Faded Dreams, Falling Like Rain

A Final Fantasy VII Fan Fiction by Sarah Digna Yudlowitz

Dream . . .

Dream of death . . .

Dream of moonlight . . .

Legal Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all of its characters belong to the company of Squaresoft. I do not claim these characters or the concept of the game for my own. This work is not to be distributed, sold, or posted anywhere without the consent of its author. Comments and encouragements are always welcomed, as they are a part of the enjoyment of writing Fan fiction. Please take this into consideration while you read the following fiction.

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The Author's note: Cloud needs some comforting that Vincent can't give him. But is it a mistake?

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Chapter Eighteen







Lilith sighed up at the stars and at the boat underneath her boots. She couldn't help but think of a flashback she had had recently, when the news that Profesor Gast had died was told to her and Sephiroth, even though they both knew, because of Sephiroth's vision. n that flashback, Vincent had come into the room, but Vincent was gone then . . . somewhere Sephiroth and Lilith didn't know where. Was she just remembering that need, to be sheltered by someone that she cared about. She cared about Sephiroth, butshe didn't know him. What was behind those glowing green makou eyes was a mystery to Lilith.

She tried to rwemember who had come into the room until revelation hit her. It had been Tseng. Tseng was rather cold, because he didn't know how to take care of children. When Sephiroth had recovered, Tseng came to Hojo, Sephiroth following him, expression grave. He told the scientist that President Shinra had installed Sephiroth in SOLDIER, and was no longer to be tested on. Sephiroth was twelve, as Tseng had stated. He was the youngest member of the military, and would do nicely, as he already had known how to use a sword, and how to fight. It was part of his experimentation. It was not a part of Lilith's, however.

After Sephiroth was gone, Lilith took his room. It was bigger, but not by much. Hojo was trying to make her show signs of taking to the Jenova cells again, something that Hojo hadn't been interested in doing for a long time. She forced herself not to cry as Hojo broke her arms, asking her how it felt with the added dosage of Jenova cells, and makou drugging. Her bones were broken before without them. She was never more angry than when he asked her how it felt. She withheld his precious information, and was beaten severely for doing so. She remained in the hospital for two weeks. No one came to see her. She cried in the privacy of the sterile white room for hours, because she had no comfort . . . no Sephiroth, no Vincent. She had at least kept herself busy watching how Sephiroth lived. She liked to watch him practice with martial arts. She liked to know what he was reading. She missed, most of all, Vincent's stories about the Midgar Slums. Lilith could never look out the window. Her neck was in a tight brace.

Lilith sighed again, and rummaged through her belongings. She had a flash lighte, a few tattered books, a blanket, and some gil. She chose one of the books, and started reading it. It was The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupery; her favorite childehood book. Then she heard something shift beside her. She looked up, to see that Cloud was awake. She looked at him. He had been staring at her, she realized, because he looked away quickly, scratching his head. Lilith smiled slowly and put away the book.





"W-where's Vincent?" Cloud stammered.





"He went below deck to find a nice closet to get acquainted with," Lilith responded, chuckling. Cloud laughed with her.





"So you know that he's your father?"





"He told me, yes. It's nice to finally know your last name," Lilith said, proudly. Cloud looked at her for a few moments, then he blushed and looked away, staring intently at his hands. Lilith looked up at the stars again. "We're almost at North Corel. How many knots do you think we're traveling at?"





"I-I don't know. I hate boats. They make me sick."





"You get sea sick?" Lilith asked.







"Yeah," Cloud said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't like traveling."





"But you do so much of it, don't you? And you were in SOLDIER, right?"





"Only briefly," Cloud responded, "I was never a SOLDIER first class, like you thought I was . . . I only assumed that I was because of the way you reacted to the clothes that I was wearing when I woke up from the coma I had. But . . . you did teach me how to use my sword," Cloud said, confused.





"When you couldn't use it, I knew you weren't a SOLDIER first class, but . . . I never did say anything about it. Are you mad at me because of that?"





"No, of course not," Cloud responded. "You were just trying to help me." And then he got a little curious. "How did Aiden die, Lilith?"





"We were in Sector 7 when the plate fell," Lilith said, her voice growing sad. "He was the first real friend I had after Vincent."





"Did you love him?" Cloud asked. Lilith turned to Cloud. He was gripping his knees.





"No. He was just a close friend. Aiden liked to sleep around a lot. Mostly with men."





"Oh," Cloud said quietly.





"How old are you now, Cloud?" Lilith asked, taking Cloud's hand. He blushed, obviously embarrassed. Lilith was looking right at him.





"Twenty-two," Cloud finally said. "My birthday was last month."





"I'm twenty-eight," Lilith said. "Three years younger than Sephiroth." Cloud swallowed hard at that last statement.





"Why did you ask how old I am?"





"Because," Lilith turned his face toward hers, squinting at his face, and then looking into his eyes, "you look so much younger." She paused for a minute, and then returned looking into the depths of his blue makou eyes. "Did you love Aerith?"





"No," Cloud said curtly. "She was just a close friend."





"Did you love . . . Sephiroth?" Cloud looked away, and Lilith frowned. "He killed Aerith, didn't he?"





". . .Yes."





"Yes what?" Lilith turned his face toward hers again. He was holding back the sadness that he had in his heart.





"To both questions," Cloud said, finally looking back into her eyes.







"Do you like me, Cloud?"





" . . .I don't know," Cloud said, getting lost in her eyes, then, " . . . yes." Lilith didn't know whether he did because she looked so much like Sephiroth, or if it was because of other reasons, but she leaned close anyway, kissing Cloud tenderly on the lips. He needed some comforting, and this was the kind that Vincent wouldn't be affording him. She felt Cloud stiffening, and she pulled away a little.





"What?" she asked, softly. Concern wrinkled her brows.





"I don't know how to kiss," Cloud said, flustered. He hadn't even kisses Zack when he had taken his virginity. He was too scared too. But Zack had been doing to kissing, anyway. Lilith smiled and kissed him again, this time very slowly. When she pulled away, Cloud leaned toward her and kissed back, his hands shaking as he ran them through Lilith's soft silver hair. A single tear fell down his face and into his shirt. When he broke away, Lilith smiled.





"See? It isn't that hard," she said removing a stray piece of hair from Cloud face and putting it behind his ear. He looked away, shyly, and she gently guided his face to her again. "Do you want to try something else?" she asked. Cloud's eyes widened, but he nodded slowly. Lilith took his hand, and placed it onto the zipper of her shirt.