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Marks as dark as bruises pattern the skin beneath his eyes, yawns force past his lips every few seconds and his head pounds with a never-ending ache of exhaustion, and yet… he does not sleep. Instead, Cloud sits on the window ledge and stares blankly out into the night, registering nothing but rarely stopping to even blink. Behind him, Tifa and Aerith sleep curled up together, their breathing the only thing he can hear in the oppressive silence. But he doesn’t go and wake them, nor slide back into bed and try to sleep. He just stays by the window even as the night air chills his bare toes, longing for morning to come.
“Cloud?”
Despite his strength and skill in battle, Cloud hates to admit it… but he jumps when Tifa whispers his name. And it is only the fact he recognized her voice that saves Tifa from having to dodge a sudden swing of his sword, instead simply being faced by Cloud’s gloomy expression as he turns to look at her.
Dressed only in her underwear, with messy hair and bleary eyes, Tifa steps closer and says, “Why are you up?”
“Couldn’t sleep again,” Cloud mutters, turning back to stare out the window.
“Again?”
He nods. “Yeah. Been happening more often. I wake up and just can’t get back to sleep. So I get up and try not to disturb you.”
Tifa sighs and carefully places her hands on his shoulders (Cloud flinches, but doesn’t shove her away). “Cloud… how many nights do you spend hours alone?”
“Dunno. I stopped counting after a while. This isn’t anything new though. Nothing to do with you two, I mean,” Cloud adds, glancing over his shoulder at Aerith’s sleeping form. “I’ve had insomnia for years.”
In a move that leaves Cloud muffling a gasp and desperately hoping his face doesn’t flush, Tifa sits down beside him, wraps her arms around him and pulls Cloud into a tight embrace. “I know we can’t fix it, but…” She too stares at Aerith, who curls up in a ball with her hair fanned across the pillow. “If you can’t sleep… please don’t spend hours and hours all alone. If you want company… you can wake me up. I won’t mind. And I know Aerith would say the same. You… you don’t have to struggle all on your own, Cloud.”
Cloud sighs, letting his tired eyes close for a moment as he leans his exhausted frame against Tifa. “I… I don’t want to burden you—”
“You’d never be a burden,” Tifa whispers, tone firm but not aggressive. “We love you, Cloud, and it’s normal to help the people you love.”
For a moment, Cloud almost forgets to breathe, stunned like someone kicked him in the chest. Actually saying the words ‘I love you’ is rare and special for the three of them, and to hear it from Tifa as she holds him close and the light shining through the window casts her with a beautiful glow… he has to fight hard to stop his eyes filling with tears. And despite how stubborn he can be and how relying on others is incredibly difficult for Cloud… he looks into Tifa’s face (avoiding her eyes, but she knows he struggles with that) and manages a weak smile.
“I… I guess I could try,” he says, and immediately looks down at the floor.
But Tifa doesn’t laugh at his embarrassment or tease him. Instead, she presses a kiss to his hair and whispers, “I’m so proud of you.”
---
When the sun rises and she stirs from deep sleep, Aerith yawns and rolls onto her side. And then lets out a sleepy giggle at the sight before her. Slumped on the ledge with their backs against the window, Tifa and Cloud sit tangled in a hug, their heads resting together, fast asleep.
Despite part of her desperately wanting to wake them, Aerith settles for quietly watching them sleep as she brings herself around, lost in how cute they look like that. And when she finally gets out of bed, Aerith takes the blanket with her and tucks it around them, keeping her boyfriend and girlfriend warm as they snooze.