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[It begins with the rain.

The sunlight was bright and lazy, a hazy blanket that settled on his limbs and weighed them down. He could hear the warm hum of Zack's voice but nothing could make him move. He drifted. He knew he'd be safe, somewhere, in some primal part of his brain, so he didn't try to think. All he did was shuffle his feet when he was carried, toes dragging through the dirt, fingers dragging through his hair.

The leather of his gloves squeak. The safety leaves. He goes back to drifting but then the rain comes, fat drops of it plink-plinking against the armor on his shoulder, dripping into his face; it's cold and it's heavy and it whispers in a rhythm he thinks he's heard before, get. up. get. up.

It takes some doing but he gets up. He falls more than once but he gets up. And as he gets up it's as if he breaks the surface of a lake; suddenly the water dripping into his eyes is in the way and he reaches up to wipe his face, staggers over to a rock to push his shoulder into it, listening to the rain and the gunshots and the sharp clang of metal just past the path. Safety went that way. Warmth and care and-],

Zack, [Cloud croaks, shaking all the way down to his guts, to his bones, as he clutches the boulder and searches for somewhere inside of him the strength to move. Gunshots- Zack doesn't use a gun. Zack doesn't use a gun. Cloud can't remember his last name but he knows this, he knows this, knows the broad shape of the sword on his back like the broad shape of his shoulders, like the broad stretch of his smile. He's fighting, he'd tucked Cloud away- Gods, everything is so confusing but he knows that there are people dying over there and one of them could be-

He finds within him the strength to move, from the same dark, furious pit that had him pull himself down onto a sword what feels like eons ago. Cloud literally stumbles into someone, startles them and when they swing their weapon around to bear he moves so quick he knocks himself off balance, knocks them both into the mud and he wrestles the rifle from him. Shoots him dead.

Shoots him d- Cloud looks up, eyes wide, and shoots the next man too. And the next, and the next, anyone without mako eyes, anyone without a huge sword like Zack's. Anyone standing between them, between the sound of his voice shouting. Suddenly the forces are split in half as they realize their opponents are now two, and Cloud clocks someone with the empty rifle before slipping his way over to where Zack sags, barely holding onto the sword.

He pushes Zack behind himself, stares at the troopers before him, every limb and every word and every breath shaking as he hisses, too low to make it over the rain,] Get away from him...!

[The ground beneath their feet gives a lurch, a sickening swoop and then, suddenly, they fall.]

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[Weak as it is, the curative spell does make a difference, and Zack can tell almost immediately. He coughs once more and it feels like at last his lungs are clear enough, his throat unclogged of blood, heart pumping properly. The frightening rattle is gone from his breath, and he exhales a sigh of quiet relief. It's like taking a step back from the edge of a cliff- or rather, he's been pulled away from it. His hand tightens around Aerith's, lips curving upwards in a weak smile, and the other hand slides over the dirt towards Cloud, half-reaching, half-pointing.]

C... come back. O-okay...?

[Wherever Cloud is going, whatever he's doing- he definitely, definitely has to come back.]

'm gonna... sleep this off. Aerith... be right...

[...back, he wants to say, but he's already passed out.]

[When Cloud glances back to see Zack half-reaching for him, to see Aerith no longer looking mysterious and godlike with her voice in the rain, when she looks just as frail and terrified as he feels, he almost doesn't go.

But then his mind whispers and he turns away anyway. He's better away from them for a while. Zack will live, and she has what she's waited for.

-

Cloud doesn't come back for almost seven hours, but when he does it's dark, he has monster blood on him and he's significantly richer than he was before he left. He'd found that trooper's wallet just outside the gates, but other than his ID and a few gil, there wasn't much of worth. Cloud took the gate key and struck out into the muddy wastelands; found no sign of their pursuit, but quite a few monsters and that's about where things went blank.

He doesn't really come back to his head until he's back through the Sector 5 gates, but his head feels clearer and his throat feels sore as if he'd been screaming. Maybe he had. Maybe he needed to let the devil out.

Aerith's church is right there on the way so it's not hard to find it again, and Cloud stops to check himself for wounds before he pushes his way inside. Hopefully Zack is resting, hopefully Aerith's all right. Hopefully she won't be too startled by the blood before he can get to the sink in the back and wash off his clothes and sword. She's going to want answers and he's not going to have many for her, but for the first time since he woke up on that cliff he thinks he's actually capable of rational thought.

Cloud Strife. He's Cloud Strife, from Nibelheim, and something terrible happened to both he and Zack.]

[ Aerith still isn't asleep when Cloud comes back, and she's not entirely sure she's going to be able to sleep until she has both these boys back in her home where it's safe.

Right now, they can't move Zack anywhere, and she's aware of that. He still needs time to heal and to sleep off the Cure, and she needs to be able to make sure that nothing bad happens to him in that time. She's not exactly well known for her physical prowess, so instead she wanders around and keeps an eye on the door, makes smalltalk with any of the people from the slums that spot her peeking out of her church, smiling and laughing as though nothing is wrong, as if the first boy she had ever loved wasn't bleeding out on top of her flowers, hiding her lower half as if she's not covered in blood.

