***MEGA FLUFF WARNING***
I'm choking on fluff right now, I just hope I live long enough to post the last chapter. This is the second last chapter of Endless. I'm pretty sure I'll be writing a sequel, so I'll send out a message if I do. I was a little disapointed with this, but I hope you all like it.
Enjoy...
Her presence was a familiar one.
It had always been.
She left the lingering smell of flowers wherever she went, and her gentle voice was calming, passionate, happy.
He had been asleep for too long. It was time to face the day, to walk and run and see through unclouded eyes.
His sleep had left him restless, eager to stretch and yawn and sneeze and laugh. To move as he once had freely.
To feel alive.
A cool hand interrupted the burning on his forehead, and went away, stoking his cheek softly.
He opened his eyes, and saw her.
Her long mahogany hair, like black silk cascading over her shoulders. Her eyes, just as he'd remembered them- like orbs of deep brown, a tint of red wine in each iris. Her pearly skin, soft pink lips.
The only woman he'd ever loved, Tifa.
His eyes closed, trying to preserve the image. So beautiful, bathing in the afternoon sun.
Tifa.
His Tifa.
"I missed you Tifa." He sounded far away, but he knew it had been his voice that escaped the confines of his parched throat.
Movement.
"C-Cloud?"
"I was right." He said, his eyes once more opening to an even more beautiful sight than before.
Her deep eyes were looking at him, a mixture of relief, tears and something he couldn't quite place...
It was almost like the look his mother had given him when she put a bandage over a scraped knee, or gave him a gentle kiss before letting him run off to school.
Motherly? Compassionate?... Love?
"You are an angel." He said sleepily, and his eyelids fell shut.
Before warm darkness claimed him, he felt a soft kiss on his cheek.
"I missed you too."
Tifa woke slowly, her eyes opening to reveal a shaft of moonlight peaking through the window. She had fallen asleep curled up on a soft armchair awhile after Cloud had woken, and could
hear soft breathing from the couch beside her.
She turned to him, surprised to see heavy eyes open, watching the moon.
He looked even paler in the ethereal light, his porcelain skin emitting a soft glow. His eyes closed, drifting beneath their lids.
Tifa sat in silence, watching. Wondering. Waiting.
"I had to watch my best friend die." Cloud muttered to himself, his gaze never leaving the moon.
"What's worse is- that he's dead because of me." He said in a barely audible tone. "I watched him die. All of them- died. I couldn't do anything." He said.
"I can still smell the blood in the air. The gunpowder." Cloud put his head in his hands. "And the screams. I can hear the screams, and every ragged breath that brought him closer to
death."
Tifa felt a lump at the back of her throat.
She knew he was oblivious still to her presence, and these words were not yet meant for her. He wasn't ready, and perhaps, neither was she.
She stood up as quietly as she could, pulling the letter the stranger had given her from her pocket and slipping it on to the nightstand beside the couch. She then crept across the
hardwood floor, slipping out of the room.
The last things she heard were quiet mumblings as Cloud relived his horrid past, soon after which came muffled sobs that seemed to rip Tifa's heart in two.
Tifa woke from an uneasy sleep.
Her head felt as if too full, too many thoughts swirling around, too many memories, worries and questions. She crept out of her room, tip-toeing down the hall to the spare bedroom where
only one piece of furniture stood sole.
She lifted the white sheet from the piano's top, still warm from the shaft of sunlight that came through the window, gracing the piano's cover, enticing her to play.
She crinkled her nose and waved her hand in a futile attempt to fan the dust away as it filled the stuffy air, then lay the sheet on the empty ground beside her, cracking the window to let
in some air.
She reached underneath the piano, hooking her fingers underneath the cherry wood bench and pulling it out. The deep cerulean velvet was dusty, and there was a small divot in the
centre, where she had sat down so many times before to play.
Her fingers slid over the ivory keys gently, worn smooth from years of use. To her, it was like an old friend. No matter how troubled she was, its music would lift her dampened spirits,
whisking her away from the world she lived in, to a place of peace and comfort.
She pressed a key down, shivering in pleasure as the deep sound echoed in the empty room. She then rested her hands on the face of the keys, taking a deep breath, and began to play.
Beautiful music brought him to his senses.
He yawned sleepily, his eyes fluttering open to a warm den. He was lying on a deep couch, a heavy blanket draped over his body. His chest was wound in bandages, as well as part of his
stomach and arms.
Along with the many dressings, he wore a pair of baggy sweat pants, nothing as a shirt, as the bandages took up most of his skin already.
He turned, seeing his uniform, sewn and cleaned waiting for him.
