Here's to the Night Part 2
-One Month Later-
The sound of joy echoed through the air. Shinra was defeated, Sephiroth was destroyed and there was cause for much celebration. All party members rejoiced, except one. Cloud trudged along, behind most of the group, just thinking. He couldn't get his mind off the past events, even though they were a month ago. He wished he could go back in time and change things.
But he knew that was impossible, and his life would be forever changed. He cursed his feelings, and then fate for dealing him such a horrible hand.
He knew he'd never forget her, especially after knowing that she gave him her whole heart. He didn't know how to tell the news to her stepmother. How do you tell someone that the person they loved is dead because you couldn't do anything?
"So what happens now? So what happens now? Where am I going to? Where am I going to?" he sang, sitting under a tree.
"Hey guys hold up! Cloud's having a nervous breakdown again!" Yuffie yelled.
Complaints echoed through the once happy group. They took their usual formation around him and tried to get his thoughts back together.
"You have stop blaming yourself." Vincent told him. "You didn't kill her."
"Do you know what it's like to watch the person you love die right in front of you?" he asked of Vincent.
"Well, no... but I know what it's like to watch people die...I was a Turk, remember?"
"But it was never anyone you loved..."
Cid turned to Barret.
"I think this guy needs to get a few beers in him and get laid."
"Shut up! It goes deeper than that." Barret began. "But I don't know how deep."
"Hey Cloud, what's the matter? Ya wanted seconds?" Cid yelled, receiving glares from everyone.
Tifa left the group and walked up to him.
"I thought that hard-ass exterior was just an exterior, but I see it goes all the way to the core!" she spat at him.
She turned on her heel. He was surprised to be rid of her that quickly. She caught him off guard when she punched him. He whirled around and fell to the ground.
"You little bitch!" he yelled at her, rising to his knees.
"I look out for my friends! DON'T cross me again!"
She walked off, leaving him to fend for himself. She received applause when she joined the circle again.
"Thank you." Cloud said, standing. "I must go on. I've managed to make it this far without her. I know this comes as a shock to all of you, because of the 'cool' exterior I had, but I have unending sorrow from these events...Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad because we saved the world, but, with all my friends here, I still feel alone."
He pulled a pink ribbon from his pocket and fingered it. He gulped and looked at the ribbon one last time before putting it back in his pocket.
"All right. Let's move on. Sitting here won't bring her back."
He got to his feet. He held back from the group a little, no longer leading as he once did, and fingered the object in his pocket, the only memory of something he held dear, still thinking.
"Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the pulse beats...The mind churns, the heart yearns, the tears dry without you. Life goes on, but I'm gone. Cause I die without you."
"Yo, Cloud, ya OK back there?" Barret asked.
"Yeah, jes' thinkin'." he said, leaving the ribbon in his pocket. "Don't worry, I'll be fine now."
Barret shrugged and went on, periodically looking over his shoulder, making sure his friend was indeed all right.
Cid, having some time to think, fell back to talk to Barret. He whispered something and smiled.
"That would be perfect for him." Barret said, smiling.
They continued on in silence.
Midgar-Sector 5 Slums
"Wow, it's amazing that this place is still intact." Vincent said as he looked around the slums.
Cloud looked on but wondered why they returned here.
"Yeah..." Tifa said. "I wonder if it has anything to do with Aeris' living here."
"I dunno." he said. "We'll find out soon enough."
No sooner had he said that then did they turn the corner to be greeted by Aeris's house and the wonderful scent of flowers.
"Uh guys...why are we back here?" Cloud asked.
"Oh, no one told you?" Cid asked. "We're crashing here. Her mom's not here. Why not?"
"Why take advantage of somebody like that? Why not just go to an inn before we go our separate ways?" he asked.
"You'll see." Cid said, smiling a little.
He opened the door to be greeted by a few of his friends partying without him.
"We're here!" he yelled, accepting a beer from the attractive woman by the door. "But I see the party's started already."
"Well, what were we supposed to do with all these kegs?" the woman asked of him.
"Kegger!" he yelled. "Come on guys, let's party!"
The men followed him in to get first dibs on cold beer. Cloud followed them in and sat on a couch. The woman by the door found him and sat down next to him.
"What's wrong, hon?" she asked, offering him a beer.
"Lotsa stuff." he told her, taking the beer, although he wasn't in the mood for partying.
"Care to talk about it?" she asked.
"Not really. It's kind of complicated."
"I'd like to hear it. We got plentya time."
"I fell in love with someone..."
"Go on." she prodded.
"...While we were saving the world. She ran away because of something beyond my control, and when we found her, she was taken from me by someone who craved what she had. Before I knew it, she was falling before me, and I wasn't able to prevent the chains of events."
At this, his tough exterior cracked, and a tear leaked through.
"God, I miss her."
Without realizing it, he had opened up to a total stranger. He wondered what type of person he had become after her death. He seemed so scared and alone, although he was completely opposite.
Barret and Cid, having partied thoroughly, both nodded in agreement to what they would do next.
"This is a GREAT party!" Yuffie yelled over the music.
"How many beers has that been Yuffie?" Cid asked.
"I dunno. Four, five maybe. Whatever. I'm finding the self that I didn't know existed!"
She took a swig, and maneuvered through the crowd. She stepped on the coffee table in front of Cloud. Barret turned to Cid.
"You got your wish, man. The clothes are comin' off."
"Maybe I was wrong to throw this party." Cid thought outloud as Yuffie finished off the beer in hand. She danced on the table for a few minutes, and turned to the couch. She counted to three and jumped on Cloud.
Barrett and Cid looked at each other, exchanging a look.
"I want you." she said, holding onto his shirt. "I want you to want me. I'm willing and I KNOW I'll be good for you."
"Oh my God, she really IS a whore!" Cid said.
"What the hell is she doing?" Tifa asked, coming over to where Barret and Cid were standing.
"We think she's trying to seduce Cloud." Barret said.
"Isn't he going to do anything?" she asked.
"He better. Otherwise I can guarantee he'll do something he doesn't want to do." Cid said.
"Hey Cid." Barret said.
"Yeah, what?"
"Ya got the Revive materia?"
"You better believe it. Let's go." he said, quickly heading towards the door. Barret followed, leaving Tifa to wonder what they were doing.
She turned from the door to the couch, where Cloud was trying to resist Yuffie's advances.
"Get offa me! I don't want to do anything with you!"
He succeeded pushing Yuffie back onto the coffee table. He yelled something, but it couldn't be heard over the music.
"Stay away!" he said as a final word.
The attractive woman brought another beer for him to drown his sorrows in. He accepted, although he really didn't want it. He was also unaware of the commotion on the floor above him.
"Alright, we're in." Barret said, motioning to Cid to go ahead. He lifted the form through the window and onto the bed.
Using what magic power he had left, Cid used Life2 on the lifeless form. He smiled when he saw the green orbs sparkle and shine.
"Barret? Cid? what are you doing here? Where am I?"
"You're in your bedroom in Sector 5." Cid said.
"Oh, it's so great to be back home." she said, hugging them both.
"It's great to have you back, Aeris."
"I have to see Cloud." she said, stepping off the bed.
Cid and Barret just sat there, watching her step down the stairs.
The people dancing on the stairs parted the way for her. She received a few puzzled looks and a few smiles from the people that knew her. She spotted the man she had to talk to on the couch, full drink in hand, alone.
"Excuse me sir. Would you mind if I sat here?" she asked, sitting down next to him.
"Aeris?"
He looked up.
"Oh God, Aeris. You're alive!"
He hugged her.
"God, I've missed you." he said, pulling her close once more.
A few of the partiers standing nearby clapped, not realizing how serious the situation had been.
"We have a lot to talk about." he said.
"I know just the place." she said, taking his hand. They walked towards the door, silent but happy. The attractive woman Cloud had been talking to earlier smiled.
"Ya got your wish hon. Don't let her out of your sight."
Barret and Cid finally followed them down the steps. Tifa ran over to them.
"How did you guys think of this?" she asked.
"Why didn't we think of this sooner?" Cid sooner. "We could have prevented Cloud from being mopey all month."
Barret's eyes turned to a dancing figure on the coffee table.
"Oh God, it's Yuffie again." he said. "And I think the shirt's off for good this time.
"Eeh." Cid said. "Dammit, how many times did I tell you NOT to give her any more?"
"She helped herself." a blond guy near the keg yelled.
"Dear God," he muttered as a green shirt passed him. He drew his gaze to where Yuffie stood. Nothing had changed...much.
"Damn." he said, finally getting his wish. "They ARE her best assets, but what's a captain to do?"
As he thought of reasons, another figure intercepted. He recognized the blond hair of the guy from the keg.
"Hey! That's my ninja!" Cid yelled unintentionally.
"Too bad old man! She's hot, she's willing, and she's mine!"
He lifted Yuffie off the table.
"How's about you and I get to know each other a little better?" he asked.
"Sure, hottie!" she said, giggling.
Cid stood there, mouth open as she jumped on the man and wrapped her legs around him. They headed for the steps.
"Old man?" Cid muttered. "That little prick."
The door shut. All eyes turned to the door. Cid looked on with fear after seeing Elmyra enter.
"Oh crap. You're not pissed, are you?"
"Well, gimme a beer, and I'll tell you in a minute!" she said, surprising all the partiers.
Cid and Barret exchanged a look and handed her a beer.
"Hmmm. Not bad...You can stay!"
"YE-AH!!" they said, ushering her to the front. They turned the music back up and forgot that she even came in.
*****
"So what did you want to tell me?" Aeris asked, sitting down in her garden.
"You did it." Cloud said.
"Huh?"
"You did it. You saved us all! We're so thankful that....you sacrificed your life to help us."
"I'm glad to be with you again...I saw my mother Cloud."
"You did? What did she say?"
"She said she was glad to that her daughter grew up to be brave and save the world. Oh, and she knows you too Cloud."
"She does?"
"Yes, she said you were in the Lifestream. She saw what you'd been through, and everything that happened before we were separated...and she told me to go for it! She told me she had been waiting for a man like you to watch over me, and be my equal...and that it wasn't my time..."
She trailed off. Cloud just sat there, thinking.
"So it was a good thing Cid and Barret revived me when they did!"
She smiled, and he realized he hadn't seen her smile in a month. She repositioned herself and snuggled in close.
"Are you tired?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Not really. I'm just thinking..."
"We could go inside. It's actually a little cold." Cloud said.
"Yes, but it's so noisy in there," she protested.
"We could find a place..." he said, trailing off.
She thought about that for a minute.
"That IS a good idea. Even here I'm cold."
She rose to her feet. Cloud followed suit. He was afraid of the questions he would be hounded with later, but he pushed those thoughts from his head. She opened the door and they pushed through the crowd.
She went to the refrigerator and pulled two wine coolers from it.
"I don't really drink these either, but it's a special occasion, so cheers!"
She clinked his bottle, and motioned for him to go upstairs.
Once again, she received strange looks, but looked on. She stopped outside her bedroom door.
"What's going on in there?" she asked.
"We'll soon find out," Cloud said, gently pushing her out of the way.
