A bit late…sorry!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the idea. No profit is being made by this story!

So Kiss Me

Cheers started filling the room as the large clock in the bar showed that it was just five minutes until the New Year bells. There were two raven-haired girls at the counter; the taller of the two drinking a glass of wine while the one with shorter hair begged to get a drink despite only being sixteen.

"Well, look who it is!" a redhead said, making his way up to them.

"Reno!" the older one yelled, though her anger went unnoticed due to the loud noises going on.

"Hey, calm down Tifa! We're on a truce remember?"

"I thought it was only until we got Elena and Yuffie back from the Don," the woman known as Tifa replied.

"Nope, so long as you guys are still in Wutai, we're on a truce," he answered as a bald man appeared next to him. "Ah, Rude good timing," he greeted. Tifa glared at him and roughly grabbed the other girl to her feet.

"Come on Yuffie, let's go," she said harshly. Yuffie blinked as she was dragged through the crowds.

"But I want a kiss at midnight!" she whined.

Aeris sighed as she stood outside the door, straightening her dress and brushing her hair from her face. She raised her hand to the door again but she could not bring herself to knock and removed her hand to start her calming process again. She had to act soon otherwise, the bells would ring and she would regret it for the rest of her life. With that thought in mind, she gathered her courage and gave a chirpy knock on the hotel door. She forced a smile, despite her nerves when she heard the door opening.

"Hi, Cloud!" she greeted. "Are you coming downstairs?"

"No," he replied in monotone. "It's not my thing," he added, feeling a little guilty at seeing her sad look.

"Oh," she answered, lowering her gaze to the floor.

An awkward silence filled the space between them and their eyes looked away from each other.

"Hey," she said with a smile, playfully hitting his arm. "We could treat it like a date. I do owe you after all,"

The corners of his lips turned upwards a little and he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, when you put it that way," he answered with a bit of flirtation in his voice. She smiled wider but it faltered when he sighed and shook his head.

"Aeris, I'm really tired from fighting all those monsters earlier," he explained. "I'm sorry."

She remained silent for a minute before she shrugged, giving a small nod.

"Yeah, of course," she answered, forcing a smile on as the countdown of the last ten seconds echoed up the stairs and the cheers became louder. Cloud bit his lip, unsure of what to do before he gently whispered goodnight and began to close the door. Aeris, realising that her chance was slipping away from her, pushed the door open.

"Aeris, wha…?" but he was cut off as her hands rested on his cheeks, pulling him forwards to her lips in a soft, sweet kiss. He hardly had time to process what had happened when she pulled back and placed her hands behind her.

"Happy New Year Cloud," she whispered as the bells started ringing and the fireworks went off. With a smile, she turned and walked out of the door, leaving the dazed blonde behind. He stared at the closed door for a long minute before a goofy smile made it to his lips.

"Yeah, Happy New Year,"