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You knocked on the bathroom door, where Cloud was getting changed. After several seconds of getting no response you knocked again, growing impatient. How long did it take to put on some swim trunks? You couldn’t wait to go to the beach!
“Cloud!” You whined, also excited to see your boyfriend in a swimsuit. “Are you done?”
The door suddenly opened, and he stood there looking at you. His hands fell on his hips and he nodded his head in your direction.
“Ready” You had to chuckle at his words, because he still wore his tank top and carried his sword. The only change in his attire was the swimming shorts and the lack of gloves, he even wore his boots.
“You’re unbelievable” You walked behind him. “Taking a sword to the beach?”
“Just in case-” When he noticed you were trying to pick it up, he jolted up. “Careful!”
You yelped when you felt overwhelmed by the weight. Luckily, Cloud moved fast enough to support you before you could fall over. He put the weapon away, leaving it against the wall, and turned back to you again. When he did, he seemed slightly startled when he realized the attire you were in. His eyes fell over your body, to the curves hinted under your sarong, but just for a moment as he blushed and quickly looked up into your eyes again. Sometimes he was adorable. Now that you were dating, you didn’t expect him to be as shy as usual, but he hadn’t changed.
Trying to save him the embarrassment, you picked up the bag where you kept everything you could need -towels, sunscreen, cool beverages… -and threw it over your shoulder. Before you could take even one step carrying it, however, Cloud took it from you to save you the effort. He didn’t say a word, but the gesture endeared you even more to him.
“Come on!” You held his hand, dragging him out of the hotel with you and into the streets. “The beach is waiting for us!”
You started running, excited to finally reach it. Surprisingly, Cloud played into your game and began jogging by your side, not letting go of your hand either. Soon the salty scent of the sea reached you, and you smiled to yourself. Luckily, the beach wasn’t too far, because you were already panting from the dash.
Once you reached the sand, you didn’t lose one second. While Cloud took his shirt off and lay the towels down, you got rid of your sarong and flip flops and watched the soothing sight of the waves calmly crashing on the shore. You stood there for a moment, just trying to take the sight in.
“Cloud” You then turned to him, slightly bashful as you tried not to stare at his bare chest. “Wanna go for a swim?”
“Maybe later” His eyes didn’t meet you, too busy focused on the people around you.
Following his gaze, you realized what had him so upset. Certain people had no problem in taking a good look at you in your swimsuit. It made you self-conscious but you didn’t really mind. You weren’t the only one they were looking at anyway. Turning back to your boyfriend to allow yourself to really appreciate his slim but strong physique, you understood why.
Suddenly, he pulled you flat against him. Bracing yourself, your hands instinctively flew to his stomach. You could feel his defined abs against your palm, causing you to blush. But he didn’t notice, tightly wrapping his arms around you to hide your exposed skin.
“Cloud?” You peered up at him, finally locking eyes.
“They’re staring” He replied, frowning as his blue eyes fell over you. “Should’ve brought my sword”
“You don’t think people stare at you too, handsome?” You giggled, amused by his pout. “Let them look, you’re the only one who can get close”
He paused for a moment, but then sighed and loosened his grip on you.
“You’re right, sorry… I just got-”
“Jealous?”
“You’re making this real hard on me, Y/N…”
You laughed a little and repressed the urge to pinch his cheek. You had been teasing him enough already and you didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Instead, you pointed a thumb over your shoulder.
“I’ll just go to the water for a bit” As you took a few steps back, Cloud nodded his head and sat down on the towel. “You’re welcome to join me whenever you want”
“Got it” Was his dry response, despite the fact that his eyes never left you.
You walked slowly, feeling the drastic shift between the hot sun-kissed sand and the fresh ocean water under your toes. Your feet settled on the solid wet sand under them as the water softly went up and down with the tide, circling your ankles and then retreating once more.
Walking further once you were a bit accustomed to the lower temperature, the water now reached up to your knees. A wave returned to the shore, making you stumble with its force. Turning to Cloud and smiling to yourself in pure enjoyment of the moment, you saw he was still looking at you.
You energetically waved at him. Seemingly annoyed at your playfulness, he only stared. You stuck your tongue out at him and waved again. Resigned, he waved back at you. He was always trying so hard to play it cool… Well, you were determined to enjoy every second of your holiday.
Before you could turn around to face the horizon, however, a bigger wave came behind you, roughly crashing into you and throwing you to the ground. When you recovered and glanced at him, Cloud’s expression had changed from annoyed to worried as he ran to you. You held your head low, too amused by his exaggerated response.
“You okay?!” He urgently pulled you to your feet, his hands gentle around you, and you still struggled not to laugh. “Y/N…”
Taking your behavior the wrong way, he scooped you into his arms, concerned. Still trying to suffocate your laughter, you hid your face on his neck.
