Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ New Love ❯ Chapter 14

New Love

 

Let's take a break from the tension of the LT and take a page from the game. Get ready, we're diving deep, deep into Cloud's character now. Take a breath. Otherwise, this chapter is a bit shorter. Sue me.

 

Chapter 14

 

“Gone insane yet?”

 

“Does contemplating suicide count?”

 

“Bad times, huh?”

 

“Simply put, I'm in hell.”

 

Cloud waited for Barret to answer on the phone as he made his admittance. It was Thursday night, and the day had been a living hell.

 

First, whatever semblance of friendship he and Aeris had once had was gone. Referring to him as “Mr. Strife”, Aeris had done anything and everything she could to avoid any sort of contact with him, while still doing her job and duties. After getting the cold shoulder from her all day, Cloud had come home to a dark, empty apartment, devoid of Tifa and any warmth her presence brought the place. Cloud couldn't remember the last time he had felt so miserable. One of the women in his life was gone, and the other was doing her best to pretend he didn't exist. The only time Aeris had spoken to him about non-work related topics was to ask if he had done as she said - Cloud had told her Tifa had left the apartment before he could and was out of town. She hadn't been happy to hear that.

 

“Barret, are you sure you can't come over, I need human contact,” Cloud pleaded, only half-joking.

 

“Sorry pal, spending time with the missus. Hey, we'll hang tomorrow, a'ight?”

 

“Sure, see ya,” Cloud droned, hanging up. He thought for a moment. He couldn't call Vincent, Cid was always grading papers in the evening, and he didn't really know anyone else. Cloud thought some more, the picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart, but hadn't called in months. It picked up after two rings.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey…it's me.”

 

“Oh, hello Cloud.”

 

“Hi Mom.”

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Cloud pulled into the driveway of the small, single-story house in the suburbs, getting out and locking his door behind him. With a look up at the home he hadn't been too since Christmas, he walked up the steps and rapped on the door. It opened a moment later. The woman at the door had on a red sweater with a white apron and a matching skirt, with long blonde hair to her shoulders.

 

“Good to see you again, Cloud,” Skye Strife smiled, stepping back. Cloud smiled sheepishly as he came inside. “I must admit, I was surprised to hear from you,” Skye said, closing the door as Cloud slipped his shoes off onto the mat by the wall.

 

“Sorry I haven't called much lately,” Cloud mumbled, hanging his coat on the coat rack.

 

“Nonsense, you're a grown man Cloud,” Skye scolded. “All the same, come here,” Skye held open her arms, and Cloud hugged her. “You're a man, but you're still my baby boy,” Skye said, pulling back. Cloud blushed and followed you into the living room of her home. “Now,” Skye sat down on the couch and pulled a half-knitted quilt from beside her, “you said on the phone you had a problem you had to talk about, hm?”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud nodded, sitting on an easy chair across the table from the couch. His mother had a knack for understanding him like no one else ever had, not even Tifa or Aeris. But then, she was his mother. Cloud supposed it came with the territory.

 

“Mom? What do you think of Tifa?”

 

“Tifa? She's a sweet girl, so nice,” Skye smiled and looked up. “The memories of you two growing up…remember when they wouldn't let her on the baseball team at school, so you quit the team and played with her alone instead?”

 

“Yeah…” Cloud nodded, remembering the incident. “Okay, seriously…have you ever pictured us together for, like…you know, forever?” Syke stopped her knitting and looked up.

 

“Cloud, are you saying what I think you're saying?” she gaped.

 

“No, no no!” Cloud said hurriedly. “Not engagement, or anything!”

 

“Oh,” Skye sighed. “And I'd so hoped to see my grandchildren someday…”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud coughed. “Mom, I mean it. Do you think Tifa and I could ever, get married? I mean, hypothetically.”

 

“Hypothetically?” Skye asked, thinking for a moment. “Hmmm….I should think so. She makes you happy, doesn't she?”

 

“I…don't know.”

 

“You don't know if you're happy?”

 

“Well, I'm happy to be with her, but…Mom, I just…I just feel so…unfulfilled.” Cloud saw his mother begin to open her mouth, but the dam had burst. “Is this it? I have a girlfriend, a good job, an apartment, now what? Do I just live out my life, buy a wedding ring, have a kid or two and wait for retirement? What next, is this all there is now? I'm not even thirty years old and my life already seems to be lining up in front of me waiting for me to live it. What if I don't want that? What if I don't want to work at Shinra, what if I don't want to be with Tifa? What if I want more than that, what if I want something else besides what I have now? What if I'm not happy, Mom? What then? What do I do?”

 

Cloud fell silent after his outburst, sitting there stunned. He had no idea where that had come from, but looking back…it made sense. He was content, certainly, but happy? When was the last time he'd really felt happy about his state of life?

 

“So, that's the problem,” Skye whispered. “Do you really feel that way, Cloud?”

