Episode 2 –Song of Storm – Part I

Date: 19 027 A.D. December 18th

Location: Planet Earth, undetectable spot around earth, post-wedding airship

Mission: Getting intel on Seymour Baldin, a mafia's baron who've never been caught up in anything before. Still known only as a drill instructor and trainer for the army, he's a harsh and independent man.

Agents chosen for the mission: Agent Lightning. Agent Raven. Agent Stella.

Latest report: It seems that Seymour was acting violent to his young wife the other day. He's losing his patience. He's acting different, irrational…

Message from G.I. four. End of transmission.

…

Noctis had been waiting for about an hour when he got bored and went out on his own. Lightning had gone with Rikku to talk to her and comfort her. Noctis had tried to find something constructive to do, like contacting their boss or Reno, to ask for some intel over the Antlion project, but he finally opted for something else and went to train. There, as always, he met Seymour. For once, the guado soldier looked amazingly nervous and unable to focus on his training. Finally, the two men joined for a little chat. Which explained to Noctis why Lightning wasn't coming back as soon as he'd wanted and was still with Rikku right now…

Seymour had had a fight with his wife. First fight ever. Things had gotten out of plan. She'd made him mad.

"…and then, I hit her."

"Hit? You don't mean like a punch?"

"Of course not, it was just a slap. But… with my nails, I cut her face. She was bleeding and crying and… She wasn't Rikku anymore."

"Fucking god. What had she done to make you that mad?"

Seymour sighed before to take another sip of his tea. Noctis would never have guessed this guy was a tea maniac. But he sure was. Go figure, the young spy thought to himself.

"I don't know… She was asking stuff over the army. Over scraps of paper and notes she had found in my things. You know, our room was a real mess after the ship turning all upside down. Our bed's broken, we had to be transferred somewhere else. She tried gathering both of our things while I was getting the keys and first thing I knew as I came back, she was jumping at my throat, asking for details over some Antlion tale. It's an army project, you see, man?"

"Oh, right. So you couldn't answer her questions about it. But why was she mad in the first place?"

"Her father's a big engineer and he happened to have spent the last twenty years of his life on the Antlion project. I'm just in charge of a few details, I don't know a thing about this, I'm just a ground trainer, for heaven sake, but she got all worked up, saying I was involved in something bad. I'm a soldier, she should know already just how bad it's supposed to get."

"Why do you say that? That Antlion thing, it's some weapon or something?"

"I didn't say that. I shouldn't even be talking about this."

"Alright, forget it. I don't wanna be drag in any army problem." Noctis replied quickly which made Seymour smile.

"You're smart, man."

"You'd be the first to say that in a long while."

"Well, I sure feel stupid. I'd never raise a hand on a woman for something that stupid before. Usually, I fight them to save my ass, not because they piss me off. But suddenly, I just couldn't take any of her words anymore. I had to get her off my back."

"What did she say?"

"That I was mad. And that I scared her. All I managed to do was to make it come through in the end…"

"You just lost your cool, how could she say anything like that?"

Noctis couldn't believe Seymour was confiding in him. But then again, Seymour was pretty shocked of what he'd done and the face that Rikku had gave him right after this bloody slap.

"I have no idea…"

Noctis sighed, asking himself how'd he got involved in something like that…

…

As Lightning got back to her room with Noctis, it was to find him already sitting on their bed, working on his laptop for the first time since they'd started their mission. He greeted her entrance with a smile, which she gave back to him, although she looked pretty tired and kinda sad.

"I heard from Seymour about his fight with Rikku. Did it look bad?"

"The poor girl was in tears when I finally managed to get out of this stupid bathroom."

"Well, Seymour seemed really sorry for slapping her."

"She was more worried of what it meant he was able to slap her just because she was asking him some questions."

They both sighed as Lightning walked up to the bed. Noctis turned off his computer and stuffed it in its place.

"Isn't it better that she discovered it now than later on? He's crazy and he'd hurt a lot more people than just her if he could… All he cares about are the strong…"

"But she thought she knew him. And she loves him." Lightning replied, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her folded legs.

"It's harsh, but I think he loves her too. But the guy's pretty messed up in his head."

"Being messed up gives him the right to hurt her?"

Noctis shook his head. He was getting tired and thought he had had a day long enough already not to have such a philosophic chatter about someone else's love.

