The way he returns that kiss doesn't put all these weird little passing worries she's working so hard to brush off aside, but it does fill her with a warmth she knows she shouldn't look at too hard. Whatever this is, it's enjoyable enough that whatever warning signs there might be are easy to ignore in favor of the thrill of being pulled closer and kissed like she's someone he's wanted to see very badly.

The crooked smile on Balthier's face makes Aerith's stomach do a little flip, her jaw tensing as she fights with herself and the rising urge to tell him how beautiful he looks like that. She's called him beautiful before in far more tawdry circumstances, but fully clothed kissing in a field feels like a step too far.

He is beautiful though, in a way that makes her stop and stare up at him before forcing herself to look away, glancing left and right as if to verify something for herself.

Looking back at him, Aerith rolls a shoulder in a shrug. "I don't think I have neighbors who'll mind." She didn't know if she had neighbors, period.