#zerithweek2025

Together they got a good hearty stew going over the fire, and as Aerith tended it, Zack stripped his outerwear off to dry and then set up the video equipment. It wasn't so different from his parents’ old camcorder, and he fondly remembered playing back the tapes encapsulating his childhood and reminiscing on the past.

Now it was Aerith’s turn to walk down memory lane. As she snuggled up to him, piping hot bowls of stew in hand, he draped a blanket over her. They ate the delicious stew in silence, then he started playing the last couple of videos. As the grainy footage played out before them, he watched her more than he watched the videos. The affectionate smile on her face, her light laughter here and there, the tears shimmering in her green eyes as she saw her parents in a brand new light.

When Ifalna switched from calling Gast “professor” to “honey” and “darling,” Zack wondered if Aerith would call him an affectionate nickname like that someday. Then her parents discussed Aerith’s name, and to Zack’s surprise, Gast had been the one to choose it. For some reason he’d always assumed it was her Cetra parent who had given it to her, but nope.

Maybe Gast had taught himself enough about Cetra culture to know a good name for their daughter, impressing Ifalna with what he’d learned.

Aerith’s parents also teased and bantered with each other in a way that reminded Zack of how he and Aerith flirted with each other, and then Ifalna mentioned something about how she sensed Aerith was different.

“Wow, even back then my mom knew I was a complete weirdo,” Aerith said, her lips twitching.

Zack chuckled. “I don't think she meant you were weird. I think she meant you were special.”

“In more ways than one, that's for sure.”

The video continued. Gast swore to protect Ifalna and Aerith. He called them his beloved treasures. A few tears slipped down Aerith’s cheeks, and she hurriedly wiped them away. Then her mother said she was happy, that if she hadn't met her father—

All too soon, Hojo invaded. As if Zack and Aerith didn’t already have enough reasons to loathe the man. He ordered for the camera to be shot, and the video feed cut off. All that was left was audio, and it was going nowhere good. Zack stopped the recording, but Aerith shook her head and put her trembling hand over his.

“No, I want to listen to the end. It’s the least I can do for them.”

He nodded, understanding. Some things you couldn't turn away from, even if you knew they would haunt you forever.

Aerith bravely listened as her father got shot and her mother cried out and her younger self sobbed and screamed. Then that, too, shut off.

Yet another memory Hojo and Shinra had ruined and stolen from Aerith. Empty static filled the shack. There were no more videos to watch.

The grief and shock over what Aerith had just witnessed was obvious from her expression. “They tried to shoot you,” she finally mumbled, her eyes a thousand miles away, “so of course they shot him, too. Guns, why is it always guns…” She looked at him, her gaze focusing, her lip trembling and eyes shimmering with tears as she tried so very hard to be brave. “I’m glad it was quick at least. I wouldn’t have wanted him to suffer, and I know Mom wouldn’t have wanted him to suffer, either. She had to suffer for so long, and I’m just glad he didn’t, too.”

Zack’s heart ached for her. “Oh Aerith, I’m so sorry.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

His compassion made her come undone. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. She was normally so carefully playful, so sweetly guarded, hiding her pain behind a smile. This was an Aerith completely unmasked and raw and vulnerable, finally allowing herself to rage and grieve, for her father and her mother and herself all at once, and all he could do was be her anchor in the storm. He caught muffled snippets of an expletive-filled tirade featuring the very best of Midgar’s colorful slum vocabulary interspersed with crying before she calmed down enough to speak normally again.

It was more than understandable. Hojo and Shinra were enough to make even the sweetest of church girls swear like a sailor.

Zack said nothing, just held her and gently stroked her arm as she kept processing. She spoke of several things, of how she should be crying more or harder or longer but was now more angry than anything, before landing on the topic of Hojo.

“I think…I think he was jealous. Of my dad.” She chuckled, but there was no real joy in the sound. “He was jealous my dad got to do all that research with the last Cetra. Research he thought he deserved to do instead. And I think he was jealous she fell in love with my father and had me. Hojo would’ve wanted it to be him, not because he cared about my mother, but because of his big stupid ego and delusional god complex.”

“Sounds about right,” Zack muttered, dark thoughts swirling through his head. Whose life hadn’t that asshole ruined?

“But I can’t…I can’t focus on Hojo too much, or I’ll be angry forever,” Aerith said, clenching and unclenching his shirt. “And that’s not what my parents would want for me. That’s…not what I want for myself, either. I don’t want what he did to define me.”

“It won’t,” Zack said, planting a tender kiss on her soft brown hair, and she gave him a knowing look. He was in a better position than most to reassure her about this.

“I don’t regret watching the videos, either,” she said. “I know it was a lot, but I’m glad I watched them. I learned so much about my parents.” She laughed lightly through her tears. “My dad must've been one hell of a scientist for Hojo to be that threatened.”

“Damn straight he was. Wish I could’ve met the guy.” And Zack meant it. Imagine how differently things might’ve gone if Gast had been in charge of making men into SOLDIERs instead of Hojo. Of course, Gast also clearly had a conscience, so the moment he realized SOLDIERs were getting Mako poisoning from the experimentation, he probably would've put a halt to it, and Shinra wouldn't have stood for that.

“And it was nice to see my mom so happy,” Aerith added, her voice still a little shaky as she wiped her eyes. “I think that was the first time I've ever seen her like that. She was so sad when I knew her, even during the happy moments, and for good reason. I'm glad to know she had at least a little joy in her life, even if it was short-lived.”

“‘Course she was happy. She had you.”

