Work Text:
"...So, are you still afraid of the sky?"
Zack's voice was a pleasant rumble against her cheek from where the side of her head was cushioned on his broad chest. His warm glove-less hands and lack of armor he wore made it ever so easy to meld herself closer to him.
Aerith giggled at his question for it all felt so silly to her now.
The expanse of bright stars dotting the midnight blue sky in wondrous light, swirls of deep lavender clouds overhead as the moon peeked out from behind them bathing her and Zack in its wonderful rays of white.
How was she ever afraid of something so beautiful?
Glancing up from the midnight blue sky to the far more wondrous sky tint that was her boyfriend's eyes. Swirls of lavender, hints of sky blue and the green ring of mako and life all filling her with peace she never knew she missed until he went away.
It brought to question how she ever thought a SOLDIER could have ever scared her either.
"No," Aerith breathed out the reply, tightening her arms around his waist to absorb his wonderful warmth in the lightly chilled wind out of the Midgar wastes as they inched closer to Kalm. The twinkling stars up above drew her eyes to its endless expanse once again and the comfortable silence that enveloped the couple made the rest of the world fade away..
No, she wasn't afraid of the sky anymore.
But if Aerith was totally honest, it was a little frightening leaving Midgar.
To walk away and leave behind the only home she ever knew, her church, her garden and everything she ever experienced (good and bad) behind in the towering steel city was outright scary.
Not even able to say a proper goodbye to the step-mother who raised her out of nothing but the goodness of her heart when she was forced to flee Sector 7 with Marlene. To be ripped away from her recently reunited love Zack after their five year absence. To be forced to return to the place of hell that started it all - it hurt like hell. Combine that with the horrors of the mitigated disaster of the Reactor Bombings, the Sector 7 Plate falling and crushing all who lived above and underneath.
Saving Marlene's life by giving up her freedom she worked so hard to protect, being captured and betrayed by the once-trusted Tseng who knew her since childhood. And finally to be back in that damn lab deep in the bowels of Shinra only to be gawked, poked, prodded and leered at by that oily disgusting Hojo who taunted her with memories of her long-deceased mother.
That heart-aching terror and anguish she experienced behind that thick glass before it all fell away when her gallant Hero Zack busted into Hojo's lab and rescued her.
Aerith nearly sobbed when Zack pulled her into his arms.
So relieved was she to see him, to be rescued - for him to come back to this place to rescue her, to risk everything once again to save her.
Everything after that moment passed in a chaotic blur. Zack, his best friend Cloud, their new co-workers/friends Tifa and Barret from AVALANCHE (the fates of Wedge, Jessie and Biggs hurt her heart) and also their new friend Red XIII they rescued from the grips of Hojo. The President's murder, the re-emergence of the murderous General Sephiroth was now a reality they all were embroiled in. A tangled web of confusion and the constant thrum of the Planet an echo in her ears. The fate of the world in their hands as they now were on their way to stop Sephiroth in his quest to destroy Gaia as they know it…
Compared to what she experienced already - what really was the endless (harmless) expanse of the sky?
….but seeing the sky for the first time wasn't.
The first time they walked into the wastes, her hand never left Zack's achingly gentle grip even as she squeezed his hand until her knuckles turned white. The expansive blue overhead, the sensation of weightlessness as she stared into the endless depths and the only anchor was Zack's hand on hers.
On and on they walked the Midgar Wastes, her mind trying to focus on the people around her and their conversation rather than the sky wanting to carry her away. It worked for awhile until she was pulled back at the harsh winds flickering the fabric of her skirt and brushing along her skin with its chill. The flicker of gray clouds overhead blowing into the expansive blue til it covered the bright white of the sun. In it's shadow, a light rain began to fall, the drops of moisture hitting her face had a sudden ache develop deep in her chest; stomach clenched in knots for a reason she really couldn't understand nor didn't want to.
Where was a roof when you needed one?
Again, Zack's constant touch was there, his gloved hand gripping her trembling fingers, the brush of his warm bare arm wrapped around her shoulder keep her feet on the ground and her eyes focused on the blur of Kalm in the distance.
Then night fell and it all changed again.
The sky grew dark. So unlike the dimming of the lamps under the plate. The group had stopped for the night in the wastes. Using the rocks around them as a shelter for the wind and made a small fire to keep the monsters away from camp. Everything was winding down for the night but Aerith was shaky, jumpy and still taking little glimpses into the darkening sky. The waxing moon giving light but even without the pull of the blue, Aerith was still largely uncomfortable.
That was until Zack took her hand and upon giving an excuse to their traveling companions, took her aside to a small outlook hill. Once they were there, Zack had pulled the trembling flower girl into his arms and it was only there safe in the warmth of his chest that she'd cried. The stress of the last few weeks all culminating to this hellish day had become so much but it wasn't until she was safely cushioned against his chest did she allow herself to fall apart - if only for a moment.
For so long she stood there as her tears soaked into his faded black turtleneck - Zack didn't mind. Zack remained her rock - holding her close and allowing herself this moment to grieve the life she left behind in Midgar. All the good and bad about the Steel Sky - it was still home. Still the place she spent all of the life she had known - where they had met. All her church, flowers, and the life she left behind to this - to now be under the expanse of the sky she'd been afraid of her whole life…
It only showcased her greatest fear, represented what she feared most - the sky taking the ones she loved away.
But no, as she had just told Zack - she wasn't afraid of the sky.
Not anymore.
Zack suddenly let out a sigh, the warmth of his breath caressing the top of her head and causing a pleasant tingle to echo down her spine. Aerith shivered and pushed herself closer into the circle of his arms that rested around her; sharing his warmth and allowing her to rest in his presence.
"I always loved the night sky the best. Sure, the sun is great for the beach and to get a tan but…at night, I dunno, it just peaceful, ya know? In Gongaga, I always would love to watch the night sky with my dad from the treehouse he built me. I'd spend hours just listening to him telling stories about old Gongagan folk tales," Zack spoke, the reverberation of his pleasant voice humming from where her ear was pressed tight to his chest.
Aerith knew immediately what he was doing.
Zack always knew exactly when she needed a distraction from her thoughts, something grounded to keep her present and in the moment before her mind slipped away into darker things she didn't want to confront - at least not yet.
"It is beautiful," Aerith murmured, brushing her nose against his sternum and giving a gentle kiss to his heartbeat. Silently thanking him for him being here and so understanding. The love she had for him only increased as she felt a tear slip down her face and disappear into his turtleneck.
Zack hugged her tighter, the press of his lips on her forehead and the tingle left behind was all that mattered. Holding her against his heartbeat until the minute trembles from her body faded completely and her smile returned. Gorgeous green eyes flickering up to the night sky and the stars painted upon the navy and lavender canvas.
All was quiet for only a moment before Zack began speaking to her in in low tones as if not wanting to disturb the air around them. The ex-SOLDIER telling her stories about the night sky and the stars dancing and tinkling like lights above their heads. The shapes he pointed out to her with his finger as his voice echoed against her ears, surrounding her with figures and exciting tales that his descriptions painted like beautiful pictures in her head.
Aerith melted further into his embrace, listening intently as he wove another masterpiece out of the small white dots in the sky.
No, nothing could scare her now - not as long as Zack was around…
