L U M I N A R I U M

Please, won't you shine your light on me . . .

Post - Advent Children

I PROMISE
Final Fantasy VII – Fan Fiction
By Illuminara

All characters copyright Square Enix


SIX MONTHS AFTER THE FINAL BATTLE

        “What’s that city there, Cloud?”  Denzel pointed to a hand-drawn star on the map spread out on the table before them.
        “That’s Gleneva.  It’s new, so not many people live there yet.”
        “Oh.”  Denzel said nothing for a while as he watched Cloud move his pen above the route he was planning for the next day.  “Have you been there?”
        “I’ve been by a few times.  Never stopped, though.”
        “Will you?”
        “If I get a job there.”
        “Can I come with you sometime?”
        Cloud looked up and slowly set down his pen.  “I don’t know . . .”
        “But you said you’d help me build a bike.  I want to go with you!”
        “It’s too dangerous.”
        “Aw, please?  Just once?”
        Cloud sighed and picked up his pen.  “Not now, Denzel.”
        Denzel sighed, rested his head in his hands, and continued to watch Cloud in silence.  Ten minutes later, Marlene appeared and pulled up a chair beside them.  “Do you have any papers for me to do tonight?”
        “No.  Denzel did them.”
        “Oh.”  She plopped her elbows down on the table and traced Cloud’s every move with her intent brown eyes.  “What are you delivering there?” she asked when his pen hovered over a small village on the far edge of the map.
        “Parts for a man who invents things.  I’ve delivered for him before.”
        “What does he invent?”
        “Things.”
        “What sort of things?”
        “I don’t know.”
        “You mean you never asked?”
        Cloud sighed.  “No.”
        “Why not?”
        “It’s none of my business.”
        “Don’t you want to know?”
        Cloud dropped his pen and ran a hand through his hair.  When he looked at her, Marlene clearly saw the agitation on his face and shrank back.
        “I’m sorry, Cloud.”
        “No, it’s not you.  I just . . .”
        “It’s okay,” Denzel broke in.  “We understand.  We’ll be quiet.”
        Marlene nodded, and Cloud went back to his work without another word.

#

        In the galley of the Seventh Heaven bar, Tifa put away the last of the dishes and wiped her hands on a towel.  She walked over to where the three gathered around their usual table, wondering why it was so hushed that night.  She paused to watch from a distance.  Nothing seemed unusual, just quiet.  She walked over and stood behind Denzel.  “How’s work going tonight?”
        “Okay,” Denzel said simply.  
        “Are you almost done?  It’s about time for you and Marlene to get to bed.”
        “They can go.”  Cloud didn’t even look up.
        Marlene frowned and opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind.  She scooted back her chair and slowly climbed down.  “Good night, Cloud.”
        “Yeah, night,” Denzel mimicked her.
        Cloud only nodded.
        “Brush your teeth, and I’ll be up in a minute.”
        “Okay, Tifa!”  Marlene disappeared around the corner and up the stairs with Denzel close behind.
        Taking the seat across from him, Tifa tried to meet Cloud’s gaze, but he wouldn’t look at her.  “You’re especially quiet tonight,” she said softly.
        He shrugged.  “Yeah, I guess.”
        “Want to talk about anything?”
        “Not really.”
        “You’re sure?  I’m right here.  I’ll listen.”
        Cloud paused for a moment and lifted head.  “I just . . .”
        “What is it?”
        “I—”
        “Tifa!” Marlene suddenly called from upstairs.  “We’re ready!”
        “All right, I’m coming!”  Tifa hesitated a moment and briefly touched Cloud’s arm.  “I’ll be right back, okay?”  Cloud said nothing, so she stood and hurried toward the steps.