He was greeted by the unforgettable image of Yuffie and Mike, the blond from the keg in a less than flattering position.
'What the hell?' he thought.
"What are you doing in her room? What are you doing in her bed?!" he asked.
"What are you doing ON my bed?!" Aeris asked in horror. "Get off! My bed is not a sex spot!"
She screamed as Yuffie and Mike scrambled for their clothes.
"So, what are you going to do in here?" Yuffie asked, trying to cover herself and failing miserably.
"First, we're getting away from the noise, second, we're going to talk...which YOU did not!"
They picked up the rest of the disregarded articles and headed towards the door. Aeris shut the door with exasperation.
"I don't think I'm EVER going to sleep on these sheets again," she said, disgusted.
Cloud chuckled.
"How is it any different than what we did?" he asked, cautiously sitting on the edge of the bed.
"We weren't drunk, it wasn't in someone's house, and we knew each other."
She looked from Cloud to the rumpled spot in the middle of the bed and shuddered. She repeated this a few times, and finally sat down next to him.
"Yeah, you have a point," he said. "Hey, what's the point of the wine coolers anyway?"
"I hate beer." she said without missing a beat. "Couldn't stand the smell or the taste, but these taste good and have the same effect."
He looked at his half-finished bottle.
"Yeah, except you'd have to drink like ten of these to get a good buzz."
"No, I can get one after three."
"Yeah, well, look at you. You're shorter than me, thinner than Tifa will ever hope to be and...more beautiful than before."
After blushing to the color of her jacket, she sighed.
"I don't know what to say what to say to you that you don't already know...I watched you cry over me when I died, and I thought 'What have I done to make min this sad?' I was miserable...I found the Promised Land, Cloud. It is the land of eternal happiness after one leaves this planet. Although I was in the land of supreme happiness, I was so unhappy because I left all my friends behind. But I didn't see just Ancients there, I saw everyone...I saw Zack! I told him things I didn't get to tell him, stuff about me, and stuff about you...They can see the people wandering around this planet, you know; that's how my mother knew about you."
She suddenly got up and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, we're missing the party!"
"Eahh!" he yelled as she pulled him off the bed.
'Funny, I don't remember her being this strong!' he thought as he flew from the bed across the room.
She lost her balance pulling him up and followed the force of her own body now working against her. He fell towards her, and she panicked when she hit the wall. He let her hands go and tried to block his fall; he was successful, his hands hit the wall. He followed through with what her hands had started. Before he knew it, his mind was screaming for more. It had been here before and it liked it. He felt his hand slip from the wall and unbutton her top buttons. She stopped him there.
"No Cloud...not now."
Her response surprised him.
"Not with all these people here. I've already made enough of a scene."
"Oh."
He shrugged, and rebuttoned her dress, but not before leaning in and finishing what he has started. With a sound of a door getting stuck on the floor, Elmyra stuck her head in the crack.
"Oh my God!" Aeris yelled, startling Cloud and scaring her stepmother.
"Oh God," Elmyra said, closing the door. "I see I've interrupted something."
"No, no, wait." Aeris said, pushing Cloud aside. "I know this was something you'd probably rather not see."
"Stop apologizing!" Elmyra yelled. "I knew you two were digging each other since he showed up with you that night. You're an adult, and this is your house...you can do whatever the hell you want!"
Cloud's mouth dropped and Aeris fell backward onto the bed. Elmyra smiled.
"I saw you come in and just thought I'd say hello...Although I think Ill knock next time."
She winked at them, and quickly shot the door.
"Talk about a mood killer." Cloud said, leaning against the wall.
"No, that's OK. We were supposed to join the party a while ago anyway! Come on!"
She jumped off the bed and ran toward the door. Cloud quickly followed. By the time he was out the door, she was halfway down the stairs.
"Aeris, wait!" he yelled. "I want to show up with you."
"Oh, right," she said, feeling his hand clasp hers.
They walked down the stairs hand in hand, smiling from ear to ear. Someone somewhere stopped the music and watched them sit on the couch.
"I see our dynamic duo has returned." Vincent said, leaning against the wall in his normal style.
He walked up to where they sat.
"Welcome back Aeris. It's good to see you again."
He produced a black rose from his cape and handed it to her.
After studying the rose for a moment, she looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you. It's good to be back. I've missed all of you."
Her eyes misted up as she told the story of the Promised Land to all those who cared. As she talked, Cloud scanned the group and noticed Barret and Cid were not in the house. He silently cursed, not realizing why they were gone.
"She speaks as if she's actually been there," one of the awestruck listeners told her friend.
"I have..." she said to them. "I've been there and back...You see, it's the land where you go when you die. I'm not a ghost, what you see is real, flesh and blood."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Although I was in the world of supreme happiness, I felt most unhappy because the one I loved (other than my mother of course) was here."
She looked at Cloud once again.
"Chocobo head?!" the girl asked. "You love Chocobo Head?! Ha ha!"
"His name is Cloud, and yes, I do."
She paused again, gathering her thoughts when a ruckus near the door disrupted them.
"Nuance? Nuance my son!"
Settee bound through the door, looking for his only son.
"Could we get anymore damn people in this house?" someone by the now empty keg asked.
Settee looked at him.
"I'm not a person."
Red, who was upstairs, bound down the steps in leaps to see his father in a newfound respect.
"Nuance, my son. My, how you've grown! I'm so proud of what you've done...I was informed by Barret and Cid."
Settee and Red pushed their way through the crowd and sat across from Cloud, who got up. Aeris lost her crowd after that. Cloud walked over to her, but she didn't even notice it. She was following a smell.
"That smell...I've smelled this smell before." she said.
"What smell?" Cloud asked, puzzled.
"Can't you smell it?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"I've smelled this smell twice before. Once in the Shinra Building and second...in the City of the Ancients just before...oh God! Sephiroth is here!"
Everyone in the party heard her, and immediately stopped what they were doing, ready to fight.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass filled the air. A black figure jumped through the front window and landed on his feet in front of the sound system. Aeris gasped; it seemed almost as if she had SUMMONED Sephiroth!
"I hope you don't mind if I crash your party," he said smiling. "But it seems as if I have some unfinished business to attend too."
"Who invited this guy?" the person near the empty keg yelled again.
Cloud stepped in front of Aeris.
"I won't let you kill her again!" he yelled.
He drew his sword. Vincent, standing by the wall, pulled his weapon, Cid grabbed his lance from its hiding spot, and Tifa took a fighting pose.
"Oh, how cute. Your little friends are protecting you," he laughed as he continued on. "You all took away my victory! I found the Promised Land and I could have reigned supreme!"
Aeris pushed Cloud out of the way.
"You idiot! The Promised Land is where you go when you die! My mother told anyone that, not even my father who desired that knowledge. Only AFTER you killed me did I discover just where this land was! You're just a power hungry, greedy bastard that wanted the good life only for himself! You and Shinra were both the same, except they were greedy and you were just sick!"
She spat at him.
In the time it took for him to ready his weapon, she had hers prepared and had already given the party invincibility.
His first blow hit metal. Her first blow hit flesh. He didn't realize she was that strong of a fighter. She slowly pushed him to the door as the rest of the group crowed around her. The action stopped as Red cast Fire3 and Vincent gave Deathblow. When he was down for the count, she kicked him out the door, while Cloud and Cid followed close behind her.
"For years you've wanted something that's not yours. You've wanted to take away something that only the Ancients knew about, but everyone received! And your not even an Ancient!"
Using all of her strength, she threw her rod in the air towards him.
"Aeris!" Cloud yelled. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry! I still have magic!" she yelled back.
Her rod would have hit Sephiroth fatally, if he hadn't attacked her.
She let out a scream and fell to the ground. Her rod hit the ground with a loud clang. He stepped back and wiped his hands as if to say: 'finally, it's done.'
"Aeris!" Cloud cried. "Not again!"
He let out a death cry and ran towards Sephiroth, sword in front of him.
He slumped to the ground, but Cloud wasn't done; he went at him as if he were a salad, hacking and slashing. Using this distraction, Cid pulled a Phoenix Down from his pocket. He pulled the cork with his teeth. He propped Aeris' head up and slowly made her drink.
"There ya go, drink up. Your boyfriend will miss you too much if you don't."
He was there to nurse the first signs of health back into her, and whistled to get Cloud's attention.
He turned around to meet her, standing and smiling as if nothing had happened. She knelt down to pick up her rod and was confronted by Cloud.
"Why the hell did you do that?" he asked.
"I wasn't expecting to do such a low blow."
"You weren't expecting a man who controlled me so he could kill you without getting his hands dirty to give you a low blow?"
"Well, I guess it makes sense now."
"Sweet," Cid said, coming up to them. "I've never seen you EVER get that pissed! You've got my vote for winning a fight from now on!"
He smiled slightly and then turned to Cloud.
"Let's git rid of this garbage!" he said, lifting up the remains of Sephiroth and dumping them over the waterfall.
"Now he cain't come back!" he turned to face them. "Let's go back in."
They entered her house to where the party HAD been going on shortly before that incident.
It was now quiet. People stopped in their tracks up seeing the three re-enter. They knew that the party goers heard everything.
"Who was that guy?" the DJ asked. (A/N: from now on he is DJ Tim.)
"Someone I thought we killed." Cloud said. "...But we're OK now."
He put his arm around Aeris, causing some surprise within the ranks, except Elmyra, who beamed.
"I don't EVER want you out of my sight again," he whispered, smiling quickly at her.
"Well, the party's pretty much died down now." the DJ replied.
"S-sorry." she said.
"Not yer fault, hon. It's normal for around this time. They either leave or fall asleep."
"Who's all staying?" Aeris asked to a crowd that was half there.
Most of the hands stayed raised.
"Cid will kill us if we leave early."
"Oh, that's a good reason!" she exclaimed dryly.
"It is!" DJ Time piped up. "Cid's scary!"
"I heard that!" Cid said, making his way around the two.
"I know...but I don't care how drunk people are, because you threw this party, most of them will stay."
"Well, we might as well make ourselves comfortable then," Aeris said, stepping away from Cloud's embrace and moving towards the couch. Cloud looked from the DJ to Aeris, to Cid and then back to Aeris. He shrugged and turned to the DJ.
"Do you have any slow songs?" he asked.
"Slow songs?" Tim asked, puzzled.
"Y'know, slow, meaningful songs that two people can dance to and think deeply about things."
"Oh yeah, I had a brain freeze for a minute there. Sorry."
As quickly as the music stopped, it started back up.
Cloud looked in Aeris' direction.
"Excuse me miss, may I have this dance?" he asked, hand extended.
"Always," she said smiling.
They were aware that they were the only ones dancing in that space between the couch and the table, but for the first time, didn't care.
Cloud stood there, her head on his chest, thinking about the lyrics coming through the speakers.
"Hey your glass is empty/ It's a hell of a long way home/ Why don't you let me take you? It's no good to go alone/ I never would have opened up, but you seemed so real to me/ And after all the bullshit I've heard it's refreshing not to see/ I don't have to pretend, she doesn't expect it from me..."
He wasn't sure why, but he was misting up. When she looked back up at him, he melted. He knew people saw it, and tried to pick up the soggy pieces.
