Marilla leaned in and whispered softly to Elmyra, "Mrs. Elmyra, I think we need to speak parent-to-parent. Let's send the children downstairs for a moment."
Elmyra nodded in agreement. She looked at Johnny.
"Johnny, take Aerith downstairs for a bit. Let the adults talk."
Johnny let out a long, heavy sigh of relief, his knees feeling weak as if he had just been pardoned from the gallows. As Johnny passed his father, Garrick patted his son's shoulder firmly.
"We'll talk tonight, Son," Garrick whispered sternly, though his eyes held no anger. It was merely a father's warning to his grown son.
Johnny and Aerith walked out of the living room and down the stairs to the workshop on the first floor.
The moment the living room door clicked shut, Puck and Ivalera—perched on Johnny's shoulder and in Aerith's pocket—exploded.
"Bwahaha! Did you see the Boss's face?!" Puck rolled around in the air, clutching his little stomach. "Pale as a corpse! Hahaha! I swear, that was funnier than the clowns at Cheap Soap Drama!"
Ivalera wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she peeked out of Aerith's pocket. "But look on the bright side, Johnny. You've been officially introduced to the family. Usually, that step takes years of Engangment! You just speedran the relationship!"
Johnny massaged his throbbing temples. "I'm just lucky Dad and mom didn't throw a hot soldering iron at my forehead. I was ready to die back there."
Aerith giggled, watching Johnny's panic slowly subside. They had reached Johnny's workshop, a place filled with electronic tools, robot parts, and the distinct smell of oil and ozone.
Aerith walked around Johnny's workbench with curiosity.
"So, this is your world, Johnny?" Aerith asked, touching a computer chip with the tip of her slender finger. "It's so complicated. More complicated than arranging flowers."
Johnny looked up, watching Aerith look so curious in the middle of his rough, mechanical world. His embarrassment faded, replaced by the pride of a craftsman.
"Well, this is what I do when I'm not hitting monsters," Johnny said. He stood up, then hesitated for a moment. His hand moved toward a locked drawer in his workbench.
"Actually... I've been working on something. For you."
"For me?" Aerith's eyes widened.
Johnny opened the drawer. He pulled out a Metal Bracer that wasn't quite finished yet. The bracelet was made of a lightweight titanium and copper alloy, with intricate materia circuits etched into its surface.
"It's not finished," Johnny explained, turning the bracer in his hands. "I noticed your Guard Stick sometimes overheats if you use magic consecutively. This bracer has a micro-cooling system and a more efficient Mana channel. The goal is to stop your MP from leaking out as waste heat. This bracer also has a lot of materia slots"
Aerith was stunned. The ring yesterday she felt it, its not just for ordinary ring but also increase spell duration, and now this bracer was for efficiency. Johnny wasn't just protecting her with that massive sword; he was protecting her with his brain, too. He thought about her safety down to the smallest detail.
"Johnny..." Aerith smiled gently, her eyes sparkling. "You're an amazing technician."
"It's still a prototype," Johnny mumbled self-consciously, scratching the back of his head. "Maybe it'll be done by next week."
Meanwhile, in the warm, jasmine-scented living room on the second floor.
Elmyra still sat on the plush fabric sofa, holding a simple porcelain cup. Across from her, Garrick and Marilla sat side by side. The atmosphere was no longer tense, but it remained very serious.
"Mrs. Elmyra," Garrick began calmly. "I want to clarify one thing. Even though Johnny's behavior today shocked me half to death, I want you to know... he is a hardworking boy."
Elmyra placed her cup down slowly. "You seem very sure."
Marilla smiled proudly, though her eyes were slightly moist. "We used to struggle, Ma'am. This shop was almost closing due to debt. But two years ago, Johnny changed. He started working like a madman. Hunting monsters, fixing machines in the slums, doing whatever he could. He grew up before his time."
"He paid off all our debts," Garrick added. "He fixed the roof, bought new tools, and he never asked for a single Gil to waste on himself. He saved everything."
Garrick pointed toward the side window. Outside, a small, empty house next to the shop could be seen undergoing renovation.
"See that house?" Garrick asked. "That's an empty house Johnny bought two months ago. The deed is in his own name."
Elmyra's eyes widened slightly. "He... already owns his own home? At this age?"
