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As the morning sun peeked over the horizon and through the windows, the bed felt much too large and empty. Cloud reached out to feel the vacant space next to him and was relieved that it still felt warm. She must have just gotten out of bed… he thought, sighing to himself and slowly rolling out of bed himself. He couldn’t stop getting visions of the dream he’d had last night. A nightmare, one that he desperately wanted to forget. His brain was not going to allow that, though, it seemed. He looked out the window and smiled when he saw her outside, ignoring the feelings in his head and his gut. The sun outside seemed way too bright, the sky too cloudless, but he told himself it was just that kind of day. “No wonder you got out of bed early today with weather like this,” he muttered out loud.
Quickly getting dressed for the day, he instinctively looked for his buster sword and almost panicked when he didn’t find it. He would have torn the room apart if he hadn’t remembered that she’d suggested he put it away for safekeeping. He didn’t need it anymore, after all. He hadn’t for quite some time now. Letting out a relieved sigh, Cloud left the room and instinctively went to check on Tifa. He knew he didn’t have to anymore, but he liked making sure she was okay. Lightly knocking on the door, he stuck his head in to find her room tidy and her bed made. She was more than likely out on deliveries already, so Cloud moved on.
Part of him wanted to check on Barret, but he didn’t live with them, unlike Tifa. He lived closeby, not wanting to deny Marlene a community of friends who knew and loved her, but insisted on living in a separate place. Cloud could still hear him bellowing in his head about waking and earning today or something, he never really listened. Sometimes Cloud couldn’t help but miss his yelling. He would never admit it, but a part of him admired Barret’s passion for everything he did. It was annoying, but admirable.
Cloud finally made his way out to the garden, where he saw her. Her light brown hair glistened in the sun, and even covered in dirt and sweat, she was beautiful. She had her hair pulled up into a bun to avoid getting dirt in it as she carefully dug up the flowers she had been taking care of. She seemed to have not noticed him yet, so Cloud waited for her to finish up what she was doing to approach her. She would get angry if he made her mess up her flowers.
Right as he got closer, she laughed and turned around. “You must think you’re so sneaky. I heard you come outside, dummy,” Aerith teased with a laugh. “You’ve gotta get better at those things if you want to surprise me.” She stood up and took off her gloves so she could take his hands in hers.
“Hey, I’m good at sneaking. You just… seem to always know when I’m coming.” Cloud tried his best to defend his own honor, but he knew she’d gotten him pegged. If anyone knew how to fluster him, it was Aerith. Almost as if to prove that point, she kissed him on the cheek.
Before she could come up with some quippy reply, Cloud wrapped his arms around her tightly. She was clearly taken off guard, but hugged him back just as tight. “Sorry. I… had a weird dream.” When they finally pulled back, not quite letting go of each other, Cloud noticed her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Upon further inspection, he also noticed there was an indescribable sadness that she was clearly hiding. His mind started racing, wondering what could be on her mind.
Did something happen to Tifa? To Barett? Yuffie? No, she would have opened with that. Besides, she wouldn’t be nonchalantly gardening if one of their friends was hurt. Was she finally tired of him? That seemed much more likely, but Aerith wasn’t the type to lead people on, so that couldn’t be it either…
He heard her sigh, which cut off the noise in his head. Aerith seemed to hesitate before she forced her smile to return and pushed some hair out of his eyes as she asked, “...What kind of dream? Did you show up to the store naked again?” She was cracking jokes, but her heart wasn’t in it.
“It felt… real. Too real. So real that I almost panicked when I woke up and you weren’t there.” Aerith’s face betrayed no emotion, but he swore her grip on his sides tightened for a second. “Sephiroth was there. And he…” Cloud’s face steeled as he tried his best to keep it together. It was just a dream. “I lost you. So when I woke up and you weren’t there…”
“No… Shit, I thought I had more time…” Aerith whispered to herself before she looked him straight in the eyes, her gaze hardening for a moment. Seeing the look in Cloud’s eyes, though, she softened again and kissed him on the lips. To say that surprised him was an understatement, but she pulled away before he could really kiss her back. “You deserved to feel that one more time…”
“Aerith, what do you mean? Where are you going?” Cloud desperately tried to pull her back in, but she was already gone. He frantically looked around for her, all through the garden, through the house, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. He swore he smelled something metallic, but he didn’t want to accept it. No, she couldn’t be… No! He’d saved her and she’d made it! She was alive! She had to be!
With a loud yell, Cloud jolted up in bed. He looked from side to side to find an inn room. No one had been here but him. He heard footsteps running towards his room and the door burst open. Tifa was there, a worried expression on her face. Her mouth was moving like she was talking, but he couldn’t hear her. He tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t. The tears started pouring down his cheeks and nothing felt real.
Aerith really was gone. Cloud hadn’t been able to save her. And that entire life they’d had… He dreamt it up. All of it. He had a feeling that it was meant to be a kindness, but it really didn’t feel like it at that moment. All it did was remind him of his failures, that she was murdered and he had been powerless to stop it. He felt Tifa wrap an arm around him comfortingly, and he heard other people enter, but he paid them no mind.