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A chorus of good nights and Merry Christmases followed them out of the bar—some more boisterous than others—as they left for the night. Ever since their close call with the end of the world, spending Christmas Eve together as a group of misfits had somehow become an implicit tradition. And somehow, over the years—despite his approval—they had picked up more misfits along the way.
It was nearing midnight when Cloud finally managed to convince Aerith to leave despite her many protests; the uphill battle had lasted nearly half an hour, and it only ended when she had accidentally tripped and stumbled into his arms. Still, he had to admit that it was nice to see everyone relaxing and enjoying themselves; the last time he had seen everyone was when they had been dealing with Kadaj’s gang.
Their footsteps echoed in the nearly empty streets, and Cloud couldn’t help but smile as he listened to her half-drunken chatter. She was tipsy from the liquor as she leaned heavily against him, and he had no choice but to keep an arm around her waist to steady her. Every so often, her gaze would flicker to him as her face expressed unbridled fondness, and his chest would swell with warmth at the sight of her soft smile.
Her eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the street lamps, her lips were curled in a grin as she held back a giggle, and her loosened hair cascaded down her back. It made him want to reach out and brush away the loose strands to kiss her, but instead, he stared at the way she was grinning with flushed cheeks and glittering eyes.
Ever since the day he met her, he had loved listening to her babble on and on, and he realized then and there that he looked forward to this part of his day every day. He had always known, of course, but he loved the way she talked so enthusiastically about her day and what she felt—so different from him—and he could see how much it meant to her for him to just stay with her and listen—
“Did you hear what I said?” she asked as she looked up at him with a pout, only a hint of teasing in her tone.
Busted.
“Uh…” Shaking his head slightly as he scratched at the back of his neck out of reflex and offered a sheepish grin in return. His eyes drifted down to where she was playing with the hem of his shirt. “Sorry. My mind was on other things…”
“Hm?” she questioned, arching an eyebrow at him and looking like she wanted to continue her line of questioning but thought better of it. Instead, she tilted her head slightly to study him with those big green eyes of hers before a bright mischievous grin lit up her features. “I said… Did you see the way Rude and Tifa were eyeing each other?”
“Huh?” He felt himself blink slowly at her as he attempted to understand what she was getting at. As she stared at the look of confusion etched on his face, she grinned even wider as she waggled her brows and tilted her face up closer to him. Her breath was warm against his cheek, and his heart fluttered wildly at her proximity; despite being together for so long, she never failed at evoking these reactions from him.
“They’re obviously in love, silly!” Her voice was louder than it needed to be in the stillness of the night. Before he could look around to see if she brought attention to them, Aerith pulled away slightly, teetering backwards for a moment. Not wanting to take the chance, he wrapped his arm tighter around her to help her catch her balance, and she leaned into him, breathless, her eyes dancing with laughter. “I mean, don’t you see Rude’s face whenever he looks at Tifa?”
“I don’t really look at Rude,” Cloud murmured dryly, though he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward. She giggled softly at his response before resting her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh, and they began their way home once more. “How many drinks did you have tonight?”
“Honestly?” She lifted her chin from his shoulders so she could cast him the most disarming look she could manage. “I was helping Yuffie out. She’s new at this bartending thing, right? So every time she messed up a drink—”
He jerked upright, staring down at her wide eyed. “You didn’t!”
Laughing, her arm tightened around his waist as she feigned innocence, batting her eyes. “I was helping a friend out!”
Cloud shook his head as he shot her a disbelieving look, but in the end, all he could do was shake his head in exasperation. A light chuckle escaped his lips at the look on her face; he was never going to win against her—not even once. As he pressed a quick kiss onto the side of her temple, she hummed happily at the contact, and their walk continued in relative silence.
Until Aerith spoke up again. “Speaking of Yuffie…”
“What did she do this time?” Cloud groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. More often than not, he questioned why he didn’t just leave the princess back in the forest all those years ago; she caused more headaches than any one person should ever have to deal with.
“Did you see Yuffie and Reno going at each other’s throats?” she asked. Even though Aerith was looking away from him, he could practically hear the amusement radiating off her.
“Aren’t they always?” It was like watching two peas in a pod—each one happy to just antagonize the other for the sake of doing so.
“Mhmm,” she hummed as she nudged him playfully. “But have you considered that maybe there’s something more—”
“Don’t,” he cut her off as he paused in the middle of the sidewalk to stare down at her. The idea of those two lunatics having to do anything together was crazy, and somehow, he could already feel a headache forming behind his forehead at that thought. “I don’t even know where to begin with that.”
Aerith laughed softly in delight at his reaction as she looked up at him. “Well, just imagine—”
“No. Absolutely not.” The last thing he ever wanted to imagine was anything between Reno and Yuffie—the two people who caused more headaches than everyone else combined together. “Can we please not talk about the two of them?”
Twisting her body sideways so that her front would be pressed up against him, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling brightly at him. “Well, then,” she said, her tone teasing and light. “Should we talk about you instead, Mr. Bodyguard?”
She leaned upwards slightly and pressed a kiss against his lips, and Cloud’s grip on her waist tightened just slightly. Their lips lingered against each other for just a fraction of a moment as they relished the feel of one another. When they eventually pulled away, he felt his lips curl into a gentle smile as he looked at her, and he caressed her jaw with his thumb lightly.
Cloud could barely contain how happy he felt being this close to her. All his thoughts swirled around in his mind at how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her—at how much he loved her. Despite everything the world had thrown at her, she continued to smile through it all, and he couldn’t help but admire her strength. If there was anyone that deserved happiness the most—it was her. And not for the first time, he wondered if he was the one who could truly give her that happiness.
He didn’t know how long he stood there, just staring at her as he marvelled at how lucky he was to have her—to have a second chance with her.
“I love you.”
For a brief moment, the world stopped. And it took another second for him to realize that the words had come out of his mouth. They had sounded so natural—felt so natural—when he had spoken them, and he felt his chest squeeze tightly, and his heart beat frantically beneath his skin at her sudden stillness.
Aerith stared at him with wide eyed wonderment before her gaze softened, and a radiant smile broke out across her face. “I love you too, Cloud,” she said in a quiet whisper. “I always have. Always will.”
He knew—had always known—he had seen her smile that same dazzling smile every time she laid her eyes on him, and yet, hearing those words spoken aloud made his heart soar and feel like it would burst with happiness. The complete adoration in her eyes was something he would never get used to, and not for the first time, he wondered what he had done to deserve her.
How could someone like him be worthy of someone like her?
Reaching up, he brushed some stray hairs away from her face before leaning forward until their foreheads were pressed together. “Me too.”
She closed the gap between them and met him halfway.
“Merry Christmas, Cloud.”