Hello everyone! Glad to hear you liked the last chapter. I need to add a bit more fluff into this story for it to fit under romance, not to worry there's plenty more coming up! Thanks for reading and reviewing! –Annubis
The Decision Between Life or Death:
A Second Chance
Chapter 19
Aeris awoke feeling more rested than she ever did in her entire life. She was warm and ready to start her day; she had a happy bubbly feeling. What was it that made her night so great? Then she noticed the arms wrapped around her. She smiled at the hands that lay loosely on her lap. Her head turned to look behind her. Zack's chin rested on her shoulder. He looked peaceful as he breathed softly against her neck. A giggled emitted from the woman at the tickle she it gave her. The man's eyes popped open, them having a pale color in the sunlight that flooded into the room.
"Morning." Aeris whispered.
"Hm." The man replied, smiling. He yawned and stretched as the woman jumped from his lap. Aeris frowned at the cool temperature that invaded her body. She wanted to return to his warm arms. "Sleep well?" he asked standing up.
The woman nodded, a blush crossing her cheeks.
"What time is it?" Zack walked to the window noticing the bustling streets below and the bright light from the day.
"We've slept in quite a while. We've almost missed lunch!" the woman giggled. She joined the man's side to catch the sight of the village.
Despite all the damage from the day before it didn't stop all the shoppers from visiting the local shops. The townspeople rushed from store to store to stock up on supplies for food, clothing and hammers and nails. While they shopped others repaired their destroyed homes, neighbors helping each other.
"I wonder what possessed that snake to come and attack this place." Zack mumbled to himself.
"Cloud had mentioned something about it being controlled by somebody." Aeris gave her input.
"Cloud…" Zack turned to the other woman, a large smile on his face. "He never did come back to his room."
"Oh my…" Aeris covered her mouth, her cheeks red.
"Maybe Tifa ensnared him for the night." The man chuckled to himself.
LINE
Cloud stirred in his sleep. His eyes slowly opened to stare at the tan ceiling overhead.
'This is not my room…' the man rubbed his eyes.
The bed he was in was much softer and a lot warmer than his usually was. He turned his gaze to the side. Tifa laid next to the man, sprawled across the mattress. Her dark hair flooded around her, across her bare shoulders, down her bare back. The blanket kept his eyes from further venturing down her naked body. He watched her sleep a moment giving a large grin.
Yuffie awoke to the sound of knocking at her door. She stirred quickly, jumping out of bed. Her eyes moved around the room, searching. Vincent was gone. She frowned and muttered a few strands of curse words as she opened the door.
"Wakeup call." A room service man said cheerfully.
"I didn't have a wakeup call." She muttered, scratching her messy hair.
"The men in the dining room told me to give you one, they said that they were tired of waiting." The man bowed. "My apologies."
"It's fine." Yuffie smiled. "Tell them I'll be down in a few minutes." The man nodded and headed down the hallway. Yuffie yawned as she headed for the bathroom. A nice warm shower would help her wake up. Though she did wonder where Vincent had gone. She didn't appreciate him leaving her.
'Damn you, Vincent. Leave me here all by myself you cold hearted bastard.' She stopped in front of the door to the bathroom. It was closed. Her ears perked up at the sound of running water being shut off.
'Someone's in my bathroom!' she listened intently. She reached for the handle of the door and turned it, locked.
The handle jiggled a moment and flew open, steam poured out of the room. Yuffie yelped and stared at the sight before her. Vincent stood, wet, his long black hair sticking to his shoulders and chest. He leaned to the side to look at her with his red eyes. A complimenting towel wrapped around his waist.
"Can I help you?" he asked in a rich, low voice.
"…" Yuffie stared. The man shrugged a shoulder and walked around her.
"You can have it, I'm done." He made his way to the vanity mirror and grabbed Yuffie's brush. He pulled at the tangles in his hair.
"…Did you take up all the hot water?" she finally was able to speak.
"Sorry, I like hot showers…" the man stared at his reflection. "I'll try not to open the door while you're showering like you did to me."
"I didn't….I didn't know you were in there. Just be quiet." She huffed and made her way into the bathroom.
"Trying to sneak a peek?" he chuckled softly to himself.
"Vincent!" Yuffie shouted in a warning tone as she shut the door behind her.
Yuffie leaned against the door, sighing. She smiled. Vincent stayed with her the entire night. He didn't leave her. Plus she got to see him wearing nothing more than a towel. Today was going to be a good day.
"Them damn lovebirds…always wastin' our time!" Cid finished off the tea in his white and blue porcelain mug.
"They don't realize we've got people we would like to see to." Barret scoffed.
