Chapter Five: Hope

It took a while for everyone to calm down and stop hyperventilating, but it was possible. As Cloud didn't want to leave Aeris wandering the city alone and wanted to make sure everyone knew about Aeris' situation, he asked Reeve to tell the others about it for him. It was irresponsible but it couldn't be helped. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable telling them herself or have someone else who is oblivious accompanying her.

Or maybe it was an excuse to be with her as much as possible.

Anyhow, at the moment, they were simply walking around the city and Aeris continued to do what she was doing before. It had proved to be a difficult task to get out of the bar, as everyone didn't want to be parted with her so soon again, especially Yuffie. She was practically whining and pulling on Aeris' dress. The only reason she let go was because Cloud whispered to her ear to not to give Aeris a hard time and that she will understand later. Yuffie let go reluctantly, pouting all the while.

'Then again, that was a bit harsh, but they will understand later. I wonder how they would feel when they hear the news.'

Cloud narrowed his eyes in memory of his reaction when he realized that she had forgotten him. It didn't feel pleasant at all, and it still doesn't. He sighed, 'When will she remember…?'

"Cloud?" Aeris waved her hand in front of his face. 'He's spacing out again…he must be really distracted…but I can't pry either. What should I do?'

Cloud looked up at her, "Oh, sorry. What is it?"

"Is there any place here that I've been to…before?" Aeris asked, hands clasped behind her back and with a smile.

Cloud looked at her for a moment before he voiced out, "Yes…there is."

Aeris noticed the seriousness in his voice and her smile slightly faded.

"Come." He said in a lighter tone.

Aeris followed him. 'Did I just make it worse? …but I am interested in what kind of place I've been to.'

The walk only took a few minutes before they reached their destination. The building stood there with age. The wooden walls started to peel and had several holes in them. However, the spirit it still gave off did not fail.

They reached the entrance which was a large wooden door. All this time Aeris looked at the building and its surrounding areas in awe.

'I've been here before? I don't remember but it doesn't feel foreign…at all.' She turned her gaze back to Cloud, who was apparently staring at her reaction with a slight smile.

When Aeris realized this she felt her face slightly colour. 'I'm like a little girl who has discovered a secret hideout…at least that's what he seems to say. It's true, though.'

Cloud opened the door, which make a loud creak when he did. He proceeded inside like it was his second home. Aeris trailed him, still a little embarrassed with her previous actions.

Every step they took down the aisle seemed to echo off the broken benches and walls. The sun was shining brightly outside, causing the stain glass windows to cast a colourful shadow on the floor. The air was surprisingly fresher in the building than outside.

Aeris looked pasted Cloud's figure and understood why. At the front of the building there was a small pool of water, sparkling from the small amount of sunlight coming through a hole in the roof. In addition to the pool, there were some yellow and white flowers around it, with some petals floating on the water.

Aeris took in a deep breath of air. This was one of the most beautiful yet simple scenes she had saw since she could remember.

"I've…been here?" she started, her voice a little hoarse because of the unconscious need of keeping the peaceful air.

They reached the pool before Cloud answered, "Yes, but it is a bit different from before. There use to be flowers instead of the Lifestream."

"Life…stream?"

Cloud turned to her, "You know what that is…do you?"

For a moment Aeris didn't answer. 'It sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I might have heard of it. Could it be…?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when saw a few flashes before her. She saw a garden, then a white crystal-like ball. She started to feel nausea when an image of a white marble ground appeared.

'What…?'

Aeris fell to her knees, covered with cold sweat.

"Aeris!" Cloud caught her arms before they reached the ground. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick again?"

While taking deep breaths, she lifted her face towards Cloud and forced a smile. "I'll be okay."

She took the initiative to sit down on the ground so she could recover her breath. Cloud followed suite, still worried. He wanted to ask her what happened, but he thought it was best if he let her rest for now.

For a few minutes neither of them said a word. Cloud was indulged in his thoughts as to what just happened. 'It could be from earlier on but-'

"Because if you really knew her before, she will realize that she knows nothing about it, which will cause her the pain of not remembering a thing."

'Was this what he meant? But I thought it was mentally, not physically. Maybe…both?'

Aeris broke into his thoughts when she said, "Thank you."

Cloud turned his gaze from the floor to her smiling eyes. "Huh?"

She smiled at his reaction. "Or would you like me to say sorry to cause you trouble?"

Aeris always had a way with words. She just simply knew how to use them to their full potential, even when she was talking in riddles. But because of past experiences, Cloud understood what this meant, "No, 'thank you' sounds much better."

Aeris made a slight pout. "I thought you'll be confused. Aw, you're no fun." She finished with a light laugh.

"Did you want to see me confused?"

"Um…kinda." She smiled sheepishly, a little pink streak across her face.

'Okay, now I'm really confused. What's with her expression?'

Aeris immediately saw the confusion in his face and laughed out loud. When she calmed down she said, "I think you manage to become confused one way or another."

Cloud smiled slightly, "…Yeah."

…………

"Sorry for troubling you."

"No, this is what I'm here for."

"Yeah, but…sorry."

