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Sparklers

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The crowd swayed like rolling waves, bodies pressed against each other in the darkness of the room.

Jumping, twisting, shoving.

Dancing.

It wasn’t his scene. It wasn’t his place. And yet, there he was anyway, back to the wall and struggling to keep his drink from spilling over whenever someone bumped into him. He hadn’t even touched it.

No, all his focus was drawn to the dance floor, to the amorphous crowd that seemed to swallow anyone who dared to brave it and turn them into an anonymous shape that knew nothing but terrible music and jerky movement. At times, the strobe lights shone upon people’s distinctive traits. Tattoos, glasses, dyed hair—but it was only for a fleeting moment until they disappeared again into the waves, until they became no one again.

And yet, Cloud had no trouble keeping track of Aerith.

She was no great dancer—she’d insisted as much, even though Cloud couldn’t help but follow her every movement, hypnotised like an idiot—but she was having fun. And that was even more captivating. She, Tifa, and Yuffie formed their own little circle a fair distance away from Cloud, and even though he couldn’t hear it over the loud whatever playing from the speakers, he saw her laughter ripple through her like wind through a flower field. She was a lighthouse, bright and welcoming and beautiful.

Cloud wanted to be there with her just as badly as he wanted to get the hell out of the claustrophobic nightclub.

Barret and Vincent were much smarter than him, he thought. They’d flat out refused to humour Yuffie’s demand for a night out to celebrate her being in town—she was in town every other week, Barret had protested. Cid, Nanaki, and Reeve were safe by virtue of being, respectively, in Cosmo Canyon, Cosmo Canyon, and wherever the hell the WRO’s monthly official business trip happened. Cloud thought he’d said Cosmo Canyon as well. Their collective absence left Cloud as the only poor idiot to get dragged along to the most obnoxious place in Edge. It was appropriate for Yuffie, but much less so for Aerith and Tifa. And yet, they all seemed to be having the time of their lives while Cloud brooded from the sidelines.

He felt a twinge of guilt in his chest.

He was terrible company when it came to things like this. It was too loud, too crowded, too much. If asked, he wouldn’t lie: he hated it. But he couldn’t bear to be the one to dampen their mood, to be the reason Aerith’s euphoric smile slid off her face.

So, he played chaperone. He’d be the one to eventually find Yuffie slumped over a toilet, to carry Tifa’s uncomfortable high heels, to give Aerith something solid to hold onto as she stumbled her way back home. They all deserved to have fun after saving the world, and he didn’t mind.

The song changed to an even worse one, and the crowd stilled for a second before it started to move again, out of sync like only nightclub dancing could be. Cloud easily found Aerith in the writhing mass of people again, and found that she was looking at him too.

He blinked for a moment, then tentatively raised his cup in a half-hearted toast. Through the crowd, he saw her giggle and shake her head. Then, she reached out to tap Tifa on the shoulder. She mimed getting a drink, and Tifa nodded before her attention was pulled back to Yuffie’s doomed attempt at some sort of flashy dance move. Aerith laughed again, then waved at them and started walking away. She weaved through the crowd gracefully and effortlessly, dodging flailing arms and legs like she’d rehearsed it. Cloud vaguely wondered how she did it, and then he realised she was making a beeline straight for him.

Before he could fully process it, she stopped in front of him, beaming.

“Come here often?” she said, the jokey, flirty tone getting lost a bit in the fact that she had to yell to be heard over the music.

Cloud chuckled. “Only when you guys drag me along.”

She laughed again, shaking her head. Cloud eyed the way her fluffy ponytail swayed behind her. She’d ditched her usual braid and long dresses for something that, in her opinion, fit the vibe more. So, her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, then it fell down to her waist in soft brown waves. A few stray strands were starting to come out, and her bangs framed her face messily but in a way that looked almost intentional. She was wearing a light blue jacket over her short white dress and blue leggings under it. She’d refused to let Yuffie experiment on her with make-up, especially when Yuffie herself never wore any, but she’d let herself be talked into trying Tifa’s new favourite mascara, which made her eyes look even bigger and brighter.

Cloud blinked, then realised she’d said something else. “What?” he yelled. If the loud music was good for something, it was masking his distraction.

“I said,” shouted Aerith, “I feel bad, seeing you here all alone. Come join us!”

