Chapter Text
Cloud had to admit, he was pleasantly surprised. Aerith really did mean it when when she said she was capable of handling herself. He watched as she spun and twirled her staff around in her hands, sending out small white orbs of magic towards the variety of creatures that inhabited the scrapyards of the Sector 5 Slums. There were certain things that were hard to miss about the way she fought.
First was the way she handled her staff. From the looks of it, one would assume that Aerith would just walk up to her enemies and blatantly pummel them with her staff. Not to say that she didn’t do that. Whenever she was feeling low on energy she would take the lazy way out: let Cloud do most of the work, take advantage of the weakened enemies, wind up her staff like a baseball bat and wallop them into oblivion. But when she had energy to spare she became a completely different fighter.
The way she moved and spun her staff around was that of a professional dancer. Cloud wondered if someone had taught her how to use the staff. Her fighting style was way too polished and she exuded utmost confidence and elegance while she was at it. If she was self taught, Cloud would have to compliment her later. It was seriously impressive. Though it also wasn’t too surprising considering growing up in the slums had to have to come with its challenges. But compliments would have to wait though. He didn’t want to feed Aerith’s ego knowing she would get too cocky.
The other thing Cloud also noticed was the magic that Aerith was using. There was no materia involved and it was unlike anything Cloud had ever seen. She had an array of different skills stemming from calling upon a fairy to fight for her, summoning a shield in the shape of a flower in front of her to protect from projectiles, and even unleashing a sorcerous eruption of electricity in her vicinity to fry her enemies. All of her techniques were powerful and only made Cloud more curious as to how she came to learn all of it. But truly, there was one question that was bothering him.
“What exactly do you need a bodyguard for if you’re so capable of taking care of yourself?” Cloud asked as he pulled the Buster Sword out of a dead Wererat
“Well,” Aerith hummed. “If I were here all by myself I wouldn’t be faring as well I am right now. You’re the bait after all.”
“Huh?”
“All of the monsters are targeting you so it gives me the opportunity to cover your back. If I were alone it’s safe to say I wouldn’t be in the best position right now,” She explained. “There’s also another reason I need you to be my bodyguard but you’ll find out eventually.”
Cloud knows that he shouldn’t press further. He remembers Elmyra telling him that if Aerith ever wanted to tell him things, then she eventually would. But his curiosity is killing him. Spending the last couple of hours with Aerith didn’t really give him much information as to how she could be “different.” After all, the jobs they’d taken were fairly simple and boring. Looking for missing kids, clearing out monsters and whatnot. Aerith was still her regular self throughout all of it.
“About that,” Cloud began. “You’re mom said you were ‘different.’ That by any chance have something to do with it?”
Aerith froze. Her face was filled with contemplation. “I think it’d be better if I tell you another time. Not when we’re in a scrapyard littered with creepy crawlies.”
At least he was getting somewhere with her but now he could only think about how important it must have been that she had to wait till they were somewhere safer.
“Anyways. Enough dilly dallying huh Cloudy? We have a job to finish!” She excitedly said.
“Cloudy? Do me a favor and never- Agh!” Cloud grabbed the sides of his head as he felt the familiar excruciating pain enter his skull. The pain however wasn’t the only thing that was familiar. That voice came back. Not the one that constantly tried to push his feelings to the front, but the one that made a profuse amount of guilt and insecurity rain down upon him.
(Come on Cloudy, we gotta get going. Shinra’s on our tail. We’ll be at Midgar soon.)
The pain came to an abrupt stop but the beat of Clouds heart only became increasingly faster as he thought about the voice he had just heard. The feelings and emotions that voice made him feel. How culpable he felt. He didn’t want to feel it anymore. He wanted to it to disappear and never come back.
Who’s voice is it? Why does it make him feel like this? Why can he even hear it?
“Cloud! Are you okay?” Aerith rushed to Cloud and dropped to his level to look him in the eye. He looked up to see her emerald eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh…” He didn’t know if he should inform of her of what had just happened. Would she even believe him? “Just a headache. I get em a lot. Don’t worry.”
“You sure? Seemed like more than just a headache.” She coaxed. Cloud would have answered if it wasn’t for the tiny beeping sound he heard.
Beep. Beep.
