From deep within the confines of the twisted psyche that brought you "Blame the Fates" comes another twisted tale about a pairing that shouldn't be.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer – Don't own a thing. It's all Square and/or Disney.
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Sora walked along the cobblestone paths of Traverse Town with his two companions. They had just returned from another death-defying adventure sealing another one of the worlds and rescuing it from the Heartless. They had been doing this for days now or was it months? He couldn't tell. Time was so strange in these parts.
Needless to say, he was getting tired. He still wasn't fully aware why he, of all people, was chosen to be the Keyblade master. Riku could have been a better choice, but he had to go and sell out to the darkness. What about other people on Destiny Islands? He remembered Leon wondering why he hadn't been chosen. Just what made Sora so special?
Sora heaved a sigh. Thinking about unanswered questions would only give him headaches.
"What's the matter, Sora?" asked Goofy, noticing Sora's depressed expression. Sora forced a smile.
"Nothing. I was just hoping Riku and Kairi were okay."
"I'm sure they are. Remember, only smiles on this adventure." The dog said happily. Donald rolled his eyes at Goofy's lame philosophy.
"Come on, we need to hurry and restock on supplies so we can continue our mission." Said the duck. They were at the steps in front of the Accessory Shop now. Sora sat down, elbows on his knees, resting his head between his palms.
"You guys go on without me. I'll just wait here."
"You sure you're okay?" Goofy asked, making sure. Sora nodded. The two animals looked at each other, shrugged, and left him alone.
Sora sighed again, wishing he were back home. He enjoyed having the adventure he and Riku dreamed about since they were little, but this was becoming a little too much. How much longer would he have to stay here? What if he couldn't succeed?
Sora buried his face in his hands. It was happening again. His uncertainty.
A soft hand was placed on his shoulder. He assumed it was Goofy and looked up to glare at the owner of that hand, but instead of a dog's face, he saw a pretty face with emerald green eyes. He recognized this face and softened his glare.
"Are you okay, Sora?" Aerith asked softly, sitting next to him. "You look troubled."
"Yeah, I'm okay. It's nothing." Sora lied and Aerith could tell.
"You know, I'm quite a good listener," she said, "I'd love to hear what you have to say."
Sora looked at her and blinked.
"You would?"
Aerith smiled her sweet smile and replied, "Of course I would." A thin veil of red spread across Sora's cheeks.
"Well," Sora said, looking away, "I was just thinking about what made me special enough to be chosen as the Keyblade Master. I'm no different from my friends. I don't have any real special skills. I'm just…average. And I miss the days back on my island. I know I wanted to see other worlds, but…not like this. Not when everyone's survival is hanging by a thread. Not with everything depending on me and if I screw up, it's curtains for everyone. I'm just not sure if I can handle such a burden. Why me of all people anyway? Why me?"
Sora looked down distraught. "I'm not sure if I can do it."
Aerith put her arm around the young teen. "Don't be like that," she comforted, "Yes, you're our only hope. You hold the key to our survival. But that responsibility isn't something that anyone can handle. Only certain people, special people. Those with hearts as pure as gold, burning with the intensity of every light, can save us. There's a reason you were chosen, Sora. You should embrace that and make the best of it. Live up to your full potential and release us all from the darkness. Only you can do that, Sora, no one else. You're special that way. Nobody else will ever come close to you."
Sora looked into Aerith's smiling eyes. "You…mean that."
"If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say it." she answered.
"I know that. I was stating that…you meant that. Every word."
Aerith lightly brushed Sora's bangs from his forehead, giving the brunet a chance to feel her tantalizing touch.
"Yeah, I do." She said softly. Sora noticed the older girl had a basket of flowers in other hand.
"What are you carrying that for?" he asked.
"Oh, this?" Aerith raised the basket. "I'm just wandering the streets selling flowers. It's…what I used to do, back in my world. I thought it would bring me good memories."
"I-I'd like to buy one." Sora stammered. Aerith's eyes lit up.
"Really? Thank you. It's only one munny."
Sora reached into his pocket and brought out a shiny white sphere and gave it to her. She giggled lightly.
