Drabble #21: Warmth

Summary: Fires are not the only thing that could provide him with warmth

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix

Cloud watched the snow tumble down with a small frown creasing his skin. If the weather kept up like this, they would not make it through the mountains that surrounded Nibelheim. He jumped slightly as the grandfather clock in the corner chimed midnight but relaxed when he saw what it was, glaring around the room in case anyone had seen his slight cowardly reaction. He turned his attention back to the window, looking out to where his house stood proudly and the frown returned. He could not understand why the town was still here, as if nothing had ever happened. Soft footsteps echoed behind him, padding down the stairs, almost as if they were sneaking up on him. Cloud reached for the hilt of his sword and in one swift motion, had unsheathed it and spun around to face the attacker.

However, instead of a madman, he was greeted by the sight of Aeris, who jumped back as the point of the sword came dangerously close to her, a hand held over her heart as she stared at Cloud with shock. He immediately put his weapon away and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone sneaking up on me," he whispered, looking to the ground in shame. Aeris watched him for a moment and gave a small smile.

"Well, I guess I was spying a little," she admitted before giving a shiver, wrapping her arms around her body. Cloud noticed the act and tilted his head to the side.

"Are you cold?"

"A little," she replied with another shiver as she looked around the room. "The rooms are freezing here,"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Aeris, why were you spying on me?"

The flower girl blushed slightly and gave a quick shrug of her shoulders, her hand brushing her hair from her eyes.

"I was worried about you," she admitted. "You hardly sleep, you hardly eat. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,"

Cloud sighed as if in annoyance as he turned his face away to hide his blush as a warm feeling flushed through his body.

"You don't need to worry about me," he sighed when he was sure that his face was back to normal. Aeris glanced up into his eyes and gave a small smile that threatened to make his face surge with warmth all over again. She stepped closer and reached a hand out to touch his cheek, his eyes widening from the contact as she gave her trademark grin.

"I can't help it sometimes," she whispered before she stepped back and made her way back up the stairs.

"You will get some sleep tonight won't you?" she asked softly, her eyes narrowing slightly as if daring him to disagree. He gave a small smile and his eyes travelled to the empty fireplace where the embers of a previous fire were still burning. He hadn't really noticed when it had gone out which was strange since he thought it had been keeping him warm as he had watched the snow. However, he soon realised that when Aeris left the room, the atmosphere became colder, and he had actually been a lot warmer when Aeris was standing before him.

He sighed as he made his way up the stairs, not wanting to disappoint Aeris by not going to bed when she had been so concerned about him. He tiptoed past the rooms until he came to the door on the end of the right hand side, which was slightly ajar. Peeking through the gap, he could see the outline of Aeris, lying quietly in her bed. Cloud backed away slowly, not wanting to disturb her, and made his way across the hall into his own room. But as he lay beneath the covers, he could not stop shivering. The air was cold, the blankets were thin, and he was trying to force himself into sleep if only to forget the low temperatures that surrounded him.

Faintly, in the back of his mind, he wondered if he would have been warmer if Aeris was in the same bed with him, snuggled up against him as his arms draped protectively around her. He blushed at his thoughts but he knew that it was not the first time that he had thought of her as more than a friend. Sometimes, it was not blankets or a fire that kept him warm, but the fact that Aeris was always near; ready to stand by him through thick and thin. The loyalty that she showed towards him made him feel warmer than any summer day and it now, as he thought of her, that he room became warmer and he fell into the arms of sleep where the flower girl would still be waiting by his side.