IC Inbox - The Ton

[promissory]

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un: ranunculus

[floresco]

[ She's typed and retyped 'Are you still there' about six times. It's probably not the best opening line, she knows, but she also still can't quite believe this is happening, and a big part of her wants to reach for affirmation that what she was sure was the wildest dream she had is coming true. It still feels crazy.

Aerith has been at this too long, and with a huff of frustration, she settles on an old classic– ]

Hello!

[ Can't end it there though, can she? Her moment of pride about finally settling on how to reach out to Zack is gone in an instant as she scrambles to follow up her greeting with something a little more substantial, all without letting the first message hang too long to feel awkward.

It's been a long time since she had a boyfriend to talk to, she's a little rusty. ]

It's Aerith. I'd like to see you again soon if you're free. :)

[ The smiley face is silly, isn't it? Too late now. ]

[promissory]

[During the year or so he's been on the long after escaping Nibelheim, Zack has been a little more cautious when it comes to using the communicator provided to him here. Sure, he isn't a wanted man in this place, so he's probably, but it's kind of a habit by now.

So when he gets a message from a username he doesn't immediately recognize, he can't help but pause. Who is this? What do they want with him?

Thankfully, the answer comes unbidden and he smiles immediately upon seeing Aerith's name.]

Hey yeah definitely! I'm down in the big room.
Sitting room? Whatever they call it. I was about to head out and explore the city some more if you wanted to join.

[floresco]

[ Of course she wants to join! When she lets herself think about nothing beyond the fact that he's here and so is she, Aerith wants to follow him everywhere so she doesn't miss a second of having him back in her life.

She checks herself in the mirror a few times, smoothing her hair worriedly before setting off down the stairs.

This time she has left his message hanging, but it's clear from the way she leans into the doorframe of the big sitting room and grins at him that she doesn't feel awkward about it in the least. ]

Like a date?

[ Cocking her head in Zack's direction she raises her eyebrows, acting like she's waiting very expectantly for an answer, privately thankful that while all of this is still very surreal, teasing him feels as normal as it always had. ]

[promissory]

[Zack remains in the sitting room, looking out the window and watching the inhabitants stroll along the street. He's not usually one to people watch, but since they don't really know what they're being kept here for, aside from making Thumos or whatever, he wants to get an idea of what the locals do. At least on his previous explorations, he hadn't run into anyone who was aggressive toward him. That makes him feel better about inviting Aerith out in a place they don't actually know that well.

He must have been so engrossed in looking out the window that he doesn't even hear as she approaches the doorway, but when she speaks up, he turns around and gives her a big smile.]

Like a date!

[It does feel good to fall back into this particular old habit. Even though their reunion at the ball had been unexpected and their following conversation was a little awkward and pretty emotional, this part of their relationship, now unpaused, feels right. He makes his way toward her and leans down to give her forehead a quick kiss.]

You look pretty today.

[She looks pretty every day.]

[floresco]

[ Oh, that smile, she could look at it all day. In fact, Aerith had a feeling that's exactly what she was setting herself up for. There are still a few things they need to talk about before things can relax into something nobody can stop smiling about - he doesn't know anything about what's going on back home. She has to tell him about her friends, the Planet, and all the other things he's missed.

For now, though, she's too busy flushing at the compliment to do much more than reach out and shove his shoulder gently, an almost shy laugh escaping her. She almost forgot how nice it felt to be appreciated by him, the most flippant compliment enough to make her feel sixteen all over again. ]

You look pretty too.

[ Still grinning, she laces both of her arms around one of his, looking up at Zack's face expectantly. ]

Come on! Let's go exploring Zack.

[promissory]

[That little shove is so nostalgic to Zack and he can't hold back a laugh. If he were to close his eyes, he would feel so much like a teenager all over again, back when things were still pretty okay. Things really did fall apart so quickly at Nibelheim, though, and Zack doesn't know how much he can put back together.

