All Dolled Up
For: Tri17
Prompt: Aeris' dress (Thanks a lot XP)
Summary: In which Tifa's clothes are hidden, and Cloud is shocked.

Cloud sat at the edge of the village pondering their next move. He had left the others at the inn, determined to get some thinking done; plus, his head was pounding. He glanced up, catching a familiar flash of pink darting off into the surrounding woods. He narrowed his eyes knowing that Aeris really wasn't much of a fighter, and prone to danger, so he headed into the forest after her to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. It would also help to distract him; he hated waiting, and preferred action and going than just sitting around.

Sighing, he hefted his sword onto his back and followed the path Aeris had taken into the woods.

It was a good ways into the forest until the pink figure ahead finally stopped in a clearing, and then it was only because of a few bandits that had happened upon her.

Great…I knew this would happen.

Sighing, Cloud stepped forward, preparing to make his presence known when Aeris suddenly hiked up her dress and delivered a mean round house kick to the first bandit.

He was trying to figure out who was more shocked; himself, or the bandits.

As he neared the clearing he began to realize what was going on, but his brain was refusing what his eyes were telling him.

He recognized the familiar, dark shade of hair, pulled halfway back and flowing free; he also recognized the pearl drop earrings, but what really told him that his eyes weren't deceiving him was when the bandits turned tail and ran and a familiar voice muttered, "Gawd this dress is hard to kick in."

"T-Tifa?"

She froze, turning slowly towards Cloud. She didn't know whether to be flattered or angry when Cloud did a double take and his eyes traveled up and down her body. He couldn't help but notice specific areas where the clothes had been stretched tight, accentuating her curves.. It took him a moment for him finally to be able to hold his eyes level with hers.

"Yes?" she asked irritably.

"You're in…a dress…Aeris' dress..."

"Yes, Cloud…I am."

"You're wearing make up…your hair is down—

"Thank you Cloud! I'm well aware!"

"Why?"

Tifa stomped her foot, "What do you think?!" she huffed, "Aeris is a hell of a lot sneakier and conniving that you would think!"

"Obviously," Cloud let out a small snicker of the thought of Aeris tricking Tifa into a dress.

Tifa was still rambling, "Not to mention the fact her feet are tiny, and her boots wouldn't fit so I look even more ridiculous with these stupid combat boots and this pink dress! And pink! Pink! I'm wearing pink and an excessive amount of pink! It should be illegal! I don't wear pink, and I certainly don't wear dresses or make up, either."

"Well you are—

"Oh shut up."

Cloud narrowed his eyes, "Is that…nail polish?"

Tifa's eyes widened, before she looked down to inspect her nails, "Oh shoot…I chipped a nail. She isn't going to be happy."

"So why are you out here?"

Tifa sighed, "I'm hiding…I want to change, but Aeris hid my clothes. She's determined to make me wear this thing the length of our stay in this village."

"Tifa…are you embarrassed?"

"No! It's not like I've never dressed up before…I just don't like to," she crossed her arms sourly, "Everyone kept staring at me, and all those stupid men kept yelling at me…they said some rather crude things. It got annoying, and it's not like I can beat up the entire male population of the village and get away with it, so I came out here to hide. I want to look for my clothes, but I can't even walk around the village long enough to look for them without someone bothering me! I can't get any peace."

"All dolled up and no where to go."

"Cloud…that was lame."

Cloud sighed, walking over and grabbing her elbow lightly, "Well, come on…"

She frowned, stumbling along beside of him, still not use to the long dress, "Where?"

"Back to the village—

"I told you—

"And I'll escort you. They'll leave you alone, if I'm with you."

Tifa looked up at Cloud, blushing, "Uh…thanks…"

He shrugged in typical Cloud fashion, leading her out of the woods. When they reached the edge of the woods, Cloud steered her down the road towards town, and on the first sign of trouble, wrapped an arm around Tifa's waist, pulling her close against his side.

Tifa flushed further.

Cloud was right, though. There were no catcalls as the two entered the village, and if Cloud caught anyone staring at her he sent his personal vehement glare in their direction. Needless to say, the two didn't have any trouble, but that didn't keep Tifa from noticing how Cloud tightened his grip on her as they moved further into town.

"So…" Cloud cleared his throat, "Where do you think she hid your clothes?"

Tifa flushed, her face brushing up against his chest, "Don't know…"

"Yeah, I don't know where we should start."

"Me either."

However they both knew one thing.

They both hoped Aeris hid those clothes damn well.

A/N: bwhahaha...this one was fun. It took me a while to think of this (it was a toughie, Tri17), but it was enjoyable. I had a completely different idea, but it was just stupid. I like this one much better. Hope you enjoyed it Tri17! Up next is Sam's! I already got an idea for that, I just have to sit down and write it! I'll try and keep this in order, so that way whoever requested first gets it done first...that way no one's waiting any longer than any one else, but I promise I'll get everyone's done! Le Pecore Nere: I'll make something work! Your welcome Ele! I love that song too. Zaz9 I know! me and my mom caught that on TV one day, and were confused as hell at the beginning...but when we figured it out we were like 'der'. Cal! I hope everythings okay! Cheer up! Thanks for the reviews everyone!