::forgiven4ever sneaking around the back, Mission Impossible Theme plays in the background::

forgiven4ever: All right, mission objective; get in, get out, without being seen. -looks around the corner- I have only one chance to get this right. If I'm caught, I'm dead. Simple as that. Now, I just have to---

::Mission Impossible Theme scratches::

Sephiroth: Hand that update to me, and I might let you live.

forgiven4ever: O.O;; -gulp-

Aeris: Ever since August, not September, October, or even November, but August, you have not updated. I thought you liked us.

forgiven4ever: I do, I really do. It's just…

Aeris: What?

forgiven4ever: Life, man, it hits you.

Sephiroth, rolling eyes: Oh, cry me a river, and hand over that update.

forgiven4ever: -hands it to him- There, hope you're happy.

Sephiroth: Very.

forgiven4ever: Happy enough to do the disclaimer?

Sephiroth: You're pushing it. -turns to reader-forgiven4ever does not own Final Fantasy, me, Aeris, and others, or the Mission Impossible Theme.

forgiven4ever: Thankies, Sephy, and shout-outs to; pangpond, SidiousSith, Moonshine's Guide, Dreams of Faith, ShatteredBlackHeart, missmurder16, Dust to Dusk, p3paula, and geminithefirst. Thankies guys so much for your reviews and your support!

And to me anonymous reviewers:

Shineko, LengendayMasamuneBlade, Golden Esmeralda, ItaSaku, DaMeAgain, Arashi, and Sigh…:

Guys, I am so sorry for the long wait, but I hope you'll enjoy this short, but sweet chapter. Again, I am sorry. Also, I'm sorry for the shortness of the chapter. Writer's Block does awful, awful things, and I have not been inspired lately ever since my cat died. Once again, my deepest apologies and enjoy the fic.

Stolen Kisses

Sephiroth smiled smugly to himself as he polished his sword after a rigorous practice. Without raising his head, he shifted his eyes over to the green house. He had just shown Aeris her greenhouse hours ago and she could be barely seen through the clouded windows, bustling about. A reverie overcame the one-winged angel; children with silver hair, brown hair, and emeralds for their eyes laughing as they ran about the kitchen, playing a child's game.

Aeris, his Aeris, was bustling about the kitchen, taking out a pan of baked treats from the oven cautiously and set the pan gently on a cooling rack. There was a warm smile upon her face. Sephiroth envisioned himself entering the kitchen and the children squealed in delight as they ran towards their father, tackling him. Gracing each child with a kiss upon the crown of their heads, he dismissed them for now and turned to Aeris who was smiling at him, lovingly.

Letting a small smile grace his lips, Sephiroth sauntered up to his wife, reached for her, pulled her flush to his chest, and planted a firm kiss upon her mouth. Aeris returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. As he kissed his way down to her neck, Sephiroth clung to Aeris tighter.

Giggles from the doorway caused Sephiroth to pull away from Aeris and looked down upon his children peeking in on them. They squeaked once they realized they were caught and ducked out of sight. A light-hearted laugh came from Aeris and Sephiroth turned his attention back to his flower girl. There was a genuine smile upon his angel's feature.

"Milord?"

"Yes?" came the gruff reply from the one-winged angel.

Number VII took a moment to grace his lord with a bow, before straightening and spoke of his request. "Milord, I was wondering if your grace would desire his lunch on the patio?"

"That will be fine," Sephiroth grumbled, sheathing his polished katana.

"Shall I inform milady?" Number VII inquired.

"No," Sephiroth answered curtly, standing up abruptly. "I'll tell her."

"Very good, milord," Number VII replied indifferently, bowing to him before departing from the patio

With an irritated sigh, Sephiroth tossed his sheathed Masamune to his left hand before setting it down gently upon the table, and began making his way down to Aeris' greenhouse. Sure, he was fine with his remnants as devoted servants, but they were sometimes serving too much. Sometimes, Sephiroth wished he sent Number VII with Numbers I, II, III, and IV for the main reason of Number VII's attitude; he was too devoted. It was too late to send him now though; the others were already halfway to the Temple of the Ancients. Of course, if, by chance, the four remnants become unavailable, or killed in other words, Sephiroth was, no doubt, sending Number VII.

Stopping momentarily at the glass door, the one-winged angel peered into the glass and spied on his flower girl. She had in her arms weeds she had pulled up from the corners of the small building, and she was looking about as though she was mentally planning where her flowers would grow. After disposing the weeds in a bucket that held more weeds, Aeris clasped her hands together and held them under her chin, pondering what to do next.