"I don't know 'bout you, but I'm having' fun!" Cait Sith purred.
"Cause you ain't got nothin' else to do you damn robot!" the pilot rested his chin on his hand.
"Hey! I may be a robot but I've got feelin's too." The cat folded his arms.
"I'm having fun." Kadaj nodded.
"All you do is play cards." Barret grumped.
"Well maybe if I could come along with you guys more often I'd be of more use." The silver haired man glared. Every day it seemed he became less and less like a child and more like the Kadaj they used to know.
"Maybe if we could trust you." Barret retorted. Kadaj balled his fists.
"Enough fighting. It solves nothing." Shelke sat next to Kadaj. "I think we've known him long enough to put some trust into him. Besides you all trust me now, do you not?"
"That's different." Cid mumbled.
"How so?" the girl studied him.
"We've known you longer. Besides Vincent trusts you so we don't have much of a choice do we?" Highwind stared at the ceiling.
"So if it weren't for Vincent then you would not trust me?" the girl looked at the warm cup of hot chocolate in her hands.
"Erm…thas not what I meant." The pilot tried to cheer her up.
"You're not going to be good with children are you?" Barret glanced at the man.
"Well she's not exactly a child!" he stood up for himself. "She's just stuck in a lil girl's body."
"Maybe someday I can leave it." Shelke muttered.
"Now look what ya' did. Ya' ruined everybody's mood." Cait Sith whacked the pilot on the leg.
"I din't do nuthin'!" Cid cursed.
"I think this time would be better spent researching. I would like to go back to my grandfather's lab and go through more files. I would like to find out more about the original reason we're all together, Zack and Aeris' resurrection." Red XIII scratched himself behind his ear.
"I'd like to see Marlene." Barret nodded.
"Haven't seen Shera in a while." Cid sighed.
"Perhaps we shall take this time to do our own things, see loved ones and gather data." Shelke nodded.
'I would like to find out more about the procedure done to me and whether or not I'll have to stay in this body forever.' The girl frowned.
"Wh, where will I go?" Kadaj stuttered.
"Somewhere we can watch you." Barret eyeballed the man.
"That's not fair!" Kadaj stood from his chair, knocking it to the ground.
"He can come with me." Shelke nodded. "He could be of use to me. We'll go to the Shinra Mansion's basement since the underground lab was destroyed."
"You sure?" Barret asked.
"You know me. If he gets out of line, I can handle him." Shelke winked. Kadaj muttered incoherently to himself.
"I suppose I'll go back to Reeve. He said there are some things he wants me ta do for the president." Cait Sith's ears drooped.
"Then it's settled, that's what we'll do." Vincent's voice interrupted the conversation.
"Where will you go?" Shelke asked nervously.
"Who knows. I've got a few things to check up on." The red eyed man replied.
"Not without me!" Yuffie came down the stairs. "If everyone's going to run around doing their own thing, I'm going with somebody. There's no way I'm staying here."
"…You can follow." Vincent nodded.
"Then I guess I'll take a trip back to Edge." Tseng entered the room.
"We'll be going as well." Tifa hopped down the steps cheerfully. Cloud followed closely behind her. Barret glared at the spiky haired man.
Zack and Aeris walked down the steps next to each other sharing a conversation. They stopped at the bottom. Zack glanced at everyone as Aeris just smiled.
"What will you two do?" Yuffie asked.
"What do you mean?" Aeris tilted her head.
"We're all going off to do our separate things for a while." Tifa smiled. "We'll get back together later…what will you two do?"
"Oh." Aeris thought a moment.
"See our parents." Zack answered for her. "There's a lot of explaining I have to do and I'm sure that my parents would like to see me again. It had been quite a while." He looked down at Aeris.
"My mom?" she asked hesitantly.
"We'll go see your mother. We'll have to find her though, we don't know exactly where she is…" Zack rubbed the back of his neck.
"I can do some research. I'll put in the request to Reeve immediately." Cait Sith momentarily froze, a few mechanical noises sounded and the cat was back in action. "I'll give ya a call on the PHS when I find out anything." The robot tossed the man the phone.
"Thanks." Zack nodded. He placed the phone into his pockets.
"Then let's hurry. I'll drop you all off and then I'm outta here to see me Shera." Cid hopped out of his seat.
"Remember, no smoking." Tifa advised.
"I'll do what I want, woman." Cid pouted.
"You'll be in for it when I tell Shera that." The dark haired woman crossed her arms.
"Don't see why it matters." The man spat.
The group boarded the airplane. Aeris walked closely with Zack, whispering.
"Why don't we know where my mother is?" her voice was nervous.
