A/N: To compensate for my long update, I have made this chapter extra long and extra fluffy!! =3 There will be hurt! But, of course, there will also be comfort. Before I spoil this chapter for all of you, please read on and enjoy! Reviews will be very much appreciated! ^^

"Move! Let me through!"

Nervous voices echoed through the halls of the Gainsborough manor as a dozen bustling maids ran to and fro with numerous tasks in their hands. Vases were filled with various kinds of fresh flowers, paintings that hung in the walls were thoroughly dusted; every nook and cranny of the huge mansion was being prepared for a great receiving party. As everybody was busy doing their own chore, Tifa's thoughts wandered from beyond the stone-clad walls that surrounded her to the place where she knew someone was not supposed to be.

Aerith… She bit her lip as her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Her brown eyes traced the steps of her fellow housekeepers while carrying fresh sky-blue linens in her arms. This was not the time to think of other things except your own, but she just couldn't help worrying about the green-eyed girl. You shouldn't be out there. Not now. Especially, now.

The beautiful brunette stopped by an open window and sighed as she watched the clouds pass by.

Reeve…please take care of her.

"Tifa…?"

Tifa blinked twice and smiled at the troubled faces of her workmates.

"Yeah…I'm coming."

.-+-.

"So…what are you going to do now?"

Blue eyes shifted from the flowers to take a glimpse at the person who spoke. For a split second, their gazes locked then Cloud suddenly looked away appearing rather flushed. Aerith stopped caressing her flowers and held a hand to her beating heart. She could feel the blood filling her cheeks when she stared at his soft azure orbs. She had never felt such lightness in that gaze…not since her father died. He always looked at her that way, her father. Nostalgia washed over Aerith and her heart slowed down a bit.

"I don't know…"

Aerith stole yet another glance at Cloud and annoyingly pursed her lips at his response. She wanted to know so much about him but he enclosed himself to his own little world.

"Are you always like this?" she asked bluntly with a hint of irritation.

Cloud's eyes widened at her direct question; blushing, he sank deeper into thought. Aerith cocked her head as she heard no reply. Seconds ticked by and the silence broke when Cloud's cool voice echoed on the walls.

"I was always…alone." He whispered silently but enough for her to hear. His gaze went past the broken beams of the church to the blue skies. "I was abandoned when I was a kid."

Aerith gasped in shock and quickly covered her gaping mouth. Her eyebrows furrowed and she bit her lower lip, regretting such a question escape her lips.

"I'm so sorry, Cloud."

The blonde fighter shook his head and gave her an assuring look.

"Nah…s'okay." He returned his distant look at the clouds. "I'm already over it a long time ago. I guess it's just…" Cloud's blue eyes darkened as a passing cloud shadowed his body. "…nobody wants me."

"Don't say that!" Cloud returned his gaze to Aerith in confusion. Aerith's eyes widened and she blushed furiously causing Cloud to stare at her. She bowed her head in embarrassment but still watched him through her brown fringes. "I-I mean…please go on."

"My memory is a little fuzzy. I've never talked about my life to anyone before. They're just not interested of a street scum like me."

Cloud bitterly smiled at himself as he continued his story.

"I also used to have a family just like any normal kid would. I'm not from around here actually. We lived in a quiet village somewhere away from Midgar. My father abandoned my mother and me when I was still little."

Cloud grinded his teeth in anger as he thought of his father. Aerith noticed this and wondered what kind of father would abandon his family, but she has this feeling that Cloud was wrong…that his father must have a pretty good reason for leaving his family behind. She wanted to say something but instinct told her to let him continue.

"It's ok though. My mom strived to give me everything that my worthless father couldn't. Although she tried her best for me, I was still weak and worthless. For the longest time, I believed myself to be a loser…that I couldn't fend for myself. That thought angered me." Cloud inhaled deeply and ran a hand through his golden locks. "So, in hope that someday I'll become strong, I secretly left my hometown. I decided not to return until I totally proved myself worthy of showing my face again to my mom whom I didn't even have the chance of saying goodbye to."

