Claudia nervously walked over to the bench where the elegant brunette woman was sitting. They had been sitting across from each other at the park for three days in a row now, and she'd finally worked up the courage to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Claudia Strife. Cloud, that's my son, has been getting along really well with your daughter and since we keep running into each other, I figured I should come over and say hello." She smiled hesitantly.

"Claudia, what a beautiful name!" the other woman responded, a mirroring smile lighting her face up like the sun. "Please, take a seat," she continued, gesturing to the empty space next to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ifalna and my daughter's name is Aerith."

Claudia took the offered seat, glancing around the park in the process. The four of them were the only ones there at the moment. The small park between Sectors Five and Seven was fairly run down and not terribly popular, but it was nice and quiet and Cloud seemed to like it. Claudia turned her attention back to the woman at her side, marveling at how fine her dress was. It seemed unusual that a topsider would bother to come down to a park in the slums, but she wasn't rude enough to ask.

"Oh, no, the pleasure's all mine. It's nice to see Cloud playing with another kid around his age, he usually stays far away from strangers and keeps to himself."

"Really?" A flicker of surprise flashed over Ifalna's face. "I never would have guessed with the way they've been playing together these past few days."

Claudia watched as Aerith dropped to her knees at the end of the slide, bouncing back to her feet a moment later with a tiny yellow flower in her hands. She ran over to Cloud, holding it out to him, and he glanced over at Claudia—going bright red when he saw both parents watching before firmly shaking his head at the young girl. Aerith was undeterred, darting forward and tucking it into the pocket of Cloud's shirt before he could react.

Cloud nearly fell backward in surprise, reaching for the flower before letting his hand fall to his side. He said something to Aerith that caused her to beam at him, but they were too far away for Claudia to make it out.

"Your daughter is so lovely. If she's got Cloud acting like this after only three days, I imagine she must make friends very easily."

Ifalna's lips curved upward, but her eyes were strangely sad as she continued watching her daughter. "Yes and no. Aerith does get along with everyone, but she always seems to stay on the outskirts, encouraging others but never letting anyone get too close." She turned to look back at Claudia. "That's why it's been so interesting to see how she is around Cloud, I've honestly never seen her this . . . attached before."

"I know exactly what you mean. Cloud's not mean, but with any other girl he would have given that flower back."

Ifalna laughed, the sound warm and inviting. "And they've only known each other for three days, it feels more like several years."

"I think it's good for him, I've been worried that he doesn't really have any friends here in Midgar."

"Oh? I don't mean to pry, but did you recently move here?"

Claudia waved her concern away. "A month ago, yes. We used to live in Nibelheim, a small village on the other continent, but I wanted a better life for Cloud so I decided to move to the big city." She anxiously rubbed her hands together, the memory of how stressful a decision it had been still fresh. "Even back home, Cloud only really had one friend, a girl a year younger than him."

"It sounds like your son is quite the ladies' man," Ifalna said, giggling softly.

Claudia couldn't help but grin, shaking her head ruefully. "I guess so, I'll have to make sure to keep my eye on him."

"And what about you?" Ifalna asked, her shoulder lightly bumping into Claudia's. "Have you made any friends since moving here?"

"I—No, not really. It's been so busy I haven't had any time. I'm still looking for a job and I need to find a school for Cloud still and then there's—"

Ifalna smiled warmly at her. "Claudia, I'm asking if you'd like to be my friend."

"Oh! Oh, yes, I'd like that!"

"What are you talking about mommy?" a young girl's voice asked, and Claudia realized the children had joined them at the bench.

"Mommy is making a new friend, dear. What about you, did you have fun with Cloud today?"

Aerith nodded rapidly. "Yup, I gave Cloud his flower so we're friends now."

Claudia was overwhelmed with how cute the girl was. It was easy to see why Cloud was drawn to her, there was something infectious about her presence. "And what about you?" she asked, pulling Cloud into her lap. "Are you going to be a good friend to Aerith?"

"Always," Cloud said, looking directly at the girl with an incredibly serious expression on his face.

Claudia's brow crinkled. She'd never seen Cloud acting like this ever before in his life. Perhaps it was some kind of game they were playing? "Well, it was lovely meeting you Ifalna, and you too Aerith. Cloud and I should head home to get dinner started, I'll see you again tomorrow?"

"That sounds wonderful. Here, let's exchange phone numbers," Ifalna said, pulling out her phone.

They shared their contact info before waving farewell and heading in opposite directions—Claudia to Sector Seven and Ifalna to Sector Five.

"Bye-bye Cloud!" Aerith called out, waving vigorously.

"Bye," her son replied, burying his face into Claudia's shoulder. She held in her laugh, softly rubbing his back in comfort. Today had been good, for both of them. For the first time since moving to Midgar, Claudia felt like she'd made the right decision.

Ifalna smiled at Claudia as she sat down on the bench next to her friend. A week had passed since they met, and these now daily meetups were the highlight of her day. "You're here early, everything alright?"

Claudia laughed, her crystal-blue eyes twinkling with joy. "Cloud was bouncing off the walls this morning, saying he wanted to get to the playground as soon as possible. When I asked why, he was very adamant that it had nothing at all to do with a new friend, that he just really wanted to play today."

