As the world sleeps, vines break down stones, roots encroach roads and rainforest presses against mountains where they meet the plains. Slowly, they take what had been taken from them, drinking on the Lifestream that gives them existence.
The moonlight soaring through the blinds is almost imperceptible in the dark of the room that night, she notices.
She nestles herself on the blankets, careful and quietly not to disrupt his sleep. Her eyes focus on his back, then she drags them slowly to his shoulders, watching him take long peaceful breaths and she can't help but to press against him, lean arms wrapping around his waist, forehead leaning against his firm toned back, fitting perfectly to him.
She shakes with emotion in the darkness, aching with a loneliness that consumes her as a silent gasp escapes her lips, coming from within her heart.
All of her life she has been able to hear and feel the Planet. All of her life she's been able to hear Her cries, Her painful screams and hollow trembles. Never alone, for she is one with the Planet but always so lonely because her human part never belonged.
Being the only one who could hear the Planet, no one could understand the many nights Aerith spent awake gripping at her pillow, shutting close her eyes and ears, trying to muffle down the pain of the Planet no one but her could hear.
It wasn't until she met him that she was able to feel complete, not a Cetra, not half human, for an instance she was just… herself.
Aerith thought she had known pain, her past hadn't been kind to her. Her mother, the labs, the experiments, the solitude, her death. But nothing compares to the pain inflicted by the Planet's last words.
You have to return…
The phrase resonates in her mind, infinitely tearing her soul apart.
Why couldn't she stay? Why give her hope? She did everything that had been asked of her. Summon Holy. Help the Planet heal. Restore the Lifestream. Why does it all feel it's never enough? Why does it feel like everything she does keeps leading her further and further away from him?
With her touch he moves in his sleep, rolls around to face her and burrows closer towards her warmth, wrapping an arm around her, already they are too accustomed with each other's presence, even in dreams. His eyes flutter but he remains asleep.
Her mind drifts to the day she gave him a flower. Though it hasn't been that long, they were just two kids meeting on Loveless Street… already with a lifetime of burdens weighing heavy on their hearts. What would they do if they knew what that gesture would initiate? Would it have been different, if she didn't meet him? If she tried to stay away from him from that very moment?
She wonders if this has all been a big mistake. Letting them indulge themselves in a life that was simply a fantasy of what could have been should they just be a man and a woman.
But they were not simply a man and a woman crossing paths. She belonged to the Planet, she had died and the Planet had sent her back under the sole emergency of life ending to oblivion. She should have been more cautious not to believe she had another chance. That just wasn't her purpose.
She stares at his face, so peaceful, so beautiful even outlined by the faint waning light of the moon spilling onto him. Golden tendrils of blond hair fall gently to his eyes and his pale smooth skin spotted with tiny freckles across his nose and cheekbones make her breath flicker. She wouldn't have had the strength to stay away from him, to not engage in conversation. Her eyes widen even though they prick with tears.
She would end up doing exactly the same, every time, every life line, no matter the universe, no matter the roads displayed at her feet. She knows, they would always lead her to him, even though their time together would be fleeting.
He's known pain, has known nothing but pain. Her death had almost destroyed him, had left him barely at the edge of a precipice. And now it was going to happen again.
How much more pain will he have to endure because of her?
She traces his chest with her fingertips, drawing random patterns across his muscled chest.
She's going to have to tell him that the Planet is calling. That she is starting to fade. That she is using all of her strength to exhaustion contradicting Her, fighting the Planet's pull.
With that thought, her heartbeat slows, it thrums heavily and thickly while chills unfurl across her skin, rattling her bones and as if he had felt it under the mako running his senses or his connection to her filaments, his eyes drift open.
He blinks, glowing green adapting to the darkness. "Have you slept at all?" He croaks quietly, his brow furrows with worry.
She shakes her head against her pillow, in silence.
"What have you been thinking about?" He asks, she had been able to cover her breakdown from the other night, telling him she was just tired, her legs had given out of exhaustion. But she had been foolish into thinking he'd buy it, he knows her more than she probably knows herself and if he had let it slide was because he understood she wasn't ready to tell him.
"Just… you." She says, a small attempt of a smile makes its way to her lips.
"Really?" He asks in surprise, his lips quirk up the slightest. "I hope not, you don't look very pleased. What have I done?"
"Uh, nothing. You've been nothing but perfect." She says far too eagerly, it makes him chuckle lightly.
She realizes she can't tell him, it's hopeless. But she can't really disappear without telling him - the internal conflict turns her stomach around to the point of making her feel sick.
She feels bile crawling up her esophagus and immediately flies out of bed to hurtle towards the bathroom. She vomits into the toilet, kneeling around the border. Over the pounding sound of blood rushing in her ears, she hears the blankets shuffling and the next second he's right beside her, a hand coming to rest softly at the back of her neck, his fingers rub her skin soothingly, bury in her hair which he pulls back delicately with his other hand. She cleans her mouth with the sleeve of her nightshirt, sits back against the glass of the shower capsule and the back of her fingers wipe her damp temples she only then realizes she's been sweating.
