Blue wandered, shoes softly digging into the snow, little flakes brushing against his skin and slowly falling (seemed as if they were almost floating) all around him.
Everything seemed so beautiful...
And peaceful.
Underneath the serenity he felt in that specific moment, however, was a lot of loneliness. None of those he had lived with, grown affection and fought for were here with him. He was the only one of his kind and because of that, despite the abundant number of residents he lived with and talked to in this strange place, he obviously couldn't not think of his own back home. Every single one of his links were far away from him, and he had no idea what they were doing, if they were well... or alive.
A hand moved up and cupped, catching a snowflake. Turning his head to look at his surroundings, cape lifting slightly with the wind (the wind would pick up, then calm down...), his gaze rested on the cathedral far away, almost concealed within all the snow and the elements framing the environment around it.
He began to step towards it.
What would he say if he saw the blond wasting himself like he was right now? Looking at the marble floor, without staring at nothing in particular, just staring, his mind wandering in that usual void of memories he seemed to like living in... Actually... what would both of them say? One would, perhaps, mess with his hair and punch him on the shoulder telling him to cheer up, or invite him noodles; and the other would, definitely, kick him on the back of his head, telling him how much of a wuss he was being at the situation... Cloud wouldn't care for either right there, but it was clear that none of them was there to do any of it, and the more he thought about it, the more he let himself shrink on the wood bench.
Well fuck it... he wasn't alone, not at all, he had other friends, and even friends from his own world, and still, he felt like if a very important part of himself had left, he knew it would happen any day, and he knew it'd hurt like a bitch, and hells, he had already gone through worse than that, but that didn't mean he's stop feeling a hole in his chest because of it.
Just a little longer... He though to himself, and shoved his hands on the coat's pockets; after all, he didn't want to leave from that warm spot he was sitting on, outside was just snowing too much for his likeness, and the usual ride on his motorbike to ease his mind was out of the question, he'd end as a popsicle if he did, and then, Tifa would get so very mad at him if he got sick... nah, he'd just hide for a little longer and then do the usual, keep everything deep inside and go back to his usual life in there, without his usual sparring partner.
Maybe if he hadn't been so deep in thought -as always-, he would have noticed the snowflakes that entered because of the main door opening and closing far behind him, but all he did was shrug his shoulders a bit to let his scarf cover his face up to his nose and avoid that cold wind.
Hand pressed against the door, Blue pushed, stepped inside and found that, despite being so tall and (what one would have assumed to be) heavy, it was surprisingly easy to move. As soon as he was in the interior, the dimmed, natural light (accentuated by the warm tones of the rows of small candles in the distance) felt welcoming, and yet, it placed a distance between what the cathedral represented and those who stepped into it.
Blue closed his eyes. Taking a deep, long breath, he let the hand slid down from the surface of the door, concealing it underneath his cape as the entrance closed itself and cut off the cold wind. These were holy grounds and silence was their caretaker, interrupted occasionally (and very subtly) by small whispers and prayers... And the lonely Mu wanted to hear these prayers; he wanted to take in the shy and pleading voices, he wanted to feel the genuine sentiments behind them: love, loss, hope, despair...
And he picked up a voice in thought. Eyelids opened and red eyes gazed, locking on the blond man sitting far into the cathedral, lost in his own thoughts. Blue was torn between calling his name or simply overseeing his presence (he knew how uncomfortable he felt around Blue's presence, especially in uninvited situations); and he found himself torn between stepping closer to whisper or simply calling his attention through other means.
Cloud? The voice in the blonde's mind would sound soft and careful.
Cloud jerked his head up at the sound of his name and it had sounded too close for his own comfort, maybe if he hadn't known that feeling of someone talking directly into his mind, he would have turned to see if anyone else was beside him whispering into his ear. He only knew of one person capable of such abilities, and even if it hadn't felt as an aggression towards him, Cloud immediately rejected the gentle voice, it had been something closer to a gentle caress than a sound, but still, it felt too awkward and a reminder of bad things to him.
However, this time wasn't like the first time Blue had stepped into his thoughts uninvited, Cloud was a bit more prepared this time, whether consciously or unconsciously -and by unconsciously, referring to getting help from the not so unwelcome guest that ran through Cloud's blood- he managed to completely close his mind to the Mu, bluntly, as if he had closed a door on his nose. One thing was to start a chat in his mind out of the ...blue, that time Blue had had strong reasons to do so, but having him irrupting into his mind, interrupting him from something as "solemn" for him, as giving himself himself time to heal from "losing" someone, was something he wasn't going to allow.
