"I like your hair down like that, Aerith." Tifa's cheerful voice broke the companionable silence that had settled as the group packed up camp. "You never wear it like this usually."

Cloud glanced up as he finished rolling his sleeping mat away and observed the flower girl. Her long hair was loose around her shoulders, the ends curling gently at her elbows. It was strange seeing it out of its customary twist.

Aerith grasped a section of her hair and twirled it around her fingers in an almost absent-minded gesture. "Thank you," she smiled at her friend. "It's a bit of a pain to leave it down like this, but I can't find my ribbons."

Tifa frowned. "What about your mother's materia?"

"Oh I have that." Aerith held up her wrist where the empty orb was slotted into her bangle. "I took my hair down for bed and thought I'd put my ribbons in my pack with the materia, but I must not have." She shrugged and lowered her arm. "I had a spare slot on my bracelet so my useless materia can stay there for now I guess."

"I don't have a spare hair tie to offer you." Tifa lamented. "Yuffie?"

Yuffie yawned and stretched her arms above her head as she approached them. "Don't really have much need for stuff like that. Keep it free and easy, that's what I say." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "You'd have better luck with Vinnie than with me."

The eyes of everyone in camp (because of course they'd been listening) swivelled over to Vincent who was dousing the last embers of the campfire with a layer of dirt.

He paused in his work and his gaze was unimpressed as he stared back at his companions. "I'm afraid not."

"She's got a point." Barret mused. "How do you keep your hair like that, considering all the fighting and travelling we've been doing?"

Vincent turned back to the fire and ground the heel of his boot on a stubborn ember. "Deep conditioning treatment twice a week."

Satisfied that the fire was out, he turned and headed out of the camp, towards the nearby stream.

Barret watched him go and rubbed a hand against his chin. "He's screwing with me. Right?"

Giggling, Aerith shook her head and finished securing the straps on her pack. "Who knows." She looked over at Tifa and smiled. "I'm sure my ribbons will turn up. If not I'll just have to get some replacements at the next town we get to."

"Well, I reckon if we keep a good pace, we could be putting our feet up at a nice, comfortable inn by supper time." Cid picked his own bag up and frowned. "Gotta say, I don't like leaving the Bronco behind like this."

"We'll be back for it." Cloud joined them. "But unless you can add a off-road mode to your plane-boat thing then it's not going to be much use to use at the moment."

"Yeah yeah, I get it oh wise leader." Cid cuffed Cloud on the ear in a teasing manner as he moved past him.

"Let's see if the next town has any leads, and we can stock up while we're there."

Aerith and Tifa nodded at Cloud's words and gathered the last of their things.

Red stretched out as he stood from his spot near the treeline and looked at Cait Sith. "For such bald creatures, humans really do like to fuss over their hair."

The hike towards the nearest village was relatively uneventful. There were pockets of monsters to deal with, as was to be expected, but nothing that caused the group much trouble. The hardest part of the journey was, in fact, the weather. Upon leaving the leafy shelter of the forest they were met with a gloriously sunny day, and wide open plains. The sky was the brightest of blues, not a smudge of white clouds in sight.

"Whew, man it is hot." Yuffie fanned herself dramatically as the group trudged onwards. "This is not good for my complexion."

"Calm down, Squirt." Barret grumbled, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "You're like twelve years old. Don't think the wrinkles will be coming for you just yet."

"Twelve!?"

Cloud sighed at Yuffie's screech and tried to drown the bickering out. He glanced at the others. Tifa was sipping from her canteen, the bridge of her nose looking a little pink, while Cid had shrugged his jacket off and wrapped it around his head as a makeshift hat.

Vincent seemed unbothered by the heat, though Clouds wasn't sure how considering the man was sheathed head to toe in leather. Red and Cait seemingly had no complaints either, strolling along with no sign of discomfort.

Cloud shifted his pack higher on his shoulder, grimacing slightly at the dampness on his shirt where the heavy canvas had been resting. He chanced a glance to his right where Aerith was walking quietly. There was a little less bounce in her step compared to normal and Cloud frowned. Seemed like they could all do with some respite from the sun. He swept his eyes across the barren flats ahead of them, squinting against the sun. Nothing.

A soft groan pulled his attention back to Aerith and he almost forgot to keep walking. The girl had swept the loose curtain of her hair up into her hands, twisting it at the base of her neck and holding the length of it high on her crown. She bent her head forward, apparently searching for a non-existent breeze to cool her heated skin. Cloud found his eyes drawn to the nape of her neck where damp tendrils of hair had curled, sticking to her skin. He watched for a few moments longer, until Aerith tilted her head back and released the grasp on her hair. The heavy locks tumbled down past her neck and shoulders, before bouncing as they came to rest along the length of her back. With the sun beating down on them like this, Cloud could see the golden, honeyed tones scattered through the brown. He swallowed with some difficulty and snapped his eyes back to the front as Aerith began to turn her head in his direction.