The time between each beep got increasingly shorter and shorter and Cloud looked around to see what was causing it. His senses lead his eyes to the destroyed Smogger right by Aerith’s feet.
Oh.
Cloud’s eyes widened in panic. “Aerith!”
He quickly wrapped his arms around her and dove to the side in order to avoid the explosion that came from the machine. He made sure to cover her body with his to assure she didn’t get hurt. Thankfully, her frame was small so it didn’t take much effort. The large cloud of dirt and dust that surrounded them slowly faded and Cloud found himself above Aerith with his hands on both of her arms. Both of their faces happened to be very close as well, their noses nearly touching. A surge of heat crawled up their necks and Cloud quickly got up. “S-sorry.”
All hopes of forming a coherent sentence quickly vanished as he tried to calm himself down. The close proximity of their faces, the feeling of his body wrapped around hers, and the floral scent that came from her bothered him to no end. He was frustrated at himself for acting like a lovestruck teenager. It was so unlike him.
Just ask her if she’s okay dumbass.
Aerith slowly got up and dusted her dress off. She giggled. “Guess I made the right choice in making you my bodyguard huh?”
“Yeah…” Needing to get the awkward atmosphere out of the air, Cloud decided to focus on the job at hand, completely ignoring his self scolding to ask her if she had been harmed. “We should finish up and start heading back. It’s getting late.”
“R-right!” Aerith stuttered , shaking her head. Cloud felt relieved he wasn’t the only one feeling flustered. If anything it was amusing to see Aerith of all people fumble over her words.
Cute…
After they finished up in the scrapyard, Aerith and Cloud made their way back to the center district so Cloud could receive his gil. A wallowing 500 gil. At least it was better than nothing. Aerith couldn’t help but notice something odd however.
No Turks had come to bother her today. They usually came out around noon, attempting to persuade Aerith to come to Shinra HQ. But today not a single one of them was in sight and it was already evening. Perhaps they were wary because of Cloud?
“Alright then,” Cloud began. “We can call it day here.”
“You can call it day mister,” Aerith spoke. “I still have some flowers to check on.”
“Ah, right,” Cloud began to walk towards the Church leaving Aerith befuddled.
“Hm? You’re coming with?”
“…That a problem?” He innocently asked.
She giggled. “No. It’s just that I never asked you.”
“Well I’m your bodyguard. Gotta be with you at all times don’t I?”
Aerith was no fool. She knew Cloud wasn’t coming along with her because he was her bodyguard. This was her opportunity to have a little fun and she would take.
“Hmm. You’re coming along because you’re my bodyguard huh? You sure that’s it?” She clasped her hands behind her back and slowly walked towards him.
“What are you getting at?” Cloud defensively rebuked as he put on a stern face that looked more cute than intimidating.
She attempted to suppress the laughter that bubbled up in her throat but failed. “Alright then, let’s get going!”
On the way to the Church, Aerith struggled with her thoughts about Cloud. And how he made her…feel. She had only a felt a slight physical attraction to him before, with him looking like Zack. But after spending nearly the entire day with him she felt something else bubbling in her heart. Whenever Cloud would unknowingly show the soft side of himself, a fluttering feeling nearly swept her off her feet. It was extremely endearing to see someone like Cloud, who tried so hard to keep up his “cool” facade, lower his walls and become earnest. She never missed the way he would look over his shoulder every now and then to make sure she was okay or how he would slow down whenever she was leering too far behind. She wanted to see more of that side of him, to help him bring it out more, but with what she was feeling she no longer knew if it was a good idea.
She promised Elmyra that Cloud was no more than a friend, just someone she wanted to help. She certainly didn’t expect to start developing feelings for him, especially considering he was extremely different from Zack. The two were like Day and Night. But maybe that’s what enticed her so much about her growing feelings for Cloud.
Cloud wasn’t like Zack. Not one bit. When Zack had first seen her when he woke up from his fall through the Church, it was clear what his intentions were. He was a ladies man after all. He immediately began to flirt, tease and be playful with Aerith, in hopes of charming her. And it worked. He had her wrapped around his finger in a matter of hours. But she was only a naïve 17 year old girl at the time. It would take a lot more than just simple flirting to get at her now. Well, she at least thought that was the case.