"…Because after the destruction of Midgar she moved away. We weren't able to tell where she went. She didn't leave a note." Zack answered nervously.
"Was she mad at me?" Aeris asked. Her eyes began to water.
"No!" Zack turned to her quickly. He was quiet a moment. "There's something important I need to tell you. I just didn't want to."
"Didn't want to? Why would you keep something from me?" Aeris asked. She felt hurt.
"It's nothing like that, really. I would never want to keep something from you. I just wanted to protect you…" he looked to the side. "I don't like seeing you get hurt."
"What didn't you tell me?" the woman noticed some staring eyes from the others. Zack looked over his shoulder.
"Come with me. I'll tell you everything." Zack said quietly.
He grabbed her hand and led her away from the cabin where the others were. Cloud gave the man a worried look. Zack led her to the basement where the bunks were kept. He took her into one of the rooms and locked the door.
"Is it…that personal?" Aeris wrung her hands. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"Okay, I'm not going to sugarcoat a thing. I'm just going to flat out tell you." The man sighed heavily. Aeris sat on the bed, Zack decided to stay standing. "You died."
"What!?" the woman gave him a look of disbelief.
"That's right. Now let me finish." Zack breathed in and talked quickly. "I was in Soldier, as you know. I told you about Cloud and I, Sephiroth and Nibelheim. I told you about the experiments done on Cloud and I and how we escaped. I said I was shot down." Aeris nodded after every sentence, trying her best to keep up.
"Well, then…I died." Zack stared at her, never tearing his gaze away from hers. "I was murdered by the Shinra soldiers. I laid in my pool of blood with Cloud there next to me. I died, and something happened
to Cloud…something psychological. To explain it the best I can, he thought he was me. Thought he was Soldier, first class. He joined the rebel group, AVALANCHE, which you know is everyone upstairs."
"You died…" Aeris interrupted. "But you can't…you're here right now. Do the others know!?" Aeris asked frantically.
"Yes." Zack breathed a laugh. "They know everything. Anyways, they get together to stop Shinra, Sephiroth, who should have been dead as well, got mixed into things and one after another Cloud met all the others and he eventually met you."
"…" the room was silent a moment.
"You joined the others. You were kidnapped by the Turks and taken into the Shinra Co. Now, during that entire time I was brought back to Hojo's lab. Hojo had done more experimentation that involved more Mako and Jenova cell transplants. His research said that there was no effect between me and Jenova's cells. That was because my body had rejected the cells in a way where they wouldn't control me. I have the ability to manipulate the cells and use them to my advantage." The man explained quickly. Aeris was beginning to look confused. "Jenova, an alien from the sky, was used in the experiments with some soldiers. He created Sephiroth clones. He wanted to make super soldiers. That was where I came in. the man didn't want Sephiroth, he wanted me because of the fact that I could control the cells. But he wanted to do it in a way that he could control me instead. It didn't work out that way. I was able to escape and eventually wound up finding you all. We searched for Sephiroth to get rid of him once and for all. He had taken the black materia from the Temple of the Ancients and was planning on using it to summon Meteor to destroy the planet. And in the end, we met up in the Northern Crater. You following me here?"
"I think so…" Aeris nodded slowly. Her mouth gaped open.
"Ok, good. Cause here comes the hard part. Sephiroth and I got into a serious battle. He ended up killing me, tricking me." The man got quite a moment. "I was stabbed numerous times. You and the others showed up right after I threw him over the edge of the cliff. You were angry, ran away to the City of the Ancients. You prayed for holy, to save the planet but Sephiroth had followed you. He killed you, stabbing you in the back."
"…" she looked at him incredulously. "No…that couldn't have happened." She laughed. "You're lying to me."
"I'm not, Aeris. I promise." Zack kneeled down before her. "You have a scar, don't you? Did you ever notice it?" the woman gasped. Her hand went to the spot below her ribcage.
"I, I thought that perhaps it was a wound from a battle that I did not remember."
"It's the scar from Sephiroth's sword." Zack informed her.
"…I don't want to believe it." Aeris shook her head. "But how are we here now?"
"That's what we're trying to find out." He stood. "It's a confusing mess, really. All we know is that it has something to do with the fact that when we died, our bodies landed in the Lifestream."
"So we both died, you twice…and now we are back and that is why we are all together again, to find out why we have come back?" Aeris talked slowly.
"That's right." Zack nodded.
"But my mom." Aeris shook her head.
"She was devastated. She couldn't handle it. She packed her things and left, never returning to her home. We don't know where she is." He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"But mom! She never acts like that. Why would she do such a thing? I can't imagine her ever being so upset!" Aeris covered her face. "I ruined her life!"
