I Never Let Her Die! (Aerith x Male Gamer Reader)

Disk 01: Chapter 03: Kalm Before The Storm

It was around two in the afternoon of my fourth day on Gaia when we finally crested a hill and saw Kalm in the wide valley below us. It was much larger than the game would suggest, though still a small, quiet town by any fair assessment of such. As we drew closer, I caught sight of a pair of familiar figures standing by the gate, watching us approach.

"Barrett on the left, Cloud on the right." Tifa said to me. "They've probably been here waiting a full day, given our delay waiting on you to wake up."

When she said this, it occurred to me that I had another worry. Thanks to me, the group would be a day behind schedule. What effects would this have on future events? Would we miss the Turks in the Mythril Mine? And what about Junon Harbor? We might miss the boat, or even not get there in time to save that annoying little girl. I knew I needed a way to speed things up and get us back on track.

As I was thinking, Aerith said "As late as it is, I hope Barrett decides to stay here the night before we continue. I'd welcome a real bed."

"We all would." Tifa agreed.

A few minutes later we were close enough to see Barrett and Cloud more clearly, though still out of earshot. I took a look at his spiky hair and couldn't resist something I knew I shouldn't say. "What's that yellow thing on his head?"

"His hair." Tifa answered.

"No." I argued. "I'm quite sure that's some kind of Chocobo. It seems to be nesting on top of him. Look, if you squint your eyes you can make out the beak."

"It's. His. Hair." Tifa huffed. She sped up and hurried ahead of us.

Aerith moved in close beside me, struggling to not laugh. "Boyfriend/girlfriend." She whispered. "Not that either of them will EVER admit it."

The confusion hit hard again. Were they already an item? This wasn't how things were depicted in the game. I wished Ganthet had explained things better.

We caught up with Tifa just as she reached Barrett. "It's about damn time!" he shouted. "Where have you been anyway? And who the hell is this?"

"We need to discuss that." Tifa said to him. "You two have rooms at the local inn for us right?"

"Sure." Cloud answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Then let's go." Tifa answered. She turned to me and said "I'm sorry, but you'll need to wait on us out here."

"Gotcha. I'll be over by the gate."

As everyone walked towards the inn, Aerith stopped long enough to say "Don't worry. He'll come around."

I waited until everyone was out of sight, then climbed to the top of the town wall and sat next to the main gate, looking out over the plains and trying to think on how best to proceed...

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===Begin Third-Person P.O.V. - Aerith===

In the inn, Aerith barely had the door to the room closed when Barrett demanded answers. "Where have you three been? And who's this new guy?"

"If you'll calm down, I'll tell you." Tifa said as she sat down on the edge of a bed next to Cloud. "Two days ago he just appeared out of nowhere, falling out of the sky. Almost landed on Aerith' head." Cloud chuckled at the memory of his own experience with this but said nothing.

Aerith nodded when Barrett looked at her for confirmation. "He was hurt in the fall. I wasn't going to leave him alone, so we had to wait 'til he was ready to travel."

"Well... I guess I wouldn't wanna leave someone alone out dere either." Barrett rumbled. "But, who is the guy? He's Shinra for all we know."

"No." Aerith said.