"You know I'd never punch or slap you, this isn't some king of test or something?"

"Of course I know. It's just… Whenever I stumble on a situation like that, I can't understand any side of it. She loves him. He loves her. But he's mad. So he hurts her. And now she's scared of him. But she's still in love. What am I supposed to tell her? Cross your fingers and hope he'll change? Wish for your life with him to be an endless honeymoon?"

"There's another option. You tell her the truth. He's a jerk. He was before to meet you and he won't change for anyone. But somehow, he loves you. If you wanna take the risk of being with him until he get mad again or walk away right now, it's entirely your choice. But you have to choose for yourself, and not let him chose for you. That's all there is to it."

"What if she can change him?"

"Hey, I'd like to see that."

Lightning didn't answer and they remain like this for a while, Noctis lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, his arms crossed under his head, his partner sitting next to him, still feeling pretty down… She had never faced anything like a violent man in an intimate relationship. Her brother Cloud had always been nice with her, Squall was her buddy, but he still treated her as a girl, never hitting her too hard if he'd give her a buddy's pat on the shoulder. As for Noctis, he looked rough around the edges, but he was tenderness made human. And as she wondered over this, she remembered all the good times they had shared. And she remembered yesterday, when he was kissing her and that his hands were toying with her breasts. She remembered most of it now. She flushed at the thought. She was daring in many things, but never had she been one to have anything like sex in public. And they could have crossed the line yesterday, if it wasn't for her.

Deep down, she still felt bad for Rikku, but somehow, Lightning found herself staring at Noctis. He had folded one of his legs and she remembered how long they were. His shirt was slightly unbuttoned at the top and she followed his chest raising and lowering with every of his breaths. His naked neck which gulped down. The dark locks falling over his face. Damn, he was sexy even when he didn't try to.

"Say, where did we left off when we were, interrupted, this morning?" she asked him with a seducing voice.

Noctis stretched his arms over his head, smirking.

"If I recall correctly… I was kissing you."

"Were you?" she asked playfully.

"Here." he whispered, rolling on his side and grabbing her in his arms. "Like this."

His lips were on hers before that she could even blink. She hugged him tightly, pressing herself against his firm torso. The tender kiss turned passionate and she realized he was eager to taste her. To eat her all from head to toes. As they started fighting together to have the other pleased, he got her pinned under him. Her hands were running over his back. Under his shirt. He was looking for her clothing. Kissing and biting the skin of her neck. She threw her head backwards as he undid her shirt. Gasped as he pressed his cock against her stomach and grabbed her breasts through her bra. She really just had to say a word. She felt over aware of him, of his touch. She hadn't been this close to anyone in so long. She was moaning so easily at his caresses, it almost scared her. He felt terribly hungry, hungry for her taste, for her skin. She pulled on his hair so that he would kiss her again and they got on their knees, fighting with the clothing remaining between them. Their bodies were brushing together as their breaths melt in each other mouths. This fight turned into a dance, into a war. She was pressing, it was getting urgent, her nails dug in his back, but the pain was nothing.

The light was still on, and suddenly, Lightning realized they were both naked. His hands were everywhere. She was a bundle of nerves, as if this was her first time with a man, as if she didn't recognize him. There were scars on his skin that shouldn't have been there. And his hands were so big, so firm. She felt as if he was going to turn her into someone else, as if he was reshaping her. And as their lips connected again, she remembered this was a part of her. This lust, this need and this desire of being covered with kisses and shivers. Not fighting anymore, just taking from him, taking all the pleasure he could give her. She had forgotten how it felt. To love him. And to be loved like this.

She tried to move, to give him back everything, so that this would be fair, but the panic was still strong inside of her heart. Though she was happy, she was scared. Had he looked at her? Could he see her as he moved over her? The small light of the night lamp felt as a neon standing above her. Noctis was whispering sweet words in her ears. She wanted to answer, but she felt him raising himself up, to gaze at her. And suddenly, she remembered the last time she had been naked under someone gaze. She tried to hide her breast with her arms, panicking even more. Noctis was looking for his breath and blinked at her reaction.

"What… What's wrong?" he asked her.

He hated seeing fear in her eyes. He didn't know if he could stop himself now, even if she asked him to stop, but he had to make things right. They were starting everything over. It hat to make this the right way.

"Don't look at me, Noct. You can touch me, but don't stare at me. Turn off the light."

