Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII and I'm not making any money from this.
Chapter 4: I Think We're Getting Somewhere (AERIS)
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I didn't sleep at all last night. All I could think about was Cloud, and Zack, and what a stupid move it was to practically beg Zack to ask Cloud out for me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have asked his to do it if I didn't want him to ask Cloud, but now I'm so worried that how he'll take it. Will he just think I'm joking? Will he think I'm too forward? What if he thinks I'm arrogant? I mean, I did say to tell him he was going out with me. No, 'please could you ask him if he'd like to.' I just had to jump straight in at the deep end and virtually force him to accept. But...what if he doesn't accept? What if Zack forgot to ask him? What if...?
So, as I said, I didn't sleep a wink. Oh, I tossed and turned and counted sheep and all the usual stuff, but nothing seemed to work. In the end I just gave it up as a bad job and decided to do something useful. When Jessie got up this morning, she found me busying myself by tidying the kitchen cupboards and arranging everything in size order.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked with a yawn.
"I guess I've got a lot on my mind." I replied wearily. "I thought I might as well tidy this place up."
"A lot on your mind? Like that guy who brought you home yesterday?" I blinked, straightening up.
"What?"
Jessie smiled. "I swear, Aeris, you have all the luck. He seemed lovely. What's his name?"
"Zack." I said with a sigh.
"Aeris and Zack...." She muttered. "It's about time you found a guy, that's all I can say."
"He's not a guy!" I said indignantly, and then corrected myself. "I mean, he is a guy, of course, but he's not my guy."
"Not yet."
"No, it's not like that. Jessie. Zack's just a friend."
With a friend who may at this very moment think I'm an arrogant, overconfident airhead.
"Just a friend?" Jessie asked incredulously. "Aeris, what's the matter with you? You're always saying how you wish you could find someone, and here's a perfect guy right in front of you and you don't want him?"
"Jessie, please." I sighed. "I've had no sleep, and I really need to get going. I'll expalain this later."
"You'd better do." She grumbled. "And you'd better have a half decent explanation!"
I ended up wandering around Midgar Square in a daze, thinking about how reckless this whole thing with Cloud was, and getting interrupted constantly by people who wanted to buy my flowers. Men who wanted roses for their girlfriends, women who wanted to add some cheer to their homes, children who wanted to give their mommy a gift. I always let them have theirs for free. I'm soft hearted like that.
But if anyone had have asked me what the last person to buy flowers from me had looked like, I wouldn't have been able to tell them. I was so far into my own little world that I was almost unaware of things going on around me. I was still aware of Reno and his crew who were slouched nonchalantly on the benches, talking amongst themselves and glancing over at me every so often. Usually I'd have moved to a different area, but today, as you know, I really wasn't focused.
I hadn't even thought about where Cloud and I would go on this date. I mean, Midgar isn't exactly the most romantic place. And the city's so busy, there'd be nowhere for us to go to be alone. Not to mention that I couldn't afford any of the places I thought would be nice for us to go. There was a play showing, one I'd heard of but hadn't ever seen, something called 'Loveless.' Supposedly, from what I'd heard, it was some sort of tragic romance story. One of those lost love tales. I wonder if I'll ever be able to see it? It's only show up in the theatres on the Plate. Everyone who's rich lives up there, so I guess that says a lot about how much the tickets for Loveless are likely to cost.
My inner musings were interrupted as I knocked into someone, but since I really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, I mumbled out an apology and carried on walking. I did feel a little guilty for being so impolite, but when I start on my thinking thing, I end up miles away. Jessie likes to tell me off about that. She says I daydream too much, but I can't help it, really.
"Aeris?"
I raised my eyes, slowing to a stop. It wasn't the shouting of my name that had got my attention, but rather, the voice. My heart started racing as I turned around in the direction of the voice, and then leapt as I recognised the owner of it. Cloud stood there, a handsome smile on his face, and I couldn't help but smile right back at him.
"Cloud, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise, my mind whirling. He was smiling, which was a good thing, since that meant that he didn't thing I was an arrogant, overconfident airhead. But there was always the chance that Zack might not have said anything yet. I decided that it was best to keep quiet about it for now, wait and see if he said anything.
"I was looking for you." he replied.
I laughed softly as he reached me and fell into step beside me. His hair was all messed up, and I had to stop myself from reaching over and smoothing it down. It was going in all directions.
"What for?"
"Well, Zack mentioned something last night."
"He did?"
Cloud nodded, the smile still on his face.
"Yeah, and so I thought I'd come and ask you exactly when you wanted me to pick you up Friday?"
