Chapter Text
Cloud tried his absolute best to stay on his feet and keep going. Where was he going? Hell he didn’t even know. But he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere if he kept stumbling and nearly blacking out every ten seconds. His mind was hazy and filled with thoughts he weren’t even sure were his own. Black spots kept appearing in his vision and threatened to completely take over, not allowing him to see what lie ahead of him or where he was even going. Every few steps he would end up kicking a scrap of metal or debris out of the way.
He wasn’t even too sure of how he ended up in this situation. He faintly remembers entering Midgar and making his way to a train station. Upon entering the train, the civilians around were observing him. Some gave concerned looks and other gave fiery glares, probably thinking he was some no good junkie.
The next thing he remembers is the train making its first stop and getting off. He continues to stumble his way through what he assumed were the slums of a random sector. The farther he goes the weaker he feels himself getting. His knees keep buckling, eyelids threatening to close, and his head feels as if it’s all over the place.
The fact that its pretty late and there isn’t much light to go around doesn’t help his fleeting vision. Cloud tries to make out what’s in front of him but at this point it’s no use. His body is so worn out and it definitely doesn’t help that he’s dragging around a hunk of a sword that’s nearly as tall as him.
He tries to take a few more steps but finds himself falling to his knees. His breathing is uneven and those eyelids he’s trying so hard to keep open are about to have their way and leave him blind.
“Are you okay?”
Cloud hears a soft voice call out to him. He looks up, or at least tries to, and can only bring up his head enough to the point where he sees a pair a black boots and the hem of a light pink dress in front of him.
“Oh m-…..-at happene-…-you?”
Perfect. Now his hearing is fading in and out. Cloud attempts to bring words out of his mouth but only succeeds in bringing out a groan. Whoever this lady in front of him is, he sure hopes she knows how to fix him up because at this point Cloud isn’t even sure he’ll wake up again if he closes his eyes.
“Do yo-….-ink yo-….-an get up?”
Although his hearing isn’t the best right now he has an idea of what she asked and boy does he wish he could. He feels a pair of small hands land on his shoulders and keep him up straight, probably an attempt to keep him awake but it’s far too late.
Cloud feels his head droop down and it’s like someone hit an off switch because he can’t feel anything in his body anymore.
“-ait no!”
It’s not long before he ends up spiraling into a black limbo.
A nearly unconscious stumbling blonde man was the absolute last thing Aerith expected to come across on her way home from the church. Her daily routine was quite simple. Wake up, eat breakfast, go out and help folks around the Sector 5 slums, sell flowers in a random sector, go to the church to check on the flowers and at the end of her day she would head home.
Today in particular had different plans by the looks of it. And those plans came in the form of a very worn out man with spiky blonde hair.
The first thing she noticed about him was how dirty he was. Life definitely hadn’t been to kind to him recently as he was covered in dirt and bruises. His hands even had blood on them. As much as she wanted to ask questions and receive answers, that would have to wait because he was in no state to be talking right now.
The second thing she noticed was his attire. A SOLDIER uniform. As much as Aerith should be trying to avoid anything to do with Shinra she knew she couldn’t leave this man out here, especially when he was in this condition. This spurred questions in her head though. Would they send a SOLDIER to come and get her instead of a Turk? And why one that was so beat up?
But the third thing she noticed is what sent a chill down her spine. The sword he was dragging with him. She had seen it before and was beginning to think she would never see it again. She took another good look at the man in front if her.
No… definitely not him…
This guy’s shorter and not as bulky. And he probably wouldn’t dye his hair this color.
Aerith realized she’d been rambling in her head too long. This man needed help and fast. But of course luck had decided to not be on her side today because he was fully unconscious. So she did the only she could. She got behind and hooked her hands around his shoulders and began to drag him to the closest place she could think of.
The Church.
It didn’t help that she wasn’t very strong. She may have been a very skilled magic user, but her physical prowess was most definitely not her best attribute. So dragging this man while he still had a grip on the very familiar sword that probably added an extra 50 pounds to him proved to be a challenge for her.
But she wouldn’t let that get in the way of helping someone who was in dire need of it. Especially someone who might be able to finally give her the answers she’s been wanting for 5 years.
“Ugh…” Cloud groaned as he began to stir awake. His eyes took time to adjust to the gleaming sunlight that was coming in through the windows.
Huh? Windows?
Cloud surely didn’t remember staying somewhere last night. He barely remembers anything now that he thinks about it.
Wh…What happened?
His thoughts begin to stir as he tries to remember the events of the previous night. He recalls stumbling around and nearly passing out. And a voice.
Who was that? Did they help me?
