Disclaimer- I do not own Final Fantasy VII
The Promise Rings
Chapter 2- This Distant Memory
Zack Fair waited behind the yellow line on Platform 7 at the Midgar train station. His spiky black locks shifted slightly as a train flew past from the other side, carrying a breeze with it. His blue eyes flickered to the clock hanging above the platform. He shifted to the left and then to the right, hoping to spot a train. A minute or so later, he heard the sound of a train blasting its horn. Zack turned, smiling.
The train screeched to a halt and the doors flew open. Passengers exited the train in groups, eager to get out the door. Zack lifted himself onto his toes to peer over the crowd. His eyes scanned through the mass of browns and jet-black hair that was common. There were several blonde heads bobbing through the crowd but none that interested him. When the crowd began to disperse, Zack's eyes landed on someone in particular.
Stepping out of the train was a man with deep sapphire blue eyes, a lean muscular stature, and outrageous gravity defying spiky blonde hair. He was dressed in black pants and boots, with a navy sleeveless turtleneck. Zack grinned and raised his hand to gain the attention of the blonde-haired person. The man noticed Zack and walked towards him, occasionally averting his eyes to the ground as he walked.
"Long time no see!" Zack called out as he approached. "How have you been Cloud?"
Cloud Strife shrugged his shoulders, "Been getting by."
"Thanks for coming out in such short notice. I know I'm rushing this but I swear this girl is perfect. She's smart, strong, funny, and has a body that the goddess herself must have blessed her with. I'm talking about perfect hourglass here."
"Don't tell me you're marrying her based on looks." Cloud sighed.
"I said she was smart, funny and strong too!" Zack said. "Yeah her body is what first attracted me to her but she has everything. I'm crazy about this girl. I told you on the phone about how I nearly punched out a guy who was flirting with her had she not hit him first."
Zack smirked at the thought. Cloud smiled briefly, which went unnoticed to Zack. He was too busy going on and on about this perfect woman. At first, Cloud thought this was another one of those skirt-chasing escapades for Zack. Since Cloud met him, he could see that he was a ladies man. Cloud and Zack had met eight years ago when Cloud joined the military. Cloud had been struggling since he entered but Zack, who was already at the time top class SOLDIER, was a voice of encouragement. Older and stronger than Cloud, he helped Cloud in basic training, sparring, and such.
They became good friends, so much that Zack had invited him to his wedding. In addition, he asked Cloud to be his best man. However, it did take an hour of begging, whining, and pleading to get Cloud to agree to be best man. At first, the younger man was not interested in going up in front of a crowd, although Zack claimed it would be a small crowd, to give a speech. The wedding was a week away, which would give Cloud enough time to meet Zack's future wife and the maid of honor.
"So when do I meet this perfect woman?" Cloud asked as they got to the taxi.
"Right now actually." He said. "She would be here but she's watching the kids."
Cloud's head snapped to Zack. "You have kids?"
"No! No!" Zack said immediately. "They're not our kids. They're the maid of honor's kids. Come on Cloud I know what I am doing when I'm in bed."
Zack gave him a grin, which caused Cloud to roll his eyes. The two took the taxi to a small bar. Cloud looked up as he saw the name of the bar clearly labeled 7th Haven.
"My girl owns this place," Zack notified.
Cloud grimaced. This place looked like, well a dump. Actually he thought this entire city was grim. It seemed as if everything was a dull color. There were no plants and the sky was not even blue but a shade of gray. Cloud wondered if that was because of the smog.
The two climbed the steps inside. The bar was completely empty. Yet, surprisingly the inside of the bar looked much better than the outside. All the tables had chairs turned upside down on top of them, probably to clean the floors. Everything seemed shiny and clean. Guess you cannot judge a book by its cover.
"This is where the reception is going to be." Zack said.
"Where am I staying?" Cloud asked.
"There are rooms upstairs actually. Your room is strait ahead down the hall."
Cloud nodded and headed up the steps. Zack peered around, curious as to the location of his fiancee. He knew she would be here watching those kids. He wondered if they stepped out. No, they would not have gone anywhere. His soon to be wife was anxious to meet his best friend. She would not have left the bar and their home. Not to mention it was not even locked up.
