Tobi: Thank you everyone! And a big thank you to Cinnamon Cloud. :) I hope everyone likes this chapter (damn, Cloud's adorable). Mwuaha, the plot thickens... ._. ...sorta.
CM: Hi all! Im so glad we got so many positive comments on the last chapter! Im sorry we're a bit late this time. And because I didn't reply to anyone. Too many exams and projects...I hate school. =_= Well I hope you all enjoy this chapter too! :D
Waking up the morning after Aerith slept over was great.
The sunlight hadn't hit his eyelids cruelly for once (perhaps it was being nice, too) and he lay comfortably for a bit before rolling over and looking at Aerith. She was still fast asleep, hair a tangled mess as she hung almost off the other end of the bed. This bed was freaking huge—how had she gotten all the way over there? Whatever.
Cracking his back and stretching, Cloud got out of bed and quietly left the bedroom. He glanced left and right before leaving, not trusting the ghosts, wherever they were.
Brushing his teeth woke him up a little bit. Cloud frowned into the sink as he scrubbed his tongue. He wasn't quite sure what to think at this point—was his ghost really sorry, or was it still out to get him?
The cautious route seemed the best plan of action. He couldn't afford to let his guard down. If something happened again... he'd be ready.
When he returned he saw Aerith already awake and brushing her hair. They smiled at each other, she left to go use the bathroom, and Cloud wandered downstairs.
...The house was quiet.
Too quiet!
Cloud felt like he was in a horror movie as he turned on the spot, studying the house. He half-expected to see blood running down the walls and a virgin's dead body drop from the ceiling, but everything was in the same still, destroyed and paint-covered condition it had been in before.
Was he overreacting? Maybe. But he refused to believe his ghosts had good intentions—not after all the times they had hurt him. Not after he had almost died.
After nervously making twice his usual amount of waffles, he sat at the table and waited for Aerith. They ate their food in comfortable silence (or at least on Aerith's part; Cloud was sweeping the kitchen with a hard blue gaze the whole time).
The tour of the outside was first on their agenda for the day. It was a little chilly, since it was so early in the morning, so Cloud shrugged on a sweater and Aerith donned a light jacket.
"You're lucky, Cloud," Aerith breathed as they inhaled the crisp mountain air and admired the view.
I beg to differ. "Yeah, I know."
They walked around the side of the house first, and Cloud realized with a terrible jolt that Fenrir was still in the woods. He had left it there from before the war! It was probably covered in bird poop... a chipmunk was probably in the exhaust pipe... the candies probably had mold all over them. How had he forgotten about his motorcycle?
He bit his lip and almost ditched Aerith to go get Fenrir, but resisted. No one knew it was there.
Aerith gasped, and Cloud's attention returned. A section of his garden was ripped up and torn. Dirt coated the side of the house and shriveled bits of plants were clumped haphazardly in the mulch and grass.
"What happened?" Aerith asked. She hadn't expected an answer, though, and sank to her knees in the dirt. She gently handled a small, pretty pink flower, appalled at the carnage. Cloud watched as she re-planted a still mostly-alive flower, carefully putting dirt around the roots. It was a saddening sight.
It clicked. Cloud remembered the monster that lived in his pool and dove to cover Aerith, protecting her. If whatever was in there had crawled out and had destroyed the garden, then they had to get the hell away!
"Cloud?"
"Ssh!" Cloud shushed her. He listened closely, peering in the direction of the pool. Everything was calm, but he didn't dare relax. Aerith tried to say something else, and Cloud hissed over her, "There's a monster living in my swimming pool. Sssh!"
She snapped her mouth shut and tensed up. Cloud squinted and was poised to attack for almost a full minute before drawing away from his friend and running for the pool. He hurried there with his legs bent in a crouch so he was as low to the ground as he could be, like a spy, or a burglar in the middle of the night. He didn't dare stand close enough to the water to get dragged in, and stayed a safe distance away as he inspected it for a hideous shape, blood-stained water or frightening spikes of death.
