Author's note: hey everyone! So I've decided to continue with a couple more chapters of the time they spent in Wall Market. As before, I'm not exactly following the game's story, it's just a different version I have in mind. This chapter is more light, more fun to read maybe. Hope you enjoy and let me know how much you love Cloud and Aerith! Thank you!
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Three Nights"Tifa!" He said looking beyond Aerith, to some wooden wagon that came out from the opening doors.
"Tifa?" Aerith asked and couldn't help wondering if he was there kissing her while thinking about the Tifa he had mentioned once before. She looked back, following his gaze. She was still sitting on his lap, his hands had come down to the end of her back and she still had one hand on his cheek.
They got up at the same time and he ran towards the wagon, Aerith followed behind. He climbed up the moving wagon and the girl inside, dressed in the shortest brightest blue dress Aerith had ever seen, came to meet him. She heard them talk about Corneo and how she was infiltrating his mansion, until Cloud jumped down and walked back to her.
"That's Tifa?" Aerith asked in surprise.
"Yeah." Cloud nodded.
"Your friend Tifa." She asked again.
"Yeah."
"The one you mentioned before Tifa?" Aerith couldn't believe the gorgeous woman she had just seen him talk to was thatTifa.
"Again, yeah."
"Did... I just have you cheat on Tifa?" Aerith asked, her eyebrows lifted. Her heart raced inside her chest. Maybe kissing him hadn't been such a good idea, but damn that kiss meant something, or was it just that he was so vulnerable then that he would have let her do anything?
"What?!" Cloud asked, blue eyes wide open in awe. "No! Why would-?" He sighed in disbelief, placed his fingers on his temples, what was she talking about? Why bother?
"You're just friends with a woman who looks like that?" Aerith asked and he nodded, stared at her blankly and crossed his arms to his chest, shifting on his feet. "Jeez, what is wrong with you?"
"I- what?" He wanted to reply but couldn't find anything to say to that. Didn't they just kiss? Shouldn't she be asking him all about that? Why was she so interested in Tifa?
"Come on, let's go." Aerith walked past him and motioned for him to follow.
"Go where?" Cloud started walking behind her. "Weren't you going home?"
"You're not letting her go to Don Corneo's mansion alone are you?"
"She's a fighter, she can handle it." He replied.
"No, not in Corneo's hands Cloud. She'll be inside a house full of his men. And Corneo is the worst. I've heard stories about things he does to the girls that go there. Cloud, you don't want her to go in there alone.. we have to help her!" Aerith's tone was serious, worried.
Cloud genuinely believed Tifa would be alright, but he also knew better not to contradict the flower girl if her mind was set up into something.
The streets of Wall Market were filled with people coming from all over Midgar and beyond. It was known around the world to be a place to have fun gambling, dancing, eating, drinking and find company. It wasn't long before they almost lost each other in a crowded street. Aerith had to take his hand so they could move safely around in the direction of Corneo's mansion.
"Hey beautiful thing!" A muscled tall man stood in front of Aerith, grinning down at her, showing off his chest buffed muscles. "You're a rare beauty around here, wanna have some fun?"
"No thank you." And she kept walking as she lifted her hand to show the man she was holding Cloud's hand, fingers interlocked as if they were lovers. "Taken."
"He could join us too if he wants!" They heard the man say, his voice getting lost in the crowd's.
"Such a classy place." Aerith couldn't hold in a laughter. "Seriously, don't let go of my hand, I fear for you here Cloud."
The way she kept looking at everything around them, the glowing colorful lights of the bars, the people passing by them occasionally stumbling on them with a few more drinks they could handle, Cloud couldn't help wonder if she was over what had happened at the entrance or she was just overwhelmed by all the buzz that she had forgotten all about that. Her hand, though, held his in a tight grip. Their level of intimacy was different now after the kiss, at least for him it was easier to touch her now without feeling so uptight. So restless.
Soon enough, they reached the doors of Corneo's mansion.
"Ok, I guess this is it." Aerith took a deep breath. "This place gives me the creeps."
It was only then that Cloud took back his hand from hers so he could push open the heavy doors of the huge house.
They were greeted at the hall by Corneo's men guarding the door.
"Not so fast buddy, back it up, got no need for pretty boys here." One of the guys got up to get in their way.
"We're looking for someone." Cloud said.
"Let me guess, first time in Wall Market." The silver haired man stated.
"Yeah... so?" Cloud was getting annoyed. He didn't like the man's tone.
"So people don't just walk through the Don's doors. Especially men."
"How about me? Can I go inside?" Aerith promptly asked and it made Cloud slightly move his body in front of her to stop her from taking a step forward. There would be no way she was going in without him.
"Maybe, but you're gonna wish you didn't." The silver haired man shook his head.
"Wait, she's kinda cute. Homely, but cute." Another man stood up to say.
"Excuse you?" Aerith glared at the man in shock.
