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holly-fixation · 1 year ago

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When the Planets Align

Summary: Tragedies of gods and goddesses have been passed down for thousands of years on thousands of planets. In the case of one small planet of life, it's the desire to be with the stars. With space. A god and goddess in love, but tied away by the very existence they were born for.

Inspired by the beautiful artwork of Safer Sephiroth and Planet Goddess Aerith by @kay-i. Posting for the Final day of Aeriseph week!

…

Stories of gods and goddesses had been passed down for countless generations over countless planets. Some cultures believed the very planet they stood upon was a goddess, giving life to everything on it. Others believed the sky was a god that blessed their planet with continued prosperity. Of course, not every culture was correct, but not every culture was wrong either.

Every life bearing planet had a goddess tied to its soil. She was the first living creature to call the surface home and the last one to die after billions of years spreading her power. This circle of life was accepted rather than mourned. However, there were prophecies detailing instructions of how to keep the goddess, thus the planet, alive forever. But like all prophecies, the chance of Gaia housing the goddess of legend was slim to none.

Aerith, the Goddess of Gaia, never minded her fate. She loved her creatures with her whole heart, raising them and aiding them with utter joy filling the atmosphere. Each new flower, egg, child, or leaf brought a smile to her face, and the homes her creatures built within each of Gaia’s environments fascinated her. She did everything in her power to balance her life with their growth, happily giving more of herself when that’s what it took.

Supposedly planets were named at formation, not when their goddesses were born. She heard stories of goddesses holding jealousy of that simple fact, but she found that competitive desire useless. Aerith devoted herself to her people. They mattered more than her pride.

Still, despite the truth she knew was true, she found herself staring into the stars, a seeded desire to live among them like the gods festering the same way her people wished upon them to live out their lives with the perfect companion. A slightly larger part craved the cosmos beyond her planet, but it was a part she didn’t pay attention to. Gods and goddesses rarely engaged in true unions. She truly made all the happiness she needed on her own surface. She never actively searched for anything beyond them, yet she gladly accepted their invitations.

Gods were very different from goddesses. Unlike the atmosphere of the planet they could never leave, gods roamed the cosmos creating stars, planets, even galaxies. Some gods specialized. Some didn’t. Some planets eventually bore goddesses, most orbited their stars emptily, structures with no use, relics forgotten to time. Gods followed the flow of the stars, the turn of galaxies and the very universe itself.

These gods, beyond their own duties, held the sole responsibility of spreading knowledge throughout the cosmos. History, prophecies, the expected fate of each planet, all were their choice to inform. If a god deemed a goddess unworthy of knowledge, they would simply leave. Some held themselves in higher regard than the planets, but most fluctuated from humble to arrogant depending on their experiences.

Sephiroth, the God of Yellow Stars, absolutely acted more stern and arrogant than most of the star gods by his very nature. He was one of the direct children of Jenova, the primordial goddess credited with the creation of the known cosmos. Her presence drifted everywhere among her work, her tentacles of stardust branching every galaxy together in harmony, and communication beyond his earliest years became impossible. Physically, he took after her, his halo and many wings a constant reminder of her presence. Some days, it was annoying. He at least wanted an explanation as to why the life forms on planets grew gifts of prophecies he needed to spread. At minimum he wanted justification for why he was at the center of the most frustrating one.

In his juvenile years, a prophecy came about claiming ‘stars of yellow will bond with pedals of blue for time immemorial’. He was young, but he learned far too quickly what some goddesses attempted to push onto him for what he could potentially give in return. Every planet he visited led to the same fake field of every shade of dyed blue. It sickened him, the way goddesses threw themselves at him in an exaggerated attempt to leave the surface of their worlds and live forever. Even if that rumor was true, and he found no ounce of proof that it was, the blatant disrespect, lack of boundaries, and even attempts at capture left Sephiroth hard and bitter. He had not stepped foot on a living planet in many millennia, no longer risking the slightest chance of betrayal of either goddess or god. Each memory stung him deeply. He always craved knowledge of planetary life and structure, but every goddess robbed him of the chance to learn by focusing on themselves alone.

