Hello everyone! My author's note will be at the bottom this time because I can't explain things without giving the whole chapter away :) But I can say that this chapter was heavily inspired by one of Disney's most popular live action films.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII does not belong to me, the game and all its characters belong to SQUARE-ENIX.
Enjoy!
" . . . –oly . . . —hit! . . ."
"—ick . . . er . . . up!"
"Where . . .e . . .ell . . .s Cloud?"
. . .
. . . Cloud?
. . . Cl—
"Cloud, behind you!" She screamed.
The blonde whipped around, but to her, it all went in slow motion. Her heart stopped, her lips parted, her eyes widened as the beast lunged towards him, fangs bared and claws poised to strike. With a low grunt, he swung the first tsurugi, muscles growing taut and emerging from their hiding beneath his skin as he cleaved it in two, the mutated soldier screaming in pain and agony.
Glowing cobalt blood, wires, and metal chips flew.
As soon as he was in the clear, a trooper rushed him. Blades clashed, sparks flew, but the trooper wasn't quick enough, Cloud forced him back, causing him to stumble before the blonde swung his blade, sending the trooper's body flying.
She smiled to herself, turning her attention back to her own fight, 'he knows how to take care of himself.' Retracting her staff, she holstered it and removed her gun from the holster on her right leg, taking a defensive stance.
All around her, soldiers fought, good and bad, life and death, forced or willing; all sides were present. The field was littered with bodies, wearing the glowing blue suits of Deepground or the light gray uniforms of the WRO. This wasn't what she wanted, but things didn't always go her way. Deepground was kidnapping and sacrificing people, innocent people, people who were living out their lives as they would have any other day, there was no other way to stop them all and end the pain. Reeve had made that very clear.
Raising the handgun she took aim and fired. Lights flashed in front of her and suddenly bullets were speeding towards her. Stepping back she ran and fired, the silver kicking back in her hands with each shot.
She was lucky Barret and Vincent had taken the time to teach her, if they hadn't she'd be in big trouble.
In the distance, soldiers fell, dropping to the floor like the diminutive victims of an alluring blue light. Paratroopers zoomed overhead, targeting the Shera, the WRO's only base for the whole operation. They were swallowed up within the shadows of Cid's tremendous creation, nowhere to be seen until they smashed the windows and ransacked the crew. Ducking behind a fallen scrap of what used to be the exterior of the Shin-Ra building; she pressed herself against it and panted, attempting to catch her breath. Pulling out her cell phone, she flipped it open, typing in "C" on her contacts list and pressing send on Cid's name.
It rang for a couple of seconds before his gruff voice picked up, "What shit's goin' on now?"
"It's me, Aerith," she breathed, swallowing, she peeked out from behind the scrap metal, "They just sent more paratroopers, they're headed for your blind spot."
"The hell?" He cried. She could faintly hear him barking orders on the other end, and she coughed, she hadn't run so far all day.
"There were six, a whole squad. Keep an eye out," she said, pressing back into the metal.
"Gotcha." Then he hung up.
She closed her phone, pocketing it, then with a glance behind her cover, she loaded another round into her handgun. Looking left, then right, she rose and ran back into the midst of battle.
Something growled behind her and she turned just in time to see one of Deepground's beasts lunging at her, metal scraping hard earth sounded behind her and out of the corner of her eye she saw a trooper charging forward. She was trapped, no matter what she did she was going to get attacked. If she shot the beast, then it would leave her open for the trooper to slice right through her, and if she fought off the trooper, then she'd get her head chewed off—literally—by the beast. They were both too close for her to jump out of the way, and she knew it was far too late to call for the backup her friends had wanted her to take. A black and silver blur flashed before her and suddenly, the bodies fell at her feet.
Turning sharply, she was met with the "blur's" back. Cloud stood, looking over his shoulder he caught her eyes and before she could even open her mouth to speak he was standing next to her, sword drawn. "You shouldn't run off like that."
Her lips set in a tight line and she took a defensive stance of her own, "You expected me to leave Cid in the dark until a gun was pointed to his head?"
