I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.
Grumpy
Cody sighed as he lay back on the beach chair, his right hand holding Jessie's between his chair and hers. However, after a couple minutes, he heard Cloud grumbling for the millionth time that day and cracked an eye open to look over at him, grinning. Cloud was in a foul mood. Yesterday had been great. The day at the beach had brightened everyone's mood, despite Hojo's information and Aerith's warning, and Tifa had actually managed to get Cloud to have fun, as well as getting him to admit he liked seeing her in a bikini. However, the next morning as they were on their way out of town, they'd bumped into a red-haired guy with a thin beard who had greeted Cloud with a hug, calling him Bro at least eight times despite Cloud telling him repeatedly not to, and who had then asked Tifa for a drink while they caught up, which she had agreed to. Cody had asked Cloud who the guy was and he'd called him Johnny, a friend of Tifa's that they'd driven out of Midgar to protect Avalanche the day after Cody had helped Jessie raid a munitions depot for a weaker blasting agent. Cody had never seen the guy before, but apparently everyone else had met him, besides Red XIII.
The part that had really gotten under Cloud's skin, however, was when he went to check on her two hours later, with Cody and Jessie simply going to the bar for a drink together, Tifa had asked Cloud to "Please leave us alone today." Cloud had not been pleased, but he hadn't showed it around Tifa, fortunately. And the conversation was innocent. Tifa was just making sure Johnny was okay and trying to ease her own guilt for having driven him away from his home. Though, Johnny had also obviously been hitting on her the entire conversation, so Cody could understand why Cloud was upset.
"You know, grumbling about it won't do anything besides make you more upset," Cody said. "Just hang out with Aerith today."
"It's not about wanting to hang out!" Cloud snapped.
"No, it's about you being jealous of Johnny for getting Tifa's undivided attention, and because she said to leave her alone so she could talk to Johnny," Cody said. "You're not as hard to read as you want to be Cloud."
"I am not jealous!" Cloud snapped.
"Okay," Cody shrugged. "Whatever you say."
He lay back in his chair again, closing his eyes and returning to about twenty minutes, he reached back, tilting the back of his chair back before rolling over onto his stomach to tan his back. As he did, so did Jessie, who had traded her bikini from the day before for a normal one to tan in, though it was still extremely small, and she looked as amazing in it as she had her last bikini.
As soon as Jessie was laying on her stomach, she reached back, unclipping the back of her top so she wouldn't have tan lines from it. Cody smiled, slipping his left hand into hers and she turned her head toward him, smiling, though she kept her eyes closed. He smiled, admiring her nearly bare form for a moment before closing his own eyes. After a couple of minutes, however, she gave his hand a light squeeze to get his attention. He opened his eyes and instantly chuckled, seeing her already making a puppy-dog face.
"What do you want?" He asked knowingly.
"A massage," Jessie said, still pouting.
He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up, Jessie smiling radiantly as he moved to straddle the back of her thighs, beginning to massage her back and shoulders for her. She sighed, her eyes slipping closed, and he chuckled, bending down to press a masked kiss to the side of her head before sitting back up and continuing the massage.
"Hey, I want a massage!" Aerith spoke up suddenly, having returned from wherever she'd gone to talk to the planet, according to what she'd said before walking away. "Cloud, can you give me a massage?"
"No," Cloud said grumpily, crossing his arms.
"Aw," Aerith pouted, taking one of his hands in hers, pouting even more adorably than Jessie. "Please? Just for a little while? I'll pay you."
Cloud grumbled quietly before huffing. "Fine."
"Great!" Aerith beamed. "I'll start thinking about where to go on our date!"
"When was that decided?" Cody asked.
"That's what I payed him to be my bodyguard and that was much harder," Aerith said. "So he's actually getting a really good deal this time." She winked at Cloud and Cloud rolled his eyes.
"I changed my mind," Cloud grumbled.
"Hey!" Aerith pouted. "No fair!" She pouted for a moment before grinning playfully. "Would you do it for a kiss?"
Cloud's cheeks instantly flushed and he looked away. "Yeah right."
"No, I mean it," Aerith said. "That's my offer. If you give me a massage, I'll give you a kiss."
Cloud made no move to accept, but also didn't refuse, so Aerith lay down on Cody's vacant chair. Cody raised an eyebrow at Cloud who continued to scowl out at the water. Aerith stared up at him expectantly in silence for nearly three minutes with an unwavering conviction, not even blinking. Finally, Cloud groaned heavily and got up.
"Yes!" Aerith grinned, blinking rapidly, wiping the tears from her eyes from keeping them open too long.
Cloud grumbled under his breath but took the same position as Cody, beginning to massage Aerith's back and shoulders. Aerith sighed dramatically, and Jessie laughed as Cloud's cheeks flushed again, though he continued his massage.
Cody shook his head, smirking behind his mask as his massage shifted from Jessie's thoroughly relaxed back to her neck. Jessie let out a cooing sigh, but Cody paused.
"What?" she asked.
