In Search Of Lost Souls.
Rargh. I think I will have to spare you the blurb tonight. Too tired to waffle… but here's the usual.
Disclaimer: don't own them. Yet how would that work if you create a character when they become your own but they are offspring of two characters that you don't own. Complicated. But otherwise… don't own Square, or Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts. Have a PS2 and the games. Does addiction help?!
Anyhoo… on with the tales!
Chapter2: Miracles.
Over the next couple of months, Aeris quickly took to the idea of being a mother. Even more so when it began to show. Cloud took longer to warm to the thought, but he eventually came round. It all began to hit home when it was decided that it would be best if Aeris moved in with Cloud to set up home in preparation for the new arrival. It just so happened to be coincidence that neither Yuffie nor Leon could cope with Aeris hogging the bathroom for most of the morning. Still, they were both sad to see her leave.
Seven months after Cloud's return took them into early autumn and the sixth month of Aeris's pregnancy. Deciding to enjoy the new season, the couple finally managed a group outing with Leon and Yuffie, even if it was only the Fourth District.
"Oh my Gaud!" Yuffie squealed. "Aeris, you've gotten so big!"
"Thanks," she grumbled. "As if I didn't already feel like a fat whale."
"You look great!" the ninja continued, walking around the expectant mother. "You hardly put any weight on."
"It's all front," Aeris beamed, grateful of this fact, massaging the base of her bump.
"And wow! You are," the raven-haired youngster grinned, noticing how she had bloomed in several aspects. "If that's the way to get a better chest, I'm gonna have to get me a kid."
"I should damn well hope not," came the stoic reply from the nearby bench.
"You look stunning," Yuffie seemed to find endless compliments, much to Aeris's disgruntled look.
"Aw, come on," Cloud wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I think you look beautiful. And so will you," he lay a protective hand on her enlarged stomach, peering over her shoulder.
"Finally accepted the idea?" Leon questioned, walking up from the bench.
"Pretty much," the blonde one agreed, standing to snake an arm around Aeris's shoulders. "The more I think about it, the more I look forward to it."
"Ooh!" Aeris squealed, placing both her hands on her swollen stomach.
"Are you okay?" Cloud looked genuinely worried. Even Leon displayed apprehension.
"What?" Yuffie pressed when Aeris's bemusement switched to delight. "You're not going to have it, are you?"
Aeris shook her head. "No." She looked down, gaining concerned looks from the male company. "Again!" she grinned, planting her hands on her swollen abdomen. "She's got a good kick."
"She?" blonde eyebrows shot up his forehead.
"Don't argue with her," Leon reasoned. "She's female."
"Excuse me!" Yuffie quipped, attempting a glare at Leon.
"See my point?" sapphires smiled beneath a mahogany fringe.
"It feels like we'll be having a girl." When the blonde pouted, she continued: "You just want a boy so you can teach him to wield a sword."
"And what's wrong with a girl wielding a sword?" Yuffie planted her hands on her hips.
"Nothing," Aeris retaliated. "Honestly, you lot. I don't need looking after. I'm fine. Pregnancy is not a terminal illness…"
"But you still need to rest and take it easy," Cloud protested.
"And with you around, it's not easy. Go play for a change while you still can. We're well ahead with the preparations for this little one. I'm sure Leon would enjoy a break from Yuffie." A smirk from the brunette was contrasted with a look of disgust from the teenager. Aeris soon managed to change that. "Besides, I want to hear all about your new man."
Raven locks obscured her blushing visage. With both Aeris and Cloud watching the youngest member of the group, they failed to notice the look of horror on Leon's face. This was clearly new information for him. By the time Cloud turned to face him, his emotionless frame had returned once more.
"Right," Aeris stated firmly. "You boys can play while me and Yuffie get some serious shopping done. And before you start," she waggled a finger towards a bemused blonde, "I won't break the bank and I need a woman's opinion on some clothes. For our baby," she added to his horrified expression.
"Fine," he raised open palms to the russet haired beauty before him. "Leon? Waterway in five?" his reply was a solitary, and somewhat sombre nod.
"Good," Yuffie linked arms with the mother-to-be and marched off towards the district exit, with the blonde heading off towards the other departure point. Leon stood with his feet firmly planted to the crazy-paved path. Watching the girls' depart, they were completely oblivious to his predicament and a barrage of emotions battling in his mind. The stunned look on his face only served to confirm to the observing world of his thoughts on this matter.
