He's About to Lose Me
Disclaimer: I own nothing. AU
Aerith slid the key into the lock of her apartment and smoothly unlocked it, hearing it click open. She silently entered the apartment, knowing that he would probably be watching television, half asleep on the sofa. Dropping her keys into a bowl on the corridor table she peeked her head around the corner, true to form, there was Cloud, her boyfriend of two and a half years sprawled out onto the sofa, his mouth slightly open as slowly drifted off, the television playing quietly in the background. Out of habit Aerith rolled her eyes but she felt a tug of something as she walked to their bedroom, regret? Or was it simply boredom? Sighing, she stepped into the bathroom and unbuttoned her dress as she turned the shower on, turning the heat up to almost scalding and sliding in. She relished the feeling of all the grime and pollution sliding off her body after a hard day's work in her flower shop. She had only recently opened the shop and she was having a bit of difficulty getting it off the ground.
Wrapped in a large white towel she went back to her bedroom to dry off when she heard her phone ringing, checking the caller ID she saw it was Tifa and picked up the phone quickly.
"Hey. How are you?"
"I'm fine thanks," Tifa replied, "you?"
"Not too bad, just got home."
"Well I hope you're not too tired after working all day, I've got a big night planned for us!" Tifa exclaimed excitedly down the phone.
"Why? What's the occasion?" Aerith replied, feeling slightly sleepy from the heat of the shower and silently wishing she hadn't picked up her phone.
"Do we need an occasion really?" Tifa replied.
"Yes." Aerith sighed, fighting a yawn.
"Look, I know you're probably tired Aerith, but it is a Friday night and Yuffie is back in town for the weekend! She's pretty busy all weekend but I though tonight we could all get together and go to Seventh Heaven for a night out. Like we used to do, remember? Back when we were fun!" Aerith could hear the teasing in Tifa's voice, but something she had said struck a chord with Aerith. She had been fun, and now that she had been concentrating on her shop and… Cloud she had no time for fun.
"Actually, that does sound really fun. And I'd love to see Yuffie again before she goes back home. Alright, what's the plan?"
"You get ready, dress up, and then come over to mine for around 7. We'll have dinner here and some nice wine then we'll go out on the town! I'm so excited!"
"Ok sounds good! I'll see you soon!" Aerith hung up and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table next to Cloud's side of the bed. It was 5.30 so she definitely had enough time to get ready.
"Who was that on the phone?" Cloud called out from the TV room. Aerith walked into the room in her towel to reply.
"That was Tifa, I'm going out tonight." Aerith watched as cloud's face dropped and he finally drew his eyes away from the TV.
"Don't go out." He whined, "Stay in with me and we'll order takeaway and watch a film." Aerith frowned at him.
"We do that every night Cloud, I honestly can't think of anything I want to do less. Yuffie's back and she's only here for the weekend so of course I want to see her. I'm going over to Tifa's house for dinner the we're going out to Seventh Heaven."
"The club?" Cloud asked in surprise.
"Yes Cloud, the club," Aerith sighed, "I'm going out to have fun." Cloud just nodded and Aerith went back to their bedroom to get changed .
She picked out a pink lightweight jersey dress from her wardrobe that went just past her knees and laid it out on the bed before going into the bathroom to dry her hair and put on a bit of make-up.
As she dried her hair she tried to distract herself from the conversation she had just had with Cloud. When had they become roommates instead of boyfriend and girlfriend? She felt like living together had only served to push them further apart, they barely talked to each other now. She realized it was really upsetting her and so she made a conscious effort to not think about it and let herself get excited about seeing her friends and going dancing.
When she'd finished her make-up and had styled her hair into loose curls she walked back to her bedroom and looked at the dress she had laid out on the bed. She suddenly decided that the dress was way too boring and not what she wanted to wear out tonight. She rifled through her wardrobe until she found what she was looking for, a black strapless dress with two cut outs on the sides, just above her waist. The dress had a slight sparkle to it, it was at least two inches above her knees and very tight. It was not something that Aerith had ever worn before and not the sort of style she really went for but the way she was feeling at that moment, she was excited to wear it. She grabbed a pair of very high nude heels and started to get dressed as Cloud walked into the bedroom.
"What am I going to eat tonight?" he grumbled as he sat down on the bed. Aerith fought hard not to snap at him.
"Why don't you order takeaway? You planned to do that anyway."
"I don't want takeaway anymore." He was beginning to sound like a child and Aerith could feel herself getting more annoyed.
"You know what Cloud? It's not my problem, you're a grown man you can figure it out yourself. I'm going to go out tonight and have fun because I really deserve it!" Aerith cried, keeping her voice level.
