[incomplete]

[cetran]

Who: FF!Aerith and KH!Cloud
When: last night
Where: Vincent's house, I think
Rating: PG, at the most
Warnings: Nada.
Summary: Aerith and Cloud have a case of confused identities, and meet up thinking that they're the one each has been looking for. Good times!

Comments

[wanderlustily]

Cloud's mood, at that moment, was indescribable.

That Aerith was deemed a sinner, in the first place, was completely unbelievable to him. They were something of a rough crowd, the kids of Hollow Bastion, but... Aerith was the exception. She was... gentle. Pure. Generally unwilling to resort to violence. So why the hell would she be in a place like this?

But, that concern was trivial, when compared with the newfound knowledge of her death... and at Sephiroth's hands, no less. He'd run. Run from all of them. Run to protect them. But it hadn't been enough. Sephiroth hadn't followed, it seemed... he'd stayed. And he'd taken the life of one of the people most important to Cloud

[cetran]

Hearing Cloud's voice speak her name, Aerith pushed herself into motion, the sound of her clunky boots hitting the ground the only sound she could hear over her own heartbeat. "Cloud!" Calling out his name in a gleeful shout, the flower girl didn't stop running until she had propelled herself into him, arms wrapping around him as best as possible.

She hadn't even thought of the prospect of this Cloud not being hers, and so it wasn't strange or awkward for her as she hugged him close to her. It felt like it had been forever since she had seen him last, an entirely separate lifetime. Which would be accurate, as she had returned to the Lifestream after leaving Purgatorium the first time.

"I've missed you." She found herself saying, her words cut off by a gentle laugh, as she pulled away from him. Smiling, she tipped her head back to peer up at him, a hand going up to brush her bangs out of her face. "How long have you been here, Cloud?"

[wanderlustily]

He... hadn't been expecting that. It had been this long, and... well, he hadn't expected it. Still... he never even considered resisting the hug. After a moment, he even returned it, in a greatly depreciated capacity; that is to say, he placed one hand on her back, for a moment.

He smiled, almost imperceptibly, and with a certain sad twinge, at her words; he'd missed her, too. All of them, in fact. But... now that he knew he'd never again have the chance to see her, once they returned home, it seemed almost too much to bear. As always, though, he kept his peace; stoicism was one of his few virtues.

"...almost two months. I think. I'm not sure. After a while, the days start to blur together..." He shook his head lightly; there was no reason to start a pity party. She was here. She was alive. That was enough. "...you didn't run into any trouble, did you? After you arrived, I mean..."

[cetran]

Seeing him smile, even ever so slightly, brought an even brighter grin to her own face. She nodded in understanding of his words, a soft giggle making its way out of her. She knew he was glad to see her, despite his lack of a reaction. It had taken her some time, but she had learned to read Cloud fairly well.

"Two months is a long time. I was only here for a month or two, the last time I was here. Hopefully I'll get to stay longer this time." She relaxed her posture so that she could walk around him, looking him over to ensure that he was alright. "I didn't really have time to run into trouble, before Vincent showed up. He brought me back here, and now you're here. So I haven't had time to get in very much trouble yet. But with Sephiroth and his brothers here, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I do!" Although her words were serious, another light giggle escaped her, and she reached up to tap at her lips with her index finger.

"How about you, Cloud? You haven't been into much trouble since you've been here, have you?"