Don't own 'em. Wish I did. But I don't.
Warnings: Strong language, possible violence, possible adult themes, implied yaoi a little later, and an annoying dose of Tifa.
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Rating: R, just to be safe.
Pairing: OC/Cloud
Summary: Cloud and Novalee met by chance, and find something in each other that hadn't exsisted until now.
Feedback: Please. Constructive Criticism is welcome.
Authors Note: This is my first FFVII fic. Don't be too harsh. Also, there are a few POV changes, but you'll be able to tell.
Over and over I wondered how this had happened. How I ended up here, laying on the side of this dirt road, staring at the blue, blue sky. There were very few feathery clouds up there today, which meant that the sun was beating down full force, and there was no shade.
I was down to my black bikini top and torn skirt, the rest of my clothing stuffed into the bag that was propped under my head. I had just passed an hour of time, spinning my knife around my hand. It slipped once, nicking a lock of my platinum hair. It hit relatively close to the end, so it wasn't very noticeable. Since then, I tied my hair into a braid that fell beside me.
My side ached from the fight I found on the way to my current position. Some creepy Shin-Ra experiment left over, no doubt. It wasn't uncommon around these parts. My legs throbbed from walking, and I could feel my muscles tense every time I stretched them.
I was still at least ten miles out from Midgar when I decided to park it and either wait for someone wander across my path, or starve to death. I've been here over two and a half hours; it would seem my fate has chosen the latter option.
I closed my eyes and readjusted the tinted aviator goggles on my eyes. I heard the humming of a motor not too far off, but I could have very well been delusional; overexposure to heat like this can do that to a girl. I sheathed my dagger without looking, and took a deep breath. My mouth was dry. I finished my water early that morning, and have had nothing to drink all day.
The motor was getting louder, a steady purring that was probably not eight-hundred feet away from me.
I lifted my head and squinted in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, there was a motorcycle or something close to it speeding toward me. I sighed, dropping my head back and thanking Gaia that I would get out of this god forsaken desert alive.
The roar of the engine became defending quickly, and moments after I first sighted the cycle, it was stopped next to me and the motor was killed. I couldn't clearly see who the driver was for the sun was blinding me, but I heard heavy footsteps coming toward me.
"Excuse me," a voice said. It was a nice voice, definitely male, and most definitely questioning my motives for laying in the middle of a barren wasteland.
The sun was suddenly blocked out and my head was bathed in shadow.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" the smooth voice asked again, and I opened my eyes cautiously. I could see his face now, and if I thought the voice was inviting, then the face was that of a god. He had pale skin and a head of spiky blond hair. His eyes were mako-blue, and I instantly recognized him as a SOLDIER.
"A little dehydrated," I said in a raspy voice. It was harsh sandpaper next to the SOLDIER's cool marble.
"Um…is there a reason you're laying out here?" he question, and I chuckled, feeling a sharp pain in my side.
"I'm injured and I've walked thirty or more miles in this heat. I couldn't continue, unless I wanted to die of exhaustion," I explained, and he nodded once, before crouching next to me.
"Where are you injured?"
I raised my eyebrows and gestured to the wound just above my left hip bone. His eyes lingered a little longer than necessary.
I stared at his face for a moment; he had a straight nose, pouty pink lips, and a strong jaw. His brow was scrunched like he was carrying some secret burden, and it made his face harsh instead of welcoming.
"You need medical attention," he stated, and I held back a laugh.
"I probably could have saved you the brain power and told you that…." I trailed off, waiting for a name.
"Cloud Strife. Come on," he stated, and lifted me with an arm under my legs, and one supporting my back. He set me down on the back of his cycle, and I sagged slightly before he steadied me.
"Try to hold yourself for a moment. I need to get your bag," he said, and I nodded, gripping the seat tightly.
He hurried to my back and lifted it easily from the ground, tossing it into a storage compartment behind me. He then slid onto the seat and spoke over his shoulder, "hold on to me tight."
I would have made a joke if I didn't suddenly see blotches of black start to color my vision. I wrapped my arms around his slender waist as tight as I could, and felt the bike rumble to life underneath us.
I struggled to stay aware, but I was losing. I guess I lost a lot of blood, I thought, letting my head rest on Cloud Strife's back.
"You still with me?" he yelled, and I gave a slight squeeze to let him know I was.
I closed my eyes. The speed of the scenery rushing past was making me dizzy. My eyelids shimmered white, and I breathed in deep.
I must have had my eyes shut longer than I was aware of, because I felt the bike power down, Cloud Strife shifting off the seat, and a pair of arms carrying me like he had before.
"Tifa, get me some warm water and a first aide kit," Cloud Strife demanded, and I heard a female gasp before footsteps ran out of the room.
I felt us moving up a flight of stairs, before I was set down on a soft, comfy bed. It felt so much better than the hard, dusty ground I laid on all afternoon.
I knew all of this was happening around me, but I couldn't force my eyes open.
"What's your name?" Cloud Strife asked me, and I took a deep breath before answering.
"Novalee Bell," I told him, and could picture him nodding.
"Novalee, you need to try to stay awake, alright? I'm going to fix you up, and it's going to be a little uncomfortable, but you need to stay with me. Can you do that?" he asked, and I nodded.