He simply remained sitting in the same position for a moment, then, he turned to the other man, locking eyes with the other's.
"You promised you wouldn't do that ever again." He said, aloud enough to interrupt the sacred silence that reigned over the cathedral, just to make sure Blue would hear it clear enough; there was a threatening tone in his serious voice that would have frozen anyone that didn't know him; but what Cloud hadn't noticed, even if he had blocked his thoughts from him, and even if his voice and body language tried to repel the man, his eyes screamed something so very different, «Don't leave me alone...»
Blue's gaze softened. He wasn't exactly hurt by Cloud's rejection (quite on the contrary, since it had been more than expected, despite the strange difference in the works of Cloud's mind), but he couldn't not feel bad for what he'd done.
"I did." Eyes lowered and he walked before standing on the path, a few steps behind Cloud's seat, eyes analyzing the altar. Anyone from the outside watching the situation would have thought that he had come to bring very grave news to the blond man; the way the cape covered him gave him a very formal and contained look. "I did not wish to interrupt the silence of this place." His voice tone was settled and polite, though anything but insecure.
A few seconds and deep sigh later, Cloud looked away from Blue, turning to see what he was staring at without much interest.
"Too late..." He settled to the same position he was before, but without thinking in anything in particular. "What you doing here?" Blunt but directly to the point, voice a little muffled behind his scarf. "Isn't it a bit too cold to be wandering around?" Hypocrite? Maybe.
"It's a shame." Blue commented nonchalantly. He felt he needed to value the sanctity of silence that seemed to be an intricate part of this place, however, with added responsibility from the fact that he hadn't ever been a part of... any of this. Religion was no longer a concept in the world he'd come from, so to speak.
"None in specific." Blue turned his head to the opposite direction, trying to take in the significance of every element and detail included in the integrity of the cathedral and its decorations. He then faced forward and lowered his eyes; the exact secure but serene expression in his face.
He took a moment before somewhat admitting his true reasons.
"Being alone is something I'm not accustomed to." He lifted his head again. "Yet this place compels me to seek solitude."
Cloud wouldn't care the less about the sacred place, for him it meant nothing but memories from home and some recently added ones from that place, it meant so much for him in his own personal way, that it had become of a sanctuary where he preferred to be by himself, however it didn't mean he had the right to break the calmness that surrounded them once again, and thus, when he spoke again, he did it as low as he could just to Blue to hear him.
"...you'll never get used to it..." Cloud spoke without thinking much of the answer just as Blue finished talking, he knew far too well how it was to be alone, without wanting to be, yet forcing himself to be, "...sometimes it's better to remain that way in this place, though... that way it won't hurt that much when they are gone..." A wishful thinking. Alright, that wasn't the only reason, but right there, it was Cloud's reason to try to stop from getting too attached to people, and the easiest way to do so was to avoid them all, being by himself and not relaying on others for anything. It was something not even he believed in, but who said he was trying to give a logical answer out of Blue's statements.
Maybe Cloud noticed that was something he shouldn't have said aloud, for Gaia, he knew he was making a big deal out of something so natural... for that place, at least, but he couldn't avoid it. He looked up at Blue and asked him something that went against all the crap that he had just said.
"What are your reasons?"
Blue's look carefully rested on Cloud, an expression that had both sympathy and sadness for the man sitting and slouching, looking almost as if he was somewhat curling on himself, simultaneously trying to keep himself together and fighting to not let any emotions pour out. Blue knew that Cloud was well aware that the Mu had no problems picking up the truth in one's mind and spirit the moment they let their guard down.
The Soldier looked up ahead once more; this time not to properly look at the altar, exactly, just to not look at the blond.
"My reasons to seek isolation?" He sealed his lips for a short moment, to think. "Perhaps... because it feels less invasive." He didn't expect Cloud to understand, though he suspected he would. "I've been brought here to be part of a community I don't feel I belong to."
It wasn't hard to guess what Blue was talking about, the blond took a little while to think of what he had told him, as he kept staring at him, and he couldn't avoid thinking that maybe he had been a little harsh to the other man, it wasn't his fault he had bad experiences with the voices inside his mind. The glowy mako depths went through seriousness to something very close to empathy.
