Archive of Our Own

Aerith woke up to a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and far too much light filtering through the fabric of the tent. She groaned with a wince and tried to sit up, but a hand gently landed on her shoulder.

“Hey, take it easy.”

She blearily pried her eyes open. Cloud’s face was closer than she’d expected it, but still blurry. Even so, she could make out the worry on his features.

She groaned again. “Wha’ happ’n’?” she mumbled.

Cloud sighed. “You hit your head in the plane crash.” As though to help her understand, his hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her scalp, fingers brushing lightly through her hair. “Blacked out. Vincent says you probably have a concussion.”

Aerith grimaced. Yeah, that made sense. She remembered the Tiny Bronco going down, down, down towards the water, a loud crash, and nothing afterwards. “Where’re we?” she asked.

“Wutai. We managed to beach the plane here.”

Wutai. Damn.

“’M sorry,” she muttered, leaning a little into his touch.

Cloud let out a disbelieving low rumble of a laugh. “You’re apologising?”

“I musta scared you.”

“What matters is you’re alright.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, which was how she realised he was holding it. Huh. “How’re you feeling now?”

She just groaned. Cloud chuckled again.

“You’re gonna be okay. Wanna call in Red for another round of healing?”

Aerith hummed. Cloud lightly squeezed her hand again for a moment before letting go. She kinda wanted to keep him there, but he was shuffling out of the tent before she could make up her mind about it.

A few minutes later, however, he was back with Nanaki in tow, and he took up her hand again as the healing magic enveloped her. Aerith just sighed and closed her eyes.

Yuffie stole their Materia that night. All of it. Aerith was going to kill her, but Cloud would make it painful if he got to her first.

He stalked their camp in the frosty morning air with his hands in his hair, alternatively cursing through his teeth and checking on Aerith, who was sitting by the remnants of their campfire. He crouched in front of her and gathered her hands in his. “Don’t worry,” he whispered, stroking them lightly with his thumbs. “We’ll fix this.”

Aerith nodded slowly. Her head was heavy and still felt a bit like it was stuffed with cotton, so she chalked the confusion up to the concussion. “I know. Don’t worry about me, I’m okay.”

Cloud scoffed. “You will be.”

“Yo, Spiky,” called Barret from the other side of the camp. He gestured to one of their tents. “Come help me with this. The sooner we pack it up, the sooner we can go after Yuffie.”

“Comin’!” Cloud turned back to Aerith. “Just sit tight, okay? I’ll take care of everything.”

She nodded again as he got up and walked off towards Barret.

“What was that about?”

Aerith took her eyes off of her bodyguard as Tifa sat down next to her. “Hm?”

“Cloud.” Tifa gestured at him. “He’s been acting… a little weird, hasn’t he?”

Aerith blinked at her once. Twice. Then she looked down at her hands, cold from the loss of his. “Oh,” she said simply, as the realisation finally hit. That wasn’t normal.

Tifa laughed. “That concussion really did a number on you, huh?”

Aerith huffed, a little embarrassed. “I feel so slow, you have no idea.”

“I bet.” Tifa bit her lip for a second. “It was pretty bad. I’m just glad you’re here.”

Aerith nudged her friend with her shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere.” She paused to find Cloud with her eyes again, and met his for a brief moment before he looked away to focus on the tent. “Was I really out for that long?”

Tifa shook her head. “Only about fifteen minutes, but you were in and out until we touched down on the beach.” She pressed her lips together. “Healing Materia helped, but you really did scare us. I think Cloud nearly snapped his arm rest in half from the stress.” She furrowed her brows for a moment. “That’s probably what this is.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was really freaked out—didn’t leave your side for a second, even after Vincent said you were gonna be fine. He carried you from the plane to the tent and stayed with you until you woke up for real.”

Aerith thought about his worried eyes, his gentle hands, his quiet voice. “Oh,” she said. “Damn, I really must’ve scared him, then.” She’d never seen him act like that before. But she supposed that a big enough fright would do the trick.

Tifa hummed. “Do me a favour? Try to take it easy for a couple of days. We don’t need Cloud blowing a gasket over this.”

Aerith laughed and winked at her friend. “No promises.”

Wutai was a mountainous country, with low, coarse plant life stubbornly breaking through the cracks in the dry terrain. The city was in the north of the island and, of course, by Cid’s calculations they had ended up squarely in the south, with no hope of getting the Tiny Bronco back in the air or the water.