Some people looked on, left the room, made out, or looked with them, melting.
If there ever were a time he didn't remember touching the ground, this was one of those times. He could close his eyes, and forget he was in a crowded little house which reeked of beer, in a dark slum, and that he had only known the woman in his arms for two months.
Life was too short to think about things like that. As Aeris had said a month before : 'There's only us, there's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.'
The song ended, but the two people in the middle didn't seem to notice. They just stood there, swaying in time with the music only they could hear.
The two girls who had been listening to Aeris earlier, stood by the steps and sighed.
"That is THE sweetest thing I've ever seen."
"And you were insulting him earlier." her friend said.
"Well, I still think he's kinda girly, but it's still the sweetest thing I've ever seen."
The DJ, realizing his error in not playing another song quickly, fumbled behind his stand to find another good song on the same CD. The music caught Aeris and Cloud off guard; this time was different...it was no longer just them dancing, but they knew this song was for them also.
"Hold on, hold on to yourself/ Cause this is gonna hurt like hell/ Hold on, hold on to yourself/ You know that only time will tell/ What is it in me that refuses to leave? This isn't easier than the real thing/ My love, you know that you're my best friend/ You know I'd do anything for you..."
"Wow," he muttered, awestruck by the scene in front of him. His rational thought kicked in once again, and this time it refused to leave.
'You could be doing so much more right now,' it said, from somewhere behind him.
'Shut up!' his sub-conscious screamed. 'I don't want you to interrupt this.'
Once again, the song stopped. For the first time he was aware that she was holding him tight, head on his chest and eyes closed as if she were asleep. Events flew by him a mile a minute, memories of everything he lost, and happiness he had forgotten existed until he met her. He wondered when he had been able to read minds, because he knew what she was thinking. Yuffie burst down the steps, ruining the mood, and pissing people off in the process.
"Hello everyone!" she yelled.
"Oh God," Cloud muttered.
Aeris looked past him in sheer horror. She knew that look on her face, the gleam in her eyes, the color in her cheeks and realized it wasn't that long ago she looked just like that.
'I thought I gave them the no sex rule!' she thought angrily. 'I was hoping she drank herself to sleep, and that blondy would keep his hands to himself!'
Cait Sith broke in there.
"What's goin' on in here?" he asked, in a thick Brooklyn accent.
"Something slow and meaningful, and then Yuffie the whore broke in!" Aeris growled.
"Hey! I am not a whore!" Yuffie yelled back.
"I broke in on you two during the act!"
"You can't talk! You did the EXACT same thing!" Yuffie spat.
Mike staggered down the stairs, pushing the hair from his eyes.
"Don't go two rounds with a ninja! I'm tellin' ya!"
He collapsed in the corner.
All those in the room who didn't already know stopped in their tracks. Mouths dropped, and music stopped. She thought somewhere she heard a glass break. They were in utter silence now. Cloud hung his head and Aeris hid her face in her hands. Bitter tears of anger spilled down her cheeks, and she let them. She hated it... what she thought was the perfect display of affection blew up in her face.
The silence. The stares. She couldn't stand it. She broke through the crowd and ran to her room. Cloud's gaze followed her, and he calmly followed her path up to her room , shaking his head the entire time.
"I always seem to break in at the wrong time," Cait said, looking around to see a quiet crowd, still in shock.
The two girls by the steps looked at each other, and laughed hysterically, causing everyone to look at them.
"What is so damn funny?" Barret asked, coming out of the shadows.
"Those two. They are so completely opposite. I knew Aeris in grade school. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined her getting it on with a guy like him!"
"Is there a problem with Cloud?" Barret asked loudly.
"Hey, that's a cool name!" her friend said.
"Don't change the subject." Barret said.
"No, really, it is." the girl said. "Aeris and Cloud...the name has a certain ring to it..."
Barret rolled his eyes and moved on.
"Smart woman," Cait said, winking.
"The whole gun arm thing freaked me out," she told him.
"Yeah, I could see why..." he said, trailing off.
Elmyra pushed through the crowd and followed her daughter up the stairs.
*****
Aeris threw herself on her bed, head still in her hands. Cloud sat down next to her, trying to be consoling. There was a knock at the door. Cloud looked up at it, all the while holding her tightly.
"Who is it?"
A head full of brown hair appeared.
"It's me."
"Oh, hello, Mrs..."
"Elmyra, it's Elmyra now."
"I suppose I have some explaining to do." he said, looking up at her.
"Yes and no," she said, pulling the chair in the room just a little closer.
He tilted his head.
"Huh?"
"You'd like me to explain."
"Yeah, that would help," Cloud said.
"I guess I kind of figured that it was already done...the way you both looked at each other that last night you came to stay. And I could tell by the way Aeris ran up those steps to meet you after our conversation, that she couldn't wait to be with you. I was young once, I had that same jump in my step and look in my eye when I saw the man I loved...But I would like to know why you didn't tell me right away."
Aeris mumbled something through Cloud's shirt.
"Huh?" Elmyra asked.
"I don't know the consequences...I didn't know how you'd react to me saying I slept with the guy you didn't like."
All were silent. Elmyra was piecing things together. Aeris was still in Cloud's arms, just enjoying the warmth and safety his arms gave, and Cloud thought about the two women in the room; the one is his arms and her mother.
"I-I-I don't know what to say. I knew you were dead when Cloud came in, trudging his steps, and when you were revived, his face shone when he saw you. His face told stories of your whole trip...why debrief when you can just look at him?"
He looked at Elmyra.
"Your face is an open book Cloud." she said.
She got out of the chair and walked to where they sat. She put her hands on both of them, and gave a quick blessing. As soon as she had done that, she left the room.
He looked at her in a new light. She now understood what her mother said; his face beamed like the sun. He heard he exhale and knew she was at ease. He smiled then, and held her tighter. He could have sat there forever like that, just holding her and thinking, but he was distracted by a motion coming from below his knees.
Aeris had maneuvered herself into a new position, and was untying his shoes.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm untying your shoes," she replied dumbly.
"Why?"
"Cause I feel like it," she replied.
"You DO know my feet stink right?"
"So do mine. Your point?"
He gave up trying to fight with her. She ended up being right anyway. For once his thoughts quieted.
It was a different story when she began to take her shoes off.
He bent down to her level and smiled. She looked at him before kicking her last shoe off. Their eyes locked like they did that night at Gold Saucer. She drew near to him, not the first time that night. Their lips met, and they fell backward. Knowing her mother had acknowledged the relationship, she allowed his hands to wander. They didn't hear anything below them.
*****
Elmyra turned back to the quiet crowd.
"I wouldn't be going upstairs for a while if I was y'all."
She winked.
Cid nudged the person next to him, and Yuffie looked confused.
Vincent turned to Elmyra, eyes twinkling with coyness.
"So, how much time should we give 'em?"
"Couple hours."
His mouth dropped.
"Oh, stop it," she said. "You can't possibly be that shocked, after all, you knew before I did."
"CAN WE PLEASE CHANGE THE SUBJECT?!" someone yelled.
"That really does sound like a good idea!"
"But what should we talk about?"
"Anything...it doesn't matter."
The crowd grew silent once again, this time from lack of topics. The entire night had been devoted to Cloud and Aeris, and now that they were doing their own thing above them, none of which anyone wanted to think about, their conversation lulled.
Cait, being the talkative one, hopped over to where Barret and Cid were standing.
"So...what do you think of this whole deal?"
"Which deal?" Cid asked.
"The whole deal, from start to finish."
"It's damn near disturbing," Barret interrupted.
"I'd like to know why we brought it up again," Cid finally said. "Here we are, desperately trying to change the topic, and you bring it up again!"
"OK, so Reeve didn't give me a lot of tact. I guess that's my weakness."
He paused for a second.
"I guess I was just wondering what it was like to feel real love...and with it came the people who objected. I wanted to know what they felt like too."
He looked at them both again, waiting for one of them to speak.
"I wonder how long this 'love' will last," Cid said, pulling the cigarette from behind his ear. "I mean, sure, they're all over each other now. You saw it, they could've gone at it the minute she walked down the stairs, but how long will it last until they realize they have nothing in common?"
He lit his cigarette.
"You sad man," the girl by the steps said. "I don't think you realize how much in common they really have."
She left her spot by the stairs and walked over to Barret, Cid, and Cait.
"I knew Aeris since she was seven. I knew that no one talked to her because she was different. She came to school after being tortured, and watching her mother be tortured, and eventually, die. Many of us here in Sector 5, and every sector, has had one of our parents die, but none of us have had our father murdered when we were infants, and having to watch our mother die, nor were we ever tortured. I do know that being five and strapped to a table with enough electric currents running through your body to kill a grown man, and being the last survivor of a dead race, and then never being talked to is enough reason to be in love."
"You know nothing about Cloud," Cid said, still trying to be right.
"I was filled in by a few party members. They are the same in different ways, and they deserve to be together."
She wiped the tears from her face and sat down on the couch.
Cid and Barret looked at each other, puzzled by her breakdown, and left that area of the room.
Yuffie, being able to pull herself away from Mike, snuck up the stairs to see if she could hear anything that may be able to be used against them.
She stuck her ear next to the door, waiting for the noises she knew would be there. When she heard none, she pushed the door open a crack. She peered into the room, expecting to see an unfamiliar yet familiar sight.
"What the hell?" she asked herself.
She was not greeted by the sight she was expecting, but another equally shocking sight. In the center of Aeris' bedroom were Cloud and Aeris playing Twister, Cloud balancing himself on one foot, trying to keep himself from falling on Aeris, who was trying to keep her balance and push the spinner with her foot.
"Right foot blue!"
Cloud easily found his balance, but Aeris had a little more difficulty reaching it. He was now the official spinner. He called right hand yellow and left hand green, turning her to face him.
Another color was called, positioning him just right to see down the front of her dress.
He looked down and smiled.
"Hmmm...nice!"
She looked up at him, surprised.
"Cloud!"
She went to cover her chest, but fell to the floor, losing her balance after she realized it took both hands to cover herself.
She kicked him and he fell to the floor, with a loud thud, and scream of pain because he realized he had fallen on her.
"Well, this is nice," she said, pulling her hands from behind her back.
"It is!" Cloud said smiling, running his hand up her length. He stopped at her shoulders. "I could get used to this."
He lowered his face to hers, but she smiled, and rolled him off.
"Hey now, none of that!" she said, still smiling.
"What?" he said, laying next to her.
"Maybe those wine coolers were a bad idea."
"Maybe...but then I couldn't do this!"
He poked her. She jumped, giggled, and elbowed him. It continued for a while, and once again, got serious.
"Well, so much for playing Twister," Yuffie said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
She watched the scene in front of her deepen, and quietly shut the door before heading down the stairs.
*20 Minutes Later*
The door to her bedroom opened. Cloud stood in the doorway, breathing in the cool air from the hallway. He rested his head on the doorjamb just as Vincent made his way up the stairs.
"Jeez. What happened to you?" he asked as he reached the room. "You look like spent the last twenty minutes going at it."
"We were playing Twister," Cloud replied, still panting.
