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Green specs of Lifestream float around inside beams of light as they slowly filter their way across the leaves above her.
It’s the first time Aerith finds vestiges out in the open, so she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to try to settle her mind down, calm her thoughts, ease the thrumming of her heart. She places a palm over the surface of the tree trunk. The resonance is clear when the world falls silent. The wood under her skin pulses, vibrates, the tree breathes in and out as the lifestream throbs under her touch, swaying like the gentle motion of a tide.
The voices come soon after, forming softly inside her mind. Whispers, murmurs, low ancestral voices that are nearly indistinguishable. Each one a message, a memory layered under the earth and the roots of nature. They’re not howling anymore but it still isn’t peaceful, if anything, the muttering makes her anxious.
The Planet has been restless since they left Midgar. Like her, it doesn’t know what to expect now that fate has been disrupted, now that they’re no longer following a predestined path. Sephiroth has been quiet but not absent, it’s as if he is watchful to their own moves, lurking in the shadows, silently waiting.
His quiet presence scares her and it scares the Planet. What could be his plans now?
Cloud’s eyes open wide in affliction, flecks of mako beam in the blue depths of his irises. A stream of blood flows down the center of his forehead, tracing a way down, smudging blond hair crimson.
Aerith gasps for air, reopens her eyes and turns around in alarm. She searches for Cloud, a little further away, absently discussing materia with Barret.
Her heart jumps inside her chest, so overwhelmingly she loses her balance and takes a step back to steady herself, hitting her back against the trunk behind her — it doesn’t hurt but it’s enough to knock all the air in her lungs out of her.
“Everything okay?” Tifa, who Aerith realizes then had been near her, places a hand on her shoulder, worried ruby eyes survey her closely.
“Y-Yes.” Aerith nods, a hand lifts to her chest involuntarily, heart racing inside.
Their voices stir Cloud’s attention towards them. Aerith watches as he diverts his gaze to them, locking his eyes on her, his body slightly angles her way as he notices Tifa’s hand holding her shoulder supportively. He frowns, eyes darkening. The intensity of his gaze makes Aerith shudder and for a heart-rending moment she thinks he’s going to say something. But he remains standing on his feet, motionless, observant.
“You sure?” Tifa’s voice comes soothing to her.
A wide grin. “I’m sure.” And the florist kneels down on the ground, hand inside her bag, fishing around for her bottle of water, trying her best to take control of her shaking hands. “Parched.” She breathes.
“I know, right?” Tifa takes her bottle out as well, sitting next to Aerith. “Took too long inside those mines.”
“Maybe we could ask the boys for a stop next town don’t you think?” Aerith suggests, feeling warmth return to her face. She wipes her forehead with the back of her hand and catches Cloud’s eyes briefly. The blond stands unconvinced, his body partly turned to Barret but his focus still on the girls, his knitted brow still in place.
She watches his fingers twitching. Knowing him, knowing how protective he has become of her, he should be itching for his sword. Any trace of danger, as small as it may be, always makes him seek the comfort of his weapon.
She wonders what he could be thinking, if he had noticed the sudden burst of emotion in her heart. The mako enhances his senses, she’s well aware of it, so he must have felt something.
“Best idea I heard in a while.” Tifa sighs next to her, flipping her hair over her shoulder and flapping a hand towards her neck. “We shouldn’t wear ourselves out.”
“Could use the opportunity to do some shopping too!” Aerith smiles eagerly, eyes sliding to her friend, a vibrant emerald sparkling in the sunlight. “I’d love to start a collection of tokens from the places we visit!” She says. “So we can look at them in the future and remember these travels.”
“I could keep some in the bar!” Tifa exclaims, face lighting up. “Have little pieces of the world close by.”
“We should take pictures as well! Hang them on the wall!” Aerith nods, leans a little closer to Tifa, voice bright with enthusiasm. “Think we can find a camera next town?”
“We can look for one!” Tifa says, spreading out the map in front of them. “We’re close to Junon… assuming Sephiroth went that way, we could head there and check.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Aerith stretches her friend a thumbs up. “Mom would be so happy if I send her pictures! Marlene too!”
“What are you girls scheming over here huh?” Barret’s ragged smile contagiously makes the girls smile back at him.
