too.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zack woke to silence, and for a fleeting panicked moment he forgot where he was and feared something terrible had happened. Her jerked awake his chest searing as he sat bolt upright.
The moment his surroundings came into focus he relaxed. He was in Aerith's church in the slums... in the arms of friends at last.
He looked around, Cloud was sitting by the edge of Aerith's flower patch, staring emptily into the mass of blooming petals, Aerith lay beside him sound asleep. A blanket had been draped over her, and Zack automatically assumed it was Cloud's. He leaned over stiffly, he wasn't in quite as much pain today, but his body was very seized up.
He ran a gentle fingertip over Aerith's peaceful cheeks, brushing a lock of her brown fringe back away from her angellicly peaceful face. He smiled softly, glad he'd made it back to see her, the thought of her sorrow ached in his chest.
He sat back then, leaning again on the sword he was using as a support, staring at his hole in her ceiling.
That's what i'll do... i'll fix her roof. He thought to himself, enjoying the eerie sleepy silence of early morning in the slums.

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith curled slightly as she woke, stirred by the movement beside her. Sleepy green eyes fluttered open slowly, breathing in deeply as she stretched her limbs. The hard wooden floor didn't exactly provide a comfortable night's sleep.
"Zack?..." she murmured quietly, still half-asleep.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Still breathing." he replied with a smile, looking at her with eyes of gentle Mako blue.
"You can't have been comfortable there." He chastised lightly, chuckling to himself. Even after having slept on the floor all night long Aerith still had a certain shine about her to Zack, he couldn't place it, but she was just beautiful no matter how blood-stained, disheveled and under-slept she was.

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith smiled at the reply she got, eyes moving to focus on the speaker.
"I'm tougher than I look," she said, an amused tone in her voice.
Slowly, she pushed herself into a seated position, beginning to undo her plait.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, her care and concern for him still visible in her eyes.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"Just a little achy and stiff today." He said with a smile, patting his chest VERY lightly, "I heal fast... and it seems you've healers hands or something." He chuckled surprised at how much more energized he felt today, though he still doubted his ability to do much more than sit and be an invalid all day... how dull.
"I think he likes your flowers." He stated absently, pointing over his shoulder at Cloud.

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith smiled, glad to hear that he seemed to be mending. She looked over Zack's shoulder to where Cloud sat, smile growing a little more.
"He did the same thing when you were sleeping," she said, running her fingers through her now-loose hair to quickly tidy it before she would tie it back again.
"He seems so deep in thought..."

[Tifa Lockhart]

A very concerned expression crossed Zack's face as he watched Cloud.
"I'm worried that... the Mako might have done more permanent damage to him than we realise." He winced as he rearranged his position against the sword head-rest.
"He just doesn't seem..." He paused to think of the words, "all there."

[The Painted Lady]

Aerith stopped tying her hair back to cover Zack's hand with one of her own, looking back to him now, eyes calm and voice soothing.
"Maybe it's his body's reaction to trauma... He's been through a lot. Maybe he just needs a little time to recover."

[Tifa Lockhart]

"I hope you're right.." Zack murmured, squeezing Aerith's hand in his.