001: watch for me by moonlight
[The road, if it can be called a road, is narrow. So narrow that it would be hard to walk along it facing forward instead of sideways. To both sides there's a drop off that seems to go down forever, layers of shadows and tendrils of mist that float disturbingly deep in that darkness. Mountains rise on either side, catching the moonlight and
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Time may seem to slow to a crawl for Cloud temporarily, and if he's paying any attention to the sky at all, he'll notice a bundle of pink and red overhead, nearly on top of him.
Aerith falls gently, more slowly than one ever should in reality, right behind Cloud on the motorcycle, sitting sideways. The moment she's on, the speed of time and everything else returns to normal. She quickly wraps her arms around his waist to hold on.
Also completely normal? The incessant giggling at Cloud's back, even as the wind whips sound away. ]
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...and a soft form is pressed close against his back making a sound like music in an abandoned music hall.
His breath leaves him in a slow exhale that seems to steal every tight line of tension from him and her name comes with it:]
...Aerith...
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... And then beyond him, to the vast blackness of the night sky ... that with the whipping wind, knowing how fast they're going -- it makes her feel so small. She ducks her head against his shoulder blades again, filling her view with dark fabric. Cloud knows where they're going. ]
It figures you'd get a big old monster bike. [ Her slight trepidation about the scenery doesn't show in her amused tone. Cloud's macho tendencies are never safe from her teasing. ] Does it have a name, too?
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Tifa got it for me.
[yep. It was entirely her fault. Not as if he found it and asked her for the trade for it before she'd ever seen it herself or anything... nope. Entirely Tifa's fault.]
His name's Fenrir.
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[ It's shouted to Cloud with no small bit of astonishment, considering how expensive the bike looks. And she'd once thought she was being spoiled, asking for so many flower carts from Zack.
... He would have loved this bike. She shakes her head to herself, and then puts one hand on the motorcycle's frame, the other still wrapped around Cloud. ]
Nice to meet you, Fenrir. Be good and listen to Cloud, okay? For this ride I'm counting on both of you.
[ Her voice, directed downward, projects less in Cloud's direction, but it's still easy to tell she's talking, and what to. ]
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Aerith's words behind him made his smile grow just a bit more. It reminded him of the way she talked to Red strangely, straight down to the little pat and under them, Fenrir purred like a giant cat. A giant cat with gravel in it's throat but the idea was there at least.
She was counting on him. The words struck and he felt their blow but he didn't know why. Just... the determination to not let her down.
To make sure he was worth counting on.
His head gave a little dip in acknowledgement of his silent promise and he hummed a short sound to seal it. Then, not the least concerned with the hard curves or sharp turns he asked:]
Where do you want to go, Aerith?
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And when Cloud asked, she had to think ... where did she want to go? With Cloud? This wasn't an airship ride, but when she looked over his shoulder at the sky again and felt a little bigger with her companions, she thought it could be just as good. ]
... North. Where it's cold and snowy. A place called Icicle Inn. I haven't been there before, but you know the way, right Cloud? You've been e-very-where. [ At least, she hopes he has; she's always had a little bit of curiosity about that place. ]
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after they'd lost...
his mind offered him nothing but a blur of despair and the burning, binding blinding need for vengeance. He shook his head at it, shaking away the sensation.
It didn't matter. He knew the way to Icicle Inn. He'd been there on deliveries often enough. If Aerith wanted to go he'd take her. It had never snowed in Midgar and he imagined that someone as enthusiastic about life as Aerith would enjoy playing in the snow. He'd have to make sure she had clothes that would keep her warm. Tifa and Yuffie had been freezing the first time they'd gone...
why couldn't he remember how Aerith had handled it...?
Another head shake, this time more determinedly and he nodded instead.
Icicle Inn. He'd make sure she got to drink hot cocoa.
Her tease made him grunt a sound that might have once been a chuckle.]
Almost. Hang on.
[ahead the road parted, one trail leading onward and the other heading up into the mountains. Cloud took the uphill ( ... )
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Cloud ... ?
[ He acted a little funny sometimes -- really, a LOT of the time, when the way he moved was just like -- but not like that, and it made her wonder.
She wouldn't press on it, though. In fact, once the air chilled and nearly became painful, it was back to hiding her face in the back of Cloud's shirt before she felt him shift and looked up to see the riding goggles. ]
Oh -- thanks, Cloud. [ She took them and managed to slip them on. How prepared he was! She called over the wind: ] Do you take passengers a lot?
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Aerith burrowing into his back distracted him and his lips shifted sympathetically. He was mountain born and between that and the mako in his blood, his body didn't feel the change in temperature as much as most. He'd been told he was like a space heater in fact. Aerith though had to be feeling the cold and he cut back on Fenrir's forward charge just a little. Enough that the wind, still cold and tasting of ice, was at least not cutting like knives. Her second question earned a glance over his shoulder and a twitch of his lips again.]
No.
[he just liked being prepared. He wanted to make sure he could take care of anyone that did ride with him. ( ... )
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[ However, the whisps of white melted when she touched her fingers to his hand. ]
Oh! [ She ... actually looked pretty taken aback by this. Body heat, why? ]
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Icicle Inn is just around that mountain.
[already the snow is turning into a light flurry. Not enough to be trouble for them but enough to whirl down in spiraling patterns of soft down. It catches in his hair and melts in spots against his bare arms. His hands, bare and pale now, find the handles again and Fenrir rumbles.]
Hang on to me. We'll be there soon.
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[ She takes the gloves with a grateful smile. They are too big, but tucking them under her bangles helps them stay a little closer to the skin and not let cold air in around her wrists. ]
[ When he gestures, she looks up, her breath held in anticipation. They're so close ... ! Her hair is starting to become dusted with the gentle snow. She wraps her arms around him once more, bracing herself. ]
Okay, go as fast as you can! I'm ready!
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Nothing "okay" about it; to her, everything is new and wonderful. The wind is cold, but the goggles and gloves help. Cloud's consideration makes more than up for it, too. He seems different from the person she's been traveling; not enough to be a new person ... but something's different.
Her eyes shift from a sidelong glance at him to the village ahead, the one her mother told her bits and pieces about. Though she's shivering now, she barely notices, green fixed on the gold light spilling onto white snow. ]
... So pretty ... Cloud, did you know? This is where I was born. [ She shivers again and then huffs. ] But gosh! You'd think I'd be better at handling the cold. You're still warm. [ She relaxes her hold on him now, though her hands still hover near -- just in case. ]
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Her house... her parents' house... he knows it's just that way...
Not yet though. Something tells him that house is full of sad things and he- he doesn't want to do that yet. This time feels impossibly rare and precious to him and he doesn't know why but he knows he doesn't want it to end.
He doesn't want to see her sad...
Instead, he turns Fenrir off and slides off the bike, dropping the stand as he does so. The engine ticks faintly as it cools, content with its run and he reaches around to lift Aerith off the bike, not coincidentally pulling her into the shelter of his body without actually pulling her against him.] ( ... )
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