Once you got back to the hotel room Cloud excused himself to take a shower. You laid back on the one of the beds and was about to start relaxing when you heard a strange buzzing. It took you about a minute to realize that it was your phone ringing. By the time you answered it you already had two missed calls from Alyssa and finally picked up durning the third call.

"Please say you don't hate me" Alyssa pleaded on the other end.

"I don't hate you, Reno is just a jerk" You told her.

"You'll play nice?" she asked.

"For your sake"

"and you'll dance with him at my wedding."

"please don't make me" You mumbled.

"It'll just be for a minute and then Cloud can rescue you."

"He doesn't always rescue me".

"You're getting defensive again." she told you giggling. You sighed, knowing that she's right. "You gotta stop fighting your feelings" she added.

You were about to speak when you heard the bathroom door open and Cloud walked out. He wore loose black pants but was shirtless as he dried his hair with a towel. You knew that Cloud was muscular but now that you can see his perfect abs, you were a bit flustered. Thankfully Cloud didn't notice you staring.

"Autumn are you listening to me?" Alyssa asked.

"Oh um yeah" you replied as you forced yourself to turn away from Cloud.

"Well I'll let you go, you seem distracted." She told you.

You could hardly say goodbye to your friend as you tried not to blush at the sight of Cloud. To make it worse, he sat on his bed coming back into your view.

"Everything ok with Alyssa?" he asked casually as he finally stopped dying his hair, letting the towel fall the floor. You couldn't believe his gravity defying hair was still perfectly in place.

You nodded trying to take your mind off how attractive he is. "I guess Reno called her, she wanted to make sure I don't hate her."

"Well do you?" he asked a ghost of a smile on his face.

You really wished that he would put a shirt on so you'd stop being so distracted. "I don't hate her" you sighed and laid back, "I can't believe I'm gonna have to dance with Reno." you mumbled in annoyance.

"How did you meet him anyway?" Cloud asked curiously, he was strangely talkative.

"Rufus ordered Reno and Rude to find me, originally it was because they thought I might have my mom's medical dairies because aside from the Shinra doctors and scientists, my mom had the most experience treating SOLDIERs, but when they reported back that I had started going to school to be a doctor Rufus wanted me to work for him." you replied rolling your eyes. You hated Rufus more than you hated Reno, while Reno is just a perv, he's relatively harmless, Rufus is a sexist jerk. "They caught me a few times, but I usually got away pretty quickly, they finally stopped a while back, I guess Rufus figured out that I'd never help him."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Usually?" he questioned. You stayed silent unsure what to say. "They didn't hurt you did they?" he asked suddenly, the concern clear on his face.

"Honestly, I don't remember." you admitted timidly, "The first time they caught me, it was for a few weeks or months, I'm sure, I remember being captured and I remember escaping to Rocket Town, what happened in between I have no idea but it was right after I left Hazeltown and I know Ryan was with me." You were suddenly self conscience, you weren't keeping this from Cloud, you just never brought it up because you couldn't remember. You nearly jumped when you felt Cloud place a hand on your shoulder, but you soon relaxed, the physical contact was comforting.

You looked up at him, his lips twitched into a small smile for a moment before his eyes widened, "Is something wrong?" you asked your voice filled with concern.

Cloud paused for a moment, "When I got mako poisoning, Hoji was experimenting on Zack and I." he mused, "I don't remember most of it, I was basically comatose, but we were kept in the basement of the Shinra mansion for a few weeks"

"But thats where I was" you said stupidly.

"I think Rufus may have some answers we're both looking for." Cloud told you.

Shortly after Cloud's revelation you excused yourself to shower as well in part because cleanliness is super important to you, but mostly because you needed to take your mind off of Cloud's perfect abs because he still refuses to put a shirt on and for the first time you wanted to try and focus on remembering what happened in the time you were trapped in the Shinra mansion and like most you do some of your best thinking in the shower.