 

“I…yeah…yes,” Cloud nodded. “Mom, I'm not happy. I'm not unhappy, but I'm not happy either. This life I've built for myself, what is it's not enough? What if I don't want it?”

 

“Cloud, how did you end up working for Shinra?” Skye asked.

 

“You know that, Mom. There was an opening at a low-level job, I took it, caught the eye of my supervisor and got promoted.”

 

“And why did you take the job? Did you want to work for Shinra?”

 

“No, but it paid well, there was potential for advancement, and I wanted money to move out with Tifa. It fit.”

 

“And are you happy working for Shinra?” Skye asked. Cloud scrunched his face up.

 

“No. My boss is an ass, the work is boring, and I hate the clients we keep,” he said bitterly.

 

“Then why do you work there?” Skye asked.

 

“…I don't know.”

 

“And if you aren't entirely happy with Tifa, why are you still with her?”

 

“I don't know.”

 

Skye sighed and put her knitting aside as Cloud hung his head. The sudden revelation that he was telling the truth was incredibly depressing. Had he really been living his life like this?

 

“Cloud, when I was in high school, there was a boy in my English class. My best friend Clair wanted him to ask her out. So she told me to try and become his friend and drop a hint to ask her. So I started eating lunch with him, and sitting next to him in class to talk to him,” Skye said.

 

“So what happened, did he ask her out?” Cloud asked.

 

“Actually, he asked me out,” Skye shrugged.

 

“Did you say yes?”

 

“I thought about it for a long time, I really did. I eventually told Clair I liked him too, and that he had asked me and I was going to say yes. And I did, and she hated me for it, never spoke to me again. I haven't heard from her in years.”

 

“Was it worth it?”

 

“Well, I did end up marrying him. You tell me,” Skye smiled, giving Cloud a knowing look.

 

“That's a nice story, Mom, but what's that have to do with me?” Cloud asked. Skye clasped her hands.

 

“Cloud, there are people in this world that are going to expect you to act a certain way and do certain things. You can't make everyone happy, and it's a fool's errand to try. If you live your life trying to fulfill the expectations of others and neglect your own desires, you're going to end up miserable, alone and unfulfilled.”

 

“Like I am now,” Cloud muttered.

 

“I don't want to agree, but…” Skye didn't finish the sentence. “Cloud, what do you want? What type of job do you want, if not Shinra?”

 

“I've never really thought about it,” Cloud admitted. “I guess…hm. Well…I'd also wondered what it would be like to be some sort of…architect.”

 

“Well that's a perfectly fine career choice!” Skye declared. “Why not pursue it?”

 

“I…just haven't,” Cloud said.

 

“And if you don't want to be with Tifa, is there someone else you'd like to be with?” Skye asked. Cloud just nodded. “Cloud, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. But no one else should either. If you don't like the state of things, it's your job to change them. Take a stand for what you want, and you'll be amazed how well things can work out. You don't always get exactly what you want Cloud. But if you never try in the first place, you won't even come close. And I think you need to start trying, before it's too late in your life.”

 

Cloud stood up, and lifted his head.

 

“It won't be easy though.”

 

“It's never easy to achieve if it's worth achieving.”

 

Cloud nodded. As always, she was right. He was tired of being bossed around by Rufus, of watching his life not go the way he wanted and not saying anything about it.

 

“Thanks, Mom.”

 

“It's what I do sweetheart. Now did you want to stay for a while, or do you have to go?”

 

“I think I can stay for a bit.”

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Aeris yawned and looked over at the clock on her bedside. It was twenty minutes to eleven. She blinked and looked back at her crossword, biting on the tip of her pencil. Hm, four-letter word for `wizard'…

 

The telephone by the bedside rang, and Aeris leaned over the check the caller ID. She recognized the number and let out a huff, sitting back and going back to her crossword. Four-letter word…the phone finally clicked to the answering machine.

 

“Hey, it's Aeris! I'm not here or busy right now, leave your message at the beep!” Aeris smiled and wrote down the answer on the puzzle as the machine beeped.

 

“Hey, Aeris…it's Cloud. But you probably know that since you didn't pick up.”

 

“Bingo,” Aeris muttered, going to the next word.

 

“Look, I want to talk to you, but not over the phone, okay? Come into work tomorrow, we have to talk about this.”

 

“There's nothing to talk about,” Aeris said angrily, glaring at the phone.

 

“So, I guess see ya tomorrow…please don't hate me, okay?”

 

The line clicked, and Aeris' expression softened. She let out a breath and looked back at her crossword.

 

“I don't hate you, Cloud,” she said under her breath, closing her eyes.

 

“That's the problem.”

 

There are three chapters I knew would make the Cleris fans happy. Last chapter was one of them. Chapter 7 was another. The next chapter is the third. :D

 

Also, gotta pimp my new, upcoming story! It's a Dissidia story featuring CloudxTerra, a new direction for me, but I had a good idea and am going with it. Stay tuned to author alert for more details!