Chapter 12 - Crisis of Coordination Pt. 3
Part 1
Part 2
He winced in embarrassed recollection. Cloud had been climbing up some of the scrap heaps that took up much of the space in between sectors, full of concrete and metal poles from the highway and waste from the plate above. He hadn't even known the monsters were there until the mother had her teeth in his hand. Zack had overreacted when Cloud had let out a startled cry of pain, and had taken care of the minor monster infestation. It was unfortunate that even the pups had to be killed, but they couldn’t be allowed to gain a foothold within the city walls. The subsequent barrage of questions had Cloud mildly baffled, but apparently Zack had been thrown by Cloud's uncharacteristic vocalization. He hadn't believed Cloud's assurances that it had been a minor injury until he'd agreed to go see Aerith immediately.
"…You tell him," Cloud said, trying not to let the petulance he felt into his voice, and knew he failed miserably. The unexpected childishness of that made him flush slightly, and he wondered for a moment if Zack was rubbing off on him too much, or if it was his own fluctuating mood.
She snickered. "...Are you scared of Zack?"
"I'm…cautious, of his enthusiasm," Cloud mumbled.
Before Aerith could respond in any way, Cloud held up a hand to silence her. From around a slab of broken highway, he heard the tell tale chittering of a Whole Eater. They were apparently still hanging around after their canine meal. Waving idly at her to stay behind, he silently drew his sword and hopped on top of the slab. It was no challenge at all to dispatch the two monsters that had been loitering there, and he toed their corpses to the side before he returned around the concrete to rejoin Aerith. Keeping himself between her and the half-hidden bodies, he hurried them through the area. Ahead of them, the entryway to the Sector 5 market place could be seen.
"Your mother…will she be very worried, do you think?" he asked as they passed into the bustle of the market. Cloud remembered how in the future, Elmyra had begged him to leave Aerith behind when he returned to the 7th Heaven bar. Aerith had followed anyway, but Cloud could still remember her mother's tired, pleading expression. Perhaps she had known then that her daughter would never return if she left.
“She might,” Aerith said slowly, her eyes directed upward. Above them the underside of the plate hovered, hiding away the sky. “I think she'll wonder what took so long, but...she doesn't have a reason to worry if we don't give her one, you know?” Aerith turned her gaze on Cloud and smiled softly at him. “And she doesn't have a reason to worry, does she? Neither of us was hurt, and it wasn't even that scary.”
Aerith lead the way as they cut across the market and made their way up the path toward her home. The front door was open, inviting, and upon reaching it Aerith peeked inside. “Mom?” she called. Just before she was about to call again Elmyra appeared from upstairs, drying her hands on a hand towel. Despite Aerith's optimism, Cloud wasn't surprised when Elmyra greeted them with a pinched mouth and worried brow. He hung back, allowing Aerith to reassure her mother that they were safe and there was nothing to worry about, and just watched.
“What took you so long?” Elmyra asked. “I sent the girls down to the market but they said you weren't there. Then they offered to go check the church.”
“We got a little side tracked,” Aerith said sheepishly, “and decided to visit Wall Market.”
Elmyra's frown deepened for a moment before she sighed and smoothed it away with a smile. “You didn't run into any monsters?” she asked shrewdly.
“There were a few on the way, but they weren't a problem for Cloud,” Aerith reported happily as she stepped inside. “I got the material, and he gave us this,” she paused to hold up the ribbon, “as well. Oh! And I got some treats for the girls. They've been so helpful...” She looked at her mother and frowned slightly. “You said they went back to the church?”
“Yes.”
Aerith bit her lip, then glanced back at Cloud where he hovered in the doorway. “We should go make sure they're okay.” Cloud gave a sharp nod of agreement. While it wasn't often that monsters appeared there it did happen. “Oh! Wait a moment will you, Cloud?”
She turned sharply on her heel and darted upstairs. Something had changed in his friend, something familiar in the determined glint in Aerith's eye. It was both baffling and inspiring to realize that Aerith had obviously taken something away after her fright, and forged it into a strength to carry her forward. Cloud felt a swell of pride and happiness when she returned down the stairs with her staff, and nodded slightly in approval. He would definitely feel better of future encounters if she had her staff with her, even among the lawless rabble of the slums.
