If I've learned anything since starting this work, its that I think people adore Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge (or maybe just Jessie) a lot more than I thought. I might have to try writing her into future works, now.

Enjoy.

When Wedge returned from the train car in front of them, Jessie almost thought it was time to call the plan off for fear of something bad having happened, but Wedge assured her it wasn't a threat, just something freaky.

"He doesn't have his sword?" Biggs repeated in disbelief. "You might wanna check again, Cloud takes his sword everywhere."

"He didn't bring it." Wedge insisted. "I know the guy, he's hard to miss even without Tifa and Aerith, and I'm telling you, he left his sword at home."

"No way." Biggs scoffed and went into the next car over to see for himself.

He came back, face pale as a ghost.

"No sword." Biggs said simply.

Well, this was already not going how Jessie expected. Cloud was practically married to his weapon, in fact, she was reasonably sure he slept with the thing in his bed like some gigantic teddy bear. Come to think of it, Jessie had never once seen him without the thing. With each new piece of information, this mystery deepened.

Jessie and her group would have to press on and see if any answers developed. For now, the train was coming to a stop. They'd arrived at their destination, or at least Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith's destination.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Biggs complained for… what was it? Nine times now? Jessie had stopped counting a while ago. Before they left the sector 7 station, even. "I mean, come on, it's not really our…"

"It is absolutely our business." Jessie looked over and adjusted the hat on his head. "What are you complaining about? You look great! Still think the rugged look suits you better, though."

"You sure we won't be recognized?" Biggs frowned at the button up shirt Jessie had forced him to wear. The only consolation Jessie allowed him was that the top button didn't have to be done. "I mean, it's not like he don't know our faces. Plus, man's a SOLDIER."

"Doesn't that mean he's, like, really good at seeing small details and stuff?" Wedge added.

"Nah." Jessie waved a hand. "When was the last time him or Tifa saw us outside of combat gear?"

"Point taken." Biggs, shockingly enough, agreed.

While Cloud and Aerith were simple enough, Tifa might be another story. They'd known the woman for years, so it would be wise to keep their distance. Helping their case was Jessie and friends' well-known distaste for more topsider clothing. A precedent Jessie was using against Tifa, today.

Still, though, Jessie did have to admit it was uncomfortable not wearing said combat gear. The stuff had practically become a second skin to the three of them. The slums were far from the safest place, and even during times of celebration, or any other reason to dress up, they still needed to be on their guard.

While they were dressed a bit fancier than normal, that didn't mean they were not on their toes with regards to Shinra or any other threats. While not as heavily armed as usual, they were not defenseless. Biggs and Wedge had their sidearms concealed within holsters beneath their shirts on their lower back, while Jessie, whose dress lacked pockets or anything similar, carried a purse with her own gun and a live grenade.

When asked about the grenade, Jessie could only shrug and say 'just in case'. If all went well, neither the guns nor the grenade would be needed. If all went bad… well, suffice to say they were prepared.

"Gotta say, Jess, can't remember the last time I saw you in a dress." Wedge gave her a thumbs up of approval. "Lookin' good."

"Aww, thanks, Wedge. Certainly been a while." Jessie laughed and did a little twirl, skirt of her dress and her free flowing hair spinning as she did so. "Now remember to hang back, so they don't recognize us."

Biggs and Wedge gave Jessie the weakest salute in the history of salutes.

Jessie rubbed her hands together. A gesture Biggs had made his displeasure about seeing more than a little clear.

"You got too much time on your hands."

"Shh!" Jessie shut him up with a hiss. "There they are!"

Jessie spotted their quarry at last.

After stepping off the train, Jessie and her companions almost lost them in the hustle and bustle of the station, but she knew it was only a matter of time until she found them again. Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith could run, but they would never be able to hide! Ha!

"Would you please stop that?" Biggs groaned, but at least he did it quietly.

"What?"

"That face." Biggs pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's giving me a headache, and creeping me out."

