The ribbon... [Cloud glances back at it, nestled in her hair as always.] That was from Zack?
[He can't help glancing down at the matching one he wears around his right bicep. They really were all so connected, weren't they? And she wears pink all the time now...that was for Zack, too, he supposes. No wonder she was immediately drawn to Cloud when they met. That torch was really burning bright, and he never knew. It's a sobering thought, but not one for right now.
Right now, he has more truths to lay bare.]
Most of what happened on the hike up Mt. Nibel, I had right, except of course it was Zack who chatted with Sephiroth and showed off his fiend-killing skills for us. [That has the slightest of smiles pulling at his lips.] I loved watching him fight. It was impressive, sure, but to me, he was an inspiration. I thought, if I could figure out how to be more like Zack, maybe then I'd make SOLDIER. Become a hero. ...embrace my dreams, like he always said.
I did my part, though. Even saved Zack once or twice - he kept turning his back on the enemies without making sure they were dead first. And I was a damn good shot with a rifle. [That much, he can be proud of now, after the fact.]
Up at the reactor...I never went inside that day. I was the one who stayed out front to keep an eye on Tifa. But everything I told you about what happened in there was true.
Uh huh. He bought for me- as a gift. I'd helped him when we met and...that was the start of everything.
[It's funny to confess it. It seems so long ago now, for so many. But she still remembered. Still keeps two pieces of her heart right there- one, from her mother, the other from her love. It was little wonder she was drawn to him, maybe as much as he was to her. Zack was what brought them together, even after his death.
Maybe Cloud was a person Zack had mentioned, during one of their many calls. Not when it was just the two of them, she thought. That time- it was for each other.
But she listened quietly. Zack...shining brightly. Eliminating threats, filled with honor and hope. There was a worse person to take after, fight like, then Zack Fair.
Hearing that Cloud had to come in later...after Zack fought Sephiroth, a man he no doubt admired greatly...that had to be hard for both of them.]
You still were there, in the end right? And you helped Zack, were his friend.
[More then any other SOLIDER. Technical details aside.]
But...Cloud, there were years when you two went missing.
[Is he ready? She doesn't know. But she'll listen.]
[Zack brought them together...in some ways, that's what Cloud's worried about. But now's not the time for that. Not yet.]
Mm. When Sephiroth went back up there to take Jenova's head, I did follow him, but by the time I got there, Zack had already fought him and lost. I stabbed Sephiroth with Zack's sword. Buster was his, not mine. Sephiroth was pissed, Zack told me to finish him off, so...I did. Threw him into the reactor. But Zack and I both would've bled out, except...Hojo took us to his lab.
[This is harder to talk about. He still doesn't remember most of that time, not in detail. But it's important, and she has to know. His eyes are fixed on the bartop, now.]
We were there for four years before Zack got us out. Experimented on us the same way he experimented on the other survivors, but Zack was pretty much immune to the worst of it.
[His expression twists into something darker.]
Not me, though. No idea how long it took, but by the time Zack busted us out, I'd been out of commission for a while already. Severe mako poisoning. Hojo figured I wouldn't survive. I shouldn't have. But...Zack took me with him. On the run for another year or so, always on the move, nowhere was safe, but he...he still dragged my useless ass all over the continent. Even though the chances I'd ever recover were close to none. He...kept me alive, kept me safe, that whole time.
[Cloud has to pause; he can feel his throat tightening up and he doesn't want to cry. Not here, not now.]
He got lost in the slums. I helped him find his way back up to the plates.
[And a couple of other things, but that was the gist of it. She goes quiet again, listening to the background. So...Cloud had finished him off. Threw him in even, which made her lips quirked. That sounded like something Cloud would do.
But the experiments...she winces, and her grip tightens on his hands briefly. Oh. She knows. She knows it very well.
She supposed Zack had already been augmented. It might have been it. But...four years. Four years. That had to be so hard on both of them.
And mako poisoning...that would explain the mako blue of Cloud's eyes.]
And you beat the odds. Again, and again. Cloud...
I know you don't want to hear this but...you really are amazing.
Got lost...course he did. [Cloud's tone is fond; Zack is many things, but a savvy navigator, he is not.
Aerith is right: Cloud really doesn't want to hear that he's amazing. Not for this. Not for surviving this. He shakes his head, jaw clenched, but he still holds onto her hands.]