Pegasus Riders sped towards them, plowing through WRO soldiers and some of their own, targeting the two of them and Cloud smirked, "When you put it like that. . ." A rider aimed its machine gun at the blonde preparing to fire when Cloud bolted forward, thrusting the first tsurugi and smacking the rider with the width of his blade. The rider's head cracked to the side, the sounds of malfunctioning electrical equipment and a shattering jawbone accompanying that of metal striking metal. Aerith raised her gun and quickly fired, piercing right through its armor and to whatever laid beneath. The others circled them and she wasted no time in sending a barrage of her own, knocking out the riders and sending their zero-G bikes out of control to collide with others, or keep going on and on without control.
Aerith jogged towards Cloud, hair flying behind her from the soft breeze, and placed her hand on his arm, fingers gliding over the smooth skin of his bicep, she looked around cautiously at the battle and was about to speak when he cut her off, "You're not wearing it."
A trooper kicked a gun out of one of their soldier's hands and he froze, pulling his arm back he raised his blade to cleave down, Aerith aimed her gun and fired catching the trooper's hand. He dropped the blade and turned, looking directly at her she couldn't tell, and she fired twice more, the bullets piercing his chest. The trooper fell and their soldier smiled giving her a quick salute before picking up his weapon and running off, she spoke loudly to be heard over the noise, "Wearing what?"
Cloud looked over his shoulder, eyes trailing down her neck and resting just a little ways south of her collarbone, "the necklace."
Her eyes widened, and her free hand flew to her chest, fingers clenching loosely over the spot where she was so used to feeling the pendant he spoke of, "Oh." She could see a sniper trying to get a good aim of Cloud, before he could, she had pulled the trigger, the sniper's body jerked then slid off the side of the building. She shook her head, "I took it off. I didn't want it to get broken or worse, lost." Her hand traveled up and touched the skin of her throat, she wasn't even wearing her black choker, "It's important."
A small smile crossed his face at that.
More troopers began to surround them. Cloud bounded, driving the sword forward in one fluid motion, mowing down the sea of blues, grays, and blacks as she handled the ones before her. In these moments, where he was lost in nothing but the drive, and intensity of the battle, where his blade was like an extension of himself and he craved for nothing more than victory over those who opposed him. . .she saw the monster that his experimentation had hidden deep within. The very THING Shin-Ra had made him out to be. The legendary Cloud Strife, ruthless mercenary.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when gleaming silver flashed before her eyes, giving her just enough time to lean back, skin missing steel by mere inches. Without thinking twice she shot up right, and threw her leg out sharply, sending the trooper flying from the force of her kick. He landed on top of another trooper, their blades piercing each other's bodies as they collapsed to the floor unmoving. She looked away instantly.
No matter how much she didn't like it, it had to be done, if she wasn't going to do it, others would get hurt. Her hands had never been squeaky clean to begin with.
A loud boom sounded and one of the buildings exploded. Black smoke clouds enveloped everything in thick, choking darkness. A crushing gust of wind pushed everyone amongst the field back, whipping hair and clothes about to the point where it was painful. Strong arms grabbed her around the waist and she didn't have to turn around to know it was Cloud. He turned her around, away from the blast and compressed her tightly to his chest, shielding as much of her as he could.
Through the tangled storm of her hair she could see his sword, obscured by chocolate colored tresses thrashing about in the violent breeze, sliding along the floor, tumbling even, along the dry earth and away from its wielder. Blonde merged with brunette, and for what felt like an eternity, the war had stopped. Soldiers from both sides just stood, shielding themselves, trying to make it through to that moment where everything would return to normal. When blood would be shed once more and the only things on their minds was winning the day.
Time seemed to slow as the gale grew soft. Slowly but surely, everyone stood up straight again, taking a moment to gather themselves. She felt dizzy and sick, hanging slightly over Cloud's arm when things had returned to normal speed. There was a shout—more of a battle cry—and the fighting resumed once more.
