"tell me Cloud... What is it you cherish most? Give me the pleasure of taking it away."
The smirk. The grin. The chuckle. The one winged Angel already had his answer of course. It's been 2 years. 2 years since he lost that which he cherished most. During their travels Cloud learnt to live for others. To hold things dear. To feel empathy and embrace his humanity. Of course, she also taught him what it feels like to love another. Maybe not physically, but emotionally. He was robbed of the former and fate goaded him for the latter. Cloud's fury cursed through his veins. The mako electrifying, burning within him and with a loud grunt he locked his arms out in front of him in his signature pose. A blue explosion erupting out of his skin in a powerful aura. . "You took... EVERYTHING FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!"
Cloud's memory flashed briefly of a beautiful young brunette running ahead of him as if time slowed down, against a backdrop of a field of yellow Lilly's and a burning sunrise on the horizon over the ocean they were heading towards. It was just before under Junon, the cliffs gave way to a field before finally meeting the gentle waves. Her hand in his, her pink skirt dancing in the breeze, her pink ribbon bobbing with the motion. Her head turning as she giggled, her bright emerald eyes sparkling with love. With life. A life his nemesis unceremoniously cut short. Her crime? Becoming the centre of Clouds world.
Everything screamed for him not to fall in love with her; the visions of her death and even the brunette herself. But no matter how strong they got, neither was strong enough to resist the pull they had towards each other.
Cloud launched himself at the swordsman with unmatched ferocity. The only thing more dangerous than a man who lost everything? Was a man who wasn't afraid to die. No, a man who was prepared to die. Welcomed it even. For it was the only way they could be reunited of course. However, Cloud had one last thing to do first; Sephiroth. This would be the second time he's been locked in mortal combat with his nemesis. This would be the second time he's forced to put down this fucker. If not to avenge his fallen soulmate, to at least protect what she held dear; life. Gaia and everything on it. He would bury this bastard for the last time and then lay down his sword and wait for his end in "their place". Cloud had become much stronger over the last 2 years, opting to leave his materia in his new home as he made deliveries around the world and he figured with Geostigma in his system relying on materia would make him weaker. In reality he was lying to himself. He was good at that he figured. What he really wanted was release from this anguish. This nightmare. He wanted to find a battle he could not win. He wouldn't just roll over and die but likewise, if and when she came, he would embrace her as he longed to do for the last few years.
Her. His angel. His Cetra. His home. His everything. His Aerith.
For old wounds was ripped open anew and fate saw fit to laugh at him once more with the return of Sephiroth. Alas, sparks flew as the swords clashed over and over as they danced their fateful dance once more.
He was going to propose after their journey. Cait predicted a marriage and he already had her ring on him that he bought in Junon proper. Each night giggles erupted from her as they exchanged hushed whispers over the campfire, if one wanted to find the brunette they only need look for Cloud and she'd be found safely nuzzling up one of his biceps or sat so close the air electrified around them. They were inseparable. Everyone knew it, they were in love. Everyone knew except them of course, and if one doesn't embrace the moment when it's presented, it may be lost forever and thus, fate ordained it so. He lost her. In front of his eyes as he stood motionless mere feet away as the nightmare unravelled. He heard the katana scrape along her spine and exit through her back. Her saw her beautiful emerald eyes smile briefly at him before they closed for the last time. He caught her as she fell forward, and felt the last of her breaths leave her body. He examined her face briefly as the shock subsided. Cloud was never one for emotions, most found him cold, others inhumanly so. Not Aerith, she passed through his mile high walls like a spectre, understanding him like nobody ever could. Nurturing him, and finally caring for him. Including him, teasing him. He felt at home with her, truly at peace. He had the ability to seperate his thoughts and emotions from his instincts and training. Yet in that moment he was naked. His sword discarded to the side like garbage as he propped himself up on one leg and wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around her head as he pulled her into the nook of his shoulder. Silent tears raced down his cheeks as his friends stared in horror as blood pooled under Aerith's cooling corpse. Cloud started rocking her as he struggled to breathe in between silent sobs. Behind him? Sephiroth. Laughing like the crazed madman he was. However his laughter was cut prematurely by