So the team had reluctantly trekked up to the city. Reluctantly, because no one had really wanted to force a concussed Aerith to go mountain climbing, but the alternative was to be stranded in the middle of nowhere for days, while Yuffie got further and further away with their Materia. So, Wutai it was.

Cloud had carried her most of the way there over her protests. She could take care of herself. She could walk fine. She could! Unfortunately, her concussion was a giant red mark against her in the ‘self sufficiency’ column, so she’d been reduced to travelling safely on Cloud’s back while Barret and Vincent took turns carrying his sword. It was actually really nice: he was warm, solid, and even-footed. Besides, he wouldn’t usually let her hug him like that, so it was a great opportunity for her in that regard.

Still, it was more than a little embarrassing to have to be carried like a kid, so she was immensely relieved when they reached Wutai a day later and Cloud finally set her down.

Unfortunately, he set her down directly onto a hospital bed in the town’s small clinic, with firm instructions to the nurses not to let her run off. So, while Cloud and the others went after Yuffie, Aerith got officially diagnosed with a mild concussion and warned against doing any strenuous activities for the following few days.

Later in the evening, the clinic’s door slammed open and Yuffie came through, with Cloud holding her by the scruff of her neck like a misbehaving cat.

“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed before Aerith could do anything. Like commit Yufficide.

Aerith blinked. “Huh?”

“I’m sorry about the Materia!” Yuffie rubbed the back of her neck and glanced at Cloud, who was watching her like a hawk with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. “Sorry,” she repeated. “I—I was trying to help Wutai go back to the way it was before Shinra invaded. Thought I could do it if I had enough Materia, but… I was really selfish. You were hurt and I still took all of it.” She looked away. “I, uh, I gave it all back. I’m gonna help you guys with Sephiroth and Shinra, for real. Just—” She made a vague gesture with her hand for a second. “—Sorry.”

“Huh,” repeated Aerith.

Yuffie grimaced. “Can you please say something other than huh?”

Aerith shook her head. “Sorry, it’s just—You took me by surprise.” She sighed. “Listen, I get wanting to help Wutai, but you really messed us up.” Yuffie frowned and looked away. She really was just a kid. And her heart was in the right place. Aerith looked at Cloud. “Everyone’s forgiven her?”

He scoffed. “Almost. Depends on what happens in here.”

Yuffie frowned. “Dude, c’mon, I apologised like twenty times already.”

Cloud frowned harder. “She could have died, Yuffie.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic,” said Aerith, waving a hand in the air. “I’m fine, see?”

He levelled her with a flat look. “Nice try. Spoke with the nurses already.”

“Shoot.” Aerith wrinkled her nose. “Well, anyway, thank you for giving us the Materia back, Yuffie.” She smiled. “Good to have you on board again.”

Yuffie’s face split into a huge, goofy grin as she bounded over to Aerith’s bed to give her a hug. “Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!” she exclaimed. “Let’s go kick Sephiroth’s butt right now!”

Cloud huffed, half amused and half aggravated. “Sure. After Aerith’s better.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Thankfully, Aerith wasn’t actually on bed rest; she just had to keep out of the sun and avoid straining herself for a couple of days. Which meant that the entire party was stuck in Wutai until the doctor cleared her to get back on the road.

Yuffie had taken the chance to undergo some kind of traditional Wutaian trials at the Pagoda in town. Tifa and Nanaki were sightseeing now that they had some downtime. Barret and Vincent had taken on some odd jobs for the residents. Cid and Cait Sith were arranging a way to get them all off the island in a couple of days. Their current idea was renting a speedboat.

And Cloud… Cloud was hovering.

That wasn’t a new thing, granted. He was a hoverer, Aerith knew that: a silent watchful eye that didn’t like to give himself away. It wasn’t at all unusual to find him looking over his friends from the sidelines, ready to step in if anyone needed him. But he’d been hovering more.

“I think I’ll go shopping for a bit,” she’d said that morning.

“I’ll come with,” he’d replied immediately, shooting to his feet.

It was, maybe, the least subtle her bodyguard had ever been.