Apparently it wouldn’t take more than just flirting. It was the exact opposite. It would take no flirting whatsoever. Cloud was doing the bare minimum when it came to romance yet she still found herself infatuated with him. And she couldn’t lie, she liked it. This felt different from Zack. It was more real and genuine. Just her falling for someone who was being his normal self…
It surprised her how easily she admitted to these feelings but she didn’t wanna lie to herself about things anymore. But she also didn’t want to lie to Elmyra. If her feelings for Cloud did grow stronger, acting on them was out of the question. Plus, she didn’t know if Cloud’s feelings were mutual. It was true that even a toddler could tell he was attracted to her, but how far did that attraction go?
No, she had to stop thinking about this. She was getting way ahead of herself. Fortunately, the Church came into view and took all thoughts out of her head.
“So how long we staying here?” Cloud asked.
“Once I’ve checked on all of the lilies. Honestly Cloud, you didn’t have to come with. You can go back if you want,” All worries of the Turks coming had dissipated. Even if one of them did, she’d handled them before so it wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
“I’m already here. Not making my way back now. Plus I don’t wanna be alone with your…mom,” He muttered.
Aerith giggled. “Does she scare you that much?”
“She looks at me like I’ve committed every possible sin. It definitely makes me uncomfortable.”
“Well alright then,” She said as she pushed open the door and entered the abandoned sanctuary. “You only have yourself to blame if you get bored however.”
“Not like it’s ever a dull moment with you.”
“That supposed to be a compliment?” Questioned Aerith.
“If you want it to be. Doesn’t matter to me.”
Sure it doesn’t…
“Hey,” Cloud abruptly said. Aerith stopped in front of the flower bed and turned around to look at him.
“Yeah?”
“Is now a good time to finally tell me? We’re in a safe place now.”
She’d forgotten about what she said earlier. But it’s not like any harm would come from telling him. Cloud was completely trustworthy and she wouldn’t have to worry about anything. His aura proved that. The hard part was explaining and having to give proof.
“Well, you see…”
Fortunately but also unfortunately, the biggest piece of proof she needed waltzed right through the front doors of the Church.
“Oh Princess! You in here? Heard you got yourself a new boyfriend!”
Both of them turned to see a fiery red haired Turk carrying a baton stride into the Church.
Reno.
Aerith hated being wrong. A Turk not bothering her for one day was one thing she desperately wanted to be right about, especially on such a good day. And not only was it a Turk, it was Reno. The most annoying of all the Turks.
Reno came to a stop and took a look at the two. His eyes lingered on Cloud for a particularly long time.
“Oh man look at him. Looks just like the first one doesn’t he? And he’s a SOLDIER to. I can see why ya like him.” Reno snickered.
“EX-SOLDIER.” Cloud reaffirmed. “What do you want?”
“The girl. Need her to come with me.”
“What?” Cloud asked.
Aerith interrupted. “Reno you know you can’t take me unless I come willingly.”
“I think I’m aware of that sweetheart.” Reno refuted.
Cloud didn’t know what was going on or had all the context he needed but he went off of what he’d heard so far. “So why are you here if she doesn’t wanna come then?”
“Cuz I think have a pretty good way of persuading her to come along.” Reno extended the baton. “Tell me hotshot, what class?”
“Hmph. First,” Cloud huffed. He grabbed the hilt of the Buster Sword.
Reno let out a cackle. “You really expect me to believe that?”
“Believe it or don’t, I don’t give a shit. You’ll definitely believe me when this is over though.” Cloud fully pulled out the sword and entered a fighting stance.
Aerith eyes flickered between the two in front of her. As much as she would have liked to prevent any conflict from happening, it was way too late. Whatever Reno had planned, he was going for it.
“Get back.” Cloud told Aerith, signaling to the back of the Church with his head. Not like she had much of a choice. She ran to the altar behind the flowerbed, ready to witness a battle that would probably damage the Church more than it already was. But that wasn’t what she was worried about.
“You guys better not ruin the flowers!”
Charge, slash, dodge and repeat. This is what Cloud had been doing the past 5 minutes against Reno and he was admittedly getting nowhere. The Turk was inhumanely fast thanks to his quite literal lightning speed and reflexes. His strikes weren’t extremely painful but they did pack one hell of a shock and if Cloud didn’t find a way throw him off soon, he would wear himself out.
