-The Middle of Nowhere

A/N: I know, its been ages. But thanks to those lovely cloti fics who have done Cloud some damn justice after his terrible performance in AC, I've been motivated. That just proves fiction is better than reality. Anyways, here's chapter two revised! Enjoy )

Forgiven

The illusive night sky was imbedded with an overwhelming amount of tiny, bright stars as it coated the tiny village lurking just ahead of where he was seated, shadowed by the pitch black darkness. The trees swayed ever so lightly with each gentle stroke of the cool, summer breeze as his crimson and torn cape was whisked in the motion of the wind. Bright sapphire, mako infused orbs glistened and looked onwards as the pale moonlight struck them, giving them a surreal and captivating appearance. He stared as the lights of the village dimmed and went out, a sign that most of the villagers were going to sleep to prepare for the next day of hard work.

His chest heaved as he let out a deep sigh; something he had been doing a lot of lately. His eyebrows furrowed as his mind reeled in the events of the past, unsuccessful year he had had traveling on his own. He had been searching of a way to reconnect with her, to ask her to forgive him and embrace him in the endless love she had offered him when she was living. He missed her entirely and it had gone to the point where he had replayed and analyzed every single moment she was in; her every single word. After she had passed away, it was like everything became vital for him, even things which most would find insignificant.

He had practically gone around the entire world, searching for something, anything…Some sort of sign of hope or life in which he could be consoled and freed of the never ending guilt that seemed to follow him everywhere.

He hadn't checked in with any of his old friends during his entire journey and as usual, they managed to leave behind a few heart felt messages that told him they cared. At first, he had received at least one threatening message from each one about not contacting them, but after seeing that their efforts were futile, they gave up. Some may have thought him cold because of his lack of social skills but his intentions were good. He just didn't want to hurt anybody anymore and he didn't want anyone pitying him or trying to help him in his endless search. He also was sick of advice that he didn't need coming from people who knew nothing of the great pain he felt.

He would give anything to go back in time and fix all his mistakes that harmed the people he most cared about. He hated being a screw up but, somewhere along the way; he had discovered that he hadn't done a single thing right in his life. However, thanks to her, he had also discovered that he was human and that there was only so much he could do. He also recalled that she was much too kind to ever blame him or harbor a grudge against him. It was just her nature and, for some reason, her forgiving him felt like the entire world had forgiven him for his sins.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fading and fragile pink ribbon that she had once used to tie back her chestnut hair that used to smell of magnolia and other exotic flowers. He clutched it tightly as the wind flapped it around and his mako infused sapphire eyes stared at it, void of any emotion. He then closed them and let out another tiring sigh as he placed it back into his pocket; it had been a long process, but he had finally managed to let her go. She had told him to go back to everyone, to live his life fully and that perhaps she'd see him again in the afterlife. Although he hoped it wasn't true, he had a feeling that she had a vague idea he no longer was in touch with any of them.

He felt guilt as all the memories of his previous self flashed in his mind; all the precious moments, all the tough times and through every single one, they had stuck together, even when things seemed impossible. Yet, he had been shunning them all this time and had even broken the heart of one of his closest friends who would have given up her life to see him smile. Yes, this time he was making his way back to fix everything since simply being forgiven wasn't going to undo anything.

However, even after all this time, he couldn't help his mind wandering back to Tifa and that look of complete emptiness on her face when he had told her how he felt and what he was going to do. He recalled the harshness of his words and the softness of her voice as she uttered only one simple word, much too betrayed to be able to do or say anything else. He had left her in the middle of the night to contemplate on what she did wrong to send him away. As much as he tried to convince himself in his drunken state at the time the opposite, something nagged at his heart telling him she was crying. If there was anything he hated most, it was a woman's tears. To know that he was the reason why only tore him up inside even more.

Tonight was his final night out on his own and just the simple thought of laughing along with his comrades again ignited a feeling of longing. This feeling only seemed to grow when he pictured Tifa's serene face and delicate smile back when they had once been happy. He missed that. He missed making her happy. If he was given just one chance to take it all back, he would take it and treasure it. He only wished that it wasn't too late to fix his mistakes. If Aerith forgave him after all this time then perhaps…they would too.

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A/N: I finally got off my lazy ass and revised this bloody chapter. I'm going to salvage all this cloti fics if only for the reviewers. I intend on fixing up the remaining chapter next and HOPEFULLY adding back up the fourth that accidentally got deleted. Reviews are nice so leave them. )