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sanctum_cWARNING! This fic is intended to parody a specific shipping argument, and Cloud is going to sound like a total jerk in this. This will possibly read as anti-Clerith just to warn you. I'll reiterate at this point that I love the pairing, and this is not reflective of my usual opinions. And like so many ideas it grew out of conversations with raaj (who is in no way responsible for me writing this. This is entirely my fault).
(on a side-note, I have realised I have bascially never written an outright, or even easily implied Cloud/Aeris fic. I should rectify this...)
Cloud's mouth was dry as he walked the final steps to the gushing flow of the Lifestream. He was here at last. It had taken months of research, tracking and interpreting clues but now finally he was to have his reward. He'd sacrificed so much to be here, fought so hard. He'd defeated Sephiroth as Meteor threatened to annihilate the world, he'd fought him again when his remnants resurfaced to allow Jenova to complete her terrible mission. He'd sacrificed his childhood crush, sorrow clutching at his heart as he told her truthfully that they could have no future, that he could not love her as she wanted him to. He'd hurt them all that day; Marlene had screamed at him as Tifa collapsed when he told her he was leaving again and this time could not ever return. Denzel scowled at him and shouted at him to leave. They would be fine without him though. It had to be this way; he was merely part of a chain, and that after time had passed the residents of the Seventh Heaven would realise they were so much better off without him.
Aeris had guided Denzel to him, and he in turn had delivered the orphan to Tifa to care for. His role was done and now Tifa could be a mother without worrying about a big kid like him. He smiled as he recalled his beloved's words. He'd see her soon and his pain would finally be ended. No more would he lie awake restless and awkward at night, no more would he have to bite back responses to Tifa's impassioned pleas and shows of affection, and no longer would be be plagued with temptation at the woman he lived with. He'd apologise to Aeris for even thinking like that soon.
He raised the flower he had taken from her church and let it fall into the pool of Lifestream that bubbled close to Mideel. He chanted the final secret incantation, gained at no small expense from Cosmo Canyon - a necessary stealth operation given Nanaki's less then pleased opinion of his actions. They'd all see soon enough though. This would be worth it.
The Lifestream reacted, rippling with power within, something forming up out of the glowing liquid. A soft floral scented wind enveloped him and he knew that it had worked. His eyes closed involuntarily as he waited to be able to reach out and touch her once more, take her in his arms, kiss her passionately, allow her to live the life so cruelly taken from her.
"...Cloud..." The whisper quiet sound of her voice reached his ears. So close...
"...Cloud." He'd missed her voice so, never sure if he really had heard her that day in the church when he realised deep down he had to seek her out like this. Could he open his eyes yet...?
"Cloud." He frowned. The tone was... angry? There had been a sharp edge to the voice he'd never heard before, a note of frustration and impatience. Surely not, this was his flower girl. Cloud opened his eyes and saw Aeris Gainsborough, still dressed in her pink sun-dress and red bolero jacket. She was glaring at him. Had something gone wrong? Had he summoned someone who had taken her visage? Was this yet another cruel trick of Sephiroth to dangle his beloved in front of him like this and ultimately force him to murder her? No, it couldn't be...
"Aeris..." he breathed, his voice quaking with fear. "...is it really you?"
"Oh, it's me alright..." Aeris narrowed her eyes and studied Cloud's face. "Pray tell me how you found out about this spell?"
"I found it in Cosmo Canyon."
"Ah, yes. Did you find it yourself or was Nanaki helping you?"
"I did it myself." An odd note of pride swelled in Cloud despite the worries. She still looked angry. Maybe awakening like this made her cranky? He tried to remember early mornings to see if this was an aspect of her character he was going to have to get used to.
"Interesting, interesting. Why didn't Nanaki help you?"
Surely she knew all this? But he didn't want to trample on her nerves and annoy her.
"Nanaki... wasn't happy that I had to leave Tifa to do this."
"You left Tifa? Please, tell me, how is Tifa?"
"S-she's fine. She was upset when I left her, but she'll bounce back. She always does."
"Oh good. How did Marlene take the news?"
Cloud felt nervously now, a tongue darting out to wet his lips. He wondered how he could say this without seeming too callous. "She... didn't take it well. But she's strong."
"Yes. Yes Marlene is strong. For seven."
There was a strange emphasis on the last word and Cloud briefly wondered why. Aeris continued.
"And Denzel?"
"Well... he was angry, but I figured he'd understand."
"And why is that?"