But! Those are things he can't fix while he's stuck in this city. He can worry - and he does - but letting that overtake him when he has a chance to be with Aerith again would be a waste of energy and this gift. So he happily surrenders his arm to her and gently taps her nose with his free hand.]

You got it, Miss Gainsborough. Is there anywhere you wanna check out first?

[floresco]

Lorcan says there's an ice cream place called Jolly Good somewhere - but I can't remember if it's in the Trade Quarter or the Pleasure Quarter. Either way, want to see if we can find it while we explore? They're supposed to have every flavor you can possibly imagine.

[ She isn't sure if that's true or just very good advertising, but either way it sounds like the perfect excuse to spend the whole day wandering around with Zack.

When they were younger, she couldn't get enough of the time they had together, and now that he's come back to her life she finds that absolutely nothing has changed about that. She still wants to spend more time with him, and it still doesn't feel like she'll ever grow tired of that.

As she leads him out of the house she takes his arm properly, her head tilting sideways enough to rest her head against his arm briefly in a passing show of affection. ]

What about you Zack? What do you want to do today?

[promissory]

Oh, man, ice cream?

[Zack's face lights up. He feels like a kid again, able to get excited over the simplest things in life. The promise of a sweet treat is definitely at play here, but the real treat is the fact that he can spend seemingly relaxed time with Aerith again.]

We are finding this place. I don't care where it is. Do you know how long it's been since I had ice cream?

[...Okay, maybe she does based on what he's told her, but those details aren't actually important. He happily goes out the door and is ready to turn down the street when he realizes something. Zack looks down at Aerith, then raises a hand to shield his eyes when he looks up toward the sky.

The very bright, very open sky.]

Hey, hold on. Is this...okay? There's no plate here.

[floresco]

[ His excitement over her suggestion makes Aerith smile, even if when she thinks about how long it's been since Zack got to have ice cream or do anything fun, her chest aches, quietly sad for everything he's missed in the last four years.

Aerith doesn't get the chance to dwell for very long, as Zack brings them to a halt on the house's front step, ]

I don't like it. [ She says honestly before looking up towards the sky and back to him with a shake of her head. ] I got used to it while you were gone. I started going above the plate to sell flowers, before I was brought here I even made it all the way to the road heading to Kalm, but, I don't think I'll ever stop missing the steel sky.

[ It's just so much without it.

Aerith lets go of Zack's arm and catches his hand instead, guiding his arm around her shoulders before she loops hers around his back, giving him a quick nod once she's settled herself against his side. ]

You'll keep me on the ground though, right? So let's get ice cream!

[promissory]

[Zack listens. He hungrily takes in even the mundane details of her life that he missed, though they also unintentionally slip between his ribs like knives. It's good she worked up the courage to go topside with her flowers, it definitely is! But...he had told her that he would take her to see a pretty sky the first time she ever felt brave enough. It's not anger at Aerith that she didn't wait; he had told her back at the masquerade that he doesn't blame her for anything like that while he was gone. It's just...he's let her down, hasn't he? He's let her down so much, even though it isn't actually his fault.

Regret settles in his chest. This hindsight is a hell of a thing. On the one hand, he tells himself he should have taken her when he had the chance, he should have kept his promise. But on the other hand, it wasn't his fault. If nothing had gone wrong at Nibelheim, it's possible the next time he saw Aerith, they would have done it. The timing was just bad. It was so, irreversibly bad.

An apology is on his lips, but she had told him not to, so. Instead, he allows her to manipulate his hold on her and makes himself smile. It feels forced and she'll undoubtedly be able to tell, but he doesn't want to drag her down. This is supposed to be a happy day! They're going on a date again!]

I won't let you float away. You're safe with me.

[He gives her a quick, gentle squeeze.]

I bet your flowers sell like crazy up top. But what were you going to Kalm for?

