"Cloud was your first kiss?!"
"The one last week? You were a lip virgin for twenty years?"
"It happened when we were kids." Tifa defended herself. She shyly looked at her hands, in order to avoid everyone's incredulous looks. What a contrast to see such a bombshell act so nervous. It was too cute! "We were neighbors and our moms were friends, so the two of us hung out a lot. And you know, one day we were playing house, pretending to be husband and wife….and we did things married couples do. I doubt he even remembers any of it." She finished quickly, rubbing one of her cheeks in embarrassment.
How adorable!
"So you had that boy wrapped around your finger even as kids!" Jessie cackled, waving her cup in glee, sloshing a bit of alcohol to the floor. "Those kisses probably got Cloud through puberty. No wonder he always follows you around like a lost puppy. I bet he was hoping you'd lay one on him if he was patient enough. Maybe let him resume his…. husbandly duties." She purred and gave Tifa a saucy look. "Well, mission accomplished I'd say. And then some."
Tifa gave a nervous chuckle at that, shooting a look Aerith's way.
"And so much better than the story about my first kiss!" Jessie bemoaned exaggeratingly, leaning back with eyes closed as if she couldn't handle the shame. "My own childhood romance, a mystery. The lips of the man who did the deed, forever lost to the ages!"
"You only say that, cause you still don't know if you kissed Biggs or Wedge first." Tifa teased at the redhead's display, happy to be off the topic of her and Cloud. "That's what happens when teenagers drink too much alcohol and get frisky. Didn't help when you drunkenly forced both of them to wear your lipstick! What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking, they'd look pretty in baby red. Didn't know we'd all be covered in the stuff by morning." Jessie grumbled good naturedly. "My only consolation from that debacle is that they don't know who they're first kiss is either. Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I like to cheer myself up with the thought of those two making out over my passed out form. It always does the trick!"
"You're terrible." Tifa playfully scolded, as laughter filled the room. "But I guess by your standard, I did have a fairytale first. Blessed to have my princess romance at four years old."
"It is romantic!" Aerith gushed, giggled along at their antics. This was too fun! She never had a girls night before, and it was living up to all her fantasies. The flower girl liked having friends. Jessie was such a firecracker, Tifa so loving and sweet. Even Kyrie was showing a surprisingly agreeable side to her that she never saw before. Almost made her feel bad that the tomboy was in the restroom emptying her stomach. Almost. "Destined lovers, who will always be reunited. Just like the main characters in the Loveless play. Connected since childhood. And you didn't tell me you guys haven't seen each other in seven years! The heck was he doing the whole time? Bumming around your village?"
"He left the village before I did, to become a Soldier." Tifa explained easily enough, although there was a note of bitterness hidden behind the word. Yikes! There was some unresolved baggage there. The mage watched as the barmaid shook her head, recovering herself. "But he's here now, and that's what matters." She said brightly. "But enough about me, your turn. Who was your first kiss?"
"It was that old boyfriend I told you about." Aerith said, feeling a little weird about her own past relations. Especially since it didn't end on a high note. But as usual, she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't his fault. Like the planet was telling her he had good reason to ditch her. "His name was Zack, and funny enough he was a Soldier too. First-Class he claimed."
"Huh, small world. Didn't Cloud say he was a First-Class too?" Jessie asked, directing the last question to Tifa, who nodded. "Maybe they know each other."
"Maybe." The barmaid said, looking thoughtful.
"If he does, I don't want to hear it." Aerith said stubbornly, squashing the voice of the planet in her head. She didn't need Gaia meddling with her thoughts, telling her things she can't prove or knowledge she can't explain. Bugging her that she was misunderstanding the situation with Zack. The healer was finally being a normal girl for once, no need to freak out her new friends on the first outing. "He had a bit of a reputation as a ladies man back in the day, so I don't need three guesses to know what he's been up to. Really don't need to know about the girl who he might have left me for. Or the girl he might have left her for."
"Loud and clear. He's an emotional landmine to be avoided." Jessie said, nodding sagely. She spread her arms, as if to an assembly. "It's how it is with these players. They'll promise you the world one day, and break your heart the next. Absolutely despicable."
"Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?" Tifa laughed, nudging the redhead playfully. "About half of my clientele are the people you pumped and dumped. All of them drowning their sorrows and trying to forget the notorious Jessie Rasberry. I remember that one girl who tried to kidnap you because you broke up with her through a letter!"
"And you came to my rescue, fists a-blazing!" Jessie said dramatically, swooning into Tifa's open arms. "Even broke one of her friend's nose for me. You could have dragged me up to your room that very night and I would've rocked your world!"
