Wind beneath my Wings
"Hey! Isn't that Cloud Strife?" shouted a young boy to his friend as a blonde raced past on his motorcycle. "He's the hero of the Planet!"
Cloud continued as if he had not noticed their pointing and awed looks but the crease between his eyebrows gave away his annoyance. Everywhere he went, he was pointed at, or his hands were grabbed into a handshake. Everyone wanted to meet the hero Cloud Strife. As he approached Edge's centre, his eyes caught sight of the large angel statue sitting on the roof of a tall building. His heart sank a little more at the sight. If anyone was the hero, it wasn't him. It was Aerith Gainsborough. Yet there was no memorial for her but this statue and her beloved Church. When he died, Cloud was sure everyone would make a big fuss over his burial.
It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.
But whenever he met her in their flower field, Aerith never seemed bothered by the fact that nobody worshipped her. She wasn't one to bask in her glory but she wasn't completely modest either. She knew to take credit for things she had achieved and yet she would never let it go to her head. He never understood why she wasn't angry at the lack of respect for her troubles but he admired her for it. It couldn't be easy to look on and watch someone else take the limelight, especially after everything she had sacrificed in order to achieve her goal. So, Cloud became the hero and Tifa took the place of the heroine. But Aerith was content to stay in the background and be forgotten.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind
Cloud continued out of Edge and drove down the road that led to the countryside, feeling the fresh morning breeze blow back his already dishevelled hair. At least here he could escape all the worshippers that he didn't even want. Yuffie and Tifa had been flattered by the attention, Yuffie especially yet Cloud didn't think it was right. He was the Avalanche member with the glory, because he was the leader. But he wasn't strong enough to be called a hero. Aerith was his strength.
So I was the one with all the glory,
while you were the one with all the strength.
The road curved slightly ahead of him and he slowed the bike down and drove it into a lay-by. The keys turned gently and the engine died off. He sat for a few moments, lost in thought until rustling caught his attention. He glanced up to see Aerith in the field, watching him with her affectionate eyes. He remembered those eyes, that same loving look she had directed at him right before Sephiroth had leapt from above and plunged his sword through her body, taking her life in a few seconds. He remembered the fact she was smiling until the end, even as she died in his arms she still smiled. But nobody except the Avalanche members remembered her beautiful eyes or breath-taking smile. She was just "the girl who died" to them, just a face with no name.
A beautiful face without a name for so long
a beautiful smile to hide the pain
"Hello," she greeted happily, tilting her head to the side. Cloud felt his lips curl upwards in response. It was a habit around Aerith. She had the effect that caused you to smile at the very thought of her. He lived for these moments, where he could look at her again. Living without her for the last two years had been hard and painful. He didn't know how he had continued on if he hadn't taken her strength for his own.
Looking at her now, in her buttoned pink dress and her figure surrounded by flowers anyone would think she was fragile and the typcial damsel in distress. Cloud knew that wasn't true. She may not have been a fighter like Tifa but Aerith's strength came from within. Who else could have smiled as a sword plunged through her back, taking her life in a mere few seconds?
Cloud recalled the Nibelheim incident when he had found Tifa lying on the cold floor of the reactor, soaked in her own blood, whimpering and crying at the pain that Sephiroth's wound had left. Aerith had smiled and hid the pain from them all. He wished he could be strong like her, to be able to take things in his stride and leave the past where it belonged.
"You okay?" she asked, letting her hand rest on his arm as she had done when he suffered from Geostigma. He held her gaze for a moment and slowly nodded.
"I'm fine," he said softly. Her smile grew slightly and he knew she had caught the unspoken words in his mind. The words that said he was fine because she was there.
"I wish we had more time too," he whispered.
She smiled at him, the same smile she had directed his way in Sector Five when she sold him a flower. The smile that made him notice her in the huge crowd of fleeing people. He may have acted cold towards everyone back then and cared for nothing but his paycheck but Aerith had an effect on him that made him care about another person more than he cared about himself. If his friends knew that he remembered every smile, laugh, or touch that Aerith had ever shared with him, he wouldn't be surprised if they had heart attacks. But he did remember it all.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
but I've got it all here in my heart.
Sometimes he would wonder if she was aware that he had always known how she felt about him. The fact that they had flirted with each other so much did make it obvious. And he remembered catching the occasional glances she threw at him. Now he couldn't let go of those memories because remembering the happier times made him feel alive. It made him remember what Aerith had done for him. She had opened his heart and made him feel without doing anything more than a sweet smile and a pretty flower. If it wasn't for Aerith, he would be nothing.
"Did I ever tell you you're my hero?" he asked.
Aerith blinked, a startled laugh escaping her lips for a moment at the admission and she slowly shook her head.
"No, you didn't," she replied.
"You're everything I wish I could be," he continued, looking at the handlebars of his bike now instead of her as he spoke. Aerith tilted her head to the side as he suddenly straightened up and started the engine. He gave her a small wave as he turned the bike around and headed back to edge. Aerith let out a soft sigh, already hearing the Planet calling her back. She watched Cloud's outline become smaller and smaller until he finally disappeared.
"You were always my hero Cloud," she whispered.
Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
for you are the wind beneath my wings'
cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters Cloud and Aerith or any others mentioned. They belong to SquareEnix. The song isn't mine either. Don't sue me xD