. take three .
Cloud
Everything seems deja-vu.
The crane moving, the ladder, Aerith waiting for him at the end of it. Yet, he doesn't want this to play out like the other two times.
This times he thinks he's got it right. Aerith is always so nice to him, it won't be difficult being nice to her, just for once. Part of this resolution comes from the fact that he doesn't want to disappoint her again, even if that's kind of hard to admit.
"That went pretty well," she says, greeting him with a smile as soon as he's in front of her, clapping her hands in enthusiasm.
"Sure did," he replies – and then he does it.
He lifts his hand, almost tentatively.
It feels strange. He feels stupid but strangely alive. The gesture resembles him a free fall in which you don't know what excepts you at the end.
But yeah – jumping means falling hard sometimes, and this is one of those times. He acknowledge that when she sets a bewildered gaze on him, and her hands don't meet his.
It's okay. He shouldn't be surprised, by the way. He's never been a people person, he probably got this wrong, things like this are not his cup of tea.
The worst thing, if possible, is the fact that now he's extremely conscious of how much he wants to feel her hands hitting his – but she doesn't do it, and that's a delusion, and he can't help but wonder…
Is this the way she felt before?
He lowers his hands reluctantly. He's lost track of the time spent there, waiting. What probably was just an instant feels like an hour to him.
He walks past Aerith, doing his best not to meet her eyes.
"Hm?" she tries to call him back, as if realization just came over her, "wait a minute, did you just…?"
She seems so surprised, so happy – for a moment he considers saying 'yes', turning back, raising his hands again, no more misunderstandings, no more possible excuses to avoid what he thinks they both want.
"Nope," he's all he can say as he approaches a ladder, his defensive barrier rising high and setting him on his old track, where none of this would ever happen.
"Don't worry, we'll be on the same page next time," her words hit him because they sound like she's reading his mind, he hides his face while jumping up the ladder.
"Don't know what you're talking about," he replies, and he feels like he's both lying and telling the truth.
He know what she's talking about – yet, he doesn't think it's possible for him to be on the same page with someone, ever.
AN. I mean when Cloud went for it I was like ooooommmygood sooo cute XD and he didn't even get it... ahaha... so guys, thanks for the support :) See you soon with the fourth and last part!