“We’re close to Junon. Maybe Sephiroth went through there if he wanted to cross the sea.” Tifa explains. “We could maybe check it and take a break.”
“Fine by me.” Barret agrees. “Just remember to keep your eyes open and weapons on the ready.”
Tifa nods, winks at Aerith and rises to her feet placing her backpack on her shoulder before starting to walk, map on her hands, Red and Barret following close.
Aerith drops her water bottle back inside her bag but as she gets ready to stand up, a gloved hand stretches in front of her first.
Her gaze trails his arm up to find him staring down at her, with eyes kind but wary, a vivid green luminesces over their blue as he stands there.
“What was that?” Cloud asks.
“Hmm? What was what?” Aerith asks back as he lifts her from the ground. She dusts her skirt off, looking away to avoid meeting his worried watch.
“You seemed… scared a few minutes ago.” He says quietly, still watching her every move. Her thoughts flood as she takes in even more scenery around them as Cloud walks beside her again.
“Nope!” She says lightly. “Must have been confused.”
A hand wraps around her wrist making her stop on her tracks. He raises her hand in his making her bracelets clank together, the sound soft, like a dream-catcher flowing on the breeze at her house porch. A deep frown cringes his lips as he brushes his thumb over the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist.
“You know I can feel your heart-rate don’t you?” He asks.
“And?”
“And it went spiking just moments ago.”
She hums. “Kind of intrusive don’t you think?” She tilts her head. “What if I had been thinking about things I didn’t want you to know about?”
She watches as his cheeks tinge a very light - very amusing - shade of pink. He glances away briefly before his eyes settle back on her.
“It seemed…” he starts, then swallows, winces, and finally exhales with a small shake of his head. He’s such a delightful being to be around with she can’t help smiling at how awkward she’s able to turn him. “… like fear.”
“Fear?” She blinks. Her eyes soften as she spares a moment to look at him silently. He’s connected to her, she realizes, more than what she’d like it to be. “Can’t keep anything from you can I?”
“It’s the mako…” he says. “I can’t help it. It feels.. stronger with you.”
“I know.” She nods, her expression becoming haunted as the vision of his eyes, those sky-blue eyes of his, comes back into mind — tainted with grief, reflecting the red of his blood. She looks away. Probably because of who she is. She shrugs to his puzzled expression —pushing that thought aside. “Emotions are running all wild these past few days right?”
He arches an eyebrow, suspicion flaring up in his eyes again. “Yeah… I guess.” he breathes out, finally lets go of her hand. “You’d tell me right? If something was up.”
“Depends.” She lilts, a mischievous smile curls her lips up. “Only if it’s something you ought to know about. Leave some for the mystery.”
He grunts with a wince. “I’m serious.” He scoffs and she smiles, just a little, at the brooding expression in his eyes.
“You always are.” She says, but then gently rests her palm on his bare shoulder. “I promise I will.”
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHmmhmm!” Yuffie stretches her arms up as high as her small figure could. Under the endless sky and in front of the boundless sea, she looks so small Aerith feels the young ninja could be carried away by a wave if she got too distracted. “Now this is much better than that damn ship. Could get used to this breeze.”
The Cetra smiles. The warm wind blows in her hair. She tucks a lock behind her ear, basking in the yellowish glow of the sunset kissing her face alight.
The water teases her bare feet under her, cold but welcoming, foam curling softly at her ankles. She takes a deep breath, tastes the salt in the air. She could get used to this, too.
If it weren’t for their previous encounter with Hojo, it could almost feel peaceful. But constantly, there’s a tension, a tightness, surging in her chest, reminding her it’s not prudent to let her guard down.
A blissful laughter echoes above the swooshing sound of the sea. Aerith turns around to see Tifa and Cloud approaching along the shore. Tifa smiles, that bright sunshine smile of hers while Cloud walks beside her, a rare softness gracing his features. A stab of joy turns in Aerith’s stomach as she watches her friends relaxing, even if it’s just for a moment.
But the gentle cheerfulness doesn’t last. The world around her becomes dark, the tide recedes, leaving behind a trail of blood in its wake. On the sand the sea had laid bare, kneels a familiar body, ragged uniform in his chest, slicing marks along his shirt, the sight turns her limbs stiff while a terrible sense of dread gnaws at her heart.