The God of Red Stars, Genesis, persistently pushed him to converse with 'considerably friendly' goddesses, whatever that meant. The God of Blue Stars, Angeal, understood his predicament but still encouraged him to step foot on any flourishing planet, claiming his behavior was not healthy. Everyone had an opinion on his actions, even the infantile gods of the three white dwarfs born his own dead stars, technically his children but he disliked the thought. Yazoo spoke of companionship as something to truly desire. Loz craved the attention of a mother and convinced himself the pain would lessen if he had a planet to be with. Kadaj told him to ‘get his head out of his ass and pick a planet already’.

He did not consider any of their collective advice useful.

However, he gave every planet, thus goddess, a chance. He did assume they would fail every trial of self control, but he took his duty seriously, spreading knowledge as he continued his fueling of his stars.

Eventually his path led him to Gaia.

He had not been to Gaia in billions of years. In fact, his brethren visited countless times, at least Genesis had. The goddess held only just over one billion years. Not young, but certainly immature. He sensed the goddess and where she chose for him to land, rolling his eyes a bit before descending as he awaited the same fake blues. However, the only blue that met his eyes was the sky. He found himself outside a forest with trees of both leaves and needles, none of which carrying the faux blues. The goddess, instead of bowing before him, faced away and searched for something in the forest from behind a tree. She wore a white dress adorned with purple roses and gold pendants, her hair tied back with a purple bow.

“Hold on just one moment please. This little guy’s been giving me so much trouble,” She explained in hushed tones.

Sephiroth was stunned. No one had ever treated him like this, like something material was more important. He wasn’t given much time to watch in confusion before the young goddess launched forward and captured a small creature in her hands.

She cupped it carefully, even petting it to keep it calm as she approached him. She did curtsy, but she allowed her white dress to brush against the dirt in order to contain the creature. “God of Yellow Stars, Sephiroth, welcome back to Gaia. My name is Aerith, and this is one of my newest creations.”

“A pleasure,” He tried to be cordial but could not hide the confusion in his voice. “But what is-?”

“Shhh!” She gave him a stern look, her forest green eyes meeting his burning cyan ones. “Just listen.” She released the creature, a small gray bird that flapped away the moment it was given the chance. But its wings… did they just make noise?

“How did-?”

“It’s called a wing whistle, and this is the first of my birds to have it! They have these special feathers in their wings that whistle against the air during flight! I have no idea what evolutionary purpose they serve, but it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

He heard every word, but her beauty and joy distracted him. Her creatures. She actually spoke of her creatures, not herself. The subtle tilt of her head brought endearment to his heart rather than frustration like he expected. “...Yes, it is.”

“Can your wings whistle?”

Sephiroth found himself chuckling at her innocent yet kind question. “No. But there is nothing for them to whistle against in the cosmos.”

This goddess barely let him speak, her song-like voice filling every beat of time, but he actually found comfort in that. Her excitement and her passion for every flora and fauna of her planet mesmerized him. She was so… genuine. She wasn’t showing off so he would be impressed or fulfill that infuriating prophecy with her. She was like a mother, loving every inch of her planet unconditionally.

In the three days on Gaia, Aerith showed him hundreds, maybe thousands of creatures, facts and knowledge spilling from her mouth like a waterfall. She didn’t care about the news of the galaxy unless it threatened her planet. Her constant conversation captured them both, however. Sephiroth couldn’t help some of the questions that came to mind. Why did so many creatures evolve into crabs? Why was every plant so desperate to become a tree?

Their time together was truly the most calming, relaxing, carefree visit he made to any planet in his lifetime. Why did he push this off for so long? Before he left the surface, he calculated exactly when the cycle of stars allowed him passage here. Surprisingly, it was common. Once each century of this world, the stars and planets aligned perfectly. He couldn’t help but ponder the chances.

“You can come back every century? Why did you wait so long to come here?”

