42:

Cloud came back to the bedroom with his mouth gaped and brows raised. Tifa put down her book and looked at him questioningly. "Who called, Cloud?" she asked, sitting up. He sat down by the edge of the bed and placed his hand on her leg. "It was just Zack," Cloud murmured thoughtfully. "Say… would you get cranky if I told you that we need to get dressed right now and drive off to Golden Saucer?"

"Drive off to Golden Saucer? What are you talking about? It's almost eleven!" Tifa said, exasperated. "What's this got to do with Zack?" Her fiancé failed to conceal his smirk.

"They've decided to have a shot-gun."

Tifa was out of her bed the second he had answered, shedding off her silk robes as she went. "What the hell are they thinking?!" she groaned as she dove for her phone. "They must both be drunk!" Cloud watched Tifa as she angrily punched the phone's screen to call her friend. "He didn't sound drunk to me, Teef. Maybe he's high… he was really happy." Cloud shrugged. "But of course… he always sounds like he's on something."His joke wasn't received as he had expected. Tifa was frowning and chewing the inside of her cheek as she waited for Aerith to pick up.

Click.

"Hi Tifa!" Aerith said cheerfully. "Did Cloud tell you already?"

"Yes! And Aerith, I'm warning you! Don't you do it!" Tifa yelled.

"Why not?"

"Because… because…" the fuming brunette mumbled, "because it's outrageous. Look! It's not like you to make rash decisions like this… Aerith… you're a fashion model. Fashion models have outlandish weddings. Agh… look… where are you?"

"I'm in my closet, duh. I've got a zillion white gowns here," Aerith said. "I really want to get married now and… don't you think that's a cruel stereotype, Teef? I mean… not all models want outlandish anything. It's actually so stressful to plan things like weddings that it ruins the excitement."

Tifa bit her lip. " But does it seriously have to be tonight?"

"Well no… silly!" the younger woman laughed. "I don't want any of us looking haggard on my wedding pictures. I would kill you all if that happened."

"Oh… alright… okay. What color do I have to pick out for my dress then?"

"Pink. I'll supervise tomorrow. You're raiding your closet too, okay? Don't buy a new dress. I want you to spend on your gift to me and Zack." Aerith laughed again. She sounded as if she was high too. What was going on?

"Ah… okay," Tifa said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yep. Tomrrow."

Click.

Tifa turned to Cloud, who was poring over the magazine she had recently abandoned. "Well, isn't this an interesting article?" he said, lifting his eyes to meet hers. She blushed then joined him by the bed. She knew exactly what he was pertaining to. He cleared his throat and read aloud, "The Tifa Timeline: From Vixen to Darling."

"Oh stop," Tifa said, throwing a pillow at him. "I didn't even know they'd written an article like this!" Cloud merely chuckled. "So… you're a darling now, are you? I don't believe it… you're still a vixen to me." He pulled her arm and caught her lips. There was no objection from the other party.

The doorbell rang while Tifa was toasting peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches for breakfast. Cloud was still asleep upstairs. Wiping her hands on the dishtowel, she commented on how early Aerith woke up.

"Good morning," the younger brunette said the moment Tifa opened the front door. She was wearing sweatpants and a loose tee. It so unlike Aerith to wear such drab clothes. Her hair wasn't even braided, it was done into a messy chignon. "Ugh, what happened to you? Did you eat already?" Tifa said, moving aside to permit her friend in. "Where's Zack? Will you finally tell me why you two want to get married so soon?"

Aerith settled down on the couch primly and looked at Tifa with wide, bright eyes. "Tifa… I'm pregnant." The petite woman wrung her hands together and wore a dreamy expression. "I never knew I'd be this excited in my life." Tifa sat down on the ottoman opposite her friend. "Oh my gosh, Aerith! Congratulations! So that's why you told me to spend more on your gift, huh?"

She smiled brightly. "I'm so happy, Teef. And my manager allowed me to take a leave! Of course… I'll have to walk my last runway for the season next month, hey, it's all working out fine!" Tifa smiled warmly at her friend. "Hey—is that peanut butter and strawberry I smell toasting?" Smirking, Tifa agreed and led her friend to the kitchen.

"For who are walking?" Tifa asked as Aerith gorged on the hot peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches. The strawberry dribbled down to Aerith's chin.

"Oh, for Ciara Stone," Aerith said, wiping the juice from her chin. "These sandwiches are seriously good!" Tifa asked if she wanted to have tea. Aerith wrinkled her nose.

Cloud was still sleeping when the two women came up to the room. The sheets safely covered his navel and his legs stretched from them, long and lean. "Oh, well, I see you two had a great night too," Aerith commented, trying to control her giggles. "What time did you two finally get tired? By the looks of it, you two really had fun."

"Oh stop it," Tifa said, blushing. "I already picked out three dresses."

As Aerith had expected, Tifa and Cloud's walk-in closet was ginormous. It seemed to be considerately more spacious than the master's bedroom. Aerith felt that her closet was inferior compared to this. Tifa led Aerith to the bay window, where three pink dresses hung on a solitary rack. "Well? What do you like best there?" Tifa asked. "I didn't bother picking out gowns, since it's just a civil wedding." Aerith walked closer to the rack and saw that none of the dresses had been used. All three still had tags, and complimentary notes.

To Tifa, one of my favorite gals in the world! -xoxo, MSA

Hey girl! Thanks for making the collection *hot*! Love, Moore

Congratulations on the comeback! Ysa

The younger brunette studied the first piece and said, "This is a little too neon. Would you seriously wear this?" Tifa shrugged. "I'll clean out my closet sometime, okay?" Aerith laughed and eyed the second piece and dismissed it as something a teenager would use for prom, with all the beads and corny sequins. "You seriously think sequins are corny?" Tifa asked, laughing. Aerith gave her friend a serious don't-even-get-me-started look. The dress from Ysabelle was also dismissed, for having no shape whatsoever. "It's like a high end potato sack." Aerith said. The other brunette bit her lip.

"Show me the other dresses!" Aerith demanded.

"Fine," Tifa said, stalking off to the dress rack. "Come and take your pick."

Cloud opened his eyes and immediately heard Aerith and Tifa's laughter. Oh fuck. They're int he closet. He sat up with a start, glancing around the room. His clothes were nowhere to be found. Tifa must have thrown them down the laundry chute already. He bit his lip. Oh Goddess no. No!

Zack was on the phone when Aerith came home. He looked pretty serious, and it was very rare for Zack to wear such a face. The TV was blaring a car race. Aerith put down her purse and sat down. He sat down beside her a second later. "So, how was it?" the dark haired man asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Aerith rested her head on his shoulder. "It went okay," she said quietly. "I think I'll go nap for a bit." With that she stood up and headed to their room. He sat there for a minute, waiting for the rustle of clothes, but heard none. It was barely past 10 and yet she was exhausted. The complications of pregnancy were starting to freak him out.

Scratching his head, he redialed and resumed the conversation he was having.

Author's Note

It's been three months and a day since I updated. So very sorry! I got intimidated with how things were going for the two couples—like, I had no idea anymore what to do from there. But now I've got it all figured out, trust me. Expect more chapters soon!

VC