"We're losing them." Jessie didn't even dignify Biggs with an answer. "C'mon, let's go!"

Seizing Wedge and Biggs by the arm each, Jessie pulled them along to follow after Cloud and the others. She still had no idea where they were going, or what was planned, but she was going to find out, even if it killed Biggs or Wedge.

Jessie and her cohorts trailed after their targets, using the crowds for cover. Occasionally they would stop and disappear into a building but most of them were too small for Jessie to risk following them in. They would, every once in a while, reappear after a short wait with a small plastic bag or two before resuming their trek.

One thing became clear early on, though.

Cloud, SOLDIER first-class, a certifiable badass and almost literal one man army. A man who laughed in the face, or at least smirked, at Shinra heavy armor and entire platoons of grunts, monsters, and whatever else the world dared throw at him…

Was carrying the bags.

"You don't think…" Biggs started.

"No way. Is he…"? Wedge couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Oh, my god!" Jessie, in her excitement, grabbed Wedge and Biggs both by the head and nearly knocked the two men over in her excitement. "He's their pack chocobo!"

"Hey!" Biggs none too gently shoved Jessie's hand away, only for it to slap right back.

"Oh, this is too perfect!" Jessie exploded into a fit of frenzied giggles. "We are going to give Cloud so much… for… this…"

Jessie's voice trailed off into nowhere as she watched what happened next.

Tifa and Aerith came out of whatever this small shop was, and came back over to Cloud. The two women were talking about something and opened one of the bags to show Cloud but Aerith partway through stopped paying attention. She seemed to be focused on Tifa's face.

Tifa caught on that Aerith was staring and seemed to be asking her what was wrong. Aerith said something, but Jessie was too far away to hear clearly. Tifa had a look of confusion before moving closer, like she was looking for something on Aerith's face.

Out of absolutely nowhere, Aerith closed the distance and mashed her lips to Tifa's. The woman made no attempt to pull away and seemed to practically melt into the contact, closing her eyes and leaning into Aerith.

The kiss didn't last long before a giggling Aerith pulled away and said something.

"Huh." Jessie was surprised. She knew Tifa liked men, but hadn't imagined Tifa played for both teams. She had good taste, though. Jessie didn't know Aerith very well, but she wasn't blind. The girl was definitely a cutie. Tifa could do far worse, that's for sure.

"They're stopping to eat." Jessie again pulled Biggs and Wedge along. "Let's grab a seat over here."

"We can walk, ya know." Wedge complained but otherwise followed.

The place was some kind of open-air food court, Jessie was sure it had a name but she wasn't paying that much attention. While Cloud and group ordered actual food, Jessie's group just grabbed a couple of drinks, much to Wedge's displeasure.

"Say, 'ah'." Over the din of the food court, Jessie could barely make out Aerith's voice.

"What are we, five?" Cloud asked to the fork of… something Jessie didn't recognize, Aerith was holding in his face.

"Come on." Aerith pouted. "I've never gotten to do this before. Please?"

"Fine." Cloud sighed and opened his mouth.

"How is it?" Tifa was playing with something on her own plate. "Never ate here before. Don't go topside very much."

"Not bad." Cloud admitted while chewing. "I've had worse."

"I've ate here a couple times when out making my rounds." Aerith explained before her expression shifted and she pointed to something on Cloud's face. "Oh, Cloud, you got a little something right, uh…"

Cloud evidently couldn't find whatever crumb she was talking about.

"Here. Let me help." Aerith leaned across the table. At first, Jessie thought she was going to wipe Cloud's face with a napkin, but Jessie nearly had a stroke when Aerith instead ran her tongue along the side of Cloud's cheek before sitting back down. "There we go."

Cloud didn't seem the least bothered or perturbed by the action. Other than a deep blush that lit up his cheeks. He even muttered a thank you, for god's sake!

"Jessie?" Biggs waved a hand in front of his friend's face. "Yoo-hoo. Earth to Jessie, come in."