"Like I can't already do that." Tifa snorted, giving the redhead a mock suggestive squeeze on a knee, causing them both to giggle. It got them play-fighting, grabbing at each other's body parts. Some places bordering on inappropriate. At least till Jessie went straight for the brunette's breasts, giving them a honk. The fighter didn't at all seem to mind, even laughing a little, looking like she was going to retaliate the same way.
Before she noted Aerith watching them with wide eyes.
The barmaid quickly untangled them, her face flustered and embarrassed, busying herself by pouring another drink. Jessie just looked amused by the sudden scrambling, shooting Aerith a wink behind Tifa's back.
Whoa, they were really close.
"What did I miss?" Kyrie's weak voice called out, as she slowly crawled back towards them from the bathroom. "I heard about maybe two-thirds of all that over the vomit. Something about a kidnapping?"
She unsteadily settled back into her spot next to Aerith and reached over for a plate of leftovers. She stared blankly at the meal, as if deciding if it was worth it to even eat. That stuff had to be below room temperature by now, but considering she had been getting acquainted with the toilet for the last ten minutes, a little nutrient was needed. Still, no need to make the younger girl suffer and munch on cold noodles. The mage sent a small spark of fire magic to warm up the dish.
Blinking her tired eyes at the suddenly hot food, Kyrie looked up at Aerith for a moment, before clumsily leaning in and giving her a wet kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
"We were still talking about first kisses, and were on Aerith's old boyfriend." Jessie supplied, eyeing them with interest. Aerith was frozen, still shocked by the sudden display of affection from the other girl. Sure she was drunk, they all were a little, but that was unexpected. In the background, the mage barely registered Tifa saying she was going to grab another few bottles from her apartment. "I know he's a knotted ball of unresolved emotions, but how did you meet the jerkface, anyway?"
"I… met him at the church where I grow my flowers." Aerith said,her words stumbling a little. Mind trying to catch up to her mouth, as she stared at her fellow Sector Fiver. She had been kissed by Kyrie Canaan! On the cheek but still. While the two weren't enemies, they weren't exactly friends. And definitely not in the ballpark of casual physical affection, not like Tifa and Jessie. As kids, they barely even said a dozen words to each other. Tonight being the most they've spoken in fifthteen years. She forced her eyes to look away from the girl eating. "Believe it or not, he crashed through the roof when I was gardening. Said he fell from the top plate during a fight. Not sure how much of that I believe though."
"I could believe it. The falling part at least." Jessie mused thoughtfully, taping her lips with a finger. "I've seen Cloud do crazy, superhuman stuff on the regular. On one job, he took a shot to the shoulder. The bullet fell out a minute later. Two minutes later, the wound was gone and you couldn't even tell he took a slug." She recounted, shaking her head. "Even if Tifa's boy fell from the upper sectors, I'd give him pretty good odds on surviving the landing."
"Man, Soldiers are crazy." Kyrie mumbled around her mouthful. Looking over at Aerith as she chewed, she asked. "Your Ex was the one with spiky black hair right?"
"Yeah." She said, blinking at the sudden question. "How'd you know?"
"Met him once, when he was in the Fives." Kyrie continued, unaware of the uneasy feeling forming in Aerith's stomach. A sharp cough from Jessie, which must have alerted the tomboy to her distress, because she started shaking her head frantically at the mage. "N-not like that! He was just looking for directions. Asked me where all the monsters were, cause he was going to clear them out. Something about living up to the ideal of a Hero or something stupid. And where "Aerith's church" was, cause he was lost. Honestly, a colossal dork, totally not my type at all!"
It warmed Aerith's heart that she was trying so hard to reassure her. It even tickled her a little at the thought of they're interaction, because that was exactly something Zack would say.
"It's okay Kyrie, I believe you." Aerith said with a smile,. She hesitated a little, before reaching under the table to give the younger girl's hand a squeeze in appreciation. She was afraid the other girl would pull away, but after a beat and a swallow, the former delinquent returned the affection. "And that does sound just like him! Always talking about being a great Hero and helping the people. Especially the getting lost part." She giggled again, before whispering to herself. "An absolute dork."
A companionable silence fell over them, only broken at Tifa's return, a few bottles in hand. "I'm back! What did I miss?"
"Just some stuff about Aerith's boyfriend. We're in agreement that he's a dork." Jessie said casually, taking the drinks as the fighter retook her spot. "But you're just in time for the burning question that I'm sure has been on everyone's mind!" Pointing a finger at the youngest of their group, the mechanic raised her voice like an announcer, using a bottle in her other hand to mimic a microphone. "Kyrie Canaan! Who! Was! Your! First! Kiss!?"
All of them looked expectantly at the tomboy, anticipation thrumming in the apartment.
