Aerith finished the last drops of her juice before setting the glass down on the counter and staring into its now empty interior, thinking back on the encounter with the strange man from yesterday.
"What's got you all pensive?" Tifa asked, her friend appearing and grabbing the empty glass, placing it in the sink behind her before turning back to Aerith.
"Oh, nothing serious, just thinking about this... weird guy who showed up at my shop yesterday," Aerith explained.
"What, like a creep?" Tifa demanded, a hint of concern entering her voice.
"No, no, nothing like that," Aerith replied quickly, calming her. "He just seemed… lost."
"Well, he clearly had to have been, if he managed to find your stall," Tifa joked, a twinkle in her eye.
Aerith let out an affronted laugh, her mouth dropping open before she leaned forward and playfully punched her friend's shoulder across the counter. "Rude!"
They laughed together for a while, before settling down and enjoying the other's presence. Aerith always felt so calm, so at peace when she could spend time with Tifa like this. She was so thankful she'd ended up meeting her here several years ago. Even when Aerith was having one of her worst days, her friend would always help her get back on her feet. Tifa was like a sister to her.
"I still think you should find a nicer place. It'll help you grow your business, pull in more customers," Tifa said gently, breaking the silence. "Plus I'd worry less about your safety."
Aerith shook her head. "I can't. Even if you ignored the expenses, it would have too large of an impact on my regulars. Some of them are like family, I couldn't ask them to travel to the other side of town just for a flower. Besides, I honestly don't mind it there, and I make enough to get by. Plus it's quiet and cozy, I don't think the flowers would like the hustle and bustle of the main city."
Aerith heard her friend sigh softly in disappointment, but she was relieved when Tifa decided not to press any harder. They'd had this argument several times before, and she knew this wouldn't be the last.
"So, this not-a-creep," Tifa prodded. "Was he hot?"
"Tifa!" Aerith exclaimed, laughing. She could feel her cheeks heating slightly at the question and hated herself for it.
"What, it's just a question. Was he?" Tifa pressed, clearly having fun teasing her.
"I dunno," Aerith answered evasively. "I wasn't looking at him like that. You know I don't do that."
"Come on, it's a simple question!"
"Fine, yes, he was hot, okay?" Aerith answered begrudgingly.
She saw Tifa smile triumphantly at her little victory. "Did he ask for your number?"
Aerith scoffed softly in response. "No, I'm pretty sure he wasn't there for me. He all but ran away as soon as I started talking to him. Not that that's much of a surprise."
She saw Tifa's hand clench tightly, before she stared intently into Aerith's eyes, a stern look on her face. "Don't treat yourself like that, okay?"
Aerith flushed in embarrassment, realizing she'd done it again. "I… yeah, you're right, I'm still working on it," she replied, her eyes briefly dipping down.
"Good," Tifa said happily, smiling. "It's his loss anyway. He'd be lucky to go out with someone as amazing as you."
Aerith smiled back and nodded, but struggled internally to accept what Tifa had said. Deep down, even though she wanted to form that kind of connection with someone, she knew it would never actually happen. Not for someone like her.
"I'm serious," Tifa continued. "You told me you've been feeling lonely lately. We've talked about you dipping your toes in the water before, maybe this is a good chance to try."
"So I should just ask out any random guy who shows up at my flower store?" Aerith asked dryly, raising one of her eyebrows skeptically.
Tifa laughed, shaking her head, a wry smile on her face. "No, of course not. But you could try to get to know them a little better at least. Talk to them a little? Who knows, you might meet someone interesting."
"I suppose…" Aerith grudgingly conceded, not entirely sure she was actually on board with this.
"Look. You know I love you, and I don't want to push you hard on this, but if you never try, nothing is ever going to change…" Tifa said softly, her voice full of earnest compassion as she gently placed her hand on Aerith's.
Aerith nodded in response, unable to reply as she fought back her tears. They sat there like that, together in silence, until she managed to find her voice again. "I… I'll try. Obviously not with the same guy since I doubt I'll ever see him again, but the next time."
"That's all I can ask for," Tifa replied, gently squeezing Aerith's shoulder. "Who knows, maybe you'll end up meeting your soulmate."
Tifa heard the doorbell ring and felt herself freeze momentarily before she took a deep breath. "Come on, Tif. It's not a big deal, just get this over with, and then it's all behind us," she muttered to herself under her breath as she went to answer the door. She opened it to find Cloud standing on the other side, awkwardly playing with his hands.