...The pool looked fine. Calm. Normal. But... it had looked that way before, and then he had almost been killed!
"I don't see anything," Aerith whispered as she walked up to him, studying the water.
"Don't let your guard down," he said softly. "I bet you it's out there... waiting."
Aerith was more than a little skeptical, but she decided not to argue with Cloud. He got things into his frighteningly blond head and wouldn't let go. It was easier to go along with whatever he was obsessing about and crack up in her head, most of the time.
"Let's go over there, then," she suggested, pointing off to the right.
"...Sure." Cloud gave the pool a last suspicious look before leaving. The rest of the outdoor tour happened without incident—mostly. They ate apples from an apple tree on the corner of the huge property, and Cloud spent five minutes hacking up his after he got a mouthful of juicy, wiggly, very-much-alive worm.
There must have been those neat bush-sculptures at one point, but now, they were just overgrown masses. Cloud joked that each one was an elephant, but Aerith one-upped him when she pointed at a blob and said it was an amoeba. What the hell was an amoeba?
They were near the tennis courts when Cloud let out an abrupt whoop of delight and ran around the fence. Aerith curiously followed. A white golf cart was parked in scraggly shin-high grass (dammit, he really needed to mow).
There weren't any keys anywhere in or on it, and Cloud swore horribly as he practically turned the thing inside-out looking for them. Aerith gave an exasperated smile and sat in the passenger seat, smoothing her pants down as she did so.
Cloud told her to stay put and took off in a frenzy. Aerith watched him go, sighed and waited. That man was a nut when it came to vehicles. If she insisted she drive or tried to get between him and it, Cloud would've bitten her head off. No thanks.
The shed was Cloud's destination—he very nearly broke the door down in his haste to get inside. The golf cart's keys were on a peg in the wall, and he seized them and sprinted back to the cart.
He was a panting, sweaty mess when he returned, but victoriously put in the keys and let out another whoop. Aerith rolled her eyes as Cloud started driving. He must have been going at breakneck speeds, judging by his expression, instead of going about five miles per hour on nasty, clumpy grass.
They circled the whole property twice (steering clear of the pool, of course) but on the third time around, the cart ran out of gas. Cloud cursed and banged the palm of his hand into the horn a few times before reluctantly climbing out of it.
Grumpily, Cloud finished the tour. They spent maybe five minutes back in the house before coming back out; Aerith wanted to see the town. It was a long walk—a really long walk—but it was doable. The mountain air was thinner than what either was used to, and the coldness of it hurt Cloud's lungs, but it was still nice. He felt healthy, far more than he ever had in smog-filled Midgar.
They chatted as they walked, pointing out interesting trees or plants to each other. One tree had an odd, large knob on it, and Cloud dubbed it 'the penis tree.' Aerith hit him for that.
Both tripped at least twice on their way down—Aerith was a complete klutz, and Cloud was by no means an acrobat. Despite that, they enjoyed the walk down the mountain trail (they had decided to take the scenic route, rather than the road).
They made it to the main part of Nibelheim in just under an hour. Both were famished, and Cloud squinted, looking for a restaurant.
Continuing their conversation from up on the trail, Aerith asked, "So... have you found anyone you like, yet?"
Cloud snorted. "Hell no. I've only met one person here yet, and she's a girl." It was a little depressing, not having a boyfriend anymore and probably not getting one in the future.
"Hah, like she'd ever go for you. You've got to try to expand, some—this town's too small to find that perfect someone."
"I could have every girl in this town eating out of my hand, if I wanted."
Aerith laughed. "Sure you can."
Frowning, Cloud looked around until he noticed two girls down the street a bit. They were watching him. He shot a cheeky smile at Aerith and started towards them.
"Hello ladies," Cloud said smoothly as he got close. He swished his spikes out of his eyes and grinned at them.