"Yes," Marilla answered. "He said, 'Someday I want my own place, so if I have a family, they won't have to sleep in a noisy workshop.' He is preparing for his future, Ma'am. He is responsible."
Elmyra fell silent. In the harsh environment of Sector 7, it was rare to find a young man who thought that far ahead. Most lived only for the day. But Johnny was already thinking about a "home." It showed a mental maturity far beyond his years.
Elmyra looked Garrick straight in the eye. Her motherly instinct still held one major fear.
"Mr. Garrick, Mrs. Marilla," Elmyra said seriously. "I appreciate his hard work. But my daughter, Aerith... she is an innocent girl. Her heart is soft."
Elmyra leaned forward.
"My biggest fear isn't about money. It's about the heart. I don't want my daughter to be hurt. I don't want Johnny playing games, cheating, or leaving Aerith behind once he gets bored."
Garrick nodded firmly. His face hardened—the face of a father holding onto his principles.
"Ma'am," Garrick said. "In our family, loyalty is absolute. If Johnny ever dares to look at another woman when he has committed to Aerith, or if he dares to hurt your daughter's heart..."
Garrick clenched his fist on the table.
"...I will thrash him myself before you even get the chance to be angry. My wife and I will watch him twenty-four hours a day."
Marilla nodded in agreement. "Aerith is a sweet girl, Ma'am. We've liked her since she walked through that door. We won't let Johnny take her for granted."
Elmyra stared at the sincerity in the eyes of both parents. There was no falsehood there.
Slowly, a faint smile etched itself onto Elmyra's lips. The weight on her chest lifted. She felt Aerith was in the hands of the right family.
However, Garrick raised one more topic. His voice lowered, becoming more cautious.
"Mrs. Elmyra," Garrick said. "There is one more thing we need to clarify. Is it true that Aerith is... a Cetra? Or an Ancient?"
Elmyra started slightly, but she nodded. "It is true, Mr. Garrick. Did Johnny tell you?"
Garrick and Marilla exchanged glances filled with meaning.
"Johnny told us," Marilla answered quietly. "But he didn't tell us to expose Aerith's secrets. He told us because..."
Marilla swallowed, then continued.
"...because Johnny said he himself has also changed to become like Aerith."
Elmyra's eyes widened. "What do you mean, Mrs. Marilla?"
"Our son says his body has changed," Garrick explained. "He says he is no longer a normal human. He has become a Cetra, or at least he possesses the blood and eyes of the Ancients now."
Elmyra was silent, her mind racing.
"At first, I thought those green eyes were just contact lenses for style," Marilla added. "But Johnny swore it was real. His eyes turn bright green, glowing in the dark. Exactly like Aerith's eyes."
Garrick leaned his body forward. "That is what confused us, Mrs. Elmyra. For these past two years, he changed. Much stronger, much more focused. Since he started hanging out with Aerith two years ago, he felt he had to protect her. And now, they have become the same kind."
Elmyra leaned back against the sofa, exhaling a long breath.
The pieces of the puzzle finally came together. Johnny's unreasonable strength. His courage in fighting monsters. And the gaze of those green Cetra eyes she saw earlier in front of her house—eyes that radiated a powerful, ancient aura. Perhaps over these two years, the change had occurred, destined for this very day.
Elmyra looked toward the door leading downstairs, where the two children were.
"No wonder..." Elmyra murmured softly. "No wonder Aerith is so comfortable with him. They are connected by something older than this Midgar."
Elmyra looked back at Garrick and Marilla.
"If Johnny has truly become a Cetra," Elmyra said, her voice carrying the heavy weight of history. "Then their destiny will be far heavier than we imagine, Mr. Garrick. Shinra... they will hunt down anyone who carries that blood."
Garrick clenched his fist again. But this time not in anger at Johnny, but with the resolve of a father.
"In that case, let them hunt," Garrick said coldly. "This workshop might just be an old shop. But I will ensure this place becomes a fortress for the two of them. No one is allowed to touch our children, Mrs. Elmyra."
Elmyra smiled. This time, a smile full of respect.
"Thank you, Mr. Garrick. I think... we will make good in-laws."
Two children with an ancient destiny, Elmyra thought. Meeting in this city of steel. Is this a coincidence? Or the will of the Planet?