Cloud was back! Aerith still couldn't believe he was actually there, sitting across from her in their living room. When he'd shown up knocking on their front door she'd assumed it was just someone dropping by to see her parents. Opening it to find him standing there—a twig amusingly sticking out from his hair—had stolen the breath from her lungs, leaving her standing there speechless with her mouth hanging open until her mother had called out asking who it was.

She was just as surprised he'd managed to find his way back to the village as she was that he'd somehow crossed the Barrier a second time. After he'd left, she had briefly considered leaving a trail of ribbons to help guide him on the off chance he returned, but that would have also allowed anyone else who crossed over to find the village as well. Whether it was luck or a good memory, she was just happy to see him again.

"And you don't have any idea who might have been chasing you?" her mother asked.

Cloud shook his head. "No, I've never seen them before. I don't understand what they would have wanted with me . . ."

Ifalna smiled softly at him. "Well, even if they somehow manage to make it here—which I highly doubt—we'll keep you safe. It might be best for you to stay the night before heading home though, just to be safe."

"We could go to the hideout!" Aerith exclaimed. It was the first spot she thought of when she wanted to be safe and protected—her own, secret place of refuge.

"I'm . . . not sure that's the best idea," her father said, his brow wrinkled with worry. "With how weak the Barrier seems to be these days, I feel like you'd be much safer staying here in the village with us."

"But—"

"No, Aerith has a point," her mother said, cutting into Aerith's objection to her surprise. "With all the spells I've layered over that place, it should be just as safe as it would be here, if not possibly more so."

Jumping to her feet, Aerith grinned over at Cloud. "Come on, you're going to love it once you see it!"

"Hold your chocobos there," her mother said with a bright laugh. "Cloud might prefer to spend the night here with a comfortable bed, especially after how his day went. What would you like to do?" she asked, looking over at him. "The hideout is nice enough, but you're welcome to stay here if you'd prefer."

Aerith bit her lip, glancing over and hoping he'd agree to go.

Cloud blinked a few times, his gaze traveling over to the stairs leading upstairs before his eyes widened and he rapidly shook his head. "No, I'm fine without the bed. I'm curious to see what this place is like. A hideout sounds cool."

Ignoring the strange reaction—had something been wrong with his bed?—Aerith struggled to contain her excitement at his response. She knew he'd have to go back home sooner than later, but until then she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

"Alright." Her mother clapped her hands together. "In that case, I'll pack some food you can heat up for dinner. Gast, dear, can you rummage up a pillow and blanket for Cloud to use? There should already be plenty there, but more won't hurt."

Her father sighed before nodding his head and making his way upstairs. Humming to herself, Ifalna disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Aerith alone in the room with Cloud. In her excitement, she'd completely forgotten dinner was only a few hours away, or that they might need extra supplies for Cloud to be comfortable. Settling back down into her chair, she looked over at Cloud, a shy smile on her lips. "So can you just cross over whenever you want now?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. After I left last time I tried coming back but nothing happened. I'm just glad I was able to do it again today."

"Me too," Aerith said, although she knew her reasons were far more selfish. "I was sad we didn't get to say goodbye."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Cloud looked down at his hands. "I didn't expect to get yanked back so suddenly."

"It's fine," she hurried to clarify. "I know it just happened and now we're ready for next time." Because there had to be a next time, as much as she wished there wasn't. Cloud didn't live here, and he had his own friends and family to go back home to. And just because their time together had become special to her, Aerith knew that didn't necessarily mean the same was true for Cloud.

Her thoughts were cut off as her mother bustled back into the room, a basket in her hands. "I packed enough food for dinner and included a Materia to help you warm it up. I figured for breakfast the peach trees should be in full swing along with the blueberry and strawberry bushes. While you're out there, maybe you could even bring some fresh fruit back for your loving parents . . ."

Aerith laughed. "Of course." Getting back to her feet, she took the basket from her mother, right as her dad reappeared at the top of the stairs.

Cloud jumped to his feet and met Gast at the bottom, holding out his arms to receive the pillow and two blankets. Once he had them, Aerith had to bite her lip to hold in a giggle—there was enough in his arms that Cloud's face was mostly obscured, leaving only his eyes and up visible.

