Cloud sometimes thought that leaving his hometown was a mistake, and he found himself regretting his decision to leave out all the goodbyes. However, in that cold, backwater mountain town, people were faker than if they were made of plastic. None of them would've appreciated any sentimentality on his part because they all would probably like to pretend he was never there. That is, all of them besides Tifa.
She was probably the only reason he had to stay back, and he wondered what it would've been like if he had taken her with him, but he knew that a girl like her, who was so strong willed, would be better off finding her own way. Strife was no leader. He knew it'd be hard just on his own, so having her with him could've ended up being a big mistake. If Cloud fucks up, there's no reason he has to drag anyone else down with him. But that's no way to think is it? He was never really that optimistic. Never had a reason to believe that he could make things work out for everyone. He was doing this for himself.
Strife left the village to 'do his own thing,' so if Tifa came along, he'd have to be a little less selfish, and in his opinion, being selfish was by far a better decision than eventually butting heads with her.
That being said, the freshly turned 19 year old Cloud Strife felt nothing but anticipation on leaving everything behind. Those people… They never could've accepted him with the way he looked. That's how it happened. They may be confused about his discordant personality now, but he hoped someday they'd realize the only reason he was like that was because of how roughly they pushed him away. His naturally standing hair, and beryl eyes; almost exactly like his mother, except her eyes were always dim, always facing out the window. Strife imagined she would've wanted to leave the town behind too before she died.
The only reason she stayed was because she had him, and without the funds to tote him around, without the courage or cruelty to leave him behind, without the support to thrust him into someone's care, she was stuck in dirty old Nibelheim. That wasn't really his fault though, and he tried not to blame himself for being a burden on her, but it really wasn't like he asked her to care. He loved her but if she wanted to leave, what really would've changed? The townspeople would have shoved him away, and he'd have to get by mostly on his own, with the help of Tifa here and there, just like when she died.
Cloud tried not to think of these things but they always seemed to creep up on him. He focused on his journey into the rainy city, Midgar. When he was younger, he'd always imagined escaping to a warm, bright place that smelled less like rainwater and more like sea water, but of course things are never so perfect. Maybe someday, far, far after today, he'd manage to get his life to that place he'd always wanted to be in. Maybe he won't have to do it alone.
That almost made him laugh, but he remembered he was on the subway and decided he didn't need any more strange looks than he was given. Cloud was a smart guy, who tried not to let the angst suffocate him, and he tried to take control of his problems so that they didn't become his personality.
Not being alone, though; what a riot that was. Cloud felt like maybe being alone wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't so pessimistic. After all, when you're Cloud Strife, you have to find ways to be okay with it, or else he'd be swallowed by his troubles. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window of the rickety subway car, trying not to think. All that did however, was remind him of all the public transportation he'd have to use to get to the apartment building in Midgar that was already his.
-)(-)(-)(-
It was about 6 o'clock when Cloud arrived at the last station and, the sun was nearly set when he walked to the apartment buildings, and realized that traveling by public transportation sucks ass. He should've just come on foot. It'd take long but at least he'd enjoy it more.
With most of the money he'd saved up doing odd jobs in Nibelheim, he rented out a small empty apartment and sent some things ahead of him, like a small chair to sleep in, a small table, clock, lamp, clothes, and a few dishes. He needed to get a job soon.
There were three buildings. They were labeled with shapes, oddly enough. Don't these places usually have names, or are labeled in letters or numbers? One building had an upside down triangle, another had a moon shape, and another had a diamond.
His place was in the triangle building, apartment 66, and it wasn't that bad. The carpet had seen better days, and perhaps it was time to replace the wallpaper, clean out the fridge and bathroom, maybe even add a few more windows, but it was the best he could get and he wasn't complaining. There were some boxes of his in the mail room he had to get, so he spent a bit of time running back and forth, and in that space of time he bumped into the landlord, who apparently was just skulking around the building in hopes of bumping into him.
"...Never seen you… You're the Strife kid, eh!?"
"Hn."
"S'great! Findin' everything okay?"
"Hn."