"Hey Tifa," he greeted her, his eyes not meeting hers.
"Hey Cloud," she responded, forcing a smile on her face. "Come on in, I think I've found everything, but you'll know best." She tried to keep her face as smooth as possible, hoping he wouldn't be able to read the pain she still felt on seeing him.
It wasn't that she didn't want to see him again, or that she was uncomfortable having him back in her apartment. Tifa was just still coming to terms with falling so hard for someone only to have things end up the way they had. Even though the breakup had been mutual, as she'd told Aerith, that didn't stop it from hurting.
"Sorry to intrude again, I guess I just didn't realize how much of my stuff ended up at your place," Cloud apologized, following her into the apartment and towards the living room.
"This is everything I was able to find," Tifa explained as they arrived, gesturing towards her coffee table and the array of items strewn across it.
Together they looked over the items in silence. While most of the items were mundane, simple things, others had strong memories attached to them. The toothbrush had been the very first item he'd ever left, and she could still remember the warm feeling of happiness she'd felt when she'd first found it in the bathroom. It had been the first sign that Cloud was starting to get comfortable with them being a couple.
The bathrobe folded under it was the first present she'd ever bought for him. She smiled softly to herself, as she remembered how he'd always made fun of her for being an old woman because she'd wear a bathrobe after showering. Then, once she'd bought him one and convinced him to try it, he'd never wanted to stop wearing it.
"Thanks for taking the time to hunt all of this down on your own," Cloud eventually responded, breaking the silence, and pulling Tifa out of her memories. "The only thing I notice missing is my black hoodie, the one with the silver wolf on the back."
Tifa snapped her fingers when she heard this, instantly recognizing the item of clothing he was talking about. "That's right, I think it's still in the closet in my bedroom, let me go find it."
She made her way to the bedroom and into the walk-in closet where she kept all her larger clothes. The hoodie in question wasn't mixed in with her sweatshirts, so she had to take a few moments looking through everything until the flash of silver finally caught her eye. She shook her head in amusement that he'd left it in the middle of her dresses.
As she made her way back into the living room, hoodie in hand, Tifa was surprised to find Cloud waiting for her next to a now empty coffee table. "Oh, you already moved everything to your bike?"
Cloud nodded in confirmation. "Thanks again, for everything Tifa. I'll get out of your hair now, I'm sure it's been difficult enough just having me back here."
When Cloud passed her on the way to the front door, Tifa reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, wanting to reassure him. Just before her fingers actually touched him, however, she caught herself, her arm falling limp at her side. Instead, she held out the hoodie for him to take. "Look Cloud… even though we broke up, I still want you to be happy."
She shifted from foot to foot, biting her lip before continuing. "A romantic relationship didn't work out, but… I'd like to think we could still be friends. If you'd be okay with that?"
Cloud smiled softly back at her, one of his rare, tender moments that had attracted her to him in the first place. His eyes finally met hers for the first time that day as he took the hoodie from her. "Thanks, Tifa, that means a lot to me. I think I'd like that too."
Tifa felt a small sense of relief he felt the same way. "You should stop by Seventh Heaven sometime, I'll treat you to a drink on the house and we can catch up."
"I'll make sure to take you up on that offer," he promised, as she watched him turn and leave.
Aerith finished the last touches on the bouquet she'd been working on with a happy sigh. The client's request had been very detailed, and she'd risen to the occasion, extremely pleased with the result. She hoped they would think so too. Even though she'd told Tifa things were going well, she desperately needed each and every order to do well.
Stretching and rolling her back to work out the kinks from leaning over for so long, she was surprised to catch sight of the man from a few days ago. Once again, he was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the street from her flower stall. Except this time, his attention was clearly fixed on her, not the flowers.
Despite the joke Tifa had made about him only finding her because he'd been lost, Aerith had agreed with her. It was very unusual for someone to find her shop by chance, she usually relied on recommendations from happy customers. This time, there was no chance of it being an accident. Even if it had been the first time—which she was now beginning to doubt—it was impossible for it to be a second time.
She felt her guard cautiously rising as she watched the man out of the corner of her eye. There was a can of pepper spray hidden behind the roses, but she had a sinking feeling against a SOLDIER it likely wouldn't help very much. Reminding herself of the conversation she'd had with Tifa, Aerith did her best to try and keep an open mind. As she moved to work on the next arrangement, however, she made sure to keep her eye on him.