"Let's go!" Cloud shouted, left arm falling from her waist but right arm remaining to make her run with him. Her left arm hooked around the back of his neck to hang loosely over his chest as they ran, destination clear. His sword was in sight. Everywhere she looked, both Deepground and the WRO were scurrying around, picking up weapons as fast as they could, some didn't even pick up their own. Every now and then they'd pass a Deepground soldier with a gun clearly marked with the WRO's insignia, or a WRO soldier with a glowing mako weapon.
It didn't really matter as long as you weren't defenseless, right?
Cloud stooped to grab the first tsurugi, standing again as quickly as he could with weapon in hand. She disentangled herself from him, hands patting her hips and thighs clumsily for her own. Pulling out the handgun she pushed her hair out of her eyes only for them to widen at what she saw.
"Planet. . ." She whispered breathlessly. Thousands of soldiers poured out from the fiery skeleton of the Shin-Ra building. Not even bothering to rush to the battlefield, all just marching in sync.
Her free hand searched desperately for her cell. Taking hold of the maroon device, she flipped it open quickly, and dialed Reeve, beyond panicked now.
"I'm extremely busy righ—"
"There's more of them!"
Cloud turned around upon hearing this, and his mouth fell open at what laid out before him.
"What?"
"Thousands!" She cried, "What happened to Vincent? Did he—He didn't—He. . ." She stumbled over her words, throat going dry. Did he die?
"He's still alive, but we can't get through to him, or Yuffie."
She nodded, more to herself than to Reeve because he couldn't see it. She heard him sigh on the other end, obviously fearing the worst, ". . .What do we do now?"
She stood as others fought around her, completely removed from the equation, licking her suddenly dry lips, she spoke, "Just push on. . .as far as we can." They were both silent, nothing else needing to be said. She snapped her phone shut softly as the dial tone sounded in her ear.
Breathing in deeply she threw herself into the battle once more, determined to not give up until her last breath. She wasn't going to surrender without a fight, not when people's lives were at stake, not when the planet they'd fought so hard to defend was on the verge of being destroyed once more.
There was still a future to protect.
Troopers charged at her. Wrenching her staff from its holster, she swung it outwards, the metal expanding to its full height, and rushed forward, meeting them halfway. Dodging a blade by inches she used her position to ram the end of her staff into the trooper's jaw, head cracking backwards with a sickening crunch, and kicked out his legs from beneath him, grabbing his blade in the process. Tossing the sword aside she swung her staff and sent another trooper flying, far off into the distance. Something crept behind her and she turned sharply, swinging her staff once more only for it to clash with Cloud's sword.
Equally surprised looks crossed both their faces.
She looked into his eyes, all her focus draining into those crystal clear, sky blue orbs, and she felt her pulse quicken and her cheeks flush. Their lives together had just barely begun. . .now it looked as if their time together was going to be cut short, "I. . ." She shouted over the noise, loud enough for him to hear, "There's just too many. . ."
He turned from her then, blocking an attack from another trooper before raising his fist and punching him in the face, pushing him back. Throwing his sword over his shoulder he brought it down roughly, silencing the man turned thing once and for all.
Cloud stood there, not moving, and she wondered what was wrong. Was he hurt? Did he strain anything? He didn't give her a chance to do anything when he spun around, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him. She gasped, tripping over herself from the force of his tug. Glaring at him, she wondered why he couldn't just call her over.
"What's wrong with y—!"
"Marry me!"
Her eyes widened and she blinked dumbly. His grip on her arm had tightened slightly and a look of longing had replaced his usual neutral expression.
". . .w—we can't!"
Something flickered in his eyes, but she couldn't make it out, "We may never get the chance again!"
"Right now?"
He leaned in closer to her, voice hard and eyebrows drawn together, "The way things look right now, there won't be a tomorrow!" They stared at each other. He, anxiously waiting for a reply, and she, too stunned to do anything.
