Work Text:
Wolf
“My stomach is in knots.” And she inadvertently looks up at Cloud who stands across from her.
Oh no!
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She distances herself... because what can she do now that it has all turned upside down? What was certain is uncertain, the up is down, down is up, and she just doesn’t know how to deal with it.
She thinks...
They defeated fate. And it must mean her destiny is different now, everything will be different from now on.
The minute it sank in, her feelings started changing without her being able to control them. She feels butterflies fluttering nervously in her stomach whenever she looks at him or hears his voice. Is she free now?
Does he actually get a say in it now if he wants?
Kalm was nice, they were always together as a group. There were not many opportunities for them to be alone, thank goodness. Everything normal, the occasional glance, the cheerful smile whenever he talked to her, the offbeat rhythm of her heart when he handled her a new materia to slot and his fingers brushed hers... all fine... except not.
They leave Kalm at last, the hunt for Sephiroth had begun. Somewhere in the middle of a battlefield with monsters, she decides to back away from him, her mind is racing with thoughts of what could be and she needs to think, to calm herself down.
She pauses to gape at his movements fighting the fiends. How he effortlessly hoists his sword and slashes it through the enemies, how his body sways in a fighting dance and his feet criss-cross along the ground, how his muscles tense and his eyes twinkle when he concentrates on his actions. He’s relentless, like a hunting wolf.
Oh, it’s going to be hard.
She doesn’t talk to him the whole day and it is starting to make her anxious.
Her plan backfires.
A chill breeze blows as the sun starts setting, it was their first time sleeping out after two days in the comfort of a Kalm Inn. They have already set up the tents and the others are now gathering the food they had bought for the trip.
“Should have packed a warm sweater.” Aerith mutters to herself as she stands outside her tent, hands on her hips, looking down and scolding herself inwardly for her lack of preparation to an unknown journey. Not that she has gone on many before, to know what she needed.
“Want me to borrow you mine?” She hears his gravelly calm voice from behind her and yelps in surprise.
“Cloud! I...” that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. “No, I’m okay.” She smiles but folds her arms to her chest to get warmer, her teeth chatter, she rocks on her feet a bit.
He observes her a moment, then lifts an eyebrow.
“Wait here.” He tells her and the commanding tone he uses sends a shiver down her spine. Or it could be the cold...
The pit of her stomach twists.
No, definitely because of him.
Since when did he become so authoritative?
He is back from his tent in what seemed like the blink of an eye. He extends her his extra dark sweatshirt which she accepts gratefully, a gift sent from heaven in a cold busy evening. She holds the fabric in her hands, feels its smooth texture before finally putting it on. It looks oversized on her, she almost gets lost in it, a lamb dressing the coarse coat of the wolf. But it’s surprisingly warm enough to make her feel comfortable. It smelled like him too, an earthly mix of amber and sage.
“Can we talk?” He asks, she can only nod intoxicated by his scent on her, green eyes widen at how straightforward he sounds again. She turns to walk towards the others. “Alone.” He says, she changes direction.
What kind of magic spell has he bethrown upon her?
She follows him as they gather some more wood for the fire. He keeps silent at first, but then, when they were distanced enough from camp, he drops all the wood sticks he had been carrying, and sits next to the pile.
He pats the ground beside him and she sits like a child obeying her mother without complaining. Their shoulders touch, his arm brushes hers. Even so, she draws closer to him, it is getting colder.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” She asks and hugs her knees to her chest, her delicate fingers play with the grass underneath.
“What we saw when we fought against fate...” he starts. He had been musing about it since they left Midgar and hoping to get her alone. “Were those visions of the future?”
She was kind of expecting he’d ask something like that. “Yes.” The answer comes out as clear as water.
“A future that no longer is going to happen?” He asks.
“We fought it.” She doesn’t have all the answers, she is still in the process of understanding what they had done herself. She sighs and wishes it could be that simple. “So.. now the future is all up to us. It no longer will be what was once.” She blinks, her brain straining to understand what she had just told him.
