A/N: I felt a dire need to write this since it is my favorite pairing in FFVII Remake. Yes I love Tifa and her big old honkers as much as the next perv, but Jessie is just precious.

Just Some Pizza

Summary: "Come on, Cloud, don't be such a sourpuss~," Jessie purred, waving a slice in his face. Cloud huffed and folded his arms. "Not interested."

Cloud took a seat on one of the bar stools inside Seventh Heaven, the mercenary slowly easing himself onto it with a grimace. He had just gotten back from helping AVALANCHE deliver another blow to the tyranny of Shinra and had a new few battle scars to show for his ordeal. Fresh cuts marked his right arm, nothing new for him. He was a SOLDIER after all; he was expected to get banged up every now and then.

Tifa was the first to greet the blond man, leaning over the bar with a smile. "How did the job go?"

"Fine." Cloud shrugged and waited for Tifa to pour his favoured drink, a double Scotch on the rocks. A decent drink always helped improve his mood slightly, especially if Tifa was the one making it. Something about her for some reason soothed his uneasiness and anxiety. He had less headaches and migraines around her, except for that one time where he could have sworn he saw Sephiroth in his own apartment and nearly killed a seriously ill man.

Tifa had of course forgiven him, but that guilt still gnawed away at him. He could have very easily killed someone. Cloud was a man built for war and he winced at the sheer bluntness of that statement, for it was literal. He couldn't remember much about his past without getting a nasty migraine, but he could sometimes see flashes of himself in some sort of test tube in a lab.

"Your usual?" his childhood friend asked softly, placing a hand on his.

"Yeah." Cloud pulled the Buster Sword from his back and let it rest next to him, eyes looking down at the bar as Tifa made his drink.

"Here, Cloud." She slid it down to him and he caught it.

"Thanks." The spiky haired man drank it in a few quick gulps, ignoring the burn on the back of his throat. Somehow, his enhanced body didn't make him any more immune to alcohol than most, meaning he could still very easily get drunk if he wanted to. The next job that he would do for AVALANCHE wasn't until sometime next week, but Barret refused to tell him any more than that. The group's leader still didn't trust him even after Cloud repeatedly risked life and limb to ensure their missions were a success.

He pulled out some gil to pay for his drink, sighing. He wasn't much for talking and Tifa knew it. If anything, the silence was refreshing and a nice change of pace compared to constantly hearing Barret yell at him for something he wasn't responsible for. It made for his idea of a relaxing evening while the rest of AVALANCHE went downstairs to talk amongst themselves.

He wasn't particularly bothered about not knowing the plan; it was probably the same sort of, 'we're making it up as we go along' mess as usual anyway. How the hell they've survived this long without Shinra blasting them all to bits is something I'll never understand.

"Hey. Have you…remembered anything?" Tifa asked softly. "About us?"

"No…" Cloud shook his head. There was so much of his life that was a blur and he couldn't remember nearly any of it. He could remember Tifa and himself as kids, but the details were hazy at best. Even if he tried to focus, nothing could come to mind. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tifa met his gaze with that smile of hers that instantly took away his stress. "You know I'll always be here for you, Cloud."

"Thank you." Cloud stood up from his stool and grabbed his broadsword, sliding it onto his back. "I'm going to go get some rest. Let me know if you have anything in the morning that needs to be done around here."

"Sure thing. Good night." Tifa waved at him on his way out and the blond man left the bar behind.

He broke into a quick job to the rundown apartment complex right across the street, passing by a few civilians taking a late night walk. The mercenary paid them no mind; whatever they were doing sure as hell wasn't his business. The only things he cared about were taking out Shinra due to his personal grudge with them and finding out more about the person he was before he lost his memory. Nothing else mattered and that was more than fine with him. It was better to keep things nice and simple for the time.

Cloud felt the stairs of the complex creak under his weight and he grimaced. Having an additional two hundred pound weight strapped to his back made simple tasks like climbing stairs a bit more precarious than it normally would be, but to his relief he didn't fall through. He was sure if he did Tifa would come outside and be torn between fussing over him and laughing.

He fumbled with the key to his room and pushed open the door to his apartment, setting his sword down. Once inside he locked the door behind him and stripped off his gear, tossing it into a small pile at the foot of his bed before laying down on it. He kept his trousers on as he had a thing against sleeping completely nude, though his shirt and boots were off. When the morning comes, I'll take a shower. Too tired to do it now.

Cloud was beginning to fall asleep when he heard the phone ring, the blond man groaning in annoyance. Who would be calling him at this hour? With his eyes half lidded he stumbled around in the darkness of his apartment before reaching the phone, picking it up and yawning. "Hello…?"

"Hey, Cloud. It's me, Jessie. I didn't wake you up, did I?" Jessie. He should have figured. Seriously, what the hell was it about him that made her so attached? If he didn't know better he'd say she was smitten with him.

"No. You just prevented me from falling asleep," Cloud deadpanned, pinching his brow with a frustrated sigh. "What do you want?"

"I was…wondering if you'd stop by tomorrow?" she offered. "It's not for a job, but it's only fair that you get to go in and have some good cooking every once in awhile. Pleaaaaaaaase?" Oh. So that was it. He had said he'd consider it in the future if the offer ever came up, but he'd make no promises. Now she was asking and he had a feeling she wasn't going to let him off that easily this time around. Girl was as stubborn as he was at times and this was one of those times it showed.

"…if I say yes will you let me get some sleep?" he asked wearily, yawning into the phone as loud as he could to make sure she could hear how worn out the SOLDIER was. Sure it was a little obnoxious, but he was tired goddammit. He needed to sleep before he had to go out for work again.