"If I massage your neck at this angle it'll just make it stiff," Cody said, then formed an ice spike using his Ice materia, stabbing down into the headrest of the beach chair, opening a hole for her face. "There. Now look forward."
"I don't think that's allowed," Jessie said, resting her face in the opening as the ice spike shattered into oblivion, and Cody returned to massaging her neck, once again pulling a cooing sigh from her within seconds.
"That sounds like he's really good," Aerith commented, then sighed under her own masseur's treatment.
"He is," Jessie said, then cooed again as he worked his thumbs over the muscles at the base of her skull. "How's yours?"
"Amazing," Aerith smiled. "One kiss might not be enough payment."
Cody saw Cloud's cheeks flush yet again, though Cloud still wore his scowl. He chuckled, gently dragging his fingertips down Jessie's neck, spread slightly and applying just enough pressure, then down her spine. He trailed his fingers back up along the same path, his fingernails just barely brushing over her skin and making goosebumps form as a shiver ran down her spin. He smiled as her right hand gripped her left forearm tighter, her arms being in a loop up over her head to keep them out of his way. He was glad his massage was working. He was worried he wouldn't be able to get it just right to get her going without having been able to practice on anyone before. As his fingers reached the base of her skull, he rolled his hands back toward him, shifting the contact to the pads of his fingertips, then slid them up, once again applying just enough pressure as he began to massage her scalp, trailing his fingers through her hair every once in a while, pulling her hair just slightly, enough to further stimulate the nerve endings of her scalp. Jessie let out a short, heavy sigh that trembled ever-so-slightly, then swallowed hard, hand once again griping her forearm tightly. Beside them, Aerith flashed Cody a knowing smirk. He simply grinned and shrugged, not even pausing his work.
Cloud moved up to Aerith's neck as well, Aerith having laid down just right to rest the bottom of her jaw against the top edge of her chair so that she could have her head forward during the massage. Aerith sighed contentedly, and Cody thought he saw the corner's of Cloud's mouth twitch before his scowl solidified again.
Cody smiled, lightly dragging his fingers along Jessie's scalp from the front of her hairline to the back, down the back of her scalp, down her neck, and then turned them outward over her shoulder blades. He move his hands to her right arm, beginning to work her bicep and tricep, and saw the muscles in the side of Jessie's face pull tight as she smiled. He worked his way down her arm to her forearm, then took her hand in both of his, massaging first the back, then the palm with his thumbs, trailing his fingernails over the insides of her fingers lightly before massaging them lightly for a few minutes. Then, he set her hand down and moved to her other arm, repeating the same treatment from shoulder to fingers. Then, he returned to her back, massaging her back for a moment before shifting to her sides, working the muscles along her sides and over her ribs, taking care to brush his fingers over the sides of her breasts subtly, making sure she knew it was intentional, but so that no one else noticed. She smirked instantly, and he began to work his way back down her sides, then again trailed his fingernails up her back, this time his thumbnails dragging up along the sides of her spine, his thumbnails sitting sideways, allowing for a more pinpoint sensation that sent a stronger shiver down her spin, the muscles in her thighs tightening below him subtly as she inhaled slowly, trying to keep her reaction undetected by anyone but him, though he could tell by the smile on Aerith's face that she had noticed, even with her eyes closed as she enjoyed her own arm and hand massage.
Cody was surprised Cloud was as skilled as he apparently was, let alone knew how to do a hand massage properly. "Where'd you learn to do hand massages?"
Cloud's cheeks flushed instantly, darker than before, and Aerith giggled.
"We went to a hand massage parlor in Wall Street while we were trying to sneak into Don Corneo's mansion and Cloud got the most expensive massage," Aerith said. "But then he came back out really weird and spacey. And he was making some pretty interesting sounds during the massage."
"Oh really?" Cody asked. "Sounds like a different type of hand massage than I've ever gotten."
Cloud's face turned scarlet instantly. "That didn't happen!"
Cody, Jessie, and Aerith all laughed instantly, though Jessie's laugh turned into a soft moan as his fingers and thumbs worked her neck again. She blushed slightly, but smiled.
"Yeah, sort of like that, only louder," Aerith teased. "Oh, but then when we went to the Honey Bee Inn..."
"You mean the borderline brothel that's technically still a night club?" Cody asked, fingers once again working Jessie's scalp skillfully.
"Yup!" Aerith grinned, face all but shining with mischief. "When we went there, Cloud had to-"
"Shut up!" Cloud snapped, face scarlet, and held a hand over her mouth.
Aerith giggled into his hand and nodded, Cloud returning to his massage, though glaring at her suspiciously. "Sorry. He says it's a secret."
"Oh God!" Cody said. "Did you fuck a dancer, Cloud?"
Aerith laughed as Cloud began to deny it. Cody glanced at Aerith as she mouthed the words "he danced," and began to laugh harder.
"What?" Jessie asked, Cody having paused his massage to laugh.
"Nothing," Cody said, pressing his mask to the back of her shoulder, then whispered, "I'll tell you later."