"I've…. actually haven't kissed anyone before." Kyrie finished, eyes shifting nervously. Body hunched over her food. Looking a bit like a caught wild animal. "It just never really happened, you know?"
"Oh." Jessie said a little lamely, finger dropping back down to her side. She put the microphone bottle back down on the coffee table, and straightened in her seat on the floor. For the first time since Aerith met her today, at a loss for words. It didn't last. "Uh, that's cool. Say, you didn't hear me call Tifa a lip virgin earlier did you? Cause that wasn't me dissing on people who never kissed! It is a perfectly reasonable life choice, and I respect it. It takes a lot of willpower."
Kyrie was practically red from head to toe.
"Jessie, stop." Tifa admonished her, trying to end the foot-in-mouth demonstration before more damage could be done. Turning back to Kyrie, the barmaid tried to reassure her. "Don't let her get in your head. There's nothing wrong with saving your first kiss. Especially if it's for someone special. In my village, most people waited a while to kiss for the first time. Usually until after they get married."
"Didn't people in Nibelheim, like on average, get married at fifteen?" The inventor interjected.
"Jessie!"
As the two women across from her argued, Aerith turned to look at Kyrie.
"It is fine if you haven't done it." Aerith assured her, giving her hand another squeeze in comfort. Had they been holding hands the whole time? "But out of curiosity, what about all those boys you used to hang out with when we were kids? You were never tempted?"
"Not with them." Kyrie explained, seemingly relieved that she got a chance to defend herself. "Fabio, Thropp and the others were like brothers to me. Sure, when we hit puberty they definitely tried making attempts at wooing me. Not that I blame them, I mean look at me! It's like dangling candy. But it's hard for me to separate the man from the booger eating boy there used to be. Which is why I don't really get the whole "childhood romance" thing Tifa's got going on." She said, gesturing towards the barmaid. The other girls had quieted, listening in on the words as well. "Others have made passes, but none that caught my interest. I guess in general, slum boys don't really do it for me."
"How about slum girls?" Jessie asked intently, glint in her eye as her chin rested on a fist. "Cause if you play for the home team or just curious, I can introduce you to a beautiful community of like minded individuals. I know all the good spots to hook up."
"Of which, people or place, will not let you get within a hundred feet of." Tifa dropped, shaking her head at her friend. "You are the pariah of almost every woman in Sector 7. And the last person to help guide a young girl through her sexuality." She ignored Jessie's mock offended look, addressing Kyrie. "Sorry for the interruption. What is your type?"
Kyrie pondered for a moment at the question.
"Handsome is a no brainer." The delinquent pondered. "And definitely someone who takes a shower more than once a week. Unfortunately most boys in Midgar seem allergic to clean water." She griped, phantoming waving an odor away from her face.
"Oh, I agree." Aerith put in wholeheartedly. It was an epidemic in Sector 5. Sure, how clean water could be was a risk in the slums, but you only needed a handful to scrub yourself down. "Remember Mr. Johnson from the red container units? He worked as a stablehand for Chocobo Sam, cleaning up after the birds. And he stunk to high heaven! Never seemed to think shoveling manure was enough of a reason to take a bath."
"Oh I remember Old man Stinky." Kyrie grinned deviously, laughing in delight at the figure of their childhood. "He would tell everyone to mind their own business and what he did with his body was his concern. Even told my grandma to mind her own beeswax1 But you can't argue that, when you live in a complex with a hundred other people. The whole building was toxic because of him!"
"I still can't believe that the older teeangers would throw water balloons full of soap at the guy. I thought they were going to get into so much trouble for messing with him!"
"Then we found out that it was the adults who put them up to it, because they couldn't stand the smell either!"
"Or that the other adults would join in when he doubled down!"
The two of them went into a fit of laughter at the crazy man, who till this day, still refused to shower. Aerith stomach had almost cramped from laughing so much. It took a few minutes for the hysteria to die down.
Taking a moment to think, the tomboy continued.
"And I know it's not cool to wish for, but a guy with money would be nice." Kyrie said, grinning nervously. Almost like she was expecting them to blow up at her for her blunt admission. "You know, like living in a big clean house. New clothes when you want them. Not having to count every cent before you buy something to eat. Comfort and security, I guess."
"Hey, no need to explain. I can't imagine there's anyone who doesn't want a few extra gil in their pockets." Jessie said, waving the concern away. "Pretty sure my mom only gave my dad the time of the day, once he got a job on the plate. I don't doubt she loves him now, of course. But it certainly went a long way in catching her eye. It's not the end all, be all but personally, I wouldn't say no to a partner that brought in the bacon."
