SUMMARY: One afternoon, everything just fell right into place.
DISCLAIMER: Cloud and Tifa aren't mine, if you must really know.
A/N: I've never written an AU before and this is the closest I could get as of now. It's light and easy, just like a fine Sunday morning. Enjoy reading! (And again, this is best viewed in 1/2.)
JUST RIGHT
There was something different about the park today.
Whether it was the silence, the weather or the colors, he did not know. It could be the rustle of the leaves, the direction of the wind, or the hum of the birds. He did not know if it mattered. Walking along the grassy path to his usual seat, he felt every blade crush beneath his boots. It seemed strange that his personal spot of reprieve for two weeks now had become somewhat new and fresh.
Maybe it was just him.
He closed his eyes as he slouched on his favorite bench. Arms dangling on the backrest, he inhaled the afternoon breeze. Even that habit of his felt different today.
A shuffling of feet compelled him to cease his rest. Lifting his eyelids, his vision was welcomed by a young woman standing next to his bench.
She smiled a little, "Mind if I sit?"
Quickly straightening his back, the man moved aside to give her space. Her smile widened in gratitude and she plopped down beside him.
And his heart skipped a beat.
"Thanks," she said.
The first thing he noticed was her skin—fair, smooth and creamy under the afternoon light. Her eyes, oh her eyes were the colors of coffee and ruby. He could not help but notice a faint glint of sadness in them, though, and somewhere vague in his mind he mused if could do anything to comfort her. She probably would scamper away if he did anything so he dismissed the thought. And then there was the lady's hair. While his was blond, messy and spiky, hers was jet black, straight and shiny. A stray lock landed on her eyes and he resisted the instantaneous urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
She turned to look at him questioningly; he feared she might have read his mind and began to panic a bit, only to realize that he'd been staring at her features all those times. Either case, he felt rude.
"Sorry," the blond mumbled, shifting his gaze while sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
She giggled and he thought he heard chimes. He wondered if there was any way he could record the angelic sound to play it over and over.
"It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?" the lady asked, stretching and deeply breathing in the air.
"Mm," he replied, not quite sure how it sounded.
She giggled again and lightly commented, "You don't sound like you agree with me."
"Um, sorry." He scratched the back of his head once more.
"So, what brings you out here? I can't believe everyone else chose to stay home on such a fine day." Her gaze was distant and calm.
Hearing her remark, he glanced at their surroundings and became aware that they were alone.
"I'm searching for something," he murmured before could think.
"Oh, what are you searching for? Maybe I can help you find it."
"I—I'm not really sure," he stared at his knees and her eyebrows rose in confusion. "All I know is that it's important. I mean it's—I had an accident, three months ago. Now I remember barely anything."
He didn't know why he exposed it all, why he felt comfortable sharing his past, or the lack of it, with her. It felt just right, so he did.
Concern was then apparent on her face. "I'm so sorry to hear that… But I'm sure you'll find it in time. And if you're about to break, I'll keep you pieced together."
She warmly smiled and he felt a funny feeling in his stomach. She sounded so positive that he believed her already, even before he could stop himself.
"Thanks," was all he could say.
"Do you remember your name?" she inquired cautiously.
He shook his head.
"Can I call you Cloud?" came another question. She sounded excited that he shot her a questioning look.
"I just thought it suits you," the lady replied shyly. "Quiet and mysterious. Hmm, I like clouds," she said more to herself than to him.
He nodded. Cloud, he thought and inwardly smiled. For the second time that afternoon, it felt just right.
A homey blanket of silence fell upon the two. He didn't know how long it lasted. It could've been a few seconds, maybe a lifetime.
It didn't matter at all.
"Cloud?" the lady finally said, "What do you think about love?"
The question was so sudden he might've gagged if not for an unexpected memory that flashed in his mind upon the word, "love"—a lady entirely, but strangely, like the one presently beside him.
"You look funny," she remarked good-naturedly, pulling him out of his reverie.
"It's not everyday that someone asks me that," he admitted, smiling all the same. "Hmm, I've never really thought about it."
"Someone once told me that when you love, you should love like you're being paid for it," she shared and her voice was wistful.
Love like you're being paid for it. He had heard it before; maybe read it somewhere. It seemed all too familiar. It reminded him of a significant promise and the memory of the woman ran through his mind again. He found it absolutely bewildering when he instantly had the resolve to live by those words, if the girl he would live with was the one sitting beside him. But then again, it felt just right.
"That's a nice ring," he commented, after another comfortable quiet.
She lifted her right hand to give him a better view. The accessory was anything but girly. It was made of silver and embellished with a gothic wolf.
"It was given to me by a very, very special person. I believe you won't find anything like it, except for an earring with the same design," she proudly stated. He sensed a tinge of longing in her voice.
"Mm," he nodded, struggling to keep a straight face. Inside him, a surge of electricity ran through his veins; his heart hammered his ribs and his mind staggered like an uncontrollable reel of blurred film.
He had realized the earring on his left bore the same wolf as the ring on her right hand.
However, before he could ponder further, the lady beside him rose to her feet and faced him. "Cloud, I should go now."
And he felt his body wither.
She must've sensed the gloom for she added reassuringly, but quite unexpectedly, "I'll see you soon." Smiling again—the blond decided it was his favorite sight—she expressed, "Thank you for hanging out with me today."
Before he could say anything—his mind had become a tangled mess of words and sentences—she turned around and gracefully walked away. He followed her with his bright blue eyes. Then, he concluded, with or without amnesia, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
She was out of sight when the blond man realized he hadn't asked for her name. He then wanted to whack his brain until stupidity falls out of it. But somehow, he managed to cling to a little ray of hope that they'd see each other again.
She did say she'd see him soon, didn't she? He wished soon meant tomorrow. Or that coming evening. Or a few moments from now.
He wondered what her name could be. For some reason he could not place, he thought it must have something to do with the heart. Or maybe he was just too locked up in her being that it made him think that way. In any case, he decided to name her Tifa, for the meantime. It was purely random but it was perfect. And for the last time that afternoon, it felt just right.
He smiled to himself and slouched on the backrest once more.
There would be something different about his life starting today.
A/N: I originally intended to make this a nameless, random story, nowhere near a fanfiction, because my friends keep bugging me to write something with a happy ending. But, as of typing, I've learned that I can only write happy endings if it's in the form of a fanfiction. And I'm satisfied with the way this turned out. I hope you enjoyed. :)