………………
Despite having learnt disconcerting information, Leon never spoke of it to anyone. Not even the blonde, who he felt he could trust with anything. He was sure that Cloud suspected something, but did not dare brace the subject. Even during their regular sparring sessions, it was not a topic of conversation. Should a closely related subject be mentioned, Leon would somehow turn things around to Aeris's progressing gestation and the looming birth, which was soon. Very soon. A sticky late autumnal day found the pair up to their knees in the water in an attempt to cool off.
"Drop the anger," Cloud snarled through clenched teeth, having just leapt aside to avoid an unplanned overhead attack.
"I'm… not… angry…" came the gritted reply.
Wiping the droplets of sweat from his brow, Cloud took a moment to rest on the hilt of his sword. "Yeah?" he protested, not believing him for a moment. "Ever since Yuffie said she'd found a boyfriend, you've been unbearable."
"So?" the brunette shrugged, "I'm happy for her." Discretely turning away, he hid the expression that spoke other wise.
"I know you aren't happy about it," Cloud sighed, wading to the water's edge and sitting with only his feet in the shallows.
"How's Aeris?" the brunette tried to alter the course of the conversation. "Only two weeks left to go, huh?"
"Don't change the subject," the blonde rolled his trousers past his knees and brought them up to rest with his arms atop. "It won't work this time."
With his back to the blonde, his shoulders slumped visibly. When he turned back, he struggled to keep his emotions in check. "It's… it's just…" he sighed heavily, "not fair."
"Why not?"
"He's a couple of years older than her, but no one says anything," he spat. "I know… I'm much older in comparison to him, but…" he slammed his gunblade down into the water.
Blonde eyebrows rose marginally at the brunette's unexpected outburst, waiting until he had retrieved his blade to reply. "You still have feelings for her, huh?"
A curt exhalation informed him of all he suspected. "Is it that obvious?" sapphires glistened unusually. The droplets of water clinging to his cheeks from his outburst did little to play done his saddened aura.
"Yes," Cloud answered truthfully. "But Yuf's so wrapped up in her own world right now she hasn't noticed. And Aeris is preoccupied with the baby, but I'm sure that could be forgiven." Chuckling lightly, Leon agreed non-verbally. "Maybe you should tell Yuffie how you feel," Cloud continued.
"No," Leon shook his head. "She's happy. I wouldn't want to spoil it for her. All the comments used to upset her but she refused to admit it."
"At least you didn't have to live in solitude for nine years with everyone thinking you might be dead."
"True…" Leon made to reply before the sound of hurried footfalls closed in on their location. Shortly, a flustered ninja bolted in from the alleyway.
"Finally," she gasped as soon as she laid eyes on Cloud. "Quick!"
"What?" he stretched from his seated position.
"Aeris," she gabbled. "She's gonna have the baby."
"Well yeah," Leon grinned.
"She's due soon," Cloud finished for him. "Two weeks." With Aeris playing down every little twinge and movement their baby made, his concern was not initially roused.
"No," she became increasingly frantic. "Now. She's gonna have the baby now!"
Cloud instantly leapt to his feet. "NOW?" he almost squealed. "You mean she's in labour? Why didn't you say?" he thrust his weapon towards Leon.
"That's what I've been trying to say," she waved her arms as Cloud darted past her, pausing at the exit. "I took her to the hospital."
Nodding once, he took off. Yuffie turned slowly back to Leon. In the confusion of the moment, and with Cloud's forceful abandonment of his blade, Leon had toppled backwards into the water. Sitting back on his hands with two swords in his lap, he could only manage an awkward grin at her. Blushing fiercely, she quickly hid her head from the sodden fighter. Unable to resist, she cast a sly glance towards the wet T-shirt that hugged his muscular torso. As he pulled himself to his feet, she slowly made her way back to the hospital.
"I guess you'll want to be about to see the little one, right?" he questioned from by her side.
"Yeah," she exhaled, slowly calming from earlier. "I'll take you there," she kept her eyes ahead and away from the handsomely drenched figure by her side.
By time they arrived at the hospital, Cloud had vanished but the distant cries of agony in the small building informed them that Aeris was certainly still about, somewhere. Shortly, a nurse appeared from a side room.
"Is Cloud here?" Yuffie decided to make sure he hadn't eloped off somewhere.
"The father?" Leon faltered at her words, "the one with blonde, spiked hair?"
"That's the one," Yuffie quipped.
"Yes. He got here a moment or two before you. Are you family?" she asked, tipping the hat back on her head.
"Practically," the youngster grinned.
