Cloud was looking forward to the date this afternoon. He'd made some loose plans for things he wanted to do with Aerith—only one of which was mandatory in his mind—but mostly he was excited to spend the rest of the day together with her.
He smiled warmly at the woman in question as she exited the bedroom and joined him at the door to their room. Her hair was back up in its usual braid and no longer showed any of the disrepair from earlier this morning. A lump grew in his throat as he thought back to that moment, before pushing away the memory. Aerith had firmly nixed his concern, and he wanted to respect her wishes to not dwell on it.
Instead, remembering their not-a-date from what felt like a lifetime ago, Cloud reached out and grabbed her hand, gently tugging her closer to his side as they left the hotel room. He smiled as she let go, instead wrapping her arm around his—her head resting on his shoulder. The feeling of her body against his no longer caused him stress—only comfort and a warm feeling of happiness. Leaving the hotel, they slowly walked towards the center of Gold Saucer.
"So, what would you like to do first?" he asked as they reached the central hub.
There was already a very large crowd of people there, bustling around on all sides of them. Children were shrieking and parents were desperately trying to corral them with little success, but Cloud could make out the occasional couple as well.
He felt Aerith stir at his side before she dropped his arm and stepped away, the lack of her warmth against him an immediate disappointment. She looked around at the various signs for a moment, before spinning back around to face him. "Can we go see the chocobo races?" she asked, her voice full of excitement.
"Of course," he said, amused how eager she was.
Aerith grabbed his hand again and rushed off in the direction of the races, forcing Cloud to run with her or else be dragged along. Inside the large stadium, they found a bench away from the majority of the crowd that offered them a bit more privacy, while still providing a good view of a large section of the track.
"I never realized you were such a big fan of chocobos," he commented, once they were seated.
"I've loved them ever since I was a little girl," she admitted. "One of the few memories I have of my father was him taking me on a trip to the countryside to go chocobo riding. As soon as I was on its back, its feathers all around me, the wind rushing through my hair, I fell completely in love with them."
Cloud was extremely touched by this little story of her past, and he wrapped an arm around her, hugging her to his side. He was overjoyed as her head returned to its now-familiar resting place on his shoulder.
"Which one are you rooting for?"
She pointed to a medium-sized chocobo set apart from the rest of the herd, its plumage a rather unique light pastel green. "You can do it Melonpan!" Aerith called out, and Cloud eyed her quizzically.
He could only see the number nineteen on the sash around its neck and wasn't sure where she'd gotten the name from. "Melonpan?"
Aerith lifted her head and turned to give him a very serious look. "Yes, Melonpan. That's its name."
Cloud struggled to contain his amusement but was unable to prevent his lips from curling upwards. "You know you can't eat it, right?"
Aerith sighed loudly and rolled her eyes at him. "Why do boys always have to be so literal?" she muttered under her breath, Cloud's keen ears allowing him to still hear what she'd said.
"I don't want to eat it, you dummy, it's just a cute name," she explained more loudly, giving him a look that said this was the most obvious thing in the world and he should be embarrassed for not realizing it.
Cloud put up both of his hands in surrender, laughing. "Okay, okay. Well in that case I hope… Melonpan… wins as well."
A loud gunshot interrupted them, signaling the start of the race, and the chocobos exploded out of their enclosure and began to sprint down the track. He had no idea what, if any, rules there were, but if he was being honest, he was paying more attention to his girlfriend bouncing next to him on the bench than to the colored birds running around in circles.
She was full of such… unfiltered joy. It radiated off her, filling him with a sense of peace and calm. He was reminded of the sun, poking out from behind the clouds after a long rain, spreading its warmth to everything in sight.
Melonpan ended up not winning—to Aerith's immense disappointment—but the bird had still managed to come in third place, which, according to the announcer, was a massive upset. This seemed to mollify her somewhat, and together they stood up and stretched, holding hands once again.
As they made their way from the racetrack, Aerith let out what Cloud could only describe as a squeal of pure joy and darted away from his side. Unsure of what had captured her attention, he followed after her, wondering what could have possibly excited her so much.
