Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Sunny Road

It was a strange thing, to walk the earth free. Truly free. No chains to the past. No obligations. No need to do anything but live, and enjoy it.

Taking another breath of fresh air, Cloud continued walking down the road. The others were somewhere nearby, enjoying their day. Most of them, he figured, would be down at the beach. He had opted to go for a walk, sauntering down a simple dirt road somewhere in the countryside. He didn't know exactly where he was, but he didn't mind. For now, he was content to simply see where the road would take him.

The sun was at its peak, the warm breeze drifting through endless fields of green. The only thing that interrupted the scenery was a solitary tree up ahead. As he passed it by, he heard a few pleasant notes coming from a guitar, followed by a few discordant ones. Then the ones he had heard before, repeated, as though to erase the short flurry of broken notes.

"Hey, Cloud."

Who would be there, other than Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja extraordinaire and materia enthusiast. She was seated in the shade of the lone tree, an old, weathered acoustic guitar in her lap. She greeted him nonchalantly, focused on her instrument.

"I didn't know you played guitar," Cloud said, walking towards her.

"Me neither," she replied, looking up.

He chuckled. She smiled back. It was a rare thing to see a smile on his face, she thought, but when it did occur, it was radiant in a way that seemed to go entirely against his stoic nature. Cloud, likewise, noticed that there was something different in Yuffie's smile that day. Perhaps, he figured, it was because it was one that wasn't motivated by mischief, as was her usual manner.

He sat down next to her, the shade providing a much-needed relief from the mid-day sun's rays.

"So, what's with the music?" he asked.

"I don't know," Yuffie replied, adjusting and tuning the strings. "I feel anxious, you know? Restless. More than usual. I must have climbed over every building in Wutai. Jumped between every rooftop in Del Sol... I don't know what to do with myself."

She looked back at him. "But it's strange. When I sit down to mess around with this thing... it's like the world slows down. And I'm okay with that."

Cloud nodded. "Where'd you get it, anyway?"

"Stole it from some old fogey's stand while he was napping," Yuffie replied, her hand sliding down the fretboard. "Felt so bad afterwards that I went back and snuck some money into his pocket."

He chuckled again. "You're getting soft."

Cloud listened as Yuffie drew a few more notes from her instrument. It was strangely relaxing to him to watch as she experimented, fumbling, occasionally happening across a melody that sounded right, or two or three notes in harmony. Her guitar playing was simple, rudimentary. But she handled it well, and with a greater delicacy than he'd expected. With a few years of practice, he thought, she might become quite good.

"Think I should write us a ballad?" she asked. "You know, like a victory song, or something?"

"A victory ballad?" Cloud replied.

"Yeah, you know," she said. "We fought Shinra and all that. We won. Shouldn't we have a song to boast about it?"

"Think you can pull that off?" he asked, bemused.

"Watch me," she replied, rolling off a few more notes. This time there were fewer mistakes on her behalf, and what actually sounded rather like a song.

"You're good," Cloud said.

"You think so?" Yuffie asked earnestly, turning towards him.

It was a rare occasion for him to be able to break past her sarcasm barrier, and he couldn't help but take the opportunity to tease her. "Well, you're all right," he said. "A few more years of practice, and you might not sound like you're strangling cats."

Yuffie gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "You ass," she said, laughing.

"That is to say, if you don't give up in frustration and smash the damn thing, first," Cloud continued, grinning.

"I'll show you," Yuffie replied, smiling back, then focusing on her music again.

Cloud leaned back against the tree, listening, taking in the splendid view before them. Before he knew it, his eyelids had become heavy, and soon he was asleep.

He could feel someone tapping on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's getting late," Yuffie said. She had laid her guitar against the tree, and was standing over him. It was night, and the stars were out in the sky.

"Must've dozed off.." Cloud muttered to himself.

"I'll say," Yuffie replied. "I could barely hear myself think over your snoring," she said jokingly. "Anyway, we should get going," she said. "The others'll start to worry about us."

"What about your guitar?" Cloud asked, getting up.

"Leave it," Yuffie replied. "We can come back for it tomorrow."

The two of them set off back for their hotel at Costa Del Sol. It wasn't long before Yuffie started slowing down.

"You okay?" Cloud asked.

"Just... tired," Yuffie said, rubbing her eyes. "Woke up early, y'know?"

"Come on," Cloud gestured, offering her a piggyback ride. He carried her for a little while, with no word passing between the two. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he figured she had fallen asleep.

"Hey Cloud," Yuffie said, fatigue in her voice.

"Hmmm?"

"You know when I said the world slows down?" she asked.

He nodded, but didn't reply.

"There's one other time when that happens," she said.

"What's that?" Cloud asked, looking up at her. But it was too late. She was already asleep.

He smiled. "Well... maybe you can tell me when you wake up."

Her weight on his shoulders was comfortable, and he savored the warm touch of her skin against his. It was a strange thing, to walk the earth free. Tomorrow, he knew, they would have to begin rebuilding their world, a world ravaged by pestilence and warfare. But for the time being, he was content. And that was enough.