Cloud and Aeris's relationship was a little over two years old when her vaginismus began. No warnings either; what should have been like any other coupling before soon turned into a pained disappointment for them both. Each tried to take responsibility afterward and offered reasons for the problem and why everything had gone so wrong. It had to be some combination of distracted thoughts, lack of arousal, tiredness, the starts of some illness or not taking quite enough time on foreplay.

Despite their mutual insistence, something had been different to the other times when Aeris realised she was not quite into the moment. Distractions and tiredness normally resulted in a lack of climax, not pain. And when those circumstances occurred, Cloud always rushed to assure her he would make it up to her later; and by this point he owed her a considerable debt. That too was fine; last time was another to the debt.

Their next attempt to sleep together revealed something was wrong. The mood had been perfect this time, Cloud took things slow and sensual, revelling in the seduction. He did everything right, she was ready as ever she wrapped her legs around his waist and- "Ow." She grabbed his hip and kept him still. "No, no, no." She shook her head. "Hurts." Her eyes watered.

Cloud blinked and sat back as she held herself, willing the pain to dissipate. "Same as last time?"

Aeris nodded and swallowed. "Yeah." A new pulse of pain made her wince, her teeth gritted and her nethers in agony. Cloud curled up beside her and held her in his arms.

"It's okay."

"Hope so." The pain left her unwilling to move for now. "Might have to see what the doctor says." Not a fun prospect in the slightest. The eventual response was better than she feared but still bad news. Aeris sat down with Cloud that evening. "Sounds like I have a yeast infection. Got some cream and we just have to take things easier for a week." The week passed; another attempt at love making ended much the same as the previous. Another visit to the doctor then. "Sounds like I might have vaginismus as well. And there's no cure."

"Nothing?" Cloud frowned.

"Well." Aeris sighed and held up the bag of dilators the doctor prescribed. "These are the best they have. The infection's gone, but stull hurting. These can work, but we gotta take it slow."

Cloud hugged her. "Take as long as you need."

The dilators were not fun. The purpose and rationale behind them was simple enough and it all made sense. Get her body used to penetration from scratch; start with something small and work her way up until she could take Cloud again without pain. Simple. Five minutes per day, per dilator - and to as large a size as she felt able to each time. Estimates had it about a week per size. This would be a doddle.

The second size put paid to any kind of quick solution; her body clamped down hard the first time she tried to use it - as she had with Cloud. She was not able to accept anything larger than that right now. And that wasn't even getting into how unsexy dilators were; smooth, undefined, ruler straight and inflexible. Her mind drifted as she used them; long days did nothing to spark an enthusiasm for using them before bed.

Getting herself aroused was too much effort; far easier to use lube, her mind somewhere happier. Cloud tried to help at first, but the prescribed regularity was a mood-killer contrasted with their former spontaneity, and they were not together like that as much as they once were. Tiredness did not help either. Cloud being there was also a distraction - plus he was not helping out with anything more intimate after his first attempt. What had sounded a least a little sexier with his help resulted in yet another burst of pain.

Circumstances conspired to make her condition take even longer to suffer through. The whole situation was far tougher than it sounded at first. But no one could help. Cloud read articles about creams and surgeries that might. Not that the cream was easy to find - and then it only treated the symptoms, not her underlying condition. Surgery was for people with much worse situations than hers.

Despite it all, they still made love. Not quite in the way they would have interpreted the phrase in the past, but they were still intimate. Weekend mornings soon became the ideal time. Very little pressure. Nowhere to be and a lot of time to spend on each other. Waking up to the drowzy haze of a Saturday. Kiss after kiss; each seeking out the other's lips, ears, neck, chest and lower still.

Aeris tended to roll onto her side and Cloud curled up behind her, pressing close. More kisses, the feel of him against her back and his arms surrounding her. He always made the first move; an inquisitive hand stroking over her belly until it could slide between her thighs as she parted them. Intimacy did not require penetration; his fingers danced across her skin with practiced skill and sought just the right place to stroke. As much as she delighted in the pressure of his fingers pressing just so, Aeris was unwilling to let him do all the work, to only let her find satisfaction now.

A moment to re-arrange themselves side by side; each's hand caressing the other's body. Cloud kept his nails short after a few frustrating almosts as Aeris started bucking her hips. He made sure he always bring her to climax first; in those moments Cloud was the best that ever was. As soon as she managed to catch her breath, Aeris would guide him to straddle her. She returned the favour until he erupted with a groan across her stomach. So messy. Better then letting him drip on the sheets, but sometimes she wondered about putting a condom on him first. She let it slide as always and cleaned herself up as best she could before sharing another embrace with Cloud. And both sated, they got up to face the day together.