A/N: Watching FFVII: Advent Children inspired this piece, as well as Smash 4. I have to say this duo may be my Smash 4 OTP. Idk, they just seem cute to me.
Commentary and constructive criticism is welcomed. Enjoy!

together (we'll get through this)

Geostigma is the last thing on Cloud's mind when Robin begins to complain of pains in his side. He recommends the tactician take a break from participating in battles for a bit, which Robin does without much complaint.

That should have been the first thing. Robin argues about nearly everything, especially fighting in smashes. The white haired man told Cloud it helps relieve stress and gets his mind off things. The swordsman should have realized the pain had to be excruciating for Robin to take a break.

But he didn't. All he did was kiss Robin's forehead and express his thanks for listening. The tactician blushed and muttered "it's fine", but honestly, it wasn't.

Everything was far from fine.

Lucina took to watching her longtime ally. Cloud overhears them swapping stories from their wartime days, and hearing the hardships Robin went through always made his heart constrict. He's been through his own issues, but no one likes to hear their significant other went through any kind of battle.

After a fight against Bayonetta, Cloud's nearly run over by the blue haired princess. She looks at him with frantic eyes, and it makes him worry. Very few things rattled Lucina and he knows it has to be serious if she looks the way she does.

"Robin-" She takes a breath and starts again. "He's coughing up this black substance and when I looked at his side, it's covered in blotches."

Cloud doesn't comprehend everything at first. However, when he does, his eyes widen and he belts out a curse. "Take me to him," he demands. "Now."

Lucina nods and runs towards Cloud and Robin's shared room, the blond quick on her heels. They reach outside the door in record time, and Cloud winces when he hears how violent Robin is coughing. He twists the knob and throws the door open, bolting towards his boyfriend and kneeling in front of him.

"Robin," he says, petting his cheek. "I'm here."

Another coughing spasm racks through the tactician, and Cloud rubs his arm by way of soothing him. Robin looks at him when it ends, brown eyes wide. "C-Cloud… I'm-"

"None of this is your fault," the older male promises, standing and sitting on the edge of the bed beside his partner. He pulls Robin towards him and smooths his sweat slicked brow. "We'll get through this, together. Okay?"

Robin nods his agreement and leans against Cloud, nuzzling close to him to seek the other's body heat. Cloud chuckles affectionately at the innocent gesture. Despite everything Robin's been through, he's still like a child in some ways.

The blond pulls out his phone and dials a familiar sequence of numbers. He puts it on speaker and waits.

"Hello?" Tifa answers. "What's going on, Cloud?"

"To put it in simple terms, Geostigma.

"What? I thought that was gone from the world?"

"From ours, yes. This one? Apparently not."

Tifa hums in thought. "Aerith's church still has the cure. Bring him here. I wanted to meet him for a while anyway."

Cloud rolls his eyes. "You were amazed when I said I found someone. You just want to see if he's real."

"Whoops, you got me." The woman laughs. "I'm sure the guys who run this thing won't mind if you two take a break. ...Right?"

Cloud looks at Lucina, to which she nods and exits the room. "Already have someone taking care of that. I'll be there soon."

=w=

Due to the severity of the situation, Master Hand agrees to let them return to Midgar. He opens a portal for them, and Cloud carries Robin in. The tactician became significantly weaker in less than 24 hours, and it's worrisome.

Cloud knows Robin's in the final stages of the stigma, the last being death. He refuses to let this damn sickness take away the one person who gave him a reason to live besides battles. For if Robin left the world, Cloud knows he'd go back to doing deliveries and fighting whatever monsters or Sephiroth remnants came his way.

Thankfully, they appear near 7th Heaven, so Cloud walks in and heads up the stairs. He hears Tifa singing to herself, and it makes his lip curl to a slight smile. It feels good to hear his old friend again.

He puts Robin on the spare bed, covering him with thick blankets Tifa put on. Robin moans but nonetheless curls into a fetal position and buries his face in the pillows.

"He's cute," Tifa says from behind Cloud. He turns and nods at her.

"Robin was the only one who continued to talk to me when I first came to Smash Manor," Cloud reminisces, chuckling quietly. "I guess his confidence is what attracted me to him in the first place."

Tifa smiles, patting her longtime ally on the shoulder. "When he's rested, you should go to Aerith's church. I took a look and there's still some of the Geostigma cure there."

Cloud looks at her. "I'll be sure to. Thanks."