Both had a few seconds of intense eye-communication before they said at the same time, "Hello!"
"My friend and I are kinda hungry—you two look like you'd know a good place to eat." He paused, smiling and looking into both girls' eyes. "You two are natives, right? Not lost, confused newcomers like me."
"We know everything about Nibelheim!" The one on the left chirped.
"We can help!" chimed the other.
"I'm Helga-"
"And I'm Olga."
For a second Cloud almost popped something as he tried not to laugh—he felt caught up in some straight man's fantasy about twin-ish girls who finished each other's sentences. He got himself under control before they noticed anything and reached out, kissing both girls' hands.
"Nice to meet you—Helga, Olga," he murmured, nodding at each girl in turn. Both blushed pink.
Aerith fought the urge to be sick as she watched Cloud continue to flirt shamelessly (and badly) with the two Nibelheim girls. Alright, so it seemed the girls here liked Cloud. She felt a little sad—Cloud hadn't shown any interest in anyone since Reno. He deserved to be happy, after that, and unfortunately for Olga and Helga, they weren't what he was looking for.
She watched Cloud reduce the two redheads to puddles of blushing goo and rolled her eyes.
When Tifa exited the town barbershop, the last thing she had expected to see was Cloud Strife flirting with Helga and Olga. She stopped short and watched for a few seconds.
Cloud noticed the figure across the street, looked up and immediately stopped. Tifa was there, watching his "Sexy Cloud" routine with narrowed eyes. He felt guilty; he knew Tifa genuinely liked him, and he didn't want her thinking there was a possibility for anything... because, well, he was gay, and that was that.
Tifa walked forward, discreetly giving her friends the evil eye. Cloud smiled bashfully, and Tifa instantly forgave him. Cloud was a sweetheart—he wasn't one of the filthy scumbags that so often were in Nibelheim. His flirts had seemed harmless, really.
She noticed the brunette standing off to the side.
Who's that?
"Hey, Tifa," Cloud said awkwardly. "Um—oh, hey, cute haircut!—we're gonna go get lunch..." He made to step away with his friend, but Tifa said quickly, "Why don't we eat something together? I know a good restaurant within walking distance you should try."
Hesitating briefly, Cloud said, "...Okay."
Ten minutes later, seated in two small tables pushed together in the town restaurant, Tifa smiled as charmingly as she could at Cloud. Cloud looked slightly uncomfortable, squeezed between Aerith and Olga.
"Oh! Tifa, this is Aerith. Aerith, this is Tifa."
Aerith held out her hand, warm green eyes curiously studying the other female. "Nice to meet you."
After pleasantries had been exchanged all around and the food had been ordered, the group fell into discussion. Helga and Aerith debated back and forth about the perks of living in the city versus the countryside. Oddly enough, Aerith was stressing that life out here was better, away from the smog and pollution, but Helga vehemently claimed that there was nothing to do, and that she'd rather be able to go to a movie theater or see a play and be sick than sit at home and stare at the ceiling in perfect health. (Cloud tried not to snicker at that—because she had just admitted she just stared at the ceiling when there was nothing to do—but failed miserably.)
Across the table, Tifa was turning green and growing horns.
Cloud and Aerith kept brushing shoulders and weren't pulling away awkwardly like boys and girls so often did. Their eyes met and they shared a private smile before turning back to the other girls.
His girlfriend?
"So," Tifa pressed when there was a short lull in conversation after their food arrived and everyone dug in, "Did you run your delivery business in Midgar?"
Aerith answered her question instead of Cloud, which further soiled Tifa's mood. "Yes," she said, munching on a french fry, "He was pretty popular, too."
Tifa frowned. This isn't good!
The sound of steady, controlled breathing filled the slightly-chilled room. Zack wasn't cold, though; he had been pumping iron for at least an hour already, and he had worked up a sweat.