"No!" Zack held onto her. "Don't say that. None of this is your fault."
"It is! I should have never gone with you all. I should have stayed home! Because I left, I was killed and my mom is nowhere to be seen! She's gone and I'll never see her again!" the woman sobbed.
"…You…never wanted to be with us?" Zack looked at the floor.
"I lost mom because of leaving." The woman cried. "I've lost years of my life because of it!"
"But, you saved the planet! If it weren't for you the planet would be gone and everyone would have died, including your mom." He tried to talk some sense into her.
"I did?" the woman lifted her head. "I saved the planet?"
"You saved it from meteor and you saved it from Geostigma." Zack nodded.
"Geostigma?" she sniffled.
"It was a disease. Jenova was trying to strike back at the planet. She gave the sickness to our friends and to the children. You were able to cure it."
"But I was dead." Aeris whispered.
"Even in death you tried your best to protect the planet." The man gave her a reassuring smile. "You always wanted to keep people safe. You felt it was your duty."
"…We'll find my mom?" she asked.
"I promise." Zack nodded.
Aeris smiled and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his chest. He held onto her.
"Thank you." she whispered.
Cid seemed to be going hyper-speed. He had everyone dropped off in their own locations around the world before the day had turned into night.
"Yee haw! Get to see my Shera!" the pilot lowered his plane onto the grassy field outside of his small town. "Won't she be surprised!" he quickly shut off the engines and ran out of the ship and into the tall grass.
The wind was blowing, making the plains ripple like the ocean. It had been about a month since he had last seen her. The man ran a hand through his blonde messy hair. He scratched his chin, reminding himself that he needed a shave. He hurried down the brick street toward his small home. Lightning flashed on the horizon, revealing large poofy clouds. He made his way up the small stairs and knocked on the front door, it was late but he noticed the kitchen light was still on. The door to the house opened slowly with a soft click. Shera squint her eyes at the dark figure on her porch, her glasses sliding down her nose. She looked exhausted. Not to mention her figure was a bit fuller than usual. He noticed a plastic tub in her hand. Was she depressed? Shera always had the habit of getting into the ice cream when she was upset about something.
"Evenin' miss!" Cid nodded his head once.
"Oh! CID!" Shera opened the screen door and leapt onto the front step, hugging the man tightly. "I've missed you so much!" she cried out.
"Didn't think you'd miss my lazy ass that much." The man laughed quietly.
"Come in! It will rain soon. I've been watching the weather all night, worried that you'd be caught in the storm!" she tugged his arm, dragging him into the house. Cid's eyes had to adjust to the light. He looked about the home, it was a disaster.
"Shera, look at this place." Cid muttered. "What the hell have you been doin'?" he looked down the hall to one of the room, his study where he kept his supplies and research for his planes. "Ah! My stuff!" he stared at her quickly.
"I decided to make more room here." Shera explained nervously. "I think that we should maybe build a new shed to put all your stuff in."
"Damn it, Shera. What's gotten into you? I thought we've talked about this before. I don't have the time to make a shed for all my stuff, besides we don't use that room anyways. I know it's a mess. How bout I just go through everything and reorganize?" the man grabbed a cigarette.
"We are going to need the extra room, Cid." The woman placed a hand on her stomach.
"Why the hell will we need the extra room?" The man scratched his head. He placed the cigarette in his mouth. He grabbed the tub from her hands. "What did I tell you about the ice cream? You're gonna make yourself sick eating that much." The man grabbed the tub from her hands. The woman reached up and pulled the cigarette from his lips. He protested.
"No more smoking. Not for a while at least." The woman shook her head. "And I'm gonna have to eat more than usual."
"What?" the man stared at her. She smiled at him. His eyes went from the empty room down the hall, to the tub of ice cream in his hand and then to her swollen belly. His mouth dropped. "Oh damn…"
"I'm pregnant, Cid." Shera twiddled her fingers.
"Pregnant!?" the man held onto the sides of his head. "You…got a baby in your belly!?"
"That's right." The woman laughed.
"But, babies are expensive! They…need room! My study! I'm gonna need to add on to the house, build a garage. I'm gonna be a daddy!" the man walked in circles around the couch in the living room.
"And stop smoking." She grinned.
"Smoking! That's what Tifa's been tellin'…." He looked at his wife curiously.
"Tifa knew." Shera smirked. "I told her to keep an eye on you and keep you from smoking too much."
"Aw, hell, Shera!" the man grabbed his pack of cigarettes and threw them across the room. "Why didn't you jes' tell me!"
"You're not mad!?" Shera exclaimed. "About quitting?"
"Just get me a couple packs of gum and some tea and I'll be set!" the man stared at the mess on the floor. "I need a smoke." He groaned.