Aerith, under a wide-brimmed hat to keep her safe from the sun, wandered the main street of Wutai, lined on both sides with vendors and stalls while Cloud followed half a step behind her. Most of the time, not even that: she could feel his hand brushing against hers as they walked, a contact so fleeting that she almost thought she’d imagined it until it happened again after a few minutes.

“You know,” she said, leaning over a stall to examine a row of wooden animal figurines, “I really am fine.”

She didn’t need to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes. “That’s not what the doctor said.”

She huffed. “The doctor just said I couldn’t overexert myself. This is not overexerting myself.”

“I know that,” he said, voice dropping to a murmur, barely audible over the chatter of the street. “I just…”

Aerith glanced at him. He’d averted his gaze and crossed his arms. “What?”

Cloud pressed his lips together. “Do you not want me here?”

She blinked twice at him. “Did I say that?” Cloud just looked at her—no, he was actually looking at a spot just above her head. “That’s not it. I just don’t want you to treat me like I’m made of glass. Can’t we just hang out like normal?”

He finally met her eyes again. “This isn’t normal, though. You got seriously hurt, and you’re not out of the weeds yet.”

Aerith sighed, then she reached for his hand. He let her pull it out of his arms-crossed knot. “I know I scared you,” she said softly. “And I’m sorry.”

“I’m not… mad at you. It’s just… You could have died,” he replied, matching her low tone. “Yeah, it scared the shit outta me. Sue me. I just wanna make sure you’re okay. That’s… alright, right?”

She blinked at him. “Uh, yeah,” she heard herself say. Where was this… openness coming from? She offered him a coy smile. “Bodyguard, right?”

He huffed out a laugh and finally smiled as well. “Right.” He’d said it like there was a joke she wasn’t getting. She let it slide.

“Anyway,” she said, turning back to the figurines, “I’d love it if my bodyguard loosened up and just hung out with me. Can he do that?”

Cloud snorted. “I’ll see what I can do.”

He stepped just a little closer to her, and Aerith held her breath for a moment as his hand brushed the small of her back. “That one’s cute,” he said, pointing at a ginger cat figurine.

“Aww, you’re right!” she exclaimed, hoping the enthusiasm would mask the hitch in her voice.

She was struggling to fall asleep on the boat.

Maybe it was the constant jostling of the waves, maybe it was the chilly wind, maybe it was some leftover concussion symptoms. Whatever the cause, sleep wasn’t coming.

Aerith groaned as she readjusted in her barely-comfortable seat, stubbornly squeezing her eyes shut. Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep.

The others were all slumbering around her save for Cid, at the helm of the speedboat, and Cait Sith, but only because she didn’t think a robot could technically go to sleep. Like, power-down mode didn’t count.

She thought about offering to take over for Cid for a while, so she could at least do something productive with her insomnia, but the hitch in that plan was that she had no clue how to steer a boat, and she was sure Cid knew that.

So she was sleepless, restless, and bored. That was the worst part.

“Hey.”

The whisper was so quiet that she could have mistaken it for a stray wave had it not sounded like Cloud. Aerith opened her eyes to find him looking down at her from his seat next to hers. The Mako ring of his irises cast an eerie glow over his face, made pale by the moonlight.

“Sorry,” she whispered back. “Did I wake you?”

He shook his head. “I don’t sleep much anyway. You cold?”

Aerith shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno, I just can’t sleep.”

Cloud hummed.

“What do you do? When you can’t sleep?” she asked then, scooting a little bit closer to him.

Cloud inched towards her as well, close enough that his hair tickled her face. “Me?” Aerith nodded. “I dunno. I just close my eyes anyway and wait it out.”

Aerith groaned quietly. “I’ve been trying, but it’s so boring.”

Cloud half laughed. “I know. Sometimes I make up battle strategies to pass the time.”

“Of course you would.” Aerith readjusted so her arm was folded under her head. “Tell me a story.”

“A story?”

She hummed. “Anything you want. Maybe it’ll help me fall asleep.”

She could hear the amusement even in his whisper: “You sayin’ I’m boring?”

Aerith giggled. “I’m saying you have a nice voice.”

Cloud went quiet for a moment. Aerith was sure he was blushing, but she couldn’t see it in the darkness.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a chillier gust of wind blew by and she shivered. Cloud paused. He tossed a look around the boat, then gingerly opened his arms. “C’mere?”

