Cloud took the seat across from Aerith. He couldn't help wonder why he'd agreed to this, and if the whole thing wasn't a mistake. They'd walked over together from her stall in silence, which was perfectly fine with Cloud since he was never the talkative type in the first place. As he glanced around the café she'd brought them to, he had to admit it was quite nice. They were seated at a table out front, under an awning, and he noticed each table had a small vase with a familiar lily inside.

"Are these yours?" he asked, gesturing to the flower between them.

"They are!" she replied happily, almost bouncing in her chair. He could have sworn he even saw a sparkle in her eyes. "I love this place, and when I offered to help with the decorations, they were gracious enough to accept."

Any additional conversation was blocked as a waiter arrived and asked for their orders. Cloud requested a coffee and the French toast special, while Aerith ordered a glass of apple juice and an omelet.

"Not a coffee person?" Cloud asked in surprise, as the waiter took their menus and walked away.

Aerith shook her head. "No, I've never really liked the idea of relying on a drink to wake me up in the morning," she explained. "Not that there's anything wrong with people who do!" she hurried to finish.

Cloud chuckled and raised his hand to show he hadn't taken any offense. "I completely understand where you're coming from. Some mornings, before I've had my first cup, I regret having ever started in the first place. But then, after the first sip…" he trailed off, his eyes closing in bliss. "Mmmmmhhh."

He heard Aerith's laughter, tinkling softly like a wind chime, and opened his eyes to see hers shining brightly. He found himself once again captured by those emerald eyes, one of the main reasons why he'd decided to return to her stall in the first place. Green eyes weren't particularly rare, but her's, in particular, reminded him so much of the forests outside the city he loved to escape to. Cloud noticed her cheeks starting to redden, and realized he was staring, quickly dropping his eyes to look at the table instead.

"So," he heard her say before the silence had a chance to become uncomfortable. "If you don't mind talking about it, I'd be very interested to hear about what you do for a living. I've never heard of anyone like you."

He hesitated for a moment, thankful she at least hadn't said the name of his old job out loud. No matter what he tried to do, he'd never been able to throw off the air of a SOLDIER. Unlike Aerith, most people just seemed to assume he couldn't be one, presumably because it didn't make any sense.

"My old job paid very well," Cloud explained cautiously. "I mostly live off the savings it provided, and then occasionally take on private security requests to help supplement it."

He could see several new questions budding in her eyes at his cryptic response, and was thankful to see their waiter arriving with a tray. As their food and drinks arrived, any further conversation was halted while they each dove into their meals. For several minutes, the only sounds from their table was the clink of silverware and pleased noises of delight.

Unsure which direction to steer their conversation in once they'd finished eating, Cloud's eye caught on the flower in the middle of the table and decided to go with that. It seemed like a safe bet considering how excited she'd been when he first pointed them out.

"Where do you get your flowers from?" he asked, noting as he sipped from his coffee it was almost empty and wondering if he should order another. "I don't think I've ever seen them growing inside the city." He was happy to see her eyes light up again. Not only because it changed the topic from SOLDIER, but also because it temporarily banished that uncannily familiar look of sadness buried away.

"You're right, flowers don't grow in the city. That's probably why I'm even able to make a living like I do, since they're considered luxury items here."

"Wait, you don't mean…"

Aerith laughed slightly as her eyes nervously shifted from his before she nodded her head. "Yeah, I gather them from outside Midgar most mornings."

Cloud barely refrained from hitting the table with his fist, not wanting to scare her. Was this woman actually insane? Sure, the immediate outskirts of the city weren't that much more dangerous than inside the walls, but that didn't make it safe. He struggled for a moment on how to tactfully mention this, before giving up and just saying what came to mind.

"I don't want to lecture you or anything, but that's… not a very good idea," he pointed out, wincing as her eyes hardened and she scowled slightly.

"While I appreciate your concern, nothing has happened in the years I've been doing this so far. Besides, if I stop then my business will immediately collapse. Is that what you want?"

