I have to thank fayth for the inspiration for this story. We were talking about various popular AU types—Beauty and the Beast specifically—and I, as always, was thinking of how to Clerith-fy it. But fayth had to go and mention sickfics, which I'd never heard of before. And then, of course, a plot bunny had to attack. So here you go, thanks to him we have this story of Aerith taking care of Cloud after an unfortunate accident.
The sound of the front door slamming open behind her caused Aerith to whirl in alarm. She faintly heard the sound of the vase she'd been holding shatter against the floor. Cloud stood in the doorway of her home. Or rather, he slumped—seeming barely able to remain upright. Her heart felt like it was trying to break out of her chest. She'd never seen him so pale, so weak.
"Cloud!" she screamed, running towards him as he began to topple forward.
It was silly, she knew, but she couldn't stop herself as she tried to catch him. Maybe if his damn sword hadn't been on his back she would have had a better chance. As it was, she barely managed to get under him in time—his weight crushing her into the floor. She ignored the pain, lifting a hand to cup his face.
"Cloud, what in Gaia's name happened?"
He didn't look like he was injured. There was no blood, no obvious sign of what was wrong. But something was very wrong. This close, she thought she could see a faint green glow coming off his skin. His eyes were fluttering open and closed, and the lack of recognition in them as they met hers felt like a dagger in her heart.
"Who… are you? Who am I?" His voice was strangely rough, as if he'd been yelling for hours.
Aerith blinked the tears from her eyes. Now wasn't the time for them, she had to be strong. For both of them. If she was going to do anything, however, she had to figure out what had happened in the first place. "Please, Cloud, you have to tell me what happened," she begged.
He groggily blinked a few times, his sapphire eyes clearing slightly. "I was… scouting, I think? I'm not sure, but I remember Reactor Four. I was fighting. A helitrooper, crashed into me. We toppled into the reactor…"
Her blood ran cold. She understood what the green glow was now. Somehow he'd been exposed to pure, undiluted mako—the energy responsible for powering the reactors. It was a miracle he'd even made it back here. Aerith knew she was just imagining it, but it felt like she could feel the mako crawling against her skin—oily and wrong. It was the complete opposite of the Lifestream, a horrible mutation she would never forgive Shinra for.
Frantically pushing Cloud away, she slipped out from under him and gently rolled him onto his back. She knew she was hyperventilating and struggled to get her breathing back under control. Mako poisoning wasn't contagious—there was no way for Cloud to infect her—but the realization of what had happened made her sick to her stomach.
A part of her realized he was dying, but she shoved that thought away and locked it in the deepest recesses of her mind. She would never allow that to happen. Not now, not after they'd finally found each other again. She refused to allow the second chance they'd been given to end like this—before it had even really begun.
Elmyra was out visiting a friend, leaving her completely alone to somehow deal with this nightmare. Cloud needed a doctor. She didn't know enough about mako poisoning to be able to treat him on her own. The one thing she did know was her Cure Materia wouldn't help at all. Aerith bit her lip in frustration. Giving up wasn't an option. She could do this. She had to.
Kneeling next to him, she forced herself to put her hand on his arm. His skin was alarmingly clammy. "Cloud, I have to run to Sector Five to find a doctor. I'll be right back. Promise me you won't go anywhere, okay?"
He nodded weakly, but the fact he didn't seem able to speak any longer caused her to panic even more. Jumping to her feet, she frantically ran outside—the door slamming closed in her hurry. She hated to leave him there—lying on the floor—but she knew it would take her too long to carry him up to a bed by herself. Rushing through her garden, she was thankful the Sector wasn't too far away. Aerith prayed the doctor wasn't out on a call.
The soldiers were everywhere. Somehow they'd known he was coming and had set up an ambush. If it had only been a handful it wouldn't have been an issue, but there were dozens of them. More than he could handle alone. Only now he realized this maybe hadn't been the best idea.