“Hm?” Aerith stared at him. No way she’d heard him right. No way.

“You’re cold.” It wasn’t a question this time. “I run pretty warm ’cause of the Mako.”

Aerith knew that. She knew it every time his hands brushed against hers and left behind a gently scorching trail even through the gloves. “You sure?”

Cloud hummed, a strangled thing that didn’t make him sound very sure at all. Aerith moved a little closer. Cloud glanced at their friends again, but didn’t waver. “You’re cold,” he repeated.

Oh, what the hell. “Alright,” whispered Aerith, sinking into his open arms like she was wrapping herself into the most comfortable blanket in the world. His hands landed on her shoulder and her side, rubbing gentle circles to warm her up.

She hummed happily as she tucked her head in the crook of his neck, and Cloud chuckled quietly into her hair. “Better?”

“Much.” Aerith didn’t know what had gotten into him, but she sure as hell wasn’t complaining. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

“Now,” she said, craning her head to look at him for a moment. “About that story.”

Cloud chuckled again. “Right, okay. So, um, I used to go around catching cats a lot as a kid, and…”

Aerith listened to him until the quiet hum of his voice and the warmth of his embrace did finally lull her into a pleasant sleep, where she dreamed of cats and chimneys and Cloud.

Cloud opened his door to find Aerith in front of it. Except, she hadn’t knocked. She’d had her hand raised to do it, but he’d beaten her to the punch, leaving her standing like an idiot in the hallway of the Ghost Hotel.

“Aerith!” he exclaimed, startled. He composed himself quickly and cleared his throat. “I, uh, was just coming to find you.”

Aerith grinned even though she was a little taken aback, herself. “What a coincidence! Me too.”

Cloud snorted. “Really? Would never have guessed,” he said sarcastically, looking pointedly at her raised hand.

She giggled airily. “Oh, this? I’m just trying out a new power stance.” She shook her head with a smile. “Anyway, did you need something?”

Cloud’s eyes dropped to his feet for a second. “Uh, you first.”

“You sure?”

“You found me first.”

“Right.” She giggled. “Well, I was just thinking—It’s Enchantment Night down at the park, right? All the rides are free. What say you we check it out? Y’know, like a date!” She clasped her hands behind her and rocked on the balls of her feet to mask the excited jitters. It had been so long since they’d had time off, concussion notwithstanding; it was the perfect night to finally ask out her favourite bodyguard.

Surprise flashed over Cloud’s face, followed by relief. “Sure,” he breathed, much more easily than Aerith had expected. “Yeah, sure.”

She grinned and grabbed his arm to fully pull him out of his room. “Great!” As he turned around to quickly lock his door, she asked, “What did you wanna tell me?”

Cloud paused for a second, then turned around with a sheepish expression on his face. “Oh, um, actually…” He made a vague gesture with his hand. “Same thing. Was gonna ask if you wanted to go down to the park.”

“Oh,” said Aerith, though it came out more like a squeak. “Really?” It had been days now, of this oddly sweet and open Cloud and, whatever the reason, she had to stop being caught off guard like that.

He gave a clipped hum as a blush climbed high on his cheekbones. “So, um, where did you wanna go first?” he asked, walking towards the lift.

Aerith quickly caught up with him. “Hmm… Hey, how about we check out Event Square? I heard there’s supposed to be a play tonight.”

Cloud nodded, then he motioned for her to get into the lift ahead of him.

They were quiet on the way to Event Square, whereas the park around them was alive with music and chatter. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. They walked close together, like they had in Wutai, and their hands brushed against each other every now and again. Aerith toyed with the idea of just biting the bullet and taking his hand; she batted it around her mind like a cat with a ball of yarn, but the thought unravelled completely when she felt a brush that was different from the others. More purposeful, more like a question.

She didn’t look at him, but she knew exactly where to find his hand to twine their fingers together. Cloud didn’t hesitate in squeezing back gently. Aerith thanked her lucky stars his gloves were off.

The play was probably alright. Aerith didn’t remember a thing about it, other than the two poor park goers who’d been suckered into playing the leads. She remembered the feeling of Cloud’s hand in hers, the low rumble of his voice as they poked fun at the set design and the cheesiness of the play, the warmth of his shoulder pressed against hers.