She hopes and she prays that the Turks don't pick today to come and get her, because they'd take Zack - or he'd wake up and they'd be the ones in trouble, but he was still too weak for any kind of fighting.

Gathering herself, she wanders, and she hesitates, and she finds a blanket and spreads it over Zack's body. When she hears the noise of someone coming back she tenses, moving to one side and grabbing whatever she can find - a long piece of wood that must have come from the roof - to use as a weapon. She's ready and prone to attack before Cloud's the one that steps through the door and she sags in relief. ]

You're back.

[ It's easy, then, to put the wood to one side, to shake her head and rub at her cheeks, knowing she must be mucky and disgusting and a sight. Turning back to Zack, she crosses her arms, sad and unsure. ]

He's still sleeping. That's normal, isn't it?

[Has she rested at all? At least it looks like she's gotten up once or twice, though he doesn't like how she scrabbles for that piece of wood like that. Maybe he should've come back sooner.]

Nothing about this is normal. If it was, he wouldn't be alive. [They both should've died up there, but something else had other plans, apparently.

Cloud unslings the sword from his back, gently resting it against one of the upright pews. He should probably clean that thing off...eventually, but right now, he sorta feels like if he even thinks about doing one more thing he's going to cry.

So instead he comes over to where they're both pillowed on the soft soil of the flowerbed, Zack now with blanket tucked around him that Aerith must've dragged from somewhere.] ...Aerith, right? [Cloud asks, groaning as he lowers himself down to sit.] You need to rest. Or eat. Or...something. You look like shit.

[ She would rest, if she believed that she was capable of it, but she's far too concerned about the boys that had stumbled their way into her church. Zack she'd expected - or hoped for, at least - but this one? Cloud? She doesn't know what to think; all she can consider is the horrible journey the two must have gone through. She wants to ask, but she's also terrified of hearing what the answer might be. ]

Then I'm glad it isn't normal. I'm glad he's back. [ Aerith isn't sure what saved them, either, but she has a few ideas. She know what she felt, what she feels now, with Zack back beside her, with the friend at his side, and she just... Breathes in and out for a few moments.

Frowning, Aerith takes a step closer. She feels as though she ought to do or say something, but she's not sure of what that something should be. What she wants is to comfort Cloud, but with her own worry peeling at her nerves... It makes her shift from one foot to the other before she finally shifts to make herself comfortable, settled down beside him. There's not a single part of her that doesn't trust him; Zack trusted him, so she does as well.

His question makes her blink, and then she laughs quietly. ]

I'll rest when Zack wakes up.

[As much as he'd like to protest -she really does look terrible, pale and shaky with shock- he can't very well argue with her when he knows exactly how she feels. Cloud doesn't know if he can rest ever again either, and definitely not before he hears Zack's voice again, just to be sure.

So instead he shifts slightly, facing her a little more fully to give her his undivided, if questionable, attention.]

...you have questions. [Shit, so does he, but he should be able to give her at least a little bit of comfort...hopefully.]

[ The thing is that Aerith knows that even if she tried to go to sleep it wouldn't really work; she'd be so worried about Zack waking up alone or in pain that she'd be restless the entire time. It'll be better once he's up and moving a little more, when he's eating her out of house and home, when she can see the life in him without worrying that it'll disappear as soon as she blinks.

She moves too, turning to watch Cloud, careful and uncertain even before she breathes out, bowing her head. ]

It's been a long time. I have lots of questions - hundreds, really. [ But she tilts her head up, looking over at Cloud. ] Do you really want to answer them?

[It's hard to tell if that attention is because she's afraid of him or for him (or if it could even be a combination of both), so Cloud stays put right where he is. Not difficult, considering the bone-deep weariness that's starting to settle in.]

You deserve answers. ...I won't answer the ones that're too hard.

[ The exhaustion is catching up to the two of them, but she can't doze off yet. She's desperate, and it clings to her, weighing her down even as she breathes out gently and nods her head. ]

Do you know where he's been? It's been four years. I thought...

[ When you're dating a SOLDIER you assume the worst. ]

[What Cloud didn't realize is that literally every question is going to be too hard.

But her face- her voice, that vulnerable, sad, abandoned tremor when she trails off is even more difficult to ignore. Even as memories he's felt lurking at the edge of his consciousness come clawing into the light, even as he shoves back at them and at the bile rising up in his throat-

Cloud are you still withCode C is unresponsive toI HATE IT ALL!Did you do this?! How couldnever abandon you. We're friends,

right?

Cloud flinches and curls in on himself, drawing up his legs and holding onto his knees. Too hard to tell her everything, but-] A bad-

A...a bad place. A horrible place. [He shakes his head hard, hard enough that it almost looks like a fit but then he presses his back against the nearest surface and takes a few calming breaths. He can't scare her further. He wants- he-

He wants to do something for her. For the girl Zack loves. For the girl who saved him.] I don't- remember much. At all. I got sick, but Zack, he- he looked after me. Saved us. We were trapped somewhere horrible, and- and painful, and then he ran, with me. ...Came right back here to you.