His body remains inert, forgotten on the shore, shoulders slumped forward, head down to his chest and arms falling along his sides. She takes a step forward, trembling, legs weakening, she collapses to her knees, her hands clasp around the moistened sand under her.
“Aerith.” His voice rings in her ears, distant first, until it resounds clear and close to her. She lifts her head, feeling the burn of tears in her eyes. Blue eyes, alive and shining against the silver glow of the ocean stare back at her. The warmth of his hands presses gently around her biceps. She sits down on her heels, if he hadn’t been holding her she would most definitely fall down, strengthless. “Are you okay? What happened?” He asks, an urgent expression on his face.
She moves towards him, overwhelmed by a sudden urge to hold him. But Tifa is standing right behind him, eyes wide open in distress, lips slightly parted and shaking. So Aerith recoils back, trying her hardest to regain her posture.
Taking a shuddering breath, collecting her own thoughts, she smiles. “Sugar levels must have dropped. Lost my balance for a moment there.”
His grip around her arms loosens but he doesn’t let her go just yet. She watches him hesitate, with lips slightly pursed, looking at her straight on.
“I’ll get you water.” Tifa straightens up looking around before leaving them.
“Tell me the truth.” Cloud’s voice is solemn as he slides his hands down Aerith’s arms, getting on his knee in front of her. One of his hands lingers in one of hers, worriedly, clenching at her fingers gently, still not ready to let go.
“I am.” She says. Turning her gaze to the sea, she notices the sun calmingly setting down in the far horizon line, mirroring its fire glow across the water.
“I don’t believe you.” The words come out almost a whisper next to her.
She turns to him, his eyes reflect the sunset, an almost extension of it, as it spreads in the horizon behind him. The sky doesn’t look as overwhelming when she looks at it in them.
“It’s nothing.” She says. “For now it’s nothing you should worry about. But I promise to say something if or when the time comes.”
A surge stronger than her own self-control makes her lift her hand to softly palm his cheek. His eyes widen, but there is a moment of what looks strangely like relief in them, before the moment passes, and he closes down again.
“Aerith.” He presses, his tone alarmed, almost scared, a groan twirls in his throat. His voice sounds so hurt she leans in closer, she can’t help but to lean in closer. Blood rushes in her ears, her breathing quickens. It’s hard, it’s so hard not to give in to the pull she feels towards him. Destiny may have changed, but some things remain the same. How cruel fate must be that the one thing she remembers the most from their previous life is the sentiment of affection she has for him.
Tifa comes back with a glass of water Aerith gratefully takes.
Cloud helps her up. He lingers close, making sure she doesn’t falter on her steps again before he turns to walk away.
“We should get ready to leave.” She hears him tell Tifa as they make their way out of the sand.
Aerith feels a light tap on her shoulder.
“You know, I’d lose it too if I saw my boyfriend walking along the beach with ‘boobs’.” Yuffie says, hands indiscreetly behind her head as she walks past Aerith, winking with a smirk on her face.
Aerith laughs, unable to hold it back.
“It’s not like that.” The Cetra shakes her head.
“Sure.” Yuffie huffs. “If you say so.”
Aerith hesitates behind as they make their way out of the beach, taking a moment to look at the sky. An agitation, a presentment that nothing good ever comes from above washes over her.
Cosmo Canyon glows. The bonfires alight through the canyons bounce their dancing glaze off the rocks.
Aerith sits alone on the ledge of a cornerstone, staring into the infinite dark of the sky. The blues and purples, the whites and greens of the universe have had her on edge since the first night away from Midgar.
The story she heard about the Cetra isn’t a surprise, she already knows who she is, who they are, though it doesn’t make this time any less painful to be reminded of her loneliness as the very last one of her people alive.
Alone, she wonders as she stares up, why has it all changed and why does it all feel the same? To what extend has fate really been shattered if the only things she feels different are the visions she has of Cloud… collapsing.
She sighs remembering her dream that night.
His eyes wide open and void as life slowly and painfully drifted away from him. His hands losing their grip around Sephiroth’s blade - impaling his stomach - and dropping alongside his body numbly.