“So it means...” He shifts next to her, rests an arm on his bended knee and she tilts her head, his cool mannerism never ceases to amuse her. “That image in the lake...”
Her body stiffens, she had seen it too, knew what it meant and it shook every fiber of her body. A memory she didn’t want to remember, nor she could forget.
“That’s not going to happen.” His eyes search hers, hoping for some kind of reassurance from her, to ease his worry.
“I don’t think it will no.” The vibrant green of her eyes flickers and reflects the blending violet orange hues of the sunset. She looks beautiful in the dusk sunlight.
“We’re free to make our own future then.” Cloud looks away from her face, she is too distracting. But relief washes over him.
“I’d like to believe we are.”
“I’m free to fall in love with you then.” He says all-of-a-sudden and she freezes cold, not even his warm sweater can save her from the ice creeping up her body. Her mouth opens to reply but no words come out. She stares at him in awe, takes a moment to gather her thoughts.
“If that’s what you want.” It’s the best she can say, her eyes dance.
“It’s not about what I want.” He turns back his gaze towards her, looks squarely at her. “It’s how I feel.”
“How do you feel?” She asks, her voice barely above a whisper as mako blue eyes study her face, she leans back a bit stricken by their glowing gaze.
He clears his throat as he realizes he’s leaning in too close and looks away feeling a flush of heat reach his cheeks. Well, he tried...
She gasps, her hands lift to cover her mouth. “Have I been flirting with you too hard? Do I make you feel nervous? Mister merc... have you fallen in love with me already?” She breaks the ice, she can hear it cracking, lifting the gloomy atmosphere. Her face lights up while he turns his away to hide his burning cheeks and she has to lean over to look at him, she doesn’t want to miss it.
He grimaces. “Maybe.” He says to the sunset.
“What do we do now?” She bumps his shoulder calling him back to her. He sighs, his gaze flickers back at her. She leans into him, so close he can see the gold flecks in the luminous emerald green of her eyes.
He was the one starting the conversation but it took a turn he certainly wasn’t expecting it to take. What does he do now? Is she just teasing him? He can’t handle it, he can’t possibly handle her, she’s always two steps ahead. His mouth goes dry, they linger inches away from each other, she waits, he groans.
“Maybe you’re just confused.” She pulls back, her lips pout. He thinks it’s cute.
“I am.” He says assertively. “But not about this.”
“So.. do you want to kiss me?” She asks innocently... or not. He stares wordlessly at her, taken by surprise, his heart races uncontrollably. “Have you kissed a girl before?” She asks and he stares at her dumbfounded, as if she had just asked him to strip.
“Of course!” He doesn’t hesitate. Has he though? He doesn’t recall now that his brain has exploded with her first question, he can’t trust his thoughts anymore. His eyes drift over her lips. She takes the hint and smiles playfully. He leans forward, she follows.
His warm deep breathing.
His smooth skin.
His eyelashes flutter and brush her cheeks.
Her chest tightens, her breathing stops.
At the touch of his lips, she blossoms like a flower. Softly at first, painfully sweet, then the kiss gradually grows and he is left astonished at the opening of his soul, it’s like seeing color for the first time, or hearing sound for the first time, it overwhelms, it overpowers, it’s like having fireworks bursting inside him all at once.
But it doesn’t last.
His hands slide to the back of her head, his fingers tangle in her braid. He pulls back his hand.
“Ouch.” She breathes to his lips.
“I’m sorry.” He says, didn’t mean to pull her hair.
“It’s okay.” She giggles, her cheeks flush. “It’s been a long time for me too.”
He half smiles. A tamed wolf now.
“We’ll have more time to practice.” She says.
“All the time in the world.” But he secretly thinks it has been pretty good.
“Sure.”
Their fingers intertwine.
The dark of the night closes in on them.
Time to go.