"Sure I can, Cloud Strife," my voice was still raspy. It was hard to swallow.
"Can I have some water?" I asked a few seconds later, and he hesitated.
"Open your eyes for me, and I'll get you some water," he wagered, and I did as he asked. I hadn't noticed before, but the aviator goggles were gone from my face.
"There you are. Tifa is going to be in here in a moment to wash out your wound, okay?"
"I want you to do it, Cloud Strife," I told him, struggling to swallow again. He thought for a moment, before nodding once and leaving the room. I heard a quiet conversation outside the door, before a pretty girl with jet black hair and dark eyes entered with a bowl of water, a white rag, and a first aide kit.
"Hi Novalee, I'm Tifa. Can you tell me what happened to you?" she asked, setting the bowl on the table next to the bed.
"I…I ran into some Shin-Ra creepies. One of them stuck me in the side, and I was all out of potions," I explained, and she nodded, just before Cloud came back into the room.
"Oh! I totally forgot I have to watch the bar!" Tifa exclaimed and rushed out of the room. Cloud shot a slightly annoyed look at her retreating figure before turning to me. He picked up the bowl and soaked the rag, before looking at me.
"This is probably going to be a little uncomfortable," he warned me, and I nodded once.
"So Cloud…." I paused to gasp at the stinging sensation that spread over my side and deep into the cut, "…Tifa your girlfriend?"
He looked at me curiously and shook his head.
"She doesn't seem like your type," I said through gritted teeth, staring at his calm face as he continued to clean.
"How would you know what my type is?" he asked, squeezing the bloody rag into the bowl before picking up the first aide kit.
"I have a pretty good sense of what you're like already, Mr. SOLDIER," I grinned, and he glanced at me before pulling out a curved needle, used for stitching up wounds.
"I hope you're not afraid of needles, Miss Bell," he said quietly, threading the needle.
I sighed. This was going to suck.
I could tell she was trying not to scream. Her face was turning red, and her pretty green eyes were sealed shut tight.
I worked intently, sewing the deep cut shut as fast as I could.
Novalee didn't take one breath the entire time I sewed, and I was starting to worry.
Finally, after almost two whole minutes, she shuddered a breath. I watched as her hands convulsed against the bed sheets, gripping thick handfuls of the fabric. I had to keep my mind from wandering to the other situations that I could put her in where she would grip the sheets like that, and focus. Only two more stitches, and I'd be finished, and her agony would end.
"All done," I said, tying a small knot at the end of the thread, and snipping the extra off.
"That hurt a lot more than I thought it would," her voice was airy and strangled. It hurt my ears to listen to.
I stood from the chair next to her bed and closed up the first aide kit. As I was on my way out, she spoke.
"Wait…are you coming back?" she asked, and I looked at her over my shoulder.
To have gotten a wound like that, and judging by the toned muscles under her pale skin, she was a tough woman, maybe even independent. But looking at her laying on the bed, her green eyes wide and watery, she looked vulnerable.
"Yes," I said simply, and she relaxed substantially, before I went to put the first aide kit away.
I met Tifa in the hallway.
"I thought you went to take care of the bar," I said, and she shrugged, staring at my face like I was hiding something.
"How long is she staying?" Tifa asked, and I sighed, walking to the bathroom. I shoved the white metal box under the sink.
"Until she's ready to leave," I told Tifa, and she was quiet.
"Look, Teef, I hardly think she's the type to stick around in one place for a long time," I said in a hushed voice.
"Maybe that's what she needs. You saw that wound. She could have bled to death. And she walked through a desert! Right now, she's extremely malnourished," Tifa urged, her voice rising slightly.
"I don't see your point."
"All I'm saying is that she's already very fond of you, Cloud. If anyone has a chance to keep her grounded, it's you. Give her a reason to stay," and then she turned and walked down the hallway, before disappearing down the stairs.
I sighed, and went back into the room
"How are you feeling, Novalee?" I asked, and she smiled tiredly.
"I think the exhaustion is catching up to me," she said quietly, and if she heard any of my previous conversation, she wasn't letting on about it.
"Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up," I told her, and she smiled again, before her eyes fluttered shut.
I pulled the chair over quietly and sat down, watching as her breathing evened out.
Novalee was a beautiful girl. She had white blond hair, tied into a messy braid. Her black bikini top showed off her toned, slender torso, until the expanse of skin was broken by a black studded belt that held up her torn mini-skirt. There was a two-dagger sheath strapped high on her right thigh, and the rest of her long, vivacious legs were bare. She had on a pair of calf-high black boots and a pair of torn black thigh high stockings, but she had gotten them off somehow while I was talking to Tifa in the hall.
Her figure was model-esque, and very slender. Her hipbones poked out just above the waistline of the skirt, and her hands were delicate with long fingers.
And as I looked over her, I remembered what Tifa had said.
She told me that this girl that I just met not three hours ago was very "fond" of me. I didn't believe that, of course. At best, she's just grateful that I found her before she died of dehydration and blood loss.
I sighed, sliding further down in the chair until I was comfortable, and stared at the wooden floor.
I would give anything to have Zack back here to tell me what to do with this beautiful girl that won't endanger her any more.