Cloud cut down two more ground troopers, his breath ragged in his lungs now. They were wearing him down through sheer numbers, the individual soldiers simply no match. A helitrooper dropped too low and he lunged, taking advantage of the opening. It was a mistake. The soldier tried to get away, causing his sword to hit the delicate backpack. There was a shower of sparks, before the trooper abruptly changed directions and slammed into him, sending them both flying off the edge of the platform.
In the brief moment of weightlessness, Cloud fought against the panic of the situation. He wasn't very high up, he could still—
A sea of green rippled below him. He was directly above the mako reservoir that fed the reactor. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs—his reflexive gasp sucking in pure mako, not air. It burned. Struggling to stay afloat in the goopy liquid, Cloud heaved, coughing as he forced the poison out of his body. He could already feel it dulling his senses. Getting out was the only thing he could think about.
Grabbing the edge of the tank, he strained with all his might to pull himself out. To no avail. His arms were too weak—first from the prolonged fight and now from the mako. He could feel it soaking into him. Was this how he died? Alone, drowning in the corrupted blood of the Planet? Cloud closed his eyes in defeat.
—
When he reopened them, the first thing he saw was her. They were floating somewhere that clearly wasn't the mako tank—although everything around them was a similar green. If anything, it felt more… alive. Comforting. Similar to the feeling of cocooning yourself in a warm blanket on a frigid day, a mug of hot chocolate close at hand.
Shaking his head to clear it, he focused back on Aerith. She was kneeling on a marble pillar, somewhere in the middle of a lake? He didn't recognize it, didn't understand what was going on. And then he was there, standing in front of her. The sight of himself was disorienting—causing his head to start pounding.
He watched in confusion as the other him drew his sword for some reason. There was no one else in sight except for Aerith. The other Cloud raised his sword overhead, his eyes locked on the praying woman before him. Cloud tried to scream, to warn her, to yell at the other him to stop, but he couldn't make any noise. He couldn't even move—forced to watch this nightmare unfold.
Through squinted eyes, he saw the other version of him back away, his sword falling to the side. Cloud sighed silently in relief. Aerith was okay. A lance of pain shot through his head and he grabbed it with both hands. He looked back and watched in horror as Sephiroth fell from above—impaling Aerith on his long sword. It felt like the sword had cut through him as well. Cloud screamed noiselessly until his throat was raw, tears pouring down his face.
"My daughter didn't deserve the fate she met. All she wanted was to save the Planet. To save you. And she did, in her own way."
The voice was filled with sadness. He didn't recognize it, but it sounded so much like Aerith. Just thinking about her caused the jagged wound inside him to tear open again. It couldn't have been her—she was gone now.
"But the Planet is kind. She gave you a second chance. Don't waste it."
He realized he was floating upward now. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed, the horrible sight he'd seen fading into the distance beneath him. Not that he could ever forget—it was seared into his memory. Above him, it looked like he was drawing closer to the surface. He braced himself for the impact—
Cloud woke up, gasping for breath, lying in a puddle of mako. Somehow he'd gotten out of the tank. None of it had been real—simply a mako induced hallucination. He instantly knew that was wrong. While he couldn't explain it, he knew, without a doubt, what he'd seen somehow had happened. Would happen. But it hadn't, yet.
Staggering to his feet, he set out—ignoring the pain shooting through his entire body. There was only one thought on his mind: Aerith.
—
The journey to Aerith's house was lost in fog of green. As he slumped against the door, Cloud was shocked he'd even managed to make it here in the first place. It had almost felt like he was being guided, gently tugged as if by some magnetic force—always in the right direction. He knew she was inside, somehow able to sense her presence. Now he just had to get this door open somehow.
He fumbled with the latch, his hands barely responding the way his brain wanted them to. The door clicked open, but slid out of his weak grasp, slamming open. Well, that was certainly one way to make an entrance. He leaned against the doorframe, needing to catch his breath. Aerith was standing right there, broken glass at her feet for some reason. She was alive. And so beautiful.