“C’mon Mr. First Class. You’re disappointing me!” Taunted Reno as he quickly zoomed behind Cloud and delivered a kick that sent him rolling. Cloud quickly rose and entered his stance. He wouldn’t be humiliated any longer.
Think Cloud think…
Lightning Materia was useless against the speedster. Ice and Wind were too slow. The only other materia that would work against the Turk was the only one he didn’t have on him at the moment.
Damn it…
“Cloud!” Aerith shouted from across. He looked to her way and saw her holding a materia in the air as if she’d read his mind. “Here!”
She tossed the materia and expected it soar through the air and land straight in Clouds hand, only for it to drop onto the wooden floor between Cloud and Reno. “Oops…sorry.”
Cloud lunged for the orb in hopes of getting to it before the Turk got any ideas.
“Oh no ya don’t!” Reno shouted as he quickly stepped forward to intercept. Cloud quickly slashed at Reno, forcing him to step back which allowed him to quickly grab the fire materia and place it in the empty slot of his bangle. Wasting no time, he quickly charged up the energy he had and sent a blazing ball of fire towards Reno.
Dodging was futile since fire materia tracked it’s target wherever it went. The ball collided into Reno and burst, leaving the Turk stunned. Cloud took the opportunity to sweep him off of his feet with a kick and send him onto the floor, landing on his back with a thud.
“Agh!” Reno yelled as Cloud placed a foot on his chest and pressed down hard, the tip of the Buster Sword in front the Turks face.
“Why are you after her?” Cloud demanded.
“Tsk! You’re dirtying the suit jackass!” Reno spit.
Cloud pressed hit foot down harder causing Reno to groan. “Answer me.”
“Heh. What the lil princess hasn’t told you yet? You’re girlfriends pretty special ya know.”
Cloud felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of Aerith being his girlfriend. He shook his head. It wasn’t the time to be thinking about things like that.
It wouldn’t be too bad though.
“What do you mean by special?” He inquired.
“No!” Aerith interrupted. She ran up to two of them. “I wanna tell him. Reno please just go.”
“Now you know I can’t just do that,” Reno told. “Orders are orders.”
“And your orders end here Reno.” A voice from behind the three of them urged them to look back. A black haired man in a suit, presumably another Turk, looked at the trio in front of him. “I’ll handle it from here.”
“Tseng?”
“Director?”
Both Aerith and Reno were bewildered at the sight of the man in front of them.. Reno calling him “Director” made Cloud assume that this was their lead man.
“Do you mind stepping off of my colleague?” Tseng politely asked Cloud.
“I don’t trust him,” Cloud glared at him.
“I assure you that if he tries anything he will be thoroughly punished.” Tseng guaranteed.
“Wha!? Director!” Reno whined. Cloud stepped off of the Turk and allowed him to stumble up.
“Reno I’d like to talk to them without you interrupting. I have an assignment for you and Rude. Please go meet him at Sector 7.” He ordered.
“Ugh whatever.” Reno dusted his suit off. “This was a waste of time anyways.”
They watched as Reno stormed out of the Church. Cloud couldn’t help but chuckle at the fit he threw.
“Why are you here Tseng? It’s not like you to come yourself.” Aerith asked. Cloud felt a tense air between the two. It seemed they had history.
“I wanted to meet your friend. If you don’t mind me asking, who are you to her?” Tseng questioned Cloud. He nearly told him he was her friend but felt that would be the wrong answer. He didn’t know why Shinra would be after Aerith but he didn’t like it one bit. He would let them know straight up and give them the most logical answer.
“I’m her bodyguard,” Cloud answered. The reply made a smile grow on Tseng’s face.
“Perfect,” Tseng said with delight. “Now I have a proposition for you…”
“Cloud.” He told Tseng his name.
“Alright Cloud. I’ve seen that you’re capable of taking care of yourself. So let’s make a deal. We need Aerith to be safe at all costs and to stay out of harms way. Whenever she decides she’d like to come with us, we need her in good condition. If you can permanently be her so called “bodyguard” and keep her away from harm, we won’t have to constantly check on her.” Tseng explained.
“So you’ll stay away from her?”