He frowned as he curled his arms, biceps straining. Here he was, working out in the basement like a creepy loner when there was still so many things to be done. Zack dropped the weights, panting a little and drinking from his water bottle.
He had to do something.
Passively waiting around and hoping wasn't his style. There had to be something he could do to help the situation...
Sitting on the carpet and stretching, Zack thought. They had to get Cloud to forgive them. Definitely. This guilt was eating them alive; they needed Cloud to forgive them.
But what to do?
Handling this right would be tricky. There was a huge margin of error here, so they had to be careful. But what could he do? What did he bring to the table?
If there was one thing Zack Fair was good at, it was making friends.
Zack choked on the water he was drinking and sprang off the floor, nearly pulling a hamstring in the process.
"Guys! I have a plan!"
After another minute of hollering, his lovers appeared. Genesis looked sleepy; he must've been sleeping... again. (He had to stop that.)
"I think we should try to be Cloud's friend," Zack blurted before any of them could interrupt. "Rather than begging for forgiveness, if we try to become his friend, he'll be way more likely to forgive us. And we'll have a new friend too!"
Nobody looked even remotely enthused. All they wanted was the blond's forgiveness to ease their heavy hearts, not something like friendship.
"Why would we do that?" Genesis asked, crossing his arms and scowling.
The youngest glanced at Angeal and said, "So we can prove we're not monsters. And I think he'd be a pretty cool friend to have, even if he's crazy. Heh."
Angeal said dispassionately, staring off into the distance somewhere, "I don't think it will work."
Zack burst. He exclaimed loudly and passionately, glad that because Cloud was out of the house he didn't have to talk at the special SOLDIER volume so the blond couldn't hear him speak (it gave them all headaches, to be honest), "We need to preserve our honor, right? We're good guys! I'm not comfortable with anyone thinking I'm an asshole, 'cause I'm not—not...not usually. It'll work!"
Sephiroth sighed. "Give it up, Zackary. He hates and fears us—and I don't blame him."
"Think of the cookies, Seph!" Zack implored, getting desperate. "If he forgives us and becomes our friend, he might bake us cookies some day. Can you picture it? Right from the oven—imagine the smell that's gonna fill the mansion. I bet he can make any cookie in the world. Those chocolate chip ones were delicious. Just imagine the snickerdoodles!"
Sephiroth's stomach growled.
He was in.
Genesis 'tsk-ed,' "You're such a-" he borrowed Zack's nickname, "-cookie whore, Sephiroth!" He faced Zack, giving in. "...Alright—what's your plan, then, Puppy?"
"Uhhh..." The truth was, he hadn't gotten this far in his plans yet. "...Take it away, Seph!"
The General, clearly not paying attention, daydreaming, jumped a little and said, "—What did you just say?"
The restaurant table was getting to be a little too crowded for Cloud's taste. Tifa's raging jealousy was taking up all available chairs, and even a few from the surrounding tables. He was extremely uncomfortable, but Aerith seemed only amused.
Immediately after Aerith finished her last bite, Cloud announced, "We've gotta split. Thanks for lunch, girls." He pulled out his wallet, about to slap some cash down on the table, and Tifa stopped him.
"Cloud! I think I have a delivery I need you to do for me!"
She sounded desperate. Cloud's head snapped up and he said excitedly, "Really? When?"
Tifa blinked. "Um... day after tomorrow...ish?"
"Okay!"
Aerith tugged on his sleeve, and Cloud stumbled towards the door. Tifa said she'd stop by the next day to go over the details, and Cloud left, heart hammering away in his chest.
"Jeeeeeeeeez," Aerith said slowly once they were alone. "Tifa's an... interesting person."
"She's really nice, and I feel bad for her."
Aerith hummed, and they started towards home. She teased him about Tifa almost the whole time, cackling evilly at his frustrated blushes. She could (obviously) tell that Tifa liked Cloud; Cloud had to be careful not to lead her on. She suggested that he tell her point-blank that he was gay, but he blanched at that idea and shrugged it off.
