Chapter 2
NiniChan: hey... I'm back..
Cloud: Yeah! NiNiChan hasn' tryed to hug me in 2 weeks!
NiNichan: 'cause I'm tired
Cloud {ignores her} Onto the disclaimer!
Layci: {Reads from paper} NiNichan owns Nothing about Final Fantasy.
Cloud: i love this NiNichan!
NiNiChan:Really? {perks up} I LOVE YOU, TOO, CLOUD! :3
Cloud: {facepalm] what have I done?
The laughing and singing of customers filled the air of 7th Heaven. The door was almost constantly being swung open and closed. The bar was ridiculously packed with people wanting to get drunk, but who could blame them? It was a Friday night in October, and things were going well in the world.
So, Tifa Lockheart should be outright ecstatic at the huge amount of customers, right?
As if.
Tifa sighed as she set down another round of drinks for a table of rowdy men and headed back behind the counter to fill even more orders. Any other night, she would have been elated at the turnout… but with it being Layci's first night here, and Cloud being - No matter how much he wants to deny it - injured, She'd be perfectly happy to kick all these people out of her bar and rush upstairs.
But, sadly, bills don't pay themselves.
"Oi! Tifa!"
Startled, Tifa fumbled and almost dropped the somewhat dusty glass she was cleaning. She looked up, almost annoyed, at whoever surprised her. Her wine colored eyes immediately softened, however, when she saw it was just Barret.
The dark Gunman leaned on the counter in front of her. " 'Just tucked in the kids." He practically screamed in his gruff voice over the din, "Spiky's gettin' the 'lil doll shipshape and ready for bed." Tifa looked up from the glass she was scrubbing. That was… surprising, to say the least. Cloud wasn't exactly great at domestic things…
"Well, I gotta get goin'. There's this big Meeting 'bout another oilfield thing in the mornin'. Tell Marlene Bye for me, will ya?" He stood up from the bar. When he was at the door, Barret waved his hand energetically before leaving.
So, Cloud was helping Layci… the girl seemed charming to Tifa, yet, there was something extremely familiar about her, which frightened the dark haired warrior. Maybe it was her face, or really straight posture. Maybe her argent hair. Or… Maybe the eyes? All of it made the child seem to be like-
'
No! That's not possible!' Tifa corrected herself and took more orders. She looked down at her notepad and sighed.
It was going to be a long night.
"The towels are right here."
Cloud pointed at the two light creamy ones on the shiny metal towel rod. Layci nodded. Curiously, she walked up to the large fluffy towel on the left and held her hand out to it, feeling the smooth fluffiness.
The spiky haired blond looked away, trying to hide his smile. The child was like a toddler, feeling- cautiously at first- every surface she could. She's run her frail hands across the wallpaper in the hall, the white tile of his small bathroom, and she shuffled her feet back and forth on the single brown throw rug on the floor.
He suddenly noticed the bathtub almost overflowing. "Shoot!" Cloud rushed over to the tub. He had to kneel down to turn off the faucets. Layci turned at the sound of the water stopping. She looked at Cloud inquisitively, unsure what to do.
He got to his feet, reached to the tall shelf over the tub and pulled off a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap. Cloud started, "Hey. You can use my-"
"Methoclorisal and Sodium hydrogen," Layci stated stoically.
"What?" Cloud was beyond confused until she pointed at the shampoo and soap.
O-Kay, then… Cloud thought.
"Oh Right! Is the water warm enough?" Layci gave him a completely confused look. "Here." He gently held her small hand, as though if his grip would shatter the like glass.
Cloud submerged both the appendages into the water. "Is it alright?" He asked before pulling their hands out of the tub. He let go of the girl's hand. She nodded and whispered, "It's comfortable." She sounded almost surprised, Cloud noted.
"I'm going to find clothes for you. After I do that, I'll be right outside the door, Okay?" He told her and she nodded.
As He was walking out the door in search of clothes, he was positive he saw Layci dropping her hand in the water with a small smile playing on her pale lips.
Cloud walked down the dimly lit hallway to Denzel and Marlene's shared bedroom, where they were both peacefully sleeping. He left the door open to let light in, tiptoed over to the closet, and silently slid open the sliding door. He then began flipping through the different articles of clothing.
His hand lingered over one of Denzel's shirts. It was his school uniform, to be exact. Even in the dim light of the hallway into the room, he could see the glow of the white collar over the short-sleeved black shirt that blended back into the darkness.