Something in the back of Cloud's head was really quite nervous about her tone. Trying to explain cranky in the morning was one thing, but absurdly angry was a very different attitude. Cloud tried to push the thoughts away, labelling them as anxiety.
"Well, you lead him to me, I took him back to the Seventh Heaven so he could be with Tifa and Marlene. I just helped get him going to his new family."
"You 'helped him get going to his new family'? That's what you think was the reason I guided him to you?"
"Well, of course."
"Care to explain how that makes sense? That I would make the effort to delivery an orphaned child to you, knowing you would take care of him, and he would help bind your family together, that you would be a role model to a child badly in need of parents, only for you to provide an astonishingly poor display of parenting by leaving him, his sister and their sobbing mother behind while you came here?"
"I... never said she was sobbing."
"Quite. I know she was however."
This had to be a test he concluded. He had to truly prove himself to her. Aeris spoke up again before he could answer, her lips thin.
"So Cloud, why did you come here and why did you enact this spell?"
"Isn't it obvious? I love you. You love me. We were always destined to be together. Even death cannot keep us apart."
Cloud trembled now the words were out. He'd finally confessed, something he'd been unable to do even while in the Lifestream, even while living in the church. Now she knew. Abruptly she smiled and Cloud felt the weight in his chest lift. He'd been right all along.
"Cloud..."
"Aeris..."
"You're a moron."
"You're- Wait, what? Ow!"
Aeris had brought her staff down on top of Cloud's head with horrible force, the clunk reverberating within his skull.
"You absolute imbecile!" she screeched. Cloud dropped backwards onto the ground, one hand clutching his head in pain as he stared up at the now dishevelled and flushed face of the Cetra. As their eyes met she brought the staff down on him again, catching the fingers cradling his head.
"'Destined to be together?!' You knew me a little over two weeks!"
Cloud tried to protest. "Time doesn't matter with love-"
"Shut up!" Again the staff struck his head. Cloud's head had begun to ache. "Cloud, I really hate to have to tell you this, but somehow you have misinterpreted almost everything I have ever told you!"
"W-what do you mean?"
"I mean; I never wanted you to mourn me. I never wanted you to dwell on the past. I wanted you to move on and live."
"But you said you'd come back... I just thought I should speed things up..."
The staff came down on the other side of his head now. "I said I was going to come back as I didn't think I was going to die! Have you been suffering under the delusion I sacrificed myself for you? You certainly have a high opinion of yourself!"
Cloud's head throbbed from the staff blows and he tried to get a grip on what was happening. This brutish figure who was busily beating him with a metal staff could not possibly be the dear sweet Aeris he once new and loved. Damn; his sword was back on Fenrir. If he could just get to it, he could defeat this imposter. He tried to edge backwards and was rewarded with another blow to the head.
"Don't move a muscle. So in summary of recent events; you have broken the heart of your childhood friend. You have acted callously towards your adoptive daughter and you have decided that the parenting I implicitly asked you to do was not your job. On top of that you betrayed the trust of a cherished friend and ran away to practice necromancy. No!" She held out a finger as Cloud's lips parted to speak. "You do not get to talk to me again. Not for a while. And not ever if you don't start behaving with a semblence of sanity."
She paused and drew in a breath. "Cloud. I am honestly flattered that you feel that way about me. Or rather I would be if it didn't come at this cost. As it stands I could not accept your feelings. Even had you somehow magically left your friends and family in absolute bliss I could not accept these feelings. I have returned to the Planet - I no longer walk on its surface and I am no longer among the living. Your resurrection was an astonishingly rare gift granted by the Planet at tremendous cost - and not an action to be repeated often. Sephiroth damaged the Lifestream with his rebirth. If you must continue to love me then realise that I cannot return your feelings, I have moved on. I considered Tifa the embodiment of all my desire for you. Yes I did once care for you. Now I wonder why."
She wetted her lips a moment. "While I cannot dicatate your actions, you should think very seriously about what you do from now on until you return to the Planet. As I will be waiting, and if I am still unhappy then you will not enjoy that one bit. I now charge you with fixing your mistakes. It will not be easy. It will not be quick. It is in fact going to be much harder then you might think it will be. But. You are to apologise properly to Tifa. You are to prove to Marlene that you care about her. And you are to be a father to Denzel. And you will apologise and serve a penance to Nanaki. Now, don't worry, I won't hit you again. I think you've suffered enough."
She turned on her heel and spoke her last words over her shoulder. "Goodbye for now Cloud. Remember that I will be waiting for you and if you haven't improved things then you will not like our next meeting."
