Chapter 4
Tea for Two
"It's nice to talk to someone who's civilized." Said Aeris while taking a sip of tea.
"Yes I must agree." Answered back Rinoa happily. She couldn't remember the last time she had sat down and just talked to a sane woman. Sephie was whacked out and Quists was her superior so sometimes it was hard to have a heart to heart talk.
Rinoa looked around her surroundings. She was in a garden encased in glass walls. It was simply beautiful. The sun that was just now setting it was breath taking and the scents of so many flowers she had never even heard of before invaded her senses.
Sipping warm herbal tea with a new friend on an evening like this was simply heaven. Without even noticing it she sighed softly.
Aeris watched her new friend in peaceful tranquility. She couldn't remember the last time it had been so quiet and she was ignoring it. Suddenly without warning she heard Rinoa sigh.
"Are you ok?" whispered Aeris gently "I hope I'm not boring you."
"Oh, that's not it at all." Said Rinoa softly.
"I was just wondering was um... has Cloud always been... um... how should I say..." Rinoa stuttered.
"Oh, I know what you mean. And no, he wasn't. He fell into the life stream quite some time ago and this is the result." Explained Aeris with a small sigh at the ending.
"Oh, I am truly sorry." said Rinoa softly with a hint of pity. "Did you..." started Rinoa, but the question soon died out.
"Yes, I did love him but, it's hard to love someone who's got the IQ of a vegetable." said Aeris softly, " and besides, Tifa has a huge crush on him to. So I figure Cloud must have liked Tifa more because they have known each other longer."
"Maybe, I could help. If you help me." said Rinoa with a glint in her eyes.
"Oh, ya what?" Aeris said hopefully
"Well we could ...* whisper * and...* whisper * Squall's been... * whisper *
Knock, knock
"What is it?" called Aeris
"Dinner, so hurry up you lazy sack of bones." snapped Tifa bitterly. 'They better not be talking about me', Tifa thought angrily as she stomped down the hall back to the kitchen.
Soon everyone was at the table. Barret was about to dig in when- "Who will say grace?" questioned Aeris.
"Not me!" shouted Cid as loud as he could.
"Da, I can." Cloud said.
"Alright." sighed Barret.
Cloud took a deep breath and said, "G-R-A-C-E!!!!"
Everyone was on the floor, and Cloud was smiling contently.
~*~
"Um... .." mumbled Vincent as he looked up from his work. What had that been?
~*~
Barrett was the first one up.
"What in the hell are you thinking!?!? I'm starving!!!" Barrett boomed so loud as if he was trying to wake the dead.
Cloud started to whimper; as if to start crying.
"Why had Barney been so loud? It scares me..." Cloud sniffed
Aeris was up in a second and hugging Cloud...VERY tightly. Tifa was sending her ice darts by her eyes. She. Was. MAD! Everyone else just was quiet not caring who was hugging who just wanting to stuff their faces.
Red Xlll who had been very quiet and polite- even when Zell had been poking at him- lost his cool.
"Aeris! I don't care if we say grace or not I'm starving! If I don't eat soon, I will eat YOU! That is a promise!!!"
And with that declaration he promptly began to eat like a real animal. Cid and Barrett watched Red Xlll stuffing his face. They stopped caring if it was polite or not and started to eat like Red Xlll. (it was quite a mess!)
Yuffie, on the other hand was to busy "chatting" with Sephie. (It was interesting how Sephie could even understand Yuffie). Caith Smith was looking at his companion's and just decided to take his plate and run to his room.
The FF8 gang was just staring at them with a million sweatdrops.
"Thanks Aeris." Cloud quietly sniffed into Aeris's shirt.
"It's ok, Clouddy, Aeris is here." Aeris murmured while giving him a tight squeeze.
(A/N: Clouddy is Aeris's pet name for Cloud)
Tifa was about ready to kill Aeris. She couldn't help herself she had to do something! And with that declaration in mind she promptly jumped on Aeris's back and began to pull out her hair.
"AHHHHH!!!!" Aeris howled as she let go of Cloud and began to throw her arms around trying to hit Tifa.
"You little demon! Cloud is mine!!!" Tifa screamed while pulling out some more hair.
"You witch! Cloud will never be yours! OW!!!" Aeris hissed while grabbing her staff and hitting Tifa on the head.
Aeris looked behind herself at Tifa on the ground. She was out cold!
"Yes!" Aeris shouted while throwing up her hands and tipping her head back.
"Oh no, Tifa!" Quists said as she got out of her chair and ran over to Tifa.
"You hit hard! Way to go!" Cid quickly said than began to stuff his face again.