"Are you okay, Cloud? You're looking flushed."

He grunted at her question, eyes fixed mulishly ahead. "I'm fine."

So determined was he to avoid looking back at her, he did not notice her course change until she was right next to him, soft hand reaching up and brushing against his forehead. He almost jumped, catching himself at the last second, eyes darting to her.

"Hmm, you're a little warm." She moved her hand away slightly before pressing the back of it against his cheek, testing the temperature there.

Cloud cleared his throat and ducked his head. "Just the sun. I'm fine."

Aerith squinted one eye at him for a moment before clicking her tongue softly. "I guess. It will be nice to get out of the heat."

"I'll say." Barret had caught up with them, his argument with Yuffie abandoned for the time being. "Can't be much longer now, right?" He peered into the far distance and groaned. "Man I can't see anything ."

"Come on." Cloud muttered, picking up his pace once more. "We'll get there when we get there."

'Getting there' took another two hours of trekking. When the group walked into the town they were all a sweating, grumpy mess.

"God damn do I need a shower." Cid grumbled, stomping in the direction of the inn.

The others followed, in silent agreement that the first order of business was to wash the day's grime away. Three rooms were quickly procured and the inn's proprietor pointed out the communal washroom at the end of the corridor.

"I don't care if it's not en-suite." Tifa sighed as she, Aerith and Yuffie headed towards their shared room. "I don't even care if the water is cold."

"I'm going first!" Yuffie half-shouted, grabbing a robe from the back of the bedroom door. "Later."

The two older women watched her go with amused looks.

Aerith opened her pack and pulled out her spare outfit. It was a simple, mint coloured dress, not too dissimilar to the usual pink attire. She'd picked it up before they'd left Kalm, specifically for moments like this. "You go next Tifa. If you leave your dirty clothes here when you're done, I'll go wash them along with mine."

"Thanks Aerith." Tifa smiled.

The men of the group, whether through chivalrous intentions, or just knowing that it wasn't worth arguing about it, waited for the three young women to be finished with their showers before attempting to grab their own.

Aerith was clean and dry, except for her loose, damp hair, when she left Tifa and Yuffie lounging in their robes in the bedroom and headed out with a bundle of dirty laundry under her arm. She forwent her usual jacket, the cotton of her green dress pleasantly breathable in the warm weather.

As she approached the top of the stairs she heard a door open and turned her head. "Hey," she greeted as Cloud emerged from the bathroom. "Any laundry? I'm heading down to do mine and the girls'."

"Ah, no it's fine. I'll sort mine in a while."

"Okay!" Aerith chirped, starting down the stairs and intent on asking the landlord where the laundry facilities were. She glanced up at Cloud through the railing of the stairs and flashed him a bright smile. "See you later."

Cloud watched her go, and he couldn't help but notice how her hair was drying with a distinct wave to it. He stood rooted to the spot until the skirt of her dress swished out of sight as she turned the bottom of the steps. Shaking his head at himself he headed back towards his own room. Maybe he'd gotten a bit too much sun after all.

The group met at the local tavern once showers and power naps had been had. Tifa and Yuffie were wearing clean clothes again, courtesy of Aerith. The flower girl had dropped the laundered items off at the inn before disappearing back into town by herself.

"Where is Aerith anyway?" Yuffie reached for one of the bread rolls at the centre of the table. "I'm starving here!"

"What, you mean the six loaves of bread you've inhaled didn't help?"

"Don't start with me you old geezer." Yuffie pointed a finger in Barret's face.

"C'mon guys." Tifa implored. "Not inside." Rescue came in the form of the missing member of their party bouncing towards their table happily.

"Sorry guys, you didn't have to wait for me."

"Not a problem." Vincent replied. "Yuffie and Barret were just about to provide a show with dinner." He ignored the dark looks that the ninja and resistance leader shot in his direction, happy that they had taken the hint and quieted down.

Cloud meanwhile was looking at Aerith once more. Her hair was tied back in its usual fashion.

"Found a ribbon then?" Tifa passed her friend a menu and Aerith scanned it quickly.

"Yup. Took me a while to find anything. Ended up just buying some dress ribbon from the tailor. He was out of pink though." She turned her head to the side to show Tifa the back of her head, and Cloud spotted two sunny, yellow ribbons securing the top and bottom of her braid.