It then dawned upon her, as she snapped her fingers and whirled around upon her toes, knelt down, and gathered several packets of seedlings. There was a smile on her face as she went around her greenhouse, tearing open all the packages at once. Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow, wondering what she was doing. His answer came when Aeris was twirling around, her arms outstretched, and the seeds flew about her, landing softly upon the fresh soil around the building.

Sephiroth took it upon himself at that moment to enter through the door, just when Aeris began to softly sing as she continued to prance around the building, dashing several seeds in random directions. It was the same lullaby she sang on that day when she and Sephiroth went to visit Jenova.

"Ieyui," she sang as she twirled around fully once. "Nobomenu Renmiri Yojuyogo Hasatekanae." She tossed the last bit of the seeds in a flowerbox and then whirled around, facing in Sephiroth's general direction. "Kuta…mae," Aeris' voice died once her emerald eyes caught sight of Sephiroth.

In response, Sephiroth approached her, his steps slow and hesitant, as if frightened she would run away. Aeris' breathing became slow and labored, her emerald eyes wide, and unintentionally backed into a row of flowerboxes.

"Don't stop," he pleaded softly, standing before her and reaching out to touch her face, his fingertips brushed the apple of her cheek, where her skin was tinted red from maiden blush. "Please," he whispered, bringing his face closer to hers. His breath was fanning her face, the space between them was closing in within each second. "Sing it again," he requested gently, wrapping his arm around her slim waist. "Just once more."

Her emerald eyes widened from the close contact, and the bright light that shone in through the glass was reflected from her orbs, making them look as though they too were made of glass. Sephiroth stared into her eyes, for they were the windows to her soul, and he could see the hidden fear and uncertainty lurking inside. He was making her uncomfortable, and knowing that, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he apologized softly, bowing his head slightly. "I did not mean to make you uncomfortable."

Aeris held her left hand to her heart, as if trying to sooth her rapid beating. "W-was there something you wanted?" she questioned; her shoulders were easing tension and her breathing became more regular.

"Our meal is being served on the patio," Sephiroth murmured, turning to go. I can't make her uncomfortable if I want her to express her feelings towards me, he thought. I just want her to be able to speak more, and maybe love me in return.

"Oh,…alright," she replied, rubbing her hands nervously. "Um,…can you show me where the… kitchen is? I need to wash my hands." Better him than one of those remnants, she added to herself.

Sephiroth turned to face her fully with a small smile upon his lips and a bright light in his Mako eyes. Once again, he approached her in slow, lengthy strides, and Aeris responded by bowing her head, looking down upon the worn stone tiles. She saw his boots approaching her and then stopped before her own new brown shoes Sephiroth insisted she wear, since he did not want her to deal with any more blisters.

His gloved fingers wrapped around her chin gently and lifted her face so that she could meet his Mako eyes. She could see herself reflected in them, and her mirrored self revealed herself frightened as if she was about to face death. Inwardly, she scolded herself, she can't let Sephiroth see her petrified, she must put on a braver front. The error of that solution was that she could not help but tremble under his gaze.

"What did I say about bowing?" he questioned softly, slipping his hand that was under her chin around her smooth neck and cupped her nape there.

"N-no bowing," Aeris recited, stumbling over her words, closing her emerald eyes.

"There you go," he whispered, leaning in and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth before pulling away and held her hand as he led her out of her greenhouse. "Come, lunch will be served soon, and we have little time to freshen up."

Sa

Burning, burning, that was all Yuffie felt in her lungs as she made her dash through the dangerous forest, but she could not stop for even one second; it was a matter of life or death. Behind her, she could hear the vociferous roar of the chainsaw that Hellmasker, who was currently unleashed from Vincent's body, carried. Over the buzzing noise, the demon could be heard, letting out a menacing laugh that would chill even the most stoic men's spine.

"It's no use, shin obi!" Hellmasker yelled. "I shall have your blood before the sun herself sleeps!"

Yuffie would have naturally reproach that comment if the circumstances were different, but her lungs were at the moment preoccupied to keep breathing as she darted through a natural archway of two trees which leaned into one another during time. Swiftly, the hellish creature forced his way through, his frame too large for the archway to contain and was torn down, crumpled and defeated.

