A/N: Another entry for the CxA forums 100 Challenge for the theme fireworks. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Fireworks
Another ear shattering boom rolls out as another expanse of blue and gold sparks explode through the sky to cheers and cries of delight from the watching crowd below. The old man setting them off grinned widely behind his long white beard, obviously quite pleased by the response he was receiving. Brandishing his hands grandly, Merlin lit another to happy squeals from the watching children and murmured oohs and aahs from the adults.
She stood slightly apart from everyone else, back where she could have a better view of the whole display. A slight smile tugged her lips at the glee she saw on her friend Yuffie's face as she hung on Leon's arm, jabbing her finger at the sky while she chattered happily away. Cid was sitting at the bar beside Scrooge McDuck, talking loudly about good trade routes, gesturing louder and more widely the more and more he drank. It was a time of rest, relaxation, and celebration for the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, one they justly deserved. They had had precious little to celebrate in a long time, and this was quite a big deal for them.
Aerith's breath caught in her throat a tiny gasp of awe escaping parted lips as a burst of gold and orange sparks warped to become a huge sunflower across the night sky. It was simply incredible, stirring something deep within her soul. She had not seen fireworks since she was a little girl, and even those could no compete with the magnificence she beheld now. A beautiful flare of violet light reflected off of her emerald eyes, and her hands lifted to clasp at her breast, as if in prayer.
"Beautiful," she whispered breathlessly.
A slight shiver wound its way down her spine and her body went still. Though there was neither movement nor a whisper of sound, she could sense something behind her in the shadows, watching, waiting. She exhaled slowly, her eyes still on the sky. She did not need to turn to see who stood there; every sense she possessed was tuned to him. His smell, his spirit energy, his very presence, they were all as familiar to her as her own.
Her hands fell silently to her sides, lips curving slightly. "I hoped you'd come."
On cat's paws he moved slightly nearer to her, standing just behind her while still hidden in the shadows. "It would be rude not to."
She raised an eyebrow though she knew he couldn't see. "Then do you plan on talking to everyone?"
There was a pause. "Probably not," he admitted. "Maybe Leon. He needs to be aware of some of the things I've been seeing in the Fissure."
"They would like to see you," she prodded gently, but without any pressure. "Yuffie misses you. So does Cid, though he'd never admit it."
"I know." He sighed, and with it she felt his heavy sorrows. "But its better that no one be involved with me right now."
Her hand moved back slightly, an invitation. She sensed his hesitation, then she felt the coolness of his gloved fingers, first only a light caress, then they were threading gently through hers.
"No one should carry such a heavy burden alone, Cloud."
"I don't want to loose anyone to my own darkness," he replied at once, and Aerith heard the implied warning in his tone.
She sighed lightly, shaking her head. "I won't involve myself if you don't want me to," she assured him softly, squeezing his hand. "I'll support you from afar if I must."
Cloud returned the pressure. "Thank you."
Humming softly, she returned her attention to the heavens, emerald eyes watching as a burst of blue sparks went spiraling through the dark in the guise of butterflies to the delight of the children.
"So little we have to celebrate," Cloud spoke up unexpectedly, and she felt the warmth of his body as he moved nearer. "It's a shame we have to make a big deal out of so little."
"It is a big deal," she disagreed. "To have this area of town safe enough for people to walk the streets without fear from the Heartless, to have things functioning well, it's a major step up for us from the way things once were."
He made a sound of distress, and she turned her head slightly to see the unhappy expression in his glowing blue eyes. "But compared to how far we have to go, it's nothing. All of this could fall apart in a single instant."
Wrinkling her nose in frustration, she smacked his shoulder with her free hand. "Oh you," she scolded. "Always so gloomy!"
A slight smile tugged at his lips, and another firework threw his handsome face into the light momentarily, enough for her to see his affection for her in his eyes. "Maybe," he admitted. "But that's why I have you, isn't it?"
Startled, Aerith looked up at him through the darkness, emerald eyes blinking. "What do you mean?"
His hand reached down, brushing back her chocolate colored hair from her pale face as silver and pink lit the sky. "Fireworks light up the darkness, don't they?"
Her mouth curved into a trembling smile, her eyes growing soft. "Yes, they do."
Warm lips touched hers lightly, so soft, and behind her closed eyelids, fireworks went off. For a moment there was no light, no darkness, just them and the love that flared strongly in their hearts. Cloud left her not long after, but that was okay. She was content to stand there in the shadows, watching the colors bursting through the blackness. There would come a time when there would be peace in his heart. She had to believe it for his sake.