Drabble #57: Jam

Summary: It seems Aerith can be a bit of a rule-breaker at times.

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

"I'm hungry!" Yuffie whined for what felt like the fifteenth time in one minute. The team had ignored her but it was obvious that they were irritated. They had gone for three days without food, having never been able to find a village nearby to stock up. It had only been water passing their lips that kept them going but their energy was fading. Their concentration in battles was collapsing and they were beginning to wonder if they would make it to the next village alive.

They were resting now, just below a mountain that sheltered them from the snow that had began to fall. Red circled the area, trying to smell out enemies or even people that could lead them to the next inhabitation. He suddenly stiffened, sniffing again. The rest of the group stood up instantly recognizing the signs that he had scented something.

"What is it Red?" Aeris asked softly as the others scanned the place. He sniffed again, frowning slightly.

"Jam," he whispered.

"Jam?" she repeated. He nodded.

"Well go and get it then!" Yuffie cried, waving her hands in the air frantically. Tifa sighed.

"We shouldn't all go; it'll scare the person off. I'll go. Red, could you show me the way?"

"I'm coming too!" Yuffie called. "I want the whole store!" She bounded after the older female and firewolf with newfound energy. Aeris shook her head but a small smile was evident on her features. Cloud rubbed his head.

"You okay Cloud?" she asked, noticing his tired eyes and paler than normal skin.

"Yeah," he replied in a low voice. She wasn't convinced. She didn't get a chance to question him further when Tifa, Red and Yuffie returned, the younger female with a sour look on her face.

"You should have seen the price of that jam!" she cried. "All our gil put together would have gotten us about five small jars. And I mean this small!" She put her finger and thumb millimeters apart to emphasize. Tifa and Red nodded solemnly.

"And it would have gotten us one medium jar but it wouldn't have fed all of us," added Red.

Aeris thought for a moment before she stood up. "Cloud, come with me!" she ordered, walking in the direction that the others had gone in. Cloud blinked in surprise and Tifa shook her head.

"No point Aeris," she said. "The woman is an old cow. She doesn't care that we're out of food."

"Give me your gil!" Aeris commanded softly holding out her hand. The rest stared at her in disbelief.

"You're not going to buy them Aeris?" Yuffie asked. "We hardly have any money at all."

"Trust me," replied Aeris, smiling. "Come on Cloud," she added once she received the group's gil.

Cloud, unable to do much else, obediently followed the flower girl out of the group's sight. They immediately saw a small jam shop ahead of them, as well as a few other shops, obviously meant for travelers to stock up on their journeys. The woman eyed them carefully. Aeris smiled and walked up to her, taking note that the small jam jars on the display were only apricot, raspberry and blackcurrant.

"Can we have two small jars of strawberry jam please?" she asked politely.

"Pay first!" the woman snapped. Aeris reached into her pocket and threw a few coins in the woman's hand. After they had been inspected, the shopkeeper disappeared into the shop to collect the strawberry jars.

As soon as her back was turned, Aeris reached over and grabbed two large jars of apricot jam, placing them in her bag. She handed Cloud a raspberry and strawberry, indicating for him to do the same before she grabbed handfuls of small jars from the display, stuffing them into her pockets. She shoved some into Cloud's palm, who pocketed them just as the woman returned.

"Here you go," she sighed, obviously wanting them to go as she threw them at Aeris.

"Thank you," said Aeris with a smile as she walked away, Cloud close behind. "Aeris! I can't believe you stole!" Cloud whispered once they were out of earshot. She smirked.

"There are lots of things you don't know about me Cloud," she replied, nudging him playfully. "I had to learn in order to survive in Midgar."

"I need to know you better," Cloud chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Aeris giggled.

"You will," she promised before she tilted her head to the side. "How about on our date?" she asked. Cloud's cheeks turned a little pink.

"Yeah," he replied before adding innocently. "Will that be soon?"