"Thank you for your patronage. It's very much appreciated." She handed him a lovely white flower, then got up.
"It was great talking to you." Sora said sincerely. Aerith slid her fingers through her brown bangs and smiled.
"I love listening to you, Sora. If you have any problems, just come see me. You know where to find me, right?"
Sora nodded and watched as she walked away into the city night. She was very pretty, he admitted. And the way she spoke to him…a girl had never spoken to him that way before. With such sincerity, such affection, such…love.
Hold on. Was that it? Was he falling in love?
No, it couldn't be. It was far too early to tell.
But he did like Aerith a lot. She, Leon, and Yuffie were great people to be around. But the intimate conversation he had with her, she couldn't have been like that to everyone, right? There was something between them, he was sure of it.
He took a whiff of the flower. Never had one smelled so wonderful.
"Uh-hyuk, we're back!" bellowed Goofy from behind. Sora barely looked up from his daze.
"Huh? Wha?"
"We've got enough Hi-Potions to last us a while, provided that," Donald turned to glare at Goofy, "someone doesn't keep using them during petty battles when we've only got a scratch."
Goofy chuckled nervously. "So ready to go find Kairi and Riku?" he asked Sora.
"Who and whatshisface? Uh, right, um, whatever, sure."
"Hey now, what did we say? Only smiles!" Goofy said cheerfully.
"If I have to hear that stupid phrase one more time…" Donald threatened. Sora ignored the bickering of his two partners. Now his thoughts weren't only of getting his friends back, but also of a certain flower girl who had danced her way into his heart.
***
It was tough, but the trio of fighters managed to seal the world called Atlantis. It was kind of fun, being a dolphin-boy swimming in the waters, but it ultimately got annoying and Sora soon couldn't wait to get out of there. Soon enough, after bashing Ursula's face in, they sealed the world and were off in the Gummi Ship.
"Uh-hyuk, Ursula sure was a witch, wasn't she?" said Goofy from the back seat, attempting to make conversation. Donald was controlling the ship with Sora in the passenger seat.
"Oh, she was definitely a witch. Though I'd think replacing the 'w' with a 'b' would be far more suiting." Donald cackled at his own joke and nudged Sora. "Get it? Replace the 'w' in 'witch' with a 'b'. See what you get?"
But Sora wasn't paying attention. He was picking the petals off his flower, eyes glistening, quietly muttering, "Loves me, loves me not, loves me, loves me not…"
Donald huffed.
"Okay, fine, be that way. Let's just get to the next world and finish this."
"But wait!" Sora said, now giving Donald his attention. "What about supplies? Don't we need Hi-Potions and Ethers?"
Donald shook his head. "We have more than enough."
"What about new accessories or weapons? You're magic staff looks bent." Sora prodded.
"If it's bent, it'll be because I smashed it over your head for not shutting up." Donald said icily.
"But, uh," Sora desperately searched around the ship and spotted the flower in his hand, "I need a new flower! See? Its petals are gone! We're heading back to Traverse Town!"
"What the?!" the waterfowl cried. Sora dove for the controls and kicked the poor duck off the chair causing Donald to let out a stream of curses in his squawky voice.
Sora steered the Gummi Ship back to Traverse Town, glad for an opportunity to see her again.
***
"You better have a good reason for bringing us back here." Donald warned as they passed through the doors into the First District.
"I'm sure Sora has a very good reason, right Sora?" Goofy asked.
"Huh? Uh, sure. Listen you guys go on ahead. I got some business in the Third District to take care of." Sora said.
"Go on ahead and do what? You're the one who brought us here!" Donald pointed out.
"Great! Glad you guys understand!" Sora took off into the city, leaving his two companions confused.
"It's not just me, is it?" Donald said, followed by an exasperated sigh. "He's really just a moron."
Sora heard that, but chose not to bother. Donald didn't matter at the moment. What mattered right now was seeing Aerith again.