Cloud hated to be so short with the landlord right off the bat but if he was being completely honest with himself he would've had to admit that he wasn't really interested in what he had to say. It's not like he had a box with a bunch of dishes in his arms or anything, and it certainly wasn't like he'd been traveling all damn day either. There was no excuse.
"Got anymore boxes?"
"Yeah, just one," He said off handedly, trying to scoot around the shorter man.
"Well, you should've found me sooner! Could'a helped you sooner!"
The landlord started speed walking past him towards the mailroom to get the last box, which wasn't really a box, it was the chair. Cloud never asked for the landlord's help because he was nowhere to be found, and he wasn't really too dependent. He watched the landlord turn the corner before turning back and carrying the box of dishes through the cracked door of his apartment, which he hadn't gotten the keys for yet. When he left the nearly empty space into the hall, he saw the landlord quickly hefting the chair back around the corner, which was insane because the mailroom was downstairs on the first floor.
Strange guy.
-)(-)(-)(-
It had been almost week since Cloud started living in the triangle building, and so far, nothing bad had happened. The landlord was a nice guy named Duncan who tried his best to work with him despite his reserved personality. The rent was slowly creeping up on Strife, who hadn't quite found a job yet, but Duncan said he'd let it slide for a bit if he was late since he was so young, and obviously had a 'hard time of it.'
Strife had applied for a job in a local bookstore, which paid just enough to get by, though if he was careful about his money he could save up for a bed, phone, dresser. He was running out of food money, too, but sometimes Duncan came by to give him small things, like cups of noodles. He wasn't looking for the luxurious life, so he just took what was offered. Offered, of course, meaning that the landlord was trying his best to help Cloud out by pushing him in the way of work. Could be that he wanted to be paid rent, but it was rather nice of the guy to even suggest it.
So cloud was getting ready, having left most of his clothes in their boxes, to check out the store; wasn't far from his apartment, so walking there everyday wouldn't be so bad when it got colder. Cloud also wanted to save up for a motorcycle too, but he knew better than to make that one of his main purchases.
Sleeveless turtleneck? Yes, for sure. Black jeans? Obviously. Leather boots? What else? Dark casual jacket? Yep. Being completely ready to leave his his house, Cloud opened the door with unnecessary speed, excited, nearly knocking some guy in the hall down when he actually walked through it. Oh shit, wait, that's not so good. Pay attention.
Cloud tried to prevent the guy from falling, awkwardly putting out his arms as the man regained his balance before he even moved. At least he didn't have to touch him. He was super tall. The guy was like 6'3"; most of his height was in his legs, and half of his face was curtained by thick black hair and a red, ragged-looking bandana that had probably been mended many times since its purchase. He had a laundry basket propped on his hip, and his eyes were red. Weird.
Not like Cloud could really comment or complain about how people looked, but still. He was told as a child that he'd be pretty cute if he wore contacts, dyed his hair, styled it, and wore different clothes. Basically, he had to change everything to be 'cute,' which wasn't necessarily the look he was going for anyways.
He wasn't really upset when he heard that, but he understood what it meant right away. Cloud wasn't sure why that stuck with him, or why he remembered it so prominently either; things like that just seem to useless to keep in mind.
But more important than that, was the guy in the hall who just sorta stared at him until he stopped being an idiot and apologized.
"Oh, sorry," he said as if it just occurred to him that that would be an appropriate response. He didn't feel bad when it seemed like the guy had nothing to say back. Eventually he replies.
"It's okay."
Strife briefly considered the fact that the guy might've been like him just then, where knowing what might be the right thing to say was next to impossible. He decided that he needed to go because he really did, so he moved to the right to keep going on, and he could hear behind him that guy walking on as well. He never intended to make friends with his neighbors, so he just didn't care about what kind of impression he might've left on the guy. Plus, it was pretty early in the morning. Who had the time to just sit around and ponder these things? Like he was gonna lean on the wall and evaluate what just happened or something.
