"Hey Mom," Cloud quietly said, eyes welling up with tears as he curled up on his bed. "What would you say if I wanted to join SOLDIER? That way... I can protect people instead of hurting people like Tifa... Are you... do you really think that I did that to Tifa?" -- Cloud ))
𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝓊𝑔𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓈.
𝒜 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒. ┓
Her hand pausing in the slicing of vegetables, her skin feeling as if it had turned to absolute ice. Did he really believe she would ever think that of her own child? She felt as if someone had grabbed her heart and were taking their time tearing into tiny pieces.
“Cloud...” she began, turning around to face the broad shoulders that seemed so small to her now, an image of him as a small child when he would have nightmares overlapping the young man he was becoming, “sweetheart...” her voice was soft in the quiet house, taking steps braver than she felt, “I know that day was hard on you, I know it’ll take time to convince yourself that it was an accident..”
┌ 𝒯𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓃, 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹. ┓
Once he was within reach, her soft and gentle hand lay upon tendrils of his soft, straw-colored hair and stroked along the curve of his head. “You would never intentionally hurt anyone. You have such a big, kind heart.”
Outside the world continued on, a few shouts from the local children making its way into their home as they ran by. And yet her baby boy had been forced to play alone, the other children not allowing him to join in their games.
Maybe it would be good for him...to join SOLDIER. He could make friends there and learn to be stronger. And he’ll be back. He isn’t like him...
“You don’t need to go off and join SOLDIER to prove you can protect people but if it’s what you want to do, what you think you need to do,” she continued, bending down to press a kiss to his head, “I’ll support you. And you know you’ll always have someplace to return to.”