“Following the star cycle is not so simple. I can’t visit every planet in each cluster of galaxies per rotation. I needed to prioritize. I am glad I had the opportunity to see this planet now. Thank you, Aerith.”

He said his first proper goodbye in millenia to the small goddess and swore he would return as soon as possible. She smiled and nodded before he flew off her surface. Aerith waved until the tiniest glow of his halo vanished in the night sky.

* * *

One hundred years passed, and just as promised, Sephiroth returned. This time, Aerith beckoned him to a completely different side of the planet, most likely to display more of her growing creatures.

Sephiroth did not expect to land on the peak of a plateau gilded with perfect blue roses, their thorns and leaves perfect and untouched. He hated the slow simmer of betrayal building in his chest, but upon seeing Aerith donning the same dress from long ago, he simply descended until his feet were an inch from the traitorous blues.

Without answering his silent question, Aerith reached down and plucked one of the many flowers. Its petals quickly faded to the purple adorning her dress. “I am… well aware of the prophecy. I didn’t know these were blue until my people escorted me here a few years ago. They always offered these roses to me when I blessed them with good crops.” She almost looked sad. Pensive. “I had no idea.”

He scanned her before countering, “Why are you worried?”

“Well, Genesis told me you can’t stand goddesses that try to do this! Because they fake and pretend ‘look at me, I have BLUE petals on gorgeous harmless flowers. I’m so cool and perfect for you! Just like the prophecy!’ But I’d like to spend more time with you, and I wanted to tell you the truth.” She glanced away. “I’m sure I’m not the only goddess with blue flowers, and I’m perfectly happy with my people. You have no obligation to me.”

“...You’re weird when you’re serious.”

Her planet green eyes met his celestial blues.

“I enjoy spending time with you. That has not changed from one field.”

Her smile instantly warmed his heart, and he suddenly found himself wrapped in her arms, her chin resting on his shoulder as her feet dangled above the ground. “I’m so glad! There’s so much more I want to show you-”

“Perhaps this time,” He interrupted, holding her by her waist to keep her from falling, “I can tell you about the changes of the galaxies and the progress of my stars.”

“Absolutely! I love every event! I knew I forgot to ask something last time.” Aerith laughed, her voice melodious and endearing. “But afterward I need to show you this tiny rabbit species not too far from here. It literally fits in the palm of your hand! It’s adorable. You should see-...” She was backing away to be respectful, to look into his eyes, but the closeness of his face made her trail off, her eyes scanning every detail from barely an inch between them.

He smirked softly, allowing her time to process as he could not pry his gaze from hers.

“Um…”

He simply raised a brow.

“Do you…-?”

“I feel it too.” The shift in the air. Both of their heartbeats. A growing desire for warmth and closeness. Contact.

“What should I…-?”

Sephiroth silently brushed a stray lock of her brown hair behind her ear. “Whatever you want.”

Aerith partially allowed her instinct to take the reins, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against his.

A spark between them lowered Sephiroth’s eyelids until he realized they had not moved in minutes, mindlessly enjoying each other’s presence and touch. No thoughts. No distractions. Only each other. Warm. And comfortable. …And safe.

The draw of their hearts pulled them together, even when he ultimately returned to the cosmos.

Many centuries and many visits passed before either admitted what that feeling truly was.

Every pantheon had its tragedy for love, no matter the planet or gods. This was just theirs, separated by a hundred years for only days of happiness. But they suffered through each lapse for each other. And each other only for the joy they raised together for eternity.

Thanks for reading!

Author’s Note: This is it! The long awaited fic for Aeriseph week! It was my first time attempting any real ‘romance’ so I hope I at least delivered on it a bit! Thanks for reading!

#aerisephweek2023 #aeriseph #aerith gainsborough #sephiroth #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy vii #ffvii crisis core #ff7 advent children #genesis rhapsodos #jenova #ff7 genesis #angeal hewley #yazoo ff7 #kadaj ff7 #loz ff7 #god and goddess au

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