Cloud awoke the next morning, the harsh light shining through the window. He immediately recalled the events of the previous night. Was Aerith okay? In a panic, he turned over to his right side to examine the bed next to him. She was sleeping safe and sound, as though nothing had happened. Phew.

He paused for a moment, trying to decide if he should wake her up and talk to her. What time had Aerith come in? Cloud was up very late, he was sure of it. She must have tried extra hard not to wake him up, either. With that important detail, maybe she didn't want to talk. If she came in late, she probably just wanted to sleep.

Cloud rolled over and reached for his phone and saw he had several missed messages from Biggs and Wedge planning breakfast. As much as he wanted to talk to Aerith at this moment, he decided it was best to make morning plans without her and just let her sleep. Eventually, she'd wake up and they could finally chat about the previous night.

It was their second time dining at the Honeybee Inn. Biggs and Wedge seemed to really like the place.

"I really messed up last night, guys," Cloud muttered, staring down at his half-eaten eggs.

Wedge took a heaping bite of his pancake. "She probably just had a really long night."

Biggs reached for another packet of jelly to pile onto his biscuit. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."

At that moment, Biggs and Wedge watched their phones buzz on the table with an incoming message. Cloud took a peak and instantly saw Aerith's name. He immediately reached for his phone to see if he got the same message, but his screen was completely blank; his face fell.

Biggs and Wedge shared a look with one another, before returning their gaze to Cloud.

"Okay," Biggs confessed. "Maybe you might be onto something."

"What did she say?" Cloud asked in a matter-of-fact tone, hoping to shift the focus away from the fact he was not included in the text chain.

Wedge took a moment to scan the message before speaking. "She asked what we were doing today and if it involved you."

Cloud pushed at his half-eaten eggs with his fork. "So, are we still planning to go to the Hoover Dam?"

"I was hoping so," Biggs said. "I'm looking forward to taking the car out for a little drive, since we've mostly been on foot around here."

Wedge darted his eyes between the two guys, then put his attention back on the phone. He spoke aloud as he typed a response. "I'll tell her we're on for the Hoover Dam…" Wedge paused his typing to take a glance up at Cloud. "… and I'll tell her you're coming." Upon finishing the message, Wedge set his phone down.

Biggs returned to his original tasks of jellying up his biscuit. "We will see what she says."

All three guys sat in silence for a while as they continued to enjoy the rest of their food. However, it wasn't long before two of the three phones buzzed with a response.

Wedge and Biggs both reached for their phones almost simultaneously. Their eyes studied the message in unison. Cloud waited with bated breath for the contents to be revealed.

After a few moments of silence, Biggs was the first to speak. "She said… she's okay going, but she wants to sit in the front seat."

Cloud slumped his shoulders. What that really meant was that she didn't want to sit next to him. She really was avoiding him, after all.

"Maybe she just wants to see more of the road because she gets carsick," Wedge suggested. But with the trepidation in his voice, and the facts at hand, no one was really buying it.

"We gotta figure out a way you can talk to Aerith," Biggs said next, as he shifted his eyes from his phone to Cloud. "Even though it seems like she's making it difficult for you to talk to her."

"I have an idea," Wedge piped in. The other guys leaned in closer to hear Wedge's wise words. "Remember that fancy steakhouse we have a reservation at tonight, Section 7? Well, our reservation is for four but what if we just 'conveniently' get held up?" At the mention of the word "conveniently", Biggs used air quotes.

Biggs shot Wedge a finger point and a smile. "That sounds like a plan to me. It'll be just you and her and you'll finally have a chance to sort things out. And then Wedge and I can swoop in a little later when everything is settled." Biggs paused as he leaned in. "Or we can not come at all if it's going that well."

Cloud sighed, his eyes darting to the floor. He was already getting stressed and nothing had even happened yet. He wanted it to be as easy as the two were making it sound like it would be, but somehow he knew that wouldn't be the case.

"I guess we can try it," Cloud muttered. "I don't have any better ideas, and I have a feeling she'll be avoiding me as much as possible today."

This was one thing Cloud was not looking forward to being right about, but when Aerith finally met up with the gang, he could tell immediately that she was avoiding his gaze and his initial worry had been justified. When the group piled into the car and made their way down to the Hoover Dam, Aerith said little, and instead preferred to focus on the road. With her silence, Cloud realized how much he missed hearing her voice, and how it complemented wherever he was in.

They finally arrived at the dam, and it was quite a marvel. The concrete walls towered so high and seemed to never end when viewed from the bottom. Cloud wished he could have enjoyed it more, but the stress of Aerith was overshadowing the grandness of it all. He tried to talk to her a couple times, but she was clearly not interested. Perhaps it was best to just let her be, even though for once, he had so much to say. He took solace in the fact that it would all be sorted at dinner, hopefully.

Things got even more awkward when they returned to their hotel room. Aerith had made it quite obvious that she was not in the mood to talk, so Cloud tried to give her space as they both got ready for their fancy dinner that evening. As they sat in silence, he wondered if he should stick around for her to get ready.

Almost as if on cue, Aerith said, "Go on up without me. I'm going to be awhile." Her back was turned, so she didn't have to look him in the eye. That was the most she had said directly to him that entire day. Cloud figured there was no point sitting here in insufferable silence, and since he was already dressed, he reluctantly made his way up to the steakhouse. At least that had a nice view.