Aerith would too. Selling flowers didn't exactly give her a heavy wallet.
"Money's nice but I'd rather have personality." Tifa stated, promptly. "If you want to build a life with this guy, compatibility is key, in my opinion."
"Is this your way of telling us you're gonna break up with Cloud?" Jessie jested, giving Tifa a poke in the abs. "Cause as much as I love our merc, a conversationalist he is not."
"I consider that a plus." The barmaid said stubbornly. "He doesn't waste time with useless chatter. Unlike some people I know." No mystery who she was referring to here. "It just means that every thing he does say, has more meaning. And if that isn't enough, he'll speak louder with his actions than his words. You don't need him to tell you he'll be there for you, because he'll show it."
"Ooph, be still my heart."The mechanic said, holding a hand over her left breast, as if to hold back said organ. Turning a saucy grin Tifa's ways, she continued. "I guess I'll give you that, he is very physical. Now that I think about it, it might just be my favorite way of communicating too."
"So you want someone clean, handsome, and maybe not rich but at least well off." Aerith summarized. Cutting through the innuendos and getting the conversation back on track. "I could think of a few guys that might match that description. But none of them are appropriate for you though. Unless you don't mind breaking up a few marriages or dating someone in their eighties. Do you have anybody in mind? Someone you know that might hit all three?"
"No one off the top of my head." Kyrie said with a shrug on one shoulder, looking casually to the side.
"I'm not surprised." Jessie said, stretching her arms about her head and letting her back crack, They had been sitting on the floor for a while. Aerith's own tailbone was starting to feel a little numb. "Trying to find Mr. Right, is like meeting a monster that doesn't want to eat you. There out there, but that's a one in a million encounter. You just have to be lucky. Even then you gotta lock them down somehow." She looked over at Tifa. "Or give them a kiss at four years old."
A light hearty chuckle ran through the room.
But in the corner of Aerith's eye, she caught Kyrie looking contemplative. A mix of emotions seemed to be playing over the younger girl's features. Determined, sad, and weirdly even a little guilty.
000
Up on the plate of Sector 0, deep in the labs of Professor Hojo, was a scene not for the faint of heart. A grisly murder was taking place, blood and gore flying everywhere. It was the stuff of nightmares, horrors used to scare small children on the path of the straight and narrow. Had there been anyone present they would have long fled the room, leaving only the attacker and the victim.
The Director of Research and Development was getting his throat torn out.
It had taken but a single moment of vulnerability on the scientist's part. A simple fumble, as he maneuvered the unique animal in its restraints into the right spot to begin the testing. As Hojo had done a thousand times before, with his other sick experiments.
A finger clicking on the wrong clasp. A beam of light from the ceiling hitting his glasses at an angle. The slightest loosening of the red lion's bindings, for it to all go wrong for the man. And everything to go right for the beast. A single perfect opening for a lunge.
And the warrior took it.
Taking one final hard bit and a sickening crunch, Nanaki lifted his head up from the bloody job. He wanted to gag, even the horrible human's blood tastes vile. Like the man had been more of a mutated monster than a native creature of the planet. Swinging his one eye around and the guardian saw that he was alone in the room with the corpse. No one had accidently stumbled upon the necessary deed. He felt his insides relax, letting out one long relieved sigh.
Nanaki was free. Or close to it.
The red lion didn't need to kill any more people. Not that he would've felt bad about it, these crazy people kidnapped him from his home and were experimenting on his person! It's just… he wasn't one to just kill with abandon. It never made him feel good. The red lion rarely brought his might to bear on non-monsters. Only those that deserved it or attacked him first.
Looking down at Hojo's cooling body, this madman certainly deserved it.
Grabbing the scientist access card with his teeth, off the lapel of the white lab coat, Nanaki made his way over to the machine that was going to be used to torture him this session. Slashing it to pieces with his claws, the cat ransacked it for its materia, equipping it on himself.
Nanaki slunk his way to the doors, taking one last look around the room for anything useful for his escape. He didn't want to stay in this godforsaken building or city a moment longer! Eyeing Hojo's remains, the red lion shot a Firaga at it, watching as it caught and crumbled into ashes.
Very petty and disrespectful of the cat in hindsight, but he was working through a lot of stress right now! His grandpa would understand. Hopefully.
With one last flicker of his flamed tail, Nanaki snuck away.
000
The White Rose of Wutai rubbed her dry eyes.
'I can't believe I'm watching this!' Yuffie thought, shock still making her mind fuzzy.