She was surprised to see him dressed almost completely in black, causing her to shudder slightly as she imagined how hot and muggy that must be. Aerith was already feeling the heat of the day in her light dress, and she had the added advantage of being in the shade of the building behind her. His clothes did leave his arms bare, but she couldn't imagine that was helping very much.
Her eyes widened in alarm as she watched him softly nod to himself, seeming to reach a decision, before he crossed the street and approached her. Several panicked thoughts rapidly flashed through her mind. She had nowhere to hide. Her shop was just a small wooden stand, situated next to the building behind it. If she tried to call for help, the odds of someone responding in this deserted backstreet were nonexistent. But most pressing of all was the fact he was a SOLDIER, which meant nothing would stop him in the first place.
"I've never seen that type of flower before, what is it?" he asked, stopping a few feet away and gesturing to the display she'd just finished.
Aerith found herself blinking in confusion. This wasn't at all what she'd expected. Then it all made sense. This was his plan to get her to lower her guard, to let him get close to her.
She carefully plucked one of the flowers in question from a separate vase, not wanting to damage the bouquet she'd spent so long perfecting. Aerith lifted it to her nose and inhaled softly, the familiar scent slightly calming her nerves.
"They're lilies, my favorite flower…" she explained hesitantly. "These yellow ones symbolize happiness." Already knowing the answer to the next question, she asked it anyway. "Are you interested in flowers as well?"
He shook his head negatively in response. "I can't say I've ever really paid them much attention."
Aerith froze as she heard this. It was literally the opposite answer she'd been anticipating. She quickly repeated what he'd said over again in her head, positive she must have misheard him. He wasn't interested in flowers? How was he planning to gain her trust if he didn't pretend to express interest in the same things as her? The only other option that flashed through her mind was that this had never been about the flowers in the first place. And that scared her even more.
"Sorry, I mean, they're nice enough, but they're not really my thing," she heard him say, dragging her out of her thoughts.
"What brings you back here then?" she asked, struggling to make sense of what was going on, and trying her best to keep any concern from entering her voice. At the same time, she surreptitiously gauged the distance to the roses and her faint hope of partial safety with the hidden pepper spray.
For some reason he took a few steps backward, putting himself on the edge of the road and the sidewalk. She wasn't sure why he was moving away, but she didn't let it fool her. She heard him mutter something softly, but wasn't able to make out enough words over the distance to understand what he'd said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. If you're looking for a gift for someone, I could offer some recommendations," she said, remembering Tifa's advice. Aerith thought she saw a flash of pain in his eyes at this, but dismissed it as a trick of the light from the sun suddenly reflecting off a window into his face.
"I said I was worried about your safety and wanted to make sure you were alright. This section of the city is far from the worst, but you should really look into a safer location."
There it was. So that was his plan. Aerith shook her head in disgust, pained at how obvious he was being. Did he seriously think she'd fall for that? "You don't even know me," she snapped, tired of putting up with this nonsense.
His cheeks flushed bright red at her reply, clearly embarrassed she'd caught on so quickly before he abruptly turned around and began to walk away. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, I won't bother you again," she heard him say, a faint note of regret in his voice just further proving she'd been right.
Aerith hadn't expected him to give up quite so easily, but it was a welcome relief nonetheless. She made sure to watch him until he vanished around the corner, before settling back down to finish off the latest arrangement.
Tifa dropped into the seat across from Aerith, glad the morning rush was finally over so she could spend some time with her friend. She'd been acting unusually sullen all morning, and Tifa was determined to find out exactly what had happened to cause this unusual change.
"So… what's gotten you all down this morning?" Tifa asked. "I can't remember the last time I've seen you this upset."
There was a long moment of silence before Aerith finally answered her question. "He was back."
Tifa waited for her to expand on this, but she seemed too lost in her thoughts. "Who?" she prodded.
Aerith blinked, before finally focusing on Tifa. "That guy from the other day, the creep," Aerith said in explanation, a faint note of anger in her voice now.
Tifa leaned back in surprise, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. She'd been the one to call the guy a creep last time. "I thought you said he wasn't a creep…"
"At the time he wasn't, but he came back!"
"I mean… I suppose that's a bit creepy, but he also might have just been interested in you. What did he do?"
"He asked about my lilies…"
Tifa waited for more, but after a few seconds realized that was it. "And… that was a bad thing?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
"He hates flowers!" Aerith shouted, the few remaining customers glancing over at the sudden burst of noise.
"Wait… what? You're all over the place," Tifa said, reaching out to place a hand on Aerith's arm to try and soothe her.