“Not completely. We’ll still be observing her from afar to make sure you’re doing your job and we’ll be checking up on her personally once a week to see if she ever accepts our invitation to Shinra. But yes, we won’t come into contact with her nearly as much.”
“I’ll accept but this seems too easy. What would happen if I fail to keep her safe?”
“Then we’ll be taking you to Shin-Ra ourselves.”
“What?” Confusion filled Cloud’s head. This made no sense. “Why me? I don’t have anything to do with Shinra anymore. I quit years ago.”
“That’s what you think.” Tseng suspiciously muttered. “So if I recall you said you’d accept Cloud?”
Letting go of the cryptic things Tseng had said, Cloud answered the question. “Yeah. I do.”
“Alright then. A pleasure doing business with you Mr. Strife,” Cloud froze at Tseng speaking his last name. Should he be concerned? Turks were known for gaining a lot of information and intel. It shouldn’t be surprising that they knew his last name considering he used to be in SOLDIER. Tseng turned his head to Aerith. “It was lovely seeing you Aerith. I wish we had more time to talk but I’m unfortunately busy at the moment. We’ll be seeing you in a week or so.”
“My answer won’t change,” She sternly told him.
“If you say so,” Tseng turned on his heels and began to exit the Church. “I hope you two have a pleasant day.”
As Cloud watched Tseng exit the Church, he thought back to tension he felt between the Turk and Aerith. They’d barely exchanged words but Aerith looked at the man with man with a feeling that Cloud couldn’t pinpoint. What was it? Disappointment? He wanted to ask but it would have to wait for another time.
Cloud turned to Aerith once they were left alone. His patience had completely worm thin at this point and he needed answers now. “Can you finally tell me what’s going on?”
“Weren’t you paying attention Cloud? You’re my official bodyguard now. Isn’t that great?” She innocently teased.
“Aerith,” Cloud warned.
She sighed. It was time to get serious. “Oh man where do I start?”
“How about why they want you in the first place?” Cloud coaxed.
“Alright. Have you ever heard of the Cetra Cloud?” She asked.
“The what?”
“They’re more commonly called Ancients. That ring a bell?”
Whatever Aerith was about to tell him, it’s not what he was expecting at all. He was half expecting her to be some secret gang lord or someone that was wanted. Not whatever this was. “Nah, can’t say it does.”
“Well they were a race of people that used to thrive long ago. They were the planets caretakers. They could commune with it and even interact with the lifestream. Pretty cool huh?” Aerith was dropping a lot of information on Cloud and he almost had trouble keeping up. Why was she telling him about these people? “Unfortunately their population severely dwindled due to a catastrophic event that happened. Not many survived and they struggled to repopulate over the centuries. My mother was one of them.”
Huh?
“You mean Elmyra?” Cloud confusedly asked her.
“Nuh-uh.” Aerith shook her head. “My biological mother. She passed around 15 years ago and Elmyra adopted me.”
“Oh…” Cloud mumbled. “Wait. So that means you’re…?”
“Not fully. I never knew him but my father was human. So I’m a half Cetra.”
“So Shinra wants you because you’re one of these Cetra? Why?”
“There’s supposedly a place called The Promised Land. Shinra wants to get to it for their benefit. Apparently harnessing the energy from the lifestream and using it for their mako reactors isn’t enough. Once they found out about The Promised Land their greed grew larger. A land of such fertility just means a land full of mako energy for them. They want to turn Midgar into something more with it. And in order to find The Promised Land you need a Cetra. And it turns out, I’m the last one left.”
Cloud didn’t miss the sad tone in her voice as she muttered that last part. She must’ve held a huge weight on her shoulders being the last member of a race. He felt sorry for her. “So…can you find it?”
“I have no idea. As of right now? Nope. Not even if I wanted to,” She began. “But truthfully, I don’t think it’s real. It’s just a Cetra legend after all. Shinra might just be chasing a dream. But I know that’s not all they want me for.”
“There’s more to it?” Cloud asked.
“There’s a man up in the Research and Development department in Shinra. His name is Hojo.”
Cloud winced at the mention of Hojo’s name. He’d never met the deranged scientist but he had seen enough to know that the man was sick in the head. The human-turned-monster at the Nibelheim reactor told him all he had to know.
