Warning: Fluff, slightly adult humor (not sure about that one- depends on your point of view and whether or not you get it or find it funny), and maybe OOCness- especially on Seph's psrt. Sorry sorry!
Part VIII of XI (8 of 11 NOT THE LAST)
Valentines Day Dance, Part 1
A week later, back at school, everyone realized that something drastic had changed.
Cloud smiled a lot more, and was a bit more social. He and Sephiroth still fought, but it was far more playful than the old fights they used to have.
Sephiroth was still cool and collected, but every once in a while you'd seen a warm smile from the man previously nicknamed 'The Human Iceberg'.
Whenever anyone asked about it, both said the same thing.
"I found absolute perfection." They would say, smiling, and get a distant look in their eyes.
No one thought to connect the two- no one, that it, except for Aeris. She would smile softly and congratulate whichever one of the two she ran across in the halls, truly happy for them.
The paper had run a smaller article- titled 'Clementine Found'- but had not gone into very much detail other than to say that Clementine would be revealed on Valentine's Day, as Sephiroth's date.
And so, life moved on and the school held it's breath until Febuary 14th, each one wondering who 'Clementine' was.
Cloud's POV
Cloud brushed through his spikey hair again. He thought it looked decent- especially considering how Sephiroth had told him his hair looked when it was spikey and free, not weighed down with gel or hair spray, and especially considering that his hair tended to get messed up pretty quickly around his boyfriend.
Cloud blushed and smiled, thinking of all the times he had struggled with his hair for an hour before giving up and going with Sephiroth only to have the silver-haired man ruffle it back to its usual spikes within ten minutes of seeing Cloud again.
"Does this make me look fat?" Tifa asked, tugging her black dress so that it smoothed out. Cloud spared her a glance and smiled.
"Not at all- I'm sure Barret will agree. You look lovely." Cloud told her. Tifa frowned, looking at herself in the mirror.
Her hair had been fixed in a tight bun, leaving some of her bangs to hag down into her face. A small velvet choker adorned her throat, and the dress itself was velevt, hanging down off her frame and showing it off. It reached down to the floor, but didn't quiet cover the girl's inch-high heels.
"How about this?" Yuffie asked, bounding into the small living room of Cloud's apartment- he had invited the three girls to come and get ready by him so that their dates- Barrent for Tifa, Vincent for Yuffie, and Zack for Aeris. Cloud had been as surprised as anyone else when the boys had asked- especially Vincent, seeing as how quiet the man usually was! Cid had invited Shera, but Shera had declined Cloud's invite and had instead decided to get ready with her own circle of friends. Cloud didn't mind- he just needed one or two people to tell him what he had to fix with his appearence. He wasn't that good at spotting that kind of thing and wanted to be as perfect as possible to impress Sephiroth.
'He'll like it no matter what you wear.' Cloud thought, smiling.
"So, who's this girl you're taking with you?" Tifa asked- she had been exclaiming over the dance in front of him, then had immediately felt bad and offered to tell him all about it when she got back. Cloud had told her that there was no need- he was going with someone special himself. Everyone had demanded to know who, but Cloud had kept quiet, only telling them that they'd have to wait until the dance. Of course, everyone assumed that he was going with a girl, save Aeris who knew better. She had privately congratulated him when she had him alone, exclaiming over how sweet it was that they were going together.
"You'll find out- in about fifteen minutes." Cloud said, checking his watch. Sephiroth had wanted them to have a nice dinner before going to the dance, disregarding the fact that it was too early for dinner. He had checked with his friends- they had all agreed to pick up their dates shortly after Sephiroth came to get him.
"You're making her pick you up? That's the guy's job!" Yuffie said. Aeris laughed quietly from behind them. They all turned to see Aeris' outfit- a light pink, floor-length strapless gown with a small red coat that didn't even reach to her stomach. Her hair was piled on top of her head, loose curls framing her face. Her hair was tied back with a pink ribbon and she wore a light dusting of makeup.
"You look wonderful, Aeris." Cloud said. Yuffie glanced between the two other girls, and then looked at her own outfit- a short dress that barely went to mid-thigh and no straps, her hair simply pulled back with a band of cloth, olive-green like the dress. She wore high heels, apparently trying to make up for her lack of height.
"What about me?" she asked, looking around the room.
"You look good too Yuffie- Vincent'll like it." Cloud said. "I'm sure."
He wasn't too surprised when the doorbell rang ten minutes before Sephiroth was due to arrive.
"Is that her?" Tifa asked, striding over to the door. Cloud shook his head.
"No, your dates have arrived." Cloud said, proven correct when the door swung open to reveal three men in decent suits, each with a tie to match their girlfriend's dress.
"Hey handsome!" Yuffie said, waving wildly at Vincent, who merely smiled an hesitantly waved back. Zack was looking Aeris up and down, whistling.
"And why is it you don't dress like this every day?" Zack asked out loud, rhetorically. "Damn I got lucky!" Aeris giggled.
"You... look good, Teef." Barret said, staring in awe at Tifa, who merely blushed.
"Thanks- you do too." she added. The reunions and compliments done, with five minutes to go, all six of them turned to look at Cloud.