Her bangs framed her face perfectly, but instead of their usual joy, her eyes were filled with alarm. Was something wrong? He wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, that he would never let Sephiroth get close to her, but his throat was so sore. Somehow the screaming from the nightmare had translated into reality—an uncomfortable reminder it had been all too real.
Cloud tried to step closer to her, but his feet failed to respond. Aerith screamed his name as he tumbled forward, only able to watch in horror as she threw herself between him and the floor. When his body touched hers, a switch inside of him flicked off—whatever force had been guiding him abruptly vanishing. What was he doing again? Where was he?
"Cloud, what in Gaia's name happened?"
He blinked in confusion. Who was Cloud? There was a woman on the floor, under him. She looked so… sad—tears running down her cheeks. Had he hurt her?
"Who… are you? Who am I?"
The look of pain that flashed through her eyes at his words staggered him. She clearly knew him, and he struggled to fight back against the fog slowly filling his mind. He couldn't remember.
"Please, Cloud, you have to tell me what happened," the woman begged.
That he could remember, if only faintly. "I was… scouting, I think? I'm not sure, but I remember Reactor Four. I was fighting. A helitrooper, crashed into me. We toppled into the reactor…"
The pain in his throat forced him to stop talking. Everything was only made worse as her face contorted in pure horror. She scrambled against the floor, prying her way out from under him. He didn't know what he'd said that had scared her so much, but he instantly regretted it. Even though he couldn't remember her, he wanted her to be happy.
He was on his back now, staring up at the ceiling. It was slowly fading away, along with everything else in his vision. His eyes focused on the woman—kneeling next to him—her lips moving but he couldn't hear whatever she was saying. He nodded as much as he could, relieved to see it had apparently been the response she was looking for. That was good. As she faded from view—the green haze now completely enveloping everything—he hoped she'd be smiling the next time he saw her.
—
"…never seen a case so developed."
"…has to be something…"
"…sorry, but…"
"…doctor, damnit! How can you…"
"…done everything I can."
"…try harder! Anything…"
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Aerith sat next to her bed in shock. The doctor had been useless. Worse than useless. She knew it was unfair, but it was impossible for her to think otherwise. He'd left her with some painkiller medication and his stupid words. As if Cloud were already dead.
She struggled to maintain her already wavering composure. Cloud was going to be alright. Any other outcome wasn't worth thinking about. If only it were that easy. If only the tears would stop. Angrily, she rubbed them away with her arm. Breaking down wasn't going to help either of them. Taking a deep breath, she focused again on the man lying in her bed.
He was so pale. Even his spiky hair she loved so much was drooping. It was like some core part of what made Cloud Cloud was just… missing. The ever-present green glow from under his skin certainly didn't help either. Despite that, he was still the same man. The one who'd bought a flower from her. Agreed to be her bodyguard. Aerith shook her head. She knew this was wrong. Falling in love with him again would only make the pain that much worse when—
She forced herself not to think about the future that awaited her. None of this was helping. What she needed to do was focus on coming up with a solution, instead of allowing her mind to continue spinning. At one point she'd even thought she'd heard him murmur "Ifalna," but that was impossible. She'd never told Cloud her real mother's name.
Placing a hand gently on his arm, she jumped in surprise as his eyes shot open—staring without focus at the ceiling. His eyes weren't their normal blue—they were bright green. Like Ifalna's. Like Sephiroth's. Like hers. The sight terrified her. Cloud had been directly touched by the Lifestream.
Aerith pushed aside her fear. An idea had popped into her head, sparked by the green glow—likely a very stupid one. Stupid or not, it was the only one she had, and she was willing to try anything. Mako was—at its core—still part of the Lifeforce. Twisted, corrupted, and wrong, but still born from it. And she… she could use that.