"But I wanna see you, Light. And I've already did, remember?"

"Yeah, but the last time… The last time I was naked with you around, we were in the Feds'…"

"Come on Light, can't you forget about it?"

"I wanna forget. I thought I had, it's just…"

He sighed, before to lean down to her and kiss her once more. He kept on kissing her until she started answering him and kissing back and then, he gently took her wrists in his hands and moved them aside. She didn't fight back, she knew she was acting like a little girl. But she shivered as their chest met. The room's air felt cold and he was so warm…

"You're the prettiest woman in the whole galaxy, Light. With or without scars."

He turned off the light, but they could still see each other, thanks to the moon rays entering the room between the folds of the only windows. And he looked at her. And his blue eyes were so gentle and so full of love, she had to pull him into another kiss. Soon, his hands were back on her, as his body tried to fit with hers. They took their time, exchanging sweet words and soon whispering each other's names as they rocked together. At first, he hurt her, of course. Lightning had been forbidding herself any pleasure and it took her sometime to get used to him at new. But he managed to get her to yell his name at some point as she held him close, so… he had to be doing this the right way, right?

When Noctis collapsed next to her, Lightning was stuck in blissful silence. She had totally forgotten how far he could take her. He grabbed the sheets of the bed and brought it up to her neck, so that she would stop to shiver. He hugged her then, pressing her back against his chest. And she felt so small in his arms, so warm and tired, it was… It must be a miracle she was there. She moaned as he moved next to her, sheltering from the outside world. Put her hands on his arms that were around her waist. He trembled a little, pretty worn out. But he still could tell she was closing her eyes as she let out another long moan.

"That was…"

She stopped, looking for a word that would describe it perfectly.

"…perfect."

He chuckled in her hair and she smiled. She wanted to look at him right now, to see his smile in his eyes. But he was too vulnerable and he wouldn't let her. Not now. Maybe later. He sighed.

"I had forgotten." he simply said.

"Me too." she replied.

"Say Claire?"

"Hmmm?"

They both felt kinda sleepy right now.

"I love you."

He kissed her shoulder again and she shivered. This was what she'd been missing. All those months. Those two years without him. Why had she pushed him away again?

"I love you too you know…"

His arms around her felt so good, so reassuring. Nothing could reach her here, but him. There was only both of them here.

Only us, she thought.

"Hey, Noctis… I… I know this may not be the right time, but since we're back together and all…"

"Yeah?"

"How about you tell me if you'd want to have kids with me. I mean, in the future?"

"Huh?"

He tensed up next to her, and for a moment, she couldn't feel him breathing in his neck, thought he hadn't moved from an inch.

"We… we never had that discussion, and I thought…"

"Oh Claire… I… I don't know. We're not in the right line of work to raise a family and I'd never seen myself as a dad. I mean…"

"It's okay, Noctis. I was just asking. You don't have to answer now. It's just… I would like us to be more serious together. I'm almost twenty six years old already, and I don't intend on being a spy all of my life."

"I guess I've never really think about the future that much."

"Maybe is it the right way to do things."

"I don't know, Light. All that feels right in my life is holding you in my arms."

Somehow, thought this felt really sweet and Lightning felt ready to melt again, she was scared by his statement. As if there was nothing else in Noctis' life that ringed certainty to him. And he'd seemed quite lost lately, so maybe…

"Don't… don't say things like that."

"Why? I'm only being honest."

"Noctis… Did something really bad happen to you during those two years?"

"What?"

"Sometimes you sound… you sound pretty desperate."

Noctis felt his throat tightening at the thought she had understood that much. Maybe should he tell her, right now. But somehow, he couldn't get himself to talk. Not as he thought of those scientists around him. The sickening pictures ran through his mind in a flash and he held her tighter.

"I had hard times," he admitted. "But it's over now."

He had to get in contact with Stella and check with her what had truly happened during his coma. Then, he would tell Lightning. She would understand. But she was going to be so mad too…

"Everything that hurt is over now." she whispered.

And she fell asleep in his arms, half reassured. He sighed. Things weren't entirely right like this. He felt bad for hiding the truth to her. But then again, he had no idea how to tell her he had been sleeping in a coma for the last two years. And the memory of those men and women around him. He shivered. The woman of his dreams loved him. It was more than he could have ever asked for. But still, it didn't feel like enough. Though it had to be enough…

"I wish you could be right, my love. I'd wish that I wouldn't care about what happen."