"Think she's broken?" Wedge tried snapping his fingers but to no avail.

"Holy sh…" Jessie suddenly squealed when Biggs's foot shot out and struck her knee.

"No shouting. Undercover, remember?" Biggs gruffly reminded her. "Quiet."

"You saw that, right?" Jessie absentmindedly rubbed her leg where Biggs hit. "I'm not imagining it."

"Not sure." Biggs smirked much to Jessie's irritation. "Not sure what I saw. Wasn't paying much attention."

"Wedge?"

Wedge pretended to be looking at some other table, particularly their food, but his gaze turned back when Jessie spoke to him. "Huh? You say something, Jess?"

"You two are unbelievable!" Jessie tried to kick both men, but missed and hit the bar of the table, instead. Great, so now her foot and knee both hurt. "You're supposed to be helping me."

"We are." Biggs said. "By gracing you with our delightful company. Right, Wedge?"

"Right." Wedge took that moment to tap his drink cup to Biggs' like they were making a toast.

"I hate you, both." Jessie scowled.

Wedge laughed. "We love you, too, you know."

"Hey." Biggs pulled their attention back. "Check it out."

Jessie followed his eyes back to Cloud's table.

"Hey, Cloud?" Tifa popped a small cookie into her mouth. "Want some?"

When Cloud looked up, a flushed Tifa had the cookie halfway in her mouth, the second half held toward Cloud.

Cloud seemed unsure of what to do at first until he looked at Aerith who nodded and made a biting motion with her hand.

Slowly, almost painfully slowly, Cloud leaned in and bit off the second half. His and Tifa's lips brushing for the briefest of moments. The blushing pair jerked away, each eating their half.

"Seriously?" Aerith huffed indignantly. "While cute, that's not how you do that."

"Then why don't you show us how it's done." Cloud scoffed before comprehending just what he said. "Now, wait. Hold on a…

"With pleasure." Aerith stole another cookie off Tifa's plate and put it in her mouth.

"I… I'm good." Cloud stammered.

"Cloud." Aerith spoke, voice distorted with half a cookie in her mouth. "Get over here."

"Yes, ma'am." Cloud gulped and leaned over to Aerith.

When Cloud made contact with Aerith's lips, she wasted no time in moving a hand to the back of Cloud's head to hold him in place while their lips touched. Instead of a slight brush, they came fully together, the cookie shared between their two mouths.

Jessie watched in utter disbelief while the two kissed. Cloud from what Jessie could see had next to no experience in such matters, Aerith was fully in control of the SOLDIER and knew it. Not only that, Jessie could tell by Cloud's reactions the exact moment tongues became intimately involved.

"Mmmhmm." Aerith hummed in delight when they were forced apart for air, licking her lips almost seductively while poor Cloud seemed trying to figure out what planet he was on. "Now that was delicious."

"Good thing we sprang for drinks, eh, Jess?"

"Why's that, Big?"

"Because otherwise, I don't think that thirst is getting quenched any time soon."

If looks could kill, Jessie's leer in that moment would have cracked the planet in half.

"Still can't believe I got roped into this." Cloud scowled harder than Jessie had ever seen a man scowl, and that was an accomplishment. "I'm a SOLDIER, dammit…"

"Aww…" Aerith pouted, taking one of Cloud's hands in hers. "Don't be so glum, chum."

"Don't you remember what Aerith promised?" Tifa smiled from Cloud's other side.

"Yeah." Aerith's grin, which had been sweet and almost innocent, morphed one of pure lasciviousness, complete with a giggle and a rub of Cloud's bare arm that could only be described as sultry. "You have an absolutely priceless treasure promised to you once we get back."

"Priceless." Tifa repeated breathily with the same smile, in addition to a suggestive flutter of her eyebrows. An act that Jessie could have sworn looked almost practiced. "Just think about it for a minute. You've already had some before. You know exactly how warm and delicious…"

"Moving on, ladies!" Cloud blurted, blushing full on scarlet and clearing his throat a little too quickly before jumping from the table, bags and all, and speeding away from the two women as fast as his legs could carry him.