"What? No! I just…"

He watched her shake her head slightly before she rubbed her eyes with both hands. "No, I'm sorry. I know you meant well," she interrupted him gently, the earlier heat now gone from her voice. "I've just had this conversation multiple times before. I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you."

"That friend you mentioned the other day?" he asked hesitantly.

Aerith sighed before finishing the last of her remaining juice. "Yeah. I have a feeling if the two of you ever met you'd get along incredibly well," she replied, an amused look flashing across her face.

Before Cloud could reply, Aerith's eyes widened suddenly as she covered her mouth with her hand. He raised an eyebrow curiously, tilting his head slightly to see if she'd explain, but to no avail. "I'm too curious not to ask about that. What just happened?" he prompted.

Aerith's cheeks reddened slightly, her eyes darting away from his. "It's nothing, just a stupid idea."

"No, please, now I'm dying to hear it."

She seemed to flush an even brighter red at this. "I… I just thought—since you said you did private security…"

Cloud felt his own eyes widening now.

"See, I told you it was dumb. There's no way I'd even be able to afford your rates."

He sat there for a moment, unsure of how to respond. She wasn't wrong. From what he'd seen of her business, she'd never be able to cover what he usually charged. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel a small pang of regret he wouldn't be able to help her.

"I knew I shouldn't have…"

"I'll think about it," he interrupted, startling both of them. Slightly embarrassed, Cloud signaled to the waiter they were ready for the check, handing over his card before she could protest.

"Cloud, I had a really great time this morning. Thanks for agreeing to this," Aerith said, smiling brightly, as they both got to their feet.

He didn't take offense at the note of surprise in her voice as she spoke. He was just as surprised how good of a time he'd had this morning. While he wasn't entirely sure what he'd been expecting, he knew it hadn't been anything like this. The meal had been far more relaxing than he'd anticipated, and it had been nice to get to know her a little better.

"I enjoyed it as well," he admitted.

"Would you…" she stopped, biting her lip hesitantly.

Cloud gave her an encouraging nod, interested to hear what she had to say.

"Would you be interested in hanging out sometime this weekend? Just walking around the city or something, not a date or anything," she hurried to finish.

"Not a date?" he asked, one eyebrow lifted in confusion. It certainly sounded like a date to him, but he wasn't going to press her on it—not if it made her feel more comfortable.

"Not a date," she echoed, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Cloud surprised himself by nodding in agreement.

"It's totally a date," Tifa said dryly, looking at Aerith with amused skepticism.

She watched her friend flush slightly at her playful taunt before Aerith responded. "No! It's just two people, who happen to enjoy each other's company, hanging out and getting to know each other better."

"Which is the definition of a date!" Tifa exclaimed, laughing. She looked on in amusement as Aerith grumbled to herself, fidgeting in her seat, but didn't press the argument any further. Tifa finished the drink she'd been making and served it to the customer on the other end of the bar, before walking back to join her friend.

"I'm really glad to see you getting out there though," she said, resuming the conversation from earlier. "Although I'm surprised you actually ran into him again."

Aerith smiled softly before responding. "I am too, but I'm so glad I did. Both to apologize, but also because, at least so far, he seems... nice."

Tifa playfully pretended to be extremely surprised, covering her mouth with one hand as she stared at Aerith with wide-open eyes. "Aerith calling a guy nice? Now I know the world is ending."

"You're being such a bully today," Aerith grumbled, looking down at the counter.

She could tell from the way Aerith was looking up at her through her lashes with a grin struggling to break free that she wasn't serious. Tifa winked at her, and Aerith's composure broke, the two of them giggling together for a moment before they calmed down.

"So, does this nice guy have a name then?" Tifa asked.

"Of course. I think I'm going to take a page out of your book and not tell you for now. We're not even dating yet, anyway, so it feels a bit presumptuous."

"That's fair enough," Tifa muttered, pouting slightly. "I'm just worried I ended up pushing you towards this guy a bit too hard. Showing up three times…"

Aerith's face instantly fell. "You think I'm not worried about that exact thing?" she whispered, barely loud enough for Tifa to hear.

