Work Text:
Hollow Skies
It was raining that day, the air was damp despite being summer. Cloud’s mother stopped walking as she looked at the gate of a house which address she held in a piece of paper on her hand.
She looked at the building, if one could call it that, it was made of scrap metal walls and the windows were half-covered with broken wood bars, shaded with cream curtains from the inside. It looked old and rusty like any other house in the slums of Sector 5.
“I guess this is it.” She says and looks around, her blue eyes land on a children playground a few meters away. She kneeled beside her twelve year old son, tucked his jacket over his neck, it was chilly that morning. “Can you go play for a little bit while I go take care of something in this house?” She pointed to the playground and then to the house behind them. “I’ll be right here if you need me, but it will only take a moment.”
Cloud regarded the playground with curious blue eyes. The few slides and swings it had were dripping from the rain that had fallen before. He eventually shrugged and then nodded.
It was a kids playground, supposedly a merry structure, but it looked as grey and rusty as any other place in that Sector, old and not at all the safest thing for children to play at.
His eyes scanned the place looking for something he could do to pass time but nothing called his attention. Until the corner of his eyes caught a yellow smudge from inside a moogle shaped round slide.
A girl came out of from within the moogle, yellow dress, brown boots, hair tied into a ponytail. She dusted off her skirt and looked up. The biggest, roundest emerald green eyes he had ever seen stared lively back at him. She looked his age.
“Hiya!” She smiled widely, her hands clasped behind her back. “Thought I was the only one here. I’m Aerith!”
“Cloud.” He replied.
“That’s a pretty name!” She smiled with her eyes, her voice soft and kind.
“Not really.” Cloud said and placed his hands on his jeans pockets, shrugging.
“Say Cloud...” she ignored him. “Do you want a flower?” She went back inside the slide hole she had just came from and came back just a few seconds later with a single yellow flower in her hand.
“I... don’t really like flowers.” Cloud shook his head, avoiding eye contact and sighed.
“Silly.” She giggled. “Everyone likes flowers. These are special, they mean reunion. Here.” She placed the flower inside his t-shirt chest pocket. Cloud’s cheeks immediately heated at the girl’s proximity. He wasn’t used to people getting that close, except maybe his mother.
“You’re cute!” Aerith chuckled as she noticed the pink color shading his cheeks. Cloud cursed himself and looked away. If he could disappear inside his jacket he would.
“Whatever.” He mumbled under his breath.
“So... do you live around here?” She asked looking around at the houses.
“No. I live up the plate.” He said glancing up at the steel sky above them. “But we’re moving some place else. My mom can’t afford us living in Midgar anymore.” Now why in hell was he telling her all that? A girl he had just met, he cursed himself inwardly again.
“Oh...” Aerith looked down, a bit disappointed she had made a friend that wasn’t staying.
“And you?” He asked, noticing the sudden darkening of her eyes, though it wasn’t really his business.
“I live here in Sector 5 yes. Not far from here.” She said. “Hey, come ride the slide with me once!” And she quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the slide’s stairs, not giving him a chance to complain.
“Everything’s wet.” He grunted hopelessly.
“It’s ok, it’s not enough to wet your clothes.” She sat at the edge of the slide and smiling, she let go.
Cloud rolled his eyes and quickly followed her down the slide, wanting for it to be over more than anything.
“That was fun!” Aerith grinned while he just sighed.
“Cloud!” They heard his mother calling. She waved at them and motioned with her hand for Cloud to come back.
“That’s me. See you!” He turned to leave in his mother’s direction.
“It was nice meeting you!” He heard her say and his lips curved into a tiny smile as he walked.
“You made a friend?” His mother asked and when she noticed the flower in his pocket, she smiled warmly, she didn’t even know that part of Midgar had flowers.
“I guess...” Cloud shrugged and looked at the place where the girl was bending over a basket full of the yellow flowers just like the one she had given him. She was okay for a girl, he thinks as he follows her mother out of there.
