Jessie the bodyguard?

"That was impressive," Aerith smirked. Reno and his men were pretty sharp, but the managed to outwit them pretty easily thanks to some ingenuity and Jessie's demolitions expertise.

"Thanks. I might not be SOLDIER, but I'm a pretty quick thinker," Jessie grinned proudly, remembering how quickly she had devised a plan to escape during her first encounter with Shinra's soldiers.

"I'll say. You're a better bodyguard than you give yourself credit for," Aerith teased. "And don't worry, I still plan on paying you."

"Paying me? Like, with gil? Because you don't strike me as rich, exactly," Jessie wondered.

"I'm not. But... oh, I know!" Aerith spoke up excitedly after a moment's thought. "I'll go on a date with you! How does that sound?"

Jessie paused before answering, thinking about her situation. On one hand, she did have this budding relationship with Tifa, who she was quite smitten with; on the other, she was clearly attracted to Aerith as well, and she and Tifa hadn't yet talked about being exclusive. "That does sound pretty great, y'know..."

Aerith gave Jessie a wide grin. "Then it's settled, then! Ready to be my bodyguard?"

"I guess... I'll do my best," Jessie blushed, clearly charmed by the beautiful woman. She wasn't sure what kind of plans Aerith had in mind for them -- or if she even had any at all -- but whatever the case was, she felt like they would enjoy themselves no matter what happened.

The two women left the church hall, heading back into the slums together. "OK, as my bodyguard, I'm going to need you to escort me back to my house," Aerith suggested.

"Sure thing, Miss Aerith," Jessie agreed, smiling as she followed Aerith to her home.

Later that night

Jessie let herself through the door outside quietly, hoping not to wake anyone. She wanted to stay and get to know Aerith better -- she really, really did -- but Aerith's mother, Elmyra, had requested she leave, as she had a feeling the AVALANCHE member might cause trouble for her daughter. Reluctantly, Jessie agreed -- she did owe the woman for her hospitality, and she didn't want to see Aerith hurt on her account. So, although she had initially planned to have Aerith escort her back to the Sector 7 slums, Jessie attempted to sneak out and find her way back in the middle of the night.

As she made her way to the exit of the slums, though, she found Aerith waiting for her, arms folded across her chest.

"You weren't thinking about leaving without me, were you?" Aerith asked with an innocent smile. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"You're sharp," Jessie said, a small smirk crossing her lips. "I've been able to sneak past elite Shinra guards before, and I get caught by a girl who sells flowers..."

Aerith chuckled, taking hold of Jessie's arm gently. "I had a feeling you were up to something. But I told you that I'd show you the way back to Sector 7, and that's what I'm going to do."

"You sure?" Jessie asked. "Your mom sounded pretty worried. And what I do is pretty dangerous..."

"Are you really trying to talk me out of helping you? 'Cause it isn't going to work," Aerith said, a playful expression on her face. Jessie sighed, realizing any argument she made would be futile.

"I guess not. Come on, let's get going..."