Finally, his lips curved up, almost unnoticeable as if not existent, nothing had changed in his pose, just his eyes betraying him as usual, looking for the other's to look at him for some reason he didn't understand nor wanted to think about.
"Afraid of finding out something you might like?" He could have asked it the negative way, but for whatever reason, he didn't.
"Quite on the contrary." Blue's eyes lowered. "The more time I spend here, the more I find myself with feelings of selfishness..." His fringe would now be covering the side of his face (and therefore his eyes, from Cloud's point of view), but the very slight curve in his lips was enough to tell the other man that the Soldier was no longer as nonchalant as he had let on before. "I am torn between wanting to keep those I love away from this prison and being given the opportunity to see them again." His thoughts drifted back to the times he would be standing before Physis, the beautiful, innocent and pure goddess that would read her cards, confess her worries to him, trust her entire being to him... Despite feeling that his time in slumber had felt as if it had been as quick as the flick of a dying star, the distance that had been placed between him and her was the one that cost him the most.
"I'm not entirely sure of what it is they want from me, here."
"It's normal to feel that way..." He looked up to the ceiling of the cathedral, resting his head on the back of the bench, again without looking at nothing in particular, but letting his eyes dance through the winged bodies that were majestically painted, trying not to think on who would have done it, and simply observing.
He closed his eyes for a moment, "We all are a bit selfish, wanting people to stay, wanting them to leave, it's the same in the end, but..." Opened his eyes again, and looked over Blue, "...it doesn't mean someone wants anything from you. Not everything happens for a reason, not here, at least."
Blue closed his eyes for a short moment. Though he wished to have the ability to take comfort in Cloud's words, the Soldier was far too ancient and had seen too much to have that luxury. Of course there was a reason for him (for all of them) to be here - such an amazing and virtually impossible feat couldn't be an accident.
"You have people from your world currently living here, do you not?" He spoke softly, no sort of judgmental or critical tone in his voice. "I suppose you find comfort in being with them... I would too." A pause. "And yet, you must live in the constant fear that something horrible will happen to them, here... or that you will simply be stripped from them once more and be left with nothing; unable to know what has happened to them or if they are faring well."
Opening his eyes again, Blue stepped over to the small structure containing the rows of candles - all of them lit and the flames shyly dancing, shadows playing with the surfaces around them. He calmly took hold of one and held it up, felt the energy and voice that had been poured into it by whoever had lit it, and suddenly, Blue realized what the candles were for.
"People offer their belief in the light of fire." He muttered, mostly to himself, subtly referring to the irony of placing your faith into one of nature's most notorious destructive agent. "I wonder..."
Be it because of some sort of coincidence, or due to another of the places cruel jokes, though, Blue was unable to finish that sentence. He began hearing voices, feeling an invasion of emotions, positive and negative energy (cries, laughter, whispers, confessions, pain, hope, everything) and all of those emotions were crashing into him repeatedly, one after the other. He tried to block the minute he felt overwhelmed, but it proved to be a useless defensive, and his body was failing him. All he could do was drop the candle, bring one hand to his head and step back, as if trying to hold onto his balance.
Having heard all before, he really didn't want Blue's words to reach him, it would be something hard to avoid, he knew the Mu was right, there was something a bit morbid of wanting to have people he knew and that knew of him in that place, even if knowing all the wrong things that could happen to them. Then he hit the nerve that was still too exposed, being left with nothing... was that really it? He was sad, disappointed, maybe a little hopeless, and worried too, that was something, but then again if he thought about it, when it was his turn to leave again, well damn, he was going to be left without nothing too, he was right indeed.
Just as he thought of Blue's words, he sinked into the seat once again, letting the broody mood take over him again, he didn't notice or didn't pay attention to the other's actions and words, it wasn until he the unexpected sound of the crystal vase that held the candle hitting and shattering on the marbled ground, that he leveled his face to Blue's direction.
It was mere instinct what made him jump off his sitting position and with inhuman speed he placed himself just behind Blue, placing both hands on his shoulders as support. As soon as he did, however, he wished he hadn't done it. It felt like touching lightning, from the tips of his fingers, some kind of energy went all over him, it was very similar to something he'd felt before, like if he had fell into the Lifestream once again, feeling, listening voices inside his head, talking to him all at the same time, wanting his attention and pleading into his thoughts, the only difference in this case was that it was bearable, it wasn't thousands of voices wanting to talk to him, it was just less powerful.
He didn't let go of Blue, even if he wanted to, it felt as if he would fall if he let him stand by his own.
