Recollections
He walked frenetically into the Inn. Passing the main hall with the dark red carpet along the floor. Towards Aerith's room. As he reached it, he stopped and looked down. What if she was sleeping? He didn't care... He needed her now. No matter what. A memory crossed his mind as he stood there.
"Squall!" The girl dressed in blue called from the dormitories of Balamb Garden. "Squall wait up!" The boy turned around to face the beautiful girl running behind him. She reached him stopping to put her hands on her knees and catch her breath. "Oh you walk fast!" She giggled as she stood up again to look at his blue eyes that reminded her so much of an infinite sea of deep blue. He looked at her pale skin, he always thought she was beautiful but as the sunlight from outside softly hit the left side of her face, making her eyes an amber colour and her hair an immense light brown, he was sure he could stare at her for hours without getting tired. "Got anything important to do now?" She asked breaking the brief silence that had formed between the two. He just shook his head and sighed ready to tell her that he had to go to the library later, but as he opened his mouth to speak, she smiled and interrupted him. "Good! Because I'm taking You, mister Leonhart, to have lunch with me." She said, smiling softly while entwining her hand on his own. "Let's go!" She pulled him, never letting go of his firm hand. The SeeD looked down at their hands. It surprised him how perfectly well her hand fits his.
He breathed in, and hesitating for a brief second he knocked on the dark wooden door. Silence followed as he waited outside. Seconds later, he heard the door opening and revealing the brown-haired girl who smiled at him as she saw who it was. But he didn't wait for her to tell him to come in. He approached her and placed his arms around her body, embracing the confused girl in his arms. But she didn't question him. There was no need for that. Her arms made way to his neck and her head slowly rested on his left shoulder. He caressed her head with his hand and closed his eyes, allowing the pain and confusion he was feeling, to evaporate as he held the girl close to him. Long minutes passed by them as they remained there. Aerith's arms, softly and slowly as if they didn't want to obey her, went down to his chest and pulled him lightly, breaking the embrance. She looked up at him, her glowing green eyes never leaving his.
"Thank you Leon." She started, almost in a whisper. He didn't know what to say to her. He noticed she was feeling rather confused about his actions, but in truth, he felt confused too. "I... I need to go take a walk." The girl said for Leon's surprise. A second later, she had already left him.
***
The door of the Inn clinked softly as the girl in pink closed it behind her. She gave one step forward and looked up at the dark sky as she sighed. The sky was starry, just like that night two years ago.
"Hey! I know! Let's go on the gondola!" She said cheerfully to the motionless soldier in front of her. The date that night had a reason. Meeting Cloud... Not the cold-hearted soldier whose ice blue eyes made her shiver inside, but the man within the soldier. She wanted to reach his heart although it was harder than it seemed. He wanted to know her better too. But his cold personality kept him away from her most of the times. He wanted to fight it, but those feelings were stronger. She smiled tenderly and motioned for him to follow. And so he did, entering the wooden gondola with the girl that would change his life forever.
She smiled remembering that night. She had had fun with him. His surprised face when he saw it was her knocking on the door... How he looked at her when she asked him to go on a date together... The way they both took part of a play, the several games they played... But now that Leon was there with her. Everything seemed different.
"Thank you for being here with me. It's like you were put here to keep me going." She heard a voice bringing her back to reality. That voice... she knew perfectly well. She walked towards the wall and looked down at the courtyard only to see... Him... with the girl dressed in blue. She had the slightest idea she knew her. Then it hit her... the same girl that had collapsed with her shoulder the other day in the tournament. Was she there with Him that day? Her eyes watered... Cloud wouldn't speak like that with anyone... Unless he had feelings for the person.... As she opened her mouth to call his name, darkness engulfed her.
***
Back in his bedroom, Leon walked up towards the mirror on his oak chest of drawers. He looked at his reflection on the mirror. He had grew his hair long because Rinoa wanted to see how it looked like. He doubted she remembered that now. She sure had changed a lot of things in him. The way he used to be. How he acted, how he looked like. But now, now she had changed herself. Aerith, on the other hand, would like to see his light brown hair short. He picked the scissors on the desk next to his bed and went back in front of the mirror. With his left hand, he grabbed his longer hair and then cut it. Aerith would see it short now. But he wasn't doing it for her... It was time to go back to the old Squall. No more Leon. Leon was weak, he let himself be hurt. Squall would never let that happen. Squall was stronger. Rinoa changed you... for the best... She always wanted you to be someone who she could lean on... Leon kept saying to himself. And so you started to depend on her... But she doesn't love you anymore!