Scratching his head, he looked in the back room and saw no one. He looked inside the kitchen, wondering if she was cooking but saw no one. He was growing concerned, until he heard the sound of feet shuffling. He looked at the bar's back door to see a raven haired, ruby-eyed woman walking up the steps. She was dressed in a black skirt and a white blouse. When her eyes focused on Zack, they widened slightly.
"He's here?" She called out.
"Yeah, Tifa where were you?" Zack questioned his fiancee.
"Oh god those kids are playing hide and seek with me. They were getting so antsy and I told them to hide inside but I couldn't find them inside so I searched outside but there is no trace… I swear…"
Just then, there was a loud scream, followed by a crash. Tifa and Zack looked at one another, realizing the noise was coming from the upstairs. Together they bounded up the stairs. They ran down the hall to room where Cloud was staying and found him lying on the floor. Lying on top of the spiky haired man were two little boys.
Cloud winced, trying to push himself up. The two boys rolled off him landing on either side of him. Tifa and Zack looked at them. Zack was trying hard not to laugh while Tifa gave the two boys disapproving looks.
Cloud shook his head, shaking the cobwebs out. He looked over to see what landed on him when he saw two boys in front of him. They had to be younger than ten years old. One had gold hair and the other had chestnut brown. Both of them however, sported the same deep blue eyes. Eyes that looked exactly like...
"Boys," Tifa scolded, causing the boys to look up innocently. "I told you not to play in this room. It is for our guest."
"But Aunt Tifa we were in the closet," the brown haired boy said.
"And we were hiding," the other added. "Not playing."
"Then mister… er… um… mister opened the door and we thought it was you. He scared us!"
"You boys could have hurt him!" Tifa continued. "I want you to apologize to this man right now."
Zack chuckled and ruffled the boys' hair. "They were only playing Tifa. Besides, Cloud's tough. He's had to go through basic training for SOLDIER. If he survived through that I'm sure he can survive two kids landing on him, right Cloud?"
Cloud did not even hear what Zack said. Instead, he was staring at the boys. He never expected a couple of kids to fall from the closet right on top of him. He stared at the brown haired boy. He had sapphire blue eyes (something he noticed before) the same ones that his brother had, eye color that looked somewhat familiar.
Zack slapped Cloud's shoulder, snapping him from his daze. The two boys got up, giving Cloud a chance to stand back up. The twins were at his mid thigh height and looked scrawny.
"Cloud," Zack said. "Meet my beautiful fiancee, Tifa."
Tifa stepped forward and she and Cloud shook hands. Cloud noted she had a firm grip. He wondered if she was a boxer or into martial arts. One thing for sure was that she was a looker. She had a very beautiful body and could see how Zack first got interested in her.
"It's nice to finally meet you," Tifa said pleasantly. "Zack has told me a lot about you."
"Oh has he…" Cloud eyed Zack who was grinning.
"And these are Sora" she said touching the brown haired boy's head. Then she touched the golden haired boys head, "And Roxas. We're watching her for my maid of honor. Boys, this is Cloud."
Sora grinned up at Cloud while Roxas looked away. They were wearing similar outfits, t-shirt and pants. However, Roxas was wearing white while Sora was wearing red.
"Nice… to meet you…" Cloud said slowly.
Sora laughed. "He's funny."
The little brown haired boy touched Cloud's face. Cloud was taken aback by his gesture. His tiny hands reached up and yanked on one of Cloud's spikes. Cloud grimaced. Behind him, Zack was stifling his laughter. Once the little boy let go, he turned toward his twin and smiled.
Roxas moved slowly toward Cloud. He reached out his hand and touched Cloud's arm. After a brief moment, he pulled away, backing up slightly.
Tifa chuckled. "It's alright Roxas, Cloud is a friend."
Roxas ran behind Zack, hiding behind his leg.
"Roxas is a bit shy around people." Zack informed, looking down at the kid clutching his leg. "Sora on the other hand… likes being the center of attention."
