Sorry this took a while.

I was drunk, then hungover and then NCIS and SVU happened plus the new Sims 4 expansion came along.

Hope it's okay. Constructive comments and whatnot welcome.

Cheers for reading guys.

Chapter 2

Eva leant against the low wall outside of Veld's Hotel, feeling much more comfortable than the previous day in her tight black jeans, white tank top, black leather biker boots and her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail with a few stray strands framing her face.

She slung her leather jacket across the wall as she fished her phone from her pocket, still no reply from Cloud. She hoped he'd gotten her message about using her own helmet so he didn't go to the hassle of finding her another. Eva anxiously glanced down at the shiny black helmet sitting by her feet. Shaking her head and resigning herself to the fact that it was too late to change it now if he hadn't gotten the message she closed her eyes and tilted her head back letting the sun bathe her pale skin as she waited for Cloud to arrive.

It didn't take long for her to hear the distinctive rumble from the engine of the big black bike and when she opened her eyes he was just pulling up in front of her.

"Right on time," she smiled at him.

"I wouldn't want to keep you waiting, although by the looks of things you were enjoying the sun just fine, maybe I should have taken a few extra minutes to get here," Cloud smiled back.

Eva just laughed, shaking her head at him. "I'm afraid I'm not usually one for sun worship Mister Strife," She teased, indicating her pale skin, "I rarely get the time with work."

"I brought some food for later, if that's okay."

"Of course, did you get my message?" Eva asked.

"I did, I forgot to reply, sorry. I'm not used to answering messages," He admitted, running a hand through his hair.

"It's fine, just wanted to save you the hassle of finding me a helmet. Mission accomplished," Eva reassured him with a smile. "Are you not wearing one?"

"Don't worry about me," Cloud laughed, "I have a hard head, I'll be fine."

Eva just shook her head at him and he noticed she hadn't made a move to leave yet at all.

"Are you ready for today?" He asked more seriously.

"I hope so, I'm a little nervous, I don't know what to expect." She admitted.

"It will always be difficult, I go a lot and the hundredth time is no easier than the first."

"That's comforting," Eva smiled ruefully at him.

"Sorry, I just mean that it's better to just do it and think about it later because if you leave without doing it you'll regret it and no matter how long you leave it, it will never be any easier than it is right now."

Eva looked at him for a long moment, contemplating his words and nodding slowly as they registered. "You're right" She said decisively, pulling on her leather jacket, helmet and leather gloves. Within a few moments she was on the bike behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist again. It felt good to be back here. She was feeling shaky and the warmth he radiated was comforting and his steadiness was helping calm her own nerves.

"Ready?" Cloud asked her.

Eva made a small nod and he started up the bike and pulled away from the pavement, the rumbling from the bike and the vibrations it created were like a soothing balm to her ragged nerves.

Cloud kept the bike at a steady pace through the city traffic giving Eva plenty of time to think. She was dreading visiting the place where Zack was killed but she knew she had to do it, to try to make some sort of peace with it. The problem was it was hard enough thinking about it let alone actually seeing where it had happened. Where he had died. It was the unknown that made things worse, one of the reasons she felt that she needed to see the place; her imagination was conjuring up all sorts of images of how she thought it might look.

Dark. Bleak. Haunting. Blood-soaked.

That was what all the images her imagination created had in common. She always imagined it to be some nightmarish little slice of hell, because that's where her brother died, yet she hoped and prayed it wasn't because thinking about him dying somewhere like that was unbearable. Maybe it would just be sad, maybe the air would be heavy with it and the sun wouldn't shine there because of the misery of the place.

"Now you're just being silly," she mumbled to herself yet she couldn't get these thoughts out of her mind.

Somewhere along the way whilst lost in her thoughts she must have started to loosen her grip around Cloud as the next thing she knew she was being startled from her reverie by the sudden acceleration of the bike and found herself throwing herself into Cloud and tightening her grip more than was strictly necessary due to the shock.

She could feel Cloud laughing a little at her reaction, causing her to laugh as well and banishing her previous dark thoughts. As she settled again she was suddenly able to take in the beautiful scenery around her that was flying by so quickly.

They were outside of the city now and were currently travelling through a lush green valley with long grass on either side of the wide, straight, empty road. The road was as he said it would be the previous day and she guessed this was the reason for the sudden acceleration. That and she suspected that he knew what she had been obsessing over and had intended on snapping her out of it and occupying her mind with something else. Mission accomplished. The adrenaline from the speed was coursing through her veins and the excitement she always felt whilst riding on a bike was heightening her senses and enjoyment of the ride. It was all that she could manage to turn her attention back to their surroundings. The grass was beautiful; a testament to how much the world had healed itself since the damage caused by ShinRa. They had a lot to atone for. She noted the absence of any flowers though, the planet had not yet healed that much, they were still few and far between.