But he was still scared.

Tomorrow, he swore to himself. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to know what really happened. And I'll tell you, if I have the strength to.

…

Date : 19 030 A.D. Rallyenbirth 20th –Galactic time-

Location: Above planet Earth, on the spaceship of squad 8

Mission: Landing safely on Earth

Soldiers: The colonel Strife, his squad and the medical team

No recent report from the ship, they haven't try to communicate with us…

Message from Doctor Cid Archadia of the first branch. End of transmission.

…

Yuna was the first to wake up. She felt a nice breeze toying with her hair and was surprised as she looked up slowly. The colonel Strife was sleeping in her bed! She slightly panicked at the simple idea of what that could mean, until that she realized he must have fallen asleep after calming her down. Which he had done, somehow. She felt relaxed and better, though she needed a good shower and something to eat.

"Huh… Colonel?"

He seemed quite peaceful and she felt bad for having to wake him up, but she couldn't let things like they were right now.

"Cloud?"

"Come on, Light, just another hour…" he replied.

"Hum…. You're asking for too much. I don't know what the others are going to say just knowing you've spent the whole night here…"

She flushed as she realized what they would gossip over for the next days. Her reputation was done for!

She gently shook him up, unable to believe she was worried with so trivial details. Just yesterday, all she could think about was the blood on her hands. But after all, time was taking effect. She had to live on for all the dead. She was already getting back to herself. And her colonel was in her room, sleeping in her bed and it wasn't right! Some could have thought that Cloud would wake up for anything, since he was a trained soldier and always ready to react to a potential attack or something. But he wasn't paying attention at all time. And as he slowly opened his eyes, he looked pretty surprised to see Yuna's face hanging right above his.

"Huh… Hi?"he whispered with a hoarse voice.

"Hi." she replied.

"So… I take it I've fallen asleep too."

Yuna sat up, feeling slightly awkward and tried to keep her distance from him. Cloud observed her shyness and quickly got up, though he was feeling slightly dizzy.

"I guess I should get back to my quarters now. You'll be alright on your own?" he asked as he walked up to the door, trying not to stumble onto any tool or thing lying around.

"Yes. Thanks for your help yesterday. It really reassured me."

She gave him a shy smile and Cloud felt his heartbeat accelerating a bit at that. She could still smile! And she looked quite pretty when she did. And as much as he felt guilty for throwing her on the battlefield, right now, she was smiling because of him. As he walked out, he realized he couldn't hear Shiva anymore. And Yuna almost rushed out of her room and passed by him, running all the while.

"What's the problem?"

"I forgot to check the landing system!"

Her lightning carbuncle was running after her, whining as a dog. Cloud smiled for real this time. Then, he felt eyes resting over his shoulders and looked around, frowning.

Tifa was standing behind him, her arms crossed on her chest.

"You two sure talked a lot." she observed.

"…"

"All night long, huh?"

"Ah, give it a rest already, okay?"

Cloud would have to order everyone to forget that too in their report. And to tell Yuna not to include it in her report either. Earth was approaching in the small windows of the ship. Soon, he'd be back home and would see Lightning again. He sure could use to sleep in his own bed. He felt like sleeping for a whole week and he wondered if he could pull that off.

…

One day later, Cloud was woken up by the doorbell of his apartment. He sure wished that Lightning was already back from her trip with Noctis. And that she was alright on that mission trip… But he was already sure that it wasn't her waiting in front of the door. Who would ring the doorbell of its own apartment?

"Hey Cloud! Are you home? I heard from the army that you were finally back!"

"Serah?" he realized, waking up almost as soon as he recognized his younger sister's voice. He had trouble getting up of his bed, since he was trying to break his latest sleeping record and get more than three days of sleep in four day. He sure needed it, after all the running around and the stress he was put under. He rolled on his back, got stuck in the sheets, clumsily fought his way out, grabbed a pants lying on the floor and quickly put it on, almost falling while doing so, before to head to the kitchen, then to the entrance corridor and to open the door to Serah.

She was dressed in a long skirt and a tight shirt that let her arm bared to the eyes. She was wearing sandals and almost jumped in the room as she saw Cloud standing in front of her.

"So you're really back, Cloud! I'm so glad I'm finally able to see you!"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he replied. She smiled in response and directly went for a hug that he gladly gave her.

