Disclaimer : I don't own any of the characters of this game.

I suck at summaries, I know :P
Anyways, enjoy, my loves. :)

The Red Ribbon

cloudxaerith

His eyes widened in surprise, feeling a pair of soft lips crush onto his own chapped pair. The pair of blue, dumbstruck eyes slowly fluttered to a close as he was falling for, what seemed to be, a passionate kiss. The brunette grabbed his hand, feeling his hesitant response to her kiss and guided it up to her chest, placing it on her breast. When he felt the contact, he tried to pull away but was forcibly shoved back onto her lips. He was confused but felt a rush of pleasure overtake him, making him want more.

Without knowing, he felt his other hand reach down to her bottom, groping it. He than felt his hand reaching down, raising the flap of her skirt and loosely tugging the underwear she wore underneath. Than he began pressing harder against the woman's lips, deepening the kiss and heard a moan of pleasure escape from her.

"Cloud…" He heard her voice ring through his head, noticing the sadness in her tone. Suddenly, he stopped responding to the kiss and opened his eyes, seeing a flash of pink in the corner of his eyes. Again, his eyes widened, whispering the name of the voice in his head against the woman's lips.

"Aerith…" The ex-soldier regained his state of mind and registered the position he was in. He found himself looking in a pair of auburn orbs, instead of the usual vivid, green ones he adored so much, and noted that his hands were placed in spots that he thought he would never be able to touch. Abruptly, he yelled in slight disgust and took his hands off her. Noticing her arms were still wrapped around his neck, he shoved the woman off of him, casting a hateful glare towards her before running off, to find the woman in pink.

Aerith… Cloud stopped in his tracks, feeling a gentle breeze pass by, causing the trees that surrounded the great mountains of Da-Chao to dance about, and whistle their song. Cloud set his eyes on the face of Da-Chao and then ran forth towards the mountains.

--

A feeling of relief washed over him as he ran up the arm of the God and saw the young woman sitting down with her feet dangling in the air. He slowed down to a walking pace, and quietly sauntered towards her; taking a seat right next to her without invitation.

Aerith didn't look at him when he sat down; instead she looked away from him, sliding more over to the right to keep a distance. Cloud dipped his head in remorse and in the corner of his eye, he saw Aerith holding something between her fingers. He looked away from her hand and bit his lower lip feeling wetness form at the rim of his eyes.

For awhile, the two sat there, in silence, under a blanket of stars. The silence was broken when the woman heaved a sigh and the sounds of her dress rustled about; indicating that she had moved.

"Why'd you do it?" Her voice was quiet and quivered, as if she was ready to cry. Cloud looked up, meeting her wet eyes with his own. He bit his lower lip and quietly replied.

"I don't know…" Another sigh escaped through the Cetra's lip, who was hoping for a different answer. She looked down at her hands, staring at the small object that she had slipped off her finger and twirled it around. She took in a deep breath, and looked up to Cloud, only to see his face looking down again.

Inching her way closer to him, Aerith grabbed Cloud's wrist, causing him to look up. She stared into his eyes that were brightened by the tears that formed at the corners. Her heart panged with sadness when she noticed a tear slowly slide down his face, followed by another one. Taking in another deep breath, she slowly raised his hand up and placed her other hand on top. Cloud blinked, letting another droplet fall and looked down to their hands.

Aerith released the object in her hand, and ever so gently, took his fingers and wrapped them around the object, closing his open hand into a loose fist. Cloud blinked again, and looked up to her in confusion. 'What…?' Tears began to slide from Aerith's eyes and down her face, slowly dripping off her chin and staining her dress. Silently, she slipped her arms under his and wrapped them around the small of his back, resting her face on his shoulder. Dumbstruck, Cloud didn't respond and instead kept his eyes on his hand, hoping that whatever Aerith had slipped in it, wasn't what he was thinking of.

Aerith slid out of her hug and wiped away the tears that stained her face. She bowed her head down, and whispered something so quiet, Cloud had to strain his ears to hear.

"I'm sorry…" Having that said, Aerith slowly pushed herself up, resting her feet on the solid rock that had taken a shape of a hand and walked away, heartbroken.

Cloud watched her, but didn't do anything. His mind was on the object in his hand, and he quickly averted his attention back to it. Slowly, he opened it and let out a whimper, choking on his own spit and he finally let the tears he held back, fall freely until it turned into a stream that stained his face and left his breathing faltered and uneven.