—————
Cloud
Twelve years go by since the last time he was in Midgar.
He had lived in Nibelheim since he was twelve when his mother and him moved there. After his father had died, his mother didn’t see any more reason to keep living in Midgar so she decided to go back to her childhood town, where she had lived most of her life, still had family there that could help them settle back.
Cloud liked Nibelheim but it was a small town where everybody knew everybody. Always felt he could do better than that and decided to try his luck in Midgar.
He spends half a day in the journey by train.
The streets have many more people than what he remembers but the gloomy, dark city vibe is still there.
He was going to try opening his delivery service company in the city. He had made some money with it in his town and so he felt it was time to expand the company to a bigger metropole. Midgar fit the criteria he had planned for his business to grow.
Not that he liked the city much, he vaguely remembers it from his childhood. He would be staying with a friend who was helping him settle down for a few weeks before he decided Midgar was the right place to live and get an apartment.
His friend lived in one of the most hectic streets Midgar had, apparently. Bright neon signs flashed all around, people passed by him in a hurry, minding their own businesses, without even looking twice at where they were going.
Nibelheim was everything but that. Quiet, pretty, the people were nice and there wasn’t as much movement as the busy streets of Midgar.
He was staring so bewilderedly at all the commotion around him he didn’t see when someone heavily collapsed on his shoulder, snapping him back to reality.
Aerith
It had been a busy day for Aerith. She was finishing up a big order of flowers for a client that was coming to pick them up at her flower shop any minute now. It was already past closing time, night had fallen and the lights were already on. She didn’t like to go home at dark but she knew she couldn’t lose this client over her fear of walking the Sector 5 streets at night.
She had opened the flower shop above the plate where many people were bound to see it, when she turned twenty. It was her dream come true, to be able to sell her flowers to the gloomy people of Midgar so they could have a little color in their lives. She had probably taken every part time job available in Midgar just to save up for the shop but she finally made it.
Now, five years since then, business was not too bad. It pays off to be the only flower seller in the city.
But where was this client and why was she taking so long to get there? She sighed and crossed her arms to her chest, closing her red jacket to get warmer. It was chilly that night, it had rained.
Suddenly the door opened with a ring of the bell above it and the client finally walked in.
“I’m so sorry I’m late dear.” The older woman apologized.
“It’s okay...” Aerith was really happy to see her, she could finally go home. “Here they are.” She hands the woman five flower bouquets of white roses tied together in the most beautiful golden ribbons the woman had ever seen.
“Oh they are so beautiful!” The woman smiled taking the bouquets. She payed Aerith and left. Quickly and effectively.
Aerith’s shop goes quiet, she picks up a basket of yellow lillies she needs to take home, turns off the lights and shuts the door of the shop.
The chilly breeze of the night caught in her hair like a cold kiss. The air brought with it the earthy smell of rain. She needed to hurry home so she starts running, the basket tightly gripped in her arm. She turns the corner to get to the Loveless play street where there is more movement but is an inevitable way to the slums.
With all her quick steps, one of the flowers in her basket starts to slide down the bundle. Noticing it falling she looks down to grab it in time but suddenly she bumps into something warm and heavy. The flowers fall all around them.
———
The sudden pain took him by surprise. The next thing he knows there were yellow flowers falling all around at his feet.
“Oh! I’m so sorry. I’m such a clutz..” He hears a soft voice, almost lost in the street noise. His eyes land on the girl who had just bumped against him. She crouches down and starts picking up the flowers to the basket she carried in her arm.
“Let me help you.” He crouches next to her to help her pick up the flowers. They hear people cursing at them for standing in their way.
“People are always in a rush, no one ever stops to help a stranger.” She says under her breath. Cloud looks at the flowers in his hands. He knew nothing about flowers but somehow they look familiar to him. He gives her the flowers he had picked and when their hands meet, their eyes glance at each other.