Although she had grown up really fast in Cloud's point of you, he still thought of her as a little girl most of the time.

"Did I wake you up? You look sleepy."

And his hair wasn't pointing on his head as usual; it looked pretty messy and tangled.

"Well, I'm just back from a mission and Lightning's still out for the Faction. I needed to catch back some sleep. Anyway, come in, you didn't come on foot did you?" he asked her, letting go of her and looking around his apartment, realizing the place looked quite inhabited.

"Snow dropped me just before your block on his way to work."

"Things are still going well with him?"

"More than well."

She was smiling a lot more than usual. Cloud let her in the kitchen to go and put a shirt on, and as he came back, she had already started to make some coffee.

"Let's see what I could do for breakfast…"

She rummaged through the fridge and cupboards before to turn back to Cloud, looking surprised.

"There are nothing put health pills around here!"

"Army's rations. Haven't gotten time to go and buy food."

"Cloud, you're terrible! When Light's not around, you eat nothing at all!"

"Oh come on, Serah. I'm in perfect shape."

She shook her head, disapproving him despite all the arguments he could use.

"Whatever…" she said, imitating him almost perfectly.

He smirked and sat before the little kitchen's counter. She sat next to him and gave him a large cup of coffee.

"You didn't come to verify what I was eating, did you?"

"No, I wanted to announce you something…"

"Announce?"

"Yeah… But I don't really know how to say it."

"You're not getting married with Snow, huh?"

"Well, he asked me, but we don't have enough money for it."

Cloud looked at her, frowning, and spotted the necklace she had on, with the engagement rings on it. Snow was a big guy, looking all tough and rough, but he sure knew how to make a woman happy. Serah was shining from joy.

"I wish I could be of help with that, but I don't have much myself."

"I'm not here to ask for money, Cloud, you're not my father."

"I know… Anyway, why are you here then, Serah? Shouldn't you be working today? You don't have much more time off your hands than me or Lightning usually."

"The kids have a day off today, and me too for once…"

Serah was working as a teacher in high school. Cloud had no idea how she could live in such an environment. But she liked to teach history and geography. It was pretty hard, since she had three or four different classes to give, over earth's history, and universal wide history too.

"That's nice."

He gave her sometimes to tell him whatever she had come to see him for, but the young woman didn't seem ready to talk.

"Say, Cloud, what's new with you? You haven't called me for months, not even sent an email. Every time that I call, I get to your receiver and it's always full."

"Well, I've been living half here and half at my quarters back in the Army's building. Got assigned training troops, had to revise the Squad, doing field test, you know… I was busy. And Lightning was…"

He paused, realizing he shouldn't mention Lightning's nightmares or latest fears to Serah. His twin would kill him if she learned he had…

"What about Lightning?"

"Well, she was pretty lonely since she broke up with Noctis."

"But they're back together now."

"What?"

Cloud almost jumped out of his chair as he heard that. Could it be true? That Noctis had shown back to the living world and gotten back in his sister's life? But how? That bastard hadn't done enough harm already?

"You didn't know? I called Lightning the other day at her workplace, they gave me a number where I could reach her. She was on a honeymoon cruiser, with Noctis. And she sounded really happy."

Cloud's mouth hanged open for a whole thirty seconds. Serah started laughing and he looked away, unable to understand how Lightning could go from the resenting she still felt last time he'd seen her to jumping right back in Noctis' arms.

"We're still in December, right? I haven't been gone for more than two weeks, how can she…?"

He felt so confused suddenly, he started walking back and forth to help himself think over this new mystery.

"Aww Cloud, don't make that face. Lightning is a big girl. She knows what she's doing."

"Right…"

"How about you? Haven't you been busy with anything else than work? Like a girlfriend, or something?"

"Nope. I'm a lone wolf and I prefer it that way."

Serah looked sad at his answer. She was fumbling her fingers together, as if she was looking for something he couldn't see.

"No food, no girls. Always busy with work. When do you have fun in all of this, huh?"

"I got my bike to work on and… hold on, Serah, have you really come to teach me how to live my life? I thought you had something to tell me. You're acting all nervous, beating around the bush. What's up?"

"You'd better sit down, Cloud."

"Huh… Okay."

He sat back, right in front of her. She grabbed his big hands in hers, putting on her face a shy smile.

