Chapter Text
The war began a long time ago. Cloud says the world looked different back then. The Shinra Electric Power Company was really powerful and made a special group of warriors called SOLDIER. All the SOLDIERs had Jenova cells put inside them. They made sure no one got in Shinra's way, which is how the war started. There was one SOLDIER named Sephiroth who was better than the rest. He led SOLDIER into many battles, and a lot of people called him a hero. Everyone looked up to him.
But he wasn't the only one. There was another, and she was really strong and brave too. Even though she fought for Shinra, I think she always cared about the people they were supposed to protect. Cloud says she and Sephiroth were really close to each other. They had to fight in the war a lot, but I think it made them a little sad. Back then, nobody knew the bad things that were happening in secret. All they saw was that Shinra seemed powerful and that Sephiroth was someone who made them feel safe... until he didn't. That's when everything changed. It's been two years since they told me that.
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"Marlene! Your breakfast!"
The six-year-old girl perked up instantly. She lost track of time and hadn't realized she had been staring at the yellow lily in its delicate flower vase for the past five minutes. She took a quick glance across the room, large brown eyes still bountiful with innocence landing on a small body nestled beneath a thick bedsheet.
Please get better...
Suppressing a sigh, Marlene bounded downstairs where Tifa awaited.
Tifa slid the plate on the bar counter with a smile. "Eggs and bacon—again."
She watched the little girl struggle to climb a red-cushioned stool that was much too tall for her height. Marlene took after her father's resilience, that was for certain, but the sight was almost pitiful that Tifa couldn't help but stifle a few chuckles behind her hand.
"Need some help?"
Marlene nodded. Once she sat comfortably on the stool, her eyes brightened as she asked Tifa if there was any news from Cloud yet. The older woman shook her head after a pause. Marlene's visible disappointment twisted something within her.
"Hey." Tifa bent down to meet the younger girl's eyes and gently placed her hands on her small shoulders. "Cloud will come. He's just out doing deliveries this time. Believe in him, okay?"
Marlene sighed quietly, once again conceding to Tifa's futile words. She forced a small smile and nodded, though Tifa seemed unconvinced. It had been almost two months since Cloud was last seen at Seventh Heaven, and every day that he was absent seemed to only worsen the condition for the boy in bed upstairs. Marlene believed that if Y/N was here to set Cloud's mind straight and scold him he would listen. But she was gone too.
"...I miss her."
Tifa's hands tightened around the new dish she was scrubbing. She maintained a light air of facade when inquiring Marlene further. She knew who her referred to — she was the very reason why a certain spiky-haired boy wasn't around that often, after all. Her death affected many yet gutted Cloud the most. Tifa, while sympathetic, still couldn't understand why after two years he continued holding onto the past. It was ridiculous.
"Aerith was special, wasn't she?" Tifa sighed, wiping down the plate and placing it on the nearby rack. "No doubt about that."
"Well, yeah, she was, but I meant Y/N."
"Y/N?"
"The girl who used to be in SOLDIER—like Cloud!"
Tifa released a half-forced laugh and resumed cleaning another dish, this time with trembling fingers. "Ohh, I see. Y/N—I remember her."
"She would've helped us with Denzel, wouldn't she? I mean, she helped Daddy and the others fight Sephiroth!"
"That was a long time ago."
"I know. I think Cloud is still upset about what happened."
That made Tifa pause again. She turned halfway to the little girl casually munching on the last piece of bacon. "I... I think that too."
Marlene hummed. "But she's still here. Aerith too. I can feel it."
"...Yeah. I hope so, Marlene."