He caught up to his girlfriend in front of a stand packed full of various prizes on shelves, a large, white, chocobo plush standing out from the rest at the very top.
"What do I have to do to win that?" Aerith asked the clerk eagerly, pointing up at the doll.
The man smiled at her knowingly, nodding his head in approval at her selection. "Ah yes, our grand prize. It's quite the challenge, but I'm sure a beautiful little thing like yourself is up to the task," he said, his eyes flicking over her body.
Her face twitched at this, but she didn't say anything. Cloud had a harder time keeping himself in check, his fist clenching tightly as he scowled. He wanted to walk over and punch the man in the face but managed to restrain himself. Barely.
"All you have to do is hit that target under it with a shot from this gun," the man explained, holding out the toy rifle in question. "It'll cost you one hundred gil for three shots."
Aerith fished the coins out of her purse and set them down on the counter, instead of handing them to him. She took the three rubber bullets the man exchanged them with, before grabbing the offered gun and walking over the firing line he'd pointed out.
Cloud stepped off to the side behind her, watching her figure out how to load the bullets before she took aim with her first shot. Unsurprisingly, it went wide, but she didn't seem disappointed at all. She paused briefly, looking towards where it had hit, head cocked slightly to the side. After a moment, Aerith raised the rifle and readied her next shot.
This time it was closer on target, although still off. It smacked into the doll's stomach, bouncing off and landing at Cloud's foot. He idly bent down and picked it up, twirling it in his fingers as he watched Aerith line up her final shot.
"Sorry about that Snowy," she said under her breath, and Cloud chuckled at yet another new name she'd come up with.
Aerith held her shooting pose for much longer this time, and Cloud could read in her body language just how much she wanted to win this. As he heard the shot go off, he unconsciously held his breath, praying to the Ancients for her aim to be true. Aerith cried out in joy as the shot landed directly in the center of the target—Cloud releasing his breath—but then they both froze in surprise. The chocobo remained on its perch—it hadn't fallen.
"What's going on?" Aerith demanded, glaring at the man.
The stall owner shrugged and shook his head, responding in an oily tone, "I'm sorry, but it must not have been a strong enough hit. You're more than welcome to try again, though."
"We've still got one more shot," Cloud pointed out, holding up the rubber bullet from Aerith's second attempt.
The man looked like he was about to protest, before Cloud glared angrily at him from behind Aerith. "And this time no funny business," he said firmly, his eyes locked on the man's hand that was hidden under the counter as if he could see through it.
The stand owner paled at the implied threat in Cloud's voice and pulled his hands away, holding them both up for Cloud to see. "Please sir, you wound me. Of course this is perfectly fair and… and I'd be more than happy to let you try again."
Cloud handed Aerith the bullet before wrapping his arms around her middle, holding her close to him as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You've got this."
He felt her nod against him as she loaded the bullet and took her aim once more. Cloud kept his eyes on the man behind the counter, relieved to see he was still standing away from whatever mechanism he'd used to rig the targets. His attention shifted back to Aerith—loving the feeling of her body against his. They fit together so perfectly. After several moments of silent concentration, he felt her arms tense as she pulled the trigger and he grinned as the target flopped down, the shelf under the doll dropping out causing it to fall onto the counter.
Aerith rushed over and grabbed the huge doll—almost half her height—hugging it tightly, while completely ignoring the now upset looking stand owner.
"It's so fluffy!" she said to Cloud, her eyes glowing with excitement.
"I'm glad it all worked out in the end," he said, smiling back at her. "Especially with how happy you look. What are we going to do with it, though? Are you planning to carry it around with us for the rest of the day?"
Aerith paused next to him, and he had to stop as well to not leave her behind, realizing she hadn't thought this far ahead.
"Do you mind if we make a quick stop back to the room to drop it off?" she asked hesitantly.
"Not at all," he reassured her, resting his hand on her back and rubbing it gently in a circle.
Together, they made their way back to the room and dropped the doll off in the bedroom, taking a moment for bathroom breaks before heading back to the main square. Once they arrived, Cloud pulled out his phone to check the time. Aerith gasped next to him as he flicked it on.
