It was morning now and the sun had come up, but nothing had changed.

Cloud stood at Aerith's window, hypnotized, staring at her sleeping figure like he had for the last several hours.

"Cloud!"

He turned his head to see Yuffie and Cid rushing towards him. They both looked exhausted and panicked. No doubt they must have arrived from Hollow Bastion just a few minutes ago.

"Where is she?!" Yuffie demanded. She looked into the window and let out a shocked gasp. "Oh my god, Aerith!"

"She's fine," Cloud muttered robotically, turning to face them. "Just sleeping."

"How long has she been like this? When did she have her attack?"

Yuffie clearly wanted answers.

"Last night," Cloud replied simply. Yuffie's frustration took control of her. She grabbed Cloud by the shirt collar and slammed him into the back wall.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL US THEN?!" she shouted hotly. "WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL US WHEN SHE WAS SICK?!"

Cid pulled her off Cloud, but he wanted answers too.

"Yeah, Cloud," he said. "Why call us in now?"

Cloud sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out three potion viles.

"Aerith's in a coma," he said quietly. "You couldn't have done anything for her anyway. I called you in to give these antidotes."

Yuffie and Cid blinked, confused.

"Antidote?" Yuffie repeated, taking the vile. Cloud nodded. "Why?"

"Aerith was really sick," he said grimly. "To a point when she was coughing up blood." Cid and Yuffie were mortified but Cloud continued. He closed his eyes.

"That's not all. Her condition is also extremely contagious." He opened his eyes. "So anyone who has had close contact with her has the virus inside them."

"And these antidotes get rid of the virus?" Cid said, holding up the vile. Cloud shook his head.

"Not exactly. If you haven't had any symptoms, then the virus isn't active. The antidote neutralizes the sleeping virus, so it never becomes active and the immune system gets rid of it. But if the virus is active, then the antidote has no effect." Cid quickly turned to Yuffie.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, placing a hand on her forehead. "Anything weird happen to you?"

Yuffie shook her head.

"No," she replied. "Nothing, thank goodness." Cid sighed with relief and looked down at the vile in his hand. He unscrewed the top and downed it. Yuffie did the same.

Cloud watched them for a moment, then realized someone was missing.

"Where's Leon?" he asked, looking around. "I told him to come here with you."

"He did," Yuffie said, finishing her antidote. She sighed sadly. "He didn't want to see her, but he's here."

"He said whatever you wanna tell him, come outside," Cid told him. He gave him a pat on the shoulder and went into Aerith's room with Yuffie.

Cloud watched them through the window. Yuffie climbed onto the bed and wrapped her arms around Aerith as Cid took a seat at her bedside, taking Aerith's hand.

Cloud smiled a little at the loving family. He looked down at the antidote vile in his hand, exhaling deeply. He put it back in his pocket and made his way towards the exit.

He pushed the door open, sunlight immediately blinding him. He covered his eyes and slowly stepped outside. The ground was still covered in snow, and it was still cold, yet it was a definite sign that spring had arrived.

Cloud looked around, spotting Leon immediately. He was leaning against a nearby wall, staring at the sky, his thoughts a thousand miles away. Cloud sighed and walked over to him. He leaned against the spot next to Leon, and looked up as well.

There was a long moment of silence.

"So you came for her," Leon muttered after a while, not looking at him. Cloud nodded, not shifting his gaze.

"I guess you were right after all," he sighed. He handed Leon the vile.

"How is she?" Leon asked, still not looking at him. Cloud sighed again.

"She's okay now." He glanced over at Leon. "The doctor told me something like this must have happened before, over a year ago." Leon dropped his gaze to the pavement in front of him. "I guess alot of things happened when I was away." Leon closed his eyes.

"Cloud…" he said. "I'm sorry."

Cloud looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What for?"

Leon sighed.

"For loving her," he replied. "For causing so much trouble for the two of you."

Cloud sighed and looked back at the sky.

"It's not your fault," he told him. "We're just both in love with the same woman." He smiled to himself. Leon fiddled with the vile in his hands.