Jessie nodded, and Cody resumed his massage. As he continued, her worked carefully, quickly working Jessie back up, her thigh muscles again tightening beneath him, pressing herself into the chair. He smiled and dragged his fingers down her back again, then tugged his mask down and lay forward, supporting his weight to either side of her as he pressed his lips to the back of her shoulder, then the side of her neck.
"All better?" Cody asked.
"Much," she smiled, looking back at him.
He smiled, kissing her for a few seconds before pulling back and tugging his mask up. She reached back, hooking her top and he lifted up so she could roll over before she reached up, taking his mask off for him and giggling instantly.
"Tan line?" Cody asked, Jessie nodding. "Figures."
He guided his mask back to his face long enough to take a breath, then lay forward again, kissing her. She sighed, kissing him back slowly, yet he could feel her need and her excitement through the kiss. He smiled, shifting his legs to support his weight before trailing his hands up her sides, thumbs brushing over her stiff nipples, which were poking out through her bikini top, then trailed his hands along her arms to her own hands, lacing their fingers together. After a couple of minutes, he pulled back, picking up his mask and putting it back on just as Tifa arrived, raising an eyebrow.
"How's he doing, Aerith?" Tifa asked.
"Oh, he's wonderful," Aerith smiled. "You should have him give you one while we're here."
"Well, he's a bit busy at the moment," Tifa said.
"I'm done," Cloud said. "No more massages."
He shifted over to his own chair again, scowl still resolutely in place.
"Aw," Aerith pouted. "Alright. Fair's fair. So, I promised you a kiss, right?"
"What?" Tifa asked, eyes wide, only for Aerith to lean over and kiss Cloud on the cheek.
Cloud stared at her before huffing, laying back and folding his arms across his chest, his mood seeming to darken even more.
"I think he was expecting that somewhere else," Jessie teased.
"Aw," Aerith said. "I can if you ask nicely."
"Go away," Cloud grumbled.
Everyone laughed and Tifa sat down on the newly vacated chair.
"Can I get a massage too?" Tifa asked. "I'll find a way to make it up to you later."
"No!" Cloud growled, standing up suddenly. "This is stupid! We should be trying to find Sephiroth, not wasting time at a beach! You're all acting like children!"
"You're the one throwing a temper tantrum," Cody said. "Whatever it is Sephiroth's planning, it's not going to happen today. We have some time."
"How the hell do you know that!?" Cloud snapped.
"How do you know I'm wrong?" Cody countered.
"I think we're probably okay to rest a bit," Aerith said. "Besides, it's really fun to spend time relaxing like this. It's fun getting to spend time with everyone."
Cody glanced at her, seeing a deep sadness in her eyes, and frowned. Why was she sad if she was having fun? What did she know that they didn't?
"We need to get focused!" Cloud was arguing. "We won't do that sitting around on a beach!"
"The world's not going to end just because we take a couple days to rest every now and then," Cody argued.
"Fine!" Cloud snapped. "If you all want to play around in the sand, you go right ahead! I'm done with it! I'm going to find Sephiroth and kill him! You all can do whatever the hell you want!" He turned, storming off, and Cody sighed heavily.
"What's with him?" Tifa asked. "Why's he so mad?"
"He's just jealous that you told him to leave you alone while you hung out with Johnny," Cody said.
"Cody!" Aerith gasped.
"What?" Cody asked. "If they're both going to keep pussyfooting around their feelings, they're never going to get anywhere."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Tifa stammered, blushing.
"Tifa," Aerith said, sighing and setting a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. You don't have to try to hide it. We all know. And we can help you."
Tifa's face darkened, but she gave Aerith a suspicious look. "Why would you help? You obviously have feelings for him."
"Yes, but I'm..." Aerith trailed off, that same sadness returning, more openly this time. "He'd be happier with you. Things wouldn't work out if he were to choose me. But we can get him to choose you."
Tifa folded her arms across her diaphragm, looking away before sighing. "We need to go. We can't let him leave without us."
They all nodded and left, using the beach's changing rooms to get dressed quickly, then headed for the inn, getting Barret, Yuffie, and Red XIII on the way. Just as they arrived, the door opened and Cloud stopped, staring at them.
"I'm really sorry about before," Tifa said, staring at the ground. "We don't want you to leave. We want to come with you, if you'll still have us." She held out her hand, and Cloud simply stared at her.
"Fine," he grunted. "Let's go."
He turned, walking away, and Tifa sighed, lowering her hand.
"This is stupid," she muttered.
"No, it's not," Cody said. "Don't worry. We just need to wear him down a bit more before you can hold hands. And you also need to start flirting more. Jessie and Aerith can teach you."
Tifa glared at him before sighing. "Fine."
"Go give him a hug first," Aerith said. "Apologize again and promise to do whatever it takes to help him settle things with Sephiroth."
Tifa hesitated before nodding, catching up to Cloud and catching his arm to stop him before hugging him. Cody and the others hung back to give them privacy. Then, once Cloud had awkwardly hugged Tifa back and they began to walk again, Cody and the others followed, hanging back to let the two have some semblance of privacy.
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