He closed his eyes, and saw Aerith in his mind. Clenching his teeth under pursed lips, he tightened his hand, forming it into a fist over the delicate object. Aerith!

Pushing himself up, like Aerith had, he tracked the steps the Cetra had made and saw her in the distance. He stopped, the shade of red stood out immediately from where he was standing and he watched her walk farther away from him. Taking a deep breath, he began to run towards her and extended an arm out to her, calling.

"Aerith! Wait!"

The Cetra stopped, but didn't turn around. Cloud rushed up to her, slipping the object in his pant pocket. When he reached her, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, staring at the pink ribbon that secured her braid. He could hear the soft whimpers that Aerith was making, which broke his heart, knowing that it was his fault that she was crying. He slowly walked closer to her, wrapping his arms around her neck and rested his face in between her neck and shoulder, feeling the tears come back, burning his eyes.

Aerith dipped her head and rolled her hands up into a fist, she bit her lip as she closed her eyes, letting tears stream down her pale, porcelain skin. She felt Cloud's arms wrap around her neck from the back, and re-opened her eyes, shaking her head from side-to-side roughly, causing him to loosen his grip.

"No…No…!" Her whimpers became cries of sadness; she drooped down to the ground with her face buried between her hands, trying to muffle the cries and tears she shed. Cloud knelt down beside her, hearing his own whimpers chorus with the young woman's. He snaked his arms around her waist and neck to hug her, but she resisted, trying to free herself from his embrace. Instead of letting her go, Cloud held on, forcefully pushing the flower girl into his chest and tightened his embrace.

Aerith stopped her hysterical cries, surprised that Cloud had held on. She felt his hands gently brush her head with long, soothing strokes and began to calm down. What's wrong with me…?

It was her turn to listen, listen to Cloud's cries; she bit her lower lip, feeling guilty that she had brought him in this state. As she finally focused herself, she noticed a rhythmic thumping, beating inside her ear. She realized it was Cloud's heart. Slowly, Aerith brought her hand to her chest, placing it over her heart. She closed her eyes and listened.

Thump……Thump… Thump…

She re-opened her eyes and small smile fell upon her lips. Although she was listening to two hearts beating, she only heard one. She realized that both their hearts were beating as one. She closed her eyes again and concentrated, listening to their heartbeats in perfect sync.

Aerith shifted, trying to loosen Cloud's embrace. She moved back, looking at Cloud's face which was stained with tears. His eyes were closed as he wept, so he missed the small smile that Aerith gave.

Bringing her hands up to his face, Aerith gently placed them on the sides, grabbing his attention. She watched as his mako eyes fluttered open, full of sadness and regret. Cloud sniffed, his tears had subsided and he stared into those emerald pools before averting his glance away and looking to the ground. Still feeling her hands gripping on the side of his face, he let a slow, quivered breath escape his thin lips and with all his might, spoke as loudly as he could.

"I'm sorry…" He felt his face being pulled back and met Aerith's gaze. He noticed that her eyes were regaining the brightness it had lost before. Shrinking his eyes into a soft, apologizing gaze, he began to explain.

"I don't know what got into me… I didn't mean to respond, I just—"

He was silenced by a finger that Aerith had placed on his lips. He only stared at her, watching as her lips transformed into a smile while her eyes held an apologetic gaze. He was confused now but that didn't really bother him.

"I'm the one that's sorry… I over-reacted." She spoke in a soft voice that could only be heard by Cloud. 'Sorry' was written all over her face and Cloud noticed. She brought her eyes to the ground, looking away from Cloud and quietly finished her apology.

"I'm sorry, Cloud…"

Her hand, on the side of his face, loosened and fell down, resting on Cloud's leg. The finger she placed on his lips, slowly moved down, light tracing his chin before it too, rested itself on his leg. Aerith still looked down but brought her attention back to Cloud when she felt his arms wrap around her once again, pulling her into a tight embrace. A smile crept on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and dug her face in his chest.

Cloud was the first to move away, and Aerith followed. The two stopped when their faces met; both had a smile on their faces. Cloud jumped slightly when something popped in his mind. Losing his smile, he shoved his hand in his pocket and took the tiny object out, showing it to Aerith. Aerith's eyes widened as she felt her cheek heat up slightly.