"She loves us both," he muttered. "But she can't be in love with both of us." He opened his vile and downed it, as Cloud looked on. Leon let out a sigh and fell silent for a moment. He turned to face Cloud.

"She never lost faith in you," he said softly. "Even when she was with me, a part of her kept waiting for you to come home." He chuckled bitterly and stared at the ground. "I really wonder if she was ever really in love with me…"

Cloud frowned and shook his head.

"No, Leon," he said firmly. "She loved you. She told me she loved you." Even though he didn't want to talk about it, he hated seeing his best friend in so much pain. "If it wasn't real, she wouldn't have lied."

Leon tried hard not to smile.

"Yeah," he said. "But she never stopped thinking about you." He stared at his gloved hand. "Every night, even after we were engaged, she'd light a candle for you, so you could find your way home." Cloud looked away. "She tried so hard to move on, to let you go, but… she couldn't."

Cloud closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. Leon stared up again.

"It's you, man. It was always you." He looked over at Cloud, smiling a heartbroken smile. "You're the person who took her heart and can't give it back." He laughed softly, plaintively.

"You're the person I'll never be able to compete with." Cloud looked up at him, taken aback by his words. Leon got off the wall.

"Leon…" Cloud muttered, not knowing what to say. Leon just shook his head.

"I should have realized this a long time ago." He smiled again. "I'm not going to win Aerith's heart, not with you around anyway." He let out a soft laugh. "So, I've decided. You win."

Cloud shook his head, his heart breaking for Leon.

"No…"

"She's yours, Cloud," Leon said. "Always has been. So I'll step aside now, because the only thing I want is for her to be happy."

"But she needs you too," Cloud said. "You can't erase yourself from her life. You mean a lot to her, she was miserable when you left."

Leon looked away and smiled.

"Was that why you sent her to me?" he asked.

Cloud nodded.

"I didn't want to see her so lonely and sad. I wanted to see her happy."

Leon sighed.

"She was… for a while. But I knew she had an empty space inside her, and I hated seeing her that way. It's like whenever she feels empty, she loses the will to fight." He looked back at the blue sky, remembering back. "Like the night when she first got sick." He closed his eyes and shook his head grimly. "God… I had never been so scared in my entire life." He shook his head again, emitting a deep sigh. He opened his eyes again, looking back at Cloud.

"I promised you I'd protect her, and I commit my life to that promise." Leon smiled sadly, lowering his eyes. "I'm sorry I had to fall in love with her." Cloud smiled a little, leaning back onto the wall.

"It's kind of hard not to," he said softly, looking away. Leon chuckled, then released another sigh.

"You're my best friend, Cloud," he said. "So I'll step down and let you have the girl of our dreams." He put the empty vile into his pocket and took a step back.

"I know you can get through this," he told him. "You always do." He gave Cloud a pat on the shoulder. Cloud lifted his gaze to him. Leon tried to smile, the pain so very clear in his eyes.

"She's too good to lose." He shot the hospital one last glance, then turned and walked slowly away.

"Wait!" Cloud called out. Leon stopped and looked over his shoulder back at him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm… I'm going home."

Cloud walked up to him, shaking his head.

"You can't stay in Burton," he said. "Aerith needs you too much …"

Leon looked away and nodded.

"I know, and I'm not staying in Burton." He sighed deeply. "I think it's time to stop hiding," he shifted his gaze back to his friend. He smiled. "You better go back inside. It's still freezing out here." Cloud nodded. Leon stared at him for a moment.

"When she wakes up…" he said softly. "Don't tell her I came, okay?"

Cloud nodded slightly.

Leon turned away and started walking.

"Hey, Leon," Cloud called out. He stopped again and turned around. Cloud stared back, his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you," he said.

Leon smiled and nodded.

"Just love her. That's all she needs." Cloud watched in silence as the brown-haired young man turned and slowly disappeared into the distance.

He truly was one of a kind.

Cloud sighed, shivering a little. He turned around and pushed the door open, slipping back inside without another word.