"Yep!" Jessie answered cheerfully. "See you at 7:30, my place! Dress nicely! Night Cloud!"

She hung up and Cloud let out a sigh, hanging up the phone. Great. Now he had to show up or risk bringing Tifa's wrath on his head for disappointing her best friend. So much for having an easy day tomorrow.

The blond man grumbled and flopped back down on his bed, groaning. "Shit."

The next evening, Cloud had done as Jessie begged and was waiting for her to answer the door after he knocked on it. He ditched his absurdly large sword in favor a simple handgun. While not what he preferred to use in case things got hairy, the grip still felt natural in the palm of his hand. It rested on the back of his belt, looped through a set of dark grey trousers and matching vest and jacket. He grimaced and pulled at the tie around his neck, uncomfortable in such pious clothing. He was a mercenary not a wealthy member of Shinra's board of officials. Despite Tifa reassuring him time and time again that he looked handsome, he thought he looked ridiculous.

While he pondered on how awful he looked, the door swung open and Jessie greeted him, eyes raking up and down his suit clad body. Cloud rolled his eyes and turned his head aside. "You're not the only one who thinks I look terrible. Spit it out."

"No, no!" Jessie blushed, fiddling with her ponytail. "It's just…wow you really clean up nice. You should do this more often."

"Really?" Cloud tilted his head. Sure it wasn't by any means uncomfortable, but it still felt weird to be walking around in formal attire instead of what he was used to. His steps were stiff and awkward, the blond unused to the idea of his feet being in something that looked out of place in the Sector 7 slums.

"Yeah!" Jessie nodded, her face pink. "So…would you like to come inside? Dinner is just about done."

The mercenary could smell something delicious cooking inside and he ignored the low grumble of his stomach. Work today had been a bit of a nuisance and he had worked up an appetite running around the slums all day. "Sure."

He took her invitation and stepped inside, stepping out his shoes to show he wasn't just a sassy mercenary. He let them rest by the door and waited for her to finish closing up behind him, the brunette leading him inside. He had of course been in here once before, to steal her father's old identification card. By Gaia it seemed so far away now.

"So, what did you make?" he asked, taking off his jacket. For some reason it smelled familiar, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. It reminded him of his childhood, and he closed his eyes to breathe it in. Fleeting images of his mother and Tifa filled his mind and he shot his eyes open to see Jessie standing mere centimeters from him. "Uh…?"

"Honestly." Jessie rolled her eyes playfully. "I was asking if you liked pizza, but you spaced off in your own little world. What, am I not fun to be around or something?"

"N-no, nothing like that." The blond shook his head. Shit. He was never good at this whole conversation business, preferring to let his sword do the talking. But here, by himself, without Tifa to give him tips, he had to just go with it. "Sorry. I've…never been great at talking…"

"Then screw talking." Jessie pushed him on the couch and winked. "Don't worry, Cloud. Make yourself comfortable. Take a break for once and enjoy it."

He opened his mouth but she had already skipped away into the kitchen to go grab whatever she had made for them. Huh…she's really in a good mood. Did she really want me to come over for dinner that badly or something?

While he waited he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, unsure as to what to do. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever gone out for a night to just relax and enjoy himself. Hell, he wasn't sure if ever had. Hm. This is nice…I suppose? Shit I don't know what to do. I wish Tifa were here to lend me a hand. What would she say?

…she'd say just be how I am normally. Cloud let out a frustrated sigh and pulled on the tie around his neck. Stupid cloth neck traps. They were a great way to get strangled; why did the wealthy see it as fashionable?

"Dinner's ready!" Jessie came in with two plates full of…pizza. Okay, maybe he didn't have to dress so properly. Still, at least he knew what he smelled, right? Somehow it didn't make him feel any more at ease.

Jessie sat next to him, sliding a plate over to him, and the mercenary stared at it in an awkward silence. "Um…"

"Come on, Cloud, don't be such a sourpuss~, Jessie purred, waving a slice in his face. He wouldn't deny it did look tempting, but his social skills were terribly lacking and as such, Cloud huffed and folded his arms.

"Not interested."

"If you don't eat, I'll make you." The brunette had a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Oh really? Threatening me now?" Cloud's lips curved into a small smirk at that.

"Maybe~." The demolitionist giggled and wiggled closer to him, lazily putting her legs on his lap. "What are you going to do about it~?"

"Go get cereal," Cloud deadpanned. Jessie laughed at his dry sense of humor and he found himself chuckling with her, finally conceding. "Alright, fine. I'll eat."

Reaching down he took a bite of pizza, humming in approval. "Rather nice…"

"See, was that really so hard?" Jessie pouted and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming by. Felt I needed to repay you after all the work you've been doing."

"Really?" Cloud could tell she wasn't telling the full truth. A nice little side effect of working for what were really a bunch of eco-terrorists, he was able to tell when someone was lying.

"…yes," she lied at first. When Cloud's stare didn't waver she let out a groan and slumped where she sat. "Fine…maybe I did want to just spend some time with you…"

"Was that so hard for you to say?" Now it was Cloud's time to ask.

"How are you so strong but so painfully dense?" Jessie asked exasperatedly.

"Never said talking was my strong suit." Cloud snorted. "…thanks. We should do this again some other time, for sure."

"Aww, you'll make me blush," Jessie teased.

Cloud only smirked and let his head lean back on her couch. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.

He could see himself getting used to it.

A/N: Did I just want an excuse to do fluffy shit instead of being productive? Yes. No, I don't care. Jessie is best girl in the Remake.

My server: /natnWXjCMB

-Lowkey Classy