Sora smiled innocently at the adults. Tifa gushed at how adorable he looked. Cloud finally stood up from the floor. He straitened his clothes. Tifa scooped up Sora in her arms and he held onto her happily.
"We'll let you get settled. I was about to make lunch and then I think Zack wanted to take you for a tuxedo fitting." Tifa said.
"You can meet the maid of honor when we drop off Roxas and Sora." Zack said, picking up Roxas at the same time. He placed the kid on his shoulders and he hung onto Zack's hair.
The two exited the room with the kids to let Cloud settle down. Once they were gone, he rubbed his back. It hurt a little; after all, he landed hard on the floor. As he began to unpack his things, his mind drifted to those two little kids. They were adorable he had to admit. Yet, something about those two kids reminded him of something. He just could not put his finger on it though.
Cloud placed some of his clothes in a dresser adjacent from his bed. He hung up some of the others in the closet next to it. Finished, he sat down on the bed, testing how comfortable it was. Well, it was soft but somewhat small for him. If he rolled over one way, he was sure to fall off. Oh well, he could not complain. It was better than staying at an inn and spending a thousand gil a night. Besides, he was doing this for Zack.
He lay down on the bed, head landing on the pillow. He was unsure whether he should go down and attempt to help with lunch or stay upstairs. Not that Cloud was much of a cook anyway. Actually, he was terrible at it. Yes, it was better he stayed up here.
Closing his eyes, Cloud took in a deep breath. Maybe it would be a good idea if he took a nap for a while. The ride here was long and he did not sleep much on the way here. Cloud breathed again, trying to doze off. He would have succeeded had he not felt something move along side him on his bed. He opened his eyes and saw Sora looking at him.
"Er… can I help you?" Cloud asked, unsure why the kid was here.
"Hello Mister Cloud." He said.
"Call me, Cloud." Cloud said. Mister sounded so weird.
"Cloud…" Sora said testing the name. "I get to hold the rings. So does Roxas…"
Cloud did not know what to say to that. Why was this kid bothering him anyway?
"Is that so?" Cloud asked.
Sora nodded. "Cloud… Your hair is cool."
Cloud blinked. That was a first. Someone calling his hair cool.
"I wish my hair was like that."
Cloud found this kid to be very random and not shy at all. He seemed very brave to talk to a complete stranger. Well, it was not as if he was going to hurt Sora but most kids shy away from people they did not know. Yet, this kid was bold. It was almost familiar. Just then, Cloud heard a creak. He looked up to see the twin hiding at the edge of the doorway.
"Hello…" Cloud said slowly.
"Brother!" Sora called out.
"Auntie Tifa says lunch is ready…" Roxas quietly relayed the message.
Cloud sat up, swinging his legs over the edge. His feet hit the floor.
"Well… I guess we should eat." Cloud said.
"Auntie Tifa makes good food! Better than mommy."
Cloud chuckled. "Better not let your mom hear that."
"Auntie said that too."
Just as Cloud was getting up, Sora launched himself on his back. Cloud stumbled backwards, falling back onto the bed.
"Piggyback ride!" Sora cried.
Cloud felt Sora tug on his collar, holding tightly and hoping for a piggyback ride. Cloud had a feeling Zack was the recipient of these quite often. Then again, Zack was much better with kids then he was. He had no experience with kids. He pushed Sora up higher onto his back so the little boy could get a better grip.
"Piggyback! Piggyback!" Sora chanted.
"Hold on kid," Cloud said, he then looked at Roxas. He shied away in the doorway. Cloud looked down at him and the blonde-haired twin looked down. The shyness this kid had reminded him of someone, yet he could not tell whom.
"Want a ride too?' Cloud asked slowly.
The kid shook his head Sora looked over Cloud's shoulder.
"Come on brother!" Sora urged.
"Maybe he wants his daddy carry him?" Cloud guessed.
The golden haired twin looked up confused. Sora shook his head, which Cloud caught out of the corner of his eyes.
"We don't have a daddy," said Sora. "We have a mommy but no daddy."
"Oh… sorry," Cloud apologized.