"Oh, I forgot I took that off…" She grinned sheepishly at Cloud but it changed to a more loving smile when Cloud had grabbed her right wrist.

He smiled eagerly and looked at her, feeling his heart racing just like the day they first formally met.

"I know it wasn't what you expected, I wanted to get something of more meaning too, but I…" He felt his cheeks burn. "I couldn't afford it. ..So, instead I bought you this, remember?" She nodded, shrinking her eyes as she felt her smile growing wider. Cloud's smile widened as well.

"Aerith…" He mentally smacked himself, feeling a blush appear on his cheeks. Aerith only tilted her head, and smiled, remembering the first time he gave this to her, how he had blushed so hard; she laughed at him in her head.

"Once all this is over… Will you marry me?" He smiled wide when he saw the expression on Aerith's face.

Her eyes widened, and her cheeks burned, shyly she looked away from Cloud's eyes and smiled. "You didn't ask that before…"

Cloud nodded and leaned his face in closer to Aerith's. "Well…" Aerith looked up, blushing harder and shyly nodded in agreement.

"Yes…"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Cloud grinned, and brought her wrist up, slipping the small promise ring on her ring finger. He looked at the sight then looked at her. "I know it's just a promise ring, but I promise I'll get you a real engagement ring and do this properly."

Aerith's gaze was fixated on the shiny ring on her finger. Even though it was on placed on her finger before, she felt different when she looked at it now, she felt… happier.

Her eyes began to water. This time though, they were happy tears. She looked up at Cloud and felt his lips press against hers. When their lips met, Cloud pulled Aerith closer to him, closing the gap between them and deepened the kiss, turning it into a passionate kiss.

--

An old man was standing, watching the couple with a soft expression on his face. He had a moustache and a long beard, and he was adorned with rich clothing that easily showed his high status. A servant was standing next to him, watching along. They didn't seem to be standing anywhere near where Aerith and Cloud were; actually, it looked like they were standing on clouds as they were looking down on the couple.

The servant spoke to his master.

"It's amazing how love works." The old man continued to watch the two but his eyes were fixated on something else that was on them.

A red ribbon was tied around the two, a distinct marking that symbolized soul mates. The old man grumbled and began to ramble to his servant.

"A red ribbon connects the two. They have been destined to each other by the Gods." The old man looked at his servant, who seemed to be confused. "These two, Cloud and Aerith, they are tied together by the red ribbon of fate. This connection lets each other know when one is in trouble and even hear their voice. That is why Cloud, heard Aerith's voice in his mind, because they are connected to each other."

The servant looked at the old man; he raised his brow in question. "Are you talking about the ribbon that this 'Aerith' is wearing?" The old man turned around to face the boy next to him.

"No, but her ribbon can be recognized as a symbol of the red ribbon. The red ribbon can only be seen by the Gods, so that is why you cannot see it."

"Oh… I see." The servant looked at the two, down at the mountains and a smile crept on his lips. "So even if they have conflicts with each other, they'll still be with each other because they are meant for each other?" The old man nodded, and the boy's smile grew larger.

"I'm happy for them. They seem perfect for each other. I'm glad they'll be with each other forever."

The old man's expression changed to one of a sad kind. The young servant noticed it and his smile disappeared. "Master Da-Chao? What's wrong?"

Da-Chao looked at the boy and than to the couple down on the Planet.

"I'm afraid their ribbon will be cut." The boy's lips curved downwards into a frown, and he stared at the two, still trapped in a kiss.

"You mean…?"

"Unfortunately…"

A sigh of disappointment escaped from the young servant's lips.

--

They finally withdrew from each other, heaving for air. Aerith smiled to her love and gently brushed a stray hair from his eyes, she slowly began to trace her finger on his cheek. She than wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself towards him, hugging him.

"Cloud?

"Hmm..?"

Cloud pulled away and looked at a smiling Aerith.

"Thank you."

Author's Notes : Yay for CloudxAerith. The red ribbon theory is known from a japanese folklore.
There is a site that explains about the red ribbon and how it connects to cloudandaerith. :)

I hoped you guys liked this. I didn't intend for Cloud to pop the question, but it just kinda came out :P Lol.
Anyways, see ya in another story
CloudxAerith forever :)