She closes her eyes shut, a shuddering moan escaping her lips.
Alone, she wonders, how much longer will she endure those visions of Cloud.
Feeling a cold warmth in her face she lifts her fingers to her cheek, finding it damp with tears.
A rustling sound next to her startles her alert. Turning her head she sees Cloud sitting down next to her. He settles close, hangs an arm from his bended knee as he looks ahead into the distance.
“Sensed me awake?” She asks, partly joking and quickly attempting to wipe the traces of her tears from her face, cautiously so, he won’t ask any questions about it. She wouldn’t know how to answer.
She smiles with exhausted evidence at him.
“Yeah…” he replies earnestly. She should have known it to be true. It’s getting stronger each day, this bond they share with one another. It hadn’t been as deep the first time.
If fate has really changed… then she guesses they must have changed too. Maybe they’ve become closer over time where previously they had been distant and fickle.
“Be honest. Can’t stay away for too long can you?” She bumps his shoulder. He chuckles lightly. She sees it then, in the glow of his smile, he’s more confident, more sure of himself. The first time he had had trouble telling her he was there. This time he just is.
“It’s the flowers.” He says. “They asked me.”
“Oh no, what have those nosy minxes have been telling you to do?” She leans in expectantly, eyes bright and brows arched.
He shifts on his seat, clears his throat. “They told me to look after you.”
“They did?” She blinks.
A nervous nod that couldn’t have looked more assuring.
“I need to have a little word with them.” She turns away, feels her cheeks flushing. “The nerve.”
“Can’t really blame them.” He says. “You’re a danger magnet.”
“Am not!”
“Yeah… tell that to my heart.” He gives her a cheeky little smirk even though his eyes are sad.
She giggles. “Well, I’m sorry. I’ll try to be more careful.”
“You’re too much of a free spirit.” He scoffs.
“Even for someone who has never left the slums?”
“Hey.” He shrugs, slightly glancing at her. “Takes a fighter to live in the slums.”
She pauses, a moment of silence lingers in the air. If they listen carefully they can hear the quiet crackling of the flames around them.
“Probably.” She admits lastly, her gaze giving into way of the firelight. “You’re special Cloud. Everything about you is.” She tells him. His skeptic demeanor so pronounced in the beginning had been replaced by the true essence of his gentle nature, there is no doubting the sincere affection creeping up the tips of her words.
“I know.”
Still, he’s able to surprise her with cocky remarks every now and then.
She turns towards him gasping in mocking outrage, but then her features soften as she finds him smiling, gaze serene as he stares ahead with a certain lightness — almost boyish render.
“Hey Cloud…” she starts, her voice gentle, filled with fondness. “Do you think even though we defeated the arbiters of fate, some things are so strong that they’re still meant to happen?”
He pauses a moment, contemplating the sky. “I think… we make our own fate.”
Her eyes widen in surprise with his words. Maybe he’s right. Maybe that’s the answer she had been looking for. In the end… what dictates their paths is their own will. It should be as simple as that. It should…
“Would you… keep me company?” She asks, swallowing down, as hard as she could, the knot that suddenly had tightened her throat.
How much longer will she have to endure those visions of him then?
Tears well up in her eyes again as the pain of watching him dying runs through her like a chilling fire spreading from within her chest.
But he doesn’t ask questions, he doesn’t look at her doubtfully. He understands, just like always — like he always listens when they speak once in a while, or when they sit together quietly.
And then he patiently says, “For as long as you need.”
And he just sits there, close against her side, his shoulder warm and heavy as she rests her head on, for the rest of the night until the quiet flames of the bonfires blend with the light of dawn when it breaks through the sky and dapples the canyon in sheer glistening gold.
Aerith spreads out her arms to her sides trying to keep her balance as she walks in a line, foot in front of foot, down the Tiny Bronco’s wing. A world of blue shown in front of her.
She keeps her head and torso held up, as if in midair, looking all around as if she were on a ship at sea, which almost is the same thing.
“Would you be careful?” She hears Cloud’s voice from the window — slightly panicked, very very worried.
She giggles.
“Come on you!” She calls. She didn’t get to do this the first time. She didn’t do many things. “It’s so much more fun from here.”