After tearing through the doors to the Third District, he looked around for that small house Aerith occupied with Leon and Yuffie. Once he found it, he walked up to it and started to push the door open. He placed his hand on the door, and then hesitantly pulled it back. Shaking his head, he shoved the door open and walked inside.
"H-Hello?" he asked timidly. Aerith was sitting at a table, reading a book, quietly sipping a cup of tea. She looked up and noticed the brunette, flashing him a smile.
"Sora! What are you doing here?"
"I, um, wanted to see you." His hands were slightly shaking and his throat was feeling a bit dry. She's making me nervous. That's a sign, isn't it?
"Oh really? Well, it's always a pleasure to see your face," Aerith said politely, setting her book down and making eye contact.
There's no way she could say that to anyone. Could she be coming on to me?
"I wanted to talk to you about my day. I've been having some…thoughts, I guess."
"Talk to me then. I want to hear all about it."
Sora sat down at the table and looked at her, then immediately darted his eyes away from hers. The classic butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling was rearing its ugly head.
"Well, we just came back from Atlantis. It was one of the most beautiful worlds I've seen. So imaginative, and the people there were actual mermaids. I've only heard about them in fairy tales. I had no idea they were real!"
Sora told her all about his adventure there and everything that went through his mind. It was so nice talking to her, yet uncomfortable at the same time. He liked being around Aerith yet she still made him nervous. How could that be, he wondered. Maybe he was falling in love for her after all. Or was it still too early to tell?
He noticed Aerith was attentive towards him. There's no way she could be interested in his mindless blather.
"I-I-I'm not boring you, am I?" he asked tensely. Aerith shook her head.
"You're an interesting person. I like listening to you talk."
"But I'm sure you're much more interesting," Sora said, "W-Why don't you tell me a-about your day?"
Aerith blushed slightly and shook her head. "There's nothing to note about today. It was very dull. Why do you think I'm inside reading a book?"
Sora chuckled in response to the flower girl's giggle. "Then," Sora continued, "How about telling me about yourself? I mean, there's so much I'd like to know and you've been listening to me so much I figure you must have something to say as well."
Aerith blinked. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't told the keyblade master much about herself or where she came from. It didn't help that she didn't remember much either.
So to the best of her abilities, she recalled everything and opened up to Sora. The young teen folded his arms over the table and rested his head on them, staring innocently at the lovely brunette before him. Not only was she a good listener, but an excellent speaker too. Sure, she stuttered a few times, and kept pausing every now and then, but that didn't matter to Sora. He just wanted to listen to her melodic voice. It's too bad it couldn't keep one hundred percent of his attention since he was fixated on her face. Such a nice face, decorated with creamy, white, porcelain skin and emerald green eyes. And her nose was real cute, and her lovely lips…what was it like to kiss those lips, he had to wonder. Was it as sweet as they looked?
His eyes trailed down from her face to her neck. What was it like to kiss that neck? Then from her neck, his eyes trailed downward toward her torso. A specific part of her torso. A rather nice part of her torso.
Sora mentally slapped himself. Whoa! I can't believe I thought of her like that! She's the first girl I ever thought of like that! Now he was kind of scared.
"Sora, would you like some tea?" Aerith offered. Sora looked up and blushed. She hadn't seen him staring at her there, had she?
"What was that?"
"I asked if you would like some tea."
"Oh sure, I'd love you, er, to, I mean, I'd love for you to. Get me the tea, that is," Sora stuttered. Aerith got up, smiled, and left for the kitchen.
Sora sighed lovingly. Maybe this was it, he thought to himself. He felt like how they said he would, "they" being the countless stories he heard.
He heard stifles of laughter coming from behind and froze. He turned around and saw Leon and Yuffie standing behind him, cracking smiles. Where did they come from and how long had they been standing there?
Leon had his hand over his mouth, trying his best to contain his laughter. But to no avail. Leon's laugh was getting harder and harder until he had to turn around and pound the wall from laughing so hard. Yuffie was all ready to start the teasing.