Sure, she was the one who, by a technicality, had asked him out, but she hadn’t expected… this. She’d expected a shy, awkward Cloud, reluctant to share his opinions or his personal space. What she’d gotten instead was a Cloud that, while still sweetly shy in a way she doubted he could ever shake off, was trying.

He was trying so hard to be a good date, to talk more, to make jokes. Aerith felt sort of drunk, even though she hadn’t had a drop of alcohol.

The play ended up lasting longer than they’d expected and, by the time they left Event Square, a lot of the other attractions were starting to wind down. No more Chocobo races, no more carnival games, no more roller coasters—not that Aerith would have dragged Cloud onto one, but still.

They trailed to a stop in the middle of the Terminal Station, hands still loosely joined, as Aerith pondered what to do. Cloud didn’t have an opinion: he’d said that he was fine with anything, which was very annoying of him because it forced her to have an opinion.

However, as she considered their options, she felt a light tug on her hand. She turned to Cloud with a questioning noise. He nodded towards a billboard advertising the ‘magical Gold Saucer gondola ride’ at Round Square.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, letting him go to get closer to the ad. “That sounds amazing! You up for it?”

Cloud shrugged faux-nonchalantly, clearly pushing down a self-satisfied little smirk. “Sure.”

“Sure,” she parroted, grinning. “Let’s go.”

The gondola consisted of a small cabin with two seats facing each other and large windows on either side of them that overlooked the park below. Aerith excitedly knelt on her seat to plaster herself to the glass, giggling in anticipation while Cloud sat across her.

After a moment, the cabin shook slightly and started to move. Aerith let out an excited squeal. “Cloud! Look!”

Up there, everything was quiet. Below, the park was still full of life and people. The gondola, rising through the sky, passed over the bright lights of Wonder Square, the pens at the back of Chocobo Square, the Ghost Hotel and its holographic scares. Above, a shower of colours from the fireworks exploding in the sky. It was nothing short of breathtaking.

Next to her, Cloud hummed. She tossed a glance his way and found him averting his own eyes from her to fix them on the spectacle outside the window. She smiled when his gaze returned to her just a moment later.

“Thank you,” she whispered, sliding back down in her seat. “Thank you for this.”

He shook his head. “Didn’t do much.”

Aerith gave him a disbelieving smile. “You kidding? No—this, you… it’s everything. Thank you.”

A bright flash of light illuminated the brilliant flush on Cloud’s face perfectly. Aerith grinned. There he was.

“You know,” she started, “tonight’s been… really special.”

“Yeah?”

She hummed. “It felt like finally getting to peel away some of your layers to get at the real you beneath.”

Cloud furrowed his brows. “Real me?”

Aerith leaned back in her seat and peered out at the fireworks. “Yeah. Someone you keep buried deep down inside, under all that SOLDIER posturing. I’ve been dying to meet him—and tonight it feels like I finally did.” She smiled wistfully at him. “Will he stick around?”

Cloud didn’t respond for a long time. Anyone else would have given her a flippant, even dismissive reply—yes, of course, whatever you say you weirdo—but not Cloud. He was considering her words carefully. “I think…” he started slowly after a while. “I think it’s got more to do with you than with me.”

“Hm?” Aerith cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s just… You bring something out in me. Something I didn’t even know existed. But it’s right here,” he said a bit forcefully, pressing a hand against his chest. “I’m right here.”

Aerith felt a smile stretch her face. “I know,” she whispered, leaning forward and catching his hands. “You just need a little help getting out.”

Cloud nodded as though he didn’t fully understand what she was saying, but held her hands tighter nonetheless.

There were no more words until the end of the ride. They didn’t need them.

By the time they made it back to the Terminal Station, the park was emptying in earnest.

“So much for Enchantment Night,” said Aerith in a huff. “I wish we’d gone on more rides.”

Cloud hummed. “We can always come back.”

She glanced up at him. “You mean it?”

He gave a little shrug. “Uh, yeah. When we’re through with Sephiroth, I mean.”

“Of course.” Aerith smiled warmly. “I’d like that too.”

Cloud nodded, then looked at the giant clock in the centre of the Terminal Station. “We really should be getting back. Got an early start tomorrow.”

Aerith sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. Alright, then, let’s go.”

