the wings that you burn turn to ashes, my dear

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.”

“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?”

Behind him, Cloud’s sword ricocheted off a metal track as he swung through another bomb. Barret staggered, his knees weakening. His gun arm sagged at his side. His good hand pawed at his pocket. He always had an emergency potion tucked in there… somewhere… didn’t he?

Spots formed at the edge of his vision. He was not blacking out here, so close to home, so close to getting his new family through the dangerous pass.

“Hang on! I’ve got you!”