"Autumn….Autumn… Please wake up…"
Your eyes fluttered open, at first you couldn't see in the strangely lit room, it was so dark as if all the blinds were drawn and the room was lit by a singular bright light. When your eyes adjusted you saw that Cloud was leaning over you, or rather you were in his arms and he was helplessly holding you.
"Are you alright?" Cloud asked the concern clear on his face, he carefully moved a stray hair away from your face absently allowing his fingers to caress your skin.
"I think so" you told him quietly as you glanced around the room, remembering where you were. Rude was walking back into the room, a bottle of water in hand, Rufus was staring at you a look of concern on his face as he leaned over his desk. You were confused as to why you and Cloud were on the floor.
Cloud was about to speak, when you heard Reno announce, "I got the the doc."
You instinctively jumped back, pushing yourself further onto Cloud's lap as you grabbed his arm seeking protection. "Stay away from me" you told the doctor, "No offense but the last time a Shinra doctor was around he beat me" you said spitefully. Reno then roughly pushed the doctor out of the room.
"Be reasonable, at least let doctor Rosen make sure you're alright" Rufus said as he walked around the desk and offered a hand to you.
You absently backed up pushing yourself closer to Cloud, when you realized what you were doing you blushed, thankfully you didn't think anyone noticed with how dark the room is. "Forgive me but I don't trust you or your doctors" You said, Cloud shifted and stood up, pulling you up with him in the process. "Besides I'm fine."
"You're clearly not fine" Rufus argued, "You fainted, you could have hit your head"
"Yeah right, Spiky over there caught her" Rude chimed in.
You glanced at Cloud but he was caught in a glaring match with Rufus, you shouldn't be surprised, Cloud is always coming to your rescue. Rufus tried to take a step toward you but Cloud moved to stand between the two of you. You could see Cloud's muscles on his sleeveless arm begin to twitch as if in anticipation of a fight. You were fascinated by Cloud's muscles….in a purely medical sense…or at least thats what you told yourself.
Reno moved to stand between Cloud and Rufus "Ok everyone calm down, none of us want to make Autumn uncomfortable right?" You were surprised, Reno was actually being considerate. Even Cloud agreed with him, because you could see his tense muscles relax as he took a step back. Rufus stood defensively for another moment before he relaxed as well.
"Then you should at least stay the night, its a few hours back to Edge and I for one will feel more comfortable if you rest a bit before heading back." Rufus said as he straightened his shirt.
Cloud looked at you, "Its your call" he whispered to you. From the look on his face you knew he was worried about you fainting.
"We should stay" you replied. Cloud nodded then turned back to Rufus and said that you'd stay the night.
"Very well, Elena, Tseng can you bring them to their rooms." Rufus ordered, You could hear Reno mumbling about how nicely Rufus asked them, he's always mean to him and Rude.
"Room" Cloud said quickly. You looked at him curiously, Reno's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "We're staying together" Cloud added.
"Didn't think you were the type Strife but to each their own" Rufus said with a shrug, but from his rigid body language you could tell that he was annoyed, and directed Tseng to prepare the room.
In the shuffle of things Rude walked up to you, "Here kid" he said as he handed you a water bottle.
"Thanks Rude" you said, as he nodded a you're welcome and went back to his post.
Tseng motioned for you and Cloud to follow. As you passed, Reno reached out to you, you noticed Cloud tense for a moment before he decided to let you handle it, when Reno saw you pull away he put his hands up defensively and said, "Are you sure you're ok?" he looked so worried about you.
Now you felt bad for pulling away, as annoying as Reno is you know he means well. "I'm fine" you told him quietly before turning away to catch up with Cloud and Tseng.
As you walked through the hallway you got the strangest feeling, as if you were walking through the tunnels in the Shinra mansion except in this case it was a medical center decorated like the mansion, where as the mansion was repurposed into a medical lab. Tseng stopped at a door a bit of a ways away. He nodded to the room next door and said it was Elena's and that his own was across that in case you needed anything, he paused a moment before adding that Reno and Rufus' rooms are on the end of the hall. Cloud nodded a thank you as he opened the door and Tseng walked away.
You followed Cloud into the room, he turned on the lights and you could see there was several windows, a large house plant in the corner, an open door which lead to a small bathroom, a desk, a couch and one bed. It seemed Cloud noticed the singular bed the same time you did, he turned to you and said, "I'll take the couch"
"Are you sure, you were riding all day" you said.