"Cute choice." Tifa approved.

Yuffie nodded. "Yeah, but you look like off-brand Aerith now."

Cid snorted into his drink at that and the half-Cetra looked mildly insulted.

"Excuse me?" "Well y'know," Yuffie began breezily. "Pink is like your thing. Seeing you without it would be like seeing Vinnie without all the bondage getup, or Cloud without his big butter knife."

Cloud and Vincent eyed her flatly before the latter shook his head and stood from the table. "I'm going to go order."

"I don't believe this." The gang, sat around their campfire for the night, looked up at Aerith's voice. They were a week's journey north of the hellish heat of the open plains and the evenings had a little more bite in the wind.

"What's up, Little Lady?" Cid called.

Aerith walked over to the fire and sat down between the pilot and Tifa, her hair tumbling free once more as she tucked her pink dress underneath herself. "I've lost my ribbons. Again."

Tifa frowned. "Didn't you just have them?"

"Yeah. I took them out to redo my hair and then I got talking to Nanaki for a minute or so. When I turned back they were gone." She shrugged. "Guess they got blown off by the wind."

Tifa patted her arm soothingly. "Next time we're going to get you a bunch of spares."

Aerith smiled back. "I think I need to. That's twice in one week that I've lost them."

"You must be getting forgetful in your old age." Cid teased and Aerith nudged him with her shoulder. Her gaze travelled up to the treeline, hoping to see a flash of yellow tangled in the branches. As her eyes lowered back to the campfire they made contact with a pair of baby blues. Cloud didn't seem to realise he was staring at her, his gaze a little unfocused. She tilted her head slightly and the movement seemed to bring the man back to the moment. He turned his head away quickly, staring in to the darkness. Aerith looked at him for a moment longer but he didn't look her way again. Sighing softly, she tucked her hair behind her ears and allowed Tifa to draw her into conversation.

*

"Ah, civilisation." Barret sighed as the group arrived at the next town on their journey. The streets were wide and welcoming, decorated with planters overflowing with flowers. The place bore more than a passing resemblance to Kalm, albeit much smaller. "If you need me, I'll be in the bar."

"Should we get some rooms?" Tifa asked the group at large as they watched Barret disappear down a side street. A general murmur of agreement sounded in reply and the rest of the team sought out the inn.

The slightly harried man they found manning the guest house handed over three keys and pointed the way upstairs to them. The group split off into their usual groups to claim their rooms for the night.

Cloud left his pack in one of the rooms, leaving the extra bed free for Barret. Cait Sith would likely take up a spot in the corner of the room later but for now their mysterious feline companion was next door and Cloud could hear muffled voices as Cid, Vincent and Red also settled in.

As he left his room, Cloud spied the girls sat in the room opposite, their shoes kicked off as they lounged and chatted happily. He approached the room and knocked on the doorframe lightly.

"I'm heading out to see if there's any jobs to pick up."

"Ah ever the busy mercenary," Aerith's voice was teasing. "Don't forget that you need to get some rest too."

Cloud nodded and turned to leave when Yuffie's voice called out.

"Wait, I'll come too. I wanna see what sort of materia this place has."

"You mean what it has for sale right?" Tifa's tone was chiding.

The young ninja waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "Right. C'mon Cloud Senior, time's a wastin'."

Cloud sent a mildly pleading look at the two women still sat on the beds. Tifa gave him a sympathetic look in return, and Aerith smiled widely, wiggling her fingers in a teasing wave. With no one coming to his aid, Cloud allowed Yuffie to take his arm and drag him out of the room.

Aerith and Tifa giggled quietly once the pair were out of sight.

"Poor Cloud." Tifa stood and stretched. "Do you want to check out the market? I'm going to swing by the weapon shop and see if they've got anything interesting." "Sounds good." Aerith nodded, pushing her feet back into her boots. "I'll get some more hair ties while we're out." She made to follow Tifa before pausing and raising a finger up to her temple suddenly. "Oh, almost forgot. That star pendant with the broken clasp. I wanted to see if the accessory shop could repair it."

"Good idea." Tifa looked over at the room across the landing. "I think Cloud put it in his pack for safe keeping."

"Okey dokey. You go ahead and check out the weapon shop. I'll get the pendant and catch up with you."

Plans made, the two women headed on their separate ways.

Aerith hummed quietly to herself as she opened the door to Cloud and Barret's room. The sun outside was bright and the sounds of the pleasant day were carried through the open windows. She smiled: it was peaceful for a change.

