Entry tags:

final fantasy vii, general, here and gone again, icedark_elf

Fic: Watching Over You(FFVII, Aeris, Zack, Cloud)
Title: Watching Over You
Author: GW Katrina, aka icedark_elf
Beta: skeren
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Playlist: Here and Gone Again
Song: LotR:RotK-Into The West
Claim: Final Fantasy VII, General
Wordcount: 1,061
Characters: Aeris, Zack, Cloud



She hadn’t expected this.

One moment, she was smiling at Cloud, happy to see him, then....

Pain. It hurt, for just a moment.

She didn’t understand what was happening, just that she hurt, then...nothing.

Arms wrapped around her.

“Hey there, babe.”

A familiar voice, long missing.

Sighing, Aeris leaned against the broad chest, feeling the arms tighten.

“Zack.”

“Wish I could say it was good to see you, but you shouldn’t be here. You and Spike were supposed to fall head over heels, save the world, and have lots of little kids. One of which was named after me, of course.”

Looking up at him, Aeris smiled weakly. “What...what happened?”

Zack’s smile was sad. “You died. I’m sorry.”

That just didn’t make sense. “What?”

He just hugged her tighter, and she curled her fingers into his shirt. “Zack?”

“I’m sorry.”

His voice was quiet, and he pressed a kiss against her hair. Leaning into him, Aeris made a soft sound. “I.... How?”

“Sephiroth.” The word was clipped, and the arms tightened on her.

She was dead. So was Zack. He wasn’t trapped anywhere, just waiting to get out. He wasn’t on some long term secret mission from Shin-Ra..

Zack was dead..

All the plans she had had, for her, with him, with Cloud. All of them, gone.

She cried for them all.

///

Finally, she went still, and Zack continued to pet her hair. He hadn’t expected to ever see her here. Not for years. And he really meant what he said, that he had expected her to move on, stop Seph, and have a dozen kids with Cloud. They would have made cute kids.

Now, though, she was here, with him, sleeping against him. He wondered how long it would take her to shed the habits she had while she was alive. It hadn’t taken him long, but he was pretty good at adapting. Besides, he had needed to watch over his friend. When Cloud had stumbled off, Zack had followed, wanting to make sure that the other man had made it. And when Cloud had, Zack simply couldn’t stop watching.

He had stayed. And he planned already to tease Cloud when the man died about the dress.

Now, Aeris was here. She shouldn’t be, and Zack was angry. Angry at Sephiroth for doing this to her, angry at Shin-Ra for causing this. Angry at Hojo for starting it all. Angry at himself, even, for dying before he even got back to her.

He should have been there to help keep her and Cloud safe.

But it was too late now.

Instead of being safe, being with Cloud and -living-, she was here.

And all Zack could do was hold her, and wish that he had been able to help her.

///

Cloud never expected this. He was here, in this pale white. Meteor had been destroying Midgar, and Holy had come so close to not being able to do anything. Then the Lifestream had flared up and things had gone white as the forces collided.

He wondered if anyone was going to make it.

“Of course you will.”

The voice startled him, and Cloud spun in the emptiness of this place. “Aeris?”

His voice was strained, and he felt his stomach clench as he looked down at the woman. “I’m sorry....”

The words had barely gotten out of his mouth when he was being hugged. “Oh, shush,” the woman scolded, hugging him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. When it counted, you did what you needed to do.”
Cloud was ready to argue with her. He got her killed. -He- had almost killed her. Almost taken the sword Zack had given him and used it to kill her....

The swat upside his head wasn’t expected. Wide eyed, he turn his head, arms still tight around Aeris, and froze.

“Zack?”

This couldn’t be real. Any of it. He was hallucinating or something. Anything was better than this....

Then he and Aeris were both wrapped up in a hug. “Heya, Spike. You are doing good.” The man smiled at him. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

“I...I....” Cloud was stumbling over his words, caught in two sets of arms. “You guys, no....”

He couldn’t get the words out, a low moan escaping in place of the words. Instead, he just sagged against the support.

“You are doing better than I ever hoped for, Spike,” came the soft voice, Zack resting his cheek on his hair. “I wanted you to live. You were the only thing that was good that came from Nibelheim, and I wanted you to be happy. I died to keep you safe.”

That got another sound from Cloud of distress, which got him swatted by Aeris.

“We came to tell you that we’re watching you, Cloud. Can’t leave my faithful bodyguard out in the cold, right?” She smiled up at him. “You can’t come with us now, but, some day, you will. Right now, though....” Aeris hugged him tighter.

“We’re not going to be able to stay long. But...we’re going to be looking over you.”

“Even in the shower.”

“Zack!”

That was from both of them, and Zack chuckled, hugging them both. “Seriously, Spike, we’ll be listening if you need to talk to us, okay? We may not be able to do much, but we’re always willing to listen.”

Cloud shut his eyes, and curled his arms around Aeris, hugging her back as he leaned against Zack. “I miss you guys....”

“We’re not as far as you think, Spike.”

“He’s right, Cloud. We’ll be around. Probably more than you like. But...you got to go now. We’ll talk to you later.”

Opening his eyes, Cloud tensed. “When...?”

“We’re never further than you sleeping.”

Aeris lifted her hand up and covered his eyes. “Sleep, Cloud. We’ll be watching over you.”

Shutting his eyes again, Cloud felt them both hug him tight again, and things faded back into reality.

They were waiting for him, and he shivered. A voice whispered into his ear as he looked out at the world left behind by Meteor and Holy.

“We’ll be waiting for you. Just have to wait till it’s time for you to go.”

Cloud gripped the rail of the deck, looking out at the world.

“All right,” he said softly. “I’ll be waiting, too.”