“It’s not like she’ll hurt herself if she falls.” Cid grunts from the cockpit, cigar dangling between his grin. “We already crashed!” He laughs out loud.
“You’re both crazy.” Cloud huffs, climbing out of the window with a grimace, clearly dreading that he’s lost control of the situation.
The water sprays on her boots as the plane cruises along the gentle tide. She closes her eyes, feeling the wind swiftly weaving through her hair, almost as if she’s flying.
Except the waves start clashing against her feet harder, clawing at her legs in swirling aggressive pulls. She quavers, her feet slip over the wet surface of the plane and suddenly she’s no longer standing on Tiny Bronco.
She’s at the Forgotten City, more precisely at the altar where she had summoned Holy once, an all too familiar place, an all too familiar grief. But instead of seeing herself kneeling down, she sees Cloud dropping heavily to his knees in front of her. The sound oh his cry strikes achingly through her heart, thick and choked with suffering.
The Masamune pierces him through the chest, a string of blood streams down at the corner of his mouth, his head tilts up as he takes his last breaths, blue eyes bloodshot open and glazed over at the sky.
She screams, loses her strength, her vision, her hearing… everything rings and everything is gone with the shatters of her heart.
The world spins. She feels like falling.
Until strong and firm arms catch her steadily from behind.
When she opens her eyes upon feeling his touch, warm sunlight pours down on her while a crisp rainbow of waterdrops sprinkle her legs as the plane glides across the bouncing sea waters.
“Please..” Cloud breathes in her ear, his relieved exhalation hot on her skin. She can feel the beat of his heart, fast and loud against her back. “Just come back inside. Before you make the flowers regret ever letting you join me.”
“Cloud…” she almost gasps his name out. Her fingers lace in his, laying on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Never a dull moment.” He shakes his head and when she turns around, hand in his, instead of meeting the scowl she was expecting him to shoot her, she meets a caring blue-eyed gaze. The sun slips on his clumsy smile back into his eyes, warming her and her heart. “Danger magnet.”
She sticks her tongue out at him.
Gold Saucer should be fun. Should be games and joy, and laughter and mindless easy play.
Gold Saucer should be that time they can spare for a little colorful break from reality.
“Fuck this shit, I’m going to sleep.” Cid groans as he makes his way across the main plaza towards the hotel. “These lights are giving me a headache!”
“Later gramps!” Yuffie says before running deeper into the park.
“Not to be the downer of the party, but we should take this time to rest.” Vincent’s voice is calm as he approaches Cloud. “Who knows what lays ahead.”
But she doesn’t want to rest, she’s more aware than tired that night, of all nights.
Aerith hesitates outside Cloud’s room. Her hands clasp together, her feet feel suddenly draggy at the last few steps separating her from him. What if this isn’t the best option right now? What if she skips their date this time around, what good would it bring, how much could it hurt?
It’s been a while since she last had a vision of his demise but what does it all mean? Are they a product of the planet? Is it trying to warn her of future events or could it be Sephiroth playing with her mind? Her gaze falls down to the ground as she frowns thoughtfully. It can’t be… Sephiroth doesn’t have the power to meddle with her head, the Cetra would never allow it.
She looks up at Cloud’s door. A memory, as if coming from a haze, starts to shine on her. A misty imagine of a kiss on her hand, blue eyes glistening with the glimmer of fireworks, a multi-colored shimmer on a dark wooden gondola.
They had so much fun the first time, she thinks. All the moments she spent with him... can she dare to relive them?
Maybe it’s best if I just leave you…
But before she can finish that thought the door opens wide in front of her, tendrils of her bangs hover with the windy motion. A warm light baths her in radiant orange coming from the inside of the room as Cloud stands there, lips slightly parted, surprised blue eyes blinking as he finds her there.
“H-Hi…” she stammers.
“I was—“ he says slightly rushed, over her greet.
She giggles, he sighs.
“I was going to find you.” He finally concludes. She stares at him, part of her stunned with his decision, the other part of her… resigned.
What kind of fate is this? That they seem to be repeating their previous mistakes, without a choice not to make them? His eyes turn to the floor, like he’s unable to meet hers straight at this moment, a feeling she understands very well.