"What happened?" His voice came out as a whisper, fearing that if he talked any louder, Blue could disappear in some way.
Blue didn't see anything - not physically, at least - his eyes were shut, eyebrows knitted and lips parted, breathing heavily and in broken intervals. His arms were crossed over his chest, as if trying to protect himself from an invisible enemy, fringe draping over his eyes as he slouched over; he was shivering and he leaned on Cloud, finding his support. His body was weak, that was something he was used to after using his abilities in excess, but allowing his protection to be broken so easily was something he wasn't. This power was too strong, as all the voices in it, all of them selfish, all of them personal and strong and invasive.
He had to focus...
And just like that, the voices were gone. Blue was able to open his eyes, suddenly, and placed his hand against Cloud's chest, in a gesture to let him now he was now capable of standing on his own. He still stepped weakly towards the nearest bench, though, and sat down on it, elbows on his legs, head hanging down. He needed to rest.
"I'm not sure..." His voice was somewhat weak, but he was trying to make it audible. "Suddenly- ... I couldn't stop it." He knew Cloud had felt it too, so he moved his hand up to the blond's arm. "I'm sorry, Cloud."
The blond had never been used to physical contact, not from unknown people, at least, well, thinking it better, not from anyone in general, there were very little people that he allowed to cross that line without feeling awkward. Blue formed part of those who would make Cloud feel very awkward in a situation like that. But Cloud, being Cloud... didn't move away when the other leaned on him, using him to remain steady on his feet, although it would have been pretty obvious for Blue to feel that the blond wasn't very happy about it.
Cloud followed closely behind him when he made his way to the bench and stood in front of him when he was sitting on it. Leaned forward to listen to his words better, and then felt his hand over his arm and that sincere sorry from his words.
He tried to open his mouth and simply say that it didn't matter, everything was ok, that it hadn't been his fault, anything to let the other know it was nothing to worry about, but he couldn't, he knew that Blue would perfectly know he was lying. Instead he did the most honest thing he could so he would let the other know he understood.
You shouldn't be wandering around if you are not strong enough to keep them outside. He "opened" his mind to Blue, little by little, letting him feel he was worried about him, but also that he didn't approve him being so reckless, and that he definitely didn't like what he had felt, Blue could perhaps feel how Cloud wasn't totally unfamiliar to all those experiences.
Blue let go of Cloud's arm, resting it on his leg once more and regaining full control of his breathing, at last. He was still tired, of course (exhausted, even), but definitely more capable to talk and lean back on the bench, tilting his head, a soft expression on his face.
"This has never happened before..." Lips parted, he let himself close his eyes, taking a breather in the middle of his sentences. "Not in this place. I normally wouldn't have any problem blocking... these voices." One hand lifted to rest against his own forehead, lightly, then slid back down to the seat. "I'm not sure what happened..."
But the thoughts in his mind - his alone - had a very strong suspicion. It had long become obvious that this place contained powers stronger than anything he'd seen before in his life, and that was more than enough reason to fear it and have as much caution as possible. Whatever had happened, it'd been because of that place, either because the voices had been turned into something much more powerful than he could handle (and, being a Type Blue, that was saying a lot) or it had found a way to lower his defences momentarily.
"That's what they want from you in here. To mess with your head." You are not going to make me carry you back to the hotel will you? Maybe letting his own mind blockage down hadn't been a good idea...
He sat next to the light haired man, without saying anything, keeping his eyes on him, just showing his support to him, he wasn't about to leave his side, not after what had happened, but in the other hand, Cloud didn't want to think that it was him wanting Blue's company, he really didn't want to be alone in that moment.
"Don't worry." Blue answered Cloud's mental concern, both arms underneath his cape again, eyes still closed, breathing now normal.
"I apologize for concerning you." That was a heartfelt apology, seeing that Blue really did dislike having people worry about his weak condition. It always brought him back to Shangri-La, and the (what you could call) council of the Mu surrounding his bed and discussing matters, looking down at their tired leader with both respect and concern. There was never pity, however.
"And yes, it seems that is one of the purpose of its existence." Blue referred to Cloud's initial statement, with a somewhat bitter tone. He was able to slowly open his eyes, gazing at whatever was before him (the broken candle, the rows of the remaining ones still lit, the altar, the columns...) with renewed seriousness. He then lowered his head, only a little.