He got to the steakhouse early and checked in for his reservation. The hostess was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city that he couldn't wait to get a closer look at.

"We have a reservation for four tonight," he started, "Under Cloud. But my group isn't all here yet. They're coming."

"Not a problem," the waiter replied. "Your table is ready if you'd like to take a seat and wait for them. It's a delightful view by the window, too."

Cloud nodded, and the waiter showed him to his table for the evening, complete with the requisite elegant white tablecloth. The waiter wasn't kidding about the view—it was absolutely gorgeous, and for a moment, he temporarily forgot about the stress of today. He looked down and could see the intricate details on the buildings and the neon lights coming in. It was a nice distraction while he tried to avoid the pit in his stomach.

The waiter broke Cloud's trance, introducing himself, and suggested grabbing an appetizer while Cloud waited for the rest of his group. He quickly scanned the menu for anything that was appealing, and that's when he saw it: goat cheese balls with edible flowers. It sounded unique, and he was hoping that when Aerith arrived, she would appreciate it too. He also ordered the tried-and-true calamari, in case the cheese turned out to be a bust.

Cloud felt his phone buzz, so he reached out to take a look. It was a text from Wedge.

Hope things are working out. We will be up soon.

Cloud glanced at the time. It was already 15 minutes past when their reservation started, and Aerith wasn't even here yet. Cloud needed more time.

Can you give me an hour? She's not even here yet.

Wedge sent him a response accompanied with a thumbs-up emoji.

You got it, Captain Cloud. Just let us know when you need us.

Cloud set his phone down and saw in the distance the waiter approaching with his appetizer. Now he had some food, but no one to enjoy it with. He was just starting to lose hope when he saw Aerith appear out of the corner of his eye. She had on a gorgeous red dress that trailed ever-so-slightly along the floor and shimmered with each step she took.

Cloud paused for a moment trying to find the right words to say. He knew how much they mattered. "You look gorgeous."

"Where are Biggs and Wedge?" Aerith asked, completely ignoring Cloud's compliment.

"They said they would be here soon," Cloud lied. He didn't like having to lie to her, but he couldn't think of anything better to say at the moment.

Aerith let out an exasperated sigh. "I should have just stayed in the room."

Well, this was off to a terrible start. He had to find a way to make Aerith stay, at least for a little bit. "The appetizers just came out," he said as he gestured towards the food. "One of them has goat cheese and edible flowers. Might as well try a bite since they're fresh. "

He could see her pondering his invitation for a moment. She slowly approached the table and took a seat, giving Cloud a glimmer of hope. It was probably the hunger, not Cloud's invite, that ultimately influenced her decision; but Cloud was happy to take whatever he could get.

They sat in silence trying a bit of both appetizers while Cloud mentally racked his brain trying to think of something to say. This was much harder than he thought. Aerith took out her phone, obviously avoiding any conversation. Cloud was trying to be hopeful, but he was getting dejected that the night would never progress at all.

He reached in his pocket for his phone and sent the guys a text message.

I don't think this plan is gonna work. Just come up whenever you can.

He looked up at Aerith to see if she was watching him, but she seemed unbothered. When she wasn't looking at her phone, she was glancing up at the window, taking in the beautiful view. She was pretty much look at everything but Cloud.

Cloud felt his phone buzz and looked down to see a response from Biggs.

Sorry, man. We will be up soon. If Aerith asks, just tell her we got stuck in a time share presentation and couldn't get out, haha.

Cloud contemplated relaying that information to Aerith, but didn't know if he could pull off that lie convincingly. The silence had gone on long enough, and he needed to do something about it. He was (pretty much) alone with her, and the guys would be up soon. This was his only shot.

"Can we talk about last night?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers.

Almost immediately, Aerith broke his eye contact and started to get up from the table. "No. I'd rather pretend the entire night didn't happen. I'm just trying to make the most of my last night here."

This was it. She was about to walk out of this dinner and out of his life. He had to try, even if it ended up being futile. "Wait," he said, steadying his hand on the table. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he didn't want to scare her off. "Do I get a say in any of this?"

Aerith let out a deep sigh and slumped back into her chair. While Cloud knew a tough conversation was about to take place, he at least was relieved she was still here.

"What's to say?" Aerith asked. "I liked you, and I thought you liked me. I was wrong and made a total fool of myself. Let's move on."

Cloud knew how important his next words were, so he thought them over very carefully. He knew what he wanted to say—what he should say. But actually forming them and letting them out was more of a challenge than he thought it would be. This shouldn't be so hard, but for Cloud, it was. He imagined Biggs and Wedge in the distance, cheering him on. He thought about Chadley from the previous night reminding him how important it was to share his feelings.

He took a deep breath and carefully uttered his next sentence. "I do like you."

He did it. He said the words he'd been meaning to say for so long. They sounded so simple in hindsight, but were so difficult. But would it be enough, was the real question?

A/N: Wow it's been ... a while. I didn't mean to abandon this but real life got really busy. Now the demo for Rebirth just came out and the game will be released this month, so my goal is to have the story finished before the game comes out. I'm certainly gonna try! Thanks for those that are still sticking around.