"Go outside." Shera ordered.
The man stumbled a bit. He grabbed the woman's shoulders for support.
"But…I'm so old! How's that possible?" the man raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna be his grandpa before he's done with school!"
"You're not that old!" Shera beamed.
"You sure it's mine?" he looked at her nervously.
"Cid!" she put her hands on her hips.
"Oh damn… wait till I tell the others." He mumbled. "I'll never hear the end of it from Barret."
"Are you happy?" her voice was soft.
"Happy? Of course I'm happy!" the man hugged the woman. His heart was pounding; he felt he was going to drop dead any second. "Scared to hell but damn happy!"
"I'm glad!" she hugged him back, kissing him on the cheek. They stood in silence a moment.
'And I thought I was going to surprise her! Damn Shera always outdoin' me.' He grinned.
"So…" he thought a moment. It had been quite a long time since he last seen his wife. "How bout we try an make it twins?" he drawled.
"Oh! Cid!" Shera giggled.
"There it is." Zack pointed to the old, decrepit church before them.
"This is my church?" Aeris gasped. It was horrible! There were holes everywhere, the roof was literally missing, and parts of one wall were gone.
"Afraid so." The man opened the large wooden door to the building. He held it open for the woman.
Aeris held her hands next to her chest. Her mouth hung open in shock. Her church was once a beautiful thing, but now it looked dead and grey. She looked to the middle where her garden should have been. There was a small pool of water surrounded by her favorite yellow flowers. The sight of them made her smile.
"They never died." Zack said. He sat in one of the nearby pews, watching the woman.
She trotted next to the flowers and squatted. Her fingers rubbed the petals. There wasn't a sound in the air. Her church was always in a quiet location but now that the slums were gone and Midgar was destroyed, there wasn't a sound at all. She could hear and feel the wind. She could smell the cold, crisp are that was the symbol of approaching snow. Wutai was getting over its snowy season while Midgar and Edge were beginning it.
"It's so peaceful here." She whispered. "Someday I would like to rebuild my church."
"I will help." Zack nodded.
"Would you?" she smiled at him.
"Of course."
"…Why?" she tilted her head.
"Because, this place is special to you." He didn't want to mention that it was special to him, that it held many memories of him and Aeris. "Do I need a reason?"
"No, I suppose not. Just curious I suppose." She giggled. She looked upward at the ceiling. She stared at the holes in the roof. She remembered the sight before her. She could see the sector's plate overhead, could hear the violent explosion that sounded and could see a man fall in front of her into her garden. She fell backward, her eyes rolling into her head slightly. This greatly alarmed the man in the pew. Zack leapt to his feet and kneeled down beside her, lifting her head.
"What happened!?" he gasped.
"…The explosion." She mumbled. She could see Cloud laying in her garden and she trying to wake him up. He had his typical blonde spiky hair, his brilliant blue eyes, and a uniform that was navy in color. It was like the uniform Zack described he had worn in SOLDIER. "Cloud… he fell. He fell through the roof."
"…Cloud fell through the roof?" Zack asked quietly. He thought a moment. He remembered Cloud telling him that he had fallen through the roof of Aeris' church. That was how they first met.
"He fell through the roof, not you." Aeris sat up. She gave him a confused look. "You told me that you fell through the roof."
"I, I did." He nodded quickly. "Cloud had done the same."
"How's that possible? How can two men with the same uniform drop through my church in the exact same place?" she stood slowly. "It's impossible. It can't happen."
"It did…" he stared at her with hurtful eyes. "You think I'm lying."
"Maybe you are. Who knows." She took a few steps back. She was scared, confused, worried, and now she finally realized that she didn't know a thing about Zack. She couldn't remember anything about him. She tried to get the memory back of Zack falling through the roof but it didn't seem right. It was only a split second of a memory the last time, but this time she remembered everything. She remembered Cloud vividly. She remembered their conversation. He made a plan to be her bodyguard, not Zack. She said she'd go on a date with Cloud, not Zack.
"Aeris, please." The man reached out for her.
"Don't." She pulled her hand away. "I don't know anything about you. I don't have any memories of you."
"None?" he asked. He felt the heavy flutter of his heart seeing her scared of him.
"Cloud and I…We traveled together." She whispered. She felt another series of memories string together. She could hear music, like a theme park. They were at the Gold Saucer. "The date. We went on
a date." She remembered the play they were in, the ride around the park while watching the fireworks, and then the night in his hotel room. She gasped loudly and turned away from the dark haired man.
"Aeris?" Zack dropped his head. Why couldn't she remember anything about him?