Her image wavered and vanished and Cloud groaned, clutching his aching head. At least the physical pain was over and he couldn't help but fixate on his own idiocy. Something smashed into his head from behind, sprawling him forwards. He rolled over awkwardly clutching his head. Zack Fair stood over him, punching a fist into his open hand.
"Sorry pal. She thought you'd suffered enough, but I'm not sure I can accept that just yet. This is going to hurt you a lot more then it hurts me..."
raaj (who is in no way responsible for me writing this. This is entirely my fault).(on a side-note, I have realised I have bascially never written an outright, or even easily implied Cloud/Aeris fic. I should rectify this...)
Cloud's mouth was dry as he walked the final steps to the gushing flow of the Lifestream. He was here at last. It had taken months of research, tracking and interpreting clues but now finally he was to have his reward. He'd sacrificed so much to be here, fought so hard. He'd defeated Sephiroth as Meteor threatened to annihilate the world, he'd fought him again when his remnants resurfaced to allow Jenova to complete her terrible mission. He'd sacrificed his childhood crush, sorrow clutching at his heart as he told her truthfully that they could have no future, that he could not love her as she wanted him to. He'd hurt them all that day; Marlene had screamed at him as Tifa collapsed when he told her he was leaving again and this time could not ever return. Denzel scowled at him and shouted at him to leave. They would be fine without him though. It had to be this way; he was merely part of a chain, and that after time had passed the residents of the Seventh Heaven would realise they were so much better off without him.
Aeris had guided Denzel to him, and he in turn had delivered the orphan to Tifa to care for. His role was done and now Tifa could be a mother without worrying about a big kid like him. He smiled as he recalled his beloved's words. He'd see her soon and his pain would finally be ended. No more would he lie awake restless and awkward at night, no more would he have to bite back responses to Tifa's impassioned pleas and shows of affection, and no longer would be be plagued with temptation at the woman he lived with. He'd apologise to Aeris for even thinking like that soon.
He raised the flower he had taken from her church and let it fall into the pool of Lifestream that bubbled close to Mideel. He chanted the final secret incantation, gained at no small expense from Cosmo Canyon - a necessary stealth operation given Nanaki's less then pleased opinion of his actions. They'd all see soon enough though. This would be worth it.
The Lifestream reacted, rippling with power within, something forming up out of the glowing liquid. A soft floral scented wind enveloped him and he knew that it had worked. His eyes closed involuntarily as he waited to be able to reach out and touch her once more, take her in his arms, kiss her passionately, allow her to live the life so cruelly taken from her.
"...Cloud..." The whisper quiet sound of her voice reached his ears. So close...
"...Cloud." He'd missed her voice so, never sure if he really had heard her that day in the church when he realised deep down he had to seek her out like this. Could he open his eyes yet...?
"Cloud." He frowned. The tone was... angry? There had been a sharp edge to the voice he'd never heard before, a note of frustration and impatience. Surely not, this was his flower girl. Cloud opened his eyes and saw Aeris Gainsborough, still dressed in her pink sun-dress and red bolero jacket. She was glaring at him. Had something gone wrong? Had he summoned someone who had taken her visage? Was this yet another cruel trick of Sephiroth to dangle his beloved in front of him like this and ultimately force him to murder her? No, it couldn't be...
"Aeris..." he breathed, his voice quaking with fear. "...is it really you?"
"Oh, it's me alright..." Aeris narrowed her eyes and studied Cloud's face. "Pray tell me how you found out about this spell?"
"I found it in Cosmo Canyon."
"Ah, yes. Did you find it yourself or was Nanaki helping you?"
"I did it myself." An odd note of pride swelled in Cloud despite the worries. She still looked angry. Maybe awakening like this made her cranky? He tried to remember early mornings to see if this was an aspect of her character he was going to have to get used to.
"Interesting, interesting. Why didn't Nanaki help you?"
Surely she knew all this? But he didn't want to trample on her nerves and annoy her.
"Nanaki... wasn't happy that I had to leave Tifa to do this."
"You left Tifa? Please, tell me, how is Tifa?"
"S-she's fine. She was upset when I left her, but she'll bounce back. She always does."
"Oh good. How did Marlene take the news?"
Cloud felt nervously now, a tongue darting out to wet his lips. He wondered how he could say this without seeming too callous. "She... didn't take it well. But she's strong."
"Yes. Yes Marlene is strong. For seven."
