Another chapter is here!
Enjoy!
Crimson couldn't help but cringe as the roar of heavy steel smashing against one another had grown even louder. It almost sounded like bombs being dropped in the distance. She backed away to a more comfortable distance and remained focused on maintaining the summoning spell from the sidelines, so that Cloud could go through with his training under Odin unburdened.
They had reached the Golden Saucer midday in the Tiny Bronco, which felt a lot more cramped with everyone in it all at once. Once they had arrived, Crimson returned the Keystone back to Dio and explained the circumstances of Kunsel's death. The normally energetic man was rather heartbroken at his loss, but continued to offer his aid as he had before—including the use of his Buggy again once it was ready the next day.
Tifa decided her group would use the Buggy to get to Cosmo Canyon while Crimson's would use the plane, after the group as a whole visited the cavern where Vincent's father found Chaos. It was located between Corel and Nibelheim, accessible with the use of Aerith's Teleportation once she was rested and it was light out. So everyone had the rest of the evening to enjoy the Golden Saucer how they saw fit, and Crimson chose to spend it helping Cloud train.
Not that I can do much aside from keeping Odin grounded, she thought. Their exchange had been difficult to track at first. Both Odin and Cloud were faster than the average human inherently. Even if she had Sense active, the data pouring in would feed off either the motion of their arms or posture before they swung.
At this point it was outright impossible at the speeds they were going. Sparks flew multiple times with the span of a second, serving as the only visible proof of their swords colliding. Each impact rattled the air itself with enough force that it would shake the inner workings of the average human body.
The strikes at the beginning were definitely grazing at Cloud's flesh, and would have cut his shirt to ribbons by now if he hadn't taken it off beforehand. But things changed as time went on. Thanks to the honed instinct forged over the hours, Cloud had steadily increased the amount of times that he managed to parry using the Buster Sword and managed to counter the Fell Knight's flurry of swift steel blow-for-blow, until their blades locked together.
The contest of power between the two came to an abrupt end as Odin leapt back from the blade-lock. Cloud gave chase only for Zantetsuken to come around in a horizontal slash that would cleave off his head from his neck. He twisted his body as he lowered his head, avoiding the blade while swinging his own from below in an arc that tore a gouge into the hard-packed soil as it prepared to carve the Fell Knight from hip-to-shoulder.
Yet, the Buster Sword was deflected with a resounding crash as Zantetsuken was brought around and smashed into it. The impact was by far the strongest so far, with Crimson able to feel the shockwave rattling her teeth from where she had repositioned herself. With his arms jerked along with the blade, an opening presented itself in Cloud's guard and Odin capitalized on it by smashing his steel boots into Cloud's chest to knock him off his feet backwards.
"Nghhh…" Cloud grunted as he tumbled to a stop and then rolled to the side once more as Odin fell from above and used Zantetsuken to cleave the space where he had been in half from the sheer force of the swing. Then he rose up and brought the sword around in a horizontal arch meant to tear the Fell Knight in half.
Odin still managed to intercept it but was forced to brace the blade from the strength behind the swing. It managed to knock him backwards, making him stagger three steps and creating enough space for Cloud to get back to his feet properly and lunge with his sword thrusting forward. The Fell Knight made like he intended to block it, only to pivot on his foot as the blade reached him and then brought the pommel of his sword down on Cloud's wrist.
"Agh!" Cloud ended up dropping the Buster Sword from the impact, but didn't have time to dwell on it as Odin knocked him away with the back of his gauntlet. Crimson winced as he ended up landing flat on his back again several yards away. It looked like it really hurt.
"That will do for today," Odin announced as Cloud got back on his feet, blinking away the stars. The Fell Knight reached down and picked up the Buster Sword to return to him in an act of good faith. "You have progressed well with your blade-work, but you faltered at the end and rose to my baiting too many times. Only commit to such a strike if you are certain you will prevail."
Crimson frowned as she watched Cloud handle the sword sluggishly for a moment. It was likely he'd reached the limit of what he could handle without inflicting serious damage on himself from that level of fighting. Odin could probably tell as well and chose to end things there for that reason.
Cloud didn't contest the decision as he rolled his wrist back and forth. "Right… thanks for the lesson. I'll start again when we get the time."
"Until then," the Summoning said before looking towards the former Turk and inclining his head forward. Crimson took that as cue to cut the connection and ended the spell. Odin faded away, the constant pressure his presence presented on her mind disappearing as a result, and she approached Cloud with a Restore Materia in hand.
"Let me see your wrist." He stuck out his arm at her request and she proceeded to heal it with the materia, before delicately resting her fingers against his cheek to deal with any possible pain there from that last strike. Eyes locked, her touch lingered for a moment after he was healed. Then she pulled back and returned his shirt and Odin's Summoning Materia back to him.
"Thanks for doing this," Cloud said as he covered up his chest that glistened with sweat from the workout. "I wouldn't have been able to go on this long on my own, but I hate that I took up so much of your time."