"I wanted to se~e you," she mimicked in a high voice, clutching her hands together. "I wanted to ta~lk. You're so interes~ting and love~ly and, might I add, hot?" She batted her eyelashes causing Sora to grind his teeth angrily. Leon's laughter was booming now. Yuffie turned to the older brunette and said mockingly, "I'd love for you to make some tea almost as much as I love you! Let's get married and have dozens of kids 'cause we are meant to be!"
Leon collapsed on the floor, clutching his sides, barking out laughter. His eyes were tearing as Yuffie continued her teasing until she, too, collapsed in a fit of giggles, all over Leon.
"Real mature," Sora grumbled, "Besides it's not what you think." But the pair wasn't listening and continued laughing so hard, their guts could've exploded. Sora shot up from his seat. "Stop that! It isn't funny." Finally becoming frustrated he yelled, "You guys suck!" and stormed out of the house, but not before saying, "Tell Aerith I'll see her later and that Donald forced me to leave or something. Jerks."
The young keyblade master set foot outside the house and glared in its direction.
"Those guys have obviously never been in love." Sora muttered. He was convinced that he was in love with Aerith, now, and that he could possibly win her heart, if he hasn't already.
"There you are!" called Goofy, walking up to him with Donald no too far behind. "Didja get yer flower?"
Sora looked back at the house and sighed. He could still hear the laughing.
"No, we'll have to come back. Let's just continue our search for my friends and your king."
"Finally." Donald muttered. Sora and his two companions trotted toward the First District and to the World Exit. Sora decided he needed to refocus his attention back to saving Riku, finding Kairi, and stopping the Heartless, since he still considered that of utmost importance. But his thoughts kept drifting back to Aerith and her features. She was always so nice when talking to him, but Sora was starting to get tired of talking. He was ready for action. Of course, he didn't really understand what he meant by "action" but he did want to start seeing if his "love" for her was real. Once they got back from the other world, he'd see.
***
Another day gone by and another world sealed. This time, they were low on items so Donald wasn't against returning to Traverse Town.
"You guys don't mind if I break off from you again, do ya?" Sora asked, once they were in front of the stairs leading to the higher level of the city. Donald and Goofy looked at each other.
"No, I guess not. We'll meet up with you later." Said the duck. Sora nodded and ran back to the house in the Third District. He opened the door and saw Leon, leaning against the wall, arms folded and eyes closed. As usual.
Sora paused before asking him where Aerith was, since he didn't want to remind him of yesterday. So he tried to make it look like he was just here for a friendly visit.
But before Sora could open his mouth, Leon said plainly, "Aerith's not here."
Sora blinked confusedly. He decided not to bother asking how the man knew it was him, since he knew he wouldn't answer.
Leon opened one eye and directed toward the young teen, half-smiling.
"I'd like to thank you for yesterday. Hadn't had a good laugh like that in a long time."
Sora curled up his bottom lip into a cute pout. "Yeah, well, you still suck."
Leon sniggered. "You won't find Aerith here. She went out with Yuffie and won't be back for a long time."
"She went out with Yuffie?" Sora repeated. Leon nodded. "She went out with Yuffie?" Sora repeated again, this time a bit more fearfully.
"That's what I said." Leon said, slightly annoyed. Sora fell to his knees and slammed his fist to the floor.
"Oh, man, I can't believe this! The first girl I ever fell in love with swings the other way!" he moaned. Leon raised an eyebrow.
"Did I say that?"
"Yeah, you said she went out with Yuffie!"
Leon rolled his eyes. "To go shopping, not on a date." The tall man walked up to Sora and brought him up back to his feet, mumbling "Baka."
"Oh, uh, heh, I knew that."
"So you're that paranoid about losing her, huh?" Leon observed. A thought struck Sora. Wouldn't Leon be the best person to talk to right now? A real man-to-man conversation would be helpful in figuring out his feelings.
"Yeah. I think I've got it bad for her," Sora said lightly chuckling. Leon scratched his chin.
"It would appear so. I would have never thought of you falling for her, though. Thought you were more interested in your friends."
"I am. I mean Riku and Kairi are still very important to me. But for some reason, when I try to think of my responsibility as the wielder of the keyblade, I can't help my little angel of love." Sora said dreamily. Leon rubbed his brows.