However, neither twin seemed upset. Sora was still waiting for the rest of his piggyback ride and Roxas was looking at the ground. Together the three walked down the stairs to the bar where a table was set with food already being served onto each plate. Tifa was placing a helping on a plate while Zack was lounging back in his chair. When he spotted, Cloud with Sora on his back he smirked.
Tifa turned around to see what was so funny but frowned. She stopped serving food and placed her hands on her hips.
"Sora, were you bothering Cloud?" she asked.
"No…" he replied innocently.
She picked up Sora and placed him in a chair.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
Cloud shrugged. It was no big deal. He took a seat next to Zack, which was coincidentally next to Roxas's seat. Roxas was taking his napkin and placing it on his lap.
"So how was your trip?" Tifa asked.
"Fine," Cloud said shortly.
"Don't mind Cloud," Zack interrupted. "He's not so talkative."
Cloud shot him a look. Zack gave him a cheesy grin and then took a bite of his food.
"Auntie Tifa can I have juice?" Sora asked.
"Me too!" Roxas said looking up.
"Sure, Zack go get the boys juice and the rest of use something to drink." Tifa ordered.
"Isn't it your job to make drinks for us?" Zack asked.
Tifa shot him a look and Zack instantly got up. He reached over the table and kissed her cheek in apology. He moved around the table and looked at the boys.
"What do you want to drink?" Zack asked.
"Orange juice!" Sora said.
"Apple juice!" Roxas replied.
"Cloud what are you drinking?" Zack asked.
Cloud shrugged. "Whatever is fine."
"Come in back. We have tons of drinks!"
Cloud shrugged and got up to follow his friend. Tifa warned him not to take anything alcoholic because of the tuxedo fitting and did not need two drunken men making idiots out of themselves. They went into the backroom and Cloud was surprised to see how much drinks there actually were (mostly alcoholic).
Zack found the juice boxes for the boys and then got himself and Tifa their favorite drinks. He poured them in a glass and placed them on a tray. Cloud was looking at the selection.
"Find anything you like?"
"I guess I'll take this lemon lime mix…" Cloud said.
"Good choice," Zack said. "The boys' mother likes that one a lot but she always tries different ones."
"I see… so are the kids orphans?" Cloud happened to forget that earlier Tifa and Zack mentioned they were the Maid of Honor's children.
"No, why do you ask?"
"They said they didn't have a father."
"Yeah, their mom is a single mom. She met Tifa when she moved here from some no name town. Tifa helped baby-sit a lot so the kids call her auntie."
"Must be hard."
Zack poured Cloud's drink into a tall glass. "Oh yeah, it's hard for a single mom trying to take care of two hyperactive kids? It's hard even for Tifa and me too but we only get them like once or twice a week. They are good kids though."
The two returned with drinks for everyone. They sat at the table and ate. Tifa asked Cloud many questions, mostly to probe more about Zack and their adventures in SOLDIER together. The stories made the two kids bounce around in excitement while some made them burst out laughing.
"Tell us a story about Uncle Zack!" Sora said bouncing up and down in his chair. "A funny one!"
Cloud let a mischievous grin spread over his face. Zack caught it and instantly pointed a finger threateningly at Cloud.
"Don't you dare tell anyone that story." He glared.
"Tell us what?" Tifa purred. "I want to know."
"Well there was this one time where Zack…"
"Cloud, just remember pink frilly panties!"
"And I'm full! Let's go try on some tuxedos!" Cloud said pushing back his chair.
Tifa and the twins groaned, wanting to know what the men held over the other. However, it was late and Tifa promised the twins' mother that she would drop them off soon. After a quick clean up, Cloud and Zack were waiting outside with the twins while Tifa locked up the bar.
The group would walk to the shops since they were not too far off from Tifa's bar. Sora and Roxas were running around the adults playing some sort of game. Occasionally, they collided into one of the adults as they dodged between them to stay away from the other.
"No, Uncle Zack, don't let Roxas catch me please!" Sora begged, running around the black-haired man.
Zack snatched Sora off the ground and placed him on his shoulders. Sora giggled gleefully and stuck his tongue out at his brother. Roxas fumed and stomped his little foot while muttering how unfair it was. He tugged on Zack's pant leg. Zack looked down.