"We went to the Gold Saucer." She felt the familiar sting of tears. "Cloud and I… we went on a date. That night…"
Zack knew exactly what she was talking about. He had come to the Gold Saucer to find her. He did, but she was with Cloud. He heard them talking in his room, she was upset about something. He couldn't stand the silence that followed. He knew what was happening. He remembered the feel of the cold wooden door as he sank to the floor. Aeris was remembering her time with Cloud, those emotions she felt then. He felt like he lost everything, she didn't remember him, their kisses, and their time together. Perhaps she didn't want to remember.
"Why can't I remember anything about you, Zack?" she held her hands to her chest. She was scared and she didn't know why.
"I, I don't know, Aeris." He muttered.
"Tell me something, anything! Maybe I'll remember." She backed herself against the wall. She remembered her feelings for Cloud. She was in love and right now more confused than ever. He and Tifa were together, weren't they? Why would he leave her in the room with Zack if he had feelings for her? Why would he leave her with Zack if he didn't trust Zack? Maybe Zack was worth trusting, but there was nothing between her and him except for what developed over the past week.
"I don't know what to tell you Aeris." The man sighed. "I fell through the roof. I fell through a long time ago."
"But you said you fell through the roof during that first time with the others when they were AVALANCHE. But if that were the case, then you couldn't have fallen through then because that was when Cloud fell through. And you didn't meet up with us till after all that happened. Zack your storied aren't matching up! How am I supposed to believe anything you say if you're stories are contradicting?" the woman stared at the yellow flowers.
"I'm sorry, Aeris. I haven't been completely honest with you." The man felt stupid. He was so caught up in keeping her from knowing they had dated in the past that he didn't pay attention to what he had told her and what part of the truth he had altered. He was actually making things worse rather than better.
"I want to leave. I want to be with the others." Aeris headed for the door. "I want to see Tifa."
"Ok." Zack barely managed to say.
'Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!' he mentally smacked himself.
"It's so quiet here without the kids." Tifa sighed.
"How long is Barret going to watch them?" Cloud mumbled. He was sitting backwards in one of the wooden chairs.
"For a few days." Tifa smiled. "That means we have the house to ourselves!" she cheered.
"Been a while, huh?" Cloud smirked.
He remembered the day he and Tifa moved in. It was a dingy tiny place. It didn't take long, however, for Tifa to cover the grey walls with photographs. She carried her camera with her everywhere. She took photos of Marlene, the orphans around town and the building city. She was constantly getting snapshots of Cloud and his bike. She found it amusing that he didn't like his picture taken. She opened her bar immediately bringing in the whole city. Cloud was busy helping her set up and serve the drinks. After a while, being tired of dealing with people, he remained by the bar washing glasses and mixing drinks. The earned better tips anyways when Tifa was the waitress. Before he knew it, they had adopted Denzel. He and Marlene were good friends. Barret was often traveling the world for new resources for energy so he let the other two take care of Marlene while he was gone. Tifa and Cloud simply skipped dating and getting married and moved on into parenthood. It was a big step, Cloud thought he could handle it, but the action of it was more painful than he imagined. He was afraid of the commitment. Afraid of having the chance of losing Tifa and the kids, being in charge of taking care of them. That was when he decided to start his delivery business. He would be away from the home. Tifa could care for the children, she wouldn't be lonely. That's what he thought. He didn't think himself worthy enough to be with her. He knew he was doing the complete opposite of what he wanted by running away.
"I was a fool." The man said monotonously.
"Hm?" Tifa sat in a chair next to him; they stared out the window together. Tiny snowflakes decorated the already snow covered ground. It was quite a surprise to come home to this weather especially since just a month ago the weather had barely gotten into low temperatures.
"I'm sorry, Tifa." He glanced at her.
"For what?" she asked quietly. She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him explain. They woke up that morning together and neither said a word until they were downstairs. They didn't mention a thing about it since and it worried her. Maybe he was talking about that. Maybe he thought it was a mistake.
"For running." He leaned his chin on the back of the chair. "I didn't mean to hurt you like that." It seemed a little difficult for him to say these things.
"It's ok Cloud." The woman smiled.
"It isn't though. I hurt you…a lot. And it was selfish of me." He closed his eyes. "I realized something last night, Tifa."
"What?" she asked after a long silence. He faced her.
"I like being with you." He smirked.
"…With me?" she asked, her face turning red. She brought a hand to her cheek, trying to hide her embarrassment. Cloud reached up and took that hand. He stared at the ring on her finger. His thumb rubbed over the surface.
"I made you a promise…" Cloud said softly. "And I do not plan on breaking that promise." He lifted her hand and kissed the top of it gently. Tifa felt like she was going to pass out, two nights in a row where Cloud shows affection. This was unheard of!