"When I asked if he liked flowers he said no!" Aerith shrugged the hand away and banged her fist onto the table. "Seriously, who does that? Not even trying to pretend like he wasn't there just to try and get into my pants," she spat.
Tifa was pretty confident at this point Aerith had misunderstood what had happened. While she didn't want to completely discount her friend's story, she did want to try and help her realize what had really happened if she could. "Hold on a moment. Was he looking at you like that? Did he do anything aggressive towards you at all?" she asked.
Aerith went silent as she thought about this. Tifa idly scratched one of her nails against a small divot in the table, making a mental note to get it patched up as she waited.
"Not... that I can recall…" Aerith eventually admitted.
"Was he respecting your personal space, or did he push himself on you?"
Tifa was surprised to see Aerith flush at this question. "He… actually stepped away from me at one point," she whispered, no longer looking at Tifa, her head instead angled toward the table.
Tifa let out a soft sigh and placed her hand on Aerith's.
"I overreacted again, didn't I, Tifa?" Aerith asked softly.
"Probably," she confirmed, gently squeezing her hand. "Look, I can't blame you, not after what you went through, but remember what I said about an open mind?"
Aerith nodded, raising her head to look back at Tifa, her eyes slightly wet. "I tried Tif, I did. It's just… it didn't make any sense why he'd be back."
"Sounds like that would have been a good question to ask him," Tifa gently pointed out.
"I did!" Aerith protested.
"Oh? And what was his response?" Tifa asked, genuinely curious. It was strange the man had returned in the first place.
"He… said he was worried about my safety because of the area," Aerith muttered quietly.
Tifa couldn't help but let out a short laugh at this. "Well, that's something we at least agree on." She refrained from pushing the point any further. They'd already had this argument too recently. "It's not all bad, at least. Just take this as a learning experience for next time," she pointed out, trying to sound cheerful.
"Whenever that might be," Aerith snorted, a faint smile on her lips. "That guy's certainly never coming back after yesterday."
"Hey, you know what they say," Tifa replied, chuckling softly. "Third time's the charm."
Cloud was running.
This time it would be different. This time he'd make it.
He could feel his heart thumping in his chest—pounding against his ribs. His lungs were desperately pulling in as much air as they could, straining to fuel his body.
He couldn't fail her again.
There was a blinding flash of light, forcing Cloud to throw up an arm to shield his eyes.
He stumbled. As he always did. It was never enough.
The sound of a blade cleaved through the air.
The sky shattered.
The earth under him crumbled.
He fell into the endless abyss, screaming in denial.
Cloud jerked upward in his bed, throwing the tangled sheets off of himself. He struggled to slow his racing heart. To get his breathing back under control.
He thought he'd seen the last of that damn nightmare years ago, but it had been plaguing him for a month now, ever since his second conversation with that paranoid flower woman. Thankfully it wasn't every night, but even once a week was too much. Cloud still didn't understand what he'd done to freak her out so much. At one point, he'd thought she was even going to grab the roses she kept looking at and attack him with them.
He flopped back onto his pillow, his breathing finally calm. He was frustrated to still be so fixated on the encounter from the previous month. She'd been extremely clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Despite that, Cloud knew why he couldn't just let it go.
He'd given up too easily. He closed his eyes and rubbed both of his temples, her exceptionally green eyes still painfully clear in his mind, even after all this time. He'd meant every word he'd said when he told her the location was in a bad area of town. Given her reaction to his presence, what he didn't understand was why she didn't seem to care.
Obviously, it was none of his business in the first place. He knew that was the most likely reason why she'd reacted the way she had, but he couldn't just stand by while someone willfully endangered themself. Not without at least trying in the first place.
Cloud's eyes snapped open as he shifted his legs so he was now sitting on the edge of the bed. He was sick of this. Tired of the endless contemplation. He'd go back, speak his mind, and then leave. At least with that, he wouldn't be stuck with this feeling of failure.
He got to his feet and moved to get dressed. He'd do it today. The sooner the nightmare vanished, the better.
Aerith woke up to the morning light filtering through the curtains on her window. She blinked sleepily before rubbing her eyes with her hands. Not wanting to get up quite yet, she rolled over onto her left side and stared at the empty half of her bed.
A month had passed since her encounter with the SOLDIER, and in that time, not a single new customer had stopped by. Fortunately, all of her existing customers were still happy and placing orders, allowing her to cover her rent. She knew Tifa was worried about how isolated she always was, but Aerith pointed out it meant there also wasn't anyone showing up to harass her. Tifa usually didn't take that very well, though.