He shrugged and raised his cup again. “I’m good,” he replied. “Go have fun.”

She frowned for a second, eyeing his untouched drink with a sceptical expression. Then, she snatched it out of his hand and emptied it in a nearby bin.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, making a vain attempt to take it back. “I was gonna—”

“I’ll buy you another one,” said Aerith. She tossed the cup in the bin, then drew closer to Cloud. “Come dance with us.”

Cloud instinctively backed up, only to hit the wall. “I—”

“C’mon!” she yelled, startlingly loud as there was a dip in the volume of the music. “It’ll be fun!”

He pressed his lips together and eyed the crowd. “I… I don’t really…”

Her expression softened. “I know. I just thought—” She lowered her gaze for a moment.

“Don’t worry about me,” said Cloud. He nodded to the dance floor when she looked back up at him. “Tifa and Yuffie—”

“They can handle themselves,” said Aerith, drawing even closer to his ear so that she didn’t have to shout as much. “And I’m not worried about you. I wanna dance with you. Just one song. Please?”

Cloud gulped down a knot in his throat. Aerith stepped back a little and just looked at him, a mixture of challenge and plea in her eyes.

“It’s just me.”

Cloud wanted to snort. As if there was anything just about her.

Instead, he just nodded.

Aerith beamed and grabbed his hands, excitedly bouncing in place for a moment. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “C’mon!”

She pulled him behind her through the crowd, and now Cloud was the one dodging accidental backhands and shoves.

When Aerith finally stopped, in a spot that seemed just as random as any other to Cloud, she spun around with a grin. He awkwardly returned the smile, before taking a look around. “Hey, what about…?” Tifa and Yuffie were nowhere to be seen.

Aerith’s smile widened. “We can find them later. C’mon.” She extended both of her hands, and when Cloud hesitantly took them, she pulled his arms around her waist, while her own went to his shoulders.

Cloud bit down a curse as he stumbled into her. He would have recoiled away if not for her hands. “Uh…”

“One song, remember?” she said, cocking her head to the side. “Unless you’re scared?”

He huffed, straightening up. “As if.”

Aerith giggled. “Alright then, mister. Show me whatcha got.”

And, damn, bravado and competitiveness could really only carry him so far. The song was aggressively awful, nothing but noise laid out over a heavy beat that vibrated through his entire body. But Aerith had a knowing, challenging smile on her face, so he started moving.

It was hesitant, restrained. Two steps forward, two steps back, taking care not to get too in her personal space. Aerith didn’t seem to share his concerns, though, because she kept a tight grip on his shoulders. Two steps forward, two steps back, then another—no, not another, just a—couple bumped into Cloud and sent him stumbling a little bit forward. Two steps forward, two steps back, then Aerith burst into laughter.

“Relax,” she said, leaning close. “We’re just having fun.”

Cloud shrugged awkwardly. “I don’t really dance.” Not like this, anyway. He could dance in a studio, a ballroom. He could make a choreographed—or even improvised—set of steps look good, but uncoordinated shuffling in the middle of an amorphous crowd? He couldn’t dance like that.

She shook her head. “Neither do I. Not often,” she added, when she saw his raised eyebrow. “It’s just—I dunno. It’s different here. We can disappear. Be... someone else. Not us, for a little while.”

It was then that Cloud realised that Aerith saw the crowd the same way he did: a faceless mass of anonymity. But, whereas he’d found the thought unsettling, she found it comforting. A space where they could be anyone. Not heroes, not traumatised young adults, not anyone special. Just people.

“It makes me feel like I could do anything and it wouldn’t matter,” she continued. She had a far away look in her eyes. “Because it wouldn’t be Aerith Gainsborough who did it. It’d be just some random girl.” She blinked and met his gaze again. “You know?”

Cloud nodded slowly. “I guess.” Another couple knocked into them, but Aerith didn’t step away when she bumped his chest. “And you wouldn’t be Cloud Strife.” She sounded pensive now, with her hands idly playing with his hair at the back of his neck and leaving behind goosebumps wherever she grazed his skin.

Cloud frowned. “But we are. Us, I mean. We’re us.”

She giggled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah. I know.” She was silent for a long moment.

He’d said something wrong. Cloud grimaced and cleared his throat. He needed to fix it. Slowly, he drew closer to her so he didn’t have to shout, “What would you do?”

