Author Note- I do not own FF7 or KH

The Promise Rings

Chapter 8

This Lost Time

Aerith was busy preparing her boys their breakfast. They had awoken her an hour or so before she needed to be up. The twins were incredibly excited that they could not sleep any longer and wanted to leave so they could be with their father. The bounced up and down on their mother's bed until she awoke. She explained to them their father would still be sleeping.

To settle them down, she told them to wash up and gather all their things they would need for the day while she prepared them breakfast. On the menu today, Aerith decided on buttermilk pancakes, with fresh berries topped with syrup. After making a stack for each boy, she set them on the table and called them to the table. The moment she called them, the two boys made a mad dash to the table. When she came back with two glasses of milk, the boys were half way done with their pancakes.

"Boys," Aerith said, alarmed, "Slow down or you'll choke."

"We have to hurry mom!" Sora said, swallowing a big piece of pancake.

Roxas took a gulp of his milk. "We can't wait to see dad."

Aerith gave them a rigid smile. She was not entirely sure that this would be such a good idea. She would never suspect Cloud has being able to take of a child, let alone two. When would he have ever babysat a child? Yet, how could she deny her sons their father. The boys finished their meal and quickly went to wash their faces and hands of syrup.

Afterward, the twins gathered their backpacks filled with toys they could play with their father. Aerith gave them each a jacket in case the weather became cool or if by chance it would rain. She also gave them a bottle of sun block and bottles full of water to keep them from dehydrating. She also packed bandages since Sora usually ended up with a scrape or a cut usually from doing something he was not supposed to be doing in the first place.

As the family walked down the street, the boys wanted to run to Tifa's home out of sheer excitement. Aerith had to give them her "scary look" so they would not even think about running across a street without her. Yet, it was the perfect time to give them her "You better be on your best behavior" lecture.

"Now boys," she began which caused the twins to groan. They heard this lecture at least a dozen times a week and it always started the same way.

"I want you two to be on your best behavior," their mother continued. "I don't want any fighting between you two. You cannot eat junk food all day and no playing near the streets. You listen to Cloud, I mean, your father and stay close to him if you go out. Sora do not tease your brother and Roxas no hitting your brother if he teases you."

"But he calls me a tattle tale if I tell someone!" the blond twin whined.

"You are a tattle tale!" Sora said.

"BOYS!" Aerith snapped. "If you two start arguing you can march right back home, understood?"

The boys groaned, "Yes, mom"

Aerith took their hands as they crossed a street and went down a few more blocks. She also kept telling them what she expected out of them. The twins thought she was being too strict. They felt relieved when they saw Tifa's place in view. Once near the place, the trio found Tifa outside with Zack

"Aunt Tifa! Aunt Tifa!" The twins called out, gaining the girl's attention.

Tifa waved the twins as they ran up to her with their mother in tow. The raven-haired girl knelt down to the twins' level and smiled.

"Well good morning you two," she greeted them, gathering them in a hug.

"Is our daddy awake?" they said in union.

She smiled while giving them a wink, "Why don't you guys go upstairs and see."

The twins scurried into the house. Aerith smiled after them before facing her friends.

"You want to come in for some tea?" Tifa asked.

Aerith shook her head, "No, I have errands to run."

"You know Cloud was pretty excited about spending time with the twins," Zack added. "Despite the fact they can be little terrors."

Aerith sighed, "Sora and Roxas will be on their best behavior."

A look of worry crossed Aerith's face. The raven-haired girl tilted her head.

"Is something wrong?" Tifa asked.

Aerith shook her head. "Nope, just have to get going. See you guys later."

Tifa looked at Zack, not at all convinced. However, neither could inquire what their friend was worried about since she already ran off and the sound of two boys screaming their heads off alerted them that the boys were already waking up their father.

Up the stairs and inside the guest bedroom, Sora and Roxas were jumping up and down on their father's bed determined to wake him up. Cloud woke up when both sons began screaming and jumping on top of him.

"Hey, hey!" Cloud called.

"Wake up!" the twins chorused.

"I am awake!" Cloud sat up.

He grabbed each son with one of his arms, pulling them into a tight hug. The boys laughed and wriggled out of their father grasp. Cloud gave them a small smile. Tossing the blanket on top of him aside, the father flung his legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. He turned to his sons, both on their knees on the bed.

"So what should we do today?" he asked.

