And here is another attempt at the CxA 100 Themes Challenge. This theme is ribbon. AU, you have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own the game or the characters, only this story.
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Looking out of the window, Cloud couldn't be happier. He had a home, a comfortable job, his wife Aeris, and his daughter, Katal, who was four years old. She looked like the splitting image of her mother, until it got to the eyes and hair, then she looked like Cloud with her azure eyes and blonde hair. Sometimes, Katal could be an angel, as good as gold, but other times, she could be a right little devil, always wanting this or that.
But whatever she was like, good or bad, Cloud and Aeris were proud of their little Katty. He remembered the glow of pride that filled his heart when he first saw her after she had been born, her tiny hand clamping around his finger. Just like her hand clamped his in the present, and he knew she was going to ask for something.
"Daddy? Can I play with Mommy's ribbon?" Cloud looked down to see Katal, with Aeris' precious ribbon in her hand. She loved feeling the fabric, and letting the wind make it fly, while she held on to it. It was her favorite hobby. And Cloud, looking into his daughter's blue eyes, with the same glint in them as her mother, allowed her to run into the garden with the ribbon, the cloth flapping in the air behind.
Cloud chuckled, both Aeris and Katal was fond of that ribbon, and like they say, like mother like daughter. Turning back to the window, he smiled. He had everything he could every want, he was truly happy.
But he was pulled out of daydreaming when he heard a cry, and Aeris was still asleep, so running into the garden, he saw Katal just standing in the flowers, without the ribbon in her hand. She turned around, smiling like she was embarrassed, and pointed up at the trees at the back of the garden. And there, waving in the wind, was Aeris' ribbon.
"Flew away Daddy!" Katal ran up to Cloud, and gave him a big hug. "Wind made it fly away!" Cloud smiled slightly, he couldn't help but smile at Katty's pure cuteness sometimes, she was going to be a hit with the boys when she grew up, and he was already worried. But then he heard a voice from behind him, and turning around, he looked into his wife's emerald eyes, and then saw her hands were on her hips.
"Cloud, do you know where my ribbon is?" Aeris asked, and then Katal grinned, while Cloud pointed up at the trees.
"Flew away Rissy, the wind made it fly away."