Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Thank Goodness for Reality! ❯ Their Neighbors, the Valentines! ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Usual Boring, But IMPORTANT Stuff: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Squaresoft. Uugh, I can be SO disgustingly sappy... *smile* I love it! Oh yeah, I've added a smidge... 'Smidge'? Cool, I like that word... Oh umm, I added a smidge of Tseng & Elena in this chapter. What is that? A TseLena? *giggle* Sillie name combo.

Summary: (For some reason, I felt like adding this in.) Aeris sees Tseng again and also meets Elena for the first time. Getting ready for a dinner date, Aeris makes conversation with Elena and finds out a little bit more about the blonde.

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Not caring whether his expensively tailored outfit was ruined, the young Rufus pushed himself onto the wooden beams in the church attic. When he was safely on leveled flooring again, he reached down and grasped Aeris's hand, helping her up to him. Being small for her age, he had no trouble pulling her up. He noted her slight trembling and teased, "I told you didn't have to come up."

She looked up and pouted, "But I didn't want to be alone down there." She finally made it to his side and rested. She slowly looked down and was completely amazed by her brave feat.

"Let's go," he said, standing up carefully, and took her hand. Together, they made their way down the small walkway that lead to a side hole in the roof. It was dark outside because of the plates above the slums, but they didn't seem to mind as they gradually descended the sloping rooftop. Aeris held onto his arm tightly and relaxed when he stopped, after having found a good spot to sit.

Aeris was awed at the different colored lights glittering in the distant. She pulled her legs up against her chest and hugged them, watching the city lights dance in the darkness. Rufus had his arm securely around her small body, not wanting her to slip off the roof, but mainly, he just didn't want to lose her in any way. It may seem selfish, but during these harsh times in Midgar, selfishness was only a minor sin.

He leaned his head against hers and decided to break the peaceful silence between them, "Aeris."

"Hmm?" came the dreamy reply.

"Will you marry me?"

"Marry you? What's that?" the naive child inquired.

"It's something adults do so they can stay together forever."

Although it was a simple answer, it was the one that she was happy with. "Really?" she said excitedly, looking at him, "If I marry you, we'll always be together?!"

He nodded. "Forever."


Rhapsody of Tears

written by K-chan

Chapter Two: More Than a Voice


For the past hour or so, Aeris had been glued to the bay window, staring out at the picturesque shoreline. It was such a beautiful sight, something completely different from the dreary scenes of the Midgar slums, and peaceful too. She sighed and looked back into the large room that was supposed hers for the time being.

On one side of the wall was a huge bed that could fit about three or four people, and a desk and dresser were on its right side. A round table was off near the center with four chairs pushed beneath it. A porcelain tea set decorated the table top. There were three doors in the room, where the one straight across from her was the exit. The other two were close together on the left side of the bed, with one as the closet and the other was the bathroom. In the corner near the bathroom door was a Wutaian folding screen that hid a small changing space there.

She had been amazed by the size when she first entered the room and didn't think she need that much space, but this was where one of the maid servants took her to when she parted from Rufus. She wanted to explore such an extravagant mansion but decided she was better off here, if she didn't want to cause any trouble. Even so, she had a feeling someone was outside the room, guarding her, but she wasn't sure if the reason was of her safety or she was untrustworthy.

It was amazing at what a huge responsibility Rufus had, when at their immediate arrival in Junon, he was swarmed with people informing him of this and that he had to take care of. But he had promised her, he would see her before the day was over because they just had so many things to discuss.

Her reminiscing was cut shortly by a knock at her bedroom door. "Come in," she said. It surprised her that the person behind the door was Tseng, the leader of TURKs. Although they were on opposite sides, they had been friends for two years or so, ever since he was given the task to kidnap her. The last she saw her was when he had taken her from her home in return for her foster mother's and Marlene's safety, but the worst memory was the slap he had given her. It had come unexpected and was definitely a shock to her.

