Drabble #39: Betrayal
Summary: He had betrayed them
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
The air up in the mountains was thinner than normal but with his fitness, Cloud Strife had no trouble breathing. Besides, he wouldn't have cared if he had died anyway. Death would have been welcome and it was no more than he deserved.
His eyes were fixed ahead of him, on a large silver sword that was stuck into the ground. It was a monument to one of the people he had betrayed. If he hadn't been so weak, Zack would still be alive. Aeris would still be alive.
The thought of the brunette flower girl sent a sharp pain through his chest. Accepting her death had been the hardest thing to do, harder than losing Zack. He had loved her. He was supposed to protect her and he hadn't. He had betrayed her trust and the betrayal was worse for him because he was in love with her.
He had betrayed Zack's memory by pretending to be the cheerful raven-haired man. He had betrayed his Avalanche friends because he had let them believe he was someone he wasn't. He had betrayed everyone. Why should he be allowed to live when so many innocent people had suffered because of him?
"I'm sorry Zack. I'm sorry, Aeris," he sighed softly, closing his eyes. He felt something wet travel down his cheek and quickly wiped it away. It wasn't the time to get all emotional now. He couldn't been seen any weaker than he already was.
He gave a soft sigh and checked his watch. Time went by so slowly nowadays. Carefully, he brought a long pink ribbon out of his pocket and tied it around the sword and then stood back a little.
"It's all my fault that you're both gone," he whispered, brushing his hair from his wet eyes. He betrayed them in life but he wasn't going to betray their memory. Not anymore.