The brunette's departure was a tearful affair. Aerith couldn't stay for long, as Denzel had come down with the flu and needed someone to look after him. They re-packed Cid's car, talking about the gruff blond as they did so.
"What the hell... is in this thing?" Cloud puffed as he carefully carried one of his friend's extremely heavy duffel bags down the stairs.
Aerith said in a flat, ominous voice, "Stuff. Trust me, be glad the Ouija board worked and I didn't have to use any of it." Cloud plopped it in the trunk and got the hell away from it.
They hugged on the front porch for a while before she got in the car. Cloud did his best to get as much of Aerith's pretty, unique scent in his nostrils as he could—he almost never would have been able to smell her again. Fucking ghosts.
He kissed her on the cheek, she tugged on a yellow spike, and she left. Cloud waved until the shitty car disappeared, then let himself back in the house.
Just him and the ghosts again, huh?
Distrustfully, Cloud went upstairs, looking over his shoulder frequently. He took a shower, enjoying the way the warm water hit his muscles. The mansion seemed even bigger and quieter than before and he missed Aerith, but he'd be okay. He knew where the rolling pin was, in case of another attack, anyway.
When he eventually came back downstairs, he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and stared.
What the fuck—
Dinner sat on the table. There was a plate of steak, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and a glass of wine waiting for him. Oh, hell—there was even a tiny lit scented candle off to the side.
...Was this his ghosts' doing, as they tried to get him to forgive them?
Fat chance! He needed a hell of a lot more than food to forget about his almost-death. A lot more.
Near the refrigerator, four invisible men waited anxiously. Angeal had cooked the food, and he was pretty sure that Cloud would accept the peace offering and dig in. Zack eyed the steak with hungry eyes.
Hopefully this would work. They still couldn't exactly talk to Cloud—he'd have a stroke. This would take some careful maneuvering.
Cloud seized the plate, then turned and chucked it through the already-broken window from a few days back. It clipped a jagged panel of glass and broke that too, adding to the glittering pile on the floor. He hurled the wine glass outside, and the candle too, just to be safe.
It was probably poisoned.
Silence. Until, "...That was kinda mean."
Angeal mourned the waste of the hour and a half it had taken him to cook everything just right, and Cloud flashed the room the middle finger before stomping out.
Meeting with the bigwigs was a pain in the ass.
Every time he went, he had to fix his collar, button his jacket and try to comb his hair. The Commander hated it when his people looked messy.
The Turk guarding the door stared at him as he fixed his appearance. He sneered back. Asshole.
Pushing open the door, he walked inside and saluted respectfully.
Tseng creeped him out a little, to be honest. Verdot had taken control after Tseng had been kidnapped with the General and those SOLDIERs, and now that Tseng had returned, he found he... kinda missed Verdot. Tseng had a cold, ominous barrier around him that he just didn't like.
Regarding him silently, Tseng said, "You are going to be stationed in Nibelheim."
"Yes, Sir." Where the hell is that? Shit, he was being sent somewhere crappy... damn.
Handing him a folder, Tseng said, "Your mission is to keep an eye on the owner of the mansion on the mountain. You will report directly to me if there is any suspicious activity or if anything happens. If he dies somehow, let me know immediately." The look in his eyes was clearly, 'Don't ask any questions, and you will live.'
He nodded. "Yes, Sir."
"You will leave at the end of the week. Be ready. Do not let me down."
"I won't, Sir." Turks never let their Commander down.
"You are dismissed."
He left, and as soon as he got away from prying eyes, he opened the folder. Keeping an eye on some rich dude? Boooring. But something about the case had to be important, if Tseng was sending him.
On top was a picture of Nibelwhatever's mansion, and beneath it was—
A familiar, pretty face smiled up at him. Wide blue eyes, striking blond hair, cute, soft-looking lips... What?
"Cloud?"