(Cloud)

You couldn't help but stare at Autumn as she walked out of the room, thankfully she didn't notice. You thought about the next few weeks, there isn't too much time between now and Alyssa and Jeremy's wedding, even though you don't want to go you want to make sure Reno stays away from Autumn. You'll have to find time to drop in on Rufus, while its probably better if you don't know what happened, it seems like Autumn wants to know. But this did raise one question, was several months ago really the first time you and Autumn met?

You glanced at your arm, thankful that Autumn didn't seem to notice the geostigma manifesting on your bicep. You pulled on a black t-shirt, the sleeve covering the infection. You wanted to tell Autumn about it and you hated keeping it from her, but you remembered the day Alyssa and Jeremy showed up and how Autumn tried to find a cure but couldn't, it seemed to break her heart that she wasn't able to cure it, you just didn't want her to worry.

You absently laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, your thoughts kept wandering back to Autumn, you were pretty annoyed that Reno showed up and even more annoyed that he's clearly attracted to Autumn. For once your feelings of betrayal towards Jace didn't interfere with your growing feelings for Autumn, but Reno had to mess that up. You sighed.

"You ok there Spiky?" Autumn's asked knocking you out of your thoughts.

You sat up quickly a nodded absently, you couldn't help but stare, Autumn was wearing black plaid shorts and a maroon tank top as she brushed out her wet hair, beads of water made her pale skin glisten

"You sure? you seem distracted" she said tilting her head curiously as she sat on her bed.

"I'm fine" you replied quietly.

She nodded and continued to brush out her hair, a few moments later she looked back at you, "Cloud you're staring" she told you, there was a red tint creeping across her cheeks and she glanced at you through her eyelashes.

You mumbled a 'sorry' and turned away in embarrassment.

(Autumn)

Last night was a serious struggle, thankfully the fact that Cloud finally decided to put a freaking shirt on helped, but you barely slept. You're far to embarrassed to admit that you spent most of the night wanting to crawl into bed next to Cloud but that would be way to forward of you after all you still have no idea how he feels about you.

You did finally get some sleep early this morning, you heard Cloud get up and thought it was time to go finish Cloud's deliveries but he waived you off and quietly told you go back to sleep saying he'd be back soon. You look at the clock as soon as he was out of the room, the angry red digits read 6:45. Where ever the hell he could be going this early is beyond you but to each their own, you rolled and tried to sleep, dreaming of a mysterious blonde with gravity defying hair.

(Cloud)

You smiled as you left the room thinking about Autumn as you walked down the hall heading out of the inn, she looked so confused and adorable when you accidentally woke her up. Her long hair was a knotted mess and she looked up at you with half lidded eyes, barely awake enough to ask where you were going. You had woken up early, not that you slept much, you spent most of the night awake fighting the urge to hold Autumn in your arms. You either needed a an early start or a cold shower.

You absently arrived at your destination, the bar from last night. Walking in you easily found Reno, the knucklehead was passed out on the bar. Rude was sitting next to him looking like he was seriously regretting his life choices. With a business partner like Reno you couldn't blame him.

As you approached Rude looked up and nodded at you, "Strife" he greeted.

You nodded back then gestured to Reno, "How drunk is he?" you asked.

"Not a clue found him here hours ago, owners just left him."

"Since when is Reno an alcoholic?" you asked disinterested, thought it was strange, you've known Reno for a long time and he likes a few beers about as much as you do, but its not like him to drink this much.

"He's not" Rude replied, "I haven't seen him this bad since…" he trailed off, "awe shit Reno would be pissed if he found out I told you this, but his stupid ass ditched me last night so, Reno only gets like this when the one that got away is around." You raised an eyebrow at the cliche so Rude continued. "This girl Autumn Knight, pretty face, great body, sweetest personality I've ever seen. Reno's had a thing for her ever since Rufus had us capture her like three years ago. She doesn't take any of his crap but he keeps chasing her."

So you were right and that just made you hate Reno a even more, especially because you know Autumn feels obligated to at least tolerate him for Alyssa and Jeremy's sake.

"Why are you here anyway?" Rude asked suspiciously.

"I need some information" you replied approaching Reno.