"Angel of love? Oh, God, I better end this quick."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked, still partly in his dream world. Leon sighed.
"Sora, I can't let you fall in love with Aerith."
"Why not?" Sora demanded.
"She already has a lover."
Sora's eyes widened with shock. He wanted to say he was kidding, but he knew he wasn't. Aerith was too beautiful to not have already been taken. Probably someone better and closer to her age than him, too. Sora pouted sadly.
"It's true," Leon continued. "So it's best if you don't go near her again, if you want to save yourself from the heartache."
"Not see her again? Why would you say that?" Sora asked. Then it dawned on him. His blue eyes narrowed until they became sharp daggers, thrown at the older brunette.
"You," he said coldly, "This lover is you, isn't it?!"
Leon cocked an eyebrow. "Come again?"
Sora's keyblade materialized into his hand as he thrusted it at Leon. "And I bet you're lying too! You just haven't made a move yet, that's it! Well I'll show you! I'll get to Aerith first and make you cry, you freaking pretty boy!"
"Fool," Leon spat. He always had a low tolerance for stupidity and Sora was starting to reach lofty heights. "I'm not Aerith's lover. Some guy named Cloud is."
Sora blinked, his rage subsiding. "C-Cloud?"
"Yeah, she's always talking about him. She's waiting for him and he's probably waiting for her. I don't think it'd be wise for you to get between that."
Sora cast his eyes downward, frowning. He couldn't accept that his love was now rendered unrequited. A small tear nestled in his eye, but he quickly brushed it away.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find another girl in your lifetime." Leon stated.
"But what if I don't find another girl?" Sora asked. Leon shrugged.
"Then look for a boy."
"What?!"
"You do talk about that Riku kid a lot."
"WHAT?!"
"I'm just saying sometimes you make me wonder about you. You do like him a-"
"Deep Freeze!!!"
Ice magic shot from Sora's keyblade and hit Leon squarely in the chest, encasing him in a block of ice. Sora huffed and said, "Thanks Leon. I'm glad we had this talk. Tell Aerith and Yuffie I said hi." Once Sora left, Cid walked inside snickering.
"Well, Squall, it looks like ya might want t' avoid pissin' Sora off if he makes ya frozen with fear." He cackled.
"Shut…up…old…man," Leon muttered through clenched, frozen teeth.
***
Sora tapped a finger to his chin, thinking about this Cloud character. Where had he heard that name before?
He, Donald, and Goofy were back in the Gummi ship, ready to tackle next world. Sora knew he should be thinking about that, but Aerith was constantly in the back of his mind. He now couldn't get her out of his head. And it was worse than ever before, because some joke named Cloud was thrown into the mix. Somebody she loved and this somebody wasn't him!
Donald was grumbling as he was shooting down giant space rocks blocking their path while Goofy whistled "The Mickey Mouse Club March" much to Sora's annoyance.
"Goofy, could you quit that for a second?" Sora grumbled.
"Somethin' the matter?" Goofy asked, noticing Sora's tone of voice.
"I'm trying to think about where I heard the name 'Cloud' before."
"Ya' mean them fluffy white things in the sky?" Goofy suggested to which Donald rolled his eyes thinking it was obvious.
Sora paused.
"Wait a minute," he said, "Clouds are those fluffy white things in the sky. And the skies are what we soar through using the Gummi Ship. The Gummi Ship takes us to other worlds where we liberate them from the Heartless. The Heartless cause torment, pain, and strife. And 'Strife' is the last name of that guy named Cloud at the Coliseum!"
"Wow, Sora! You must be awfully smart to make such a brilliant deduction!" Donald said sarcastically. Sora glared at him, then grabbed the controls.
"What do you think you're doing?" the duck demanded.
"We're going to the Coliseum!" Sora said defiantly.
"No we're not!" The duck fought for the controls with Sora, climbing over him with Sora fighting back, making it look like a bad wrestling match.
Goofy shook his head and sighed. The irony that he was supposedly the least smart out of all of them, yet the most in control with their objectives with Sora and Donald constantly bickering like fools, was all too clear.