"Twister, my ass!" Vincent exclaimed, looking past Cloud into the room. "Last time I checked, Twister didn't involve a half-naked flower girl."
"I guess I can't lie to you. But we originally started playing Twister." He paused. "Whaddya say we challenge you?"
"To a game of Twister?"
Vincent looked disgusted.
"Come on Vincent," Aeris pleaded.
"Jeez, it's a game of Twister, not a threesome!" Cloud finally yelled.
Vincent looked at them strangely before heading to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
"Sure...and it will NOT escalate into anything else!" he said, glancing back into the room where fogged mirrors revealed more than his friend did.
Cloud walked back into the room, door partially open, to let the air flow through.
"Shit," he said, sitting down next to Aeris, who was busy pulling the top part of her dress back on.
"What's wrong with playing a game of Twister?" she asked, getting up and walking towards her dresser. Cloud got up and followed her.
"I guess it couldn't hurt," he said, putting his hands around waist and resting his chin on her on her head while she rummaged through her dresser for another pair of clothes.
She settled on a pair of navy loose-fitting jeans and a green variegated sweater. She quickly changed and turned to him. She motioned to him to clean a bit while she switched from her usual braid to a plain ponytail.
Vincent walked back to her room and hesitantly looked through the door crack. When he saw nothing, he entered.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered.
"Aw, come on, it'll be fun!" Aeris said, turning to face him.
"Wow, Aeris you look so...so..."
"Normal?" she questioned.
"Hmm...no, different."
"Yeah, well, I DO have a wardrobe you know!" she said, smiling. "Ready to play?"
"That's why I'm here."
"OK, I'll start by spinning this then."
Thus began the game. The group upstairs had an interesting time trying to balance, and the group downstairs had an interesting time trying to figure out the thuds and the yells from the room above them, and just where did Vincent disappear off too?
Upstairs he sat, spinner in hand, watching what otherwise would have been kinky sex if it it hadn't been Twister. He wondered how he got suckered into the deal in the first place, and sighed as he called out a color and foot position.
Cloud fell and sacrificed his turn. Vincent reluctantly took his place. He sighed heavily before Cloud called out the position.
"Don't you ever have any fun?" Aeris asked Vincent as he followed along.
"Not in the last five years," he replied.
"Five years?" she asked. "So, the nightmare is over. Your cold interior can break now."
"I don't know how to have fun anymore...I never had any reason to before, and now feel a little out of place. I'm not quite sure why it's important I play Twister with you, especially considering I'm pretty sure the game was just a device to get you two closer to each other, although I'm not sure why you really need it, since you seem pretty close anyway."
He stepped off the mat. Aeris just looked at him, and after turning a bright shade of red, shrugged. Cloud looked up from the spinner. Vincent had a point, from what he saw, and what he was now participating in, he found the missing piece. They had planned it to be like the Scrabble game, only forgot Twister was more physical. That never worked, if they were anywhere near each other.
He threw the spinner and got up, pacing as he once used to. Aeris got up and stood at his side, Vincent plopped on his back and looked at the ceiling. This sucked, so much for trying to explain the hardness of his heart to those two mushballs.
He punched the floor, got up, and left the room.
He almost fell down the steps at the shock of the sight of Sephiroth playing poker with Cid, Yuffie, Mike, DJ Tim, Tifa, and that attractive woman from before.
"What the hell is going on here?" Vincent yelled, catching the attention of the poker players in the middle of the room.
"Hello Vince. Long time no see," Sephiroth said, looking up from his hand of cards.
Vincent wiped the sweatdrop from his forehead and continued on.
"What the hell is wrong with you all? Don't you realize who your poker buddy is?"
"Exactly," Cid said, puffing away. "He came in, grabbed a beer, pulled a deck of cards from somewhere, and sat down."
"I think I'm going to be sick. I need some fresh air," he said, running outside.
"Jeez, what's with him?" Yuffie asked.
Sephiroth shrugged and held out his hand, showing the players he won again.
Vincent ran to the window that led to Aeris' room. He looked around for a rock, and when he found one, threw it at the window, getting the couples attention.
"Vincent, what is it?" Aeris asked, opening the window.
"Sephiroth is here!" he half-yelled. still a little out of breath.
"What?!" she asked.
"Sephiroth is here!"
"That's impossible!" Cloud yelled. "We killed him a couple hour ago. I remember. Cid threw him over the waterfall."
"He's downstairs playing poker with Cid, Yuffie, Mike, DJ Tim, Tifa, and that woman you were talking to earlier!"
A sweatdrop appeared above Aeris' forehead and Cloud fainted. She left him lay there, knowing he'd be down in a couple minutes anyway. She snuck down the steps, as not to disturb the card players. Peering past the wall sat Sephiroth, surrounded by his new poker buddies. She did not conceal her location well enough before Yuffie saw her and waved violently. She beat her forehead with her palm.
"Hi Aeris!" she exclaimed, causing everyone to turn around to face her.
She secretly wished she'd brought that rock that Vincent threw at them with her so she could smack Yuffie with it.
"I see you decided to join us. What, the threesome get boring?" Sephiroth asked, smiling before shuffling the deck.
"How did you get here?" she asked of him.
"The door."
"No smart ass, I mean how did you get here?"
"Same way you got here. Life2."
"You were..." she stopped. It was pointless to argue with him, since he had a way with words anyway.
"Who let you in?" she asked instead.
"Your mother, I believe. I knocked on the door, she opened it, and sat down with the people who wanted to play cards."
He looked among the group.
"Anyone for a game of strip poker?" he asked, smirking.
The protests told him it was a good idea.
"OK. I'm sorry I brought it up."
"What the hell is he doing here?" Cloud asked, running down the stairs.
"Whatever I want." he answered, without skipping a beat.
"Why are my friends suddenly his minions?"
"That's a good question, to which I have no answer," she told him.
"Oh, and by the way," Sephy interrupted. "I'll give you the money to fix that window."
"I need some Prozac, or a stiff drink or something," he said, sitting on the steps.
"No Cloud, you DON'T need a strong drink, unless we want another escapade like what happened upstairs...not like I wouldn't mind," she said, joining him on the step. "Maybe we all will need some good psychiatric help after this is over."
"Ha ha! Royal flush!" Cid said, throwing his hand down.
"Dammit! I lost again!" Sephy said, throwing his cards at Cid.
"You know, Cloud just raised a good question," Tifa interjected. "Just what happened to you to make us trust you?"
Sephiroth sat there, a puzzled look on his face. He knew it was coming, but he couldn't read minds, so he just had to guess.
"I did some thinking, before I was revived. Did killing Aeris really get me anywhere? Obviously not, since she's sitting over there consoling failure boy, alive as the day is long. And, killing her made her even more of a hero. I came to the realization that the voice in my head isn't the planet at all, just that damn being I thought was my mother. Turns out Hojo did some experiments on me before I was born, and boom, here I am thinking I'm an Ancient. One wrong voice screws someone up for life."
"Thanks for the lecture, but that's not what we wanted to know," Yuffie broke in. "Why are you here, and why aren't you trying to kill us?"
"I don't really know that," he began. "But I do know I found my mind again, while floating in that green nothingness. Jeez, is that ever boring. I don't expect you all to like me, but I thought I could at least pay you back."
"Pay you back?!" Cloud yelled, standing. "Unless you can bring back all our friends you killed that day, you can never pay us back!"
Aeris pulled him back.
"He's going slightly mad..." Cid started.
"No, you see, he IS slightly mad," Sephiroth interjected, tossing two chips into the pile. "And he needs a good therapy session like I had floating in that nothingness."
He set his cards down and stood up, looking for his masamune.
"I know I put that thing somewhere," he said, looking around.
"Well, I'll have to kill him later," Sephy said, shrugging when he couldn't find it.
He sat back down and picked up his cards. Vincent walked back in, having gone on his walk to organize his thoughts.
"By the way," Sephy said, looking up from his winning hand to Yuffie and Mike. "It would be nice for you two to join us instead of making out every five seconds!"
Mike giggled girlishly, and Yuffie half-smiled, blushing slightly and holding up a wine cooler bottle. Cid and Tim rolled their eyes while Cloud and Vincent made gagging noises.
"So...how much do I owe you?" Cid asked, after Sephiroth won the last hand.
"800," Sephy said, collecting all the chips.
"Damn, that cleans me," Cid said, digging around his pockets for money.
Sephiroth smiled evilly (as usual) and motioned for everyone to hand over the money they lost to him.
"That means all the materia you have PLUS what you stole from me when I walked in," he informed Yuffie.
He held out his hand. She gulped and reluctantly handed over all her materia.
"Thank you." he said smiling, pocketing the materia.
"I thought this poker game was a bad idea," Tifa muttered, while counting out money.
"Ha ha! I've gotten all you money, NOW I can leave!" he said, standing up.
"Wait a minute!" Vincent said. "You came here, played nice, allowed people to trust you, only to take off with all our money?"
Sephiroth paused for a moment before turning to face Vincent.
"I learned it from my evil poker buddies....hehehehe..See you." he said, walking toward the door.
"Hold it!" Barret said, standing in front of the door.
"We're not letting you leave until we get some answers."
"Get outta my way," Sephy said, sheathing his sword.
"No, I'm not letting you leave," Barret said, arm in front of him.
"Very well," he said, levitating himself.
He flew above them and disappeared before flying through the wall.
Everyone in the room looked on in confusion.
"Damn him!" Cid spat. "That bastard!"
Angrily he got up, realizing there was nothing he could do about getting the money back. He walked towards the kitchen, planning to raid the fridge. He passed Aeris, Cloud and Vincent, where he was stopped.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"The kitchen," he replied promptly.
"Why?" she questioned.
"Because I'm hungry."
"It's off limits."
"So?" he asked, walking past her, into the kitchen.
"OK then," she said, preparing herself. "Feel the wrath of the flower girl!"
He turned around.
"Feel the ass of the flower girl? OK!"
He reached out and grabbed her butt.
"HEY!" she said, swinging her rod with all her might.
He hit the ground.
"Ow!" he yelled. "My ass!"
Everyone in the general vicinity stopped what they were doing and laughed at him.
"I told you it was off limits!" she said, grinning at him and turning to Cloud.
They noticed the night was drawing to a close. Some people left, most slept, and two people by the steps looked at each other. After a few brief words, they left Vincent by the steps, and Cid, still sitting where he had fallen. Hand in hand, they walked up the steps towards her room. Before he closed the door, he whispered in her ear.
"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't' mind...How wonderful life is, now you're in the world."
Smiling, he drew her close and kissed her. Meanwhile, a certain red lion watched the door close, and knew that this night would be another one to remember.
~end transmission~
Part 2 Song Credits:
Another Suitcase in Another Hall
Words and Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Without You
Words and Music: Jonathan Larson
1996
No Day But Today
Words and Music: Jonathan Larson
1996
Good Enough
Words and Music: Sarah McLauchlin
1998
I'm Going Slightly Mad
Words and Music: Freddie Mercury
1992
Your Song
Words and Music: Elton John
Renewed Copyright: 2001
Hold On
Words and Music: Sarah McLauchlin
1998
All songs used without permission.
