A/N: Originally my first entry for LJ's kh drabble community's challenge [267] Left Behind. Enjoy. ;)
The door creaked slightly when a young woman, clad in a pink dress, opened it and tiptoed inside her shared bedroom. This was something she had been doing quite a lot lately, sneaking inside without anyone else knowing. But that was who she was. She just had to make sure that the man who was currently fast asleep on one of the beds still was there.
"Shyeah, because Blondie would actually consider escaping from your pink-ness before it blinds him, by using the window when you aren't looking," Yuffie had said once, jokingly, but Aerith thought she had a very good reason to be this careful.
After all, this was Cloud Strife they were talking about, the guy that had left everyone alone ten years ago, by the fall of Hollow Bastion. He always had a tendency of walking away (…fleeing?), disappearing for days (weeks… months… oh, and she would certainly not forget those 9 long years of absolutely no trace of him!), only to come back again, acting like he hadn't been away at all. No explanation whatsoever. Only pretence, like nothing had happened, even though he looked more dead than alive every time he returned, beaten, bruised and broken.
Well, at least he always came back, no matter how long it was that he was away, a little voice inside her head told her.
Many times, she had thought of going after him, searching all worlds in this multiverse to find him… However, she knew that she shouldn't. Her place was here, at home. Her job was to take care of those left behind. The only thing she could do was wait for him and keep her hopes up…
Something was plaguing him, eating at him. Slowly killing the old Cloud from the inside, Aerith pondered, as she kept looking at Cloud's sleeping form.
He didn't even look peaceful in his sleep. He had completely tensed up. Sweat had formed on his forehead. His thin brows were furrowed together in a slight frown and his mouth was a thin line, his jaw tight. Aerith let her eyes travel further over his lean frame. His hands were clenched into fists and if Aerith hadn't been looking at him this closely, she would have thought that he wasn't breathing at all.
It was an understatement to say that Aerith wasn't worried about the blonde ex-SOLDIER. She really hoped that he wouldn't leave again. She was so scared of waking up one day to see that he wasn't lying next to her anymore. Aerith knew that the big fight with Sephiroth was inevitable. It had to happen in order to chase Cloud's inner Darkness away, but that didn't mean that she wasn't frightened for the final results.
What if? That was what she kept asking herself. What if it would never be okay again? What if he wouldn't make it out alive? What if-
"Aerith?"
Upon hearing that soft, surprised voice, Aerith gasped, returning back to reality. Apparently, she had been so deep in thought, that she had missed the fact that he had woken up.
"Aerith? What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding confused now.
He instantly sat up and looked at her, running his hand through his spiky mane to get it back in order.
"I… was just-"
That was when it became too hard for her to speak and she broke down into sobs.
Cloud swiftly pulled her to him for an awkward hug. It felt safe, but so wrong. She was supposed to comfort him, not the other way around.
"It's okay," he muttered.
…Was it?