a/n; so getting the kh1.5 remix reinvigorated my feelings for these games, and thus encouraged me to start this up again. i can't guarantee frequent updates, but i definitely plan on a good chunk of this finished this summer.
have some cloud/aerith emotions (because holy crap, these hit me full force all over again).
10. promise
It's some ungodly hour in the morning and Aerith misses him.
It hurt most in the nighttime, she soon discovers. This was (and still is, she gently reminds herself) his time of day. He loves dusk most of all, but he thrives in the night. When golden time is over, he volunteers for the nighttime patrols, simply stating the world looks nicer in the moonlight, and there's some truth to the statement. The blue turns darker, but everything is rimmed in silver, ghostly but elegant. (He's quite poetic when he actually talks, she learns.)
Cloud can hide in the dark, she thinks, but he's never hid from her. And maybe that's why she misses him so much.
She stays awake one night, sitting near the window and admiring the color of the leaves. Moonlight douses her room in white light, and she finds that even with the blinds drawn, sleep doesn't come easily. Aerith looks across the bailey to where the town has been rebuilt, following the original blueprints from all those years ago, and she thinks of the days she would spend out there as a kid. It seemed like eons ago that she'd be running through the sunlit alleys, legs spattered with mud, her skirt whirling around her as she sprinted to her next destination, dragging him along with her. And he would obediently follow, so willing and gentle; back then, he was just a little kid, blond and bright-eyed and easily excitable. He loved the night even then, but it never became as pronounced until he returned.
He was that young when he made the promise, crouched in the corner of the schoolyard where no one but the teachers could find them. Always, he'd said, gripping her clammy hands tightly, always, always. You and me, Aer. Always.
It wasn't long until Tifa joined in without ever saying the words. Then there was Squall, ever the leader, silently taking them under his protection shortly after they met in an encounter in the town square despite his solitary nature. Cid was another unspoken one, and yet he promised them every day in his daily reminders and helpful hints, his soft side revealed in everything he intended. It was only after Cloud was gone that they met Yuffie, but he understood immediately without having to be told.
And in all the things shattered, torn, and destroyed in the first Heartless attack, Aerith likes to think this stupid little promise they made when they were young is one of the things that remained intact. She hugs her knees to her chest to ward off the chill coming in from the open window. With tired green eyes, she looks at the moon he loves so much and hopes he remembers that promise - he's never been one to forget, anyway.
She falls asleep at the window, dreaming of a little blond boy smiling at her, tugging her along as he shows her how wonderful everything looks at night.