"Well, it's… I don't know how to say it since you've always been treating me like your daughter instead of your sister. I don't want to shock you or anything. You see, I'm… I'm pregnant!"

She sounded so scared of his reaction that Cloud froze a moment. The news sank in. Serah, his little Serah, was pregnant. He was going to be a grand… no wait, an uncle. After all, Serah was his sister. His baby little sister. She was expecting a baby? But… But…! He blinked, trying to find something to say. Her hands were so small in his, she seemed so frail. He remembered Lightning losing her baby. Remembered Tifa talking about having a family. Remember how he felt as he held his two sisters in his arms when they'd learned their parents' deaths. He'd promised himself he would protect them from harm. Had teamed up with his twin to raise Serah to a proper woman, to someone just and pure, who could stand on her own, fight for her dream and spread happiness wherever she'd go. Had failed protecting them sometimes. But he had tried and always been there to comfort them as time went by. And he loved his sisters. He loved them more than anyone else in this world.

"…"

He looked down at Serah's belly, which was still quite flat and back to her eyes and back to her belly and once again to her eyes. Could she really be…?

"You think I'm joking or something?"

"No, no, it's just…"

She took back her hands, biting her lips. Why was it both her big brother and sister couldn't be happy about this news? Was it wrong to be pregnant nowadays?

He shut up, looking away, pretty lost as to what he was supposed to say. Of course, he should have cheered her and congratulate her. But somehow, such an idea, seeing Serah pregnant or with a baby seemed so out of the picture… He had always seen her as a little sister. As a child. He knew she was a grown woman now, but he couldn't imagine her having sex, or… She was his little sister for heaven sake! He felt mad at Snow, because it was that big guy's fault. He felt mad at Lightning for not warning him about it.

"What? What's so wrong with it? You're just like Lightning, she almost sounded angry at me at first when I told her!"

"…"

"Come on, say something!"

Cloud was trying to find something brilliant and nice to say, but his mind was a complete blank. And then, an ambulance went through the street and they both could hear its siren roaring in the apartment. Serah jumped a little at the sudden noise, but her brother really jumped over the counter, as if this was a war alarm or something. Before that the ambulance had turned the corner of the street, Cloud was out of Serah's sight and she blinked, surprised beyond words by his reaction.

"What… What's the meaning of this?"

"Hum…"

Cloud slowly got up from being the counter. The first thought that had run in his mind as the siren roared was: take cover! And he felt pretty dumb for reacting like that.

"I think I switched back to the battlefield mode when I got up…" he tried to joke, scratching his head and looking away.

"Did something happen back there?"

"Where, on Pluto you mean? Well… Nothing much."

"You're all tensed up. You should sit down, Cloud."

"I'm alright." he protested.

"You look for cover when you heard an ambulance's siren!" she retorted.

"Alright, maybe I'm a little nervous. But try to understand me. If Lightning was to tell you she was pregnant, wouldn't you be nervous or… something?"

"I would be happy for her!"

She seemed on the verge of tears now. Cloud sighed and walked up to her, grabbing her into a bear hug.

"I'm really, really sorry for reacting like this Serah. It's just… I never expected you to come up to me with something like that."

"All I wanted was your approbation, Cloud. Is it too much to ask?"

"You don't need my approbation, I'm not your dad, remember?"

"You still feel like my dad most of the time."

They both sighed as he started patting her back and stroking her hair.

"Well, you were a nice daughter. I guess you grew up too fast. I never got to follow. I still feel like a teen in most things I do."

She pushed him away, to look in his eyes.

"Aren't you exaggerating it a bit?"

He shook his head.

"It's just weird to think I'll be an uncle in a few months."

"Uncle Cloud, that's right, I hadn't think about that!" she laughed.

He gave her the half of a smile, looking pretty serious.

"As if I'd made a nice uncle."

"I'm sure you will!"

"Well, I won't have to. I know you'll be a nice mother. I don't know why you were so scared of my reaction about this, though. I'll be there to help through it all if I can get the time to."

"Yeah, let's talk about time." she observed, taking a step back and crossing her arms over her chest. "You're never home when I call. You're always working!"

"Well, we saved about… fifty men and women back on Pluto. That was worth one week and a half, for sure."

"Sure, but what about you Cloud? You always play the tough guy, but you're all marshmallows inside. You'd need a nice girl to make you eat real food and remember you to take a break."