"This is gonna be good." Rude mumbled more to himself.

You roughly shook Reno until he woke up, the shock of being shaken scared a clearly hungover Reno, he flailed helplessly as he fell off the barstool. You sidestepped so he wouldn't land on your feet.

"Hmm I thought you were gonna punch him" Rude told you, you shrugged, you considered it.

"What the hell man, who the hell…" Reno trailed off as the hangover caught up with him, he looked up at you with a pained expression. "What do you want Spike?" he asked.

"You're going to tell me about the first time you caught Autumn" you told him.

"So she was here last night" Rude mused.

"Like hell I will…" Reno mumbled. You noticed your shadow blocked Reno from the sunlight coming in the windows. You stepped to the side, the bright light clearly caused him pain. "Fine what do you want to know about it?" he asked giving in significantly easier than usual. You stepped back in front of him to block the light

"How did you catch her and where did you bring her?" you asked but your tone was a statement.

Reno suddenly looked sober, he mumbled something you couldn't hear before turning back to you and saying. "We found her just outside Neblheim, Rufus told us she had her mom's medical records and he wanted them. We brought her to the mansion there."

"That didn't answer how you caught her" you stated, you were starting to lose your patience.

"She was weak, barely recovered from Sephiroth's massacre, it wasn't hard." Reno said, you didn't buy that.

Rude rolled his eyes, "He told her, he'd take her to Zack Fair"

You stepped away, letting the light shine on Reno again, the pain it caused him was well deserved. "That's low even for you" You told him.

"You think I don't know that, I wish we never caught her" he mumbled the last part hold his head, must be one hell of a headache.

"So you tricked her by saying you'd bring her to one person she wanted to see more than anything after Shinra's experiments and SOlDIERs took everything from her." You summarized.

"Damn Spike you don't talk much but when you do you make it count" Rude nearly laughed.

"Come on buddy, why are you torturing me" Reno asked in annoyance.

"Autumn doesn't remember any of the time she spent at the Shinra mansion" you told him.

"Neither do you" Reno replied with a cocky grin.

You wanted to kick him in the face, it was would have been so easy too because he's still on the ground but you decided against it. You settled for glaring at him, "I don't care what happened to me, I want to know what happened to her." you nearly growled.

"I don't know" Reno mumbled.

"What do you mean, you don't know"

"I don't know" Reno said glaring at you, he looked away wincing in the sunlight, "I don't know what happened to her there."

You looked at Rude for an answer.

"We split up, I went after the guy she was traveling with, scrawny dude, complained a lot, he was weak, easy to catch" Rude replied.

You looked back at Reno.

"I don't know why you suddenly care so much about anyone but I'm telling you the truth, Rufus ordered us to bring Autumn in, said he just wanted to talk to her. We approach Autumn, her little brother and that guy she was traveling with, say Rufus wants to see her. She refuses, calls him a prick, the next thing we know the dude takes off, Rude goes off after him. Autumn yells at me for scaring her brother. I tell her she can come with me the easy way or the hard way. She tricks me, I chase her. I remember in our brief that Rufus said she was friends with Zack, I tell her I can take her to him. She came with me. I left her at the Shinra mansion with Rufus, I don't know what happened after that." Reno explained.

You clenched your fists, you were furious, but you knew better than to make a scene. Some how you could stop yourself from hitting Reno but you can't even think properly when Autumn's around.

"Look Cloud, I regret that I followed that order, I never took another order like that again. All I know is that when i left her there she was broken but when she escaped and Rufus sent me to capture her again she was different. I don't know what they did to her, I just want to make it up to her, I don't deserve forgiveness but I'm trying" Reno said.

You nodded, "You're right, you don't deserve forgiveness" you told him as you turned to leave. "Where's Rufus these days?" you asked.

"Healen Lodge" Reno replied almost instantly. As you walked out the door you heard Rude yelling at Reno that he wasn't suppose to tell you that.

