Chapter 10.5- Bonus Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not by any means own the rights to Final Fantasy 7..wish i did...but i don't.

Note: Yay double digits. About time i reached chapter 10... decided to write up a small bonus chapter of fluff. A small break from the plot i guess? Just to show the relationships a little more. Tell me if you guys like this so i know whether or not to continue adding these in every so often.

"Say... Cloud?"

Cloud popped his head up from the couch cushion, a lengthy novel in hand. "Yes?"

Elmyra's aging hands carefully grazed over the scattered puzzle pieces. "What would you like for dinner tonight?" She mumbled. Her sharp eyes flickered over the small broken up picture, scanning. "I hadn't planned anything for tonight."

He set the book down on his chest as he lay back down across the sofa. Several wonderful recipes raced through his mind. He was a definite fan of the "Gainsborough cookbook" as they proudly called it. And he wasn't alone. Zack and even some slum locals praised the culinary skills that come out of the kitchen.

"Well?" She pressed, snatching up a piece and squinting her eyes through her glasses, trying to compare it to the rest.

"That cabbage soup…" He reminisced.

Suddenly he heard a soft chuckle come from the elder woman. "My my, you mean the one with all the carrots and such?"

He nodded.

Elmyra burst out laughing. "Goodness Cloud you remind me more of a rabbit every day!"

Cloud frowned at the remark. To compare him to a small defenseless creature was absurd. How is he in any way like a rabbit? He let out a defensive sigh. "I fail to see how i resemble a rabbit."

Aeris waltz downstairs, an empty laundry basket in her hands. "Well," She began. "Your small, cute, you got the big adorable eyes and fluffy hair. Soft like a rabbit y'know? A-"

Cloud lifted a hand to silence the brunette. "Please. I give…"

Both ladies chuckled. Elmyra toyed with a stray piece in her hand. "Cabbage soup mmh…? Well that's not hard at all to make. But You two will need to take a small trip to the market for some items."

Aeris sat down the laundry basket atop the dryer. "Write me list."

As Elmyra checked the kitchen stock to see what ingredients were missing, Cloud dog-eared the page and put it atop the coffee table. He stretched and padded over to the hallway for his worn boots and began to put them on, Aeris chatted away about a sale going on at a fruit stand.

"Here you go. Don't take to long now. That's a slow cook recipe so if you want it by dinner time i suggest you hurry."

The two nodded and headed out the door. Judging by the drop in temperature, Noon had already past and nightfall was close on its way. Aeris held her jacket tighter around her, the cold nipping at her skin. Cloud could sympathize, he did the same.

"Cloud we should get you a thicker jacket." She protested, seeing the blonde give into a slight shiver. "I don't want you to get sick again...that was awful…"

"Perhaps I should." He agreed. A thicker jacket would be nice, Winter had come and it hit the slums the hardest. Unlike Sephiroth and all of SOLDIER whom undertook mako injections, thus inheriting the incredibly useful body adaption of extreme temperature resistance, Cloud was the exception. In fact his body was more sensitive to temperature fluctuations than the average human. It had just turned to fall when he came to live at the slums and the drastic environmental condition left him shaking and coughing in his bed with a high fever. Aeris and Elmyra fussed over him like gawking mother hens for 4 dreadful days. He had never gotten sick before and therefore that first time left a mental scar within him. Never again would he get sick he vowed.

A lengthy walk later they finally arrived the slums wall marker. A rather shady place in certain areas. Cloud always became highly attentive to his surroundings while in such a dangerous place. For Aeris sake, he always held a small switchblade in his pocket. He held confidence in the physical damage he could commit upon someone with or without the knife. Still, it was a nice comfort. So like the faithful guard, he walked closely beside Aeris as she weaved around the various food item stalls, haggling prices with the shopkeepers and merchants.

Aeris giggled while putting a head of cabbage into her bag. "It's so funny to see people drool over you. You're literally a head turner Cloud."

Clouds brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Look behind you."

He turned his head to the side casually and peered behind thick lashes. Several men hanging by a shop entrance kept stealing uncomfortably long glances. Woman who passed by would quickly look behind themselves at him, their eyes would light up momentarily.

-Did this always happen? Am I so strange looking? Is it the hair?-

In confusion he turned back to Aeris. "Why do they keep looking at me?"

Aeris sighed and continued walking on. "To "Drool" or be a "head-turner", Cloud, is someone's who's so attractive, people can't help but stare."

"Attractive…? Me?" He said dumbfounded. How so? He was the smallest weakest male he'd ever seen his own age. How is that by any means attractive?

"Yes, you."She pointed a painted finger at him. "You just don't see it yet." She leaned forward in another vegetable stand, eyeing the various sizes of freshly picked carrots. "Mmh...what's that saying again? You are your worst judge? Critic?" She shook her head. "You get what I mean."

In truth, Cloud didn't quite get what she meant, but did not argue against it. Aeris continued to pick out the ingredients and before long they were finished with a full bag of what was to later that night become a delicious cabbage soup.