FicWad

Cloud knelt down beside Zack and Cessnai to examine the poor redhead. He suddenly stood and ran to the door but Zack stopped him.
"Where the hell are you going?" he demanded.
"I got an idea!" Cloud panted. "I'll be back as soon as possible! Keep pressure on that!"
Zack and Cessnai nodded, so Cloud ran out the door and down the hall. He accidentally ran into a blond-haired man and they fell to the floor.
"What the hell?" the man's voice cracked.
"I'm so sorry!" Cloud exclaimed as he stood and helped the guy to his feet. He then saw who it was. "Rufus Shinra! Now, I'm really sorry!"
Shinra just chuckled. Cloud saw that the son of the president of Shinra Inc. was holding the Indian-looking man that he knew as the leader of the Turks.
"Who the hell is this?" Tseng demanded.
"I'm Cloud Strife, SOLDIER soon-to-be First Class." Cloud saluted.
"Where exactly are you going in such a rush?" Shinra asked.
"I have to find Aeris, or Aerith, to heal Reno," Cloud panted.
"What do you mean 'heal Reno'?" Shinra wondered.
"Tseng hit Reno," Cloud replied. "I really have to go! I need to find Aeris!"
"Go!" Shinra squeaked.
Cloud nodded once and ran down the hall as fast as he could, fled down the fire escape stairs, and out the door. He couldn't let Zack down. As he was running, he collided with what seemed to be a pole. He fell, landing flat on his back with his gloved hand clutching his head. Once he opened his eyes, he saw Tifa. She was kneeling beside him with her own hand clutching her side.
"Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed nervously, knowing that if she knew where he was going, he'd end up being her punching bag.
He scrambled to his feet and helped her stand also. She giggled like a little girl as he wrapped his arm around her waist to help her stand. Cloud just looked at her with a strange expression. She immediately stopped laughing.
"I'm sorry, Tifa," Cloud sighed.
"It's okay," she smiled. "I was just coming to see Re-uh-you!"
Cloud rolled his eyes. He had known that all of the girls from that section of the Sector 7 slums liked their bad boy Reno.
"Dammit, Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed harshly. "I know who you were really coming to see! How many times do I have to tell you that I don't give a rat's ass who you like!"
"Right," Tifa sighed. "I'm sorry, Cloud."
"It's fine," Cloud stated. "I've gotta go. I'm on a mission to save Reno's life, so see ya later!"
Cloud ran past her before she had time to respond. Cloud had to grab a helicopter out and make it to the Sector 5 slums to Aeris's house. Luckily, a large, balding man was just about to leave, so Cloud jumped in before he had time to shut the door.
"What the hell?" Rude's voice cracked.
"Cloud Strife, SOLDIER," Cloud stated. "I need to get to the Sector 5 slums as quick as possible so that Reno doesn't die!"
"Reno?" Rude asked.
"Yeah," Cloud breathed. "Tseng shot him. Hurry!"
Rude nodded and lifted off as he did. They were in the Sector 5 slums before they could say floccinaucinihilipilification (real word, by the way! Look it up!). Cloud jumped out before the helicopter touched the ground and sprinted to the young lady's house. It was extremely beautiful! There were flowers planted everywhere! Cloud shook himself from the daze and knocked on the door. Aeris's mother, Elmyra, answered the door.
"Cloud!" she smiled.
"I need Aeris!" Cloud panted. "It's an emergency!"
"She's already packed," Elmyra stated. "She knew you would be here. Aeris!"
The beautiful brown-haired, green-eyed damsel ran down the stairs with a shoulder bag. She kissed her mom goodbye and walked out the door with Cloud. Elmyra closed the door as Cloud turned.
"How are we going to get there?" Aeris asked.
"Rude is waiting for us in the helicopter," Cloud replied.
"Wait for a moment and come with me," Aeris said as she lied her bag on the ground.
Cloud followed her to the garden. She stopped abruptly, turned on her heel, and stared into the familiar blue eyes that were shining with Mako energy. She smiled at him which made him feel warm inside. He had always loved Aeris, but he knew that she was Zack, his best friend's, girl, so he didn't dare ask her out. Though they were in a fight, Cloud still couldn't bring himself to do it. Aeris stood on her tippy toes and kissed Cloud lightly on the lips without warning. She looked embarrassed, so she turned and knelt by a flower bed to straighten the small buds of what seemed to roses. After she stood, Cloud took her hand and led her back to the out-of-place machine. He helped her in, climbed in after her, then Rude took off. Once they were back, Cloud, once again, jumped out before the large traveling machine touched the ground. After it did touch, however, he grabbed Aeris's waist and helped her out. He took her hand and they ran to Reno's apartment. Zack looked up and seemed surprised.
"Aeris?" he asked as he stood.
"Hello, Zack," she said with attitude. She reached up, grabbed Cloud's head, and whispered, "Why didn't you tell me you were friends with him?"
"I thought you knew," Cloud responded.
Aeris rolled her eyes and walked over to, the now unconcious, Reno. She pulled out the bead of Materia that her mother had given her and looked into it. Afterward, she lied her hand on the bullet wound and used a Cure Materia. Reno sprang to life and looked around. Cessnai pounced on him as Aeris moved away, walking back to Cloud. She made a movement with her eyes indicating that she wanted him to follow. He did as Zack and Reno relived the old times. Once Aeris and Cloud were back out by the place where the helicopter had been, she turned to Cloud.
"What did you want?" Cloud asked quietly.
"I wanted you to have something to remember me by, in case I ever get into a serious accident," Aeris answered as she reached into the bag dangling from her shoulder. She pulled out a handmade, beautifully carved, mahogany flower with a chain attatched to it. Cloud could tell by looking at the wooden flower that it was meant to be a dragon lily. She grabbed his hand, held it out, palm up, placed the charm in it, and said lovingly, "I gave Zack one too. His was a water lily. They both represent something in my mind. The dragon lily makes me think 'dragon' as in you are tough and also sweet. The water lily meant that he can put out any flaming fight and he also has a soft spot. I never told him why I made them how I did, though."
"Thank you, Aeris," Cloud sighed as he closed his hand around the charm. "I will keep it with me always."
Aeris smiled then kissed him again. Cloud had always thought that his life was horrible and worthless, but as he was embracing the beautiful girl with his lips pressed to hers, he felt all of those emotions melt away. For the first time since he had met Zack, he felt happy.