"So…you're not leaving?" she asked him.
"Never." He nodded once.
Zack and Aeris approached the bar Tifa and Cloud lived in. She kept her distance from the dark haired man. She felt very uncomfortable being near him.
"We're here…" he said rather cold.
"…" Aeris hesitantly went to the door. She waited a moment. She looked over her shoulder. Zack was walking away, snowflakes flurrying around him. He leaned against a nearby tree keeping his back to her. He obviously wasn't coming. The woman turned to the door and knocked.
She could hear the soft clicks of the locks being undone. The door opened and before her stood Cloud.
"Aeris?" he asked. "What are you doing here I thought you were with…" then he noticed the man in the background. He was slouching, his head hung low. Cloud knew that something bad had happened. Zack was not in a good mood. "You want to come in?"
"Ok." Aeris answered nervously.
"Cloud! I'm going to run to the store real quick! You want me to pick you up some-." Tifa came down the staircase. She was putting on her jacket and pulling on her scarf when she noticed Aeris. "Aeris."
"I don't need anything." Cloud said quickly.
"Ok…" Tifa walked past him. She looked at Aeris. "Everything alright?"
"I just need to talk to someone real quick." Aeris whispered. "I need to get some stories straightened out."
"Oh…" Tifa answered barely audibly. She had never seen Aeris so upset in the entire time she had known her. The woman opened the door and left the building she saw a man leaning against the tree in the yard. Obviously something happened between those two. She thought it best to leave the man alone. He looked as if he was about to kill someone…or himself.
"What's wrong?" Cloud asked. He pulled a chair out from one of the tables for Aeris to sit on.
"Zack…the stories he tells me do not add up." She shook her head sadly. "I'm scared, Cloud. I don't know what to think anymore. He tells me one thing but I remember something different. "
"Like what?" the man leaned back in the chair.
"I had a brief memory. He fell through the roof of the church. He said it was true and told me some other things. Well today I went to the church and I remembered something completely different. You fell through the roof, I remembered our conversation. I remembered…other things." Aeris looked at her wrists, she was wearing the banged up golden bracelets. She had worn them every day and she did not know why. They looked terrible now. Why were they special to her?
"Other things?" he cleared his throat.
"Cloud? Did you and I have a relationship?" she spat out.
"…" the man stared at her wide eyed.
"Did we? Please tell me." She bit her lip.
"Something like that, Aeris." He sighed. "What all has Zack told you?"
"The stories don't match up because when he fell through the roof he said was when we were all together the first time, but that wouldn't match up because that would be during the time you fell through the roof. So I'm confused, I don't know which memories to trust and whether or not I can trust him." Aeris went on explaining in great detail all of the conversations she and Zack had. Cloud was slightly confused as well as to why he would lie about certain things. "It's like he's hiding something, like he doesn't want me to know. Why would he do that?" Then Cloud understood.
'He doesn't want her to know that they dated in the past. He wants her to figure things out on her own.' He rubbed his face.
"Oh boy. Zack look at the mess you're in." the man chuckled.
"Mess?" Aeris tilted her head to the side.
"He's trying to protect you, not keep things from you. There are some things he doesn't want to tell you because he's afraid it may cause some problems. Trust me; Zack is not a bad person. He isn't trying to hurt you. He's afraid of losing you." The blonde stood from his chair.
"Losing me?" she was very curious now.
"Give it time. You'll understand soon, I'm sure. I think you should be talking to him, not me." Cloud helped her from her seat.
"He told me about Nibelheim…" Aeris whispered. Cloud froze. "Is that true?"
"Yeah." Cloud turned to her. "I couldn't protect them… just like how I couldn't protect you."
Aeris remembered Cloud running up the stairs of the platform. He looked scared and worried. She remembered the blade running through her body and the strange feeling it was. Cloud grabbed her, tears falling down his face. She felt like she was going to burst. She didn't like to see him cry.
"Don't blame yourself." Aeris took a step closer to him. Cloud looked to the side. He wanted to forget all of that. He was afraid that if he remembered all that pain he'd run again.
"How can I not blame myself when I wasn't quick enough to save the woman I loved?" Cloud turned to walk away. He wanted to avoid this. He was running yet again but he was doing it for Zack and for Aeris. He had his chance and he blew it, he knew it wasn't right. It wasn't possible. He was outgrowing his days of the past and was ready for the days ahead, with Tifa. He wanted to be with Tifa, not the past.
'But it's not the past anymore. It's the now.' Cloud remembered what Tifa had told him many times.
