Cloud's Confession

Cloud stood there patiently, staring at her all the while. She was kneeling, attending to her flowers. A faint glow was resonating off of her in the sun's rays. Her pink

bow fluttered as a light breeze came in through one of the church's broken windows. Still, he just stood there and stared. After about ten minutes, the girl stood up.

"Are we ready then", said Aerith. Cloud quickly snapped back to reality. "Yes", he said softly. She passed him and he followed behind as they left the church. They

both walked down the empty street in silence. Aerith's hair swung back and forth as she walked. Cloud began to stare at her again from the corner of his eye. He

had been planning it for about a week now. He was finally going to tell her how he felt. After all, it had only been six months since they both, as well as the rest of

their team, had defeated Sephiroth and stopped Meteor from destroying the Planet. Compared to that, this would be a piece of cake. But why was he now beginning

to doubt that he would say anything. As they approached Cloud's motorcycle, Fenrir, Aerith halted. "Are you sure that this thing is safe to ride", she said with a

serious tone, "I've never ridden one of these before". "I'm still your bodyguard, right?", said Cloud, "I wouldn't have you do anything that would put your life in

danger would I? That would make me a bad bodyguard". Aerith smiled at him and gave a nod. Cloud got on first. As Aerith pulled herself up onto the bike and

slipped her arms around Cloud's waist, he felt his heart skip a beat. Cloud turned on the ignition, and they were off. During the entirety of the drive, Cloud kept

thinking of everything that had led up to this point. He had asked her two days ago if she wanted to come to Edge. To see where he worked and see what his life

was like now that the whole ordeal with Sephiroth had ended. Though Aerith already knew that she lived with him, he prayed that Tifa had taken a day off or

something. He wanted it to just be him and her when he broke the ice.

Cloud flipped the light switch as he and Aerith entered Seventh Heaven. He set the keys to the bar on a table and made his way behind the counter. "Would you like

anything to drink", said Cloud as he looked for two glasses beneath the counter. "Some water would be lovely", said Aerith who was busy studying the features of

the room. When Cloud stood back up and sat two glasses on the counter, he noticed a note. It was from Tifa. "Dear Cloud, Marlene and Denzel wanted to go out for

the day. Don't know when we'll be back. If it gets late there's some left-over food in the refrigerator." - Tifa. He threw the note away as a feeling of relief washed

over him. It would just be him and Aerith alone for the day. He had made sure that Tifa did not know that Aerith would be coming over today. "What was that

note?", asked Aerith, looking at Cloud curiously. "It... it was nothing, just a letter from Tifa saying that she was gone for the day with the kids." "How is Tifa doing",

asked Aerith. Cloud tensed slightly. He now wished that he had lied about what was on the note. Now that Tifa was being discussed, he had to be absolutely careful

so as not to give the impression that there was something going on between him and Tifa. "She's doing alright I guess, we don't talk as much as you might expect

two people living together would. She mostly talks to Marlene or Denzel." Luckily for Cloud, this was true. He usually would try and avoid Tifa, only speaking to her

when she spoke to him first. "Oh", said Aerith who stood with her arms behind her back and was staring at the floor, "how are Marlene and Denzel?" Cloud didn't

know how to answer this. Truth be told, he actually talked to the kids more than he did to Tifa. The problem was what he talked to them about. They were the only

two he felt that he could trust to keep any secrets which is basically all of their conversations were about. They were the ones who he told what he was planning to

say to Aerith that day. Because of this, he had no clue how the kids actually were doing. All of their conversations always revolved around him. "They're... um... uh...

", Cloud tried to think of a way out of this conversation but couldn't. "That's okay", said Aerith smiling, "you probably don't have much time to mingle with them."

Cloud breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "So what do you do around here?", asked Aerith. "I'll show you", he said. They made their way up the stairs, the glasses

remained on the counter untouched. They took a right at the top of the steps and made their way to a door with a sign that read STRIFE DELIVERY SERVICE on the

front. Cloud opened the door. In the room was a desk that was covered with several notices and pictures of their team. There were packages in three of the corners

of the room. In the fourth corner sat a bed fit for one person. "Well, if you hadn't figured it out yet, I'm a delivery boy now", said Cloud. Aerith let out a laugh which

made Cloud feel slightly embarrassed. "What's so funny?", said Cloud trying not to sound as embarrassed as he felt. Aerith smiled at him. "It's just that I wouldn't

have ever pictured you as a delivery boy. I think it's a very nice job." Cloud's heart leaped. "So where do you do deliveries to mister delivery boy?", said Aerith who

