Story Title: After the Rain
Rating: K
Genre: Romance and Drama
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters appearing in this fanfiction.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad that you're all keeping up with my slow updating. But I updated faster this time! Ha!

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Chapter 9
And then, will it shine?

Cloud and Zack yawned tiredly in sync with one another one morning. The exit exam had loomed upon them faster than they had thought it would. Zack had trotted over to Cloud's house so they could study together. They ended up staying up late into the night and only went to sleep when Cloud's mother forced them to. They stayed up twenty minutes more over who gets to sleep on the bed.

"I studied more than you did!" Zack had yelled, pushing Cloud away from the bed.

"Talking about how you're going to pass the exam is not studying!" Cloud yelled back. "And this is my room! Sleep on the floor!"

Zack gave up in the end and slept on a futon on the floor. Once the lights were out, he mumbled about strangling Cloud in his sleep but soon his mutters turned to snores. It was hard for Cloud to sleep because of all the noises Zack kept making, but he finally managed to drift away. He awoke suddenly the next morning, feeling cold. When he looked at his bed, he noticed that someone had pulled off his blanket. At that moment, Zack began talking in his sleep.

"Aerith… Sorry…" he turned over, his wide open as drool slid down the side.

"Ah!" Cloud saw that Zack had two blankets. He immediately pulled them off. "Get up, Zack! We're going to be late for school!"

Zack shivered and moaned. "Gah… so tired… so cold…"

Cloud ignored him and began getting ready for the day. On the way to school, it had begun raining. Neither one had brought an umbrella, so they ran to the testing hall. Though they woke up five minutes later than usual, they were able to arrive on time because of the run. Aerith and Tifa of course were already there, and they looked more energized than usual. Tifa peered at Cloud's tired eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Terrible." Cloud replied.

"Studying, huh?"

"That, and a sleepless night. Not to mention the rain this morning…"

Tifa giggled. "Well, do your best on the exam."

"Thanks. Good luck to you too."

On the other side of the room, Zack and Aerith were chit chatting as if nothing had happened the previous day. There was an air of awkwardness coming from them, but when Cloud saw Aerith smiling and Zack talking normally, he knew everything was going to be okay with them. They just needed a little more time.

"That sounds a little like me and…" Cloud glanced at Tifa and blushed. He shook the thought from his head. The class was quiet, which wasn't unusual since it was an important day. They all must've been nervous. The official in charge of watching the students stood at the very front, a watch around his wrist to keep track of time. Cloud and Zack hurried to their assigned seats before they could be scolded. Two more minutes, and it would be time. Cloud breathed in slowly to calm his nerves.

"I have to pass this… I have to."

---

"I-it's over…" Cloud heard Zack utter from behind him. The students around them all stretched and flexed their arms tiredly. Cloud turned to Zack. He was staring down at the desk, looking completely stiff.

"How was it?" Cloud asked him.

"H-horrible… I couldn't concentrate at all…"

Cloud only hoped he was kidding around, but by Zack's look it didn't seem like it. Zack asked Cloud the same question, and he replied, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

"Cheater!" Zack scratched his head in frustration.

"Zack, stop it." Aerith scolded. Zack immediately stopped and looked at her. He placed his hands on his lap and said quietly, "Yes, ma'am…" Aerith giggled quietly. Even though Zack had appeared out of hope, he still listened to her.

"C'mon, let's celebrate." Tifa jumped in.

"But… I…" started Zack, but Cloud interrupted. "Yeah, where should we go?"

"I was thinking about going somewhere to eat." Tifa said.

"That sounds good." Aerith agreed. "Where at?"

"Um, if it's okay, at my house."

"Oh! Are you going to cook?" Aerith asked, clapping her hands in delight.

"Yes, of course."

"Then it's settled!"

Zack groaned. "I wanna go home…"

They walked back to Tifa's house talking loudly. Only Zack remained quiet and only spoke when spoken to. He was sulking the entire time. Aerith didn't even scold him like she normally would have done. Tifa whispered to her, "Shouldn't you do something? He looks so sad."

"I don't know what to do with him anymore." Aerith answered sadly. Tifa looked at Cloud for help. He sighed and said, "All right, I'll talk to him." He slowed his pace down to wait for Zack as Tifa and Aerith continued walking. When Zack saw Cloud waiting he smiled half-heartedly.

"Waiting for the loser, huh? Kind of you."

"What's wrong?"

"I failed the exam… I know I did…"

The day before the exam Zack didn't appear the least bit nervous. Then again, maybe the reason he slept over was to forget about all the stress he was building up. But when he sat down to take the exam, all the anxiety and tension must have returned. Seeing Zack getting so worked up about it made Cloud feel anxiety of his own. He didn't want any regrets though. He wanted to accept the outcome.

"You shouldn't worry about me, you know?" Zack noted. "You've already got things to worry about."

"Yeah, well, it's no fun worrying about it alone."

"Heh, I guess you and I are the same when it comes to making women happy, huh?"

"Guess so."

"Hey, you two!" Aerith called. "Hurry, or we'll leave you behind!"