“Well… I guess I’m here.” She shrugs.
“Yeah…” he says, gaze finally lifting to her, he hesitates briefly before speaking. “I felt a sudden need… to meet you.” Against the faint light coming from within the room, a soft shade of pink colors the timid freckles on his face.
“Oh Cloud.” Something in her chest warms, something she feels transcends any sort of doubt she may have had about coming to find him. “Want to go on our date?” She extends him an unwavering hand.
“Why does this feel so familiar?” He says almost to himself before taking her small hand into his, squeezing it slightly as if he has dealt with that sensation before. “I can’t… make this feeling disappear.”
“You really don’t know?”
“I have some suspicions but...” He admits, but there’s a certain intensity in his gaze that silently begs her not to ask any further.
And with him, the hours pass like the flashing lights of the park, dazzling and waving around them. She grins when she sees him acting, (or trying to). This self-controlled ex-soldier playing a role in a family’s fantasy story. She was unable to control her snickering before when he was a different character, she’s unable to hold it seeing him dressed as a dragon as soon as he steps foot on stage, wobbling inside the suit, whispering curses at how he’ll never do that again.
“You said that before at honeybee.” She laughs, a short little simper.
“Don’t say a word about this.” He says, his voice remarkably forbearing from within his costume.
They take a bet at a Chocobo race because she tells him life is for living but they end up spending more than earning in there. Cloud takes her to the arcades where he redeems his losses by winning (which he soon after regrets) a chocobo yellow cap she wears throughout their date, giggling at how much it resembles his hair.
Maybe it feels too familiar with him, so much so, he himself also finds it, the knowing look in his eyes speaks for him itself.
The same music, the same lights, the same attractions and those same fireworks.
But the words interrupting them this time aren’t the same as before, because she has already met different versions of him. And the more she knows him the more she thinks the only thing that once, a long time ago, reminded her of Zack is the uniform. Nothing but a uniform.
That night they’re just two kids, they’re just two familiar strangers, unremarkable and normal, having fun through the night, stretching each moment to make the most of their time together.
Until the night ends as it should, the alternate fate aligning itself with remnants of their previous one. No keystone, a stab in the back. Nothing she hadn’t been expecting.
If only fate didn’t play tricks on her again.
He tells her goodbye at the entrance of her room. She places her palms over her cheeks, hot and glowing, the widening smile she looks at reflected in the mirror in front of her allows her to have confirmation of how much she’s in love with him, how much she never stopped loving him.
But the mercury surface of the mirror ripples in circle waves that sway open to show her a pool of blood and a motionless uniformed body laying flat above it.
She panics. Her heart panics. Her voice falters her in a strangled scream she muffles with her hands pressing at her mouth. Very fast, it becomes impossible to breathe, as if the air had been sucked out of the room. She takes effortfully short and quick gasps to find it.
Tears burn her eyes, the floor beneath her welcomes her knees as she curls around her own shaking body.
It can’t end there.
She can’t look at him like that anymore.
So she presses a fist down, lifts herself up with every strength she can find and leaves the morbid quietness of her room to go back to his.
This time she doesn’t hesitate, she knocks desperately at his door, like the distance of the wall separating them itself bore the yearning of a lifetime without him.
He doesn’t take long to answer and when he frees them from the door keeping them apart she leaps into his arms, clenching her hands tightly around the back of his shirt. And the sound of his heart flutters against her ear, steady, vigorously, drumming through her, eradicating all of her fears. And his skin feels hot against the coldness that had creeped upon hers, melting all of the coating ice that had solidified her body just moments ago.
She feels his embrace tightening around her, his breath playing with the loose tendrils of her hair. And he breathes, he’s breathing against her and the flurry of his breath, quiet and low inside his chest makes her heart speed up, so fast it may burst out of hers.
“Still going to say it’s nothing?” He asks in a distressed tone. She edges in closer, snuggling against him, fluttering, sinking, languishing.
“I just.” She pauses, opens her eyes realizing she had shut them tightly, and then draws back to look up at him. Her cheeks burn. “I’m sorry.” She pulls away, takes a few steps further back from him.
“Can’t stay away for too long, right?” He says.
She sighs. “No, I guess.”
