The night had grown late in the Gainsborough household. The last train carrying Johnny back to Sector 7 had faded into the distance an hour ago.
In the warm, wood-scented bedroom on the second floor, Aerith sat before an old vanity mirror. Elmyra stood behind her, brushing Aerith's long, silky brown hair. Her hand movements were slow, rhythmic, and soothing—or at least, they were supposed to be.
However, Aerith could feel the tension in every stroke of the brush.
"So..." Elmyra broke the silence, her voice soft but probing. "Three days, Aerith. You disappeared for three days without a word."
Aerith met her mother's reflection in the mirror. Elmyra's face was calm, but her eyes were sharp.
"I'm sorry, Mom. But it was an emergency," Aerith answered quietly. "Johnny and I felt... something was hurting the Planet."
"Hurting?"
"From Sector 4 all the way to Sector 1," Aerith explained, her face turning serious as she recalled the piles of monster corpses. "There were artificial monsters, Mom. They all had the same face. They were sad and hollow. We had to stop them before they entered the residential areas. We also defeated Angeal and Genesis."
"Those SOLDIERs?"
"Yes, Mom," Aerith replied.
Elmyra sighed deeply. She knew her adopted daughter was special. She knew Aerith could hear the Planet's cries that others couldn't. She couldn't forbid Aerith's destiny as a Cetra. However, defeating SOLDIERs was a massive undertaking.
"I understand you wanted to help," Elmyra said, resuming the brushing. "And I'm grateful Johnny was with you. He may look rough like a thug, and that sword of his is terrifying... but he took good care of you, didn't he?"
"Very good!" Aerith blurted out enthusiastically, a little too quickly. Her eyes sparkled. "He's so strong, Mom. He's like an iron wall! When the G-Copies attacked, he didn't let a single one touch even a strand of my hair. He was amazing!"
Elmyra offered a faint smile at her daughter's enthusiasm. However, as a woman who was once young and had raised Aerith with love, her instincts kicked in. She saw that glint of enthusiasm wasn't just admiration for a protector, but something more... personal.
"It's good that he protected you from the monsters," Elmyra said, her tone lowering, setting a trap. "But speaking of a three-day trip... that means you stayed overnight for two nights, right?"
"Yes, Mom," Aerith answered innocently while admiring her reflection, her fingers subconsciously twirling the new ruby ring on her left ring finger.
Elmyra's eyes narrowed at the red glint on Aerith's finger. The brushing slowed.
"Where did you sleep?"
"The first night in Sector 3. An old inn, The Water Tower Inn," Aerith answered casually. "Then the next night... because we were exhausted in Sector 1, we stayed at the Highliner Hotel near the airport."
The brush in Elmyra's hand stopped. "That luxury hotel?"
"Yes, the facilities were wonderful!"
"And..." Elmyra leaned in slightly. "You rented two rooms, right? Johnny in his room, you in yours?"
Aerith shook her head innocently, without a shred of guilt. "No, Mom. Just one room."
SNAG.
The brush caught slightly on the end of Aerith's hair.
"One... room?" Elmyra's voice turned cold, trying to contain the simmering emotion. "You two... a grown man and woman... in one enclosed room... for two nights?"
Seeing her mother's face tense up in the mirror, Aerith hurried to realize her mistake. She waved her hands frantically.
"Eh, wait! Relax, Mom! Don't misunderstand!" Aerith held up one finger, explaining the timeline quickly.
"The first night in Sector 3 was safe! Johnny didn't touch the bed at all. He slept sitting on the floor, leaning against the door all night hugging his sword. He said he wanted to make sure no monsters or bad people got in. He didn't sleep at all just to guard me!"
Elmyra let out a long, held breath. Her tense shoulders relaxed slightly. "Hah... thank goodness. That boy still knows the boundaries of propriety. He respects you."
"Good boy..." Elmyra murmured, feeling slightly guilty for being overly suspicious. Johnny turned out to be the type of knight who upheld honor.