"I didn't mean to intrude on your privacy when I stepped into this cathedral, Cloud. I know that every time we speak it appears otherwise." His voice drifted a bit, and the feeling he got that Cloud was both intrigued and intimidated by him was something all-too familiar.
The blond shook his head slowly with closed eyes, "It would have been the same if you had approached and talked to me..." A sigh, "I just... I mean... It's alright, maybe it was good that you did so, I don't know how long I would have stayed here if someone hadn't come around..." He had literally lived in that place for three days straight waiting for someone else in the past, not that he would have done the same this time.
"...I think I'll get used to you doing so faster than... you know... getting used to... this..." He didn't finish the phrase, he didn't want to, but it was obvious what he was talking about; people leaving, was something that had always affected him more than anything else in that place, he was strong enough, but only in he surface, he could take anything that place thrown at him, everything but that, and no one could blame him for feeling something close to abandonment every it happened, even if said people didn't have control over it, all his life, Cloud had dealt with people leaving him, since he was a child, starting with his father, who he didn't even remember at all.
"Stop apologizing for everything, it's getting old." There was nothing on him that could say that Cloud was lying to him, "Doesn't mean I'll stop worrying, though." Blue might be a reminder of everything Cloud had learned to be afraid of, but he wasn't Sephiroth or Jenova, he couldn't hurt him in purpose, he just knew it.
"Still, I thank you for your help. Not many would have offered it so willingly." Blue brought his arm up and around his stomach, palm curling on his side as he took another somewhat deep breath. He turned his head, facing Cloud with sympathetic red eyes again. "How long have you been waiting here, Cloud?" He could have used the term 'sitting', but it didn't quite wrap around what he'd truly been doing... because staying still for so long, alone and silent, yet welcome to company of someone he felt he could trust could only mean that his intention was not to be entirely alone.
His voice was lower, gentler. "And whom are you waiting for?"
That took him a bit by surprise, and it was easy to see by the quick blinks and the shifting of his body over the seat.
"I... well... I dunno, a while I guess, it's hard to tell the time being here, specially with the snow." He went silent for a moment, thinking deeply on the other question, frowning noticeable.
"No one... I just..." He looked into those gentle crimson eyes, with deep blue hurt ones of his own. It was just the same thing they were talking about a little earlier, he was being selfish about the whole thing, wanting people to return to that horrid place, just for him not to feel alone, to mend things he wasn't able to mend back home, which meant he was indeed waiting for someone to return to that place, and he was ashamed to accept it. He should be glad for his friends to finally leave, yet, there he was, brooding about the whole thing.
He knew Blue would just feel all that, what was the point of avoiding it? "Ever had the feeling that you missed saying some important things to certain people that was important to you, and you were never able to tell them because they just... left before you decided to do it?"
Blue's look relaxed a bit; it went from being attentive and concerned to understanding what Cloud meant, perhaps also a reflexion of his mind drifting back to his own memories.
"Life is filled with lost opportunities, I'm afraid." He murmured, lowering his eyes and facing forward, tilting his head up slightly, arm still wrapped around his own body (only a portion of it visible because of his cape, though). "Either because of the lack of courage to say things we may or may not regret, or because we're foolish enough to think time is something we can work with or control." Blue remembered the one specific episode, the moment before he fell from the sky and into Earth, believing the words he'd passed onto Jomy would have been his last. There weren't any crushing regrets at the time, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been thankful for the chance given to him to say much more. "No matter how much grief or happiness we're given; how much luck we have - or lack of it - in the end... we're all simply human." He had the suspicion Cloud wouldn't take the last statement the way Blue had meant it, but kept his explanation in silence.
The Soldier leaned forward, his free hand pressed against the bench, and pushed himself up. His movements were slow but secure; he was ready to walk again, despite the fact that his arm was still hugging his stomach. He turned to Cloud once more, looking down at him so the blond could see those red eyes were no longer sad or as gentle as they had been before. They were the eyes of a Soldier now; of a leader looking at his comrade, expecting him to stand and fight instead of sitting and brooding.
"Are you going to keep waiting?"
One lecture here, one advice there, it was all what Cloud always got from people in times like this, it was not different, just different words on different lips, but the same all the way. Or maybe not exactly the same, it was one of those rare times Cloud had actually asked for it, more than having people trying to get answers from him.
He blinked at the look of those eyes that looked down at him, trying to understand why they suddenly seemed so familiar.
