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Cloud’s eyes snapped open, the unsettling feeling that something —or some one — was watching him heavy in his chest. Out of habit, his hand reached for the handle of his sword propped against the headboard as his eyes scanned the room for any threats.
Barret was slumped on the sofa, one leg haphazardly draped over the back of the sofa, his mouth hanging open as a loud snore escaped him. Nanaki was curled up on the floor beside him, chin resting on his paws and his chest rising and falling steadily. Nothing out of the ordinary. As he continued his surveillance of the room, his eyes locked on something in the corner of the room, his heart leaping into his throat.
A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at him. Unblinking. Unmoving.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Cloud mentally prepared himself for whatever it was he was up against. Narrowing his eyes, his vision adjusted to the dim light filtering in through the hotel room window and he felt all of his adrenaline drain away in an instant.
It was just the tonberry humidifier.
Slumping against the headboard, his grip slackened on his sword as a heavy sigh escaped him. Thank the Gods none of his friends were awake to witness this… momentary oversight because he would never hear the end of it - especially if Barret found out. The thought of Aerith fussing over him and questioning his increasing paranoia didn’t sit right with him. And then there was Tifa…
Cloud didn’t want to make her worry more than she already did.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Cloud pulled on his boots as quietly as he could before tiptoeing past Nanaki and Barret. Shooting the tonberry humidifier one last dirty look as it soullessly stared into the room from its charging pad, he slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click.
Rubbing his temple, he slowly made his way down the grand staircase towards the lobby. Maybe if he surveyed the perimeter of the hotel he’d feel more in control of his surroundings and be able to get some much needed rest before they resumed their journey the next day.
At least…that’s what he kept telling himself.
Nearing the bottom of the staircase, Cloud swept his gaze across the lobby, instinctively searching the nearest exit in relation to his position. He paused on a lone figure standing in front of the large bay window overlooking the hotel’s entrance, hands clasped behind their back and gaze fixed on something beyond the window.
Cloud frowned, concern gnawing at him. Why was Tifa up at this hour? And more importantly, had something happened?
Stopping just a few steps shy of joining her, Cloud softly called her name. Tifa took a moment to turn towards him —almost as if she was bracing herself for something— a small smile curving her lips.
“Can’t sleep either, huh?” she inquired quietly.
Shaking his head, Cloud sidled up beside her. “It felt like something was watching me.” Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he grimaced at the look of concern flashing across her face. “It was just the stupid tonberry humidifier,” he mumbled.
A quiet laugh escaped Tifa. “Well that’s a relief. For a moment I was worried that…” She trailed off and Cloud didn’t need to ask where her thoughts had initially gone to. After a moment, she turned to face him an impish smile on her face. “So, how was your date with Nanaki?”
“It wasn’t a date.”
“That’s not how Nanaki made it sound,” she teased. “It sounded quite romantic, if you ask me. Taking him to a show and then on a ferris wheel ride? That’s a textbook date.”
Cloud felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. “It wasn’t a date,” he insisted.
“If you say so.” Hiding her grin behind her hand, Tifa turned back towards the window.
Wanting to distract himself from how flustered he was feeling, Cloud leaned in close and murmured, “What would you consider to be a date?”
Pulling away, a rush of triumph washed over him as Tifa whipped her gaze towards him, pink dusting her cheeks and eyes wide in surprise. It only took her a moment before she gathered her thoughts and tilted her head to the side. “Why? Planning another date with someone?” Despite the teasing tone of her voice, Cloud didn’t miss the way she bit her lower lip - a tell-tale sign that she was nervous.
“Hmm… Perhaps.” Turning to face her, Cloud leaned against the window frame and crossed his arms over his chest. “But you’ll have to help a guy out since I’ve never been on a date before.”
The blush on Tifa’s cheeks darkened, her gaze flitting away from his as she crossed her arms. “I guess… I’ve always wanted someone to win me something from a carnival game,” she confessed.
Cloud smiled softly, all teasing gone from his voice as he stepped forward to grasp her hand. “Why didn’t you say so?” Before she could protest, he tugged gently on her hand and led her towards the doors. “Let’s go.”
As it turned out, Cloud was absolutely terrible at carnival games which amused Tifa to no end. At first she was nervous, unsure of what to do as she was led by the hand out of the hotel and towards the main area of the Gold Saucer. But once they had made their way through the maze of the Gold Saucer and towards Wonderment Square, she felt her nervousness give way to giddiness.
She was on a date. With Cloud.
As she watched him bow his head in defeat as he lost to Dio for the twentieth time on the 3D brawler game, she stifled a laugh. He had been at it for a solid hour by this point, determined to beat the game and win her a prize but to no avail. Stepping forward, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Let’s take a break, hmm?”
“No,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “I can beat this stupid game, I know I can.”