Would Layci have to go to school? Most likely, but she seems way too smart for her age. Well, what Cloud thinks is her age. She looks like a small seven year old, but with her eyes… her eyes look as though she has seen a lot more then her share.
Cloud sighed. This was just too puzzling. Her obvious lack of knowledge of the world and just people in general, proved his guess that she was either born in the lab, or sold by her parents to H- No, that monster.
Still, if she needed help from her brother and an apparently bloody battle to escape an abandoned lab, which meant it had a ridiculous amount of security. Which led to the question:
Why was Layci so important to him?
That train of thought made Cloud angry. No, not angry; Undeniably and utterly furious. Memories of the pain… the helplessness… the grief… All of it floated malevolently back to his mind.
But what made him want to break down and cry, was the ever present memory of Zack. Remembering the SOLDIER smiling, being an idiot, flirting with Aerith, consoling Cloud, With his eyes glazing, blood seeping from all the bullet holes on his chest and... and… and…
It hurt.
"Stop it!" He murmured to himself. He stared at the clothes in his hands, trying to take his mind off of all the pain and remorse. What's done... is done. No one can ever change all that happened. No matter how much he wants to.
For now, it would be best to calm down. What's the phase Cid used to describe him when he's like this, again? That's right, it was something like 'emo bitch'. He smiled at the thought and worked to find some nightclothes for Layci. Crap, she was small! Cloud began to doubt that he'd ever find some of the kid's clothes that would fit her. She'd probably be able to slip out of neck without even trying!
Finally, Cloud decided. He chose a blue tight shirt of Marlene's (which were apparently all the rage in the forth grade), which would still be loose on Layci, but it would be better then nothing. For pants, he found an old neon purple and yellow (Cloud only knew they were Denzel's from his name written on the tag) flannel pair with a drawstring.
Careful not to wake the two snoozing kids, Cloud slid the closet door closed. He silently ambled over to between the twin beds. Denzel was softly snoring and stirring in his sleep, rolling around to create more of a tangle of covers. Marlene was silent, and was currently wrapping herself even tighter in her blanket cocoon.
Cloud quietly slipped out of their bedroom, looking back before noiselessly closing the door behind him. He walked down the wooden floored hallway back to the bathroom door next to his room. Splashing sounds came from the room, which was just Layci in the tub.
Another noise reached his ears. It was hard to hear over the muffled din of the bar below them, but he could hear something faintly. Cloud stained his ear, for even with his enhanced hearing, it was barely audible. Finally, he was able to make it out; it was singing! The voice was high and soft, pure like a child's. He was almost pressing his ear to the door to listen to the words.
" 'Tis moonless night,
My fallen star.
Just wait for the sun,
We have time,
So come forth, my rose."
The song was coming from the bathroom, which meant it was Layci! Her voice was sweet, full of the innocence her cyan eyes can't hold, and it fit the reassuring, and calming lullaby. It was a tune Cloud had heard before, making him wonder where she learned it.
"Nightmares of morrow,
Won't hurt us.
Our light, will grow,
Our hope, will shine!
So child, dream a pleasant dream."
The way Layci was singing the song was beautiful, but sorrowful, contrasting the lyrics. Cloud leaned against the wall to the left of the door as She continued to the next verse. Cloud closed his eyes, relaxing and remembering when his mother used to sing the same lullaby to him every night, up until he joined ShinRa. He let the melody consume him, and drift off. Before he knew it, he was humming along.
THUMP!
The loud and sudden sound came from the bathroom. Cloud sprang from his slouch and on impulse, burst into the door, ready for anything. Layci was lying completely bare on the tile floor, soaking wet. She looked bewildered at Cloud. In her quiet monotone, she murmured, "I slipped…" Cloud sighed in relief. At least she wasn't being attacked by who-knows-what kind of monsters that were after her.
"Let's get you dry and all cleaned up." Cloud said as the little girl stood up. Layci nodded and Cloud picked up the fallen towel. He reached out to wrap the towel over her, but stopped midair.
Her back… it was covered bruises, 1st and 2nd degree burns, and cuts, all standing out against what little unharmed ivory skin was there. Her front was bruised, yes, but not nearly as bad as the other side. There was one especially thick, deep and gruesomely neat scar that ran diagonal from her right shoulder all the way to her left hip. On her right shoulder blade, there was as a gap in the scar, as though something had blocked whatever it was that cut her.