Making it outside, Cloud felt chilly. It stilled smelled like rain too. Well, rain and a little air pollution too, but that wasn't really something nice about the place that he was excited to tell his parents about on the phone. Not that he could. He didn't have any of the things necessary. You need parents and a phone, in case it was hard to tell.
The walk was about ten minutes. The bookstore looked pretty rundown from the outside. It had chipped orange brick walls and a big cracked glass window, with the handle of its green door loose enough to easily have been pulled out. Some of the lights on the inside flickered, and some corners of the edifice were just completely dark, but it was a cozy place overall, despite its frayed edges.
A pretty girl with long brown hair saw him walk in and immediately stopped whatever she was doing by a vase of flowers to greet him cheerfully. She asked if he was Cloud and he considered saying 'no' before mentally slapping himself. Why…?
"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Aerith Gainsborough, and I'm glad to have you," she said with finality in her voice. Did he just get the job? Wasn't this supposed to be an interview?
"Wait, are you hiring me?"
She looked surprised that he asked. "Of course! It's been so long, I thought nobody was going to apply, and with someone like you around, it won't be such a pain carrying all these books!"
Oh, okay.
"Now that you're here, let's get this show on the road. This place really deserves a good cleaning! These flowers aren't enough to brighten it up, don't you agree?"
Cloud nods because there was no good reason to say otherwise.
"Alrighty!"
Over the next few hours, Strife found himself scrubbing hot soapy water into the hardwood floors with a stiff bristled broom, wiping the windows and glass tables, getting the cobwebs off of the ceiling, and wiping off anything Aerith couldn't reach. Then after that she showed him the ins and outs of the library, and helped him put all of the returned books away so that he'd get to see where everything went. She only had to help customers three times while helping him out too, while most people who came in just stole the wifi.
She even made sure Cloud knew how to take care of the flowers for her in case she couldn't make it to work one day, though she promised to try and stay with him. Then they were pretty much done with their business, so they both sat behind the reception desk and waited. At some point Aerith's boyfriend walked in and she seemed so happy that whatever chance Cloud thought he might've had committed suicide. He wasn't really in the market but still.
Zack, that was his name, was still on work, so she was a little mad with him, but it was still really clear that seeing him probably made her day. Then after that she sort of filled in some blanks about him for Cloud, who wasn't even going to ask her.
Apparently he was the sweetest guy ever and always took the time to make others smile, though Cloud suspected her of a little bias. He worked for the Shinra and made a decent wage, enough for the two of them, but Aerith insisted on keeping her job in the library because she didn't want to depend on Zack. She said something about how his kindness would cripple him someday, and Cloud wondered how it must be to constantly make others this happy.
It wasn't a bad day. They said their goodbyes when it was time at 5:45, and then Cloud made it back home without incident. He was just feeling lazy. He wasn't tired, but he didn't feel like doing anything either, though he was hungry. His lunch break was decently scheduled, but it didn't really mean anything since all he had was a few bites of Aerith's food. He didn't want to share but evidently, her and Zack are very much alike in the crippling kindness department. What was even in the fridge? Leftover pizza?
He didn't really want to eat it, but he had no choice. He had to get something that would last a while, but this was the last of it, and he didn't really know what he'd have tomorrow but he knew it'd have to be cheap. He managed to muscle through and eat the rest of the pizza, but was torn between taking a nap (because of the stifling amount of disappointment,) or going outside for some air, knowing that it wouldn't be as fresh as he was used to.
In the end he felt like the cold air, not matter how dirty, would do him more good than just taking a nap, so he left his nearly empty apartment to go sit on the small, rickety veranda that everyone on that floor had to share. Each floor had one. He didn't pay much attention to the things around him when he got there, he just sat on the railing and thought about his situation.
When he left Nibelheim, he really tried hard to solidify himself so that he wouldn't get his hopes up too high. He never expected Midgar to be a dream city, or an immediate fix to his problems, but still he can't help but feel like things should be better. He wondered what Tifa was doing, and if she missed him, and the after that he felt himself sink further into the railing with guilt. He should've said something to her. Maybe he'll go back to Nibelheim someday to say something to her, assuming she's even still there. By the time Cloud got his shit together she'd probably be gone anyways.