I didn't beat shit. It was all Zack. Worked himself to exhaustion keeping us both out of Shinra's grasp. ...he had a plan. I kinda remember bits and pieces of that year, more closer to the end of it. He told me we were gonna become mercs together in Midgar.
[We're friends, right?]
And he was headed back to Midgar to see you. If...if it wasn't for me slowing him down, he would've gotten back to you so much sooner. Would've gotten back to you at all. Instead, he...
[No, he has to stop again. He finds himself squeezing Aerith's hands a little too tightly and quickly eases up, taking in a slightly shaky breath and letting it out, swallowing hard. He's gotta get through this story. She has to know.]
...Zack died...because of me. We were so close, but Shinra caught up to us. Sent in the army. And Zack, he...
[The price of freedom is steep.]
He fought them all. All by himself. Held them off. Protected me, knowing there was no getting out of there alive. Knowing it might all be for nothing. And I...knew, when he walked away, he wasn't coming back. Wanted to stop him, but I couldn't. Couldn't do anything.
[He's told the story before, but never to the love of Zack's life. Never to a woman who loved Zack so much she waited for him for five long years, hoping against hope that he was still alive and would come back to her.
Except he wasn't, and never would. Because of Cloud.]
She would have liked to it go on about Zack getting lost, some of the silly things he did with his boundless energy. The puppy bouncing before he sobered- after Angeal broke his heart. She remembered that.
To hear that he had been coming back to her, to find her- she would have hid them. If she could have- helped them both hide. Made sure all three of them would have been on the run together. But Shinra...did what Shinra did.
Took care what it thought would be an embarrassment, should Zack and Cloud told their story to the media. It had lost too many first class SOLIDERs already. It was all...so, so awful.
Aerith had to close her eyes, tipping her head down. She was quiet, and her shoulders shook once. He'd been so close.
No wonder she'd felt his death.]
Cloud...
[She shook her head, and her hands squeezed his. Not as tight. But gently. So gently.]
[Cloud still doesn't know what happened to Angeal, what he did to Zack. Why Zack changed his hair that day, gave that speech that changed Cloud's life. Cloud never asked. He was too chickenshit.
There's a moment, a long moment, while Aerith bows her head, where Cloud wants to just stop here. He doesn't know if he's ready to tell her the rest. The worst part - worse even than Zack's death, which as she points out was Zack's own choice. At least Zack did it knowingly and willingly. The rest is something Cloud did to his memory. His legacy. But Aerith ought to hear what he did from him.]
I...
[His shoulders slump.]
I'm sorry. You're right, I know. I just...wish I could have helped him, at least. Supported him the way he always supported me. All I could do was sit there and listen.
[Zack's battle cries, fewer and weaker as the fight stretched on. Gunfire...so much gunfire. The sounds of Zack's pain, every bullet that pierced his armor or slipped past Buster's blade, his labored breathing by the end...that haunting cacophony, Cloud now remembers all too well.]
[Some day, Aerith will tell Cloud why she is so angry at Angeal. She can be friendly with the SOLIDER, but the fact is, she is still so very upset. For Zack's sake, not hers.
No one else saw Zack break down after, unable to do more then cry.]
No...I get it. I really do.
[Another Hans squeeze. Knowing that someone had protected you for so long? Helped you escape experiment after experiment? Was going out there to die and you couldn't do anything about it?
It hurt.]
It must have been terrible.
[And heart breaking. Zack was a first class, meant to go against armies. It must have taken...forever.]
[Much too long. It truly felt like forever to Cloud at the time. He nods a bit.]
Couldn't tell you why, but somehow by the time it was over, I was able to drag myself over to him. He really did take down the whole army on his own. He was...incredible. But...when I got to him, he was bleeding out. He told me...
[For all the things Cloud still has trouble remembering with clarity, Zack's words that day are etched indelibly in his memory. He closes his eyes as he speaks them to Aerith.]
That I'd live for the both of us. That I'd be...his living legacy. That his honor, his dreams...were mine now. He gave me his sword, and he...he smiled. And I...
[Cloud's eyes open again, but he stares into the middle distance.]
I swore I'd never forget. But...it was a promise I couldn't keep.
[It's something Cloud has never been able to do. Mourn. His mother, his hometown, Zack, Wedge and Biggs and Jessie, all of sector 7, Aerith herself...he never had a chance to mourn any of them, not really. By the time any opportunity existed at all, there was rebuilding to think about, work to do, children to take care of - but those are all excuses, he knows. He could have been grieving and moving on along with everyone else. He just...didn't. And then came geostigma, and he got so lost in despair and self-loathing that he couldn't feel anything else.