Spying Cloud's bag, half tucked under one of the beds, Aerith headed over to it. Kneeling next to the bed she tugged the pack free and after a few moments of fiddling, she had loosened the straps holding it closed.

"Now let's see." She muttered.

She pushed aside the plethora of small bottles that lay at the top of the bag - potions and ethers that were most often needed. Below that was a thick, woollen blanket useful for nights under the stars, and then spare rolls of bandages.

"Pendant, pendant." Aerith sighed as she searched. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Her hands brushed a stack of dry, crinkly paper and she pulled the sheets out. A quick glance let her know they were various maps and item lists that they had been given during their travels and she smiled. "Such a pack rat, Mister Strife."

Delving back into the black hole that was Cloud's backpack, Aerith fished her hand around the bottom of it blindly. Eventually her fingers grazed against a thin chain of metal.

"Got ya!" She pulled her hand up, lifting the star pendant into the light of the room. She paused however when she noticed the strip of yellow fabric tangled around the necklace. "Huh?" Aerith stared at the hair ribbon in confusion.

Looking back at the pack a thought occurred to her, and she put the tangled necklace and ribbon down next to her before digging her hands back into the contents of the bag. It took her a minute of groping around but eventually she had her prizes in hand - another yellow ribbon and two pink ones.

Aerith stared at the small pile of fabric, feeling rather nonplussed.

"Aerith?"

The girl looked over her shoulder at Cloud's voice, finding the man stood in the doorway of the room.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh." Aerith felt the teasing smile creep over her lips. "I was trying to find the broken pendant. Found these too."

She held up the pink and yellow ribbons and watched as Cloud's eyes widened.

"So I suppose the question is, what are you doing, Cloud?"

Aerith watched as his tongue darted out to wet his lips before he cleared his throat.

"Nothing to say." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Found them and put them in my bag for safe keeping."

Aerith stood and moved over to him, his form still framed in the doorway. "Oh really? Both sets? Why didn't you give them back?"

"I forgot."

"You forgot?" Aerith peered at him, noting with some delight the pink flush spreading high on his cheekbones. "That's not like you."

Cloud seemed to have trouble meeting her eyes. "Guess I've just been busy."

"Come on Cloud, you wouldn't be lying to me now, would you?"

The man seemed to struggle with finding any reply to that for a moment before sighing and turning on his heel to leave.

"Wait!" Aerith grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him back, stepping further into the bedroom. "I'm sorry for teasing. Look at me Cloud. Please?"

Mako-blue eyes reluctantly met grass-green.

"Thank you." Aerith smiled, still holding on to his arm. "So, is there a particular reason that my hair ribbons were in your bag?"

"Aerith I-" Cloud cut himself off, blush deepening. "I'm sorry I took them."

"It's okay, i'm just confused." Aerith almost felt bad watching the man in front of her squirm. Almost.

Cloud sighed again and his eyes were pleading, silently asking her to let it go. Aerith just grinned widely at him.

"I like your hair down, okay?"

Of all the things he might have said, Aerith wasn't expecting that. "My hair?"

"Yes." Cloud rubbed his free hand over his face. "I enjoy seeing you with your hair down. I think it looks nice."

"Oh." Aerith bit her lip to avoid the squeal that threatened to slip out. "You stole my ribbons, twice in fact, so you could see it down?"

"Just forget it." Cloud groaned, attempting to pull his arm away from her.

"No, don't run away. It's just, if you wanted to see my hair down you could have just asked."

Cloud eyed her dubiously. "Just ask?"

"Yes, silly." Her grin was mischievous. "If you ask really nicely, I'll even let you play with it."

Cloud let out a huff of amusement, though the tips of his ears were stained red. He lifted a tentative hand and brushed a soft curl away from Aerith's face.

The girl could feel her own face warming up, the air between them suddenly crackling with energy. Whatever advantage she'd gained while teasing Cloud was lost as strong fingers laced into the lengths of her hair.

Leaning forward, Aerith allowed her lips to brush against Cloud's and their blushes deepened in tandem. "You're adorable. Hiding my ribbons like that."

Cloud's smile was small but pleased. "Do me a favour." He murmured, fingers combing gently through her tresses. "Don't mention that part to the others?"

"Too late."

Aerith and Cloud snapped their attention to the entrance of the room, spying a grinning Cid leaning against the doorframe.

"Might want to close the door in future, Lover Boy."

If you frequent AO3 then you may have seen this story. I've been posting my FFVII fics there for a little while but I very recently managed to get logged back in to this account again after over 10 years!

So I've done a name change to match my AO3 profile, and I'm going to post my stories here too.