[floresco]

[ There's a bit of tension to the smile he gives her that isn't normally there, and she wants to ask about it, more than anything, but she isn't quite sure she's figured out how. Honestly, she's not sure she's any closer to figuring out the how of any part of Zack's return. It makes her feel like she finally understands the distinction Tifa made when she mentioned capital D destiny not too long ago.

Aerith wraps her other arm around him, her steps slowing to a halt so that she can hug him tightly from the side, her chin resting against his chest, head tilted up so she can watch his face. ]

I know I am, and nothing makes me happier.

[ Knowing the right questions to ask may elude her, but she still feels right telling him the truth, even if, in the next instant she feels a pang of worry when he asks about why she was heading to Kalm. There's just so much to say. ]

That's a pretty big story, do you want the short version, or do you want to hear everything?

[promissory]

[There's still a negative feeling in Zack's chest, but his smile turns a little more genuine when Aerith clings to him a little more. He stops their short little stroll and gives her his attention.

This is interesting, though. For as long as he had known Aerith, she didn't venture beyond Sector Five. But now he's learning she's gone above the plate to sell flowers, which isn't drastic. What is surprising is her leaving Midgar entirely. He hopes nothing bad happened to her mom or...

Would she have gone looking for him?

No, no, he can't get ahead of himself. It's been five years; maybe she's expanded her flower selling to outside of the city or something completely normal.]

How 'bout the short version and I'll ask for any details?

[floresco]

[ Somehow, trying to whittle everything that's happened since Cloud fell through the church roof (and made a different hole darn it all), into a short version proves more challenging than laying the whole thing out for him in gritty detail.

Aerith's lips purse into a thin line, looking away from him as she does what she can to put her thoughts in order. ]

Okay, so–

[ Without letting go of Zack, Aerith moves so that she's facing him head-on and able to look him in the face as she takes a deep breath and recounts a weirdly abridged version of an already strange chain of events, her stomach twisting into knots all the while. ]

I met a mercenary when he fell through the church roof, he helped me get away from the Turks and then I helped him get his friend back from Don Corneo in Wall Market. We found out that Shinra was going to drop the Sector 7 plate on the slums where that friend had a bar - 7th Heaven. Anyway, I went to go help and get Barret's daughter out of the bar when Tseng caught me and brought me back to Hojo's lab, but, my new friends got me out. While we were escaping, Sephiroth came, killed President Shinra and took off with Jenova's head - or some part of her - we saw him again after we left, he's - he's not right. He wants to destroy the Planet, so we left Midgar to stop him.

[ Apart from some of the finer details, she doesn't think she did a terrible job with parsing it down as he asked her to. Still, she knows this is a lot. Even stripped to the bare bones, the bones are pretty drastic. ]

[promissory]

[Judging by Aerith's expression, this is going to be somewhat difficult.

Which, he supposes, summing up five years probably is, even if she didn't do anything particularly adventurous.

And then she begins her rundown and it's already wild from the get-go, with someone falling through the roof - if she had a gil for every time that happened, huh - but then it just gets...wackier by the second? By the time Zack thinks he's caught up with the last curveball she throws him, there's something even crazier just around the corner.

When a guy falling through a church roof is the most normal thing, you know something's messed up.

But okay, okay, okay, if his brain cooperates, here are the bullet points that resonate with Zack:

- guy falls through roof
- Shinra wanted to drop a plate???
- hey, he named that bar!
- Tseng he trusted you
- there's Hojo again, dammit
- Sephiroth?!
- no, seriously, Sephiroth?!

Zack closes his eyes and rubs his forehead a few times. This is a lot.]

Yeah, um. I have...I have a lotta questions, actually.

[There is one point of interest that is probably the most urgent, though.]

What do you mean, Sephiroth? I'm, like, ninety-five percent sure he died. I was there.

[floresco]

[ It's her turn to look surprised when he questions Sephiroth's appearance in her story and mentions being sure the man was dead. Aerith's forehead creases as she takes a little step back, her arms falling from around him so that she can clasp them together, eyeing Zack from behind them. ]

What do you mean, you were there?

