a/n: Just to clarify.
"speech" is Cloud's thoughts
"speech" is regular talking.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story.
A Beautiful Friendship
cloudxaerith
"Cloud!"
- insert 'Interrupted by Fireworks' (Disc Three, track 16 of FFVII: OST) to the BG -
A young boy, no younger than eight, had run off from his mother…again. His childish laughter filled the air as he ran down the empty alley into the busy streets of Midgar. He stopped at the end of the alley and turned around to look at his mother, who was frantically running towards him. With a wide grin stretching across his face, he held out his arms to his side and began running around in circles.
"Mom, look! I'm an airplane!!" Cloud vibrated his lips against each other, imitating the jets of the plane and began circling the nearest lamp post. The young boy's laughter filled the air again in the utmost of enjoyment until….BAM!
"Ow..."
"Ouch..."
Cloud found himself lying on the floor; his head was throbbing in pain. He scrunched his face up in anguish and began to rub his chocobo-yellow hair, totally disregarding the quiet voice that rang near him. Cloud forced himself up and bit down on his lower lip. He shut his eyes tight, trying to bear the pain in his head when his mom's booming voice came out of nowhere causing him to fall back down.
"CLOUD!" "Aerith!"
"Moomm..." Cloud whined quietly." Wait... who?"
"Cloud! Are you okay!!?"
He felt his mother's strong arms wrap around his small body, and soon he found himself lifted off the ground and in the most embarrassing position he could be in. Cradled like a baby in his mother's arms. He shook himself back to reality and pushed himself away from his mom.
"Mo-omm, put me down! I'm okay..." He saw his mother's stern look and silenced himself. Her blue eyes scanned her son and with a sigh, she set her little boy down. "Okay, okay... Don't be such a baby." Cloud glared at his mom and received a smug smile. He stuck his tongue out at her and didn't notice the young girl watching all of this until her small giggle caught his attention. His shocked blue eyes slowly turned to the source of the sound and all the blood from his body rushed to the very center of his face.
There, in front of his very eyes, was a small girl and dancing upon her lower face with dimples tugging lightly along was a smile that Cloud could never forget.
The girl had long brunette hair, tied neatly in a braid at the top of her head. Her white blouse was neatly tucked into her emerald skirt that brought out the color of her shimmering eyes. The girl waved shyly at Cloud and he looked down, trying to hide his already blushing face. As he looked down, he heard his mom talking to another woman. She was apologizing for what he had done though he wasn't really listening as something on the ground caught his eye.
A small, white flower was lying on the sidewalk, its bright colors stuck out like a sore thumb against the gray, dull concrete. Cloud reached for it and touched its fragile leaves; he then picked it up and examined it, awing its beauty. "Wow..."All of sudden, green eyes popped out from below him, scaring him to death. Cloud yelped and jumped back, clutching the delicate flower in his hand. The same amused giggle escaped from the young girl's lips and Cloud found himself blushing again...
"Do you like it?" The girl's soft voice had startled him and he looked at her, not knowing what to say. Blue eyes were staring right into green ones until his mouth had blabbered out the most idiotic question.
"What is it?"
Again, that amused giggle taunted Cloud. "It's a flower, silly. " He looked down in embarrassment. "Idiot."Cloud couldn't bring himself to look at the girl until her voice had caught his attention again. "So-o, do you like it?" He found himself looking at that smile again and absent-mindedly nodded in agreement. The girl tilted her head to the side slightly and grinned ever so sweetly. She clasped her hands together, "thenn... You can have it! I have a lot more anyway." She nodded at Cloud, and he just stared at her like an idiot.
Cloud was finally broken from his focus as his mom grabbed his arm and tugged him towards her. He had forgotten that his mother was there and looked up at her as she began to talk to him. "Come on, Cloud... We shouldn't keep them here any longer." He looked at his mom as she smiled at the other lady.
"Goodbye, Elymra. I'm so sorry about my Cloud here; he can be such a goofball sometimes."
His mother's booming laughter filled the air and with that he was whisked away from the little girl and her mom.
Cloud held his mom's hand as they walked away and after some quick deliberation, he shyly looked behind him and saw the girl waving goodbye to him, smiling as always. He managed a small smile and felt his cheeks heat up slightly causing him to look ahead again.
"Let's go, Aerith..." His ears perked from hearing that name and he looked at the flower he had just received. "Aerith..."The thin lines of Cloud lip's curved up gracefully for a moment and then it broke out into a wide grin as he raised his hand that was clutching the flower up to his mom.
"Look mom, I got a pretty flower."
--
author's notes: Did you catch a slight resemblance to something here? - snickers -
So, I'm planning to make this a multi-chapter story based on Cloud and Aerith when they're young. I also plan on making them grow up later on in the story, so there will be romance. Don't think there will be a solid plot to this, probably just random, cutesy drabbles. If you have some cute ideas, please share them, I may need it later. :D Oh yes, and I'm sorry if this was a boring chapter, I promise I'll make the next ones more interesting. :3
Anyways, reviews will always be appreciated! as they boost my confidence up. xD :heart:
Stay tuned for the next chapter!