Suddenly the two boys began to spurt out ideas, ideas such as, movies, park, Chocobo riding, amongst other things. Cloud held up his hands in attempt to quiet the two children down.

"Settle down," Cloud gently coaxed. "Let me get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs."

The boys jumped of the bed, each landing with a loud thud. Cloud needed to talk to Zack about locations seeing that this was his first time in Midgar. Last thing he needed was to get lost and have a miserable time with his sons on their first outing.

Cloud changed out of his sleeping attire and into a sleeveless navy turtleneck and black jeans. After pulling on his socks and boots, he washed his face, brushed his teeth and did his hair quickly. Afterwards he grabbed his cell phone and wallet from the dresser and tucked them in his pocket before heading down the steps. When he reached the bottom, his sons nearly knocked him over.

"Come on dad!" Sora said, tugging his hand.

Roxas was pushing him from behind, his hands firmly against his legs. Zack watched in amusement while Tifa was putting on an apron.

"Boys, don't you think you should let your father eat breakfast first?" Tifa asked.

The boys frowned. Cloud simply ruffled their hairs. "It's fine; I'll grab something on the way. By the way do you have a map of the city?"

"A map?" Zack asked. "Oh yeah, I do."

The raven-haired man left the room but quickly returned with the map in hand. He handed it Cloud. The moment he got it the twins again began to urge him to leave.

"Thanks," Cloud said as he was being pulled and pushed out the door.

Zack crossed his arms and shook his head once the trio left. He glanced over at Tifa who was smirking.

"I wish Cloud luck," Zack said.

Tifa nodded from behind the counter, "He is going to need it."

Once outside, Cloud tried to get his sons opinion on what they would do for their outing. The only problem was the twins refused to stand still and listen. Both were hyperactive and simply excited about being with their father to even notice. Cloud could not be mad or even annoyed. They were kids after all. Nevertheless, he did have to gain their attention somehow.

Grabbing both sons gently by the shoulders, the father squatted down to their height. He smiled at them. The twins smiled back, large toothy grins.

"So what should we do?" Cloud asked.

"Park!" Sora shouted. "I want to go to the park!"

"Alright, that park it is," Cloud concurred.

Roxas frowned, "Why does Sora get to pick what we do?

Sora pushed his brother, "Because I'm older!"

"By three minutes!" Roxas retorted, pushing his twin.

"Hey!" Cloud hastily shouted, not wanting a fight to occur. "Listen how about this. We go to the park and then you can choose the next activity for us to do, alright Roxas?"

The golden-haired twin beamed. Cloud let out a small sigh of relief and with his sons, went to Midgar Park. Midgar Park was not a park that Cloud was use to. It had no trees, no grass, or a single plant of any kind. The ground was either concrete or dirt. Neither Sora nor Roxas seemed to mind, probably because they were used to the idea. Cloud on the other hand missed the beautiful scenery his hometown offered him. Why did his best friend and Aerith decide to move here was beyond him. Then again, he knew why Zack was here. It was because Tifa was here. Why Aerith was here was another question he hoped to answer.

Sora, Roxas, and their father played the usual kid games such as tag, ball, racing, and such. Tag seemed to be the boys' favorites since they believed they were faster then their father. In truth, Cloud pretended to be too slow. Of course, he would sometimes tag one of his sons, who would instantly try to tag him back. Cloud made sure to give them a little chase before slowing down and letting them tag him.

About an hour into their game, Sora plopped down on the concrete breathing hard. Cloud had to stop chasing in his second son and ran to him.

"Sora, are you okay?" Cloud asked.

Sora nodded, his face red and sweaty. "I'm so thirsty dad."

"Okay you sit here and I'll go get you a drink," Cloud said.

"Oh, lemonade please!"

Cloud nodded. He scanned the area, spotting a vendor only a couple of feet away. With their dad gone, Roxas looked at his brother questionably.

"Why didn't you just get the water mom gave us?" Roxas asked.

Sora grinned big before stating clearly, "I wanted lemonade."

Moments later Cloud returned with a cup of lemonade. Sora gulped down the lemonade. Roxas frowned and tugged on his father's shirt. Cloud looked down at him.

"I'm thirsty too!"

Cloud was about to ask Sora to share his lemonade when the brunette twin gulped down the rest of the drink. Cloud sighed, excusing himself to get Roxas some lemonade too.

"Let's play tag!" Sora said, as his father was rushing to the lemonade vendor.

"But I'm thirsty," his brother whined, "I want my drink."

