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Ch. 15 Love and Other Moments - 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Summer slowly dragged on, became unbearable, as it always did, before Autumn could take hold. Heavy haze obscured the sky over Midgar, trapping heat, car exhaust, and the stench of sweat in a gritty yellow-grey dome over the city. It was sweltering on the Plate, but at least they had air-conditioning. Zack turned from watching the nightly news to stare out the window as the media stopped rolling its statistics and started in on hounding Reeve again. For all that he was one of the few men who genuinely cared about Midgar -- one of the few who had practically designed it -- Reeve got very little respect. He cares too damn much, Zack thought bitterly, swallowing the last of his beer. His empty bottle hit the table with a slight thump as Reeve explained once again that he was doing everything he could -- everything within his limited budget -- to improve the ventilation below the Plate. He winced as Reeve, usually so careful to be politically correct, slipped and referred to it as the Slums. The sudden pounce of the newsmen, brandishing their microphones and cameras like archaic bludgeons, was almost audible. Glancing back at the T.V., he watched as Tseng stepped in, calm and cool as an iceberg in hell, and declared the question session closed. Their prey escaped into the chill comfort of Shinra Tower, leaving the milling pack of reporters to resort to outdoing each other with hyperbole and witty cynicisms. With a snort of disgust, Zack reached for the remote and turned off the T.V.. In the sudden silence that followed, he was deafened by the continuous hiss of the air-conditioning. Suddenly restless and feeling the dull throb of an approaching headache, he stood and stretched. "It's too damn hot," he told the empty room. The red digits of the climate control blinked at him, but insisted it was a cool 20 degrees Celsius in the room. After all, it was pushing 45 degrees outside. And the sun was setting. "Shit," he muttered. Stalking over to the computer terminal in the wall, he checked the train schedule, and the availability of vehicles in the common garage. Stabbing his finger against the screen, he reserved the last free motorcycle, locking it down with his pass-code. Then he dressed quickly in leather pants, tank-top, and leather jacket, and headed for the garage at a jog. The heat hit him like a wall as he rode the bike up the ramp and out of the garage. Telling himself not to think about the sweat that was already trickling along his ribs, he gunned the motor, shooting forward down the empty road. Weaving his way across town, he reached the train station in five minutes, and aimed the bike down the service highway that ran alongside the tracks. The train wasn't due to head up for another hour, and he could make it down in fifteen, if he was lucky, and careful. It wasn't legal, but Shinra wasn't wasting the man-power to guard the road in this heat. Not that anyone would have stopped him anyway -- not with First Class SOLDIER clearance on the bike, and him riding like Hojo was chasing him. He laughed, wishing he could ditch the helmet and let the wind stream through his hair, but knowing the wind would be more like steam anyway. Exactly fifteen minutes later, he swung the bike up onto the platform of the Sector 7 station and bounced his way down the short flight of stairs. Spraying gravel, he turned towards Sector 6. When he reached the outskirts of the residential area of Sector 5, he shut the bike off. It had hardly been responsible of him to ride across the no-man's-land of Sector 6, that he was well aware of, but there was nothing out there but the monsters. Trying to ride into Sector 5, on the other hand, would be suicide. As it was, his passing earned several dark looks. Fortunately, no one had the energy to pick a fight with him. It was actually slightly cooler than he'd expected, almost tolerable, he realized, tugging off his helmet and unzipping his jacket. There was even a slight breeze blowing, coming in from outside. Sometimes even he forgot that only a high chain-link fence marked the edge of Sector 5 -- the iron walls of the Plate didn't reach all the way to the ground. And hot air rises. He glanced up at the underside of the Plate as he rolled the bike up in front of Aeris's house. Leaving the bike propped against the fence in front of the house with the alarm engaged, he shrugged off his jacket and made his way to the door. Elmira answered, her slight frown turning to a pleased smile at the sight of him. He found himself smiling in return. "Zack, it's been a while." Stepping aside, she held the door open for him. "I know," he replied, somewhat guiltily, walking into the house. Elmira took his jacket, hanging it over the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen while he set his helmet on the seat. "The heat's making everything and everyone restless and cranky." She nodded. "Lemonade?" "Please." He felt suddenly too sweaty to be standing in Elmira's tidy kitchen, and shifted his feet restlessly. "Aeris is out swimming," Elmira added over her shoulder, as she opened the fridge. "Swimming?" "In the pond out back. Well, it's not truly large enough to swim in, but at least it's wet!" Moving to the window, Zack looked out towards the pond, but saw no sign of Aeris. "Where does the water fall from?" he asked. "Hmm? Oh. I'm not quite sure, to be honest." He considered a moment longer, as Aeris suddenly appeared, standing at the edge of the pond. "It's clean though, isn't it?" "Quite," Elmira replied, nudging his elbow to get his attention. He turned and gratefully accepted the glass of lemonade she held out. "Thanks." She nodded, her bright blue