CHAPTER THREE

Roommates

It wasn't until Lightning got back to her room that she found herself questioning her own actions. Wait… What am I doing? Did she really just offer to share her room with a perfect stranger?

There was another knock on the door. "Room service."

"It's unlocked," Lightning said. She watched from the corner of the room as the butler wheeled the cart in, with the spiky-haired blonde trailing behind him. There were two platters of food on the tray.

"There you go. Enjoy your dinner." The butler closed the door behind him when he left.

Lightning watched as the blonde wordlessly examined the trays, like they were the most interesting thing in the whole room. She noted how tired he looked. He must've been traveling too much, or something.

At last, he met Lightning's gaze. "Thanks for this. You know, the room."

"Welcome," she replied, crossing her arms. "However, since it was my room to begin with, I'm laying down some ground rules."

He blinked. "What kind of 'rules?'" he asked.

Her tone was firm. "You get the couch, I get the bed. And don't touch my stuff, including my Gunblade… Even though I bought if from you in the first place."

"But it's yours now," he said. "I understand that."

"Good… Oh, and if you try anything funny in the middle of the night, you're outa here."

He was taken aback. "What do you mean by 'funny?'"

"You're a man. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Insulted, he took his dinner plate and sat down on the couch, his back turned to her.

Lightning moved toward the cart and grabbed her own platter, then sat down on the bed and lifted the lid. "This isn't what I ordered," she stated.

"Mine isn't, either," he said. "Did you order the chicken?"

"Yeah."

They both stood up to exchange platters, Lightning didn't look away this time. She kept her eyes on his handsome face, taking in his every feature. There was something familiar about him-and not just because he resembled Snow. Maybe in the last few years since joining the Guardian Corps, she might've met him somewhere. She just couldn't pinpoint the exact location right now.

He noticed the way she was staring at him and asked, "What?"

She made no qualms about being subtle. "Have we met before?"

"Maybe. I've done a lot of traveling… You're name's Lightning, right?"

"Right. And you are?"

He was hesitant at first, but relented with his first name only. "Cloud."

In that instant, Lightning caught her breath. "Cloud?" she repeated. "As in, Cloud Strife? The soldier of fortune who saved the world from Meteor?"

He grinned. "Didn't know I was that big of a celebrity."

Her jaw dropped. "You're more than a celebrity! After the Meteor incident, people were applying to become soldiers left and right!"

He twisted his mouth. "How… flattering."

She blinked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that that's not how I wanted to be remembered."

"Oh, right… I'll shut up now." She sat back down on the bed and picked up her knife and fork. She had forgotten that he once wanted to join Shinra's elite SOLDIER army, but failed to do so. Maybe she had just put her foot in her mouth by mistake, along with her chicken.

Suddenly, Cloud starling laughing under his breath.

She looked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he chuckled. "I'm just surprised that you're not jumping all over me, like most women do when they find out who I am."

She directed her attention back to her plate. "I'm not most women," she replied, taking a bite. "Speaking of which, my rules for this room still stand, okay?" Even if you are a hero.

"Okay." He sat back down on the couch, and from there, the two ate in silence.

oOo

Lightning decided to let Cloud use the bathroom first. That way, she'd have some privacy so she could check her messages. Apparently, Snow and Serah had spread the word about her disappearance to every one of their friends, because her message inbox was loaded with messages from Hope and Sahz now.

This only made her angrier. Maybe I'll need to get my number changed…

She turned her phone off when Cloud came out of the bathroom. His hair was still a bit wet from being in the shower. "Sleep well?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he replied.

They were quiet for a moment before Lightning cleared her throat, ending the awkward silence. "Well…" She extended her hand to shake. "it was nice meeting you, Cloud Strife."

He shook hands with her. "Same to you, Lightning." Then he turned to head for the door. "Thanks for the hospitality. Hope you get good use out of your new weapon."

"You're welcome. And I will."

Cloud mounted his motorcycle and put on his sunglasses. From here, it was back to Midgar. On to the next job. But next time, he'd be sure to call ahead and book a room in advance.

Or… would he?

He stared up at Lightning's bedroom window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her so that he could wave goodbye. Who knows? Maybe they'd meet again one day…

"HELP!" someone screamed. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Cloud jerked his head toward the open street. A group of terrified people were screaming as they ran from a vicious pack of monsters. He instinctively jumped off his bike, reached for his broadsword and went into action.

Taking down the small monsters proved to be a piece of cake. He was about to replace his weapon, but realized that the people were still frantic. That's when a giant shadow came over him from behind, and he looked over his shoulder.

A large, green Behemoth had barreled its way into the town. It was angry, probably due to hunger, and was out looking for a tasty human meal to chomp on.

Cloud spun around and scowled at the beast. There wasn't much time to act. He figured that a Braver might be enough to do the trick on this guy. He dug his heals into the ground and took deep breaths, preparing his body for the attack.

But he didn't have the chance to act.

Lightning landed on the Behemoth's back, but instead of stabbing it in the head, she hopped down onto the ground with her new Gunblade at the ready. She made two strikes against it's leg, then flipped backward, landing a few feet away before the thing had a chance to retaliate.

Lightning's movements were so fluid that Cloud didn't even see her jump down from her window pain. She was so gracefully, so calculative…

The Behemoth growled, causing Cloud to snap back to reality. Once again, he braced himself for his Braver attack: He made a running jump, thrust his sword high above his head, and threw it down into the Behemoth's face.

The monster fell to the ground, lifeless.

Lightning flipped her Gunblade and hid it away again inside her pouch. Cloud replaced his sword against his back and checked on the people. Everyone seemed to be alright, just a bit frazzled and dazed by the recent events.

He turned to Lightning, and that's when he noticed the small piece of armor she wore on her shoulder. "You're in the Guardian Corps!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah," she replied. "Didn't I mention that last night?"

"No, you didn't!" He was in such awe over her fighting abilities that his voice was shaking. Aside from his other friends, Lightning had to be one of the most amazing, mysterious, talented-not to mention beautiful-people he'd ever met. And he wasn't ready to part company with her just yet.

Then, he remembered the add Tifa posted on their website.

Battle skills are REQUIRED, due to the increase in recent monster attacks.

Pays 15 Gil per hour, with possibility of room and board in sector seven of Midgar.

This made him grin. It was perfect for her.

"Hey, Lightning," he said. "you interested in a job with my company?"