"Oh, man…"

Cloud decided that he loved it here in Costa del Sol. Too bad they'd have to leave soon. Boohoo.

Actually, it was Aeris, his newly-wedded wife, who had suggested a honeymoon in the said beach resort. Apparently she had been toying with the idea ever since they first set foot on the place, following Sephiroth's bloody trail.

"Hey Cloud, you remember that beach resort? Costa del Sol?" she had asked the day before they were married.

"Yeah."

"Oh, don't give me just one of your apathetic shrugs! You meanie! Oh, what was I saying again? Ah… The warm weather, the aquamarine sea…" her voice had become dreamy.

"Mmmhmm. The babes…"

"Cloud?!"

He had only but managed to suppress a chuckle. "What? I'm a man, remember? It's natural." At that a shrewd, knowing smirk had played upon his lips. "Don't tell me you're getting all jelly," he added in a sing-song voice.

"What, of scantily-clad younger girls with drop-dead bodies?" Cloud could have sworn that her voice had been dripping venom then. "Well, I've heard of macho hunks with only their short shorts to hide some big 'uns in Costa, too."

And that had made Cloud stop smirking.

Anyway… Now he was lying on a white wooden recliner by the seashore, taking in the sun's rays (whatever the scientists had to say about prolonged UV exposure), gazing at the silent sea.

Perfect. It's all perfect. Too bad, though... Wish I can stay.

"Now, now, and what are you doing just lying around, prettie sweetie?"

It was a teasing girl-voice.

Soft hands began caressing his forehead.

Mmm. That massage felt good. Cloud closed his eyes in pleasure.

"Yeah, babe," Cloud murmured after a while. "What'd you say if we let my homely wife be and have some fun, eh?"

"Hey!" the voice exclaimed. "I resent that!"

Cloud felt a soft slap across his face as a light load pressed itself against his thighs. He opened his eyes.

Hmm... Maybe his wife wasn't so homely after all.

She had long, satin-white, silky-smooth arms and legs. She had a thin but shapely frame. She had killer hips. She had fine, long coffee-colored hair, which she had let down. And, by Bahamut! She had a mind-blastin' face: you know, the fair complexion, the smiling lips, the emerald eyes… GAWD… those sparkling eyes… those offended-looking (gulp!) eyes…

"Oh!" he started in mock surprise. "It was you all along? Ooops!"

"Ha-ha…" she laughed dryly. "And for all I know you might as well say that to any stunningly pretty chick you'd come across."

Cloud grinned, cocking his head like he always did. "Yeah, well, too bad for 'em I saw you first, huh?" But then, the idea of his wife, as sexily attired as she was now, getting spotted by other good-looking males suddenly made him jealous.

Wow. Vengeance was swift.

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not the supermodel type," Aeris retorted.

Okay. Maybe she wasn't aware of how damn gorgeous she was that moment, after all.

"What? I think you're… um… pretty," Clod commented.

"Really?" she asked, pushing the matter further, giggling. "I'm not… whachamacallit... homely?"

"Nuh-uh," he replied, nodding his head, snuggling her. Then, he sighed. "This is all so beautiful…"

Too bad they'd have to leave.

"You've packed everything, honey?" Aeris called out.

"Yeah…" Cloud drawled, snapping luggage shut, and then heaving it over the counter. What a bummer.

"Okay, then!"

How could she afford to be all perky and playful just before leaving this paradise? And how come she never had to do the packing? Swear, life was so unfair.

"Well, we're ready to go," he announced. He quietly bade goodbye to the tropical atmosphere, cedar flooring, the flower-decorated walls, the excellent ice cream, the cheerful (albeit scantily-clad) locals, and the picturesque sunset view offered by the windows.

"Oh, yeah – Cloud! Come here, quick!"

What now? If she'd ask him to cough up some money for the bills, then it'd be the last straw. He gloomily trudged his way to where she was, right back to room number 115.

"What now?" he almost growled.

"I say, look at that big house, Cloud!"

He stared into the sight outside. 'Big' was actually an understatement for the casa standing outside. It grew two stories high, of excellent masonry, with beautiful stained-glass windows and red tiles for a roof. Great. Now she had to show that really expensive mansion to him. What a way to make him feel worse.

"We've seen that before, remember?" he replied, almost spitting it out irately.

"Yup!" she chirped brightly. "About two million gil, right? Wow. What a price."

Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for making me feel better about leaving, dear."

Aeris flashed her most mischievous smile. "Actually, you can thank me after seeing this," she declared, pulling out (conjuring from thin air, almost) a small attaché case, opening it, and showing its contents.

And Cloud was simply confounded by what he saw.

"N-n-no… w-way…" he stammered.

"Oh, yes way," she grinned, jokingly sniffing the crisp army of paper money stacked inside the case. "Say hello to my secret stash."

"H-h-hello…" he continued to stammer, positively drooling.

"Wow. You look like Yuffie after seeing all our Materia way back then."

"B-b-but, w-where…? How…?"

She shook her head, still smiling, and shoved his words aside with her hands. "Oh, by being thrifty," she replied airily. "One ought to prepare for the future, you know. Besides, Reeve gave a teeny-weeny contribution. I tried to talk him to it, though; I said he'd need that for the WRO, but, well… Then Barret gave some from the oil profits… Tifa helped too… and Cid… and everyone…" she trailed away before returning on track, "Oh, and that's only 3.8 million in total. But it'd be a good kick-off, no?"

"Y-y-yeah… T-thanks..."

Hah. Tifa was right; Aeris did think about the future a lot. A real lot. Thank goodness.

"And now, say goodbye to this hotel and say hi to the Casa Cloud!" she exclaimed brightly, winking, and then hugging him.

And Cloud could have sworn that the Victory Fanfare was playing through his head.