Chapter 2: Notte e Sogni
The night
came, as it must always come, and with it brought troubled sleep and dreams to
two women - dreams of the same man, of things that had been, were, and will
be...
Tifa awoke with a start, the sheets
soaked with sweat from her nightmare, not realizing where she was. As the fog
of sleep cleared from her mind, she realized where she was...the ShinRa mansion
in what had been her hometown. Uncaring of the hour and those who may still
sleep, she let out a long moan of despair and buried her face in her hands. For
if she was here...he truly had gone. The shirt she borrowed from Vincent to
sleep in clung to her body with sweat, chilling her as night air rushed in from
the open window of the bedroom. She stood and walked over to the window,
wishing to close it, but instead found herself standing in the chill wintry air
that blew in from the Nibel mountains, the bottom of the shirt rippling around
her thighs with the breeze. She crossed her arms over her chest, remembering
her dream...
Her reverie was interrupted by a
soft knock at the semi-open door. She made no answer, and after a moment
Vincent walked in soundlessly to stand beside her. "You called for
Cloud...since he is…unavailable, I decided to come instead." When the
woman next to him afforded no answer, Vincent cast a sidelong glance her way.
Tears flowed freely, but she made no sound. For the first time ever, he was
seeing Tifa Lockheart without all the little trappings that had made her seem
so happy...her hair was uncombed and unrestrained, and fell to the back of her
knees in a semi-tousled mess. Her face was free of any makeup - she hardly wore
any at all anyway, but the lack of even the littlest bit of lip gloss made her
seem more like the woman-child she was, rather than the cynical woman she tried
to be. For all her outer and inner strength, Tifa had her weak points. And
Cloud Strife was one of them. Vincent silently cursed the man for his
thoughtlessness. What Cloud had done was beyond wrong - toying with the
emotions of a woman who loved him so much she'd literally brought him back from
the edge of death, destroying her self-confidence and love. Vincent had never
been one for outward emotional displays - not anymore - but Tifa had been one
of his more favoured friends. She was always sympathetic to the others, ready
to listen, and her strength pulled them through more than one pinch. Yet he was
now seeing her as she truly was...tired, lonely, and at the end of her rope. He
knew her feeling all too well. He was snapped back to reality as she shivered
unconciously. He reached out and slowly closed the window. "Tifa...you
should go back to bed." No answer. "Tifa?"
At a loss of what else to do,
Vincent Valentine, who had never known the touch of a woman in years, reached
out his arm and drew the chilled woman to his side.
Cloud leaned over the tiny hospital
bed and brushed the wisps of hair from Aeris' face. "Aeris? Aeris, wake
upplease wake up." He was rewarded with nothing, merely the sound of her
shallow breathing. Sighing, he stood and turned to the doctor. "What are
her chances?"
The doctor shrugged. "About the
same as yours were, I suppose.if I had to give a percentage, I'd say there's a
30% chance she'll return to normal. But it really depends on her will
to…live…" His words began to fade as he stared, openmouthed, at Aeris'
bed.
"C…Cloud? Is it really
you?" He turned, and was greeted with the sight he'd longed for so long to
see - Aeris' aquamarine eyes open, shining with life. The doctor eased out of
the room and shut the door, and Cloud gave Aeris the only answer he could
manage at the moment, taking her in his arms and holing her tight against him.
"Oh, Cloud. I heard you calling me. They let me come back because they
heard you too." He reached up and began to stroke her hair softly.
"Aeris I've missed you so
badly. It wasn't until you were gone
that I realized how very much I needed you." His tears began to seep down
and stain the shoulder of her dress as he hugged her closer to him, closing his
eyes to feel her in his arms and to let himself realize she truly was there
once more.
Aeris lifted his head of her
shoulder and looked into his eyes, smiling at him as she wiped away his tears.
"Don't cry Cloud…even if I hadn't come back, I wasn't sad where I was. I
had no regrets." She brushed a strand of hair from his face. "What I
did, I did for not only you, but for everyone on the Planet. I died happy
knowing I had convinced Holy to act for the world." She smiled softly.
"The only regret I may have had was not saying goodbye to you
properly." Aeris caught her breath as Cloud once more pulled her to him
tightly. She didn't dare hope that he had finally come to love her…did she?
"Aeris…" Cloud pulled away
from her and studied her face. "I can't tell you how much I've missed
you…I...I don't know how to say it." Slowly, Cloud pulled her to him and
kissed her as he'd always wanted to.
"Tifa?" Vincent squeezed
the woman's arm lightly. "Tifa, we've been here for an hour now…you need
rest." He looked over at her, and pulled back a little, startled. He was
so used to the cold, he hadn't noticed it, but Tifa, though ignoring it had.
Her lips were slightly blue and she was shivering. "Tifa, come one…if you
don't move, I'll make you." She turned her head to gaze at him
dispassionately.
"Vincent, I will be fine. You
return to bed." She turned her face back to the window, staring at the
mountains where, in truth, it had all begun. She was not prepared for what
happened next.
Sighing, Vincent threw an arm under
her knees and behind her head and carried her to the bed. He set her down
gently and drew the covers up to her shoulders, then turned to close the
window. He latched it firmly and went to leave, turning just once more to look
at Tifa. She was huddled up on top of the covers, still shivering. He turned to
leave once more, but something pulled him back. He silently pulled down the
coverlet and sheet and put them over Tifa, then slid between the sheet and the
coverlet and pulled the pained woman close to his body. "Go to sleep,
Tifa." He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes.
Tifa laid awake for a long time,
feeling the warmth of another person, of Vincent, against her back. His clawed
hand rested gently over her waist, easily but firmly assuring she would stay
and rest. Finally, she could no longer keep her eyes open, and merciful sleep
calmed her senses at last.