The walk back to the hotel was quiet again, like the one from the hotel had been. This time they didn’t hold hands, though. There was something about coming back to the team that had pulled Aerith out of the dream, out of the one night of normalcy they had allowed themselves before reality crashed back down on them. Cloud seemed to be on the same page, and he looked lost in thought to boot. She wondered when they would get the chance again, if maybe next time it would last longer, be even sweeter.

Before she realised it, they were standing in front of her room’s door. She sighed as she spun around with her hands behind her back. “Thank you for tonight,” she said. “I had so much fun.”

Cloud nodded. “Uh, yeah. Me too.” He looked away for a moment. “This is… good night, then.”

“Guess so,” said Aerith. She cocked her head to the side. “Why? Something wrong?”

He shook his head. “No, no. Just…” A blush was climbing up over his cheekbones again. “Was kinda wandering if…” As his face got redder, his voice got quieter and quieter until it disappeared into an indistinct mumble.

Aerith giggled. She kinda had a hunch where this was going, and giddy excitement curled in her stomach. “Hey, Cloud,” she called softly. When he met her eyes again, she smiled and leaned forward a bit. “It is a date, y’know.”

“…Yeah?” He blinked twice at her, then twice more as his expression changed. Understanding and relief flashed over his face as he repeated, “Yeah.”

And then he was bending down and closing the distance between them. Aerith closed her eyes and hummed into the kiss—short and simple as it was, it was perfect.

Cloud stepped away a moment later, a small smile playing on his lips.

She returned it. “That was nice. Tonight was nice.”

“Yeah. Gotta seize the moment while we have it,” he whispered. “Like you said, right?”

Aerith blinked and cocked her head to the side. “Huh? What do you mean?”

He furrowed his brows. “Nothing. Just that you were right.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just…” She wracked her brain, coming up empty. She looked up at him. He had a confused expression on his face, like he didn’t understand why on earth she would be confused. Aerith bit her lip. “Um… Cloud, don’t take this the wrong way, but… When did I say that?”

A terrible beat of silence passed, with Cloud looking at her as though begging her to drop the act. Aerith wished she could.

Then he went white as a sheet and crimson red in rapid succession. “O-Oh,” he stammered, taking a step back. He paled again. “Oh no, I’m—I’m so sorry, I—” He ran a hand over his face. “You weren’t—Oh, god, I’m so sorry, Aerith, I’m such an idiot.”

“Hey, hey, what—” Aerith made to take his shoulders, but he moved farther away. “Cloud?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you—” He covered his face and spun around with a frustrated growl. “This whole time! I’m such an—”

“Cloud, wait.” Aerith tried circling him. “Hey, it’s okay, just tell me what’s going on.”

Cloud shot her a look she could only describe as agonised, then he screwed his eyes shut. “I’m so—”

“Sorry, yeah, I got that part.” Aerith gingerly placed a hand on his upper arm, and he recoiled as though she’d burned him. The night had gone so well—what was happening? “Cloud, I promise it’s okay. Just talk to me.”

He shook his head miserably. He’d gone beet red again, and his face was twisted into a pained grimace Aerith had only ever seen flashing for a second as he hid a particularly nasty wound. She took a step back and folded her hands in her lap, then just stood there. Waiting. Cloud caught the motion, relaxing for a split second before tensing up again.

He looked torn, eyes flitting from her to the floor to the lift and back to her. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Pressed his lips together so tight that they turned white. Aerith still waited.

Finally, Cloud took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Aerith clenched her hands together.

“Get back here!” Barret’s voice erupted from the lobby of the hotel, booming and echoing in the grand hall.

Aerith and Cloud jolted out of their stalemate and rushed to the railing that overlooked the lobby, just in time to see Cait Sith zipping out of the front door. Barret barrelled in a second later, calling for him.

“Hey!” shouted Cloud. “What’s goin’ on?”

Barret only barely looked up. “He stole the Keystone! C’mon!”

“What!?” exclaimed Aerith. She shared one glance with Cloud, then they were both racing down the stairs.

How could such a wonderful night have twisted into such a mess?

Aerith lay awake in bed, staring at the chipped paint on the ceiling of her room.

Cait Sith was a spy. He’d been working for Shinra this entire time—and none of them had had a clue!

How could they? How could he?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Aerith pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes, forcing back the tears threatening to spill over.

The stock thunder sound effect played again, exactly fifteen minutes since the last one, and Aerith groaned, raking her hands through her hair. How could he?