[ Just talking about the guy is enough to make the knots in her stomach tighten anxiously, and she has to look away again to regroup, her voice quieter than before when she speaks up again, heavy with a sudden rush of seriousness. ]

I don't know what you saw Zack, but, I know Sephiroth is, just, wrong. Whatever happened to him, it's like the person he might have been once is gone.

[ She should have guessed that they knew each other, given their involvement in SOLDIER, but her mind is still reeling at the prospect of her sweet, cheerful Zack having to contend with Sephiroth on his own. She's sure she and her friends couldn't have gotten past him alone. ]

[promissory]

[This day is taking such a turn. When Aerith pulls away from him, Zack almost feels like he'll be the one to float away into the endless sky. A ship without its anchor.

He crosses his arms over his chest now that he doesn't have Aerith to hold. Now it's his turn to try and keep things brief, though he mostly wants to keep out the more distressing details.]

He and I were both on that mission where I...

[You know. Disappeared. Zack shakes his head.]

He learned some things about himself and didn't take it well. Like...he burned down a whole town. So I tried to stop him, but couldn't, and then my buddy - the guy I told you about before - fought him and actually did it, but we both got hurt in the process. And then...

[He waves his hand non-committaly. Science experiments. Bad stuff. Four years in a tank.]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised if he did survive. Sephiroth was always strong.

[floresco]

Strong doesn't even come close. The Planet is– [ Aware? Afraid? No, not that. ]

Trying to survive him.

[ By setting her and her friends on this path, by leading her on with patchy whispers and notions she can only half-recall. Aerith lets out a sigh, unaware that she's been holding her breath. ]

Is that how Hojo caught you? After you and your friend fought Sephiroth he found you?

[ It isn't in her to hate, but she hates the thought of Hojo going anywhere near Zack. He destroyed her mother, in life, and then in death, the thought of him ruining someone else she loves like that makes her blood turn to ice, and her hands ball into fists at her sides. ]

[promissory]

[The Planet is trying to survive Sephiroth. That statement is heavy and Zack has to take a moment to really consider it. Sephiroth...Jenova...has he really not given up on that obsession of learning who he really is? At what cost?

The whole Planet, apparently.

What's worse is Aerith's conclusion to how Zack really disappeared. Hojo is responsible, and remembering how he so callously threw his and Cloud's lives away makes Zack want to go after him, too. But...that's how Hojo has always been. Obsessed with the science, forgetting - or maybe more accurately ignoring - how so many of his subjects are people, or at least living, sentient creatures.

Out of the blue, Zack remembers once when he was younger how he told Hojo not to use any of his data for evil. What a joke. He was so naive, then. Hojo doesn't care, just as long as any of his gathered data gives him interesting results.

Aerith's hands clench into fists and seeing that brings Zack back to the present. He understands her anger, but he doesn't want Aerith of all people to succumb to it. Slowly, he reaches out and takes both her hands in each of his, gently trying to slip his fingers under her own so she can release some of that anger.]

...Yeah. That's right.

[Zack exhales.]

Sephiroth was the best, so. He'd want to find out how some other SOLDIER and an infantryman managed to take him down.

[floresco]

[ With a deep sigh Aerith lets her hands loosen enough to let her fingers lace with Zack's. The tension keeping her shoulders tight doesn't vanish completely, there are still too many old hurts getting pressed on from thinking of Zack at Hojo's mercy for her to drum up a smile, but she takes a step forward and rests her head against him instead. ]

There's more I haven't told you.

[ Her voice sounds smaller than it did moments before. Out of everyone, she supposes she's kept this secret from Zack the longest. When they were young she had been so determined to be a normal person for her first boyfriend to even acknowledge the Turk presence she's almost sure he noticed at least once. Now, after everything that's happened to her, it doesn't feel right not to tell him the truth. ]

About me.