He caught Elmyra's eye briefly over Aerith's head, and saw that pride echoed in her gaze as well. But there was also worry there, which Cloud knew would never completely leave her. She loved Aerith as her own daughter, and indeed there really was no difference in the feeling for the pair. Cloud wasn't sure if his presence was reassuring or causing Elmyra more concern, but he hoped it was the former. This wasn't the same downcast woman he'd met in the other life, who'd lost too much already and feared losing her last light of happiness. One that Cloud had stolen from her anyway.
“This time,” Aerith said softly, words meant only for him. “I can fight too. If we have to.” She gave Cloud a sharp, stubborn look, as if daring him to tell her she couldn't. Aerith's challenge fell on deaf ears, as Cloud didn't bother to acknowledge it. He knew quite well how stubborn she could be. It was another parallel to his other Aerith, he couldn't help but note with a pang of guilt, of when she had insisted she accompany him to Sector 7. Even when he'd managed to sneak out without her, she'd somehow known to come find him. It was part of her charm and frustration.
Cloud let Aerith pass by him, before falling into step beside her. The girls probably shouldn't be running around by themselves. This wasn't their home territory, and most slum dwellers were extremely territorial. Sector 5 was one of the more reputable parts of the slums, but that didn't mean there weren't other dangers.
The walk through the marketplace was quick, as they cut through to the more direct route this time. Tilting his head up, Cloud regarded the distant form of the plates above for a moment, as he judged the amount of time their outing had taken up from the dim light that filtered down. There were still a few hours before dark at this time of the year, so as long as nothing untoward had happened to the girls, there was nothing to worry about. They'd probably been distracted by the flowers in the church again, and had lost track of time as children were wont to do.
Silence stretched between the two, but Cloud didn't think it was an uncomfortable one. Zack always felt the need to fill the air with chatter, which was nice in its own way, but Aerith was content to leave things be when there was nothing important to be said. Soon enough, their progress through the twisting slum paths brought them to their destination, as the bulk of the church rose up before them.
Aerith's steps tapped quietly against the wide stone steps of the church as she hurried up them, fingers tight around the midsection of her staff. One leaf of the heavy wooden doors stood open, fully. Cloud had his suspicions on what they would find in the church, and knew his hunch was correct when he saw Aerith's shoulders relax minutely as she entered through the double doors. He stepped in after her, taking in the sight of Zack and the girls huddled in the center of the church. In the middle of them a wooden cart sat, a bright riot of colors and pictures decorating its sides. Was this what Zack had been so secretive about? Trailing after Aerith as she moved down the aisles of pews, he paused at the last row and just watched his friends for a minute.
“Looks like we've got company,” Zack said, straightening. An explosion of excited giggles greeted his words. His harness and shoulder armor were gone, and there was a smear of white paint across the bridge of his nose and fine spatters of sunshine yellow all down one side of his dark shirt.
“Zack,” Aerith said, voice laced with amusement and surprise. He winked at her and waved his hand to beckon her forward. Aerith didn't hesitate. She hurried forward, pausing only to deposit her staff alongside Buster Sword, and went to join him, her package clutched to her chest. The three girls were sprawled on the floor between open pails of paint, their faces even more splattered than Zack's. “You've been busy,” she noted brightly. “You finally made my wagon.”
Zack gently took hold of Aerith's upper arms and pulled her to stand in front of him. He leaned over her shoulder. “It's not quite done yet,” he said. “I spent more time running around getting supplies and figuring out how to make it than I did working on it, but, hey, not bad for a first try right? The girls insisted they get to decorate it, so don't blame the paint job on me.”
“Hey!” Poppy yelped, indignant but apparently too busy flicking paint at Violet to really retaliate. Then all three looked up with a bright grins and Poppy asked, “Well? Do you like it, Miss Aerith?”
“Yeah, Miss Aerith,” Zack teased. “Do you like it?”
Aerith bit her lip, trying to look serious, trying to give the question due study, but it was impossible. “I do,” she said at last, voice trembling on the edge of laughter, and proper graciousness. “Thank you all.”
“Hey, I promised,” Zack said. “And this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Happy Birthday.”
Cloud knew he had a soft smile on his face at their antics as he just enjoyed his friends' contentment. That was something he was coming to accept and appreciate, now that he had the time and chance to do so.
Aerith blinked in surprise and finally looked back at Zack. “How did you...?”
“Your mom. I asked, and then I plotted. I'm not too bad at this plotting thing, right Cloud?” Aerith glanced at him and Cloud rolled his eyes and crossed his arms at Zack's antics.