"Aerith was largely the same," Ifalna admitted, chuckling. "Although she was very clear that she wanted to see Cloud again."

"I'm so glad they've become such good friends. I think Aerith is exactly what Cloud needed to pull him out of his shell a bit. He seems so much happier when he's around her."

Ifalna nodded with her. "I know exactly what you mean. Aerith is always cheerful, but there's an extra glow to her when they're together."

Their conversation turned to other topics—the weather, the latest episode of their favorite romantic comedy, how the rising price of food was making it hard to shop healthily, and so on—while watching the children play. It was . . . unusual. They didn't run around laughing and running from one piece of equipment to the next as the other kids would. Instead, they simply sat on top of the large climbing dome, talking. Not that Ifalana minded—she was happy as long as Aerith was having a good time with her new friend, although she could certainly use a bit more exercise.

After nearly an hour had passed, Aerith slid down the side, Cloud following after her as they walked up to the bench.

"Cloud is going to be my bodyguard!" her daughter announced, smiling as brightly as Ifalna could ever remember.

Cloud puffed up his chest and crossed his arms, giving her what she imagined was supposed to be an intimidating look, but was instead so adorable she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling.

"Oh?" she asked in amusement, sharing a glance with Claudia. "And why do you need a bodyguard, dear?"

A strangely serious look came over Aerith's face—one Ifalna had never seen before. She felt the hair on the back of her neck and along her arms stand up as her daughter said, "To protect me from the silver-haired man."

Ifalna immediately jumped to her feet, sweeping Aerith into her arms as she scanned the playground. Claudia had mirrored her almost exactly with Cloud. There was no one else in sight, not even in the distance. She couldn't remember seeing anyone other than the four of them since arriving at the playground earlier.

"Mommy?" Aerith asked. "What's wrong?"

"There was a man here? With silver hair?" Her heart was pounding. She could have sworn she'd never taken her attention away from the children. If she had, it seemed unlikely Claudia would have also missed the man, and she looked just as alarmed as Ifalna felt.

Aerith giggled. "No, not yet. He comes later. You don't have to worry, mommy, that's why I have Cloud."

"I'll keep her safe, Aerith's mom," Cloud said, looking at her over Claudia's shoulder.

"Aerith, what are you talking about? Did you have a dream? A nightmare?"

Aerith cocked her head to the side before gently shaking it. "It's kinda fuzzy like a dream, but not the same. A memory?"

"Do you understand what's going on?" Claudia asked, her voice trembling.

Ifalna shook her head, feeling a faint hint of guilt at the half-lie. She didn't know what Aerith was talking about, but her daughter was half-Cetra. That was a dangerous secret, one she couldn't trust anyone with—not even a friend like Claudia. The Lifestream worked in strange ways, and while it had never granted her anything resembling a vision, she guessed something like that had happened with her daughter.

"Cloud, if anyone you don't know ever approaches you and Aerith, the two of you come running to us, you understand?"

"But moooooom," the young boy complained, making Ifalna smile with the way he drew the word out.

"No buts, young man. You can protect her by bringing her to us, we'll always be here for you. That's what mothers are for."

Cloud grumbled his consent, his attention shifting to Aerith. "I'll never let anything happen to you."

Her daughter shifted in her arms, smiling back at him. "I know."

Ifalna and Claudia shared another look, the other woman still looking upset. "I think we're going to head home for today, see you tomorrow?"

"Of course, we'll see you then."

"Did I say something wrong?" Aerith asked as Ifalna turned and made her way back to their house.

"Not at all, dear. You just took us by surprise, that's all. Have you had any other . . . memories?"

Aerith was quiet for a long moment, not even moving an inch in her arms. "Nope," she eventually replied.

Ifalna frowned. It was the first time her daughter had ever lied to her. "Alright, well, if you ever do and you want to talk about them, I'm happy to listen."

Aerith nestled into her, wrapping her arms tightly around Ifalna's neck in a hug. "I know, mommy."

Ifalna sighed. It was so hard. Both being a single mother, but also being the last full-blooded Cetra. There was no one for her to ask about what was happening to Aerith, no way for her to know if it was something to be worried about. For now, she'd do her best to try and figure it out on her own. It was always possible Gast had left something useful in his research notes, it had been several years since she'd last gone through them. And if not, maybe she could cautiously ask around Shinra. Rumor was they'd recently started up an entire research team dedicated to learning more about the Cetra—the Ancients as they called them—led by a supposedly brilliant scientist known as Professor Hojo.

But that was a problem for another day. She tilted her head and kissed Aerith's brow. "What should we have for dinner tonight, dear?"

I've been sitting on this idea for a while now, and then I realized it was a great fit for a Mother's Day story. I really liked the idea of getting to see Cloud and Aerith's interactions from a completely different perspective, even if they're still only kids, as well as getting the chance to explore two underrepresented characters. This is pretty drastically different from anything else I've written before, I hope you liked it!

Many thanks to the always wonderful Lichtschwert for your assistance in beta reading this.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!