Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or locations.
Cloud/Aeris Drabble #1: Reflection.
It was a hazy, humid afternoon, and having just passed through the Nibelheim Mountains Cloud had called a break. The going had just been too hard for them all to maintain. The physical exhaustion alone, Cloud was still feeling unnerved by their newest companion, Vincent, and didn't know what to do. After he finished setting up his tent he sat down, leaning against a fallen tree and looking around the camp mutely. There was Red XIII, or Nanaki, dozing in the shade of a tree. Yuffie had her materia spread out on the ground counting and categorizing them while her tent was half assembled behind her.
Tifa was chatting quietly with Vincent, and Cloud allowed himself a slight smile. Tifa would figure this guy out then Cloud could talk to her about it and decide what to do. He could rely on Tifa like that. Barret was nearby her, watching her while he chatted with Marlene on the phone. Cloud suddenly felt uncomfortable, and a moment later realized he didn't see Aeris.
Cloud stood up quickly and looked around in panic. You're her bodyguard! he yelled at himself in his mind. He saw her tent was already pitched and poked his head inside. She wasn't in there. Damn. he thought. He looked down and saw her footprints leading away from her tent. He followed after them as quickly as he could without looking desperate.
He found her after a few minutes of walking down a twisting path through the foothills of the mountains, breathing a sigh of relief. She was sitting on the edge of a creek, her hair loose and damp as she ran a comb through her long locks. She must have just washed it. Her feet were dangling into the water, her heavy brown boots lying discarded by a rock, on which her red jacket was neatly folded.
Cloud looked around at the scenery in silence. There was a small grove of trees just to their south, and on the opposite side of the creek there was a sheer cliff. It dropped away to show the mountains they'd just scaled to the northwest and miles of clear, undisturbed skyline as far as the eye could see. To see Aeris framed in all this lush beauty, far from the steel and concrete world they'd left together, was almost more than Cloud could stand.
He stepped up behind her, and looking down saw her face reflected in the water. Her eyes were half closed, her smile drowsily content, her lips fully pink and perfect. She was humming an idle, rambling tune.
Cloud felt his heart stutter, and his own reflection was blushing up at him. Aeris's eyes opened more fully, met his eyes in the reflection in the water, and her smile blossomed into something sweet, gentle, and full of mirth.
"Hi Cloud." Aeris said, speaking to his reflection. "Were you looking for me?"
"Yes. You shouldn't have wandered off by yourself. What if you'd been attacked?"
"I have my staff with me," she answered, motioning to the staff that laid by her side. "You were worried about me?"
Cloud shuffled his feet, wishing Aeris couldn't see how red his face was. "Well, I'm your bodyguard. Didn't I say I'd protect you? Especially since you've paid for the service." Cloud answered.
Aeris giggled in beautiful harmony with the bubbling creek. "Did you just make a joke Cloud?"
Cloud couldn't resist the urge to chuckle. "Yeah, I guess I did." After he spoke Aeris rose and turned to him, standing there barefoot in the creek, with her hair down, flowing in the gentle breeze. Cloud swallowed at a lump in his throat as he felt a sudden urge to kiss her.
She smiled gently and then lowered her eyes demurely. Cloud stepped into the creek and pulled her close to him, gently leaning in, giving her ample time to pull away. She didn't pull away but hesitantly leaded toward him. Cloud's confidence surged in him and he claimed her lips gently but forcefully.
If anyone had been there watching them they would have seen the romantic image doubled. There they stood, wrapped up in each other and the moment as their reflection perfectly mirrored in the clear mountain creek gently rippled away from them.