"It was my choice," Crimson said. "I didn't have much planned for the evening once we got everything sorted out. Not since Reeve is keeping an eye on the situation with Rufus and Heidegger until they make a move on each other. At best I would have just gone around looking at the attractions for a bit to kill time."
"Do you want to look around together then?" he asked. "Everyone else is doing what they want right now, so we can spend time together without being pressured. We may not get another chance once things kick off with Shinra and Deepground and we head to Midgar."
His suggestion stirred a slight flutter in her chest, making her lips draw up into a soft smile. She liked it when he was forward. Then her eyes dropped down to his clothes and she pressed a finger to his chest. "We should probably clean ourselves up before gallivanting around. We wouldn't be able to unwind otherwise."
Cloud looked down to see how his shirt was clinging to his skin. "Point made. See you in an hour?"
"See you then." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then went off ahead of him to get ready. It was a date in all but name, after all.
[-oOo-]
The chill of the frosty air whipped across Cloud's face, a grimace marring it as he steered his snowboard through the maze of giant snowmen and boulder-sized snowballs that rolled back and forth in an attempt to mow him down.
One clipped him along the way, throwing him off-balance and leaving him to nearly careen into the side of the track. But he straightened himself up in time to pass over the finish line. However, it wasn't enough to salvage his score as the display that popped up in front of his eyes showed he only made a total of 50 points out of 100 total.
Disappointed, he opted to quit the game rather than try again. He removed the goggles attached to his face, stepped off the board, and then exited the virtual reality booth that simulated the snowboarding game in the Wonder Square. At this point he and Crimson, who was looking at the monitor that showcased a replay of his run, had checked out most of the attraction of the Golden Saucer.
Along the way they had spotted the others as well. Aerith had been there playing the Mog House game with said Summoning present, but both had left earlier while Crimson was doing her run of the snowboarding game. Tifa was in the Battle Square and had gained something of a fan following as she tore through the ranks, while Nanaki opted to simply watch as she continued her winning streak there. And since Yuffie had managed to convince Vincent to play the shooting coaster ride with her, that left Cid with Barret in the bar to drink for a bit.
"You didn't do too bad for your first run," Crimson told him earnestly. Though, considering she made close to 80 points on her first run, it felt just a little hollow.
"Would've done better if not for those trees," he said in his defense, unneeded as it was. "It's a good thing that this virtual reality system doesn't simulate pain, despite everything else. They use something similar in SOLDIER training, don't they?"
"I think it's a watered-down version of the same system." Crimson looked around at the other game booths that were in the Wonder Square. "Given how wealthy he is, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Dio purchased some that were customized for entertainment purposes only. Like expensive arcade machines that allow for a more interactive experience."
He supposed that some good could come out of the technology, even when the company itself only used it for combat training. He never had a chance to try snowboarding before and hadn't realized how much of a thrill it was. "If we get the chance, I'd like to give it a go sometime for real."
"I hear the northern continent has vacation spots based around snowboarding and skiing. Maybe we'll get a chance to go there someday?" A playful smile formed on her face. "They'll probably have less trees for you to blame when I win the race to the bottom. Haven't decided what the stakes will be just yet though."
He crossed his arms and put on an amused smirk. "I'm sure you'll think of something by then, but just don't make it something too embarrassing."
Crimson's laughed mirthfully at that. "I was thinking something more romantic, like a dinner date." Then she sighed and wrapped her arm around his, bringing them closer together. "How about we get on the gondola next? They're supposed to do a fireworks display soon and it'll be a nice spot to look at them together."
"Lead the way."
He followed her out to the booth, where they purchased two tickets for a ride together. Crimson took a seat next to him as the door shut and they began to ascend into the air. From above, they could see the Golden Saucer shining with brilliant lights in a dazzling display of its entire splendor.
"This is pretty nice," Crimson said as she looked out the window. "You can tell Dio put a lot of work into it so that people could entertain themselves. There's so much to do and see that it helps you forget about the world outside of it, including your troubles."
Seeing the smile on her face as the lights were reflected in her eyes, Cloud felt a sense of satisfaction and happiness himself. It was a good look on her. "I'm just glad to see you're enjoying it."
She turned towards him at that. "That's probably because you're here with me. It'll make for a good memory in the long run… speaking of which, you've gotten all of them back now, haven't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I shouldn't have any more problems on that front. I owe you for that."
"That's what we originally set out to do from Gongaga, so you don't owe me anything. Besides, most of the credit goes to Aerith—" Her words were drowned out by a cheer as they neared the Chocobo Track, where a race was being carried out. Her eyes quickly fixated on a single rider and she pointed towards them. "Look who's in the lead!"
Cloud did so and spotted the figures atop the Chocobo. It was Aerith and Mog, the former holding on tight as the latter ushered his steed to maintain their lead. Somehow Aerith managed to give them both a slight wave as she passed by the gondola in the blink of an eye. "Does it count as cheating to use a Summoning?"
"At least she's having fun before we have to deal with Jenova and Sephiroth too, after our current issues are resolved." Crimson sighed softly at that, meeting Cloud's eyes as she leaned against his broad shoulder. "I'm really happy we decided to do this while we can."
