Inheritance (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth)

꧁ XV ꧂

Lailah was helping Aerith with her hair after Hephaestus left. "I'm so sorry the Whispers have done this to you, Aerith..."

"Hey, it's okay! It's not your fault, Lailah," the florist replied. "Are you okay? Y'know, with all the new things you just learned."

"I won't deny my anger, but it sounds like my mother is not to blame. I didn't realize how weak she's become..."

Aerith turned around to face the shorter girl once her hair was back to being in a twisted ponytail. She wanted to try and cheer her up. "It sounds like we'll be heading to Tellus at some point. I know it's in ruins, but I'm really excited! My mom would tell me stories about it and the Vitaea."

Lailah found her smile as her anger slowly faded. "Not all of it is ruined. The underground sanctum is still intact. I'll show it to you when we reach Tellus."

"Yay!" Aerith cheered.

With their business concluded, the two girls made their way back to the Training Gym. They were gossiping along the way about their recent time on the beach and how they would like to go back sometime in the near future. They even got to talking about Hayden and Tifa. Aerith told Lailah how much time the two had spent together yesterday. Both girls were happy to see not only Tifa was happy but also Hayden.

"Would you be okay with Tifa dating your brother?" Aerith asked.

Lailah nodded. "Yeah. Tifa deserves to be happy, and so does Hayden. I'm still trying to get used to having a brother so my relationship with Hayden doesn't exactly feel familial yet. I also think Hayden could benefit from someone like Tifa in his life. She might be able to soften him up a bit."

When they reached the Training Gym, the girls walked up the stairs and were surprised by what they saw. Tifa and Hayden were having a sit-up contest. Walking over to where Cloud, Barret, Red, and Yuffie were standing, Lailah asked, "How did this happen?"

"Tifa 'n' Hayden cozied up together and now they're doin' this shit..." Barret grumbled. "Don't we have robes to chase?!"

"Cozied up?" The shapeshifter parroted.

"While you and Aerith were gone, Jules commissioned us to wipe out nearby fiends. Hayden joined us to analyze our skills in battle. During that time, Tifa had quite the heart-to-heart," Red explained. "Once we returned, Tifa then asked Hayden if they could go head-to-head in a sit-up match."

"Who's winning?" Aerith asked.

"At the moment, Hayden is."

Cloud glanced at the snowy-haired girl. He was careful with his words considering they were around unfamiliar faces. "How'd it go?"

"Good. Learned a few new things too..." She sighed.

He turned to her. "You don't sound too happy."

"I'll...tell you later. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of it..."

"Tell me when you're ready," he told her gently.

She nodded with a grateful smile before she continued to watch the competition between Hayden and Tifa. She didn't know who to cheer for. When the whistle was blown to signal that time was up, her brother was declared the victor by Jules. She blinked in surprise when Hayden offered a hand to Tifa and pulled her to her feet. She grinned at seeing how red the girl's cheeks were.

Once Hayden and Tifa left the ring, Lailah approached them. "You both did great."

Tifa gasped in surprise when she heard the shapeshifter's voice. "L-Lailah?!"

"Sorry for startling you," she laughed.

Hayden looked around to see there were no eavesdroppers. He then glanced at his sister. "I sensed Hephaestus' presence. From what I can tell, you received his blessing. How do you feel?"