One By One - Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction - Strifehart/Cleon

Chapter 1

I woke up to the annoying sound of my alarm. I rolled over, hitting the top of it to turn it off. I burrowed myself further under the duvet, dragging a hand down my face. I could quite easily fall back to sleep, but I knew I couldn't. Reluctantly, I kicked off the covers, forcing myself to roll off the bed.
I pulled a shirt on, one that was thrown on the back of a chair the night before. I unplugged my phone, unlocking it. My heart clenched at the background picture I refused to change. A picture of me, Tifa Lockheart and Zack Fair at the beach. They were my best friends. 'Were'. Ever since I was born, it seemed that I'd been cursed. I lost Tifa three years ago and Zack last year. I can't think about the occasions without blaming myself for what happened to them. It was my fault, after all. I'm destined to be alone.
I clicked on my reminders, setting one to remind me to go shopping later. I clicked my phone off and left the room, stumbling down to the kitchen. After opening about four different cupboards, I finally found the one that I put the glasses in. I filled it with tap water, drinking it quickly. I put it on the side, next to sink, and just stood there for a minute. Processing everything was taking a while. From Nibelhiem, to Wutai, to Kalm and then to Hollow Bastion. Where to next was a mystery.
I moved the glass into the sink so I could wash it up later. Back upstairs, shower, changed. As I headed down the stairs, hair still wet, a knock sounded at the front door. I sighed, unlocking it, and opened it.
"Aloha!" A cheery voice greeted. Aerith was standing at the door, a tin foil covered plate in her arms.
"Hello." I returned, leaning against the door, "How can I help you?"
"No, how can I help you?" She grinned, "I'm here to be your personal maid for a day. Cooking, cleaning, unpacking, tours around town, the lot. It's a little pact we have around here. If a new person moves in, we take it turns to help them out on their first day!"
"Oh, okay. That really isn't necessary, though, I'm alright-" I tried to explain.
"You don't have a say!" Aerith giggled, "I have to help you!" She squeezed passed me and into my house despite my protests. Defeated, I closed the door and followed her into the kitchen. She put the plate on the counter top and removed the tin foil, revealing chocolate chip cookies. She held the plate out for me to take one.
I did, then she did the same, biting into it. "I'm not trying to poison you." She rolled her green eyes jokingly, "Eat. By the looks of things, you haven't had breakfast." She looked around her for emphasis.
"I haven't had time yet." I murmured, nibbling at the side of it. She watched me, a small smile playing on her lips.
"It's good, right?" She nodded, taking another bite of her own.
I copied the motion, nodding back, and finished the cookie quickly.
"Right, what needs doing?" She asked.
"There are some boxes still in the living room that still need unpacking." I answered, knowing she wasn't going to let up.
Aerith smiled again, and skipped into the living room. Again, I followed her in and watched her open the nearest one to her. Her smiling face fell as she took out a framed picture on top. I couldn't find the will to move, even though I had to. I knew what she was looking at. I wanted to tear the frame from her hands and pack it back up again. She traced the edge of the frame before speaking again.
"Are they your siblings? Nephews?" She asked, not looking up from the photo. I finally forced my feet to move, taking the photo from her hands and putting it face down in the coffee table.
"Sons." I stated, not looking at her, "I was young and stupid and ended up with twin boys."
"Where are they now?"
"Dunno. They were adopted. The mother couldn't look after them and my father... he couldn't even look at me let alone them. We put them up for adoption two days after they were born."
"What are their names?"
I finally turned to face her, eyes hard, "We're not talking about the twins anymore."
"R-right." She nodded, turning back to the box, "Well, most of this box is for the kitchen so I'll just..." She lifted the box into her arms and moved past me to put it into the kitchen.
I rubbed my eyes with a sigh, and walked to the next box. I flipped it open, scanning the contents. Books and movies. And well... there was a lot of them.
"Can I start putting these away?" Aerith called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, sure!" I answered as I started pulling movies from the box to put them on the empty bookcase that was here before I arrived. They weren't in any particular order, and half the time they kept falling over if I didn't have my hand there to prop them up.
John Carter, Dracula, 2012, Hancock, Oceans 11 and 12, Kill Bill, X-Men, Captain America, Beowulf, Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Sixth Sense, Alien, Suicide Squad, Batman Returns, Casino Roya-
"Cloud!"
"Wha-?!" I turned on my heel to see Aerith standing behind me with her hands on her hips.
"I've been calling you for three minutes!" She rolled her eyes, "You've got no food in. If you're not too busy, I could tour you around town?"
"Uh, sure." I put James Bond on the shelf and closed the half empty box.
"I was only thinking because it's almost lunch time and otherwise we're gong without lunch so..." She trailed off.
"No, it's fine. I was lost in my thoughts, sorry." I smiled, trying to get her to smile back. It worked. She grinned.
"Lets go, then!"
Thanks for reading!
-Teddy