"Yes we are!" Sora continued.
"No we're not!" Donald fought back.
"Yes we are!"
"No we're not!"
"White-feathered loser!"
"Spiky-haired numbskull!"
"Stupid bird!"
"Learn to use a comb!"
"We're going to the Coliseum, dammit!"
"Over! My! Dead! BODY!!!"
***
"Gee, I hope that wasn't a promotion of your death, Donald." Goofy joked as the trio walked through the Coliseum gates.
"Shut up. And it's 'premonition', ya big palooka." The mage grumbled. Being a stubborn young teenager helped Sora outlast the adult Donald in their heated argument. Goofy actually applauded since Donald was the most stubborn person he knew and couldn't lose a single argument back at Disney Kingdom. Ever.
Donald muttered that he hated them both.
Sora shielded his eyes from the scorching sun of the Coliseum. In the corner, he spotted the man he was looking for.
Cloud Strife was sitting with his back against his large Buster Sword, which was planted firmly in the ground. He took out a canteen from his belt and took a long sip. After setting it back down, he was welcomed by the sight of that spiky-haired brunette kid with the keyblade and his two weird-looking companions standing before him.
Actually, "welcomed" was an overstatement.
Sora took out his keyblade and aimed it at the blond ex-SOLDIER.
"Remember a while ago, I asked if we could duel again with no dark powers involved?"
Cloud nodded. "And I could have sworn I said I would pass."
"Unacceptable!"
Cloud raised his eyebrow at Sora's keyblade, which stood a couple millimeters from his face.
"Kid, I don't think you want to go there." Cloud warned with a threatening tone, but Sora was too blind to notice or even care.
"You and I will settle this like gentlemen!" Sora hoisted the keyblade on his shoulder. "Now, to the arena where we shall fight for her lovely hand. If you back out, you forfeit and I remain the victor. Come on." Sora walked through the lobby doors leaving the other three to cast curious glances at his direction.
Cloud wasn't sure if he could raise his eyebrow any higher.
Donald sighed.
"Just humor him until he gets the stupid out of his system, okay?" the duck mumbled as he followed the young keyblade master.
***
Cloud and Sora stood on opposite ends of the arena brandishing their blades. Goofy and Donald were on the sidelines; Goofy watching curiously while Donald kicked back and pulled his hat over his eyes.
"Let's make this quick." Cloud called out, "I want to go back to brooding."
"Sure, you can wallow in all the angst you want after I win." Sora smirked. Cloud sighed and rolled his eyes. He held back the last time they fought, but now he just wanted to beat the kid senseless. He would be doing him a favor, he believed.
Sora, however, thought otherwise. He was completely blinded by love at this point and believed beating Cloud would be the key the Aerith's heart.
It was time to start the duel. Sora started by inflicting Cloud's own "Sonic" attack upon him, but Cloud quickly brought his sword in front of him to block it. Sora jumped back and swung his keyblade, in hopes of striking Cloud, but the blond countered by bringing his own sword to meet with Sora's keyblade. After a few second of clinging to each other, their blades withdrew then clashed some more.
Cloud was surprised Sora was that serious about this. Their swords were causing sparks to fly as they were going at it and the young teen had significantly improved since they last fought.
He didn't even understand the whole point of this duel. What was Sora thinking?
Sora jabbed his keyblade at Cloud's left flank. The blond swerved right and brought the blunt side of his blade to Sora's neck. The brown-haired youth ducked and swung his keyblade at Cloud's knees.
Cloud jumped back and yelled, "Sora, this is wasting my time! It's pointless!"
Sora snorted. "Pointless? You would call Aerith pointless? Ha!"
Cloud froze. Did he just say…Aerith?
Sora used this opportunity to unleash Strike Raid and knocked Cloud off his feet. Cloud steadily got up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Time out!" he called. Sora held up his keyblade and grunted.
"For what?" he yelled back.
"Aerith…when you say Aerith, are you talking about Aerith Gainsborough?"
