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[nimbuster]

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CLOUD STRIFE | 21

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[nimbuster]

[Whatever it is, it sounds bad, and Cloud doesn't bother to pause to ask questions.]

On my way. Keep talking.

[Cloud throws on a shirt and boots while Fenrir retreats back to earring form and keeps the call connected from there. He hurries out to the garage, and Squall can hear over the phone the deep rumble of the bike's engine as Cloud starts it up and peels out onto the road.]

[tripletriadking]

[There is dread in his voice and it was clear that Squall was starting to cry with how shaky his voice was.]

I...I saw you...I saw you.....

I'm sorry Cloud...y-you were sleeping right? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

[nimbuster]

Nope. Wasn't sleeping.

[Cloud woke up some 40 minutes ago and couldn't get back to sleep. He zooms along at top speed, chilly wind whipping at his hair and clothes.]

You saw me. Where? A dream?

[It's not far from their house to the apartment building, so soon enough Cloud is pulling his motorcycle up outside and heading in to knock on Squall's door.]

It's me.

[tripletriadking]

Y-yeah you were.... it was...

[He tries to explain what he saw but just thinking about it has him sobbing more on the phone. He doesn't want to ever see the vision he saw in his head come to pass. To see Cloud lifeless like that shook him to his core.

The moment he hears the knock on the door he runs to it and opens it. His face is wet and red with tears still streaming down it as he pulls Cloud in for a tight hug. Squall's practically clinging to him.]

Cloud.....Cloud....

[nimbuster]

Hey--

[Cloud's arms close gently around Squall. He lets the embrace persist for a minute or so, then pulls back just enough to look him in the eye.]

C'mon. Let's sit.

[If Squall lets him, he'll lead them over to sit on the bed.]

[tripletriadking]

O-Okay....

[Squall does let Cloud lead him to his bed but he keeps holding onto Cloud, his eyes looking a little distant but never off of Cloud's form. It's almost like he's looking at a Ghost of Cloud rather then the man himself.]

Are you....really here?

[nimbuster]

[Once they're sitting, Cloud reaches over to take Squall's face by the chin and look him straight in the eye.]

Yeah. I'm here. Do whatever you have to to convince yourself of that.

[After a minute, Cloud takes off his boots once they're sitting on the edge of the bed, and then slides over to put his back to the headboard. He guides Squall to lean against him or put his head in his lap, however Squall is most comfortable.]

[tripletriadking]

[Cloud's touch helps ground him, it's not enough to calm his breathing or stop the panicked look in his eyes but it's enough to at least stop the tears for now and to get him to focus as well as he can.]

Y-You died.....everyone died....

[He's still shaking as he reaches for Cloud and slowly touches his face, trying to feel how real this is, that he isn't still dreaming and Cloud will vanish again.]

[nimbuster]

[Cloud holds Squall close and lets him touch, lets him do whatever he needs to.]

Well, I'm not dead now. I'm okay, and so is everybody else. ...wanna tell me what happened?

[tripletriadking]

[He does keep touching, caressing his face, touching his nose, his lips and then running a hand through Cloud's soft messy hair as if trying to touch him for the first time.]

You.....Zell...Seifer....everybody you...

[Tiers were on the verge of falling once more and he looked down to rub at his eyes and tried to stop them, leaning into Cloud to lay his head against his chest.]

[nimbuster]

Take your time. I'm not going anywhere.

[Cloud moves one hand to stroke Squall's hair idly while the brunet calms down. He does indeed intend to stay until morning, at the very least.]

[tripletriadking]

[He does take his time and it's maybe another half hour before he's okay enough to talk and he moves to lay on the bed on his side. Cloud could lay beside him if he wanted to.]


It's...a lot to talk about....remember how I was gone for like two weeks?

[nimbuster]

Yeah. Memory update, right? Same thing happened to me a while back.

[tripletriadking]

The memories I got back...the life I got back....Cloud I don't know what's real anymore.

[It's clear that he's very troubled by this and just stays against him trying to take it all in.]

I don't even know where to begin...