"How do you know I'm not gonna pick you up?" I asked innocently, and he laughed. He looked downright adorable when he laughed, his eyes sparkled and seemed to glow just that bit brighter. I guess that was partly due to his SOLDIER training, I'd heard people say that glowing eyes were a mark of those who belonged to Shinra's army. And Cloud was a First Class! He must be some soldier to manage that. From what Zack was telling me yesterday, that was true enough.
"You don't want me to be a gentleman?" His eyes sparkled mischievously.
I pretended to think about it.
"Well, I suppose chivalry is always nice." We nodded at the same time, and Cloud grinned at me.
"Then what time?"
"Around eight-ish?"
"It's always eight-ish." He said. "Someone should make it official. Then there'd be none of this arranging business."
"Nine-ish then."
He shook his head. "I think seven-ish."
"What does 'ish' mean, anyway?" I asked as we walked on,
"You know, I was gonna ask that same question. You think it's French?"
"Maybe so. Everything else to do with dates usually is."
"You think so?"
We slipped into easy conversation after that, and I started to really look forward to Friday, and any other dates that would come after that. I hadn't known Cloud all that long, but I did know that there was something there. Something that I was looking for. And I hoped that Cloud was thinking the same thing.
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A/N: It's been a long time since my last update. I'm really sorry it took so long, I've been so busy over the summer, what with exam results and job interviews and all, not to mention the lack of regular inspiration. Every time I sat down to write, I'd end up writing a chapter to one of my other fics! *laughs* But I finally managed to write this one. I didn't give up on it! ^^ We need more CxA fic around here, after all. Hope you enjoyed reading, and please tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews too, I'm really grateful.
P.S: I know that there's no such country as France in FFVII, but let's pretend there is. ^^
Silver asked for a list of what's different in this story, so here you go!
Vincent isn't a Turk here, because there are no Turks. Reno and the others are there; they're just not a part of Shinra. Not yet, at least. There's no materia, but there is Mako energy. Aeris is still an Ancient, but the Shinra don't know of The Promised Land. Also, Rufus is the President, rather than his father being there first and getting killed. Sephiroth - well, I don't know whether he's going to be in this fic. He might be, so don't count him out, but I write as I go along, so I haven't planned later chapters yet. Probably why it takes me so long to update! I can't think of anything else at the moment. I'll include more notes as I get ideas. ^^
Chapter 4: I Think We're Getting Somewhere (AERIS)
I didn't sleep at all last night. All I could think about was Cloud, and Zack, and what a stupid move it was to practically beg Zack to ask Cloud out for me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have asked his to do it if I didn't want him to ask Cloud, but now I'm so worried that how he'll take it. Will he just think I'm joking? Will he think I'm too forward? What if he thinks I'm arrogant? I mean, I did say to tell him he was going out with me. No, 'please could you ask him if he'd like to.' I just had to jump straight in at the deep end and virtually force him to accept. But...what if he doesn't accept? What if Zack forgot to ask him? What if...?
So, as I said, I didn't sleep a wink. Oh, I tossed and turned and counted sheep and all the usual stuff, but nothing seemed to work. In the end I just gave it up as a bad job and decided to do something useful. When Jessie got up this morning, she found me busying myself by tidying the kitchen cupboards and arranging everything in size order.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked with a yawn.
"I guess I've got a lot on my mind." I replied wearily. "I thought I might as well tidy this place up."
"A lot on your mind? Like that guy who brought you home yesterday?" I blinked, straightening up.
"What?"
Jessie smiled. "I swear, Aeris, you have all the luck. He seemed lovely. What's his name?"
"Zack." I said with a sigh.
"Aeris and Zack...." She muttered. "It's about time you found a guy, that's all I can say."
"He's not a guy!" I said indignantly, and then corrected myself. "I mean, he is a guy, of course, but he's not my guy."
"Not yet."
"No, it's not like that. Jessie. Zack's just a friend."
With a friend who may at this very moment think I'm an arrogant, overconfident airhead.
"Just a friend?" Jessie asked incredulously. "Aeris, what's the matter with you? You're always saying how you wish you could find someone, and here's a perfect guy right in front of you and you don't want him?"
"Jessie, please." I sighed. "I've had no sleep, and I really need to get going. I'll expalain this later."
"You'd better do." She grumbled. "And you'd better have a half decent explanation!"
I ended up wandering around Midgar Square in a daze, thinking about how reckless this whole thing with Cloud was, and getting interrupted constantly by people who wanted to buy my flowers. Men who wanted roses for their girlfriends, women who wanted to add some cheer to their homes, children who wanted to give their mommy a gift. I always let them have theirs for free. I'm soft hearted like that.