“Talk to me, are you hurt?” His words broke you completely, because how could you be actually hurt from that? It was really sweet, but also hilarious to you. He was always so dramatic.
“I’m not hurt, I’m…”
“Are you… laughing?” Cloud let out a shaky breath, piercing eyes focused on you.
“Sorry… I’m sorry” You heard him loudly sigh as he gently carried you still.
“Don’t do that” He complained, and you could almost hear his heart still racing.
“Why, were you worried?” You looked right into his eyes and cutely tilted your head at him. “Huh, boyfriend?”
“Y/N…” His voice held a tone of vexation as he gently lowered you into the ground.
As soon as your bare feet touched the wet sand once more, you began running around him.
“Are you mad at me?”
“A little...”
“Really? Watcha gonna do?”
“You’ll see”
“You’ll have to catch me first, big boy!”
You splashed water at him, trying to finally get him to open up a bit. Knowing Cloud, he was holding himself back. You could see it in his eyes, that he wanted to have fun with you. Because he was stoic, strong, serious and hermetic. But he was also kind, sensitive, thoughtful and shy.
“Stop it” Giving in, Cloud chased after you. Utterly astonished by this, you screamed as you ran away from him. The water around your ankles slowed you down and made it easier for him.
When he caught up to you, Cloud easily lifted you off your feet. He wrapped his arms around your stomach from behind, pressed your back to his chest and carried you back to the dry hot sand while you yelped and laughed at the top of your lungs. You even heard him chuckle in response to your noises.
“That’ll teach you” He said in your ear as he put you back down, and suddenly his voice was playful.
You laughed when he lightly squeezed your sides, effectively tickling you. You turned around to be face to face with him and pouted your bottom lip. As you expected, he yielded at the sight of your adorable expression.
“War’s over” You joked, brushing your lips against him. He immediately relaxed under your touch, giving into the brief kiss. “I win”
“You’re killing me here” Mildly embarrassed by your interactions, it was him who pouted at you now. “Why did I agree to this?”
“It was your idea!”
“Yeah, ‘cause I know how much you wanted to go on a holiday together”
Cloud swore under his breat at the look of utter adoration you gave him in response to that confession. He knew you well enough to realize it would only earn him more teasing.
“You did it for me? Aw, Cloud” You put your arms around his neck and hugged him. “Don’t pout! Enjoy yourself, silly”
“Stop it with the nickames” He frowned, actually sounding upset. For once you started to believe he was legitimaly having a bad time. Your face fell at the thought that he was mindlessly letting you drag him along but was loathing every second of it.
“Y-You don’t like them?”
“I didn’t say…”
For a moment, you locked eyes. It was the first time since you arrived, even after your long journey, that you really connected with each other’s emotions. Cloud suddenly understood why you were so excited and eager. It wasn’t because of the holidays, or the beach, or all the new things. It was because you were sharing them with him. And you saw that he wasn’t being broody just because, he was trying to act cool as usual, but he was truly flustered and slightly overwhelmed by everything.
“If you don’t like the beach we can go back to the hotel and-”
“It’s not that” His hand lovingly cupped your cheek. “Maybe dial it down a bit?”
You paused, taken aback by the sweetness in his voice and the amorous look in his beautiful eyes. Then you smiled and nodded your head.
“Sure” You chuckled, pressing a hand against his and reveling on his warm touch. “And you could let yourself go a bit more”
“Not happening” Cloud turned his face away, but you could see a flirtatious grin playing at the corner of his lips. He was trying, going along with your demeanor. A sudden wave of fondness for him hit you. He could be so sweet… You could tell how much he cared, how much he loved you. And it made your heart sing.
“C’mon, grumpy! You’re allowed to have fun!” You took his hand and pulled at it. “It’s only you and me now, relax”
“Fine” He gave in, beginning to walk alongside the shore. “Only for you”
-
When you suggested to go to Gold Saucer, you didn’t expect it to actually become part of the plan, and you certainly didn’t expect Cloud to get so into it. He clicked his tongue, turning to you in defeat. You watched him in curiosity, surprised that he seemed to enjoy those little games so much.
“I’ll try again” Was all he said, buying another ticket.
“Since when are you so vain, Cloud?” You teased him, nudging him a little.
He didn’t respond, focusing on his aim. However, before he threw the ball at the bottles, you noticed how his eyes kept drifting to the big teddy bear at the top of the display. You smiled, reading his mind and the reason behind his stubbornness. Endeared by this, you leaned closer to kiss him in the cheek. He frowned and looked at you, but you only giggled and shrugged.
“For good luck” You said as an excuse, knowing he wouldn’t admit his reasons so you wouldn’t admit yours.
The start of a smile grew on his lips, but it never settled there as the concetration took over his features. You watched in expectation, following his every move as he prepared to throw the ball. When he did, you happilly cheered after it collided with the bottles and knocked them all down.