-One Month Later-
The sound of joy echoed through the air. Shinra was defeated, Sephiroth was destroyed and there was cause for much celebration. All party members rejoiced, except one. Cloud trudged along, behind most of the group, just thinking. He couldn't get his mind off the past events, even though they were a month ago. He wished he could go back in time and change things.
But he knew that was impossible, and his life would be forever changed. He cursed his feelings, and then fate for dealing him such a horrible hand.
He knew he'd never forget her, especially after knowing that she gave him her whole heart. He didn't know how to tell the news to her stepmother. How do you tell someone that the person they loved is dead because you couldn't do anything?
"So what happens now? So what happens now? Where am I going to? Where am I going to?" he sang, sitting under a tree.
"Hey guys hold up! Cloud's having a nervous breakdown again!" Yuffie yelled.
Complaints echoed through the once happy group. They took their usual formation around him and tried to get his thoughts back together.
"You have stop blaming yourself." Vincent told him. "You didn't kill her."
"Do you know what it's like to watch the person you love die right in front of you?" he asked of Vincent.
"Well, no... but I know what it's like to watch people die...I was a Turk, remember?"
"But it was never anyone you loved..."
Cid turned to Barret.
"I think this guy needs to get a few beers in him and get laid."
"Shut up! It goes deeper than that." Barret began. "But I don't know how deep."
"Hey Cloud, what's the matter? Ya wanted seconds?" Cid yelled, receiving glares from everyone.
Tifa left the group and walked up to him.
"I thought that hard-ass exterior was just an exterior, but I see it goes all the way to the core!" she spat at him.
She turned on her heel. He was surprised to be rid of her that quickly. She caught him off guard when she punched him. He whirled around and fell to the ground.
"You little bitch!" he yelled at her, rising to his knees.
"I look out for my friends! DON'T cross me again!"
She walked off, leaving him to fend for himself. She received applause when she joined the circle again.
"Thank you." Cloud said, standing. "I must go on. I've managed to make it this far without her. I know this comes as a shock to all of you, because of the 'cool' exterior I had, but I have unending sorrow from these events...Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad because we saved the world, but, with all my friends here, I still feel alone."
He pulled a pink ribbon from his pocket and fingered it. He gulped and looked at the ribbon one last time before putting it back in his pocket.
"All right. Let's move on. Sitting here won't bring her back."
He got to his feet. He held back from the group a little, no longer leading as he once did, and fingered the object in his pocket, the only memory of something he held dear, still thinking.
"Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the pulse beats...The mind churns, the heart yearns, the tears dry without you. Life goes on, but I'm gone. Cause I die without you."
"Yo, Cloud, ya OK back there?" Barret asked.
"Yeah, jes' thinkin'." he said, leaving the ribbon in his pocket. "Don't worry, I'll be fine now."
Barret shrugged and went on, periodically looking over his shoulder, making sure his friend was indeed all right.
Cid, having some time to think, fell back to talk to Barret. He whispered something and smiled.
"That would be perfect for him." Barret said, smiling.
They continued on in silence.
Midgar-Sector 5 Slums
"Wow, it's amazing that this place is still intact." Vincent said as he looked around the slums.
Cloud looked on but wondered why they returned here.
"Yeah..." Tifa said. "I wonder if it has anything to do with Aeris' living here."
"I dunno." he said. "We'll find out soon enough."
No sooner had he said that then did they turn the corner to be greeted by Aeris's house and the wonderful scent of flowers.
"Uh guys...why are we back here?" Cloud asked.
"Oh, no one told you?" Cid asked. "We're crashing here. Her mom's not here. Why not?"
"Why take advantage of somebody like that? Why not just go to an inn before we go our separate ways?" he asked.
"You'll see." Cid said, smiling a little.
He opened the door to be greeted by a few of his friends partying without him.
"We're here!" he yelled, accepting a beer from the attractive woman by the door. "But I see the party's started already."
"Well, what were we supposed to do with all these kegs?" the woman asked of him.
"Kegger!" he yelled. "Come on guys, let's party!"
The men followed him in to get first dibs on cold beer. Cloud followed them in and sat on a couch. The woman by the door found him and sat down next to him.
"What's wrong, hon?" she asked, offering him a beer.
"Lotsa stuff." he told her, taking the beer, although he wasn't in the mood for partying.
"Care to talk about it?" she asked.
"Not really. It's kind of complicated."
"I'd like to hear it. We got plentya time."
"I fell in love with someone..."
"Go on." she prodded.
"...While we were saving the world. She ran away because of something beyond my control, and when we found her, she was taken from me by someone who craved what she had. Before I knew it, she was falling before me, and I wasn't able to prevent the chains of events."
At this, his tough exterior cracked, and a tear leaked through.
"God, I miss her."
Without realizing it, he had opened up to a total stranger. He wondered what type of person he had become after her death. He seemed so scared and alone, although he was completely opposite.
Barret and Cid, having partied thoroughly, both nodded in agreement to what they would do next.
"This is a GREAT party!" Yuffie yelled over the music.
"How many beers has that been Yuffie?" Cid asked.
"I dunno. Four, five maybe. Whatever. I'm finding the self that I didn't know existed!"
She took a swig, and maneuvered through the crowd. She stepped on the coffee table in front of Cloud. Barret turned to Cid.
"You got your wish, man. The clothes are comin' off."
"Maybe I was wrong to throw this party." Cid thought outloud as Yuffie finished off the beer in hand. She danced on the table for a few minutes, and turned to the couch. She counted to three and jumped on Cloud.
Barrett and Cid looked at each other, exchanging a look.
"I want you." she said, holding onto his shirt. "I want you to want me. I'm willing and I KNOW I'll be good for you."
"Oh my God, she really IS a whore!" Cid said.
"What the hell is she doing?" Tifa asked, coming over to where Barret and Cid were standing.
"We think she's trying to seduce Cloud." Barret said.
"Isn't he going to do anything?" she asked.
"He better. Otherwise I can guarantee he'll do something he doesn't want to do." Cid said.
"Hey Cid." Barret said.
"Yeah, what?"
"Ya got the Revive materia?"
"You better believe it. Let's go." he said, quickly heading towards the door. Barret followed, leaving Tifa to wonder what they were doing.
She turned from the door to the couch, where Cloud was trying to resist Yuffie's advances.
"Get offa me! I don't want to do anything with you!"
He succeeded pushing Yuffie back onto the coffee table. He yelled something, but it couldn't be heard over the music.
"Stay away!" he said as a final word.
The attractive woman brought another beer for him to drown his sorrows in. He accepted, although he really didn't want it. He was also unaware of the commotion on the floor above him.
"Alright, we're in." Barret said, motioning to Cid to go ahead. He lifted the form through the window and onto the bed.
Using what magic power he had left, Cid used Life2 on the lifeless form. He smiled when he saw the green orbs sparkle and shine.
"Barret? Cid? what are you doing here? Where am I?"
"You're in your bedroom in Sector 5." Cid said.
"Oh, it's so great to be back home." she said, hugging them both.
"It's great to have you back, Aeris."
"I have to see Cloud." she said, stepping off the bed.
Cid and Barret just sat there, watching her step down the stairs.
The people dancing on the stairs parted the way for her. She received a few puzzled looks and a few smiles from the people that knew her. She spotted the man she had to talk to on the couch, full drink in hand, alone.
"Excuse me sir. Would you mind if I sat here?" she asked, sitting down next to him.
"Aeris?"
He looked up.
"Oh God, Aeris. You're alive!"
He hugged her.
"God, I've missed you." he said, pulling her close once more.
A few of the partiers standing nearby clapped, not realizing how serious the situation had been.
"We have a lot to talk about." he said.
"I know just the place." she said, taking his hand. They walked towards the door, silent but happy. The attractive woman Cloud had been talking to earlier smiled.
"Ya got your wish hon. Don't let her out of your sight."
Barret and Cid finally followed them down the steps. Tifa ran over to them.
"How did you guys think of this?" she asked.
"Why didn't we think of this sooner?" Cid sooner. "We could have prevented Cloud from being mopey all month."
Barret's eyes turned to a dancing figure on the coffee table.
"Oh God, it's Yuffie again." he said. "And I think the shirt's off for good this time.
"Eeh." Cid said. "Dammit, how many times did I tell you NOT to give her any more?"
"She helped herself." a blond guy near the keg yelled.
"Dear God," he muttered as a green shirt passed him. He drew his gaze to where Yuffie stood. Nothing had changed...much.
"Damn." he said, finally getting his wish. "They ARE her best assets, but what's a captain to do?"
As he thought of reasons, another figure intercepted. He recognized the blond hair of the guy from the keg.
"Hey! That's my ninja!" Cid yelled unintentionally.
"Too bad old man! She's hot, she's willing, and she's mine!"
He lifted Yuffie off the table.
"How's about you and I get to know each other a little better?" he asked.
"Sure, hottie!" she said, giggling.
Cid stood there, mouth open as she jumped on the man and wrapped her legs around him. They headed for the steps.
"Old man?" Cid muttered. "That little prick."
The door shut. All eyes turned to the door. Cid looked on with fear after seeing Elmyra enter.
"Oh crap. You're not pissed, are you?"
"Well, gimme a beer, and I'll tell you in a minute!" she said, surprising all the partiers.
Cid and Barret exchanged a look and handed her a beer.
"Hmmm. Not bad...You can stay!"
"YE-AH!!" they said, ushering her to the front. They turned the music back up and forgot that she even came in.
*****
"So what did you want to tell me?" Aeris asked, sitting down in her garden.
"You did it." Cloud said.
"Huh?"
"You did it. You saved us all! We're so thankful that....you sacrificed your life to help us."
"I'm glad to be with you again...I saw my mother Cloud."
"You did? What did she say?"
"She said she was glad to that her daughter grew up to be brave and save the world. Oh, and she knows you too Cloud."
"She does?"
"Yes, she said you were in the Lifestream. She saw what you'd been through, and everything that happened before we were separated...and she told me to go for it! She told me she had been waiting for a man like you to watch over me, and be my equal...and that it wasn't my time..."
She trailed off. Cloud just sat there, thinking.
"So it was a good thing Cid and Barret revived me when they did!"
She smiled, and he realized he hadn't seen her smile in a month. She repositioned herself and snuggled in close.
"Are you tired?" he asked, looking down at her.
"Not really. I'm just thinking..."
"We could go inside. It's actually a little cold." Cloud said.
"Yes, but it's so noisy in there," she protested.
"We could find a place..." he said, trailing off.
She thought about that for a minute.
"That IS a good idea. Even here I'm cold."
She rose to her feet. Cloud followed suit. He was afraid of the questions he would be hounded with later, but he pushed those thoughts from his head. She opened the door and they pushed through the crowd.
She went to the refrigerator and pulled two wine coolers from it.
"I don't really drink these either, but it's a special occasion, so cheers!"
She clinked his bottle, and motioned for him to go upstairs.
Once again, she received strange looks, but looked on. She stopped outside her bedroom door.
"What's going on in there?" she asked.
"We'll soon find out," Cloud said, gently pushing her out of the way.
