Drabble #22: Laugh
Summary: He laughed for what seemed like the first time in years…
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
She was breathing heavily as she raced up the stairs to the beams across the roof to meet him, throwing him a thankful smile and standing still for a moment to catch her breath. Cloud watched her for a moment before peering over the edge to see the men sprawled out below them, knocked out by the barrels that he had thrown at them.
"We should go," he muttered, turning back to the green-eyed woman beside him, who nodded in agreement. He led the way to the hole in the roof, that he had created mere moments ago and stepped out onto the sloping roof, his hands grabbing at the tiles so as not to fall to the ground. He reached his right hand out to take Aeris' and help her to stand up. They remained silent for a moment, making sure that nobody else was around before Cloud turned to her.
"Why were they after you?" he asked curiously. She shrugged in reply, giving a roll of her eyes.
"They've always chased me,"
"They're the Turks. They go around finding suitable contenders for Soldier, as well as the nasty stuff…"
"I guess they think that I have what it takes to be in Soldier," she said eventually. Cloud studied her intently.
"Maybe you do, have you ever thought about it?"
"No," she answered, her tone suggesting that they move off the subject. Cloud took the hint and made his way across the roofs, not bothering to check if she was following him or not, he knew she was not stupid enough to hang around where anybody could find her. However, apparently he was going a little too fast and she soon called out to him, her voice soft due to the distance. He turned, his eyes blinking in disbelief by just how far he had left her behind.
"Don't leave me!" she cried, leaping over some more roofs as she tried to catch up. She eventually jumped one last time, landing just centimetres in front of him and she bent over, holding her stomach as she tried to catch her breath.
"Slow down," she begged softly.
"And I thought you had the talent to become a Soldier," he said in a serious manner. Aeris frowned and glanced up at him, emerald meeting sapphire and she smiled as his eyes betrayed him, sparkling softly with laughter.
"Oh, you're terrible!" she squealed, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. Cloud could not take it anymore and he broke down, laughing for the first time in what seemed like years. Aeris soon gave up her mock anger and began laughing along with him and it was not long before both their eyes filled with tears. To anybody else, the words would not have been funny at all but to the two young adults, those words allowed them to relieve themselves from the past and start again. And it was from that moment on, that Cloud's smiles and laughs were reserved for his Aeris.