"What do you mean you deserve it?" Cloud asked, clearly a little bit offended.
"All day I work Cloud, all day! And I know you work too, but my hours are a lot longer and I'm just starting this business so it's very difficult. So after a day at work I want to come home and relax, but no!" she snapped at him, "That's what you do when you get home, and me, what do I do? I run around the flat cleaning up after you! Feeding you, fetching you things from the shop while you lie in front of the TV like some kind of brain-dead zombie! But you know what hurts the most? I wouldn't mind doing it all if you noticed! If you even appreciated it a little bit, did some things for me in return, but you don't, and now when I want to do something all you can do is moan and complain as if I'm letting you down! Our relationship is deteriorating and I don't know what to do! We haven't had sex for 2 months! That's a really long time Cloud! I just want to have fun and forget, just for one night! And so that's what I'm going to do, sort yourself out tonight Cloud!"
And with that she zipped up the rest of her dress, slid on her heels, grabbed a black clutch and a black jacket from her wardrobe, checked herself in the mirror and stormed out the flat, grabbing her keys on the way out.
Aerith stepped into Seventh Heaven with Tifa and Yuffie and smiled, breathing in the smell of smoke and sweat and spirits and actually enjoying it, usually she hated it.
She felt amazing, like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and now she was with Yuffie and Tifa, her two best friends, and she was going to have a really good time. The three girls went and sat down, ordering a glass of wine each, Aerith had already had two at Tifa's and was feeling a little light headed, and Yuffie was giggling hysterically, she'd always been a lightweight.
"Do you guys wanna dance?" Tifa asked them as the song changed.
"Definitely." Aerith grinned, Yuffie she nodded through her giggling. The girls got up and walked towards the dancefloor, letting themselves move to the music.
Aerith could feel all her troubles slipping away as she let herself forget everything and just be consumed by the music. Her eyes closed as she smiled and spun round on the spot. All of a sudden she felt someone gently touch her hand, they were holding her gently by the tips of her fingers, she spun round to meet a pair of bright blue eyes, they reminded her slightly of Cloud's. But the rest of him was completely different, the man standing in front of her had pale skin, a contrast to Cloud's slight tan and a lot of dark spiky hair, styled to suit him perfectly, he was seriously beautiful. He smiled and she suddenly realized that she was staring, and standing incredibly close, she felt like she should have stepped back but she couldn't, it was almost impossible.
They both started dancing, as if they had both agreed on it, and it became perfect, as though they understood each others bodies. They carried on dancing and Aerith got completely caught up in it, she'd forgotten how it felt to feel attractive and desired, how addictive and seductive it was; like a heady temptation. Aerith wasn't naïve, she knew the implications of what she was doing, the way they were dancing wasn't how she usually danced with random men in clubs. It was sensual and intoxicating, it felt erotic and in her moment of carefree indulgence she let herself get carried away before she even realized what she was doing.
All of a sudden reality came crashing down on Aerith and although she carried on dancing against him her mind was racing. She hadn't felt this relaxed and attractive and, dare she say, happy for a while. Her life with Cloud had become a chore, and she couldn't help but think, that although it seemed shallow, the main reason she was unhappy was because he didn't make her feel attractive anymore, he never kissed her for no reason, or whisked her off her feet anymore and she missed it, she needed it.
She felt the man behind her lean forward, she felt his warm breath on her cheek as he pulled some of her hair away from her neck and whispered in her ear "Let's get out of here." And she shivered. It wasn't lewd or unattractive and she felt all the more drawn to him. All of a sudden thought came crashing down on her: 'He's about to lose me.'
Unexpectedly, Aerith felt his arms, which were wrapped around her waist, ripped away. Turning around in shock she came face to face with Cloud, his deep blue eyes staring at her intensely. A feeling of complete distress came over Aerith as well as extreme guilt, her heart dropped to her feet as she stared back at her. "Cloud…" She breathed.
Cloud moved swiftly, and to Aerith's complete astonishment he dipped down, swept his arm around her waist and kissed her full on the mouth. It was full of passion and intensity, making up for all the time they hadn't kissed like this and it wiped Aerith's mind completely blank. He kissed her with such need and fervor that she felt her heart swell with happiness.
Eventually he pulled away from her slowly, leaving her feeling so dizzy she could barely stand and he had to hold her up. She could feel people staring at them but was barely aware of anything or anyone but him. He looked deep into her eyes and all she could see was a burning desire and love. He leaned forward again.
"You're coming home with me," he whispered raggedly in her ear, "Because you're the only one I want." She nodded slowly at him, not breaking eye contact.
He swept her out of the club and back to their flat, and they barely slept that night.