Cloud was big eyed along with the rest of the FF8 party.
'You do not want to get on Aeris's bad side.' Thought Cloud. 'Hm, Tiffy is taking a nap.'
Everyone turned to Aeris (except Barret, Cid and RedXIII who were still eating).
"Better start eating," Aeris exclaimed while putting down her staff, "or the food will get cold."
And with that, she quietly sat down and with a little evil grin, began to eat.
Soon, everyone else picked up their forks and began to also eat. The rest of the meat was in silence aside from the occasional slurp or burp from Cid, Barret and RedXIII, but of course Yuffie and Sephie continued with their mindless chatter, so technically, it wasn't really quiet.
Slowly, Aeris stood up after she was finished eating.
"Who would like to help me with the dishes?" Aeris stated with a small sigh, knowing no one was going to volunteer. They never did.
"Um...Irvine and I have to finish our game!" Cid said as he grabbed Irvine's arm and dragged him out of the room.
"Zell has more questions for me." RedXIII said as he and Zell walked (rather fast I might add) out of the kitchen door.
Squall slowly slipped out with no one noticing. Sly thing he is.
Sephie and Yuffie didn't even hear her as they left to go outside yapping very loud.
Cloud just followed Irvine and Zell to the television.
"I'm taking a nap, so leave me alone." Mumbled Barret as he stumbled out the door.
Aeris let out a sigh, than she noticed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll help you, Aeris." Rinoa said cheerfully, "Besides, we can talk about that materia, hum?"
"Yes, yes we can!" Shouted Aeris cheerfully as she started the water from the sink. Rinoa just smiled as she walked over to the table to start to collect the dirty dishes.
~*~
"SPOONY!!" Cried Cid as he watched Irvine break his highest score without even breaking into a sweat.
"If you think that was good, watch this, Ciddy my man!" Yelled Irvine as he easily kept going. Soon, he beat the part that Cid had been on for weeks. Cid's cigarette dropped from his mouth and started to cuss underneath his breath and it wasn't 'spoony'.
Cloud sort of watched, not caring who was kicking who's butt.
Squall could only smile as he watched from 'his recliner' (which he had dubbed it).
~*~
Chibi: Ellos! So, how'd you like?! I know Cloud IS a stupid, but you'll find out why soon or later! ^_^ see ya soon!
"It's nice to talk to someone who's civilized." Said Aeris while taking a sip of tea.
"Yes I must agree." Answered back Rinoa happily. She couldn't remember the last time she had sat down and just talked to a sane woman. Sephie was whacked out and Quists was her superior so sometimes it was hard to have a heart to heart talk.
Rinoa looked around her surroundings. She was in a garden encased in glass walls. It was simply beautiful. The sun that was just now setting it was breath taking and the scents of so many flowers she had never even heard of before invaded her senses.
Sipping warm herbal tea with a new friend on an evening like this was simply heaven. Without even noticing it she sighed softly.
Aeris watched her new friend in peaceful tranquility. She couldn't remember the last time it had been so quiet and she was ignoring it. Suddenly without warning she heard Rinoa sigh.
"Are you ok?" whispered Aeris gently "I hope I'm not boring you."
"Oh, that's not it at all." Said Rinoa softly.
"I was just wondering was um... has Cloud always been... um... how should I say..." Rinoa stuttered.
"Oh, I know what you mean. And no, he wasn't. He fell into the life stream quite some time ago and this is the result." Explained Aeris with a small sigh at the ending.
"Oh, I am truly sorry." said Rinoa softly with a hint of pity. "Did you..." started Rinoa, but the question soon died out.
"Yes, I did love him but, it's hard to love someone who's got the IQ of a vegetable." said Aeris softly, " and besides, Tifa has a huge crush on him to. So I figure Cloud must have liked Tifa more because they have known each other longer."
"Maybe, I could help. If you help me." said Rinoa with a glint in her eyes.
"Oh, ya what?" Aeris said hopefully
"Well we could ...* whisper * and...* whisper * Squall's been... * whisper *
Knock, knock
"What is it?" called Aeris
"Dinner, so hurry up you lazy sack of bones." snapped Tifa bitterly. 'They better not be talking about me', Tifa thought angrily as she stomped down the hall back to the kitchen.
Soon everyone was at the table. Barret was about to dig in when- "Who will say grace?" questioned Aeris.
"Not me!" shouted Cid as loud as he could.
"Da, I can." Cloud said.
"Alright." sighed Barret.
Cloud took a deep breath and said, "G-R-A-C-E!!!!"
Everyone was on the floor, and Cloud was smiling contently.