[ Aerith looks up at Zack again, her hands tugging at his. ]

Can we go back to the house and talk there? We can go get ice cream after, I think we'll both need it. [ She laughs mutedly, lifting her shoulders in a small shrug. ]

[promissory]

[The physical distance between them may not have been all that great or lasted that long, but it still made Zack uneasy. Even now, with their fingers entwined and Aerith close, things still don't feel quite right. Not unfixable, just...a little messed up.

But Zack breathes in and gives her fingers a quick squeeze. He's not going to give up just because they've hit a big bump in the road. That's not the type of person Zack is. He doesn't give up so easily.

This...secret or whatever that Aerith has to tell him makes his chest twinge a little. He suspects he knows what she means to tell him, since there's something he knows about her that he probably shouldn't, but he'll let her explain on her own terms. One step at a time. They'll get through this.]

Of course. I'll go wherever you want.

[He thinks that's the least he owes her, after all the promises he hasn't been able to keep.]

[floresco]

[ There are knots in her stomach that Aerith has to work to ignore. Zack's return is a gift, it's the second chance she believed would never come, and she's grown so much since they were together. It's not a straightforward path, but she's coming to terms with what and who she is, with what's being asked of her. She wants to be that better version of herself with him too, for him, for them. ]

Wherever I want? [ Aerith does what she can to keep her voice light, but that nervous flutter doesn't go away completely. ] You're going to have to give me a little while to think of somewhere really good so I can make the most of taking you up on that!

[ Keeping hold of his hand the whole way back, she's quick to close the front door behind them once they arrive and lead him upstairs to her room where she's sure nobody else will overhear. She takes a deep breath and gives him an almost encouraging smile before letting him go to take a seat on the bed and pat the spot beside her. ]

When I told you about how my friends came and got me out of Hojo's lab, I didn't tell you that it wasn't my first time there.

[ Aerith's eyes dart from his face to his hands, reaching for them and holding on tightly as she made herself continue. ]

I wasn't born there, but, all my earliest memories are of there, of where they kept me and my mother. [ The scare of her return to Hojo's lab, of hearing him say those terrible things about what he did to her mother's remains are still fresh enough in her memory. ] My mother, that is, my birth mother, was an Ancient, and whatever Hojo did to her... She died in the train station in the Sector 5 slums. We escaped from the building, and my mom, Elmyra, took me in.

[promissory]

[Zack doesn't have any plans of leaving Aerith on her own, but the more he thinks about it and the more she speaks, he realizes that she had moved on from him in a way. There was her letter, of course, but then to learn she had not only braved the sky but left Midgar entirely...

And now here Zack is, probably like a ghost, potentially throwing a wrench in her life. Five years. She seems to be recovering well enough, but Zack wakes up sometimes thinking he's still eighteen years old. Aerith at least acts like she still wants him around, for which he's grateful, but he feels...like a man out of time. He's missed so much and there's so much of his life he's never going to get back, even if Aerith promises to make things up to him.

He gives her a smile, though, and nearly says that he can wait, but that feels kind of in poor taste after everything.]

I love a good girlfriend surprise.

[Zack can play at the optimism game, too.

He lets Aerith guide the both of them back the, admittedly, short distance to the house and follows dutifully to her room. If either their maid or butler notices, Zack doesn't pay them any mind. This conversation is important and he's not going to let some impropriety or whatever get in the way.

When he joins her on the bed, he doesn't expect her to talk about Hojo. And what she says is terrible. During her explanation, he makes sure to give her hands a reassuring little squeeze. The whole Ancient thing he already knew, just not the details. It's awful. It's all just awful.]

...I used to think monsters were only those creatures that didn't look like us. But the longer I spent with Shinra, the more those lines got blurred. And all this Hojo crap...he's the real monster.

[He lets go of her hands to instead wrap his arms around her. He doesn't know what else to do but just hold her, to hopefully make her feel safe. But there's still more he has to do. His voice is quieter, softer, when he speaks up again.]

I know you're an Ancient. A Turk told me you're the last one, but I just never said anything.