"Okay, we're going to head out then," Aerith declared, her earlier excitement bubbling back up. "We'll be back in the morning."

Walking over, her dad dropped down and gave her a big hug. "Be safe and don't wander too far from the hideout, okay?"

Aerith gave him a kiss on the cheek, wrapping her free arm around him as best she could. "I know, Dad. We'll be fine, don't worry."

"Have a good time!" her mother called out as they left the house, the door swinging shut softly behind them.

Wanting nothing more than to rush right to the hideout, Aerith forced herself to slow down and watch as Cloud stumbled his way down the front steps. He was clearly having trouble seeing his own feet with all the bedding in the way, but her mother had packed enough food that Aerith was forced to use both of her hands to carry the basket—preventing her from being able to help him with anything. Considering the hideout was nestled away in the middle of the forest, it was certainly going to be a challenge to get Cloud there without him tripping and falling on his face. At least the blankets would help soften the blow if that did happen.

"I'll try and guide you through the trees," she said, taking the lead and looking back at him. "Just follow right behind me and I'll let you know where the roots and stuff are. It's not too far so it should only take us thirty minutes tops to get there."

Cloud's hair faintly bobbed up and down in what she assumed was a nod, causing Aerith to struggle to hold in her amusement. This was certainly going to be an adventure she'd never forget.

It took them an hour to reach their destination. Thankfully, not because Cloud had fallen, but simply because she hadn't realized how tricky it would be to safely guide him there. So it was with a sigh of relief that Aerith stepped out of the trees and into the clearing that surrounded her hideout.

A massive, rocky outcropping dominated the center of the clearing, towering well above both of them. Off to one side of it, in the shadow cast by the waning sunlight, there was a small pond, calmly lapping at the shore. From past experience, Aerith knew it wasn't very deep, coming up to right above her waist in the center. This time of year was perfect to go for a dip during the heat of the day, although that certainly wouldn't be happening this trip—not with Cloud around.

"Just a little bit more, Cloud. Careful with the pond, the last thing we want is you falling in after making it all this way."

Skirting around the edge of the water, the yawning entrance to the cave came into view. When she'd first seen it years ago, Aerith had been scared, thinking the ground was going to eat her up. Now, it was simply the entryway to her secret hideout. Stepping inside, she reached out blindly for the Materia she knew was embedded along the right wall. As soon as her hand settled over it, a soft glow emerged from its depths shortly before a much brighter light shone down from above, fully illuminating the interior.

The cave was a large, open expanse, easily tall enough for even an adult to be able to stand and not hit their head. Scattered across the floor were a plethora of blankets and pillows, more than Aerith remembered there being and easily enough for the both of them without the extras in Cloud's arms. The ground underneath had originally been dirt, but her father had found a large rug that covered all but the edges and made for a surprisingly comfortable floor.

"And we're here!" Aerith set the basket down, turning to face Cloud. "You can drop the blankets, it's fine. What do you think?"

Doing as she'd said, Cloud dumped everything at his feet, his mouth dropping open and his eyes going wide as he took in his surroundings. Spinning around, he briefly looked outside before gazing up, shielding his eyes from the glowing Materia. "We're underground but it's so bright. More magic?"

She nodded. "Yup. It's pretty much the same as at our house. My mom set it all up when she and my dad made this for my birthday."

"It's . . . amazing. I've never seen anything like it."

Aerith realized she was grinning stupidly, but couldn't stop. She knew Cloud would like it! Dinner time was still a bit out, though, so they needed something to do to pass the time until then—something they could do together.

"A blanket fort!"

Cloud jumped slightly, his brow furrowing as he blinked several times at her sudden outburst. "A what?"

"We can build a blanket fort. With the extra ones you brought, we should have more than enough to make a pretty nice one!"

He still looked just as confused. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that is."

It was a struggle to contain her surprise. How could he not know what a blanket fort was? "Oh. It's pretty much what it sounds like. You use pillows as the walls and then drape blankets over them to make a structure you can crawl through. Considering how many we have, I bet we could make one with a kitchen to store the food in, a main room, and then a bedroom for sleeping!"

"Huh, I guess that makes sense. But . . . shouldn't we make two bedrooms instead of only one?"