For the briefest moment, barely more than a second, Aerith's mind imagined a spiky yellow-haired head on the pillow next to her, ice-cold eyes boring into her own. She jerked her head backward in surprise, dispelling the illusion. What was wrong with her? They'd only met briefly before she'd driven him off. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him?
A part of her knew it was because she had recognized the look in his eyes. The look that said things were not alright. That they never could be. She knew that look all too well. It stared back at her in the mirror every morning.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about what had put that look in his eyes. She'd never met anyone else with it before. Of course, she knew she'd never get the chance to learn more about what had put it there, not after how their last meeting had gone.
Aerith lightly slapped her cheeks with both hands, clearing her thoughts. It wasn't worth worrying about, and she needed to get going. Just yesterday she'd received a new order from her most important client, and she needed it to be a success. Hopping out of bed, she began her morning ritual to get ready for the long day ahead of her.
—
As her little shop came into view, Aerith was surprised to notice a figure in all black standing in front of it. She laughed sadly, her mind clearly playing tricks on her. Apparently, this morning hadn't been enough. As she drew closer and saw his face, her steps slowed until she drew to a halt. It was actually him. She was briefly overwhelmed as excitement, fear, and curiosity all battled for control. Aerith took a deep breath, calming herself. She refused to jump to conclusions like she had last time.
Walking into her store, she gave him a brief nod as she passed, noticing he stepped away as she drew near. Aerith set down her bag, taking a deep breath before turning around to face him. There was that familiar look, burned into the back of his eyes, plain as day. "You're back," she said simply in greeting.
He nodded in response, not saying anything as his attention shifted between her and the surrounding area.
"I… never expected to see you again," she admitted. "Not after the way I treated you last time. Sorry about that, by the way."
She saw one corner of his mouth slightly twitch upward as he focused his attention on her. Aerith took a small step back as their eyes met. The full weight of the sorrow in them was overwhelming. It felt like she'd been buried alive.
"I don't blame you," he finally said, quietly. "I can understand why a stranger showing up multiple times could be alarming—here, in particular. Especially considering what I used to be…"
She waited after he trailed off, to see if he'd go on, but he didn't. He just continued watching her, a curious look entering his eyes. She'd never actually imagined what another encounter with him would be like since it had seemed so unlikely. If she had, she didn't think she would have imagined anything like this. "So, what brings you back?"
"Now that I'm here, it feels really stupid," he muttered.
It was Aerith's turn to smile softly in amusement.
"I… just wanted to make sure you were alright," he continued. "You have to know this area isn't the safest, considering the way you reacted last time."
For whatever reason she couldn't place, this familiar argument felt completely different coming from him than from Tifa.
"You sound just like my friend," she commented wryly. "I know you're right, and I appreciate your concern, but… this place just fits me too well."
He looked confused by this but just shrugged his shoulders in response. "I've done what I could. I don't want to take any more of your time. I'll let you get back to your flowers," he said, turning and moving to leave.
"Wait, you never told me your name!" she called out after him. "I'm Aerith."
He paused for a moment at the edge of the street before he replied, not turning around. "I'm Cloud," he said simply before he continued to walk away.
Before she even realized what she was doing, Aerith found herself rushing out into the street after him. Even as she reached out to catch his hand, a part of her was screaming to just let him go, but she shoved it down as her fingers brushed his. She wanted to know more about that look.
He jerked his hand away at the brief contact, but she wasn't offended since she was sure she'd just startled him. She'd startled herself. Cloud had stopped though, turning back to look at her, surprise etched on his face.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, taking a step back to put more distance between them.
Aerith immediately regretted her impulsive decision, not even sure what her plan was in the first place. Her brain raced to come up with an idea, one abruptly clicking into place.
"How would you feel about getting breakfast together?" she asked. "I want to apologize for the way I treated you before, and thank you for your concern over a random stranger."
She watched as a storm of emotions flickered across Cloud's face, too quickly for her to be able to catch them all. One that stuck out, in particular, was fear, which didn't seem to make any sense. Why would he be afraid of her? His head tilted to the side before she saw him nod softly. "That sounds fine, when?"
Aerith quickly thought through her plans for the week. "Does the day after tomorrow work for you?"
Cloud slowly nodded. "Should I meet you here?"
She lightly stepped backward, her head bouncing in confirmation with her movement. "See you then!" she called out, waving goodbye as he turned to leave. For once, her excitement managed to drown out the ever-present fear. She was doing it. Hopefully, it would go well.