Strife supposed he always knew that the girl never regarded him in the same way as he did her. She probably wasn't thinking of him now, and if she was, then she probably thought that his presence didn't matter either way. Cloud just needed someone to want him around for now. If he could just evade his insides for a while longer, maybe he could find someone, or at least convince himself that he could live the rest of his life in this way. However, letting people close to you is hard when you're as guarded as Strife. Going in circles about a problem never solved anything though, and Cloud knew it too well, so he just ignored it again.
He thought about what it'd be like with her here with him. He'd probably have a bed by now; she was always good with that sort of thing. She was a working woman, after all, and he didn't doubt that she could find a job upon moving her things into the apartment. If she didn't miss him, then he definitely missed her, but it wasn't such a terrible feeling. He felt no need to lament over it. He had no doubt that they'd eventually meet again, whether she was excited to see him again or whatever.
Cloud was sitting on the railing dangling his feet for like five minutes before he noticed that there was another person on the porch with him. It was the guy he bumped into earlier, with the red eyes. He looked stranger now then when they first encountered, because he could just wear a jacket like most people, but instead he was wearing a thick hooded shawl type thing that looked like it could be like a cape, but he supposed it was better than if he was just in a robe or something like these shady apartment people like to wear. There was this one smoker lady with smeared lipstick who lived down the hall who apparently refused to be seen outside in anything but a fuzzy pink robe, which had scattered upon it many burn holes. Whatever her story was, the cover made it out to be a tragically depressing read.
The cowl, very high collared, covered most of the guys face, so from the angle Cloud was at, he could only see the tip of his nose, which appeared very bright next to the dark reds and black. His arms were folded, making his upper half appear larger than it was, but it lifted the cowl up a little so that Cloud could get a peek at what he was wearing under, since he hadn't really seen when they'd met. Looked like just a black button up with the sleeves rolled up, regular black (maybe but hopefully not leather,) jeans, and strange leather boots with gold plating with a left hand glove to match. He looked like a video game character or something.
Not wanting to get caught staring, Strife looked away, but he noticed as he turned his head away that it was already too late, and he got caught. He awkwardly swiped at his nose and hoped that the guy didn't mind, because if he did happen to dislike it, Cloud knew exactly why and couldn't say that if he were in his shoes he'd take it so well. He was curious about what that guy thought of how Cloud looked, considering he probably gets a lot of the same looks he does.
Strife tried to pretend like he didn't just get caught being an asshole and blankly stared forwards, though the urge to look back again was growing with how firmly the stranger was looking at him. Cloud guessed that the guy was thinking a lot of the same things he was, like how he looked weird, but how he also had no grounds to comment on the because of his own appearance.
Despite it all, Strife thought that the guy who might be alike him in a lot of ways probably had someone to go home to.
-)(-)(-)(-
More time passes without fanfare, and Cloud had already received his first paycheck a few days before rent was due, which was very nice of Aerith since payday wasn't for another couple of days. Needless to say, he was quite pleased to eat something sustaining.
He and Aerith were in the library together, and Zack had just left after making a short stop to say 'hello' for the millionth time that week. Aerith unsurprisingly scolded him about trying harder not to get fired, and still, that wasn't really noteworthy. Strife tried to focus on the book he was reading, rather than the display of affection they put on.
Sometimes the amber haired woman would apologize, but he never thought her happiness should be something she should have to say sorry for, and he told her that. The only problem he had was his own loneliness, which probably grew with jealousy every time he saw the pair together, but he still felt like he couldn't blame them for that. Who was he waiting for?
Well, right then, the stranger with the red eyes walked in, an enthusiastic young woman behind him. The bell on the door rang, attracting Aerith's attention, though Cloud kept his gaze averted, assuming it was nobody he wanted to see.
"Oh, Vincent! Yuffie! It's good to see you here!"
"Hi, Aerith!"
The man, hopefully and probably not the one whose name was 'Yuffie,' only nodded back to her, though he was not unkind. His eyes were smiling but that was really all you could see of him. Cloud looked up after they both were standing directly in front of the counter they sat behind, because he really couldn't help but be interested in the friendly pair.
