A/N – This is my first fic, so reviews, feedback, and constructive criticism would be oh, so appreciated! Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!
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Cloud woke up that morning with a little bit of a headache. He really couldn't say it was a headache, but it was a slight pain at the back of his skull strong enough only to constantly remind him it was there when he moved his head too fast. Story of his life – minor nuisances. Speaking of which, one was still sleeping in his bed. Her name was Rhea. Rhea and Cloud had been together for the best part of a year now, or so Cloud thought. He really didn't keep track of these things. Over that time Rhea has come to really care about Cloud a lot. Cloud did not reciprocate those feelings. All Cloud really knew about Rhea was she was good in bed. That's the main reason why he let her spend the night.
Cloud looked over at Rhea wondering to himself whether he wanted a morning tumble; though, the ache in the back of his head made him decide against it. Maybe food would help.
Cloud quietly got out of bed and made his way into the shower. The water felt good. After shampooing and rinsing his hair, he reached for his soap when a pair of small, soft hands began massaging his knotted back. Cloud initially jumped at the sudden company which made Rhea laugh.
"Didn't mean to scare you, love."
"S'all right…" Cloud looked away from Rhea and stepped out of her reach and picked up the bottle of soap. "I thought you were still sleeping."
"The sound of the shower woke me up." Rhea beamed at her boyfriend and stepped into the shower with Cloud. "Need help with that?"
"No." Cloud answered dryly with a frown. He began washing his body with his back to Rhea. She frowned then began rubbing his back. "Rhea, please, just go start breakfast or something, you can have the shower after I'm done." He never looked back at her, so he missed the hurt and confusion in her wide green eyes.
She pulled her hands back, stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She was used to Cloud's moody ways. She forced a smile, "Omelet or French toast?"
"Whatever." Cloud said, stepping into the water to rinse his body.
Once Rhea had left him alone, Cloud sighed heavily and closed his eyes letting the water pour off of his head. Today was going to be a tough one. Ever since he made it to Alpha, which although still classified as grunts, they were better than the ones who probably wouldn't make it past the year, he worked harder than he ever had before. Everyone did. It was a reputation they had to keep up, and to do well meant you could be promoted to captain. Cloud's sergeants, though, seemed to pick on him. He was smaller in frame than most of the other boys. At first Cloud would think to himself that they were just assholes, but as time went by he found himself striving to prove every one of them wrong. His body, although still slim, was very well defined. He knew that he had something to prove and so far he thinks he's been doing one hell of a job. The smell of omelets reached him, pulling him away from his thoughts.
Once he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and got dressed, he headed out to the kitchen where Rhea was putting his breakfast on a plate. He took his seat at the table as she placed the plate in front of him with a coffee, kissing the top of his head before getting he breakfast ready.
He ate quietly to himself as he watched the girl hum quietly to herself. She was good to him. She put up with a lot of things she shouldn't have as well like his gloomy attitude and how he always kept her at an emotional arm's length. Why did she care about him? She treated him like a king. His thoughts were distracted when she took a seat across the table from him and flashed him an affectionate smile.
"What are your plans for the day?" she asked after swallowing her first bite.
"Dunno," Cloud shrugged poking his food with his fork. "The usual, I guess."
She nodded, taking her second bite. "Drills, training, then a fabulous evening with your girlfriend?"
Cloud looked up from his food. "I don't know yet."
"Do you want to make plans then? So you do know?" Hiding the hurt from her eyes was a little more difficult this time, though Cloud didn't seem to notice, or care.
Cloud finished his omelet then leaned back into his chair stretching. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well," Rhea's eyes brightened up. "I have this recipe I've been dying to try, and I can't think of anyone else I'd like to share it with than you." She got up from her chair and walked behind Cloud, placing her hands on his shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze. "And I know somebody who has a back that seriously needs a massage." She leaned closer and whisper in Cloud's ear "And who has an insatiable sexual appetite." Cloud closed his eyes. "How does that sound, hmm?"
"You better go now." he responded.
She straightened up and looked down at the top of Cloud's head. "What?"
He turned around and looked up at her. "No girls allowed. You shouldn't be here right now. I could get into a lot of trouble."
"All the guys do it. Besides, it's never stopped you before."
Cloud sighed then looked over to his clock. "I have to go. Lock up before you leave. Don't get caught."
"I never do." Rhea smiled again and leaned down to place a kiss on Cloud's mouth. He kissed back by reflex then stood up and walked towards the door. He paused for a minute then left without even a glance back.
Rhea slid down into the chair Cloud occupied a moment earlier and sighed. He wasn't the most cheerful person to be around, but he lit up her life. She smiled again as she picked up the dishes, preparing to wash them. Yeah, he definitely wasn't the happiest person in the world, but she was content to be with him even if he did shut her out most of the time. She dropped a plate and froze as she heard it shatter on the floor.
She couldn't hide it this time. She sunk to the ground and cried harder than she remembered ever crying.
-.-.-.-
"Strife!" Cloud cringed at the voice barking at him. What would it be this time? Was his hair too neat? Were his clothes too clean? "Drop and give me a hundred!"
"Sir?" What the hell did he do this time?