Footsteps clomped towards them, causing them both to look up. She raised her gun and fired at the soldier who had tried to attack them; he dropped his machine gun, arms flailing and fell to the floor. She gazed down at her chest, to where her necklace was supposed to be, "I already agreed to marry you!" She looked up and straight into his eyes, knowing as well as he did the keyword: agreed. Her panicked side was beginning to show again and she had no idea why.
He never looked away from her intense stare, meeting it back with one of his own, and as calmly as he could in the midst of war, he yelled over the noise, "What's it gonna be?"
She bit her lip. It was something that he'd wanted for the longest time, and just recently, she had wanted it too. But the part of her that was still terrified and apprehensive was rearing its ugly head once more.
Spend the last few hours of her life as Aerith Strife, or spend it avoiding the man she loved more than anything just because she was scared of saying 'I do'? She was foolish to even have to think about it.
Her eyes sparkled and she smiled, an idea coming to her, "Reeve!" She shouted.
Aerith dug into her pocket, pulling out her cell and typing in Reeve's number, then pressing the speaker button.
"Hello?"
"Reeve!" She shouted to be heard, "I need to catch up on a favor you owe me!"
"What might that be?"
"I want you to marry Cloud and I!"
There was silence on the other end, and she could hear the sounds of things breaking in the background, "Are you sure this is the best time?" He said a little frantically.
"It's the perfect time, and you promised!"
There was a loud crash on the line and Cloud let her go to take on the approaching soldiers. Following in his lead, she raised her gun and fought off as many people as she could while she waited for Reeve's reply.
"I'll see what I could do!"
She laughed, feeling so beyond elated it was palpable but she couldn't have cared less, Cloud grabbed her hand, smiling softly at her, before Reeve began the ritual. His voice was fuzzy, but clear none the less, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered, somewhat, here today in the presence of these witnesses, the planet, and the gods to join. . ."
Shattering glass sounded in the background, interrupting him, and the sounds of shouting followed it. Never once letting go of her hand, Cloud fended off the soldiers, sword in his left hand opposed to his dominant right, but he proved to have no trouble with it.
Reeve returned, "Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough in—long awaited—holy matrimony."
They smiled at each other, crimson staining her sun-tanned cheeks. Leave it to Reeve to add 'Long awaited'.
It was funny because it was true.
"If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together—" There was a gun shot, "let them speak now or forever hold their peace!"
Cloud hacked through a beast, eyes flying to the phone in her hand, "We can skip this part!" He shouted, driving off hoards of troopers with quick thrusts of his blade. He tugged her towards him gently, staring into her emerald eyes lovingly, "Aerith Gainsborough, do you take me to be your husband?"
Smiling brightly, she nodded, "I do!"
They continued to gaze at each other, lost in a world that consisted of only them, before it was shattered by a fierce battle cry. Lifting her gun, she shot the attacker down. Separating, but still grasping the other's hand like a lifeline, they fought back Deepground. Gunning down the enemies in her sight, she tried to get as many as she could so they wouldn't be interrupted for a while.
"Cloud Strife," She shouted, looking over her shoulder to stare at him, "Do you take me," She fired once more, "to be your wife?" A trooper charged them and she kicked his sword out of his hand, it flew for a while, and before it could even fall back to the earth, she raised her guns, pulling the trigger. She didn't want to say what she was about to, but seeing as how their circumstances were, she added it anyway, ". . .even after death do us part?"
As sincerely as he could, he shouted over the noise, "I do!"
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!" Reeve shouted, the noise from his station on the Shera growing louder. "You may kiss. . ."
Cloud wrenched his blade free from a soldier's body and threw it over his shoulder, sliding the first tsurugi into its sheath. Grasping her by the waist with his left arm, he pulled her down, forcing her to fall back as he dipped her. Her right arm snaked around his neck to hold on, and her left hand laid flat against his chest. Both their lips parted in anticipation, waiting for Reeve to speak the words they had been waiting for so long to hear.
"You may kiss. . .!"
They stayed in that position, enduring the tormenting silence. Cloud's brows furrowed and he clenched his teeth, "Come on Reeve!"