Tifa instantly regretted what she'd said, cursing herself internally for being so thoughtless. Aerith was already doing so well stepping outside her comfort zone, the last thing she needed to hear was any form of pessimism. She quickly slipped through the hatch in the counter to cross over to her friend's side, before hugging her tightly from behind.

"I'm sorry, that was a really careless thing to say," she whispered softly. "Forgive me?"

She felt Aerith's body trembling against hers before her friend's head nodded gently next to her own. Tifa let out a soft sigh of relief, squeezing Aerith tightly before letting her go and sitting down next to her.

"I know you're just trying to look out for me, and I appreciate it, I really do," Aerith said softly after she'd finished calming down. "But I also need you to trust me, or else I'm going to start to doubt myself, and then I'll never get out from under this."

Tifa grabbed Aerith's hands and squeezed them encouragingly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to discourage you. I'm so relieved to see you like this. You seem so much happier now than a month ago, so much more confidant, and that's what really matters."

"Thanks, Tifa," she replied, rubbing the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sure you're going to have a great time on your date tomorrow," Tifa responded, reaching over to squeeze Aerith's shoulder.

Aerith glared playfully back and she raised both of her hands in submission. "Fine, fine, a great time on your not-a-date," she conceded, laughing together with her friend as the earlier tension completely evaporated.

Aerith had met up with Cloud at her flower shop, and together they'd made their way past the café from the other day to the main commercial district of the sector. Along the way, she'd briefly considered asking if he wanted to hold hands, but reminded herself she was the one who'd said this wasn't a date. Ultimately, she decided she wasn't comfortable enough to even ask—much less actually do it—and left it alone.

"I didn't really plan anything for today. Unless there's something you have in mind, I guess we can just wander around and see what looks interesting?" she announced when they came to a stop in the middle of the busy street, groups of shoppers passing by on all sides.

Cloud looked surprised for a moment before he shrugged in response. "I'm fine with whatever you want to see," he replied, as they slowly made their way down the street.

The first store that caught Aerith's eye was her favorite lingerie store. She didn't even consider going inside, not even for a moment. There was no way she'd be comfortable bringing Cloud along for that, assuming he was even willing to. Instead, she moved past it to another clothes store, her eyebrows raising in surprise as Cloud stepped forward and opened the door for her.

Aerith tilted her head in thanks and walked past him into the store. She didn't really have anything in mind, but as she was wandering through the clearance section, found a red jacket that instantly caught her eye. She quickly tried it on and thought it was a good fit, before turning to Cloud to ask what he thought. When she saw his open-mouthed look of appreciation, though, she instantly decided to buy it before he had a chance to say anything.

"I think it looks great on you but isn't it a bit out of season?"

Aerith shrugged in response. "That's fine, it's on sale because of that. Plus, now I'll be set once it does get a bit colder."

Quite happy with her purchase, Aerith spent a while longer looking around. She was happy to see Cloud taking a look at a few things on his own, which made her feel less like she was just dragging him around. Eventually, she suggested they take a break from shopping to get something to eat. As they walked around looking for options, her attention was caught by an ice cream stand, and she rushed over, Cloud following behind her.

"I'd like a mint chocolate chip please," Aerith ordered, after looking over the wide range of flavors. "What about you Cloud?"

He leaned over her shoulder to examine the flavor options for a moment before pointing to one of them. "I'll have the salted caramel."

Unlike with breakfast the other day, this time Aerith was ready. Before he could hand over his card to pay, she'd already passed hers over to the stall owner. He smiled in amusement as she looked at him in victory. After receiving their respective flavors in paper cups, they walked over to a bench by a fountain and sat down, a bit of space between them.

Aerith let out a sound of pure happiness as she took her first bite with the little plastic spoon. "Oh, this is so good. There's nothing better than ice cream on a hot summer day."

Cloud nodded in silent agreement as he wolfed down his ice cream, before abruptly pausing and putting a hand to his forehead, wincing in pain.