was still smiling. "Pretty much anywhere. It's mostly people who escaped from Midgar and are trying to rebuild their lives". He stood there quietly, staring at all of the

packages that he needed to deliver. Aerith walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. "I think it's wonderful that you're helping these people rebuild what

they lost." Cloud had the urge to say it now, to say what he had been wanting to tell her for so long. However, he couldn't. He fought with himself, wondering why

he couldn't do it now when now was such a perfect time. He would have to do it later in the day. "Are you hungry?", asked Cloud, there is a really nice place up the

street that just opened about a month ago that I think you would like. "Sure", said Aerith who kept smiling at him. They made their way out of the room and back

down the stairs. Aerith left the bar first. Cloud followed and locked the door behind him, worrying about something the entire time. Would he find the courage to say

what he wanted to say to Aerith?

They were given a seat near the back of the restaurant. There were only five others in the restaurant and they were all near the front. This made Cloud glad since

now they could be alone to talk. After their orders had been taken, Cloud quickly began to strike up a conversation. “How have things been going at home with

Elmyra”. “Things are going great actually”, she said, “she had been talking about redecorating the house. I'm usually at the church though so I don't know if she is

still planning to do so.” “How are the flowers doing?” “They just now starting to bloom”, said Aerith, “I can't wait for them all to bloom. When they do, would you like

to come see them?” “Yes”, said Cloud, “I do believe that I would. “Great!”, exclaimed Aerith. “Yeah, great”, said Cloud. He began thinking to himself again. “Can I do

it, can I tell her how I feel. I know I have to but, God, why don't I think I can”. “Are you feeling alright?”, asked Aerith, “you look like you might be sick”, “Hmnh”,

grunted Cloud as he glanced at Aerith. “I asked if you were feeling bad”, said Aerith again. “Oh, no... I'm feeling great. Thanks for asking though.” In truth, Cloud

couldn't have felt worse. The pressure was building inside of him like some sort of a disease. He wanted to tell her, no, he NEEDED to tell her how he felt. No matter

what the result would be, he needed to tell her. After their food had been brought out and they finished eating, Aerith said that she needed to go back to the church

to check her flowers. Cloud paid for the meal and they both walked back to Seventh Heaven. They got onto Fenrir and began the drive back to Midgar.

As soon as they got back to the church, Aerith checked her flowers. As she did so, Cloud stood with his arms crossed and realized that he didn't have much time left

to tell her. He needed to tell her now. If he didn't, he probably wouldn't do it that day. He could not... would not let that happen. Working up a quick burst of

confidence, Cloud turned toward Aerith. “Hey Aerith, can I talk to you about something”. Aerith stood and walked slowly towards him. “What is it Cloud?”, she asked

imploringly. All of a sudden, Cloud's confidence plummeted. “I... I... uh... nothing, it's nothing”. “Are you sure?” asked Aerith. “Yeah, I'm sure”. Aerith walked back to

her flowers. Before she could kneel though, Cloud's confidence sky-rocketed back. “Aerith, I take it back... I... have something I need to confess to you”. Aerith

walked back over to Cloud. “Yes”, she said curiously. “I've been wanting to tell you for so long”, he said, “to tell you how I feel. I... I love you Aerith. I think of you

constantly. When I'm with you it's like this dark, cold hole inside of me is filled in with your warmth and caring. I've even gotten sick from missing you. I love you with

all of my heart. I always have, and I always will. I've never felt for anyone the way I feel for you”. Cloud quickly looked down, expecting Aerith to reject his notion.

Instead, she walked up to him, looked into his eyes, softly placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him, and Cloud kissed her back. They stood there for several

minutes, just the two of them frozen in time. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Cloud awoke in the church, sweat running down his face. He took a moment to look around. He was alone. He looked at the floor and thought of all the things that

had just occurred in his dream. It took a while to take it all in. It had been two years, not six months. Two years since Sephiroth had been defeated. Two years since

Aerith had been murdered by Sephiroth. Two years, and yet he still could not forgive himself. He knew it was his fault that she had died and because of that, he

would never be able to tell her that he loved her. He stood up and took a deep breath. He had this dream several times a week, the exact same thing happening

every time. His cellphone began to ring. It was Tifa calling him. He ignored it, deciding to check the message when he got to Zack's grave site. He made his way to

the front doors of the church. As he stared back at the flowers one last time, he felt an excruciating pain in his left arm. “Damn Geostigma”, he said to himself,

clutching his arm. He left the church and hopped on Fenrir. Taking a final look at the church before leaving for Zack's grave site, he hung his head and began to

wonder. Wonder if... sins, are ever forgiven.