“To make things short, he’s the reason my mother is dead,” Aerith continued. It seemed there was more to the story that she wasn’t comfortable discussing. “He wanted to study her since she was the only remaining full bred Cetra. He performed dozens of experiments on her to get all the information he could. Like she was some sort of lab rat.”
What Aerith had told him so far was already making Cloud’s blood boil. The sorrowful sound of her voice didn’t help with his anger either. It didn’t sound right. Her voice was always so uplifting, happy and optimistic. Now it was dejected and perturbed.
He hated it.
“Even though I never heard anything about it myself, I know he wanted her to reproduce as well. It’s obvious coming from someone like Hojo,” Aerith said. “And now that she’s gone there’s only me, a half breed left. But that doesn’t matter to Hojo. He’ll take what he can get.”
If Cloud’s blood was boiling before, what Aerith had just implied nearly left him fuming. No way would we ever let those sons of bitches get their hands on her. Especially Hojo. “I won’t let them take you or do anything to you. I’m your bodyguard for a reason.”
Aerith smiled at Cloud’s reassurance. “Well it’s not like they can just kidnap me if they wanted. I have to go willingly, remember?”
“I know Shinra. They’ll find a way to make you come. Blackmail, threatening to hurt someone you care about, they’ll do it. I’m surprised they haven’t tried already,” Cloud wouldn’t take any chances with Shinra, not when it came to Aerith. Now that he thought about it, it concerned him that he cared so much. But Cloud never had much friends in his life. Perhaps it was normal to care this much for one?
Maybe it’s something more.
“I don’t think they’d do anything too bad. But it never hurts to have a knight in shining armor keeping me safe doesn’t it?” She teased. While Cloud was getting used to her teasing, he still couldn’t help the blush on his face.
“Still gonna need to be getting paid though. Remember, I don’t work for free.”
“Hmph!” She huffed. “I thought you already got a pretty good deal out of all this.”
“Yeah but I still have to deal with you. That requires a lot of patience you know,” Cloud joked. Even he couldn’t keep the smirk on his face away.
“Fine then. I use my gil to help out mom though, so you’re just gonna have to keep accepting more dates,” She clasped her hands behind her back and bent over with a playful look.
“Fine…whatever works,” Mumbled Cloud. He averted his gaze to hide his embarrassment, but Aerith’s giggling let him know he failed.
“Alright let’s check on the lilies and we’ll be on our way back.”
“I’ll wait here,” Cloud posted himself next to the entrance of Church.
“Nope!” Aerith grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the flowerbed. “We’ll be done much quicker if I get some help. It’ll be fun!”
Cloud sighed. Like always, there was no point in retaliating. But he didn’t really have any place to complain. Even hefound himself enjoying his time with Aerith as they checked on the flowers.
What is this girl doing to me…
…
Cloud summed up all of his gil as he and Aerith approached the front of her house. A week at an inn would cost around 10,000 gil and he’d only made around 5,000. It was a good start but it looked like he would be spending the night at Elmyra’s again. “I should be able to afford an inn by tomorrow. Then I’ll be out of here.”
Aerith whirled around and looked at him seriously. “Cloud, we talked about this.”
Here we go…
“Aerith I don’t wanna bother her any longer. We may have talked a bit but things are still the same.”
“Cloud I think you’re forgetting something,” She raised her finger and placed it on his lips to prevent him from saying anymore. “You’re my official bodyguard now. Didn’t you say you have to keep me safe at all times? Even though I can handle myself, what if something goes wrong? What if some crazy murderer breaks in hmm?”
Cloud knew Aerith was more than capable of taking care of some random thug. She packed one hell of swing with her staff. It was clear she wanted him to stay because she was worried about him. And while he appreciated the concern, he just wanted to get out of Elmyra’s hair. But unfortunately Aerith was making good points. How would the Turks take Cloud being away from Aerith? Would it be seen as him not doing his job?
Cloud thought back to Tseng’s words earlier. ‘Then we’ll be taking you to Shin-Ra ourselves.’ Why would they take him? He no longer had any business over there. There were one too many mysteries for Cloud to think about right now. Tseng’s cryptic words, why he had trouble remembering certain things, Aerith’s interest in SOLDIER and her history with Tseng.
One thing at a time Cloud...