"What…?" He asks, trailing off with a helpless sigh. She's aware he knows something must be wrong but she's relieved he doesn't insist. She stares back at him, her lips part but her voice chokes on her throat. She can't, not right now… but she wonders if she will ever be ready, or rather… how is she going to be.
"I'm okay." She tells him instead. He places his hands - so soft and careful, his touch so warm and comforting - to cover her cheeks and gently holds her gaze to his. Blue eyes so… so full of love, study her intently.
"You're not okay." His concerned expression softens despite him being anything but calm. "But when you're ready, you can tell me. I'm here for you and whatever it is, we'll handle it together."
Her eyes well up with tears, if only it was that simple. She doesn't deserve him, her mind races with thoughts about him having wasted his love on her, a ghost. That's what she comes to fact she will always be. He leans down to press his forehead on hers and slowly brushes his lips to hers.
She pulls back unwillingly. "I've just thrown up Cloud." Her cheeks flush furiously, her eyes avoid his, aware that she must look awful and sticky and nothing like the woman he had had a date with a couple of nights ago.
"I don't mind." He says between a small amused smile, a boyish smile he only shows her and that hardly ever breaks through from beneath the hardship of their lives. He's beautiful and she wishes he could show more of that earnest innocence, that naked sincerity that floats always so briefly at the surface, but she will, once again, be the cause of his hurt, the hinder of his happiness.
He shifts over her and quickly without warning he places an arm under the crook of her knees, the other under her shoulders, and he rises to his feet to carry her in his arms back to the bed. Her body feels small over his strong muscled arms, it's easy for him to lay her down steadfast. He lingers over her on his elbows keeping his face close to hers, his fingers brush a lock of hair away from her eyes.
"I love you." Unfaltering blue eyes stare deep into hers, they hold her breath. "Throwing up or not." He presses his lips to her clammy forehead and she bears still under him. "Wearing a red or a pink dress." His lips peck the tip of her nose. "Or none at all." And they finally meet her lips.
And by this time she is left completely at his mercy.
They came a long way since they met on Loveless Street. Two kids with connected destinies that keep breaking them apart.
Cloud leaves her at the bar to engage in a few hunts for monsters. His heart isn't restful but he had agreed to meet Vincent on a few runs.
He knows she's keeping something she's not telling him. He's awfully too familiar with the feeling; she had kept it from him before, when she ran away alone to meet her fate.
He would never force her into saying what it is, but he can predict their time is running out and it's just like he had told Tifa a while back, he's wary to hear it as the minute he does it will become real.
The frown on his face and the tension piled up on his shoulders must be evident because Vincent immediately notices as soon as he reaches his friend.
"You look like you haven't slept in days." He remarks.
"Yeah… something like that." Cloud replies, his voice too inane, reflective of his shrunken heart.
"Want to talk about it?" Vincent asks. Of all of them, Cloud feels Vincent is the better listener. Even better than Tifa. He never talked to him between the time they spent building, his friend respected his space too much to push. But if Cloud wanted to talk… which he had to admit right now he could… Vincent would fit the part.
Cloud remains silent for a while as he sits quietly on top of a rock smoothed by the wind, wondering if he should spill out everything that's troubling him once and for all.
A gentle warm breeze ruffles his hair as he sighs and glances away. Aerith should be the one he talks to about his wariness. And yet…
He runs a hand through his messy blond hair, his breathing goes shallow. "It's… the sense of being powerless…" He finally says. "As if I'm constantly fighting the Planet over her. And in the end… I always lose."
Vincent stares ahead into the gap of the canyon rising like a hand reaching for the sky in front of them. A group of Under Lizards begin a chase towards them after one bellowed the alarm urging the others to attack.
"Does it mean… she's not going to stay?" Vincent takes a good grip at his shotgun, raising it and aiming at one of the front Lizards. As he pulls the trigger, the sound of the shots pounds through the canyon, bouncing off its walls. One of the monsters cringes in agony but slumps up back to his feet into a fast uncoordinated stride.
Cloud nods. "I can feel it." And draws the Fusion Sword from his back, steel blue eyes search the field looking for space to move around as they approach from within the canyon in fast strides.
"I'm not an expert but… one thing I've learnt is there is always a way."
"Even after death?" Cloud winces as he forces himself to ask, the words physically cause his chest to ache.
"If she was truly gone, she wouldn't be here." Vincent shrugs slightly, centering his gaze on the movement of their enemies.
Cloud's hands clench into fists gripping tightly at the sword's handle, just the thought of being without her again makes his stomach turn. A series of emotions flicker painfully through his chest. The emptiness, the loneliness, the longing to see her again.
He lunges at the monsters in effortless speed.
He strikes at one of them like a lightning bolt, the metal of his sword blurring into a silver glint under his continuous hits and before the creature has time to counter, Cloud had already finished it in a miscellany of dust and blood and scaled flesh. He charges at the next one without as much as a pause for air. Vincent's words carving deep into his mind and the mako coursing through his blood awakening his instincts.
Vincent is well aware about Cloud's strength and graceful-yet-deadly moves but still he can't stop but stare for a few seconds as he relentlessly strikes at the monsters, insistently, heavily, almost as if they can exorcize the cause of his frustration.
