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Cloud looked exhausted when he stepped into the apartment, noticeable circles under his eyes and lilting where he stood. He stumbled his first few steps into the living area before collapsing onto the couch, groaning and forcing the dust-stained boots from his feet.
She watched him closely, old instincts rooting her in place on the chair she had been occupying the last few hours, the book she’d been reading from would have fallen from her inattention to it if not for her white-knuckled grip. She only found herself able to move once he was situated on the couch, quiet, calm and still, showing no signs of going to cause harm to her.
She forced herself to her feet, approaching him cautiously instead of hiding away in his room like she initially wanted too. She knelt next to where he lay upon the couch, looking at the man’s soft, blond hair.
“Hello,” she greeted, keeping her limbs clenched and close to her side. She was still unused to the notion that she could touch freely without the fear of being reprimanded for her actions, Cloud would not punish her if she touched him.
“Hey,” Cloud groaned into the cushion he was smothering himself with, hand closest to her lifting weakly. “I didn’t see you.”
“You are tired,” she stated, watching as he merely groaned into the couch. “You should rest.”
“Can’t.” He shifted noticeably on the couch, but did not manage to lift himself from the furniture. “I got things I need to do.”
“I could, do them.” She offered hesitantly, Cloud had a list on the kitchen counter that she could follow pretty easily. It would not be too difficult, she was sure she could manage.
“Nah, I can do ‘em,” he remained slumped on the couch despite his words, making no moves to lift himself from the soft cushions. “You don’t need to worry.”
“No, I can do them.” She assured him, forcing more confidence into her voice. He would not believe her words if she did not believe her words, that was the very essence of being a commanding officer. She lifted herself from her kneeling position, standing to her full height next to the couch. “Rest, you do not need to worry about the list.”
Cloud may have said something else in an attempt to dissuade her but she did not hear him and continued on towards the kitchen, picking up the list of things Cloud needed to get done. She read it over quickly, looking over everything written on it; she was sure that she could manage this, afterall, how hard could it be?
Very hard, it turned out. More so when she had no idea where to get any of the things that Cloud had written down, or even what some of them were.
She ended up needing assistance from someone else, someone she would have preferred not have asked for assistance from, Tifa. But, really, she had no other choice and it was to help Cloud, she could handle being around his friend to do that.
“Oh, this is so sweet!” Nevermind, she could not handle this. “It’s so nice of you to want to do this for Cloud!”
Yes, she was doing this for Cloud, she needed to remember that. She could handle dealing with the flea for his sake.
“It is not a big deal,” she said, trying to dismiss the other woman’s words. “He is tired and I did not have anything better to do.”
“And your bashful! That’s adorable!” Rosso was starting to think that the other woman was enjoying this more than she should have been, she glared at the taller, suspicion filling her form as the other continued to gush about how sweet she was being. She could handle this, this was for Cloud.
“Just help me do this and I will not bother you again,” she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling at the ground.
“Don’t you worry! We’ll get this shopping done before Cloud even notices your gone!” The other’s grin irritated her but she held her ground; this was for Cloud, she could handle this for Cloud.
The shopping was more stressful than she wanted it to be; it was crowded and confusing and Tifa had become angry at her when she attempted to stab one of the shop owners that had tried to rip her off. But, she got it done and she now knew where she needed to go to get those items in the future.
She walked back into the apartment with pride in her step, chin lifted and chest puffed out as she carried the bags of items into the kitchen.
“I have returned!” She called out once she set the bags on the counter, having not seen Cloud’s form resting on the couch where she had left him when she had left earlier. She moved into the bedroom when she received no answer, poking her head around the open door and peering inside. “Cloud?”
“Hey,” he called out in return, lifting himself from the mattress and rubbing his eyes. “You’re back.”
“Yes, I did everything you had written on your list.” Her earlier pride had returned, colouring her words as she approached the bed at his gesture. “Did you rest comfortably?”
“Yeah, I did,” he said, reaching out to tug her onto the bed with him. He pressed his forehead to hers, a sign of affection she recognized easily. “So, you did every I had written down?”
She hummed happily, pressing against him in return. “I even played nice with, Tifa.”
“That was nice of you,” he said, tugging her closer to his side. His arm was a heavy, comforting weight around her, holding her in place and warming her to the core. “It’s nice not having to worry about going out and paying the bills… Rosso? You ok?”
She had frozen, stiffening noticeable in his hold and causing him to sound so concerned. She had not paid the bills, had not seen that written down so she had not known to do it.
She lifted herself from her position against Cloud, ignoring his calls for her to return and picking up the list she had left on the counter with the grocery bags. She scanned it quickly, but could not find anything that said she needed to pay the bills. She flipped the list, eyes widening at the rushed, hasty scrawl on the back, most likely written just before Cloud had left on his delivery.
How could she have made such a simple mistake? She should have known there would be more upon the back of the list! Why did she always have to fail?! Why could she never do things right?!
“Hey,” Cloud’s voice caused her to jump, she might have even attacked him if not for the grounding touch on his hands on her arms. “It’s just me, nothing to be scared of.” She sucked in a deep breath between her teeth, attempting to still the rushed beating of her heart under his concerned gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“I failed to pay the bills.” She told him, speaking through grit-teeth. She was still so frustrated with herself, such a foolish mistake. “I cannot do anything right.”
“You got the rest of the things on the list though, right?”
“Well, yes, I did.” She was confused by his question, brows furrowed and voice matching her emotions.
“Then you did a few things right.” He informed her, pulling her into a warm embrace, tight enough for her to feel it but loose enough that she could pull away easily. “It’s alright if you missed the one thing. We’ll go pay the bills tomorrow, it’ll be fine.”
Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, she pressed her face into his chest, hands reaching up to fist in his sleeping shirt. His grip tightened around her and he spoke softly, continuing to reassure her that she had done well and that he wasn’t disappointed in her.