A/N: I wrote this for Seventh Heaven 2021, for the Day 2 prompt "My shirt looks good on you." This was fun to write! Enjoy.

Her First Warmth

Tifa thought she was warm blooded. That's why she kept her dress on wearing it at nighttime as she sat atop her town's watermill. To be honest, that wasn't the only reason she kept it on. She was waiting for something…something like a compliment, or a love confession–especially if it came from the boy sitting next to her, of course! A girl could dream right?

Her daydreams stayed daydreams because Cloud had just shattered them to pieces. All he did was tell her he was leaving for Midgar to join SOLDIER.

That was not part of the script in her head. She had many attempts of imagining Cloud professing his feelings for her. He'd have a speech laid out, and after he was finished he'd put an arm around her shoulders. She'd snuggle up against him as they watched the stars glide across the sky.

That vision died quite fast.

Now she was shivering, swinging her legs, trying to keep warm. She didn't bother hugging herself. She'd like it if Cloud saw the cute detailing on her dress. Her late mother had sewn two pretty lace trimmings that trailed down her torso. There was even a nice ribbon in the centre, interlacing into a nice bow. Wait! But if Cloud looked there, that would mean one thing: that he was looking at her chest! She instinctively covered herself, cheeks heating up for having such a thought. At least her face was warm.

"Tifa?"

"Mhm."

Cloud stared at her. Brows raised, a hint of concern on his face.

"Looking at you is getting me cold."

"Huh?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I mean, you look cold."

"Oh." Tifa tucked in a strand of hair behind her ear. Her arms fell to her sides. She gripped the wood beneath her, keeping herself still from shivering.

The air was so frigid. She was surprised she didn't see her breath in it. I'm not cold. Not at all. That would've been a good white lie to tell, if her teeth weren't clattering and her skin wasn't spread with goose bumps.

Cloud took a moment to think, as if the stars were going to give him a brilliant idea. "Tifa!"

"Yes, Cloud?" Tifa's knuckles turned white. Wind chills dusted her cheeks in a hue of pink.

"Wear my shirt."

"Wha-what?!"

"Well… Only if you want to."

Should she say yes? Oh no, she's never worn another guy's shirt before! Why was Cloud being so weird? First he told her he was leaving for Midgar (inevitably making her sad) and now he wanted to lend her his shirt? Boys!

A gust of wind swirled around the bare parts of her skin. Her dress fluttered at the bottom, her straps on her shoulders slid down by a millimeter. It felt like her toes were dipped in ice, gradually making the rest of her body freeze over. She bit her bottom lip, then exhaled sharply.

"You know what? That doesn't sound like a bad idea!"

Cloud's jaw slackened. It seemed he hadn't expected her to take up his offer. "Uh–yeah hold on." He proceeded to grab the end of his shirt, the white part, not the black long sleeve underneath.

Tifa didn't notice that he was only grabbing the white part. Why? Because she slapped her hands over her eyes, covering them. She assumed somehow Cloud would appear topless in a matter of seconds. She yelped, "Ah–Cloud! You don't have to take off everything!"

"But I'm not."

Tifa spread her fingers out, peeking through the gaps. He was still wearing that black undershirt. The white t-shirt was laid around his neck like a scarf. Cloud was about to take it off until he paused. "Don't look."

"But–" you said you're not taking off everything! "I mean yeah, sorry."

Maybe Cloud was insecure about messing up his hair. She thought he'd look cute with his hair down, probably really pretty too.

"Okay, I'm going to take it off."

She covered her eyes fully, closing them too for safe measure. Cloud continued to pull his shirt off. Tifa swung her legs, kicking the air. For some reason, she couldn't resist.

Tifa peeked. Eyes widened as Cloud's shirt hid in his face. Without the baggy shirt, his black undershirt was like a second skin on his scrawny figure. Cloud's body was a growing infrastructure of what a man would be. His frame held small muscles, ready to be filled out.

She closed her fingers together, blushing. Cloud would probably look really good after all his soldier training. Tifa withheld a giggle.

"Hold on–my hair."

Oh boy, Tifa wanted to take another peek. She chose not to. She already got her chance to be a bit of a mischievous girl.

"Here Tifa."

Tifa's hands dropped to her lap. Cloud held his t-shirt, arm outstretched towards her.

"Ah, thanks." Taking it, she realized her palms were sweaty. Was she actually going to wear Cloud's t-shirt? She had to right? He went through the effort of taking it off. Gulping, she pulled it on. The cloth enveloped her head and her senses, so strong of fresh pine and fresh linen.

Once fully on, the shirt reached past her hips, swallowing her. His heat still radiated from the shirt. Tifa liked it, a lot. She put her palms to her cheeks. She was actually wearing a boy's shirt. Cloud's shirt in fact!

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just this is kinda big... I guess I'll wear it for the time being."

"Keep it." Cloud eyes traced the shirt over her figure. He tilted his head, lips in a smug grin. "My shirt looks good on you." Realizing what he had said, red spread throughout his forehead down to his chin.

Tifa didn't look any better. Her face: completely on fire. Her stomach tumbled, nerves and giddiness danced in it. "T-thank you!" She turned away, hands pressing harder on her cheeks.

Above them, the sky dripped in dark smudges of blue, black and violet. The stars blinked, twinkling in their orbit.

Boys sure were weird. But at least, Tifa felt warmer that night.