Cloud nodded with a small smile, "I'll be fine" he said as he sat on the edge of the bed, "I'm more concerned about you, are you really sure you're ok?" he asked.
You sighed and reached up to your necklace and frowned when you remembered it was now just an empty chain. You took a deep breath trying to clam yourself, the anxiety was getting to you, you weren't sure what to say or do, you didn't want Cloud to worry but what you remembered is going to be hard to explain and its putting you into a panic and.. your thoughts were cut off when Cloud appeared in front of you, you didn't even see him move. You stared at him stupidly as he took the empty chain off your neck, then he took the wolf earring out of his ear, broke the back off and slipped it onto the chain. You looked at him curiously, but in a surprising moment of vulnerability he refused to make eye contact as he placed the necklace back around your neck. He took a step back once he was finished, but without thinking you threw your arms around him and hugged him. Cloud froze for a moment before wrapping his arms around you.
Then you started to panic again because the last time you and Cloud were this close you had sex with him. You pushed yourself away and instantly reached for your necklace, this time finding the wolf earring, it calmed you.
"I"m sorry" Cloud told you.
You shook your head, "you didn't do anything to upset me, I'm sorry I must have worried you and now you ruined your earring because of me and…"
Cloud cut you off, "Autumn" he said as he put his hands on your shoulders forcing you to look at him, "I'm worried because I care about you, I couldn't care less about the earring, I just want to do anything I can to help you feel better" You were not only surprised by the meaning of Cloud's words but also with the shear amount he said.
You looked up a Cloud and said, "I remembered some of my time in the Shinra Mansion" You told him, your confidence dwindled, you looked away as you said, "we met there… well not really met, you were unconscious." As the words left your mouth you came to a horrible realization, in your memory, Hojo had said that you passed his test referring to the fact that he forced Cloud to overdose on mako, he tried to murder Cloud in order to test you. It was a horrible thought you felt sick to your stomach and you held your face in an attempt to get through the wave of nausea you felt.
You were startled when you felt Cloud's rough hands on your face, you glanced up giving him a look of confusion, "Autumn are you ok?" the concern clear on his face. You tried to speak but could't find your voice, this only made Cloud worry more, you swayed still feeling dizzy from your realization. Cloud led you the few feet to the bed and had you sit. "What can I do?" Cloud asked quietly. You just shook your head as you closed your eyes and rested you face in your hands, the nausea was really getting to you. "Is it because Hojo tried to kill me to test you?" Cloud asked.
"How did you…?" you trailed off.
"It was in my file" Cloud replied looking away. You frowned, it was your fault Cloud almost died, if you never believed Reno, if you didn't try to find Zack, maybe Cloud wouldn't have gone through that. Then you thought about Cloud's geostigma, wondering if the cause was the mako energy, wondering if it was your fault. You were knocked from your thoughts when Cloud pulled you into a tight embrace, he wrapped both arms around you, pulling you as close to him as possible as he buried his face in your neck. "Autumn you saved me, Hojo was already experimenting on me before you got there, it wasn't going to stop him" Cloud told you quietly.
"But…" you started.
"No, its not your fault." Cloud said as he pulled away and forced you to look into his shockingly blue eyes. You kept trying to look away."Autumn look at me, Hojo was going to experiment on me either way" He told you again.
You tried to calm down, realistically you knew none of it was your fault, you just couldn't help feeling like it was. Without think you wrapped your arms around Cloud and buried your face in his chest as you cried. This was way more emotionally exhausting than you anticipated but hugging Cloud definitely helps. Cloud carefully wrapped his arms around you holding you close. He absently began rubbing your back, being very carful to not irritate your painful scar. You weren't sure how long you stayed in his arms and cried, it felt like forever and you're pretty embarrassed about your actions. When you did finally pull away you look up at Cloud but refused to meet his gaze
"Autumn, why wont you look at me?" Cloud asked quietly, almost as if he was afraid of your answer. He still had both hands resting on your waist, preventing you from getting any further from him
"I'm really embarrassed about crying all of over your shirt" You said as you wiped a few tears and finally looked into his eyes. Cloud's eyebrows knit together in confusion. You sighed, "I just feel like I keep doing this"
He thought for a moment before realizing, then without a word Cloud pulled you onto his lap and hugged you tightly. You were a bit shocked, Cloud is not usually this affectionate but you welcomed it. "Whatever you need, I'll do my best to be what you need" He told you quietly.
The two of you stayed like that for another moment before you pulled away and looked up at Cloud, "Thank you" you told him sincerely, "You've been so good to me, I can't thank you enough."