Sora nodded. Cloud pointed his sword downward and drove it into the ground. "Come here!" he commanded. Sora narrowed his eyes and obeyed.
As soon as they were close together, they looked each other in their soft, sky-blue eyes.
"How do you know Aerith?" he asked, softly. Sora noticed Cloud's change in attitude. No longer was he speaking like he couldn't care less or some other dark tone. But rather a soft, subdued, human one. His eyes that were cold and distant like stars were now gleaming with…hope, was it?
Exactly how much did Aerith mean to him?
"I…met her in Traverse Town. After my world was taken by the Heartless, she was one of the first people to help me out."
"So she's…alive…"Cloud said, still softly. He blinked away a few tears that were forming.
"She certainly seemed so." Sora continued, his voice, now, getting softer. He could hear it in Cloud's voice that Aerith meant a lot to him. But Aerith meant a lot to Sora, too. Didn't she.
"Tell me…does she still have one long braid in her hair?" he asked timidly.
"Yeah."
"Does she still love flowers?"
"Yeah."
"Does she…still have the sweetest smile that warms your heart even on the coldest nights?"
Sora half-smiled at that one. "Yeah." He cast his eyes downward. "You must…have a long history with her."
"I…I do. She means more to me then you could ever hope to know."
"You…love her, don't you?" Sora tensed, knowing what would come next.
"………"
Sora blinked and looked up. Cloud had looked off to the side of him. He didn't answer.
Sora narrowed his brows. "Hey, answer! Do you love her?"
"…That's none of your business." was Cloud's response.
"Please, tell me. I want to know."
"Why should you?"
Sora bit his lip. "Because…I want to know what love is."
Cloud looked at him, a smile creeping across his lips.
"You? Why would you care about love? You're just a boy!"
"Because!" Sora nearly yelled, surprising Cloud. "I have every right to know what love is. And I'm not just a boy."
Cloud smirked.
"You're going to need a better reason than that."
"I'm in love with Aerith, okay!" Sora clamored. "There I said it!"
"You? And Aerith?" Cloud started to chuckle. Sora folded his arms and looked sideways, closing his eyes.
"Don't laugh," he said softly. "It's not funny."
Cloud ceased his chuckling. He placed his hands on Sora's shoulder. He took his clawed hand and lightly touched Sora's cheek, turning his head so he can look him in the eye. Sora opened his eyes and stared up at Cloud.
"Love can make you a fool. You do know that right?"
"Is that why you're not following it? Sorry, but I think that makes you the fool right there."
"Right. Following it makes you a fool. Ignoring it makes you a fool. It's a lose-lose situation. Everybody is love's fool."
"But what do I do?" Sora pleaded, taking Cloud's hand into his own. Cloud was taken aback by Sora's feminine gesture.
"Honestly? I don't know. I'm…not the best person to talk to about love."
"But…I loved your words."
"They aren't my own. They're all from people I knew who gave me advice when I needed it. Just like you. Beyond that, I'm useless when it comes to the subject."
"I don't think you were useless. I think you helped me out."
Cloud smiled. "Glad to hear it."
"Can you answer my question now? Do you love Aerith?"
A long pause surrounded them both, as they looked each other in the eyes, not moving a muscle. Finally, Cloud gave into his answer, his thoughts, and his feeling.
"Yes. Yes I do."
Sora smiled. "Thank you. I…needed to hear that."
Cloud let out a small laugh. "But you should want to kill me. We're both in love with the same girl."
Sora shook his head. "Me? No, it's just puppy love. A crush. Nothing more, nothing less. You, however, have something more. I…can't get in the way of that."
"You're wise beyond your years, kid. I commend you."
"So come on. Follow me to our gummi ship."
"Hn?"
"We have a reunion in store."
From the distant sidelines, Goofy and Donald could see the two warriors walking out of the arena. The dog wore a smile of satisfaction on his face.
"Good lord! That was the lamest fight ever!" Donald complained.
"Any you say I miss the point of everything. Gawrsh," Goofy chuckled.