Most of all, he's never managed to mourn himself. The future that was destroyed in the flames. The years of his life - years when he should have been coming of age, maturing into an adult - taken from him, irretrievable. His sense of self, his identity, any understanding he ever had of who he was, shattered into a million pieces.
So when Aerith tugs him closer, he lets her. And when she gently wraps her arms around him, he returns it in kind, closing his eyes and burying his face in her hair.]
[He needed that chance. The chance to mourn, to process. Everything happened so fast. Everything kept happening. And in a way...he was still so young. He had lost years of where he could have been making friends, hanging out with Zack, doing things that anyone growing up got to do, even in the military.
Instead, he had tragedy, again and again. It's no wonder he had sunk into pain, unable to breathe or reach out.
Aerith rubbed his back slowly, squeezing him. Trying to give him the chance he needed to breathe. Cloud...needed to breathe.
Aerith didn't say anything. There was nothing she could say to that. Nothing would make it better. But she could be here for him. Let him grieve, and encourage him to enjoy a good memory, after.]
[Cloud has no idea how long he sits there like that, holding Aerith close and being held in return - and breathing. A few silent tears escape his eyes into the curls of her hair, but only a few. How could he have lived for so long without her?
Well, arguably what he was doing wasn't really 'living.' So maybe he didn't, after all.
There's even more to tell her, so much more, but Cloud thinks maybe he's done enough confessing for one day. Maybe both of them are better off if he stops here for now. They've got time, now. He can tell her the rest later.
...they've got time now. So what does he intend to do with it?
Eventually, he draws back from the embrace slowly with a deep sigh, though he keeps his hands resting on her shoulders for a moment.]
Thanks. For...letting me dump all this on you. It probably wasn't what you were hoping for when you came over.
[It had taken so little. A bodyguard and his ward, and their lives had become intertwined.
And then she died. Maybe she had taken a part of him with her, invertingly.
But now there's a chance to heal. Though...she wouldn't be surprised if he tried to sabotage his graduation in an attempt to stay with those he sp dearly loved.
But the crying done, it seemed it was time for apologizing. Aerith shook her head, and touched his cheek. A brief, assuring touch before drawing away.]
It's better then what I thought might happen.
I was worried you wouldn't let me in.
[Silly really. But they had hurt each other, badly.]
[Cloud's confused expression confirms how silly that worry was, before it's replaced with a firm one as he shakes his head.]
Not a chance. Never. I'll always want you around, no matter what.
[He glances over at the cake for a moment - a birthday gift, but perhaps also a peace offering of a sort. He thinks about what led to their terrible argument in the first place, what he told Sephiroth and Abel about it after the fact.
Then, with a decisive air, he pushes back his stool and stands, only to approach Aerith with his hand extended for a handshake. His tone is decisive, too, but soft. Gentle.]
Name's Cloud. Cloud Strife. It's...good to meet you.
[It was silly, but it was assuring how confused Cloud looked at the very idea. And she felt herself relax at him saying that he'd want her around.
But that hand offering, the introduction...that was right. He was right. She was thoughtful for a few moments, looking at his hand up to his face.
Starting over. They weren't who they said they were, florist and bodyguard. They were more then that now, and would become so much more. Warden and Inmate.
Friend, and friend.
Aerith slid off of her stool, and took his hand, offering a firm, yet gentle shake.]
[Cloud's smile is soft. He's glad she understands, and that she agrees. He clasps her hand for a moment or two longer than a typical handshake would entail, squeezing lightly before he lets go and nods.]
Well. We should get to know each other.
[Like normal people would. But...Cloud's not entirely sure how normal people do that.]
[Her smile was soft, and she took him in. Something had eased in her chest. They'd be okay. Though...it seemed that some things didn't change, despite the years between them.
Her eyes sparkled, but she didn't laugh.]
Starving. Let's eat and we can ask each other questions.
Like...what's your favorite? Coffee? Or tea?
[Little questions. Soft questions, that would get them to know one another, bit by bit.]
[Cloud blinks, looking just a tiny bit overwhelmed at the thought of being repeatedly put on the spot and then having to come up with questions in turn, but he lets out a breath in a brief chuckle.]
Hoo boy.
[But he nods and heads for the door, opening it and waiting for her to go through first before following her out into the corridor.]