"Me too," Cloud said as he felt his heart starting to pick up under her gentle gaze and soft touch, the blood steadily pounded at his ears. His eyes traced down from her honey-brown pair to her pillowy lips that were just as close. The memory of how pleasant they were the last time they'd kissed lingered in his mind, leaving him to swallow in anticipation of kissing them again.
Crimson noticed. He could tell that much by how she smiled in a seductive manner, brushed his cheek with her fingers, and leaned her head forward. Then her enticing lips connected with his silently and a euphoric bliss washed over him from it.
The kiss was… sweet and tender, blissful to the point of melting his mind. He was drawn into it utterly, his world itself narrowed down to only that heavenly feeling connecting the two of them…
Then it was over as quickly as it began when Crimson pulled back slowly, breaking the kiss to the sound fireworks blooming outside of their ride. Her cheeks were as red as her name, her breath mingling with his from how close she remained. The normal hue of her eyes was subdued as they reflected the myriad of colors from the flares bursting into bright flowers just outside of the gondola.
"Again?" she asked with her voice soft and sultry, barely able to be heard by his enhanced hearing. If her intention before had been to enjoy the fireworks then it was all but forgotten now.
Just the same, Cloud was unable to stop the joyous feeling rampaging in his chest. It boiled his blood with a passionate heat that coursed through his body with every pump of his heart. He had to kiss her once more. "Again."
She leaned in again, this time her lips brushing against his with more force. If it was a delicate touch before, it was impassioned now and pleasant feeling from the kiss doubled with her effort. It made time seem to crawl to a stop until the jostling of the gondola signaled their ride had come to an end.
The kiss itself couldn't have been more than thirty seconds. But it felt like both a lifetime and a second at the same time. It was contradictory, twisted by their racing hearts as the fog of passion swirled in their minds while they exited the gondola.
Outside of it, Crimson held her fingers to her lips and traced them silently. Was she surprised by how long the kiss lasted? Or how much effort she pushed into maintaining it?
Cloud couldn't be sure as they left the gondola behind. But whatever it was consumed her as she silently walked ahead of him until they made their way back to the Inn. There was no one there when they arrived in one of the two rooms they shared, four beds in each one. The girls used one room for themselves while the guys used the other room, with Nanaki having a place to sleep by the window.
That was when Crimson finally turned to face him, looking uncharacteristically nervous as she bit on her lower lip lightly. "There's no easy way for me to ask this, but…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Cloud, do you want to sleep with me?"
…It took him a second to process the question. Not because it was hard to understand, but just the abruptness of it. He had to make sure he heard right. "What?"
"Normally, I would wait until the third date before proposing this," she said continued, refusing to meet his eyes as she reached out and touched his arm. "But given everything we've discussed in regards to how dangerous what we're doing is, and how we may not get another chance, I do think that it's probably best that we take advantage of that time. If you don't want to, then we don't have to right now."
"…It's not that I don't want to," he said after a moment of thought, finding her touch somewhat more distracting given the circumstances.
Crimson was a very beautiful woman. He'd known that from the time he'd seen her in that dress when she was infiltrating Don Corneo's mansion. Seeing her in her swimwear during their time at Costa del Sol only reinforced that fact. But those were before they were in a relationship and his focus was on other things.
Now that things were different, he felt inclined to take her up on the offer. However, he repressed the impulse that rose in him as a man to be honest with her. "I don't really have experience in relationships, so I'm worried I wouldn't meet your expectations."
Her expression softened at that. "No one is that good their first time, and I know just about everything you've gone through to this point. It wouldn't be fair for me to place high expectations on your performance on that front. So don't worry about that."
That put him at ease somewhat. "Are you sure?"
She nodded and brought her other hand up to his chest, looking him in the eyes. There was compassion in her gaze. "I want to make a special memory with you. And I think that it'd be better for you if your first time was with someone who cares about you and would be willing to walk you through it without getting frustrated. But if we're both not comfortable then there's no point to it."
He found her logic to be comforting and considerate. Still, there was one lingering doubt in his mind. He licked his lips as he looked around the room and asked, "We're not doing it here, are we?"
Crimson shook her head and drew back from him. "Not here. It's not very private and the others could come back at any time… not to mention it would be noticeable even after the act. While Aerith and Yuffie know about us, but I don't want to risk the others learning about us just yet—much less that we're that intimate before we deal with Deepground."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"I'll go and rent another room for us to use for the time being. If the Innkeeper asks, I can just claim that we had another person coming and it was too cramped for all of us across two rooms." She crossed her arms and looked up at the clock. "We won't have to rush things that way and we'll be able to clean ourselves up afterwards. Is that okay with you?"
It sounded like a solid plan. And he couldn't deny that he wanted to express how she made him feel in the most intimate way possible. So Cloud gave his consent, devoting himself to her as much as she had done to him, and followed Crimson after the reservation was made.
From there things would take their natural course as the date concluded in a manner that neither would forget…