"Slow down there mister!" she laughed. "Before you inhale the rest of that, can I try a bite? I've never had that flavor before." She realized after she asked that this might have been a little too forward. She was used to sharing her ice cream with Tifa, but it was too late to take back what she'd said.

"Go for it," Cloud replied, holding his cup out as he continued to massage his head.

Relieved he didn't seem upset by the request, Aerith took a small bite since the idea of salt in ice cream seemed bizarre to her. Her eyes widened in shock as the flavor spread through her mouth. She took another, larger, scoop before she even realized what she was doing.

"Wait, this is incredible!" she exclaimed, going for a third bite before Cloud could pull it away.

He laughed in response, smiling at her reaction, his brain freeze seeming to have passed. "It was an old friend's favorite flavor. I had almost the exact same reaction as you when I first tried it. Here, there's not much left, but we can swap, I don't mind."

Aerith gladly accepted the trade, and together they finished in silence. Once they'd disposed of their trash, she turned to him. "Thanks for putting up with all the shopping earlier. I feel like I've been the one directing things so far, is there anywhere you'd like to visit?" she asked.

Cloud only half-heard her question. He was still too busy freaking out about what had just happened. He wasn't upset about the flavor swap—the mint ice cream had actually been quite refreshing—but rather the fact they'd traded in the first place. Realizing she was still waiting on a response, he quickly tried to think of an idea.

"I think we're actually pretty close to a weapon store I often visit. I'm friends with the owner, it would be great to stop by and say hello if you don't mind."

Aerith didn't look particularly interested in this idea, but he was relieved to see her nod her head in agreement, an amused look settling on her face. "Of course, I don't mind at all, let's go check it out."

Cloud led the way a few streets over before they arrived at a small, surprisingly cozy looking, store. The sign out front read "Cid's Weapons" and, as they entered the store, Cloud greeted the man sitting behind the counter with a friendly wave.

"Cloud!" The man exclaimed, looking up from the paper he was reading as a small bell announced their arrival. "You're early, still need a day or two more before I'll be completely done with the tune-up."

Cloud laughed and put up a hand to forestall him. "That's fine Cid, I'm not here to try and rush you. We were just in the area and I thought I'd check-in, say hi, see how the repairs are going."

"Of course, of course. Your friend will have to stay in the shop though, not a whole lot of room in the garage at the moment," Cid explained apologetically.

He felt a twinge of guilt at this, but when he turned his head to look back at Aerith she was smiling at him encouragingly. "I'm fine waiting, you do whatever it is you're here for, I'll just take a look around."

"Be careful!" Cid called out as he and Cloud left through a door in the back. "Some of them are very sharp!"

Aerith wasn't interested enough to care about touching any of the weapons, but she still appreciated Cid's warning. As she wandered through the store, she was surprised to see how large of a selection there was. The largest section was dedicated to swords, but there was also a wide variety of polearms, fist weapons, shurikens, and even some guns.

The section that caught her attention the most, however, was the staffs. As she stood in front of one particularly elegant one, she wondered if it would be a good fit for her. Laughing to herself, she dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come. She had no use for a weapon, and couldn't imagine a reason why she'd ever need one.

"… looking great, can't wait until you're all done," she heard Cloud finish, as the two men returned through the door they'd left from.

"I know, I know. I'll make sure to call the moment I'm finished," Cid replied, shaking his head ruefully as he waved farewell.

"What was that all about?" she asked curiously as they stepped back into the street.

"Cid's main job is running the store, but he also has a side job of vehicle repair and maintenance. He's finishing up the last touches on my bike right now," Cloud explained. "I'm a little impatient, though, because I really miss the freedom it provides."

"Oh, that's surprisingly fitting actually. I'd been wondering why—omigosh it's so cute!" Aerith exclaimed, interrupting her train of thought as she rushed over to get a closer look at the kitten in the window of the pet store they'd just walked by.

She heard Cloud laugh behind her, but her entire attention was focused on the cute, feline, fluff ball pawing at the glass.

"It is pretty adorable, isn't it?" Cloud observed over her shoulder.