Coffee. Infantryman's best friend, y'know.
[Because they never knew when one of the higher-ups was going to act on some ridiculous whim and order a bunch of troopers to go do something immediately to satisfy it. No matter what time of night or morning it might be.]
[She smiled up at him. She thought that it would be easy but both of them...had different social tiers of how much they could handle. But she at least walked out easy enough, hands behind her back as she walked towards the dining hall.]
Hmm...coffee in the morning, tea at night. Or afternoon.
I like the little kick in the morning.
So...how do you take your coffee?
[Sorry Cloud. You're going to be pestered with the dumbest questions.]
Mm. It was kinda hectic, being a trooper. Never knew what kinda mission you'd get put on next, where it'd be, when the order would come...sometimes you'd get conflicting orders from two different departments at the same time. Just had to do your best to figure it out, which usually meant not getting a whole lotta sleep.
[It's odd, reminiscing like this about those days. When he worked for Shinra. When he was part of the problem. Before...everything. By the time he met Aerith, the person he's talking about barely existed. But then, that's why they're doing this in the first place.]
Heh. And here I thought all that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed stuff came natural to you.
Black. Sometimes a little milk, if it's shitty coffee. Takes the bitter edge off. I'm guessing...you like it on the sweeter side. Right?
It sounds like you were in a tough job. I bet a lot of troopers felt flustered when they got onto active duty.
[Though the idea of Cloud in a uniform...cute.It was funny, trying to find out about his past self, walking in the halls if a ship that was in space so far from home.
Something she thought was impossible.]
My bushy tailness is natural, thank you very much. But sometimes it needs a boost.
Especially because I'm used to awful coffee.
Maybe I just need to learn from someone how to make it right.
[Though that makes her wonder if Shinra troops would get a decent cup.]
Yeah, it could be tough. But the tough missions were the exciting ones. Half the time we were mobilized in a hurry just to stand guard at some boring as hell executive function.
[It's true, Cloud was adorable in the infantry uniform. He was a hell of an effective trooper, too. In hindsight, he wishes he'd been able to take more pride in the things he was good at back then, instead of focusing so hard on what he couldn't do...but he can't even reliably do that now, let alone when he was 16 and had exactly one friend in the world.]
Mm. Hard to find good coffee in the slums. Not like us bottom rung guys had it that much better when the company was paying for it, but at least there were other places around to get the good stuff on our own dime.
[He shrugs.]
Don't look at me, I'm no barista. Vincent makes pretty good coffee, though. Could ask him.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
onlyembers
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 01:53 am (UTC)But she listens. Listens to his shame of hiding his face to his hometown; hoe he did get to see his mom one last time.
Though hearing that she'd been bragged about...her face warms, and she ducked her head.]
We were going to go on a date when he came back.
[It's a shy admission. But honest all the same.]
I told him I'd wear pink for him. It'd go with the ribbon he gave me when we met.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 02:14 am (UTC)[He can't help glancing down at the matching one he wears around his right bicep. They really were all so connected, weren't they? And she wears pink all the time now...that was for Zack, too, he supposes. No wonder she was immediately drawn to Cloud when they met. That torch was really burning bright, and he never knew. It's a sobering thought, but not one for right now.
Right now, he has more truths to lay bare.]
Most of what happened on the hike up Mt. Nibel, I had right, except of course it was Zack who chatted with Sephiroth and showed off his fiend-killing skills for us. [That has the slightest of smiles pulling at his lips.] I loved watching him fight. It was impressive, sure, but to me, he was an inspiration. I thought, if I could figure out how to be more like Zack, maybe then I'd make SOLDIER. Become a hero. ...embrace my dreams, like he always said.
I did my part, though. Even saved Zack once or twice - he kept turning his back on the enemies without making sure they were dead first. And I was a damn good shot with a rifle. [That much, he can be proud of now, after the fact.]
Up at the reactor...I never went inside that day. I was the one who stayed out front to keep an eye on Tifa. But everything I told you about what happened in there was true.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 02:56 am (UTC)[It's funny to confess it. It seems so long ago now, for so many. But she still remembered. Still keeps two pieces of her heart right there- one, from her mother, the other from her love. It was little wonder she was drawn to him, maybe as much as he was to her. Zack was what brought them together, even after his death.
Maybe Cloud was a person Zack had mentioned, during one of their many calls. Not when it was just the two of them, she thought. That time- it was for each other.