"Coming." Zack answered lamely. He and Cloud picked up their pace. Tifa's father greeted them all warmly when they arrived. As always he laughed heartily and slapped both Zack and Cloud's back whenever he made a joke. Zack and Cloud laughed along to be polite, though it was nowhere near funny. Cloud made an excuse to escape back to his house, and soon returned with his mother. She was overjoyed to celebrate with them.

After placing their bags away, the women ran to the kitchen to begin cooking while the men waited in the living room. Most of the time, Tifa's father talked and asked questions. He didn't seem the least bit tired or ill. Cloud wondered if he was just putting up a front so they wouldn't worry. But it didn't matter, so long as they were all enjoying themselves. Once Tifa's father grew tired of talking, he began snoozing away. Zack stared at him. "Does he fall asleep that fast…?"

"I wouldn't know." Cloud rubbed his fast.

"Anyway, I'm feeling kind of tired myself." Zack yawned.

"If you fall asleep, you'll lose your appetite."

"I'll count on you to keep me awake."

"Good luck with that."

Cloud was feeling a bit tired too. His neck was stiff from being in one position for so long, he needed something soft to sleep on. He placed his head on the arm of the couch, but quickly got back up. "I can't… sleep yet." Cloud mumbled tiredly. Zack on the other hand had already fallen asleep. "Idiot." Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled paper and threw it at Zack's face. Zack grumbled and glared at Cloud. "I'm still awake, dammit." They took turns figuring out ways to keep one another awake. In the end they decided to see what they could help with in the kitchen.

"Oh! Good timing." Cloud's mother called him over. "Watch the food here, will you?" She moved away from the stove and headed to the counter, letting Cloud watch the food that was simmering in the pan. Zack was asked to shred the last of the lettuce, but he appeared to be having trouble. Aerith patiently taught him how before returning to her own work. There was a bit of ruckus for the kitchen was quite full, but with everyone's help (excluding Tifa's sleeping father) they finished.

"Cooking is hard." Zack wiped his forehead. "And all I did was chop things up!"

"For your first time cooking for six people, that wasn't so bad." Cloud's mother said.

"The lettuce looks deformed." Aerith teased.

"How could you say that? And after all the time I took into preparing it for you…" Zack went along. Tifa and Cloud had already begun setting up the food and plates on the table. Tifa's father was still asleep. It troubled Cloud.

"My father's been sleeping a lot more lately." Tifa said, as if she read his mind. "He rarely has time to do anything, but as long as he's happy then I don't mind."

Once everyone gathered around the dining table and Tifa's father was awoken and they listened to the adults' sermons, they began digging in to the delicious food. The atmosphere that evening was wonderful and cheery. Even Zack, who was so depressed earlier, smiled happily. Before eating, he continuously asked which food was cooked by whom and often engulfed the food cooked by Aerith in big gulps. To be fair, he equally ate that much food cooked by Tifa and Cloud's mother. He was the first to stop eating before anyone else. "…I'm gonna head outside." He said before disappearing behindthe front door.

"He seems a bit lonely today." Mr. Lockheart said after Zack left. "I hope nothing's wrong." He glanced briefly at Aerith. Funny how the adults understood the relationship between the "kids."

"Nothing terrible, I assure." Aerith bowed her head respectfully. "If you'll excuse me." She left the table and headed outside. Maybe they'll be able to work things out if they talked.

"I hate to bring this up, but I was wondering," Tifa's father cleared his throat. "When do you plan on leaving, Cloud?"

"O-oh." Cloud felt all eyes on him. "I'll be leaving a week after school lets out."

"That soon, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, everyone."

"Come now, no need to apologize. Everyone needs to move on someday."

Tifa's head hung low, but she smiled as if saying to Cloud, "I'll be okay."

When it was about time to leave, Cloud's mother and Tifa's father volunteered to clean and insisted Cloud and Tifa to join Zack and Aerith outside. When they approached the front door though, it swung open. Aerith and Zack piled inside.

"W-what happened?" Cloud asked, startled.

"It started raining suddenly!" Aerith explained. "That was surprising."

"Anyhow, is it okay if we borrow an umbrella?" Zack asked Tifa, pleading with his hands together.

"Uh, sure. But, are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, it's raining and getting pretty late. I'll be walking Aerith home."

Tifa handed him a red umbrella. He didn't appear to notice she only gave him one because he thanked her cheerily and dragged Aerith outside, barely giving her any time to say goodbye to Cloud and Tifa. There was a moment of silent confusion after Zack and Aerith left, only the falling rain was heard.

"Um, I guess we can't go outside then." Cloud said, as if it wasn't obvious.

"We can stand here on the porch though." Tifa stepped out underneath the porch roof. Cloud stepped out with her and closed the door.

"It feels like it's been a while." Tifa said.

"Huh?"

"Since we were alone like this." She smiled, her cheeks turning pink.

"Yeah, you're right." Cloud looked up at the gray colored sky. "Too bad it's raining though."

"Hmm, I don't mind though… as long as you're here."

Cloud glanced at her curiously. She turned to him with that irresistible smile of hers.

"Right?" she asked.

He returned a smile and answered, "Yeah."