She glanced around, taking stock of everything they had to work with before shaking her head. "No, I don't think we can manage four rooms and keep it all standing. Plus, even though it shouldn't be very cold tonight, we'll still want to save a few for actually sleeping."

Cloud visibly swallowed and then nodded hesitantly. "Okay . . ."

"Don't worry, it's easy. You'll get the hang of it super quickly." Hoping a demonstration might help, she moved to gather up several of the larger cushions and propped them up on their sides to make walls. Once that was done, Aerith grabbed a large blanket and tossed it on top, giggling as the whole thing immediately collapsed. "Kinda like that, but you can see how it gets a little challenging. Usually, I'd use chairs to help hold everything up, but since we don't have any we'll just have to get creative."

Together, they collected all of the cushions, pillows, and blankets and separated them out into individual piles. Through trial and error, they found that the best way to keep the cushions upright and able to support the weight of the blankets was to use pillows at the base to provide additional stability. Once they had the larger main room up and finished, it wasn't much longer before the other two sections were done as well—the kitchen with enough room for the basket, but not much else, and the bedroom with a pillow and blanket for a bed set up on either end.

Feeling especially proud of what they'd accomplished, Aerith turned to see what Cloud thought. The glow in his eyes and the grin on his face said everything she needed to know. She still wanted to hear it directly from him, though. "So, how was building your first fort?"

"It was so much fun! I wish we had more stuff so we could make it even bigger. I'm kind of tired though, it was more work than I expected."

Aerith understood exactly what he meant. Even though all they'd been doing had been moving around blankets and pillows, her arms had the familiar, mild ache of a good workout. "What do you say to having dinner? We can eat in the main room since the kitchen ended up so small."

He nodded back eagerly. "I've been looking forward to it. You have no idea how much better the food is here."

Happy to hear that, Aerith crawled into their fort and made her way to the kitchen where she retrieved the basket. While she wasn't entirely sure what her mother had packed inside, she knew it was going to be delicious no matter what. Cloud was eagerly bouncing in place when she returned to the main room, causing her to smile at his excitement.

"Alright, let's see what we have in here," she said, pulling off the top cover.

Immediately on top was a pair of napkins, wrapped around large soup spoons. Below them was a large pot with a lid, two bowls, a Materia, and three smaller containers. Pulling everything out, Aerith was surprised to find that there was also a wooden board they had been resting on, and below it at the very bottom was a pie, presumably for dessert.

"Wow, that seems like a lot," Cloud said, his eyes wide as he took it all in.

Aerith agreed. How in the world had her mother had all of this ready? The soup had likely been made for dinner already, but she hadn't realized her mom had been baking this afternoon as well. Cracking the lid of the pot open, Aerith immediately recognized what was inside. "Ah, it looks like dinner is potato soup."

"What's a potato?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's a root vegetable." She laughed as his nose wrinkled. "Don't make that face, it tastes really good and I bet"—she opened each of the smaller containers to confirm her theory—"yup, she even included toppings." Realizing that Cloud probably wouldn't recognize any of them either, she pointed to them in turn. "This is cheese, chives, and finally bacon."

"Oh, cheese is good. Chives are green and automatically gross. I've never heard of bacon before."

Grabbing one of the spoons, Aerith scooped up a chunk of the dried meat. She was almost positive he was going to love it. "Here, give it a try," she said, handing him the spoon.

Cloud's eyes snapped open as he tasted the bacon. "What is this? I've never had anything this amazing before!"

"It's meat. I had a feeling you were going to be a fan," she said with a giggle. "We should heat up the soup before we eat, it'll taste a lot better that way."

If she'd thought Cloud had been excited before, it was nothing compared to the way he looked at the Materia when she picked it up.

"Do you think . . . I could try, maybe?" he asked, both looking and sounding extremely hopeful.

His offer was all but a blessing. As much as Aerith also enjoyed using magic, she hated having to rely on Materia. She couldn't see anything wrong with letting him take care of it so she held it out, dropping it into his cupped hands. "This one is different than the one to turn on lights," she explained. "It's a modified Fire Materia, and while it's not strong enough to make actual fire, it will get very hot. Once you've activated it, put it down on the carpet before it can burn you."

He nodded, a serious expression replacing his earlier eagerness. "If we can't touch it, how are we supposed to turn it off?"