"She just wants to hang about," Leon explained.
"The waiting room's just in there. I'll inform them as soon as I can," the nurse beamed a smile at them before retreating when summoned by a senior member of staff.
Together, they moved to enter the small waiting room that consisted of a couch, a couple of chairs, and a coffee table. Both took up seats on the sofa, but at opposite ends. As the seconds ticked away into minutes, the awkwardness between then escalated to breaking point.
"Dammit," Yuffie cursed under her breath. All the same, it was enough to attract the brunette's attention. "I was supposed to meet Tim half an hour ago."
"Well go," Leon growled. "We're not keeping you."
The shock in Yuffie's face was words enough. "Aeris needs me. I want to be here."
Leon sighed heavily, regretting his untapped outburst. "Tim…? You've never said his name in front of us all."
"Tim… yeah," she rested her elbows on the arm of the sofa. "Short for Timothy."
"How are you two getting on?" he winced internally.
"Alright… I suppose. It's too early to tell. We aren't rushing things."
"Right," Leon nodded.
"One of us is still coming to terms with events in their past."
Having an unusually dim moment and being preoccupied with the looming big moment, Leon missed the potential importance of her musings. Instead, he made her think he was just being ignorant of the obvious. "He's new to Traverse Town, right?"
Yuffie nodded, taking her time replying. "Yeah. He arrived a couple of months before Sora defeated Ansem. No family left, and no friends."
Mahogany eyebrows cocked upwards once, being able to sympathise with the young lad's predicament. "How old is he?"
"Twenty in three months…" she bleated almost sorrowfully.
"Not was old as me," Leon sighed before approaching a killer question. "Do you love him?"
Raven locks swung outwards as she whipped to face him. The barrage of insults that were ready to spill off the tongue never came forth. The visible hurt in sapphires before her struck sharp. Shocked at the emotion in his expression, there was nothing she could offer him verbally. When she continued to gawp at him, he turned his head away in order to stare at the clock.
"No…" she finally gasped quietly, also looking at the clock. "Maybe. I don't know." Propping her head up with her hand, she thought: 'It could be love, yeah. But not who you're thinking.'
"How long might we be here?" Leon felt unintelligent for the very first time, watching the second hand tick away. "It's been almost an hour already."
Relaxing somewhat, Yuffie leant back in the sofa. "Uhm… dunno," she admitted truthfully. "Aeris had been in labour for well over an hour before she said we should come here. It could be another fifteen minutes or fifteen hours."
"Hell," Leon sighed. "Ouch."
"Yeah…" Yuffie glanced sideways, still unable to decipher the brunette after all the many years. Deciding Leon wasn't going to offer more conversation, she leant forward for a magazine off the coffee table.
Several magazines and every newspaper later, Yuffie's eyelids felt heavy. Leon appeared not to have moved in the entire seven hours they had been sitting there. Every so often he had gotten up, walked around or went to retrieve refreshments for them both. In between of these breaks, he sat in the same spot, propping his head up by means of his hand resting on the arm of the sofa. When she snatched an occasional glance, he sometimes had his eyes closed, clearing dozing. Having resisted the urge for hours, she could no longer fight the looming slumber.
Suddenly aware of a palm in her abdomen, she felt someone sit her upright. A hazy face appeared before her, framed with mahogany. Being unable to fight any more, she gave in. Even then she did not object when she felt his thighs supporting her head. In fact, she was quietly pleased.
Six hours later finally found her stirring. Yuffie was quick to sit up from drooling into Leon's lap, but he didn't take offence. Not only was he used to the ninja's quick actions, he also happened to be asleep. The quick movement on Yuffie's part was enough to rouse him.
"What time is it?" he yawned.
Rubbing at bleary eyes, she squinted at the clock. "Two thirty eight," she grumbled. "What's that baby doing?"
"Maybe we should go home…" Leon began.
"No," she almost snapped. "Sorry, I promised Aeris I'd be here."
For the next twenty-five minutes they both fought the returning slumber by means of slapping the other to keep them awake. Not only just to amuse themselves in the meantime. The sound of the doorknob rolling caused them to desist immediately.
The entrant wouldn't have known otherwise; he was too wrapped up in the cerise bundle in his arms. Glistening cerulean left the parcel momentarily to greet the waiting onlookers. His hair hung limp from hours of restlessness, his eyes sunken from tiredness. A hand looked raw from repetitive crushing, but he didn't notice.
