Done as a entry to CloudxAerith 100 Themes Challenge. This theme is wings.

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or any of the characters, all I own is this story.

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The phone was ringing upstairs, and Cloud, who was lounging on the sofa, slowly got off it, and walked up upstairs, the stairs creaking under his feet. The walls were plastered with the many drawings that the kids drew, yet Marlene drew, in his opinion, around five a day, so most of them were hers.

But even Cloud had to admit, she was very good at drawing. She drew the whole of Avalanche, and never missed out a detail. Red XIII, she never forgot the tail that was tipped with fire. Cait Sith, the golden crown atop it's head. For Cid, the cigarette hanging out of his mouth (even though he was trying to quit).

Vincent, the chain hanging from Cerberus, his gun. Yuffie, the many materia she had collected over the years. Tifa, the cloudy wolf ring that Cloud had given some members after they had all saved the world.

For Barrett, her adoptive father, she drew the many scars that he had, because of the stories he had told her of where the scars came from. And for Cloud, Marlene always remembered to draw his eyes a little brighter, for the real Cloud's mako eyes still shone bright.

Yet, even though she put so much detail in each and every single one of her precious drawings, the many she drew of Aeris, even though Marlene hadn't seen her for over five years, Aeris' drawings where the most detailed of them all, with some much dedication and timed poured into them.

Cloud reached his room, where the phone was still ringing, and stepped towards it, but something caught his eye. A drawing Marlene had done of Aeris a few days ago.

This was her best in Cloud's opinion, for Aeris was sitting amongst a variety of different flowers, smiling at whoever was looking at the picture. And Marlene, who believed that Aeris was an angel, had even drew wings on her, one's that spread out in the air, with pearly white feathers falling towards the ground.

Cloud smiled when he saw this, thinking how long Marlene she had spent with this one picture alone. He remembered her running towards him, the picture flapping in the air, he remembered her thrusting it in his face, and started talking rapidly about how it looked like, even though the picture was so close to his face, his eyes were crossing.

And then, he recalled what he saw when he fell a long distance, thinking he was about to die...

Flashback

...You all right?

...Can you hear me?

He opened his eyes, and his first thought was, "She's an angel, I must be in heaven."

You okay?

This is a church in the Sector 5 slums.

You suddenly fell on top of me.

You really gave me quite a scare.

"...I came crashing down?"

The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall.

You're lucky.

End flashback

Cloud was suddenly pulled from his reminiscing when the silence hit him, he realized that the phone had stopped ringing.

"Oops, I don't think you were meant to leave it alone, you know?" Cloud's head whipped round to see a woman in the corner of the room, but she wasn't solid, she seemed ghostly.

"Aeris?!" "What are you..." She cut him off by walking towards him slightly, then stopped. She tilted her head like she always did, then smiled.

"Came to say hi, and now I must be going... see you." She gave a bright white light and faded, but not before Cloud saw something spreading out from her back, and left pearly white feathers where she once stood.

He turned towards the picture of Aeris on the wall, and grinned as he looked at the white feathered wings.

"My winged flower girl." He whispered, and made his was downstairs, but not before the phone started ringing again...