She’d thought they were friends. Everyone had. Evidently not.

She let her hands fall against her bed with a defeated sigh.

Tell me what to do. Tell me how to fix this.

But the Planet was quiet, drowned out by the atmospheric soundscape of the Ghost Hotel. Or maybe by her own thoughts. Or maybe there just wasn’t anything to do to fix it and they just had to deal with the consequences of Cait Sith’s betrayal.

The room flashed white with simulated lightning. Aerith pushed herself up. This was no use: she was too nervous to go to sleep.

With another groan, she slid out of bed and winced at the feeling of the cool floor under her bare feet. She didn’t bother getting dressed—just threw on her boots and walked out of the room.

In the lift, her finger hovered over Cloud’s floor number for a moment.

That was another thing. She grimaced, remembering the way his face had fallen, weighed down by disappointment and mortification. She would have to fix it, somehow. Sometime.

But now was not that time: they were both too tired and upset and reeling from the loss of the Keystone. Besides, he was probably asleep.

So, she hit the ground floor button instead.

The lobby was quiet and empty save for a receptionist behind the counter. Apparently, the nighttime attendant was just witch-themed rather than a jumpscare. He only barely glanced up from his book for a moment to make sure Aerith wasn’t looking for him. Instead, she went into one of the side lounges, where a fireplace was lit in a corner and crackling away.

The room was small, cosy, and slightly at odds with the general look of the Ghost Hotel. Bookcases lined the walls, with shelves sagging under the weight of dusty volumes that looked like they hadn’t been picked up in a long while. Aerith trailed a hand over their spines, idly wondering if maybe curling up with a book in front of the fireplace was what she needed to relax just enough to go to sleep. She paused with her finger on an epic poem from Cosmo Canyon when she heard the door swing open behind her.

She sighed, ready to let the newcomer have the room. She really didn’t feel like being around strangers.

“Aerith?”

But the stranger was Cloud, and all thoughts of leaving vanished from her mind. He was frozen halfway through the door, shocked still by the sight of her. “Hey,” she whispered. “What’re you doing here?”

He shook his head and scratched the back of his neck. “Can’t sleep. You?”

Aerith sighed. “Same. It’s all… kind of a lot.”

A small, hesitant pause stretched on into a long, awkward one.

Aerith opened her mouth to say something, but Cloud beat her to the punch: “I’ll, uh—I’ll leave you alone. Sorry.” He made to turn tail and go.

Before she’d even realised she was moving, Aerith shot forward to grab Cloud by the arm. “Stay,” she pleaded, a little too loudly in the quiet of the night. “Please?”

Cloud winced. “But—”

“I want you to,” said Aerith, pulling him towards the couch. “You can tell me what’s wrong, or—Or we can just hang out for a bit. Just… stay awhile. Please.”

He looked torn for a moment longer, then he gave a small nod and let her lead him to the couch. He sat down as far away from her as possible and rested his elbows on his knees, with his head hanging low between his shoulders. Aerith frowned, but she tucked her legs under her as she curled up on the couch.

Another long moment of silence passed.

Aerith pressed her lips together. “So, um,” she started. “Just so I know what we’re doing. Are you gonna—”

“I owe you an apology,” said Cloud suddenly, sitting upright but staring straight at the fire instead of her.

Aerith cracked half a smile. “You’ve apologised like a hundred times and I don’t even know what for. Right now I’ve got an apology surplus—let me be the judge of whether you owe me more.”

Cloud glanced at her for a split second. “Right,” he said, dropping his gaze back to the floor.

He went quiet. Aerith waited patiently for him to speak again.

Finally, he did, “What do you remember about the crash?”

She blinked twice. “You mean after I woke up in Wutai?”

Cloud’s face twisted into a grimace. “Before that.”

“Oh.” She knew he wasn’t going to like the answer. But she gave it nonetheless. “Nothing. I remember being in the plane and then I was in Wutai.”

He let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Aerith noticed that it was even messier than usual. He had to have done a lot of that. “Tifa told me I went in and out of consciousness before I woke up for real. Did…” She pressed her lips together. “Did something happen then?”

“I thought you were awake. For real,” said Cloud quietly. “I never would’ve—I was so sure you remembered.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m such an idiot. Of course you didn’t—you had a concussion.”