But then, Aerith continued her story. Her voice grew small, and a blush began to creep up her cheeks.
"But... on the second night..."
Elmyra's heart, which had just calmed down, began to race again. She saw her daughter's face flushing in the mirror.
"What about the second night?" Elmyra pressed.
Aerith looked down, playing with the hem of her nightgown. The memory of the heated kiss, Johnny's warm embrace, and how comfortable it felt to sleep on his broad chest filled her mind again.
"We... we..." Aerith stammered. She wasn't good at lying to her mother. "That night Johnny was scared because of trauma from his past... so I... I..."
"Speak, Aerith," Elmyra's voice sharpened. "What happened?"
Aerith squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out, "We kissed! And... and we slept in the same bed together! Cuddling!"
Silence.
Aerith opened one eye, afraid to see her mother's reaction.
In the mirror, Elmyra's face paled, then slowly turned a deep shade of crimson. Her eyes fixed on the ring on Aerith's finger, then shifted to her daughter's blushing face.
CRACK.
A tooth of the wooden comb in Elmyra's hand snapped in two.
"Kissed..." Elmyra whispered, her voice trembling, holding back a volcanic eruption. "Same bed... Cuddling..."
"B-but we didn't do 'that', Mom! I swear!" Aerith defended herself in panic. "Just sleeping! Johnny was polite! He just... just hugged me really tight!"
Above the mirror frame, Ivalera sat swinging her legs. The little fairy covered her mouth with both hands, suppressing a giggle as she watched Elmyra's expression shift from shock to horror, then to suppressed fury.
Elmyra placed the broken comb on the table. Her hands were shaking.
She then looked at Aerith's left hand, which was holding a hair clip. On the ring finger of that hand circled a gold ring with a ruby that glowed dimly. An obviously expensive ring. An Enchanted Ring.
"Aerith," Elmyra called coldly.
"Yes, Mom?"
"That ring... who is it from?"
Aerith lifted her hand, gazing at the ring adoringly. "From Johnny! He bought it for me this morning. He said..." Aerith paused.
"Johnny said it was for our engagement."
BOOM.
Elmyra closed her eyes for a moment. She massaged her throbbing temples.
One room. Sleeping in one bed, cuddling, kissing. Given an expensive ring on the ring finger.
In Elmyra's eyes, this was no longer "friendship." Johnny had stepped way over the line. The young man had breached the defensive lines of a mother. A knight upholding honor? More like a delinquent knight.
"Aerith, my dear" Elmyra said, her voice calm but containing absolute firmness.
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow morning, we won't be watering the flowers."
Aerith turned, confused. "Huh? Then where are we going?"
Elmyra looked at her daughter sharply.
"We're taking the train to Sector 7."
"Sector 7? Johnny's home?" Aerith was shocked. "For what?"
Elmyra crossed her arms over her chest.
"I want to meet his parents," Elmyra said with finality. "I want to see what kind of family raises a boy who dares to sleep in the same bed with my daughter and give her a ring, but doesn't come to report to me."
"I want to demand accountability."
Aerith blinked. "Accountability? Did Johnny get me pregnant?"
"AERITH!" Elmyra nearly had a heart attack hearing her daughter's brutal innocence. "Don't speak so carelessly! We are going there tomorrow. Period."
"I'm going to sharpen the kitchen knife," Elmyra added flatly. "And then cut off Johnny's 'sword' if he dares try anything again."
"MOM!"
The bedroom door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Above the mirror, Ivalera finally couldn't hold it in anymore and exploded in silent laughter, rolling around in delight.
Aerith was left alone in her room, staring at the ring on her finger with mixed feelings—between happiness from Johnny's love, and horror imagining Johnny's fate tomorrow morning at the hands of her future mother-in-law.
Meanwhile, far away in Sector 7, Johnny, who was sleeping in his room, suddenly shivered violently and sneezed loudly. He felt a scythe of death aiming for his neck.