"You make it sound so easy." After a little moment, he stopped looking and stood from his seat, "I'm sorry, I won't stop waiting..." He said as he walked pass Blue and a few steps towards the exit, then stopped and looked back, "But I can wait somewhere else."
Blue watched Cloud, keeping that same expression on his face as his arm slid down and he returned to the formal poise he normally carried himself in.
"It's anything but easy, Cloud." Blue turned slightly away from him, head facing the altar. He thought about his age, about all the things he'd seen and all the grief he'd gone through, for whatever reasons. All his lifetime experiences seemed to have no say in the minds of those much younger than him, but that was only yet another fault of humanity's primary characteristics: the error to assume that the things of the past had no importance to the future.
He placed one hand on the edge of the back of the bench (it could be for support, or for no reason at all), cape draping from his arm. "Do what you will..."
Face returned to Cloud's direction. There was no smile, just a wise (though anything but condescending) gaze.
"It's only as complicated as you want it to be."
"Never said it was." He kept walking as he said so. It wouldn't be any good if Cloud started spilling out all what he had gone through to Blue just for him to justify the way he was, he hadn't done it with no one but close friends, and still, not all of them knew the real reasons behind his actions. Blue could think anything he wanted about him, that the was a coward, that he didn't care, he didn't expect him to understand.
However, he just stopped and turned slightly to him at the last statement, he had just hit a nerve, and even someone without the powers Blue possessed, could easily feel the change in the blond. "Do you think I don't know that?" Don't you dare telling me that, not if you don't know anything about me! He thought in that moment, not caring at all if Blue sensed the hostility of the wordless thought, it wouldn't be so hard to suddenly close his mind to Blue again, but he wasn't an expert on handling his emotions.
As contradicting as it could appear to be, those words simply reminded him of how much he had tried all his life to achieve anything, and failing on each of them -on the majority at least, from his point of view- he never asked for things to be the way they have.
"Sometimes things just don't go the way we want them to be." There was a dry and even challenging tone in his voice.
Blue kept his stern expression, still facing him while the rest of his body stood sideways, between the eyes of God and the glare of a mortal. He was used to the bitter arrogance of men, who believed whatever they had gone through was something no one would ever understand or surpass in suffering. Be it their losses, frustrations or defeats, the Soldier couldn't hold any sympathy for those who believed they were a lost cause, better off on their own. Nothing could ever be truly achieved that way.
"That's because we hold no control on them." The words came out coldly. He'd grown tired of people who thought they could bend every single thing to their liking... Power was the ultimate thing humanity had greed for. "But that does not change what I said."
Cloud gave one last glare to the Mu, it had been foolish from himself to think he'd understand a little bit, yet he didn't. He didn't want any pity from him, nor he had tried to make him feel he had been through much more than others. But Blue had proven to him that he was no different from anyone he knew, if he believed he had all the answers and liked to patronize him because of it, then he'd let him be. He was no one to make him think different. Blue could, if he wanted, underestimate him as everybody he knew has, it didn't matter.
He didn't reply to his statement, he was right, and there was no point of making such foolish conversation go on. Heavy combat boots continued on their way, carrying him to the tall wooden doors, as he slid his usual leather gloves over his hands. Without turning he opened the door and went through it, closing it behind him, failing at not being able to avoid feeling worried under all the anger and disappointment he felt in that moment, he just hoped Blue didn't collapse on the snow when walking back to the hotel, and that Nero was ok back home, just as he hoped for all the people who had left him.
Blue turned away before he could watch Cloud take those last steps inside the cathedral, rushing out with silent anger, into the harsh snow (the sound of the wind outside could be head and a sharp wave of a colder temperature momentarily invaded the cathedral). As expected, the young blond was no different from all the other brash, angry and hurt humans - and even Mu - he'd met. They'd always state that no one could understand them; they would always accuse Blue of being condescending and walk out on him. And yet, it was the Soldier who knew that they were the ones who did not understand. They were too young, after all... their immaturity never let them grasp most of what he spoke about, but that was something he wouldn't pay mind to... not now.
He let Cloud walk away before he leaned on the bench, letting out a low, but deep breath, dropping his head slightly. Blue had to sit down again, slouching, letting the cape cover him, eyes shifting to the broken candle on the floor. Despite the weather, there was a small, cold drop of sweat running down his temple; he brought one hand up to rub his eyes and the bridge of his nose, resting the elbow on his knee, while the other hand removed his headphones, then rest on his leg.