Sora ignored him and smacked him, purposely, as hard as he could on the shoulder. Roxas let out a cry.

"Tag you're it!" Sora shouted, bolting from his spot.

Sora laughed as he ran, knowing it would irritate his brother. Roxas, taking his brother's bait, chased after his sibling. The golden-haired twin was a fast runner, faster than his brother gave him credit. When Roxas did catch up to his brother, he tackled him to the ground.

When Cloud turned around after paying the vendor, he saw his twin sons wrestling in the ground. Roxas was on top, shoving his brother's face in the dirt. Cloud bolted toward them and ripped them apart, holding them by their shirt collars.

"Why are you two fighting?" Cloud exasperated, "we should be having fun!"

"We were just playing," Sora lied, wiping dirt off his face.

"Mom let's us play like this all the time," Roxas fabricated.

Cloud put them back on the ground. He did not question his sons, believing they were honest to him. After handing Roxas his drink, Cloud decided it would be time to do something else. He did not want another fight to end up happening. Last thing he needed was an accident to happen. Since Sora had picked the park, Roxas decided to go the movies. It had been an incredibly long time since he had seen a film, especially since their mother was busy and it be rude to ask Zack and Tifa to take them.

"So where is the movie theater?" asked Cloud.

He looked at his sons; both shrugged their shoulders while shaking their heads. Cloud sighed. He returned to the juice vendor with his map who, luckily, was able to point Cloud in the right direction. The only problem was, it would be quite a walk to the theater. Sure enough, not even half way through the walk he found his sons sluggishly walking.

"Daddy, we're tired," Roxas sighed heavily.

"Can't we take the bus?"

Cloud shook his head, "I don't know the bus schedule. How about you two ride on my back?"

The boys were too eager to jump on. They climbed onto either side of their father, sitting on one of his shoulders. The two tugged on their father's spiky locks, causing him to cringe when they pulled too hard. He pressed on, not wanting to upset them as he walked all the way to the theater.

When they got there, Cloud let them down. The boys instantly ran to the posters to find a movie they wanted to see. Cloud groaned, rubbing his now sore shoulders. He did not think carrying two kids would be so taxing. It made him wonder how Aerith was able to carry them through her pregnancy and afterward.

"DADDY!" Roxas screamed, gaining Cloud's attention.

Cloud's head snapped up in alarm, thinking his son was hurt. However, Roxas was happily jumping up and down while pointing to a poster.

"I want to see this one!" he exclaimed.

"ME TOO! ME TOO!" begged Sora.

Cloud looked at the poster, which had a scary monster of a person of person on it holding a machete. Cloud swallowed hard as he looked down to see the rating to be "Restricted."

"You two are too young to see this movie." He tried to explain.

The twins' faces fell.

"But mommy let's us see movies like this." Roxas cried.

Sora began to whine, dropping to the ground. Cloud gasped as Roxas began to burst out crying as well. Amidst their screams, Cloud felt the eyes of people passing by. Not wanting this to continue, the father quickly gave in to his sons. Once the twins found out they could see their movie, the rushed inside. After buying the tickets, and receiving a questionable look from the box office host, Cloud ushered his kids into the lobby.

"Oh daddy!" Sora said. "Can we have popcorn?"

"And soda?" Roxas added.

"Oh, and candy!" Sora continued.

Roxas nodded, "I want candy too."

"Sure," Cloud agreed. He went up to the counter and began ordering. "One large popcorn…"

"WITH BUTTER!" Sora shouted.

"I don't like butter…" Roxas whispered.

"Err… make that two small popcorns one with butter and one without and one medium with butter. Three sodas…"

"I want orange soda," Roxas announced to the cashier.

"I want cherry." Sora said raising his hand. "And I want chocolate chip cookie dough candy!"

"I want peanut butter candy!"

"Daddy can I have nachos too?"

"Can I have a pretzel?"

After nearly ten minutes and holding up a line of people, Cloud finally got everything his sons wanted, which came to a thirty-dollar fee of food. He then ushered his son, with his arms full of food, into the movie theater. Cloud sat in-between his sons, as the munched on popcorn, nachos, and an assortment of other foods. He himself tried his best to enjoy his popcorn and drink as the movie began.

The start of the movie began with a ominous thunderstorm, which was a prelude to the events to come. Five minutes later, Roxas and Sora were screaming in terror, which forced Cloud to take them out of the theater after the movie villain stabbed an actor in the jugular. It took him a good half hour and the promise of ice cream to calm down his children.