[ Aerith can tell almost straight away that it's too much, and she longs to reach out and take his hands.

She moves back and gives him space, pushing her hair our of her eyes as she watches him. They're both so tired, she thinks, and surely now isn't the time for pressing questions. It's not the time to drag those deep, dark memories out of him, but she's desperate to know the truth. She's desperate to learn what it is that kept Zack from her side for so long, but...

Swallowing, she nods her head. ]

You don't have to tell me any more. It's okay, I understand. It wasn't somewhere good, you - you couldn't leave, that's right, isn't it?

[ She manages a smile, feeling warmth flood her, her hands over her chest. ]

He came back for me, and that's what matters. I can learn about what happened later, when you're both ready. As long as you're both here and you're safe, that's what is most important in the whole world.

[Cloud finally looks up at her; she looks so small and alone, Zack's head in her lap, kneeling there with blood still crusted under her fingernails.

Cloud crawls the few short feet over to her side, hesitantly, but kneels beside Zack as well and reaches out to take one of her hands in his own. He holds her fingers like he's afraid they'll snap in his grip, too soft and too careful, but he brings her hand down to Zack's chest and presses it over his heart, pressing his own hand down atop hers.]

We're here because of you. [He can just barely see the rise and fall of Zack's chest and stomach, slow and labored, but even and steady. His skin is finally starting to warm and he's going to need food to replace all the blood he lost, food and more water. They all need rest and sitting here, Zack between them and alive, Aerith's sweet, gentle eyes on his face, Cloud knows that if they're going to feel safe at all, it'll be together.] ...can you sleep here? Do you need to go somewhere else?

[ She should be more scared than she is, Aerith thinks. Zack is weak against her legs and the man beside her is a stranger, foreign to her completely, but she's not. Whoever Cloud is, Zack trusted him enough to bring him here, even half-dead and exhausted - and he had done nothing but help her, support her, carry her through her pain. She watches him, confused, for a moment, before she breathes out.

His hand is warm against her own and when it presses down against Zack's chest her face creases, just a little. She's so tired and she's desperately in need of sleep, but she can't bring herself to move even an inch away from Zack. She doesn't want to be far away, just in case he wakes up, because the idea of him waking up without her beside him is just too horrible for her to even consider.

Tears roll down her cheeks, but she swallows the sobs back. ] You're here because you're strong. Both of you are so strong. [ She leans down a little, looking at Zack closer, before her eyes are drawn back to Cloud, slowly and surely. Softening, just enough, she nods her head. ] Mom knows if I don't come home then I'm sleeping here. It's safe.

[That can't possibly be true. Zack is strong, yes, and Cloud can see that Aerith is too, but...

Either way, he knows she's tired. He's likewise the same, but neither of them- no, he's certain that neither of them can bear to be away from Zack right now.]

Then...let's get some sleep here. All three of us. [Cloud hardly remembers anything from the time they were on the run, but he remembers Zack's warm side, remembers the deep movement of air as he breathed from the sound of it in his chest. Zack would hold him as they slept, he knows.

Maybe Zack will recover more quickly if they do the same for him.]

...there's blankets, [and Cloud drags himself up to where he'd seen the blankets, mixed in with the sheets he'd destroyed for bandages. He drags them over, flaps them and beats out the dust before spreading them around them, drawing one around Aerith's shoulders.] C'mon. Lay down. We'll each take a side- he'll be safe between us. Right? We'll protect him.

[ Exhaustion hangs over her like a solid weight, but she hadn't been able to bear the idea of leaving Zack, even for a few hours to get some rest.

Cloud seems to take charge of her, at least for a moment, and she blinks at him sleepily before her face melts into a soft smile. ]

That sounds like a good idea. [ She doesn't dare move too far away from Zack, but if she can sleep beside him... It's not something she's been able to imagine for years, but -- she hesitates, watching Cloud as he moves, gathering up the blankets, settling them around them, moving here and there. She bites her lip, considering, but...

She's warm, and Zack is right beside her, and Cloud will keep them safe. She believes that, somewhere deep in her heart, as if she knows him already even though she has no reason to. Slowly, she shifts, leaning down and settling near Zack - not on him, cuddled up to his side as she'd like, but close enough that she's there if he wakes up.

Lifting her head, she watches Cloud before... ] Thank you.

[Cloud has no such qualms; he doesn't remember much, but his body remembers plenty and he settles right up against Zack's side, an arm thrown over his newly healed chest so he can feel the moment he moves.

When Aerith speaks Cloud picks up his head, mouth open to protest before he shuts it with a click of teeth. He wants to argue; god, he wants to tell her, wants to impress upon her how undeserving of her thanks he is, but he- he can't. He doesn't have the energy. She'll see soon enough, that he's the weak link here, that no matter what good he does he won't be able to fix what he's already done (what he's failed to do) so instead he just lifts a hand from Zack's chest and reaches for Aerith's. C'mon; Zack could honestly use the body warmth right now anyway.]

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