***
Sora did it. He brought Cloud to Traverse Town where he was greeted with a huge hug from Yuffie, a light punch in the arm by Leon, a slap on the back by Cid, and a soft, passionate kiss by Aerith.
Sora watched the frivolity from afar. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous, but he knew he did the right thing. He loved Aerith very much. She wanted her to be happy. And if Cloud made her happier than anything else in the world, so be it.
He turned to his two companions.
"Well our work here is done. Let's head back." He said.
"I'm proud of ya, Sora." Goofy praised.
"Yeah, I'll admit. You did a good thing." Donald agreed. Sora feigned a smile.
"Thanks guys. That means a lot."
The two animals walked away with Sora following not so closely behind. He wasn't sure how long it would take to get over it, but he hoped it was soon. Heartache was painful.
"Sora! Wait!"
Sora looked back and saw Aerith running toward him. She caught up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I can't thank you enough for bringing him back to us…to me."
Sora smirked. "Hey, it was nothing. If I didn't find him, you probably would have."
"Perhaps." Aerith leaned in closer, just a few inches from his face. "But you willing to bring him back for us means a lot to me."
"You mean a lot to me, Aerith." Sora said unconsciously. He instantly regretted that. But Aerith smiled in response.
"I do love you, Sora." She said.
Yeah, but not in the way I would have liked. But I'll take what I can get.
"I love you, too, Aerith. I'd do anything for you. I just want you to be happy."
"And you've made me very happy. Thank you."
She kissed him on his cheek and stood up. Sora was speechless. She giggled. "I'll see you later, hon."
Sora cleared his throat. "Of course! See you later!" They waved to each other and went about their way. Goofy and Donald were waiting at the World Exit.
Donald scratched the back of his head.
"You know," the duck began, "we don't have to leave right away. We can stay and hang out with them a bit. If you want."
Sora shook his head and put on his game face. "No way! We've got more important stuff to do! We have to save Kairi, get Riku to come to his senses, find your king, and defeat the Heartless!"
Goofy and Donald glanced at each other happily and excitedly.
"Great!" clamored Donald.
"I'm glad you're taking this so well." Goofy said.
"Well, it's like you said Goofy: Only smiles!" Sora flashed a smile. Donald slammed a hand against his forehead.
"Oh brother." He groaned. But the trio laughed and went about their destiny, ready to take on the darkness and everything it would throw at them.
~*Owari*~
I guess some explanations are in order:
1) Sorry if I accidentally portrayed Aerith in a Mary Sue-ish light (curse them Mary Sues and OC pairings!), but this story is told from Sora's point of view 98% of the time and that's how he sees her. We all know our beautiful bishoujo has her flaws so don't penalize me please. ^_^;
2) Out Of Character characterizations. Aside from Sora's random bouts of idiocy, I tried to keep the characters in character.
3) Sora/Aerith pairing. What about it? Yeah, it's pretty unlikely, but a lot of KH couplings don't have a lot going for them. Cloud/Leon – where does this come from, besides them being two hot bishies? Leon/Yuffie – Let's admit it fans, them sharing a hotel room the game programmers just stuck them in is a pretty weak reason to say they're in love. Not even Cloud/Aerith would make sense to someone who's never played Final Fantasy VII before. Truthfully, the only pairings with anything that could ever be "considered" hints are Sora/Kairi, Riku/Kairi (ugh), Sora/Riku and Sora/Donald (You heard right! Replace Donald with a bishie and a lot of their interactions would resemble a lot of favorite yaoi pairings! Thanks Raiegki Reiko Leviathan!)
4) Why am I even discussing yaoi in this fic? Chances are, the yaoi crowd isn't even reading this since there's a lot that only read and write yaoi. Which I find kind of silly. We should all be able to enjoy all types of stories. But there are a lot of people who won't even touch yaoi stories. I'm probably scaring a lot by even acknowledging its existence.
Oh well. If you're part of the middle ground, give me a call. I'd like to know I'm not such a rare breed.
This End Author's Note had gone on long enough so if there's anything else you need to know, e-mail me. Don't forget to leave a review and have a good day/night.