Fragments of the Sky
by: missrynne (unbeta-ed)
t | angst, romance, humor | cloud/aerith | drabble
disc! final fantasy vii and its characters © square-enix
a collection of 50 randomly prompted drabbles. might be continued.
Author Notes:
something i wrote on my birthday… or 2 months ago then got buried because college was being college. but since i was sick this whole day, well, this is it. (: some of these are au and didn't follow any timeline. special cookies if you know who are these 'sons' i mentioned.
this is my first clerith fic even though i've been a fan since 8 years ago. orz. /bad fan –and might be continued if i managed to get 50 prompts.
Fragments of the Sky
HELLO
Even before the word left his lips, Cloud already know he would never be able to say goodbye.
EAT
"..I was wrong, chocolate does taste sweet," was on Cloud's mind as he dived yet again to steal whatever that was left of the said treat on Aerith's mouth, before dodging the flower girl's playful attempt to slap his arm.
TIME
No one can undo the time, and Cloud has learnt this the hard way; when every single plan and attempt of his ended up fruitless.
STOP
And Cloud screamed; he screamed so Aerith won't close her eyes, he screamed so Aerith won't fade away, he screamed so Aerith stays ―but she doesn't.
STUPID
It wasn't until he was neck-deep in one that Cloud realized love does make fool out of oneself.
WALLET
It was one last look into his money pouch before Cloud finally stepped into the flower shop, hoping to find a perfect gardening-related birthday gift for his favorite flower girl.
DRINK
From the beginning, Cloud already knew that he would never have enough drinking in the beauty that was Aerith Gainsborough.
BAG
Aerith couldn't help but giggled as she watched Cloud struggling with their luggage; she wouldn't mind carrying some but she knows Cloud's ego wouldn't even let her finish asking.
PATCH
Watching Aerith tending the small patch of land they have on their backyard with such care, Cloud let the corner of his lips tugged upwards and thought how wonderful it would be for his future children to have a mother like her.
BIRD
Hand glided through the soft golden feather on the chocobo's head, and Aerith whispered a wish; so that the other 'chocobo head' would at least be more friendly towards everyone, just like this one.
SWORD
Little by little, slowly but sure Aerith taught the Ex-SOLDIER of other functions of a sword, one which to protect the people who matter the most.
DIG
Even if he does have the strength to do it, Cloud didn't think he would ever be able to lay Aerith's lifeless body underneath the earth.
ABANDON
He remembered how easy it once been to just close his heart and forfeit his feeling so he can go on fighting and earn his living, but somehow with a certain flower girl, he just… couldn't.
BEND
How they ended up in this position was beyond him, but then again, falling on top of another is a normal thing in a spare training, right?
ALLOW
Aerith wasn't sure if she would let another guy, yet alone another SOLDIER to enter her heart, but she just let everything flow, and turned out loving him just came as natural as breathing.
ANTICIPATION
One morning Aerith woke her husband up with a big grin on her face and a positive test pack on her hands, and Cloud smiled nervously as he tried not to think of the upcoming mood swing months of torture he just passed no more than two years ago.
ARMOR
She knew she wouldn't win this fight –Cloud would rather see her wimping over the heavy protections than watching her getting hurt on the battlefield.
ASH
The last remnant of her had faded away but he would never let their love face the same end.
BARGAIN
A pact with the devil himself for one small moment with his light? Cloud didn't even have to think twice.
BIND
There was not a need for a holy matrimony; even death acknowledges the fact that it can never tear them apart.
BOUNDARIES
Funny how far they seem to be a part of each other yet how close they actually are.
BURN
She burns for him and it's alright. It always is. Even it means a future without her in the picture.
CALM
It was the feeling he gets whenever he lays on his back on one of her fields, surrounded by her flowers and, sweet heaven, her watching over him.
CAGE
His own definition of hell; to spend a whole life trapped inside a body, unable to reunite with his loved one in the afterlife.
CUT
And Cloud cried, not because the depth of the slice this time, nor the pain that has now becoming numb, but of her weeps, telling him not to end everything this way.