Aerith pulled away a little bit to meet his eyes, a questioning look on her face.

Cloud swallowed a knot in his throat. “If you weren’t you and I weren’t me. What would you do?”

Aerith studied his face for a moment, then she broke into a small smile—a genuine one. “I think...” she said, bringing a hand to cup Cloud's face. “I think I’d ask to kiss you. If I weren’t me.”

Cloud’s heart stopped, replaced by the heavy beat of the song. Aerith shook her head and giggled, letting go of him. But he was faster, and covered her hands with his to keep her in place. “I...” he started, then pressed his lips together. “I’d say yes. I-If I weren’t me.”

Except that that was a lie. No pretence of anonymity could ever change how he felt about her. He knew that, and Aerith had to know that too, but it didn’t matter because, when she looked up at him with those beautiful, curious eyes of hers, his heart started up again.

“Okay, then,” she said, and she was so close that he felt the words ghost over his lips more than he heard them. “Since I’m not me and you’re not you.”

Cloud nodded hesitantly. “Right.”

She giggled. “Right. So...” And then there were no more words, because she was getting closer and closer and all of that stuff she’d said about it not mattering was about to be utter bullshit because she was going to kiss him in the middle of a shitty crowded dance floor and—

The room went dead silent for a fraction of a second as the music and the strobe lights disappeared. Aerith yelped and jumped away from Cloud. “What the—”

Screams broke out from around the room. Somebody yelled, “Hey, turn the power back on!”

The crowd bristled, waited. Then, it surged.

“Shit,” hissed Cloud as he was jostled and shoved from all sides by the mob rushing for the doors. Blackout. “Aerith!”

“Cloud!” she called. She sounded out of breath, and too far away for his liking.

“Just—” He elbowed his way past a couple of panicked people and strained to reach for her. “Grab my hand!”

He could sort of make out her shape in the darkness. Silently, he thanked the Mako still coursing in his veins and his eyes when he was able to snatch her blindly flailing hand out of the air. He yanked her through the crowd and she stumbled into him. “I got you,” he said, squeezing her fingers and bringing his other hand to her arm. “I got you.”

He saw her nod quickly. “Tifa and Yuffie!” she exclaimed, straightening up. “They were—” She yelped again as someone ran into her from behind.

“Shit,” repeated Cloud, steadying her. “We gotta get outta here.”

But the problem was that everyone else had the same idea. He doubted there were many other people in that mob who could see in the dark. They were just pushing, pushing, pushing towards the spot where the doors were supposed to be.

He stepped around Aerith so that his back was facing the rushing mob instead of hers.

“Cloud?” she called, disoriented. “Cloud!”

“I’m here,” he said, grabbing her wrists again.

“Can you see Tifa and Yuffie?”

He shook his head, then remembered she couldn’t see him. “No. But they gotta be in the crowd somewhere.” Everything around them was a blur—just frantic people and disoriented shouting.

“Tifa!” called Aerith. She went on her tiptoes as though the added height could help her voice. “Yuffie!”

But she was being drowned out by the crowd yelling and banging on the doors. Cloud grunted when somebody shoved into him again. “C’mon,” he said. “We gotta get out.”

“But—”

“They’re trying to get out too. We’ll find them outside.”

She hesitated for a second, then nodded. “Okay.” But she didn’t move.

Cloud frowned. “Aerith?”

“I, uh…” She let out a nervous laugh. “I’m not on great terms with the dark.”

“Oh.” Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, then looked back at her. She was looking at him—actually at him, instead of generally in his direction. Must’ve been the Mako eyes. “It’s okay. I can see.”

“Lucky. Just—” She took a step towards him— “Stay close, okay?”

“Sure,” breathed Cloud, bringing a hand to her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Aerith nodded, and Cloud pulled her a little closer as they started to make their way through the crowd. The mob had evidently managed to get the doors open, because it was starting to thin out a little—the room had been basically at capacity, but it wasn’t that big to begin with. Still, the remaining stragglers kept pushing mindlessly forward. Annoyance surged within Cloud—if they’d just walked out in an orderly fashion, it would’ve been much safer and faster. But the way Aerith’s fingers clutched his reminded him: these people were scared. The lights had gone out, and they were suddenly alone in a sea of strangers. The voices around them weren’t just yelling for its own sake: they were looking for friends, for partners, for anyone.