Aerith was impressed by the question. It was a good one, something she hadn't even considered her first time using a Heating Materia. "It was designed to automatically turn off after ten minutes, so we don't have to worry about that."

Cloud closed his eyes in concentration, his hands loosely cupped around the green orb and Aerith took the opportunity to examine him a bit more closely. His skin was surprisingly tanned—indicating he spent a lot of time out under the sun—and while he was alarmingly skinny, on closer look it was clear that he had a surprising amount of muscle despite the obvious malnutrition.

His usually serious face was currently scrunched up as he focused, but the few times she'd seen him smile were already imprinted on the back of her mind. Even though she couldn't see them right now, his eyes were something that had captured her attention almost as much as his hair. The blue reminded her of one of her favorite lakes, hidden away up in the mountains—a color she'd never seen anywhere else.

"Oh, I think I got it!" Cloud exclaimed, his eyes snapping open and causing Aerith to suck in her breath. Oh, Gaia, her mother had been right, she was getting attached. "This one wasn't as easy as the other one, it also feels a bit different. More like . . . crackling." He gingerly set it down between them before rubbing his palms together.

"Some Materia are harder to use than others," Aerith explained, glad for the excuse to stop thinking about her mother's words. Talking about magic was much easier. "More complicated ones are based on higher level spells, like Fira instead of just Fire."

Cloud mostly looked more confused by this, but he nodded his head anyway. As fun as it could be to teach him about the various tiers of magic, they still needed to get dinner ready and Aerith was starting to get really hungry. With the Materia activated, all that was left was heating up the soup. The pot had been designed with this purpose in mind, so all she had to do was place it directly on top—the Materia clicking into place as it nestled into the socket made for it.

From there, it only took a few moments for the soup to begin bubbling lightly. Using the spoon she hadn't given to Cloud, Aerith served them each half of the soup. "You can use as much or as little of each of the toppings as you like, or even eat it without any of them if you want. I'd recommend all three though, they really help to draw out the flavor."

She watched in amusement as Cloud sprinkled on about as much cheese as she liked, almost no chives, and then followed it up with a veritable mountain of bacon. That was fine with her—she preferred the vegetable topping over the meat anyway.

Neither of them spoke as they dug into their meals, although Aerith did struggle not to laugh at all the noises of enjoyment Cloud was making as he ate. It was good—he clearly needed the food—and it made her even more curious about what the food he was used to was like. Was everyone as starved as him, or did some people have better access to food? Considering they used machines to mass produce it, she imagined it was likely a widespread issue.

Cloud finished his soup first, although she was close behind him, savoring the final spoonful. "I'd ask what you thought of it, but your moaning already told me more than enough," she teased as she set her bowl down.

He grinned back at her, his cheeks reddening slightly. "This is the best soup I've ever had, and the bacon goes together with it so well. Although, honestly, I could just eat the bacon straight."

"Well, I hope you saved room, because there's still pie for dessert!" She pulled it out from the basket with a flourish, setting it down between them.

Frowning, Cloud looked at the pie in confusion. "But . . . we just ate."

Aerith realized that last time he'd had the stew with them they'd skipped dessert, and given how limited food seemed to be on the other side of the Barrier, it wasn't too surprising he'd never had any before. It did make her sad though, especially considering dessert was one of the best parts of dinner.

"Oh. Well, dessert is optional, but it's a nice, sweet treat to finish off the meal. I think you'll really like it, especially since this is my mom's special berry pie."

They didn't have any forks to eat it with, but her mother had pre-sliced the pie at least. Aerith knew they could still use their spoons, but instead, she reached out and picked up a slice with her fingers before taking a big bite out of it. The explosion of berries in her mouth was exactly what she'd been looking forward to—raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries all mixing together with the crust in perfect harmony.

Cloud slowly mirrored her, picking up a slice and hesitantly taking a small bite. It was quickly followed by a second and then a third, and in a matter of seconds, the slice was gone. He looked back down at the pie, then up at Aerith, an unspoken question plain in his eyes. Biting her lip, she nodded and Cloud nearly pounced, grabbing another slice before beginning to devour it nearly as quickly as the first.

For her part, Aerith finished her first slice before dropping down to lie on her back, pleasantly full. Tilting her head, she watched Cloud finish off his second slice and then even a third—albeit much more slowly this time.

