Wintry Interlude

Cloud braced himself against the cold night wind, wondering why he was standing outside of the inn at one a.m., but he didn't have to search too far inside himself to find the answer. It was Aeris. He couldn't sleep because of Aeris.

Over and over again the scene played out in his head. Aeris praying solemnly at the Water Altar, the peaceful look on her beautiful face as she turned to meet his gaze with her own. He nearly killed her with his own sword, controlled by Jenova and his own weakness.
And then, out of nowhere Sephiroth descended, impaling the last of the Cetra. And in one split second, Aeris ceased to be alive. And Cloud was still plagued with her memory.

When they had entered the town of Icicle and searched Gast's house, Cloud found himself feeling very uneasy. He kept thinking, "Aeris was born here... And now she's gone. And she'll never come back." It was really too much for even Cloud to handle. He tried not to show how hurt he was, primarily for Tifa's sake. He knew how concerned she always seemed for him.

He was lost in these thoughts when he was startled by a hand on his shoulder.
Spinning around fast, sword in hand, his eyes met an equally startled Yuffie.

"It's just me Cloud!" She said nervously. "Sorry I scared ya."

"I wasn't scared...," Cloud answered. "Anyway, what are you doing out here? You better not be up to anything like you were in Costa Del Sol. I don't need the aggravation right now ok?"

"Jeez, Cloud. You don't have to bite my head off!" Yuffie replied. "I couldn't sleep either. That's all."

The spikey haired ex-soldier shrugged. "That's not my problem. Why don't you go count your materia or something?"

"Look, Cloud," Yuffie began. "You aren't the only one hurtin' ok? I swear, sometimes you are so selfish... Even more than me!"

"I know you were scared, Yuffie... You were crying... Look, I'm sorry alright?"

"It's not just Aeris, Cloud...," she said quietly. "It made me remember stuff that I just wanted to forget..."

"What stuff?" Cloud asked, interested.

Yuffie let out a deep breath, hoping she could get out all the words without choking up. She hated it when that happened. She thought it made her seem like a baby.
"It reminded me of mom...," she began. "Mom... she died when I was was real little. I barely remember her. It was like she was there one moment and gone the next... Just like that. She got real sick, and then she was...."
She trailed off to wipe her eyes, the tears quickly turning cold in the chilling air.

Cloud felt a bit uncomfortable seeing her like this. "Look, Yuffie...," he said. "You don't have to go on if you don't want to."

"No, I want you to hear this.," she said insistently. "You just... You just have to ok?"

"But if it's too hard to..."

"Look, I never really told anyone how I felt about it ok? Not even my dad! He never listens to me ya know. He acted like it wasn't going to be a big deal. Like I'd be fine. Well I wasn't fine Cloud! Not at all!"

Cloud shook his head, surprised at the materia thief's outburst of emotion. He never thought that someone so selfish could be like this. He let her go on, uninterrupted.

"I remember her teachin' me how to make little buns and things in the kitchen. I remember her fixin' my hair... Then all of the sudden she couldn't do it anymore, Cloud. I must of been about five at the time. Dad said she just needed rest but she was so pale and weak. I later found out she had been sick since a year after I was born. She never told me... I guess she didn't want to scare me or anything. And then, just like that one day I woke up and she wasn't there..."
She paused, wiping away more tears before going on, her voice was choking just liked she hoped it wouldn't. "Dad told me she passed away during the night... I was so mad that he didn't wake me up to tell me! I never got to see her that one last time... It wasn't fair, Cloud! It just wasn't fair!"

She broke down into hoarse sobs, shaking. Cloud put his arm around her shoulders and spoke carefully. It was the only thing he could do. "Look," he said. "I didn't know... But I understand... I really do."

"I know you do, Cloud," Yuffie said, half whispering through sobs. "That's why I told you. Because I... I knew that you would understand more than anyone."

Cloud didn't know what to say, he was speechless. She could of told this to Barret, Tifa, Red or Vincent. They had all suffered losses. But for some reason she had told it to him. He couldn't help feeling a bit uplifted through this shared sorrow.

"Hey, Cloud?" Yuffie asked, getting a hold of herself.

"Yes?"

"Umm... Would you mind not telling this to anyone? Please?"

Cloud nodded. "Sure. Don't worry about it."

Yuffie smiled, wiping away the last of her tears. "Ok, and I won't tell anyone that you were out here in the cold like this alright? Anyway, I'm goin' back to the inn to get some rest. You better get some too. It's really cold out here ya know. And it's late."

"I'll go to bed soon," Cloud said. "I just need a few moments alone."

"Ok," Yuffie said as she started back inside. "Just don't catch pneumonia or anything ok?"

Cloud nodded to her as she went through the door. For several minutes he stared up at the cold, starry sky. Finally, in a low, quiet voice he spoke out into the empty night.

"Goodnight Aeris... I'm sorry..."

He then went back to his room, drifting slowly into a dreamless sleep.

~Fin~

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