:--x..A Goodbye's Requiem..x--:

Disclaimer: If I did, would I be writing this?

"Cloud! Pay attention!!" the flower-girl next to him whispered. "You're zoning out again!" Cloud's blue mako eyes snapped to the girl next to him. He had been broken out of his reverie.

"Cloud, are you okay? You're staring into space," Tifa said, concerned.

"Er, yeah. I'm fine, Tifa," Cloud said, mentally thanking the girl next to him as she winked at him with emerald-green eyes.

"No problem!" she whispered back. Tifa turned to the side, and then smiled.

"You sound kind of tired," Tifa said, touching Cloud's shoulder. She was concerned. "Why don't you go upstairs and rest for a while?" Cloud yawned. Well, he was feeling tired after delivering packages all day.

"Yeah," Cloud replied back absentmindedly as Aerith smacked him on the back of the head. "Erm, thanks, Tifa," he said quickly, glaring slightly at the emerald-eyed girl. She merely grinned in reply and followed Cloud into his room as he slumped onto the bed, exhausted.

"Cloud? Are you okay?" Aerith asked, slightly worried. She sat down on the bed, too, leaning against the post as she smiled at him. He yawned in return. "You should go to sleep. Really."

"How much longer do you have?" he asked, turning towards her. The flower-girl grinned.

"An hour. But hey, I've spent the whole day with you already, haven't I?" she teased, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like I'm dead-dead." Cloud visibly gulped. He didn't want to remember the fact that he was talking to Aerith's spirit, not her. Aerith's voice softened as she took one of Cloud's hands in her own. "See? You can feel me. I'm just not able to be...you know, here. With you guys." He sighed.

Aerith sighed as well. Cloud still blamed himself for what happened to her. "Cloud," she said more gently, "I'm still here. You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened. It's in the past. I mean, heck, even I don't care!" she said with a grin. "I never blamed you for what happened."

"..."

Aerith smiled. "Now, let's see you smile," she said, pulling up the corners of his mouth with her cold hands. Her skin was always cold, no matter what. Even if it was in the middle of summer, Aerith's hands were freezing as ice. Cloud smiled reluctantly.

"Now...can you tell me how everyone is?" she asked with another smile.

"...Tifa really misses you. She's taking care of Marlene and Denzel while I'm away, but...she thinks about you a lot. Yuffie and Vincent hang out a lot more, too. Ever since he got a cell phone, she's teaching him how to use it. Cid..." Cloud continued to speak as Aerith sat by him, listening.

Everyone missed Aerith. And this was the only way that Cloud could bring her a little closer to them.

After an hour, Aerith stood from the bed, smiling. A low ringing and a soft whisper could be heard throughout the room as she waved.

"That's my signal to go!" she said, sighing. Cloud gave her an actual smile this time as Aerith hugged him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, maybe," Aerith said. The low ringing appeared again as Aerith pulled away, giving Cloud a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Cloud!" she said with a smile, and in front of him, Aerith faded away. Her pink dress became a blur, her emerald eyes began to disappear, and her long, chestnut brown hair waved wildly. Then, she was gone.

Cloud sat on his bed.

The low ringing had stopped; it was a goodbye's requiem.