"Can I have a ride too?" he asked.
"There's only room for one on my shoulder kiddo," Zack grimaced. "Next time it'll be your turn."
Roxas frowned and looked down. Suddenly, he was hoisted off the ground. He found himself sitting on Cloud's shoulders. Tifa smirked as she saw Roxas holding onto Cloud's spiky locks after she had placed him on the man.
"Err…" Cloud said under the weight of the kid.
Roxas tugged on his locks causing Cloud to wince.
"You're not that tall," Roxas noted.
"Afraid of heights?" Cloud asked, wincing again from the hair pulling.
"Falling," he said. "I fell one time and mommy said I could have broken my neck but she saved me."
Cloud stumbled slightly, and Roxas gasped. He pulled hard causing Cloud to bite his lip. He never realized how painful hair pulling was. He wonders if Zack had to deal with that with Sora on his shoulders. Then again, Sora seemed to squirm a lot more than Roxas.
Tifa noted how uncomfortable Cloud looked under the weight of the child. She thought it be cute if he carried him but perhaps Cloud was not good with children.
"I'm sorry Cloud," Tifa apologized. "I'll carry Roxas."
"No, it's fine." He responded sincerely.
For some reason, he did not mind.
The group arrived at the mother's flower shop. The stood at the outside and saw a quaint little store that looked neat and tidy from the outside.
"It's a little small on the inside," Tifa said. "Yet, the flowers are beautiful. I swear this is the only place that sells flowers in the entire city."
She reached to open the door while Zack and Cloud let the twins down from their free ride. Once Tifa opened the door, the two ran past her screaming for their mommy. Tifa had to jump back or she might have tripped over one of them. Zack and Cloud followed her inside to see a beautiful flower shop.
In the main room were several displays full of fresh flowers that were currently in season. Along the back wall behind the checkout counter were empty glass vases and a row of different color ribbons. The walls of the shop were an off white with a border of flowers along the top and bottom. The floors were light colored hard wood.
"Hello, anyone home?" Zack called.
"MOMMY!" the twins chorused, cupping their hands to their mouth.
Cloud stared around the shop at nothing in particular. He was amazed at how beautiful the flowers did look, but they were not that interesting to him. What he was amazed at though was that a single mother ran her own shop and looked over two twin boys. She must really be one of those super moms. He just hoped she was nice and such since he was pretty awkward around people he did not know. Especially, since he would be walking down the aisle during the wedding with her.
Just then, he heard a bell ringing. Cloud looked down to see, Sora stretching his tiny arm up to the counter to hit a bell that lay on top. He assumed the shop owner did not hear their calls from earlier.
"Maybe she stepped out," Zack suggested, leaning against the counter.
Cloud shrugged and watched as Roxas tried to get his turn to ring the bell. Sora was determined to ring the bell more times before his brother even got a chance to ring it once. He smirked slightly as he looked at them.
In the back room, the shop owner could hear the faint ringing of her bell. She looked up from watering one of her plants and then looked up at a clock on the wall. It read 5:48 p.m.
"Wow that late already," she whispered. "I wonder if that best man is here too."
She placed down the watering can she was holding and headed for the main room. She dodged between a row of plants and looked through the door to see her sons taking turns ringing the bell now. She giggled at how cute they looked. Her eyes traveled up and she could see Zack leaning against the counter and Tifa talking to someone next to her, but not Zack. Zack was blocking the person. She assumed it was the best man. Wanting to make a good impression, the shop owner put on her best smile and made her way to the door. At the same time Zack moved, giving her ample view of the best man.
At that moment, Aerith Gainsborough froze in place. All color drained from her face as her emerald green eyes widened. Then in a flash, she ducked behind one of the rows of tables that her flowers sat on. Her heart was going a mile a minute as she pressed herself against the side of the counter.
After nine years, Aerith Gainsborough had NEVER thought she would see what she saw. After nine years, she nearly forgot. Her mind was racing with questions, millions of questions. Yet, the all clamored into one single question in her head.
What is Cloud doing here?
X, X, X,
Author- I apologize for the wait. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.