Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

They used to come here, Aerith remembers, because they could see the stars best on top of this distant little hill. The stars have come back, and something else, too; A giant tomahawk has been stuck into the earth, as if it were some awkward gravestone. Lined up in front of it are two rows of towering gray and green Nobodies. As if one, they turn to stare at her, and it is in that moment that a terrible pain strikes her heart. For some reason, as the giants crumble into dust to be swept up by the wind, Aerith feels tears slip down her cheeks.

Alone on the outskirts of Hollow Bastion, she stands before an empty grave, and has no idea why she's crying.

The warmth spreads throughout his entire body, penetrating deeper than the pain of his bruised and bleeding palms. Its hard to tell where it comes from, however: the Cure spell that's just been cast, or the kind and gentle smile on the flower girl's face.

"Elaeus? Elaeus, wake up!" The gentle giant doesn't even twitch, however, and Aerith gives a small chuckle before leaning back against his chest. Softly, she rests her arms over the strong pair wrapped around her stomach and closes her eyes.

....Alright, perhaps for five more minutes.

When Aerith thinks no one is looking, she ducks behind the flower cart and smiles down at the golden band around her finger. As she presses it against her lips, she reflects that it feels just as warm as Elaeus' mouth on the day she accepted it.

No matter what Xehanort and Ienzo say, Elaeus finds a deep sense of forboding settling inside of him as the experiments continue on. That's why, one night, he sits with Aerith and holds her hands in his. Her eyes seem to see right through him as he takes a deep breath. "Promise me," he whispers, "that if anything happens to me, you'll continue on." Gently, he presses her fingers against his lips.

"Even if it means forgetting me, I want you to be happy."

It's an odd land, where a raven has spoken to her and she's met a tall pale man who seems to hold the stars in his eyes and flames in his cloak. Yet for some reason, she doesn't find it odd at all when she sits next to a familiar yet so different face at an extravagant dining table. Ignoring the other dreamers seated around them, she reaches forward so that her fragile healer hand overlaps his rough but gentle giant ones. Amidst the clatter and bustle, Aerith whispers, "I dream of you, many nights. Is this just another one?"

Very carefully, he lays his other hand over hers and looks down into her serene eyes. "I wonder," Lexaeus replies, even as they began to fade....

In two different places, one that is and one that wasn't supposed to be, they wake up, still feeling another's hand on theirs.

"Happy Birthday!"
As the other apprentices practically swarm Elaeus, Aerith has to bite back a laugh at how silly her boyfriend looks. Braig certainly does go all out, if the sheer amount of confetti that Elaeus is buried under is any indication.

At first, Aerith isn't sure what to make of the quiet young boy who occasionally accompanies the quiet giant that's quickly become a regular of her little flower cart. However, all the dark glares he sends at her when his friend isn't looking make her feel as if she's done something wrong. She can never think of what, especially as they're such brilliant contrasts to the vibrant smiles the boy gives to his quiet companion.

All the romance cliches bluntly state that it's the strong, polite gentleman who offers his umbrella to the lost, delicate lady when it's pouring cold rain. Apparently, the cliches don't count in real life, Elaeus thinks as he wipes his soaked hair away from his face, unable to do much but stare at the smiling brunette who's holding out her umbrella to him.

Frowning, Yuffie holds the large black coat up, and finds that she can't even get it up past its waist. It really doesn't fit in with the rest of Aerith's closet, no matter how far and deeply it's been stuffed. When she brings it up with the brunette when they find a break in their spring cleaning, Aerith only gives a sad little smile, and says, "I'll throw it away later. It's nothing important, Yuffie."

Yuffie never sees her follow through.

It was supposed to be an attempt at cooking, but that was never Aerith's forte anyway. By the end of the hour, the kitchen looks completely wrong, covered in strawberries and crust. Nothing's ever felt so comfortable, so right, as just laughing with Elaeus and flicking whipped cream at each other.

Fire and darkness, screams and shatters- It all disorients her, but Aerith can't close her eyes, can't stop for a moment. All she can do is run, run as fast as she can to try and escape this madness. She turns a corner, and instantly tries to stop as she spots those glowing eyes. Too slow-

Suddenly, a large ax slams through the dark shape that leaps for her, and Aerith only has two seconds to recognize the large figure that stands before her. It's hard to know who moves first, but all she knows is that they're suddenly holding onto each other as if they'll never see each other again.

In a tortured voice, Elaeus whispers, "I thought I would lose you."

"You're simply terrible," Elaeus says somberly as he stares at his reflection in the mirror and runs his hands through his now much shorter strawberry blond hair. Aerith just grins and twirls a pair of scissors in her hands.

"Oh no! Not today!" Her voice rises melodiously as her fingers pull at the corners of his mouth until his face is transformed into a ridiculous looking smile. "No gloom and doom on our anniversary!" Aerith laughs.

They don't quite match, one heavy and rumbling and the other bright and high. Still, together, they dance through the air in perfect harmony, and its a sound that will remain with Elaeus and Aerith through the rest of their live, a memory of beautiful flowers and brilliant summer days.

"Hello there, stranger." Aerith smiles down at large man who's sitting on the steps of First District, garbed in a black hooded coat. "You look lonely and, well..." The smile turns soft and sad. "Misery loves company."

It's against all common sense, against all the rules the Superior's laid down... Gently, Lexaeus gestures for her to sit down, unable to resist that smile even without a heart.

"Tell me what you're working on with the others, Elaeus!" And damn it, she looks so beautiful underneath the stars, why hasn't he ever noticed that before? Her eyes, narrowed in stubbornness but also silently pleading, her hair, let loose from its usual braid in faint curls... Light above, it pains him to speak next, pains him because he's never held anything from her before... And because he knows she'd be disgusted with him if she knew what he was doing with Xehanort and the others.
But they're his friends, and he can't abandon or betray them.

"I can't."

It feels like an eternity, with his lips pressed desperately and oh-so softly against hers and one hand gently cradling the side of her face. In reality, it's only a second, perhaps even two, before he pulls away and stares into her eyes. "Run," Elaeus whispers while Ienzo takes her hand, already pulling her away. The last she ever sees of him is as he turns away with his face set determinedly, and his axe swings up and around as he stands between them and the Heartless, his entire being now a barrier to keep them safe.

"Oh." Elaeus smiles at how fain and fluttering Aerith's voice is. "Oh. This is just so... Amazing." Somehow, her hand finds its way around his, and for a nice long while, they stand there, enjoying the amazing view as they stare down at Radiant Garden while everything feels right in the world, on that mountain.

"Aerith, I... Aerith, would you... Are you doing-?" Elaeus makes a small noise of frustration and scratches the back of his neck in nervousness. He's completely oblivious to the rest of the world as he tries and tries to get this right. It's his first time, his first proposal, and he just wants to get it right. Finally, he takes in a deep breath and says it once more to himself. "Aerith, would you like to go to the festival with me?"

What he doesn't expects is a cheerful voice bubbling out from right behind him, and it nearly gives him a heart attack. "Why, of course, Elaeus!" With a comical look of surprise, he whirls around and stares at Aerith. That only seems to amuse the teenager more, because she grins even wider. "I'd be delighted."

"Love is like a passionate flame" say the books, but if anyone were to ask Elaeus, he would say different. Love is lying on the beach with Aerith pressed against his side, and the morning sun slowly warming up their bodies.

Braig's teasing call of "Go get 'em, Tiger!" causes Elaeus to hurry out the door with his face flushed. He never notices Even's jealous, longing gaze or the way the academic's fingers are so tightly clenched around his pen.