an almighty cry from Cloud. A scream? Yes, a much more fitting description. His head buried in the ancients shoulder as he shuddered trying to breathe. He pulled back eventually and caressed her cheek softly. All he could muster with a quivering lip was her name. Behind him, Sephiroth finished a speech Cloud didn't realise was happening before a familiar purple haze started to surround them. The calamity. Cloud looked to the heavens of this nightmare and blinked away the tears that he could. He glanced down once more at the most beautiful woman in the world to him, face struggling not to contort into the throws of sobs that threatened to engulf him once more and gently placed a tender, lingering kiss on her forehead between her bangs with closed eyes . He looked up at their friends once more. Behind them he saw two figures, one crying with a hand over her chest. The other consoling her. Aerith. Aerith and her mother, Ifalna. Ifalna was truly as breathtaking as her daughter, offering a small smile at Cloud before his eyes flicked to the soul of Aerith. He couldn't smile but seeing her softened his features into a neutral expression. She wasn't in pain, not physically. Hojo nor Sephiroth could hurt her anymore. At this realization, a raw, feral rage exploded within Cloud. A rage he'd never felt before. It was powerful, truly powerful. For the first time since before he met Aerith he could truly cut loose without giving a fuck about the safety of anybody else around him. Sephiroth had unknowingly released the monster Hojo had created within Cloud. He was released from his binds as a bodyguard. The explosion of grief, sorrowaand fury manifested physically. As he laid his beloved down with untold reverence the mako glowed blue within his body, eminating from inside him. His friends looked at him with terrified expressions not knowing what was happening to their leader. Cloud closed his eyes and stilled his mind. Focusing, feeling the mako pulsing through his body as he knelt there. The picture of calm before the storm with his hands on his lap. He slowly opened his eyes and his gaze met Aerith's, her jaw slack at how powerful his love for her was. How powerful HE truly was. All he could mouth was "forgive me Aerith" as a single tear escaped his eye and with that he snatched the hilt of his sword, pivoted on his heel and roared towards Sephiroth in one swift move who stood before the calamity. Clouds mako had finished burning up and after reaching its desired temperature bursting into an incredible aura as moved with inhuman speed towards his nemesis. Sephiroth barely twitched his fingers to raise Masamune before Cloud shot past him, cleaving him in two. However, he just laughed and dissipated in a purple haze meaning the murderer of his Cetra was the alien herself who used her powers to summon Sephiroth. He wasn't there after all, but Jenova was and his fury turned to the alien instead. Cloud raised his sword in front of himself with one hand almost daring the calamity to try and attack him. His eye twitching as he stared it down along his blade before assuming his unorthodox punisher pose as his friends rushed to his side. A pose Cloud NEVER began a fight in.
Elmyra was the first person Cloud resolved to see after he returned to Midgar during the Jenova crisis. She was naturally upset with him that her daughter had returned to the planet and Cloud took full blame. After hearing his story he subsequently broke down on the kitchen floor in a heap and bawled his eyes out as she stood in shock. She had assumed there was something between them but not... this. Cloud had been reduced from the strongest man she had seen to the most pitiful. His sobs filled the empty house as his tears hit the floor with no end. She summised he had kept this in the whole time, letting the rest of Aerith's friends grieve will he tried to remain strong. No, to Elmyra this man wasn't weak nor was he pitiful. He was human. The shame that filled her as her first ever words to him made her bite her lip as to stop her own tears falling. "you boys, you traded a normal life for power. You can't have it both ways." Yet, this young man gave everything he had, that selfsame power and used it to protect Aerith. It still wasn't enough. So all he could do now was avenge her.
Fast forward three years and Cloud sat down at the kitchen table of Elmyra's. Stoic as ever. Unsmiling, still stuck in the past. Elmyra had finished making a coffee and passed it to the mercenary. "I'm glad you came Cloud... I'm worried about you. You've lost even more weight, are you eating properly? Maybe I shou-" Cloud cut her off with a quiet sigh and shook his head before turning his gaze over to what was left next to the sink. A beautiful bouquet of flowers. Red tulips, roses and primroses. Next to them was another bouquet, these made Cloud gasp and stand shakily from his seat and slowly walk over to them caressing their petals with a softness Elmyra admired. A softness she imagined Cloud only reserved for her daughter. "Aerith..." the blonde whispered at the arrangement of yellow lilies and foxtails.