He slowly sits up and takes a look around him. It’s definitely not the best looking place he’s ever had the pleasure of staying in. Lots of broken furniture lay around. Behind him is a set of stairs that leads a second story of the building he was in.
Where am I?
Cloud begins to get up and notices that his mystery savior had the decency to put some cloth beneath him to make sure he was somewhat comfortable. He also noticed that he felt surprisingly refreshed. As if nothing had ever happened to him. One look down and Cloud notices that there is something different. His uniform was still the same but all the dirt that had gathered on skin and the soreness he felt from the bruises that were once there were all gone. No fatigue either.
Well not physically anyway. His still felt lightheaded and almost found himself nearly plummeting into the floor again. A few moments to catch his balance gets him back on track. He notices a pair of double doors. One on the left side of the room and one on the right. He goes for the doors on the left only to stop in his tracks after a few steps.
Something was missing but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it…
He surely wasn’t missing any clothing. What was it? He felt…. lighter? He does two little bounces to test his suspicions and surely enough, he’s definitely lighter. Did he somehow lose weight overnight? Did his mystery savior suck some fat out of him? Whatever it is, it’s not sitting right with him. It feels important.
He takes a quick look around and see’s the answer to his mystery. On the ground next to the cloth he slept on was his Buster Sword. He strides over to it and picks it up with ease and latches it onto the magnet on his back. Another two bounces and the familiar weight is back.
There we go.
Cloud ponders for a moment. What is he even doing in Midgar? What did he come here for?
Right. I... came here to become a mercenary? Yeah that’s it. I just needed a fresh start. Make some gil, find a place to stay and I’ll find out the rest from there.
He makes his way to the double doors and pushes them open. A large room with rows of pews greets his eyes. The wooden floorboards aren’t in the best condition. Lots of the planks are out of place and carelessly tossed to the side. There’s even more random furniture cluttered together by the walls behind the stone pillars. Hell there’s even a giant hole in the roof. This place must have been old because no one seemed to be taking care of it. The altar at the front of the room caught Clouds attention.
Ah… I’m at a church
But weirdly enough, the most intriguing part of this church was right in front of the altar.
On the ground lay a bed of yellow flowers. No one was taking care of the church but someone was definitely taking care of these flowers. Cloud can’t say he’s ever seen anything like it and he’s strangely enticed by it. He walks over to the flowerbed and crouches by it. The windows allow for a perfect beam of sunlight to shine on the flowers and they’re beautiful. They look fairly simple. 6 yellow petals, the pistil and stamen directly in the middle of the petals, and a long green stem holding it up. There’s nothing that makes them particularly special to look at but they’re still strangely mesmerizing. Especially all grouped up together like this.
Cloud strokes the petals of one of the flowers. His gloves don’t allow him to feel it but he can tell the texture is smooth and it’s delicate. This is oddly peaceful for Cloud. Looking at this bed of flowers glowing in the sunlight gives him a warm feeling he’s not sure he’s felt before.
And that peace is suddenly interrupted by the doors at the front of the church swinging open. The change in mood is so sudden that Cloud instantly gets up and grabs the hilt of his sword as if ready for battle. But of all the things he was expecting to see come through the door, he definitely didn’t expect to see the most innocent looking girl he’s ever seen. Her emerald green eyes opened widely when she saw him by the flowerbed.
“You’re awake!” She exclaimed as she ran toward him. Cloud could tell she wasn’t a threat and relaxed his demeanor. This must have been the person who helped him. “Are you doing okay?”
“Uh… yeah” He replied. Social interaction was not Clouds strong point so he just decided to go with the flow. “You the person who helped me?”
“I sure am.” She happily said.
“Um… Thank you…” Cloud trailed off not knowing her name but she caught on to it.
“Aerith! And you are?” She asked.
“Cloud. Cloud Strife.” He firmly said as if she were a higher ranking SOLDIER asking for his name.
Aerith giggled at the sentiment. “So, Cloud Strife. You wanna explain what you were doing walking around nearly half dead last night? What happened?” She questioned.
That was a really a good question. What did happen? The furthest thing he could remember was coming into Midgar. Nothing before that came to mind.
“That’s actually… a really good question.” Cloud told her.
“What? You mean you don’t remember?”
“Uh…agh!” As Cloud tries to recall the events that led him here a searing pain finds its way into his head.
He grabs his head with both of his hands to steady himself. Blurs of green invade his vision. It feels like like a pinball is bouncing around inside his head and hitting the most sensitive spots.
“Easy there tough guy. Lets get you down on the ground.” Aerith tells him as she helps him sit down on the wooden floor next to the flowerbed. “Dragging you here wasn’t exactly easy you know. You’re heavier than you look.”
“You had to drag me here?” Cloud asked as slowly let go of his throbbing head. She sits across from him.
