The idea for this is roughly based on the movie "The Holiday" with the whole house swap idea. It's set in basic FFVII universe, but I've tweaked multiple things, so it's more of a UA than an AU, y'know? (if that makes any sense) I hope you enjoy!

I don't own FFVII or "The Holiday" obviously. Please, don't remind me.

ROSES & WINE
chapter i — clean slate

September 28th, 0007
WEDNESDAY

Heavy footfalls and steady breaths were all he could hear, trying to calculate the distance in his head as he ran.

This had become regular routine for Zack since he'd been in Midgar. Rise with the sun—not that you could see it in the slums—and fit in some exercise before the rest of Midgar even woke up. He may be off duty for now, but he'd have keep himself conditioned. Just in case.

He slowed to a light walk to finish up, glancing at his watch. 7:00. Plenty of time.

Every day, after his usual workout and post-workout shower, he headed over to Tifa's 7th Heaven. Whenever he was back in Midgar, he helped her out there as much as possible. Turns out, things run a lot more smoothly for everyone when a SOLDIER member is behind the bar. And hey! He'd named the place, so he may as well be there to keep order once in awhile.

Not that Tifa couldn't handle things—because she was easily worth two men as far as strength went—but she liked a break from being hit on constantly, and Barret, who acted as the bouncer, got to take time off to spend with Marlene. It worked out for everyone.

Tifa had become his stepsister back when they were kids, and Tifa's dad had married Zack's mom. Zack had been ten, Tifa had been seven, and unlike a lot of young kids being forced together by the marriage of their parents, they were incredibly fond of each other. They acted like they'd been brother and sister their whole lives, each very protective of the other. It'd been that way ever since.

So that's where he was this morning, whistling as he made his way down through the slums to Sector 7. This was the first time he'd been back in a few months and he was excited to surprise them.

When he finally got to the bar, he barged right in like usual. "Hey, Teef, I'm back in town again so I thought I'd—" He stopped short, seeing a vision in a blue and white sundress that was most definitely not his sister. "Oh, uh, hiya."

"Hello," Her voice, soft and sweet, echoed slightly and rang gloriously in his ears. "I'm sorry, if you're here for a drink, I'm not quite up and running yet." Her green eyes flashed apologetically, before she turned to walk behind the bar, braid falling against her back, hips swaying delicately.

He was momentarily stunned, mouth hanging slightly open, before he snapped back to reality. "Uh, drink?" He cleared his throat, trying to regain his usual, deeper, more resonant voice. Come on man, don't make yourself sound like a dunce. "No, I don't really drink. I'm the bartender's brother, I help her out here whenever I'm back in Midgar." He smiled, feeling more relaxed, and leaning his tall frame against the edge of the bar. "But I'm more interested who you are and what you might be doing here."

"Oh!" She looked suddenly embarrassed, her face flushing bright pink. Her hands danced around, finally settling on smoothing the front of her dress—a nervous habit, he guessed—before she looked at him shyly and offered her hand, "How rude of me! I'm Aerith."

"Nice to meet ya, Aerith," He said, grinning as he extended his gloved hand to fit hers. "Zack Fair, 1st Class SOLDIER." His voice took on a slightly haughty tone, chin raised in pride.

Aerith gave him a playful look. "SOLDIER, huh? Is that meant to impress me?"

If it was possible, his grin widened. "Maybe a little," he shrugged. "Is it working?"

She looked pensive, hands clasped behind her back, as she hummed under her breath and uttered a short "nope," then promptly turned her attention to the array of bottles lined under the bar.

Zack laughed once loudly, and gazed at her, eyes shining in mirth. He liked this girl already.

"Okay, so, Aerith," Zack drawled. "What are you doing here?" He asked, leaning in conspiratorially.

"Oh," She smiled. "Well, it's kind of a long story." She laughed, nervously. "And really quite silly, in hindsight."

He smiled slightly, plopping himself down on a stool. "I've got time."

She laughed, and it was quickly becoming one of Zack's new favorite sounds. "Okay, hmm, where to start?" She murmured mostly to herself, tapping her chin in thought. "Oh!" Her eyes brightened and she held the finger, that was previously tapping her chin, up in the air. "First off, have you ever heard about those house swap ads?"

Zack squinted his eyes in thought, trying to recall hearing about such a thing. "No... At least I don't think so. They definitely don't have anything like that in SOLDIER."

She nodded knowingly. "I figured as much. Not many people have heard of them yet, it's kind of just catching on." She paused, considering the best way to explain something that seemed so strange. "Well, basically, people put ads out and if you want to get away for awhile, you can browse said ads and kind of... adopt someone else's life for awhile, you know? To sort of escape your own. I know it sounds a little bit crazy, but..."

Zack just stared at her quietly for a moment, wrapping his head around what he thought she was saying. "So you mean to tell me that you and my little sister switched lives for the time being?"

Aerith grimaced and laughed nervously, wringing her hands. "Well, it definitely sounds weird when you say it like that, but yes, that's the general idea."

He nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Interesting. But hey, whatever works, right?" He paused, licking his bottom lip—not that she was staring at them or anything—before he asked, "How long are you here for?"

"Fourteen days."

"Well, it looks like we'll be getting to know each other pretty well, then." He said flirtatiously, his smile positively oozing charm.

She just smiled and rolled her eyes. He just thinks he's so charming, a regular Casanova. Good thing I know better than to fall for that.

She had to admit though, she was feeling much more relaxed knowing that the first person she explained this crazy situation to didn't think she was insane. She hadn't even told anyone back home in Nibelheim. She just called up Tifa, made the plans, packed her things and caught the first ride she could to Midgar, eager to leave her troubles behind for awhile.

"So, if you're here working in her place, where is she?"

"Oh, I'm from Nibelheim, so she's there, working in my flower shop."

Zack burst into laughter. "Teef, in a flower shop?" He asked, incredulously. "Her green thumb is the size of a Kupo Nut!"

Aerith laughed along, but seemed unphased. "That's okay. My co-workers will lend her theirs."

The door to Aerith's shop clanged open obnoxiously. "Yuffie!" A deep, gruff voice called. "Hurry it up, will ya? This delivery's gotta be out before Aerith gets here."

From somewhere in the back of the shop, a girl called back, "I'm workin' on it, Spikey! Don't get your sword in a knot."

"Don't call me that." He said, as she walked into the room carrying what looked to be way too many boxes for someone her size.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes, setting the boxes on a cart for him to take outside to load his sidecar, then waved a dismissive hand at him. "You try too hard to please her, you know?"

He looked at her, his face passive. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know full-well what I'm talking about, bucko, and don't you even pretend for second that you don't! I may be younger than you, but I'm not stupid!" She huffed, placing her hands on her hips petulantly.

"Look, Yuff—"

"No, you look; Either tell her or come off it. Quit acting like a lovesick dog that tries way too hard to please its owner. It's been years! And this is the perfect opportunity! She finally dumped that no-good boyfriend of hers! Now," She grabbed his shoulders, turning and pushing him towards the door. "Make deliveries. I'll make sure to get out of here so it's just you and her when you get back. Bye!"

He sighed. Maybe Yuffie's right. Maybe I will tell her.

Somewhere, mountains and rivers away from her home, Tifa was just arriving at the edge of Nibelheim, with no idea what awaited her there.