When she had first arrived in the city, she instantly regretted not researching further into the recent events of the Avalanche cells. Nayo revealed to them, during a tour of the slums, that there was a recent splitting of personnel due to a dispute on how they wanted to handle Shinra. The fact that the spy and central Command was apparently taking a more pacifistic stance made Yuffie want to tear her hair out. Why the heck were they terrorists then!? And it was the other faction who blew up the reactor! They were the ones that the interim Wutai government heard about, and would have been perfect people for the ninja to align herself with. Together they could cause some real damage to the heartless company.
Her and Sonon were going to break the news to Nayo and her people, letting them know that they decided on a different way. At least they would, after they got their fake IDs from the Zhijie. No point in burning bridges before they got the goods, after all. But before they could meet the seller, a group of "talent scouts" accosted them, forcing a fight. The ninjas handled the low level thugs easily enough but half of the gangsters chased the non-combatants. That group splitting in two in order to up their chances of escape.
Sonon went after the boys and Yuffie went after Nayo. They were still comrades, at least for now. A mistake in hindsight, as all the thugs went after the glasses girl.
The White Rose caught up to the chase at Wall Market, ready to jump into the fray and end these losers. At least she was, until a Soldier stepped in and whisked the spy away. And not just any Soldier, but Barrett Wallace's pet Soldier. Cloud Strife. A truly mysterious person. Not a single record of him during the war, or after. It's like the man suddenly popped out of thin air three months ago. Yuffie's curiosity got the better of her, and she followed the chase from the rooftops, Making sure to stay out of sight and keep her distance. By the time the former Avalanche comrades got cornered, the princess was about ready to write the whole eco-terrorist organization off. Seriously, why didn't he just beat up these idiots? She would've.
Then Cloud started killing them. Now he was speaking her language.
It was an impressive sight, the blonde seemed stronger and faster than any Soldier she's ever encountered. He was dodging bullets point-blank and deflecting the rest! And considering Yuffie spent childhood during the Shinra occupational war, she's seen a lot of the elite warriors in action. Up close and personal. Although there were accounts that the First-Class ones were capable of similar feats. Each story, more ridiculous and scarier than the last. Whispers of Sephiroth and the fear he inspired on the battlefield, with his inhuman feats, still scared the warriors of old Wutai. And if this carnage was what haunted their nightmares, then she could see why they were concerned.
That being said, Yuffie could take him. She was the best ninja in the world after all. A few extra materia in her pockets, and she'd have the blonde begging for mercy.
And the battle was over the moment she finished that thought. Cloud left one of them alive. Said something to the quivering thug before kicking him and carrying Nayo to the gate. The ninja watched them as they made it all the way to sector 7 and the famous Seventh Heaven bar. The splinter cell's base of operations. Now Yuffie had a dilemma.
Did she go in and introduce herself? Demand that they work together to kick Shinra's shit in? Maybe sweet talk them with all the support that Wutai's interim government could provide them? She definitely wanted to, but the princess had already been burned once by not doing her research properly. She'd observe them for a little while longer and discuss any actions with Sonon first. She was the boss of the duo, but a good leader listened to her subordinate's opinions.
Even if they might be stupid.
Plus, on the off chance they told Yuffie no, she'd need a new strategy. Backing from her country was as good of a bribe as they could hope for. But if that didn't sway them, then perhaps blackmail? She knew almost nothing about them besides a few scant details. Which meant that if she wanted to uncover anything embarrassing or incriminating about them, she might have to follow them for a few days if not the week. That would suck. But she wanted something in her back pocket just in case. The ninja needed something good to force their hand if they were stubborn. Or if their agenda didn't work with her own. She just hoped she wasn't wasting her time and they turned out to be a bunch of pansies like their HQ.
But they're sure we're a lot of them. At least five she counted the bar alone, when the door swung open.
Maybe she should just focus on Cloud? Dig up dirt about just him? Trying to get something on everyone of the members in the cells could take weeks. Yuffie liked that he was ready to take extreme actions if needed. The corpses in sector 6 were proof of that. He was someone she wanted on her side. The man was probably their main muscle anyway, if she had him on a leash, the rest would respect his support.
So, plan in mind Yuffie settled back to observe, but only from afar. She wasn't expecting to do any espionage on her first day in the city, so she wasn't equipped to do more than look at a distance. Not if she didn't want to get caught at least. Didn't want to risk that Soldier clocking her because he heard her heartbeat or something else ridiculous. She only had a few tools on her that would have been useful. A whole lot of nothing happened before the pair emerged from the bar. Cloud carrying Nayo in his arms. Huh, she must have been more injured than the ninja had originally assumed.
The sun was setting, so Yuffie sent a quick message to Sonon on her PHS to let him know where she was. That she was going to try and dig up some blackmail on the splitter cell, as a just in case. To keep Billy-Bob, Polk and Headquarters distracted while she accomplished the impromptu mission. Getting a confirmation and a good-luck in response, she refocused her attention on the unsuspecting pair.