RING
It was a cheap one, and they mistakenly got it off one old vending machine on Sector 6, but the gleam on Aerith's eyes mirrored those who have gotten a real diamond, and Cloud promised himself he would do everything he can so he could end this big journey with the word "I do."
HEAVY
He stared at her church and wondered when he would be able to let go.
LIVELY
It was a celebration like no other, and Cloud knew for sure he didn't need his whole teammate telling him how lucky he was after they saw his bride walking down the aisle.
HERO
But what's the use of gaining something he longed for, something he fought for, with the price of losing his everything?
SHIELD
He saw that look before, when he 'accidentally' let his boys getting ice cream on rainy days, and hoped the twin's best puppy eyes could somehow help to spare him some of her rage.
OPEN
It wasn't easy to re-open her heart, but she tried her best and was glad she did.
UNION
And as she drew a patch of his skin up her lips, he moves his palm down to memorize her lines.
STRENGTH
Everybody has different ones, and Cloud knew Aerith's strongest was in the power to forgive and to accept.
UNFOLD
He no longer knew, nor cared for what fate has in store for him. As long as it gets him to his flower girl, whichever way is fine.
EXCITE
Nothing would ever beat the feeling of watching their kids grow up side-by-side; laughing over their silly antics and wincing over their cries of pain and realize at the end of the day that they are the seeds that born from their love.
GUESS
With a pregnant Aerith, it was a matter of praying so she wouldn't crave for something that would take him at least an hour of riding Fenrir, emptying his Gil pouch, along with extra loud voice messages for him to just be faster only to come back with her grinning apologetically while sitting on their bed, no longer wanting the certain food.
IMMORTAL
"But I'm already dead, Cloud," she couldn't help but giggle on one afternoon, after the blonde Ex-SOLDIER voiced his thought. "But you're here," and her laugh melts into a small smile before she leans forward and kisses him lighter than the air, "I know."
EASY
Cloud laughed at the irony of life; how easy for someone like her to die while it took all his guts and that of his friends to finish her murderer.
SACRIFICE
She was doing it for the planet –for the people she doesn't even know, who doesn't and would never know of her; he wished she wasn't that selfless.
CHOOSE
Aerith couldn't hold a tiny smile as she saw Cloud scratched his head as he caught the sight of his favorite strong smelled coffee and evening snack laid on the table where he had put the delivery reports he needed to check earlier. What Cloud didn't know was that Aerith does take note of his odd preferences and make sure they would be there whenever he needs them.
BREATHING
And sometimes Cloud would wake up at night sweating, finding Aerith sleeping by his side and wouldn't be able to get back to sleep before she opens her eyes and gather him in her arms, with gentle whispers and soothing caresses that say "I'm here, I'm fine."
DESTINY
He didn't believe in one, but thanked whatever entity that had led him to fall on her church's rooftop that afternoon.
MUSIC
Her laugh was like music in his ears, and he promised to do all he could to always make her happy and have that sweet smile lingering on her face.
INK
Black, as the drops of geostigma on his arms, like the bitter taste of pain on his heart after she's gone.
STEADY
It was his heartbeat and for her, it's the best lullaby she could ever get.
EMBLEM
She once told that it would suit him the most, and Cloud continued wearing the wolf until his end, as his own way of mourning and remembering for her.
SOFT
The feel of her skin against his; so delicate as if the slightest touch would ruin her. But he grasped her hands roughly with needs and she felt his vow of putting his own life for hers.
CRAWL
It only takes one look at Cloud's eyes for all the party members to know that the belated flower girl meant more to him than just an adventure mate. So much more that he's trying not to die.
PIECES
She looks at him as if he would never die. She admires him with twinkled eyes as if he is her knight in shining armor that would fight bahamuts and more to save her life. But she doesn't. She stands there and sees right through him; through his perfectly crafted masks and solid cold attitude right to the small cracks of his broken self, before trying to mend them one by one.
Because the world would always see him as a hero, and only she who knows he's more than that.