There was grunting on the line and gunshots sounded before the older man shouted into the phone, "You may kiss the bride!"
Aerith gripped the collar of his shirt in her hand, pulling him down to her as she lifted herself up, bringing their lips together. The kiss was hot, and electric, sending exciting shivers down her spine; his free hand wound its way into her hair, pressing on the back of her head to hold her closer to him. So close, the tip of his nose dug into her cheek, then it slowed, to something soft and sweet, mouths closing over one and others gently. The phone fell out of her grasp and landed to the floor with a thud. . .
Her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't open them. Slowly but surely, her senses started to return. She could feel the sun, warm on her face, the quilt, soft and tucked in all around her, the mattress beneath her and the pillow under her head.
'Why did I. . .remember that?'
Her eyes shot open. How'd she get in bed? The last thing she remembered was being in the kitchen and then. . .oh no.
The door opened and she sat up quickly, but regretted it when her head spun and her vision blurred.
"Careful!" Someone said gently, a hand grasping her shoulder to steady her. Looking up through the curtain of her bangs, she tried desperately to make out the figure that stood before her. He was wearing black, but she couldn't register his face.
". . .Cloud?" She whispered wearily.
Her vision cleared, and she was met with concerned coal colored eyes. Tseng stared at her, eyes soft and face drawn in a mixture of relief and worry. "Hey. . ." He whispered softly. She blinked at him, utterly confused.
"Tseng. . .how did you get in my house?"
There was shuffling in the corners of the room and she turned to see Rude standing, and Reno stretching in his chair. Before she could speak, she was being handed a bouquet of flowers, the yellow and white lilies that grew in her church in the slums. She took them wordlessly, still waiting for an answer.
Tseng sighed, wiping pollen off his fingers. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that. But I came as soon as I got a call from Rude and Reno."
Reno smiled softly at her, but even she could tell the usual mischievous "comic relief" character of the Turks was downcast.
"What's going on?" She whispered cautiously.
"We were hoping," Rude spoke, "You could tell us."
'So they're the ones who brought me up here. . .'
She looked down to the lilies, thinking back as far as she could remember, "I. . .I don't know."
Tseng grasped her shoulder once again, pushing her gently to lie back down, "You should take it easy for now." He glanced out the window, "Aerith. . .where is Cloud?"
Her eyes widened and she closed them, lips set in a firm line, ". . .I don't know."
Reno's hands clenched tightly and even Rude was stunned into silence.
He had been on the road for so long, he hadn't bothered to keep track of time, but he was finally here. His motorcycle slowed as he approached the worn gates, rebuilt by Shin-Ra once again after the destruction of Meteor fall. Revving up the engine he put a little gas into it and turned off Fenrir, letting the wheels just spin on their own to make an easier stop around the curve of the well. Putting the kickstand down, Cloud removed his sunglasses and took in his surroundings.
He was back in Nibelheim.
Dismounting his bike, he realized that not even Shin-Ra could reproduce what had been destroyed twice. The well, the houses and buildings, everything. Maybe this was neo-Nibelheim, a not so accurate replica of a city that was destroyed, like Edge. Even if everything was incomparable to the Nibelheim he grew up in, it was still home.
And he needed to get this off his chest.
Few people walked the streets, and he would have thought it to be a ghost town had it been night, but it was still early morning. Pocketing his keys he entered the house he stopped in front of, taking note of the for sale sign in the window and entered. It was his childhood home, or it used to be his childhood home. Now it was just a poorly replicated structure left abandoned. He was kind of expecting the old woman who had moved in three years ago to be here but no one was in sight.
Sighing, he crossed the room towards his old bedroom. Again, not the same. Taking a seat on the sheet less mattress, he stared at the wall then threw himself back, lying down to stare at the ceiling. Letting his palms rest on his stomach he thought of how to start and what to say, and without even thinking twice he spoke softly to the midmorning shadows, ". . .Hey, mom."
Silence. It wasn't like he was expecting an answer. ". . .I'm pretty sure you already know this but. . .I'm going to be a father."
Silence. Closing his eyes, he continued, ". . .and. . .I don't know what else to say." To any random person who would have walked in and saw him talking to the ceiling, he would have looked like a nut-job. "I. . .need your help." His eyes trained on a peculiar crack on the ceiling, just following the spider web like pattern, "I'm happy. I'm so, so happy but. . .I'm scared."
He opened his eyes, watching his hands fiddle with the zipper on his shirt, "I never knew dad, it was always just you and me. And what if. . .I'm horrible at it?" His answer was silence. Rubbing his forehead with the heel of his palm, all his fears and inhibitions spilled free. "I don't know what it's like, and I'm going into this as blindly as possible. Aerith, she grew up with only a mother too, so we both don't know what it's like and that worries me.
"I don't know, maybe I'll learn along the way, but. . ." His eyes crossed as he realized what he just said, ". . .I haven't told you about Aerith, have I?" Chuckling softly, he continued, "I never married Tifa. . .never even got anywhere close to a relationship with her that went beyond friendship. Then again. . ." he trailed off, knowing that he probably wouldn't have noticed Aerith either if it hadn't had been for Zack always being so touchy feely with her. Shaking his head, he decided to leave that out, "You were right, you know. Aerith's a year older than me, not much but she's still older. . .and, I love her so much." He imagined his wife's eyes, emerald green with the faintest hints of brown and gold, absolutely beautiful. "Her mother though, not so much. She doesn't like me, and I'm not so fond of her either, but when you marry a woman, you marry her family and she's all the family Aerith has in the world, so I have to accept her." A smile crossed his face, "You'd love Aerith. Maybe. . .I'll bring her here to meet you. . .her and the baby."
Loud cheers and shouts boomed when Vincent returned.
Smiling, Aerith couldn't help herself from joining in, clapping for him. Cloud stepped up behind her, nodding the older man's way, a wordless code of approval and congratulations. Leaning in close, he whispered in her ear, "You forgot something."
Cold smoothness touched her neck, and she looked down to see her necklace, feeling the brush of his gloves against the skin of her neck as he hooked the clasp in place. A soft smile touched her lips, and she looked into her husband's eyes. She ran her fingers over the surface of the white gold pendant gently, like she was afraid it would break if she even held it, and laughed softly.
"This means something completely different now, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. . ."
Only a few hours ago, it had been her engagement necklace, and now. . .
"I'll buy you a new one," Cloud said, watching her cradle the pendant carefully. Her eyes snapped up to his and she shook her head, back and forth.
"No, it's perfect."
"It's old. . ."
"It's perfect."
"It's an engagement necklace."
"But it's your mother's, isn't it?"
He smiled sadly, "Which is why I want to buy you a new one. Something better."
"Cloud, I don't want a new one, I love it more than you could ever know," She spoke softly. "And knowing it belonged to her. . .makes me feel like. . .like I know her."
He tilted his head, speechless at her simplicity and desire to keep a piece of his mother close to her heart. She really was amazing. ". . .you sure?"
"Positive."
Her thoughts wandered off to earlier, on the battlefield, and she smiled. ". . .you knew Vincent was going to win the whole time. . .didn't you?"
He smiled back, answering her question with just the simple look in his eyes.
"How long was I out?" Aerith asked quietly.
Tseng had gone down stairs to prepare something for breakfast. . .or lunch, or dinner, she didn't know what time of day it was right now, just like she didn't know how everyone got into her locked house. Rude looked to Reno, who was solemnly looking down at the floor, seated in a chair at the foot of her bed.
"We don't know how long you had been lying there when we got in."
Reno tugged at a string on the comforter, never looking up, "I was walking by and saw that the mail was pilin' up." Her eyes widened. "And Cloud's bike was gone. Rude looked in the window and saw you, we busted the door open and picked you up."
". . .When did you find me?"
"Yesterday."
"oh god. . ." She whispered.
Cloud had left almost three days ago.