“Oh, you two!” she hissed, fondly exasperated, and automatically she smacked Zack with the only thing she had available: the package in her arms. Zack blinked down at it in surprise then raised his gaze back to her.
“That smells good. What'd you bring me?”
Aerith stuck her nose in the air and moved away from him. “Nothing for you,” she said primly, and handed the package off to Violet. “It's for the girls. You should get back to work. After all, you said it wasn't finished yet!”
“Aw, Aerith,” Zack whined. He gave her a hang dog look, shoulders slumping. “That's just mean. Cloud, a little help here?”
Stepping forward at Zack's plea, Cloud uncrossed his arms and gave him a sardonic look. "I gave you enough time. And you had plenty of help already." He nodded at the trio of girls. Poppy and Annabelle were engrossed in continuing to decorate the cart, but Violet looked up at Cloud with a wide smile. That was downright ecstatic for the shy girl. Taking in the colorful cart, Cloud couldn't help but shake his head and look back at Zack's pouting face. "Is this what you've been working on?"
Like a switch had been flipped, Zack went from moping disconsolately at Aerith's unfair demands, to ridiculously happy again. He closed the distance between them in an enthusiastic bound, and Cloud only had a second to brace for the arm that was thrown across his shoulders. "Yeah, come take a closer look. You too!" he added, using his other arm to tug Aerith forward as well. The three girls shuffled over as Zack forced both Cloud and Aerith to sit down in front of the cart. Cloud only just managed to avoid sitting awkwardly on his sword, and wished he'd thought to leave it with Aerith and Zack's weapons. A moment later, a paintbrush was shoved into Cloud's hand, as Zack took advantage of his compliance to coerce him into working.
Slightly stunned at how fast his friend moved, Cloud looked over at Aerith as Zack leaned forward and fumbled through the paint supplies. She let out a light laugh, brandishing her own paintbrush, before turning to the cart and beginning to draw on a spot of plain wood. Cloud let out a sigh that ruffled his bangs, and wasn't above elbowing Zack's unprotected side as he leaned forward to dip his brush into the paint. He had no idea what would be appropriate, but he could fill in empty space with color.
"Look at this, Miss Aerith! I drew this one right here!" Poppy said, pointing at something on the side of the cart Cloud couldn't see. Aerith dutifully leaned around to see, and gave an exclamation of pleasure at what the girl had drawn. For someone who'd been trying to keep his actions a secret, Zack seemed content to let Cloud and Aerith help put the finishing touches on the cart.
Cloud glanced sideways at Zack. "Why were you running around so much?" That they'd nearly run into Zack more than once indicated to Cloud that his friend had been going about his task with his normal single minded determination. Cloud could admit some curiosity at what exactly Zack had gone through to create the little cart. There was a pile of discarded bits of timber and wood shavings off to the side, along with a hammer and nails, and other paraphernalia Zack had used in his project.
Zack scratched the back of his head, giving Cloud a sheepish look. "When you saw me in the market I was trying to get that guy to give me some of the wood he's got." He gave a snort of disgust to indicate how easy a task that had been. "Apparently he's building a bar in Sector 7, but needed a name for it for inspiration or something. I don't know. Artists," he said airily as he waved his hand dismissively. Cloud had to duck to avoid getting a blue streak of paint in his hair from the brush still clutched in Zack's hand. "Anyway," he continued, grinning at Cloud's huff of complaint at the near miss, "he asked me for a name so I gave him one. 7th Heaven is a good name for a bar, right? He seemed to think so at least. It was kind of funny; he was all 'and maybe a secret basement for ShinRa rebels!', and went all pale when I told him I'm with ShinRa."
He wasn't the only one. Cloud could feel his own face drain of color as he stared in shock at Zack. Zack, who didn't seem to notice that he'd completely stunned Cloud with those words. The 7th Heaven, Tifa's bar, AVALANCHE's bar…the bar that Zack had apparently named. Swallowing around a lump, Cloud turned unseeing eyes back on the cart as he tried to wrap his mind around that. The irony, that Zack's memory was so widespread even in Cloud's own time, and that Cloud never knew, could never had known…. What else had Cloud missed that was an echo of his friend's influence?