#

        “There now, you’re all tucked in.”  Tifa leaned forward and kissed Marlene on the forehead.  “Sweet dreams.”
        Tifa straightened up and started to turn, but the girl’s soft whisper stopped her.
        “Tifa?”
        She turned back to Marlene.  “What is it?”
        “Did you talk to Cloud?”
        “I tried.  Why?”
        “I think something’s wrong.  He won’t talk to us.  Sometimes I don’t think he even listens to us.  I . . . I thought everything was over.  Why can’t he be happy?”
Tifa knelt down and gently stroked her hair.  “He just needs more time.”
        “But it’s been forever!”
        “I know it must seem like that, but Cloud needs more time than most people.  That’s just how it is.”
        Marlene sighed a little.  “I wish I could make him happy.”
        “So do I.  All we can do is try, right?”
        “Right.”
        “So let’s keep trying and never give up.”
        “I won’t.”
        “Me neither,” Denzel added from his bed on the other side of the room.
        “Good.  We’ll all work together.  We can make him happy again.  I know we can.”
        “Yeah!”
        Tifa smiled.  “In the morning.  Now go to sleep.”

#

        Cloud was folding his map when Tifa returned to the main floor.  She made slow strides across the bar, groping for what to say.  How can I cheer him up when I don’t even know why he’s still unhappy?  She reached the table and placed her hands on the back of a chair.  “So . . . did you have something to tell me?”
        Cloud picked up the pile of papers Denzel had worked on and put them in his messenger bag with the map.  “There’s nothing to say.”
        His words snapped something inside Tifa, and she glared at him.  “Oh, don’t give me that!  It’s been months since the Last Battle.  I thought everything would be all right now.  What’s wrong, Cloud?  Why won’t you tell me?”
        Cloud took a deep breath and looked up to meet her gaze.  “It’s just . . .”
        “What?”  She touched his arm again and searched deep into his eyes.  “I’m at a loss.  Please tell me.”
        He looked away.  “I need to be alone.  I’m going for a ride.”
        “Cloud, no!  Why are you still running?  We can only help each other if we’re together.”
        “I don’t need any help.”
        “You know that’s not true.”
        He brushed her hand away and turned.  “I need to think.”
        “But there’s a storm coming tonight,” Tifa protested.
        “I’ll be back soon.”
        “You promise?”
        Cloud hesitated, then nodded slowly.  “I promise.”

#

        Cracked asphalt surged by in a whirl beneath Fenrir’s wheels.  Rain hammered down on Cloud, one relentless sheet after the next, but he hardly noticed.  He drove as if a monster were at his heels—and there was.  
His dreams.
        Scenes flashed through his head in dizzying succession—battle upon battle, blow upon blow, shout upon shout.
        Cloud clenched his jaw and pushed Fenrir faster still.  He had to escape the torment, but it only increased with every passing minute.  
        Lightning flashed, instantly followed by a clap of thunder.
        Cloud swerved around a corner onto a new street.  After dark in such a storm, the roads were entirely abandoned save him.  Rain poured into Cloud’s mouth as he panted for breath, and he choked.
        Stop torturing me like this!
        As if in vengeful retaliation, the sky directly above Cloud ripped open in an angry burst of lightning.  There was a deafening crack, instantly followed by a metallic groan.  Another ear-splitting crash, and Fenrir slammed to a halt.  Cloud’s body was thrown forward.
        Air.  Ground.  Pain.  Nothing.
#

        White light surrounded him.  Nothing else—no sound, no feelings, just consciousness.  A familiar, soft voice floated to his ears.
        “Back so soon?”
        Cloud’s eyes darted about, but he saw nothing.  “Why am I here?” he finally brought himself to ask.
        “You were running again.”
        “The dreams . . . won’t leave me.”
        “You’ll never escape them by running.  You’ll only hurt the people who care for you the most.”
        Cloud bowed his head.  “I can’t let them care,” he whispered.  “I . . . I’ll break if I’m the cause of any more sadness.”
        “You can’t keep them from loving you, Cloud.  Friends and family are gifts.”
        “But I . . .”
        “You’re afraid of the future.”
        “The dreams . . . they’re true, aren’t they?  There will be more fighting.”
        “That’s your destiny, Cloud.”
        He said nothing for some time.  When he lifted his head, emptiness filled his eyes.  “Then I must fulfill it alone.”
        “You’re wrong.  No one is meant to be alone.  That’s why you have a family.”
        “But they can’t fight with me.”
        “They give you a reason to keep fighting.  They won’t let you give up.  They’ll make you happy, if you’ll let them.”
        Cloud let her words settle in his mind, then frowned a little.  “How?”
        “Talk to them, and tell them how you feel.  Don’t be afraid of what might happen.  Live right now, with them, without worrying.”
        “What if something does happen?”
        “Then it happens, and you have a family who can help each other.  Don’t you see, Cloud?  That’s how life in this world is meant to be.”
        Slowly, he nodded.  “I . . . I think I’m beginning to understand.”
        “You’ve come so far already.  It’s been a long, hard journey, but you still have a lot of life to live.”
        “Mmm hmm.”
        “Go on.  Live the way you were meant to live.”
        “I’ll try,” he promised.
        “That’s the spirit, pal,” a new voice suddenly piped up.  Zack.
        Cloud found himself smiling.  “Hey.”
        “Hey yourself.  De me a favor and stop meeting us here like this.  Worries me sick.”
        Cloud only nodded.
        “See ya ‘round, kid.”
        “Good-bye, Cloud.”  
        The gentle sound of her voiced reached him a final time, and then darkness slowly pulled him away.