It was a little sobering.

Still, Cloud hissed a curse through his teeth when somebody slammed into his back, nearly toppling both him and Aerith. “Hey!” he growled. “Watch it.”

“Cloud? That you?”

“Yuffie!” exclaimed Aerith. She poked out from over Cloud’s shoulder and blindly reached for her. “You’re okay!”

Yuffie let out a cocky half laugh. “Course I’m okay. I’m a ninja, I was born in the dark.”

Cloud scoffed. “Right. Where’s Tifa?”

“I dunno,” said Yuffie, the brashness dropping from her voice immediately. “I turned around, the lights went off, and she was gone. But, hey, she’s tougher than all of us put together. She’ll be fine, right?”

“Right,” said Aerith. She straightened up a bit in Cloud’s arms. “Let’s just get out. I’m sure we’ll find her outside.”

If Yuffie heard the slight tremble in her voice, she didn’t say anything about it, same as Cloud. “Follow me,” he said. “I can see a little.”

Yuffie scoffed. “Of course you can. Alright then, catboy, lead the way.”

Aerith giggled as Cloud rolled his eyes. He felt Yuffie’s hand land on his shoulder, then he focused back on the crowd ahead. While he slowly walked the three of them forward, Aerith and Yuffie occasionally called for Tifa, straining to see over the dark sea of people.

But, by the time they finally stumbled out of the basement door of the club, she was still nowhere to be found. He carefully nudged Aerith and pulled Yuffie up the stairs that led outside but, at that point, some light from the moon and stars was starting to filter in.

Finally, they emerged into the busy street of Edge’s Western District. The crowd was stagnating outside, making it even harder for the last stragglers to push their way out of the club.

Without hesitation, Cloud pulled Aerith and Yuffie away from the door, towards a slightly clearer spot. There wasn’t much light to spare outside, either, so both of them stayed glued to him as he led them through the crowd.

When they stopped, Yuffie let go of his shoulder and straightened up. “Man,” she said. “Remind me to never let you guys talk me into going there again.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Us? Talk you?”

Aerith giggled a little breathlessly. “The streetlights are off too,” she said. She’d stepped away from Cloud a bit, but she was still holding his hand tightly. Cloud was grateful for the darkness hiding the contact from Yuffie. “Must be a city-wide thing.”

Cloud nodded. “It’s the new power grid. They still haven’t figured out how to make it stable without Mako.”

Yuffie groaned. “Reeve.” She shook her head. “I’m gonna tear him a new one when he gets back from Icicle Inn.”

“Icicle Inn?” said Aerith. “I thought he was in Costa del Sol.”

“And I thought he was in Cosmo Canyon,” said Cloud. He ran a hand over his face. “Fifty Gil says he didn’t go anywhere and is gonna be dealing with a metric shit ton of complaints the second he wakes up in the morning.”

Yuffie hummed. “Good. Serves him right for ditching us.”

Aerith giggled. “Did you really wanna take Reeve to a club?”

“We took Blondie.” Yuffie shrugged. “Wet blankets spice up the experience.”

“Hey,” said Cloud, but he was only half-paying attention. Something had caught his eye, a commotion not too far away from them: a small group of people carrying cardboard boxes, shouldering their way through the crowd. He lightly tugged on Aerith’s hand. “Over there.”

She squinted at him in the dark, then followed his nod with furrowed brows. “What’re they doing?”

A smaller crowd-within-a-crowd was gathering around them, to the point that Cloud couldn’t see them anymore.

“You guys wait here. I’m gonna—” Cloud made to move closer, but a firm tug on his hand kept him in place.

“We shouldn’t split up,” said Aerith, frowning. “Tifa’ll be looking for us. And—”

Somebody shouted, “Back up!”

Aerith gasped and pulled Cloud back while he grabbed Yuffie’s hand and dragged her along. She walked their little makeshift train backwards a few steps while the mob scrambled to make room for whatever was going on.

After a second of tense anticipation, there was a loud hiss, a spark flying up leaving behind a thin line of smoke until it exploded into a bright orange flash. The boom followed a split-second after, and the crowd erupted into cheers.

“Fireworks!” yelled Yuffie, as the next one went up, and then the next. She jumped in place for a second, laughing. “Nice!”