Aerith had drawn Zack's attention again, so Cloud was able to stand up without his friend paying any attention. The paint job was nearly done, so it wasn't as if they really needed his help. He caught Violet's eyes as the girl looked up to follow his movement, and tilted his head toward Poppy. The girl still had the bag of pastries that Aerith had given her, but it was lying forgotten in her lap as she and Annabelle alternated between showing Aerith their paint jobs. Violet caught on to Cloud's suggestion, and quickly stood up. She tugged on Annabelle's sleeve, as the girl was closest, and ushered her friends to stand up and retreat to the pews to enjoy their treat.
When Aerith looked up at him with a worried frown, Cloud gave her a reassuring nod. He wasn't upset, exactly, at the discovery that Zack had named the bar. It just made him feel slightly…restless. She was reassured, and turned her attention back to Zack, who was still explaining his adventurous day without seeming to pause for breath. Taking in the peaceful scene, Cloud let the contentment from earlier banish the lingering unease his revelation had caused. The future was sure to bring further complications, but here and now, with his friends' voices mingling with the higher tones of the children's voices, Cloud could pretend that there was only happiness ahead.
Cloud's peaceful thoughts were ruptured by the sound of tearing and crackling paper. He glanced over warily as the three girls divided up the sticky-sweet pastries. Through a mouthful, Poppy said, “I still like Cloud better, but I guess Mister Zack is okay.”
“I think it's romantic,” Violet said softly, eyes lowered. “Promises and gifts and stuff.”
“That's why he's okay,” Poppy sniffed primly. It was ruined by the way she was licking frosting off her finger. “And I know all about romance.”
Cloud shook his head and looked back toward his friends, to where Zack was helping Aerith to her feet. She stumbled slightly as she tried to find her footing among the paint and brushes, and Zack steadied her with a hand under her elbow. Aerith leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of Zack's mouth, and it wasn't hard to see the way his entire expression lit with the simple gesture.
“Happy now?” Cloud heard Aerith ask in amusement.
“Yeah,” Zack drawled, “I think I got the better gift.” As Aerith's tinkling laughter reached him, Cloud turned toward the door and was momentarily surprised when a heavy arm fell across his shoulders. Zack grinned down at him. “C'mon, Elmyra invited us all over for supper again. Grab my sword would you?”
Sometimes, Cloud reflected, there was no need to pretend at all.
Next time on Counter Crisis it's a Crisis of Comburent!
Part 2
He winced in embarrassed recollection. Cloud had been climbing up some of the scrap heaps that took up much of the space in between sectors, full of concrete and metal poles from the highway and waste from the plate above. He hadn't even known the monsters were there until the mother had her teeth in his hand. Zack had overreacted when Cloud had let out a startled cry of pain, and had taken care of the minor monster infestation. It was unfortunate that even the pups had to be killed, but they couldn’t be allowed to gain a foothold within the city walls. The subsequent barrage of questions had Cloud mildly baffled, but apparently Zack had been thrown by Cloud's uncharacteristic vocalization. He hadn't believed Cloud's assurances that it had been a minor injury until he'd agreed to go see Aerith immediately.
"…You tell him," Cloud said, trying not to let the petulance he felt into his voice, and knew he failed miserably. The unexpected childishness of that made him flush slightly, and he wondered for a moment if Zack was rubbing off on him too much, or if it was his own fluctuating mood.
She snickered. "...Are you scared of Zack?"
"I'm…cautious, of his enthusiasm," Cloud mumbled.
Before Aerith could respond in any way, Cloud held up a hand to silence her. From around a slab of broken highway, he heard the tell tale chittering of a Whole Eater. They were apparently still hanging around after their canine meal. Waving idly at her to stay behind, he silently drew his sword and hopped on top of the slab. It was no challenge at all to dispatch the two monsters that had been loitering there, and he toed their corpses to the side before he returned around the concrete to rejoin Aerith. Keeping himself between her and the half-hidden bodies, he hurried them through the area. Ahead of them, the entryway to the Sector 5 market place could be seen.
"Your mother…will she be very worried, do you think?" he asked as they passed into the bustle of the market. Cloud remembered how in the future, Elmyra had begged him to leave Aerith behind when he returned to the 7th Heaven bar. Aerith had followed anyway, but Cloud could still remember her mother's tired, pleading expression. Perhaps she had known then that her daughter would never return if she left.
“She might,” Aerith said slowly, her eyes directed upward. Above them the underside of the plate hovered, hiding away the sky. “I think she'll wonder what took so long, but...she doesn't have a reason to worry if we don't give her one, you know?” Aerith turned her gaze on Cloud and smiled softly at him. “And she doesn't have a reason to worry, does she? Neither of us was hurt, and it wasn't even that scary.”