"Pie is good. You're right, I love dessert." He flopped down to join her on the ground, one hand running over his stomach. "I don't think I've ever been this full in my life."

Aerith was glad he'd enjoyed it so much and made a mental note to let her mother know her food had been appreciated. It would have been easy to pack up the last of the food and get ready for bed now that they were done eating, but there was still one last thing she wanted to do before calling it a day. "Hey Cloud, can I show you something?"

Lifting his head slightly, he looked over at her. "As long as it's not more food, sure."

"It's not," she said with a laugh, slowly getting back up to her knees. "But we will have to go outside." Quickly putting the food away back in the basket, Aerith returned it to the kitchen before exiting the blanket fort behind Cloud.

Grabbing the Materia by the entrance, she twisted it slightly, popping it free from its housing. The main light in the cave immediately winked out, while the one in her hand continued to glow, shining even brighter now and providing enough light to illuminate the general area around her. With Cloud close at her side, she made her way out into the darkness of the clearing, leading them back around to the opposite side of the entrance. Thanks to the natural formation of the outcropping, it was easy to walk up the gentle slope of the backside until reaching the top where it flattened out.

Aerith placed the Materia in the center of the level area—setting it to its dimmest level—and then lay down on her back, staring up at the sky. "I wanted to look at the stars," she said, patting the rock next to her.

Settling down next to her on the other side of the Materia, Cloud let out a loud gasp as he looked up. "Wow . . ."

"Beautiful, isn't it? It's my favorite part of coming out here. I've never found anywhere else that has a view as good as this one."

"I never realized how bright they can be," he said quietly. "Usually the lights from the city almost completely drown them out, so this is very different than what I'm used to."

"I wonder if we have the same names for constellations. Which one is your favorite?" Aerith asked, glancing over at him.

"Constellations?"

"Groupings of stars. Like there," she said, pointing up directly above them. "That's the Chocobo. The triangle of stars on the upper right is its beak and then you can see the outline of its body above the feet."

"Oh. Oh wow, it's like a picture!"

"Exactly!" Aerith pointed out the Moogle and the Cactuar as well, although Cloud wasn't familiar with either of them.

A comfortable silence spread over them, broken only by the occasional rustling of tree leaves as they shifted gently in the soft breeze. Aerith savored the moment. They were so tiny in the grand scale of things, but that also meant there was so much out there to see and experience—a whole world to explore. Once she was older she wanted to witness as much of it as she could, and if Cloud could be there with her . . . it was a nice dream.

Despite her attention being focused on the sky above them, she couldn't help but notice how close their hands were. It would only take a small shift for her to hold Cloud's hand in her own. She wanted to, but she also didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Ultimately, her mom was right. She and Cloud were from different worlds, and it would only get more painful for both of them if she tried to get any closer.

He yawned loudly, drawing an equally loud yawn out of her.

"I guess we should get ready for bed, huh?" Aerith said once it passed. Slowly getting back to her feet, her fingers gently brushed against his, sending a spark shooting up her arm. Doing her best to ignore it—and how it caused her heart to beat faster—she picked the Materia back up, brightening it enough so they'd be able to safely get back down to the hideout.

The walk back was short and uneventful. Aerith was too tired to come up with something to talk about, and Cloud seemed more than content to follow her in silence. Once they were back inside the cave she kept the Materia with her instead of returning it to its place on the wall. Together, they slipped back into the blanket fort, moving into the bedroom where they then split off to the individual beds they'd each prepared.

It wasn't until Aerith was comfortably tucked in under a blanket with her head nestled on a pillow that she realized why Cloud had proposed more than one bedroom. The sound of his gentle breathing was different than the general silence she was accustomed to. It dawned on her that this was the first time she'd ever slept with someone else in the same "room" since the last time she'd shared a bed with her parents years ago. And this time it was with someone around her own age. Who also happened to be a boy. That she thought she might be falling for.

Her heart was beating in her ears as the full reality of the situation dawned on her. Aerith was thankful it was dark so Cloud couldn't see how red she imagined her face was. She knew she was being silly—they weren't even in pajamas and were spread out far enough that they couldn't touch the other—but that didn't do much of anything to help. A tiny part of her wondered what it would be like to hold his hand while they slept, but she firmly buried it away deep inside. Cloud was clearly handling the situation just fine, why couldn't she be more calm like him? Aerith knew that if she asked him to, he would immediately move to the main room and sleep there, but she didn't want that either.