He was greeted by the unforgettable image of Yuffie and Mike, the blond from the keg in a less than flattering position.
'What the hell?' he thought.
"What are you doing in her room? What are you doing in her bed?!" he asked.
"What are you doing ON my bed?!" Aeris asked in horror. "Get off! My bed is not a sex spot!"
She screamed as Yuffie and Mike scrambled for their clothes.
"So, what are you going to do in here?" Yuffie asked, trying to cover herself and failing miserably.
"First, we're getting away from the noise, second, we're going to talk...which YOU did not!"
They picked up the rest of the disregarded articles and headed towards the door. Aeris shut the door with exasperation.
"I don't think I'm EVER going to sleep on these sheets again," she said, disgusted.
Cloud chuckled.
"How is it any different than what we did?" he asked, cautiously sitting on the edge of the bed.
"We weren't drunk, it wasn't in someone's house, and we knew each other."
She looked from Cloud to the rumpled spot in the middle of the bed and shuddered. She repeated this a few times, and finally sat down next to him.
"Yeah, you have a point," he said. "Hey, what's the point of the wine coolers anyway?"
"I hate beer." she said without missing a beat. "Couldn't stand the smell or the taste, but these taste good and have the same effect."
He looked at his half-finished bottle.
"Yeah, except you'd have to drink like ten of these to get a good buzz."
"No, I can get one after three."
"Yeah, well, look at you. You're shorter than me, thinner than Tifa will ever hope to be and...more beautiful than before."
After blushing to the color of her jacket, she sighed.
"I don't know what to say what to say to you that you don't already know...I watched you cry over me when I died, and I thought 'What have I done to make min this sad?' I was miserable...I found the Promised Land, Cloud. It is the land of eternal happiness after one leaves this planet. Although I was in the land of supreme happiness, I was so unhappy because I left all my friends behind. But I didn't see just Ancients there, I saw everyone...I saw Zack! I told him things I didn't get to tell him, stuff about me, and stuff about you...They can see the people wandering around this planet, you know; that's how my mother knew about you."
She suddenly got up and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, we're missing the party!"
"Eahh!" he yelled as she pulled him off the bed.
'Funny, I don't remember her being this strong!' he thought as he flew from the bed across the room.
She lost her balance pulling him up and followed the force of her own body now working against her. He fell towards her, and she panicked when she hit the wall. He let her hands go and tried to block his fall; he was successful, his hands hit the wall. He followed through with what her hands had started. Before he knew it, his mind was screaming for more. It had been here before and it liked it. He felt his hand slip from the wall and unbutton her top buttons. She stopped him there.
"No Cloud...not now."
Her response surprised him.
"Not with all these people here. I've already made enough of a scene."
"Oh."
He shrugged, and rebuttoned her dress, but not before leaning in and finishing what he has started. With a sound of a door getting stuck on the floor, Elmyra stuck her head in the crack.
"Oh my God!" Aeris yelled, startling Cloud and scaring her stepmother.
"Oh God," Elmyra said, closing the door. "I see I've interrupted something."
"No, no, wait." Aeris said, pushing Cloud aside. "I know this was something you'd probably rather not see."
"Stop apologizing!" Elmyra yelled. "I knew you two were digging each other since he showed up with you that night. You're an adult, and this is your house...you can do whatever the hell you want!"
Cloud's mouth dropped and Aeris fell backward onto the bed. Elmyra smiled.
"I saw you come in and just thought I'd say hello...Although I think Ill knock next time."
She winked at them, and quickly shot the door.
"Talk about a mood killer." Cloud said, leaning against the wall.
"No, that's OK. We were supposed to join the party a while ago anyway! Come on!"
She jumped off the bed and ran toward the door. Cloud quickly followed. By the time he was out the door, she was halfway down the stairs.
"Aeris, wait!" he yelled. "I want to show up with you."
"Oh, right," she said, feeling his hand clasp hers.
They walked down the stairs hand in hand, smiling from ear to ear. Someone somewhere stopped the music and watched them sit on the couch.
"I see our dynamic duo has returned." Vincent said, leaning against the wall in his normal style.
He walked up to where they sat.
"Welcome back Aeris. It's good to see you again."
He produced a black rose from his cape and handed it to her.
After studying the rose for a moment, she looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you. It's good to be back. I've missed all of you."
Her eyes misted up as she told the story of the Promised Land to all those who cared. As she talked, Cloud scanned the group and noticed Barret and Cid were not in the house. He silently cursed, not realizing why they were gone.
"She speaks as if she's actually been there," one of the awestruck listeners told her friend.
"I have..." she said to them. "I've been there and back...You see, it's the land where you go when you die. I'm not a ghost, what you see is real, flesh and blood."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Although I was in the world of supreme happiness, I felt most unhappy because the one I loved (other than my mother of course) was here."
She looked at Cloud once again.
"Chocobo head?!" the girl asked. "You love Chocobo Head?! Ha ha!"
"His name is Cloud, and yes, I do."
She paused again, gathering her thoughts when a ruckus near the door disrupted them.
"Nuance? Nuance my son!"
Settee bound through the door, looking for his only son.
"Could we get anymore damn people in this house?" someone by the now empty keg asked.
Settee looked at him.
"I'm not a person."
Red, who was upstairs, bound down the steps in leaps to see his father in a newfound respect.
"Nuance, my son. My, how you've grown! I'm so proud of what you've done...I was informed by Barret and Cid."
Settee and Red pushed their way through the crowd and sat across from Cloud, who got up. Aeris lost her crowd after that. Cloud walked over to her, but she didn't even notice it. She was following a smell.
"That smell...I've smelled this smell before." she said.
"What smell?" Cloud asked, puzzled.
"Can't you smell it?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"I've smelled this smell twice before. Once in the Shinra Building and second...in the City of the Ancients just before...oh God! Sephiroth is here!"
Everyone in the party heard her, and immediately stopped what they were doing, ready to fight.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass filled the air. A black figure jumped through the front window and landed on his feet in front of the sound system. Aeris gasped; it seemed almost as if she had SUMMONED Sephiroth!
"I hope you don't mind if I crash your party," he said smiling. "But it seems as if I have some unfinished business to attend too."
"Who invited this guy?" the person near the empty keg yelled again.
Cloud stepped in front of Aeris.
"I won't let you kill her again!" he yelled.
He drew his sword. Vincent, standing by the wall, pulled his weapon, Cid grabbed his lance from its hiding spot, and Tifa took a fighting pose.
"Oh, how cute. Your little friends are protecting you," he laughed as he continued on. "You all took away my victory! I found the Promised Land and I could have reigned supreme!"
Aeris pushed Cloud out of the way.
"You idiot! The Promised Land is where you go when you die! My mother told anyone that, not even my father who desired that knowledge. Only AFTER you killed me did I discover just where this land was! You're just a power hungry, greedy bastard that wanted the good life only for himself! You and Shinra were both the same, except they were greedy and you were just sick!"
She spat at him.
In the time it took for him to ready his weapon, she had hers prepared and had already given the party invincibility.
His first blow hit metal. Her first blow hit flesh. He didn't realize she was that strong of a fighter. She slowly pushed him to the door as the rest of the group crowed around her. The action stopped as Red cast Fire3 and Vincent gave Deathblow. When he was down for the count, she kicked him out the door, while Cloud and Cid followed close behind her.
"For years you've wanted something that's not yours. You've wanted to take away something that only the Ancients knew about, but everyone received! And your not even an Ancient!"
Using all of her strength, she threw her rod in the air towards him.
"Aeris!" Cloud yelled. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry! I still have magic!" she yelled back.
Her rod would have hit Sephiroth fatally, if he hadn't attacked her.
She let out a scream and fell to the ground. Her rod hit the ground with a loud clang. He stepped back and wiped his hands as if to say: 'finally, it's done.'
"Aeris!" Cloud cried. "Not again!"
He let out a death cry and ran towards Sephiroth, sword in front of him.
He slumped to the ground, but Cloud wasn't done; he went at him as if he were a salad, hacking and slashing. Using this distraction, Cid pulled a Phoenix Down from his pocket. He pulled the cork with his teeth. He propped Aeris' head up and slowly made her drink.
"There ya go, drink up. Your boyfriend will miss you too much if you don't."
He was there to nurse the first signs of health back into her, and whistled to get Cloud's attention.
He turned around to meet her, standing and smiling as if nothing had happened. She knelt down to pick up her rod and was confronted by Cloud.
"Why the hell did you do that?" he asked.
"I wasn't expecting to do such a low blow."
"You weren't expecting a man who controlled me so he could kill you without getting his hands dirty to give you a low blow?"
"Well, I guess it makes sense now."
"Sweet," Cid said, coming up to them. "I've never seen you EVER get that pissed! You've got my vote for winning a fight from now on!"
He smiled slightly and then turned to Cloud.
"Let's git rid of this garbage!" he said, lifting up the remains of Sephiroth and dumping them over the waterfall.
"Now he cain't come back!" he turned to face them. "Let's go back in."
They entered her house to where the party HAD been going on shortly before that incident.
It was now quiet. People stopped in their tracks up seeing the three re-enter. They knew that the party goers heard everything.
"Who was that guy?" the DJ asked. (A/N: from now on he is DJ Tim.)
"Someone I thought we killed." Cloud said. "...But we're OK now."
He put his arm around Aeris, causing some surprise within the ranks, except Elmyra, who beamed.
"I don't EVER want you out of my sight again," he whispered, smiling quickly at her.
"Well, the party's pretty much died down now." the DJ replied.
"S-sorry." she said.
"Not yer fault, hon. It's normal for around this time. They either leave or fall asleep."
"Who's all staying?" Aeris asked to a crowd that was half there.
Most of the hands stayed raised.
"Cid will kill us if we leave early."
"Oh, that's a good reason!" she exclaimed dryly.
"It is!" DJ Time piped up. "Cid's scary!"
"I heard that!" Cid said, making his way around the two.
"I know...but I don't care how drunk people are, because you threw this party, most of them will stay."
"Well, we might as well make ourselves comfortable then," Aeris said, stepping away from Cloud's embrace and moving towards the couch. Cloud looked from the DJ to Aeris, to Cid and then back to Aeris. He shrugged and turned to the DJ.
"Do you have any slow songs?" he asked.
"Slow songs?" Tim asked, puzzled.
"Y'know, slow, meaningful songs that two people can dance to and think deeply about things."
"Oh yeah, I had a brain freeze for a minute there. Sorry."
As quickly as the music stopped, it started back up.
Cloud looked in Aeris' direction.
"Excuse me miss, may I have this dance?" he asked, hand extended.
"Always," she said smiling.
They were aware that they were the only ones dancing in that space between the couch and the table, but for the first time, didn't care.
Cloud stood there, her head on his chest, thinking about the lyrics coming through the speakers.
"Hey your glass is empty/ It's a hell of a long way home/ Why don't you let me take you? It's no good to go alone/ I never would have opened up, but you seemed so real to me/ And after all the bullshit I've heard it's refreshing not to see/ I don't have to pretend, she doesn't expect it from me..."
He wasn't sure why, but he was misting up. When she looked back up at him, he melted. He knew people saw it, and tried to pick up the soggy pieces.