Aerith lead the way as they cut across the market and made their way up the path toward her home. The front door was open, inviting, and upon reaching it Aerith peeked inside. “Mom?” she called. Just before she was about to call again Elmyra appeared from upstairs, drying her hands on a hand towel. Despite Aerith's optimism, Cloud wasn't surprised when Elmyra greeted them with a pinched mouth and worried brow. He hung back, allowing Aerith to reassure her mother that they were safe and there was nothing to worry about, and just watched.
“What took you so long?” Elmyra asked. “I sent the girls down to the market but they said you weren't there. Then they offered to go check the church.”
“We got a little side tracked,” Aerith said sheepishly, “and decided to visit Wall Market.”
Elmyra's frown deepened for a moment before she sighed and smoothed it away with a smile. “You didn't run into any monsters?” she asked shrewdly.
“There were a few on the way, but they weren't a problem for Cloud,” Aerith reported happily as she stepped inside. “I got the material, and he gave us this,” she paused to hold up the ribbon, “as well. Oh! And I got some treats for the girls. They've been so helpful...” She looked at her mother and frowned slightly. “You said they went back to the church?”
“Yes.”
Aerith bit her lip, then glanced back at Cloud where he hovered in the doorway. “We should go make sure they're okay.” Cloud gave a sharp nod of agreement. While it wasn't often that monsters appeared there it did happen. “Oh! Wait a moment will you, Cloud?”
She turned sharply on her heel and darted upstairs. Something had changed in his friend, something familiar in the determined glint in Aerith's eye. It was both baffling and inspiring to realize that Aerith had obviously taken something away after her fright, and forged it into a strength to carry her forward. Cloud felt a swell of pride and happiness when she returned down the stairs with her staff, and nodded slightly in approval. He would definitely feel better of future encounters if she had her staff with her, even among the lawless rabble of the slums.
He caught Elmyra's eye briefly over Aerith's head, and saw that pride echoed in her gaze as well. But there was also worry there, which Cloud knew would never completely leave her. She loved Aerith as her own daughter, and indeed there really was no difference in the feeling for the pair. Cloud wasn't sure if his presence was reassuring or causing Elmyra more concern, but he hoped it was the former. This wasn't the same downcast woman he'd met in the other life, who'd lost too much already and feared losing her last light of happiness. One that Cloud had stolen from her anyway.
“This time,” Aerith said softly, words meant only for him. “I can fight too. If we have to.” She gave Cloud a sharp, stubborn look, as if daring him to tell her she couldn't. Aerith's challenge fell on deaf ears, as Cloud didn't bother to acknowledge it. He knew quite well how stubborn she could be. It was another parallel to his other Aerith, he couldn't help but note with a pang of guilt, of when she had insisted she accompany him to Sector 7. Even when he'd managed to sneak out without her, she'd somehow known to come find him. It was part of her charm and frustration.
Cloud let Aerith pass by him, before falling into step beside her. The girls probably shouldn't be running around by themselves. This wasn't their home territory, and most slum dwellers were extremely territorial. Sector 5 was one of the more reputable parts of the slums, but that didn't mean there weren't other dangers.
The walk through the marketplace was quick, as they cut through to the more direct route this time. Tilting his head up, Cloud regarded the distant form of the plates above for a moment, as he judged the amount of time their outing had taken up from the dim light that filtered down. There were still a few hours before dark at this time of the year, so as long as nothing untoward had happened to the girls, there was nothing to worry about. They'd probably been distracted by the flowers in the church again, and had lost track of time as children were wont to do.
Silence stretched between the two, but Cloud didn't think it was an uncomfortable one. Zack always felt the need to fill the air with chatter, which was nice in its own way, but Aerith was content to leave things be when there was nothing important to be said. Soon enough, their progress through the twisting slum paths brought them to their destination, as the bulk of the church rose up before them.
Aerith's steps tapped quietly against the wide stone steps of the church as she hurried up them, fingers tight around the midsection of her staff. One leaf of the heavy wooden doors stood open, fully. Cloud had his suspicions on what they would find in the church, and knew his hunch was correct when he saw Aerith's shoulders relax minutely as she entered through the double doors. He stepped in after her, taking in the sight of Zack and the girls huddled in the center of the church. In the middle of them a wooden cart sat, a bright riot of colors and pictures decorating its sides. Was this what Zack had been so secretive about? Trailing after Aerith as she moved down the aisles of pews, he paused at the last row and just watched his friends for a minute.