"No. I-I can't. Please, d-don't... D-don't make me g-go back." Cloud turned to Elmyra with pleading eyes filled with tears and Elmyra looked at him with a softness he'd never seen before. She slowly placed her mug on the table and stood up placing a hand on Clouds left arms as the pink of Aerith's bow was visible through the fabric of the sleeve he had covering it. Their eyes met and Elmyra shocked him.
"she came to me. Last night. Asked me if I'd seen you, if you're taking care of yourself." she eyed the swordsman somewhat dissapointedly but she carried on. "She said she hasn't reached out to you because she knows how much you're hurting. You're still hurting. Do you know how she knows without talking to you?" No malice left her lips at the question. It was genuine but she knew the answer. She wondered if Cloud too knew.
"I-I don't know." he managed to choke out. She could've reached him, she chose not to. Why? Why would she..?
"you don't visit."
That hit him like a train.
His eyes shot to hers with unimaginable pain. Tears silently falling down his cheeks once more ruining the oil painting that was his face. Even Elmyra thought he was an incredibly attractive man, easy on the eye. However, the pain she saw was potent enough to make her grimace for a second. "please Cloud. She's waiting. She wants you to face your nightmare. Your pain. When you place these bouquets down you'll have a moment to talk once more. She misses you, you know?" her voice soft, warm.
"how? I'm a monster. I can't protect anything or anyone. I'm only fit to destroy. I'm pathetic." Clouds voice laced with bitterness at himself. The sorrow and hatred for himself indeed ran deep. Dangerously deep.
Aerith had warned her of the minefield that conversations can become with Cloud and asked Elmyra to be encouraging, understanding and gentle with the blonde as she could. She told her mum of the unspoken horrors Cloud had undergone throughout his life. By the end the older lady could only stare slackjawed and high browed that anyone could survive what Cloud has. Yet the only ordeal he couldn't overcome was losing Aerith. That alone told Elmyra just what kind of man Cloud is and how much her little girl truly meant to him. She embraced the blonde once more and spoke lightly.
"do you trust Aerith? She wouldn't ask this of you unless she believed in you and believe in you she has."
"but I fai-"
"shhhh.. Let me finish. Go to her one last time. Tell her how you feel, tell her you miss her." she turned to the Lilys, "lovers used to give these when they was reunited. But you already knew that didn't you?" she smirked at Cloud with a side glance. He turned his face away and offered a very short chuckle at the memory. There he is. A very brief, split second glimpse into the boy her daughter fell for and he wore the smile well. With closed eyes and a shaky sigh he followed it with a strong, rehearsed, deep breath. Steadying his emotions. He opened them and turned to Elmyra. His gaze was powerful, the strength and dedication he showed that fateful night before breaking Aerith out of Shinra headquarters returned in full. He nodded curtly before responding simply with "alright." he grasped both bouquets softly and placed them in the bend of his elbow before walking towards the door. Elmyra stopped him with one last question before he departed for the Forgotten Capital, the place of Aerith's eternal slumber. "Cloud. How did you fall in love with her so quickly? What did she do?" a personal question no doubt but one Cloud was surprisingly happy to answer as he opened the front door. He turned to Elmyra and smiled solemnly. With a single tear finally, silently caressing his cheek.
"she believed in me."
and with that the door closed gently behind him. Elmyra sighed and shook her head before leaning back on the kitchen counter and folding her arms. "Aerith, he needs you. I don't know if he's got it in him to visit but that boy desperately needs you. I don't want to believe it, but I think you're the only one who can save him from himself now." Elmyra spoke to nobody in particular but Aerith always made her presence felt and her presence was strongest during his visits, this time was no exception. Elmyra heaved a heavy sigh before taking Clouds mug and turning to wash the dishes, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall.