Hello, this chapter is going to be very Cloud/Sky-centric, we'll see them learn how to talk to each other, and get to know one another. We'll also get to see different sides to them; Cloud being awkward, and her struggling to figure him out.

Thank you to the reviewers, you're all very kind and sweet, and you make me want to keep writing!

As always, R&R please!

Counting his steps as he went, Cloud took long strides as he kicked up dust behind him, he wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to get out of the Sun, or because he was excited.

The last time he was in town, He'd woken up to a fresh schematic of the sword Sky was making for him, it was complicated and intricate, a bunch of pieces working as one, and even each piece could work separately. He was by all means impressed, but that didn't seem to matter, Sky's face was positively beaming, she herself was looking forward to building it, and even if it were made horribly, he wouldn't have been able to say no.

After marvelling at its complexity, he remembered asking, "but… can you build it?"

Her face had an abrupt change akin to getting smacked full frontal with a large pan of messy pie.

"I-I mean…"

"What do you mean?" she had had her arms crossed as she stared him down across her cereal bowl.

"It came out wrong," he had shook his head, and did his absolute best to avoid her eyes.

Thinking back on it, it made him cringe, he wished he had said something a little more intelligent and well spoken like, this is complex, who's going to build it for you?

He shook his head, that would have been worse. For all he knew, assuming she wouldn't be building it, was the same as assuming she couldn't. He sighed, his footsteps slowing down a little, and growing heavy.

Could she still be mad?

She shouldn't take things so personally.

But it was personal…

His feet dragged beneath him, and sulking behind his collar as he thought.

His steps grew faster again, I'll just have to make up for it somehow.

As he rounded the corner into her street, his attention was drawn to the present as he noticed that suddenly everyone in the street was wearing black. Sad melancholy music was playing faintly in the background, some people carried handkerchiefs, others seemed to be leaning into each other as they walked, and a few seemed to be quickening their pace, as if trying to hurriedly leave the scene.

As he got closer to Mecha-Mecca, he got closer to the source.

Across from the workshop was a two storey house, the lower level had the words 'G Clef' in faint cursive righting posted atop a glass front, its door was open, and had a steady stream of black-clad elderly women and men coming out of it, the music was playing from the upper right window, an empty high-back armchair visible inside.

"Hey, Cloud."

He turned, his eyes landing on a blackened Sky, she wore a black dress that covered her all the way from her elbows to her neck and stopped beneath her knees, she had formal black heels on, and her coal black hair tied in a short tuft of a ponytail that stuck straight out of the back of her head. He had almost assumed that she had different variations of her jumpsuit to suit all occasions. Behind her was Dan, wearing a black suit and velvet vest. He shook hands with an older woman, and for a moment seemed to be taken over with emotions as he flung himself into her, weeping into her shoulders as her knees buckled beneath the sudden weight.

He felt Sky's eyes on him, her voice croaky as she spoke, "it's a funeral… Grahn passed away."

There were bags under her puffy eyes, and her smile was taking longer to form, as if she had forgotten how to do it. He stared, he didn't know what to say.

Before he could form a sentence, she had already moved on, walking into the workshop as she said, "I'll be right down and we can get to work, do you need anything?"

He walked in after her, gingerly taking his steps. He felt so out of place, like maybe he shouldn't have come.

How did I think this was going to go?

"I'll get you some water," she murmured, pausing for a moment, her back still turned to him. He heard her heave a sigh, and before he could form a hesitant question, she made her way upstairs. His eyes took a while adjusting to the light, she was gone by the time they did. Seconds later, Dan excused himself.

Looking around the workshop, it almost seemed exactly the same as the last time he saw it, he did his best to notice the changes, a few canisters had shifted, some tubes of stock metal were gone, a few of the hoses and pipes were pointing in different directions, some of the shelves were emptied of odd jobs, and new things had taken their place. Instead of three motorcycles, there was only one, the other two had finally given up their last bolts and screws. Though it lacked a hull, or any kind of aesthetically pleasing touch, it stood gloriously, glimmering in the sunshine. He found himself feeling the handles under his palm, his fingers easily finding their place on the brake handle.

"You really like that one, don't you?" she huffed a laugh, handing him a glass of water as she approached. With a bittersweet smile she said, "I'm not sure I'll even get to ride it…"

What do you mean?

But it wasn't his place to ask, so he gulped his water and shuffled around the workshop.

"Alright, so," he heard her start, "I'm almost done, I've put together all the blades, but I'm still sharpening the last two, and I've got to treat and apply a coat on some pieces," she gave a light hum, that he wasn't sure what she meant by, either excitement or a sudden bout of musicality, both quite like her. making her way closer, she continued, "it's been fun."

"Can I help?" he glanced at her, and thought, she's going to say no.

"I'd rather surprise you,"

He blinked, and watched as the corners of her mouth pulled up faster now.

"Alright,"

Waste of time…

"Thank you. But if you want something to do, you can tinker around with the bike,"

Immediately gulping the rest of his water, Cloud took the last few steps and paused beside it, "what can I do?"

He heard her laugh, it made his ears heat up.

Was I too obvious?

She handed him the tools as always and explained in exact detail what he needed to do for each step, and made sure he knew he could ask her if he felt lost. Then as an after thought asked,

"Where did Dan go? He said he's coming in today,"

"He needed to change,"

"Ah, velvet and grime don't mix I suppose,"

"The same way dresses and bikes don't," he found himself murmuring.

She gave a small hollow laugh and walked off into the backroom of the shop, its door hidden between cluttered shelves and metal stock. Minutes later loud whirring and the hammering of steel could be heard.

How is she doing this on her own?

He picked up a screw driver, recalling her instructions, he made himself busy.

He did his very best to focus on the tasks at hand, but every time he had to turn and pick up a different tool the noise in the background would distract him and he'd find himself trying his best to get a glimpse of what she was working on, and soon enough began trying to find an excuse to move closer.

Looks like there's a missing screwdriver…

He felt himself smirk, can't be helped, then.

His legs carried him briskly over to the door, he tried to knock, he really did, but with all the whirring and hammering she inevitably didn't hear it.

He shrugged his shoulders, can't be helped.

He took a few steps into the room, his eyes coasting over the pervious models he had collected laying on the table above stained cloth. To the opposite of the door was a shelf that carried leather bound books, schematics and miscellaneous objects of which he could make out shrapnel, a robotic winged piece with wires weaving in and out of it, a disembowelled tech tablet, colourful wires and a multitude of half-done projects. Beside them was a large container, the size of a bathtub that could easily fit Barret comfortably, it was bubbling deep green and yellow.

His eyes landed on a few large slabs of metal laying on the middle table, blueprints rolling off of the table beside them, a few were weighed down in place with mugs and spray cans. He made his way towards them, hands reaching out excitedly, but as the noise died down, he pulled to an abrupt stop. In the quiet he could hear his heartbeat, that was soon masked by the crunch of gravel under metal. Sky walked in through the back, pushing a stroller with large metal slabs laying atop it. Her eyes landed on him immediately, his arms retracted, like a child caught with his hand inside a cookie jar.

"Cloud! What do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed, making her way towards him, rubbing her hands with a cloth, she gave him a light shove and he found himself retreating into the workshop, "I told you I wanted it to be a surprise!"

"I-I know, but I… need a screwdriver for this," he murmured, he was sure he had seen that screwdriver somewhere, but definitely, absolutely not inside the toolbox.

"Did you now?" she mused, walking back to where he was working, she pulled out a green screwdriver, "this'll work."

she walked past him, and paused as she turned.

"Don't step a foot over this line, Cloud," she threatened with a lightness, kicking a pipe to a stop a foot away from the door.

He nodded, his ears burning.

He sat down with a huff, the whirring starting back up as he did. He stared down at the green screwdriver, fumbling with it.

It wasn't there last time…

He huffed again, and set about work.

Every time he felt distracted he would try to come up with a reward system for himself; for every three areas cleaned he could glance up one time, for every ten screws tightened he could glance up for ten seconds, and so on. Soon enough, he began to run out of screws to tighten, and the bike was gleaming as he went in for another round of vigorous scrubbing.

That's it…

He got up, made his way up to the pipe and stood there. He took a step to the side, then another one, shimmied his foot between the pipe and the door, then crossed through the small opening, and he was in.

In seconds Sky had caught sight of him and shooed him out.

"But I didn't cross over the pipe, like you said!"

"Then how did you…?" she started, eyed the slightly wonky placement of the pipe, then looked back at him. She seemed to be stifling a laugh, "alright, new rule, do not step out of this room, and into the threshold of this one!"

He twirled a small metallic pipe in his fingers. He spent a few minutes trying to spin it one way, and then the other. Then he tried to figure out what it was for, eventually getting fed up and placing it off to the side.

He counted 65 screws, 321 nuts, and 15 red screwdrivers.

He began to pace.

He counted 43 steps from the workshop front to the backroom door.

He stood there.

I don't have to be inside the room to see…

He popped his head in.

He saw grips, and strips of leather. He saw large slabs of metal shaped like the buster sword. He saw tooth-edged blades and sharp-edged blades. It all looked a thousand times better than it was on paper. His eyes landed on the back of Sky's black head, she was hunched over, he couldn't tell what she was working on, only that it was complicated and intricate, she moved sluggishly, turned to the paper beside her, and as she did, Cloud hid behind the frames of the door.

What am I even doing?

His heart was beating in his eardrums as if he was facing an 8-eyed monster. Hesitantly he tried again, a few more tries of dodging behind the frames and popping back in, and Cloud felt he was getting the hang of it. With Sky's slowed movements, and repetitive actions, it was easy to guess when he had to duck out of view, and when he could afford to watch longer. That is until he got over confident, and leaned back in too soon, only to come face to face with Sky's bemused face. A small crease between her sweaty grime stained brows, and her arms folded across her chest.

She remained silent for a few beats, watching him watch her.

"You're really stubborn aren't you?" she said, he watched her run a hand through her hair, and prepared himself to retort if she said anything. With a sigh she added, "alright, if you wanna be in here then you might as well make yourself useful…"

"Can I?"

"Sure," she beckoned him in, turning to tack something to the wall behind her, then murmured over her shoulder, "but you better act surprised and extremely impressed when you see it. I'm talking gushing and jaw dropping, and fireworks, and a small interpretive dance."

"I don't know how to do that," he frowned, walking into the room at last, his hands eagerly reaching forward to grab at the hilt of one of the blades, "but I'll do my best."

"Looking forward to it," she nodded, shuffled a few papers, and began to explain which piece did what, and what she had to do to make that other one work.

"So, this is it?" he pulled up the first sword, a large slab of a sword, long and rather ungainly in its size, its edges so sharp it could cut through armour, that is if its weight didn't simply crush everything in its path. Three Materia slots dotted it. It's hilt was large and bulky; so it could fit all the other pieces, and its grip was wrapped with dark red leather. He felt excitement bubbling in his chest as he gripped it with both hands, weighing it.

"This is good,"

"You'll like it more when I'm done with it, just don't forget that dance," she remarked over her shoulder, as she tinkered away over something, "now set it down before it falls apart,"

"Why would it fall apart?"

"Because I'm working on the central hinge," she muttered.

"What central hinge?"

"The one that would make it open and close,"

"So it can fit all other pieces?"

She nodded, "mhm."

You're getting on her nerves.

He paced behind her, he was excited, he couldn't help himself. This was turning out better than expected. He eyed the tooth-edged blade.

"What about this one?"

Before he could even wrap his fingers around the hilt, Sky was pulling him away, "come stand way over here, please."

Acting like a child…

"But I…" he felt his shoulders droop a little.

"Some of the blades haven't welded into the bone yet," she explained, then pointed at the tooth-edged blade, pulling the grip out of its place easily, "this one for example, took really long to coat, and now that its drying, I still have to weld it in place and make it all pretty,"

"Oh," he tucked his chin behind his collar, and glanced at his feet. He felt small.

He glanced up, and she was already tinkering with a very intricate piece that kept opening and closing.

"There's a chair out back if you want it,"

See? She's trying to get rid of you.

I shouldn't have come here…

"So what happened to the bike? All done?" she asked, turning to smile, "its turning out quite nicely, huh?"

"Mm," he felt himself nod. He watched her disappear out the back door, heard the gravel crunch under her feet, and she was back again, carrying a small stool in her hands, she placed it by where she was working, and gestured to it,

"come, sit."

He gingerly made his way, the entire interaction making him somewhat uncomfortable as he sat down on the equally uncomfortable stool.

"Good, now I can not feel guilty about making you hang around,"

"…Guilty?"

She picked up a small set of metal tweezers, and a wire cutter, "well, ever since I handed over the jukebox, its been really quiet here, sometimes I don't feel like singing or humming, so when the machines stop their noise, and my brain gets all empty, it starts feeling… eerie."

It must feel lonely… being on your own all the time.

He sighed. Fidgeting with a set of wires.

But its worse when you feel like that even when you're not alone.

"So how was your day, Cloud?"

He ran through all the different answers he could give, the answer he would usually give Tifa when Marlene was present, would be a small story about an interaction that happened, like the man with the tomatoes that kept falling, until some eventually got run over by a truck, and his distraught face as he sat beside them, mourning their loss for a good hour or two. To him, it was a funny story, but Tifa had felt sad for the man, and Marlene began apologising to tomatoes before cutting them.

The answer he would give Tifa without Marlene, would probably be a short sentence about the weather, or the ride, or the items, or the location, and that always seemed to suffice. Tifa wouldn't press any further. He settled for a shorter approach, her absent minded tone made it sound like he didn't have to put in the effort.

"It was alright," he shrugged.

There was a pause, and she glanced at him, one eyebrow quirked, she gave a ghost of a smile as she said, "you gotta give me more than that, Cloud,"

He stared at his hands, "like what?"

"Where did you go to?"

"Kalm,"

"And how was the weather?"

"Cool breeze, it smelt like sea salt."

"Mm, I do miss that," she smiled, picking at a wire, "and the people?"

He fidgeted as he told the story of the man and his tomatoes, and Sky gave a loud but short burst of laughter, then stifled it to a low chuckle.

"Is it mean that I laughed?" she rubbed the back of her neck, tilting her head as she did.

Cloud blinked, "no, I thought it was funny too."

Sky gave a nod, and if her gaze had lasted a millisecond longer, Cloud would've started feeling awkward, but she turned to her work, and he returned to his fidgeting.

"Did I tell you we got robbed?"

"No,"

"Well we did," she gave a hollow laugh, "and I say we, because Dan was supposed to be keeping an eye,"

"he didn't?"

"Not as well as I would've hoped," she gave a smile, "but that's okay, benefit of being me is that I can build a security system that can keep a good eye,"

He glanced around, caught sight of the small swivelling blobs perched upside down on the ceiling, they dotted the corners, he paled.

"In the workshop too?"

"Yeah, and outside,"

He groaned, he had made a fool of himself, and she was going to see it.

"But I usually don't have time to check the camera's so…," she paused, he turned to see why, and noticed her still as she plucked a wire from between the metal. She pointed to the robotic piece with jagged wings, "so I've been working on something, an AI of sorts. It wont be fancy, but it'll do."

He moved to investigate, the vague outline of what looked like a bird taking shape, its beak and eyes a singular piece that contained the camera, its body a mangle of wires, plastic and metal, and its wing made of small sharp blades stacked tightly. A book beside it was splayed open, images of winged animals and diagrams explaining wing structure scattered across the pages.

"I wanted it to be a bit harder to reach, so bad people would have a harder time destroying it," she explained, the sound of a small motor whirring in her hands muffled her voice, and Cloud had to turn to hear her better, "and flexible and extremely mobile, so where ever I am and where ever I am not, it can be my eyes."

"I see,"

She gave a small chuckle, "pun intended?"

Cloud blinked, it took him a moment, "ah, sure."

From the motorcycle standing outside, to the odd jobs on her shelves, to the giant machinery she works on with the WRO, to the sword and her small eagle-eyed robot, he couldn't help but wonder how she does it.

Isn't she spreading herself too thin?

How does she even have the time?

He watched her pour over the mechanics, every now and then pausing to pull a lever and watch the pieces fall in line tighter, then again pulling it, and the pieces pushing out. She would tsk every now and then as one piece rejected to fall in line. She isolated it, worked on it, then repeated the exercise. Her right hand had a small quiver, and it obviously made things difficult for her, she would sigh and groan as she wrangled with it, frustration mounting in her face as she did.

She looked pale. Her under eyes dark and deep. Her lips chapped from all the nervous biting.

"Do you… Sleep at all?" he heard himself ask.

He saw her pause, and felt himself shrink away from her gaze as she turned. She took a moment to answer, as if she didn't expect the question.

Of course she wouldn't expect it, it isn't your place to ask.

"Not so much, no," she stated, her eyes still on him, "I've got so much to do, and… and not enough… time, that I just cant afford to waste it sitting around,"

Not enough time?

He saw her sigh, leaning against the table, as her gaze rested on the ground, "not for a lack of trying though," she murmured, running a hand through her dark hair, her eyes moving up to rest on the blades, gleaming in the light that poured in from the small high windows. She grit her teeth, and gave a nod, her chin rising an inch as she spoke, "I've got work I cant give up on, and a lot of people depend on me too. There's no use in slowing down."

Cloud frowned as he went through her words again and again. She had went back to work already, but he was still trying to put things together, to connect the dots. She had been acting strange ever since the day the WRO engineers came, but with nothing but minimal interaction to compare it to, Cloud had nothing to draw on. A few red flags made things obvious, but regardless, he settled for observing, waiting for her to stumble enough for him to see the cracks. But there was also a part of him that didn't think he needed to worry about her at all.

The sound of footsteps made him turn. Dan, tall and bulky, filling the doorway as he stood. He gave Cloud a nod, one he returned, and took a moment to watch Sky's back, an amused expression on his face. He cleared his throat, in an attempt to draw her attention, then resigned to calling out to her, "Miss Genttean?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud saw her startle, she spun on her heels, her giant tweezers falling out of her hand with a metallic clatter, "Dan! How are you holding up?"

"Not too well, Miss," he gave a gruff cough, and crossed his arms over his chest, he sniffed the air and scanned the room.

"And you, Miss?"

She gave a sigh, a frown settling in her brows, as she searched the ground beneath her feet for an answer. Her gaze flickered up, held Cloud's for a moment, pursed her lips, then faced Dan again, "I'll be fine."

Cloud turned to watch Dan react, who gave a slow nod, his eyes scanning Sky's figure as if doubting her words, then in an effort to change the subject asked, "hungry?"

"Absolutely!" she gave an excited nod, "what about you, Cloud?"

"You'll eat with us… wont you?" came Dan's words, almost pleading.

"I…"

"Sure, he will," Sky spoke for him, giving him a smile that he hadn't seen in a while, "he's worked so hard today, he deserves a reward!"

Dan disappeared again with the promise of good food, and a healthy amount of cheese, to Sky's delight.

Skimming across her notes one more time, Sky tapped through the pages of her document titled 'A study on Mako Scanners'. She had painstakingly done her research, organised it, prepared it, and sent it to Reeve's email a few hours ago. In her hands she held a tablet computer, one Reeve had sent with other electronic devices; from a new phone, to a three-screened computer, to a wireless internet adapter connected to the WRO's mainframe for research purposes. All as an apology for the performance of his engineers.

At first Sky had had a hard time accepting them, but eventually, begrudgingly,had admitted that even with all her mechanical prowess, her lack of programming abilities would render the tech miles ahead of her abilities. But not one to give up so easily, had taken apart all the devices and studied them, had combed through the programming and had decided that whoever built them was someone she had to meet.

She had also been rather pleased to find, that the delivery boy had been none other than JJ. She smiled as she thought back to it. His charm irresistible in its dorkiness. Her eyes taking off from her document as she thought, wondering if she would get to see him again, but she was soon brought back to reality, a sinking feeling of guilt dragging her down.

Outside, Grahn's chair was empty, Mrs Olivia made sure to keep it right where he left it. The image of her face surfaced in her mind, she had remained tall and proud in her stance, as if even this couldn't break her. She had held her head high, a floral handkerchief tucked in her hand, and had served them lemon squares. She had given them dancing lessons, and had spoken about Grahn's love of dancing, and that she would continue to spread the 'dance fever' in his wake.

Setting the tablet down by the kitchen table, Sky ran her finger's across her darkened palm, she couldn't feel her fingers passing over the skin. Cain had brought in a new medicine from Healen Lodge, an advanced topical pain killer that seemed to do the job well. She hadn't had an attack in a few days, so long as she applied it as often as she could. He warned her that once her body got used to it, it would no longer work, and that she needed to pace herself accordingly.

So every morning, she would wake up, spend the first few hours gauging the pain, and if it was too much she would use it. It was a solution that was working, and she was going to make sure it did for as long as possible.

But her clock was ticking, regardless. She wasn't getting any better. No cases were ever reported of someone healing from Geostigma, rather, in most cases, patients died within months of contracting the disease, some within weeks.

Like Grahn.

She shut her eyes, trying her best to distract herself as she began to recite the locations of known Gelnikas, seven in Junon's air port, nine in Central Midgar's Shin-Ra wreckage, one underwater off the coast of Costa Del Sol…

It's my fault he died.

The incessant thought haunting her day and night, it wouldn't let her sleep, it wouldn't let her work. It kept nagging at her, floating in the back of her mind like a pesky mosquito.

It is. It is my fault.

She opened her eyes, sight blurry as she stared at the empty chair.

Geostigma…

I let you take Grahn, and now you're going to take me…

She balled her hands into fists.

But… I don't want to die.

Her nails dug into the numb flesh, bringing fresh blood to surface.

I cant die, not yet.

She felt a tear trickle its way down her cheek and land softly on the tablet's screen. She was angry, she was frustrated. She had so much to do, so many plans to help the people, to bring joy, happiness, and security into their lives, and life was saying no. It was delivering the proverbial kick that would sweep her off her feet and into the abyss beneath.

Its not fair, she heard herself think and she almost laughed, of course it isn't.

Another angry teardrop, and the blood from her palm began to trickle down her wrist.

Nothing about this life is fair.

She opened her palm and stared at it, small crescent shaped wounds pooling red, the black smear in the middle bigger than a coin. She remembered her confident words to Cloud a few days before.

"I've got work I cant give up on, and a lot of people depend on me too."

"There's no use in slowing down."

She snorted, she had sounded so certain she almost fooled herself.

Her pity party was cut short with sudden ring of a phone, she scrambled for a glass of water, downed it, and picked up.

"H-hello?"

"Miss Genttean?"

"Mr Tuesti, its good to hear from you," she started, shuffling around the papers, and setting down the tablet in front of her, "have you read my email?"

"Yes, yes, I have," he started, his voice perfectly professional compared to her croaky tones, he continued, "I've spoken with the board and it seems necessary that we send a convoy to Junon to gather the material, don't you think?"

"Absolutely!" came her eager reply, "after that I can start changing the scanners and we can get to work!"

"Alright, does tomorrow sound alright?" he suggested. Sky blinked, taken aback. Sensing her confusion, he clarified, "we need to started as soon as possible, the man I told you about in Rocket Town is getting quite antsy," he chuckled, "as I warned you before, he does have a temper."

"We shouldn't make him wait then," she murmured, eyeing her calendar, under the swirly lettering that read 'Friday', she was slated to go back to Kalm for a surprise visit on her motorcycle, "tomorrow it is!"

"Alright, I'll send the boys over, they'll contact you with the details soon," with a polite goodbye, he hung up.

Picking up her pen, she scratched off Kalm, and wrote Junon. And with that singular move, a mounting sense of dread took its place in her chest. Junon. Sea salt, rusted metal, and fish. She didn't have fond memories of the place, but she did remember being in awe of the giant weapon atop the city, the Sister Ray. It only made sense that the machines she hadn't seen as a child would be just as grand. Her excitement wrangled with her dread and her guilt, and she was left feeling tired and empty, her stomach much the same.

She shuffled off to her bedroom, took a few minutes to pick out a dress, and a suitable non-tar-stained pair of shoes. Tifa had called her earlier that day, and the day before, and demanded she see her. though she had tried her best to get out of it, nothing worked, the woman was determined.

She stood in front of the mirror, blue dress, and slightly muddied black boots in hand, she stared at her reflection. The hollows of her cheeks, the darkness under her eyes, the red lines criss crossing their whites. She looked older, even though it had been less than a year since she had left Kalm. Or was it the malnutrition and lack of sleep that made her look worn out? Or was it the Geostigma sucking the life out of her?

I need to keep going.

She ran a stick of soft pink lip colour across her lips, dotted her cheeks with it and rubbed it in. She looked more alive now. She pushed a comb through her dark hair, that had grown past chin, and was now touching her shoulders. Suddenly aware of its colour, her thoughts began to swim again, recalling Cain's words about her father. She hadn't taken them in yet, Grahn's passing had kept her mind busy. and after that her work on Cloud's swords, and her research on the scanners for the WRO took up all her time. More correctly, she was making sure she kept busy, so she wouldn't have to process.

She set the comb aside, debated tying her hair up, then shrugged as it would take too much time, and the more time she spent in front of the mirror, the more likely it is for her to wallow. Not to mention the awkward angles her hand would be put into, and she definitely didn't need to have the pain kick in again.

She strode to the front door, pulled her boots on, and took slow heavy steps down the stairs. She needed to snap out of her reverie, but so long as she was alone, her thoughts were as muddy as her boots.

"Headed out, Miss?"

"Yeah, you should too," she tried to smile, and Dan, who was probably feeling the same exact thing, mirrored it, she laughed, "aren't we just ridiculous?"

"We are?"

"Trying so hard to keep going, even though…"

"We're broken?"

She blinked, her thoughts were infecting others now, she tried to say something that would make him smile, "look at you, finishing my sentences, you've been spending too much time with me, Dan,"

He smiled, a gold tooth glinting in the light, "I try my best,"

The pair shuffled around, putting things in order, Sky tapped the red button on her way out, and the gate of the workshop began to slide closed. Dan fumbled with the keys and closed the shop, handing them to Sky.

"You should keep them," she stated, "I'm leaving for Junon tomorrow, and I don't know when I'll be back,"

They walked quietly, "why Junon, Miss?"

"WRO orders," she kicked a pebble as she went.

She heard him chuckle, "you should be happy, miss,"

"I should be, but I'm not," she shrugged, "too much has happened and I…"

"Have Geostigma?"

She smiled, "again, finishing my sentences, Dan, you're levelling up!"

He gave a laugh, and they walked in silence. A certain sense of comfort in him knowing, but a sudden dark thought crossed Sky's mind for the first time, one she should have thought of before.

"Do you have it?"

She saw him turn to look at her, study her as she waited for his answer. She bit her lip; normally she didn't address heavy topics, and she was aware that she had taken him off guard. With a guilty sigh he said, "no, Miss, healthy as a horse."

"Good," she nodded, a faint sense of relief washing over her.

Killed Grahn, and infected myself, but! Dan will survive at least.

The shop'll be in safe hands then…

Reaching the towering Meteor Monument, Sky felt herself roll her eyes at how childish she was when she first got there, she had thought Shin-Ra still mattered, she had thought that being Shin-Ra or being anti-Shin-Ra mattered. But Edge had a habit of making everything into greyscale.

Then again, once a Shin-Ra, always a Shin-Ra.

She remembered Cain's words, History repeats itself, and a sudden pang of guilt hit her. Two people were now dead because of her recklessness. She stopped in her tracks, her head dropping to meet her hands.

"I don't think I should see anyone today," she murmured, half to herself, half to anyone that would prevent her from going.

She heard Dan stop a few steps away, "it's not your fault, miss."

She laughed a hollow sort of laugh, the kind that seemed like the only reaction she could do besides crying, "it really is."

She heard him sigh, "no one blames you but you, and that's… the worst kind of blame, because… you'll never let it go, you can't… be nice enough, or kind enough, or even pay enough… to make up for it,"

"But Mrs O-"

"Adores you… as always, miss, she's even… thankful you gave her husband a job," he answered, his slow speech giving his words a heavier meaning, "life's give and take…you win some… you lose some, and sometimes… you lose more than you win."

He had a point, she knew, and though what he said wasn't meant to erase the guilt, it let it settle in a little calmer. Dan gave her a moment. She was fully aware that if she didn't pull herself together, Tifa would be able to pull at all the right threads until she unravelled. She didn't want that, she didn't want to worry her.

"Thank you, Dan," she smiled, pulling her head up, and sniffling.

"Don't thank me, miss, save me a dance," he smiled.

She blinked, moving to walk along with him, "oh, right! today's a Thursday,"

"Mmhm," he nodded excitedly, "your first one, right?"

"Yeah, even though it was kind of my idea," she laughed.

It took her a few roads to calm down, keeping the conversation light, making Dan tell her stories about his experiences dancing at previous Thursdays held by Seventh Heaven. He played along, taking his time with the theatrics, choosing his words carefully, and acting out scenes for her. She was thankful.

As they made their way into Silence Street, it was anything but. The laughter and music blasting from Seventh Heaven had pulled in a steady stream of people. Some were dancing outside, some standing at tables sipping their drinks, a few kids ran circles around the adults' legs, it almost seemed surreal.

"Are we still in Edge?" she joked, pushing the door open as she walked in. A quick 'see you later', and she made a beeline to the bar, Tifa's smiling face already waiting.

"You're here!" she exclaimed over the music, making her way around the bar, and pulling Sky in for a hug.

She felt like if the hug lasted any longer she would burst into tears, Tifa's hugs were affectionate, filled with kindness and warmth, kind of like a mother's hug. She pulled away,

"I missed you, Teefs!" she grinned, "how long has it been?"

"Weeks!" pouted Tifa, "I cant believe Cloud's seen you more than I have,"

Sky laughed, catching sight of the blonde haired man standing by the bar, he gave her a small smile and a nod, and then he was gone.

"He's been walking around with that the sword you've made him like its some kind of badge," Tifa sighed, "he keeps putting it in random places, I've already tripped over it twice!"

"Are you jealous of him, Teefs?"

"Of course I am!" she frowned, turning to walk behind the bar. Sky took a seat, and watched her friend work, "I mean, you are my friend,"

Sky laughed, took the bottle of Corel beer Tifa handed her and sipped it. Thinking back to Cloud's minimal enthusiasm, his questions that seemed to constantly doubt her ability, and especially his lack of trust in her skills, "I'll be honest, I didn't think he liked it that much,"

"What?!" Tifa blinked, looking up from the soap covered dish in her hands, a small crease between her brows as she said, "well, that's Cloud for you, he isn't very expressive."

"I suppose," murmured Sky, eyeing her friend across the bar, the crease between her brows getting deeper, "something happened, Teefs?"

She looked up abruptly, then fidgeted with the plates, "no, not really…" she set the plates aside, and wiped her hands with a cloth, "I just… sometimes I wish I could read his mind."

Sky smiled, "you're doing your best, Tifa, and that's enough,"

"Is it?"

"It should be," she nodded, "if it isn't, then its not your fault."

Tifa smiled, and gave her nod, "mmm, you're right!"

Her eyes focused on something over Sky's shoulder, and she was called away, tab of paper in hand. Sky took a good chug of her beer, and glanced around her, Marlene's head bobbing in and out of view as she ran around with her friends. The people around her seemed to be loud and cheerful, every now and then she would hear laughter or a chink of glasses or a hoot of excited dancers, and she felt glad that they had come up with the idea of letting people let loose and dance. But it felt like all of the vibrance of her surroundings came in stark contrast to the dark and dreary dread inside her.

It was always the other way around.

Though there was a steady stream of people coming and going, the pressure on Tifa wasn't so bad.

"Need another one?" came a familiar voice, she faced the speaker and smiled,

"Hey, Cloud,"

He gave her a nod, switching her empty bottle with a new one.

"Tifa tells me you really like the sword," she grinned, watching him avoid her eyes, she reached forward and poked him in the arm, "admit it, Cloud, I'm pretty badass too!"

She saw him stifle a laugh, "alright, I guess."

She frowned, "what do you mean 'I guess'? Take that back!"

he gave her an amused sort of look, and shrugged. She rolled her eyes at him, and took a swig of beer.

"Why aren't you dancing?" he asked, stacking the empty beer bottles in a box as he spoke.

"If it were up to me I'd be working, but Tifa-"

"Made you come down?" he set down the box, "she's been asking about you every day,"

Sky smiled, feeling guilty, "She's a good friend,"

"She is," he nodded, scanning the tables for empty bottles, and as he made his way off, he added with hint of cockiness, "you're not too bad yourself."

"Careful, Cloud, you're warming up to me!" she warned, smiling as she watched his blonde head weave its way between the crowds as he collected empty bottles. Her eyes soon caught sight of Tifa, and a specific type of guilt took hold of her, was she being a bad friend?

There's so much I don't tell her.

I'm sure there's a lot she doesn't tell me either.

She debated if that was something she was okay with. Something about it didn't sit well with her, but at the same time, she couldn't just tell her she had Geostigma, and she couldn't exactly bring up the circumstances that brought about her father's death in casual conversation, nor could she talk about her overwhelming fear of dying over a few bottles of beer, or even mention her guilt about Grahn's passing. The music changed into something with heavy bass, as if accidental as it was far too intense for the surreal atmosphere.

"Help me close my eyes

I don't wanna see what this day was like

Help me close my eyes

I want to sleep without dreaming

Cause I need them to be true

She ran through the different things she could say, but regardless, talking about it didn't help, it only made her throat tighten and her tears well up. It was useless. It would only worry Tifa, or worse, make her lose her friend. It was good that was leaving for Junon, perhaps that distance would help Tifa let go of her, ease her out of Tifa's life.

I want to hide but trees are falling down

I want to hide but mountains are melting

I want to hide but trees are falling down

Let me sleep without dreaming"

Tifa reappeared soon after, signalling for her to step into the kitchen. She helped her fry a stack of potatoes and as she did she said, "I've got some news, good news, but… also kind of bad,"

"What do you mean, Sky?" Tifa said, in that specific tone one acquired after being responsible of a kid.

"I'm going to Junon tomorrow," Sky stated, then hurriedly added, "its for WRO work and I'm not sure when I'll be back,"

"Those WRO," she sighed, "I'm not sure if they are the good guys or the bad guys,"

"They're trying," Sky shrugged, "honestly, I'm just using them to get my name out there, I need to reach more people if I want to change the world,"

With what time?

"Change the world?" she heard Tifa repeat, stirring a bowl of melted cheese.

"It's more of a world domination plan," she joked, feeling a little embarrassed at her choice of cheesy words, "I've even got a step-by-step guide,"

Tifa chuckled, "and what's that?"

"Step one is to befriend heroes and brainwash them into thinking I'm a badass," she grinned, a part of her feeling she was over doing it tonight, over doing the positive energy, over doing the happiness.

"You've got one down," came Cloud's low drawl from the door, he made his way to the large fridge on the other side of the room.

"Did you hear, Cloud? Sky's going to Junon tomorrow," Tifa spoke, turning to watch Cloud behave. But he was busily fumbling with the cases inside the fridge. She repeated, whisking the cheese a little harder, her voice tighter now, "Cloud, Sky's going to Junon tomorrow, isn't that nice?"

"Mmhm," he answered, absentmindedly, and Sky felt like laughing. His nonchalantness contrasting against Tifa's tight tense tones.

"Which reminds me," Sky started, her throat dry as she added, "can you pass by tomorrow? I need to run a few tests on the sword,"

"Sure," he murmured, picking up a case, and making his way out of the room.

"Cloud, isn't it nice that Sky's going to Junon?"

He paused, almost exasperatedly turning to look at Tifa, then at Sky, then to the ground, he opened his mouth and closed it, shifted his gaze to Sky, who shook her head in an effort to guide him. He tilted his head to the side, and said, "…No?"

"Exactly!" Tifa exclaimed, getting the answer she wanted, "it's not! Don't go, Sky!"

Sky laughed beside herself, something about the entire interaction was hilarious, from Tifa's furious red cheeks, to Cloud's embarrassed red ears. In an instant, Cloud vanished through the door, and Tifa mumbled something about mind reading under her breath.

Waking up to a text from Cloud wasn't something Sky could get used to. But after a few times she began to understand it as excitement, he was eager, and that was good. Much like his ability to constantly ask questions, regardless of the monotone manner, he still meant well, and he meant to be excited. The convoy was to depart later that night, so come morning they would start the day in Junon. Therefore, Cloud had pencilled himself in somewhere in the afternoon.

She started off her day packing her things, a backpack that could last her a few weeks of clothing, a duffel bag of electronics and a stack of boxes filled with blueprints, books and parts. She had her quick breakfast, and her morning cup of tea, then set off tinkering with her new project, Birdseye. Only coming to a stop when the mechanics were done, and all that was left was the programming. She slid it into her stack of packed boxes, planning to find a programmer in Junon.

She paused. Junon. She still couldn't believe she was still going. Not many of her childhood memories remained of that city. But something about Cain's recent revelation, and her being sent back there made her stomach tie into knots.

Could Junon really kill off two Genttean's?

She plopped down on the motorcycle, it had been standing perfectly still even though it had been complete weeks ago. She coiled her fingers around the handle bar, and placed her feet on the pedals, and imagined what it would feel like to have the wind blow in her hair, with the roar of the engine beneath her, as she zigzagged through the different landscapes of the Grasslands' grassy green, The thick forests of the Gongaga Area, the red sands of Cosmo Canyon, the cold white snow of Nibel Mountain, and the steep cliffs of Wutai.

An image of a Custom Sweeper passing by her window as Cain drove her into Edge came into her mind, and she thought of all the monsters she would see on her journey. Even the people she would meet, some of them may not be so kind to a strange face, and she wouldn't be able to fend for herself against them either. She wouldn't be able to help anyone, unless it involved a broken car or washing machine.

She rolled her eyes.

I'm not that kind of person.

She didn't know how to fight, neither for herself or for others, she could make weapons big and small, but she couldn't use them.

I'm no hero.

The sound of gravel beneath a pair of heavy boots drew her attention outside. She threw her leg back over the bike, and made her way to the front of the shop, as a spiky haired shadow cast itself outside.

"Hey, Cloud," she greeted, as he rounded the corner, stepping inside the shadow.

She watched his eyes slid over the motorcycle, then towards the back of the shop, up the stairs, behind her to the shelves, and then pull to a rest on hers, "you cleaned up,"

"Thought I should, seeing as I don't know how long I'll be gone for," she shuffled around a few screws and slid them into a nearby container with its fellows.

"Are you going to be working with the same engineers as last time?"

She blinked, "no, I hope not, or at least Mr Tuesti said he'd make sure to punish them, but I didn't ask how,"

"Reeve Tuesti?"

That was supposed to be confidential, she blanked.

"Well, yes," she murmured, "you know him?"

"In a way," he nodded, making his way towards the motorcycle, as if it was home-base for him in the workshop, where he stood to be most comfortable, he continued, "but back then we knew him as Caith Sith, a fortune telling animatronic."

She felt her jaw grow slack, "you're kidding! Tuesti is Caith Sith?!"

"Yes and no, Sith seemed to have some kind of individuality, but I'm not sure about that," he stated, then as an after thought, "you've met Caith Sith?"

"He spied on me at some point," she shrugged, not sure if it even mattered anymore, "I thought he was Shin-Ra,"

"You're not wrong, Tuesti used to be a Shin-Ra employee," he said, fingers ghosting over the metal of the bike, "but he knew that Shin-Ra's way was wrong, he helped… us escape from Shin-Ra, even sacrificed Caith Sith at some point," he fell silent, and Sky found herself shifting her position until she stood at an angle that allowed her to see his face. He seemed deep in thought, memories that were either bitter to the core, or even slightly bittersweet. She felt like she shouldn't press him for details. He caught her eye and continued, "but Reeve is a good man, to some extent. He's the head of WRO, trying to make amends for whatever he had to do at Shin-Ra."

"I see," she nodded, considering his words, then added, "do you trust him?"

He gave her a nod, one she returned. Suddenly aware of the fact that if Cloud trusted someone, then that automatically meant they deserved her trust as well. Perhaps it was because it took him so long to trust her, it meant it wasn't so easy to earn, yet Reeve managed.

Fundamentally, she trusted Cloud's judgement.

"We should go, before it gets too dark," he said, making his way to the front of the shop, and as he did, overwhelmed with a sense of trust and good graces, she took out the keys to her motorcycle and said,

"You know how to drive it?"

He paused in his tracks, and in the subtlest ways seemed to radiate excitement, his back straighter and shoulders wider. his voice growing slightly louder, and carrying more than his usual low drawl, as he proudly said, "of course I can drive! I can handle Chocobos, and trucks, and trains, and snowboards, and even dolphins. Bikes are a walk in the park for me!"

Sky chortled. Clapping her hands, she said, "humble as ever, Cloud,"

He turned slowly. His face smeared red as he fumbled for words, "sorry, I mean… I-"

"Pfft, don't apologise! Confidence is good, you rode a Dolphin for darn's sake, you have every right to show off!" she joked, throwing him the keys, "not to mention all those gold medals from Chocobo races, I mean, are you even human?"

"Not so much, no," he chuckled, seeming to be taken quite off guard.

Sky couldn't help but smile, she remembered Tifa saying she wished she could be a mind reader, and sure, Cloud did have a habit of not speaking his mind, but, he's not so bad…

"So where are we going?"

It was immediately obvious that Cloud was a speed demon, all the gold medals in the world would never equal to the amount of adrenaline that soaked Sky's veins. They pulled to a stop, somewhere in the hot sandy deserts of the Midgar Area, and Sky had a hard time standing up, her legs and arms shaking from gripping onto the bike and Cloud's shoulder's so hard. She watched him jokingly roll his shoulders as if to say her vice like grip would leave bruises, and she glared at him, as if to say that it was entirely his fault. He shrugged and gave an airy chuckle as he sauntered around the area, looking to pick a fight.

Even the way he carries himself is different.

Soon enough he had found a herd of Custom Sweepers ambling their way towards them. With a sudden flare for the dramatic, Cloud pulled the fully assembled sword out of its makeshift holster, brandishing it with what she deemed an excited smirk. She yanked her tablet out of her bag, and set it on the ground beside her, then propped up a small camera and began scanning Cloud's performance with the new sword.

After decimating the entire herd with a few swings of his sword, Sky eyed the statistics drawn up on the program, it was a Shin-Ra product that she begrudgingly asked for from the WRO, recommending it for its remarkable tools in analysing and reading how the user handles a weapon, even going so far as to suggest modifications to their technique or to the build of the weapon.

She read through the short report, and commented, "try to shift its weight onto your back leg instead of your upper arms, it'll let you last longer,"

There was a pause, and she glanced up to see Cloud puff out his cheeks, shoulder the sword and sigh.

"I know, I know," she smiled, "you've fought against thousands of monsters, and taken down the great Sephiroth, not once but a bunch of times, and you've handled a dozen variations of your sword, but bear with me here, its my baby just as it is yours."

He gave a curt nod, as if slightly pleased with himself, nudged the sword off of his shoulder as a new herd came up atop a high cliff a few ways away.

She squinted at them, and frowned, watching him prepare to attack, "How are you- oh."

He'd taken a few steps froward and lunged up into the air, landing on the side of the cliff, as he did he lodged the disassembled sword into the cliff's side and used the pieces as stepping stones, lunging upwards again. It took him three seconds to reach them, and fourteen more to end them.

So thats what a hero looks like…

As if he heard her, he made sure to nail his hero landing, sand flying up everywhere as he did, and strode out of the cloud, sheathing his sword as he swaggered. She chortled.

From his iconic spiky blonde hair, to his perfectly blue eyes, to his one of a kind sword. Cloud's silhouette looked the part. But as he got closer, the hollows of his cheeks, the veined translucent skin, his frail and short stature, made him for a hero to be worried for.

"What?" he paused in front of her.

She shrugged, "do you ever imagine you're in a movie?"

"A movie?"

"I suppose not," she chuckled, turning back to her screen, it had missed the majority of the fight, but recorded Cloud's usage of it as a stepping stone, the performance increasing in lethality by sixteen points.

"How are we doing?"

"Pretty well, actually," she nodded, pulling out a small box of snacks he had brought from Tifa, she offered some to him, and he quietly took a slice of pineapple, "is pineapple your favourite fruit?"

She glanced meaningfully at the top of his head, and chuckled. He snorted.

"Ha ha, very funny," he rolled his eyes, walking away, an amused expression on his face.

"By the way," she started, somehow feeling entirely smug about being able to joke with him at last, "what happened to my interpretive dance? you said you'd try your best,"

He made his way back to her, pulled out the sword, and stuck it into the ground, a gleam in his eyes as he said, "you can have it back now, it sucks."

She maintained her composure, "not buying it. Try again."

"I'm not dancing,"

"Dance."

"Not interested," a tug at the corner of his lips.

"I'll settle for a compliment then," she bartered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"…"

She frowned, staring up at him blanking.

"…"

"you can do it, Cloud!"

He tucked his chin behind his collar, and murmured, "I don't understand how you made it, it took you less than three days," she stared at him, watching him squirm, he tried again, "its such a complicated powerful thing, its incredible, you-"

"I'm incredible?" she grinned, "that's what you were about to say, right? Right?!"

She heard him groan, yank out the sword from the ground and walk off into the distance.

"Its okay, Cloud, you don't have to say it, but I know thats what you think!" she yelled after him, grinning still.

Then as what looked like an after thought, he stopped, and over his shoulder said, "you still electrocuted yourself that one time. No matter how hard you try, you're never living it down."

Sky spluttered, anger and embarrassment struggling against each other.

"Yeah, well," she struggled, "you owe me for that one!"

There was something about it, bullying him with kindness, that made dealing with him more entertaining than she had considered. Perhaps it was from seeing him behave with Tifa and Marlene, that made her understand that he always meant well, and that he was so very easy to misunderstand. Apprehension and expectations played powerful roles in the way they treated him. He was supposed to be better than everyone else; the way a knight in shining armour or Prince Charming himself should be.

But Cloud was only human, Cloud could only be Cloud, and that is where the margin of error lay.

It was getting darker, the sun was about to set, and after a few more rounds, he came back, shouldering the sword, and murmured, "holster gave out,"

He plopped down beside her, fumbled for the box of snacks, and nibbled on pineapple pieces.

Sky was busily tapping away windows, skimming through reports, and drawing up diagrams, "we're at 85%,"

"What's missing?"

"The weak holster is making you shoulder it more often and its taking a toll on your performance," she said. tsking, she ran a few simulations of possible holsters, murmuring under her breath about stability and balance as she went. She came up with a few ideas, and passed the best options over to Cloud. He went through them, Sky giving commentary on each one as he did.

"This one,"

"Alright, we'll need to drop off the schematics to Luce on our way back," she took the tablet back into her hands, and closed the program, "we should head back once you're ready,"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him nod, but he didn't budge. She opened up her suggested Junon schedule, and ran through it, she seemed to be slated for a few more projects besides the scanner. She hummed, murmuring that Edge's electricity grid had to wait until she came back.

"I wanted to ask you a question," she heard him say after a while, "about business, and… money."

"Sure, shoot," she kept her head low, knowing by now that he would feel pressured if she stared.

"How do you distribute money? How do you know what goes into funding for the shop and what is money for you to spend?"

She paused, wondering how that would apply to him, "generally, projects that go through Mecha-Mecca, like laundry machines and broken tellers, go directly into the workshop's funds, plus all the sales from the front shop," she explained, setting the tablet aside, "but the work that can be done by me and only me, goes to me, like projects that need someone with my specific set of skills as a person. So an ordinary mechanic that works at Mecha-Mecca may not be able to do research for the WRO, or build weapons from scratch, but I can," then as an after thought, "its pretty complicated because the lines do blur quite easily, and I tend to spend my own money on the shop too, but I don't see how that would apply to you,"

He sighed, pulling his knees up, "no, it doesn't,"

"Then, can you tell me what's made you ask?"

He took a while to formulate his words, and Sky veered her sight away, watching the sun set in magnificent hues of orange and red, hidden behind the sandy horizon of the desert. He began slowly, "sometimes, when I travel to get things for Seventh Heaven, people ask me to deliver things,"

"And you aren't sure what goes to Seventh Heaven and whats yours to spend?"

He nodded, sheltering himself behind his arms, as he tried to take up the least amount of space.

"Well, thats easy enough," she smiled, feeling smug at being asked for advice, "the money that goes to Seventh Heaven is the money that Seventh Heaven makes, so you cant go around taking money from the teller and spending it on clothes for yourself, but what you can take is the money you get from deliveries, because thats something only you, as Cloud Strife, a separate entity from Seventh Heaven, can do," she explained, then jokingly added, "so you can go ahead and buy the bike, Cloud, I'll even give you a discount, but I'd hate to give it away for free."

He blinked, ears turning red, as he ducked his head.

"I knew it," she laughed, "it really is the motorcycle you want,"

"Well, you're leaving for Junon, so you might not use it," he started, "I'll just… keep it running for you,"

"You're paying me to borrow it, then?" she raised an eyebrow, "don't be ridiculous, Cloud."

"…"

"Besides," she stared out at the horizon, "I'm not the type of person to go around riding a motorcycle, saving people and fighting the good fight. That's your thing," she bundled her legs up to her chest, a small ache in her hand as she moved, "besides, I don't have that kind of time. So take care of it for me, keep it clean, give it a name, sing to it every now and then, and… be a hero."