"Loved?" Aeris grabbed hi s arm. Old feelings began to rise.
"I did." Cloud nodded. His blonde bangs hovered over his face, hiding his blue eyes.
"Not anymore?" she swallowed hard.
"…I always will, but you need to realize that you love someone else."
"I do?" her eyes saddened.
"You do." He nodded and leaned down, kissing her on the forehead. "Go talk to Zack. Give him another chance to explain things to you. He's the best man I've ever known but he does make mistakes too."
"Ok." Aeris nodded slowly. She wanted to cry. She was sure she loved Cloud because of those memories. Maybe she was reliving those events and it was true she no longer loved him. Maybe she always will love him too. She needed to find that other love, however. She wanted to know who and what it was.
Cloud led her to the door. He opened it slowly. Aeris walked out into the cold. She looked back at the man and smiled, feeling much better.
"I know it's a hard time for you right now, but be patient. You'll figure things out soon." The blonde gave her a warm smile.
"Thanks, Cloud." She turned and made her way to the man who was now across the street and in one of the parks.
Cloud shut the door quietly behind him. He sighed loudly and went to the bar. He needed a drink.
"Did you find out everything you wanted to know?" Zack's voice was ragged and rough.
"Not everything." Aeris stood behind him. She stared at his back. "He told me to talk to you." Zack turned to face the woman.
"It's my fault." He stated.
"What is?"
"That you can't remember anything." He walked through the snow, his smoky breath trailed around him like cigarette smoke.
"What?" she stopped walking beside him.
"You fell because of me." He didn't face her. Instead he looked at the moon in the sky. "I ran from you, thinking you were Sephiroth. I thought he was playing a trick on me. You had his sword. It was how he killed me the first time. He was posing as you and he stabbed me. He found my weakness."
"You're weakness?" Aeris rubbed her arms, trying to stay warm.
"You can't remember a thing because I ran away. That monster flew down and took you and Sephiroth with it. If I had waited for you, you would be fine, safe and have all your memory." He cursed.
"I don't blame you. I can see why you would do that." She answered softly.
"Why can't you!? Why can't you blame someone for once!?" he yelled.
"How can I blame someone when it wasn't their fault?" she yelled back.
"Because…then it sounds like it was just a mistake, it wasn't carelessness…" the man stared at the ground.
"Zack…things happen for a reason." She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course it does! Everything has happened for a reason! And just like everything else, this reason was for you to forget me!" he choked. He turned away from her, pulling his pea coat tighter around him.
"But I don't want to forget you!" she ran after him.
"You always do, Aeris! You always manage to find a way to think I never existed!" the man sniffed.
"…I don't understand."
"Of course you don't, you can't remember!" he cried out in aggravation. "Argh! I need to leave, I need to think things through." He walked away from her once again.
Aeris was devastated. This man was yelling at her about things she didn't understand, things she couldn't remember. She felt awful. It was her fault that he was upset. Wasn't it? She sobbed.
"Why do you always have to make me cry!?" she screamed. He stopped in his tracks.
"What?" he looked over his shoulder.
"You had to stay in SOLDIER! You just had to, didn't you!? You couldn't just stay here. You had to run off to protect everyone else. Why couldn't you stay and protect me!? Why couldn't you stay and protect yourself!? You had to care about everyone else in the world but those closest to you! You left your parents and you left me! All for SOLDIER! You were gone! You never came back! You were gone for five years without a word! I thought you had run off with another girl, found a new home!" she screamed and shouted. She stomped her feet and clenched her fists. Her tears streamed down her face. "And that was after so many years of thinking that you were dead! Worried that you were killed, imagining what had happened to you!" he turned to her and strode forward he grabbed her arm.
"Because, Aeris, I was DEAD! I was in SOLDIER to protect you! I was on my way home to see you! I was coming to Midgar! Was only miles away when I was killed! My last thoughts were of that girl I told Cloud about, YOU! I fought so hard to stay alive every day, escaped the lab and traveled the world looking for YOU! And you know what I saw when I finally found you? I found you in the arms of another man, a man who thought he was me. Cloud Strife, the man you ran to just now because you didn't trust me. You didn't trust me back then and obviously you don't trust me now." the man shouted. He dropped her arm and walked away. He cringed at the sound of her cries.
"I didn't tell you everything because I wanted you to figure things out for yourself. And I think I figured them out instead." The man growled. Aeris sat on her knees in the snow, watching the man walk away from her, ignoring her cries. Zack Fair left her all alone, to fend for herself.
End of this chapter. A longer one. If there's a few mistakes, sorry. I'll edit it later. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Ended it on a sour note but more exciting things to come in the next chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing! -Annubis