"You know," Aeris finished healing Cloud's wound before she said, "It'll be much better to say thank you than sorry."

"Oh…sor-" Cloud stopped himself, "…thank…you."

Aeris smiled at him and went off to see if anyone else needed her help.

Cloud couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth twitch.

…………

"So…what did I do in this church?"

Cloud snapped out of his thoughts and answered, "Well, you took care of the flowers here."

"Really? It's a bit weird to say this but I seem to be in character." She finished with a laugh, and even Cloud couldn't help chuckling at her comment.

When they quieted down, Cloud whispered, "…and this is where we met."

"Hm?"

Cloud looked over to her, and found himself stuttering. "…Well, uh, we…met here…officially."

"Really? That's…" Aeris paused, searching for the right word, which she couldn't find, "Wow…I would've never expected that. And what do you mean by officially?"

"Because we met before. On the streets. I bought a flower from you and…"

"A flower from me? Was I a flower girl?"

"Yes."

Aeris didn't respond immediately, taking in all the information given to her. "I see. That's not surprising."

"Well, after that, we met here."

"Why did you come to this church?"

"I…fell in."

"What? How?"

"From the roof. There use to be a huge plate covering the whole city. I was on a mission up there, and I fell down when an explosion happened. I thought I was going to die but apparently the flower bed broke my fall."

"So that's where the hole came from." Aeris commented jokingly. "What happened after that?"

"I…took you home." Cloud contemplated if he should tell her the reason why, but soon decided against it. He wasn't sure if she even knew who she was –is.

"Aw…" Aeris clasped her hands together. "That sounds so sweet."

"It does…huh…" Cloud turned his face away to hide his embarrassment.

"I really wish I could…" Aeris stopped and left her sentence hanging, which Cloud didn't notice. She stood up from her spot and slightly skipped over to the Lifestream. She then kneeled down and looked at her reflection. "Hey…do I look any different? From then."

Cloud looked up to her form, "No, not at all. If you did maybe I wouldn't have recognized you."

Aeris turned her face over and gave a soft laugh, "Oh right."

'I said that but…I can't imagine not recognizing You.'

…………

The once noisy bar was now so silent that someone outside would hear a pin drop. Reeve finished telling the dreaded news, and once again, shock was cast upon the group.

Yuffie broke the silence, her voice still soft, "…but she could remember? Isn't that right? People who have amnesia can recover!" She stood up abruptly, causing the chair she sat upon to fall on the wooden floor.

"Yes, that's true…but her case is way different."

"But it's the same illness! It shouldn't be that different. We should take her to the doctor-"

Tifa placed her hand gently on the younger girl's shoulder, "Yuffie, we have to calm down. Everyone is still shocked about the situation but nothing would happen if we panic."

Yuffie turned to her, sadness clouding her eyes. "But she's finally here…with us."

"I know…"

"You know what, if she doesn't remember, we'll make her remember!" Cid declared with his loud voice.

"Rather, help her remember." Vincent corrected him with a softer tone.

"Yes, remember what she always told us? Not to give up hope. We never even tried, so we shouldn't give up so easily." Nanaki stated.

"Right, now that she's back, her sickness will heal with time." Barret nodded.

"Besides, she's here, and that's all it matters." Tifa smiled. "What more could we have asked for?"

"That's true." Yuffie put on her grin. "I want to take her to Wutai!"

Reeve chucked, "Maybe you can ask her when she gets back."

"Where did they go, anyway?"

"Um…window shopping?"

"What? Stupid Cloud…"

"Perhaps he didn't want her to feel awkward."

"So... she wants to know about her past, that's why she came here, isn't it?" Nanaki asked.

"I suppose. We should ask Cloud for the details later, even if they aren't much."

"I wonder…how he felt when she said she didn't know him." Tifa softly said.

There was silence to answer that question. Even though each of them knew, that he would be the one who is most hurt.

"Where the heck is he?" Yuffie burst out in frustration.

…………

"We should get going. It's getting pretty late." When Cloud received no answer, he added, "The others would worry."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I spaced out."

Cloud stood up and walked over to Aeris, who was still staring at the Lifestream. He made an amused face as he thought of what to say, "Sorry? Shouldn't it be thank you for causing me to snap out of it?"

Aeris looked up to him and laughed, "Yeah, it should be." She stood up and dusted herself.

Cloud turned and started to walk to the entrance of the church when he remembered about the flower Aeris gave him. He had put in on the ground beside him when he sat down. He gazed around for it while Aeris gave him a confused look. When he spotted it, he went over to pick it up. He turned back to the flower girl and said, "I almost forgot."

Aeris smiled, "No you didn't. If you did you wouldn't have remembered so quickly."

"What?"

"Never mind." She hummed teasingly and started down the aisle to the entrance.

Cloud slightly shook his head and followed her.

…………

A/N: My transitions are the worst. O.o If you could tell, I was trying to work on my descriptions and stuff because I almost never write them. That's one of the reasons why my chapters are so short, hahah. Hey, it's true :P

The church WAS his second home in AC. xD

And sorry about the lateness, school's been pretty hectic with my slacking off-ness, ness. XI Or rather…thank you for waiting patiently for my update. XD