Everything was growing dim, her eyes were tired, her muscles and her lungs stung, and exhaustion was creeping up on her hard and fast; the princess knew she was not going to last much longer. Was the roar of the chainsaw growing louder?

Mere occurrences of Yuffie's life were flashing before her eyes. Her life was too short to be ending so abruptly.

Her feet had a mind of their own, and they were leading Yuffie in the direction of a small cave, made of black rock, and slick from moisture. The thought of losing Hellmasker in the dark, dank cave seemed to be the best idea ever conceived in the history of mankind.

Upon entering the cave, Yuffie's right foot sought for the rocky floor, but it was not to be found, and her foot dropped down so suddenly of two feet, before landing in the crevice of an unseen hole and took a hold of the intruder's foot. With a cry, the shin obi fell forward, making contact with the slick black rock. Tiny grains tore open her skin, allowing crimson liquid to surface and spill over.

Breathing heavily, Yuffie's lungs burned and there was an iron taste in her mouth. Opening her eyes, Yuffie raised her head a little to gather her surroundings. Dim light was permitted from the mouth of the cave, giving Yuffie a clearer picture of what she was in. However, that light was denied when an ominous shadow loomed over the shin obi.

Denying herself to breathe, Yuffie dared to look over her shoulder, and lo and behold; there stood Hellsmasker, his chainsaw hung idly by his right leg, waiting to be awaken. Even though the sun was behind him, Yuffie could tell there was a feral grin upon his face, his crimson eye glowed for blood.

Only a moment was allowed for one to observe each other before the loud whirring sound of the chainsaw awakening from its slumber. Hellsmasker raised his weapon over his head for a broad swing. Yuffie yelped as she held her hands up before her face as if they would stop the oncoming slaughter.

There was then a choking noise that arose from Hellmasker's throat, and his crimson eye widened as he let his hands slacken their grip on the handle of the chainsaw, resulting in the weapon falling out of the skeletal hands and making impact with the rock slabs of the cave with a roaring crash. Hellmasker continued to produce that throaty noise, almost as if he were gagging and suddenly completely froze. It was then Yuffie dared to lower her petite, nimble hands and look upon the monster who only twitched and snarled from his gritted teeth.

"V-Vincent?" the young shin obi timidly called out to her possessed friend. Her only response was the demon jerking his body in odd angles before collapsing himself right on top of Yuffie, his muscles quivering as if he was thrown suddenly in cold weather. Yuffie had immediately tensed her body and even began squirming in the demon's grasp, but his weight was too much for her.

Just then, Hellmasker threw his head back and let out a pained howl as his skin brightened back to pallid skin Vincent bore, his mouth was free from the strips of skin that restrained his jaw, and his eyes dimmed to a smoldering crimson that Yuffie knew was Vincent's. With a moan, Vincent collapsed once again upon Yuffie, his head landing upon her shoulder.

Once again, Yuffie's body tensed upon contact, but after a while when she realized Vincent had not moved at all, Yuffie managed to turn her head to the right where Vincent's face was nestled in the crook of her neck. His face was sorrowful and glistened with cold sweat. Once in a while his mouth would twitch as he witnessed his darkest nightmares.

Timidly, Yuffie raised her left hand and reached over, stroking his raven black as gently as possible in sympathy, letting her fingers brush along the pale contours of his face. And as tenderly as she could be, Yuffie leaned forward and placed the lightest of kisses on the corner of his mouth, breathing in his aroma of gunpowder and his own unique scent.

"I'm sorry what you're going through, Vinnie," she whispered, her breath fanning his cheek, causing it to redden from the sudden rise in temperature. "I only wish I can help you…if you let me." Yuffie then snuggled closer to Vincent before drifting off to sleep, not caring about anything else.

(A/N)Hey, guys, I apologize again for the late, late and shortupdate. Also, I apologize if it sucks. Writer's Block does mean things to me. Things are just getting hectic and I've got to prepare for SATS and college. And so, brings my sad news; I have to put this story on hold. I will not update until I have completed Remnant's Love and Ice Cold. I know, I know, it's very bad of me. I should not have started five fictions at the same time. I have so many demands on Remnant's Love and Ice Cold, and I need to complete at least those before college. Note, I am notabandoning this fic, I never will. It is my mission to write a complete fiction dedicated to Aeriroth. You guys are special, I'll be writing Monster's Angel in college. Guys, I love you all so much for all the reviews and support you've given this fic. It really is hard for me to put this on hold, but it must be done.

God bless you all, and remember I will return.