Night Time

A/N: Cloud and Tifa belong to Square-enix.

I toss and turn in my bed, sweaty and hot. The heat waves have been unbearable lately. I think of asking my friend upstairs whether it would be possible to ask for a downpour sometime soon.

No, that would be cheating. Cheating and going against my warrior's honour.

I sigh and attempt to sleep.

I close my eyes and put in my favourite memories. I envision a date with Cloud. (I know right!) I smile as I feel his hand warm against mine. Blue cerulean orbs stare at me, smouldering away, containing secrets that I know will one day yield when their owner is ready. We're sitting on his bike, on a cliff overlooking the sleeping city.

"Can't sleep?" he asks.

Wait… can't sleep? But we're on a date. Duh, I can't sleep!

"Teef?"

Then my mind comes to terms with the next possibility and I command my eyes to open.

Blue cerulean orbs stare at me, this time, looking as if to see if I have any secrets to yield myself.

"Cloud?" my face automatically forms a frown.

He looks like he's trying not to smile, "Can't sleep?"

Wait, did I ever tell him about my technique for waging the war against insomnia?

My eyes narrow, "Yes. I can't sleep. Can you?"

He looks sheepish now, but I know that he's secretly storing away that memory of watching my facial expressions as I force a dream on myself. "Neither could i…"

I sigh and stare at the ceiling again. Now he's here, my mind is forced to contemplate another decision. Should I let the matter of his future teasing get away?

I gesture beside me, "Sit… lie down…whatever… Don't mind me."

I feel a very awkward slump as my bedsprings bend and reshape to accommodate his weight, "So…"

I speculate the intricate (not) patterns of the steel plated ceiling (Rows and rows of square metal.) again, "So?"

He follows my gaze and like me, attempts to get something out of the ceiling too, "Any reasons?"

I blink and sigh and dredge up that age old mind-twister again then I look over at him.

He looks at me and gives a sort of smile before directing his gaze towards the ceiling again.

Silence falls as gently as the flight of the Shera, when it's not doing battle.

I play with my theory, fitting and stringing ideas and logic together, like pieces of Denzel's puzzles.

We both allow the silence to drag on for quite some time.

When I am utterly sure that he has fallen asleep, I whisper his name, "Cloud?"

"Hmm?" he answers without missing a beat, his eyes flash open focus on me.

"Do you like to stay awake… during the night?"

He turns to his side, facing me, "Yeah, I do."

I raise my eyebrows, "Do you think other people like us do that too?"

"… I don't really know Teef…"

I turn over and my gaze automatically holds his, "Why do you stay awake? Why not just go to sleep?"

He closes his eyes and runs his hands through his hair. Eventually, they end up behind his head.

"It's quiet, night time. Helps me think better."

I smile, inside my head, the pieces of the puzzle come together, clicking with each other. My mind-twisters always end up like that.

"It's the same for me."

I can feel his gaze on me as I turn and mine goes back to the ceiling, "The night helps me to think. There is no loud noise of the day. There're no customers or chores to do. At night, my brain comes alive."

He smiles, "I like it."

I laugh, "Know what? Me too…"

Suddenly, a yawn attacks me and I know that my mind and body are slowly shutting down.

I notice offhand that the bed has gotten warmer and somewhere inside, that girlish side of me panics at the thought of losing that warmth.

"Clo….ud?" Another yawn attacks me mid sentence, "Don't go…"

He simply blinks in mild surprise before settling down, making me move my head a bit to make way for those blond spikes. When I hit wall, his head only has a quarter of the pillow.

I laugh drowsily. Suddenly, his arms shoot forward and pull me close. I find myself snuggling closer and using his arm as a pillow. Somewhere inside, the strategist me laughs at Cloud's tactic for getting a whole pillow to himself.

"Goodnight Cloud."

"Night Teef."

I smile as my brain consciously launches into a dream of a date with him.

And just like that, we both slip away.

Ends

A/N: Smile-smile-smile… Wrote this at 1 in the morning. To all those people who have read and reviewed my fics, THANKS SOOOOO MUCH. This fic is dedicated to you guys. ;) I will try and see what else I have in my arsenal of imagination so that it doesn't become a hiatus again. By the way, reason for hiatus (For all you curious people…): No inspiration. SMILE. Till next time then guys… Bye!