"G'night, Cloud," she whispered, breaking the silence.

There was a noticeable hitch in his steady breathing before he replied a moment later. "Night, Aerith."

Taking a deep breath, Aerith closed her eyes as sleep crept up on her. Shortly after, she was asleep—a soft smile on her lips.

A massive dome of glass spread out in front of her, as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful, a delicate masterpiece crafted with incredible attention to detail. Even so, there were small signs of damage, sections that seemed more fragile, as if just a gentle gust could cause them to fracture. Aerith wanted to fix them, somehow, to make them as strong and beautiful as the rest, but she didn't know how. Even if she did, she wasn't sure it was possible, not without accidentally damaging it more in the process. She continued to stare at it until it slowly began to fade away leaving nothing but a black void.

After floating for a while, the endless darkness shifted slightly and she saw her mother standing in the distance, her arms outstretched as if she were getting ready for a huge hug although her back was to Aerith. As much as Aerith tried to move closer, something held her back, preventing her from taking so much as a single step. A heartbeat later, a giant, red flower bloomed from her mother's back. What could have been something beautiful, instead filled Aerith with a crushing sense of dread. Screaming, she strained against the invisible bonds with all her might, tears pouring down her cheeks. This was wrong, this was—

Aerith woke with a loud gasp, Cloud's alarmed face looming above her faintly visible thanks to the soft glow from the Materia. Choking back a sob, she wasn't sure if she wanted to shove him away or throw her arms around him.

"Sorry for waking you, but . . . you were screaming and it scared me. Is everything okay?"

Weakly nodding her head, Aerith wrapped her arms tightly around herself and took several deep breaths. Her body was still trembling, adrenaline coursing through her system. She'd never had dreams like that before—ones so vivid she could still recall every detail exactly, even now.

"Sorry," she whispered once she felt up to talking. "I'm good. It was just a nightmare." Even though it had felt like it had been something more.

Cloud shifted into a seated position next to her, a worried look still on his face. "You sure?"

She wasn't, but her parents weren't around to give her a hug and she couldn't exactly ask Cloud for one despite very much wanting to do exactly that. "Yeah. Thanks for waking me up, I'm glad I didn't have to watch anymore."

"No problem," he said, pulling farther away as he went back to where his bed was.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for agreeing to come here. I had a really great evening."

There was a pause before he finally responded. "Me too. It was a lot of fun, I don't think I'll ever forget it."

Nestling into her blanket, Aerith slowly dozed off, a warm, happy sensation filling her from head to toe. Cloud had enjoyed his time too, she couldn't ask for more than that. And thankfully, the strange dreams didn't return.

I hope everyone enjoyed this fluffy Clerith chapter! These two get to spend a whole lot more time together, and this time they're doing far more kid-like things than gardening, hahaha. I imagine it might come off as a bit strange that the adults would let them go off on their own like this, especially considering why Cloud is even here in the first place, but they're really not worried about other Humans showing up and, as Ifalna explains, the hideout is absolutely covered in protective layers of magic (more on that in later chapters).

They end up building a blanket fort (cause what else are you going to do with a veritable mountain of pillows and blankets?!) before diving into dinner where we get, yes, even more food descriptions. I was just starting to get into cooking a whole lot more at this time, is it showing? Anyways, Cloud devours the real food since it's infinitely better than what he's used to and then has his mind blown by the concept of dessert. It's cute, but also pretty sad, continuing that trend as he learns more and more about the differences between their worlds. To cap things off, we get a nice little stargazing scene where Aerith also teaches him about constellations.

Aerith is also coming to the realization that, oops, she's developing a crush on Cloud. Even without Ifalna's words, she's aware that this is only going to hurt the both of them more than anything, but... the heart wants what the heart wants. Besides that, the oddities around Aerith continue as she has some very strange and vivid dreams...

After all of this, you might be thinking to yourself, "Wow, everything is off to a pretty great start, things are going to go smoothly from here, surely." Well, unfortunately, that brings us to the title of the next chapter. Buckle up.

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