Something in the way she looked at him with those green eyes, makes the hair in his skin rise. They stand up slowly, at the same time, and he pushes her carefully closer to the buildings, away from all the frantic flow of people.
“Are you ok?” He asks, his shoulder was slightly numb from where she had hit.
“Yes. I should be asking you that, I’m sorry I didn’t see you.” She smiles a little weary.
“It’s okay.” He says. “These yours?” He points at the basket of flowers. “Are they okay?”
“I guess so!” She smiles, it reaches her eyes. Just like... Cloud shakes his head to stop him from staring. His mind takes him somewhere distant. “They’re quite resilient.”
“Reunion.” Cloud says abruptly.
“What?” Aerith asks in awe. She frowns and stares at him. His eyes... she has seen that beautiful color before.
“That’s what these mean right?” Cloud asks, and he has no idea how his brain so quickly picked up that memory from when? Twelve, thirteen years ago? He remembered her face from the playground.
Of course she was older now, but the same innocence in her eyes from that day was there, the same kindness when talking to a stranger, the same cheerfulness and carefree spirit, it was her.
Now, Cloud was good with faces but twelve years was a lot of time for someone who met another person only once to remember her. But somehow he did. It seemed only yesterday those two kids did a slide ride together in an innocent meeting that left a mark on them both.
“You’re that boy... Cloud?” She narrows her eyes and then opens them widely at the recognition. “I never forgot your name! I liked it so much then!”
“Yeah...” Cloud’s cheeks turn slightly pink.
“What a coincidence!” Aerith grins. “And yes the flowers mean reunion. I’m really surprised you remembered.”
“I... I have a good memory.” He wasn’t going to admit she had given him quite the impression that day. His cheeks feel like they are burning.
“Well Cloud, I’d love to stay and chat but I really really need to get home.” Aerith giggles noticing the color in his face. “Sector 5 isn’t the nicest place for a girl to walk on her own at night.”
“Let me take you.” Why would he say that, he wonders in his head, she’s not his problem.
“No I couldn’t ask you that.” Aerith shakes her head. “You must have better things to do. Like, a girlfriend you have to meet?”
“No, not really.” He says. “My excuse of a friend said he’d pick me up at the train station but never showed, so... he can wait.”
“Okay then, if you don’t mind, thank you.” Aerith says, she wraps her hand around his wrist and pulls him in the right direction. “It’s this way.”
“So... you still live there?” Cloud asks, from what he remembers, the slums aren’t really a pleasant place.
“Yes, but my home is different than where the playground is, you’ll see.” She winks, his heart races in his chest.
They walk silently for a few moments, Aerith concentrates on pulling him out of the street movement towards the elevator down to the slums. They take the elevator along with some people going down. They glance at each other amongst the others in the small compartment. Aerith smiles at him while he just looks away from her piercing green gaze.
The glass doors allow them to see the tiny lights of the city spreading like a mat across their camp of sight. They cross the plate and the huge gap between the plate and the lower sections of Midgar almost makes their stomachs twirl with vertigo. Now they can see the steel jungle that are the lower areas of the city. The houses get mistaken by junk if someone doesn’t look closely.
The elevator takes its time climbing down the huge structure towards the slums. The awkward silence becomes uncomfortable to Cloud. Finally it comes to a stop, the doors open and the people walk out.
“You do this everyday?” He asks, glad to be out of that closed heavy box.
“Almost everyday yes.” She nods, walking slowly now, she knew that with him she wouldn’t be in any danger. “I know it’s not the prettiest place to live in, but I’m used to it. Used to the people, used to the safety of the plate... if you can call it safety.”
“What do you do up the plate?” He asks.
“My flower shop.” She says. “It’s worth the trouble going up and down everyday.”
“Were you selling flowers that day at the park?” He asks, why was he so curious about this girl, he has no idea.
“When we were kids?” She lets out a clear laugh. “Probably I was yes. “
“But you gave me one.”
