"Aerith? Wake up." Cloud Strife shook his girlfriend's shoulder and slowly pulled the covers off her petite frame as sunlight flooded into their bedroom. "Aerith!"

The young woman awoke with a start; she jumped up at his yelling and squinted, her eyes adjusting to the brightness. "Is..something…wrong?" Her yawns stretched the words out as she casually asked them, cracking her neck as she stood up and shuffled over towards the closet door.

"Well, it's Valentine's Day. And I made us reservations for brunch at eleven."

"Oh, right! Wonderful, I'll just bathe and we'll—" Her eyes scanned the big clock on the wall across from her. It was ten forty-nine. Aerith gasped and looked over at her boyfriend, who was now leaning against the doorframe and trying his hardest not to get impatient.

"One second, one second!" In a flash, she had slipped into a slim black dress and a red cardigan, and was stuffing her feet into some shiny laced boots.

"'M gonna get the bike revved up. See you down in a few?" With that, Cloud made his way down the stairs of their house and out the door.

"I'm almost ready!" She quickly adjusted the pink bow holding her braid together and then dashed outside herself, hopping onto Fenrir and hugging Cloud's back for support as he sped off down the road, her long braid flapping behind them in the wind.

Thanks to Cloud's speedy—and not-too-reckless—driving, they had arrived there in time. Or so they thought.

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't keep our reservations past fifteen minutes," a busy waiter said to them as he handed out menus to another table.

"Are you serious?" Cloud muttered, shaking his head and rubbing the spikes on it. "I had that reservation for months…" Aerith took hold of his arm and tugged him gently out of the restaurant, into the utterly-packed parking lot.

She looked up at his gloomy face and her heart almost broke. He had done so much to prepare them for a great day, and she had spoiled simply by being a heavy sleeper. "I'm so, so sorry, Cloud! This is my fault. I totally understand if you'd like never to speak to me again."

Cloud peered down at the flower girl now, and to her surprise, he laughed. "Why are you sorry? You're the only one I was trying to impress. I don't even like that place." He paused. "It's too…fancy."

"Wait, but—why would you try and impress me? I'm your girlfriend, silly! I love you without fancy stuff."

"Yeah, I guess…But you're also a master flower seller. Everyone I talked to or asked for advice about Valentine's Day said to buy flowers from your shop. They didn't exactly know I was dating you when I asked…"

It was Aerith's turn to laugh. She wrapped her arms around Cloud's neck and stood on her tiptoes, whispering in his ear, "All I really want today is you, you know."

Strongly, he pressed his lips against her own as he wrapped his own arms around her slender waist, lifting her off the ground as he did so. She squirmed in his grasp, kicking her legs as she kissed him back fiercely. He gently put her back down and she pouted a little, but took his hand and walked back towards where Fenrir was parked.

"Shall we continue this at home?" Aerith offered, giggling as she did.

Cloud chuckled. "Anything for you."