She kept at them, until they met up with another pair of girls. A redhead whose name she thinks was Jessie, another Avalanche comrade. And another Wutain girl. Wait a minute! That was the same girl who made fun of Yuffie's moogle disguise earlier today! What the hell was she doing here? Was she a terrorist too?
The odd quartet talked for a bit before walking towards the train tracks. They entered a restaurant that had the most delicious smell coming from it. Oh great, they were having dinner. And her, forced to inhale that aroma with only a belly full of only Cacao beans. Maybe she had time to run to a food cart and grab a bite to eat? It was a risk, but her grumbling stomach told her it was one worth taking.
Settling back on her rooftop, Yuffie snacked on her meat buns as she waited for them to reemerge. A couple of hours would pass before the four of them would reappear. They split off into their original pairs. She slunk after her original targets, wondering at what an odd pair they were. The rescue earlier was a good reason for them to be together, but why was he still carrying her around? Was it the leg? Wouldn't it be better to call one of her friends to help? You would think the girl would have called Polk or Billy-Bob to come pick her up instead.
But then she saw the two of them entering an apartment complex. Thankfully the building had plenty of windows and window ledges for her to get closer. One of them even looked into Nayo's bedroom! Which ws fortuitous because that was where she saw the odd pair enter. Was they having a secret meeting or something? Maybe she was a spy for the splitter cell, or Cloud for HQ? Yuffie grinned a little. Maybe they were a couple? And now they were about to get down and dirty?
She had to get closer. It'd increase her chances of getting caught, but she couldn't help herself! This was the most exciting mission the ninja has had in a while. So she silently jumped onto the ledge and peeked through the window.
That earlier joke of her's turned out to be a lot more accurate than she thought.
They got undressed.
Took turns showering.
Then started fucking.
Her mind short circuited.
Yuffie couldn't tear her gaze away at the obscene actions in front of her! And Cloud was not very nice to Nayo. She saw every kiss, very thrust, every spank. Heard every moan and scream that pierced her poor innocent ears. The bigger man was tossing the poor woman all over her bed, in reckless disregard to her safety. Other times pushing his whole body on the agents, like he was trying to crush her! The ninja almost stepped in when she saw him slam her against a wall. Hard. At least she was, until the princess saw the ridiculously huge smile on the operative's face. That was the look of a woman in absolute ecstasy.
Yuffie watched the whole thing play out. It took hours. And they were still going!
A whole night of watching her Avalanche contact getting her back blown out was not how the princess thought she would be spending her first day in Midgar. And she didn't learn anything from watching this tryst. Yuffie didn't gain any new info about Cloud, other than he was an unforgiving monster in bed. But no blackmail from that knowledge. That meant she was still at square one. The White Rose might need to follow him for a few more days, or until she gets some real dirt on him at least.
As Yuffie watched the blonde's ass tensing for another round. At the sight of Cloud's long cock disappearing into Nayo, the ninja thought she might need to extend this recon to a week. Just to make sure she didn't miss anything.
000
Cloud finished putting on the last of his armor and strapped his sword onto his holster. He searched around the chair he left his stuff on for any other miscellaneous items of his. Patting himself down to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, he turned back to the other occupant in the room.
"You sure you don't want some breakfast or something?" Cloud asked Nayo, trying to keep eye contact and not let his gaze roam. The girl was splayed out on her bed, not a stitch of clothing from head to foot. After last night. It'd make sense she was still naked. Well it would, if not for the fact that they had changed the linen and had taken a shower. Together, of course, for a little morning sex. But she was clean now. The spy should really put something on or she'd catch a cold.
(Boy do I want you to jump back in there.)
"I'm sure." Nayo confirmed with a lazy smile on her face, as she stretched out a bit to settle on her mattress. "Us humans need some real sleep after a night like that." She added with a grin. "Might just take a lazy day and get back to work tomorrow. I'll swing by the bar in the afternoon and ask Tifa for a membership into the Cloud club."
"You like it that much huh?" The merc asked rhetorically, enjoying the praises. Growing up Cloud never really had much in the way of positive reinforcement. Well, except for his ma. But does it really count if it came from your mother? He discovered this part of himself not too long ago, when Tifa said some words of affirmation to him. The blonde doesn't even remember what he was doing to earn it, just that she told him he did a good job. It had made his heart soar.
Unfortunately, he sometimes found himself fishing for compliments.
"S-tier. I'd give you a golden star if I had any stickers on me." Nayo jokes, but he took the words at face value. Although he didn't know what S-tier meant. Did they develop a new letter grade in school that he wasn't aware of? It sounded good, so he'll take it. "Now give me a kiss and scam. I plan to sleep for the next twelve hours, at least."