“Fine, you’re right,” Cloud answered her question. “But Elmyra…”
“Quit worrying about her Cloud. I know her, she’ll warm up to you eventually. Promise,” She held out her pinky. Cloud stupidly stared at the weird gesture. What was she doing? Did she want them to poke pinkies?
“Um… What are you doing?” He asked. Aerith looked shocked at the question.
“Here,” She grabbed and pushed all of his fingers into a fist except his pinky. “Like this.”
The beat of Cloud’s heart increased as Aerith wrapped her pinky around his. A jolt of electricity shot it’s way up his arm at the sudden contact. There was a distinct contrast between her warm hands and his cold. “Uh…”
“Wrap your finger around mine just like I did,” Cloud slowly did as she told until both of them had their pinkies interlocked. That feeling of warmth exuding from her surged throughout his whole body. What was this? Was it something people did often? “This is called a pinky promise.”
“Pinky Promise?” Cloud looked at her, a puzzled look on his face. He felt himself getting warmer and warmer the longer their pinkies stay intertwined.
“Mhm!” Aerith nodded. “My mother taught it to me. People do this every time they make a promise they won’t break to each other. I promise mom will eventually enjoy your company. And if she doesn’t then I’ll make her.”
Cloud looked down at their hands making contact. He had to admit, this was stupid. Why not just make the promise with your words? Why the need for contact? But at the same time he didn’t mind. The feeling this was giving him was the same feeling Aerith had always managed to bring upon him. When she would look at him with her genuine eyes, whenever she tried to comfort him, and now this. What was it with her?
“You must really like this huh?” Aerith took Cloud out of his thoughts and he realized he was wrapped around her finger even tighter now.
“S-sorry,” He quickly yanked his finger away from hers and the warmth he felt vanished and was replaced with the familiar coolness he had come to know.
He wanted it back.
Aerith giggled at his flustered state. “So anyways. Just be a good boy and you two should be on good terms.”
“A ‘good boy?’ What, am I some sort of dog now?”
“No, not a dog. More like…” She pursed her lips in wonder and panned up and down him until her eyes landed on his hair and lit up like a child.
Oh no.
“Don’t-!”
“A Chocobo!” She excitedly yelled as she reached up and ruffled his hair by surprise.
“Like I haven’t heard that before,” He pushed her hand away in annoyance. Years of being made fun of by the other kids in Nibelheim came with the nickname “Chocobo Head.” Not that it annoyed him anymore. He’s heard it so much to the point he no longer cared. But he knew Aerith didn’t mean any harm by it. She was just being herself. “We’ll see about your mom though. Don’t think it’ll be that easy.”
“Oh it’ll be fine. Who knows…” Aerith trailed off. She looked to the side as if she were wondering how to say whatever it is she would say next. “…Maybe you’ll eventually get her approval.”
Cloud pondered over what that could have possibly meant. “Approval? For what?”
“It’s nothing.” Aerith shook her head with an unconvincing giggle. “Let’s head inside!”
She stormed off to the front door leaving Cloud confused. He would probably have more questions about Aerith than he ever did answers.
I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot
Aerith chastised herself as she approached the entrance of her house. She didn’t know where she even got the idea to say that to Cloud.
Approval? What approval Aerith? Nothing’s gonna happen between you and him. You already promised mom.
She wouldn’t deny that her feelings for Cloud were steadily increasing. Especially after seeing the lengths he went to for her back at the Church. It filled her head with thoughts that she really shouldn’t be having and now she’d gotten way ahead of herself. Hopefully Cloud didn’t understand what she had meant. The boy was extremely dense.
Sorry mom…
Aerith felt the need to apologize to Elmyra. Even though she declared that her and Cloud would remain friends, deep down she really felt as if it wouldn’t be too bad. A second chance at love was something she deserved. Right? But she would be causing a world of hurt for her mother. Perhaps when Cloud and her mother finally began to see eye to eye she could do some convincing?
No. Stop it Aerith.
She grabbed the knob of the front door and looked back at Cloud who was still standing where she’d last seen him. Damn it, she couldn’t even look at him now without inner conflict arising within her head. “You coming?”
“Yeah,” Cloud followed her. The more she looked at him, the more she fought with herself. She let out a long heavy sigh. With how much she was thinking, she definitely wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.