Aerith hazarded scooting a little bit closer. “Remembered what?”

Cloud looked away in a vain attempt to hide his mounting blush. “You woke up while we were in the water. On the plane, I mean. It was just me and you and, uh, we talked.”

She nodded. “So that’s when I said that thing about seizing the moment?”

“Yeah. But, um…” He scratched the back of his neck. “That’s not all you said.”

Aerith hummed. He wouldn’t be twisting himself in knots if that was the case. “What did I say?” she asked.

Once again, Cloud looked to be in physical pain. He leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms defensively. “You…”

After a couple of minutes, it became clear that he wasn’t actually going to say anything else. Aerith reached out to touch his shoulder. He froze up for a second, then shot her a sidelong glance. “I promise I won’t get mad,” she said. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

He gave another deep sigh and closed his eyes. “You said you l-liked me and didn’t wanna waste any more time ’cause you never know when a plane is just gonna fall out of the sky and so we had to seize the moment while we had it,” he muttered in one quick confession, as though the longer it stayed in his mouth the more it burned. “You kissed me,” he added in a mortified whisper.

Aerith blinked twice. “Oh,” she said. Her cheeks were heating up as well.

She’d done that? While she was delirious? Oh, man. She grimaced internally. Externally, she just stared.

Cloud looked even more pained. “I didn’t know you weren’t really awake,” he said quietly. “I should’ve realised it was the concussion talking but—I dunno, I wanted it to be real so bad that I…” He cut himself off with a groan and raked his hand through his hair again. “I’ve been such an idiot. And I was so…” Sweet. Open. Affectionate. “Overbearing,” was how Cloud chose to finish that sentence, which was when Aerith realised that if she kept not saying anything he was going to keep misunderstanding.

“Cloud,” she called.

He didn’t seem to have heard her. “And tonight. You were just paying me for the bodyguard thing, right?”

“Cloud—”

“And I was on a completely different planet. All night, and these past few days, I thought we—”

She covered his mouth with her hand. He stared at her, brilliant Mako eyes wide open and frantic.

Aerith smiled a bit. “Shut up for a sec, m’kay?” He nodded slowly, still looking a bit like he was expecting her to punch him. She sighed as she let go of him. “I really don’t remember any of that,” she said, frowning. “That concussion messed me up real good, huh?”

Cloud grimaced. “I’m—”

“But,” she cut him off, “why in the world shouldn’t it be real?”

“…What?”

Aerith giggled at his dumbfounded expression. “Don’t look so shocked. Remember how I asked you out tonight?”

Somehow, he looked even more surprised, as though that fact had completely escaped his mind until now. She ran a hand through his hair, attempting to straighten it up a little—or, at least, to get it back to normal levels of messy. “This is not how I thought it’d go,” she said as her hand slid from his hair to his jaw. “What a train wreck.”

Cloud caught it before she could pull away and hesitantly held it between them. “You… meant it?” he asked quietly as the tension melted from his shoulders.

Aerith smiled. “I mean it.” She pouted playfully. “Just wish I hadn’t said it while I was concussed. Would’ve loved to see the look on your face.”

Cloud finally cracked a smile as well, relieved and a little disbelieving. “I think it was something like this,” he said.

“Go figure,” she said, drawing close enough that she could count the freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks. “Hey, now that we’ve cleared the air, can I…?”

Something shifted in his eyes. He pressed his lips together for a moment, then surged forward and gently cupped her face in his hands before he kissed her. Aerith melted against him and wound her arms around his shoulders. This kiss tasted of relief and affection, and it was even sweeter than the one they’d shared outside her room.

Their timing was awful. Things were a mess. Cait Sith had betrayed them, Shinra had a headstart to the Black Materia, Sephiroth was still at large.

But concussion-Aerith had been right: they had to seize this moment.

“I do have a correction to make,” said Aerith when they finally parted. She nuzzled her nose against Cloud’s, which made him chuckle fondly. “I think concussion-Aerith was underselling it a bit when she told you she liked you.”

She hadn’t thought it possible, but Cloud’s blush deepened, spreading to the tips of his ears. “She, uh, may have used a different word.”

Aerith grinned. “Oh? Well, whatever did she say, then?”

Cloud huffed and, instead of answering, just kissed her again.

“Me too,” he murmured against her lips, and Aerith figured that was just as good.