But she listened quietly. Zack...shining brightly. Eliminating threats, filled with honor and hope. There was a worse person to take after, fight like, then Zack Fair.
Hearing that Cloud had to come in later...after Zack fought Sephiroth, a man he no doubt admired greatly...that had to be hard for both of them.]
You still were there, in the end right? And you helped Zack, were his friend.
[More then any other SOLIDER. Technical details aside.]
But...Cloud, there were years when you two went missing.
[Is he ready? She doesn't know. But she'll listen.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 03:52 am (UTC)[Zack brought them together...in some ways, that's what Cloud's worried about. But now's not the time for that. Not yet.]
Mm. When Sephiroth went back up there to take Jenova's head, I did follow him, but by the time I got there, Zack had already fought him and lost. I stabbed Sephiroth with Zack's sword. Buster was his, not mine. Sephiroth was pissed, Zack told me to finish him off, so...I did. Threw him into the reactor. But Zack and I both would've bled out, except...Hojo took us to his lab.
[This is harder to talk about. He still doesn't remember most of that time, not in detail. But it's important, and she has to know. His eyes are fixed on the bartop, now.]
We were there for four years before Zack got us out. Experimented on us the same way he experimented on the other survivors, but Zack was pretty much immune to the worst of it.
[His expression twists into something darker.]
Not me, though. No idea how long it took, but by the time Zack busted us out, I'd been out of commission for a while already. Severe mako poisoning. Hojo figured I wouldn't survive. I shouldn't have. But...Zack took me with him. On the run for another year or so, always on the move, nowhere was safe, but he...he still dragged my useless ass all over the continent. Even though the chances I'd ever recover were close to none. He...kept me alive, kept me safe, that whole time.
[Cloud has to pause; he can feel his throat tightening up and he doesn't want to cry. Not here, not now.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 04:06 am (UTC)[And a couple of other things, but that was the gist of it. She goes quiet again, listening to the background. So...Cloud had finished him off. Threw him in even, which made her lips quirked. That sounded like something Cloud would do.
But the experiments...she winces, and her grip tightens on his hands briefly. Oh. She knows. She knows it very well.
She supposed Zack had already been augmented. It might have been it. But...four years. Four years. That had to be so hard on both of them.
And mako poisoning...that would explain the mako blue of Cloud's eyes.]
And you beat the odds. Again, and again. Cloud...
I know you don't want to hear this but...you really are amazing.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 04:43 am (UTC)Aerith is right: Cloud really doesn't want to hear that he's amazing. Not for this. Not for surviving this. He shakes his head, jaw clenched, but he still holds onto her hands.]
I didn't beat shit. It was all Zack. Worked himself to exhaustion keeping us both out of Shinra's grasp. ...he had a plan. I kinda remember bits and pieces of that year, more closer to the end of it. He told me we were gonna become mercs together in Midgar.
[We're friends, right?]
And he was headed back to Midgar to see you. If...if it wasn't for me slowing him down, he would've gotten back to you so much sooner. Would've gotten back to you at all. Instead, he...
[No, he has to stop again. He finds himself squeezing Aerith's hands a little too tightly and quickly eases up, taking in a slightly shaky breath and letting it out, swallowing hard. He's gotta get through this story. She has to know.]
...Zack died...because of me. We were so close, but Shinra caught up to us. Sent in the army. And Zack, he...
[The price of freedom is steep.]
He fought them all. All by himself. Held them off. Protected me, knowing there was no getting out of there alive. Knowing it might all be for nothing. And I...knew, when he walked away, he wasn't coming back. Wanted to stop him, but I couldn't. Couldn't do anything.
[He's told the story before, but never to the love of Zack's life. Never to a woman who loved Zack so much she waited for him for five long years, hoping against hope that he was still alive and would come back to her.
Except he wasn't, and never would. Because of Cloud.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 04:59 am (UTC)She would have liked to it go on about Zack getting lost, some of the silly things he did with his boundless energy. The puppy bouncing before he sobered- after Angeal broke his heart. She remembered that.
To hear that he had been coming back to her, to find her- she would have hid them. If she could have- helped them both hide. Made sure all three of them would have been on the run together. But Shinra...did what Shinra did.
Took care what it thought would be an embarrassment, should Zack and Cloud told their story to the media. It had lost too many first class SOLIDERs already. It was all...so, so awful.
Aerith had to close her eyes, tipping her head down. She was quiet, and her shoulders shook once. He'd been so close.