The first thing Cloud noticed was their clothes. Yuffie, who appeared to be about 16, had on short shorts, and a green sweater, with cozy looking thigh highs and brown leather boots. Vincent on the other hand, had on another strange, red cape thing with more than a few buckles, gold plated boots and left hand glove, thick bandana, and black everything else. Well he looked warm, no less interesting than the last time Cloud had seen him. Actually knowing his name this time has made it more interesting though.
"Aerith," Vincent muttered in greeting. His red eyes shifted to Cloud's direction and his nodded his head to him as a kind of 'I don't know your name but I won't ask for it either' way, to which the blonde man nodded patiently back.
"I need another book or two on demonology." It was the second time Cloud had heard his voice, other than that time in the hallway of the triangle building, but he was still surprised at its deepness.
"Now now, Vinny," chastised the small Wutain girl, "It's been, like, forever since we saw Aerith last. Can't you get your mind off business for one second?"
"She's right, you know. I've missed you both while you were gone, so let's catch up!" Aerith excitedly walks around the counter to give the pair proper hugs, and as Cloud looks back down to his book, she stops him. "You too, Cloud. I want to introduce you to these two. They're friends of mine, and soon enough they'll be yours too. They usually come in here pretty often, so there will be plenty of chances to get to know each other."
Strife just shuts his book and walks around the counter so he can face the pair evenly, and he sees Yuffie's eyes light up like a child's would. He couldn't fathom why, though.
"This is Vincent Valentine, and this is Yuffie Kisaragi," She announces cheerfully. "Yuffie, Vincent, this is Cloud Strife."
Vincent reached his hand out to shake it with Cloud's, but he was distracted by that way Yuffie was eyeing him. That man, for all his strangeness, was very graceful however, and had a firm grip. He handled himself better than he would think a man of his height should. Seriously, most people who are 6'3" don't had the fluidity he displayed.
Next was Yuffie, whose hand shot out quickly with a big smile on her face, and her grip was gentle. She was acting very much like Aerith got a new puppy. Cloud noticed the stark contrast between the two's heights, and thought it must be a little awkward for them to execute normal affairs, like kissing or holding. Just couple things. That track of thought led to two things: Cloud wondering about their age difference, and then him wondering why he cared.
"He's cute, Aerith," she said as she turned to face said woman again, hand still in Cloud's. "Where'd you find this one? I bet Zack has been wary of competition like this, eh?"
It made the runaway feel icky to be talked about like that because she was so young. To Cloud, she was like a kid basically, and he was sure he could handle her brightness but there were many things about her that instantly told him there was no reason to think she could be an option.
"Yuffie…" said Vincent and Aerith in unison. It appeared that these kinds of things fell out of her mouth on the regular.
That's when Aerith suddenly remembered something about her relationship with Zack that she wanted to tell Yuffie, and she said so with much force. She then dragged the younger girl off deeper into the library with excitement, leaving Vincent and Cloud to stare after them without purpose. Honestly, the runaway couldn't imagine what could be so interesting, because as far as he could tell, the two were perfect and made everything work, and they knew to talk about their problems.
Of course, that's the most efficient way to operate in a relationship, but it's more interesting to talk about your problems, because people get sick of hearing happy things all the time. Or at least that's what Cloud gathered from his lifetime in Nibelheim.
The girls turn a corner and eventually Cloud turned back around to address Vincent awkwardly, who had already taken to staring at him. Well, being used to that, the looks, Cloud crossed his arms and stared back. He wanted to talk to him.
"How do you know Aerith?" He was surprised a question like that had popped up, seeing as how making conversation with strange new people was never one of his strong suits.
"I visit this library often."
What a neat, bland, uninformative answer. Cloud decided to quit while he was ahead. This guy is just not the chit chatting kind of guy he'd sort of been hoping he was. Maybe it was the prospect of finding someone like himself, but Cloud was interested in getting to know Vincent, and the feeling of interest was so new and fresh that he wondered if he should let it go. However tempting though, he had a job to do. As such, he felt like helping Vincent find his book since Aerith forgot what she was doing. Sounded like a good idea.
