Her fingertips brush his cheek, catching one of his tears as she watches his face, awestruck and adoring. It's not that he was good at hiding it - later, when she looks back she'll realize he was terrible at it, it's just that this all seemed so much more real and true than what she was meant for. She didn't want to lead herself on believing otherwise and end up incidentally breaking her own heart.

When he tells her that he wants to be hers forever, Aerith kisses him again, her hands coming to cradle the sides of his face to prolong that embrace as a few more joyful tears fall. "I want that, so much. I want you forever, I want this forever, I never thought I'd have a life that made me happy until you."