(Autumn)

So getting a bit more sleep didn't really happen. You slept for a bit but couldn't stay asleep for very long, so you decided to just get dressed for the day. You wore a tight purple sleeveless top, black jeans, combat boots and a tattoo choker. As you finished getting ready for the day, the door opened, revealing Cloud carrying what looked like two coffee's and a bag with food in it.

"Morning Cloud" you greeted with a smile.

"Morning" he replied quietly and offered you a coffee.

"Thanks" You said before taking a sip, you smiled, it was perfect, decently strong, milk and three sugars. "How did you know I like my coffee like this?" you asked curiously. Cloud just shook his head as he sat on his bed, you sat across from him on yours. He took a few wrapped items out of the bag, then held the bag out to you. You nodded a thanks as you took the bag and said, "Come on Cloud, I promise it wont ruin your mysterious bad boy vibe" you giggled.

He rolled his eyes, "Honestly, back when I was in SOLDIER, every time Zack, Jace and I got away to grab breakfast on our own, Jace would talk about how he liked his coffee black and how he couldn't stand how sweet you liked yours." he admitted.

"Thats such a strange thing to remember" you commented lightly with a smile.

"Now that I know you I remember a lot of what Jace said about you." Cloud said, seconds later he seemed to realize what he said and looked away.

"You know I've noticed that too, before I met you, I always remembered everything about Zack, but now that we do know each other I remember a lot of what Jace said about you too." you admitted, that seemed to put Cloud at ease. You stifled a laugh, "He would speak of highly of you, Zack did too. It actually became a bit of a joke back home, all of us wondered when we were going to met the great Cloud Strife." you told him, for a moment you saw Cloud's lips twitch into a smile. You unwrapped the food to see that Cloud got you a french toast bagel with butter, again you were confused, you couldn't get good bagels in Edge, theirs no way Cloud would know this is your favorite. "Alright how did you know this one?" you asked gesturing to the bagel.

"They're Riley's favorite. I guessed" Cloud replied before taking a bite out of his everything bagel.

"Thanks for getting me breakfast and letting me sleep late" You told him with a smile. Again Cloud nodded as his lips twitched into a small smile.

The two of you ate your breakfast in a comfortable silence. When your bagel was gone, you still had half a cup of coffee to enjoy. Cloud had finished his breakfast too and was also finishing up his coffee.

"So how many deliveries do you have here?" you asked.

"Only two more" he replied, "Should be pretty quick too."

You nodded. A silence filled the room. There was so much you wanted to say to Cloud, part of you wanted to admit your feelings but most of you was too scared of rejection and worse you didn't want to ruin the friendship you have with Cloud. You finally decided on what to say. "Cloud" you said quietly, he looked at you with his intense blue eyes, giving you his full attention. "Thank you for everything yesterday" you said quietly.

"You don't have to thank me, I'm here for you" he told you as his expression softened.

"I still want to thank you, you've really been exactly what I've needed" you told him honestly.

Cloud nodded at you with a small smile on his face. The two of you awkwardly stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before Cloud mumbled that the two of you should probably be going.

The first delivery was on the other side of Kalm, it was pretty quick just like Cloud thought. You stayed on Fenrir while Cloud walked up to the front door of a house carrying what looked like a letter. A little old lady answered the door, she peeked curiously around Cloud to look at you then took one look at Cloud reached up and pinched his cheek. You were in no way expecting that, you couldn't suppress you laughter. When Cloud returned a few moments later you were still laughing and Cloud was extremely embarrassed.

"What was that about?" you asked curiously, amusement clear in your tone. Cloud just shook his head as he mounted Fenrir, you once again wrapped your arms around his torso. You sighed as he rode off wondering what would possess that sweet looking old lady to pinch Cloud's cheeks. Looks like you'll never get an answer out of him but thats going to be a great memory.

The second delivery was near the edge of Kalm, it was a auto repair shop. Cloud parked Fenrir near the entrance to the garage. It seemed to be just opening because it was still early in the day. Cloud told you he'd be back in a minute, you nodded and leaned against the wall to wait for him.

