Aeris closed her bedroom door and sat on the bed. A lot to digest. Behind her – in the adjacent room – a SOLDIER should be settling down to sleep. Somehow their paths had crossed twice in the last two days. And what she learned of him during the second instance was throwing up big issues.
The first meeting was in the aftermath of an explosion; somehow she held a regular conversation with Cloud and sold him a flower in the circumstances. Absurd. But she had defaulted into a flower selling routine – and those same flowers held his attention in a way more extreme than any other Midgar denizen. So she stalled instead of fleeing, she sold him a flower. Thought nothing more of him. Until today; when he crashed down into the church from the Upper Plate.
He should, by all rights, be dead, but Cloud roused from his slumber in amongst the flowers.
An unexpected situation, but strange things could and did happen within the city. But he did not simply get up; he flipped up onto his feet. Body curled back, hands bracing behind him to spring him forward and upright.
The spark of an older memory; of another SOLDIER who did the same thing when she was younger. Whose hair was similarly spiked but differently coloured. Eyes with the same glow but purple not blue. A man, her boyfriend, long missing without a word.
The athletic stunt meant nothing of course. Simply rang a long dormant bell.
Cloud was something of an oddity. A self-confessed jack of all trades, someone who tried so hard for perception as stoic, cold, distant. But for whom bodyguard services could be had for the cost of a date. Who would pull back from fights to help her escape. Who indulged her absurd notion of the Turks wanting to recruit her.
He came home for dinner. Was polite to Mom.
And with each step there was another little detail. Another chime of the distant bell, each peal louder.
The way Cloud scratched the back of his head when he was nervous. The odd bit of slang and terminology she heard Zack use from time to time should mean little, but it still rang the bell. And his movements. Nothing at first, but somehow, when he came up the stairs to head to bed- Zack.
But not Zack. Could not be – as much as the change in hair was achievable with nothing more than bleach and dye. The differing build was more distinct; Zack's greater muscles contrasted with Cloud's lithe physique. Face was different; also no scar on Cloud's chin. Purple eyes versus blue. Not the same person. But dye Cloud's hair black, bulk him up and he'd easily pass for her ex at first glance. Strange.
Circumstances caused Aeris to keep on spending time with Cloud. To get to know him better than she had Zack. They travelled to Sector Six and became embroiled in Tifa's mission to interrogate Don Corneo. Cloud threw his efforts into an absurd disguise plan with astonishing gusto. Too involved with Cloud and Tifa to consider leaving after. Not when the lives of everyone in Sector Seven hung in the balance.
And-
Agonising hours when the worst seemed the most plausible. Cloud and Tifa might easily have perished when the Sector Seven plate crashed to the ground. When Shinra's cruelty reached a public peak. But the pair lived on alongside Barret and events conspired to propel Aeris and Avalanche out of Midgar.
She should ask Cloud about Zack. Pry some more, try to figure out why the spark of familiarity was there. Cloud was not Zack. He had not recognised her, knew none of their little jokes. But while he might now know them, a few sparked a twitch when she made them. Never to the extent of completing the thoughts or delivering punch-lines, but they affected him somehow. Curious.
Her questions about Zack remained on the edge of voicing, but it was never the right time. Cloud's aloofness and coldness continued to fade away. He trusted his friends – and she was one of the increasing number journeying around the world together.
Her intention was to wait until the resolution of this mess with Sephiroth, but Enchantment night at the Gold Saucer offered too good an opportunity. Time to clear the air. Put to bed the echoes of Zack. They remained, but there was more and more of Cloud to discover, to want to spend time with. Dorky and warm. She gave him the date promised all the way back in her church – and came clean. As best she could. Wrong now to keep bringing Zack up – not when she was trying to confess to Cloud.
And he changed everything on the deat. Nothing he did – nothing particular. He watched her faintly puzzled as she explained her thoughts. And shifted position-
"Hey Aeris!"
Aeris finished the transaction with her customer, wishing the elderly lady well. Zack was pushing through the crowd, a member of the Shinra infantry close behind him. "Hi." She glanced around Zack and smiled at the other man, his face invisible behind his mask. "And hi. I don't believe we've met?"
The infantry guy stepped back, hand coming up to scrub uselessly at the helmet. "He got assigned to me today," Zack said. "C'mon, say hi S-"
Aeris frowned. "You're different."
"Aeris?"
Infantry blended into the background of Midgar life. Aeris rarely paid them attention and they her; none of them paid enough to afford flowers. No family to give them to, little time for dates or fun. This one knew her. The voice rang a bell. "Oh, hi S-"
A gulf in her stomach, a rising excitement in her chest. "Things are- Different."
The infantry guy hurried up the last few steps, not noticing the slick street. He slipped over. "Are you okay?" Aeris hurried towards him, but the man was already moving, body curled back, hands braced behind him. He sprang forward and upright. She came to a halt. "Impressive."
He tried to scratch the back of his head again. "Zack's running a little late and asked if I'd let you know." He dithered. "So-" He moved to leave and she caught his arm.
"Thank you. But you don't need to go. Keep me company until he gets here?" She smiled; the helmet ducked and again the scratch at the back of his head. "Why don't you take that off?"
"Can't." He shook his head. "On duty."
"Shame, C-"
"Cloud." Aeris blinked at the man sitting opposite her. "I-" She leant closer to him. "I think I've been searching for you." He shifted, unsure of the situation. "I wanted to meet you."
The two of them were laughing when Zack arrived. "Sorry I'm late."
"You get to pay then!" Zack kissed her and already S- was moving away. "You still don't have to run off!" Aeris said.
He shook his head. "Things to do. Don't want to be a third wheel." He hurried off, Aeris's gaze following.
"So, how about it?" Zack said. She pulled her attention away from the retreating figure-
"I'm right here." Cloud fidgeted again. No indication he remembered any more than she had five minutes ago.
"I know. But I mean; I want to meet you." Aeris smiled at him. Strife or Cloud or whoever. The man beneath the mask five years ago was sitting opposite her.