Cloud was still fussing over his outfit- black dress pants, shined shoes, a white dress shirt made of what felt like silk, and a black vest to go on top. Even the tie was black. Aeris had smiled when she had seen the outfit, remembering what those colors and that kind of outfit meant to Cloud.
The clothes were the male version of the outfit she had given him for his first date with Sephiroth.
"You look fine, Cloud. Stop worrying." Aeris said gently. He flashed her a grateful smile before turning back to the mirror he had bought for the occasion.
"Thanks, but I want to look perfect." Cloud said, smoothing out his clothes.
"Then try fixing your hair." Yuffie said dryly, leaning against Vincent. Cloud just absently shook his head.
"It just gets messed up in ten minutes anyway..." Cloud blushed at the unintentional statement. "Um... I mean..."
"Whoa- some heavy make-out sessions, methinks?" Zack said in a singsong voice. "Spike's a busy boy, especially if it gets messed up so quickly for him to not even bother with it!"
"Who is this girl you're seeing?" Barrent asked, frowning slightly. "I don't think I've met anyone claiming to be your girlfriend..."
Cloud checked his watch again, smiling when he saw the time.
"You should be finding out any minute now." he said. Just then, the doorbell rang. Cloud's guests- save Aeris- snapped their eyes to the door, as if they expected it to open by itself.
They held their breath as Cloud calmly walked over to the door and opened it- at the perfect angle to block their veiw.
"Great timing." Cloud said, the most joyous smile any of them had seen on him spreading over his face. "You look so... perfect."
"Not nearly as good as you do." One by one, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, and Zack's mouths dropped open. Vincent was expressing wordless shock, his eyes opening wide.
"What. The. Hell...?" Tifa said, staring dumbly as Cloud pulled the door the rest of the way open, revealing a very handsome silver-haired man. "Sephiroth!"
Sephiroth just smirked, wrapping an arm around Cloud. Faintly, Tifa realized that Sephiroth and Cloud were dressed identically, obviously with an intent to match. As Sephiroth's hair was so long, he had tied it back in a loose ponytail, allowing some hair to frame his face.
"We'll see you at the Valentine's Day dance." Cloud said, waving cheekily at his dumbstruck friends. "And, by the way Yuffie..." he said, pausing for dramatic effect as well as to broaden his grin at his boyfriend. "The 'man' did come to pick up his 'girl'." He allowed that to sink in before he and Sephiroth left, laughing quietly.
"Have fun you two!" Aeris called after them. From somewhere down the hall, Sephiroth's response could be clearly heard.
"Thanks again, Aeris!" Aeris just smiled as she heard the door to the stairwell open, and close a minute later.
All the faces in the room swiveled to look at the pink-clad flower-girl.
"What?" she asked, looking at everyone innocently. "What did I do?"
"You KNEW..." Tifa said, still in shock. "...That Sephiroth was going to be Cloud's date? And you didn't tell us!"
"Wonder what happened to that Clementine chick he was moping about for weeks after the Halloween dance. He seemed real serious about her too..." Zack muttered. Aeris just smiled.
"Well, things aren't always what they seem. Didn't he say he was going to the Valentine's dance with Clementine?" Slowly, everyone nodded. "Well, he still is."
"But, he's going with Cloud." Barret said. Slowly, Yuffie and Tifa exchanged looks of realization and horror.
"The costume..." they muttered. Aeris nodded.
"You three made him cross-dress as a result of the lost bet." Vincent said slowly, comprehension dawning in his eyes. Mutely, the three girls nodded. Vincent sighed, shrugged, and said no more.
"I don't get it. How is he going to the dance with this Clementine chick if he's going with Cloud?" Barret asked.
"Because, Cloud is Clementine." Aeris said simply. "He was dressed as Alice in Wonderland for Halloween, remember? That's where it all began..." Aeris began to recount the tale to the ones that didn't know, telling all she knew of Sephiroth and Cloud's story.
"Damn." Zack said once she was done, remembering the picture he had drawn months ago from Sephiroth's description. "He was one fine-looking girl!"
"I never would have guessed..." Yuffie said, blinking. Tifa nodded, slowly getting over her shock.
"But how could Cloud go from hating Sephiroth to loving him in just two weeks, no matter what charade he was playing?" she wondered. Aeris smiled kindly at her friend, deciding that it was okay to tell the whole truth.
"Cloud hasn't just loved Sephiroth for two weeks. I don't know how long ago it started, but they've loved each other for a very long time, they were just too afraid to show it." Aeris smiled and leaned back against Zack. "But love will find a way- I'm just glad I was able to help it along."
"Oh yes, Aeris Gainsborough- Master Matchmaker." Zack quipped, kissing the top of Aeris' head. "You could have at least told me."
"Or warned me. I would have rather stayed blissfully unaware..." Barret muttered.
"Cloud's still our friend. He's happy, so let's be happy for him too." Tifa said.
A/N: Well? Worth it, or should it go back to be rewritten so they're all more IC? Or should I just scrap the fic and call it quits?
Anyways, hope you all liked it- see you next week, okies? Only a few more chaps to go. Next week: the dance itself!
P.S. Sorry about the unoriginal outfits- couldn't think of anything better!