He raised his head a little too fast, pausing when the room spun.
Slowly, he managed to pull himself up a little, his knuckles white from holding the material of the couch in a death grip. Pain erupted in his chest and stomach, but he grabbed hold of the
nightstand, nearly toppling it as he gained balance. He pushed himself off the couch, his legs buckling beneath him from his weight.
How long was I unconscious? He wondered.
His knees felt like jelly, and the rest of him felt as if he'd been run over by a truck several times. He glanced at his uniform on the table, deciding it might prove too difficult.
He managed to get standing once more, his legs shaking under him as he took his first steps, stumbling towards the sound of the music.
Her fingers flew along the keys like dancers, gracefully executing each move with expert precision. She let her thoughts drift away, until all that was there, was her and her melody.
The music, as she saw it, was relief. A haven in which she could live in as long as she wanted, as long as the music played. The melody filled the room with a calm feeling.
Peaceful. Relaxing. Beautiful.
It reminded her of all the things she loved in life, pushing away the memories of all things she'd lost.
Sometimes, she felt as if her music was the only thing holding her together. The only thing that kept her from falling apart. The music, and Cloud.
"You're- good."
Tifa stopped, whipping around to face the doorway. Cloud was standing with his arm wrapped around his torso, leaning heavily against the doorframe. His face was pale and stoic, but his
eyes betrayed the faintest smile.
"Cloud-" was all she could say.
A pained look flashed briefly in his eyes. Tifa knew he didn't want to talk about what had happened. He would tell her when he was ready.
"You've- heard me play before." She said quietly, trying to seem as if she'd not noticed his sudden change.
"Well- you've gotten better." He said shyly, leaning heavily against the doorframe.
He averted his gaze, looking at the hardwood floor. "Um- do you mind- if I listen?"
Tifa nodded with a small smile, albeit surprised, she turned back to the piano, picking up where she'd left off. She heard staggered footsteps behind her, and blushed as Cloud carefully sat
down beside her on the bench. Her playing slowed for a minute under his gaze, but he closed his eyes, breathing deeply and listening.
She played a softer melody then. Cloud was unsure why, but it reminded him of the church he and Tifa had seen when they were children.
It looked abandoned, but there had been a strange presence there, and all of the area around it smelled of flowers. A strange thing to be smelling underneath the plate, but
unmistakably, it had been the scent of fresh spring lilies.
The music seemed to wrap him in a warm serenity, soothing his nerves, untangling his knotted shoulders and calming his tense muscles.
The sun was shining through the window, lighting his spikes to a yellow-gold, yet rain spattered the glass. He tilted back his head, closing his eyes and letting his face be bathed in golden
sunlight.
Tifa looked at Cloud, still playing the piano. His head was tilted skyward, the sun bathing his spikes in gold. His lips were closed, an innocent line curved at the corners of his mouth.
She almost laughed in pleasure. He was smiling.
Her eyes trailed up to his.
His eyelashes were wet, as if the rain had fallen through the window, and tears streaked silently down his face, leaving a trail to his jaw where they hung loosely for a moment, and fell,
lost to the floor below.
She closed her eyes, knowing the keys by heart and continued to play. She was shocked when she felt something warm and wet splash onto her hand. She wiped her eye with one hand,
but tears of her own continued to fall.
Through blurred eyes, she saw Cloud open his, revealing an unworldly blue. He stared at her for a moment, watching as her hands went slower and slower until they stopped.
After a quiet moment, hesitantly, Cloud lay his hand on top of hers.
She turned to him with tear filled eyes, and leaned forward, burying her head into his shoulder and inhaling his unique scent. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing closed lips to the
top of her head, the scent of her hair embracing his senses.
How many times she had wished she was in this exact position. Where she felt she belonged, in Cloud's arms.
She breathed in, his smell embracing her. It was masculine, yet warm. Comforting and sweet at the same time. Unique and familiar.
"I'm sorry Cloud." She whispered suddenly, her eyes closed, his heartbeat thrumming gently against her ear.
"What for?" His voice rumbled against her cheek.
She smiled. Cloud could almost hear her smile. "I- don't even know why I'm crying." She said through a sniff, letting out a soft laugh.
"For the same reason I am." Cloud said quietly. Tifa looked up into his eyes, soft and affectionate, a familiar blush ever present on his porcelain cheeks.
"Because- you just realized how beautiful the world really is."
Ugh- I actually cringed. I am not used to so much of this sappy crap, but I hope you guys liked it :) Well, I'd better hit the hay, Goodnight everyone! I'll have the last chapter up soon! (Probably tomorrow...)
Thanks for reading ;)
Lucifer