"Okay… Well, let me help you find the book you're looking for."
"Thank you."
Well, at least he was polite. Cloud turned on his heel and led Vincent back into a rather untouched section of the library, asking him a few questions about what kind of book on demonology he'd actually wanted, and getting answers with varying degrees of vagueness. He could hear hushed voices toward the center of the library where Aerith and Yuffie were talking, about what exactly he couldn't tell.
"Must be nice to have someone to mouth off to like that," he muttered in thought, actually genuine in his own longing, but coming off harsher than intended. It was as if Cloud lost himself for a second and couldn't think better of himself, because it was out of his mouth before he remembered there was someone standing right fucking next to him who could hear the words that fell out of his careless face.
His initial thought was, "Oh no, that was kind of fucked up, the way I said that," but then he started thinking, "Oh no, those are his friends, and I'm being a jerk for a bad reason! He's gonna think I'm an asshole or something!" Vincent however, didn't react the way Cloud had feared. He chuckled a bit, and seemed to understand where the blonde runaway was coming from well enough. Maybe Cloud was right, and they were more alike than you could tell from the outside.
"Yes," he admitted with the same smiling eyes he'd used before, "It's hard to find that here in Midgar."
That's when Cloud decided that he had to try and talk to this guy for longer, at which point he just pretended to shuffle through the books on the shelves and tried to keep the conversation going.
"I'm sure it's hard to find wherever you go, really. How long have you been in Midgar?"
"I've been here for two and a half years now."
"And how did you and Yuffie get together?" At this point Cloud wasn't shyly facing the bookshelf in an 'I'm working right now,' kind of way, his head was completely facing Vincent. Said man in red leaned against the shelf with his arms crossed comfortably.
"Don't get the wrong idea. We're partners, but not in that way."
"Oh," he responded awkwardly. He should've known better than to assume.
"Right before I came to this city, I was in Wutai visiting my old childhood home and she pick pocketed me. I wasn't too pleased when I caught her, but she gave me my things back and decided that she wanted to accompany me, and she's been around ever since. If you want to hear her reason for staying, though… I couldn't tell you."
Cloud looked at those red eyes as he told his story, and his uncertain finish only gave him more questions. "So you mean she's traveling with you, and you don't know why?'
"Well, there are certainly a few ideas that come to mind, but... After a while of her tagging along with me, tension started to rise and I was certain that she would run off, but then, probably a year ago, Yuffie and I came in here looking for information, and she and Aerith instantly connected. Eventually I started getting dragged in here more and more often until we all had some sort of bond or another. I have Aerith to thank for this friendship lasting, because we couldn't do it without her."
The blonde runaway took note of how thoughtfully Vincent spoke about that, having never been in a situation like that. It sounded like Aerith was motherly in many more situations than just making sure Cloud ate at least a bite or two for lunch.
"That sounds like a good enough reason to stay in a place like this. It can be hard without anyone on your side. Aerith is just that kind of person, too. She probably couldn't let you and Yuffie fall apart even if she wanted to."
"Yes, those words may hold more truth than I'd like to admit," he agreed. "But what about you, Cloud?" He liked the way Valentine said his name. "Why are you in Midgar? This place is not so appealing up close."
He had to laugh at the statement, because it was somewhat ironic how it seems everyone who lived here came to the same conclusion, but Cloud couldn't decide whether it was a touchy subject for him or not. On one hand, the reason for leaving was because he didn't want to be where he was unwanted, and he needed to find his own way which was slightly depressing and therefore not good conversation material, but on the other, he felt like it almost didn't matter now that he was relatively settled in. He was moving on at his own pace, he supposed, and he wasn't as bitter as he was at the start either, so things weren't so bad.
"I'm here…" his voice cut in softly after a few seconds, and he tried to find a way to word his sentence so that he didn't come off as a complainer, though there was no real reason to be terribly concerned with the impression he gave Vincent. "Because I needed to get away from where I was in more ways than one."
