Womanizer?

He finds funny that people build him that womanizer reputation. What can he do about liking women and having them like him back? He assumes people must be jealous because he's a lucky bunny, that's all. They see him like a kind of pimp taking advantage of as many women as he can, boasting about it in their backs, probably, but that's not true at all. He never talks about his lovers when they're not around – unlike many other guys – because several of them prefer to keep it secret, and he respects them and their choices.

And he does fall in love – sometimes – like with Anita's mother. He did grieve their deaths, inside, but he's just not the type of guy to cry about it on the street so that everybody knows that he does. Is it that weird?

And he's indeed hurt when Cloud pushes him away. After these three years of alternate relationship, she still doesn't trust him. Why? To him, he expressed his feelings quite clearly, and came back to her after his long and exhausting and highly dangerous two-year mission, so he – weakly – hoped her to greet him with watery eyes reflecting how badly she'd missed him. After the battle was over and the arch intercepted, he had run to her – after taking a little break, which is normal after all they'd been through. And although they spent the day together – he was glowing with happiness and alcohol flowed in his gloomy detention room – she was so cold…

So why was she cold to him? Komui said maybe it had to do with women hating being out of news from their lovers, and he had been away for two years. But off course it couldn't be. She was a general as well, so she knew how on some missions you just couldn't possibly do that without blowing your cover up, thus dooming yourself to death. She didn't want him dead, did she?

He remembered several finders joking once about how many women he had been seducing on his way to Edo, some betting up to ten for every country he had passed, and as one of them took out a map, he glared a little. That somehow freaked them out, but he knew more people were talking about the same things… So not just. He had only been in love three times, all the rest being friends he had made on the road and with whom he partied, like u usually do with friends... Certainly Cloud did that herself. But maybe she did believe the stupid things which were being said about him… that would explain why she was that cold, and although he asked a few times, she just wouldn't answer at all.

Off course he could have used his little tricks to break her resistance down, but she'd been so hard to get in the beginning that he had had to use them all, and as a result she was kind of immune already. He really wanted to know – which proved just how deep he had fallen for her – so he did something he never did: he went to see her rather then having people ask her to come.

He knocked on the door and as she opened, she looked slightly – agreeably – surprised… but soon her poker face was back.

"Cross. What are you doing here?"

He thought his heart was going to fall to the ground along with his motivation.

"Cloud, my love." He said in a dramatic voice – the shadow of a chuckle appeared on her lips and she discreetly rolled her eyes, which brought his motivation back to the highest – he marked a little pause. He wanted it to sound straightforward yet pure and sincere:

"Tell me why you are so distant."

She gave a little smile. He had never been into long verses, rather using all the intensity of his silky voice and velvet stare. But she wasn't going to fall that easily. She knew him far too well for that.

She replied with a sigh, trying to sound a little bored "Even if I told you, you couldn't do anything about it anyway." He stared at her, his face a mix of depression and interest at the challenge she was bringing up ever higher. She liked it when he looked like that, so she gave him a peck on the cheek before closing the door in his face, before her weakness had the chance to grow bigger.

He smiled.