I've been rewatching Welonz's let's play of Remake and I find it interesting how the English translation does muddy the waters even for someone who knows Japanese or at least kanji. For example, Welonz said herself that the Japanese for the reunion flower doesn't have the word "lovers" but after Cloud gets future memories of Aerith's altar scene, she still speculated if they were lovers and Cloud just doesn't remember it. And I thought that was so interesting.
She also said Aerith in Chapter 8 doesn't seem romantically interested in Cloud which was also interesting. What I also found curious is that Cloud is nice to Aerith, he takes his bodyguard job seriously, even with his battle lines like "I'll handle this" and "I'll protect you" to which Aerith replies "You mean, we'll handle this" and "I can protect myself, you know", but on the other hand, he's grumpy and sighs a lot and then he has bratty kid lines like "Quit acting like you know me", lol. But in light of Rebirth I wonder if Cloud subconsciously remembered Aerith's name and Zack's incessant gushing about her, lol?
What also piqued my interest is when Aerith asks Cloud "So, Cloud... you don't know the slums that well, do you?" which could be just an innocent getting-to-know-each-other line (if a bit curious after asking if Cloud knows his way back to Sector 7 slums), or a hint at Aerith's future memories, but I wondered if Aerith was already trying to work out the differences between Zack and Cloud?
And this one's silly but there was a real contention about it in certain fandom spaces: the homemade buster swords that the Leaf House kids have. CAs were absolutely adamant that the kids made those because of Cloud which... doesn't really make sense that they would whip out homemade buster swords for patrol five minutes after Cloud saved a few of them in the hideout. I mean, Cloud saves a few of them in the hideout, they get back to the Leaf House, Ms Folia laments that five kids are still on patrol, and gives the homemade buster swords as an identification marker. So those swords are definitely a Zack reference, right?
Another thing I noticed is that Chapter 8 feels very Zack. I mean, just the way Cloud moves in the Sector 8 terrain like monkey-barring across roofs which feels very Zack-like. It could be just my imagination, though. And this isn't me trying to "take away" from CA or anything, I'm just voicing my thoughts which might be wrong, lol.
In the ultimanias, its mentioned that Aerith's initial interest in Cloud was because of his similarities to Zack. I think the re-trilogy has not only explored that narrative but to show how Zack still resides in Aerith's heart. One of things that indicates this to me is the use of certain dialogue choices and camera shots with Aerith are parallel to those used with Zack. Its apparent in JP because some of the lines (and kanji) are either very similar or are verbatim to the dialogue in CC. I find the nuance in the dialogue gets lost in translation in the ENG localization as it does not transfer over in the same way.
Here are some examples of the parallels:
When Aerith first encounters Cloud at Loveless Street (when Cloud "sees" Sephiroth), she says to Cloud: "Are you ok?" (JP translation)
The way this shot is framed at an angle with a close-up of Aerith's face is VERY similar to the flashback shot in AC of Zack saying: "Are you ok?" to Cloud.
When Aerith gives the Reunion flower to Cloud, she says: "Think of it as a memento of our meeting" (JP rough translation)
In CC, Zack says a similar line to Aerith when he buys her a bow.
In the church, Aerith offers Cloud a "date" to repay him for being her bodyguard. (Note: Aerith mimics Zack's body language)
In CC, Zack offers Aerith a date to repay her for saving him.
When Cloud catches Aerith when she trips on the roof, she says: "How reliable" (JP rough translation)
In CC, Aerith says the same thing verbatim to Zack when he fights off the monsters.
When Aerith sneaks out to meet Cloud in the night, Cloud asks: "What the heck are you doing?" (JP rough translation) and Aerith replies: "Waiting" (JP translation)
In CC, when Zack promised to visit Aerith, she said she'd WAIT for him.
Cloud asks: "Why?" (JP rough translation) Aerith says: "Because I want to spend time with you" (JP rough translation)
In CC, in the church, Zack jokingly says this to Aerith: "You just want to spend time with me." (JP translation). "I want to spend time with you" (JP rough translation) is also one of the 23 wishes Aerith wishes for Zack.
When Aerith is talking to the yellow flowers in her garden, there is a line where she says: "So it was that kind of day" (JP translation)
In the CC limited edition set, one of Aerith's letters to Zack is included. In that letter, one of lines she writes is: "So it was that kind of day"(JP translation)
At the park, Aerith looks leans into Cloud and looks into his eyes and says: "Pretty, your eyes"
Cloud says: "Mako infused eyes, a soldier trademark"
In CC, this line of dialogue (Zack and Aerith) is verbatim and Aerith also leans towards Zack as she looks into his eyes. Its interesting how Aerith seems to relive a memory but in a different context. In CC, it was lighthearted and fun, whereas in Remake its tragic.
I think at this stage in the story, Aerith's interest in Cloud is mainly motivated by the "Zack" she may be seeing in Cloud. Its also creating a setup of the mystery of Zack and his connection to not only Cloud, but to Aerith. Also - I think Aerith continuing to repeat dialogues she shared with Zack holds significance because Aerith and Zack had a history of repeating each other's lines in CC.