"Wait, is your lock screen my flower shop?" she asked in surprise, reaching out for his phone. "When did you take this?"
He flushed as he handed the phone over, remembering back to the day that now felt so long ago. "It's from the first day we met, actually. I'd forgotten to change out a picture of my ex, so I snapped a picture of your flowers as a temporary replacement. I guess I've grown kind of attached to it," he admitted.
Aerith's eyebrows rose at this, but he was relieved she didn't press about Tifa. Instead, she bounced a few steps away from him—his phone still in her hand—and gave him a cheeky look. "Does that mean I get to be your lock screen now?" she teased, her head cocked to one side and her eyes glinting playfully.
Cloud's face broke into a large grin at her cute antics. "Sure, but I'll need my phone back to take a picture of you."
"Nope! This is going to be a selfie," she laughed, raising the phone up in front of her.
He watched as she tried out a few faces, before eventually settling on one with the tip of her tongue slightly sticking out one side of her mouth. Cloud took his phone back from her as she walked back and handed it to him, chuckling when he saw the picture.
"I love it."
"Good," she said happily, grabbing his arm once more and holding it tightly. "What's next?"
"We've still got some time until the one thing I have planned. Is there anything else you're dying to see?"
"Well… when you phrase it like that, how about the haunted house?" Aerith asked, a gleam in her eye.
He took an inadvertent step back, surprised at this suggestion.
"Something wrong?"
"No, nothing," he said quickly. "I just… didn't realize you were a fan of scary things."
"Oh, I'm not. I think they're fun because of how silly they are! They're never actually that scary, right?" she replied in amusement.
"Uh, yeah, of course," he tried to lie, but from the half-smile on her face, felt like he hadn't managed to fool her.
He knew it was silly—he was a trained SOLDIER after all—and he'd seen things most people couldn't imagine. For whatever reason, though, off the battlefield, he'd never been able to handle anything remotely spooky.
As they stepped through the front entrance together, Cloud mentally prepared himself for what was to come. His only goal was to make it out the other side without embarrassing himself in front of Aerith. Unfortunately, that plan was immediately shattered into a million pieces as he screamed when a fake ghost shot out of a compartment hidden in the wall. Aerith leaped off her feet next to him, but from the delayed reaction, he realized it had been from his scream—not the jump scare. His face ignited in embarrassment.
"Oh Cloud," she gently chided him, putting a comforting hand on his back. "You should have just told me this wasn't your cup of tea. Do you want to leave?"
He shook his head. "No, I can do this," he said firmly.
Together, they continued to make their way through the haunted house, Aerith slightly behind him, encouraging and reassuring him each time he ended up getting scared. After one particularly bad encounter involving a gremlin, Cloud was starting to second-guess his earlier resolve. By this point, he realized, it was probably just as quick to finish as it would be returning to the start. And if he was being entirely honest with himself, despite all the scares, he was enjoying the time spent cuddling with Aerith after each one.
They stepped around the next corner, and he stopped in his tracks—so abruptly Aerith ended up running into him.
"Cloud? What's wrong?"
But he couldn't answer—not as he stared at the impaled zombie propped against the wall at the end of the hallway.
"Oh, shit…" Aerith whispered next to him, the sound of her swearing jarring him out of his daze. "I'm so sorry Cloud, this was a mistake. We shouldn't have come in here," she stammered, resting a hand on his arm.
"No, no I'm… fine. It just startled me is all," he said weakly, taking deep breaths. He was still standing there, locked in place, his eyes fixed on the floor directly in front of him.
Cloud knew he was downplaying how badly the sight had hit him, but he didn't want to make Aerith worry any more than she already was. Besides, her presence at his side with her hand on his arm was already helping him get over his initial shock.
He was surprised when she stepped in front of him and gently raised his head so he was looking into her eyes. "I'm right here for you Cloud. We're going to get through this together, okay?" she told him—the sheer love in her voice causing the hand grasping his heart to release.