Cloud paused, his sapphire eyes darkened as he reminisced. Aerith's heart was almost crushed to see him in a degrading state. She saw through his eyes the sadness and grief of a son to be separated from his mother.

"I would always come to places like this with her." Cloud stared at the wooden cross that adorned the altar. "But ever since my life turned out to be this way…I couldn't find any reason to believe anymore."

Aerith's eyes widened at the firmness of his voice. Sitting beside her was a man broken in spirit and in faith. Her heart was beating fast as every word seethed through her whole being. She wanted to mend him but she was afraid her words would only make things worse. She can only breathe his name between her lips.

"Cloud…"

Cloud suddenly stood up, glared at the wooden cross and at the gentle face of the crucified savior that gazed down on them.

"If He really did exist I wouldn't have been born weak. My mom wouldn't have suffered for me. If He existed He wouldn't have let me experience hardships and sufferings that I almost died from. For what use are our prayers if He left them unanswered?"

Aerith's eyes narrowed at the sudden change in Cloud's persona. His hands shook and his voice was almost close to yelling. Her lips opened to comfort him but she stopped short as he began to speak again.

"I could've been a better son, a better man…"

Cloud picked up a rock that was lying on the ground and faced the cross. Aerith gasped once she realized what he was planning to do. When the blonde man was about to step forward, Aerith grabbed him by the wrist with all the warmth and tenderness that she could muster. Cloud looked down and his eyes widened when he saw tears ran down Aeriths' worried face. He could see in her brilliant emerald orbs the vast kindness and understanding that she had for him. He couldn't believe himself that somebody that cared for him like she did exists. Cloud was lost in her eyes.

"He does exist! You'll know He exists whenever the sun shines from behind the dark clouds. How do you think the orphaned birds survived until now? He takes care of them. He led me to this place. He is there every time these plants bear blossoms in such a dreary and lifeless city. In every thing we do, no matter how little, there is a certain miracle in them. We are His miracle, His instruments to inflict change."

Aerith's face was downcast as she held a hand to her beating heart.

"Sufferings and hardships are our teachers. Through them we grow strong and wise enough to learn and do something about our past mistakes. Your pain can be replaced by happiness eventually. Just as I helped restore the life of the flowers here in the church, you can also restore what you have lost during your journey in life. I don't believe in coincidence! It is His doing that we met here. There must be a reason why I met you, Cloud. He leaves it to us to find out whatever that reason is."

"Tifa…"

Aerith wrapped her hands more securely to Cloud's wrists as her tears dropped on the wooden tiles of the old church.

"Please…you must believe in Him, Cloud." The brown-haired girl pleaded in-between sobs.

Why… Cloud's blue eyes softened and he kneeled in front of the weeping girl. The rock slipped from his fingers and it noisily went back to its original position. Why does this person cry for me?

The clouds passed them quickly and the sun quietly showered their bodies. He took her trembling hands and enclosed them with his. Aerith looked up at Cloud with her glistening emerald eyes. He wiped her tears away and smiled warmly.

"You don't look nice when you're crying, Teef." He said those words ever so softly that made Aerith pause and stare at him. Cloud grinned at her when he saw her face turning crimson. "Smiling suits you much better."

"B-But…"

Cloud's eyes widened slightly at the strange image reflected by Aerith's eyes. It was a man he knew well. A man broken and lost in search of meaning but…he was different now. All his life he never imagined that the day when somebody who truly cares for him would come. This surprised him. The man who was always so certain has been caught off-guard. But what surprised him the most is that there was a smile that graced his lips. A genuine smile had graced his lips.

I'm such an idiot. I've always thought that… He cupped Aerith's flustered face with great care and compassion. …nobody would ever…say something like this. That's what I always thought… His sapphire eyes softened as his smile deepened. …but you.

"Thanks, Tifa…"

Sneak Peek: Have you ever wondered why the workers in the Gainsborough mansion were so busy? Let's leave Cloud and Aerith for a moment and welcome another new character that will greatly affect our main character's lives. Can you guess who it is? x3

Next Chapter!

Chapter 9: Fairly Arrogant

See you then! ^^