In an instant, Yuffie bounced to her feet and halted before Cloud, gently teasing away the pink blanket to gaze within. Rose cheeks moved as tiny lips sucked, perfect hands clenching under her chin. Tiny sighs escaped as she slept off her recent endeavor.
"A girl!" Yuffie beamed. Cloud could only nod. The grin on his face had paralysed all muscles for speech. Even Leon's blade would have struggled to achieve the same effect. "She's beautiful!" she tried to keep the exclamation as quiet as possible.
"She is that," Cloud sighed, his words soaked in pride. Glancing up, he watched as Leon sauntered over, curiosity getting the better of him.
A faint smile cracked his visage. "You must be proud," he commented, straining over Yuffie's shoulder. "Got her mother's eyes." When sapphires met cerulean, the intense emotion held in the younger man's eyes took Leon by surprise. Was it possible to feel so?
"Can I hold?" the excited ninja bobbed repeatedly.
"In the morning," Cloud declined, looking dead on his feet. "Mom wants her rest and I was told only five minutes by the nurse. Sorry."
"Yuffie," Leon whispered for them all to hear, "let the new dad take his daughter back to her mother."
Cerulean couldn't hold room for thanks, but Leon knew that he meant it all the same. On the other hand, violets stormed with confusion. No one would have thought that the brunette could spout meaningful words without thought. Or maybe it could just happen.
"You look rough," Leon muttered to Yuffie. " You better sleep. Don't want to scare the little one in the morning."
"Hey," she objected to his smirk. "I wonder what they'll call her?"
"Buy a hat…" Leon called back, collecting his belongings from the couch and returning to a bemused ninja.
………………
Life became hectic for the new parents through the weeks after the birth. New skills had to be learnt and they weren't as easy as swordplay. A tiny life depended on them entirely, opening up new areas of stress. Aeris was eternally grateful for Yuffie's presence on a constant basis. Cloud even more so. Her company allowed him time to snatch five minutes for a breather; parenting didn't come as naturally to him as it did for Aeris. All the same, he couldn't bear to be away from his daughter for too long. A fact that neither the ninja nor the brunette could miss. The change in the blonde was almost miraculous. Going from a stoic and stony exterior, warmth radiated outwards accompanied with an incessant smile.
After much deliberation, the proud parents decided upon a name for the newest beauty in town: Megumi. Neither of them had expected Yuffie's ecstatic reaction.
"Megumi? That's an awesome name."
"How so?" Aeris yawned, balling a fist into eye sockets.
"It reminds me of my parents. It's a name from our ancestors."
Struggling to have a cuddle of their week-old child, Cloud gave up and folded his arms across his chest. "Really?"
"Yeah," Yuffie sighed, drifting off into thought. "It means 'blessing'."
"And she is that," Aeris sighed, gazing at the serene expression of slumber whilst Yuffie reminisced of memories past.
………………
One dark, rainy night, a month after Megumi's birth found the brunette in the blonde's cosy living room. The wee small hours were upon them once again. With being up at this time every night, Cloud had periodic company from the increasingly restless brunette. Yuffie's new relationship was growing stronger with each passing day, meaning that they didn't see her for all hours of the day which disturbed the brunette, despite him trying to hide it. Slouching in Cloud's favourite sinking chair, his tired frame watched the new father and his daughter.
Her tiny frame was cradled between his raised thighs, his feet resting on the coffee table with her own miniature feet nestling in the pit of his stomach. Perfect fingers stretched and reclaimed their grip about a solitary digit from each of his hands. Never once did her trusting grip release, even when he caressed her rosy cheeks and smoothed the silvery white locks away from a porcelain forehead. Her suckling on his littlest finger did little to reduce his proud smile.
Leon observed his younger friend, witnessing him in a different light. He had been back with them barely a year yet he had matured drastically, something that showed in his mannerisms. His expression was one of unconditional love, his movements careful and precise. Even Leon had been drawn to the bundle of joy the blonde rarely put down. His eyes never left the absorbing ones that savoured every waking moment.
"Someone once said 'Accidents happen'," Cloud began with a hint of remorse, "but we never stop to think that good accidents can happen just as well as bad. Megumi is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Not that Aeris isn't great," he cocked his head to one side, "but it's not the same. It was just incredible," he couldn't take his eyes off her, "when she was born. Just seeing her for the first time was… indescribable. It was love at first sight. And she's mine. Ours."
"Like no one else can touch her"
"Yeah. Material possessions can be claimed by more than one person, but… she'll always be my daughter…" He seemed to revel in saying the word.