“As much as I would have loved to carry you with these guns” she said while flexing her very non existent biceps “you were a little heavier then the things I usually handle.”
Cloud chuckled at her attempt to look tough. This girl was already appealing to him.
“What? Think i’m not capable of handling myself?” she playfully asked with a smile on her face.
“I’d like to see it for myself” Cloud retorted with a lopsided smile.
“I’ll have you know that these bad boys have left their mark on plenty of the slobs up on topside.” She tells him as she shows him both of her clenched fists.
For a girl who had such a modest appearance, he could tell her personality completely defied the look she gave. The pink dress, the ribbon in her hair and her innocent face gave off a pure vibe that could fool anyone. But this girl just implied that she isn’t afraid to take anyone’s shit. She’s no saint. At least not all the time. There was still a nice calming aura about Aerith.
“So Cloud. You seemed interested in the flowers. Do you like em?” She asked.
Cloud took another look at the flowers next to him. Flowers that he wasn’t so sure why he felt the way he did around them.
Then it hit him. They were in Midgar. It’s not exactly a place known for nature. At all. So how were these flowers here?
“Can’t help but notice that we’re in Midgar. Don’t really see any flowers around here. Or any kind of nature.” He tells her.
“This is actually one of the only places they grow.”
“Why is that?”
“This place…” she says while looking around the church “it has a kind of power.”
He fully believed her. There was something about the church that gave him a feeling of serenity. He enjoyed it. A lot. More than he’d like to admit if he was being honest. Cloud was never one to show his emotions too much. The idea of hiding emotions came with being in SOLDIER. You always had to be focused on the job you were doing and not let any underlying feelings affect your performance. Even though he was out of SOLDIER now he still carried those rules with him.
But it wouldn’t hurt to relax just a little bit. Right?
“I can see what you mean. This place. It feels…” Cloud trailed off but Aerith finished for him
“Tranquil?” She asked.
“Yeah. I guess you could say that.”
“I can see why you’d like it. You probably don’t get to lay back and loosen up a lot do you? Being a SOLDIER and all.”
Cloud couldn’t hide the shocked look on his face and the sound of surprise that came out of his mouth when she mentioned him being in SOLDIER. Though he guessed he wasn’t doing too much to hide the fact that he used to be one. The uniform and very large sword basically told someone everything they needed to know.
Aerith giggled at the look on his face. “I can tell…” she leans in closer to him, a little too close for his comfort, and looks right at him “by your eyes.”
“Oh.”He says while blushing due to the prominent lack of space between their faces. He backs up just a little bit. He should probably correct her on his status. “I used to be in SOLDIER. I quit a couple of years ago.”
“Ah. So what do you do now?” She seems to be very interested in Cloud and he can’t quite figure out why. He honestly thought he would just thank her and be on his way but here he was telling her about himself. He felt like he didn’t necessarily mind though. Aerith was… intriguing to talk to.
“I mostly just handle mercenary jobs now. Anything to help me make gil.” He tells her. “Which reminds me that I should probably get started soon. Gotta be able to afford a room for the night.”
“Huh? You mean you don’t have a place to stay?” She asks him surprisingly. “And no gil on you? At all?”
“Nope.” Cloud shakes his head. “That’s why I should probably be on my way.” He begins to to get up but Aerith stops him.
“Oh no you don’t. You’re not in any condition to be taking jobs right now Mister. And since i’m such a generous person, I’ll help you find a place to stay tonight.” She happily says while giving him the brightest smile he’s ever seen.
Cloud wasn’t the best at reading people but he could tell that Aerith was one of those folks that were assertive no matter what and didn’t take anything from anyone. But he most certainly didn’t want help in finding a place for the night.
“You really don’t have to-
“Nope!” She blurted out while shushing him with a finger on his lips. “I already said i’d help you out and that’s just what I plan to do.”
Just as Cloud guessed, there was absolutely no winning against this girl so he just accepted defeat. She took her finger off of his lips but he still felt them there. That caused a little pink to tint his cheeks but he brushed it off when he noticed the playful look on her face slowly go away and turn into a slightly serious. No. Not serious. It looked kind of…
Melancholic?
“Can I… ask you something?” She quietly says.
“Not like I can stop you.” Cloud remarks hoping to bring the lighthearted mood back. She softly giggles but it doesn’t sound like the genuine ones she’s been giving him. There’s something wrong.
“Your sword.” She says while looking at the large weapon attached to his back. “Where did you get it from?”
That definitely wasn’t what Cloud was expecting her to ask. Was Aerith into weaponry? Maybe she really is a lot tougher than she looks. He wouldn’t doubt it at this point. “Um… I can’t quite remember actually. But i’ve had it for a while.” It’s true. He really doesn’t remember where he got it from and that fact begins to make his head throb again but not nearly as bad as last time. He regains his senses. “Why? You interested in it?”