"Well, Lightning still lives here. She's an awful cook, but she sure reminds me to take a break every now and then."

"I don't mean a sister, I mean a girl. Like in girlfriend." Serah insisted.

"Ah, man, I know, I know. You think it's that easy to get one with my job? And my character? I'm not easy to put up with, I know it. And the last girl I met hates me for throwing her on the battlefield."

"You did what?"

"Don't worry, she shoot me in the arm as payback. Now I gotta train her so that she can use a gun right…"

"She… what?"

"Exactly what I told my boss at the army. Jetch sure laughed at me on that one."

"Cloud, could you stop your monologue and tell me what happened with that girl?"

He shook his head and sat on the counter.

"I don't wanna talk about it. I don't even know why I said all that…"

It just felt as if suddenly, he couldn't stop himself from talking. Did Serah think he liked his life how it stands right now? Did she think it was easy to wake up alone every morning? To have no one to hold on through the night… To be surrounded by the same responsibilities since he was a kid and to be a killer. And he liked killing. Not that much, but enough to stay in the army. Enough to keep on pulling the trigger. What had he choose this job already? To protect the one he cared about, right. Bullshit!

"Cloud, do you feel alright?"

"No." he honestly answered. "I guess I'm still on Pluto in my head. It was so cold, so cold, you wouldn't imagine. We met Jenova, you know?"

"Jenova?" she repeated.

"That bitch's still crazy about mako." he whispered, looking down at his right arm, turning it so he could glare at his veins through the skin.

The blue matter in all the green blood. The pure mako running through his veins.

"What… what about that girl you taught me about earlier?"

He chuckled, still looking down and Serah sat next to him on the counter, pushing the coffee's mugs aside. She wrapped one arm around her big brother shoulders. And he felt so tall and strong, even now, as he was fighting against the pain. Since he wasn't looking at Serah in the eyes, it felt easier to talk.

"Her name's Yuna. She's a part time soldier for the army. She's studying in Harvard's University to become an engineer. Or so I heard. She usually only do chores around the army quarters. But… Cid is having a baby on his wife and got himself a long vacation. We needed an engineer for the ship, so Yuna was added to the squad. She's pretty shy and kinda clumsy, but… That makes her quite cute in fact. "

Serah giggled at that and he blushed slightly.

"Don't get me wrong, alright, I don't… She's too young for me anyway, it's just… I've tried to protect her along the way, since it was her first mission and all. But I brought her to the battlefield, so that she would help me and Yuffie in our diversion to rescue the miners that Jenova had kidnapped. I thought I could do it. I really thought I could. I put a gun in her hands. And I ordered her to kill people, so that we could save our miners. And she obeyed. She's a good soldier, really." he paused for a while, trying to hold it all back inside.

"You should have seen her crying yesterday. I destroyed her, totally. All I could do after was… trying to convince her I was the only one responsible, since I had given the orders. But she's still messed up. I made her a killer. And I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for it."

"Oh my gosh…" was all Serah could muttered.

"Yeah. I felt like saying that too at some point."

She tried to smile, but she was pretty shaken up.

"I'm sorry about telling you all of this. I… don't wanna weight you down with my problems. I really am terrible, I should put any strain on you in the state you're in."

"No, I can take it, Cloud, I'm stronger than you think. It's just… Now I think I understand why you and Lightning don't talk to me all that much anymore. You're both dealing with problems that are so beyond me. To think sometimes, my biggest fear of the day is forgetting my students exams back home."

That made him laugh. And it was a real, honest laugh, one she rarely heard from him."

"Oh, Serah, we should talk more, really. That could help me relax a bit. And I always feel better whenever you listen to me."

"I'm glad to hear that."

And she managed to smile at new. So Cloud just needed someone to listen? He was so simple in fact. So much simpler than she thought he was. But somehow, it was hard to accept it. He was like a father and her only big brother. And even now, as he was having dark thoughts, he looked so damn strong. And he was still cheering her up, somehow. She had to smile. Cloud had faced so many terrible things in his life and had always smiled to her even though it was hard. She felt so lucky to have him. She suddenly gave him another hug and Cloud put it on the pregnancy's account. She was quite demonstrative for once. Not that he minded. It was nice having his sister/daughter around. Even if he didn't always know how to look at her…

To be continued…