#

        Pain.  It was the first thing to penetrate the shell of unconsciousness that encased him.  Cloud grimaced and turned his head away from the bright light beside him.  He could vaguely make out voices in the room with him.  Gradually, Cloud looked around, but he couldn’t completely assimilate his surroundings.  He closed his eyes again, this time to be overtaken by weary sleep.

#

        “Cloud?”
        Half asleep, Cloud felt a warm hand touch his cheek.  He stirred a little.
        “Are you awake?” the gentle whisper came again.
        Cloud lifted his eyelids to see Tifa knelt next to his bed.  He smiled weakly, which hurt, and he closed his eyes again.
        “Cloud, I’m so glad you’re all right.”  She stroked his hair away from his face.  “You were in a really bad accident.”
        “The storm . . . so that’s what happened.”
        “Yeah.”
        Cloud took a deep breath and tried to hide his pain.  “I’m sorry.”
        “Don’t be,” Tifa said quickly.  “It’s not your fault.”
        “Yes, it is.  I shouldn’t have run.  I’m sorry for pushing you away."
        She only stared at him, not understanding.
        “I . . . I didn’t know how much it hurt you.  I don’t want to hurt my family.”
        “Cloud . . .”  Tifa blinked back sudden emotion.  “Love can endure hurt.  I thought you knew . . .”
        “I do now.”  He briefly closed his eyes and slowly filled his lungs.  “Tifa, have I . . . ever told you that I love you?”
        Tifa froze, her eyes locked on his.  “N-not in words,” she said shakily.
        “I thought you should know.”
        “I love you, too, Cloud . . .”
        He was silent for a while and stared off into space.  Then he looked back at her and smiled.  “I need to tell the kids.”
#

        The door to Cloud’s room opened, and Marlene rushed in.  “Cloud!  I—”  She suddenly cut off when she saw the bandage around his head and his bruised, scraped face.
        “I’ll be all right.”  He held out a hand to her, and she stepped up to the bed beside Tifa.  Denzel followed, more somber than Cloud had seen him in some time.
“You’ll really be okay?” Denzel asked.
        Cloud simply nodded.  “I need to tell all of you something.”
        “What?”
        “I’ve broken a lot of promises in the past, so I want to say I’m sorry.”
        “We forgive you, Cloud,” Marlene told him.
        “I want to make a new one now.  I promise that I’ll never run away again and that we’ll be a family no matter what happens.”
        “Yay!”  Marlene clapped with delight and leaned over to carefully hug Cloud.
        Tifa ruffled Denzel’s hair and smiled.  “A real family . . .”
        “Yeah,” Denzel agreed.  “That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
        “We'll be happy now, won’t we, Cloud?” asked Marlene.
        He nodded.  “As long as we’re together, everything will be all right.”

#

        In a bag in the corner, inside the pocket of his still-soggy pants, Cloud’s cell phone began to vibrate.  The answering service took over a minute later, and Vincent’s voice crackled over the line.
        “Cloud, there’s trouble in Kalm.  Rufus meant what he said about wanting to rebuild Shin-ra.  This time he has a force more powerful than before.  I’ve gathered everyone.  He must be stopped.  We need your help, Cloud.”

THE END