Figuring the blond mercenary needs the distraction, Vincent halts on his feet, keeping at a safe distance to let him deal with the group of monsters - deal with what is troubling him - shooting only if he sees one has got a clear on Cloud.
As they keep appearing out of everywhere, dozens of them, replacing each one Cloud finishes, they circle him to the point of being surrounded by a great amount of growling enemies that want nothing else but to taste his blood. Blue eyes, brightening with mako, analyze the options as he studies the flanking monsters. Cloud smirks as he wipes the blood in his face with the back of his hand and grounds his feet steadily, eyes firm on the fiends, it should be an easy fight despite being outnumbered.
The first Lizard to attack lopes towards Cloud, the mercenary frowns with concentration as he dives to meet the enemy halfway. Whirling his sword into the side of the monster, he's able to slash it through its body mercilessly, lunging to the next one in a blink of an eye, deflecting each blow that comes his way, parring salivating fangs and needle-sharp claws with the cold surface of the sword.
Until one of them casts a petrify spell that caught him off-guard and struck by its magic Cloud immobilizes on his feet and as his muscles twitch to break off from the tightening stunning spell, another one shoots a dripping tentacle from its mouth where its tongue should be and it stickily curls around Cloud's ankle.
What the fuck?
As the creature pulls with a surprisingly brute force, Cloud crashes heavily flat on his stomach against the ground. They're mutating into different breeds - stronger, faster, angrier.
Shit.
Aerith sits by the top of the stairs of the bar, waiting for Cloud to come back. Forehead resting on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs she pulls closer against her chest.
She feels a warm presence pausing by her side, the warmth emanating from his hot fur is suddenly too comforting against her cold skin.
"You've been different lately." Red says quietly and patiently and in a brotherly tone she realizes she needed to hear.
Green eyes the very bright hue of nature lift to meet her friend's.
"Sometimes it's better to talk to someone else." He continues as she doesn't reply.
She lingers a moment in silence before the words scramble out of her mouth. "I'm fading Nanaki. I'm disappearing, slowly. The Planet has been telling me, warning me I have to go back." Her gaze drifts into the farthest corner of the street. "Sometimes I can't even… I can't even feel my hands. I'm half here, half… somewhere else."
Red remains motionless in place, his brain processing her words as a concerned expression flares in his eyes.
"And there's nothing to be done?" He asks after a long moment.
"I can't think of anything." She utters, resting her chin on her knees. "So far I've been able to push it away but the pull is getting stronger, I can feel the Planet's impatience. Soon I'll…" she trails off.
"Have you told Cloud?" Red asks.
"I haven't told anyone." She pauses, clears her throat to steady her voice. "I can't seem to bring myself into telling him… I've been trying to figure out a way to stay, but there's really nothing… The Planet is not listening to my pleas." She swallows thickly, her eyes burn. "How do I tell him that…?" She breathes.
"I'm sure he'd rather have the time he did with you than none at all."
She remains silent, her brain scanning for comfort on that assumption but it's hard, knowing how depended they are of each other, how adjusted they are to one another.
"Maybe here, is not the place you'll find your answers." Red says in a smooth voice.
"What if I don't find them at all?"
"I'm sure as painful as it is, it's better if he knows the sooner… so you can appreciate all the time left." He says and he leans his forehead soulfully against hers. "Know that if I could cry, I would be at this moment."
She scratches the back of his ears affectionately. "I'm going to miss you."
"I don't want to hear that." He pulls back, his ochre expression serious. "You'll find a way back. Me and you, we're made of the same threads that wire the Planet. And you know the Planet isn't linear. It has curves and slopes and many different crossroads. If there is a way, you'll find it."
She wishes she could be that hopeful, she's not so confident about a second chance at coming back but she realizes there's no harm into thinking that there might be. She nods. "Thank you." She says, and a small smile graces her lips as she rests her head on her friend's neck, watching the sun glow behind the outline of the hills.
Cloud reaches her hurt. She watches in dreadful awe as he sits on the stairs next to her, grappling at his arm. Pulling his hand down she sees the stain of dry blood that had drawn several streams along his arm down to his wrist.
The clawed wound was still open as they had run out of materia points to cast the only Cure they had equipped.
"What were you thinking?" Aerith frowns as she holds Cloud's arm, her hands glide along his bicep where the wound had crossed his skin in three long stripes that just weren't deeper because the Cure and the mako had already mended tissue mildly.
"Of… you." He says and he watches as she pauses to shoot him a look. Her lips part slightly, but quickly press into a thin line. Her eyes drop back to the wound as a light green glow embers from under her palms. "Seriously… this is nothing." He mutters glancing away, her healing dimming the pain and soothing the burn of his skin.
"You have to be more careful the next time mister. Can't be reckless like that, I can't believe you would let a bunch of field monsters do this to yo—
A hand wraps around her wrist with a pressing haste. She gasps in a startle as she lifts her emerald gaze to his face and she finds him staring at her intently, blue eyes shining with mako.
"We need to talk." He says.