"How is your face?" Tseng asked, keeping his hardened mask of the perfect soldier, as he walked into the room. Even if his face was indifferent when he said that, his voice held tenderness that she would never question their friendship. "I'm sorry for hurting you, but you know orders are orders."

She stood up and smiled, reassuring him that there were no hard feelings, "I'm all right." It was perhaps a way of paying her debt to him for the many times he could've taken her in. He was the leader of the TURKs now, so how in the Planet's name could he not have caught her already? It didn't take a genius to answer that question.

She walked over to the table and poured some warm tea for him. He was a guest in her room, which felt a lot like an apartment. "You didn't come in here to JUST ask me how I was doing, now did you?" she said, not looking at the man standing still there. She looked up at him and handed him the teacup.

He accepted it politely and took a small sip. He placed on the table top and said, "I'm about to pick up the president from his meeting. He has requested that you come along." He turned away slightly and called out towards the ajar door, "Elena."

The door opened widely, and a blonde-haired woman, just a few years older than Aeris, stepped into the room with a flat, white box in her hands. "Sir," she answered. She wore the same dark-blue suit as Tseng and Reno, so she was another TURK--the one that Reno had mentioned before--but Aeris noticed something more than just the woman's appearance. It was the affection in her voice when she answered to Tseng.

Looking back at Aeris, Tseng formally introduced the women to each other. He just had the urge to, like the two should just get to know each other and become friends for some strange reason. Elena was a new TURK recruit and the only female among them, so having another female around would ease the tension between the sexes.

Elena gave the box to Tseng, who in turn handed it over to Aeris, saying, "A little gift from the president. You two will be going out to dinner afterwards."

Aeris just stared wide-eyed at the box, trying to let his words seep into her brain. She and Rufus would be having dinner, together, like... She blinked and then let out, "You mean, like a DATE?"

"Something like that," Tseng replied unsurely. Elena was behind, covering her mouth of giggles. After seeing that surprised expression on the brunette's face, she just couldn't help fight off the fits of giggles. It was just too priceless, like the girl had never been on a date before.

After hearing the quiet giggles, Tseng turned back to face Elena, who quickly brought her emotions under control. "Elena, help Aeris get ready. We're leaving in half an hour." The blonded looked like she was about to protest, since playing dress-up was not an ideal mission for a TURK. "I don't like repeating myself," he emphasized it as an order. She nodded, and he exited the room, closing the door after himself.

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For once he was weary of the meetings, but as always, Rufus was glad when they ended. Usually, he was the one to end them when he had heard enough, and this one was no different. He just raised his hand, and the man at the lower end of the table stopped in mid-sentence. "If there is nothing else IMPORTANT," he emphasized the word, "then the meeting will resume in two days."

"Two days?!" came the murmur among the department heads.

"But sir, what shall we do about Midgar without a head there?" someone asked.

Rufus glared at him for asking such a stupid question. "Have you forgotten about the Board of Directors there? Yes, I left Reeve and the others in charge of Midgar." The man fell silent and worried for his sudden outburst. He was relieved when Rufus started to leave, with his secretary trailing behind, but the young president turned around to face him again and said coldly, "You're fired." With that, he left the conference room to their stunned silence.

He walked back to his office and told his secretary to leave the folders on his desk. After she left and closed the door, he unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and sat down in his chair. He sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was twenty till six. Tseng wouldn't arrive for another fifteen minutes, being the early man that he was. He should get ready to leave anyways, already feeling couped up with responsibilities the same day he returned. He wouldn't mind as much if Aeris hadn't appeared in his life again, but after all these years, why now? What was so special about this time that they were reunited?

Just thinking about her, he wondered if she liked the dress he picked out for her. He was fortunate that one of the department heads was late, and that gave him a chance to hurry out to the nearby shoppes. Of course, he had requested Elena to accompany him and help him select a piece and the size.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, picturing Aeris in the dress, but his thoughts were interrupted by his secretary through the intercom on his desk, "Sir, Doctor Hojo is on the line for you."

