Tell me everything will be alright | @menhulu

[aflowers]

Comments

This could mean everything, or nothing at all

[aflowers]

[ As she steps through the door, her hands are trembling, and her breath tastes of guilt. There is, of course, still the horrid chance that this is some sort of awful prank on the resort's behalf, but if all of this is real, then she truly has no idea into what the two of them are walking. Of course, Dan Heng has told her all about the universe from which he hails, but hearing stories is vastly different to experience.

And then, of course, there's the knowledge of what she's giving up. The chance they've been given is perhaps the only of which she's ever heard, but in accepting it, she's leaving behind everything she's ever known.

All to save herself.

Cloud and Tifa and the others... without her there, they'll have to find some other way. She's confident that they will, but the guilt remains, the knowledge that she's at the very least made it harder for them.

And maybe it makes her a coward. But when Dan Heng came to her and asked her to join him, she found that she couldn't refuse. The chance to live, of course, to really live, to see the stars, that was one part of it. But even more than that... well. Somewhere along the line, she's fallen in love with him, hasn't she? She's kept it to herself, making a sad peace with the idea that they'd be separated someday, but then...

She couldn't make herself say no.

Bright lights herald their appearance on the other side of the door, voices confused and excited alike, and Aerith blinks, looking around. ]

[menhulu]

[ he knows what he is asking of her. he knows that he is telling her to leave behind everything she has ever known, friends, family, her world.. but dan heng simply cannot fathom the alternative. if she returns there, she will die, and even if it's terribly selfish of him, dan heng can't allow that, can't say goodbye to her and let her go, knowing what she is walking into.

of course, he cannot and will not force her to return home with him, but.. he has to ask. he has to try. and when she accepts, he feels his heart lift from the cold pit of his stomach.

returning home again - he can hardly wait. he's missed everyone so painfully, missed his work as a nameless, missed his data bank, and pom pom's laughter, and himeko's awful cooking. he's missed stelle's weird habits, and march's babbling, and mr. yang's steady, calm presence. he's missed them all so much.

but when the light fades, they're there, and dan heng's feet are solid on the floor of the parlor car again. the sight of their faces, the sound of their voices - dan heng's eyes flood with tears immediately. he'd had to be strong at the resort, had to keep moving forward, to find a way to home, to keep working toward that final prize even if it felt so far out of reach, but now.. now, he's home, and he feels the exhaustion of his long journey setting in. his crewmates surround them both, accosting dan heng with warm hugs and a thousand questions. ]

.. I'm home.

[ he says, tearfully, then turns to look at aerith beside him, just as whole as he is, her eyes bright with surprise. she's here. she's here with him, alive, and they can take this new path together. reaching out, dan heng takes her hand with a smile, and gives it a squeeze. ]

You are, too. Welcome home.