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Who: Tifa and Aerith
Where By the kitchens to start
When: After Aerith's journal
Rating: G.
Summary: Two friends meet up after a week, a year, and death did them part
the Story: A full year had passed since Aerith's death and still not a day went by that Tifa didn't regret not being able to help her. Sure, a lot had happened between then and now, but she still missed the other girl. The two had grown close anyway and Aerith's death had hit Tifa hard. Those remaining behind had managed to deal with Sephiroth and set things straight, but Tifa would always miss that extra sane female. The others just weren't the same.

Arriving here just after she'd convinced Cloud to take the offensive against the Remnants had been hard enough; finding out that her deceased friend was here as well had been a real shock. Of course, Tifa had to meet with her, had to be sure this really was Aerith. The voice had sounded right, but... how could Aerith be here when she was supposed to be part of the Lifestream? Nothing made sense.

Taking a deep breath, Tifa poked her head into the kitchens to be sure Aerith wasn't already there. Not seeing any hint of her friend, she walked in and took a seat on one of the stools just inside, ready just in case it was some sort of silver-haired ambush.

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Down by the kitchens... hmmmm....

It had been a little longer than a week since Aerith had seen her friends. Seeing them there just before she died probably didn't count; she hadn't had a chance to talk to them, and she'd left without a word, at least in any conventional sense. She couldn't have told them what she was going off to do, because they'd have tried to stop her. They'd have insisted on going with her, and things were never quiet when Cloud was around.

But it was a journey she wouldn't have had the strength to make if her friends hadn't been there for the first steps. She'd missed them. She still did.

She didn't understand this place, or what it was, just that it wasn't right. The living and the dead, trapped under one roof, on a world she couldn't hear, so it definitely wasn't home. Even out among the flowers, it was silent, like the darkest parts of Midgar. Aerith couldn't help but find it a little creepy.

Right... the kitchen was that one. Wasn't it? This place could be so big and confusing when it wanted.

She opened the door, a shade slowly and quietly, and slipped inside. It would be hard to miss Tifa sitting there. Although she did look a little different, some things just never changed. "Tifa? You changed your hair." There had definitely been a time lapse between what Aerith last remembered and Tifa now. Aerith hadn't changed at all since she'd last been seen alive.

Tifa had gotten way too used to dealing with the Remnants and all kinds of possible ambushes. The sound of the door opening slightly brought her head snapping around, muscles tensed to move quickly if she had to. The last thing she needed was to be surprised by an enemy in a place like this. What would Zangan say to that?

But then her eyes caught sight of a mess of pink and she relaxed, sliding off the stool to stand in front of her friend. A year had gone by for Tifa, yet Aerith looked just as she always had. It was both comforting and disconcerting.

"Aerith..." She hesitated, deciding to answer the mention of her hair. "The kids kept climbing on it, so I got it cut. It doesn't get in my way anymore." A wave of worry crashed through her at the mention of the kids, but she tried to push it away. They weren't here, so she'd just have to hope that Cloud and Barret would take care of them without her.

Aerith smiled, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked up to Tifa. "It looks really good." Tifa looked really good, the confusion and worry aside. She looked stronger than Aerith remembered. You could see the difference the time had made, if you looked closely.

"Kids sounds like more than Marlene?" She tilted her head, her voice gentle to coax the answers out of her friend. The smile didn't leave her face, though it did take on a slightly suggestive edge. A year was a long time, and anything could have happened.

You never knew.

"Thank you." Tifa managed to offer a small smile at the words about her hair, running a hand through the bangs to push it all behind her ears again. A lot had changed for her, but it looked like everything was the same for Aerith, which she supposed was true.

The implication of the plural form 'kids' brought a red tinge to Tifa's cheeks and she shook her head insistently. The last thing she needed was for Aerith to get that idea into her head!

"No, we adopted Denzel. He was an orphan, too, and when the Geostigma hit... he was affected. It was just Cloud, Marlene, Denzel, and me living above the bar in Edge... and usually Cloud was off making a delivery." Worry seemed to take over her features for a moment, but again, she pushed it away and focused on the woman in front of her.