eyes studying him. "Do you really love her as much as she says?" Zack blinked, caught off guard, and hastily swallowed a mouthful of lemonade. "I don't think that's a fair question," he said a moment later. Elmira tilted her head, birdlike, and smiled. "I suppose not. Do you love her at all?" "Ahh...." The sound of the back door slamming shut followed by the slap of bare wet feet on the wooden floors interrupted him. "Zack!" Aeris exclaimed as she burst into the kitchen. "Why didn't you tell me he was here?" she chided Elmira good-naturedly as she wrapped her arms around Zack's waist. "Aeris!" Zack yelped. "You're wet!" She laughed, stepping away but catching hold of his free hand. "So come get wet with me!" Elmira rescued his lemonade which was coming perilously close to being spilled all over the floor. "Go on, Zack," she murmured. He cast a frantic look at her. "I can't swim in this." "I suppose not." Her eyes sparkled with laughter. "Let me see what we have upstairs." Elmira stepped around them and disappeared before he could protest. "Aeris --" "Oh, she's a pack rat. Always saving things she'll never use again. She'll find you something, I bet." "That's what I'm afraid of," Zack muttered. "Don't fuss, Zack, it's most unbecoming." She giggled at his flabbergasted look, hauling him out into the living room and up the stairs. Sure enough, Elmira found an old pair of swim trunks, which fit Zack relatively well. Aeris waited outside the door of the spare bedroom while he changed, chattering on about her flowers and how the heat was affecting her sales. Once he was changed, he followed her reluctantly out to the pool. He had to admit that shorts were a lot better than leather in the heat, and once he stepped into the cool, clear water of the pool, he lost the last of his reservations at wearing someone else's old clothes. Aeris splashed into the water ahead of him, her hair threatening to come loose from the braided pile atop her head. She turned, smiling, and beckoned him forward. "C'mon, Zack," she urged. "You won't regret it." His answering smile was genuine as he waded in. "It's lovely," he said, bending to scoop water up in his hands. "How deep is it?" "About four feet in the middle," Aeris replied, demonstrating. She made her way to the center of the pool, where the water slapped playfully around her shoulders. Catching up with her, Zack grinned before dropping down into the water. Tipping his head back, he submerged himself completely, blowing gentle bubbles through his nose to keep from getting water up it. He floated in the cool depths for a moment before bobbing back up to the surface. Stretching out along the surface of the water, he let his body float. "This... is heaven," he murmured, his eyes closed. Soft wet lips brushed against his, and he returned the kiss instinctively before realizing who it was. Pushing away, he accidentally dunked himself back under reaching for a foot hold that wasn't there. He broke the surface again, coughing and trying to push his hair back off his face. Aeris was laughing, which didn't help at all. "Shit," he growled, wiping most of the water and hair off his face. "What'd you do that for?" he complained. Taking his hand, she pulled him over to one side of the pool, where a low stone bench jutted out just below the surface of the water. "Oh damn," Zack muttered, rubbing at his sinuses. "I think I got water up my nose. Ugh. Aeris --" "You'll live," she replied, sounding completely unrepentant. He glared at her for a moment, but couldn't help laughing at himself. "Why, though?" he insisted. She swung her legs, sending ripples and splashes out into the pond. "Because. Because I wanted to. Because it's been months, Zack... since..." "Since we started pretending we were a couple?" he asked, very quietly. She nodded, refusing to look at him. He shot a look back over his shoulder at the house, but couldn't see any sign of Elmira. "Aeris --" "Zack, don't you like me at all?" He blinked at her sudden intense stare. "Uh, yeah, yeah I do." "Then why don't you... won't you.... Is kissing me such a big deal?" Zack sighed. "Aeris, I'm not often attracted to women. All my experience, my relationships, even my friendships, have been with men, usually other soldiers. I consider you a very good friend, but the fact is that you are probably the first female friend I have ever had." "Oh," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, but I can't lie about how I feel. It's hard enough pretending... for Elmira." Aeris frowned at him. "What was she asking you? I think she suspects something, but I don't know what." He shook his head, sending water droplets flying from the ends of his hair. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I do care about you --" "But not like that," she interrupted. "Like what, love?" She nodded, her expression very serious. He was caught again by the depths of her green eyes, as he had been the first time they met, and lost all thought for a moment. The feeling of something greater, some vague vision of the future tugged at him, but he wouldn't - or couldn't - bring himself to accept it, decipher it. Not for the first time, he felt that there was some link between them, of the kind that neither of them could have intentionally created. And as it had before, the vague sensation of a distant Knowing filled him with a deep wordless sorrow. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he leaned over and kissed her. When they broke apart, breathless, the moment shattered, and he was left with only the gentle warmth of friendship he usually felt for her. "No, not love," he said softly. "But I do care." Her lip trembled every so slightly, but she nodded, and he saw acceptance in her eyes.
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