39: Chaotic Costa del Sol

It was humid and very bright when Tifa, Cloud, Rufus, Lazard, Zack and Aerith, and the rest of the staff stepped out of the private plane. There was a whole team of airport security were waiting for them at the tarmac. The first thing that Tifa heard were the people's screams.

"Tifa! Aaah! Kyaaa!"

"KYAAAA! Cloud!"

The fans' screams thundered throughout the airport, disturbing its otherwise solemn atmosphere. She could already smell the tropical flowers of the islands. Tifa waved at the eager admirers and nudged Cloud to do the same. He looked effortlessly smoldering in his aviator sunglasses, fitted shirt and skinny jeans. The fans' screams grew louder and they became more restless. Costa del Sol's mayor came forward, and presented them with flower garland necklaces.

The security personnel quickly surrounded them and ushered them inside the airport. Inside the airport, it was cooler and more crowded. The sunshine glared on the polished floor and Tifa thanked Lazard for getting her the very darkly tinted sunglasses she was wearing right now. It was a blur of customs and procedures mixed with thundering high pitched screams and squeals.

Tifa waved to the crowd and blew them a kiss. Cloud gave the fans a sluggish wave.

Once they were out of the customs area, the couple's privacy bubble was immediately deflated by the local media people. It surprised Tifa how many media men the island province had. Their questions came to her all at once. She couldn't distinguish anything they said. Must have had something to do with their accent… Cloud squeezed her hand as if to reassure her that they were almost there, close to safety, where they could finally breathe.

They had a villa all to themselves.

Tifa had to give Rufus more credit than he already has. He actually managed to have both of the resort's villas reserved for them. Their villa had two bedrooms, but Tifa was sure that they would only need one. Their dining area had a bay window that allowed them to see the beach and the infinite blue ocean.

"Well… that was really exhausting," Cloud sighed as he pulled off his shirt, revealing his chiseled torso. His skin had a peachy pink tone now because of the heat. Or maybe it was another kind of heat. He had no freckles on his skin, but there were a few barely visible scars. Thank goodness for scar removal treatments. He said he'd gotten them while he was learning how to ride a motorcycle. Tifa stared at his peachy cream skin and giggled. He turned his head to look at her, brows knit together. "What are you laughing at?"

She shook her head and sat down at the empty bed. "I never thought Costa del Sol would have so many… press people!"

"Oh come on now, Teef, I know you're not laughing because of the chaotic airport." He walked over to her and bent down, letting his skin touch her. He was really hot—in every sense of the word. Cloud took a deep breath and said, "Is it really just very hot in here or are we hot for something?"

Mustering up all the calm that she had left in her, Tifa placed her hands on his shoulder and said, "I am hot for a shower. Taking a shower is a sure way to acclimatize."

He chuckled then muttered, "Mind if I join you? I heard it saves water."

Tifa smirked and said, "I'm all for helping preserve the environment." She planted a light kiss on his lips then he pulled her up. She could already feel his excitement. Cloud was grinning stupidly as he followed her to the bathroom. Tifa's heart beat heavily, loudly in her burning ears.

Oh the anticipation.

Tifa was sitting by the bay window, watching the clouds float by. There was a cloud that resembled an elephant's head and another that resembled a humongous ball of cotton. The cool sea breeze kissed her heated skin, cooling it down. Cloud was sitting on the floor, trying to make music with the guitar he'd borrowed from a resort employee. The guitar was nowhere near his desired tone. She glanced down at him and smiled. He looked so adorable fumbling with the strings.

"Hey Cloud," she whispered, taking a few locks of his hair prisoner in her hand. His hair's a little coarse from all the gel he uses. He looked up at her, his eyes blue and precious, dewy and beautiful.

"Hmm?"

She let go of his hair and traced his face's features. "I love you, always."

A gentle smile appeared on his mouth as he took her hand and kissed it. "You're the woman that I want to grow old with. I will always be with you. I love you." He set the guitar aside and sat beside her. "Say, Teef, how many children do you want?"

Children?

How many children did she want?

He already has children in his mind!

Before she could answer him, Rufus came knocking on the door. Cloud was gritting his teeth as he stood up to answer the door. Tifa pouted. Their manager, dressed in a crisp all-white get up, as usual, sauntered in.

"You've spent the whole morning locked up here. Aren't you planning to show yourselves to the world?" Rufus said sternly. The older blonde eyed Cloud, who was shirtless yet again. "Did you forget to bring shirts along with you, Cloud?" Cloud squirmed. Rufus was acting like he was Tifa's father or something, being skeptical about him being shirtless.

"Why don't you try it, boss? It's much more comfortable." Cloud said with a wolfish grin.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "I am not into being shirtless."

"Give it a try sometime. It's way cooler without a shirt."

"Just get yourself a shirt, for Gaia's sake!"