“Me and my dad,” Aerith corrected. “I don't remember him at all. Watching these videos was the first time I’d ever seen his face or heard his voice. He was so curious but really warm and loving, too.” She smiled to herself. “I guess I know where I get my curious streak from now. My desire to see the world and experience everything I can.” She looked at Zack again. “Is it bad, Zack? Is it bad that I'm so used to scientists hurting people that it's a shock to see a good scientist who really cared about my mother's welfare? No wonder she fell in love with him.”

“I’m glad she did, otherwise we never would've met.” His face fell, and he sighed deeply. “I just wish things had turned out better for the both of them. What Hojo and Shinra did to them was terrible.”

“Yeah, it was.” Aerith’s eyes clouded over with pain and anger to rival the storm raging outside, but when she looked at him again, the pain and anger melted into affection. “Thank you, Zack, for bringing me here. To think, this is where my parents fell in love and had me. Where they made some of their happiest memories together. Cetra or not, it’s not every day I get to hear a message from them from beyond the grave.”

“Of course. I'm glad we stumbled on these videos so you could see what they were like. They weren’t so different from us, really.”

“Yeah, I see the parallels. The last Cetra falling for a Shinra employee of all people. It feels like a tragic fairytale, doesn’t it? Starcrossed lovers who have to fight fate to be together,” Aerith said, her voice taking on the musical tones of a storyteller.

“That Shinra employee fell just as hard for the last Cetra,” Zack said softly. “And he’s not a Shinra employee anymore.”

“True.” She smiled sadly. “I'm hardly the only one who's suffered. You’ve been through so much, Zack, and I’m sorry your life has been hard, too.”

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s been hard, but it’s also been beautiful. I’ll take the hardship if it means I get all the beautiful moments.”

She nodded. “I know what you mean. The hard moments suck, but…they don’t erase the beautiful ones.”

“Exactly.” He sighed and scratched his head. “Though to be honest, telling myself that is more like a coping mechanism than anything,” he admitted. “I can't change the past, as much as I would like to, so I try to make the best of what I’ve got.”

“Let’s do that here, then. What’s your takeaway from this situation?”

“That your parents really love you. I hope you can take comfort in that.”

She tilted her head like a curious bird. “Love, huh? You don't think they're really gone?”

The way she was looking at him, he knew he had to get this right. He gently grasped her hand, and she wove their fingers together.

“They live on in you, Aerith,” he said at last. “You're their living legacy, their little angel, their beloved treasure, and I know they'd be proud of you. Maybe we really do return to the Lifestream when we die, like what you told me happened to your mom, but I don't think we ever lose what makes us us. I don't think we lose our bonds with other people.” He searched his memories for an example. “Take my mentor Angeal…I know he's gone, but I feel like he's watching over me sometimes. I don't have any proof or evidence or anything, just this gut feeling he’s looking out for me.”

Her expression softened. “Yeah, I think you're right. Our loved ones live on in us. I want to honor their memory and have a memory worth honoring someday.”

“Trust me, Aerith, you already do,” he murmured.

Her breath caught, and she looked at him with doe eyes. He smiled and leaned close, staring into her eyes and daring her to stare right back, and she giggled and rose to his challenge, leaning a little closer. His grin got bigger and he moved so close they were practically kissing. She laughed and cupped his face, then kissed him in a way that took his breath away and made the pain of the past lose a little of its sharp edges.

His arms went around her as he deepened the kiss. When he was with her, he was at peace. Safe. Home.

She adjusted her position so she could sit on his lap, and the remaining stew and even the storm outside were quite forgotten as they kept kissing with a hunger and eagerness he hadn’t expected. Something about being stuck in this cozy shack during a blizzard together, opening up about their traumas and memories and feelings, must be doing things to both of them. Or maybe they’d waited so long to be together that their feelings were spilling out all at once like an avalanche.

He would've been happy to make out with her forever, but after a while she pulled back, her pupils dilated and chest heaving and lips pink as she panted for breath.

“Woah,” he mumbled, oh-so-eloquently because she’d just reduced his brain to mush.

A playful smile twitched on her lips. “I just wanted to say thank you,” she said as she traced the scars on his cheek. “My darling.”

He grinned right back at her, his heart leaping in his chest. “You’re welcome, my angel. Or would you prefer ‘beloved treasure?’”

She tapped her face and pretended to be deep in thought. “Hmmm, now that's a tough one. I do like hearing I'm your beloved treasure, but, considering how we met, ‘my angel’ feels more fitting for the two of us, don't you think?” She tilted her head in that adorable Aerith fashion. “Since you confused me for an angel and all.”

He kissed her cheek and smiled. “My angel it is, then.”

As they hunkered down for the night, cuddling together under several layers of blankets next to the warm, crackling fire as the snowstorm raged on outside, Zack was once again glad that he’d brought her here. Not only had she learned more about her past, he had learned more about her family and her as a person, and the two of them had also learned more about each other. He felt even closer to her for it. Yes, the past would haunt them still, but together they would keep facing the ghosts.

And more than that. Every day was a new adventure with her, and he couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

❄️ 🎀 🐺

A/N: Aerith and Zack are two characters who have been through so much yet still find the joy in living. It’s a good reminder to make the most of every day, and I wanted to write something about that idea, that despite everything they’ve been through, they don’t lose hope and keep going. I first got the idea to write about the Icicle Inn visit and the two of them finding out about Aerith’s parents last year, and I was happy to see a prompt for Icicle Inn for this year’s event. I also just really wanted to write some fluff about them snowed in and cuddling lol.