Story Title: After the Rain
Rating: K
Genre: Romance and Drama
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters appearing in this fanfiction.
A/N: This chapter is a tad shorter than the others, sorry! I didn't expect it to be this short, really. Anyhow, thanks for the reviews and enjoy!

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Chapter 17
The rain will continue to fall for now

It had been at least two weeks since Cloud left Tifa and the others. Cid was more than a bit surprised that he returned so early. Cloud never told him of what happened, but Cid was upset. He didn't lecture him though. He yelled at Cloud for about two minutes, his shortest time at the least, and then left Cloud to be alone. He never pushed the subject. Cloud liked how Cid respected his personal life, but sometimes he wished Cid would be nosy and ask. Shera never asked, but she often told him that if he needed to talk about anything, she'd listen. He couldn't tell her though. She appeared to be a woman who carried her burdens secretively. Putting his weight on hers would be too much.

During those two weeks, Cloud never received a phone call from Zack, Aerith, or Tifa. The only one who called was his mother. He asked her how Tifa's father was doing, and his mother told him that he was already up and about. Though because of what happened, he's been forced to give up his usual routines. His mother also told him that Tifa's father was a bit unhappy when he heard that he had gone away again. Cloud felt bad and selfish. He didn't know how he would be able to face Tifa's father again.

Days passed, and today was but one of those days when Cloud awoke to the sound of his alarm clock for work. Lately, it's become a habit for him to check his cell phone for messages. It's been two weeks; he had no idea why he bothered. Yet he couldn't just stop staring at it. After getting ready for work and his cell phone was safely placed in his pocket, he walked to Cid's bar.

"Hello, Cloud." Shera greeted him with her usual smile. "On time as always."

Cloud simply nodded and headed to the back where the other workers were. They greeted him as usual, but lately they were a bit distant. Cloud knew that they were gossiping amongst each other about Cloud's early return. Though they acted as if everything was going along as normal, Cloud always sensed a feeling of unease. He hated that.

One evening when Cid's bar had closed and everyone had left, Cloud stayed behind. He just wanted to be alone. Though that was an easy goal to accomplish since all he had to do was walk back to his apartment, but the stillness there wasn't very comforting. At least when he was at Cid's bar, he could enjoy being alone along with the company of Cid and Shera. Though he never listened to what they were saying, just hearing their voices was enough. Cid also never forced him to leave. The first couple of days he complained of course, but afterwards it seemed he just gave up. However, Shera told Cloud, "Cid really is worried about you. Please don't be upset at him."

Tonight was one of those nights when Cloud spent the evening at the bar. He was helping them rearrange some things in the back so it would be more organized. However, Shera was sitting out and could only help move things that were light.

"Shera, are you all right?" Cloud asked her. She usually helped out whether Cid liked it or not.

"Yes, I'm completely fine." She smiled.

"Cloud, shut up and get to work!" Cid yelled from behind a stack of boxes.

"All right, all right…"

When everything was done and over with, Cloud decided to take off for the night.

"Leavin' so soon?" Cid said when he saw Cloud getting ready to leave.

"Yeah." Cloud replied. "Need to clear my head."

"Well, have fun." Cid laughed. He appeared to love tormenting Cloud.

"Good night, Cloud." Shera said. At least she knew the right things to say.

Minutes after Cloud shut the door behind him and walked home, it began raining. His troubles weeks earlier still hung on his shoulders like a heavy boulder. He needed some motivation to work something out. But when he remembered Tifa saying that she wanted to be left alone, it made him lose his will to even see her. His mind reeled round and round, making him feel dizzy from thinking too much. But as he approached the main entrance to his apartment building, he saw someone standing out front. He squinted his eyes in the darkness, unable to make out who it was. It wasn't until he drew nearer when he recognized that it was a girl. Her light brown hair seemed to glow in the dark, and her bright green eyes look awfully familiar…

Cloud gulped. "Aerith?"

"You didn't come back." She said it so coldly. Her eyes didn't carry their usual gentleness either. She was seriously angry. "We're all waiting for you."

"…I'm sorry."

"If you are, why don't you come back?" her eyes already were sparkling with tears. "Your mother's waiting, Tifa's father is waiting, Zack and I are waiting. And Tifa, she's waiting too!"

"Tifa… she said she wanted to be alone."

"Do you honestly believe that meant she wanted you to leave?"

"No. But if I had stayed, it would have troubled her."

"Do you know what you're saying?" Aerith cried.

"That I'm leaving her…? Yeah." Those words left Cloud's mouth with a bad aftertaste. He really didn't want to say anymore. Aerith stood there, hurt slapped all over her face. Though her tears were sliding down her face, she didn't wipe them, nor did her voice shake when she spoke, "How can you say that so easily?"

"I can't ever say anything easily." Cloud paused. "But I speak the truth."

"Well, you're lucky." Aerith said. "Unlike most, Tifa tolerates the truth. She's the kind of person who listens before judging, smiles when she's hurt and values truth over lies."

She gave him a cold look. "Maybe you should have told her 'the truth' before you decided to leave her. It would've saved us all this trouble."

Cloud was taken aback. She wasn't the same Aerith he knew anymore. He felt like he was talking to a completely stranger. "If that's all you came here for, why did you come to fetch me?"

"Because Zack wouldn't come."

Cloud felt his heart drop. He had completely forgotten about Zack…

"He's lost hope in you, Cloud." Aerith told him. "But I didn't, so I came to prove him wrong."

She looked into his eyes. "But I only proved myself wrong."

Cloud watched her as she ran past him. Her tears trailed off behind her, but Cloud assumed it was just the rain. He dared turn around to see where she had gone, but she was already out of his sight. He wondered when she arrived and how long she had waited only to be again disappointed by the results. In a daze, he walked into his apartment room. His cell phone was on his dresser next to his bed. He grabbed it without thinking and checked its screen.

2 New Messages

One was a voice message left to him by his mother. The other was a message with a picture attached to it, sent by an unknown number. He checked his mother's message first. It was the usual message she always said, but it was enough to ease a bit of the pain he was feeling at the moment. Tapping the buttons on his cell phone, he opened up the next message. When he saw the picture that was attached to the message he nearly dropped his phone.

In big bolded letters above the image, there were three words: WE MISS YOU!

Beneath the short message was an image of the whole gang. Zack, Aerith, and Tifa were zoomed in on the photo. All of them were smiling. However, there was an empty space. It seemed there was enough room for another face to fit in it, but there was none. Cloud stared sadly at the photo. He knew this image was only recently taken, because though they were smiling, they all looked rather lonely.

Cloud read the message again. He could clearly hear each one of them screaming, "We miss you!"

He closed his cell phone and held it close to him. "Yeah… I know… I know…"