Tents are safer on that matter, just in reach distance. She knows he’s there just a few palms away from her. She can feel him move, she can hear his voice before falling asleep, calm and deep, as he talks to Barret with whom he usually shares his.
But when they stay inside concrete walls, there’s always a sense of uneasiness that she can’t see him or hear him.
So the night ends with them sleeping on separate beds inside his room, facing each other, as close as they could, because being together feels too familiar, their time too delicate to waste — so much so that she isn’t sure what she’d do if she suddenly had to live without him.
The misty morning light lapels her in cold, the premonition of a fated day. The forgotten city lays silent as she leaves the coral Inn. She doesn’t sneak or rush out, she’s past the chance.
She remembers the day she died clearly now. The more they had gone further into their journey the more she has remembered the last day of her life. The promise she made him about returning. The hollow goodbye within a dream. She hadn’t found the courage to tell him face to face, it had to be somewhere neutral.
She looks at her hands, palms turned to the sky, they had been so deprived of his touch then.
She would have hesitated if she had been near him, and she would never forgive herself for it. Just like she has never forgiven herself for bringing such pain to his heart. But she wonders what her selfless act had accomplished in the end. Meteor still fell, Cloud was left broken, fallen into despair, thousands of people still died, the planet barely survived.
She had died in his arms, foolishly believing her action would bring a new hope.
But maybe it had.
And the price for her living would be a most unbearable one.
She feels it, as strongly as she feels herself standing there. Sephiroth isn’t going to kill her this time. Because when he did he failed. And this time he doesn’t want to fail. But Cloud must be protected at all cost. And she will protect Cloud.
“Where are you going?” His voice startles her coming close from behind her. Urgency in his words, prudence in his steps.
She shakes her head. She had been certain about how to answer that question once, not so much this time. “This place… has been haunting me for a long time.”
“I think I dreamed about it.” Cloud says, eyes wandering around the shell shaped buildings. “About being here alone.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Everything about this resonates in my mind.”
“How does it feel being here?” She asks, because she wants to understand what it means to him.
“It’s… painful.” He tells her, then takes a few steps closer to stand next to her, eyes set above where the light shifts on the walls like glittering waves on a sea. “Like I lost something.”
“You won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Time to summon Holy.” She says. That, she must fulfill. That, is imperative. Because Meteor, Sephiroth isn’t going to renounce. “Cloud…” she moves closer, positioning herself to stand in front of him. She pauses a moment, but before her mind started enumerating all the reasons why she shouldn’t, she places a hand on his chest and tiptoeing — she leans in.
Slowly and cautiously, she presses her lips against his, softly, almost barely— then firmly, losing control, urging to hold him. His hand obliges, lifting to rest upon the small of her back, carefully pressing her to him. It’s simple and innocent and most of all it’s right.
“Thank you for all these moments, new and old. I’ll never forget them, I’ll never forget our friends, I’ll never forget you.” She pulls back while he hesitates, eyes half-lidded, body thrumming as if he had been holding something precious in his hands.
He flinches her way, instinctively following her movement. “You just said I wasn’t going to lose you.”
“I didn’t say it was me.”
“Aerith.” He calls, voice breathless and hand wrapping around her wrist.
“I’m afraid that if I don’t go, I won’t be able to help you from the Lifestream.”
“What does that mean?” The confusion shading his eyes stings more than any verbal condemnation he could shoot at her. “Don’t say that.”
She wants to hold him in her arms, kiss away all the pain and madness shrouding them in darkness, but for now, just for now, they have to focus.
“Stop hiding things from me. It’s time you tell me. All of it.” His fingers clench tighter around her wrist, the strength and determination in his grip almost surprising her.
“I don’t know what will happen.” She says. “All I know is that I won’t fail you.”
She takes a step backwards. His hand doesn’t move from where it holds her, his feet root to the ground.
“I’m going with you.”
“It’s alright Cloud.” She smiles. “We make our own fate… right?”
The altar shines quietly, suspended over a lake of tears. The sieving sunlight dawns on them one more time piercing the darkness, illuminating and haloing the morning.
She kneels.
She closes her eyes.
She lifts her hands to her chest.
And fate comes falling down the sky in a black-feathered wing.