"Anytime." Tifa squeezes his shoulder. "He'll be okay. You've been through this and survived, so has many others."

"I know."

No more words are said. The woman heads downstairs, leaving the lovers to themselves. Cloud kneels next to the bed and brushes away some of Robin's hair.

"You're the strongest man I know," the blond whispers, emotions choking his voice. "You have to survive. You have to."

A hand reaches from underneath the blankets and touches Cloud's cheek. "D-Don't cry."

Cloud blinks in confusion. His cheeks do feel wet. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Robin says hoarsely, a little smile on his face. "It shows you care."

"Heh."

A pained laugh erupts from the tactician's throat. "I like hearing you laugh."

"I guess I don't do it often."

"Y-You don't. It's okay though… I know it's not you."

Cloud shakes his head. "No, but I can try to laugh more… Only for you."

Robin pulls Cloud towards him and kisses his cheek. "All right."

=w=

The white haired man falls asleep soon afterwards. Cloud leaves the room to give his boyfriend peace and goes downstairs to where Tifa is. His friend stands behind the bar, cleaning glasses while humming a nameless tune to herself.

"How is he?" she asks when he walks in the room. Cloud shrugs and stands in front of the bar, leaning against it.

"Okay as he can be."

"I see." Tifa waves a hand towards the alcoholic beverages behind her. "Want something to drink?"

Cloud tilts his head and ponders Tifa's offer for a few seconds before shaking his head. "It's okay. I want to be not drunk when Robin wakes up."

"You are terrible at holding your booze." Tifa grins and Cloud glares at her.

"That was once. Never again."

"You professed your love to a toaster! It was freaking hilarious."

The blond blushes. "Shut up."

"Whatever you say," the fighter says with heavy snark. "He should be out of it for a bit. I'll watch him; why don't you go see some of our old friends?"

Cloud nods. "Not a bad idea. You'll call if he wakes up?"

"Promise." Tifa tilts her head towards the door. "Get going."

=w=

After a couple hours pass, the blond returns to 7th Heaven. His allies and friends were surprised to see him and asked what felt like a hundred questions, but it was still nice to see them all again.

Tifa hadn't called, so Cloud assumes Robin is still asleep. He goes up the stairs as quiet as he can, but when laughter enters his ears, he raises an eyebrow and heads towards the room Robin's in.

He finds Tifa and Robin conversing about something or other, but whatever Tifa's saying, Robin seems to find it amusing as a wide smile is on his face. Knocking on the door, they turn to look at him, and both give him heartwarming smiles.

"Sorry I didn't phone," Tifa apologizes. "He started asking me questions about your past and I figured it was okay to answer them."

"I never knew you were bad at holding liquor," Robin says, laughing. "A toaster, really?"

Cloud sighs. "You had to tell him that story, didn't you?"

"He asked why you never drank and the toaster story must live on." Tifa giggles. "You two should go."

"To the church?" Robin questions, and Cloud nods.

"The cure for Geostigma is there. You have to drink it and it'll be dispelled from your body," the blond explains, and Robin gets a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Tifa mentioned it's from a girl named Aerith or something?"

"Something like that." Cloud helps Robin off the bed and lifts him up as if he's made of paper. "Let's go."

The trek towards Aerith's church is a silent one, besides Robin commenting on various landmarks and others saying hello to the duo. The magic swordsman curls against Cloud as he walks through Midgar's streets, and it causes the stoic man to smile just slightly.

Many told him he should smile more, but Cloud never found a reason to. However, with Robin in his life, he finds himself doing so more and more. It's the effect of a man in love, or so he heard from Yuffie.

Cloud pushes open the door and looks around the church. Not much has changed since the last time he was here. Flowers still bloom through various areas and it's been repaired since Loz and Tifa's battle.

Robin takes in the area as well, eyes blooming with curiosity. Cloud walks towards the glowing pool of water and sets his boyfriend down next to it. Taking a cup out of the bag he brought, the blond takes a bit in it and hands it to the tactician.

"Drink," he commands, voice quiet. Robin nods and sips at it, color returning to his face within seconds and his tired expression molding to his usual one. Cloud moves his robes and looks at his side; the dark, black blotches disappear before his eyes, and it makes an elated feeling bubble in his chest.

"Am I… healed?" Robin questions, looking at his partner with wide eyes. Cloud nod and pulls the younger man into a tight hug.

"Yeah. You are."

Fin.