She turned her head in shock, looking at Cloud in surprise. "Wait, you're a cat person? I had you marked as a dog person."

Cloud chucked. "I get that a lot for some reason. I get along fine with dogs, but if I had to pick between them, cats easily win, no question."

"I'd love to have a pet cat someday," Aerith said wistfully, turning back to the window.

After several minutes of watching the kittens play together, they reluctantly pulled themselves away and continued down the street. "It's gotten pretty late," she observed, looking up at the sky. "Should we call it a day and head back to my store?"

"I guess you're right, time really flew by so quickly today," Cloud replied, a faint note of regret in his voice.

She was relieved to hear Cloud seemed to have had as good a time as she had. While she hadn't expected the day to go poorly, she also hadn't thought it would go quite as well as she felt it had. Part of her was worried it had just been so long since she'd put herself out there and she was desperate for any attention, but Aerith pushed it aside, curious to see where this could go.

"We both know that this was absolutely not a date," she said, her eyes glowing with amusement. "But how would you feel about going on an actual date sometime, maybe this weekend?" she asked, more serious now.

She was slightly concerned to see Cloud stumble as she finished, trying to catch himself but clearly failing. "There's… something I should probably tell you before we decide to officially date," he said hesitantly, looking away from her.

"Is this where you tell me you've killed all your former lovers?" Aerith joked, trying to relax the sudden tension with an over-the-top line so he'd know she wasn't serious.

Regret overwhelmed her as soon as the words left her mouth. They'd come out far harsher than she'd intended. As she turned her head to see his reaction, she felt a stabbing pain shoot through her chest as she saw his face.

"I would never hurt someone I was in a relationship with," Cloud snapped, his eyes full of hurt and rage.

Aerith staggered backward in shock, one hand rising to cover her mouth, her eyes wide. Her heart was racing. Had she really managed to ruin everything so quickly? "Cloud, I'm sorry, it was a stupid joke."

He took a deep breath, composing himself before he eventually responded. "No, I overreacted, I'm sorry. I should have been able to tell you weren't serious. I'm… not very good at banter."

She shook her head firmly in denial. "No, you don't need to apologize, it was a tasteless joke and I was out of line. I'm sorry."

He nodded in response, and they continued walking down the street, the mood from earlier now all but gone. As the silence between them stretched on, Aerith felt like she'd irrevocably damaged their relationship. Unable to take the silence any longer, and afraid of what might happen if they just left it at this, she decided to speak up.

"What did you want to say?" she asked softly, desperately hoping for a response. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to reply—sighing in relief when he finally spoke.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm not the best with relationships," Cloud began softly. "To be more accurate, I'm afraid of them. Of letting someone get close to me. I don't handle physical contact well, for instance. Even small things, like hand-holding. From past experience, my lack of physical intimacy usually just puts too much strain on relationships."

Aerith's first feeling as she digested this was one of immediate relief she hadn't pushed to hold his hand. Beyond that, she could actually recognize a lot of what he was saying about himself reflected within her. Fear had ruled her life for as long as she could remember. To the point where she'd ended up just locking herself away. In that sense, Cloud was already miles ahead of her.

She finally understood the source of the familiar look always lurking in the depths of his eyes. Just like her, it was the fear of opening up to someone else. While it was reassuring to get a better understanding of him, Aerith was forced to recognize that because of this, anything between them was going to be even more challenging than she'd imagined.

"How do you feel about us dating?" she eventually asked, quietly, realizing they'd been standing in silence for several minutes.

"Scared," Cloud whispered in response, a slight twitch of his cheeks indicating his amusement at his own reply.

She couldn't help but chuckle, his blunt honesty always so refreshing. "I… I think that actually makes me less scared," she admitted, looking shyly over at him.

"Well, I suppose I'm glad my fear reassures you then," he remarked, now openly smiling at her.

They both laughed together at this, the entire situation too silly to take seriously any longer. As they slowly caught their breath, Aerith was relieved the mood seemed to have mostly recovered.

"So… this weekend then?" she asked.