Some people looked on, left the room, made out, or looked with them, melting.
If there ever were a time he didn't remember touching the ground, this was one of those times. He could close his eyes, and forget he was in a crowded little house which reeked of beer, in a dark slum, and that he had only known the woman in his arms for two months.
Life was too short to think about things like that. As Aeris had said a month before : 'There's only us, there's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.'
The song ended, but the two people in the middle didn't seem to notice. They just stood there, swaying in time with the music only they could hear.
The two girls who had been listening to Aeris earlier, stood by the steps and sighed.
"That is THE sweetest thing I've ever seen."
"And you were insulting him earlier." her friend said.
"Well, I still think he's kinda girly, but it's still the sweetest thing I've ever seen."
The DJ, realizing his error in not playing another song quickly, fumbled behind his stand to find another good song on the same CD. The music caught Aeris and Cloud off guard; this time was different...it was no longer just them dancing, but they knew this song was for them also.
"Hold on, hold on to yourself/ Cause this is gonna hurt like hell/ Hold on, hold on to yourself/ You know that only time will tell/ What is it in me that refuses to leave? This isn't easier than the real thing/ My love, you know that you're my best friend/ You know I'd do anything for you..."
"Wow," he muttered, awestruck by the scene in front of him. His rational thought kicked in once again, and this time it refused to leave.
'You could be doing so much more right now,' it said, from somewhere behind him.
'Shut up!' his sub-conscious screamed. 'I don't want you to interrupt this.'
Once again, the song stopped. For the first time he was aware that she was holding him tight, head on his chest and eyes closed as if she were asleep. Events flew by him a mile a minute, memories of everything he lost, and happiness he had forgotten existed until he met her. He wondered when he had been able to read minds, because he knew what she was thinking. Yuffie burst down the steps, ruining the mood, and pissing people off in the process.
"Hello everyone!" she yelled.
"Oh God," Cloud muttered.
Aeris looked past him in sheer horror. She knew that look on her face, the gleam in her eyes, the color in her cheeks and realized it wasn't that long ago she looked just like that.
'I thought I gave them the no sex rule!' she thought angrily. 'I was hoping she drank herself to sleep, and that blondy would keep his hands to himself!'
Cait Sith broke in there.
"What's goin' on in here?" he asked, in a thick Brooklyn accent.
"Something slow and meaningful, and then Yuffie the whore broke in!" Aeris growled.
"Hey! I am not a whore!" Yuffie yelled back.
"I broke in on you two during the act!"
"You can't talk! You did the EXACT same thing!" Yuffie spat.
Mike staggered down the stairs, pushing the hair from his eyes.
"Don't go two rounds with a ninja! I'm tellin' ya!"
He collapsed in the corner.
All those in the room who didn't already know stopped in their tracks. Mouths dropped, and music stopped. She thought somewhere she heard a glass break. They were in utter silence now. Cloud hung his head and Aeris hid her face in her hands. Bitter tears of anger spilled down her cheeks, and she let them. She hated it... what she thought was the perfect display of affection blew up in her face.
The silence. The stares. She couldn't stand it. She broke through the crowd and ran to her room. Cloud's gaze followed her, and he calmly followed her path up to her room , shaking his head the entire time.
"I always seem to break in at the wrong time," Cait said, looking around to see a quiet crowd, still in shock.
The two girls by the steps looked at each other, and laughed hysterically, causing everyone to look at them.
"What is so damn funny?" Barret asked, coming out of the shadows.
"Those two. They are so completely opposite. I knew Aeris in grade school. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined her getting it on with a guy like him!"
"Is there a problem with Cloud?" Barret asked loudly.
"Hey, that's a cool name!" her friend said.
"Don't change the subject." Barret said.
"No, really, it is." the girl said. "Aeris and Cloud...the name has a certain ring to it..."
Barret rolled his eyes and moved on.
"Smart woman," Cait said, winking.
"The whole gun arm thing freaked me out," she told him.
"Yeah, I could see why..." he said, trailing off.
Elmyra pushed through the crowd and followed her daughter up the stairs.
*****
Aeris threw herself on her bed, head still in her hands. Cloud sat down next to her, trying to be consoling. There was a knock at the door. Cloud looked up at it, all the while holding her tightly.
"Who is it?"
A head full of brown hair appeared.
"It's me."
"Oh, hello, Mrs..."
"Elmyra, it's Elmyra now."
"I suppose I have some explaining to do." he said, looking up at her.
"Yes and no," she said, pulling the chair in the room just a little closer.
He tilted his head.
"Huh?"
"You'd like me to explain."
"Yeah, that would help," Cloud said.
"I guess I kind of figured that it was already done...the way you both looked at each other that last night you came to stay. And I could tell by the way Aeris ran up those steps to meet you after our conversation, that she couldn't wait to be with you. I was young once, I had that same jump in my step and look in my eye when I saw the man I loved...But I would like to know why you didn't tell me right away."
Aeris mumbled something through Cloud's shirt.
"Huh?" Elmyra asked.
"I don't know the consequences...I didn't know how you'd react to me saying I slept with the guy you didn't like."
All were silent. Elmyra was piecing things together. Aeris was still in Cloud's arms, just enjoying the warmth and safety his arms gave, and Cloud thought about the two women in the room; the one is his arms and her mother.
"I-I-I don't know what to say. I knew you were dead when Cloud came in, trudging his steps, and when you were revived, his face shone when he saw you. His face told stories of your whole trip...why debrief when you can just look at him?"
He looked at Elmyra.
"Your face is an open book Cloud." she said.
She got out of the chair and walked to where they sat. She put her hands on both of them, and gave a quick blessing. As soon as she had done that, she left the room.
He looked at her in a new light. She now understood what her mother said; his face beamed like the sun. He heard he exhale and knew she was at ease. He smiled then, and held her tighter. He could have sat there forever like that, just holding her and thinking, but he was distracted by a motion coming from below his knees.
Aeris had maneuvered herself into a new position, and was untying his shoes.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm untying your shoes," she replied dumbly.
"Why?"
"Cause I feel like it," she replied.
"You DO know my feet stink right?"
"So do mine. Your point?"
He gave up trying to fight with her. She ended up being right anyway. For once his thoughts quieted.
It was a different story when she began to take her shoes off.
He bent down to her level and smiled. She looked at him before kicking her last shoe off. Their eyes locked like they did that night at Gold Saucer. She drew near to him, not the first time that night. Their lips met, and they fell backward. Knowing her mother had acknowledged the relationship, she allowed his hands to wander. They didn't hear anything below them.
*****
Elmyra turned back to the quiet crowd.
"I wouldn't be going upstairs for a while if I was y'all."
She winked.
Cid nudged the person next to him, and Yuffie looked confused.
Vincent turned to Elmyra, eyes twinkling with coyness.
"So, how much time should we give 'em?"
"Couple hours."
His mouth dropped.
"Oh, stop it," she said. "You can't possibly be that shocked, after all, you knew before I did."
"CAN WE PLEASE CHANGE THE SUBJECT?!" someone yelled.
"That really does sound like a good idea!"
"But what should we talk about?"
"Anything...it doesn't matter."
The crowd grew silent once again, this time from lack of topics. The entire night had been devoted to Cloud and Aeris, and now that they were doing their own thing above them, none of which anyone wanted to think about, their conversation lulled.
Cait, being the talkative one, hopped over to where Barret and Cid were standing.
"So...what do you think of this whole deal?"
"Which deal?" Cid asked.
"The whole deal, from start to finish."
"It's damn near disturbing," Barret interrupted.
"I'd like to know why we brought it up again," Cid finally said. "Here we are, desperately trying to change the topic, and you bring it up again!"
"OK, so Reeve didn't give me a lot of tact. I guess that's my weakness."
He paused for a second.
"I guess I was just wondering what it was like to feel real love...and with it came the people who objected. I wanted to know what they felt like too."
He looked at them both again, waiting for one of them to speak.
"I wonder how long this 'love' will last," Cid said, pulling the cigarette from behind his ear. "I mean, sure, they're all over each other now. You saw it, they could've gone at it the minute she walked down the stairs, but how long will it last until they realize they have nothing in common?"
He lit his cigarette.
"You sad man," the girl by the steps said. "I don't think you realize how much in common they really have."
She left her spot by the stairs and walked over to Barret, Cid, and Cait.
"I knew Aeris since she was seven. I knew that no one talked to her because she was different. She came to school after being tortured, and watching her mother be tortured, and eventually, die. Many of us here in Sector 5, and every sector, has had one of our parents die, but none of us have had our father murdered when we were infants, and having to watch our mother die, nor were we ever tortured. I do know that being five and strapped to a table with enough electric currents running through your body to kill a grown man, and being the last survivor of a dead race, and then never being talked to is enough reason to be in love."
"You know nothing about Cloud," Cid said, still trying to be right.
"I was filled in by a few party members. They are the same in different ways, and they deserve to be together."
She wiped the tears from her face and sat down on the couch.
Cid and Barret looked at each other, puzzled by her breakdown, and left that area of the room.
Yuffie, being able to pull herself away from Mike, snuck up the stairs to see if she could hear anything that may be able to be used against them.
She stuck her ear next to the door, waiting for the noises she knew would be there. When she heard none, she pushed the door open a crack. She peered into the room, expecting to see an unfamiliar yet familiar sight.
"What the hell?" she asked herself.
She was not greeted by the sight she was expecting, but another equally shocking sight. In the center of Aeris' bedroom were Cloud and Aeris playing Twister, Cloud balancing himself on one foot, trying to keep himself from falling on Aeris, who was trying to keep her balance and push the spinner with her foot.
"Right foot blue!"
Cloud easily found his balance, but Aeris had a little more difficulty reaching it. He was now the official spinner. He called right hand yellow and left hand green, turning her to face him.
Another color was called, positioning him just right to see down the front of her dress.
He looked down and smiled.
"Hmmm...nice!"
She looked up at him, surprised.
"Cloud!"
She went to cover her chest, but fell to the floor, losing her balance after she realized it took both hands to cover herself.
She kicked him and he fell to the floor, with a loud thud, and scream of pain because he realized he had fallen on her.
"Well, this is nice," she said, pulling her hands from behind her back.
"It is!" Cloud said smiling, running his hand up her length. He stopped at her shoulders. "I could get used to this."
He lowered his face to hers, but she smiled, and rolled him off.
"Hey now, none of that!" she said, still smiling.
"What?" he said, laying next to her.
"Maybe those wine coolers were a bad idea."
"Maybe...but then I couldn't do this!"
He poked her. She jumped, giggled, and elbowed him. It continued for a while, and once again, got serious.
"Well, so much for playing Twister," Yuffie said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
She watched the scene in front of her deepen, and quietly shut the door before heading down the stairs.
*20 Minutes Later*
The door to her bedroom opened. Cloud stood in the doorway, breathing in the cool air from the hallway. He rested his head on the doorjamb just as Vincent made his way up the stairs.
"Jeez. What happened to you?" he asked as he reached the room. "You look like spent the last twenty minutes going at it."
"We were playing Twister," Cloud replied, still panting.