She threw the covers off quickly, making the two Turks jump and rush to hold her down. "Stop!" She shouted, "I need to go to the hospital!"
"Easy! Easy!" Reno said, helping Rude stick her back under the covers, "We already had a doc come and inspect you!" She stopped resisting at this new development and stared at them both. Rude took this as his cue to lay her back down.
". . .What did he say?"
"You're fine," Rude said, "You just need some rest."
"What about my baby? I was out for two whole days! For all I know it could be hurt, or sick, or—or—!" Hot tears began to sting her eyes, her thoughts being made very clear by the looks on both men's faces.
"Whoa, hold on a sec," Reno said, stepping in front of Rude and taking a seat on the bed beside her, "the kid's fine, we had 'im check that first." His pale blue eyes softened and he tilted his head, "Don't start thinking like that. Believe it or not," The redhead rubbed the back of his head nervously, "even though the kid's not born yet, we both, and I'm pretty sure the boss does too, but, we all really care about him."
The tears in her eyes threatened to fall but those were the only ones that came. She was relieved to know her baby was fine, but, Reno said 'him'.
"Him?"
"Hmm?" Reno blinked then smiled, once again looking like his old self again, "Yeah, me and Rude have a bet going! I think the kid's gonna be a boy, Ruddy here," he jerked his thumb back to point at the bald Turk, "thinks it's gonna be a girl!"
Rude smirked, even though it was small, it was clear as day, "I know it's going to be a girl."
"Like hell!"
She wiped her eyes, giggling through the tears.
Tseng entered the room, holding a makeshift tray—which was really one of her order sheet binders—of a glass of water and what looked like chicken noodle soup, a couple crackers laid out on the edge of the plate.
The doctor must have told them she needed fluids.
"Smells good, boss! I didn't know you can cook!" Reno said, eyeing the steaming bowl.
Tseng smiled lightly only for it to fall, ". . .would you two please excuse us, we need to talk."
Reno raised an eyebrow, and was about to protest when Rude grabbed him by the collar, dragging him out of her bedroom before closing the door.
Tseng sighed, resting the binder on her lap carefully, and then pulled up the chair next to the foot of the bed, bringing it to her side. He sat down wordlessly, watching her stir the golden broth.
She smiled at her friend, "Thank you, Tseng."
His eyes snapped up to hers and he shook his head, "It was nothing, I just used some leftovers and—"
"No, not for that, but it was sweet of you to do this for me."
Tseng ran his hand through his hair, looking her straight in the eyes, "Then. . .for what?" He looked down to the untouched soup on her lap and motioned towards it, "You should really eat."
Smiling, she stirred for a few more seconds before lifting the spoon to her lips and blowing lightly, the opaque steam flowing away from her. Satisfied with the amount of heat emanating to her lips, she put the spoon in her mouth. Taking it out, she rested it back in the bowl and looked at Tseng, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm impressed. I didn't know you could cook either." Resting her right hand on her tummy, she rubbed it gently, "Do you like it too?" Tseng smiled at her. It might have been bizarre of him to think so, but there was just something about Aerith talking to her unborn child that he found. . .endearing.
"It's strange. . ." He said suddenly, "I've known you ever since you were a baby. . .and now," he paused; she smiled, rubbing her bump affectionately.
". . .I'm having one of my own," she finished for him.
He nodded slowly, "Yeah." Rubbing the back of his head he looked at his shoes, "I guess I still think of you as the little girl Shin-Ra wanted to get their hands on more than anything, and that makes it hard for me to. . .to register."
Something else bothered him about the whole situation, but he doubted Aerith would like to hear about the fact that she and Cloud were having sex made him want to throw up and then hang himself. He wasn't stupid. Babies didn't just pop out of thin air.
She smiled at him, a dark brow raised in amusement, "You still think of me as a little girl?"
"You're younger than me, that's for sure."
She turned back to her soup, staring off into space thoughtfully, ". . .did that happen to cross your mind when you kissed me?"