“Now?” asked Cloud, blinking hard to clear the afterimpressions of the flash. “Don’t they have anything better to do?”

Aerith tugged on his hand again. “No, look!” She made a wide, sweeping motion. “We can see, now!”

She was right. The relief in her voice was palpable, and so was the relief rippling over the crowd, as a choir of oohs and aahs filled the air, almost as loud as the fireworks. Aerith giggled, but didn’t let go of Cloud’s hand as she looked up at the sky.

The street, which had been fairly dark until then, was lit up by the colourful sparkles above them. It was kind of like the strobe lights back at the club, but softer, warmer. The crowd around them was made up of individual people again, rather than faceless shapes, and they were all staring up with delight in their eyes.

“Guys!” called a voice from Cloud’s right.

“Tifa!” exclaimed Yuffie.

Tifa shouldered her way past a small group that was loitering nearby, frazzled and dishevelled, but alright. “Found ya.” She smiled.

Aerith let go of Cloud for the first time since the blackout started. “You’re okay!”

Tifa gave a light huff. “Course I am. I found some kids who’d snuck in the club at the back of the crowd—had to get them back to their older friends before I left them.”

Yuffie scoffed. “So nice. It makes me sick.”

“All good?” asked Cloud while the others laughed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You guys?” Tifa gave them all a once-over.

Aerith nodded. “A-okay!” she exclaimed.

Another round of fireworks went off, and the four of them all turned towards them.

“So pretty,” said Tifa. “Good idea too. For both light and morale.”

Cloud hummed, following the golden trail of a swirly-looking firework that hissed through the sky. The crowd around them had stilled, both because of the show and because the last stragglers had evidently managed to get out of the club. Now, they all just stood in the chilly night, under a colourful show. No more rush, just calm enjoyment even as the air filled with the booms of the explosions.

Cloud glanced to the side, to where Aerith was watching the fireworks. They way they cast their lights over her face and in her eyes was breathtaking, and Cloud found himself meeting her gaze before he’d realised he was staring. Flustered, he looked away, back up at the fireworks.

She giggled lightly beside him, then discreetly found his hand again. Cloud hazarded another glance down at her: she wasn’t looking at him, but she was smiling. Still, he gave her fingers a light squeeze. If this was all it could ever be—secretly holding hands in a crowd where no one could see it—then it was fine. If they both had too much baggage to ever be together, it was fine. It was fine. It would have to be.

But then, Aerith spoke up: “I wanna go see the fireworks from the belvedere by the brewery. You in?” Her voice was loud enough for all three of them to hear, but she was looking right at Cloud. He nodded.

Behind him, Yuffie said, “Sure. Race ya?”

Tifa cleared her throat. “Actually, Yuffie, I just saw a Wutaian street food stand roll up on the other side of the street. I know you’re a fan.”

Yuffie whipped around to her. “Shut up. Where?” She didn’t wait for Tifa to finish gesturing to a vague point behind her shoulder before she took off.

“Yuffie, wait!” Tifa laughed. “Alright, looks like someone should babysit here. You two gonna be okay?” she asked, with a knowing look in Aerith’s direction.

Aerith giggled. “Sure. Catch up with you later?”

Tifa nodded. “At the belvedere? Or Seventh Heaven?”

Aerith thought for a second. “Seventh Heaven. We’ll swing by after the show.”

“Cool,” said Tifa. “See you later, then.” She turned around and started weaving her way through the crowd in the same direction Yuffie had disappeared in.

Aerith laughed again. Then, she tugged on Cloud’s hand to get him to look at her. “Still up for that belvedere show?”

Cloud nodded quickly. “Sure,” he breathed, and she beamed.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew a diversion when he saw one, and that Wutaian vendor was absolutely one—if it even existed in the first place. He swallowed a knot in his throat.

Aerith stepped away, still holding his hand tight. “C’mon,” she said, pulling it lightly. “So we don’t miss it.”

He nodded, then followed her.

They got to the belvedere in under five minutes, thanks to the empty streets of Edge. Once there, Aerith let go of Cloud’s hand to climb the last set of steps before the railing. “Oh, Cloud, look!” she exclaimed, leaning over it.

The fireworks show was still going, painting the sky and the city in stunning flashes of colour and light. Cloud joined Aerith at the railing, paying equal attention to the spectacle in the sky and the one in her eyes.