Quickly stripping down to her underwear, she focused on her goal—ignoring how crazy this was. Her ability to touch the Lifeforce had grown so much weaker, for reasons she didn't understand. Hopefully close, physical contact with a direct source would help in that regard. She struggled not to focus on the fact that source was Cloud. A nearly naked Cloud, only wearing his boxers—something the doctor had taken care of for her. If it saved his life, however, then her embarrassment was a small price to pay.
She sat gently on the side of her bed, preparing herself for the next part. Slowly, she slipped under the covers—her body almost immediately brushing against his skin. Her bed was not built for two people. He was so still, too still. The lack of motion wasn't the primary source of her discomfort, though. No, that was reserved for the same cloying feeling of the mako leaking out of him she'd felt earlier.
Forcing herself to ignore her discomfort, Aerith curled up against his body, resting her head on his chest. She could faintly hear his heartbeat, but it was so weak. Concentrating, she focused on her connection to the Planet. She felt nothing. Fighting back tears, she scrunched her eyes tight, all of her senses directed towards the man in her arms and the poison she could feel inside him.
"Please, Gaia. I have never asked you for anything before, but I'm begging you now: give me the ability to save Cloud."
She felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her as her consciousness faded away.
—
Aerith opened her eyes to the familiar glow of the Lifeforce surrounding her. It was so beautiful, so welcoming. She frowned slightly, noticing it felt so much weaker than the last time she'd been here. The Planet was dying. Again. That was a concern for later, however, for now, she had to focus on Cloud.
He was there—floating beside her—a few feet away. She could feel a connection between them, gently trying to pull them together. Relaxing, she allowed it to do just that, slowly drawing closer before bumping into him. She gently shook him, but he remained completely motionless. Fighting against the helplessness that threatened to overwhelm her, Aerith struggled to come up with an idea. Now that she was here, she had no clue how to actually go about helping him.
"The mako is consuming him, from the inside—reacting to the Jenova cells implanted in him."
Aerith whirled around, searching for the source of the voice. She recognized it immediately, but there was no one there. "Mother?"
"You must save him, my daughter. Or else all of this has been for naught."
"How? Please, I don't understand what I need to do!"
But there was no further response. The voice had already been so faint, and she was thrilled she'd been able to hear it at all—happy tears running down her face. Ifalna had given her the hint she needed, what she'd already known: the mako. Concentrating, she could feel it inside Cloud—a stain on the tapestry of the Lifeforce.
She reached out and gently placed her hand over Cloud's heart, the pulse of the mako mixing with his heartbeat. The solution was simple: she had to get it out. Closing her eyes, she focused on the point of contact between her palm and his chest. And pulled.
Aerith screamed in agony as the mako flowed out of Cloud and into her. It burned—like she'd dunked her hand in a pot of boiling water. The Lifeforce swirled around her fingers, extracting the mako out of her as quickly as it had arrived—a blissful cold sensation relieving the earlier pain. She stared at Cloud in horror. How was he not screaming? How had he even made it back to her in the first place?
She shoved these thoughts to the side for now. There was still a lot of mako left inside him. Bracing herself, she prepared to pull more of it out of him. This time it wasn't as bad, since she knew what to expect and thanks to the chill from earlier. It still hurt, but it was manageable. Wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible—for both their sakes—Aerith concentrated on completing the task at hand.
After what felt like years, she realized she could no longer sense any trace of the poison left inside Cloud. A moment later, he vanished. She took that as a good sign, ordinary people were never supposed to be able to come here in the first place. Of course, Cloud wasn't exactly ordinary. Smiling softly to herself, Aerith took one last look around.
She had a sinking feeling this would be the last time she'd be able to visit this magnificent place. As much as she loved it here, as much as it reminded her of the past and her origins, it wasn't a place meant for her, either. At least, not yet.
"Thank you, mother," she whispered softly. "And you as well, Gaia. I can never thank you enough for what you've done today. I will fight for you, however, together with Cloud. I promise we will do everything in our power to repay this kindness you've shown us."
