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How could she be so lucky?
It was a question Aerith must have asked herself… sheesh, what was she up to now? About a couple hundred? It could have easily been more, but she wasn't exactly counting.
Looking at the man sleeping beside her, Aerith had to rein in hard her urge to reach out and touch him. Cloud had a long day, and needed his sleep, even though Aerith would love nothing more than to feel him beneath her touch. He might gripe and grumble about being woken up, but would no doubt soak up the affection like a sponge.
With the gentlest touch humanly possible, Aerith leaned over to touch her lips to his bare shoulder. Once upon a time, he'd have shot up like lightning, ready to do battle with a possible intruder or threat. Now? He remained in blissful slumber, unaware of Aerith's lips on his skin.
Now if only Aerith could reach the bed's third occupant, she'd give her a kiss, too.
Unfortunately, their bed, while large enough for the trio, sometimes prevented one of them from reaching across the second person to reach the third. Such as how Aerith right now couldn't reach across Cloud to touch the also out cold Tifa.
A pout came unbidden then, as Aerith weighed her options of leaning over Cloud to give their sleeping girlfriend a little affection, too. In the end, the risk was too high, and Aerith decided against it. While Cloud was a heavier sleeper now, he could still be woken easily if she wasn't careful.
It had taken the girls considerable time and effort, but they were eventually able to convince Cloud's subconscious that their home was safe. He could sleep as deeply and comfortably as he wanted and nothing was going to hurt any of them. Whereas once he was the lightest of sleepers, now Cloud slept like the dead. The thought that, deep down, he felt safe enough to do so beside them never failed to produce a surge of fondness that warmed Aerith's heart.
Too bad Aerith didn't get the middle when they went to bed earlier, but such was their life. They took random turns on who got to sleep in the middle, or rather who got to be cuddled on both sides by their lovers. Just the other day it was Aerith. The memory of Tifa snuggled into her side, holding onto Aerith like a precious teddy bear, Cloud's head resting on her chest directly over her booming heartbeat were ones Aerith would always hold close and never let go.
Neither Cloud nor Tifa would ever admit it while awake, but when they slept, both were notorious cuddle bugs. They'd fall asleep beside Aerith and, within seconds, be wrapping her in their arms like they were terrified she'd disappear on them.
All the gods combined would not be able to pry Aerith away.
While sleeping beside her boyfriend and girlfriend was one of Aerith's favorite times of day, tonight was particularly exciting. The planet saw fit to grace them with a hot day. Which meant that they'd abandoned the blankets in favor of sleeping in the open air, giving Aerith full view of Cloud and Tifa. Not only that, but Cloud had decided to sleep shirtless tonight. Aerith took full advantage of the unobstructed view of her boyfriend's bare chest and, before he'd fallen fully asleep earlier, savored the feeling of all this skin beneath her fingertips and against her cheek.
While Tifa kept her top on, she'd worn some of the shortest shorts Aerith had ever seen. Aerith hadn't been able to ogle her girlfriend's bare upper half, but Tifa's toned and flawless legs were just as great a treat for her eyes to feast upon.
Propping her head up on her arm, Aerith once again roamed her eyes over the sleeping forms of her lovers. Her lips raised in a fond smile before she even realized they were moving.
Hmm… was Aerith being a creeper for watching Cloud and Tifa sleep? If so, it totally wasn't her fault! If anyone's, it was theirs for looking so cute and adorable. Gah, Aerith wished she had a camera to capture one of these moments for all time. She'd have to work on getting one so she could do so.
So enamored with her lovers, Aerith only now noticed how fiercely her heart was beating. The organ beat wildly, the sound thundering in the brunette's ears.
This was all it took, not a touch or anything, but rather a single glance at her lovers, and Aerith's heart would go crazy. At the rate she was going, she would start having cracked ribs one of these days. How Cloud and Tifa slept through the sound was anyone's guess.
Just then, Cloud began to stir.
Aerith immediately bit her tongue and internally cursed herself. She was already preparing an apology for Cloud when she noticed something amiss.
Cloud was shifting ever so slightly, but he didn't seem to be waking up. His face, so peaceful and serene moments ago, contorted in fear and agony. A single word made it past his pursed lips, but it was the way he said it that made Aerith's blood run cold.
"Aerith…" A single word spoken with so much raw emotion, and none of it positive, that it made Aerith's heart clench in her chest.
"Oh, no." Aerith had seen this before on too many nights for her liking. It wasn't always Cloud, but tonight, it looked like Cloud was the unlucky winner. "No no no!"
All thoughts of being careful and not waking the others was forgotten. Aerith knew she was going to need help, and soon.
"Tifa!" Aerith called across Cloud as the blonde began to shake. "Wake up!"
"Huh?" Tifa groggily sat up rubbing her eyes, oblivious to Cloud's motions beside her. "Aerith? What time is…" Tifa's voiced trailed off when she saw what was going on. "Cloud!"