Pushing the disturbing notions out of his head, Cloud wrapped the large towel around Layci. As he pulled the smaller towel off of the railing, he asked her casually, "So where did you hear that song?" He rubbed the smaller towel against her hoary hair, both drying it and ruffling it. Layci looked up at him with a stoic face. She was silent for a few moments.
"Nine years ago," Layci began. NINE? Cloud thought, She's older then I thought! " Nine years ago, brother went on a mission-"
"A Mission?"
Layci nodded and quietly explained, "Brother was in a program called SOLDIER for the ShinRa Electric Company. He was a 'first class', I believe that's what all the scientists called him…" Cloud's eyes widened. Just who was her older brother? Even when ShinRa was powerful, there were only a select number of SOLDIERs, let alone 1st class ones. And now… There were no SOLDIER survivors after Meteor.
"He didn't return from that mission."
"I… I'm sorry, Layci." Cloud whispered. She was silent for a moment, collecting herself and Cloud took the opportunity to get the black comb from the cabinet. While he lifted the little girl, sat her on the sink in the corner and started to brush through her hair, she continued.
"There were two new young men in the laboratory. They were contained in the cell next to mine. Both were so strong. Always, I would hear them talking about what they were going to do once they escaped. When he was tested on, the smaller one used to sing that song, over and over again."
" 'Used to'?" Layci turned away, but Cloud could still she her watering eyes. Her voice started to crack.
"After a few weeks, h-he became silent. The other boy still talked to him, but I never heard the smaller one speak again. One day, the guards came for them. I-I think they were separated. I still hear his screams echoing in my head: 'Don't take him!' 'Stop!' 'Don't hurt him' "
Layci looked up again at Cloud and stared him right in his eyes. Her cyan eyes were threatening to let tears fall. Quietly she whispered sadly:
" 'Don't hurt Cloud.' "
Cloud froze.
The comb thudded to the floor.
"I… I can't believe… You were in the Nibelheim lab?" Cloud was beyond shocked. Not only was it the home of the Jenova Project, but when he stormed the lab with AVALANCE, Vincent was the closest thing to human there. "Were you moved?" Cloud asked, curious.
"Needless to say," Layci wiped her eyes with the back of her hand; "the Professor himself came for me a few days later. I was unconscious for a lot of time. The next thing I remember, big brother is pulling me out of a Mako tube in a lab I didn't recognize."
"Why isn't he with you now?" Cloud knew he was bringing up something sensitive, an open wound, but it would solve at one of Layci's many mysteries. She was unspeaking, though.
When she didn't answer and just seemed to brood, Cloud filled the uncomfortable silence. "Here are your clothes." He held out to Layci the neon purple and yellow pants and the blue T-shirt. She glowered at them as though they might jump out at her.
"Alright, so I'll be in my room and when you're done getting dressed just come and get me." Cloud continued while Layci was still staring at the clothes without taking them. "They'll be a bit big so tomorrow we'll get you some at the store..." She still hadn't moved.
Cloud was confused, "hey… um… Are you alright?"
Layci looked up from the pajamas. Her cyan eyes flitted up at him before looking back down at her lap. It was too easy to spot the rosy blush that now flushed her face.
"I don't know, " She murmured embarrassedly fumbling for words, "How… how to…" She waved her small hand at the clothes. Oh! She didn't know how to dress. Cloud smiled reassuringly, "it's alright, I'll help you."
"Thank you, Cloud, sir."
"G'night!" Tifa yelled at the last freaking customer as he stumbled out the door, obviously drunk. She was relieved when she heard the sweet sound of the wooden door shutting closed. There were way too many people tonight. 7th Heaven was packed to the ceiling.
For the life of her, If she heard, 'one more round' again, she'd scream. After putting away the empty glasses that littered various tables, Tifa headed upstairs to bed. As she walked down the hallway she noticed Cloud's door was open.
Why the hell did that idiot leave the light on again? Tifa sighed and shook her head. She stepped into his room and almost did the 'awww'. Both Layci and Cloud were on his queen size bed, above the covers sleeping soundly. Layci was curled up; hugging the giant chocobo plushy Yuffie gave Cloud as a gag gift a few years ago.
She was so cute! Even with the slight suspicions Tifa had about the child, she couldn't deny that. Cloud was on his side, facing Layci. Tifa had to hold back her giggles, 'cause Cloud was still fully dressed. "Good night" Tifa whispered. She turned the light switch off and closed the door.