Drabble #78: Cloud
Summary: Aeris' thinks about her feelings for Cloud and the Planet
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
Sometimes, when the group stopped she liked to have a few hours to herself where she could think clearly and listen to the Planet's easier. She never strayed too far, mostly because she knew fiends were still lurking and because Cloud constantly called her if she was away for long. She sighed softly at the thought of him.
Somehow, no matter how much she attempted to clear her mind from anything but the Planet, she always ended up thinking of him. Despite trying her hardest, she couldn't help falling in love with him. His eyes held a confused and lost look within them, hidden behind his cold gaze. She wanted to help him, to be the light that guided him. She wanted to be his strength.
She wasn't sure if he felt the same about her. Sometimes, she thought she caught him staring at her but a lot of the time it didn't look like an expression of interest but just...bored out of his mind. Then he would push her out of the way when they were attacked but she assumed it was only because he had agreed to be her bodyguard. He was a hard person to figure out. She could usually read people easily but Cloud...he was all locked up. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking behind those blue eyes. Behind those very beautiful blue eyes if she could add!
She flirted with him from time to time but she didn't think he realised that. He could be naive when it came to the laws of attraction. That didn't help her though because all it resulted in was her thinking he was even cuter than before! The way he would avert his eyes to the ground when he was embarassed or turn his head away to hide a blush just made him appeal to her more.
She would love to just walk over to him one day and say that she was in love with him but it was far too complicated. What if he didn't feel the same? Would he distance herself from her and their friendship become awkward? She couldn't stand that! What if he did feel the same? What would Tifa do? She was her best friend and she was also in love with Cloud. She couldn't hurt her like that.
If Cloud wasn't so quiet and withdrawn, she might have been able to tell whether he had feelings for either her or Tifa. If it was the latter, she would back off and if it was her...well, she wasn't really sure what she would do. The Planet was asking her to do something that she could never reverse. Maybe it wasn't even worth starting a relationship with Cloud when she had to leave him eventually.
"There you are. Are you coming back now?"
She turned to look at Cloud and smiled as she gave the slightest nod of her head. "I'll be there in a minute."
He turned away and Aeris watched him with a sad expression. If their time together was going to end soon, she should at least make the most of it.