"Leon!?" The voice of the ninja was heard from the door as she skipped into the room. She rose a hand to her mouth as she got a better look at him. His hair.... It... "What did you do?!" The man, looked back at Yuffie, her shocked expression threatening to make him smile, but no, Leon would smile... Squall would never smile.
"Don't call me Leon. The name is Squall." He said with a cold expresion she had never seen in his eyes. Yuffie stared in complete disbelief.
"But..." She began as her hand dropped from her lips. "But you always hate it when I call you Squall... What's wrong with him? Why did he cut his hair? Not that it doesn't look good, but why? Why is he doing this? She bit her lower lip in worry as she kept staring at him. His boots making soft clicking noises on the floor of the room, he brushed past her without a second look. He needed to go train. And train the right way. Leon trained alone. Squall knew better. The best way to train is to fight your rival. And-in lue of the fact that a rival is someone you hate and since Seifer was not present it was time to make a new one. He let himself smile on the inside.
***
"Seriously..." Yuffie left the Inn, placing her hands behind her head and crossing her legs, looking down. "I don't understand these people..." She walked down the stairs, and that's when she saw him... She had ran into her old friend. "OH MY GOD! IT CAN'T BE TRUE!" She tackled the blond-haired man to the ground. "Cloud? Cloud Strife? What in this freaking world are you doing here?! How did you come?! What are you doing dressed like this?! What happened to you after.. the you–know-what?! What are you doing here?! How long have you been here?! How come?! Why?!" She kept asking over and over again, between the 'heys' from the soldier. Rinoa looked at the two smiling.
"Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!! Zell!" Selphie Tillmit called back at the blond boy who looked at her but not in time to see her coming... The girl grinned and jumped on his back. "Good morning!!!" She yelled in his ear. Rinoa, who was a few steps behind the two, giggled as she looked at them both. The boy cursing at the girl that just jumped on him. Selphie laughed and jumped off of Zell, back to the floor.
She shook her head and looked back at Yuffie and Cloud who had the girl by the back of her suspenders and she had a good hold of his cape. She stopped insulting the soldier to look up at Rinoa. "And who is she?"
"Oh! I'm Rinoa." The girl in blue introduced giggling.
Yuffie nodded and smiled back at the girl. "You know... Seeing Cloud again made me remember... the time when he fell down a chair at a bar we went in Costa del Sol! Oh my God you should have seen him! It was like this—
"Don't even try!" Cloud struggled to shut the girl up but she was able to escape his effort to put a hand over her mouth.
"There was this sexy woman, like, dressed in a... let's just say, very attractive way. And Cloud was there, sitting at the bar. She approached him and started flirting Cloudy here. You should have seen his face! Sweatdrops all over and his embarassed look! She kept leaning against him and he kept going back until he hit the floor hardcore! I don't even have to mention how hard the members of Avalanche started laughing seeing that scene. Well, all except Aerith who walked to the girl and taking a good grip of the woman almost kicked the hell out of her"
With that, Rinoa laughed. How could it be? The mysterious and cold man she met had that other side after all. She laughed even more. Guess no one is perfect.
As Yuffie finished her story, Yuffie wondered herself of where the flower girl might be. Cloud looked at his old friend, thinking about Aerith.
"How did you come here?" Rinoa asked before Cloud could really ask something to Yuffie.
"Simple Rinny!" Yuffie began. "Our friend Cid flew a Gummi ship that he builds." Cloud looked down at her again.
"Cid is with you?"
"Well, if he was with me, he would be standing next to me!" She sarcasticly replied. Cloud smaked her on the head and automaticaly the girl started calling him names, getting some answers from Cloud too. As for the girl in blue, she kept smiling all the way. This must be the real Cloud. "There's another passenger on board... He's name is Leon." Yuffie thought about what happened some minutes ago with him.
"What's this Leon like?" Rinoa frowned an eyebrow.
"Oh he's a loser... You wouldn't like him. Cid probably went after him..." Yuffie explained. But suddenly, a thought came to her mind. "Oh yah... There was somebody else with us." From the way she looked at Cloud, he thought it was probably Barret or Tifa. But Yuffie stood there, looking at him. Cloud looks back at her and so does Rinoa. The ninja looked away from him and sniffed. Cloud knew then... with a shiver crossing his body. Yuffie was talking about Aerith.
~~~~~~~~
Oh wow! A quick update! Eheheh!
You should thank Mazzie May! ^^ She's the one who made me write a new chapter that fastly!
Thank you so so so much Mazzie May! For everything! I don't know what was of me without your help! Go read her works! It's awesome! ^-^
Anyway, thanks a lot for the lovely reviews! Hope you liked it! See ya next chapter!