"Twister, my ass!" Vincent exclaimed, looking past Cloud into the room. "Last time I checked, Twister didn't involve a half-naked flower girl."
"I guess I can't lie to you. But we originally started playing Twister." He paused. "Whaddya say we challenge you?"
"To a game of Twister?"
Vincent looked disgusted.
"Come on Vincent," Aeris pleaded.
"Jeez, it's a game of Twister, not a threesome!" Cloud finally yelled.
Vincent looked at them strangely before heading to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
"Sure...and it will NOT escalate into anything else!" he said, glancing back into the room where fogged mirrors revealed more than his friend did.
Cloud walked back into the room, door partially open, to let the air flow through.
"Shit," he said, sitting down next to Aeris, who was busy pulling the top part of her dress back on.
"What's wrong with playing a game of Twister?" she asked, getting up and walking towards her dresser. Cloud got up and followed her.
"I guess it couldn't hurt," he said, putting his hands around waist and resting his chin on her on her head while she rummaged through her dresser for another pair of clothes.
She settled on a pair of navy loose-fitting jeans and a green variegated sweater. She quickly changed and turned to him. She motioned to him to clean a bit while she switched from her usual braid to a plain ponytail.
Vincent walked back to her room and hesitantly looked through the door crack. When he saw nothing, he entered.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered.
"Aw, come on, it'll be fun!" Aeris said, turning to face him.
"Wow, Aeris you look so...so..."
"Normal?" she questioned.
"Hmm...no, different."
"Yeah, well, I DO have a wardrobe you know!" she said, smiling. "Ready to play?"
"That's why I'm here."
"OK, I'll start by spinning this then."
Thus began the game. The group upstairs had an interesting time trying to balance, and the group downstairs had an interesting time trying to figure out the thuds and the yells from the room above them, and just where did Vincent disappear off too?
Upstairs he sat, spinner in hand, watching what otherwise would have been kinky sex if it it hadn't been Twister. He wondered how he got suckered into the deal in the first place, and sighed as he called out a color and foot position.
Cloud fell and sacrificed his turn. Vincent reluctantly took his place. He sighed heavily before Cloud called out the position.
"Don't you ever have any fun?" Aeris asked Vincent as he followed along.
"Not in the last five years," he replied.
"Five years?" she asked. "So, the nightmare is over. Your cold interior can break now."
"I don't know how to have fun anymore...I never had any reason to before, and now feel a little out of place. I'm not quite sure why it's important I play Twister with you, especially considering I'm pretty sure the game was just a device to get you two closer to each other, although I'm not sure why you really need it, since you seem pretty close anyway."
He stepped off the mat. Aeris just looked at him, and after turning a bright shade of red, shrugged. Cloud looked up from the spinner. Vincent had a point, from what he saw, and what he was now participating in, he found the missing piece. They had planned it to be like the Scrabble game, only forgot Twister was more physical. That never worked, if they were anywhere near each other.
He threw the spinner and got up, pacing as he once used to. Aeris got up and stood at his side, Vincent plopped on his back and looked at the ceiling. This sucked, so much for trying to explain the hardness of his heart to those two mushballs.
He punched the floor, got up, and left the room.
He almost fell down the steps at the shock of the sight of Sephiroth playing poker with Cid, Yuffie, Mike, DJ Tim, Tifa, and that attractive woman from before.
"What the hell is going on here?" Vincent yelled, catching the attention of the poker players in the middle of the room.
"Hello Vince. Long time no see," Sephiroth said, looking up from his hand of cards.
Vincent wiped the sweatdrop from his forehead and continued on.
"What the hell is wrong with you all? Don't you realize who your poker buddy is?"
"Exactly," Cid said, puffing away. "He came in, grabbed a beer, pulled a deck of cards from somewhere, and sat down."
"I think I'm going to be sick. I need some fresh air," he said, running outside.
"Jeez, what's with him?" Yuffie asked.
Sephiroth shrugged and held out his hand, showing the players he won again.
Vincent ran to the window that led to Aeris' room. He looked around for a rock, and when he found one, threw it at the window, getting the couples attention.
"Vincent, what is it?" Aeris asked, opening the window.
"Sephiroth is here!" he half-yelled. still a little out of breath.
"What?!" she asked.
"Sephiroth is here!"
"That's impossible!" Cloud yelled. "We killed him a couple hour ago. I remember. Cid threw him over the waterfall."
"He's downstairs playing poker with Cid, Yuffie, Mike, DJ Tim, Tifa, and that woman you were talking to earlier!"
A sweatdrop appeared above Aeris' forehead and Cloud fainted. She left him lay there, knowing he'd be down in a couple minutes anyway. She snuck down the steps, as not to disturb the card players. Peering past the wall sat Sephiroth, surrounded by his new poker buddies. She did not conceal her location well enough before Yuffie saw her and waved violently. She beat her forehead with her palm.
"Hi Aeris!" she exclaimed, causing everyone to turn around to face her.
She secretly wished she'd brought that rock that Vincent threw at them with her so she could smack Yuffie with it.
"I see you decided to join us. What, the threesome get boring?" Sephiroth asked, smiling before shuffling the deck.
"How did you get here?" she asked of him.
"The door."
"No smart ass, I mean how did you get here?"
"Same way you got here. Life2."
"You were..." she stopped. It was pointless to argue with him, since he had a way with words anyway.
"Who let you in?" she asked instead.
"Your mother, I believe. I knocked on the door, she opened it, and sat down with the people who wanted to play cards."
He looked among the group.
"Anyone for a game of strip poker?" he asked, smirking.
The protests told him it was a good idea.
"OK. I'm sorry I brought it up."
"What the hell is he doing here?" Cloud asked, running down the stairs.
"Whatever I want." he answered, without skipping a beat.
"Why are my friends suddenly his minions?"
"That's a good question, to which I have no answer," she told him.
"Oh, and by the way," Sephy interrupted. "I'll give you the money to fix that window."
"I need some Prozac, or a stiff drink or something," he said, sitting on the steps.
"No Cloud, you DON'T need a strong drink, unless we want another escapade like what happened upstairs...not like I wouldn't mind," she said, joining him on the step. "Maybe we all will need some good psychiatric help after this is over."
"Ha ha! Royal flush!" Cid said, throwing his hand down.
"Dammit! I lost again!" Sephy said, throwing his cards at Cid.
"You know, Cloud just raised a good question," Tifa interjected. "Just what happened to you to make us trust you?"
Sephiroth sat there, a puzzled look on his face. He knew it was coming, but he couldn't read minds, so he just had to guess.
"I did some thinking, before I was revived. Did killing Aeris really get me anywhere? Obviously not, since she's sitting over there consoling failure boy, alive as the day is long. And, killing her made her even more of a hero. I came to the realization that the voice in my head isn't the planet at all, just that damn being I thought was my mother. Turns out Hojo did some experiments on me before I was born, and boom, here I am thinking I'm an Ancient. One wrong voice screws someone up for life."
"Thanks for the lecture, but that's not what we wanted to know," Yuffie broke in. "Why are you here, and why aren't you trying to kill us?"
"I don't really know that," he began. "But I do know I found my mind again, while floating in that green nothingness. Jeez, is that ever boring. I don't expect you all to like me, but I thought I could at least pay you back."
"Pay you back?!" Cloud yelled, standing. "Unless you can bring back all our friends you killed that day, you can never pay us back!"
Aeris pulled him back.
"He's going slightly mad..." Cid started.
"No, you see, he IS slightly mad," Sephiroth interjected, tossing two chips into the pile. "And he needs a good therapy session like I had floating in that nothingness."
He set his cards down and stood up, looking for his masamune.
"I know I put that thing somewhere," he said, looking around.
"Well, I'll have to kill him later," Sephy said, shrugging when he couldn't find it.
He sat back down and picked up his cards. Vincent walked back in, having gone on his walk to organize his thoughts.
"By the way," Sephy said, looking up from his winning hand to Yuffie and Mike. "It would be nice for you two to join us instead of making out every five seconds!"
Mike giggled girlishly, and Yuffie half-smiled, blushing slightly and holding up a wine cooler bottle. Cid and Tim rolled their eyes while Cloud and Vincent made gagging noises.
"So...how much do I owe you?" Cid asked, after Sephiroth won the last hand.
"800," Sephy said, collecting all the chips.
"Damn, that cleans me," Cid said, digging around his pockets for money.
Sephiroth smiled evilly (as usual) and motioned for everyone to hand over the money they lost to him.
"That means all the materia you have PLUS what you stole from me when I walked in," he informed Yuffie.
He held out his hand. She gulped and reluctantly handed over all her materia.
"Thank you." he said smiling, pocketing the materia.
"I thought this poker game was a bad idea," Tifa muttered, while counting out money.
"Ha ha! I've gotten all you money, NOW I can leave!" he said, standing up.
"Wait a minute!" Vincent said. "You came here, played nice, allowed people to trust you, only to take off with all our money?"
Sephiroth paused for a moment before turning to face Vincent.
"I learned it from my evil poker buddies....hehehehe..See you." he said, walking toward the door.
"Hold it!" Barret said, standing in front of the door.
"We're not letting you leave until we get some answers."
"Get outta my way," Sephy said, sheathing his sword.
"No, I'm not letting you leave," Barret said, arm in front of him.
"Very well," he said, levitating himself.
He flew above them and disappeared before flying through the wall.
Everyone in the room looked on in confusion.
"Damn him!" Cid spat. "That bastard!"
Angrily he got up, realizing there was nothing he could do about getting the money back. He walked towards the kitchen, planning to raid the fridge. He passed Aeris, Cloud and Vincent, where he was stopped.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"The kitchen," he replied promptly.
"Why?" she questioned.
"Because I'm hungry."
"It's off limits."
"So?" he asked, walking past her, into the kitchen.
"OK then," she said, preparing herself. "Feel the wrath of the flower girl!"
He turned around.
"Feel the ass of the flower girl? OK!"
He reached out and grabbed her butt.
"HEY!" she said, swinging her rod with all her might.
He hit the ground.
"Ow!" he yelled. "My ass!"
Everyone in the general vicinity stopped what they were doing and laughed at him.
"I told you it was off limits!" she said, grinning at him and turning to Cloud.
They noticed the night was drawing to a close. Some people left, most slept, and two people by the steps looked at each other. After a few brief words, they left Vincent by the steps, and Cid, still sitting where he had fallen. Hand in hand, they walked up the steps towards her room. Before he closed the door, he whispered in her ear.
"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't' mind...How wonderful life is, now you're in the world."
Smiling, he drew her close and kissed her. Meanwhile, a certain red lion watched the door close, and knew that this night would be another one to remember.
~end transmission~
Part 2 Song Credits:
Another Suitcase in Another Hall
Words and Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Without You
Words and Music: Jonathan Larson
1996
No Day But Today
Words and Music: Jonathan Larson
1996
Good Enough
Words and Music: Sarah McLauchlin
1998
I'm Going Slightly Mad
Words and Music: Freddie Mercury
1992
Your Song
Words and Music: Elton John
Renewed Copyright: 2001
Hold On
Words and Music: Sarah McLauchlin
1998
All songs used without permission.