Hold On To The World We All Remember Dying For

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Characters: Cloud and Yuffie (OPEN to anyone who wants to harrass them!)
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Cloud is brooding in the church. Yuffie comes to see him. Good times roll.
Location: Lindblum Church
Date: April 1804
Warnings: Angstu? Possibly some Yuffie raeg. Let's find out!


His eyes were closed and Cloud knew it was probably silly but he couldn't help standing out in the rain. It was rather a heavy rain, though he doubted it'd make him sick, but there was something about rain that just made him want to stand out in it. On light days where it was a gentle rain, Cloud was always reminded of Aerith. No matter what the day was going like, he'd pause and just think about her. It was a nice way to remember her. However, if it was rain like this, on a dark evening like this, Cloud felt a knot in his stomach as images of Zack's death rushed back.

There were a lot of things he still didn't remember about his past. Four years he spent inside a mako tube and being experimented on that he had barely any recollection of, and a year after where Zack had carried him that he had vague little glimpses of. It was unpleasant, and often brought him horrible nightmares, mixed in with those of Sephiroth.

Sighing and blinking his eyes open at the sky, Cloud tried to make noise. A grunt, a whimper, a scream... anything? Nothing. It hurt his throat as it would normally to just scream but there was no sound. Shaking his head, the blonde turned and headed inside, dripping rain water from his leather as he moved to take his seat on the altar as he usually did when he came to the church. His bag was already on the altar, and Cloud wondered vaguely if he could live here. He doubted he'd be able to. Someone would find him. He couldn't just get away anymore. It was becoming too much in their house. Constantly living with so many people coming and going was working on Cloud's last nerve.

He was afraid. Cloud was afraid that the people coming in and out, and those living there, would one day be hurt. He couldn't let them get hurt, but the person he feared was most likely to hurt them... was himself. With a sigh, Cloud pulled out his sketchbook and began drawing where he'd left off. Maybe tonight he'd sleep at the church. Just tonight.

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[championofwutai.livejournal.com]

It was some time after her conversation with the silver-haired general that Yuffie had found Cloud's note at the house. She needed to talk to him about serious things, vent a little frustration, and what better way with someone who always seemed to listen and give some good advice. Not always, but most of the time.

She ran across Lindblum to the Church, darting inside when she got there. Rain usually didn't bother her too much, but it was such a heavy rain that it nearly soaked her. The door closed loudly behind her, and she cursed inwardly.

"Uh, hey, Cloud? DO you have a minute?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Wincing at the door slamming, Cloud blinked over at Yuffie, nodding slightly at her question. He'd wanted to be alone, but Yuffie was clearly in need of something and, being a good leader, he couldn't tell her to go away and leave him to his peace and quiet.

Besides, it was only Yuffie, and as much as he got irritated by her hyperness, he cared about her and even if she was loud and rather obnoxious at times, especially with her whole introduction thing, he did value Yuffie. She was a great addition to the team and she was a dear friend that he trusted wholly.

Grabbing his notepad, he scribbled out a message. "What's up?"

[championofwutai.livejournal.com]

Yuffie walked the short distance to where the alter was and where Cloud was sitting, taking a seat on the floor. She curled her legs under her gracefully, taking a deep breath.

"So uh. Riots. In Wutai." She nods, taking a moment. It still hasn't really sunk in. "They're calling for Sephiroth."

She sighs. "So what do I do? I called him up."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud sighed silently when she talked about calling Sephiroth and slid off the altar to sit on the floor, writing out a note to her. "That was probably a bad idea, but tell me what happened." He had a feeling there was name-calling, because this was Yuffie.

He wasn't a very comforting person, but Cloud could see Yuffie was seriously upset over this, even if she wasn't showing it. He was a master of hiding his emotions, and Yuffie was easily read.

If she needed him, he was there. He'd always do that for someone he loved.

[championofwutai.livejournal.com]

"It's always a bad idea to do anything when you're angry. And boy, was I angry. I mean, they were chanting to oust me for some mass murderer!"

She shook her head. "But yeah. I called him. and there was name calling, and yelling. Minus flipping tables. They have a right to want him there, though. He was there before I was, and he helped them out a lot."

She wrings her hands a bit. She's still not happy at what she suggested to the general, but but it was better than going back home to Wutai and getting stoned or something. "I offered to have him come back to Wutai. To help out."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud listened to her and, honestly, he was proud of her for swallowing her pride and doing what was best for Wutai. Then again, this was Yuffie, and anything that put Wutai's best interests in danger would always be corrected by her.

She was intelligent and knew when giving up was the best idea, not that this really was giving up. Nodding slightly, he wrote out on his notepad, lifting it. "It sounds like a diplomatic and fair compramise. I'm proud of you."

It must have been really difficult for her to do that.

[championofwutai.livejournal.com]

"Thanks... but it's not all about being diplomatic. Angeal and Genesis are coming along with him. It's a good way to keep an eye on them too."

This was swallowing her pride to the utmost level. The concept of having their worst enemy in Wutai would irk her for a while, but the constant hate and rage would subdue when duty was needed over personal feelings.

"Sorry to bother you with it. I just needed to vent." A pause. "Was the house too loud?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud nodded slightly to her comment about how she was going to keep an eye on them. It was good to know she was still working on what he'd asked her to. He knew he could count on her.

Picking at the edge of his page with his gloved fingers, Cloud fidgeted in his wet sweater, the damp wool making his skin itch a little. Cloud just wrote the word "Yes." on the paper, showing her with a frown.

He had other reasons for why he was here, but that was his private, personal feelings. He didn't need to tell her about all that.

[championofwutai.livejournal.com]

Yuffie nodded. It had gotten pretty loud as of late, with everyone being there for the meeting, and then the kids, and Cloud's friend Firion coming back. That house never seemed to sleep, which could be good or bad.

She rocked back and forth. "If you want, you're more than welcome to vent. I'm not the best person, but I can listen."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud shook his head slightly, writing as he did. Finally lifting the notepad, Cloud hid his small smile behind it. "I'd vent, but I don't think I want to depress you. You're not fun when you're upset." He paused, thinking for a moment before he wrote more out, his writing getting messier and messier, almost to the point of it being painfully difficult to read. He just had poor penmanship.

"Since you like materia so much, I want to show you something. It's the Crystal I got in the Void. It took a lot of work to get it, and even though it's not materia, I thought you might want to see it."

That shown, Cloud pulled the Crystal from his pocket and held it out. It was a light blue in colour, much like a materia in shape - a perfect sphere - but it was slightly larger and obviously not materia.

[championofwutai.livejournal.com]

Yuffie was thinking that he might want to sit down with Marlene and practice his writing skills. Sheesh. It's all chocobo-scratch. She frowned a bit. She didn't need to be fun while she was upset, she was just offering to listen! If she got upset, she'd just go and run around in the rain and cool off.

Pinged by Materia, an eyebrow raised at what Cloud had said before he pulled out the shiny crystal. She had seen him fool around with it at the AVALANCHE meeting, and she had wondered what it was. "It's shiny, that's for sure. Does it do anything?"