When she turned to him, it was with a sly smile. “So… I swiped something from one of those people giving out fireworks.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Swiped? You turning into Yuffie?”

She shrugged defensively. “They were free!” She reached into her jacket and pulled out a handful of thin grey sticks and a lighter.

“Sparklers?”

“That’s right. Here—” She handed one to him and clicked the lighter a couple of times to get it to work. The sparkler caught fire immediately, bursting into small golden flourishes that travelled all the way down from the tip of it to the end. Aerith giggled as it fizzled out after a few seconds. “Shame they don’t last long.”

Cloud shrugged, setting the dead sparkler down. “So light another one.”

She lifted her lighter up to a new one. “Way ahead of ya.” She watched the small firework move down the thin line of the sparkler while Cloud watched her. The lights playing on her face were much brighter, this up close. It was beautiful—she was beautiful. So beautiful it almost hurt.

Aerith lit up a new sparkler, then leaned with her elbows on the railing.

“You know,” she said, toying with the small firework in her hand. “All that stuff I was saying, back at the club... Nothing but a load of nonsense.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “How so?” He leaned right next to her.

She shrugged. “We might fool strangers with the whole ‘oh, I’m no one in particular, I’m just some random patron of this shitty club.’ But I’d know you anywhere.”

She paused and looked up at him, and for once in his life he knew what she wanted—needed—him to say. “You too,” he whispered. “I’d know you anywhere too.”

Aerith smiled. “I prefer it that way.” She leaned over the railing and nudged his shoulder lightly with hers. “You're not some random stranger, and that's why it would matter.”

Cloud furrowed his brows. “What would?”

“C’mon.” She shot him a look halfway between exasperated and amused. He averted his eyes.

“Oh.” His ears were burning. Hopefully the colourful lights cast by the sparklers masked that.

Aerith half-laughed. “Yeah. Oh. Sorry ‘bout all that, back there. Guess I was feeling melodramatic.” She straightened up, but didn’t step away. “Thanks for tonight. Really.”

Cloud hummed, then shook his head. She was slipping away.

She was there with him, but her gaze was somewhere else, somewhere that made her look wistful and forlorn. He pressed his lips together. “Don't mention it,” he said. “But... just so you know—” He had to get it out. “I still would’ve said yes. Back there.” He forced himself to look at her. She was staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Because it was you.”

When she didn’t say anything for a beat too long, Cloud felt like melting through the floorboards. He’d messed it up. Again. He shook his head and looked away. “Sorry, I—”

Something warm touched his shoulder. Hers. “Couldn’t fool you, huh?” she whispered, but her voice was thick with something Cloud couldn’t place.

“Nope,” he said, his own voice thick with hope. Maybe... “I told you. I’d know you in any crowd.”

Aerith giggled, then her hand came up to his jaw to gently turn his face towards her. “Likewise,” she said. Her eyes shone when she drew close. “Anywhere. In any crowd.”

Cloud nodded shakily. “Aerith—”

Her smile widened. “Cloud,” she said simply, as though savouring the word. It sounded like magic, coming from her.

She kissed him then, light and soft, barely there like a whisper. Cloud kissed her back the same way, while his hand found hers and closed around it, both of them holding her sparkler in one gentle grip. Her other hand, the one cupping his face, slid to the back of his head to pull him closer. Just a suggestion, but Cloud was happy to oblige.

So, so happy.

When Aerith pulled away, it was with a smile. She shifted her hold on his hand so that their fingers around the sparkler were entwined.

“Cloud,” she repeated in a whisper.

“Aerith,” he said. He tentatively wrapped his free arm around her waist.

She beamed. “Yeah. Nobody else.” And with that, she closed the distance between them again.

They only made it to Seventh Heaven late into the night, after the fireworks had gone quiet and long after all of their sparklers had gone out. They stumbled through the door together, still hand in hand and with big, goofy grins plastered over their faces. Yuffie was slumped over the counter and fast asleep, while Tifa just laughed and shook her head.

“I take it the fireworks were fun?” asked Tifa, raising an eyebrow.

Aerith giggled. “Very fun. Right, Cloud?” She tugged lightly on his hand.

He turned to look her in the eye, which were still shining brighter than any firework. “Couldn’t look away.”

#final fantasy vii #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #clerith #my work #my writing #my fics

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