He swallowed deeply and nodded, following as she slowly walked backwards down the hallway, her eyes never leaving his as she used her body to block out the sight at the end. Once they stepped through the door at the end of the hall, Aerith wrapped her arms around him and held him close. He slowly relaxed against her as the last of his tension melted away.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Of course. I'm sorry you had to see that," she replied, one hand rubbing comforting circles on his back.
The rest of the haunted house was largely uneventful and passed in silence. He was too drained to react to any more of the scares, and even found himself laughing with Aerith at one that involved a malboro and a behemoth in a way that was simply too ridiculous to be scary.
Once they finally made it outside, they grabbed a quick bite to eat—some popcorn chicken for the main course and fruit skewers for dessert. Afterward, Cloud led them to the final destination of the night, excited the time had finally arrived.
—
The sun was fading past the horizon as they settled down on opposite sides of the Ferris wheel's compartment. As much as he wanted to ride side by side, it had been designed to only support one person facing the other. Cloud wasn't too upset about this, however, as it didn't impact his plans. It also had the added benefit of allowing him to easily see Aerith's reactions as she admired the view.
They sat together in silence as they slowly ascended, not a whole lot to admire other than the neon signs and spotlights while they were still close to the ground. Once they were about halfway up, however, Aerith eagerly bounced in her seat and pointed off to the left. "Look, you can see the racetrack! I wonder if Melonpan has won a race yet…"
He chuckled. Her love for chocobos was infectious, and he wished the green chocobo the best of luck. Cloud's heart was racing as they drew closer and closer to the peak of the rotation. Now that they were higher up, fireworks were going off around them, lighting up the night in beautiful explosions of color.
As spectacular as the view from the top was, the incredible sights of Gold Saucer spread out below them, Cloud couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman sitting across from him. His leg was bouncing nervously and he forced it to stop. Knowing it was time, he took a deep breath and reached across, taking her hands in his. Aerith turned her head from the view to look at him in curiosity.
"I love you," he said, simply, staring deep into the emerald forests of her eyes.
They instantly filled with happy tears, Aerith seeming too choked with emotion to be able to immediately respond. Her head nodded vigorously instead, smiling brightly at him through her tears. Eventually, she managed to find her voice, and Cloud heard the four words he wanted most.
"I love you too."
And then she was in his lap, her hand resting lightly on his chest, her face inches from his own—her mouth parted slightly. Cloud dipped his head, his lips lightly brushing against hers. They were so soft, so warm, so wonderful. The fireworks going off all around them faded as his attention was consumed by the woman in his arms. He never could have imagined all those months ago when they'd first met, things would have ended up like this.
From the chance encounter in the streets of Midgar, to their breakfast together, and then of course the not-a-date. Their meeting had been an amazing accident and he would be eternally grateful for it. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to top the hilltop date, but maybe, just maybe, he'd managed to do it again today. Hopefully, there would be many more of these incredible moments in their future.
What had started as a tender joining of lips had now escalated into deep, passionate kisses. Cloud ran his hands from her waist up to her chest, gently rubbing her breasts through her shirt with his fingers. Aerith let out a soft, surprised moan, pressing her side closer against him. Her hand slid downwards, between them, rubbing against the tent in his pants. Moaning with need, he nibbled on her lip, loving the cute, little gasps she made between kisses.
Aerith had completed him, made him whole once more. His scars were still there, of course, but now they were a remembrance, no longer a burden of the past. He was no longer afraid of letting her get close, instead, he was afraid to lose her, and everything she'd come to mean to him.
"I'm sorry, but you only get two rotations with one ticket. I'm going to have to ask you to pay again if you want to keep riding."
Cloud was yanked of his thoughts by the voice of the ride attendant, followed by a knock on the door of their compartment.
"Seriously?" Aerith muttered against his lips, causing him to chuckle. Her cheeks were tinged red as she grudgingly disentangled herself from his lap. Together, they got up and stepped out of the carriage, never letting go of each other's hands.
"Back to the room?" he asked, still breathing heavily.
"Back to the room," she confirmed.
I have to once again thank my wonderful beta, Lichtschwert for coming up with the name Melonpan. It resulted in one of my favorite interactions between Cloud and Aerith in the entire story. Thank you so much for your help in coming up with a name!