"Seriously, she's kinda cute, maybe if she got a little worked up, she might cut it!" The third man at the door said.
"Cloud? Permission to kill." Aerith couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who were these guys?
"Denied." Cloud shook his head.
"Listen, if you want in, you need a recommendation from one of the trio." And the silver haired man went on explaining who were the trio and what they needed to do if they really wanted to go to Don's audition. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to the girl you're looking for until the day of the audition, which is in three days time. But after that... she's going to wish she had never got inside this place."
Getting to the fact that there was nothing to do about that, they left the mansion into the streets of Wall Market once again.
As Cloud walked ahead he noticed Aerith stalled behind, head down, hands together in front of her.
"What's wrong?" He asked, almost regretting it.
"Cloud... Do you think I'm pretty?" She lifted her head, looked straight at him. Yes, he regretted having asked. But to Aerith, he had just been talking to a gorgeous looking girl he called his friend. She had a body to die for, kind eyes, beautiful face, and Aerith just felt like she was common. Like he wouldn't consider her pretty at all. Even more after those man making fun of her looks just now. It made her feel even worse that that conversion took place in front of him. Now he would look at her and find her not special.
"Hum..." Just his luck. Cloud shifted in his place, not really sure what to say next. He wasn't good at complimenting, couldn't find the words to answer her properly. "Hey, don't let what they said get to you. Have you looked at them? They're stupid assholes." Was the best he could do.
"Nevermind..." she looked down and shook those thoughts out of her head. What was she expecting he'd say? It was Cloud she was asking. "We should find a place to say for three nights. This place is so crowded it will be difficult to find a nice room. We need to think about how to get one of those recommendations."
They did get one room, the only one available in town apparently. They went up to sit down for a minute and noticed the bedroom only had one bed.
"Well, I guess we're in luck we have that sorted out already." She was talking about the fact that they had slept in the same bed before so that wouldn't be a problem now. Cloud tensed, just knowing they would have to share a bed again, she was so at ease with him while he just felt so clueless.
"Now, let's get something to eat." She spoke, he had to obey. Bossy... he thought quietly.
They sat at a bar's counter and ordered some food. When the food came, the waitress handed them two bubbly red drinks along with their plates.
"Today is special you two!" The waitress said cheerfully, almost singing to them. "Today we're offering drinks to our lovely couples. Enjoy, you two beautiful lovebirds!" And she left them bewilderedly looking at the tall glasses neatly placed in front of them. They looked around at the place and noticed the tables were only set for two and they were all filled with couples holding hands, laughing, some were kissing and others desperately needed to get a room.
"Why is everything in Wall Market implying sex?" Aerith asked covering her face with a hand, ashamed to look at the more steamy couples.
"Looks like it's made that way so far." Cloud started eating while Aerith just stared at the drink in front of her. "Never tried alcohol before huh?" He asked noticing her stance.
"Not really no." She shook her head. "Well, there's a first time for everything." And with that, she took four long sips of the red drink.
"Wow, easy! You're going to feel that." Cloud was slightly amused at how eagerly she tried the drink. "You don't know what's in there!" He looked around, one could never trust anything in Wall Market.
"It's sweet!" Aerith grimaced, placing the half empty glass down loudly. "And kinda sour at the same time."
"This should be interesting." Cloud raised an eyebrow at her, first time trying an alcoholic drink, he couldn't wait to witness how she'd take it.
"Aren't you going to drink?" She asked taking a bite at her food.
"Well, at least one of us should be sober for this." He said. But then took a small sip of the red drink just to know what he was going to deal with. "Yeah.. you have it." He put the glass down, wasn't the kind of drink he liked.
"Well, lucky for you, we have a stronger, more manly option if you don't like the love cocktail!" The waitress was back as if she had been there the whole time listening to them talk. She handed Cloud a shorter but larger glass filled with a transparent golden liquid. "Enjoy!" She sang, patting them both on their shoulders and leaving them be.
"To us!" Aerith lifted her glass up and drank the rest of her drink.
"You're going to regret it tomorrow." Cloud warned her but he understood she had had a different life than his, protected from life beyond her church in the slums, beyond the people she took care of in sector 5. Probably never had this kind of fun before. He wasn't going to ruin it for her. But, just in case, he should take it easy with drinking this time. He shrugged, lifted his glass at her and drank his whisky.
"Is it ok to be having fun while Tifa is in there? I feel bad." Aerith suddenly asked, remembering their mission in that place. They had three days to get one of the recommendations they needed. They would start tomorrow.
"I know her. She'll be fine." Cloud assured her.
"You sure there's nothing more than friendship between you and her?" Aerith was curious. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that the beautiful girl was important to him, but she wanted to know from him what his feelings were for Tifa. The florist was more and more sure about her own feelings for him but she didn't want to step in between someone's complicated relationship. Not that she'd think Cloud would tell her anything, he kept everything to himself. Probably the reason he had that breakdown in the park. He was holding too much of everything inside.
