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

Disk 01: Chapter 08: A Trio of Risks

After the battle with Jenova, we returned to our hideout in the cargo containers. It seems that the survivors of the ship's crew, sailors and soldiers alike, were still hiding themselves, as we encountered no one along the way. I was expecting to find Aerith already there, but she was nowhere to be seen. Under the circumstances, everyone was worried but I convinced them to let me seek her out myself, arguing that they would need all the help they could get when a very angry Yuffie got back.

Thus it was that I headed back out into the ship by myself. It had been a very long time since I had played the portion of the game that included the ship ride, so I wasn't entirely sure, but it seemed like she had been upset over something following the battle. I didn't remember the details of what, but I was determined to try to help however I could.

After a long search, I found Aerith on an open aft deck above the propellers, looking back over the ship's wake. Whatever was bothering her, it was so involving that she hadn't noticed my approach. She looked like she had been crying, or at least on the verge of doing so. Quoting her own line to me from Junon, I said "There's that deep thinking again."

Aerith jumped slightly at my voice, but relaxed when she saw it was me. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

I started to step closer, but she backed away and said "You need to stay away from me. All of you do. I don't want to hurt you."

"Strange thing to say." I thought. I asked "You lost me. What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious? After what we saw in the engine room? I could be dangerous."

"I see nothing obvious at all." I replied. "Aerith, come on, tell me what's bothering you..."

I stepped closer again, and again she backed away until she reached the railing and couldn't go any further. "Go away!" she exclaimed. She started to cry again.

"I'm not going anywhere until I find out what this is all about. And I warn you, I can be as stubborn as you."

This at least got a short laugh out of her. She slid down the side of the railing until she was sitting on the deck. "Will you please just leave?"

"Why?" I asked. "Look, maybe I was reading things wrong, but I like you and I thought that you..."

Aerith quickly stood back up, wiping the tears from her face "Oh, no, don't think what you're thinking now... I do like you. That's why I want you to leave. I don't want you getting hurt!"

Allow me to say here that when I tell you what happened next, you're going to be wondering to yourself "What in the hell was he thinking?" And the answer is, I wasn't really thinking. All I knew right then was that Aerith was deeply upset over something and that she was practically stumbling over her own words trying to get me to leave out of some fear for me, talking on and on about how she would slip away when we reached land, and I did the only thing that seemed like it might get through to her enough to get her to calm down and talk to me: I grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her.

"Oh!" She said with surprise afterwards. "That was nice..."

"Nice on my end too." I agreed.

Aerith grinned, but nevertheless said "Now will you please go away?"

"Not after that."

"Oooh... You're impossible!"

"Thank you. Now c'mon, tell me what's bothering you. Maybe I can put a better perspective on it, but I need to know what it is first..."

Sitting on the deck again, she sighed deeply. "I'm not convincing you to go any other way am I?"

"You're not convincing me to go at all." I sat next to her. "C'mon now, spill it."