Aerith stirred, a content sigh escaping her lips as the feel of his warm breath hit her neck. He held her tightly against him, his arms allowing her to feel safe and secure. Lately that feeling was far and few between the closer she reached her destination. Fear was a prominent feeling now, though she tried to hide it from the others. And yet, despite everything with Shinra and Jenova and Sephiroth. Stolen moments like these eased her mind.

Reno grumbled in his sleep, shifting slightly to draw her closer. She turned taking in his handsome features. It always amused her how different he appeared without that smirking grin or mischievously defiant eyes.

She reached up, brushing away the limp red spikes that had fallen forward while they slept.

With gentle fingers, she traced the contours of his face beginning by soothing the worry lines from his forehead and gently brushing over his closed eyelids. His eyes moved beneath her touch. She wasn't foolish to believe he still slept, but she allowed him to pretend as she continued to follow her path.

Tracing the bridge of his nose, she gave the tip a gentle tap before moving on. She ran her finger along the lines of his lips, soft beneath her gentle caress. They were many things, deadly and fearless when facing opponents. Egotistical and confident. Sweet yet sinful when he wanted nothing more than to devour her. And she loved each and every bit of it.

Aerith continued her silent exploration, returning to the red markings she'd left for last. They were such a prominent feature and yet remained a mystery to her. She'd never asked the meaning behind the markings. Nor did he ever offer any sort of explanation. Maybe there wasn't one. Maybe they were simply one of those silly tattoos you got in your youth because you thought they were cool. Or maybe it was something much more day she'll learn the story, even if it is something silly.

Crystalline blue eyes finally opened, "well good morning to you too, princess," Reno greeted, voice rife with sleep.

"Morning," she broke her silence, allowing herself to be drawn on top of him.

His lips curled up in that infuriating smirk of his as he took her in. He reached up and cupped her face with a gloveless hand. Her eyes fluttered shut at the touch, his thumb brushing over the red tint on her cheek as he leaned up to claim her lips.

She melted into his embrace, wishing for this moment to last forever. For once she wanted to ignore everything, to ignore their responsibilities to the world around them.

At this moment they were just a couple enjoying a blissful morning together. Not the remaining Cetra meant to prevent the destruction of the Planet or a Shinra work dog meant to bring her back to fulfill some power hungry companies stupid purpose. She didn't want to think about how this may be one of their last moments together.

They were simply Aerith and Reno, a little flower girl who'd fallen in love with some slum thug with somewhat of a heart of gold.

Message from your author: First one-shot of many...hopefully hahaha. Just wanted a place to collect any one shots for this lovely rare pair. While I could have added this to my original OF Smoke and Flowers, I figured a fresh start was best haha. So here we are. I'll try to remember to update here as well since I most use AO3 these days.

Should you wish to talk or request something fill free to let me know! You can also find me on tumblr under Brokengem. Enjoy.