"Soon, hopefully," She whispered to herself knowing Cloud wouldn't hear her over the roar of the engine and the wind.

It wasn't long before the grass started transitioning to the arid desert and mountains which surrounded much of Midgar and Edge. Despite the lack of apparent life Eva couldn't help but think of it as beautiful in its own way. The yellows of the sands, the bluish black of the cliff faces and the deep, mysterious depths of the shadows they cast beneath them. She absently wondered what might be lurking in those shadows and a shiver ran through her at the thought. She hated Shadow Creepers.

Looking about her she realised they had slowed a little and that they must be getting close. If her memory served it had not been too far outside of Midgar, up atop one of the cliffs overlooking it in fact. It was a few moments later when they started to ascend a steep hill up the side of one that she knew she had been right.

The excitement from earlier vanished and the adrenaline turned to icy fear in her veins as the approached the top. Eva struggled to look up as they crested the brow of the hill but she forced herself and the view shocked her. This was not how she had imagined it to be at all. A far cry from the dark, dismal, blood-soaked and shadowy piece of hell on earth she had been envisioning, the scene before them was bathed in bright sunlight and she was off the bike almost before Cloud had stopped completely, pulling off her helmet and laying it at her feet in a daze.

The view from the edge alone stunned her, seeing Midgar's ruins laid out below them in the distance like that with the light falling on them, they looked almost ethereal. Had this been Zack's last sight? His destination lain out in front of him like some sort of heaven, so close yet so far out of reach. Tears started to fill her eyes as she glanced down, noticing for the first time the crop of colourful flowers in front of her. They were beautiful, dancing in the breeze and filling the air with their heady scent. Eva couldn't tear her eyes away from them, she moved forward and knelt down beside them tentatively reaching out and feeling one of their velvety soft petals.

It seemed almost cruel that this place be so beautiful. Yet she was glad that it was not the hellish place that she had dreamt up in her head. She had hated the thought of him lying there vulnerable and dying in somewhere so horrible. She was glad this place was not. The light dimmed as the clouds moved overhead and the tears streamed openly down her face. Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder and she realised that he had kept his distance, letting her take everything in.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, his voice barely a whisper but still very soft.

Eva nodded, wiping her face. "I'm just surprised; it isn't at all what I expected."

"Expecting dark and terrifying?"

She laughed a little through her tears and nodded again. "Something along those lines."

"Our imaginations often create things more terrifying than anything reality can offer."

Eva subtly nodded her agreement. "Were you here? When Zack…." She trailed off.

"Yes." Cloud offered when she hesitated.

"I'm glad he had one of his SOLDIER comrades with him."

"I wasn't in SOLDIER, I was only an infantryman," Cloud admitted.

Eva pulled back a little "You weren't one of the ones who…."

Clouds face contorted at the thought of what she asked. "No! God no! I promise you that Eva!" He almost shouted before adding more quietly, guiltily even, "Zack died saving me."

Eva's eyes filled with tears again. "I'm sorry, I just thought, when you said Infantryman… well I'm sure you know what I thought."

"It's my fault, I should have told you that before we came. I'm sure you wish he'd saved himself instead."

"No, Cloud, I mean, I miss my brother but that wouldn't have been Zack, that's not who he was. I'm proud of my brother and the best way you can thank him is to value your life as much as he obviously did."

Cloud thought over what she said. "I've never thought of it like that. I'm supposed to be the one comforting you though."

"You are. You're here, Zack's 'Living Legacy'." Eva smiled at him.

Cloud looked at her for a long moment. "Zack said that very same thing to me."

"Obviously he and I are more alike than just physically."

"You're twins, aren't you?"

Eva nodded silently, her view focused back on the flowers.

"It's where he fell." Cloud offered.

"I like that they grew, like the earth acknowledged his sacrifice.

The tears were rolling freely down her face now and she turned and buried it into Cloud's shirt, taking him by surprise. It took him a moment to process it and wrap his arms around her in a small gesture of comfort. He knew the feeling of loss she was feeling standing here.

That was when the rain started to fall. It started with big, cold, heavy drops falling on their skin and startling them apart.

"Grab your helmet, we'll never make it back to Edge before this fully hits." Cloud instructed, rushing toward the bike and starting it up.

She did so quickly, jumping on behind him. "Where are we going?" She shouted over the engines roar.

"To find shelter, I know somewhere nearby which should work" He called back as he opened up the throttle and sped off.

Eva couldn't help a backward glance at the ledge disappearing behind them.