Drabble #26: Theatre
Summary:
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix.
"Oh come on Cloud!" Aeris pleaded, tugging his sleeve for emphasis. "It will be a good break!" she added, giving her best smile and most pleading eyes. Cloud sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to avoid her gorgeous big eyes. Eventually, he had to give in and he directed a nod her way. She squealed, hugging his waist, almost knocking him off balance.
"Okay is it really that important?" he asked and she gave him a mock glare in response.
"I've wanted to see this play since…forever!" she replied, waving her hands in a semi-circle to emphasise the long period she had waited. Cloud raised an eyebrow at the remark but simply nodded.
"Okay, let's go."
Cloud settled himself down into the chair as Aeris stared at the stage with wide, excited eyes. He had to admit, her look of awe was attractive and so was the way the dim lights would occasionally flash across her face, giving her features an almost heavenly glow.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he turned away from her and used all his will power to keep his attention on the stage. He ignored the way she grabbed the armrest of his chair when there was a scary scene, despite how much he wanted to squeeze it in reassurance.
Of course, he had expected the happy ending, it was the fairly obvious fairy tale story. However, he hadn't expected Aeris grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet, giving him a wide smile that made her eyes light up. The reaction was instant. A blush spread across his face as he stared at the flower girl, who just smiled wider.
"Cloud, thank you," she whispered as they exited out into the cool evening air.
"For what?" he asked after a moment of stunned silence.
"For everything you've done," she replied simply. "I just wanted to thank you."
Cloud rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and gave a shy smile.
"You're welcome," he answered softly, slowly entwining their fingers instead of the loose grip Aeris had kept. She glanced down and then back up, her smile growing just that little bit wider as they walked back to the hotel.