"I've known her since we were kids. She was my only friend actually back where we used to live." Cloud stared at the liquid in his glass. "And that's that, nothing more than that." When he didn't get an answer from Aerith he looked up and noticed the girl was finishing drinking the second glass of the red drink, the one he didn't finish.
"So good!" She exclaimed, her eyes closed from smiling widely. "But so bad at the same time!"
"What shall we do next? We have the whole night before we focus on our mission to rescue Tifa!" Aerith's vision started blurring at the same time her body started numbing, especially her legs. The alcohol was starting its effect. She felt light headed.
"May I suggest the "Drunken Tonberry" bar?" The nosy waitress appeared behind them once again as if she had been there the whole time. "You can drink and listen to some music there, couples usually go there, it's a nice place. And! Since it's couples day here, you get discounts for your drinks with these coupons there! Isn't that wonderful?" She handed them two coupons with the bar's name in flashing yellow lights. "Enjoy!" She sang and gave them the check.
"Might as well!" Aerith stood up from her seat and feeling the world spinning around, leaned on the counter to maintain her balance. "Oh?."
"Yup." Cloud finished his drink and placed the money on the counter. "Need help?"
"No, I can." She slowly took her hands of the counter's edge which she had gripped and started walking towards the exit.
"What about you?" Cloud asked while they joined the crowd on the streets. "You were talking about a guy before?" He hardly remembered something like that on the playground, before it all went insane in his head.
"Oh, I'm not telling you about him." Aerith giggled, squinting her eyes to focus at where they were going. She looped her arm in his so she could walk straight. "The last time I did you had a meltdown. Was that it? You jealous?" She felt her words weren't like her usual self. Dangerous thing drinking, she thought. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean that, I was really scared for you."
"Thank you... for bringing me back." Cloud meant it. Just thinking about the vision he had was making him sick to his stomach. If she hadn't been there to call him out, hold him, it would have been worse. And the kiss... they hadn't talked about it. He barely remembered it now, because of all the circumstances. It started to feel like a hazy dream.
"We're here!" Aerith stopped to look at the name of the bar blinking in flashing yellow letters. "The drunken tornbenny, drinking tourberry, drunken torunben? Whatever.. what is a tornarry anyway?" Cloud couldn't hold a small smile from escaping his lips at the girls attempt to say the bar's name.
"What was that? Did you just smile? This is the first time I see you smile since I met you!" She chuckled in amusement. "You should smile more, you're pretty." He stared at her wordlessly, she was taking control of the whole conversation for him. "Don't let that get to your head though." She points a finger at him.
The good news was she probably wouldn't remember any of that the next day. There was music coming out from the bar and they could hear the muffled sound of voices of the people happily talking inside.
"Can we go? Just for a bit?" Her green eyes looked at him pleadingly, her cheeks were pink, her lips were bright red from traces of the drink she had had. It wasn't his type of thing but would he let her down when she was looking at him like that? He nodded. "Yes! You're ok!" She knocked him on his arm with her knuckles and giggled. She definitely wasn't being her normal self.
They stayed for a while, Aerith danced a few songs while he just looked at her from his seat. Her graceful movements, the way her hair swayed down her back, her green curious eyes. He watched her talk to some of the girls dancing next to her, watched her talk to some guy that probably started making conversation but she didn't give much attention to. She was a bright light in a dark night, she was life, she glowed with her personality, made everyone around her smile. He couldn't help but feel drawn to her aura. She was so loveable he didn't know why she seemed so interested in him. She suddenly looked his way from where she was standing, maybe to make sure he was still there in the same place. He looked away.
Why am I even...?"Ok we should go." She finally came back to where he was sitting. He got up at once and took her hand leading her outside. When they were climbing down the stairs to the street, Aerith stumbled on her feet and went flying down onto him who only had time to catch her by the arm and pull her up into his chest. He held her in his arms.
"You ok?" He asked looking down. She kept her face buried in his shirt and nodded.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I can make it back." Aerith said, her voice muffled from talking into his shirt. "My legs aren't moving."
He sighed. "Climb up." He turned around and squatted down so she could climb onto his back. "I'll take you." She did as she was told and he started walking towards the Inn, his arms under the crook of her knees and her arms around his neck. He could feel her breathing in his ear and her heart drumming against his back.
Once they reached their bedroom, he laid her down on the bed, her eyes were closed, tired from the day. He took her boots off and helped her take off her jacket. Then he took his boots and armour off and hesitated for a bit if he should just sleep on the floor.
"Come here." He heard her say from within the sheets. She took an arm out and pulled him to the bed by the hand. He nearly fell on top of her but managed to lay beside her carefully. "Thank you for tonight. I had fun." She whispers and brushes her lips on his, softly. "Goodnight." She finally says and her eyes flutter shut.
"Yeah..." Cloud whispers back. "Me too."