Those unique, slitted eyes were just as he remembered them, and yet...not. As he kept on staring, Cloud realized that everything about his old friend was eerily just as he remembered him, yet somehow completely foreign.

Sephiroth had changed. And Cloud wasn't so sure that that was a good thing.

The boy's heart was beating rapidly, erratically, as he continued to take in the sight of the man standing near him, but he couldn't bring himself to move or say anything else. He had a very warm feeling inside of him, as well as a strong urge to get closer, but it was overshadowed by another feeling he couldn't quite describe.

All too soon, Sephiroth walked off after the other man in the lab coat. Not a single word. Not a single look on his face other than pure apathy, as if he and Sephiroth were complete strangers to each other.

Not a single sign of their bond.

Hurt and confused, Cloud stood dumbfounded, sorting himself out before his emotions showed themselves on the outside. Collecting himself, he strode off towards his quarters.

Sephiroth couldn't have forgotten him... Could he?

The blond reached out with his mind. He could sense Sephiroth's general presence not so far away, and tried to merge his consciousness with his.

Nothing. No feelings, no thoughts, no resistance, no walls – Cloud couldn't feel a single thing emanate from the other man.

Heartbroken, Cloud rifled through his duffel bag and pulled out a newspaper clipping. He studied the fuzzy snapshot of Sephiroth on the page.

After all those years... How? And why? By this point in time, Sephiroth was Cloud's entire life. The boy couldn't remember spending a single day without him before he went off to join SOLDIER in fighting the Wutai war.

Cloud put the clipping back in his bag and clenched his jaw. The biggest reason he came here, and it was essentially for nothing. But, just like when he'd thought about giving up before, he couldn't go home. It was far too late for him to even bother to try.

He was stuck here for the next few years, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't even properly come to terms with the fact or deal with his emotions quietly.

Cloud sighed shakily, trying to keep his anguish in. He closed his eyes for a short moment in an effort to calm down, and opened them again when he heard loud footsteps.

His bunk mates were returning. He wiped at his face, just in case tears escaped without him knowing, and stood up straight.

Nothing happened, he tried to tell himself. It'll be okay, because nothing happened.

"Mail call!" a grunt shouted, wheeling a cart into the room.

Cloud grunted as his peers shoved him aside to receive their letters. He forced himself into the shuffle, pushing himself towards the front of the group.

The grunt handed letters out left and right, handing a particularly thick envelope to Cloud. Taking it, Cloud scurried back to his bunk and sat on it before opening the envelope. He pulled out several pages of writing – the folded stack of paper in his hand was about as thick as a magazine.

Cloud couldn't helped but laugh. Did his mother miss him so much, she essentially wrote and sent him a short novel? The smile on his face disappeared quickly, however, when he skimmed through the pages and found that the majority of them weren't from her at all, nor did they have actual words written on them. He read the short note from Jenova and his heart lurched from his encounter with Sephiroth earlier that afternoon.

He frowned and scoffed. Thanks for caring, he thought sourly. And give these to Sephiroth? His heart ached as he remembered that even he couldn't get ahold of Sephiroth himself.

Pathetic, Cloud continued in his mind. Why couldn't you write directly to him?

Before he could upset himself further, Cloud set the letters that weren't for him aside and began to read his mother's.

15/5/90

Dear Cloud,

I'm so happy to hear from you! You have no idea how glad I am that you wrote. I hope this letter finds you in a good mood. I wouldn't say it's pathetic that you miss home right away on day one; since the very minute you've been gone, I never stopped missing you. It's been very quiet and lonely without you here.

How were your exams? I'm sure you did great. You always were a fast learner. I think it's a good sign that the review was very easy. I didn't expect the military to be anything like school, myself. I think you're more than prepared.

Things here at home haven't changed much. I've started gardening to pass the time. It's a lot of work, but I'm starting to see it pay off. You can never be too prepared for winter. Speaking of which, how is the weather in Midgar? Is it much warmer? Maybe we should consider moving, haha!

I'm only joking. I've lived here my whole life. And so have your grandparents, and the parents before them, and the parents before them, and so on... I don't think I'd be able to adjust living in a big city; I'm too much of a country girl. How are you adjusting? Is it as different as they say it is?

I'm sorry for asking so many questions. You must be drowning in work. I'll let you go and do what you need to do. I hope you take care. No matter what, you will always be my baby boy.

Love you dearly,

Mom

PS: I haven't heard a thing from Jenova, or from any of Sephiroth's be fair, it's not unsual for them to keep to themselves, but now that I'm thinking about it more, I wonder if it's only because they're lonely like I am and miss Sephiroth. Have you heard anything from him yourself?

PSS: Those extra letters are what they asked me to send to you to pass on to Sephiroth. I don't understand what any of them say and nobody seems to want to tell me. I wonder...

Cloud folded his mother's letter up and put it away in his bag before looking at the other notes.

Truth be told, he was beyond tempted to tear them up and throw them all away. He'd been hurt more than enough for one day.

Despite this, something in the back of his mind told him to do the honorable thing and hold on to them, even if there was no chance on the Planet that he and Sephiroth would ever run into each other ever again, let alone talk.

Putting the rest of the letters away, Cloud pulled out a blank sheet of paper and a pen before beginning to write back home.

Notes:

Started: 2019年1月2日（水）

Finished: 2019年1月11日（金）

Uploaded: 2019年1月20日（日）

Let's hope this year is the year I do more than just one update for one fic for the entire year, because I really don't have 20/20 vision.