"I said…" Cloud dropped to the ground and started counting out his push-ups before the sergeant could finish his sentence. "Aren't you cute this morning, cadet. Maybe tomorrow you'll think twice before arriving to drills almost fifteen minutes early."
Minor nuisances… one hundred push-ups weren't as hard as they used to be this time last year, but still, where else was he supposed to hide out after escaping that claustrophobic apartment? Her affectionate stares. Her thousand kisses. Her roaming hands. Her…
"Wender!" Cloud's thoughts were refocused on the sergeant. "Join Miss Strife here. Make it two hundred!"
Today was going to be a tough one.
After drills Cloud had lunch then it was off to training. They mainly trained hand-to-hand. Once they mastered that then they were allowed a weapon. He found himself quickly picking up on that. Maybe all of his opponents thought he was small and would be easy to take down. So far he's proven them wrong.
Training was the same as any other day. Running, climbing, stretching, and then one-on-one hand-to-hand combat. So far no one was able to keep him down, and he noticed that the sergeant had been pairing him up with progressively bigger guys. Everyone that went down by him made him grin smugly in his mind.
Today was no different. He was paired with a guy named Kyari. Kyari was a 250 pound guy who knew how to throw a punch. He also knew how to fight, but Cloud's smaller frame gave him speed and he took Kyari down without a problem. He knew after a fight never to look over at the sergeant. He wouldn't be proud of him, smiling, or showing any gesture of approval in any way. He just took his place in line and waited to be called upon again.
After drills was his favourite part of the day. Although showering with fifty or so other guys, he let the water wash away the day from his body and relaxed with his thoughts. This was also the furthest time from when he would have to do training again.
After showers, Cloud headed back to his apartment. Spending most of this money on privacy was well worth it in his eyes, even though there still were stupid little rules in place for private apartments on base just to keep some form of control. He could have stayed on base for free, but he valued his privacy too much. That is, until he somehow got suckered into giving Rhea a key. He sighed heavily as he put his key into the lock and closed his eyes tightly. Maybe if he wished it hard enough…
"Hi-ya love!" Rhea chimed cheerfully. "I hope you brought home an appetite." She rushed over with a spoon and guided it into his mouth. "What do you think? More salt?"
Cloud swallowed what tasted like a stew of some sort. It was good. "No, it's fine."
She beamed and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Again, Cloud responded reflexively then she bounced back to the kitchen.
Cloud threw his bag on the floor and collapsed on the couch. He yearned to be alone right now, but didn't really want to ask for privacy since, well, he might need her later. And the girl could cook.
"How was your day?" she asked from the kitchen.
"Fine." Cloud closed his eyes and tried to sink into the couch.
"How was drills?"
"They were drills."
"Training?"
"Training." Gods, get the hint already…
She seemed to since she started humming to herself which she finished preparing dinner. Cloud felt himself relaxing as he heard a strike of a match. He looked back over to the dinning room table to see it all decked out with flowers, candles, and enough food to feed ten.
"Come eat, love." Rhea smiled again, beckoning Cloud over to the table. He got up and sat at his chair, looking over the production of dinner. "I really hope you like it." She smiled as she took her seat.
Suddenly Cloud didn't feel so hungry anymore. He looked at one of the candles then over to the flowers in the middle of the table. "Why all of this?" he asked.
"I was just excited to be able to cook for you tonight, and you have an evening off, and I don't have class tomorrow morning, and…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed the almost disturbed look on Cloud's face. "Tell me what you're thinking."
Something inside of Cloud snapped. "Don't use your psycho-analytical bullshit with me. I'm so sick of you trying to pry and prod and understand things you really have no right to!"
Rhea looked shocked and couldn't force herself to move, let alone speak.
"What is all of this? Are you trying to play house? Why are you always here? Do you not have anywhere else to be? Why are you acting like my wife?" Cloud gasped "A wife… why are you always acting like a wife…" He felt himself lose composure. Was he really yelling at her for treating him like a king?
Rhea's shocked look changed into hurt and tears welled up in her eyes.
"I…" Cloud couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. "I… look, Rhea…" He didn't know what he wanted to say.
"I wanted to cook for you since you're always too tired to eat properly after training. I wanted to make it beautiful to show how I feel for you. I wanted to make love to my boyfriend, I was setting the mood…"
Cloud cut her off, "Make love?" He felt the anger come back from nowhere. "Is that what you think?" He scoffed. "Rhea, we don't make love. We fuck." With that he got up from the table and left to the bedroom.
He pulled off his shirt and threw himself onto his bed. He hugged his pillow and tried to fall asleep. Maybe everything would be back to normal once he woke up. Maybe she would be gone, or back to her independent self and he wouldn't have to deal with this new 'wife' act she's be playing as of lately. After a few minutes he felt himself being pulled into sleep's warm embrace. Somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, he felt a weight on the bed and arms encircle his stomach. The scent told him it was Rhea. She kissed his temple and nuzzled his ear with her nose.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier." she whispered softly. "I would do anything to make you happy… just let me know." She kissed his ear and laid down beside him, waiting for sleep to call her too.
Something in those words comforted Cloud as he smiled inwardly and dropped off into a deep sleep.
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Please review. Please?