"Autumn…" Cloud trailed off, he had a strange look on his face, you were about to question it when Cloud leaned in and kissed your forehead, you nearly gasped in shock but just smiled.
When he pulled away, you stuttered, "Cloud I…" you lost your confidence.
After a moment, Cloud said, "You don't have to say anything, I think I understand." You smiled at him as he tried to kiss your forehead again but you moved and caught his lips in a kiss. For a moment Cloud seemed shocked but then he settled into the kiss and pulled you closer to him, keeping one arm around your back, he cradled your head with the other. As the kiss ended you and Cloud looked into each others eyes. You didn't feel the need to speak you didn't feel pressured in anyway, though now that you're coming back to your senses you are feeling pretty embarrassed because you're still sitting on Cloud's lap. You went to move but Cloud held you in place.
You looked at him curiously, "You can let me go now" you told him a small smile on your face.
"What if I don't want to" Cloud told you as he stared into your eyes. You were speechless, you must have looked like a gapping fish, unable to come up with anything witty to say. "Well Ms. Knight, I'll let you go if you ask me to" Cloud told you.
"Thats rather bold of you Mr. Strife." you told him trying to keep a straight face, in reality you just wanted to hide your face so he wouldn't be able to see the blush creeping across your cheeks.
"Is there a reason you're blushing?" Cloud asked trying to sound innocent, but you could see a mischievous smirk behind his words. You bit your lip, unable to think of anything to reply, usually you're so good at witty banter but Cloud makes you so flustered. "Don't bite your lip like that" Cloud said in a low voice.
"Why does it bother you?" you asked, "Or would you rather I bite yours?" That caught the ex-soldier off guard, Cloud's eyes widened for a moment as a faint pink tint crossed his pale cheeks. From the look on his face you could tell he definitely had no idea how to respond to that. "Are you going to answer me?" You asked mischievously as you shifted to sit on your knees so you would be closer to eye level with him, Cloud was still absently holding your waist but as you shifted, he ran his hand up and down your side.
"Autumn" Cloud sighed, as he looked away.
Realizing you may have taken it too far, you grabbed his hand and quietly said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." you apologized.
Cloud instantly turned to you, you were a bit startled by how quickly he moved, you're always forgetting how fast he actually is, "You didn't do anything wrong" He told you seriously, he seemed so conflicted, then he said, "The last time you bit your lip like that," he paused for a moment refusing to meet you gaze, "I pushed you against a wall to kiss you"
"Do you regret it?" you asked quietly.
"No never" He replied instantly, "I just don't want to mess anything up with you" he said honestly. You absently bit your lip again, "Autumn" Cloud warned.
Realizing what you just did, you decided to make the first move. You caught his lips in a kiss as you ran your fingers though his hair. Cloud was so caught off guard that he fell back onto the bed never breaking the kiss. When you broke the kiss, you hovered about an inch away from his lips, his eyes were still closed and his breathing heavy. "Now we're even" you told him.
Suddenly you found yourself on your back, you gasped in surprise as you looked into Cloud shocking mako blue eyes. He supported himself on this right arm and gently caressed your face with his left hand. "Autumn…" Cloud trailed off. You moved to support yourself on your elbows closing the distance between you and Cloud. "Can I?" He asked as he tucked a few strands of hair behind your ear.
"Yes" you replied quietly with a smile before you closed your eyes. Cloud cradled the back of your head as he pulled you into a kiss. It was gentile and sweet and over far too soon.
Cloud was pulled away from you, you fell back shocked, as Reno sucker punched Cloud. "Get off her" Reno said as he shook out his hand in apparent pain. Cloud blinked a few times, and poked at the spot on his jaw where Reno hit him.
"What the hell Reno?" You questioned as you sat up.
"He was all over you." Reno said as he examined his hand, you hoped he broke it on Cloud's face.
You sighed, "Maybe I wanted him to be all over me" You snapped, then realized what you said and nearly squeaked in embarrassment. Reno thankfully was speechless. "Just get out Reno" you told him as you covered your face, you knew they were both well aware of your rosy complexion but not having to look at either of them helped you calm down.
"Reno" Cloud said as he stood up, "Get out" After a moment you didn't hear any movement, you uncovered your face to see Cloud and Reno glaring at each other.
"Will you just leave" You told Reno. He looked at you for a minute, then back at Cloud before leaving the room in a huff, slamming the door behind him. Once he was out of sight you closed your eyes and laid back on the bed as you released a breath you weren't even aware you were holding.