Cloud obliged her.
He stepped out of her apartment a few moments later, listening to the auto locking of her door as he took a deep breath of morning air. He kept replaying the last 12 hours in his mind as he walked down the stairs. What a fun night. The Soldier couldn't wait to tell Tifa all about it! He wondered how much detail she might want to hear. Storytelling was not a strong suit for him. Recounting his sexual encounters would be hard even if he was. He never had to do it before. Usually he'd be fucking Jessie right in front of his childhood friend.
Oh, well. He'll figure it out. Stopping at the bottom flight, he stretched a little.
Enjoying the lights from the plate above, Cloud thought about his next problem. Does he go to the bar or to his apartment?
He wanted to go home and see his girls, but it was awfully early in the morning. Too early for most decent people to be awake and about. Plus, he remembered Jessie saying something about having a drinking party to welcome Kyrie. Welcome for what, he hadn't the slightest idea. But if Tifa joined in, those two would be competing to see who could drink more. Which meant those two were probably dead to the world. And would not appreciate him stomping into the room and waking them from their hibernation.
Maybe the bar?
It should be open right now for the morning rush. It was a Tuesday morning so one of Tifa's part timers would be holding it down. But without Tifa there to cook, he questioned if it was worth it. While Cloud was hungry, he didn't want to roll the dice on who was manning the kitchen. Last time Katie was there she nearly served him an omelet full of egg shells. And no yolk.
(And she burnt it.)
Not redhead Katie, who tried pimping him out to her friends. Neighborhood Watch Katie, who keeps tallies of the monsters killed in sector 7. The superior Katie in Cloud's opinion. Although, whatever happened to the bold redhead? Did she ever find a replacement entertainer for her friend's birthday party? Hopefully, she wasn't too embarrassed at his rejection. He didn't think he was too harsh when he told her no.
"Morning Cloud."
The merc's body reacted on instinct, ducking and rolling to the side. He finished the movement at a half crouch, sword raised and at the ready. His heart had nearly punched his way out of his chest. And it was still beating a thousand miles a minute. His eyes frantically searched around for the person who got the drop on him.
Everything was clear, the streets were empty. No danger in sight. No one came to assault him. The coast was clear. Except for the blonde girl with big blue eyes, sitting on the bench with a startled expression, her book and mug forgotten next to her. She wore big cargo pants stuffed into even bigger steel boots. There were some tan shadows on her bare hands that told Cloud she typically wore gloves. A dark red undershirt, with a metal chest plate over it. Very similar to Jessie. Well without the added emphasis on her womanly attributes. Very practical.. And where the redhead wore a headband, this girl had goggles. Those actually looked kind of cool.
The Soldier had to blink a few times, because he's seen her somewhere before.
"Nellie?" Cloud ventured, vaguely remembering her as Avalanches' quartermaster. He got a stiff nod in confirmation. His mind quickly tried to supply him with what every scrapes on knowledge he knew about the quiet terrorist.
She was technically a loyalist to Headquarters but also assisting Barrett's faction from behind the scenes. Any and all supplies such as weapons and gil went through her hands first, before being disseminated to the other members. More importantly, she was the decider of who got what, in terms of equipment for the sector 7 branch. A surprisingly difficult job for someone so shy but she managed. Even harder, since she was helping both sides of the rift. This was the person who had been supplying most of the materials their cell used for missions. The one exception being those modified blasting caps Jessie needed her father's access card to get.
Seeing the nervous look in her eyes, Cloud belatedly realized he was still crouched with his sword poised for violence. He quickly stood up and placed the blade back on its magnet. Brushing some dirt off his pants, the merc cautiously approached the other blonde. Slowly, with hands raised.
"Sorry, you caught me off guard." He said apologetically, hoping not to make things worse. Personalitywise she was like Tifa, if the fighter had her confidence shattered to a millions pieces. Quiet, unassuming, and so painfully shy. It reminded Cloud too much of himself when he was young. Ironic since the two blondes were the same age. Judging from how she sat on the edge of her seat, legs ready to bolt, his attempt at gentleness was a failure.
For some reason his big brother instinct kicked in around the smaller blonde. Her presence was so tiny, he kept getting these knee jerk reactions to be protective. Maybe it was because of how similar they looked? Jessie joked that sometimes people would assume she and Nellie were sisters, But Cloud only saw the resemblance in body type. Going by the face, the merc always thought the two blondes looked like twins separated at birth. And not just because they had fair hair and blue eyes. Even the angulature of the face and bone structure was alike. Honestly, he thought she was kind of the spitting image of Claudia Strife as a young woman.