There was a strange emphasis on the last word and Cloud briefly wondered why. Aeris continued.
"And Denzel?"
"Well... he was angry, but I figured he'd understand."
"And why is that?"
Something in the back of Cloud's head was really quite nervous about her tone. Trying to explain cranky in the morning was one thing, but absurdly angry was a very different attitude. Cloud tried to push the thoughts away, labelling them as anxiety.
"Well, you lead him to me, I took him back to the Seventh Heaven so he could be with Tifa and Marlene. I just helped get him going to his new family."
"You 'helped him get going to his new family'? That's what you think was the reason I guided him to you?"
"Well, of course."
"Care to explain how that makes sense? That I would make the effort to delivery an orphaned child to you, knowing you would take care of him, and he would help bind your family together, that you would be a role model to a child badly in need of parents, only for you to provide an astonishingly poor display of parenting by leaving him, his sister and their sobbing mother behind while you came here?"
"I... never said she was sobbing."
"Quite. I know she was however."
This had to be a test he concluded. He had to truly prove himself to her. Aeris spoke up again before he could answer, her lips thin.
"So Cloud, why did you come here and why did you enact this spell?"
"Isn't it obvious? I love you. You love me. We were always destined to be together. Even death cannot keep us apart."
Cloud trembled now the words were out. He'd finally confessed, something he'd been unable to do even while in the Lifestream, even while living in the church. Now she knew. Abruptly she smiled and Cloud felt the weight in his chest lift. He'd been right all along.
"Cloud..."
"Aeris..."
"You're a moron."
"You're- Wait, what? Ow!"
Aeris had brought her staff down on top of Cloud's head with horrible force, the clunk reverberating within his skull.
"You absolute imbecile!" she screeched. Cloud dropped backwards onto the ground, one hand clutching his head in pain as he stared up at the now dishevelled and flushed face of the Cetra. As their eyes met she brought the staff down on him again, catching the fingers cradling his head.
"'Destined to be together?!' You knew me a little over two weeks!"
Cloud tried to protest. "Time doesn't matter with love-"
"Shut up!" Again the staff struck his head. Cloud's head had begun to ache. "Cloud, I really hate to have to tell you this, but somehow you have misinterpreted almost everything I have ever told you!"
"W-what do you mean?"
"I mean; I never wanted you to mourn me. I never wanted you to dwell on the past. I wanted you to move on and live."
"But you said you'd come back... I just thought I should speed things up..."
The staff came down on the other side of his head now. "I said I was going to come back as I didn't think I was going to die! Have you been suffering under the delusion I sacrificed myself for you? You certainly have a high opinion of yourself!"
Cloud's head throbbed from the staff blows and he tried to get a grip on what was happening. This brutish figure who was busily beating him with a metal staff could not possibly be the dear sweet Aeris he once new and loved. Damn; his sword was back on Fenrir. If he could just get to it, he could defeat this imposter. He tried to edge backwards and was rewarded with another blow to the head.
"Don't move a muscle. So in summary of recent events; you have broken the heart of your childhood friend. You have acted callously towards your adoptive daughter and you have decided that the parenting I implicitly asked you to do was not your job. On top of that you betrayed the trust of a cherished friend and ran away to practice necromancy. No!" She held out a finger as Cloud's lips parted to speak. "You do not get to talk to me again. Not for a while. And not ever if you don't start behaving with a semblence of sanity."
She paused and drew in a breath. "Cloud. I am honestly flattered that you feel that way about me. Or rather I would be if it didn't come at this cost. As it stands I could not accept your feelings. Even had you somehow magically left your friends and family in absolute bliss I could not accept these feelings. I have returned to the Planet - I no longer walk on its surface and I am no longer among the living. Your resurrection was an astonishingly rare gift granted by the Planet at tremendous cost - and not an action to be repeated often. Sephiroth damaged the Lifestream with his rebirth. If you must continue to love me then realise that I cannot return your feelings, I have moved on. I considered Tifa the embodiment of all my desire for you. Yes I did once care for you. Now I wonder why."
She wetted her lips a moment. "While I cannot dicatate your actions, you should think very seriously about what you do from now on until you return to the Planet. As I will be waiting, and if I am still unhappy then you will not enjoy that one bit. I now charge you with fixing your mistakes. It will not be easy. It will not be quick. It is in fact going to be much harder then you might think it will be. But. You are to apologise properly to Tifa. You are to prove to Marlene that you care about her. And you are to be a father to Denzel. And you will apologise and serve a penance to Nanaki. Now, don't worry, I won't hit you again. I think you've suffered enough."
