Drabble #18: Acceptance
Summary: She had always felt isolated but perhaps Cloud could make it better.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
She watched sadly as Tifa and Cloud sat by the fire exchanging smiles and chatting happily. It wasn't the fact that she liked Cloud and was giving Tifa attention that was bothering her, she was mature enough to deal with envy but she longed to have a friendship like theirs. She had never really been accepted by people at all in her life apart from her family and stepmom. The only other person who had showed interest in her for who she was, was Zack.
She gave a soft sigh and lowered her eyes as she allowed her thoughts to wander. She only really spoke when the group began to break apart to go to their tents. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cloud occasionally glance at her with a small frown before he turned back to Tifa to resume their conversation.
"I think I'll go to bed," Aeris sighed eventually, standing up to stretch. The childhood friends stopped half-way through their sentence and turned towards her. Tifa smiled gently but Cloud stared at her with a soft, almost sad look in his eyes.
She lay on her sleeping bag, not really feeling as tired as she had done so now she waited for sleep to come to her, which wasn't easy when her mind was full of thoughts. She jumped up when she heard the zipper being pulled down and Cloud poked his head through.
"Are you okay?" he asked, not completely stepping inside. She smiled and nodded.
"Are you checking up on all the team?" she teased, resting her head back on the pillow, on top of her hands. Cloud shrugged and pushed his hair back from his face.
"You just seemed a little upset so I came to check on you," he replied gently. "What's wrong?" Aeris sat up and looked at her lap.
"I've just been thinking about things," she shrugged. "My childhood." Cloud took the moment to enter the tent fully and sat beside her.
"What about it?" he pressed when she didn't continue immediately. She rubbed the back of her neck before she moved her hand to run it down her face.
"I just never felt like I belonged, you know?" she said eventually, turning to him. "I was always picked on because I was different, because I was a Cetra," she moved her palm to rub against her eyes but Cloud gently caught her wrist, causing her gaze to fall onto his face. To her surprise, he was smiling gently and shaking his head a little.
"I like you just fine," he whispered, his cheeks flushing a little from the admission. Aeris was pretty sure her heart had stopped from the declaration and it took a moment of staring at him to prove her wrong. He surprised her even more when he leaned across and gently brushed his lips against hers, a contact that lasted less than a second but would burn in her mind forever. He gave her one last smile before leaving her in peace and Aeris couldn't help but smile back.
Maybe, she could be accepted for who she was at last.