A soft smile erupted beneath calm blue oceans, a subtle match for the dainty developing emeralds that studied the new world around her. He lifted his tiny daughter, supporting her under the arms and behind the head with hands that dwarfed her frame. "Hey gorgeous," he gently pressed her button nose against his, her flexed legs kicking at the unsupportive air. Her untrained muscles translated into jerking movements, serving only to add to her adorable nature.
Leon felt the pang of an emotion he rarely felt: jealousy. The more he watched the pair bond, the stronger the feeling grew. Why should Cloud enjoy such a miracle when he had the beginnings of all this, and more? He had once found someone that he was willing to settle with for the remainder of his time. But all that had changed. Slipping into his own thoughts, he wondered if it was really possible that she was still out there. Cloud had been presumed dead by many, and lo, he sat before them as bright as the light of day. Maybe, just maybe, it was possible.
"I better put you down or your mother would go spare," the blonde whispered to the yawning infant. "Come on," he soothed, standing with her snug in his arms, "no offence Leon…"
"I best get going anyway. It's gone four in the morning."
"Nothing beats the good old days," he called back in a whisper, creeping into a room to the back of the apartment and offering the brunette a peek of the nursery. The blonde bent over and gently placed his dozing offspring into her decorative cot. Pulling the door almost closed; he tiptoed after Leon to the front door.
"I didn't mean to disturb…" he paused with the door half-open.
"Nah," Cloud dismissed it with a wave of the hand. "I was already up. Someone," he jerked his head towards the nursery, "needed feeding and chose to let us know. I brought her out here to let Aeris sleep."
"Looks like you have your hands full," he smiled when a quiet, niggling cry came from her room.
"Ah," the blonde sighed, rolling his eyes when the cries became increasingly distressed. He lightly hit his head up the doorframe whilst sighing with fatigue. "Better go…" he mumbled.
Leon nodded his farewell in reply to a friendly slap on the shoulder, allowing Cloud to dart back and retrieve Megumi before she woke the neighbourhood. Pulling the door closed behind him, he stepped away from the cosy abode whilst still clinging to the shadows.
The rain fell hard. Freshness splashed his face and soaked into his clothes. Slowly, his hair fell slick against his the contours of his face, defying his rugged features. Solemn sapphires peeked between his dripping fringe that gently plucked a tune around his feet. Ripples spread from the soles of his shoes as he stepped flat against the wall whilst two figures frolicked through the courtyard. They were on full view to most of the district, due to its architectural nature of all buildings, whether homes or shops, looking in on the central plaza. The pair seemed oblivious to all onlookers.
The smaller of the two halted in the middle of the open space, turning to face her companion. Slender arms reached up to broad shoulders whilst muscular ones snaked about a petite waist. The taller one brushed a sodden fringe out of violet gems. For the brunette, her eyes would sparkle from any distance. The more he watched the pair entwine, the more intense the feeling became.
It first exploded in the pit of his stomach, twisting his abdomen into excruciating knots. Scorching liquid sped through his veins, flushing his cheeks in the darkness. His fists clenched as the snaking vines of jealousy reached his chest and released their poison. The vice grip that restricted his breathing was unbearable but he couldn't tear his eyes from the cuddling pair. All of a sudden, something in his chest plummeted.
He did not move until the pair began heading from the district, to his place. Part of him felt uncontrollably sick. The other… the other wanted to do many things. Why was it so unfair? What had he done to warrant all this? He was once the envy of the Hollow Bastion Secondary School, but now he was reduced to longing for what everyone else had. Once he had experienced happiness beyond words. Well, twice, actually. But on both occasions it was wrenched from his grasp. If fate was behind it, how he loathed the force. It had a knack of being unkind to just him. Or so he felt.
Initially heavy, the brunette pushed himself off from the wall. His solemn pace matched his depressed form. During the walk to his vacant and cold home, he paid no attention to where he was going. The cogs of his mind were in overtime. It had finally clicked. He was going to alter his fortunes by himself. If Cloud could return from the other side, then why couldn't he try his own luck?
……
A bit of a time hop there, but well. It will all start to come together soon and increase in pace. But well, yay I got one review. It's a start. I'm hoping there are a few lurkers out there that are waiting until later. Please say so! Heh! Tell you what… review and I'll give you a personal mention at the end! Nothing like getting your name in print huh?! (I can hope can't I?) Only time will tell…. Heh!
Also… a lot of people seem to have beta readers. Now I don't. Would anyone be interested in helping me out there? Curious… answers on a postcard or other mode of communication! ;)