“I did?” She blinks, sticks the tip of her tongue out. “I probably liked you then.” She smiles at him genuinely. “Or maybe I felt you needed one.”
“I was going through some stuff back then.” His eyes darken, his father had recently died, he and his mother were about to change their lives out of Midgar.
She had been kind to him in a difficult time, that’s why he remembers her.
“So you’re staying in Midgar?” She asks through the corner of her eye.
“For now, yes. For the future, I don’t know yet.” He says. “I’m here for my business but we’ll see if it’s worth it, staying here.”
“So it won’t be another twelve years until I see you again?” She stops walking, leans forward to take a better look at his eyes.
“M-maybe not.” He swallows at her proximity, she’s beautiful and her ease with him makes him nervous.
“Look, it’s our park!” She points ahead and runs towards the structure. It was no more than a structure now, abandoned, rustier, older, falling apart piece by piece.
Our…
“Children don’t play here anymore do they?” Cloud asks frowning.
“What do you mean they don’t play here? We’re fighters here in the slums. This is the best playground we have.” She winks and takes his hand, pulls him to the swings and sits down in one. He no longer knows if she’s teasing him or being serious. He sits on the other swing, it shrieks with his weight and he can’t help but feel they’re about to break the thing into pieces.
“It may not look pretty, but it feels peaceful here sometimes.” She closes her eyes, feeling the cold night air. The air smelled of the earthly rain. “Of course I wouldn’t be here like this if you weren’t here. It’s dangerous here at night, lots of bandits start gathering around.”
“Lots of bandits huh?” He asks into the darkness around them. Even half the street lamps were broken. “And you go through this place everyday.”
“Yes. Very dangerous for a girl.” She smiles looking at him expectantly. “But I’m used to it.” She pulls back.
“You shouldn’t.” He says, looks back at her. “Maybe I can take you home while I’m in Midgar.”
“You mean, everyday now?” She asks, her eyes widen, her smile brightens.
“From now on.” He nods, his cheeks betray him once again.
“I think I’d like that.” She chuckles. “Like a bodyguard.”
It slowly starts raining, heavy drops of cold water bang on the metal surfaces of the slides. Aerith takes his hand again and they run down the abandoned streets towards her house.
“How does it rain here?” He asks, trying to think of the way the water falls from under the plate.
“Some parts of the plate have holes, others the water just streams down from above, I don’t know. It could also be artificial.” She looks back at him, her smile widens. They’re hands still clasped together.
They go through tunnels of scraps, pass by junk yards filled with parts of machines piled on the floor, houses made of abandoned materials, they pass by deserted cafes, a small hospital, its windows lit with bright flashing lights. An orphanage, she tells him, and then as if they had crossed an invisible veil to a hidden reality, he hears water running in a stream and sees green plants growing from the ground contrasting with the grey of the rusty materials forgotten all around.
Her house stands in the middle of a huge garden of flowers of all kinds and colors like he had never seen before, glimmering as rainbows of petals waver with the rain falling on them. It smells of freshness and sweet earthly jasmines. A place from a different dimension amongst the sadness that was the grey underground of Sector 5.
She stops at the entrance as well as the rain, now a gentle drizzle, her hair and shoulders damp with the shadows of the water drops that had fallen on her.
“Thank you for taking me home.” She says shivering, her lips tremble and her eyes glimmer a deep green in the faint light. “Will you meet me tomorrow, same time?”
“Yeah...” He looks at her in bewilderment at how beautiful her features are.
“Will you be alright going back?” She asks.
“Yeah.” He finds himself in a loss for words to further develop his answers.
“See you tomorrow then.” She doesn’t seem to mind and smiles, gets on her tip toes, kisses his cheek while placing a yellow flower in his chest pocket. “For company back up.” She winks and turns to leave.
The night is calm as he stares at the steel sky above, it feels peaceful under the quiet rain that had fallen with the promise of heartfelt reencounters. Maybe… he could stay in Midgar for a while.