Chapter Seven: Contemplation

Nightshroud: Sorry for not updating in a while. I hope I did a nice job though. Enjoy! 8D

Aerith's eyes fluttered open. She winced as she tried to move, her back sending a stinging sensation through her body. She looked over to see Leon in a chair next to her. He'd probably been with her for a while and fallen asleep. Aerith smiled before resting back on the pillow.

"No, Yuffie, I'll try after-oh!"

Aerith turned her head as Tifa walked in the room.

"Aerith, you're awake!" she said as she walked over to her, smiling brightly. Aerith nodded gently, before Tifa turned to look at Leon. With a sigh, she shook him from his sleep.

"Huh? What's going on?" he said sleepily. Tifa shook her head.

"You'd better get some decent sleep, Leon," she gently chided. Leon nodded and stood, when he noticed that Aerith was awake.

"Aerith! You're awake!" he exclaimed, leaping for the bed. Then he stopped short, realizing that she was still sore, and didn't want to pounce on her. Aerith laughed softly at the sheepish look on his face.

"Err...so are you doing all right?" he asked, holding her hand gently while rubbing his thumb down it.

"Yes, thank you, Leon."

"I'll go get you something to eat," he said, turning towards the door.

"Wait, Leon." Leon turned and looked back at her.

"I'm fine. But, I need you to do something for me. Please, I-I know that you probably have strong resentment against him right now, but please bring Cloud back. I can't stand to think of him out there alone."

Of course he didn't want to. That bastard had almost killed the woman he loved, and had broken her heart on top of that. But there was something he knew when he fell in love with Aerith. He knew that she was kind hearted, and that even if they didn't deserve it, she would still care.

"Right," he said after a moment. He turned to go out the door, but a hand caught his.

"If you don't mind," said Tifa, who had been standing quietly by the door the whole time, "I'd like to go find him."

Of course he didn't mind. In fact, he'd probably have to thank her later. But she seemed to understand, and made a nod before leaving.

Cloud continued to stare out into nothing as the raindrops dripped down his nose. He was soaking wet, but that didn't seem to matter. For all he knew, Aerith could be dead. And it was his fault. He shifted back against the wall of the postern and brought his knees up to his chest.

"So this is where you went," Tifa said, walking up next to him. She didn't look at him, but stared in the direction that he had been.

"I didn't think you'd look for me," he said flatly. He felt a little surprised when she tightened her hands into fists.

"Did you think I'd leave you in the rain by yourself? Wake up, Cloud. You may think you're all alone, but there are people who care about you. I care about you. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and make things right."

At this point, she was getting near to shouting. Cloud stood and glared at her.

"What do you know?! How could you know how I feel?!" he shouted. He suddenly felt paralyzed as he felt a sting across his cheek, realizing that Tifa had just slapped him. Tifa didn't slap. She just pounded the hell out of people. Sure, Cloud had seen Tifa mad, but not like this.

"What, do you think my life's been a walk in the park?! Stop acting like you're the only one that has troubles! How do you think I feel, seeing you mistreat Aerith! It's not her fault she's happy and moving on with her life! And how do you think I feel, seeing you run off after someone who deosn't love you, when I've been by you the whole time, and you never gave it a second thought!"

Cloud, who had been angrily watching her, suddenly felt his eyes widen in realization.

"Tifa, what are you saying?"

She smiled sadly and turned away. "You didn't think a normal girl who hang around with you so much, did you?" she said, letting out a hollow laugh. It smacked him right in the face. She loved him, and he hadn't even noticed.

"C'mon, I told Aerith I'd bring you back," she said. She turned to walk away, when she felt Cloud grab her arm. She turned to ask him what he was doing, when she felt his lips pressed against hers. At first, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she enjoyed it, but she soon through that thought pattern to the wind, considering she's been dreaming about this for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Tifa," he said, once he had broken the kiss and held her close to him. "I've been making a mess of things lately...And now I think I'm ready to make amends."

Tifa smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Let's go, preferrably before we die of pneumonia."

He laughed and pulled her close as they walked down the restoration area towards the burrough.

Aerith tried not to laugh as Leon made strange facial expressions as he tried to feed her soup. She felt more thanable to do it herself, but she knew she wouldn't get too many opportunities to have Leon spoon feed her.

Yuffie laughed as she watched him, then walked out fo the room and flopped on the sofa next to Cid.

"Well, looks like things are starting to get normal again," she said. Cid grunted in response and went back to reading. She took a sip of her cocoa, then sighed with content as she placed it back down. The door suddenly swung open, and Yuffie turned with a start to see two figures completely.

"Tifa? And...Cloud."

He nodded, and his eyes drifted toward the doorway into the other room.

"She's in there," Yuffie said simply. He and Tifa walked over to the doorway where Leon was still giving his best attempt to feed Aerith. Cloud watched them for a moment with a faint smile, then said Aerith's name softly. She looked up and her face brightened.

"Cloud."

Nightshroud: Good chapter? I hope so. I realized that I emphasized Cloud and Tifa more than Leon and Aerith, but that'll come. Leave a review and let me know how you liked it.