43

The news of Aerith's impending hiatus spread across the Planet in a blink of an eye. Some of her followers went hysterical while some congratulated and wished her well. The model was suddenly hounded by the press like a princess a long time ago. The phenomenon greatly surpassed the time when Tifa went missing. Everybody that was close to Aerith wasn't spared from public's insatiable desire to know more. "They shouldn't really be bothering so much about me, if you ask me," Aerith said as she stirred her tea. Tifa, Cloud, Zack and she were sitting at the back of an unknown coffee shop. It was usually Cloud and Zack's haunt. But it was the only place where they weren't recognized. It was their Incognito Zone. "It's so bothersome."

The two men nodded. "Yeah, babe. They've already speculated that you've got some terminal disease or something. Seriously these people go way too far." Zack said. He had a tall cup of black coffee sitting between his large hands and a plate with a slice of chocolate cake on the side. Tifa took a bit of her blueberry cheesecake then said, "They do it so that people have something to talk about. It's really cruel, but its human nature. These things usually end up destroying the person… ah, but what am I saying! It's barely nine o'clock in the morning. It's no time to be so philosophic." She laughed.

Aerith had ordered a strawberry short cake but wasn't really eating. "It's getting so distracting—there was this one time that all the car's windows had paparazzi faces squished to them! Ah, that seriously scared me a lot." Her belly was starting to grow, if only for a tiny bit. There was already a tiny slope where she had been so lean. It wasn't so noticeable yet, but the ones who knew her best would notice.

Suddenly, Zack's phone began to ring.

"Oops, sorry! I have to take this call." Zack said, standing up immediately. He half-ran, half-walked outside. Aerith craned her neck to see her fiancé with pursed lips.

"Why the face, doll?" Tifa asked.

"He's always on the phone lately. Whenever I come home, he's on the phone… it's like he accidentally put super glue on his phone and hand and ear. I'm not really comfortable with it." Her face was wrinkled up with worry. (Of course, she hardly had any lines on her face.) "I wonder who he's talking to…"

Cloud set down his mug and looked Aerith straight in the eye. His lips were set in a straight, hard line. "Would you like me to investigate?"

"He can't possibly be cheating on you!" Tifa fumed. She glared at Cloud. "Your friend better not be, Cloud, or else I'm going to beat him up!" Her hands had balled up into fists. Aerith sighed and told them to lower down their voices because they were starting to attract the other patrons' attention. The couple apologized. The brunette told them that if they didn't stop raising their voices, their baseball caps and hoodies would be no use anymore. "People are always, always armed with cameras, okay? And questions, they're totally fully equipped with those too." Aerith shuddered.

When Zack came back inside, he was practically glowing. (Or maybe the skincare product he was advertising was finally working.) Apologizing for the rude disturbance, he reclaimed his seat. His companions' cups and plates were already bare. He groaned. "You guys eat too fast!"

Aerith stifled a yawn. "Hey, Zack… um, do you mind if I sit in the car? I'm feeling drowsy."

The blue eyed hunk offered to walk her there, but she declined the offer, telling him to finish his food first. "It's been waiting for you. Black coffee doesn't taste good when it's cold." There was a peculiar ring to his girl's last word. Tifa offered to accompany Aerith instead. The latter agreed.

When it was just the two of them together, Zack started to gulp down his coffee—which, contrary to his lovely woman's words, didn't taste so bad. Cold black coffee actually tasted good. "I've got really weird taste buds, I'll tell you that." he said, smacking his lips. The blonde man was looking at Zack fixatedly. Cloud looked serious. "Hey, Zack," he finally asked. "You're not cheating on Aerith, are you?"

"Eh?" Zack mustered. The tidbit of chocolate cake was sliding off his fork. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was gaping. "Cloud, what did you say?"

Cloud shrugged helplessly. This was beyond awkward. "I'm asking you if you're cheating on Aerith."

It could have been anger or confusion that flashed in the taller man's eyes. "What are you talking about, Cloud? What makes you think that I'd ever cheat on her?"

Oh, now Cloud truly felt like a chocobo cornered by a wolf. "Well… when you went out to answer that phone call, Aerith told us that you've been on the phone a lot. She's kind of worried. It's not another woman, right?"

Zack rolled his eyes at his friend. "I am talking to a woman, Cloud. But she's my agent." A moment's hesitation stopped the raven haired man from continuing his speech. But his blabbermouth-self eventually got the best of him. "Wanna know why?"

"Sure," the blonde said. Zack scooted over to where Cloud was seated and whispered something urgently.

When the two men emerged from the coffee shop, both were in good spirits. Aerith had fallen asleep inside the car and Tifa was playing a game on her phone. She looked up and said, "Well, what happened with the both of you? You guys look happy…. Lemme guess, women in yoga pants?" Both men guffawed. "Nah, Teef, yoga pant wearers don't usually stray here." Zack said. "If they did, I'd be staying till noon!" She got out of the car and the couples went off to their own merry ways.

As the car purred underneath Cloud's hand, Tifa looked at him with burning eyes.

He spared her a glance and took a deep breath. They were on the free way that wasn't so free at the moment, and they had gotten caught by the red light.

"Alright, alright." Cloud said, loosening up his grip on the wheel. Tifa leaned closer to him in anticipation. Their scents mingled and fought against each other. Tifa felt the moments pass heavily between them as she waited for him to open his mouth and speak. "He's not having an affair." Tifa felt her chest lighten.

"That's good," she said. "If he was, he'd be dead meat... I'll beat him up personally."

"He told me why he's been on the phone lately." Cloud quipped, not really in the mood to hear his fiancee threatening his best bud.

She leaned in closer, clearly intrigued.

"Oops, green light." Cloud said. "I'll tell you when we get home."