At the ice cream parlor, Cloud sat with a cup of coffee while his two sons each ate large ice cream sundaes. They refused to share a sundae and Cloud was not in the mood for anything sweet. The twins sat across from him as they ate chocolate covering the sides of their mouths.

"Is it good?" their father asked, indicating the ice cream.

"Delicious," Sora said smacking his lips.

"Yummy," Roxas agreed.

Cloud sipped his coffee quietly. Sora looked up at him questionably.

"Yes?" Cloud asked.

"Can I have some?" Sora asked.

Cloud shook his head. "It is coffee. You won't like it."

"Mom always says that," he grumbled.

Cloud sighed and pushed his cup to his son. Sora's eyes lit up as he eagerly took the warm cup in his hands. The brunette son took a big gulp of the drink. His brother watched curiously. A second later Sora began coughing. Cloud chuckled as Sora began shoveling ice cream in his mouth to get the bitter taste of coffee out of his mouth.

"I told you," Cloud said, taking his cup back. "So where do you two want to go next?

The boys shrugged.

"You pick a place daddy," Roxas suggested.

"Yeah, you picky daddy!"

After the ice cream and coffee, Cloud had found a rather quiet activity for him and the boys. It involved riding chocobos. Earlier in the day the two boys had suggested the idea. The boys seemed rather excited about the prospect of riding the giant birds until they found out that the birds were tied together and simply went around in a circle. Cloud could tell his sons did not like the ride. He frowned. After going around in circles for about ten times the boys were let off the birds and rejoined their father.

Cloud handed them each a small plush chocobo bird that the twins, upon entering, begged their father to get them. Cloud cursed mentally for whoever put the plush toys for kids to see. Midgar was costing him an arm and a leg.

"This was boring," Sora complained as they walked by a fenced area.

Inside the fenced area, several older children were riding chocobos without constraints. The riders were all dressed in professional riding type gear and did jumping tricks on their birds.

"How come we can't do that?" Roxas asked. "I want to ride a chocobo and jump over fences!"

"You're too little to do that and it costs a lot of money." Cloud reasoned.

Roxas crossed his arms and let out a huff. Cloud came down to his level and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen," Cloud said, "when you're older I'll take you back where I use to live as a kid and we can ride chocobos together, alright?"

Roxas's eyes lit up and he nodded furiously. Cloud then ushered his son but not before calling for Sora to follow. Sora was throwing his plush chocobo up in the air and catching it. Sora began to follow, continuing his throwing and catching game when he threw his bird high into the air. He held out his hands to catch it but instead of it landing his arms, a large chocobo stretched its neck out and grabbed hold of the toy in its beak.

"HEY!" Sora cried.

The bird made a "wark" sound and trotted away.

"Dad," Sora called out but noticed his father was talking to his brother.

Without thinking of the consequences, the brunette twin slipped between the gaps between the fence and into the pen with several chocobos. Moments later, Cloud looked back to see how far Sora was behind him when he saw his son was not. Fear washed over him as his head snapped in ever direction.

Cloud felt his blood run cold when he did spot his son. The chocobo that had snatched his plush bird had dropped it at its feet while it pecked at his food. Cloud rushed up to the fence with Roxas next to him.

"Sora, get out of there!" Cloud ordered.

Sora ignored him, reached over, and grabbed the wing of his chocobo plush doll. The Chocobo who snatched the doll made a fierce noise before turning on the boy. Sora looked up, his eyes widened as the bird flapped its wings while hissing. Cloud's face paled. Without thinking, the father jumped over the fence and rushed across the pen to his son. The wild bird bend its long head to peck at the boy when Cloud pulled him out of the way.

With Sora safe in his arms he rushed to the fence with the bird at his heels. The bird pecked at the father's back, causing Cloud to cringe in pain but also keep his son safe.

"Leave my dad alone!" Sora shouted, before slamming his plush bird on the chocobo's beak.

The act angered the already mad chocobo even more. Once Cloud reached the fence, after being pecked about a hundred more times, he vaulted over the fence with one hand and rolled across the ground. Cloud looked back at the bird that began to pitch a fit. Sora looked at his dad and beamed.

"YOU SAVED ME!" Sora said hugging his father.

Roxas added, "You were so cool, dad!"

Cloud grasped his son by the shoulders, "Sora, don't you ever do that again! Don't you understand how dangerous that is?"