"Go, and be happy, my love," a barely intelligible voice whispered in her ear.
She smiled brightly and closed her eyes…
—
Aerith's heart was racing as she watched Cloud sleeping next to her. The color of his skin was back to normal, as was his breathing. His skin was shifting gently against hers with each breath—their bodies still in close contact thanks to how small the bed was. Most importantly, the green glow was gone.
Cloud stirred. His eyes slowly opened and she sighed in relief. They were the same, comforting blue she'd first fallen in love with. He smiled at her, and she felt the last remnants of her tension fade away. He was back.
"I saw it, you know."
"Saw what?"
Cloud paused, taking a deep breath. His hand cupped her cheek, his eyes staring directly into hers. "Sephiroth. Killing you."
Aerith's breath hissed inward. How was that even possible? She didn't know what to say. He wasn't supposed to know!
"So it's real then," he said softly, a lone tear tracing down his cheek.
"Not… really?" she whispered. "It happened, but it didn't. I don't fully understand it myself."
"But you knew."
The cold harshness in his voice chilled her to the core. She nodded weakly, her eyes shifting away. "Yes."
It felt like an eternity before Cloud finally responded. "I refuse to live through that again."
"Cloud…" She couldn't hold back the tears that sprang to life.
His arms tightened around her, pressing her even closer against him—his warmth sinking into her. "I don't care what you, Sephiroth, or even the Planet thinks. I'm not going to let anything, or anyone, tear us apart ever again. Maybe that makes me a selfish asshole, but again—I. Don't. Care."
It felt like millions of tiny bubbles of pure joy had spread across her body. Aerith could never recall ever being this happy before. She still had her doubts about what the future held in store for them, but for him, she was willing to suspend them. More than anything, she wanted that happy future for them—together. "Cloud, I—"
"I love you."
Well now, this just wasn't fair. What was a girl supposed to do when the man she was madly in love with kept saying all these incredible things? The happiness she'd thought was so amazing, just moments ago, now paled in comparison to the rush of euphoria flooding through her. This wasn't part of the plan. She was supposed to be making sure he didn't fall in love with her.
Aerith found she no longer cared about her stupid plan though. "I love you too. So much."
His lips brushed against hers, and she melted into him, overjoyed they were finally kissing. It was better than she'd ever dreamed to imagine. His lips were rough, but still so soft, so gentle. Maybe too gentle, she thought, nibbling on his lower lip to show him she wasn't afraid of more. Cloud got the message and kissed her deeper, taking her breath away. Yes, this was something she could very much get used to.
Several minutes later they were both panting for breath—forced to stop when Cloud's still weak body had quivered in pain. She'd been the one to break it off, unwilling to continue on if it meant hurting him. Despite how much she wanted to. They still had plenty of time ahead of them, a whole lifetime if Cloud got his way. She desperately hoped that would be the case. Instead, she settled for staring into the depths of his eyes, her hand tracing gentle patterns across his bare chest.
Cloud smiled back at her, his face mirroring the joy still coursing through her. "No more secrets?"
"No more secrets," she agreed, laughing.
"Good. Now, once I'm able to actually get out of this bed—and we've spent enough time kissing—we have a future to overturn."
Aerith wasn't sure she'd ever stop kissing him, but that was a minor detail—something for them to worry about later. For now, she nestled against him, the exhaustion from diving into his Lifeforce earlier slamming into her. The sound of his heart beating lulled her into a peaceful slumber, filled with happy dreams of their future.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays Clerith fans! I hope you enjoyed this little story that sprang up out of nowhere—and hopefully doesn't have too many mistakes! I've never written anything this long in such a short time frame before. I really wanted to get it posted today, as a present for everyone in what has been a horrifically hard year. Hopefully, the ending wasn't too cheesy and it brought you some happiness. I hope everyone is doing well!