[nimbuster]

[Shit. That sounds...way too familiar, in all the worst ways. Part of him wants to tell Squall he's the wrong person for this, he should go find Nyx instead. That he might actually do the opposite of help. That he's an unreliable narrator for his own life, and has no business trying to help someone else keep track of reality.

But he can't just abandon Squall.

He shifts to lie down beside the brunet and wrap his arms around him, still stroking his hair.]

Just start with whatever's bothering you most. Or whatever comes to mind first.

[tripletriadking]

[There is a breath before he closes his eyes, trying to figure out where to start and deciding on the beginning for now.]

I was abandoned at an orphanage with my sister when I was really young. The country was at war then or had been and many were orphans from it. Grew up with a bunch of orphans too. My sister used to be my world though. When she left I felt....I felt really incomplete. She was all I had as family. I had friends though, Seifer, Zell, and a few others. Those two...I saw them in the Mansion. They came back to me....

[ He pauses for a moment and wipes a tear from his eyes.]

I was there friend and I forgot them.....multiple times. We..we have these things in my world. They are like Summons but different. They're called Guardian Forces. The more you use them and their power the more you forget. I was put into a military academy from the orphanage with a few others and the moment I started using the Guardian Forces....the more I forgot. I didn't even remember my time in the orphanage. All I knew was I was always alone...

[nimbuster]

[Cloud listens quietly, still not liking how familiar a lot of this continues to sound. He remembers Seifer, at least, although he was unconscious at the time so all Cloud knows is what he looks like, more or less.]

Well, you're not alone now. Focus on that.

[tripletriadking]

I know but...what if this is a dream too? You've never...we....Cloud what if this is just my mind playing tricks on me? What if this happiness with you is a lie and I'm going to wake up alone in my bed back home again waiting for the day you come back to me and you never will? What if I forget all about Seifer and Zell again? Forget all of this, forget Nyx....What if I forget you?

[It's at the mention of forgetting Cloud that he lets his tears fall down again. Forgetting any of this world would destroy him but losing Cloud again, forgetting him might tear his heart in two. He'd be lost to the darkness for sure. ]

[nimbuster]

...I've never what?

[It's hard for Cloud to come up with anything convincing to say, because he's had the same worries himself. His life here - or afterlife, or whatever - is too good to be true. If he thinks about it too much, it makes more sense for this to be the fantasy. Zack alive and well, Sephiroth back to his old self, getting officially made a SOLDIER First Class, so many people he cares about returning his feelings and accepting him as he is? It's absurd to think that's all truly happened, isn't it? Isn't it more likely that this is all a fever dream, a mako delusion, something Jenova has planted in his mind to keep him docile?

But he doesn't think talking about his own worries will do anything but make Squall's worse. Instead, he squeezes the brunet just a little tighter and tries to lighten his tone a bit, though there's an earnest warmth in it underneath the gentle sass.]

Nah, impossible. I'm unforgettable.

[He loosens his grip to lightly rub the tears from Squall's face with his thumb, and then rests his forehead against Squall's.]

You're not gonna wake up alone. Can't keep torturing yourself with what-ifs, or you'll miss out on that happiness you wanna hold onto so bad. ...Aerith once told me, 'we need to make the most of the time we have - to live our lives the way we wanna live. Every minute, every moment, matters.' So you gotta embrace the moments we've got while we got 'em. Right?

[tripletriadking]

Those soft touches were helping. It wasn't going to be a quick fix to get him down from his nightmare and panic but it was helping to feel that physical connection. His mind might be playing tricks on him but it wasn't able to convince him that what he was feeling was fake and he held onto that type.

"You're right...I know you're right. It's just..."

He leans more into the touch and doesn't take his eyes off Cloud. This man, this person means so much to him. He wouldn't be half of the person he was without him and feeling him so close is soothing. He takes a shaky breath in and leans in to give a sweet kiss to Cloud.

"Cloud...I think maybe it's time I tell you about us...from back home. The full story, maybe then you will understand why I...why I'm scared to lose you."

[nimbuster]

Cloud returns the kiss gently but doesn't linger on it.

"Okay. I'm listening. Take your time."