After you waited a few minutes you were curious what was taking Cloud so long, he seemed to think this would be really fast. You sighed and shrugged off your leather jacket, it was way too hot out to wear when you weren't on the back of Fenrir. You moved into the shade annoyed about the bright rays of sun on your pale skin, its not that you didn't like being outside, you just burn easily.

"Hey babe, where's you're spiky bodyguard?" Reno asked as he got uncomfortably close.

"Don't call me babe and what do you want?" You mumbled in annoyance. Then you noticed Rude and your demeanor changed. "Long time no see Rude" you greeted.

"What's up girl" he replied but kept his distance, as if expecting Cloud to come outside at any second.

"Why are you so nice to him and not me?" Reno whined.

"I don't know maybe he didn't trick me into being experimented on, he takes no for an answer and he slipped me the key to escape the last time you two caught me" You replied dryly.

Reno frowned, "Come on Autumn, baby, I'm really trying here, I'm sorry I didn't know what would happen." Reno pleaded, you could tell from his tone that he was being sincere.

You sighed knowing you have to try to forgive at least for Alyssa's sake, "Calling me babe and cornering me isn't helping, just try to be nice and treat me like a human maybe" you told him, as you pushed yourself off the wall and entering the lobby of the repair shop, quickly closing the door behind you to prevent Reno from following.

(Cloud)

"I'm not paying you" Chad grunted. You had been going back an fourth like this for several minutes, you just wanted to make this quick to get back to Autumn.

"Then you're not getting the parts" You told him him unamused, "you can pick them up from Edge yourself."

"You're a day late Strife" Chad told you, a few of his shop guys came in from the garage in an attempt to intimidate you. It wasn't working.

"You want the parts you pay."

"You're gonna lose all of our business, you sure you want to that"

"Theirs other shops" you told him as you turned to leave.

"You're making a mistake Strife." He called after you, you had only taken a few steps when he added, "I'll pay ya half."

You turned back, "All or nothing" you told him.

He was about to speak when you heard the bell on the door ring and thump. You turned to see Autumn staring at you with her big hazel eyes as she sighed and leaned against the door, which Reno was slammed up against. Well that explains the thump.

"Autumn?" you questioned, she knew you actually meant, whats wrong.

Before she could speak, "Well what do we have here?" Chad questioned, you did not like the way he looked at Autumn. Realizing the looks she was getting from Chad and the shop guys Autumn seemed to panic for a moment, trying to way her options stay here or go back outside with Reno. "What brings you here girl?"

Autumn ignored him, "Sorry to interrupt." she apologized sheepishly as she uncomfortably walked to you. She seemed to relax at bit once she was within arms reach of you.

"Its fine" you told her softly as you absently pulled her close, the hungry stares of the shop guys were pissing you off and making Autumn visibly uncomfortable. Then you turned back to Chad hoping to make this quick. "Last chance, all or nothing."

This time he ignored your statement. "Didn't think you had it in you Strife, you found yourself a cute one." Chad told you.

"They must have had some wild night to be this late." one of the mechanics chimed in.

"Its not like that" you told them unamused, then tried one last time, "do you want the parts or not?"

"Hey if its not like that, I'll take her" another said laughing. Autumn silently gasped in shock and grabbed your wrist, tighter than she thought, you could feel her nails digging into your skin, but you didn't mind, if it comforted her even a little bit, it was ok with you.

"We're out of here" you said, your tone blunt and clear. You ushered Autumn out the door, as you left you could hear Chad telling you to come back and that he'll pay, after this you'd never do business with them again.

Once you were outside Reno tried to walk over to Autumn, you glared at him and Rude grabbed the back of his shirt preventing him from getting any closer.

"I'm sorry, I ruined that for you didn't I?" Autumn asked, she had turned her face away in embarrassment but looked at you through her eyelashes.

You started up Fenrir, "You didn't do anything" you told her, "They're a bunch of dirtbags anyway" you added. She gave you a small smile, finally figuring out that you're not upset with her. "Lets get out of here" you nodded your head motioning for her to get on Fenrir. She wrapped her arms around your torso and the two of you rode out of Kalm.