(Holy shit, your mom was a babe.)
It creeped him out a bit.
Also made his heart ache something fierce.
And ironically, their shared introvertness made him want to talk to her.
"It's okay." Nellie said, making a visible effort to calm herself down. As if fighting an internal battle with herself, she gave a slight nod and settled back on her bench. She stretched out a hesitant hand to pat the spot next to her. He took the cue and sat down. "It's pretty early. You don't really expect to meet anyone up and about at this hour. I'm surprised you're even awake."
"Well, I'm made of stronger stuff." Cloud said, a bit of mock-arrogance bleeding through."All those monsters won't kill themselves, if I'm snoozing the day away."
She hummed in response, marking her place in the book before setting it down.
Yikes! That was usually a conversation starter. Usually they could complain about the endless monsters in the slums. Cloud could ask the other person what they did for work or they'd ask him what it's like to be a mercenary. But they more or less already knew all that stuff about each other. They were basically strangers but not quite. A lot of polite small talk kind of went out the window for them.
"What are you doing so early?" He asked, trying to keep it going.
"I couldn't sleep. Figured I'd get an early start to my day." The quartermaster said, taking another sip of her coffee.
He sat there, not sure how to continue with that. Does he ask her what she had planned for the day? What has she already done? He didn't want to be prying. It was kind of a personal question, and they honestly didn't know each other that well.
There was silence.
And it stretched on far longer than should have been polite. He should say something. Anything. But Cloud has never actually exchanged more than a few words to their supplier before. Outside of a few grunts and nods of greetings, their overall contact had been minimum. This impromptu meeting was the longest one on one they've ever had. Was this what it was like to speak to him? It was like a mirror match in awkwardness. Two antisocial people, feeding into each other's anxiety. The weirdo energy they were both supplying was off the charts. If there was a machine to quantify such a thing, no doubt it would have shattered its theoretical limiter minutes ago.
Tifa was a saint for putting up with him for as long as she had.
"Do you live here?" Cloud ventured.
"Yep, right there." Nellie said, pointing at a bottom flight apartment. The one right beneath Nayo's. Huh, what a coincidence. Then he realized she may have seen him leaving the spy's apartment. In the early morning. With a goddamn skip in his step and a smile on his face..
The mer glanced over at the blonde to gauge her reaction but she didn't seem to be teasing him or calling him a slut. If she didn't actually see anything then perfect. If she did, but didn't want to pull attention to it, also perfect. He was more than happy to ignore it.
"You live at Stargazer right? Next to Tifa?" She asked, looking him in the face. And by face, he meant nose. The Avalanche girl couldn't seem to keep eye contact with him for longer than a second.
"Actually we moved in together last week." He said proudly, still unbelieving at his incredible luck. Cloud was glad that Tifa made the first move on that night. As much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, he knew if left up to him it'd have taken months if not years to work up the courage to ask her out. Maybe the end of the world to make him take that plunge. "But eventually I want to find us a house. That apartment's a little too cramped for multiple bodies, you know?"
"Oh." Nellie replied. Cloud saw her shoot a glance up at Nayo's apartment. Okay, so she did see. Shit, he had to explain himself. But he couldn't just reveal Tifa's kinks! Jessie did it with Kyrie last night, and he was honestly a little upset with her big mouth. But the Avalanche girls were best friends, the redhead could get away with that stuff. Even as her boyfriend, he didn't think forgiveness would come so easily to him. He had to say something though, otherwise the other blonde would think he was cheating.
"Me and Tifa have an understanding." Cloud said, settling for a half-truth. "But I don't want to get into details, it's kind of private. Trust me though, she knows where I was last night." Or at least he thinks so.
She gave a slight nod, face a little red and turned her head back down.
Another pregnant pause.
Should he ask her about her book? But he doesn't recognize the title. And honestly he doesn't even remember the last time he read something for fun. It felt like years. He could already tell how that conversation would turn out.
Maybe where she got her mug from? It was a fancy thing, in the shape of a cactuar. But he also didn't know anything about cups! Or the fiend! He drank out of one and killed the other. What if it turned out she was a collector of rare and expensive drinking implements? Or that the green monster was her favorite creature?
She nervously began drumming her fingers along the side of her cup.
He looked around the street for something else to talk about.
She kept opening and closing her mouth, but no sounds came out.
There was a long silence.
"Wanna get breakfast?" Cloud blurted, scrambling for a lifeline.
Blinking a little owlishly at him, a slow smile stretched her lips. And what a pretty thing it was. Like the first peak of the morning sun, its rays finally burn through the early fog and mist.
"I'd love to."