But if anyone had have asked me what the last person to buy flowers from me had looked like, I wouldn't have been able to tell them. I was so far into my own little world that I was almost unaware of things going on around me. I was still aware of Reno and his crew who were slouched nonchalantly on the benches, talking amongst themselves and glancing over at me every so often. Usually I'd have moved to a different area, but today, as you know, I really wasn't focused.
I hadn't even thought about where Cloud and I would go on this date. I mean, Midgar isn't exactly the most romantic place. And the city's so busy, there'd be nowhere for us to go to be alone. Not to mention that I couldn't afford any of the places I thought would be nice for us to go. There was a play showing, one I'd heard of but hadn't ever seen, something called 'Loveless.' Supposedly, from what I'd heard, it was some sort of tragic romance story. One of those lost love tales. I wonder if I'll ever be able to see it? It's only show up in the theatres on the Plate. Everyone who's rich lives up there, so I guess that says a lot about how much the tickets for Loveless are likely to cost.
My inner musings were interrupted as I knocked into someone, but since I really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, I mumbled out an apology and carried on walking. I did feel a little guilty for being so impolite, but when I start on my thinking thing, I end up miles away. Jessie likes to tell me off about that. She says I daydream too much, but I can't help it, really.
"Aeris?"
I raised my eyes, slowing to a stop. It wasn't the shouting of my name that had got my attention, but rather, the voice. My heart started racing as I turned around in the direction of the voice, and then leapt as I recognised the owner of it. Cloud stood there, a handsome smile on his face, and I couldn't help but smile right back at him.
"Cloud, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise, my mind whirling. He was smiling, which was a good thing, since that meant that he didn't thing I was an arrogant, overconfident airhead. But there was always the chance that Zack might not have said anything yet. I decided that it was best to keep quiet about it for now, wait and see if he said anything.
"I was looking for you." he replied.
I laughed softly as he reached me and fell into step beside me. His hair was all messed up, and I had to stop myself from reaching over and smoothing it down. It was going in all directions.
"What for?"
"Well, Zack mentioned something last night."
"He did?"
Cloud nodded, the smile still on his face.
"Yeah, and so I thought I'd come and ask you exactly when you wanted me to pick you up Friday?"
"How do you know I'm not gonna pick you up?" I asked innocently, and he laughed. He looked downright adorable when he laughed, his eyes sparkled and seemed to glow just that bit brighter. I guess that was partly due to his SOLDIER training, I'd heard people say that glowing eyes were a mark of those who belonged to Shinra's army. And Cloud was a First Class! He must be some soldier to manage that. From what Zack was telling me yesterday, that was true enough.
"You don't want me to be a gentleman?" His eyes sparkled mischievously.
I pretended to think about it.
"Well, I suppose chivalry is always nice." We nodded at the same time, and Cloud grinned at me.
"Then what time?"
"Around eight-ish?"
"It's always eight-ish." He said. "Someone should make it official. Then there'd be none of this arranging business."
"Nine-ish then."
He shook his head. "I think seven-ish."
"What does 'ish' mean, anyway?" I asked as we walked on,
"You know, I was gonna ask that same question. You think it's French?"
"Maybe so. Everything else to do with dates usually is."
"You think so?"
We slipped into easy conversation after that, and I started to really look forward to Friday, and any other dates that would come after that. I hadn't known Cloud all that long, but I did know that there was something there. Something that I was looking for. And I hoped that Cloud was thinking the same thing.
A/N: It's been a long time since my last update. I'm really sorry it took so long, I've been so busy over the summer, what with exam results and job interviews and all, not to mention the lack of regular inspiration. Every time I sat down to write, I'd end up writing a chapter to one of my other fics! *laughs* But I finally managed to write this one. I didn't give up on it! ^^ We need more CxA fic around here, after all. Hope you enjoyed reading, and please tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews too, I'm really grateful.
P.S: I know that there's no such country as France in FFVII, but let's pretend there is. ^^
Silver asked for a list of what's different in this story, so here you go!
Vincent isn't a Turk here, because there are no Turks. Reno and the others are there; they're just not a part of Shinra. Not yet, at least. There's no materia, but there is Mako energy. Aeris is still an Ancient, but the Shinra don't know of The Promised Land. Also, Rufus is the President, rather than his father being there first and getting killed. Sephiroth - well, I don't know whether he's going to be in this fic. He might be, so don't count him out, but I write as I go along, so I haven't planned later chapters yet. Probably why it takes me so long to update! I can't think of anything else at the moment. I'll include more notes as I get ideas. ^^