~*~
"Um... .." mumbled Vincent as he looked up from his work. What had that been?
~*~
Barrett was the first one up.
"What in the hell are you thinking!?!? I'm starving!!!" Barrett boomed so loud as if he was trying to wake the dead.
Cloud started to whimper; as if to start crying.
"Why had Barney been so loud? It scares me..." Cloud sniffed
Aeris was up in a second and hugging Cloud...VERY tightly. Tifa was sending her ice darts by her eyes. She. Was. MAD! Everyone else just was quiet not caring who was hugging who just wanting to stuff their faces.
Red Xlll who had been very quiet and polite- even when Zell had been poking at him- lost his cool.
"Aeris! I don't care if we say grace or not I'm starving! If I don't eat soon, I will eat YOU! That is a promise!!!"
And with that declaration he promptly began to eat like a real animal. Cid and Barrett watched Red Xlll stuffing his face. They stopped caring if it was polite or not and started to eat like Red Xlll. (it was quite a mess!)
Yuffie, on the other hand was to busy "chatting" with Sephie. (It was interesting how Sephie could even understand Yuffie). Caith Smith was looking at his companion's and just decided to take his plate and run to his room.
The FF8 gang was just staring at them with a million sweatdrops.
"Thanks Aeris." Cloud quietly sniffed into Aeris's shirt.
"It's ok, Clouddy, Aeris is here." Aeris murmured while giving him a tight squeeze.
(A/N: Clouddy is Aeris's pet name for Cloud)
Tifa was about ready to kill Aeris. She couldn't help herself she had to do something! And with that declaration in mind she promptly jumped on Aeris's back and began to pull out her hair.
"AHHHHH!!!!" Aeris howled as she let go of Cloud and began to throw her arms around trying to hit Tifa.
"You little demon! Cloud is mine!!!" Tifa screamed while pulling out some more hair.
"You witch! Cloud will never be yours! OW!!!" Aeris hissed while grabbing her staff and hitting Tifa on the head.
Aeris looked behind herself at Tifa on the ground. She was out cold!
"Yes!" Aeris shouted while throwing up her hands and tipping her head back.
"Oh no, Tifa!" Quists said as she got out of her chair and ran over to Tifa.
"You hit hard! Way to go!" Cid quickly said than began to stuff his face again.
Cloud was big eyed along with the rest of the FF8 party.
'You do not want to get on Aeris's bad side.' Thought Cloud. 'Hm, Tiffy is taking a nap.'
Everyone turned to Aeris (except Barret, Cid and RedXIII who were still eating).
"Better start eating," Aeris exclaimed while putting down her staff, "or the food will get cold."
And with that, she quietly sat down and with a little evil grin, began to eat.
Soon, everyone else picked up their forks and began to also eat. The rest of the meat was in silence aside from the occasional slurp or burp from Cid, Barret and RedXIII, but of course Yuffie and Sephie continued with their mindless chatter, so technically, it wasn't really quiet.
Slowly, Aeris stood up after she was finished eating.
"Who would like to help me with the dishes?" Aeris stated with a small sigh, knowing no one was going to volunteer. They never did.
"Um...Irvine and I have to finish our game!" Cid said as he grabbed Irvine's arm and dragged him out of the room.
"Zell has more questions for me." RedXIII said as he and Zell walked (rather fast I might add) out of the kitchen door.
Squall slowly slipped out with no one noticing. Sly thing he is.
Sephie and Yuffie didn't even hear her as they left to go outside yapping very loud.
Cloud just followed Irvine and Zell to the television.
"I'm taking a nap, so leave me alone." Mumbled Barret as he stumbled out the door.
Aeris let out a sigh, than she noticed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll help you, Aeris." Rinoa said cheerfully, "Besides, we can talk about that materia, hum?"
"Yes, yes we can!" Shouted Aeris cheerfully as she started the water from the sink. Rinoa just smiled as she walked over to the table to start to collect the dirty dishes.
~*~
"SPOONY!!" Cried Cid as he watched Irvine break his highest score without even breaking into a sweat.
"If you think that was good, watch this, Ciddy my man!" Yelled Irvine as he easily kept going. Soon, he beat the part that Cid had been on for weeks. Cid's cigarette dropped from his mouth and started to cuss underneath his breath and it wasn't 'spoony'.
Cloud sort of watched, not caring who was kicking who's butt.
Squall could only smile as he watched from 'his recliner' (which he had dubbed it).
~*~
Chibi: Ellos! So, how'd you like?! I know Cloud IS a stupid, but you'll find out why soon or later! ^_^ see ya soon!
