the wings that you burn turn to ashes, my dear

“Oh!” Aerith bounced beside her. “I want one of those!” She pointed at the stuffed animals lining the back wall.

Tifa squinted. Creatures of all kinds were represented, from moogles to chocobos, even a stuffed tonberry. They ranged in size from tiny, child-sized toys to giant plushies. It reminded her of Reeve’s moogle, and she wondered if Reeve knew the Gold Saucer had similar replicas. “Which one?” Tifa asked.

“The big one, obviously.”

Jessie grinned. “We have tons in the greenhouse.”

Aerith drew a sharp breath. “You have a greenhouse?! Really?” She edged past him to peer into the doorway. “Oh, look at those beauties!” She took a step towards the door, then hesitated. “Is it open to the public?”

“I don’t know, Barret, is it?” Jessie’s eyes sparkled in that way that meant mischief, and more trouble for Barret to clean up later.

If he said no, he’d look like an asshole. Which he was, but not all the time. But he also hated strangers in his personal space, even if they were cute.

“I don’t mean to put you out,” Aerith said. She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. “I had a greenhouse of my own, back in Kalm, and it’s what I miss the most since moving to Midgar. I swear I won’t touch a single leaf.”

As for Aerith and Tifa? Well, they were in Barret’s arms now. Though they’d made it to the beach, it wasn’t long before Tifa perched herself in Barret’s lap and pressed her lips to his. Aerith came up behind her and teased Tifa’s neck with kisses. His hand slid into Aerith’s hair and pulled on the strands while he slid his tongue into Tifa’s mouth.

All three were panting by the time they came up for air. Tifa leaned back into Aerith’s embrace even as Aerith leaned forward to kiss Barret. “We should go inside,” Tifa murmured.

“Why?” Aerith whimpered as Barret dragged his teeth over her lower lip. “We can have fun right here.”

Tifa ground her hips down into Barret. He bucked up into her. “I don’t want anyone else to see,” she moaned. “Want to keep you two to myself.”

Tifa sat Cloud on the bed while Aerith took his sword and rested it against the wall. “He went snowboarding with this thing attached to his back?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you surprised?” Tifa answered.

“What if there were monsters?” Cloud countered. “We’d have to defend themselves.”

“So run them over with the snowboard.” Aerith pointed to Cloud. “Strip.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Happy holidays to you too!” Zack grinned. “Love what you’ve done with the place! And the flowers, wow. And is that pie?” He peered around Aerith’s shoulder into the kitchen. “And pumpkin, even. You know, I talked to Angeal, and he mentioned getting some apples from Banora, and–”

“Zack burnt the chocobo,” Cloud said, crossing his arms.

“I did not burn the chocobo,” Zack said. “The fire was entirely unrelated to the food in the oven, thank you.”

Leaving a hand in his, Mia sniffed the flowers. “They’re beautiful,” she murmured. They matched the yellow one in Biggs’ kitchen. Yellow lilies always reminded him of Aerith.

“Right? They remind us that no matter how dark things get, there is still beauty and hope in the world. I learned that from tending to my garden.” Aerith set the basket down on the ground. “Would you like to keep one?”

“It’s just dinner,” Elmyra said, linking her arm through Barret’s.

“It could be more,” Aerith teased, winking. “I can’t remember the last time someone took my mom on a date. It’s about time.”

With Marlene settled, Aerith propped both hands on her hips and stared Barret down. “I’ll take care of your daughter and you show Mom the night of her life, do we have a deal?”

"Edgar!" Jessie cried. "Help me!" This was the best performance of Jessie's life. Really, she ought to win an award. She was safer in Wedge's arms than she'd ever be at Edgar's side.

"Hey!"

Another voice shouted from down the street. A woman in a white tank top, black skirt, and boxing gloves ran towards them. "You let them go!"

“Oh!” The soft voice wasn’t what he’d expected. A petite woman stood among the children. One of the younger girls used her pink dress as cover. Only her eyes were visible, peeking out from behind the woman’s legs.

“Are you okay?” the woman called over. She winced as she took in the scope of Biggs’ project.

“I’m fine,” Biggs grumbled.

“Daddy says never talk to strangers,” Marlene said, peeking around the edge of the bar. Behind the counter, Tifa hid her giggle behind her hand.

“That’s right, honey, I do say that.” Barret picked Marlene up, setting her in the crook of his good arm. Little arms went around his neck. “What a good girl you are, remembering Daddy’s lessons. You know what else good girls do? They go to bed on time. C’mon.”

Marlene frowned. “But I’m not tired!” They had this argument most nights. “I want to stay up and talk some more, Daddy…”