A/N: Bleh, I'm running outta ideas for chapter titles….hmmm….well hope you guys like this chapter……hope it's a bit longer then the others. Well as always, thanks for reading and reviewing…

Moving on

FFVII and all the silly characters don't belong to me, well Sephy does, I keep him in my closet handcuffed and gaged.

Life on Standby

Chapter Five: You Eclipsed by Me.

"So Cloud, how do you like your job…" "Do you have a girlfriend?" "I would love to see a small town." "Oh Cloud, you're so funny." "SOLDIER huh?"

Her voice rang through his head, he was finding it impossible to sleep, he closed his eyes and he saw her laughing and smiling, giggling with her child-like innocence. It drove him insane, but at the same time, it brought him comfort.

He wanted her for himself, but he knew that she was Zack's, he was probably with her right now, holding her, she would giggle and they would sleep together.

He hated Zack.

Zack was the object that kept him in the shadows.

Zack was the one eclipsing him.

Zack was the one that was killing him.

Zack was the perfect SOLDIER, while Cloud was nothing more then a pud guard.

Eventually, Cloud willed that his mind would silence so he could go to bed, he wanted to sleep so bad, and dream of being Zack and having Aeris for a night.

He walked with a light bounce in his step. For the first time in months, things were starting to look up, he hadn't gotten into a fight with Aeris for about a week, Cloud seemed to be more comfortable, and of course there was the news that he was going to get promoted. He couldn't wait to tell Aeris, he was going from simple 1st class SOLIDER to General….him a general. He couldn't believe it. With this new job, all his dreams could come true, he could move out of Midgar and maybe go to Kalm, it was only and hour drive. He could get nice things that he couldn't get now and of course he could ask Aeris to marry him.

A small blush crept over his face, he could live the rest of his life with Aeris, she was the perfect girl.

"Flowers only 1 gil." She held out the small yellow flower to a passerby, he gave her a quick smile and continued on his way.

God, I hate this

She shook her head in defeat and started to head back to her home, taking small careful steps. She would go home and take a warm bubble bath, yes, that's what she needed a nice warm bath.

Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the dark mass in front of her.

She bumped into him, losing her balance, feeling herself fall closer and closer to the hard ground. She opened her mouth to let out a helpless scream, but suddenly she felt a strong arm lift her up.

And then their eyes met.

She smiled at him, "Oh, thank you Cloud, that would have been a nasty spill if you didn't grab me.

He nodded, looking down. He couldn't look into her eyes, they drove him mad.

She looked up into the eternal darkness, "So what are you doing out here today?"

"I was out for a walk."

She nodded, "Do you know you're way around here? I can show you around."

He knew his way around; it was already been one year since he first moved to Midgar.

"I don't really know my way around." His voice was quiet.

"Great!" She wrapped her arm around his and started to lead him away.

"You understand Zack, right?"

He nodded, "Of course I understand Reeve, and again thank you.

"Don't thank me Zack, the higher-ups don't know I'm going this and they don't like you, they are going to watch you like a hawk, and if you mess up, they will make sure that you will stay in SOLDIER forever."

Zack nodded.

"You have one week until your review, you're dismissed."

Zack smiled as he knocked on the heavy wooden door.

"Who is it?

"Zack."

The door slowly opened. A small head poked out, it was Elmyra, she smiled at him and opened the door, gesturing for him to come in. He smiled back at her and walked in. He made his way to the table in the small kitchen.

"Can I offer you any tea?"

"No thank you. Do you happen to know where Aeris is?"

The older woman shook her head, "No, she should still be out selling flowers."

"Hm…alright." He stood up, "Well then, tell her to call me when she gets in."

He listened to every word that fell from her lips; he wanted to memorize every thing she said, he knew that his time with her was drawing to a close.

She stop and looked at him, giving him a sad smile, "I'm sorry Cloud, have I been boring you?"

"No, no." he tried not to make his voice sound frantic, "of course not."

She gave him a broad grin, "Good, sometimes I have a bad habit of talking up a storm and not knowing when I'm boring someone."

He shook his head, reinforcing his previous statement, "No, you're not boring me at all."

They reached the end of their walk, they reached her house. She smiled at him and opened her door, "I had a good time hanging out with you Cloud, we should do it again."

He nodded at her, giving her a small smile.

She closed the door behind her, turning off the lights that lead up to her room. He stood outside her house for the longest time before turning, returning to the dark city.

A/N: YAY! Slightly longer chapter, hope you likes….. ha ha, plot becomes apparent….well I hope to have more fuzzy feelings between the characters before I destroy them and rebuild them into my image….so anyways… as always read and review…love and kisses.

Celest no Tenshi