"What does he want now?" Rufus grumbled. There always seemed to be some sort of interruption whenever it came to Aeris. He pressed the button on the intercom and answered, "All right." He then picked up the phone. "What do you want, Hojo?" he absentmindedly seethed.

"Greetings, Mister President," the man chuckled, "I must've caught you at a bad time?"

"No," he denied, still sounding annoyed. Besides the unexpected caller, he didn't like the way Hojo called him by his title. Although the title just reminded him of his despicable, dead father, he didn't mind other people saying it--just Hojo. "Just get to the point."

"Aah yes. I heard rumors that the Ancient girl is in your hands."

"Her name is Aeris." Now he was thoroughly annoyed with people calling his Aeris by something else other than her name. But coming from Hojo for some reason, he wouldn't like him to say her name either.

"Yes yes, I know Miss Aeris Gainsborough. Please keep carefully guard over her. I'm sure her friends will attempt another rescue, but I will be in Junon immediately to pick her up."

"Hoj--!" Rufus didn't get a chance to finish when the phone clicked to an end. He slammed the receiver down and fumed. He admitted Hojo was a genius, but that man had no respect for others, thinking like he own and ran the Shinra Company. He got up angrily and was on his way out the office, grabbing his trenchcoat from the back of a chair.

He donned on the coat as he made his way down the hall, passed the secretary without a word, and she would've said some some sort of farewell for the day if she hadn't been afraid of the ferocious look on his face. She just watched him disappear into the elevator, concluding that the call was not a pleasant one.

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"Wow," Aeris exclaimed, twirling in front of the mirror, with her sleek, black dress on. The spaghetti-strapped dress clung slightly to her body, revealing her figure of curves. She took the pink shawl from the bed and wrapped it around herself. "This must've been expensive!"

"Not for the president," Elena said, getting a hair brush from the dresser. "Now let's hurry and do your hair." Aeris obediently sat down in a chair, and the blonde untied the ribbon from the girl's hair and undid the braid. She brushed it slowly to get it all untangled, wondering what style she could put it up in.

"Elena," the brunnete called quietly, wanting to strike up some conversation.

"Yes?"

"Why did you join the TURKs?" She quickly added, "If it's not too personal."

She smiled faintly as if she was going to answer the question for herself. "There's not much you can do in the slums, is there?"

"Well..."

"It was to help myself."

"Help yourself?"

"Yeah. It's a long story, but maybe someday I'll get a chance to tell you."

There was a long silence between them, and only the bristles gliding through Aeris's hair echoed in the room. Aeris was in deep thought, wondering what she meant by 'helping herself', but then she asked, "Was it because of HIM?"

"Him?? Him, who??" She blushed, already knowing who Aeris was talking about.

"Tseng."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and both heads turned towards the door, where Tseng poked his head in. "Let's go," he told them and then disappeared to get their transportation ready.

"I guess we'll just leave it down," Elena said, having changed the subject, and finished with the brushing. She fluffed Aeris's hair a bit and brought some to the front. "Makes you look prettier, and I'm sure Mister President will be stunned."


TO BE CONTINUED...

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Amazing I got another chapter done, huh? I know, I know... I said I would do ISeduction, but after I started the beginning flashback, I just couldn't help it!! Hee, I'll be working on the dinner date, so don't worrie. And I will work on ISeduction too like I said, along with ANOTHER AeRuf. This other one will be an AU and a one-shot, so you get all the romance of the two in one sit.

Please don't ask me about the titles. I was probably whacked up when I wrote it down...

Anyway, does anyone know of a Final Fantasy--preferably 7--OEKAKI board? It's a drawing board kinda thingie. It doesn't matter if it's in Japanese. Just wondering 'cause I'd love to draw some there, but if not, I'll starte one myself--even though I DO have an oekaki board on my site, which is of anything. Please visit and DOODLE! =^-^=