Yep. He's definitely the fatherly type.

Two tents had been set up by the resort. In one tent, there was a table full of food and on the other were lounging chairs and tables. The staffers were already helping themselves to the food when Tifa and Cloud arrived, followed by their father-manager.

"We've prepared local food for you, we hope you enjoy your meal." the resort staff said as they approached. Everything looked and smelled delicious. While Tifa stared at the food, Cloud already started filling up his plate with everything—in small proportions first, of course. He had a mountain of food in no time. Tifa stared at him with her mouth slightly agape. He winked then headed over to her. "I need to recharge my energy… don't you?" She rolled her eyes and headed over to the buffet table. She loaded her plate with watermelon slices, pineapple slices, orange slices and exotic dishes.

Tifa sat beside Cloud as they ate, their bare arms touching. It was such a perfect scene.

"Ey Cloud!" a loud drawling voice called out. The couple looked behind them to see Zack and Aerith, walking towards them hand in hand. Aerith was wearing a flowing, light pink sun dress and a hibiscus was tucked on her thick, hazel hair. On the other hand, Zack was only wearing shorts, showing off his beautifully toned body. Aerith clung to his arm and smiled proudly.

"Hey!" Cloud said, standing up to pump fists.

"Hi." Aerith said, taking a seat beside Tifa. "It's so nice out here, Teef. I'm so glad you thought about going here!"

Tifa nodded and smiled. "Why don't you get something to eat first, Aerith? The food's delicious."

"I think I will." Aerith said after a moment, then headed to the buffet table.

Tifa watched Aerith and Zack for a while. Aerith seemed to be taking too long picking out what to put on her plate and Zack waited for her patiently, like a gentleman—which he rarely was. Aerith was being nit-picky about the food on the buffet table. Zach touched her arm and whispered something, then she shook her head. Zack looked worried, or just confused. It was hard to tell from the distance. Tifa went back to her own food.

After the brunch, they were showed around the island. The Mayor's Isle was very beautiful. Tifa understood now why this resort was so expensive and exclusive. Most of the resort was covered by the forest, where the visitors could trek for adventure and its beaches had coves and wonderful marine life.

"Can we go scuba diving now?" Zack asked as the tour guide talked about the various fish they'd see in the ocean. He sounded like an excited puppy waiting for validation to go crazy. Aerith eyed him as if telling him that it wasn't really a good idea. He frowned. Tifa frowned as well. That was so unlike Aerith. The Aerith that Tifa knew was the happy-go-lucky and very sweet girl. The Aerith they were with was moody and nitpicky about the food.

The tour guide nodded and led them to where they could rent the gear.

Tifa grabbed Aerith's arm and pulled her aside. "Is everything alright, Aerith?"

Aerith looked at Tifa with dazed eyes and answered, "I… everything's alright, Teef, no need to worry." The petit brunette smiled and took Tifa's hand. "Don't worry about us, Tifa. All couple go through ups and downs… don't you and Cloud quarrel too?"

"You and Zack… are quarreling?" she repeated. Tifa knew it wasn't really nice to butt in other people's business, but what Aerith just said was really weird. How could these two idiot love birds find something to argue about? They agreed on everything!

"You'll find out soon enough. Ah… shall we go get our gear too?" Aerith dismissed their little talk. There was obviously something big going on between Aerith and Zack. Tifa nodded and reached for Aerith's hand. Aerith looked up at Tifa with wide eyes.

"I hope everything will be alright soon," Tifa whispered.

Aerith smiled a tight, reserved smile and without another word, walked off to join the rest of the party. Tifa watched her friend walk slowly away from her, bewildered. Cloud looked at her from the distance and beckoned for her to join them. She gave a lazy wave and ran to their group.

Zack stared down at Aerith as she stood beside him at the rental stall. "Is everything alright, Aerith?" he asked quietly, his eyes piercing and gentle… thoughtful. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. Zack's hand was big and warm, uncomfortable in the heat. Aerith flinched and he let go. "Of course everything's okay, Zack." Aerith told him, giving him a small smile.

Her smile made his heart sink. That wasn't the lovely smile that he had fallen in love with. He hoped that it was just the heat that was making her irate.

"Ah, what color would you prefer, Miss Gainsborough?" the clerk asked. There were pink, blue and black suits on the countertop.

"Pink." Aerith said, her face lighting up all of a sudden.

Zack shook his head and grinned. That color sure had its way on his girlfriend.

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry! I said I'd bombard you with updates! Our Internet connection sure sucks. -_-; I haven't had access to the Internet for like, two days already. I am dying. Nah, actually, since the Internet was down I managed to finish two hardbound novels, haha.

The next update may come a little late, too. I'm in state of mourning right now. My best friend slash boyfriend slash baby brother slash son slash pet dog died. So I guess I'm dedicating this to my pet.

10.15.12

Victoria Chrystallis