“Looks like we've got company,” Zack said, straightening. An explosion of excited giggles greeted his words. His harness and shoulder armor were gone, and there was a smear of white paint across the bridge of his nose and fine spatters of sunshine yellow all down one side of his dark shirt.
“Zack,” Aerith said, voice laced with amusement and surprise. He winked at her and waved his hand to beckon her forward. Aerith didn't hesitate. She hurried forward, pausing only to deposit her staff alongside Buster Sword, and went to join him, her package clutched to her chest. The three girls were sprawled on the floor between open pails of paint, their faces even more splattered than Zack's. “You've been busy,” she noted brightly. “You finally made my wagon.”
Zack gently took hold of Aerith's upper arms and pulled her to stand in front of him. He leaned over her shoulder. “It's not quite done yet,” he said. “I spent more time running around getting supplies and figuring out how to make it than I did working on it, but, hey, not bad for a first try right? The girls insisted they get to decorate it, so don't blame the paint job on me.”
“Hey!” Poppy yelped, indignant but apparently too busy flicking paint at Violet to really retaliate. Then all three looked up with a bright grins and Poppy asked, “Well? Do you like it, Miss Aerith?”
“Yeah, Miss Aerith,” Zack teased. “Do you like it?”
Aerith bit her lip, trying to look serious, trying to give the question due study, but it was impossible. “I do,” she said at last, voice trembling on the edge of laughter, and proper graciousness. “Thank you all.”
“Hey, I promised,” Zack said. “And this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Happy Birthday.”
Cloud knew he had a soft smile on his face at their antics as he just enjoyed his friends' contentment. That was something he was coming to accept and appreciate, now that he had the time and chance to do so.
Aerith blinked in surprise and finally looked back at Zack. “How did you...?”
“Your mom. I asked, and then I plotted. I'm not too bad at this plotting thing, right Cloud?” Aerith glanced at him and Cloud rolled his eyes and crossed his arms at Zack's antics.
“Oh, you two!” she hissed, fondly exasperated, and automatically she smacked Zack with the only thing she had available: the package in her arms. Zack blinked down at it in surprise then raised his gaze back to her.
“That smells good. What'd you bring me?”
Aerith stuck her nose in the air and moved away from him. “Nothing for you,” she said primly, and handed the package off to Violet. “It's for the girls. You should get back to work. After all, you said it wasn't finished yet!”
“Aw, Aerith,” Zack whined. He gave her a hang dog look, shoulders slumping. “That's just mean. Cloud, a little help here?”
Stepping forward at Zack's plea, Cloud uncrossed his arms and gave him a sardonic look. "I gave you enough time. And you had plenty of help already." He nodded at the trio of girls. Poppy and Annabelle were engrossed in continuing to decorate the cart, but Violet looked up at Cloud with a wide smile. That was downright ecstatic for the shy girl. Taking in the colorful cart, Cloud couldn't help but shake his head and look back at Zack's pouting face. "Is this what you've been working on?"
Like a switch had been flipped, Zack went from moping disconsolately at Aerith's unfair demands, to ridiculously happy again. He closed the distance between them in an enthusiastic bound, and Cloud only had a second to brace for the arm that was thrown across his shoulders. "Yeah, come take a closer look. You too!" he added, using his other arm to tug Aerith forward as well. The three girls shuffled over as Zack forced both Cloud and Aerith to sit down in front of the cart. Cloud only just managed to avoid sitting awkwardly on his sword, and wished he'd thought to leave it with Aerith and Zack's weapons. A moment later, a paintbrush was shoved into Cloud's hand, as Zack took advantage of his compliance to coerce him into working.
Slightly stunned at how fast his friend moved, Cloud looked over at Aerith as Zack leaned forward and fumbled through the paint supplies. She let out a light laugh, brandishing her own paintbrush, before turning to the cart and beginning to draw on a spot of plain wood. Cloud let out a sigh that ruffled his bangs, and wasn't above elbowing Zack's unprotected side as he leaned forward to dip his brush into the paint. He had no idea what would be appropriate, but he could fill in empty space with color.
