He shook his head firmly, pulling her close with the hand she'd wrapped up for him. The new landscape, the new freedom, the new... revelations that were popping up every time he turned his head -- it was clouding his judgment; It was impeding his moral compass. Even now, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to think.

He genuinely loved Aerith. She had been the mainstay that kept him rooted to the ground when he lost Angeal. She had been the one spot of light in a very dismal, violent existence with ShinRa.

"That's not it. I never want to stop protecting you, Aerith. You deserve something better than what I am... what I thought I was."

Some hero he'd turned out to be. His response didn't exactly answer her question, but he had to top trying to hide his shame from her.