He hesitates. He knows walking out on the contract with Hades was what needed to happen; that he was never going to truly find his light that way, that more of his memories were only going to slip away without notice. But Cloud isn't sure coming back is the right decision. Returning here…the past he wanted to forget. He's not sure he even belongs anymore.
He takes a deep breath and sets forward, refusing to be a coward any longer. Cautiously he makes his way through the broken city, the areas looking both like everything is the same and everything has changed. They're so very familiar, as if recalling far off memories; yet at the same time it's as if he's never been here before and the faded recollections belong to someone else.
But he pushes all these conflicting things aside, the voices reaching him before he comes upon them. He stops, body frozen, as the first thing he sees is a bright pink ribbon. He thought he was prepared for this, but he's not. Memories flood his mind before the rest of the situation registers.
The pink ribbon is in fact tied around brown hair, but the person it belongs to is not the one he was expecting. The very male brunet rips the fabric from his hair, scowling darkly at the ninja girl.
"Aw, Squally, you're no fun! It looked so cute on you!"
"Shut up right now." the man growls.
"Don't you agree Aerith?" the ninja girl grins widely, turning to yet another companion. Cloud's eyes follow her movements, hooked on the name she spoke so casually.
And there she is.
The name seems to have changed slightly from what he remembers, but she is still exactly the same. It is his sharp intake of breath at the sight that reveals his presence. Three pairs of eyes whip around to look at him; two pairs of eyes light up in pure shock and joy; one pair of eyes narrow in suspicion. Both girls race towards him, smiles stretching their faces. Yuffie advances in unrestrained leaps and bounds, Aerith having a more swift kind of grace about her.
He takes an uneasy step backwards automatically, and they both stop short, standing before him and politely giving him the space they remember him needing.
Seeing Aerith there…alive…is slightly disorienting. He swears that she was killed, and yet he also has memories of growing up in this very world together. It is the strangest sensation: feeling as if possessing two separating sets of memories that are now overlapping.
"Cloud!" Yuffie shrieks, throwing herself against his chest, unable to contain her excitement any longer. Aerith simply lays a hand on his arm, and smiles up at him like she has so many times before,
"Welcome home…Cloud."
He nods to both of them, "I'm back."
The girls back off then and seem to remember the lion's presence, hesitantly looking between the two men. For a moment Cloud expects them to introduce each other, but then remembers that this is Leon –the moody boy who used to go by Squall- and that they are no strangers.
Yet, despite this, Cloud and Leon look each other over, as if two territorial animals sizing up a possible rival. The blond feels a little uneasy, and thinks that the brunet even looks a little on edge; like there is something between them, some wall Cloud didn't know existed, some line he doesn't know how to cross, or even if he should cross it.
"Strife." Leon finally greets.
"Leonhart." He returns. And that's it. No more is said; no more hostile or wary looks exchanged. Leon turns away, but does not leave, merely gives the reunited party space.
The blond turns back to his companions. They grin uncontrollably and babble on about how much they've missed him and how much he's missed out on; but he can't concentrate on what they're saying, he can only gaze fondly at the girl whom he used to adore beyond everything else.
But now….it's strange, but the feelings seem different. Like she isn't what he was expecting, or she's not the same as before –and he's not sure if 'before' is when he left years ago, or that other life that seems to be a mix of dreams and reality. He doesn't know what exactly he was expecting, but whatever it was isn't there…the puzzle pieces of his memories just aren't fitting together properly.
He sighs in resignation, ignoring how his heart sinks; unaware of how a grey gaze flicks over him inquisitively. The girls smile at him, neither noticing a thing as they ask if he'll be sticking around this time. He nods, and this answer causes them to beam. Aerith leaves then, off to make dinner, a 'celebratory feast' she promises; and Yuffie leaves soon after, reminded by the restless lion that she still has unfinished duties to attend to. And then it is just the two of them: the lone wolf and the cold lion.
Leon looks at him then, expression guarded as he slowly grips his gunblade, feet shifting into the start of an offensive stance; but Cloud lowers his eyes and turns his head: he's tired of fighting. Leon relaxes somewhat and moves over to a broken wall, elbows resting against the edge as he stares out over the wounded landscape. Cloud shifts a little uncomfortably; he doesn't really know what to do. He feels like a stranger in this place, like someone intruding on something already so precarious.
He stands somewhat awkwardly for a moment more, before leaning against a nearby wall, arms crossed. Nothing has been said, and the gunblader's easy silence is familiar, so the blond decides that his presence isn't irritating the other for the time being and takes his more relaxed posture as permission to stay. Cloud wonders if this is how it was before, if this odd form of companionship is what used to be between them, or maybe if there had been something more –because he's having a hard time remembering things like that at the moment.
Time passes, and the sun starts to set.
Neither will speak to the other, but they aren't exactly leaving either.
Cloud wonders if that means something.