Tseng blushed, about to defend himself when something fell just outside the door. "Crap!" They both heard Reno cry, then the sound of scrambling feet running down the stairs.
Tseng looked away, playing with the sleeve of his suit, face crimson. "I thought I was going to die. . .and I'd always wanted to before. . ." Tugging at his cufflinks, he inwardly smiled as he remembered, that pivotal moment almost three and a half years ago. The climax of a daring escape. The softness of her skin beneath his palms, the look of complete and utter shock when he captured her lips, and well. . .her lips, and the fact they were being pressed with his. Looking up at her, he figured now was a better time than any to ask the question that burned in his mind every now and then, ". . .Why didn't you slap me?"
She smiled at him, that mysterious air that he loved about her returning, and took a small sip of her water, "Oh believe me, I wanted to."
His face fell at that. Resting the water on her nightstand she held her hands together, "Even though you weren't my favorite person at that moment, when they shined the searchlight on us, and when you told me you were going back to buy me some time, I. . .I couldn't let you do it." She met his gaze, black watching green intently and she continued, "You're my friend, Tseng. You've known me longer than anyone else and you always did your best to protect me when I was with Shin-Ra." He looked away, wondering if she forgot that time when he had kidnapped her himself, slapping her hard across the face in front of Barret, Tifa, and Cloud, or if she was really just that forgiving. "I couldn't let you die," she spoke softly, resting her hand over his gently.
Gazing at their hands, he breathed in deeply, then stood, making her hand slip off of his, "Thank you, that's all I needed to know." Turning, he opened the door and left the room, black hair trailing after him.
Rude was sitting on the couch patiently while Reno was going through everything in the Strife household. He had come across some interesting things, like inventory sheets of all of Cloud's deliveries, showing him exactly how much he made a week, which was pretty impressive, a few pictures here and there where Cloud was actually smiling, and some strange CD's that could be either one of theirs. 'Maybe I should search the bedroom next!' He thought with a grin, 'I'd definitely find some interesting things in there!'
"Hey Rude," Reno called over his shoulder, receiving a grunt in reply, "Do you think they're the type of couple to leave freaky things in plain sight?"
Footsteps came down the stairs quickly and Tseng touched the floor, hand releasing the railing. Reno waved.
"'Sup?"
"I have to head back to work, keep an eye on her, okay."
"Got it!"
Tseng reached for the handle on the door and was about to turn the knob when it turned on its own, pushing itself open. He stepped back to find Elmyra stepping in. Their eyes widened as they stared at each other.
"What are you doing here?" They asked each other, but she, frantically, while he, calmly.
"Where's my daughter?" She asked, jabbing him in the chest. When he was about to speak she cut him off, "Never mind!" She pushed her way past him and dashed up the stairs and straight for her daughter's room. "Aerith! Sweetheart, are you okay?" She burst through the door, "Aerith are you—?"
Aerith looked up from her soup to see her mother standing in the doorway, "M—mom?" Elmyra's mouth flopped open, giving her the appearance of a fish without water, as she stared at her.
"Aerith you're. . ."
She looked down and instantly realized what her mom was staring at. Suddenly she felt like a deer in the headlights.
Elmyra swallowed nervously, ". . .you're pregnant."
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!
Elmyra has just found out her precious little girl is going to have a baby!
Aerith's engagement necklace: I really loved the idea they used in FFXIII about using necklaces instead of rings to propose. It's unique, and since this is the world of Final Fantasy, I figured why not have the same rules apply for VII?
My design for Aerith's Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus outfit: You could find pictures of her wearing it on my DeviantArt account, I have a link to it on my page.
And if you guys haven't already guessed which Disney movie it was, it was Pirates of The Caribbean: At Worlds End :) That movie has one of the best wedding scenes in the history of movies and it just fit so perfectly with Cloud and Aerith! I've always felt their characters matched with Will and Elizabeth.
Disclaimer: Pirates of The Caribbean: At Worlds End does not belong to me.
I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me some feedback because, sadly, I'm not motivated without it ;^; So, until next time!