"This weekend," Cloud confirmed.

Tifa greeted Cloud with a nod as he sat down at the bar, her hands busy making a drink for another customer. "Lemme serve this and I'll be right back for your order."

Once she'd delivered the drink to the woman who'd ordered it, she walked back to lean against the bar opposite Cloud. She was still a little surprised to see him sitting there. She'd never expected when she made the offer to him just over a month ago, that he'd actually show up, especially not multiple times a week. While their romantic relationship certainly hadn't worked out, they'd remained fast friends—and even better drinking partners. She was glad the breakup hadn't kept them apart, it made her happy.

"Hello? You in there Tifa?"

She felt her face heat up as she realized Cloud had been trying to get her attention for a while. Shaking her head to clear it, her eyes moving to meet his. "Sorry, what can I get you?"

"Let's go with the house specialty tonight."

"One Cosmo Canyon, coming right up!" She made the order with practiced ease, sliding the red drink over to Cloud once it was complete. He caught it and lifted it to his mouth, taking a sip before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of contentment.

"Long day?" she asked, pouring the same drink for herself. "Cosmo usually means you're feeling stressed."

Cloud let out a short laugh, his eyes opening to meet hers. "I'm that predictable, huh?"

"Let's just go with months of experience," she replied, winking as she took a sip of her drink.

They relaxed together, Cloud leaning against the bar with his head propped up on his elbow, while Tifa leaned against the far wall. "Wanna talk about it?" she asked, breaking the silence as Cloud finished his drink.

"Maybe? Not sure you want to listen."

She felt her brow raise at this and moved to pour Cloud a second drink. "Now you're just making me curious."

He nodded his thanks for the second Cosmo and took a sip, before raising his head to meet her eyes. "Do I deserve to be happy?"

Tifa felt like she'd been punched in the stomach by the abrupt question, nearly spitting her drink out. "Where did that come from?" she asked in concern, wiping her lips with a spare napkin.

"Sorry," Cloud muttered. "It's just…" he shook his head, apparently struggling to find the right words. "Look, I broke your heart, right? After doing something like that, what right do I have to be happy?"

Tifa took a large swig from her drink, finishing it off. Maybe he'd been right, this was getting a bit heavier than she'd expected. She didn't want to leave him like this, though, not after everything they'd been through. She poured herself a second drink as well. Usually, she stuck to just one, but it felt like she'd need another tonight.

"Cloud…" she took a deep breath, thinking for a moment to compose her thoughts before going on. "Look, you have to stop beating yourself up over us. I just want you to be happy. I think it's important to realize we weren't a good fit for each other. I'm fiery and impulsive, and that didn't work for us. We were like oil and water," she paused to take a sip to wet her throat. "I don't really understand where this is coming from, though, it's almost like…"

She trailed off as it hit her. Cloud had met someone new. And of course, he didn't want to just come out and say it, given their past history. She appreciated that much, at least, even if it hurt to think of him with another woman.

"I don't want to keep repeating the same mistakes," Cloud said in frustration. "I just feel like I should cut this off before it falls apart again."

"You have to stop blaming yourself, Cloud," Tifa replied, surprising herself with how forcefully she'd said it. "You can't keep running forever."

Cloud's face trembled—his eyes wide—and he leaned backward in his chair, staring at her for a moment with a look Tifa couldn't quite place. "No, you're right," he eventually whispered.

He drained the last remnants of his drink and set the empty glass on the counter. "Thanks for the advice, Tifa. And sorry for bothering you with it in the first place."

She smiled back at him, gently shaking her head. "There's nothing to apologize for. What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't there to offer support when you need it?"

Cloud nodded distractedly, seemingly deep in thought, before his eyes cleared and they met Tifa's. "I've got to go, but thanks for the conversation and drinks, as always."

"Always a pleasure!" Tifa called out, waving farewell as Cloud turned to leave.

She sighed softly to herself as she watched him walk out. Hopefully, she'd been able to provide him with the answer he'd been looking for. Wishing him the best of luck, Tifa prepared to close down the bar for the night.