“Congratulations” The stand keeper reluctantly said, clearly annoyed that Cloud won. “Choose your prize”
Your boyfriend didn’t hesitate, silently pointing a finger to the teddy bear. As soon as the man gave it to him, Cloud humbly handed it to you.
“Was that why you were so determined?” You asked, hugging the plushie, even if you knew the answer already. “So you could win me something?”
“No…” He simply replied, averting his gaze. “I knew I almost had it”
“Thanks anyway” You winked at him, which was enough to fluster him.
“Welcome” He muttered, although he made his voice slightly deeper than usual.
“Let’s go on a ride!” You took him by the arm, clutching the teddy bear in your free one.
You ran at top speed with him closely trailing behind you, dragged along. When you reached the entrance of the roller coaster, you were almost vibrating in excitement. The ride stopped before you on the rails, and you turned to Cloud.
“Hey…” You saw how he eyed it warily, and how his muscles tensed under your grip. “Something wrong?”
“Uh…” He blinked repeatedly, then turning to glance at you. “No”
To further demonstrate, Cloud climbed in before you. Hesitating yourself, you watched him for a moment. While he waited for you to get in, he tightly held on to the security bar until his knuckles turned white. Knowing him as you did, it felt like he was dreading the moment the ride started.
“Everything okay, Cloud?” You slowly sat by him, placing the plushie between you two. “You look a little-”
“I’m fine” He rushed to say, even if he didn’t look at you.
You opened your mouth to reply, but never got to say anything. Just then the attraction started. Cloud gasped in anticipation, but you yelped in excitement. Still, you couldn’t hep but to glance at him with the corner of your eye. You knew better than to think he was scared of rollercoasters, it seemed unlike him. Then what was the problem?
The issue momentarily left your mind as its speed claimed your attention, making you scream at the top of your lungs and throw your arms into the air. To add on to the many and incredibly emotions of the day, the adrenaline began racing through your veins. The ride climbed upwards, only to throw you down again even faster. It made your heart race in a way only Cloud had before. After several more seconds of height changes and speed, you were thrown upside down with the last loop as the path went flat again and the rocky ride came to a halt.
Still coming off that high, you stumbled out of the ride. When you turned around to share your excitement, you looked over at Cloud. You saw the state he was in and realized it was worse than you thought.
“Ugh…” He struggled to stand, and he was extremely pale.
“Are you okay?” Worried, you rushed to hold him up. He appreciated your support, putting an arm over your shoulders and resting part of his weight on you.
“Dizzy…” He held a hand to his forehead, shutting his eyes tight.
“Let’s sit down for a moment” You wrapped your arm around his waist, walking with him towards a close by bench. He was weak and took it slow, but you were patient and adapted to his walking pace.
As soon as you neared the bench, he plopped down on it and groaned.
“Has this happened before?” You asked him, kindly stroking his arm.
Keeping his eyes closed, Cloud weakly nodded his head. You grit your teeth, equal times endeared that he kept it silent for your sake and annoyed that he put himself through that knowing the result.
“Why didn’t you tell me something?” You gently took at his arm, easying him down until his head rested over your lap. “Nevermind... Lay down, Cloud, as long as you need to”
Worried and empathetic to his unwell, you softly caressed his hair. Cloud groaned again and tightened an arm around his stomach, letting the other one fall limply off the side of the bench.
“No…” He uttered, making an effort. “Don’t wanna ruin your day”
“It’s not ruined as long as I’m with you” You comforted him. “Besides, it’s not fun unless you’re having fun too”
Another groan escaped his lips. You hated to see him like that. Cloud opened his mouth, but he must have been feeling so sick that he didn’t manage to say anything. You took mental note of his motion sickness to avoid it in the future.
“Can you do something to make it better?”
“No… Just wait until it passes”
“Okay, just breathe and try to relax” Hoping it worked, you put your teddy bear on his chest. “Mini Cloud here will look after you too”
“Mini… Cloud?” He repeated in confusion, opening one eye.
“Yeah, because he’s soft just like you, softie” You joked, and were pleasantly surprised to see him smiling in response.
Another wave of dizziness hit him, and he groaned yet again as he closed his eyes tight. One of his arms did wrap around the plushie, though.
“There’s no rush, Cloud” As a comforting gesture, you rested your hand over his chest. “We’ll wait until you feel okay”
Continuing to sink your fingers into his soft hair, you didn’t stop stroking it. He didn’t complain, and in fact his tense expression relaxed slightly. After a few more seconds of silence in which his spinning world settled, his free hand fell over yours.
“Thank you, Y/N” The way he said it, you knew there was something more behind his words. Something that he was saying for the first time to you, and that caused your heart to skip a beat. Three words that, although different from the traditional ones, meant the same thing.
“You too, Cloud”