Shaking her head, Tifa smiled at him. “Let’s go for a walk and get some snacks,” she suggested. “Then we can come back once you’ve cooled off.”
Cloud grumbled something under his breath, but acquiesced when Tifa tugged on his arm. He allowed her to pull him along behind her, his annoyance fading as quickly as it had come on when Tifa wrapped her fingers around his, her hand warm and reassuring even through the leather of his gloves.
They meandered around the Gold Saucer grounds for a while, stopping for pretzels the size of Cloud’s head and cotton candy in between people watching. Tifa stifled a laugh when one of the Tonberry mascots passed by and Cloud visibly stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he warily watched the mascot until it was a safe distance away. Once he had deemed it ‘safe’ and relaxed, his gaze snapped to Tifa when she couldn’t hold in her laughter anymore.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked “What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry Cloud!” Tifa giggled, her hand covering her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile. “I just didn’t know you were so afraid of Tonberries.”
Seeing the mirth shining in her eyes, the corners of Cloud’s mouth turned upwards into a half-smile. “They’re cute, but deadly. Just like someone else I know.”
“And who would that be?”
Cloud hummed in thought, tapping his index finger on his chin for a moment. “Hmm… I guess Red would fit the bill.”
Tifa gasped in mock shock, her hand flying to her heart as if clutching at an imaginary string of pearls. “I knew it!” she breathed. “You two really were on a date!”
Before Cloud could defend himself —and his reasoning— Tifa pulled on his hand suddenly pointing to a carnival game she wanted to look at, causing him to stumble after her. At the sight of unabashed joy on her face, Cloud decided to let it go. So long as Tifa was having fun, all the teasing at his expense was worth it.
Tifa stopped in front of a booth where children and adults alike were throwing baseballs at metal milk jugs that were stacked into a pyramid. The person who was running the booth approached them, cajoling them to join in the fun.
“Ya just hafta knock down all the bottles and you’ll win yourself a prize,” explained the man. “It’s so simple even a child could do it!”
Glancing up at Cloud, Tifa raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge. “What do you say Cloud? Wanna give it a shot?”
Nodding, Cloud slapped some Gil into the man’s hand, his gaze never straying from Tifa’s. “You’re on.”
Cloud dragged a hand down his face in defeat as he trudged along behind Tifa on the path leading back to the hotel. The game had to be rigged. There’s absolutely no way that with his SOLDIER strength he couldn’t knock down even one of the milk jugs, no matter how hard he threw the ball.
“Aw, don’t be a sore loser,” teased Tifa. She turned around to face him, walking backwards as she peered at him over the top of the giant chocobo plush she had won herself. It was so large that she could barely wrap her arms around the damned thing, but Cloud couldn’t bring himself to be upset when she was more excited than he’d seen her in years. “You did your best!”
“The game was rigged,” he insisted.
Tifa rolled her eyes. “Well of course they are! Otherwise they’d never earn any money.”
Cloud balked. “You knew they were rigged?!”
“You act like I’ve never been to a carnival before,” she teased. “We did have them from time to time in Sector 7, you know. I got to know their tricks pretty well while trying to win Marlene a stuffed animal.”
Running a hand through his hair and sighing, Cloud couldn’t help the small smile on his lips at the idea of Tifa doing her best to win Marlene something nice. Jogging a few steps, he caught up to Tifa and reached for her hand, bringing her to a halt just in front of the hotel entrance.
“So…” He paused, searching for the right words. “Did you have fun?”
“Of course!” Tifa smiled softly. “I always have fun with you, Cloud.”
Taking a step closer, Cloud squeezed her hand gently. “And…was this date as romantic as you thought it should be?”
Tifa’s cheeks flushed at his question and she ducked her head, avoiding his gaze. For a moment, Cloud thought he may have pushed her too far and was about to apologize when she murmured, “There’s one thing that might make it as romantic as I thought it would be.”
With a soft chuckle, Cloud reached out to tilt Tifa’s chin up, forcing her to make eye contact with him. After a moment’s hesitation, he bent down, placing a soft kiss on her lips before pulling away. Tifa’s eyes were wide, flush spreading down her neck and she looked about as flustered as Cloud was feeling on the inside.
“How was that?”
Tifa’s mouth opened and closed, as if she was trying to find the words but was unable to. She settled for nodding shyly, dropping her gaze as she stepped out of his grasp and quickly ducked around him to the door, her arms gripping the chocobo tightly. The door creaked open, and Cloud turned to see her hesitating in the doorway.
“Tifa?”
“Th-thank you for the date, Cloud. I had a lot of fun.” She cast him one last look over her shoulder before hurrying through the doorway, the tips of her ears a bright red.
Cloud’s own cheeks flushed a little, but he couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him at Tifa’s bashfulness before he followed her inside.