Worlds Apart

Chapter 8

I awoke to the sound of my phones alarm. I grabbed it, the screens light almost blinding me. I pressed snooze. I laid back down, Cloud stirring softly.

The morning sun had just started to creep through the window of the bedroom. My left hand played with his messy, blonde hair, my right one tracing over the freckles on his shoulders. Cloud turned to face me, his blue eyes puffy and swollen from crying.

"Good morning," I said, giving him a small smile.

"Mhm, morning." Cloud said, sleep half asleep.

I kissed his forehead, Cloud reaching over and grabbing my phone as the alarm went off again. He looked at the time,

"You have to go to work soon..." he said, almost as if he were pouting.

"I do, will you be okay while I'm gone?" I asked him, replaying last night in my mind.

"Yeah, I'm probably just gonna sleep until you get home."

"Are you that sleepy?" I teased, brushing the hair from his face.

"No, I just don't...feel good." He said, making me worry.

I put the back of my wrist to his forehead and cheeks, "hm, you don't feel hot. Do you hurt anywhere?"

Cloud blushed slightly, adverting his gaze from me, "My head..."

"Well, you did get pretty emotional yesterday." I told him, gently stroking his cheek with my thumb.

"Rose, do you think," he started, grabbing my hand that was on his face. He wouldn't look at me, "do you think I'm gonna degrade? Like Angeal and Genesis?"

"What? No. No, of course not." I told him, Clouds blue eyes finally meeting mine.

"You promise?" He tried to hide it, but his voice was full of fear.

"Cross my heart. Hey, I probably should have eased you into everything yesterday. I didn't mean to scare you..."

"It's okay. I just...," he thought for a moment, "it's a lot to handle. I'm fine."

Cloud rolled out of the bed, stretching before opening the door. I watched as he walked down the hall way. My heart felt heavy. I knew I should have told him sooner, but I didn't want to hurt him.

Going to work was the last thing on my mind. I begrudgingly got out of the bed, heading to the bathroom to shower. I could hear Cloud rumbling around in the kitchen. I guess he was going to fix breakfast?

I showered quickly, throwing my hair in a towel before tossing on a bra and panties. I walked into the kitchen, spotting Cloud standing over the counter. Bowls, pans, and other kitchen utensils were scattered around. Cloud was on his phone, seemingly reading something.

"Ya know, you're gonna have to clean all this up, right?" I teased, putting my hands on my hips.

Cloud looked over at me, "I know. But I thought I'd try to make you something before you had to go to work."

I smiled some, watching him put a pan in the oven. He fiddled with the buttons, eventually setting the temp and time,

"You go get ready. I got this." He told me, practically pushing me out of the kitchen.

I laughed to myself a bit, going back to my routine. I put on some simple makeup, drying my hair before throwing it in a ponytail. I then put on a pair of pink scrubs, rejoining Cloud in the kitchen once I was dressed.

"Whatever you're making smells good." I told him, Cloud working away at the dishes.

I sat at the table, watching as he cleaned up bit by bit. The oven dinged, Cloud taking the tray out and placing it on the stove. He then carefully pulled something from the tray, letting out a small gasp of pain before dropping in on a plate.