"But he took my chocobo," Sora frowned.

"It's a toy!" Cloud gasped.

"But you gave it to me," Sora replied. "It's the first gift you ever gave me."

Cloud wanted to be angry. He wanted to tell Sora that the toy did not matter. Yet, seeing how his son was clutching the toy tightly and seeing the precious look in their eyes, he could not. Cloud sighed and hugged both his sons to him.

"I'd have gotten you a new one," he whispered. "You two are more important than any toy."

After their heartfelt moment, the owner who happened to see the incident kicked Cloud and his sons out of the chocobo farm. Deciding it was getting late; Cloud took his sons back to Tifa and Zack's place. When they arrived, Zack and Tifa could see how tired and beat up the father looked. Tifa decided to distract the boys with dinner while Zack helped his friend inside. He helped Cloud to his room and sat him on the bed.

"I take it you had a rough day?" Zack asked.

Cloud simply let out a groan.

"I warned you they would be a handful." Zack reminded. "Anyways, what the heck happened to you and how did you get all those holes in your shirt?"

Cloud groaned again, "Long story."

Zack smirked. "So I take it you won't be having an outing with the twins anytime soon. Feel like running for the hills yet?"

The golden haired man looked up at his friend.

"It's strange," Cloud said. "I haven't been around them for nearly their entire lives. I would think that it would be impossible for us to bond… but I just don't see myself not being apart of Sora and Roxas's lives. I… love them."

Zack smiled as he headed for the door. "They are your sons, Cloud. Sure, you haven't been able to be around them but they are yours. I'm hundred percent they wouldn't want you to leave either."

Zack turned to close the door behind him but before he did, "I'll get Tifa to bring your dinner up later."

With that, the raven-haired man left, closing the door as he did. Cloud flopped back on his bed, wanting to get some sleep. However, the sound of his children's' voices awoken him. He got up and moved toward the window.

"Mom!" the both cried out as Cloud watched. The two sons ran toward their mother as she opened her arms to gather them both in a hug. The two returned the hug. He saw Aerith's mouth move and although Cloud could not hear, he was sure that she was asking how the day went.

The boys began to talk rapidly to her as Aerith stood up. Although she was listening to her children, her eyes lifted up to the window, catching Cloud's eyes. Cloud stiffened, finding a lump in the back of his throat. The two stared at one another. The spiky-blonde felt his heart slamming against him. Seeing her so close and yet so far reminded him of the day he left her.

The train station was busy, with crowds of people waiting for the arrival or the departure of one of the trains. Cloud had minutes ago said goodbye to his mother as he got on the train that would take him to the city where he would begin his training for a member of SOLDIER. He sat back in his seat as he stared out the window at the people. He looked down for a moment at the plastic ring on his finger. He kept telling himself he should remove it out of fear of being mocked but he kept thinking about Aerith and how mad she would be if he did take it off.

"CLOUD!"

Cloud looked up and out the train window. His eyes widened as he saw Aerith pushing herself through crowd. Cloud got up and stuck his head out the window as his girlfriend. He could not believe she was here and yet he could.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Cloud," Aerith cried. "I don't want you to go."

Cloud looked away. It hurt too much. His hand tightened into fists. How could he explain to Aerith that this was not just hard on her but him as well? She did not want him to go but he did not want to be apart from her either and after that night in the park with her, he wanted to be with her more than ever.

"Aerith," Cloud said. "I'll come back for you, I promise. Please wait for me."

Aerith felt tears pouring down her cheeks again for the millionth time.

"Cloud, I'll wait for you forever."

Cloud leaned out the window his hand caressing her face. Then as if life purposely wanted to tease them, the train began to move as the conductor sounded the whistle. The train began taking Cloud away, Aerith stayed rooted at her spot as she watched Cloud disappear slowly in the distance.

Aerith turned away from Cloud as she took the hands of her children. The day at the train station echoed in her mind, because long after Cloud was gone, Aerith remained. She had hoped that one of the trains that would come and drop off its passengers would carry Cloud back to her. When the last train came and went, did Aerith realize that Cloud was not coming back.

For Aerith, he never did and hurt deep within her down to the core.

For Cloud, he wanted nothing more than to return to her side because he loves her.

X, X, X,

Author Note- Excuse the lateness of the chapter and all the errors. Life is just very busy for me. Thanks for all the reviews and feedback. You all are wonderful!