No wonder she'd felt his death.]
Cloud...
[She shook her head, and her hands squeezed his. Not as tight. But gently. So gently.]
Don't take his choice away from him.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 05:21 am (UTC)There's a moment, a long moment, while Aerith bows her head, where Cloud wants to just stop here. He doesn't know if he's ready to tell her the rest. The worst part - worse even than Zack's death, which as she points out was Zack's own choice. At least Zack did it knowingly and willingly. The rest is something Cloud did to his memory. His legacy. But Aerith ought to hear what he did from him.]
I...
[His shoulders slump.]
I'm sorry. You're right, I know. I just...wish I could have helped him, at least. Supported him the way he always supported me. All I could do was sit there and listen.
[Zack's battle cries, fewer and weaker as the fight stretched on. Gunfire...so much gunfire. The sounds of Zack's pain, every bullet that pierced his armor or slipped past Buster's blade, his labored breathing by the end...that haunting cacophony, Cloud now remembers all too well.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 05:31 am (UTC)No one else saw Zack break down after, unable to do more then cry.]
No...I get it. I really do.
[Another Hans squeeze. Knowing that someone had protected you for so long? Helped you escape experiment after experiment? Was going out there to die and you couldn't do anything about it?
It hurt.]
It must have been terrible.
[And heart breaking. Zack was a first class, meant to go against armies. It must have taken...forever.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 06:05 am (UTC)Couldn't tell you why, but somehow by the time it was over, I was able to drag myself over to him. He really did take down the whole army on his own. He was...incredible. But...when I got to him, he was bleeding out. He told me...
[For all the things Cloud still has trouble remembering with clarity, Zack's words that day are etched indelibly in his memory. He closes his eyes as he speaks them to Aerith.]
That I'd live for the both of us. That I'd be...his living legacy. That his honor, his dreams...were mine now. He gave me his sword, and he...he smiled. And I...
[Cloud's eyes open again, but he stares into the middle distance.]
I swore I'd never forget. But...it was a promise I couldn't keep.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 06:17 am (UTC)And the worst of it was...Cloud having to crawl to a dying man. The man she loved, and the one he adored.
And to forget? All of it? To become the man instead?
The pain Cloud went through- still felt- the guilt of it all...]
Cloud...
[She gently tugged his hands. Tried to tug him to her for a gentle embrace.]
Come here.
[That was his burden. She didn't blame him a wit. The fact he survived after being drenched in mako was a miracle. But that wasn't the issue here.
They both needed to mourn to the person they loved, had left behind: Zack Fair.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 06:43 am (UTC)Most of all, he's never managed to mourn himself. The future that was destroyed in the flames. The years of his life - years when he should have been coming of age, maturing into an adult - taken from him, irretrievable. His sense of self, his identity, any understanding he ever had of who he was, shattered into a million pieces.
So when Aerith tugs him closer, he lets her. And when she gently wraps her arms around him, he returns it in kind, closing his eyes and burying his face in her hair.]
no subject
Date: 2024-08-14 03:46 pm (UTC)Instead, he had tragedy, again and again. It's no wonder he had sunk into pain, unable to breathe or reach out.
Aerith rubbed his back slowly, squeezing him. Trying to give him the chance he needed to breathe. Cloud...needed to breathe.
Aerith didn't say anything. There was nothing she could say to that. Nothing would make it better. But she could be here for him. Let him grieve, and encourage him to enjoy a good memory, after.]
no subject
Date: 2024-09-25 06:23 am (UTC)Well, arguably what he was doing wasn't really 'living.' So maybe he didn't, after all.
There's even more to tell her, so much more, but Cloud thinks maybe he's done enough confessing for one day. Maybe both of them are better off if he stops here for now. They've got time, now. He can tell her the rest later.
...they've got time now. So what does he intend to do with it?
Eventually, he draws back from the embrace slowly with a deep sigh, though he keeps his hands resting on her shoulders for a moment.]
Thanks. For...letting me dump all this on you. It probably wasn't what you were hoping for when you came over.
no subject
Date: 2024-09-27 12:46 am (UTC)And then she died. Maybe she had taken a part of him with her, invertingly.
But now there's a chance to heal. Though...she wouldn't be surprised if he tried to sabotage his graduation in an attempt to stay with those he sp dearly loved.
But the crying done, it seemed it was time for apologizing. Aerith shook her head, and touched his cheek. A brief, assuring touch before drawing away.]