"Look at this, Miss Aerith! I drew this one right here!" Poppy said, pointing at something on the side of the cart Cloud couldn't see. Aerith dutifully leaned around to see, and gave an exclamation of pleasure at what the girl had drawn. For someone who'd been trying to keep his actions a secret, Zack seemed content to let Cloud and Aerith help put the finishing touches on the cart.
Cloud glanced sideways at Zack. "Why were you running around so much?" That they'd nearly run into Zack more than once indicated to Cloud that his friend had been going about his task with his normal single minded determination. Cloud could admit some curiosity at what exactly Zack had gone through to create the little cart. There was a pile of discarded bits of timber and wood shavings off to the side, along with a hammer and nails, and other paraphernalia Zack had used in his project.
Zack scratched the back of his head, giving Cloud a sheepish look. "When you saw me in the market I was trying to get that guy to give me some of the wood he's got." He gave a snort of disgust to indicate how easy a task that had been. "Apparently he's building a bar in Sector 7, but needed a name for it for inspiration or something. I don't know. Artists," he said airily as he waved his hand dismissively. Cloud had to duck to avoid getting a blue streak of paint in his hair from the brush still clutched in Zack's hand. "Anyway," he continued, grinning at Cloud's huff of complaint at the near miss, "he asked me for a name so I gave him one. 7th Heaven is a good name for a bar, right? He seemed to think so at least. It was kind of funny; he was all 'and maybe a secret basement for ShinRa rebels!', and went all pale when I told him I'm with ShinRa."
He wasn't the only one. Cloud could feel his own face drain of color as he stared in shock at Zack. Zack, who didn't seem to notice that he'd completely stunned Cloud with those words. The 7th Heaven, Tifa's bar, AVALANCHE's bar…the bar that Zack had apparently named. Swallowing around a lump, Cloud turned unseeing eyes back on the cart as he tried to wrap his mind around that. The irony, that Zack's memory was so widespread even in Cloud's own time, and that Cloud never knew, could never had known…. What else had Cloud missed that was an echo of his friend's influence?
Aerith had drawn Zack's attention again, so Cloud was able to stand up without his friend paying any attention. The paint job was nearly done, so it wasn't as if they really needed his help. He caught Violet's eyes as the girl looked up to follow his movement, and tilted his head toward Poppy. The girl still had the bag of pastries that Aerith had given her, but it was lying forgotten in her lap as she and Annabelle alternated between showing Aerith their paint jobs. Violet caught on to Cloud's suggestion, and quickly stood up. She tugged on Annabelle's sleeve, as the girl was closest, and ushered her friends to stand up and retreat to the pews to enjoy their treat.
When Aerith looked up at him with a worried frown, Cloud gave her a reassuring nod. He wasn't upset, exactly, at the discovery that Zack had named the bar. It just made him feel slightly…restless. She was reassured, and turned her attention back to Zack, who was still explaining his adventurous day without seeming to pause for breath. Taking in the peaceful scene, Cloud let the contentment from earlier banish the lingering unease his revelation had caused. The future was sure to bring further complications, but here and now, with his friends' voices mingling with the higher tones of the children's voices, Cloud could pretend that there was only happiness ahead.
Cloud's peaceful thoughts were ruptured by the sound of tearing and crackling paper. He glanced over warily as the three girls divided up the sticky-sweet pastries. Through a mouthful, Poppy said, “I still like Cloud better, but I guess Mister Zack is okay.”
“I think it's romantic,” Violet said softly, eyes lowered. “Promises and gifts and stuff.”
“That's why he's okay,” Poppy sniffed primly. It was ruined by the way she was licking frosting off her finger. “And I know all about romance.”
Cloud shook his head and looked back toward his friends, to where Zack was helping Aerith to her feet. She stumbled slightly as she tried to find her footing among the paint and brushes, and Zack steadied her with a hand under her elbow. Aerith leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of Zack's mouth, and it wasn't hard to see the way his entire expression lit with the simple gesture.
“Happy now?” Cloud heard Aerith ask in amusement.
“Yeah,” Zack drawled, “I think I got the better gift.” As Aerith's tinkling laughter reached him, Cloud turned toward the door and was momentarily surprised when a heavy arm fell across his shoulders. Zack grinned down at him. “C'mon, Elmyra invited us all over for supper again. Grab my sword would you?”
Sometimes, Cloud reflected, there was no need to pretend at all.
Next time on Counter Crisis it's a Crisis of Comburent!