Tifa and Aerith burst into uncontrollable giggles before following after and calling for him to slow down.

"Whoa." Biggs did a double take at the slack jawed stare Jessie affixed the departing trip with. "Uhh… Wedge?"

"Yup?"

"Think we're going to need a bucket and a mop for all this drool." Biggs glanced down at their table. "Might wanna make it two."

"Think they bought it?" While they made their way back to the station, Aerith took a couple of the lighter bags from Cloud despite his protests that he could handle it fine.

"Oh, they bought it, alright." Tifa snickered, also taking some of her boyfriend's cargo. Cloud had insisted it was alright, but it didn't feel right making him carry everything. "Jessie is going to be going crazy for a while over this."

"Still don't see why." Cloud face still hadn't recovered from his fevered blushing from the two women's constant teasing and flirting. At this rate, he was going to spontaneously combust. "We could have just told them. Skipped all the playing and acting."

"What, and miss out on all the fun? And besides, not like anything we did was acting." Tifa shook her head. "Now Jessie is going to be going nuts wondering exactly what scandalous acts we were planning tonight. She'll want details so bad, but can't get a thing out of us without admitting to spying on our date."

"That'll show her." Aerith high-fived Tifa before holding a hand up for Cloud. The SOLDIER knew better this time, and met her palm with his. "But don't worry, Cloud, you still get that priceless treasure we promised."

Before Cloud could get another word out, both women had appeared in front of him. Leaning in, they each kissed him on the lips at the same time, Aerith on half, Tifa on the other.

The touch of one of their lips always sent sparks through Cloud's brain. The feel of their kisses, or any kisses really, was a new sensation he was growing accustomed to, but certainly not an unpleasant one. A single kiss was like an explosion of tingles and fireworks, but both together was almost a full-on sensory overload. Made all the more so by the fact that neither woman wanted to pull away for what felt like an eternity.

When they finally did, Cloud was left to stare dumbly into the distance, brain still struggling to catch up with the rest of the world. He really needed to work on his post-kiss recovery, because these timeouts were getting really old.

Tifa rolled her eyes before using two fingers to close his open jaw for him.

"Anyway…" Tifa was always just as flustered as Cloud when it came to kissing, her recovery time was just faster. "Tonight, you still get the real reward."

"Heck yes." Aerith took one of Cloud's arms and hugged it to her chest. "Another deluxe home cooked meal made by yours truly with all the best fixings. Curtesy of years of practice with my mom. I know you love my cooking, don't deny it."

"I'll help, and you won't have to lift a finger, Cloud." Tifa took Cloud's other arm. This was a habit the two women were starting to develop when they felt like showering him with tender affection. "All you gotta do is sit back and relax while we do the work. I say he's earned it, don't you, Aerith?"

"Oh, yes." Aerith smiled dreamily. "We should go out on shopping trips more often. Maybe next time we can be a little more thorough."

"Definitely." Tifa happily agreed. "We could make this like a regular thing!"

"Date night?" Aerith's eyes lit up further at the idea.

"Yes!" Tifa and Aerith both cheered together. Cloud did too, but it was far less happy, and more akin to grim acceptance. At least the food he was sure was going to be fantastic, Aerith was absolutely right when she said he loved it.

Not that it mattered, he still had yet to master the art of saying 'no' when Aerith turned those gorgeous emerald eyes on him, and when Tifa added her rubies to the mix? The man was a goner instantly. Is this what all relationships were like? Cloud didn't exactly have the best frame of reference for this kind of thing.

"What have I gotten myself into…" Cloud groaned, face hiding in his hands.

Not sure I like how this one turned out, but that's for the rest of you to decide. I do know that all the reviews and comments are greatly appreciated. It's part of the reason I have many more works planned for Final Fantasy VII Remake planned, and some already started.