Vincent looked interested, though Cloud could only see his eyes and nose. "And if you don't mind me asking, where was this place?"
"...Nibelheim, my hometown. Have you been there?"
The dark haired man's eyes were smiling again, and Cloud was starting to notice things about him that he hadn't before, like how he probably cut his hair himself for how uneven it was, and how his eyes had the slightest wutain curve, the small signs of sleeplessness on his face, and the faint smell of something sweet.
"If only you knew. We are alike in that way as well, then," he said matter of factly, seeming to notice all their similarities like Cloud had. At least that meant that he wasn't blind to making connections, however, this sparked Strife's curiosity, and he felt like questioning the taller man on it would be a bit inconsiderate since he himself didn't want to say too much about his own time there.
"So you've noticed some similarities too, huh?"
"Yes, I have," he continued conversationally. Cloud didn't think Valentine was the chatty type simply because he didn't look like it, but evidently he could carry himself well, and wasn't the strange and unfriendly oddity he appeared. He just kept his answers short and curt, which was fine by Cloud; he'd never been able to keep a conversation going for so long with anyone but Tifa and sometimes Aerith, though it was usually the girls doing all the talking. They sometimes don't leave room for questions, making some of the things they said harder to grasp. But this was different, Cloud thought, because he was being heard on some level.
"I've had Yuffie in my ear about you since the day we bumped in the hallway, and she's made a lot of things we have in common apparent to me. She's been meaning to meet you for a while now, but Aerith and I try to convince her that it's better to have patience than to be obnoxious."
"Really?" Cloud had never seen Yuffie in his life, so he wondered how exactly she'd seen them bump into each other, or if Vincent had talked to her about him. "How did Yuffie know about that?" He could stop his slight embarrassment from sounding in his voice, but it wasn't like him to be so clumsy, so he felt justified.
"I'm a ninja! You never know when Ms. Kisaragi might be utilizing her unmatched stealth." She said these things from the top of one of the bookshelves the two were between, but Valentine didn't even flinch. Cloud got startled and jumped though. He made a note to keep on guard when she was around. "So is it me, or does Vinny seem kinda happy? What are you two doing back here, huh? Was I right about you all along, Vince?"
"Cloud was getting me the books we came here for, Yuffie."
"I don't believe it. If only I'd gotten here sooner-"
"Hey, what kind of person do you take me for?" Cloud was confused. It may be at Vincent's expense, but he ended up being the butt end of the joke, and he thought Yuffie liked him. What was she saying?
"Vinny's got a crush I think," she offered offhandedly, focusing more on hoisting herself up further onto the shelf so that she could dangle her feet. "So of course he'd want a chance to talk to you more… He never talks to me like this, or Aerith either, now that I think about it…" she stopped looking at Cloud and turned her head up to the high ceiling. "But it makes sense, because Cloud has eyes that glow like his."
"Yuffie, get down from there! What if you knock it down?" Aerith's responsible voice came from a place behind the shelves that Cloud couldn't see, and he ran a hand through his unruly blond hair to try and save a little face. This situation was so terribly cliche that he decided Yuffie's deductions held no water. Plus, wanting to be with someone because they're eyes glowed in the same fashion as your own didn't seem like a plausible reason anyways. Just stop caring, he told himself, Yuffie's just that kind of person, I guess.
"Aerith, you know with somebody like Cloud around we could all the books in the library off the floor in no time if we wanted to."
"Please don't test that!" Somebody walked in just then, ringing the bell on the door and Cloud could hear Aerith mutter to herself a little about her worries. That ninja girl must cause a lot of trouble when nobody's looking.
"She's quite the handful, Valentine."
"Yes, yes she is…"
Well, alrighty. How'd you like this first chapter? It's probably the longest start to a story I've ever written.
Did you think I did a good job of capturing the personalities of the characters? And how about the interaction between Cloud and Vincent? This is my first FF7 fanfic, so if you're going to leave a review, be as honest as possible and don't hold back.
Thank you for reading~