“Um…no” she disappointingly says and looks to the side. “I was just curious.”
Even a five year old could tell that she was lying. But Cloud knows better than to pry in business that isn’t his so he decides to leave it alone.. He probably wouldn’t see her after today anyway.
“Were you 1st Class?” She questions him.
“…Yeah.” This is getting odd.
“Did you have any…friends or buddies that were also 1st?”
This is getting really odd. Why would she want to know about other SOLDIERS?
“I can’t say I did.” Cloud tells her. She looks down at the wooden floor like she’s been letdown. “Is there someone that you wanna know about or something?”
She looks up at him with surprise. “Um…no! I’m just asking silly questions.” She lets out a forced giggle at the end.
Whats up with her?
Cloud had to admit that even though he’s only been talking to Aerith for less than 10 minutes, seeing her with a sad look on her face gave him a feeling he wasn’t very fond of. But unfortunately he wasn’t very good at cheering people up either.
But no. He shouldn’t be worrying about this. It isn’t his business and he won’t delve any further than he already has.
Aerith knew she should have just said Zack’s name. That would have made things much easier. But she didn’t. She didn’t due to the fear that she would hear something she really didn’t want to. The look that Cloud was giving her told her that she didn’t do a very good job of hiding the distress on her face. She needed to change the subject.
“So…” she tried to think of something and decided to bring the conversation back to what they were talking about before. “You’re interested in becoming a mercenary right?”
“That’s right. Just gotta get started somehow.”
“Well there’s plenty of people here in Sector 5 who are in need of help everyday ya know. I usually help out around the slums with smaller things but taking care of monsters is a little out of my league. I’m sure you could help with stuff like that though!” She excitedly tells him.
“Hmph. Thought you were capable of taking care of yourself.” Cloud says with a very tiny smirk on his face.
This lit a playful fire in Aerith.
Ah. So he can be feisty when he wants to. Two can play at this game.
“Hmm. So I guess you don’t want a place to stay tonight. Gotcha.” She jokingly tells him as she begins to get up and dust off her dress. Cloud didn’t seem to catch on to the fact she was joking though as he grabs on to her wrist and stops her from moving.
“Wait! I was just…. just joking.”
He ashamedly looked to the side as if he was about to get scolded. And Aerith had to admit.
Cloud pouting was cute. She felt like she could stare forever but decided it was best to let him know that she was joking as well.
“I was only teasing you Cloud. Don’t worry” she giggled.
He lets go of her wrist and slowly gets up. “Oh…”
She could tell that Cloud didn’t talk to people much and probably wasn’t very social in general so she decided that she would ease down on the teasing.
Just for now.
“So where do I find these people who need help?” Cloud asked her.
“There’s a kid named Oates who keeps track of all the problems and jobs that people have. I can show you the way to him if you’d like.”
“Lead the way then.” Cloud began to walk to the doors of the church until he was stopped by a hand on his chest.
“I don’t think so machoman. I meant tomorrow. I told you you’re not in any condition to be going out there right now.” Aerith strictly told him as she lightly pushed him back. “Plus I can’t have you getting lost out there. I still have to take you to your home for tonight.”
“But I feel completely fine.” He protested.
“But your head isn’t completely fine. You’re not even standing still. I can see you wobbling ya know. You’re still lightheaded.”
“I’m…not.” He replied very unconvincingly.
“Oh quiet you. Just sit down. We wouldn’t want you to mess up and have a gorger to ruin that handsome face of yours now would we?” She playfully tells him with a wink.
If she’s ever seen anyone blush before, Cloud was definitely the worst case of it she’d witnessed. All from just one compliment. So much for going easy on him with the teasing.
But she just couldn’t help it. It was part of her nature. And if continuously teasing Cloud meant that he’d turn into a incoherent mess every time, then so be it. He’d get used to it eventually.
“I say we stay here for a bit and get to know each other more. What do you say? We could be best buddies by the end of today!” She excitedly says and pulls him down next the flowerbed. “You can watch me tend to the flowers since you seem to like them so much.”
“Guess I have no choice when you’re around.” He gets comfortable on the ground cause he knows he’s gonna be here for a while.
“Perfect!”
Yup. There was absolutely no winning against Aerith. So here he was watching her tend to the flowers and talking about what he liked to eat with her. Usually this would bore him but… this was different.
He enjoyed talking to Aerith. She made him feel something that he wasn’t sure he’s ever felt before. He’s not even sure what the feeling is. But he finds himself talking to her more and more as the day goes by and weirdly enough, he doesn’t want it to end.
This isn’t so bad after all…