Aerith was already scrambling to grab Cloud's arm to try and pin it down. Normally, she would be no match for Cloud's strength while he was awake, but her chances were better while he slept, with Tifa's help, of course.
Tifa didn't say a word, she was already practically tackling Cloud.
While holding their flailing boyfriend down might not be the best course of action, the last thing they wanted was Cloud to hurt himself or one of them by accident. He'd never forgive himself if he did. For that matter, he still hadn't forgiven himself for cracking the bedframe in half the last time this happened.
"Cloud? Sweetie?" Aerith called out to Cloud in an attempt to rouse him from the spell. Sometimes it worked, sometimes if failed horribly. "It's alright. We're here."
"Everything's alright, Cloud." Tifa used her best soothing voice, there had been a few times when Aerith failed, Tifa did not.
"You're okay, everyone is okay."
"You're safe."
"Come back to us."
Aerith and Tifa went back and forth with words of comfort and reassurance, all the while they practically held Cloud down to the bed with their own bodies. Between the words and their physical proximity, something would pull him free.
Much to Aerith's relief, it didn't take long before Cloud began to calm down. His chest was still rising and falling rapidly with his intake of breath, but he'd stopped flailing about. At least enough so as to not be a danger to anyone or anything.
Aerith was still debating on their next course of action, when Cloud's eyes abruptly shot open.
Aerith was already ready for him.
"Hey." Aerith's hand cupped Cloud's cheek and forced his panicked mako rimmed eyes to focus on her own emeralds. Before saying or doing anything else, she took hold of his hand and brought it to her chest.
Nothing, save the very thin material of her nightdress, separated his hand from her flesh. More importantly, nothing separated Cloud from the rapidly pounding thumping of her racing heartbeat. The harder it beat, the easier he would be able to feel it. "Can you feel it?"
Cloud's face calmed ever so slightly as his senses registered the beat beneath his palm. The ever present and undeniable proof that yes, Aerith was alive and well beside him. This lasted a few seconds before the alarm returned. "Tifa…"
"Right here." Tifa was already holding Cloud's other hand and bringing it up to her own chest. Just as with Aerith, he could easily feel their girlfriend's heartbeat through her top. "Perfectly fine."
"We're…"
"Home, in bed." Aerith removed Cloud's hand from her chest and brought it up to press into her cheek, but not before planting a number of loving kisses on his palm, knuckles, and wrist. No stretch of skin was safe from her lips.
"All of us." Tifa gripped Cloud's hand in both of hers, holding it close to her body.
Slowly, Cloud's breathing slowed and steadied. The terror faded, only to be replaced by shame.
"Sorry…" Cloud apologized, face flushed crimson with embarrassment as he always did when this happened.
"Hey." Tifa chastised him, firmly but gently, her fingertips tracing slow patterns on his knuckles. "Don't do that. You don't have a thing to be sorry for."
Aerith had no clue just how many nights this had happened. It wasn't always Cloud, either. Many a time, Tifa had been the one to wake up with tears running down her cheeks and going mad with panic and worry. Then there was Aerith, shooting up in bed screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs, fingers groping her body in search of a wound in her middle that healed years ago.
The nightmares content might change, sometimes into things so terrible none of them wanted to speak of it, but the feelings were always the same.
Pain.
Fear.
Panic.
Horror.
While the trio might tease each other relentlessly at times, this was something serious. The instant one of them began to be consumed by the demons of their dreams, the other two would rush to pull them out and shower them with warmth and love.
No nightmare could stand against their combined love.
"Wanna try going back to sleep?" Tifa asked, one hand still holding Cloud's while her other's fingers ran through the strands of his hair. The action so soothing, Cloud's eyes drifted nearly shut again.
Cloud say a peep, but shook his head slightly while leaning into his girlfriend's touch.
"That's okay. Scoot up a bit." Aerith prodded, not once letting go of Cloud's hand, until the man was seated with his back to the headboard. Once he was, Aerith moved into posited at his side, curling into him, draping one of her legs over his and wrapping it around his limb. She was barely in this position for a few beats of her heart before Cloud's arm moved to encircle her and hold her close. Aerith gave him one more kiss to his pectoral before nuzzling her cheek against his chest.
"We can stay up all night." Tifa spoke with confidence, her pose mirroring Aerith's as her head came to rest on Cloud's shoulder.
Despite his attempts to refrain from doing so, Cloud drifted off back into dreamland. Body held in the loving embrace of Tifa and Aerith.
Tifa and Aerith shared a look before both simultaneously reached out to take the other's hand and lace their fingers together. The pair each gave a reassuring squeeze to remind the other that they were together and never alone.
As hard as she fought, Aerith soon felt the tug of sleep pulling at her body until her eyes began to droop closed. The steady beat of Cloud's own heartbeat against her cheek easing her into a slumber of her own like a lullaby.
Right before sleep fully took hold, the last sight to meet Aerith's eyes was Tifa's carmine orbs watching over her and Cloud. The younger woman ready and prepared to fight off any nightmares that dared come for her lovers, again.