Flowers Blooming - Ch. 2

Flowers Blooming - Ch. 2</u>



Cloud had began to run back to Seventh Heaven, Tifa's bar, as fast as he could. All the while, memories ran through his head.

Cloud smiled softly as he remembered on his birthday, when Aeris had coordinated a surprise birthday party for him. There had been cake and alcohol (of course), and afterwards, when he had gone to bed, there had been a box on his bed. Aeris was sitting next to it. He'd opened it, and the gift had been a dozen red roses. The card said, I love you Cloud. Happy Birthday. Then they'd kissed again, and Cloud told her that the feeling was mutual, that he loved her too.

Cloud blinked, and the memory disappeared. He was approaching Midgar now, the remains of the Shinra Headquarters clearly visible as they towered over Midgar. The gates were empty, and no guard was on watch, so he just ran on inside.

Cloud passed through the market and had another flashback of when he and Aeris had to sneak into Don Corneo's mansion. It was for women only, the mansion, so they had to smuggle Cloud inside. Somehow, Aeris got the idea of dressing Cloud up like a girl. After going to the dressmaker's shop, the woman there said they'd have to find her father, who was the tailor. They found him and got a dress. But then Aeris said he needed a wig. So they went down to the gym, and Cloud had to do squats against Big Bro. Cloud won and he got the wig. Finally, Cloud's outfit was complete, and they eventually got into the mansion, where they found and rescued Tifa, only to wind up in a sewer.

Cloud exited the market, and began running towards the bar again, but then he had a sudden change of heart. He stopped, looked around, and instead headed for Aeris' house, where her mother Elmyra lived. She should be the first to know. Cloud passed the curtain of ivy surrounding a stone entrance, and Cloud knew that after he got through another market, which was just around the corner, he'd be at her house.

Cloud ran through the market, only slowing down when he passed a hollow tube which held a sick man, or at least it had when he and Aeris had last been here. Cloud stopped in front of it, and decided to stop inside briefly. To his surprise, there was no one inside, only a young mother and her child occupied the tube. Cloud looked at her for a moment before leaving and heading for the market exit, which would take him directly to Aeris' house.

Cloud turned the corner, and there, sitting by a forest and a garden, stood Aeris' house. Cloud looked at it, but wasn't really looking at it at all. H was having yet another flashback. This time, he remembered when they came here after Aeris had been taken by the Shinra, and AVALANCHE had gone to tell Aeris' mother. After everyone had gone to bed, she'd asked Cloud if he would leave during the night, and he said yes. After he'd left though, he'd found Aeris waiting for him by the ivy entrance. She wasn't happy. Then they'd left, but wound up by the pillar, where they saw the Shinra attacking it. Cloud had gone up, and had found Barret up on top. They'd beaten two Shinra members, but the pillar exploded, killing everyone in the sector.

Cloud took a deep breath, gathered up his courage, and stepped in to Aeris' house. He didn't see Elmyra there, and he was about to leave, when a noise behind him made him spin around. It was Elmyra. Cloud struggled to say the words, that Aeris was gone, but nothing came out. Elmyra seemed to understand him, though.

"She's gone, isn't she?" Elmyra asked.

Cloud couldn't say the words, so he just nodded.

"It was only a matter of time, you know," Aeris' mother said.

"It was my fault she was taken by the Shinra!" Cloud burst out.

"Why?"

"Because...I'm her fiancé. I was supposed to protect her."

"Then tell me how she was taken, and you'll see it wasn't your fault."

So Cloud told her, and Elmyra told him again that it wasn't his fault, and this time he believed her.

"Well, I guess I kinda gotta go. I have to go to Tifa's bar and tell the others. Say a prayer for us, will you?"

"Of course I will, darling. Now go tell the others, and then go and get my daughter back. I'm looking forward to your wedding."

"Okay." And Cloud rushed out, desperate to get to Seventh Heaven as fast as he could.