It's better then what I thought might happen.
I was worried you wouldn't let me in.
[Silly really. But they had hurt each other, badly.]
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Date: 2024-10-04 12:05 am (UTC)Not a chance. Never. I'll always want you around, no matter what.
[He glances over at the cake for a moment - a birthday gift, but perhaps also a peace offering of a sort. He thinks about what led to their terrible argument in the first place, what he told Sephiroth and Abel about it after the fact.
Then, with a decisive air, he pushes back his stool and stands, only to approach Aerith with his hand extended for a handshake. His tone is decisive, too, but soft. Gentle.]
Name's Cloud. Cloud Strife. It's...good to meet you.
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Date: 2024-10-04 03:19 am (UTC)But that hand offering, the introduction...that was right. He was right. She was thoughtful for a few moments, looking at his hand up to his face.
Starting over. They weren't who they said they were, florist and bodyguard. They were more then that now, and would become so much more. Warden and Inmate.
Friend, and friend.
Aerith slid off of her stool, and took his hand, offering a firm, yet gentle shake.]
Aerith Gainsbourgh. Nice to meet you too.
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Date: 2024-10-04 03:33 am (UTC)Well. We should get to know each other.
[Like normal people would. But...Cloud's not entirely sure how normal people do that.]
Um...you hungry?
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Date: 2024-10-04 03:53 am (UTC)[Her smile was soft, and she took him in. Something had eased in her chest. They'd be okay. Though...it seemed that some things didn't change, despite the years between them.
Her eyes sparkled, but she didn't laugh.]
Starving. Let's eat and we can ask each other questions.
Like...what's your favorite? Coffee? Or tea?
[Little questions. Soft questions, that would get them to know one another, bit by bit.]
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Date: 2024-10-04 04:11 am (UTC)Hoo boy.
[But he nods and heads for the door, opening it and waiting for her to go through first before following her out into the corridor.]
Coffee. Infantryman's best friend, y'know.
[Because they never knew when one of the higher-ups was going to act on some ridiculous whim and order a bunch of troopers to go do something immediately to satisfy it. No matter what time of night or morning it might be.]
You?
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Date: 2024-10-04 04:20 am (UTC)[She smiled up at him. She thought that it would be easy but both of them...had different social tiers of how much they could handle. But she at least walked out easy enough, hands behind her back as she walked towards the dining hall.]
Hmm...coffee in the morning, tea at night. Or afternoon.
I like the little kick in the morning.
So...how do you take your coffee?
[Sorry Cloud. You're going to be pestered with the dumbest questions.]
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Date: 2024-10-04 04:47 am (UTC)[It's odd, reminiscing like this about those days. When he worked for Shinra. When he was part of the problem. Before...everything. By the time he met Aerith, the person he's talking about barely existed. But then, that's why they're doing this in the first place.]
Heh. And here I thought all that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed stuff came natural to you.
Black. Sometimes a little milk, if it's shitty coffee. Takes the bitter edge off. I'm guessing...you like it on the sweeter side. Right?
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Date: 2024-10-04 05:09 am (UTC)[Though the idea of Cloud in a uniform...cute.It was funny, trying to find out about his past self, walking in the halls if a ship that was in space so far from home.
Something she thought was impossible.]
My bushy tailness is natural, thank you very much. But sometimes it needs a boost.
Especially because I'm used to awful coffee.
Maybe I just need to learn from someone how to make it right.
[Though that makes her wonder if Shinra troops would get a decent cup.]
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Date: 2024-12-28 05:25 am (UTC)[It's true, Cloud was adorable in the infantry uniform. He was a hell of an effective trooper, too. In hindsight, he wishes he'd been able to take more pride in the things he was good at back then, instead of focusing so hard on what he couldn't do...but he can't even reliably do that now, let alone when he was 16 and had exactly one friend in the world.]
Mm. Hard to find good coffee in the slums. Not like us bottom rung guys had it that much better when the company was paying for it, but at least there were other places around to get the good stuff on our own dime.
[He shrugs.]
Don't look at me, I'm no barista. Vincent makes pretty good coffee, though. Could ask him.
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Date: 2024-12-28 06:09 am (UTC)But so does Cloud Strife, Shinra trooper.
[She shakes her head, smiling. Cloud must have had a lot of moments where he was asleep on his feet. Poor guy.]
But anyway- so does this mean we should steal Vincent's supply, or just bug him to make us coffee in the morning?
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