...I'm sorry, Aerith.

[floresco]

[ Zack lets her hands go and pulls her into a hug and Aerith almost slumps against him, relieved to know ]

A Turk?

[ Aerith's eyes narrow, her mind taking quick stock of the situation, drawing on years spent being shadowed to narrow down a list of likely candidates before she stops herself. It doesn't matter now. She lets herself lean into his hold, snuggling against his side, ducking her head. ]

I figured. I mean, not that you knew that, just that you must have known something. Tseng has always liked to hover around me.

[ Maybe that's why she's managed to strike such an accord with Lorcan, her new shadow here in Avondale - she's used to hovering.

She straightens enough to look at him, her smile weaker than before but no less sincere. As harried as she is, she knows telling him all this is a step in the right direction. They have five years of air to clear between them, and lost time to make up for. Being with Zack feels as right and natural as it ever did, but she doesn't know if everything can be as straightforward as it was when they were kids.

The sight of his eyes makes her expression soften, one hand coming up to rest against the side of his face, touching the scar on his cheek. ]

It's still hard to believe this is happening sometimes.

[promissory]

[Zack nods against her.]

Yeah, a...friend. Her name's Cissnei.

[Well, it's not her real name, apparently, but she is a friend still, right? Things are more complicated after his escape from Nibelheim, but she did let him and Cloud go twice. There's something between them, something that isn't indifference, or just straight-up hostility. She put her job, maybe even her life, on the line for him.

But then she also told Zack something he probably never needed to know, or at least wasn't her secret to tell, and that sits wrong with him. Sure, Aerith doesn't seem terribly upset, but that's not the point.

Zack grows upset, though, the more he thinks about another detail she went over really quickly just a few minutes ago.]

Tseng.

[He almost growls the name, one of his hands finding the sheets beside them and grasping them in a fist.]

I trusted him, why...

[His head falls to her shoulder as he tries to find his words.]

I told him I was counting on him to keep you safe before I left. Why would he hand you over to Hojo?

[But as he feels Aerith shift, he collects himself and sits up straighter, too, though his eyes are wet. He looks at her, watches as she still manages to smile through all of this, and when she touches his cheek, he feels...a little calmer. She's always had this effect. Maybe it's because she's an Ancient or whatever. That doesn't matter. She's just always been able to help him feel human again after seeing the disaster that Shinra and SOLDIER have become. After Angeal died. After anything, really. This isn't any different.

The pain still exists, but with her it's easier to manage.]

...Yeah.

[floresco]

[ She knows the name, but it's one she hasn't heard in a while. It doesn't sit right with her either. Knowing someone let something like that slip to Zack while she's unaware is a weird feeling, and she's dealing with enough of those already - but that doesn't mean she regrets it any less when she pulls away after he settles his head against her. ]

He... Tseng's known me since I was a little girl. His job was always to take me back to Shinra.

[ It's strange to imagine Zack and Tseng knowing one another well enough for Zack to trust him with a promise like that, still, she can't pretend that it didn't wound her a little when Tseng finally made good on that intention. Again, the thought of how much Zack has missed comes back around to settle at the forefront of her thoughts, giving the smile she tries to give him a sadder edge, her cheeks damp from the tears she's trying her best not to shed. ]

I had to get Barret's daughter out of Sector 7 before they dropped the plate on everyone, so I traded myself for a ride.

[ Which makes it sound more calculated and less like Tseng had turned up at the worst moment imaginable and put her back against the wall. She doesn't want to make telling Zack the truth any harder than it has to be, she also doesn't want to think that even Tseng would willingly hand her over to Hojo if he knew what was in store for her there.

Aerith takes a deep breath, forcing herself to push all that aside as she reaches for Zack and tugs him back to lie down with her. Her hand rests on his cheek again after she settles on her side, her gaze lingering on his face. ]

We'll be alright Zack. [ She doesn't know why exactly, but something in her tells her they both need to hear that. ]