She turned on her heel and spoke her last words over her shoulder. "Goodbye for now Cloud. Remember that I will be waiting for you and if you haven't improved things then you will not like our next meeting."
Her image wavered and vanished and Cloud groaned, clutching his aching head. At least the physical pain was over and he couldn't help but fixate on his own idiocy. Something smashed into his head from behind, sprawling him forwards. He rolled over awkwardly clutching his head. Zack Fair stood over him, punching a fist into his open hand.
"Sorry pal. She thought you'd suffered enough, but I'm not sure I can accept that just yet. This is going to hurt you a lot more then it hurts me..."
no subject
Date: 2013-04-26 01:42 (UTC)Cloud being all proud of "I did it myself", he really does sound like a "big kid" here (though admittedly the cackling was more anticipation for the next bit of;
"Cloud...You're a moron." Ahahaha;
"Have you been suffering under the delusion I sacrificed myself for you? You certainly have a high opinion of yourself!" ends up being pretty funny since he canonically thinks she did sacrifice herself, just for the Planet, not him;
Zack showing up to give Cloud more of a beating. Poor Cloud... (kind of) (not really) Though then it made me start wondering, how does Zack show up in such a physical way, since he wasn't the one being resurrected and it's implied Aerith isn't helping him for this?
I think I've noticed this in some other fics, but they didn't stand out as much because of the different contexts...Aerith sounds pretty formal? Mostly it just stood out because she's angry here and saying things/words like "pray tell"/"enact" and, well, just how her lecturing is phrased. Though maybe that's intentional as she's post-death and all. I do like her threat that he doesn't get to talk to her for a while, "not ever" if he doesn't show some sanity--nice in both her trying to hope there's some hope for him still, and just the bluntness of it, haha.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-26 22:48 (UTC)Heh - yeah the refuting the sacrificing bit was also a retort to that notion she knowingly sacrificed herself which really never felt like that kind of thing she would do.
Ah... Zack. He was a spur of the moment idea to end things on, and felt an amusing final punishment for Cloud. I honestly hadn't given much thought to how he would show up, just wanted a pained jokey way to end... But then I wondered; despite it looking that way, it could be done so Cloud's method of resurrection simply doesn't work - he got it from an old book and it *sounds* right, but ultimately... I wonder if it didn't actually work, and basically Aeris was watching Cloud to see if he really was going to go this far or turn back on his own and fix things. So when he goes through with it, she might wonder if he'll give up, but there's a risk he'll just look for another method and keep going.
So she manifests on her own to dissuade Cloud of this course of action, and is so, then Zack can manifest independently to assist in the situation. Bit flimsy, and there would need to be an alteration to make clear that Cloud didn't successfully do anything.
Ah - yeah Aeris does sound pretty formal. Not sure if its entirely right for her, but I have this idea of someone so far beyond angry that the only way they can keep their temper in check is by absurdly forced politeness. Might amend that a bit to make her less formal.
Hehe - yeah I couldn't just leave the idea that Aeris will never forgive Cloud - even after death, but he really needs a big push to fix his mess - and her estimation there is at least some hope for him...
no subject
Date: 2013-04-27 19:09 (UTC)Hahah yeah, it's going to take some biiiig effort to get this mess fixed. Big push needed!
no subject
Date: 2013-04-27 22:44 (UTC)Still kinda torn on whether I should even try to go into the aftermath of the situation; I think it might stand alone as a what-if for which imagining the fixing of the mess is funnier/much more painful then seein it described... But at the same time does allow for things like Tifa/Rude or Cloud/Yuffie (though I like to think she'd try to strangle him before anything else. Actually, no, unfair to Yuffie as Cloud is more then likely thinking about how to get back with Tifa - assuming that this is what Aeris meant on that aspect of things. And he'd assume that Nanaki would be the easiest to set right, but its kind of tempting for that to be the trickiest for some reason).
Hmm... definitely not sure what entirely to do with this now. Though at least its out of my head.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 02:19 (UTC)It's out of your head! Fics don't always need to be finalized right away. "Jukebox" was floating around forever before I realized what I wanted to add onto the basic scenario.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-30 18:27 (UTC)I think this is the first time I've written anything with Aeris actively angry; annoyed I think I've done, but not quite like this. Good to know that you have RP'd her to the point of speechlessness/sputtering/coherent but blunt and simple.